AOL should go from fighting GAIM to endorsing it. They own Nullsoft that came up with WinAmp and also created gnutella (though they were quick to whisk that away). It's not the end of the world for a huge company to endorse open source software that uses its services.
I know it may not be the perfect solution, but AOL could register "GAIM", give money to the GAIM developer(s) (maybe even hire them). I know that was the basis of their April Fool's joke (very funny - read it at http://gaim.sourceforge.net. If AOL needed to keep something private they could make a proprietary module to load into GAIM (and other open source products that give AOL functionality). The module could have a clause that it could only be used in conjunction with open source products so that MSN couldn't use it.
Yeah, I know, not perfect, but at least then AOL would be sponsoring an excellent Linux client that is far superior to the Java crap they promote.
Perhaps it's because Compaq hardware is inferior
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Compaq Shifts Focus
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Every Compaq that I have ever seen purchased (dozens, perhaps even a hundred) I have had to fix at one time or another. I am sick of poor uneducated people going to Best Buy to buy a computer and get a crappy Compaq that doesn't last a year because it breaks so often. It's just frustrating.
Going inside Compaq's is almost always a new experience - they've changed their case design more times than I can count with my fingers. To try to make the cases small they have weird swing-open power supplies and impossible to remove 5 1/4" half-height bigfoot drives.
Like others have said, though, Compaq can't survive without the massive amount of computers it ships out, they will always be making computers and attempting to be #1.
Not quite. The problem is that Steve Jobs is passionate but combative. He's good at what he does (though I'm not a personal Mac fan), but he tends to make a lot of enemies. He had power struggles with the company before he left (he was forced out, depending on who you ask), and now he has almost complete control of the company's direction. No, I imagine some Mac developers are a bit bitter over something or other - there is a reason some/all aren't still working for Apple, and perhaps it's because of some bitterness.
The TNT movie about Jobs and Gates dramatized the whole deal, but I'm sure some of that internal Apple conflict was very real.
Are you willing to pay 2 cents per e-mail? I know some of us are (especially those of us who send less than a hundred e-mails per month). What about the maintainers of e-mail lists/newsletters? This would add a significant cost to some big open source projects with large newsgroups (like bug lists, announcement lists, etc). If you impose a 2 cent tax on business e-mail, you have to impose a 2 cent tax on EVERY e-mail (at least those that cross between companies/individuals - two AOL users obviously would not have to pay, just like two Microsoft users).
Sorry, I'd rather put up with spam than give up free e-mail.
Ok, so this guy claims that Linux would cost a little over $1 billion (US) to develop. I wonder what the big deal is. I'm sure Microsoft has spent that much over the years on Office+Win9x+WinNT+Backoffice+etc (basically the functionality provided by RH 7.1). Intel spends billions to develop new chip technologies (IA 64 anyone?). The only thing incredible about this number is that most of that billion was completely unpaid, or at least underpayed.
Perhaps part (or most) of the problem lies in/. and other Andover/VA Linux sites that depend on ad revenues. From what I've noticed,/. and other VA sites seem to link to each other, with few ads coming from the outside (which would bring in money to VA, obviously). Are they that short of paid ads that they have to rotate in self-promotion?
Yes, diamonds are almost exclusively controlled by DeBeers Corporation (not sure if I spelled that correctly). They bought out their competitors and control the mining of diamonds worldwide.
I've read horror stories about how in previous decades hundreds of ultra-low-paid African workers either worked in the fields to get diamonds (apparently in one spot they were so abundant they could be found above ground) or in dangerous mines. I'm not sure how much DeBeer's has stocked up, but they sure managed to make diamonds seem quite valuble.
For this reason I absolutely hate society's fascination with diamonds - people have the false sense that they are really rare. Truth is look-alikes aren't hard to make, industrial ones can be manufactured, and one company controls the supply so we all overpay.
Good thing my girlfriend isn't the diamond type =).
You just stated what may be the biggest myth of currency. I believed it until I took my first Economics class. Currency represents buying power, or the amount of goods or services others are willing to give you for a certain amount of the currency. Yes, the U.S. government does have a gold store locked up at Fort Knox, but not enough to make up for the trillions of U.S. dollar value floating around.
If you think about it, the buying power idea makes a lot of sense. It explains (in part) why some currencies can change value compared to others by several percent each year (or in some cases, dozens of percent). The Ruble (Russian currency) would not be so low in value if there was gold backing up each ruble. It's just that the Ruble has very little buying power, because merchants either don't want it or don't want to give much for it.
Tribes 1 is easy. Start a vote (when the feature is enabled on the server) by bringing up the menu (tab) and going through 2 levels or so of numbers (something like 2, then player num (the player list is right there). Everybody else just has to bring up the menu (small, transparent and used for checking kills as well as voting) and typing one number to vote yes and another number to vote no. The same voting process is used to give admin status, change maps, etc. Voting occurs constantly.
Since I've played Counter-Strike, I know that voting in that game is simply poorly designed. However, other games have it right.
Disclaimer: I am by no means a GPL fanatic. But nonetheless I think I can help to answer your question.
The biggest component of the GPL that RMS and the fans of GPL like is the same thing that made Microsoft incorrectly call it a "cancer". The GPL basically says that if you take the source code to a GPL program, make changes, and then distribute the binary, you are obligated to release the source to whomever you released the binary. In addition, you must release your new source under the GPL license, which gives the new users of the source the ability to distribute the code for free, even if you do not. This does NOT mean you can't sell it, or that you have to give away your program free at all. It just means that the first person you sell code to has the ability to give it away.
People misunderstand the GPL because they see companies like Red Hat and Mandrake giving away almost all of their products off of FTP sites. They could, if they chose, only sell their CDs. The CDs, though, must have the source code for every GPL program on them. If they don't, they need to make that source code publicly available (like on a web site). If someone were to buy these CDs though, they have every right to take the GPL programs off the CD and redistribute them, for whatever price they want.
Some of the other licenses you mentioned do not require that the source code be released when code is used in another program (called a "derivative" work). This appeals more to closed-source companies that want to take advantage of open-source products without releasing their source code. I'm not as familiar with the specifics of each license, but I'm fairly sure that the ability to keep source closed applies to BSD, Apache, and Artistic licenses.
One more note about the GPL. One can distribute closed source programs that use GPL code, but the code must be seperated. A good example of this might be a program like the GIMP (image editor) with proprietary plugins. You can ship both together, since the GIMP is self-contained, and your plugins can still be closed-source.
In addition to the GPL, the LGPL (Lesser General Public License) exists but is not recommended by RMS and the gang. It's used primarily for libraries and allows closed-source products to fully contain the LGPL code. Library designers use this because they want their programming code to be used with commercial products. An example of this is wxWindows, a cross-platform C++ GUI library.
So basically the main reason that some people like GPL programs is that it does somewhat "promote" open-source, by requiring programs that use it to remain open-source for everyone. It's among the most restrictive and wordy licenses, you are correct, but I'm not familiar with any open-source license being completely challenged in court.
All men. Men love stuff with knobs, plugs and lights, and they adore technical jargon about ohms and impedance. Women spend just as much on CDs and cassettes, according to industry surveys, but men are typically more ardent about music, more willing to contend that only an idiot could think "Imperial Bedroom" is Elvis Costello's finest album.
Wrong.
I know of at least one female audiophile. She's a teacher who uses her excellent knowledge of science to put together a great system. Instead of simply plunking down loads of money (though I'm sure she's done that too), she has carefully constructed a special room in her house dedicated to excellent listening. Some examples of her modifications include:
- She re-twisted each or her speaker cables at just the right twists per length to get the best sound of the music she's used to.
- She measured exactly the length of each wire and suspended on the walls.
She claims if she's hearing a recording of a building she's been in, she can tell where a person is standing up (which seat) when they perform a solo.
The University of Wisconsin Madison teaches Java as its introductory Computer Science course (they switched from C++). Interestingly, the UW Oshkosh (a full 4 year school in itself, 1/3 the size of Madison) still teaches C++ as the Introduction to Programming class.
So at least in some schools Java as a CS intro language is not a question, it is reality. It has been for over 3 years (I'm not sure when Madison switched). However, a computer science major still has to take classes in assembly, c++, even Visual Basic to complete his or her degree.
In short - no. Heat dissipation in wires is caused by internal resistance. Resistance in wires increases as length increases. If diagonal wires are used, wires can be of shorter length. This probably accounts for the 20% saving in power consumption.
If there is one rule I've learned about cooling a case after years of building computers, it's this obvious but truthful phrase:
You get what you pay for
A CPU, case fan, and power supply are not things to be budgeted down. A $5 fan is not equivalent to a $15 fan. This may seem obvious, but people like myself tend to buy the cheapest available from a discount online retailer when you can't look at and touch the various choices of fans themselves.
That said, there are many things to look for when buying fans, case or CPU. First, make sure that all fans are ball-bearing - this will generally make them quieter and make them last longer. If a fan becomes noisy after time, it MAY be possible to quiet it down with a little bit of precision oil - but sometimes it's just better to replace your fan.
Next, never underestimate cooling power. Don't go with a low power-usage fan for your CPU just because you aren't overclocking - err on the side of caution. Get a fan at least rated for the exact type of processor you have, perhaps even for a faster processor (if you have a 1 Ghz Athlon it doesn't hurt to have a fan designed to cool 1.3 Ghz Athlons).
When it comes to case fans, placement is just as important as power. The power supply fan blows out, the cpu fan blows down (on the motherboard), if you only have one case fan it probably should be oriented to blow in. Make an air path for the flow of air - it should pass over heated components like the video card and cpu. If possible, also get some fan airflow to your hard drive. This can be done easily with a 5 1/4" double/triple fan cover that just slides in the slot and hold a 3 1/2" hard drive. These aren't that expensive and may help to lengthen the life of your hard drive(s), especially if you have a warm system, a lot of hard drives, or it's functioning as a server.
Last but definately not least (this helped to fry a motherboard on me), placement of the case itself is crucial to good cooling. Cabinets in desks are bad. Make sure you have open air vents at least a half a foot square on both sides near fan intakes and outflows.
Quietness comes almost entirely from the quality of the construction. Yes, excessive air flow will cause some noise, but most of the time a noisy fan comes from mechanical problems. Don't skimp on your fans, buy quality ones from an online retailer with a good return policy - return them if they make noise after a few days.
Have you ever ruined any disks (floppy, hard disks, etc) or other media (VHS tape, etc) with your immortality rings? Have anyone ever told you that they did? Do you have insurance against lawsuits?
This seems like a curious little device, but it only seems to have limited practicality.
The ONLY real use I could see for PC users is being able to devote one full hand to the mouse at all times. This could be useful (like the author mentioned trying) in AutoCAD or other drafting programs. Gaming, well..you can program the keys to whatever you want so you put all of your commands within easy reach. In a command-line drafting program you'll still want to be able to use the entire alphabet and numerical keys, so this might be useful.
One more use for all users of this keyboard is for the people with only one hand. Granted, it's a slim market, but I'm sure if I had limited use of my right hand I'd be interested in a keyboard that would be most efficient for one hand. Most of us don't think about things like this.
For PDAs, I can see a small market. Have one hand for keyboard input (ultra small and light, even better than folding keyboards) and one hand dedicated to holding the PDA up or using the stylus to tap.
Regardless of these uses, I don't think this strange little device will get very much revenue. I don't want one =).
As a community open source developers and programmers have consistently worked to make their products gain acceptance on the entire market. Non-free software will exist well into the forseeable future (I believe that free and non-free can coexist forever), so it's important to make sure that open source products aren't shooting themselves in the foot.
As soon as an open source product proclaims that it can't be used on "non-free" operating systems, the license ceases to be truly "free". Besides, a definition of "free" would need to be provided, and enforcement is close to impossible. In addition, it would serve to do nothing but piss of major corporations on the fence for using open source software - they don't know what kind of operating system they'll be running in the future. Companies are inherently afraid of locking themselves into something they can't completely trust. They trust that Microsoft will be around in some form in 5 years, but there's no guarantee that these open source operating systems will be as popular and widely used as they are now.
Anyway, I hope for the future of open source that license developers refuse to include this addition.
Curious, this guy makes no mention of wanting any developer help. This reminds me of the guy making AtheOS. I am absolutely amazed at the ability for one developer to whip up something so quickly - within months. The coding talent and drive to create these small OSes is incredible. Considering much smaller applications easily have dozens of developers, the idea of creating an OS from scratch with multiprocessor and multithreading support is unbelievable. Perhaps they used some code or ideas from other open source kernels, but hey, that's what open source is all about.
Even if neither of these OSes take off, I admire their drive to focus this well as a solo developer.
Re:The "Terms and Conditions" prohibit resale! Why
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Agenda, Not Hidden
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Go to www.buyagenda.com. You may purchase either one of the three colors or the developer model from this site. Nowhere is it mentioned about terms of use for the consumer models. Your link is from developer.agenda.com. I can't be absolutely certain but it sure seems to me that the agreement does not apply to the consumer model.
If you notice, the main agenda page isn't the most updated - your best bet is to post to the agenda users group or contact the company directly. I'd be interested to hear the response, but I'm fairly certain I am correct.
Re:The "Terms and Conditions" prohibit resale! Why
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Agenda, Not Hidden
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Duh. You're looking at the terms of sale for the DEVELOPER model. They offer the unit at a cheap price with an agreement to sign up for the developer group and generally give feedback. They don't want people getting $70 off an Agenda, fixing it up with the latest software for the consumer (the developer model does not come with all the pretty software intended for the final consumer product) then sell it for $225 and make a significant profit.
This offer is an exclusive deal meant to save money for those wishing to help out the development of the Agenda. This agreement is designed to prevent resellers from exploiting the cheap price. Makes sense to me.
Over the past few years I've used numerous Linux distributions. Each time I've only bothered to download the CDs online (actually, before I had a fast connection, I had others do it for me). However, I have recently been considering donating to two of my favorite distributions - Mandrake and Red Hat.
Unfortunately, like many people, I'm mostly broke. When I do feel charitable, I donate elsewhere than a for-profit software company. I considered buying a boxed set of one of these distributions, but I figured that it wouldn't exactly be the best donation. I already have the OS, I don't need the manuals. Why should I bother to buy what costs these companies a fair amount to manufacture?
Then I found this page at Mandrake's web page. Below the spot where you purchase the latest "Powerpack" version for $70, you can purchase the two-CD set for $10 plus $10 shipping. These CDs are cheap to manufacture and cheap to ship, so I'm sure Mandrake makes a bundle of a profit margin on this $20 purchase. This seems like an affordable way to give back to a company that really seems to try to give Linux users a desktop that works well and looks nice, with all the very latest features. If I didn't just exhaust my checking account yesterday I would probably have purchased this today (even though I downloaded and burnt the CDs awhile back), but I hope to in the near future (next check).
So, here's the hypocrite in me to ask supporters of Mandrake to save the mirrors and order this two-CD set, maybe when 8.1 comes out or something. I didn't even know it was available until today, but I'm happy I found it.
Free software does not mean we shouldn't support it with both our time and our money. Let's give back in monetary form to the companies whose products we take for granted.
For each of the other 3 forces (weak, strong, electromagnetic), we have discovered a "carrier" particle for that force.
The strong force is carried by particles called "gluons" while the weak force is carried by "weak bosons". The electromagnetic force is carried by "photons". These have been detected in particle accelerators. Scientists have a name for the carrier particle of gravity - "graviton", but it has never been detected - yet.
The strong and weak force have a relatively (no pun intended) limited range. The strong force has a range of only about 1x10^-15 meters. On the other hand, gravity and the electromagnetic force have infinite ranges. Perhaps we're wrong about the gravity force, considering we don't even have a carrier particle. Maybe its strength isn't an inverse squared relationship for infinitely long distances - or it's simply an approximation.
Too bad I don't know nearly enough about experiments testing the gravitational constant and how well we've applied it to extrasolar objects.
Slashdot Mirror
AOL should go from fighting GAIM to endorsing it. They own Nullsoft that came up with WinAmp and also created gnutella (though they were quick to whisk that away). It's not the end of the world for a huge company to endorse open source software that uses its services.
I know it may not be the perfect solution, but AOL could register "GAIM", give money to the GAIM developer(s) (maybe even hire them). I know that was the basis of their April Fool's joke (very funny - read it at http://gaim.sourceforge.net. If AOL needed to keep something private they could make a proprietary module to load into GAIM (and other open source products that give AOL functionality). The module could have a clause that it could only be used in conjunction with open source products so that MSN couldn't use it.
Yeah, I know, not perfect, but at least then AOL would be sponsoring an excellent Linux client that is far superior to the Java crap they promote.
Every Compaq that I have ever seen purchased (dozens, perhaps even a hundred) I have had to fix at one time or another. I am sick of poor uneducated people going to Best Buy to buy a computer and get a crappy Compaq that doesn't last a year because it breaks so often. It's just frustrating.
Going inside Compaq's is almost always a new experience - they've changed their case design more times than I can count with my fingers. To try to make the cases small they have weird swing-open power supplies and impossible to remove 5 1/4" half-height bigfoot drives.
Like others have said, though, Compaq can't survive without the massive amount of computers it ships out, they will always be making computers and attempting to be #1.
Not quite. The problem is that Steve Jobs is passionate but combative. He's good at what he does (though I'm not a personal Mac fan), but he tends to make a lot of enemies. He had power struggles with the company before he left (he was forced out, depending on who you ask), and now he has almost complete control of the company's direction. No, I imagine some Mac developers are a bit bitter over something or other - there is a reason some/all aren't still working for Apple, and perhaps it's because of some bitterness.
The TNT movie about Jobs and Gates dramatized the whole deal, but I'm sure some of that internal Apple conflict was very real.
Are you willing to pay 2 cents per e-mail? I know some of us are (especially those of us who send less than a hundred e-mails per month). What about the maintainers of e-mail lists/newsletters? This would add a significant cost to some big open source projects with large newsgroups (like bug lists, announcement lists, etc). If you impose a 2 cent tax on business e-mail, you have to impose a 2 cent tax on EVERY e-mail (at least those that cross between companies/individuals - two AOL users obviously would not have to pay, just like two Microsoft users).
Sorry, I'd rather put up with spam than give up free e-mail.
Ok, so this guy claims that Linux would cost a little over $1 billion (US) to develop. I wonder what the big deal is. I'm sure Microsoft has spent that much over the years on Office+Win9x+WinNT+Backoffice+etc (basically the functionality provided by RH 7.1). Intel spends billions to develop new chip technologies (IA 64 anyone?). The only thing incredible about this number is that most of that billion was completely unpaid, or at least underpayed.
Perhaps part (or most) of the problem lies in /. and other Andover/VA Linux sites that depend on ad revenues. From what I've noticed, /. and other VA sites seem to link to each other, with few ads coming from the outside (which would bring in money to VA, obviously). Are they that short of paid ads that they have to rotate in self-promotion?
About diamonds:
Yes, diamonds are almost exclusively controlled by DeBeers Corporation (not sure if I spelled that correctly). They bought out their competitors and control the mining of diamonds worldwide.
I've read horror stories about how in previous decades hundreds of ultra-low-paid African workers either worked in the fields to get diamonds (apparently in one spot they were so abundant they could be found above ground) or in dangerous mines. I'm not sure how much DeBeer's has stocked up, but they sure managed to make diamonds seem quite valuble.
For this reason I absolutely hate society's fascination with diamonds - people have the false sense that they are really rare. Truth is look-alikes aren't hard to make, industrial ones can be manufactured, and one company controls the supply so we all overpay.
Good thing my girlfriend isn't the diamond type =).
Wrong.
You just stated what may be the biggest myth of currency. I believed it until I took my first Economics class. Currency represents buying power, or the amount of goods or services others are willing to give you for a certain amount of the currency. Yes, the U.S. government does have a gold store locked up at Fort Knox, but not enough to make up for the trillions of U.S. dollar value floating around.
If you think about it, the buying power idea makes a lot of sense. It explains (in part) why some currencies can change value compared to others by several percent each year (or in some cases, dozens of percent). The Ruble (Russian currency) would not be so low in value if there was gold backing up each ruble. It's just that the Ruble has very little buying power, because merchants either don't want it or don't want to give much for it.
That's the simplified explanation of currency.
Tribes 1 is easy. Start a vote (when the feature is enabled on the server) by bringing up the menu (tab) and going through 2 levels or so of numbers (something like 2, then player num (the player list is right there). Everybody else just has to bring up the menu (small, transparent and used for checking kills as well as voting) and typing one number to vote yes and another number to vote no. The same voting process is used to give admin status, change maps, etc. Voting occurs constantly.
Since I've played Counter-Strike, I know that voting in that game is simply poorly designed. However, other games have it right.
Disclaimer: I am by no means a GPL fanatic. But nonetheless I think I can help to answer your question.
The biggest component of the GPL that RMS and the fans of GPL like is the same thing that made Microsoft incorrectly call it a "cancer". The GPL basically says that if you take the source code to a GPL program, make changes, and then distribute the binary, you are obligated to release the source to whomever you released the binary. In addition, you must release your new source under the GPL license, which gives the new users of the source the ability to distribute the code for free, even if you do not. This does NOT mean you can't sell it, or that you have to give away your program free at all. It just means that the first person you sell code to has the ability to give it away.
People misunderstand the GPL because they see companies like Red Hat and Mandrake giving away almost all of their products off of FTP sites. They could, if they chose, only sell their CDs. The CDs, though, must have the source code for every GPL program on them. If they don't, they need to make that source code publicly available (like on a web site). If someone were to buy these CDs though, they have every right to take the GPL programs off the CD and redistribute them, for whatever price they want.
Some of the other licenses you mentioned do not require that the source code be released when code is used in another program (called a "derivative" work). This appeals more to closed-source companies that want to take advantage of open-source products without releasing their source code. I'm not as familiar with the specifics of each license, but I'm fairly sure that the ability to keep source closed applies to BSD, Apache, and Artistic licenses.
One more note about the GPL. One can distribute closed source programs that use GPL code, but the code must be seperated. A good example of this might be a program like the GIMP (image editor) with proprietary plugins. You can ship both together, since the GIMP is self-contained, and your plugins can still be closed-source.
In addition to the GPL, the LGPL (Lesser General Public License) exists but is not recommended by RMS and the gang. It's used primarily for libraries and allows closed-source products to fully contain the LGPL code. Library designers use this because they want their programming code to be used with commercial products. An example of this is wxWindows, a cross-platform C++ GUI library.
So basically the main reason that some people like GPL programs is that it does somewhat "promote" open-source, by requiring programs that use it to remain open-source for everyone. It's among the most restrictive and wordy licenses, you are correct, but I'm not familiar with any open-source license being completely challenged in court.
Hope this helps.
So the aliens will get our DNA, ok. They'll clone us, raise a few baby clones, and find out that we're ugly.
Don't be surprised when a few alien battlecruisers stop by to destroy this planet of ugly humans.
All men. Men love stuff with knobs, plugs and lights, and they adore technical jargon about ohms and impedance. Women spend just as much on CDs and cassettes, according to industry surveys, but men are typically more ardent about music, more willing to contend that only an idiot could think "Imperial Bedroom" is Elvis Costello's finest album.
Wrong.
I know of at least one female audiophile. She's a teacher who uses her excellent knowledge of science to put together a great system. Instead of simply plunking down loads of money (though I'm sure she's done that too), she has carefully constructed a special room in her house dedicated to excellent listening. Some examples of her modifications include:
- She re-twisted each or her speaker cables at just the right twists per length to get the best sound of the music she's used to.
- She measured exactly the length of each wire and suspended on the walls.
She claims if she's hearing a recording of a building she's been in, she can tell where a person is standing up (which seat) when they perform a solo.
The University of Wisconsin Madison teaches Java as its introductory Computer Science course (they switched from C++). Interestingly, the UW Oshkosh (a full 4 year school in itself, 1/3 the size of Madison) still teaches C++ as the Introduction to Programming class.
So at least in some schools Java as a CS intro language is not a question, it is reality. It has been for over 3 years (I'm not sure when Madison switched). However, a computer science major still has to take classes in assembly, c++, even Visual Basic to complete his or her degree.
In short - no. Heat dissipation in wires is caused by internal resistance. Resistance in wires increases as length increases. If diagonal wires are used, wires can be of shorter length. This probably accounts for the 20% saving in power consumption.
If there is one rule I've learned about cooling a case after years of building computers, it's this obvious but truthful phrase:
You get what you pay for
A CPU, case fan, and power supply are not things to be budgeted down. A $5 fan is not equivalent to a $15 fan. This may seem obvious, but people like myself tend to buy the cheapest available from a discount online retailer when you can't look at and touch the various choices of fans themselves.
That said, there are many things to look for when buying fans, case or CPU. First, make sure that all fans are ball-bearing - this will generally make them quieter and make them last longer. If a fan becomes noisy after time, it MAY be possible to quiet it down with a little bit of precision oil - but sometimes it's just better to replace your fan.
Next, never underestimate cooling power. Don't go with a low power-usage fan for your CPU just because you aren't overclocking - err on the side of caution. Get a fan at least rated for the exact type of processor you have, perhaps even for a faster processor (if you have a 1 Ghz Athlon it doesn't hurt to have a fan designed to cool 1.3 Ghz Athlons).
When it comes to case fans, placement is just as important as power. The power supply fan blows out, the cpu fan blows down (on the motherboard), if you only have one case fan it probably should be oriented to blow in. Make an air path for the flow of air - it should pass over heated components like the video card and cpu. If possible, also get some fan airflow to your hard drive. This can be done easily with a 5 1/4" double/triple fan cover that just slides in the slot and hold a 3 1/2" hard drive. These aren't that expensive and may help to lengthen the life of your hard drive(s), especially if you have a warm system, a lot of hard drives, or it's functioning as a server.
Last but definately not least (this helped to fry a motherboard on me), placement of the case itself is crucial to good cooling. Cabinets in desks are bad. Make sure you have open air vents at least a half a foot square on both sides near fan intakes and outflows.
Quietness comes almost entirely from the quality of the construction. Yes, excessive air flow will cause some noise, but most of the time a noisy fan comes from mechanical problems. Don't skimp on your fans, buy quality ones from an online retailer with a good return policy - return them if they make noise after a few days.
Ok, this is minor, but it makes me look stupid.
The second question SHOULD be "Has anyone ever told you that they did?" instead of have.
Thanks.
Have you ever ruined any disks (floppy, hard disks, etc) or other media (VHS tape, etc) with your immortality rings? Have anyone ever told you that they did? Do you have insurance against lawsuits?
This seems like a curious little device, but it only seems to have limited practicality.
The ONLY real use I could see for PC users is being able to devote one full hand to the mouse at all times. This could be useful (like the author mentioned trying) in AutoCAD or other drafting programs. Gaming, well..you can program the keys to whatever you want so you put all of your commands within easy reach. In a command-line drafting program you'll still want to be able to use the entire alphabet and numerical keys, so this might be useful.
One more use for all users of this keyboard is for the people with only one hand. Granted, it's a slim market, but I'm sure if I had limited use of my right hand I'd be interested in a keyboard that would be most efficient for one hand. Most of us don't think about things like this.
For PDAs, I can see a small market. Have one hand for keyboard input (ultra small and light, even better than folding keyboards) and one hand dedicated to holding the PDA up or using the stylus to tap.
Regardless of these uses, I don't think this strange little device will get very much revenue. I don't want one =).
As a community open source developers and programmers have consistently worked to make their products gain acceptance on the entire market. Non-free software will exist well into the forseeable future (I believe that free and non-free can coexist forever), so it's important to make sure that open source products aren't shooting themselves in the foot.
As soon as an open source product proclaims that it can't be used on "non-free" operating systems, the license ceases to be truly "free". Besides, a definition of "free" would need to be provided, and enforcement is close to impossible. In addition, it would serve to do nothing but piss of major corporations on the fence for using open source software - they don't know what kind of operating system they'll be running in the future. Companies are inherently afraid of locking themselves into something they can't completely trust. They trust that Microsoft will be around in some form in 5 years, but there's no guarantee that these open source operating systems will be as popular and widely used as they are now.
Anyway, I hope for the future of open source that license developers refuse to include this addition.
Curious, this guy makes no mention of wanting any developer help. This reminds me of the guy making AtheOS. I am absolutely amazed at the ability for one developer to whip up something so quickly - within months. The coding talent and drive to create these small OSes is incredible. Considering much smaller applications easily have dozens of developers, the idea of creating an OS from scratch with multiprocessor and multithreading support is unbelievable. Perhaps they used some code or ideas from other open source kernels, but hey, that's what open source is all about.
Even if neither of these OSes take off, I admire their drive to focus this well as a solo developer.
Go to www.buyagenda.com. You may purchase either one of the three colors or the developer model from this site. Nowhere is it mentioned about terms of use for the consumer models. Your link is from developer.agenda.com. I can't be absolutely certain but it sure seems to me that the agreement does not apply to the consumer model.
If you notice, the main agenda page isn't the most updated - your best bet is to post to the agenda users group or contact the company directly. I'd be interested to hear the response, but I'm fairly certain I am correct.
Duh. You're looking at the terms of sale for the DEVELOPER model. They offer the unit at a cheap price with an agreement to sign up for the developer group and generally give feedback. They don't want people getting $70 off an Agenda, fixing it up with the latest software for the consumer (the developer model does not come with all the pretty software intended for the final consumer product) then sell it for $225 and make a significant profit.
This offer is an exclusive deal meant to save money for those wishing to help out the development of the Agenda. This agreement is designed to prevent resellers from exploiting the cheap price. Makes sense to me.
In addition to the 2-CD set for $20, this page allows for outright donations to various open source projects, including Mandrake ones.
Go grab your credit/check card and give $5 or $10 and put our money where our mouth is. I'm going to now.
Over the past few years I've used numerous Linux distributions. Each time I've only bothered to download the CDs online (actually, before I had a fast connection, I had others do it for me). However, I have recently been considering donating to two of my favorite distributions - Mandrake and Red Hat.
Unfortunately, like many people, I'm mostly broke. When I do feel charitable, I donate elsewhere than a for-profit software company. I considered buying a boxed set of one of these distributions, but I figured that it wouldn't exactly be the best donation. I already have the OS, I don't need the manuals. Why should I bother to buy what costs these companies a fair amount to manufacture?
Then I found this page at Mandrake's web page. Below the spot where you purchase the latest "Powerpack" version for $70, you can purchase the two-CD set for $10 plus $10 shipping. These CDs are cheap to manufacture and cheap to ship, so I'm sure Mandrake makes a bundle of a profit margin on this $20 purchase. This seems like an affordable way to give back to a company that really seems to try to give Linux users a desktop that works well and looks nice, with all the very latest features. If I didn't just exhaust my checking account yesterday I would probably have purchased this today (even though I downloaded and burnt the CDs awhile back), but I hope to in the near future (next check).
So, here's the hypocrite in me to ask supporters of Mandrake to save the mirrors and order this two-CD set, maybe when 8.1 comes out or something. I didn't even know it was available until today, but I'm happy I found it.
Free software does not mean we shouldn't support it with both our time and our money. Let's give back in monetary form to the companies whose products we take for granted.
For each of the other 3 forces (weak, strong, electromagnetic), we have discovered a "carrier" particle for that force.
The strong force is carried by particles called "gluons" while the weak force is carried by "weak bosons". The electromagnetic force is carried by "photons". These have been detected in particle accelerators. Scientists have a name for the carrier particle of gravity - "graviton", but it has never been detected - yet.
The strong and weak force have a relatively (no pun intended) limited range. The strong force has a range of only about 1x10^-15 meters. On the other hand, gravity and the electromagnetic force have infinite ranges. Perhaps we're wrong about the gravity force, considering we don't even have a carrier particle. Maybe its strength isn't an inverse squared relationship for infinitely long distances - or it's simply an approximation.
Too bad I don't know nearly enough about experiments testing the gravitational constant and how well we've applied it to extrasolar objects.