Some of the nasty inkjet printers need a kernel driver. So do some multi use devices. You know the Printer/scanner/coffee makers. But the same could be said for a webcam, Ethernet adapter, or sound card.
"The way to fix this is to mandate that hardware manufacturers publish detailed specifications based upon which FLOSS drivers can be written." Why? Why should tell a hardware manufacture what they can and not do? Take a look at the AMD/ATI driver project. AMD is releasing the info as fast as they can and they are helping to write the driver. It is a huge project.
Oh I do think Linux does have a lot of drivers. The problem is that a manufacture is going to have a hard time providing them in an easy to install way. Let's say that I create a nice little printer and I want it to be compatibly with Linux. This printer needs a driver so I write it and even make it GPL. Now I have to get it into the Kernel.... And now I have to wait for that Kernel to make it in to the major distros..... All the time I am selling them for Windows. Now if I could pack in a CD with a driver that I know will work with the kernel I can ship it now. That is what a binary driver interface can give you. What I want to do is to go to the store and look for a printer without check to see if there is a driver for it!
Not really just a user. I am all for FOSS drivers but having to recompile a driver is a pain. Having the driver in the Kernel makes the hardware developers dependent on the Kernel maintainers. They have no control over when it gets into the Kernel. I would even be happy if drivers that used the binary API where REQIRED to be GPLed.
Moving drivers out of the kernel. Notice that I limited it to low performance devices. A driver in kernel space can take out an entire system. I think it is dumb that a bad serial port or printer driver can take down a system.
As far as wanting to keep drives proprietary. Not really but the current system hasn't prevented it. It just makes them a pain for the end user.
My tank seems clean but there is some surface rust on the outside. I am going to use some evapo rust and them POR on the tank to be sure. The frame has some surface rust so I need to figure out what to do about that. Missing one side panel. And the other stuff you also have wrong. Mine is black. It is a project at this point. SOHC4 is sort of slashdot for SOHC Hondas. Except they seem to have better manners and less flame wars. I am on there as LWATCDR of course.
Yes the original post was on why we don't have EVs right now. I never say never but I do think the hydrocarbons will out perform batteries for a while. I do think you are off on the weight of Fuel cells. The big problem with Fuel cells is still cost and the fact that hydrogen isn't a power source and a real PITA to deal with. Methonol fuel cells and IC systems seem to hold more potental to replace gasoline than batteries to me. But notice I used the words "seem" and "to me". Since I got my Crystal ball on close out who knows?
Please... These are such minor things that they are not even a blip on the Radar. I am not a true believer in the Church of Linus or the Church of RMS but this isn't a major problem for Linux. I still say that Linux needs a stable binary interface for drivers. I have found no good technical reason not and I find flaws in the political reasons. I don't get to make that call however unless I want to fork the kernel and I know my limits. I also think some drivers "Printers, serial ports, web cams..." need to be moved out of the kernel. They don't need the performance and any extra code in the kernel can lead to bad bugs.
But none of these things are terrible or show stoppers. Linus may not be pushing the community forward as much as you would like but he sure isn't the biggest problem the community has.
Hey I don't like Obama because of his stance on the Space program and some other things. But I really do agree with you. People should have a right to change their mind and to learn from experience. Is it so wrong to say hey I found out this was not such a great idea after all and now I have a better one?
Now if he is just saying things to get elected (gee imagine that) then that is a reason for some concern. I have a lot more problem with a politician not telling me why they changed their point of view than one changing their point of view.
I don't consider the iMac to be low end or high end. It fits into a very specific category of an All in one PC. Funny thing is that a lot of PC makers are copying the iMac and their copies seem to be priced the same. And the price isn't that bad when you consider they come with a 20 inch LCD monitor and a good but not great video card. The Mac mini I don't consider a great deal. I wonder how many the sell but I might get one for my wife since she already has a nice LCD. Apple's one failing is that it lacks a PC in the price range of the the Mini but with a free PCIe slot. It is probably Apple's marketing plan because way to many people would buy one and then upgrade the CPU and the video card and not buy the Mac pro systems. From Apples point of view they would probably not gain a lot of sales but would loose a good number of sales of the Mac Pro. Of course that leaves you with a terrible issue when it comes to games. Most iMacs do have good video cards. They are not great but they are good and tend to be better than what you get in most off the self towers. I do think that Apple should offer at least one iMac with an 8800GT or 3870 but there are not that many games out for the Mac.
How about the iMac strikes me as a little pricey but no more than some Dell systems:) Just because Dell offers a similar system for similar price doesn't mean they are not both a little bit on the pricey side.
Yes but there is more than just thurst to worry about. Lets take a look at the SRB vs the Saturn 1b first stage The key thing is the ISP The SRB has an ISP 269 And the F1A ISP 310 Yes the SRB would have more thrust at launch but an F1A based first stage would have a longer burn. An F1A based Saturn 1b should be very close to what the Ares I is supposed to do.
Thanks but I have a good tank. I was just using it as an example. Now what I really need is a left side panel. You happen to have one of those? And boy is this off topic:) Slashdot meets the SOHC4 forums
The Aries I I don't like because I am just not fond of mixing people with SRBs. I think their will be problems with any abort as long as the SRB is burning. The F-1A was tested back in the 60s and offers 1.7 million lbs of thrust and is man rated. It also offers a higher ISP than the SRBs and you can shut it off! The Aries V uses the J2S which is based on the J2X which was going to fly on the Saturn. Again it seems less than elegant. Plus they keep flip flopping on if the AriesV will use the J2S or the RS-68. The RS-68 is a good motor but it isn't man rated so the Aries V will be limited to cargo only. Also I am betting that an improved Saturn Ib could be air lifted in two flights of the new Boeing Dream lifter. One for each stage. Seems like a better way than a barge and would allow it to be used for Military launches from VAFB. The more flights you can use it for the cheaper per flight. The Aries will only be used for manned flights. Now an improved Saturn V would still have to use a barge but I don't see any way around that. Of course these are just back of the envelope calculations. The improved Saturn 1b came to my mind when I found out that one F1A put out more thrust than the 8 H1Bs that the Saturn 1b used. Add in that the F1A has and ISP of 310 vs 296 for the H1b and the F1A has a higher thrust to weight ratio. Plus going with one engine would make it cheaper and more reliable. There are a lot of politics involved so it is going to be the Aries or probably nothing.
You build. You don't buy. Apple doesn't have a product for the DIY. I also build my own machines. The reason and you know it is that when you buy a machine they tend to cut corners. The memory, power supply, and even motherboard can be pretty low quality. They boost the specs that sell and cut everywhere else. Apple doesn't do that. I have spent so much time dealing the junk consumer machines that I have developed a real like for a quality product. If you look at the business class machines from HP, Lenovo, and Fujitsu you will find they are in the same price range as Apples give or take. Macs are no more over priced than say a Craftsman wrench vs one you get at WalMart. Of course the true fanboys do seem to think that Macs run on fairy dust and Unicorn poop but that is another kettle of fish.
Hey I have to say that I find Wii Games fun. I think the hard core gamers better take a look at what happened to the Hard Core Sim market. FightSims where huge. The FlightSim crowd kept wanting more and more realism. Falcon 4 was so realistic that you had to read a 300 page manual just to get off the ground. The market shrank and new FightSim games are pretty rare. Microsoft pretty much has the market to it's self with X-Plane a distant second. They became less and less fun except for the "hard core" crowd. BTW I love my flight sims and I am one of the guilty hard core crowd in this case. The Wii is reversing that trend. You can pick it up and play.
The other problem is that the ISS isn't designed to handle radiation that far out. If I remember correctly the moon is outside the Van Allen belts. Radiation from Solar Flares would be much higher. I am not sure that the electronics are shielded enough to handle it. Even if they where you would have too add an improved storm shelter for the crew. Other than that it is an interesting idea. Boosting it wouldn't be that bad. No need to beef it up if you used ION engines. A nuclear powered Ion engine or one with a lot of extra solar cells would be needed to do it in a reasonable amount of time. I am not fond of the Aries vehicles. I would rather see a next generation Saturn. An Improved Saturn 1b that using the F-1A (test fired back in the late 60s) and an AL/LI first stage and an AL/LI second stage using the J2S would seem like a good plan. An improved Saturn V again with F-1As would be make a good heavy lifter. If you want more lift strap on some SRBs and get a really big lift.
Building a Saturn V today would be stupid. But a next gen Saturn V and Ib could be done and probably done pretty quickly. We have the plans we would just have to build the tooling for the motors, The tanks could be based on the Shuttle ET and the electronics are now easy. Retrofitting the VAB and the pads would probably be the hard part.
HD-DVD wasn't ready when the 360 was. Adding it later would have fragmented the market too much. Microsoft couldn't offer games on HD-DVD without ticking off the people that bought the 360 without HD-DVD. Using it just to play movies. Well I think Microsoft was looking at on-line distribution even back then and it would have added cost with no added game play enhancement. Now the Wii if they could have managed to put one in might have ben interesting but the Wii doesn't do HD resolution as it is. I am waiting for the next gen Wii. I figure that will have HD and probably will still not support DVD/Blu-Ray playback. Nintendo makes games and do it very well. They seem to have no interest in getting into the media market. Too bad really I don't really want a PS3 or 360 but I would to have some of their media functions. I wonder how hackable AppleTV still is:)
Hipster? How 1930s:) Hey I was trying to be nice with hardcore. Something that was at least to some a compliment. I have played Doom, all of them. Quake... All of them. CnC, WarCraft, and AOE. I find most games these days to be just the same old thing with better graphics. I do not consider myself "hard core", l33t, or what ever. I just like to play fun games. However ultraviolent games just no longer interest me or most people my age. So I think "mature" is a bit self delusional.
Well I am not a fanboy and don't own a Mac but. Their notebooks except the Air seem to be competitively priced. The Imac seems a little pricey. The Pro towers seem again to be competitive for what you get. And the Servers seem like a pretty good deal. What they lack are the super cheap entry level disposable junk that you see at BestCompuMaxCity. They do lack a moderate price expandable tower.
Mature gamers... I hate to tell you but mature gamers are buying the Wii. I would bet you that more and more people in their late 20s, 30's, and 40's are buying the Wii. I think you better start using the term hard core gamers. As to the news. I find it mildly interesting. It may really help Microsoft crack the Japanese market. As for me it just delays me buying a bit longer. My wife wants the PS3 for Singstar. Yes she loves Singstar. I have yet to see a game for the 360 or PS3 that I must have. So we will keep playing with our Wii, PS2, XBox, and Dreamcast for now.
I have no idea. I bought a HDDVD player on sale for $99. It is a nice player and since I only have a 720p TV the fact that it is only a 720P player isn't so bad. Blue-Ray won because Sony got the studios to all jump on the Blue-Ray bandwagon. They also got more players out because each PS-3 is a player. Had Toshiba got the HD-DVD into the XBox or Wii then things may have been different of course it may have pushed the price of the Wii to high and the 360 wouldn't have had it's year lead. I have to wonder how good of a "Win" this really is. Will Blu-Ray really be the new DVD or will downloads be the new DVD?
Slashdot Mirror
Some of the nasty inkjet printers need a kernel driver. So do some multi use devices. You know the Printer/scanner/coffee makers.
But the same could be said for a webcam, Ethernet adapter, or sound card.
You could try Iridium or what every they are calling it now. I know that they use it as a backup system in the Antarctic.
"The way to fix this is to mandate that hardware manufacturers publish detailed specifications based upon which FLOSS drivers can be written."
Why?
Why should tell a hardware manufacture what they can and not do?
Take a look at the AMD/ATI driver project. AMD is releasing the info as fast as they can and they are helping to write the driver.
It is a huge project.
Oh I do think Linux does have a lot of drivers.
The problem is that a manufacture is going to have a hard time providing them in an easy to install way.
Let's say that I create a nice little printer and I want it to be compatibly with Linux. This printer needs a driver so I write it and even make it GPL.
Now I have to get it into the Kernel.... And now I have to wait for that Kernel to make it in to the major distros.....
All the time I am selling them for Windows.
Now if I could pack in a CD with a driver that I know will work with the kernel I can ship it now.
That is what a binary driver interface can give you.
What I want to do is to go to the store and look for a printer without check to see if there is a driver for it!
Not really just a user.
I am all for FOSS drivers but having to recompile a driver is a pain. Having the driver in the Kernel makes the hardware developers dependent on the Kernel maintainers. They have no control over when it gets into the Kernel.
I would even be happy if drivers that used the binary API where REQIRED to be GPLed.
Moving drivers out of the kernel.
Notice that I limited it to low performance devices. A driver in kernel space can take out an entire system. I think it is dumb that a bad serial port or printer driver can take down a system.
As far as wanting to keep drives proprietary. Not really but the current system hasn't prevented it. It just makes them a pain for the end user.
My tank seems clean but there is some surface rust on the outside. I am going to use some evapo rust and them POR on the tank to be sure.
The frame has some surface rust so I need to figure out what to do about that.
Missing one side panel.
And the other stuff you also have wrong.
Mine is black.
It is a project at this point.
SOHC4 is sort of slashdot for SOHC Hondas. Except they seem to have better manners and less flame wars.
I am on there as LWATCDR of course.
Yes the original post was on why we don't have EVs right now.
I never say never but I do think the hydrocarbons will out perform batteries for a while.
I do think you are off on the weight of Fuel cells. The big problem with Fuel cells is still cost and the fact that hydrogen isn't a power source and a real PITA to deal with.
Methonol fuel cells and IC systems seem to hold more potental to replace gasoline than batteries to me.
But notice I used the words "seem" and "to me". Since I got my Crystal ball on close out who knows?
Please...
These are such minor things that they are not even a blip on the Radar. I am not a true believer in the Church of Linus or the Church of RMS but this isn't a major problem for Linux.
I still say that Linux needs a stable binary interface for drivers. I have found no good technical reason not and I find flaws in the political reasons. I don't get to make that call however unless I want to fork the kernel and I know my limits.
I also think some drivers "Printers, serial ports, web cams..." need to be moved out of the kernel. They don't need the performance and any extra code in the kernel can lead to bad bugs.
But none of these things are terrible or show stoppers. Linus may not be pushing the community forward as much as you would like but he sure isn't the biggest problem the community has.
Hey I don't like Obama because of his stance on the Space program and some other things. But I really do agree with you.
People should have a right to change their mind and to learn from experience. Is it so wrong to say hey I found out this was not such a great idea after all and now I have a better one?
Now if he is just saying things to get elected (gee imagine that) then that is a reason for some concern.
I have a lot more problem with a politician not telling me why they changed their point of view than one changing their point of view.
I don't consider the iMac to be low end or high end. It fits into a very specific category of an All in one PC. Funny thing is that a lot of PC makers are copying the iMac and their copies seem to be priced the same. And the price isn't that bad when you consider they come with a 20 inch LCD monitor and a good but not great video card.
The Mac mini I don't consider a great deal. I wonder how many the sell but I might get one for my wife since she already has a nice LCD.
Apple's one failing is that it lacks a PC in the price range of the the Mini but with a free PCIe slot.
It is probably Apple's marketing plan because way to many people would buy one and then upgrade the CPU and the video card and not buy the Mac pro systems.
From Apples point of view they would probably not gain a lot of sales but would loose a good number of sales of the Mac Pro.
Of course that leaves you with a terrible issue when it comes to games.
Most iMacs do have good video cards. They are not great but they are good and tend to be better than what you get in most off the self towers.
I do think that Apple should offer at least one iMac with an 8800GT or 3870 but there are not that many games out for the Mac.
How about the iMac strikes me as a little pricey but no more than some Dell systems :)
Just because Dell offers a similar system for similar price doesn't mean they are not both a little bit on the pricey side.
Yes but there is more than just thurst to worry about.
Lets take a look at the SRB vs the Saturn 1b first stage
The key thing is the ISP
The SRB has an ISP 269
And the F1A ISP 310
Yes the SRB would have more thrust at launch but an F1A based first stage would have a longer burn.
An F1A based Saturn 1b should be very close to what the Ares I is supposed to do.
Thanks but I have a good tank. I was just using it as an example. Now what I really need is a left side panel. You happen to have one of those?
And boy is this off topic:) Slashdot meets the SOHC4 forums
http://www.bambi.net/
Or the first machine that can run FlightSimX at 60 FPS
The Aries I I don't like because I am just not fond of mixing people with SRBs. I think their will be problems with any abort as long as the SRB is burning. The F-1A was tested back in the 60s and offers 1.7 million lbs of thrust and is man rated. It also offers a higher ISP than the SRBs and you can shut it off!
The Aries V uses the J2S which is based on the J2X which was going to fly on the Saturn. Again it seems less than elegant. Plus they keep flip flopping on if the AriesV will use the J2S or the RS-68. The RS-68 is a good motor but it isn't man rated so the Aries V will be limited to cargo only.
Also I am betting that an improved Saturn Ib could be air lifted in two flights of the new Boeing Dream lifter. One for each stage. Seems like a better way than a barge and would allow it to be used for Military launches from VAFB. The more flights you can use it for the cheaper per flight. The Aries will only be used for manned flights.
Now an improved Saturn V would still have to use a barge but I don't see any way around that.
Of course these are just back of the envelope calculations. The improved Saturn 1b came to my mind when I found out that one F1A put out more thrust than the 8 H1Bs that the Saturn 1b used. Add in that the F1A has and ISP of 310 vs 296 for the H1b and the F1A has a higher thrust to weight ratio. Plus going with one engine would make it cheaper and more reliable.
There are a lot of politics involved so it is going to be the Aries or probably nothing.
You build. You don't buy.
Apple doesn't have a product for the DIY.
I also build my own machines. The reason and you know it is that when you buy a machine they tend to cut corners.
The memory, power supply, and even motherboard can be pretty low quality. They boost the specs that sell and cut everywhere else. Apple doesn't do that.
I have spent so much time dealing the junk consumer machines that I have developed a real like for a quality product.
If you look at the business class machines from HP, Lenovo, and Fujitsu you will find they are in the same price range as Apples give or take.
Macs are no more over priced than say a Craftsman wrench vs one you get at WalMart.
Of course the true fanboys do seem to think that Macs run on fairy dust and Unicorn poop but that is another kettle of fish.
Hey I have to say that I find Wii Games fun.
I think the hard core gamers better take a look at what happened to the Hard Core Sim market.
FightSims where huge. The FlightSim crowd kept wanting more and more realism. Falcon 4 was so realistic that you had to read a 300 page manual just to get off the ground.
The market shrank and new FightSim games are pretty rare. Microsoft pretty much has the market to it's self with X-Plane a distant second.
They became less and less fun except for the "hard core" crowd. BTW I love my flight sims and I am one of the guilty hard core crowd in this case.
The Wii is reversing that trend. You can pick it up and play.
The other problem is that the ISS isn't designed to handle radiation that far out. If I remember correctly the moon is outside the Van Allen belts. Radiation from Solar Flares would be much higher. I am not sure that the electronics are shielded enough to handle it. Even if they where you would have too add an improved storm shelter for the crew.
Other than that it is an interesting idea.
Boosting it wouldn't be that bad. No need to beef it up if you used ION engines. A nuclear powered Ion engine or one with a lot of extra solar cells would be needed to do it in a reasonable amount of time.
I am not fond of the Aries vehicles. I would rather see a next generation Saturn.
An Improved Saturn 1b that using the F-1A (test fired back in the late 60s) and an AL/LI first stage and an AL/LI second stage using the J2S would seem like a good plan.
An improved Saturn V again with F-1As would be make a good heavy lifter. If you want more lift strap on some SRBs and get a really big lift.
Building a Saturn V today would be stupid. But a next gen Saturn V and Ib could be done and probably done pretty quickly. We have the plans we would just have to build the tooling for the motors, The tanks could be based on the Shuttle ET and the electronics are now easy.
Retrofitting the VAB and the pads would probably be the hard part.
HD-DVD wasn't ready when the 360 was. Adding it later would have fragmented the market too much. Microsoft couldn't offer games on HD-DVD without ticking off the people that bought the 360 without HD-DVD. Using it just to play movies. Well I think Microsoft was looking at on-line distribution even back then and it would have added cost with no added game play enhancement. :)
Now the Wii if they could have managed to put one in might have ben interesting but the Wii doesn't do HD resolution as it is.
I am waiting for the next gen Wii. I figure that will have HD and probably will still not support DVD/Blu-Ray playback.
Nintendo makes games and do it very well. They seem to have no interest in getting into the media market. Too bad really I don't really want a PS3 or 360 but I would to have some of their media functions. I wonder how hackable AppleTV still is
Hipster? :)
How 1930s
Hey I was trying to be nice with hardcore. Something that was at least to some a compliment.
I have played Doom, all of them. Quake... All of them. CnC, WarCraft, and AOE. I find most games these days to be just the same old thing with better graphics.
I do not consider myself "hard core", l33t, or what ever. I just like to play fun games.
However ultraviolent games just no longer interest me or most people my age. So I think "mature" is a bit self delusional.
Well I am not a fanboy and don't own a Mac but.
Their notebooks except the Air seem to be competitively priced.
The Imac seems a little pricey.
The Pro towers seem again to be competitive for what you get.
And the Servers seem like a pretty good deal.
What they lack are the super cheap entry level disposable junk that you see at BestCompuMaxCity.
They do lack a moderate price expandable tower.
Mature gamers...
I hate to tell you but mature gamers are buying the Wii. I would bet you that more and more people in their late 20s, 30's, and 40's are buying the Wii.
I think you better start using the term hard core gamers.
As to the news. I find it mildly interesting. It may really help Microsoft crack the Japanese market. As for me it just delays me buying a bit longer. My wife wants the PS3 for Singstar. Yes she loves Singstar. I have yet to see a game for the 360 or PS3 that I must have.
So we will keep playing with our Wii, PS2, XBox, and Dreamcast for now.
I have no idea. I bought a HDDVD player on sale for $99. It is a nice player and since I only have a 720p TV the fact that it is only a 720P player isn't so bad.
Blue-Ray won because Sony got the studios to all jump on the Blue-Ray bandwagon. They also got more players out because each PS-3 is a player.
Had Toshiba got the HD-DVD into the XBox or Wii then things may have been different of course it may have pushed the price of the Wii to high and the 360 wouldn't have had it's year lead.
I have to wonder how good of a "Win" this really is. Will Blu-Ray really be the new DVD or will downloads be the new DVD?
It is also useful if you want to work on the Cell.
It is the cheapest Cell development system you can buy.