Novell has their own network standards, M$ has theirs, Mac has theirs as well. IMO, the best things about computing have come from open standards agreed upon by large and varied groups. Software, hardware, etc. DON'T NEED to be based on proprietary standards. I don't even completely care about Open Source code as long as everyone plays by the same basic rules.
To illustrate, My car has wheels, tires, brakes, steering wheel, etc. All the basic parts to make a car. From that a company called Mazda was able to build a proprietary engine (based on the wankel rotary), and suspension, etc. to make the RX-7 I bought. I love my 7. Mazda had the advantage of being able to exist in a marketplace where other companies didn't have a monopoly over all the parts providers. Ford, GM, none of them could go to a tire manufacturer and say "Don't sell tires for Mazda cars or we'll not allow you to sell tires for ours."
So where does this leave us with computers? We need to have manufacturers able to make machines that can perform the basic functionality of a computer. Some would make machines better for games (kinda like a sports car) while others would make them better for file serving (kind like a truck). You don't ask one type to do everything.
Caldera is trying to be the "business" Linux. Very easy to install, good desktop apps, consistent and reliable. Basically, you know what you are getting from a Caldera install will work correctly. I don't know that I like Caldera for server use though. Some of the things in OpenLinux 2.2 were older (than what came with RedHat 6.0) versions of programs that needed patching for security holes, etc.
IBM is actually working with RedHat, Caldera, and two other releases of Linux that I can't remember right now. Check out www.linuxreseller.com for some info. They are doing a tour to different cities in the US. It is supposed to be for people that are VARs or do a significant amount of selling systems as their job. The main idea is to get VARs to push Linux solutions and Caldera was ready to go with this seminar series.
If you get the chance, sign up for the series. The guy from IBM was one of the people that did their big Beowulf cluster showing (the one where they did the 3D rendering as fast as the Cray). He was a little miffed at some of the slashdotters comments. I talked to him and he is a really nice guy with a very good understanding of IBM's angle on Linux. They already have 'Caldera' certified Netfinity servers. The architecture on them carries over from their bigger AS/400 and RS/6000 hardware. They will have RS/6000s running Linux available. The RS/6000 clustering technology will also be used to provide Netfinity clustering solutions. They are in the process of developing RAID drivers which they will release under GPL.
Talking to the Caldera guy I asked what they were doing to differentiate themselves from other releases. He said flat out they were doing the business angle. They claim to test every part of what goes into their release to make sure it works correctly. They won't ever have a release with cutting/bleeding edge programs in it.
Why are they doing this you may ask? Profit. Everything a VAR sells has anywhere from 10-50% markup. This includes the price of the OS. With a free/cheap OS the profit margin of the sale goes up while the cost to the consumer goes down. Everybody (except M$ I'm sure) is happy. With 17% of network servers (according to an IDC study they quoted at the conference) running Linux there is an important market to be the first ones into. Therefore IBM finds the Linux release most compatible with IBM's goals. Caldera must have fit the bill.
College towns have 2 things going for them to get high speed/availability first. Number one, most of them already have existing large pipes to the backbone that they can let an ISP have bandwidth on to share costs. Number two, they have large numbers of people in a concentrated area that want access. In College Station, TX (Texas A&M) they have DSL (ADSL?) and a good cable modem service. Why? Because most of the town is students and faculty of the school. The school modem pool can't possibly handle the 45,000+ users so the need was there. If you are the only person in a 2 mile radius begging for these services they aren't going to rush them to you.
Another possibility regarding the cable is the fact that there is no competition in cable companies. I live in Montgomery County, MD. We have millions of people living there and (I think) _ONE_ cable company. How are they supposed to serve everyone at once?
So someone calling home makes it legal only for 1/2 the conversation?;)
Seriously, I think it should be illegal regardless of cell or home. What about that case where Kidman/Cruise sued and won? Weren't they on their cell phone? I thought the guy got tossed in the slammer?
With all this "anonymous" service available, how long until someone applies to their own company by mistake? Check out the Dilbert website to see what I mean.
What purpose does this serve Mindcraft? Does it just let them blow a little steam? Does it make them feel bigger to stoop to this level? I have to agree with Rob on this one but say it a little different. Mindcraft is able to use this as ammunition to make Linux look BAD. If they really are being paid to spread FUD this just gave them some fertilizer. Much like the high school kids were ostracized in the wake of Columbine, true Linux professionals will lose respect in the minds of CO's if this goes too far.
>You respect some one like Bill Gates as >intelligent. Why? Because he's rich and takes >advantage of people.
Right and wrong, ethics and morality have nothing to do with intelligence. Accomplishments do. BG has accomplished what he has by being smart enough to figure out how. In that respect he shows more originality of thought than most. I could make the same arguement about Michael Dell, J.P. Morgan, and many other people.
>You don't respect someone with an advanced >degree despite the work and intelligence that it >obviously takes to get one.
It is NOT obvious that it takes intelligence to get one. I've worked in a Molecular Biology research lab. I've seen the people that get these degrees. Not every school has Harvard standards for the work they do or the people they allow through the system. Schools are out to make money and justify their position in life the same as any business. They do this by promoting the fallacy that a degree makes you something more than you are. That they exist to promote an exaulted ideal is secondary.
>You make sweeping general statements about huge >groups of people you've rarely encountered.
I was in a Bio lab for 4 years at Texas A&M. There were 50 faculty and >120 graduate students there. Add the people from the Biochem and Genetics depts. and I figure I know enough of them. Did I say ALL? No, go back and read. I do know enough people with PhDs to say that _just_ having a degree != higher intelligence. In fact, quite many of the profs their would say the same thing. Therefore, I reserve my impression of their intelligence for what they say and do, not just a piece of paper.
>Hey, I'm glad I'm not smart like you because you >are obviously a brick short.
I'm glad I have the ability to back my opinion up and the courage to put my name to it. So far the only thing to back your opinion is a girlfriend whom you claim to be smarter than you. If she is really so smart, why is she dumb enough to hang around with you?
Actually the comment was about PhD/advanced degree people and not all of them, only some. I'm certainly not going to bother getting into a battle of wits with an unarmed anonymous coward. I don't just give respect to a person's intelligence level purely based on their degree. I see anyone who does so as a little naive.
Yeah, like the PhD means you're smart. Some of the biggest idiots I know have advanced degrees. All it meant was they were more happy to spend 80+ hours a week in a lab than at home with family or out having a life. I would also argue that Bill Gates (as much as I don't like MS) is pretty darn smart (smart enough to take advantage of most people) but dropped out of college. Basically a degree doesn't mean sh*t.
Have you ever heard of Marilyn Vos Savant? She has the highest rated IQ ever measured for a man or woman. I'm not sure how big her brain is but she is a woman.
There are solutions like http://www.auroratech.com which allow you to control multiple devices (either 16 or 128) from a single console running serial cables out to all the headless machinery. They aren't the only ones out there. Also, I don't know that they would work on any Linux/xBSD or other free platforms. I do know they support Sun/Solaris and NT.
BTW, I don't work for them. I am currently preparing to eval one of their products. They were very willing to send a demo of the hardware and software. Also, they aren't cheap but aren't outrageous.
Re:Maybe I should read more carfully...
on
SETI@home & RC5
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· Score: 1
I didn't look at the fact the team listings were for one day only. Ah well.
Check out http://www.hackernews.com/arch.html?0608 99 for their take on it. Seemed like more of an ad for ISS and I tend to agree. Though, they did get the terminology more correct than most articles.
Looks like the 'island of stability' needs a few more neutrons in the mix. I was also interested in this little atom smasher of theirs. The article states: "In operation since 1961, the 88-inch Cyclotron has been upgraded with the addition of a high-performance ion sources and can now accelerate beams of ions as light as hydrogen or as heavy as uranium. " Hmmm... I wonder what an accelerated beam of uranium ions would do when it hit something less massive like plates of steel?
I went to the OpenLinux Tour yesterday in D.C. Caldera, IBM, and Oracle get together to talk to VARs about partnering with them. The gist of why they are partnering? No, not to bring down M$ (although, to play to the crowd they did throw some jabs into their commentary). It has to do with numbers from an IDC study showing linux has 17% market share of _all_ the network OSs. This plus the fact that you can sell the same hardware running either Linux or NT. They get the VAR to sell their Netfinity solution (in the case of IBM) so IBM can get into the market early. Why should the VARs do it? They can make a higher MARGIN on profits because they aren't buying an OS and adding their markup to it. Remember the VARs have their 30-50% markup on _everything_ they sell. So if there is one less piece they pay for (the OS) they can sell a system for the same price and have higher profit OR they can sell a system for lower price and the same profit but undercut their competitors.
There was an interview with John Carmak back in the days when DOOM II was about to come out. They asked him about his feelings on the pirate copy situation. He said DOOM had about a 1% registration rate and that about 10 million copies had been registered. That is a lot of lost income.
Should a company be allowed to prosecute for someone stealing their stuff? Sure. Should they be allowed to invade our privacy (backdoors reporting to the mother company online) to find out people are doing it? I don't think so.
Also, consider the context here. They did a survey looking at China and Hong Kong where piracy is very different. I belive in the states we have piracy that amounts to one or two copies made for a friend. Not any less legal under the law. However, this (local copying) is not the same $Billon/year business as it is in other parts of the world where they are making 1000s of copies to be sold as the real thing.
OK, I understand there are plenty of people who feel the need to be on the bleeding edge. This is just too rich for my blood. $400 up front plus $240 for services for one year. Then $480/year after that. Factor in the rate at which something 3 times better will come along in about 12-18 months and this thing has worse depreciation than my car. And for what, so you can squint at a black and white screen and use bloated Outlook just to have e-mail access 24/7?
I can see it now, people driving to work on the 495 and trying to reply to a message only to have to include the line "Ooops, I got in an accident. Gotta go!"
I hate the fact that the media and FBI are making this so huge. I have to do intrusion testing from time to time. I'd hate to think that the FBI would be successful at getting crackers to not show off so much. Right now I have an easy time of getting lots of useful information on vulnerabilities. Lots of websites, etc. But if the heat is on, the vulnerabilities don't go away, only the people talking about them.
Ok, feel free to check my math. I calculated that if the universe were 14839 _million_ light years across, anything at that distance would be moving away from the other side at the speed of light. Of course, we don't have anything strong enough to see this, but could the universe be bigger than we think because things are moving away from us too fast and we can't see them?
According to the story things are moving away at 160,000 MPH for every 3.3 million light years. 160,000 miles is roughly 240 million meters.
240,000,000/3600s = 66,666m/s for every 3.3 million light years. 299,792,458m/s (speed of light in a vaccuum)/66,666m/s = ~14839 million light years across and the two objects are moving away from each other at the speed of light.
Consumer Reports did an article on laptops last month. They concluded the same thing about the Dell after their spill test. Yup, they spilled it on purpose.
Slashdot Mirror
Check out:
Sm@rtReseller.com for an article relating some of the recent goings on. The link about FUD was interesting as well.
Novell has their own network standards, M$ has theirs, Mac has theirs as well. IMO, the best things about computing have come from open standards agreed upon by large and varied groups. Software, hardware, etc. DON'T NEED to be based on proprietary standards. I don't even completely care about Open Source code as long as everyone plays by the same basic rules.
To illustrate,
My car has wheels, tires, brakes, steering wheel, etc. All the basic parts to make a car. From that a company called Mazda was able to build a proprietary engine (based on the wankel rotary), and suspension, etc. to make the RX-7 I bought. I love my 7. Mazda had the advantage of being able to exist in a marketplace where other companies didn't have a monopoly over all the parts providers. Ford, GM, none of them could go to a tire manufacturer and say "Don't sell tires for Mazda cars or we'll not allow you to sell tires for ours."
So where does this leave us with computers? We need to have manufacturers able to make machines that can perform the basic functionality of a computer. Some would make machines better for games (kinda like a sports car) while others would make them better for file serving (kind like a truck). You don't ask one type to do everything.
Anyway, I just wanted to vent.
Caldera is trying to be the "business" Linux. Very easy to install, good desktop apps, consistent and reliable. Basically, you know what you are getting from a Caldera install will work correctly. I don't know that I like Caldera for server use though. Some of the things in OpenLinux 2.2 were older (than what came with RedHat 6.0) versions of programs that needed patching for security holes, etc.
IBM is actually working with RedHat, Caldera, and two other releases of Linux that I can't remember right now. Check out www.linuxreseller.com for some info. They are doing a tour to different cities in the US. It is supposed to be for people that are VARs or do a significant amount of selling systems as their job. The main idea is to get VARs to push Linux solutions and Caldera was ready to go with this seminar series.
If you get the chance, sign up for the series. The guy from IBM was one of the people that did their big Beowulf cluster showing (the one where they did the 3D rendering as fast as the Cray). He was a little miffed at some of the slashdotters comments. I talked to him and he is a really nice guy with a very good understanding of IBM's angle on Linux. They already have 'Caldera' certified Netfinity servers. The architecture on them carries over from their bigger AS/400 and RS/6000 hardware. They will have RS/6000s running Linux available. The RS/6000 clustering technology will also be used to provide Netfinity clustering solutions. They are in the process of developing RAID drivers which they will release under GPL.
Talking to the Caldera guy I asked what they were doing to differentiate themselves from other releases. He said flat out they were doing the business angle. They claim to test every part of what goes into their release to make sure it works correctly. They won't ever have a release with cutting/bleeding edge programs in it.
Why are they doing this you may ask? Profit. Everything a VAR sells has anywhere from 10-50% markup. This includes the price of the OS. With a free/cheap OS the profit margin of the sale goes up while the cost to the consumer goes down. Everybody (except M$ I'm sure) is happy. With 17% of network servers (according to an IDC study they quoted at the conference) running Linux there is an important market to be the first ones into. Therefore IBM finds the Linux release most compatible with IBM's goals. Caldera must have fit the bill.
College towns have 2 things going for them to get high speed/availability first. Number one, most of them already have existing large pipes to the backbone that they can let an ISP have bandwidth on to share costs. Number two, they have large numbers of people in a concentrated area that want access. In College Station, TX (Texas A&M) they have DSL (ADSL?) and a good cable modem service. Why? Because most of the town is students and faculty of the school. The school modem pool can't possibly handle the 45,000+ users so the need was there. If you are the only person in a 2 mile radius begging for these services they aren't going to rush them to you.
Another possibility regarding the cable is the fact that there is no competition in cable companies. I live in Montgomery County, MD. We have millions of people living there and (I think) _ONE_ cable company. How are they supposed to serve everyone at once?
So someone calling home makes it legal only for 1/2 the conversation? ;)
Seriously, I think it should be illegal regardless of cell or home. What about that case where Kidman/Cruise sued and won? Weren't they on their cell phone? I thought the guy got tossed in the slammer?
With all this "anonymous" service available, how long until someone applies to their own company by mistake? Check out the Dilbert website to see what I mean.
What purpose does this serve Mindcraft? Does it just let them blow a little steam? Does it make them feel bigger to stoop to this level? I have to agree with Rob on this one but say it a little different. Mindcraft is able to use this as ammunition to make Linux look BAD. If they really are being paid to spread FUD this just gave them some fertilizer. Much like the high school kids were ostracized in the wake of Columbine, true Linux professionals will lose respect in the minds of CO's if this goes too far.
tied together with nominal dialoge to wrap around a loosely historical storyline about exaggerated characters.
But then again, what TV docudrama isn't like this?
I really want to know if the real Bill Gates said that line about 'successful people don't believe they can be beat'.
Ok, the AC stuff can cause confusion with which AC said what. I take back the names and give you the benefit of the doubt on the 'brick' thing.
>Let's sum this up then.
Sure.
>You respect some one like Bill Gates as >intelligent. Why? Because he's rich and takes >advantage of people.
Right and wrong, ethics and morality have nothing to do with intelligence. Accomplishments do. BG has accomplished what he has by being smart enough to figure out how. In that respect he shows more originality of thought than most. I could make the same arguement about Michael Dell, J.P. Morgan, and many other people.
>You don't respect someone with an advanced >degree despite the work and intelligence that it >obviously takes to get one.
It is NOT obvious that it takes intelligence to get one. I've worked in a Molecular Biology research lab. I've seen the people that get these degrees. Not every school has Harvard standards for the work they do or the people they allow through the system. Schools are out to make money and justify their position in life the same as any business. They do this by promoting the fallacy that a degree makes you something more than you are. That they exist to promote an exaulted ideal is secondary.
>You make sweeping general statements about huge >groups of people you've rarely encountered.
I was in a Bio lab for 4 years at Texas A&M. There were 50 faculty and >120 graduate students there. Add the people from the Biochem and Genetics depts. and I figure I know enough of them. Did I say ALL? No, go back and read. I do know enough people with PhDs to say that _just_ having a degree != higher intelligence. In fact, quite many of the profs their would say the same thing. Therefore, I reserve my impression of their intelligence for what they say and do, not just a piece of paper.
>Hey, I'm glad I'm not smart like you because you >are obviously a brick short.
I'm glad I have the ability to back my opinion up and the courage to put my name to it. So far the only thing to back your opinion is a girlfriend whom you claim to be smarter than you. If she is really so smart, why is she dumb enough to hang around with you?
I thought they were referencing their EAR lobes. They had extremely sensitive ears on that show, both for hearing and "stimulation".
Actually the comment was about PhD/advanced degree people and not all of them, only some. I'm certainly not going to bother getting into a battle of wits with an unarmed anonymous coward. I don't just give respect to a person's intelligence level purely based on their degree. I see anyone who does so as a little naive.
Yeah, like the PhD means you're smart. Some of the biggest idiots I know have advanced degrees. All it meant was they were more happy to spend 80+ hours a week in a lab than at home with family or out having a life. I would also argue that Bill Gates (as much as I don't like MS) is pretty darn smart (smart enough to take advantage of most people) but dropped out of college. Basically a degree doesn't mean sh*t.
So there goes your argument.
Have you ever heard of Marilyn Vos Savant? She has the highest rated IQ ever measured for a man or woman. I'm not sure how big her brain is but she is a woman.
There are solutions like http://www.auroratech.com which allow you to control multiple devices (either 16 or 128) from a single console running serial cables out to all the headless machinery. They aren't the only ones out there. Also, I don't know that they would work on any Linux/xBSD or other free platforms. I do know they support Sun/Solaris and NT.
BTW, I don't work for them. I am currently preparing to eval one of their products. They were very willing to send a demo of the hardware and software. Also, they aren't cheap but aren't outrageous.
I didn't look at the fact the team listings were for one day only. Ah well.
my 28,000+ blocks? Kinda sad that my one computer puts me at about 76th in the team rankings. For anyone that cares, it is a PII 400.
Check out http://www.hackernews.com/arch.html?0608 99 for their take on it. Seemed like more of an ad for ISS and I tend to agree. Though, they did get the terminology more correct than most articles.
Looks like the 'island of stability' needs a few more neutrons in the mix.
I was also interested in this little atom smasher of theirs. The article states:
"In operation since 1961, the 88-inch Cyclotron has been upgraded with the addition of a high-performance ion sources and can now accelerate beams of ions as light as hydrogen or as heavy as uranium. "
Hmmm... I wonder what an accelerated beam of uranium ions would do when it hit something less massive like plates of steel?
I went to the OpenLinux Tour yesterday in D.C. Caldera, IBM, and Oracle get together to talk to VARs about partnering with them. The gist of why they are partnering? No, not to bring down M$ (although, to play to the crowd they did throw some jabs into their commentary). It has to do with numbers from an IDC study showing linux has 17% market share of _all_ the network OSs. This plus the fact that you can sell the same hardware running either Linux or NT. They get the VAR to sell their Netfinity solution (in the case of IBM) so IBM can get into the market early. Why should the VARs do it? They can make a higher MARGIN on profits because they aren't buying an OS and adding their markup to it. Remember the VARs have their 30-50% markup on _everything_ they sell. So if there is one less piece they pay for (the OS) they can sell a system for the same price and have higher profit OR they can sell a system for lower price and the same profit but undercut their competitors.
There was an interview with John Carmak back in the days when DOOM II was about to come out. They asked him about his feelings on the pirate copy situation. He said DOOM had about a 1% registration rate and that about 10 million copies had been registered. That is a lot of lost income.
Should a company be allowed to prosecute for someone stealing their stuff? Sure. Should they be allowed to invade our privacy (backdoors reporting to the mother company online) to find out people are doing it? I don't think so.
Also, consider the context here. They did a survey looking at China and Hong Kong where piracy is very different. I belive in the states we have piracy that amounts to one or two copies made for a friend. Not any less legal under the law. However, this (local copying) is not the same $Billon/year business as it is in other parts of the world where they are making 1000s of copies to be sold as the real thing.
OK, I understand there are plenty of people who feel the need to be on the bleeding edge. This is just too rich for my blood. $400 up front plus $240 for services for one year. Then $480/year after that. Factor in the rate at which something 3 times better will come along in about 12-18 months and this thing has worse depreciation than my car. And for what, so you can squint at a black and white screen and use bloated Outlook just to have e-mail access 24/7?
I can see it now, people driving to work on the 495 and trying to reply to a message only to have to include the line "Ooops, I got in an accident. Gotta go!"
I hate the fact that the media and FBI are making this so huge. I have to do intrusion testing from time to time. I'd hate to think that the FBI would be successful at getting crackers to not show off so much. Right now I have an easy time of getting lots of useful information on vulnerabilities. Lots of websites, etc. But if the heat is on, the vulnerabilities don't go away, only the people talking about them.
Ok, feel free to check my math. I calculated that if the universe were 14839 _million_ light years across, anything at that distance would be moving away from the other side at the speed of light. Of course, we don't have anything strong enough to see this, but could the universe be bigger than we think because things are moving away from us too fast and we can't see them?
According to the story things are moving away at 160,000 MPH for every 3.3 million light years. 160,000 miles is roughly 240 million meters.
240,000,000/3600s = 66,666m/s for every 3.3 million light years. 299,792,458m/s (speed of light in a vaccuum)/66,666m/s = ~14839 million light years across and the two objects are moving away from each other at the speed of light.
All values are approximate except the speed of light (speed of light found at http://physics. nist.gov/cuu/Constants/index.html?/table2.html).
Consumer Reports did an article on laptops last month. They concluded the same thing about the Dell after their spill test. Yup, they spilled it on purpose.