Insofar as "old" tech books go - but I can go one better:
There is a book, quite difficult to find now (in any condition - it is quite out-of-print), called "The Boy Electrician" by Alfred P. Morgan. This book was first published in 1913 (by Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co.), and later again 1929, 1940, and 1948 (by the same publishers). A second printing was done in 1948, and third and forth in 1951, and 1952, respectively (my copy is the 1952 edition).
A wonderful book, filled with all sorts of how-to and gadgets for the beginning 1900's geek. Delightfully illustrated by the author (from what I understand, the picture of the boys in the book were based off of the author's sons), most all of the projects were aimed at boys around the ages of 8-13, as far as I can assertain (although I may be completely wrong here - today I fear kids would be dumbstruck by the sheer amount of patience and volume of reading this book requires to build devices - I sometimes wonder if kids in those days were smarter). These projects ranged from magnets and static electricity, building batteries (using real lead and sulpheric acid!), building motors and generators, alarms, radios, telephones - and yes, an X-Ray machine.
It seems that back in the day, one could easily purchase an X-Ray "tube" - a vaccumn tube designed to emit X-Rays - fairly cheaply (Morgan quotes 4 and a half dollars - which would equate to a bit of money today, but still fairly inexpensive). He then shows how to hook it up to a high voltage supply (which is built in earlier chapters using an ignition coil from a Model-T), then use a special "flourosope" to allow you to view the bones in you hand when you switch it on! It is funny in the naivete of the device, and how much damage could be done - but at the same time, such simplicity and curiosity is gone from our world, simply because of fear of danger.
Alfred P. Morgan also wrote other books aimed at young experimenters - I know one was a more advanced book on radio and TV, and another may have been on chemistry (I have the titles of the books put away somewhere) - all of the books are difficult to find, sadly.
What I see happening is that they will simply market 2 of everything, a consumer line and a "pro" line, with the pro line only available to actual businesses (maybe you have to show some actual proof - might be hard if you are an independent consultant).
To top it off, the pro line will be slightly more expensive (say, $200 for a consumer drive, while the pro drive is $250) - not enough to piss a normal business off, but enough to make consumers shy away from it via sticker shock, if they see what is going on, and can figure out a way around providing proof.
This distro of QNX is only free insomuch as you have a need for a Pentium-only compilation - which effectively rules out its use on anything less, such as, oh, say - embedded applications. In other words, this would make for a good development/testing system, on higher-end processors, but for anything else (say a non-commercial embedded app, like an MP3 player or something), from what I understand this distro is worthless.
If I am wrong, please - somebody - let me know about it. I would rather be told I was wrong, and shown the proof, as it would mean a lot to a project I am involved in (check www.phoenixgarage.net for more info) that uses an AMD 5x86/133 cpu (basically an overblown 486)...
Despite past screwups by NASA (which I accept as a hazzard of space exploration), this makes me proud to call myself a geek. While I have nothing in common with the individuals involved in this project, and have never participated or been involved with anything on this scale - I know that we share at least a few things, notably curiosity, the drive to hack something that wasn't suppose to work that way, and pushing the limits of the hardware (and if landing an "unlandable" probe isn't pushing limits - nothing is).
The announcement went out that no one should use email, I walked around a little bit later looking for my manager (he had asked me to look at the code to the script, find out what it does - not much anymore, other than waste resources, it turns out) - the office was near empty: Everyone went to lunch!
If that isn't lost money, I don't what is!
We use Windows (unfortunately) for a lot of our stuff, and most everybody uses Outlook - I use Netscape, and I consequently DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM (Netscape doesn't know what to do with the attachments). Also, I uninstalled Windows Scripting, so that nips it as well.
I have tried repeatedly to get the IS dept or anyone who would listen to switch to something else, filter VBS scripts at the server - something: All to no avail, so far...
When I started, I use to keep a large list of word filters, possibly like you do right now - under Netscape - I then switch to a different tactic, which has worked a lot better:
My main filter tests to see if the TO: field has my email address in it, and if it doesn't, sends it to my SPAM box. I take a few variation - look over your real email to see what you should look for - invariably, SPAM usually has the wrong thing or nothing in the TO: field, so it is the easiest to catch.
I also have filters that look for specific things in the subject line, or the FROM: field - first, because they may or may not be SPAM - things like mailing lists and such, where the TO: field might be filled with "listmembers@list.com" - don't want to trash them.
Finally I have backup word filters, that catch what manages to trickle through.
I still get some highly targetted SPAM though - and I figure if they are that good, maybe I should read it, or just manually delete it.
And your SO is geeky enough to accept and appreciate it...
Make an electronic heart - get a piece of perfboard, a bunch of red LEDs (and other assorted electronic parts - bias resistors, etc) - and wire up a electronic heart.
Use red-flashing LEDs for a trippy effect (might be expensive, but so is a diamond ring). If you are really good set it up to make a rotating pattern with the LEDs (like a marquee). If you want to try something even better, get a 16x1 HD44780 based LCD, a PIC stamp - have the PIC drive everything, put the LCD in the center, and put a scrolling message ("I Love You!" or similar) on it. Or put a picture of you in the middle of it...
One thing I did for Valentines day - because my GF isn't as geeky - was I built an automaton - a box with wheels and belts, pulleys, etc - and waving hearts on the top - powered by a little motor. I made it so you could remove the panels - it was all built out of balsa wood, painted - the whole thing - took about a month to construct and tune. She loves it to this very day (that was a few years back).
Really - anything you take time on, given with your heart - is what you want to give. Something that really says "I love you" - it could be as simple as a card you made - or a piece of jewelry, or a romantic evening out. Take the time and thought - and you will have a day to remember...
I recently received a piece of SPAM that said they sent it to me because I opted in on another site. Since I visit so many different sites so frequently, and a few of them I have opted in (I have given up all hope regarding SPAM, because my actual email address I use for day-to-day stuff I have had since 1993, and have posted in USENET, etc - no way to get rid of the SPAM, so I don't worry anymore - I just try to keep my new addresses from being SPAMed). But it sounds exactly like your issue. If I get another, I may check it out...
I do have this to say, and I don't know what the reason is for it, but I am going to go out on a limb and speculate:
I put up a real hairy set of filters under my Netscape mail - about 6 or so filters, hierarchically arranged to dump SPAM in one bucket, good stuff in my inbox. Sometimes good stuff lands in the SPAM box, sometimes I get a real good "targetted" SPAM in my inbox. When I first did this, I was getting around 20 or so pieces of SPAM a day - landing in the SPAM box. Over the weekend (when I didn't check my email as much), my inbox would fill with a lot of SPAM - 70 or more pieces. With the filters, most started going to the SPAM box, which on occasion I would look at, and delete them instantly to the trash (I would look, just in case a real email landed in the SPAM box - which it does on occasion). I originally had the filters set up one way, then I would tweak them, reorganise them, think about the logic - when something got through, I would "step-through" the filters, to see how the spam got by, and twiddle the settings on the filters to capture it next time. All this has been going on for about 4 months or so.
Guess what happenned...
The volume of SPAM that I get has dropped - drastically! Daily, I used to get about 5-10 pieces of SPAM - now I get 2-3 captured by my filters. On weekends, I get maybe 10 or so SPAMs, landing in the SPAM box. In my inbox, maybe one or two targetted SPAMs make it through, which I delete. So what happened - why am I getting less SPAM now?
I used to use SPAMcop, as well as other tactics, to try to lessen the SPAM - all to no real avail. As far as I know, my provider didn't instate a SPAM filter of any kind, so that isn't the answer. My guess?
The majority of my SPAM I didn't look at - in other words, because SPAM can contain web-bugs and other means of identifying when you look at it (such as hitting a web site for an image or something) - I have become (in some eyes) a "non-sell" - or something. This sounds like a reasonable explanation - and I wonder if I switched to using PINE or ELM, or some other text-based reader, whether it would improve further or not.
Part of me says "maybe" - but another part of me says "nah, something else is going on to lessen the spam" - I tend to side with the latter opinion, but for the life of me I can't figure out the "why" of it. But I do know those filters have made my life a lot easier online - my only regret is that I didn't set them up sooner (I am thinking about "packaging" the filters in some way to give to others to use, they work so well)...
Windows and other assorted software is only free so long as they don't "yank the chain", so to speak.
Remember, each of these pieces of software (Windows, stuff for Windows) generally has a EULA attached - which basically says "We have all the rights, you have none - and if we say so, you have to give us back the software, delete it from your machine, and oh, by the way, you DON'T get your money back" - read the fine print, and tell me it isn't true. Granted, no one knows whether such "contracts" are enforcable - but I would bet M$ and others would take you to court to prove a point - that they have more money than you (money is the enforcement). If the UCITA passes in all the other states - suddenly EULAs *do* become enforcable - add the DMCA on top of that, the Digital Signatures Act that treats clicking on the EULA button to get Winders installed as a *real* signature - and suddenly you aren't looking at freedom anymore, but at a contract on the way you live. Let's not forget, those same companies rarely if ever show any source to their products - so if they move on to a newer version, and you don't upgrade - or if they completely drop support on a version - you are HOSED (unless, of course, you cough up the tribu-- err, I mean, money - for a new license).
Contrast all of this with Linux, and GPL'd software (note, I do not say Open Source - that carries a ton of different meanings to various people - many times depending on whether they are trying to make money on code or whatnot): You get the OS, the programs, etc - more importantly, you get the code - you can change it, give it away - burn it, whatever you want to do with it, you can. No worries that if Mr. Torvalds dies you are hosed, no worries if Stallman goes to M$ (hahahahaha!!!), emacs won't be there. No worries that someone can recall or stop supporting the software. No worries at all!
Perhaps there are worries if you are a business (most notably, how can I make money on this new stuff). I just say you haven't figured it out yet.
I have one of the old parallel port Zip drives. Yeah, it can be slow, but it really isn't too bad. Sure it only holds 100 MB, and there is the possibility of the click 'o' death (but I hear that is only with the newer drives) - but it has been a great thing to have - and rugged as hell, too.
What I do to make it the most portable, is I carry it in a little case (Zip makes one, but a good sized CD player case, with room for power supply and CDs, will work too, and are cheaper), along with a couple of Zip disks, the parallel cable, the power supply, and the most important part - a DOS floppy with Zip tools. Since the majority of machines I come across are Windows or DOS based, this isn't a problem - hook up the drive, pop the zip tools disk in, and run the mounting program (guest) - and you are set.
Not as simple as a floppy, I'll grant - but very portable - better than hoping to find a scsi mounted or IDE Zip drive on the box. The only problem is that you are limited to DOS and Windows boxes (I currently have my zip drive hosted on my Linux box at home - so I know that Linux supports it, but I don't know if it is possible to build such a simple portable tools disk for Linux - anyone know?).
While implementation could be made a crime, I would say that if it is, then a full scale war on the government would have to be the outcome (or war on the corporatat). Bomb-making instructions aren't illegal to possess or distribute - to implement a bomb - probably hazy area (probably illegal), to detonate - definitely illegal if not done on your own property (and providing it is on a large tract of land, etc).
For passing on knowledge, or having it - that would have to be a first ammendment issue - otherwise there would be ton of books at the library banned outright (not to mention encyclopedias, chemistry textbooks, and magazines).
Furthermore, bombs typically serve for nothing more than destruction of property or life - which is why they would be regulated in the manner in which they are. I doubt building a speaker or such could be construed as hurting someone. I fear that if it can, and it is allowed to be viewed that way - it is really time to fight.
And building tape decks and amps - even radios - really isn't that difficult. An A/B push-pull cheap amp isn't that hard to build - just a few transistors, some resistors, a few caps, and a couple of transformers (which could be homebrewed as well). Tape decks were originally "wire recorders" - sound was recorded on a steel wire. Fuck 'em if they outlaw steel wire - it isn't that hard (ok, it is pretty damn difficult, but it can be done) to draw your own wire - if they could do it in ancient (and not so ancient) times, it can be done now.
How are they going to take all that knowledge from us? From ME? Maybe they will kill me - that would be one way - but can they kill all of us?
BTW, my favorite part of this idea is the concept that geeks who are capable of constructing an analog speaker might become the heroes of an underground economy.
I will be the first to do this, if it comes to it.
I tell you something, never did I think, when I was in the 8th grade and wanting a set of 12s and a 100 watt stereo to match (which I eventually got) for my bedroom, that I would ever contemplate using the skills that I learned to build a speaker from the ground up.
In an attempt to get around the cost of the 12 inch 3-way speakers that I wanted (at close to $200 each), I looked into building my own speaker, using construction paper for the cone, a toilet paper tube for the coil form, some old wire from a dead 3 volt hobby motor, a magnet from a busted antenna mount, plus a cardboard box - I managed to munge together a speaker that worked, and gave OK sound, considering the quality of construction and materials used. Never got much bass, though...
it is actually entitled "Direct Use of the Sun's Energy" by Farrington Daniels, published by Ballantine Books, in 1964 (I guess I was a tad off) - ISBN 0-345-25938-6, Library of Congress Card Number 64-20913.
I sincerely doubt you have read any of the writings in the books, that are "separate" from the main information in the books (the books consist mainly of reprinted articles from other magazines, most out of print or impossible to get ahold of - I have a few of the articles in old Pop Sci and Pop Mech mags from the 50's - a few articles are actual informative - ie, non-diatribe - articles that Kurt Saxon wrote, such as info on self-defense, and distilling, among others). If you had, you would know that he isn't racist - he simply doesn't see the worth of lazy, shiftless people - in other words, people who would rather have someone else do it (preferably without cost to them), rather than getting off their butts and doing it themselves! This isn't a racist attitude (unless you make lazy people a "race")...
Those articles aside, the books are chock full of information that CANNOT be found anywhere else, unless you are a MAJOR collector of old science and mechanical magazines (like I said, I have a small collection of mags from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's - the information is tough to find).
What you advocate is akin to say, deleting all man/info pages simply because there are a few things said in them you don't like - or burning all books because some may contain ideas that you feel are wrong.
Sticking your head in the ground will never make a problem go away - you must confront it head on, learn from it - then move on, and carry the knowledge you learned with you...
This series is filled with a lot of great home power tips and techniques (in addition to a TON of other survival stuff). Many are quite dated, but there are a few articles that you just can't find anywhere else (one was about a plan to "harvest" water from the Sahara using ultra-large concrete condensation systems, bee-hive shaped - never came to fruition - makes you wonder why). A plan was given for building various types of methane digester systems for the home (very complex things). One article details how to build your own solar cells. Various articles explore wind power in many forms.
If there ever was a series of books that are "must have", this is it. I only have one beef with the series: Kurt Saxon puts these little diatribes throughout the book - little anecdotal stories - some are off-putting in that they seem to be racist in character. As you read the stories more, you find that he isn't really racist - he simply hates shiftless bastards who won't get off their duff and do a little work!
That aside, the series is excellent for the amount of information you won't find anywhere else (the closest I ever came to it before was my back issues of Pop Sci and Pop Mech from the 1950's, as well as my Henley's Book of Formulas from the early 1900's)...
There is one other book I can reccommend - if I remember correctly, it is called "Sun Power" - I have it in paperback form. It dates from the early 1970's. What was kind of neat about it is that it detailed how to build a solar parabolic mirror system for cooking, using simple materials you would be able to find in the "bush", in more "modern" villages in Africa. Kinda geared for those going into the Peace Corps or something...
Very true - it makes me wonder if it would be possible to file a "counter patent" by "innovating" with a "visible beam", or get the patent overturned because of validity due to the fact that laser beams are visible...
I'm not sure if it has ever been noticed before in earlier postings about this patent on/. - but did you notice the line in the patent that reads:
A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser...
Invisible light? Is this the innovation in the patent?
Note that most typical laser pointers project visible light, generally 635 or 670nm, which is a bright red. For a laser pointer to generate invisible light, it would have to be a UV or IR laser.
Does anyone know where I could get a UV or IR laser, in a sleek pen form factor?
Ok, I am being sarcastic (these types of lasers tend to be on the large side of things) - but I have to wonder about the wording of this patent. It really seems absurd...
Well, usually, those two are mutually exclusive - but sometimes you might take two samples, speed one up, slow one down, mix them, then adjust the speed until it sounds just right. This "blending" process is just like mixing paint - there is a lot of steps to go through until it comes out just right - you can't simply say "I need that sound at that speed, this one at this speed - and when I mix them together, what I get will be what I want". It just doesn't work that way.
For what you are doing, which sounds like basically an embedded voice-recognition project, I too would probably go with C or C++ (though I suck at both). However, don't be so quick to dismiss Java.
From a developers standpoint, the promise of Java (that has yet to materialize) outweighs that of C - the idea being that you can compile once on one platform, and as long as there is a VM or native execution of Java bytecode somewhere, your app will run. I am not sure why the promise hasn't been fulfilled, but I would imagine it is a combination of the stunt M$ pulled, combined with the control Sun exerts, combined with the slight disimilarities in third-party VMs, that are causing all the problems.
I would imagine, had Sun released a VM under GPL, coded in C/C++, for Linux - and had M$ been less power hungry, greedy, stupid - or just plain didn't exist - there wouldn't be the problems we have today, because porting the VM would be a relatively trivial thing.
With C/C++, however, one must compile (or cross-compile) on/for the platform one is aiming at - you can't just compile once, and run anywhere. Perhaps if someone could create a simple stub routine that somehow could be attached to a data package, such that when the "program" is executed, the stub would fire up a C/C++ compiler, creating a native app from the data package, which would then run - then we would have the power of C/C++ and the freedom of Java.
Java tried to do something similar to what was actually done with a database system known as PICK (starting in 1969). PICK had both native processor and virtual machine implementations (in Unix) for the database structure, and the language (PICK BASIC). It was relatively easy to move a program from one PICK box to another, and have it run (provided you moved the database tables and such). While it didn't support it natively (though it may nowadays), it was perfectly possible to create a system that could "auto compile" programs to the byte code for the VM. All of these implementations, from various companies, worked because they adhered to a "standard" (though I am not sure if this standard was open, or how it was available). PICK is still in wide use to this day.
So, don't disdain over the failing of the promise of Java - it can be done, but I think Java is having problems simply due to greed (both M$ and Sun)...
Well, I think you could do positional tracking with hobbyist cameras (X/Y/Z), but I don't know if they have the resolution to do rotational tracking, without placing them close to the subject being tracked. Perhaps a combo could be done, using cameras for one kind of tracking, and a different system for another?
Joseph Gradecki wrote a book called "Virtual Reality Construction Kit" (the ISBN and such are on the site), that detailed various head tracking systems, and whether they could be done at the homebrew level. He presents a couple of projects for head tracking in the book. Many of the projects in the book were nearly straight out of PCVR, the only difference being the drawings looking better.
One head tracking system described in PCVR was actually kinda funky: Imagine a bare room. Now, place the user in the room, and run strings from auto-retract mechanisms placed in the corners of the room. The strings run up the wall, over a pulley and down from the upper corners of the room to meet at a central point on the user's HMD. At this central point are orthogonally arranged potentiometers, to gather yaw/pitch/roll info about the head. So, you have these four strings. Depending on where in the room you are - these strings are extended and retracted by various amounts. It is possible to work out X/Y/Z coordinates of the point at the user's HMD where the strings come together. The article detailed a lot of the math, as well as possible pitfalls - I would love to republish that article.
If I am unable to get in contact with JG, I might just willy-nilly go ahead and publish - if he has a beef, he can see me then (hey, perhaps this will bring him out of the woodwork!). I may pay a lawyer to get my legal position first.
I wish I could say the contact info in the magazine was valid, but it isn't. You have to remember that this magazine was published in a one-man fashion - a good ole' DIY thing - after getting the magazine wrote up, he went to a printer, printed up some copies (I would guess less then 200 per issue), and mailed them off.
Let's move this conversation off of/. - go to www.phoenixgarage.net to get my main email address, we'll continue to discuss from there, ok?
If the poor really wanted computers...
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Kids and Computers
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· Score: 3
They could easily get them.
Am I talking 1 GHz Athlon systems here? No - we all know that 386's, 486's, and low-end Pentiums abound everywhere for near nothing - sometimes people can't even give them away! So why is it when all of these perfectly useful machines sit and rot, that those with as much money don't take them?
They aren't bright and flashy - that's it - they can't do the lastest stuff, can't load the latest software (never mind the fact that these same people probably couldn't afford the latest software, nor the fact that older software is also floating around out there for the taking). In other words, having an older PC doesn't make you look "rich" - whatever that means.
These people (actually, the majority of people - poor, middleclass, and rich) don't understand that a computer can expand your mind, and allow you to do and learn things, and ways of thinking, that you hadn't dreamed about before. A throwaway C=64 and a couple of magazines can do wonders!
However, if these people did know this, or had an inate feeling for this - they wouldn't be looking for a computer at the first drop of a hat - they would be looking for books (another widely throwaway item) - to read, and expand their minds, and teach them ways and ideas never before explored.
Most homes these days have few books in them. You don't see many homes with large book collections anymore (and those that do have large collections, those are typically in rich people's designer homes, who have the books to look cool - but don't actually read them). It is really apalling.
I actually think, as a whole, American society is becoming more illiterate by the day - there is no reason for this, other than laziness or something - maybe they just don't care. Even the rich are becoming illiterate - they may have the money to buy a book about a subject, but they would rather pay to have someone else tell them about it.
I wonder if we will see a different class structure in the future - literates on one side, and illiterates on the other...?
This was a good hack and all, on Hughes' part. I followed this scene for a little while, but quickly became disenchanted when I saw how much time, money and effort was involved, to get free TV, essentially - seemed out of whack to me, so I dropped it long ago (though now I wonder where you can buy just the smart cards to play with - not to steal DSS, but to actually integrate in things - I mean, I can buy the slots all I want from Digi-Key... Anyone have links to real distributors who would sell to individuals?)...
What is scary about this is that Hughes is taking the law into their own hands. It seem innocuous enough - they just "destroyed" several thousand bits of hardware - but what is to stop large companies in the future from "arresting" people for doing things they don't like? How far can this warfare go, when corporate Amerika is able to push through laws like the DMCA, the UCITA, etc? What happens when corporatism becomes the LAW?
This is just the first step - look for M$ to try doing something similar in the future - look for other large companies to try this as well, with all sorts of products - then look for them to really start coming after people...
You won't find anything on TOMY's site - nor will you find anything if you call them up. I did - boy did I. I tried for three months to find information on getting schematics (a service manual, something!) on my Omnibot 2000. No luck...
They appeared to not even remember to have created and sell such a device (along with a whole host of other wonders, such as the Tomy Armatron). These were they people you expected to bring home real consumer home robots, but alas...it wasn't to be...
Slashdot Mirror
Insofar as "old" tech books go - but I can go one better:
There is a book, quite difficult to find now (in any condition - it is quite out-of-print), called "The Boy Electrician" by Alfred P. Morgan. This book was first published in 1913 (by Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co.), and later again 1929, 1940, and 1948 (by the same publishers). A second printing was done in 1948, and third and forth in 1951, and 1952, respectively (my copy is the 1952 edition).
A wonderful book, filled with all sorts of how-to and gadgets for the beginning 1900's geek. Delightfully illustrated by the author (from what I understand, the picture of the boys in the book were based off of the author's sons), most all of the projects were aimed at boys around the ages of 8-13, as far as I can assertain (although I may be completely wrong here - today I fear kids would be dumbstruck by the sheer amount of patience and volume of reading this book requires to build devices - I sometimes wonder if kids in those days were smarter). These projects ranged from magnets and static electricity, building batteries (using real lead and sulpheric acid!), building motors and generators, alarms, radios, telephones - and yes, an X-Ray machine.
It seems that back in the day, one could easily purchase an X-Ray "tube" - a vaccumn tube designed to emit X-Rays - fairly cheaply (Morgan quotes 4 and a half dollars - which would equate to a bit of money today, but still fairly inexpensive). He then shows how to hook it up to a high voltage supply (which is built in earlier chapters using an ignition coil from a Model-T), then use a special "flourosope" to allow you to view the bones in you hand when you switch it on! It is funny in the naivete of the device, and how much damage could be done - but at the same time, such simplicity and curiosity is gone from our world, simply because of fear of danger.
Alfred P. Morgan also wrote other books aimed at young experimenters - I know one was a more advanced book on radio and TV, and another may have been on chemistry (I have the titles of the books put away somewhere) - all of the books are difficult to find, sadly.
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
What I see happening is that they will simply market 2 of everything, a consumer line and a "pro" line, with the pro line only available to actual businesses (maybe you have to show some actual proof - might be hard if you are an independent consultant).
To top it off, the pro line will be slightly more expensive (say, $200 for a consumer drive, while the pro drive is $250) - not enough to piss a normal business off, but enough to make consumers shy away from it via sticker shock, if they see what is going on, and can figure out a way around providing proof.
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
This distro of QNX is only free insomuch as you have a need for a Pentium-only compilation - which effectively rules out its use on anything less, such as, oh, say - embedded applications. In other words, this would make for a good development/testing system, on higher-end processors, but for anything else (say a non-commercial embedded app, like an MP3 player or something), from what I understand this distro is worthless.
If I am wrong, please - somebody - let me know about it. I would rather be told I was wrong, and shown the proof, as it would mean a lot to a project I am involved in (check www.phoenixgarage.net for more info) that uses an AMD 5x86/133 cpu (basically an overblown 486)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Despite past screwups by NASA (which I accept as a hazzard of space exploration), this makes me proud to call myself a geek. While I have nothing in common with the individuals involved in this project, and have never participated or been involved with anything on this scale - I know that we share at least a few things, notably curiosity, the drive to hack something that wasn't suppose to work that way, and pushing the limits of the hardware (and if landing an "unlandable" probe isn't pushing limits - nothing is).
Damn proud... Kudos to those involved!
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
The announcement went out that no one should use email, I walked around a little bit later looking for my manager (he had asked me to look at the code to the script, find out what it does - not much anymore, other than waste resources, it turns out) - the office was near empty: Everyone went to lunch!
If that isn't lost money, I don't what is!
We use Windows (unfortunately) for a lot of our stuff, and most everybody uses Outlook - I use Netscape, and I consequently DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM (Netscape doesn't know what to do with the attachments). Also, I uninstalled Windows Scripting, so that nips it as well.
I have tried repeatedly to get the IS dept or anyone who would listen to switch to something else, filter VBS scripts at the server - something: All to no avail, so far...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
When I started, I use to keep a large list of word filters, possibly like you do right now - under Netscape - I then switch to a different tactic, which has worked a lot better:
My main filter tests to see if the TO: field has my email address in it, and if it doesn't, sends it to my SPAM box. I take a few variation - look over your real email to see what you should look for - invariably, SPAM usually has the wrong thing or nothing in the TO: field, so it is the easiest to catch.
I also have filters that look for specific things in the subject line, or the FROM: field - first, because they may or may not be SPAM - things like mailing lists and such, where the TO: field might be filled with "listmembers@list.com" - don't want to trash them.
Finally I have backup word filters, that catch what manages to trickle through.
I still get some highly targetted SPAM though - and I figure if they are that good, maybe I should read it, or just manually delete it.
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
And your SO is geeky enough to accept and appreciate it...
Make an electronic heart - get a piece of perfboard, a bunch of red LEDs (and other assorted electronic parts - bias resistors, etc) - and wire up a electronic heart.
Use red-flashing LEDs for a trippy effect (might be expensive, but so is a diamond ring). If you are really good set it up to make a rotating pattern with the LEDs (like a marquee). If you want to try something even better, get a 16x1 HD44780 based LCD, a PIC stamp - have the PIC drive everything, put the LCD in the center, and put a scrolling message ("I Love You!" or similar) on it. Or put a picture of you in the middle of it...
One thing I did for Valentines day - because my GF isn't as geeky - was I built an automaton - a box with wheels and belts, pulleys, etc - and waving hearts on the top - powered by a little motor. I made it so you could remove the panels - it was all built out of balsa wood, painted - the whole thing - took about a month to construct and tune. She loves it to this very day (that was a few years back).
Really - anything you take time on, given with your heart - is what you want to give. Something that really says "I love you" - it could be as simple as a card you made - or a piece of jewelry, or a romantic evening out. Take the time and thought - and you will have a day to remember...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I recently received a piece of SPAM that said they sent it to me because I opted in on another site. Since I visit so many different sites so frequently, and a few of them I have opted in (I have given up all hope regarding SPAM, because my actual email address I use for day-to-day stuff I have had since 1993, and have posted in USENET, etc - no way to get rid of the SPAM, so I don't worry anymore - I just try to keep my new addresses from being SPAMed). But it sounds exactly like your issue. If I get another, I may check it out...
I do have this to say, and I don't know what the reason is for it, but I am going to go out on a limb and speculate:
I put up a real hairy set of filters under my Netscape mail - about 6 or so filters, hierarchically arranged to dump SPAM in one bucket, good stuff in my inbox. Sometimes good stuff lands in the SPAM box, sometimes I get a real good "targetted" SPAM in my inbox. When I first did this, I was getting around 20 or so pieces of SPAM a day - landing in the SPAM box. Over the weekend (when I didn't check my email as much), my inbox would fill with a lot of SPAM - 70 or more pieces. With the filters, most started going to the SPAM box, which on occasion I would look at, and delete them instantly to the trash (I would look, just in case a real email landed in the SPAM box - which it does on occasion). I originally had the filters set up one way, then I would tweak them, reorganise them, think about the logic - when something got through, I would "step-through" the filters, to see how the spam got by, and twiddle the settings on the filters to capture it next time. All this has been going on for about 4 months or so.
Guess what happenned...
The volume of SPAM that I get has dropped - drastically! Daily, I used to get about 5-10 pieces of SPAM - now I get 2-3 captured by my filters. On weekends, I get maybe 10 or so SPAMs, landing in the SPAM box. In my inbox, maybe one or two targetted SPAMs make it through, which I delete. So what happened - why am I getting less SPAM now?
I used to use SPAMcop, as well as other tactics, to try to lessen the SPAM - all to no real avail. As far as I know, my provider didn't instate a SPAM filter of any kind, so that isn't the answer. My guess?
The majority of my SPAM I didn't look at - in other words, because SPAM can contain web-bugs and other means of identifying when you look at it (such as hitting a web site for an image or something) - I have become (in some eyes) a "non-sell" - or something. This sounds like a reasonable explanation - and I wonder if I switched to using PINE or ELM, or some other text-based reader, whether it would improve further or not.
Part of me says "maybe" - but another part of me says "nah, something else is going on to lessen the spam" - I tend to side with the latter opinion, but for the life of me I can't figure out the "why" of it. But I do know those filters have made my life a lot easier online - my only regret is that I didn't set them up sooner (I am thinking about "packaging" the filters in some way to give to others to use, they work so well)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Windows and other assorted software is only free so long as they don't "yank the chain", so to speak.
Remember, each of these pieces of software (Windows, stuff for Windows) generally has a EULA attached - which basically says "We have all the rights, you have none - and if we say so, you have to give us back the software, delete it from your machine, and oh, by the way, you DON'T get your money back" - read the fine print, and tell me it isn't true. Granted, no one knows whether such "contracts" are enforcable - but I would bet M$ and others would take you to court to prove a point - that they have more money than you (money is the enforcement). If the UCITA passes in all the other states - suddenly EULAs *do* become enforcable - add the DMCA on top of that, the Digital Signatures Act that treats clicking on the EULA button to get Winders installed as a *real* signature - and suddenly you aren't looking at freedom anymore, but at a contract on the way you live. Let's not forget, those same companies rarely if ever show any source to their products - so if they move on to a newer version, and you don't upgrade - or if they completely drop support on a version - you are HOSED (unless, of course, you cough up the tribu-- err, I mean, money - for a new license).
Contrast all of this with Linux, and GPL'd software (note, I do not say Open Source - that carries a ton of different meanings to various people - many times depending on whether they are trying to make money on code or whatnot): You get the OS, the programs, etc - more importantly, you get the code - you can change it, give it away - burn it, whatever you want to do with it, you can. No worries that if Mr. Torvalds dies you are hosed, no worries if Stallman goes to M$ (hahahahaha!!!), emacs won't be there. No worries that someone can recall or stop supporting the software. No worries at all!
Perhaps there are worries if you are a business (most notably, how can I make money on this new stuff). I just say you haven't figured it out yet.
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I have one of the old parallel port Zip drives. Yeah, it can be slow, but it really isn't too bad. Sure it only holds 100 MB, and there is the possibility of the click 'o' death (but I hear that is only with the newer drives) - but it has been a great thing to have - and rugged as hell, too.
What I do to make it the most portable, is I carry it in a little case (Zip makes one, but a good sized CD player case, with room for power supply and CDs, will work too, and are cheaper), along with a couple of Zip disks, the parallel cable, the power supply, and the most important part - a DOS floppy with Zip tools. Since the majority of machines I come across are Windows or DOS based, this isn't a problem - hook up the drive, pop the zip tools disk in, and run the mounting program (guest) - and you are set.
Not as simple as a floppy, I'll grant - but very portable - better than hoping to find a scsi mounted or IDE Zip drive on the box. The only problem is that you are limited to DOS and Windows boxes (I currently have my zip drive hosted on my Linux box at home - so I know that Linux supports it, but I don't know if it is possible to build such a simple portable tools disk for Linux - anyone know?).
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
While implementation could be made a crime, I would say that if it is, then a full scale war on the government would have to be the outcome (or war on the corporatat). Bomb-making instructions aren't illegal to possess or distribute - to implement a bomb - probably hazy area (probably illegal), to detonate - definitely illegal if not done on your own property (and providing it is on a large tract of land, etc).
For passing on knowledge, or having it - that would have to be a first ammendment issue - otherwise there would be ton of books at the library banned outright (not to mention encyclopedias, chemistry textbooks, and magazines).
Furthermore, bombs typically serve for nothing more than destruction of property or life - which is why they would be regulated in the manner in which they are. I doubt building a speaker or such could be construed as hurting someone. I fear that if it can, and it is allowed to be viewed that way - it is really time to fight.
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
And building tape decks and amps - even radios - really isn't that difficult. An A/B push-pull cheap amp isn't that hard to build - just a few transistors, some resistors, a few caps, and a couple of transformers (which could be homebrewed as well). Tape decks were originally "wire recorders" - sound was recorded on a steel wire. Fuck 'em if they outlaw steel wire - it isn't that hard (ok, it is pretty damn difficult, but it can be done) to draw your own wire - if they could do it in ancient (and not so ancient) times, it can be done now.
How are they going to take all that knowledge from us? From ME? Maybe they will kill me - that would be one way - but can they kill all of us?
Good luck to 'em - I say to hell with them...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
BTW, my favorite part of this idea is the concept that geeks who are capable of constructing an analog speaker might become the heroes of an underground economy.
I will be the first to do this, if it comes to it.
I tell you something, never did I think, when I was in the 8th grade and wanting a set of 12s and a 100 watt stereo to match (which I eventually got) for my bedroom, that I would ever contemplate using the skills that I learned to build a speaker from the ground up.
In an attempt to get around the cost of the 12 inch 3-way speakers that I wanted (at close to $200 each), I looked into building my own speaker, using construction paper for the cone, a toilet paper tube for the coil form, some old wire from a dead 3 volt hobby motor, a magnet from a busted antenna mount, plus a cardboard box - I managed to munge together a speaker that worked, and gave OK sound, considering the quality of construction and materials used. Never got much bass, though...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
it is actually entitled "Direct Use of the Sun's Energy" by Farrington Daniels, published by Ballantine Books, in 1964 (I guess I was a tad off) - ISBN 0-345-25938-6, Library of Congress Card Number 64-20913.
Excellent book, all the same...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I sincerely doubt you have read any of the writings in the books, that are "separate" from the main information in the books (the books consist mainly of reprinted articles from other magazines, most out of print or impossible to get ahold of - I have a few of the articles in old Pop Sci and Pop Mech mags from the 50's - a few articles are actual informative - ie, non-diatribe - articles that Kurt Saxon wrote, such as info on self-defense, and distilling, among others). If you had, you would know that he isn't racist - he simply doesn't see the worth of lazy, shiftless people - in other words, people who would rather have someone else do it (preferably without cost to them), rather than getting off their butts and doing it themselves! This isn't a racist attitude (unless you make lazy people a "race")...
Those articles aside, the books are chock full of information that CANNOT be found anywhere else, unless you are a MAJOR collector of old science and mechanical magazines (like I said, I have a small collection of mags from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's - the information is tough to find).
What you advocate is akin to say, deleting all man/info pages simply because there are a few things said in them you don't like - or burning all books because some may contain ideas that you feel are wrong.
Sticking your head in the ground will never make a problem go away - you must confront it head on, learn from it - then move on, and carry the knowledge you learned with you...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Coming back a little late on this (was on vacation, no net connection - but it actually was quite nice)...
Anyhow, thank you for correcting me - I was thinking a CO2 type laser setup, forgetting the IR lasers used in CD players and such...
Sometimes dumb thoughts come out of me...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
You want a real funky source?
Check out "The Survivor" series, published by Kurt Saxon and Atlan Formularies...
This series is filled with a lot of great home power tips and techniques (in addition to a TON of other survival stuff). Many are quite dated, but there are a few articles that you just can't find anywhere else (one was about a plan to "harvest" water from the Sahara using ultra-large concrete condensation systems, bee-hive shaped - never came to fruition - makes you wonder why). A plan was given for building various types of methane digester systems for the home (very complex things). One article details how to build your own solar cells. Various articles explore wind power in many forms.
If there ever was a series of books that are "must have", this is it. I only have one beef with the series: Kurt Saxon puts these little diatribes throughout the book - little anecdotal stories - some are off-putting in that they seem to be racist in character. As you read the stories more, you find that he isn't really racist - he simply hates shiftless bastards who won't get off their duff and do a little work!
That aside, the series is excellent for the amount of information you won't find anywhere else (the closest I ever came to it before was my back issues of Pop Sci and Pop Mech from the 1950's, as well as my Henley's Book of Formulas from the early 1900's)...
There is one other book I can reccommend - if I remember correctly, it is called "Sun Power" - I have it in paperback form. It dates from the early 1970's. What was kind of neat about it is that it detailed how to build a solar parabolic mirror system for cooking, using simple materials you would be able to find in the "bush", in more "modern" villages in Africa. Kinda geared for those going into the Peace Corps or something...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Very true - it makes me wonder if it would be possible to file a "counter patent" by "innovating" with a "visible beam", or get the patent overturned because of validity due to the fact that laser beams are visible...
You are right - the filer is an idiot...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I'm not sure if it has ever been noticed before in earlier postings about this patent on /. - but did you notice the line in the patent that reads:
A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser...
Invisible light? Is this the innovation in the patent?
Note that most typical laser pointers project visible light, generally 635 or 670nm, which is a bright red. For a laser pointer to generate invisible light, it would have to be a UV or IR laser.
Does anyone know where I could get a UV or IR laser, in a sleek pen form factor?
Ok, I am being sarcastic (these types of lasers tend to be on the large side of things) - but I have to wonder about the wording of this patent. It really seems absurd...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Well, usually, those two are mutually exclusive - but sometimes you might take two samples, speed one up, slow one down, mix them, then adjust the speed until it sounds just right. This "blending" process is just like mixing paint - there is a lot of steps to go through until it comes out just right - you can't simply say "I need that sound at that speed, this one at this speed - and when I mix them together, what I get will be what I want". It just doesn't work that way.
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
For what you are doing, which sounds like basically an embedded voice-recognition project, I too would probably go with C or C++ (though I suck at both). However, don't be so quick to dismiss Java.
From a developers standpoint, the promise of Java (that has yet to materialize) outweighs that of C - the idea being that you can compile once on one platform, and as long as there is a VM or native execution of Java bytecode somewhere, your app will run. I am not sure why the promise hasn't been fulfilled, but I would imagine it is a combination of the stunt M$ pulled, combined with the control Sun exerts, combined with the slight disimilarities in third-party VMs, that are causing all the problems.
I would imagine, had Sun released a VM under GPL, coded in C/C++, for Linux - and had M$ been less power hungry, greedy, stupid - or just plain didn't exist - there wouldn't be the problems we have today, because porting the VM would be a relatively trivial thing.
With C/C++, however, one must compile (or cross-compile) on/for the platform one is aiming at - you can't just compile once, and run anywhere. Perhaps if someone could create a simple stub routine that somehow could be attached to a data package, such that when the "program" is executed, the stub would fire up a C/C++ compiler, creating a native app from the data package, which would then run - then we would have the power of C/C++ and the freedom of Java.
Java tried to do something similar to what was actually done with a database system known as PICK (starting in 1969). PICK had both native processor and virtual machine implementations (in Unix) for the database structure, and the language (PICK BASIC). It was relatively easy to move a program from one PICK box to another, and have it run (provided you moved the database tables and such). While it didn't support it natively (though it may nowadays), it was perfectly possible to create a system that could "auto compile" programs to the byte code for the VM. All of these implementations, from various companies, worked because they adhered to a "standard" (though I am not sure if this standard was open, or how it was available). PICK is still in wide use to this day.
So, don't disdain over the failing of the promise of Java - it can be done, but I think Java is having problems simply due to greed (both M$ and Sun)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Well, I think you could do positional tracking with hobbyist cameras (X/Y/Z), but I don't know if they have the resolution to do rotational tracking, without placing them close to the subject being tracked. Perhaps a combo could be done, using cameras for one kind of tracking, and a different system for another?
/. - go to www.phoenixgarage.net to get my main email address, we'll continue to discuss from there, ok?
Joseph Gradecki wrote a book called "Virtual Reality Construction Kit" (the ISBN and such are on the site), that detailed various head tracking systems, and whether they could be done at the homebrew level. He presents a couple of projects for head tracking in the book. Many of the projects in the book were nearly straight out of PCVR, the only difference being the drawings looking better.
One head tracking system described in PCVR was actually kinda funky: Imagine a bare room. Now, place the user in the room, and run strings from auto-retract mechanisms placed in the corners of the room. The strings run up the wall, over a pulley and down from the upper corners of the room to meet at a central point on the user's HMD. At this central point are orthogonally arranged potentiometers, to gather yaw/pitch/roll info about the head. So, you have these four strings. Depending on where in the room you are - these strings are extended and retracted by various amounts. It is possible to work out X/Y/Z coordinates of the point at the user's HMD where the strings come together. The article detailed a lot of the math, as well as possible pitfalls - I would love to republish that article.
If I am unable to get in contact with JG, I might just willy-nilly go ahead and publish - if he has a beef, he can see me then (hey, perhaps this will bring him out of the woodwork!). I may pay a lawyer to get my legal position first.
I wish I could say the contact info in the magazine was valid, but it isn't. You have to remember that this magazine was published in a one-man fashion - a good ole' DIY thing - after getting the magazine wrote up, he went to a printer, printed up some copies (I would guess less then 200 per issue), and mailed them off.
Let's move this conversation off of
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
They could easily get them.
Am I talking 1 GHz Athlon systems here? No - we all know that 386's, 486's, and low-end Pentiums abound everywhere for near nothing - sometimes people can't even give them away! So why is it when all of these perfectly useful machines sit and rot, that those with as much money don't take them?
They aren't bright and flashy - that's it - they can't do the lastest stuff, can't load the latest software (never mind the fact that these same people probably couldn't afford the latest software, nor the fact that older software is also floating around out there for the taking). In other words, having an older PC doesn't make you look "rich" - whatever that means.
These people (actually, the majority of people - poor, middleclass, and rich) don't understand that a computer can expand your mind, and allow you to do and learn things, and ways of thinking, that you hadn't dreamed about before. A throwaway C=64 and a couple of magazines can do wonders!
However, if these people did know this, or had an inate feeling for this - they wouldn't be looking for a computer at the first drop of a hat - they would be looking for books (another widely throwaway item) - to read, and expand their minds, and teach them ways and ideas never before explored.
Most homes these days have few books in them. You don't see many homes with large book collections anymore (and those that do have large collections, those are typically in rich people's designer homes, who have the books to look cool - but don't actually read them). It is really apalling.
I actually think, as a whole, American society is becoming more illiterate by the day - there is no reason for this, other than laziness or something - maybe they just don't care. Even the rich are becoming illiterate - they may have the money to buy a book about a subject, but they would rather pay to have someone else tell them about it.
I wonder if we will see a different class structure in the future - literates on one side, and illiterates on the other...?
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
This was a good hack and all, on Hughes' part. I followed this scene for a little while, but quickly became disenchanted when I saw how much time, money and effort was involved, to get free TV, essentially - seemed out of whack to me, so I dropped it long ago (though now I wonder where you can buy just the smart cards to play with - not to steal DSS, but to actually integrate in things - I mean, I can buy the slots all I want from Digi-Key... Anyone have links to real distributors who would sell to individuals?)...
What is scary about this is that Hughes is taking the law into their own hands. It seem innocuous enough - they just "destroyed" several thousand bits of hardware - but what is to stop large companies in the future from "arresting" people for doing things they don't like? How far can this warfare go, when corporate Amerika is able to push through laws like the DMCA, the UCITA, etc? What happens when corporatism becomes the LAW?
This is just the first step - look for M$ to try doing something similar in the future - look for other large companies to try this as well, with all sorts of products - then look for them to really start coming after people...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
You won't find anything on TOMY's site - nor will you find anything if you call them up. I did - boy did I. I tried for three months to find information on getting schematics (a service manual, something!) on my Omnibot 2000. No luck...
They appeared to not even remember to have created and sell such a device (along with a whole host of other wonders, such as the Tomy Armatron). These were they people you expected to bring home real consumer home robots, but alas...it wasn't to be...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!