I'm curious as to if anyone can back up this story? The site that the OP links to also covers stories involving the paranormal and conspiracy theories (eg. its a crackpot site).
The powerpoint presentation, which I believe is still available at:
http://www.donkeyonawaffle.org/OMB%20briefing%202008%2001%2011%20a.ppt...displays an image that is watermarked to www.andovercg.com.
Andovercg is a used equipment reseller. It's my guess that the picture was originally a side by side comparison of two cisco router revisions. (ever had to work with 3com 3c905s? They've changed dramatically between revisions as well)
If I blow up that picture I can make out the following numbers on the model tag:
Left: 2461 8792 A Right: 2461 8797 A
I believe the 2nd number is a revision number, which explains the difference in the appearances between the two boards. That's just my best educated guess though, I'd love to hear of an interpretation from someone that actually works with these boards.
Don't believe everything you read to be true...unless its backed up and verfied. This story, while more elaborate than most, fails to convince me its true (not to mention its hosted on a conspiracy theory website)
Exactly. From the very beginning the OLPC has also been an education project, not a laptop project. A lot of Negroponte's frustration stems from the fact that M$/Intel are pushing technical specs to get laptops sold, rather than focusing on their educational uses, and practical merits.
My gut feeling: For MS/Intel: A platform investment. For OLPC: An humanitarian effort.
I too believe competition is good...but really that age old saying means it is good for the consumer. It is unfortunate that the children receiving these laptops cannot decide for themselves, or even know how either would benefit them and help shape their future...I end up with the argument that it's not just the techincal merits, it's the philosophy and the motives behind them...the altruistic reaching out to help children learn vs. the dumping of technologies and software laden with DRM and IP. That is why I feel for OLPC, and have donated one for the cause as well. Education should be as free, and unbiased, as it can be made to be.
Generally the OS isn't as much of a problem as the software and drivers written for it. You were probably using an in-house program of some sort..unless it was one of the more popular ones like MICROS or FOCUS, etc. There's other reasons for crashing too, like overheating, badly configured hardware drivers..things that Linux could potentially have the same problems on.
The *way* either OS crashes is a bit different though. Generally with Linux the app itself will bomb out and maybe do a core dump. With Windows, the entire system has the possibility of locking. This is less of a problem with their latest XP versions, where a service could end up locking and in the worst case can't be revived without a reboot.
In the POS scenario, it'll really come down to how well the software is written. Can it handle unexpected failures? etc. It would have to be easy enough that a cashier would know what to do in order keep things moving, unless you're hiring Linux programmers as cashiers:P
I've been considering the purchase of an iBook for the sole purpose of tweaking. I'd bet that many "converts" have bought Macs with OS X for the same reason. Now I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm reminded of the "hood welded shut" paradigm, and am surprised that Apple would do this after they've received so much good press due the the usability of a tweakable system. Guess I'm by a regular notebook instead...
You're walking down the back alley at a bank and notice that there is a rear entrance. The is a lock on the door, but you have a set of general lockpicks available so you say, "why not?"
After fooling with the lock you open the door. You're amazed that there are no cameras watching this hallway. There a few bags laying on the floor, you wonder what's in them. You open a bag to find stacks of 20's. You count the money to note over 2 grand.
Leaving the same way you came in, you immediately place a huge poster on the back of the building letting anyone passing by know that you could get 2 grand easily if you bring your own lockpick.
Cinema is an artform, and that artform may take many differnt paths depending on who is deciding its direction. CGI is a new addition to cinema and has become very popular due to it's potential for limitless expression, as well as it's plain "wow" factor. I don't think that it will ever fully replace what we have now, just add a new formula for enjoyment of movies...since a good movie would essentially take in the most profit. I believe that we will always crave the classic take on films, even if the technology changes beyond the medium. It's much like preferring live orchestra over synthesized. There will be layers and tones to the analog that are difficult, if not impossible to convert to digital.
This might be an interesting alternative to DVD since the capacity of a digital VHS would dwarf what we could currently store on those CDs...although, I am still waiting for the digital 8-track, then I'll be sold.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm curious as to if anyone can back up this story? The site that the OP links to also covers stories involving the paranormal and conspiracy theories (eg. its a crackpot site).
...displays an image that is watermarked to www.andovercg.com.
The powerpoint presentation, which I believe is still available at:
http://www.donkeyonawaffle.org/OMB%20briefing%202008%2001%2011%20a.ppt
Andovercg is a used equipment reseller. It's my guess that the picture was originally a side by side comparison of two cisco router revisions. (ever had to work with 3com 3c905s? They've changed dramatically between revisions as well)
If I blow up that picture I can make out the following numbers on the model tag:
Left: 2461 8792 A
Right: 2461 8797 A
I believe the 2nd number is a revision number, which explains the difference in the appearances between the two boards. That's just my best educated guess though, I'd love to hear of an interpretation from someone that actually works with these boards.
Don't believe everything you read to be true...unless its backed up and verfied. This story, while more elaborate than most, fails to convince me its true (not to mention its hosted on a conspiracy theory website)
Exactly. From the very beginning the OLPC has also been an education project, not a laptop project. A lot of Negroponte's frustration stems from the fact that M$/Intel are pushing technical specs to get laptops sold, rather than focusing on their educational uses, and practical merits.
My gut feeling:
For MS/Intel: A platform investment.
For OLPC: An humanitarian effort.
I too believe competition is good...but really that age old saying means it is good for the consumer. It is unfortunate that the children receiving these laptops cannot decide for themselves, or even know how either would benefit them and help shape their future...I end up with the argument that it's not just the techincal merits, it's the philosophy and the motives behind them...the altruistic reaching out to help children learn vs. the dumping of technologies and software laden with DRM and IP. That is why I feel for OLPC, and have donated one for the cause as well. Education should be as free, and unbiased, as it can be made to be.
Generally the OS isn't as much of a problem as the software and drivers written for it. You were probably using an in-house program of some sort..unless it was one of the more popular ones like MICROS or FOCUS, etc. There's other reasons for crashing too, like overheating, badly configured hardware drivers..things that Linux could potentially have the same problems on.
:P
The *way* either OS crashes is a bit different though. Generally with Linux the app itself will bomb out and maybe do a core dump. With Windows, the entire system has the possibility of locking. This is less of a problem with their latest XP versions, where a service could end up locking and in the worst case can't be revived without a reboot.
In the POS scenario, it'll really come down to how well the software is written. Can it handle unexpected failures? etc. It would have to be easy enough that a cashier would know what to do in order keep things moving, unless you're hiring Linux programmers as cashiers
..or it could become a tunnel or remote sniffer that sits smug behind a company's firewall.
I've been considering the purchase of an iBook for the sole purpose of tweaking. I'd bet that many "converts" have bought Macs with OS X for the same reason. Now I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm reminded of the "hood welded shut" paradigm, and am surprised that Apple would do this after they've received so much good press due the the usability of a tweakable system. Guess I'm by a regular notebook instead...
Instead, try this:
You're walking down the back alley at a bank and notice that there is a rear entrance. The is a lock on the door, but you have a set of general lockpicks available so you say, "why not?"
After fooling with the lock you open the door. You're amazed that there are no cameras watching this hallway. There a few bags laying on the floor, you wonder what's in them. You open a bag to find stacks of 20's. You count the money to note over 2 grand.
Leaving the same way you came in, you immediately place a huge poster on the back of the building letting anyone passing by know that you could get 2 grand easily if you bring your own lockpick.
Cinema is an artform, and that artform may take many differnt paths depending on who is deciding its direction. CGI is a new addition to cinema and has become very popular due to it's potential for limitless expression, as well as it's plain "wow" factor. I don't think that it will ever fully replace what we have now, just add a new formula for enjoyment of movies...since a good movie would essentially take in the most profit. I believe that we will always crave the classic take on films, even if the technology changes beyond the medium. It's much like preferring live orchestra over synthesized. There will be layers and tones to the analog that are difficult, if not impossible to convert to digital.
Since the moon does not rotate on an axis other than earth's, would this greatly limit the ability to observe certain parts of space?
Oh wait, he was WCW...
This might be an interesting alternative to DVD since the capacity of a digital VHS would dwarf what we could currently store on those CDs...although, I am still waiting for the digital 8-track, then I'll be sold.