There is a display under development which I consider practically ideal.
Unfortunately, it's still under development!
But here's a link that explains it: http://www.qualcomm.com/technology/imod/index.html
The main problem with inflatable shelters on the Moon is micrometeorids, and the lack of a significant atmosphere to stop them.
Of course, two options exist that can still make inflatables work. One is to bury them after inflating them, so that the layer of soil stops the micrometeors.
The other is to inflate a structure having multi-layer walls, with gaps between the layers and the outer layer made of aluminum foil. This is a known technique used to protect satellites from micrometeors. Impacting the outer wall destroys the projectile, and the expanding vapor cannot penetrate the next wall, especially if it also is made of foil.
A GUI is really just an alternate way to present a menu of choices to the user. So a text interface that is versatile enough to support several levels of menus should be completely workable.
You are partly correct about the dynamic positioning of pixels, but the ability to do this is related to the fact that the smallest pixel is an RGB triad of phosphors, and is adjacent to other phosphors such that we could instead specify a BRG triad or a GBR triad. If subpixels in an LCD can be individually addressed, then the LCD also should be able to handle a somewhat wider range of screen resolutions, than we normally see. Perhaps the "driver electronics" for the subpixels is too firmly tied to particular pixels, though, which means that better electronics, and not so much a better panel, is necessary for an LCD to match a CRT this way. I am aware that they can do fairly high resolutions on LCD screens --but I haven't heard that this monitor handles the same wide range of screen resolutions with the same clarity as an equivalent CRT.
I agree that neither LCD nor Plasma is enough better than the old-fashioned CRT that I would want to replace mine with one of those. The main thing against them is "pixel size"; the smallest possible pixel on a modern CRT allows it to easily and cleanly support a huge list of different screen-resolutions, while the pixels of LCD and plasma units are so much larger that they can only cleanly support a very limited list --else the image just plain looks ugly. So I'm waiting for flat-screen technology to advance to the point where pixel size has shrunk to roughly the same size that a CRT can do. So far as I know, the closest contender for that, still under development, is this one.
Heh, I'm somewhat behind-the-times with respect to the more modern features of JavaScript. The documentation I have is for version 1.3 or so, and it does not include any way that I know of to modify any files on the client machine, other than cookies. That's if the v1.3 JS code is written to function without crashing, of course. I might assume that if it crashed the browser, then some exploit might become possible. But personally, I prefer to write programs that don't include crashing as a "function".
Given that Microsoft's ActiveX stuff so-easily lets malware mess up a computer, I'd say that to whatever extent they "enhanced" JavaScript to enable greater control of a computer, I'd say I prefer the older restricted way. It gives me a reason to brag about writing embedded JS that is actually safe to enable!
I kind-of like JavaScript, probably because of its basic similarity to C, while it-seems-to-me being simpler than C++
I definitely like how a complete and completely functional program (however ugly it may LOOK), can be embedded in a Web page.
I even like the way such a program can be client-side-only, needing no interaction with the server. In this day of phishing and other scams, it's nice to be able to offer something harmless to the masses. Here, for example:
http://www.nemitz.net/vernon/SuDoKuHelp.htm
That novel did not describe a ring. The electromagnetic launchers in that book were both "simple" linear accelerators.
In the launch-ring article, I noticed the air-resistance problem being mentioned, during the initial acceleration phase.
I might suggest this idea as pointing out a solution to that problem.:)
The DRM issue you point out is actually the tip of the iceberg of future technology.
In that future, automated systems will repair themselves and produce goods, including energy. See "The Two Faces of Tomorrow" by James P. Hogan
Today our efforts are going into the technical infrastructure to bring about that future, but when/IF it arrives, then in theory, everyone should equally benefit from that equivalently "unlimited" supply of ordinary physical goods, that cost no human effort to make.
(NOTE: "Overpopulation" would be a word that depends on the ratio of goods to people. It is quite possible for us to breed faster than even that future technology can cope. Isaac Asimov once used the exponential-population-grown figures of the 1960s to show that, assuming instant teleportation and nuclear alchemy and other technology existed, the entire mass of the Observable Universe could be converted into human bodies in less than 6000 years, leaving zero mass for oxygen, food, water, shelter, etc., to sustain that population. {"The Power of Progression", Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1969})
What do people do in a not-overpopulated automated-supply future world? Exercise creativity! So, consider forming a team to produce a movie that in today's economy costs $200million -- what are the costs in that future economy? The physical set-materials and equipment and post-production tech are free for the asking of the automated infrastructure. The labor is donated for the Love of Art (or maybe for allocades/awards), or they wouldn't have joined your team. Net result, the movie can indeed be released for free.
If "pluton" isn't acceptable, then alternative words should be easy enough to invent.
"plutoid", for example. Or maybe "plutent" (combining pluto and planet).
I think the editors post stories like this for the entertainment value. That is, the editors are entertained by the comments.
I might mention that there is another article about this "free energy" over at GizMag
An open source program called "Primary Cryption" seeks high security over speed.
But since you get the source code and it is well-commented, you could probably modify it yourself to be less secure (you decide how much) and a lot faster.
It works under Linux/Wine, and It can also handle multiple files. (Confession: I wrote it, and need to make myself write a helper program to keep track of keys and make it easier to handle multiple files, but I haven't had the time.)
Cell phones don't have to be as small as they are; the hand-set size of ancient rotary-dial phones was that size for a reason.
Well, if that size was used as a grip behind the body of the unit (with various hardware inside it, of course), then the face of the unit could be a fairly decent-sized touch-screen.
It can even be a decently low-power screen, once companies like this one and this one and this one finish their R&D in things like full-color and size-scaling.
I'd also like to mention that There was a buzz-phrase a number of years ago, "wafer scale integration", and I posted my own thoughts about it here, in Nov 2003.
While they might not be using silicon as the substrate for this modern version of WSI, I have little doubt that something like what I described is what they are doing. Perhaps I should seek a royalty...:)
The Mariner 10 mission to Mercury revealed a key data item that Earthly geophysicists need to pay more attention to.
This is the Caloris Basin and, on the opposite side of Mercury, some very strange topography that is usually called "weird terrain".
The explanation is the the shock waves from the impact that created Caloris converged on the opposite side of Mercury and tore the landscape to pieces.
Well, Mercury is small and internally much cooler than Earth, so Mercury has a thick crust while the Earth's crust floats on magma.
A giant meteor impact like the one in what is now Antarctica should have the same sort of effect on Earth that happened on Mercury -- except when the Earth's crust gets shattered by converging shock waves, the magma can pour out. Thus the "Siberian Traps", which formed at about the same time as the Permian Extinction. All we need to solidify that speculation is to study the positions of the continents at that time (not where they have drifted to, today).
More evidence for this sort of Double Disaster comes from the Chixulub impact, which, when it happened, it is known that India was on the opposite side of the world, and the "Deccan Traps" were formed at the same time as the K-T boundary.
For one more example that I'm aware of, but which happened much longer ago than even the Permian extinction, is the Vredefort (sp?) Ring in South Africa, among the biggest known impact craters on Earth, and the Columbia Plateau magma outpourings of Oregon/Idaho/Washington, also among the biggest on Earth, and, I think, about the same age.... Life on Earth was only bacterial then, and it is difficult to know how little of it suvived that Double-Edged Disaster.
According to this link, if you are willing to shell out the $$ you can get a DLP projector that uses three DLP chips and does not use a color wheel.
From the link: "For an idea of price ranges: Canada's Electrohome will ship a three-chip 2048x1152 pixel model for about $40,000."
I bet if they ressurrected a bunch of old animators and had them produce a new Bugs Bunny cartoon, using old-fashioned 2D art, it would be just as big a hit as some modern/fancier show like "Ice Age". The story can be far more important.
Slashdot Mirror
There is a display under development which I consider practically ideal.l
Unfortunately, it's still under development!
But here's a link that explains it: http://www.qualcomm.com/technology/imod/index.htm
Here's one proposal. :)
I did.
The main problem with inflatable shelters on the Moon is micrometeorids, and the lack of a significant atmosphere to stop them.
Of course, two options exist that can still make inflatables work. One is to bury them after inflating them, so that the layer of soil stops the micrometeors.
The other is to inflate a structure having multi-layer walls, with gaps between the layers and the outer layer made of aluminum foil. This is a known technique used to protect satellites from micrometeors. Impacting the outer wall destroys the projectile, and the expanding vapor cannot penetrate the next wall, especially if it also is made of foil.
"Who will watch the watchers?"
Everybody!
A GUI is really just an alternate way to present a menu of choices to the user. So a text interface that is versatile enough to support several levels of menus should be completely workable.
You are partly correct about the dynamic positioning of pixels, but the ability to do this is related to the fact that the smallest pixel is an RGB triad of phosphors, and is adjacent to other phosphors such that we could instead specify a BRG triad or a GBR triad. If subpixels in an LCD can be individually addressed, then the LCD also should be able to handle a somewhat wider range of screen resolutions, than we normally see. Perhaps the "driver electronics" for the subpixels is too firmly tied to particular pixels, though, which means that better electronics, and not so much a better panel, is necessary for an LCD to match a CRT this way. I am aware that they can do fairly high resolutions on LCD screens --but I haven't heard that this monitor handles the same wide range of screen resolutions with the same clarity as an equivalent CRT.
I agree that neither LCD nor Plasma is enough better than the old-fashioned CRT that I would want to replace mine with one of those. The main thing against them is "pixel size"; the smallest possible pixel on a modern CRT allows it to easily and cleanly support a huge list of different screen-resolutions, while the pixels of LCD and plasma units are so much larger that they can only cleanly support a very limited list --else the image just plain looks ugly. So I'm waiting for flat-screen technology to advance to the point where pixel size has shrunk to roughly the same size that a CRT can do. So far as I know, the closest contender for that, still under development, is this one.
Heh, I'm somewhat behind-the-times with respect to the more modern features of JavaScript. The documentation I have is for version 1.3 or so, and it does not include any way that I know of to modify any files on the client machine, other than cookies. That's if the v1.3 JS code is written to function without crashing, of course. I might assume that if it crashed the browser, then some exploit might become possible. But personally, I prefer to write programs that don't include crashing as a "function". Given that Microsoft's ActiveX stuff so-easily lets malware mess up a computer, I'd say that to whatever extent they "enhanced" JavaScript to enable greater control of a computer, I'd say I prefer the older restricted way. It gives me a reason to brag about writing embedded JS that is actually safe to enable!
I kind-of like JavaScript, probably because of its basic similarity to C, while it-seems-to-me being simpler than C++ I definitely like how a complete and completely functional program (however ugly it may LOOK), can be embedded in a Web page. I even like the way such a program can be client-side-only, needing no interaction with the server. In this day of phishing and other scams, it's nice to be able to offer something harmless to the masses. Here, for example: http://www.nemitz.net/vernon/SuDoKuHelp.htm
Hydrogen can be extracted from the Solar Wind. Oxygen is available from moon rocks. Together they make water.
That novel did not describe a ring. The electromagnetic launchers in that book were both "simple" linear accelerators. :)
In the launch-ring article, I noticed the air-resistance problem being mentioned, during the initial acceleration phase.
I might suggest this idea as pointing out a solution to that problem.
ANYTHING can be either used, or abused. And one way to ensure something is not abused, is to not have it around.
Burning sulfur is not such a good idea.
The DRM issue you point out is actually the tip of the iceberg of future technology.
In that future, automated systems will repair themselves and produce goods, including energy. See "The Two Faces of Tomorrow" by James P. Hogan
Today our efforts are going into the technical infrastructure to bring about that future, but when/IF it arrives, then in theory, everyone should equally benefit from that equivalently "unlimited" supply of ordinary physical goods, that cost no human effort to make.
(NOTE: "Overpopulation" would be a word that depends on the ratio of goods to people. It is quite possible for us to breed faster than even that future technology can cope. Isaac Asimov once used the exponential-population-grown figures of the 1960s to show that, assuming instant teleportation and nuclear alchemy and other technology existed, the entire mass of the Observable Universe could be converted into human bodies in less than 6000 years, leaving zero mass for oxygen, food, water, shelter, etc., to sustain that population. {"The Power of Progression", Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1969})
What do people do in a not-overpopulated automated-supply future world? Exercise creativity! So, consider forming a team to produce a movie that in today's economy costs $200million -- what are the costs in that future economy? The physical set-materials and equipment and post-production tech are free for the asking of the automated infrastructure. The labor is donated for the Love of Art (or maybe for allocades/awards), or they wouldn't have joined your team. Net result, the movie can indeed be released for free.
If "pluton" isn't acceptable, then alternative words should be easy enough to invent.
"plutoid", for example. Or maybe "plutent" (combining pluto and planet).
I think the editors post stories like this for the entertainment value. That is, the editors are entertained by the comments.
I might mention that there is another article about this "free energy" over at GizMag
I recommend brainwave scans as the biometric of choice. Too subtle to be picked up everywhere, and therefore secure.
Here. I ought to know, since I posted it back then.
Instead of storing images actually in the database, you could store file-names of images.
An open source program called "Primary Cryption" seeks high security over speed.
But since you get the source code and it is well-commented, you could probably modify it yourself to be less secure ( you decide how much) and a lot faster.
It works under Linux/Wine, and It can also handle multiple files. (Confession: I wrote it, and need to make myself write a helper program to keep track of keys and make it easier to handle multiple files, but I haven't had the time.)
Cell phones don't have to be as small as they are; the hand-set size of ancient rotary-dial phones was that size for a reason.
:)
Well, if that size was used as a grip behind the body of the unit (with various hardware inside it, of course), then the face of the unit could be a fairly decent-sized touch-screen.
It can even be a decently low-power screen, once companies like this one and this one and this one finish their R&D in things like full-color and size-scaling.
I'd also like to mention that There was a buzz-phrase a number of years ago, "wafer scale integration", and I posted my own thoughts about it
here, in Nov 2003.
While they might not be using silicon as the substrate for this modern version of WSI, I have little doubt that something like what I described is what they are doing. Perhaps I should seek a royalty...
The Mariner 10 mission to Mercury revealed a key data item that Earthly geophysicists need to pay more attention to.
This is the Caloris Basin and, on the opposite side of Mercury, some very strange topography that is usually called "weird terrain".
The explanation is the the shock waves from the impact that created Caloris converged on the opposite side of Mercury and tore the landscape to pieces.
Well, Mercury is small and internally much cooler than Earth, so Mercury has a thick crust while the Earth's crust floats on magma.
A giant meteor impact like the one in what is now Antarctica should have the same sort of effect on Earth that happened on Mercury -- except when the Earth's crust gets shattered by converging shock waves, the magma can pour out. Thus the "Siberian Traps", which formed at about the same time as the Permian Extinction. All we need to solidify that speculation is to study the positions of the continents at that time (not where they have drifted to, today).
More evidence for this sort of Double Disaster comes from the Chixulub impact, which, when it happened, it is known that India was on the opposite side of the world, and the "Deccan Traps" were formed at the same time as the K-T boundary.
For one more example that I'm aware of, but which happened much longer ago than even the Permian extinction, is the Vredefort (sp?) Ring in South Africa, among the biggest known impact craters on Earth, and the Columbia Plateau magma outpourings of Oregon/Idaho/Washington, also among the biggest on Earth, and, I think, about the same age.... Life on Earth was only bacterial then, and it is difficult to know how little of it suvived that Double-Edged Disaster.
According to this link, if you are willing to shell out the $$ you can get a DLP projector that uses three DLP chips and does not use a color wheel.
From the link: "For an idea of price ranges: Canada's Electrohome will ship a three-chip 2048x1152 pixel model for about $40,000."
I bet if they ressurrected a bunch of old animators and had them produce a new Bugs Bunny cartoon, using old-fashioned 2D art, it would be just as big a hit as some modern/fancier show like "Ice Age". The story can be far more important.