I love the fact that I can regularly install little upgrades and bleeding edge software onto my Linux box. I love the fact that I can check out the code and see exactly what makes it tick.
Mac OS X is one of the best environments for geeks out of there. It's a Unix OS, for chrissakes! Nearly all software that runs on Linux can run on OS X, and nearly all of it available as prepackaged binaries from the Fink project. Also, the only closed-source parts of OS X are the user interface. The core OS and kernel (Darwin) are open-source.
but innovative SOFTWARE rather than just a shiny new UI would be nice
Apple's software is consistently innovative. They managed to create an operating system that combines the ease-of-use of Mac OS 7-8-9 with the power of Unix. That's far better than the open-source community has done. Have you ever actually used OS X? Ever tried Expose?
Stop producing overpriced machines in funky colored perspex!
Have you ever looked at a recent Mac machine? The G5 is made of aluminum, the Powerbooks are made of aluminum, and the iBooks and iMacs are made of neutral, white plastic.
Apple makes the best-looking, highest quality hardware available today. Try finding a PC desktop or laptop made of anything but flimsy plastic (or some kind of flimsy purple-colored metal, in the case of Sony).
Offer a $200 bounty on a PC exchanged for a new iMac or iBook. Buyers get the $200 discount only if they bring a PC that's two years old or less. And they must have a valid receipt.
What an stupid idea. All but the crappiest two-year-old computers are still worth more than $200, especially laptops. Only a complete idiot would take advantage of that offer.
Somewhere within the remote is an actual metal key for use when the electronics aren't working . There should be a button that flips it out or a hidden compartment that you can pull it out of. Look for extra seams on the sides.
The rumor mill is currently predicting (backed up by a few off-the-record comments from Apple) that they'll be announced in January 2005 and be available for purchase shortly thereafter.
Make it go up to 60 MPH to make up time when it doesn't have any barriers to get around, and let it go
And what will you do when this thing crashes at 60 mph into one of the barriers you haven't designed it to detect?
Collision avoidance without physical contact is one of the biggest challenges these teams face.
Also, the obstacles aren't necessarily these big, obvious concrete barriers dumped in the middle of the desert. How would your robot deal with encountering a lake, or coming to the edge of a cliff?
iDrive doesn't have anything to with your safety. It doesn't control the engine, brakes, steering, or even the turn signals and wipers.
The worst thing that could happen if iDrive crashed would be your radio and AC turning off. It has no control over anything outside of the passenger compartment.
BMW IDrive system is a great idea and works nearly flawlessly, but only once you've been using it for a few days. Once you're familiar with where all the settings are, you start to realize the benefits.
A) Your posture can remain essentially the same: left hand on the wheel, right hand on the IDrive controller. Rather than having to lean forward or sideways to be able to reach a certain button, all you have to is flick your wrist.
B) You don't have to look all over the dash to adjust something. Looking away from the road towards the IDrive screen is only about a 15 degree eye movement, compared with the right-and-down head movement you need to look at controls on the dash.
C) The IDrive controller uses tactile feedback to indicate when you've reached the end of a menu, or when you've passed into a different set of options. Once you've been using the system for a while, this makes using it nearly subconscious because your muscle memory handles most of the work.
D) The system gives you much more control over minor options that aren't adjustable in most cars: for example, you can adjust how much heat from the heated seats goes to your back, and how much goes to your butt.
I think the IDrive system is the one of the best recent examples of true innovation from the auto industry. It took a lot of guts on BMW's part for them to switch to it, but I'm glad they did.
And their cars still handle like bats out of hell.:)
Quiet fans are harder than you'd think to make. Even if the motor and bearings are absolutely silent, the air itself moving through the fan enclosure makes a noise.
Christ, what is wrong with you people? Just spend the two minutes it takes to register and you're set for life. Use fake information if you're so egotistical that you think your real name and address actually matters to someone.
What awful thing do you think will happen if you register for the NYT online?
I'm not scared at all by the idea of catching mad cow disease from heavily refined, processed and (most importantly) COMBUSTED animal waste, for one reason.
If you're at an event important enough to warrant one of these devices, I doubt the authorities are depending on citizens' 911 calls to tell them about emergencies. The police have this nifty gadget called a radio...
I'm glad. Maybe this will discourage more companies from jumping on the hybrid bandwagon, and spend their research money on hydrogen-powered cars instead.
Hybrids are only delaying the inevitable, and (according to this article) not by as much as we thought.
Actually, the safest way to protect your equipment against lightning strikes is wire a lightning rod directly into your network's central switch. The extra voltage and current from the lighting will safely disperse through all the attached systems, and you may even notice an increase in performance!
Yes, but aside from dealing with hardware failures and other physical / logistical problems, there really isn't much of a difference between managing 45,000 computers and managing 80,000. They're both Really Big Numbers, and I'm sure whatever software they're using is scaleable enough to smoothly handle many more machines than that.
Slashdot Mirror
I was going to ask why not just build a cluster instead. Then, the Slashdot herd mentality took hold, and this thought crossed my mind:
"My god, imagine a Beowulf cluster of those!"
I would estimate that for someone with little computer experience we are talking at least an hour's worth of effort.
So then, you agree that it's a profitable endeavor for them if they make less than about $300 / hour.
It takes ten minutes and an Ebay account.
I love the fact that I can regularly install little upgrades and bleeding edge software onto my Linux box. I love the fact that I can check out the code and see exactly what makes it tick.
Mac OS X is one of the best environments for geeks out of there. It's a Unix OS, for chrissakes! Nearly all software that runs on Linux can run on OS X, and nearly all of it available as prepackaged binaries from the Fink project. Also, the only closed-source parts of OS X are the user interface. The core OS and kernel (Darwin) are open-source.
but innovative SOFTWARE rather than just a shiny new UI would be nice
Apple's software is consistently innovative. They managed to create an operating system that combines the ease-of-use of Mac OS 7-8-9 with the power of Unix. That's far better than the open-source community has done. Have you ever actually used OS X? Ever tried Expose?
Stop producing overpriced machines in funky colored perspex!
Have you ever looked at a recent Mac machine? The G5 is made of aluminum, the Powerbooks are made of aluminum, and the iBooks and iMacs are made of neutral, white plastic.
Apple makes the best-looking, highest quality hardware available today. Try finding a PC desktop or laptop made of anything but flimsy plastic (or some kind of flimsy purple-colored metal, in the case of Sony).
Offer a $200 bounty on a PC exchanged for a new iMac or iBook. Buyers get the $200 discount only if they bring a PC that's two years old or less. And they must have a valid receipt.
What an stupid idea. All but the crappiest two-year-old computers are still worth more than $200, especially laptops. Only a complete idiot would take advantage of that offer.
And so have ten thousand Slashdotters before you.
This is not a new quote.
Somewhere within the remote is an actual metal key for use when the electronics aren't working . There should be a button that flips it out or a hidden compartment that you can pull it out of. Look for extra seams on the sides.
The rumor mill is currently predicting (backed up by a few off-the-record comments from Apple) that they'll be announced in January 2005 and be available for purchase shortly thereafter.
I have a 15" Powerbook and a 15" Inspiron.
They're not mutually exclusive.
Might recent events sway your decision to keep Microsoft's premier software offering off of your computer?
Uh, Michael, I think you've misunderstood your question...
Make it go up to 60 MPH to make up time when it doesn't have any barriers to get around, and let it go
And what will you do when this thing crashes at 60 mph into one of the barriers you haven't designed it to detect?
Collision avoidance without physical contact is one of the biggest challenges these teams face.
Also, the obstacles aren't necessarily these big, obvious concrete barriers dumped in the middle of the desert. How would your robot deal with encountering a lake, or coming to the edge of a cliff?
I wish this would happen more often. Then maybe people would realize that the PC is a superior gaming platform to all these crappy consoles...
...significantly developed his professional career thru Microsoft solutions
THRU?!? What kind of site are you guys running?
How hard is it to keep these lazy-teenager abbreviations out of the stories?
iDrive doesn't have anything to with your safety. It doesn't control the engine, brakes, steering, or even the turn signals and wipers.
The worst thing that could happen if iDrive crashed would be your radio and AC turning off. It has no control over anything outside of the passenger compartment.
BMW IDrive system is a great idea and works nearly flawlessly, but only once you've been using it for a few days. Once you're familiar with where all the settings are, you start to realize the benefits.
:)
A) Your posture can remain essentially the same: left hand on the wheel, right hand on the IDrive controller. Rather than having to lean forward or sideways to be able to reach a certain button, all you have to is flick your wrist.
B) You don't have to look all over the dash to adjust something. Looking away from the road towards the IDrive screen is only about a 15 degree eye movement, compared with the right-and-down head movement you need to look at controls on the dash.
C) The IDrive controller uses tactile feedback to indicate when you've reached the end of a menu, or when you've passed into a different set of options. Once you've been using the system for a while, this makes using it nearly subconscious because your muscle memory handles most of the work.
D) The system gives you much more control over minor options that aren't adjustable in most cars: for example, you can adjust how much heat from the heated seats goes to your back, and how much goes to your butt.
I think the IDrive system is the one of the best recent examples of true innovation from the auto industry. It took a lot of guts on BMW's part for them to switch to it, but I'm glad they did.
And their cars still handle like bats out of hell.
It may not be simpler, but it may be easier.
Quiet fans are harder than you'd think to make. Even if the motor and bearings are absolutely silent, the air itself moving through the fan enclosure makes a noise.
drop of human blood required to read article
Christ, what is wrong with you people? Just spend the two minutes it takes to register and you're set for life. Use fake information if you're so egotistical that you think your real name and address actually matters to someone.
What awful thing do you think will happen if you register for the NYT online?
That's quite a headline.
At first I thought "Fleury" might be some kind of wacko term for a PR position, like "ombudsman".
The specified 1600x1200; in a 17" panel, that's quite nice, as previously it was 1280x1024 tops.
That's funny, because there's a 1600x1200 15" panel perched on my lap right now.
Hmm...I meant to post that from the safety of cowardly anonymity.
I'll just slink into the corner now.
I'm not scared at all by the idea of catching mad cow disease from heavily refined, processed and (most importantly) COMBUSTED animal waste, for one reason.
IT'S NOT POSSIBLE, YOU IDIOT!
If you're at an event important enough to warrant one of these devices, I doubt the authorities are depending on citizens' 911 calls to tell them about emergencies. The police have this nifty gadget called a radio...
I'm glad. Maybe this will discourage more companies from jumping on the hybrid bandwagon, and spend their research money on hydrogen-powered cars instead.
Hybrids are only delaying the inevitable, and (according to this article) not by as much as we thought.
You're in India, you say?
Actually, the safest way to protect your equipment against lightning strikes is wire a lightning rod directly into your network's central switch. The extra voltage and current from the lighting will safely disperse through all the attached systems, and you may even notice an increase in performance!
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Yes, but aside from dealing with hardware failures and other physical / logistical problems, there really isn't much of a difference between managing 45,000 computers and managing 80,000. They're both Really Big Numbers, and I'm sure whatever software they're using is scaleable enough to smoothly handle many more machines than that.