I have a spam filter targeting the TO: only (to hell with the CC: - that's probably spam anyhow) as well, but I also have a set of filters for the targeted emails, based on subject, and a set of filters for those things (like lists I am subscribed to) that I want to get through.
So far it has worked rather well - I just wish I could set these filters up on the ISP side, instead of under Netscape (so that I didn't have to download the email).
One thing I am thinking about trying to do is set up some method (a script or something) to scan through the spam box and route requests to SPAMcop periodically - on an automatic basis (I like SPAMcop, but it is a pain to do everything manually - does anyone know if something like this exists?)...
What you will want to use is a DVD-R system, not a DVD-RAM drive. From what I understand, they use different media (the DVD-R has a higher density), and can be played back on normal DVD players.
However, they aren't cheap. About a year back they hovered at around $10,000. Today you should be able to get one (a cheap one) for around $8000. I have no idea how much media costs, or where you can get it.
I also don't know how these devices handle region encoding, CSS, etc - whether they force you to use one region (probably), or if you can select the region/use CSS/macrovision (maybe on high end models).
If you can get the money together on this, and buy the equipment, you might be able to set up a niche business of doing LD backups. Return the LD and DVD-R back to the client - there shouldn't be any legal hassles (consult an IP lawyer, most definitely). You might be able to make your backups, and gain your investment back as well.
Cna you point to information regarding this? I would be very interested in reading about it.
Mainly because of VR - VPL locked up glove patents (among others) - which is why there aren't many gloves as input devices (at least in the VR environment). I published a text file detailing how to "homebrew" a VPL-like glove (after seeing publically available information). By your statement, I would be infringing.
You have a point, AC - maybe I should've made a statement to the effect that "you are fine as long as you don't use them for commercial gain". That seems better.
I was assuming (a bad thing to do), that when the poster said "home-grown", he meant he used them from home to monitor a remote server (that he owned), for no commercial gain.
I can see how this would be a thorny thing in a commercial environment.
In a recent (oh, say 6 months ago) issue of SciAm, they detailed how to build a heart monitor (ECG), which could be used as the basis of such a device.
I have a copy of that Byte article, lying around somewhere. From what I remember, the device was basically a very high-gain opamp - and very expensive (at the time). What it provided that other op-amps didn't was electrical isolation from the circuit (so you don't give yourself a frontal lobotomy vi electrocution while using it). In addition, the output was processed somewhat to remove noise (IIRC).
Doing a little searching on google, I came up with this link - something called the Brainmaster. The following link is a note detailing how to build it:
http://cs.felk.cvut.cz/~holoubl/stranka2/eeg.txt
Next, is a link referenced in the above note, with information on coding, documentation, etc:
ftp://brainmaster.com/pub/brainm/rel17/
Did some more searching, and there is a new release:
Because patents allow for this - patents exist for the exact purpose of allowing you to see how something works, and actually building it, to gain a "hands-on" knowledge of the device/process patented. Once you have that knowledge, you can then make improvements on the existing device, submit the improved version, and reference the original patent in your abstract (IIRC - IANAPL).
It is only when you try to sell or distribute the device in some way that it goes into patent infringement. So your homegrown scripts should be fine (if you were really worried about them at all), but if you decide to put them on SourceForge - well, good luck...
Personally, I think this patent is a bunch of bull, I am certain there is plenty of prior art...
...if this is only for occasional watching, and not for serious movie type stuff, then you might want to try a BookPC, with a DVD drive. It's only downside is stereo output, not surround sound (which I know you want).
There may be other models in the same scheme as the BookPC that do offer surround sound. Seems like a good all around low-cost way of doing things.
If you support the whole DVD rights issue, buy the CD-ROM version, then buy a used DVD drive, and used discs (if you have to have DVD - if not, buy only VCDs)...
I guess that is one way to get longer playing records on wax cylinders. I imagine that for home machines (which I think the one I saw was, since it use cylinders about the diameter of a soup can, and about twice as "tall"), bigger diameter cylinders might cause "fit" problems, as in the cylinder wouldn't fit the machine.
I was thinking "taller"/"longer" cylinders, of the same diameter, or (as regular LPs do), a slower RPM (at the expense of music quality).
When you mention up/down motion - my history teacher never mentioned that, but I am sure I read it somewhere - it is nice to be reminded. Maybe this was also a problem - maybe the needle could "pop" out of the track, causing scratches and such?
Very interesting devices, at that - if only for their simplicity...
Well formed HTML - using HEIGHT and WIDTH properties to allow the rest of the page to load (of course, maybe they are already doing this, and it is just the ad server overload that is slowing the thing down?)...
You are correct in your assessment though - I guess overall banner ads SUCK!
These probably died (though I have no direct proof of this) because you couldn't put long performances on them.
I had the chance to hear a wax cylinder, on a genuine Edison machine (it was after finals in history class of my senior year in high school - my history teacher was an antique appraisor on the side). I don't remember what song it was, but it was definitely nice - though kind of crackly and scratchy (what do you expect after 80 years?). However, the thing I remember distinctly is that the music only lasted a few minutes - for a single cylinder.
I don't know what the "RPM" was (I don't think there was standard rpm settings on cylinder records - just a preset speed, or spin it up until it sounds right) - but was there ever "long-play" cylinder records made, or was there multi-speed players made?
Typically, these are sold as "tiff" mowers - tiff grass is a lightweight, oh-so-soft grass (the best damn grass to lie down on, if you ask me), that simply can't be cut by a rotary mower (rotary mowers tear and break the grass, and are thus used for hardier grasses like bermuda - tiff is soft, and a rotary mower will literally "blendo" the grass, and produce a sludge - providing you can find tiff grass that long, of course).
They are essentially a reel mower with an engine, and a wheel at the back, connected by a drop chain/lever combo. You have to push the mower, then drop the wheel to prevent a "scuff" mark on the grass (boy, was I bawled out by my boss on my first job in high-school about that!), but man - you could litterally guide them easily once going.
Now, these suckers were anything _but_ safe - the reel keeps spinning as the engine runs (of course, the model I used was old, they may be safer today, with a clutch or something) - I am sure some fingers could be chopped off by that thing (and I know more than one snail in the yard lost its life due to the mower I was using!)...
Want to know what credentials are required?
on
The Encryption Wars
·
· Score: 2
Code - plain and simple. Keep coding. Build a portfolio, and shop it around. Make sure that whatever code you have is clean and well thought out. If you can show a spec, going from design to implementation, in a portfolio, so much the better. Comment heavily, and neatly. But most importantly, keep coding.
I worked as a cashier at Osco before I got my first "professional" coding job. It isn't impossible (one trick I learned was to ask them to let me work for free - if they liked my work after a trial period, of say, 2 weeks, then they could hire me - this is easily something you can do if you are living at home, harder or impossible if you have a family to support)...
How many times have you been to a site with banner adds and it seemed to take forever to load just the ad? Many times for me.
2) They weren't animated.
Relating to #1 above, animated ads account for a lot of size issues - the most hideous being a Flash or Java-based advert. Animated GIFs can sometimes be just as bad, when they don't do thier compression right (or do a 24 bit GIF, or something equally tacky). Plus, the animation is distracting.
3) They weren't pushed in your face at every click of a link.
Slashdot is probably the sanest use of banner ads, but even they get somewhat annoying. Some sites make you look at ads constantly, relying on Javascript (or Java?) to keep the ad "in-the-window", no matter where you scroll (Geocities does this with there "G" symbol down in the corner, do they think they are a TV station?)...
4) Put at the end of the page, instead of the beginning.
If I want to read your advertising, I will read it last - not first. Then, and only then, will I decide if I want to click on it. Many a time have I been to a site that I wanted to see the content, waited forever to load the banner ad, then said "Screw it!", and closed the window, before even seeing a thing (sometimes, including the banner ad)...
---
Marketers just don't seem to get that the internet is a communication medium, and as such, anything that interupts the flow of information will be ignored and scorned (in the end). Stop interupting us, and give us something worthwhile (heck, even a free tee-shirt would be cool in some cases)!
Sadly, I think product placement ads are soon coming - since these porno-site tactics are going to fail instantly (do they really think people are going to like whack-a-mole?)...
You apparently can add submissions in some manner. It started out as a collection of files on two CD-ROMs, which are near impossible to find now (I managed to grab a copy from somewhere, probably Walnut Creek, before they started getting real scarce). Lots of great code, ideas, articles and such on just about every programming topic and problem.
While a lot of the code isn't cutting edge, it is still an excellent resource, no matter what language you code in...
Specifically, a modified Victormaxx Stuntmaster (and later a custom built HMD using the optics and LCD's from a Victormaxx Cybermaxx). These HMDs accept composite video input only (though there might be a small chance on the Cybermaxx stuff that I might be able to use RGB and sync, and thus do away with the composite stuff). Maybe at some point in my life I will be able to afford a "real" HMD, but not for a long while.
I also have a video projector that uses a composite input, which I want to play with. I suppose I could get a better projector, but at this point I can't justify spending around $2000 for a projector (I can't understand why 640x480 color projectors aren't hitting the used market for under $1000 - heck, $500 would be more realistic. Of course, 3 tube CRT projectors are out there, but since shipping seems to cost over $300 for one of these from anywhere, that isn't worth it, not to mention the special ceiling mounts, etc)...
I am not wanting to watch TV on my PC, I am wanting to display my PC's output on my TV (actually, I am wanting to display it on a VR HMD that only supports composite video input).
BTW, I am not cheap (although, I guess one could argue why I don't just get a better HMD - that's a problem when the cheapest VGA-compatible HMD runs around $1000) - but I do have a budget (and for your information, I have considered getting one of these cards, they seem pretty neat).
Hey, I love LEDs as much as the next geek, and I believe they could take over regular lighting (for a long time I wondered why they were only used on the third brake light, and nowhere else, then the turn signal and brake lights for commercial vehicles came on the market, and now one of the Cadillacs have them - should trickle down to regular vehicles soon). Still, I think there is another option not too many people know about:
Tesla bulbs.
These bulbs work in a similar fashion as a flourescent bulb. Essentially, the bulb looks like a normal bulb, but with a wire running up the middle in a glass tube, tipped with a small metal sphere. The inside of the bulb is "coated" with a material that flouresces in the presense of intense radio waves. When Tesla was experimenting with them, simply holding one in the presence of a Tesla coil was enough to get them to light, but they were really meant to be "directly" connected to the Tesla coil output.
IIRC, Tesla's original bulbs weren't very bright, but they showed the concept well. Later inventors have experimented with the system, and built bulbs in which the Tesla coil formed part of the "filament", with some of the electronics in the base of the bulb - meant to be screwed into an ordinary socket and run off of normal houshold current. These bulbs were much brighter, and supposedly last for over 50 years of continuous operation.
I don't know if they were ever manufactured on a large scale. They were VERY expensive, supposedly costing over $30 each, but given their longevity over ordinary bulbs, this wasn't a real issue. They were meant for commercial installations, where changing a bulb was difficult or dangerous.
Does anyone know more about these bulbs, and whether they still exist (I tend to wonder if the new compact flourecents have taken over)?
I would have been more impressed...
on
The Robot Diaries
·
· Score: 4
Had the writer of the diary actually built the machines...
Instead, she intones that her boyfriend and her roommate ended up putting them together, and the roommate was the one actually soldering - what, was the boyfriend there for moral support (apparently so, she says later on one goes home after the racer did not immediately work, which could only mean the boyfriend, since the roommate is at home)?
Instead, she says she served drinks. Then, the rest of the article goes into really inane observations of the machines "at play". The only fun observation was of the photovore avoiding a grape, and getting to the lamp.
All this individual ended up doing was writing an article. I would have been more impressed had she tackled the soldering iron, made a few mistakes, learned how to solder, and build the racer. Even if it didn't work right, it at least would have shown that she tried to learn something completely new - instead of passively letting life go by.
Furthermore, she doesn't feel these devices are really worth the effort put into the building of them. You can tell by the tone of the writing. She talks about setting up an environment filled with various knick knacks and things. Why doesn't she get it about BEAM - hobble the damn thing! Put tape on one of the photovore's motors, see how it works around this "impediment"! Geez, is experimentation that difficult?!
People, if you want to know more about BEAM, and want to play with it yourself, avoid this article. Here are a few links to check instead:
http://www.solarbotics.com/ (she could've at least provided this link!) http://www.nis.lanl.gov/projects/robot/ h ttp://www.geocities.com/frankendaddy/BEAM.html
Cars, computers, and complexity (slighty OT)...
on
The Encryption Wars
·
· Score: 1
I sometimes wonder how true it is that you "need" those computers and sensors in a car. With the exception of some things the computer controls, I wonder if all those other sensors are really needed. Case in point:
My GF had a 1986 Mustang - it of course had a computer. The thing ran well. However, it had a secret. If you opened the hood, you noticed that a lot of wires and hoses to various sensors were NOT hooked up. The computer was, to whereever it controlled - but almost every sensor was disconnected...
Now, why was it this way, you may ask? Well, my GF's brother-in-law bought it for her when she was going to college, as an auctioned vehicle. When he got it, it had a lot of problems with it, so he ended up working and working on it, removing this, that, and the other thing - fixing and tweaking stuff, and realized that once he got it running, many things were still disconnected... He's of the "if it works, leave it alone" crowd - so he simply removed what wires/hoses he could, and left the rest to dangle.
The car always ran good after that - making many long and short trips all over Arizona. Now, you may say "Sure - but what about emmisions?"
It passed! Every single time. Sure, not with flying colors, but it was better than a lot of other vehicles.
In the end, the car eventually died (transmission failure), and ended up getting towed away after we left it in a no-parking area (long story). At the time, it wasn't worth the money to get it out of impound - probably has been crushed by now...
I want information. I want data that excites and entertains me, much in the way a good book would. I want bandwidth to explore new worlds - I want to use that data in the manner that I see fit, not how some other entity wants me to see it.
I will not passively sit and watch the world go by - give me HTML and vi! Watch as I create and publish, much as a sculpter would with stone and chisel.
I am tired of how society continues to think all it should do is take, take, take! Society should get off it's collective bum and give back. What is so difficult about being imaginative, letting ideas and creations flow?
Has the internet peaked? Bah! Only if we let it become the new boob-tube.
Slashdot Mirror
I have a spam filter targeting the TO: only (to hell with the CC: - that's probably spam anyhow) as well, but I also have a set of filters for the targeted emails, based on subject, and a set of filters for those things (like lists I am subscribed to) that I want to get through.
So far it has worked rather well - I just wish I could set these filters up on the ISP side, instead of under Netscape (so that I didn't have to download the email).
One thing I am thinking about trying to do is set up some method (a script or something) to scan through the spam box and route requests to SPAMcop periodically - on an automatic basis (I like SPAMcop, but it is a pain to do everything manually - does anyone know if something like this exists?)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
What you will want to use is a DVD-R system, not a DVD-RAM drive. From what I understand, they use different media (the DVD-R has a higher density), and can be played back on normal DVD players.
However, they aren't cheap. About a year back they hovered at around $10,000. Today you should be able to get one (a cheap one) for around $8000. I have no idea how much media costs, or where you can get it.
I also don't know how these devices handle region encoding, CSS, etc - whether they force you to use one region (probably), or if you can select the region/use CSS/macrovision (maybe on high end models).
If you can get the money together on this, and buy the equipment, you might be able to set up a niche business of doing LD backups. Return the LD and DVD-R back to the client - there shouldn't be any legal hassles (consult an IP lawyer, most definitely). You might be able to make your backups, and gain your investment back as well.
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
It may be more trouble than it's worth...
But good luck getting the Criterion LD of BladeRunner in DVD format...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Alright - my mistake - someone mod this down NOW!!!
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Cna you point to information regarding this? I would be very interested in reading about it.
Mainly because of VR - VPL locked up glove patents (among others) - which is why there aren't many gloves as input devices (at least in the VR environment). I published a text file detailing how to "homebrew" a VPL-like glove (after seeing publically available information). By your statement, I would be infringing.
Just wanting to know if I really am...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
If you wrote the other comment, can you point me to the relevant bits of law regarding this? I would be very interested in reading about it...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Wasn't Wagner's (sp?) "Ring Cycle" (I think I have that right) written (and performed) during the Nazi regime?
If so (I am so lacking in this area), couldn't putting up a bit of music from this opera constitute going against what they are after...
OK, I know it is a stretch (to the breaking point) - I might not even have any of this right - someone correct me and mod me down if I am wrong...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
You have a point, AC - maybe I should've made a statement to the effect that "you are fine as long as you don't use them for commercial gain". That seems better.
I was assuming (a bad thing to do), that when the poster said "home-grown", he meant he used them from home to monitor a remote server (that he owned), for no commercial gain.
I can see how this would be a thorny thing in a commercial environment.
I agree, this is a pretty lame patent...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
In a recent (oh, say 6 months ago) issue of SciAm, they detailed how to build a heart monitor (ECG), which could be used as the basis of such a device.
t
r ainmaster.com/
I have a copy of that Byte article, lying around somewhere. From what I remember, the device was basically a very high-gain opamp - and very expensive (at the time). What it provided that other op-amps didn't was electrical isolation from the circuit (so you don't give yourself a frontal lobotomy vi electrocution while using it). In addition, the output was processed somewhat to remove noise (IIRC).
Doing a little searching on google, I came up with this link - something called the Brainmaster. The following link is a note detailing how to build it:
http://cs.felk.cvut.cz/~holoubl/stranka2/eeg.tx
Next, is a link referenced in the above note, with information on coding, documentation, etc:
ftp://brainmaster.com/pub/brainm/rel17/
Did some more searching, and there is a new release:
ftp://brainmaster.com/pub/brainm/rel18/
Finally, go to the next level, lots more:
ftp://brainmaster.com/pub/brainm/
http://www.b
Have fun!
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Because patents allow for this - patents exist for the exact purpose of allowing you to see how something works, and actually building it, to gain a "hands-on" knowledge of the device/process patented. Once you have that knowledge, you can then make improvements on the existing device, submit the improved version, and reference the original patent in your abstract (IIRC - IANAPL).
It is only when you try to sell or distribute the device in some way that it goes into patent infringement. So your homegrown scripts should be fine (if you were really worried about them at all), but if you decide to put them on SourceForge - well, good luck...
Personally, I think this patent is a bunch of bull, I am certain there is plenty of prior art...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
...if this is only for occasional watching, and not for serious movie type stuff, then you might want to try a BookPC, with a DVD drive. It's only downside is stereo output, not surround sound (which I know you want).
There may be other models in the same scheme as the BookPC that do offer surround sound. Seems like a good all around low-cost way of doing things.
If you support the whole DVD rights issue, buy the CD-ROM version, then buy a used DVD drive, and used discs (if you have to have DVD - if not, buy only VCDs)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I guess that is one way to get longer playing records on wax cylinders. I imagine that for home machines (which I think the one I saw was, since it use cylinders about the diameter of a soup can, and about twice as "tall"), bigger diameter cylinders might cause "fit" problems, as in the cylinder wouldn't fit the machine.
I was thinking "taller"/"longer" cylinders, of the same diameter, or (as regular LPs do), a slower RPM (at the expense of music quality).
When you mention up/down motion - my history teacher never mentioned that, but I am sure I read it somewhere - it is nice to be reminded. Maybe this was also a problem - maybe the needle could "pop" out of the track, causing scratches and such?
Very interesting devices, at that - if only for their simplicity...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Well formed HTML - using HEIGHT and WIDTH properties to allow the rest of the page to load (of course, maybe they are already doing this, and it is just the ad server overload that is slowing the thing down?)...
You are correct in your assessment though - I guess overall banner ads SUCK!
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
These probably died (though I have no direct proof of this) because you couldn't put long performances on them.
I had the chance to hear a wax cylinder, on a genuine Edison machine (it was after finals in history class of my senior year in high school - my history teacher was an antique appraisor on the side). I don't remember what song it was, but it was definitely nice - though kind of crackly and scratchy (what do you expect after 80 years?). However, the thing I remember distinctly is that the music only lasted a few minutes - for a single cylinder.
I don't know what the "RPM" was (I don't think there was standard rpm settings on cylinder records - just a preset speed, or spin it up until it sounds right) - but was there ever "long-play" cylinder records made, or was there multi-speed players made?
Would be curious to know if this was the case...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Typically, these are sold as "tiff" mowers - tiff grass is a lightweight, oh-so-soft grass (the best damn grass to lie down on, if you ask me), that simply can't be cut by a rotary mower (rotary mowers tear and break the grass, and are thus used for hardier grasses like bermuda - tiff is soft, and a rotary mower will literally "blendo" the grass, and produce a sludge - providing you can find tiff grass that long, of course).
They are essentially a reel mower with an engine, and a wheel at the back, connected by a drop chain/lever combo. You have to push the mower, then drop the wheel to prevent a "scuff" mark on the grass (boy, was I bawled out by my boss on my first job in high-school about that!), but man - you could litterally guide them easily once going.
Now, these suckers were anything _but_ safe - the reel keeps spinning as the engine runs (of course, the model I used was old, they may be safer today, with a clutch or something) - I am sure some fingers could be chopped off by that thing (and I know more than one snail in the yard lost its life due to the mower I was using!)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Code - plain and simple. Keep coding. Build a portfolio, and shop it around. Make sure that whatever code you have is clean and well thought out. If you can show a spec, going from design to implementation, in a portfolio, so much the better. Comment heavily, and neatly. But most importantly, keep coding.
I worked as a cashier at Osco before I got my first "professional" coding job. It isn't impossible (one trick I learned was to ask them to let me work for free - if they liked my work after a trial period, of say, 2 weeks, then they could hire me - this is easily something you can do if you are living at home, harder or impossible if you have a family to support)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
1) They were small (byte wise).
How many times have you been to a site with banner adds and it seemed to take forever to load just the ad? Many times for me.
2) They weren't animated.
Relating to #1 above, animated ads account for a lot of size issues - the most hideous being a Flash or Java-based advert. Animated GIFs can sometimes be just as bad, when they don't do thier compression right (or do a 24 bit GIF, or something equally tacky). Plus, the animation is distracting.
3) They weren't pushed in your face at every click of a link.
Slashdot is probably the sanest use of banner ads, but even they get somewhat annoying. Some sites make you look at ads constantly, relying on Javascript (or Java?) to keep the ad "in-the-window", no matter where you scroll (Geocities does this with there "G" symbol down in the corner, do they think they are a TV station?)...
4) Put at the end of the page, instead of the beginning.
If I want to read your advertising, I will read it last - not first. Then, and only then, will I decide if I want to click on it. Many a time have I been to a site that I wanted to see the content, waited forever to load the banner ad, then said "Screw it!", and closed the window, before even seeing a thing (sometimes, including the banner ad)...
---
Marketers just don't seem to get that the internet is a communication medium, and as such, anything that interupts the flow of information will be ignored and scorned (in the end). Stop interupting us, and give us something worthwhile (heck, even a free tee-shirt would be cool in some cases)!
Sadly, I think product placement ads are soon coming - since these porno-site tactics are going to fail instantly (do they really think people are going to like whack-a-mole?)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Want a great programming resource?
Check out Programmer's Heaven, more code than you can shake a stick at!
You apparently can add submissions in some manner. It started out as a collection of files on two CD-ROMs, which are near impossible to find now (I managed to grab a copy from somewhere, probably Walnut Creek, before they started getting real scarce). Lots of great code, ideas, articles and such on just about every programming topic and problem.
While a lot of the code isn't cutting edge, it is still an excellent resource, no matter what language you code in...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Specifically, a modified Victormaxx Stuntmaster (and later a custom built HMD using the optics and LCD's from a Victormaxx Cybermaxx). These HMDs accept composite video input only (though there might be a small chance on the Cybermaxx stuff that I might be able to use RGB and sync, and thus do away with the composite stuff). Maybe at some point in my life I will be able to afford a "real" HMD, but not for a long while.
I also have a video projector that uses a composite input, which I want to play with. I suppose I could get a better projector, but at this point I can't justify spending around $2000 for a projector (I can't understand why 640x480 color projectors aren't hitting the used market for under $1000 - heck, $500 would be more realistic. Of course, 3 tube CRT projectors are out there, but since shipping seems to cost over $300 for one of these from anywhere, that isn't worth it, not to mention the special ceiling mounts, etc)...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I am not wanting to watch TV on my PC, I am wanting to display my PC's output on my TV (actually, I am wanting to display it on a VR HMD that only supports composite video input).
BTW, I am not cheap (although, I guess one could argue why I don't just get a better HMD - that's a problem when the cheapest VGA-compatible HMD runs around $1000) - but I do have a budget (and for your information, I have considered getting one of these cards, they seem pretty neat).
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Hey, I love LEDs as much as the next geek, and I believe they could take over regular lighting (for a long time I wondered why they were only used on the third brake light, and nowhere else, then the turn signal and brake lights for commercial vehicles came on the market, and now one of the Cadillacs have them - should trickle down to regular vehicles soon). Still, I think there is another option not too many people know about:
Tesla bulbs.
These bulbs work in a similar fashion as a flourescent bulb. Essentially, the bulb looks like a normal bulb, but with a wire running up the middle in a glass tube, tipped with a small metal sphere. The inside of the bulb is "coated" with a material that flouresces in the presense of intense radio waves. When Tesla was experimenting with them, simply holding one in the presence of a Tesla coil was enough to get them to light, but they were really meant to be "directly" connected to the Tesla coil output.
IIRC, Tesla's original bulbs weren't very bright, but they showed the concept well. Later inventors have experimented with the system, and built bulbs in which the Tesla coil formed part of the "filament", with some of the electronics in the base of the bulb - meant to be screwed into an ordinary socket and run off of normal houshold current. These bulbs were much brighter, and supposedly last for over 50 years of continuous operation.
I don't know if they were ever manufactured on a large scale. They were VERY expensive, supposedly costing over $30 each, but given their longevity over ordinary bulbs, this wasn't a real issue. They were meant for commercial installations, where changing a bulb was difficult or dangerous.
Does anyone know more about these bulbs, and whether they still exist (I tend to wonder if the new compact flourecents have taken over)?
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Had the writer of the diary actually built the machines...
h ttp://www.geocities.com/frankendaddy/BEAM.html
Instead, she intones that her boyfriend and her roommate ended up putting them together, and the roommate was the one actually soldering - what, was the boyfriend there for moral support (apparently so, she says later on one goes home after the racer did not immediately work, which could only mean the boyfriend, since the roommate is at home)?
Instead, she says she served drinks. Then, the rest of the article goes into really inane observations of the machines "at play". The only fun observation was of the photovore avoiding a grape, and getting to the lamp.
All this individual ended up doing was writing an article. I would have been more impressed had she tackled the soldering iron, made a few mistakes, learned how to solder, and build the racer. Even if it didn't work right, it at least would have shown that she tried to learn something completely new - instead of passively letting life go by.
Furthermore, she doesn't feel these devices are really worth the effort put into the building of them. You can tell by the tone of the writing. She talks about setting up an environment filled with various knick knacks and things. Why doesn't she get it about BEAM - hobble the damn thing! Put tape on one of the photovore's motors, see how it works around this "impediment"! Geez, is experimentation that difficult?!
People, if you want to know more about BEAM, and want to play with it yourself, avoid this article. Here are a few links to check instead:
http://www.solarbotics.com/ (she could've at least provided this link!)
http://www.nis.lanl.gov/projects/robot/
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I sometimes wonder how true it is that you "need" those computers and sensors in a car. With the exception of some things the computer controls, I wonder if all those other sensors are really needed. Case in point:
My GF had a 1986 Mustang - it of course had a computer. The thing ran well. However, it had a secret. If you opened the hood, you noticed that a lot of wires and hoses to various sensors were NOT hooked up. The computer was, to whereever it controlled - but almost every sensor was disconnected...
Now, why was it this way, you may ask? Well, my GF's brother-in-law bought it for her when she was going to college, as an auctioned vehicle. When he got it, it had a lot of problems with it, so he ended up working and working on it, removing this, that, and the other thing - fixing and tweaking stuff, and realized that once he got it running, many things were still disconnected... He's of the "if it works, leave it alone" crowd - so he simply removed what wires/hoses he could, and left the rest to dangle.
The car always ran good after that - making many long and short trips all over Arizona. Now, you may say "Sure - but what about emmisions?"
It passed! Every single time. Sure, not with flying colors, but it was better than a lot of other vehicles.
In the end, the car eventually died (transmission failure), and ended up getting towed away after we left it in a no-parking area (long story). At the time, it wasn't worth the money to get it out of impound - probably has been crushed by now...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
I want information. I want data that excites and entertains me, much in the way a good book would. I want bandwidth to explore new worlds - I want to use that data in the manner that I see fit, not how some other entity wants me to see it.
I will not passively sit and watch the world go by - give me HTML and vi! Watch as I create and publish, much as a sculpter would with stone and chisel.
I am tired of how society continues to think all it should do is take, take, take! Society should get off it's collective bum and give back. What is so difficult about being imaginative, letting ideas and creations flow?
Has the internet peaked? Bah! Only if we let it become the new boob-tube.
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
http://www2.lm-sensors.nu/~lm78/index.html
BTW - it is the BT869, not 848. My appologies for my mistake...
Worldcom - Generation Duh!