I am currently reading Gitta Sereny's biography of Albert Speer (Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth), who was Hitler's architect, then armaments minister during WW2.
He claims to have stopped the scientists from developing the bomb any further - not because he was opposed to the concept if such a weapon (he certainly wasn't). The reason was that it was clear it would need much more time than was available in order to complete the work.
What was considered feasible was the idea of an "energy producing Uranium motor" for use in vehicles, and research was switched in that direction around 1944.
Antony Beevor's excellent book on the fall of Berlin also makes it clear that the Germans' nuclear research facilities were well known to the Russian's and were a major influence on Stalin's tactical decisions regarding Berlin. He was determined to obtain the fruits of this research.
The book also makes clear that Heisenburg did not try to sabotage the programme but was eager to succeed. This view is also backed up by the famous meeting between Heisenburg and Nils Bohr in Copenhagen in 1941 and Hesinburg's views at that time.
Of course even though one new where Heisenburg was in 1941 you could never tell what direction he was taking at that time.
A pretty impessive flash though. Even in mono at 640 X 480 I knew I just had to try it. I lived with it as my main system for a couple of years so I think I can maybe add a few things that did kill it (at least for me).
Lack of 'clever' interfaces. Apart from a few basic functions there was little USB etc. These days (and even in the late 90s) this meant little PDA connectivity and no cameras, MP3 etc.
The ever-quoted lack of software. While there might be 10^6 applications on BeBits there was never a huge amount of 'big' software. This meant little choice in office suites, photo editors etc. There ones that existed were good but a limited choice.
Limited take-up of BeOS. Everyone I showed BeOS to was blown away by it but even IT professionals had never heard of it. The laws of supply and demand really mean that (1) and (2) above will be a problem until there is enough interest for applications to be other than hobby products.
What do I miss? I've moved on to OS X as many e-BeOS people seem to. By and large I am very happy, Windows was always boring and utilitarian, a problem that both BeOS and OS X avoided with some style.
I miss the speed, simplicity and stability of BeOS. It was a unix-like OS without the labyrinthine complexity of GNU/Linux. I really miss the custom attributes that were such a unique feature of BeOS - I don't believe any other OS has implemented such a scheme. Would I go back? Unlikely now. OpenBeOS will have to develop hugely to fill the above gaps. Zeta is just the bastard offspring of BeOS - a dead end that's going nowhere.
I was somewhat disappointed that the article only included mail clients (with the exception of Outlook XP) that would run on UNIX boxes. I'm stuck using Windows for work, no matter what my preferences may be, so wanted to see that platform covered, as well.
Of course picture phones are not meant to replace cameras! They're designed to fill up all the available bandwidth so that (a) the telecoms get lot's of dosh, (b) the networks need replacement with 4G and the networks get locks of dosh and, (c) we get our pockets sucked dry paying for it all!
Hodgodamus' prediction for 2004 is that applications will be developed to allow access to online music stores via mobile phones. This will be lead by the telecoms as a great benefit to consumer choice when really (a), (b) and (c) are the real winners.
I kept reading the article thinking - I had almost all of those metadata features in BeOS. The two most powerful things there were, a journalled file system and, file system custom attributes.
I read about the possible implementation of P9 mail within the filesystem, presumably recognisable by a range of clients. This was also present in BeFS. It's always annoying to see things presented as great innovations when they have been implemented before albeit in a platform that is currently crashing and burning!
Some people work with software every day and may even develop software. These people are basically us, the/. users, the engineers, and we don't spend nearly enough time working with the users.
Users do weird things that none of us really understand. Why do users close applications every time they need to open a new document? Why do users maximise all windows when working with multiple documents?
The key difference is that we understand the GUI metaphors although it may have taken us a long time to get there. Experienced IT pro's can adapt to new systems quickly and with minimal fuss. Users who have never learned what they are doing can not!
Hey, lets force developers to develop software on 800X600 displays just like the users. See how much cleaner the GUI becomes!
I really back this notion strongly and I never synchronise my Psion. Probably just as well, as it never seemed to work that well compared with Palm and MS Active Sync.
The idea of using the PDA as remote storage would probably work great for me, you and many other but not for everybody. The whole point of synchronisation is usually that other people can setup appointments for the PDA user while she is away from base and the user can be creating appointments remotely and these are then synchronised to merge the two.
I use a Psion netBook to send and recieve mail while on the move, occasional browsing plus all the usual games, ebooks, datebook and contact stuff. The real bonus for me is that I can store other information for access anywhere and if necessary encrypt the really important stuff such as bank details, passwords, card details etc.
It's quicker to switch on the netBook to record details of lottery syndicate payments made to me than it is write things down then lose them.
The latest facility added is that I can now create PDF file from the native applications and mail them out or better yet print them on whatever OS I happen to be playing with at the time knowing that they will look correct. This all allows me to creat documents on the move rather then being tied to a desktop PC. All of this in a sub-sub-notebook form factor with really long battery life, no delicate hard drive and a rock solid OS.
Slashdot Mirror
Surely the geekiest animals in history are going to prove to be the ones on the cover of the O'Reilly books.
Is has to be an IWV Mark XV Pilot's watch. It must be the only watch with a version number.
That was the first time I had heard that too. I'm inclined to accept it though as he did have a lot of access to the Kremlim for his researches.
He claims to have stopped the scientists from developing the bomb any further - not because he was opposed to the concept if such a weapon (he certainly wasn't). The reason was that it was clear it would need much more time than was available in order to complete the work.
What was considered feasible was the idea of an "energy producing Uranium motor" for use in vehicles, and research was switched in that direction around 1944.
Antony Beevor's excellent book on the fall of Berlin also makes it clear that the Germans' nuclear research facilities were well known to the Russian's and were a major influence on Stalin's tactical decisions regarding Berlin. He was determined to obtain the fruits of this research.
The book also makes clear that Heisenburg did not try to sabotage the programme but was eager to succeed. This view is also backed up by the famous meeting between Heisenburg and Nils Bohr in Copenhagen in 1941 and Hesinburg's views at that time.
Of course even though one new where Heisenburg was in 1941 you could never tell what direction he was taking at that time.
A pretty impessive flash though. Even in mono at 640 X 480 I knew I just had to try it. I lived with it as my main system for a couple of years so I think I can maybe add a few things that did kill it (at least for me).
What do I miss? I've moved on to OS X as many e-BeOS people seem to. By and large I am very happy, Windows was always boring and utilitarian, a problem that both BeOS and OS X avoided with some style.
I miss the speed, simplicity and stability of BeOS. It was a unix-like OS without the labyrinthine complexity of GNU/Linux. I really miss the custom attributes that were such a unique feature of BeOS - I don't believe any other OS has implemented such a scheme. Would I go back? Unlikely now. OpenBeOS will have to develop hugely to fill the above gaps. Zeta is just the bastard offspring of BeOS - a dead end that's going nowhere.
And maybe its influence will be felt in the soon-to-be-released Palm OS 6 (Cobalt).
It's simple really - just get The Bat!
Great news for all fans of morse code. This now means that when we send an SOS we can supply an email address to let us know help is on its way!
...-....-.
Of course picture phones are not meant to replace cameras! They're designed to fill up all the available bandwidth so that (a) the telecoms get lot's of dosh, (b) the networks need replacement with 4G and the networks get locks of dosh and, (c) we get our pockets sucked dry paying for it all! Hodgodamus' prediction for 2004 is that applications will be developed to allow access to online music stores via mobile phones. This will be lead by the telecoms as a great benefit to consumer choice when really (a), (b) and (c) are the real winners.
The Sheaffer PFM (Pen For Men) is the obvious choice. 50's technology at its best.
Gotta be the Sheaffer PFM (Pen For Men)! The finest 50's fountain pen technology. Write up there with slide rules! Cheers -- Pun intended
I read about the possible implementation of P9 mail within the filesystem, presumably recognisable by a range of clients. This was also present in BeFS. It's always annoying to see things presented as great innovations when they have been implemented before albeit in a platform that is currently crashing and burning!
Some people work with software every day and may even develop software. These people are basically us, the /. users, the engineers, and we don't spend nearly enough time working with the users.
Users do weird things that none of us really understand. Why do users close applications every time they need to open a new document? Why do users maximise all windows when working with multiple documents?
The key difference is that we understand the GUI metaphors although it may have taken us a long time to get there. Experienced IT pro's can adapt to new systems quickly and with minimal fuss. Users who have never learned what they are doing can not!
Hey, lets force developers to develop software on 800X600 displays just like the users. See how much cleaner the GUI becomes!
I really back this notion strongly and I never synchronise my Psion. Probably just as well, as it never seemed to work that well compared with Palm and MS Active Sync.
The idea of using the PDA as remote storage would probably work great for me, you and many other but not for everybody. The whole point of synchronisation is usually that other people can setup appointments for the PDA user while she is away from base and the user can be creating appointments remotely and these are then synchronised to merge the two.
I use a Psion netBook to send and recieve mail while on the move, occasional browsing plus all the usual games, ebooks, datebook and contact stuff. The real bonus for me is that I can store other information for access anywhere and if necessary encrypt the really important stuff such as bank details, passwords, card details etc.
It's quicker to switch on the netBook to record details of lottery syndicate payments made to me than it is write things down then lose them.
The latest facility added is that I can now create PDF file from the native applications and mail them out or better yet print them on whatever OS I happen to be playing with at the time knowing that they will look correct. This all allows me to creat documents on the move rather then being tied to a desktop PC. All of this in a sub-sub-notebook form factor with really long battery life, no delicate hard drive and a rock solid OS.