I am so god damn tired of this stupid argument. The CPU is not a "slave core". It is an ARM6 RISC core (with MMU) and it is what runs Linux and all the applications, not the GPU . The GPU does control
the L2 cache and the memory controller/arbitrator which allows it to have the highest priority access to memory and meet the video memory bandwidth requirements. I haven't had time to read the hardware documentation now that it has been released (making it no longer closed contrary to your assertion otherwise ) so I don't know if a proprietary code blob will still be necessary to boot the CPU any
longer or not. A quick scan did not reveal any specific mention of this in the documentation but with the release of the GPU instruction set in the documentation it should be fairly straight forward, although
not easy to disassemble the proprietary boot loader code. I would prefer a fully open boot loader but as long as the current boot loader allows just about any OS to be booted, and as far as I know it does
I can live with that.
And finally, the only other two GPU cores available for ARM SoCs, PowerVR and Mali (the one used on the Beaglebone Black) are still, for now completely proprietary. This clearly means that contrary to
another comment in this thread, the Beaglebone Black is not completely open.
While TI documents most of the am3359 SOC it does not provide any documentation for the Imagination Technologies PowerVR GPU core which is proprietary.
To the OP, as far as I know there are no non-proprietary GPUs (more or less beefy) on any ARM SOC so good luck on finding one without binary blobs.
It is wrong because they were told by the court to produce documentation that others could use to "inter-operate" with Microsoft software. It was not "after the fact" they have been given several YEARS to produce this documentation after they were told to do so by the court. This is the second time that the documentation Microsoft was ordered to produce was declared unusable for its stated purpose. The first time (three? years ago) was by a Microsoft selected expert at which time Microsoft said that he was biased. Several years later its still unfit. If any of this sounds familiar, just one word says it all, Micrsoft.
>Why is everyone so blinkered they always assume Microsoft employees are evil and anti-OSS?
History.
>Indeed I've come across plenty of projects on Sourceforge that look promising but haven't been maintained for years, and others that could do >with an additional boost.
Boost away, nothing is stopping you.
>If you want to slam the guy for this statement, compare with proprietary software from a company that goes under. If your vendor disappears you >are ecompletely out of luck, whereas with OSS you can at least hire a consultant to help you out.
Having no real experience with it I assume this is pretty much what Objective C does. It should also be noted that the original C++ implementation was a pre-comiler that output C code. I myself have for many years written C programs that incorporate the use of header and code files for code file interface, function and data hiding (something like Modula 2, anybody remember Modula 2 ?).
I'm sure that having to implement a spec that is 6000+ pages long (vs. what 900 for ODF ?) might also have something to do with why it will take a while to implement it fully (if MS ever does),
Bull shit. To win, the sniper must put in the highest bid. All the other "reactions" have already taken place. If the sniper bids less than the highest amount bid, something that only the current highest bidder knows, he loses. The buyer doesn't lose money because the highest bidder always wins.
Contrary to the attempt to blame "security" for the audio/video driver issues I have another explanantion, DRM. According to a very well researched, written and circulated document (sorry, no URL, and I lost my copy of the PDF document), DRM placed unprecidented requirements and workload on the device drivers for these and other "IP" related devices and services. I suspect one of the main reasons for the lack of Vista device drivers, especially for older equipment is due to some manufacturers believing that there is no way the return on investment is worth the massive effort required. Microsoft appears to acknowledge this when they say that some updated Vista drivers may never be written. You'd think that they could easily spare some "pocket change" to incourage these driver updates, but obviously for whatever reason they are not going to. Personally I hope they continue with this policy as it shows what they really think of their customers, big and small.
Hubble was launched thirty years after the discussed satellite. I'm supposed to believe that the technology for optics, electronics, gyroscopes, etc didn't improve between 1965 and 1995? It could hardly have been a "Hubble pointed at Earth".
Optics, not much better. Electronics, much better (especially CCD imaging arrays). Gyroscopes, if they were used for attitude control like on the Hubble and ISS, no improvements are really needed.
I held a clearance in the USAF (1971-1975) and saw stuff that is still classified.
I've always found it to be fascinating that the only ones the "secrets" were kept from was the US public. As demonstrated by the Nova program, the Soviets clearly knew what we were up to. And going along with the main theme of the program, I don't think that you can hide something like Area 51 from a spy satellite.
No, the first manned missions landed on land. The Soviet Union (now Russia) landed and continues to land all of their manned missions on land. If they can do it surely we can too.
Hey, I'm still waiting (been over SEVEN YEARS now) for AT&T to deliver DSL to my home. I've been using Comcast/Time Warner (expensive but relatively high bandwidth) for the last five. Cable companies have already spent billions to upgrade their infrastructure, only now are they running out of bandwidth. AT&T spent billions on acquisitions and millions on lobbiests to lock in their monopoly on the final mile. And I'm still waiting.
Your assumption that this would only affect rural locations is misplaced. I live in the north eastern corner of the city of Dallas, TX. This is at least twenty miles away from anythig that approaches rural. I have been waiting for over 6 YEARS for Southwestern Hell/ATT to deliver DSL service to my house. While I am all for Telcos being allowed to supply video and other services, they should at least be required (as the cable companies were) to do build outs. Otherwise it is not only rural customers that suffer.
I would still be on 28.8K (I could never even get 33K much less 56K to work reliably) if it weren't for (overpriced) Comcast. I've have been waiting for DSL service for over 4 years here in the telephone backwater of Dallas TX with no end in sight. They keep telling me how expensive it is to run fiber close enough to my home to provide DSL service and I keep reminding them of how much money they've spent buying other baby bells (billions) and filing lawsuits to keep me from being able to use a competiting service provider (10's of millions). My nickname for them is Stupid B@stards Communications (used to be Southwestern Hell) and they've earned every bit of it.
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I am so god damn tired of this stupid argument. The CPU is not a "slave core". It is an ARM6 RISC core (with MMU) and it is what runs Linux and all the applications, not the GPU . The GPU does control the L2 cache and the memory controller/arbitrator which allows it to have the highest priority access to memory and meet the video memory bandwidth requirements. I haven't had time to read the hardware documentation now that it has been released (making it no longer closed contrary to your assertion otherwise ) so I don't know if a proprietary code blob will still be necessary to boot the CPU any longer or not. A quick scan did not reveal any specific mention of this in the documentation but with the release of the GPU instruction set in the documentation it should be fairly straight forward, although not easy to disassemble the proprietary boot loader code. I would prefer a fully open boot loader but as long as the current boot loader allows just about any OS to be booted, and as far as I know it does I can live with that. And finally, the only other two GPU cores available for ARM SoCs, PowerVR and Mali (the one used on the Beaglebone Black) are still, for now completely proprietary. This clearly means that contrary to another comment in this thread, the Beaglebone Black is not completely open.
While TI documents most of the am3359 SOC it does not provide any documentation for the Imagination Technologies PowerVR GPU core which is proprietary. To the OP, as far as I know there are no non-proprietary GPUs (more or less beefy) on any ARM SOC so good luck on finding one without binary blobs.
I can personally recommend these: http://www.dfrobot.com/ http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/robot/robotstore.html http://www.societyofrobots.com/
I have a Logitech C7 that still works, although it did need one ball transplant.
It is wrong because they were told by the court to produce documentation that others could use to "inter-operate" with Microsoft software. It was not "after the fact" they have been given several YEARS to produce this documentation after they were told to do so by the court. This is the second time that the documentation Microsoft was ordered to produce was declared unusable for its stated purpose. The first time (three? years ago) was by a Microsoft selected expert at which time Microsoft said that he was biased. Several years later its still unfit. If any of this sounds familiar, just one word says it all, Micrsoft.
>I've never understood the whole profanity thing
Do-do, ca-ca, poo-poo, and good old number 2. Thanks George.
>Why is everyone so blinkered they always assume Microsoft employees are evil and anti-OSS?
History.
>Indeed I've come across plenty of projects on Sourceforge that look promising but haven't been maintained for years, and others that could do
>with an additional boost.
Boost away, nothing is stopping you.
>If you want to slam the guy for this statement, compare with proprietary software from a company that goes under. If your vendor disappears you
>are ecompletely out of luck, whereas with OSS you can at least hire a consultant to help you out.
Which is the point he somehow forgot to mention.
Having no real experience with it I assume this is pretty much what Objective C does. It should also be noted that the original C++ implementation was a pre-comiler that output C code. I myself have for many years written C programs that incorporate the use of header and code files for code file interface, function and data hiding (something like Modula 2, anybody remember Modula 2 ?).
I'm sure that having to implement a spec that is 6000+ pages long (vs. what 900 for ODF ?) might also have something to do with why it will take a while to implement it fully (if MS ever does),
Personally I prefer One BS PC.
The NSA already filters every bit of our telecom. They just do it from a listening post in England so it's "legal".
Wow ! That's more than 4 times faster than the human brain can detect. Now if I only knew why a frame rate this high is needed. Anybody?
Exactly what radical claims was the government making about the Japanese before Pearl Harbor?
"I can't think of any games that require cards like these"
Crysis
Bull shit. To win, the sniper must put in the highest bid. All the other "reactions" have already taken place. If the sniper bids less than the highest amount bid, something that only the current highest bidder knows, he loses. The buyer doesn't lose money because the highest bidder always wins.
Bull shit. If the sniper wins the auction then he bid the highest and the seller does get the most money they possibly could.
Contrary to the attempt to blame "security" for the audio/video driver issues I have another explanantion, DRM. According to a very well researched, written and circulated document (sorry, no URL, and I lost my copy of the PDF document), DRM placed unprecidented requirements and workload on the device drivers for these and other "IP" related devices and services. I suspect one of the main reasons for the lack of Vista device drivers, especially for older equipment is due to some manufacturers believing that there is no way the return on investment is worth the massive effort required. Microsoft appears to acknowledge this when they say that some updated Vista drivers may never be written. You'd think that they could easily spare some "pocket change" to incourage these driver updates, but obviously for whatever reason they are not going to. Personally I hope they continue with this policy as it shows what they really think of their customers, big and small.
If you buy an Apple computer they are the monopoly.
Hubble was launched thirty years after the discussed satellite. I'm supposed to believe that the technology for optics, electronics, gyroscopes, etc didn't improve between 1965 and 1995? It could hardly have been a "Hubble pointed at Earth".
Optics, not much better. Electronics, much better (especially CCD imaging arrays). Gyroscopes, if they were used for attitude control like on the Hubble and ISS, no improvements are really needed.
I held a clearance in the USAF (1971-1975) and saw stuff that is still classified.
I've always found it to be fascinating that the only ones the "secrets" were kept from was the US public. As demonstrated by the Nova program, the Soviets clearly knew what we were up to. And going along with the main theme of the program, I don't think that you can hide something like Area 51 from a spy satellite.
No, the first manned missions landed on land. The Soviet Union (now Russia) landed and continues to land all of their manned missions on land. If they can do it surely we can too.
Hey, I'm still waiting (been over SEVEN YEARS now) for AT&T to deliver DSL to my home. I've been using Comcast/Time Warner (expensive but relatively high bandwidth) for the last five. Cable companies have already spent billions to upgrade their infrastructure, only now are they running out of bandwidth. AT&T spent billions on acquisitions and millions on lobbiests to lock in their monopoly on the final mile. And I'm still waiting.
Your assumption that this would only affect rural locations is misplaced. I live in the north eastern corner of the city of Dallas, TX. This is at least twenty miles away from anythig that approaches rural. I have been waiting for over 6 YEARS for Southwestern Hell/ATT to deliver DSL service to my house. While I am all for Telcos being allowed to supply video and other services, they should at least be required (as the cable companies were) to do build outs. Otherwise it is not only rural customers that suffer.
Yes you must be right. Except what is the use in storing data that is never opened? Read never data storage, a concept in need of a patent!
Happyness is a warm gun bang bang, shoot shoot
I would still be on 28.8K (I could never even get 33K much less 56K to work reliably) if it weren't for (overpriced) Comcast. I've have been waiting for DSL service for over 4 years here in the telephone backwater of Dallas TX with no end in sight. They keep telling me how expensive it is to run fiber close enough to my home to provide DSL service and I keep reminding them of how much money they've spent buying other baby bells (billions) and filing lawsuits to keep me from being able to use a competiting service provider (10's of millions). My nickname for them is Stupid B@stards Communications (used to be Southwestern Hell) and they've earned every bit of it.