I have been working in the field of engineering integration and MDO for several years now. The company I work for specializes in solving exactly this kind of problem for large manufacturers. I saw another poster who said that it is standard engineering practice to break a problem of any complexity down into smaller chunks. This is absolutely true, except that the chunks are much smaller than you might think. Even designing a single turbine blade in a jet engine requires many (10+) engineers working in unison, sharing their particular expertise such as aerodynamics, heat transfer, mechanical analysis, materials design, finite element modeling, etc. There are so many variables, it is very easy to design an overall system where a manufacturing error in a single part of the system can cause a catastrophic failure. Many companies use a technique known as Six Sigma to limit the error rate in the manufacturing process. Basically, you apply statistical techniques to the design process in a way that guarantees a certain level of quality in the product. The "6" in six sigma comes from the level of quality expected by applying the process. For a six sigma process, the overall error rate should be less than 1 in 3,000,000. Anyway, by combining six sigma with massive design integration, it is possible (and has been done--I've done it!) to optimize large systems to come up with better overall designs that meet a certain level of quality. I have seen this process applied to engines, plastics + molding, aircraft, electronics, and many other design problems. In many cases, the process will come up with designs that seem counter-intuitive, but are actually very stable, high quality, low cost solutions.
I think the ports will go through as planned, although perhaps delayed to enhance the X-Box market. Microsoft is a game publisher, and they release titles for both the PC and Mac. It wouldn't make financial sense for them to drop the ports for "insufficient demand," when obviously this is not the case.
I have seen *many* anime geeks who study just enough Japanese to realize it's not as easy as watching cartoons, and give up.
Likewise, I have seen some anime geeks who finally clue in to the fact that using "de gozaru" conversationally just makes you look like a fucking idiot.
Personally, I don't watch a whole lot of anime, because big fighting robots don't interest me as much when it's not real robots, and animated breasts just don't compare to the real thing. I watch some stuff that I find humorous (e.g. crayon shinchan) and MAYAZAKI Hayao movies, because he is a wonderful storyteller, and the animation is spectacular. But I would never use any vocabulary or idioms that I picked up watching *any* animated series. Think about it. Would you go around quoting Bugs Bunny in everyday conversation?
Anyway, for learning Japanese via the tube, I tend to stick to the plethora of game shows (100 MAN YEN is my all time favorite), news, dramas, and movies. Also, the comdedy shows are usually pretty funny (TUNNELS, any of the London Boots shows, etc.). In particular, there's a London Boots show (can't remember the name offhand--anyone?) where they go around and try to bust people whose significant other thinks they are cheating. I have never seen a boring episode of that show.
Do you take phone orders? If so, do you require the same amount of rigorous verification?
It seems there is a double standard emerging with respect to online orders. Companies are placing unusual restrictions on ordering from web sites, but don't follow the same guidelines when receiving orders by phone.
I have had many problems with websites wanting ridiculous amounts of information just to place an online order. The last online order I attempted, the company wanted my bank's phone number and address. When I call the same companies to place an order via phone, they usually ask for just the bare essentials (shipping address, CC#, expiration date) and could give a rat's ass about verification.
I think certain programming languages lend themselves to learning particular programming concepts, especially for children.
I started out with BASIC (not VB, but I guess that's a good substitute these days) on a VIC-20, and when memory and performance became issues, I moved on to assembly. These are ok for teaching the basics of algorithms and computing concepts.
Somewhere during that time I also picked up logo, which is a great language for teaching complex mathematical concepts in a way kids can understand intuitively.
Pascal was the first language I learned that really stressed modular programming concepts and strict typing. Nowadays I would probably go with Java instead, since it has more eye candy, and also teaches object-oriented concepts to boot.
Finally, for concepts of pointers, references, and operator overloading I guess C++ will have to do.
Duron will include 128KB of primary and 64KB of integrated cache, meanwhile Athlons contain 128KB primary and no integrated cache.
Hemos, I would have expected you to be more up on this stuff. Primary cache is also (typically) integrated. Integrated cache just means that the cache is on the die with the rest of the microprocessor. The real differentiation is between primary and *secondary* cache. In this case, an off-chip secondary cache means slower access time to that cache.
However, it is strange that the primary cache is *bigger* than the secondary cache. Perhaps this secondary cache is actually a victim cache? Does anyone know the technical details?
Even if Napster.com had to shut down its servers permanently, this is not a big deal to mp3 traders. So far as I can tell, this doesn't really affect OpenNap servers, since they have no affiliation with Napster.com. Even if individual OpenNap servers are shut down as "illegal," there is simply no way to keep them from springing up somewhere else.
Anyway, why would the RIAA try to rob me of my precious Menudo bootlegs? I've spent years building up that collection, and now they want to take away my ability to share Menudo with the unwashed masses.
Perhaps you read a different article than I did. I read the wired story here. In that story, I don't see Judge Rakoff making any such claim. To the contrary, he essentially states that MP3.com was re-distributing the recordings without the record companies' permission. This does not, however, preclude an individual from making their own copy under fair use laws.
I am legally entitled to make a copy of my CD, but I am not entitled to copy CDs I do not own, and give the copies away to those who did legally purchase it. Nor can I buy the CD, repackage it in a different case (or copy it to tape, etc.) and give it to someone, regardless of whether that person has their own legally-aquired original.
In short, you can still copy your CDs to your heart's content, just don't give away the copies.
I believe PTC already has a linux version of Pro/E. Also, when I went to COE, I went to a session SGI gave about their current development of 3D drivers in linux. They had some really good realtime, high-FPS demos running under linux.
Anyway, the question naturally came up about when CATIA would be available on linux, and there were many subtle hints flying about Dassault working with SGI on a linux version of version 5.
BTW, if you haven't used CATIA v5, it basically kicks the ass of any other high-end CAD program. I don't consider AutoCAD high-end, but it definitely kicks AutoCAD's butt, too. It is way more powerful and easy to use than any other CAD package out there.
Yeah, I'll bet students can't wait to pay higher tech fees and tuition! Not to mention all the wonderful network problems that will crop up just about time for those final projects and papers to be printed and turned in.
after perusing all the reviews of this guy, I found that although there are quite a few positive reviews, it certainly looks like someone (more than likely the professor himself) is stuffing the ballot box, so to speak. There are multiple reviews (more than those combined by the webmaster) that are obviously of the same origin and sound like some kind of campy movie review (I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me).
Yet, this guy is complaining that people are stuffing the ballot box *against* him. Honestly, having never had this guy as a teacher I can't make an informed judgement, but the number of reviews that refer to the volume of students who drop his classes, and the fact that this guy assigns his own literary work in introductory English classes don't speak well for him. Of course, I've had teachers in other subjects (Economics, CS, etc.) who assign their own books, but none of them ever asked me to *critique* those books, or to write a paper about them. Talk about putting unnecessary pressure on the student. Plus, focusing an English 1A course on gay literature is like taking History 101 and spending a semester talking about the Franco-Prussian war.
Frankly, I think this teacher's off his rocker, and the first thing I would do as a defendant is put the guy up as a witness, followed by as many students of his (that received decent grades) I could find, and I'm sure many would volunteer.
How does a different distribution mechanism affect t-shirt and concert sales? The only argument I can see is that people are distributing bootlegs of concerts. While this happens in some cases (I see a lot of Phish bootlegs) I have never known it to have any effect on concert attendance. Listening to a concert recording and being there are two completely different experiences, and I'm sure nobody is going to think that having an mp3 of the live performance is just as good as seeing them perform in person.
I think any artists that complain in this vein probably need to lay off the crack, and get a better booking agent.
Jeff isn't saying he wants to ban software patents entirely, like Richard Stallman. He's saying the patent term should be shorter. He knows that any value in his patents will expire after a few years anyway, regardless of whether the patent term is up, since new technologies will be invented that render them worthless.
So, basically he's willing to give back to the community after he's sucked all the monetary value from it.
1. The followup to the "Who shot Mr. Burns?" season finale.
2. The episode where Lisa finds an angel on a construction site during a school archeological dig. Although, technically the scientist admits he never performed the tests, even though he said it was inconclusive.
This has already been done. Actually, a scientist examined a piece of the shroud with a high-magnification microscope, and found that the stains on the shroud were actually red pigment, and not blood. His investigation was (after 10 years, I think) finally reaffirmed by studies performed in different labs.
I really hope that iCrave's patent application is rejected. Mapping IP addresses to geographic locations has been around for many many years (witness GeoBoy and Atlas of Cyberspaces).
Filtering based upon this information
has been done before (although I can't find a handy quick reference, an example would be the many ftp sites which kept users from downloading encryption code from outside the US),and
is what I consider an obvious use of existing technology.
It really irks me to see people even trying to file a patent for this kind of crap.
The main problem, IMHO, is that they tested the system with a completely different rocket than what they have launched the last couple of times. The test was an outstanding success, so perhaps they feel it's ok to stress an already complex system by introducing untested equipment loaded with expensive satellites at the last minute.
How do magnetic transistors work? I'm familiar with how old-style [sic] FET and MOSFET stuff works, but I can't see applying the same kind of technology to a magnet.
On the same page as the South Park story is this gem about CBS trying to steal a domain name:
CBS Loses Bid To Claim Domain Name For Nashville Network
An effort by CBS to claim for itself the right to use the Web address www.tnn.com for its The Nashville Network has been rejected by a federal judge in Los Angeles who ruled Tuesday that The Network Network company may continue to use the address. U.S. District Judge Nora M. Manella ruled against CBS's claim that Internet users would confuse the address with The Nashville Network and that without the use of the domain name the company would be put at a "critical disadvantage." Pointing out that Network Network, a computer network consulting group, had used the initials since 1989 and had registered them as a domain name in 1994, Manella commented: "The fact that Nashville missed its opportunity to select the domain name it would now like to have is not sufficient to state a claim of infringement under the federal trademark law, particularly where, as here there can be... no argument that Network has sought or is now seeking to trade on Nashville's good name." In a statement, Clive Hermann, Network Network's founder, commented: "Simply because they are a big company and very much want something which belongs to us doesn't necessarily mean they are entitled to it. We are not 'cybersquatters.' We have been using both the TNN trademark and the domain name for years without objection, and the Web site has become crucial to our business."
They've gotta be the smallest chips I've ever seen. If I ever buy a machine with a Crusoe in it, I'll be sure never to open the case for fear of the chip dropping out and being lost between the fibers of my carpet....
That's not the size of the "chip", but the size of the die. The actual size of the part in your computer will be much larger, since that die will be inside a much larger ceramic package with a ball grid array on the bottom.
Eventually I think we will be forced to build all of our own hardware ala GPL. If the government isn't pushing for ways to make my private information more accessible, then corporations are pushing to take away my right to fair use, and it's a sad state of affairs to be caught in the middle of these two juggernauts.
I used to be a very strong proponent of the free market system, but nowadays I'm not so sure. The problem is that people act too much like zombies. You can see this is true if you ever spent time in a local mall or wallmart. People milling around, anxious to spend their hard-earned money on crap without taking the time to think about how this crap will affect the quality of their lives. People clamoring for _more_ regulation by the government because they don't want their kids to be exposed to pornography on the internet, not understanding that every new law that passes takes away a little bit of their humanity.
I am deathly afraid of turning into a zombie, but it seems like the people around me don't even notice that it's happening. I try to convey the problems with DVD, and they say "so what?" without understanding that they just lost another chunk of their freedom. I try to explain that the US actually throws away enough food to feed all the hungry people in the world, and the only reason those people are hungry is that nobody can make money off of feeding them, and the stockholders wouldn't stand for it. When do you think they'll start copy-protecting food? "I'm sorry, sir, but those tomatoes you planted will only grow once. We wouldn't want you distributing tomatoes to all your friends without paying our license fee."
Closely connected with pr0n at some times, but in reality a completely distinct sub-culture. And, as many other cultures on the internet, this one grows stronger daily, and changes constantly.
I wouldn't exactly group 2600 in the same category as slashdot, as it seems (to me) to cater to a different crowd in general.
Going along with this, of course, is all the IRC channels, the news feeds (alt.binaries.warez.*, alt.hack*), the ftp sites, web sites, and everything else I can't think of off the top of my head.
Slashdot Mirror
I have been working in the field of engineering integration and MDO for several years now. The company I work for specializes in solving exactly this kind of problem for large manufacturers. I saw another poster who said that it is standard engineering practice to break a problem of any complexity down into smaller chunks. This is absolutely true, except that the chunks are much smaller than you might think. Even designing a single turbine blade in a jet engine requires many (10+) engineers working in unison, sharing their particular expertise such as aerodynamics, heat transfer, mechanical analysis, materials design, finite element modeling, etc. There are so many variables, it is very easy to design an overall system where a manufacturing error in a single part of the system can cause a catastrophic failure. Many companies use a technique known as Six Sigma to limit the error rate in the manufacturing process. Basically, you apply statistical techniques to the design process in a way that guarantees a certain level of quality in the product. The "6" in six sigma comes from the level of quality expected by applying the process. For a six sigma process, the overall error rate should be less than 1 in 3,000,000. Anyway, by combining six sigma with massive design integration, it is possible (and has been done--I've done it!) to optimize large systems to come up with better overall designs that meet a certain level of quality. I have seen this process applied to engines, plastics + molding, aircraft, electronics, and many other design problems. In many cases, the process will come up with designs that seem counter-intuitive, but are actually very stable, high quality, low cost solutions.
I think the ports will go through as planned, although perhaps delayed to enhance the X-Box market. Microsoft is a game publisher, and they release titles for both the PC and Mac. It wouldn't make financial sense for them to drop the ports for "insufficient demand," when obviously this is not the case.
Why don't you reference the linked pages before you flame someone?
If you follow the links, you'll find Apple did in fact use sub-pixel rendering.
I have seen *many* anime geeks who study just enough Japanese to realize it's not as easy as watching cartoons, and give up.
Likewise, I have seen some anime geeks who finally clue in to the fact that using "de gozaru" conversationally just makes you look like a fucking idiot.
Personally, I don't watch a whole lot of anime, because big fighting robots don't interest me as much when it's not real robots, and animated breasts just don't compare to the real thing. I watch some stuff that I find humorous (e.g. crayon shinchan) and MAYAZAKI Hayao movies, because he is a wonderful storyteller, and the animation is spectacular. But I would never use any vocabulary or idioms that I picked up watching *any* animated series. Think about it. Would you go around quoting Bugs Bunny in everyday conversation?
Anyway, for learning Japanese via the tube, I tend to stick to the plethora of game shows (100 MAN YEN is my all time favorite), news, dramas, and movies. Also, the comdedy shows are usually pretty funny (TUNNELS, any of the London Boots shows, etc.). In particular, there's a London Boots show (can't remember the name offhand--anyone?) where they go around and try to bust people whose significant other thinks they are cheating. I have never seen a boring episode of that show.
Do you take phone orders? If so, do you require the same amount of rigorous verification?
It seems there is a double standard emerging with respect to online orders. Companies are placing unusual restrictions on ordering from web sites, but don't follow the same guidelines when receiving orders by phone.
I have had many problems with websites wanting ridiculous amounts of information just to place an online order. The last online order I attempted, the company wanted my bank's phone number and address. When I call the same companies to place an order via phone, they usually ask for just the bare essentials (shipping address, CC#, expiration date) and could give a rat's ass about verification.
I think certain programming languages lend themselves to learning particular programming concepts, especially for children.
I started out with BASIC (not VB, but I guess that's a good substitute these days) on a VIC-20, and when memory and performance became issues, I moved on to assembly. These are ok for teaching the basics of algorithms and computing concepts.
Somewhere during that time I also picked up logo, which is a great language for teaching complex mathematical concepts in a way kids can understand intuitively.
Pascal was the first language I learned that really stressed modular programming concepts and strict typing. Nowadays I would probably go with Java instead, since it has more eye candy, and also teaches object-oriented concepts to boot.
Finally, for concepts of pointers, references, and operator overloading I guess C++ will have to do.
Hemos, I would have expected you to be more up on this stuff. Primary cache is also (typically) integrated. Integrated cache just means that the cache is on the die with the rest of the microprocessor. The real differentiation is between primary and *secondary* cache. In this case, an off-chip secondary cache means slower access time to that cache.
However, it is strange that the primary cache is *bigger* than the secondary cache. Perhaps this secondary cache is actually a victim cache? Does anyone know the technical details?
Anyway, why would the RIAA try to rob me of my precious Menudo bootlegs? I've spent years building up that collection, and now they want to take away my ability to share Menudo with the unwashed masses.
I am legally entitled to make a copy of my CD, but I am not entitled to copy CDs I do not own, and give the copies away to those who did legally purchase it. Nor can I buy the CD, repackage it in a different case (or copy it to tape, etc.) and give it to someone, regardless of whether that person has their own legally-aquired original.
In short, you can still copy your CDs to your heart's content, just don't give away the copies.
Perhaps it should be .earth
I believe PTC already has a linux version of Pro/E. Also, when I went to COE, I went to a session SGI gave about their current development of 3D drivers in linux. They had some really good realtime, high-FPS demos running under linux.
Anyway, the question naturally came up about when CATIA would be available on linux, and there were many subtle hints flying about Dassault working with SGI on a linux version of version 5.
BTW, if you haven't used CATIA v5, it basically kicks the ass of any other high-end CAD program. I don't consider AutoCAD high-end, but it definitely kicks AutoCAD's butt, too. It is way more powerful and easy to use than any other CAD package out there.
They should just go pick up Catherine Zeta Jones now. Even if it wasn't really her, they should arrest her for bad acting.
Yeah, I'll bet students can't wait to pay higher tech fees and tuition! Not to mention all the wonderful network problems that will crop up just about time for those final projects and papers to be printed and turned in.
after perusing all the reviews of this guy, I found that although there are quite a few positive reviews, it certainly looks like someone (more than likely the professor himself) is stuffing the ballot box, so to speak. There are multiple reviews (more than those combined by the webmaster) that are obviously of the same origin and sound like some kind of campy movie review (I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me).
Yet, this guy is complaining that people are stuffing the ballot box *against* him. Honestly, having never had this guy as a teacher I can't make an informed judgement, but the number of reviews that refer to the volume of students who drop his classes, and the fact that this guy assigns his own literary work in introductory English classes don't speak well for him. Of course, I've had teachers in other subjects (Economics, CS, etc.) who assign their own books, but none of them ever asked me to *critique* those books, or to write a paper about them. Talk about putting unnecessary pressure on the student. Plus, focusing an English 1A course on gay literature is like taking History 101 and spending a semester talking about the Franco-Prussian war.
Frankly, I think this teacher's off his rocker, and the first thing I would do as a defendant is put the guy up as a witness, followed by as many students of his (that received decent grades) I could find, and I'm sure many would volunteer.
How does a different distribution mechanism affect t-shirt and concert sales? The only argument I can see is that people are distributing bootlegs of concerts. While this happens in some cases (I see a lot of Phish bootlegs) I have never known it to have any effect on concert attendance. Listening to a concert recording and being there are two completely different experiences, and I'm sure nobody is going to think that having an mp3 of the live performance is just as good as seeing them perform in person.
I think any artists that complain in this vein probably need to lay off the crack, and get a better booking agent.
Jeff isn't saying he wants to ban software patents entirely, like Richard Stallman. He's saying the patent term should be shorter. He knows that any value in his patents will expire after a few years anyway, regardless of whether the patent term is up, since new technologies will be invented that render them worthless.
So, basically he's willing to give back to the community after he's sucked all the monetary value from it.
There are two, that I can remember:
1. The followup to the "Who shot Mr. Burns?" season finale.
2. The episode where Lisa finds an angel on a construction site during a school archeological dig. Although, technically the scientist admits he never performed the tests, even though he said it was inconclusive.
This has already been done. Actually, a scientist examined a piece of the shroud with a high-magnification microscope, and found that the stains on the shroud were actually red pigment, and not blood. His investigation was (after 10 years, I think) finally reaffirmed by studies performed in different labs.
It really irks me to see people even trying to file a patent for this kind of crap.
The main problem, IMHO, is that they tested the system with a completely different rocket than what they have launched the last couple of times. The test was an outstanding success, so perhaps they feel it's ok to stress an already complex system by introducing untested equipment loaded with expensive satellites at the last minute.
How do magnetic transistors work? I'm familiar with how old-style [sic] FET and MOSFET stuff works, but I can't see applying the same kind of technology to a magnet.
CBS Loses Bid To Claim Domain Name For Nashville Network
An effort by CBS to claim for itself the right to use the Web address www.tnn.com for its The Nashville Network has been rejected by a federal judge in Los Angeles who ruled Tuesday that The Network Network company may continue to use the address. U.S. District Judge Nora M. Manella ruled against CBS's claim that Internet users would confuse the address with The Nashville Network and that without the use of the domain name the company would be put at a "critical disadvantage." Pointing out that Network Network, a computer network consulting group, had used the initials since 1989 and had registered them as a domain name in 1994, Manella commented: "The fact that Nashville missed its opportunity to select the domain name it would now like to have is not sufficient to state a claim of infringement under the federal trademark law, particularly where, as here there can be ... no argument that Network has sought or is now seeking to trade on Nashville's good name." In a statement, Clive Hermann, Network Network's founder, commented: "Simply because they are a big company and very much want something which belongs to us doesn't necessarily mean they are entitled to it. We are not 'cybersquatters.' We have been using both the TNN trademark and the domain name for years without objection, and the Web site has become crucial to our business."
That's not the size of the "chip", but the size of the die. The actual size of the part in your computer will be much larger, since that die will be inside a much larger ceramic package with a ball grid array on the bottom.
Eventually I think we will be forced to build all of our own hardware ala GPL. If the government isn't pushing for ways to make my private information more accessible, then corporations are pushing to take away my right to fair use, and it's a sad state of affairs to be caught in the middle of these two juggernauts.
I used to be a very strong proponent of the free market system, but nowadays I'm not so sure. The problem is that people act too much like zombies. You can see this is true if you ever spent time in a local mall or wallmart. People milling around, anxious to spend their hard-earned money on crap without taking the time to think about how this crap will affect the quality of their lives. People clamoring for _more_ regulation by the government because they don't want their kids to be exposed to pornography on the internet, not understanding that every new law that passes takes away a little bit of their humanity.
I am deathly afraid of turning into a zombie, but it seems like the people around me don't even notice that it's happening. I try to convey the problems with DVD, and they say "so what?" without understanding that they just lost another chunk of their freedom. I try to explain that the US actually throws away enough food to feed all the hungry people in the world, and the only reason those people are hungry is that nobody can make money off of feeding them, and the stockholders wouldn't stand for it. When do you think they'll start copy-protecting food? "I'm sorry, sir, but those tomatoes you planted will only grow once. We wouldn't want you distributing tomatoes to all your friends without paying our license fee."
Closely connected with pr0n at some times, but in reality a completely distinct sub-culture. And, as many other cultures on the internet, this one grows stronger daily, and changes constantly.
I wouldn't exactly group 2600 in the same category as slashdot, as it seems (to me) to cater to a different crowd in general.
Going along with this, of course, is all the IRC channels, the news feeds (alt.binaries.warez.*, alt.hack*), the ftp sites, web sites, and everything else I can't think of off the top of my head.