Yes, it was just like this when XP came out. In fact, I remember it being worse. 98SE and 2K were both faster than XP when it first came out. No one wanted to upgrade (in business environments) because of the hardware requirements of XP. Back then, 128 MB of RAM was plenty to run Win2K and a couple of apps. XP was an absolute dog unless you had 256 MB, and you didn't get the same speed out of XP as Win2K until you had 512 MB. Driver models also changed from 2K to XP, so hardware support was spotty at first. Upgrading from 98SE to XP was very problematic for the first 3 or 4 months because manufacturers hadn't put out revamped device drivers for their older products. Gamers complained because XP wasn't faster, thus offered no advantage, aside from an excuse to upgrade hardware.
The only compelling reason (in my book) to upgrade was MS ending support. Win2K SP4 is just as stable as XP SP2 (in a business environment). At the nonprofit I worked for over the last 4 years, about half the PCs were 500 MHz systems with 128 MB of RAM, comfortably running 2K and Office aps. The biggest request from the users wasn't "Can I get a faster computer?", it was "Can I get a flatscreen?".
but I didn't see any momentum at any place I take it you don't shop at Wal-Mart?
I didn't see anyone in my office switched to Linux.. or any of my clients. And you probably won't, as most office PCs fall under the jurisdiction of IT overlords who dislike users replacing OSes.
Sure.. they have nothing else to do other than wrestling with Linux. I'll take that as sarcasm, and agree with you. The biggest stumbling block to widespread Linux adoption on the desktop is that it usually does take some 'wrestling' to get it to work, whereas Windows generally 'just works'. Yet that's not a fault of Linux, it's a fault of hardware makers who decide to release a driver for Windows and NOT for Linux.
I was going to mention the lack of GUI tools for some tasks, requiring users to manualy edit init files, but then I remembered how many times I've had to open regedit and manually change registry entries. In that sense I've had to wrestle with Windows as much as Linux.
See.. how many distros ?? Actually, a good point. There are a significant fraction of Windows users who don't know which version they're running, and in order to support them you need to know that. Same with the various distros, as they all are different enough so that you need to know which you're dealing with. I was recently at an acquaintance's house and saw their computer. "Hey, you run Linux" I said.... "No, it's Ubuntu" they said. They could have just as easily said "No, it's KDE". Sadly, as much as most/. readers are pro-standards, the lack of a 'hard' standard, or small set of standard configurations is a hindrance to more widespread *desktop* adoption.
how many kernal updates every week ??? Less than the number of Patch Tuesdays in a month, apparently.
Linux sure got some momentum on academia. Well... to be frank.. its not because they really like. Only because they want to escapre from paying volume-licenses. Actually, it *is* because 'they like'. $300 is nothing when you've got research grants in the million$. Academia likes it because they can whittle away and tweak Linux until it does *only* what they need it to do, and do it efficiently and fast. Faster than Windows. And when you only need half the computers to get the same speed, or can get twice the speed with what you've got, you use Linux.
But if you really want to argue cost, then don't forget the electricity bill. The $300 spent on a license costs more when you need to buy and power more computers to get the same results in the same time.
Furthremore, there are linux idiots who worship linux OS, who monopolize linux-OS in their domain. There are Apple fanboys too. And yes, sometimes Windows actually *is* a better choice, although thankfully those special cases are becoming fewer and fewer as time goes on.
Linux community should give up their efforts and must try to learn some lessons from M$ and either help Windows to be better OR do something like Windows for FREE. I think they *did* learn some lessons... lessons in what NOT to do. In fact, looking at Vista, I think MS has a few lessons that *they* need to learn from the Linux community.
As for 'doing something like Windows....for free', isn't that *exactly* what Linux is?
Afterall.. true power of linux can not be executed without being a linux-geek.. who knows all the command line commands and some degree of linux kernal modding... that's pathetic. And the true power of Windows can not be executed... FULL STOP. Can't streamline the kernel, must know all the registry tweaks which may or may not be published anywhere. THAT is pathetic.
Every single one of the points mentioned in each of the 12 areas is something that's happening now. This is a 5 year outlook, not an 18 year one. I was hoping to read about the 'next big thing'. 18 years ago it was cell phones and the internet. 18 years before that it was space (satellite), computers and materials science. 18 years before that it was the transistor and rock and roll. Each one had radical, far flung implications that had revolutionary effects, not evolutionary ones.
creation of an individual's genome map for a retail price of less than $1,000 - try $985 advanced electric storage devices and batteries at all scales - lithium? Supercaps? very simple and inexpensive computing devices with integrated wireless telephone and Internet capabilities - www.nokia.com? the "semantic Web," - Google? Netflix? multiple variable and inexpensive sensors linked with computers - your door is ajar? ultra-fine filters (probably from nanotechnology) - semipermeable membranes? Reverse osmosis? affordable and effective carbon capture and storage technologies and systems for coal-burning power plants - riiiight... why not just re-burn the carbon after you capture it? Oh that's right, perpetual motion and all that. identification of specific genomes for desired growing and use qualities - you mean ones that Monsanto hasn't already patented? radio frequency tags for people and valuables - been shopping lately folks? onboard sensors and computers for smart vehicles - your door is... we know, we know advanced high-speed rail - presumably the high speed (400 km/h) rail we have now isn't advanced.
This reads more like someone's current R&D budget.
you could technically get busted even for running a download
Technically nothing, that's exactly what happened. Worse, the person that got served had no clue (and still doesn't seem to realize) that they didn't get the notice because of downloading, but because of sharing. How many other people are there that don't know how torrents work who are in the same position?
Standing back and looking at it, it's a great tactic. Torrenters will turn sharing off to avoid these notices, which in turn will cut down on availability, hitting the torrent concept squarely where it benefits most. Sources become fewer with more infringement per source, making them more profitable to persue legally.
The DMCA notice was issued to the person in question not because they downloaded, but because they were a source of the anime.
My guess is the person kept the torrent client open after downloading the file, and became a server for others.
The real question this brings up is just how much liability are you exposed to since most torrent clients will turn your machine into a server, thus converting you from a user to a distributor in the eyes of the law.
$399 is too much for something that's bigger than a PDA or smartphone and does less, doesn't take standard AA batteries, displays in two-bit greyscale, can't be left in a car on a sunny day, has a headhone jack and cellular CDMA capability but can't make a phone call, can't scribble in the margins or highlight.
Cross an iPhone and a OLPC laptop together, and you'd get a better ebook.
You overclock because most games can still only use one processor core. Dual cores let you offload everything but the game onto the other core, but you're still only running the game on just one core, and you want that core running as fast as possible. Yes, this is changing and more games can take advantage of multiple CPUs, but that's the exception right now, not the rule. Additionally, even if the game can run on multiple cores and use them all, you'd still overclock memory as far as it'll go.
Seems it's NOT the customer asking for the quick fix, but the in-house support team.
How's this scenario: A bug in the software is costing a customer using said software $80,000 per day. Customer calls support and basically says 'fix this asap and all is fine, otherwise we'll be suing you in court for damages'. 30 days @ 80,000/day is a nifty 2.4 million.
If every day you slip on the patch release date past 2 days costs $80,000, what does that do to your 'reasonableness' equation? $10,000? $250,000?
If your own peple are asking for a patch in 2 days, I'd say you need to shoot for next day, as it indicates to me there's a large problem somewhere.
Any 'discovery', operating technique or 'know-how'?
So if you use the 'operating technique' of testing both ends of a patch cable, and when you re-crimp it your 'know-how' includes taking a notch out of a side of the sheath so it holds better in the plug, are you required to sit down and write a letter explaining this?
Considering the rate of change and new product introductions in IT, I'd guess I learn at least one or two new things a day which could be considered operating technique or know-how. Being required to submit my new knowledge in writing every day would severely curtail productivity.
Actually, I'd nominate the basketball for most dangerous. 35 chomped fingers (and ponytails?) versus how many jammed/broken fingers and sprained ankles? How many concussions from baseballs? Should pennies be outlawed because more of them are swallowed every year than all the parts from every toy on that list?
I'm waiting for one of these days when a manufacturer, tired of all the litigation, files a countersuit accusing a parent of negligence. Of course, that'll never happen because it'd cost the manufacturer customer goodwill.
Anything less dangerous than a basketball or penny doesn't need to be recalled, in my book.
Private offices, or internet access.... pick one. I'd say it's harder to goof off in a cubicle. Or, at $10-$15 per square, is it worth a pay cut for an office, or commute to the burbs?
There is a difference between "Give me Liberty, or give me Death" and "Give me Liberty AND Death". As much as US soldiers lay their lives on the line to protect our freedoms, we may just have to put our toiletries in our checked luggage, and no longer will you be able to sneak in mixed drinks in soda bottles. Yes, I know, I too will miss the days of re-enacting that commercial where the woman washes her hair on the plane to her orgasmic sounding delight, but just like the soldiers, we civilians have to do our part, too. Personally, I think most people (at least in the US) won't mind a few additional restrictions to reduce the risk of terrorist actions in flight.
I wonder if GM might *not* tell you if they detect something amiss if it's covered under warranty. After all, if *you* didn't notice anything wrong, why should *they* spend money (and lower corporate earnings) to fix it? Can you imagine the earnings hit if 10% of OnStar vehicles were called back for an out-of-spec fuel injector? The driver wouldn't notice something like that, aside from a small hit on fuel economy. But will GM bother to tell you your injector on cylinder #3 is spitting out 10% more fuel than it should be?
Let's see... 13.7 billion minus 13 billion is 700 million.
So, this thing blew up 700 million years after the big bang. Matter doesn't travel faster than light, supposedly, so this thing blew up *no more than* 700 million light years from where the big bang occurred, right?
But... if it supposedly happened 13 billion LY away, that makes the center of the universe 12.3 billion LY away from us, at most (assuming *we* are moving away from the center at light speed). Assuming we and this explosion were on opposite sides of the big bang, that's 1.4 billion LY apart when it happened, right? Hrm, if it happened 13 billion LY away from where we *are*, and 1.4 billion LY from where we *were*, then the radiation took 11.6 billion years to "catch up" to us. Now, those numbers assumed we're moving at max velocity, but we're obviously not or the light would never have caught us. But... if we're moving more slowly, then all those numbers get smaller...And if the numbers get smaller, that might put the center of the universe *past* where that explosion occurred! Can someone draw a picture explaining the relationships between us and the explosion when it actually happened, and where we and this exploded object are now, and include some speed and time estimates? I'm really, terribly confused, as the NASA numbers just don't seem to add up to me.
But no matter what... this tells me that the farthest we can possibly "see" is just barely (if you call 700 million light years "barely") past the center of the universe!
Is that right? Can we really only "see" half of the universe?
I can't afford to upgrade to XP. I mean, what with repainting my car every 3 years, the house every 4. Upgrading my living room from futons, cloth sofas, then to leather, then Ikea... and I don't even want to get into what keeping my entertainment center up to date costs. I mean, just going from DVD to DVD-RW to DVD-R/RW and now Blu-ray is on the horizon? I'm sure you can all imagine what it costs for a new TV technology lately. My god, the technology upgrade cycles were insane for a while there. Why, in one year I upgraded from a rear projection, to a DLP projector, to a wall hanging LCD and finally a plasma screen.
No, I'm sorry but I just can't keep *everything* up to date.
It's spelled (acronymed?) HIPAA. And part of it is a (gasp) open standard for data exchange format. I don't think what the big boys are doing will have any effect whatsoever on the healthcare IT field. Most IT departments in healthcare related businesses blew several years worth of budgets becoming HIPAA compliant. That generally meant new or upgraded software and hardware. Now the deadline for the HIPAA Final Security Rule of April 20th 2005 is fast approaching, and any competent IT department already has all their software in place.
Nice thinking Microsoft, IBM, et. al, but you're a day late, and a dollar too much. They should be embarassed that the US Federal Government beat them to it.
Considering all of their IP ranges have been on my blacklist for the past two years, who cares *what* they offer. All I know is, as long as I keep them blocked, what they _won't_ be offering me is spam.
This really seems like the proverbial system on a chip. If you don't need a PCI bus, or AGP bus, or any of the equivalents, the system chipset becomes a rather small bit of silicon. AMD has shown us how to put the memory controller on the CPU die. So why not go the extra step and combine what's left of the chipset with the CPU? And then, just to make things interesting, why not take the computational units out of the graphics card, and put them where they can be used more easily. Consider shader 4.0 Apps using the video card as another (rather specialized) processor. But instead of putting all those vector units in a video subsystem, they've been put on the CPU where *any* program could make better use of them.
What this seems like to me is simply that [TSI] has taken all of the processing power which would have been spread across several chips, and put it all on *one* chip. With a memory controller and a stripped down system chipset. A modern PC is simply a bunch of coprocessors all in one box. It makes sense to take all those separate coprocessors, put them on one chip, and standardize the programming interface. It's like being able to use the processing power of the dsp on your sound card to make your graphics a bit faster.
I think the "GPU" nVidia is designing probably handles little more than the video buffer and a few generalized, non computationally intensive duties.
Oh, and 85 degrees celcius with a heatsink is *excellent* thermal performance. If you don't think so, try running your processor with just a heatsink, fanless.
How about a personalized domain name and website?
www.my-moms-first-name-last-name.com (you get the idea)
I see a lot of registrars offering cheap 1yr registrations with a small website and email included. (try www.dotster.com or www.enom.com).
Why so great?
1. You don't have to leave the house.
2. Near instant gratification on your purchase
3. You can wait until 10 minutes before you leave for Christmas dinner to buy it, and it's ready and waiting by the time you arrive.
4. No fumbling with wrapping paper/tape/ribbon
Gigs
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, it was just like this when XP came out. In fact, I remember it being worse. 98SE and 2K were both faster than XP when it first came out. No one wanted to upgrade (in business environments) because of the hardware requirements of XP. Back then, 128 MB of RAM was plenty to run Win2K and a couple of apps. XP was an absolute dog unless you had 256 MB, and you didn't get the same speed out of XP as Win2K until you had 512 MB. Driver models also changed from 2K to XP, so hardware support was spotty at first. Upgrading from 98SE to XP was very problematic for the first 3 or 4 months because manufacturers hadn't put out revamped device drivers for their older products. Gamers complained because XP wasn't faster, thus offered no advantage, aside from an excuse to upgrade hardware.
The only compelling reason (in my book) to upgrade was MS ending support. Win2K SP4 is just as stable as XP SP2 (in a business environment). At the nonprofit I worked for over the last 4 years, about half the PCs were 500 MHz systems with 128 MB of RAM, comfortably running 2K and Office aps. The biggest request from the users wasn't "Can I get a faster computer?", it was "Can I get a flatscreen?".
but I didn't see any momentum at any place
/. readers are pro-standards, the lack of a 'hard' standard, or small set of standard configurations is a hindrance to more widespread *desktop* adoption.
I take it you don't shop at Wal-Mart?
I didn't see anyone in my office switched to Linux.. or any of my clients.
And you probably won't, as most office PCs fall under the jurisdiction of IT overlords who dislike users replacing OSes.
Sure.. they have nothing else to do other than wrestling with Linux.
I'll take that as sarcasm, and agree with you. The biggest stumbling block to widespread Linux adoption on the desktop is that it usually does take some 'wrestling' to get it to work, whereas Windows generally 'just works'. Yet that's not a fault of Linux, it's a fault of hardware makers who decide to release a driver for Windows and NOT for Linux.
I was going to mention the lack of GUI tools for some tasks, requiring users to manualy edit init files, but then I remembered how many times I've had to open regedit and manually change registry entries. In that sense I've had to wrestle with Windows as much as Linux.
See.. how many distros ??
Actually, a good point. There are a significant fraction of Windows users who don't know which version they're running, and in order to support them you need to know that. Same with the various distros, as they all are different enough so that you need to know which you're dealing with. I was recently at an acquaintance's house and saw their computer. "Hey, you run Linux" I said.... "No, it's Ubuntu" they said. They could have just as easily said "No, it's KDE". Sadly, as much as most
how many kernal updates every week ???
Less than the number of Patch Tuesdays in a month, apparently.
Linux sure got some momentum on academia. Well... to be frank.. its not because they really like. Only because they want to escapre from paying volume-licenses.
Actually, it *is* because 'they like'. $300 is nothing when you've got research grants in the million$. Academia likes it because they can whittle away and tweak Linux until it does *only* what they need it to do, and do it efficiently and fast. Faster than Windows. And when you only need half the computers to get the same speed, or can get twice the speed with what you've got, you use Linux.
But if you really want to argue cost, then don't forget the electricity bill. The $300 spent on a license costs more when you need to buy and power more computers to get the same results in the same time.
Furthremore, there are linux idiots who worship linux OS, who monopolize linux-OS in their domain.
There are Apple fanboys too. And yes, sometimes Windows actually *is* a better choice, although thankfully those special cases are becoming fewer and fewer as time goes on.
Linux community should give up their efforts and must try to learn some lessons from M$ and either help Windows to be better OR do something like Windows for FREE.
I think they *did* learn some lessons... lessons in what NOT to do. In fact, looking at Vista, I think MS has a few lessons that *they* need to learn from the Linux community.
As for 'doing something like Windows....for free', isn't that *exactly* what Linux is?
Afterall.. true power of linux can not be executed without being a linux-geek.. who knows all the command line commands and some degree of linux kernal modding... that's pathetic.
And the true power of Windows can not be executed... FULL STOP. Can't streamline the kernel, must know all the registry tweaks which may or may not be published anywhere. THAT is pathetic.
Every single one of the points mentioned in each of the 12 areas is something that's happening now. This is a 5 year outlook, not an 18 year one. I was hoping to read about the 'next big thing'. 18 years ago it was cell phones and the internet. 18 years before that it was space (satellite), computers and materials science. 18 years before that it was the transistor and rock and roll. Each one had radical, far flung implications that had revolutionary effects, not evolutionary ones.
creation of an individual's genome map for a retail price of less than $1,000 - try $985
advanced electric storage devices and batteries at all scales - lithium? Supercaps?
very simple and inexpensive computing devices with integrated wireless telephone and Internet capabilities - www.nokia.com?
the "semantic Web," - Google? Netflix?
multiple variable and inexpensive sensors linked with computers - your door is ajar?
ultra-fine filters (probably from nanotechnology) - semipermeable membranes? Reverse osmosis?
affordable and effective carbon capture and storage technologies and systems for coal-burning power plants - riiiight... why not just re-burn the carbon after you capture it? Oh that's right, perpetual motion and all that.
identification of specific genomes for desired growing and use qualities - you mean ones that Monsanto hasn't already patented?
radio frequency tags for people and valuables - been shopping lately folks?
onboard sensors and computers for smart vehicles - your door is... we know, we know
advanced high-speed rail - presumably the high speed (400 km/h) rail we have now isn't advanced.
This reads more like someone's current R&D budget.
you could technically get busted even for running a download
Technically nothing, that's exactly what happened. Worse, the person that got served had no clue (and still doesn't seem to realize) that they didn't get the notice because of downloading, but because of sharing. How many other people are there that don't know how torrents work who are in the same position?
Standing back and looking at it, it's a great tactic. Torrenters will turn sharing off to avoid these notices, which in turn will cut down on availability, hitting the torrent concept squarely where it benefits most. Sources become fewer with more infringement per source, making them more profitable to persue legally.
The DMCA notice was issued to the person in question not because they downloaded, but because they were a source of the anime.
My guess is the person kept the torrent client open after downloading the file, and became a server for others.
The real question this brings up is just how much liability are you exposed to since most torrent clients will turn your machine into a server, thus converting you from a user to a distributor in the eyes of the law.
From 2 months ago (Engadget):
http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/11/amazon-kindle-meet-amazons-e-book-reader/
$399 is too much for something that's bigger than a PDA or smartphone and does less, doesn't take standard AA batteries, displays in two-bit greyscale, can't be left in a car on a sunny day, has a headhone jack and cellular CDMA capability but can't make a phone call, can't scribble in the margins or highlight.
Cross an iPhone and a OLPC laptop together, and you'd get a better ebook.
You overclock because most games can still only use one processor core. Dual cores let you offload everything but the game onto the other core, but you're still only running the game on just one core, and you want that core running as fast as possible. Yes, this is changing and more games can take advantage of multiple CPUs, but that's the exception right now, not the rule. Additionally, even if the game can run on multiple cores and use them all, you'd still overclock memory as far as it'll go.
we got an urgent request from our support team
Seems it's NOT the customer asking for the quick fix, but the in-house support team.
How's this scenario:
A bug in the software is costing a customer using said software $80,000 per day.
Customer calls support and basically says 'fix this asap and all is fine, otherwise we'll be suing you in court for damages'.
30 days @ 80,000/day is a nifty 2.4 million.
If every day you slip on the patch release date past 2 days costs $80,000, what does that do to your 'reasonableness' equation? $10,000? $250,000?
If your own peple are asking for a patch in 2 days, I'd say you need to shoot for next day, as it indicates to me there's a large problem somewhere.
Any 'discovery', operating technique or 'know-how'?
So if you use the 'operating technique' of testing both ends of a patch cable, and when you re-crimp it your 'know-how' includes taking a notch out of a side of the sheath so it holds better in the plug, are you required to sit down and write a letter explaining this?
Considering the rate of change and new product introductions in IT, I'd guess I learn at least one or two new things a day which could be considered operating technique or know-how. Being required to submit my new knowledge in writing every day would severely curtail productivity.
Actually, I'd nominate the basketball for most dangerous.
35 chomped fingers (and ponytails?) versus how many jammed/broken fingers and sprained ankles? How many concussions from baseballs? Should pennies be outlawed because more of them are swallowed every year than all the parts from every toy on that list?
I'm waiting for one of these days when a manufacturer, tired of all the litigation, files a countersuit accusing a parent of negligence. Of course, that'll never happen because it'd cost the manufacturer customer goodwill.
Anything less dangerous than a basketball or penny doesn't need to be recalled, in my book.
Private offices, or internet access.... pick one. I'd say it's harder to goof off in a cubicle.
Or, at $10-$15 per square, is it worth a pay cut for an office, or commute to the burbs?
There is a difference between "Give me Liberty, or give me Death" and "Give me Liberty AND Death". As much as US soldiers lay their lives on the line to protect our freedoms, we may just have to put our toiletries in our checked luggage, and no longer will you be able to sneak in mixed drinks in soda bottles. Yes, I know, I too will miss the days of re-enacting that commercial where the woman washes her hair on the plane to her orgasmic sounding delight, but just like the soldiers, we civilians have to do our part, too. Personally, I think most people (at least in the US) won't mind a few additional restrictions to reduce the risk of terrorist actions in flight.
I'll keep the refutation simple.
If there are no backbone providers, then who will you be getting your internet connectionS (capital S intentional, as you'd need two) from?
I mean, I could probably resurrect my 4 line Wildcat BBS, but then again, you probably think Kermit is a frog.
I wonder if GM might *not* tell you if they detect something amiss if it's covered under warranty. After all, if *you* didn't notice anything wrong, why should *they* spend money (and lower corporate earnings) to fix it? Can you imagine the earnings hit if 10% of OnStar vehicles were called back for an out-of-spec fuel injector? The driver wouldn't notice something like that, aside from a small hit on fuel economy. But will GM bother to tell you your injector on cylinder #3 is spitting out 10% more fuel than it should be?
Let's see...
13.7 billion minus 13 billion is 700 million.
So, this thing blew up 700 million years after the big bang. Matter doesn't travel faster than light, supposedly, so this thing blew up *no more than* 700 million light years from where the big bang occurred, right?
But... if it supposedly happened 13 billion LY away, that makes the center of the universe 12.3 billion LY away from us, at most (assuming *we* are moving away from the center at light speed). Assuming we and this explosion were on opposite sides of the big bang, that's 1.4 billion LY apart when it happened, right? Hrm, if it happened 13 billion LY away from where we *are*, and 1.4 billion LY from where we *were*, then the radiation took 11.6 billion years to "catch up" to us. Now, those numbers assumed we're moving at max velocity, but we're obviously not or the light would never have caught us. But... if we're moving more slowly, then all those numbers get smaller...And if the numbers get smaller, that might put the center of the universe *past* where that explosion occurred! Can someone draw a picture explaining the relationships between us and the explosion when it actually happened, and where we and this exploded object are now, and include some speed and time estimates? I'm really, terribly confused, as the NASA numbers just don't seem to add up to me.
But no matter what... this tells me that the farthest we can possibly "see" is just barely (if you call 700 million light years "barely") past the center of the universe!
Is that right? Can we really only "see" half of the universe?
I can't afford to upgrade to XP. I mean, what with repainting my car every 3 years, the house every 4. Upgrading my living room from futons, cloth sofas, then to leather, then Ikea... and I don't even want to get into what keeping my entertainment center up to date costs. I mean, just going from DVD to DVD-RW to DVD-R/RW and now Blu-ray is on the horizon? I'm sure you can all imagine what it costs for a new TV technology lately. My god, the technology upgrade cycles were insane for a while there. Why, in one year I upgraded from a rear projection, to a DLP projector, to a wall hanging LCD and finally a plasma screen.
No, I'm sorry but I just can't keep *everything* up to date.
My neighbors do love my yard sales, though.
It's spelled (acronymed?) HIPAA. And part of it is a (gasp) open standard for data exchange format. I don't think what the big boys are doing will have any effect whatsoever on the healthcare IT field. Most IT departments in healthcare related businesses blew several years worth of budgets becoming HIPAA compliant. That generally meant new or upgraded software and hardware. Now the deadline for the HIPAA Final Security Rule of April 20th 2005 is fast approaching, and any competent IT department already has all their software in place.
Nice thinking Microsoft, IBM, et. al, but you're a day late, and a dollar too much. They should be embarassed that the US Federal Government beat them to it.
Considering all of their IP ranges have been on my blacklist for the past two years, who cares *what* they offer. All I know is, as long as I keep them blocked, what they _won't_ be offering me is spam.
This really seems like the proverbial system on a chip. If you don't need a PCI bus, or AGP bus, or any of the equivalents, the system chipset becomes a rather small bit of silicon. AMD has shown us how to put the memory controller on the CPU die. So why not go the extra step and combine what's left of the chipset with the CPU? And then, just to make things interesting, why not take the computational units out of the graphics card, and put them where they can be used more easily. Consider shader 4.0 Apps using the video card as another (rather specialized) processor. But instead of putting all those vector units in a video subsystem, they've been put on the CPU where *any* program could make better use of them.
What this seems like to me is simply that [TSI] has taken all of the processing power which would have been spread across several chips, and put it all on *one* chip. With a memory controller and a stripped down system chipset. A modern PC is simply a bunch of coprocessors all in one box. It makes sense to take all those separate coprocessors, put them on one chip, and standardize the programming interface. It's like being able to use the processing power of the dsp on your sound card to make your graphics a bit faster.
I think the "GPU" nVidia is designing probably handles little more than the video buffer and a few generalized, non computationally intensive duties.
Oh, and 85 degrees celcius with a heatsink is *excellent* thermal performance. If you don't think so, try running your processor with just a heatsink, fanless.
How about a personalized domain name and website? www.my-moms-first-name-last-name.com (you get the idea) I see a lot of registrars offering cheap 1yr registrations with a small website and email included. (try www.dotster.com or www.enom.com). Why so great? 1. You don't have to leave the house. 2. Near instant gratification on your purchase 3. You can wait until 10 minutes before you leave for Christmas dinner to buy it, and it's ready and waiting by the time you arrive. 4. No fumbling with wrapping paper/tape/ribbon Gigs