Given the article comment that 2 GB is the "sweet spot" for XP, I don't put much stock in the suggestion that 4 GB is the sweet spot for Vista. I've never run into any serious memory problems running XP on a 1 GB machine, for example.
The point of the authorization is to validate that (a) the account is in acceptable standing (not already reported as lost/stolen/past due/etc), and (b) the account has enough available credit for the charge.
Actually, it doesn't seem that the banks bother to check (b) and deny the transaction if it will go over the limit. They would rather allow the customer to overdraw their account so they can charge massive fees.
Not possible. I have to use Windows-only apps and don't have the time to spend on the clock making them (maybe) work under Linux, nor can I take them home with me since they're network-based. We don't have the budget to buy me extra computers (and I'd object to tax money being spent that way anyway, it could be better used in a classroom) so I don't get any toys.
If you want to spend part of your time at work under Linux for increased exposure and exploring migration, perhaps you could turn your desktop into a dual-boot machine. You mostly just need a bit of extra disk space.
Hydrogen works, and will work more smoothly as time goes on. Breakthroughs in photovoltaic cells are making it possible to electrolyze water at a much faster rate without using power from the grid. This means that soon, any gas station with a water supply and exposure to sunlight can make its own hydrogen on site. Larger solar facilities can be set up to create supplies for darker regions and high periods of demand. In the mean time, we can keep Big Oil happy by using the hydrogen they can produce by chemically, cleanly refining fossil fuels to extract as much hydrogen as possible.
Are you claiming that individual fueling stations will be capable of locally generating enough power using solar energy to fuel all the cars that "fill up" there? That's awfully hard to to believe. Do you have any sources on this?
With so many companies collecting personal data about customers, and with the complexity of managing this data with the necessary protections, it seems like incompetence in managing customer data is prevalent. Customers are justified in not trusting the companies to manage their data properly.
It looks like a great opportunity for some IT company to come along and provide some standardized service. For example, the management company would provide options on encryption, accessing/sharing policies, archiving, and disposal. If these standards were widely publicized and met with public approval, then customers would be safer dealing with companies that used this service and would know exactly what they were getting (or getting into).
Don't know why you can't reach their network. The link works fine for me.
I'm not sure what you mean by "linking to an individual display isn't much help." Most readers actually like seeing some concrete information instead of handwaving conjectures (oh, wait, this is slashdot...). From the specs:
37" screen
physical dimensions: 46.5" x 33.5" x 5.5"
resolution: 1920x1080
IMLED - Individually Modulated Array of LED backlights
contrast ratio: 200,000:1
As for whether or not the technology has any future, how about we let the future decide. I personally find the appearance of high-dynamic range displays to be much more compelling and substantial improvement over the state of the art than merely adding more and more pixels of resolution.
>LED is not a good candidate for backlighting because it is a point source.
LEDs are actually used today as backlights for the really impressive-looking high dynamic range displays. Content for HDR displays is still a bit limited (mostly computer applications such as games and visualization), but lots of research is going into the technologies and algorithms for HDR image/video acquisition, compression, etc.
Since that data entry person has to type the CAPS LOCK key exactly once at the beginning of the day, I don't think it would be so bad to put it in a less convenient location.
Actually, there are already 16-bit high dynamic range displays using LEDs plus LCD technology. I've seen them on the exhibition floor at SIGGRAPH, and they are extremely impressive. (No, please don't ask for a picture of one:-P )
Speaking of ads and not buying magazines, I hate magazines that push back the table of contents by one or more pages to make room for more ads up front. It's inconvenient, annoying, and shows me how much value that put on the actual magazine content (not much). Don't buy them (I don't).
As it turns out, right or wrong, it's quite common to refer to preschool caregivers of 2-3 year olds as "teachers". Plus, it's actually much more common than you might expect for boys to still be working on potty training at 4 years old (boys do generally potty train later than girls). It is really very child dependent as to when they are ready, and not some kind of "proper parenting" issue.
teachers... are having to teach kids things that they should have learned at home (potty training being a big one).
That's a pretty bad example. Potty training is a 24/7 activity, so it necessarily includes parents, teachers, and any other adults taking responsibility for the kids during any particular part of the day. Otherwise, you are implying that the children should only be in the company of their parents during the potentially long period of potty training. I'm guessing that would leave a lot of teachers and parents unemployed.
Also the flow of technology is not as simple as you suggest. Sometimes the PC crowd is commoditizing a technology that was formerly the exclusive domain of high end workstations, special purpose flight sims, etc.
You are referring to "BD-Tree: Output-Sensitive Collision Detection for Reduced Deformable Models." Actually, the important part was a new type of bounding volume hierarchy for performing collision detection on slightly deformable objects. They were not doing simulation LOD, and it was NOT done in real time. But you are correct that there is ongoing work on simulation (physics) LOD.
Slashdot Mirror
Given the article comment that 2 GB is the "sweet spot" for XP, I don't put much stock in the suggestion that 4 GB is the sweet spot for Vista. I've never run into any serious memory problems running XP on a 1 GB machine, for example.
The point of the authorization is to validate that (a) the account is in acceptable standing (not already reported as lost/stolen/past due/etc), and (b) the account has enough available credit for the charge.
Actually, it doesn't seem that the banks bother to check (b) and deny the transaction if it will go over the limit. They would rather allow the customer to overdraw their account so they can charge massive fees.
Electronic Arts overtime lawsuit.
I'm just glad I wasn't drinking milk when I read your post. Sorry I just used up my mod points.
Not possible. I have to use Windows-only apps and don't have the time to spend on the clock making them (maybe) work under Linux, nor can I take them home with me since they're network-based. We don't have the budget to buy me extra computers (and I'd object to tax money being spent that way anyway, it could be better used in a classroom) so I don't get any toys.
If you want to spend part of your time at work under Linux for increased exposure and exploring migration, perhaps you could turn your desktop into a dual-boot machine. You mostly just need a bit of extra disk space.
Here's another idea. We could verify the reported outcome versus the exit polls...
Are you claiming that individual fueling stations will be capable of locally generating enough power using solar energy to fuel all the cars that "fill up" there? That's awfully hard to to believe. Do you have any sources on this?
With so many companies collecting personal data about customers, and with the complexity of managing this data with the necessary protections, it seems like incompetence in managing customer data is prevalent. Customers are justified in not trusting the companies to manage their data properly.
It looks like a great opportunity for some IT company to come along and provide some standardized service. For example, the management company would provide options on encryption, accessing/sharing policies, archiving, and disposal. If these standards were widely publicized and met with public approval, then customers would be safer dealing with companies that used this service and would know exactly what they were getting (or getting into).
Is this sort of thing already going on?
That's a +5, Insightful in my book!
Did this article have a point, or was it just an advertisement for Tufte's new book?
p.s. - for more detailed information that is slightly less product-based, you could look at this SIGGRAPH 2004 publication.
Don't know why you can't reach their network. The link works fine for me.
I'm not sure what you mean by "linking to an individual display isn't much help." Most readers actually like seeing some concrete information instead of handwaving conjectures (oh, wait, this is slashdot...). From the specs:
37" screen
physical dimensions: 46.5" x 33.5" x 5.5"
resolution: 1920x1080
IMLED - Individually Modulated Array of LED backlights
contrast ratio: 200,000:1
As for whether or not the technology has any future, how about we let the future decide. I personally find the appearance of high-dynamic range displays to be much more compelling and substantial improvement over the state of the art than merely adding more and more pixels of resolution.
You live in a strange world, where LEDs use neon and the days have 27 hours...
>LED is not a good candidate for backlighting because it is a point source.
LEDs are actually used today as backlights for the really impressive-looking high dynamic range displays. Content for HDR displays is still a bit limited (mostly computer applications such as games and visualization), but lots of research is going into the technologies and algorithms for HDR image/video acquisition, compression, etc.
Since that data entry person has to type the CAPS LOCK key exactly once at the beginning of the day, I don't think it would be so bad to put it in a less convenient location.
Are you just telling us the way it is, or are you claiming that this method makes some kind of sense?
There's actually already a solution to this problem. It's called "extra batteries". They cost money and have weight, but they do work.
Actually, there are already 16-bit high dynamic range displays using LEDs plus LCD technology. I've seen them on the exhibition floor at SIGGRAPH, and they are extremely impressive. (No, please don't ask for a picture of one :-P )
Speaking of ads and not buying magazines, I hate magazines that push back the table of contents by one or more pages to make room for more ads up front. It's inconvenient, annoying, and shows me how much value that put on the actual magazine content (not much). Don't buy them (I don't).
Why call B.S. as an AC?
As it turns out, right or wrong, it's quite common to refer to preschool caregivers of 2-3 year olds as "teachers". Plus, it's actually much more common than you might expect for boys to still be working on potty training at 4 years old (boys do generally potty train later than girls). It is really very child dependent as to when they are ready, and not some kind of "proper parenting" issue.
teachers ... are having to teach kids things that they should have learned at home (potty training being a big one).
That's a pretty bad example. Potty training is a 24/7 activity, so it necessarily includes parents, teachers, and any other adults taking responsibility for the kids during any particular part of the day. Otherwise, you are implying that the children should only be in the company of their parents during the potentially long period of potty training. I'm guessing that would leave a lot of teachers and parents unemployed.
Apparently, then, Glass is a Window.
Also the flow of technology is not as simple as you suggest. Sometimes the PC crowd is commoditizing a technology that was formerly the exclusive domain of high end workstations, special purpose flight sims, etc.
Very true. Touche.
Read up on the origins of OpenGL.
No thanks. I was around for PHIGS, Iris GL, etc.
You are referring to "BD-Tree: Output-Sensitive Collision Detection for Reduced Deformable Models." Actually, the important part was a new type of bounding volume hierarchy for performing collision detection on slightly deformable objects. They were not doing simulation LOD, and it was NOT done in real time. But you are correct that there is ongoing work on simulation (physics) LOD.
Not such a small pond, really. In fact, the game market drives the development of 3D graphics cards for PCs, which are used by NASA, DoD, etc.