And that's M$'s strategy exactly: Windows, Word, Office (I didn't even know you can trademark common nouns like that, with or without the M$ prefix). Wonder why they didn't name Excel 'Spreadsheet'.
They have succeeded in making many people honestly believe that computing == Windows. It's hard to explain that there can, even in principle, be alternatives. It would sound like a house without windows.
I know the 'i' is short (I'm Finnish, for pete's sake), but it's impossible to write it down without explaining it (since 'i' can be pronounced 'eye'). And that's exactly why I included the link to the sound file..
A sphere has the least ratio of surface area to volume. You would want to
maximize the area for better cooling (not counting the airflow through the
case). So in this case (pun intended) the sphere only looks cooler:-].
The first GCC compiled itself. There is nothing contradictory here since,
according to Novikov (see his book The River of Time) the present can be
affected by future events.
This process is somewhat similar to the beginning of the universe, which
according to Perl zealots started when tiny
bits of eval() statements arose from quantum fluctuations. These
immediately produced more and
more eval()s, resulting in a big bang of code. Eventually, other
functions appeared, forming the Universe as we know today.
There is also a controversial theory which asserts that the first GCC was
written with assembler, and that the first assembler was written in binary
code by Real Men (TM), but the evidence for this is questionable.
So if you are going to write programs that will tie up the FPU for
hours,
days, weeks, or even months, and don't need a user interface or care much
what the printout looks like as long as the numbers are accurate, then
FORTRAN is the right tool (assuming the job is too big for math worksheet
tools like MATLAB).
There was a FORTRAN 90/95 course in my physics studies. I wasn't thinking
of the printout quality as such (I'd write the report in LaTeX anyway) but
more like the hassle of copypasting the results. So I wrote the program to
output results into a file as a LaTeX table, and included it in the
report. Also, it produced data files for gnuplot which could be drawn as
latex graphics. In the end I had a script which would run the program, run
gnuplot for the graphs, and bring it all together in latex.
I think this speaks very much for 'compiling' text processors like latex.
Not to mention that the output quality is a lot better than using Word or
something.
BTW - free market is millions and millions times better than the crap
that
tanked the former Soviet.
You must be referring to the centrally planned economy. That is exactly
what the Microsoft world is about. A few guys at Redmond deciding how the
rest of the world should use their computers. Too many companies just
don't have the freedom of choice any more after being locked into
proprietary file formats and the like. You can see the effects now that
this locking has progressed, and M$ start to charge annually for the use
of their products.
An analogy: I'm planning to get a digital camera but I wouldn't like it to
use a Sony memory stick. Reasons: (a) the theoretical possibility that
Sony go bust and nobody will ever make new memory sticks. (b) After a
sufficient number of people use devices with memory sticks, nothing can
stop them from increasing the memory price as high as they like. In the
same way, with the possibility of Gates^H^H^H^H^HMicrosoft being split
into two, possibly rendering present M$ systems incompatible, I am glad
nothing like that can happen to free software and we will have the last
word:-)
Isn't this exactly what Junkbuster is for? I.e. not
just blocking them for their annoyance. Great help when I'm on a modem
connection. Of course another solution is one of the excellent text mode
browsers like W3M.
--
Re:Survival - Social - Recreation - trimethyl xant
on
Just For Fun
·
· Score: 2
Hmm.... do they also prioritize social purposes over survival?
Nope.. see 'Things to Hack in L.A. When You're Dead', film at 11, for
details. The fact that survival is a prerequisite for hacking, is exactly
why programming
fluids have been developed. "You left your programmers alone without
caffeine? Mr. Gates, your men are already dead.";-]
In multilayer PCBs the standard idea is to run most wires in one layer in
the north-south direction and east-west in another, thereby minimizing
distances (given a Manhattan architecture). With four layers you could be
very effective using the diagonal directions as well, with the same
principle; when almost all wires in a layer run in the same diagonal
direction, you're not cutting off any "straight" wires.
--
Survival - Social - Recreation
on
Just For Fun
·
· Score: 5
"People do things first for survival purposes,
then for social purposes, and finally for recreation."
My Humble opinion: Geeks/hackers are people who prioritize recreation over
social purposes.
Mind you, he was sensible and is running an Athlon anyway. Hey wouldn't
that make a much better slogan than "Intel Inside".
reply: "don't worry mate, I've got an "Athlon Anyway:-)"
Seriously though, do we really need a cheesy slogan for AMD processors?
People who choose AMD over Intel have more sensible reasons. IMHO even
when AMD wasn't a serious competitor, I found the 'intel inside' logo as
repulsive as *cringes* 'Designed for Windows 95'.
--
Re:Question on brightness/contrast
on
XFree 4.1.0 Out
·
· Score: 1
xgamma / startx -- -gamma x.x. do not seem to work.. the discussion
continues in comp.os.linux.x.
--
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Question on brightness/contrast
on
XFree 4.1.0 Out
·
· Score: 2
X 4.0.99.9 running fine so far.. except just one glitch. My laptop
requires a customized modeline for optimal appearance. However, with that
modeline the brightness goes down compared to default settings (no
modelines). Of course the screen brightness can be adjusted, but then the
virtual console becomes excessively bright. Does anyone know how to adjust
the brightness of X?
I have gone through a number of docs and searched
google, but nothing seems to be there. So if/when your answer is the usual
RTFM, please let me know which FM.
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This might be worth considering for a wearable. It could be significantly
faster than a chording keyboard, which will never be as fast as the good
old qwerty/dvorak (or whatever your layout). Think of typing 'sdf' on a
chording keyboard, and on a regular keyboard -- no need to explain why the
latter is a lot quicker. Of course, this is not quite as good on the
half-keyboard but you do get faster than you would with chording.
The only really worrying thing is probably special characters. The author
mentioned typing documents, which to me rings a latex bell. Wonder how
accessible the \[]{} are on that baby. In fact I used to have a Finnish
layout, but those and many other punctuation marks were behind some
cumbersome combinations involving AltGr. I switched to a UK one as I
started coding more seriously. Therefore I would not like another keyboard
with slow combinations for those. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned but
frankly, even if the current design is 100 years old: if it ain't broke..
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The website says that it is compatible with Netscape on PC and Mac as
well.
Now what does that mean? Aren't most Macintoshes personal computers
as well? Some of us have Linux or another unix running on an x86 PC.
Saying "PC == x86/windows" is not far from "computers and IT ==
x86/windows".
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My problems with the back ended when I got a Stokke, the simplest model
called Variable Balans. Basically the same kneeling geometry as with the
Wing, except rocking base instead of the wheels (enables you to find a
natural balance). Now I wonder why the heck the typical chair is designed
with the completely unnatural 90 degree angles. The best thing is that the
correct back position comes naturally without forcing, as is the case with
ordinary chairs. It gives more freedom for movement, quite handy if
you occasionally need to access a drawer or something on your side. And
it's perfect for meditation too. ^_^
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Some people can express themselves much better, or in a different
way, when writing/typing than when speaking. I wouldn't even want to try
dictating some of the fiction and columns I've written. I don't think I'm
alone with this idea. Besides, people are not used to forming perfect
sentences when talking.
Hacking. Imagine Perl with lots of regular expressions.
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Wonder how much angle you're actually looking for.. right now there's
about 60 degrees between my arms, and the keyboard is a standard Toshiba
laptop one. My wrists are straight. The hands/fingers need not be aligned
perpendicular to the qwertyuiop line (as long as you're used to typing
that way). I really don't see a reason for split keyboard.
On the other hand, for something really ergonomic you would want palms
facing each other and a two-sided keyboard in between. Palms downwards is
a rather extreme position for the wrist and arm, which is why this would
be a lot more comfortable. But then again, you would have to be able to
touch type in
order to use this, and learning might be tricky if you didn't know
already.
The above only applies to typing, so things get even more tricky when you
consider keyboard navigation in web browsers, games, and other programs.
This is basically why I see a long, long future with the conventional flat
keyboard. As one more example, if I'm using my right hand for eating pizza
or other greasy/sticky stuff, I may want to use my left hand to press
arrow keys (for scrolling the display). Now that would be annoying on a
two-sided vertical keyboard. Of course a person with only one hand fit
for typing would never buy such a keyboard. (I'm not saying there aren't
other uses for one of your hands while surfing the web;-)
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Slashdot Mirror
They have succeeded in making many people honestly believe that computing == Windows. It's hard to explain that there can, even in principle, be alternatives. It would sound like a house without windows.
I know the 'i' is short (I'm Finnish, for pete's sake), but it's impossible to write it down without explaining it (since 'i' can be pronounced 'eye'). And that's exactly why I included the link to the sound file..
You mean the guys who upgrade the kernel every week?
No, no no... it's pronounced lee-nucks. The Linux Pronunciation HOWTO can be found e.g. here.
Hmm, I noticed this problem a few versions ago. It worked fine when I removed the wavelan stuff (didn't need it).
--
This process is somewhat similar to the beginning of the universe, which according to Perl zealots started when tiny bits of eval() statements arose from quantum fluctuations. These immediately produced more and more eval()s, resulting in a big bang of code. Eventually, other functions appeared, forming the Universe as we know today.
There is also a controversial theory which asserts that the first GCC was written with assembler, and that the first assembler was written in binary code by Real Men (TM), but the evidence for this is questionable.
--
There was a FORTRAN 90/95 course in my physics studies. I wasn't thinking of the printout quality as such (I'd write the report in LaTeX anyway) but more like the hassle of copypasting the results. So I wrote the program to output results into a file as a LaTeX table, and included it in the report. Also, it produced data files for gnuplot which could be drawn as latex graphics. In the end I had a script which would run the program, run gnuplot for the graphs, and bring it all together in latex.
I think this speaks very much for 'compiling' text processors like latex. Not to mention that the output quality is a lot better than using Word or something.
--
You must be referring to the centrally planned economy. That is exactly what the Microsoft world is about. A few guys at Redmond deciding how the rest of the world should use their computers. Too many companies just don't have the freedom of choice any more after being locked into proprietary file formats and the like. You can see the effects now that this locking has progressed, and M$ start to charge annually for the use of their products.
An analogy: I'm planning to get a digital camera but I wouldn't like it to use a Sony memory stick. Reasons: (a) the theoretical possibility that Sony go bust and nobody will ever make new memory sticks. (b) After a sufficient number of people use devices with memory sticks, nothing can stop them from increasing the memory price as high as they like. In the same way, with the possibility of Gates^H^H^H^H^HMicrosoft being split into two, possibly rendering present M$ systems incompatible, I am glad nothing like that can happen to free software and we will have the last word :-)
--
--
Nope.. see 'Things to Hack in L.A. When You're Dead', film at 11, for details. The fact that survival is a prerequisite for hacking, is exactly why programming fluids have been developed. "You left your programmers alone without caffeine? Mr. Gates, your men are already dead." ;-]
--
--
My Humble opinion: Geeks/hackers are people who prioritize recreation over social purposes.
--
--
Well, I've got an Intel Outside.
Seriously though, do we really need a cheesy slogan for AMD processors? People who choose AMD over Intel have more sensible reasons. IMHO even when AMD wasn't a serious competitor, I found the 'intel inside' logo as repulsive as *cringes* 'Designed for Windows 95'.
--
xgamma / startx -- -gamma x.x. do not seem to work.. the discussion continues in comp.os.linux.x.
--
I hit the karma cap, now do I gain enlightenment?
I have gone through a number of docs and searched google, but nothing seems to be there. So if/when your answer is the usual RTFM, please let me know which FM.
--
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The only really worrying thing is probably special characters. The author mentioned typing documents, which to me rings a latex bell. Wonder how accessible the \[]{} are on that baby. In fact I used to have a Finnish layout, but those and many other punctuation marks were behind some cumbersome combinations involving AltGr. I switched to a UK one as I started coding more seriously. Therefore I would not like another keyboard with slow combinations for those. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned but frankly, even if the current design is 100 years old: if it ain't broke..
--
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..after an European Parliament report on Echelon which "recommends all Europeans use encryption and open source software." Here is the article.
--
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Now what does that mean? Aren't most Macintoshes personal computers as well? Some of us have Linux or another unix running on an x86 PC. Saying "PC == x86/windows" is not far from "computers and IT == x86/windows".
--
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The web is about standards. Those things can be built for 99% or even more of the netizens, if so wanted.
--
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My problems with the back ended when I got a Stokke, the simplest model called Variable Balans. Basically the same kneeling geometry as with the Wing, except rocking base instead of the wheels (enables you to find a natural balance). Now I wonder why the heck the typical chair is designed with the completely unnatural 90 degree angles. The best thing is that the correct back position comes naturally without forcing, as is the case with ordinary chairs. It gives more freedom for movement, quite handy if you occasionally need to access a drawer or something on your side. And it's perfect for meditation too. ^_^
--
I hit the karma cap, now do I gain enlightenment?
--
I hit the karma cap, now do I gain enlightenment?
On the other hand, for something really ergonomic you would want palms facing each other and a two-sided keyboard in between. Palms downwards is a rather extreme position for the wrist and arm, which is why this would be a lot more comfortable. But then again, you would have to be able to touch type in order to use this, and learning might be tricky if you didn't know already.
The above only applies to typing, so things get even more tricky when you consider keyboard navigation in web browsers, games, and other programs. This is basically why I see a long, long future with the conventional flat keyboard. As one more example, if I'm using my right hand for eating pizza or other greasy/sticky stuff, I may want to use my left hand to press arrow keys (for scrolling the display). Now that would be annoying on a two-sided vertical keyboard. Of course a person with only one hand fit for typing would never buy such a keyboard. (I'm not saying there aren't other uses for one of your hands while surfing the web ;-)
--
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