From the looks of things on the web-page, e-pseak is based on the API's that are being used, and this is how the content is being translated.
So what exactly is HP releasing? If it is simply the source to the software to deal with e-speak, then we still are dealing with a set of closed API's, correct? Is this what the "Apache-like review board" will be overlooking?
Just wondering. While this potentially could be a great boost for commercial e-business on Linux, there is still a concern (I believe) with regards to control of the software.
M$ does have sense of community. Unfortunately, it's a gated community, where you have to pay to enter.
And also unfortunately, you must adhere to the Community Association's rules for care of your house, and what kind of car you're allowed to drive. The Community Association dictates what is good for all.
Agreed. Online ballot stuffing generally speaks of a script-kiddie-ish beahviour, and does little to advance one's cause.
Unless you're voting for Ric Flair at Time's man of the century poll.;-)
The only thing it may do is make people aware of the options, and I do't think that Linux is suffering from lack of Mindshare anymore. Besides, there are better alternatives when trying to advocate one's favorite OS.
Seriously, the last time I saw a ballot-stuffing call to arms was when the trolls on r.s.p-w decided to mobilize. Slashdot shouldn't be following their lead.
There's also another factor at work here: M$ may be creating this high prcing strategy to make their rumored X-box seem cheap by comparison.
Originally, I had thought that pricing on W2K may drive those casual Windows users, who primarily use it for surfing and games to the PS2 or Dreamcast. INstead, they may besetting up the X-Box to look attractive by compaarison.
"Is W2K too much for your needs? Look into an X-Box...run all your Windows games for a fraction of the cost." If M$ includes a W2K client-access (or authentication, or whatever it ends up being) license with the X-Box as well, then they will potentially be offering something attractive to those casual Windows users that PS2 and Dreamcast won't have.
So, M$ is really trying to distinguish between the low-end user and the more net-connected user, and segment the market more.
Memory is foggy, but AIR, the lawsuit was not based on the implementation of the API, but rather that Creative used knowledge they had under NDA for the Graphics BLaster Voodoo2 and Banshee boards they were producing to create the wrapper.
So it was not the implementation of the API per se, but rather, they had illegally used information they possessed to create it.
Correct me, if I'm wrong though. It's the only way I'll learn...
After having some problems with my Initial install of Linux (Mandrake 6.0), I decided to wipe the partition and re-install Linux w/o putting on X.
I gotta say, I do enjoy it a whole lot more. Everything is where it needs to be, and it doesn't feel like Windows wannabe anymore. (This isn't a value judgement on KDE here, just on GUI's in general).
As an added feature, I'm able to get in and actually learn the system and the commands, and gain a good understanding of whats going on. Something that X and the GUI's where doing a wonderful job of making me oblivious too.
Don't mind me, I'm just enjoying a second (Computer) childhood on a X-less linux box.
Now, if I could just figuire out why emacs and vi always give me a Fatal Error 11, I'd be happier. Luckily, pico works.
I believe you have part of the answer: they are approaching from the family market. However, how's this for a scenario:
1) More and more homes have gravitated from being 2 TV homes to being 2 PC homes. 2) Cheap, always on broadband access is becoming more and more prevalent (at least where I live - everyone has cable) 3) Families will be looking for a cheap, easy way to split the access, allowing Jimmy to play Starcraft while Dad downloads pr0n. 4) Enter Gateway, with the Qube, allowing an inexpensive solution to allow the whole family to share access. The fact that it's an out-of-the-box solution, and that it can be configured via a browser makes it less threatening than administering a server is normally viewed.
Personally, I'm thinking Gateway is trying to get a jump on M$ before those X-Boxes come out requiring a Win200X Server to run. (one X-box per TV...we know what they're aiming for)
From a personal perspective I imagine we're 5 years from having a home server being a solution that you can get at future shop, and maybe a couple more before it becomes a built-in option in new homes (widespread, not counting cutting-edge planned communities that are likely candidates for being early-adopters).
Anyways, while we have the chance, lets make sure our little Penguin is the one thats purring away quitely next to the water-heater and furnace in the basement.
One wonders what crazy advertising stunts companies will get up to next... colonising the moon just to plant a permanent billboard sign? The future will probably be stranger than we can ever expect.
Apparently, they opted for the rocket when they realized the cost of shining a laser billboard on the moon would be prohibitive.
The future is strange, and it is here.
Re:Movie making possibities
on
The Cat Cam
·
· Score: 1
For an exploration of a version of this, I recommend "Synner's" by Pat Cadigan. Her earlier work "Mindplayers" also plays with the theme of direct sensory input to the brain.
Ideas? Well, once we know how to get decode the images, then encoding images to input data would be easier. Say, curing the blind?
Of course, we'd have to make sure there was a way to encrypt the data, or at least provide decent security / shielding, so no one can phreak your visual inputs.
Having an online bookseller strike an arrangement with the ubiquitous Kinko's, or even a larger chain like Staples or Office Max. Currently, pizza places will only have one number and route your call to the closest location. Why not have the same with Kinko's.
Just add a couple checkboxes for paper type and binding (cerlox, 3-hole, whatever), and then:
I hadn't seen too much on the previous posts about Linux compatibility. It seems the Psion has its own OS, but how well does it work with a Linux system for syncing your calendars and other file transfers?
I believe I saw where it mentioned MS Outlook and Lotus Calendar compatibility, (but not Lotus Notes?), so I feel that doesn't bode too well for playing nice with a Linux desktop.
I think Merced reached critical mass (criticality?) with Negative Mindshare. The stories about missed shipped dates, production problems, etc. had gotten so large that people were expecting the chip to fail regardless of how good it was, or of how accurate the stories were.
While I think a movie that is well done may be cool, I see little if any point to actually doing a movie on this. Syndicated Television has been inundated with hour-long action / adventure shows with a band of adventurers in a fantasy setting. Hercules, Xena, Sinbad, Robin Hood, Conan, heck, even Mystic Warriors of Tyr-na-Nog. All of these shows have reasonable special effects, though the acting and plots may occasionally leave something to be desired. But that's to be expected...it is syndicated TV after all:)
Anyways, the above shows have been in the public's eye for quite some time, and the D&D movie will need to compete against those preconcieved ideas. So they are either going to have to bust out the special effects in ways that we haven't seen before (and we've seen a lot of beasties on TV) or make the story that much more epic and sweeping (more along the lines of Braveheart).
My biggest concern is this: with a few exceptions, most of the TSR D&D novels have been the fantasy equivalent of a Harleguin romance or Mack Bolan: Executioner book: quick, formulaic pablum. Anything that they put out is really goiong to have to fight against this tendency to get over with the general movie-going public.
I think Hasbro -> WotC -> TSR might be better served by going the episodic TV route as well. A rotating cast of characters, with interweaving plot-lines, may actually serve them well in the long run.
Reflections on a future that has arrived.
on
Ask Bruce Sterling
·
· Score: 3
We are starting to see parts of the future that you, Mr. Gibson, and others in the cyberpunk genre have predicted come true. Items such as the Mirrorshades are closer than ever to being a reality (the recent work by IBM on body portables being an example).
Are you surprised by how much what you forecasted has or has not come true? Is there anything you thought for sure was going to happen but didn't?
And thought hindsight is often useless, in what ways would the current situation (cultural/political/technological) change the stories that you have written? Part of the trap with writing speculative fiction set in the near-future is that as the future date approaches, unless you are dead on with the predictions, the story will move into the realm of wild fantasy. John Carpenter's 'Escape from New York' serves as an example. In the end, it all comes down to the story. How well do you think your stories (and cyberpunk in general) will stand up in 20 years time?
I'm thinking a nice, bright Biohazard symbol on the front would do quite nicely.
Speaking of tehcnology to print and dye, you've seen the buses that are completely encased in billboards? Simplified, those are simply really large decals. All we need is a pattern for those labels that we could apply onto the notebooks, and then anyone with a color inkjet and Gimp could have their own custom laptop.
Somehow I can see Avery Laptop decal kits on the shelves already...
Exactly. Much like the idiots who insist on using a cell-phone while behind the wheel, I imagine the casualty rate of early adopters will be quite high.
Anyone with one of those pieces might as well be wearing a neon sign that sez 'rob me blind'.
Not to mention the fact that the computer itself is going to be worth $2000+ (not counting all those nifty add-on options). There's gonna be a pretty decent street value for one of those things.
Kids will finally be able to stop robbing each other for their sneakers, and move on to some real valuable property.
Slashdot Mirror
From the looks of things on the web-page, e-pseak is based on the API's that are being used, and this is how the content is being translated.
So what exactly is HP releasing? If it is simply the source to the software to deal with e-speak, then we still are dealing with a set of closed API's, correct? Is this what the "Apache-like review board" will be overlooking?
Just wondering. While this potentially could be a great boost for commercial e-business on Linux, there is still a concern (I believe) with regards to control of the software.
M$ does have sense of community. Unfortunately, it's a gated community, where you have to pay to enter.
And also unfortunately, you must adhere to the Community Association's rules for care of your house, and what kind of car you're allowed to drive. The Community Association dictates what is good for all.
Agreed. Online ballot stuffing generally speaks of a script-kiddie-ish beahviour, and does little to advance one's cause.
;-)
Unless you're voting for Ric Flair at Time's man of the century poll.
The only thing it may do is make people aware of the options, and I do't think that Linux is suffering from lack of Mindshare anymore. Besides, there are better alternatives when trying to advocate one's favorite OS.
Seriously, the last time I saw a ballot-stuffing call to arms was when the trolls on r.s.p-w decided to mobilize. Slashdot shouldn't be following their lead.
http://www.microsoft.com/products/hardware/takecon trol/default.htm
I hope I'm not the only one who finds that complete pathname kind of humorous and ironic at the same time?
M$ => "Our mission statements are in our URL's"
...isn't the list missing two serious "geekfests"?
Shouldn't Gencon and E^3 be on this list as well?
I mean, what self-respecting geek would miss the mother of all RPG conventions.
Not to mention the "beer and booth babe bonanza".
I mean, no tour schedule should be without these on the list.
There's also another factor at work here: M$ may be creating this high prcing strategy to make their rumored X-box seem cheap by comparison.
Originally, I had thought that pricing on W2K may drive those casual Windows users, who primarily use it for surfing and games to the PS2 or Dreamcast. INstead, they may besetting up the X-Box to look attractive by compaarison.
"Is W2K too much for your needs? Look into an X-Box...run all your Windows games for a fraction of the cost." If M$ includes a W2K client-access (or authentication, or whatever it ends up being) license with the X-Box as well, then they will potentially be offering something attractive to those casual Windows users that PS2 and Dreamcast won't have.
So, M$ is really trying to distinguish between the low-end user and the more net-connected user, and segment the market more.
Just a thought
Memory is foggy, but AIR, the lawsuit was not based on the implementation of the API, but rather that Creative used knowledge they had under NDA for the Graphics BLaster Voodoo2 and Banshee boards they were producing to create the wrapper.
So it was not the implementation of the API per se, but rather, they had illegally used information they possessed to create it.
Correct me, if I'm wrong though. It's the only way I'll learn...
## offtopic
After having some problems with my Initial install of Linux (Mandrake 6.0), I decided to wipe the partition and re-install Linux w/o putting on X.
I gotta say, I do enjoy it a whole lot more. Everything is where it needs to be, and it doesn't feel like Windows wannabe anymore. (This isn't a value judgement on KDE here, just on GUI's in general).
As an added feature, I'm able to get in and actually learn the system and the commands, and gain a good understanding of whats going on. Something that X and the GUI's where doing a wonderful job of making me oblivious too.
Don't mind me, I'm just enjoying a second (Computer) childhood on a X-less linux box.
Now, if I could just figuire out why emacs and vi always give me a Fatal Error 11, I'd be happier. Luckily, pico works.
I believe you have part of the answer: they are approaching from the family market. However, how's this for a scenario:
1) More and more homes have gravitated from being 2 TV homes to being 2 PC homes.
2) Cheap, always on broadband access is becoming more and more prevalent (at least where I live - everyone has cable)
3) Families will be looking for a cheap, easy way to split the access, allowing Jimmy to play Starcraft while Dad downloads pr0n.
4) Enter Gateway, with the Qube, allowing an inexpensive solution to allow the whole family to share access. The fact that it's an out-of-the-box solution, and that it can be configured via a browser makes it less threatening than administering a server is normally viewed.
Personally, I'm thinking Gateway is trying to get a jump on M$ before those X-Boxes come out requiring a Win200X Server to run. (one X-box per TV...we know what they're aiming for)
From a personal perspective I imagine we're 5 years from having a home server being a solution that you can get at future shop, and maybe a couple more before it becomes a built-in option in new homes (widespread, not counting cutting-edge planned communities that are likely candidates for being early-adopters).
Anyways, while we have the chance, lets make sure our little Penguin is the one thats purring away quitely next to the water-heater and furnace in the basement.
Did an NDA expire today or something?
Just a couple quick links:
Anandtech GeForce 256 Review
Ace's Hardware GEForce 256 Review
RivaExtreme GeForce 256 DDR Review
The FiringSquad GeForce 256 DDR Review
GA Source Guillemot 3D Prophet Review
3DGPU Geforce 256 DDR Review
Fast Graphics Guillemot 3D Prophet Review
CGO GeForce 256 Preview
Shugashack GeForce, V3 and TNT2 benchmark roundup
Riva3D Full GeForce 256 DDR Review
GeForce 256 DDR Review at Planet Riva
Any others?
One wonders what crazy advertising stunts companies will get up to next ... colonising the moon just to plant a permanent billboard sign? The future will probably be stranger than we can ever expect.
/. article.
Check out this recent
Apparently, they opted for the rocket when they realized the cost of shining a laser billboard on the moon would be prohibitive.
The future is strange, and it is here.
For an exploration of a version of this, I recommend "Synner's" by Pat Cadigan. Her earlier work "Mindplayers" also plays with the theme of direct sensory input to the brain.
Not Stephenson, but not bad.
Ideas? Well, once we know how to get decode the images, then encoding images to input data would be easier. Say, curing the blind?
Of course, we'd have to make sure there was a way to encrypt the data, or at least provide decent security / shielding, so no one can phreak your visual inputs.
Keeping on the Stephenson theme here...
Having an online bookseller strike an arrangement with the ubiquitous Kinko's, or even a larger chain like Staples or Office Max. Currently, pizza places will only have one number and route your call to the closest location. Why not have the same with Kinko's.
Just add a couple checkboxes for paper type and binding (cerlox, 3-hole, whatever), and then:
"Will that be for pick-up or delivery?"
I hadn't seen too much on the previous posts about Linux compatibility. It seems the Psion has its own OS, but how well does it work with a Linux system for syncing your calendars and other file transfers?
I believe I saw where it mentioned MS Outlook and Lotus Calendar compatibility, (but not Lotus Notes?), so I feel that doesn't bode too well for playing nice with a Linux desktop.
Anyone have some more concrete information?
What the hell was wrong with "Merced", anyway?
I think Merced reached critical mass (criticality?) with Negative Mindshare. The stories about missed shipped dates, production problems, etc. had gotten so large that people were expecting the chip to fail regardless of how good it was, or of how accurate the stories were.
inshort, the old name was FUD'ed to death
While I think a movie that is well done may be cool, I see little if any point to actually doing a movie on this. Syndicated Television has been inundated with hour-long action / adventure shows with a band of adventurers in a fantasy setting. :)
Hercules, Xena, Sinbad, Robin Hood, Conan, heck, even Mystic Warriors of Tyr-na-Nog. All of these shows have reasonable special effects, though the acting and plots may occasionally leave something to be desired. But that's to be expected...it is syndicated TV after all
Anyways, the above shows have been in the public's eye for quite some time, and the D&D movie will need to compete against those preconcieved ideas. So they are either going to have to bust out the special effects in ways that we haven't seen before (and we've seen a lot of beasties on TV) or make the story that much more epic and sweeping (more along the lines of Braveheart).
My biggest concern is this: with a few exceptions, most of the TSR D&D novels have been the fantasy equivalent of a Harleguin romance or Mack Bolan: Executioner book: quick, formulaic pablum. Anything that they put out is really goiong to have to fight against this tendency to get over with the general movie-going public.
I think Hasbro -> WotC -> TSR might be better served by going the episodic TV route as well. A rotating cast of characters, with interweaving plot-lines, may actually serve them well in the long run.
We are starting to see parts of the future that you, Mr. Gibson, and others in the cyberpunk genre have predicted come true. Items such as the Mirrorshades are closer than ever to being a reality (the recent work by IBM on body portables being an example).
Are you surprised by how much what you forecasted has or has not come true? Is there anything you thought for sure was going to happen but didn't?
And thought hindsight is often useless, in what ways would the current situation (cultural/political/technological) change the stories that you have written? Part of the trap with writing speculative fiction set in the near-future is that as the future date approaches, unless you are dead on with the predictions, the story will move into the realm of wild fantasy. John Carpenter's 'Escape from New York' serves as an example. In the end, it all comes down to the story. How well do you think your stories (and cyberpunk in general) will stand up in 20 years time?
The trick then is to have a short distance vertical launch device to hurl the nuke several 100 feet vertically before detonation.
Something similar to those 'leapfrog' anti-personnel mines that pop up to waist level before spraying shrapnel everywhere. Just on a larger scale.
Either that, or just place the device on the top of any large skyscraper downtown. Most urban centers have some buildings which would qualify.
Just speculation however.
Sweet! I didn't know that really existed. Thought it was more along the lines of your standard generated-FMV that you see in flicks and games.
So, that being said, is there something similar for Linux, or a way to emulate Irix software on our favorite OS?
I'm thinking a nice, bright Biohazard symbol on the front would do quite nicely.
Speaking of tehcnology to print and dye, you've seen the buses that are completely encased in billboards? Simplified, those are simply really large decals. All we need is a pattern for those labels that we could apply onto the notebooks, and then anyone with a color inkjet and Gimp could have their own custom laptop.
Somehow I can see Avery Laptop decal kits on the shelves already...
Unnecessary actually. IBM and others are also working on biologically-keyed authorization systems.
Besides, an optical reader in that little headset just kinda makes sense.
I'm sure that idea will keep you warm at night in your full body cast as your bones knit.
Video surveillance has been ubiquitous in corner stores and banks for years, and has not served as much of a deterent.
Exactly. Much like the idiots who insist on using a cell-phone while behind the wheel, I imagine the casualty rate of early adopters will be quite high.
Anyone with one of those pieces might as well be wearing a neon sign that sez 'rob me blind'.
Not to mention the fact that the computer itself is going to be worth $2000+ (not counting all those nifty add-on options). There's gonna be a pretty decent street value for one of those things.
Kids will finally be able to stop robbing each other for their sneakers, and move on to some real valuable property.
Just one more way to thin the herd, I guess.
> >> And just because I like computers doesn't mean I want to wear one all the time.
> I *hate* watches but I wear one because it tells me what time it is.
So? I haven't worn a watch since 1989, mostly because I *hate* wearing them. No pocketwatches either, thank you.
Have I been late? Am I unaware of the time? No. In fact, if anything, I'm more conscious of the time, because I'm forced to think about it.