This is probably going way off-topic (relative to the article), but when you're drunk, I'd imagine you'd still have a small degree of consciousness to steer and whatnot, whereas if you fall asleep, well, you aren't aware of your surroundings anymore.
Again, I saw that experiment a few years back, and the driving simulator may have had a constant velocity, eg. all that was measured/observed was the degree of staying on the road. The simulator 'reset' the car back on the road if it drifted too far off (or ran into something).
I guess that explains a lot of these comments, like this one. (Posting at 06:33)
On the topic of being drunk and sleeping, I recall seeing an 'experiment' on TV that compared the effects of being drunk to that of sleepiness while driving. The conclusion was that being sleepy was worse, as the driver invariably fell asleep, and the car ran off the road.
IIRC, the testing was done with a driving simulator, and all that was tested was steering, which may not entirely be accurate, especially if the whole operation of the gas and brake is removed from the test.
I know this is Slashdot, where no one bothers to read the articles, but after reading roughly 10 comments that were speculation (and completely incorrect based on the information presented in the links), I decided I had to steer the discussion back on track. Mod me down if you want.
The reason (as stated in the articles) why OSWD.org is down is because the person that started the OSWD.org site, Frank, is trying to keep control over the site, although he isn't doing the majority of the work behind mantaining the site.
Sure, OSWD.org had some hosting issues, but that's not why the site isn't back up; the (seems to me) Second in Command, Aaron, who is dedicating a lot of time and effort into maintaining the site wants to migrate the site to a new host (and has already had everthing set up), except for the content/backups, which Frank refuses to provide.
There are some controversial issues: After OSWD.org gained some popularity in the beginnings, Frank added a "commercial venture" to the site, the 'templat e monster affiliate program', which was non-free. Aaron's concerns is that it was confusing people and because it was non-free.
I think the issue here is more of "what happens if the project leader is unwilling to provide the content (or source code) for a project, and wants to maintain it tightly within their grasp?" I know the common first reaction would be to say "Fork it!", but how can you fork if you don't have the content or source? OSWD.org (presumably) has has a lot of templates submitted, for which a second backup copy may or may not exist.// If there's already another response like this, I apologize. It took me a while to write this.
Although I am not in the laptop manufacturing industry, the article is pretty much accurate.
My personal laptop is made by Quanta, and I bought it through Powernotebooks.com. (sorry for the plug).
When I was buying a laptop, I considered the brand-names, but I was disappointed by their selection in terms of parts and different models. I ended up buying from PN.com because I wanted to eliminate the 'middle man' (brand-name retailer).
I haven't had any major problems with my computer, just normal wear and tear from everyday use. The downside, of course, to buying from a smaller retailer, is the support. This is something to consider.
Also, as another poster pointed out, the chassis is one of the hardest laptop components to find. I know this firsthand; I wanted to build my own laptop. The reason for that is that the laptop is a computer in a small package; each model is designed so that everything fits as well as it does.
The motherboard is designed around the components in the laptop, and the chassis is designed to complement the mobo. It would be harder to do all of this by yourself, but I do wish that the chassis was available for the daring build-it-yourselfer.
What version of Windows are you using? For me, the coLinux installer (0.6.2) created those for me. I might have told it to, but I had more difficulty getting my firewall to play nicely than configuring the networking.
Many commenters have pointed out that all (more or less) water is recycled. No problem there.
I think many readers are capitalizing on the wording of the headline: "it gushes from the toilets of Singapore instead of a bubbling spring". The connotation of that wording makes it seem as if the water is being bottled from the toilet bowl.
I seriously doubt that that's the bottling process, but correct me if I'm wrong.
One of the key things I would like to see is a common BIOS that has the features of many of the popular BIOSes these days. Things like automatic hardware detection and boot-time security would benefit from this.
One thing that has been bothering me is full ACPI support in the BIOS. As a laptop user, this is important, because ACPI support is one of the keys to system-level power management. If hardware detection was BIOS based, then 1. drivers wouldn't be all that important, and 2. waking up from hibernation wouldn't require more effort (at least, in Linux). Needless to say, I haven't had the time to get it working yet.
In short, it wouldn't do anything for the motherboard companies. Many mobo manufacturers have their own BIOSes, with optimizations/specifics to the boards they make. Perhaps GNU/BIOS could provide a common starting point on which specific features on boards could be then added.
Nah. I'll just replace my heatsink/cooling element with bread on my multi-cored processor.
If you had a server rack, then maybe you could flip the one on top over to toast both sides at once.
I decided to stop using Dropline Gnome when I stopped liking the eye candy. I currently use the Milk 2.0 rounded theme with some other add-ons, and it's just fine for me.
I agree, though, that DLG makes the Linux desktop really easy and configurable. It's just that it's not my type and I can do without it.
The DLG update manager only manages the actual Dropline packages. Although it covers other system level packages, it's not a complete package management tool. Then again, the desktop is mainly what's being used, so I guess it suffices.
I haven't had any problems using Slackware on my laptop. It Just Works (TM).
I recall that when the XGI graphics cards came out, they were touted as being a third competitor in the field dominated by ATI and nVidia. I haven't heard (or seen a mainstream product) any XGI news since.
Can this really be another competitor for ATI/nVidia? I think the two major companies have a huge advantage in terms of product noteriety and also in the R&D fields; they have been producing mainstream cards for a long time now, and have most likely tried a lot of new methods and solutions to boost performance.
I applaud this card as a choice, but it seems more like a niche card; it'll certainly be good for Media Center-type computers. We'll just have to see where this goes.
Unix to beef up Longhorn
Microsoft's Services for Unix facility is poised to take a more prominent role in the next edition of Windows
Roger Howorth, IT Week 12 Jul 2004
ADVERTISEMENT
Microsoft is set to include its Services for Unix (SFU) add-on for Windows as an integral part of the next major release of the Windows server operating system, codenamed Longhorn and expected in 2008. Some analysts said the move could eventually sideline conventional Linux and Unix operating systems.
A growing number of firms are using SFU, currently a free add-on for Windows 2000, 2003 and XP Professional, because it enables a single system to run Windows, Linux and Unix software.
Systems running SFU provide an excellent environment for integrating applications - for example, to add Active Directory support to a Unix application.
Jason Zions, a solutions architect at Microsoft, said there are development versions of SFU that enable a single process to run code both from Windows and Unix libraries. Currently this feature, which would dramatically ease integration tasks, is not available in SFU. Zions said, "We've been working on research versions that would solve that particular problem. It wouldn't surprise me to see that capability appear in a future release of Windows."
Dan Kusnetzky of analyst firm IDC said SFU was one of Microsoft's hidden jewels. "It's a very powerful capability that Microsoft very seldom speaks about," he said. "Rather than hide this product behind Windows they should lead with it. Many firms might be much more interested in Windows if it worked in the way they are used to doing things."
By including SFU in Windows, Microsoft could rapidly become the biggest supplier of Unix software if Longhorn proves a success, undermining traditional Unix vendors such as Sun, HP and IBM, as well as Linux vendors' enterprise offerings.
Microsoft has already confirmed that Longhorn will include a technology called "server roles" to make it easier for IT staff to build Windows servers suited to a particular task, such as file serving. Experts said SFU could surface as a new server role in Longhorn.
SFU is not shipped with Windows because SFU currently contains open-source software, such as the GNU C compiler, which cannot be distributed with commercial software. Zions confirmed that Microsoft is working to replace all open-source code in SFU with commercially licensed alternatives. Last year it licensed Unix software from SCO.
Microsoft may also release a 64bit version of SFU this year. Zions suggested that Microsoft would soon support 64bit x86 processors such as the AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon EM64T chips, saying, "SFU 3.5 today does not run on Windows 64bit platforms, but when I get home I am putting in an order for a 64bit AMD laptop because I have to demo this stuff."
(slightly offtopic, but is pertinent to this thread)
Wasn't diversifying hardware and software one of the ways that Akamai defended itself against the massive DDoS attack?
This is very interesting, and nicely complements the information from the latest (not sure which month) National Geographic, which featured a lengthy section about the Sun.
One can only imagine what impact future solar storms will have on the Earth (or even other planets, if/when we expand), as we use more and more electronic devices.
I imagine the effects would be devastating to be caught in one of these storms while in outer space. Poor satellites.
I think the most recent time I used labels (or mass-produced) them was close to yearbook/annual signing time for my last two years in high school. I created a label that had my name on it, my website URL, and a logo that I made for myself. I don't remember if it had a barcode or not.
Anyway, I ended up using Microsoft Word to make it (through mail merge), and I copied/pasted the label in all of the little cells. Tedious work, but it worked.
Maybe this will make my life easier. I will most definitely give it a try. Maybe I'll also start labeling CDs now, instead of remembering what they look like and where they are in relation to everything else. Or maybe I'll waste my time crafting and printing labels instead of pulling out the extra-fine Sharpie. =)
Very true. I was going to post about whether eyecandy was really what the Linux Desktop needs right now. I mean, I embrace it as another choice that you can use, and sure, it's nice to have something that looks different, but will it actually change any ways in terms of usability? The reason why I minimize windows is so that I have more desktop real estate; if it becomes a nice 3d-ed perspective window, it's not really doing much.
I applaud Sun for GPLing this. I wonder where this project will go.
I go to Purdue University, which was recently ranked #2 in the 'most unwired campus' survey/whatever. The specific bus route I take gives me some wifi access (to the school network) when going around campus. Typing fast helps. It's also interesting to war drive/bus around the campus area.
I was referring to Longhorn. =P
Games are a bit tricky to develop. Actually, any 'next generation' software. Theoretically, software is developed with what the target audience (consumers) have, in terms of their computing power. Game developers have to develop today for the platform that they predict will be available in the future, which can be a hit-or-miss scenario. How they do this (without being able to optimize for new technologies now, or being able to accurately predict the capabilities of future technology), I don't know. But maybe when the software is actually released *cough*, technology will have caught up.
I didn't see a post mentioning humidity on here (or maybe I'm not looking hard enough). I also don't understand why this was flagged 'redundant'.
Perhaps it was with the specific mention of hydrogen as the fuel cell. However, methanol is... CH3OH? I'm not sure how fuel cells work, but if pure hydrogen was stripped from said fuel, you would have CO left from it. Now, based on a combustion reaction, you get CO or CO2 (incomplete or complete combustion) and water. Again, I'm not sure exactly how a fuel cell works, but if there is water involved, I would be wary.
Water (including vapor form, which raises humidity) generally has a detremental effect on electronics. My processor (Pentium-M) cools noticably slower in a humid environment. I guess it boils down to that water and electronics don't mix.
Slashdot Mirror
On Windows, TrueCrypt system partition encryption works as well.
What about environments which have the same hardware build deployed, such as corporate/enterprise networks?
It's a jury 'tail' because it's an afterthought. Maybe.
This is probably going way off-topic (relative to the article), but when you're drunk, I'd imagine you'd still have a small degree of consciousness to steer and whatnot, whereas if you fall asleep, well, you aren't aware of your surroundings anymore. Again, I saw that experiment a few years back, and the driving simulator may have had a constant velocity, eg. all that was measured/observed was the degree of staying on the road. The simulator 'reset' the car back on the road if it drifted too far off (or ran into something).
I guess that explains a lot of these comments, like this one. (Posting at 06:33)
On the topic of being drunk and sleeping, I recall seeing an 'experiment' on TV that compared the effects of being drunk to that of sleepiness while driving. The conclusion was that being sleepy was worse, as the driver invariably fell asleep, and the car ran off the road.
IIRC, the testing was done with a driving simulator, and all that was tested was steering, which may not entirely be accurate, especially if the whole operation of the gas and brake is removed from the test.
Perhaps it's because all the other kids have finished so far ahead, and that the bystanders/crowd only remember/know of/notice the last kid finishing.
How much of the general public knows what UNIX is?
I know this is Slashdot, where no one bothers to read the articles, but after reading roughly 10 comments that were speculation (and completely incorrect based on the information presented in the links), I decided I had to steer the discussion back on track. Mod me down if you want.
// If there's already another response like this, I apologize. It took me a while to write this.
6 5475&postcount=40.
The reason (as stated in the articles) why OSWD.org is down is because the person that started the OSWD.org site, Frank, is trying to keep control over the site, although he isn't doing the majority of the work behind mantaining the site.
Sure, OSWD.org had some hosting issues, but that's not why the site isn't back up; the (seems to me) Second in Command, Aaron, who is dedicating a lot of time and effort into maintaining the site wants to migrate the site to a new host (and has already had everthing set up), except for the content/backups, which Frank refuses to provide.
There are some controversial issues:
After OSWD.org gained some popularity in the beginnings, Frank added a "commercial venture" to the site, the 'templat e monster affiliate program', which was non-free. Aaron's concerns is that it was confusing people and because it was non-free.
I think the issue here is more of "what happens if the project leader is unwilling to provide the content (or source code) for a project, and wants to maintain it tightly within their grasp?" I know the common first reaction would be to say "Fork it!", but how can you fork if you don't have the content or source? OSWD.org (presumably) has has a lot of templates submitted, for which a second backup copy may or may not exist.
DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with OSWD.org, nor do I remember having visited them in the past. I may have, but all information above is from the articles linked, namely http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22
Although I am not in the laptop manufacturing industry, the article is pretty much accurate.
My personal laptop is made by Quanta, and I bought it through Powernotebooks.com. (sorry for the plug).
When I was buying a laptop, I considered the brand-names, but I was disappointed by their selection in terms of parts and different models. I ended up buying from PN.com because I wanted to eliminate the 'middle man' (brand-name retailer).
I haven't had any major problems with my computer, just normal wear and tear from everyday use. The downside, of course, to buying from a smaller retailer, is the support. This is something to consider.
Also, as another poster pointed out, the chassis is one of the hardest laptop components to find. I know this firsthand; I wanted to build my own laptop. The reason for that is that the laptop is a computer in a small package; each model is designed so that everything fits as well as it does.
The motherboard is designed around the components in the laptop, and the chassis is designed to complement the mobo. It would be harder to do all of this by yourself, but I do wish that the chassis was available for the daring build-it-yourselfer.
> I should get paid for this. Paid, or laid? =P Not a bad idea. What about the 'always on' connection? XD
What version of Windows are you using? For me, the coLinux installer (0.6.2) created those for me. I might have told it to, but I had more difficulty getting my firewall to play nicely than configuring the networking.
Many commenters have pointed out that all (more or less) water is recycled. No problem there.
I think many readers are capitalizing on the wording of the headline: "it gushes from the toilets of Singapore instead of a bubbling spring". The connotation of that wording makes it seem as if the water is being bottled from the toilet bowl.
I seriously doubt that that's the bottling process, but correct me if I'm wrong.
Judging from your name of 'kaboom', I'd (also an engineering student) have to agree. =)
One of the key things I would like to see is a common BIOS that has the features of many of the popular BIOSes these days. Things like automatic hardware detection and boot-time security would benefit from this. One thing that has been bothering me is full ACPI support in the BIOS. As a laptop user, this is important, because ACPI support is one of the keys to system-level power management. If hardware detection was BIOS based, then 1. drivers wouldn't be all that important, and 2. waking up from hibernation wouldn't require more effort (at least, in Linux). Needless to say, I haven't had the time to get it working yet. In short, it wouldn't do anything for the motherboard companies. Many mobo manufacturers have their own BIOSes, with optimizations/specifics to the boards they make. Perhaps GNU/BIOS could provide a common starting point on which specific features on boards could be then added.
Nah. I'll just replace my heatsink/cooling element with bread on my multi-cored processor. If you had a server rack, then maybe you could flip the one on top over to toast both sides at once.
I decided to stop using Dropline Gnome when I stopped liking the eye candy. I currently use the Milk 2.0 rounded theme with some other add-ons, and it's just fine for me.
I agree, though, that DLG makes the Linux desktop really easy and configurable. It's just that it's not my type and I can do without it.
The DLG update manager only manages the actual Dropline packages. Although it covers other system level packages, it's not a complete package management tool. Then again, the desktop is mainly what's being used, so I guess it suffices.
I haven't had any problems using Slackware on my laptop. It Just Works (TM).
I recall that when the XGI graphics cards came out, they were touted as being a third competitor in the field dominated by ATI and nVidia. I haven't heard (or seen a mainstream product) any XGI news since. Can this really be another competitor for ATI/nVidia? I think the two major companies have a huge advantage in terms of product noteriety and also in the R&D fields; they have been producing mainstream cards for a long time now, and have most likely tried a lot of new methods and solutions to boost performance. I applaud this card as a choice, but it seems more like a niche card; it'll certainly be good for Media Center-type computers. We'll just have to see where this goes.
Unix to beef up Longhorn Microsoft's Services for Unix facility is poised to take a more prominent role in the next edition of Windows Roger Howorth, IT Week 12 Jul 2004 ADVERTISEMENT Microsoft is set to include its Services for Unix (SFU) add-on for Windows as an integral part of the next major release of the Windows server operating system, codenamed Longhorn and expected in 2008. Some analysts said the move could eventually sideline conventional Linux and Unix operating systems. A growing number of firms are using SFU, currently a free add-on for Windows 2000, 2003 and XP Professional, because it enables a single system to run Windows, Linux and Unix software. Systems running SFU provide an excellent environment for integrating applications - for example, to add Active Directory support to a Unix application. Jason Zions, a solutions architect at Microsoft, said there are development versions of SFU that enable a single process to run code both from Windows and Unix libraries. Currently this feature, which would dramatically ease integration tasks, is not available in SFU. Zions said, "We've been working on research versions that would solve that particular problem. It wouldn't surprise me to see that capability appear in a future release of Windows." Dan Kusnetzky of analyst firm IDC said SFU was one of Microsoft's hidden jewels. "It's a very powerful capability that Microsoft very seldom speaks about," he said. "Rather than hide this product behind Windows they should lead with it. Many firms might be much more interested in Windows if it worked in the way they are used to doing things." By including SFU in Windows, Microsoft could rapidly become the biggest supplier of Unix software if Longhorn proves a success, undermining traditional Unix vendors such as Sun, HP and IBM, as well as Linux vendors' enterprise offerings. Microsoft has already confirmed that Longhorn will include a technology called "server roles" to make it easier for IT staff to build Windows servers suited to a particular task, such as file serving. Experts said SFU could surface as a new server role in Longhorn. SFU is not shipped with Windows because SFU currently contains open-source software, such as the GNU C compiler, which cannot be distributed with commercial software. Zions confirmed that Microsoft is working to replace all open-source code in SFU with commercially licensed alternatives. Last year it licensed Unix software from SCO. Microsoft may also release a 64bit version of SFU this year. Zions suggested that Microsoft would soon support 64bit x86 processors such as the AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon EM64T chips, saying, "SFU 3.5 today does not run on Windows 64bit platforms, but when I get home I am putting in an order for a 64bit AMD laptop because I have to demo this stuff."
(slightly offtopic, but is pertinent to this thread) Wasn't diversifying hardware and software one of the ways that Akamai defended itself against the massive DDoS attack?
This is very interesting, and nicely complements the information from the latest (not sure which month) National Geographic, which featured a lengthy section about the Sun. One can only imagine what impact future solar storms will have on the Earth (or even other planets, if/when we expand), as we use more and more electronic devices. I imagine the effects would be devastating to be caught in one of these storms while in outer space. Poor satellites.
I thought Firefox (and possibly other Mozilla products) had an update reminder?
I think the most recent time I used labels (or mass-produced) them was close to yearbook/annual signing time for my last two years in high school. I created a label that had my name on it, my website URL, and a logo that I made for myself. I don't remember if it had a barcode or not. Anyway, I ended up using Microsoft Word to make it (through mail merge), and I copied/pasted the label in all of the little cells. Tedious work, but it worked. Maybe this will make my life easier. I will most definitely give it a try. Maybe I'll also start labeling CDs now, instead of remembering what they look like and where they are in relation to everything else. Or maybe I'll waste my time crafting and printing labels instead of pulling out the extra-fine Sharpie. =)
Very true. I was going to post about whether eyecandy was really what the Linux Desktop needs right now. I mean, I embrace it as another choice that you can use, and sure, it's nice to have something that looks different, but will it actually change any ways in terms of usability? The reason why I minimize windows is so that I have more desktop real estate; if it becomes a nice 3d-ed perspective window, it's not really doing much. I applaud Sun for GPLing this. I wonder where this project will go.
I go to Purdue University, which was recently ranked #2 in the 'most unwired campus' survey/whatever. The specific bus route I take gives me some wifi access (to the school network) when going around campus. Typing fast helps. It's also interesting to war drive/bus around the campus area.
I was referring to Longhorn. =P Games are a bit tricky to develop. Actually, any 'next generation' software. Theoretically, software is developed with what the target audience (consumers) have, in terms of their computing power. Game developers have to develop today for the platform that they predict will be available in the future, which can be a hit-or-miss scenario. How they do this (without being able to optimize for new technologies now, or being able to accurately predict the capabilities of future technology), I don't know. But maybe when the software is actually released *cough*, technology will have caught up.
I didn't see a post mentioning humidity on here (or maybe I'm not looking hard enough). I also don't understand why this was flagged 'redundant'. Perhaps it was with the specific mention of hydrogen as the fuel cell. However, methanol is... CH3OH? I'm not sure how fuel cells work, but if pure hydrogen was stripped from said fuel, you would have CO left from it. Now, based on a combustion reaction, you get CO or CO2 (incomplete or complete combustion) and water. Again, I'm not sure exactly how a fuel cell works, but if there is water involved, I would be wary. Water (including vapor form, which raises humidity) generally has a detremental effect on electronics. My processor (Pentium-M) cools noticably slower in a humid environment. I guess it boils down to that water and electronics don't mix.