What I found interesting about it was that the article hints that you could hook up a keyboard to the device and a drive and have a computer. They keep getting better and better games in these things. Pretty soon PS one in a gamepad.
Cars are a bad metaphore. Mostly made by large comglomerates.
Lexus and Scion are made by Toyota. Saturn made be General Motors, Geo, was GM rebrand of cars made by Toyota I beleive Subaru - Fuju Heavy Industries Kia is from Huyndi (large comglomerate.)
But your right, software/computers are still places were an individual can make it with hard work and good design.
Also she is working for a NJ toy manufacturer not out on her own.
On the mac anway (I don't know about windows). When you plug it in the ipod "mounts" onto your desktop and you can use it as a hard drive.
You can copy file on an off this like it was an external drive. There is a "urban legend" story of someone walking into a compusa with an ipod and walking out with a ipod full of software...
The music is in a "hidden" file (starts with a.) if I remember correctly. I think its easy to get the songs off, its just hard to put new songs on the ipod without itunes or some utility.
Optical media works fine for the MD player when you could get 40+ hours out of a single aa.
But Sony's not using there new "not catching on" 1 gig MD discs but another probably more power hungry disc type for fear of piracy. When will they learn.
I have about 5-7 different passwords at work. Unix1/Unix2/windows/Notes and the web based.payroll/timecard/training/ etc...
The problem is they 1. All have different rules (8+ char upper/lower etc). 2. Have different times to expire 3. Have different cycles (ei can't use last 7...) 4. Have different tolerances on how oftern you can get them wrong
Life was good until step 4 was implimented. Unix machines lock you out after 3 bad attempts.
so you have to call a sys admin
Also implimented on the web based timecard system. Again 4x wrong and a phone call is required. Not fun to be locked out of your timecard.
Its very very frustrating, mostly because I used to be able to cycle through my 8 passwords with relative impunity and not complain.
The company has yet to embrace a consistant password policy.
There is some tendancy to say "photoshot already does this with layers..." and to some extent its true, but why this is different.
Its not a pixel drawing tool. Its a hybrid vecto tool with erase any part of the stroke you put down capability. You erase any part you like, which is a neat solution.
quoth.. A key feature of the tool is its eraser. "This is a vector-based tool with a raster erase," says Johnson. "You can scale an image up or down, and when you want to erase, you turn the pen over and it erases. end quote.
I like software solutions to specific problems, especially those that can be developed by small teams. Unix like.
It seems to be just erasing by adding "transparent strokes" which I've never seen before. It would make it harder for an application like painter to use this technique because how many layers would you remove. But for sketching it seems ideal.
When I was in England in the late 90's there was debate about whether or not the UK should use the Euro. They (the english decided against it.)
The Euro has increased a lot in value relative to other currencies this year so it would make sense that it seems like overcharging. Much like the dollar vs. the canadian dollar. There is no equity in currency values. The Ecomists big mac index shows that big macs cost different ammounts in different places, even adjusted for currency differences. Why wouldn't music?
Is apple expected to change the cost of songs every couple months due to currency valuations?
I bought a canon instead of replacing my workhorse 1270 epson.Even after checking Wilhelm print longevity. Why?
The color. The epson pigment inks just don't have the pop of the canon dye based ink (especially in the greens). The epsons look good till I compaired them side by side.
My experience is anything I've framed from the epson 1270 which is dye based like the canon, has lasted. Some of by unframed stuff from the same printer hasn't and has shifted significantly in a little as 3 years.
And by converting my old 1270 into a BW printer with pigment inks, I get great Black and White.
If they make the photos "cross postable" to other sites they probably use flash to prevent people from taking your images and cross posting them.
I have a photo site and my images have ended up as backgrounds on a number of Blogs (I would never have noticed except they didn't copy the image they cross posted it.).
Its probably to stop that, but if it makes it so noone wants to see the originals it isn't worth it.
One of the nice things about negatives is 4000 dpi isn't too much when the original you scan is very very small. That and there harder to loose than files.
I shoot for 250-300 dpi when I make a print as "photographic" quality.
I like to keep the "non compressed" version of the scan. This has proved usefull as better photo manipulation/grain reduction algorithms come out I'm worry about compression artifacts after 4-5 generations of manipulate/save.
I don't keep backups of those "raw scanned" images except as jpgs on dvd roms. They take up too much room (and I still have the negatives somewhere around here...). And high quality JPEG is very good.
I did a test where I overlayed a jpg on the original image in photoshop and did a "diff". The jpg is a remarkably good approximation of the original image.
I have an perl/image magick script that turns all recursively turns my uncompressed images into jpgs for easy back. Also can change the size for much much easier browsing.
You can see my early poor perl skills. One of my first perl projects from a while ago. Works well though. (before they had an image_magick perl module so I use the sys call). http://www.plocp.com/code/photo_convert.pl 2
I've filled 2x200 gig hard drives with photos I've taken. A typical 45 mm scan at 4000 dpi ends up at 70-90 meg with 24 bit color. a 6x4.5 cm scan ends up at over 170 megs at 24 bit color. Double the size numbers for 48 bit color.
I don't like to turn them to jpegs because well I don't like the lossy encoding for archiving. I do end up backing them up as high quality jpegs.
New macs have "Target disk mode" which you can boot your expensive computer in a special mode and make it look like a hard drive. Usefull for transfering to/from notebooks via firewire at high speeds.
Apple also did ip over firewire.
I don't know if linux supports any of these things but it might be worth looking into.
FWIW bought a 2 bay firewire drive box ($100), because the cases are cheaper than the "computer as drive" solution. The dirves show up separately though. Its not to bad speed wise either. Not networkable. They have larger boxes (up to 4 drives). If you can Raid the external drives in linux this might be a good solution.
External Sata cases are here, if you need a lot of speed.
Seaching is not the same as web searching
on
Coming soon: Google TV?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
The one thing google does really well is harness the "collective intelligence" of the web. Basically it assumes that people creating the web pages and links by hand have some skill and will only link to "reputable" sites. For the most part this works pretty well, although I've been pointed to excellent technicall references that google hasn't found.
Searching for documents on your computer is different. People aren't hotlinking your documents. The computer has to try and summerize that 20 page report or just do a straight text match web search. (Maybe using some semantic tricks.) To do this right is really hard. I worked for a start up that used Ontology based searching, trying to understand the text and match it to search criteria. It kinda worked sometimes which isn't nearly good enough.
I've been tagging my stills. I have little illusion that anything but me typing in descriptions into the metadata files which are kinda like xml,will work. Searching through them can be made better than just a text match.
The only way this video might work is that video is sent in "packages" ie lots of video to edit down and a story. Close captioning would be usefull as well. Indexing on the text part and matching the video would be a great and very useful thing to these companies.
And in a ironic twist, its hard to tell what was changed and what is marketing speak.
for example this gem, is it real or a joke? Learn more about how you can become a part of SCO's Marketplace Initiative and generate new direct revenues by participating in development projects with SCO's Engineers
Jobs and environmental rules are not mutually exclusive. This line of reasoning is often used by people who opose environmental regulation.
I used to be an environmental engineer, and saw first hand how companies view running operations cleanly/cleaning up as a cost to minimize, public health/right thing be dammed. To view it any other way is to be niave. Government regulations serve to increase the cost of polluting enough it becomes economically better not to pollute.
Not to mention who knows how NOT ratifiying the treaty will effect US exports (will Kyoto Nations be able to slap a stiff tarif on goods the US produces because we pollute to much so trading with us is unfair(I'm not claiming to be an expert on that incredibly complex WTO contract, who knows what in that thing)).
In short much like NAFTA, these contracts and accords have an almost impossible to predict impact on economies.
Kyoto may not be perfect but its a start. To bad the US isn't going to be part of the solution and didn't work to make something that they found more palatable.
Slashdot Mirror
>I have a few of these game-in-a-joystick devices, >including this one,
Do you like it?
What I found interesting about it was that the article hints that you could hook up a keyboard to the device and a drive and have a computer. They keep getting better and better games in these things. Pretty soon PS one in a gamepad.
.. cough..cough)
Slashdot covered the release of the device here.
slashdot coverage of the device commodore game device
I discovered..
(when I submitted the story 12 hours ago
Cars are a bad metaphore. Mostly made by large comglomerates.
Lexus and Scion are made by Toyota.
Saturn made be General Motors,
Geo, was GM rebrand of cars made by Toyota I beleive
Subaru - Fuju Heavy Industries
Kia is from Huyndi (large comglomerate.)
But your right, software/computers are still places were an individual can make it with hard work and good design.
Also she is working for a NJ toy manufacturer not out on her own.
Guess there going to make us pay for that with tiger..
Its been out like 3 months on the PC side...
Sigh...
On the mac anway (I don't know about windows). When you plug it in the ipod "mounts" onto your desktop and you can use it as a hard drive.
.) if I remember correctly. I think its easy to get the songs off, its just hard to put new songs on the ipod without itunes or some utility.
You can copy file on an off this like it was an external drive. There is a "urban legend" story of someone walking into a compusa with an ipod and walking out with a ipod full of software...
The music is in a "hidden" file (starts with a
Optical media works fine for the MD player when you could get 40+ hours out of a single aa.
But Sony's not using there new "not catching on" 1 gig MD discs but another probably more power hungry disc type for fear of piracy. When will they learn.
I have about 5-7 different passwords at work. Unix1/Unix2/windows/Notes
and the web based.payroll/timecard/training/
etc...
The problem is they
1. All have different rules (8+ char upper/lower etc).
2. Have different times to expire
3. Have different cycles (ei can't use last 7...)
4. Have different tolerances on how oftern you can get them wrong
Life was good until step 4 was implimented. Unix machines lock you out after 3 bad attempts.
so you have to call a sys admin
Also implimented on the web based timecard system. Again 4x wrong and a phone call is required. Not fun to be locked out of your timecard.
Its very very frustrating, mostly because I used to be able to cycle through my 8 passwords with relative impunity and not complain.
The company has yet to embrace a consistant password policy.
There is some tendancy to say "photoshot already does this with layers..." and to some extent its true, but why this is different.
Its not a pixel drawing tool. Its a hybrid vecto tool with erase any part of the stroke you put down capability. You erase any part you like, which is a neat solution.
quoth..
A key feature of the tool is its eraser. "This is a vector-based tool with a raster erase," says Johnson. "You can scale an image up or down, and when you want to erase, you turn the pen over and it erases.
end quote.
I like software solutions to specific problems, especially those that can be developed by small teams. Unix like.
It seems to be just erasing by adding "transparent strokes" which I've never seen before. It would make it harder for an application like painter to use this technique because how many layers would you remove. But for sketching it seems ideal.
I thought the reason HD-DVD gave for choosing its lower capacity over the Blu-Ray was that the Discs could be manufactured on existing DVD machines.
This seems to change that cheap manufacturing equation.
When I was in England in the late 90's there was debate about whether or not the UK should use the Euro. They (the english decided against it.)
The Euro has increased a lot in value relative to other currencies this year so it would make sense that it seems like overcharging. Much like the dollar vs. the canadian dollar. There is no equity in currency values.
The Ecomists big mac index shows that big macs cost different ammounts in different places, even adjusted for currency differences. Why wouldn't music?
Is apple expected to change the cost of songs every couple months due to currency valuations?
"Seeing as you are unfamiliar with sarcasm ..
I will close the cash register now."
I noticed this was moded as a Troll. But its not,.. Its funny. Funny Funny..
Especially with slashdots ability to predict successful products.
People always seem to think they're better/ know more than they actually do.
Someone won the nobel prize in economics by showing that people don't always act in there own best interest.
I bought a canon instead of replacing my workhorse 1270 epson.Even after checking Wilhelm print longevity. Why?
The color. The epson pigment inks just don't have the pop of the canon dye based ink (especially in the greens). The epsons look good till I compaired them side by side.
My experience is anything I've framed from the epson 1270 which is dye based like the canon, has lasted. Some of by unframed stuff from the same printer hasn't and has shifted significantly in a little as 3 years.
And by converting my old 1270 into a BW printer with pigment inks, I get great Black and White.
Maybe, just maybe
..
Thet aren't out to get you, but in fact they screwed up the installation.
I've done a lot of construction and can see how this might happen, they screw things up all the time when they build things
You should contact whoever is responsible for the road a mention this.
If they make the photos "cross postable" to other sites they probably use flash to prevent people from taking your images and cross posting them.
I have a photo site and my images have ended up as backgrounds on a number of Blogs (I would never have noticed except they didn't copy the image they cross posted it.).
Its probably to stop that, but if it makes it so noone wants to see the originals it isn't worth it.
One of the nice things about negatives is 4000 dpi isn't too much when the original you scan is very very small. That and there harder to loose than files.
I shoot for 250-300 dpi when I make a print as "photographic" quality.
mmmmm bits..
I like to keep the "non compressed" version of the scan. This has proved usefull as better photo manipulation/grain reduction algorithms come out I'm worry about compression artifacts after 4-5 generations of manipulate/save.
l 2
I don't keep backups of those "raw scanned" images except as jpgs on dvd roms. They take up too much room (and I still have the negatives somewhere around here...). And high quality JPEG is very good.
I did a test where I overlayed a jpg on the original image in photoshop and did a "diff". The jpg is a remarkably good approximation of the original image.
I have an perl/image magick script that turns all recursively turns my uncompressed images into jpgs for easy back. Also can change the size for much much easier browsing.
You can see my early poor perl skills. One of my first perl projects from a while ago. Works well though. (before they had an image_magick perl module so I use the sys call).
http://www.plocp.com/code/photo_convert.p
I've filled 2x200 gig hard drives with photos I've taken. A typical 45 mm scan at 4000 dpi ends up at 70-90 meg with 24 bit color. a 6x4.5 cm scan ends up at over 170 megs at 24 bit color. Double the size numbers for 48 bit color.
I don't like to turn them to jpegs because well I don't like the lossy encoding for archiving. I do end up backing them up as high quality jpegs.
Video has the same issues. Never enough space.
New macs have "Target disk mode" which you can boot your expensive computer in a special mode and make it look like a hard drive. Usefull for transfering to/from notebooks via firewire at high speeds.
/ 18 4256&tid=198
Apple also did ip over firewire.
I don't know if linux supports any of these things but it might be worth looking into.
FWIW bought a 2 bay firewire drive box ($100), because the cases are cheaper than the "computer as drive" solution. The dirves show up separately though. Its not to bad speed wise either. Not networkable. They have larger boxes (up to 4 drives). If you can Raid the external drives in linux this might be a good solution.
External Sata cases are here, if you need a lot of speed.
This also has somemore information:
http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/30
The one thing google does really well is harness the "collective intelligence" of the web. Basically it assumes that people creating the web pages and links by hand have some skill and will only link to "reputable" sites. For the most part this works pretty well, although I've been pointed to excellent technicall references that google hasn't found.
,will work. Searching through them can be made better than just a text match.
Searching for documents on your computer is different. People aren't hotlinking your documents. The computer has to try and summerize that 20 page report or just do a straight text match web search. (Maybe using some semantic tricks.) To do this right is really hard. I worked for a start up that used Ontology based searching, trying to understand the text and match it to search criteria. It kinda worked sometimes which isn't nearly good enough.
I've been tagging my stills. I have little illusion that anything but me typing in descriptions into the metadata files which are kinda like xml
The only way this video might work is that video is sent in "packages" ie lots of video to edit down and a story. Close captioning would be usefull as well. Indexing on the text part and matching the video would be a great and very useful thing to these companies.
Yeah its wrong to do it. But its so subtle.
And in a ironic twist, its hard to tell what was changed and what is marketing speak.
for example this gem, is it real or a joke?
Learn more about how you can become a part of SCO's Marketplace Initiative and generate new direct revenues by participating in development projects with SCO's Engineers
Knoplix had frozen bubble included (its a "bust a move clone") Fun. I used to boot into knoplix just to play..
...
See, there is a moral
..yeah we here in the senate have been researching this for a while now...
And its more addictive than cigarettes..
seee here, thats why we can't stop. Its not that we're wasting tax payers money on our newley beeded up T3 lines running into the capital.
Those RIAA/MPAA supenas to my office were obviouslly caused by our affliction.
Really...
Jobs and environmental rules are not mutually exclusive. This line of reasoning is often used by people who opose environmental regulation.
/cleaning up as a cost to
I used to be an environmental engineer, and saw first hand how companies view running operations cleanly
minimize, public health/right thing be dammed. To view it any other way is to be niave. Government regulations serve to increase the cost of polluting enough it becomes economically better not to pollute.
Not to mention who knows how NOT ratifiying the treaty will effect US exports (will Kyoto Nations be able to slap a stiff tarif on goods the US produces because we pollute to much so trading with us is unfair(I'm not claiming to be an expert on that incredibly complex WTO contract, who knows what in that thing)).
In short much like NAFTA, these contracts and accords have an almost impossible to predict impact on economies.
Kyoto may not be perfect but its a start. To bad the US isn't going to be part of the solution and didn't work to make something that they found more palatable.
The US is committed to the principals of Kyoto?
Is that why the EPA is trying not to regulate "greenhouse" gasses as a pollutants???.
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101241