More information on WWII code breaking efforts can be found in the following story:
http://www.activedayton.com/ddn/local/projects/e ni gma/enigma_index.html
Here's an excerpt:
"Since the early 1970s, much attention has been given to the early Polish and British successes in cracking the Enigma code. The Poles called their first decoding machine a "Bomba," perhaps after the brand of ice cream cones favored by the codebreakers. Operating from the famed codebreaking school at Bletchley Park outside of London, the Brits refined and further mechanized the device, based on the theoretical work of mathematician Alan Turing. They dubbed their device a "bombe."
But by the spring of 1942, the German navy was again operating in total secrecy and with a vengeance, thanks to an upgrading of their Enigma machines. With the British Ultra effort stumped and the Germans dispatching ever more submarines to the Atlantic, the Allies feared they would lose ships to the wolfpacks faster than they could be replaced.
North Atlantic sinkings more than quadrupled in the last half of 1942 compared to the last half of 1941 -- from 600,000 tons to 2.6 million tons. "And each of the nearly 500 ships sunk in those six months," wrote military historian David Kahn in Seizing the Enigma, "meant more freezing deaths in the middle of the ocean, more widows, more fatherless children, less food for some toddler, less ammunition for some soldier, less fuel for some plane -- and the prospect of prolonging those miseries."
The Enigma was like a typewriter that encoded messages by scrambling each keystroke through a series of rotors. It could generate billions upon billions of possible letter combinations.
But unbeknownst to the Germans, the Poles and the Brits had been able to crack the three-rotor Enigma machine, relying in part on captured German documents. But when the German Navy added a fourth rotor on Feb. 1, 1942, the number of possible combinations for producing any one letter overwhelmed their decrypting abilities.
Under increasing pressure from the U.S. Navy, which had been kept in the dark while soaring numbers of its ships and sailors were lost to the wolfpacks, the British finally relinquished their control over Ultra and told the Americans to give it a go.
What was needed, and in a hurry, was a high-speed decoding machine that could run through all the possible Enigma combinations at heretofore unheard-of speeds -- a machine that the British had been working on since late 1941 without success."
I highly recommend this story - it does a great job on both a personal and a technical level.
In this context, POS does = Point of Sale. Another point to bear in mind...not all of these monitors are VGA. POS terminals have used these monitors for years, and they run the gamut from CGA to VGA. Caveat emptor...
Wouldn't it make sense for them to offer some kind of evaluation version? In a market as tough to penetrate as office suites, it would seem to make sense.
Not that they're asking a *lot* of money, but I'd like to at least be able to test drive the software before plunking down cash.
The company I work for designs bar code scanners, among other things. A few years ago, some of our advanced development folks played around with the idea of putting a scanner on the kitchen garbage can. The idea was as you threw away a package, the bar code on it would get scanned and the item would be added to your grocery list.
Cool idea, but there were too many roadblocks. Cost was one. Where the item database would reside was another. Also, where do you store the data once it was scanned? Yet another was the fact that you'd have to use one trash can to throw away everything that needed replenishment (no more throwing away shampoo bottles in the bathroom trash). And what about items that get recycled?
Interestingly enough, missing a bar code scan due to placement as the package went into the trash wasn't a big problem. Most high end scanners these days are practically omnidirectional. Scanning a torn or damaged bar code wasn't a big deal either - there are some pretty sophisticated algorithms that can read a damaged bar coade and reassemble the number.
And yes, we all laughed and made jokes about putting scanners on toilet bowls next when we first heard about it.
Re:Does Micrsoft still license DOS?
on
MS DOS: A Eulogy
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· Score: 1
Yes, Microsoft still licenses DOS, but only via what they call an Embedded Systems Contract. Essentially you have to be a Microsoft OEM to be able to get it.
There are still many dedicated function devices that are sold with DOS - POS terminals AKA cash registers are one example.
Bad luck about it being your birthday. Mine is April 19th, which is when Waco occurred, and then the OKC bombing a few years later. These dates tend to crop up over and over as extremists tend to commemorate them with additional acts of violence.
I remember a news report from a few years ago that Brigham Young University had implemented similar technology to monitor hits on pornography sites. Whether that was true, or simply an urban legend, I have no idea.
Slashdot Mirror
Wouldn't "Come together, right now" have been a better choice?
Guess the old Beatles fan still exists in me.
More information on WWII code breaking efforts can be found in the following story:
e ni gma/enigma_index.html
http://www.activedayton.com/ddn/local/projects/
Here's an excerpt:
"Since the early 1970s, much attention has been given to the early Polish and British successes in cracking the Enigma code. The Poles called their first decoding machine a "Bomba," perhaps after the brand of ice cream cones favored by the codebreakers. Operating from the famed codebreaking school at Bletchley Park outside of London, the Brits refined and further mechanized the device, based on the theoretical work of mathematician Alan Turing. They dubbed their device a "bombe."
But by the spring of 1942, the German navy was again operating in total secrecy and with a vengeance, thanks to an upgrading of their Enigma machines. With the British Ultra effort stumped and the Germans dispatching ever more submarines to the Atlantic, the Allies feared they would lose ships to the wolfpacks faster than they could be replaced.
North Atlantic sinkings more than quadrupled in the last half of 1942 compared to the last half of 1941 -- from 600,000 tons to 2.6 million tons. "And each of the nearly 500 ships sunk in those six months," wrote military historian David Kahn in Seizing the Enigma, "meant more freezing deaths in the middle of the ocean, more widows, more fatherless children, less food for some toddler, less ammunition for some soldier, less fuel for some plane -- and the prospect of prolonging those miseries."
The Enigma was like a typewriter that encoded messages by scrambling each keystroke through a series of rotors. It could generate billions upon billions of possible letter combinations.
But unbeknownst to the Germans, the Poles and the Brits had been able to crack the three-rotor Enigma machine, relying in part on captured German documents. But when the German Navy added a fourth rotor on Feb. 1, 1942, the number of possible combinations for producing any one letter overwhelmed their decrypting abilities.
Under increasing pressure from the U.S. Navy, which had been kept in the dark while soaring numbers of its ships and sailors were lost to the wolfpacks, the British finally relinquished their control over Ultra and told the Americans to give it a go.
What was needed, and in a hurry, was a high-speed decoding machine that could run through all the possible Enigma combinations at heretofore unheard-of speeds -- a machine that the British had been working on since late 1941 without success."
I highly recommend this story - it does a great job on both a personal and a technical level.
In this context, POS does = Point of Sale. Another point to bear in mind...not all of these monitors are VGA. POS terminals have used these monitors for years, and they run the gamut from CGA to VGA. Caveat emptor...
Greg
One word - TIVO.
Wouldn't it make sense for them to offer some kind of evaluation version? In a market as tough to penetrate as office suites, it would seem to make sense.
Not that they're asking a *lot* of money, but I'd like to at least be able to test drive the software before plunking down cash.
The company I work for designs bar code scanners, among other things. A few years ago, some of our advanced development folks played around with the idea of putting a scanner on the kitchen garbage can. The idea was as you threw away a package, the bar code on it would get scanned and the item would be added to your grocery list.
Cool idea, but there were too many roadblocks. Cost was one. Where the item database would reside was another. Also, where do you store the data once it was scanned? Yet another was the fact that you'd have to use one trash can to throw away everything that needed replenishment (no more throwing away shampoo bottles in the bathroom trash). And what about items that get recycled?
Interestingly enough, missing a bar code scan due to placement as the package went into the trash wasn't a big problem. Most high end scanners these days are practically omnidirectional. Scanning a torn or damaged bar code wasn't a big deal either - there are some pretty sophisticated algorithms that can read a damaged bar coade and reassemble the number.
And yes, we all laughed and made jokes about putting scanners on toilet bowls next when we first heard about it.
I undestand that Richard Garriott AKA Lord British wants to fly in space as well. I wonder how close he is to realizing that goal?
The master will not approve...
Yes, Microsoft still licenses DOS, but only via what they call an Embedded Systems Contract. Essentially you have to be a Microsoft OEM to be able to get it.
There are still many dedicated function devices that are sold with DOS - POS terminals AKA cash registers are one example.
Also, the apparent ready availabilty of nuclear weapons to some terrorist groups makes a US nuke strike fairly unlikely.
CNN (TV) is now reporting explosions in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. No word on the source.
Not to be redundant, but we all need to stay rational and cool headed right now.
Bad luck about it being your birthday. Mine is April 19th, which is when Waco occurred, and then the OKC bombing a few years later. These dates tend to crop up over and over as extremists tend to commemorate them with additional acts of violence.
To echo an earlier message - PRAY AND GIVE BLOOD.
...the caffeine sampler at thinkgeek.com in honor of this story.
The Atlanta Botanical Garden (http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org) also has (had?) one of these. I believe it last bloomed in 1998.
Their web site unfortunately doesn't seem to contain any information on it, though.
"It looks like you're posting to Slashdot..."
No comment on how clippy would offer to help out with that...
...can you go this one better, and program a Mindstorm to scratch your vinyl?
I remember a news report from a few years ago that Brigham Young University had implemented similar technology to monitor hits on pornography sites. Whether that was true, or simply an urban legend, I have no idea.