Thin client computing is like cold fusion. Every so often it's going to be the next big thing...then everyone forgets about it for a while....then it's going to be the next big thing....then everyone forgets about it for a while...rinse....wash...repeat.
What's different about thin client computing this time around is that internet is ubiquitous and wireless. Gmail is 8 years old, and Google maps is 7 years old. Siri is a thin client.
Thin client computing is just computing now. The big switch already happened. It just takes 10 years for all the legacy apps to get replaced, like it took 10 years for DOS to be discontinued after Win 3.0 came out. We are basically half way through this process, which means about 1/5 to 1/3 of the apps have switched. The rest will inevitably follow.
You are absolutely right. Apple products are luxury goods items. People forget this fact in the endless Mac vs PC debates--Luxury goods are "aspirational", meaning it gives the owner a sense of smugness and status over owning a "regular" item. Apple has always been in the "making people feel good" business, rather than a "computer company".
Slashdot is following the normal media company business model: sell the same material over and over.
And us here bitching about it are actually helping them, with increased "participation" statistics and click throughs. Aren't media companies wonderful?
Costello: What’s the name of the new iPad? Abbott: The new iPad. Costello: Yes, the name of the new iPad? Abbott: The new iPad. Costello: Yes, the device just released today by Apple. Abbott: The new iPad. Costello: I know! What’s the name of the new iPad? Abbott: The new iPad.
Costello: What's the name of the new iPod? Abbott: The new iPod. Costello: What's the name of the new MacBook? Abbott: The new MacBook.
... which will hopefully have an open platform version somewhere so I can run my own stuff on it.
You might have to wait a while. It appears Apple will be consuming the entire world supply of high-res 10 inch display for 2012. Any excess will come later and/or priced higher. And since Apple makes money on both the hardware and the software that runs on it, it can keep the sale price of iPads lower than other companies that only make money on hardware.
The real value of a college education should lie in seeking education for its own sake.
What you just described there is a leisure activity. But what sense is there in going into $100k+ debt to fund this leisure activity, with zero expected economic return? How is getting a degree in Art History different from going to Rock Star school or Race Car Driver school?
In these days of $40k/year tuition, the value of such an investment (a college education) should lie in return on investment.
I think the right to communicate is the superset of right to speech, right to press, right to internet.
It is the ability to communicate with others (as enabled by internet as well as cell phones) that brought forth the "Arab Spring". In countries like North Korea, where communication is severely restricted (no cell phones except for the ruling class, no unrestricted travel, no phones to outside of North korea, etc) it becomes extremely easy to oppress the people.
Hashing is not enough. Proper security is only obtained by salting the passwords before hashing. Without salting, password hashes are only slightly better than clear text, as they are vulnerable to rainbow table attacks. Rainbow tables for 11 character passwords already exist.
Drupal (a popular PHP CMS software) did not salt their password hashes until version 7 (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5031662/what-is-drupals-default-password-encryption-method), and version 7 came out in 2011. This means most drupal users' passwords have never been secure from attack. And if a popular, widely used have gaping holes like this, all of the home grown websites are probably worse.
Basically, most people are clueless about password security, even if they are know they shouldn't store clear text passwords. Much better to not trust the websites and have different passwords for your "important" stuff.
After this and other "bombshell" revelations by Bloomberg this year, they are apparently the only financial news organization worth its salt in the US. Kudos to them, and shame on everyone else (WSJ, FT, Economist, etc etc).
The spectrum was called MediaFLO, owned by Qualcomm to deploy digital TV. ATT will be repurposing it for LTE (4G) only, which is the same technology used by both CDMA or GSM carriers as their next generation technology. In 4G (real 4g, not the marketing 3G+ stuff) all carriers are using the same technology.
This means with 4g, US may get phone compatibility from different carriers finally. It might take them a while, though, as LTE only phones wouldn't exist for another 5-6 years.
Unlike 3G, 4G (LTE) networks can carry both data and voice on the same channel, as well as being more spectrum efficient. It would be wise for ATT to deploy LTE as fast as they can while removing the less efficient 3G phones from the market. This means eventually LTE would be deployed everywhere, and whet it does, even the dumb phones will use LTE for voice, leaving much more room for data for others.
The spectrum is about 6MHz wide across the country, and 12MHz in NY, Boston, Philly, SF, and LA, in the 700Mhz band. Because of the narrow channel, this spectrum is most likely to deploy LTE (4G) networks outside these areas. It would possible to deploy 3G networks on this spectrum in those four areas, but I would guess not because 4G is more spectrum efficient than 3G.
So, unless you have an LTE phone, it wouldn't improve your coverage.
Verizon has been very aggressive in buying larger, contiguous chunks of spectrum (>10Mhz wide) in the last decade, even if they had to pay more money to get them. T-mobile got some (that's why ATT wanted to buy them), but AT&T often sat out (or was out bid). Based on just that, I would guess Verizon's coverage would be better for the next decade.
In fact, I have noticed AT&T has a history of under investing in their infrastructure in the last decade. Instead of planning ahead, they defer infrastructure upgrades until the last minute, which costs more but get less return (or no return, in the case of T-mobile acquisition). YMMV.
Living in the US, I think it's a gross injustice that people in my immediate area don't have enough food to eat. As such, I have decided most of my charity contributions will go to the local community food bank. It's super easy to see how the money is being used (volunteer and meet the people involved, go down and talk to the admins), it improves the lives of people who live near you, and you get a tax deduction.
National and international organizations are nice, especially for medical causes, but for me local food bank seemed best.
The Northwestern paper is titled "In-Plane Vacancy-Enabled High-Power Si–Graphene Composite Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries (pages 1079–1084)". The article linked in the summary is titled "In Situ Generation of Few-Layer Graphene Coatings on SnO2-SiC Core-Shell Nanoparticles for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Storage".
Can people mod me up or have the summary corrected?
The confusion is because the paper linked in the summary is incorrect.
The Northwestern paper is titled "In-Plane Vacancy-Enabled High-Power Si–Graphene Composite Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries (pages 1079–1084)" and the summary linked paper is titled "In Situ Generation of Few-Layer Graphene Coatings on SnO2-SiC Core-Shell Nanoparticles for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Storage".
Can people mod me up or have the summary corrected?
Why does everyone equate not using Unity to not using Ubuntu?
Because the whole reason I moved from Debian to Ubuntu was because I was happy with what came out of the box. 6 or 7 years ago, the Debian installation (especially for a desktop setup) had many more options and a lot to be desired. Ubuntu streamlined Debian and made a lot of choices for me (which MTA to use? Which music player, etc, etc) and let me get to work.
If I have to start tweaking Ubuntu because I don't like the default, then might as well go back to Debian, or find another distro that doesn't irritate me. To Debian's credit, they've learned quite a bit from Ubuntu, and current Squeeze is quite nice out of the box.
Seeing down votes on my posts indicate that UI is not the only thing Ubuntu is following in Apple's footsteps. It applies to fanboys, too. Perhaps moving on is the right thing to do...
Unity makes it impossible to use a computer with a touch screen. For example:
- The left launch bar is auto hidden by default. It pops up when you move your mouse there. How am I supposed to move the mouse there on a touch screen? - The top menu items are auto hidden. How am I supposed to touch "File", "Edit", "Tools" when I don't know where it is? How do I even bring it up?
I've been using Ubuntu for 6+ years, and I'm ready to give it up, thanks to Unity.
The way Unity auto-hides the top menu (File, Edit, etc) really interferes how I interact with my programs. Instead of looking at the menu target (say Tools), then moving the mouse pointer there, I have to move my pointer to the top, then find my menu target, then move my mouse again to get to Tools. On my 24" monitor, I have many windows open, and having to move all the way to the top just to *see* where my Tools menu just drives me nuts. No thank you.
What was struck down by the lesser court was the mandatory requirement that says everyone must buy (private) insurance. This clause was put in *by the insurance companies* because otherwise the "cannot deny anyone health coverage", and "no lifetime benefit limit" clauses will bankrupt them. Only by forcing the healthy to participate by law would the insurance companies be able to stay afloat.
Now, if this clause is struck down, then insurance companies will all go bankrupt up or must ask government for subsidies, which means we'll end up with basically a government paid health insurance (single payer), or a government run health insurance.
There is really no way the insurance companies can wiggle out of this one. They either have to accept a single payer system to stay in business, or pay the conservative governors to drop the law suites. Oh the sweet irony.
Slashdot Mirror
Thin client computing is like cold fusion. Every so often it's going to be the next big thing...then everyone forgets about it for a while....then it's going to be the next big thing....then everyone forgets about it for a while...rinse....wash...repeat.
What's different about thin client computing this time around is that internet is ubiquitous and wireless. Gmail is 8 years old, and Google maps is 7 years old. Siri is a thin client.
Thin client computing is just computing now. The big switch already happened. It just takes 10 years for all the legacy apps to get replaced, like it took 10 years for DOS to be discontinued after Win 3.0 came out. We are basically half way through this process, which means about 1/5 to 1/3 of the apps have switched. The rest will inevitably follow.
You are absolutely right. Apple products are luxury goods items. People forget this fact in the endless Mac vs PC debates--Luxury goods are "aspirational", meaning it gives the owner a sense of smugness and status over owning a "regular" item. Apple has always been in the "making people feel good" business, rather than a "computer company".
Slashdot is following the normal media company business model: sell the same material over and over.
And us here bitching about it are actually helping them, with increased "participation" statistics and click throughs. Aren't media companies wonderful?
Costello: What’s the name of the new iPad?
Abbott: The new iPad.
Costello: Yes, the name of the new iPad?
Abbott: The new iPad.
Costello: Yes, the device just released today by Apple.
Abbott: The new iPad.
Costello: I know! What’s the name of the new iPad?
Abbott: The new iPad.
Costello: What's the name of the new iPod?
Abbott: The new iPod.
Costello: What's the name of the new MacBook?
Abbott: The new MacBook.
Am I the only one who sees a pattern here?
... which will hopefully have an open platform version somewhere so I can run my own stuff on it.
You might have to wait a while. It appears Apple will be consuming the entire world supply of high-res 10 inch display for 2012. Any excess will come later and/or priced higher. And since Apple makes money on both the hardware and the software that runs on it, it can keep the sale price of iPads lower than other companies that only make money on hardware.
Thanks to a warmer winter this year, we had un-seasonal strawberries in December. We also get fresh vegetables all winter long.
Apparently that and other tangible and intangible perks end up being worth about 30k/yr for me. Yes, I've made this choice consciously.
The real value of a college education should lie in seeking education for its own sake.
What you just described there is a leisure activity. But what sense is there in going into $100k+ debt to fund this leisure activity, with zero expected economic return? How is getting a degree in Art History different from going to Rock Star school or Race Car Driver school?
In these days of $40k/year tuition, the value of such an investment (a college education) should lie in return on investment.
This. Please mod parent up.
I think the right to communicate is the superset of right to speech, right to press, right to internet.
It is the ability to communicate with others (as enabled by internet as well as cell phones) that brought forth the "Arab Spring". In countries like North Korea, where communication is severely restricted (no cell phones except for the ruling class, no unrestricted travel, no phones to outside of North korea, etc) it becomes extremely easy to oppress the people.
Anyone who would use Eclipse over VS just doesn't know what he is doing.
Or maybe I use linux for development? You know, like a proper geek?
Hashing is not enough. Proper security is only obtained by salting the passwords before hashing. Without salting, password hashes are only slightly better than clear text, as they are vulnerable to rainbow table attacks. Rainbow tables for 11 character passwords already exist.
Drupal (a popular PHP CMS software) did not salt their password hashes until version 7 (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5031662/what-is-drupals-default-password-encryption-method), and version 7 came out in 2011. This means most drupal users' passwords have never been secure from attack. And if a popular, widely used have gaping holes like this, all of the home grown websites are probably worse.
Basically, most people are clueless about password security, even if they are know they shouldn't store clear text passwords. Much better to not trust the websites and have different passwords for your "important" stuff.
After this and other "bombshell" revelations by Bloomberg this year, they are apparently the only financial news organization worth its salt in the US. Kudos to them, and shame on everyone else (WSJ, FT, Economist, etc etc).
The spectrum was called MediaFLO, owned by Qualcomm to deploy digital TV. ATT will be repurposing it for LTE (4G) only, which is the same technology used by both CDMA or GSM carriers as their next generation technology. In 4G (real 4g, not the marketing 3G+ stuff) all carriers are using the same technology.
This means with 4g, US may get phone compatibility from different carriers finally. It might take them a while, though, as LTE only phones wouldn't exist for another 5-6 years.
Unlike 3G, 4G (LTE) networks can carry both data and voice on the same channel, as well as being more spectrum efficient. It would be wise for ATT to deploy LTE as fast as they can while removing the less efficient 3G phones from the market. This means eventually LTE would be deployed everywhere, and whet it does, even the dumb phones will use LTE for voice, leaving much more room for data for others.
The spectrum is about 6MHz wide across the country, and 12MHz in NY, Boston, Philly, SF, and LA, in the 700Mhz band. Because of the narrow channel, this spectrum is most likely to deploy LTE (4G) networks outside these areas. It would possible to deploy 3G networks on this spectrum in those four areas, but I would guess not because 4G is more spectrum efficient than 3G.
So, unless you have an LTE phone, it wouldn't improve your coverage.
Verizon has been very aggressive in buying larger, contiguous chunks of spectrum (>10Mhz wide) in the last decade, even if they had to pay more money to get them. T-mobile got some (that's why ATT wanted to buy them), but AT&T often sat out (or was out bid). Based on just that, I would guess Verizon's coverage would be better for the next decade.
In fact, I have noticed AT&T has a history of under investing in their infrastructure in the last decade. Instead of planning ahead, they defer infrastructure upgrades until the last minute, which costs more but get less return (or no return, in the case of T-mobile acquisition). YMMV.
Because I get aoeu when I type ASDF.
Living in the US, I think it's a gross injustice that people in my immediate area don't have enough food to eat. As such, I have decided most of my charity contributions will go to the local community food bank. It's super easy to see how the money is being used (volunteer and meet the people involved, go down and talk to the admins), it improves the lives of people who live near you, and you get a tax deduction.
National and international organizations are nice, especially for medical causes, but for me local food bank seemed best.
"How many computer magazines these days publish code listings, compared to in the 80s?"
Magazines? What are those? Code listings? Is that like Sourceforge?
Welcome to the 21st century, grandpa.
The Northwestern paper is titled "In-Plane Vacancy-Enabled High-Power Si–Graphene Composite Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries (pages 1079–1084)". The article linked in the summary is titled "In Situ Generation of Few-Layer Graphene Coatings on SnO2-SiC Core-Shell Nanoparticles for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Storage".
Can people mod me up or have the summary corrected?
The confusion is because the paper linked in the summary is incorrect.
The Northwestern paper is titled "In-Plane Vacancy-Enabled High-Power Si–Graphene Composite Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries (pages 1079–1084)" and the summary linked paper is titled "In Situ Generation of Few-Layer Graphene Coatings on SnO2-SiC Core-Shell Nanoparticles for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Storage".
Can people mod me up or have the summary corrected?
Why does everyone equate not using Unity to not using Ubuntu?
Because the whole reason I moved from Debian to Ubuntu was because I was happy with what came out of the box. 6 or 7 years ago, the Debian installation (especially for a desktop setup) had many more options and a lot to be desired. Ubuntu streamlined Debian and made a lot of choices for me (which MTA to use? Which music player, etc, etc) and let me get to work.
If I have to start tweaking Ubuntu because I don't like the default, then might as well go back to Debian, or find another distro that doesn't irritate me. To Debian's credit, they've learned quite a bit from Ubuntu, and current Squeeze is quite nice out of the box.
Seeing down votes on my posts indicate that UI is not the only thing Ubuntu is following in Apple's footsteps. It applies to fanboys, too. Perhaps moving on is the right thing to do...
Unity makes it impossible to use a computer with a touch screen. For example:
- The left launch bar is auto hidden by default. It pops up when you move your mouse there. How am I supposed to move the mouse there on a touch screen?
- The top menu items are auto hidden. How am I supposed to touch "File", "Edit", "Tools" when I don't know where it is? How do I even bring it up?
I've been using Ubuntu for 6+ years, and I'm ready to give it up, thanks to Unity.
The way Unity auto-hides the top menu (File, Edit, etc) really interferes how I interact with my programs. Instead of looking at the menu target (say Tools), then moving the mouse pointer there, I have to move my pointer to the top, then find my menu target, then move my mouse again to get to Tools. On my 24" monitor, I have many windows open, and having to move all the way to the top just to *see* where my Tools menu just drives me nuts. No thank you.
Please read this through.
What was struck down by the lesser court was the mandatory requirement that says everyone must buy (private) insurance. This clause was put in *by the insurance companies* because otherwise the "cannot deny anyone health coverage", and "no lifetime benefit limit" clauses will bankrupt them. Only by forcing the healthy to participate by law would the insurance companies be able to stay afloat.
Now, if this clause is struck down, then insurance companies will all go bankrupt up or must ask government for subsidies, which means we'll end up with basically a government paid health insurance (single payer), or a government run health insurance.
There is really no way the insurance companies can wiggle out of this one. They either have to accept a single payer system to stay in business, or pay the conservative governors to drop the law suites. Oh the sweet irony.
Can we mod this up. It's funny.