"New Line understands Peter's vision and understands it is bound by technology, so it makes sure technology is not a bottleneck," Houston said. "In the big scheme, a few million dollars for a couple of thousand processors will pay dividends."
Damn. Why can't New Line underwrite my company? Better yet, why can't they underwrite me? I'm sure I could put a couple thousand processors to good use.
And what exactly would I use them for? Why, I'd install Gentoo on them, of course. With those suckers, it'll only take hours rather than days to install KDE!
And before people start yammering about sending them to the ISS, someone give them a physics book, they couldn't have.
Well, kind of. A physics book wouldn't do much good, but an Astrodynamics book would. Hell, a geometry book would do better than a straight-up physics book. And here's why:
Even though the inclination (angle between flight path and equator when passing the equator) and semi-major axis (fancy-talk for altitude under circular orbits) were nearly the same for the Shuttle and the ISS, it is the right ascension of the ascending node (RAAN, or capital Omega) that made this impossible. In layman's terms, this value indicates the longitude (in ECI coordinates...they're similar to your typical longitude, but they don't change with the spinning of the Earth) of when the craft makes its upward pass through the Equator. For the Shuttle and the ISS, these were almost 180 degrees apart. Not exactly ideal for a rendezvous.
What does this mean? It means that the orbits only intersect at the equator. And the angle of intersection, IIRC, was greater than 85 degrees. The change in velocity for this type of rendezvous is approximately equal to the amount needed to get into orbit. And that's not an amount of fuel you like to keep on a shuttle "just in case."
not so much immersed while playing it, but after playing it awhile, I started seeing snoods in everyday life. When I went to a movie theater, I knew I had to stop playing when I saw a game of snood off to the side of the screen.
If anyone would mind, mod the parent up. That was exactly the breakthrough that got me on the right track. Whether it's a little known fact or something that everyone but me knew, it's important nevertheless.
It wasn't so much pride as it was the fact that I had never done that before: got a new computer with windows preinstalled and never booted into it. More of a novelty than pride, I'd say.
For starters, I wasn't on the phone for 8 hours. I was figuring it out on my own. I was also trying ALSA for the first time and kept switching between OSS and ALSA to see if just one of them worked.
Second, and most importantly, you should think before you reply. Both the 185A5 (mine) and the 200A5 (the one reviewed) are laptops. I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable opening up a newly acquired $1500 laptop. They have clauses in the warranty about that. Bad clauses. Evil warranty-voiding clauses.
And yes, it turned out to be a cmpci driver that was needed. I must say that if I knew the correct chipset from the get-go, I would not have spent nearly that much time getting sound to work.
I got the 185A5 a few months back and immediately wiped the hard drive in favor of a real operating system. When I called tech support to ask what type of sound card the model had (their website has nothing), the conversation was something to the effect of:
Tech support: "Uh, lemme check on that." [4 minutes later] TS: "Let's see, I believe it's a Soundblaster Live!" Me: "Ok... do you know which model of Soundblaster Live!? Is it the 5.1 or gamers edition or..." TS: "It doesn't say. Sorry."
Then after 8 hours of hair pulling and cursing, it turns out it has an ALi chipset. Not Soundblaster Live! Oh, but that's not all folks. A few days later, I call asking for motherboard info.
Me: "Hi. What type of motherboard is in my 185A5?" TS: "I really don't know. Did you check the website?" Me: "Yes, your website has nothing of substance on this machine. I called you guys a while back and you told me the wrong sound card. Is there any chance you could find out what type of motherboard, or even chipset, is in this thing?" TS: "I'm sorry, we don't have that kind of information here. Only the factory could tell you that. Me: "Ok... can you connect me to the factory?" TS: "We don't have their number." Me: "Is there any way you could get their number and just ask them about the motherboard?" TS: "No, not really." Me: "So no one there knows anything technically specific about the product you sell." TS: "I'm sorry sir."
Frustrating. Really frustrating. The machine itself is quite nice though. Beautiful widescreen, fast RAM, and very stylish. If there is this supposed following of vprMatrix users, I wonder if they would be of better use than tech support.
Actually, I just gave a demonstration on a hybrid rocket last week at my university... make that multiple demonstrations.
It's very interesting that they actually used tire rubber for the following reason: While explaining the rocket to everyone, I mentioned that our particular rocket uses acrylic as the fuel because it looks cool (ie: transparent) and that in industry, they would use something similar to tire rubber. Not really surprised it was used here... it's just cool that we were dead on.
Nitrous Oxide... that's interesting. We used pure oxygen. Wonder what kind of extra boost the Nitrous gives you.
On to some more pertinent information: Hybrid rockets are hybrid because they use a fluid oxydizer and a solid fuel.
With a solid rocket engine (both components solid), you can't stop the thing. Once you light it, it'll burn til it runs out of its fuel/oxydizer mix. Whereas with a fluid (aka: liquid) rocket, you can shut it off. Unfortunately, you also have a lot of moving parts.... which are bad.
A hybrid rocket is the best of both worlds. You can shut it off, but it has half as many moving parts as a fluid rocket.
Cool stuff. Though I think their version can outpower our whimpy 8 lbs. thrust engine.
2-stroke engine? Bah! I say. If you want to be really creative, you would put a turbine on your bike. Not only do you save the environment with less oil being burned, but you also have a fricking turbine on your bike! How cool would that be?
Suddenly popping a wheelie isn't that impressive anymore. Alls you gotta do is drop the clutch.
I'm a student. I've been actively recruited by MS. Was I drooling when I got my first email? No. I was having a difficult time coming to terms with it.
You see, I, unlike some people, actually act upon what I believe in. I believe that Linux is the future. I believe that MS has bad policies and intentions.
So I did what I thought best: turned the offer down. Perhaps I was a bit rough around the edges on my reply (probably burned a bridge or two), but I did what I thought was best. I ask that anyone who truly believes Linux is superior to do the same with any recruitment offers.... well, I suppose you could turn it down a bit more politely.
This is great news for those of us looking to become more efficient in our daily lives. Now, instead of wasting five syllables on "MP3 Player," we can use just 3 with "Ogg Player." Terrific!
Furthering the process, I have found a wonderous take on the English Language called "Newspeak." It's fairly new, being created only in 1984, but the efficiency and importance of every word is astounding. I suggest you all try it out.
With regards to all the financially related questions on Palladium/TCPA, I believe we asked the wrong person.... not that we could help it, though.
In reference to Answer 6c, the people we need to be pressuring is the motherboard manufacturers (Asus, Shuttle, etc) and the final vendors (Dell, Compaq, etc). Writing in TCPA support to their product is a purely business move on AMI's part. They have no room for ethics here. It's sink or swim.
If we, however, convince the mobo and vendor people to not use this "technology," AMI will never be pressured into making a TCPA-compliant product.
So, I ask the Slashdot editors: Can we get a rep for Abit, Gigabyte, Gateway, or somewhere to do an interview? I think our Palladium-fluent readers will have much more success in crafting questions for these people.
Not to say this was a waste, though. It's good to see a fresh perspective: the man caught in the middle.
Hey, that's one of my Christmas gifts!
on
Hacker's Delight
·
· Score: 2, Informative
The reviewer speaks truth about this book. It is quite dense and, in many cases, violates the "Code should be easily decoded by future programmers" rule.
I got this book for Christmas because I specifically asked for it. My mom was a bit put off by the title, though. The title refers to the original definition of "hacker," so don't get excited if you're all about computer security. There's nothing in there for you.
One of my favorite concepts in this book is the author's use of non-breaking code. As many of you know, the mechanism for sending instructions to the CPU requires a bit of quasi-premonition. Riddle your code with many if-, while-, and (the hideous) goto-statements, and you will end up with slow code due to the seemingly random jumps inside memory. Use some of the methods in this book, however, and you will end up with more efficient code in the longrun. Need I remind you of the speedup generated when you use non-breaking code within a lengthy while loop?
It is my belief that there isn't much left to be invented that comes from standard tools (ie: wood, steel, some screws and a little intuition). It seems that, in order to invent something revolutionary in these days, you need an advanced degree in materials science.
If you were to travel back in time, which invention would you like to have your name associated with? In other words, if you had invented something in the past, which invention would you be most proud of?
After spending the last 2 years in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's dorms, I can attest to how crappy these packetshapers really are. True, everyone on our floor was swapping files on the network, but the implementation was horrible! For example:
I tried to forward some X packets from the CAE building so I could work on a circuit design project. The latency/speed was so poor that the connection was completely lost! Two VERY important points can be brought up here:
This was over SSH, so the port being used was 22. They had the audacity to limit port 22 action.
This was completely over the campus' internal network. The packets didn't touch the external Internet. Before the packetshaper, I was getting speeds of 16Mbps from the same server!
So, I called up DoIT, our IT guys, and complained. "We'll look at that right away." Sha right. Never happened. Had to use sneakernet to do all my homework on the opposite side of campus (~1 mile). Not fun in Wisconsin during the winter. Yay technology.
such exclusives as prioritized concert ticket purchases and unreleased music.
Um, yeah. Unreleased until it's released to the paying customers, who then pass it off to the non-paying "customers." The prioritized ticket thing, on the other hand, actually makes sense.
This technology is made purely as an aid. We aren't suggesting people stop paying attention. Also, just because the brakes are being automatically engaged, doesn't mean the driver can't further engage them. In fact, that's what would probably happen every time the system kicks in.
Slashdot Mirror
Damn. Why can't New Line underwrite my company? Better yet, why can't they underwrite me? I'm sure I could put a couple thousand processors to good use.
And what exactly would I use them for? Why, I'd install Gentoo on them, of course. With those suckers, it'll only take hours rather than days to install KDE!
Well, kind of. A physics book wouldn't do much good, but an Astrodynamics book would. Hell, a geometry book would do better than a straight-up physics book. And here's why:
Even though the inclination (angle between flight path and equator when passing the equator) and semi-major axis (fancy-talk for altitude under circular orbits) were nearly the same for the Shuttle and the ISS, it is the right ascension of the ascending node (RAAN, or capital Omega) that made this impossible. In layman's terms, this value indicates the longitude (in ECI coordinates...they're similar to your typical longitude, but they don't change with the spinning of the Earth) of when the craft makes its upward pass through the Equator. For the Shuttle and the ISS, these were almost 180 degrees apart. Not exactly ideal for a rendezvous.
What does this mean? It means that the orbits only intersect at the equator. And the angle of intersection, IIRC, was greater than 85 degrees. The change in velocity for this type of rendezvous is approximately equal to the amount needed to get into orbit. And that's not an amount of fuel you like to keep on a shuttle "just in case."
not so much immersed while playing it, but after playing it awhile, I started seeing snoods in everyday life. When I went to a movie theater, I knew I had to stop playing when I saw a game of snood off to the side of the screen.
Haven't touched the game since.
If anyone would mind, mod the parent up. That was exactly the breakthrough that got me on the right track. Whether it's a little known fact or something that everyone but me knew, it's important nevertheless.
And yes, it was Linux.
It wasn't so much pride as it was the fact that I had never done that before: got a new computer with windows preinstalled and never booted into it. More of a novelty than pride, I'd say.
For starters, I wasn't on the phone for 8 hours. I was figuring it out on my own. I was also trying ALSA for the first time and kept switching between OSS and ALSA to see if just one of them worked.
Second, and most importantly, you should think before you reply. Both the 185A5 (mine) and the 200A5 (the one reviewed) are laptops. I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable opening up a newly acquired $1500 laptop. They have clauses in the warranty about that. Bad clauses. Evil warranty-voiding clauses.
And yes, it turned out to be a cmpci driver that was needed. I must say that if I knew the correct chipset from the get-go, I would not have spent nearly that much time getting sound to work.
Then after 8 hours of hair pulling and cursing, it turns out it has an ALi chipset. Not Soundblaster Live! Oh, but that's not all folks. A few days later, I call asking for motherboard info.
Frustrating. Really frustrating. The machine itself is quite nice though. Beautiful widescreen, fast RAM, and very stylish. If there is this supposed following of vprMatrix users, I wonder if they would be of better use than tech support.
Actually, I just gave a demonstration on a hybrid rocket last week at my university... make that multiple demonstrations.
It's very interesting that they actually used tire rubber for the following reason:
While explaining the rocket to everyone, I mentioned that our particular rocket uses acrylic as the fuel because it looks cool (ie: transparent) and that in industry, they would use something similar to tire rubber. Not really surprised it was used here... it's just cool that we were dead on.
Nitrous Oxide... that's interesting. We used pure oxygen. Wonder what kind of extra boost the Nitrous gives you.
On to some more pertinent information:
Hybrid rockets are hybrid because they use a fluid oxydizer and a solid fuel.
With a solid rocket engine (both components solid), you can't stop the thing. Once you light it, it'll burn til it runs out of its fuel/oxydizer mix. Whereas with a fluid (aka: liquid) rocket, you can shut it off. Unfortunately, you also have a lot of moving parts.... which are bad.
A hybrid rocket is the best of both worlds. You can shut it off, but it has half as many moving parts as a fluid rocket.
Cool stuff. Though I think their version can outpower our whimpy 8 lbs. thrust engine.
Try minesweeper.
"I almost got it last time. It was down to one or the other!"
2-stroke engine? Bah! I say. If you want to be really creative, you would put a turbine on your bike. Not only do you save the environment with less oil being burned, but you also have a fricking turbine on your bike! How cool would that be?
Suddenly popping a wheelie isn't that impressive anymore. Alls you gotta do is drop the clutch.
I'm a student. I've been actively recruited by MS. Was I drooling when I got my first email? No. I was having a difficult time coming to terms with it.
You see, I, unlike some people, actually act upon what I believe in. I believe that Linux is the future. I believe that MS has bad policies and intentions.
So I did what I thought best: turned the offer down. Perhaps I was a bit rough around the edges on my reply (probably burned a bridge or two), but I did what I thought was best. I ask that anyone who truly believes Linux is superior to do the same with any recruitment offers.... well, I suppose you could turn it down a bit more politely.
This is great news for those of us looking to become more efficient in our daily lives. Now, instead of wasting five syllables on "MP3 Player," we can use just 3 with "Ogg Player." Terrific!
Furthering the process, I have found a wonderous take on the English Language called "Newspeak." It's fairly new, being created only in 1984, but the efficiency and importance of every word is astounding. I suggest you all try it out.
With regards to all the financially related questions on Palladium/TCPA, I believe we asked the wrong person.... not that we could help it, though.
In reference to Answer 6c, the people we need to be pressuring is the motherboard manufacturers (Asus, Shuttle, etc) and the final vendors (Dell, Compaq, etc). Writing in TCPA support to their product is a purely business move on AMI's part. They have no room for ethics here. It's sink or swim.
If we, however, convince the mobo and vendor people to not use this "technology," AMI will never be pressured into making a TCPA-compliant product.
So, I ask the Slashdot editors: Can we get a rep for Abit, Gigabyte, Gateway, or somewhere to do an interview? I think our Palladium-fluent readers will have much more success in crafting questions for these people.
Not to say this was a waste, though. It's good to see a fresh perspective: the man caught in the middle.
The reviewer speaks truth about this book. It is quite dense and, in many cases, violates the "Code should be easily decoded by future programmers" rule.
I got this book for Christmas because I specifically asked for it. My mom was a bit put off by the title, though. The title refers to the original definition of "hacker," so don't get excited if you're all about computer security. There's nothing in there for you.
One of my favorite concepts in this book is the author's use of non-breaking code. As many of you know, the mechanism for sending instructions to the CPU requires a bit of quasi-premonition. Riddle your code with many if-, while-, and (the hideous) goto-statements, and you will end up with slow code due to the seemingly random jumps inside memory. Use some of the methods in this book, however, and you will end up with more efficient code in the longrun. Need I remind you of the speedup generated when you use non-breaking code within a lengthy while loop?
The only one? Gentoo is certainly fully community-driven. And it's an awfully friendly community at that.
Gentoo: check.
What Gentoo lacks in age, it makes up in every other area. Security and timliness are most definitely not one of its downfalls. Quite the opposite.
Seen DistroWatch lately? Seems to me Gentoo has slowly been leaving Debian in the dust.
Ok, man. Time to stop making sweeping generalizations. There is a world outside of Debian.
I don't know about you guys, but purposefully playing with something until it breaks is not usually considered "mature" in my book.
Invest in memories.
Good advice to live by.
Microsoft Excel. When your 3D rendering needs require an absolutely positively... something something.
It is my belief that there isn't much left to be invented that comes from standard tools (ie: wood, steel, some screws and a little intuition). It seems that, in order to invent something revolutionary in these days, you need an advanced degree in materials science.
If you were to travel back in time, which invention would you like to have your name associated with? In other words, if you had invented something in the past, which invention would you be most proud of?
After spending the last 2 years in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's dorms, I can attest to how crappy these packetshapers really are. True, everyone on our floor was swapping files on the network, but the implementation was horrible! For example:
I tried to forward some X packets from the CAE building so I could work on a circuit design project. The latency/speed was so poor that the connection was completely lost! Two VERY important points can be brought up here:
- This was over SSH, so the port being used was 22. They had the audacity to limit port 22 action.
- This was completely over the campus' internal network. The packets didn't touch the external Internet. Before the packetshaper, I was getting speeds of 16Mbps from the same server!
So, I called up DoIT, our IT guys, and complained. "We'll look at that right away." Sha right. Never happened. Had to use sneakernet to do all my homework on the opposite side of campus (~1 mile). Not fun in Wisconsin during the winter. Yay technology.Um, yeah. Unreleased until it's released to the paying customers, who then pass it off to the non-paying "customers." The prioritized ticket thing, on the other hand, actually makes sense.
actually, it does run on biodiesel. Last year it used B50. We'll be dyno testing it with B50 and B37 at Ford's testing center in a few weeks.
Thanks, if i hadn't added to this thread, i would have modded you up. I'll be taking this picture to our meeting today. Damn, that's cool.
This technology is made purely as an aid. We aren't suggesting people stop paying attention. Also, just because the brakes are being automatically engaged, doesn't mean the driver can't further engage them. In fact, that's what would probably happen every time the system kicks in.