I don't know what your cost constraints are, but if you want optical media that won't degrade over time, go to a duplicator and get your data pressed onto the ubiquitous optical media of your time. A professionally pressed DVD will not degrade like a burned DVD because it actually makes pits in the media, as opposed to just manipulating a dye.
Repeat this process every decade or two and you should be in okay shape. This is of course assuming that optical media continues to be relevant. If we end up back at magnetic (or FSM forbid cloud) storage, it gets trickier.
FWIW, it'd be interesting to know more about this data. Any particular reason it can't be printed out into a book or onto microfiche? The only long-term important media to me is stuff that lives on after I do, and that's really means diaries/logs and photos.
It's one thing to be able to single-handedly manage a company through the creation of an iconic set of products, explode a brand onto the world scene, develop mad mindshare...
But it's all just a flash in the pan if it dies when he leaves. Good leaders help others do good things. Great leaders make new leaders.
If Apple dies again when Steve leaves, I will have lost some respect for his leadership abilities. If his legacy remains at Apple after his passing, I will openly hail him as not only one of the best business leaders, but one of the best leaders period that I've seen come through in the last hundred or so years.
For better or for worse, Microsoft culture is too arrogant to ever rely so significantly on an external third party for key product. There is far too much of "we could do it better here" in its genes to allow it to re-use any existing *NIXy kernel for the base of an OS.
The best music I've found for chillin' is club/lounge music. Stuff like "Simple Things" by Zero 7, or "Sao Paolo Confessions" by Suba, or even the compo "Om Lounge Vol. 8".
It's all catchy music that is mellow, interesting enough to keep you listening, without putting you to sleep. They're all on iTunes if you wanna give 'em a listen.
I'm going to play devil's advocate for a minute here, because most the comments so far have seemed to be just as lacking in substance as the Microsoft comments.
So let's really hash this out.
Just for kicks, let's make a list of examples in the last three years where a virus/explot happened on any kind of wide scale before the patch was available. If we really disagree with his comments, let's make an intelligent attempt at rebuttal.
I'll take first shot: the first major incident that comes to mind for me is the COM+ bug of this last summer.
I've been amazed how many of my non-gamer friends and family have latched on to Karaoke Revolution for the PS2. It's the most played game in my apartment, and the only game my little sister has ever played.
I think games that provide new, original interfaces will continue to widen the market (eyetoy, karaoke, DDR, etc.) to people who aren't normally gamers. Not everyone can be as skilled with a gamepad as us geeks.
I've been playing PS2 video games on a 54" Sony Widescreen for the last few months, and I can tell you--when a game is designed for 16x9, it looks awesome. Examples of this are Gran Turismo 3, Grand Theft Auto, most of EA's sports titles, the Tony Hawk series, Jak and Daxter...the list goes on. It's hard for me to play madden football nowadays without the added real estate that 16x9 offers.
Sadly, most games are still not designed for 16x9, and in fact, some of my favorite games just can't look good in 16x9 (Silent Hill 2/3, Metal Gear Solid), no matter what stretch mode you use (and I can't stand the grey sidebars). I end up playing them on a 4x3 TV elsewhere in the house.
Additionally, while a decent number of PS2 titles support 16x9, only a handful support 480p output (Tekken 4, Guilty Gear X...)
Is this build meant to give us some idea of what the new UI will be like, or is this merely a tech demo of some of the new features (WinFS, Whidbey, IE).
Also, does anyone know if the desktop is completely comprised of DirectX objects in this build?
When I was interning at IBM we used a system called Sametime. It was compatible with AIM clients, but when talking to other Sametime clients it was encrypted, secure and logged. It proved a great time saver because the response/turnaround time was much lower than e-mail, but it was still less intrusive than phone calls. Not to mention you could tell at a glance the status of your co-workers. I've sorely missed this tool when working in other environments.
FWIW, I had an iBook 12" go out on me (mobo failed) within the first year of purchase. Standard warranty covered the repair at no charge, and I haven't had any additional problems, but the experience left me slightly wary.
Keep in mind that the original warranty is good for a year on most parts and labor, so you'll be covered if anything really stupid goes wrong. After the first year, each support call costs something in the neighborhood of $49, and most places will charge you $80 just to diagnose your problem (and an additional $80/hr to fix it). Myself, I like to fix computers, so I can usually diagnose the problem myself, and I've always said phone support is for wimps, so I skipped the warranty.
That being said, if your not comfortable hacking around, or if it's a mission-critical computer, don't take the risk--pick up the extra warranty. If it's a hobby/fun computer and you know what you're doing, I'd guess your machine will probably be outdated before you get your money's worth out of the warranty.
In my experience (taking my iBook to work) the Aegis client for mac is less than perfect. It has some issues in handling the dynamic WEP keys. Xsupplicant seems fairly immature, and I haven't yet been able to get it to compile on my mac.
My impression is that this is a much needed, but still nubile technology. I wouldn't be surprised to see stronger support flourish in the 'alternate' (non-MSFT) OSes within the next year or so. Microsoft seems to be a bit ahead of the game on this one.
We still won't be really caught up in the corporate business world until 802.1x and Dynamic WEP are supported by BSD and Linux. Without these security measures, wireless connections are too insecure to be used for anything other than the "oooh cool!" factor.
Ric
Um... PalmOS 5? I think you're thinking of 3.5 or 4.0, like on the t615c, or the PEG models? You're right about the last generation (although I'd say it's still preferable to Palm OS on Palm hardware), but you're calling shots from a generation ago...
Actually--you're kinda off on the whole file system thing, but we'll let that pass...
OS5 won't even run on the older machines. It's designed from the ground up to run on next-gen processors, hi-res screens, etc. Check yo facts!
An interesting vocalist named Kurt Elling has been playing out of the Green Mill in Chicago for the past few years. He's probably the next to carry the vocalese torch in the retirement of Jon Hendricks.
His 'Live from Chicago CD is a knockout album with a good recording. It's worth purchasing just to hear him pull off Wayne Shorter's NightDreamer. 'The Messanger' is probably my favorite of his studio albums thus far.
He can wax a bit eccentric at times (he began as a beat poet), but for my money, he's the most exciting male vocalist on the scene right now.
Anyone here familiar enough with FreeBSD 5.x to know what features Hubbard may have been referring to when he said "we'll have to wait for the 10.3 Panter release"?
Has the fellow who first figured out the 007 hack come forward with his real identity yet? Seems like awfully good fortune to find this vulnerability lurking around.
<Conspiracy Theory> I can't help but wonder if Microsoft didn't plant this 'hack'. Follow me out here--MS doesn't really care if Linux runs on XBox. Sure it's a black eye, but it doesn't hurt their bottom line. But--all of a sudden there's a flaw in the closed system, and it's in --gasp-- a program written by someone other than MS. Now when future software is released for the Xbox (or Palladium) MS can use this 'incident' as an excuse to call for complete code disclosure from 3rd parties
I can hear Microsoft saying "You need to show us all your code so we can test it--otherwise how can we be sure it won't break our 'perfect' security system?"... </Conspiracy Theory>
I don't mean to say this to take away from the guy who came up with this, but it's just an interesting, plausible scenario.
Even better--Microsoft often asks interview questions such as, "how would you design function X into Office?", or "what kind of interface would you design for the next Windows Media Player?".
Seems to me like a cheap way to mine bright college kids for fresh ideas...
I'm not sure if all these betas being released by Apple (Safari, iSync, X11) are a good indication of progression, or a sign that they can't seem to put out a finished product...
There was a 128MB stick of SDRAM I had once that killed every motherboard I ever put it in. Lost three before I figured it out, and after that I kept it around just to kill old boards.
Look at the construction the mormons use on their temples. The temple in Salt Lake City is made of solid chunks of granite, up to 30-40ft thick in many places.
I've been lucky to be able to have (paid) internships with Compaq, IBM, and (soon) Microsoft. I guess if there's any insight I can offer, its this: Anyone can be a programmer. The old phrase around my office was, "a brain, a book and a month." Programming is often viewed (and I'd say rightly so) as grunt work.
As you're studying for your CS degree, look to learn things that will differentiate you as a Computer Scientist. Immerse yourself in project development, operating systems, networking, database, algorithmics, compiler theory, etc... Whatever strikes your fancy.
To survive in the market, you need knowledge and thinking skills that hacks can't pick up from some quicky book. Learn to creatively use all that math they make you go through. Present thorough, concrete, proofed solutions to your employer someday. Don't just be a programmer, be a Computer Scientist.
Fair criticism. I must however say that my critique of Rambus is not uninformed. I have also been following Rambus for the past few years, and am close to some who have been involved in the case.
As there are two sides to any story, it is likely that you and I are both plenty well informed, though perhaps from differently biased sources. It is always interesting to hear from another perspective.
That being said, one inconsistency I see in your statements is this: If these companies knew exactly what Rambus had, why would each of them choose to base their manufacturing on that technology--knowing full well the possible consequences of their patent infringement? It seems an awfully big risk to bet your company's future on the hope that you'll be able to run a patent holder out of business.
You're correct to state that Rambus shared their ideas and insights (which were many, if I'm not mistaken) within JEDEC. What they didn't share was their intent to patent these ideas. Such disclosure would have changed the way their ideas were received among the other JEDEC members. Sharing information in an open forum, dedicated to the creation of standards, and neglecting to mention that you either have or will obtain a patent on that information is shady at best, and criminal at worst. That type of action discourages companies from participating in the cooperation required to create standards.
Add to this the fact that many of the patents in question were revised both during and after JEDEC, with some changes apparently covering the very things discussed in that arena. This suggests that Rambus further violated the good faith of JEDEC by patenting ideas they took from others in that forum.
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Repeat this process every decade or two and you should be in okay shape. This is of course assuming that optical media continues to be relevant. If we end up back at magnetic (or FSM forbid cloud) storage, it gets trickier.
FWIW, it'd be interesting to know more about this data. Any particular reason it can't be printed out into a book or onto microfiche? The only long-term important media to me is stuff that lives on after I do, and that's really means diaries/logs and photos.
It's one thing to be able to single-handedly manage a company through the creation of an iconic set of products, explode a brand onto the world scene, develop mad mindshare... But it's all just a flash in the pan if it dies when he leaves. Good leaders help others do good things. Great leaders make new leaders. If Apple dies again when Steve leaves, I will have lost some respect for his leadership abilities. If his legacy remains at Apple after his passing, I will openly hail him as not only one of the best business leaders, but one of the best leaders period that I've seen come through in the last hundred or so years.
For better or for worse, Microsoft culture is too arrogant to ever rely so significantly on an external third party for key product. There is far too much of "we could do it better here" in its genes to allow it to re-use any existing *NIXy kernel for the base of an OS.
Office 2007 format is OOXML, which has been publicly available from the get-go. C'mon man, this isn't rocket science.
He even quips about the fact that the iPod announcement is being hosted on Microsoft's MSN...
It's all catchy music that is mellow, interesting enough to keep you listening, without putting you to sleep. They're all on iTunes if you wanna give 'em a listen.
So let's really hash this out.
Just for kicks, let's make a list of examples in the last three years where a virus/explot happened on any kind of wide scale before the patch was available. If we really disagree with his comments, let's make an intelligent attempt at rebuttal.
I'll take first shot: the first major incident that comes to mind for me is the COM+ bug of this last summer.
I think games that provide new, original interfaces will continue to widen the market (eyetoy, karaoke, DDR, etc.) to people who aren't normally gamers. Not everyone can be as skilled with a gamepad as us geeks.
Sadly, most games are still not designed for 16x9, and in fact, some of my favorite games just can't look good in 16x9 (Silent Hill 2/3, Metal Gear Solid), no matter what stretch mode you use (and I can't stand the grey sidebars). I end up playing them on a 4x3 TV elsewhere in the house.
Additionally, while a decent number of PS2 titles support 16x9, only a handful support 480p output (Tekken 4, Guilty Gear X...)
Also, does anyone know if the desktop is completely comprised of DirectX objects in this build?
When I was interning at IBM we used a system called Sametime. It was compatible with AIM clients, but when talking to other Sametime clients it was encrypted, secure and logged. It proved a great time saver because the response/turnaround time was much lower than e-mail, but it was still less intrusive than phone calls. Not to mention you could tell at a glance the status of your co-workers. I've sorely missed this tool when working in other environments.
Keep in mind that the original warranty is good for a year on most parts and labor, so you'll be covered if anything really stupid goes wrong. After the first year, each support call costs something in the neighborhood of $49, and most places will charge you $80 just to diagnose your problem (and an additional $80/hr to fix it). Myself, I like to fix computers, so I can usually diagnose the problem myself, and I've always said phone support is for wimps, so I skipped the warranty.
That being said, if your not comfortable hacking around, or if it's a mission-critical computer, don't take the risk--pick up the extra warranty. If it's a hobby/fun computer and you know what you're doing, I'd guess your machine will probably be outdated before you get your money's worth out of the warranty.
My impression is that this is a much needed, but still nubile technology. I wouldn't be surprised to see stronger support flourish in the 'alternate' (non-MSFT) OSes within the next year or so. Microsoft seems to be a bit ahead of the game on this one.
We still won't be really caught up in the corporate business world until 802.1x and Dynamic WEP are supported by BSD and Linux. Without these security measures, wireless connections are too insecure to be used for anything other than the "oooh cool!" factor. Ric
Actually--you're kinda off on the whole file system thing, but we'll let that pass...
OS5 won't even run on the older machines. It's designed from the ground up to run on next-gen processors, hi-res screens, etc. Check yo facts!
His 'Live from Chicago CD is a knockout album with a good recording. It's worth purchasing just to hear him pull off Wayne Shorter's NightDreamer. 'The Messanger' is probably my favorite of his studio albums thus far.
He can wax a bit eccentric at times (he began as a beat poet), but for my money, he's the most exciting male vocalist on the scene right now.
Anyone here familiar enough with FreeBSD 5.x to know what features Hubbard may have been referring to when he said "we'll have to wait for the 10.3 Panter release"?
Just thought of this...
Has the fellow who first figured out the 007 hack come forward with his real identity yet? Seems like awfully good fortune to find this vulnerability lurking around.
<Conspiracy Theory>
I can't help but wonder if Microsoft didn't plant this 'hack'. Follow me out here--MS doesn't really care if Linux runs on XBox. Sure it's a black eye, but it doesn't hurt their bottom line. But--all of a sudden there's a flaw in the closed system, and it's in --gasp-- a program written by someone other than MS. Now when future software is released for the Xbox (or Palladium) MS can use this 'incident' as an excuse to call for complete code disclosure from 3rd parties
I can hear Microsoft saying "You need to show us all your code so we can test it--otherwise how can we be sure it won't break our 'perfect' security system?"...
</Conspiracy Theory>
I don't mean to say this to take away from the guy who came up with this, but it's just an interesting, plausible scenario.
Seems to me like a cheap way to mine bright college kids for fresh ideas...
I'm not sure if all these betas being released by Apple (Safari, iSync, X11) are a good indication of progression, or a sign that they can't seem to put out a finished product...
Anybody want some cheap RAM?
Look at the construction the mormons use on their temples. The temple in Salt Lake City is made of solid chunks of granite, up to 30-40ft thick in many places.
As you're studying for your CS degree, look to learn things that will differentiate you as a Computer Scientist. Immerse yourself in project development, operating systems, networking, database, algorithmics, compiler theory, etc... Whatever strikes your fancy.
To survive in the market, you need knowledge and thinking skills that hacks can't pick up from some quicky book. Learn to creatively use all that math they make you go through. Present thorough, concrete, proofed solutions to your employer someday. Don't just be a programmer, be a Computer Scientist.
-riclewis
As there are two sides to any story, it is likely that you and I are both plenty well informed, though perhaps from differently biased sources. It is always interesting to hear from another perspective.
That being said, one inconsistency I see in your statements is this: If these companies knew exactly what Rambus had, why would each of them choose to base their manufacturing on that technology--knowing full well the possible consequences of their patent infringement? It seems an awfully big risk to bet your company's future on the hope that you'll be able to run a patent holder out of business.
You're correct to state that Rambus shared their ideas and insights (which were many, if I'm not mistaken) within JEDEC. What they didn't share was their intent to patent these ideas. Such disclosure would have changed the way their ideas were received among the other JEDEC members. Sharing information in an open forum, dedicated to the creation of standards, and neglecting to mention that you either have or will obtain a patent on that information is shady at best, and criminal at worst. That type of action discourages companies from participating in the cooperation required to create standards.
Add to this the fact that many of the patents in question were revised both during and after JEDEC, with some changes apparently covering the very things discussed in that arena. This suggests that Rambus further violated the good faith of JEDEC by patenting ideas they took from others in that forum.