Watch for the Evan Hoffman book deal that is likely to come around soon. I had the opportunity to read his site before he took down all the Aimster info, and apparently there were some pretty shady dealings with management and witholding the final paychecks of employees.
Unfortunately, this demonstrates the trend and growing problem in software development of bloated code. Just think about it, if a machine with 64k of memory could run the code necessary to control the launch of the space shuttle, it should be enough to do even the most complicated of tasks.
The current memory requirements for most of the common Linux distributions is obscene. 32 MB, 64 MB, where will it stop?
Of course, with this bloating horror of what we call "good" code, we lose a lot of the quality seen in software of yesterday. Give me my TRS-80, and I'll show you legendary software design.
I saw the 3 Mb and thought I immediately had to check out their site. But, when I got to the page supposedly would give more info on the cable service in CA, they had me fill out a form, yet CA wasn't even an option for state! What gives? Especially since this 3 Mb cable is only supposed to debut in LA and SF...
There is a reason why someone has returned it, and from my experience, the reason isn't usually "I decided I didn't want it." My local electronics store, Fry's, is notorious for re-shrink wrapping returned merchandise I call it the "Fry's open box special." Many times I've bought things not marked as "previously owned" only to find they were missing a driver disk or even just plain broken. So I end up returning it for exactly the same reason as the last person.
As for discounts for display models, I think they are usually only given for products whose lifetime is adversely effected by lots of grubby hands or being on all the time. I would never pay full price for a display plasma TV, simply because of its limited lifetime.
You can download a ROM image for the Power Macintosh 7200, 7500, 8200, 8500, and Starmax 4160 because apparently they don't have the correct hardware ROM. I don't see how that would be so different from doing the same thing with an Amiga system.
From what I can tell, I'd have to say that the reason why many of the emerging technologies either take a long time to come to the U.S. from Japan or don't end up coming over at all is the fact that Japan is a largely consumer driven economy. Of course, the U.S. is to some extent, but it seems to be far less commonplace to have the entire population craving a single thing. Remember the Furby and Tickle Me Elmo crazes? These had a limited age group attraction, so there is less of an incentive for corporations to develop products with such niche markets. In Japan, there is much more of groupthink, most people want the same products and are largely influenced by their peers.
So, the motivation for these companies, is of course, completely based on economic reasons. A product that sells well or corporation that does well in Japan (like DoCoMo) will not necessarily to well in the United States and could possibly even lose money. The financial risk detracts from the potential benefits, thus negating the point of importing business to the United States.
I believe that the cultural difference has as much to do with it as the economic one, but there really isn't much we can do about it. At this point it looks like our economy will always be based on things such as oil/tobacco rather than high tech infrastructure.
From a telephone conversation between Bob, a telemarker for a cemetary outside Louisville, Kentucky, and comedian Tom Mabe:
Tom Mabe: Hello? Bob: Is Mr. or Mrs. Mabe in please? Mabe: This is Mr. Mabe [sounds of Mabe crying] Bob: Hi, Mr. Mabe. This is Bob, and I'm calling you from Evergreen Cemetary. How are you today? Mabe: Not that good. Bob: Oh, I'm sorry. The reason I'm calling you today is to offer you some peace of mind through pre-arranged burial plots. You can rest assured that all of the details can be taken care of for you. [Sounds of Mabe sobbing.] Sir? Mabe: Bob, you're not going to believe this. I lost my job on Thursday. Company closed shop. My-my wife left me. Bob: Oh, I'm sorry. Mabe: And I'm sitting- But this- this is so bizarre. I was sitting here contemplating suicide, and I was praying, asking God for a sign. Bob: Yeah, but I'm just calling you because your name is on the list. Mabe: But no, you don't understand, just five minutes ago I was- I was just praying and asking God for a sign, and you called. Bob: Yeah, but I'm just doing my job. Mabe: I know, I know, but- something's in control, I don't know what it is. You're the Angel of Death, man! Bob: Listen, is there anybody that I can call for you? Mabe: I've been working for this company for about six years now, and we just got a bigger house. We have a two bedroom house. And I lost my job. The company, they just shut down. My wife, she's just frustrated, she's back in Vermont. And- things aren't working. Bob: Do you have any kids we can call, we can contact? Mabe: He's six years old. He's at his grandmother's house. I mean- just five minutes ago I was praying, saying, God, help me through this, give me a sign of some sort- And you called. Bob: No, no. I'm not that sign. Mabe: You're the Angel of Death. Bob: Look, I can call someone and have somebody come right over there for you. Mabe: No, I'm glad that you called. I could use your services here. I mean, how much is this stuff? Bob: Well, you know, we have different price ranges for different sorts of plots. Mabe: Is it, is it- So it is kind of expensive, though, some of it? Bob: No, it's very affordable. And this way you could take care of all of it. Mabe: Do you do financing down there? Bob: Mr. Mabe, you know, you just got done saying that you're thinking of taking your life. Do you have, I don't know, a credit card? Or a checking account? Mabe: Hold on. [sounds of Mabe crying.] Bob: Let me ask you this: if I got the paperwork out to you, say, this afternoon, do you think maybe you could hold off until tomorrow?
Rather than using holographs, Ismo Rakkolainen has created a screen in the air using a low-cost air-blower, drinking straws, plastic tubing, cardboard boxes, and some liquid nitrogen. It may not be 3D, but I think it could be just as useful and much less expensive to create than a true hologram.
Anwyay, before we try to make 3D representations of objects in the air we should try to make them in 2D reliably. We had to learn to walk before we ran, now didn't we?
One thing noticeably missing from the Debian package listing is AC3 support. If Linux wants to intrude on market share from the Mac/Windows community, more effort needs to be made to attract audio professionals.
It has been confirmed by Sun that Solaris 9 will be on Intel platforms - you can get it for free on DVD.
If you follow the link, you will notice that Sun is giving away Solaris 9 on the SPARC(TM) platform and Solaris 8 on Intel. There is no mention of Solaris 9 on Intel.
Four of those detained were Nigerian, one was Cameroonian
I'm actually surprised that any of them were really Nigerian. I would have expected the scam to be run by some guy named Tony living in New Jersey that had set up a psuedo-corporation in Nigeria.
Intel shaved the price of its second-fastest processor, the Pentium 4 running at 2.4 gigahertz, by 29 percent to $400 from $562
Yet at pricewatch the lowest price listed for the same processor is $395. Does this mean the companies selling them below the list price are selling them at a loss or are they getting an even better deal than this?
...under the name of the infected computer's owner it opens an anonymous web site from which it displays advertising banners. This way Benjamin's creator profits by the resulting increase in advertising displays.
Wow! I think this is the first time I've seen a worm creator actually try to turn a profit. It doesn't really seem to be all that malicious, it also seems that this would be an easy way to catch the person repsonsible. Just find out where the checks are going and arrest him!
One reason people dislike Microsoft is the fact that they have a near monopoly on the OS market, and they still do such a bad job on design. If they manage to do a good job with this network, many people may not object to such a controlling situation.
When MS inundates the market when the lower the price to $99 of the X-Box, they certainly will have a better opportunity for another monopoly.
Since the 1930s, physicists have discussed whether the constants of the Universe that appear in the equations for the fundamental laws of physics - such as the speed of light in vacuum and the electron charge - are indeed constant.
A while back, didn't some scientists manage to slow the speed of light down to something around 60 miles an hour in their lab? That's definitely not 180,000 m/s. Kind of interesting, did Einstein think C would be constant in his calculations?
William Tang, the agency's programme manager for MEMS research, believes that a power source built into a silicon chip would be extremely useful on the battlefield.
This would be useful for just about any portable computer system. You'd only need the battery for LCD and drives, and maybe the generator could eventually be efficient enough to power all those parts.
It seems that this past week has been filled with some really significant appeals court decisions. First the ruling against anti-abortion website and now this. Certainly interesting times we live in.
One thing I find particularly alarming is the lack of public interest in cases such as these. I asked several people today about what they thought of the decision yesterday, and nobody knew what I was talking about. Anyone else feel frustrated by the general ignorance that is all to common in the American public. I mean, this is front page stuff here people, wake up!
Slashdot Mirror
What the RIAA is really seeking, at the end of the day, is to shift the burden of copyright enforcement from its own members... to an ISP...
That quote alone sums it up rather nicely. As far as I can see, people won't stand for this shift of burden the RIAA is seeking.
Bruce says "I would still be at H.P., I think, except for the Compaq merger."
But a few thousand other people can say that too.
It makes sense for Bruce, though. If HPQ is shifting away from Linux and toward Windows, why would they want to keep a bunch of Linux guys around?
Watch for the Evan Hoffman book deal that is likely to come around soon. I had the opportunity to read his site before he took down all the Aimster info, and apparently there were some pretty shady dealings with management and witholding the final paychecks of employees.
This was covered by Wired Magazine in May. Definitely an interesting read, though the print version also had some nice pictures.
Unfortunately, this demonstrates the trend and growing problem in software development of bloated code. Just think about it, if a machine with 64k of memory could run the code necessary to control the launch of the space shuttle, it should be enough to do even the most complicated of tasks. The current memory requirements for most of the common Linux distributions is obscene. 32 MB, 64 MB, where will it stop? Of course, with this bloating horror of what we call "good" code, we lose a lot of the quality seen in software of yesterday. Give me my TRS-80, and I'll show you legendary software design.
joe sixpack also wants a magic button on his desktop that says "get blowjob from wife" but face it, thats not gonna happen
I saw the 3 Mb and thought I immediately had to check out their site. But, when I got to the page supposedly would give more info on the cable service in CA, they had me fill out a form, yet CA wasn't even an option for state! What gives? Especially since this 3 Mb cable is only supposed to debut in LA and SF...
As for discounts for display models, I think they are usually only given for products whose lifetime is adversely effected by lots of grubby hands or being on all the time. I would never pay full price for a display plasma TV, simply because of its limited lifetime.
You can download a ROM image for the Power Macintosh 7200, 7500, 8200, 8500, and Starmax 4160 because apparently they don't have the correct hardware ROM. I don't see how that would be so different from doing the same thing with an Amiga system.
What do they mean by persecuted anyway? One could argue that the Taliban/Al Qaeda are persecuted political groups...
So, the motivation for these companies, is of course, completely based on economic reasons. A product that sells well or corporation that does well in Japan (like DoCoMo) will not necessarily to well in the United States and could possibly even lose money. The financial risk detracts from the potential benefits, thus negating the point of importing business to the United States.
I believe that the cultural difference has as much to do with it as the economic one, but there really isn't much we can do about it. At this point it looks like our economy will always be based on things such as oil/tobacco rather than high tech infrastructure.
From a telephone conversation between Bob, a telemarker for a cemetary outside Louisville, Kentucky, and comedian Tom Mabe:
Tom Mabe: Hello?
Bob : Is Mr. or Mrs. Mabe in please?
Mabe : This is Mr. Mabe [sounds of Mabe crying]
Bob: Hi, Mr. Mabe. This is Bob, and I'm calling you from Evergreen Cemetary. How are you today?
Mabe: Not that good.
Bob: Oh, I'm sorry. The reason I'm calling you today is to offer you some peace of mind through pre-arranged burial plots. You can rest assured that all of the details can be taken care of for you. [Sounds of Mabe sobbing.] Sir?
Mabe: Bob, you're not going to believe this. I lost my job on Thursday. Company closed shop. My-my wife left me.
Bob: Oh, I'm sorry.
Mabe: And I'm sitting- But this- this is so bizarre. I was sitting here contemplating suicide, and I was praying, asking God for a sign.
Bob: Yeah, but I'm just calling you because your name is on the list.
Mabe: But no, you don't understand, just five minutes ago I was- I was just praying and asking God for a sign, and you called.
Bob: Yeah, but I'm just doing my job.
Mabe: I know, I know, but- something's in control, I don't know what it is. You're the Angel of Death, man!
Bob: Listen, is there anybody that I can call for you?
Mabe: I've been working for this company for about six years now, and we just got a bigger house. We have a two bedroom house. And I lost my job. The company, they just shut down. My wife, she's just frustrated, she's back in Vermont. And- things aren't working.
Bob: Do you have any kids we can call, we can contact?
Mabe: He's six years old. He's at his grandmother's house. I mean- just five minutes ago I was praying, saying, God, help me through this, give me a sign of some sort- And you called.
Bob: No, no. I'm not that sign.
Mabe: You're the Angel of Death.
Bob: Look, I can call someone and have somebody come right over there for you.
Mabe: No, I'm glad that you called. I could use your services here. I mean, how much is this stuff?
Bob: Well, you know, we have different price ranges for different sorts of plots.
Mabe: Is it, is it- So it is kind of expensive, though, some of it?
Bob: No, it's very affordable. And this way you could take care of all of it.
Mabe: Do you do financing down there?
Bob: Mr. Mabe, you know, you just got done saying that you're thinking of taking your life. Do you have, I don't know, a credit card? Or a checking account?
Mabe: Hold on. [sounds of Mabe crying.]
Bob: Let me ask you this: if I got the paperwork out to you, say, this afternoon, do you think maybe you could hold off until tomorrow?
Anwyay, before we try to make 3D representations of objects in the air we should try to make them in 2D reliably. We had to learn to walk before we ran, now didn't we?
One thing noticeably missing from the Debian package listing is AC3 support. If Linux wants to intrude on market share from the Mac/Windows community, more effort needs to be made to attract audio professionals.
If you follow the link, you will notice that Sun is giving away Solaris 9 on the SPARC(TM) platform and Solaris 8 on Intel. There is no mention of Solaris 9 on Intel.
I'm actually surprised that any of them were really Nigerian. I would have expected the scam to be run by some guy named Tony living in New Jersey that had set up a psuedo-corporation in Nigeria.
Yet at pricewatch the lowest price listed for the same processor is $395. Does this mean the companies selling them below the list price are selling them at a loss or are they getting an even better deal than this?
How about Red Carpet Muncher? Sorry, just had to say that, people keep calling me "Carpet muncher" in GTA3, and you know what? I am! :-)
Hmm.. Apparently lwn.net thinks patenting software is a legitimate business.
Wow! I think this is the first time I've seen a worm creator actually try to turn a profit. It doesn't really seem to be all that malicious, it also seems that this would be an easy way to catch the person repsonsible. Just find out where the checks are going and arrest him!
When MS inundates the market when the lower the price to $99 of the X-Box, they certainly will have a better opportunity for another monopoly.
Here's the link- They slowed C to 38 miles an hour, not the 60 as I originally states. My bad.
A while back, didn't some scientists manage to slow the speed of light down to something around 60 miles an hour in their lab? That's definitely not 180,000 m/s. Kind of interesting, did Einstein think C would be constant in his calculations?
This would be useful for just about any portable computer system. You'd only need the battery for LCD and drives, and maybe the generator could eventually be efficient enough to power all those parts.
One thing I find particularly alarming is the lack of public interest in cases such as these. I asked several people today about what they thought of the decision yesterday, and nobody knew what I was talking about. Anyone else feel frustrated by the general ignorance that is all to common in the American public. I mean, this is front page stuff here people, wake up!