Regardless of the outcome, it's too late for Lexmark.
Abuse of the DCMA and copyright by a company is not easily forgotten. I will never again purchase any Lexmark product, nor will I encourage or support their use by others.
For those who would consider buying any hardware from Lexmark and their ilk, consider this: you are only helping to pay the lawyers and others who promote abuse of the legal system.
MS should be made to host a free, high bandwidth FTP site that mirrors all of the current distributions of Linux and similar free OS software. If nothing else, this would in part make up for all the money received by MS from their unfair "Microsoft tax" charged on nearly every commercial x86 PC; a tax paid for no services whatsoever by those who use only Linux, *BSD, or the like on said machine.
iChat AV will install on any Mac capable of running OS X 10.2.6. The video works on a 400 MHz G4 and may even work on a 350 MHz G4. However, the video will not work on any G3 running at less than 600 MHz. The video does work fine on a 700 MHz iBook (a G3, of course).
In the past I have run FireWire video on a 400 MHz G3 PowerBook with no problems. For that matter, I have done NTSC video on a 100 MHz PPC601.
I have no doubt that Apple has instituted a rather artificial lower limit on G3 video participation with the primary goal of encouraging new hardware purchases. Certainly the vast majority of the millions of gumdrop iMac owners with G3 CPUs running under 600 MHz would prefer the option of a lower frame rate, a lower pixel depth, or a lower resolution than having no videochat at all.
Bad move, Apple. It will only be a matter of time before iChat AV is hacked to run on slower machinery.
The Quartz imaging model in OS X is based entirely on 32 bit floating point values in much the same way that QuickDraw was based on 16 bit integer values. However, a 32 bit float has only 24 bits of precision with eight bits used for scaling. Even then, Quartz supports an increase in linear resolution by a factor of 256 over QuickDraw. In real world terms, an output device with, say, 2,400 DPI resolution was limited to about 13.65 inches (QuickDraw, signed extent) in OS 9 now can be as long as 291 feet using Quartz. That's enough to print advertising posters for the sides of a thirty story building.
So, there's little need for a 64 bit imaging model.
Additionally, moving from a 32 bit to a 64 bit PPC architecture changes little outside of allowing larger native pointer and integer representations; this has no effect on the already supported operations on 32 and 64 bit floating paint values.
If used and somewhat slow machines are acceptable, one could get six functioning x86 boxes from a number of sources like eBay or the classified section in the local newspaper. In fact, a number of Seti@home participants have done this just to get their stats up.
It's happened at last: the cost of enabling software is greater than the cost of the hardware. This is true for a US$600 OS+basic s/w package that can run on a modest but new x86 box bought from a well known vendor.
It just might be worth it. But I'd spend an extra US$200 and get an eMac from Apple; an OpenBSD base, plenty of bundled applications, and a decent all-in-one system to boot.
Either way, it can still be entirely free from Microsoft applications.
And if you read the page http://www.fingerworks.com/images/layouts/MacNTouc h_printable.html you'll see:
"We expect a Dvorak version will be available".
So it's not there yet.
At least they have thought about it.
Note: on Apple's new aluminum flavor notebooks, the D and K keys (or is it the F and J keys) have a raised bump; handy perhaps for Sholes typists, but of liitle use with Dvorak key cap re-mapping. I'd prefer a bumpless keyboard. At least it's not disfigured by marring the H-N-J triad with a ThinkPad style magic nipple pointer.
Every time I see yet another lateset and greatest, high priced, "ergonomic" keyboard with the ancient Sholes (QWERTY) layout, I have to laugh. If you want minimal finger travel, less muscle stress, and faster touch typing, then switch over to the Dvorak layout. Apple makes this easy in software (System Preferences -> International -> Input Menu -> Dvorak). I've done this along with a keycap migration with all my machines including my 15 inch TiBook and, like nearly all Dvorak users, will never go back.
First, kudos to implementors; definitely a cool idea.
Second, I certainly approve of the use of FEN position notation as nearly all chess engine and chess database prorams can import and export this open format. (Also, I am the author of FEN.)
Third, the article example position string of:
11111111/111111r1/11111111/11111111/11bN1B11/1p111 R11/p11K1111/k1111111 w - - 0 1
can be more concisely coded as:
8/6r1/8/8/2bN1B2/1p3R2/p2K4/k7 w - - 0 1
1. The currently official released Safari beta (v60) turns itself off on July first this year. When do the leaked versions expire?
2. What happens on the expiration date of the last beta version? I can see Apple starting asking for cash for post-beta Safari versions, just as they have for OS X. This may not be an altogether bad thing as long as the price is reasonable and earnest efforts are made towards bugfixes, speed enhancements, and functionality improvements (in that order).
The only reason that the content merchants are acting like anal sphincters is because too many of you are supplying them with the cash to do so. I used to spend over US$1,800 per year on CDs, DVDs, and cinema tickets. But since the content oligarchy has gone over the edge with a multitude of misbehaviors, my cash outlay to support them has gone to ZERO.
The content oligarchy dinosaurs survive only because too many continue to support them, their lawyers, and their bribery of the politicians. Boycott now, and soon you will be with me watching these reptiles sink into the tar pit that they oh so richly deserve.
Slashdot Mirror
Seti@home is currently reporting 70.93 TeraFLOPs/sec. It would be Number One if the list were a bit more inclusive.
Regardless of the outcome, it's too late for Lexmark.
Abuse of the DCMA and copyright by a company is not easily forgotten. I will never again purchase any Lexmark product, nor will I encourage or support their use by others.
For those who would consider buying any hardware from Lexmark and their ilk, consider this: you are only helping to pay the lawyers and others who promote abuse of the legal system.
MS should be made to host a free, high bandwidth FTP site that mirrors all of the current distributions of Linux and similar free OS software. If nothing else, this would in part make up for all the money received by MS from their unfair "Microsoft tax" charged on nearly every commercial x86 PC; a tax paid for no services whatsoever by those who use only Linux, *BSD, or the like on said machine.
iChat AV will install on any Mac capable of running OS X 10.2.6. The video works on a 400 MHz G4 and may even work on a 350 MHz G4. However, the video will not work on any G3 running at less than 600 MHz. The video does work fine on a 700 MHz iBook (a G3, of course).
In the past I have run FireWire video on a 400 MHz G3 PowerBook with no problems. For that matter, I have done NTSC video on a 100 MHz PPC601.
I have no doubt that Apple has instituted a rather artificial lower limit on G3 video participation with the primary goal of encouraging new hardware purchases. Certainly the vast majority of the millions of gumdrop iMac owners with G3 CPUs running under 600 MHz would prefer the option of a lower frame rate, a lower pixel depth, or a lower resolution than having no videochat at all.
Bad move, Apple. It will only be a matter of time before iChat AV is hacked to run on slower machinery.
The Quartz imaging model in OS X is based entirely on 32 bit floating point values in much the same way that QuickDraw was based on 16 bit integer values. However, a 32 bit float has only 24 bits of precision with eight bits used for scaling. Even then, Quartz supports an increase in linear resolution by a factor of 256 over QuickDraw. In real world terms, an output device with, say, 2,400 DPI resolution was limited to about 13.65 inches (QuickDraw, signed extent) in OS 9 now can be as long as 291 feet using Quartz. That's enough to print advertising posters for the sides of a thirty story building.
So, there's little need for a 64 bit imaging model.
Additionally, moving from a 32 bit to a 64 bit PPC architecture changes little outside of allowing larger native pointer and integer representations; this has no effect on the already supported operations on 32 and 64 bit floating paint values.
But what if I only need one box?
If used and somewhat slow machines are acceptable, one could get six functioning x86 boxes from a number of sources like eBay or the classified section in the local newspaper. In fact, a number of Seti@home participants have done this just to get their stats up.
It's happened at last: the cost of enabling software is greater than the cost of the hardware. This is true for a US$600 OS+basic s/w package that can run on a modest but new x86 box bought from a well known vendor.
It just might be worth it. But I'd spend an extra US$200 and get an eMac from Apple; an OpenBSD base, plenty of bundled applications, and a decent all-in-one system to boot.
Either way, it can still be entirely free from Microsoft applications.
And if you read the page http://www.fingerworks.com/images/layouts/MacNTouc h_printable.html you'll see:
"We expect a Dvorak version will be available".
So it's not there yet.
At least they have thought about it.
Note: on Apple's new aluminum flavor notebooks, the D and K keys (or is it the F and J keys) have a raised bump; handy perhaps for Sholes typists, but of liitle use with Dvorak key cap re-mapping. I'd prefer a bumpless keyboard. At least it's not disfigured by marring the H-N-J triad with a ThinkPad style magic nipple pointer.
Every time I see yet another lateset and greatest, high priced, "ergonomic" keyboard with the ancient Sholes (QWERTY) layout, I have to laugh. If you want minimal finger travel, less muscle stress, and faster touch typing, then switch over to the Dvorak layout. Apple makes this easy in software (System Preferences -> International -> Input Menu -> Dvorak). I've done this along with a keycap migration with all my machines including my 15 inch TiBook and, like nearly all Dvorak users, will never go back.
"Most supernovae are industrial accidents."
First, kudos to implementors; definitely a cool idea. Second, I certainly approve of the use of FEN position notation as nearly all chess engine and chess database prorams can import and export this open format. (Also, I am the author of FEN.) Third, the article example position string of: 11111111/111111r1/11111111/11111111/11bN1B11/1p111 R11/p11K1111/k1111111 w - - 0 1
can be more concisely coded as:
8/6r1/8/8/2bN1B2/1p3R2/p2K4/k7 w - - 0 1
1. The currently official released Safari beta (v60) turns itself off on July first this year. When do the leaked versions expire? 2. What happens on the expiration date of the last beta version? I can see Apple starting asking for cash for post-beta Safari versions, just as they have for OS X. This may not be an altogether bad thing as long as the price is reasonable and earnest efforts are made towards bugfixes, speed enhancements, and functionality improvements (in that order).
... and so can you.
The only reason that the content merchants are acting like anal sphincters is because too many of you are supplying them with the cash to do so. I used to spend over US$1,800 per year on CDs, DVDs, and cinema tickets. But since the content oligarchy has gone over the edge with a multitude of misbehaviors, my cash outlay to support them has gone to ZERO. The content oligarchy dinosaurs survive only because too many continue to support them, their lawyers, and their bribery of the politicians. Boycott now, and soon you will be with me watching these reptiles sink into the tar pit that they oh so richly deserve.