Explain to me why no one has written operating systems in assembly for 30 year then.
Au contraire. Please to see Menuet OS, and check out the miniscule resources required for what this OS does. Sure, high level languages can allow you to get things done much quicker, but the best assembly-based program will beat out the equivalent best high level language-based program, as I think MenuetOS proves pretty definitively. Finding equivalent programmers, however - there's the challenge.
I work in the industry. Trust me on this - OPEC 'pumping' at full capacity (which is suspect, at best) doesn't mean they're shipping all that they pump. OPEC has regular meetings where they decide on how much they're going to ship to get the prices they want. They've been quoted as saying they're very "comfortable" with the price of $50/bbl of oil. I'll bet they are!
You seem to be under the impression that the supply/demand equation applies fully to the oil industry, which it does not. In economic theory, if the U.S. demand for oil went down, then more oil would be available on the world market, and oil prices would lower, right? Wrong. Oil demand in the U.S. goes down because Katrina damages processing and receiving equipment, oil price goes UP so that OPEC can make up the difference.
Interesting. If you could give me some links to more info, I'd appreciate it. I'm a reporter in the energy industry, though I don't concentrate on oil or gas, but I like to get all the info I can.
We'll see about the oil shale. Oil sands productions are already up and going and scaling up in Alberta. I don't know of any large production facilities yet going after oil shale, but I'm sure it'll happen.
I've actually read about two major finds in the last 2 weeks.
re: oil sands costs
They're profitable when regular oil is around $30/bbl - we're over $60 right now, and it's projected we'll stay at $50 or more for the foreseeable future. Oil sands are profitable _now_; just ask Alberta.
However, I think you may be off on Oil. I have read that it's been 2 years since any new major Oil fields have been discovered.
I think if you do more research, you'll find the price of oil has little to do with the amount of oil available to be drilled, and everything to do with how much OPEC is _willing_ to make available. OPEC likes the effects of Katrina - now they can keep the price of oil higher than pre-Katrina, but less than immediately after, and we all think that's a good deal.
re: major oil discoveries
And there you'd just be plain wrong. The problem is, though, it takes a very long time for discoveries to turn into producing oil fields. Also, since oil price is now kept artificially very high, previously-unprofitable sources such as oil sands and oil shale are now economical, and are starting to be brought online. See also: Alberta, Canada, and parts of the Rocky Mountain U.S., each of which is estimated to have as much oil as, or more than, Saudia Arabia. Alberta is going like gangbusters lately (and destroying their environment; no way is Canada going to meet Kyoto with all that going on). The U.S. oil shale industry is undoubtedly going to get going in the next few years, what with $50+/bbl oil prices now the standard.
No, they didn't try overclocking it, but then again, the iMac is hardly the right platform for that kind of thing. No room for 4" high copper-finned monsters. For that kind of thing, wait for:
the replacement for the PowerMac - lots of space inside
or
the replacement for the Mac mini - cheap enough to rip the guts out and mount in a larger case with room for real harddrives, big HSFs, etc. Also, put in a regular dual core version of the processor (assuming it comes with a single core), etc. This should be the modders dream Mac.
I'm guessing the empty PCI is just for wireless NICs. How sweet would it be if you could add an extra controller card (or some other device) to that thing?
I didn't check the specs on the PCI slot, but if it's just regular PCI, the bandwidth could easily get saturated. PCI-X or PCIe would have been better for that purpose.
They can sell every MacBook Pro in their inventory in the next couple months for $2,500 a pop, but they won't be able to keep that up indefinitely.
They don't have to - the iBook replacement will be coming along shortly, I'm sure, targeted directly at the lower end of the notebook market. Plus larger and smaller screen MacBook Pros.
and for once consumers will be able to compare between PC's and Macs "apples-to-apples", so to speak.
I'm not sure this will apply in the traditional sense to Apple; it's a comparable _hardware_ platform now, but it was never entirely about the hardware; you've still got the real reason people buy Apple: the total package includes the OS, which is a very different world from that of Windows.
I'm planning on switching to an Intel-based Mac mini when that comes out, assuming it's done well. (My biggest fear being they'll go with the single core version of the processor.)
What's interesting now is that they're on the same hardware platform, upgradability becomes much easier with Macs. Buy a Mac mini, and strip the guts from the too-small box it comes in; mount it in something decent and use real harddrives and upgrade the processor (since it's now standard). Mac mini with an upgrade path - that I like.
At least the MacBook Pro finally offers the build option of 7200rpm laptop drives; they've been around forever, but Apple never even offered the option before.
Also, by the end of September I imagine Apple will be coming out with a 64-bit dual-core laptop based on the Jonah or Merom chips, which would bump the current MacBook Pro down a notch. The Yonahs may seem like top of the line now, but should be pretty commonplace within a year.
I doubt that they'll feel the need to go with 64-bit on the laptops as soon as possible; most likely those chips will be tied up in the new PowerMacs (whatever those will be called - Mac Pro? Ugh.) Going 64-bit just for 64-bit sake doesn't gain you any noticeable performance advantage for desktop users, though it's hard to convince people of that. Merom's biggest advantage (IMO) over Yonah (with a Y) isn't that it's 64-bit, it's the other architectural improvements that will affect IPC. AMD needs to really get on the ball with 65nm M2-based processors so it can compete with this platform. They've got the edge for now, but things will be different come fourth quarter.
I don't think you understand Apple. Even with the slower PowerPC machines, they were charging a premium, and did very well at it. Why should they lower prices now that their machines are faster than ever? Just because? They're not a charity.
For years Mac users wanted cheaper hardware -- Apple is finding a way to provide lower prices by jumping on the most popular PC processor company's ability to consistently make quality products are reasonable prices.
You _really_ think Apple will be lowering their prices? Check on the prices of the new MacBook Pro and iMac; those don't look like lower prices to me.
Lower prices for the customer isn't the reason for Apple moving to Intel.
I've briefly handled an FM3a, and it's construction quality is simply brilliant. It's also quite beautiful. I wish they'd make a digital version that looked and handled like that.
If you can't have spare parts on hand, then a local vendor (or multiple ones, and make sure you know the days/hours they're open!) is your only 'guaranteed' hope. And that's assuming they have what you need onhand at any given time.
Spare parts are always best, obviously. Test them before you stick them in the spare parts bin, though.
What generation ipod are you using? Most of the people bitching at my posting here seem to be saying their first gen ipods are great. The friends I have with ipods (all with problems) all have newer ipods than that.
I'd first worry about how long the ipod will last. Everyone I know who has an ipod for any length of time (>6 months) has them start breaking down, either a battery issue, or a control wheel issue. One of them has a theory as to why the ipod is so popular: people get their first ipod, love it, while it works, and they then recommend them to all their friends. Their friends get them, and love them, etc. Then the original guy's ipod starts flaking out. By this time, Apple has come out with a new generation of ipods, so the guy decides to upgrade to the new generation, thus starting the cycle all over again.
Anecdotal, yes, but it seems to be pretty universal among the people I know with ipods. *shrug*
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Explain to me why no one has written operating systems in assembly for 30 year then.
Au contraire. Please to see Menuet OS , and check out the miniscule resources required for what this OS does. Sure, high level languages can allow you to get things done much quicker, but the best assembly-based program will beat out the equivalent best high level language-based program, as I think MenuetOS proves pretty definitively. Finding equivalent programmers, however - there's the challenge.
I work in the industry. Trust me on this - OPEC 'pumping' at full capacity (which is suspect, at best) doesn't mean they're shipping all that they pump. OPEC has regular meetings where they decide on how much they're going to ship to get the prices they want. They've been quoted as saying they're very "comfortable" with the price of $50/bbl of oil. I'll bet they are!
You seem to be under the impression that the supply/demand equation applies fully to the oil industry, which it does not. In economic theory, if the U.S. demand for oil went down, then more oil would be available on the world market, and oil prices would lower, right? Wrong. Oil demand in the U.S. goes down because Katrina damages processing and receiving equipment, oil price goes UP so that OPEC can make up the difference.
Interesting. If you could give me some links to more info, I'd appreciate it. I'm a reporter in the energy industry, though I don't concentrate on oil or gas, but I like to get all the info I can.
thx
We'll see about the oil shale. Oil sands productions are already up and going and scaling up in Alberta. I don't know of any large production facilities yet going after oil shale, but I'm sure it'll happen.
I've actually read about two major finds in the last 2 weeks.
re: oil sands costs
They're profitable when regular oil is around $30/bbl - we're over $60 right now, and it's projected we'll stay at $50 or more for the foreseeable future. Oil sands are profitable _now_; just ask Alberta.
Yeah, I'm sure we'd see no ill health effects from THAT.
However, I think you may be off on Oil. I have read that it's been 2 years since any new major Oil fields have been discovered.
I think if you do more research, you'll find the price of oil has little to do with the amount of oil available to be drilled, and everything to do with how much OPEC is _willing_ to make available. OPEC likes the effects of Katrina - now they can keep the price of oil higher than pre-Katrina, but less than immediately after, and we all think that's a good deal.
re: major oil discoveries
And there you'd just be plain wrong. The problem is, though, it takes a very long time for discoveries to turn into producing oil fields. Also, since oil price is now kept artificially very high, previously-unprofitable sources such as oil sands and oil shale are now economical, and are starting to be brought online. See also: Alberta, Canada, and parts of the Rocky Mountain U.S., each of which is estimated to have as much oil as, or more than, Saudia Arabia. Alberta is going like gangbusters lately (and destroying their environment; no way is Canada going to meet Kyoto with all that going on). The U.S. oil shale industry is undoubtedly going to get going in the next few years, what with $50+/bbl oil prices now the standard.
As you might know, proteins need to be transformed into 3-D crystals before their atomic structures and their properties can be analyzed.
I knew that.
No, they didn't try overclocking it, but then again, the iMac is hardly the right platform for that kind of thing. No room for 4" high copper-finned monsters. For that kind of thing, wait for:
the replacement for the PowerMac - lots of space inside
or
the replacement for the Mac mini - cheap enough to rip the guts out and mount in a larger case with room for real harddrives, big HSFs, etc. Also, put in a regular dual core version of the processor (assuming it comes with a single core), etc. This should be the modders dream Mac.
I'm guessing the empty PCI is just for wireless NICs. How sweet would it be if you could add an extra controller card (or some other device) to that thing?
I didn't check the specs on the PCI slot, but if it's just regular PCI, the bandwidth could easily get saturated. PCI-X or PCIe would have been better for that purpose.
I like the looks of that box; I just wish it had an eSATA connector in addition to the gigabit ethernet.
They can sell every MacBook Pro in their inventory in the next couple months for $2,500 a pop, but they won't be able to keep that up indefinitely.
They don't have to - the iBook replacement will be coming along shortly, I'm sure, targeted directly at the lower end of the notebook market. Plus larger and smaller screen MacBook Pros.
and for once consumers will be able to compare between PC's and Macs "apples-to-apples", so to speak.
I'm not sure this will apply in the traditional sense to Apple; it's a comparable _hardware_ platform now, but it was never entirely about the hardware; you've still got the real reason people buy Apple: the total package includes the OS, which is a very different world from that of Windows.
I'm planning on switching to an Intel-based Mac mini when that comes out, assuming it's done well. (My biggest fear being they'll go with the single core version of the processor.)
What's interesting now is that they're on the same hardware platform, upgradability becomes much easier with Macs. Buy a Mac mini, and strip the guts from the too-small box it comes in; mount it in something decent and use real harddrives and upgrade the processor (since it's now standard). Mac mini with an upgrade path - that I like.
At least the MacBook Pro finally offers the build option of 7200rpm laptop drives; they've been around forever, but Apple never even offered the option before.
Also, by the end of September I imagine Apple will be coming out with a 64-bit dual-core laptop based on the Jonah or Merom chips, which would bump the current MacBook Pro down a notch. The Yonahs may seem like top of the line now, but should be pretty commonplace within a year.
I doubt that they'll feel the need to go with 64-bit on the laptops as soon as possible; most likely those chips will be tied up in the new PowerMacs (whatever those will be called - Mac Pro? Ugh.) Going 64-bit just for 64-bit sake doesn't gain you any noticeable performance advantage for desktop users, though it's hard to convince people of that. Merom's biggest advantage (IMO) over Yonah (with a Y) isn't that it's 64-bit, it's the other architectural improvements that will affect IPC. AMD needs to really get on the ball with 65nm M2-based processors so it can compete with this platform. They've got the edge for now, but things will be different come fourth quarter.
Alas, poor DDR memory, I knew him well...
I don't think you understand Apple. Even with the slower PowerPC machines, they were charging a premium, and did very well at it. Why should they lower prices now that their machines are faster than ever? Just because? They're not a charity.
For years Mac users wanted cheaper hardware -- Apple is finding a way to provide lower prices by jumping on the most popular PC processor company's ability to consistently make quality products are reasonable prices.
You _really_ think Apple will be lowering their prices? Check on the prices of the new MacBook Pro and iMac; those don't look like lower prices to me.
Lower prices for the customer isn't the reason for Apple moving to Intel.
Well, I wasn't thinking so much about Camino as about Opera, really. :)
Though I think if Opera switched to using Gecko as a renderer, I might consider giving up FF extensions.
I have no clue if it's available or not, but I always recommend Opera for old/slow/low resource machines.
I wonder if it would be possible to make a plugin for non-Mozilla browsers to support Mozilla extensions? Probably more trouble than it's worth.
FYI - Curse of the Fatal Death is actually available in VHS form from Amazon. Still waiting for the DVD version! This thing is absolutely hilarious.
"Mr Bean" as Dr. Who. Awesome. Also the first female regeneration of the Doctor!
Some of us in the northern US have already watched the first season due to our proximity to Canada and CBC.
:)
And some of us in the US have already watched the first season due to our proximity to the Internet.
...now that the D200 is out, and can meter with many of the older manual focus lenses. Nice move, Nikon. :)
I've briefly handled an FM3a, and it's construction quality is simply brilliant. It's also quite beautiful. I wish they'd make a digital version that looked and handled like that.
I'm surprised they aren't continuing the FM3a as well as, or instead of, the FM10.
If you can't have spare parts on hand, then a local vendor (or multiple ones, and make sure you know the days/hours they're open!) is your only 'guaranteed' hope. And that's assuming they have what you need onhand at any given time.
Spare parts are always best, obviously. Test them before you stick them in the spare parts bin, though.
What generation ipod are you using? Most of the people bitching at my posting here seem to be saying their first gen ipods are great. The friends I have with ipods (all with problems) all have newer ipods than that.
I'd first worry about how long the ipod will last. Everyone I know who has an ipod for any length of time (>6 months) has them start breaking down, either a battery issue, or a control wheel issue. One of them has a theory as to why the ipod is so popular: people get their first ipod, love it, while it works, and they then recommend them to all their friends. Their friends get them, and love them, etc. Then the original guy's ipod starts flaking out. By this time, Apple has come out with a new generation of ipods, so the guy decides to upgrade to the new generation, thus starting the cycle all over again.
Anecdotal, yes, but it seems to be pretty universal among the people I know with ipods. *shrug*