I'd rather upgrade to 2.0 and have a functioning web browser, AAC, and H.264 support than be able to run crappy home-made programs and support pirates.
"Support pirates"? Unless you're sending pirates money or free software, you're not supporting pirates by running homebrew applications. Perhaps you meant "supporting terrorists."
I think updated books on things like the LAMP platform would be great, plus new books on X/HTML & CSS, and web design. I've stopped bothering with my local libraries for technical books; they're old and outdated, or seriously way beneath what I need a book for (MS Office for Dummies type things).
Javascript books, Flash books, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. The application books specifically age VERY quickly after just 2 years or so, and you have to time it well with some things, like PHP. Lots of books were written during the transition from PHP 4 to 5, and include 'previews' of PHP 5 features, but are hardly PHP 5-specific books, and there's a world of difference between PHP 4 and 5.
More obscure general computer science books would be great, algorithm books, etc., tend to be quite expensive to purchase, so would be a great thing to find at a library.
If you could tie in some of the self-learning books with computers in the library set up to run those lessons on, that would probably be quite a good deal for many people who may not have easy access to a hosting platform to play with. Same thing with Photoshop, Flash, etc.
Okay, everybody is giving you shit about your fortran comment. Wouldn't you love to go back and change that post to say "Volkswriter 3 Tips and Tricks" Yeah, I thought so.
Nah, not really. If someone needs to learn some ancient form of Fortran from the 60s for their job, then their employer is more than welcome to buy something off eBay for them. But if I'd used some Windows 1.0 example, I'm sure the Slashdot crowd wouldn't have uttered a peep about that.
Oh, and I agree with all your points, btw. Including the one about chocolate.
I wound up soothing myself with a big platter of the bestMexican food Seattle has to offer. Mmm. Not enough room afterwards for dessert, though.
BOOKS! I'm doing my best not to call you names right now, just so you know. Spending all this money on computers and multimedia stuff is great, but it's always at the expense of having actual BOOKS. I went to the opening of the fancy new Seattle public library, where they spent I don't even _wanna_ know how much money on a really spectacular bit of architecture (modern crap, really, but it impresses the locals), a whole bunch of technology, and when I start perusing the book stacks, well, there's not as much there as one could hope for, by a LOT. Lots of really outdated stuff, major gaps in important works by major authors, not much new stuff (and only 1 or 2 copies of new and in-demand stuff). The Simpsons episode where they go to the library only to find out they've gotten rid of all the books, and are now "multimedia" libary is, of course, a parody, but unfortunately, hits a little too close to home.
So you've got so much fancy technology now that you don't know what to do next? Take that as a sign.
More books. C'mon, it's not _that_ hard to figure out, is it?
Clean out the obsolete computer technology books in your library, while you're at it - they're just taking up room, and they're not of use to people looking for something on the latest technology. Is there really a need for a 1960's book on Fortran?
Damn, I'm all worked up now - I need some chocolate.
OH, another thing - spend money on comfy seating. The new Seattle library is ridiculous about that.
That's something a script should be handling for every site - it has an account on Slashdot, and can see the mysterious future posts - if there's a link to their site in it, it sends an alert to the sysad.
It will be nice when a $500 mac mini will outperform a $3000 powermac. Or will they underclock the mini?
No telling what exactly they're gonna do. Keep in mind, there is supposedly going to be a single-core version Yonah processor (perhaps just one CPU deactivated if it tests bad); there's been no commitment by Apple to anything except "Intel" as yet. Also to note: the processor isn't the only aspect to performance. A Mac Mini's video, memory, and harddisk subsystems are not up to the level of the PowerMac; not even close.
The Apple move to Intel processors is supposed to be in two waves: the first will be the laptops and Mac Mini, which are currently 32-bit G4s, so there's no need to make something 32-bit that is currently 64. The second wave, perhaps a year later or so, will be the PowerMacs. Plenty of time for the 64-bit Yonah or whatever between those two waves.
To many people who are only casual users of computers still consider firefox a bad Clint Eastwood movie
Please to remember: there's a difference between a bad movie that has Clint Eastwood in it, and a 'bad' Clint Eastwood movie. As Clint Eastwood movies go, Firefox is pretty damned good, really. Seriously, if you don't believe me, go see "Stealth." *shudder*
And remember: your browser will only work if you think in Russian. Think...In...Russian!
So, what can we advance, as far as getting payload off the Earth is concerned?
As you mentioned, buckytubes are likely the answer. This reminds me of a book I'm reading, a collection of short sci-fi stories titled, "Adventures in Sol System." (edited by T.K.F. Weisskopf). One of the stories mentions the cost for getting payloads into orbit and beyond, as is titled, "The Cutting Fringe," by Paul Chafe. At the end of the story is an even more interesting bit on the science mentioned in the story, and goes into detail about bucktubes, space elevators, skyhooks, and more. Fascinating stuff, and well worth the price of the book, even though paperbacks are ridiculously-expensive nowadays ($7?!).
The afterward to the story also mentions that the premise of the story (mining the asteroids for the economics of it) likely will be made irrelevant once the technology to DO so actually makes it economically viable, in that the material advances necessary to do this (buckytubes) will make mining for things like ores unnecessary; once you can make cheaply buckytubes of whatever length you need, steel is redundant.
So what companies do I invest in that are working on bucktubes?!
Also, I think I read somewhere that power output vs engine weight comes out in a gasoline engine's favour.
I'm interested in the concept of making a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), along the lines of a "Prius+", but with a diesel engine _optimised for generator and biodiesel use_, and then removing the mechanical engine's drive components. The electric motors would be the only thing that would drive the wheels; the diesel motor would be used _only_ for generating electricity for the electric motors, and storage in the batteries. This would cut down on the complexity of a hybrid system considerably, would probably save weight, thus possibly increasing efficiency. I don't know if anyone has done anything like this, though. If you can get rid of the transmission system by putting the electric motors in the wheel hubs, you could get even more efficiency out of the system, but there's the ever-present "unsprung weight" problem I've heard about. Supposedly some solutions are out there, but I've not been able to find any details as yet.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, let's separate developers from code monkeys. Now, code monkeys average about $45K.
Damn, I was wondering why the craving for bananas lately...and the poo-flinging has caused some harsh words at the office.
Nano.
The current situation with the US, and Germany in WWI and II disprove that theory with a vengeance.
"Religion breeds terrorism."
My solution to the problem of peace in the middle east is to nuke the entire area until it glows in the dark, then whoever wants it can HAVE it.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing."
SPONGES.
Really, just a massive airdrop of sponges over the city, et voila, your problem, she is solved!
I'd rather upgrade to 2.0 and have a functioning web browser, AAC, and H.264 support than be able to run crappy home-made programs and support pirates.
"Support pirates"? Unless you're sending pirates money or free software, you're not supporting pirates by running homebrew applications. Perhaps you meant "supporting terrorists."
I think updated books on things like the LAMP platform would be great, plus new books on X/HTML & CSS, and web design. I've stopped bothering with my local libraries for technical books; they're old and outdated, or seriously way beneath what I need a book for (MS Office for Dummies type things).
Javascript books, Flash books, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. The application books specifically age VERY quickly after just 2 years or so, and you have to time it well with some things, like PHP. Lots of books were written during the transition from PHP 4 to 5, and include 'previews' of PHP 5 features, but are hardly PHP 5-specific books, and there's a world of difference between PHP 4 and 5.
More obscure general computer science books would be great, algorithm books, etc., tend to be quite expensive to purchase, so would be a great thing to find at a library.
If you could tie in some of the self-learning books with computers in the library set up to run those lessons on, that would probably be quite a good deal for many people who may not have easy access to a hosting platform to play with. Same thing with Photoshop, Flash, etc.
Okay, everybody is giving you shit about your fortran comment. Wouldn't you love to go back and change that post to say "Volkswriter 3 Tips and Tricks" Yeah, I thought so.
Nah, not really. If someone needs to learn some ancient form of Fortran from the 60s for their job, then their employer is more than welcome to buy something off eBay for them. But if I'd used some Windows 1.0 example, I'm sure the Slashdot crowd wouldn't have uttered a peep about that.
Oh, and I agree with all your points, btw. Including the one about chocolate.
I wound up soothing myself with a big platter of the bestMexican food Seattle has to offer. Mmm. Not enough room afterwards for dessert, though.
BOOKS! I'm doing my best not to call you names right now, just so you know. Spending all this money on computers and multimedia stuff is great, but it's always at the expense of having actual BOOKS. I went to the opening of the fancy new Seattle public library, where they spent I don't even _wanna_ know how much money on a really spectacular bit of architecture (modern crap, really, but it impresses the locals), a whole bunch of technology, and when I start perusing the book stacks, well, there's not as much there as one could hope for, by a LOT. Lots of really outdated stuff, major gaps in important works by major authors, not much new stuff (and only 1 or 2 copies of new and in-demand stuff). The Simpsons episode where they go to the library only to find out they've gotten rid of all the books, and are now "multimedia" libary is, of course, a parody, but unfortunately, hits a little too close to home.
So you've got so much fancy technology now that you don't know what to do next? Take that as a sign.
More books. C'mon, it's not _that_ hard to figure out, is it?
Clean out the obsolete computer technology books in your library, while you're at it - they're just taking up room, and they're not of use to people looking for something on the latest technology. Is there really a need for a 1960's book on Fortran?
Damn, I'm all worked up now - I need some chocolate.
OH, another thing - spend money on comfy seating. The new Seattle library is ridiculous about that.
Well, there goes the bird population in countries with paranoid leadership.
No more Venezuelan birdies - so sad.
I wonder how captcha complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act
:)
Simple - they just use ALT text for the image!
Uh, what? Isn't that kinda like drinking "near beer"? Noone drinks that shit for the _taste_!
Hey, if they can make them look like Jessica Alba, I, too, will welcome our custom-made overlords. Overladies? Hmmm...
It's stupid, AJAX is stupid, and browser based apps are crap.
Dear Sir or Madam,
You rock.
Sincerely,
Moi
That's something a script should be handling for every site - it has an account on Slashdot, and can see the mysterious future posts - if there's a link to their site in it, it sends an alert to the sysad.
It will be nice when a $500 mac mini will outperform a $3000 powermac. Or will they underclock the mini?
No telling what exactly they're gonna do. Keep in mind, there is supposedly going to be a single-core version Yonah processor (perhaps just one CPU deactivated if it tests bad); there's been no commitment by Apple to anything except "Intel" as yet. Also to note: the processor isn't the only aspect to performance. A Mac Mini's video, memory, and harddisk subsystems are not up to the level of the PowerMac; not even close.
The Apple move to Intel processors is supposed to be in two waves: the first will be the laptops and Mac Mini, which are currently 32-bit G4s, so there's no need to make something 32-bit that is currently 64. The second wave, perhaps a year later or so, will be the PowerMacs. Plenty of time for the 64-bit Yonah or whatever between those two waves.
Sweet! :)
Yeah, you might want to recheck that software you wrote for NASA, just in case. :)
Everything up to the actual theft of the aircraft was a first-rate thriller, I thought. After that, it's rather silly.
To many people who are only casual users of computers still consider firefox a bad Clint Eastwood movie
Please to remember: there's a difference between a bad movie that has Clint Eastwood in it, and a 'bad' Clint Eastwood movie. As Clint Eastwood movies go, Firefox is pretty damned good, really. Seriously, if you don't believe me, go see "Stealth." *shudder*
And remember: your browser will only work if you think in Russian. Think...In...Russian!
And I thought _my_ reference was obscure. You're fucking scary.
:)
I like that!
So, what can we advance, as far as getting payload off the Earth is concerned?
As you mentioned, buckytubes are likely the answer. This reminds me of a book I'm reading, a collection of short sci-fi stories titled, "Adventures in Sol System." (edited by T.K.F. Weisskopf). One of the stories mentions the cost for getting payloads into orbit and beyond, as is titled, "The Cutting Fringe," by Paul Chafe. At the end of the story is an even more interesting bit on the science mentioned in the story, and goes into detail about bucktubes, space elevators, skyhooks, and more. Fascinating stuff, and well worth the price of the book, even though paperbacks are ridiculously-expensive nowadays ($7?!).
The afterward to the story also mentions that the premise of the story (mining the asteroids for the economics of it) likely will be made irrelevant once the technology to DO so actually makes it economically viable, in that the material advances necessary to do this (buckytubes) will make mining for things like ores unnecessary; once you can make cheaply buckytubes of whatever length you need, steel is redundant.
So what companies do I invest in that are working on bucktubes?!
And I bet you any money that, when we reach this stage, we still won't have any damned flying cars!
Nah, much like the Cylons in the new Battlestar Galactica, we will BE those flying cars!
I call dibs on the flying Lamborghini design from AutoMan!
Also, I think I read somewhere that power output vs engine weight comes out in a gasoline engine's favour.
I'm interested in the concept of making a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), along the lines of a "Prius+", but with a diesel engine _optimised for generator and biodiesel use_, and then removing the mechanical engine's drive components. The electric motors would be the only thing that would drive the wheels; the diesel motor would be used _only_ for generating electricity for the electric motors, and storage in the batteries. This would cut down on the complexity of a hybrid system considerably, would probably save weight, thus possibly increasing efficiency. I don't know if anyone has done anything like this, though. If you can get rid of the transmission system by putting the electric motors in the wheel hubs, you could get even more efficiency out of the system, but there's the ever-present "unsprung weight" problem I've heard about. Supposedly some solutions are out there, but I've not been able to find any details as yet.