From the article "Websites like Napster...". I didn't read any further - journalists that think Napster's a web page generally don't have deep insights into internet tech.
I've done that - kinda. Wrote several mickey-mouse comparisons (moving memory, calculating pi, etc), in C, C-machine-translated-to-Java and in regular Java.
The biggest problem was that, for the tasks we were interested in (memory-management, for example) C and Java do it so differently there is no easy way to compare. (Java's habit of creating multiple references to single objects instead of multiple copies of the same object really helps it here).
In general, Java was 3-4 times slower than C on string manipulation with built-in classes/library functions, but was damn-near identical on heavy maths (Java dropped ~1 second for every 30 secs of calculations.)
(Visual C++ 6 compiler against Sun's latest JRE for Windows NT. These timings were only ever meant to be rule-of-thumb.)
First we must replace the IP proticals with something more secure and expandable
IPv6
unless we where to implament a p2pnet we would need somewhere to connect to localy. The
In it's twilight years, Fidonet nodes (esp. in the country) didn't dial each other up (national call), they routed their information through the internet (local call). You can do something similar - ad-hoc local networks, relying on cheap internet links for connection to distant networks. As the local nets grow and coalesce, the internet links become needed less. (Helps to be in a densely-populated country - say UK or Hong Kong)
Third killer apps are needed. Chicken != Egg
"!="??? Anyway. Games. High-bandwidth, low-latency local connections. In fact, look at the traffic on any university campus network (open MP3 fileshares, porn, the odd discussion board, lots of network games, etc. etc.). This is what network traffic on your community network should look like.
All of these obsticals where overcome the first time we built the net so it can be done again
What obstacles??? The obstacle of having millions of dollars of government money and hundreds of researchers to play with?
Oh, and I should mention consume.net about here. And nobody has considered service-level agreements - there are no guarantees from a hobbyist network.
Perhaps if it was a text only forum, cull MIME, UUencode and anything else that looks like it might be a binary attachment. Cull RTF and HTML formatted posts as well. Hell, at least it'd be easier to spool and read
You're thinking of Usenet II. Finding a feed can be difficult, though.
In fact, the cheap paper we make today, from wood-pulp and full of acid, degrades in a few years (leave a paper-back book on a sun-lit shelf for a bit). Archival stuff is made from rags, without chemicals.
Inscribed stone/clay, and metal are more permanent of course, but less flexible.
I know this has come up before, I'm sure I remember discussion about "programmer archaeologists" of the future - noble beings equipped with trowels and oscilloscopes, who reconstruct long-dead file formats from half-corroded CDs. Sounds like a neat job.
My favourite explanation for the left/right thing is that, if you are right-handed and on horse-back, you ride on the left of the road, so your sword hand is ready to defend yourself against attackers.
If your country goes through a revolution, it pays not to look like a rich-guy-on-horseback-with-a-sword, so you start walking on the right instead.
Thus, countries that have gone through revolutions are likely to drive on the right (France, US), countries that have had continuous government are likely to drive on the left (UK, Japan)
On the metric/Imperial thing (pounds, feet, pints etc. are called Imperial in the UK, where we also have cool measurements like stones, furlongs and drams), the Imperial stuff is great for everyday estimating. An inch is about the length of the last joint of my thumb, a foot is about the same size as my foot (wow!), a yard is a long pace, a mile is about 1000 normal paces, and a pint glass fits nicely in my hand.
But for anything technical or scientific... well, Imperial just doesn't cut it. In metric, everything is keyed to the metre (which is defined arbitarily - I believe these days by the speed of light in a vacuum), and any idiot can multiply/divide by ten. 1 litre of water weighs 1 kilo. That's just, just.... so simple!
Anyway, both systems work, there's no need to throw one out in favour of the other. Just choose the one that fits the situation.
Slashdot Mirror
From the article "Websites like Napster...". I didn't read any further - journalists that think Napster's a web page generally don't have deep insights into internet tech.
I'd be interested to see a *true* benchmark
I've done that - kinda. Wrote several mickey-mouse comparisons (moving memory, calculating pi, etc), in C, C-machine-translated-to-Java and in regular Java.
The biggest problem was that, for the tasks we were interested in (memory-management, for example) C and Java do it so differently there is no easy way to compare. (Java's habit of creating multiple references to single objects instead of multiple copies of the same object really helps it here).
In general, Java was 3-4 times slower than C on string manipulation with built-in classes/library functions, but was damn-near identical on heavy maths (Java dropped ~1 second for every 30 secs of calculations.)
(Visual C++ 6 compiler against Sun's latest JRE for Windows NT. These timings were only ever meant to be rule-of-thumb.)
First we must replace the IP proticals with something more secure and expandable
IPv6
unless we where to implament a p2pnet we would need somewhere to connect to localy. The
In it's twilight years, Fidonet nodes (esp. in the country) didn't dial each other up (national call), they routed their information through the internet (local call). You can do something similar - ad-hoc local networks, relying on cheap internet links for connection to distant networks. As the local nets grow and coalesce, the internet links become needed less. (Helps to be in a densely-populated country - say UK or Hong Kong)
Third killer apps are needed. Chicken != Egg
"!="??? Anyway. Games. High-bandwidth, low-latency local connections. In fact, look at the traffic on any university campus network (open MP3 fileshares, porn, the odd discussion board, lots of network games, etc. etc.). This is what network traffic on your community network should look like.
All of these obsticals where overcome the first time we built the net so it can be done again
What obstacles??? The obstacle of having millions of dollars of government money and hundreds of researchers to play with?
Oh, and I should mention consume.net about here. And nobody has considered service-level agreements - there are no guarantees from a hobbyist network.
Perhaps if it was a text only forum, cull MIME, UUencode and anything else that looks like it might be a binary attachment. Cull RTF and HTML formatted posts as well. Hell, at least it'd be easier to spool and read
You're thinking of Usenet II. Finding a feed can be difficult, though.
A PC works fine, and it's CHEAP
Of course, the output quality will suck... these are PC components, not HiFi, and a PC box is a very noisy place.
But as CmdrTaco wants to use lossy compression all over the place, I doubt he's too worried about output fidelity.
lasts longer than paper.
In fact, the cheap paper we make today, from wood-pulp and full of acid, degrades in a few years (leave a paper-back book on a sun-lit shelf for a bit). Archival stuff is made from rags, without chemicals.
Inscribed stone/clay, and metal are more permanent of course, but less flexible.
I know this has come up before, I'm sure I remember discussion about "programmer archaeologists" of the future - noble beings equipped with trowels and oscilloscopes, who reconstruct long-dead file formats from half-corroded CDs. Sounds like a neat job.
My favourite explanation for the left/right thing is that, if you are right-handed and on horse-back, you ride on the left of the road, so your sword hand is ready to defend yourself against attackers.
If your country goes through a revolution, it pays not to look like a rich-guy-on-horseback-with-a-sword, so you start walking on the right instead.
Thus, countries that have gone through revolutions are likely to drive on the right (France, US), countries that have had continuous government are likely to drive on the left (UK, Japan)
On the metric/Imperial thing (pounds, feet, pints etc. are called Imperial in the UK, where we also have cool measurements like stones, furlongs and drams), the Imperial stuff is great for everyday estimating. An inch is about the length of the last joint of my thumb, a foot is about the same size as my foot (wow!), a yard is a long pace, a mile is about 1000 normal paces, and a pint glass fits nicely in my hand.
But for anything technical or scientific... well, Imperial just doesn't cut it. In metric, everything is keyed to the metre (which is defined arbitarily - I believe these days by the speed of light in a vacuum), and any idiot can multiply/divide by ten. 1 litre of water weighs 1 kilo. That's just, just.... so simple!
Anyway, both systems work, there's no need to throw one out in favour of the other. Just choose the one that fits the situation.