Not true, a lot of engineering departments depend on computers running high end Quadro video cards. The difference between a computer with, and a computer without, is staggering in high end modelling software.
I also expect in the near future to see accelerated CAE/FEA built into new CAD packages that utilize the power of the GPU for processing.
It's the planned project for the summer. Putting together a GPU based SuperComputer with ~3-4TFlops of Performance for under $6,000. I plan on running CFD code on it.
Seriously, you're better off getting a few NVIDIA Tesla cards and using CUDA then trying to get code running on the PS3... Nevermind the fact that you can't use the GPU at all in the PS3 Linux Environment. $4000 gets you 2 Tesla cards + 1 GPU which should push about ~2 Teraflops for optimized code.
I had something similar to that occur when I first started using Linux. Mind you, this was in 1999 on what was a decent desktop pc. The problem was the modem, it was one of those damned soft modems that required special drivers to run. I spent a long time trying to get it to work and waiting for open source drivers to be developed. Eventually I gave up trying to get internet to work, however it was a pain in the butt using Linux without net access. That problem was fixed when I built my next computer and made sure not to buy components that I knew would work in both windows and Linux.
Similarly, next time you buy a computer, make sure you buy one without odd hardware. Get one with a good popular chip set and video card. As long as you use what a majority of people use, say sticking to Intel Wireless/USB chipsets with Nvidia/ATI video cards, then you won't have any problems.
Still, I hope they fix it. I've been forced to submit documents as pdfs instead of.doc because of this issue...
But you're right, the average user could care less about editing mathematical formulas.
The formatting got me, Converting between OpenOffice to word gives a lot of problems with Mathematical Formulas.
Even for non net books, Linux is just better than windows for mobiles. It uses significantly less resources and my usable battery life has increased by at least 30% from switching from Vista to Ubuntu. Mind you this is on a high end laptop, Vista feels like a dog while Linux(Ubuntu) runs smoothly.
Nonsense, OpenOffice Word has a ton of problems with mathematical formulas, also I've had problems with images that open fine on msword but don't under OpenOffice.
Otherwise it works well, I've moved from Word to OpenOffice.
I've been moving from C/C++ to python/LISP recently so I'm ahead of you there:P But python still lacks simulink for control system analysis, which is where a majority of my computational work is in.
I already reformatted my laptop a while back from vista to linux and I use it as my main system.
Mainly because windows was a resource hog, even for my laptop which is very high end. I agree it's nice for limited resources and may work well on a dedicated machine where the OS is custom fit to the hardware. At that point, a lot of details can be hidden from the user.
I'll agree with you, you have a point with certain software.
But not every piece of software is so straightforward. Matlab/Simulink for example while easy to pick up, is difficult to master, and I've taken my rounds with octave/scilab as I've said, but they have given me too many issues. UG NX also, or any solid modelling package, while the interface can be picked up in 15 minutes, actually doing useful work with it takes practice.
Granted I'm referring to technical software here, more mainstream software like Adobe Creative Suite etc does have plenty of low cost or free alternatives that are equally as good. Heck I use almost all opensource/free software on my linux laptop except for a few apps.
How do they lose? 90% of all desktops out there are running Windows. Face it, for ordinary desktop work, the world uses windows. Trust me, the people who want to use Linux will use Linux, but Linux isn't ready for the masses. Linux is for people who are willing to put the time into learning their system, and a majority of people could care less. Not everyone plans on becoming a developer/systems admin/insert computer related career here, however.
I've been using Linux since 1999, and the year of Linux on the Desktop has always been next year, and it still is.
I would gladly pay over $2000 for a professional copy of matlab because it saves me a hell of a lot of time.
I know it's the market price, I doubt Adobe Creative Suite XX costs 10x more to develop than certain AAA video games out there. But that's beside the point. The point being that student versions are offered to learn off of. You also forget that a lot of companies provide student software for free or extremely cheap prices ($5-$20)(Yes many of them get paid indirectly through technology fees, but a lot don't), Autodesk Inventor and Maple being an example.
The parent was arguing that such companies are acting like drug dealers which is disingenuous...
Not at all... The software costs $500 because it takes a long time and a lot of developers to make it.
Yes there is free software that can replace some of the functions, but not at the same quality.
For example, I'm an engineer, I do a lot of computational work. As a student I was able to get a $100 student copy of matlab. I tried out free software too mind you, but nothing out there compares(octave doesn't compare, nor does scilab). I would gladly pay over $2000 for a professional copy of matlab because it saves me a hell of a lot of time.
Same thing for CAD software, find me something that has anywhere near the functionality of Unigraphics NX and that is free and I will switch to it immediately.
They make student editions because that's the software that professionals use and they want students to learn the software.
Slashdot Mirror
I heard people used to design bridges using just calculators. Scary thought isn't it?
Not true, a lot of engineering departments depend on computers running high end Quadro video cards. The difference between a computer with, and a computer without, is staggering in high end modelling software.
I also expect in the near future to see accelerated CAE/FEA built into new CAD packages that utilize the power of the GPU for processing.
I should add, the C1060 supports Double Precision Floating Point numbers which is necessary for accurate simulations.
See this is where you are uninformed, the new GTX's have lower power consumption than the 9000 series at idle and for 2d applications.
It's the planned project for the summer. Putting together a GPU based SuperComputer with ~3-4TFlops of Performance for under $6,000. I plan on running CFD code on it.
Not true. The Tesla C1060 is about the same as a Geforce GTX 280 in raw processing power and # of stream processors.
Seriously, you're better off getting a few NVIDIA Tesla cards and using CUDA then trying to get code running on the PS3...
Nevermind the fact that you can't use the GPU at all in the PS3 Linux Environment.
$4000 gets you 2 Tesla cards + 1 GPU which should push about ~2 Teraflops for optimized code.
Functional Programming at it's best.
Of course they have plants in China! They make cars in China for the Chinese...
That is beyond ignorant, American cars are made with parts that are manufactured in North America, not China.
Ford/GM/Chrysler engines are NOT made in China, but in the USA/Canada/Mexico. In fact very little is made in China.
They do, but what do you do when you have a power point presentation to submit?
Just try to collaborate with someone else who is using Office 2007 on a mathematical heavy presentation. It's not fun.
I had something similar to that occur when I first started using Linux. Mind you, this was in 1999 on what was a decent desktop pc. The problem was the modem, it was one of those damned soft modems that required special drivers to run. I spent a long time trying to get it to work and waiting for open source drivers to be developed. Eventually I gave up trying to get internet to work, however it was a pain in the butt using Linux without net access. That problem was fixed when I built my next computer and made sure not to buy components that I knew would work in both windows and Linux.
Similarly, next time you buy a computer, make sure you buy one without odd hardware. Get one with a good popular chip set and video card. As long as you use what a majority of people use, say sticking to Intel Wireless/USB chipsets with Nvidia/ATI video cards, then you won't have any problems.
Power Point is also really annoying, and that can't easily be fixed by LaTeX.
Bought my laptop, got tired of Windows, and replaced it with Ubuntu. Do you really need to be so picky?
Still, I hope they fix it. I've been forced to submit documents as pdfs instead of .doc because of this issue...
But you're right, the average user could care less about editing mathematical formulas.
The formatting got me, Converting between OpenOffice to word gives a lot of problems with Mathematical Formulas.
Even for non net books, Linux is just better than windows for mobiles. It uses significantly less resources and my usable battery life has increased by at least 30% from switching from Vista to Ubuntu. Mind you this is on a high end laptop, Vista feels like a dog while Linux(Ubuntu) runs smoothly.
Nonsense, OpenOffice Word has a ton of problems with mathematical formulas, also I've had problems with images that open fine on msword but don't under OpenOffice. Otherwise it works well, I've moved from Word to OpenOffice.
Thank you for the link however, I'm going to try it out.
I've been moving from C/C++ to python/LISP recently so I'm ahead of you there :P But python still lacks simulink for control system analysis, which is where a majority of my computational work is in.
I already reformatted my laptop a while back from vista to linux and I use it as my main system. Mainly because windows was a resource hog, even for my laptop which is very high end. I agree it's nice for limited resources and may work well on a dedicated machine where the OS is custom fit to the hardware. At that point, a lot of details can be hidden from the user.
I'll agree with you, you have a point with certain software. But not every piece of software is so straightforward. Matlab/Simulink for example while easy to pick up, is difficult to master, and I've taken my rounds with octave/scilab as I've said, but they have given me too many issues. UG NX also, or any solid modelling package, while the interface can be picked up in 15 minutes, actually doing useful work with it takes practice. Granted I'm referring to technical software here, more mainstream software like Adobe Creative Suite etc does have plenty of low cost or free alternatives that are equally as good. Heck I use almost all opensource/free software on my linux laptop except for a few apps.
How do they lose? 90% of all desktops out there are running Windows. Face it, for ordinary desktop work, the world uses windows. Trust me, the people who want to use Linux will use Linux, but Linux isn't ready for the masses. Linux is for people who are willing to put the time into learning their system, and a majority of people could care less. Not everyone plans on becoming a developer/systems admin/insert computer related career here, however.
I've been using Linux since 1999, and the year of Linux on the Desktop has always been next year, and it still is.
I would gladly pay over $2000 for a professional copy of matlab because it saves me a hell of a lot of time.
I know it's the market price, I doubt Adobe Creative Suite XX costs 10x more to develop than certain AAA video games out there. But that's beside the point. The point being that student versions are offered to learn off of. You also forget that a lot of companies provide student software for free or extremely cheap prices ($5-$20)(Yes many of them get paid indirectly through technology fees, but a lot don't), Autodesk Inventor and Maple being an example.
The parent was arguing that such companies are acting like drug dealers which is disingenuous...
Not at all... The software costs $500 because it takes a long time and a lot of developers to make it. Yes there is free software that can replace some of the functions, but not at the same quality. For example, I'm an engineer, I do a lot of computational work. As a student I was able to get a $100 student copy of matlab. I tried out free software too mind you, but nothing out there compares(octave doesn't compare, nor does scilab). I would gladly pay over $2000 for a professional copy of matlab because it saves me a hell of a lot of time. Same thing for CAD software, find me something that has anywhere near the functionality of Unigraphics NX and that is free and I will switch to it immediately. They make student editions because that's the software that professionals use and they want students to learn the software.
Microsoft ate my homework.