I'm all for doing away with software patents. There are certain times where they _could_ make sense, but it seems like most of the time they're for silly things like this one of processing x via y. What's so bad about software copyrights that prohibit people from copying the code, but not the action the code is doing? That seems to be more important to me! We seem to consider our society one that spurs growth and innovation - but doing something one way, then saying that no one else can do what we've done is defeating the purpose. With a copyright, at least someone can reproduce the same action - and it may be better. This kind of intellectual competition seems to be going by the wayside...
I agree - I too have a soft-spot for SGI, and am glad to see that they are still getting customers in a market that fewer and fewer people really understand a need for. Linux & SGI aside, large systems like this are just plain cool!
I've been thinking about this sort of thing for a while - but not for moving outdoors, but indoors. As a coop student, I've been to several companies in the past couple years, and when someone says "Oh you need to go talk to this person" my immediate question is h"How in the world do I get to them?" If I had the time to figure out how to do "company mapping" - that is, be able to at least map floor plans to take a person from one cube to another - I would. Anyone out there know of such a thing? Anyone interested in developing one?
Innovation in data-storage technology...vast pools of digital data
If I read it correctly, they are saying massive data storage, not massive memory. Memory would imply in-system, local storage on relatively small terms (think RAM). I think what they are pointing to is large data storage. SImply speading up HD spindle times won't cut it. Personoally, I'm intrigued by the work of companies like InPhase who are working on holographic data storage. It's going to take thinking out of the box to continue to revolutionize the computing industry.
...we can beat Windows, let's work as much as possible producing quality software.
Exactly...worry less about what the actual numbers are, keep producing quailty code for apps that people want to use, and things will change for the better!
Its articles like these that just annoy me. Numbers get played with to come out the way they want it to, so they can stand on their pedestal and ramble off things that in the end most people will ignore. Of those who don't ignore it, most will not believe a word of it and hold it up as an example that the linux community is out for world-domination or something silly like that (not that everyone in the linux community isn't out for that...), and a few people will actually believe the words, hold them as true and walk around spouting off these numbers until someone slams it in their face.
I'm all for linux in the enterprise and (for me) the home use, but I don't think the way to get linux into those places in the mainstream is to go around saying "Windows is better than Linux" and then stopping. The only way I see linux making strides further into to the server market is to just show people how it compares to other platforms on levels of cost, performance, and maintenance. It won't happen overnight, and it won't happen just because someone spouts off numbers that don't really mean anything - it will take time. But with the people doing the development on linux and linux apps, it will happen.
It seems to me that the people who should be celebrated in socitey are those that dedicate their lives to finding cures for diseases, finding better ways to treat existing illnesses, and try to make the quality of life better for people. How many people can say that they've done that? I know I can't (not yet anyway) I'm not saying that all doctors are like this at all - but many people who go to school for graduate work in medical sciences seem to have a genuine desire to further human knowledge and make life better. And after MANY years in school furthering their knowledge, I would venture to say that they can do things that very few people on the planet can.
I went back to talk to my 5th grade teacher one day and he had a story that just practically floorred me. He was having a similar problem with a parent - except it was a parent of a kid who didn't do the class work, did try on anything, and failed tests - the parents complained that the teacher wasn't doing a good job and the answer that came from the powers-that-be was that the school had a non-retention policy. Basically, a kid could fail every one of their subjects, and still proceed to the next grade. Is this supposed to be benificial for the student? I don't think so.
On another note, I go to University of Cincinnati as a CS major, and I don't think I've seen grade inflations there. I have to work my butt off to maintain a 3.0! Of course, this could lead to another conversation about how many people think its their right to have a college degree - kinda like a high school diploma. To me, it seems like the B.S. doesn't mean a whole lot anymore.
Not to hit you here, but are you going to volunteer to fix the console based version or make a standard? After all, the joy of linux is that you can go in and do just that...just a thought...
--Joe
"The whole of Science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thought." --Albert Einstein
Yes, I have used it...for several years, first doing perl develoment, and then doing development on a high-end CAD/CAM/CAE package. I loved working with IRIX on my Indigo 2 - it was very fast even though it was quite dated compared to modern intel boxes. The machines themselves were very stable and rugged too - the SGI technician used to joke that you could toss them out of the back of a moving truck and the would keep runing:) Unfortunately, they don't hold up too well when your basement floods while its running:(
Actually, the list of contributors isn't quite accurate in my oppinion. I have been using Lunar for about 3 months now, but you won't find my name on the contributor list because I haven't really done much of the coding for it - I've been using it and trying to find issues with it. And I know there are a more out there like me who aren't on the contributor list. So, while there are the 10 or so dedicated individuals, there are others who were simply using the "pre-release" versions on a daily basis. I have to say its a great distro.
Slashdot Mirror
Just my $0.02
I agree - I too have a soft-spot for SGI, and am glad to see that they are still getting customers in a market that fewer and fewer people really understand a need for. Linux & SGI aside, large systems like this are just plain cool!
I've been thinking about this sort of thing for a while - but not for moving outdoors, but indoors. As a coop student, I've been to several companies in the past couple years, and when someone says "Oh you need to go talk to this person" my immediate question is h"How in the world do I get to them?" If I had the time to figure out how to do "company mapping" - that is, be able to at least map floor plans to take a person from one cube to another - I would. Anyone out there know of such a thing? Anyone interested in developing one?
If I read it correctly, they are saying massive data storage, not massive memory. Memory would imply in-system, local storage on relatively small terms (think RAM). I think what they are pointing to is large data storage. SImply speading up HD spindle times won't cut it. Personoally, I'm intrigued by the work of companies like InPhase who are working on holographic data storage. It's going to take thinking out of the box to continue to revolutionize the computing industry.
--Joe
--Joe
Its articles like these that just annoy me. Numbers get played with to come out the way they want it to, so they can stand on their pedestal and ramble off things that in the end most people will ignore. Of those who don't ignore it, most will not believe a word of it and hold it up as an example that the linux community is out for world-domination or something silly like that (not that everyone in the linux community isn't out for that...), and a few people will actually believe the words, hold them as true and walk around spouting off these numbers until someone slams it in their face.
I'm all for linux in the enterprise and (for me) the home use, but I don't think the way to get linux into those places in the mainstream is to go around saying "Windows is better than Linux" and then stopping. The only way I see linux making strides further into to the server market is to just show people how it compares to other platforms on levels of cost, performance, and maintenance. It won't happen overnight, and it won't happen just because someone spouts off numbers that don't really mean anything - it will take time. But with the people doing the development on linux and linux apps, it will happen.
Just my $0.02....
--Joe
It seems to me that the people who should be celebrated in socitey are those that dedicate their lives to finding cures for diseases, finding better ways to treat existing illnesses, and try to make the quality of life better for people. How many people can say that they've done that? I know I can't (not yet anyway) I'm not saying that all doctors are like this at all - but many people who go to school for graduate work in medical sciences seem to have a genuine desire to further human knowledge and make life better. And after MANY years in school furthering their knowledge, I would venture to say that they can do things that very few people on the planet can.
just my $0.02...
--Joe
I went back to talk to my 5th grade teacher one day and he had a story that just practically floorred me. He was having a similar problem with a parent - except it was a parent of a kid who didn't do the class work, did try on anything, and failed tests - the parents complained that the teacher wasn't doing a good job and the answer that came from the powers-that-be was that the school had a non-retention policy. Basically, a kid could fail every one of their subjects, and still proceed to the next grade. Is this supposed to be benificial for the student? I don't think so.
On another note, I go to University of Cincinnati as a CS major, and I don't think I've seen grade inflations there. I have to work my butt off to maintain a 3.0! Of course, this could lead to another conversation about how many people think its their right to have a college degree - kinda like a high school diploma. To me, it seems like the B.S. doesn't mean a whole lot anymore.
--Joe
Not to hit you here, but are you going to volunteer to fix the console based version or make a standard? After all, the joy of linux is that you can go in and do just that...just a thought...
--Joe
"The whole of Science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thought." --Albert Einstein
Yes, I have used it...for several years, first doing perl develoment, and then doing development on a high-end CAD/CAM/CAE package. I loved working with IRIX on my Indigo 2 - it was very fast even though it was quite dated compared to modern intel boxes. The machines themselves were very stable and rugged too - the SGI technician used to joke that you could toss them out of the back of a moving truck and the would keep runing :) Unfortunately, they don't hold up too well when your basement floods while its running :(
--Joe
Actually, the list of contributors isn't quite accurate in my oppinion. I have been using Lunar for about 3 months now, but you won't find my name on the contributor list because I haven't really done much of the coding for it - I've been using it and trying to find issues with it. And I know there are a more out there like me who aren't on the contributor list. So, while there are the 10 or so dedicated individuals, there are others who were simply using the "pre-release" versions on a daily basis. I have to say its a great distro.
--Joe