I scanned through the timeline -- granted rather quickly -- but what I found interesting were some of the words that didn't appear in any of Gates' or Ballmer's documents: secure or security.
I think some people believe that if you deny a problem exists it will "just go away."
Re:how about a little money?
on
UFOs In the News
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
But the government can just spend a little bit of money.
Now wait. You're probably all thinking "What's so cool about that? Just go to Fry's/MicroCenter/your favorite electronics dealer, buy a motherboard, case, power supply, components, etc. and you're done." That's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about building an IMSAI 8080. The processor was a 2 MHz Intel 8080A 8-bit processor. RAM? You had to build a separate S-100 bus card using 1Kx1 chips to have RAM in the computer. Power supply? Here are a bunch of capacitors, diodes, resistors, a circuit diagram and a printed circuit board. Go nuts. Hope you're good with a soldering iron.
I spent several weeks putting one of these together in 1976. Once I had it together and working, well, you needed something to get your results on other than the LED panel, so I built a Lear Siegler ADM-3A video terminal. Again, the logic board was a big printed circuit board and you had a couple hundred chips, resistors, diodes and capacitors that you had to solder on it. I used that terminal all throughout college to connect to Boston University's time sharing system.
It seems to me that a potential future solution to the e-waste recycling problem is some form of nanotech. Imagine a strain of bacteria genetically engineered to "consume" some environmentally hazardous substance -- say arsenic -- and produce some environmentally safe substance as a waste by-product -- say nitrogen.
Obviously, IANAGE (I am not a genetic engineer):-).
Alternatively, I can imagine some form of nanomechanical device that "disassembles" e-waste into more easily dealt with components.
I used to do IT work on the side for six Curves gyms. They use a package called GoFigure that is the worst piece of total shit that I've ever had the displeasure to work with. It's a Microsoft Access application; until about a year and a half ago, it required the 16-bit Access runtime. You had to be very careful about what other software you installed on the computer; it conflicted with Office big time.
Later versions went to 32-bit, but would spontaneously corrupt the database. Then you'd have to send GoFigure your database and they would "recover" it. Of course, the database for a busy gym would be too big to send via e-mail, and if you zipped it there was a significant chance that someone's virus filter (usually the gym's ISP) would block it as potential malware. The whole experience just sucked wet dripping donkey dongs.
At one point I threatened to write my own gym management package, but never had the time.
While it's great to watch short clips, people don't want to crowd around a PC or sit in a desk chair and watch their shows for the night. They want to plop on their couch, or sit in the easy chair, with their families, and watch content. Internet content needs to seemlessly blend into the living room.
We have this today for audio with a combination of iTunes and the Airport Express, which allows you to stream Internet radio as just another channel on your stereo. Once 802.11n is finalized, I wouldn't be surprised to see something similiar for video.
I, too, use a Verizon Wireless phone as my only phone, so I, too, am glad to hear that they claim not to be involved. (I, too, take that with a salt lick, however.:-)
That said, how do the prepaid wireless phones work in the US? I've heard them advertised for some time now: go into your local convenience store, plunk down cash and get a phone that has a certain number of minutes. It sounds like you don't have to give your name or address. Is the number stamped on the phone? Can it receive inbound calls, or is it only allowed to place outbound calls?
I can see the prepaid wireless business booming after this report...
Doesn't this just mean that the search engines are doing their job well? I mean, when I use a search engine, it's because I'm searching for something specific, and I usually find what I'm looking for in the first 30 links (I use Google at the default setting of 10 links per page). If I don't find one valid candidate in the first two pages, I try a different search.
Actually, at one point I did an experiment on OpenBSD 3.3 where I created a directory structure of 9 million small files (each 1K). The structure used GUIDs for the filenames with the first 3 digits of the GUID determinining the directory into which the file was stored. Thus, if the file was named 12345678-9ABC-DEF0-1234-567890ABCDEF, the file was stored in directory 1/2/3.
It took a 1.47GHz Athlon with 128MB of RAM 17 minutes to delete the hierarchy. The HDs were basic Maxtor ATA-100s (60GB, as I recall) in a RAID-1 configuration.
I did a similar test on Windows XP Professional using NTFS on a single HD (again, a Maxtor ATA-100 - I think it was a 100 GB). It took a 2.7GHz Celeron with 1GB of RAM 48 hours to delete the hierarchy.
It would just seem to make sense to me that the world of computing would come up with a standard for using DC, and then companies would build big power supplies that would offer redundancy, power backup, and current conditioning. It would save money, power and space.
In fact, in the telco world, this is exactly how it works. The standard is to use -48vDC. Sun (among other manufacturers) makes servers that run directly off of DC (the Netra 120 on the referenced page).
Slashdot Mirror
As in....peril-sensitive? ;-)
Don't forget 16-bit characters (UTF-16?). Then you would be at 5 characters per word.
I scanned through the timeline -- granted rather quickly -- but what I found interesting were some of the words that didn't appear in any of Gates' or Ballmer's documents: secure or security.
I think some people believe that if you deny a problem exists it will "just go away."
No. No, it can't.
welcome our flourescent green porcine overlords.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist....and it is one of the cooler "overlord" sayings possible for the last few months.)
Naw.
The author. Is just. (Wait for it.)
William. Shatner.
KAHHHHHHNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!
I don't know, I think it has a certain amount of "truthiness" to it... ;-)
Now wait. You're probably all thinking "What's so cool about that? Just go to Fry's/MicroCenter/your favorite electronics dealer, buy a motherboard, case, power supply, components, etc. and you're done." That's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about building an IMSAI 8080. The processor was a 2 MHz Intel 8080A 8-bit processor. RAM? You had to build a separate S-100 bus card using 1Kx1 chips to have RAM in the computer. Power supply? Here are a bunch of capacitors, diodes, resistors, a circuit diagram and a printed circuit board. Go nuts. Hope you're good with a soldering iron.
I spent several weeks putting one of these together in 1976. Once I had it together and working, well, you needed something to get your results on other than the LED panel, so I built a Lear Siegler ADM-3A video terminal. Again, the logic board was a big printed circuit board and you had a couple hundred chips, resistors, diodes and capacitors that you had to solder on it. I used that terminal all throughout college to connect to Boston University's time sharing system.
<sigh>Those were the days.</sigh>
It seems to me that a potential future solution to the e-waste recycling problem is some form of nanotech. Imagine a strain of bacteria genetically engineered to "consume" some environmentally hazardous substance -- say arsenic -- and produce some environmentally safe substance as a waste by-product -- say nitrogen.
:-).
Obviously, IANAGE (I am not a genetic engineer)
Alternatively, I can imagine some form of nanomechanical device that "disassembles" e-waste into more easily dealt with components.
Just my 2 yen.
I'll second this.
Nothing bothers me more than having to pay $$$ to get a copy of an ISO standard.
Hey, there we go.
Let's have a Slashdot poll:
What should Element 118 be called?
* Ununoctium
* Bob
* Element 118
* Unobtainium
* Tiberium
* Cowboynealium
Amen to that.
I used to do IT work on the side for six Curves gyms. They use a package called GoFigure that is the worst piece of total shit that I've ever had the displeasure to work with. It's a Microsoft Access application; until about a year and a half ago, it required the 16-bit Access runtime. You had to be very careful about what other software you installed on the computer; it conflicted with Office big time.
Later versions went to 32-bit, but would spontaneously corrupt the database. Then you'd have to send GoFigure your database and they would "recover" it. Of course, the database for a busy gym would be too big to send via e-mail, and if you zipped it there was a significant chance that someone's virus filter (usually the gym's ISP) would block it as potential malware. The whole experience just sucked wet dripping donkey dongs.
At one point I threatened to write my own gym management package, but never had the time.
I would pay *$2.99* for a rifftrax of The Passion of the Christ.
I have to agree with Stan Marsh's assessment on that movie: it was basically a 2 hour snuff film.
And you will be punished for your error!
If I had mod points right now, you'd get all of them....
It was witten by his fwiend, Biggus Dickus. It is cowabbowation softwawe.
Amen, brother.
We have this today for audio with a combination of iTunes and the Airport Express, which allows you to stream Internet radio as just another channel on your stereo. Once 802.11n is finalized, I wouldn't be surprised to see something similiar for video.
This reminds me of the Dilbert cartoon where the PHB ends up trying to fly the plane using Excel on his laptop...
Never have the words "Anonymous Coward" been more appropriate...
I, too, use a Verizon Wireless phone as my only phone, so I, too, am glad to hear that they claim not to be involved. (I, too, take that with a salt lick, however. :-)
That said, how do the prepaid wireless phones work in the US? I've heard them advertised for some time now: go into your local convenience store, plunk down cash and get a phone that has a certain number of minutes. It sounds like you don't have to give your name or address. Is the number stamped on the phone? Can it receive inbound calls, or is it only allowed to place outbound calls?
I can see the prepaid wireless business booming after this report...
Doesn't this just mean that the search engines are doing their job well? I mean, when I use a search engine, it's because I'm searching for something specific, and I usually find what I'm looking for in the first 30 links (I use Google at the default setting of 10 links per page). If I don't find one valid candidate in the first two pages, I try a different search.
Didn't you see Men in Black? Our galaxy sits in the middle of an alien's marble...
Actually, at one point I did an experiment on OpenBSD 3.3 where I created a directory structure of 9 million small files (each 1K). The structure used GUIDs for the filenames with the first 3 digits of the GUID determinining the directory into which the file was stored. Thus, if the file was named 12345678-9ABC-DEF0-1234-567890ABCDEF, the file was stored in directory 1/2/3.
It took a 1.47GHz Athlon with 128MB of RAM 17 minutes to delete the hierarchy. The HDs were basic Maxtor ATA-100s (60GB, as I recall) in a RAID-1 configuration.
I did a similar test on Windows XP Professional using NTFS on a single HD (again, a Maxtor ATA-100 - I think it was a 100 GB). It took a 2.7GHz Celeron with 1GB of RAM 48 hours to delete the hierarchy.
Draw your own conclusions.
In fact, in the telco world, this is exactly how it works. The standard is to use -48vDC. Sun (among other manufacturers) makes servers that run directly off of DC (the Netra 120 on the referenced page).