I think at this scale radiation becomes limiting factor even on Earth, let alone Mars. Radiation creates defects in the DNA that are not fixed if the bacteria is frozen.
I won't be on the side of Microsoft until they actively start opposing software patents in general.
It's not the first time they are sued over software patents. They must know how bad software patents are for the industry. Maybe some day they will realize that they should do something about it. Until then, WYGIWYD (what you get is what you deserve).
There are also different conventions for software and hardware. It's not uncommon for software to improve over time under the same name. On the other hand, hardware usually gets a new name when an improved version is released.
Those who don't want spam will move to the new scheme. If you want to write them you'll have to pay. Those who don't care about spam or don't mind setting up multi-layer anti-spam defences are welcome to stay with SMTP. After all, mailing lists didn't destroy USENET, they just made it less relevant.
Soyuz cannot be launched to Hubble because of the low inclination of the later. In other words, Hubble never flies over Kazakhstan where Soyuz is launched. But there are plans to build a launch complex for Soyuz in Kourou, French Guiana. Of course, manned operations would require additional facilities, but the rescue ship can be launched without crew.
I don't obscure my e-mail address. My e-mail is filtered by spamcop.net. All the spam sent to me gets reported without taking too much of my time. It's the feeling that I fight spammers rather than hide from them that makes me feel good. The filtering costs $30 a year, and it's an excellent value. No, I'm not affiliated with spamcop.net in any other way.
My less technical friends have no problem mailing me because I use a mailto link on my homepage.
I use a separate yahoo address for shopping. I don't want my shopping information to be linked to my personal website. The spam from the yahoo address is also fed to spamcop.net. Sometimes I also use one-time hotmail addresses to buy from dealers with high spam risk. I simply stop using those accounts and forget the password once the transaction is complete.
It's a joke only for those who are indoctrinated by corporate culture. From the technical point of view, adding support for x86-64 is easier than IA-64 if the compiler supports IA-32 already. Even from the consumer perspective, it's reasonable to expect newly released propriery software to match features of the existing free software, including platform support.
Also, Opteron runs x86 code just fine, and there are good chances that the code compiled by the Intel compiler for IA-32 would run on Opteron.
Because the extensions are good not just for speed.
They improve code readability and make it easier to spot programming errors early. Also, they provide required functionality that is not standardized. Avoiding gcc extensions would mean rewriting some code in assembler for all architectures.
The Linux kernel specifically requires gcc because it uses gcc extensions. But it should be possible to recompile the usermode code with the Intel's compiler. Even glibc may be worth trying (if you bought the compiler).
The really interesting part is that the Intel's compiler supports Itanium. It's very hard to optimize for Itanium because of its very long instruction codes. Those who run CPU-intensive tasks on Itanium may be interested in the Intel's compiler.
The problem is that the developers would spend time on something that increases complexity of the project as a whole instead of delegating all GUI to one toolkit for all platforms.
It would be a quick fix for KDE and MacOS that may result in a nice interface, but I'm not sure it would be an optimal solution for the project.
On the other hand, the developers are in short supply. If they happend to be KDE fans, it's better that they do what they want than nothing. There's no way to force a KDE fan to rewrite OOo for gtk for free.
But for Windows, Qt means no interface, as long as OOo remains free software and Qt for Windows doesn't become one.
OOo has an abstraction layer to deal with different toolkits. Qt is not a replacement for it because its free version is not as portable as OOo itself. Qt would be just another layer. gtk or wxWindows could be a replacement from the whole GUI stack in OOo.
But please note that neither Challenger nor Columbia disaster were in any way caused by the shuttles being reusable. The SRBs are reusable, but the O-rings failed because they were operated below certain temperature, not because they were old. The fuel tank and its foam are not reusable. The same piece of foam would break the RCC panels even if they were absolutely new.
Shuttles are not failing because they are old or too complex. They are failing because known risks are ignored. Switching to expendable launchers won't fix it.
The problem with the nearest planetary body (Venus) is that it's very hot and has a very thick atmosphere. For modern technology it's almost a black hole - you can get there, but you cannot get back.
The are good chances that the extraterrestrial life will be found in year 2004 if it exists in the Solar system. Mars will be inspected by three probes specifically designed to look for life. Also, Cassini will drop a probe on Titan, a moon of Saturn. It may not find bacteria, but if Titan is populated by macroscopic organisms, we'll know it in year 2004.
We'll have better chances only when a probe penetrates the ice crust of Europa.
Also, there is no "stop along the way". The kinetic energy of the spacecraft on the LEO is reused quite effectively.
As for the propellant, it would be nice to have space tankers for delivering the fuel and only the fuel to LEO. A good part of the launch price is reliability. If you only have fuel on board, you can cut the expences. If rockets are 50% cheaper but 25% of them fail, it's still OK for the space tankers.
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I think at this scale radiation becomes limiting factor even on Earth, let alone Mars. Radiation creates defects in the DNA that are not fixed if the bacteria is frozen.
Gosh! My work phone is 97-final-job!
I won't be on the side of Microsoft until they actively start opposing software patents in general. It's not the first time they are sued over software patents. They must know how bad software patents are for the industry. Maybe some day they will realize that they should do something about it. Until then, WYGIWYD (what you get is what you deserve).
There are also different conventions for software and hardware. It's not uncommon for software to improve over time under the same name. On the other hand, hardware usually gets a new name when an improved version is released.
It's not unusual for Mr. Foo Jr. to replace Mr. Foo in the long term. In fact, Mozilla Jr. is an excellent idea.
Those who don't want spam will move to the new scheme. If you want to write them you'll have to pay. Those who don't care about spam or don't mind setting up multi-layer anti-spam defences are welcome to stay with SMTP. After all, mailing lists didn't destroy USENET, they just made it less relevant.
Soyuz cannot be launched to Hubble because of the low inclination of the later. In other words, Hubble never flies over Kazakhstan where Soyuz is launched. But there are plans to build a launch complex for Soyuz in Kourou, French Guiana. Of course, manned operations would require additional facilities, but the rescue ship can be launched without crew.
I have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe somebody impersonated spamcop.net. It happens all the time. Spammers really hate it.
My less technical friends have no problem mailing me because I use a mailto link on my homepage.
I use a separate yahoo address for shopping. I don't want my shopping information to be linked to my personal website. The spam from the yahoo address is also fed to spamcop.net. Sometimes I also use one-time hotmail addresses to buy from dealers with high spam risk. I simply stop using those accounts and forget the password once the transaction is complete.
Actually, GIMP 2 has menubars on image windows. No need to right-click.
[n/t]
SARS researchers contribute to the SARS epidemic
Inline assembly with arguments. "printf" attribute.
Also, Opteron runs x86 code just fine, and there are good chances that the code compiled by the Intel compiler for IA-32 would run on Opteron.
Thanks. I should have replaced that stupid signature long ago.
Because the extensions are good not just for speed. They improve code readability and make it easier to spot programming errors early. Also, they provide required functionality that is not standardized. Avoiding gcc extensions would mean rewriting some code in assembler for all architectures.
IA-32: A system based on a 450 MHz Intel(R) Pentium(R) II processor or greater, Intel Pentium 4 recommended # 128 MB (256MB recommended).
IA-64: A system with an Intel Itanium(R) or Itanium 2 processor or greater
The really interesting part is that the Intel's compiler supports Itanium. It's very hard to optimize for Itanium because of its very long instruction codes. Those who run CPU-intensive tasks on Itanium may be interested in the Intel's compiler.
It would be a quick fix for KDE and MacOS that may result in a nice interface, but I'm not sure it would be an optimal solution for the project.
On the other hand, the developers are in short supply. If they happend to be KDE fans, it's better that they do what they want than nothing. There's no way to force a KDE fan to rewrite OOo for gtk for free.
OOo has an abstraction layer to deal with different toolkits. Qt is not a replacement for it because its free version is not as portable as OOo itself. Qt would be just another layer. gtk or wxWindows could be a replacement from the whole GUI stack in OOo.
Shuttles are not failing because they are old or too complex. They are failing because known risks are ignored. Switching to expendable launchers won't fix it.
The problem with the nearest planetary body (Venus) is that it's very hot and has a very thick atmosphere. For modern technology it's almost a black hole - you can get there, but you cannot get back.
We'll have better chances only when a probe penetrates the ice crust of Europa.
As for the propellant, it would be nice to have space tankers for delivering the fuel and only the fuel to LEO. A good part of the launch price is reliability. If you only have fuel on board, you can cut the expences. If rockets are 50% cheaper but 25% of them fail, it's still OK for the space tankers.