"treating otherwise hopeless behavioral, Desire to check email "one last time" before bed
neurological
Thinking of the internet as a living entity with rights of its own, or less drastically as existing in a different legal space than 'the big blue box'
and psychiatric disorders"
Software is imbued with a desire to be free.
So the troops can have a better feel as to what their counterparts see when they send a message, the message is always converted at least once, so english to english is converted twice:
"To take thanks care of this goal, which we did not determine." was actually "Thank you for taking care of that target that we failed to notice."
Wait until you see the transcripts of their off duty exploits...
They could be doing laser scanning, but I doubt it. I bet they're using LEDs as the light source. Possibly micro arrays for the actual image, but most likely still sticking with a small LED array that has the three colors, a special lensing system that focuses them through a monochrome LCD (cheap non-high temperature transmissive) and then another lens which then produces the output.
This would provide several advantages. First, it would be fairly efficient since 4W of LED power is still fairly efficient (though still 'hot' and not close at all to the ideal 100%). The cheap LCD display due to the lower heat. Small size, especially if high index refrective lenses are used.
Disadvantages are many. Traditional projectors use a bulb which, for all intents and purposes can be modelled as a point light source. Optics are easy, comparatively. For a LED array the optics would be...non trivial. I suppose they could be using single LEDs but even then the leds are seperated, which still makes the job difficult. Another is that the smaller the package, the smaller the optics. The smaller the optics the worse the image. There's a reason you'll never get 4 meter telescope pictures out of a 10cm telescope. The resolving power of the lenses is limited by their size. The LED element will be huge compared to the lens size, and the picture is simply going to be poor.
It'll happen, through this speculative idea or through another, but real multimedia projectors for a given size projection have to be at least as large as the lens has to be for the quality you want. The only thing they might be able to make gains on without ruining the quality are lamp efficiency, lower heat output (these are coupled), and the design of the lens systems currently needed to throw a decent image across a room.
Of course they'll add it, voluntarily even. Just think - you request a download of a particular band's song, and the software verifies that you're getting the illegal file you want instead of some cranky artist going, "What the &#*@ do you think you're doing?" and some silence.
Take one part "free speech" and two parts "Innocent until proven guilty" and you can pretty much say anything you want in any format as any entity under these laws (the corporation is such an entity) until someone succesfully sues you in a civil suit to stop making false claims.
The hysterisis built into the US legal system, "Innocent until proven guilty" and "beyond reasonable doubt" create a small area inbetween "Truth" and "Lies" where both sides can claim victory: SCO says, "No one can prove these claims irefutabley flase" while others say "SCO cannot prove these claims true."
Meanwhile they can make money off the proposition that they may be true, and people would be better off paying them rather than taking a small risk and waiting to see what the full outcome is. Many companies have little to lose if they 'lose' so they take the risk and don't pay. But many companies either have a lot to lose, or don't understand what they'll lose and so it's safer to not risk it and simply pay up.
Many other countries have much stronger versions of what we call 'slander' or 'libel' - even covering free speech. One cannot make a statement which has not already been shown to be true or can be readily verified by any interested parties. Using phrases such as "may" or "could infringe" or "This contains forward looking statements" do not always satisfy the legal requirements to fall under 'free speech' as they do in the US.
Quite frankly, you can simply say that the US system give them as much rope as they want to use before someone sues them, whereas the German courts step in and prevent them from getting much, if any, hanging rope. Handing down a warning, and knowing what the penalties are beforehand both empowers a company and stops them short of duping too many people.
Gateway sold a line of large monitors such as this 31" presentation monitor on ebay. It's only 640x480, but at this point he needs size, not resolution. Also a low resolution will help with applications that don't provide large sizes. I believe they also sold a 34" 800x600. You can get them on surplus places every so often. Shouldn't be more than $300, if that, for one in good shape.
Note also that sometimes people who are losing their sight need brightness more than size, and a very bright screen, such as a presentation monitor, might be a better solution than simply buying a larger screen. Also make sure that webpage colors are overridden by the browser, and don't show background images.
You need to read a little bit on the dvddecrypter page about how to install it (ie, you may need to download and install a dll or two in addition to the main program) and then you'll use one of the menus to specify an ISO output file. It's pretty straightforward. I also use it to rip audio streams from movies so I can put them on MP3 cds and listen to movies.
Daemon tools is likewise straightforward. After installation, start the program (if it didn't autostart) and a tray icon appears. By default it has one drive (you can enable more) Left click on the icon, select "device 0" and it'll open up a file dialog where you can select the iso file you want to load into the drive. Look in file explorer and there it is.
Command line options are detailed in the help, the one you'll want to use is daemon.exe -mount 0,"c:\My Images\nameofimage.iso"
Use Daemon tools. There are command line utilities to change discs, so it should be fairly straightforward to create a simple selection program that swaps out the virtual disc.
Since it's a virtual DVD-ROM then you can use any DVD decoder/software/hardware that will work on a computer with a regular dvd in a regular dvd drive. The computer doesn't know the difference. When you swap discs it does auto-play as well (unless you've disabled it) so it'll start playing immediately. Disc swaps take a second, longer if it is across the network. Be aware that you'll want at least 100Mb connection via switch or direct to the server. While the DVD in theory only has a 16Mb stream coming down, the ISO is actually delivering quite a bit more information. You can easily play one movie via a network such as this, two is pushing it as long as you don't use it for anything else. Three is right out.
I use DVD-Decrypter to rip the disc to an ISO (and also removing macrovision and css - annoying 'features' I don't need and wish I wasn't paying for).
So you're saying that he had a "near-misunderstanding" of the term "near-miss"?
Right. "We had a near miss event last night." In theory, as you indicate, you could assume that "near" and "miss" both modify "event," but it is common in American English to modify modifiers, so that near modifies miss, and "near miss" as a phrase modifies "event."
Either way it is, at best, a near misleading phrase with a near threatening probability of being near misinterpretted. You should stay far away from such a near confusing phrase and stick to straightforward language.
Unless you're getting a notebook which supports using two batteries at once, I'd suggest not getting an extra battery right off the bat. Wait until you know you need it. It'll die just as fast as the one you use even if you don't use it.
Get an extra AC adaptor (or two or three) I like being able to take mine out of the bag and hooking it up at home without also getting out the power brick and cord.
Carry a network cord.
Wireless - built in. Built in wireless allows for a larger antenna than a pc card, and better reception.
If you think you can use it, a travel scanner is very handy once in awhile. I have a targus pc card travel scanner.
Forget the mouse, unless you're going to be gaming at odd places and times. The trackpad is perfectly usable (actually, with synaptics software it's even better than a mouse) for regular work, and you don't have to move your hand as far from the keyboard to use it. Keep mice at your more stationary locations for long work sessions. If you must have a mouse, try out some of the wireless travel mice. They are fairly small, some even keep the USB adaptor stored inside the mouse when not in use.
Buy the three year extended AND additional 'oops' protection warranties. I cannot stress enough how many things will break on your laptop during normal use no matter how gentle you are. Remember that the manufacturer's warranty only covers manufacturing defects, and after 90 days usually only covers parts, not labor. A laptop is one of those rare devices that both is not cheap to fix yourself, and has a resale value so replacement when it breaks is not normally an option.
I did see the part of your post where you said they should compromise. I was not concerned about that part. The part of your post I found laughable was the assertion that "Oftentimes people don't pick their study and work habits - it's just who they are"
It was this portion of your post which I chose to address. I agree with the remainder of your post.
"...and that wraps up current strategy. Lastly, the flubinator team needs to be discussed. Is this a viable project? Is it time to abandon that project? Can we do so without losing any valuable employees?"
"Well, sir, I feel we've nursed them along long enough. Even if the idea could pan out, it isn't going anywhere with that team, and I suspect we can do nothing about it. The team lead is the only person worth keeping, as he has all the team data worth keeping. We need to move him somewhere safe, without alerting the remainder of the team before we kick-ban them from our servers..."
random chuckles around the table
"Hey, you remember that guy who applied for my last position, three rungs above himself? Like he could come close to replacing me. Anyway, what if we 'promote' him to the team lead, let him do the dirty work, and then if there's room somewhere else in the company he can start at the bottom again?"
"Sound goods. The donuts are gone and tee time's in 15 minutes, we'd best be ending the meeting. Anything else?"
No, no, no. Don't tell them you're backing up their 1TB data store. Tell them your transferring Libraries of Congress. How many LOCs can you transfer in a minute?
My server detects your browser and if it's IE (a KNOWN-non-compliant-pig), I delay the delivery of the content. By doing so, I can provide more server power to the visitors that are using standards-compliant browsers. This might seem trivial, but until you've svelt the slashdot effect firsthand, you probably can't really understand the power of your webserver.
Uh, let's see if that'll help during a slashdot attack...
Server stat during slashdotting:
1264 TCP Connections open waiting on a server side script
Oh yeah, bet your kernel is loving you right about now. When it gets another packet from any source, it has to search through a few thousand file descriptor entries before it puts the right one in its queue. Buffers are filling up. Impatient users are hitting restart, halfway closing the TCP connection and starting a new one.
You may want to leave off taking those 'happy' pills for a little while...
Some cards simply aren't going to work well in your environment with your router. Try using a few different cards, and if that doesn't help, change the router/ap. Use an AP and a regular cat5 router instead of a combo (consumer wireless routers are the cheapest of the bunch).
Also try using a B router/AP with G cards. You'll find that the G cards connect to a B router better than they connect to a G router and better than B cards connect to a B router.
Lastly, pay attention to the antennas. Place the router in a central location at about the same height of the receiving cards. Make certian you are using a router/AP with two antennas.
Find a free channel and go for it.
Increasing the power of the router may not help if you cannot also increase the power of the cards, not to mention that it often degrades the signal. Using directional antennas will cause problems with multipath interference in your building.
The phone intereference is annoying, but a good card and a good router/ap will be able to downgrade the speed without dropping the connection.
And remember, there's nothing worse than a box of spilled packets all over the floor. Don't up the power.
Oftentimes people don't pick their study and work habits - it's just who they are
What the...?
Are you suggesting that study HABITS are genetically controlled? If you are one of the 3 people on this planet who knew how to study without being taught, then perhaps you cannot possible modify your HABITS in which case I feel very, very sorry for you and the life you are forced to lead.
If, however, you realize that study HABITS are things that are formed and are modifyable, then you will likewise come to the conclusion that while you may now prefer to study late at night, there is no biological process which forces you to do so that you cannot modofy by changing your HABITS.
It makes me sick to see people who blame their actions on anything just to avoid personal responsability. Get out of your little comfort zone. If you don't learn to do so now by choice, then when you are thrust out of your comfort zone you'll simply be lost.
Put some dangly wires from an electrostatic generator to the ground, and charge the car body to a few thousand volts. Set it up so it's only charged when the vehicle is not in park. Remember to put it in park before you exit.
Of course, I'm a cyclist, so if I find your car has an abnormally large charge, I'll help it discharge by removing the gas cap, dropping a wire inside, and allowing it to slowly fall out of the car through wind resistance until it contacts ground.
Go to a good college with a good CE or CS program. There are many classes that will teach you the theory behind networking, and some of the practical aspects. Then get sucked into a networking job administering routers. After a few years you'll have everything you need to know about it... namely that it's not 'fun.' The CE or CS degree will get you a ticket to any job if you do actually find out that networking isn't what you want, and if it is then those two degrees will prepare you for a good go at the field.
I suspect that a CE degree is slightly better in this field since networking involves dealing more with hardware related issues than strictly software (which is all that CS really prepares you for). The theory you learn will be invaluable.
5: How does the Ambient Device get information?
Via a nationwide wireless network called the Ambient Information Network. It works in a similar way to cell phones and receivers.
Translation:
There's a pager receiver inside. We send out national pages every few minutes which essentially contain packets of information on each of the possible displays.
It's still an innovative use of a nearly obsolete network. However, they can't gurantee free service for life though. When they go out of business, your nifty device is nothing unless you hack a computer interface into it, or get a pager account and find a way to attach the receiver into that account.
But it makes me smile to hear them say they have a network all for themselves - giving the impression that they own or control the network their messages are sent over.
I've been mulling this over myself for quite some time. The limited view would be an FPGA with a little bit of memory working at a known resolution and refresh rate. IBM text mode is typically 720x400. Since the font is fixed, then it may even be fairly straightforward to do ascii text decoding on a per-project level.
My stream would then consist of the initial screen shot, then the FPGA would simply compare each subsequent frame to the last frame sent and only send changes. Same thing for graphics, but the data rate would be much greater. The data coming back would be keyboard scan codes.
The ultimate would be the above hardware, but outputing VNC, and accepting mouse commands back. The resolution would necessary be limited, but for the majority of remote systems high resolution is not critical.
If I only had time and money, I'd have this built with a modem/serial interface, CAN, RS-485, Ethernet, and later develop a cell phone modem interface (extension of serial/modem, but phones are pickier). It would also have controllable power outlets for remote reboots, temperature sensors, and a power outage log.
Slashdot Mirror
"treating otherwise hopeless behavioral,
Desire to check email "one last time" before bed
neurological
Thinking of the internet as a living entity with rights of its own, or less drastically as existing in a different legal space than 'the big blue box'
and psychiatric disorders"
Software is imbued with a desire to be free.
-Adam
So the troops can have a better feel as to what their counterparts see when they send a message, the message is always converted at least once, so english to english is converted twice:
"To take thanks care of this goal, which we did not determine." was actually "Thank you for taking care of that target that we failed to notice."
Wait until you see the transcripts of their off duty exploits...
-Adam
They could be doing laser scanning, but I doubt it. I bet they're using LEDs as the light source. Possibly micro arrays for the actual image, but most likely still sticking with a small LED array that has the three colors, a special lensing system that focuses them through a monochrome LCD (cheap non-high temperature transmissive) and then another lens which then produces the output.
This would provide several advantages. First, it would be fairly efficient since 4W of LED power is still fairly efficient (though still 'hot' and not close at all to the ideal 100%). The cheap LCD display due to the lower heat. Small size, especially if high index refrective lenses are used.
Disadvantages are many. Traditional projectors use a bulb which, for all intents and purposes can be modelled as a point light source. Optics are easy, comparatively. For a LED array the optics would be...non trivial. I suppose they could be using single LEDs but even then the leds are seperated, which still makes the job difficult. Another is that the smaller the package, the smaller the optics. The smaller the optics the worse the image. There's a reason you'll never get 4 meter telescope pictures out of a 10cm telescope. The resolving power of the lenses is limited by their size. The LED element will be huge compared to the lens size, and the picture is simply going to be poor.
It'll happen, through this speculative idea or through another, but real multimedia projectors for a given size projection have to be at least as large as the lens has to be for the quality you want. The only thing they might be able to make gains on without ruining the quality are lamp efficiency, lower heat output (these are coupled), and the design of the lens systems currently needed to throw a decent image across a room.
-Adam
"Why not look at the output from a 4 Watt laser? ;)"
You could do it twice... once per eye.
You know, I think he might have a hard time aiming the laser for the second try with a hole through his head. Just a thought.
-Adam
Of course they'll add it, voluntarily even. Just think - you request a download of a particular band's song, and the software verifies that you're getting the illegal file you want instead of some cranky artist going, "What the &#*@ do you think you're doing?" and some silence.
-Adam
Take one part "free speech" and two parts "Innocent until proven guilty" and you can pretty much say anything you want in any format as any entity under these laws (the corporation is such an entity) until someone succesfully sues you in a civil suit to stop making false claims.
The hysterisis built into the US legal system, "Innocent until proven guilty" and "beyond reasonable doubt" create a small area inbetween "Truth" and "Lies" where both sides can claim victory: SCO says, "No one can prove these claims irefutabley flase" while others say "SCO cannot prove these claims true."
Meanwhile they can make money off the proposition that they may be true, and people would be better off paying them rather than taking a small risk and waiting to see what the full outcome is. Many companies have little to lose if they 'lose' so they take the risk and don't pay. But many companies either have a lot to lose, or don't understand what they'll lose and so it's safer to not risk it and simply pay up.
Many other countries have much stronger versions of what we call 'slander' or 'libel' - even covering free speech. One cannot make a statement which has not already been shown to be true or can be readily verified by any interested parties. Using phrases such as "may" or "could infringe" or "This contains forward looking statements" do not always satisfy the legal requirements to fall under 'free speech' as they do in the US.
Quite frankly, you can simply say that the US system give them as much rope as they want to use before someone sues them, whereas the German courts step in and prevent them from getting much, if any, hanging rope. Handing down a warning, and knowing what the penalties are beforehand both empowers a company and stops them short of duping too many people.
-Adam
Don't hold your breath...
...they just want the mod points.
User: Sun
Karma: Poor (Probably from clubbing those baby seals way back when)
-Adam
Gateway sold a line of large monitors such as this 31" presentation monitor on ebay. It's only 640x480, but at this point he needs size, not resolution. Also a low resolution will help with applications that don't provide large sizes. I believe they also sold a 34" 800x600. You can get them on surplus places every so often. Shouldn't be more than $300, if that, for one in good shape.
Note also that sometimes people who are losing their sight need brightness more than size, and a very bright screen, such as a presentation monitor, might be a better solution than simply buying a larger screen. Also make sure that webpage colors are overridden by the browser, and don't show background images.
-Adam
Yes.
Download Page for Daemon Tools.
DVDDecrypter
You need to read a little bit on the dvddecrypter page about how to install it (ie, you may need to download and install a dll or two in addition to the main program) and then you'll use one of the menus to specify an ISO output file. It's pretty straightforward. I also use it to rip audio streams from movies so I can put them on MP3 cds and listen to movies.
Daemon tools is likewise straightforward. After installation, start the program (if it didn't autostart) and a tray icon appears. By default it has one drive (you can enable more) Left click on the icon, select "device 0" and it'll open up a file dialog where you can select the iso file you want to load into the drive. Look in file explorer and there it is.
Command line options are detailed in the help, the one you'll want to use is
daemon.exe -mount 0,"c:\My Images\nameofimage.iso"
-Adam
Use Daemon tools. There are command line utilities to change discs, so it should be fairly straightforward to create a simple selection program that swaps out the virtual disc.
Since it's a virtual DVD-ROM then you can use any DVD decoder/software/hardware that will work on a computer with a regular dvd in a regular dvd drive. The computer doesn't know the difference. When you swap discs it does auto-play as well (unless you've disabled it) so it'll start playing immediately. Disc swaps take a second, longer if it is across the network. Be aware that you'll want at least 100Mb connection via switch or direct to the server. While the DVD in theory only has a 16Mb stream coming down, the ISO is actually delivering quite a bit more information. You can easily play one movie via a network such as this, two is pushing it as long as you don't use it for anything else. Three is right out.
I use DVD-Decrypter to rip the disc to an ISO (and also removing macrovision and css - annoying 'features' I don't need and wish I wasn't paying for).
-Adam
So you're saying that he had a "near-misunderstanding" of the term "near-miss"?
Right. "We had a near miss event last night." In theory, as you indicate, you could assume that "near" and "miss" both modify "event," but it is common in American English to modify modifiers, so that near modifies miss, and "near miss" as a phrase modifies "event."
Either way it is, at best, a near misleading phrase with a near threatening probability of being near misinterpretted. You should stay far away from such a near confusing phrase and stick to straightforward language.
Good enlgish makes for bad headlines, though.
-Adam
Heh. It didn't appear to work earlier today. I cut 'n pasted the phrase from the post and did a 'I'm feeling lucky' search.
But it works now. Either my earlier search had a typo, or Google did something it normally doesn't. Probably a plain old ID 10 T error.
-Adam
Doesn't work anymore. Here's the google watch link to an article about the prank.
-Adam
Unless you're getting a notebook which supports using two batteries at once, I'd suggest not getting an extra battery right off the bat. Wait until you know you need it. It'll die just as fast as the one you use even if you don't use it.
Get an extra AC adaptor (or two or three) I like being able to take mine out of the bag and hooking it up at home without also getting out the power brick and cord.
Carry a network cord.
Wireless - built in. Built in wireless allows for a larger antenna than a pc card, and better reception.
If you think you can use it, a travel scanner is very handy once in awhile. I have a targus pc card travel scanner.
Forget the mouse, unless you're going to be gaming at odd places and times. The trackpad is perfectly usable (actually, with synaptics software it's even better than a mouse) for regular work, and you don't have to move your hand as far from the keyboard to use it. Keep mice at your more stationary locations for long work sessions. If you must have a mouse, try out some of the wireless travel mice. They are fairly small, some even keep the USB adaptor stored inside the mouse when not in use.
Buy the three year extended AND additional 'oops' protection warranties. I cannot stress enough how many things will break on your laptop during normal use no matter how gentle you are. Remember that the manufacturer's warranty only covers manufacturing defects, and after 90 days usually only covers parts, not labor. A laptop is one of those rare devices that both is not cheap to fix yourself, and has a resale value so replacement when it breaks is not normally an option.
-Adam
I did see the part of your post where you said they should compromise. I was not concerned about that part. The part of your post I found laughable was the assertion that "Oftentimes people don't pick their study and work habits - it's just who they are"
It was this portion of your post which I chose to address. I agree with the remainder of your post.
-Adam
"...and that wraps up current strategy. Lastly, the flubinator team needs to be discussed. Is this a viable project? Is it time to abandon that project? Can we do so without losing any valuable employees?"
"Well, sir, I feel we've nursed them along long enough. Even if the idea could pan out, it isn't going anywhere with that team, and I suspect we can do nothing about it. The team lead is the only person worth keeping, as he has all the team data worth keeping. We need to move him somewhere safe, without alerting the remainder of the team before we kick-ban them from our servers..."
random chuckles around the table
"Hey, you remember that guy who applied for my last position, three rungs above himself? Like he could come close to replacing me. Anyway, what if we 'promote' him to the team lead, let him do the dirty work, and then if there's room somewhere else in the company he can start at the bottom again?"
"Sound goods. The donuts are gone and tee time's in 15 minutes, we'd best be ending the meeting. Anything else?"
silence...
"Good day everyone."
-Adam
No, no, no. Don't tell them you're backing up their 1TB data store. Tell them your transferring Libraries of Congress. How many LOCs can you transfer in a minute?
-Adam
My server detects your browser and if it's IE (a KNOWN-non-compliant-pig), I delay the delivery of the content. By doing so, I can provide more server power to the visitors that are using standards-compliant browsers. This might seem trivial, but until you've svelt the slashdot effect firsthand, you probably can't really understand the power of your webserver.
Uh, let's see if that'll help during a slashdot attack...
Server stat during slashdotting:
1264 TCP Connections open waiting on a server side script
Oh yeah, bet your kernel is loving you right about now. When it gets another packet from any source, it has to search through a few thousand file descriptor entries before it puts the right one in its queue. Buffers are filling up. Impatient users are hitting restart, halfway closing the TCP connection and starting a new one.
You may want to leave off taking those 'happy' pills for a little while...
-Adam
Some cards simply aren't going to work well in your environment with your router. Try using a few different cards, and if that doesn't help, change the router/ap. Use an AP and a regular cat5 router instead of a combo (consumer wireless routers are the cheapest of the bunch).
Also try using a B router/AP with G cards. You'll find that the G cards connect to a B router better than they connect to a G router and better than B cards connect to a B router.
Lastly, pay attention to the antennas. Place the router in a central location at about the same height of the receiving cards. Make certian you are using a router/AP with two antennas.
Find a free channel and go for it.
Increasing the power of the router may not help if you cannot also increase the power of the cards, not to mention that it often degrades the signal. Using directional antennas will cause problems with multipath interference in your building.
The phone intereference is annoying, but a good card and a good router/ap will be able to downgrade the speed without dropping the connection.
And remember, there's nothing worse than a box of spilled packets all over the floor. Don't up the power.
-Adam
Oftentimes people don't pick their study and work habits - it's just who they are
.
What the...?
Are you suggesting that study HABITS are genetically controlled? If you are one of the 3 people on this planet who knew how to study without being taught, then perhaps you cannot possible modify your HABITS in which case I feel very, very sorry for you and the life you are forced to lead.
If, however, you realize that study HABITS are things that are formed and are modifyable, then you will likewise come to the conclusion that while you may now prefer to study late at night, there is no biological process which forces you to do so that you cannot modofy by changing your HABITS
It makes me sick to see people who blame their actions on anything just to avoid personal responsability. Get out of your little comfort zone. If you don't learn to do so now by choice, then when you are thrust out of your comfort zone you'll simply be lost.
-Adam
Put some dangly wires from an electrostatic generator to the ground, and charge the car body to a few thousand volts. Set it up so it's only charged when the vehicle is not in park. Remember to put it in park before you exit.
I'm sure there's an easy way to turn all four wheels into a VandeGraaff generator
Of course, I'm a cyclist, so if I find your car has an abnormally large charge, I'll help it discharge by removing the gas cap, dropping a wire inside, and allowing it to slowly fall out of the car through wind resistance until it contacts ground.
-Adam
In Soviet Russia the Terms Service You!
-Adam
Go to a good college with a good CE or CS program. There are many classes that will teach you the theory behind networking, and some of the practical aspects. Then get sucked into a networking job administering routers. After a few years you'll have everything you need to know about it... namely that it's not 'fun.' The CE or CS degree will get you a ticket to any job if you do actually find out that networking isn't what you want, and if it is then those two degrees will prepare you for a good go at the field.
I suspect that a CE degree is slightly better in this field since networking involves dealing more with hardware related issues than strictly software (which is all that CS really prepares you for). The theory you learn will be invaluable.
-Adam
5: How does the Ambient Device get information?
Via a nationwide wireless network called the Ambient Information Network. It works in a similar way to cell phones and receivers.
Translation:
There's a pager receiver inside. We send out national pages every few minutes which essentially contain packets of information on each of the possible displays.
It's still an innovative use of a nearly obsolete network. However, they can't gurantee free service for life though. When they go out of business, your nifty device is nothing unless you hack a computer interface into it, or get a pager account and find a way to attach the receiver into that account.
But it makes me smile to hear them say they have a network all for themselves - giving the impression that they own or control the network their messages are sent over.
-Adam
I've been mulling this over myself for quite some time. The limited view would be an FPGA with a little bit of memory working at a known resolution and refresh rate. IBM text mode is typically 720x400. Since the font is fixed, then it may even be fairly straightforward to do ascii text decoding on a per-project level.
My stream would then consist of the initial screen shot, then the FPGA would simply compare each subsequent frame to the last frame sent and only send changes. Same thing for graphics, but the data rate would be much greater. The data coming back would be keyboard scan codes.
The ultimate would be the above hardware, but outputing VNC, and accepting mouse commands back. The resolution would necessary be limited, but for the majority of remote systems high resolution is not critical.
If I only had time and money, I'd have this built with a modem/serial interface, CAN, RS-485, Ethernet, and later develop a cell phone modem interface (extension of serial/modem, but phones are pickier). It would also have controllable power outlets for remote reboots, temperature sensors, and a power outage log.
-Adam