I have been using the Analog Discovery for an embedded systems class I recently completed. The regular price is $239 but the student edition is only $99. It’s small enough to fit in your pocket, but powerful enough to replace a stack of lab equipment. It is driven by the free WaveForms software and lets you build and test analog and digital circuits in virtually any environment, in or out of the lab. Here is the link:
I know because I am Indian and the people on the other end talk to me in my own language, Hindi. Some have even admitted that they were located in India. The call center business is a growing market in India and the companies can afford it because they have a very cheap, English speaking, labor force and hence can afford to pay the higher long distance charges.
Waking up in the middle of the night for status updates. India has a 11 hour time difference, so the programmers there work while we sleep. For management, this can be annoying since you will be getting calls in the middle of the night when things are not working out as planned!
Language should not be a problem since Indian programmers usually speak very good English, but can't say anything about accent:)
Some sort of videoconferencing would be good to have face-to-face meetings.
Patents cannot be sold or transferred to anyone except the original patent holder
Grant patents only to individuals and not to corporations
At the time of granting the patent, define "reasonable" compensation criteria in case someone wants to license the patent
Force patent holders to license their patent to anyone who desires to, as long as the "reasonable" compensation criteria is met
IMHO, enforcing the above would make sure the original patent holder is "reasonably" compensated (and not some big corporation) while at the same time, keeping the playing field level enough for anyone to get in.
Is it possible that the FBI is so interested in this case because of the above reports? Is there a link? Just a theory...
Mozilla 0.9.5 is getting better and better
on
Mozilla 0.9.5
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· Score: 3, Interesting
Starting with release 0.9.4, I have been using Mozilla exclusively, both on my Windows and on my Linux PPC machine, without even knowing it! I mean... originally I used to come across sites that had problems with mozilla and had to use IE or Opera, but now, without even realizing it, mozilla has become my default browser of choice.
I suspect it has something to do with the 'Quick Launch' feature. Without this feature enabled, I had to wait almost 10-15 seconds before mozilla even started up, while IE almost loaded instantly. And I was unwilling to leave mozilla running all the time since it was such a memory hog. But with the 'Quick Launch' feature, I am pleased to say that mozilla loads as fast as IE on my machine and works better too! Plus, I don't have to keep mozilla running all the time.
I love certain features, e.g. being able to turn off those annoying javascript popup windows, and now... with 0.9.5 tabbed windows! It just keeps getting better and better.
I definitely have to disagree with people who claim 'There is no such thing as a free lunch...'. Mozilla 0.9.5 proves them wrong.
In the aftermath of the US tragedy, we all need to ask ourselves one question: Are the western nations a bit TOO open-minded and freedom loving?
Consider this... Osama bin Laden has said in past interviews (and he still maintains) that he is just the "instigator" and the actual work is carried out by "Allah". For all we know he is telling the truth... he was probably not "physically" involved in the US tragedy but he certainly did "instigate" other people to do it on their behalf.
Similarly, is it possible that the Canadian site is just a "conduit" for terrorists? Political activism can either be good or bad... the Slashdot kind is good... the religious kind (in any form) is bad. They might claim to be just a discussion board but does that absolve them of the responsibility that any editorial faces, namely keeping out race, hatred, intolerance, etc out of the discussions. IMHO, it does not....
As society is becoming more and more barbaric there may be a time when we need to impose certain restrictions on our freedom... even if it hurts us in the short term, in order to gain normalcy and for the bigger good of society and the generation to come. If we don't take action now, we are just setting up our future generations for a life of strife and misery...
Most of the sites that teenagers would visit anyway are pretty flashy and use extensive DHTML, Flash or Shockwave plugins. If such sites don't work as expected, these students will only think that "Linux" sucks (even though it really is the browser that sucks and not Linux). Such impressions usually last for a long, long time...
I think it is wise for Linux to be used as a server initially in order to get a foothold in the schools and later, as the browsers and apps mature, expose students more and more to desktop apps.
Do we really need another development environment... a new language C#... ANOTHER infrastructure (CLR)? I think not...
By creating an open-source version of.NET, Ximian is just encouraging developers to adopt.NET and C# at a faster pace than would otherwise be possible. If there were no open source version of.NET, developers would think twice before jumping on the.NET bandwagon. But with hope that their code may be reuseable on other platforms, they will adopt.NET at a faster rate.
Ximian's development model is a mess with no clearly defined path for programmers. So they see this as an opportunity to attract more developers towards Gnome.
But one question we all need to ask ourselves is "Is it really worth it to spend massive time and effort of the open source development community to develop YET ANOTHER development environment when better alternatives already exist?". I think most would say the answer is a resounding "No!"... I think we already have what it takes to compete against the likes of.NET and Java without needing to "borrow" any of their technology. There is nothing new or innovative in either.NET or Java that developers have not had in the past...
In short, I think this is a diversionary tactic and will only result in valuable time being lost in the Open Source community to develop a technology for which there is no need... Just my 2c.
Such incidents only make you wonder how long it will be before we are all victims. With the release of Windows XP, you will *REQUIRE* a passport to get any meanigful work done... Instant Messaging, reading e-books, reading e-mail... the list is endless. XP will keep hounding you for signing up for a passport. Now I know that passport does not require your social security number... as of now. But isn't it conceivable that sooner or later, Microsoft will tie up with online service providers that DO require a social security number. And then... Whammo! you HAVE to give up another piece of critical info to store on Microsoft servers. If Microsoft Passport ever takes off, it could be a huge target for Identity thieves and given Microsoft's track record at security one can only wonder how long it will be before *YOUR* identity is stolen. Some privacy groups are going after XP and trying to stop this massive hole from being created. One can only pray that they succeed. Read this article.
Yellow Dog Linux 2.0 is by far the best distribution I have used that actually "works" and is the easiest to install yet. I have tried LinuxPPC 2000 Q4, Mandrake and Debian. All of them suck in one way or the other (well... LinuxPPC is probably the closest after YDL).
YDL 2.0 on the other hand installs like a charm. Of course, there is still a lot of room for improvement, but given the state of other installers, I think YDL is the best so far.
I am using YDL 2.0 with a 2.4 SMP kernel on my dual G4 450MHz PowerMac. It blows Mac OS X right out of the water. KDE looks awesome and it runs all my favourite games using SNES and MAME.
My only gripe is that I am stuck with a 1280x1024 resolution (I have a Apple Studio 17" monitor) and YDL will stubbornly refuse to let me set 1024x768... but hey... who cares. KDE looks great at 1280x1024 with anti-aliased truetype fonts. Konqueror is awesome and is FAST on PPC. I even have accelerated X server support for the Rage 128 video card!
Since I started using YDL 2.0 on my PowerMac, I have virtually forgotten my x86 installation of Linux... All I will ever need runs great on the PPC and much faster at that. This really makes me think how much the x86 architecture sucks...
YDL 2.0 rocks!
Slashdot Mirror
I have been using the Analog Discovery for an embedded systems class I recently completed. The regular price is $239 but the student edition is only $99. It’s small enough to fit in your pocket, but powerful enough to replace a stack of lab equipment. It is driven by the free WaveForms software and lets you build and test analog and digital circuits in virtually any environment, in or out of the lab. Here is the link:
http://www.digilentinc.com/Pro...
2-Channel Oscilloscope
2-Channel Waveform Generator
16-Channel Logic Analyzer
16-Channel Digital Pattern Generator
±5VDC Power Supplies
Spectrum Analyzer
Network Analyzer
Voltmeter
Digital I/O
Now supported by MATLAB / MATLAB student edition.
Avira Antivir.
http://www.avira.com/en/pages/index.php
I know because I am Indian and the people on the other end talk to me in my own language, Hindi. Some have even admitted that they were located in India. The call center business is a growing market in India and the companies can afford it because they have a very cheap, English speaking, labor force and hence can afford to pay the higher long distance charges.
Of late, I have seen a sharp increase in the telemarketing calls I get ... mostly in the evenings, and guess what, most of them originate in India.
Will this thing really work or will it just force telemarkets to relocate their operations abroad?
Waking up in the middle of the night for status updates. India has a 11 hour time difference, so the programmers there work while we sleep. For management, this can be annoying since you will be getting calls in the middle of the night when things are not working out as planned!
:)
Language should not be a problem since Indian programmers usually speak very good English, but can't say anything about accent
Some sort of videoconferencing would be good to have face-to-face meetings.
Disallow patent cross-licensing.
Patents cannot be sold or transferred to anyone except the original patent holder
Grant patents only to individuals and not to corporations
At the time of granting the patent, define "reasonable" compensation criteria in case someone wants to license the patent
Force patent holders to license their patent to anyone who desires to, as long as the "reasonable" compensation criteria is met
...
IMHO, enforcing the above would make sure the original patent holder is "reasonably" compensated (and not some big corporation) while at the same time, keeping the playing field level enough for anyone to get in.
Just my thoughts
Slashdot recently reported 'Al Qaeda hacks Xp':
0 21 8&mode=thread
...
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/12/18/145
Is it possible that the FBI is so interested in this case because of the above reports? Is there a link? Just a theory
Starting with release 0.9.4, I have been using Mozilla exclusively, both on my Windows and on my Linux PPC machine, without even knowing it! I mean ... originally I used to come across sites that had problems with mozilla and had to use IE or Opera, but now, without even realizing it, mozilla has become my default browser of choice.
... with 0.9.5 tabbed windows! It just keeps getting better and better.
...'. Mozilla 0.9.5 proves them wrong.
I suspect it has something to do with the 'Quick Launch' feature. Without this feature enabled, I had to wait almost 10-15 seconds before mozilla even started up, while IE almost loaded instantly. And I was unwilling to leave mozilla running all the time since it was such a memory hog. But with the 'Quick Launch' feature, I am pleased to say that mozilla loads as fast as IE on my machine and works better too! Plus, I don't have to keep mozilla running all the time.
I love certain features, e.g. being able to turn off those annoying javascript popup windows, and now
I definitely have to disagree with people who claim 'There is no such thing as a free lunch
In the aftermath of the US tragedy, we all need to ask ourselves one question: Are the western nations a bit TOO open-minded and freedom loving?
... Osama bin Laden has said in past interviews (and he still maintains) that he is just the "instigator" and the actual work is carried out by "Allah". For all we know he is telling the truth ... he was probably not "physically" involved in the US tragedy but he certainly did "instigate" other people to do it on their behalf.
... the Slashdot kind is good ... the religious kind (in any form) is bad. They might claim to be just a discussion board but does that absolve them of the responsibility that any editorial faces, namely keeping out race, hatred, intolerance, etc out of the discussions. IMHO, it does not ....
... even if it hurts us in the short term, in order to gain normalcy and for the bigger good of society and the generation to come. If we don't take action now, we are just setting up our future generations for a life of strife and misery ...
...
Consider this
Similarly, is it possible that the Canadian site is just a "conduit" for terrorists? Political activism can either be good or bad
As society is becoming more and more barbaric there may be a time when we need to impose certain restrictions on our freedom
Just my 2c
Most of the sites that teenagers would visit anyway are pretty flashy and use extensive DHTML, Flash or Shockwave plugins. If such sites don't work as expected, these students will only think that "Linux" sucks (even though it really is the browser that sucks and not Linux). Such impressions usually last for a long, long time ...
I think it is wise for Linux to be used as a server initially in order to get a foothold in the schools and later, as the browsers and apps mature, expose students more and more to desktop apps.
Do we really need another development environment ... a new language C# ... ANOTHER infrastructure (CLR)? I think not ...
.NET, Ximian is just encouraging developers to adopt .NET and C# at a faster pace than would otherwise be possible. If there were no open source version of .NET, developers would think twice before jumping on the .NET bandwagon. But with hope that their code may be reuseable on other platforms, they will adopt .NET at a faster rate.
... I think we already have what it takes to compete against the likes of .NET and Java without needing to "borrow" any of their technology. There is nothing new or innovative in either .NET or Java that developers have not had in the past ...
... Just my 2c.
By creating an open-source version of
Ximian's development model is a mess with no clearly defined path for programmers. So they see this as an opportunity to attract more developers towards Gnome.
But one question we all need to ask ourselves is "Is it really worth it to spend massive time and effort of the open source development community to develop YET ANOTHER development environment when better alternatives already exist?". I think most would say the answer is a resounding "No!"
In short, I think this is a diversionary tactic and will only result in valuable time being lost in the Open Source community to develop a technology for which there is no need
Such incidents only make you wonder how long it will be before we are all victims. ... Instant Messaging, reading e-books, reading e-mail ... the list is endless. XP will keep hounding you for signing up for a passport. ... as of now. But isn't it conceivable that sooner or later, Microsoft will tie up with online service providers that DO require a social security number. And then ... Whammo! you HAVE to give up another piece of critical info to store on Microsoft servers.
With the release of Windows XP, you will *REQUIRE* a passport to get any meanigful work done
Now I know that passport does not require your social security number
If Microsoft Passport ever takes off, it could be a huge target for Identity thieves and given Microsoft's track record at security one can only wonder how long it will be before *YOUR* identity is stolen.
Some privacy groups are going after XP and trying to stop this massive hole from being created. One can only pray that they succeed. Read this article.
Yellow Dog Linux 2.0 is by far the best distribution I have used that actually "works" and is the easiest to install yet. I have tried LinuxPPC 2000 Q4, Mandrake and Debian. All of them suck in one way or the other (well ... LinuxPPC is probably the closest after YDL).
YDL 2.0 on the other hand installs like a charm. Of course, there is still a lot of room for improvement, but given the state of other installers, I think YDL is the best so far.
I am using YDL 2.0 with a 2.4 SMP kernel on my dual G4 450MHz PowerMac. It blows Mac OS X right out of the water. KDE looks awesome and it runs all my favourite games using SNES and MAME.
My only gripe is that I am stuck with a 1280x1024 resolution (I have a Apple Studio 17" monitor) and YDL will stubbornly refuse to let me set 1024x768 ... but hey ... who cares. KDE looks great at 1280x1024 with anti-aliased truetype fonts. Konqueror is awesome and is FAST on PPC. I even have accelerated X server support for the Rage 128 video card!
Since I started using YDL 2.0 on my PowerMac, I have virtually forgotten my x86 installation of Linux ... All I will ever need runs great on the PPC and much faster at that. This really makes me think how much the x86 architecture sucks ...
YDL 2.0 rocks!