When I walked with dinosaurs (ok, IBM mainframes) as a sysprog, there was a utility program named IEFBR14.
The purpose of IEFBR14 was to do exactly nothing, and pass a zero return code to the caller after doing the 'nothing' (branching on the return address in register 14 - thus BR 14).
This was actually more useful than it sounds and was used frequently in MVS JCL (Job Control Language) to make JCL do its thing without having to run a real program in a JCL 'step'.
Thing is, this program that had to do precisely nothing, had no less than 3 patches issued from IBM. Mostly to do with not clearing R15 (the return code register) correctly.
>> Sure Volvos are marketed as 'safe' cars but I think they are more likely to be driven by incompetent drivers
They certainly are where I come from (UK).
'Volvo drivers' are a bit of a joke here.
They are stereotyped as being smug, middle-class, technically poor drivers and utterly inconsiderate of other road users and pedestrians.
Much the same goes for BMW drivers - but they are far more agressive, always in a hurry, and can't find the thing that works the indicators while pointelessly veering from lane to lane while yacking on their cellphones;)
The only reason for using analog camera+slides+slide scanner is its far superior quality over any digital camera available on the market today.
That may be true for large format (5x4 and above) but digital has all but killed 35mm and medium format film in professional use.
A high resolution (>8MP) DSLR has replaced many medium format workhorses in almost any commercial studio where efficient workflow and fast turnaround is important - without sacrificing much, if any, quality.
Where quality is paramount, there are digital backs for MF cameras that offer staggering resolution (many times better than the best reveral films e.g. Kodachrome 25) - at a price.
Not many studios can afford a 5x4 digital back, let along a 10x8 one, so film is still king in these applications. This will change as sensor technologies become inevitably cheaper.
With respect, your assertion that wet-process photography offers a quality advantage over digital is out-of-date, except for a few (and ever diminishing number of) niche applications.
I have been a keen photographer (amateur and sometimes professional) for 20+ years and would never go back to wet process.
There is no doubt in my mind the big-wigs at IBM are really annoyed their predecessors got punked by Redmond.
I really doubt that.
Being "really annoyed" about something that happened in the (relatively) distant past, and allowing that to influence your strategic business planning is not a professional attitude.
In my experience, IBM execs are (in the main) sharp, and nothing if not professional.
If they are moving out of the desk/laptop hardware market then there's a good reason for it - i.e. it doesn't fit well with their future plans.
They will certainly never abandon support for Windows on their products so long as Windows has a significant market share.
IBM are not into moral crusades, their into maximizing stockholder value - like all other big corps.
Also, any serious mainframe would need at least 16 rows of 32 lamps for the 'general registers' and a ton of others for for various ancilliary registers, floating point regs, channel interfaces, status indication etc.
And most importantly, a "LAMP TEST" button to turn them all on at once!
In particular, big IBM mainframes (s/3x0) running something like MVS (maybe VM at a push).
Anyone else think the term "Big Iron" is used innapropriately to describe a bunch of piddling little boxes that don't even need an air-conditioned datacenter equipped with an automatic Halon fire extinguishing system?
Yesterday, I saw the most useless application of microprocessor technology ever IMO.
In my local cookware store, there was a gadget that told you 'precisely' when to flip burgers and steaks as you were grilling them, according to your preference (rare, medium-rare, well-done etc.).
It looked just like the regular stainless steel utensil one normally uses for the job but had a big bulgy plastic handle containing an LCD display, some little buttons and the necessary electronic gubbins.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry that someone had actually sat down and invented this stupid thing.
It will probably spend more time in warehouses and dusty store shelves than in practical use. Then after a few months, will spend an eternity in a landfill.
They didn't look like they were flying off the shelves either.
It's been a long, long time since I've been enticed by any piece of consumer electronics. I'm not a gadget freak anymore, really.
But dammit! Apple have created an object of sheer desirability in the iPod - and especially in the iPod mini.
Despite my (iBod) nickname, It's been many years since I've owned an Apple product (the last was the ill-fated Newton).
I think Apple really understand which buttons to press to get hip, design-aware customers longing for their products (not that I include myself in that demograph). When they've got the trendsetters, the rest will follow.
Credit and kudos where it's due. Apple have a killer product that is even making iPod buyers switch from PCs to Macs, allegedly.
IMHO there will be no 'iPod killer' because nobody understands the intended market for these devices better than Apple.
No self-respecting kid will thank you for getting him/her a 'no-name' MP3 player this Christmas instead of an iPod.
Absolutely agree about the questional value of prototyping.
I think some developers use it as an excuse for not designing. They just pour forth code in a sort of 'stream of consciousness' changing this and that along the way. Good implementation doesn't matter, because it's only a 'prototype', right?
Unfortunately, as you said, the results of this endevour will likely form the basis of the actual application (managers can't stand to see all that coding time thrown away).
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, as you say, It allowed the JCL to work its dubious magic with file allocations etc.
Did you ever figure out condition code interpretation in JCL? It always seemed backwards to me COND(0,4) LE and all that???
You are a f*cking moron.
Maybe so - if that's what the creator of the site intended.
The point of Cage's work was to focus the audiences attention on the ambient sounds in the auditorium, or wherever the piece was being performed.
With respect, I don't think you have any idea about how visual communication in print (or screen) works.
The reason why daily newspapers don't use lots of white space is that paper costs money.
Even then, you often see many premium, whole-page advertisements that use lots and lots of white space.
If you look at up-market publications, they are more than happy to sacrifice printable area for visual impact.
I know that not many geeks 'grok' design or art - but really, this is totally obvious.
Agreed.
The bare WINNT kernel is a great piece of software engineering. Kudos to Mr. David Cutler and his team.
As another poster said, it's all the crap that goes around it that makes Windows a bit of a pig.
At least it's a moderately polite pig, with lipstick on, these days.
When I walked with dinosaurs (ok, IBM mainframes) as a sysprog, there was a utility program named IEFBR14.
The purpose of IEFBR14 was to do exactly nothing, and pass a zero return code to the caller after doing the 'nothing' (branching on the return address in register 14 - thus BR 14).
This was actually more useful than it sounds and was used frequently in MVS JCL (Job Control Language) to make JCL do its thing without having to run a real program in a JCL 'step'.
Thing is, this program that had to do precisely nothing, had no less than 3 patches issued from IBM. Mostly to do with not clearing R15 (the return code register) correctly.
Go figure!
So true!
So, can I assume that if you have a living room, or a bedroom, or a bathroom, that you'd just fill it full of stuff, right up to the walls?
Space is good! It allows movement.
In graphic design (including web) clear white space is a powerful tool.
In music (the silences are as important as the notes) or in theatre (dramatic pauses) - emptyness is powerful and just as important as words.
Space and silence is good. Don't just fill it up just because it's there.
I wonder though, just how many people are going to want to fight spam using an attachemnt that arrives in a spam email?
My wife is getting a FREE iPOD mini for Christmas.
It's free for her, but I had to pay for it.
It comes in a very fetching shade of PINK, and that's what matters most to my beloved.
When I borrow it (as inevitably I will) then I'll need one of those 'skin' things in blue, so people don't look at me in a funny way.
>> Sure Volvos are marketed as 'safe' cars but I think they are more likely to be driven by incompetent drivers
;)
They certainly are where I come from (UK).
'Volvo drivers' are a bit of a joke here.
They are stereotyped as being smug, middle-class, technically poor drivers and utterly inconsiderate of other road users and pedestrians.
Much the same goes for BMW drivers - but they are far more agressive, always in a hurry, and can't find the thing that works the indicators while pointelessly veering from lane to lane while yacking on their cellphones
The only reason for using analog camera+slides+slide scanner is its far superior quality over any digital camera available on the market today.
That may be true for large format (5x4 and above) but digital has all but killed 35mm and medium format film in professional use.
A high resolution (>8MP) DSLR has replaced many medium format workhorses in almost any commercial studio where efficient workflow and fast turnaround is important - without sacrificing much, if any, quality.
Where quality is paramount, there are digital backs for MF cameras that offer staggering resolution (many times better than the best reveral films e.g. Kodachrome 25) - at a price.
Not many studios can afford a 5x4 digital back, let along a 10x8 one, so film is still king in these applications. This will change as sensor technologies become inevitably cheaper.
With respect, your assertion that wet-process photography offers a quality advantage over digital is out-of-date, except for a few (and ever diminishing number of) niche applications.
I have been a keen photographer (amateur and sometimes professional) for 20+ years and would never go back to wet process.
Spammers invariably spoof the return path so it doesn't achieve anything (except for adding yet more useless traffic to the Internet).
It's more like taking the garbage off your lawn an scattering it up and down the street.
I mean't "they're into..."
There is no doubt in my mind the big-wigs at IBM are really annoyed their predecessors got punked by Redmond.
I really doubt that.
Being "really annoyed" about something that happened in the (relatively) distant past, and allowing that to influence your strategic business planning is not a professional attitude.
In my experience, IBM execs are (in the main) sharp, and nothing if not professional.
If they are moving out of the desk/laptop hardware market then there's a good reason for it - i.e. it doesn't fit well with their future plans.
They will certainly never abandon support for Windows on their products so long as Windows has a significant market share.
IBM are not into moral crusades, their into maximizing stockholder value - like all other big corps.
LEDs? Pfft!
Real Big Iron has neon lamps.
Also, any serious mainframe would need at least 16 rows of 32 lamps for the 'general registers' and a ton of others for for various ancilliary registers, floating point regs, channel interfaces, status indication etc.
And most importantly, a "LAMP TEST" button to turn them all on at once!
> Big Iron = > $250,000.00
My domicile is therefore "big iron" according to your definition.
Maybe I'll set up a time-sharing bureau.
I thought RAS was specifically an IBM term.
Maybe some of the plug-compatible mainframe manufacturers used it too (Amdahl/Fujitsu/Hitachi)?
Anyway - RAS is still a good concept, but hard to measure without years-worth of in-the-field data.
When I hear "Big Iron" I think mainframes.
In particular, big IBM mainframes (s/3x0) running something like MVS (maybe VM at a push).
Anyone else think the term "Big Iron" is used innapropriately to describe a bunch of piddling little boxes that don't even need an air-conditioned datacenter equipped with an automatic Halon fire extinguishing system?
Discovered penicillin!
Yesterday, I saw the most useless application of microprocessor technology ever IMO.
In my local cookware store, there was a gadget that told you 'precisely' when to flip burgers and steaks as you were grilling them, according to your preference (rare, medium-rare, well-done etc.).
It looked just like the regular stainless steel utensil one normally uses for the job but had a big bulgy plastic handle containing an LCD display, some little buttons and the necessary electronic gubbins.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry that someone had actually sat down and invented this stupid thing.
It will probably spend more time in warehouses and dusty store shelves than in practical use. Then after a few months, will spend an eternity in a landfill.
They didn't look like they were flying off the shelves either.
or at least, thin client devices.
It seems these desktops spend most of their time running terminal emulators to access mainframe sessions.
I've always thought that fat clients with big, complex OSs were a bad idea in this sort of massive, standardised environment.
In 20 years time, I'll bet people will be saying 'iPod' when they mean generic personal, life-style-enhancing, thingummy.
It's been a long, long time since I've been enticed by any piece of consumer electronics.
I'm not a gadget freak anymore, really.
But dammit! Apple have created an object of sheer desirability in the iPod - and especially in the iPod mini.
Despite my (iBod) nickname, It's been many years since I've owned an Apple product (the last was the ill-fated Newton).
I think Apple really understand which buttons to press to get hip, design-aware customers longing for their products (not that I include myself in that demograph). When they've got the trendsetters, the rest will follow.
Credit and kudos where it's due. Apple have a killer product that is even making iPod buyers switch from PCs to Macs, allegedly.
IMHO there will be no 'iPod killer' because nobody understands the intended market for these devices better than Apple.
No self-respecting kid will thank you for getting him/her a 'no-name' MP3 player this Christmas instead of an iPod.
Absolutely agree about the questional value of prototyping.
I think some developers use it as an excuse for not designing. They just pour forth code in a sort of 'stream of consciousness' changing this and that along the way. Good implementation doesn't matter, because it's only a 'prototype', right?
Unfortunately, as you said, the results of this endevour will likely form the basis of the actual application (managers can't stand to see all that coding time thrown away).
Seen it many times.