When I originally heard about this, I thought that five years was a short amount of time. Even more so now that I read the press release.
Okay. Assuming in year 1, Microsoft publishes all of its proprietary protocols. Your company makes a program that goes head-on with something of Microsoft's. (Say, an Exchange server on Solaris, or something.)
You've got a few years to make improvements and get a really reliable and feature-filled product. Microsoft will probably throw a few kinks your way, but that's fine.
What I am wondering is... the start of year 5. I would bet money that Microsoft would go back to something new and proprietary, and my company would be locked out again. So what real incentive do I have to create a competing product that I know won't be around five years from now?
The terms against Microsoft are pretty good, but the five year window really lessens the blow. (Even more so when you know they'll wiggle against those terms all during the five years.) But I don't see it as being a big win for competition. Maybe a small window that a few can get some short-term punches in.
A microkernel. Wonderful --- not.
on
Exokernels Anyone?
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
You've got something that appears to fit just the most basic definition of a kernel. Simply securing and multiplexing the hardware.
Somehow, I really don't think that'll work out for a large operating system. (Mind you, for a box with simple functionality, this may actually be good in terms of performance.)
It seems like the only real argument they are pushing is speed. (But, although they don't really admit it, you put some major kinks in compatibility.) The only real comparable example is something called "Socket". Their version is twice as fast as a version running under BSD.
But then again, all the OS code that would make it 'play nice' with other things on the operating system probably aren't there, which would explain the gain. (I'll go ahead and throw out the notion of academic dishonest, which was there in microkernels, using different compiling options, etc. Ask Linux all about what he thinks of it.)
Anyhow, what little I've seen emphasis speed, but doesn't show the downside. That would appear to be the cost of converting *complex* applications, and the ability to coexist with other things.
I see no real benefit of going with this method. For example, if I was a company, given the choice of having my internal app ported to an Exokernel, or throwing more hardware at it, I'd throw more hardware at it. No brainer. No big boon for developers.
I agree with the jist of what has been said here. The interview itself is 99% important. The post-interview is where you have the greatest chance of hurting things rather than helping.
A thank-you card is good. Excessive call-backs aren't. Also remember, what the poster previous to me said. They'll make an offer to person X. If it doesn't go through, they'll go to the next person, and the next.
The real question is if you're in the cut of people to be called, and how far down. But I can't think of a clever way to ask someone that at the appropriate time.
I could have sworn that the ALi came out first. You sure?
About the temperature, well, I do have to agree with you there. 68C is way too hot. My overclocked Athlon is running at 51C. Shutdown temperature has been set on the motherboard for 60C on the CPU (145F). But I don't think the board has much to do with the temperature of his CPU here.
Isn't that as silly as saying -5VDC is a dimensionless number, because voltage is a relative scale, and doesn't mean anything unless you say it is relative to 'earth ground'?
I recently went with the Iwill KA-266Plus motherboard. (An version with an early BIOS got a bit of a poo-poo from Tom's Hardware, but the latest versions rock.) Purchased a 1.3mhz Athlon with it, and 2x256mb of DDR memory.
I have to say, I'm extremely pleased with what I have. I've managed to bump the FSB up to 147mhz, and have the system run stable. That means I'm getting 1.47ghz on the Athlon, and 294mhz on the memory. Very nice.
I'm really surprised the Ali Magik chipset didn't get more attention that it did. It was the first to enable DDR memory with the Athlon Socket A chips.
My configuration allows me to get the very highest 3DMark 2001 benchmark for my system, although I'm not running a Gamer's video card.
I went with the Radeon VE. It has built in hardware optimizations for viewing DVDs, MPEGs. It also has dual-video output, so I've got a normal monitor, and my home television connected as two different screens.
Anyhow, just wanted to say, nice choice on the ALI Magik motherboard.
How do you account for the movement of the earth over this time? The aiming of the signal must be done with extreme precision, or the reflection will miss the earth by hundreds of millions of miles on the way back. (Not to mention the drift of the target itself over 100 years.)
Just wanted to say, I liked the interview. What surprised me most were Wil's responses. He actually sounded HUMAN. (I don't know why I felt compelled to write that. After all, we all know that he IS human. I guess it is just that I've never really seen the off-camera side of him.) Far more articulate than I expected.
Growing up (and being the same age as Wil), I identified with his character in some ways. Oddly enough, reading his response, I identify with HIM in other ways.
This is getting far too scary for me to continue.;)
I enjoy strategy games. They do a bit to sharpen the mind, and provide a bit of a puzzle/challenge. I think things are at their best when resources are scarce, and you have to really manage what little you have.
As far a supply lines, morale, etc... kinda. I really don't want to get involved into micro-managing everything because it really slows down and takes away from gameplay. I don't think it is an issue of games getting complex enough to get to this point, but it is more avoided because it is so annoying.
Of course, there are games which have aspects of it. Say, supply lines are enforced in an indrect way in Master Of Orion. Or morale in Pool Of Radiance (2001).
I think the most complex strategy game I'm looking forward to is Master of Orion III. It *will* have micromanagement aspects, but at the same time, you are a ruler, and you have to spend "focus points" to be able to dig into the details to tweak things.
I think what they're saying and NOT SAYING is that while a USB mouse will work as a PS/2 with an ADAPTOR, this is a hardware adaptor. The problem with mine is that it keeps falling out of the PS2 PLUG, so I've been forced to go USB.
I like it, but if they don't go with the common mainstream stuff. For example, if they targeted specific hobbies, it would really be valuable. My example (which I can't hope for them to address) of classic arcade games (the actual 6' ones you find in the arcade) really could use a STRONG search engine that is focused on the niche.
It'd hook me up with schematics and other things I need. Great for niche exploration.
If it was said by a guy down the street, Scott McNealy himself, or Bill Joy, you should judge the arguments on their own merit.
The argument is, "aside from power and misuse, can you trust Microsoft on security"? That's raises a pretty tough question for Microsoft to answer. They can't rely on track history to pull them out of this one. And it'll be hard to come up with a rock-solid defense.
Recently I attended a presentation from Sun Microsystems, which among other things, covered SunOne and Project Liberty. These parts of the presentation probably weren't NDA (the SunOne might have been... so I won't go into too much detail about it).
Basically, SunOne looks at things from the point of the individual corporation. It is an interesting way to align IT assets to face (and view) customers, vendors, equipment, etc. It has quite a number of layers, but uses open protocols all the way. Very interesting. The only downside I could see is that it would be difficult for a large company to implement because of the scope of changes that would be necessary.
Project Liberty, in their presentation to us as a business, still stressed the important of privacy. What was the term they used? Something like a Federated... forgot... basically, a number of authorities on different things, with no one person holding all of the 'directory'. They said that in.Net My Services (or whatever name it is going by... Hailstorm, etc), Microsoft would be the holder of the directory, and therefore, in a position of extreme power.
I'd certainly like to hear a counter-view on both, but.Net/Hailstorm's potentials for incremental billing of 'computer services' and privacy issues have got me a bit concerned. And I'm not a privacy freak.
Joe! I will pay you $5 to take a survey about your Xbox and to let me see which games you play on it. Don't worry. This will be kept confidential in accordance with my "privacy policy" which says I can share it with all my business partners.
Joe! I see that you have an UltimateTV. Congratulations ! With your permission, I can access your viewing and recording history in order to provide you with a better Internet experience. I'll even throw in a 20% discount off your first purchase! Would you like that?
Now I get why Microsoft would be eager to get this into Linux, and every other viable competitor..Net isn't about just web services. It is about programs. You can be charged $5/month for a backup program after 30 days. Of $2/month for extra calendar features. Or $1/month for an online backup of your config files.
If *just* Windows goes into renting software, then the Linux community has a GREAT advantage. Why? People absolutely HATE having the meter running. Any service which has a flat rate, when reasonably priced and sometimes even slightly more expensive, will ALWAYS win the consumer. It is a historical truth.
If only Windows adopts.Net, and the renting of software, they're writing the first chapter in the mainstreaming of Linux. That is, providing, the Linux community doesn't adopt.Net!
Seems like it would be a strategic advantage NOT to have software rental on Linux. And this is a plus for the open source community.
Bad accounting practice. Slashdot *should* be charging other OSDN departments for advertising space, even if it is "funny money". Just like IT charges against different departments, or the copy room does. It isn't anything different. If these are "free ads" then someone's getting ripped.
There is clearly quite a bit of history about this. Reading about this chain, in a way, is like arriving on earth and being told by Palistinians and Israelies that both sides are evil, each trying to convince you they are right.
What does Jeff Minter and Atari have to do with it? Why is this guy an assembly programming genius or a smelly hippy?
There really isn't much software for it, is there? That is, no real compelling reason to run out and get one, aside from the upcoming open sourcing?
How good is the processor on this? Is it completely custom and doesn't fit anything out there? Need a special compiler? How much memory?
Every once in a blue moon, I come across a Slashdot story like this. It assumes that I understand a particular frame of reference which, unfortunately, I don't. For those of us who aren't in the know, can someone back up a step or two and explain what a NUON is? A processor? Media storage standrd?
Okay, first, an agreement that this guy wasn't just quirky.
But, I wanted to share an overall perception that my management readily agrees with. Your best Systems Administrators *ARE* a bit unusual. The more normal a person is, chances are, the less skilled of an SA they are.
Knowing this helps quite a bit in the interview process. "This guy seems normal. But he doesn't seem to be very skilled."
It also helps when dealing with members of a team, "This guy can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but he really has some great ideas."
My team is full of unusual people, with a few normals mixed in. Generally, as long as the person isn't in outer-space, or is outrageous, you can mesh their quirks quite nicely, and sometimes take advantage of them.
TiVo's announcement today that it has a licensing agreement with Sony is the beginning of the end of the standalone PVR receiver. TiVo chief Mike Ramsay all but admitted that today. Here's his quote:
"It's a big deal for us," said Mike Ramsay, TiVo chief executive. "It's a strategy to sort of get out of the hardware business."
[reduced version of an essay I have yet to rewrite]
Why is TiVo so delicious? Especially for a game console manufacturer who wants to adopt services? The answer is simple. The DVR locks itself into your television experience as a layer between your remote and your programming. How so?
Once you have a TiVo/UltimateTV/ReplayTV, you are always working within the software environment. That is, it is not like a game console where you say, "Now I am going to play video games. Okay. Now I am done. I am going to switch it off and watch TV." The DVR is an always-on computer television appliance. It does a good job of integrating itself into the television... people without TiVos don't think about turning their TiVo off to do something else. [How? The primary reason is that it takes over the remote control. If you can get people to use YOUR remote control to operate their home television with YOUR appliance, you can put anything in between that you want.]
Match that with a game console, and online services, and you see why it is so attractive. An online service that is "always on" makes itself far more easier to adopt than something you turn off and on.
This is the future and, for this reason, television computing will become pervasive. WebTV isn't it. Game consoles aren't it. It is the DVR which will allow companies to sink their services into the "home television computer".
Looks like they really want to concentrate on the software/service side of the house. Interesting, but doesn't it make them even more of a Microsoft target?
I'm hoping this agreement will let manufacturers do things (recording to digital media) that TiVo wouldn't do for itself otherwise.
As mentioned in the Via Hardware article, there is this review of just the motherboard. $320 isn't a bad entry point for a fully functional computer.
I'm wondering about its usefulness as a video machine / server of some sort (from the hardware side... not going to touch the software side HERE).
Internal space, at least in this particular case, would limit you to a single drive. The larger disk bay you'd probably want to use with a cd-r writer/dvd reader. For my single card slot, I'd choose an ATI All-In-Wonder because it does capture/tuner functions, and svideo out. But unfortunately, I think the PCI bus speed (+/- 33mhz) may cramp things. I haven't done the math yet.
The built-in ethernet is a major plus. Too bad the built in sound doesn't have RCA output.
Anyhow, at this point, I don't think anyone cares. But I'm looking to build a box with capture, playback, dvd rip, cdromwrite, net capabilities. Don't care if it'll cost more than a TiVo. I want to get the software written.
Spinning off its OS devision. DEVISION?
on
Palm OS Spinoff
·
· Score: 1
So now, it is no longer a vision, but a de-vision? I would think that there would be some division over that position.;)
Slashdot Mirror
When I originally heard about this, I thought that five years was a short amount of time. Even more so now that I read the press release.
Okay. Assuming in year 1, Microsoft publishes all of its proprietary protocols. Your company makes a program that goes head-on with something of Microsoft's. (Say, an Exchange server on Solaris, or something.)
You've got a few years to make improvements and get a really reliable and feature-filled product. Microsoft will probably throw a few kinks your way, but that's fine.
What I am wondering is... the start of year 5. I would bet money that Microsoft would go back to something new and proprietary, and my company would be locked out again. So what real incentive do I have to create a competing product that I know won't be around five years from now?
The terms against Microsoft are pretty good, but the five year window really lessens the blow. (Even more so when you know they'll wiggle against those terms all during the five years.) But I don't see it as being a big win for competition. Maybe a small window that a few can get some short-term punches in.
You've got something that appears to fit just the most basic definition of a kernel. Simply securing and multiplexing the hardware.
Somehow, I really don't think that'll work out for a large operating system. (Mind you, for a box with simple functionality, this may actually be good in terms of performance.)
It seems like the only real argument they are pushing is speed. (But, although they don't really admit it, you put some major kinks in compatibility.) The only real comparable example is something called "Socket". Their version is twice as fast as a version running under BSD.
But then again, all the OS code that would make it 'play nice' with other things on the operating system probably aren't there, which would explain the gain. (I'll go ahead and throw out the notion of academic dishonest, which was there in microkernels, using different compiling options, etc. Ask Linux all about what he thinks of it.)
Anyhow, what little I've seen emphasis speed, but doesn't show the downside. That would appear to be the cost of converting *complex* applications, and the ability to coexist with other things.
I see no real benefit of going with this method. For example, if I was a company, given the choice of having my internal app ported to an Exokernel, or throwing more hardware at it, I'd throw more hardware at it. No brainer. No big boon for developers.
I agree with the jist of what has been said here. The interview itself is 99% important. The post-interview is where you have the greatest chance of hurting things rather than helping.
A thank-you card is good. Excessive call-backs aren't. Also remember, what the poster previous to me said. They'll make an offer to person X. If it doesn't go through, they'll go to the next person, and the next.
The real question is if you're in the cut of people to be called, and how far down. But I can't think of a clever way to ask someone that at the appropriate time.
I could have sworn that the ALi came out first. You sure?
About the temperature, well, I do have to agree with you there. 68C is way too hot. My overclocked Athlon is running at 51C. Shutdown temperature has been set on the motherboard for 60C on the CPU (145F). But I don't think the board has much to do with the temperature of his CPU here.
Isn't that as silly as saying -5VDC is a dimensionless number, because voltage is a relative scale, and doesn't mean anything unless you say it is relative to 'earth ground'?
I recently went with the Iwill KA-266Plus motherboard. (An version with an early BIOS got a bit of a poo-poo from Tom's Hardware, but the latest versions rock.) Purchased a 1.3mhz Athlon with it, and 2x256mb of DDR memory.
I have to say, I'm extremely pleased with what I have. I've managed to bump the FSB up to 147mhz, and have the system run stable. That means I'm getting 1.47ghz on the Athlon, and 294mhz on the memory. Very nice.
I'm really surprised the Ali Magik chipset didn't get more attention that it did. It was the first to enable DDR memory with the Athlon Socket A chips.
My configuration allows me to get the very highest 3DMark 2001 benchmark for my system, although I'm not running a Gamer's video card.
I went with the Radeon VE. It has built in hardware optimizations for viewing DVDs, MPEGs. It also has dual-video output, so I've got a normal monitor, and my home television connected as two different screens.
Anyhow, just wanted to say, nice choice on the ALI Magik motherboard.
How do you account for the movement of the earth over this time? The aiming of the signal must be done with extreme precision, or the reflection will miss the earth by hundreds of millions of miles on the way back. (Not to mention the drift of the target itself over 100 years.)
But I like the concept.
Just wanted to say, I liked the interview. What surprised me most were Wil's responses. He actually sounded HUMAN. (I don't know why I felt compelled to write that. After all, we all know that he IS human. I guess it is just that I've never really seen the off-camera side of him.) Far more articulate than I expected.
;)
Growing up (and being the same age as Wil), I identified with his character in some ways. Oddly enough, reading his response, I identify with HIM in other ways.
This is getting far too scary for me to continue.
I enjoy strategy games. They do a bit to sharpen the mind, and provide a bit of a puzzle/challenge. I think things are at their best when resources are scarce, and you have to really manage what little you have.
As far a supply lines, morale, etc... kinda. I really don't want to get involved into micro-managing everything because it really slows down and takes away from gameplay. I don't think it is an issue of games getting complex enough to get to this point, but it is more avoided because it is so annoying.
Of course, there are games which have aspects of it. Say, supply lines are enforced in an indrect way in Master Of Orion. Or morale in Pool Of Radiance (2001).
I think the most complex strategy game I'm looking forward to is Master of Orion III. It *will* have micromanagement aspects, but at the same time, you are a ruler, and you have to spend "focus points" to be able to dig into the details to tweak things.
I think what they're saying and NOT SAYING is that while a USB mouse will work as a PS/2 with an ADAPTOR, this is a hardware adaptor. The problem with mine is that it keeps falling out of the PS2 PLUG, so I've been forced to go USB.
Bummer. This configuration screen seems to only advertise support for serial mice. I'm using the USB IntelliMouse. :(
I like it, but if they don't go with the common mainstream stuff. For example, if they targeted specific hobbies, it would really be valuable. My example (which I can't hope for them to address) of classic arcade games (the actual 6' ones you find in the arcade) really could use a STRONG search engine that is focused on the niche.
It'd hook me up with schematics and other things I need. Great for niche exploration.
The PGP signature is not really relevant here.
If it was said by a guy down the street, Scott McNealy himself, or Bill Joy, you should judge the arguments on their own merit.
The argument is, "aside from power and misuse, can you trust Microsoft on security"? That's raises a pretty tough question for Microsoft to answer. They can't rely on track history to pull them out of this one. And it'll be hard to come up with a rock-solid defense.
Good play by Sun.
Recently I attended a presentation from Sun Microsystems, which among other things, covered SunOne and Project Liberty. These parts of the presentation probably weren't NDA (the SunOne might have been... so I won't go into too much detail about it).
.Net My Services (or whatever name it is going by... Hailstorm, etc), Microsoft would be the holder of the directory, and therefore, in a position of extreme power.
.Net/Hailstorm's potentials for incremental billing of 'computer services' and privacy issues have got me a bit concerned. And I'm not a privacy freak.
Basically, SunOne looks at things from the point of the individual corporation. It is an interesting way to align IT assets to face (and view) customers, vendors, equipment, etc. It has quite a number of layers, but uses open protocols all the way. Very interesting. The only downside I could see is that it would be difficult for a large company to implement because of the scope of changes that would be necessary.
Project Liberty, in their presentation to us as a business, still stressed the important of privacy. What was the term they used? Something like a Federated... forgot... basically, a number of authorities on different things, with no one person holding all of the 'directory'. They said that in
I'd certainly like to hear a counter-view on both, but
It gets even better.
Joe! I will pay you $5 to take a survey about your Xbox and to let me see which games you play on it. Don't worry. This will be kept confidential in accordance with my "privacy policy" which says I can share it with all my business partners.
Joe! I see that you have an UltimateTV. Congratulations ! With your permission, I can access your viewing and recording history in order to provide you with a better Internet experience. I'll even throw in a 20% discount off your first purchase! Would you like that?
Now I get why Microsoft would be eager to get this into Linux, and every other viable competitor. .Net isn't about just web services. It is about programs. You can be charged $5/month for a backup program after 30 days. Of $2/month for extra calendar features. Or $1/month for an online backup of your config files.
.Net, and the renting of software, they're writing the first chapter in the mainstreaming of Linux. That is, providing, the Linux community doesn't adopt .Net!
If *just* Windows goes into renting software, then the Linux community has a GREAT advantage. Why? People absolutely HATE having the meter running. Any service which has a flat rate, when reasonably priced and sometimes even slightly more expensive, will ALWAYS win the consumer. It is a historical truth.
If only Windows adopts
Seems like it would be a strategic advantage NOT to have software rental on Linux. And this is a plus for the open source community.
Bad accounting practice. Slashdot *should* be charging other OSDN departments for advertising space, even if it is "funny money". Just like IT charges against different departments, or the copy room does. It isn't anything different. If these are "free ads" then someone's getting ripped.
There is clearly quite a bit of history about this. Reading about this chain, in a way, is like arriving on earth and being told by Palistinians and Israelies that both sides are evil, each trying to convince you they are right.
What does Jeff Minter and Atari have to do with it? Why is this guy an assembly programming genius or a smelly hippy?
There really isn't much software for it, is there? That is, no real compelling reason to run out and get one, aside from the upcoming open sourcing?
How good is the processor on this? Is it completely custom and doesn't fit anything out there? Need a special compiler? How much memory?
Every once in a blue moon, I come across a Slashdot story like this. It assumes that I understand a particular frame of reference which, unfortunately, I don't. For those of us who aren't in the know, can someone back up a step or two and explain what a NUON is? A processor? Media storage standrd?
Okay, first, an agreement that this guy wasn't just quirky.
But, I wanted to share an overall perception that my management readily agrees with. Your best Systems Administrators *ARE* a bit unusual. The more normal a person is, chances are, the less skilled of an SA they are.
Knowing this helps quite a bit in the interview process. "This guy seems normal. But he doesn't seem to be very skilled."
It also helps when dealing with members of a team, "This guy can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but he really has some great ideas."
My team is full of unusual people, with a few normals mixed in. Generally, as long as the person isn't in outer-space, or is outrageous, you can mesh their quirks quite nicely, and sometimes take advantage of them.
But none were as "quirky" as that guy.
TiVo's announcement today that it has a licensing agreement with Sony is the beginning of the end of the standalone PVR receiver. TiVo chief Mike Ramsay all but admitted that today. Here's his quote:
"It's a big deal for us," said Mike Ramsay, TiVo chief executive. "It's a strategy to sort of get out of the hardware business."
[reduced version of an essay I have yet to rewrite]
Why is TiVo so delicious? Especially for a game console manufacturer who wants to adopt services? The answer is simple. The DVR locks itself into your television experience as a layer between your remote and your programming. How so?
Once you have a TiVo/UltimateTV/ReplayTV, you are always working within the software environment. That is, it is not like a game console where you say, "Now I am going to play video games. Okay. Now I am done. I am going to switch it off and watch TV." The DVR is an always-on computer television appliance. It does a good job of integrating itself into the television... people without TiVos don't think about turning their TiVo off to do something else. [How? The primary reason is that it takes over the remote control. If you can get people to use YOUR remote control to operate their home television with YOUR appliance, you can put anything in between that you want.]
Match that with a game console, and online services, and you see why it is so attractive. An online service that is "always on" makes itself far more easier to adopt than something you turn off and on.
This is the future and, for this reason, television computing will become pervasive. WebTV isn't it. Game consoles aren't it. It is the DVR which will allow companies to sink their services into the "home television computer".
Looks like they really want to concentrate on the software/service side of the house. Interesting, but doesn't it make them even more of a Microsoft target?
I'm hoping this agreement will let manufacturers do things (recording to digital media) that TiVo wouldn't do for itself otherwise.
As mentioned in the Via Hardware article, there is this review of just the motherboard. $320 isn't a bad entry point for a fully functional computer.
I'm wondering about its usefulness as a video machine / server of some sort (from the hardware side... not going to touch the software side HERE).
Internal space, at least in this particular case, would limit you to a single drive. The larger disk bay you'd probably want to use with a cd-r writer/dvd reader. For my single card slot, I'd choose an ATI All-In-Wonder because it does capture/tuner functions, and svideo out. But unfortunately, I think the PCI bus speed (+/- 33mhz) may cramp things. I haven't done the math yet.
The built-in ethernet is a major plus. Too bad the built in sound doesn't have RCA output.
Anyhow, at this point, I don't think anyone cares. But I'm looking to build a box with capture, playback, dvd rip, cdromwrite, net capabilities. Don't care if it'll cost more than a TiVo. I want to get the software written.
So now, it is no longer a vision, but a de-vision? I would think that there would be some division over that position. ;)