I've worked with a few tablet PCs, and I have to say that that there is a huge market for them from college students... if the price is right.
The tablet PC is fantastic for taking notes during lectures. It's unobtrusive, and you can turn the handwriting recognition off while you're maddly scribbling notes and drawing diagrams. Plug in a mic, and you've got a recording of the lecture for future reference.
Later on you could run the recognition software, reorganize your notes, highlight, e-mail, print, etc. etc. Plug in a keyboard and a mouse, and suddenly you've got a "normal" computer for browsing the 'net, writing papers, and, erm, acquiring music.
The "perfect" tablet for this market would have a lightweight OS, 10GB HD, wifi, low power CPU (Crusoe?) and dimensions roughly the same as an A4 or 8x10 pad of paper (12.1" screen, ~1/2" thick).
How many students would buy one if they were under $1000? What's your personal price point?
Yup, I'm aware that it's not actually several CPUs on the same die. I'm pretty certain that 2.5 is aware of the difference in the scheduler: Ingo's queueing system is still per-physical CPU, with internal hints for hyperthreading processors. 2.4 just goes along with the idea that they're all distinct processors.
Hyperthreading is not fully transparent to the OS. The scheduler needs to be aware of the processors capabilities to take advantage of it. It's not a very difficult situation to adapt to, but it's not transparent.
And yes, it was official, because it was rubber stamped by Intel.
Support is an argument for and against buying prebuilt systems...
If you're colocating a server, having a pre-built machine with a tight support contract is pretty crucial. For example, Dell offers a 24/7, 2 hour on-site support guarantee for servers almost anywhere in the continental United States. That's pretty darned handy if your servers are spread around.
On the other hand, if you're able to service the machine yourself within a reasonable time frame, I think it's always better to build your own servers because you have:
- Intimate knowledge of every hardware component in the box. You researched every piece, right? Lots of manufacturers put in weird devices and what-not, and you can never really be sure of what's under the hood when you buy from someone else.
- Spare components on hand. If you're spending the cash on some nice servers, having an extra hard drive, DIMMs, and a network card on hand is pretty invaluable.
- Better upgrade path. Feel free to swap out a motherboard, processor, or SCSI system. No worries about proprietary motherboard or case standards... there are other issues than support, of course, but this is just my two cents.:)
Linux does support hyperthreading. 2.4.20 recognizes four processors on my dual Xeon servers, without any tweaks. I think it's pretty nice -- I'd say there's between a 5% and 25% pickup in performance, depending on what you're using it for (generic vs. optimized integer code).
According to a geek.com article, Linux was actually the first operating system to officially support hyperthreading, and that was in late 2001.
... if we can perform surgery via telerobotics, why wouldn't we be able to perform, say, guided experiments in space?
Given the inherent safety issues with routine space travel, how difficult would it be to create a remotely manned orbiter to carry out space based experiments?
It seems like there would be a tremendous number of benefits -- no direct risk to human life, smaller shuttle / more room for payloads, 24/7 operation (split shifts behind the controls), etc.... of course, we'd have to deal with staying in contact with the shuttle while it orbited the Earth, and the lag associated with such distances... and it wouldn't be quite so exciting...
You are absolutely right -- it is a government sponsored monopoly, and as a monopoly, they are constrained by certain laws.
And I agree, the only reasonable way to increase competition is force the Bells to provide access to local loops.
Local loops are still unbundled -- however, they become an all-or-nothing deal. Previously, a third party could use the high frequency carrier on a local loop where service is already provided by an incumbent LEC.
This regulation makes the third party DSL provider purchase the entire local loop, instead of piggybacking on the incumbent. A separate phone line has to be used, etc. etc. This also means a cleaner separation between what belongs to the Bells and other providers... which is what we want anyway.
So, third party DSL may become a bit more expensive.. but there's no guarantee it will happen, and there's still plenty of room for competition.
But I'm not an expert. In the end, I'm just trying to point out that this really isn't the black and white issue a lot of people make it out to be.
If I laid out a serious amount of money to establish COs and copper to (nearly) every house in the United States, I'd be a little pissed at the government for making me open it up to people who are offering competing services.
Technically, the Bells really should be able to lay down the law when it comes to who access their cables. I mean, it's their cables.
I'm all for competition, but this is kind of an awkward situation.
On the other hand -- all ya'll who are hot to trot with wireless Internet access: hop on the venture capital wagon, and start your roll out in about.. oh.. a year. When phone companies jack their DSL rates, and the competition gets locked out of the copper... guess who they're going to turn to?
.. also known as the loss leader, seems to be a defining practice in interactive home entertainment these days. That basically means that the company makes no money off the initial sale, but reaps high margins from subsequent purchases necessary to keep that initial device functional.
It worked extremely well for Sony -- selling the playstation at zero (sometimes negative) margins, then making money by being the sole licenser of games (that they didn't spend money developing) for the platform.
I think the xbox is taking financially because Microsoft went out and bought a substantial number of good game development companies who haven't been able to release a seriously block-busting game.. but that's another issue.
TiVo is a completely different story. They're selling the consoles at or below cost.. then trying to make profits by selling mandatory advertising spots to media companies. Unfortunately, there aren't enough TiVo users to convince media companies to pay big bucks for the spots.
The population of TiVo users has to grow -- and that means they need to lower the cost of their consoles. Dramatically. Even if it means reducing the functionality of the box. When TiVo costs $50, and you can buy it at Wallgreens, that's when advertising and media companies are going to sit up and thing "Holy crap, that's a huge captive audience."
This is great -- basically a network storage appliance, without the wires. I wonder how the battery life is, although I suspect it's good for a few hours (similar to iPod).
I'm definitely interested. I work with lots of people who are WiFi capable and need storage larger than CF cards. It seems like this could be a very handy device for independent consultants and developers on the move... or in a location that hasn't been fully wired.
.. is that you get to choose which product best suits your needs. Unfortunately, that also means that someone doesn't get picked. Get over it, and make a better product. Maybe you'll get picked the next time around.
I was hoping it would share some other great features with Sun servers, but alas, I'll have to wait for a laptop with hot swappable CPU and memory modules..
Sarcasm aside, Tadpole makes some great products. They've been building laptops that put most others to shame for years... I've only played with one (mmm, trade shows), but they're solid and fast little buggers. Heavy, and the battery life isn't very good, but if you need a Solaris workstation on the road..
My other favorite style of Sparc system was the Ross SPARCplug. It was a full server, packed into a two (or three?) 5.25 inch drive bays. Stick it in your PC, plug in a network cable, and pow -- stealth server! Dual hypersparc CPUs, 256MB of RAM, SCSI, 100Base/T ethernet... at the time (mid-ninties), it was a rocket! They pop up from time-to-time on eBay.. usually a few hundred bucks now, as opposed to several thousand dollars back in the day.
Hmm. You can also find raftloads of old IPXes and stuff, for dirt cheap (usually under $100). Tons of fun. Beats the pants off of a low end PDA for cheap thrills.
Just think.. for about $1000, you too could own a REAL beowulf cluster, running on Sun hardware! Now that's something to write home about, even if your nodes are only running at 25MHz.. but even then, you'd still be surprised at what they can do.
... strange. Mr. Bill owns Corbis Images.. I'm surprised he's using Photodisc and Getty. Heh.
Importance of Versioning
on
Linux Kernel 3.0?
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
As Linus said, it doesn't really matter what it's called, so long as people use it. Versions don't have any real technical meaning (other than the even/odd kernels which signify stable/development).
Since it doesn't have any technical meaning, it shouldn't be argued on technical merit. However, version numbers play a big roll in the business world. Business and marketing folk get the biggerbetterfaster vibe from increasing version numbers.
Several distributions just released new versions in the last couple of months, or are on the verge of releasing new versions. Redhat, Mandrake, Debian, etc. Good stuff. Let the hype play out, and don't trump it by releasing a Brand New Big Version Kernel that none of the distros contain.
Make this one 2.6. Technical people in the know, the ones who run the servers, the ones who really need the performance increases, will upgrade accordingly. Rumors in the press will be able to convince people that Linux is growing and kicking ass.
Make the 3.0 switch after distributions have caught their breath, and after some of the other nifty things that impact userland have been completed: the POSIX stuff, further refinement of the new VM system, FS improvements (resizing, reiser 4, etc).
Then everyone can whoop and holler about what a great new kernel it is, and how much more added value it gives to distribution version increments, etc. etc.
Linux is great technology. Fantastic technology. It's development shouldn't be dictated by fickle marketroids. But version numbers are the most publicly visible attribute of the kernel, and should be treated accordingly.
Oh, crap! There I go, giving my country a bad rep.;-)
I suppose that's what I get for writing on Slashdot at five in the morning. Oh well. I suppose it's almost obligatory to fudge something when posting here. Heh.
Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of the English language, and I think that it is a good idea to limit severe language deviations, particularly in a formal academic setting. I'm not going to endorse the substitution of 'r' and 'u' for 'are' and 'you', but simply make a point of the roll such things play in the evolution of a language.
I'm an American, and I'm studying linguistics (amongst other things) in New Zealand. It's an interesting place to study linguistics, because New Zealand is one of the very few places (if not the only place) where there is a fairly complete aural record of the evolution from it's roots in the United Kingdom to it's modern form.
Language is a hard target to pin down. Even in countries that try to limit linguistic migration (such as France) can't slow it down significantly, even in times without huge revolutions in communication. English is one of the fastest changing, and most diverse languages on the planet, and it only takes the space of about two generations for the "proper" high culture forms of the language to change significantly.
A major shift in communication technology makes the changes occur much, much faster. The advent of radio made western urban American English the "proper" form of American English in the span of about five years. National broadcasters go through an enormous amount of training to develop that accent, as do politicians and other public figures. Listen to Clinton's speeches at the beginning and end of his term, or even how George Bush's (much ridiculed) accent has started to change.
It's expected that the Internet will have the same effect on written languages that the radio had on spoken languages. Interestingly enough, it wasn't until the advent of the newspaper that English spelling (both American and British) became more or less standardized across large geographic regions.
Ironically, the first place to hear about a significant change in language is in the editorial / opinion sections of news papers... and it's never good news! Furthermore, it's always about primary and secondary school kids.
Anyhow, I suspect that the practice of using 'oic' and 'l8r' in written English will expand dramatically over the next decade. Distasteful? Perhaps. But keep in mind that there's only one standard for language: the de facto standard.
Since most of the locations in that area seems to be hang-out type places, you should present them with a real business opportunity, and opportunity lays in rewording your proposals:
Instead of selling advertising space, get businesses to sponsor the site. Tell them the benefits of having a local wireless node (ie: people stay longer, and buy more things), the growth of the wireless market, the building of the community in the area, etc.
After you're done telling them what great stuff it will do for them, tell them how much work they have to do: zero. You take care of all the administration. They don't have to install, touch, or worry about anything -- they just have to pay a very low monthly fee.
Then tell them that they get a free promotional image that gets sent to users who are using the network. People love free stuff.
Some people will figure out that they don't actually have to pay for it to have access to it in their shops... but most people, especially small business owners, are really keen on communities and opportunities, especially if they're cheap and come with "value added" features (the free image thing I mentioned earlier).
Regardless of how you decide to approach it, remember that you're offering opportunities, not selling advertising space. It may be the same thing in the end, but the mind set and language is different, and that difference is usually what makes and breaks businesses.
Technology is the foundation. Presentation is the business.
I suppose I'm in a similar situation. I'm at the tail end of my third university attempt in the past five years, and while this one has been a bit more successful than the others, I'm pretty certain I'll be leaving school at the end of this term.
I'm impatient. While I've taken some classes that are absolutely thrilling, for the most part I'm unimpressed with life as a full time student. In the last five years, I've managed to start a few successful businesses, I've done a lot of traveling, and have had generally free reign to pursue my interests and make something of them. I've been able to support myself quite well in nearly all of my ventures.
I enjoy working. I enjoy developing business plans. I enjoy making real money. I enjoy the risk of failure. I like the real world interaction, the respect, and the challenge of dealing with things that come up in "real life."
Granted, for a lot of people, the academic world is real life. For me, it's just another interesting project... but it's expensive, often boring, and too far removed from all the other pies I've got my fingers in. I don't want to abandon it all together, but I'm certain I don't want to make it my singular focus for the next few years.
What do I think you should do? If you're enjoying your work, stick with it, and make the most of it. Don't pay attention to the naysayers and their "what if the economy fails, how will you find another job, blah blah blah." If things go wrong and you can't find another job, go to school. If you're looking for something else to do... go to school. If you're enjoying your work, but you really want to go to school, do both, part time.
If you're in a good situation now, there's no reason to leave it, unless you think you could do better in another situation. Only you can know what your true priorities are, and given the amount of success you say you've had, I say that you can successfully trust your instincts with this decision.
You're most likely a younger guy like myself. Early twenties? Late teens? You've got plenty of years to "get your life together" before you start thinking about supporting a family and what-have-you. It's better to take the risks now, when you can afford to make a few bad decisions, than attempt to "do the right thing" out of some sense of obligation or guilt -- that's a sure fire way to end up burnt out and miserable.
It sounds cheesy, but I say follow your heart: There are tons of successful people with and without degrees, and what seems to count most is your passion and commitment to whatever it is that you find the most fulfilling.
I have one word for you: Brickhouse. You can do all sorts of crazy firewalling and routing with that program, and there's a particularly easy wizard that'll let you set up a basestation-esque connection. I dig it.
I was mostly interested in the pictures, 'cause the article was terrible -- I think it was bashed together from press releases. I won't even get into the benchmarking, except to say that benchmarks should *not* compare two completely different architectures running at significantly different clock speeds with different software and OS versions. What were they trying to demonstrate?
The big image on the third page was a shocker. Ack. Sure, it's just a mechanical sample, but adding a big page showing that you bent the pins on the processor doesn't particularly add to your breathless and misleading review. Wow. That was a terrible article. If AMD wants positive press in the technical crowd, they should be giving the samples to folks who know what they're doing.
Slashdot Mirror
I've worked with a few tablet PCs, and I have to say that that there is a huge market for them from college students ... if the price is right.
The tablet PC is fantastic for taking notes during lectures. It's unobtrusive, and you can turn the handwriting recognition off while you're maddly scribbling notes and drawing diagrams. Plug in a mic, and you've got a recording of the lecture for future reference.
Later on you could run the recognition software, reorganize your notes, highlight, e-mail, print, etc. etc. Plug in a keyboard and a mouse, and suddenly you've got a "normal" computer for browsing the 'net, writing papers, and, erm, acquiring music.
The "perfect" tablet for this market would have a lightweight OS, 10GB HD, wifi, low power CPU (Crusoe?) and dimensions roughly the same as an A4 or 8x10 pad of paper (12.1" screen, ~1/2" thick).
How many students would buy one if they were under $1000? What's your personal price point?
Yup, I'm aware that it's not actually several CPUs on the same die. I'm pretty certain that 2.5 is aware of the difference in the scheduler: Ingo's queueing system is still per-physical CPU, with internal hints for hyperthreading processors. 2.4 just goes along with the idea that they're all distinct processors.
Hyperthreading is not fully transparent to the OS. The scheduler needs to be aware of the processors capabilities to take advantage of it. It's not a very difficult situation to adapt to, but it's not transparent.
And yes, it was official, because it was rubber stamped by Intel.
Support is an argument for and against buying prebuilt systems ...
.. there are other issues than support, of course, but this is just my two cents. :)
If you're colocating a server, having a pre-built machine with a tight support contract is pretty crucial. For example, Dell offers a 24/7, 2 hour on-site support guarantee for servers almost anywhere in the continental United States. That's pretty darned handy if your servers are spread around.
On the other hand, if you're able to service the machine yourself within a reasonable time frame, I think it's always better to build your own servers because you have:
- Intimate knowledge of every hardware component in the box. You researched every piece, right? Lots of manufacturers put in weird devices and what-not, and you can never really be sure of what's under the hood when you buy from someone else.
- Spare components on hand. If you're spending the cash on some nice servers, having an extra hard drive, DIMMs, and a network card on hand is pretty invaluable.
- Better upgrade path. Feel free to swap out a motherboard, processor, or SCSI system. No worries about proprietary motherboard or case standards.
Linux does support hyperthreading. 2.4.20 recognizes four processors on my dual Xeon servers, without any tweaks. I think it's pretty nice -- I'd say there's between a 5% and 25% pickup in performance, depending on what you're using it for (generic vs. optimized integer code).
According to a geek.com article, Linux was actually the first operating system to officially support hyperthreading, and that was in late 2001.
I mean, really. It was supposed to be a revolutionary interface!
... if we can perform surgery via telerobotics, why wouldn't we be able to perform, say, guided experiments in space?
... of course, we'd have to deal with staying in contact with the shuttle while it orbited the Earth, and the lag associated with such distances ... and it wouldn't be quite so exciting ...
Given the inherent safety issues with routine space travel, how difficult would it be to create a remotely manned orbiter to carry out space based experiments?
It seems like there would be a tremendous number of benefits -- no direct risk to human life, smaller shuttle / more room for payloads, 24/7 operation (split shifts behind the controls), etc.
Just a thought. Any ideas?
You are absolutely right -- it is a government sponsored monopoly, and as a monopoly, they are constrained by certain laws.
... which is what we want anyway.
.. but there's no guarantee it will happen, and there's still plenty of room for competition.
And I agree, the only reasonable way to increase competition is force the Bells to provide access to local loops.
Local loops are still unbundled -- however, they become an all-or-nothing deal. Previously, a third party could use the high frequency carrier on a local loop where service is already provided by an incumbent LEC.
This regulation makes the third party DSL provider purchase the entire local loop, instead of piggybacking on the incumbent. A separate phone line has to be used, etc. etc. This also means a cleaner separation between what belongs to the Bells and other providers
So, third party DSL may become a bit more expensive
But I'm not an expert. In the end, I'm just trying to point out that this really isn't the black and white issue a lot of people make it out to be.
If I laid out a serious amount of money to establish COs and copper to (nearly) every house in the United States, I'd be a little pissed at the government for making me open it up to people who are offering competing services.
.. oh .. a year. When phone companies jack their DSL rates, and the competition gets locked out of the copper ... guess who they're going to turn to?
Technically, the Bells really should be able to lay down the law when it comes to who access their cables. I mean, it's their cables.
I'm all for competition, but this is kind of an awkward situation.
On the other hand -- all ya'll who are hot to trot with wireless Internet access: hop on the venture capital wagon, and start your roll out in about
.. also known as the loss leader, seems to be a defining practice in interactive home entertainment these days. That basically means that the company makes no money off the initial sale, but reaps high margins from subsequent purchases necessary to keep that initial device functional.
.. but that's another issue.
.. then trying to make profits by selling mandatory advertising spots to media companies. Unfortunately, there aren't enough TiVo users to convince media companies to pay big bucks for the spots.
It worked extremely well for Sony -- selling the playstation at zero (sometimes negative) margins, then making money by being the sole licenser of games (that they didn't spend money developing) for the platform.
I think the xbox is taking financially because Microsoft went out and bought a substantial number of good game development companies who haven't been able to release a seriously block-busting game
TiVo is a completely different story. They're selling the consoles at or below cost
The population of TiVo users has to grow -- and that means they need to lower the cost of their consoles. Dramatically. Even if it means reducing the functionality of the box. When TiVo costs $50, and you can buy it at Wallgreens, that's when advertising and media companies are going to sit up and thing "Holy crap, that's a huge captive audience."
This is great -- basically a network storage appliance, without the wires. I wonder how the battery life is, although I suspect it's good for a few hours (similar to iPod).
... or in a location that hasn't been fully wired.
I'm definitely interested. I work with lots of people who are WiFi capable and need storage larger than CF cards. It seems like this could be a very handy device for independent consultants and developers on the move
Hmm. I'd like to see this in the US.
If NASA can't launch a shuttle safely, why should we as citizens be attempting it?
(rewind 30 years)
If IBM can't build a cheap but effective computer, why should small companies be attempting it?
(return to present day)
Because competition is good. Competition makes things better.
Space flight is a well developed science now, which means it can be duplicated and made cheaper.
Because there's always room for improvement.
Because one size does not fit all.
There's thousands of reasons why this is a good idea.
Don't defer to the established experts, just because they're established.
.. is that you get to choose which product best suits your needs. Unfortunately, that also means that someone doesn't get picked. Get over it, and make a better product. Maybe you'll get picked the next time around.
I was hoping it would share some other great features with Sun servers, but alas, I'll have to wait for a laptop with hot swappable CPU and memory modules ..
... I've only played with one (mmm, trade shows), but they're solid and fast little buggers. Heavy, and the battery life isn't very good, but if you need a Solaris workstation on the road ..
... at the time (mid-ninties), it was a rocket! They pop up from time-to-time on eBay .. usually a few hundred bucks now, as opposed to several thousand dollars back in the day.
.. for about $1000, you too could own a REAL beowulf cluster, running on Sun hardware! Now that's something to write home about, even if your nodes are only running at 25MHz .. but even then, you'd still be surprised at what they can do.
Sarcasm aside, Tadpole makes some great products. They've been building laptops that put most others to shame for years
My other favorite style of Sparc system was the Ross SPARCplug. It was a full server, packed into a two (or three?) 5.25 inch drive bays. Stick it in your PC, plug in a network cable, and pow -- stealth server! Dual hypersparc CPUs, 256MB of RAM, SCSI, 100Base/T ethernet
Hmm. You can also find raftloads of old IPXes and stuff, for dirt cheap (usually under $100). Tons of fun. Beats the pants off of a low end PDA for cheap thrills.
Just think
... strange. Mr. Bill owns Corbis Images .. I'm surprised he's using Photodisc and Getty. Heh.
As Linus said, it doesn't really matter what it's called, so long as people use it. Versions don't have any real technical meaning (other than the even/odd kernels which signify stable/development).
Since it doesn't have any technical meaning, it shouldn't be argued on technical merit. However, version numbers play a big roll in the business world. Business and marketing folk get the biggerbetterfaster vibe from increasing version numbers.
Several distributions just released new versions in the last couple of months, or are on the verge of releasing new versions. Redhat, Mandrake, Debian, etc. Good stuff. Let the hype play out, and don't trump it by releasing a Brand New Big Version Kernel that none of the distros contain.
Make this one 2.6. Technical people in the know, the ones who run the servers, the ones who really need the performance increases, will upgrade accordingly. Rumors in the press will be able to convince people that Linux is growing and kicking ass.
Make the 3.0 switch after distributions have caught their breath, and after some of the other nifty things that impact userland have been completed: the POSIX stuff, further refinement of the new VM system, FS improvements (resizing, reiser 4, etc).
Then everyone can whoop and holler about what a great new kernel it is, and how much more added value it gives to distribution version increments, etc. etc.
Linux is great technology. Fantastic technology. It's development shouldn't be dictated by fickle marketroids. But version numbers are the most publicly visible attribute of the kernel, and should be treated accordingly.
Uh oh.
.. a little more .. AAGH! FUCK! Wait! NO! Don't do THAT! Crap! DAMNIT! Someone turn this thing off! NO! NOT THAT THING!"
"A little to the left
Heh. Sounds like trouble.
... the server's been slashdoted. :)
Oh, crap! There I go, giving my country a bad rep. ;-)
I suppose that's what I get for writing on Slashdot at five in the morning. Oh well. I suppose it's almost obligatory to fudge something when posting here. Heh.
Amen to that! If only my moderation points hadn't expired yesterday ... now all I can do is follow up with an agreeable post. :)
Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of the English language, and I think that it is a good idea to limit severe language deviations, particularly in a formal academic setting. I'm not going to endorse the substitution of 'r' and 'u' for 'are' and 'you', but simply make a point of the roll such things play in the evolution of a language.
... and it's never good news! Furthermore, it's always about primary and secondary school kids.
I'm an American, and I'm studying linguistics (amongst other things) in New Zealand. It's an interesting place to study linguistics, because New Zealand is one of the very few places (if not the only place) where there is a fairly complete aural record of the evolution from it's roots in the United Kingdom to it's modern form.
Language is a hard target to pin down. Even in countries that try to limit linguistic migration (such as France) can't slow it down significantly, even in times without huge revolutions in communication. English is one of the fastest changing, and most diverse languages on the planet, and it only takes the space of about two generations for the "proper" high culture forms of the language to change significantly.
A major shift in communication technology makes the changes occur much, much faster. The advent of radio made western urban American English the "proper" form of American English in the span of about five years. National broadcasters go through an enormous amount of training to develop that accent, as do politicians and other public figures. Listen to Clinton's speeches at the beginning and end of his term, or even how George Bush's (much ridiculed) accent has started to change.
It's expected that the Internet will have the same effect on written languages that the radio had on spoken languages. Interestingly enough, it wasn't until the advent of the newspaper that English spelling (both American and British) became more or less standardized across large geographic regions.
Ironically, the first place to hear about a significant change in language is in the editorial / opinion sections of news papers
Anyhow, I suspect that the practice of using 'oic' and 'l8r' in written English will expand dramatically over the next decade. Distasteful? Perhaps. But keep in mind that there's only one standard for language: the de facto standard.
Since most of the locations in that area seems to be hang-out type places, you should present them with a real business opportunity, and opportunity lays in rewording your proposals:
... but most people, especially small business owners, are really keen on communities and opportunities, especially if they're cheap and come with "value added" features (the free image thing I mentioned earlier).
Instead of selling advertising space, get businesses to sponsor the site. Tell them the benefits of having a local wireless node (ie: people stay longer, and buy more things), the growth of the wireless market, the building of the community in the area, etc.
After you're done telling them what great stuff it will do for them, tell them how much work they have to do: zero. You take care of all the administration. They don't have to install, touch, or worry about anything -- they just have to pay a very low monthly fee.
Then tell them that they get a free promotional image that gets sent to users who are using the network. People love free stuff.
Some people will figure out that they don't actually have to pay for it to have access to it in their shops
Regardless of how you decide to approach it, remember that you're offering opportunities, not selling advertising space. It may be the same thing in the end, but the mind set and language is different, and that difference is usually what makes and breaks businesses.
Technology is the foundation. Presentation is the business.
I suppose I'm in a similar situation. I'm at the tail end of my third university attempt in the past five years, and while this one has been a bit more successful than the others, I'm pretty certain I'll be leaving school at the end of this term.
... but it's expensive, often boring, and too far removed from all the other pies I've got my fingers in. I don't want to abandon it all together, but I'm certain I don't want to make it my singular focus for the next few years.
... go to school. If you're enjoying your work, but you really want to go to school, do both, part time.
I'm impatient. While I've taken some classes that are absolutely thrilling, for the most part I'm unimpressed with life as a full time student. In the last five years, I've managed to start a few successful businesses, I've done a lot of traveling, and have had generally free reign to pursue my interests and make something of them. I've been able to support myself quite well in nearly all of my ventures.
I enjoy working. I enjoy developing business plans. I enjoy making real money. I enjoy the risk of failure. I like the real world interaction, the respect, and the challenge of dealing with things that come up in "real life."
Granted, for a lot of people, the academic world is real life. For me, it's just another interesting project
What do I think you should do? If you're enjoying your work, stick with it, and make the most of it. Don't pay attention to the naysayers and their "what if the economy fails, how will you find another job, blah blah blah." If things go wrong and you can't find another job, go to school. If you're looking for something else to do
If you're in a good situation now, there's no reason to leave it, unless you think you could do better in another situation. Only you can know what your true priorities are, and given the amount of success you say you've had, I say that you can successfully trust your instincts with this decision.
You're most likely a younger guy like myself. Early twenties? Late teens? You've got plenty of years to "get your life together" before you start thinking about supporting a family and what-have-you. It's better to take the risks now, when you can afford to make a few bad decisions, than attempt to "do the right thing" out of some sense of obligation or guilt -- that's a sure fire way to end up burnt out and miserable.
It sounds cheesy, but I say follow your heart: There are tons of successful people with and without degrees, and what seems to count most is your passion and commitment to whatever it is that you find the most fulfilling.
Enough of my rambling. Best of luck to ya!
I have one word for you: Brickhouse. You can do all sorts of crazy firewalling and routing with that program, and there's a particularly easy wizard that'll let you set up a basestation-esque connection. I dig it.
I was mostly interested in the pictures, 'cause the article was terrible -- I think it was bashed together from press releases. I won't even get into the benchmarking, except to say that benchmarks should *not* compare two completely different architectures running at significantly different clock speeds with different software and OS versions. What were they trying to demonstrate?
The big image on the third page was a shocker. Ack. Sure, it's just a mechanical sample, but adding a big page showing that you bent the pins on the processor doesn't particularly add to your breathless and misleading review. Wow. That was a terrible article. If AMD wants positive press in the technical crowd, they should be giving the samples to folks who know what they're doing.