As seen in the linked article in the parewnt message:
From: torvalds@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Linus Benedict Torvalds) Newsgroups: comp.os.minix Subject: Re: LINUX is obsolete Date: 29 Jan 92 23:14:26 GMT Organization: University of Helsinki
If the GNU kernel had been ready last spring, I'd not have bothered to even start my project: the fact is that it wasn't and still isn't. Linux wins heavily on points of being available now.
To think how close Linux came to not being around at all.
Looks like we are moving more and more towards a weird variation of the world of Max Headroom. Reading this story, I was reminded of the episode where there was a brief mention of a Solar Yacht race.
What Is Interesting is to take look at the series, which was so prescient in so many ways, which also missed the Internet as being a part of world culture. It was really too hot for TV, and took more than a nibble out of the hand that fed it. For those who do not remember it, it was a 1987 TV show based on a world run entirely by the multimedia moguls, and where the Internet did not exist, and TV was mandatory.
Actually, he probably bought it because that's where they buried the bodies in the old days, and he wanted to make sure no body got at the evidence.
Between that and satanic rituals, I am sure there is enough there to make a good hollywood movie. Folklore has always muttered things about Bill's deal with the Devil, so why not?
Freedom to NOT listen
on
Republic.Com
·
· Score: 3
The freedom to speak or to NOT speak is intimately tied into the freedom to listen or not listen as we see fit.
Regardless of the various moral positions we wish to promote, this is a quandry we all run into.
To a certain degree, it is a measure of our social skills, to be able to be in communication with someone who does not want to listen. Some poeple who are not very skilled try to insist on it as a right, when in fact it is a matter of social agreement (yah, I'll watch your commercial)
And let's face it the freedom to not listen is often taken as an act of integrity. Republicans not listening to Democrats, dogs not listening to cats, Microsoft not listening to anyone (except when it hurts), etc.
I am sure each of us can think of dozens of things you don't want to listen to. It is an interesting quandry.
I have someplace around on an old harddrive a win app that can save a doc into an arbitrary pattern of dots on a sheet of paper. The idea is that with a sufficient high rez scanner you couild recover your binary data from paper backups. It's a win 3.1 app, but I think the folks are still around someplace.
The other thing I think I have archived achieves hiding data in an image file by subtly shifting the bits. Basically similar to a water mark, but for hiding binary data.
So while this is interesting, I'm hoping that they don't try for a patent or anything.
It's wonderful to have money, and to be able to design everything from scratch.
But like everything that gets you ahead of the curve performance only for a little while. If not next year, then in 5 or ten years, it will be obsolete and they'll have to look at rebuilding the whole thing in terabyte network speeds. I imagine you'll be able to do interesting things with that kind of bandwidth. (3d movies, for example)
Although
you should not really get into the attitude of "If someone's doing it, it must be old" type of thinking.
(I am reminded of the "keepup with the jone's" attitude you see sometimes in hardware ownership, etc.)
While this is important in terms of the field, as far as day to day life goes, it is not very important. After all, we have billions and billions of years before the wrap party.
Other areas of research, like the search for planets are slightly more relevant. I want to know if we have neighbors, and if we have to worry about them
if you are into Beowulf clusters, there is the Parallel Virtual File System. Basically it is something that allows you to configuration the drives from many machines into one large drive.
You can find added information here on other similar systems
Well, for exampl there is this bit in the Register today:
Microsoft has knifed Bluetooth by refusing to support the technology in Windows XP.
"The format still seems to have some bugs in it... It looks like Bluetooth is not ready for prime time" Carl Stork, general manger of the Windows division told EE Times at WinHEC last week. Stork
added, we presume with a straight face, that "we wouldn't want to ship something that doesn't work".
hahahahahehehe hohoho
But in hind site, this is exactly the problem on auto updates. How can you trust them IF you want to exercise some control over your own technology.
Heck the most recent IE patch was bobbled, as reported here:
. . . the
company's patch to fix a potentially seriously security problem works only if they upgrade their browsers.
I look forward to the following headline:
"It was announced today that the latest update of IE from Microsoft replaces all web links, etc with Microsoft equivalents, erasing all previously existing data as being irrelevant.
An MS spokesman said: 'Why wouldn't you want Microsoft Porn? It's simply better!' "
They could lay off 5,000 people, OR quit shelling out that much in MS licenses and pay salaries!"
I like this alot
unfortunately, if you have a company addicted to MS, making the transition is going to be uncomfortable. In a lot of smaller companies, the Access databases are designed by people with home grown skills. They are not professionals. You have the most amazing kludges running just to keep everything going.
I have a friend who went into a place where they wanted him to fix a database (just patch it up) in 2 days, and the setup would need at LEAST two weeks to inventory. And they were trying to gype him every step of the way. and this IS a 100 million dollar company retailling upscale womens clothing. (names omitted to protect the guilty),
They wanted to do the fix inside certain budget parameters that were far too small. But this is the database that runs the financials for the whole company. It is only the lifeblood of the firm. Talk about penny wise and pound foolish.
And yet they sort of manage to stagger by. I wonder how they stay in business at all.
This has probably been submitted dozens of times since the Reg posted it week. Granted that this is probably the most elaborate of the submissions, with lots of supporting links, etc.
Microsoft should probably put in etraordinarily clear armor plated language that this does not license them to theft of corporate secrets, not that this has never stopped them before.
That said, If it wasn't news last week, why is it news now?
(People moan about news items around here being old if they saw it twelve hours ago, but the age on this seems a little extreme)
Heck, it could have made a wonderful story for April Fools day, the one legit story that would have looked like a fake.
The formula in question is very practical but only works for near earth heights. The geometry it uses is in fact based on the shape of the parabola (note the simple square root element). The higher the object, the less accurate it is, but it doesn't get bad until you get to hundreds on miles high above the surface. At which point alot of other factors are getting in the way as well.
More on the Formula, since I looked into this when I used to work with RF stuff.
Let the radius of the Earth = A
Let the distance from the transmittion point to the horizon = B
Let the height of the tower (ie, the transmission point) = H
Let the Radius of the Earth plus the Height of the tower = C
We can now put this into the classic form of the Pythagorean theorem.
A Squared plus B Squared = C Squared
Where we want to solve for B
(Make sure that the Units of measure are uniform throughout.)
We could even get geekier by wanting to get the distance as measured along the surface, using trigometric tools, etc. Drawing it out for illustration purposes is useful, too.
The resulting formula is more combersome that the old rule of thumb given in the O'Reilly article, based on the Parabola, etc. But the formula is Good Enough(tm)
This almost makes the satellites and the perpetually flying aircraft (mentioned a while back) sound competitive.
In some cases, the wireless towers would be 1000 ft tall. But that only gets you to just under 38 miles to the horizon. As noted in the article 10k feet gets you 126 miles. There is a diminishing returns factor here.
second minor nitpick point. The formula in question is very practical but only works for near earth heights. The geometry it uses is in fact based on the shape of the parabola (note the simple square root element). The higher the object, the less accurate it is, but it doesn't get bad until you get to hundreds on miles high above the surface. At which point alot of other factors are getting in the way as well.
There was this legit story on slash some months back
But this is not a story of gene transplant for geeks for four color sight.
And there was a story a while back about a new basic taste being "discovered" (basic tastes being sweet, bitter salty), this being a flavor that is more common in asian foods, and is found in many oriental dishes.
But what about re-engineering the monitors to take advantage of the new discovery?
None of this stuff is funny. Whoever's at the controls of/. today: Take the hint & cut the crap. It's not clever, it's not interesting, it's not not worth a damn. If you honestly can't find anything that belongs under the "News for Nerds. Stuff that matters" banner then just go silent.
If you want to see how slash would look like in haxor speak - click here (courtesy of this web tool)
I am shocked.
Are you suggesting that Slashdot should censor the authors of this stuff, no matter how awful it is?
Let's face it, this is Open Source Literature at its' best.
Actually, George W Bush is the Child of space aliens, and didn't make the cut to stay in space. But he was just good enough to rule Earth for Them.
Don't believe it? Remember that George Bush the senior used to be head of the CIA. Who knows what he did as part of those Black Budget programs. A perfectly programmed candidate.
Either this becomes the ultimate in recursive protocols, or else this the start of a plot to take down by using it to to create a massive series on infinite loops between home computers and the rest of the planet.
Wait... Spam does that now with the ask off questions.
Slashdot Mirror
[shudder]
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
What Is Interesting is to take look at the series, which was so prescient in so many ways, which also missed the Internet as being a part of world culture. It was really too hot for TV, and took more than a nibble out of the hand that fed it. For those who do not remember it, it was a 1987 TV show based on a world run entirely by the multimedia moguls, and where the Internet did not exist, and TV was mandatory.
Talk about hitting a little close to home.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
Between that and satanic rituals, I am sure there is enough there to make a good hollywood movie. Folklore has always muttered things about Bill's deal with the Devil, so why not?
:-)
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
Would it be a place where technology posts got moderated down as a "troll"?
Probably would get a bunch of hits ...
;-)
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
Regardless of the various moral positions we wish to promote, this is a quandry we all run into.
To a certain degree, it is a measure of our social skills, to be able to be in communication with someone who does not want to listen. Some poeple who are not very skilled try to insist on it as a right, when in fact it is a matter of social agreement (yah, I'll watch your commercial)
And let's face it the freedom to not listen is often taken as an act of integrity. Republicans not listening to Democrats, dogs not listening to cats, Microsoft not listening to anyone (except when it hurts), etc.
I am sure each of us can think of dozens of things you don't want to listen to. It is an interesting quandry.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
The other thing I think I have archived achieves hiding data in an image file by subtly shifting the bits. Basically similar to a water mark, but for hiding binary data.
So while this is interesting, I'm hoping that they don't try for a patent or anything.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
But like everything that gets you ahead of the curve performance only for a little while. If not next year, then in 5 or ten years, it will be obsolete and they'll have to look at rebuilding the whole thing in terabyte network speeds. I imagine you'll be able to do interesting things with that kind of bandwidth. (3d movies, for example)
Although you should not really get into the attitude of "If someone's doing it, it must be old" type of thinking.
(I am reminded of the "keepup with the jone's" attitude you see sometimes in hardware ownership, etc.)
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
;-)
While this is important in terms of the field, as far as day to day life goes, it is not very important. After all, we have billions and billions of years before the wrap party.
Other areas of research, like the search for planets are slightly more relevant. I want to know if we have neighbors, and if we have to worry about them
The rest is somewhat abstract for my taste.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
if you are into Beowulf clusters, there is the Parallel Virtual File System. Basically it is something that allows you to configuration the drives from many machines into one large drive.
You can find added information here on other similar systems
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
Microsoft has knifed Bluetooth by refusing to support the technology in Windows XP.
"The format still seems to have some bugs in it... It looks like Bluetooth is not ready for prime time" Carl Stork, general manger of the Windows division told EE Times at WinHEC last week. Stork added, we presume with a straight face, that "we wouldn't want to ship something that doesn't work".
hahahahahehehe hohoho
But in hind site, this is exactly the problem on auto updates. How can you trust them IF you want to exercise some control over your own technology.
Heck the most recent IE patch was bobbled, as reported here:
. . . the company's patch to fix a potentially seriously security problem works only if they upgrade their browsers.
I look forward to the following headline:
"It was announced today that the latest update of IE from Microsoft replaces all web links, etc with Microsoft equivalents, erasing all previously existing data as being irrelevant.
An MS spokesman said: 'Why wouldn't you want Microsoft Porn? It's simply better!' "
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
I like this alot
unfortunately, if you have a company addicted to MS, making the transition is going to be uncomfortable. In a lot of smaller companies, the Access databases are designed by people with home grown skills. They are not professionals. You have the most amazing kludges running just to keep everything going.
I have a friend who went into a place where they wanted him to fix a database (just patch it up) in 2 days, and the setup would need at LEAST two weeks to inventory. And they were trying to gype him every step of the way. and this IS a 100 million dollar company retailling upscale womens clothing. (names omitted to protect the guilty), They wanted to do the fix inside certain budget parameters that were far too small. But this is the database that runs the financials for the whole company. It is only the lifeblood of the firm. Talk about penny wise and pound foolish.
And yet they sort of manage to stagger by. I wonder how they stay in business at all.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
NOTE: they even have a 800 number for customer care. Remember kiddies, no foul language.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
"Your desired configuration is not compatible with our marketing plans, you will be upgrade accordingly.
it used to be a joke about MS and the Borg. Now it is not so funny.
It is this sort of thing that leads to "bad thoughts"
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
Microsoft should probably put in etraordinarily clear armor plated language that this does not license them to theft of corporate secrets, not that this has never stopped them before.
That said, If it wasn't news last week, why is it news now?
(People moan about news items around here being old if they saw it twelve hours ago, but the age on this seems a little extreme)
Heck, it could have made a wonderful story for April Fools day, the one legit story that would have looked like a fake.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
Help!(tm) Help!(tm)
Before(tm) I(tm) Do(tm) something(tm) radical!(tm)
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
And the amount of internet traffic continues to increase, dragging the net to a halt.
a modified/updated Internet Cleanup day is being contemplated, with the intent of deleting spammers from the internet.
Stay tuned
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
More on the Formula, since I looked into this when I used to work with RF stuff.
Let the radius of the Earth = A
Let the distance from the transmittion point to the horizon = B
Let the height of the tower (ie, the transmission point) = H
Let the Radius of the Earth plus the Height of the tower = C
We can now put this into the classic form of the Pythagorean theorem.
A Squared plus B Squared = C Squared Where we want to solve for B
(Make sure that the Units of measure are uniform throughout.)
We could even get geekier by wanting to get the distance as measured along the surface, using trigometric tools, etc. Drawing it out for illustration purposes is useful, too.
The resulting formula is more combersome that the old rule of thumb given in the O'Reilly article, based on the Parabola, etc. But the formula is Good Enough(tm)
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
In some cases, the wireless towers would be 1000 ft tall. But that only gets you to just under 38 miles to the horizon. As noted in the article 10k feet gets you 126 miles. There is a diminishing returns factor here.
second minor nitpick point. The formula in question is very practical but only works for near earth heights. The geometry it uses is in fact based on the shape of the parabola (note the simple square root element). The higher the object, the less accurate it is, but it doesn't get bad until you get to hundreds on miles high above the surface. At which point alot of other factors are getting in the way as well.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
But this is not a story of gene transplant for geeks for four color sight.
And there was a story a while back about a new basic taste being "discovered" (basic tastes being sweet, bitter salty), this being a flavor that is more common in asian foods, and is found in many oriental dishes.
But what about re-engineering the monitors to take advantage of the new discovery?
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
If you want to see how slash would look like in haxor speak - click here (courtesy of this web tool)
I am shocked.
Are you suggesting that Slashdot should censor the authors of this stuff, no matter how awful it is?
Let's face it, this is Open Source Literature at its' best.
or maybe not.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
It might make SlashDot look more respectable
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
Don't believe it? Remember that George Bush the senior used to be head of the CIA. Who knows what he did as part of those Black Budget programs. A perfectly programmed candidate.
Really, this is a joke
Really.
Don't look at those men behind the curtain
Please?
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
Wait ... Spam does that now with the ask off questions.
we are doomed
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
Some people need to get out more.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip