However, new aerospace materials have been widely available since the development period of the Concorde during the 1960's that may make a new supersonic airliner viable again.
You're forgetting that today's modern composite materials can be made to withstand the stresses of supersonic flight, and now the Russians have made available their knowledge of high-strength stainless steel alloys used on supersonic aircraft, we are within the technological reach of building a true Concorde replacemant. Remember the NASA/Boeing High-Speed Transport research project from the late 1990's? The research concluded it is technically possible to build a 200-250 seat Mach 2 airliner that meets today's strict jet engine noise and exhaust emission regulations, but have the range to fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo non-stop easily. The only reason why Boeing shelved the project was its US$18 billion (in 1998 dollars) development cost.
I believe the retirement of Concorde may be impetus to revive the Boeing HST; a 250-seat SST capable of flying Los Angeles to Sydney in half the time it takes now with a 747-400 (even if the plane has to refuel in Honolulu) is something a lot of the larger airlines could consider in the longer term (e.g., beyond 2010). It does help that the Boeing design will NOT be a noise pollution problem to anyone living near the airport, which makes the plane viable to operate from almost every airport in environmentally-conscious Europe.
Go read Friedrich Hayek's famous book The Road to Serfdom. Given what Hayek said in that book has shown pretty much to be true, this is one very good reason I am very skeptical of the environmental movement in many aspects.
I think given today's TCP/IP-centric networking, most server users should have dumped Windows NT Server a LONG time ago for Linux, OpenBSD/FreeBSD or the newer Windows Server versions.
Besides, Windows 2000 Server and now Windows Server 2003 supports ACPI configuration, which makes adding new hardware and driver support for new hardware much easier.
Besides, CPU, graphics card and display technology has pretty much caught up with what you can get on a Macintosh.
Today's AMD Athlon XP and Pentium 4 (Northwood core and newer) CPU's sport enough multimedia register extensions that they can easily process large amounts of graphics data quickly. Also, with Windows 2000 and Windows XP (in a way, it's been around since Windows 98) you can load special drivers for display monitors that activate special controls to fully calibrate the color of the monitor so it matches the printed output.
Given that PC's are 85% of the market for desktop machines Adobe has to cater to the market that has the most potential to make money--and the PC market is it.
I believe while the first release of Windows Server 2003 (which will ship in April) won't support the x86-64 registers of the Opteron/Athlon 64 CPU, I'm sure that Microsoft will have a Service Pack and/or updated version of Windows Server 2003 shipping by September 2003, the release date of the desktop-based Athlon 64 CPU.
The main point of the movie is how Western civilization *devastated* the Japanese people, especially in the form of capitalism.
I find it interesting you mentioned that because that means the movie expresses concerns about Japan since the time of the Meiji Restoration starting in 1868? In many ways, the Meiji Restoration was actually good for Japanese society because it prevented Japan from suffering the type of political and military convulsions that ruined China in the modern European colonial era.
Fortunately, if you watch the Princess Mononoke Region 1 DVD, you can setup to play back the movie in the original Japanese version with English subtitles. The nice thing is that the subtitles are a literal translation of the original Japanese spoken parts, which actually added to the enjoyment of the movie.
It should be noted that the Region 1 DVD releases of Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service will also feature subtitles that are a literal translation of the original Japanese spoken parts, too.
Lilo & Stitch was a wonderful movie not only because of the excellent storytelling, but the very effective use of music (especially the two traditional Hawaiian songs) and the beautiful watercolor-painted backgrounds, which really added to the charm of the film. It's Disney's best non-Pixar animated feature since The Lion King in 1994, in my opinion.
Actually, I was slightly surprised that Spirited Away won Best Animated Feature. I had concerns that AMPAS voters would be leery about voting a non-American produced animated feature for this Oscar, which would tilt the votes in favor or Lilo & Stitch (which in my opinion is Disney's best non-Pixar animated feature since The Lion King ).
But as such, I am very happy Spirited Away did win, and hopefully this will lead to Disney releasing more Studio Ghibli movies in limited theatrical release and/or Region 1 DVD release over the next few years.
I don't think Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BHVE) wants a wrongly-colored version of Spirited Away for the Region 1 DVD release, given that here in the USA most serious videophiles have larger-size CRT-tube TV's or projection TV's, and that reddish tint will stand out like a sore thumb on bigger TV's.
The subtitles on the Region 1 release of Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service will be like the Princess Mononoke R1 release--a near-literal translation of the original Japanese voice track. Which I found very good because I actually enjoyed Princess Mononoke in subtitled form better.:-)
We do have a baseline to study the sun--the sunspot cycle.
Scientists shortly after the time of Galileo have been observing sunspots, and they have recorded increase and decreases in sunspot activity since at least the 1600's.
I think the best way to look at Earth's climate to analyze the sunspot cycle, which has been scientifically monitored shortly after Galileo started using telescopes for astronomical research.
We do know that during a period of around 100 years in the 17th and 18th Centuries there was actually NO recorded sunspots--that matched almost perfectly the last time Europe had significantly cold winters caused not by a major volcanic eruption.
Earth's climate has warmed recently due to the fact sunspot activity during solar maximum periods have been exceptionally strong. In my personal opinion, I think Earth is just returning to a period of warmer temperatures more akin to the times when the dinosaurs were the highest lifeforms.
In my personal opinion, the only way TiVo will continue to survive is to merge with a larger company.
That company is Sony Corporation. There are two good reasons for this: 1) Sony already has experience using Linux for consumer products, so developing for TiVo will not require a new learning curve for their engineers, and 2) Sony already is a licensee of TiVo technology.
With the recognition of one of the best-known brands in the world and Sony's powerful marketing muscle, Sony could incorporate TiVo technology into HDTV tuner boxes (cable, over-air, and DBS) and even onto projection TV units. It's even possible that Sony could even merge TiVo technology into products derived from the successor to the PlayStation 2.
I wished Matsushita Electric (the parent company of Panasonic) had bought out SonicBlue at least a couple of years ago.
Panasonic could have kept the ReplayTV PVR and Rio players as a viable line of products or at least incorporated its technology into Panasonic products.
This is why I think TiVo will be purchased by Sony fairly soon, given that Sony already is committed to using Linux for consumer product development and also Sony is a TiVo licensee. Given Sony's name recognition, TiVo products could really become popular under Sony's stewardship.
I remember several months ago there was an mention here on/. about a special small satellite dish transceiver unit (about the size of most carry-on luggage) that could transmit data at well over one megabits per second. With that type of bandwidth near-broadcast quality video is possible; how come nobody is using it right now in the Middle East?
However, four years ago Linux had not been ported to run on IBM's AS/400 and S/9000 "big iron" machines.
But since IBM now offers Linux on their "big iron" machines, this will essentially be the sign that Sun Microsystems will take a beating from the high end from IBM mainframes/minicomputers running Linux and from the low end from Dell and several other vendors offering small servers or racks of small servers also running Linux.
I think the entire issue of commercial skipping has been around since VCR's got the ability to do visual fast forward through commercial breaks.
On a lot of the newer VCR's (I have a Mitsubishi HS-U595), you can press one button and fast-forward the playback in fixed-time increments; my VCR can do it between 30 and 180 seconds in 30-second increments. The 150 and 180 second skip modes are enough to fast-forward through station breaks in a small fraction of the normal time; you suddenly realize how much less time it takes to watch an episode of your favorite TV show in playback mode.
Re:The recession is open source's best friend
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CIOs Looking At OSS
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· Score: 1
It also helps when smaller companies see that when the most influential computer company in the world--IBM--has invested heavily in Linux development, it means that Linux is pretty much ready to tackle serious, high-volume computing needs.
I think the reason why larger companies are investigating the possibility of using Linux and other Open Source software is the fact biggest supporter of OSS is probably the most influential computer company in the world: IBM.
Given IBM's US$1 billion plus investment in porting Linux to run on AS/400 and S/9000 big iron machines, no wonder why the Fortune 500 crowd is taking notice. Look at what IBM has pulled off so far--the official web sites for the Grand Slam tennis events (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) are all run off IBM hardware and software, sites that proved it could hold up under extremely heavy loads.
The big loser in all this is Sun Microsystems. Sun's still major reliance on Solaris will get Sun hammered the in long run from the high end by IBM big iron running Linux and from the low end by Dell x86-based servers also running Linux.
The problem is that with increasingly capable multimedia capabilities of desktop machines we're starting to approach the limits of 32-bit computing. We could use the capabilities of 64-bit computing for serious image-editing (especially now with 5 megapixel and higher digital cameras dropping in price rapidly!) and serious video editing (e.g., editing videos downloaded from your MiniDV format camcorder and then burning a DVD-R disc from the edited video).
Also, games could benefit from 64-bit processing. Imagine being able to process larger amounts of data to do 3-D graphics that will be of much higher quality than currently possible--games will start to look something akin to participating in a photorealistic movie.
It should be noted that the water flows from Olympus Mons is of briny water (e.g., water that has likely a high chemical content). That means that this water will evaporate at a relatively slow rate even with Mars' thinner atmosphere due to its chemical composition as compared to more "pure" water.
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However, new aerospace materials have been widely available since the development period of the Concorde during the 1960's that may make a new supersonic airliner viable again.
You're forgetting that today's modern composite materials can be made to withstand the stresses of supersonic flight, and now the Russians have made available their knowledge of high-strength stainless steel alloys used on supersonic aircraft, we are within the technological reach of building a true Concorde replacemant. Remember the NASA/Boeing High-Speed Transport research project from the late 1990's? The research concluded it is technically possible to build a 200-250 seat Mach 2 airliner that meets today's strict jet engine noise and exhaust emission regulations, but have the range to fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo non-stop easily. The only reason why Boeing shelved the project was its US$18 billion (in 1998 dollars) development cost.
I believe the retirement of Concorde may be impetus to revive the Boeing HST; a 250-seat SST capable of flying Los Angeles to Sydney in half the time it takes now with a 747-400 (even if the plane has to refuel in Honolulu) is something a lot of the larger airlines could consider in the longer term (e.g., beyond 2010). It does help that the Boeing design will NOT be a noise pollution problem to anyone living near the airport, which makes the plane viable to operate from almost every airport in environmentally-conscious Europe.
Go read Friedrich Hayek's famous book The Road to Serfdom. Given what Hayek said in that book has shown pretty much to be true, this is one very good reason I am very skeptical of the environmental movement in many aspects.
I think given today's TCP/IP-centric networking, most server users should have dumped Windows NT Server a LONG time ago for Linux, OpenBSD/FreeBSD or the newer Windows Server versions.
Besides, Windows 2000 Server and now Windows Server 2003 supports ACPI configuration, which makes adding new hardware and driver support for new hardware much easier.
Besides, CPU, graphics card and display technology has pretty much caught up with what you can get on a Macintosh.
Today's AMD Athlon XP and Pentium 4 (Northwood core and newer) CPU's sport enough multimedia register extensions that they can easily process large amounts of graphics data quickly. Also, with Windows 2000 and Windows XP (in a way, it's been around since Windows 98) you can load special drivers for display monitors that activate special controls to fully calibrate the color of the monitor so it matches the printed output.
Given that PC's are 85% of the market for desktop machines Adobe has to cater to the market that has the most potential to make money--and the PC market is it.
I believe while the first release of Windows Server 2003 (which will ship in April) won't support the x86-64 registers of the Opteron/Athlon 64 CPU, I'm sure that Microsoft will have a Service Pack and/or updated version of Windows Server 2003 shipping by September 2003, the release date of the desktop-based Athlon 64 CPU.
The main point of the movie is how Western civilization *devastated* the Japanese people, especially in the form of capitalism.
I find it interesting you mentioned that because that means the movie expresses concerns about Japan since the time of the Meiji Restoration starting in 1868? In many ways, the Meiji Restoration was actually good for Japanese society because it prevented Japan from suffering the type of political and military convulsions that ruined China in the modern European colonial era.
Fortunately, if you watch the Princess Mononoke Region 1 DVD, you can setup to play back the movie in the original Japanese version with English subtitles. The nice thing is that the subtitles are a literal translation of the original Japanese spoken parts, which actually added to the enjoyment of the movie.
It should be noted that the Region 1 DVD releases of Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service will also feature subtitles that are a literal translation of the original Japanese spoken parts, too.
Lilo & Stitch was a wonderful movie not only because of the excellent storytelling, but the very effective use of music (especially the two traditional Hawaiian songs) and the beautiful watercolor-painted backgrounds, which really added to the charm of the film. It's Disney's best non-Pixar animated feature since The Lion King in 1994, in my opinion.
Actually, I was slightly surprised that Spirited Away won Best Animated Feature. I had concerns that AMPAS voters would be leery about voting a non-American produced animated feature for this Oscar, which would tilt the votes in favor or Lilo & Stitch (which in my opinion is Disney's best non-Pixar animated feature since The Lion King ).
But as such, I am very happy Spirited Away did win, and hopefully this will lead to Disney releasing more Studio Ghibli movies in limited theatrical release and/or Region 1 DVD release over the next few years.
I don't think Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BHVE) wants a wrongly-colored version of Spirited Away for the Region 1 DVD release, given that here in the USA most serious videophiles have larger-size CRT-tube TV's or projection TV's, and that reddish tint will stand out like a sore thumb on bigger TV's.
The subtitles on the Region 1 release of Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service will be like the Princess Mononoke R1 release--a near-literal translation of the original Japanese voice track. Which I found very good because I actually enjoyed Princess Mononoke in subtitled form better. :-)
...The movie is coming out on Region 1 DVD April 15, 2003. Along with Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky.
We do have a baseline to study the sun--the sunspot cycle.
Scientists shortly after the time of Galileo have been observing sunspots, and they have recorded increase and decreases in sunspot activity since at least the 1600's.
I think the best way to look at Earth's climate to analyze the sunspot cycle, which has been scientifically monitored shortly after Galileo started using telescopes for astronomical research.
We do know that during a period of around 100 years in the 17th and 18th Centuries there was actually NO recorded sunspots--that matched almost perfectly the last time Europe had significantly cold winters caused not by a major volcanic eruption.
Earth's climate has warmed recently due to the fact sunspot activity during solar maximum periods have been exceptionally strong. In my personal opinion, I think Earth is just returning to a period of warmer temperatures more akin to the times when the dinosaurs were the highest lifeforms.
I had a chance to hold the new GameBoy Advance SP.
Big problem--it doesn't fit your hands comfortably. I like the older GBA design because all the controls fit your hands very comfortably.
In my personal opinion, the only way TiVo will continue to survive is to merge with a larger company.
That company is Sony Corporation. There are two good reasons for this: 1) Sony already has experience using Linux for consumer products, so developing for TiVo will not require a new learning curve for their engineers, and 2) Sony already is a licensee of TiVo technology.
With the recognition of one of the best-known brands in the world and Sony's powerful marketing muscle, Sony could incorporate TiVo technology into HDTV tuner boxes (cable, over-air, and DBS) and even onto projection TV units. It's even possible that Sony could even merge TiVo technology into products derived from the successor to the PlayStation 2.
I wished Matsushita Electric (the parent company of Panasonic) had bought out SonicBlue at least a couple of years ago.
Panasonic could have kept the ReplayTV PVR and Rio players as a viable line of products or at least incorporated its technology into Panasonic products.
This is why I think TiVo will be purchased by Sony fairly soon, given that Sony already is committed to using Linux for consumer product development and also Sony is a TiVo licensee. Given Sony's name recognition, TiVo products could really become popular under Sony's stewardship.
I remember several months ago there was an mention here on /. about a special small satellite dish transceiver unit (about the size of most carry-on luggage) that could transmit data at well over one megabits per second. With that type of bandwidth near-broadcast quality video is possible; how come nobody is using it right now in the Middle East?
However, four years ago Linux had not been ported to run on IBM's AS/400 and S/9000 "big iron" machines.
But since IBM now offers Linux on their "big iron" machines, this will essentially be the sign that Sun Microsystems will take a beating from the high end from IBM mainframes/minicomputers running Linux and from the low end from Dell and several other vendors offering small servers or racks of small servers also running Linux.
I think the entire issue of commercial skipping has been around since VCR's got the ability to do visual fast forward through commercial breaks.
On a lot of the newer VCR's (I have a Mitsubishi HS-U595), you can press one button and fast-forward the playback in fixed-time increments; my VCR can do it between 30 and 180 seconds in 30-second increments. The 150 and 180 second skip modes are enough to fast-forward through station breaks in a small fraction of the normal time; you suddenly realize how much less time it takes to watch an episode of your favorite TV show in playback mode.
It also helps when smaller companies see that when the most influential computer company in the world--IBM--has invested heavily in Linux development, it means that Linux is pretty much ready to tackle serious, high-volume computing needs.
Linux is already at the place where it can do the most good: high-end high-volume critical-uptime machines.
That's what you get when IBM spends US$1 billion to port Linux to run on AS/400 and S/9000 big iron. =)
I think the reason why larger companies are investigating the possibility of using Linux and other Open Source software is the fact biggest supporter of OSS is probably the most influential computer company in the world: IBM.
Given IBM's US$1 billion plus investment in porting Linux to run on AS/400 and S/9000 big iron machines, no wonder why the Fortune 500 crowd is taking notice. Look at what IBM has pulled off so far--the official web sites for the Grand Slam tennis events (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) are all run off IBM hardware and software, sites that proved it could hold up under extremely heavy loads.
The big loser in all this is Sun Microsystems. Sun's still major reliance on Solaris will get Sun hammered the in long run from the high end by IBM big iron running Linux and from the low end by Dell x86-based servers also running Linux.
Multimedia.
The problem is that with increasingly capable multimedia capabilities of desktop machines we're starting to approach the limits of 32-bit computing. We could use the capabilities of 64-bit computing for serious image-editing (especially now with 5 megapixel and higher digital cameras dropping in price rapidly!) and serious video editing (e.g., editing videos downloaded from your MiniDV format camcorder and then burning a DVD-R disc from the edited video).
Also, games could benefit from 64-bit processing. Imagine being able to process larger amounts of data to do 3-D graphics that will be of much higher quality than currently possible--games will start to look something akin to participating in a photorealistic movie.
It should be noted that the water flows from Olympus Mons is of briny water (e.g., water that has likely a high chemical content). That means that this water will evaporate at a relatively slow rate even with Mars' thinner atmosphere due to its chemical composition as compared to more "pure" water.