Slashdot Mirror


User: wrmrxxx

wrmrxxx's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
122
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 122

  1. Different languages on WebAssembly and the Future of JavaScript · · Score: 5, Insightful

    JavaScript execution speed is not the important thing about WebAssembly. What does matter is that it may open up the development of software for execution inside a browser to a wider variety of languages, almost all of which are likely to be better than JavaScript in one way or another.

  2. Re:Competition on SpaceX and OneWeb -- Same Goal, Different Technology and Strategy · · Score: 1

    You may be joking to make your point, but it is sometimes true that capitalism gets in the way. Take a look at look at Cuban health outcomes and the expenditure involved, and compare this to the situation in the United States. Capitalism and market economies work well for some circumstances, but not everything. Things that are universal and fundamental, along with a high barrier to market entry are a particular example. Maybe we should consider if communications infrastructure fits this description?

  3. May as well be honest on Spain's Hologram Protest: Thousands Join Virtual March In Madrid · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Spanish government may as well be honest about the purpose of this law and add quote marks where they belong: "Citizen Safety" Law. I don't know whether to see this protest as a clever stunt (it got our attention after all) or as an admission of defeat. It's all very easy to say from the safety and comfort of my couch, but it does kind of give the appearance that the government has got their way here.

  4. Season 5 has not aired yet in Australia on Despite Global Release, Breaking Bad Heavily Pirated · · Score: 1

    In Australia, season 4 finished airing on ABC only a few weeks ago. I don't even know when season 5 will be shown, let alone the latest season. Showing on Foxtel really doesn't count - free to air TV is still dominant here.

  5. Without knowing much about your application, I can only reasonably make suggestions about the basics.

    1) Bench space, with good lighting and plenty of power points.
    2) Flooring that won't build up static.
    3) Good ventilation, because soldering fumes are not good for you.
    4) A sink. You will probably need to be able to clean PCBs, and you will need to use wet chemicals if you make your own boards.
    5) Component storage. Unless you want to spend hours digging through piles of parts, a good way of organizing components is very useful. Raaco make some nice steel cabinets for drawers, but they're not cheap.
    6) A stereoscopic assembly microscope. I would be lost without mine - it is amazing how much easier it is to position small parts (e.g. 0201 size passives) when you can see what you are doing.
    7) Multiple decent lab power supplies.
    8) A good bench multimeter: one with a computer interface for logging would be good.
    9) Digital storage oscilloscope, again with a computer interface of some sort (many have USB now) so you can store captured waveforms for later analysis and comparison.

    These are the first things that come to mind, but undoubtably I have forgotten some essentials.

    There's a wide range of things that may also be important, but it depends what you're doing so I can only speculate. For digital work you'll want a logic analyser / protocol analyser. If there are modern CPUs involved you will probably want a JTAG interface. If you are doing RF work there is a whole set of specialised equipment. If you are doing loads of SMD you might want a pick and place machine and a reflow oven. If you are making your own PCBs you might want a UV exposing unit and chemical trays, or alternatively a PCB milling machine (it takes a high end machine to do the very fine pitch work).

  6. Re:Oystercard: transfer of costs to the passenger on London Tube Stations Finally Get Wi-Fi · · Score: 0

    It could be worse - you could be in Melbourne. The new ticket system here (Myki) does this too, but any money you have stored on your card 'expires' if it is not used for six months. To top that off, the card is non-refundable.

  7. Re:It sounds feasible on Iranian TV Shows Downed US Drone · · Score: 5, Informative

    My recollection is that it was only the video feed returned from the drone that was unencrypted. The control signals sent to the aircraft were still encrypted. Even signal jamming is apparently a difficult way to disable the drone because it has a degree of autonomy.

    If Iran's claims are true (that it gained control of the plane) then that is either quite an achievement on their part, or quite a failure on the part of the US engineers.

  8. Easily gotten over on The Value of BASIC As a First Programming Language · · Score: 5, Funny

    easy language first your get-over is

    FORTH started I at-all me affected not and

  9. Re:The Register also has the story. on The 1-Second Linux Boot · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That video is 2 minutes and 27 seconds long. Long enough to boot 147 times over.

  10. Re:Let's not leap to conclusions. on Sci-Fi Author Peter Watts Beaten, Charged During Border Crossing · · Score: 2, Insightful

    would you accept at face value, ..., the account of a guy who is known for being particularly vocal about the evils of Homeland Security?

    Probably more so than I would accept Homeland Security's account of events. After all, they're known for being particularly vocal about the evils of everyone, including the people they purport to be protecting.

  11. Don't expect chips in a hurry on 18-Foot Multitouch Wall and New Multitouch Tech Hit the Streets · · Score: 2, Informative

    Atmel makes some great microcontrollers, but their recent record of delivery is very poor and it has hurt their reputation. In particular, Atmel announced the XMEGA range of AVR micros years ago, but they repeatedly failed to become available: see AvrFreaks for just one of many discussions on the topic. A limit subset of the range is just becoming readily purchaseable now.

    There are various theories about why Atmel has had such delays in producing the XMEGAs: upper management turmoil, the distraction of a takeover attempt by Microchip, the change to being fab-less, and serious bugs in the early XMEGA production efforts.

    I hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't be too surprised if these new chips aren't physically available for a long time.

  12. The real article behind this on How To Make Electronic Displays With Mood Ring Ink · · Score: 3, Informative

    The summary links to Wired, which in turn links to the real article with the interesting details: http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayHTMLArticleforfree.cfm?JournalCode=LC&Year=2009&ManuscriptID=b905832j&Iss=Advance_Article

  13. Can't trust them on RIAA Spokesman Says DRM Is Dead · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Aren't these the people who told us that the law suits were over? Call me paranoid, but I can't trust them.

    I suspect the only reason the RIAA are presenting a softer image on things like the lawsuit threats and DRM is because they believe (or know) that they're going to get their way with the ACTA treaty and we'll all end up being subject to outrageous three-strikes laws.

  14. Who gets the money? on Music Copyright In EU Extended To 70 Years · · Score: 1

    So performers will collect for 20 more years from the date of performance

    Really? Or do the record companies collect more money? There was an attempt to ensure that extra profits went only to artists, but it was defeated. From the Open Rights Group article:

    A key amendment to ensure benefits accrued only to performers was also rejected.

  15. Slackware then Redhat; Minix before that on What Did You Do First With Linux? · · Score: 1

    My first Linux encounter was with Slackware. A friend had it on 5 1/4 inch floppies, and showed me an installation. I was interested, but didn't see it as practical for me compared to DOS and Windows. I didn't switch my own computer over until quite a few years later when I got Redhat on CD from a computer swap meet - I have no idea what version it was, but it was a few years before Fedora Core. Over the years I've gradually changed from being interested in every technical detail and willing to configure endlessly to just wanting something that works - now I'm annoyed if a distro doesn't just automatically detect and work with all my hardware. I use Ubuntu at home and at work, and I'm still impressed by how smooth it all is.

    My first experience with a Unix like OS running on a PC was a then new OS called Minix. The lecturer for our Operating Systems subject at uni showed it to the class and encouraged us to try it out. I looked at it and it thought it was cool, but that was about all.

  16. Escape from the Telstra monopoly on Australia To Build Fiber-To-the-Premises Network · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This seems to me to be not just about getting better internet connections, but about ending Telstra's monopoly on wired communications.

    At the moment, Telstra has a monopoly on the phone network due to their control over the copper lines, but as a company that's about the only thing it's got going for it. They sell access to the network both as a wholesaler and retailer. This new broadband network proposal won't be controlled by Telstra, so once users have an attractive high bandwidth alternative Telstra's business model might be in trouble.

  17. Re:Can you blame them? on Local Police Want To Jam Wireless Signals · · Score: 1

    Micro SD cards are nice and small. I imagine that with the right kind of protection around one you could swallow it and let it pass through your digestive system. If you're brave enough to hang around and film the police, you're probably dedicated enough to try this.

  18. Re:WTF?! on Nation-Wide Internet Censorship Proposed For Australia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's a real plan alright. It was an election promise/threat made shortly before the federal election last year, but it got surprisingly little attention. At the time I figured it was just an empty attempt to look tougher than the Liberal party (with their taxpayer funded filters for everyone's PC) program, and I hoped it would go the way of most election promises. Here's an EFF article about this from the beginning of the year, including links to Stephen Conroy's media releases: http://www.efa.org.au/2008/01/02/media-release-efa-attacks-clean-feed-proposal/ .

    My understanding is that this has progressed as far as some technology demonstrations. I'm still hoping that technical infeasibility and resistance from ISPs will win out, but it's a worry that it has gone this far.

  19. Check your contract, ask a lawyer on Can I Be Fired For Refusing To File a Patent? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That's not a question anyone here can answer with just the information you have provided. It depends on your contract, and probably also on laws in your jurisdiction.

    If you're likely to get fired for not supporting your boss' patent application, maybe you should consider helping with the patent application then leaving the company on your own terms. Having a patent on your resume might help you move in to a better class of job where your concerns will be respected more.

  20. They don't need to see us on Could An ExtraTerrestrial Find Earth with a Telescope? · · Score: 1

    All they need is a smelloscope. If they can pick up the smell of cats, they'll find their way here.

  21. Re:That contrast ratio implies the blacks are good on Sony Launches 3mm Thin XEL-1 OLED TV · · Score: 5, Informative

    An LCD shows a black pixel by trying (not quite successfully as it turns out) to block out the light from a bright white back-light behind it. An OLED shows a black pixel by just not turning on the pixel - there's no back-light to try to hide because the pixels themselves are the light emitters. You can reasonably expect an 'off' pixel to be as black as the whole display is when it is switched off.

  22. Re:Sir Not-so-Thin on Sony Launches 3mm Thin XEL-1 OLED TV · · Score: 1

    I really don't see the point of having a display 3mm thin when it still needs more than a thirtyfold space of that to place it somewhere.
    It might not look so great now, but when the screen scales up to something large and the base gets smaller due to better integration it will probably all look a lot more impressive.
  23. Re:I'm more concerned with latency. on USB 3 in 2008, 10 Times as Fast · · Score: 1

    The throughput of a USB connection does not equal its clock frequency as there is quite a bit of overhead in the protocol, so in reality it would be a fair bit less than the 600MByte/s approximation. Because it's a bus, the total bandwidth available can be split amongst multiple devices. With several high speed devices on the bus, 480Mbit per second might not seem so much like overkill.

    The current version of USB provide connections that can operate in an isochronous mode (see http://www.beyondlogic.org/usbnutshell/usb4.htm#Isochronous) for bounded latency applications, but this wouldn't be suitable for communicating with a hard drive because it doesn't offer guaranteed delivery.

  24. Only one best practice needed on Best Programming Practices For Web Developers · · Score: 1

    If/when software development becomes simple enough to reduce to a set of universally applicable simple rules, human beings probably won't be needed to do the job.

    The best of best practice is to use your experience and knowledge to program in a way to suit the situation you find yourself in. Don't rely on any arbitrary list of 'best' practices to suit your particular circumstances and lead you to a good result. Including this one.

  25. No surprise on Free Ads Can Be Really Expensive · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm not surprised that they're not satisfied. It's pretty hard to improve on the free Heinz ads that have already been made: The Goodies Beans Boy ads. I saw these when they were first aired, and they were so effective that I still find myself saying "Get it right!" to people now and then.