I've just gotta say, thanks Slashdot. This is what I've been looking for.
One of the major reasons I was very reluctant to try Linux out (I'm a dedicated Win2K admin) was that it would require me to re-partition a disk for an ext3 filesystem.
Well, seeing as how each and every one of my drives are NTFS Dynamic Volumes, there's no chance in hell that Linux is going to be able to read (or even repartition) them, and neither will most other software. So, it's a total wipeout if I wanted to try it.
I'm downloading the ISO of this right now; I can get a chance to use Linux without *installing* Linux this way. In essence, what I've wanted for a long time.
Antimatter containment: In Warp propulsion systems, antimatter containment refers to the use of magnetic confinement fields to prevent antimatter from physically touching the surface of the storage pod or any other part of the starship. Failure of antimatter containment is a serious malfunction; such a core breach or containment breach generally results in total destruction of the spacecraft. (snip descriptions of episodes of TNG where such activities were occuring.)
[[/quote]]
(From: The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future, (C) 1994 Paramount Pictures, All Rights Reserved)
I happen to own that book...seems consistant with what people are talking about here: using strong magnetic fields to keep antimatter where it belongs.
So, I agree with the poster somewhere above or below me, who said that most of the technology in Star Trek is based on a viable theory; even if their application of it isn't workable (Holywood has a tendancy to "make things work" for TV shows...)
This is the basis for the "containment field" of Star Trek fame.
In a DS9 novel, they talk about transferring antimatter between holding tanks by using tightly confined magnetic field beams and piping the antimatter through their magnetic pipes from one place to the other.
Wouldn't this run afoul of many of the U.S. Cryptography export regulations? U.S. DoD prohibits exporting of any product containing mathematically "strong" cryptography (usually, 128-bit) to a lot of places.
That, and the DMCA which prohibits reversing of any of the encryption that would be found in the new kernel, would create a risk for many of the users downloading the software if they were from anywhere outside the US (and, for US users downloading the software, because it couldn't be explained to them.)
I'm sure the U.S. government is going to have a lot of fun with this...
ICANN *must* be brought under government oversight, immidiately. They're essentially running a dictatorship, doing things how they want, not disclosing information, not allowing their own to see their inner workings, and eliminating the public voice.
Apache mod_rewrite (difficult for me to use because of the bizzare Unix shell syntax that I am not familiar with) does just that. I use it to keep people from stealing my images in my main web directory, but allow them to link to them freely in the Uploads directory.
Wow, this has to be the most unbiased comment ever submitted. I understand that the editors make an effort to clean them up, but I'm pretty sure that anti-MS bs in there was made up just to guarentee the story being posted.
I run a Windows web server, and support a mortgage broker running on a different Windows server. Properly configured, it can be (and is) as stable and secure as Linux.
The problem [b]always[/b] lies with the user, not with the operating system itself.
The average script kiddy is not going to know how to use IPFILTER or IPTABLES to mask the MAC address of a card, or how to use the NIC software to edit it, or even how to use the Windows XP MAC-Bridge function to mask it.
The average script kiddy will get banned and either buy another NIC, or be gone for good. The people with the technical savvy to be able to clone a MAC addres do not, in my experience, cheat / cheat at the level of being banned. Either they (like myself) only play games recreationally or not at all, or they play it just with friends so they don't care about cheating.
I think this is an effective step in the right direction. If Valve implimented this on WON, the quality of the game Counter-Strike would increase massively.
I have close experience with the Americans with Disabilties act, having a family member that falls within it's protection.
It has often been the only reason she has been able to visit some places, that would otherwise have made no attempt at handicapped accesibility. The individual in question is parapalegic with no motor ability below her waist; many historic and natural sites are off limits. However, the ADA required that many of these sites be as open as possible: this has meant boardwalks, ramps, handles, railings, and elevators/lifts in places where there would not have been any without a legislation.
I researched in-depth the effects of the ADA; and found it to be one of the laws with the fewest negative reprucussions. Affirmative Action leads to racism in the workplace; the ADA just mandates that people with physical disabilities be able to use your services in a safe manner, and in a manner that is safe for the non-disabled individuals.
This provision of the ADA was proven repeately with a court case citing a woman with a natural vision deficiany who sued American Airlines, because they denied her a position as an airline pilot. Her case was thrown out almost immidiately; on the grounds that ADA provisions cannot create an unsafe condition for anyone else.
As for the execution, there are few regulations in place that specify the "how" they just give the "why" and leave it at that.
Florida law (and possibly federal law) mandates a 30-day "grace period" in which the business or institution may correct an ADA violation with no penalty.
Perhaps the judge should reevaluate this case before proceding further.
(I read the documents after my original post while I was at work)
So he's sueing over their automated ranking system?
Google's ranking system ranks according to the number of sites that link to it. If a large number of sites have the words petswarehouse.com and have links to another site, of course the other site will get ranked higher.
I like the idea of removing his site totally. Nobody will know he ever existed...Exactly what he seems to want.
An individual who was responsible for the creation of the Comcast consumer advocacy catagory on Yahoo! was successful in finally getting Comcast to drop their cable fraud lawsuit when he threatened to countersue for malicious prosecution.
This individual *clearly* is in it for the money, and nothing else. Aside from a possible slander charge against the original poster, if what was said was in fact false; Google, nor any other news site, has any business being named in the law suit.
Something to the effect of "common carrier" status should apply to these sites. Unless they posted their own commentary that was specifically derrogatory to the owner of that web site, they have no grounds for the law suit; and even if commentary was posted, by the time the lawsuit is reaching national coverage for it's stupidity, you've lost any right to complain about it.
Google, being the group with the greatest amount of cash, should counter-sue the individual in question for being an asshat and attempting to exploit the system. If I recall correctly (IANAL), exploting the courts for personal gain is CONTEMPT and you go to jail for that, instantly.
The harmful chemicals are integral to the manufacture process...Unless technology changes, PCB substrate will always be created out of harmful chemicals.
However, this is a major step in the right direction, to reducing the amount of technological waste in the environmental facilities in addition to conserving power.
There would be such a massive market if they released a patch, or released a remastered version of the game (updated graphics, perhaps?) that it would easily cover it's own production costs.
If your routers support it, you can multicast Windows Media -- it routes the packets to multiple destinations at the backbone level, so your bandwidth useage doesn't scale directly proportional to the number of users.
It's already being developed--intelligent cruise control that can adjust your cruise speed to match that of a car in front of you, colission detection systems for backing up and getting in/out of tight spots, etc. These things + GPS would give an engine computer total control over your car's engine. A couple servos for the steering wheel, and you've got a computer that can drive the car.
What you don't have is a car that can respond to traffic control devices (stop lights/signs, emergency personel, toll booths) because it wouldn't have any idea they existed. Until such devices transmit GPS coordinates of themselves, and instructions, in some standardized form, autodrive simply won't work.
The technology for a self-piloting car exists, but a self-driving car is a little ways off. Doable, yes. Feasible, no.
I like that idea very much. A CF-card that contains a file, encrypted of course, that is read by the engine computer and enables a "start" button on the dash.
More high-tech than a key, and probably more secure too.
I don't, honestly, think much of the nation, save the immidiate families and friends of the astronauts, would mourn.
There hasn't been a front page story of a shuttle launch for as long as I can remember, and even TV stations don't broadcast it like they used to do in the 80s.
Besides, the space program is not, at this point, existing in a vital capacity for our nation. There are no weapons platforms orbiting the earth. There are no survillance photographs. Hell, there isn't even a space tourism project run by the United States or a U.S. corporation -- the Russian government does that!
The Russian equipment is good enough to get people up and back safely -- and they're not above taking millions of dollars to let someone else experience it. The U.S. seems to have a hissy fit when they suggest it -- NASA is about "science" not "entertainment."
The nation's (and the law makers and budget appropriators) backwards views on the space program in general need to change, and before any type of a hardware change. It needs to be retasked to be under the Department of Defense, or outsourced to the public sector. Private companies build satellites that work right. Why can't they build the launch platform and send people up, too?
The software to do this has been available on nearly all Palm devices with Infared ports for years.
Simply point original remote at the palm's IR port, switch to "learn" mode. Press button on remote, code entered. Press button on screen you want it assigned to. Repeat.
It even came with some basic layouts and Universal Remote codes installed (unfortunately, not a single device in my house uses a Universal Remote, so...)
Well now, a solution to a single problem out of many is better than no solutions to many problems.
It's only a matter of time before they apply it to kenetic anti-tank weapons, not just heat-based anti-tank weapons.
Having this armor on a tank won't decrease it's armor vs. other types of weapons, it just won't increase it. But, it'll make it untouchable for RPGs, which seem to be the weapon of choice for terrorists/middle eastern conflicts.
Paying by-channel would be a lot more convinent than paying for the whole service.
I'd pay, say, $20 a month for basic cable (which is $34.99/month) which would give me, say, the TV Guide channel, CNN, the Weather channel, and all the public access channels (PAX, C-Span, C-Span 2)
Beyond that, I'd be willing to pay $2/month for additional channels. Fox, UPN, FX, MTV, MTV2, ABC, NBC, and CBS. That's $20 + $16 = $36 right there. So it's a big more expensive.
Then, if I wanted to watch something else I wasn't subscribed to, charge $0.10 an hour to watch that channel on top of the regular subscription rate. That'd add up to $6 a month for 2 hours/day. THIS is where the distributers would make their money -- people who don't subscribe to channels, but want to watch say an hour a day of a channel they're not subscribed to.
People would click the "accept charges" button, switch off to another network...it'd be maybe $0.20 to $0.50 a day...but even at that amount, if you watch 2 shows you're not subscribed to 10 times in a month (easily doable) you've got a monthly channel subscription right there.
Not only would this model allow you to customize your cable service to the degree you wanted, because you're paying for the content above the basic service, they could show it with less adds, or perhaps allow targeted adds for a %10 reduction in your monthly fee.
If the local cable company (Adelphia) adopted this method, I would definately switch to it. Simply because I, personally, would end up paying a lot less monthly than already...about $25 instead of $35.
AMD's PR rating is a measure of comparative efficiancy -- The projected MHz as compared to (IIRC) either an Intel Pentium 3. Or was it a T-Bird.
Whatever it was, the rating means, a chip of the older architecture would have to be at or above the rating MHz (2100+ in your case) to give the same performance.
It's actually a decent representation of performance, unlike the Intel higher clock speed but lower bandwidth.
A traceroute of the connection shows that "p-3-0-r1-a-tjtj-1.cn.net" [202.97.38.98] is the last connection that works...after said point, everything's dead.
I imagine they're a 2nd-tier backbone provider because of my trace, it goes Alternet > CN.net.
The RIAA is outmatched this time. The telecom industry isn't just going to lie down on this one...I see this being the starting point of either having the RIAA dissolved, or having copyright law redefined...
I honestly do think that the backbone providers should just "turn off" the RIAA's web site, and stop taking their money.
Then the RIAA would be in a bit of a bind, wouldn't it...
I think the only problem is size at this point. The DVD is the same size/bigger than the VHS disk.
However, the size of the electronics isn't an issue, really. There already exist DVD players with very small footprints and integrated LCD screens that could be adapted to this purpose. Then you'd need a VERY thin strip of magnetic tape in the front, and a record head on one end and an erase head on the other to take the decoded video+audio stream and write it where the VCR can read. Obviously this extra equip is needed, because the VCR can't handle an MPEG stream.
At this point, you'd have a DVD player in a box...but the cost of the electronics and licensing for said algorithms would cost easily as much as a set-top DVD player to begin with. It might even cost MORE because of the engineering necessary -- not to mention the fact that it will look like pure crap having been decoded and re-encoded twice, before being put into magtape and decoded a 3rd time. That's about 3 format changes right there -- none of which are perfect.
Slashdot Mirror
I've just gotta say, thanks Slashdot. This is what I've been looking for.
One of the major reasons I was very reluctant to try Linux out (I'm a dedicated Win2K admin) was that it would require me to re-partition a disk for an ext3 filesystem.
Well, seeing as how each and every one of my drives are NTFS Dynamic Volumes, there's no chance in hell that Linux is going to be able to read (or even repartition) them, and neither will most other software. So, it's a total wipeout if I wanted to try it.
I'm downloading the ISO of this right now; I can get a chance to use Linux without *installing* Linux this way. In essence, what I've wanted for a long time.
[[quote]]
Antimatter containment:
In Warp propulsion systems, antimatter containment refers to the use of magnetic confinement fields to prevent antimatter from physically touching the surface of the storage pod or any other part of the starship. Failure of antimatter containment is a serious malfunction; such a core breach or containment breach generally results in total destruction of the spacecraft. (snip descriptions of episodes of TNG where such activities were occuring.)
[[/quote]]
(From: The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future, (C) 1994 Paramount Pictures, All Rights Reserved)
I happen to own that book...seems consistant with what people are talking about here: using strong magnetic fields to keep antimatter where it belongs.
So, I agree with the poster somewhere above or below me, who said that most of the technology in Star Trek is based on a viable theory; even if their application of it isn't workable (Holywood has a tendancy to "make things work" for TV shows...)
This is the basis for the "containment field" of Star Trek fame.
In a DS9 novel, they talk about transferring antimatter between holding tanks by using tightly confined magnetic field beams and piping the antimatter through their magnetic pipes from one place to the other.
Wouldn't this run afoul of many of the U.S. Cryptography export regulations? U.S. DoD prohibits exporting of any product containing mathematically "strong" cryptography (usually, 128-bit) to a lot of places.
That, and the DMCA which prohibits reversing of any of the encryption that would be found in the new kernel, would create a risk for many of the users downloading the software if they were from anywhere outside the US (and, for US users downloading the software, because it couldn't be explained to them.)
I'm sure the U.S. government is going to have a lot of fun with this...
ICANN *must* be brought under government oversight, immidiately. They're essentially running a dictatorship, doing things how they want, not disclosing information, not allowing their own to see their inner workings, and eliminating the public voice.
This needs to be stopped immidiately...
Apache mod_rewrite (difficult for me to use because of the bizzare Unix shell syntax that I am not familiar with) does just that. I use it to keep people from stealing my images in my main web directory, but allow them to link to them freely in the Uploads directory.
Wow, this has to be the most unbiased comment ever submitted. I understand that the editors make an effort to clean them up, but I'm pretty sure that anti-MS bs in there was made up just to guarentee the story being posted.
I run a Windows web server, and support a mortgage broker running on a different Windows server. Properly configured, it can be (and is) as stable and secure as Linux.
The problem [b]always[/b] lies with the user, not with the operating system itself.
The average script kiddy is not going to know how to use IPFILTER or IPTABLES to mask the MAC address of a card, or how to use the NIC software to edit it, or even how to use the Windows XP MAC-Bridge function to mask it.
The average script kiddy will get banned and either buy another NIC, or be gone for good. The people with the technical savvy to be able to clone a MAC addres do not, in my experience, cheat / cheat at the level of being banned. Either they (like myself) only play games recreationally or not at all, or they play it just with friends so they don't care about cheating.
I think this is an effective step in the right direction. If Valve implimented this on WON, the quality of the game Counter-Strike would increase massively.
Microsoft should declare independence from the United States, and hire some mercs to capture Washington, D.C.
Scary thing is, they actually have the resources to do it, too...
I have close experience with the Americans with Disabilties act, having a family member that falls within it's protection.
It has often been the only reason she has been able to visit some places, that would otherwise have made no attempt at handicapped accesibility. The individual in question is parapalegic with no motor ability below her waist; many historic and natural sites are off limits. However, the ADA required that many of these sites be as open as possible: this has meant boardwalks, ramps, handles, railings, and elevators/lifts in places where there would not have been any without a legislation.
I researched in-depth the effects of the ADA; and found it to be one of the laws with the fewest negative reprucussions. Affirmative Action leads to racism in the workplace; the ADA just mandates that people with physical disabilities be able to use your services in a safe manner, and in a manner that is safe for the non-disabled individuals.
This provision of the ADA was proven repeately with a court case citing a woman with a natural vision deficiany who sued American Airlines, because they denied her a position as an airline pilot. Her case was thrown out almost immidiately; on the grounds that ADA provisions cannot create an unsafe condition for anyone else.
As for the execution, there are few regulations in place that specify the "how" they just give the "why" and leave it at that.
Florida law (and possibly federal law) mandates a 30-day "grace period" in which the business or institution may correct an ADA violation with no penalty.
Perhaps the judge should reevaluate this case before proceding further.
(I read the documents after my original post while I was at work)
So he's sueing over their automated ranking system?
Google's ranking system ranks according to the number of sites that link to it. If a large number of sites have the words petswarehouse.com and have links to another site, of course the other site will get ranked higher.
I like the idea of removing his site totally. Nobody will know he ever existed...Exactly what he seems to want.
An individual who was responsible for the creation of the Comcast consumer advocacy catagory on Yahoo! was successful in finally getting Comcast to drop their cable fraud lawsuit when he threatened to countersue for malicious prosecution.
This individual *clearly* is in it for the money, and nothing else. Aside from a possible slander charge against the original poster, if what was said was in fact false; Google, nor any other news site, has any business being named in the law suit.
Something to the effect of "common carrier" status should apply to these sites. Unless they posted their own commentary that was specifically derrogatory to the owner of that web site, they have no grounds for the law suit; and even if commentary was posted, by the time the lawsuit is reaching national coverage for it's stupidity, you've lost any right to complain about it.
Google, being the group with the greatest amount of cash, should counter-sue the individual in question for being an asshat and attempting to exploit the system. If I recall correctly (IANAL), exploting the courts for personal gain is CONTEMPT and you go to jail for that, instantly.
My $0.02.
The harmful chemicals are integral to the manufacture process...Unless technology changes, PCB substrate will always be created out of harmful chemicals.
However, this is a major step in the right direction, to reducing the amount of technological waste in the environmental facilities in addition to conserving power.
I want to be able to play FF7 on my new PC.
There would be such a massive market if they released a patch, or released a remastered version of the game (updated graphics, perhaps?) that it would easily cover it's own production costs.
If your routers support it, you can multicast Windows Media -- it routes the packets to multiple destinations at the backbone level, so your bandwidth useage doesn't scale directly proportional to the number of users.
Look into that...
It's already being developed--intelligent cruise control that can adjust your cruise speed to match that of a car in front of you, colission detection systems for backing up and getting in/out of tight spots, etc. These things + GPS would give an engine computer total control over your car's engine. A couple servos for the steering wheel, and you've got a computer that can drive the car.
What you don't have is a car that can respond to traffic control devices (stop lights/signs, emergency personel, toll booths) because it wouldn't have any idea they existed. Until such devices transmit GPS coordinates of themselves, and instructions, in some standardized form, autodrive simply won't work.
The technology for a self-piloting car exists, but a self-driving car is a little ways off. Doable, yes. Feasible, no.
I like that idea very much. A CF-card that contains a file, encrypted of course, that is read by the engine computer and enables a "start" button on the dash.
More high-tech than a key, and probably more secure too.
I don't, honestly, think much of the nation, save the immidiate families and friends of the astronauts, would mourn.
There hasn't been a front page story of a shuttle launch for as long as I can remember, and even TV stations don't broadcast it like they used to do in the 80s.
Besides, the space program is not, at this point, existing in a vital capacity for our nation. There are no weapons platforms orbiting the earth. There are no survillance photographs. Hell, there isn't even a space tourism project run by the United States or a U.S. corporation -- the Russian government does that!
The Russian equipment is good enough to get people up and back safely -- and they're not above taking millions of dollars to let someone else experience it. The U.S. seems to have a hissy fit when they suggest it -- NASA is about "science" not "entertainment."
The nation's (and the law makers and budget appropriators) backwards views on the space program in general need to change, and before any type of a hardware change. It needs to be retasked to be under the Department of Defense, or outsourced to the public sector. Private companies build satellites that work right. Why can't they build the launch platform and send people up, too?
The software to do this has been available on nearly all Palm devices with Infared ports for years.
Simply point original remote at the palm's IR port, switch to "learn" mode. Press button on remote, code entered. Press button on screen you want it assigned to. Repeat.
It even came with some basic layouts and Universal Remote codes installed (unfortunately, not a single device in my house uses a Universal Remote, so...)
Well now, a solution to a single problem out of many is better than no solutions to many problems.
It's only a matter of time before they apply it to kenetic anti-tank weapons, not just heat-based anti-tank weapons.
Having this armor on a tank won't decrease it's armor vs. other types of weapons, it just won't increase it. But, it'll make it untouchable for RPGs, which seem to be the weapon of choice for terrorists/middle eastern conflicts.
Paying by-channel would be a lot more convinent than paying for the whole service.
I'd pay, say, $20 a month for basic cable (which is $34.99/month) which would give me, say, the TV Guide channel, CNN, the Weather channel, and all the public access channels (PAX, C-Span, C-Span 2)
Beyond that, I'd be willing to pay $2/month for additional channels. Fox, UPN, FX, MTV, MTV2, ABC, NBC, and CBS. That's $20 + $16 = $36 right there. So it's a big more expensive.
Then, if I wanted to watch something else I wasn't subscribed to, charge $0.10 an hour to watch that channel on top of the regular subscription rate. That'd add up to $6 a month for 2 hours/day. THIS is where the distributers would make their money -- people who don't subscribe to channels, but want to watch say an hour a day of a channel they're not subscribed to.
People would click the "accept charges" button, switch off to another network...it'd be maybe $0.20 to $0.50 a day...but even at that amount, if you watch 2 shows you're not subscribed to 10 times in a month (easily doable) you've got a monthly channel subscription right there.
Not only would this model allow you to customize your cable service to the degree you wanted, because you're paying for the content above the basic service, they could show it with less adds, or perhaps allow targeted adds for a %10 reduction in your monthly fee.
If the local cable company (Adelphia) adopted this method, I would definately switch to it. Simply because I, personally, would end up paying a lot less monthly than already...about $25 instead of $35.
AMD's PR rating is a measure of comparative efficiancy -- The projected MHz as compared to (IIRC) either an Intel Pentium 3. Or was it a T-Bird.
Whatever it was, the rating means, a chip of the older architecture would have to be at or above the rating MHz (2100+ in your case) to give the same performance.
It's actually a decent representation of performance, unlike the Intel higher clock speed but lower bandwidth.
but I can't access the thing at all.
A traceroute of the connection shows that "p-3-0-r1-a-tjtj-1.cn.net" [202.97.38.98] is the last connection that works...after said point, everything's dead.
I imagine they're a 2nd-tier backbone provider because of my trace, it goes Alternet > CN.net.
Not good...or maybe they're just bogged down.
The RIAA is outmatched this time. The telecom industry isn't just going to lie down on this one...I see this being the starting point of either having the RIAA dissolved, or having copyright law redefined...
I honestly do think that the backbone providers should just "turn off" the RIAA's web site, and stop taking their money.
Then the RIAA would be in a bit of a bind, wouldn't it...
I think the only problem is size at this point. The DVD is the same size/bigger than the VHS disk.
However, the size of the electronics isn't an issue, really. There already exist DVD players with very small footprints and integrated LCD screens that could be adapted to this purpose. Then you'd need a VERY thin strip of magnetic tape in the front, and a record head on one end and an erase head on the other to take the decoded video+audio stream and write it where the VCR can read. Obviously this extra equip is needed, because the VCR can't handle an MPEG stream.
At this point, you'd have a DVD player in a box...but the cost of the electronics and licensing for said algorithms would cost easily as much as a set-top DVD player to begin with. It might even cost MORE because of the engineering necessary -- not to mention the fact that it will look like pure crap having been decoded and re-encoded twice, before being put into magtape and decoded a 3rd time. That's about 3 format changes right there -- none of which are perfect.