Let me get this straight. I'm supposed to carry around this little box with all my data on it so that when I get somewhere that has a keyboard and screen and knows how to talk to this box, I can log in and access my data.
What's wrong with this picture? Why do I need to carry around this box? Why do I want to carry around data? That's what the Internet is for.
Remember Java-enabled jewelry with onboard crypto? The RSA "fob" ID device? Dallas Semiconductor buttons? Same functional capabilities, less to carry. All you really need is an ID device.
Ubiquitous computing looks more like "hurry up and find something that wastes compute power before we have to have another layoff". They need some better ideas over there.
But it's not a real pen. It contains 512 MB (or so) of flash, which is shared via bluetooth. A 10cm high retractable gain antenna is hidden within the length of the pen itself, and powered by a single AAA battery. Walk by an enabled PC, optionally type in a password, and all your documents, your keyring, etc. are available. Think of the security holes. Finally, as an added bonus, when you write on paper (or anything for that matter, toilet paper springs to mind), you can choose to record your scribbles on the flash drive. Tiny gyroscopic sensors determine the motion of the pen across the page, and a pressure sensor determines whether the pen is against a writing surface. Each time you expose the ball point head it creates a new file, and when you retract it, it closes it. You can tell which file is which by the timestamps.
THAT would kick butt. And as embedded logic gets more powerful, you could have a personal web/email/aim server running in there too.
A wireless iPod sounds nifty, but where's the innovation people? Where is Microsoft?
If you're deaf, you've probably had a videophone for almost twenty years. Here there are also standby translators that will translate a normal phonecall into sign language. If you live in Europe, you already got a 3g phone with video.
food in pills
Vitamin pills? Nutritional pills? We've even got liquid food for crissakes. The only reason peaople still eat food is because it tastes good.
cars that drive themselves
Old hat.. we've even got cars that park themselves.
jet packs
Ever been to a Michael Jackson concert?
and moving sidewalks
...or an airport?
While these technologies might not be so common as mad scifi writers might have believed, it's got nothing with technology to do and all with convenience.
I read about this in another article (can't remember where though) that it compresses the edges (10-20 pixels) with a discrete cosine transformation (as in jpeg). They could use huffmann, but that would make the edges jagged, and the screen wouldn't be seamless anymore.
The reason that they have to do this in the driver is that they have to hit low level to get decent speeds (windows display drivers can hit the hardware directly, contrary to most other windows drivers).
I started fiddling with mysql, but moved on to postgresql when my job required it. Mysql is ok for most applications, but I must say that postgre flogs mysql featurewise.
The one thing that mysql excells in, is their greit documentation with very useful comments. I guess that makes learning mysql very easy for beginners, and is a good reason to keep using it, if you compare it to the online postgre docs.
The Sun might be crap, but Slashdot has a fine history of linking to Fox News and other Newscorp. tripe, so to be fair they should also link to publications like The Sun.
Nice.. Do you happen to know where I can find more dhtml "scene" related stuff?
I stumbled upon a nice dhtml 4 kb compo site some time ago (with everything from fractal zommers to raycasting engines), but I can't seem to find it with Google now.
Earl Grey is fine and dandy, but if you really want to enjoy your tea, you should make it from dried cubensis. That way you'll really have some insightful (or not) thoughts on life, the universe and everything.
Slashdot Mirror
Let me get this straight. I'm supposed to carry around this little box with all my data on it so that when I get somewhere that has a keyboard and screen and knows how to talk to this box, I can log in and access my data. What's wrong with this picture? Why do I need to carry around this box? Why do I want to carry around data? That's what the Internet is for.
Remember Java-enabled jewelry with onboard crypto? The RSA "fob" ID device? Dallas Semiconductor buttons? Same functional capabilities, less to carry. All you really need is an ID device.
Ubiquitous computing looks more like "hurry up and find something that wastes compute power before we have to have another layoff". They need some better ideas over there.
Looks like a pen. Writes like a pen.
But it's not a real pen. It contains 512 MB (or so) of flash, which is shared via bluetooth. A 10cm high retractable gain antenna is hidden within the length of the pen itself, and powered by a single AAA battery. Walk by an enabled PC, optionally type in a password, and all your documents, your keyring, etc. are available. Think of the security holes. Finally, as an added bonus, when you write on paper (or anything for that matter, toilet paper springs to mind), you can choose to record your scribbles on the flash drive. Tiny gyroscopic sensors determine the motion of the pen across the page, and a pressure sensor determines whether the pen is against a writing surface. Each time you expose the ball point head it creates a new file, and when you retract it, it closes it. You can tell which file is which by the timestamps.
THAT would kick butt. And as embedded logic gets more powerful, you could have a personal web/email/aim server running in there too. A wireless iPod sounds nifty, but where's the innovation people? Where is Microsoft?
videophones
If you're deaf, you've probably had a videophone for almost twenty years. Here there are also standby translators that will translate a normal phonecall into sign language. If you live in Europe, you already got a 3g phone with video.
food in pills
Vitamin pills? Nutritional pills? We've even got liquid food for crissakes. The only reason peaople still eat food is because it tastes good.
cars that drive themselves
Old hat.. we've even got cars that park themselves.
jet packs
Ever been to a Michael Jackson concert?
and moving sidewalks
...or an airport?
While these technologies might not be so common as mad scifi writers might have believed, it's got nothing with technology to do and all with convenience.
I read about this in another article (can't remember where though) that it compresses the edges (10-20 pixels) with a discrete cosine transformation (as in jpeg). They could use huffmann, but that would make the edges jagged, and the screen wouldn't be seamless anymore.
The reason that they have to do this in the driver is that they have to hit low level to get decent speeds (windows display drivers can hit the hardware directly, contrary to most other windows drivers).
I finally realise why Slashdot is so anti-KDE. It's obvious that most KDE devlopers are Europeans.
Well, you can take your gnome and shove it. We don't need another piss poor American desktop.
is Symbian OS, not Linux, not WinCE.
Names like Nokia, Sony/Ericsson, Siemens Fujutsi, etc. are pretty dominant in the mobile industry.
What did they do?
As others have pointed out, the title of the article is "Segway Riders Get High on Mount Washington".
"128 bit encryption? That's impossible?
Not with 1 gigabyte of ram."
This will come in handy when Slashdot 101 launches.
If you fp, you get the pretty girl on the first row!
I started fiddling with mysql, but moved on to postgresql when my job required it. Mysql is ok for most applications, but I must say that postgre flogs mysql featurewise.
The one thing that mysql excells in, is their greit documentation with very useful comments. I guess that makes learning mysql very easy for beginners, and is a good reason to keep using it, if you compare it to the online postgre docs.
There are some good postgre books though..
If the ripping produces a bit-for-bit identical copy, yes. But due to error correction when reading cdda, this is quite unlikely.
That depends on if you're searching for intelligent life or not.
(ATC's have the highest suicide rate of like any job)
Like.. that's just another myth perpetuated by ATC's to keep their insane salaries when they're only doing a job that a machine would do much better.
Um.. Ford has endorsed an electrical car.
What you probably mean is 'after EXXON endorses an electrical car'.
The Sun might be crap, but Slashdot has a fine history of linking to Fox News and other Newscorp. tripe, so to be fair they should also link to publications like The Sun.
Nice.. Do you happen to know where I can find more dhtml "scene" related stuff?
I stumbled upon a nice dhtml 4 kb compo site some time ago (with everything from fractal zommers to raycasting engines), but I can't seem to find it with Google now.
If you want a little demo of what you can do with dhtml, check out "Hau Strange" by the demoscene group Haujobb
Think you need modplug to get the music.
How many Slashdot editors does it take to change a lightbulb?
Five.
I would tell you why, but it's a dupe.
Filling the gas tank is so much worse than filling the hydrogen tank?
Je ne comprende pas.
Earl Grey is fine and dandy, but if you really want to enjoy your tea, you should make it from dried cubensis. That way you'll really have some insightful (or not) thoughts on life, the universe and everything.
Compared to NTSC, even PAL is luxurious.
That was my point, dude.
Well, atleast here in the US, ignorance is no defence.
I don't know how that works out for you europeans though.
Yeah, have you seen 7even?
Kevin Spacey is just so scary in that one.
Man, I agree with his general point of view (that RFIDS are harmless), but this is a blatant troll.
It's one thing to feed the trolls, don't mod them up too.