For years I too have wished for a proper CAD system that could run on Mac hardware. However, at this point I'd settle for being able to teach everyone out there that 2D CAD is a pale, shallow, crippled, painful excuse for CAD as compared to any mainstream parametric 3D CAD system.
OK, I'll concede that there is CAD for Macs, but it's a glorified electric drawing board, not a useful engineering tool. THAT is what I want to run on Macs... The day that Pro/ENGINEER, or SolidWorks, Alibre Design, or any of those ilk (and quality) can run on a Mac, THEN I will be one happy design engineer. Until then, there is no CAD for Macs.
Wasn't this in a William Gibson novel? A young girl has a computer with an AI companion that only she can see, and she communicates with it by "subvocalizing" instead of actually speaking.
This would be/will be great. Now we just need cellphones that come in vibrate-only mode and I can finally have a peaceful meal in a restaurant without some moron ten tables away disturbing the whole restaurant with an incoming call (and the subsequent conversation).
Question: if this can eventually recognize what sounds the person is meaning to make with 100% accuracy, does that mean that voice recognition has arrived? Instead of spitting out an audio signal, it could output text instead. THAT would be AWESOME.
Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that the hardware they manage to scrounge up (allowing Sony to keep the PS3 price inline with the initial retail price of the PS2) is 4x as powerful. So they still need to get 250x more power to satisfy the game developers. OK, fine. But distributed computing??
The way I see it, some Sony brainchild figures that most PlayStations are left "off" most of the time. So why not use that time to let other people around the world use *their* PS at a higher level? While Japan is sleeping, US PS3s could be using the spare Japanese processing power to improve the gaming experience.
Two problems:
Bandwidth. How much, and how?? Are they assuming everyone has broadband and that the PS3s are always hooked into it?
"Slow" times. I seriously doubt that PS3 use doesn't have spikes, even averaged worldwide. So some countries are going to be the losers, with limited or no boost from distributed computing.
It's all moot, anyways. I'd need a MUCH better television (and stereo) to be able to appreciate 1000x more gaming power.
I've been using Spamgourmet.com for about a year now. It provides you with an unlimited number of valid, disposable e-mail addresses, and lets you decide how many times each address can be used. The first N e-mails sent to that address are forwarded to you, and everything else is eaten.
It's perfect for registering online or leaving a temporary contact address. I've used it almost exclusively for one of my accounts, and I get virtually no spam on that account. It's a lifesaver.
I can highly, HIGHLY recommend that you sign up with them. You'll thank me later.
Hey, CmdrTaco, how about setting up a pool like you did for Mir's touchdown time? We all know when these bids will end, but we don't know at what price. So pick which Segway you're betting on (1, 2, or 3) and pick its final bid price. The three closest win a T-shirt or something.
How about it? My bets:
$137,550 USD
$112,950 USD
$114,875 USD
I'm sure there are some CEOs, well-to-do technophiles, and even speculators that would pay that kind of cash for them. Me? I'll wait a couple of years. And then I'll buy a good bike instead. : )
While I personally enjoyed Futurama, I found that it relied far, far, FAR, FAR too heavily on 20th/21st century references. What, living in the year 3000 can't stand on its own feet? Do you have to bring back millennium-old actors, politicians, celebrities, singers, and the like? It's a crutch, nothing more.
The characters were great. The interaction was great. The animation was great. But for the love of God, don't you think you should be able to be funny in the year 3000 without winding the clock back? Geez, it's even worse than those Star Trek TOS and TNG time-travel-to-old-earth episodes.
I'll miss Futurama, especially Bender, but I'm sure that Matt's twisted mind can come up with something equally good, if not even better, sometime soon. Farewell Zoiberg, I hardly GLLLBBLBBLLBLBL!!! ye.
Am I the only one whose brain saw "phallacies" instead of "fallacies"? That does it, no more strangeland for me...
in space, no one can hear you spend
on
Modular Robots
·
· Score: 2
Not necessarily. Consider, say, a mission to Europa, or Mars. Space flight is still very expensive, and the price tag is direclty related to cost. It is quite conceivable that using a much more expensive modular robot that can reconfigure itself into a rover, drill, excavator, etc., will actually be CHEAPER to launch than a gaggle of single-purpose robots.
In fact, the cost savings from the launch might well pay for the extra cost of the robot. Especially once modular robots are the de facto NASA standard and are cranked out in quantity by the lowest bidder. : )
You just know in your gut that during this world-changing event some 15-year-old out there is going to figure out how to write "f1rst p0st" in mediaglyphs...
I'm on modem still, because I can't justify wasting $40/mo on an Internet connection. While having a 2Mbps or 10Mbps connection would be NICE, I'm certainly never going to use it to its fullest.
So, an open letter to ISPs: Go ahead an put on a bit cap. Whatever you can give me for $10-15/mo, that's what it would take to get me connected. All I do at home is check e-mail and my wife surfs... I don't need lots of throughput, I just want speed.
Normally I don't make these kinds of comments, but this really typifies the very antithesis of "Stuff that matters". Is there a story quota you were deperate to meet, or what??
The article compares the best case for both vehicle types... the cleanest car (Toyota Prius) with the cleanest motorcycle. A fair comparision. If you wanted to compare a 3-year-old Explorer or a 5-year-old Pathfinder to something, a fair comparision would maybe be a Harley, or maybe a Goldwing. I'll grant you that SUV's, being classified as trucks, are not as clean as cars, but I'd still wager they're cleaner than motorcycles. Two orders of magnitude is a lot to make up!
Believe it or not, those "evil" SUVs are relatively clean compared to motorcycles. Yes, that's right. If you want to emit less pollution, a LOT less, get rid of your Honda motorcycle and get into an Explorer. Admittedly, SUVs will still output more carbon dioxide, but I'd rather have more inert gas than more pollution.
As compared to the animated version, the live action Tick (the character, not the entire show) was positively flat, unrewarding, and generally a disappointment. Whether it was poorly cast, or just lacklustre writing, the Tick blew relative to his animated predecessor.
So long, live action Tick. I hardly knew thee, and now I won't have to.
SPAM ALERT!! - same one I got!
on
Apple PDA?
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
So much for having to register... they gave me the EXACT same userid and password. It's just an e-mail grab!! Suck the Mac community in, the their e-mail addresses to they can spam them later...
Should we flame CmdrTaco to a crisp for repeating a story that was already posted less than a week ago? Or should we flame Vindi for submitting a story that was already posted less than a week ago?
Aw, screw it. In the spirit of the season, I'll just wish them both a Merry CowboyNealmas!
Do I care if my IP is seen? No. Do I have anything to hide? No. Am I a troll? No.
It would be truly amazing if a moderation system existed that got rid of trolls and flamebaits quickly... but as it is, there's some turds who like noise over signal, and as long as that keeps up I'm fine with/. authors moderating, bitchslapping, whatever.
I just took a nice trip down memory lane, looking through the archives of alt.my.head.hurts. I dunno what I was smoking (or being exposed to) that year, but it sure did produce some odd posts.
Jessica "Eaten By A Bengal Tiger" Cohen, if you're reading this, go make some toast and stop wasting time online. GUMBY BRAIN SURGERY!!
Slashdot Mirror
For years I too have wished for a proper CAD system that could run on Mac hardware. However, at this point I'd settle for being able to teach everyone out there that 2D CAD is a pale, shallow, crippled, painful excuse for CAD as compared to any mainstream parametric 3D CAD system.
OK, I'll concede that there is CAD for Macs, but it's a glorified electric drawing board, not a useful engineering tool. THAT is what I want to run on Macs... The day that Pro/ENGINEER, or SolidWorks, Alibre Design, or any of those ilk (and quality) can run on a Mac, THEN I will be one happy design engineer. Until then, there is no CAD for Macs.
This would be/will be great. Now we just need cellphones that come in vibrate-only mode and I can finally have a peaceful meal in a restaurant without some moron ten tables away disturbing the whole restaurant with an incoming call (and the subsequent conversation).
Question: if this can eventually recognize what sounds the person is meaning to make with 100% accuracy, does that mean that voice recognition has arrived? Instead of spitting out an audio signal, it could output text instead. THAT would be AWESOME.
I'm so excited. :)
Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that the hardware they manage to scrounge up (allowing Sony to keep the PS3 price inline with the initial retail price of the PS2) is 4x as powerful. So they still need to get 250x more power to satisfy the game developers. OK, fine. But distributed computing??
The way I see it, some Sony brainchild figures that most PlayStations are left "off" most of the time. So why not use that time to let other people around the world use *their* PS at a higher level? While Japan is sleeping, US PS3s could be using the spare Japanese processing power to improve the gaming experience.
Two problems:
- Bandwidth. How much, and how?? Are they assuming everyone has broadband and that the PS3s are always hooked into it?
- "Slow" times. I seriously doubt that PS3 use doesn't have spikes, even averaged worldwide. So some countries are going to be the losers, with limited or no boost from distributed computing.
It's all moot, anyways. I'd need a MUCH better television (and stereo) to be able to appreciate 1000x more gaming power.It's perfect for registering online or leaving a temporary contact address. I've used it almost exclusively for one of my accounts, and I get virtually no spam on that account. It's a lifesaver.
I can highly, HIGHLY recommend that you sign up with them. You'll thank me later.
Any other scooter would take up more room (longitudinally) as well. Essentially, it's a space-saving feature. Total footprint is reduced.
How about it? My bets:
- $137,550 USD
- $112,950 USD
- $114,875 USD
I'm sure there are some CEOs, well-to-do technophiles, and even speculators that would pay that kind of cash for them. Me? I'll wait a couple of years. And then I'll buy a good bike instead. : )What, was Philips wounded? You mean HEELS, part of the foot, as opposed to HEALS, recovering from an injury.
Stop wasting time on lameness filters and let moderation do that for you. Implement a spellchecker!! (Which, sadly, won't correct this kind of error.)
The characters were great. The interaction was great. The animation was great. But for the love of God, don't you think you should be able to be funny in the year 3000 without winding the clock back? Geez, it's even worse than those Star Trek TOS and TNG time-travel-to-old-earth episodes.
I'll miss Futurama, especially Bender, but I'm sure that Matt's twisted mind can come up with something equally good, if not even better, sometime soon. Farewell Zoiberg, I hardly GLLLBBLBBLLBLBL!!! ye.
Am I the only one whose brain saw "phallacies" instead of "fallacies"? That does it, no more strangeland for me...
In fact, the cost savings from the launch might well pay for the extra cost of the robot. Especially once modular robots are the de facto NASA standard and are cranked out in quantity by the lowest bidder. : )
You just know in your gut that during this world-changing event some 15-year-old out there is going to figure out how to write "f1rst p0st" in mediaglyphs...
I'd like a book on how to forecast the needs of the technology sector about a year in advance. ; )
So, an open letter to ISPs: Go ahead an put on a bit cap. Whatever you can give me for $10-15/mo, that's what it would take to get me connected. All I do at home is check e-mail and my wife surfs... I don't need lots of throughput, I just want speed.
Of course, then you'll have people forever asking you "Did getting your cell phone hurt?"
"Increase your penis size with a GENETICALLY IDENTIAL yet LARGER replacement! Easy out-patient surgery! Guaranteed 100% genetically compatible!! grow-a-schong@geneticpenis.com"
Ugh...
Normally I don't make these kinds of comments, but this really typifies the very antithesis of "Stuff that matters". Is there a story quota you were deperate to meet, or what??
The article compares the best case for both vehicle types... the cleanest car (Toyota Prius) with the cleanest motorcycle. A fair comparision. If you wanted to compare a 3-year-old Explorer or a 5-year-old Pathfinder to something, a fair comparision would maybe be a Harley, or maybe a Goldwing. I'll grant you that SUV's, being classified as trucks, are not as clean as cars, but I'd still wager they're cleaner than motorcycles. Two orders of magnitude is a lot to make up!
Believe it or not, those "evil" SUVs are relatively clean compared to motorcycles. Yes, that's right. If you want to emit less pollution, a LOT less, get rid of your Honda motorcycle and get into an Explorer. Admittedly, SUVs will still output more carbon dioxide, but I'd rather have more inert gas than more pollution.
So long, live action Tick. I hardly knew thee, and now I won't have to.
So much for having to register... they gave me the EXACT same userid and password. It's just an e-mail grab!! Suck the Mac community in, the their e-mail addresses to they can spam them later...
Thank God for debit cards, huh?
Suddenly, I get the urge to start making mixed tapes instead of burning CDs...
Aw, screw it. In the spirit of the season, I'll just wish them both a Merry CowboyNealmas!
It would be truly amazing if a moderation system existed that got rid of trolls and flamebaits quickly... but as it is, there's some turds who like noise over signal, and as long as that keeps up I'm fine with /. authors moderating, bitchslapping, whatever.
Don't like it? Ask yourself why.
Jessica "Eaten By A Bengal Tiger" Cohen, if you're reading this, go make some toast and stop wasting time online. GUMBY BRAIN SURGERY!!