My point was that hardware isn't a significant limitation these days.
I deal w/ some really large and complex macro formats which take a long while to compile / run, but yes, it is pretty much instantaneous compared to the past (I can recall waiting minutes for a given page, and a particular database publishing routine which ran overnight (when we first set it up, it looked like it would take a week w/ a full dataset on then available hardware, but it was much faster not quite a year later when we put it on a new top-end machine) I have found that network access can be a significant limit if one is pulling in large graphics --- even then, one can put the graphic into a box and then re-use the box if it's a single graphic multiple times.
- can't insert index entries using XML
- can't put in character style as part of an index entry
- can't _not_ make index entries interactive (this is an option for ToCs)
- can't define a head to have a variable amount of space above it
- only vertical justify option is to feather the entire text block
&c.
The only limitations w/ TeX are processor speed, available memory and storage and human ingenuity when writing macros. I work around limitations of InDesign and Quark constantly at my day job and most of solutions involve endless manual intervention.
To be fair, OpenSCAD runs fine --- it just doesn't allow easy Bezier drawing and I still haven't found a nice CAM package which works well for me on my ancient Fujitsu Stylistic.
The Doodle3D program is interesting --- does one use GNUstep to compile it for Linux or Windows?
I'm hoping I'll be able to grok the Python code in xasy the Asymptote front-end and tweak it into something I find as comfortable as Macromedia Freehand.
Visicalc --- one of my most vivid memories from childhood was being in a computer store in Richmond, VA when an accountant came in and declared,
``I want a Visicalc.''
The salesperson patiently explained that Visicalc was only a software program and that to use it, he would need a computer.
``Whatever, give me everything I need for a Visicalc.''
The salesperson then proceeded to lay out almost one of everything in the store (high-end items were possible, the 132 column printer, 80 col. card, dual-disk drives, &c.), which the accountant paid for w/ a company check, loaded up into his Trans Am and drove off with.
The problem is, the creativity tools on the iPad are sorely limited / limiting, and what's available for desktops isn't much better.
I can't put together a system now which works as well for me as my NeXT Cube running Altsys Virtuoso. The best thing I can piece together would be a Microsoft Surface Pro running a 10 year old copy of Freehand MX.
Looking into xasy and NodeBox --- any other suggestions?
Evoking a poster which graphed efficiency / speed of locomotion for various animals --- humans are in the middle of the pack, until one puts the human on a bicycle, then they move way out and up.
It kills me that I've yet to find a computing environment as elegant and as productive as a NeXT Cube running NeXTstep w/ Altsys Virtuoso, Lotus Improv, NoteBook.app, TeXview.app, TouchType.app and WriteNow.app (though WordPerfect gave the latter a good run for its money). While LaTeXiT, LyX and TeXshop meet most of my document-processing needs (and InDesign is pretty nice as well), I'm dreading the day when my Mac at work has to be replaced by one which can't run Mac OS X 10.6 and Macromedia FreeHand/MX --- even so, Services integration isn't as nice, I've never found a replacement for poste.app, &c.
Sadly, the next best environment I could put together now would be a Microsoft Surface Pro running Macromedia FreeHand MX and a bunch of other programs. Things I'd miss, and which I really wish the iPad had:
- Display PostScript
- PANTONE licensing at the OS level
- movable main menu, tear off sub-menus - Command= in any app to get a definition in Webster.app rocks - having all of your man pages, the sysadmin refs, and the works of Will Shakespeare and anything else you wish to add in Digital Librarian ensures one can look up what one needs at will. - Being able to improve the functionality of _any_ app by installing a Service or an app which provides a Service provides a synergy one doesn't get in Mac OS X where it's hit-or-miss whether or no an app supports Services (Cocoa apps do, Carbon and Java apps have to be specially coded) - having total control over the screen (you can drag off-screen and hide all but one pixel of the vertical menu, one tile of the Dock) - The vertical menu makes tear-off sub-menus make sense, which allows effortless customization of one's working environment for a given task w/o inscrutable toolbars - the pop-up menu means that the menu for the current app is always instantly available --- some commands can even become gestural in one's access to them, e.g., ``Punch'' in Altsys Virtuso, right-button-menu click, down a bit and straight over and release
- TeX provided by default and supported by the nifty TeXview.app
- inspector-provided sort options for Miller-column filebrowser view
- re-sizeable Shelf which can store multiple file selections as a single icon
- nifty apps which made use of Services and Display PostScript like beYAP.app, Altsys Virtuoso, poste.app &c. - Dynamic run-time binding means that installing a filter service affords said capabilities to any other app, w/o recompiling.
One of the reasons I got a Shapeoko ( http://www.shapeoko.com/ ) was so that I would be able to make my own brass hardware for woodworking projects and wouldn't be limited to what I could buy commercially (my last project involved: U.S. made hinges, sand-cast handle from England, forged brass stay chain from Italy, latches from Taiwan and corner protectors from China).
However, it's worth noting that when the sewing machine was invented, it was noted that there would be one in every home, and for a long while, there pretty much was.
There was still a tailor in town when I moved here, and I've always regretted not going to have some shirts tailor made there (he's since retired after 50 years in business) --- fortunately, a quick Google search shows a couple still in business.
It'll be interesting to see what the life cycle of 3D printing is.
- in automotive service departments to print trim pieces in the right colour
- paired w/ a 3d scanner in a hardware store --- customer brings in broken thing-a-ma-bob, it gets scanned, one is then directed to the right aisle for a replacement, or a quote to print a replacement is generated
A.I. is a classic case of moving goal posts --- there's an assumption a hard problem requires it, the problem gets solved using ever-more sophisticated analysis/pattern-matching/data-processing --- the problem domain is no longer considered A.I.
Actually, the letter of the law allows one to transfer, the problem is that one can't have built it with the intent to distribute, and there's no way to demonstrate that lack of intent to the satisfaction of the BATF.
So, one transferring a legal, personally manufactured firearm is guilty of a thought-crime.
In theory, one can pass on as many personally built firearms as desired as part of an estate and presumably the heirs may then sell them.
The easiest way to get around this is to build a firearm which is totally legal and unregulated in most states (e.g., a black-powder percussion revolver) and a secondary part which then allows said firearm to be converted to fire cartridge ammunition (e.g., a conversion cylinder) and then to sell / transfer the two parts separately. The recipient can then build a legal, cartridge-firing firearm from the two legal pieces.
Yep. Money spent w/ a local Mom-and-Pop store will turn over 5 times in a local community on average --- money spent at Wal-Mart immediately goes over-seas to the Chinese manufacturers, into the Walton family pockets, or into the brokerage accounts of people who own stock (minus what their broker pockets).
The problem is, the cutter moves in the real world, and if it doesn't move smoothly, one gets a rough surface which requires hand finishing, which defeats the purpose of using a machine. See:
This was recommended to me on the InDesign mailing list. Problems I had:
- text editor didn't support Services on Mac OS X (a similar program Nodebox does)
- a lot of thing I was interested in were 404
- Javascript feels a lot like C to me --- too much like work, Nodebox was more comfortable, but I've been more successful w/ Asymptote
The thing which has been troubling me is many packages fake curves and arcs using polylines --- so I've been hand-coding G-code so as to have full control.
Is there an easy-to-learn package which will elegantly represent curves?
Still haven't found a suitable package (for my needs) --- all-too many of them can't do real curves / arcs and fake them w/ polylines --- so I've been hand-coding G-code.
I'd be glad of additional apps/packages or information.
Slashdot Mirror
My point was that hardware isn't a significant limitation these days.
I deal w/ some really large and complex macro formats which take a long while to compile / run, but yes, it is pretty much instantaneous compared to the past (I can recall waiting minutes for a given page, and a particular database publishing routine which ran overnight (when we first set it up, it looked like it would take a week w/ a full dataset on then available hardware, but it was much faster not quite a year later when we put it on a new top-end machine) I have found that network access can be a significant limit if one is pulling in large graphics --- even then, one can put the graphic into a box and then re-use the box if it's a single graphic multiple times.
Like what InDesign?
Things which InDesign has trouble with:
- can't insert index entries using XML
- can't put in character style as part of an index entry
- can't _not_ make index entries interactive (this is an option for ToCs)
- can't define a head to have a variable amount of space above it
- only vertical justify option is to feather the entire text block
&c.
The only limitations w/ TeX are processor speed, available memory and storage and human ingenuity when writing macros. I work around limitations of InDesign and Quark constantly at my day job and most of solutions involve endless manual intervention.
To be fair, OpenSCAD runs fine --- it just doesn't allow easy Bezier drawing and I still haven't found a nice CAM package which works well for me on my ancient Fujitsu Stylistic.
The Doodle3D program is interesting --- does one use GNUstep to compile it for Linux or Windows?
Where's the elegant, intuitive interface which effortlessly converts a sketch into arcs and lines for G-code output? And I don't mean by faking it as polylines. Best list of software I can find is: http://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Advanced_Software and I'm reduced to hand-coding G-code: http://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/File:Circle-diamond-square-50mm.txt 'cause nothing works well on my Fujitsu Stylistic --- at least it works well for using Grbl controller: http://zapmaker.org/projects/grbl-controller-3-0/ to interface w/ the machine.
I'm hoping I'll be able to grok the Python code in xasy the Asymptote front-end and tweak it into something I find as comfortable as Macromedia Freehand.
That's the way it was played in _Space, Above and Beyond_ --- I think this was the episode:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0706370/
William
Visicalc --- one of my most vivid memories from childhood was being in a computer store in Richmond, VA when an accountant came in and declared,
``I want a Visicalc.''
The salesperson patiently explained that Visicalc was only a software program and that to use it, he would need a computer.
``Whatever, give me everything I need for a Visicalc.''
The salesperson then proceeded to lay out almost one of everything in the store (high-end items were possible, the 132 column printer, 80 col. card, dual-disk drives, &c.), which the accountant paid for w/ a company check, loaded up into his Trans Am and drove off with.
The problem is, the creativity tools on the iPad are sorely limited / limiting, and what's available for desktops isn't much better.
I can't put together a system now which works as well for me as my NeXT Cube running Altsys Virtuoso. The best thing I can piece together would be a Microsoft Surface Pro running a 10 year old copy of Freehand MX.
Looking into xasy and NodeBox --- any other suggestions?
Above all though, the iPad really needs AppleScript.
Evoking a poster which graphed efficiency / speed of locomotion for various animals --- humans are in the middle of the pack, until one puts the human on a bicycle, then they move way out and up.
It kills me that I've yet to find a computing environment as elegant and as productive as a NeXT Cube running NeXTstep w/ Altsys Virtuoso, Lotus Improv, NoteBook.app, TeXview.app, TouchType.app and WriteNow.app (though WordPerfect gave the latter a good run for its money). While LaTeXiT, LyX and TeXshop meet most of my document-processing needs (and InDesign is pretty nice as well), I'm dreading the day when my Mac at work has to be replaced by one which can't run Mac OS X 10.6 and Macromedia FreeHand/MX --- even so, Services integration isn't as nice, I've never found a replacement for poste.app, &c.
Sadly, the next best environment I could put together now would be a Microsoft Surface Pro running Macromedia FreeHand MX and a bunch of other programs. Things I'd miss, and which I really wish the iPad had:
- Display PostScript
- PANTONE licensing at the OS level
- movable main menu, tear off sub-menus
- Command= in any app to get a definition in Webster.app rocks
- having all of your man pages, the sysadmin refs, and the works of Will Shakespeare and anything else you wish to add in Digital Librarian ensures one can look up what one needs at will.
- Being able to improve the functionality of _any_ app by installing a Service or an app which provides a Service provides a synergy one doesn't get in Mac OS X where it's hit-or-miss whether or no an app supports Services (Cocoa apps do, Carbon and Java apps have to be specially coded)
- having total control over the screen (you can drag off-screen and hide all but one pixel of the vertical menu, one tile of the Dock)
- The vertical menu makes tear-off sub-menus make sense, which allows effortless customization of one's working environment for a given task w/o inscrutable toolbars
- the pop-up menu means that the menu for the current app is always instantly available --- some commands can even become gestural in one's access to them, e.g., ``Punch'' in Altsys Virtuso, right-button-menu click, down a bit and straight over and release
- TeX provided by default and supported by the nifty TeXview.app
- inspector-provided sort options for Miller-column filebrowser view
- re-sizeable Shelf which can store multiple file selections as a single icon
- nifty apps which made use of Services and Display PostScript like beYAP.app, Altsys Virtuoso, poste.app &c.
- Dynamic run-time binding means that installing a filter service affords said capabilities to any other app, w/o recompiling.
While I'm not as fast as my mother was, I can sew a pretty fair seam, hemming pants is quite easy, albeit a bit slow by hand.
You wrote:
>And even with printing, nobody home prints paperback books.
I do this from time-to-time, to make gifts. One which was featured in the TeX Showcase:
http://www.tug.org/texshowcase/
(look for _The Book of Tea_)
More recently I made a hand bound copy of Frank Lloyd Wright's version of _The House Beautiful_ as a wedding gift.
William
William
One of the reasons I got a Shapeoko ( http://www.shapeoko.com/ ) was so that I would be able to make my own brass hardware for woodworking projects and wouldn't be limited to what I could buy commercially (my last project involved: U.S. made hinges, sand-cast handle from England, forged brass stay chain from Italy, latches from Taiwan and corner protectors from China).
However, it's worth noting that when the sewing machine was invented, it was noted that there would be one in every home, and for a long while, there pretty much was.
There was still a tailor in town when I moved here, and I've always regretted not going to have some shirts tailor made there (he's since retired after 50 years in business) --- fortunately, a quick Google search shows a couple still in business.
It'll be interesting to see what the life cycle of 3D printing is.
The problem is, the run-time on these is so long, it's only justifiable for one-offs or prototypes.
Using a CNC machine to make molds for injection makes more sense now: http://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/gcnc/
But I'm still surprised not to see 3d printers:
- in automotive service departments to print trim pieces in the right colour
- paired w/ a 3d scanner in a hardware store --- customer brings in broken thing-a-ma-bob, it gets scanned, one is then directed to the right aisle for a replacement, or a quote to print a replacement is generated
The hard part when anyone can publish anything is finding something worth reading.
A.I. is a classic case of moving goal posts --- there's an assumption a hard problem requires it, the problem gets solved using ever-more sophisticated analysis/pattern-matching/data-processing --- the problem domain is no longer considered A.I.
Actually, the letter of the law allows one to transfer, the problem is that one can't have built it with the intent to distribute, and there's no way to demonstrate that lack of intent to the satisfaction of the BATF.
So, one transferring a legal, personally manufactured firearm is guilty of a thought-crime.
In theory, one can pass on as many personally built firearms as desired as part of an estate and presumably the heirs may then sell them.
The easiest way to get around this is to build a firearm which is totally legal and unregulated in most states (e.g., a black-powder percussion revolver) and a secondary part which then allows said firearm to be converted to fire cartridge ammunition (e.g., a conversion cylinder) and then to sell / transfer the two parts separately. The recipient can then build a legal, cartridge-firing firearm from the two legal pieces.
There's been some work on that:
Wind-powered cargo vessels: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/sails-to-power-future-cargo-ships-global-trade/18536
Rail is very efficient: http://www.nationalgateway.org/fuel-efficient-freight-rail-deserves-more-federal-support
and computers can make 18-wheelers more efficient: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/supercomputer-helps-turn-big-rigs-into-energy-efficient-8216smarttrucks/6237
Yep. Money spent w/ a local Mom-and-Pop store will turn over 5 times in a local community on average --- money spent at Wal-Mart immediately goes over-seas to the Chinese manufacturers, into the Walton family pockets, or into the brokerage accounts of people who own stock (minus what their broker pockets).
It's not sustainable. Look at:
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/lif_wal_sto_num_of_sup_percap-stores-number-supercenters-per-capita
and compare it w/ how well local economies are doing. I know, correlation != causation, but at the least, it merits more thought.
The problem is, the cutter moves in the real world, and if it doesn't move smoothly, one gets a rough surface which requires hand finishing, which defeats the purpose of using a machine. See:
``G codes for the specification of Pythagorean-hodograph tool paths...''
http://mae.engr.ucdavis.edu/~farouki/ijmtm99a.pdf
This was recommended to me on the InDesign mailing list. Problems I had:
- text editor didn't support Services on Mac OS X (a similar program Nodebox does)
- a lot of thing I was interested in were 404
- Javascript feels a lot like C to me --- too much like work, Nodebox was more comfortable, but I've been more successful w/ Asymptote
The thing which has been troubling me is many packages fake curves and arcs using polylines --- so I've been hand-coding G-code so as to have full control.
Is there an easy-to-learn package which will elegantly represent curves?
Opensource Flash:
http://www.makercam.com/
Hosted by the guy who created the Shapeoko:
http://www.shapeoko.com/
I've been trying to work up a list for use w/ a Shapeoko here:
http://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Advanced_Software
Still haven't found a suitable package (for my needs) --- all-too many of them can't do real curves / arcs and fake them w/ polylines --- so I've been hand-coding G-code.
I'd be glad of additional apps/packages or information.
Read about the things --- flocks would _whitewash_ the ground in guano and would eat a significant portion of a field before moving on.