True...sort of. That was certainly the case that the era of 3crt, $30k+ FP systems that had to be tuned every six months.
Today, a/. geek should be able to setup a HT with decent sound and a DVD-resolution, 8' to 10' screen for the same price as a typical 42" HD Plasma ($2k-$3k). That's not chump change, but it's not a wild extravagance either. If you had $6k to drop, you'd probably never want to go back to the theaters. $10k and all your friends wouldn't go to the theater either, and you'd never watch a movie alone again.
The biggest barrier between a decent panel monitor and a 10 foot FP system is a bit of research, some technical know-how, and a little handiwork.
I would tend to say if you've got the disposable income to go to the movies three or four times a month, you've got the disposable income to build a "home theater." (I've used quotes, because I'm really talking about a 10' FP and sound system in your living room, not a private screening room with carpeted walls and custom furniture)
Well, for posters on/., it shouldn't be unusual. The only real difference between a Plasma and a FP setup is a little effort of running cables/some light carpentry, and the knowledge to set it all up. The cost is comparable between a 10' FP system and a 42-50" plasma.
Back when the cheapest HD sets (50-52" RP) were $6,000, I bought a Sony HD projector (VW10HT, $5200) and a 10' DaLite automatic electric screen ($900). I probably dropped another couple hundred on the nice screen soffit and mounting hardware. You can put together a better setup today for less than half what I paid back then (though you can get a nice Plasma for under 3k, too).
At todays prices, you can probably make back the investment in a simple home theater of you go to the movies a lot. I'd figure $6 to $8k with sound and video combined for a basic - but nice - setup. At $30 a pop for two people, four times a month it'll take 5 to 7 years to "break even", but you'll get a much nicer environment in which to watch. (And one hell of a place to watch football!)
This seems to be covered. In light of the possibility of an enterprising soul who invents a way to feed the world, and that souls decision not to patent it, either through lack of funds for a patent attourney or through goodwill, they have introduced the "first to file" rule. Now, SuperMegaCorp can merely file their application first and get the patent.
Since any administrative review process will natrually be unnavigable by any person with a normal, full time job, the only real way to protest under the new 6 month administrative review period is to hire a patent lawyer. But since our altruistic (or just plain poor) inventer didn't have the cash or time to file in the first place, he/she won't have the cash/time to contest after the fact.
It's like IP, served on a silver platter to the paying (Washington, D.C.) guests. How can we lose?
I was just in the same boat. I have a small business and do very little traffic. My old provider, Dixiesys, was cheap and had value when I started, but the prices haven't changed in years, and I've found the servers to be painfully slow, especially for admin tasks.
Look at the webhosting forum links early on. I jumped in with Site5. Looked good, was easy to set up, and forums were very responsive. And with 12GB storage - enough for my personal and business data to all be stored (we're talking non-secure stuff here) on the ftp server, it gives me a remote backup. I'm hoping to get the FTP nightly synch working soon, so I'll have local physical backups and a remote virtual backup, along with all of my webserving needs covered for $16/mo.
CAM yes, CAD, no. CAM is what your thinking of for the manufacturing end, and there's very little interaction between engineers and CAM in the real world.
CAD is still available on Unix, because there was a time when only workstations were powerful enough to run cad, and windows wasn't written for those machines. It's also very expensive, and their format/vendor lock-in would make MS jealous.
Unfortunately, Autodesk has a lock on architectural work like MS has a lock on the desktop OS market. It's not complete, but it is so overwhelming that those going against the flow will have issues. Imagine a client using custom macros and vba extensions in complex, thousand page MS Office documents. Then imagine that you had to load them into Open Office, make changes and additions, and write it back to.doc format and guarantee it would work perfectly when it got back to the client. That's Autodesk.
No, I think acad on a windows emulator might be the only way, short of a native app. Unfortunately, a good app for $1000 would be better than AutoCAD (basic is $4k/pop+$1k/yr), but to switch and re-make templates and setups would probably run in 5 figures for my small (5 people) firm, not including retraining.
Use Rename 1-4a and you won't have to spend hours renaming. One of the best freeware utilities out there. It's a bit cryptic to use, but there's a good help page. Of course, you're comfortable with Linux, so cryptic should fit right into your lifestyle.(By cryptic, I mean "makes no sense to the new user")
It's also about 2.5 lbs lighter than an ultralight laptop, and 8-10lbs lighter than that gaming laptop you thought you needed. A folder with ten sheets of 1/8" ruled paper is all you need for a 1.5hr class.
Really? So I can expect that my stash in the glove compartment (or center console, or ashtray) is probably going to get turned over to the police if I take my car into the shop because it keeps stalling when I stop for red lights?
If I'm paying by the hour for a tech to run an anti-virus and spyware check, I don't think I'm up for him browsing my photos or mp3 collection on the clock. I've got a hundred thousand files on my laptop...I sure hope he doesn't plan on going through them manually during the check. It would be cheaper to buy a new laptop.
You found that material on a company computer. There's probably a company policy on that type of content, and the computer belonged to the company. Sort of like going through your file cabinet at work and finding a playboy. Not appropriate for the workplace.
Well, it's kinda hard to argue that a 3 year old dupe should be caught, but the mere fact that it was news for nerds three years ago should certainly disqualify it as news today.
I was under the impression that squinting, like the sungalsses you mention, do not filter scattered light, but rather artifically reduce the aperture of you lens, increasing the depth of field. The result is that an object which is not at the image plane is more likely to be "in focus", thus relieving your eye from needing to focus to that point. It's particularly good for astigmatism, as the small aperture compensates for the cylidrical portion of the lens. The down side is that you lose total light collection.
Note that the opposite is true, as well. When your iris is at its largerst aperture (at night, in dim lighting), your vision will be at its worst.
1) Thermostats in every room, if possible linked to the HVAC to regulate temperature on an individual room basis.
Good for convenience, but be careful as most residential units are not really meant for zoning. It's not an electronic problme but a mechanical one - too many zones shut down and your fancoil unit will overheat and die prematurely due to the pressure in the system being too high.
3) Motorized blinds on each window. You regulate the heat so why not regulate the light level?
Nice idea, and very high end, but also insanely expensive (you'll probably end up at >$1000/shade, on average) and difficult to integrate into existing window heads, if you like the no-see-um/built-in look.
As for the ohters, most are just a matter of money. I guess I'm not really a security freak, since I live in a small town, so the panic button in every room feels a bit paranoid. Though if you were to have one, it may as well be in any room - hate to have it be in the wrong room when I needed it. Whole house vacuums have never really done it for me. They're quiet, but I find the long hoses as cumbersome as a good canister vacuum.
Better than motion/heat sensors, put good dimmers on every light you can think of. It may sound silly, but after experimenting extensively with X-10, I abandoned central control altogether and opted for large banks of dimmable lights. Most rooms had only one light circuit, with different levels controlled by a dimmer. They're the best in bathrooms for any late-night necessities when a night light is too dim and full lighting will blind you.
actual deadbolts with reinforced doors and frames on all doors. double cylinder if next to a window or window-in-the foor but for gosh sakes let everyone know where the key is.
Don't do this. It violates the building code in practically every state. If you're concerned enough to do this, spend the money to buy a door without windows and/or change the swing of the door to get the lock away from the windows. Do not double cylinder any egress door for any reason.
The insightfulness of the parent really depends on where you live and what your energy rates are.
Good insulation and windows go hand in hand, but if you live in a temperate climate, or somewhere where the cost of energy is low, extra insulation and super-efficient windows are false economy. Also, you may want to check your energy costs before you decide on a heating/cooling system. Where I live (s/w Virgnina), the cost for electrtic resistance heat is only about 10% higher than natural gas, and is 30% less than oil.
As for ground source heat pumps...make sure you check your numbers before you buy. Payback periods for most ground source heat pumps (there are a few exceptions) are >50 years, even at 4% interest. Don't be put off by "cold register air" from traditional heat pumps. Supplemental heat can be added via resistance coils that are staged (2-3 stages) based on outdoor temperature and will keep your regiter temperature as toasty as if you were running a gas furnace. Unless you live in the notrhern 20% or so of the counrty, you'll find that running a 2.5kW coil for a couple of hours during the coldest parts of the day in the winter may not make a $5/month difference in you heating costs, and even a doubling of efficiency (unlikely, even for a GSHP) over a variable-speed fan, 13 SEER air unit will take more than 20 years to pay back.
Overall, remember that energy efficiency has a diminishing monetary benefit as you get better and better. Jacking your walls from R-11 to R15 is a nice idea, but your windows will still top out at about R3.2-3.5 in the best scenerio. Spending an extra $1000 to save 27% of a component that accounts for less than 25% of you heat loss on a $75/mo heating/cooling bill ($5/mo) isn't really going to save you any money.
Saving the earth is a nice sentiment, but remember that most of the high-efficiency product come at a cost - both monetary as well as environmental.
as long as you've processed it properly. The problem in modern industrial processing which is so hygenically challeneged that there is a reasonable chance that there are bad bugs in your ground beef. Since the restaraunt you eat in doesn't know that your family isn't going to sue them for a billion dollars when you die from food borne illness, they cook it 'til most of the bugs (and taste) are dead.
I'm sure they'll serve you up a real hunk of meat as rare as you like it, as long as the outside has been seared. That's what is so great about real steak. The meat iteself is almost never contaminated except at the outside surface and where the cells have been cut. Personally, I prefer my steak just on the rare side of medium (very warm, pinkish-red center). Medium rare is a little to squishy for me, and rare adds the "yuk" of being cool in the center. Opinions vary, of course. In fact, if you're meticulous, you can grind your own beef and still eat it rare (Steak Tar Tar anyone?), though its not a particular taste/texture I prefer.
BTW - as far as medium priced chains go, I've found that the Outback Steakhouse does the best job of bringing you a hunk-o-beef that has been cooked closest to your desired doneness. Most other restauraunts cook to one level above where you ask. (And don't tell me Mortons does a good job, too. They do, but I don't count them as medium priced. Medium priced to me does not mean $50 a plate).
Good lord, no. Boobies photographed through water and recorded on a 1980 VCR at (probably) EP setting of an over-the-air broadcast on a minimal quality tape that's over 20 years old? We didn't have anything better back then, but today...go surf the usenet.;-)
Slashdot Mirror
True...sort of. That was certainly the case that the era of 3crt, $30k+ FP systems that had to be tuned every six months.
/. geek should be able to setup a HT with decent sound and a DVD-resolution, 8' to 10' screen for the same price as a typical 42" HD Plasma ($2k-$3k). That's not chump change, but it's not a wild extravagance either. If you had $6k to drop, you'd probably never want to go back to the theaters. $10k and all your friends wouldn't go to the theater either, and you'd never watch a movie alone again.
Today, a
The biggest barrier between a decent panel monitor and a 10 foot FP system is a bit of research, some technical know-how, and a little handiwork.
I would tend to say if you've got the disposable income to go to the movies three or four times a month, you've got the disposable income to build a "home theater." (I've used quotes, because I'm really talking about a 10' FP and sound system in your living room, not a private screening room with carpeted walls and custom furniture)
Well, for posters on /., it shouldn't be unusual. The only real difference between a Plasma and a FP setup is a little effort of running cables/some light carpentry, and the knowledge to set it all up. The cost is comparable between a 10' FP system and a 42-50" plasma.
Back when the cheapest HD sets (50-52" RP) were $6,000, I bought a Sony HD projector (VW10HT, $5200) and a 10' DaLite automatic electric screen ($900). I probably dropped another couple hundred on the nice screen soffit and mounting hardware. You can put together a better setup today for less than half what I paid back then (though you can get a nice Plasma for under 3k, too).
At todays prices, you can probably make back the investment in a simple home theater of you go to the movies a lot. I'd figure $6 to $8k with sound and video combined for a basic - but nice - setup. At $30 a pop for two people, four times a month it'll take 5 to 7 years to "break even", but you'll get a much nicer environment in which to watch. (And one hell of a place to watch football!)
This seems to be covered. In light of the possibility of an enterprising soul who invents a way to feed the world, and that souls decision not to patent it, either through lack of funds for a patent attourney or through goodwill, they have introduced the "first to file" rule. Now, SuperMegaCorp can merely file their application first and get the patent.
Since any administrative review process will natrually be unnavigable by any person with a normal, full time job, the only real way to protest under the new 6 month administrative review period is to hire a patent lawyer. But since our altruistic (or just plain poor) inventer didn't have the cash or time to file in the first place, he/she won't have the cash/time to contest after the fact.
It's like IP, served on a silver platter to the paying (Washington, D.C.) guests. How can we lose?
Sure it will. Just as soon as you subscribe to the "MADDEN NFL Team Stat Update" feature for $4.95 per month (billed annually, of course).
I was just in the same boat. I have a small business and do very little traffic. My old provider, Dixiesys, was cheap and had value when I started, but the prices haven't changed in years, and I've found the servers to be painfully slow, especially for admin tasks.
Look at the webhosting forum links early on. I jumped in with Site5. Looked good, was easy to set up, and forums were very responsive. And with 12GB storage - enough for my personal and business data to all be stored (we're talking non-secure stuff here) on the ftp server, it gives me a remote backup. I'm hoping to get the FTP nightly synch working soon, so I'll have local physical backups and a remote virtual backup, along with all of my webserving needs covered for $16/mo.
No affiliation, just a new, happy customer.
Is putting out DRM as open source akin to giving us the job of sharpening the blade on the guillotine used for our beheading?
CAM yes, CAD, no. CAM is what your thinking of for the manufacturing end, and there's very little interaction between engineers and CAM in the real world.
.doc format and guarantee it would work perfectly when it got back to the client. That's Autodesk.
CAD is still available on Unix, because there was a time when only workstations were powerful enough to run cad, and windows wasn't written for those machines. It's also very expensive, and their format/vendor lock-in would make MS jealous.
Unfortunately, Autodesk has a lock on architectural work like MS has a lock on the desktop OS market. It's not complete, but it is so overwhelming that those going against the flow will have issues. Imagine a client using custom macros and vba extensions in complex, thousand page MS Office documents. Then imagine that you had to load them into Open Office, make changes and additions, and write it back to
No, I think acad on a windows emulator might be the only way, short of a native app. Unfortunately, a good app for $1000 would be better than AutoCAD (basic is $4k/pop+$1k/yr), but to switch and re-make templates and setups would probably run in 5 figures for my small (5 people) firm, not including retraining.
Use Rename 1-4a and you won't have to spend hours renaming. One of the best freeware utilities out there. It's a bit cryptic to use, but there's a good help page. Of course, you're comfortable with Linux, so cryptic should fit right into your lifestyle.(By cryptic, I mean "makes no sense to the new user")
I would expect revolving doors would keep out more pollen/dust and minimize HVAC losses. But they're not as gee-whiz nowadays, I guess.
It's also about 2.5 lbs lighter than an ultralight laptop, and 8-10lbs lighter than that gaming laptop you thought you needed. A folder with ten sheets of 1/8" ruled paper is all you need for a 1.5hr class.
They serve ads on /.? Oh, yeah, that's right; I've got AdBlock.
I didn't read the article...please tell me you're joking. *shakes head*
Really? So I can expect that my stash in the glove compartment (or center console, or ashtray) is probably going to get turned over to the police if I take my car into the shop because it keeps stalling when I stop for red lights?
If I'm paying by the hour for a tech to run an anti-virus and spyware check, I don't think I'm up for him browsing my photos or mp3 collection on the clock. I've got a hundred thousand files on my laptop...I sure hope he doesn't plan on going through them manually during the check. It would be cheaper to buy a new laptop.
You found that material on a company computer. There's probably a company policy on that type of content, and the computer belonged to the company. Sort of like going through your file cabinet at work and finding a playboy. Not appropriate for the workplace.
Personal stuff is different, imho.
So the /. editors aren't missing a dupe or telling us old news, they're simply writing misleading and sensational headlines.
;-)
At least we know that it's still business as usual
Well, it's kinda hard to argue that a 3 year old dupe should be caught, but the mere fact that it was news for nerds three years ago should certainly disqualify it as news today.
Wow, that's pretty cool. I'd love one for my 3 year old, but $200 is a little much for me.
I was under the impression that squinting, like the sungalsses you mention, do not filter scattered light, but rather artifically reduce the aperture of you lens, increasing the depth of field. The result is that an object which is not at the image plane is more likely to be "in focus", thus relieving your eye from needing to focus to that point. It's particularly good for astigmatism, as the small aperture compensates for the cylidrical portion of the lens. The down side is that you lose total light collection.
Note that the opposite is true, as well. When your iris is at its largerst aperture (at night, in dim lighting), your vision will be at its worst.
1) Thermostats in every room, if possible linked to the HVAC to regulate temperature on an individual room basis.
Good for convenience, but be careful as most residential units are not really meant for zoning. It's not an electronic problme but a mechanical one - too many zones shut down and your fancoil unit will overheat and die prematurely due to the pressure in the system being too high.
3) Motorized blinds on each window. You regulate the heat so why not regulate the light level?
Nice idea, and very high end, but also insanely expensive (you'll probably end up at >$1000/shade, on average) and difficult to integrate into existing window heads, if you like the no-see-um/built-in look.
As for the ohters, most are just a matter of money. I guess I'm not really a security freak, since I live in a small town, so the panic button in every room feels a bit paranoid. Though if you were to have one, it may as well be in any room - hate to have it be in the wrong room when I needed it. Whole house vacuums have never really done it for me. They're quiet, but I find the long hoses as cumbersome as a good canister vacuum.
Better than motion/heat sensors, put good dimmers on every light you can think of. It may sound silly, but after experimenting extensively with X-10, I abandoned central control altogether and opted for large banks of dimmable lights. Most rooms had only one light circuit, with different levels controlled by a dimmer. They're the best in bathrooms for any late-night necessities when a night light is too dim and full lighting will blind you.
actual deadbolts with reinforced doors and frames on all doors. double cylinder if next to a window or window-in-the foor but for gosh sakes let everyone know where the key is.
Don't do this. It violates the building code in practically every state. If you're concerned enough to do this, spend the money to buy a door without windows and/or change the swing of the door to get the lock away from the windows. Do not double cylinder any egress door for any reason.
The insightfulness of the parent really depends on where you live and what your energy rates are.
Good insulation and windows go hand in hand, but if you live in a temperate climate, or somewhere where the cost of energy is low, extra insulation and super-efficient windows are false economy. Also, you may want to check your energy costs before you decide on a heating/cooling system. Where I live (s/w Virgnina), the cost for electrtic resistance heat is only about 10% higher than natural gas, and is 30% less than oil.
As for ground source heat pumps...make sure you check your numbers before you buy. Payback periods for most ground source heat pumps (there are a few exceptions) are >50 years, even at 4% interest. Don't be put off by "cold register air" from traditional heat pumps. Supplemental heat can be added via resistance coils that are staged (2-3 stages) based on outdoor temperature and will keep your regiter temperature as toasty as if you were running a gas furnace. Unless you live in the notrhern 20% or so of the counrty, you'll find that running a 2.5kW coil for a couple of hours during the coldest parts of the day in the winter may not make a $5/month difference in you heating costs, and even a doubling of efficiency (unlikely, even for a GSHP) over a variable-speed fan, 13 SEER air unit will take more than 20 years to pay back.
Overall, remember that energy efficiency has a diminishing monetary benefit as you get better and better. Jacking your walls from R-11 to R15 is a nice idea, but your windows will still top out at about R3.2-3.5 in the best scenerio. Spending an extra $1000 to save 27% of a component that accounts for less than 25% of you heat loss on a $75/mo heating/cooling bill ($5/mo) isn't really going to save you any money.
Saving the earth is a nice sentiment, but remember that most of the high-efficiency product come at a cost - both monetary as well as environmental.
you can just send the justice department after them for a DMCA violation. Worked for Adobe :-)
But then how would you know whether to salute or compile?
as long as you've processed it properly. The problem in modern industrial processing which is so hygenically challeneged that there is a reasonable chance that there are bad bugs in your ground beef. Since the restaraunt you eat in doesn't know that your family isn't going to sue them for a billion dollars when you die from food borne illness, they cook it 'til most of the bugs (and taste) are dead.
I'm sure they'll serve you up a real hunk of meat as rare as you like it, as long as the outside has been seared. That's what is so great about real steak. The meat iteself is almost never contaminated except at the outside surface and where the cells have been cut. Personally, I prefer my steak just on the rare side of medium (very warm, pinkish-red center). Medium rare is a little to squishy for me, and rare adds the "yuk" of being cool in the center. Opinions vary, of course. In fact, if you're meticulous, you can grind your own beef and still eat it rare (Steak Tar Tar anyone?), though its not a particular taste/texture I prefer.
BTW - as far as medium priced chains go, I've found that the Outback Steakhouse does the best job of bringing you a hunk-o-beef that has been cooked closest to your desired doneness. Most other restauraunts cook to one level above where you ask. (And don't tell me Mortons does a good job, too. They do, but I don't count them as medium priced. Medium priced to me does not mean $50 a plate).
Good lord, no. Boobies photographed through water and recorded on a 1980 VCR at (probably) EP setting of an over-the-air broadcast on a minimal quality tape that's over 20 years old? We didn't have anything better back then, but today...go surf the usenet. ;-)