Where do these molecules get their energy to carry "packages"? Surely they don't carry other molecules around for free. I'd think either the molecules do their job for some distance then get degraded, or they need a special substrate. Either way, the article doesn't say.
Book publishers are even more rabid than the *AAs regarding copyright protection and DRM schemes. That's the single problem that's been plaguing the e-book industry since the beginning.
I wish Google can pull it off, so it's finally possible to have as much choice in e-books as in regular dead tree editions, but frankly, I'm not holding my breath.
Repost of Roland's article, so you don't pay him to RTFA:
The Eyes of the Space Shuttle
Now that Discovery astronaut Steve Robinson has successfully removed two pieces of fabric poking out of the shuttle's heat shield, a question remains: how did NASA discover these anomalies in the first place? In this article, Forbes.com writes that NASA can say thank you to a private Canadian company, Neptec, and its Laser Camera system (LCS). Neptec is working with NASA for ten years now, but it was the first time that its vision technology was used for external damage assessment of a shuttle. As NASA says it may cancel some future shuttle flights, Neptec plans to implement its 3-D imaging technology in military situations and on the battlefield. But read more...
Let's first look at some images of this laser camera system (Credits for images and captions below: Neptec).
Neptec's Laser Camera System (LCS) will be deployed at the tip of a new 50-foot (15-metre) inspection boom being deployed for the first time aboard Discovery for the Return to Flight mission. Manufactured by another Canadian company, MD Robotics, the boom is stored on the opposite side of the Shuttle's cargo bay from the Canadarm.
This 3-D rendering depicts Neptec's Laser Camera System, deployed on the Canadarm, scanning the nose cone of the Space Shuttle Discovery for potential damage to the Shuttle's heat shield tiles. NASA is harnessing Neptec's technology to detect tiny fractures in the Shuttle's heat shield before the crew risks re-entry.
[And below is] a close up of Neptec's Laser Camera System prior to the application of reflective Teflon tape. The picture shows the large radiator on the top of the enclosure that ensures the scanner will not overheat on orbit.
The top image was extracted from this Macromedia Flash animation. Larger versions of the two other images are available here and there. Finally, you'll find other images in the gallery accessible from this page.
Now, here are some technical details given by the Forbes.com article.
Discovery's "bread-box sized" laser camera system (LCS) is one example of Neptec's advanced technology. It doesn't relay information through video. Instead,it transmits the information to a computer, which then creates a model accurate to a few millimeters. Unlike radar or video imaging, the model can integrate the data according to set parameters: It "knows" if something looks different or has changed.
Iain Christie, director of research and development at Neptec, says it is the equivalent of "intelligence in three dimensions."
As I noticed above, future shuttle flights have been put on hold -- and might be canceled for a while. So what Neptec will do if it loses a customer like NASA?
These highly accurate 3-D image scans can be implemented in numerous military situations as well. Next-generation, truly "smart" laser cameras have already performed well in testing. On the battlefield, they could identify approaching vehicles to prevent friendly fire incidents and could alert soldiers to irregularities in surrounding environments. "With the IEDs [improvised explosive device] we see being used, this could warn them of even small changes," Christie said.
Neptec is a small company with a revenue of about $20 million in 2005, but
The definition of adult content is too wide? What about the definition of a commercial site? Too me, it seems.com is way too wide.
The problem with.com is that many people don't realize it means "commercial". They think it has something to do with "COMmunication". Same with.net (interNET). That's why nobody seems to flinch when they type [some-non-commercial-site].com or [some-not-a-network-site].net.
However,.orgs seem to be better understood for what they are, and so are the new.info and the likes, as well as national TLDs naturally.
Not being a compiler or chip guru, how does one work out that a compiler favors a specific chip? I can understand that it might be easy to detect code that looks for a specific chip, but then how do they determine that the resultant code is being optimized based on that detection?
Usually by decompiling the code produced. AMD probably made a test program, compiled it, found a chip test routine in the resulting binary, then decompiled the 2 code paths it could follow.
For example, the "intel" code path could, for example, make full use of the math coprocessor to perform a division, while the "non-intel" code path could use only the 16 bit registers and make multi-precision divisions with only the basic x86 instruction set. I'm sure the actual de-optimization (if it occured) involves higher, cleverer functions than just divisions, but that's the general idea.
Downloading movies seems like a lot of bits to push over the average consumer's pipe. Tie in a pre-constructed box for it (and who exactly wants to buy yet another home appliance when the computer will do?) and it sounds like an infrastructure mess.
I don't see it like that: Firstly, the pre-constructed boxes are bought, or leased, by consumers and so they pay for them. Other than that, they're standard TCP/IP-capable computers, so no infrastructural changes to the net.
As for bandwidth requirements, it can be a good thing, as this will put more pressure on ISPs to make fat pipes available to the general public and for cheap. If downloading movies "on the fly", or in very little time, gets really popular, there will be very-fast internet offerings for cheap sooner or later.
I wonder if consumers will be happy waiting for hours while their movie is delivered?
No, and that's exactly what'll drive internet connections speeds up in the middle and long term.
pictures equivalent to a 12-inch screen as seen from three feet away,
It's much better than a standard cellphone screen, but it's not what I'd call "big screen". What's more, 320x240 on a 12-inch equivalent screen promises to be grainy...
I know it's a crappy place to live, but comparing us to Bulgaria? Thats a little harsh.
He didn't say "crappy", he said "money-saving locales". That doesn't mean it's crappy.
For example, you can take holidays on the cheap if you go to resorts in the former Yugoslavia or Albania: the hotels there are luxury hotels, the beaches are clean and the resorts are relatively free of tourist crowds, yet they're not nearly as expensive as on the other side of the Adriatic.
Moreover, those watching their financial accounts online lose approximately $551 per incident. The average rockets to $4543 for those relying on paper statements from their banks and credit card companies.
I think the phrase should read "those watching their account balance online regularly lose only $551 per incident. If the bank sent them statements more often, the amount for those who don't bank online would go down too, duh...
Intel put on a demonstration running a video game on a laptop. It matched the performance of a high-end Pentium 4
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most games' performances rely more heavily on the efficiency of the GPU than the CPU these days? What does this prove?
Anyone else notice that only about 5% of the webpage is the actual article while the rest of it is cluttered in ads and other crap. Imagine if magazines were like that? Read 3 paragraphs, turn page, read another 3, turn page...
BayTSP, a leading provider of online intellectual property monitoring and compliance systems, announced FirstSource, an automated system that identifies the first users to upload copyright- or trademark-protected content to the eDonkey and Bit Torrent peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.
So, in other word, the new legal environment (the DMCA) is attracting more and more profiteers and schemers, like putting cheese attracts mold. It's sad that some people would want to earn a living hurting other people by leveraging a law almost nobody wants...
But the good news is: if automated monitoring of P2P protocols becomes commonplace, you can bet there will be other, new exciting development in P2P technology. Perhaps some kind of "stealth" protocol will be developed. After all, it's the Napster suit that prompted the development of central-server-less protocols like Bittorrent. So effectively the people "route around" the new legal roadblocks, and are prompted to do so because of scumbags like BayTSP and their disgusting masters, the **AA.
which aims to provide a web interface to install the entire collection of Debian packages, letting you grab any package from sid (and its dependencies) and 'install' it into its own location... nothing else but a web-interface version of apt?
Slashdot Mirror
Where do these molecules get their energy to carry "packages"? Surely they don't carry other molecules around for free. I'd think either the molecules do their job for some distance then get degraded, or they need a special substrate. Either way, the article doesn't say.
Book publishers are even more rabid than the *AAs regarding copyright protection and DRM schemes. That's the single problem that's been plaguing the e-book industry since the beginning.
I wish Google can pull it off, so it's finally possible to have as much choice in e-books as in regular dead tree editions, but frankly, I'm not holding my breath.
How did you know?
Don't hate me, I'm lovely!
must be eliminated
The Eyes of the Space Shuttle
Now that Discovery astronaut Steve Robinson has successfully removed two pieces of fabric poking out of the shuttle's heat shield, a question remains: how did NASA discover these anomalies in the first place? In this article , Forbes.com writes that NASA can say thank you to a private Canadian company, Neptec , and its Laser Camera system (LCS). Neptec is working with NASA for ten years now, but it was the first time that its vision technology was used for external damage assessment of a shuttle. As NASA says it may cancel some future shuttle flights, Neptec plans to implement its 3-D imaging technology in military situations and on the battlefield. But read more...
Let's first look at some images of this laser camera system (Credits for images and captions below: Neptec).
The top image was extracted from this Macromedia Flash animation. Larger versions of the two other images are available here and there . Finally, you'll find other images in the gallery accessible from this page .
Now, here are some technical details given by the Forbes.com article.
Iain Christie, director of research and development at Neptec, says it is the equivalent of "intelligence in three dimensions."
As I noticed above, future shuttle flights have been put on hold -- and might be canceled for a while. So what Neptec will do if it loses a customer like NASA?
Neptec is a small company with a revenue of about $20 million in 2005, but
*Sigh*
Another proof that you're posting without knowing what the hell you're talking about: I AM NOT THE REAL ROLAND PIQUEPAILLE. The real one is here.
Only on Slashdot can tripe like this be modded up +4 Insightful. It's not insightful, it's completely inaccurate, and borderline karma-whore.
The definition of adult content is too wide? What about the definition of a commercial site? Too me, it seems .com is way too wide.
.com is that many people don't realize it means "commercial". They think it has something to do with "COMmunication". Same with .net (interNET). That's why nobody seems to flinch when they type [some-non-commercial-site].com or [some-not-a-network-site].net.
.orgs seem to be better understood for what they are, and so are the new .info and the likes, as well as national TLDs naturally.
The problem with
However,
Not being a compiler or chip guru, how does one work out that a compiler favors a specific chip? I can understand that it might be easy to detect code that looks for a specific chip, but then how do they determine that the resultant code is being optimized based on that detection?
Usually by decompiling the code produced. AMD probably made a test program, compiled it, found a chip test routine in the resulting binary, then decompiled the 2 code paths it could follow.
For example, the "intel" code path could, for example, make full use of the math coprocessor to perform a division, while the "non-intel" code path could use only the 16 bit registers and make multi-precision divisions with only the basic x86 instruction set. I'm sure the actual de-optimization (if it occured) involves higher, cleverer functions than just divisions, but that's the general idea.
Downloading movies seems like a lot of bits to push over the average consumer's pipe. Tie in a pre-constructed box for it (and who exactly wants to buy yet another home appliance when the computer will do?) and it sounds like an infrastructure mess.
I don't see it like that: Firstly, the pre-constructed boxes are bought, or leased, by consumers and so they pay for them. Other than that, they're standard TCP/IP-capable computers, so no infrastructural changes to the net.
As for bandwidth requirements, it can be a good thing, as this will put more pressure on ISPs to make fat pipes available to the general public and for cheap. If downloading movies "on the fly", or in very little time, gets really popular, there will be very-fast internet offerings for cheap sooner or later.
I wonder if consumers will be happy waiting for hours while their movie is delivered?
No, and that's exactly what'll drive internet connections speeds up in the middle and long term.
pictures equivalent to a 12-inch screen as seen from three feet away,
It's much better than a standard cellphone screen, but it's not what I'd call "big screen". What's more, 320x240 on a 12-inch equivalent screen promises to be grainy...
I know it's a crappy place to live, but comparing us to Bulgaria? Thats a little harsh.
He didn't say "crappy", he said "money-saving locales". That doesn't mean it's crappy.
For example, you can take holidays on the cheap if you go to resorts in the former Yugoslavia or Albania: the hotels there are luxury hotels, the beaches are clean and the resorts are relatively free of tourist crowds, yet they're not nearly as expensive as on the other side of the Adriatic.
I agree...
Surely you meant "+1 No link to his bogus website" :-)
Or alternatively, you can read all the similarly informative facts I gathered about Roland, as well as see his mug, by reading my journal.
I agree...
We all know blogs can be big money, right? :-)
Moreover, those watching their financial accounts online lose approximately $551 per incident. The average rockets to $4543 for those relying on paper statements from their banks and credit card companies.
I think the phrase should read "those watching their account balance online regularly lose only $551 per incident. If the bank sent them statements more often, the amount for those who don't bank online would go down too, duh...
Intel put on a demonstration running a video game on a laptop. It matched the performance of a high-end Pentium 4
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most games' performances rely more heavily on the efficiency of the GPU than the CPU these days? What does this prove?
Those particular buttons are shielded by plastic covers. You have to deliberately lift the cover to get to the button. You can't just "bump into it".
Never underestimate the humorous potential of a facetious "Press here if you dare!" sign on top of the button...
Anyone else notice that only about 5% of the webpage is the actual article while the rest of it is cluttered in ads and other crap. Imagine if magazines were like that? Read 3 paragraphs, turn page, read another 3, turn page...
You mean like in Byte or PC Magazine?
The Editor's Choice award goes to AT&T's CallVantage service.
How ironic that telcos bitch and moan about VoIP, and offer that service at the same time...
BayTSP, a leading provider of online intellectual property monitoring and compliance systems, announced FirstSource, an automated system that identifies the first users to upload copyright- or trademark-protected content to the eDonkey and Bit Torrent peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.
So, in other word, the new legal environment (the DMCA) is attracting more and more profiteers and schemers, like putting cheese attracts mold. It's sad that some people would want to earn a living hurting other people by leveraging a law almost nobody wants...
But the good news is: if automated monitoring of P2P protocols becomes commonplace, you can bet there will be other, new exciting development in P2P technology. Perhaps some kind of "stealth" protocol will be developed. After all, it's the Napster suit that prompted the development of central-server-less protocols like Bittorrent. So effectively the people "route around" the new legal roadblocks, and are prompted to do so because of scumbags like BayTSP and their disgusting masters, the **AA.
which aims to provide a web interface to install the entire collection of Debian packages, letting you grab any package from sid (and its dependencies) and 'install' it into its own location ... nothing else but a web-interface version of apt?