In one sentance our values dictate respect for our fellow employees.
In another, we are to firmly question anyone that 'does not belong' or is unexpected
Recently our company hired a new diversity 'expert', and she was 'aghast' at the way fellow employees treated each other in the hallways
Now I ask all of you sentinent people... how should we react when confronted with someone we neither recognize nor know, and how do we fullfill both of the philosophies?
I used to work in a secure area, where if someone knocked I'd let them in but question and deliver them to the person they wanted... but now it's an open area- thus I don't exactly know the 250 people I now work with. Frankly the stress isn't worth it- any single one of them could be an auditor waiting to 'sneak up' and get you reported to upper management- it isn't fair.
Who pays to educate a student to PHD level, where upon he/she can write the complicated algorithms needed to do *insert subject here* within an 'open source' program?
Are all your ideas going to come out of academics locked behind the desk? Or do you think someone with a HS education and lots of free time can do the complicated calculations while pounding out code?
No, this isn't a troll- but *someone* has to think and spend the time to write these algorithms, and that costs money. Education costs money. Yes, you can have 3 million people working on it, and yes they are paid by employers... and yes they can dedicate their time to helping along open source programs.
Don't patent anything? Where's the profit motive? How will you pay off your 10 years of college for your PHD by giving away your ideas freely? Oh, get a job and then give those ideas away freely?? Sorry... can't work that way.
Anways, I see OS as a more potent form of QA- force the corporations to incorporate the stability of newer platforms... if at least customers are expecting that kind of stability then that raises the stakes.
At 0.3 megapixel, or 640x480, you are BARELY able to make a full resolution screen image. Yes it will probably look OK on that screen, but the typical person can see to 150 lpi (lines per inch)- benchmarking on that your print will be roughtly 3x4 inches.
Now, without even going into the sensor... the size that the image could be safely res'd up is probably 1.5, which gets you to the magic 4x6 print that consumers have come to expect.
Don't think about it going to 8x10 without some serious degradation. JPG artifacts alone will prohibit that sort of enlargment- blocking artifacts, clipping...
I think for parts the camera might be on the right track, but this has got to be the wrong approach.
I'd go into the other issues like noise, light sensitivity (speed), robustness... alignment... but i think that would rather bore most people.
I know that sounds all odd, but... having watched my professors pull out articles that were being reviewed and RAG on the people that wrote them for stupid, stupid mistakes.... and very poor science to boot, I think that journals must be policed.
Now as for revenue streams, well, yeah. Vendors place ads. When I have to design a piece of equipment, I grab the latest journal and flip thru it for whatever I need. Those scientists may not need to worry about who makes their equipment, funded thru uni's and what not, but for people that actually do the designing, it's very useful
As for free download after a certain time period... Napster couldn't pull it off;P Maybe this is one that the courts can decide (rightly) that... even if it's published, the author can still require downloads as free. *sigh* Knowledge is power... and it's for sale;P
Apple trees produce good fruit for many years, but then they stop eventually. DOes this mean that a good man is only good for 20 years? Then we throw him/her to the fire?
Or for that matter, what about the Oak tree? Acorns? It has no use other than a wood to build with (although at the time that was written, i'm sure oak wasn't nearly as prevalent as straw paddies with mud).
You know they've almost proven that Pi contains nearly any message you want, if you look in the right spot. Funny, I'm waiting for them to find the bible.
Build Your Own Rack Cabinet
Or, how to rack 'em and stack 'em for a third the price...
By Tom H. - Team Florida Mojo
Rackmounting equipment is so far the best means we've come up with as a species for packing a lot of processing power in little floorspace - 40 or more computers in a
single storage space that uses 4.5 square feet of floor space and stands 8 feet tall. Rackmount cabinets are, on the other hand, appallingly expensive, often costing well
over a thousand dollars US. And they're so heavy that you can pretty much be guaranteed another couple hundred dollars' worth of shipping charges will be tacked on if
you buy one.
But if you're a home user with a lot of equipment, run a small office, a budding musician with a lot of rackmount toys, a home theater enthusiast wanting more functional
and adjustable mounting space for your gear, or any of a number of other possibilities, rackmounting your gear may be the only game in town. But the expense, ouch the
expense!
In this article we'll do something that so far we're not aware anyone has done yet - discuss building a small 18-unit (18 units of height x 1.75" of height per unit = 31.5" of
mounting space) rack cabinet for as little as $50. If you're in need of a light- to medium-duty rack cabinet for lightweight gear such as musical effects and recording gear,
home theater equipment, and so on, you'll be able to accomplish rackmounting for cheap. If you need EIA-standard-compliant storage for heavy equipment such as servers,
UPSs, telecom gear, and so on, then you'll end up spending $200 or so (assuming you know how to weld and have the equipment to do so - if not, figure more $ to hire
someone to do this work) on the 18-unit steel-framed cabinet we'll discuss in detail.
We will discuss the basic ideas and a how-to on building a light- or medium-duty wood-framed 18U rack cabinet for less than 200 lbs. of equipment, and then we'll jump
into building a VERY heavy-duty 18U cabinet that can safely handle 600 lbs. Of gear. If you need more or less height, you'll naturally need to scale the height accordingly,
but 18 units is about the most comfortable height for home, small-office, or studio use.
Rackmount 101
First, the basics on racks and rackmount gear...
Rackmount equipment sizes are standardized, thankfully, so you'll most likely have and/or see equipment that designed for a "19-inch rack." This means that the faceplates
or front panels on the equipment are 19 inches wide. The minimum height for any piece of equipment is called a "unit," (abbreviated as an uppercase 'U') and each unit is a
multiple of 1.75" of vertical space. So a 3U device is 3 units x 1.75 per unit = 5.25" tall.
The standard also calls for the body of rackmount equipment to be 17 inches wide and can be however deep, although anything deeper than 28 inches is unusual for a 19"
rack. Most rackmount computers that are 4 units tall are about 22 inches deep, for example.
Rackmount equipment is attached to a pair of rails, each of which has a series of holes drilled into it in a regular pattern, which is 1/2"-5/8"-5/8" and repeated for the
entire height of the rail. The mounting holes for rackmount equipment require that the rails be aligned vertically to within 1/16", and must be as close to 18 1/4" apart
center-to-center as you can get, although tolerance will vary with the mounting holes on the equipment's faceplate. As long as the horizontal distance is within 1/16" all is
generally well.
Some rails use captive nuts, which are nuts with retaining clips that clip onto the rack rail over or into holes provided for this purpose, while other rails simply have drilled
and tapped holes that can accept screws directly. Most US-made rack equipment is secured with 10-32 screws, although 10-24, 12-24, and M6 screws are also used. The
screws have to be able to hold at least 30 lbs. per screw though, due to the next item for discussion:
Rackmount equipment weighing less than about 50 lbs. has to be designed so that the entire weight can be supported by the equipment's faceplate, and heavier gear
generally requires a set of rails in the back of the cabinet to hold up the back end. (Sometimes the heavy stuff includes a set of rear rack brackets that attach to the side of
the item in question, and other times a rackmount shelf is provided for this purpose.) Thanks to this requirement, rackmount equipment tends to have very thick faceplates
and very stiff side panels to handle the weight. Rackmount equipment also usually will have a pair of handles on the front to make installation and removal easier.
If you have a front and rear set of rack rails, more options become possible, such as the use of rack slides to allow equipment to be pulled out like a drawer. Also, there
are pullout shelves and storage drawers, keyboard drawers (these require narrow keyboards, obviously), even rackmount monitors.
Building a Light-Duty Open Rack Cabinet
Now that the basics have been covered, let's discuss the basic idea behind building a light-duty 18U rack cabinet for about $50 in materials. This design would be suitable
for home-theater, professional audio, and in some cases light-duty computing/networking applications where only a front rail set is required, and the total weight of
equipment to be mounted is less than 150 lbs. The resulting cabinet is 33" tall, 20 5/8" wide, and 24" deep.
What you'll need for this design:
Two pieces of 5/8" thick plywood (DO NOT use particle board or OSB) cut to 24" wide x 31.75" long - these will form the sides;
Two pieces of 5/8" thick plywood cut to 24" wide 20 5/8" long - these will become the top and bottom;
Four pieces of 1" steel 90-degree angle stock, each 21" long
One box of 100 each (you'll only use about half, but buying them in this quantity is generally cheaper than buying them in sets of 50) of the following: 8-32 flat-head
machine screws 1 1/4" long, #8 washers, #8 split lockwashers, and 8-32 nuts;
Eight each of the following: 1/4-20 x 1 1/8" flathead machine screw, 1/4-20 nut, 1/4" external-tooth lockwasher;
Sixteen 1/4" flat washers;
Two 18U rack rails from MilesTek, their part # 50-70226;
A drill with two drill bits: 3/16" and 5/16";
A tube of construction adhesive (and a caulk gun if using that style of tube);
Measuring tape;
Two or more (Preferably at least four) clamps capable of opening at least 2";
And now, to build it:
First, use the construction adhesive to glue one piece of steel angle to the each end of the side panels along the 24" long edges, and make sure both steel angles are on
the same side the plywood (presumably the worst-looking one, as whichever side the angles are glued to will be the inside of the cabinet.) Be sure to align one end of each
angle with the edge of the panel, and also ensure that both angles on one panel align with the same side, so that there's a 3" gap between the angle's other end and the
edge of the panel. These gaps allow clearance for the rack rails, and the edge with this gap will be the front of the cabinet.
Clamp the angles in place and let the adhesive set. Repeat this to make the two side panels.
Then, starting 1" in from the angle's end that aligns with the panel, drill a hole every 4 inches through angle and wood with a 3/16" drill bit, centering it in the flat part of
the angle. Repeat for the other angle, and then repeat for the other side panel.
Slide an 8-32 screw into each hole from the outside (the wood side) and slip a flat washer, lockwasher, and nut onto the angle side. Tighten them all evenly and with
enough pressure to pull the heads of the screws flush with the surface of the wood. Again, repeat for the other angles on both panels. This finishes the side panels.
The top and bottom panels are then attached to the sides. The sides rest on the bottom, and the top rests on the sides. Since a 3" gap was left for clearance of the rack
rails, make sure that the gaps on both sides are pointed in the same direction or you'll be unable to mount one of the rails. (Flip the side over to change which way the
gaps point.)
Use more construction adhesive to glue the wood panels to each other where they butt together, as well as to glue the angles to the top and bottom. Again, clamp and let
the adhesive set.
As was done for the sides, drill holes every 4", starting 3" from the corner where the angles align with the back edges of the top and side, and 1 1/8" in from the outside
edge. Use the same means to attach the top and bottom to the angles as was used to mount the angles to the sides.
Check for square by taking diagonal measurements across the open inside of the rack - if both measurements are within 1/16" of each other, you're square, otherwise
carefully flex the cabinet slightly to force it into square.
Finally, it's time to mount the rack rails. Hold each rack rail flat against the side panel and centered on the panel vertically, keeping the shorter side that has the rack holes
on it flush with the front edge of the side panel, and mark the second and fourth holes in from each end. Remove the rails and drill through the wood at each marked
location with the 5/16" drill bit.
Slide all four 1/4-20 screws into one side panel and slip one flat washer onto each. Then slip the rail onto the screws and apply a flat washer, lockwasher, and nut to each.
Gradually tighten each in sequence until the heads are pulled flush with the side panel's surface. Then repeat for the other side.
Double-check your handiwork, and if all looks well you can start mounting you gear into the new cabinet. Or, finish its exterior however you feel fit and then start to fill it. If
you plan to cover the exterior AND the screw heads (which is NOT a good idea), you might want to apply some form of thread-locking compound on all the hardware used
to secure the rack panels and rails, to prevent them working loose later.
If you want to include a door, you'll need to either alter the design to suit the addition of a door, with the most notable change being the need to increase the depth by 3"
and recess the rails at least 3" in from the front edge of the side panels. And then there's the door itself. Since the door can be anything - a cut-down interior door, a
simple piece of plywood, even smoked acrylic (my personal favorite), the details of the door are left to the builder to work out based on the chosen material and
application.
Building a Medium-Duty Open Rack Cabinet
A medium-duty cabinet, suited for basic computing/networking use for more heavy equipment can be built using the same plywood structure, but adding steel tubing
vertically, spaced 1" in from each rack rail and corner to add rigidity. This design is good up to about 250 lbs. if properly constructed.
The tubing would need to be spaced out from the panels enough to rest flush against the angles used to connect the panels together. This can be accomplished with flat
washers. Additional tubing running diagonally from the top front to the bottom rear may be required to shore the cabinet up from racking due to the weight of equipment
mounted into it.
If your rackmount gear will weigh more than about 200 lbs., you might want to consider the heavy-duty version, below.
Building a Heavy-Duty Steel-Frame Open Rack Cabinet
And now, the granddaddy of homebrew rack cabinets, the steel-frame heavy-duty EIA-compliant cabinet. This design is suited to loads up to about 600 lbs. (assuming a
height of 18U) and requires welding (stick or MIG) skills and equipment as well as some means to cut steel plate and tubing. However, for heavy equipment such as
rackmount UPSs and multiple servers, this is the only way to go.
Since this design was actually built by the author (Ed Note: Seemed like a good excuse to teach myself how to weld!), this is the only design that will be included here with
photographs.
First, a few caveats:
1.This project requires welding. If you lack the equipment and/or skills to do this safely, you may want to hire someone to perform this process.
2.This project involves cutting steel. Usually, fiber-reinforced cutoff wheels or a bandsaw are used to perform this, and such tools are EXTREMELY dangerous. If it can
cut steel, it can certainly go through bone. And then there's the eye hazards from flying metal particles. If you perform the steel cutting operation yourself it's
advised that you not get a MRI or any other form of medical magnetic imaging procedures performed for a minimum of six (6) months, as a MRI can literally pull an
iron filing through the body and this is NOT a good thing to have happen. (MRI technicians will usually refuse to give perform MRIs on any person employed as a
metalworker for precisely this reason.) Again, this might be a good thing to pay to have done.
3.Welds generally get ground smooth - see above re: cutting for the hazards typical to grinding a welded bead.
4.Since there's welding and cutting involved, expect a lot of flesh-hostile things to be a concern, such as cutting yourself on a jagged metal edge or burning yourself on
a fresh weld. For instance, a bit of glowing metal at about 1,800 deg. F is NOT a good thing to have land on your hand. Consult the manuals for your welding and
cutting equipment for safety precautions appropriate to that equipment.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The design is simple, a basic ladder frame construction that's deliberately designed to be slightly larger than the rack space within, in order to allow room to adjust the
vertical alignment, horizontal mounting-center spacing, and front-to-back alignment. Since rack rails are generally 1/2" longer than the number of units of mounting space
they permit, an extra 1/8" was added to the inside height of the frame to allow some room to adjust the rails' heights. The front-to-back rail spacing was set at 18" in this
design, as only two components destined for its use in the prototype cabinet are deeper than 18", and 18" is really the safe minimum depth for the rear rail set for most
rack shelves, drawers, etc.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The material chosen was 0.62" wall, 1" x 1" square steel tubing. This tubing is widely available at home-improvement stores and usually costs about $7 for a 6-foot length.
For this project, six pieces of 6-foot tubing are required. As an option, a flat metal bar can be used to create corner reinforcements that double as mounting points for
casters.
(Click the images for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The tools used for the project are shown above. At left, a Hobart Handler MIG welder to perform the union of metal pieces, and a couple welding magnets to ensure angles
are maintained and tubing held in place when the welding is performed. At right, a 10" miter saw with a metal-cutting blade. NOTE THE GUARD IS STILL ON THE SAW - if
you use a miter saw and you removed the guard, put the guard back on, fool! The metal cutting blade is a compressed-abrasive type, and are also widely available at
home-improvement stores. These must be used with caution though, as too much speed or pressure in the wrong direction may cause one to explode violently, and the
little bits can do a number on anything nearby. (Thus the admonition to reinstall any missing guards.) They also throw sparks and dust during use, so cut outside or in a
very well ventilated area only.
The first part of the process is to cut the stock tubing into pieces. For this project, we need 4 pieces that are 31 3/4" long, 4 pieces that are 21 3/8" long, and 10 pieces that
are 16" long. If done correctly you can get all these lengths out of six 6-foot tubing sticks and have enough scrap left over to practice your welding and/or set the welder up
for the material. Since the tubing walls are 0.062" thick, most MIG welders would work effectively at their lowest or second-lowest power setting and still get adequate
metal penetration. Be careful about the power setting or you'll burn holes through the tubing.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
Once the cut work is done, two of the 31 3/4" lengths and two of the 21 3/8" lengths are welded to form a rectangle. This is repeated to form the second. These will be the
front and back openings and rack rail support struts for the rack cabinet's frame. Welding magnets make this process easy, by holding the tubing in place and keeping the
angle 90 degrees.
Once the two rectangular sections are welded and the welds have been checked and allowed to cool, the sections are each checked to ensure that they aren't warped or
bent into a slight "taco" shape (which is where diagonally opposite corners lift toward each other), which can happen with welding if a joint slips a bit during welding. Slight
cases of warping can be corrected with a little brute force to bend the section flat, but more extreme examples might require cutting out and redoing the welds in one or
more corners. Taking the time to do this job right the first time pays dividends.
(Click the images for a larger view in a new browser window.)
Next, risers are welded at the corners of one of the sections. Again, welding magnets make this easier. When that's finished, the other section is placed onto the risers,
indexed properly into place with magnets, and welded to form a basic enclosure.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The next step is to weld in the remaining 16" pieces that will serve as supports to reinforce the frame. One per side is centered into the top and bottom, and two into each
side. These help distribute weight from the rack rails and help prevent the tubing buckling under extreme loads.
When the welding is completed and checked, the joints are ground smooth.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The next steps are to clean the frame thoroughly, and then to paint the frame completely with primer and then a good quality paint. This isn't intended to be cosmetic so
much as to prevent corrosion - exposed steel will eventually rust.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
With the frame finished, the rack rails can be mounted. Since the design leaves the rack slightly larger than required, the rails can be centered into the frame vertically by
using something to gap the bottom of each rail up from the bottom tubing. A cheap but workable tool for this is an ordinary coin of roughly 1/16" thickness, such as a
penny. Simply place a penny on the bottom tubing and stand the rail vertically onto it.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
With a rail held in place, its mounting holes can be marked. These should be centered on the tubing for greatest strength, and may result in the rail's rackmounting surface
extending out from the front of the tubing. It's a good idea to use the second and fourth mounting holes from each end of the rail if there are enough holes. That way you
won't drill close enough to the corners to risk disturbing a weld or unnecessarily weakening the structure of the frame. 5/16" holes are then drilled completely through the
tubing to allow the use of 1/4-20 bolts to mount the rails. If you're using 1/4-20 carriage bolts, a rotary tool with an engraving bit can be used to square up the outside
holes in order to provide something for the square portion of the carriage bolt's head something to grip.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
Each rail is mounted with four 1/4-20 bolts, flat washers, lock washers, and nuts. An additional flat washer is placed between the rack rail and the frame itself in order to
make sure the space between the rails is proper to produce the required horizontal mounting-hole spacing of 18 1/4". The rack rails are then checked to ensure they're
level vertically as well as the right distance horizontally, and then hardware if tightened down to complete the installation.
The rear rail set is installed the same way.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
If all goes well, faceplate filler panels, shelves, etc. should drop right in without interference or alignment problems.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
At this point, the rack cabinet frame is complete enough to use as-is, or you can attach side panels to the frame using whatever hardware you need. One nice-looking (if a
bit pricey) suggestion is to drill and tap holes and use cap screws to attach the side panels, and use tinted acrylic for the side panels themselves.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The prototype shown in this article was stuffed with gear without the addition of any side panels, as the author's need for the setup was a bit too immediate to allow for the
wait time needed to get large enough acrylic panels. Despite not having side panels, the cabinet looks pretty slick (especially for a home-build setup!)
Now you've got all the know-how you need to build your own rack cabinet, and make it look however you want, without having to spend a fortune to get it. If only the
rackmount gear was less expensive...
Tom H. is the Webmaster for OC Mojo, as well as the Group Coordinator and Grand-Poo-Bah of Team Florida Mojo, the eastern OC Mojo review team. He can be reached
at tomh@ocmojo.com.
The additive you refer to was placed into a jet that was deliberately crashed. The wing was severed in the process in a very spectacular manner, resulting in a tremendous fireball. At once the test was deemed a failure before any of the data was analyzed. Since it was 'expensive', the fireball produced all the justification the airlines needed to kill the project.
Unfortunately, when the data was analyzed, it was shown that the metal skin of the aircraft survived. Seats made of that cushy foam junk survived the fire. In fact, most of the damage to the plane (mind you it was missing a wing...) was soot, not intense heat. The test was a spectacular POSITIVE result, not a blatant failure... how many fires currently result in nothing left of an airplane?
Of course, show anyone the video with a 'fireproof' substance in a tremendous fireball moments after impact and they'll say it's a failure, regardless of the fact that the metal skin of the aircraft, usually the first thing to 'melt', survived. Illogical? Yes. Political? Probably. Good Science? No.
All you can do is ask your congresswoman/congressman to not vote for it... and try to tell people whats wrong. Don't shout- these laws are about hysteria and thats what has to be fought.
But really, does *ANYTHING* launch on time?
on
XBox Delayed
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· Score: 2, Insightful
Heck, even the space shuttle gets delayed 1.5 times per launch!
It's nothing tremendous, and, given the events in the past week a delay could be the best thing to do- give people a time to get out of their shell shock (and I am still in it) and move out into our life that Osama hates so much.
Personally, I won't buy one... but that doesn't mean another game console couldn't help:)
Actually, looks more appropriate to upgrade my firewall. One linux product that tends to work well out of the box... tho I wish it was more secure by default. I don't think I've had any trouble installing it and running... unlike BeOS which failed 8 out of 10 times.
... and it sounds as if there is alot of ignorance.
Its going to be a very difficult fight because their is alot of thinking with the heart, not with the head. These people were in the states for what, a year or two or more, previous. And that doesn't count anyone that helped them that was already here.
All you can do is write your congressman/congresswoman and suggest in a polite and professional manner.
without much fight. All the right words will be said for fear and fright
And if you fight against it you will probably lose... unfortunately. Maybe in a year. Or two. But the mood of the American people is quite frightening- cold rage.
Besides- who says the government CAN"T break them already? It probably just takes a bit more effort...
... if the approach was changed from RTFM to a little friendlier attack.
There's alot of stability under Linux, and for that I'm grateful, but when I have 50 collegues and 2 sets of grandparents that I have to keep in contact- it's MS WORD... or Excel... or Power Point.
But maybe a rallying point is all thats needed? I don't know- star Office wasn't too hot... write idea, wrong approach.
Terrorists hit airlines.... this is the first time that an airline has been used to destroy a target- it literally is out of the Clancy Novel in which an airliner crashed into a joint seat of congress (THIS IS A BOOK!).
As for everyone screaming for peace- shut up. The US has had a pathetic lax policy on terrorism. I feel we should move to a new "If you claim responsibility, you are dead. If you are planning it, you are dead. If you mastermind or participate, you are dead." policy- Eventually they'll run out of terrorists.
Thank god for/. - it was the only news source we had at work until the CNN and ABC servers got back up.
Re:Still waiting for a hardware solution
on
DivX;) Goes Legit
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· Score: 2
That should be MPAA, not RIAA:)
Still waiting for a hardware solution
on
DivX;) Goes Legit
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· Score: 4, Insightful
DivX is great, but the compression in software speed is incredibly slow.
Now that it is 'legit' I'm sure it'll withstand all the lawyers the RIAA will send at it, including the incorporation of a watermark, copyright tags, limited distribution counter...
It should be interesting to watch the development as it progresses- it truly is an outstanding codec... but with all the lawyers watching for a slipup, it might just not make it.
Just because law enforcement would like to use it for catching criminals doesn't mean it can't be used for good.
Think about it- Similiar to Gates's house- walk into a room, machine recognizes your face (instead of the pin) and changes your pictures on the wall to suit.
Authenticate your identity online to prevent fraud (although, some Celebs might have trouble with that... 3 million elvis's...:P
Search your high school yearbook- search old newspaper clippings...
And.... catch some known pedophile that's broken parole.
It's a great technology for those who don't run afoul of the law... but... the power and lack of regulation are very worrying.
Don't know if you'd consider it engineering texts, but XML is used in moving metadata from pictures around. There's an open source and binaries downloadable.... might help your implementation.
Good luck- it's quite impressive once you get the trees set up correctly:)
err appeal to happen. The RIAA has money- that will sway the courts, i mean, law to their interpretation.
Just ask Bush and the DOJ about Microsoft!
In a more serious nature, tho, I'm scared to go to a used CD store and buy a used CD.... someone might have recorded that music previously and that makes me buying a pirated copy...
Slashdot Mirror
I work for Corporate America
In one sentance our values dictate respect for our fellow employees.
In another, we are to firmly question anyone that 'does not belong' or is unexpected
Recently our company hired a new diversity 'expert', and she was 'aghast' at the way fellow employees treated each other in the hallways
Now I ask all of you sentinent people... how should we react when confronted with someone we neither recognize nor know, and how do we fullfill both of the philosophies?
I used to work in a secure area, where if someone knocked I'd let them in but question and deliver them to the person they wanted... but now it's an open area- thus I don't exactly know the 250 people I now work with. Frankly the stress isn't worth it- any single one of them could be an auditor waiting to 'sneak up' and get you reported to upper management- it isn't fair.
Who pays to educate a student to PHD level, where upon he/she can write the complicated algorithms needed to do *insert subject here* within an 'open source' program?
... and yes they can dedicate their time to helping along open source programs.
Are all your ideas going to come out of academics locked behind the desk? Or do you think someone with a HS education and lots of free time can do the complicated calculations while pounding out code?
No, this isn't a troll- but *someone* has to think and spend the time to write these algorithms, and that costs money. Education costs money. Yes, you can have 3 million people working on it, and yes they are paid by employers
Don't patent anything? Where's the profit motive? How will you pay off your 10 years of college for your PHD by giving away your ideas freely? Oh, get a job and then give those ideas away freely?? Sorry... can't work that way.
Anways, I see OS as a more potent form of QA- force the corporations to incorporate the stability of newer platforms... if at least customers are expecting that kind of stability then that raises the stakes.
I work for an imaging company...
At 0.3 megapixel, or 640x480, you are BARELY able to make a full resolution screen image. Yes it will probably look OK on that screen, but the typical person can see to 150 lpi (lines per inch)- benchmarking on that your print will be roughtly 3x4 inches.
Now, without even going into the sensor... the size that the image could be safely res'd up is probably 1.5, which gets you to the magic 4x6 print that consumers have come to expect.
Don't think about it going to 8x10 without some serious degradation. JPG artifacts alone will prohibit that sort of enlargment- blocking artifacts, clipping...
I think for parts the camera might be on the right track, but this has got to be the wrong approach.
I'd go into the other issues like noise, light sensitivity (speed), robustness... alignment... but i think that would rather bore most people.
But in a sense, not a bad thing.
... having watched my professors pull out articles that were being reviewed and RAG on the people that wrote them for stupid, stupid mistakes.... and very poor science to boot, I think that journals must be policed.
;P Maybe this is one that the courts can decide (rightly) that ... even if it's published, the author can still require downloads as free. ;P
I know that sounds all odd, but
Now as for revenue streams, well, yeah. Vendors place ads. When I have to design a piece of equipment, I grab the latest journal and flip thru it for whatever I need. Those scientists may not need to worry about who makes their equipment, funded thru uni's and what not, but for people that actually do the designing, it's very useful
As for free download after a certain time period... Napster couldn't pull it off
*sigh* Knowledge is power... and it's for sale
So what does that mean?
Apple trees produce good fruit for many years, but then they stop eventually. DOes this mean that a good man is only good for 20 years? Then we throw him/her to the fire?
Or for that matter, what about the Oak tree? Acorns? It has no use other than a wood to build with (although at the time that was written, i'm sure oak wasn't nearly as prevalent as straw paddies with mud).
You know they've almost proven that Pi contains nearly any message you want, if you look in the right spot. Funny, I'm waiting for them to find the bible.
Build Your Own Rack Cabinet
Or, how to rack 'em and stack 'em for a third the price...
By Tom H. - Team Florida Mojo
Rackmounting equipment is so far the best means we've come up with as a species for packing a lot of processing power in little floorspace - 40 or more computers in a
single storage space that uses 4.5 square feet of floor space and stands 8 feet tall. Rackmount cabinets are, on the other hand, appallingly expensive, often costing well
over a thousand dollars US. And they're so heavy that you can pretty much be guaranteed another couple hundred dollars' worth of shipping charges will be tacked on if
you buy one.
But if you're a home user with a lot of equipment, run a small office, a budding musician with a lot of rackmount toys, a home theater enthusiast wanting more functional
and adjustable mounting space for your gear, or any of a number of other possibilities, rackmounting your gear may be the only game in town. But the expense, ouch the
expense!
In this article we'll do something that so far we're not aware anyone has done yet - discuss building a small 18-unit (18 units of height x 1.75" of height per unit = 31.5" of
mounting space) rack cabinet for as little as $50. If you're in need of a light- to medium-duty rack cabinet for lightweight gear such as musical effects and recording gear,
home theater equipment, and so on, you'll be able to accomplish rackmounting for cheap. If you need EIA-standard-compliant storage for heavy equipment such as servers,
UPSs, telecom gear, and so on, then you'll end up spending $200 or so (assuming you know how to weld and have the equipment to do so - if not, figure more $ to hire
someone to do this work) on the 18-unit steel-framed cabinet we'll discuss in detail.
We will discuss the basic ideas and a how-to on building a light- or medium-duty wood-framed 18U rack cabinet for less than 200 lbs. of equipment, and then we'll jump
into building a VERY heavy-duty 18U cabinet that can safely handle 600 lbs. Of gear. If you need more or less height, you'll naturally need to scale the height accordingly,
but 18 units is about the most comfortable height for home, small-office, or studio use.
Rackmount 101
First, the basics on racks and rackmount gear...
Rackmount equipment sizes are standardized, thankfully, so you'll most likely have and/or see equipment that designed for a "19-inch rack." This means that the faceplates
or front panels on the equipment are 19 inches wide. The minimum height for any piece of equipment is called a "unit," (abbreviated as an uppercase 'U') and each unit is a
multiple of 1.75" of vertical space. So a 3U device is 3 units x 1.75 per unit = 5.25" tall.
The standard also calls for the body of rackmount equipment to be 17 inches wide and can be however deep, although anything deeper than 28 inches is unusual for a 19"
rack. Most rackmount computers that are 4 units tall are about 22 inches deep, for example.
Rackmount equipment is attached to a pair of rails, each of which has a series of holes drilled into it in a regular pattern, which is 1/2"-5/8"-5/8" and repeated for the
entire height of the rail. The mounting holes for rackmount equipment require that the rails be aligned vertically to within 1/16", and must be as close to 18 1/4" apart
center-to-center as you can get, although tolerance will vary with the mounting holes on the equipment's faceplate. As long as the horizontal distance is within 1/16" all is
generally well.
Some rails use captive nuts, which are nuts with retaining clips that clip onto the rack rail over or into holes provided for this purpose, while other rails simply have drilled
and tapped holes that can accept screws directly. Most US-made rack equipment is secured with 10-32 screws, although 10-24, 12-24, and M6 screws are also used. The
screws have to be able to hold at least 30 lbs. per screw though, due to the next item for discussion:
Rackmount equipment weighing less than about 50 lbs. has to be designed so that the entire weight can be supported by the equipment's faceplate, and heavier gear
generally requires a set of rails in the back of the cabinet to hold up the back end. (Sometimes the heavy stuff includes a set of rear rack brackets that attach to the side of
the item in question, and other times a rackmount shelf is provided for this purpose.) Thanks to this requirement, rackmount equipment tends to have very thick faceplates
and very stiff side panels to handle the weight. Rackmount equipment also usually will have a pair of handles on the front to make installation and removal easier.
If you have a front and rear set of rack rails, more options become possible, such as the use of rack slides to allow equipment to be pulled out like a drawer. Also, there
are pullout shelves and storage drawers, keyboard drawers (these require narrow keyboards, obviously), even rackmount monitors.
Building a Light-Duty Open Rack Cabinet
Now that the basics have been covered, let's discuss the basic idea behind building a light-duty 18U rack cabinet for about $50 in materials. This design would be suitable
for home-theater, professional audio, and in some cases light-duty computing/networking applications where only a front rail set is required, and the total weight of
equipment to be mounted is less than 150 lbs. The resulting cabinet is 33" tall, 20 5/8" wide, and 24" deep.
What you'll need for this design:
Two pieces of 5/8" thick plywood (DO NOT use particle board or OSB) cut to 24" wide x 31.75" long - these will form the sides;
Two pieces of 5/8" thick plywood cut to 24" wide 20 5/8" long - these will become the top and bottom;
Four pieces of 1" steel 90-degree angle stock, each 21" long
One box of 100 each (you'll only use about half, but buying them in this quantity is generally cheaper than buying them in sets of 50) of the following: 8-32 flat-head
machine screws 1 1/4" long, #8 washers, #8 split lockwashers, and 8-32 nuts;
Eight each of the following: 1/4-20 x 1 1/8" flathead machine screw, 1/4-20 nut, 1/4" external-tooth lockwasher;
Sixteen 1/4" flat washers;
Two 18U rack rails from MilesTek, their part # 50-70226;
A drill with two drill bits: 3/16" and 5/16";
A tube of construction adhesive (and a caulk gun if using that style of tube);
Measuring tape;
Two or more (Preferably at least four) clamps capable of opening at least 2";
And now, to build it:
First, use the construction adhesive to glue one piece of steel angle to the each end of the side panels along the 24" long edges, and make sure both steel angles are on
the same side the plywood (presumably the worst-looking one, as whichever side the angles are glued to will be the inside of the cabinet.) Be sure to align one end of each
angle with the edge of the panel, and also ensure that both angles on one panel align with the same side, so that there's a 3" gap between the angle's other end and the
edge of the panel. These gaps allow clearance for the rack rails, and the edge with this gap will be the front of the cabinet.
Clamp the angles in place and let the adhesive set. Repeat this to make the two side panels.
Then, starting 1" in from the angle's end that aligns with the panel, drill a hole every 4 inches through angle and wood with a 3/16" drill bit, centering it in the flat part of
the angle. Repeat for the other angle, and then repeat for the other side panel.
Slide an 8-32 screw into each hole from the outside (the wood side) and slip a flat washer, lockwasher, and nut onto the angle side. Tighten them all evenly and with
enough pressure to pull the heads of the screws flush with the surface of the wood. Again, repeat for the other angles on both panels. This finishes the side panels.
The top and bottom panels are then attached to the sides. The sides rest on the bottom, and the top rests on the sides. Since a 3" gap was left for clearance of the rack
rails, make sure that the gaps on both sides are pointed in the same direction or you'll be unable to mount one of the rails. (Flip the side over to change which way the
gaps point.)
Use more construction adhesive to glue the wood panels to each other where they butt together, as well as to glue the angles to the top and bottom. Again, clamp and let
the adhesive set.
As was done for the sides, drill holes every 4", starting 3" from the corner where the angles align with the back edges of the top and side, and 1 1/8" in from the outside
edge. Use the same means to attach the top and bottom to the angles as was used to mount the angles to the sides.
Check for square by taking diagonal measurements across the open inside of the rack - if both measurements are within 1/16" of each other, you're square, otherwise
carefully flex the cabinet slightly to force it into square.
Finally, it's time to mount the rack rails. Hold each rack rail flat against the side panel and centered on the panel vertically, keeping the shorter side that has the rack holes
on it flush with the front edge of the side panel, and mark the second and fourth holes in from each end. Remove the rails and drill through the wood at each marked
location with the 5/16" drill bit.
Slide all four 1/4-20 screws into one side panel and slip one flat washer onto each. Then slip the rail onto the screws and apply a flat washer, lockwasher, and nut to each.
Gradually tighten each in sequence until the heads are pulled flush with the side panel's surface. Then repeat for the other side.
Double-check your handiwork, and if all looks well you can start mounting you gear into the new cabinet. Or, finish its exterior however you feel fit and then start to fill it. If
you plan to cover the exterior AND the screw heads (which is NOT a good idea), you might want to apply some form of thread-locking compound on all the hardware used
to secure the rack panels and rails, to prevent them working loose later.
If you want to include a door, you'll need to either alter the design to suit the addition of a door, with the most notable change being the need to increase the depth by 3"
and recess the rails at least 3" in from the front edge of the side panels. And then there's the door itself. Since the door can be anything - a cut-down interior door, a
simple piece of plywood, even smoked acrylic (my personal favorite), the details of the door are left to the builder to work out based on the chosen material and
application.
Building a Medium-Duty Open Rack Cabinet
A medium-duty cabinet, suited for basic computing/networking use for more heavy equipment can be built using the same plywood structure, but adding steel tubing
vertically, spaced 1" in from each rack rail and corner to add rigidity. This design is good up to about 250 lbs. if properly constructed.
The tubing would need to be spaced out from the panels enough to rest flush against the angles used to connect the panels together. This can be accomplished with flat
washers. Additional tubing running diagonally from the top front to the bottom rear may be required to shore the cabinet up from racking due to the weight of equipment
mounted into it.
If your rackmount gear will weigh more than about 200 lbs., you might want to consider the heavy-duty version, below.
Building a Heavy-Duty Steel-Frame Open Rack Cabinet
And now, the granddaddy of homebrew rack cabinets, the steel-frame heavy-duty EIA-compliant cabinet. This design is suited to loads up to about 600 lbs. (assuming a
height of 18U) and requires welding (stick or MIG) skills and equipment as well as some means to cut steel plate and tubing. However, for heavy equipment such as
rackmount UPSs and multiple servers, this is the only way to go.
Since this design was actually built by the author (Ed Note: Seemed like a good excuse to teach myself how to weld!), this is the only design that will be included here with
photographs.
First, a few caveats:
1.This project requires welding. If you lack the equipment and/or skills to do this safely, you may want to hire someone to perform this process.
2.This project involves cutting steel. Usually, fiber-reinforced cutoff wheels or a bandsaw are used to perform this, and such tools are EXTREMELY dangerous. If it can
cut steel, it can certainly go through bone. And then there's the eye hazards from flying metal particles. If you perform the steel cutting operation yourself it's
advised that you not get a MRI or any other form of medical magnetic imaging procedures performed for a minimum of six (6) months, as a MRI can literally pull an
iron filing through the body and this is NOT a good thing to have happen. (MRI technicians will usually refuse to give perform MRIs on any person employed as a
metalworker for precisely this reason.) Again, this might be a good thing to pay to have done.
3.Welds generally get ground smooth - see above re: cutting for the hazards typical to grinding a welded bead.
4.Since there's welding and cutting involved, expect a lot of flesh-hostile things to be a concern, such as cutting yourself on a jagged metal edge or burning yourself on
a fresh weld. For instance, a bit of glowing metal at about 1,800 deg. F is NOT a good thing to have land on your hand. Consult the manuals for your welding and
cutting equipment for safety precautions appropriate to that equipment.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The design is simple, a basic ladder frame construction that's deliberately designed to be slightly larger than the rack space within, in order to allow room to adjust the
vertical alignment, horizontal mounting-center spacing, and front-to-back alignment. Since rack rails are generally 1/2" longer than the number of units of mounting space
they permit, an extra 1/8" was added to the inside height of the frame to allow some room to adjust the rails' heights. The front-to-back rail spacing was set at 18" in this
design, as only two components destined for its use in the prototype cabinet are deeper than 18", and 18" is really the safe minimum depth for the rear rail set for most
rack shelves, drawers, etc.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The material chosen was 0.62" wall, 1" x 1" square steel tubing. This tubing is widely available at home-improvement stores and usually costs about $7 for a 6-foot length.
For this project, six pieces of 6-foot tubing are required. As an option, a flat metal bar can be used to create corner reinforcements that double as mounting points for
casters.
(Click the images for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The tools used for the project are shown above. At left, a Hobart Handler MIG welder to perform the union of metal pieces, and a couple welding magnets to ensure angles
are maintained and tubing held in place when the welding is performed. At right, a 10" miter saw with a metal-cutting blade. NOTE THE GUARD IS STILL ON THE SAW - if
you use a miter saw and you removed the guard, put the guard back on, fool! The metal cutting blade is a compressed-abrasive type, and are also widely available at
home-improvement stores. These must be used with caution though, as too much speed or pressure in the wrong direction may cause one to explode violently, and the
little bits can do a number on anything nearby. (Thus the admonition to reinstall any missing guards.) They also throw sparks and dust during use, so cut outside or in a
very well ventilated area only.
The first part of the process is to cut the stock tubing into pieces. For this project, we need 4 pieces that are 31 3/4" long, 4 pieces that are 21 3/8" long, and 10 pieces that
are 16" long. If done correctly you can get all these lengths out of six 6-foot tubing sticks and have enough scrap left over to practice your welding and/or set the welder up
for the material. Since the tubing walls are 0.062" thick, most MIG welders would work effectively at their lowest or second-lowest power setting and still get adequate
metal penetration. Be careful about the power setting or you'll burn holes through the tubing.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
Once the cut work is done, two of the 31 3/4" lengths and two of the 21 3/8" lengths are welded to form a rectangle. This is repeated to form the second. These will be the
front and back openings and rack rail support struts for the rack cabinet's frame. Welding magnets make this process easy, by holding the tubing in place and keeping the
angle 90 degrees.
Once the two rectangular sections are welded and the welds have been checked and allowed to cool, the sections are each checked to ensure that they aren't warped or
bent into a slight "taco" shape (which is where diagonally opposite corners lift toward each other), which can happen with welding if a joint slips a bit during welding. Slight
cases of warping can be corrected with a little brute force to bend the section flat, but more extreme examples might require cutting out and redoing the welds in one or
more corners. Taking the time to do this job right the first time pays dividends.
(Click the images for a larger view in a new browser window.)
Next, risers are welded at the corners of one of the sections. Again, welding magnets make this easier. When that's finished, the other section is placed onto the risers,
indexed properly into place with magnets, and welded to form a basic enclosure.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The next step is to weld in the remaining 16" pieces that will serve as supports to reinforce the frame. One per side is centered into the top and bottom, and two into each
side. These help distribute weight from the rack rails and help prevent the tubing buckling under extreme loads.
When the welding is completed and checked, the joints are ground smooth.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The next steps are to clean the frame thoroughly, and then to paint the frame completely with primer and then a good quality paint. This isn't intended to be cosmetic so
much as to prevent corrosion - exposed steel will eventually rust.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
With the frame finished, the rack rails can be mounted. Since the design leaves the rack slightly larger than required, the rails can be centered into the frame vertically by
using something to gap the bottom of each rail up from the bottom tubing. A cheap but workable tool for this is an ordinary coin of roughly 1/16" thickness, such as a
penny. Simply place a penny on the bottom tubing and stand the rail vertically onto it.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
With a rail held in place, its mounting holes can be marked. These should be centered on the tubing for greatest strength, and may result in the rail's rackmounting surface
extending out from the front of the tubing. It's a good idea to use the second and fourth mounting holes from each end of the rail if there are enough holes. That way you
won't drill close enough to the corners to risk disturbing a weld or unnecessarily weakening the structure of the frame. 5/16" holes are then drilled completely through the
tubing to allow the use of 1/4-20 bolts to mount the rails. If you're using 1/4-20 carriage bolts, a rotary tool with an engraving bit can be used to square up the outside
holes in order to provide something for the square portion of the carriage bolt's head something to grip.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
Each rail is mounted with four 1/4-20 bolts, flat washers, lock washers, and nuts. An additional flat washer is placed between the rack rail and the frame itself in order to
make sure the space between the rails is proper to produce the required horizontal mounting-hole spacing of 18 1/4". The rack rails are then checked to ensure they're
level vertically as well as the right distance horizontally, and then hardware if tightened down to complete the installation.
The rear rail set is installed the same way.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
If all goes well, faceplate filler panels, shelves, etc. should drop right in without interference or alignment problems.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
At this point, the rack cabinet frame is complete enough to use as-is, or you can attach side panels to the frame using whatever hardware you need. One nice-looking (if a
bit pricey) suggestion is to drill and tap holes and use cap screws to attach the side panels, and use tinted acrylic for the side panels themselves.
(Click the image for a larger view in a new browser window.)
The prototype shown in this article was stuffed with gear without the addition of any side panels, as the author's need for the setup was a bit too immediate to allow for the
wait time needed to get large enough acrylic panels. Despite not having side panels, the cabinet looks pretty slick (especially for a home-build setup!)
Now you've got all the know-how you need to build your own rack cabinet, and make it look however you want, without having to spend a fortune to get it. If only the
rackmount gear was less expensive...
Tom H. is the Webmaster for OC Mojo, as well as the Group Coordinator and Grand-Poo-Bah of Team Florida Mojo, the eastern OC Mojo review team. He can be reached
at tomh@ocmojo.com.
This Space For Rent - Advertise on OC Mojo!
Copyright © 2001 by Electronic Fantasy World. All Rights Reserved. Usage constitutes acceptance of the OC Mojo Terms of Use.
camp ?
Uh huh... taking their lunch money and serving them food?
Right.
Tell ya what, you sign up into the military, head on over, and ask each person if they are a terrorist... if they say yes, you can read them Miranda.
The additive you refer to was placed into a jet that was deliberately crashed. The wing was severed in the process in a very spectacular manner, resulting in a tremendous fireball. At once the test was deemed a failure before any of the data was analyzed. Since it was 'expensive', the fireball produced all the justification the airlines needed to kill the project.
Unfortunately, when the data was analyzed, it was shown that the metal skin of the aircraft survived. Seats made of that cushy foam junk survived the fire. In fact, most of the damage to the plane (mind you it was missing a wing...) was soot, not intense heat. The test was a spectacular POSITIVE result, not a blatant failure... how many fires currently result in nothing left of an airplane?
Of course, show anyone the video with a 'fireproof' substance in a tremendous fireball moments after impact and they'll say it's a failure, regardless of the fact that the metal skin of the aircraft, usually the first thing to 'melt', survived. Illogical? Yes. Political? Probably. Good Science? No.
Of course it's easy to say 'replace' - just don't give any details and do some hand waving ...
:)
Although I am definately taking it down to the clusters' group and adding some more fuel for their fires
And it will get worse
All you can do is ask your congresswoman/congressman to not vote for it... and try to tell people whats wrong. Don't shout- these laws are about hysteria and thats what has to be fought.
Heck, even the space shuttle gets delayed 1.5 times per launch!
:)
It's nothing tremendous, and, given the events in the past week a delay could be the best thing to do- give people a time to get out of their shell shock (and I am still in it) and move out into our life that Osama hates so much.
Personally, I won't buy one... but that doesn't mean another game console couldn't help
Software giant weathers well, Intel slips 15%.
Guess I know where to invest my money *grins*
Actually, looks more appropriate to upgrade my firewall. One linux product that tends to work well out of the box... tho I wish it was more secure by default. I don't think I've had any trouble installing it and running... unlike BeOS which failed 8 out of 10 times.
... and it sounds as if there is alot of ignorance.
Its going to be a very difficult fight because their is alot of thinking with the heart, not with the head. These people were in the states for what, a year or two or more, previous. And that doesn't count anyone that helped them that was already here.
All you can do is write your congressman/congresswoman and suggest in a polite and professional manner.
From about Ultima 4 on to maybe 7 or possibly 8. But before and after that, well.... spaceships?
Definately worth picking up. I never could stick it out on the earlier ones.
... as the most bugs. What was the quote earler? 250,000 bugs in the latest release of MS's software?
Now if I could just get the browser to run in a stable, repeatable manner AND not have website CC submision pages crash it out....
Like Windows 98 Automatically Installs perfectly.
.... (j/k)
Sounds a bit optomistic... Corel's box went down and now we'll just wrap it up with a Debian distrib and make it all work.
Oh, and, btw.... it's only $19.99
without much fight. All the right words will be said for fear and fright
And if you fight against it you will probably lose... unfortunately. Maybe in a year. Or two. But the mood of the American people is quite frightening- cold rage.
Besides- who says the government CAN"T break them already? It probably just takes a bit more effort...
... if the approach was changed from RTFM to a little friendlier attack.
There's alot of stability under Linux, and for that I'm grateful, but when I have 50 collegues and 2 sets of grandparents that I have to keep in contact- it's MS WORD... or Excel... or Power Point.
But maybe a rallying point is all thats needed? I don't know- star Office wasn't too hot... write idea, wrong approach.
Terrorists hit airlines.... this is the first time that an airline has been used to destroy a target- it literally is out of the Clancy Novel in which an airliner crashed into a joint seat of congress (THIS IS A BOOK!).
/. - it was the only news source we had at work until the CNN and ABC servers got back up.
As for everyone screaming for peace- shut up. The US has had a pathetic lax policy on terrorism. I feel we should move to a new "If you claim responsibility, you are dead. If you are planning it, you are dead. If you mastermind or participate, you are dead." policy- Eventually they'll run out of terrorists.
picture links
http://johnhaller.com/jh/terrorist/
Thank god for
That should be MPAA, not RIAA :)
DivX is great, but the compression in software speed is incredibly slow.
Now that it is 'legit' I'm sure it'll withstand all the lawyers the RIAA will send at it, including the incorporation of a watermark, copyright tags, limited distribution counter...
It should be interesting to watch the development as it progresses- it truly is an outstanding codec... but with all the lawyers watching for a slipup, it might just not make it.
Just because law enforcement would like to use it for catching criminals doesn't mean it can't be used for good.
... :P
Think about it- Similiar to Gates's house- walk into a room, machine recognizes your face (instead of the pin) and changes your pictures on the wall to suit.
Authenticate your identity online to prevent fraud (although, some Celebs might have trouble with that... 3 million elvis's
Search your high school yearbook- search old newspaper clippings...
And.... catch some known pedophile that's broken parole.
It's a great technology for those who don't run afoul of the law... but... the power and lack of regulation are very worrying.
Don't know if you'd consider it engineering texts, but XML is used in moving metadata from pictures around. There's an open source and binaries downloadable.... might help your implementation.
:)
Good luck- it's quite impressive once you get the trees set up correctly
err appeal to happen. The RIAA has money- that will sway the courts, i mean, law to their interpretation.
Just ask Bush and the DOJ about Microsoft!
In a more serious nature, tho, I'm scared to go to a used CD store and buy a used CD.... someone might have recorded that music previously and that makes me buying a pirated copy...
There we go- Alfred State. I knew it started with an 'A' :)