I take pride in being an oldschool geek. The "social" people laughed at us when we had social life involving computers in the 1980s and 1990s. Now the same people are all on Facebook, and I have no interest in doing what they do.
I had a kind of epiphany a couple of years ago when I got active in some projects on Github. I realized it's basically the Facebook for computer geeks - an update means you publish some code, and you often have a discussion about it (though this usually happens on IRC or a web forum).
Last year, I reluctantly got myself a Facebook account because of certain non-computing hobby groups. I think FB groups are fine for this sort of thing, considering we used to organize things mostly with mailing lists, but I keep the rest of my life out of there.
Obviously you just select the target when compiling and that's that, it's like enabling an optimization, so what are you talking about?
If it's that easy, then I'm all for it:)
IMHO, having different sets of libraries for the different ABIs is a kind of hassle -- we have it now for running i386 binaries on x86-64, and it's not pretty if we need to add a third set. Thus the argument about cache efficiency is moot, as explained in another post.
Then again, as long as there are people interested in developing and using it, I'm not complaining, even if I wouldn't use it myself. x32 should be great for something like a DVR where the software selection is more limited and you need all the efficiency you can get, so you only need one set of libraries.
x32 would have been nice as the first transition away from x86-32, but memory needs keep increasing, and we are far too used to full 64-bit spaces. In fact, it feels like we're finally over with the 32-64 bit transition, and people no longer worry about different kinds of x86 when buying new hardware. So introducing this alternative is a needless complication. As others have pointed out, it's too special a niche to warrant its own ABI.
But surely this defeats the perceived satisfaction of tweaking and fixing it all up manually? Where's the fun in that?
If that's your thing, use Gentoo instead. At least that's what I do. In case you're being sarcastic, the fun IMHO is in learning about your system and understanding why distros make the choices they do. I think my first week with Linux taught me more about computers than years with DOS/Windows, and I still wonder how a Windows machine can be anyone's "Personal Computer".
More generally, there are plenty of ways to have the LED always on with the camera, using _hardware only_ so that firmware hacks won't work around it. Of course, you can hack around hardware too.
I haven't taped over my laptop's camera for a number of reasons. For example, there are probably other cameras in there, besides the obvious one with the LED...
So is "Android" actually a sign of Google's secret plan to populate Earth with robotic overlords, or just a stupid name that forces us to coin a new term for humanlike robots?
I just misread it as "Killer Qualities of Japanese" as in the Japanese people, those innate math/programming genii with black belts in all known martial arts, including bondage and bukkake.
I share your sentiment but it's unfortunate this is the way the world has progressed.
People get hold of land when it's cheap, then a city is built around it. These landowners may have helped a bit to develop the city over generations, but ultimately it's the many other people who choose to come to the city and settled down that make the city a good place to live, and the land valuable. Early land owners reap the benefits of the increased economic activity on the land they own, then they become rich and powerful.
Yup, I like to tell people that Bitcoin is like any succesful business. You may have been one of the lucky first shareholders, but even if you're not, you can still use it for plenty of nice things, including profit. Also, while being an early adopter involves a lot of luck, there's also the obvious investment of time, effort and money into something that you believed in.
This isn't quite straightforward though, you may have been an early miner without contributing any code, but the act of mining itself is the fundamental way of maintaining the Bitcoin network. Also, many people got interested in the technical aspects through mining, and thus ended up contributing code. Of course, others saw business opportunities in using BTC for commerce, which is probably the most important step.
I personally hope Bitcoin would fail but the many better versions of it would succeed, so that there is a better likelihood that things would turn out "fair".
The myriads of altcoins are a mixed blessing. So far, very few have actual technical innovations over the original Bitcoin. Nevertheless, it is nice to see competition in many forms; if you only use these coins for transfer, instead of long-term storage, it doesn't really matter which one you use. Then there is the obvious biodiversity argument: for example, if SHA256 turns out to have a weakness, we have alternatives like Litecoin and Blakecoin with different hash functions.
For example in one Finnish online store (they ship worldwide) you can buy computer components and other electronics with Litecoin, in addition to Bitcoin. Litecoin is quite profitable to mine on GPUs at the moment.
Slashdot Mirror
Are you experienced?
A tablet with a screen and keyboard
...is called a laptop.
I'd like to see a tablet without a screen. No more complaining about shitty resolutions and glare.
I take pride in being an oldschool geek. The "social" people laughed at us when we had social life involving computers in the 1980s and 1990s. Now the same people are all on Facebook, and I have no interest in doing what they do.
I had a kind of epiphany a couple of years ago when I got active in some projects on Github. I realized it's basically the Facebook for computer geeks - an update means you publish some code, and you often have a discussion about it (though this usually happens on IRC or a web forum).
Last year, I reluctantly got myself a Facebook account because of certain non-computing hobby groups. I think FB groups are fine for this sort of thing, considering we used to organize things mostly with mailing lists, but I keep the rest of my life out of there.
For those interested in photography
Nudge nudge! Say no more! Bet she does, bet she does!
Could a chair fucking kill Google?
Obviously you just select the target when compiling and that's that, it's like enabling an optimization, so what are you talking about?
If it's that easy, then I'm all for it :)
IMHO, having different sets of libraries for the different ABIs is a kind of hassle -- we have it now for running i386 binaries on x86-64, and it's not pretty if we need to add a third set. Thus the argument about cache efficiency is moot, as explained in another post.
Then again, as long as there are people interested in developing and using it, I'm not complaining, even if I wouldn't use it myself. x32 should be great for something like a DVR where the software selection is more limited and you need all the efficiency you can get, so you only need one set of libraries.
x32 would have been nice as the first transition away from x86-32, but memory needs keep increasing, and we are far too used to full 64-bit spaces. In fact, it feels like we're finally over with the 32-64 bit transition, and people no longer worry about different kinds of x86 when buying new hardware. So introducing this alternative is a needless complication. As others have pointed out, it's too special a niche to warrant its own ABI.
But surely this defeats the perceived satisfaction of tweaking and fixing it all up manually? Where's the fun in that?
If that's your thing, use Gentoo instead. At least that's what I do. In case you're being sarcastic, the fun IMHO is in learning about your system and understanding why distros make the choices they do. I think my first week with Linux taught me more about computers than years with DOS/Windows, and I still wonder how a Windows machine can be anyone's "Personal Computer".
waterproof phones? My Motorola Defy is good and all, but those rubber plugs and the seal around the battery cover can only take 1M of water pressure.
Oh yeah? Well mine can take 55.56 M of water concentration. I'm not sure about the pressure/depth though...
It's Fournier, not Fourier, but as a physics/math geek I totally forgive you :)
More generally, there are plenty of ways to have the LED always on with the camera, using _hardware only_ so that firmware hacks won't work around it. Of course, you can hack around hardware too.
I haven't taped over my laptop's camera for a number of reasons. For example, there are probably other cameras in there, besides the obvious one with the LED...
>implying camera sensor and LED run off the same voltage
Because it's obviously impossible to have any circuitry with the LED (such as a series resistor) to match the voltage requirements.
So is "Android" actually a sign of Google's secret plan to populate Earth with robotic overlords, or just a stupid name that forces us to coin a new term for humanlike robots?
With all those different inventions, you might even call them polymaths...
Wrong. Fuck you.
(y)
(Notice how the thumbs-up signifier resembles the female form. Coincidence? I think not.)
I store my passwords inside your mom.
I just misread it as "Killer Qualities of Japanese" as in the Japanese people, those innate math/programming genii with black belts in all known martial arts, including bondage and bukkake.
Why would I desire that? It's good to be rich.
Tulips! Tulips! My kingdom for tulips!
Nope, that's not quite right..
Tulip or not tulip? That is the question.
Hence Peercoin.
Once upon a time, scientific print magazines were the only way to "get the word out." That died over a decade back.
Yup, I heard there was a guy at CERN who invented a nicer way of sharing work with other physicists...
I am intrigued. I mean is this the start of the T-1000???
More like the T-Hog.
I share your sentiment but it's unfortunate this is the way the world has progressed.
People get hold of land when it's cheap, then a city is built around it. These landowners may have helped a bit to develop the city over generations, but ultimately it's the many other people who choose to come to the city and settled down that make the city a good place to live, and the land valuable. Early land owners reap the benefits of the increased economic activity on the land they own, then they become rich and powerful.
Yup, I like to tell people that Bitcoin is like any succesful business. You may have been one of the lucky first shareholders, but even if you're not, you can still use it for plenty of nice things, including profit. Also, while being an early adopter involves a lot of luck, there's also the obvious investment of time, effort and money into something that you believed in.
This isn't quite straightforward though, you may have been an early miner without contributing any code, but the act of mining itself is the fundamental way of maintaining the Bitcoin network. Also, many people got interested in the technical aspects through mining, and thus ended up contributing code. Of course, others saw business opportunities in using BTC for commerce, which is probably the most important step.
I personally hope Bitcoin would fail but the many better versions of it would succeed, so that there is a better likelihood that things would turn out "fair".
The myriads of altcoins are a mixed blessing. So far, very few have actual technical innovations over the original Bitcoin. Nevertheless, it is nice to see competition in many forms; if you only use these coins for transfer, instead of long-term storage, it doesn't really matter which one you use. Then there is the obvious biodiversity argument: for example, if SHA256 turns out to have a weakness, we have alternatives like Litecoin and Blakecoin with different hash functions.
For example in one Finnish online store (they ship worldwide) you can buy computer components and other electronics with Litecoin, in addition to Bitcoin. Litecoin is quite profitable to mine on GPUs at the moment.