Have you noticed that sometimes when you return items (Best Buy comes to mind here) you have to provide contact information or a driver's license or other form of identification?
Paying with cash would make it harder for the retailer, but they could still figure out that you're you.
RadioShack I think was the worst about this -- up until a short time ago they asked for your phone number among other things upon checkout. I've never returned anything to them, so I don't know what their return policy was / is.
So, here's the question though: That may be the cost that you paid for it, but what was the cost to build it? For example, how much did it cost whoever to make that motherboard (raw parts + fab facility). Ditto for the CPU. We'll forget logistical challenges such as packaging, as that's not part of the computer.
I don't think you understood the challenge. Of course, I might not either.
~ Mike
Anyone know how it knows what is "good" and "bad?"
on
Flying By Brain
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
So, how is this thing reacting to good and bad?
Did they create a neural net that falls through a given search space to a local or global minimum, or what?
Is "good" a total lack of input, i.e. the plane is flying straight with no lateral or vertical drift, and is degree of input dependent on the amount of lateral motion, etc.?
As I type this, it makes sense that this might be so, but I wonder why the network created a negative feedback system, and not a positive feedback system.
First off, I have the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 (no HD) DVR.
We added digital cable and DVR service around August of this year, and, after the newness wore off (we record exactly 5 shows on a recurring basis) the software glitches really started to show themselves.
Take a look at the DVR Issues Quick Reference. Note that several of the solutions to the problems listed are unplug your DVR set-top from the AC power source and reconnect!
So, which of these from that URL do you think is worse? a. DVR may intermittently delete all recorded programs and scheduled recordings without warning. or b. You may see the box display live video while powered off. In order to correct the issue, you must turn the box back on, change the channel, and then power the box back off.
I think it's pretty scary that this thing made it to public release when they sometimes can't keep the device TURNED OFF, let alone that it sometimes erases all recordings (we haven't experienced either of these issues, by the way).
My personal issues with the box:
1. Recording of shows from the program guide is "All or nothing" The program guide lets you record a given episode of a show, OR record ALL episodes of a show. This works when a show appears once a week, but for things that show multiple times a day, you either end up with a LOT of duplicates. I can't say "record all episodes that show at 7PM on Thursday," for example.
2. Software locks up or freezes This happens usually about once a week. The device will stop responding to things like channel changes or menu functions, and will reboot and reset itself. We can make this happen pretty consistently when we're recording a show, and watching another via Picture-in-Picture.
3. Popping on the audio track This appears to happen if the box has been on for an extended period, and even gets recorded to disk! We get an intermittent popping over both speaker channels (using either the co-ax connector OR the rca connectors).
This sounds like IBM's Robocode contest from a while back. In that particular game, you wrote a robot class built around a predefined basic robot, using a provided API for stuff like "radar," and sensing when you're in the line of fire. Your robot would battle with N other robots in an arena, and the last left standing would win.
I think whoever won the contest last time won a new ThinkPad Notebook, but that was two years ago. By now, I think Robocode's been set aside within IBM.
Now it looks like some Third Party's built a competition around IBM's Robocode.
If I recall, the reason HP's selling this is because it comes with the proper accessories to make the iPod play nicely on PCs. I can't recall the details (someone else care to fill this in?), but there are problems with using the iPod dock to charge the machine and also sync up your files at the same time, or something silly where on Macs it "just plain works" but on PCs requires extra stuff or steps.
Hello there! In a similar vein, http://www.engineersalary.com/ provides salary statistics for many, many types of engineers. All you have to do is answer a few questions about just what precisely it is you do, and it will do its best to pull records of similar people.
[SNIP] The Engineering Salary Calculator searches over 253,000 records in our database, and returns your salary result based on degree, experience, position, industry, skills and location (within a 50 mile radius). Your result is obtained from a minimum of 100 matching profiles. If you search a location that doesn't have at least 50 matching salary records, the area expands from 50 to 75, then to a 90 mile radius. Records older than 360 days are excluded.
In the case of a unique skill set combination (if the database can't locate more than 25 matches for the location using the 50-75-90 rule), it will expand the boundaries to state, then region... and finally nationwide. In densely populated metros like San Jose or Boston, your salary result is compiled using hundreds of records (in most categories)... but in less populated areas (parts of Montana as an example) the search has to expand to a wider area to provide a relevant comparison.
The calculator is designed to always return a result. There are cases where it will not return a local result: MS in Mechanical Engineering, working as the Chief Engineer for a Nanotechnology company in AK. In cases where a search produces too few salary matches nationally (threshold <250), the result is compiled by performing an interpolation of all available data. An unreasonable set: Nuclear Engineer, working in RF with skills in Aerodynamics - will generate a result that is not credible. [/SNIP]
It's possible. IBM has been doing it for some time with the Power4+ chip, as seen here. It's a form of Multi-Chip Module. You can see a picture of one here.
Heh, I would do that too, but I'd have to go buy a floppy drive first.;-)
I still have a bunch of Dynamix and MicroProse games, like A-10 Tank Killer II, F-15 Strike Eagle III, and Descent (fun times were had when I finally bought a joystick for that one!) and loads of others.
Man, we had some good games back then! Now I have to go trawl The Underdogs since I've lost or destroyed almost all of those old floppies.
Okay, this reminds me of the Parable of the Languages, a rather clever look at where programming has come from, and where the field is going to:
If programming languages could speak, really speak, not just crunch bytes and stream bits, they would have much to say that is both wise and profound.
After all, the original programmers were philosophers, and programming languages were philosopher tools...
In Babble Meadow, in the twilight hours between day and night, when pesky noseeums float past on the breeze and birds rustle among leaves in preparation for bed, the programming languages would meet. And talk...
Umm... with "ZIP and others" could you decompress the files quickly enough to keep up with the media stream without spiking the host PC's CPU? And also skip 4:31 seconds into it, or rewind back 30 seconds, and so on?
For anyone that hasn't read User Friendly, Erwin (the SGI Box in the comic) is an AI that the non-geek marketing guy Stef (the guy in the comic) is trying to seek revenge on for various reasons (read the archives to figure all that out).
While I do applaud these two institutions for their initiative, and wish them the best of luck, I feel that the poster has put a little bit of an unfair spin on the news, as if this is something that they just dreamed up entirelyon their own.
In fact, those of you that are fans of Opera may want to check out Multimodal Browsing on the Sharp Zaurus. Those of you with Windows may want to check out IBM's Multimodal Toolkit for creating these new X+V pages that we might be hearing more about in the future.
Didn't Microsoft make a device for RTS games that was essentially a moulded puck that your left hand rested on that let you scroll in whatever direction, and perform macro'd actions? I can't recall much about it though... It was probably a "Microsoft ____ Commander" of some sort.
Hi, I'd highly recommend you check out Bridge Construction Set by Chronic Logic. There's a free demo available for Windows AND Linux.
(Lifted from the website) In The Bridge Construction Set(aka Pontifex II), Building a bridge that doesn't break is what its all about, although watching your bridge creation break and plunge a train into the watery depths below can be half the fun. In the Bridge Construction Set you design and build bridges and then stress test them to see how your creations hold up under pressure. If when test vehicles pass over your bridge they make it safely across you know you've succeeded. If they plummet into the river you know you need to go back to the drawing board.
The robust physics deployed in the Bridge Construction Set let you build a wide variety of bridges that can span the river. The 3D graphics allow you to view your bridge from any angle including a first person train view - its like being strapped to the front of the train when your bridge is first tested (if this happened in real life I think we might have engineers checking all their bridges in a simulator).
The Bridge Construction Set includes many types of bridge building levels in varying degrees of difficulty from simple to complex with a tutorial section to get you started. A Level Editor is also included so you can create your own levels and trade them with others.
So, I figured I'd ask here. I'm an officer for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society Eta Kappa Nu Beta Xi Chapter at the Univ. of Oklahoma. One thing we're VERY interested in is putting together a Recycling Event for sometime in late 2004 or early 2005 (the next academic school year).
Any suggestions on how we should go about this? I've sent an e-mail to Dell's Recycling people, and have yet to get a response back. Has anyone else done this? This is almost an ask slashdot question, but I don't want to take up an entire story for it...
1. How much have these cost in the past? 2. Are there organizations that might bankroll at least part of the expenses? 3. Which organizations buy the old machines? 4. Who pays for shipping the old parts? 5. How much leadtime should we need to get something like this pulled off? 6. Who can we talk to for some pointers?
We're a campus of about 27,000 students, in a Norman, with a population of about 110,000 people, about 20 minutes south of Oklahoma City with a population of about a million people. I think we're going to target the Norman, OK area this time. Is this wise? If not, why?
Feel free to answer any / all of these.
Thanks for your help.
Any errors in spelling, tact, or fact are transmission errors.
As for the processing fees, Apple delays billing you several days (in my experience, anyway) most likely in the hopes that you buy several more songs, diminishing the hit they take from the various CC companies.
They already offer iTunes Gift Certificates and Allowances. To offer a "bulk" discount, all they need to do (and I know that's incredibly easy for me to say, but is probably quite an undertaking for some systems engineers) is sell them at a 5% or so discount as an incentive program.
Let's see if I can start a meme for thinksecret or their ilk with this: I'd guess that after the Pepsi giveaway is through, Apple will wait about a month, and then announce GC's will go on sale for "graduation" specials, and in August, allowances will go on sale for "dorm room" specials. Or something.
Remember, I just made that up, let's see who runs with it.;-)
Slashdot Mirror
Have you noticed that sometimes when you return items (Best Buy comes to mind here) you have to provide contact information or a driver's license or other form of identification?
Paying with cash would make it harder for the retailer, but they could still figure out that you're you.
RadioShack I think was the worst about this -- up until a short time ago they asked for your phone number among other things upon checkout. I've never returned anything to them, so I don't know what their return policy was / is.
So, here's the question though: That may be the cost that you paid for it, but what was the cost to build it? For example, how much did it cost whoever to make that motherboard (raw parts + fab facility). Ditto for the CPU. We'll forget logistical challenges such as packaging, as that's not part of the computer.
I don't think you understood the challenge. Of course, I might not either.
~ Mike
So, how is this thing reacting to good and bad?
Did they create a neural net that falls through a given search space to a local or global minimum, or what?
Is "good" a total lack of input, i.e. the plane is flying straight with no lateral or vertical drift, and is degree of input dependent on the amount of lateral motion, etc.?
As I type this, it makes sense that this might be so, but I wonder why the network created a negative feedback system, and not a positive feedback system.
~ Mike
First off, I have the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 (no HD) DVR.
We added digital cable and DVR service around August of this year, and, after the newness wore off (we record exactly 5 shows on a recurring basis) the software glitches really started to show themselves.
Take a look at the DVR Issues Quick Reference. Note that several of the solutions to the problems listed are unplug your DVR set-top from the AC power source and reconnect!
So, which of these from that URL do you think is worse?
a. DVR may intermittently delete all recorded programs and scheduled recordings without warning.
or
b. You may see the box display live video while powered off. In order to correct the issue, you must turn the box back on, change the channel, and then power the box back off.
I think it's pretty scary that this thing made it to public release when they sometimes can't keep the device TURNED OFF, let alone that it sometimes erases all recordings (we haven't experienced either of these issues, by the way).
My personal issues with the box:
1. Recording of shows from the program guide is "All or nothing"
The program guide lets you record a given episode of a show, OR record ALL episodes of a show. This works when a show appears once a week, but for things that show multiple times a day, you either end up with a LOT of duplicates. I can't say "record all episodes that show at 7PM on Thursday," for example.
2. Software locks up or freezes
This happens usually about once a week. The device will stop responding to things like channel changes or menu functions, and will reboot and reset itself. We can make this happen pretty consistently when we're recording a show, and watching another via Picture-in-Picture.
3. Popping on the audio track
This appears to happen if the box has been on for an extended period, and even gets recorded to disk! We get an intermittent popping over both speaker channels (using either the co-ax connector OR the rca connectors).
All in all, this thing is rocky, at best.
This sounds like IBM's Robocode contest from a while back. In that particular game, you wrote a robot class built around a predefined basic robot, using a provided API for stuff like "radar," and sensing when you're in the line of fire. Your robot would battle with N other robots in an arena, and the last left standing would win.
I think whoever won the contest last time won a new ThinkPad Notebook, but that was two years ago. By now, I think Robocode's been set aside within IBM.
Now it looks like some Third Party's built a competition around IBM's Robocode.
If I recall, the reason HP's selling this is because it comes with the proper accessories to make the iPod play nicely on PCs. I can't recall the details (someone else care to fill this in?), but there are problems with using the iPod dock to charge the machine and also sync up your files at the same time, or something silly where on Macs it "just plain works" but on PCs requires extra stuff or steps.
That's why I posted it, good sir (or madam) ;-)
Hello there! In a similar vein, http://www.engineersalary.com/ provides salary statistics for many, many types of engineers. All you have to do is answer a few questions about just what precisely it is you do, and it will do its best to pull records of similar people.
[SNIP]
The Engineering Salary Calculator searches over 253,000 records in our database, and returns your salary result based on degree, experience, position, industry, skills and location (within a 50 mile radius). Your result is obtained from a minimum of 100 matching profiles. If you search a location that doesn't have at least 50 matching salary records, the area expands from 50 to 75, then to a 90 mile radius. Records older than 360 days are excluded.
In the case of a unique skill set combination (if the database can't locate more than 25 matches for the location using the 50-75-90 rule), it will expand the boundaries to state, then region... and finally nationwide. In densely populated metros like San Jose or Boston, your salary result is compiled using hundreds of records (in most categories)... but in less populated areas (parts of Montana as an example) the search has to expand to a wider area to provide a relevant comparison.
The calculator is designed to always return a result. There are cases where it will not return a local result: MS in Mechanical Engineering, working as the Chief Engineer for a Nanotechnology company in AK. In cases where a search produces too few salary matches nationally (threshold <250), the result is compiled by performing an interpolation of all available data. An unreasonable set: Nuclear Engineer, working in RF with skills in Aerodynamics - will generate a result that is not credible.
[/SNIP]
It's possible. IBM has been doing it for some time with the Power4+ chip, as seen here. It's a form of Multi-Chip Module. You can see a picture of one here.
Heh, I would do that too, but I'd have to go buy a floppy drive first. ;-)
I still have a bunch of Dynamix and MicroProse games, like A-10 Tank Killer II, F-15 Strike Eagle III, and Descent (fun times were had when I finally bought a joystick for that one!) and loads of others.
Man, we had some good games back then! Now I have to go trawl The Underdogs since I've lost or destroyed almost all of those old floppies.
~ Mike
Okay, this reminds me of the Parable of the Languages, a rather clever look at where programming has come from, and where the field is going to:
/ the-parable-of-the-languages.
If programming languages could speak, really speak, not just crunch bytes and stream bits, they would have much to say that is both wise and profound.
After all, the original programmers were philosophers, and programming languages were philosopher tools...
In Babble Meadow, in the twilight hours between day and night, when pesky noseeums float past on the breeze and birds rustle among leaves in preparation for bed, the programming languages would meet. And talk...
Read on at http://weblog.burningbird.net/archives/2002/10/08
Umm... with "ZIP and others" could you decompress the files quickly enough to keep up with the media stream without spiking the host PC's CPU? And also skip 4:31 seconds into it, or rewind back 30 seconds, and so on?
Even his frequency meter is overclocked...er...or underclocked, or something.
So that's how all those 1337 overclockers are getting 5 Ghz P4's!
Uhh... I call Shennanigans? Reading the Half-Life faq, you will find:
Q: What are the minimum hardware specifications?
The bare minimum you will need is a Pentium II 800Mhz processor, 128MB RAM and a DX6 class graphics card.
For anyone that hasn't read User Friendly, Erwin (the SGI Box in the comic) is an AI that the non-geek marketing guy Stef (the guy in the comic) is trying to seek revenge on for various reasons (read the archives to figure all that out).
& mode=classic and the next several comics.
Check out http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=19990823
The Panasonic Toughbook might be interesting to you, but, alas, they are expensive.
e .a sp
http://www.panasonic.com/computer/toughbook/hom
Actually, if you want to support the "good guys" (in my book, anyway) see my other post about this topic.
While I do applaud these two institutions for their initiative, and wish them the best of luck, I feel that the poster has put a little bit of an unfair spin on the news, as if this is something that they just dreamed up entirelyon their own.
IBM, for example, has had a Pervasive Computing Lab in Austin, TX for several years that has produced several applications in a multitude of markets.
In fact, those of you that are fans of Opera may want to check out Multimodal Browsing on the Sharp Zaurus. Those of you with Windows may want to check out IBM's Multimodal Toolkit for creating these new X+V pages that we might be hearing more about in the future.
Enjoy the links!
~ Mike
Didn't Microsoft make a device for RTS games that was essentially a moulded puck that your left hand rested on that let you scroll in whatever direction, and perform macro'd actions? I can't recall much about it though... It was probably a "Microsoft ____ Commander" of some sort.
Ah, whoops. Though, theoretically, isn't there a distribution of linux that'll run on a G3? Yellow Dog Linux, or something similar?
;-)
Oh well, I tried. That shouldn't keep the rest of you lot that do have access to Windows or Linux from trying it out though.
Hi, I'd highly recommend you check out Bridge Construction Set by Chronic Logic. There's a free demo available for Windows AND Linux.
(Lifted from the website)
In The Bridge Construction Set(aka Pontifex II), Building a bridge that doesn't break is what its all about, although watching your bridge creation break and plunge a train into the watery depths below can be half the fun. In the Bridge Construction Set you design and build bridges and then stress test them to see how your creations hold up under pressure. If when test vehicles pass over your bridge they make it safely across you know you've succeeded. If they plummet into the river you know you need to go back to the drawing board.
The robust physics deployed in the Bridge Construction Set let you build a wide variety of bridges that can span the river. The 3D graphics allow you to view your bridge from any angle including a first person train view - its like being strapped to the front of the train when your bridge is first tested (if this happened in real life I think we might have engineers checking all their bridges in a simulator).
The Bridge Construction Set includes many types of bridge building levels in varying degrees of difficulty from simple to complex with a tutorial section to get you started. A Level Editor is also included so you can create your own levels and trade them with others.
So, I figured I'd ask here. I'm an officer for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society Eta Kappa Nu Beta Xi Chapter at the Univ. of Oklahoma. One thing we're VERY interested in is putting together a Recycling Event for sometime in late 2004 or early 2005 (the next academic school year).
Any suggestions on how we should go about this? I've sent an e-mail to Dell's Recycling people, and have yet to get a response back. Has anyone else done this? This is almost an ask slashdot question, but I don't want to take up an entire story for it...
1. How much have these cost in the past?
2. Are there organizations that might bankroll at least part of the expenses?
3. Which organizations buy the old machines?
4. Who pays for shipping the old parts?
5. How much leadtime should we need to get something like this pulled off?
6. Who can we talk to for some pointers?
We're a campus of about 27,000 students, in a Norman, with a population of about 110,000 people, about 20 minutes south of Oklahoma City with a population of about a million people. I think we're going to target the Norman, OK area this time. Is this wise? If not, why?
Feel free to answer any / all of these.
Thanks for your help.
Any errors in spelling, tact, or fact are transmission errors.
You know, they have one in Memphis, TN too (well, Germantown, but close enough).
I wonder what other niche markets you can find catering to dogs or, more generally, pets?
Mike.
As for the processing fees, Apple delays billing you several days (in my experience, anyway) most likely in the hopes that you buy several more songs, diminishing the hit they take from the various CC companies.
;-)
They already offer iTunes Gift Certificates and Allowances. To offer a "bulk" discount, all they need to do (and I know that's incredibly easy for me to say, but is probably quite an undertaking for some systems engineers) is sell them at a 5% or so discount as an incentive program.
Let's see if I can start a meme for thinksecret or their ilk with this: I'd guess that after the Pepsi giveaway is through, Apple will wait about a month, and then announce GC's will go on sale for "graduation" specials, and in August, allowances will go on sale for "dorm room" specials. Or something.
Remember, I just made that up, let's see who runs with it.
By the way, I should have linked to the Paperback Edition of General Creech's book, which is still in print.