OK, so sell the 3D cards (and DVD-Rs) if you don't need them. Say you're setting up a cluster of 20 G4s. Sell each video card for say $250, buy a el-cheapo PCI video card for $50, save $200/Mac. Sell the SuperDrive for $400 or so (they retail for $1000 so this shouldn't be hard), and you've saved $600 per computer. For 20 boxes, that's $12,000. Probably brings it a lot closer to the initial cost for a comparable Linux cluster, plus you've saved lots of setup time by going Mac.
Actually, Apple stills offers the old form factor iMac, now redubbed the iMac G3, starting at $799 for the low end. Go to www.apple.com/imac/g3 for details
However, beacuse free software doesn't lose revenue if it's hard to use, it has more leniency in user interface. Plus, most of the people who use free software are long-time computer users and often Linux/Unix nerds, who are willing to put more effort into it, it works. But for the average mom, who may well have a fair bit of disposable income, a command line is petrifying and big, shiny icons are 'pretty' and help make the experience worthwhile.
As a big-time Mac user, I haven't had too much interaction with PC laptops, but when I have, there's been one thing I've ALWAYS hated about ThinkPads specifically: that little red nubbin of a mouse. I fail to understand why IBM uses niether a trackball nor a trackpad. Everyone I've spoken with hates the nubbin. Otherwise, their laptops look pretty decent.
My guess, and please remember, IANAL, would be that Sony has always hated the modchips, but for the ones that allowed CD-R copies of games to be played, they could legally do very little. There are legit uses of CD-R PSX games (ie Backups) that make the modchips legal. However, once the mod-chips start to break region-coding and so forth, Sony probably just saw this as thei opportunity to strike. Of course, I could be wrong.
Re:EULAs for console games are printed ON the box
on
Sony vs Modchips
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· Score: 1
Maybe your collection is only 3.2GB (mine's about that size as well). But if that's the case, what is the advantage of 10GB? Part of it is for using the device as an external hard drive, right? In which case, large file transfers would be much more common and more speed very helpful. And furthermore, you say that each synch would be minutes not hours. Well, why not make it seconds, not minutes?
10GB=8.589935e+10 bits (assuming they're using 1024MB/GB not 100 to inflate the numbers). USB=12mbps=1.258291e+07bits/sec. Assuming this device completely saturates the USB port (it won't), that will take (8.59e+10)/(1.26e+07)=6826.668 seconds=1.89 hours. That seems like a long time to me. the iPod downloads its 5 gigs (yes, only 5, not 10) in ten minutes or so. Yeah, it's $150 more, but that's a big time difference
Can I just point out, as everyone complains about the $3K cost, that that cost is the *initial* cost? How often does a piece of high technology stay at its launch price for more than a few months? once these things go into volume production and the methods are refined, I'd bet we'll see a major price drop! And if not, just buy one from eBay. I'm sure they'll surface there within a couple of weeks of their launch.
Although I haven't tried OGG yet, I do have a reasonably hefty MP3 library. To answer the bitrate question, I try to encode (or download) at least 192kBps files. I recently upgraded my stereo to a $2300Can ($1500US) system and suddenly noticed that half of my MP3s sounded like shit. My previous (basically free) system was too lousy to notice any defects in the encoding.
"The primary goal is development of reusable launch technology that leads next to a high altitude sub-orbital rocket vehicle for space tourism, rocket racing (e.g. vertical drag racing at air shows) and the X-Prize competition." ---How about the Darwin Awards competition?
I heard an interesting (possibly apocryphal) story about something like this on a password system. A few years back, Symantec Tech Support got a call from a user looking for a backdoor to Norton DiskLock. What was happening was this: They were a government employee and the capital was under seige as part of a rebel coup. All the weapons were stored in one high-security building which was locked with a combination lock. The ONLY person who knew the combo had been killed, and had only recorder the combo on his password-protected computer. The governemt forces (obviously) really wanted into the armory, but couldn't break in. As a result, the government fell, apparently with less than expected defense.
Here I was, all set to not buy the CD because the alleged "music" was god-awful, and now I have to not buy it because it's copy-protected! What ever shall I do?
I would assume that it's because of the copyability of software. I know computer stores won't let you return non-defective software once it's opened. Re-selling the software amounts to the same risk: you could buy it, install it or burn it, then re-sell it. I think this is what the software writers are trying to avoid, although with Disk IMages and high-speed internet access, it's kind of pointless.
Long-time computer users help out
on
Dorm Storm?
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· Score: 1
I was a frosh last year, and signed up for my ResNet over the summer. A few interesting thigns I noted:
1) In the first week, before everyone else, connected, speeds of 500k/s or more were common. Once everyone was connected, 100k/s was almost unheard of. For the record, my school didn't black Napster, which was a very comman bandwidth use at the time (sigh, remember when Napster didn't suck?)
2) More advanced computer users often lend a hand to more recent computer folks. As soon as I set up my late model PowerMac G4, 19" monitor, CD burner, scanner, etc etc and started teching out, I became an instant target. Out of the 50 people in my rex, I must halve held more than 10 hook up. I even helped a friend of a friend of a friend of a guy in my engineering program set up her Mac, after my name and phone # had been passed down that entire chain of people.
I'm sure that the paid installers have a hell of a time ("what's a DIP switch?" "Is ethernet the same as a modem?", etc etc), but I think for the most part, students help each other out a fair bit.
I have a secondary question: I am a longtime Mac user with an interest in learning Linux. As far as I know my options are LinuxPPC, Yellow Dog Linux and SuSe Linux-or really old ones such as MkLinux. Anyone have any suggestions as to which is the best starter for Apple hardware? I'm currently in the process of installing LinuxPPC which has the advantage of being freely downloadable.
The Apple Newtons used an ARM processor. Now, it occurs to me that Apple still has all the old NewtonOS software lying around somewhere (probably in Setve Jobs' glove compartment). If Palm switches to an ARM platform, I say let them do the engineering to port the PalmOS to these chips, then licesnse said technology, and release a Palm/Newton hybrid. Of course, I'm just an armchair tech CEO, so WTF do I know?
For whatever it's worth, the copy of the virus I got (I'm on a Mac so it did a whole lot of s**t-all), came as a 1.5MB.text file. Neither of the articles linked by this story list.text as one of the common extensions. Just one more thing to watch out for.
Well, don't forget Watson's law: " The reliability of Machinery is inversely proportional to the number and significance of any persons watching it. " or Wherey's Principle: "If it jams-force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway"
Slashdot Mirror
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these...
Oh wait, that's kind of the point.
Well, then imagine... um.. darn, these are pretty cool on their own.
Apple is not a cult! Now put on your robes, we have to go the the hail-Steve chant!
Not that my username should have anything to due with it!
Incidentally: http://cult-of-mac.utu.fi/
It's all fun and games until somebody loses a limb.
... And then it's a sport
if (proposal_response==1)
ring++;
OK, so sell the 3D cards (and DVD-Rs) if you don't need them. Say you're setting up a cluster of 20 G4s. Sell each video card for say $250, buy a el-cheapo PCI video card for $50, save $200/Mac. Sell the SuperDrive for $400 or so (they retail for $1000 so this shouldn't be hard), and you've saved $600 per computer. For 20 boxes, that's $12,000. Probably brings it a lot closer to the initial cost for a comparable Linux cluster, plus you've saved lots of setup time by going Mac.
Actually, Apple stills offers the old form factor iMac, now redubbed the iMac G3, starting at $799 for the low end. Go to www.apple.com/imac/g3 for details
However, beacuse free software doesn't lose revenue if it's hard to use, it has more leniency in user interface. Plus, most of the people who use free software are long-time computer users and often Linux/Unix nerds, who are willing to put more effort into it, it works. But for the average mom, who may well have a fair bit of disposable income, a command line is petrifying and big, shiny icons are 'pretty' and help make the experience worthwhile.
As a big-time Mac user, I haven't had too much interaction with PC laptops, but when I have, there's been one thing I've ALWAYS hated about ThinkPads specifically: that little red nubbin of a mouse. I fail to understand why IBM uses niether a trackball nor a trackpad. Everyone I've spoken with hates the nubbin. Otherwise, their laptops look pretty decent.
My guess, and please remember, IANAL, would be that Sony has always hated the modchips, but for the ones that allowed CD-R copies of games to be played, they could legally do very little. There are legit uses of CD-R PSX games (ie Backups) that make the modchips legal. However, once the mod-chips start to break region-coding and so forth, Sony probably just saw this as thei opportunity to strike. Of course, I could be wrong.
"I am the Law!" ---Judge Dredd
Maybe your collection is only 3.2GB (mine's about that size as well). But if that's the case, what is the advantage of 10GB? Part of it is for using the device as an external hard drive, right? In which case, large file transfers would be much more common and more speed very helpful. And furthermore, you say that each synch would be minutes not hours. Well, why not make it seconds, not minutes?
10GB=8.589935e+10 bits (assuming they're using 1024MB/GB not 100 to inflate the numbers). USB=12mbps=1.258291e+07bits/sec. Assuming this device completely saturates the USB port (it won't), that will take (8.59e+10)/(1.26e+07)=6826.668 seconds=1.89 hours. That seems like a long time to me. the iPod downloads its 5 gigs (yes, only 5, not 10) in ten minutes or so. Yeah, it's $150 more, but that's a big time difference
Can I just point out, as everyone complains about the $3K cost, that that cost is the *initial* cost? How often does a piece of high technology stay at its launch price for more than a few months? once these things go into volume production and the methods are refined, I'd bet we'll see a major price drop! And if not, just buy one from eBay. I'm sure they'll surface there within a couple of weeks of their launch.
Although I haven't tried OGG yet, I do have a reasonably hefty MP3 library. To answer the bitrate question, I try to encode (or download) at least 192kBps files. I recently upgraded my stereo to a $2300Can ($1500US) system and suddenly noticed that half of my MP3s sounded like shit. My previous (basically free) system was too lousy to notice any defects in the encoding.
"The primary goal is development of reusable launch technology that leads next to a high altitude sub-orbital rocket vehicle for space tourism, rocket racing (e.g. vertical drag racing at air shows) and the X-Prize competition." ---How about the Darwin Awards competition?
I heard an interesting (possibly apocryphal) story about something like this on a password system. A few years back, Symantec Tech Support got a call from a user looking for a backdoor to Norton DiskLock. What was happening was this: They were a government employee and the capital was under seige as part of a rebel coup. All the weapons were stored in one high-security building which was locked with a combination lock. The ONLY person who knew the combo had been killed, and had only recorder the combo on his password-protected computer. The governemt forces (obviously) really wanted into the armory, but couldn't break in. As a result, the government fell, apparently with less than expected defense.
Here I was, all set to not buy the CD because the alleged "music" was god-awful, and now I have to not buy it because it's copy-protected! What ever shall I do?
I would assume that it's because of the copyability of software. I know computer stores won't let you return non-defective software once it's opened. Re-selling the software amounts to the same risk: you could buy it, install it or burn it, then re-sell it. I think this is what the software writers are trying to avoid, although with Disk IMages and high-speed internet access, it's kind of pointless.
I was a frosh last year, and signed up for my ResNet over the summer. A few interesting thigns I noted: 1) In the first week, before everyone else, connected, speeds of 500k/s or more were common. Once everyone was connected, 100k/s was almost unheard of. For the record, my school didn't black Napster, which was a very comman bandwidth use at the time (sigh, remember when Napster didn't suck?) 2) More advanced computer users often lend a hand to more recent computer folks. As soon as I set up my late model PowerMac G4, 19" monitor, CD burner, scanner, etc etc and started teching out, I became an instant target. Out of the 50 people in my rex, I must halve held more than 10 hook up. I even helped a friend of a friend of a friend of a guy in my engineering program set up her Mac, after my name and phone # had been passed down that entire chain of people. I'm sure that the paid installers have a hell of a time ("what's a DIP switch?" "Is ethernet the same as a modem?", etc etc), but I think for the most part, students help each other out a fair bit.
I have a secondary question: I am a longtime Mac user with an interest in learning Linux. As far as I know my options are LinuxPPC, Yellow Dog Linux and SuSe Linux-or really old ones such as MkLinux. Anyone have any suggestions as to which is the best starter for Apple hardware? I'm currently in the process of installing LinuxPPC which has the advantage of being freely downloadable.
The Apple Newtons used an ARM processor. Now, it occurs to me that Apple still has all the old NewtonOS software lying around somewhere (probably in Setve Jobs' glove compartment). If Palm switches to an ARM platform, I say let them do the engineering to port the PalmOS to these chips, then licesnse said technology, and release a Palm/Newton hybrid. Of course, I'm just an armchair tech CEO, so WTF do I know?
For whatever it's worth, the copy of the virus I got (I'm on a Mac so it did a whole lot of s**t-all), came as a 1.5MB .text file. Neither of the articles linked by this story list .text as one of the common extensions. Just one more thing to watch out for.
Well, don't forget Watson's law: " The reliability of Machinery is inversely proportional to the number and significance of any persons watching it. " or Wherey's Principle: "If it jams-force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway"
Where else can one find such obscure items, but good old eBay?
Perhaps it blacks out the bottom-right section and uses the top two?