So, what is the problem with that? My school totally didn't address it (our professors do that all the time), and I don't have any good C++ books handy.
I'm assuming that gets and puts are in the C standard? I can't say as I've ever used them and I do a lot of C programming. Glancing over the old Power C book I have, it looks like using gets is asking for a buffer overflow.
With a little inginueity, and a copy of the book "thinking postscipt" (now a free download off the web), you can easily write own own 3D renderer in Postscript in an hour or so. Just think of drawing your figures as a series of planes. Then, each plane going away from the viewer gets scaled downwards. For transformations, all you need is a little algebra and trig. In some ways, this is a particularly elegent way of doing 3D wireframe because your are letting the printer do the work. With the OpenGL to PS solutions other recommend, the printouts are sent to the printer as a bitmap.
If you want hidden surface removal, then you might as well use the GL to PS solutions that others suggest.
I'm not a PS2 programmer. I'm working on learning to program my PS1, and soon I should be getting a DC which I also plan to try and program.
From what I've seen of the various platforms, programming the DC isn't much different from programming a PC. You move polygons with the CPU, the download the textures to the PowerVR (PVR hereafter) chip and the send the polys to the PVR and say go. Essentially, it is like having a 3D API, except you have to use it via assembly calls instead of a nice DLL. This isn't a hard adjustment for someone used to OpenGL.
The PS1 doesn't have a nice 3D accelerator to use. Instead your have to write your own renderer, but you are given a chip that will help with some of the 3D math involved. This is not unlike programming on a PC before hardware acceleration was common. However, Sony supplied a library (like OpenGL I guess, but it isn't available for public inspection) that made life simpler for the first generation games, then later generations scrapped the library and essentially worked on bare metal.
Now, I don't have any personal experience here, but it seems to me that programming a PS2 is somewhat like programming the PS1, except the architecture is a lot more complex. Instead of 1 CPU, we now have 3, one of which is a 1/10 the speed of the others. The pipelines are more complex and the two main CPUs are similar, but they aren't even really the same.
And, unlike the PS1, the PS2 reportedly didn't come with OpenGL like libraries. Instead, the first generation games must figure out the poorly documented internals of the system all at once instead of over several generations of games like they did for the PS1. While this may be heaven for some guys, the average programmer would find the a nightmare, and all but the best will struggle here.
Previously, systems like the PS1 were a lot more flexible than systems like the N64. However, looking towards the future, vertex and pixel shaders implemented in hardware like Nvidea is doing should give programmers nearly as much flexibility while remaining much simpler to figure out. While I think the PS2 will suceed, I doubt that many more platforms will persue such a complex architucture in the future.
Many large organizations rent software from Microsoft on an anual basis rather than purchase. This comes with better support, and subscription services. It usually includes the entire microsoft library. So, when the company buys a new server, they install what ever they want on it, and just report the new machine count to Microsoft when it is time to renew their contract. At least, that is the way it worked at one company that I worked for.
A good transparent proxy should cache most large files. If not, then switch to a not transparent proxy like squid. Even fast internet connections feel faster with squid.
>Reminds me of the businesses that go ahead and
>download the Star Wars trailers, etc, and tell
>the employees to take it off the network instead.
> It's admitting defeat without admitting defeat.
Actually, a good transparent proxy server would allow you to substitute a cached version of the file without having to tell your users about it.
Previously, I posted about making your own motherboard for making your own note book. Since then, it has occureded to me that this task could be greatly simplified by using the uCsimm.(http://www.uclinux.org/ucsimm/). If you start from that, all you need to do is make a much simpler board that contains a video display of some sort (as simple as a meg or two of ram, and what ever the LCD equivelant of a RAM-DAC is) and keyboard jack (to hook your off the self notebook keyboard to), and maybe some accessories ports (serial, parallel, whatever). Assuming you don't blow anything up, you might be able to do this project on as little as $400. Keep in mind that you are only going to get 486 level performance.
You know, Sun's old NeWS system was made just to solve this problem (OK, maybe it wasn't made to solve the problem, but it solves it anyway). I'm trying to get old Sun 3/160 working to try it out.
My understanding is that Display Postscript also is more bandwidth efficient than plain X. There is a DPS module for XFree, and Solaris and Irix both come with DPS modules. I'll have to test that to find out if it's really true.
Making a laptop probably isn't doable if you are hoping to snap parts together.
However, if you wanted to really do it youself, you should be able to make a fairly nice r3k or other simple machine for yourself that would have memory, harddrive controller, and the chips to drive an LCD display on one board. Then, you can probably get the rest of the parts from surplus dealers and make the casing yourself.
Thing is that there don't seem to be any reference designs for any decent platforms other than the G3, and G3 chips are just too complex to work with. What's needed is a chip with limited pin count so that you can get away with useing a simple circuit printing kit and soldering the sockets on by hand (you don't want to solder the chips on so that you can reuse them if the board is foobar'ed).
Darn. You mean I'm going about this all wrong? Unless forced to take a particular class, I take classes where I will have to work hard to be able to get a B or a C and probably won't be able to get an A no matter how hard I work. I guess that means my GPA is just going to make me look like an idiot now. School sucks.
> 1. The encoding algorithm for MP3's is
> patented. If an MP3 encoder is free ITS
> infringing.
Actually, my understanding (this is gotten from the LAME site) is that the psyocho-acoustic model used in most MP3 encoders is patented. If you supply your own model, you can legally make MP3s that regular players can decode without any intellectual property rights infringement. In otherwords, you can use the same file format, you just have to come up with a different but compatible method for doing the compressing.
Yeah, 220 seemed odd to me too. Probably a typo. Anyway, whether she meant 200 or 233, I'd still expect Word2k to run happily on it. Of course, please note that when I say I'd expect it to run happily, I mean that it is rediculus for a work processor, even one from MS, not to run on such a reasonable machine. All I know is that Work2k runs fine of 350s, and I'd be scared if 150mhz made much of a difference.
It didn't seem to have any new information. We all know that installation needs to be simplified and documentation needs to be improved.
I have a proposal. What if professional writers wrote a few pages of documentation everytime they felt like writing an article that mentions the need for documentation. They are pros, so it should take them no time at all.
Hmm, so, if I purchase a normal DVD player, then I can use a DVD copier to copy all I want just so long as I only view it on the DVD player instead of uploading it to the internet?
Just to avoid being all negative, I must say that I really liked BeOSs file system. If I had a spare machine, I'd be tempted to use it running BeOS as an application server for the household intranet. Lack of security and video wouldn't really be an issue than. However, I don't have any machines to spare.
When you figure out how to port the closed source BeOS to the PS2, I'd be happy to give it a try. However, I still doubt that I'd like it.
Be 100% sucks. Their graffics accelerator support is virtually MIA, same as the video IO support.
What the heck do I need with an OS that can't do proper accelerated OpenGL or S-Video (or better) video IO without dropping frames? And if you tell me it is coming soon, I'll tell you that they have been saying that since version 3 shipped many years ago.
Lack of security also irks me (lets ship linux with only one account and make that account root.).
I gave up on Be when V5 came out and was actually a step backwards in support for the features that I want.
XFree runs on linux on one or two Indy GFX options. The Indy uses a MIPS r4k or r5k processor.
Xfree also runs on DECStations running linux or NetBSD. Most DECstations use an R3000 processor, although R2k and R4k machines also exist. An fairly normal R3k derivative is what powers the PS1. The PS2 is powered by one fairly normal (36mhz) R3k, and 2 R3ks on steroids (running at nearly 300mhz).
Really, XFree will run on almost any 32bit CPU. The real problem is does it support the video hardware. Both Decstations and some SGIs run linux, but only a small number of the possible video cards are supported with either.
Well, it makes it easier to write games for both platforms.
Further, in the case of the dreamcast, I could make a boot CD that uses the ethernet to allow me to get MP3 files or Mpeg or other formats that can be decompressed on a 275mhz processor from a file server. Thus I don't need a big ugly PC in the living room to play video and music from the net, just a dreamcast. Actually, add a USB-Ethernet adaptor to a PS2 and you could do the same thing.
You could combine either device with a cheap LCD display (there are web sites that will sell LCDs that can be easily made to take composite video for $100 to $200, but I'm not at home so I don't have the bookmarks handy). This would give you a cheap and small XTerm. An easy way to put a computer in the kitchen. Mount the LCD on a cabinet door, hide the DC or PS2 away, and put a cheap USB keyboard and touch pad on the counter.
Really the posibilities with these things running linux is endless.
If I deploy IPv6 on all my home machines, what benifit would there be to me? My ISP doesn't support it, and even if they did, I'm still not sure what benifit there would be until everyone supports it.
BRL-CAD, courtesy of the US Army Ballistics Research Lab, will work on Linux and can do raytracing, and has 3D solid modeling capabilities. Your school could probably get a free license from the US Army if you ask nicely and promise not to export the program to Iraq. It doesn't have dimensioning capabilities; however if you have a Top Secret government clearance, you can get optional plug-in modules so that if you draft a tank, you can hit it with a simulated laser beam an analyse the damage. I just have the basic package myself, and its pretty cool for being free. The coffee mug from the tutorial looks very nice in raytraced mode.
Shouldn't it be public domain since it is from our government? What allows them to license it?
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Hmm, I woulda thought that cin would take care of the allocation. That what I get for not having a C++ book to refer to.
So, what is the problem with that? My school totally didn't address it (our professors do that all the time), and I don't have any good C++ books handy.
I'm assuming that gets and puts are in the C standard? I can't say as I've ever used them and I do a lot of C programming. Glancing over the old Power C book I have, it looks like using gets is asking for a buffer overflow.
Looking at puts, I don't see a major bug.
With a little inginueity, and a copy of the book "thinking postscipt" (now a free download off the web), you can easily write own own 3D renderer in Postscript in an hour or so. Just think of drawing your figures as a series of planes. Then, each plane going away from the viewer gets scaled downwards. For transformations, all you need is a little algebra and trig. In some ways, this is a particularly elegent way of doing 3D wireframe because your are letting the printer do the work. With the OpenGL to PS solutions other recommend, the printouts are sent to the printer as a bitmap.
If you want hidden surface removal, then you might as well use the GL to PS solutions that others suggest.
I'm not a PS2 programmer. I'm working on learning to program my PS1, and soon I should be getting a DC which I also plan to try and program.
From what I've seen of the various platforms, programming the DC isn't much different from programming a PC. You move polygons with the CPU, the download the textures to the PowerVR (PVR hereafter) chip and the send the polys to the PVR and say go. Essentially, it is like having a 3D API, except you have to use it via assembly calls instead of a nice DLL. This isn't a hard adjustment for someone used to OpenGL.
The PS1 doesn't have a nice 3D accelerator to use. Instead your have to write your own renderer, but you are given a chip that will help with some of the 3D math involved. This is not unlike programming on a PC before hardware acceleration was common. However, Sony supplied a library (like OpenGL I guess, but it isn't available for public inspection) that made life simpler for the first generation games, then later generations scrapped the library and essentially worked on bare metal.
Now, I don't have any personal experience here, but it seems to me that programming a PS2 is somewhat like programming the PS1, except the architecture is a lot more complex. Instead of 1 CPU, we now have 3, one of which is a 1/10 the speed of the others. The pipelines are more complex and the two main CPUs are similar, but they aren't even really the same.
And, unlike the PS1, the PS2 reportedly didn't come with OpenGL like libraries. Instead, the first generation games must figure out the poorly documented internals of the system all at once instead of over several generations of games like they did for the PS1. While this may be heaven for some guys, the average programmer would find the a nightmare, and all but the best will struggle here.
Previously, systems like the PS1 were a lot more flexible than systems like the N64. However, looking towards the future, vertex and pixel shaders implemented in hardware like Nvidea is doing should give programmers nearly as much flexibility while remaining much simpler to figure out. While I think the PS2 will suceed, I doubt that many more platforms will persue such a complex architucture in the future.
I was under the impression that Ruby wasn't as free(libre) as Perl or Python. That's why I've never looked at Ruby.
Now that i look at the Ruby web site though, I see that I was wrong.
Oh well. I'm happy with my combination of Python, Lisp, and C/C++.
Many large organizations rent software from Microsoft on an anual basis rather than purchase. This comes with better support, and subscription services. It usually includes the entire microsoft library. So, when the company buys a new server, they install what ever they want on it, and just report the new machine count to Microsoft when it is time to renew their contract. At least, that is the way it worked at one company that I worked for.
A good transparent proxy should cache most large files. If not, then switch to a not transparent proxy like squid. Even fast internet connections feel faster with squid.
>Reminds me of the businesses that go ahead and
>download the Star Wars trailers, etc, and tell
>the employees to take it off the network instead.
> It's admitting defeat without admitting defeat.
Actually, a good transparent proxy server would allow you to substitute a cached version of the file without having to tell your users about it.
Previously, I posted about making your own motherboard for making your own note book. Since then, it has occureded to me that this task could be greatly simplified by using the uCsimm.(http://www.uclinux.org/ucsimm/). If you start from that, all you need to do is make a much simpler board that contains a video display of some sort (as simple as a meg or two of ram, and what ever the LCD equivelant of a RAM-DAC is) and keyboard jack (to hook your off the self notebook keyboard to), and maybe some accessories ports (serial, parallel, whatever). Assuming you don't blow anything up, you might be able to do this project on as little as $400. Keep in mind that you are only going to get 486 level performance.
You know, Sun's old NeWS system was made just to solve this problem (OK, maybe it wasn't made to solve the problem, but it solves it anyway). I'm trying to get old Sun 3/160 working to try it out.
My understanding is that Display Postscript also is more bandwidth efficient than plain X. There is a DPS module for XFree, and Solaris and Irix both come with DPS modules. I'll have to test that to find out if it's really true.
Making a laptop probably isn't doable if you are hoping to snap parts together.
However, if you wanted to really do it youself, you should be able to make a fairly nice r3k or other simple machine for yourself that would have memory, harddrive controller, and the chips to drive an LCD display on one board. Then, you can probably get the rest of the parts from surplus dealers and make the casing yourself.
Thing is that there don't seem to be any reference designs for any decent platforms other than the G3, and G3 chips are just too complex to work with. What's needed is a chip with limited pin count so that you can get away with useing a simple circuit printing kit and soldering the sockets on by hand (you don't want to solder the chips on so that you can reuse them if the board is foobar'ed).
Darn. You mean I'm going about this all wrong? Unless forced to take a particular class, I take classes where I will have to work hard to be able to get a B or a C and probably won't be able to get an A no matter how hard I work. I guess that means my GPA is just going to make me look like an idiot now. School sucks.
> 1. The encoding algorithm for MP3's is
> patented. If an MP3 encoder is free ITS
> infringing.
Actually, my understanding (this is gotten from the LAME site) is that the psyocho-acoustic model used in most MP3 encoders is patented. If you supply your own model, you can legally make MP3s that regular players can decode without any intellectual property rights infringement. In otherwords, you can use the same file format, you just have to come up with a different but compatible method for doing the compressing.
Yeah, 220 seemed odd to me too. Probably a typo. Anyway, whether she meant 200 or 233, I'd still expect Word2k to run happily on it. Of course, please note that when I say I'd expect it to run happily, I mean that it is rediculus for a work processor, even one from MS, not to run on such a reasonable machine. All I know is that Work2k runs fine of 350s, and I'd be scared if 150mhz made much of a difference.
It didn't seem to have any new information. We all know that installation needs to be simplified and documentation needs to be improved.
I have a proposal. What if professional writers wrote a few pages of documentation everytime they felt like writing an article that mentions the need for documentation. They are pros, so it should take them no time at all.
Hmm, so, if I purchase a normal DVD player, then I can use a DVD copier to copy all I want just so long as I only view it on the DVD player instead of uploading it to the internet?
Just to avoid being all negative, I must say that I really liked BeOSs file system. If I had a spare machine, I'd be tempted to use it running BeOS as an application server for the household intranet. Lack of security and video wouldn't really be an issue than. However, I don't have any machines to spare.
When you figure out how to port the closed source BeOS to the PS2, I'd be happy to give it a try. However, I still doubt that I'd like it.
Be 100% sucks. Their graffics accelerator support is virtually MIA, same as the video IO support.
What the heck do I need with an OS that can't do proper accelerated OpenGL or S-Video (or better) video IO without dropping frames? And if you tell me it is coming soon, I'll tell you that they have been saying that since version 3 shipped many years ago.
Lack of security also irks me (lets ship linux with only one account and make that account root.).
I gave up on Be when V5 came out and was actually a step backwards in support for the features that I want.
We (you and me) can. Getting the Supreme court to interpret with us is another matter.
XFree runs on linux on one or two Indy GFX options. The Indy uses a MIPS r4k or r5k processor.
Xfree also runs on DECStations running linux or NetBSD. Most DECstations use an R3000 processor, although R2k and R4k machines also exist. An fairly normal R3k derivative is what powers the PS1. The PS2 is powered by one fairly normal (36mhz) R3k, and 2 R3ks on steroids (running at nearly 300mhz).
Really, XFree will run on almost any 32bit CPU. The real problem is does it support the video hardware. Both Decstations and some SGIs run linux, but only a small number of the possible video cards are supported with either.
Actually, the /. post said that X was running. And hackers understand PS sound hardware, and PS2 sound hardware is supposed to be the same.
Well, it makes it easier to write games for both platforms.
Further, in the case of the dreamcast, I could make a boot CD that uses the ethernet to allow me to get MP3 files or Mpeg or other formats that can be decompressed on a 275mhz processor from a file server. Thus I don't need a big ugly PC in the living room to play video and music from the net, just a dreamcast. Actually, add a USB-Ethernet adaptor to a PS2 and you could do the same thing.
You could combine either device with a cheap LCD display (there are web sites that will sell LCDs that can be easily made to take composite video for $100 to $200, but I'm not at home so I don't have the bookmarks handy). This would give you a cheap and small XTerm. An easy way to put a computer in the kitchen. Mount the LCD on a cabinet door, hide the DC or PS2 away, and put a cheap USB keyboard and touch pad on the counter.
Really the posibilities with these things running linux is endless.
If I deploy IPv6 on all my home machines, what benifit would there be to me? My ISP doesn't support it, and even if they did, I'm still not sure what benifit there would be until everyone supports it.
BRL-CAD, courtesy of the US Army Ballistics Research Lab, will work on Linux and can do raytracing, and has 3D solid modeling capabilities. Your school could probably get a free license from the US Army if you ask nicely and promise not to export the program to Iraq. It doesn't have dimensioning capabilities; however if you have a Top Secret government clearance, you can get optional plug-in modules so that if you draft a tank, you can hit it with a simulated laser beam an analyse the damage. I just have the basic package myself, and its pretty cool for being free. The coffee mug from the tutorial looks very nice in raytraced mode.
Shouldn't it be public domain since it is from our government? What allows them to license it?