Actually, at my library, there are a lot of vt-400(i think), an they have lynx installed on the server, so if i want to read/. at the library, and all the "real" pc's are in use, I just use the terminal, and text on a T1 FLY's!
I have a few keys, of varrying levels of security. So i have my standerd, with a 8-11 caracter password, but then i have my parranoed key, with an 128)i think) passphrase, I dont even know it, I just
have the movements memorized. So I think that even with a gun to my head, I might trip up.
I found the same with the inside of the old IBM(original) PC, I oppened one for the first time yesterday, and it is amazing how somthing so old (older thant me) was still so eloquent. It was neat how all the cables where laid out neatly and the hard drive was built into an ISA card.
not to flame, but is Fry's really a Joe Sixpakish store, i've only been there once:( and it seammed to be a mostly techy crowd. Or mabye its cuse it was in the valley...
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BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) -- The fantasy epic "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" won best-picture honors and two other prizes at the first American Film Institute Awards on Saturday.
Denzel Washington was named best actor for playing a flamboyantly corrupt narcotics detective in "Training Day." Sissy Spacek won lead-actress honors as a grieving, vengeful mother in "In the Bedroom."
Spacek, a five-time Academy Award nominee who won for "Coal Miner's Daughter," could emerge as a front-runner for another Oscar.
"This film is so close to my heart," Spacek said. "It was a real labor of love, I think, for all of those who worked on it."
Robert Altman was picked as best director for his satiric murder mystery "Gosford Park."
Gene Hackman of "The Royal Tenenbaums" and Jennifer Connelly of "A Beautiful Mind" earned supporting-actor honors.
Hackman won for his role as an outcast patriarch who weasels his way back into the dysfunctional family he abandoned years earlier. Connelly won as the conflicted wife of schizophrenic math genius John Nash (Russell Crowe) in "A Beautiful Mind," directed by Ron Howard.
The 12 awards in the film categories were spread among nine movies. The only multiple winners were "Lord of the Rings," which also won for digital effects and production design, and "Moulin Rouge," honored for composing and editing.
"In the Bedroom" and "Black Hawk Down" had led with five nominations each, but "Black Hawk Down" was shut out in every category.
'Sopranos,' stars win plaudits
Writer-director Christopher Nolan won the screenplay award for the convoluted, backward-moving thriller "Memento." Roger Deakins took the cinematography honor for the Coen brothers' film-noir update "The Man Who Wasn't There."
Many nominees turned out for the awards show, but there were plenty of no-shows, including Washington, Altman, Hackman, Connelly and James Gandolfini, who won best actor on a TV series for "The Sopranos."
"Sopranos" co-star Edie Falco won the best TV series actress honor. The show also won for best drama series.
"Thanks for watching the show, which we love probably more than you guys," Falco said.
HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" won for best comedy series.
"This is a rare opportunity for my family to see me on TV. They refuse to get HBO, so they have no idea what the show is about," said Larry David, the show's star.
Jeffrey Wright won the best actor award in a TV movie or miniseries as Martin Luther King Jr. in "Boycott." Judy Davis took the best actress honor in a TV movie or miniseries as Judy Garland in "Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows."
Garland's daughter, Lorna Luft, accepted the award on Davis' behalf.
"I would like to thank Judy Davis for her extraordinary courage, her exceptional talent and her love of my mother's memory," said Luft, a producer on the miniseries.
The AFI Awards, aired live on CBS, included nominees in 12 movie and seven television categories.
CBS newsman Dan Rather recapped television's reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks, citing David Letterman's return to work and a star-studded multi-network telethon for victims as symbols of the nation's response to the attacks.
The new show is the first big ceremony of Hollywood's long awards season. The Golden Globes take place January 20, actor and director guilds give out their awards in March and the Oscars cap things off March 24.
Nominees were chosen by two 13-member committees -- one each for movies and television -- which included AFI trustees, industry professionals, film and TV scholars, and critics. Winners were picked by a 100-member jury of industry insiders.
AFI, best known for its lists ranking all-time top American films or screen stars, provides industry training, holds film screenings and conducts movie-preservation efforts.
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
I'd agree that memento really made me think, just to understand the movie. It was also one of the only movies that I've seen recently that made me feel sad at the end (or any where in the movie at all). But I must agree that the plot SUCKS, if it was presented in regular form, it would have been a horrable movie, but it wassnt't, so i loved it. Sorrry for rambling.
The 70 Percent Solution
Bob's Predictions for 2002
By Robert X. Cringely
Each year at this time, I make predictions about what will happen in high tech business during the next 12 months. It's not really that hard to do if, like me, you read a lot, go to lunch a lot, and have smart friends. My predictions are 70 percent correct, year after year. What I got wrong the last time out was I wrote that the recession would be over by now, that Microsoft would be a bad stock to own, and that Cisco would be a good one. My other predictions, which included Microsoft settling with the DoJ without requiring a break-up, were all correct. You can find that column under the "Old Hat" button on this page or among the "I Like It" links.
This year, I am going to do things a bit differently just because this year feels different. There is a new feeling coming from the laboratories and boardrooms, a feeling that has nothing to do with terrorism and patriotism or even high tech, and has everything to do with waking up from a long sleep and realizing that the blanket has slipped off the bed and it is cold.
As we slouch through this recession, it is clear to me that corporate arrogance is a problem that has afflicted us for sometime, but there are signs of it weakening. Last year, when I predicted Cisco would do so well, it was only weeks after I had sat through the company's European, Middle East and African division sales meeting. At that moment, Cisco executives were setting high goals and expecting to reach them. Only it didn't work out that way. This made me realize even the most successful companies don't have any greater insight, just better luck. Back in October 2000, Cisco had basically no idea where it was really going, just expecting that a corporate body in motion would tend to stay in motion, that success would breed success.
Good companies learn lessons and not such good companies don't. It took years of staggering losses and the hiring of an outsider for IBM to turn around in the early 1990s. Big Blue has fared better than most of its competitors in recent years, and it is entirely as a result of that humbling. But losses and new blood aren't always enough. AT&T brought in Michael Armstrong for exactly the same reason, and all he did was make a $100 billion mistake. Same for Carly Fiorina at Hewlett-Packard, though her loss was smaller. Great corporate names, both, and they are threatened because of arrogance.
Now to this year's predictions:
1. The dominant theme will be the continuing battle between evil and evil as Microsoft expands its.NET strategy and the rest of the industry responds. Look for further stratification as the banks come to realize that Redmond's goal is to take a piece of every online transaction, which is to say Microsoft intends to steal the banks' business. This is a fundamental reworking of business that WILL happen over the next three to five years.
2. The main technical tool for this reworking will be XML, and it will probably be easy to label 2002 as the Year of XML. This new data standard will be sprinkled on every type of software imaginable, whether it makes sense to do so or not.
3. Look for emergence of an XML industry, which is to say a rash of new startups built around XML services. Microsoft's dedication to the standard in its relatively pure form makes this emergence inevitable. The big XML hit for 2002 will come from a company called KnowNow.
4. KnowNow is a new company backed by Kleiner Perkins, the big venture firm, and represents the resurgence of venture capital in 2002. Having spent 2001 NOT investing money, the VCs this year have to either resume investing their funds or get out of the business. Look for the former, again thanks to XML, as the VC industry finds another type of business to spawn than pawn off on us.
5. The resurgence of VCs can only come with a resurgence of the market for Initial Public Offerings, which should happen by late spring.
6. Other hot IPO areas besides XML will include security (thanks to bin Laden and Microsoft's continued incompetence in this area) and an emerging niche called rich media.
7. XML is real, security is real, but rich media is not real -- at least not in 2002. Just as the online music industry grew up around MP3, rich media is built on MPEG-4, which is far more than just another video codec. MPEG-4 is a framework for building new types of entertainment that are more Internet-friendly. Beyond carrying traditional video, MPEG-4 enables the creation of entertainment products made of up many levels of artificial scenes, sets, even animated characters. It is the entertainment of the future, but alas that future won't start in 2002. The problem is that embracing rich media means rejecting old media and the tools aren't yet good enough to make that jump.
8. Rich media doesn't absolutely require broadband, but it sure helps. And 2002 will be a pivotal year for broadband, which took a lot of lumps in 2001 with the fall of companies like Northpoint, Rhythms, Covad, and Excite@Home. What is key here is the deal for Cox Cable to buy AT&T's cable TV unit. If that goes through (and I think it will), Cox will try to make its big investment pay off by competing for local and long distance phone service over its cable system. Other cable companies will follow suit and the only way for the local phone companies to fight back is with expanded DSL.
9. And Microsoft will make itself a part of every deal, everywhere, no matter what happens with its anti-trust case. Quite simply, Microsoft will take an equity position in every tech deal that's over $1 billion, leveraging to the hilt its close to $40 billion cash hoard. Don't bet against Microsoft in 2002. That is because, in addition to having deep pockets, Microsoft owns the start page, the defaults, the windowing environment, and the content standards. It turns out they also own the traffic, the audience management, and if you're watching closely what they're doing with Windows Media, they're going to force you to pay licenses to show your own content on-line. Today, on the desktop, tomorrow, on UltimateTV.
10. Finally, I think last year's prediction for Cisco Systems will come true this year. I wrote "The answer to every problem with the Internet will continue to be 'pay more money to Cisco.' At current prices the stock is a bargain."
Final Fantasy XI: Online
Even Square's been bitten by the massive online RPG bug; and they're taking the PS2 with them.
This is one game that will have a lot to deal with. All of its predecessors were excellent, Final Fantasy VIII was, and still is, one of the best games ever made. So how can you possibly improve upon perfection? Well, this is Squaresoft we are talking about; they have decided to create a massively multiplayer RPG for the PS2. Cripes. Talk about taking the bull by the horns...
This game, no matter how you look at it, will be groundbreaking. It will be astounding. This game should, in theory, take over your life. Why? Gather round kids, I will try to explain... This, ladies and gentlemen is the very first en-masse multiplayer game to ever grace a console. You will be able to join up with your friends from across the globe and go on an adventure through your PS2.We are talking Everquest with bells on, Phantasy Star Online with knobs and whistles, this should be the game of 2002. Well, for the PS2 anyhow.
Final Fantasy XI is set on the planet Vana Diel, a paradise apparently, as are most Final Fantasy settings. However, things are not as they seem, Vana Diel has a rotten core and monsters and demons are rife. Ah. Right, yeah, as I said, a common Final Fantasy setting. That's more or less where the similarities end though. This is not your common RPG. This is special. Really special. Anyhow, more on the planet itself. Vana Diel is split into several kingdoms or areas, giving a potentially huge area to explore, at this time they are:
The Republic of Bastok
This area is where is humanoid races reside (more on classes/races later). Its an advanced nation with plenty of technology and valuable resources, including the classic Final Fantasy mineral, Mithril.
United federation of Windurst
This area is inhabited by the Tarutaru. The cities in this area have an almost organic feel, a perfect setting for the Tarutaru to work on their magic.
Kingdom of San D'oria
The Elvarn race resides here. There is constant threat of civil war, only a fragile alliance between the ruling Monarchy and the other parties stands between peace and complete destruction.
Gustaberg deadlands
A barren, dead space surrounding Bastock. No Flora survives here, only the withered remains of the past.
Sarutabaruta Plains
A vast, wide open plain near Windurst. Plenty of plants grow here, these attract monsters great and small to the area.
Ronfaure Forest
A lush, beautiful forest near San D'oria, a strange presence appears to reside here.
Final Fantasy XI: Online
Even Square's been bitten by the massive online RPG bug; and they're taking the PS2 with them.
If all of these areas are as large as one would expect, the game shall be absolutely huge. However, will Square be capable of making a huge world without making it too sparse? The early images, though of poor quality (our apologies), do suggest an impressive attention to detail in terms of architecture and scenery. Which is encouraging. We will have to wait and see. I expect hidden cities and whatnot as well; do you hear me Square?
In a general way (very general) this game works like Phantasy Star Online (or Everquest for you PC people), in the way that you create your character (I honestly will explain later) and are free to wander the vast world on your own or you can join a team, the really keen will start their own team. By choosing the 'looking to join team' from the sub menu your character will have a symbol by his head, informing others that you would like to join their team. You can also choose another option that informs others than you are creating a team, therefore allowing people to come over and ask if they can join. It seems easy enough to master. There does not, however, appear to be a multi-language chat facility like the one seen in Phantasy Star Online, this may be down to the fact that the early Beta version is intended for Japanese use only, when the NTSC and PAL versions are released, there should hopefully be one in place. From the early information available it appears that you can create alliances with other teams. Up to three teams can form an alliance between them, making it easier to vanquish those really hard foes between the eighteen of you. That's right, Eighteen players on screen at once, all attacking freely. It should be a slight improvement over the normal five or six! However, for an alliance to be possible, a leader must be chosen, he or she is then designated with a white marker (just the ticket for assassinations). This should lead to online arguments aplenty! Hopefully, in time, Square will find a way to allow even more players at one time in a battle, I for one would like to see a full scale war raging between two rival factions.... deadly.
Final Fantasy XI: Online
Even Square's been bitten by the massive online RPG bug; and they're taking the PS2 with them.
The combat itself appears to be incredibly simple, yet effective. When you explore the world you can see monsters walking around, looking for trouble (a first as well, no more being sucked into unwanted battles!). You can either avoid them, or lock on and give them a kicking. I feel that a kicking would be in order most of the time. Anyhow, after a stylish switch from normal view to battle view, the fighting starts. All damage and vital statistics are reported via a colour coded window that is in view at all times. Classic Final Fantasy menus are still in place, with attack, defend and magic and whatnot still in place. However, it is not clear at this point if limit breaks are included, as they could be difficult to work out in the real-time environment. I hope that they are included as they are an important feature of any Final Fantasy game (FF8's Squall's 'Lion Heart' still looks awesome).
Onto the Characters. For the first time in a Final Fantasy game, you create your own character. You start by choosing your character's race, they are as follows:
Tarutaru
Strange little magical creatures from the Windurst region, they have a strong magical field and make good mages. They remind me of Moogles.
Hume
A humanoid race, as close as you are going to get to human. Well balanced, technologically advanced all rounders. From the Bastock region.
Elvarn
Strong, tall and very proud race of elves. They make excellent warriors and are incredibly headstrong by nature but their pomposity leads to trouble. Found in their Kingdom of San D'oria.
Mithra
A slender, cat-like race who inhabit a small corner of Windurst. They are against all technology and rely solely on nature. Only the Females of the species are brave enough to venture into the outside world.
Galka
Huge, heavy set creatures, they are incredibly strong and troll-like. Only the males are allowed to leave the home towns.
The races themselves are pretty standard fare, with warrior races and slender mages. This should allow most people to choose a race that suits their fighting style best, we shall have to wait and see how they all balance out, I have a feeling that the Humes will be a popular choice, everyone loves a mix of sword play and magic!
There was speak of additional classes being available, on top of the race you have chosen (extra abilities and such) allowing you to customise even further. I might as well explain them, even though they may not make an appearance (I will update the comments page later with the news on them once it has been verified). Right. They are:
Fighter
Fairly simple. All of your stats will lean towards fighting with hardly any magical skills
Monk
Capable of a little white magic and a little red magic, also proficient at fighting.
Thief
Will be able to steal items off of the enemy, use a little red magic and be fairly good fighting.
White Mage
Will be able to cast protective magic, such as heal, cure, protect and such. Will be weak at fighting.
Red Mage
Will be capable of casting destructive magic such as fire, aqua, Ultima and others. Will be weak at fighting.
This class system is very similar to the one seen in the early Final Fantasy games on the NES and is quite different to anything seen in the newer titles. As stated earlier, these classes and their system may not be included in the game, but here at Ferrago.co.uk we like to give you the fuller picture. After all, knowledge is power.
So then, will this game be any good? I think it should be. It maybe a departure from the norm for Sqauresoft, but if anyone can pull this kind of project off it's them. They have constantly provided us with the most incredible video games (even a film), they have a pedigree and a back catalogue that is hard to ignore. This may well turn out to be the only game you will ever need. We all wait, fingers crossed, until summer. Or 2003 for us Brits. Damn.
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE), Toshiba Corp. and IBM Corp. have reached a basic agreement on jointly developing a new operating system (OS) to be released in 2005 for computers capable of high-speed Internet connections, industry sources said Friday.
The OS would allow personal computers and home appliances to exchange huge volumes of data, including the high-resolution graphics of a television screen, through a broadband connection.
Users would also be able to control their home appliances via PC, and watch television programs and movies on their PC at any location.
According to the sources, the firms intend to make the source code of the finished OS available to other companies in an attempt to make it the global standard of the anticipated high-speed Internet age.
SCE will bring to the project software development skills honed through its work on two PlayStation video game consoles and their attendant software. Toshiba and IBM will provide semiconductor and computer manufacturing expertise.
Work on the OS project has not yet begun, but the three companies have begun joint development of next-generation semiconductors that will be hundreds of times faster than current integrated chips and feature networking functions.
The three companies predict the entire development cost will run to about 400 million dollars (52 billion yen).
According to the sources, local area networks will be used to connect PCs installed with the operating system to TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators and other home appliances, giving great flexibility in controlling home appliances.
The larger bandwidth of a broadband connection will open the door to the downloading of movies, TV programs and video games via the Internet, the sources said.
Users will be able to store television programs in their PCs and watch them at any time and any place.
TVs with the OS installed will be much smaller as they will not need a tuner, the sources said.
All controls will be accessible from the TV screen, making the system more user-friendly, the sources said, an important feature when considering the elderly and those unfamiliar with using PCs.
The OS will also enable tasks impossible for current technology, the sources said.
Mosfet Contributes Code to KDE (Again)
[Graphics and Art] Posted by Dre on Monday December 31, @08:34AM
from the one-big-happy-family dept.
Many in the KDE community are aware of some rocky history between KDE hacker Mosfet and other KDE developers. Fortunately, it looks like things have taken a great turn for the better: Mosfet wrote in to tell us that "I've decided to donate 20 effects I ported to KDE/Qt for PixiePlus to KDE3". Waldo Bastian promptly added them to CVS. The new effects include normalize, equalize, solarize, threshold, emboss, despeckle, charcoal, rotate, sample, addNoise, blur, edge, implode, oil paint, sharpen, spread, shade, swirl, wave, and contrastHSV. All will be available under a BSD-type license in the KImageEffect class in kdelibs. According to Mosfet, these effects will be useful not only for image viewers and editors, but also for things like style engines. Except for the simple rotate, Mosfet ported the effects from ImageMagick to work directly on QImages and Qt scanlines. Nice job, Mosfet! (For those who have not yet heard the news, PixiePlus is the successor to Pixie; more information is available here.)
Although, a mugger knowing how much monney I have might deter them from mugging me. And they will know if Im telling the truth when I say I have no more monney to give them.
if I shut down my router then my few servers become the Internet
No, becuse the internet is just one network, so if you shutdown your router, you are no longer conected to that network. Your servers, would become there own network, and would be the whole biduxenet
Why not just vent the heat from the server room to the rest of the hose, warming the house as well as cooling the server room. Of course, this is only a good solution for the winter. In the summer, I would just us the good old AC.
Slashdot Mirror
what if im already a geek, but am in the 10-15 range? Can I get a portale IM too! Actually, I already have a PDA, but it still sounds cool.
Actually, at my library, there are a lot of vt-400(i think), an they have lynx installed on the server, so if i want to read /. at the library, and all the "real" pc's are in use, I just use the terminal, and text on a T1 FLY's!
but you have to start your collection somehow.
Press the button on the back of you computer, and i'll fax you a wad.
Thats why you dont pay, this whole forum is full of statmenst like "uuhhhh, use kazza"...
No, it dosen't.
I have a few keys, of varrying levels of security. So i have my standerd, with a 8-11 caracter password, but then i have my parranoed key, with an 128)i think) passphrase, I dont even know it, I just
have the movements memorized. So I think that even with a gun to my head, I might trip up.
I found the same with the inside of the old IBM(original) PC, I oppened one for the first time yesterday, and it is amazing how somthing so old (older thant me) was still so eloquent. It was neat how all the cables where laid out neatly and the hard drive was built into an ISA card.
A beowulf cluster of these!
Yes, but if i'm correct, they droped charges quickly, but for some reson, the courts kept getting pissed at Dmitry.
not to flame, but is Fry's really a Joe Sixpakish store, i've only been there once :( and it seammed to be a mostly techy crowd. Or mabye its cuse it was in the valley...
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BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) -- The fantasy epic "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" won best-picture honors and two other prizes at the first American Film Institute Awards on Saturday.
Denzel Washington was named best actor for playing a flamboyantly corrupt narcotics detective in "Training Day." Sissy Spacek won lead-actress honors as a grieving, vengeful mother in "In the Bedroom."
Spacek, a five-time Academy Award nominee who won for "Coal Miner's Daughter," could emerge as a front-runner for another Oscar.
"This film is so close to my heart," Spacek said. "It was a real labor of love, I think, for all of those who worked on it."
Robert Altman was picked as best director for his satiric murder mystery "Gosford Park."
Gene Hackman of "The Royal Tenenbaums" and Jennifer Connelly of "A Beautiful Mind" earned supporting-actor honors.
Hackman won for his role as an outcast patriarch who weasels his way back into the dysfunctional family he abandoned years earlier. Connelly won as the conflicted wife of schizophrenic math genius John Nash (Russell Crowe) in "A Beautiful Mind," directed by Ron Howard.
The 12 awards in the film categories were spread among nine movies. The only multiple winners were "Lord of the Rings," which also won for digital effects and production design, and "Moulin Rouge," honored for composing and editing.
"In the Bedroom" and "Black Hawk Down" had led with five nominations each, but "Black Hawk Down" was shut out in every category.
'Sopranos,' stars win plaudits
Writer-director Christopher Nolan won the screenplay award for the convoluted, backward-moving thriller "Memento." Roger Deakins took the cinematography honor for the Coen brothers' film-noir update "The Man Who Wasn't There."
Many nominees turned out for the awards show, but there were plenty of no-shows, including Washington, Altman, Hackman, Connelly and James Gandolfini, who won best actor on a TV series for "The Sopranos."
"Sopranos" co-star Edie Falco won the best TV series actress honor. The show also won for best drama series.
"Thanks for watching the show, which we love probably more than you guys," Falco said.
HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" won for best comedy series.
"This is a rare opportunity for my family to see me on TV. They refuse to get HBO, so they have no idea what the show is about," said Larry David, the show's star.
Jeffrey Wright won the best actor award in a TV movie or miniseries as Martin Luther King Jr. in "Boycott." Judy Davis took the best actress honor in a TV movie or miniseries as Judy Garland in "Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows."
Garland's daughter, Lorna Luft, accepted the award on Davis' behalf.
"I would like to thank Judy Davis for her extraordinary courage, her exceptional talent and her love of my mother's memory," said Luft, a producer on the miniseries.
The AFI Awards, aired live on CBS, included nominees in 12 movie and seven television categories.
CBS newsman Dan Rather recapped television's reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks, citing David Letterman's return to work and a star-studded multi-network telethon for victims as symbols of the nation's response to the attacks.
The new show is the first big ceremony of Hollywood's long awards season. The Golden Globes take place January 20, actor and director guilds give out their awards in March and the Oscars cap things off March 24.
Nominees were chosen by two 13-member committees -- one each for movies and television -- which included AFI trustees, industry professionals, film and TV scholars, and critics. Winners were picked by a 100-member jury of industry insiders.
AFI, best known for its lists ranking all-time top American films or screen stars, provides industry training, holds film screenings and conducts movie-preservation efforts.
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
I'd agree that memento really made me think, just to understand the movie. It was also one of the only movies that I've seen recently that made me feel sad at the end (or any where in the movie at all). But I must agree that the plot SUCKS, if it was presented in regular form, it would have been a horrable movie, but it wassnt't, so i loved it. Sorrry for rambling.
The 70 Percent Solution
.NET strategy and the rest of the industry responds. Look for further stratification as the banks come to realize that Redmond's goal is to take a piece of every online transaction, which is to say Microsoft intends to steal the banks' business. This is a fundamental reworking of business that WILL happen over the next three to five years.
Bob's Predictions for 2002
By Robert X. Cringely
Each year at this time, I make predictions about what will happen in high tech business during the next 12 months. It's not really that hard to do if, like me, you read a lot, go to lunch a lot, and have smart friends. My predictions are 70 percent correct, year after year. What I got wrong the last time out was I wrote that the recession would be over by now, that Microsoft would be a bad stock to own, and that Cisco would be a good one. My other predictions, which included Microsoft settling with the DoJ without requiring a break-up, were all correct. You can find that column under the "Old Hat" button on this page or among the "I Like It" links.
This year, I am going to do things a bit differently just because this year feels different. There is a new feeling coming from the laboratories and boardrooms, a feeling that has nothing to do with terrorism and patriotism or even high tech, and has everything to do with waking up from a long sleep and realizing that the blanket has slipped off the bed and it is cold.
As we slouch through this recession, it is clear to me that corporate arrogance is a problem that has afflicted us for sometime, but there are signs of it weakening. Last year, when I predicted Cisco would do so well, it was only weeks after I had sat through the company's European, Middle East and African division sales meeting. At that moment, Cisco executives were setting high goals and expecting to reach them. Only it didn't work out that way. This made me realize even the most successful companies don't have any greater insight, just better luck. Back in October 2000, Cisco had basically no idea where it was really going, just expecting that a corporate body in motion would tend to stay in motion, that success would breed success.
Good companies learn lessons and not such good companies don't. It took years of staggering losses and the hiring of an outsider for IBM to turn around in the early 1990s. Big Blue has fared better than most of its competitors in recent years, and it is entirely as a result of that humbling. But losses and new blood aren't always enough. AT&T brought in Michael Armstrong for exactly the same reason, and all he did was make a $100 billion mistake. Same for Carly Fiorina at Hewlett-Packard, though her loss was smaller. Great corporate names, both, and they are threatened because of arrogance.
Now to this year's predictions:
1. The dominant theme will be the continuing battle between evil and evil as Microsoft expands its
2. The main technical tool for this reworking will be XML, and it will probably be easy to label 2002 as the Year of XML. This new data standard will be sprinkled on every type of software imaginable, whether it makes sense to do so or not.
3. Look for emergence of an XML industry, which is to say a rash of new startups built around XML services. Microsoft's dedication to the standard in its relatively pure form makes this emergence inevitable. The big XML hit for 2002 will come from a company called KnowNow.
4. KnowNow is a new company backed by Kleiner Perkins, the big venture firm, and represents the resurgence of venture capital in 2002. Having spent 2001 NOT investing money, the VCs this year have to either resume investing their funds or get out of the business. Look for the former, again thanks to XML, as the VC industry finds another type of business to spawn than pawn off on us.
5. The resurgence of VCs can only come with a resurgence of the market for Initial Public Offerings, which should happen by late spring.
6. Other hot IPO areas besides XML will include security (thanks to bin Laden and Microsoft's continued incompetence in this area) and an emerging niche called rich media.
7. XML is real, security is real, but rich media is not real -- at least not in 2002. Just as the online music industry grew up around MP3, rich media is built on MPEG-4, which is far more than just another video codec. MPEG-4 is a framework for building new types of entertainment that are more Internet-friendly. Beyond carrying traditional video, MPEG-4 enables the creation of entertainment products made of up many levels of artificial scenes, sets, even animated characters. It is the entertainment of the future, but alas that future won't start in 2002. The problem is that embracing rich media means rejecting old media and the tools aren't yet good enough to make that jump.
8. Rich media doesn't absolutely require broadband, but it sure helps. And 2002 will be a pivotal year for broadband, which took a lot of lumps in 2001 with the fall of companies like Northpoint, Rhythms, Covad, and Excite@Home. What is key here is the deal for Cox Cable to buy AT&T's cable TV unit. If that goes through (and I think it will), Cox will try to make its big investment pay off by competing for local and long distance phone service over its cable system. Other cable companies will follow suit and the only way for the local phone companies to fight back is with expanded DSL.
9. And Microsoft will make itself a part of every deal, everywhere, no matter what happens with its anti-trust case. Quite simply, Microsoft will take an equity position in every tech deal that's over $1 billion, leveraging to the hilt its close to $40 billion cash hoard. Don't bet against Microsoft in 2002. That is because, in addition to having deep pockets, Microsoft owns the start page, the defaults, the windowing environment, and the content standards. It turns out they also own the traffic, the audience management, and if you're watching closely what they're doing with Windows Media, they're going to force you to pay licenses to show your own content on-line. Today, on the desktop, tomorrow, on UltimateTV.
10. Finally, I think last year's prediction for Cisco Systems will come true this year. I wrote "The answer to every problem with the Internet will continue to be 'pay more money to Cisco.' At current prices the stock is a bargain."
No, I don't own any Cisco stock.
Final Fantasy XI: Online
Even Square's been bitten by the massive online RPG bug; and they're taking the PS2 with them.
This is one game that will have a lot to deal with. All of its predecessors were excellent, Final Fantasy VIII was, and still is, one of the best games ever made. So how can you possibly improve upon perfection? Well, this is Squaresoft we are talking about; they have decided to create a massively multiplayer RPG for the PS2. Cripes. Talk about taking the bull by the horns...
This game, no matter how you look at it, will be groundbreaking. It will be astounding. This game should, in theory, take over your life. Why? Gather round kids, I will try to explain... This, ladies and gentlemen is the very first en-masse multiplayer game to ever grace a console. You will be able to join up with your friends from across the globe and go on an adventure through your PS2.We are talking Everquest with bells on, Phantasy Star Online with knobs and whistles, this should be the game of 2002. Well, for the PS2 anyhow.
Final Fantasy XI is set on the planet Vana Diel, a paradise apparently, as are most Final Fantasy settings. However, things are not as they seem, Vana Diel has a rotten core and monsters and demons are rife. Ah. Right, yeah, as I said, a common Final Fantasy setting. That's more or less where the similarities end though. This is not your common RPG. This is special. Really special. Anyhow, more on the planet itself. Vana Diel is split into several kingdoms or areas, giving a potentially huge area to explore, at this time they are:
The Republic of Bastok
This area is where is humanoid races reside (more on classes/races later). Its an advanced nation with plenty of technology and valuable resources, including the classic Final Fantasy mineral, Mithril.
United federation of Windurst
This area is inhabited by the Tarutaru. The cities in this area have an almost organic feel, a perfect setting for the Tarutaru to work on their magic.
Kingdom of San D'oria
The Elvarn race resides here. There is constant threat of civil war, only a fragile alliance between the ruling Monarchy and the other parties stands between peace and complete destruction.
Gustaberg deadlands
A barren, dead space surrounding Bastock. No Flora survives here, only the withered remains of the past.
Sarutabaruta Plains
A vast, wide open plain near Windurst. Plenty of plants grow here, these attract monsters great and small to the area.
Ronfaure Forest
A lush, beautiful forest near San D'oria, a strange presence appears to reside here.
Final Fantasy XI: Online
Even Square's been bitten by the massive online RPG bug; and they're taking the PS2 with them.
If all of these areas are as large as one would expect, the game shall be absolutely huge. However, will Square be capable of making a huge world without making it too sparse? The early images, though of poor quality (our apologies), do suggest an impressive attention to detail in terms of architecture and scenery. Which is encouraging. We will have to wait and see. I expect hidden cities and whatnot as well; do you hear me Square?
In a general way (very general) this game works like Phantasy Star Online (or Everquest for you PC people), in the way that you create your character (I honestly will explain later) and are free to wander the vast world on your own or you can join a team, the really keen will start their own team. By choosing the 'looking to join team' from the sub menu your character will have a symbol by his head, informing others that you would like to join their team. You can also choose another option that informs others than you are creating a team, therefore allowing people to come over and ask if they can join. It seems easy enough to master. There does not, however, appear to be a multi-language chat facility like the one seen in Phantasy Star Online, this may be down to the fact that the early Beta version is intended for Japanese use only, when the NTSC and PAL versions are released, there should hopefully be one in place. From the early information available it appears that you can create alliances with other teams. Up to three teams can form an alliance between them, making it easier to vanquish those really hard foes between the eighteen of you. That's right, Eighteen players on screen at once, all attacking freely. It should be a slight improvement over the normal five or six! However, for an alliance to be possible, a leader must be chosen, he or she is then designated with a white marker (just the ticket for assassinations). This should lead to online arguments aplenty! Hopefully, in time, Square will find a way to allow even more players at one time in a battle, I for one would like to see a full scale war raging between two rival factions.... deadly.
Final Fantasy XI: Online
Even Square's been bitten by the massive online RPG bug; and they're taking the PS2 with them.
The combat itself appears to be incredibly simple, yet effective. When you explore the world you can see monsters walking around, looking for trouble (a first as well, no more being sucked into unwanted battles!). You can either avoid them, or lock on and give them a kicking. I feel that a kicking would be in order most of the time. Anyhow, after a stylish switch from normal view to battle view, the fighting starts. All damage and vital statistics are reported via a colour coded window that is in view at all times. Classic Final Fantasy menus are still in place, with attack, defend and magic and whatnot still in place. However, it is not clear at this point if limit breaks are included, as they could be difficult to work out in the real-time environment. I hope that they are included as they are an important feature of any Final Fantasy game (FF8's Squall's 'Lion Heart' still looks awesome).
Onto the Characters. For the first time in a Final Fantasy game, you create your own character. You start by choosing your character's race, they are as follows:
Tarutaru
Strange little magical creatures from the Windurst region, they have a strong magical field and make good mages. They remind me of Moogles.
Hume
A humanoid race, as close as you are going to get to human. Well balanced, technologically advanced all rounders. From the Bastock region.
Elvarn
Strong, tall and very proud race of elves. They make excellent warriors and are incredibly headstrong by nature but their pomposity leads to trouble. Found in their Kingdom of San D'oria.
Mithra
A slender, cat-like race who inhabit a small corner of Windurst. They are against all technology and rely solely on nature. Only the Females of the species are brave enough to venture into the outside world.
Galka
Huge, heavy set creatures, they are incredibly strong and troll-like. Only the males are allowed to leave the home towns.
The races themselves are pretty standard fare, with warrior races and slender mages. This should allow most people to choose a race that suits their fighting style best, we shall have to wait and see how they all balance out, I have a feeling that the Humes will be a popular choice, everyone loves a mix of sword play and magic!
There was speak of additional classes being available, on top of the race you have chosen (extra abilities and such) allowing you to customise even further. I might as well explain them, even though they may not make an appearance (I will update the comments page later with the news on them once it has been verified). Right. They are:
Fighter
Fairly simple. All of your stats will lean towards fighting with hardly any magical skills
Monk
Capable of a little white magic and a little red magic, also proficient at fighting.
Thief
Will be able to steal items off of the enemy, use a little red magic and be fairly good fighting.
White Mage
Will be able to cast protective magic, such as heal, cure, protect and such. Will be weak at fighting.
Red Mage
Will be capable of casting destructive magic such as fire, aqua, Ultima and others. Will be weak at fighting.
This class system is very similar to the one seen in the early Final Fantasy games on the NES and is quite different to anything seen in the newer titles. As stated earlier, these classes and their system may not be included in the game, but here at Ferrago.co.uk we like to give you the fuller picture. After all, knowledge is power.
So then, will this game be any good? I think it should be. It maybe a departure from the norm for Sqauresoft, but if anyone can pull this kind of project off it's them. They have constantly provided us with the most incredible video games (even a film), they have a pedigree and a back catalogue that is hard to ignore. This may well turn out to be the only game you will ever need. We all wait, fingers crossed, until summer. Or 2003 for us Brits. Damn.
New OS would link PCs, gadgets
Yomiuri Shimbun
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE), Toshiba Corp. and IBM Corp. have reached a basic agreement on jointly developing a new operating system (OS) to be released in 2005 for computers capable of high-speed Internet connections, industry sources said Friday.
The OS would allow personal computers and home appliances to exchange huge volumes of data, including the high-resolution graphics of a television screen, through a broadband connection.
Users would also be able to control their home appliances via PC, and watch television programs and movies on their PC at any location.
According to the sources, the firms intend to make the source code of the finished OS available to other companies in an attempt to make it the global standard of the anticipated high-speed Internet age.
SCE will bring to the project software development skills honed through its work on two PlayStation video game consoles and their attendant software. Toshiba and IBM will provide semiconductor and computer manufacturing expertise.
Work on the OS project has not yet begun, but the three companies have begun joint development of next-generation semiconductors that will be hundreds of times faster than current integrated chips and feature networking functions.
The three companies predict the entire development cost will run to about 400 million dollars (52 billion yen).
According to the sources, local area networks will be used to connect PCs installed with the operating system to TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators and other home appliances, giving great flexibility in controlling home appliances.
The larger bandwidth of a broadband connection will open the door to the downloading of movies, TV programs and video games via the Internet, the sources said.
Users will be able to store television programs in their PCs and watch them at any time and any place.
TVs with the OS installed will be much smaller as they will not need a tuner, the sources said.
All controls will be accessible from the TV screen, making the system more user-friendly, the sources said, an important feature when considering the elderly and those unfamiliar with using PCs.
The OS will also enable tasks impossible for current technology, the sources said.
Mosfet Contributes Code to KDE (Again)
[Graphics and Art] Posted by Dre on Monday December 31, @08:34AM
from the one-big-happy-family dept.
Many in the KDE community are aware of some rocky history between KDE hacker Mosfet and other KDE developers. Fortunately, it looks like things have taken a great turn for the better: Mosfet wrote in to tell us that "I've decided to donate 20 effects I ported to KDE/Qt for PixiePlus to KDE3". Waldo Bastian promptly added them to CVS. The new effects include normalize, equalize, solarize, threshold, emboss, despeckle, charcoal, rotate, sample, addNoise, blur, edge, implode, oil paint, sharpen, spread, shade, swirl, wave, and contrastHSV. All will be available under a BSD-type license in the KImageEffect class in kdelibs. According to Mosfet, these effects will be useful not only for image viewers and editors, but also for things like style engines. Except for the simple rotate, Mosfet ported the effects from ImageMagick to work directly on QImages and Qt scanlines. Nice job, Mosfet! (For those who have not yet heard the news, PixiePlus is the successor to Pixie; more information is available here.)
Not to flame, but I alwyays thought most geeks relized that time is abstract, and isn't relavent past, say, setting an appointment.
The winmoniter.
Why use a WM, there all bloated compared to plain old xinit.
Of course there free, no one would wanna buy one!
Although, a mugger knowing how much monney I have might deter them from mugging me. And they will know if Im telling the truth when I say I have no more monney to give them.
if I shut down my router then my few servers become the Internet
No, becuse the internet is just one network, so if you shutdown your router, you are no longer conected to that network. Your servers, would become there own network, and would be the whole biduxenet
Last time I checked, the windows kernel was in its thirty second realease?
Why not just vent the heat from the server room to the rest of the hose, warming the house as well as cooling the server room. Of course, this is only a good solution for the winter. In the summer, I would just us the good old AC.