Re:Scandinavian people ... ?
on
SAUNAAB
·
· Score: 1
(but I think it'll involve rally-driving saunas)
I can see it now...tracks like that old NES game "Off-Road," were the goal is to get there first and have the most water left in your tub.
Tactics might include muddying up a corner so the guys behind you slide into the wall.
I'd hate to be in a collision, though. All that water would seriously add to the mass of the vehicle. Since the mass moves, it would be a really odd collission...the cars hit--but don't bounce apart until a few seconds later.
You can get multiple voltages from any difference in potential. (Voltage is just a term describing the difference between the charge density, or 'pressure' between two points)
For example, if I placed two 1 KOhm resistors in series between "GND" and "-12V", at the contacts between the two resistors, the voltage compared to GND is -6V, and the voltage compared to "-12V" is actually +6V.
However, due to resistor tolerances and Thevenin resistance, it's much more preferrable to have the power supply give a steady, regulated supply of -6V and +6V, if you need them.
As the recent AnandTech (slashdot link) article pointed out, a properly aware kernel can recognize that the latency between the real and logical CPUs is much less than that between two CPUs.
The performance increase isn't shaped quite the same way as that of a true dual-CPU setup because an instruction on one logical CPU in an HT setup may have to wait for a resource in use by an instruction on the other logical CPU to be released.
As I understand it, it's kind of like resource locking...it's unsafe for two things to use the same resource simultaneously, so one waits for the other to release the resource.
I don't know if a two-CPU or a one-HT-CPU setup would work better for every situation, or if they'd each have their uses. a two-HT-CPU setup would have the advantages of both, though.:)
I hope AMD can fit in something like this. Even if it's patented, one could argue "prior art" since resource locking has been used in computers since the dawn of fileservers.
Watch out for proximity of amplifiers in the circuit, lest you create a singing relay. (Did that once.:) Shouldn't be too great a threat, since you're creating a resonating tank, but it depends on where your ground is.
You'd probably be best off using MOSFETs or JFETs to drive the relay coil...I'd suggest using JFETs, since you're much less likely to fry those from static electricity.
You might have a problem with the curvature of the contact. Or it might not be a problem at all, stemming from the point-like nature of human sight.
I think glasses will be easiest; you can have tiny wires between the lenses for communication, instead of radio signals. (The signals whose broadcasted nature, I think, triggers the big-brother reaction in most of us.)
I help out with a mom-and-pop BBS that provides dial-up access.
We're still getting new customers, and we'd like to expand into wireless. (Anyone have references on raising antennas by balloon?)
I keep seeing advances in telecom equipment, but we generally can't take part in it because it requires high-cost rented space (for DSL) or owning the landlines (cablemodem). You generally have to be a large company in order to get these things, and the largest companies are getting more and more of the market share.
For an analogy, consider what would happen if one company owned all of the cable providers in the US. Kinda like Microsoft...
Of course, the FTC isn't going to allow many of the mergers this would require, but that doesn't mean the companies aren't still absorbing small businesses and providers.
Hm. My gym and biology teachers told me that constant-effort exercise was anaerobic, which meant my muscles changed the manner in which they generated and used energy. As a byproduct, I was told it produces an acid. (Been trying for a few days to remember what the name of it was, though.)
All I remember from HS gym was that with the aerobic exercise, we'd run for a five minutes, rest for four, run for three, rest for two. There'd be two groups, while one was running, the other was resting.
I found the straight 15-minute run a lot less painful.
Keep in mind, a 30% gain (for the 2.4 series) in a 2GHz machine would equate to a machine that performed server-oriented functions at an effective 2.6GHz.
When they benchmarked 2.5.32, they showed a 51% increase, which would boost your effective server performance to 3GHz.
Granted, the way I understand it, the actual coordination of core components for the two threads is hard-wired or in firmware. That means Intel can still improve HT, to get a better performance boost. To further that line, consider if Intel were to add additional core sections of their CPUs, to be allocated dynamically by the firmware. That means you're increasing your per-clock performance without the major overhead of developing a whole new CPU core.
I can't see Microsoft standing for it. Intel could put all the pieces for two CPUs on the same die, and call it HT. You might have all the functionality of a dual-CPU setup, with less latency, and still have it show up as a single HT-enabled processor.
With the way Microsoft's handling SMP machines (with CPU licenses), in addition to their statement that they are developing a 64-bit version of Windows based on the Hammer architecture, I think AMD's future looks pretty bright.
I play DDR some (my brother has it), and I can say, it's not "tried and true." It requires way too much coordination for me to be much interested in it, and for people looking for something to get them started on an exercise program, well, the more overweight you are, the more uncomfortable "Have You Never Been Mello" becomes after your third round.
I don't mind anaerobic exercise, which is what you get if you do something for an extended duration, like jog, or ride a bike.
I like the concept of immersing a game into a bike. I'm thinking about putting rotary encoders on my bike's handlebars and pedals, and mounting it to a frame. I should be able to rig up some box that translates the signals into something the Linux kernel joystick drivers can use. Maybe I can set up Need For Speed III under Wine.:P As long as I'm not thinking about the exercise portion, I'd absolutely love it.
...Is that the corporate big-wigs hit Mitnick with DMCA. After all, corporate espionage is the process of stealing information.
There's a line that needs to be pointed out: The differences between proprietary information, copyrighted materials, and trade secrets.
Both copyrights and trade secrets contribute to proprietary information. The only sense behind the DMCA is that it's supposed protects proprietary information. I don't think that the legislators realized that's what the spirit of the law really is.
I'm hoping some large company, like a biotech firm, turns around and tries to slam Mitnick, because this book can be considered controversial enough to warrant an extended legal battle.
The defense would have to point out that writing books has long been considered part of free speech, and that one consequence of this law is to suppress that speech when it goes against the wishes of corporations with massive volumes of sensitive data.
The prosecution would then have to point out that copyrights are a specific exemption to the first ammendment. They'd probably try to point out that copyrights and proprietary information are in the same boat; their goal is not to be shared. Enter retroactive copyright legality.
It's a pipe dream, and I'm probably all washed up, but here's to hoping.
Consequences would follow, though. Mitnick is going to need money for lawyers. Where's he going to get it? For this topic, I'm sure a lot of people of geek origin would donate some money. In any case, the spin placed on the court case by the prosecuting company is goint to paint the book as "a tool for hackers, by a hacker." (Note the quotes.)
Any lawyer who defends him, and everyone who sends support, is going to be guilty by association with a cracker. That means the open-source and free-software crowds. (Indeed, we'd only have to provide verbal support in order for companies like Microsoft and the **AAs to paint open source as an evil underground movement.
...isn't good at economics, anyway. One of the things that contributed the the Great Depression of the 30s was market saturation. Newly mass-produced durable appliances like washing machines and dryers were selling like hotcakes, so they kept stepping up production. Finally, they were stuck with this huge amount of stock, and the market was saturated.
The auto industry turned around and did the same thing last year. 0% financing kept their sales running, sure, but it sure saturated the market. Now dealers have to depend on payments, because cars aren't selling. Ford, etc. is up the creek because dealers aren't buying cars.
On the bright side, there'll be a lot of 2002 model vehicles to be found in good condition on the used car market.
Considering how much like an engine a fuel cell is, I suspect there'll be at least enough standardization to be able to swap models.
Even if it isn't a sound business decision in the long-term, one company putting out swappable fuel cells will get a disproportionate amount of business. People who like to mod their cars will want one. People who like being able to choose between high-power and high-milage will want one. Other companies will have to follow suit. That's why you have organizations like OPEC--to prevent someone from upsetting the norm.
Besides, among US-based competitors, there's what, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, and GM? (not sure what the Japenese big-shots are.) They own a bunch of different sub-brands, which generally use simaler parts.
...you have these drop-in replacement fuel cells that run on hydrocarbons(oil-based. Usually methane)... Both hydrocarbon and H2 fuel cells are available. Hydrocarbon fuel cells haven't taken off because, yes, Big Oil has a lot of control over a lot of America.
I see the skinnable car concept to be what will make this fly. There ought to be a good enough demand for it to warrent a production model, sometime in the next few years, presuming fuel cell tech improves. What they need is something that'll robustly run on gasoline. Make a set of ANSI standards for cell dimensions and shape, and you'll eventually be able to replace your old, outdated fuel cell with one that delivers more power, more efficiency, or both.
As long as hydrogen cells are built to the standards, and hydrogen is available in major cities, its use will slowly increase.
You can't intellectualy accept a company's published "stance" because said company has the ultimate option of misleadingly rewording, or even omitting, information that the public would find unappetizing. In a popularity-based publication, asking a specific list of questions usually attempts to lock them down into responding with a very narrow range of answers. Some political talk shows go so far as to re-ask the question if they didn't get the answer they want. (This is what they call "playing hardball.")
While you have to take what is said with a grain of salt in any case, some organizations, such as Republicans, Democrats and Microsoft, are in high enough positions to reword questions to a less damning, or even advantageous form. As an example, have you ever heard an interview where the interviewee was asked a piercing question, and he made it sound like the interviewer was a foolish idiot?
I usually left a defensive ship (Nubian with almost all armor, and some Armageddon missiles) in orbit around each planet. Solved the problem of recolonizations rather nicely. And if I chose to be immune to the elements(like Silicanoids), I could just colonize the planet instead.
Not sure I agree that it was landgrab, though. It used to say on the website that they wrote it because they wanted to play a game that "had the elements we enjoyed." Unfortunately, this has stifled inclusion of things like 3d battles and obstructions, natural space debris, etc.
That would especially make sense if they were downgrading sites that linked to said site; run a regex on an html file, and downgrade if it turns up positive. regex might overkill, though.
I wonder what would happen if I tried to search for a Slashdot article that had a comment linking to SearchKing.
That's an important point. According to other posts, Google changed the formula to specifically downgrade SearchKing, if not other link farms as well.
That's got to be a major performance hit, since they'd have to add a check for a [list of] site[s!]. And when you're doing millions of searches daily, that adds up. Unless, of course, they've already got a hitlist that they check against. In that case, they'd already have a streamlined system to handle those checks.
They'd have to have some seriously advantageous result in mind if they're going to slow their searches any. (Granted, their searches have been so fast, I probably wouldn't notice.)
One file slips out and bamo - no one is paying for it anymore.
Except of course for the people who want to listen to the recording at digital quality, or who want to grab an entire collection of songs.
Or, heck, even just to put in CD players. There's gotta be a reason they still sell cassette players, and I don't think it's just because you can easily record to cassettes.
And yet, we're still forgetting that you lose, assuming your using good equipment, very little quality by recording audio to a tape, then digitally recording that content back to a computer, preferably at a higher sampling rate, but into a non-DRM'd file.
I can see two possible downfalls to this: DRM-enabled machines may refuse to record data without DRM-enabling the media in your name, or law gets passed that air is a digital media as evidenced by (specially funded) research into quantum mechanics and computing.
Slashdot Mirror
(but I think it'll involve rally-driving saunas)
I can see it now...tracks like that old NES game "Off-Road," were the goal is to get there first and have the most water left in your tub.
Tactics might include muddying up a corner so the guys behind you slide into the wall.
I'd hate to be in a collision, though. All that water would seriously add to the mass of the vehicle. Since the mass moves, it would be a really odd collission...the cars hit--but don't bounce apart until a few seconds later.
You can get multiple voltages from any difference in potential. (Voltage is just a term describing the difference between the charge density, or 'pressure' between two points)
For example, if I placed two 1 KOhm resistors in series between "GND" and "-12V", at the contacts between the two resistors, the voltage compared to GND is -6V, and the voltage compared to "-12V" is actually +6V.
However, due to resistor tolerances and Thevenin resistance, it's much more preferrable to have the power supply give a steady, regulated supply of -6V and +6V, if you need them.
AFAIK, there's always one cable per SATA drive, all cables going back to the controller.
As the recent AnandTech (slashdot link) article pointed out, a properly aware kernel can recognize that the latency between the real and logical CPUs is much less than that between two CPUs.
:)
The performance increase isn't shaped quite the same way as that of a true dual-CPU setup because an instruction on one logical CPU in an HT setup may have to wait for a resource in use by an instruction on the other logical CPU to be released.
As I understand it, it's kind of like resource locking...it's unsafe for two things to use the same resource simultaneously, so one waits for the other to release the resource.
I don't know if a two-CPU or a one-HT-CPU setup would work better for every situation, or if they'd each have their uses. a two-HT-CPU setup would have the advantages of both, though.
I hope AMD can fit in something like this. Even if it's patented, one could argue "prior art" since resource locking has been used in computers since the dawn of fileservers.
Hooold on a second. Many people already boycott and attempt to outlaw cell phones because they think the radio transmissions cause cancer.
:)
You're suggesting I put a Bluetooth-band device near my optic nerve? Who knows...maybe it'll mutate and I'll get four-color vision.
(j/k on that last)
(Came across your post in metamod)
:) Shouldn't be too great a threat, since you're creating a resonating tank, but it depends on where your ground is.
Watch out for proximity of amplifiers in the circuit, lest you create a singing relay. (Did that once.
You'd probably be best off using MOSFETs or JFETs to drive the relay coil...I'd suggest using JFETs, since you're much less likely to fry those from static electricity.
You might have a problem with the curvature of the contact. Or it might not be a problem at all, stemming from the point-like nature of human sight.
I think glasses will be easiest; you can have tiny wires between the lenses for communication, instead of radio signals. (The signals whose broadcasted nature, I think, triggers the big-brother reaction in most of us.)
Forget calling my uncle; this is good news. :)
Anything that makes it easier for me to lose weight. (252 lbs at 5'10")
I help out with a mom-and-pop BBS that provides dial-up access.
We're still getting new customers, and we'd like to expand into wireless. (Anyone have references on raising antennas by balloon?)
I keep seeing advances in telecom equipment, but we generally can't take part in it because it requires high-cost rented space (for DSL) or owning the landlines (cablemodem). You generally have to be a large company in order to get these things, and the largest companies are getting more and more of the market share.
For an analogy, consider what would happen if one company owned all of the cable providers in the US. Kinda like Microsoft...
Of course, the FTC isn't going to allow many of the mergers this would require, but that doesn't mean the companies aren't still absorbing small businesses and providers.
Hm. My gym and biology teachers told me that constant-effort exercise was anaerobic, which meant my muscles changed the manner in which they generated and used energy. As a byproduct, I was told it produces an acid. (Been trying for a few days to remember what the name of it was, though.)
:)
I'll have to ask my uncle; he's a Doc.
All I remember from HS gym was that with the aerobic exercise, we'd run for a five minutes, rest for four, run for three, rest for two. There'd be two groups, while one was running, the other was resting.
I found the straight 15-minute run a lot less painful.
Keep in mind, a 30% gain (for the 2.4 series) in a 2GHz machine would equate to a machine that performed server-oriented functions at an effective 2.6GHz.
When they benchmarked 2.5.32, they showed a 51% increase, which would boost your effective server performance to 3GHz.
Granted, the way I understand it, the actual coordination of core components for the two threads is hard-wired or in firmware. That means Intel can still improve HT, to get a better performance boost. To further that line, consider if Intel were to add additional core sections of their CPUs, to be allocated dynamically by the firmware. That means you're increasing your per-clock performance without the major overhead of developing a whole new CPU core.
I can't see Microsoft standing for it. Intel could put all the pieces for two CPUs on the same die, and call it HT. You might have all the functionality of a dual-CPU setup, with less latency, and still have it show up as a single HT-enabled processor.
With the way Microsoft's handling SMP machines (with CPU licenses), in addition to their statement that they are developing a 64-bit version of Windows based on the Hammer architecture, I think AMD's future looks pretty bright.
I play DDR some (my brother has it), and I can say, it's not "tried and true." It requires way too much coordination for me to be much interested in it, and for people looking for something to get them started on an exercise program, well, the more overweight you are, the more uncomfortable "Have You Never Been Mello" becomes after your third round.
:P As long as I'm not thinking about the exercise portion, I'd absolutely love it.
I don't mind anaerobic exercise, which is what you get if you do something for an extended duration, like jog, or ride a bike.
I like the concept of immersing a game into a bike. I'm thinking about putting rotary encoders on my bike's handlebars and pedals, and mounting it to a frame. I should be able to rig up some box that translates the signals into something the Linux kernel joystick drivers can use. Maybe I can set up Need For Speed III under Wine.
...Is that the corporate big-wigs hit Mitnick with DMCA. After all, corporate espionage is the process of stealing information.
There's a line that needs to be pointed out: The differences between proprietary information, copyrighted materials, and trade secrets.
Both copyrights and trade secrets contribute to proprietary information. The only sense behind the DMCA is that it's supposed protects proprietary information. I don't think that the legislators realized that's what the spirit of the law really is.
I'm hoping some large company, like a biotech firm, turns around and tries to slam Mitnick, because this book can be considered controversial enough to warrant an extended legal battle.
The defense would have to point out that writing books has long been considered part of free speech, and that one consequence of this law is to suppress that speech when it goes against the wishes of corporations with massive volumes of sensitive data.
The prosecution would then have to point out that copyrights are a specific exemption to the first ammendment. They'd probably try to point out that copyrights and proprietary information are in the same boat; their goal is not to be shared. Enter retroactive copyright legality.
It's a pipe dream, and I'm probably all washed up, but here's to hoping.
Consequences would follow, though. Mitnick is going to need money for lawyers. Where's he going to get it? For this topic, I'm sure a lot of people of geek origin would donate some money. In any case, the spin placed on the court case by the prosecuting company is goint to paint the book as "a tool for hackers, by a hacker." (Note the quotes.)
Any lawyer who defends him, and everyone who sends support, is going to be guilty by association with a cracker. That means the open-source and free-software crowds. (Indeed, we'd only have to provide verbal support in order for companies like Microsoft and the **AAs to paint open source as an evil underground movement.
...isn't good at economics, anyway. One of the things that contributed the the Great Depression of the 30s was market saturation. Newly mass-produced durable appliances like washing machines and dryers were selling like hotcakes, so they kept stepping up production. Finally, they were stuck with this huge amount of stock, and the market was saturated.
The auto industry turned around and did the same thing last year. 0% financing kept their sales running, sure, but it sure saturated the market. Now dealers have to depend on payments, because cars aren't selling. Ford, etc. is up the creek because dealers aren't buying cars.
On the bright side, there'll be a lot of 2002 model vehicles to be found in good condition on the used car market.
Considering how much like an engine a fuel cell is, I suspect there'll be at least enough standardization to be able to swap models.
Even if it isn't a sound business decision in the long-term, one company putting out swappable fuel cells will get a disproportionate amount of business. People who like to mod their cars will want one. People who like being able to choose between high-power and high-milage will want one. Other companies will have to follow suit. That's why you have organizations like OPEC--to prevent someone from upsetting the norm.
Besides, among US-based competitors, there's what, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford, and GM? (not sure what the Japenese big-shots are.) They own a bunch of different sub-brands, which generally use simaler parts.
It would have to be sturdy enough not to shake with mild exertion.
How'd you know I sha--oh...nevermind.
...you have these drop-in replacement fuel cells that run on hydrocarbons(oil-based. Usually methane)... Both hydrocarbon and H2 fuel cells are available. Hydrocarbon fuel cells haven't taken off because, yes, Big Oil has a lot of control over a lot of America.
I see the skinnable car concept to be what will make this fly. There ought to be a good enough demand for it to warrent a production model, sometime in the next few years, presuming fuel cell tech improves. What they need is something that'll robustly run on gasoline. Make a set of ANSI standards for cell dimensions and shape, and you'll eventually be able to replace your old, outdated fuel cell with one that delivers more power, more efficiency, or both.
As long as hydrogen cells are built to the standards, and hydrogen is available in major cities, its use will slowly increase.
You can't intellectualy accept a company's published "stance" because said company has the ultimate option of misleadingly rewording, or even omitting, information that the public would find unappetizing. In a popularity-based publication, asking a specific list of questions usually attempts to lock them down into responding with a very narrow range of answers. Some political talk shows go so far as to re-ask the question if they didn't get the answer they want. (This is what they call "playing hardball.")
While you have to take what is said with a grain of salt in any case, some organizations, such as Republicans, Democrats and Microsoft, are in high enough positions to reword questions to a less damning, or even advantageous form. As an example, have you ever heard an interview where the interviewee was asked a piercing question, and he made it sound like the interviewer was a foolish idiot?
On the bright said, though, there'd eventually be an R-rated hack to change the pixmap. :)
Right now, their sight describes things like diplomacy, but I don't know if that includes AI players.
I usually left a defensive ship (Nubian with almost all armor, and some Armageddon missiles) in orbit around each planet. Solved the problem of recolonizations rather nicely. And if I chose to be immune to the elements(like Silicanoids), I could just colonize the planet instead.
Not sure I agree that it was landgrab, though. It used to say on the website that they wrote it because they wanted to play a game that "had the elements we enjoyed." Unfortunately, this has stifled inclusion of things like 3d battles and obstructions, natural space debris, etc.
Hmm...I didn't think of that. Could be.
That would especially make sense if they were downgrading sites that linked to said site; run a regex on an html file, and downgrade if it turns up positive. regex might overkill, though.
I wonder what would happen if I tried to search for a Slashdot article that had a comment linking to SearchKing.
That's how I played Stars!
Anyone remember that one? Anyone interested in cowriting a Linux or Java clone?
That's an important point. According to other posts, Google changed the formula to specifically downgrade SearchKing, if not other link farms as well.
That's got to be a major performance hit, since they'd have to add a check for a [list of] site[s!]. And when you're doing millions of searches daily, that adds up. Unless, of course, they've already got a hitlist that they check against. In that case, they'd already have a streamlined system to handle those checks.
They'd have to have some seriously advantageous result in mind if they're going to slow their searches any. (Granted, their searches have been so fast, I probably wouldn't notice.)
One file slips out and bamo - no one is paying for it anymore.
Except of course for the people who want to listen to the recording at digital quality, or who want to grab an entire collection of songs.
Or, heck, even just to put in CD players. There's gotta be a reason they still sell cassette players, and I don't think it's just because you can easily record to cassettes.
And yet, we're still forgetting that you lose, assuming your using good equipment, very little quality by recording audio to a tape, then digitally recording that content back to a computer, preferably at a higher sampling rate, but into a non-DRM'd file.
I can see two possible downfalls to this: DRM-enabled machines may refuse to record data without DRM-enabling the media in your name, or law gets passed that air is a digital media as evidenced by (specially funded) research into quantum mechanics and computing.