Wow, those are neat. I think I remember seeing them in Radio Shack catalogues when I was a kid. Even though I wouldn't really have a use for one, it's so tempting...
One thing I'd love to see, though, would be an updated version of this. Say, a Palm-based system in a subnotebook form factor - just big enough to fit a useable keyboard with a grayscale screen running off AA batteries. I figure something like that would be more convenient than messing around with a foldable keyboard, get insanely long battery life, and be much cheaper, lighter, and more durable than a laptop.
Good suggestion. Though the Palms made in the last couple years seem to be just as much toys as the Pocket PCs. Unfortunately, since the old AAA-powered palms don't support memory cards, I use a Sony SJ33, which at least has a nice folding cover. Everything else I've seen has a completely bare screen with nothing to protect it. How the heck are you supposed to use something like that in everyday life?
Well, it might be okay as a "desktop replacement". Though I'll bet that with trying to cool the 3GHz P4, I'd find the roaring fans to be extremely distracting, especially since they're probably of the laptop variety that are quiet on idle then ramp up as soon as you start a program that uses more than 2% of CPU load. But the battery is pointless - why not just remove it and make the thing a little less massive?
(OT) Personally, I'm more interested in finding a small, light, Pentium M system with great battery life and low noise - but I haven't seen any with more than 256 megs of memory, which is ridiculous. Any suggestions?
I don't know about that, but at UBC there is a crosswalk where the traffic at a red light/don't walk sign is spare, but there is heavy traffic going alongside and turning right at the green light. So many cars turn right at full tilt the instant the light turns green that it would probably be safer to jaywalk at the red light.
I've seen the pedestrian-type ones, and they're pretty nice. Most intersections start flashing "don't walk" a few seconds after changing, apparently to give enough time for little old ladies to cross. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell everyone else whether or not they have plenty of time to get across before the light changes. A timer easily viewable by cars and pedestrians and the removal of those useless buttons would be ideal.
I hate those... I've seen them here in BC, too. The worst part is when you're walking towards the corner and the light changes before you can press the button - it won't change if you press it afterwards. So you can "jaywalk" since the walk sign won't turn on, or you can wait for the lights to change twice. Why do they waste money on crap like that?
Seriously, steering clear of Firefly and Xanth, he has written some pretty good SF (as well as some crap), which several posters have mentioned above. I liked the Omnivore/Orn/OX series, and after hearing it mentioned several times, I might check out Macroscope.
What was the drug? Many drugs are given at doses much lower than they were initially tested and prescribed for. (eg, 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide vs. 50 mg) This is because clinical trials cost a lot, and are worthless to the drug company if they don't show an effect, so it's better to test at the highest dose possible without producing too many side effects than to test at the lowest effective dose. After the drug has been on the market for a while, it often becomes clear that a lower dose is just as effective in most people while being better tolerated.
No kidding. Programs crash, but the only time I've seen a blue screen was from a failing hard drive. I enjoy MS bashing as much as the next./er, but credit where credit's due - they finally made Windows stable. As stable as the average Linux distro, I'd say - unless I'm the only one who has ever had to use xkill. At least, until XP gets infected or hacked because of it being laughably insecure (while I've never gotten a virus, I don't use Outlook or IE).
Actually, it also comes in a socket 370 chip. (I got one from TigerDirect.ca for $50CA, but they don't sell them anymore.) It works well for a quiet, energy-efficient PC for internet use, old games, and mpeg4 playback, but nothing that requires serious performance.
SiSoftware Sandra
Processor
Model : VIA Nehemiah
Speed : 998MHz
Performance Rating : PR898 (estimated)
Type : Standard
Multiplier : 15/2x
Generation : G6
Name : C5A (Ezra-T) C3/Eden 1000MHz+
Revision/Stepping : 9 / 3 (0)
Maximum Physical / Virtual Addressing : 32-bit / 32-bit
Yeah, I'll be keeping an eye out for stuff by Liz Williams from now on. Kress I'm already familiar with - the Beggers series is excellent, especially Beggers and Choosers.
You have a point, but I think it would be (slightly) easier to build a tiny machine that can grab and assemble random atoms in a liquid solution - it would just have to wait until the right thing hit the right receptor, like most single cells. A large machine, on the other hand, would require a decent AI to even assemble pre-made parts randomly scattered about a room. Now imagine it trying to find and extract ore as the first step...
Cellular phone companies know that they are not far away from fixed rate "all you can eat" plans. Just like ISP's went from charging by the minute for Internet access to fixed rate "unlimited" usage.
I sure hope this "unlimited" plan is not like those of the ISPs I tried. When the one I was on switched, I went from being able to connect whenever I wanted and for as long as I wanted (up to my max hours, of course) to spending minutes to hours dialing, and being abruptly disconnected at random intervals.
Read that again: optimally. As in, their proteins work best in this temperature range and perform poorly or not at all in higher temperatures. (Whereas most bacteria grow best in temperatures around or above room temp - I know the incubation room for my microbi class in university was quite warm.)
And these are microorganisms in water, not animals with fur or clothes in air or surrounded by thick layers of blubber in water. They might have mixed up the negative sign, I dunno... but a human with a body temperature of less then, say 30 degrees will generally have no (or undetectable) pulse, no breathing, no reflexes or responsiveness, and appear to be dead of hypothermia (and will be very shortly unless something is done).
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One thing I'd love to see, though, would be an updated version of this. Say, a Palm-based system in a subnotebook form factor - just big enough to fit a useable keyboard with a grayscale screen running off AA batteries. I figure something like that would be more convenient than messing around with a foldable keyboard, get insanely long battery life, and be much cheaper, lighter, and more durable than a laptop.
Good suggestion. Though the Palms made in the last couple years seem to be just as much toys as the Pocket PCs. Unfortunately, since the old AAA-powered palms don't support memory cards, I use a Sony SJ33, which at least has a nice folding cover. Everything else I've seen has a completely bare screen with nothing to protect it. How the heck are you supposed to use something like that in everyday life?
Thanks! But I can't seem to find it in the 512meg version in Canada... I might try ordering it in though.
(OT) Personally, I'm more interested in finding a small, light, Pentium M system with great battery life and low noise - but I haven't seen any with more than 256 megs of memory, which is ridiculous. Any suggestions?
I don't know about that, but at UBC there is a crosswalk where the traffic at a red light/don't walk sign is spare, but there is heavy traffic going alongside and turning right at the green light. So many cars turn right at full tilt the instant the light turns green that it would probably be safer to jaywalk at the red light.
I've seen the pedestrian-type ones, and they're pretty nice. Most intersections start flashing "don't walk" a few seconds after changing, apparently to give enough time for little old ladies to cross. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell everyone else whether or not they have plenty of time to get across before the light changes. A timer easily viewable by cars and pedestrians and the removal of those useless buttons would be ideal.
Oh well, maybe they'll raise the gas tax again...
I hate those... I've seen them here in BC, too. The worst part is when you're walking towards the corner and the light changes before you can press the button - it won't change if you press it afterwards. So you can "jaywalk" since the walk sign won't turn on, or you can wait for the lights to change twice. Why do they waste money on crap like that?
How about a guy buying a huge tube of KY and a box of 100 disposable medical gloves? And they specifically had to be the non-latex kind?
I'm not sure which makes me wince more: the thought of using the isopropanol as an aftershave, or getting any cuts that would need disinfectant.
"In this post 9/11 world, we must-" BRZZAP!
You can, however, find it here.
Seriously, steering clear of Firefly and Xanth, he has written some pretty good SF (as well as some crap), which several posters have mentioned above. I liked the Omnivore/Orn/OX series, and after hearing it mentioned several times, I might check out Macroscope.
What was the drug? Many drugs are given at doses much lower than they were initially tested and prescribed for. (eg, 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide vs. 50 mg) This is because clinical trials cost a lot, and are worthless to the drug company if they don't show an effect, so it's better to test at the highest dose possible without producing too many side effects than to test at the lowest effective dose. After the drug has been on the market for a while, it often becomes clear that a lower dose is just as effective in most people while being better tolerated.
Now, a diamond heatsink would be neat. (And possibly necessary in a few years, at this rate...)
The CBC has a (superhumanly polite) profile of Conrad Black here.
No kidding. Programs crash, but the only time I've seen a blue screen was from a failing hard drive. I enjoy MS bashing as much as the next ./er, but credit where credit's due - they finally made Windows stable. As stable as the average Linux distro, I'd say - unless I'm the only one who has ever had to use xkill. At least, until XP gets infected or hacked because of it being laughably insecure (while I've never gotten a virus, I don't use Outlook or IE).
Yeah, so the US gov't would just hold him without charge for years on end...
SiSoftware Sandra
Processor Model : VIA Nehemiah Speed : 998MHz
Performance Rating : PR898 (estimated)
Type : Standard
Multiplier : 15/2x
Generation : G6
Name : C5A (Ezra-T) C3/Eden 1000MHz+
Revision/Stepping : 9 / 3 (0)
Maximum Physical / Virtual Addressing : 32-bit / 32-bit
Co-Processor (FPU)
Type : Built-in
Revision/Stepping : 9 / 3 (0)
Processor Cache(s)
Internal Data Cache : 64kB Synchronous Write-Back (4-way, 32 byte line size)
Internal Instruction Cache : 64kB Synchronous
Write-Back (4-way, 32 byte line size)
Upgradeability
Socket/Slot : Socket 370
Upgrade Interface : ZIF Socket
Supported Speed(s) : 998MHz+
Environment Monitor 1
Model : VIA 686PM ISA
Version : 10.02
Mainboard Specific Support : Yes
Sensors
CPU Temperature : 30.3C / 86.5F
CPU Voltage : 1.45V
Yeah, I'll be keeping an eye out for stuff by Liz Williams from now on. Kress I'm already familiar with - the Beggers series is excellent, especially Beggers and Choosers.
You have a point, but I think it would be (slightly) easier to build a tiny machine that can grab and assemble random atoms in a liquid solution - it would just have to wait until the right thing hit the right receptor, like most single cells. A large machine, on the other hand, would require a decent AI to even assemble pre-made parts randomly scattered about a room. Now imagine it trying to find and extract ore as the first step...
I sure hope this "unlimited" plan is not like those of the ISPs I tried. When the one I was on switched, I went from being able to connect whenever I wanted and for as long as I wanted (up to my max hours, of course) to spending minutes to hours dialing, and being abruptly disconnected at random intervals.
And these are microorganisms in water, not animals with fur or clothes in air or surrounded by thick layers of blubber in water. They might have mixed up the negative sign, I dunno... but a human with a body temperature of less then, say 30 degrees will generally have no (or undetectable) pulse, no breathing, no reflexes or responsiveness, and appear to be dead of hypothermia (and will be very shortly unless something is done).
Ah, so in your world vertebrates originated first, eventually branching out into other animals, plants, and eventually single-celled organisms?
I prefer megagram.
And 1 mL = 1 cm^3 = 1 g water
makes some calculations nice and easy. Who needs a calculator?