If you are using electric heat, chances are you don't live in a cold climate and pay for air conditioning for much of the year negating any "savings". Here in cold-balls Canada, EVERYONE has centeral heating; it's too expensive to use electricity. That being said, I do agree that datacenters' heat should be used to heat useful things (office bldgs, like you suggest).
You must be from the East. In BC, a significant portion of the province's electricity is generated by hydro power, making it very cheap. Most of the homes I've been in on Vancouver Island do not have central heating. Electric baseboard heaters are the norm. Because the climate is moderated by the ocean, it never gets atrociously cold, nor does it get extremely hot. I've never owned a car with A/C, and never needed anything more than a simple fan for cooling purposes. It rarely goes over 30 degrees in the summer for more than a day or two at a time. Quite pleasant, really.
I used to live in a tiny apartment above a garage, which contributed to it being freezing (relatively) in the winter. I would turn on my electric baseboard heaters for a short time in the morning, and my two linux servers, one XP box and one laptop would keep it toasty for the rest of the day.
That is unfortunate. I live in Canada on the West Coast, and many of the grocery stores here will refund you 1 to 5 cents for each reusable bag you bring with you. Some stores have also switched to the "biodegradable" plastic bags made out of corn, however these are arguably worse than the regular petroleum-based bags, due to methane emissions during breakdown. I tend to take my reusable bags (which cost $0.99 at any grocery store, and last years) 90% of the time, and when I'm out of garbage bags, I get a few plastic bags when I'm there.
A great way to reduce your use of garbage bags and not need to acquire them so often is to toss your organic waste into a compost. Kitchen trash is largely organic, your need for garbage bags will be greatly reduced. Added bonus: free soil that your garden loves, at $0 a bag!
Is that to imply that something which is specifically built for a purpose is always better at said purpose than something which is built for a broader range, including the purpose in question?
Don't be ridiculous. Nowhere did I imply that, or even say which one I thought was "better". I said you need to evaluate them on the same level, ie. their ability to build web applications. You wouldn't compare a 3-in-1 Printer/Scanner/Fax to a Laser Printer and say "The 3-in-1 has more features, so it's better at printing."
What I'm pointing out is that the features of Java and.Net are often compared to PHP in a broad view when that doesn't make sense, and it's something you have to be careful of.
That's a pretty good way of looking at it. Usually, I find that PHP makes for unmaintainable code. Simple websites don't have this problem, but then, simple websites sometimes grow up to be large ones.
That's a programmer problem, not a language problem. It's just as easy to write understandable, maintainable code in PHP. PHP gets a bad reputation because it's so accessible to newbies, who write bad code. But in the hands of an experienced programmer, it's no different than any other language.
Well I hate Rails vehemently, but I'm liking Django (an MVC framework for Python.) Both have limitations, though. I used to think that a PHP MVC framework might be ok, but then I remembered that a lot of the things that I hate about PHP would still exist.
You should take a look at Zend's PHP framework. There are a lot of other ones out there too.
This happens all the time. People take a perfectly reasonable tool and try to apply it in ways for which it was never designed. Then the developers add features to make those uses easier, and you end up with a crappy tool that does the job.
This is very true. However, Smarty is supposed to remove presentation from the programmers. So if your business has a design/graphics team that can do templating but not programming, Smarty would be an option. If your programmers are the guys making the site, then Smarty is just an extra layer of overhead, and you should just use PHP as your templating structure.
As an exercise, I built a skeleton MVC framework using PHP, and it was very easy to create different view layers, one for Smarty and one for PHP templates. Arguing which way is better is pointless, because it totally depends on who's going to be using it, and not the actual template language itself.
For building web apps? Facebook might disagree with you.
The people who start the PHP/.NET/Java flamewars somehow almost always forget that PHP is a language solely designed for building web sites, whereas Java and the.Net framework are not. Java and.Net can build web sites, but if you're going to compare them, you need to compare them on that level.
The same way your machine would get compromised to have a virus or spyware. Any virus could easily modify your hostname or DNS settings to use a rogue DNS server.
You may not know it, but if you're using DHCP, one of the first things your computer (or router) does when it connects to your ISP is to ask what DNS servers it should use. Generally you'll use your ISP's DNS servers. If you're not using DHCP, you'll have had to enter the DNS settings yourself.
In any event, it's an easily manipulated property of your network connection. Any virus or software flaw could be utilized to change your DNS to a rogue server. I bet unpatched IE Javascript flaws could even do it.
A PC and a watch aren't very similar, but a PC and a laptop are, even if they're different scales. One could also assume, from knowing that they're somewhat similar, that the laptop might contain some of the same components such as an HDD, RAM and a modem/ethernet/wifi device.
because it will still be supported in 5 years' time if necessary
Interesting, do they guarantee that somewhere? I'm curious actually, because I just finished dismantling a Redhat 8.0 production box that I built in 2003. I've switched to CentOS, simply because I didn't like the way that Redhat ended their product line and support for the old distros, and I was worried that they might do that again in the future when the bean-counters get out the scissors.
I have always been a proponent of this method. Subducting nuclear waste into the earth's core would be an effective method of destroying it, and any other form of garbage we could come up with as well.
The main problems with this lie in transport of the material to the site. This is the same reason we don't shoot nuclear waste up into space in a rocket, in that in the event of a shipping accident, you have a hell of a problem. However, shipping it to a subduction zone and applying some sort of guiding technology to send it to the ocean floor still seems like it could be viable option.
I gave up on climateprediction.net when they switched to BOINC. I tried, I really did. I thought it was cool that they were moving to a standardized distributed platform, and I'd been into that sort of thing back when cracking RC5 was a useful goal.
But BOINC fucked it all up. I don't think the climateprediction model fit well into the BOINC work unit structure, which may not be BOINC's fault of course. However, without going over the small potatoes, the biggest problem was that the BOINC client would randomly screw up a work unit. Days or even weeks into a work unit, it would go bad. Nothing to be done. It was disheartening. Even a casual user likes to see how much they are contributing, and the client made it more like playing Russian roulette with the work units. It was a premature move in my opinion, and I'm sure it cost them more users than just me.
This is an ignorant and uninformed opinion. You blindly apply the principles of evolution to shallow observations without examining the issue in-depth. Fact of the matter is, if you're looking at technological advancement and living conditions of a society as proof of "more advanced" evolution, you are way off base and don't understand the principles of evolution at all. Not to mention that your derogatory mention of "the left" simply brands you as a political cheerleader, further throwing your actual knowledge into significant doubt. It's likely that the hunter-gatherer people of aboriginal Australia are more evolved than you, and better suited to survival in any environment, not just their own. They are likely more intelligent than you (or I) as well. If you supplanted a native aboriginie into modern US culture, and allowed them access to the technology that we have, you would likely see incredible mastery and deftness both at learning and application.
You should read the book Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond for excellent academic research into this very topic. You will be very surprised, and hopefully learn a few things that will give you factual basis for talking about this issue. I highly recommend it.
my non-geek website is still showing 2% of firefox users
Well, mileage may vary. In contrast, my non-geek website is showing IE's share down to about 85%, with Firefox up to 5.7% and Mozilla up to 3%. We get about 60,000 unique visitors a month, so I feel comfortable in using the log benchmarks (AWStats) as at least a semi-definitive source when I look at the browser stats these days. It's enough traffic to provide a significant data set.
walking upright is actually a defect in regards to survival, since she'd be easier to spot far away by more advanced predators...
Oh please. That is ridiculous, and you should be ashamed of your own brain for even posting that. You might note that the monkey is now taller, and can therefore spot more advanced predators when they are farther away, giving the monkey more time to escape.
That's one of the stupidest comments I've ever read. It is a complete coincidence you fool. You might be trying to be funny, but you'll need to try harder since your punchline is way off topic. The maple leaf has been around for more than 100 years as a symbol of Canada, and in any event, the seat of the Canadian population is in the East, where all the political decisions (such as the flag) are made. I wasn't around when it was made into the flag, but I believe the West (ie. BC and the prairies) was pretty pissed off about it.
Incorrect. You have given a prime example of artificial selection, not natural selection. When humans are involved, there is nothing natural about it. In fact, the Wikipedia entry for artificial selection even uses dogs as the example.
I think I speak for everyone when I say, SUCK IT DOWN, BIATCH! I'll be sure to hang up on you when you phone me from your new telemarketing job in prison, for $0.35/hr.
Or better yet, I'll keep you on the line and ask you if you want a free University diploma!
Ah, I see your point. That is true, it can require a bit of planning ahead. However, that is one of the nice things about a parabolic waveguide antenna, is that it's not a tight pinpoint broadcast. The parabolic reflector reflects the signal going in one direction ("behind" the antenna), and throws it in the other direction. You still have a wide forward broadcast at the expense of your "backwards" signal. Using a parabolic antenna, I can broadcast to a wide area of property at the expense of area that might be off-property, which is even better so my neighbours don't pick up the signal.
Unfortunately, Line of Sight means a direct line from the transmitter to the receiver, with nothing in the way. Trees and vegetation really attenuate the signal, and buildings are almost impossible to get through with basic off-the-shelf wireless equipment. Some people have problems just getting a signal through to their basement.
Slashdot Mirror
A user with root explicitly installing a program IS NOT A HOLE.
Yes, but a user with root explicitly installing malware is most definitely an A HOLE.
If you are using electric heat, chances are you don't live in a cold climate and pay for air conditioning for much of the year negating any "savings". Here in cold-balls Canada, EVERYONE has centeral heating; it's too expensive to use electricity. That being said, I do agree that datacenters' heat should be used to heat useful things (office bldgs, like you suggest).
You must be from the East. In BC, a significant portion of the province's electricity is generated by hydro power, making it very cheap. Most of the homes I've been in on Vancouver Island do not have central heating. Electric baseboard heaters are the norm. Because the climate is moderated by the ocean, it never gets atrociously cold, nor does it get extremely hot. I've never owned a car with A/C, and never needed anything more than a simple fan for cooling purposes. It rarely goes over 30 degrees in the summer for more than a day or two at a time. Quite pleasant, really.
I used to live in a tiny apartment above a garage, which contributed to it being freezing (relatively) in the winter. I would turn on my electric baseboard heaters for a short time in the morning, and my two linux servers, one XP box and one laptop would keep it toasty for the rest of the day.
That is unfortunate. I live in Canada on the West Coast, and many of the grocery stores here will refund you 1 to 5 cents for each reusable bag you bring with you. Some stores have also switched to the "biodegradable" plastic bags made out of corn, however these are arguably worse than the regular petroleum-based bags, due to methane emissions during breakdown. I tend to take my reusable bags (which cost $0.99 at any grocery store, and last years) 90% of the time, and when I'm out of garbage bags, I get a few plastic bags when I'm there. A great way to reduce your use of garbage bags and not need to acquire them so often is to toss your organic waste into a compost. Kitchen trash is largely organic, your need for garbage bags will be greatly reduced. Added bonus: free soil that your garden loves, at $0 a bag!
Don't be ridiculous. Nowhere did I imply that, or even say which one I thought was "better". I said you need to evaluate them on the same level, ie. their ability to build web applications. You wouldn't compare a 3-in-1 Printer/Scanner/Fax to a Laser Printer and say "The 3-in-1 has more features, so it's better at printing."
What I'm pointing out is that the features of Java and .Net are often compared to PHP in a broad view when that doesn't make sense, and it's something you have to be careful of.
That's a programmer problem, not a language problem. It's just as easy to write understandable, maintainable code in PHP. PHP gets a bad reputation because it's so accessible to newbies, who write bad code. But in the hands of an experienced programmer, it's no different than any other language.
Well I hate Rails vehemently, but I'm liking Django (an MVC framework for Python.) Both have limitations, though. I used to think that a PHP MVC framework might be ok, but then I remembered that a lot of the things that I hate about PHP would still exist.You should take a look at Zend's PHP framework. There are a lot of other ones out there too.
This happens all the time. People take a perfectly reasonable tool and try to apply it in ways for which it was never designed. Then the developers add features to make those uses easier, and you end up with a crappy tool that does the job.This is very true. However, Smarty is supposed to remove presentation from the programmers. So if your business has a design/graphics team that can do templating but not programming, Smarty would be an option. If your programmers are the guys making the site, then Smarty is just an extra layer of overhead, and you should just use PHP as your templating structure.
As an exercise, I built a skeleton MVC framework using PHP, and it was very easy to create different view layers, one for Smarty and one for PHP templates. Arguing which way is better is pointless, because it totally depends on who's going to be using it, and not the actual template language itself.
For building web apps? Facebook might disagree with you. The people who start the PHP/.NET/Java flamewars somehow almost always forget that PHP is a language solely designed for building web sites, whereas Java and the .Net framework are not. Java and .Net can build web sites, but if you're going to compare them, you need to compare them on that level.
The same way your machine would get compromised to have a virus or spyware. Any virus could easily modify your hostname or DNS settings to use a rogue DNS server. You may not know it, but if you're using DHCP, one of the first things your computer (or router) does when it connects to your ISP is to ask what DNS servers it should use. Generally you'll use your ISP's DNS servers. If you're not using DHCP, you'll have had to enter the DNS settings yourself. In any event, it's an easily manipulated property of your network connection. Any virus or software flaw could be utilized to change your DNS to a rogue server. I bet unpatched IE Javascript flaws could even do it.
A PC and a watch aren't very similar, but a PC and a laptop are, even if they're different scales. One could also assume, from knowing that they're somewhat similar, that the laptop might contain some of the same components such as an HDD, RAM and a modem/ethernet/wifi device.
The same applies here.
My god... it's full of laptops ?!Moderators often mod 'informative' instead of 'funny' to award karma, as Slashdot took away karma rewards for the 'funny' mod a long time ago.
Next a small upstart company will be telling us how they have a image manipulation program you uses through the web which will replace photoshop.
Adobe is already planning on taking Photoshop online.
because it will still be supported in 5 years' time if necessary
Interesting, do they guarantee that somewhere? I'm curious actually, because I just finished dismantling a Redhat 8.0 production box that I built in 2003. I've switched to CentOS, simply because I didn't like the way that Redhat ended their product line and support for the old distros, and I was worried that they might do that again in the future when the bean-counters get out the scissors.
I have always been a proponent of this method. Subducting nuclear waste into the earth's core would be an effective method of destroying it, and any other form of garbage we could come up with as well. The main problems with this lie in transport of the material to the site. This is the same reason we don't shoot nuclear waste up into space in a rocket, in that in the event of a shipping accident, you have a hell of a problem. However, shipping it to a subduction zone and applying some sort of guiding technology to send it to the ocean floor still seems like it could be viable option.
But BOINC fucked it all up. I don't think the climateprediction model fit well into the BOINC work unit structure, which may not be BOINC's fault of course. However, without going over the small potatoes, the biggest problem was that the BOINC client would randomly screw up a work unit. Days or even weeks into a work unit, it would go bad. Nothing to be done. It was disheartening. Even a casual user likes to see how much they are contributing, and the client made it more like playing Russian roulette with the work units. It was a premature move in my opinion, and I'm sure it cost them more users than just me.
This is an ignorant and uninformed opinion. You blindly apply the principles of evolution to shallow observations without examining the issue in-depth. Fact of the matter is, if you're looking at technological advancement and living conditions of a society as proof of "more advanced" evolution, you are way off base and don't understand the principles of evolution at all. Not to mention that your derogatory mention of "the left" simply brands you as a political cheerleader, further throwing your actual knowledge into significant doubt. It's likely that the hunter-gatherer people of aboriginal Australia are more evolved than you, and better suited to survival in any environment, not just their own. They are likely more intelligent than you (or I) as well. If you supplanted a native aboriginie into modern US culture, and allowed them access to the technology that we have, you would likely see incredible mastery and deftness both at learning and application.
You should read the book Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond for excellent academic research into this very topic. You will be very surprised, and hopefully learn a few things that will give you factual basis for talking about this issue. I highly recommend it.
Whatster?
Ohhhh. Napster. Yeah, I remember that. So this is some sort of commercial for them then?
That episode was one of the best/most painful. "Trumpy can do stupid things!" "It's called evil, kid."
my non-geek website is still showing 2% of firefox users
Well, mileage may vary. In contrast, my non-geek website is showing IE's share down to about 85%, with Firefox up to 5.7% and Mozilla up to 3%. We get about 60,000 unique visitors a month, so I feel comfortable in using the log benchmarks (AWStats) as at least a semi-definitive source when I look at the browser stats these days. It's enough traffic to provide a significant data set.
walking upright is actually a defect in regards to survival, since she'd be easier to spot far away by more advanced predators...
Oh please. That is ridiculous, and you should be ashamed of your own brain for even posting that. You might note that the monkey is now taller, and can therefore spot more advanced predators when they are farther away, giving the monkey more time to escape.
I see the Internet as a try before you buy medium, where you can see what you're getting before you take the plunge and fully buy an album
So you're a dial-up user?
That's one of the stupidest comments I've ever read. It is a complete coincidence you fool. You might be trying to be funny, but you'll need to try harder since your punchline is way off topic. The maple leaf has been around for more than 100 years as a symbol of Canada, and in any event, the seat of the Canadian population is in the East, where all the political decisions (such as the flag) are made. I wasn't around when it was made into the flag, but I believe the West (ie. BC and the prairies) was pretty pissed off about it.
More on the history of Canada's maple leaf here.
So maybe it's natural selection.
Incorrect. You have given a prime example of artificial selection, not natural selection. When humans are involved, there is nothing natural about it. In fact, the Wikipedia entry for artificial selection even uses dogs as the example.
I think I speak for everyone when I say, SUCK IT DOWN, BIATCH! I'll be sure to hang up on you when you phone me from your new telemarketing job in prison, for $0.35/hr.
Or better yet, I'll keep you on the line and ask you if you want a free University diploma!
Ah, I see your point. That is true, it can require a bit of planning ahead. However, that is one of the nice things about a parabolic waveguide antenna, is that it's not a tight pinpoint broadcast. The parabolic reflector reflects the signal going in one direction ("behind" the antenna), and throws it in the other direction. You still have a wide forward broadcast at the expense of your "backwards" signal. Using a parabolic antenna, I can broadcast to a wide area of property at the expense of area that might be off-property, which is even better so my neighbours don't pick up the signal.
Works pretty dang well, probably better than the Windows setup.
What kind of comment is that? "probably better"? Have you ever used the Windows setup?
I use Windows XP and a Linksys WPC54G. I plug it in and XP finds the drivers.
Works pretty dang well, probably better than the Linux setup.
Unfortunately, Line of Sight means a direct line from the transmitter to the receiver, with nothing in the way. Trees and vegetation really attenuate the signal, and buildings are almost impossible to get through with basic off-the-shelf wireless equipment. Some people have problems just getting a signal through to their basement.