Depends on the project. I built a cheapy 4 line lcd/arduino interface for my custom security system for around 60 bucks. It was butt ugly because good cases are hard to find or expensive to custom build. My wife HATED it. So I found a cheapy android (1.5) ebook with wifi and rooted it for about $90 (could probably find it for 60 now) and wrote an android app. It looks WAY better than my butt ugly lcd and is also going to be an interface to my weather station (when I get around to finishing it) and a few other home automation projects.
The really nice thing about the whole thing was that when the company I am working for decided to develop a mobile app, my boss (who knew I had done the android security interface) threw the project to me. Android apps are pretty fun.
One of the interesting things that came out when this first was announced here in Utah was that this one facility would use about 65 MW of power. 40-50 thousand homes worth of power. That's as much power as all of Salt Lake City. That's a freakin lot of power for a "bunch of servers". ( and the AC to cool them. )
Picowatts are very very dinky. 65 pocowatts of light would be useless for a display, but what about fiber optic processors? What kind of light do they use? One of the problems in normal processors is heat. It would be nice to use the heat generated to produce more light (that you are using to do your processing).
It is interesting that the poster used the power compared to SLC. The NSA is building a new server farm south of Salt Lake and when it was announced they talked a lot about how it would use as much power as Salt Lake City. I wonder how the server farms compare.
I don't get it. Why mars? How much more science could you do in 6 short hops to the moon vs. 1 monster hop to mars?
Then once moon trips become commonplace you start to build manufacturing facilities and build your big components there. Just haul out of this big gravity pit that is the earth the things you cannot get or build easily there like electronics, some raw materials and mostly people. Once you are building things there you don't have to worry about escaping earth's gravity and I would think things could get lots more efficient.
I think that it kinda sucks that once we got there we didn't stay there.
I actually saw last night that the Science Channel is going to be showing the Firefly series reruns starting in march. Too bad they won't produce new episodes.
Ever heard of Orion app server? Didn't think so (8 years after oracle "took over" the open source project). 8 years from now we will probably be saying "Sun? BEA?" never heard of them.
Our filter here at work blocks netindex.com under the category "Sex". Being the conspiracy theorist that I am it occurs to me that the best way that an ISP that didn't want you to see this info could keep you from it is to throw it into their filter lists under that category. I am not going to my admin to ask them to whitelist it because the first thing that he is going to ask is "what category is it in?" I don't care about the info that much.
It will happen the day after I win the 100 million dollar jackpot in the lottery. That is why I don't play the lotto. I am saving the world and you should all appreciate me for it. If there is anyone out there that is interested in ending the world, feel free to send me the ticket that is guaranteed to win and there you go.
A problem with duct tape programming can be that after each delivery you spend a little more time each week doing maintenance on the code that you "delivered". Not that this doesn't also happen with over-engineered apps but more so with under engineered apps. Eventually you have delivered so much that you are spending 100% of your time doing maint and it is time to get a new job.
on time, on budget, all functional ---- choose two.
Ask yourself "Do I enjoy coding and will I hate my job when I don't get to code any more?"
The only developer turned managers that I know who were successful AND enjoyed their jobs didn't really like to code in the first place. The ones that did like coding either weren't successful because they spent more time getting their fingers back in the code ( and generally driving their coders nuts ) or they were successful at managing but hated their jobs because they didn't get to code any more.
I just decided that I am going to write in Yoda for Pres. I would guess that if we could get another Starwars movie to come out just before or during elections win we will. (If there was another Yoda wielding a light saber scene anyway...)
I think that as much as computers are becoming more a part of our lives it is important for children to have a basic understand how they work, and the earlier the better.
Years ago I was a "Lab Tutor" at a university that required every business student to take a BASIC class. It was astounding that intelligent adults had no clue as to what was going on inside that cream white box.
A favorite quote was from a student that had used the variable "address" a couple of times then got tired of typing it and started using "addr" instead. I was trying to explain to him why "address" and "addr" weren't the same variable and he said "Duh, EVERYONE knows that addr is the abreviation for address!"
You all remember when Clinton was spending so much effort trying to get kids to go into computer programming. (lol...) I seem to remember a lot of these types of articles around then too.
I wonder what it is about our industry (the programming industry), when it start to get a little difficult finding programmers to hire every one starts to panic. You see a lot of these types of articles and the "best future career" articles. I wonder how much of these articles are driven by big corps and govt demand for these types of articles. Kinda makes me feel used...
This has got to be P.R. hooha. Somebody said: "How can we get some free P.R.? Lets attack somebody huge, pretend we are oppressed and maybe end up on slashdot..."
Slashdot Mirror
Depends on the project.
I built a cheapy 4 line lcd/arduino interface for my custom security system for around 60 bucks. It was butt ugly because good cases are hard to find or expensive to custom build. My wife HATED it. So I found a cheapy android (1.5) ebook with wifi and rooted it for about $90 (could probably find it for 60 now) and wrote an android app. It looks WAY better than my butt ugly lcd and is also going to be an interface to my weather station (when I get around to finishing it) and a few other home automation projects.
The really nice thing about the whole thing was that when the company I am working for decided to develop a mobile app, my boss (who knew I had done the android security interface) threw the project to me. Android apps are pretty fun.
One of the interesting things that came out when this first was announced here in Utah was that this one facility would use about 65 MW of power. 40-50 thousand homes worth of power. That's as much power as all of Salt Lake City. That's a freakin lot of power for a "bunch of servers". ( and the AC to cool them. )
Picowatts are very very dinky. 65 pocowatts of light would be useless for a display, but what about fiber optic processors? What kind of light do they use? One of the problems in normal processors is heat. It would be nice to use the heat generated to produce more light (that you are using to do your processing).
It is interesting that the poster used the power compared to SLC. The NSA is building a new server farm south of Salt Lake and when it was announced they talked a lot about how it would use as much power as Salt Lake City. I wonder how the server farms compare.
I don't get it. Why mars? How much more science could you do in 6 short hops to the moon vs. 1 monster hop to mars? Then once moon trips become commonplace you start to build manufacturing facilities and build your big components there. Just haul out of this big gravity pit that is the earth the things you cannot get or build easily there like electronics, some raw materials and mostly people. Once you are building things there you don't have to worry about escaping earth's gravity and I would think things could get lots more efficient. I think that it kinda sucks that once we got there we didn't stay there.
What if I am just a clone? I guess the only thing worse would be a clone with a red uniform.
I actually saw last night that the Science Channel is going to be showing the Firefly series reruns starting in march. Too bad they won't produce new episodes.
Ever heard of Orion app server? Didn't think so (8 years after oracle "took over" the open source project). 8 years from now we will probably be saying "Sun? BEA?" never heard of them.
For some reason every time I see this robot I think of a taxi cab on mars. What movie was that anyway?
Wasn't it Al Gore?
Our filter here at work blocks netindex.com under the category "Sex". Being the conspiracy theorist that I am it occurs to me that the best way that an ISP that didn't want you to see this info could keep you from it is to throw it into their filter lists under that category. I am not going to my admin to ask them to whitelist it because the first thing that he is going to ask is "what category is it in?" I don't care about the info that much.
Problem is that it only increases AFTER it is thrown away. Until you do that it is an almost useless piece of junk.
The superintendent has posted a "LMSD response to 'invasion of privacy' allegation"
http://www.lmsd.org/sections/news/default.php?m=0&t=today&p=lmsd_anno&id=1137
pretty typical politico. totally avoids or ignores what caused it all in the first place.
It will happen the day after I win the 100 million dollar jackpot in the lottery. That is why I don't play the lotto. I am saving the world and you should all appreciate me for it.
If there is anyone out there that is interested in ending the world, feel free to send me the ticket that is guaranteed to win and there you go.
A problem with duct tape programming can be that after each delivery you spend a little more time each week doing maintenance on the code that you "delivered". Not that this doesn't also happen with over-engineered apps but more so with under engineered apps. Eventually you have delivered so much that you are spending 100% of your time doing maint and it is time to get a new job.
on time, on budget, all functional ---- choose two.
is PEOPLE!!!!
Ask yourself "Do I enjoy coding and will I hate my job when I don't get to code any more?"
The only developer turned managers that I know who were successful AND enjoyed their jobs didn't really like to code in the first place.
The ones that did like coding either weren't successful because they spent more time getting their fingers back in the code ( and generally driving their coders nuts ) or they were successful at managing but hated their jobs because they didn't get to code any more.
I just decided that I am going to write in Yoda for Pres. I would guess that if we could get another Starwars movie to come out just before or during elections win we will. (If there was another Yoda wielding a light saber scene anyway...)
and your treble are belong to us!
Wired is doing a Request for Analogies: using your neighbors wifi is like... /. community add?
What will the
I think that as much as computers are becoming more a part of our lives it is important for children to have a basic understand how they work, and the earlier the better.
Years ago I was a "Lab Tutor" at a university that required every business student to take a BASIC class. It was astounding that intelligent adults had no clue as to what was going on inside that cream white box.
A favorite quote was from a student that had used the variable "address" a couple of times then got tired of typing it and started using "addr" instead. I was trying to explain to him why "address" and "addr" weren't the same variable and he said "Duh, EVERYONE knows that addr is the abreviation for address!"
>>Man, can you imagine a beowulf cluster of these? >I think that would be a Beowoof cluster. I think that would really be a BetaWolf cluster.
You all remember when Clinton was spending so much effort trying to get kids to go into computer programming. (lol...) I seem to remember a lot of these types of articles around then too. I wonder what it is about our industry (the programming industry), when it start to get a little difficult finding programmers to hire every one starts to panic. You see a lot of these types of articles and the "best future career" articles. I wonder how much of these articles are driven by big corps and govt demand for these types of articles. Kinda makes me feel used...
My 4 year old daughter walks up to me one day and say "Dad, Mom says you are a puter nerd, but it's OK cause you make lots of money..."
This has got to be P.R. hooha. Somebody said: "How can we get some free P.R.? Lets attack somebody huge, pretend we are oppressed and maybe end up on slashdot..."