Last year I was thinking of turning an old motorcycle into an electric motorcyle. I looked into some 12v car battery size Li-Ion that had just come on the market (this was sorta cool because they'd figured out how to keep them from burning up). I sent an email to the manufacturer -- they were $600 or $800 each, can't recall which right now. Either way, that stopped that plan right away. Can't recall the name of the company though.
At 12' it really doesn't seem like much of deal. I've connected my stereo and computer before with a long headphone jack extension -- invisibly. Look at the place where the floor meets the wall -- chances are there is carpet and moulding at that corner. Using the blunt end of a butter knife, push the extension wire under the moulding between your computer and stereo -- at the stereo end, use a headphone to RCA adapter, at the computer end, plug into audio out. I've strung together two 25 footers so I'd have enough to go around doorways and corners with no ill effects and except for the points behind the computer and stereo, complete invisibility. Pretty cheap too.
Why not just link to lian li directly? http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chassis/M_V_C_PC-V1 200.htm. Is it me or have these been around for a while -- seems I saw an identical looking case for $190 at the local compucare last winter. Maybe just a prior incarnation.
Re:I don't get it...
on
Podcasting
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· Score: 2, Informative
Yeah -- I'm with you on the ultimate boringness of blogs. There are some cool podcasts though. In about 15 minutes, I'll be walking home from work (about 5 miles, greenway half the way). I did this on Wednessday too. I figure it's a good way to lose a bit of the chub I've been building up sitting at a desk all the time.
On Wednessday while walking around downtown during lunch, I listened to a slew of "Quirks and Quarks" segments, a CBC radio show about various science topics. Some interesting things on that -- like using aluminum to release the hydrogen from water to power a fuel cell. Aluminum Oxide can be recycled back to aluminum and the process repeated -- no free energy of course, but the guy was talking about an application for laptops that would be about the size of a power brick but would power the computer for 24 hours. Also, the scientist sounded exactly like the mad scientist (played by Max Von Snydow (sp?)) in "Strange Brew". Definitely left an impression. Scroll down for Aluminum Amperage -- oh comes in ogg too.
On my walk home I listened to skepticality which was OK -- I'm looking forward to listening to the James Randi interview for sure. Although on today's walk, I might listen to NPR's Science Friday.
Anyway, walking is boring, but listening to science shows and walking is quite a lot of fun. You can avoid the blog-like-crap if you want to.
It's these hardware hackers who make it possible to not only run linux on various hardware, but to run various bits of hardware with linux systems. For example, without hardware hackers, I could never have uploaded songs to my Creative Nomad II or used my Handspring from my linux system. We should be happy that there are people who have the ability to make linux run on random stuff, or who can get random stuff to work with linux. It makes my life better and I have a lot of respect and appreciation for those who can do this. These guys deserve our praise, not sneers.
Or maybe the sneers come from the windows slashdotters. Could be wrong, but I'd think most linux users would see the value and appreciate the skills and experience that these hackers are building.
13 posts in and half the posts are of the "why bother" variety. For cryin' out loud -- why not? First off, it's cool someone can do this. More importantly, it frees people from using devices in a manner only approved by the manufacturer. Sure, right now most devices will behave in a manner the user generally wants. But what about in the future when everything is so DRM/spyware infested you can't open your fridge without Coca-Cola's approval or knowledge. The people who are learning how to hack these things are our insurance against what might be a bleak future. Instead of making idiotic "seems pointless to me" comments, how about looking at the big picture. And even if that dark future never arises -- so what -- these guys have skills. They deserve a bit more respect than I'm seeing here. One thing is certain, I sure wish I had their abilities.
I see you're point. Still, presuming Company A gets more than it has to pay back to Company B in the form of refunds and other damages allowed by the contract, it was a good business decision.
I only read the register article and it says "recovered" from the trash bin. That suggests to me something more than dragging the icon out of the trash folder. Perhaps it was deleted, and the trash emptied, but recovered using a somewhat more sophisticated process.
Good idea. Sign contract, but when you don't like contract, breach contract.
Absolutely. Take a simplistic example, Company A agrees to buy 1000 widgets from company B for $10 each by Christmas 2005. If Company A fails to meet the contract, it must pay $1 for each undelivered widget to Company B to make up for B's lost profit.
One month after signing the contract, Company A finds Company C who will deliver the same widget for $7 each. It is in Company A's best interest to breach the contract and pay the penalty, they will still save $2 per widget.
There's nothing wrong with breaking contracts -- it isn't a crime or anything. Just business and sometimes the smart thing to do is to cut your losses and move on. Of course, this example ignores the importance of long term business relationships and assumes no repercussions in that respect.
I went to law school from 1994-97. When I started, there were probably 2 or 3 of us with laptops in class. When I graduated, laptops were everywhere.
That machine was the best investment I ever made -- $1300 for a 486sx20 with a grayscale monitor. Despite the limitations, my class notes kicked butt -- outline format from the get-go. To study for finals I'd turn them into massive flow-charts (printed and glued into scrolls -- my friends loved them, though I think it is the process of making that causes learning rather than mere usuage).
The best thing about the typing all my notes was that it really improved my typing ability. This was important to me because I had heard that the pass rate on the bar exam for those who type was much higher than those who hand write (when I took it, the WA state Bar was a 2.5 day essay exam - no multiple anything anywhere). After three years of typing notes in real time, typing the bar exam was an absolute breeze.
As an aside, I actually brought two typewriters to the exam. My friends laughed at me but I noted they all brought more than one pen. Good thing too as my brand new primary typewriter fritzed on the second day. My used typewriter from an office supply store carried me through.
Well....the explicit statement is not that Linux is Evil, but that Linux is Cancer.
I'm reminded of Asimov's first Foundation book. Hari Seldon and his group are dropped off on Terminus and during a crisis, the emperor's representative comes oput and talks real pretty. The backroom boys run the text through an analysis system and come to the conclusion that after cancleing out all the caveats, disclaimers, and contingencies, that what sounded like promises from the Emperor amounted to nothing at all -- in other words, the representative was a master of convincingly saying nothing, nicely, in many words.
This may not be Mr. Hilf's work, and I hope not. It sounded like many pretty words to me.
for most of the people of the world, the idea of the origin of life is a fundamental axiom of their entire belief system (read: principles, values, morals)
Yes yes, I agree so much. But why stop at evolution. We should talk about giant turtles holding up the earth as much as regular astronomy during astronomy class. People based their entire belief systems out of such notions after all.
Or that volcanoes are angry gods who can only be sated by sacrificing virgins. Lord knows we wouldn't disturb such practices (if they existed today) as we might disturb the basis of a culture and besides, it's all equally plausible - definitely has a place along side geological science.
Nobody walked on the moon -- it was a hoax. Need to include that in history class.
What else? I'm sure I've missed thousands of "alternative philosphies" that need to be included along side subjects based on evidence.
My favorite answer of that type is a reply given to students looking into some part of nuclear physics. Would you trust students who were told that something was just 'the will of Allah.'
Depends on what side you're on. This definitely worked out well for Hardin and the Foundation.
Pick your poison: "President Bush said Monday he believes schools should discuss "intelligent design" alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation."
So talking about ID in a science context now suggests that it isn't being paraded as science?
Wow. Magna Cum Lowdey (sic) graduate from Rove University... or stuck on the short bus of reality, I can't figure out which.
For one, if you just want to burn ISO files, it's possible with the bundled tools in Mac OS X as well, using Disk Utility.
Except that I wanted to burn an ubuntu iso. After figuring out finder wouldn't help, I googled for info on how to burn an iso. There were many comments about Disk Utility generating coasters, so I didn't even bother. I just went with my pre-k3b method (cdrecord).
My burning comment may have been unfair. The problem I had the first time I tried it was that "where to click" was non-obvious -- the round black and yellow triangles warning sign sort of says, go away, not click here to burn.
Where k3b beats finder though is ISOs. I had to resort to a command line "cdrecord" to burn an ISO once while away from my linux box - cdrecord is a great program, but I don't think anyone has accused it of being intuitive. With k3b, just dbl-click on the ISO and click on "start" in the popup window. That is intuitive.
This is as good a place as any for a "mea culpa" too. At one point I mentioned that clicking on a programs icon in the dock doesn't maximize the windows for that. I was flat wrong. My "complaint" should have been, clicking on the program icon doesn't minimize the windows if they are open. Anyway, that would be inconsistent with my wish that clicking on any dock program icon would open a new window. I suppose I'd be happier if it did either rather than nothing. I'm not terribly happy with dock behavior, and I'll admit, some of my suggestions probably wouldn't make it better. But I sure do wish it did operate differently -- I'm just not getting the hang of it.
I guess, to honestly sum up my feelings, I don't think OSX sucks. I think overall, it's very nice. I just don't think it lives up to the hype. By the same token, I don't think linux sucks, and I definitely think it is given short shrift in terms of usuability. I personally (opinion OK, everyone's got one) think linux has a higher level usability.
Last word -- some comments in this thread (again, I'm just talking here rather than specifically responding) have mentioned that expose is better than multiple desktops. I suppose this is style difference. Personally, I hate clutter on my (digital) desktop (in contrast, I'm not even sure I have a physical desktop -- at minimum a pick and shovel would be required to find out). I like having my "play" stuff on one desktop, my important but general stuff on another (calendar/mail and such), and my real work on a third (or fourth if working on two projects). This helps me imensly. With expose, it's all bunched together. Doesn't really work for me once I have more than 5 or 6 things going. I simply find I'm more productive if I can group my tasks.
Slashdot Mirror
I run mine with non-ms products ... a law office running on linux systems. It's easy.
Last year I was thinking of turning an old motorcycle into an electric motorcyle. I looked into some 12v car battery size Li-Ion that had just come on the market (this was sorta cool because they'd figured out how to keep them from burning up). I sent an email to the manufacturer -- they were $600 or $800 each, can't recall which right now. Either way, that stopped that plan right away. Can't recall the name of the company though.
no, it won't run OSX86 ... but it will run on 76
Don't you know? Battery power is free -- get with it ok? Hydrogen too. Perfectly clean.
At 12' it really doesn't seem like much of deal. I've connected my stereo and computer before with a long headphone jack extension -- invisibly. Look at the place where the floor meets the wall -- chances are there is carpet and moulding at that corner. Using the blunt end of a butter knife, push the extension wire under the moulding between your computer and stereo -- at the stereo end, use a headphone to RCA adapter, at the computer end, plug into audio out. I've strung together two 25 footers so I'd have enough to go around doorways and corners with no ill effects and except for the points behind the computer and stereo, complete invisibility. Pretty cheap too.
Why not just link to lian li directly? http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chassis/M_V_C_PC-V1 200.htm. Is it me or have these been around for a while -- seems I saw an identical looking case for $190 at the local compucare last winter. Maybe just a prior incarnation.
Yeah -- I'm with you on the ultimate boringness of blogs. There are some cool podcasts though. In about 15 minutes, I'll be walking home from work (about 5 miles, greenway half the way). I did this on Wednessday too. I figure it's a good way to lose a bit of the chub I've been building up sitting at a desk all the time.
On Wednessday while walking around downtown during lunch, I listened to a slew of "Quirks and Quarks" segments, a CBC radio show about various science topics. Some interesting things on that -- like using aluminum to release the hydrogen from water to power a fuel cell. Aluminum Oxide can be recycled back to aluminum and the process repeated -- no free energy of course, but the guy was talking about an application for laptops that would be about the size of a power brick but would power the computer for 24 hours. Also, the scientist sounded exactly like the mad scientist (played by Max Von Snydow (sp?)) in "Strange Brew". Definitely left an impression. Scroll down for Aluminum Amperage -- oh comes in ogg too.
On my walk home I listened to skepticality which was OK -- I'm looking forward to listening to the James Randi interview for sure. Although on today's walk, I might listen to NPR's Science Friday.
Anyway, walking is boring, but listening to science shows and walking is quite a lot of fun. You can avoid the blog-like-crap if you want to.
It's these hardware hackers who make it possible to not only run linux on various hardware, but to run various bits of hardware with linux systems. For example, without hardware hackers, I could never have uploaded songs to my Creative Nomad II or used my Handspring from my linux system. We should be happy that there are people who have the ability to make linux run on random stuff, or who can get random stuff to work with linux. It makes my life better and I have a lot of respect and appreciation for those who can do this. These guys deserve our praise, not sneers.
Or maybe the sneers come from the windows slashdotters. Could be wrong, but I'd think most linux users would see the value and appreciate the skills and experience that these hackers are building.
13 posts in and half the posts are of the "why bother" variety. For cryin' out loud -- why not? First off, it's cool someone can do this. More importantly, it frees people from using devices in a manner only approved by the manufacturer. Sure, right now most devices will behave in a manner the user generally wants. But what about in the future when everything is so DRM/spyware infested you can't open your fridge without Coca-Cola's approval or knowledge. The people who are learning how to hack these things are our insurance against what might be a bleak future. Instead of making idiotic "seems pointless to me" comments, how about looking at the big picture. And even if that dark future never arises -- so what -- these guys have skills. They deserve a bit more respect than I'm seeing here. One thing is certain, I sure wish I had their abilities.
I see you're point. Still, presuming Company A gets more than it has to pay back to Company B in the form of refunds and other damages allowed by the contract, it was a good business decision.
I only read the register article and it says "recovered" from the trash bin. That suggests to me something more than dragging the icon out of the trash folder. Perhaps it was deleted, and the trash emptied, but recovered using a somewhat more sophisticated process.
Absolutely. Take a simplistic example, Company A agrees to buy 1000 widgets from company B for $10 each by Christmas 2005. If Company A fails to meet the contract, it must pay $1 for each undelivered widget to Company B to make up for B's lost profit.
One month after signing the contract, Company A finds Company C who will deliver the same widget for $7 each. It is in Company A's best interest to breach the contract and pay the penalty, they will still save $2 per widget.
There's nothing wrong with breaking contracts -- it isn't a crime or anything. Just business and sometimes the smart thing to do is to cut your losses and move on. Of course, this example ignores the importance of long term business relationships and assumes no repercussions in that respect.
text v. diagrams
- Blah blah blah.
- Blah blah blah -- see diagram 1
- Blah blah blah
On a pad of paper, make a diagram, label it "Diagram 1". If you are real anal, scan it and integrate with your notes later.I went to law school from 1994-97. When I started, there were probably 2 or 3 of us with laptops in class. When I graduated, laptops were everywhere.
That machine was the best investment I ever made -- $1300 for a 486sx20 with a grayscale monitor. Despite the limitations, my class notes kicked butt -- outline format from the get-go. To study for finals I'd turn them into massive flow-charts (printed and glued into scrolls -- my friends loved them, though I think it is the process of making that causes learning rather than mere usuage).
The best thing about the typing all my notes was that it really improved my typing ability. This was important to me because I had heard that the pass rate on the bar exam for those who type was much higher than those who hand write (when I took it, the WA state Bar was a 2.5 day essay exam - no multiple anything anywhere). After three years of typing notes in real time, typing the bar exam was an absolute breeze.
As an aside, I actually brought two typewriters to the exam. My friends laughed at me but I noted they all brought more than one pen. Good thing too as my brand new primary typewriter fritzed on the second day. My used typewriter from an office supply store carried me through.
For the other 279,000,000 US residents who don't live near this store, Netflix is more than we ever had. I'm jealous.
The iBook isn't an apple product??
Riuniti on ice - so nice.
I'm reminded of Asimov's first Foundation book. Hari Seldon and his group are dropped off on Terminus and during a crisis, the emperor's representative comes oput and talks real pretty. The backroom boys run the text through an analysis system and come to the conclusion that after cancleing out all the caveats, disclaimers, and contingencies, that what sounded like promises from the Emperor amounted to nothing at all -- in other words, the representative was a master of convincingly saying nothing, nicely, in many words.
This may not be Mr. Hilf's work, and I hope not. It sounded like many pretty words to me.
Yes yes, I agree so much. But why stop at evolution. We should talk about giant turtles holding up the earth as much as regular astronomy during astronomy class. People based their entire belief systems out of such notions after all.
Or that volcanoes are angry gods who can only be sated by sacrificing virgins. Lord knows we wouldn't disturb such practices (if they existed today) as we might disturb the basis of a culture and besides, it's all equally plausible - definitely has a place along side geological science.
Nobody walked on the moon -- it was a hoax. Need to include that in history class.
What else? I'm sure I've missed thousands of "alternative philosphies" that need to be included along side subjects based on evidence.
A lot of hippies grew up to become a bunch of scared, reactionary parents
Right on. Hippies in Volvos or Saabs -- all we need is love -- but the money doesn't hurt does it? Hippie-yuppy hipocrites. Just my rant.
My favorite answer of that type is a reply given to students looking into some part of nuclear physics. Would you trust students who were told that something was just 'the will of Allah.'
Depends on what side you're on. This definitely worked out well for Hardin and the Foundation.
Pick your poison: "President Bush said Monday he believes schools should discuss "intelligent design" alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation."
So talking about ID in a science context now suggests that it isn't being paraded as science?
Wow. Magna Cum Lowdey (sic) graduate from Rove University
For one, if you just want to burn ISO files, it's possible with the bundled tools in Mac OS X as well, using Disk Utility.
Except that I wanted to burn an ubuntu iso. After figuring out finder wouldn't help, I googled for info on how to burn an iso. There were many comments about Disk Utility generating coasters, so I didn't even bother. I just went with my pre-k3b method (cdrecord).
My burning comment may have been unfair. The problem I had the first time I tried it was that "where to click" was non-obvious -- the round black and yellow triangles warning sign sort of says, go away, not click here to burn.
Where k3b beats finder though is ISOs. I had to resort to a command line "cdrecord" to burn an ISO once while away from my linux box - cdrecord is a great program, but I don't think anyone has accused it of being intuitive. With k3b, just dbl-click on the ISO and click on "start" in the popup window. That is intuitive.
This is as good a place as any for a "mea culpa" too. At one point I mentioned that clicking on a programs icon in the dock doesn't maximize the windows for that. I was flat wrong. My "complaint" should have been, clicking on the program icon doesn't minimize the windows if they are open. Anyway, that would be inconsistent with my wish that clicking on any dock program icon would open a new window. I suppose I'd be happier if it did either rather than nothing. I'm not terribly happy with dock behavior, and I'll admit, some of my suggestions probably wouldn't make it better. But I sure do wish it did operate differently -- I'm just not getting the hang of it.
I guess, to honestly sum up my feelings, I don't think OSX sucks. I think overall, it's very nice. I just don't think it lives up to the hype. By the same token, I don't think linux sucks, and I definitely think it is given short shrift in terms of usuability. I personally (opinion OK, everyone's got one) think linux has a higher level usability.
Last word -- some comments in this thread (again, I'm just talking here rather than specifically responding) have mentioned that expose is better than multiple desktops. I suppose this is style difference. Personally, I hate clutter on my (digital) desktop (in contrast, I'm not even sure I have a physical desktop -- at minimum a pick and shovel would be required to find out). I like having my "play" stuff on one desktop, my important but general stuff on another (calendar/mail and such), and my real work on a third (or fourth if working on two projects). This helps me imensly. With expose, it's all bunched together. Doesn't really work for me once I have more than 5 or 6 things going. I simply find I'm more productive if I can group my tasks.
well said.