xkcd is actually prominent enough as to not be an issue, since it turns out there's at least one feed that includes the alt text below the image. The problem is the dozen or so OTHER webcomics I read that use alt text. It would be one thing if alt text were supported by a mobile web browser--I'm fine with clicking through--but I haven't been able to find a single such browser.
It's Windows only, but it plays well with Wine. Makes beautiful plots. AND can be scripted for in both a BASIC-like language and what they call "Origin C."
...but PS needs a 256-color display. THIS Tutorial will get you a working 256-color display, but now when I try to run Photoshop, it immediately crashes. LIke, all of Dosbox, not just Windows.
So really looking forward to reading about the tweaks he came up with to get this shit ACTUALLY WORKING.
The "DOS version" I run is actually the "Special Edition," the one that includes the Urban Renewal Kit. It's the newer of the SC2K versions I grew up with, although the Wikipedia article says there was a newer one with a more streamlined interface.
If this means my coffee shop doesn't feel the need to have a credit card minimum anymore, I'll gladly pony up the extra 3-6 cents for my $2 cup of tea.
20-30%. And as long as T-Mobile doesn't get the iPhone (I know you can get unlocked ones now, but still), you're probably still gonna end up being faster in most areas, since you're sharing with fewer people.
So your complaint is that " Not every task is trivially parallelizable " and then suggest "GPGPUs" as a solution ?
Actually, what I said is that, if it's not massively parallelizable, I'd prefer greater clock speed on fewer cores, and if it is, then I'd prefer GPGPUs.
The Xeon chips used for this machine occupy a very uninteresting "middle ground" in my view.
The rest of your points are very interesting: I hadn't really thought about the RAM limitations (I use a GPGPU for my own research occasionally but have only once or twice come up against the RAM limits), and non-clockspeed bottlenecks are honestly not something I've come up against, but I do understand that other people have.
I really hate how the focus these days is on more cores, not faster cores.
Not every task is trivially parallelizable, and even with those that are, the speedup you get from running on N cores is always going to be less than Nx.
I'd be much more impressed by a supercomputer running, say, 1/4 as many 4.0 GHz+ processors.
Also: if what you're going for is massively parallelizable tasks, x86 is so last century--GPGPUs are where it's at.
Now, granted, the airlines pass that cost onto the consumers the same way retail businesses pass on the costs of sales taxes, so yeah, I guess you can call it a "tax," but it's not like it comes directly out of your paycheck.
First the legitimate: these things don't exactly have any mechanism by which to detect box cutters.
Now the bureaucratic: as the summary states, much of airport security is pure theater. People aren't as likely to feel safe if they're only being screened by "magic laser scanners."
Have you actually read the book? I ask because I haven't, and I find that Wikipedia summary extremely lacking. I find it hard to believe that a prominent and respected scientist could actually be saying that humanity is threatened with extinction. "Saving humanity" and being "threatened" could easily refer to the collapse of civilization or the decimation of the world population. If he is actually saying that homo sapiens could go extinct because of climate change, I would like to read his thesis, as I am as skeptical as you.
However, I am equally skeptical of Wikipedia summaries and publisher/reviewer blurbs written by non-scientists that have a vested interest in overdramatising a story.
Many residents of poorer countries will probably drown in floods (as many of the replies to the replies to my post pointed out, it's not the averages that are the issue, but the extremes, which will be more intense due to climate change), but it probably won't be in the millions (Katrina was pretty bad, and the death toll was 2k).
2000 years ago the planet wasn't supporting as large of a population. The problem with global warming isn't the temperature increase--it's the rise in sea level, which will place a great many cities (and countries) underwater.
I don't think anyone has seriously suggested that global warming will bring on an extinction-level event. But I would say that a few million drowned Bangladeshi counts as a "catastrophe."
Actually, what they've told me is what my computer can be. Often times, I agree, and I choose to use their products (Google Drive, Google Music being excellent examples). But it's still my choice whether it's what *I* want it to be. That choice goes away when your computer is a cell phone that can be threatened with "bricking" if I make unauthorized modifications and which can be modified via OTA updates without my consent: this story and others like it scare the fuck out of me.
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Only on Austin would a music festival give out "startup accelerator" awards...
xkcd is actually prominent enough as to not be an issue, since it turns out there's at least one feed that includes the alt text below the image. The problem is the dozen or so OTHER webcomics I read that use alt text. It would be one thing if alt text were supported by a mobile web browser--I'm fine with clicking through--but I haven't been able to find a single such browser.
Anyone know of an RSS feed reader for Android besides Google Reader that handles mouseover text (aka alt text)?
As a resident of the DC metro area, I'm liking the new "Washington State."
I guess that's one way for DC to finally get statehood.
Ooh! And this finally solves the problem of which state government is on the hook for paying for the DC Metro!
http://www.originlab.com/
It's Windows only, but it plays well with Wine. Makes beautiful plots. AND can be scripted for in both a BASIC-like language and what they call "Origin C."
You know, when he actually explains how to do this.
...but PS needs a 256-color display. THIS Tutorial will get you a working 256-color display, but now when I try to run Photoshop, it immediately crashes. LIke, all of Dosbox, not just Windows.
Getting the Win3.1 and Photoshop installers is trivial.
Installing Win3.1 is a snap.
The Photoshop installer runs fine.
So really looking forward to reading about the tweaks he came up with to get this shit ACTUALLY WORKING.
The "DOS version" I run is actually the "Special Edition," the one that includes the Urban Renewal Kit. It's the newer of the SC2K versions I grew up with, although the Wikipedia article says there was a newer one with a more streamlined interface.
Why would I run the SNES version instead of a DOS version? I'd rather emulate a mouse on my touchscreen tablet than a game controller.
Two great DOS games for which I haven't found suitable Android clones. Both running on my Nexus 7 through DOSBOX.
If this means my coffee shop doesn't feel the need to have a credit card minimum anymore, I'll gladly pony up the extra 3-6 cents for my $2 cup of tea.
As I understand it, this is the big selling point for the Nexus line...
Now I gotta share my mobile bandwidth with Siri-using morons ("Siri, is that rain?"). Also guessing my days of unlimited data are numbered.
20-30%. And as long as T-Mobile doesn't get the iPhone (I know you can get unlocked ones now, but still), you're probably still gonna end up being faster in most areas, since you're sharing with fewer people.
HSPA+ *is* 4G, in terms of speed. You've been watching too many Verizon ads.
I was anxiously awaiting the price point on the Nexus 10. Glad I don't have to stay in suspense.
New meaning to Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream?
So your complaint is that " Not every task is trivially parallelizable " and then suggest "GPGPUs" as a solution ?
Actually, what I said is that, if it's not massively parallelizable, I'd prefer greater clock speed on fewer cores, and if it is, then I'd prefer GPGPUs.
The Xeon chips used for this machine occupy a very uninteresting "middle ground" in my view.
The rest of your points are very interesting: I hadn't really thought about the RAM limitations (I use a GPGPU for my own research occasionally but have only once or twice come up against the RAM limits), and non-clockspeed bottlenecks are honestly not something I've come up against, but I do understand that other people have.
I really hate how the focus these days is on more cores, not faster cores.
Not every task is trivially parallelizable, and even with those that are, the speedup you get from running on N cores is always going to be less than Nx.
I'd be much more impressed by a supercomputer running, say, 1/4 as many 4.0 GHz+ processors.
Also: if what you're going for is massively parallelizable tasks, x86 is so last century--GPGPUs are where it's at.
IIRC, TSA is funded not from taxes, but from "security fees" billed to the airlines.
Now, granted, the airlines pass that cost onto the consumers the same way retail businesses pass on the costs of sales taxes, so yeah, I guess you can call it a "tax," but it's not like it comes directly out of your paycheck.
But will they really stop patting people down?
First the legitimate: these things don't exactly have any mechanism by which to detect box cutters.
Now the bureaucratic: as the summary states, much of airport security is pure theater. People aren't as likely to feel safe if they're only being screened by "magic laser scanners."
It was a mistake of me to think Katrina was "bad" on the scale of natural disasters. Millions drowned is not unreasonable.
Have you actually read the book? I ask because I haven't, and I find that Wikipedia summary extremely lacking. I find it hard to believe that a prominent and respected scientist could actually be saying that humanity is threatened with extinction. "Saving humanity" and being "threatened" could easily refer to the collapse of civilization or the decimation of the world population. If he is actually saying that homo sapiens could go extinct because of climate change, I would like to read his thesis, as I am as skeptical as you.
However, I am equally skeptical of Wikipedia summaries and publisher/reviewer blurbs written by non-scientists that have a vested interest in overdramatising a story.
After I made this comment, I did some reading (oh if only I'd done it in reverse...), and you're exactly right. The pressing problem in Bangladesh is indeed that rising saltwater levels are surging into freshwater rivers, "salting" agricultural water supplies, and causing famines (not to mention collapses of local economies).
Many residents of poorer countries will probably drown in floods (as many of the replies to the replies to my post pointed out, it's not the averages that are the issue, but the extremes, which will be more intense due to climate change), but it probably won't be in the millions (Katrina was pretty bad, and the death toll was 2k).
2000 years ago the planet wasn't supporting as large of a population. The problem with global warming isn't the temperature increase--it's the rise in sea level, which will place a great many cities (and countries) underwater.
I don't think anyone has seriously suggested that global warming will bring on an extinction-level event. But I would say that a few million drowned Bangladeshi counts as a "catastrophe."
Actually, what they've told me is what my computer can be. Often times, I agree, and I choose to use their products (Google Drive, Google Music being excellent examples). But it's still my choice whether it's what *I* want it to be. That choice goes away when your computer is a cell phone that can be threatened with "bricking" if I make unauthorized modifications and which can be modified via OTA updates without my consent: this story and others like it scare the fuck out of me.