Someone please explain to me why I would use a USB mouse which blocks up one of my limited USB ports (which I use for my Visor cradle and wireless access point) when I could just use a PS/2 mouse which uses a PS/2 mouse port that would otherwise be wasted.
No reason. You're right - why waste the PS/2 port?
However the thing isn't really about junking existing hardware that works perfectly well, it's more about the design of new hardware. In this new hardware, the PS/2 port wouldn't be wasted because it simply wouldn't exist.
Having a single connector for everything would be very nice. Even with current designs it's unlikely to happen, but if we're lucky it looks like we might get down to five or six - VGA, DVI, USB (2.0 for the moment), Firewire, ethernet RJ-45 and RCA jacks for speakers. Actually - maybe seven if you add in S/PDIF.
Quite a lot of different connecters, yes? I'd welcome any move to simplify all that lot.
A former Microsoft and Creative Labs interface designer...
Err....
Cheers, Ian
Oxgyen di-hydride
on
What, Me Worry?
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
...or something. I'm not a chemist - no doubt someone who is will correct me on the exact name.
Literally years ago, I remember seeing a newsclip on the BBC which highlighted how easily people could be whipped up into a frenzy due to lack of knowledge and skewed facts. They interviewed a researcher into risk, who had asked people the following.
Should this chemical (oxygen d-hydride) be banned?
This chemical is a major component of acid rain
It has caused many tens of thousands of fatalities over the last ten years
It has caused immense damage to property, and destroyed entire towns
...and so on. You get the point. The chemical under discussion was, of course, water. By giving it a scientific-sounding name, and describing it as dangerous a massive majority was immediately in favour of a ban.
Oh, and will some kind chemist please put me out of my misery regarding the exact term that must have been used?
it seems that music you listen closely too sounds better with WMP, and fast, not listened to music sounds ok w/ ogg.
Well....not quite. There's a different frequency distribution between electronic, pop acoustic and classical music.
Specifically, electronic music, which most dance stuff is, has a very flat frequency distribution. See this for yourself - load your favourite media player, siwtch on the graphic equaliser graph and watch how basically nothing happens except in the mid-range.
Now try again with an orchestral piece. There will be much more variation, though in most it will tend towards the top end.
Now try again with rock. Tends towards the bottom and top, with middle frequencies missing.
Keep going with any format you feel like mentioning...you'll get the same.
Actually, this is a striking example of how recording techniques can ruin sound as well. Take a look at the Apollo 440 album - Gettin' High on Your Own Supply. A good mixture of guitars and electronics, right? Well, look at the frequency graph again. See how virtually every guitar frequency variation has been cut out: this music was recorded digitally, mostly using samples by the looks of it. The normal variations you'd associate with having guitars play live are all filtered out, and the graph goes back to the flat digital sound again.
I heard this on the BBC's Today programme this morning. They had a professor from my old university, Lancaster, on explaining his disbelief.
He pointed to the fact that an Irish university (sorry - don't remember which) had spent quite some time reproducing the experiment, and that this re-running of the experiment had failed to verify a single claim.
I'd love this to be true. Sadly however, at this moment I'd have to put myself in the non-believer camp.
In my third (and last) shot at live action role playing I tangled with someone that had got too far into character and had a real axe...
Hmm. Can't think why you gave it up.
As a kid I used to thump at other kids with a six foot wooden staff (the nature of monkey was irrepressible)
Aah, Pigsy! Yes, I was hit in the eye by one of my friends playing with a similar-sized bamboo pole - I'd be about fourteen at the time. Wasn't hurt at all, just a black eye for a few days. I remember being a bit shocked, then utterly smug that I'd survived a deadly assault with a fearsome weapon with barely a scratch...
How about eliminating my wallet?....I can't believe that no cell phone company has come up with this feature yet.
Being trialed in the UK at the moment, by Virgin I believe.
Cheers, Ian
My one-and-only shot at live action role-playing..
on
Virtual Sword Fighting
·
· Score: 5, Funny
Whilst at University, a few friends decided to have a crack at a live-action role playing session. Not an organised one - just us lot pratting about on the playing fields really.
Armed with my foam sword, and utterly unable to use it, I cheerfully bumbled about with the rest of 'em, swishing the odd swish and generally having a good time.
Until I came up against Nick.
Now Nick is an interesting person. He has reactions like no-one else I've ever played against in anything. To give an idea, I had never been defeated in air-hockey by anyone I played (and I played a lot) until I played Nick. And Nick I never beat even once...
Back onto the role-playing session, and in my wanderings I ran into Nick, who was holding two rather better constructed foam swords. Turning to me, he did some ridiculously cool flick with both hands - crossing swords whilst swinging them, like you see in the old pirate films - and began his advance.
Role-playing to the hilt, I briefly considered. "What would my character do in this situation? Would he a) buckle his swash and fight like a man or b) flee like the cringing curr he really is?".
You are not born with the right to a job. If you don't have a job, my commeriserations. However, disallowing nepotism there never was a job which it was your destined right to claim. A job must either be created by you through entrepreneurship, or offered to you by someone else. It is not 'your' job unless you choose the first option.
...the H1-B visa program has a bad effect on the future of the US as a world technology leader...the lack of economic incentive for homegrown US technical talent...is causing the best/brightest to pursue other opportunities
By implication then, the homegrown talent has moved on to other opportunities and so is benefiting the economy in a different role.
So yes....whilst that means that the US programming jobs (or technical or whatever) might be less attractive to them, other areas of the US economy would be improving due to the movement of the best and brightest into other areas. Medical research perhaps. Or even vaccuum-cleaner inventing - the area doesn't matter, only the benefit.
I'm a contractor in the UK. Despite tough times and assorted cuts, I am still extremely well paid for what I do. Despite this, I'm looking to diversify out of the computing industry. Why?
Well, to carry on blindly is to labour under the assumption that I can always be a highly paid contractor in the IT industry, and that there will always be a market for my skills. I simply can't guarantee that, and so the sensible thing for me to do is to put some of my money into an entirely separate area of business in order to hedge the risk. A popular one for this in the UK is to become a landlord - you collect rent to cover the mortgage, and gain on the property price increase. It's not foolproof, but it's not too bad either.
The problem appears to be that many people assume they have a right to get a well-paid job, simply because it took them a lot of effort to learn what they know. Truth is you'll be valued according to the value you provide for the company (allowing for politics). If they don't find your x years' worth of study to be valuable, well then you won't get a high paid job. This is happening to many graduates in the UK at the moment, who are coming out after the last big expansion drive. They thought a degree would guarantee them a good job. Many didn't realise that if that degree was in something like Media Studies, to use the cliched example, you'd probably have been better off never going to University at all and just getting a job straight from school.
A quick aside - my girlfriend and I briefly considered moving to the States a while ago, and eventually decided against it. Quite a number of reasons, but one that stood out was the ridiculous, slave-like nature of the visa we'd have to go under. To those saying that the H1Bs are stealing all your jobs - trust me, they're working hard for those jobs.
. In that community, as people realize there is no reward for contributing or punishment for not contributing, they lower their contributions as time goes on.
Hmm. Not really applicable to open source though, is it? I'd agree that this is the conventional model. However, no-one ever gave anything back in the first place to the developer, so whatever their incentive to start writing was - that incentive still exists.
If you are running something that requires a dongle, then you probably are at a business buying pre-built systems, not rolling their own..
I understand your point, but I'm interested in running Cubase on this. I'm specifically interested in the box because it's very quiet, but Cubase requires a dongle which connects via the parallel port.
The problem can be solved, I think, by getting a USB to parallel adaptor.
Post in HTML (not plain text), and then use href tags:
so....
instead of http://www.eruvia.org in the text, you'd add: <a href="http://www.eruvia.org">link text</a>. That would produce something like this.
Hope that helps (the site is just my homepage by the way, nothing special).
Ah yes, I remember now. We too had to use it for multi-site development, and the speed was awful. So we got into some sort of remote syncing, and that turned into a nightmare too...
Right. So how does this affect the copyright violation statistics....I don't see how this can lead to bad results
Yes, exactly. The poster to whom I was responding was implying that people who didn't use word processors at all would be skewing the results. They wouldn't - they'd be completely excluded as you correctly point out.
Why are manholes round? Note: This is a famous Microsoft question.
Aah....that's where this rubbish comes from is it? I got asked that question whilst interviewing for a job at a major US bank (in London). My answer was "manhole covers are round to fit round manholes, and beyond that I do not consider manhole covers". I was quite sharp.
It took them back a bit, but companies forget that this is an interview, ie. you aquire a view of them as they aquire a view of you. My view of them was influenced by that question - it showed they were a fad-based set of idiots, and immediately that question was asked I no longer had any interest in working there.
I didn't get the job of course. The feedback I got was "he was technically fine, but I don't think he took the interview seriously....". Naah. Really? Can't think why.
Everytime the phone rings my hair still stands up on end because i'm afraid of yet another person saying, "Hey toq just wanted to ask you a quick question!"
At parties, every so often I say I'm a greengrocer. Trust me - people are much more interested in it than with the answer "I'm in computers", and you also don't risk the dreaded "yeah, I've got a problem with my computer. I just can't get it to...<insert MS Word function here>".
Slashdot Mirror
Cheers,
Ian
No reason. You're right - why waste the PS/2 port?
However the thing isn't really about junking existing hardware that works perfectly well, it's more about the design of new hardware. In this new hardware, the PS/2 port wouldn't be wasted because it simply wouldn't exist.
Having a single connector for everything would be very nice. Even with current designs it's unlikely to happen, but if we're lucky it looks like we might get down to five or six - VGA, DVI, USB (2.0 for the moment), Firewire, ethernet RJ-45 and RCA jacks for speakers. Actually - maybe seven if you add in S/PDIF.
Quite a lot of different connecters, yes? I'd welcome any move to simplify all that lot.
Cheers,
Ian
Err....
Cheers,
Ian
Literally years ago, I remember seeing a newsclip on the BBC which highlighted how easily people could be whipped up into a frenzy due to lack of knowledge and skewed facts. They interviewed a researcher into risk, who had asked people the following.
Should this chemical (oxygen d-hydride) be banned?
Oh, and will some kind chemist please put me out of my misery regarding the exact term that must have been used?
Cheers,
Ian
Well....not quite. There's a different frequency distribution between electronic, pop acoustic and classical music.
Specifically, electronic music, which most dance stuff is, has a very flat frequency distribution. See this for yourself - load your favourite media player, siwtch on the graphic equaliser graph and watch how basically nothing happens except in the mid-range.
Now try again with an orchestral piece. There will be much more variation, though in most it will tend towards the top end.
Now try again with rock. Tends towards the bottom and top, with middle frequencies missing.
Keep going with any format you feel like mentioning...you'll get the same.
Actually, this is a striking example of how recording techniques can ruin sound as well. Take a look at the Apollo 440 album - Gettin' High on Your Own Supply. A good mixture of guitars and electronics, right? Well, look at the frequency graph again. See how virtually every guitar frequency variation has been cut out: this music was recorded digitally, mostly using samples by the looks of it. The normal variations you'd associate with having guitars play live are all filtered out, and the graph goes back to the flat digital sound again.
Cheers,
Ian
He pointed to the fact that an Irish university (sorry - don't remember which) had spent quite some time reproducing the experiment, and that this re-running of the experiment had failed to verify a single claim.
I'd love this to be true. Sadly however, at this moment I'd have to put myself in the non-believer camp.
Cheers,
Ian
Hmm. Can't think why you gave it up.
As a kid I used to thump at other kids with a six foot wooden staff (the nature of monkey was irrepressible)
Aah, Pigsy! Yes, I was hit in the eye by one of my friends playing with a similar-sized bamboo pole - I'd be about fourteen at the time. Wasn't hurt at all, just a black eye for a few days. I remember being a bit shocked, then utterly smug that I'd survived a deadly assault with a fearsome weapon with barely a scratch...
Well, I did say I was only about fourteen...
Cheers, Ian
Being trialed in the UK at the moment, by Virgin I believe.
Cheers,
Ian
Armed with my foam sword, and utterly unable to use it, I cheerfully bumbled about with the rest of 'em, swishing the odd swish and generally having a good time.
Until I came up against Nick.
Now Nick is an interesting person. He has reactions like no-one else I've ever played against in anything. To give an idea, I had never been defeated in air-hockey by anyone I played (and I played a lot) until I played Nick. And Nick I never beat even once...
Back onto the role-playing session, and in my wanderings I ran into Nick, who was holding two rather better constructed foam swords. Turning to me, he did some ridiculously cool flick with both hands - crossing swords whilst swinging them, like you see in the old pirate films - and began his advance.
Role-playing to the hilt, I briefly considered. "What would my character do in this situation? Would he a) buckle his swash and fight like a man or b) flee like the cringing curr he really is?".
I ran like hell...
Cheers,
Ian
No.
You are not born with the right to a job. If you don't have a job, my commeriserations. However, disallowing nepotism there never was a job which it was your destined right to claim. A job must either be created by you through entrepreneurship, or offered to you by someone else. It is not 'your' job unless you choose the first option.
Cheers,
Ian
The H1B scheme is self-protective. The terms and conditions are ridiculous.
The UK has a very similar scheme, with less restrictive terms. That scheme is still considered harsh in this country.
Cheers,
Ian
(in the UK)
By implication then, the homegrown talent has moved on to other opportunities and so is benefiting the economy in a different role.
So yes....whilst that means that the US programming jobs (or technical or whatever) might be less attractive to them, other areas of the US economy would be improving due to the movement of the best and brightest into other areas. Medical research perhaps. Or even vaccuum-cleaner inventing - the area doesn't matter, only the benefit.
I'm a contractor in the UK. Despite tough times and assorted cuts, I am still extremely well paid for what I do. Despite this, I'm looking to diversify out of the computing industry. Why?
Well, to carry on blindly is to labour under the assumption that I can always be a highly paid contractor in the IT industry, and that there will always be a market for my skills. I simply can't guarantee that, and so the sensible thing for me to do is to put some of my money into an entirely separate area of business in order to hedge the risk. A popular one for this in the UK is to become a landlord - you collect rent to cover the mortgage, and gain on the property price increase. It's not foolproof, but it's not too bad either.
The problem appears to be that many people assume they have a right to get a well-paid job, simply because it took them a lot of effort to learn what they know. Truth is you'll be valued according to the value you provide for the company (allowing for politics). If they don't find your x years' worth of study to be valuable, well then you won't get a high paid job. This is happening to many graduates in the UK at the moment, who are coming out after the last big expansion drive. They thought a degree would guarantee them a good job. Many didn't realise that if that degree was in something like Media Studies, to use the cliched example, you'd probably have been better off never going to University at all and just getting a job straight from school.
A quick aside - my girlfriend and I briefly considered moving to the States a while ago, and eventually decided against it. Quite a number of reasons, but one that stood out was the ridiculous, slave-like nature of the visa we'd have to go under. To those saying that the H1Bs are stealing all your jobs - trust me, they're working hard for those jobs.
Cheers,
Ian
Hmm. Not really applicable to open source though, is it? I'd agree that this is the conventional model. However, no-one ever gave anything back in the first place to the developer, so whatever their incentive to start writing was - that incentive still exists.
Cheers,
Ian
Well, lessening the proportion of contributors anyway. The amount stays the same.
Cheers,
Ian
No problem - glad it helps. I'm interested too, because I'd need to run a parallel-port dongle off this box (for Cubase).
Cheers,
Ian
I understand your point, but I'm interested in running Cubase on this. I'm specifically interested in the box because it's very quiet, but Cubase requires a dongle which connects via the parallel port.
The problem can be solved, I think, by getting a USB to parallel adaptor.
Cheers,
Ian
Perhaps these USB to parallel adaptors would help. Bit pricy perhaps - ~$40 for the cheapest there.
Cheers,
Ian
Anyone know a UK source, or someone willing to import?
Cheers,
Ian
<a href="http://www.eruvia.org">link text</a>. That would produce something like this.
Hope that helps (the site is just my homepage by the way, nothing special).
Cheers,
Ian
Ah yes, I remember now. We too had to use it for multi-site development, and the speed was awful. So we got into some sort of remote syncing, and that turned into a nightmare too...
Yes. Now I recognise what you mean.
Cheers,
Ian
Be interested to hear what problems you're having. I used ClearCase in one of my jobs, and thought it was really rather good.
Cheers,
Ian
Never mind the spirit. You have to admire his bank balance...
Cheers,
Ian
Yes, exactly. The poster to whom I was responding was implying that people who didn't use word processors at all would be skewing the results. They wouldn't - they'd be completely excluded as you correctly point out.
Cheers,
Ian
Aah....that's where this rubbish comes from is it? I got asked that question whilst interviewing for a job at a major US bank (in London). My answer was "manhole covers are round to fit round manholes, and beyond that I do not consider manhole covers". I was quite sharp.
It took them back a bit, but companies forget that this is an interview, ie. you aquire a view of them as they aquire a view of you. My view of them was influenced by that question - it showed they were a fad-based set of idiots, and immediately that question was asked I no longer had any interest in working there.
I didn't get the job of course. The feedback I got was "he was technically fine, but I don't think he took the interview seriously....". Naah. Really? Can't think why.
Cheers,
Ian
At parties, every so often I say I'm a greengrocer. Trust me - people are much more interested in it than with the answer "I'm in computers", and you also don't risk the dreaded "yeah, I've got a problem with my computer. I just can't get it to...<insert MS Word function here>".
Cheers,