Would some please explain how they're using a $20 CD-ROM Laser to communicate over a couple hundred meters?
I mean, with such a weak laser, wouldn't the beam degrade in just a few feet in PERFECT conditions? Even without fog, air will still scatter a laser. Or maybe I just missing something obvious.
Hershey Foods Corporation has their own non-disclosure contract. I know of this because my father works as a supervisor on a particular line. Basicly, no one who is not part of Hershey can even see his office. Why? Because he supervises the Kit-Kat line, and apparently, the production of Kit-Kat bars are a BIG secret in the chocolate industry.
I just brought this up because I think alot of companies are paranoid over things that they really shouldn't be.
Anyway, an interesting note about Kit-Kats, when they were originally made, they used to pop and break open without warning. This was due to the fact that they would put the wafers in the chocolate immediately after baking. Now they let the wafers 'age' (read: get stale) before covering them in chocolate.
Ooops, maybe I shouldn't have said that, after all, They're probably watching me now, ready to whisk me off to work in chocolate hell.
While it seems that this SETI@home card is a hoax, its not far off from some ideas I've for a Distributed.net client. I say D.net because I personally feel it serves a better purpose, searching for something that does have a definable end. However, I'd like some people's opinions on these ideas. 1.) Make a program that can use the Graphics Processors like the GeForce process D.net work units. I'm not sure if graphics processors have the commands needed, or if this can be done in an off screen buffer that won't affect your screen for normal use. or 2.) Actually create one of those cards, altho, I don't quite see the purpose of putting a full Linux kernel on the card. It seems to me it adds extra cost to the card where as some modification of the client would detect and use the card. Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on how viable either of these projects would be. -Algernon Yeah, I'm a stats slut, and I won't rest 'til I'm pulling 1 GKeys/s
I think a couple of things need to be specificly pointed out here. First off, with this particular benchmark, its indicated that a single 'client' actually represents several dozen users in real life. So, RH 6.1 Pro takes up to 20 'clients' before its score dips, I'd certainly like to know what that equates to in real life myself. Perhaps there's just a small bug in Red Hat that reduces its performance in what appears to be a very synthetic benchmark. Secondly, the testers who performed the benchmarks didn't appear to know what they were doing to well. Can we be sure that they truely had their Linux box customized and tricked out for these tests? No, of course not. Third, don't discount the possibility that these scores may be entirely accurate. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. -Algernon
Actually, guns are controlled (if you can call it that) on a federal level, while fireworks laws differ from state to state, I think. I know here in Pennsylvania anything more dangerous than a sparkler or black snake requires a fireworks license, but that doesn't prevent hundreds of people from bringing in whatever fireworks they want from other states. Really, it does seem sort of pointless to have such stringent laws for something that simply can't be enforced.
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Would some please explain how they're using a $20 CD-ROM Laser to communicate over a couple hundred meters?
I mean, with such a weak laser, wouldn't the beam degrade in just a few feet in PERFECT conditions? Even without fog, air will still scatter a laser. Or maybe I just missing something obvious.
Hershey Foods Corporation has their own non-disclosure contract. I know of this because my father works as a supervisor on a particular line. Basicly, no one who is not part of Hershey can even see his office. Why? Because he supervises the Kit-Kat line, and apparently, the production of Kit-Kat bars are a BIG secret in the chocolate industry.
I just brought this up because I think alot of companies are paranoid over things that they really shouldn't be.
Anyway, an interesting note about Kit-Kats, when they were originally made, they used to pop and break open without warning. This was due to the fact that they would put the wafers in the chocolate immediately after baking. Now they let the wafers 'age' (read: get stale) before covering them in chocolate.
Ooops, maybe I shouldn't have said that, after all, They're probably watching me now, ready to whisk me off to work in chocolate hell.
Jeez, this seems almost as bad as Hershey Chocolates not permitting tour groups to see their Kit-Kat lines.
"We could show you, but then we'd either have to hire you or kill you..."
The kind of mistakes that can possibly made with this technology aren't new.
Everyone remembers the problems some employees have had with drug testing and poppy seeds bagels.
I can see problems with people who like to garden and work on their cars. Will this new device say they were working on an ANFO bomb?
While it seems that this SETI@home card is a hoax, its not far off from some ideas I've for a Distributed.net client. I say D.net because I personally feel it serves a better purpose, searching for something that does have a definable end. However, I'd like some people's opinions on these ideas. 1.) Make a program that can use the Graphics Processors like the GeForce process D.net work units. I'm not sure if graphics processors have the commands needed, or if this can be done in an off screen buffer that won't affect your screen for normal use. or 2.) Actually create one of those cards, altho, I don't quite see the purpose of putting a full Linux kernel on the card. It seems to me it adds extra cost to the card where as some modification of the client would detect and use the card. Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on how viable either of these projects would be. -Algernon Yeah, I'm a stats slut, and I won't rest 'til I'm pulling 1 GKeys/s
I think a couple of things need to be specificly pointed out here. First off, with this particular benchmark, its indicated that a single 'client' actually represents several dozen users in real life. So, RH 6.1 Pro takes up to 20 'clients' before its score dips, I'd certainly like to know what that equates to in real life myself. Perhaps there's just a small bug in Red Hat that reduces its performance in what appears to be a very synthetic benchmark. Secondly, the testers who performed the benchmarks didn't appear to know what they were doing to well. Can we be sure that they truely had their Linux box customized and tricked out for these tests? No, of course not. Third, don't discount the possibility that these scores may be entirely accurate. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. -Algernon
Actually, guns are controlled (if you can call it that) on a federal level, while fireworks laws differ from state to state, I think. I know here in Pennsylvania anything more dangerous than a sparkler or black snake requires a fireworks license, but that doesn't prevent hundreds of people from bringing in whatever fireworks they want from other states. Really, it does seem sort of pointless to have such stringent laws for something that simply can't be enforced.