Speaking from experience here. I have a GeForce 2 GTS.
nVidia's linux drivers are very fast. maybe the timedemos show better scores in Windows, but subjectively, playing Q3 in linux is smoother. I haven't played in W2K though. Maybe it has to do with 9x's sucky multi-tasking.
The only problem is that these fast drivers are closed-source. The only thing that ever crashes my system is X. They don't always wake up after apm puts the graphics card to sleep. The machine is completely hung and only a hard-reset will do. Whenever I recompile my kernel and forget to recompile the nVidia kernel module, my graphics card locks up hard and there's no way to get it back. I have to "use the force" and switch to a virtual terminal and login as root and reboot without being able to see what I'm typing. These are exactly the kind of annoying things that would have been fixed in open source drivers by now.
I understand why nVidia has closed source drivers. They have other people's IP in them and they have fancy tech in there that would give an edge to the competition (at least that's what they believe and we don't have the evidence to determine otherwise). Their drivers are fast, but they are closed source and that is a serious downside to consider.
To make a long story short, if 3D gaming on an x86 under linux is your highest priority, get an nVidia card from a good manufacturer that is based on the reference design.
If stability is more important than 3D performance, get something else.
Although, I guess now with XFree86 4.0.2 you could have the best of both worlds. Use the open source drivers that come with XFree86 normally, but switch to the nVidia drivers when you want good 3D. GF2 and MX weren't supported in 4.0.1.
Football causes many, many injuries to minors who participate in it every year. Sometimes, these injuries are permanently crippling.
Football related crime is quite common as well. Team jackets are used as gang colors. Innocent children have been murdered as a result.
Furthermore, professional football players are the worst hedonists on the planet. They do drugs, they rape women, and they are loose with money! How on earth could we let these people be role models for our children?
So by all means, any library or school that is using my tax dollars should ban American football because it is "harmful to children."
Nuclear Power is very dangerous.
The fear mongering you speak of has been helpful in making it safer.
If you did not have public concern, then the corporations would do what they always do. They would way the costs of failure against the costs of overengineering and find the most profitable solution. Corporations tend to consider the cost of human life only insofar as it costs money to repay damage to human life. Ditto for environmental concerns.
That being said, the only thing that still leaves me in doubt over the use of nuclear power is the fact that the waste, while small, sticks around for a VERY long time. It is very possible that civilization as we know it will not exist by the time the nuclear waste is back to normal. That's a hell of a surprise to leave to future generations when they find it.
I'm paid very well to work on Zelerate AllCommerce, an open-source e-commerce package. I'm making twice as much as I did when I programmed proprietary apps for Windows.
Besides, most programming jobs are not for software that will every be sold. Most programming jobs are for software that will be used internally to a company or custom software for another company.
Having recently been involved in the job market here in Silicon Valley (job market == friendly, housing market == ABSOLUTE HELL), I would guestimate that if you want to get a job fast, learn perl, HTML, java, at least basic Unix usage, and the phrase "I don't know that in-depth, but I've played with it and I'm positive I can pick it up quickly."
The fact that AMD got a boost and we have a more competitive CPU market is good.
Remember, however, it's competition that's good -- not AMD. Both AMD and INTL are publicly traded companies with responsibilities to nobody but their shareholders. The only reason they don't break the law is because the reprecussions would be bad for their shareholders. Intel has done some bullyish things, but who's to say AMD wouldn't in their place?
That being said, I'd still go with AMD right now since the price/performance is much better. I do look forward to Intel recovering from being RAMBUS's bitch and focusing on making good technology.
I read the title "Electronics as Plastics" and thought of something completely different.
Now, instead of "Son... Here's a point of advice. If you want to be successful, get into plastics!" we have, "If you want to be successful, learn computers."
...so why don't we just gouge out our eyes since they too can be used to view child pornography?
And despite what you may think, obscenity is not illegal. Thank god! The definition of what is obscene or offensive varies from person to person. If you were to follow some strict rule as to what was obscene (and be perfectly fair about it), most if not all religious scriptures would be considered obscene.
If you're signing up for DSL with PacBell (or SWBell or any member of the SBC Global Network probably), don't call them on the weekend or a holiday and probably not on off-hours. Call them between 8-4 Pacific.
A different office handles calls on weekends and holidays and I've had nothing but trouble when dealing with them. They don't seem to communicate with the other office.
All code should be covered by free speech. If the instructions to making bombs at home, how to commit credit fraud, and how to make drugs are free speech, then the instructions for making a program that is malicious are free speech as well.
Source code in and of itself can do nothing.
Distributing binary programs or creating binary programs out of the source code might be illegal, depending whether you consider a compiled program to be instructions, a machine, or both.
Am I breaking the law if I read out load the DeCSS code?
If DeCSS was pseudo-code, would it be protected by the first ammendmant? What if it were written instructions?
If I rename decss.c to decss.bmp (which would probably look like noise), print it, and frame it, is it art? If I print it large enough, a scanner and the right software could compile it directly off the bitmap (just change the lexical analyzer to recognize a series of dots instead of a byte corresponding to an ASCII value).
Basically, I'm saying that source code should obviously be protected free speach. The instructions for making a bomb (including measurements, chemical mixing, and all) have already been established as protected free speech. So obviously, an english step-by-step instructional essay on how to break CSS would be protected free speach. Source code is just a form of shorthand for writing a limited set of instructions that a compiler can then translate into code a computer can understand. The DMCA is saying we cannot shout, "the emperor has no clothes."
*idea*: Write a perl script that translates C code into English that can always be perfectly re-translated back to C code. Maybe run that through a speach synthesizer or read it. Let's see the courts say that isn't speach.
I accidently left my computer booted in linux and logged on to a gnome session and left the room.
My wife, sister-in-law, and father-in-law (all of whom are Mac people and not very computer literate), all used the computer successfully and didn't notice any difference.
If you have someone set up a linux machine for you (as you would in any office situation), it is just as easy to use for a non-computer-literate person as Windows. It is very good for the "I just want to get my work done" scenario.
You are right, there will always be a need for more CPU power.
There is a temporary reprieve from that law, however, since your computer is no longer the bottleneck to performance. The internet is.
If there is some breakthrough that actually brings gigabit-all-the-way connections into the mass market like 56K modems are today, then we'll see CPUs becoming important again.
Given enough bandwidth, we could see lots of uses for more CPU power. Virtual Reality, AI, Super-Duper-Uber-Hi-Res-Hi-Fi-256-bit-audio movies over the internet, etc. will all need lots of CPU.
P.S. Switch to "Plain Old Text" when posting or remember to use BRs or Ps.
That's not bad for something you did in your spare time.
Obviously, this will not support a major software house. A big dev team would choose a different method to make money off of GPL'd software.
It make take some open-mindedness and *gasp* doing something different than the old way, but it is very possible to make money off of open source software.
Don't forget, however, that the goal of open source software is not just to make money, it's to make software that people want to use.
Slashdot Mirror
Can I get an "AMEN"?
Sometimes we forget that corporations and governments only exist to serve people, not the other way around.
Hmmm, I think I just thought up a new sig.
Speaking from experience here. I have a GeForce 2 GTS.
nVidia's linux drivers are very fast. maybe the timedemos show better scores in Windows, but subjectively, playing Q3 in linux is smoother. I haven't played in W2K though. Maybe it has to do with 9x's sucky multi-tasking.
The only problem is that these fast drivers are closed-source. The only thing that ever crashes my system is X. They don't always wake up after apm puts the graphics card to sleep. The machine is completely hung and only a hard-reset will do. Whenever I recompile my kernel and forget to recompile the nVidia kernel module, my graphics card locks up hard and there's no way to get it back. I have to "use the force" and switch to a virtual terminal and login as root and reboot without being able to see what I'm typing. These are exactly the kind of annoying things that would have been fixed in open source drivers by now.
I understand why nVidia has closed source drivers. They have other people's IP in them and they have fancy tech in there that would give an edge to the competition (at least that's what they believe and we don't have the evidence to determine otherwise). Their drivers are fast, but they are closed source and that is a serious downside to consider.
To make a long story short, if 3D gaming on an x86 under linux is your highest priority, get an nVidia card from a good manufacturer that is based on the reference design.
If stability is more important than 3D performance, get something else.
Although, I guess now with XFree86 4.0.2 you could have the best of both worlds. Use the open source drivers that come with XFree86 normally, but switch to the nVidia drivers when you want good 3D. GF2 and MX weren't supported in 4.0.1.
Football is indisputeably harmful to minors.
Football causes many, many injuries to minors who participate in it every year. Sometimes, these injuries are permanently crippling.
Football related crime is quite common as well. Team jackets are used as gang colors. Innocent children have been murdered as a result.
Furthermore, professional football players are the worst hedonists on the planet. They do drugs, they rape women, and they are loose with money! How on earth could we let these people be role models for our children?
So by all means, any library or school that is using my tax dollars should ban American football because it is "harmful to children."
[/sarcasm]
Nuclear Power is very dangerous.
The fear mongering you speak of has been helpful in making it safer.
If you did not have public concern, then the corporations would do what they always do. They would way the costs of failure against the costs of overengineering and find the most profitable solution. Corporations tend to consider the cost of human life only insofar as it costs money to repay damage to human life. Ditto for environmental concerns.
That being said, the only thing that still leaves me in doubt over the use of nuclear power is the fact that the waste, while small, sticks around for a VERY long time. It is very possible that civilization as we know it will not exist by the time the nuclear waste is back to normal. That's a hell of a surprise to leave to future generations when they find it.
Baldness is a hair style.
Atheism is a religion. The firm and unproven/undisproven belief that god does not exist.
Idontcareism isn't a religion.
And God said, "It is easier to port Linux to a TI93 than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven"
There's just something incredibly funny about a buff bald guy with blue lipstic saying, "Give me the rod"
I'm paid very well to work on Zelerate AllCommerce, an open-source e-commerce package. I'm making twice as much as I did when I programmed proprietary apps for Windows.
Besides, most programming jobs are not for software that will every be sold. Most programming jobs are for software that will be used internally to a company or custom software for another company.
Having recently been involved in the job market here in Silicon Valley (job market == friendly, housing market == ABSOLUTE HELL), I would guestimate that if you want to get a job fast, learn perl, HTML, java, at least basic Unix usage, and the phrase "I don't know that in-depth, but I've played with it and I'm positive I can pick it up quickly."
The fact that AMD got a boost and we have a more competitive CPU market is good.
Remember, however, it's competition that's good -- not AMD. Both AMD and INTL are publicly traded companies with responsibilities to nobody but their shareholders. The only reason they don't break the law is because the reprecussions would be bad for their shareholders. Intel has done some bullyish things, but who's to say AMD wouldn't in their place?
That being said, I'd still go with AMD right now since the price/performance is much better. I do look forward to Intel recovering from being RAMBUS's bitch and focusing on making good technology.
I read the title "Electronics as Plastics" and thought of something completely different.
Now, instead of "Son... Here's a point of advice. If you want to be successful, get into plastics!" we have, "If you want to be successful, learn computers."
(am I feeding the trolls?)
...so why don't we just gouge out our eyes since they too can be used to view child pornography?
And despite what you may think, obscenity is not illegal. Thank god! The definition of what is obscene or offensive varies from person to person. If you were to follow some strict rule as to what was obscene (and be perfectly fair about it), most if not all religious scriptures would be considered obscene.
Of course IIS will do more hits.
Hits as in "number of times you hit the box in frustration."
Yes it does.
Joe CEO: "Well shiiiite! Apple (a big company with big legal department) caved. The patent must be valid. I won't bother to fight it."
If you're signing up for DSL with PacBell (or SWBell or any member of the SBC Global Network probably), don't call them on the weekend or a holiday and probably not on off-hours. Call them between 8-4 Pacific.
A different office handles calls on weekends and holidays and I've had nothing but trouble when dealing with them. They don't seem to communicate with the other office.
For only USD 19.99, I can tell YOU how to turn any model of Palm Pilot into a paperweight.
All code should be covered by free speech. If the instructions to making bombs at home, how to commit credit fraud, and how to make drugs are free speech, then the instructions for making a program that is malicious are free speech as well.
Source code in and of itself can do nothing.
Distributing binary programs or creating binary programs out of the source code might be illegal, depending whether you consider a compiled program to be instructions, a machine, or both.
Am I breaking the law if I read out load the DeCSS code?
If DeCSS was pseudo-code, would it be protected by the first ammendmant? What if it were written instructions?
If I rename decss.c to decss.bmp (which would probably look like noise), print it, and frame it, is it art? If I print it large enough, a scanner and the right software could compile it directly off the bitmap (just change the lexical analyzer to recognize a series of dots instead of a byte corresponding to an ASCII value).
Basically, I'm saying that source code should obviously be protected free speach. The instructions for making a bomb (including measurements, chemical mixing, and all) have already been established as protected free speech. So obviously, an english step-by-step instructional essay on how to break CSS would be protected free speach. Source code is just a form of shorthand for writing a limited set of instructions that a compiler can then translate into code a computer can understand. The DMCA is saying we cannot shout, "the emperor has no clothes."
*idea*: Write a perl script that translates C code into English that can always be perfectly re-translated back to C code. Maybe run that through a speach synthesizer or read it. Let's see the courts say that isn't speach.
SITCOM
Single Income, Two Children, Opressive Mortgage
Yep, my life is a sitcom.
I accidently left my computer booted in linux and logged on to a gnome session and left the room.
My wife, sister-in-law, and father-in-law (all of whom are Mac people and not very computer literate), all used the computer successfully and didn't notice any difference.
If you have someone set up a linux machine for you (as you would in any office situation), it is just as easy to use for a non-computer-literate person as Windows. It is very good for the "I just want to get my work done" scenario.
(I'm using Win98 first edition)
Try opening slashdot and anandtech in both IE 5.0x and Netscape 4.73, both with JavaConscript enabled.
In IE, scroll up and down vigorously.
This always crashes it for me. The strange thing is, once IE crashes, Netscape can no longer finish loading a page.
You are right, there will always be a need for more CPU power.
There is a temporary reprieve from that law, however, since your computer is no longer the bottleneck to performance. The internet is.
If there is some breakthrough that actually brings gigabit-all-the-way connections into the mass market like 56K modems are today, then we'll see CPUs becoming important again.
Given enough bandwidth, we could see lots of uses for more CPU power. Virtual Reality, AI, Super-Duper-Uber-Hi-Res-Hi-Fi-256-bit-audio movies over the internet, etc. will all need lots of CPU.
P.S. Switch to "Plain Old Text" when posting or remember to use BRs or Ps.
My conspiracy theory:
1) Cobalt knows they can't win.
2) They don't care
3) The poetic justice of the situation has already given them a buttload of free publicity.
a) it was a joke
b) it would be a patch or at least a conditional-compile
c) if you're patching your kernel with integrated quake, you probably aren't that concerned about security.
Here's some simple math for you.
1% * 100,000 users * $20.00 = $20,000.00
That's not bad for something you did in your spare time.
Obviously, this will not support a major software house. A big dev team would choose a different method to make money off of GPL'd software.
It make take some open-mindedness and *gasp* doing something different than the old way, but it is very possible to make money off of open source software.
Don't forget, however, that the goal of open source software is not just to make money, it's to make software that people want to use.
How is freshmeat.net not appropriate?
.com. It's not a .org. .net fits best.
It's a search engine, specialized for finding software.
It's not a