K-12 teachers are underpaid, and generally lack a lot of computer skills that are necessary to make free-OSS work.
We're not talking about K-12, we're talking about Higher-Education, ie College.As one of the admins for my the Engineering College at my university, I have these comments:
We have a handful of professors who refuse to run windows. We have more faculty that are involved in research projects with undergraduate students they found was more productive on linux. We have deployed group workstations for them.
We've also had a number of faculty, as well as students, requesting that we install linux and dual-boot the cluster machines. We've already nailed down the process of adding linux workstations to our windows domains allowing a roaming home-dir as well as access to the same shared drives and personal storage users have access to when they log into WinXP. We will be converting our labs starting spring break to a dual-boot WinXP/Ubuntu combo.
On our back end, all of our servers except a web server running an app that requires IIS and the domain controllers run Gentoo linux.
Unfortunately, much of the software we deploy and will not run on linux, or only exists on the linux platform in professional versions, while we can deploy cheap/free student copies for windows. We've been installing OSS windows software whenever possible including OpenOffice for some time and I've seen many students using it even though MS Word is installed.
The rest of the university is an entirely different story, however. They are a Dell/Windows shop and will remain as such. I used to work support for them and I'm not sure I'd want to some english professor who only uses a computer because typewriters are out of style* that he has to use OpenOffice on linux rather than the MS Word on Windows that he's been familiar with for some time. Hell, I wouldn't even want to tell our engineering professors that they have to use linux, now. Linux is a viable option in higher education, and we use it extensively. However, as an alternative it's not there yet. I hope to think that by providing this option we will help push some of the students to dual boot their own computers and give it a closer look.
*This is a grossly unfair stereotype. I'm sure there are english professors who would love to have linux. However I included it because it sounded good and I know this man. He's gets very ornary when computers come up and basically said the above.
From the article: A Skype executive declined to comment earlier this month when asked whether the company had tested the performance of its software on both Intel's and AMD's dual-core chips. An Intel representative confirmed that there are no instructions that specifically enhance the performance of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software like Skype's in Intel's dual-core chips. He also said that Skype's software is using a function called "GetCPUID" to permit 10-way conference calls only when that function detects an Intel dual-core processor on start-up.
I, personally, can not think of any reason why Skype would do this OTHER than Intel gave them money. I'm not sure it constitutes anti-trust or anything else illegal, but I find the effort patently rediculous.
At least Skype could say something like "we wrote optimized assembly code for the Intel Core Duo. Due to design differences between the Intel and AMD architecture, it's more difficult to manage the stack and keep track of shared registers on Intel's duo core processor. As a result, this code does not/will not work on AMD's processor without fine tuning." But they didn't say that. All we have is a note from a guy from intel that says basically says they're doing it arbitrarily.
I don't see how a $500 computer is the 'ultimate budget box' -- seeing as how dell...etc... sell boxes... for 300-$400.
Well, it comes with an LCD in the $500 price, or a flat crt in the ~$450 price. Those $300-400 are headless usually. Doesn't have an OS in the price, so that might be a factor.
Oh, and it has 512mb ram (2x the $3-400 boxes) a decent motherboard that actually supports things (you can put in a good graphics card without a mobo upgrade, those cheepo boxes don't have AGP even usually) and is probably a heck of a lot faster processor too.
This is the "ultimate" budget PC, as in the Best Bang for your Buck, as opposed to the "Ultimate Budget" PC, the computer for those who simply want the cheapest.
Azureus: Note: Using an old Java version or having more than one installed may cause severe problems like 100% CPU usage! The latest official Java is version 1.5 Update 6.
That sure sounds like telling you to use a specific version to me.
jasperreports: JRE 1.3 or higher
That's not sun updating something and breaking it, that's Azurues devs taking advantage of features in the newer java that don't exist in older java. When you try to use things that don't exist, strange things happen (like 100% CPU). You can install Java 1.5 Update 6 and run both Azureus and jasperreports, though. You'll never find an app that says "Use JRE 1.3 ONLY." This is the case with.Net.
If you install.Net 2.0 and you CANNOT run apps that require the.Net 1.1 runtime. Sure, MS lets you install both simultaneously, but that is NOT backwards compatibility, that's just 2 runtimes simultaneous.
You'll just instead have to deal with silly Sun upgrades when they break things every few releases. I've never seen a Java app that didn't say "use this particular version of the JVM or all hell will break loose".
Funny. Usually I've seen "Use this version of JAVA or NEWER or all hell will break loose."
Current Java is 1.5. All versions that are 1.X are backward compatible. JAVA 1.5 can run anything written for 1.x up until 1.5. If a program is later writter for Java 1.6, it probably won't run an a 1.5 JVM. I've never had problems running apps provided I'm using the newest JVM, even if the apps I'm using were written for and compiled on a much older JDK.
My problem is that.Net is a framework, while JAVA is a language. Grandparent just assumed the poster was using C#. With.Net they could be using J# (kinda java) or a number of other languages. I'm not endorsing anything, just saying it's kinda apples and oranges.
It reads to me like the computer isn't off, just the search program isn't running. Unless whatever optical sensors they're using to get they're answer aren't considered part of the computer.
I'll admidt I really don't understand what the article is talking about, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Heisenberg's Uncertainty...
I considered that, but I have trouble believing such a solution would be any better than existing PCI-X or PCIe solutions. If someone has that kind of bandwidth on their disk array to saturate the downstream on an AGP port, they are most definately using a controller in a PCIe or PCI-X 64bit slot.
But I suppose if all of your PCIe or PCI-X slots are already in use by RAID controllers, you could make use of the AGP. Although, if that's the case you definately have some $1000+ in RAID controllers alone, plus a hefty some in HDs themselves, and you may as well just buy a better motherboard. We know you have the money;)
I think you confused the hardware. It's not an adapter, it's an integrated integrated solution on some ECS motherboards to woo over cheap upgraders. It's an AGP slot soldered to the motherboard, but uses a bridge chip to run over the PCI bus. This means any AGP card you throw at it can't run at full AGP speeds, so it's really no better than an off-center PCI slot. It also means that you'd have to buy a new motherboard to take advantage of it.
What about having the network augment the user's computer? I mean, there are a lot of idle CPUs out there, right? What if your apps were designed to run on your own system just fine, but could tap into free CPU time as needed, SETI@home-style?
As my assembly language instructor once said, "The time difference between loading something out of the local cache and access the computer's RAM is like the difference between taking a paper off the top of your desk and looking at it, and finding a paper in a filling cabinent, and then looking at it. Accessing the hard disk is like calling your friend in the Philippians and asking him to mail something to you." Now, if the HardDrive, which is in your comptuer, is like recieving post from the Philippians, accessing something off a network share must be collecting something from the moon.
The only applications that would benifit from your suggestion are things like encoding video or scanning an audio feed for signs of intelligent life: things that would take hours to complete and don't need to be finished asap. Most tasks on your computer (scanning currently accessed files for viruses, rendering a PDF on screen, playing a video game or dvd, rendering HTML on a webpage) really need to be executed on the local machine. The only exception would be if only the keyboard and display were remote, like when using VNC or Windows Remote Desktop, but even then you aren't combining the processors potential, more just wasting the one at the viewing end.
It's not a bad idea, just not very practical unfortunately.
They're 3Ware 9550SX-8LP controllers. We're actually running them on Windows Server 2003 to avoid problems tying them into our domain as they act as active directory profile servers, but they're supposed to support linux fedora, suse, etc. I see there's a module in the gentoo-sources on my home desktop (it's under scsi low-level drivers).
Also, I just got smacked in the head by a co-worker for not knowing what I'm talking about;) They're actually PCI-X 64bit, not PCIe x16. The my origional post was ambiguous as I saw the big long port and associated it with the PCIe slots I know... I'm new to department this year, and they had the machines built a while ago...:$
But they are great. We have all the drives in hot-swap bays running with a hot spare in each server, staggered spin up, online expansion, etc.
Well, SATA 300 is already out. We're using that for 3 1TB file storage servers on our domain, using a PCI-X x16 Raid controller with RAID5.
And to be really honest, SATA 150's 150MB/s is not shared with any drives, where as SCSI 320's 320MB/s is shared among all the drives on the ribbon cable, AFAIK. I'd personally rather have 8 drives with 300MB/s a peice than 8 drives sharing 320MB/s. The former makes the PCI-X port the bottle neck (or perhaps the raid controller card itself).
For this reason, I doubt people are going to find much use using the port since it's a) cheaper to piece their own machine together and leave the specs up to themselves and b) Windows will probably run slower.
It's not like the BIOS is a processor architecture. I highly doubt that any work required to make Windows XP work with EFI will not drastically, or even noticably affect the speed of the machine.
GRUB already works with EFI, and GRUB can launch Windows... From my experience, WindowsXP has pretty much ignored anything about the hardware that the bios has told it (I've disabled HDs, but windows sees them, etc). Could it be possible that GRUB could be installed on a Mac and used to load Windows?
Otherwise both WinXP 64 and Vista support EFI... one could always wait for Vista or illegally grab a beta...
To any company that is pushing machines out the door at a fairly steady rate (you don't have to be a Dell to do it) the OEM cost can drop as low as $10-$30.
Then why WindowsXP Starter Edition for the developing countries? WindowsXP Starter costs the OEMs about $25 (there were lots of reports on the cost when it came out, and it's only sold to OEMs) but XP Starter also only runs 3 applications at a time.
XP Home costs the big OEMs about $70-80/copy, while the Mom and Pop shops pay well over $100 (best buy sells it for $200 and Mom and Pop shops aren't likely to get much of a discount)
Of course, you could always go on the internet and buy a cheap copy of Windows XP from pirates--some are even listed on pricewatch--but then you might have trouble with the "Windows Genuine Advantage" program
That's cool! But don't forget that most schools that teach programming languages are also members of the MSDN, allowing students to get free copies of Windows and Visual Studio (plus some other MS software)
The more important question is, does it run on Wine or CXOffice??
I think the phrase is "you can't be judge and jury".
Or you just don't think autobiographies should be allowed on wikipedia?
What if there was an article about you on wikipedia that was inaccurate and possibly slanderous? Would you adjust it yourself, or would you ask a friend to do it for you? Really, what difference does it make?
This is exactly the problem the record companies are pointing at. The most important group (for them) does not buy music anymore: young people.
No, that's not the problem at all. I'm 21. I am the younger generation, but I haven't purchased a CD from a new group since I was 11 because the new music sucks.
I tend to listen to stuff from the 70s and 80s more, and any music that I pirated durring the naptster days when we first got broadband was from that era. I've since purchased that music, but will not purchase any of this pop crap they're marketing at me and my younger siblings right now.
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K-12 teachers are underpaid, and generally lack a lot of computer skills that are necessary to make free-OSS work.
We're not talking about K-12, we're talking about Higher-Education, ie College.As one of the admins for my the Engineering College at my university, I have these comments:
We have a handful of professors who refuse to run windows. We have more faculty that are involved in research projects with undergraduate students they found was more productive on linux. We have deployed group workstations for them.
We've also had a number of faculty, as well as students, requesting that we install linux and dual-boot the cluster machines. We've already nailed down the process of adding linux workstations to our windows domains allowing a roaming home-dir as well as access to the same shared drives and personal storage users have access to when they log into WinXP. We will be converting our labs starting spring break to a dual-boot WinXP/Ubuntu combo.
On our back end, all of our servers except a web server running an app that requires IIS and the domain controllers run Gentoo linux.
Unfortunately, much of the software we deploy and will not run on linux, or only exists on the linux platform in professional versions, while we can deploy cheap/free student copies for windows. We've been installing OSS windows software whenever possible including OpenOffice for some time and I've seen many students using it even though MS Word is installed.
The rest of the university is an entirely different story, however. They are a Dell/Windows shop and will remain as such. I used to work support for them and I'm not sure I'd want to some english professor who only uses a computer because typewriters are out of style* that he has to use OpenOffice on linux rather than the MS Word on Windows that he's been familiar with for some time. Hell, I wouldn't even want to tell our engineering professors that they have to use linux, now. Linux is a viable option in higher education, and we use it extensively. However, as an alternative it's not there yet. I hope to think that by providing this option we will help push some of the students to dual boot their own computers and give it a closer look.
*This is a grossly unfair stereotype. I'm sure there are english professors who would love to have linux. However I included it because it sounded good and I know this man. He's gets very ornary when computers come up and basically said the above.
From the article:
A Skype executive declined to comment earlier this month when asked whether the company had tested the performance of its software on both Intel's and AMD's dual-core chips. An Intel representative confirmed that there are no instructions that specifically enhance the performance of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software like Skype's in Intel's dual-core chips. He also said that Skype's software is using a function called "GetCPUID" to permit 10-way conference calls only when that function detects an Intel dual-core processor on start-up.
I, personally, can not think of any reason why Skype would do this OTHER than Intel gave them money. I'm not sure it constitutes anti-trust or anything else illegal, but I find the effort patently rediculous.
At least Skype could say something like "we wrote optimized assembly code for the Intel Core Duo. Due to design differences between the Intel and AMD architecture, it's more difficult to manage the stack and keep track of shared registers on Intel's duo core processor. As a result, this code does not/will not work on AMD's processor without fine tuning." But they didn't say that. All we have is a note from a guy from intel that says basically says they're doing it arbitrarily.
I don't see how a $500 computer is the 'ultimate budget box' -- seeing as how dell ...etc... sell boxes ... for 300-$400.
Well, it comes with an LCD in the $500 price, or a flat crt in the ~$450 price. Those $300-400 are headless usually. Doesn't have an OS in the price, so that might be a factor.
Oh, and it has 512mb ram (2x the $3-400 boxes) a decent motherboard that actually supports things (you can put in a good graphics card without a mobo upgrade, those cheepo boxes don't have AGP even usually) and is probably a heck of a lot faster processor too.
This is the "ultimate" budget PC, as in the Best Bang for your Buck, as opposed to the "Ultimate Budget" PC, the computer for those who simply want the cheapest.
"Yes, but does it run AMD?"
;)
I think your syntax is a little off...
Azureus:
.Net.
.Net 2.0 and you CANNOT run apps that require the .Net 1.1 runtime. Sure, MS lets you install both simultaneously, but that is NOT backwards compatibility, that's just 2 runtimes simultaneous.
Note: Using an old Java version or having more than one installed may cause severe problems like 100% CPU usage!
The latest official Java is version 1.5 Update 6.
That sure sounds like telling you to use a specific version to me.
jasperreports:
JRE 1.3 or higher
That's not sun updating something and breaking it, that's Azurues devs taking advantage of features in the newer java that don't exist in older java. When you try to use things that don't exist, strange things happen (like 100% CPU). You can install Java 1.5 Update 6 and run both Azureus and jasperreports, though. You'll never find an app that says "Use JRE 1.3 ONLY." This is the case with
If you install
You'll just instead have to deal with silly Sun upgrades when they break things every few releases. I've never seen a Java app that didn't say "use this particular version of the JVM or all hell will break loose".
.Net is a framework, while JAVA is a language. Grandparent just assumed the poster was using C#. With .Net they could be using J# (kinda java) or a number of other languages. I'm not endorsing anything, just saying it's kinda apples and oranges.
Funny. Usually I've seen "Use this version of JAVA or NEWER or all hell will break loose."
Current Java is 1.5. All versions that are 1.X are backward compatible. JAVA 1.5 can run anything written for 1.x up until 1.5. If a program is later writter for Java 1.6, it probably won't run an a 1.5 JVM. I've never had problems running apps provided I'm using the newest JVM, even if the apps I'm using were written for and compiled on a much older JDK.
My problem is that
Now I feel really dumb.. I don't understand why this is funny.
Try using that kind of reasoning as a valid defense in court.
Looks like that's actually what Activision did...
Activision didn't argue that it was, but rather that using pre-rendered footage was "common practice"
It reads to me like the computer isn't off, just the search program isn't running. Unless whatever optical sensors they're using to get they're answer aren't considered part of the computer.
I'll admidt I really don't understand what the article is talking about, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Heisenberg's Uncertainty...
I considered that, but I have trouble believing such a solution would be any better than existing PCI-X or PCIe solutions. If someone has that kind of bandwidth on their disk array to saturate the downstream on an AGP port, they are most definately using a controller in a PCIe or PCI-X 64bit slot.
;)
But I suppose if all of your PCIe or PCI-X slots are already in use by RAID controllers, you could make use of the AGP. Although, if that's the case you definately have some $1000+ in RAID controllers alone, plus a hefty some in HDs themselves, and you may as well just buy a better motherboard. We know you have the money
I think you confused the hardware. It's not an adapter, it's an integrated integrated solution on some ECS motherboards to woo over cheap upgraders. It's an AGP slot soldered to the motherboard, but uses a bridge chip to run over the PCI bus. This means any AGP card you throw at it can't run at full AGP speeds, so it's really no better than an off-center PCI slot. It also means that you'd have to buy a new motherboard to take advantage of it.
AGP 4X (266 MHz = 1.02 GB/sec) currently reigns as the latest technology.
Wow, matrox could update their documentation a little...
AGP has more downstream bandwidth to the slot than upstream bandwidth from the slot, whereas PCI and PCIe have the same to and from the slot.
You could use it for something like a beefy sound board.. or, something...
No, not much other than graphics output really needs that kind of bandwidth differential.
Or will Dual-core Mactel systems get the added benefits too?
l ight=
According to Skype Staffer rosnow on the Skype forums, Intel MacOSX machines will also support the 10 way calling:
http://forum.skype.com/viewtopic.php?t=46469&high
What about having the network augment the user's computer? I mean, there are a lot of idle CPUs out there, right? What if your apps were designed to run on your own system just fine, but could tap into free CPU time as needed, SETI@home-style?
As my assembly language instructor once said, "The time difference between loading something out of the local cache and access the computer's RAM is like the difference between taking a paper off the top of your desk and looking at it, and finding a paper in a filling cabinent, and then looking at it. Accessing the hard disk is like calling your friend in the Philippians and asking him to mail something to you."
Now, if the HardDrive, which is in your comptuer, is like recieving post from the Philippians, accessing something off a network share must be collecting something from the moon.
The only applications that would benifit from your suggestion are things like encoding video or scanning an audio feed for signs of intelligent life: things that would take hours to complete and don't need to be finished asap. Most tasks on your computer (scanning currently accessed files for viruses, rendering a PDF on screen, playing a video game or dvd, rendering HTML on a webpage) really need to be executed on the local machine. The only exception would be if only the keyboard and display were remote, like when using VNC or Windows Remote Desktop, but even then you aren't combining the processors potential, more just wasting the one at the viewing end.
It's not a bad idea, just not very practical unfortunately.
They're 3Ware 9550SX-8LP controllers. We're actually running them on Windows Server 2003 to avoid problems tying them into our domain as they act as active directory profile servers, but they're supposed to support linux fedora, suse, etc. I see there's a module in the gentoo-sources on my home desktop (it's under scsi low-level drivers).
;) They're actually PCI-X 64bit, not PCIe x16. The my origional post was ambiguous as I saw the big long port and associated it with the PCIe slots I know... I'm new to department this year, and they had the machines built a while ago... :$
Also, I just got smacked in the head by a co-worker for not knowing what I'm talking about
But they are great. We have all the drives in hot-swap bays running with a hot spare in each server, staggered spin up, online expansion, etc.
Well, SATA 300 is already out. We're using that for 3 1TB file storage servers on our domain, using a PCI-X x16 Raid controller with RAID5.
And to be really honest, SATA 150's 150MB/s is not shared with any drives, where as SCSI 320's 320MB/s is shared among all the drives on the ribbon cable, AFAIK. I'd personally rather have 8 drives with 300MB/s a peice than 8 drives sharing 320MB/s. The former makes the PCI-X port the bottle neck (or perhaps the raid controller card itself).
I highly doubt that any work required to make Windows XP work with EFI will not drastically,
Oops, sorry.. that not shouldn't be there.
For this reason, I doubt people are going to find much use using the port since it's a) cheaper to piece their own machine together and leave the specs up to themselves and b) Windows will probably run slower.
It's not like the BIOS is a processor architecture. I highly doubt that any work required to make Windows XP work with EFI will not drastically, or even noticably affect the speed of the machine.
GRUB already works with EFI, and GRUB can launch Windows... From my experience, WindowsXP has pretty much ignored anything about the hardware that the bios has told it (I've disabled HDs, but windows sees them, etc). Could it be possible that GRUB could be installed on a Mac and used to load Windows?
Otherwise both WinXP 64 and Vista support EFI... one could always wait for Vista or illegally grab a beta...
To any company that is pushing machines out the door at a fairly steady rate (you don't have to be a Dell to do it) the OEM cost can drop as low as $10-$30.
Then why WindowsXP Starter Edition for the developing countries? WindowsXP Starter costs the OEMs about $25 (there were lots of reports on the cost when it came out, and it's only sold to OEMs) but XP Starter also only runs 3 applications at a time.
XP Home costs the big OEMs about $70-80/copy, while the Mom and Pop shops pay well over $100 (best buy sells it for $200 and Mom and Pop shops aren't likely to get much of a discount)
Of course, you could always go on the internet and buy a cheap copy of Windows XP from pirates--some are even listed on pricewatch--but then you might have trouble with the "Windows Genuine Advantage" program
And someone's selling additonal cooling for it? Makes as much sence as a water cooler add-on to your coffemaker.
I have one of those
That's cool! But don't forget that most schools that teach programming languages are also members of the MSDN, allowing students to get free copies of Windows and Visual Studio (plus some other MS software)
The more important question is, does it run on Wine or CXOffice??
I think the phrase is "you can't be judge and jury".
Or you just don't think autobiographies should be allowed on wikipedia?
What if there was an article about you on wikipedia that was inaccurate and possibly slanderous? Would you adjust it yourself, or would you ask a friend to do it for you? Really, what difference does it make?
I agree with the parent
My question:
When did they become an engineering lead firm? I always thought the engineers took second place to profits and business leaders?
This is exactly the problem the record companies are pointing at. The most important group (for them) does not buy music anymore: young people.
No, that's not the problem at all. I'm 21. I am the younger generation, but I haven't purchased a CD from a new group since I was 11 because the new music sucks.
I tend to listen to stuff from the 70s and 80s more, and any music that I pirated durring the naptster days when we first got broadband was from that era. I've since purchased that music, but will not purchase any of this pop crap they're marketing at me and my younger siblings right now.
It all sucks.