For those of you who haven't seen it in action: this machine actually keeps balance. It reproduces an extremely intricate function of our brain and nervous system.
BFD. So do my feet and they don't cost $3K.
No offense intended, but fuzzy control circuitry has been doing more complex stuff for years. So someone has finally built a package that combines decent sensors and a bit of motor control. And the best they could come up with for this stuff is some lame ass scooter? That doesn't even have a useful purpose? Call me when I can overclock this thing to 45 MPH.
QuickTime is a PERFECT example of something Apple got ***WAY RIGHT***
they treated it as multiplatform product, ignrored what the competition was doing, updated it frequently to accomodate new technology and changing hardware/software bases, didn't try to make a fortune off of it, and worked with their user/developer base to make sure they got what they needed to deploy it, and treated it as an "open standard" to a large degree...
And yet, in the end, Microsoft's inferior technology will again win. Look at the marketshare figures for WinMP vs. Quicktime. More importantly, look at how any large organizations are deploying WinMP streams vs. Quicktime. It's only a matter of time before the non-Microsoft web (including QT-based sites) goes dark.
Yes, it sucks. But geeks gotta learn that good technology doesn't always win. In fact, in my cynical old age I'd tend to say that the probability of commercial success is inversely proportional to technological quality. But, still, I will continue to fight the battle, even though it seems hopeless, because, in the end, I still have to live with my choices. But it still sucks...
Re:for all the shortsighted....
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Imagine a mail carrier being able to strap on a pack and make a run in half as much time, going across sidewalks, dirt, grass, gravel, etc.
I don't know about you, but I've actually watched the mail carrier in my neighborhood as he delivers the mail on my block. Very little time is actually spent moving from house-to-house. More time is spent riffling through the bag, making sure he has the correct bundle of mail to throw in my box. Unless IT has a way to be strapped onto his legs without the dorky handlebars, this machine will actually make the process longer rather than shorter. Think of getting off the thing, re-slinging the bag, etc.
And all of this is within the "urban setting" that Kamen thinks will be revolutionized by this contraption.
To quote the Blue 'lectroid from Buckaroo Bonzai, "Big deal..."
Indeed, with waning interest in ham radio, the FCC will be under heavy pressure to free up that spectrum.
And the sad thing is that the amateur radio community itself is largely to blame for this. All of these years continuing to drag their feet on licensing simplification, removal of extraneous licensing requirements like morse code knowledge, and continuing to protect bandwidth for ancient modes while limiting bandwidth for newer modes, has allowed the community to turn into a small group of old farts, waiting to die. It's a shame you guys couldn't see the value of growing your ranks vs. keeping your sacred Advanced licenses and your private frequency reserves. But elitism always tries to preserve its advantage. Adapt or die, baby. Auction 'em off, I say - and good riddance...
P.S. The anti-government wackos who seemed to be the more vocal inhabitants of the ham bands didn't help endear you to the powers-that-be, either. This is something that the tech community should probably keep in mind when using that new shared communication medium called the Internet.
Of course, sometimes we may wonder "why the fuck, am I supposed to do this?" but that only shows that most companies aren't run by engineers.;)
And if they were run by engineers, ther companies probably wouldn't be around for you to wonder "why the fuck am I supposed to do this?" at all. Maybe it's a good thing not to ask too many questions!
So when you have the money to genetic engineer your offspring, are you going to teach the, to be just as nice to the "normals" whose parents couldn't afford or didn't want to engineer their children?
No, we're going to teach them to keep them as pets or slaves or eat them as food. After all, we paid for our superiority fair and square. Better watch out - I see your neural enhancement treatment hasn't kicked in yet. And I'm getting hungry...
Putting a check for 10.0.x in the software updater is not unexpected.
No one is saying that a check shouldn't be there. But the fact that they had a check that could be so easily removed is a telling point (Is it that hard to fail the install if that particular module isn't there?), especially after the recent iPod fiasco.
The fact that Apple legal tries to supress this knowledge may be ethically moral, because they are trying to prevent their customers from cheating, but IMHO, Apple would be better served by taking a harder look at the people who write their installers, if they want to actually solve this problem rather than simply avoid embarassment.
I don't want pretty in a cash machine, I WANT CASH!
I don't want slow in a cash machine, I WANT FAST!
While you are standing at a cash machine, waiting for your money, the new pretty screens can flash you information about your bank's available services. People's attentions are harder to draw these days and a marketing opportunity to a captive set of eyeballs could not be passed up. Yes, it sucks. But if it's important enough for you, vote with your feet and switch banks.
How many times do you pull the handle before the BSoD signifies your Jackpot?
P.S. Simple way to BSoD XP -- Use the disk manager to create and format a new drive. While drive is formatting, attempt to open an Explorer window on the drive. Kaboom!
This message is to notify you that you have been placed on our domestic terrorism watch list for holding leftward leaning views while in the possession (or while considering the possession) of firearms. Be advised that your movement and messages may be monitored at any time and anything you may say or do could be admissible before a military tribunal at the discression of the Commander in Chief.
Tens of thousands per year. More important still is the installed base of these machines, which run into the hundreds of thousands. To be honest, most of the installed base of these machines don't currently run Linux, being split among OS/390, OS/400, AIX, and (of course) Windows. But many of them might be willing to switch. Even more, if Red Hat does a good job
As to why IBM would spin off Linux support, it's probably a good deal for them. Good S/390 and AS/400 people don't come cheaply in the best of times and many may not be well disposed towards learning Linux (which they rightly perceive as a less reliable and stable OS than the native alternatives). The Intel box guys have a hard enough time dealing with Windows. The training costs assciated with this venture would be hideous.
Now, if you sell the software support business to Red Hat, you can still sell hardware support, still write software for the platforms, and still sell the iron. Plus, you've laid off the risk of Linux failing and the cost of hiring new people to an independent entity. Looks like a good deal to me, if I'm IBM. Looks like a good deal all around...
which is what the GPL says - if one piece of this software is touched by the GPL, it's all touched by the GPL and must be free. It's like the brown acid of licenses, you take it once and you're screwed.
If you don't want to abide by the license terms, don't use the software. Maybe you could get one of the Libertarians to sell you an alternative. Heck, they might even donate a copy to you if they're in a good mood that day.
... worse than Big Tobacco? These guys deliberately withheld information that showed smoking was addictive and killed people. What's MS done? At worst played fairly dirty when competing, and trying to achieve a monopoly. Hardly a fair comparison here.
What is kiling someone except the removal of a person's remaining time in this world, removal of their productivity from society, and removal of their presence from friends and loved ones? Microsoft, by the shoddy quality of their software has taken up copious amounts of my limited time in this world, removed my productivity from society, and caused me to stay away from my friends and loved ones. I see no difference other than to degree. It is a perfect comparison.
Well, not quite perfect - if you believe in souls, Microsoft has not yet started driving them away from this world, yet. It likes to keep them around in case the corporate officers come up with some reason to steal them...
After all, SOI technologies are not new and people have been trying different gate insulators forever. The problem with alternate gate insulators has been cost for yield. Unless this has also been solved and this process gets moved into fab, it's just another research lab thingee.
Sometimes, being a responsible, password-using, security-loving
administrator in this world is--well--depressing. I mean, I actually have arguments with these people about even *NEEDING* passwords at all!
Loving security is good. Loving passwords is lame. Before I get flamed, let me say that I DO belive that security is an important issue. My gripe is specifically about passwords as the main and (usually) only way to enforce that security.
Given that the standard marketing manager has at least five passwords to remember - system login, CRM system login, order system login, HR system login, pr()n site login:-) - it's a wonder that you have any security at all left. If admins really want to have an effect on security, get your organization to move away from passwords and onto smart cards or biometric validation. It's a lot easier on you and your users.
Yes. I'm sure that all American diplomacy and strategy should be driven by the writings of a second-rate literary hack. As I recall, he also said that Ebola would be the bio-terrorism weapon of choice. Hoo-hah! Welcome to the age of surrealism.
Lets not forget Black Sunday, where the blimp was used...
Wow! I'm sure Goodyear is shaking in its boots right now.
Here's another novelistic scenario (suitably abridged) that we SHOULD TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY:
There's a small town in the Northeast, maybe in Maine. Strange (and evil) things have been happening - even to the town's law enforcement personnel. It turns out some unspeakable evil has taken over the town and only a plucky seventeen-year old can save the town.
Just ask Steven King.
I think that we ought to start mandatory testing for pluckiness and mandatory enrollment in the anti-unspeakable-evil corps for these plucky recruits. After all, if terrorism is here, can unspeakable evil be far away? After all, someone wrote A NOVEL about it. It might happen!!!!!!
SNOBOL was eventually superceded by Icon (also designed by Ralph Griswold, but at U of AZ rather than at Bell Labs). It retained many of the interesting control aspects (i.e., success vs. failue, ability to eval, etc.), added new ones (modern control flow like while, if-then-else, etc., generators, co-routines), and got rid of some of the interesting weeds that SNOBOL had (card-oriented fixed layout, goto's, etc.). Icon was an interesting language in its own right, but not quite as "funky" as SNOBOL.
It seems un-American, bordering on the Communist to suggest that Apple should simply give away their intellectual property.
I didn't know you guys let Craig Mundie have a Slashdot account!
Besides, I always thought that charity was a virtue that is encouraged by, if nothing else, by the US tax code. Giving away stuff can also encourage the growth of organizations by goodwill and network effects.
And when we're through selling this...
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BFD. So do my feet and they don't cost $3K.
No offense intended, but fuzzy control circuitry has been doing more complex stuff for years. So someone has finally built a package that combines decent sensors and a bit of motor control. And the best they could come up with for this stuff is some lame ass scooter? That doesn't even have a useful purpose? Call me when I can overclock this thing to 45 MPH.
they treated it as multiplatform product, ignrored what the competition was doing, updated it frequently to accomodate new technology and changing hardware/software bases, didn't try to make a fortune off of it, and worked with their user/developer base to make sure they got what they needed to deploy it, and treated it as an "open standard" to a large degree...
And yet, in the end, Microsoft's inferior technology will again win. Look at the marketshare figures for WinMP vs. Quicktime. More importantly, look at how any large organizations are deploying WinMP streams vs. Quicktime. It's only a matter of time before the non-Microsoft web (including QT-based sites) goes dark.
Yes, it sucks. But geeks gotta learn that good technology doesn't always win. In fact, in my cynical old age I'd tend to say that the probability of commercial success is inversely proportional to technological quality. But, still, I will continue to fight the battle, even though it seems hopeless, because, in the end, I still have to live with my choices. But it still sucks...
I don't know about you, but I've actually watched the mail carrier in my neighborhood as he delivers the mail on my block. Very little time is actually spent moving from house-to-house. More time is spent riffling through the bag, making sure he has the correct bundle of mail to throw in my box. Unless IT has a way to be strapped onto his legs without the dorky handlebars, this machine will actually make the process longer rather than shorter. Think of getting off the thing, re-slinging the bag, etc.
And all of this is within the "urban setting" that Kamen thinks will be revolutionized by this contraption.
To quote the Blue 'lectroid from Buckaroo Bonzai, "Big deal..."
I don't know, but I'm feeling a wee tad hungry. Must be lunchtime... Which part do you want?
Time for a Congressional bailout.
P.S. It's for the children...
Immediate eradication of code red and nimda?
Really? What would the downside be?
And the sad thing is that the amateur radio community itself is largely to blame for this. All of these years continuing to drag their feet on licensing simplification, removal of extraneous licensing requirements like morse code knowledge, and continuing to protect bandwidth for ancient modes while limiting bandwidth for newer modes, has allowed the community to turn into a small group of old farts, waiting to die. It's a shame you guys couldn't see the value of growing your ranks vs. keeping your sacred Advanced licenses and your private frequency reserves. But elitism always tries to preserve its advantage. Adapt or die, baby. Auction 'em off, I say - and good riddance...
P.S. The anti-government wackos who seemed to be the more vocal inhabitants of the ham bands didn't help endear you to the powers-that-be, either. This is something that the tech community should probably keep in mind when using that new shared communication medium called the Internet.
Oh the humanity!!!
And if they were run by engineers, ther companies probably wouldn't be around for you to wonder "why the fuck am I supposed to do this?" at all. Maybe it's a good thing not to ask too many questions!
No, we're going to teach them to keep them as pets or slaves or eat them as food. After all, we paid for our superiority fair and square. Better watch out - I see your neural enhancement treatment hasn't kicked in yet. And I'm getting hungry...
No one is saying that a check shouldn't be there. But the fact that they had a check that could be so easily removed is a telling point (Is it that hard to fail the install if that particular module isn't there?), especially after the recent iPod fiasco.
The fact that Apple legal tries to supress this knowledge may be ethically moral, because they are trying to prevent their customers from cheating, but IMHO, Apple would be better served by taking a harder look at the people who write their installers, if they want to actually solve this problem rather than simply avoid embarassment.
I don't want slow in a cash machine, I WANT FAST!
While you are standing at a cash machine, waiting for your money, the new pretty screens can flash you information about your bank's available services. People's attentions are harder to draw these days and a marketing opportunity to a captive set of eyeballs could not be passed up. Yes, it sucks. But if it's important enough for you, vote with your feet and switch banks.
WIAFM
Amen...
How many times do you pull the handle before the BSoD signifies your Jackpot?
P.S. Simple way to BSoD XP -- Use the disk manager to create and format a new drive. While drive is formatting, attempt to open an Explorer window on the drive. Kaboom!
Attention Citizen #3871209 (AKA timmy the large; AKA sonora sam; AKA pr0nSurfer34):
Greetings.
This message is to notify you that you have been placed on our domestic terrorism watch list for holding leftward leaning views while in the possession (or while considering the possession) of firearms. Be advised that your movement and messages may be monitored at any time and anything you may say or do could be admissible before a military tribunal at the discression of the Commander in Chief.
Sincerely,
General^WAttorney General Ashcroft
Tens of thousands per year. More important still is the installed base of these machines, which run into the hundreds of thousands. To be honest, most of the installed base of these machines don't currently run Linux, being split among OS/390, OS/400, AIX, and (of course) Windows. But many of them might be willing to switch. Even more, if Red Hat does a good job
As to why IBM would spin off Linux support, it's probably a good deal for them. Good S/390 and AS/400 people don't come cheaply in the best of times and many may not be well disposed towards learning Linux (which they rightly perceive as a less reliable and stable OS than the native alternatives). The Intel box guys have a hard enough time dealing with Windows. The training costs assciated with this venture would be hideous.
Now, if you sell the software support business to Red Hat, you can still sell hardware support, still write software for the platforms, and still sell the iron. Plus, you've laid off the risk of Linux failing and the cost of hiring new people to an independent entity. Looks like a good deal to me, if I'm IBM. Looks like a good deal all around...
If you don't want to abide by the license terms, don't use the software. Maybe you could get one of the Libertarians to sell you an alternative. Heck, they might even donate a copy to you if they're in a good mood that day.
What is kiling someone except the removal of a person's remaining time in this world, removal of their productivity from society, and removal of their presence from friends and loved ones? Microsoft, by the shoddy quality of their software has taken up copious amounts of my limited time in this world, removed my productivity from society, and caused me to stay away from my friends and loved ones. I see no difference other than to degree. It is a perfect comparison.
Well, not quite perfect - if you believe in souls, Microsoft has not yet started driving them away from this world, yet. It likes to keep them around in case the corporate officers come up with some reason to steal them...
After all, SOI technologies are not new and people have been trying different gate insulators forever. The problem with alternate gate insulators has been cost for yield. Unless this has also been solved and this process gets moved into fab, it's just another research lab thingee.
Must be a slow news day for nerds...
administrator in this world is--well--depressing. I mean, I actually have arguments with these people about even *NEEDING* passwords at all!
Loving security is good. Loving passwords is lame. Before I get flamed, let me say that I DO belive that security is an important issue. My gripe is specifically about passwords as the main and (usually) only way to enforce that security.
Given that the standard marketing manager has at least five passwords to remember - system login, CRM system login, order system login, HR system login, pr()n site login :-) - it's a wonder that you have any security at all left. If admins really want to have an effect on security, get your organization to move away from passwords and onto smart cards or biometric validation. It's a lot easier on you and your users.
Yes. I'm sure that all American diplomacy and strategy should be driven by the writings of a second-rate literary hack. As I recall, he also said that Ebola would be the bio-terrorism weapon of choice. Hoo-hah! Welcome to the age of surrealism.
Lets not forget Black Sunday, where the blimp was used...
Wow! I'm sure Goodyear is shaking in its boots right now.
Here's another novelistic scenario (suitably abridged) that we SHOULD TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY:
There's a small town in the Northeast, maybe in Maine. Strange (and evil) things have been happening - even to the town's law enforcement personnel. It turns out some unspeakable evil has taken over the town and only a plucky seventeen-year old can save the town.
Just ask Steven King.
I think that we ought to start mandatory testing for pluckiness and mandatory enrollment in the anti-unspeakable-evil corps for these plucky recruits. After all, if terrorism is here, can unspeakable evil be far away? After all, someone wrote A NOVEL about it. It might happen!!!!!!
And if you think VI offers advantages, you should see EMACS!
Bah dah, boom... Thank you... Thank you very much...
Yeah, but the domain 'microsoft.com' is already taken.
Insert rimshot here...
SNOBOL was eventually superceded by Icon (also designed by Ralph Griswold, but at U of AZ rather than at Bell Labs). It retained many of the interesting control aspects (i.e., success vs. failue, ability to eval, etc.), added new ones (modern control flow like while, if-then-else, etc., generators, co-routines), and got rid of some of the interesting weeds that SNOBOL had (card-oriented fixed layout, goto's, etc.). Icon was an interesting language in its own right, but not quite as "funky" as SNOBOL.
I didn't know you guys let Craig Mundie have a Slashdot account!
Besides, I always thought that charity was a virtue that is encouraged by, if nothing else, by the US tax code. Giving away stuff can also encourage the growth of organizations by goodwill and network effects.
... we can sell the Invisible Robot (TM).