Once this comes down a bit in price, and the resolution goes up, it's probably a killer app. "Hey Mom, I am on top of El Cap, take a look at this picture"
I could sell thousands of these on a cruise ship. No film, no figuring out how to get the pictures off the digital camera and on a computer. You could even have the phone call Kodak every night and your vacation album, nicely printed and bound on the day you return. Or have them loaded onto your Tivo as a slide show you can spring on unsuspecting visitors. Or, if you really want to annoy the crap out of your aquaintances, have Kodak send them an album of your vacation pictures every week while you are on the cruise.
Even if the normal slashdottian doesn't get it, convenience is a huge business.
Not that I read the article, that would be un-/.-like, but everyone who kick RAMBUS where it hurts has my fullest support. Those guys deserve to be driven out of business and hung from the highest tree.
And not for the legions of rednecks. But if I were a redneck parent or teacher at a school with a small IT budget, I'd be over at Walmart for the 850MHz Duron in a New York minute and get the truck loaded. At $299 and no Microsoft tax, one could even get a few extras for trash-on-break tech support. Hell, I might even buy a few and spread them around the house as email/web stations, MP3 players and use up all the old monitors I was thinking about throwing away for five years.
Another good thing about Walmart is that they are far less annoying about returns replacements than the BestBuys of this world.
That is a blatantly wrong statement. Every single generation has complained about the lack of morals and ethics by the one following them. Try reading Aristoteles, Plato, Socrates or any number of Roman philosophers, or go all the way up to Gertrude Stein and her "lost generation". And, of course, the single worst decline in morals was in the 60s. By the exact people who are now the concerned parents. Judging by the fact that we are still around as a race, much of this is hype.
I hire about 10 people a year and "strong proficiency with advanced Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Access" is one thing that drives me up the wall. We are an ISV, so the ability to use a standard computer GUI program should be a self evident requirement. Especially when this usually means that the applicants are able to type a letter in Word, open an Excel spreadsheet and can fill out a query form in Access. A couple of other favorite skills on the resumes that I get:
-Internet Explorer -HTML (7 tags) -Windows (sometimes broken out into 95/.../XP) -Email (ye gods!!!)
I am waiting for the one that lists "able to dial a phone number" as a skill. But this is not only North America, but pretty much every country. And it also bites another way, I actually stopped listing my computer skills in my resume, because recruiters seem to put me into an "overqualified" box all the time.
No, it doesn't help, at least not against local attackers. My university department enforced strong passwords with the result that half of the staff wrote them down in pretty obvious places. Try walking into an office and check the following:
Post it on screen Post it on monitor housing Underside of keyboard and mouse Computer case Underside of desk, chair and drawers Post in in drawer ...
My success rate in security checks was usually about 30 percent of non-technical personell and the dean.
If you want another example of technology writers not having a clue, check out the RedHerring 100 issue. They are arguing that Microsoft will or can take over the PC world because a XBox is cheaper than a Dell PC. I can't find he comparison chart on the web, but they compare the list price an Xbox with no monitor, less RAM, no keyboard, no OS, no Office with a 1.2 GHz Dell with all the trimmings. Of course they forget also that Microsoft is selling below cost.
Most of the problems mentioned here are related to mechanical engineering. Chemical engineering actually has a equally, or even more impressive, track record of screw ups. My persoal favorite were the guys at BASF who used explosives to break up 4500 tons of caked Mischsalz (ammonium nitrate+ammonium sulfate) with explosives, blowing up the plan and the surrounding suburb, and killing 500 people in the process.
Seriously, if management starts pulling stunts like this, it will be all downhill from there. I've now been running a department at my company for 4 years or so and are really invested in my work and like my job, but for me this would be an immediate reason to jump ship. No raises or smaller raises on a case by case basis is fine, but across the board pay cuts and other displays of "corporate loyalty" are just a sign that management has run out of ideas and that the banks are not lending anymore. Usually also means that the palce is too far gone to be saved.
Downloaded it, installed it, started it, took one look at the search page and uninstalled it.
Bat might be a great email client, but whoever designed the three pane search page needs to take a UI class. It has nice features like regex search, but having to switch between two panes to set up searches is just _stupid_. So is the fact that one can only specify one or all folders for searching. Take a look at Eudora Pro's search feature for how that might be done better.
The 15" LED that's built into my laptop with 4 virtual screens. For whatever reason I can see screen flicker up to very high refresh rates. I have to say that the 15" screen is good enough for most of what I do and much more handy than the 21" monitor I had before. But I don't do graphics or IDE programming.
All those features are great, but still no single PDA/PocketPC/whatever has the one feature I really want: a build in modem with a port that is flush with the outer surface and accepts a standard phone cable. I don't care about color and a way too small keyboard. I just want a device that I can plug into any phone, dump all my email into the sucker and go on with life. The Palm modem and the plug in cards are nice, but it's stuff to carry around/loose/buy batteries for.
I am afraid you don't understand the MBA/lawyer mindset.
MBAs are hedging in case revenues go down or not up as fast as they expect. "Hey, Glitter wasn't my fault, it just got pirated so much that we simply couldn't sell tickets. And it only got pirated so much because Maria is such a popular artist."
For lawyers, this is a very nice way to get secure their continuing employment. Pick a topic you can't do anything about like piracy and start writing legal briefs and demand more money for lobbying.
Re:How a minefield is cleared by humans.
on
Robot Mine Smasher
·
· Score: 1
As a former German army guy, I greatly prefer the Keiler to that method. See here (Rheinmetal) or here (NATO). Works very well in the battlefield and is just loads of fun to drive;-).
Of course fuel air explosives also work fairly well. As long as you don't have anything that lives or should kept standing in the mine field.
By the way, NATO has a lot of pretty good information on that site.
Which terminal? I fly through there every couple of weeks and there are enough of them. Either in the floor under the seats (which such by the way) next to the gates or running along the lower part of the window frames. There's also a very convenient one next to the Starbucks tables between the H and G concourses.
Actually, this might give a new meaning to server topologies. The Lego space station topology, the Lego McDonalds topology, the Lego Sierpinsky sponge topology...
I wouldn't say generally. Some of their Java tomes are horrible, and I didn't especially like their first edition of Beginning Linux Programming as a beginners book. Mainly because a lot of the topics, techniques etc were at least five years out of date. And because they made odd choices what to cover like TCL instead of Perl/Python.
But their Professional series, especially Professional Linux Deployment, are pretty good if you just need to look something up and actually would like to see worked examples. For example, PLD is as far as I know the only book that actually takes you line by line throuh setting up Samba, or installing and configuring a ftp demon from scratch. While we are gerneralizing shamelessly, I like O'Reily or AW, but the first often decribes things in the same amount of detail as the help pages and AW usually turn the description of minor tasks into a 100 page CS class.
You mean like.doc,.ppt.,.xls? Sorry, I couldn't resist.
On a less flippant note, this is exactly what XML and it's applications are designed to do. It has some shortcomings, for example the limitation on three nested Schema and the very long winded syntax, but for computers and computer programs talking to each other, it is actually pretty good. One especially neat thing would be that support for new graphics formats and database connectivity would be pretty easy to add once the basics are in place.
The latter. Read the article: "The film is seen as a potential "tentpole" picture for the summer of 2003"
Whoever wrote that had a really bad time with his metaphores.
Law suit waiting to happen
on
Linux On HP Blades
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Good one. HP is naming a small scale server that will go directly against low end Sun Blade 100s and 1000s blade.
Not because it would bring scores of desktop users to Linux. But OTOH, I love being able to use Unix/Linux tools like grep, ls, more, vi on Windows (thanks cygwin). Also, it might be a good way to convert some more enlightened Windows admins to give Linux a shot if they can see how powerful a command line can be. And once they are, it is a small step to the first Samba server, a medium to a Linux network... .
Actually, the only thing that got me ticked off was the scene where he runs through the alley with all the mines going off behind him. As a former assault engineer I can't believe that even the dumbest Serb conscript would put the detonators and trip wires outside the blast radius. Not once, but about 20 times in a row.
Slashdot Mirror
Once this comes down a bit in price, and the resolution goes up, it's probably a killer app. "Hey Mom, I am on top of El Cap, take a look at this picture"
I could sell thousands of these on a cruise ship. No film, no figuring out how to get the pictures off the digital camera and on a computer. You could even have the phone call Kodak every night and your vacation album, nicely printed and bound on the day you return. Or have them loaded onto your Tivo as a slide show you can spring on unsuspecting visitors. Or, if you really want to annoy the crap out of your aquaintances, have Kodak send them an album of your vacation pictures every week while you are on the cruise.
Even if the normal slashdottian doesn't get it, convenience is a huge business.
Not that I read the article, that would be un-/.-like, but everyone who kick RAMBUS where it hurts has my fullest support. Those guys deserve to be driven out of business and hung from the highest tree.
And not for the legions of rednecks. But if I were a redneck parent or teacher at a school with a small IT budget, I'd be over at Walmart for the 850MHz Duron in a New York minute and get the truck loaded. At $299 and no Microsoft tax, one could even get a few extras for trash-on-break tech support. Hell, I might even buy a few and spread them around the house as email/web stations, MP3 players and use up all the old monitors I was thinking about throwing away for five years. Another good thing about Walmart is that they are far less annoying about returns replacements than the BestBuys of this world.
That is a blatantly wrong statement. Every single generation has complained about the lack of morals and ethics by the one following them. Try reading Aristoteles, Plato, Socrates or any number of Roman philosophers, or go all the way up to Gertrude Stein and her "lost generation". And, of course, the single worst decline in morals was in the 60s. By the exact people who are now the concerned parents. Judging by the fact that we are still around as a race, much of this is hype.
I hire about 10 people a year and "strong proficiency with advanced Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Access" is one thing that drives me up the wall. We are an ISV, so the ability to use a standard computer GUI program should be a self evident requirement. Especially when this usually means that the applicants are able to type a letter in Word, open an Excel spreadsheet and can fill out a query form in Access. A couple of other favorite skills on the resumes that I get:
-Internet Explorer
-HTML (7 tags)
-Windows (sometimes broken out into 95/.../XP)
-Email (ye gods!!!)
I am waiting for the one that lists "able to dial a phone number" as a skill.
But this is not only North America, but pretty much every country. And it also bites another way, I actually stopped listing my computer skills in my resume, because recruiters seem to put me into an "overqualified" box all the time.
No, it doesn't help, at least not against local attackers. My university department enforced strong passwords with the result that half of the staff wrote them down in pretty obvious places. Try walking into an office and check the following:
Post it on screen
Post it on monitor housing
Underside of keyboard and mouse
Computer case
Underside of desk, chair and drawers
Post in in drawer
...
My success rate in security checks was usually about 30 percent of non-technical personell and the dean.
If you want another example of technology writers not having a clue, check out the RedHerring 100 issue. They are arguing that Microsoft will or can take over the PC world because a XBox is cheaper than a Dell PC. I can't find he comparison chart on the web, but they compare the list price an Xbox with no monitor, less RAM, no keyboard, no OS, no Office with a 1.2 GHz Dell with all the trimmings. Of course they forget also that Microsoft is selling below cost.
Pretty fun actually.
Most of the problems mentioned here are related to mechanical engineering. Chemical engineering actually has a equally, or even more impressive, track record of screw ups. My persoal favorite were the guys at BASF who used explosives to break up 4500 tons of caked Mischsalz (ammonium nitrate+ammonium sulfate) with explosives, blowing up the plan and the surrounding suburb, and killing 500 people in the process.
Seriously, if management starts pulling stunts like this, it will be all downhill from there. I've now been running a department at my company for 4 years or so and are really invested in my work and like my job, but for me this would be an immediate reason to jump ship. No raises or smaller raises on a case by case basis is fine, but across the board pay cuts and other displays of "corporate loyalty" are just a sign that management has run out of ideas and that the banks are not lending anymore. Usually also means that the palce is too far gone to be saved.
Downloaded it, installed it, started it, took one look at the search page and uninstalled it.
Bat might be a great email client, but whoever designed the three pane search page needs to take a UI class. It has nice features like regex search, but having to switch between two panes to set up searches is just _stupid_. So is the fact that one can only specify one or all folders for searching. Take a look at Eudora Pro's search feature for how that might be done better.
The 15" LED that's built into my laptop with 4 virtual screens. For whatever reason I can see screen flicker up to very high refresh rates. I have to say that the 15" screen is good enough for most of what I do and much more handy than the 21" monitor I had before. But I don't do graphics or IDE programming.
All those features are great, but still no single PDA/PocketPC/whatever has the one feature I really want: a build in modem with a port that is flush with the outer surface and accepts a standard phone cable. I don't care about color and a way too small keyboard. I just want a device that I can plug into any phone, dump all my email into the sucker and go on with life. The Palm modem and the plug in cards are nice, but it's stuff to carry around/loose/buy batteries for.
I am afraid you don't understand the MBA/lawyer mindset.
MBAs are hedging in case revenues go down or not up as fast as they expect. "Hey, Glitter wasn't my fault, it just got pirated so much that we simply couldn't sell tickets. And it only got pirated so much because Maria is such a popular artist."
For lawyers, this is a very nice way to get secure their continuing employment. Pick a topic you can't do anything about like piracy and start writing legal briefs and demand more money for lobbying.
China really doesn't have a good track record on "great leaps forward". megastories.com
The Smithsonian?
As a former German army guy, I greatly prefer the Keiler to that method. See here (Rheinmetal) or here (NATO). Works very well in the battlefield and is just loads of fun to drive ;-).
Of course fuel air explosives also work fairly well. As long as you don't have anything that lives or should kept standing in the mine field.
By the way, NATO has a lot of pretty good information on that site.
Which terminal? I fly through there every couple of weeks and there are enough of them. Either in the floor under the seats (which such by the way) next to the gates or running along the lower part of the window frames. There's also a very convenient one next to the Starbucks tables between the H and G concourses.
Actually, this might give a new meaning to server topologies. The Lego space station topology, the Lego McDonalds topology, the Lego Sierpinsky sponge topology...
I wouldn't say generally. Some of their Java tomes are horrible, and I didn't especially like their first edition of Beginning Linux Programming as a beginners book. Mainly because a lot of the topics, techniques etc were at least five years out of date. And because they made odd choices what to cover like TCL instead of Perl/Python.
But their Professional series, especially Professional Linux Deployment, are pretty good if you just need to look something up and actually would like to see worked examples. For example, PLD is as far as I know the only book that actually takes you line by line throuh setting up Samba, or installing and configuring a ftp demon from scratch. While we are gerneralizing shamelessly, I like O'Reily or AW, but the first often decribes things in the same amount of detail as the help pages and AW usually turn the description of minor tasks into a 100 page CS class.
You mean like .doc, .ppt., .xls? Sorry, I couldn't resist.
On a less flippant note, this is exactly what XML and it's applications are designed to do. It has some shortcomings, for example the limitation on three nested Schema and the very long winded syntax, but for computers and computer programs talking to each other, it is actually pretty good. One especially neat thing would be that support for new graphics formats and database connectivity would be pretty easy to add once the basics are in place.
The latter. Read the article: "The film is seen as a potential "tentpole" picture for the summer of 2003"
Whoever wrote that had a really bad time with his metaphores.
Good one. HP is naming a small scale server that will go directly against low end Sun Blade 100s and 1000s blade.
Not because it would bring scores of desktop users to Linux. But OTOH, I love being able to use Unix/Linux tools like grep, ls, more, vi on Windows (thanks cygwin). Also, it might be a good way to convert some more enlightened Windows admins to give Linux a shot if they can see how powerful a command line can be. And once they are, it is a small step to the first Samba server, a medium to a Linux network... .
Actually, the only thing that got me ticked off was the scene where he runs through the alley with all the mines going off behind him. As a former assault engineer I can't believe that even the dumbest Serb conscript would put the detonators and trip wires outside the blast radius. Not once, but about 20 times in a row.
Starbucks.com--forced me to switch to Peets for my bi-weekly drug delivey.