Aviation is where GPS rules. Right now, the FAA is working on shutting down some of the old radio navigation beacons because GPS is so much better. Garmin also has a big presence in aviation with both hand-held and panel mounted units. Their new hand-held has GPS, weather provided by XM satellites, and terrain elevation.
Granted, this is a niche market - you could buy a small stack of laptops for the price of one of the hand-held units and a large stack of laptops for the price of a panel mount unit.
I have driven in Boston without a GPS. Granted, it was mainly to and from Logan.
I've also driven around Europe (5000km) with nothing but paper maps and road signs. Much of it is just a bit of common sense - if you're heading towards Paris and you see a sign that says "Paris thataway", maybe you'd better go thataway. If you want to go the the Mediterranean from Paris, drive south until you hit a major highway heading south. All major highways are numbered and just look for the number that goes where you want to go.
One neat thing that I noticed in Brussles was that there were signs along the ring road that had a diagram of the road with a little dot representing where you were. Since we were heading south, I just waited until I found a sign with the dot at the bottom and looked for a major highway.
Some years back (1952), Clifford Simak wrote a book that, among other things, described the earth as being overrun by ants. I'm not sure if it's in print any more, but you may be able to find it in a used book store. Well worth a read.
One thing that I've noticed here and elsewhere is that most people have difficulty recognizing talent if the talent is not expressed in a way that they personally enjoy.
I was at a restaurant a few months back and one of the staff was doing a rather operatic rendition of Happy Birthday to a customer. The people I was with were dismissive of her singing ability. Now, opera is not my thing, but she did have a remarkable voice and ability to use it.
I went to a superbowl party this year. I told some people that I now know what an atheist at a revival meeting feels like. Football is not my thing. But I can recognize that the players have genuine talent, even if I don't think that they're using it very productively.
In 10 years he'll fade, just as Lennon and Elvis have too.
I see you've never been to Las Vegas where you can make a good living as an Elvis impersonator. You and I many not be keen on his music, but somebody sure is.
BTW, due to the competitive commercial nature of aerospace software development tools, there is a level of incompatibility between them and as such there is also motive for playing the lockin game regardless of any "unforseen" risk to others. Perhaps there is a place for open source software here!!!
I think that most open source software developers would rather gnaw a their own arm off rather than work in the aerospace software development environment. It's all about documentation. It doesn't matter how good the software is, if you don't have documentation to prove it. Everything has to be documented and tested and then documented some more. You also can't just slap in a quick fix for a bug and release it. Your quick fix has to be tested and documented. In many cases it's better to leave a bug in and document the bug than to try and fix it at the last minute.
Software development in the aerospace industry is very different than most other software development. I suppose that the FDA has similar regulations, but I'm not familiar with them.
You're welcome to like Jacko, but don't assume everyone else does and assume that if they don't they're from the wrong generation. I distinctly remember even at the time friends were pretty split about him - sure some loved him, but there were still plenty that hated him even when he was in his prime.
I was never particularly fond of his music, but judging from all the attention, I have to assume that a lot of other people were.
Then it doesn't make sense for *you* to put solar on your roof. However, just because it doesn't make sense for you doesn't mean it doesn't make sense for him.
One of the most experienced test pilots flying a Cesssna 210. This is a small airplane with fully manual controls build by an American company.
He flew the plan into a thunderstorm and it came out in pieces.
It doesn't matter what you're flying. Stay away from thunderstorms. Don't even try and fly over them unless you're in a space shuttle or maybe a SR-71 or U-2.
Thunderstorms can have some ferocious up and down drafts that in addition to tearing your plane apart can kick hail up and out over quite an area.
I don't think anyone's predicting the fall of Apple, but rather just stating the obvious.
People have been predicting the fall of Apple since at least the late '80s. Apple: Proudly going out of business for over 25 years. (or is it 30 years by now) Eventually the pundits will be right and then they can say, "I told you so"
This is of course for U.S. based airlines. There are some places where the airlines are notorious for poor maintenance. However, it seems that I read not too long ago about some major U.S. airline getting fined for improper maintenance records, so it does happen here occasionally.
There are also problems with undiscovered design flaws. This also does happen, but is rather rare.
If you wanted to find the password to my slashdot account that way, you'd first have to figure out who I am, where I live, possibly travel a great distance to my house, break into it, find *my* computer, and then figure out which one of the post-its on my monitor is my slashdot password.
I suspect that in many cases writing a password down is more secure for home uses than picking something easy to remember. For corporate/office users it's a bit different since there are a bunch of other people in and out all the time.
You could snag a copy of simh and try running some real "interesting" mini and mainframe operating systems.
I've used it to emulate a PDP-11 and try and relive my glory days of RSTS/E, but somehow it's not the same without the air-conditioned room and racks of equipment.
Slashdot Mirror
A remote X-server is what runs the video wall. I can run the client program on my workstation and have it display on the wall.
Now, I just need to install the video wall in my underground lair.
Aviation is where GPS rules. Right now, the FAA is working on shutting down some of the old radio navigation beacons because GPS is so much better. Garmin also has a big presence in aviation with both hand-held and panel mounted units. Their new hand-held has GPS, weather provided by XM satellites, and terrain elevation.
Granted, this is a niche market - you could buy a small stack of laptops for the price of one of the hand-held units and a large stack of laptops for the price of a panel mount unit.
I have driven in Boston without a GPS. Granted, it was mainly to and from Logan.
I've also driven around Europe (5000km) with nothing but paper maps and road signs. Much of it is just a bit of common sense - if you're heading towards Paris and you see a sign that says "Paris thataway", maybe you'd better go thataway. If you want to go the the Mediterranean from Paris, drive south until you hit a major highway heading south. All major highways are numbered and just look for the number that goes where you want to go.
One neat thing that I noticed in Brussles was that there were signs along the ring road that had a diagram of the road with a little dot representing where you were. Since we were heading south, I just waited until I found a sign with the dot at the bottom and looked for a major highway.
Some years back (1952), Clifford Simak wrote a book that, among other things, described the earth as being overrun by ants. I'm not sure if it's in print any more, but you may be able to find it in a used book store. Well worth a read.
Oh, the name of the book is "City".
'Tracking cattle now, tracking you soon.'
Why stop there. People eat cows. Maybe soon people will eat you.
Now what was I saying? Oh yeah. Some people are so paranoid!
I'm agreeing with you.
One thing that I've noticed here and elsewhere is that most people have difficulty recognizing talent if the talent is not expressed in a way that they personally enjoy.
I was at a restaurant a few months back and one of the staff was doing a rather operatic rendition of Happy Birthday to a customer. The people I was with were dismissive of her singing ability. Now, opera is not my thing, but she did have a remarkable voice and ability to use it.
I went to a superbowl party this year. I told some people that I now know what an atheist at a revival meeting feels like. Football is not my thing. But I can recognize that the players have genuine talent, even if I don't think that they're using it very productively.
In 10 years he'll fade, just as Lennon and Elvis have too.
I see you've never been to Las Vegas where you can make a good living as an Elvis impersonator. You and I many not be keen on his music, but somebody sure is.
BTW, due to the competitive commercial nature of aerospace software development tools, there is a level of incompatibility between them and as such there is also motive for playing the lockin game regardless of any "unforseen" risk to others. Perhaps there is a place for open source software here!!!
I think that most open source software developers would rather gnaw a their own arm off rather than work in the aerospace software development environment. It's all about documentation. It doesn't matter how good the software is, if you don't have documentation to prove it. Everything has to be documented and tested and then documented some more. You also can't just slap in a quick fix for a bug and release it. Your quick fix has to be tested and documented. In many cases it's better to leave a bug in and document the bug than to try and fix it at the last minute.
Software development in the aerospace industry is very different than most other software development. I suppose that the FDA has similar regulations, but I'm not familiar with them.
You're welcome to like Jacko, but don't assume everyone else does and assume that if they don't they're from the wrong generation. I distinctly remember even at the time friends were pretty split about him - sure some loved him, but there were still plenty that hated him even when he was in his prime.
I was never particularly fond of his music, but judging from all the attention, I have to assume that a lot of other people were.
The only downside is that our toolboxes have twice as many tools in them.
How is this a downside? I'd love to have twice as many tools. (I know that's not what you meant)
Try finding a Robertson screwdriver in the U.S.
0-100 are temperatures you will commonly encounter in Fahrenheit.
I was born in Canada and live in Phoenix you insensitive clod.
Once you got your black Ford Model T, you could always slap another coat of paint on it.
Granted, it would be difficult to un-slice bread though.
Then it doesn't make sense for *you* to put solar on your roof. However, just because it doesn't make sense for you doesn't mean it doesn't make sense for him.
So, this entire thread is essentially just a bait for idle speculation and conspiracy theories. Art Bell would be proud.
Welcome to Slashdot. Enjoy your stay.
And then Microsoft will steal it from Apple.
One of the most experienced test pilots flying a Cesssna 210. This is a small airplane with fully manual controls build by an American company.
He flew the plan into a thunderstorm and it came out in pieces.
It doesn't matter what you're flying. Stay away from thunderstorms. Don't even try and fly over them unless you're in a space shuttle or maybe a SR-71 or U-2.
Thunderstorms can have some ferocious up and down drafts that in addition to tearing your plane apart can kick hail up and out over quite an area.
I don't think anyone's predicting the fall of Apple, but rather just stating the obvious.
People have been predicting the fall of Apple since at least the late '80s. Apple: Proudly going out of business for over 25 years. (or is it 30 years by now) Eventually the pundits will be right and then they can say, "I told you so"
Note that there is a bit of a difference between "incident" and "disaster".
I think that Fedex is a cargo airline, not a passenger airline. Also, in BA flight 38, while the plane crashed, there were no fatalities.
I'm not sure about Kalitta Air, but I think that the 747F is the freighter version, so this would also be cargo.
I'll give you Sudan Airways flight 109.
This is of course for U.S. based airlines. There are some places where the airlines are notorious for poor maintenance. However, it seems that I read not too long ago about some major U.S. airline getting fined for improper maintenance records, so it does happen here occasionally.
There are also problems with undiscovered design flaws. This also does happen, but is rather rare.
Dammit. Now you've got me thinking about Janice Rand again !
--
Why yes, I am an MS shill - I earned US$10 for this post alone !
OK Mr. (or Ms.) MS shill, how do you get Microsoft to pay you $10 for posting about Janice Rand? Do they need any more posters?
If you wanted to find the password to my slashdot account that way, you'd first have to figure out who I am, where I live, possibly travel a great distance to my house, break into it, find *my* computer, and then figure out which one of the post-its on my monitor is my slashdot password.
I suspect that in many cases writing a password down is more secure for home uses than picking something easy to remember. For corporate/office users it's a bit different since there are a bunch of other people in and out all the time.
erm, "Imagine a beowulf cluster..."
I'm surprised that no-one else has mentioned that yet.
You could snag a copy of simh and try running some real "interesting" mini and mainframe operating systems.
I've used it to emulate a PDP-11 and try and relive my glory days of RSTS/E, but somehow it's not the same without the air-conditioned room and racks of equipment.
Well, of course. The CD is too tough for the hole punch. If you do press hard enough on the hole punch, you could break the CD.
What you need to do is use a drill. Set low RPM and use low pressure. It may take a while, but you'll get a nice clean hole.