Cadillac now uses these in some of its vehicles for brake lights; they light up 5 times faster than an incandescent bulb, they're resistant to breakage (those trunk lids are a bit hefty), and they're much brighter and give a more uniform appearance.
As for that spotlight, I think it would make a very attractive bundle with a higher-end DV camcorder. Maybe toss in a copy of Final Cut Pro and a good microphone and you've got a very nifty little movie studio for $4000 or so. Sweeeet.
Second, this means Mac OS X supports development in C, C++, Objective C, Java, and soon Internet C++, while C# might be ported just to keep the antitrust types at bay. That's a lot of C, especially for an OS whose headers still feature the pascal keyword in places. Mmmm, irony.
It doesn't work once the story gets archived, so the links listed above won't function properly after then. Is there a solution in the works for the slashcode?
The newest ones use Apple's new proprietary connector, which carries power, USB, and video from the video card to the monitor. If you can still find an older model with the standard DVI connector, you'll still have to ensure it will be recognized by your video card.
Tech support is your key into higher paying jobs, they love to promote from within.
What the fuck ever. Neither of the twoplaces I've done tech support for gave a damn about anybody in tech support. As far as the company was concerned, we weren't worth the time of day. I saw an awful lot of really talented people leave because there was no hope of advancement, or even a side-grade into an interesting field that doesn't burn you out. Forget tech support, it is a dead-end career path that only teaches you to hate your fellow man and loathe all known computer software.
I'd kill myself if I could muster up the self-confidence to know I wouldn't screw it up, but my 3.5 years of tech support have robbed me of even that.
For some reason, slashdot is mangling the end bracket when posting, even though it looks fine in preview mode; it's converting it to an ampersand-lt type thingy. This is the second time it's happened to me. (Yes, I have plain old text selected.) Most annoying, especially when you're trying to make a point...
Then again, real programmers use cat, right? Real posters should too.
To learn more about the game hackers...
on
Hackers
·
· Score: 3
read "Halcyon Days", which features interviews with some of the wizards of those days, like John Harris, Warren Schwader, and Bill Budge (Harris and Schwader are feature players in "Hackers").
I first saw this work referenced on Slashdot the last time this book was reviewed. It's a good companion to "Hackers", especially the John Harris interview.
Buy a copy of the new edition of "Fire In The Valley" by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine, which reprints the letter from Bill to the Homebrewers, and is also one hell of a book (even if it does make the occasional mistake). Along with "Hackers", it's required reading for Personal Computer History 101.
Yeah, but some keyboards can be much more expensive to replace.... So far, I've been rather lucky.
Actually, I'm surprised none of the Mac regulars here have brought up the Apple Extended Keyboard II, the finest typing device ever to come from the six-colored halls of Cupertino (well, the design, anyway; the keyboards themselves were made IIRC in Cork, Ireland). Its codename was "Saratoga", with good reason: it was big, brawny, and built to last. Fabulous keyfeel, and able to withstand a pounding from late-night Marathon sessions. Even better; if you lost, the durable construction and extra-long ADB cable made it easy to slam it against your desk, or (better yet) your opponent.:-]
Today's model is OK, but it can't hold a candle to the original.
Oh, how I pine for the day when a NEW ULTRA-COOL GOTTA HAVE IT product meant _more_ than a new color.
The new iBooks have twice the video RAM and a Rage128 instead of the Rage LT in the old ones. They're also 100 MHz faster, have an on-chip L2 cache running at full processor speed, a FireWire port, a DVD drive, a video out port, and a larger hard drive. Happy now?
Yet Another Stupid Windows-Only Product....although it does use USB, so it shouldn't be too hard to support it under Mac OS or Linux (not sure what level of USB support is in the BSDs off the top of my head).
As for the downloadable Palm module, IIRC the Jargon File isn't much more than 5 MB total, so it's theoretically possible on a higher-end model. Is there any sort of text reader thingy that does on-the-fly compression/expansion, or is the Palm not powerful enough yet for such a program?
No offense, but this article didn't really have anything new to add to the discussion of why it's better to have access to source code. For the record, I'm in favor of access to source, and I don't particularly care what license it's under as long as I can use it legally to learn something new and interesting (which is why I refer to it as source access rather than the politicalized terms "free software" or "open source"). I do want to reply to two comments he made, though:
In the hands of countless developers, what can be done with an Open Source project is unlimited. It simply takes time to add whatever functionality you (or the boss, customer, etc.) wish were there.
Not every free software developer can work on every free software project. I see a lot of postings on/. whenever somebody complains about missing functionality in an application, or a utility that doesn't work on their system. Invariably there are several comments along the lines of "you have the source, fix it yourself." That's great if the problem lies within my skillset. Should a Perlmonk need to learn OpenGL to fix a graphic utility he or she uses? Should a GNOME guru need to learn m68k assembly to write an installer for OpenBSD? OK, those are sort of contrived. But the point is that not everybody knows everything about everything, and sometimes you just want to get work done. Apple didn't sell 4 million iMacs on their looks alone, at least not the ones in use where I work. Some very smart people use them to do all kinds of smart scientific things (perhaps you've heard of one or two?), and some of those people do write their own code because nothing else does what they need it to do. But by and large, they're using off the shelf products to get their real work done. Nothing wrong with that.
Contrast this bureaucratic model with Open Source. If I want to add a feature to an Open Source project, I simply download the source code and add the feature. (Actually, it's a little more complicated than that, but you get the idea).
This might be true for smaller projects with only a few coders and easy-to-navigate license terms, but it doesn't hold up for projects like Mozilla, StarOffice, or the Linux kernel. Many projects have specific coding rules, accept changes from specific users only, and are simply too damn big to just go in and add one or two features. I'm not saying it's impossible; clearly it's not. Just look at how far Mozilla came in two years (a relatively short time for such a large project, one that had to start over from scratch no less). I just feel it's important to stress to newcomers to the various source access movements that it's more than just downloading the code, rewriting it, and making history. There's publishing it afterwards (depending on the license/project), integrating it with other code, testing it (optional, sadly, in too many cases), and the like. Getting involved in a medium-to-large project can be a serious investment of braintrust, just as it is with sequestered-source projects.
I can definitely agree about the tech-support thing, though. It's what I do for money while I try to go back to school to learn all the things I should have been paying attention to before going out into the real world, and let me tell you: he was lucky to be considered a step above the slugs....
I found that statement confusing as well. The Mac version of Office is a much different animal than its Windows counterpart. They share some code, but not nearly as much as they used to. The Mac version is coded by a separate team and is written with what would now be considered the Classic Mac OS APIs and not Win32 ones.
A Linux port of Office might be closer to a Win32 port because of the shared processor architecture (I seriously doubt there will be a non-x86 version; nobody else understands that Linux != x86, why should Microsoft?) but it would still be a Linux application. Unless they take the WordPerfect route (Win32 APIs running under WINE, IIRC)...
Then again, are there really that many people gaming under BSD?
There will be soon enough, although I'm guessing most games for this system will not be fully compatible with FreeBSD due to differences in kernel architecture, the whole PPC vs. x86 thing, and the graphic libraries available. Still, BSD is about to get a huge (in relative terms) boost in marketshare.
You gotta love somebody who's willing to REWRITE the networking code for a console game system just to eke out better performance. Question is, will John ever get tired of writing games and turn that brain of his towards writing something like a financial planner package or some other business-oriented software?
Hell, if he can port X Window System to Mac OS X in his spare time, why couldn't he work for a few weeks on StarOffice and turn it into an Office-killer?
The proposed landing system with the inflatable buffers sounds very similar to a design which shows up in the trailer for the movie "Red Planet" (site is here). If you have a machine that can play QuickTime movies, go take a quick look at the trailer to see what I mean.
As for the dual probes, well, NASA does have a large installed Macintosh base. Maybe they're taking a cue from Apple; if we can't get one probe working fast enough, maybe we can put two together and sell it as a better solution.....
"What's in your vest?"
[...]
"Left my 'nades at home, officer."
"Let's see what's in your backpack."
"Fuck no. You need an arrest warrant for that."
OK, and you were expecting exactly what from the police at this point? A smile and a wave?
In my backpack were several pieces of soggy clothing, and a folded flak jacket nothing explicitly illegal, but I didn't feel like baring all to the first cop that asked.
So you wanted to go to jail as soon as possible, instead of staying out on the street as a protester, being more effective.
Ah, but Mac OS X is essentially going away, to be replaced most likely by a set of extensions to Mac OS X (same way AppleShare IP sits on top of OS 9). So there's really only one system to port to.
I for one as a part-time Mac developer am very excited. (I'm actually posting this from DP4 with OmniWeb, and it's been remarkably stable, even when chewing on rc5 in the background.) I would love the opportunity to serve both communities by a) porting useful Unix apps to OS X and b) bringing some of the ease-of-use of the Mac intoerface to a Unix app. I think it's going to benefit both communities tremendously, assuming some Unix users can get over their anti-Mac bias and some of the more die-hard Macophiles can accept that there is more to life than the Mac OS. (Hey, it could happen!)
Slashdot Mirror
Cadillac now uses these in some of its vehicles for brake lights; they light up 5 times faster than an incandescent bulb, they're resistant to breakage (those trunk lids are a bit hefty), and they're much brighter and give a more uniform appearance.
As for that spotlight, I think it would make a very attractive bundle with a higher-end DV camcorder. Maybe toss in a copy of Final Cut Pro and a good microphone and you've got a very nifty little movie studio for $4000 or so. Sweeeet.
First off, you're a sick monkey. Keep it up.
Second, this means Mac OS X supports development in C, C++, Objective C, Java, and soon Internet C++, while C# might be ported just to keep the antitrust types at bay. That's a lot of C, especially for an OS whose headers still feature the pascal keyword in places. Mmmm, irony.
It doesn't work once the story gets archived, so the links listed above won't function properly after then. Is there a solution in the works for the slashcode?
The newest ones use Apple's new proprietary connector, which carries power, USB, and video from the video card to the monitor. If you can still find an older model with the standard DVI connector, you'll still have to ensure it will be recognized by your video card.
Tech support is your key into higher paying jobs, they love to promote from within.
What the fuck ever. Neither of the two places I've done tech support for gave a damn about anybody in tech support. As far as the company was concerned, we weren't worth the time of day. I saw an awful lot of really talented people leave because there was no hope of advancement, or even a side-grade into an interesting field that doesn't burn you out. Forget tech support, it is a dead-end career path that only teaches you to hate your fellow man and loathe all known computer software.
I'd kill myself if I could muster up the self-confidence to know I wouldn't screw it up, but my 3.5 years of tech support have robbed me of even that.
For some reason, slashdot is mangling the end bracket when posting, even though it looks fine in preview mode; it's converting it to an ampersand-lt type thingy. This is the second time it's happened to me. (Yes, I have plain old text selected.) Most annoying, especially when you're trying to make a point...
Then again, real programmers use cat, right? Real posters should too.
Jesus, I fucking give up. Just go here: http://product.info.apple.com/pr/press.releases/19 97/q4/970806.pr.rel.microsoft.html
Fawking Slashdot!
...
I meant to say...
Hey taco, the submission page is broken.
Apologies to BNL,
Check out http://foldingathome.stanford.edu/ and help them write a Linux version of the client.
read "Halcyon Days", which features interviews with some of the wizards of those days, like John Harris, Warren Schwader, and Bill Budge (Harris and Schwader are feature players in "Hackers").
I first saw this work referenced on Slashdot the last time this book was reviewed. It's a good companion to "Hackers", especially the John Harris interview.
Buy a copy of the new edition of "Fire In The Valley" by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine, which reprints the letter from Bill to the Homebrewers, and is also one hell of a book (even if it does make the occasional mistake). Along with "Hackers", it's required reading for Personal Computer History 101.
Thank god you can get keyboards for ten bucks!
:-]
Yeah, but some keyboards can be much more expensive to replace.... So far, I've been rather lucky.
Actually, I'm surprised none of the Mac regulars here have brought up the Apple Extended Keyboard II, the finest typing device ever to come from the six-colored halls of Cupertino (well, the design, anyway; the keyboards themselves were made IIRC in Cork, Ireland). Its codename was "Saratoga", with good reason: it was big, brawny, and built to last. Fabulous keyfeel, and able to withstand a pounding from late-night Marathon sessions. Even better; if you lost, the durable construction and extra-long ADB cable made it easy to slam it against your desk, or (better yet) your opponent.
Today's model is OK, but it can't hold a candle to the original.
Oh, how I pine for the day when a NEW ULTRA-COOL GOTTA HAVE IT product meant _more_ than a new color.
The new iBooks have twice the video RAM and a Rage128 instead of the Rage LT in the old ones. They're also 100 MHz faster, have an on-chip L2 cache running at full processor speed, a FireWire port, a DVD drive, a video out port, and a larger hard drive. Happy now?
Yet Another Stupid Windows-Only Product....although it does use USB, so it shouldn't be too hard to support it under Mac OS or Linux (not sure what level of USB support is in the BSDs off the top of my head).
After all the effort put into the iBorg, I think they'd be afraid to enter it.
(link probably only works during west coast business hours; search www.macaddict.com for iBorg for details or try this link)
but I'm sure it's being considered.
As for the downloadable Palm module, IIRC the Jargon File isn't much more than 5 MB total, so it's theoretically possible on a higher-end model. Is there any sort of text reader thingy that does on-the-fly compression/expansion, or is the Palm not powerful enough yet for such a program?
http://www .geekculture.com/geekycomics/Aftery2k/fanclub/LWE2 000/index.html
Could I change my poll response to "I Wish"?
No offense, but this article didn't really have anything new to add to the discussion of why it's better to have access to source code. For the record, I'm in favor of access to source, and I don't particularly care what license it's under as long as I can use it legally to learn something new and interesting (which is why I refer to it as source access rather than the politicalized terms "free software" or "open source"). I do want to reply to two comments he made, though:
/. whenever somebody complains about missing functionality in an application, or a utility that doesn't work on their system. Invariably there are several comments along the lines of "you have the source, fix it yourself." That's great if the problem lies within my skillset. Should a Perlmonk need to learn OpenGL to fix a graphic utility he or she uses? Should a GNOME guru need to learn m68k assembly to write an installer for OpenBSD? OK, those are sort of contrived. But the point is that not everybody knows everything about everything, and sometimes you just want to get work done. Apple didn't sell 4 million iMacs on their looks alone, at least not the ones in use where I work. Some very smart people use them to do all kinds of smart scientific things (perhaps you've heard of one or two?), and some of those people do write their own code because nothing else does what they need it to do. But by and large, they're using off the shelf products to get their real work done. Nothing wrong with that.
In the hands of countless developers, what can be done with an Open Source project is unlimited. It simply takes time to add whatever functionality you (or the boss, customer, etc.) wish were there.
Not every free software developer can work on every free software project. I see a lot of postings on
Contrast this bureaucratic model with Open Source. If I want to add a feature to an Open Source project, I simply download the source code and add the feature. (Actually, it's a little more complicated than that, but you get the idea).
This might be true for smaller projects with only a few coders and easy-to-navigate license terms, but it doesn't hold up for projects like Mozilla, StarOffice, or the Linux kernel. Many projects have specific coding rules, accept changes from specific users only, and are simply too damn big to just go in and add one or two features. I'm not saying it's impossible; clearly it's not. Just look at how far Mozilla came in two years (a relatively short time for such a large project, one that had to start over from scratch no less). I just feel it's important to stress to newcomers to the various source access movements that it's more than just downloading the code, rewriting it, and making history. There's publishing it afterwards (depending on the license/project), integrating it with other code, testing it (optional, sadly, in too many cases), and the like. Getting involved in a medium-to-large project can be a serious investment of braintrust, just as it is with sequestered-source projects.
I can definitely agree about the tech-support thing, though. It's what I do for money while I try to go back to school to learn all the things I should have been paying attention to before going out into the real world, and let me tell you: he was lucky to be considered a step above the slugs....
I found that statement confusing as well. The Mac version of Office is a much different animal than its Windows counterpart. They share some code, but not nearly as much as they used to. The Mac version is coded by a separate team and is written with what would now be considered the Classic Mac OS APIs and not Win32 ones.
A Linux port of Office might be closer to a Win32 port because of the shared processor architecture (I seriously doubt there will be a non-x86 version; nobody else understands that Linux != x86, why should Microsoft?) but it would still be a Linux application. Unless they take the WordPerfect route (Win32 APIs running under WINE, IIRC)...
There will be soon enough, although I'm guessing most games for this system will not be fully compatible with FreeBSD due to differences in kernel architecture, the whole PPC vs. x86 thing, and the graphic libraries available. Still, BSD is about to get a huge (in relative terms) boost in marketshare.
You gotta love somebody who's willing to REWRITE the networking code for a console game system just to eke out better performance. Question is, will John ever get tired of writing games and turn that brain of his towards writing something like a financial planner package or some other business-oriented software?
Hell, if he can port X Window System to Mac OS X in his spare time, why couldn't he work for a few weeks on StarOffice and turn it into an Office-killer?
The proposed landing system with the inflatable buffers sounds very similar to a design which shows up in the trailer for the movie "Red Planet" (site is here). If you have a machine that can play QuickTime movies, go take a quick look at the trailer to see what I mean.
As for the dual probes, well, NASA does have a large installed Macintosh base. Maybe they're taking a cue from Apple; if we can't get one probe working fast enough, maybe we can put two together and sell it as a better solution.....
Hmmmm, let's see...
"What's in your vest?"
[...]
"Left my 'nades at home, officer."
"Let's see what's in your backpack."
"Fuck no. You need an arrest warrant for that."
OK, and you were expecting exactly what from the police at this point? A smile and a wave?
In my backpack were several pieces of soggy clothing, and a folded flak jacket nothing explicitly illegal, but I didn't feel like baring all to the first cop that asked.
So you wanted to go to jail as soon as possible, instead of staying out on the street as a protester, being more effective.
You, sir, are an idiot.
Ah, but Mac OS X is essentially going away, to be replaced most likely by a set of extensions to Mac OS X (same way AppleShare IP sits on top of OS 9). So there's really only one system to port to.
I for one as a part-time Mac developer am very excited. (I'm actually posting this from DP4 with OmniWeb, and it's been remarkably stable, even when chewing on rc5 in the background.) I would love the opportunity to serve both communities by a) porting useful Unix apps to OS X and b) bringing some of the ease-of-use of the Mac intoerface to a Unix app. I think it's going to benefit both communities tremendously, assuming some Unix users can get over their anti-Mac bias and some of the more die-hard Macophiles can accept that there is more to life than the Mac OS. (Hey, it could happen!)