You can call me ignorant if you like, but let me put you straight on some of the mechanics of optical/holographic memory. Firstly, it doesn't employ a rotating mechanism. See here how stuff works, it's not a complete explaination, as I can't find the IBM research papers, or the original Byte articles online. Secondly, the word 'conductivity' refers to a property of a material in respect to how it behaves in relation to electromagnetic engery, so I don't see this as being completely off the wall.
Lastly, by saying that hard drives do not last long enough to be affected by events that happen in 'geological time' is an assumption. There is nothing to tell us for certain that the Earths' magnetic field will not flip tomorrow or next week, or next year. This is a real possibility within our lifetimes, just like the planet being hit by a meteor, or a mass of ejected solar material - and a lot more likely (and preferable in my opinion). The energies involved are colossal and are equivalent to massive EMP on a global scale. When the magnetic flux of the planet reaches a chatoic mode it can happen quickly and continue to flip rapidly for a very long time.
As for your fear of people with mod points who find comments interesting, I suggest you take a walk outside in a park of something and take some deep breaths to help overcome this fear;-)
I remember reading in Byte magazine in the late 1980's/early 1990's about IBM's research into Holographic memory, that would be able to read and write entire 'pages' of memory at once in a massively paralell way. Whatever happened to this technology? We are still chasing ever decreasing magnetic bits around. Will Magnetic storage eventually go the way of the dodo and we will be using purely optical storage one way or another within twenty year?
As well as optical storage (which we already use with spinning discs CD/DVD) optical memory will be able to integrate into optical processors, such as the optical DSP that was recently announced in Israel.
Would this plastic storage would be sensitive to magnetic damage like a traditional hard disk as well.
Finally, I read that the Earths' magnetic field can 'flip' every 100,000 years and we're about due for another flip soon. This would cause tremendous damage to all magnetically stored data, as well as plenty of electrical equipment, as it is not a quick clean flip, but equivalent to a massive electromagnetic storm right under our feet - possibly lasting years according to archeological evidence.
Customer information should not have been kept on the HDD of the laptop, ever!
If a company is stupid enough to store customer information as sensitive as this on an easily removable (i.e. stealable) machine it should be heavily encrypted.
Maybe if they used Apple Powerbooks and OS X they could use the 'File Vault' feature. As well as this similar features as available for Windows and Linux. What do you think?
would be a little more aware of using big a company for his ISP due to tracability, etc.
Also the first thing I'd do is reprogram the MAC address (and ensure that the BIOS had CPU serial number feature disabled - if possible?).
I'm no thief, but I I were to try something illegal I think I'd plan it out a bit better first.
Did this machine have 'phone home' software installed?
Also, aren't most stolen laptops (and other computers) quickly sold on anyway? the perp is a total idiot for keeping it and using it. If you sell something in an untracable way, say to a guy in a bar for cash, then you're less likely to get caught.
This is good news for Linux distribution makers as it gives them a good excuse to release a new major version number of their distro.
Also, as the Linux kernel continues to include features that are in demand both on the server like better mutliple CPU support and the desktop like USB & Firewire compatitiblity it is going to continue to go from strength to strength.
Now, what features would everyone like to see in the *next* major version?
I just love Tycho & Gabe's website. I only discovered it because of Slashdot, so it's wonderful that you decided to run this story.
I'd like to see something like this elsewhere than Seattle as well, not that I have anything against Seattle. There are needy and worthy kids all over the world.
Hopefully, the media will see the results of generous geeks helping these kids and show our community in a positive light for a change. It's not as if we're not used to giving to good causes, in fact when we do donate to a cause it's more often than not politiically motivated to help out someone who has been scuppered by a huge corporation, **AA or the government. Remember Kevin, Dimitri & the 12 year old girl who was threatened by the RIAA?
I can't wait to see how this turns out.
Eventually something like this needs to exist with a charitable Trust status, so that it is tax deductable. For instance, here in the UK you can 'gift aid' any donatations to a charity and they can claim the income tax you paid on your donation back from the government, which is nice.
I think you're a little mixed up.
Proteron were bitching about the alt-tab application switching implementation in Panther that already existed to some degree. They just made it a bit more like the alt-tab app switching in Windows XP (enhanced with the XP PowerToys).
Expose is completely different. Nothing like it existed on any desktop OS beforehand as far as I have ever seen. It's one of the reasons that a)everyone was blown away when they first saw it, and b)people are now trying to copy it.
Does apple have a legitimate defense against people ripping off it's innovations like this?
I know that lots of readers here believe that they should be able to copy ideas from other peoples software and make an open source or free alternative, but does this kind of blantant copying harm the cause?
I would rather see innovation from the Linux and open source commnuitities that doesn't merely try to implement what other companies are already doing.
Apple deserve much praise for their recent work on OS X in my opinion. Simply duplicating work that they've invested time, money and effort in research and development.
It think this dilutes their efforts. Imitation is not always the sincerest form of flattery.
I would have thought that they could have their own software and operating system developed for them.
After all some work has already been done by the NSA on SEC Linux, why not capitalise on the outrageous amount of quality free software and plough some tax payers money into employing skilled linux and unix professionals to bring everything up to your desired spec.
Then you can do whatever you want with it and don't have to pay any more licences.
doesn't anyone else feel that their abitary age cut off at 30 years of age is ageist?
i'm sure that there are laws against this kind of thing in the EU.
i'm 30 at the moment, so can technically enter, but i don't feel it's fair to discriminate against someone who's 40 or 70 for example.
a valid idea is valid whoever comes up with it.
Open the specifications and all information
on
End In Sight For Alpha
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Now is the time for HP to show that it's not just going to waste all the time and effort everyone put into the Alpha.
The now have the opporunitity to publish all information regarding the Alpha to the community so that anyone who wants to can continue to provide support. Or, if anyone wanted to, produce their own Alpha based chips.
By allowing the continued use of the Alpha they could extend the life of these systems instead of killing them off in favour of newer systems. I know that they probably will not want to, but hey, it's a nice guesture to make.
I seem to recall something about "open" processors before, such as an open sparc or something, so this wouldn't be the first time it was done, just the first time that a big corporation allowed it to be done with their 'redundant' interlectual property. I also think that this would be good for preservation purposes and to have more information about micro-processors of our era for future generations. Just look at the mess that NASA have been in before when older components obsolete.
I can get a walkman sized cd player which can play divX. I've seen one that can play VCD's.
I'd want divX, DVD, SVCD, MP3, VCD playback, etc. that can fit in my jacket pocket so I can take it around to another house/office and watch movies without having to lug a laptop.
Plus to complete the functionality, how about CD-R, CD-RW or DVD-R support. Make it connect up via a Firewire cable for high-speed data, recharging, cross platform support and interfacing with DV cameras.
Until then, playing around with consoles will have to do... evening though I only have a Dreamcast.. which can play divx, but only at lously bitrates.
Will this be able to support special features on each motherboard that are present in a manufacturers own bios such as temperature sensors, clock speeds, case security features, etc.?
Will we be able to 'plug-in' support for booting from external devices like usb/firewire drives, flash cards, pcmcia devices, usb memory keys, and transparently make them look like a normal floppy/hdd.
Will this now make booting from a CD an older machine that doesn't presently possible?
Will I be able to replace the linuxbio with the original again if everything buggers up?
the huge number of story errors that keep popping up. You'd think that the story editors would try to mantain some kind of quality control.
However, it's also possibly a ploy to keep people posting indigant comments about errors. 50% of posts on these kinds of stories seem to be pointing out these glaring errors. Like the recent story about PS2 games on an Xbox which was nothing to do with the Xbox at all.
anybody who strays from the 'garden path' of links provided shouldn't be deemed a criminal.
However, it depends upon what you do with this so-called unpublished material.
What Reuters did exposed the company to a situation before they were ready. Seems to me like the company should have taken more adequate security such as using htaccess passwords, etc.
I court I hope Reuters don't get busted for accessing the information, but for publishing details about it. After all I'm sure that the company in question had a copyright notice on all their pages, right?
Like other travellers entering the country, participants will still have to fill out declaration cards on the plane, detailing how much they spent while out of the country.
I can't imagine having to do that. Why should I have to tell a government how much money I spent whilst out of their country?...even if I am one of their citizens.
I'm from the UK and have travelled quite a bit, but never have I been sugjected to such a stupid idea.
Slashdot Mirror
Lastly, by saying that hard drives do not last long enough to be affected by events that happen in 'geological time' is an assumption. There is nothing to tell us for certain that the Earths' magnetic field will not flip tomorrow or next week, or next year. This is a real possibility within our lifetimes, just like the planet being hit by a meteor, or a mass of ejected solar material - and a lot more likely (and preferable in my opinion). The energies involved are colossal and are equivalent to massive EMP on a global scale. When the magnetic flux of the planet reaches a chatoic mode it can happen quickly and continue to flip rapidly for a very long time.
As for your fear of people with mod points who find comments interesting, I suggest you take a walk outside in a park of something and take some deep breaths to help overcome this fear ;-)
As well as optical storage (which we already use with spinning discs CD/DVD) optical memory will be able to integrate into optical processors, such as the optical DSP that was recently announced in Israel.
Would this plastic storage would be sensitive to magnetic damage like a traditional hard disk as well.
Finally, I read that the Earths' magnetic field can 'flip' every 100,000 years and we're about due for another flip soon. This would cause tremendous damage to all magnetically stored data, as well as plenty of electrical equipment, as it is not a quick clean flip, but equivalent to a massive electromagnetic storm right under our feet - possibly lasting years according to archeological evidence.
A spokesman was quoted as saying, "It's the only way we can release a product with more holes than IE".
It is unconfirmed if StringVest will be integrated into Windows XP SP2 or if we will have to wait until LongHorn is released.
Jonny Five is alive!
If a company is stupid enough to store customer information as sensitive as this on an easily removable (i.e. stealable) machine it should be heavily encrypted.
Maybe if they used Apple Powerbooks and OS X they could use the 'File Vault' feature. As well as this similar features as available for Windows and Linux. What do you think?
Also the first thing I'd do is reprogram the MAC address (and ensure that the BIOS had CPU serial number feature disabled - if possible?).
I'm no thief, but I I were to try something illegal I think I'd plan it out a bit better first.
Did this machine have 'phone home' software installed?
Also, aren't most stolen laptops (and other computers) quickly sold on anyway? the perp is a total idiot for keeping it and using it. If you sell something in an untracable way, say to a guy in a bar for cash, then you're less likely to get caught.
I keep getting lost on the Information Super Highway. I mean, if you miss an offramp it's literally microseconds until the next one!
Will I be able to get one of these for my SatNav?
I don't live on the edge :-(
Also, as the Linux kernel continues to include features that are in demand both on the server like better mutliple CPU support and the desktop like USB & Firewire compatitiblity it is going to continue to go from strength to strength.
Now, what features would everyone like to see in the *next* major version?
I'd like to see something like this elsewhere than Seattle as well, not that I have anything against Seattle. There are needy and worthy kids all over the world.
Hopefully, the media will see the results of generous geeks helping these kids and show our community in a positive light for a change. It's not as if we're not used to giving to good causes, in fact when we do donate to a cause it's more often than not politiically motivated to help out someone who has been scuppered by a huge corporation, **AA or the government. Remember Kevin, Dimitri & the 12 year old girl who was threatened by the RIAA?
I can't wait to see how this turns out.
Eventually something like this needs to exist with a charitable Trust status, so that it is tax deductable. For instance, here in the UK you can 'gift aid' any donatations to a charity and they can claim the income tax you paid on your donation back from the government, which is nice.
Expose is completely different. Nothing like it existed on any desktop OS beforehand as far as I have ever seen. It's one of the reasons that a)everyone was blown away when they first saw it, and b)people are now trying to copy it.
I know that lots of readers here believe that they should be able to copy ideas from other peoples software and make an open source or free alternative, but does this kind of blantant copying harm the cause?
I would rather see innovation from the Linux and open source commnuitities that doesn't merely try to implement what other companies are already doing.
Apple deserve much praise for their recent work on OS X in my opinion. Simply duplicating work that they've invested time, money and effort in research and development.
It think this dilutes their efforts. Imitation is not always the sincerest form of flattery.
I'm sure they've let some money for teachers. It's not mutually exclusive to spend money on technological resources and teachers is it?
here was the response:
I'm mean, christ! does basic knowledge equate to sexiness? hopefully!!!!
I would have thought that they could have their own software and operating system developed for them.
After all some work has already been done by the NSA on SEC Linux, why not capitalise on the outrageous amount of quality free software and plough some tax payers money into employing skilled linux and unix professionals to bring everything up to your desired spec.
Then you can do whatever you want with it and don't have to pay any more licences.
doesn't anyone else feel that their abitary age cut off at 30 years of age is ageist?
i'm sure that there are laws against this kind of thing in the EU.
i'm 30 at the moment, so can technically enter, but i don't feel it's fair to discriminate against someone who's 40 or 70 for example.
a valid idea is valid whoever comes up with it.
Now is the time for HP to show that it's not just going to waste all the time and effort everyone put into the Alpha.
The now have the opporunitity to publish all information regarding the Alpha to the community so that anyone who wants to can continue to provide support. Or, if anyone wanted to, produce their own Alpha based chips.
By allowing the continued use of the Alpha they could extend the life of these systems instead of killing them off in favour of newer systems. I know that they probably will not want to, but hey, it's a nice guesture to make.
I seem to recall something about "open" processors before, such as an open sparc or something, so this wouldn't be the first time it was done, just the first time that a big corporation allowed it to be done with their 'redundant' interlectual property. I also think that this would be good for preservation purposes and to have more information about micro-processors of our era for future generations. Just look at the mess that NASA have been in before when older components obsolete.
I can get a walkman sized cd player which can play divX. I've seen one that can play VCD's.
I'd want divX, DVD, SVCD, MP3, VCD playback, etc. that can fit in my jacket pocket so I can take it around to another house/office and watch movies without having to lug a laptop.
Plus to complete the functionality, how about CD-R, CD-RW or DVD-R support. Make it connect up via a Firewire cable for high-speed data, recharging, cross platform support and interfacing with DV cameras.
Until then, playing around with consoles will have to do... evening though I only have a Dreamcast.. which can play divx, but only at lously bitrates.
Will this be able to support special features on each motherboard that are present in a manufacturers own bios such as temperature sensors, clock speeds, case security features, etc.?
Will we be able to 'plug-in' support for booting from external devices like usb/firewire drives, flash cards, pcmcia devices, usb memory keys, and transparently make them look like a normal floppy/hdd.
Will this now make booting from a CD an older machine that doesn't presently possible?
Will I be able to replace the linuxbio with the original again if everything buggers up?
What about so called dual bios systems?
It's light reactive, not air! The whole point of choosing this method is that the laser from the player will need to come into contact with the disc.
the huge number of story errors that keep popping up. You'd think that the story editors would try to mantain some kind of quality control.
However, it's also possibly a ploy to keep people posting indigant comments about errors. 50% of posts on these kinds of stories seem to be pointing out these glaring errors. Like the recent story about PS2 games on an Xbox which was nothing to do with the Xbox at all.
Come on guys, wise up!
anybody who strays from the 'garden path' of links provided shouldn't be deemed a criminal.
However, it depends upon what you do with this so-called unpublished material.
What Reuters did exposed the company to a situation before they were ready. Seems to me like the company should have taken more adequate security such as using htaccess passwords, etc.
I court I hope Reuters don't get busted for accessing the information, but for publishing details about it. After all I'm sure that the company in question had a copyright notice on all their pages, right?
xbox modchip makers can sue Microsoft for changing the design of the xbox, which isn't compatible their existing products?
:-)
I hope that the company who wants to take google to court get f**ked royally. I really do.
Google should counter-sue for tarnishing it's good name and all the 'bad publicity' they've generated in the press
I can't imagine having to do that. Why should I have to tell a government how much money I spent whilst out of their country? ...even if I am one of their citizens.
I'm from the UK and have travelled quite a bit, but never have I been sugjected to such a stupid idea.
bluetooth and wi-fi on the same laptop from Sony have been out for months and months.
My mate bought his on Tottenham Court Road in the spring.