OTOH, you could probably dig up thousands of quotes made in the 1960s that optimistically predict continual improvements in the speed and cost of airplanes. Most airliners will be supersonic, etc.
From 1903 up until that point, aircraft design was on a curve almost impressive as Moore's law. In the 1960s, the rate of improvement hit a wall, and there have only been small incremental improvments since then. (And much of that has been achieved by "cheating": glomming onto Moore's law by cramming electronics into the aircraft.)
Electronics technology is bound to hit a similar limit of economically feasible improvments sooner or later.
Your company payroll dependant on machines that shoppers can tinker with wihle on display at a store?
This has been a problem since the 1970s. Back then, for some reason whenever we were in a Radio Shack it seemed funny to stop by a TRS-80 display model and type in something like:
10 PRINT "FART! FART! FART!" 20 GOTO 10 RUN
The salespeople probably would have chased us out of the store if they weren't so busy scribbling down every customer's address and the part numbers of every blister pack in the store on those little paper sales slips.
Learn to use the command line and not a pretty gui, it will teach you alot about how Unix and Linux works, Plus it makes you look cool to your friends when ur flying though the command line:)
Yeah, I saw chrisd on the Screen Savers showing how to set up a UT game server on a Linux box. He got to the part where you start the server, which required typing in a command with some arcane options.
On TV, it looked just as impressive as Richard Nixon did debating JFK. The camera zoomed in and tried to focus on the tiny text, but to no avail. The Screen Savers host rolled his eyes and made a snide comment; viewers were referred to the show's website to find a copy of this magical command sequence.
If a semiconductor can emit light, then the reverse is usually possible: solar cells.
My pick for renewable energy is plastic solar cells. Preferrably, cheap ones rolled out like those tarps that cover baseball fields.
The U.S. currently uses about 100 exajoules of energy per year (combined total of oil, gas, nuclear, coal, hydro, etc); that's approximately a continuous 10KW for each person. The good news is that the sun provides 1KW per square meter energy, but the bad news is you'd be doing good to get a 1% overall efficiency delivered to the end user (due to cell efficency, solar system geometry, weather, storage and conversion losses.)
Assuming 1%, you'd need 1000 square meters of cheap plastic seimiconductors for each person to provide for 100% of our energy needs.
To get to 1% overall efficiency, plastic solar collector efficiency will have to be significantly improved to be near the 20% raw efficiency currently achieved by good silicon solar cells. To me, that's a lot more intersting goal than a cheap display.
Moreover, the Swiss government holds each person strictly accountable for the ammo for each of these guns. Any ammo boxes that are unsealed without an appropriate explanation would put you at the top of the list of suspects.
People here are always bringing up Switzerland as an example in these arguments, but nobody here would be willing to accept the accountability that the Swiss government demands from its gun users. Could you imagine the uproar if every bullet in America had to be registered with the government?
IIRC, Switzerland has a higher than normal gun suicide rate, because every suicidal person has a handy tool, and these people are among the few that wouldn't care if their illicit ammo use is discovered.
You keep contradicting yourself. One the one hand you claim that Office dominates only because it is so much better than its competitors. On the other, you admit that it dominates because of the historical accident that it is compatible with itself and users have a barrier to switching.
For simplicity, I prefer to work with the 1897 Indiana pi system. Here's a quick program that quickly prints out pi to any number of digits. It works fine on any PC;
performance is bound only by your I/O bandwidth and disk capacity:
#!/usr/bin/python import sys sys.stdout.write('3.2') s = '0' * 4096 while 1: sys.stdout.write(s)
it's turned a scavenger hunt from a fun afternoon activity with some purpose into a monumental waste of time, energy, and resources.
Well, since the U of C has little chance of getting into a major bowl game or the final four, they've had to create their own way to waste monumental amounts of time energy, energy and resources.
For example, I think FeaturePrice said a failed router was an 'act of god', and therefore the down-time didn't fall under their uptime guarantee. Yeah. God smited their router... try proving that in court.
But read the fine print in their
service agreement --
And concerning our routers God hath spoken:
tell unto thine people these Terms and Conditions
which I give to thee, and abide ye by them and
ye shall drink of the fruits of My routers.
1. Thou shalt allow no spam to enter or leave
the confines of My routers, for the spam is sure
to sap the life of the men who behold it.
2. Thou shalt route no pr0n upon My routers,
in order to keep them pure.
...
10. Thou shalt not hack My routers, nor shall thou
employ My routers to hack thy neighbor's
ox, nor thy neigbors wife, nor thy neighbor's
information systems.
If thou shalt disobey these terms, I your
Lord shall smite down these routers and they shall be barren of all thine packets and the
packets of your children and your children's
children, and the anointed keepers of this router shall
not reimburse unto you the gold which you
have given them in payment.
It's easy as a software developer to cheapen the value of the time it takes to write code, whereas with an airplane you can't cheapen the value of raw materials.
So? If it can be cheapened, it will be cheapened. That's economics.
Once software writing becomes almost too cheap to support new software development, supply and demand says that it will stop getting cheaper. No big deal.
Maybe the space aliens have a cure for cancer already?
Better still, what if the aliens have figured out how to upload your mind out of your meat body and into something more permanent.
We could all become IMMORTAL. Bwa ha. Bwa haha. Bwahahahahah!
Joking aside, contacting aliens would be a much more significant event than curing cancer. We already have a more than effective way to replenish the population on this planet.
Laws like this do nothing but raise costs for consumers.
But I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars per year to get filtered or bottled water because of toxic chemicals that leached out of your PC. You should bear the cost for its proper disposal.
Executives across the country are empowered with discharging mercy where due--a breakup is a death sentence for a corporation,
LOL. There's a couple of hundred guys down in Texas you can ask about W's sense of mercy when it comes to death sentences. Oh wait... you can't ask them any more.
Well, at least he's found it in his heart to spare poor Microsoft. All is forgiven. Go forth and sin no more.
I understand there are some companies that can somehow make money off of you creating open source software for them, but does it really make sense to look for a job in which you create open-source software? I mean, isn't working about bringing in money at the end...?
I think the article was more about hiring people who know how to use open source software to solve problems. It might be about saving money at the end. As they say: "A penny saved is a penny earned".
This article has excellent advice for writing a resume in this age of Internet search engines. I've already rewritten mine. Here it is:
Resume Resume Resume Resume Resume
Java C Windows Windows Motivated C++ C SQL Teamwork C++ Perl C GDI C++ Perl Teamwork Windows Perl SQL SQL Motivated Windows GDI C++ Windows Self-Starter Perl C++ C C++ C++ GDI Motivated Self-Starter Python C++ Java Java C++ Python C++
Motivated Teamwork Python Motivated C++ Perl Motivated Perl C Java Self-Starter Windows GDI Self-Starter Java GDI Motivated C++ Windows Windows Windows Teamwork Self-Starter GDI Self-Starter C C Windows SQL Windows Python Python GDI Motivated GDI Perl Teamwork SQL Perl Self-Starter Java Python GDI Teamwork Teamwork Motivated Java SQL Windows Perl Teamwork SQL C++
Self-Starter C++ GDI Java Python Windows Perl C++ GDI Windows Teamwork C GDI Python Perl C++ Perl C C++ Self-Starter Teamwork Motivated Python Java Teamwork Java Motivated Motivated Teamwork Motivated Python Self-Starter Java Python C++ SQL Python Teamwork Python Self-Starter Java Teamwork Teamwork C++ C++ Self-Starter Motivated GDI Motivated Windows Motivated GDI C++ GDI Windows Python Perl C Python Teamwork Python Self-Starter Windows Motivated SQL C++ GDI GDI SQL SQL C Self-Starter C++ Java GDI SQL GDI Self-Starter C Teamwork Motivated Motivated SQL SQL Self-Starter
Self-Starter Motivated C Teamwork Motivated Teamwork SQL Windows Java Windows C Windows SQL C++ Teamwork Python GDI Java C++ Python GDI
a recent visit to the Science Museum in London revealed many Acorn BBCs/Masters still running various demos - as per my last visit about 15 years ago... (probably not the same machines mind...)
interestingly a large number of NT based demos were not running due to DHCP errors - many of them displaying the errors prominently on huge projectors...
Hmmm... that could explain something. On my last visit, Charles Babbage's Difference Engine seemed to be hung up as well. It just sat there motionless the whole time I watched it. I suppose it might have been experiencing the same DHCP errors as the NT boxes.
Talking about Flash, a first step would be to provide a courtesy "Skip intro" link
Most times, if I don't see a "skip intro" link when some stupid fluff starts fading in from black, I make my own: the "back arrow". On to the next site.
A deer can now get shot simply for acting strangely?
Yes, it's one of the troubling new provisions of the PATRIOT act. They've even removed due process requirements: If you're a deer, you could be shot down without warning based on nothing more behavioral profiling, and they don't even need to obtain a hunting license beforehand.
Does anybody else get the impression that they're running at full speed, but that Linux might actually be running faster?
My observation over time has been that Linux
seems to stay about 3 or 4 years behind Windows
in the area of user interaction. For example,
the latest RedHat 8.0 release with KDE finally
has an elusive "buttery smoothness" that
I first noticed with Win2K. (Yes, I know
Macs probably had it since 1932, but I don't
use those.) RH8 even supports mostly point-and-click administration functionality.
The thing is, going forward from here, I don't see the incremental improvements in OSes as
being very compelling. For example, I've had
no reason whatsoever to use Windows XP over
Win2K. This means that even if the Linux
user interface remains
a few years behind Windows, the difference
becomes less and less important over time.
As far as a database filesystem, I think
it will be like the NT security model vs
UNIX. Better in theory, but too complicated
for anybody to actually use effectively. In the past, the NT security permissions were usually left too loose because nobody wanted to deal with figuring out appropriate settings. Likewise, I'll bet that in the real world, the relational database filesystem will be mostly organized into a strict heirarchy just like today. The bottom line is that it won't have much value for the average user.
This demonstrates how medieval jurists had
more wisdom than we currently recognize.
They had "trial by ordeal", which could be
concluded within one day.
For example, tie up the Microsoft board of
directors and throw them in a lake. If they
survive, they abused their monopoly
position. If they drown, then there was no
illegal behaviour on the part of
Microsoft.
This is simple, effective and prompt
justice. There is no need for protracted
proceedings, because they either survive the
ordeal or they don't. No need to
waste time on second guessing.
That's neat, but they need to standardize on
one or two languages (fully supported out of the
box in the standard distribution) if they want interoperability between documents on random
users' machines.
Also, I fail to see what use a strongly typed
and/or compiled language has as a "scripting"
extension for an application. Take Java
for instance, where you have to create a class
and a "main" method just to print "Hello World".
This is overkill for calculating the value
of a spreadsheet cell, not to mention the
dearth of compact string handling
functionality (formatting, regex, etc.). I'd stick with Python or Ruby for this job.
Slashdot Mirror
Wow. Every single government in human history since the time we first emerged from caves has without exception been guilty of theft!
It's funny how many people seem to be shocked and surprised that taxes exist.
In the 1960s we had spaceships that could carry humans to the moon and back. Today we have a flying money pit.
From 1903 up until that point, aircraft design was on a curve almost impressive as Moore's law. In the 1960s, the rate of improvement hit a wall, and there have only been small incremental improvments since then. (And much of that has been achieved by "cheating": glomming onto Moore's law by cramming electronics into the aircraft.)
Electronics technology is bound to hit a similar limit of economically feasible improvments sooner or later.
This has been a problem since the 1970s. Back then, for some reason whenever we were in a Radio Shack it seemed funny to stop by a TRS-80 display model and type in something like:
The salespeople probably would have chased us out of the store if they weren't so busy scribbling down every customer's address and the part numbers of every blister pack in the store on those little paper sales slips.
Yeah, I saw chrisd on the Screen Savers showing how to set up a UT game server on a Linux box. He got to the part where you start the server, which required typing in a command with some arcane options.
On TV, it looked just as impressive as Richard Nixon did debating JFK. The camera zoomed in and tried to focus on the tiny text, but to no avail. The Screen Savers host rolled his eyes and made a snide comment; viewers were referred to the show's website to find a copy of this magical command sequence.
The command line does not make for good TV.
My pick for renewable energy is plastic solar cells. Preferrably, cheap ones rolled out like those tarps that cover baseball fields.
The U.S. currently uses about 100 exajoules of energy per year (combined total of oil, gas, nuclear, coal, hydro, etc); that's approximately a continuous 10KW for each person. The good news is that the sun provides 1KW per square meter energy, but the bad news is you'd be doing good to get a 1% overall efficiency delivered to the end user (due to cell efficency, solar system geometry, weather, storage and conversion losses.) Assuming 1%, you'd need 1000 square meters of cheap plastic seimiconductors for each person to provide for 100% of our energy needs.
To get to 1% overall efficiency, plastic solar collector efficiency will have to be significantly improved to be near the 20% raw efficiency currently achieved by good silicon solar cells. To me, that's a lot more intersting goal than a cheap display.
People here are always bringing up Switzerland as an example in these arguments, but nobody here would be willing to accept the accountability that the Swiss government demands from its gun users. Could you imagine the uproar if every bullet in America had to be registered with the government?
IIRC, Switzerland has a higher than normal gun suicide rate, because every suicidal person has a handy tool, and these people are among the few that wouldn't care if their illicit ammo use is discovered.
I can see it now:
The Million Troll March
You can't have it both ways.
Well, since the U of C has little chance of getting into a major bowl game or the final four, they've had to create their own way to waste monumental amounts of time energy, energy and resources.
People create new languages in the hope that a lucky few won't be damned to program in COBOL all of their lives.
But read the fine print in their service agreement --
So? If it can be cheapened, it will be cheapened. That's economics.
Once software writing becomes almost too cheap to support new software development, supply and demand says that it will stop getting cheaper. No big deal.
Better still, what if the aliens have figured out how to upload your mind out of your meat body and into something more permanent.
We could all become IMMORTAL. Bwa ha. Bwa haha. Bwahahahahah!
Joking aside, contacting aliens would be a much more significant event than curing cancer. We already have a more than effective way to replenish the population on this planet.
But I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars per year to get filtered or bottled water because of toxic chemicals that leached out of your PC. You should bear the cost for its proper disposal.
LOL. There's a couple of hundred guys down in Texas you can ask about W's sense of mercy when it comes to death sentences. Oh wait... you can't ask them any more.
Well, at least he's found it in his heart to spare poor Microsoft. All is forgiven. Go forth and sin no more.
I think the article was more about hiring people who know how to use open source software to solve problems. It might be about saving money at the end. As they say: "A penny saved is a penny earned".
Resume Resume Resume Resume Resume
Java C Windows Windows Motivated C++ C SQL Teamwork C++ Perl C GDI C++ Perl Teamwork Windows Perl SQL SQL Motivated Windows GDI C++ Windows Self-Starter Perl C++ C C++ C++ GDI Motivated Self-Starter Python C++ Java Java C++ Python C++
Motivated Teamwork Python Motivated C++ Perl Motivated Perl C Java Self-Starter Windows GDI Self-Starter Java GDI Motivated C++ Windows Windows Windows Teamwork Self-Starter GDI Self-Starter C C Windows SQL Windows Python Python GDI Motivated GDI Perl Teamwork SQL Perl Self-Starter Java Python GDI Teamwork Teamwork Motivated Java SQL Windows Perl Teamwork SQL C++
Self-Starter C++ GDI Java Python Windows Perl C++ GDI Windows Teamwork C GDI Python Perl C++ Perl C C++ Self-Starter Teamwork Motivated Python Java Teamwork Java Motivated Motivated Teamwork Motivated Python Self-Starter Java Python C++ SQL Python Teamwork Python Self-Starter Java Teamwork Teamwork C++ C++ Self-Starter Motivated GDI Motivated Windows Motivated GDI C++ GDI Windows Python Perl C Python Teamwork Python Self-Starter Windows Motivated SQL C++ GDI GDI SQL SQL C Self-Starter C++ Java GDI SQL GDI Self-Starter C Teamwork Motivated Motivated SQL SQL Self-Starter
Self-Starter Motivated C Teamwork Motivated Teamwork SQL Windows Java Windows C Windows SQL C++ Teamwork Python GDI Java C++ Python GDI
interestingly a large number of NT based demos were not running due to DHCP errors - many of them displaying the errors prominently on huge projectors...
Hmmm... that could explain something. On my last visit, Charles Babbage's Difference Engine seemed to be hung up as well. It just sat there motionless the whole time I watched it. I suppose it might have been experiencing the same DHCP errors as the NT boxes.
Most times, if I don't see a "skip intro" link when some stupid fluff starts fading in from black, I make my own: the "back arrow". On to the next site.
Yes, it's one of the troubling new provisions of the PATRIOT act. They've even removed due process requirements: If you're a deer, you could be shot down without warning based on nothing more behavioral profiling, and they don't even need to obtain a hunting license beforehand.
My observation over time has been that Linux seems to stay about 3 or 4 years behind Windows in the area of user interaction. For example, the latest RedHat 8.0 release with KDE finally has an elusive "buttery smoothness" that I first noticed with Win2K. (Yes, I know Macs probably had it since 1932, but I don't use those.) RH8 even supports mostly point-and-click administration functionality.
The thing is, going forward from here, I don't see the incremental improvements in OSes as being very compelling. For example, I've had no reason whatsoever to use Windows XP over Win2K. This means that even if the Linux user interface remains a few years behind Windows, the difference becomes less and less important over time.
As far as a database filesystem, I think it will be like the NT security model vs UNIX. Better in theory, but too complicated for anybody to actually use effectively. In the past, the NT security permissions were usually left too loose because nobody wanted to deal with figuring out appropriate settings. Likewise, I'll bet that in the real world, the relational database filesystem will be mostly organized into a strict heirarchy just like today. The bottom line is that it won't have much value for the average user.
For example, tie up the Microsoft board of directors and throw them in a lake. If they survive, they abused their monopoly position. If they drown, then there was no illegal behaviour on the part of Microsoft.
This is simple, effective and prompt justice. There is no need for protracted proceedings, because they either survive the ordeal or they don't. No need to waste time on second guessing.
Also, I fail to see what use a strongly typed and/or compiled language has as a "scripting" extension for an application. Take Java for instance, where you have to create a class and a "main" method just to print "Hello World". This is overkill for calculating the value of a spreadsheet cell, not to mention the dearth of compact string handling functionality (formatting, regex, etc.). I'd stick with Python or Ruby for this job.