A lot of people have commented on how these thing actually look, whether they actually work, and why anyone would want to do this when they could buy one used or new...
1. What do they look like? Depends mainly on the LCD and lens system, not to mention the "case" of the projector. If built right, with good components and a "light tight" case, it can look good. Not great, not HDTV ready, but good enough to watch TV or a video with.
2. Do they work? YES! Built right, they work as they should. LCD projection isn't anything really fancy - it is basically a slide projector with the LCD display substituted for the slide, and the backlight being a very bright lamp. You have to cool the LCD in some way (or polarise the light properly) to keep the LCD from "shutting down".
3. Why do this? I would say it is mainly a hobby, but I would also say it is because most of us can't afford a decent new or used projector. New projectors are hella expensive, and used ones maintain their value, and are thus not that cheap either. The only ones cheap enough are the large CRT projectors, which tend to be real heavy, need to be aligned after moving them, and need special support structures to hang the heavy weight from the ceiling (if that is how you want to mount yours).
I can't say I have ever built one of these projectors, but I can say how they probably look. I currently own a Fujix P401 portable LCD video projector. The thing is about the size of a couple of VHS tapes stacked upon one another, and it uses a small one inch LCD with a halogen lamp (it is a 6 volt halogen reflector lamp that is VERY difficult to find). It takes composite input, and has a system to either project on a small internal screen, or out to an external screen. Built in stereo speakers and the ability to run off of an 8mm video camera battery completes the system.
The quality is OK. At larger image sizes the pixels start to become apparent, but all in all it really isn't that bad of a projector. If I keep the image to around 40-50" diagonal, it is highly watchable (you need to be in a darkened room), great for videos. I have used a VGA->TV convertor successfully with it, and viewed VCDs under KDE.
I would expect a home-brew solution to be as good or better. I would imagine the larger LCDs to be higher resolution, and should give a sharper image at the larger sizes, with less "pixelization" (which really isn't a big deal on my P401).
I honestly don't understand why LCD projector manufacturers don't (or won't) make cheaper, lower-res units. I would think a 640x480 unit would only cost $500-700 - a lot of people would eagerly snatch it up. It could be made compact and lightweight. Make it easy to attach to a computer video card or composite/SVHS inputs. I think it could sell. I have a similar gripe regarding laptops (ie, why not a 640x480 cheap laptop), but now is not the place.
If it would be possible to build a "super spud gun" using PVC fittings, etc - in this similar manner? Get a long piece of PVC, attach booster chambers using sewage drain "down spout" connectors, a load of JBWeld, some sensors and electronic ignition, etc.
Maybe make the thing out of steel and weld all of the connections - would be an interesting porject for "backyard" high-altitude experiments.
He doesn't say what mainframe he was using, but IIRC, there exists for RS/6000 and AS/400's (yeah, I know the RS/6000 isn't really a mainframe) "co-processor" boards that are essentially funky PC motherboards that run the PC-based OS (in this case, NT), and have drivers to use the mainframes resources (drives, ports, etc) and translate them into the PC equivalents.
Most of the time, these boards have their own memory - some even have thier own hard drives (I would imagine there are some which are simply a TN5250 hack for comm with the mainframe, and only draw power from the backplane - all memory, ports, and drives mounted to the module).
In other words, NT doesn't actually run on the mainframe, or VM - but rather on a dedicated processor board. I know these solutions exist for IBM hardware - I wouldn't doubt that there are similar solutions for other mainframe manufacturers as well (either by the manufacturer or licensed third parties).
I love "conspiracy theories", and the one about secret codes on signs seems pretty neat. I have heard the same thing about open stretches of highway, as well.
What I want to know about, is the "generators" on the interstates.
What do I mean by "generators"?
Some of the older interstate highways (I-17 here in Phoenix is a good example) are typically placed "below grade", that is, the surrounding roads and land are higher than the freeway, and rarely does the freeway rise to meet the grade - you travel in what is basically a concrete "chute" or "canyon".
What is interesting, and they seem to be mostly located near the off ramps, or at the end of the off ramps (but still near the freeway), are these concrete "bunkers", with large exhaust pipes sticking out of them (sometimes they aren't this blatent) - obviously a large diesel engine of some sort. I have never seen these engines run. I don't understand why they are in large concrete and steel bunkers, with walls 12-18 inches thick, thick gauge steel mesh covering openings (like that the exhaust pipes stick out from), heavy duty locks, etc - buried in the side of the concrete "chute" of the freeway or exit.
I don't know what they are for - for the size of the engine, they seem like large power generators. I suppose they could be used for water pumping as well (for the city or for flooding).
Supposedly there is an actual working prototype, and you are right about the torquing issue - it has to do with making a sphere big enough for a human to walk in, while keeping it light enough (thinness of sphere walls) to allow the projectors to penetrate for display. These two problems tend to mutually exclusive at this point, and so the material tends to be thicker than you would want it, and thus the sphere is heavy.
I tend to wonder if they have thought about active dampening of movement (which could also allow the ability to have "hills" and such). They also don't seem to talk about it, but I wouldn't doubt you could use wireless 3D shutter-glasses like that used in CAVE systems to complete the 3D simulation...
Thankfully it was a pre-owned house, and was built at a time when people cared about quality construction, and I don't have an HOA...
But anyhow, by signing such agreements, without reading them over carefully, you are simply allowing others to, in effect, "lord" over the land you own (or will own, in time). Before I would sign an HOA agreement, I would read it super carefully, and if I didn't understand it, I would take it to a lawyer who has experience in such areas. Any part of it I didn't like I would cross through, make amendments, etc - it is a business contract, plain and simple - within reason, you should be able to do what you want on your property. I know of people who have been fined by their HOA for simply changing their oil in their garage! That is ABSURD.
However, most EULAs you don't get the chance to read before "opening the box", and after opening the package you can't get a refund if you don't like the terms, nor can you change and agree to the terms at will like any other contract (which in B2B large software contract jobs, is part of the business - if you are a business and want a copy of Oracle for your business, you sit down and sign a contract with Oracle, and you "discuss"/"haggle" over the terms over a period of several weeks, before making the final signature)...
I have an old copy of the Rainbow magazine, in which someone submitted the program source (which you could type in - those days are long gone) to make Rainbow's mascot, CocoKat (that may not be right, but it is close enough) display on the screen with funky "Max Headroom" visuals, and say things if you had the speech synth pak.
Based on this "press release", on the surface it sounds benign (with the exception of moving adult sites to thier own domain - others have made better objections on this).
OT - heh, what's funny is as I write this I am getting a/. banner for "The StarDot Netcam @ Thinkgeek"...
Anyhow, the fact that this bill has the word "Family" in it causes bells to go off in my head, making me want to see the actual bill language - I am almost certain that it actually blocks way more than what the press release purports it will.
I question why such things aren't included under "anti-stalking" laws and such? I also tend to wonder how this would effect small home-based businesses (not having seen the actual wording of the bill, it may not have any effect).
As it stands, based on the press release, the bill (aside from the adult site stuff) seems like a good deal, but if someone could enlighten me further with a link to the actual text of the bill, or something - it would be appreciated...
I think his goal with such a system was to make it look more "normal", and less "borglike". At a casual glance, with this system, he appears like a businessman wearing glasses, with perhaps his hand in a pocket manipulating his keys (or possibly, ahem, something else).
I find it interesting that there is a security concern over something like this, but as has been shown repeatedly, that it is easy to make "common" electronic items into destructive devices that would easily pass an inspection (up to and including turning the device on and off). Yet I am certain most passengers easily carry cell phones, pagers, laptops, and other items on board most aircraft to this day (after showing them to security guards that yes, they are real, and turn on and off, and can be used - it isn't like they are completely disassembling the devices before allowing the person to "pass").
Most of this security posturing (for that is all that it is) is inane - none of it will stop someone from having a device implanted into them, unless full body scanners are suddenly instituted everywhere (and what if that device is a fake, but real looking, to an x-ray machine, pacemaker?) - which isn't likely, at least not until the next incident...
It is nothing more than a feel good thing - it doesn't work, and never will. Security reasons for stopping photography are more bull as well - what is to stop someone from simply sketching things out on a pad of paper?
I don't have a problem with them asking Mann to verify the devices much, even having him take them off. I do have a problem with them forcibly making him remove them, denying him things after saying that if he comes back with this or that they will let him through, damaging equipment, then losing it entirely! I have a problem with these things because it show a lack of disregard for an individual who is slightly "different" from the "norm" (by being a form of "cyborg").
I suppose Mann should count his lucky stars that he wasn't of Middle Eastern decent - he would have been really f'd then (and no, if he was of ME decent that wouldn't make it any more right than if he was black, gay, or jewish for that matter).
In the end, none of what was done to Mann made the flight safer - while he was detained, and the flight left, there could have easily been a deranged, "sympathetic to radical Islamic causes", white individual on the plane busily setting a certain code or such in a modified Palm Pilot...
I can understand how removal of Mann's equipment would cause him something of a form of "brain damage". What we all tend to forget is how long Mann has been doing this sort of thing - his first rig (IIRC) was a TV attached to an Apple IIe back in the 80's!!!
His latest rigs are much more compact - others here have noted the research done using special glasses that flipped the image - in those researches the volunteers got used to it, but when they were taken away, they were "disoriented" again (if I have it right, the brain starts to reinterpret everything normally, but take away the special glasses, and the user sees things wrong, until the brain readjusts - someone posted that some of the volunteers NEVER readjusted, which is scary).
Furthermore, you have to realise that Mann's devices were a form of brain/memory augmentation - he literally had a system where he could look at locations/faces and "tag" them with reminders, so that he didn't have to remember names/places/items - he could just look at them again, and if he had tagged them before, the tag would appear - in true augmented reality "magic". Anything from names to reminders about events ("milk on sale", etc).
So, without the system, one could effectively say he had lost a portion of his memory (and he has been doing this so long, almost two decades now, that one could say his augmentation is normal for him - he seems to be truely a walking experiment). While I am sure some of his antics are publicity stunt type material, I don't really think this was the case here. It would be more akin to someone who had chopped their arm off intentionally to use a "bionic" replacement (custom designed, of course), but had it taken away because it could be a "bomb"...
As far as the comment about Mann's system being "wires and pc boards" and looking like it could be a bomb - the last version I remember Mann working on (and supposedly had a prototype of) was contained in the "lining" of a large suit sport coat, with the boards spread out among the coat's inner surface, maybe a bit of kit in a fanny pack (batteries likely), and a very small vision/camera system (can't remember the company that was developing it, but it looked like an ordinary set of glasses, with a very small prism mounted on one lens, with the projection system mounted on the earpiece of the frame projecting in from the side) - the whole thing was mostly "invisible". I suppose the camera and such made for a slightly more visible system, but I don't think (if this was the system he was wearing at the time) that it would be a "shocking" looking system. Of course, I could be wrong, and he might have been testing out something more recent...
But in a way, it has already been done cheaper. GE has a small 1.0 cubic foot microwave that has a simple one button "reheat" mode. I am not certain how it works, but I think it measures humidity/steam output of the food being "cooked" - so it sits there for a while cooking, then when just right, it stops. It isn't perfect (some foods confuse it, especially if the food has a wierd combo of fat/water content, and is cold), but it works most of the time.
For most of my TV dinners, I simply set the time for 4 or 5 minutes, and leave all the plastic wrap on - this works for the majority of TV dinners out there. If I have a large TV dinner, and the directions say "5 minutes on high", I will sometimes do "10 minutes on medium (50%)", so that it cook thoroughly.
The other thing you have to do is let the food sit a few minutes after you have cooked it, to let it completely warm up (however, don't do this with TV dinner fried chicken, because you will be eating chicken jerkey after letting it sit).
Now, you want to know REALLY funky? Go to the store, and get some "Maria's Frozen Burritoes" - while not the best things on the planet for you, nor the most tasty - they are fun to cook - they even taste differently depending on how you cook them (microwaved vs oven vs pan-fried vs deep fried) - serious!
Alright - maybe I eat too much frozen food (and I have the gut to prove it too, so nyah!)...
Ok, I know I may be modded down for saying this, but it has to be said. Seeing all the "rah-rah! yea!" posts, from everybody about "yea, the DVD! the DVD!" in a small way makes me sick...
Alright, I understand that you have the right to make your own choices, and I support that.
I understand that you liked the movie (hell, even I went to see it on the opening night, and I liked it), and want to watch it again and again.
But all of this - ALL OF IT - saddens and sickens me to no end...
I went and saw the movie - because I have always been a fan of Tolkien's work. I have multiple copies and editions of the book, boxed sets, paperbacks - plus spinoff books and such (such as the solo adventuring "Middle Earth Quest" novels, the "Atlas of Middle Earth" book, and even a funky "divine the future" set). I also have a few copies of Tolkien's lesser known books and works. So, I simply had to see the movie.
I didn't feel good about this. I just know - KNOW - that some of my money went to the MPAA. I try to counteract this by donating to the EFF when and where I can, but I still feel like I have "given to the enemy". And yes, I consider the MPAA, and their members - enemies. I have written many times that I even "agonize" over my purchase of a 19" monitor that has a Trinitron tube, because I know that I have given in some small part to Sony, member of both the MPAA and RIAA!!!
But this is as close as I have gotten to "giving" to these beasts, who seek to enslave us and our rights regarding IP. I will not buy a DVD player. I will not buy DVDs.
Until this gets sorted out, and hopefully the people's rights are restored to their proper place (I constantly hope for a world where copyright goes back to a more sane level as originally envisioned, where works that should be public domain today are, were it not for law. Where the DMCA, and the SSSCA, or whatever they are calling it now - is no more. I won't ramble any more, you know what I mean), I simply refuse.
But the rate at which this is going it seems like a couple more "new" formats will crop up, each with more draconian controls than the last, will pop up, and YOU, YES YOU PEOPLE - will BUY INTO THEM, furthering their control over yourselves.
It seems like a lot of/. is simply paying lip service to the "DMCA is bad" meme - while secretly purchasing DVDs as fast as they can. Maybe you have one of those "grey-market" players (not sure what to call them, but you know what I mean, like the APEX ones that allow you to bypass a lot of the controls) - but as long as you are buying DVDs, you are still supporting them...
I tend to wonder if I ever will buy a DVD player, the rate things are going - how long have DVDs and players been out now? Two years? Three years? Longer? It seems longer - but I am not sure off-hand... Still, despite the protests of good people, the laws continue to erode are rights...
I sometimes feel I am destined to become a "crotchety old man" raving in his old age about the people's "right to read" (and damn, I just reread that essay last night), while trying to watch an old videotaped show or something on a duct taped and patched together VCR (or worse, read one of my books), sitting in a darkened, soundproofed and locked basement to keep the neighbors from calling the IP police should they know I have non-subscription IP for viewing...
Seem impossible? Seem like something that could never happen?
OPEN UP YOUR FUCKING EYES PEOPLE - IT IS HAPPENNING...RIGHT...NOW...TODAY!!!
And funny as well. I started my internet experience with Internet Direct in the latter part of 1993 (andrewa@indirect.com), initially with a dial-up shell account (using my Amiga 2000), then later with a SLIP account. I had always wondered about portions of "the incident that started it all"...
Let me close by saying "thank you" to you and your former company for being my "introduction" to the internet. I cannot remember why I chose your company (probably because at the time you were one of only maybe two or three ISPs in Phoenix, and the largest, or something), but it was a great learning experience for me - I will never forget performing my first FTP from a server in.au to your server, then waiting for a long time to download the file from your server to my Amiga over a 2400 baud modem - it was like "magic". Up to that time, all I ever used were local and some long distance BBS's, and occasionally FIDOnet mail.
I ended up keeping my indirect.com address until last year - when Goodnet bought out the consumer customer base from Internet Direct, someone set up and left running a forwarding service (I think his name was Mark or Chris), then when Winstar bought Goodnet, the service continued to work, but the whole thing died when Earthlink bought Winstar, and by that time I was already using cox@home (now cox.net) - I always loved having that "unique" address for so long. But all "good" things must end, so I dropped it...
Not that dropping it was a very bad thing - I had so much SPAM comming into that address (from my early days of posting to coding newsgroups) that dropping it was worth it in the end...
As some of you may know, I have pondered how to build a homebrew CD changer - something to allow you access to all (or most) of your CDs at one time. This problem is difficult, but not impossible.
CD Duplication is much easier.
Think of device as an "arm" that can move linearly on one axis, and travel up and down by a small amount on another orthogonal axis. So, basically a 2 axis pick-and-place arm.
Place two spindles on either side of the burning drive. One spindle is full of blanks, the other is empty (to hold burned blanks). Line the centers of the holes in the CDs up with each other, as well as with a CD in the drive tray with the tray ejected, so the all the holes fall perfectly in line. Mount the drive and the spindles down in some manner (screws, glue, something).
Now, you need to build an arm - a couple of cheap RC servos and some aluminium square tubing, maybe some threaded rod, so that it can move up and down, and move in and out along the line of the holes. Build a forked picking appendage out of aluminium tubing, with the ends of the fork bent down at a 90 degree angle - the clearance between the two "tines" of the forked tubing should be wide enough to clear the spindle. At the ends of the tines, attach cheap suction cups drilled through - seal them well to the tube ends. The fork needs to have a tee split off of it that will connect to a piece of silicone tubing that runs to an aquarium air pump - this tube will connect to the pumps air inlet (the pump may need modifications for this) to form a cheap, low cost, but efficient "vacuum pump".
The arms servos can be connected to a BASIC Stamp with appropriate driver software and hardware - the stamp can be programmed to simply accept commands to move the servos properly to certain amounts as sent over the serial port (via a MAX232). The Stamp will also need to be connected to some 120VAC relay (12 volt coil, 120VAC contacts), or a 120VAC solid state "relay" to allow control of the pump. Then code would have to be written to do the following:
1. Move the arm to the full spindle. Turn on vacuum pump, and lower fork to "suck up" the CD.
2. Lift arm, eject tray, position the CD, turn off pump to drop CD, inject tray.
5. Move arm to second spindle, turn off pump and drop the CD - goto step 1.
Remember that at step one, your pile shrinks, and at step 5, the pile is growing, so you would need coding to account for that.
At any rate, such an arm could be easily built, probably for under $200.00 if you shopped carefully (and already had the burner).
Of course, if you don't have any experience building such devices (basically, homebrew robotics and electronics, plus coding) - you won't get very far, and I would have to concede that it would be more worth your time and money to purchase a machine, as other posters have reccommended...
I can understand that doing an "average" pre-load of most Linux distros can take time to do, but for desktop or laptop machines it should be a near no-brainer. The parts in each machine should be identical (I mean, that is what Dell, etc are in the business of, producing "clones"), with the exception of certain model changes, and maybe some part supplier changes.
At any rate, Dell, etc - don't do a pre-install of Windows on their boxes - they install Windows on a machine that matches the others, then clone the drives using disk drive duplicator systems, etc (either off the assembly line or possible on it while in the machine). Slap the drive in, turn it on, test basic functions, and done!
If they can do this with Windows, they can do it with a basic Linux install. It may take a bit more time to set up the Linux install (vs Windows) due to various driver issues, but really not all that much more. As far as the install taking a lot of space, I think that is probably a fallacy as well - most Linux software, as well as the OS itself is tiny, and doesn't take up much hard drive space at all. The stuff that does take up a large amount (comparatively) really is insignificant compared to modern drive sizes (as an anecdotal reference, I have a "hybrid" SuSE 6.3/7.2 box at home that I use for everything, yet I only am taking up about 2 gig of a 4.3 gig drive for applications, etc - and actually have a lot of wasted space, about 100 meg, in/tmp - which I am looking into freeing up in a safe manner).
I don't know why Dell stopped Linux support - they might argue poor sales, but you can't argue with the fact that it is difficult for a normal Joe User to know Linux is offered on a Dell desktop if it isn't advertised in the flyer. How they could argue poor sales and conveniently "forget" to do proper marketing is beyond me (it is Dell, for crying out loud!)...
Now, what I am curious to find out is how Fry's Electronics systems are selling - I recently saw an ad where they claimed the system sold came with Linux (no distro mentioned), though it ticked me off when the same ad mentioned the machine could be "upgraded" to XP (yeah, there's an upgrade for ya).
Don't flame me for my obvious Linux preference - I think it is ready for the desktop, but with the vicious circle created from Windows/Office dependancy of most everyone in the world, it is a tough nut to crack...
...er, regarding the wheelbarrow tire. Here's another one:
Imagine that the tire that is "off-the-rim" is the large rear tire of a backhoe - how do you inflate that?
Backyard psycho-mechanic trick:
1. Get some grease and smear it around the bead (will ensure the seal for the next part - it is possible to do it without the grease, but not always successful).
2. Have "attendant" (next door neighbor?) in hand with quick attach tire inflator (attached to large tank shop-style air-compressor) stand by, about 15-20 feet away (or, you could trade spots and have him do the next part). Show him where the tire valve stem is, he will have to be quick...
3. Now, get a can of ether, and spray it into the cavity between the tire and rim (a lil' dab'll do ya!), stand 6 feet away, throw the can off to the side, light a match, and toss it in...
4. If you have done everything right, the ether will combust violently, and "air up" the tire right on the rim instantly - "attendant" holding the inflator then needs to immediately come in and start the inflation with the compressor until the tire is fully inflated.
Is this dangerous? HELL YES. Problems include:
1. Too much ether - tire explodes, sending burning rubber shrapnel everywhere.
2. You miss with the match, and you don't know whether to add more ether (see #1 above) to offset the evaporation, or try again with another match, or both, or wait, or...
3. You get it with the match, tire is aired up - but is it still burning inside the tire when you start inflating (thereby adding more oxygen)... BOOM?
Oh, and for that extra special treat, do the trick at night for a "cool" light show!
BTW - DO NOT TRY THIS TRICK ON AUTOMOBILE TIRES AND RIMS. You WILL probably add too much ether, or the rim won't be able to take the pressure, etc - hell, I am not even sure I should be mentioning any of this, even for tractor tires/rims...
DISCLAIMER: The above is for educational purposes only - use information at your own risk!!!
While I would say that the vast majority of posts on/. are mere discussion, etc - there is a small but useful subset buried deep within that arguably contains useful information, or at the very least would serve as a starting point for further research.
There are a TON of "Ask Slashdot" articles with very valuable information. I also see in this article many valuable posts (especially that one with the tons of links on machine learning and mining). I also remember some valid ideas bandied about back on the homebrew rollercoaster posting. I also remember seeing information on a posting about mozilla yesterday talking about how to get nice looking fonts in X. Finally, I remember quite some time back (possible up to 2 years ago) an article on AI, in which two individuals, who seemed to know their shit at minimum, and at best were both neuroscientists - arguing about how neurons worked and how the brain "thinks" - most of that went WAAAY over my head, but it was valuable information (or at least it might be a stepping stone).
I see this all the time here on/. - true, there is a ton of SPAM and troll posts, etc to wade through, but that is what we are discussing here - how do you "mine" through the ore to get to that nugget of "gold"?
Fortunately, the lock ring isn't typically one of those "C-shaped" lock rings (and I have dealt with some real small ones before) - most of the time they are simply "press-to-fit" plastic bits, or sometimes a small rubber "o-ring".
But yeah, it is like repacking wheel bearings - BTW, one other tip: Don't work on plush carpet;)
On another note - I recently had a fan in my power supply go out here at work on a Friday - the power supply was OK, but the fan would make this weird vibration noise - ramping up, sustaining, then ramping down. This would happen about once an hour, and was really loud.
Anyhow, I pulled the power supply out, pulled the fan, and went to work with the various tools I had (mainly a leatherman keychain). I got it apart, and could clearly see that the bearing was dry. I needed some grease.
Not having anything suitable (like, why would I carry vasoline in my backpack?), I went to my IT department, and asked around - no luck. Not even some WD-40 (not that I wanted to use it). So, I hunted around some more, when it hit me that our CIO, being female, might have some lip gloss or something - I went to her and asked if she had something. She told me she had some carmex - I asked if I could borrow it.
She gave me this strange look of "WTF?" - I proceeded to explain the situation, and she asked if we had any spare power supplies (we didn't). She then said "I could pick you up a fan, or a new power supply", which was fine by me. Then she said "How about we get you a new case?"...
Now, in this time of tight economies, why would you spend $70.00 on a tower case, or even $30.00 for a power supply, to effectively grease a bearing on a fan? I had the fan apart, I could get it together, no prob. I asked if I could simply use some of the carmex, and if she could pick me up a fan over the weekend, cool.
She reluctantly gave me the carmex, I took some, greased the bearing, put it back together, and reinstalled everything, and switched it on.
The next Monday, there was no fan on my desk. I never bothered to ask about it. So far, it has been about a month and a half - and my fan has yet to make another noise outside of the usual...
If you don't like taking the hit, here is what you can do (if you don't mind taking the time):
Fan motors are really nothing more than funky four pole stepper motors, of a sort, with all the switching electronics built into a small board in the fan. They are true brushless motors (just like stepper motors). Coils are located on this board, and the fan rotor has a ring magnet which spins around the coils on a bearing (typically sleeve, but sometimes ball).
Now, the shaft is fixed to the fan blade rotor, and passes through the bearing, and out the backside of the drive electronics carrier board (the bearing is mounted to the carrier board). Look at the "backside" of the fan, where the wires enter the fan, and you will (or should) see a sticker, showing the make of the fan, rpm, etc. Remove this sticker, and there should be a hole where you can see a plastic or metal "lock ring" surround the shaft of the fan.
Remove the lock ring (don't lose it!) with a couple of small screwdrivers or a pair of tweezers (if you a real good, dremel the tips of the tweezers to make small hooks on the ends, forming a "puller") - the lock ring is typically only held on by friction (it doesn't need to be anything more, as the magnetic field of the rotor ring magnet keeps the fan aligned with the steel armature of the coils on the driver board).
You should now be able to remove the fan blades.
With the blades off, inspect them for dust and dirt around or one the shaft. Clean the blades with compressed air, maybe a qtip with some water - clean the shaft with rubbing alcohol.
Clean the circuit board and the fan cage with compressed air, and inspect the bearing. If it is a sleeve bearing, use a needle or other shaft size implement to drip some rubbing alcohol through, and disolve any old grease - if it is a ball bearing, you might try to do the same - if you can remove it, even better to clean it outside of the fan circuit board.
Once the shaft and bearing are dry, repack the shaft and the bearing. If the bearing is a simple sleeve bearing, apply some petroleum jelly to the shaft (just a little), and slide the shaft back on. If it is a ball bearing, apply the jelly to the bearing, putting some light pressure on it to force it into the bearing, and a little on the shaft, then reassemble.
Clean your hands thoroughly and dry them, then remount the locking ring. Clean the area around the hole (not in it!) with rubbing alcohol to remove any traces of oil, then place one of those "garage sale" round stickers over the hole to replace the original (and maybe mark the current/voltage ratings and cfm on it as well).
That's it! It takes a little time, but costs less than buying a new fan (especially if it is late at night or something and no place is open). Keep it under 15-30 minutes, and it is even worth your time, if you think that way. Most of the time, the reasons fans fail after using compressed air on them is that the dust and dirt either get blown into the bearing, or the fan is spun to an ultra-high speed past the bearing's rated speed, and the failure begins.
While my comments were in no way the greatest (certainly not the best thing I have ever written), they do come from my heart and mind - this proposed legislation tears at me, and with the DMCA, makes me feel SO angry. Anyway, here is the email I sent:
To whom it may concern:
Let me state my case in as simple of terms as possible. I am a computer software developer. I feel that the SSSCA threatens - THREATENS - my very job. The career I have put many long years into to develop. The very thing that keeps my family fed.
I don't have much of a recourse to fall back on should the SSSCA (coupled with the same kind of crap - YES CRAP! - that the DMCA is as well) go through and make software development a crime, or impossible - without stepping through a multitude of hoops.
You see, I learned how to program on a home computer - sitting with my dad beside me, typing in programs from books. I was 10 years old, and having fun. I could see (and still do see) whole new worlds openning up before me. The computer was a magic machine, and I could be the sorcerer commanding it.
That was a long time ago - almost 20 years now. Kids today don't know what they really have in front of them (today's machine was FANTASY when I was in high school, never mind when I was 10) - but those that do will be prevented from learning on their own by the SSSCA. Why?
When compilers and debuggers, and a whole host of other tools, coupled with tight DRM controls embedded in the hardware - make it impossible, not to mention a FEDERAL CRIME - to learn about the very machine these individuals supposedly own - it will be a travesty.
The computer is not a TV. Information is not a tangible object. Reread your Thomas Jefferson for his thoughts on such things.
I cannot stress just how ANGRY I am at the thought of such proposed legislation as the SSSCA, and the already passed legislation of the DMCA. Neither will do anything to "promote the arts and sciences" that copyright was supposed to do (note: I am not against copyright - but I am against the laws which extend copyright past the Constitutional mandate of the "reasonable period", as well as allowing immortal corporations to hold copyright, in effect making the "life" provision of copyright equal "FOREVER").
Signed as a citizen of a failing country and society,
cr0sh (and yes, I posted my real name/address for responsibilty taking of my comments).
...of the cheapo Aura Bass Shakers - bought them a long while back for $20.00 on Ebay - Aura makes (made?) a beefier model as well (and used to make the Aura Interactor Vest).
Hooking up the cheap shaker directly to the speaker out line on my soundcard, I was pretty amazed at the efficiency of the thing. I have yet to hook it up to a real amp (each one can handle up to 25 watts - their better model goes up to 50 watts or thereabouts), but I bet it can really quake at those levels.
I can also vouch for the Interactor vest - when it rumbles, it RUMBLES. The amp included seems to be pretty powerful (though I doubt it has low THD - it isn't meant for listening to music or noise, but to feel it), but it gets pretty damn hot after only a little while.
Other companies (as you note) produce bass shakers as well - they are typically (as you noticed) used to provide thumping bass in vehicles which don't have room for bumpin' 15s or such, as well as for home theater setups (mounted to the subfloor or couch to really quake the viewers). The ones made by others, though, tend to be more powerful, but more expensive to boot.
Aura's were the poor mans version - a pretty good value for the cost...
Personally, I think it starts somewhere in grade school (and perhaps even before):
There are kids who only do what they are told to, there are kids who extrapolate on what they are told to do, then there are kids who get the other kids to do what they were told to do to do it for them (whew!)...
Anyhow, most people fall into the first and last categories. They are trapped there, by their own ignorance and apathy. Call them the Sheep and the Lazy.
In reality, they are one and the same. Whether it is how to program a VCR, work a computer, or fix a leaky faucet - not a single one of them will take the time to learn to do it themselves (which is probably a good thing - it keeps those who are in the second category gainfully employed).
Those in the middle? They are the artists, the thinkers, the tinkerers, the inventors, the mechanics, the programmers - they are the people who ask the questions, find the answers, and then apply those answers toward the search for the truth (which inevitably leads to more questions, more answers, etc).
I don't think I will ever understand completely why there are individuals without curiosity and drive to expand their knowledge about the world around them. With time on this planet so limited, it should almost be an instinct to want to know more. The travesty for anyone who does exhibit curiosity about the world around them is that they also know that one day, in what is really only a blink of time, that the quest will end - whether they want it to or not.
...about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through a book I am reading called "Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software" by Steven Johnson.
At the point where I am reading, Johnson is discussing how emergence is closely tied to feedback, and without feedback, emergence doesn't occur. Thus, cities and businesses tend to be emergent (is that a word?) entities, while the web typically isn't. Because links on the web tend to be "one way", and information isn't communicated back, he argues that emergence can't take place.
Someone else has made a post here discussing how on Japanese web sites, it is expected that before you link to a site, you ask the operator of the site permission. The poster then says that for American sites, it is more of a "sprinkle willy-nilly" (my words) type reference, without regard for the operators of the sites. However, at one time, netiquette was indeed to ask the operators to "swap links" - I remember doing this quite often. But I think what happened is that when businesses and the "ignorant masses" came online, less link-swapping occurred because many times you would email the admin of the machine, and never get a response. The feedback link was broken.
Johnson uses this argument to further his statement that because of this, the Web won't be emergent. But will the Japanese web spawn emergence?
Johnson then goes on to talk about weblogs (though he doesn't use that term), referencing/. specifically - and noting how the whole rating and karma system gives rise to feedback, and may allow such discussion groups to become, over time, emergent. I haven't read anything yet about p2p in the book (the way the book reads, it seems like it was written or originally published longer ago than it seems), but I tend to wonder if emergence will be found there...
These kind of search engine technologies might help make the web turn around, and allow it to become emergent. I don't know if such thing would bode well for humanity, but it would be very interesting to see such a thing in practice (I highly reccommend the book I referenced above if you are into this kind of thing - it makes an excellent sequel of sorts to the book "Out of Control")...
Slashdot Mirror
A lot of people have commented on how these thing actually look, whether they actually work, and why anyone would want to do this when they could buy one used or new...
1. What do they look like? Depends mainly on the LCD and lens system, not to mention the "case" of the projector. If built right, with good components and a "light tight" case, it can look good. Not great, not HDTV ready, but good enough to watch TV or a video with.
2. Do they work? YES! Built right, they work as they should. LCD projection isn't anything really fancy - it is basically a slide projector with the LCD display substituted for the slide, and the backlight being a very bright lamp. You have to cool the LCD in some way (or polarise the light properly) to keep the LCD from "shutting down".
3. Why do this? I would say it is mainly a hobby, but I would also say it is because most of us can't afford a decent new or used projector. New projectors are hella expensive, and used ones maintain their value, and are thus not that cheap either. The only ones cheap enough are the large CRT projectors, which tend to be real heavy, need to be aligned after moving them, and need special support structures to hang the heavy weight from the ceiling (if that is how you want to mount yours).
I can't say I have ever built one of these projectors, but I can say how they probably look. I currently own a Fujix P401 portable LCD video projector. The thing is about the size of a couple of VHS tapes stacked upon one another, and it uses a small one inch LCD with a halogen lamp (it is a 6 volt halogen reflector lamp that is VERY difficult to find). It takes composite input, and has a system to either project on a small internal screen, or out to an external screen. Built in stereo speakers and the ability to run off of an 8mm video camera battery completes the system.
The quality is OK. At larger image sizes the pixels start to become apparent, but all in all it really isn't that bad of a projector. If I keep the image to around 40-50" diagonal, it is highly watchable (you need to be in a darkened room), great for videos. I have used a VGA->TV convertor successfully with it, and viewed VCDs under KDE.
I would expect a home-brew solution to be as good or better. I would imagine the larger LCDs to be higher resolution, and should give a sharper image at the larger sizes, with less "pixelization" (which really isn't a big deal on my P401).
I honestly don't understand why LCD projector manufacturers don't (or won't) make cheaper, lower-res units. I would think a 640x480 unit would only cost $500-700 - a lot of people would eagerly snatch it up. It could be made compact and lightweight. Make it easy to attach to a computer video card or composite/SVHS inputs. I think it could sell. I have a similar gripe regarding laptops (ie, why not a 640x480 cheap laptop), but now is not the place.
If it would be possible to build a "super spud gun" using PVC fittings, etc - in this similar manner? Get a long piece of PVC, attach booster chambers using sewage drain "down spout" connectors, a load of JBWeld, some sensors and electronic ignition, etc.
Maybe make the thing out of steel and weld all of the connections - would be an interesting porject for "backyard" high-altitude experiments.
Possibly even "x-prize" level experiments...
He doesn't say what mainframe he was using, but IIRC, there exists for RS/6000 and AS/400's (yeah, I know the RS/6000 isn't really a mainframe) "co-processor" boards that are essentially funky PC motherboards that run the PC-based OS (in this case, NT), and have drivers to use the mainframes resources (drives, ports, etc) and translate them into the PC equivalents.
Most of the time, these boards have their own memory - some even have thier own hard drives (I would imagine there are some which are simply a TN5250 hack for comm with the mainframe, and only draw power from the backplane - all memory, ports, and drives mounted to the module).
In other words, NT doesn't actually run on the mainframe, or VM - but rather on a dedicated processor board. I know these solutions exist for IBM hardware - I wouldn't doubt that there are similar solutions for other mainframe manufacturers as well (either by the manufacturer or licensed third parties).
I love "conspiracy theories", and the one about secret codes on signs seems pretty neat. I have heard the same thing about open stretches of highway, as well.
What I want to know about, is the "generators" on the interstates.
What do I mean by "generators"?
Some of the older interstate highways (I-17 here in Phoenix is a good example) are typically placed "below grade", that is, the surrounding roads and land are higher than the freeway, and rarely does the freeway rise to meet the grade - you travel in what is basically a concrete "chute" or "canyon".
What is interesting, and they seem to be mostly located near the off ramps, or at the end of the off ramps (but still near the freeway), are these concrete "bunkers", with large exhaust pipes sticking out of them (sometimes they aren't this blatent) - obviously a large diesel engine of some sort. I have never seen these engines run. I don't understand why they are in large concrete and steel bunkers, with walls 12-18 inches thick, thick gauge steel mesh covering openings (like that the exhaust pipes stick out from), heavy duty locks, etc - buried in the side of the concrete "chute" of the freeway or exit.
I don't know what they are for - for the size of the engine, they seem like large power generators. I suppose they could be used for water pumping as well (for the city or for flooding).
Does anyone know the purpose of these things?
The Cybersphere
Supposedly there is an actual working prototype, and you are right about the torquing issue - it has to do with making a sphere big enough for a human to walk in, while keeping it light enough (thinness of sphere walls) to allow the projectors to penetrate for display. These two problems tend to mutually exclusive at this point, and so the material tends to be thicker than you would want it, and thus the sphere is heavy.
I tend to wonder if they have thought about active dampening of movement (which could also allow the ability to have "hills" and such). They also don't seem to talk about it, but I wouldn't doubt you could use wireless 3D shutter-glasses like that used in CAVE systems to complete the 3D simulation...
Thankfully it was a pre-owned house, and was built at a time when people cared about quality construction, and I don't have an HOA...
But anyhow, by signing such agreements, without reading them over carefully, you are simply allowing others to, in effect, "lord" over the land you own (or will own, in time). Before I would sign an HOA agreement, I would read it super carefully, and if I didn't understand it, I would take it to a lawyer who has experience in such areas. Any part of it I didn't like I would cross through, make amendments, etc - it is a business contract, plain and simple - within reason, you should be able to do what you want on your property. I know of people who have been fined by their HOA for simply changing their oil in their garage! That is ABSURD.
However, most EULAs you don't get the chance to read before "opening the box", and after opening the package you can't get a refund if you don't like the terms, nor can you change and agree to the terms at will like any other contract (which in B2B large software contract jobs, is part of the business - if you are a business and want a copy of Oracle for your business, you sit down and sign a contract with Oracle, and you "discuss"/"haggle" over the terms over a period of several weeks, before making the final signature)...
If you are serious...
I have an old copy of the Rainbow magazine, in which someone submitted the program source (which you could type in - those days are long gone) to make Rainbow's mascot, CocoKat (that may not be right, but it is close enough) display on the screen with funky "Max Headroom" visuals, and say things if you had the speech synth pak.
...
Based on this "press release", on the surface it sounds benign (with the exception of moving adult sites to thier own domain - others have made better objections on this).
/. banner for "The StarDot Netcam @ Thinkgeek"...
OT - heh, what's funny is as I write this I am getting a
Anyhow, the fact that this bill has the word "Family" in it causes bells to go off in my head, making me want to see the actual bill language - I am almost certain that it actually blocks way more than what the press release purports it will.
I question why such things aren't included under "anti-stalking" laws and such? I also tend to wonder how this would effect small home-based businesses (not having seen the actual wording of the bill, it may not have any effect).
As it stands, based on the press release, the bill (aside from the adult site stuff) seems like a good deal, but if someone could enlighten me further with a link to the actual text of the bill, or something - it would be appreciated...
I think his goal with such a system was to make it look more "normal", and less "borglike". At a casual glance, with this system, he appears like a businessman wearing glasses, with perhaps his hand in a pocket manipulating his keys (or possibly, ahem, something else).
I find it interesting that there is a security concern over something like this, but as has been shown repeatedly, that it is easy to make "common" electronic items into destructive devices that would easily pass an inspection (up to and including turning the device on and off). Yet I am certain most passengers easily carry cell phones, pagers, laptops, and other items on board most aircraft to this day (after showing them to security guards that yes, they are real, and turn on and off, and can be used - it isn't like they are completely disassembling the devices before allowing the person to "pass").
Most of this security posturing (for that is all that it is) is inane - none of it will stop someone from having a device implanted into them, unless full body scanners are suddenly instituted everywhere (and what if that device is a fake, but real looking, to an x-ray machine, pacemaker?) - which isn't likely, at least not until the next incident...
It is nothing more than a feel good thing - it doesn't work, and never will. Security reasons for stopping photography are more bull as well - what is to stop someone from simply sketching things out on a pad of paper?
I don't have a problem with them asking Mann to verify the devices much, even having him take them off. I do have a problem with them forcibly making him remove them, denying him things after saying that if he comes back with this or that they will let him through, damaging equipment, then losing it entirely! I have a problem with these things because it show a lack of disregard for an individual who is slightly "different" from the "norm" (by being a form of "cyborg").
I suppose Mann should count his lucky stars that he wasn't of Middle Eastern decent - he would have been really f'd then (and no, if he was of ME decent that wouldn't make it any more right than if he was black, gay, or jewish for that matter).
In the end, none of what was done to Mann made the flight safer - while he was detained, and the flight left, there could have easily been a deranged, "sympathetic to radical Islamic causes", white individual on the plane busily setting a certain code or such in a modified Palm Pilot...
Coupled with resin or silicone potting (as others have suggested), it seems the best, most reliable, and cheapest way to go.
But, there is another option, though it probably won't last as long - think seawater and different types of metal...
That's right - akin to a "spud/lemon - battery" - if such a thing could power a small watch, then it could be scaled up a bit to power an LED...
I can understand how removal of Mann's equipment would cause him something of a form of "brain damage". What we all tend to forget is how long Mann has been doing this sort of thing - his first rig (IIRC) was a TV attached to an Apple IIe back in the 80's!!!
His latest rigs are much more compact - others here have noted the research done using special glasses that flipped the image - in those researches the volunteers got used to it, but when they were taken away, they were "disoriented" again (if I have it right, the brain starts to reinterpret everything normally, but take away the special glasses, and the user sees things wrong, until the brain readjusts - someone posted that some of the volunteers NEVER readjusted, which is scary).
Furthermore, you have to realise that Mann's devices were a form of brain/memory augmentation - he literally had a system where he could look at locations/faces and "tag" them with reminders, so that he didn't have to remember names/places/items - he could just look at them again, and if he had tagged them before, the tag would appear - in true augmented reality "magic". Anything from names to reminders about events ("milk on sale", etc).
So, without the system, one could effectively say he had lost a portion of his memory (and he has been doing this so long, almost two decades now, that one could say his augmentation is normal for him - he seems to be truely a walking experiment). While I am sure some of his antics are publicity stunt type material, I don't really think this was the case here. It would be more akin to someone who had chopped their arm off intentionally to use a "bionic" replacement (custom designed, of course), but had it taken away because it could be a "bomb"...
As far as the comment about Mann's system being "wires and pc boards" and looking like it could be a bomb - the last version I remember Mann working on (and supposedly had a prototype of) was contained in the "lining" of a large suit sport coat, with the boards spread out among the coat's inner surface, maybe a bit of kit in a fanny pack (batteries likely), and a very small vision/camera system (can't remember the company that was developing it, but it looked like an ordinary set of glasses, with a very small prism mounted on one lens, with the projection system mounted on the earpiece of the frame projecting in from the side) - the whole thing was mostly "invisible". I suppose the camera and such made for a slightly more visible system, but I don't think (if this was the system he was wearing at the time) that it would be a "shocking" looking system. Of course, I could be wrong, and he might have been testing out something more recent...
But in a way, it has already been done cheaper. GE has a small 1.0 cubic foot microwave that has a simple one button "reheat" mode. I am not certain how it works, but I think it measures humidity/steam output of the food being "cooked" - so it sits there for a while cooking, then when just right, it stops. It isn't perfect (some foods confuse it, especially if the food has a wierd combo of fat/water content, and is cold), but it works most of the time.
For most of my TV dinners, I simply set the time for 4 or 5 minutes, and leave all the plastic wrap on - this works for the majority of TV dinners out there. If I have a large TV dinner, and the directions say "5 minutes on high", I will sometimes do "10 minutes on medium (50%)", so that it cook thoroughly.
The other thing you have to do is let the food sit a few minutes after you have cooked it, to let it completely warm up (however, don't do this with TV dinner fried chicken, because you will be eating chicken jerkey after letting it sit).
Now, you want to know REALLY funky? Go to the store, and get some "Maria's Frozen Burritoes" - while not the best things on the planet for you, nor the most tasty - they are fun to cook - they even taste differently depending on how you cook them (microwaved vs oven vs pan-fried vs deep fried) - serious!
Alright - maybe I eat too much frozen food (and I have the gut to prove it too, so nyah!)...
Ok, I know I may be modded down for saying this, but it has to be said. Seeing all the "rah-rah! yea!" posts, from everybody about "yea, the DVD! the DVD!" in a small way makes me sick...
/. is simply paying lip service to the "DMCA is bad" meme - while secretly purchasing DVDs as fast as they can. Maybe you have one of those "grey-market" players (not sure what to call them, but you know what I mean, like the APEX ones that allow you to bypass a lot of the controls) - but as long as you are buying DVDs, you are still supporting them...
Alright, I understand that you have the right to make your own choices, and I support that.
I understand that you liked the movie (hell, even I went to see it on the opening night, and I liked it), and want to watch it again and again.
But all of this - ALL OF IT - saddens and sickens me to no end...
I went and saw the movie - because I have always been a fan of Tolkien's work. I have multiple copies and editions of the book, boxed sets, paperbacks - plus spinoff books and such (such as the solo adventuring "Middle Earth Quest" novels, the "Atlas of Middle Earth" book, and even a funky "divine the future" set). I also have a few copies of Tolkien's lesser known books and works. So, I simply had to see the movie.
I didn't feel good about this. I just know - KNOW - that some of my money went to the MPAA. I try to counteract this by donating to the EFF when and where I can, but I still feel like I have "given to the enemy". And yes, I consider the MPAA, and their members - enemies. I have written many times that I even "agonize" over my purchase of a 19" monitor that has a Trinitron tube, because I know that I have given in some small part to Sony, member of both the MPAA and RIAA!!!
But this is as close as I have gotten to "giving" to these beasts, who seek to enslave us and our rights regarding IP. I will not buy a DVD player. I will not buy DVDs.
Until this gets sorted out, and hopefully the people's rights are restored to their proper place (I constantly hope for a world where copyright goes back to a more sane level as originally envisioned, where works that should be public domain today are, were it not for law. Where the DMCA, and the SSSCA, or whatever they are calling it now - is no more. I won't ramble any more, you know what I mean), I simply refuse.
But the rate at which this is going it seems like a couple more "new" formats will crop up, each with more draconian controls than the last, will pop up, and YOU, YES YOU PEOPLE - will BUY INTO THEM, furthering their control over yourselves.
It seems like a lot of
I tend to wonder if I ever will buy a DVD player, the rate things are going - how long have DVDs and players been out now? Two years? Three years? Longer? It seems longer - but I am not sure off-hand... Still, despite the protests of good people, the laws continue to erode are rights...
I sometimes feel I am destined to become a "crotchety old man" raving in his old age about the people's "right to read" (and damn, I just reread that essay last night), while trying to watch an old videotaped show or something on a duct taped and patched together VCR (or worse, read one of my books), sitting in a darkened, soundproofed and locked basement to keep the neighbors from calling the IP police should they know I have non-subscription IP for viewing...
Seem impossible? Seem like something that could never happen?
OPEN UP YOUR FUCKING EYES PEOPLE - IT IS HAPPENNING...RIGHT...NOW...TODAY!!!
And funny as well. I started my internet experience with Internet Direct in the latter part of 1993 (andrewa@indirect.com), initially with a dial-up shell account (using my Amiga 2000), then later with a SLIP account. I had always wondered about portions of "the incident that started it all"...
.au to your server, then waiting for a long time to download the file from your server to my Amiga over a 2400 baud modem - it was like "magic". Up to that time, all I ever used were local and some long distance BBS's, and occasionally FIDOnet mail.
Let me close by saying "thank you" to you and your former company for being my "introduction" to the internet. I cannot remember why I chose your company (probably because at the time you were one of only maybe two or three ISPs in Phoenix, and the largest, or something), but it was a great learning experience for me - I will never forget performing my first FTP from a server in
I ended up keeping my indirect.com address until last year - when Goodnet bought out the consumer customer base from Internet Direct, someone set up and left running a forwarding service (I think his name was Mark or Chris), then when Winstar bought Goodnet, the service continued to work, but the whole thing died when Earthlink bought Winstar, and by that time I was already using cox@home (now cox.net) - I always loved having that "unique" address for so long. But all "good" things must end, so I dropped it...
Not that dropping it was a very bad thing - I had so much SPAM comming into that address (from my early days of posting to coding newsgroups) that dropping it was worth it in the end...
Memories...
As some of you may know, I have pondered how to build a homebrew CD changer - something to allow you access to all (or most) of your CDs at one time. This problem is difficult, but not impossible.
CD Duplication is much easier.
Think of device as an "arm" that can move linearly on one axis, and travel up and down by a small amount on another orthogonal axis. So, basically a 2 axis pick-and-place arm.
Place two spindles on either side of the burning drive. One spindle is full of blanks, the other is empty (to hold burned blanks). Line the centers of the holes in the CDs up with each other, as well as with a CD in the drive tray with the tray ejected, so the all the holes fall perfectly in line. Mount the drive and the spindles down in some manner (screws, glue, something).
Now, you need to build an arm - a couple of cheap RC servos and some aluminium square tubing, maybe some threaded rod, so that it can move up and down, and move in and out along the line of the holes. Build a forked picking appendage out of aluminium tubing, with the ends of the fork bent down at a 90 degree angle - the clearance between the two "tines" of the forked tubing should be wide enough to clear the spindle. At the ends of the tines, attach cheap suction cups drilled through - seal them well to the tube ends. The fork needs to have a tee split off of it that will connect to a piece of silicone tubing that runs to an aquarium air pump - this tube will connect to the pumps air inlet (the pump may need modifications for this) to form a cheap, low cost, but efficient "vacuum pump".
The arms servos can be connected to a BASIC Stamp with appropriate driver software and hardware - the stamp can be programmed to simply accept commands to move the servos properly to certain amounts as sent over the serial port (via a MAX232). The Stamp will also need to be connected to some 120VAC relay (12 volt coil, 120VAC contacts), or a 120VAC solid state "relay" to allow control of the pump. Then code would have to be written to do the following:
1. Move the arm to the full spindle. Turn on vacuum pump, and lower fork to "suck up" the CD.
2. Lift arm, eject tray, position the CD, turn off pump to drop CD, inject tray.
3. Burn CD.
4. Eject CD, turn on vacuum pump, lower arm, "suck up" CD.
5. Move arm to second spindle, turn off pump and drop the CD - goto step 1.
Remember that at step one, your pile shrinks, and at step 5, the pile is growing, so you would need coding to account for that.
At any rate, such an arm could be easily built, probably for under $200.00 if you shopped carefully (and already had the burner).
Of course, if you don't have any experience building such devices (basically, homebrew robotics and electronics, plus coding) - you won't get very far, and I would have to concede that it would be more worth your time and money to purchase a machine, as other posters have reccommended...
Aquarium air pump...
I can understand that doing an "average" pre-load of most Linux distros can take time to do, but for desktop or laptop machines it should be a near no-brainer. The parts in each machine should be identical (I mean, that is what Dell, etc are in the business of, producing "clones"), with the exception of certain model changes, and maybe some part supplier changes.
/tmp - which I am looking into freeing up in a safe manner).
At any rate, Dell, etc - don't do a pre-install of Windows on their boxes - they install Windows on a machine that matches the others, then clone the drives using disk drive duplicator systems, etc (either off the assembly line or possible on it while in the machine). Slap the drive in, turn it on, test basic functions, and done!
If they can do this with Windows, they can do it with a basic Linux install. It may take a bit more time to set up the Linux install (vs Windows) due to various driver issues, but really not all that much more. As far as the install taking a lot of space, I think that is probably a fallacy as well - most Linux software, as well as the OS itself is tiny, and doesn't take up much hard drive space at all. The stuff that does take up a large amount (comparatively) really is insignificant compared to modern drive sizes (as an anecdotal reference, I have a "hybrid" SuSE 6.3/7.2 box at home that I use for everything, yet I only am taking up about 2 gig of a 4.3 gig drive for applications, etc - and actually have a lot of wasted space, about 100 meg, in
I don't know why Dell stopped Linux support - they might argue poor sales, but you can't argue with the fact that it is difficult for a normal Joe User to know Linux is offered on a Dell desktop if it isn't advertised in the flyer. How they could argue poor sales and conveniently "forget" to do proper marketing is beyond me (it is Dell, for crying out loud!)...
Now, what I am curious to find out is how Fry's Electronics systems are selling - I recently saw an ad where they claimed the system sold came with Linux (no distro mentioned), though it ticked me off when the same ad mentioned the machine could be "upgraded" to XP (yeah, there's an upgrade for ya).
Don't flame me for my obvious Linux preference - I think it is ready for the desktop, but with the vicious circle created from Windows/Office dependancy of most everyone in the world, it is a tough nut to crack...
...er, regarding the wheelbarrow tire. Here's another one:
Imagine that the tire that is "off-the-rim" is the large rear tire of a backhoe - how do you inflate that?
Backyard psycho-mechanic trick:
1. Get some grease and smear it around the bead (will ensure the seal for the next part - it is possible to do it without the grease, but not always successful).
2. Have "attendant" (next door neighbor?) in hand with quick attach tire inflator (attached to large tank shop-style air-compressor) stand by, about 15-20 feet away (or, you could trade spots and have him do the next part). Show him where the tire valve stem is, he will have to be quick...
3. Now, get a can of ether, and spray it into the cavity between the tire and rim (a lil' dab'll do ya!), stand 6 feet away, throw the can off to the side, light a match, and toss it in...
4. If you have done everything right, the ether will combust violently, and "air up" the tire right on the rim instantly - "attendant" holding the inflator then needs to immediately come in and start the inflation with the compressor until the tire is fully inflated.
Is this dangerous? HELL YES. Problems include:
1. Too much ether - tire explodes, sending burning rubber shrapnel everywhere.
2. You miss with the match, and you don't know whether to add more ether (see #1 above) to offset the evaporation, or try again with another match, or both, or wait, or...
3. You get it with the match, tire is aired up - but is it still burning inside the tire when you start inflating (thereby adding more oxygen)... BOOM?
Oh, and for that extra special treat, do the trick at night for a "cool" light show!
BTW - DO NOT TRY THIS TRICK ON AUTOMOBILE TIRES AND RIMS. You WILL probably add too much ether, or the rim won't be able to take the pressure, etc - hell, I am not even sure I should be mentioning any of this, even for tractor tires/rims...
DISCLAIMER: The above is for educational purposes only - use information at your own risk!!!
;)
While I would say that the vast majority of posts on /. are mere discussion, etc - there is a small but useful subset buried deep within that arguably contains useful information, or at the very least would serve as a starting point for further research.
/. - true, there is a ton of SPAM and troll posts, etc to wade through, but that is what we are discussing here - how do you "mine" through the ore to get to that nugget of "gold"?
There are a TON of "Ask Slashdot" articles with very valuable information. I also see in this article many valuable posts (especially that one with the tons of links on machine learning and mining). I also remember some valid ideas bandied about back on the homebrew rollercoaster posting. I also remember seeing information on a posting about mozilla yesterday talking about how to get nice looking fonts in X. Finally, I remember quite some time back (possible up to 2 years ago) an article on AI, in which two individuals, who seemed to know their shit at minimum, and at best were both neuroscientists - arguing about how neurons worked and how the brain "thinks" - most of that went WAAAY over my head, but it was valuable information (or at least it might be a stepping stone).
I see this all the time here on
Fortunately, the lock ring isn't typically one of those "C-shaped" lock rings (and I have dealt with some real small ones before) - most of the time they are simply "press-to-fit" plastic bits, or sometimes a small rubber "o-ring".
;)
But yeah, it is like repacking wheel bearings - BTW, one other tip: Don't work on plush carpet
On another note - I recently had a fan in my power supply go out here at work on a Friday - the power supply was OK, but the fan would make this weird vibration noise - ramping up, sustaining, then ramping down. This would happen about once an hour, and was really loud.
Anyhow, I pulled the power supply out, pulled the fan, and went to work with the various tools I had (mainly a leatherman keychain). I got it apart, and could clearly see that the bearing was dry. I needed some grease.
Not having anything suitable (like, why would I carry vasoline in my backpack?), I went to my IT department, and asked around - no luck. Not even some WD-40 (not that I wanted to use it). So, I hunted around some more, when it hit me that our CIO, being female, might have some lip gloss or something - I went to her and asked if she had something. She told me she had some carmex - I asked if I could borrow it.
She gave me this strange look of "WTF?" - I proceeded to explain the situation, and she asked if we had any spare power supplies (we didn't). She then said "I could pick you up a fan, or a new power supply", which was fine by me. Then she said "How about we get you a new case?"...
Now, in this time of tight economies, why would you spend $70.00 on a tower case, or even $30.00 for a power supply, to effectively grease a bearing on a fan? I had the fan apart, I could get it together, no prob. I asked if I could simply use some of the carmex, and if she could pick me up a fan over the weekend, cool.
She reluctantly gave me the carmex, I took some, greased the bearing, put it back together, and reinstalled everything, and switched it on.
The next Monday, there was no fan on my desk. I never bothered to ask about it. So far, it has been about a month and a half - and my fan has yet to make another noise outside of the usual...
If you don't like taking the hit, here is what you can do (if you don't mind taking the time):
Fan motors are really nothing more than funky four pole stepper motors, of a sort, with all the switching electronics built into a small board in the fan. They are true brushless motors (just like stepper motors). Coils are located on this board, and the fan rotor has a ring magnet which spins around the coils on a bearing (typically sleeve, but sometimes ball).
Now, the shaft is fixed to the fan blade rotor, and passes through the bearing, and out the backside of the drive electronics carrier board (the bearing is mounted to the carrier board). Look at the "backside" of the fan, where the wires enter the fan, and you will (or should) see a sticker, showing the make of the fan, rpm, etc. Remove this sticker, and there should be a hole where you can see a plastic or metal "lock ring" surround the shaft of the fan.
Remove the lock ring (don't lose it!) with a couple of small screwdrivers or a pair of tweezers (if you a real good, dremel the tips of the tweezers to make small hooks on the ends, forming a "puller") - the lock ring is typically only held on by friction (it doesn't need to be anything more, as the magnetic field of the rotor ring magnet keeps the fan aligned with the steel armature of the coils on the driver board).
You should now be able to remove the fan blades.
With the blades off, inspect them for dust and dirt around or one the shaft. Clean the blades with compressed air, maybe a qtip with some water - clean the shaft with rubbing alcohol.
Clean the circuit board and the fan cage with compressed air, and inspect the bearing. If it is a sleeve bearing, use a needle or other shaft size implement to drip some rubbing alcohol through, and disolve any old grease - if it is a ball bearing, you might try to do the same - if you can remove it, even better to clean it outside of the fan circuit board.
Once the shaft and bearing are dry, repack the shaft and the bearing. If the bearing is a simple sleeve bearing, apply some petroleum jelly to the shaft (just a little), and slide the shaft back on. If it is a ball bearing, apply the jelly to the bearing, putting some light pressure on it to force it into the bearing, and a little on the shaft, then reassemble.
Clean your hands thoroughly and dry them, then remount the locking ring. Clean the area around the hole (not in it!) with rubbing alcohol to remove any traces of oil, then place one of those "garage sale" round stickers over the hole to replace the original (and maybe mark the current/voltage ratings and cfm on it as well).
That's it! It takes a little time, but costs less than buying a new fan (especially if it is late at night or something and no place is open). Keep it under 15-30 minutes, and it is even worth your time, if you think that way. Most of the time, the reasons fans fail after using compressed air on them is that the dust and dirt either get blown into the bearing, or the fan is spun to an ultra-high speed past the bearing's rated speed, and the failure begins.
Hope this helps!
While my comments were in no way the greatest (certainly not the best thing I have ever written), they do come from my heart and mind - this proposed legislation tears at me, and with the DMCA, makes me feel SO angry. Anyway, here is the email I sent:
To whom it may concern:
Let me state my case in as simple of terms as possible. I am a computer software developer. I feel that the SSSCA threatens - THREATENS - my
very job. The career I have put many long years into to develop. The very thing that keeps my family fed.
I don't have much of a recourse to fall back on should the SSSCA (coupled with the same kind of crap - YES CRAP! - that the DMCA is as well) go through and make software development a crime, or impossible - without stepping through a multitude of hoops.
You see, I learned how to program on a home computer - sitting with my dad beside me, typing in programs from books. I was 10 years old, and
having fun. I could see (and still do see) whole new worlds openning up before me. The computer was a magic machine, and I could be the sorcerer
commanding it.
That was a long time ago - almost 20 years now. Kids today don't know what they really have in front of them (today's machine was FANTASY when
I was in high school, never mind when I was 10) - but those that do will be prevented from learning on their own by the SSSCA. Why?
When compilers and debuggers, and a whole host of other tools, coupled with tight DRM controls embedded in the hardware - make it impossible,
not to mention a FEDERAL CRIME - to learn about the very machine these individuals supposedly own - it will be a travesty.
The computer is not a TV. Information is not a tangible object. Reread your Thomas Jefferson for his thoughts on such things.
I cannot stress just how ANGRY I am at the thought of such proposed legislation as the SSSCA, and the already passed legislation of the DMCA. Neither will do anything to "promote the arts and sciences" that copyright was supposed to do (note: I am not against copyright - but I am against the laws which extend copyright past the Constitutional mandate of the "reasonable period", as well as allowing immortal corporations to hold copyright, in effect making the "life" provision of copyright equal "FOREVER").
Signed as a citizen of a failing country and society,
cr0sh (and yes, I posted my real name/address for responsibilty taking of my comments).
...of the cheapo Aura Bass Shakers - bought them a long while back for $20.00 on Ebay - Aura makes (made?) a beefier model as well (and used to make the Aura Interactor Vest).
Hooking up the cheap shaker directly to the speaker out line on my soundcard, I was pretty amazed at the efficiency of the thing. I have yet to hook it up to a real amp (each one can handle up to 25 watts - their better model goes up to 50 watts or thereabouts), but I bet it can really quake at those levels.
I can also vouch for the Interactor vest - when it rumbles, it RUMBLES. The amp included seems to be pretty powerful (though I doubt it has low THD - it isn't meant for listening to music or noise, but to feel it), but it gets pretty damn hot after only a little while.
Other companies (as you note) produce bass shakers as well - they are typically (as you noticed) used to provide thumping bass in vehicles which don't have room for bumpin' 15s or such, as well as for home theater setups (mounted to the subfloor or couch to really quake the viewers). The ones made by others, though, tend to be more powerful, but more expensive to boot.
Aura's were the poor mans version - a pretty good value for the cost...
Personally, I think it starts somewhere in grade school (and perhaps even before):
There are kids who only do what they are told to, there are kids who extrapolate on what they are told to do, then there are kids who get the other kids to do what they were told to do to do it for them (whew!)...
Anyhow, most people fall into the first and last categories. They are trapped there, by their own ignorance and apathy. Call them the Sheep and the Lazy.
In reality, they are one and the same. Whether it is how to program a VCR, work a computer, or fix a leaky faucet - not a single one of them will take the time to learn to do it themselves (which is probably a good thing - it keeps those who are in the second category gainfully employed).
Those in the middle? They are the artists, the thinkers, the tinkerers, the inventors, the mechanics, the programmers - they are the people who ask the questions, find the answers, and then apply those answers toward the search for the truth (which inevitably leads to more questions, more answers, etc).
I don't think I will ever understand completely why there are individuals without curiosity and drive to expand their knowledge about the world around them. With time on this planet so limited, it should almost be an instinct to want to know more. The travesty for anyone who does exhibit curiosity about the world around them is that they also know that one day, in what is really only a blink of time, that the quest will end - whether they want it to or not.
...about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through a book I am reading called "Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software" by Steven Johnson.
/. specifically - and noting how the whole rating and karma system gives rise to feedback, and may allow such discussion groups to become, over time, emergent. I haven't read anything yet about p2p in the book (the way the book reads, it seems like it was written or originally published longer ago than it seems), but I tend to wonder if emergence will be found there...
At the point where I am reading, Johnson is discussing how emergence is closely tied to feedback, and without feedback, emergence doesn't occur. Thus, cities and businesses tend to be emergent (is that a word?) entities, while the web typically isn't. Because links on the web tend to be "one way", and information isn't communicated back, he argues that emergence can't take place.
Someone else has made a post here discussing how on Japanese web sites, it is expected that before you link to a site, you ask the operator of the site permission. The poster then says that for American sites, it is more of a "sprinkle willy-nilly" (my words) type reference, without regard for the operators of the sites. However, at one time, netiquette was indeed to ask the operators to "swap links" - I remember doing this quite often. But I think what happened is that when businesses and the "ignorant masses" came online, less link-swapping occurred because many times you would email the admin of the machine, and never get a response. The feedback link was broken.
Johnson uses this argument to further his statement that because of this, the Web won't be emergent. But will the Japanese web spawn emergence?
Johnson then goes on to talk about weblogs (though he doesn't use that term), referencing
These kind of search engine technologies might help make the web turn around, and allow it to become emergent. I don't know if such thing would bode well for humanity, but it would be very interesting to see such a thing in practice (I highly reccommend the book I referenced above if you are into this kind of thing - it makes an excellent sequel of sorts to the book "Out of Control")...