I had an IBM laptop hard disk blow up once.. Tiny little thing. It just made clicking noises when it should have spun up.
This drive had some very, VERY important source code for the company where I was working. When I tried to restore the automatic daily backup on another machine, I found that it was truncated and nearly useless. (Yes, I'm stupid, I hadn't checked it in months!)
After trying the freezer trick and a couple of other things, I was feeling REALLY screwed.
I went to Sears and grabbed a Torx screwdriver, opened the damn thing up and found that the drive head arm was stuck about halfway in on the platters. I tightened a few screws, very carefully jiggled the head, lifted it up and placed it back in its little parking ramp.
You have to understand that this was a last resort; I was already resigned to the fact that they were going to fire me for losing 4 months of work, and this was a last-ditch effort. But despite the dust, my lack of tools and the fact that I did not know what the hell I was doing, it WORKED. I quickly sucked all of the data off of it and jumped around whooping and hollering.
I replaced the drive a month later. It was on CONTINUOUSLY during that entire time and experienced no errors. I felt very macho.
(of course, the company I was working for laid me off a few months later anyway...)
While otherwise a nice handheld, the #1 reason why I DID NOT buy a Clie TG50 is the screen - it is lit from the bottom by four or five LEDs (or similar) and there is a very noticable fringe of bright spots in this area in sort of a scalloped pattern. Very distracting.
I have a Palm Tungsten T.. My wife has a CLIE NX60 which does not exhibit this problem. We're both happy.
Everyone is going on about interoperability. Of course it's not compatible, these companies are just "making stuff up."
But there is a use - what about backups and other offline storage that are generally not shared, or shared only with coworkers? This could save lots of money on media among such users.
Don't knock it! As long as it doesn't cause rampant data corruption, that is.. Justin
Yep. When I had a Prudential Securities account, they used the same type of system. So I used "6pwsux" (6 Letter Password Sucks)..
I think the intent of these systems is to force you to use a unique password that couldn't be "cross-hacked" from your passwords on other systems. But it's still stupid and annoying.
I noticed you and a lot of people have mentioned animation. I don't know why, though; the original frames were drawn on a cel roughly the size of a piece of letter paper. All the detail in any of these movies can be seen clearly on a 19" TV. It would look odd and grainy on IMAX..
Now, computer animation, on the other hand, if the texture-work is good enough, could be fantastic!
You may be right. Interesting that it doesn't seem like this company is going after MPEG users.
I've seen conflicting information. Some websites say that "MPEG uses many of the same techniques as JPEG" but the MPEG FAQ seems to imply there is little or no similarity:
Nope. They both use similar technology (Splitting up the image into small blocks) but MPEG is not a series of JPEGs; it compresses things over time. For example, if a block does not change between two frames, it is only transmitted once. It's a lot more complex than this, and actually very interesting, if you have the inclination to read about it. Ingenious system.
Interestingly enough there is a format called MJPEG which, in fact, IS a series of JPEGs. I have a Miro DC30 capture card that uses MJPEG compression. Since all the frames are easily seperable (unlike MPEG) this format is good for video editing.
I was just about to buy a million billion shares when I noticed this:
...cooling has not been directly measured to date. Once the tunneling output has been increased to a certain level, our scientists intend to begin increasing cooling output.
Cooling not yet measured? So, the device works in theory, but there might be an unanticipated roadblock ahead which significantly delays or hinders their ability to produce devices that actually cool something.:/
When I worked in the government, secretarial staff were constantly playing Solitaire. Which is too bad, because they are the ones that actually do stuff.
They played it openly with no fear of retribution. When asked why, they invariably replied, "Mouse practice."
Think about it. Microsoft wrapped FreeBSD's TCP/IP stack with their own high-level custom interface. They wouldn't expose the sockets interface as it is presented in FreeBSD.
Digital cable is bad because cable companies seem to be trying to use it as a way to squeeze more channels into their datastream. "Ooh! This fancy MPEG can compress Discovery Science down to 9600 bps! Then we can add the All-Curling Network. Whaddya think, boss?"
At least Comcast in Montgomery County, Maryland has been going down this dark path; their digital channels exhibit far worse quality than the analog ones (which are already pretty horrid).
As for bad signals causing severe glitching, I don't think that will apply in digital projection. Since the source of the signal (Hard disk? How do studios distribute digital movies? anyone?) is in the same room with the display device, there isn't likely to be glitching.
And you expect us insensitive Americans to wait months before discussing the show? You're asking a lot. Maybe Australians should read an Australian news site.:)
(But yes, I think there should have been a Spoiler Warning on the front page.)
I don't know about you, but unless you're using cardboard or have your contrast set at 5%, the monitor will easily shine through the paper.
Also, who the hell tapes paper to their monitor to look at it? I've heard of copy stands, but don't you think this would be just a little conspicuous?:P
Now that there will be a train track circling the space station, anyone else think it's high time they decorate the modules with garland and little colored lights? Space Tinsel (A$400/Strand) would really complete the effect.
Of course, the lights will have to flash VERY SLOWLY to be consistent with the glacial speed of the Space Lionel.
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I had an IBM laptop hard disk blow up once.. Tiny little thing. It just made clicking noises when it should have spun up.
This drive had some very, VERY important source code for the company where I was working. When I tried to restore the automatic daily backup on another machine, I found that it was truncated and nearly useless. (Yes, I'm stupid, I hadn't checked it in months!)
After trying the freezer trick and a couple of other things, I was feeling REALLY screwed.
I went to Sears and grabbed a Torx screwdriver, opened the damn thing up and found that the drive head arm was stuck about halfway in on the platters. I tightened a few screws, very carefully jiggled the head, lifted it up and placed it back in its little parking ramp.
You have to understand that this was a last resort; I was already resigned to the fact that they were going to fire me for losing 4 months of work, and this was a last-ditch effort. But despite the dust, my lack of tools and the fact that I did not know what the hell I was doing, it WORKED. I quickly sucked all of the data off of it and jumped around whooping and hollering.
I replaced the drive a month later. It was on CONTINUOUSLY during that entire time and experienced no errors. I felt very macho.
(of course, the company I was working for laid me off a few months later anyway...)
Justin
If I steal a blender from your house, and then let it collect dust in my basement...
If I have an illegal copy of Photoshop on my machine, but I haven't run it for a year, I'd still get my ass kicked in a court of law about it.
Justin
Sorry, but that is not correct. I own a T|T, and it most definitely has stereo sound.
Not the best sound in the world (weak bass, low overall volume) but stereo it is!
Some of the other Tungsten series do not have stereo sound, but the T|T does.
Justin
psst...The CLIEs use Palm OS, not Windows!
While otherwise a nice handheld, the #1 reason why I DID NOT buy a Clie TG50 is the screen - it is lit from the bottom by four or five LEDs (or similar) and there is a very noticable fringe of bright spots in this area in sort of a scalloped pattern. Very distracting.
I have a Palm Tungsten T.. My wife has a CLIE NX60 which does not exhibit this problem. We're both happy.
Justin
Everyone is going on about interoperability. Of course it's not compatible, these companies are just "making stuff up."
But there is a use - what about backups and other offline storage that are generally not shared, or shared only with coworkers? This could save lots of money on media among such users.
Don't knock it! As long as it doesn't cause rampant data corruption, that is..
Justin
Yep. When I had a Prudential Securities account, they used the same type of system. So I used "6pwsux" (6 Letter Password Sucks)..
I think the intent of these systems is to force you to use a unique password that couldn't be "cross-hacked" from your passwords on other systems. But it's still stupid and annoying.
Justin
there no comments on these articles?
Benzoyl Peroxide is an acne medication. They are definitely looking for H2O2...
Justin
OK, this is incredibly geeky, but.. At 11:59:59, I said "Foo." When people asked why, I told them I wanted to be the last person to say "Foo" in 2002.
In my time zone, at least.
Doesn't seem nearly as profound now that my buzz has worn off.
Justin
I noticed you and a lot of people have mentioned animation. I don't know why, though; the original frames were drawn on a cel roughly the size of a piece of letter paper. All the detail in any of these movies can be seen clearly on a 19" TV. It would look odd and grainy on IMAX..
Now, computer animation, on the other hand, if the texture-work is good enough, could be fantastic!
Justin
You may be right. Interesting that it doesn't seem like this company is going after MPEG users.
I've seen conflicting information. Some websites say that "MPEG uses many of the same techniques as JPEG" but the MPEG FAQ seems to imply there is little or no similarity:
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/mpeg-faq/part1/
*Shrug*
Justin
Nope. They both use similar technology (Splitting up the image into small blocks) but MPEG is not a series of JPEGs; it compresses things over time. For example, if a block does not change between two frames, it is only transmitted once. It's a lot more complex than this, and actually very interesting, if you have the inclination to read about it. Ingenious system.
Interestingly enough there is a format called MJPEG which, in fact, IS a series of JPEGs. I have a Miro DC30 capture card that uses MJPEG compression. Since all the frames are easily seperable (unlike MPEG) this format is good for video editing.
Justin
ps might mean "per second" or it also might be the last two letters of "ops," signifying "operations" ;)
Justin
10x10 what? Feet? If so, just put it on top of that person's house. Then we're set!
(OK, OK, Apartment buildings, offices, sandy environments, cloudy days, inefficient solar panels, jeez, I KNOW already!)
Justin
Cooling not yet measured? So, the device works in theory, but there might be an unanticipated roadblock ahead which significantly delays or hinders their ability to produce devices that actually cool something. :/
Justin
Psst... Fox shows Friends reruns every day! :)
Justin
They played it openly with no fear of retribution. When asked why, they invariably replied, "Mouse practice."
Justin
Think about it. Microsoft wrapped FreeBSD's TCP/IP stack with their own high-level custom interface. They wouldn't expose the sockets interface as it is presented in FreeBSD.
Stating the obvious,
Justin
One doesn't always need to see the source code in order to determine whether it has been borrowed.
8 9, 00.asp
For example, Windows 2000 appears to be using a TCP/IP implementation directly copied from the FreeBSD kernel tree:
http://www.pcmag.com/article/0,2997,s=1501&a=73
In this case, "experts" were able to determine the origin of the code by examining its behavior.
Justin
Digital cable is bad because cable companies seem to be trying to use it as a way to squeeze more channels into their datastream. "Ooh! This fancy MPEG can compress Discovery Science down to 9600 bps! Then we can add the All-Curling Network. Whaddya think, boss?"
At least Comcast in Montgomery County, Maryland has been going down this dark path; their digital channels exhibit far worse quality than the analog ones (which are already pretty horrid).
As for bad signals causing severe glitching, I don't think that will apply in digital projection. Since the source of the signal (Hard disk? How do studios distribute digital movies? anyone?) is in the same room with the display device, there isn't likely to be glitching.
Justin
The creators were going for "smart toy" instead of "computer." Are you saying that your toaster must run an OS and be capable of playing Quake?
Embedded devices are sort of important. IMO, simple is good. It is worth noting that things without an OS often run faster and more reliably.
Feh.
Justin
And you expect us insensitive Americans to wait months before discussing the show? You're asking a lot. Maybe Australians should read an Australian news site. :)
(But yes, I think there should have been a Spoiler Warning on the front page.)
Justin
I don't know about you, but unless you're using cardboard or have your contrast set at 5%, the monitor will easily shine through the paper.
:P
Also, who the hell tapes paper to their monitor to look at it? I've heard of copy stands, but don't you think this would be just a little conspicuous?
Justin
Now that there will be a train track circling the space station, anyone else think it's high time they decorate the modules with garland and little colored lights? Space Tinsel (A$400/Strand) would really complete the effect.
Of course, the lights will have to flash VERY SLOWLY to be consistent with the glacial speed of the Space Lionel.
Justin