Consider this: you have (decent) computer training. Would you take your skills to a low-paying, poorly equipped public school? Does anybody TRULY, REALLY let selfless altruism guide their lives? I didn't think so.
I've been in private schools all my life,e xcept for a magnet primary school in the late 80s/early 90s. Guess waht? The technology programs at the private schools were great. We didn't have the best technology, but at least the teachers (for the most part) were competent. Even that magnet school didn't have the best computer teacher. She was a nice person, but didn't know too much about computers. People work for an incentive. When you commit yourself to a long-term, full-time job like that, you tend to find the best compensation you can get for those skills. United States public schools simply do not present that incentive.
Seriously, though, someone out there probably wants that equipment. And if they don't, donate the idle CPU time. Distributed.net, Seti@Home, there's lots of programs that would be more than happy for some CPU time. (well, Seti@Home is debatable, but you get the idea...)
What would happen to society if everyone suddenly (by a miracle) learned how their computers worked? We'd lose an entier sector of jobs: tech support. As much as I hate dealing with idiot newbies, I have to admit that I depend on their computer stupidity to put green into my wallet.
You've made a great point there. This society puts way too much emphasis on the moral education of our children on everyone but the parents. I remember my first computer many years ago, an Apple ][e. I used the primitive email system in a school-sponsored exchange with a class from England on another Apple ][.
I like to think my parents did a really good job of giving me not only an academic but also a moral education. When I first started messing with the Internet, nobody needed to monitor me. I had the good wits to avoid objectionable content. It's not the search engines' fault, schools, the government, or anything else. It's the simple failure of parents to spend time instilling morals in their children.
China cannot possibly hate America. Their economy is reliant on the cheap labor that American companies get there. Some reason for why China could not "blow us up."
I sure hope that the US won't go around supporting coups against other countries' governments again. One - the US got screwed in Vietnam, Korea, etc., and two - the US fucks up foreign nations' internal affairs enough already. Soverign countries deserve their rights too. The US should stop thinking that it's the role model/superhero of the world.
One of their beliefs is that once you die, you become a god of sorts. Basically, your blood forms the type of clothing that emperors wore in dynastic China - very symbolic, as only the emperors were allowed to wear these robes and they were considered gods. Anyways, as a result, some followers commit suicide in EXTREMELY gruesome ways to allow their blood to form this robe. For example, slitting wrists, driving cars into poles, etc.
And you know what? The US's perception of China is largely based on old anti-Communist bullshit. I'm a US citizen. I've lived in China for 3 years. I should hope I know enough about the place and the culture (I'm Chinese) to say that the country is anything but the Communist that is popularly thought of in the US. Come by sometime and see for yourself instead of postulating what you've been taught. Part of communism is the inability to practice free trade. Guess what? Look around your house and find all the little things that have got "Made in China" on them. I could go outside and sell something right now, or buy something from the thousands of small businesses around.
Censorship? Sure. The subject of this post contains 'gov't of china sucks' I'm in China. I'm typing this. I'm submitting this. Censorship my ass.
The first point is in the text above the list. It's not in the actual list of patents; it seems to be Compaq's attempt to clarify exactly what it's trying to prove.
Some of the advancements include the ability to display text and graphics on one computer monitor
Video Display System Having Multiple Selectable Screen Formats
Gee, I guess that includes about every single computer on the planet. Maybe they'll start suing TV companies and anyone else using CRTs.
Device for Mapping a set of Interrupt Signals Generated on a First Type Bus to a set of Interrupt Signals Defined by a Second Type Bus and Combing the Mapped Interrupt Signals with a set of Interrupt Signals of the Second Type Bus
Interfacing Direct Memory Access Devices to a Non-ISA Bus
PCI bridge, anyone?
There's plenty more but the jist of the page is that Compaq is full of shit. Oh well. Let's/. Compaq. All hail "the freedom to innovate."
I think the company you're referring to is Starbridge Systems. Interesting company, that. A rip off their web page:
SBS's Hypercomputer systems may be described as massively-parallel, reconfigurable, third-order programmable, ultra-tightly-coupled, fully linearly-scaleable, evolvable, asymmetrical multi-processors which achieve unprecedented benefits in performance, design time, speed, flexibility, power consumption, reliability, size, and cost.
SBS's Hypercomputer systems already reconfigure themselves on-the-fly (up to 1,000 times per second, i.e. in real time) and they are not bound, as this author suggests, to run a single computationally intensive algorithm. They simultaneously perform multiple tasks previously requiring separate, dedicated (meaning hardwired or fixed) hardware configurations (and usually separate software programs as well) for each separate task. If an electronic system is required to do ten different things, with reconfigurable logic only one programmable chip (an FPGA) is needed, rather than ten hardwired chips (application specific integrated circuits, or ASICs).
Whatever the hell that means. Basically the jist of what they're saying (as I'm interpreting it) is that their computers are able to be reconfigured in hardware so they're like an infinite number of devices designed specifically to take on an entire task. They'd be more efficient just like Deep Crack was exceptionally fast at its single-purpose job of cracking DES, or a 3D graphics card is fast at rendering graphics - far faster than your average, all-purpose CPU. Could be interesting. (Computer, switch to RC5 mode!)
If so, yeah... that lets you do a live video feed using Realvideo, but it still requires that you have a separate camera/video capture device to provide the video.
Check out Real's site for more info. And the free tools are pretty well hidden. The Basic Server (not Plus) is the free server from Real and RealProducer (again, not Plus) is the free encoder/live feed from Real.
Personally, I don't see what's the hype about security. Maybe it'll be conforting to the parents to know that any random guy can't get to pictures of their kids, but do you really want to be supporting tech support calls and issuing each parent a uid/pass?
I'm a (somewhat) proud owner of a Casio E-11, and a very busy student. I have to admit, my CE device is nice particularly for reminders. I use it primarily for scheduling places that I have to be so I don't forget appointments.
But the problem is that the software isn't quite there yet. Particularly in the case of CE, the UI is just way too clunky and gets in the way... reminds me of MacOS. Some examples:
Outlook lets me specify a reminder for a date and time, but CE forces me to specify a reminder in minutes/hours/days before a due date. Also, CE doesn't remind me when I set a reminder for a task without a due date in Outlook
The speaker in the device is far too small to be heard over ambient noise
The screen is barely readable under anything but bright sunlight
Battery life SUCKS!
Expedia for CE is designed for handhelds, not palmtops... so dialogs are larger than the screen and can't be resized
Generally that's the problem. The design isn't quite there yet. I'm not so sure about Palms, but CE has some serious problems that M$ will probably never address. Stupid me.
And on the issue of tool vs. toy... let's just say that I deleted most of my applications to make room for MP3s now that I found a MP3 player for my CE device.
I read through some of those comments... I've gotta back Talisman up. We might not like it, but there ARE racial/ethnic differences that show up in other aspects of people's lives.
To give a few examples - (I just know I'm gonna get flamed) GENERALLY:
Asians tend to be better at math/science Africans tend to be better at athletics... what percentage of the world's great basketball players are black? Runners?
The list goes on, and I'm not really qualified to enumerate more. But the trend is there.
Affirmative action is pointless. As is some types of welfare. The American assumption is that, given equal opportunity, everyone will succeed. Granted, not everyone has equal opportunity. But success isn't just about giving everyone the same starting point. Certain people excel in certain areas. Certain people don't. It is a fact that we will all eventually have to accept and appreciate instead of turning a blind eye and punishing those that excel, while spending resources trying to help those that don't. I agree that the unsuccessful should be helped to live, but definitely not at the cost of others. Why should I be discriminated AGAINST when I apply to college simply because I am Asian/White? Or, why should I be picked out simply because I am Black?
While we shouldn't discriminate against people for race/gender/ethnicity, we must recognize that differences exist.
How about the ethics of it? Your clone would really be YOU still..
And even assuming that there were no ethical problems, there is the slight issue of age. Would you clone yourself at birth to make sure there would be plenty of replacement parts available should anything happen? Or would you get cloned when an accident happened. How would the different ages of organs be resolved? Certainly it wouldn't work to attach a baby's arm onto an adult torso.
What about food supply? How would you support so many clones, assuming that you start them at an early age? Immediately 2x the number of people on the planet would obviously be a problem.
Slashdot Mirror
Consider this: you have (decent) computer training. Would you take your skills to a low-paying, poorly equipped public school? Does anybody TRULY, REALLY let selfless altruism guide their lives? I didn't think so.
I've been in private schools all my life,e xcept for a magnet primary school in the late 80s/early 90s. Guess waht? The technology programs at the private schools were great. We didn't have the best technology, but at least the teachers (for the most part) were competent. Even that magnet school didn't have the best computer teacher. She was a nice person, but didn't know too much about computers. People work for an incentive. When you commit yourself to a long-term, full-time job like that, you tend to find the best compensation you can get for those skills. United States public schools simply do not present that incentive.
Jonathan Wang
I'll take that equipment! :-)
Seriously, though, someone out there probably wants that equipment. And if they don't, donate the idle CPU time. Distributed.net, Seti@Home, there's lots of programs that would be more than happy for some CPU time. (well, Seti@Home is debatable, but you get the idea...)
Jonathan Wang
What would happen to society if everyone suddenly (by a miracle) learned how their computers worked? We'd lose an entier sector of jobs: tech support. As much as I hate dealing with idiot newbies, I have to admit that I depend on their computer stupidity to put green into my wallet.
Jonathan Wang
You've made a great point there. This society puts way too much emphasis on the moral education of our children on everyone but the parents. I remember my first computer many years ago, an Apple ][e. I used the primitive email system in a school-sponsored exchange with a class from England on another Apple ][.
I like to think my parents did a really good job of giving me not only an academic but also a moral education. When I first started messing with the Internet, nobody needed to monitor me. I had the good wits to avoid objectionable content. It's not the search engines' fault, schools, the government, or anything else. It's the simple failure of parents to spend time instilling morals in their children.
Jonathan Wang
Study some economics.
China cannot possibly hate America. Their economy is reliant on the cheap labor that American companies get there. Some reason for why China could not "blow us up."
I sure hope that the US won't go around supporting coups against other countries' governments again. One - the US got screwed in Vietnam, Korea, etc., and two - the US fucks up foreign nations' internal affairs enough already. Soverign countries deserve their rights too. The US should stop thinking that it's the role model/superhero of the world.
Jonathan Wang
I'm sitting in China right now.
A few more things on Falun Gong.
One of their beliefs is that once you die, you become a god of sorts. Basically, your blood forms the type of clothing that emperors wore in dynastic China - very symbolic, as only the emperors were allowed to wear these robes and they were considered gods. Anyways, as a result, some followers commit suicide in EXTREMELY gruesome ways to allow their blood to form this robe. For example, slitting wrists, driving cars into poles, etc.
And you know what? The US's perception of China is largely based on old anti-Communist bullshit. I'm a US citizen. I've lived in China for 3 years. I should hope I know enough about the place and the culture (I'm Chinese) to say that the country is anything but the Communist that is popularly thought of in the US. Come by sometime and see for yourself instead of postulating what you've been taught. Part of communism is the inability to practice free trade. Guess what? Look around your house and find all the little things that have got "Made in China" on them. I could go outside and sell something right now, or buy something from the thousands of small businesses around.
Censorship? Sure. The subject of this post contains 'gov't of china sucks' I'm in China. I'm typing this. I'm submitting this. Censorship my ass.
Jonathan Wang
- CE Services on Windows requires that you install Dial-up Networking, the Dial-up Adapter, and Direct Cable Connection
- I haven't been able to use the Dial-up Adapter while my CE device is connected - Windows complains about the device already being in use
- The CE device gets assigned its own IP when connected (try running winipcfg with the device connected)
My 0.02...The first point is in the text above the list. It's not in the actual list of patents; it seems to be Compaq's attempt to clarify exactly what it's trying to prove.
Jonathan Wang
Jesus Christ!
Anyone had a look at the list? Some highlights:
Gee, I guess that includes about every single computer on the planet. Maybe they'll start suing TV companies and anyone else using CRTs.
PCI bridge, anyone?
There's plenty more but the jist of the page is that Compaq is full of shit. Oh well. Let's /. Compaq. All hail "the freedom to innovate."
Jonathan Wang
I think the company you're referring to is Starbridge Systems. Interesting company, that. A rip off their web page:
SBS's Hypercomputer systems may be described as massively-parallel, reconfigurable, third-order programmable, ultra-tightly-coupled, fully linearly-scaleable, evolvable, asymmetrical multi-processors which achieve unprecedented benefits in performance, design time, speed, flexibility, power consumption, reliability, size, and cost.
SBS's Hypercomputer systems already reconfigure themselves on-the-fly (up to 1,000 times per second, i.e. in real time) and they are not bound, as this author suggests, to run a single computationally intensive algorithm. They simultaneously perform multiple tasks previously requiring separate, dedicated (meaning hardwired or fixed) hardware configurations (and usually separate software programs as well) for each separate task. If an electronic system is required to do ten different things, with reconfigurable logic only one programmable chip (an FPGA) is needed, rather than ten hardwired chips (application specific integrated circuits, or ASICs).
Whatever the hell that means. Basically the jist of what they're saying (as I'm interpreting it) is that their computers are able to be reconfigured in hardware so they're like an infinite number of devices designed specifically to take on an entire task. They'd be more efficient just like Deep Crack was exceptionally fast at its single-purpose job of cracking DES, or a 3D graphics card is fast at rendering graphics - far faster than your average, all-purpose CPU. Could be interesting. (Computer, switch to RC5 mode!)
Anyone have any other information on this?
Jonathan Wang
Do you mean the RealVideo server?
If so, yeah... that lets you do a live video feed using Realvideo, but it still requires that you have a separate camera/video capture device to provide the video.
Check out Real's site for more info. And the free tools are pretty well hidden. The Basic Server (not Plus) is the free server from Real and RealProducer (again, not Plus) is the free encoder/live feed from Real.
Personally, I don't see what's the hype about security. Maybe it'll be conforting to the parents to know that any random guy can't get to pictures of their kids, but do you really want to be supporting tech support calls and issuing each parent a uid/pass?
Jonathan Wang
I'm not really familiar with Linux... so maybe I shouldn't be talking... but what about WINE?
But the problem is that the software isn't quite there yet. Particularly in the case of CE, the UI is just way too clunky and gets in the way... reminds me of MacOS. Some examples:
Generally that's the problem. The design isn't quite there yet. I'm not so sure about Palms, but CE has some serious problems that M$ will probably never address. Stupid me.
And on the issue of tool vs. toy... let's just say that I deleted most of my applications to make room for MP3s now that I found a MP3 player for my CE device.
Okay.
I read through some of those comments... I've gotta back Talisman up. We might not like it, but there ARE racial/ethnic differences that show up in other aspects of people's lives.
To give a few examples - (I just know I'm gonna get flamed) GENERALLY:
Asians tend to be better at math/science
Africans tend to be better at athletics... what percentage of the world's great basketball players are black? Runners?
The list goes on, and I'm not really qualified to enumerate more. But the trend is there.
Affirmative action is pointless. As is some types of welfare. The American assumption is that, given equal opportunity, everyone will succeed. Granted, not everyone has equal opportunity. But success isn't just about giving everyone the same starting point. Certain people excel in certain areas. Certain people don't. It is a fact that we will all eventually have to accept and appreciate instead of turning a blind eye and punishing those that excel, while spending resources trying to help those that don't. I agree that the unsuccessful should be helped to live, but definitely not at the cost of others. Why should I be discriminated AGAINST when I apply to college simply because I am Asian/White? Or, why should I be picked out simply because I am Black?
While we shouldn't discriminate against people for race/gender/ethnicity, we must recognize that differences exist.
Jonathan Wang
I see what you mean, but...
How about the ethics of it? Your clone would really be YOU still..
And even assuming that there were no ethical problems, there is the slight issue of age. Would you clone yourself at birth to make sure there would be plenty of replacement parts available should anything happen? Or would you get cloned when an accident happened. How would the different ages of organs be resolved? Certainly it wouldn't work to attach a baby's arm onto an adult torso.
What about food supply? How would you support so many clones, assuming that you start them at an early age? Immediately 2x the number of people on the planet would obviously be a problem.
Food for thought...