We've been using MogileFS on commodity Linux servers for a few months now and it's been working great. The MogileFS community/mailing list is very active, so it's actually been fun to implement.
Right now we have 22.8 TB spread across six 2U servers using a mix of 400 and 500 GB SATA drives. The great thing is that we can lose an entire file server (or two) with no downtime or loss of data.
Another reason to like MogileFS is that it removes the need to maintain RAID arrays. A RAID-5 array made of 750 GB disks is very risky. A high-end controller will still take many hours to rebuild a degraded array, during which time you could lose another disk and be largely screwed. (This actually happened to us very early on and we lost 0.02% of our data after restoring from backup, which still hurt.)
I was beginning to doubt that Harmony would ever get out of the starting gate, but with IBM cracking the whip, maybe they have a chance.
There has been some backlash over the way the Harmony project is being managed, some of it kinder than others.
Personally, I agree with Charles Miller - start the project with some working code. down the road, you may have to refactor, but that's a part of software development.
If you don't know what Cocoa-Java is, it's a way of gluing a Cocoa native interface onto a Java bytecode program.
no, no, no. Cocoa-Java is a way to write native Mac OS X applications using the Java programming language. The Java platform (i.e. java.lang.*), never enters into it.
Instead of using javax.swing.JFrame, you use com.apple.cocoa.NSWindow (the exact package name escapes me, but you get the idea), and you compile it into native code using Xcode, not bytecode using javac.
Reading articles such as this one should explain further. Excerpt:
"Because Cocoa is an Objective-C framework without automatic garbage collection, however, Java applications sometimes need to take steps to handle peculiarities in this mixed-language environment."
see what I mean? You're using the Java language, which has no free() method, so you have to use weak references or other such idioms to mimic memory management.
Mod the parent down. It's not "Informative", it's "Misleading"
The kernel that the Darwin OS runs atop is far from new. The Mach kernel has been around for years, not sure of the exact dates, but almost if not as long as the Linux kernel.
The decision to base Mac OS X on Darwin/NeXT was not just a decision about which direction to take with the kernel. There were plenty of business considerations a well, some of which centered around getting Steve back in da Apple crib.
What I mean is, in a CGI script or dynamic page that is serving up the article, it is probably checking the HTTP referrer header and checking if it matches "slashdot.org".
I'll be shocked if Apple sues...
on
iPod on Windows
·
· Score: 1
... since they only stand to gain by selling more iPods. I mean, the iPod is great and all, but it's not the sole reason to buy a Mac, in my opinion.
But if you want to get into the details, the key feature that iTunes can hold over XPlay is the auto-sync. So it's not truly an iTunes replacement... yet.
heh. Too bad they don't offer financial aid to geeks that need T1 lines.
Interesting that this story comes on the same day as the House passes the Broadband legistlation bill. The article makes an excellent point: Hollings, champion of the SSSCA, will probably kill it when it gets to the Senate.
it's funny how trolls on/. seem to flock this topic. I find that you can usually tell a troll if their uid is > 100,000 (over half a mil is a sure thing). Nice try with the nasa.gov email address too.
And there was a/. story about the iPod - and it had nothing bad to say about Apple
Go back and read it again. There's a negative comment by Taco in the initial post.
Slashdot is inherently anti-Apple due to the attitude of editors which is quickly imitated by the troll hordes and flamebaiters. 'cuz everyone knows the easiest way to generate wind is to get a bunch of Mac zealots in one place and say one bad thing about Apple or the Mac OS.
For the record, I'm a long-time Apple customer that got tired of the OS wars a long time ago. I'd much rather be coding in my very nice Mac OS X setup, thank you very much.
uhm, no. Wired has the scoop on Pixar's internals.
on
Review: Monsters, Inc.
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Great article (although a little short) on the tools used to create the movie. Modelling is done on SGI workstations, but the final rendering is done on Sun hardware. If you watch the end credits of any Pixar movie, they tell you so.
Boom! There is your movie.
If you don't mind me asking, where do you get your information? You sure make it sound easy to make a full-length CG movie.
I've been using iCab on OS X and I love it. But you have to customize!
In the Preferences, under the Network category, choose Identity/Proxies. here you'll find a bunch of radio buttons with ways iCab can change the User-Agent variable.
If you select "iCab", MSN will block you. If you select "MSIE 5.0", MSN will let you through.
End of story. Screw MSN, who wants their candy-coated, suitable-for-MTV-viewers content anyway?
Idea after being mugged last year...
on
GPS Meets PCS
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
I was 1.5 blocks from my apartment in Brooklyn when the guy grabbed my left arm and pressed a knife into my ribs.
As I reached into my right back pocket to get my wallet, my arm was pressing against my phone (Sprint PCS). It would have been very easy to activate some sort of panic button.
He only took about $60, but what if I were getting the shit kicked out of me, or raped, or whatever...
Most likely this is where Apple is making most of its money.
Of course it is. How many people do you know that actually paid for copies of the Mac OS? The first time I ever paid for an OS CD from Apple was when Mac OS X 10.0 was released.
One of the reasons I will always be a loyal Apple customer is they don't try to pull any licensing bullsh*t like Microsoft does.
I live in NYC, and in the last few months there have been advertisements on the subways about the BSA - Business Software Alliance, and how bidness in NYC had better make sure they have all their licenses, 'else MS is gunna break their foot off in yo ass!
Anyway... I have no problem coughing up the dough for Mac hardware. 3 years ago I would have spoken differently, but recently Apple has really started kicking some boo-tay.
I predict the G5 will be announced at MWSF2002, then actually appear on the shelf a few months later. When it does, I will be the first in line to buy one.
seems like that's a rather expensive undertaking, relighting a network. I don't think there's just some big Frankenstein-like switch that can be thrown.
Slashdot Mirror
We've been using MogileFS on commodity Linux servers for a few months now and it's been working great. The MogileFS community/mailing list is very active, so it's actually been fun to implement.
Right now we have 22.8 TB spread across six 2U servers using a mix of 400 and 500 GB SATA drives. The great thing is that we can lose an entire file server (or two) with no downtime or loss of data.
Another reason to like MogileFS is that it removes the need to maintain RAID arrays. A RAID-5 array made of 750 GB disks is very risky. A high-end controller will still take many hours to rebuild a degraded array, during which time you could lose another disk and be largely screwed. (This actually happened to us very early on and we lost 0.02% of our data after restoring from backup, which still hurt.)
Thankfully, the OP provides a link to the original author, Roedy Green.
Here's another good article he wrote in the same vein called How to Code like a Newbie.
I was in stitches the first time I read it several years ago.
The Wired article is more in depth, but it repeatedly calls the project "Obeo" rather than the correct name "Oboe".
I suppose you could blame Evan Williams. Maybe we'll see a correction. or not.
I was beginning to doubt that Harmony would ever get out of the starting gate, but with IBM cracking the whip, maybe they have a chance.
There has been some backlash over the way the Harmony project is being managed, some of it kinder than others.
Personally, I agree with Charles Miller - start the project with some working code. down the road, you may have to refactor, but that's a part of software development.
If you don't know what Cocoa-Java is, it's a way of gluing a Cocoa native interface onto a Java bytecode program.
no, no, no. Cocoa-Java is a way to write native Mac OS X applications using the Java programming language. The Java platform (i.e. java.lang.*), never enters into it.
Instead of using javax.swing.JFrame, you use com.apple.cocoa.NSWindow (the exact package name escapes me, but you get the idea), and you compile it into native code using Xcode, not bytecode using javac.
Reading articles such as this one should explain further. Excerpt:
"Because Cocoa is an Objective-C framework without automatic garbage collection, however, Java applications sometimes need to take steps to handle peculiarities in this mixed-language environment."
see what I mean? You're using the Java language, which has no free() method, so you have to use weak references or other such idioms to mimic memory management.
Mod the parent down. It's not "Informative", it's "Misleading"
... along with some good background info.
Here ya go: Rendezvous open source project.
Look at Apple's open source developer page for more sweet, juicy code.
Not when peripheral vendors are building it into their hardware!
Jini was being hyped while it was still vaporware. Apple popped the cap on Rendevous just at the right time.
For more on this, read Joel's recent article.
The kernel that the Darwin OS runs atop is far from new. The Mach kernel has been around for years, not sure of the exact dates, but almost if not as long as the Linux kernel.
The decision to base Mac OS X on Darwin/NeXT was not just a decision about which direction to take with the kernel. There were plenty of business considerations a well, some of which centered around getting Steve back in da Apple crib.
I should have been more verbose.
What I mean is, in a CGI script or dynamic page that is serving up the article, it is probably checking the HTTP referrer header and checking if it matches "slashdot.org".
If not, it serves the page. If so, big fat 403.
heh. I didn't click the link earlier...
read your comment.
clicked.
oops.
command-w
Just cut-n-paste the URL into a new browser window. They're denying any referer that matches slashdot.org (see my previous comment)
It would be simple to check the referring URL and if it matches slashdot.org to send back a 403.
Has Byte been bytten in the past by the slashdot effect? (no typo - just a bad pun)
check it.
Build a Macintosh from Scratch
... since they only stand to gain by selling more iPods. I mean, the iPod is great and all, but it's not the sole reason to buy a Mac, in my opinion.
But if you want to get into the details, the key feature that iTunes can hold over XPlay is the auto-sync. So it's not truly an iTunes replacement... yet.
OT: Now Mac OS X, that's the reason to buy a Mac.
heh. Too bad they don't offer financial aid to geeks that need T1 lines.
Interesting that this story comes on the same day as the House passes the Broadband legistlation bill. The article makes an excellent point: Hollings, champion of the SSSCA, will probably kill it when it gets to the Senate.
But they start at $1200, and if I'm going to spend that kind of cash, why not spend an extra few hundred dollars and get a PowerMac?
Because it's an all-in-one deal. If you buy a G4 tower you have to purchase a display separately.
As far as I can tell, item #4 has nothing to do with Linux directly. Unless of course you believe it's a matter of MS vs. Linux and that's it.
Methinks Linux is about creating a good operating system, not about killing Microsoft. Or did I miss something?
it's funny how trolls on /. seem to flock this topic. I find that you can usually tell a troll if their uid is > 100,000 (over half a mil is a sure thing). Nice try with the nasa.gov email address too.
And there was a /. story about the iPod - and it had nothing bad to say about Apple
Go back and read it again. There's a negative comment by Taco in the initial post.
Slashdot is inherently anti-Apple due to the attitude of editors which is quickly imitated by the troll hordes and flamebaiters. 'cuz everyone knows the easiest way to generate wind is to get a bunch of Mac zealots in one place and say one bad thing about Apple or the Mac OS.
For the record, I'm a long-time Apple customer that got tired of the OS wars a long time ago. I'd much rather be coding in my very nice Mac OS X setup, thank you very much.
Wired News: Monsters, Inc. Used Monster Tools.
Great article (although a little short) on the tools used to create the movie. Modelling is done on SGI workstations, but the final rendering is done on Sun hardware. If you watch the end credits of any Pixar movie, they tell you so.
Boom! There is your movie.
If you don't mind me asking, where do you get your information? You sure make it sound easy to make a full-length CG movie.
I've been using iCab on OS X and I love it. But you have to customize!
In the Preferences, under the Network category, choose Identity/Proxies. here you'll find a bunch of radio buttons with ways iCab can change the User-Agent variable.
If you select "iCab", MSN will block you. If you select "MSIE 5.0", MSN will let you through.
End of story. Screw MSN, who wants their candy-coated, suitable-for-MTV-viewers content anyway?
I was 1.5 blocks from my apartment in Brooklyn when the guy grabbed my left arm and pressed a knife into my ribs.
As I reached into my right back pocket to get my wallet, my arm was pressing against my phone (Sprint PCS). It would have been very easy to activate some sort of panic button.
He only took about $60, but what if I were getting the shit kicked out of me, or raped, or whatever...
Of course it is. How many people do you know that actually paid for copies of the Mac OS? The first time I ever paid for an OS CD from Apple was when Mac OS X 10.0 was released.
One of the reasons I will always be a loyal Apple customer is they don't try to pull any licensing bullsh*t like Microsoft does.
I live in NYC, and in the last few months there have been advertisements on the subways about the BSA - Business Software Alliance, and how bidness in NYC had better make sure they have all their licenses, 'else MS is gunna break their foot off in yo ass!
Anyway... I have no problem coughing up the dough for Mac hardware. 3 years ago I would have spoken differently, but recently Apple has really started kicking some boo-tay.
I predict the G5 will be announced at MWSF2002, then actually appear on the shelf a few months later. When it does, I will be the first in line to buy one.
"No, it's I-gor."