Back when I worked for them MacSpeech did not have an office. We had 8+ engineers in at least 4 states, plus the rest of the company was scattered across the USA. Why pay rent?
The VC guys thought our phone bills where high but were impressed with the rent numberss.
So I turn 128 bit WEP on and I'm encrypted. But now I need to know the password to get on. How does this help my guests? (If it helps, I'm running Apple's software, which is very possibly hiding a layer from me.)
My home network (Apple Airport Extreme Base Station) is open on purpose. I want my guests to be able to use it. And if you need signal from my front lawn, you're welcome to that also.
Seems like a decent net-citizen thing to do.
So what am I missing? Why would I want to be secure? (Answer 1: my personal data goes over the network unencrypted. Ok, how do I solve that yet give the world open access to by Internet connection.)
At a recent job, exceptionally strong math skills were required. I had them, as did all of us in Engineering. Of the 16 or so folks there, only 4 of us were not in H-1B visas. Why? We couldn't find anybody locally who qualified for the job. I graduated from MIT, that got me into this job. We had one kids from Russia who just blew us all away.
The engineers from outside the US were able to do the job. Only the top notch products of the US school system could cope.
Perhaps it is a translation issue? Australia would be much easier to "port" than Japan. Think of all the text on the iTMS, the Tom Waits biography is 3 screen tall, somebody has to go and translate all that.
The original poster's point was that for the AUS/NZ market, they don't have to translate it.
On the other hand, is the Canadian iTMS available in French?
no, not at all. I changed it to Paul Cezanne (hence my/. login, "notthepainter") when I got married. I do want you to buy the book, I have a fiscal interest in it, but I didn't write it. I didn't say "buy my book."
According to Ken and his search of google, I was the first people to ever use the word "spam" to refer to unwanted electronic communication. Obviously, I did'nt know it at the time and was quite surprised to learn of my "fame." Yeah, that and $7 will get me a cup of mocha-something, I know.
Anyhow, the whole point is that Ken's reserach was aided by the search by date feature. It will be a shame if that is removed.
(And for the curious, I changed my name from Czarnecki when I got married.)
From the article, it isn't clear if the infection is in his lungs or not. If it is, he is also likely not getting enough oxygen to the brain. I should know. I had a pulmonary embolism a few years back. I almost died. The day I was admitted to the hospital I emailed my wife telling her to come home and take me there, I didn't dial 911. Why? My brain was starting to shutdown. I realized this years later when reading "Into Thin Air." I was essentially above 28,000 on Everest without oxygen. I don't know Patrick, but I hope someone who does can convince him, on the phone, that he should not necessarily be making decisions right now, he may not be in the space to. It does sound like he needs to be admitted.
A few years ago I interviewed at a Massachusetts company. Right on 128 in the thick of things. The interview went well, the work was good. Then I had my meeting with the VP of Engineering.
She said that she expected 60 hours a week from all her employees. I expressed some shock, at release time yes, I've even worked more than that. But every week? Yes, she wanted it every week and that "I'd pretty much find that the case at all the 128 companies"
You know, I've been doing this professionally since the very late 70s and I've never found it that way. I'm sure she was able to fill the position with someone, but that someone wasn't me.
Just Say No. (and yes, this can be hard to do, years later when I was dotcom'd and unemployed, saying no would have been pretty damn hard!)
Read the other responses... but a little bit more. In the very old Catholic Church, many believers would travel for the All Saints Days services. Christians were few and far between, and a candle was placed in a window as a sign that guests were welcome. It is fall, it is windy, these were placed in gourds and pumpkins.
As for the sweets, this stems from the common sugar floured dough concoctions that all cultures seem to have.
At this is what was explained to us in Church this morning...
I figure it is the best way for them to learn the dangers of gambling. When you lose your allowance, well it hurts, but not as bad (I'm guessing here...) as when you lose your rent money.
We play Texas Hold 'Em, 2 cent / 4 cent, 3 limit raise per betting round.
You can easily loose a $0.50 or a $1 at the table, which is a good chuck of their allowance.
I figure it teaches them responsibility.
Why are the Baroque Cycle books so long?
on
Ask Neal Stephenson
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· Score: 1
From a purely profit standpoint, each could have been spilt into thirds, yielding 9 volumes. Surely your agent argued for that approach. Why didn't you go along with him? You wouldn't have had to change a word, yet you would have more CON-FUSION hanging around.
AFAIK, that IS one of their jobs, to veto laws. They interpret the Constitution, the legistlative branch doesn't. Congress can pass a law that is unconstitutional, then the Supremes undo it.
If they people don't like this, the recourse is to change the Constitution.
I certainly couldn't contribute by looking at code, but I'm sure it is ok to advise people who are coding. That couldn't possibly compromise any proprietary material that I have locked away in my head, could it?
And before that, I worked for Articulate Systems, also doing UI work.
With that said, you can probably guess I have a lot to say about Speech Recognition. (Not Voice Recognition, that's different, that would be able to distinguish Ben from Charlie for example.)
A good SR engine is, of course, essential. And I've not read the details on the two recent giveaways, but I suspect that they are only the engine.
The SR engine is just a begining. There is a ton of UI work that needs to be done. Sit and think about spacing around punctuation marks and then think about capitalization around puncuation marks. Yeah, it is all pretty cut and dried and known but the details really need to be sweated to get it right. This is very time consuming.
Next you have to worry about exactly where you are editing. Is that into Microsoft Word (or Open Office), or emacs, or where? It can make a huge difference when you want to go back and correct misrecognitions. You just don't want to send N delete characters and retype it, that results in a lousy user experience. So just exactly where is the input cursor at all times? This is not an impossible problem, but one where the details must be sweated.
Next is command and control. Just how are you going to let the user grab the text of all the menus and all the text in the dialog box buttons. Again, not impossble, but more of those pesky details.
Finally, is your SR engine good enough? Maybe, maybe not. Let just say that 98% accuracy might look good on paper, but that is one in 50 words wrong. Unless your correction mechanism is smooth, an error rate that high greatly slow you down.
Is Open Source SR a good thing? Oh yes sir, yes! But lets not forget the details. One thing the Open Source community has been accused of, perhaps justly, perhaps, unjustly, is not sweating the details.
It isn't just Microsoft that has "gone backwards" over the last 10 years or so. Apple is also guilty of it.
First, let me say, I'm an Apple zealot, but that doesn't mean that I think everything they have done is good.
About 4 years ago I sold a very old Macintosh laptop, a Powerbook 180c for anyone who cares. Before I did, I carefully wiped the disk, installed a fresh System 7.6.1 on it and Microsoft Word. (Which we were selling along with the laptop, no a pirate copy.)
When checking to make sure the machine ran ok after I cleaned it, I of course tested it. I was shocked at how fast it was. It took SEVEN SECONDS to go from cold boot to an open black document in Word.
Now yes, this machine could do so much less that today's machine, but think about it, it could also do more. 7 seconds is pretty amazing.
I preferred my "analog" carbuerator to fuel injection as well. It felt better to be able to actually look at what mixed my air and gas and be able to mess with it, even though I am car-ignorant.
It felt better? Ok, I'll buy that, but speaking from someone who isn't "car ignorant" I'll take my fuel injection and electronic ignition anyday. Why? Because it works better, that's why. Don't mean to flame, but getting those older technologies working well was a lot of work. Yes, I've rebuilt carbs, changed timing etc... on an older car. I'm glad my current car has none of those.
Is retro stuff great? Yes, certainly. But man, I'll take my modern car anyday.
Here's where you get the metal for lockpicks, free
on
Steel Bolt Hacking
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· Score: 5, Informative
Learned this at MIT a million years ago.
Wait until the streep sweeper comes by and follow it down the street. The bristles are spring steel that is perfect for lock picks. They fall off, just pick them up off the street.
I've never made a set of picks so I don't know if this is true or not, but there was a decent lock picking culture at MIT in the late 70s.
I used to work for MacSpeech, we also did large vocabulary dictation systems like ViaVoice.
Back when I was there it really wasn't viable for most people.
However, not all people can type, this includes both the "Hands Free" market (disabilities) and the "Hands Busy" market. Surprisingly, many people also don't want to type, this includes medical and legal professionals. They have an interesting problem, they often need to generate large amounts of boilerplate text quickly. Doctors, Radiologist, Lawyers are also all pretty smart and they heavily use the macro packages to contstruct documentation systems that suit their needs exactly. As you might also imagine, VARS step in and also make these macros.
Is it for you? Maybe not, but it is for a lot of people.
Slashdot Mirror
Buy and use a calibration sensor and calibration software. It can really help. (Note, I code this stuff for a living these days.)
The VC guys thought our phone bills where high but were impressed with the rent numberss.
We eventually got an office for administrivia.
Move along. (Never got the video here, been trying since 8AM...)
Thanks!
My home network (Apple Airport Extreme Base Station) is open on purpose. I want my guests to be able to use it. And if you need signal from my front lawn, you're welcome to that also.
Seems like a decent net-citizen thing to do.
So what am I missing? Why would I want to be secure? (Answer 1: my personal data goes over the network unencrypted. Ok, how do I solve that yet give the world open access to by Internet connection.)
The engineers from outside the US were able to do the job. Only the top notch products of the US school system could cope.
It was very sad.
The original poster's point was that for the AUS/NZ market, they don't have to translate it.
On the other hand, is the Canadian iTMS available in French?
My best writing is in C++...
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=ken+weaverling+s pam+usenet+first&hl=en&selm=9v6d5h%245pg%241%40new s.dtcc.edu&rnum=1
According to Ken and his search of google, I was the first people to ever use the word "spam" to refer to unwanted electronic communication. Obviously, I did'nt know it at the time and was quite surprised to learn of my "fame." Yeah, that and $7 will get me a cup of mocha-something, I know.
Anyhow, the whole point is that Ken's reserach was aided by the search by date feature. It will be a shame if that is removed.
(And for the curious, I changed my name from Czarnecki when I got married.)
Not quite licenes plate reading, but getting there.
I think I'll put a brim on my tin-foil hat.
I was lucky, I lived.
She said that she expected 60 hours a week from all her employees. I expressed some shock, at release time yes, I've even worked more than that. But every week? Yes, she wanted it every week and that "I'd pretty much find that the case at all the 128 companies"
You know, I've been doing this professionally since the very late 70s and I've never found it that way. I'm sure she was able to fill the position with someone, but that someone wasn't me.
Just Say No. (and yes, this can be hard to do, years later when I was dotcom'd and unemployed, saying no would have been pretty damn hard!)
As for the sweets, this stems from the common sugar floured dough concoctions that all cultures seem to have.
At this is what was explained to us in Church this morning...
Then again, neither coral nor mirrordot has the movie, so maybe the editors know what they are doing!
Uhhhh, about this sex thing...
Uhhh....
What's it like?
I figure it is the best way for them to learn the dangers of gambling. When you lose your allowance, well it hurts, but not as bad (I'm guessing here...) as when you lose your rent money.
We play Texas Hold 'Em, 2 cent / 4 cent, 3 limit raise per betting round.
You can easily loose a $0.50 or a $1 at the table, which is a good chuck of their allowance.
I figure it teaches them responsibility.
Thanks!
About 5 years ago I sold an old 68030 based Macintosh Powerbook on ebay. Before I did, I cleaned up the hard drive etc...
When I tested it, I was shocked. From OFF, not sleep, from off, it would boot and lauch Microsoft Word in 7 seconds.
Now that is impressive performance.
It was running MacOS 7.6.1 and Word 5.1. Both from the good old lean days.
We have certainly lost something since then.
If they people don't like this, the recourse is to change the Constitution.
I certainly couldn't contribute by looking at code, but I'm sure it is ok to advise people who are coding. That couldn't possibly compromise any proprietary material that I have locked away in my head, could it?
With that said, you can probably guess I have a lot to say about Speech Recognition. (Not Voice Recognition, that's different, that would be able to distinguish Ben from Charlie for example.)
A good SR engine is, of course, essential. And I've not read the details on the two recent giveaways, but I suspect that they are only the engine.
The SR engine is just a begining. There is a ton of UI work that needs to be done. Sit and think about spacing around punctuation marks and then think about capitalization around puncuation marks. Yeah, it is all pretty cut and dried and known but the details really need to be sweated to get it right. This is very time consuming.
Next you have to worry about exactly where you are editing. Is that into Microsoft Word (or Open Office), or emacs, or where? It can make a huge difference when you want to go back and correct misrecognitions. You just don't want to send N delete characters and retype it, that results in a lousy user experience. So just exactly where is the input cursor at all times? This is not an impossible problem, but one where the details must be sweated.
Next is command and control. Just how are you going to let the user grab the text of all the menus and all the text in the dialog box buttons. Again, not impossble, but more of those pesky details.
Finally, is your SR engine good enough? Maybe, maybe not. Let just say that 98% accuracy might look good on paper, but that is one in 50 words wrong. Unless your correction mechanism is smooth, an error rate that high greatly slow you down.
Is Open Source SR a good thing? Oh yes sir, yes! But lets not forget the details. One thing the Open Source community has been accused of, perhaps justly, perhaps, unjustly, is not sweating the details.
Speech Recognition has an awful lot of details.
First, let me say, I'm an Apple zealot, but that doesn't mean that I think everything they have done is good.
About 4 years ago I sold a very old Macintosh laptop, a Powerbook 180c for anyone who cares. Before I did, I carefully wiped the disk, installed a fresh System 7.6.1 on it and Microsoft Word. (Which we were selling along with the laptop, no a pirate copy.)
When checking to make sure the machine ran ok after I cleaned it, I of course tested it. I was shocked at how fast it was. It took SEVEN SECONDS to go from cold boot to an open black document in Word.
Now yes, this machine could do so much less that today's machine, but think about it, it could also do more. 7 seconds is pretty amazing.
It felt better? Ok, I'll buy that, but speaking from someone who isn't "car ignorant" I'll take my fuel injection and electronic ignition anyday. Why? Because it works better, that's why. Don't mean to flame, but getting those older technologies working well was a lot of work. Yes, I've rebuilt carbs, changed timing etc... on an older car. I'm glad my current car has none of those.
Is retro stuff great? Yes, certainly. But man, I'll take my modern car anyday.
Wait until the streep sweeper comes by and follow it down the street. The bristles are spring steel that is perfect for lock picks. They fall off, just pick them up off the street.
I've never made a set of picks so I don't know if this is true or not, but there was a decent lock picking culture at MIT in the late 70s.
I used to work for MacSpeech, we also did large vocabulary dictation systems like ViaVoice.
Back when I was there it really wasn't viable for most people.
However, not all people can type, this includes both the "Hands Free" market (disabilities) and the "Hands Busy" market. Surprisingly, many people also don't want to type, this includes medical and legal professionals. They have an interesting problem, they often need to generate large amounts of boilerplate text quickly. Doctors, Radiologist, Lawyers are also all pretty smart and they heavily use the macro packages to contstruct documentation systems that suit their needs exactly. As you might also imagine, VARS step in and also make these macros.
Is it for you? Maybe not, but it is for a lot of people.