"The Big One" will be a genetically-engineered mutant of influenza and para-influenza viruses recombined with acute lymphocytic leukemia viruses. In other words, it will be a strain of the flu that spreads quick killing cancer by sneezing. One can only wonder what the results of Dark Winter would have been if it was done with such a killer virus, instead of just smallpox.
Seriously. Assuming that the 802.11b router in question is meant for stand alone use and not hooked up to the Internet, what's keeping someone from buying a cheapo depot one for $50USD and stuffing it in a wall space or false ceiling? Unless they come through with a radio directional finder (or laptop/pda with a directional antenna) they're gone to have a hard time finding it. For the most part physical access to said router type isn't required. To steal a stupid late night tv sales pitch: "Set it and forget it."
Years ago at the University of Utah a NetWare 3.1x server got lost. It was still in use, worked fine but they couldn't find the physical box. It took awhile but they finally found it (with the help of Novell) in a small space that had been sheetrocked off years ago. Finding it was difficult and that thing was on an ethernet connect. Good look finding a wireless router buried deep in a dorm wall, ceiling or crawlspace.
Why do I think this is more for control of content instead of user "confusion"? I assume there's someone in almost every college dorm that's running a file sharing box who's only network connection is an anonymous wireless network that is not connected to the Internet and virtually impossible for the school to control.
The school is trying to solve a purported software engineering issue with a social engineering solution. It's not the right answer and is bound to fail, just pissing off a bunch of students who paid to be there.
Spend the effort on educating the students on real problems like binge drinking and not something silly like rogue wireless routers.
I'm sorry, I'm not. For $1450.00USD
you get a VIA Epia-M motherboard, 256M RAM, 20G HD, 802.11g adapter and a GPS receiver. Kinda pricey. Buy the screen from them and add $420USD. IMO it's a nice DIY project but not a very good finished product.
The other complaint is with using MS WinXP Home. While XP is fine on a system with a standard keyboard and mouse it's hardly the best interface for a car. At least go with XP Pro so you can RDP into it for updates, repairs, etc.. This really calls for a semi customized OS and GUI (GNU/Linux or *BSD and X) with a tightly integrated voice control system. I don't want mess with a trackpad while driving.
I think a well crafted "car pc" would be nice and would sell. The CarBot, while nice and on par with some other DIY car computers it's nothing special.
On its corporate Web site, Microsoft lists dozens of Hyderabad openings, many requiring five years of experience, fluency in multiple computer languages, and college degrees in computer science - far from the hourly telemarketer jobs that financial services and insurance companies exported to the Philippines and elsewhere in the early '90s.
Here's the list they're referring to. Since this a not unique to MS does anyone else have a similar list for any other Forture 250 companies? Just curious.
Mathematics is not a science, in the proper connotation of the word. Some thinkers see mathematicians as scientists, regarding physical experiments as inessential or mathematical proofs as equivalent to experiments. But they themselves do not see mathematics as a science, since it does not require experimental test of its theories and hypotheses. In either case, the fact that mathematics is such a useful tool in describing the universe is a central issue in its philosophy. But in any case, mathematics is essential to science, being its most important function the role it plays in the expression of scientific models.
An NP computer, if one existed, could try all of the possible keys at the same time, and recognize instantly which key was correct. Code breaking is an NP problem.
... but isn't he confusing real science with the moive "Sneakers"?
Our first iMac, a 600 Graphite, had an issue when my son broke the CD/RW drive by forcing a disk in. AppleCare took care of that as well, we got it back in three days.
I had the same problem with my daughter and the slot loading CD drive on my iMac 400 DV. I guess she wanted to know how many disks it could hold. BTW, the answer is two and a half =).
Since the warranty was long gone I priced out a replacement CD-RW drive. The best price was $180. Instead I just bought an external one for $100 and taped up the slot on the old drive. Not the ideal solution but the replacement slot loading drive was just too much money for what you got.
Generally speaking it's quicker for a skilled user to go pick up a part and install it themselves then wait for someone else to do it.
When I factor in what my time is worth for driving around picking up parts and doing the repairs my self, Apple's warranty service is a deal.
With so many mail order places out there I normally just order what I need and get it in a few days. For emergencies it's off to compusa (blah).
Even though the mainboard would carry a premium price tag, much higher then an equivalent x86 model...
As it should. $500 to $700 for an Apple MATX mobo, CPU and OS is, IMO, not unreasable. Again, you're getting a lot more than just the hardware. Apple still makes money while users get to take advantage of lower cost PC peripherals.
While this new Mac is lacking in creative design compared to past Macs it's still a good value when consider the great apps that are included like iMoive and iPhoto.
The problem with this and most Macs is downtime due to equipment failure. Now to get the monitor fixed the whole machine needs to be serviced. Add in the cost of not using common "PC" parts and the care and feeding of it might get very expensive.
A few years ago I bought an iMac 400 DV from the Apple Store (online). I had it less than a week when the monitor died. They instruct me to take it to a locally authorized service center for repair. It came back after five weeks. Plugged it in and the monitor only showed magenta. Back to the shop for another six weeks. No less than 20 calls to Apple later they finally gave me a new iMac. I'm sorry, but for what they charge they should've taken back my one week old Mac and shipped me a new one. IMO it was BS that I had to bug them so much to do the right thing.
Now look at my GNU/Linux x86 box. There's nothing on it that I can't repair or replace within 24 hours and for a lot less than the Mac. Price out a replacement slot loading CD drive for this new iMac. I'm guessing atleast $200 for the combo and $300 for the DVD-RW.
Downtime for service is way, way too high for Macs.
Here's is my plea: Please turn out a Mac MATX board. I'll buy my own parts and when the power supply or CD drive craps out I can fix it in a matter of hours and not weeks.
Jobs is a control freak and would never do it. Too bad. So I use my eMac only for video editing and Photoshop (10% of the time), storing my work on an external FW drive and my Gentoo box for everthing else because I simply can not depend on the Mac.
Macs are beautiful machines, have an excellent GUI, includes incredible apps (again, like iMoive), have a rock solid OS but I would never buy one if it was to be my only computer. Waiting weeks for service (and being without a computer) is unacceptable.
IMO this new iMac is just another step in the wrong direction leading to more downtime per machine.
From: torvalds@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: What would you like to see most in minix?
Summary: small poll for my new operating system
Message-ID:
Date: 25 Aug 91 20:57:08 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki
Hello everybody out there using minix -
I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and
professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing
since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on
things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat
(same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons)
among other things). I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40),
and things seem to work.This implies that I'll get something practical
within a few months, and I'd like to know what features most people
would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won't promise I'll
implement them:-)
Linus (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi)
PS. Yes - it's free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs.
It is NOT portable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably
never will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that's
all I have:-(."
"Hello everybody out there using minux -
I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby,
won't be big and professinal like gnu) for
386 (486) AT clones." - Linus Torvalds, August 25, 2001
Does anyone have a link or the text to the complete accouncement email?
Now with a C compiler available, how about building an Ethernet interface and porting the Contiki OS to iy? A Contiki port would bring TCP/IP networking, multitasking and a bunch of other cool stuff to the HP.
Why go with ethernet when you could have a
SD 802.11b / 256M card? The question is can SDIO cards work on the 49+?
20. "Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994)"
42. "Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989)"
48. "Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988)"
94. "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)"
There's a mindset in corporate/professional comp sci I like to call "fat book syndrome".
The best computer book I've ever had (and it still sits less than a foot away) is K&R's "The C Programming Langauge". 272 pages (small by today's standards) of pure gold. No wasted pages here. IMO the best "my first C book" ever written. Now if some publishers would listen to your sage advice.
Don't judge a book by it's cover? Don't judge a book by it's weight.
He's the apex of bad law enforcement. He once bragged about how he spends more [per meal] money feeding his guard dogs than those in custody. His tactics have cost Maricopa County millions in lost lawsuits due to his inhumane treatment.
It does say that the device needs to be plugged into a PC and the data uploaded [to the mothership]. I seriously doubt that the device creates a checksum [on the data] so hacking the data file(s) should be very possible. Even if it does someone will create a simulator to generate data files with whatever information you want on it.
I'm waiting for the first virus to alter any files transferred from the device to show that the driver constantly moves along at just below the speed of light ("I was wondering what that color shift was all about...").
To any company that demands we use such devices: Anything you come up with we will successfully hack. Resistance is futile.
We can thank the WTO for laying the foundation for software patents with the 1994 TRIPs (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement. TRIPs requires that patents be granted in all fields of technology and not just traditional patentable subject matter. This includes software and business model patents.
Face it, unless there are some drastic changes in how we are governed GNU/Linux will be basicly dead in five or ten years.
Do not forget this: It is the goal of the richest people of this world to retain and increase their wealth by whatever means they can. They hire "digital sharecroppers" to create ideas that are kept in peonage. They get laws passed that will keep others from competing with their unjustly gained bounty. Those individuals that create the works with the greatest monetary value rarely share in the wealth that is gained from them. Bill Gates is the richest man around but how much of his code is still in use today?
IMO we need to end software and business model patents and let people create in freedom.
Their
corporate brochure gives some insight to why GNU/Linux is dangerous to their bottom line. BTW, the link is to a +3M file on their web site so only download it if you're interested.
From the article: It is ridiculous to claim that the open source process can eradicate all of the cleverly hidden intentional bugs when it can't find thousands of unintentional bugs left lying around in the source code.
See, that makes sense. If the flag was made of a Mylar style material it would look like it does. I assumed that it was made of cloth. Since weight savings is everything, Mylar would be a much better choice. It seems to be supported by shadowbearer'scomment about the flag being "difficult to straighten [...] properly with those clumsy suit gloves."
Slashdot Mirror
Years ago at the University of Utah a NetWare 3.1x server got lost. It was still in use, worked fine but they couldn't find the physical box. It took awhile but they finally found it (with the help of Novell) in a small space that had been sheetrocked off years ago. Finding it was difficult and that thing was on an ethernet connect. Good look finding a wireless router buried deep in a dorm wall, ceiling or crawlspace.
Why do I think this is more for control of content instead of user "confusion"? I assume there's someone in almost every college dorm that's running a file sharing box who's only network connection is an anonymous wireless network that is not connected to the Internet and virtually impossible for the school to control.
The school is trying to solve a purported software engineering issue with a social engineering solution. It's not the right answer and is bound to fail, just pissing off a bunch of students who paid to be there.
Spend the effort on educating the students on real problems like binge drinking and not something silly like rogue wireless routers.
The other complaint is with using MS WinXP Home. While XP is fine on a system with a standard keyboard and mouse it's hardly the best interface for a car. At least go with XP Pro so you can RDP into it for updates, repairs, etc.. This really calls for a semi customized OS and GUI (GNU/Linux or *BSD and X) with a tightly integrated voice control system. I don't want mess with a trackpad while driving.
I think a well crafted "car pc" would be nice and would sell. The CarBot, while nice and on par with some other DIY car computers it's nothing special.
I had the same problem with my daughter and the slot loading CD drive on my iMac 400 DV. I guess she wanted to know how many disks it could hold. BTW, the answer is two and a half =).
Since the warranty was long gone I priced out a replacement CD-RW drive. The best price was $180. Instead I just bought an external one for $100 and taped up the slot on the old drive. Not the ideal solution but the replacement slot loading drive was just too much money for what you got.
Generally speaking it's quicker for a skilled user to go pick up a part and install it themselves then wait for someone else to do it.
When I factor in what my time is worth for driving around picking up parts and doing the repairs my self, Apple's warranty service is a deal.
With so many mail order places out there I normally just order what I need and get it in a few days. For emergencies it's off to compusa (blah).
As it should. $500 to $700 for an Apple MATX mobo, CPU and OS is, IMO, not unreasable. Again, you're getting a lot more than just the hardware. Apple still makes money while users get to take advantage of lower cost PC peripherals.
The problem with this and most Macs is downtime due to equipment failure. Now to get the monitor fixed the whole machine needs to be serviced. Add in the cost of not using common "PC" parts and the care and feeding of it might get very expensive.
A few years ago I bought an iMac 400 DV from the Apple Store (online). I had it less than a week when the monitor died. They instruct me to take it to a locally authorized service center for repair. It came back after five weeks. Plugged it in and the monitor only showed magenta. Back to the shop for another six weeks. No less than 20 calls to Apple later they finally gave me a new iMac. I'm sorry, but for what they charge they should've taken back my one week old Mac and shipped me a new one. IMO it was BS that I had to bug them so much to do the right thing.
Now look at my GNU/Linux x86 box. There's nothing on it that I can't repair or replace within 24 hours and for a lot less than the Mac. Price out a replacement slot loading CD drive for this new iMac. I'm guessing atleast $200 for the combo and $300 for the DVD-RW.
Downtime for service is way, way too high for Macs.
Here's is my plea: Please turn out a Mac MATX board. I'll buy my own parts and when the power supply or CD drive craps out I can fix it in a matter of hours and not weeks.
Jobs is a control freak and would never do it. Too bad. So I use my eMac only for video editing and Photoshop (10% of the time), storing my work on an external FW drive and my Gentoo box for everthing else because I simply can not depend on the Mac.
Macs are beautiful machines, have an excellent GUI, includes incredible apps (again, like iMoive), have a rock solid OS but I would never buy one if it was to be my only computer. Waiting weeks for service (and being without a computer) is unacceptable.
IMO this new iMac is just another step in the wrong direction leading to more downtime per machine.
Very true unless there's no hard drive in the workstation. If everyone using it is also using this external HD one wouldn't be needed.
From: torvalds@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: What would you like to see most in minix?
Summary: small poll for my new operating system
Message-ID: Date: 25 Aug 91 20:57:08 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki
Hello everybody out there using minix - I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things). I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work.This implies that I'll get something practical within a few months, and I'd like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won't promise I'll implement them :-)
Linus (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi) :-(."
PS. Yes - it's free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs. It is NOT portable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that's all I have
Does anyone have a link or the text to the complete accouncement email?
Call it "truth in advertising".
Why go with ethernet when you could have a SD 802.11b / 256M card? The question is can SDIO cards work on the 49+?
Last August John Gilmore was on the cover of and interviewed in Reason. Good reading from a great magazine.
42. "Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989)"
48. "Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988)"
94. "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)"
and 'Police Academy' set for eighth edition. I think they're trying to break into the top ten.
The best computer book I've ever had (and it still sits less than a foot away) is K&R's "The C Programming Langauge". 272 pages (small by today's standards) of pure gold. No wasted pages here. IMO the best "my first C book" ever written. Now if some publishers would listen to your sage advice.
Don't judge a book by it's cover? Don't judge a book by it's weight.
Check out "Top Ten Reasons NOT to vote for Joe".
I'm waiting for the first virus to alter any files transferred from the device to show that the driver constantly moves along at just below the speed of light ("I was wondering what that color shift was all about ...").
To any company that demands we use such devices: Anything you come up with we will successfully hack. Resistance is futile.
Don't worry, you can trust them.
Face it, unless there are some drastic changes in how we are governed GNU/Linux will be basicly dead in five or ten years.
Do not forget this: It is the goal of the richest people of this world to retain and increase their wealth by whatever means they can. They hire "digital sharecroppers" to create ideas that are kept in peonage. They get laws passed that will keep others from competing with their unjustly gained bounty. Those individuals that create the works with the greatest monetary value rarely share in the wealth that is gained from them. Bill Gates is the richest man around but how much of his code is still in use today?
IMO we need to end software and business model patents and let people create in freedom.
I like analogy of rancher and cattle much better.
Their corporate brochure gives some insight to why GNU/Linux is dangerous to their bottom line. BTW, the link is to a +3M file on their web site so only download it if you're interested.
It is ridiculous to claim that the open source process can eradicate all of the cleverly hidden intentional bugs when it can't find thousands of unintentional bugs left lying around in the source code.
Yet OSS is good enough to run his web site on?
Thanks to both for the answer.