That sounds like a cosmic catastrophe in the making. Or has it already happened?
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable."
"There is another theory which states that this has already happened."
Keep in mind that specification has been open for quite a while and that anyone can create products to it. This isn''t a implementation release. I've used multiple compies of pdf tools on my Mac (including preview itself), and a creation tool called PDFpen as well.
It's interesting to note that spamming came in vogue as an attempt to market to the masses. The problem was that it was too easy, too widespread. TV commercials are a similar market to the masses, but at least I can opt-out by not watchng tv. Unfortunately, I can't opt-out of reading email; it's part of my job.
Today, spamming is getting a whole new look as viral marketing; another glossy name for a chain letter.
Personally, I'd think we should use spammers to make spam... still tastees like pork, right?
Saw this in my Sundy SJ Merc. I thought Dave mised the perfect opportunity to go buy an old IBM PS2 with the appropriate games just to make his kids happy.
Of course, Dave missed the major point... that "Unavailable Playstation" would make a good name for a band.
That's only partially true. I spent 14 years of my life writing end user applications, as well as real time control systems. When I finally got forced into management, I had a very good grasp on time needed to build something (my personal time estimate (MPTE) * 5.5).
In every case, when I requested a commitment from the programmers, I got one of two standard answers:
1. MPTE * 0.5
2. MPTE * 25
As was once said by a venture guys I gave a sales projection to: "Your $50 million is not right. It's either $500 million or it's $5 million, but it's not $50 mill".
Coders tend to over estimate or underestimate (far more of the latter).
Re:What will become of the Monterey Alliance now?
on
Endgame For SCO
·
· Score: 1
Well, it always interesting to note the return of Monterey.
Remeber that Monterey was an exercise in moving AIX and SCO Unix to IA-64, along with a single source treee for IA-32 and PPC. Without a doubt, an aggressive program, but not exactly the easiest thing to accomplish.
If you look at it from the business side, SCO held every card for a successful business in the Intel/Monterey space. They had the IBM software partners, the SCO software partners, and then all the other unix guys (except SGI and I believe SUN). Unfortunately, the effort was spent on signing the system vendors, not the developers. SGI decided against joining into Monterey while I was there specifically due to this partnership failure. It was clear that the majority of the apps we were interested in were porting to Linux, and lip servicing Monterey. Thus we made a commitment to Linux, and we would not back down. (All bets are off now, however).
Linux is openly available to all HW players at an equal level, which Monterey never seemed to be able to decide. Another SGI example would be ccNUMA support; would Monterey do it like IBM or like SGI? Answer: IBM is supplying the code and any changes would necessitate their approval.
Linux is also adapting faster than Monterey, which will let it catch up to COS quickly. Nope, I don't think it can handle the scaling of IRIX or HP/UX or Solaris, but you know, maybe it doesn't need to.
Without a doubt, the corruption element of on-line voting is the biggest single risk to making this work. I can't imagine this in a state with a powerful "political machine" in place. However, the issue here is around the overall security of the net, not just the voting process. Unless we can come up with some method of resolving the basic set of "Who am I" and "Don't watch what I'm doing" the general population will never find it a safe place. How many of you filed taxes on line (I did). How many of you used an ASP like online form (I didn't). I paid my money, used my wifes system and ran TurboTax. I ended up with a requirement that used a federal ID in the field, and validation on the other end, after processing. Voting is tough. Currently, the people who vote are outnumbered by those who don't vote. (And, of course, everybody _knows_ that SlashDot readers always vote ). I'm stuck in the middle on whether it is a good idea for more or less people actively voting. Of course we could go the route of Costa Rica. Everybody is _required_ to vote. All public establishments (Bars, etc) are not allowed to serve alcohol for the 3 days around the election. And, of course, Costa Rica has one of the highest literacy rate in the world, and no standing army. davemc
You didn't say which version of IRIX is running, but SGI changed the development policy a few years back to make it possible to develop without the (back then) costly dev libs. All the necessary headers ship, so you can use gcc, etc to your hearts content.check out the developer section on the website. davemc
In the 80's Digital Equipment had a small show called DECWorld. Held in Mass each year, and literally took up nearly every hotel for a hundred miles. Last one I remeber was at the World trade center and on the Queen Mary, to host all the exhibits and people. Needless to say, DECWorld is gone. I rmember lots of big shows who dominate and die, slowly. However the shows that grow seem to be equally focused on HW and applications, and have some level of appeal to the general perception, e.g. everyone knows what a PC is, and according to the appelate court, everyone recognizes that PC==Windows. The object lesson is still however about quality, not quantity, in symposiums. I'd love to have 20000 rabid buyers of linux products. I'd love 200,000 even more, but I'm willing to grow into them. I'm also willing to have 10 shows of 20,000 buyers, if the buyers are diferent in each venue. That appears to be a risk to Linux acceptance. How many shows do you go to that have the same faces, same speakers, same everything. In a former life managing Ada products, I could correctly pick over 50% of the attendees each time. I'm beginning to feel that way about Linux shows.
actually, SGI does try very hard to do just that. (and at the same time demostrate due diligence to their stockholders). Visit the employement of Jeremy Allison, now at VA Linux, where his job was to make Samba better.
SGI has a R&D group, who also focus on this, with things like HylaFax and the haberli imaging stuff coming from there. Witness the continued support of things like STL (thanks Alex Stepanov).
Yep, it's not perfect, but it's there, if you're willing to look for it
However, the corporate world will be. Consider the number of businesses that have sales reps running around with the proverbial laptop under arm, ready to take on any customer quote. This direction will make Corp IS more comfortable in giving Linux power to the non-tech. Now, all we need are the various CRMS (customer relationship management software) things to move to Linux. At a former company, they are _still_ in the process of getting the CRMS to NT, and I doubt they are in any hurry to port it again. So Dell is doing _A Good Thing_, even if it macht nichts to the current Linux user. Dave McAllister
I always enjoy posts from the previous SGI-er. Somehow, the world hasn't changed for them, and their knowledge of what is happening in SGI. Every line of code, every building, we even are still using the same coffee grounds.
Mips is _not_ dead. In spite of the fact that MIPS was spun out, SGI retained the high-end design teams within. SGI has announced and shown the roadmap for Mips chips and technology for computers (versus the embedded world) that currently runs through 2006.
I always enjoy posts from the previous SGI-er. Somehow, the world hasn't changed for them, and their knowledge of what is happening in SGI. Every line of code, every building, we even are still using the same coffee grounds.
Mips is _not_ dead. In spite of the fact that MIPS was spun out, SGI retained the high-end design teams within. SGI has announced and shown the roadmap for Mips chips and technology for computers (versus the embedded world) that currently runs through 2006.
Okay, this article by Reuters is not exactly newworthy. According to the head honchos at my company (SGI, that is), there is no new news. This is exactly what was stated in August: Approximately 1500 will be let go (already done, BTW. No news there), and that approximately 1500 will be reduced as non-core business are spun off (this effort is still underway). This isn't profit, this is in fiscal planning. We need to focus on markets, focus on technologies and build things. We have and continue to invest in MIPS processors, IRIX (our Unix OS) and now have a committed technology investment in Linux (which is my job, so I'm keenly interested in this). We have a leadership team (including Bob Bishop, Beau Vrolyk, and Steve Gomo) who are committed to keeping us on course. So, bottom line: This Reuters article is rehashing old, old, old news. SGI is alive, and planning to be around a long time
I don't remember directly, but take a look at http://linux.sgi.com and ask there. SGI has funded development for Linux for Mips, but not for all platforms. Currently I know it's on the Indy, and Challenge/S
Slashdot Mirror
That sounds like a cosmic catastrophe in the making. Or has it already happened?
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable."
"There is another theory which states that this has already happened."
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
I've got two cars over twenty years old Both are in perfect condition, both are considered collectibles. Why would I give them up for $4.5K?
If the bounty was equal to the value, then I'd consider at least one of them becoming "redundant".
Check out this video clip from Scoble talking with the Flex team, It's prety clear what you get.
i tecture-of-flash
http://www.podtech.net/home/podtech/2827/the-arch
The flex project at sourceforge has nothing to do with Adobe. It's just a coincidence of name.
Try http://www.adobe.com/go/opensourceflex
Keep in mind that specification has been open for quite a while and that anyone can create products to it. This isn''t a implementation release. I've used multiple compies of pdf tools on my Mac (including preview itself), and a creation tool called PDFpen as well.
y -of-pdf-openness/
An interesting view and timeline can be found here:
http://www.acrobatusers.com/blogs/leonardr/histor
The release of pdf to ISo is a big deal, since it lets all good ideas flow together
It's interesting to note that spamming came in vogue as an attempt to market to the masses. The problem was that it was too easy, too widespread. TV commercials are a similar market to the masses, but at least I can opt-out by not watchng tv. Unfortunately, I can't opt-out of reading email; it's part of my job.
Today, spamming is getting a whole new look as viral marketing; another glossy name for a chain letter.
Personally, I'd think we should use spammers to make spam... still tastees like pork, right?
davemc
It's time for the published Space opera...
Please go immediately to http://www.iuniverse.com, submit your manuscript and slashdot yourself.
You'll sell millions of copies, obviously.
(And who said the internet wasn't your friend
davemc
Saw this in my Sundy SJ Merc. I thought Dave mised the perfect opportunity to go buy an old IBM PS2 with the appropriate games just to make his kids happy.
Of course, Dave missed the major point... that "Unavailable Playstation" would make a good name for a band.
That's only partially true. I spent 14 years of my life writing end user applications, as well as real time control systems. When I finally got forced into management, I had a very good grasp on time needed to build something (my personal time estimate (MPTE) * 5.5). In every case, when I requested a commitment from the programmers, I got one of two standard answers: 1. MPTE * 0.5 2. MPTE * 25 As was once said by a venture guys I gave a sales projection to: "Your $50 million is not right. It's either $500 million or it's $5 million, but it's not $50 mill". Coders tend to over estimate or underestimate (far more of the latter).
Well, it always interesting to note the return of Monterey.
Remeber that Monterey was an exercise in moving AIX and SCO Unix to IA-64, along with a single source treee for IA-32 and PPC. Without a doubt, an aggressive program, but not exactly the easiest thing to accomplish.
If you look at it from the business side, SCO held every card for a successful business in the Intel/Monterey space. They had the IBM software partners, the SCO software partners, and then all the other unix guys (except SGI and I believe SUN). Unfortunately, the effort was spent on signing the system vendors, not the developers. SGI decided against joining into Monterey while I was there specifically due to this partnership failure. It was clear that the majority of the apps we were interested in were porting to Linux, and lip servicing Monterey. Thus we made a commitment to Linux, and we would not back down. (All bets are off now, however).
Linux is openly available to all HW players at an equal level, which Monterey never seemed to be able to decide. Another SGI example would be ccNUMA support; would Monterey do it like IBM or like SGI? Answer: IBM is supplying the code and any changes would necessitate their approval.
Linux is also adapting faster than Monterey, which will let it catch up to COS quickly. Nope, I don't think it can handle the scaling of IRIX or HP/UX or Solaris, but you know, maybe it doesn't need to.
davemc
Without a doubt, the corruption element of on-line voting is the biggest single risk to making this work. I can't imagine this in a state with a powerful "political machine" in place. However, the issue here is around the overall security of the net, not just the voting process. Unless we can come up with some method of resolving the basic set of "Who am I" and "Don't watch what I'm doing" the general population will never find it a safe place. How many of you filed taxes on line (I did). How many of you used an ASP like online form (I didn't). I paid my money, used my wifes system and ran TurboTax. I ended up with a requirement that used a federal ID in the field, and validation on the other end, after processing. Voting is tough. Currently, the people who vote are outnumbered by those who don't vote. (And, of course, everybody _knows_ that SlashDot readers always vote ). I'm stuck in the middle on whether it is a good idea for more or less people actively voting. Of course we could go the route of Costa Rica. Everybody is _required_ to vote. All public establishments (Bars, etc) are not allowed to serve alcohol for the 3 days around the election. And, of course, Costa Rica has one of the highest literacy rate in the world, and no standing army. davemc
You didn't say which version of IRIX is running, but SGI changed the development policy a few years back to make it possible to develop without the (back then) costly dev libs. All the necessary headers ship, so you can use gcc, etc to your hearts content.check out the developer section on the website. davemc
In the 80's Digital Equipment had a small show called DECWorld. Held in Mass each year, and literally took up nearly every hotel for a hundred miles. Last one I remeber was at the World trade center and on the Queen Mary, to host all the exhibits and people. Needless to say, DECWorld is gone. I rmember lots of big shows who dominate and die, slowly. However the shows that grow seem to be equally focused on HW and applications, and have some level of appeal to the general perception, e.g. everyone knows what a PC is, and according to the appelate court, everyone recognizes that PC==Windows. The object lesson is still however about quality, not quantity, in symposiums. I'd love to have 20000 rabid buyers of linux products. I'd love 200,000 even more, but I'm willing to grow into them. I'm also willing to have 10 shows of 20,000 buyers, if the buyers are diferent in each venue. That appears to be a risk to Linux acceptance. How many shows do you go to that have the same faces, same speakers, same everything. In a former life managing Ada products, I could correctly pick over 50% of the attendees each time. I'm beginning to feel that way about Linux shows.
While comdex is impressive, for sheer tradeshow hell, you need but attend the annual CeBIT show.
I's always amazing when you have to walk a couple of Km's just to get to our booth, and where people visit you by building, not by room.
actually, SGI does try very hard to do just that. (and at the same time demostrate due diligence to their stockholders). Visit the employement of Jeremy Allison, now at VA Linux, where his job was to make Samba better.
SGI has a R&D group, who also focus on this, with things like HylaFax and the haberli imaging stuff coming from there. Witness the continued support of things like STL (thanks Alex Stepanov).
Yep, it's not perfect, but it's there, if you're willing to look for it
However, the corporate world will be. Consider the number of businesses that have sales reps running around with the proverbial laptop under arm, ready to take on any customer quote. This direction will make Corp IS more comfortable in giving Linux power to the non-tech. Now, all we need are the various CRMS (customer relationship management software) things to move to Linux. At a former company, they are _still_ in the process of getting the CRMS to NT, and I doubt they are in any hurry to port it again. So Dell is doing _A Good Thing_, even if it macht nichts to the current Linux user. Dave McAllister
I always enjoy posts from the previous SGI-er. Somehow, the world hasn't changed for them, and their knowledge of what is happening in SGI. Every line of code, every building, we even are still using the same coffee grounds .
Mips is _not_ dead. In spite of the fact that MIPS was spun out, SGI retained the high-end design teams within. SGI has announced and shown the roadmap for Mips chips and technology for computers (versus the embedded world) that currently runs through 2006.
Please take a look at the Irix/Mips Roadmap.
Dave McAllister
I always enjoy posts from the previous SGI-er. Somehow, the world hasn't changed for them, and their knowledge of what is happening in SGI. Every line of code, every building, we even are still using the same coffee grounds .
Mips is _not_ dead. In spite of the fact that MIPS was spun out, SGI retained the high-end design teams within. SGI has announced and shown the roadmap for Mips chips and technology for computers (versus the embedded world) that currently runs through 2006.
Please take a look at the Irix/Mips Roadmap.
Dave McAllister
Director, Strategic Technologies
Linux and Open Source
Okay, this article by Reuters is not exactly newworthy. According to the head honchos at my company (SGI, that is), there is no new news. This is exactly what was stated in August: Approximately 1500 will be let go (already done, BTW. No news there), and that approximately 1500 will be reduced as non-core business are spun off (this effort is still underway). This isn't profit, this is in fiscal planning. We need to focus on markets, focus on technologies and build things. We have and continue to invest in MIPS processors, IRIX (our Unix OS) and now have a committed technology investment in Linux (which is my job, so I'm keenly interested in this). We have a leadership team (including Bob Bishop, Beau Vrolyk, and Steve Gomo) who are committed to keeping us on course. So, bottom line: This Reuters article is rehashing old, old, old news. SGI is alive, and planning to be around a long time
IRIX was also the first 64b OS that fully and transparently supported 32b apps. No recompiling, no massive performance degradations... davemc
I don't remember directly, but take a look at http://linux.sgi.com and ask there. SGI has funded development for Linux for Mips, but not for all platforms. Currently I know it's on the Indy, and Challenge/S
okay...
OpenVault - opensource . check
XFS - opensource . check
DMF - opensource . Well, not yet
This is good from my perspective: March through May are nightmare conference months, in July I only need to compete with Siggraph