He mentioned a single Itanium CPU System for $2000, and remarked that the floating point performance of the processor might be good for gamers.
From TFA...
The 1.4GHz Itanium 2 comes out Monday for $1,172 in 1,000-unit quantities. A 1.6GHz version comes out in May for $2,408 in similar quantities.
That $2000 buys the processor, alone, and I don't believe I know any gamers that buy processors in lots of 1000.
The entire issue of price and performance is moot, however. The severe restriction to acceptance of the chip for the market is the ia64 architecture (with practically non-existant emulation performance). It is very difficult to find commercial software (even HPC software) available for the system, so you're limited to in-house programs and open-source programs (most of which need to be tweaked and rewritten). The platform isn't deployed in sufficient quantities to create enough demand for commercial vendors to bother supporting it yet, so you end up with the chicken-and-egg problem that most Linux gamers are all too familiar with.
The only MAJOR difference between RedHat RPM and Debian.deb/apt-get is merely the distributions they work with. They are both package management systems that keep a database of the software and corresponding dependencies installed on your system, and handle automated binary installation of said packages for their respective distros (as opposed to installation by compiling source code).
Yea, that's why I feel bad for him. He's gonna get lambasted this time by people crying dupe, when this time it really technically isn't. =)
Slashdot is a tough crowd to please; furthermore, it seems that there are many who don't even want to be pleased, and will go out of their way to make sure it's that way for everyone.
The heart of my argument is that the central guiding principle of the US/UK's foreign policy is "ensure the prosperity of our people" and NOT "screw the world just because we can."
It seems that people seem to forget that, at times. I would not say that the child is at fault, but instead the government that does not provide for its people. These are the most resource-rich countries on our planet; surely they can do better for their citizens. I can't imagine what foreign policy must be in place that allows such terrible imbalances to propagate unchecked.
I'm going to reply to this one, since it was the only one of the three so far to make some rational sense.
I honestly don't believe it's my personal fault that there are countries that haven't kept pace with the prosperity of the Western world. And while I also don't think that I am in any way immediately responsible for the birth of said prosperity, what I am responsible for is doing what I can to allow it to continue. If I were in charge, I would be more than willing to help other countries prosper, as well, but there are a few things that you'll need to keep in mind about the nature of this help:
1) It will be on my terms. If I cannot afford to continue aid, or if such aid impairs with my own well-being, then I shall not be obligated to provide you with it.
2) It will require your help. I cannot hold your hand forever; such aid is given with the expectation that it will be used towards an ultimate goal of self-sufficiency.
3) You shall not squander what I give, nor complain when what I give is not what you expect. You do not need anyone's approval to work problems out on your own. If you don't like what I have given you, then you can find your own solutions. My solutions are inevitably influenced by my world-view. Naturally, this is not necessarily your world-view. If you want solutions other than the ones that I can most readily provide, then you will find them yourself.
This is very simple, common sense. I'm not as well-versed on foreign affairs as all of the political experts here, but I imagine it follows roughly along the guidelines listed above. The impression I am getting from the posts above mine is that there are some who believe that the people of the Western world are at fault for the shortcomings of the less-prosperous. I have done nothing to actively squander the growth and development of any nation, and I'm certain that this holds for the vast majority of people in the world.
The people of these nations living on 15 cents a day are no more or less human than the rest of us. They are no more or less capable of forming solutions to their problems, as others have done throughout history. In fact, the Southwest Asian/Northern African region has historically been a hub for intellectual pursuit. There is no reason to believe that they are incapable of surviving without the support of the Western world, and by insisting that they are, you do them a disservice greater than that caused by any bomb, tariff, or ideology.
Poverty doesn't "just happen". The United States could be poverty-stricken, too, if it did. Poverty comes from people who can't or won't take care of themselves. Frankly, I fail to see how you can put the blame on Westerners for doing too little to help people who haven't helped themselves. Prosperity begins at home; nobody will bring it to you on a silver platter. If you want it, you earn it. This is true whether you're a poor college drop-out or an entire nation.
That's probably the poorest example you could have come up with =P. I bet half the geeks who took a look at Google's patch did the same thing. We just don't have webpages that are constantly scrutinized by the press looking for something juicy and controversial to blow out of proportion.
I think the Apple iTunes DRM tug-o-war would be a better example of his more recent accomplishments.
You'd think by now that someone would have modified the slashcode to take a submitted url and alter it to USE the coral cache version of the link to keep the parent site from getting slashdotted out of existance.
...and make it inoperative for pretty much anyone viewing it behind a corporate firewall which blocks port 8080. Until there's an equivalent site that serves 'em over port 80, links will never be automatically altered in this manner.
So, rather than try to compromise the DVD-Audio's encryption itself, someone has succeeded in making a patch that uses WinDVD to perform the decryption and playback, but instead pipes the decrypted audio output to the hard drive instead of the sound card.
While certainly useful for WinDVD users who aren't able to do this natively (guessing that Windows can't do this redirection natively, hence the news story), this is really "circumvention" at its most basic level. Well, almost...one step up from sticking a tape recorder next to your speakers. Not quite the "fair use" that will "break open" the DVD-Audio market that many posters will no doubt clamor over, and nowhere near a true solution to the problem.
And to those familiar with this patch: Is the output even in a standard format capable of more than two channels?
Slashdot Mirror
From TFA...
That $2000 buys the processor, alone, and I don't believe I know any gamers that buy processors in lots of 1000.
The entire issue of price and performance is moot, however. The severe restriction to acceptance of the chip for the market is the ia64 architecture (with practically non-existant emulation performance). It is very difficult to find commercial software (even HPC software) available for the system, so you're limited to in-house programs and open-source programs (most of which need to be tweaked and rewritten). The platform isn't deployed in sufficient quantities to create enough demand for commercial vendors to bother supporting it yet, so you end up with the chicken-and-egg problem that most Linux gamers are all too familiar with.
ba-dum *ching*
Dude, who needs data when you're discussing "well known fact[s]"? Get with the program!
The only MAJOR difference between RedHat RPM and Debian .deb/apt-get is merely the distributions they work with. They are both package management systems that keep a database of the software and corresponding dependencies installed on your system, and handle automated binary installation of said packages for their respective distros (as opposed to installation by compiling source code).
As for ricers...have a look at funroll-loops.org
Yea, that's why I feel bad for him. He's gonna get lambasted this time by people crying dupe, when this time it really technically isn't. =)
Slashdot is a tough crowd to please; furthermore, it seems that there are many who don't even want to be pleased, and will go out of their way to make sure it's that way for everyone.
Almost feel bad for the guy...
Here, I think you dropped this:
</b>
...insecure as Woody Allen having a paranoid attack while all his friends party in the room next door.
I'll take Insanely Obscure Analogies for $400, Alex.
But tell us how you really feel...
>8)
And yet, amazingly, when it comes down to it, I've never once seen a Linux machine infected with malware. Proof is in the pudding, my friend.
The heart of my argument is that the central guiding principle of the US/UK's foreign policy is "ensure the prosperity of our people" and NOT "screw the world just because we can."
It seems that people seem to forget that, at times. I would not say that the child is at fault, but instead the government that does not provide for its people. These are the most resource-rich countries on our planet; surely they can do better for their citizens. I can't imagine what foreign policy must be in place that allows such terrible imbalances to propagate unchecked.
I'm going to reply to this one, since it was the only one of the three so far to make some rational sense.
I honestly don't believe it's my personal fault that there are countries that haven't kept pace with the prosperity of the Western world. And while I also don't think that I am in any way immediately responsible for the birth of said prosperity, what I am responsible for is doing what I can to allow it to continue. If I were in charge, I would be more than willing to help other countries prosper, as well, but there are a few things that you'll need to keep in mind about the nature of this help:
1) It will be on my terms. If I cannot afford to continue aid, or if such aid impairs with my own well-being, then I shall not be obligated to provide you with it.
2) It will require your help. I cannot hold your hand forever; such aid is given with the expectation that it will be used towards an ultimate goal of self-sufficiency.
3) You shall not squander what I give, nor complain when what I give is not what you expect. You do not need anyone's approval to work problems out on your own. If you don't like what I have given you, then you can find your own solutions. My solutions are inevitably influenced by my world-view. Naturally, this is not necessarily your world-view. If you want solutions other than the ones that I can most readily provide, then you will find them yourself.
This is very simple, common sense. I'm not as well-versed on foreign affairs as all of the political experts here, but I imagine it follows roughly along the guidelines listed above. The impression I am getting from the posts above mine is that there are some who believe that the people of the Western world are at fault for the shortcomings of the less-prosperous. I have done nothing to actively squander the growth and development of any nation, and I'm certain that this holds for the vast majority of people in the world.
The people of these nations living on 15 cents a day are no more or less human than the rest of us. They are no more or less capable of forming solutions to their problems, as others have done throughout history. In fact, the Southwest Asian/Northern African region has historically been a hub for intellectual pursuit. There is no reason to believe that they are incapable of surviving without the support of the Western world, and by insisting that they are, you do them a disservice greater than that caused by any bomb, tariff, or ideology.
Maybe they should eat something.
Right; he probably forgot about the friendly community IRA training grounds that we allow here.
Don't try to hide behind "poverty happens" either
Poverty doesn't "just happen". The United States could be poverty-stricken, too, if it did. Poverty comes from people who can't or won't take care of themselves. Frankly, I fail to see how you can put the blame on Westerners for doing too little to help people who haven't helped themselves. Prosperity begins at home; nobody will bring it to you on a silver platter. If you want it, you earn it. This is true whether you're a poor college drop-out or an entire nation.
The US for starting all this shit and puttingh the world in danger
Hmm, I seem to vaguely recall there being something happening right before the United States got involved...
Please, Do Not Feed the Trolls.
That's probably the poorest example you could have come up with =P. I bet half the geeks who took a look at Google's patch did the same thing. We just don't have webpages that are constantly scrutinized by the press looking for something juicy and controversial to blow out of proportion.
I think the Apple iTunes DRM tug-o-war would be a better example of his more recent accomplishments.
You'd think by now that someone would have modified the slashcode to take a submitted url and alter it to USE the coral cache version of the link to keep the parent site from getting slashdotted out of existance.
...and make it inoperative for pretty much anyone viewing it behind a corporate firewall which blocks port 8080. Until there's an equivalent site that serves 'em over port 80, links will never be automatically altered in this manner.
So, rather than try to compromise the DVD-Audio's encryption itself, someone has succeeded in making a patch that uses WinDVD to perform the decryption and playback, but instead pipes the decrypted audio output to the hard drive instead of the sound card.
While certainly useful for WinDVD users who aren't able to do this natively (guessing that Windows can't do this redirection natively, hence the news story), this is really "circumvention" at its most basic level. Well, almost...one step up from sticking a tape recorder next to your speakers. Not quite the "fair use" that will "break open" the DVD-Audio market that many posters will no doubt clamor over, and nowhere near a true solution to the problem.
And to those familiar with this patch: Is the output even in a standard format capable of more than two channels?
You need Monster's GOLD PLATED FIBRE OPTIC CABLES!
The mind boggles.
Sounds good to me. Let's go inform the world that we've solved the question once and for all. >8)
There may be a day when we see "should of" in this context, but given the current meaning of the words, that day isn't anytime soon.