Insurance companies will want real proof that such a system will be stable and as secure as today's intersections before even half-considering it.
Such proof for this system will require that ALL cars in the area be equipped with such systems and an equally large number of intersections handled.
This roadblock to development was what happened to a demo for a system in which cars controlled by computers would follow magnets in a road and drive within 1m of other cars. That was a couple of years back in San Diego.
If cars are going to be automated someday, we'll need to find some compromise which does not require implementation for all vehicles on a road- i.e. a lane for truckers on long stretches of highway.
That's just my 2 cents. Something like this would be really cool should we ever get to this point....or we could just get flying cars and fly over:)
Nothing in the article mentions the feasability of getting a decently sized counterweight at the top of the elevator. All plans I've heard of require at least some sort of asteroid...and if you're talking politics, people are going to be afraid of dragging a rock into Earth orbit that could smash into the planet a.la if something went awry.
From the info snippet at the bottom of Brown's response: [Ken Brown] is reportedly "not the sharpest knife in the drawer," but nevertheless is able to converse with many intelligent people, and is accepted at fine restaurants and hotels around the world.
The 4 friends I mentioned that also received terabyte accounts immediately set up a plan to collude and mailbomb one account to test the 1 gigabyte threshold. The account in question went up to 700 megabytes before the limit was changed back to 1,000 megabytes. Darn =P
Not long after I submitted this article, my account (and those of 4 others I know) reverted back to 1,000 MB. Since the article does mention that Google had no official comment, it's quite possible that this was all a fluke. I had observed the changes earlier in the evening, but waited to see if there was official confirmation from a large new source (i.e. ZDnet) before thinking this was for reals. As it turns out, it may not have been so.
For reference, my friends and I noticed the size reductions around 1:45 AM PST. They did not occur all at once; mine was one of the last ones to get set to 1,000 MB. Another small detail is that not all gmail accounts I knew of got set to a terabyte- there was one user who was feeling quite left out in the gigabyte pool.
Google News still has much of the old look
on
Google Updates Its Face
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· Score: 2, Informative
My homepage is set to Google News and thus was where I first noticed the changes. From the perspective of the front page and search results, the new look does quite well, but it's not as true for News IMHO. The side and top bars have retained their old looks, with brighter colors and well defined lines. Meanwhile, the links at the very top sport the new style, and don't seem to go well with the aforementioned items.
I just recently visited the Microsoft Mobile Developers Conference held this week. Bill Gates himself gave the keynote on Wednesday, the highlight of which was the release of the new Speech Server. A transcript of his presentation is available at the following location: http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/speeches/2004/0 3-24-VSLive.asp
The parent comment caught my eye in particular because security was brought up as an issue when discussing the future roadmap for Visual Studio. Gates said the following:
I mentioned quality and security is a very particular focus here, certainly for Microsoft that's been our top priority, even more than the new features we're doing, the development of "Longhorn," all the things about isolating networks, so that malicious code can't spread and do bad things, that's been a huge effort. And the Visual Studio group has participated in that. In fact, as part of our security effort we've invented a lot of tools that look at code and examine it, statically, for certain types of flaws. So we're using that ourselves, it's called PREfast, and we decided wow, this has been so effective at finding flaws we actually need to get it out for developers. So this PREfast capability will be built into the Visual Studio product. In fact, it's a very sensible thing, if there's development patterns that might be in error, you can put in recognition rules in those, so extend it into your application domain to find an even broader set that we preprogram it to find.
We have security capabilities, like, if you're developing an application that you don't want to force people to be in admin mode, you can ask the development tool to run in a way that it will error-out anything that doesn't work in normal user mode. And there's big push for Windows applications to make sure they don't require administrative mode. There's the new managed APIs, there's new compiler switches to generate code that is immune from certain types of attacks. So I would say a substantial number of features related very specifically to the quality and security initiatives.
So, in a nutshell, Microsoft's next release of Visual Studio, 2005, will have new features that try to detect common flaws in development patterns and warn the programmer ahead of time.
Applications can also make a distinction between administration/user modes, and if this is what I think it is + Microsoft implements this correctly, then Windows security could move up a step closer to that of Unix-based permissions systems with a rough emulation of the relation between root/user modes.
And most importantly, with compiler options to automatically write in extra security checks, developers may not have to ever even know that a particular bug exists and still be a-ok.
Will this warn the developer of every bug? Probably, and almost 100% certainly not. For that matter, it's an extremely bad thing if you designed your code poorly and don't know that it is so- programmers should not be initially taught using tools like this.
But, as the parent mentions, this will lead to somewhat-more-secure code, and help in the long run.
In fact, I don't see anything bad about writing developer tools such that the environment can sensibly pop up a dialog asking "Are you sure you don't want to check input xyz?". At the very least, something like this is needed in both Microsoft and OSS development platforms.
I just finished my first year as an Electrial Engineering and Comp Sci major, and to cast my vote in with all the others, despite how technical the major was, few people (maybe 2 in a class of 500+) used laptops in comp sci lecture, and absolutely 0 in diagram and funny-symbol intensive classes like physics. Actually, laptops are more common in my humanities classes (especially in business classes I've noticed), where the professor may very well not ever use any diagrams, or one maximum per day which should be quite simple to type out (usually a simple 2 column chart). This is all despite the fact that a vast number of students have laptops, but never take them outside their room. Actually, I know at least several friends that plan on returning only with desktops instead. Think about it- do you want to lug a 7lb thing around campus for taking notes in only select classes in which it might be advantageous to, for a bare minimum of.5 miles/day, not counting amazing volume-sized textbook, and do something that can easily be done with pencil and paper? That discouraged their use most of all I believe. There are however some select cases in which it would be advantageous to have a laptop, which I actually myself have.
My primary computer is actually a desktop, from which I run a Linux server (that is, I can keep my webpage running 24/7 without mom complaining about the "household power crisis";)) among other things. It's great for gaming, doesn't overheat, and comes with a laptop and mouse that are much less prone to giving me carpal tunnel in the long run. I also had a laptop with which I take notes, since I find that they often become illegible some sentences and other times I like to cover more information. That's just me though, I've never been much of a writer. The laptop itself was nothing fancy- 6+ years old, originally had Windows 95, slow as molasses. I instead ran debian on it and typed notes in vim. If you ever take notes on a laptop, all you'll really need is a glorified notepad or text editor. Laptops more powerful could be stolen, you never know, and Linux could have been a deterrent with the login stuff. (But to add to that, I personally never knew anyone who had computer equipment stolen, but it can happen when you let your guard down, so dont, just use a lock and you'll be fine).
Unfortunately, the last week before finals my laptop had a little incident with a staircase and the display no longer works, so I'm out looking for a new one. As of right now, it seems most likely that I'll get an iBook- it's lightweight, cheap (releative to similar small laptops), and sturdy (your backpack can provide a beating, and computer bags often don't carry enough for you other gear so you'll probably use the former). Those are about all the requirements you'll ever need for note-taking only.
Keep in mind that I don't expect to use my laptop for much- it lets me multitask in boring classes, a bad idea unless you're sure you have a strong grip on the material already, meaning that only comes into play at most for a single class or two a day out of many more. Stick by the desktop instead and get a laptop if you feel you can't adequately take notes in class- try it out for a month or so perhaps. Comp sci classes will of course have labs, and the library likewise, so non-note-taking activities can almost all be done without your laptop. As for music, etc in your lab, I streamed mp3's off my desktop with shoutcast. Things can easily be done if you're resourceful. If you're outside, go read a book instead, toss a frisbee, or chill with some friends. You'll gain a lot more that way.
As for other accessories, don't forget the cell phone. Pda's are useless when you go by a rigid weekly schedule, but make sure you have a big honking wall calendar to mark midterm dates in bold text- they come up faster than you'd think. If you need to know that the latest reading assignment is on the road, just keep a copy of the syllabus with you.
Also, don't forget- with the desktop, get a flat-panel display if you can. It goes a long way to save space on a messy desk in a cramped dorm room.
The one thing I thought that was kinda unfortunate is that three-gorges is purely a gravity dam, which might not be necessary considering that the place of the thing, after all, is a GORGE...
The Three Gorges, while having the bearing the category of a gorge, are not small at all compared to your average gorge and seem more like massive valleys. It would be impossible to build an arch dam (e.g. Hoover) that depends on the solid cliffs to the side to provide additional support because those cliffs do not exist- the channel at the site of the dam is over a mile wide! The same width would come into play if the dam were made a good ways upstream, so the current site is as good as it gets. The geology is also more favorable for a dam. The sheer mass, like another user pointed out, also helps to make the dam safer and more reliable on itself only to hold back the water in case of an earthquake.
Microsoft may soon be overwhelmed by a tide of thirdworld coding geniuses.
Sure, whatever. If the majority of the world could change differing opinions into standards, we would not have spaceships crashing into Mars because Americans don't change to metric all the time.
Similarily, it's the scientists (a.k.a. good portion of the educated elite) that use metric like the rest of the world. Linux would become used worldwide and by IT professionals, but not the common American either way.
From the holy guide to moderation:
Concentrate more on promoting than on demoting. The real goal here is to find the juicy good stuff and let others read it. Do not promote personal agendas. Do not let your opinions factor in. Try to be impartial about this. Simply disagreeing with a comment is not a valid reason to mark it down. Likewise, agreeing with a comment is not a valid reason to mark it up. The goal here is to share ideas. To sift through the haystack and find needles.
I'm disappointed that such a weak argument was moderated to +5. Just because a post is pro-Linux doesn't always mean that it's correct.
Weak or not, the pro-linux argument is deserving of its rating because it makes a contention and actually tries to back it up. The point of moderation is to keep discussion moving and civil.
Would you have any confidence in a program that identified a common phrase like "web site" as a typo?
Of course not- but the problem is that the phrase is written several other ways as well, including "website". I use Office 2000 (I'll admit it, I'm a stupid M$ user. I do run Linux on several systems however) and it happens to interpret that as a typo as well.
Secondly, we must look at the fact that the author is attacking APPLIXWARE, not Linux. Just because a program on Linux does not mean that it is perfect. Theoretically, there is always a program that comes close, but not every one you find will meet your specific criteria.
If the increase in productivity exceeds the cost of implementing the alternate method, then implementing that method is justified.
Naturally, the Linux user could argue that the alternative method means dealing with computer crashes every so often. It could mean living with IE going beserk and closing every window (and yes, I live with that). An Outlook virus could run rampant in the company and wipe all files. A spell checker identifies a spelled word but does not give the correct answer. A good journalist should be able to control the English language, and hence supply their own alternative. This adds up to at worst, a 1-2 second lost in "productivity." Frankly, the whole concept of producitivity is bogus. The quick and dirty solution may very well cost more in the long run. Once again we are down to the base problem of frame of reference. Productivity is enhanced by fixing the spell checker, but could be hurt by the spillover effects.
Any user can choose to save a MS Word document as plain text - a format which any browser reads with equal ease
This whole discussion here is pointless. The common user in the cubicle, when posting to a news site, should submit to some sort of form which is then further edited. As for saving to HTML, Word does an admirable job (up to the point of using simple tags and perhaps making some text bold)
The closing argument could not be less valid.
By that standard, your argument as well is just as invalid. You argue that an IT technician should not go vigilante and install everything themselves. Remeber, however, that the post you are responding to specifically states that "a real BOFH would simply have allowed her to post stories that would be full of '?' for many of her users." We can all agree that the tech erred in his ways, but the solution does not have to give full consideration to the user. "Help" does not necessarily imply letting a user run rampant and do their own thing. "Help" instead means trying to solve the problem using the current system before moving along. Just because a user is pro-linux and presents him/herself as that doesn't mean that every Linux zealot argument applies to them. The IT personnel mentioned in the article cannot speak for all of us.
In my Management course, my professor discusses techniques for being an effective CEO, but I don't even know how to manage a few subordinates, much less an entire company. (emphasis added)
Here's one thing you need to keep in mind when thinking about what you want to learn- there will always be skills that cannot be taught. Learning how to listen, *kindly* criticize in a subtle manner, and various other people skills will never come through textbooks. You have to go out there and learn by experience. CEO's doubtfully launch large companies right from the start- if they found a company, they only have a handful of employees to utilitze.
Colleges already teach what of much you know. You are given skills that will carry you through your specific career. It's up to you to learn how to put them together. There is no right or wrong way much of the time.
Lastly, I think learning how to design a program is more important than making it yourself. Somewhere down the line, you may run into the ultimate mother of all huge projects and will have no clue as to where to start. None of these things may be mandatory when you graduate into the big world, but they will always help in some little unseen way and give you a boost up.
I've seen programs out there that can emulate Windows on a Mac- DirectX included and the such. In theory, you could thus run any windows game in mac os which is in turn on your linux box. This would easily remove any emulation issues of things such as counterstrike.
My question is: if this is indeed possible, how efficient is it really? Also, are their easier solutions? I don't have much experience running emulators on my Linux boxes.
1) Designing for the masses. Let's assume that everyone wants to have VMRL content, and that it has been sucessfully publicized and standardized just like Flash has grown into a Internet-wide phenomenon. Even then, you have the issue of file sizes. Like it or not, the majority of the United States runs on dialup. The demonstration world didn't take long to load, but it didn't have much in the way of detailed textures either. Also, I could see my CPU usage flying up which means that one simple world puts a lot of stress as is. Imagine what happens if people try to open multiple browser windows. The combination of bandwidth and system requirements are hard to find. Face it, most/.ers don't use 233-Mhz systems like I know many of my friends do.
2) Number one is an ideal world that will never make it for the following reasons: content.
For the geographical view of Switzerland, I don't find much that I couldn't find on a map. The 3-d certainly adds a nice perspective, but little detail.
I myself visited Switzerland this previous summer, and this world lacks many of the things I wish to see in an overview. My browser couldn't show me the beautiful clouds embracing Mount Pilatus, nor the grass rippling in the wind, nor the diehard runners sprinting up the mountain. These things aren't seen despite the 30 meter accuracy.
Also, if you go into a town with a browser, you don't get what you would normally see. VMRL worlds are hard to create, even more so accurately. Pictures (including those cool panoramic 360's) capture the feeling more accurately. Also, it would be pointless to look through shops and such because the user would get lost.
Which leads to my final point: Assuming tourists like these 3-d worlds, what about websites such as Slashdot and CNET News.com? Would talking people at newsstands give you the news to read? Would bullet points point out where the news occured? How would these be updated every day, or even every hour? Nothing is practical, and the Internet is about information. There is nothing special if the experience is only a recreation of the real world- nothing can ever match that. The Internet is about arranging all the information in a new fashion that makes more sense that what you get away from the computer.
The van contained no explosives, but the three people involved have been detained for questioning.
If you are wondering what the original reason for detaininment was, ABC reported that the three men in custody were seen celebrating upon viewing the initial explosions. Several bystanders then gave information to the police.
...various makers of those little erasable sketch pads for kids scrambled to modify their products to mimic the "e-paper". One company released a statement saying "We're only switching from simple magnets to electromagnets, but in the end we can translate everything into digital media as a result"
One of the more serious problems with filters is that they block a lot of other material as well
While that is still debatable, the article points out to a larger problem:
Lancaster's filter does not allow e-mail access, which is why the library system planned to remove the filter from one machine.
Clearly, the people in the library didn't see it as pornography-blocking software only. The journalist obviously at least knew that fact. I might be grasping a straws here, but I would bet that it serves well to show how nobody really questions the common stereotypes. After all, the journalist could get plenty of porno-promoting spam in her email and assume that there was a good use for blocking it.
$50,000 is too much
on
Budget Satellite
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· Score: 5, Informative
Some of you may recall that around January/November there were a few articles discussing the CanSat program where high school students launched soda cans to about 12,000 feet. Experiements varied from taking precise location data to flying whole sets of cans in formation on a preprogrammed path (actually, that last experiement was pulled off by several Lockheed Martin engineers getting a little practice).
Several students at my school, Leland High, decided that we should undertake a challenge unlike any other. A goal was set to be the first high school to launch a satellite into outer space and have it communicate back with earth, as vaguely mentioned in a Slashback. This particular program is called Cubesat, but only consisted exclusively of universities and private corporations/citizens until we came along.
Much like the engineers in this article, we are using off-the-shelf parts to build our satellite, albeit not from Radio Shack since Radio Shacks don't seem to carry much in San Jose. The antenna we are designing exemplifies the simplicity of the components. In theory, guitar string or the wire used in braces would do the job easily. Our power system is even more simple: d-sized lithium batteries (non-rechargable) linked together.
The parts for our Cubesat will cost less than $5,000, more likely less than $1,000. We are hoping that our prototype will function properly during a test launch on an amateur rocket. After that, designing the antenna configuration (for those who are knowledgable about radio, our cube-shaped satellite forms a poor ground plane and we are also confined to a difficult broadcast frequency) and internal layout (to ensure that our satellite has a perfect center of gravity).
You can reach the webpage for the Leland Cubesat team here. Be forewarned, some of the information is slightly out of date at the moment. I will do my best to fix that as soon as possible, but priorities lie elsewhere at the moment.
Why would you call an editor-in-chief who has no experience with computers instead of, I don't know, say emailing the webmaster?
If I were this guy, I would talk to the editor-in-chief rather than the techies working on the webpage in the first place. If no authentication is needed, the webmaster may not have been using a password him/herself. Since it would appear that no effort had been made to secure the page, then I would think the webmaster was slightly on the incompetent side and report it directly to somebody who might oversee the webmaster instead.
Alright, we know from the article that Quicktime is out for sure.
But won't removing also kill Flash, one of the few Internet-wide plugins that I can be pretty sure these days that the majority of the visitors to my website can see? If that happens, a whole lot of site designers will sure be peeved.
Course, that will include every media company and such.
However, it would help me get away from those cutesy webpages I see sometimes that keep on playing annoying loops of midi quality music and disable the controls too (and which takes it's own pleasant time to load on my 56k):)
Strangely, these days, the home console market is the only place where sophisticated computer games have a fair chance of being profitable. The sales volumes are significantly greater than those sales for Linux... and Windows.
Definitely. Many users out there still use old 133-333 mHz systems. With that they couldn't run a game like Tribes 2, say. A PS2 on the other hand guarantees that a person could play the game bug-free and such. Having a console also allows matches against friends without buying several copies of the same game as well as having to own several really advanced systems that can be hooked up to a LAN. (unless you want to steal CD keys for Internet matches) Consoles offer a quick and simple method of instant fun at extremely cheaper prices.
Good security testing requires a specific mindset and a good knowledge of previous attacks. This is rare, at any age, and requires the type of behavior that I'm sure the administrators will try to discourage. This sounds like a situation set up to guarantee a false sense of security.
Absolutely correct on that last point from my point of view.
I am going to be a high school senior at Leland in San Jose this fall, one of those schools located in a neighborhood where every kid usually has their own computer at home and each is expected to go to college. There are always plenty who are looking to getting an EECS degree at Berkeley or some other school. For these much more upper-class students, almost 2000 strong, few know how to operate a computer. I would estimate that:
Only 4 have ever touched a *nix.
Only 3 would ever consider hacking given such an opportunity for learning.
Only 2 of those 3 would be able to use more than script kiddy tools to hack and have a good chance of suceeding (there are many more who would know how to find them because they already know what astalavista.box.sk is already)
I know this because I am essentially the technician for the whole school. There is another teacher who is essentially a jack-of-all-computer-trades and another two who understand at least the delete, reboot, reinstall procedures of Microsoft (but not as far as editing the registry or disabling bios functions). These teachers have a more important job to do- teach. This leaves the students to handle many of the problems, and as I am going into my final year, I need to find a replacement soon.
That in itself seems impossible unless a miracle occurs. I was picked by someone who graduated in 2000, and he was picked by someone from the class of 1998. So far I have found only one junior (who is too busy with extracurriculars), and one sophomore (who certainly understands the things he claims to knows, but has a long way to go before he could say, hack. The incoming freshmen are simply unknown as of now.
To ask high schoolers is simply impossible because few of the students will have had enough experience with computers, guaranteed. Those that have more, like me, still have to rely on other script kiddy programs on occasion.
Of course, one must look at the article to see what the system actually does. It only records information on computer disks, and I assume the makers are not stupid enough to transmit the data over the 'Net. It seems pretty impossible to cheat without stealing the disks or opening the machine with a screwdriver. These people are only trying to exploit the image of "computer-savvy" teenagers who supposedly were enough to create massive DOS attacks for one, which we all know required little skill relatively speaking.
I've no idea what average wind speeds at 100,000 feet are, but I know wind speeds at airliner altitudes are typically *much* faster than 20 mph. Assuming that's the case at these higher altitudes, sounds like you'd have about as much control over where these planes went as a high-altitude balloon (ie not very much).
My guess would be that at those altitudes, the air is dispersed enough that you have a good velocity going, but not enough mass to provide large amounts of force, to say it in physics terms. At 20 mph, the plane has enough power at least to try and alter course a bit, not much, but enough for NASA. However, I'm not much of an expert on conditions up there either.
Ah, the Incredible Machine. Seeing that I'm still young, this was my first real chance to absorb computer screens for hours at a time and enjoy it, for it was not homework or some simple game like PacMan.
Slashdot Mirror
Insurance companies will want real proof that such a system will be stable and as secure as today's intersections before even half-considering it.
:)
Such proof for this system will require that ALL cars in the area be equipped with such systems and an equally large number of intersections handled.
This roadblock to development was what happened to a demo for a system in which cars controlled by computers would follow magnets in a road and drive within 1m of other cars. That was a couple of years back in San Diego.
If cars are going to be automated someday, we'll need to find some compromise which does not require implementation for all vehicles on a road- i.e. a lane for truckers on long stretches of highway.
That's just my 2 cents. Something like this would be really cool should we ever get to this point....or we could just get flying cars and fly over
Nothing in the article mentions the feasability of getting a decently sized counterweight at the top of the elevator. All plans I've heard of require at least some sort of asteroid...and if you're talking politics, people are going to be afraid of dragging a rock into Earth orbit that could smash into the planet a.la if something went awry.
From the info snippet at the bottom of Brown's response: [Ken Brown] is reportedly "not the sharpest knife in the drawer," but nevertheless is able to converse with many intelligent people, and is accepted at fine restaurants and hotels around the world.
Well, doesn't that just say it?
...of course, that the judge approves it.
A small addenum, just for kicks:
The 4 friends I mentioned that also received terabyte accounts immediately set up a plan to collude and mailbomb one account to test the 1 gigabyte threshold. The account in question went up to 700 megabytes before the limit was changed back to 1,000 megabytes. Darn =P
Not long after I submitted this article, my account (and those of 4 others I know) reverted back to 1,000 MB. Since the article does mention that Google had no official comment, it's quite possible that this was all a fluke. I had observed the changes earlier in the evening, but waited to see if there was official confirmation from a large new source (i.e. ZDnet) before thinking this was for reals. As it turns out, it may not have been so.
For reference, my friends and I noticed the size reductions around 1:45 AM PST. They did not occur all at once; mine was one of the last ones to get set to 1,000 MB. Another small detail is that not all gmail accounts I knew of got set to a terabyte- there was one user who was feeling quite left out in the gigabyte pool.
My homepage is set to Google News and thus was where I first noticed the changes. From the perspective of the front page and search results, the new look does quite well, but it's not as true for News IMHO. The side and top bars have retained their old looks, with brighter colors and well defined lines. Meanwhile, the links at the very top sport the new style, and don't seem to go well with the aforementioned items.
http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/speeches/2004/
The parent comment caught my eye in particular because security was brought up as an issue when discussing the future roadmap for Visual Studio. Gates said the following: So, in a nutshell, Microsoft's next release of Visual Studio, 2005, will have new features that try to detect common flaws in development patterns and warn the programmer ahead of time.
Applications can also make a distinction between administration/user modes, and if this is what I think it is + Microsoft implements this correctly, then Windows security could move up a step closer to that of Unix-based permissions systems with a rough emulation of the relation between root/user modes.
And most importantly, with compiler options to automatically write in extra security checks, developers may not have to ever even know that a particular bug exists and still be a-ok.
Will this warn the developer of every bug? Probably, and almost 100% certainly not. For that matter, it's an extremely bad thing if you designed your code poorly and don't know that it is so- programmers should not be initially taught using tools like this.
But, as the parent mentions, this will lead to somewhat-more-secure code, and help in the long run.
In fact, I don't see anything bad about writing developer tools such that the environment can sensibly pop up a dialog asking "Are you sure you don't want to check input xyz?". At the very least, something like this is needed in both Microsoft and OSS development platforms.
I just finished my first year as an Electrial Engineering and Comp Sci major, and to cast my vote in with all the others, despite how technical the major was, few people (maybe 2 in a class of 500+) used laptops in comp sci lecture, and absolutely 0 in diagram and funny-symbol intensive classes like physics. Actually, laptops are more common in my humanities classes (especially in business classes I've noticed), where the professor may very well not ever use any diagrams, or one maximum per day which should be quite simple to type out (usually a simple 2 column chart). This is all despite the fact that a vast number of students have laptops, but never take them outside their room. Actually, I know at least several friends that plan on returning only with desktops instead. Think about it- do you want to lug a 7lb thing around campus for taking notes in only select classes in which it might be advantageous to, for a bare minimum of .5 miles/day, not counting amazing volume-sized textbook, and do something that can easily be done with pencil and paper? That discouraged their use most of all I believe. There are however some select cases in which it would be advantageous to have a laptop, which I actually myself have.
;)) among other things. It's great for gaming, doesn't overheat, and comes with a laptop and mouse that are much less prone to giving me carpal tunnel in the long run. I also had a laptop with which I take notes, since I find that they often become illegible some sentences and other times I like to cover more information. That's just me though, I've never been much of a writer. The laptop itself was nothing fancy- 6+ years old, originally had Windows 95, slow as molasses. I instead ran debian on it and typed notes in vim. If you ever take notes on a laptop, all you'll really need is a glorified notepad or text editor. Laptops more powerful could be stolen, you never know, and Linux could have been a deterrent with the login stuff. (But to add to that, I personally never knew anyone who had computer equipment stolen, but it can happen when you let your guard down, so dont, just use a lock and you'll be fine).
My primary computer is actually a desktop, from which I run a Linux server (that is, I can keep my webpage running 24/7 without mom complaining about the "household power crisis"
Unfortunately, the last week before finals my laptop had a little incident with a staircase and the display no longer works, so I'm out looking for a new one. As of right now, it seems most likely that I'll get an iBook- it's lightweight, cheap (releative to similar small laptops), and sturdy (your backpack can provide a beating, and computer bags often don't carry enough for you other gear so you'll probably use the former). Those are about all the requirements you'll ever need for note-taking only.
Keep in mind that I don't expect to use my laptop for much- it lets me multitask in boring classes, a bad idea unless you're sure you have a strong grip on the material already, meaning that only comes into play at most for a single class or two a day out of many more. Stick by the desktop instead and get a laptop if you feel you can't adequately take notes in class- try it out for a month or so perhaps. Comp sci classes will of course have labs, and the library likewise, so non-note-taking activities can almost all be done without your laptop. As for music, etc in your lab, I streamed mp3's off my desktop with shoutcast. Things can easily be done if you're resourceful. If you're outside, go read a book instead, toss a frisbee, or chill with some friends. You'll gain a lot more that way.
As for other accessories, don't forget the cell phone. Pda's are useless when you go by a rigid weekly schedule, but make sure you have a big honking wall calendar to mark midterm dates in bold text- they come up faster than you'd think. If you need to know that the latest reading assignment is on the road, just keep a copy of the syllabus with you.
Also, don't forget- with the desktop, get a flat-panel display if you can. It goes a long way to save space on a messy desk in a cramped dorm room.
The one thing I thought that was kinda unfortunate is that three-gorges is purely a gravity dam, which might not be necessary considering that the place of the thing, after all, is a GORGE...
The Three Gorges, while having the bearing the category of a gorge, are not small at all compared to your average gorge and seem more like massive valleys. It would be impossible to build an arch dam (e.g. Hoover) that depends on the solid cliffs to the side to provide additional support because those cliffs do not exist- the channel at the site of the dam is over a mile wide! The same width would come into play if the dam were made a good ways upstream, so the current site is as good as it gets. The geology is also more favorable for a dam. The sheer mass, like another user pointed out, also helps to make the dam safer and more reliable on itself only to hold back the water in case of an earthquake.
Sure, whatever. If the majority of the world could change differing opinions into standards, we would not have spaceships crashing into Mars because Americans don't change to metric all the time.
Similarily, it's the scientists (a.k.a. good portion of the educated elite) that use metric like the rest of the world. Linux would become used worldwide and by IT professionals, but not the common American either way.
I'm disappointed that such a weak argument was moderated to +5. Just because a post is pro-Linux doesn't always mean that it's correct.
Weak or not, the pro-linux argument is deserving of its rating because it makes a contention and actually tries to back it up. The point of moderation is to keep discussion moving and civil.
Would you have any confidence in a program that identified a common phrase like "web site" as a typo?
Of course not- but the problem is that the phrase is written several other ways as well, including "website". I use Office 2000 (I'll admit it, I'm a stupid M$ user. I do run Linux on several systems however) and it happens to interpret that as a typo as well.
Secondly, we must look at the fact that the author is attacking APPLIXWARE, not Linux. Just because a program on Linux does not mean that it is perfect. Theoretically, there is always a program that comes close, but not every one you find will meet your specific criteria. If the increase in productivity exceeds the cost of implementing the alternate method, then implementing that method is justified.
Naturally, the Linux user could argue that the alternative method means dealing with computer crashes every so often. It could mean living with IE going beserk and closing every window (and yes, I live with that). An Outlook virus could run rampant in the company and wipe all files. A spell checker identifies a spelled word but does not give the correct answer. A good journalist should be able to control the English language, and hence supply their own alternative. This adds up to at worst, a 1-2 second lost in "productivity." Frankly, the whole concept of producitivity is bogus. The quick and dirty solution may very well cost more in the long run. Once again we are down to the base problem of frame of reference. Productivity is enhanced by fixing the spell checker, but could be hurt by the spillover effects.
Any user can choose to save a MS Word document as plain text - a format which any browser reads with equal ease
This whole discussion here is pointless. The common user in the cubicle, when posting to a news site, should submit to some sort of form which is then further edited. As for saving to HTML, Word does an admirable job (up to the point of using simple tags and perhaps making some text bold)
The closing argument could not be less valid.
By that standard, your argument as well is just as invalid. You argue that an IT technician should not go vigilante and install everything themselves. Remeber, however, that the post you are responding to specifically states that "a real BOFH would simply have allowed her to post stories that would be full of '?' for many of her users." We can all agree that the tech erred in his ways, but the solution does not have to give full consideration to the user. "Help" does not necessarily imply letting a user run rampant and do their own thing. "Help" instead means trying to solve the problem using the current system before moving along. Just because a user is pro-linux and presents him/herself as that doesn't mean that every Linux zealot argument applies to them. The IT personnel mentioned in the article cannot speak for all of us.
Here's one thing you need to keep in mind when thinking about what you want to learn- there will always be skills that cannot be taught. Learning how to listen, *kindly* criticize in a subtle manner, and various other people skills will never come through textbooks. You have to go out there and learn by experience. CEO's doubtfully launch large companies right from the start- if they found a company, they only have a handful of employees to utilitze.
Colleges already teach what of much you know. You are given skills that will carry you through your specific career. It's up to you to learn how to put them together. There is no right or wrong way much of the time.
Lastly, I think learning how to design a program is more important than making it yourself. Somewhere down the line, you may run into the ultimate mother of all huge projects and will have no clue as to where to start. None of these things may be mandatory when you graduate into the big world, but they will always help in some little unseen way and give you a boost up.
I've seen programs out there that can emulate Windows on a Mac- DirectX included and the such. In theory, you could thus run any windows game in mac os which is in turn on your linux box. This would easily remove any emulation issues of things such as counterstrike.
My question is: if this is indeed possible, how efficient is it really? Also, are their easier solutions? I don't have much experience running emulators on my Linux boxes.
1) Designing for the masses. Let's assume that everyone wants to have VMRL content, and that it has been sucessfully publicized and standardized just like Flash has grown into a Internet-wide phenomenon. Even then, you have the issue of file sizes. Like it or not, the majority of the United States runs on dialup. The demonstration world didn't take long to load, but it didn't have much in the way of detailed textures either. Also, I could see my CPU usage flying up which means that one simple world puts a lot of stress as is. Imagine what happens if people try to open multiple browser windows. The combination of bandwidth and system requirements are hard to find. Face it, most /.ers don't use 233-Mhz systems like I know many of my friends do.
2) Number one is an ideal world that will never make it for the following reasons: content.
For the geographical view of Switzerland, I don't find much that I couldn't find on a map. The 3-d certainly adds a nice perspective, but little detail.
I myself visited Switzerland this previous summer, and this world lacks many of the things I wish to see in an overview. My browser couldn't show me the beautiful clouds embracing Mount Pilatus, nor the grass rippling in the wind, nor the diehard runners sprinting up the mountain. These things aren't seen despite the 30 meter accuracy.
Also, if you go into a town with a browser, you don't get what you would normally see. VMRL worlds are hard to create, even more so accurately. Pictures (including those cool panoramic 360's) capture the feeling more accurately. Also, it would be pointless to look through shops and such because the user would get lost.
Which leads to my final point: Assuming tourists like these 3-d worlds, what about websites such as Slashdot and CNET News.com? Would talking people at newsstands give you the news to read? Would bullet points point out where the news occured? How would these be updated every day, or even every hour? Nothing is practical, and the Internet is about information. There is nothing special if the experience is only a recreation of the real world- nothing can ever match that. The Internet is about arranging all the information in a new fashion that makes more sense that what you get away from the computer.
If you are wondering what the original reason for detaininment was, ABC reported that the three men in custody were seen celebrating upon viewing the initial explosions. Several bystanders then gave information to the police.
...various makers of those little erasable sketch pads for kids scrambled to modify their products to mimic the "e-paper". One company released a statement saying "We're only switching from simple magnets to electromagnets, but in the end we can translate everything into digital media as a result"
While that is still debatable, the article points out to a larger problem:
Lancaster's filter does not allow e-mail access, which is why the library system planned to remove the filter from one machine. Clearly, the people in the library didn't see it as pornography-blocking software only. The journalist obviously at least knew that fact. I might be grasping a straws here, but I would bet that it serves well to show how nobody really questions the common stereotypes. After all, the journalist could get plenty of porno-promoting spam in her email and assume that there was a good use for blocking it.
Several students at my school, Leland High, decided that we should undertake a challenge unlike any other. A goal was set to be the first high school to launch a satellite into outer space and have it communicate back with earth, as vaguely mentioned in a Slashback. This particular program is called Cubesat, but only consisted exclusively of universities and private corporations/citizens until we came along.
Much like the engineers in this article, we are using off-the-shelf parts to build our satellite, albeit not from Radio Shack since Radio Shacks don't seem to carry much in San Jose. The antenna we are designing exemplifies the simplicity of the components. In theory, guitar string or the wire used in braces would do the job easily. Our power system is even more simple: d-sized lithium batteries (non-rechargable) linked together.
The parts for our Cubesat will cost less than $5,000, more likely less than $1,000. We are hoping that our prototype will function properly during a test launch on an amateur rocket. After that, designing the antenna configuration (for those who are knowledgable about radio, our cube-shaped satellite forms a poor ground plane and we are also confined to a difficult broadcast frequency) and internal layout (to ensure that our satellite has a perfect center of gravity).
You can reach the webpage for the Leland Cubesat team here. Be forewarned, some of the information is slightly out of date at the moment. I will do my best to fix that as soon as possible, but priorities lie elsewhere at the moment.
Why would you call an editor-in-chief who has no experience with computers instead of, I don't know, say emailing the webmaster?
If I were this guy, I would talk to the editor-in-chief rather than the techies working on the webpage in the first place. If no authentication is needed, the webmaster may not have been using a password him/herself. Since it would appear that no effort had been made to secure the page, then I would think the webmaster was slightly on the incompetent side and report it directly to somebody who might oversee the webmaster instead.
Alright, we know from the article that Quicktime is out for sure.
:)
But won't removing also kill Flash, one of the few Internet-wide plugins that I can be pretty sure these days that the majority of the visitors to my website can see? If that happens, a whole lot of site designers will sure be peeved.
Course, that will include every media company and such.
However, it would help me get away from those cutesy webpages I see sometimes that keep on playing annoying loops of midi quality music and disable the controls too (and which takes it's own pleasant time to load on my 56k)
Definitely. Many users out there still use old 133-333 mHz systems. With that they couldn't run a game like Tribes 2, say. A PS2 on the other hand guarantees that a person could play the game bug-free and such. Having a console also allows matches against friends without buying several copies of the same game as well as having to own several really advanced systems that can be hooked up to a LAN. (unless you want to steal CD keys for Internet matches) Consoles offer a quick and simple method of instant fun at extremely cheaper prices.
Absolutely correct on that last point from my point of view.
I am going to be a high school senior at Leland in San Jose this fall, one of those schools located in a neighborhood where every kid usually has their own computer at home and each is expected to go to college. There are always plenty who are looking to getting an EECS degree at Berkeley or some other school. For these much more upper-class students, almost 2000 strong, few know how to operate a computer. I would estimate that:
Only 4 have ever touched a *nix.
Only 3 would ever consider hacking given such an opportunity for learning.
Only 2 of those 3 would be able to use more than script kiddy tools to hack and have a good chance of suceeding (there are many more who would know how to find them because they already know what astalavista.box.sk is already)
I know this because I am essentially the technician for the whole school. There is another teacher who is essentially a jack-of-all-computer-trades and another two who understand at least the delete, reboot, reinstall procedures of Microsoft (but not as far as editing the registry or disabling bios functions). These teachers have a more important job to do- teach. This leaves the students to handle many of the problems, and as I am going into my final year, I need to find a replacement soon.
That in itself seems impossible unless a miracle occurs. I was picked by someone who graduated in 2000, and he was picked by someone from the class of 1998. So far I have found only one junior (who is too busy with extracurriculars), and one sophomore (who certainly understands the things he claims to knows, but has a long way to go before he could say, hack. The incoming freshmen are simply unknown as of now.
To ask high schoolers is simply impossible because few of the students will have had enough experience with computers, guaranteed. Those that have more, like me, still have to rely on other script kiddy programs on occasion.
Of course, one must look at the article to see what the system actually does. It only records information on computer disks, and I assume the makers are not stupid enough to transmit the data over the 'Net. It seems pretty impossible to cheat without stealing the disks or opening the machine with a screwdriver. These people are only trying to exploit the image of "computer-savvy" teenagers who supposedly were enough to create massive DOS attacks for one, which we all know required little skill relatively speaking.
My guess would be that at those altitudes, the air is dispersed enough that you have a good velocity going, but not enough mass to provide large amounts of force, to say it in physics terms. At 20 mph, the plane has enough power at least to try and alter course a bit, not much, but enough for NASA. However, I'm not much of an expert on conditions up there either.
Ah, the Incredible Machine. Seeing that I'm still young, this was my first real chance to absorb computer screens for hours at a time and enjoy it, for it was not homework or some simple game like PacMan.