The operators have already stated elsewhere (I don't have a link handy, sorry) that they were limited in speed because the reciever couldn't use a typewriter to write down the code he was recieving...which would be much quicker. So they were actually hampered by is writing with a pencil speed.
The morse operators were also tapping out the entire message, while the text-messenger guys were using abbreviations. Anyone that has sat in on a CW QSO would know that operators use a TON of abbreviations to keep the code quick.
And it's true, CW equipment doesn't have to be expensive at all. In fact, to get on the HF bands it's probably one of the cheapest part of the hobby, especially if you're looking to do QRP which is running at 5w or less.
In this business, a talentless whore who gets fucked in grainy night vision is more valuable to the networks than a talented actress who has spent years studying and honing her craft.
Lawsuits in Hollywood are hardly personal. PJ may be taking it personally, but the corperate zombies at a Hollywood studio only look at making more money.
This lawsuit will get taken care of then it will pave the way for The Hobbit if NewLine thinks they can make even more money. Money money money. It may even get resolved by promising PJ that he can produce/direct The Hobbit and take an even bigger stake in the profits...or something.
It's all red tape and shady book-keeping anyway. Arthur Anderson and the accounting they did for Enron were amatuers compared to Hollywood accountants.
What's the last thing you hear right before a site is totally slashdotted?
Here's some pics to check it out.
Re:Hope it's better than ILM of the past.
on
Lucas's New HQ
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
What most do is get the ILM badge under their belt then move on to better places to work, like Pixar or Weta. Which is why ILM can't keep ahold of the good animators anymore cause they treat them like shit. But as I said, this may have changed.
But I hate this mentality of "well, you can work somewhere else". It's like the idiocy of "be thankful you have a job" nonsense. Why can't it be a nice place to work AND make a profit? Why does it have to be a sweatshop?
Hope it's better than ILM of the past.
on
Lucas's New HQ
·
· Score: 4, Informative
I've talked to several people who have worked at ILM and currently are there. Sweatshop is a word that keeps poping up in the course of conversations. Hopefully this will change or has already changed.
That's just it...YOU have to copy the files to a new computer every 5 years. It takes effort and time. Old technology you snap a picture, get a print and a negative, throw it in a drawer or box and forget about it. 60 years later, after you die, your grandkids are looking through your things and wow...look at grandpa in a tuxedo.
With digital you constantly have to keep on top of these things to make sure you keep them up-to-date. If not, if you skip a hardware generation, you'll be in tough luck. I have things stored on 9-track tape...would be quite hard to find something to read that into my modern computer. Burn it to a CD? Better be ready to reburn them all or move them to different media in about 10 years as the material will begin to break down. There is no long-term storage yet for digital.
You just need to ensure that you regularly copy the whole pile to other hard drives, because having it all on just one may cause you to lose all of it.
And there lies the problem. Couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for backing me up!
I wish more people would lose their prejudices against new things and stop overrating traditional methods
I wish more people would lose their prejudices against traditional methods and stop thinking that anything that's older than 15 years is obsolete thinking.
Not being an elitist at all. I just have concerns on longevity. Also, tube amps do sound better....lol
But you're missing the point. You're grandfathers negatives are done...they don't need upgrading to new storage media. Sure, it may take a little extra storage for them...but let's face it, everyone could totally forget about these negatives for 100 years...then someone can stumble upon them and make a print of them. It's right there, it's with us now. No need to convert, no need to "keep up" with new storage. 100 years from now, will your grandchildren be able to read those 20 DVD's? I mean, you have to keep on top of this stuff, what if you just don't care anymore. What if you die and you're DVD's are put into storage, your children don't worry about it, but then your grandchildren or great grandchildren want to look back at your legacy. DVD's...what are those? Ah, too bad Great-Grandfather didn't keep upgrading the storage. Hey, look a box of negatives from the 1800's! Wow, why didn't Grandfather use film. (hehe...I know, the chances of this actually happening are very slim)
I'm sure that everything will be ironed out in the future, but that future isn't here now. I'm looking for a no-hassle medium for storage here.
How long will these cameras last? How long does the storage medium last? Yes, they have inkjet printing inks and paper that will last 70 years now...but that's just the print. What about the "negative"?
Here's my point...I could go into a camera store that sells used equipment, buy a Leica from the 40's or 50's and still run film through it. Will people still be running a digital camera they buy today 60 years from now? Will they even be able to get the info off of it?
You could take a negative from Ansel Adams that he made way back in the 20's and still make a very find, high quality print today. Don't have to worry about making any interface or program to read the data or worry if the media is still viable on a disk somewhere. Hell, with his 8x10 negs you don't even need an enlarger, could make a contact print with a lightbulb if you wanted.
Digital photos taken today won't be around 60 years from now...sorry, but that's the fact. You would constantly have to keep upgrading and transfering your shots to the latest storage medium just to keep up. Can anyone honestly say that you'll be able to read a CD 60 years from now to get the pictures off? Maybe if you find an old computer in an antique shop...maybe.
Not to mention the fact that the camera you buy today is obsolete a year from now when something better AND cheaper comes along.
I don't know, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered.
Ok, I'm officially sick to death of people using the "hardcore" term.
World of Warcraft is just as hardcore as any other MMORPG out there...in fact in many ways it's more so.
In my experience, I've seen people leave EQ for EQII then to WoW...where they stay. My entire guild in EQ moved totally to WoW..with a few die-hards staying in EQ cause "I've put too much time into this character...etc etc" What does that mean? It means they're no longer having fun.
I've been on many games after EQ trying to find the spark and feel of a totally new world...everywhere from DAoC to Star Wars to AO to AC 1&2. I've tried them out really hoping to like them, but always went back to EQ...until now. I've been on WoW now for about a year if you include the Beta's and I haven't looked back. There's nothing I want to go back to EQ for at all.
In fact, EQ died back when Luclin came out. Before Luclin there was a sense of wonder in the world. A sense of place. Yes, it took a long long time to get from Halas to Freeport...and it was a long and dangerous journey for those that couldn't get a port out. Yeah, it was a pain in the ass...but I actually liked the feeling of being isolated a bit. Of trying to look for a port out. Of gathering in EC for the auctions and trade and killed Slate and training the Grif into the tunnels etc etc etc. All that died when they got the Gates of Dischord out there with all their portals to the major cities.
No one I've ever met...except now for you ureshii...has even mentioned going back to EQ. But bottom line, WoW IS a hardcore game.
So on that end, you COULD get the lowest end Maya which won't totally break the bank. Also look into Lightwave. And while I started out on the precurser to Lightwave on the Amiga (called Videoscape...Alan Hastings first 3D app before going to Newtek), it is still two seperate apps with Modeler and Lightwave, which is kind of cumbersome in some instances.
The reason I was going to suggest XSI is because it's not that expensive for the base configuration and it's still a very powerfull 3D app that tends to get overlooked. But having said that, I'm a total convert to Maya.
You might want to also look at Zbrush, as that's a very interesting app too. One of the closest things to working with clay to build a model I've ever used. It's amazing what you can do with a very short amount of time.
But having said all that, I've drifted back over to 2D and create everything now in just Photoshop and Painter...with Alias Sketchbook now and then. I guess it's the traditional artist in me, I don't know. And quite frankly, even after all these years being into 3D, I'm still not that good at it. Where as I can get anything I want with Photoshop. Guess it's personal preference.
You might also want to head over to cgnetworks.com and get inspired and learn on their forums. It's a great place with people willing to help out.
Well, sorry...but this is the case. No one I know has gotten a virus. Yes, they have detected one, but the anti-virus has taken care of it...perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I didn't mean to say that I've never come across one, but I've never had one get through the normal anti-virus...except for the Mac one on System 8.
I use windows XP all day long...I'm hooked up on the internet and surf and download and blah blah blah all day long. Not once have I been hit with a virus or a trojan or an email attack. I've used computers since 1979 and have seen only a handfull of actual viruses. Meh...maybe I'm just lucky. And everyone I personally know is lucky also as they've had the same experience. The one time I came upon a major virus was...suprise suprise...on a Mac! Granted, it was running System 8 at the time. But it was the one that spread itself on Syquest disks and we had customers that would send us data on Syquest and it would infect the computer as soon as it was inserted. That as a pain to take care of.
Security problems? has this guy actually HAD security problems, or has he just read of the threat of problems and anecdotes of others that have had problems? I read them all the time too, but it's not enough for me to change OS AND hardware just because the press overplays this threat.
I run virus checkers, adware checking...am behind a hardware router/firewall. Basically the same thing I would be running on OSX also. I don't even think about it and just get on with my day.
He's created a strawman argument. It has no weight.
Windows is complex, trying to be everything to everyone. This complexity comes at a terrible price: downtime, help desks, upgrades, patches and the inevitable failures.
And OSX doesn't have any of this? Linux doesn't either? Sorry, you use a modern OS you'll have upgrades/patches/downtime from time to time.
When a new operating system or service pack is released, there are tons of changes to the functionality.
Read up on some problems people are having with Tiger and get back to us.
WinTel machines use different versions of BIOS. They are not all equal, nor do they all have the same level of compatibility.
Um...ok. What's your point?
Some Windows software applications are well written; others take shortcuts. Shortcuts may work in some environments, but not all, and ultimately the consumer pays in lost time, availability and productivity.
Again, this is a windows only problem?? It happens everywhere. But it would be nice if he were to cite examples...but he didn't have time to bring facts into the picture.
Hardware. There are hundreds of "WinTel-compatible" motherboards, each claiming to be better than the next. Whatever.
Some would call this choice. Also others would call it cheaper. Still others would call it the power to make what you want. Whatever.
Memory. Not all RAM is equal. Some works well. Cheap stuff doesn't.
Again...hello? RAM isn't equal on ANY platform! There is cheap stuff being sold and bought everyday on the Macs too you know. People don't want to overpay Apple for RAM, so they try to get something cheap and WHAM, they end up with problems.
Hard disks. Same problem: cheap or reliable. Your call.
Last I checked, Apple used the same type of Hard disks as everyone else out there. I could take a HD out of an Apple and put it in my PC and vice-versa. So how is this a "windows" problem?
Now, I'm NOT a Windows lover by any stretch of the imagination...but come on. If you're going to attack it, at least do it in an intellegent manner. This guy was just full of himself, gave no real facts or data and just spouted crap. I love Macs too, love them to death. Just wish I could actually afford a good one. One that would equal my desktop machine now. Yeah, I could afford a Mac Mini, but it's too underpowered for me. Maybe one day I'll save my pennies and get a Mac...but not because I'm "mad as hell". I don't choose something because something else sucks. I go with something because that something is right for me. It's like this last Presidential election. Many people voted for one candidate only because they didn't like the other one. They didn't vote for the person because they liked him or believed in him...only because they didn't like the other guy. WTF is that?
Then again, collaboration also leads to great things too. You can't lump everything into one basket and say "it will suck, without question, because of this".
Don't like how something is going? You yourself can lead it in another direction if you wish. I don't know how many times I've watched a movie lately and said to myself "wow, this really needs to be edited more". Case in point is Revenge of the Sith...there are a few things in there I would slice out to make it a better movie. One would be to take out the Frankenstein moment at the end with Darth Vader learning about killing his wife....take out the "NOOOOOO". I mean, that was just bad. SNIP SNIP...that's gone. Also take out the "She's lost the will to live" bullshit.
And being able to edit a movie could lead to better understanding of just what movie makers face with pacing and story telling.
Imagine the guys and gals working at Google doing nothing but scanning in books.
Do I need to decypher a billboard from a highway to get a job like this? Do I need a phd in computer science before I'm even considered being put on a list of people that will be called to go stand in the line leading up to filling out the application to work there? Isn't it like a 10 month interview process to where you have to be on-call 24/7 to give yet another interview to someone?
The soil on the Moon basically consists of minerals including aluminum, calcium, magnesium, oxygen, silicon, and titanium. So let's take the first one, aluminum.
It's atom has 13 protons right? So just take those 13 protons and split them up into 13 Hydrogen atoms. Then take those 13 hydrogen atoms and add them together to make 1 Oxygen atom...with 5 extra protons that can be put aside for furture oxygen building. So from just 1 aluminum atom you get 1.5 Oxygen atoms! Start cranking them out...and build some sort of machine assembly line that does this and you're on your way!
The advantage of the Mini is that it's the cheapest computer you can run OSX on...but this is a moot point if you're just going to write over it and install Linux.
Slashdot Mirror
The operators have already stated elsewhere (I don't have a link handy, sorry) that they were limited in speed because the reciever couldn't use a typewriter to write down the code he was recieving...which would be much quicker. So they were actually hampered by is writing with a pencil speed.
The morse operators were also tapping out the entire message, while the text-messenger guys were using abbreviations. Anyone that has sat in on a CW QSO would know that operators use a TON of abbreviations to keep the code quick.
And it's true, CW equipment doesn't have to be expensive at all. In fact, to get on the HF bands it's probably one of the cheapest part of the hobby, especially if you're looking to do QRP which is running at 5w or less.
In this business, a talentless whore who gets fucked in grainy night vision is more valuable to the networks than a talented actress who has spent years studying and honing her craft.
Wil Wheaton just became my new hero. Bravo!
Yeah, I was talking out of my ass, I admit it. I have no idea about any of this.
Lol...shows the power of just people typing! Yay Slashdot!!!
Lawsuits in Hollywood are hardly personal. PJ may be taking it personally, but the corperate zombies at a Hollywood studio only look at making more money.
This lawsuit will get taken care of then it will pave the way for The Hobbit if NewLine thinks they can make even more money. Money money money. It may even get resolved by promising PJ that he can produce/direct The Hobbit and take an even bigger stake in the profits...or something.
It's all red tape and shady book-keeping anyway. Arthur Anderson and the accounting they did for Enron were amatuers compared to Hollywood accountants.
What's the last thing you hear right before a site is totally slashdotted?
Here's some pics to check it out.
What most do is get the ILM badge under their belt then move on to better places to work, like Pixar or Weta. Which is why ILM can't keep ahold of the good animators anymore cause they treat them like shit. But as I said, this may have changed.
But I hate this mentality of "well, you can work somewhere else". It's like the idiocy of "be thankful you have a job" nonsense. Why can't it be a nice place to work AND make a profit? Why does it have to be a sweatshop?
I've talked to several people who have worked at ILM and currently are there. Sweatshop is a word that keeps poping up in the course of conversations. Hopefully this will change or has already changed.
That's just it...YOU have to copy the files to a new computer every 5 years. It takes effort and time. Old technology you snap a picture, get a print and a negative, throw it in a drawer or box and forget about it. 60 years later, after you die, your grandkids are looking through your things and wow...look at grandpa in a tuxedo.
With digital you constantly have to keep on top of these things to make sure you keep them up-to-date. If not, if you skip a hardware generation, you'll be in tough luck. I have things stored on 9-track tape...would be quite hard to find something to read that into my modern computer. Burn it to a CD? Better be ready to reburn them all or move them to different media in about 10 years as the material will begin to break down. There is no long-term storage yet for digital.
You just need to ensure that you regularly copy the whole pile to other hard drives, because having it all on just one may cause you to lose all of it.
And there lies the problem. Couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for backing me up!
1. That's only if you keep up and keep copying it to new media. And your family/company afterwards keep that up.
If this had to have been done back in the 1800's, how many pictures would have survived? People forget, the lose interest in doing that.
And yeah, I have found long forgotten negatives and photos taken a LONG time ago that are still good today.
I wish more people would lose their prejudices against new things and stop overrating traditional methods
I wish more people would lose their prejudices against traditional methods and stop thinking that anything that's older than 15 years is obsolete thinking.
Not being an elitist at all. I just have concerns on longevity. Also, tube amps do sound better....lol
But you're missing the point. You're grandfathers negatives are done...they don't need upgrading to new storage media. Sure, it may take a little extra storage for them...but let's face it, everyone could totally forget about these negatives for 100 years...then someone can stumble upon them and make a print of them. It's right there, it's with us now. No need to convert, no need to "keep up" with new storage. 100 years from now, will your grandchildren be able to read those 20 DVD's? I mean, you have to keep on top of this stuff, what if you just don't care anymore. What if you die and you're DVD's are put into storage, your children don't worry about it, but then your grandchildren or great grandchildren want to look back at your legacy. DVD's...what are those? Ah, too bad Great-Grandfather didn't keep upgrading the storage. Hey, look a box of negatives from the 1800's! Wow, why didn't Grandfather use film. (hehe...I know, the chances of this actually happening are very slim)
I'm sure that everything will be ironed out in the future, but that future isn't here now. I'm looking for a no-hassle medium for storage here.
How long will these cameras last? How long does the storage medium last? Yes, they have inkjet printing inks and paper that will last 70 years now...but that's just the print. What about the "negative"?
Here's my point...I could go into a camera store that sells used equipment, buy a Leica from the 40's or 50's and still run film through it. Will people still be running a digital camera they buy today 60 years from now? Will they even be able to get the info off of it?
You could take a negative from Ansel Adams that he made way back in the 20's and still make a very find, high quality print today. Don't have to worry about making any interface or program to read the data or worry if the media is still viable on a disk somewhere. Hell, with his 8x10 negs you don't even need an enlarger, could make a contact print with a lightbulb if you wanted.
Digital photos taken today won't be around 60 years from now...sorry, but that's the fact. You would constantly have to keep upgrading and transfering your shots to the latest storage medium just to keep up. Can anyone honestly say that you'll be able to read a CD 60 years from now to get the pictures off? Maybe if you find an old computer in an antique shop...maybe.
Not to mention the fact that the camera you buy today is obsolete a year from now when something better AND cheaper comes along.
I don't know, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered.
Their latest "Bullshit" episode deals directly with the US Patriot act and crap like this. It's pretty interesting, their take on all of this.
Ok, I'm officially sick to death of people using the "hardcore" term.
World of Warcraft is just as hardcore as any other MMORPG out there...in fact in many ways it's more so.
In my experience, I've seen people leave EQ for EQII then to WoW...where they stay. My entire guild in EQ moved totally to WoW..with a few die-hards staying in EQ cause "I've put too much time into this character...etc etc" What does that mean? It means they're no longer having fun.
I've been on many games after EQ trying to find the spark and feel of a totally new world...everywhere from DAoC to Star Wars to AO to AC 1&2. I've tried them out really hoping to like them, but always went back to EQ...until now. I've been on WoW now for about a year if you include the Beta's and I haven't looked back. There's nothing I want to go back to EQ for at all.
In fact, EQ died back when Luclin came out. Before Luclin there was a sense of wonder in the world. A sense of place. Yes, it took a long long time to get from Halas to Freeport...and it was a long and dangerous journey for those that couldn't get a port out. Yeah, it was a pain in the ass...but I actually liked the feeling of being isolated a bit. Of trying to look for a port out. Of gathering in EC for the auctions and trade and killed Slate and training the Grif into the tunnels etc etc etc. All that died when they got the Gates of Dischord out there with all their portals to the major cities.
No one I've ever met...except now for you ureshii...has even mentioned going back to EQ. But bottom line, WoW IS a hardcore game.
So this means what? That it will take an extra day to crack it? I mean, come on...why do they even mess around with this useless crap?
It will be cracked. Trusted computing will totally flop...as it should.
But I see you're limited to the Mac.
So on that end, you COULD get the lowest end Maya which won't totally break the bank. Also look into Lightwave. And while I started out on the precurser to Lightwave on the Amiga (called Videoscape...Alan Hastings first 3D app before going to Newtek), it is still two seperate apps with Modeler and Lightwave, which is kind of cumbersome in some instances.
The reason I was going to suggest XSI is because it's not that expensive for the base configuration and it's still a very powerfull 3D app that tends to get overlooked. But having said that, I'm a total convert to Maya.
You might want to also look at Zbrush, as that's a very interesting app too. One of the closest things to working with clay to build a model I've ever used. It's amazing what you can do with a very short amount of time.
But having said all that, I've drifted back over to 2D and create everything now in just Photoshop and Painter...with Alias Sketchbook now and then. I guess it's the traditional artist in me, I don't know. And quite frankly, even after all these years being into 3D, I'm still not that good at it. Where as I can get anything I want with Photoshop. Guess it's personal preference.
You might also want to head over to cgnetworks.com and get inspired and learn on their forums. It's a great place with people willing to help out.
Well, sorry...but this is the case. No one I know has gotten a virus. Yes, they have detected one, but the anti-virus has taken care of it...perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I didn't mean to say that I've never come across one, but I've never had one get through the normal anti-virus...except for the Mac one on System 8.
I use windows XP all day long...I'm hooked up on the internet and surf and download and blah blah blah all day long. Not once have I been hit with a virus or a trojan or an email attack. I've used computers since 1979 and have seen only a handfull of actual viruses. Meh...maybe I'm just lucky. And everyone I personally know is lucky also as they've had the same experience. The one time I came upon a major virus was...suprise suprise...on a Mac! Granted, it was running System 8 at the time. But it was the one that spread itself on Syquest disks and we had customers that would send us data on Syquest and it would infect the computer as soon as it was inserted. That as a pain to take care of.
Security problems? has this guy actually HAD security problems, or has he just read of the threat of problems and anecdotes of others that have had problems? I read them all the time too, but it's not enough for me to change OS AND hardware just because the press overplays this threat.
I run virus checkers, adware checking...am behind a hardware router/firewall. Basically the same thing I would be running on OSX also. I don't even think about it and just get on with my day.
He's created a strawman argument. It has no weight.
Windows is complex, trying to be everything to everyone. This complexity comes at a terrible price: downtime, help desks, upgrades, patches and the inevitable failures.
And OSX doesn't have any of this? Linux doesn't either? Sorry, you use a modern OS you'll have upgrades/patches/downtime from time to time.
When a new operating system or service pack is released, there are tons of changes to the functionality.
Read up on some problems people are having with Tiger and get back to us.
WinTel machines use different versions of BIOS. They are not all equal, nor do they all have the same level of compatibility.
Um...ok. What's your point?
Some Windows software applications are well written; others take shortcuts. Shortcuts may work in some environments, but not all, and ultimately the consumer pays in lost time, availability and productivity.
Again, this is a windows only problem?? It happens everywhere. But it would be nice if he were to cite examples...but he didn't have time to bring facts into the picture.
Hardware. There are hundreds of "WinTel-compatible" motherboards, each claiming to be better than the next. Whatever.
Some would call this choice. Also others would call it cheaper. Still others would call it the power to make what you want. Whatever.
Memory. Not all RAM is equal. Some works well. Cheap stuff doesn't.
Again...hello? RAM isn't equal on ANY platform! There is cheap stuff being sold and bought everyday on the Macs too you know. People don't want to overpay Apple for RAM, so they try to get something cheap and WHAM, they end up with problems.
Hard disks. Same problem: cheap or reliable. Your call.
Last I checked, Apple used the same type of Hard disks as everyone else out there. I could take a HD out of an Apple and put it in my PC and vice-versa. So how is this a "windows" problem?
Now, I'm NOT a Windows lover by any stretch of the imagination...but come on. If you're going to attack it, at least do it in an intellegent manner. This guy was just full of himself, gave no real facts or data and just spouted crap. I love Macs too, love them to death. Just wish I could actually afford a good one. One that would equal my desktop machine now. Yeah, I could afford a Mac Mini, but it's too underpowered for me. Maybe one day I'll save my pennies and get a Mac...but not because I'm "mad as hell". I don't choose something because something else sucks. I go with something because that something is right for me. It's like this last Presidential election. Many people voted for one candidate only because they didn't like the other one. They didn't vote for the person because they liked him or believed in him...only because they didn't like the other guy. WTF is that?
Then again, collaboration also leads to great things too. You can't lump everything into one basket and say "it will suck, without question, because of this".
Don't like how something is going? You yourself can lead it in another direction if you wish. I don't know how many times I've watched a movie lately and said to myself "wow, this really needs to be edited more". Case in point is Revenge of the Sith...there are a few things in there I would slice out to make it a better movie. One would be to take out the Frankenstein moment at the end with Darth Vader learning about killing his wife....take out the "NOOOOOO". I mean, that was just bad. SNIP SNIP...that's gone. Also take out the "She's lost the will to live" bullshit.
And being able to edit a movie could lead to better understanding of just what movie makers face with pacing and story telling.
Screw the why...how about the "how"?
Imagine the guys and gals working at Google doing nothing but scanning in books.
Do I need to decypher a billboard from a highway to get a job like this? Do I need a phd in computer science before I'm even considered being put on a list of people that will be called to go stand in the line leading up to filling out the application to work there? Isn't it like a 10 month interview process to where you have to be on-call 24/7 to give yet another interview to someone?
All this and you end up scanning books.
bah, we'll throw the extra neutrons out back on the neutron pile. I'm sure a start-up company will think up a use for them...and we can sell it cheap.
I mean, come on...it's pretty obvious.
The soil on the Moon basically consists of minerals including aluminum, calcium, magnesium, oxygen, silicon, and titanium. So let's take the first one, aluminum.
It's atom has 13 protons right? So just take those 13 protons and split them up into 13 Hydrogen atoms. Then take those 13 hydrogen atoms and add them together to make 1 Oxygen atom...with 5 extra protons that can be put aside for furture oxygen building. So from just 1 aluminum atom you get 1.5 Oxygen atoms! Start cranking them out...and build some sort of machine assembly line that does this and you're on your way!
Where do I pick up my check?
The advantage of the Mini is that it's the cheapest computer you can run OSX on...but this is a moot point if you're just going to write over it and install Linux.
I can write over OSX, the put on Fedora and then start the endless road into making Gnome behave and look like OSX...which I just wrote over!