First can we have a PDA that does decent text-to-speech or speech-to-text, preferably both.
A hardware babelfish will revolutionise human communication later this century, but right now you need both of the above before you can begin to contemplate speech-to-speech. I can't imagine any serious algorithm at this time would attempt direct translation, without an intermediate text translation phase.
Bit OT: Considering the interest in E-Books, I don't know why music players and PDAs force users to download wave forms when we could just download text and convert using a cheap text-to-speech synth.
Great quote, very apt for the early 20th century entrepeneur. Fortunately for competitive practice, modern companies are highly leveraged and have to deal with shareholders and cashed-up megacorps circling in like vultures. A 2003 company losing one-sixtieth of its equity each year will be survive until 2010, let alone 2063.
Huge problem in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital. It used to be a pristine, elegant, small city. Its streets are now a tangle of cables.
This is a problem for societies such as China (now) and Japan (opst-war) which expand too quickly. In the pace of progress, it seems too difficult, too regressive, to take the time for really clever use of technologies, such as building cables underground, digging out walls and restoring the surface again, and, nowadays, wireless where possible.
If you look at well-preserved places, they still have modern conveniences like aircon, alarms, etc. But they are willing to spend more, often a lot more, to get the best of both worlds.
It must be said the previous book, at least according to the publisher's claims, wasn't just a spew of marketing from Oracle ---- it was supposed to be written independently, with Ellison having the right only to add footnotes, and NOT to modify the text.
That's the theory anyway. Who knows what sort of political games go on in actually agreeing to get a deal like this --- is there an unwritten rule that the author must play ball? Haven't read either, so I'm not sure...
I'll bite, if only to please you by say something different from the other 100 posts this time:-).
I didn't mean accessible as in easily available. I meant it in the user-friendly context, as you put it.ie Apple products are generally easy for non-experts to pick up and work with immediately. In contrast, the users of Walmart PCs will probably encounter many headaches along the way.
Maybe you've experienced differently; that's fine, it's just not my experience. I've seen apple newbies finding it much easier to own their new PC and do stuff with it, whereas MS users often live in a state of constant anxiety they'll get a dialog telling them there was an address at memory location 234398238. The nicest thing about Apple is they control the hardware, OS, and basic apps. In fairness to MS, it must be a difficult task writing an OS that supports so much different hardware and end-user software. The net effect is that Apple can focus on delivering a more seamless user experience.
As for accessibility in the cost context - Apple products are damn expensive compared to Walmart. It's a shame that computing novices who aren't in a position to afford Apple have to deal with playing around with their bios, applications screwing with their registry, IRQ conflicts etc.
But that's not Apple's fault. Apple continues to push the boundaries. And yes I'm sure we can all find precursors to every piece of Apple technology ever made. But apple put it together seamlessly, often the first commercialise great ideas.
That's good for everyone, because eventually other systems catch up. Witness the number of ipod copycats on the market. IIRC Apple's IPod was the first true portable HD, and they keep coming up with features that others will be adding in two yrs later.
"While it's slow, it looks so friendly you won't mind the wait."
Yeah. The first time maybe. After that, a little thing called "my life" might take priority over its cute aesthetics.
Apple products deserve these awards because, beautiful they may be, they are also extremely accessible. I wish more reviewers would consider that the primary factor.
Sun has done this before (sure, it's ECMAScript *now*, but you still call it Javascript, don't you?)
Say what you like about Sun's current capitalisation of the Java brand, but you can't blame that woeful decision on Sun. Point your finger at AOL's dwindling last hope, Netscape...
The language he created was christened "LiveScript," to reflect its dynamic nature, but was quickly (before the end of the Navigator 2.0 beta cycle) renamed JavaScript, a mistake driven by marketing that would plague web designers for years to come, as they confused the two incessantly on mailing lists and on Usenet. Netscape and Sun jointly announced the new language on December 4, 1995, calling it a "complement" to both HTML and Java.
On the main point, I'm not sure why so many people here think Java is seen as a bad or old brand name. Most mainstream consumers either haven't used Java, or if they have, probably aren't aware of it. What they do know about Java is that it powers hip stuff like space invaders on their mobile phone.
For the sake of the (real) Java platform, I hope they don't dilute the brand with a pile of crap OS. But I don't see how borrowing the Java name will do the desktop anyh harm at all.
Yep, some cities just aren't made for cycling. But of the majority that are suitable, only a few (e.g. Amsterdam) actually approach the full potential.
There's a lot of things councils can do if they want to encourage it. Obvious things like cycling paths, unbroken lanes, integration with public transport facilities. There are also more radical interventions, such as wind-tunnels and bicycle pools, which need experimentation and should be part of this European project.
About time noise pollution was taken seriously. But I'd question the solution...Instead of just diverting traffic, hopefully they look at reducing noisy types of transport and encouraging more quiet forms ---- e.g. light rail, bikes.
Several other language-specific distributions have been released in recent weeks, including the CPAN Perl Desktop, the Ansi C++ Suite, and the Pure C Distro.
C++ creator Bjorne Strausoup noted that many Linux apps are too "C-heavy" and binaries generated from C++ code would benefit from being executed in a sky-blue themed environment.
Meanwhile, Larry Wall of Perl fame pointed out that worker efficiency will be at an all-time high for users of Perl applications now that the turquoise-themed Perl distro will ensure applications point to the correct bin/ directory for perl upon installation.
The Pure C Distro dream has been thwarted by the widespread adoption of C precompilers among projects seeking to attain compatibility with the new neon pink distribution.
If it's via a recruitment agent, I'd be asking some questions.
- Most agents can't be bothered, or are too incompetent, to hold even the most shallow understanding of the technologies involved.
- Most agents wouldn't know a proper degree if it hit them in the end-of-month bonus (whether or not a relevant degree is *necessary*, it's certainly valuable).
- Most agents are nothing more than pattern-matching bottom feeders.
The good news? There are plenty of good agents out there too, and they're worth their weight in gold-laden commission for all involved.
It might be useful if you wanted to release the letters across time.
eg. there's a recent movie (can't remember the name) where the main character discovers she's going to die. Her daughter is five -- she writes one letter for every birthday until the daughter turns 18.
As for trusting a dotcom with this kind of responsibility, that's when I'd think twice. It would be nice to see something like this backed by a reputable accounting firm, if one could be located.
It's my understanding that the Beatles' management doesn't want their music sold over the internet. So you won't find it available for download from any legitimate site.
With all the battles over "Apple Records" versus "Apple the computer, non-music industry, brand", I'd look for them to eventually do a deal with Napster, emusic, anywhere but apple.
I'd have thought things would work out differently. However, the comment touches on a dichotomy of theories on history.
- View 1: "Things" are primarily formed by important events, individuals, accidents of nature.
- View 2: "Things" are primarily predestined by forces of geography, sociology, psychology, etc. Events, even on the scale of London blowing up, are insignificant overall. They may delay things and alter them in minor ways, but the trend will be as before.
Yep, says above the the purpose isn't clear. To me, this could be a very good thing --- lots of great technology has been driven by putting things "out there" and waiting for the innovative ways people use it.
The software sector is simply waking up to something that has happened to every other sector: as the segment matures, labor becomes portable, and therefore companies will seek the cheapest labor possible.
Not *Every* other sector.
Car makers, phone jockeys, clothing manufacturers? Yes.
Lawyers, architects, doctors? No.
How companies perceive software development is the telling factor. Those who treat them as blue-collar workers who have to be fed specs, pizza, and pushed around a bit, have always suffered with late deadlines and crap software. They will get the same from India for half the price.
Companies who benefit from their software, use it to their strategic advantage, being capable of change and predictability --- will stick with local workers.
This is all long term. Short term, lots of instability.
How many times is MS going to announce a "new focus" on security, or something of the sort?
Yes, this is a refreshing change from their trustworthy computing initiative of 2001 which sharply brought security into focus. MS is clearly tackling a new issue now that computers are trustworthy.
* Stop the Telstra Bulldozer in it's tracks -- support broadband. Canada proves it's possible in a big country * Sensible censorship * Sensible copyright * Serious commitment to anti-spam * Keep investing and committing to open source
Alston's policies have left Australia as an international IT joke. So much local telent, and so many opportunities in the Asian and global markets have gone to waste. More importantly, every Australian business and consumer has suffered from the 1950s attitudes of the present Aussie govt. Step into the 80s guys, the economy is not all agriculture and textiles!
At the same time, you can't always dream because resources are finite. If we dreamt like Rip Van Winkle, we'd be spending billions of dollars and a few fine minds researching parapsychology, astrology, and endeavouring to produce a perpetual motion machine.
In this case, though, the stakes are huge and quite frankly no method is a clear winner, so it seems justified to spend heavily even on very speculative ideas.
Slashdot Mirror
First can we have a PDA that does decent text-to-speech or speech-to-text, preferably both.
A hardware babelfish will revolutionise human communication later this century, but right now you need both of the above before you can begin to contemplate speech-to-speech. I can't imagine any serious algorithm at this time would attempt direct translation, without an intermediate text translation phase.
Bit OT: Considering the interest in E-Books, I don't know why music players and PDAs force users to download wave forms when we could just download text and convert using a cheap text-to-speech synth.
Great quote, very apt for the early 20th century entrepeneur. Fortunately for competitive practice, modern companies are highly leveraged and have to deal with shareholders and cashed-up megacorps circling in like vultures. A 2003 company losing one-sixtieth of its equity each year will be survive until 2010, let alone 2063.
Huge problem in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital. It used to be a pristine, elegant, small city. Its streets are now a tangle of cables.
This is a problem for societies such as China (now) and Japan (opst-war) which expand too quickly. In the pace of progress, it seems too difficult, too regressive, to take the time for really clever use of technologies, such as building cables underground, digging out walls and restoring the surface again, and, nowadays, wireless where possible.
If you look at well-preserved places, they still have modern conveniences like aircon, alarms, etc. But they are willing to spend more, often a lot more, to get the best of both worlds.
It must be said the previous book, at least according to the publisher's claims, wasn't just a spew of marketing from Oracle ---- it was supposed to be written independently, with Ellison having the right only to add footnotes, and NOT to modify the text.
...
That's the theory anyway. Who knows what sort of political games go on in actually agreeing to get a deal like this --- is there an unwritten rule that the author must play ball? Haven't read either, so I'm not sure
I'll bite, if only to please you by say something different from the other 100 posts this time :-).
I didn't mean accessible as in easily available. I meant it in the user-friendly context, as you put it.ie Apple products are generally easy for non-experts to pick up and work with immediately. In contrast, the users of Walmart PCs will probably encounter many headaches along the way.
Maybe you've experienced differently; that's fine, it's just not my experience. I've seen apple newbies finding it much easier to own their new PC and do stuff with it, whereas MS users often live in a state of constant anxiety they'll get a dialog telling them there was an address at memory location 234398238. The nicest thing about Apple is they control the hardware, OS, and basic apps. In fairness to MS, it must be a difficult task writing an OS that supports so much different hardware and end-user software. The net effect is that Apple can focus on delivering a more seamless user experience.
As for accessibility in the cost context - Apple products are damn expensive compared to Walmart. It's a shame that computing novices who aren't in a position to afford Apple have to deal with playing around with their bios, applications screwing with their registry, IRQ conflicts etc.
But that's not Apple's fault. Apple continues to push the boundaries. And yes I'm sure we can all find precursors to every piece of Apple technology ever made. But apple put it together seamlessly, often the first commercialise great ideas.
That's good for everyone, because eventually other systems catch up. Witness the number of ipod copycats on the market. IIRC Apple's IPod was the first true portable HD, and they keep coming up with features that others will be adding in two yrs later.
"the pigeons were 99 per cent reliable"
The thought of pigeons transferring data gives a whole new meaning to dropping packets.
I speculate they would become only 60% reliable when flying over statues, park benches, and human beings.
And under the G5 is a Target paper shredder ...
"While it's slow, it looks so friendly you won't mind the wait."
Yeah. The first time maybe. After that, a little thing called "my life" might take priority over its cute aesthetics.
Apple products deserve these awards because, beautiful they may be, they are also extremely accessible. I wish more reviewers would consider that the primary factor.
Sun has done this before (sure, it's ECMAScript *now*, but you still call it Javascript, don't you?)
...
Say what you like about Sun's current capitalisation of the Java brand, but you can't blame that woeful decision on Sun. Point your finger at AOL's dwindling last hope, Netscape
O'Reilly Article
The language he created was christened "LiveScript," to reflect its dynamic nature, but was quickly (before the end of the Navigator 2.0 beta cycle) renamed JavaScript, a mistake driven by marketing that would plague web designers for years to come, as they confused the two incessantly on mailing lists and on Usenet. Netscape and Sun jointly announced the new language on December 4, 1995, calling it a "complement" to both HTML and Java.
On the main point, I'm not sure why so many people here think Java is seen as a bad or old brand name. Most mainstream consumers either haven't used Java, or if they have, probably aren't aware of it. What they do know about Java is that it powers hip stuff like space invaders on their mobile phone.
For the sake of the (real) Java platform, I hope they don't dilute the brand with a pile of crap OS. But I don't see how borrowing the Java name will do the desktop anyh harm at all.
Yep, some cities just aren't made for cycling. But of the majority that are suitable, only a few (e.g. Amsterdam) actually approach the full potential.
There's a lot of things councils can do if they want to encourage it. Obvious things like cycling paths, unbroken lanes, integration with public transport facilities. There are also more radical interventions, such as wind-tunnels and bicycle pools, which need experimentation and should be part of this European project.
The license savings on 800,000 machines should come to a number that you have to an idiot to not seriously look into.
Even an idiot who views sales pitches on luxury yachts off the Italian coast?
About time noise pollution was taken seriously. But I'd question the solution...Instead of just diverting traffic, hopefully they look at reducing noisy types of transport and encouraging more quiet forms ---- e.g. light rail, bikes.
Several other language-specific distributions have been released in recent weeks, including the CPAN Perl Desktop, the Ansi C++ Suite, and the Pure C Distro.
C++ creator Bjorne Strausoup noted that many Linux apps are too "C-heavy" and binaries generated from C++ code would benefit from being executed in a sky-blue themed environment.
Meanwhile, Larry Wall of Perl fame pointed out that worker efficiency will be at an all-time high for users of Perl applications now that the turquoise-themed Perl distro will ensure applications point to the correct bin/ directory for perl upon installation.
The Pure C Distro dream has been thwarted by the widespread adoption of C precompilers among projects seeking to attain compatibility with the new neon pink distribution.
Thankyou for highlighting what the original submission ignored: that the HK issue is relevant outside the USA!
How are you hiring?
If it's via a recruitment agent, I'd be asking some questions.
- Most agents can't be bothered, or are too incompetent, to hold even the most shallow understanding of the technologies involved.
- Most agents wouldn't know a proper degree if it hit them in the end-of-month bonus (whether or not a relevant degree is *necessary*, it's certainly valuable).
- Most agents are nothing more than pattern-matching bottom feeders.
The good news? There are plenty of good agents out there too, and they're worth their weight in gold-laden commission for all involved.
It might be useful if you wanted to release the letters across time.
eg. there's a recent movie (can't remember the name) where the main character discovers she's going to die. Her daughter is five -- she writes one letter for every birthday until the daughter turns 18.
As for trusting a dotcom with this kind of responsibility, that's when I'd think twice. It would be nice to see something like this backed by a reputable accounting firm, if one could be located.
Ah, but you weren't listening to War and Peace on the treadmill were you? :-)
It's my understanding that the Beatles' management doesn't want their music sold over the internet. So you won't find it available for download from any legitimate site.
With all the battles over "Apple Records" versus "Apple the computer, non-music industry, brand", I'd look for them to eventually do a deal with Napster, emusic, anywhere but apple.
I'd have thought things would work out differently. However, the comment touches on a dichotomy of theories on history.
- View 1: "Things" are primarily formed by important events, individuals, accidents of nature.
- View 2: "Things" are primarily predestined by forces of geography, sociology, psychology, etc. Events, even on the scale of London blowing up, are insignificant overall. They may delay things and alter them in minor ways, but the trend will be as before.
imagine if all languages were named in honor of the ladies.
...
Here's a couple to get you started
- Ada
- Perl
Yep, says above the the purpose isn't clear. To me, this could be a very good thing --- lots of great technology has been driven by putting things "out there" and waiting for the innovative ways people use it.
The software sector is simply waking up to something that has happened to every other sector: as the segment matures, labor becomes portable, and therefore companies will seek the cheapest labor possible.
Not *Every* other sector.
Car makers, phone jockeys, clothing manufacturers? Yes.
Lawyers, architects, doctors? No.
How companies perceive software development is the telling factor. Those who treat them as blue-collar workers who have to be fed specs, pizza, and pushed around a bit, have always suffered with late deadlines and crap software. They will get the same from India for half the price.
Companies who benefit from their software, use it to their strategic advantage, being capable of change and predictability --- will stick with local workers.
This is all long term. Short term, lots of instability.
How many times is MS going to announce a "new focus" on security, or something of the sort?
Yes, this is a refreshing change from their trustworthy computing initiative of 2001 which sharply brought security into focus. MS is clearly tackling a new issue now that computers are trustworthy.
"The Matrix 3 will be released simultaneously in 70 sectors of the matri.. I mean... the world. CRAP!"
...
Or perhaps in 70 parallel matrices? All will be revealed
* Stop the Telstra Bulldozer in it's tracks -- support broadband. Canada proves it's possible in a big country
* Sensible censorship
* Sensible copyright
* Serious commitment to anti-spam
* Keep investing and committing to open source
Alston's policies have left Australia as an international IT joke. So much local telent, and so many opportunities in the Asian and global markets have gone to waste. More importantly, every Australian business and consumer has suffered from the 1950s attitudes of the present Aussie govt. Step into the 80s guys, the economy is not all agriculture and textiles!
At the same time, you can't always dream because resources are finite. If we dreamt like Rip Van Winkle, we'd be spending billions of dollars and a few fine minds researching parapsychology, astrology, and endeavouring to produce a perpetual motion machine.
In this case, though, the stakes are huge and quite frankly no method is a clear winner, so it seems justified to spend heavily even on very speculative ideas.