On U2's album "Rattle and Hum" (1998), the song God Part II contians the following lyric:
"I don't believe in the 1960's, the Golden Age of Pop, You glorify the past when the future dries up".
I believe that Bono (rather than Sonny Bono) really knew that Pop music is designed to be thrown away after its has been useful. Perhaps if the major record companies thought about this more carefully, then they would invest more into new music and make even more money than they do now. They are just holding on to what they think is valuable, at a risk that they will eventually have no new business.
Comming soon, fully itemised bill, complete with a breakdown of the cost of every single component in the phone, plus prining costs, plus postage plus handling....
Tommy Flowers in my verdict was more important to the development of the first electronic computer than Turin. Tommy built Colossus under Turin's direction during the Second World War and is often overlooked as he turned Turin's ideas into a reality.
Tommy died quite recently in comparative obscurity. After the war he tried to encourage the Post Office (whom he worked for) to develop a digitally controlled automatic telephone exchange. The Post Office (now BT) didn't understand what he was suggesting, so digital telephone exchanges were not developed until the late 1970's, some 30 years later.
It takes a genius to come up with an idea, but it takes another genius from an engineering background to turn them into something that will work.
The problem with existing Hydraulic systems used on commercial aircraft wings (including the Airbus A320 and A340, which have fly by wire pilot controls) is that you are carrying excess weight on the aircraft. By adopting the use of electrical motors, to operate the surfaces directly, the weight of the system is considerably reduced, especially as now the power for the actuators is provided by cables rather than pipes.
Until recently, controlling these electrical motors was a significant problem on aircraft. This is partly due to the technology required to control the high-powered motors accurately on the wing, without increasing electrical noise, which can interfere with vital systems such as Radar and navigation systems. Therefore, hydraulic systems were used to power the actuators on the wings, the hydraulic pump (which does not produce as much electrical noise), being fitted elsewhere on the airframe.
Since the development of IGBT technology, it is possible to reduce the electrical noise to an absolute minimum, while keeping the weight down and without sacrificing motor efficiency. OK, at present only the auxiliary flight control is implemented on the first A380 models (ailerons, flap and slack and rudder), as this is a very new technology for the commercial aircraft industry, but this gives the aircraft designer more flexibility in the airframe design, especially in the design of more advanced wing profiles.
Incidentally, many new cars (Fiat Punto, BMW 5 series) have electronic power steering for similar reasons.
The A380 will be the first commercial aircraft with full electronic auxiliary controls, significantly reducing weight, as heavy hydraulics will not be needed. This will help to improve the aircraft's economy, and perhaps in 15 or 20 years time, lead to hypersonic type aircraft with the kind of morphing wings that are being suggested here.
I believe that the SR-71 did have a few other problems, like it leaked like a sieve on the ground, and used most of its fuel taking off, to the extent that it needed in-flight refuelling.
I went to the Intrepid Air Museum in New York last month. They have recently taken delivery of Concorde G-BOAD (waiting for a crane to move her onto the main deck of the Intrepid) and an A12 Blackbird (early version of the SR-71). Got some lovely photos of them both. An excellent visit if you want to compare the both.
As for EJ200 Typhoon Eurofighter, I feel that this plane takes a lot of its development ideas from the 1960's TSR2 (British answer to an F111). This was a fighter/bomber project that used the Olympus engines as used in Concorde. Unfortunately the project was cancelled, even though the plane could out accelerate an English Electric Lightening; still the fastest jet to be in full service with the Royal Air Force (top speed mach 2 - Eurofighter does match this top speed). The only remaining TSR2 is at Cosford Air Museum in Staffordshire, England.
There are a number of additional reason why Concorde was not a commercial success and was withdrawn from service:-
1) The wings were virtually hand made. This was because at the time of manufacture CNC machines had not been really developed. As a consequence when the linings were put in the fuel tanks on the BA aircraft after the Paris crash, they found the shape of the fuel tanks on each aircraft were completely different. The TU144 (Concordski) had less complicated wings, due to the use of Canards on the front of the aircraft.
2) Concorde could only just make JFK from Paris. If the wind were in the wrong direction, the plane couldn't fly. The proposed (but never built) B version of Concorde could have flown Supersonic from Germany to JFK, and could have reached a number of other destinations from London.
3) The Avionics on Concorde needed to be replaced for the aircraft to continue in service past 2004. I know this as the company I work for built the engine controllers, which were the first controller to have full digital control (RB211 engines on the 747 didn't get this until the 1980's). Needless to say the work was cancelled.
4) After the Paris crash, the work carried out on the aircraft meant that the Air France Concorde could not operate fully loaded with 100 passengers. I believe as Air France could then no longer operate the aircraft economically, therefore withdrew their service. This also made the BA service unviable. Due to political reasons the aircraft were not sold to another air carrier that were prepared to continue operating the aircraft (Virgin Atlantic).
To date Concorde is one of only 2 aircraft with supercruise capability (flying above Mach 1 without afterburn); the other is the F22. It has flown more hours supersonically than all the other supersonic planes in the world.
I spoke to Sir Richard Branson (Owner of Virgin Atlantic) live on BBC TV the day before Concorde was withdrawn from service. I asked him when he expected the replacement for Concorde to enter service, and he replied "not for another 30 to 40 years". I would hope that the developments into reducing supersonic noise and jet engine fuel economy would allow the development of a large passenger jet within the next 15 to 20 years, but that depends on the airline market for such an aircraft. A small supersonic business jet capable of reaching mach 1.4 may be in service in as little as 3 to 4 years, especially as Concorde is no longer in service.
Concorde will end up in history as the aircraft equivalent of the SS Great Eastern; a large Brunel ship that was built some 50 years ahead of its time. It too was never a commercial success, and was scrapped 30 years after entering service. No ship of the size of Great Eastern was built under the SS Titanic era of the early 20th century.
Think of Security as something like DNA, then you can really appreciate the advantages of not using the same operating system and hardware cofiguration throughout a business. DNA is a code, a bit like binary and no matter how it was written, it is going to have flaws.
Now if a computer virus comes along it will only attack cetain flaws, but not others. If the computer cannot fight off the attack itself, then it will be left to other to sort the problem out via either a patch (vaccine) or anto virus software (similar to anti-viral drugs).
If every computer were to be the same, then every computer would have the same flaws. This makes it very easy for the virus to spread computer to computer. However, if the computer operating system is different, the code will not work properly, preventing the spread of the virus in its tracks.
The advantge of Linux over Windows is that if a security flaw is known, then in theory the user can repair the fault themselves, without waiting for the operating system vendor to correct the problem for them. In essence this makes Linux much more evolutionary than Windows.
A world with many different operating systems makes for a brighter and more secure future.
Re:Good... down with Real
on
Real Problems
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· Score: 1
I purposely use an old version of real player for compatibility purposes only. Any company that insists on using Real One must be completely mental; it is the worst piece of software ever written.
Unfortunately, shielding doesn't work with atmospheric radiation that is the problem; The Anonymous coward here is thinking about Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC - which is a different issue altogether (and the reason why we have to turn our mobiles off during a flight). As for DRAMs, they are indeed a problem in the aerospace industry, especially when the geometry is smaller (typically less than 0.5um will require assessment - I know that sounds like very old technology) as the static charge on the memory gates can be affected corrupting the contents of the memory. Flash memories and UV EPROMs are affected in similar ways, although not necessarily to the same degree.
I was in New York Last week, just before this incident. I wondered why there were so many Verizon vans parked around Manhattan, digging holes in the road, making the traffic even worse than it was; now I have my answer.
This is good news for the computer industry, but not necessarily good news for everybody else.
The problem with decreasing sizes of die geometry is that it makes the devices far more susceptible to the effects of atmospheric radiation. This means that if there is heightened sun spot activity, a solar flare or the devices are used in the upper atmosphere, there is a significant risk that the devices may not operate correctly, introducing soft errors of transistor gates and the possibility of latch-up. This at best will result in random system failure, that many users would thing are more a symptom of bad software or poorly configured hardware.
Techniques to avoid this can be implemented by using built-in redundancy, but this introduces its own problems, as it will depend on how quick the device can be reset itself. There is also the issue that the whole device will be much smaller, so several separate devices may be required, as having correction on the same die would introduce additional risks.
It looks like early days for the development of this technology, and it would be useful for domestic applications. Whether it would be used for industrial, space and aeronautical applications will depend on the success of reducing the atmospheric radiation effects.
Unless somebody comes up with a new method of constructing electronic equipment that is even cheaper than building it in the far far east, computers will not get any cheaper. The reason is simple, Microsoft software will demand more power, and the cost of building more complex and faster microprocessors is getting more expensive - not cheaper. This will make paralell computing a more viable alternative, where you hire processing power when you need it (along with the software to use this additional power.
Ever heard of the missing episode of Star Trek The Next Generation - the one where the Borg gets infected with Windows?
Especially when the music that is currently pushed by major record labels (in particular in the UK) is 95% rubbish. You only have to look at the album charts to see who is really buying CDs these days. As for CD singles, 3.99GBP for 3 songs, when a chart album costs 9.79GBP at Tesco's, you must be joking.
My girlfriend is interested in a couple of new CDs, but won't commit herself until she has heard more of the albums concerned. Problem is, unless she can listen to somebody else's copy to check she is going to like it, legally she is a little stuck. If is was a film that she was interested in, she could probably either watch it at the cinema, or go down to blockbuster and hire the film for the night.
Unfortunately, the music industry hasn't even thought up of a way to allow potential customers to sample an album before puchase; I mean there is potential advertising revenue as the could add advertisments to the time restricted downloads.
I wouldn't pay for downloads myself (mp3s are too muffled), I prefer the quality of CDs. I will therefore continue to buy CDs at a reasonable price. The record industry needs to try harder to get to customers like myself (and my girlfriend), 'cos we ain't going to buy tosh!
If Microsoft were to develop property building standards, then you would be charged 50% of the property value for use of Microsoft's building standards. Then if the toilet broke 2 years later, you would have to purchase an upgrade standard to get it fixed, otherwise there was a risk that the building might collapse.
However, if this happened and property developers countinued to use building standards set by goverments, then SCO would try to sue the builders of the Empire State Building for $50billion (been there this week) for use of Intellectual Property regarding the use of open source calculations for load bearing, building structure and the like.
That is the problem with the computer industry at the moment. There is currently no real innovation and everything new just requires more processing power. When the industry understands that most home PCs are nothing more than games machines and word processors, then computers will be designed more for their final application and not for the benefit of the few people that actually can program them. The computer industry would belive that most consumers would prefer a 50 story office block rather than a four bedroomed house to live in, and charge you the appropriate amount.
The problem is Microsoft are learning, they already have the X-Box and the Pocket-PC....
Software is like any other engineering material
on
Can Software Kill?
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· Score: 1
Software is like any other engineering materials; if it is improperly used then it at best it may not work as intended.
There are different software requirements for different applications. Simple things like action of an emgergy stop has different meanings in different applications; halting a production line if there is a dangerous situation in a factory is a good thing, turning off all the engines on a aircraft in flight is not!
The problem begins when the person developing the software either does not talk to the designer of the hardware, or cannot understand what the hardware does. While the engine controller of a jet engine may have enough processing power to write a good video game, programming it in as a "easter egg" within the flight software is an extremely bad idea.
You have a very good point, especially when it comes to modifying the ECU on a plane.
Just for the record an ECU for a jet engine is common known as a Full Authority Digital Engine Controller (FADEC). How do I know, I work for a company that makes them for commercial civil jet engines. The code in these controllers are locked by the manufacturer, and changes to the code are only allowed under full authority of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), whom require supporting documentation.
There may come a day real soon where these requirements are imposed on new road vehicles.
One of the biggest bridge disasters in the UK was the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879 (http://www.tts1.demon.co.uk/tay.html for further information). The board of enquiry after this accident concluded that "The fall of the bridge was occasioned by the insufficiency of the cross bracing and its fastenings to sustain the force of the gale.".
In a way this supports some of your arguments that certain factors were unknown at the time of bridge design. However, the use of X-rays in this particular case would not have helped as the design was flawed and inspection of components would not have helped.
What I would like to point out is in a real engineering application, the line between hardware and software is very blurred, and they affect each other.
As an Electronic Engineer in the Aerospace industry I have to work to certain tightly defined regulations. My job is to ensure that the components used are of a suitable quality that can withstand being mounted next to a highly vibrating jet engine.
The choice of hardware when developing a reliable software system is more important than the software itself. The problem is that some microprocessor systems are unreliable, either due to the operating temperature range or its design. In addition latest microprocessors do not work reliably at altitude (i.e. on an aircraft in flight) either, as the effects of atmospheric radiation interfere with they operation. Many people would see software failures in these situations, and complain to the software vendor, when in fact it is the hardware that is "at fault".
Assuming that you have sorted the hardware out, the next problem come to what operating system to base the software on and what programming language to use. In many situations these decisions are made for political reasons within a company rather than what is actually the best for the application.
Some programming languages and operating systems are inherently unstable as they do not support real time applications correctly. Other programming languages have constructs that can risk memory corruption when registers and variables are transferred between functions as they require the passing of memory locations and stack points (classic example is C). Fortunately OO programming languages prevent this as the variables are transferred in a defined manner, and the compilers can be set up to ensure that correct parameters are passed between functions.
In some respects, true software engineers (I'm not talking about software artists that write code to make Windows look good here) have a harder time than electronic engineers. When an electronic engineer requires a complex function they are more likely to find an off the shelf proven component (such as an Analogue to Digital Converter), that can be qualified to operate in that particular situation. A software engineering may have to write some of the most basic functions themselves, as they may not have a certified piece of code to use.
The bottom line is that is you are looking for code that has the fewest bugs, use reliable hardware, be careful at which operating system and programming language you use, and make sure your documentation is up to date. When this is done, then you can invest time and energy in testing your code to ensure that it meets your customer's specification.
Yes it is a lot of paperwork, but then another reason why bridges in the 19th century fell down was to do with the fact that the materials being used were not being monitored correctly.
I still remember Psion's first ever product - a flight simulator for the 16K monocrome Sinclair ZX81.
Psion has outlived Sinclair Research by a very big margin.
Billy will be known as:
"William Gates KBE"
KBE stands for Knight of the British Empire. This is exactly the same title as used by Bob Geldolf. He will not have the right to use the word "Sir", as the US is not part of the commonwealth and does not recognise the Queen of the United Kigdom as its head of state.
When approximately 10% of the world's electrical power is spent on powering computers, then there is a real reason why your electricity supplier might want you to turn your computer off when you are not using it. It is so they don't get in the neck when they need to build more power stations to cover the additional demand, saving you money in the long term.
There was a low speed maglev train in operation between Birmingham International Airport and the NEC/Birmingham Internation Train Station in the UK some 20 years ago. Unfortunately, it kept breaking down so they closed it. It has since been replaced with a conventional pully based monorail.
At the end of the day, too many western countries (not just the US, the UK is another fine example) and companies think too much about profit and stock markets, rather than opportunity, competition and taking the odd risk. After all, China has recently entered the space race hasn't it (India and Japan are not that far behind either).
The problem is that Microsoft has now chosen to drop all versions of Windows previous to Windows ME, including NT version 4. Because Windows is a closed source operating system, this means that if a serious security breach is now discovered in these versions of Windows, Microsoft's attitude is "tough - upgrade". The problem is that many Businesses use these older versions of Windows, because they work. They are not interested in using the latest version of Office, as they have no need for the use of the new features provided, or even may have a compatibility issue they cannot resolve.
Sure, Linux systems cost money to operate, but they tend to be more secure, as the system administrators must be better trained. Overall, huge long term savings can be made by using an operating system that can be maintained without a serious upgrade every 3 years as the company that sold the operating system decides not to support it. Anyway, many companies outsource their IT don't they?
The other advantage is that there is more profit. By offering to support an operating system by up to 10 years, the supplier can charge more, as the customer will save money, as they don't need to spend money on re-training or new hardware. By adopting Linux across the business, IBM can show their customers how it can be done. Remember, that many older versions of Windows software can be made to run on Linux through the use of WINE. Yes, there will be some re-training, but not as much as the operating system will be better tailored to the customers needs.
The bottom line is that IBM is re-adopting the old white shirt principle. This is where systems were designed to meet customer's needs, not enforce new requirements on customers. Remember, the customer is always right.
Slashdot Mirror
On U2's album "Rattle and Hum" (1998), the song God Part II contians the following lyric:
"I don't believe in the 1960's, the Golden Age of Pop, You glorify the past when the future dries up".
I believe that Bono (rather than Sonny Bono) really knew that Pop music is designed to be thrown away after its has been useful. Perhaps if the major record companies thought about this more carefully, then they would invest more into new music and make even more money than they do now. They are just holding on to what they think is valuable, at a risk that they will eventually have no new business.
Comming soon, fully itemised bill, complete with a breakdown of the cost of every single component in the phone, plus prining costs, plus postage plus handling....
Tommy Flowers in my verdict was more important to the development of the first electronic computer than Turin. Tommy built Colossus under Turin's direction during the Second World War and is often overlooked as he turned Turin's ideas into a reality.
Tommy died quite recently in comparative obscurity. After the war he tried to encourage the Post Office (whom he worked for) to develop a digitally controlled automatic telephone exchange. The Post Office (now BT) didn't understand what he was suggesting, so digital telephone exchanges were not developed until the late 1970's, some 30 years later.
It takes a genius to come up with an idea, but it takes another genius from an engineering background to turn them into something that will work.
The problem with existing Hydraulic systems used on commercial aircraft wings (including the Airbus A320 and A340, which have fly by wire pilot controls) is that you are carrying excess weight on the aircraft. By adopting the use of electrical motors, to operate the surfaces directly, the weight of the system is considerably reduced, especially as now the power for the actuators is provided by cables rather than pipes.
Until recently, controlling these electrical motors was a significant problem on aircraft. This is partly due to the technology required to control the high-powered motors accurately on the wing, without increasing electrical noise, which can interfere with vital systems such as Radar and navigation systems. Therefore, hydraulic systems were used to power the actuators on the wings, the hydraulic pump (which does not produce as much electrical noise), being fitted elsewhere on the airframe.
Since the development of IGBT technology, it is possible to reduce the electrical noise to an absolute minimum, while keeping the weight down and without sacrificing motor efficiency. OK, at present only the auxiliary flight control is implemented on the first A380 models (ailerons, flap and slack and rudder), as this is a very new technology for the commercial aircraft industry, but this gives the aircraft designer more flexibility in the airframe design, especially in the design of more advanced wing profiles.
Incidentally, many new cars (Fiat Punto, BMW 5 series) have electronic power steering for similar reasons.
The A380 will be the first commercial aircraft with full electronic auxiliary controls, significantly reducing weight, as heavy hydraulics will not be needed. This will help to improve the aircraft's economy, and perhaps in 15 or 20 years time, lead to hypersonic type aircraft with the kind of morphing wings that are being suggested here.
I believe that the SR-71 did have a few other problems, like it leaked like a sieve on the ground, and used most of its fuel taking off, to the extent that it needed in-flight refuelling.
I went to the Intrepid Air Museum in New York last month. They have recently taken delivery of Concorde G-BOAD (waiting for a crane to move her onto the main deck of the Intrepid) and an A12 Blackbird (early version of the SR-71). Got some lovely photos of them both. An excellent visit if you want to compare the both.
As for EJ200 Typhoon Eurofighter, I feel that this plane takes a lot of its development ideas from the 1960's TSR2 (British answer to an F111). This was a fighter/bomber project that used the Olympus engines as used in Concorde. Unfortunately the project was cancelled, even though the plane could out accelerate an English Electric Lightening; still the fastest jet to be in full service with the Royal Air Force (top speed mach 2 - Eurofighter does match this top speed). The only remaining TSR2 is at Cosford Air Museum in Staffordshire, England.
There are a number of additional reason why Concorde was not a commercial success and was withdrawn from service:-
1) The wings were virtually hand made. This was because at the time of manufacture CNC machines had not been really developed. As a consequence when the linings were put in the fuel tanks on the BA aircraft after the Paris crash, they found the shape of the fuel tanks on each aircraft were completely different. The TU144 (Concordski) had less complicated wings, due to the use of Canards on the front of the aircraft.
2) Concorde could only just make JFK from Paris. If the wind were in the wrong direction, the plane couldn't fly. The proposed (but never built) B version of Concorde could have flown Supersonic from Germany to JFK, and could have reached a number of other destinations from London.
3) The Avionics on Concorde needed to be replaced for the aircraft to continue in service past 2004. I know this as the company I work for built the engine controllers, which were the first controller to have full digital control (RB211 engines on the 747 didn't get this until the 1980's). Needless to say the work was cancelled.
4) After the Paris crash, the work carried out on the aircraft meant that the Air France Concorde could not operate fully loaded with 100 passengers. I believe as Air France could then no longer operate the aircraft economically, therefore withdrew their service. This also made the BA service unviable. Due to political reasons the aircraft were not sold to another air carrier that were prepared to continue operating the aircraft (Virgin Atlantic).
To date Concorde is one of only 2 aircraft with supercruise capability (flying above Mach 1 without afterburn); the other is the F22. It has flown more hours supersonically than all the other supersonic planes in the world.
I spoke to Sir Richard Branson (Owner of Virgin Atlantic) live on BBC TV the day before Concorde was withdrawn from service. I asked him when he expected the replacement for Concorde to enter service, and he replied "not for another 30 to 40 years". I would hope that the developments into reducing supersonic noise and jet engine fuel economy would allow the development of a large passenger jet within the next 15 to 20 years, but that depends on the airline market for such an aircraft. A small supersonic business jet capable of reaching mach 1.4 may be in service in as little as 3 to 4 years, especially as Concorde is no longer in service.
Concorde will end up in history as the aircraft equivalent of the SS Great Eastern; a large Brunel ship that was built some 50 years ahead of its time. It too was never a commercial success, and was scrapped 30 years after entering service. No ship of the size of Great Eastern was built under the SS Titanic era of the early 20th century.
Think of Security as something like DNA, then you can really appreciate the advantages of not using the same operating system and hardware cofiguration throughout a business. DNA is a code, a bit like binary and no matter how it was written, it is going to have flaws. Now if a computer virus comes along it will only attack cetain flaws, but not others. If the computer cannot fight off the attack itself, then it will be left to other to sort the problem out via either a patch (vaccine) or anto virus software (similar to anti-viral drugs). If every computer were to be the same, then every computer would have the same flaws. This makes it very easy for the virus to spread computer to computer. However, if the computer operating system is different, the code will not work properly, preventing the spread of the virus in its tracks. The advantge of Linux over Windows is that if a security flaw is known, then in theory the user can repair the fault themselves, without waiting for the operating system vendor to correct the problem for them. In essence this makes Linux much more evolutionary than Windows. A world with many different operating systems makes for a brighter and more secure future.
I purposely use an old version of real player for compatibility purposes only. Any company that insists on using Real One must be completely mental; it is the worst piece of software ever written.
Has anybody paid for this?
Unfortunately, shielding doesn't work with atmospheric radiation that is the problem; The Anonymous coward here is thinking about Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC - which is a different issue altogether (and the reason why we have to turn our mobiles off during a flight). As for DRAMs, they are indeed a problem in the aerospace industry, especially when the geometry is smaller (typically less than 0.5um will require assessment - I know that sounds like very old technology) as the static charge on the memory gates can be affected corrupting the contents of the memory. Flash memories and UV EPROMs are affected in similar ways, although not necessarily to the same degree.
I was in New York Last week, just before this incident. I wondered why there were so many Verizon vans parked around Manhattan, digging holes in the road, making the traffic even worse than it was; now I have my answer.
This is good news for the computer industry, but not necessarily good news for everybody else. The problem with decreasing sizes of die geometry is that it makes the devices far more susceptible to the effects of atmospheric radiation. This means that if there is heightened sun spot activity, a solar flare or the devices are used in the upper atmosphere, there is a significant risk that the devices may not operate correctly, introducing soft errors of transistor gates and the possibility of latch-up. This at best will result in random system failure, that many users would thing are more a symptom of bad software or poorly configured hardware. Techniques to avoid this can be implemented by using built-in redundancy, but this introduces its own problems, as it will depend on how quick the device can be reset itself. There is also the issue that the whole device will be much smaller, so several separate devices may be required, as having correction on the same die would introduce additional risks. It looks like early days for the development of this technology, and it would be useful for domestic applications. Whether it would be used for industrial, space and aeronautical applications will depend on the success of reducing the atmospheric radiation effects.
Unless somebody comes up with a new method of constructing electronic equipment that is even cheaper than building it in the far far east, computers will not get any cheaper. The reason is simple, Microsoft software will demand more power, and the cost of building more complex and faster microprocessors is getting more expensive - not cheaper. This will make paralell computing a more viable alternative, where you hire processing power when you need it (along with the software to use this additional power.
Ever heard of the missing episode of Star Trek The Next Generation - the one where the Borg gets infected with Windows?
I am not surprised.....
Especially when the music that is currently pushed by major record labels (in particular in the UK) is 95% rubbish. You only have to look at the album charts to see who is really buying CDs these days. As for CD singles, 3.99GBP for 3 songs, when a chart album costs 9.79GBP at Tesco's, you must be joking.
My girlfriend is interested in a couple of new CDs, but won't commit herself until she has heard more of the albums concerned. Problem is, unless she can listen to somebody else's copy to check she is going to like it, legally she is a little stuck. If is was a film that she was interested in, she could probably either watch it at the cinema, or go down to blockbuster and hire the film for the night.
Unfortunately, the music industry hasn't even thought up of a way to allow potential customers to sample an album before puchase; I mean there is potential advertising revenue as the could add advertisments to the time restricted downloads.
I wouldn't pay for downloads myself (mp3s are too muffled), I prefer the quality of CDs. I will therefore continue to buy CDs at a reasonable price. The record industry needs to try harder to get to customers like myself (and my girlfriend), 'cos we ain't going to buy tosh!
If Microsoft were to develop property building standards, then you would be charged 50% of the property value for use of Microsoft's building standards. Then if the toilet broke 2 years later, you would have to purchase an upgrade standard to get it fixed, otherwise there was a risk that the building might collapse.
However, if this happened and property developers countinued to use building standards set by goverments, then SCO would try to sue the builders of the Empire State Building for $50billion (been there this week) for use of Intellectual Property regarding the use of open source calculations for load bearing, building structure and the like.
That is the problem with the computer industry at the moment. There is currently no real innovation and everything new just requires more processing power. When the industry understands that most home PCs are nothing more than games machines and word processors, then computers will be designed more for their final application and not for the benefit of the few people that actually can program them. The computer industry would belive that most consumers would prefer a 50 story office block rather than a four bedroomed house to live in, and charge you the appropriate amount.
The problem is Microsoft are learning, they already have the X-Box and the Pocket-PC....
Software is like any other engineering materials; if it is improperly used then it at best it may not work as intended.
There are different software requirements for different applications. Simple things like action of an emgergy stop has different meanings in different applications; halting a production line if there is a dangerous situation in a factory is a good thing, turning off all the engines on a aircraft in flight is not!
The problem begins when the person developing the software either does not talk to the designer of the hardware, or cannot understand what the hardware does. While the engine controller of a jet engine may have enough processing power to write a good video game, programming it in as a "easter egg" within the flight software is an extremely bad idea.
You have a very good point, especially when it comes to modifying the ECU on a plane.
Just for the record an ECU for a jet engine is common known as a Full Authority Digital Engine Controller (FADEC). How do I know, I work for a company that makes them for commercial civil jet engines. The code in these controllers are locked by the manufacturer, and changes to the code are only allowed under full authority of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), whom require supporting documentation.
There may come a day real soon where these requirements are imposed on new road vehicles.
One of the biggest bridge disasters in the UK was the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879 (http://www.tts1.demon.co.uk/tay.html for further information). The board of enquiry after this accident concluded that "The fall of the bridge was occasioned by the insufficiency of the cross bracing and its fastenings to sustain the force of the gale.". In a way this supports some of your arguments that certain factors were unknown at the time of bridge design. However, the use of X-rays in this particular case would not have helped as the design was flawed and inspection of components would not have helped. What I would like to point out is in a real engineering application, the line between hardware and software is very blurred, and they affect each other.
As an Electronic Engineer in the Aerospace industry I have to work to certain tightly defined regulations. My job is to ensure that the components used are of a suitable quality that can withstand being mounted next to a highly vibrating jet engine.
The choice of hardware when developing a reliable software system is more important than the software itself. The problem is that some microprocessor systems are unreliable, either due to the operating temperature range or its design. In addition latest microprocessors do not work reliably at altitude (i.e. on an aircraft in flight) either, as the effects of atmospheric radiation interfere with they operation. Many people would see software failures in these situations, and complain to the software vendor, when in fact it is the hardware that is "at fault".
Assuming that you have sorted the hardware out, the next problem come to what operating system to base the software on and what programming language to use. In many situations these decisions are made for political reasons within a company rather than what is actually the best for the application.
Some programming languages and operating systems are inherently unstable as they do not support real time applications correctly. Other programming languages have constructs that can risk memory corruption when registers and variables are transferred between functions as they require the passing of memory locations and stack points (classic example is C). Fortunately OO programming languages prevent this as the variables are transferred in a defined manner, and the compilers can be set up to ensure that correct parameters are passed between functions.
In some respects, true software engineers (I'm not talking about software artists that write code to make Windows look good here) have a harder time than electronic engineers. When an electronic engineer requires a complex function they are more likely to find an off the shelf proven component (such as an Analogue to Digital Converter), that can be qualified to operate in that particular situation. A software engineering may have to write some of the most basic functions themselves, as they may not have a certified piece of code to use.
The bottom line is that is you are looking for code that has the fewest bugs, use reliable hardware, be careful at which operating system and programming language you use, and make sure your documentation is up to date. When this is done, then you can invest time and energy in testing your code to ensure that it meets your customer's specification.
Yes it is a lot of paperwork, but then another reason why bridges in the 19th century fell down was to do with the fact that the materials being used were not being monitored correctly.
I still remember Psion's first ever product - a flight simulator for the 16K monocrome Sinclair ZX81. Psion has outlived Sinclair Research by a very big margin.
Billy will be known as: "William Gates KBE" KBE stands for Knight of the British Empire. This is exactly the same title as used by Bob Geldolf. He will not have the right to use the word "Sir", as the US is not part of the commonwealth and does not recognise the Queen of the United Kigdom as its head of state.
That is if the Concorde has not been bought by "Sir Richard Branson" already!
When approximately 10% of the world's electrical power is spent on powering computers, then there is a real reason why your electricity supplier might want you to turn your computer off when you are not using it. It is so they don't get in the neck when they need to build more power stations to cover the additional demand, saving you money in the long term.
There was a low speed maglev train in operation between Birmingham International Airport and the NEC/Birmingham Internation Train Station in the UK some 20 years ago. Unfortunately, it kept breaking down so they closed it. It has since been replaced with a conventional pully based monorail.
At the end of the day, too many western countries (not just the US, the UK is another fine example) and companies think too much about profit and stock markets, rather than opportunity, competition and taking the odd risk. After all, China has recently entered the space race hasn't it (India and Japan are not that far behind either).
The problem is that Microsoft has now chosen to drop all versions of Windows previous to Windows ME, including NT version 4. Because Windows is a closed source operating system, this means that if a serious security breach is now discovered in these versions of Windows, Microsoft's attitude is "tough - upgrade". The problem is that many Businesses use these older versions of Windows, because they work. They are not interested in using the latest version of Office, as they have no need for the use of the new features provided, or even may have a compatibility issue they cannot resolve.
Sure, Linux systems cost money to operate, but they tend to be more secure, as the system administrators must be better trained. Overall, huge long term savings can be made by using an operating system that can be maintained without a serious upgrade every 3 years as the company that sold the operating system decides not to support it. Anyway, many companies outsource their IT don't they?
The other advantage is that there is more profit. By offering to support an operating system by up to 10 years, the supplier can charge more, as the customer will save money, as they don't need to spend money on re-training or new hardware. By adopting Linux across the business, IBM can show their customers how it can be done. Remember, that many older versions of Windows software can be made to run on Linux through the use of WINE. Yes, there will be some re-training, but not as much as the operating system will be better tailored to the customers needs.
The bottom line is that IBM is re-adopting the old white shirt principle. This is where systems were designed to meet customer's needs, not enforce new requirements on customers. Remember, the customer is always right.