Once again we see a story that is misleading, probably in an attempt to simply get accepted by the Slashdot editors.
The battery has a lifetime of 12 years, meaning that it can be discharged and charged enough times to last for 12 years before it needs to be replaced. In similar terms, my notebook battery lasts around 2 years. After 2 years of normal use the battery's capacity has been reduced to the point I need a new one.
Considering the patent is about to expire on retinal scanning, they ought to wait a few more months and utilize that type of biometric. It is much harder to forge, more accurate, and does not require physical contact (which spreads germs).
Street-level maps of the city and surrounding regions.
Medical history, for those with medical issues.
Any actual medications that have a decent enough shelf life to store for a while.
A pair of contacts or glasses if you need them.
Dust mask (at least).
Minimal first aid kit.
As an amateur radio operator I would definitely have a repeater guide to access repeaters while traveling. It's a sure thing the cell service will be down or overloaded. I'd also include a small wide-band receive transceiver, like the Yaesu VX-2R.
You know those kinetic flashlights we see advertised here at Slashdot by ThinkGeek all the time? Definitely one of those.
Ditto with a human-powered radio.
Some sort of food (granola bars at least).
A water purifier. There are water purifiers that are like a thick straw. You can put it in any water source and as you suck water through the "straw" it is purified.
A couple "space blankets".
A hard-copy of War of the Worlds. Putting it on the USB drive doesn't count.
One thing I haven't seen anyone mention is the increasing technology in the home. More and more non-technophile homes now have large TVs and powerful surround-sound systems. 10 years ago only a small number of homes had such hardware because the cost was much, much higher. 25 years ago it didn't exist for home-consumption at all. Thus the actual cinematic experience is no longer reserved for just the cinema. Pretty much the only thing theaters have going for them now is their exclusive access to new movies for a short while.
I'm a developer that has used PayPal to receive monies for the sale of thousands of copies of my software over the past several years. So I am one of those that doesn't perceive PayPal as evil, as they have never screwed me over personally.
However, as nice as it is that PayPal is going to make this happen, it really needs to be implemented within the actual banking system. I guess things are still too antiquated in some banking circles to reduce the transaction overhead enough to allow micropayments. However since their communication is already 100% digital, one would think they could make this happen if only they really wanted too. I guess too much human interaction is still involved, and it would be very difficult to track down theft when instead of a few hundred dollar transactions, someone has to look at several thousand 5 cent transactions.
Also, when micropayments become commonplace, I expect phishing to grow immensely. If something only costs, say, a quarter, then a person would be more likely to pay because the risk is so low (I can see the spam subjects now: "Download top-40 songs for only 25 cents each!"). And thus it follows that when the consumer is fleeced, they will not be as likely to pursue the issue to get their money back. My daughter lost a quarter in the vending machine last week, and it simply wasn't worth the effort on my part to hunt someone down to try and get a refund.
Also, can you imaging trying to contact the FBI to report an interstate theft of this kind?
"How much of your money did they take, sir?" "25 cents" "Did you know I get paid $20 an hour, and you have already used up $2 of my employers time just talking to me?" "No, I didn't" "[click] [sound of dialtone]"
I read ebooks daily on my 240x320 Pocket PC (I use it landscape for reading at 320x240, just like in the article photo). I seldom hold the device in one hand, as they indicate. The most comfortable method for me, allowing for reading for long periods of time, is to use both hands and "encircle" the device with my fingers. If you touch your index finger-tips together, as well as your thumb-tips, forming a rectangle that would encircle the device, you'll see what I mean.
My Pocket PC (Asus a716) has buttons on the top (when held landscape) that I can push with either index finger.
The main problem I see with this prototype is they force you to hold the device with your left hand in a specific position to operate the buttons. Hopefully an engineer will have the foresight to put multiple sets of page up / down buttons on the device so it can be utilized in different ways.
When we moved to Tulsa in 1982 the local Safeway had barcode scanners. I remember it extremely well - it was very state-of-the-art. Those cash registers even spoke the price of each item scanned. Obviously that feature was deemed too much of an annoyance. Imagine a dozen registers all scanning an item every couple seconds, and the register is calling out numbers via the typical male synthesizer of the day. It made quite a racket! Very few items did not have barcodes even at that point.
I worked at a grocery store in 1989 in the UPC department. Every item had a barcode then, and only small-time stores did not have barcode scanners at that point. So I think your statement about only being widely used in the last 10 years is off by at least a factor of 2.
Now that's what I'm talking about! How could something with a name like that not run like a bat out of hell? If you had a choice, wouldn't you rather be super than synergistic? I know I would! Something that is super doesn't even need synergy - it can go it alone.
You forgot to use the word "leverage" as a verb (oh, and you misspelled a word too - curse the Wikipedia-induced desire to correct everything!)
That's it, the Playstation 3 will definitely win the next console war by leveraging its Synergistic Processor units and developing core competencies to sustain a long-term competitive advantage in the new paradigm. Now that word is out on the blogosphere, Microsoft should just give up.
There - a very nice piece of mindless marketing-speak any marketing droid would be proud of!
Editor is too strong a word for what is done by Slashdot staff. Person who clicks button to approve story is far more accurate, although lacking a certain panache.
stories, whose three sentences contain all the information of the article they reference. Sort of like those movie trailers that manage to encapsulate every worthwhile scene of an entire movie in just one minute.
More predictions! If it is anything like its predecessor, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the book will use the word damn at least 50 times, contain a sprinkling of shits, there will be a least two dozen uses of the word bra (the author must think young boys have a fetish with sports bras), oh, and depict a magic-assisted attempted rape.
Just the sort of things to encourage young readers to embrace reading!
They shut down some sites to the (supposed) benefit of a handful of corporate entities. How about doing something useful, like aggressively shutting down phishing sites. You know, where criminals are trying to steal thousands of dollars from as many victims as possible? I know, I know, stopping kiddies from playing games that they couldn't have bought otherwise is important, and you politicians have to try and keep some of the lobbying pressure off of you from Copyright Barons. However if you want to help the population - you know, the actual people that elected you, not the corporate entities that now get to steer you - try concentrating on phishing, spam and worms. Oh, and figuring out a way to make Microsoft bear some actual liability for the multitude of security problems they have introduced which has affected millions of people a hundred times over would be a step in the right direction too.
Shew, this is good news. If I had made a typo trying to access Google, and instead of Google's homepage been presented with a link to download a program, goodness knows I couldn't have resisted the urge to download and run it! It already takes a good deal of my time getting around to running all the email attachments my friends send me, plus all these messages with attached programs I get saying my email account is suspended (which is sort of strange, because I administrate my own web site and email server - I guess I keep sending emails to myself and then forget about them). Oh well, that's the cost of being a hip, computer-savvy, in-touch kind of guy.
One would think that if they are planning on producing Episodes 7-9, that they would want Luke's original lightsaber as a prop. That's exactly the type of geeky - artsy - fartsy type thing Lucas and friends would want. So perhaps this is a good indicator that, as Lucas said recently, they will not be making the sequels.
I also can't believe that Lucas wouldn't have this thing sitting on the mantle in his living room - the ultimate status symbol of his power and reminder of the movies that made him millions (billions?).
We use the computer, certainly, or is the computer using us?
I'd like to thank the submitter for including that quote. It prevented me from wasting my time reading the article. I would have thanked them even more for not bothering submitting such a worthless article in the first place.
Oh yeah, back in the dark ages. Back before virus writers could write a script embedded in a Word DOC that would open Outlook and send out a worm to everyone in the address book.
The photos are quite different from those shown by New Scientist. This newer suite also reinforces the arms, where the New Scientist model is only legs and torso. Also the motors in this new suite are much smaller and don't stick way out the sides.
Anyone else notice the far-reaching and seemingly completely unrelated claims in the article?
Not only that, but because the microelectronics could eventually be made out of molecules, some computer parts could be biodegradable since molecules can be broken down into small bits.
The CPU represents a very small part of the computer disposal problem. These CPUs would be "one millionth" the size of current CPUs, so their biodegradability is even less important. Even so, if these computers would be 1 million times faster than today's computers, and assuming they cannot be made faster or smaller (because they are already down to single molecules), then each CPU should be designed to last forever - NOT to degrade. That is the best way to recycle - creating something indestructible that can always be reused for its original purpose. For some reason a "biodegradable CPU" just doesn't sound like it would last too long to me.
Building such a computer would be wildly complex and long distant, since computers have millions of tiny transistors inside them. Wolkow said it's more likely the new technology could be used sooner in fairly simple medical diagnostic sensors, perhaps carried around by doctors.
Now where the heck did that come from? How does this smaller transistor size lend itself to medical diagnostic equipment? Are they talking about nanobots that travel inside a patient? That certainly isn't a "fairly simple" thing.
I think your post is greatly over-rated because it is quite inaccurate.
it cant run MAME or any other emulators worth a damn.
Many, many emulators run at full speed on Pocket PC. Sega Genesis, and even Playstation 1 emulators run extremely well. Like anything else, if you try a specific emulator that is not well optimized for the platform then performance will be sub-par. For most all emulated platforms there are at least a few different emulator ports, and of course the performance varies greatly from one to another.
When it comes to graphics and sound, the PSP blows the PPC out of the water.
New Pocket PCs are already on the market with 3D hardware supporting OpenGL ES. As far as sound, I'm not quite sure how the PSP is better. Perhaps you mean it is louder than the particular Pocket PC you own?
I agree with the controls, although again some models are better than others. The model Pocket PC you select should reflect what you intend on using it for. Thus models with particularly bad button layouts should (can) be avoided if you are a gamer.
Regarding pressing multiple button at once, claiming that "most" units do not support multiple button presses is absolutely wrong. The very first ARM Pocket PC released 5 years ago - the iPaq 36xx - had that issue. I believe one other model besides has it as well. That is two models out of hundreds.
Slashdot Mirror
Once again we see a story that is misleading, probably in an attempt to simply get accepted by the Slashdot editors.
The battery has a lifetime of 12 years, meaning that it can be discharged and charged enough times to last for 12 years before it needs to be replaced. In similar terms, my notebook battery lasts around 2 years. After 2 years of normal use the battery's capacity has been reduced to the point I need a new one.
Dan East
Actually, the patent already expired. Here's the previous Slashdot story covering it:0 9/2011249
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/
Dan East
Considering the patent is about to expire on retinal scanning, they ought to wait a few more months and utilize that type of biometric. It is much harder to forge, more accurate, and does not require physical contact (which spreads germs).
Dan East
Dan East
According to Google, there are specific portions of each book that it will never show, making it impossible to harvest an entire book.
e limit
I'm already logged in. Why are you telling me the page is unavailable?
As part of our efforts to protect a book's copyright, a set of pages in every in-copyright book will be unavailable to all users.
http://print.google.com/googleprint/help.html#pag
Dan East
One thing I haven't seen anyone mention is the increasing technology in the home. More and more non-technophile homes now have large TVs and powerful surround-sound systems. 10 years ago only a small number of homes had such hardware because the cost was much, much higher. 25 years ago it didn't exist for home-consumption at all. Thus the actual cinematic experience is no longer reserved for just the cinema. Pretty much the only thing theaters have going for them now is their exclusive access to new movies for a short while.
Dan East
Wow. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like they run out of breath when reading the 100+ word run-on sentences in his blog?
Dan East
I'm a developer that has used PayPal to receive monies for the sale of thousands of copies of my software over the past several years. So I am one of those that doesn't perceive PayPal as evil, as they have never screwed me over personally.
However, as nice as it is that PayPal is going to make this happen, it really needs to be implemented within the actual banking system. I guess things are still too antiquated in some banking circles to reduce the transaction overhead enough to allow micropayments. However since their communication is already 100% digital, one would think they could make this happen if only they really wanted too. I guess too much human interaction is still involved, and it would be very difficult to track down theft when instead of a few hundred dollar transactions, someone has to look at several thousand 5 cent transactions.
Also, when micropayments become commonplace, I expect phishing to grow immensely. If something only costs, say, a quarter, then a person would be more likely to pay because the risk is so low (I can see the spam subjects now: "Download top-40 songs for only 25 cents each!"). And thus it follows that when the consumer is fleeced, they will not be as likely to pursue the issue to get their money back. My daughter lost a quarter in the vending machine last week, and it simply wasn't worth the effort on my part to hunt someone down to try and get a refund.
Also, can you imaging trying to contact the FBI to report an interstate theft of this kind?
"How much of your money did they take, sir?"
"25 cents"
"Did you know I get paid $20 an hour, and you have already used up $2 of my employers time just talking to me?"
"No, I didn't"
"[click] [sound of dialtone]"
Dan East
I read ebooks daily on my 240x320 Pocket PC (I use it landscape for reading at 320x240, just like in the article photo). I seldom hold the device in one hand, as they indicate. The most comfortable method for me, allowing for reading for long periods of time, is to use both hands and "encircle" the device with my fingers. If you touch your index finger-tips together, as well as your thumb-tips, forming a rectangle that would encircle the device, you'll see what I mean.
My Pocket PC (Asus a716) has buttons on the top (when held landscape) that I can push with either index finger.
The main problem I see with this prototype is they force you to hold the device with your left hand in a specific position to operate the buttons. Hopefully an engineer will have the foresight to put multiple sets of page up / down buttons on the device so it can be utilized in different ways.
Dan East
When we moved to Tulsa in 1982 the local Safeway had barcode scanners. I remember it extremely well - it was very state-of-the-art. Those cash registers even spoke the price of each item scanned. Obviously that feature was deemed too much of an annoyance. Imagine a dozen registers all scanning an item every couple seconds, and the register is calling out numbers via the typical male synthesizer of the day. It made quite a racket! Very few items did not have barcodes even at that point.
I worked at a grocery store in 1989 in the UPC department. Every item had a barcode then, and only small-time stores did not have barcode scanners at that point. So I think your statement about only being widely used in the last 10 years is off by at least a factor of 2.
Dan East
Synergistic Processing Units? Give me a break!
SPU == Super Processing Units.
Now that's what I'm talking about! How could something with a name like that not run like a bat out of hell? If you had a choice, wouldn't you rather be super than synergistic? I know I would! Something that is super doesn't even need synergy - it can go it alone.
Dan East
You forgot to use the word "leverage" as a verb (oh, and you misspelled a word too - curse the Wikipedia-induced desire to correct everything!)
That's it, the Playstation 3 will definitely win the next console war by leveraging its Synergistic Processor units and developing core competencies to sustain a long-term competitive advantage in the new paradigm. Now that word is out on the blogosphere, Microsoft should just give up.
There - a very nice piece of mindless marketing-speak any marketing droid would be proud of!
Dan East
Editor is too strong a word for what is done by Slashdot staff. Person who clicks button to approve story is far more accurate, although lacking a certain panache.
Dan East
Glad they got that over with right up front, so now the technology is public domain.
Dan East
stories, whose three sentences contain all the information of the article they reference. Sort of like those movie trailers that manage to encapsulate every worthwhile scene of an entire movie in just one minute.
Dan East
More predictions! If it is anything like its predecessor, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the book will use the word damn at least 50 times, contain a sprinkling of shits, there will be a least two dozen uses of the word bra (the author must think young boys have a fetish with sports bras), oh, and depict a magic-assisted attempted rape.
Just the sort of things to encourage young readers to embrace reading!
Dan East
They shut down some sites to the (supposed) benefit of a handful of corporate entities. How about doing something useful, like aggressively shutting down phishing sites. You know, where criminals are trying to steal thousands of dollars from as many victims as possible? I know, I know, stopping kiddies from playing games that they couldn't have bought otherwise is important, and you politicians have to try and keep some of the lobbying pressure off of you from Copyright Barons. However if you want to help the population - you know, the actual people that elected you, not the corporate entities that now get to steer you - try concentrating on phishing, spam and worms. Oh, and figuring out a way to make Microsoft bear some actual liability for the multitude of security problems they have introduced which has affected millions of people a hundred times over would be a step in the right direction too.
Dan East
Shew, this is good news. If I had made a typo trying to access Google, and instead of Google's homepage been presented with a link to download a program, goodness knows I couldn't have resisted the urge to download and run it! It already takes a good deal of my time getting around to running all the email attachments my friends send me, plus all these messages with attached programs I get saying my email account is suspended (which is sort of strange, because I administrate my own web site and email server - I guess I keep sending emails to myself and then forget about them). Oh well, that's the cost of being a hip, computer-savvy, in-touch kind of guy.
Dan East
One would think that if they are planning on producing Episodes 7-9, that they would want Luke's original lightsaber as a prop. That's exactly the type of geeky - artsy - fartsy type thing Lucas and friends would want. So perhaps this is a good indicator that, as Lucas said recently, they will not be making the sequels.
I also can't believe that Lucas wouldn't have this thing sitting on the mantle in his living room - the ultimate status symbol of his power and reminder of the movies that made him millions (billions?).
Dan East
People are making use of Google's new free API to show the location of stuff on a map.
Dan East
We use the computer, certainly, or is the computer using us?
I'd like to thank the submitter for including that quote. It prevented me from wasting my time reading the article. I would have thanked them even more for not bothering submitting such a worthless article in the first place.
Dan East
Oh yeah, back in the dark ages. Back before virus writers could write a script embedded in a Word DOC that would open Outlook and send out a worm to everyone in the address book.
Yeah, everyone had it rough back then.
Dan East
The photos are quite different from those shown by New Scientist. This newer suite also reinforces the arms, where the New Scientist model is only legs and torso. Also the motors in this new suite are much smaller and don't stick way out the sides.
Dan East
Anyone else notice the far-reaching and seemingly completely unrelated claims in the article?
Not only that, but because the microelectronics could eventually be made out of molecules, some computer parts could be biodegradable since molecules can be broken down into small bits.
The CPU represents a very small part of the computer disposal problem. These CPUs would be "one millionth" the size of current CPUs, so their biodegradability is even less important. Even so, if these computers would be 1 million times faster than today's computers, and assuming they cannot be made faster or smaller (because they are already down to single molecules), then each CPU should be designed to last forever - NOT to degrade. That is the best way to recycle - creating something indestructible that can always be reused for its original purpose. For some reason a "biodegradable CPU" just doesn't sound like it would last too long to me.
Building such a computer would be wildly complex and long distant, since computers have millions of tiny transistors inside them. Wolkow said it's more likely the new technology could be used sooner in fairly simple medical diagnostic sensors, perhaps carried around by doctors.
Now where the heck did that come from? How does this smaller transistor size lend itself to medical diagnostic equipment? Are they talking about nanobots that travel inside a patient? That certainly isn't a "fairly simple" thing.
Dan East
I think your post is greatly over-rated because it is quite inaccurate.
it cant run MAME or any other emulators worth a damn.
Many, many emulators run at full speed on Pocket PC. Sega Genesis, and even Playstation 1 emulators run extremely well. Like anything else, if you try a specific emulator that is not well optimized for the platform then performance will be sub-par. For most all emulated platforms there are at least a few different emulator ports, and of course the performance varies greatly from one to another.
When it comes to graphics and sound, the PSP blows the PPC out of the water.
New Pocket PCs are already on the market with 3D hardware supporting OpenGL ES. As far as sound, I'm not quite sure how the PSP is better. Perhaps you mean it is louder than the particular Pocket PC you own?
I agree with the controls, although again some models are better than others. The model Pocket PC you select should reflect what you intend on using it for. Thus models with particularly bad button layouts should (can) be avoided if you are a gamer.
Regarding pressing multiple button at once, claiming that "most" units do not support multiple button presses is absolutely wrong. The very first ARM Pocket PC released 5 years ago - the iPaq 36xx - had that issue. I believe one other model besides has it as well. That is two models out of hundreds.
Dan East