After reading about the ROV recently, I was thinking about dropping a webcam under the surface of the lake outside and have a looksee (protected from the water of course). When I plug a 3 or 4 year old logitech usb webcam into Panther, nothing happens. It seems that there may be some experiemental drivers for it but that would take a linux-style configing session. When I plug the cam into an ubuntu hoary system, and after checking the install checkbox next to awetv in synaptic and clicking "apply", it works without effort. If people working for free can get this common webcam to work, why can't apple? Ahhhh -- iSight lock-in perhaps? As if I want to throw $150 in the lake.
Like I said, Linux is still a major pain in the ass and is highly unsuitable as a daily use desktop OS.
I rebooted my linux desktop today... the power went out during the night and I woke up to find it cold and off. In contrast, my powerbook has trouble getting 5 days of uptime. I experience more crashes and weird instabilities in OSX than I do with linux. For instance, my airport card suddenly decided to stop connecting to my network after waking from sleep unless I turn it off and then turn it on. No changes to my network itself. And then many times will programs will lock the machine so hard I'll have to do a hard restart. Nothing makes a desktop less suitable for daily useage than frequent locking/rebooting.
If you're not willing to learn something new, you really are better of sticking with what you know.
The thing is, I am willing to learn something new. After tax, my powerbook was $2200 -- I don't spend that much money on anything unless I really think I want it. I've come by my beefs after giving a serious effort to OSX, and really wanting to like it. I'm not scared to google or get involved with forums in the search of an answer, but I've found that OSX requires just as much effort as linux does, and in some respects, more.
As for connecting openoffice to mysql through ODBC -- I can only say that when it set it up on my Panther powerbook, it worked like a charm. When I tried to do the exact same thing w/ my friend's 14.0 powerbook, I couldn't get it to work -- and not for lack of trying. I pulled an all-nighter, and when enough googling convinced me that other people were having similar issues, I finally gave up and used one of the java implementations (I believe) for connecting OOo to the database.
Anyway, it's tiresome to hear "linux sucks" all the time. I might be a minority opinion, but I think it's great and in many respects, better. Two more beefs:
In KDE, right click on a file, context menu allows you to move or copy the file to any directory you have access to -- simply highlight your start point and follow the directories till you are the one you want, and release on "copy/move here". It also remembers the last 4 or 5 folders for quick transfers. Mac's do let you open folders by holding a file over them, but of course in Konqueror, with the directory tree sidebar enabled, you can simply hold a file over a folder in the sidebar and its folders will display allowing you to navigate folders until you get to the one you want.
"Save file" folder navigation. Some OSX apps allow you to pick exactly which directory something should be saved to. But many have only a few choices leaving the user to save to desktop (or documents or whatever, but not to a subfolder) and then move the file around afterwards. This turns a one step process into two -- I find this inefficient and tiresome.
In all fairness, there is a way to make it possible to tab into check boxes. Go to preferences, advanced, and check the "press tab to highlight each element on a web page" option. Then you can tab into checkboxes and dropdown lists. It's a 1000% improvement when this is enabled -- for the life of me, I can't figure out why it would come disabled by default.
Still, it doesn't work quite the way you might expect. You can tab into dropdowns, but if for example it's a "select your state" dropdown, you can't just hit a letter and start seeing the states beginning with that letter. You have to press the down arrow before hitting a letter. I can't figure out how that makes it more intuitive, but since it's apple's stuff, it must be the better way.
Like what? I switched to Mac OS X from Linux after 10 years because Linux sucks as a desktop OS. There is nothing easier to do in Linux than on OS X.
I don't see it that way after about 7 months of daily usuage of Panther, and a varied set of linux distros, mainly SuSE 9.1, as well as Ubuntu/kubuntu/mepis/knoppix/SuSE 9.3 and one of the BSDs for a short time (test systems, not my main desktop -- although I do believe I'll go with 9.3 on that -- I really like ubuntu though, hard decision).
I will grant you that osx artwork is typically better than what you find on linux machines. But after a while, usuage, not eye candy, becomes more crucial. So here's how linux beats osx.
Task switching (I want to cycle through all windows with one key sequence, rather than alt-tab switch apps, alt-` switch windows w/in apps. Plus, you cant alt-anything into a docked window).
Middle click paste (nuff said -- only works with X11, not native mac apps).
Multiple desktops (see prior post).
Mouse focus (being able to scroll a background window without losing focus on the foreground is sweeter than sex).
Clicking on dock program icon doesn't maximize the document if it is minimized in the dock.
Clicking on an application icon won't open a new window if a window already exists and in many cases, if it did exist but was closed.
Don't know about your firewire drive, but burning discs is easier with k3b than with finder.
Menu items in the title bar is awkward when the window itself is way off to the right of the screen but the menu item is way off to the left.
One button on my powerbook -- see sidetrack above -- another $15 to make the system useful
ODBC, mysql, openoffice was a huge RPIA to set up on a Friend's tiger machine -- works fine in Panther though. Tiger is it's own mess though (apparently a mess at least, I decided not to try it after reading about the problems it was causing people on the unix side of things).
I could think of more if was sitting in front of my powerbook instead of my linux system. Sadly, there are trackpad issues keeping linux off my powerbook -- eventually though, someone will reverse engineer the trackpad and then I'll have nice looking machine, running a nicely performing OS. Can't wait.
I didn't see any pictures of this infamous antenna, but some googling brought me to this picture. Seems as though this idea has been in circulation for quite some time! Funniest line:
We were allowed ten pounds total-payload weight, including antenna and batteries and enclosure. We wanted to transmit on 20 MHz, the same frequency as the Sputniks, so we needed a long antenna, on the order of 3.75 meters, to get the best possible efficiency. It had to be confined to the Lockheed-supplied box during launch, and to erect itself upon signal after orbital injection. The Air Force suggested a design for a pin-puller, an explosively activated latch which could release a spool, upon which the antenna could be rolled during the launch phase. The antenna itself was a steel tape, with a lengthwise crimp to give it some stiffness. We just walked down to the neighborhood hardware store and bought a carpenter's tape measure. (When an Air Force engineer asked why our antenna had inch marks, I told him it was to measure the mean-free path in the ionosphere.)
find that every and any little "free" widget you come across is either adware or shareware; whereas even the major stuff in Linux is totally, 100% gratis.
It's a definate culture shock; and frankly it makes me appreciate our *nix culture that much more.
Having bought a powerbook about 6 months back, I find I'm having identical thoughts. Sure it's pretty and all, but then I want multiple desktops: $40 to codetek (I passed and use a different open source program, but you can't directly send windows to other desktops which sorta blows). Want to have mouse buttons programmed into the corners of the touchpad -- $15 for sidetrack. Anyway, I like my powerbook and all, but I don't feel any desire to replace my desktop linux system with an iMac. When I first got the powerbook, I was seriously considering doing just that, but after a few months, I discovered that I like linux better because the mac is missing some features I feel are indispensible (others in addition to the things mentioned above).
OK - you point to the "first mouse" -- something cobbled together from bits of wood, wheels, and wires about 1963. Obviously a test device to see if the idea even works -- why add more buttons if you don't even know the wheels will work (I have no evidence this is how it went, but for testing out an idea, I wouldn't invest any more time than absolutely necessary to see if it will work at all).
So after Engelbert thinks about what a mouse should do a bit, he comes up with this (scroll down for pic). The famous 1968 demo was with a three button mouse. Some parts of that demo are absolutely fabulous. For example, there is a segment showing a collaborator appear on the screen, webcam style, and the two people work together on a single document, all the while hearing and seeing each other. There is an excerpt from the presentation in Alan Kay's talk. When I watch this, I can't help but wonder why the heck computers haven't really advanced in UI terms in the last 30 years. Ok processing power yada yada -- but when I watched this the first time, I felt like nothing had changed except for the addition of color, better refresh rates, and smoother mousing. Those are just tweaks, not innovation.
Anyway, the very first test device mouse had only one button. Thank goodness it has advanced and evolved.
I bought one of those -- the bluetooth version. The mouse motion is choppy -- though maybe I need to use DVForge's driver. Here's where the mouse completely fails though: the buttons require too much force to press. Something about how they are situated or actuated, but this mouse is extremely tiring to use. I've relegated it to a shelf only to be used when everything else, even a two button roller-ball mouse, is in service. Kind of a shame for $60.
The end result is that Mac software is easier to "explore" because all application functions are in the main menu structure, not just hidden in a contextual menu somewhere.
Tell that to apple -- try using, for example, garage band with one button. You can't add a note in a sequencer without using the clover key. Or iTunes -- maybe I haven't looked enough, but it's also hard to use it's features without keyboard modifiers. Or Mail -- the menu option for deleting trash when you right click on the mail trash icon is stated differently from when you use the menu.
Context menus are more intutive. You look at an object on the screen, point to it, and interact with it. Going up to the menu is more like doing things by remote control. The whole one button thing is a tradition without basis -- anyone sitting down to a computer the first time has to learn how to use it. Adding a button to the mouse is really not that hard of a concept. Sort of like the shift key on a keyboard. Press "a", you get "a". Press "shift-a" you get "A". People are capable of understanding this.
Maybe so for the middle-button-as-paste, but I could do without the Unix highlight-to-copy functionality. Click in another window without first making sure your mouse isn't moving at all it and suddenly your clipboard contents get replaced.
I love highlight copy. Couple that with ctrl-c/v and I have two buffers to play with which is often quite convenient. I will admit that it blows when you loose the highlight buffer accidentally, but the speed savings you get with practice more than make up for the occaisional accidental highlight.
In all honesty, there are two things about OSX that drive me crazy -- no universal middle click paste, and the idiotic keyboard task switching behavior. If Apple could get it's act together in these respects, I could really embrace it's OS. As it is, I have my powerbook and it's nice, but I won't be replacing my desktops till Apple catches up with the linux world.
Adding a speaker seems like an awful lot of work and expense to emulate the good feeling of a nice button. Good switches are a true pleasure -- like the solid thwack of a quality toggle switch, or the subtle tick of a nicely balanced mouse button. Plus, that tiny ball looks like a real nice CTS enhancer.
What's really irksome to me is using a flash drive in Windows. The whole device removal process in Windows is way too complicated and annoying compared to OS X; most non-technical people I see just rip the drive out without unmounting it.
Interesting. In OS X to you have to unmount by dragging to trash, in Ubuntu you do a right click and select unmount (or whatever they call it). Suse 9.1 you just "rip it out". Whoo-hoo, sounds like at least one environment gets it right!
I picked up a copy of "Build Your Own Underwater Robot" some years ago at the Monteray Bay Aquarium. It contains many designs for ROVs built with stuff you can get at Home Depot.
I would guess, but don't know for certain, that a low intensity high volume exposure is essentially risk free. For some things, it doesn't matter how much you are exposed to, it only matters if the exposure is over a certain amount.
For example, expose the skin on your hands to an ambient temperature of 70 degrees (excluding UV rays and all that -- try it in a dark basement). You won't get a burn even if you stripped naked and stayed in the basement for 100 years because the exposure isn't additive. You will experience skin burns only if the temperature excedes a certain threshold.
I recently built a cantenna and as you can imagine, spent a lot of time googling. I did find this, from here, to be a bit disturbing... but plowed ahead anyway:
As if this was not yet enough to keep you from messing around with fast flying electrons, I have received many emails from folks who are very involved with HAM radio and other professions and hobbies that involve work with high frequency microwave radiation. They warn that 2.4 GHz just happens to also be the resonant frequency of plain old water. This is why a microwave oven works. The energy of an 802.11b device is the same kind of energy that cooks your food, but on a much smaller scale. This is important considering that we as humans are 98% made of water. I have been warned that exposure to even as little as a 1/4 watt amplified with a 14db antenna, such as described here, could lead to severe vision problems and possibly other health issues.
After spending yesterday at work with only my perscription sunglasses (forgot my clear ones at home), and becoming increasingly frustrated throughout the day from my inability to see (either too dark but crisp, or bright enough but blurry), I'm considering further precautions.
There is the possibility that a superior insulating technology will be arrived at quickly and the remaining few shuttles might fly again, but I wouldn't bet on it. There is too much to be gained politically by stabbing the wounded for that to be allowed to happen.
It seems to me, and take this w/ a pound of rock salt as I'm no rocket scientist, but the problem of freezing and flaking foam is a really difficult one. I presume some really smart people have been working on solving this issue and a simple solution doesn't exist. It also seems that the whole reason it's an issue at all, is because the vehicle and the rocket are launched side-by-side -- in other words, if you put the launch vehicle on top of the rocket, let the foam flake off, it won't have anything to hit. Of course, a capsule on top of a rocket probably doesn't have the cargo capacity of the shuttle. Would it be possible to do a double launch though? Shoot up the cargo on one rocket, and shoot up the astronauts on another, then have them rendevous in orbit. It might make an OK interim solution until a new shuttle system free of current problems could be developed.
The screenshot of the popup that appeared for an audio cd presents the user with 4 choices -- one of which is "do nothing". Couple that with checking the "always do that for that media type" and in true to form linux tradition, the user gets to decide exactly how the system behaves. You just want to see an icon of the mounted device? You got it. You want it to open in Foo? fine -- have it your way.
I'm also at 1280x1024. In my SuSE 9.1 system with an old mozilla (1.6), and a newer firefox (1.0.4) and an older konqueror (3.2.1) -- whether windowed or full screen -- I have no sideways scrolling at all.
Ok, let's try harder: G3 433mhz clamshell ibook, 800x600 resolution, safari 1.3, running at full screen (I didn't try shrinking the window): no sideways scrolling. How about my 15" 1.5ghz G4 powerbook: no sideways scrolling. Firefox 1.0.4 on my powerbook also doesn't have sideways scrolling despite not being run full screen.
Finally, firefox 1.0.2 (hmm, better upgrade that) on a toshiba pIII laptop, 1024x768, running Ubuntu Hoary -- again no sideways scrolling, windowed or full screen.
Oh, and for what it's worth, no sideways scrolling using lynx either.;-)
Gosh... and I was listening to Erasure just this afternoon:
...
The sunlight rising over the horizon
Just a distant memory
The dawn chorus (dawn chorus)
Birds singing, bells ringing
In our hearts, in our minds ...
Slashdot Mirror
After reading about the ROV recently, I was thinking about dropping a webcam under the surface of the lake outside and have a looksee (protected from the water of course). When I plug a 3 or 4 year old logitech usb webcam into Panther, nothing happens. It seems that there may be some experiemental drivers for it but that would take a linux-style configing session. When I plug the cam into an ubuntu hoary system, and after checking the install checkbox next to awetv in synaptic and clicking "apply", it works without effort. If people working for free can get this common webcam to work, why can't apple? Ahhhh -- iSight lock-in perhaps? As if I want to throw $150 in the lake.
... the power went out during the night and I woke up to find it cold and off. In contrast, my powerbook has trouble getting 5 days of uptime. I experience more crashes and weird instabilities in OSX than I do with linux. For instance, my airport card suddenly decided to stop connecting to my network after waking from sleep unless I turn it off and then turn it on. No changes to my network itself. And then many times will programs will lock the machine so hard I'll have to do a hard restart. Nothing makes a desktop less suitable for daily useage than frequent locking/rebooting.
Like I said, Linux is still a major pain in the ass and is highly unsuitable as a daily use desktop OS.
I rebooted my linux desktop today
The thing is, I am willing to learn something new. After tax, my powerbook was $2200 -- I don't spend that much money on anything unless I really think I want it. I've come by my beefs after giving a serious effort to OSX, and really wanting to like it. I'm not scared to google or get involved with forums in the search of an answer, but I've found that OSX requires just as much effort as linux does, and in some respects, more.
As for connecting openoffice to mysql through ODBC -- I can only say that when it set it up on my Panther powerbook, it worked like a charm. When I tried to do the exact same thing w/ my friend's 14.0 powerbook, I couldn't get it to work -- and not for lack of trying. I pulled an all-nighter, and when enough googling convinced me that other people were having similar issues, I finally gave up and used one of the java implementations (I believe) for connecting OOo to the database.
Anyway, it's tiresome to hear "linux sucks" all the time. I might be a minority opinion, but I think it's great and in many respects, better. Two more beefs:
In all fairness, there is a way to make it possible to tab into check boxes. Go to preferences, advanced, and check the "press tab to highlight each element on a web page" option. Then you can tab into checkboxes and dropdown lists. It's a 1000% improvement when this is enabled -- for the life of me, I can't figure out why it would come disabled by default.
Still, it doesn't work quite the way you might expect. You can tab into dropdowns, but if for example it's a "select your state" dropdown, you can't just hit a letter and start seeing the states beginning with that letter. You have to press the down arrow before hitting a letter. I can't figure out how that makes it more intuitive, but since it's apple's stuff, it must be the better way.
I don't see it that way after about 7 months of daily usuage of Panther, and a varied set of linux distros, mainly SuSE 9.1, as well as Ubuntu/kubuntu/mepis/knoppix/SuSE 9.3 and one of the BSDs for a short time (test systems, not my main desktop -- although I do believe I'll go with 9.3 on that -- I really like ubuntu though, hard decision).
I will grant you that osx artwork is typically better than what you find on linux machines. But after a while, usuage, not eye candy, becomes more crucial. So here's how linux beats osx.
I could think of more if was sitting in front of my powerbook instead of my linux system. Sadly, there are trackpad issues keeping linux off my powerbook -- eventually though, someone will reverse engineer the trackpad and then I'll have nice looking machine, running a nicely performing OS. Can't wait.
Having bought a powerbook about 6 months back, I find I'm having identical thoughts. Sure it's pretty and all, but then I want multiple desktops: $40 to codetek (I passed and use a different open source program, but you can't directly send windows to other desktops which sorta blows). Want to have mouse buttons programmed into the corners of the touchpad -- $15 for sidetrack. Anyway, I like my powerbook and all, but I don't feel any desire to replace my desktop linux system with an iMac. When I first got the powerbook, I was seriously considering doing just that, but after a few months, I discovered that I like linux better because the mac is missing some features I feel are indispensible (others in addition to the things mentioned above).
1984 was about 20 years ago, not 10
Praise bossman morning workbells chime
Praise him for bits of overtime
Praise him whose wars we love to fight
Praise him fat leach and parasite
A-men
Unlikely: radon builds up in basements.
OK - you point to the "first mouse" -- something cobbled together from bits of wood, wheels, and wires about 1963. Obviously a test device to see if the idea even works -- why add more buttons if you don't even know the wheels will work (I have no evidence this is how it went, but for testing out an idea, I wouldn't invest any more time than absolutely necessary to see if it will work at all).
So after Engelbert thinks about what a mouse should do a bit, he comes up with this (scroll down for pic). The famous 1968 demo was with a three button mouse. Some parts of that demo are absolutely fabulous. For example, there is a segment showing a collaborator appear on the screen, webcam style, and the two people work together on a single document, all the while hearing and seeing each other. There is an excerpt from the presentation in Alan Kay's talk. When I watch this, I can't help but wonder why the heck computers haven't really advanced in UI terms in the last 30 years. Ok processing power yada yada -- but when I watched this the first time, I felt like nothing had changed except for the addition of color, better refresh rates, and smoother mousing. Those are just tweaks, not innovation.
Anyway, the very first test device mouse had only one button. Thank goodness it has advanced and evolved.
I bought one of those -- the bluetooth version. The mouse motion is choppy -- though maybe I need to use DVForge's driver. Here's where the mouse completely fails though: the buttons require too much force to press. Something about how they are situated or actuated, but this mouse is extremely tiring to use. I've relegated it to a shelf only to be used when everything else, even a two button roller-ball mouse, is in service. Kind of a shame for $60.
Tell that to apple -- try using, for example, garage band with one button. You can't add a note in a sequencer without using the clover key. Or iTunes -- maybe I haven't looked enough, but it's also hard to use it's features without keyboard modifiers. Or Mail -- the menu option for deleting trash when you right click on the mail trash icon is stated differently from when you use the menu.
Context menus are more intutive. You look at an object on the screen, point to it, and interact with it. Going up to the menu is more like doing things by remote control. The whole one button thing is a tradition without basis -- anyone sitting down to a computer the first time has to learn how to use it. Adding a button to the mouse is really not that hard of a concept. Sort of like the shift key on a keyboard. Press "a", you get "a". Press "shift-a" you get "A". People are capable of understanding this.
I love highlight copy. Couple that with ctrl-c/v and I have two buffers to play with which is often quite convenient. I will admit that it blows when you loose the highlight buffer accidentally, but the speed savings you get with practice more than make up for the occaisional accidental highlight.
In all honesty, there are two things about OSX that drive me crazy -- no universal middle click paste, and the idiotic keyboard task switching behavior. If Apple could get it's act together in these respects, I could really embrace it's OS. As it is, I have my powerbook and it's nice, but I won't be replacing my desktops till Apple catches up with the linux world.
Adding a speaker seems like an awful lot of work and expense to emulate the good feeling of a nice button. Good switches are a true pleasure -- like the solid thwack of a quality toggle switch, or the subtle tick of a nicely balanced mouse button. Plus, that tiny ball looks like a real nice CTS enhancer.
Never had any problem at all. Of course -- I wait for the file transfer dialog box to show a completed transfer.
Interesting. In OS X to you have to unmount by dragging to trash, in Ubuntu you do a right click and select unmount (or whatever they call it). Suse 9.1 you just "rip it out". Whoo-hoo, sounds like at least one environment gets it right!
I picked up a copy of "Build Your Own Underwater Robot" some years ago at the Monteray Bay Aquarium. It contains many designs for ROVs built with stuff you can get at Home Depot.
isbn: 0-9681610-0-6
Google Search for the lazy.
I would guess, but don't know for certain, that a low intensity high volume exposure is essentially risk free. For some things, it doesn't matter how much you are exposed to, it only matters if the exposure is over a certain amount.
For example, expose the skin on your hands to an ambient temperature of 70 degrees (excluding UV rays and all that -- try it in a dark basement). You won't get a burn even if you stripped naked and stayed in the basement for 100 years because the exposure isn't additive. You will experience skin burns only if the temperature excedes a certain threshold.
Who knows, but if you are making cantennas, and particularly if using amps, perhaps some precautions are in order.
Tinfoil hat or not, the passage did convince to not stare straight down the can while it was on, and to forget about a 1watt amplifier.
After spending yesterday at work with only my perscription sunglasses (forgot my clear ones at home), and becoming increasingly frustrated throughout the day from my inability to see (either too dark but crisp, or bright enough but blurry), I'm considering further precautions.
It seems to me, and take this w/ a pound of rock salt as I'm no rocket scientist, but the problem of freezing and flaking foam is a really difficult one. I presume some really smart people have been working on solving this issue and a simple solution doesn't exist. It also seems that the whole reason it's an issue at all, is because the vehicle and the rocket are launched side-by-side -- in other words, if you put the launch vehicle on top of the rocket, let the foam flake off, it won't have anything to hit. Of course, a capsule on top of a rocket probably doesn't have the cargo capacity of the shuttle. Would it be possible to do a double launch though? Shoot up the cargo on one rocket, and shoot up the astronauts on another, then have them rendevous in orbit. It might make an OK interim solution until a new shuttle system free of current problems could be developed.
The screenshot of the popup that appeared for an audio cd presents the user with 4 choices -- one of which is "do nothing". Couple that with checking the "always do that for that media type" and in true to form linux tradition, the user gets to decide exactly how the system behaves. You just want to see an icon of the mounted device? You got it. You want it to open in Foo? fine -- have it your way.
I'm also at 1280x1024. In my SuSE 9.1 system with an old mozilla (1.6), and a newer firefox (1.0.4) and an older konqueror (3.2.1) -- whether windowed or full screen -- I have no sideways scrolling at all.
;-)
Ok, let's try harder: G3 433mhz clamshell ibook, 800x600 resolution, safari 1.3, running at full screen (I didn't try shrinking the window): no sideways scrolling. How about my 15" 1.5ghz G4 powerbook: no sideways scrolling. Firefox 1.0.4 on my powerbook also doesn't have sideways scrolling despite not being run full screen.
Finally, firefox 1.0.2 (hmm, better upgrade that) on a toshiba pIII laptop, 1024x768, running Ubuntu Hoary -- again no sideways scrolling, windowed or full screen.
Oh, and for what it's worth, no sideways scrolling using lynx either.
Just what is it you are using?