You'll note that one of the things that Xerox repeats (repeatedly? ) is that no characters should share the same vector. Well... several of the Graffit characters do. How often does your Palm Pilot confuse a U and a V (unless you use an almost undocumented feature to write the V backwords). Of course this also means that V has two correct vectors (which seems to go against the 'unistroke' method).
Also, Graffiti uses the screen to seperate out the numbers from characters. A 6 and a G both follow the exact same vector. What matters is the division of the writing area into a part to be used for characters and a part to be used for numbers. (This is probably something that has/should be patented actually).
Lastly, what about those characters within Graffiti that require multiple strokes? For instance the tilda over the N or a "? Are these considered 'unistroke'?
I'm not sure if they have a case but these (to me at least) seem like interesting issues that might get raised.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the film comes out. It could finally break the Marvel curse (either the film is terrible, or its stuck in pre-production hell forever).
In another interesting rumor I've heard, there will be a new X-men animated series based on the movie, debuting on... the WB network(major shocker if its true) and produced in part by Harold Ramis, who also brought us such great animated adaptations as, all of the Ghostbuster series (on which Raimi wrote:) as well as the Godzilla and Men In Black series. This man puts together some very nice work, maintaining both production value, and story/continuity that is remarkable in an age where Saban (the e-bola of Childrens Programing) holds such control.
Here's to good things (hopefully).
Colleen:Its a black-hole. Hunter:Is that a good thing? C:It is if you want to be compressed into oblivion. H:Oh.. coooool.
Thanks for the explanation. I understood about GPS but was under the impression that we had better maps than what we have.
What makes you say that the Mars Global Surveyor pictures will not be processed for some time? (if its a lack of resources then it would seem to be a perfect job for something like Seti@Home... you too can participate in Prospect@Home:)
Wasn't there a project (I can't remember if it was U.S. or U.S.S.R.) to map the surface of Mars using radar? (or is that either what MarsGS is doing, or is that what produced the 10 Meter resolution maps?).
Ya know... the scary thing is, this is almost starting to sound like a viable idea (and should I be worried or is this sound like a fun to organize?).
The only problem I see with mailing bricks is that people need to box them before the post office would take them. The extra effort (how many people have boxes vs. have envelopes) may discourage some people. On the other hand this does sound _real_ appealing. Its sort of the equivalent of throwing a brick through their window and sending them a message but in a sort of civilized way..... and I hope the messages are worded politer than traditional bricks through windows (we'd stand more chance of making our point if we don't curse, throw a tantrum, and insult them, but instead just say our piece).
Actually... although this is in jest, I wonder. If we had the right address, and everybody picked lets say a one week period to mail out one letter a day to them (even if its a form letter). Stating our feelings, they would recieved one heck of a surprise in their morning in-box, all for only (.33x7=$2.31 if you live in the states):)
Just set your sites on how much your willing to pay and judge accordingly.
Figure out what you would be willing to pay and then wait about 3-6 months. Chances are the processor you want will be within your price range. Traditionally I've always advocated buying about 2-3 revisions below the current 'top' (I picked up a K7-600 2 weeks ago). This usually gives you a decent bang for your buck, and with the money you save you can usually upgrade to that really nice high-end (now) 800 in a year or two, for a much more reasonable price:)
Of course by that time the high end processors will be 3ghz but thats a different issue:)
I really agonized over one myself. I've got a K7-600 and plan to put Win98 SE on it (for the record Linux will outnumber it by 2:1 in my house, once my old win95 machine becomes my new Linux development box).
I like Asus and wanted to buy the K7M (it seems to be a decent board according to all the reviews I've seen). Then I took a step back and realized that one of the main reasons I was buying an AMD chip was because they 1) make a better chip and 2) to support them. Asus isn't even listing their A-slot board on their US website (or hadn't been last time I checked). I decided on that basis to go with the FIC board (FIC SD-11) since it lagged only slightly compaired to the Asus board in some reviews I saw.
I haven't had a chance to put the system together yet (I'm still waiting to pick up the case and some memory) so I can't tell you how its working, but I've heard good things from other people. Additionally, I have heard that if you pick up an Athlon Mobo you should check about Bios updates when you set the thing up as apparently most of them had a few quirks they needed to work out (another reason I decided to go with a Mobo manufacturer who wasn't hiding the specs. page away somewhere).
BTW. Since we've always refered to Windows/Intel machine as 'Wintel' machines does that make a Windows/AMD machine a 'WAMD' machine?:)
I am sooo looking forward to putting mine together (K7-600). I'm just waiting on some memory chips I have on order and then the thing gets put together , the OS installed, and my old machine (PII-266) gets switched to its new roll as a commited Linux development machine).
BTW. Check out http://www.ubid.com sometimes they have decent prices on items, sometimes the bid goes higher then you can pick it up for locally, do your research first, their Recommended price is usually too high.
(Disclamer IANA Rocket Scientist, just someone who's read too much sci-fi and grew up playing with lego blocks instead of trucks:)
Its true that human missions definately would be able to correct better but here's a thought.
I believe that current technoledgy would allow a plane to land itself. Additionally, we have a wonderful thing called GPS which circles our globe and allows some really fun toys to locate 'exactly' where you are (give or take less and less if you have military grade models).
What would it take to put into place either a partial set of GPS satellites (note I'm not seggesting a full fleet as I'm sure that would be overkill for the current situation), or perhaps some network of 'navigation satellites' that would allow a probes on board systems to make 'last minute corrections'.
I have to believe that this would allow more precise landings. Additionally depending on their life cycle (I don't know what the standard GPS satellites life cycle is), it could provide more support for a manned mission (provided that the system lasts that long) in the form of relay/navigation satellites.
I realize that there are lots of problems with this idea (ranging from 'its expensive' to 'but the GPS system is designed for _Earth_ and would have to be adapted'). Its just a thought though:)
I was amazed at how one of my local news stations (ABC) ran this very same story right after I finished reading it on/.
Seeing as how the original article referenced an MSNBC article about the OSHA letter, I'm still not sure wether ABC picked the story up from MSNBC or/.;)
In any event its nice to know that some 'News for Nerds' actually gets reported in mainstream media also... and that/. can actually be more timely than traditional media.:)
Considering that most colleges view the student as being responsible for about 3 hours of work, for each hour of class (or so mine did), and they provide you with furniture in your room specifically to be used for studying/writing papers/etc. does it not follow that the school itself (as opposed to any third party employer) is actually responsible to provide you wil ergonomic furniture, or else it might be responsible for damages?
Granted this might not be covered under OSHA but it does make you think.
People will ignore the next Y2K!
on
Apocalypse Not
·
· Score: 1
So I guess we shouldn't start yelling about Y2.037 K any time soon?:)
Why... just a few short years after dealing with Y2K the globe will suddenly find itself thrust into chaos as all those lovely *nix machines crash , elevators will die, homes and automobiles (now running Linux of course:) will find themselves unable to function. The end of the world will be upon us. Only those running a true 64bit OS _may_ be saved from the carnage!.... .... .... .... Then again... maybe it will all go by and be one more non-event thanks to the infrastructure that has reved up to handle Y2K, needing to do something to justify thier existence. Expect all those companies that were offering Y2K services to start offering Y2.037 services REAL soon:)
After reading your comment I looked back at my e-mail to eToys.
At no point do I come out and say "I'm a geek and I'm outraged!" Rather my e-mail seems to tell them that because of their actions against etoy I was going to take my buisness, and encourage others to take their, elsewhere.
Maybe when they received all the e-mail from/.'ers they concluded:
Geee... these must be people in the arts! no one else should care what happens to a piddling 'arts' site.
And lumped all the e-mail they received into one pile called 'Artists are angry and hurting our profit margin':)
True, some could find it tasteless, and others my just not find it funny. The author isn't trying for a cheap laugh. He admits (in the Subject) that it may be funny. It may not, thats a mtter of prefference. The interesting thing is that his first reaction on reading the CNN headline is relating to Java as a language and Quake as a game vs. their MUCH older and established meanings.
Its sad that some moderators seem to feel that if an item doesn't agree with their personal view of the world it must be wrong. If you don't agree with something then by all means, dont moderate the post up.
If you disagree, before you moderate a post down, think twice about why you're doing it. Is the post off-topic (that is, off the topic to which the thread has by that point digressed to?) Is the post a 'First post' 'linux suxs' 'windows blows' type comment? Did the author really say anything offensive? Did their oppinion differ from your? If the answer is the last one then maybe you shouldn't be so quick to moderate them own?
Oh... let me guess... this is going to be moderated down to -1 now since you disagree with it? (sigh)
I agree. It seems (from the article) that research has been done, and is ongoing at several 'reputable' labs.
Would I automatically invest my retirment money with him? Heck no. Would I be interested in following him and seeing what those lab results looked like? Probably.
I am neither a lab trained Physics PHD, nor do I play one or T.V. (or would that be IRC?) but if he's producing the odd materials he's claiming then he's found something new.
The materials may be produced by his theory, but then again it might just be something that fits classical theory but hasn't been explored...
I seem to recall a 'popular' theory that inanimate objects would spontaneously become animate objects. They would take a piece of bread and leave it out in the open for a few days and suddenly there would be fly larva on it.
I was out of town recently on buisness and my boss picked up a car from Hertz with their 'neverlost' (or some such name) system.
Basically it combines a small control device in between the front seats, with a laptop sized box in the trunk and an antenna.
The device allows you to enter in the street address you are going to and then, using both GPS and internal gyros to track itself, provides you with both visual (via an LCD on the control box) and auditory (as in "Left turn coming up.") directions throughout your trip.
It got so that, the next time we went out there we had to ask directions from the customer since we didn't actually know how we had gotten to/from the airport, we had just followed the computers directions.
Given the general trend of miniaturaziation I wouldn't be surprised at all to find systems like this much more portable (say palm sized maybe?) in the not so distant future (10-20yrs). I think the biggest hurdle actually is battery life. Of course getting in to that would REALLY be off-topic:) - Reunite Gondwana-land
Yeah...but if they did that they might get suid by M&M (or should that be MM:) the official candy of the New Millenium.
(How does one get endorsements from the millenium anyway?... do you have to go to the Vatican for it? They did set the calender after all ) - Reunite Gondwana-land
I think he ment it would be nice if SUN offered those things with the Solaris distribution instead of selling Red Hat (which contains those things). - Reunite Gondwana-land
Slashdot Mirror
But are all the characters one stroke?
/04/29/1734246.shtml
You'll note that one of the things that Xerox repeats (repeatedly? ) is that no characters should share the same vector. Well... several of the Graffit characters do. How often does your Palm Pilot confuse a U and a V (unless you use an almost undocumented feature to write the V backwords). Of course this also means that V has two correct vectors (which seems to go against the 'unistroke' method).
Also, Graffiti uses the screen to seperate out the numbers from characters. A 6 and a G both follow the exact same vector. What matters is the division of the writing area into a part to be used for characters and a part to be used for numbers. (This is probably something that has/should be patented actually).
Lastly, what about those characters within Graffiti that require multiple strokes? For instance the tilda over the N or a "? Are these considered 'unistroke'?
I'm not sure if they have a case but these (to me at least) seem like interesting issues that might get raised.
If there was a writing system that might be infringing on the 'unstroke' method, it would probably be this one reported on in Slashdot last April http://slashdot.org/articles/99
Colleen:Its a black-hole.
Hunter:Is that a good thing?
C:It is if you want to be compressed into oblivion.
H:Oh.. coooool.
A gruff C. E. O. from Xerox.
Decided to pump up the stocks.
Playing a meenie,
He sued over Graffiti.
'cause all he had in his head were some rocks.
(not too tough... of course to be fair about who should win we should present both sides)
An engineer over at three-Com,
Decided one day to Be-Dumb,
He coppied some stuff,
One patent was enough,
And thats the whole story tah-dee-dum.
(okay... I had a problem finding rhyms for 3Com... I'm tired)
Colleen:Its a black-hole.
Hunter:Is that a good thing?
C:It is if you want to be compressed into oblivion.
H:Oh.. coooool.
They definately cast this preaty well.
:) as well as the Godzilla and Men In Black series. This man puts together some very nice work, maintaining both production value, and story/continuity that is remarkable in an age where Saban (the e-bola of Childrens Programing) holds such control.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the film comes out. It could finally break the Marvel curse (either the film is terrible, or its stuck in pre-production hell forever).
In another interesting rumor I've heard, there will be a new X-men animated series based on the movie, debuting on... the WB network(major shocker if its true) and produced in part by Harold Ramis, who also brought us such great animated adaptations as, all of the Ghostbuster series (on which Raimi wrote
Here's to good things (hopefully).
Colleen:Its a black-hole.
Hunter:Is that a good thing?
C:It is if you want to be compressed into oblivion.
H:Oh.. coooool.
Up front is when I can access a 'Slot A' section on their menu from the front page, the same way as I can for 'Slot 1'.
For now, I went with FIC.
- Reunite Gondwana-land
Thanks for the explanation.
:)
I understood about GPS but was under the impression that we had better maps than what we have.
What makes you say that the Mars Global Surveyor pictures will not be processed for some time? (if its a lack of resources then it would seem to be a perfect job for something like Seti@Home... you too can participate in Prospect@Home
Wasn't there a project (I can't remember if it was U.S. or U.S.S.R.) to map the surface of Mars using radar? (or is that either what MarsGS is doing, or is that what produced the 10 Meter resolution maps?).
Actually... as much as I hate to admit it, I believe that NT4.0 has also been certified under the same classification that NT3.51 was (C2? C3?)
:)
The fact that NT4.0 has just hit the end of its 'shelf-life' and is being replaced by NT2000 (of course not yet certified
Ya know... the scary thing is, this is almost starting to sound like a viable idea (and should I be worried or is this sound like a fun to organize?).
.... and I hope the messages are worded politer than traditional bricks through windows (we'd stand more chance of making our point if we don't curse, throw a tantrum, and insult them, but instead just say our piece).
The only problem I see with mailing bricks is that people need to box them before the post office would take them. The extra effort (how many people have boxes vs. have envelopes) may discourage some people. On the other hand this does sound _real_ appealing. Its sort of the equivalent of throwing a brick through their window and sending them a message but in a sort of civilized way.
Actually... although this is in jest, I wonder. If we had the right address, and everybody picked lets say a one week period to mail out one letter a day to them (even if its a form letter). Stating our feelings, they would recieved one heck of a surprise in their morning in-box, all for only :)
(.33x7=$2.31 if you live in the states)
Just set your sites on how much your willing to pay and judge accordingly.
:)
:)
Figure out what you would be willing to pay and then wait about 3-6 months. Chances are the processor you want will be within your price range. Traditionally I've always advocated buying about 2-3 revisions below the current 'top' (I picked up a K7-600 2 weeks ago). This usually gives you a decent bang for your buck, and with the money you save you can usually upgrade to that really nice high-end (now) 800 in a year or two, for a much more reasonable price
Of course by that time the high end processors will be 3ghz but thats a different issue
I really agonized over one myself.
:)
I've got a K7-600 and plan to put Win98 SE on it
(for the record Linux will outnumber it by 2:1 in my house, once my old win95 machine becomes my new Linux development box).
I like Asus and wanted to buy the K7M (it seems to be a decent board according to all the reviews I've seen). Then I took a step back and realized that one of the main reasons I was buying an AMD chip was because they
1) make a better chip and
2) to support them.
Asus isn't even listing their A-slot board on their US website (or hadn't been last time I checked).
I decided on that basis to go with the FIC board (FIC SD-11) since it lagged only slightly compaired to the Asus board in some reviews I saw.
I haven't had a chance to put the system together yet (I'm still waiting to pick up the case and some memory) so I can't tell you how its working, but I've heard good things from other people.
Additionally, I have heard that if you pick up an Athlon Mobo you should check about Bios updates when you set the thing up as apparently most of them had a few quirks they needed to work out (another reason I decided to go with a Mobo manufacturer who wasn't hiding the specs. page away somewhere).
BTW. Since we've always refered to Windows/Intel machine as 'Wintel' machines does that make a Windows/AMD machine a 'WAMD' machine?
I am sooo looking forward to putting mine together (K7-600). I'm just waiting on some memory chips I have on order and then the thing gets put together , the OS installed, and my old machine (PII-266) gets switched to its new roll as a commited Linux development machine).
BTW. Check out http://www.ubid.com
sometimes they have decent prices on items, sometimes the bid goes higher then you can pick it up for locally, do your research first, their Recommended price is usually too high.
(Disclamer IANA Rocket Scientist, just someone who's read too much sci-fi and grew up playing with lego blocks instead of trucks :)
:)
Its true that human missions definately would be able to correct better but here's a thought.
I believe that current technoledgy would allow a plane to land itself. Additionally, we have a wonderful thing called GPS which circles our globe and allows some really fun toys to locate 'exactly' where you are (give or take less and less if you have military grade models).
What would it take to put into place either a partial set of GPS satellites (note I'm not seggesting a full fleet as I'm sure that would be overkill for the current situation), or perhaps some network of 'navigation satellites' that would allow a probes on board systems to make 'last minute corrections'.
I have to believe that this would allow more precise landings. Additionally depending on their life cycle (I don't know what the standard GPS satellites life cycle is), it could provide more support for a manned mission (provided that the system lasts that long) in the form of relay/navigation satellites.
I realize that there are lots of problems with this idea (ranging from 'its expensive' to 'but the GPS system is designed for _Earth_ and would have to be adapted'). Its just a thought though
I was amazed at how one of my local news stations (ABC) ran this very same story right after I finished reading it on /.
/. ;)
/. can actually be more timely than traditional media. :)
Seeing as how the original article referenced an MSNBC article about the OSHA letter, I'm still not sure wether ABC picked the story up from MSNBC or
In any event its nice to know that some 'News for Nerds' actually gets reported in mainstream media also... and that
Would this still be true if they opened up the OS?
How many BeOS developers might prefer the power/speed of BeOS, but with access to the source?
To take the thought one step further.
Considering that most colleges view the student as being responsible for about 3 hours of work, for each hour of class (or so mine did), and they provide you with furniture in your room specifically to be used for studying/writing papers/etc. does it not follow that the school itself (as opposed to any third party employer) is actually responsible to provide you wil ergonomic furniture, or else it might be responsible for damages?
Granted this might not be covered under OSHA but it does make you think.
So I guess we shouldn't start yelling about Y2.037 K any time soon? :)
:) will find themselves unable to function. The end of the world will be upon us. Only those running a true 64bit OS _may_ be saved from the carnage!.... :)
Why... just a few short years after dealing with Y2K the globe will suddenly find itself thrust into chaos as all those lovely *nix machines crash , elevators will die, homes and automobiles (now running Linux of course
....
....
.... Then again... maybe it will all go by and be one more non-event thanks to the infrastructure that has reved up to handle Y2K, needing to do something to justify thier existence.
Expect all those companies that were offering Y2K services to start offering Y2.037 services REAL soon
Deal :)
:)
I will take a look at several games that are already out for purchase from you, and definately a 'go' for the petitions
After reading your comment I looked back at my e-mail to eToys.
/.'ers they concluded:
:)
At no point do I come out and say "I'm a geek and I'm outraged!"
Rather my e-mail seems to tell them that because of their actions against etoy I was going to take my buisness, and encourage others to take their, elsewhere.
Maybe when they received all the e-mail from
Geee... these must be people in the arts! no one else should care what happens to a piddling 'arts' site.
And lumped all the e-mail they received into one pile called 'Artists are angry and hurting our profit margin'
Hmmm...
The International Consortium for Quake...
that would be ICQ right?
:)
- Reunite Gondwana-land
Why is this marked down as flamebait?
... let me guess... this is going to be moderated down to -1 now since you disagree with it? (sigh)
True, some could find it tasteless, and others my just not find it funny. The author isn't trying for a cheap laugh. He admits (in the Subject) that it may be funny. It may not, thats a mtter of prefference. The interesting thing is that his first reaction on reading the CNN headline is relating to Java as a language and Quake as a game vs. their MUCH older and established meanings.
Its sad that some moderators seem to feel that if an item doesn't agree with their personal view of the world it must be wrong. If you don't agree with something then by all means, dont moderate the post up.
If you disagree, before you moderate a post down, think twice about why you're doing it.
Is the post off-topic (that is, off the topic to which the thread has by that point digressed to?)
Is the post a 'First post' 'linux suxs' 'windows blows' type comment?
Did the author really say anything offensive?
Did their oppinion differ from your?
If the answer is the last one then maybe you shouldn't be so quick to moderate them own?
Oh
- Reunite Gondwana-land
I agree. It seems (from the article) that research has been done, and is ongoing at several 'reputable' labs.
...
Would I automatically invest my retirment money with him? Heck no.
Would I be interested in following him and seeing what those lab results looked like? Probably.
I am neither a lab trained Physics PHD, nor do I play one or T.V. (or would that be IRC?) but if he's producing the odd materials he's claiming then he's found something new.
The materials may be produced by his theory, but then again it might just be something that fits classical theory but hasn't been explored
I seem to recall a 'popular' theory that inanimate objects would spontaneously become animate objects. They would take a piece of bread and leave it out in the open for a few days and suddenly there would be fly larva on it.
- Reunite Gondwana-land
I was out of town recently on buisness and my boss picked up a car from Hertz with their 'neverlost' (or some such name) system.
:)
Basically it combines a small control device in between the front seats, with a laptop sized box in the trunk and an antenna.
The device allows you to enter in the street address you are going to and then, using both GPS and internal gyros to track itself, provides you with both visual (via an LCD on the control box) and auditory (as in "Left turn coming up.") directions throughout your trip.
It got so that, the next time we went out there we had to ask directions from the customer since we didn't actually know how we had gotten to/from the airport, we had just followed the computers directions.
Given the general trend of miniaturaziation I wouldn't be surprised at all to find systems like this much more portable (say palm sized maybe?) in the not so distant future (10-20yrs). I think the biggest hurdle actually is battery life. Of course getting in to that would REALLY be off-topic
- Reunite Gondwana-land
Might just be me but when I see ...
:)
PTV, all I think of is Pay TV (ie. expensive)
probably not what their marketing types want
- Reunite Gondwana-land
Yeah...but if they did that they might get suid by M&M (or should that be MM :) the official candy of the New Millenium.
(How does one get endorsements from the millenium anyway?... do you have to go to the Vatican for it? They did set the calender after all )
- Reunite Gondwana-land
I think he ment it would be nice if SUN offered those things with the Solaris distribution instead of selling Red Hat (which contains those things).
- Reunite Gondwana-land