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  1. Re:Yamaha Disklavier, a modern player piano on Musical Robots Invade Juilliard · · Score: 1

    Back when I saw the first Disklavier it just came with a floppy drive (back in '94). So the CD-ROM version comes with CD audio along with the MIDI part? Pretty neat, but it extends the technology while loosing the key feature: Providing piano music which can never be reproduced by speakers.

  2. Yamaha Disklavier, a modern player piano on Musical Robots Invade Juilliard · · Score: 1

    The concept of the Disklavier is at least a decade old, so this part isn't really newsworthy I guess. The idea is that you record how the keys are struck (probably bad english) while someone plays. After that you have almost an excact copy of the performance.

    I really like the concept. You can play interpretations of classic pieces performed by top-notch pianists of today at your dinner party. Even if I would play the piano that well, I would definately have other obligations at said party.

  3. Re:correlational! on Does Microsoft Cause Lower Software Prices? · · Score: 1

    I think parent has a point nevertheless - just look at how many people used office apps in '88 compared to '95 or today.

    We are not dealing with a traditional supply and demand model here, because shipping an additional amount of copies of software doesn't really cost much (compared to material things like cars). On the other hand you have rather fixed costs of development whether you sell 300 copies or 3 millions.
    So it's rather obvious to assume that any company like Microsoft would lower their prices in such a situation of rapid growth.

  4. Re:Mindbender question about lightspeed. on Blazing Speed: The Fastest Stuff In The Universe · · Score: 1

    For all those who don't really see the relation to CPUs:

    At 3 GHz light travels roughly 10cm (4 inch) per cycle. Taking into account that the electrons passing through a CPU don't move as fast as light it's rather obvious that companies like Intel won't be able to push clock speeds for much longer. I'm not talking about the next 5 years. Electrons are still pretty fast and smaller structures also help. However, there is a point where you can't go any further, simply because you can't get a bit from A to B at one cycle anymore.

  5. Re:Benchmarks, but need fast disks on Centrino Mobile Equals Desktop Pentium 4 in Speed · · Score: 1

    Most interestingly they state that the Pentium M performs as good as a Pentium 3,8 GHz or Athlon 64 4000+ when running the SPEC-benchmark CINT2000.

    So this really seems to be more than a marketing trick.

    I wonder if they'll merge the desktop and mobile brachens sometime. Afterall power consumption on desktop systems really is out of all proportion to speed. Since I'm quite sure that people won't buy slower systems (even if they don't need faster ones) it's rather obvious that they'll have to use more efficient designs in the future.

  6. Re:Cost Complexity on PostgreSQL 8.0 Released · · Score: 1

    I already mentioned that I want to sell this for 300 Euro per license (targeting a local low budget branch of hotels). It can't pay for itself in my regards because a full MySQL license would result in a 200 Euro loss per item sold.

    On the other hand you've got a good point. But still I wouldn't even think about a 2% loss of customers, because the consequences would really get me into trouble. Let's just assume that I'll manage not to fuck it up regardless of the DB running below. ;)

    Having said this I must admit that both solutions do much more than required. But both offer a level of integration with other apps which I would never get with a solution suitable to my needs.

  7. Re:yea. on Inkjet Printer Prints out Human Skin · · Score: 1

    That's rather obvious - they'll use mashed fetuses *shudders again and ducks for cover*

    However I guess that the obligatory cartridge wars will even cause more shudder.

  8. Re:The BSD box PSU probably had bigger capacitors. on LiveJournal Blackout Analysis Online · · Score: 1

    yes, that's how it works. I used to have a computer which I could turn off for a quarter of a second without causing it to reboot. As you might suspect, I discovered this behavior by accident.

    On a related note a Brownout isn't desirable and can cause a sitiuation which is commonly called a loss of power. I really don't understand why some people here don't see the difference between powering off and an unintentional drop in voltage.
    Since it's not exceptional to have brownouts (some elevators cause them btw) there are standards for PSUs on how much they can take before they can't supply anymore. Good computer magazines simulate brownouts when they test PSUs and the cheap brands usually fail miserably.
    That's why GP's link is so funny after all - even the best OS in the world will fail if the motherboard, CPU or other peripherals don't have any power.

  9. Re:Cost Complexity on PostgreSQL 8.0 Released · · Score: 1
    Í just happen to build a low budget customer database for small hotels - using any of the major ones seems to be overkill, but since they are already there it might be reasonable to use them.

    So MySQL Database Server retails at 500 euros (that's the package we usually use for mythtv or whatever non-profit use we can think of.

    There is nothing wrong about MySQL's license, but if you intend to sell at 300 euros per customer it doesn't stand a chance. Even if I would purchase one of the flattened versions of MySQL I would still pay more than I can afford.
    I really wonder why there isn't a license granting a 10% profit share to MySQL for people which have less than ~30.000 entries. If they would offer it I wouldn't even think about alternatives at all.
  10. Re:What types of phones? on UK Report Suggests Dangers In Cell Phone Use · · Score: 1

    So does that mean that CDMA manages connections differently? Or does that mean that more sending stations have to be built in order to cover an area? I'm sorry, but I really don't get your point.

  11. Re:The obvious? on Sleep Less, Eat More? · · Score: 1
    Yes, I read what parent wrote before I replied and I believe that there is a serious difference between his simplest explanation and mine. However, I must admit that I took a semi-humorous approach when I replied (posting here was the last thing I did yesterday before I ate something and went to bed).

    The part I'm serious about is the consequence of eating shortly before going to bed. Those who have problems falling asleep tend to eat something late at night because it's cozy to be in bed with a full stomach (talking from personal experience btw). "Normal people" in contrast tend to eat 3x a day and go to bed a few hours after they had dinner (before they feel hungry again).

    Your last meal will mostly be metabolized into fat if you fall asleep right after you took it (no need to calculate anything here - it's rather obvious). I just believe that those who prefer to stay up late (while having to get up early) are highly at risk of getting fat because they tend to have this kind of fourth meal.

  12. Re:What types of phones? on UK Report Suggests Dangers In Cell Phone Use · · Score: 1
    As i have heard, GSM is a little less harmful.
    GSM starts with the highest possible signal when a connection gets established. The phone then decreases the signal to a level, which is sufficient to maintain the connection.

    IIRC newer standards do it the other way around - the phone increases the level until the connection is maintainable. So that means less radiation for the user. However, this is just one aspect, so it doesn't prove that GSM is more harmful.

  13. Re:The obvious? on Sleep Less, Eat More? · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think there is an even simpler explanation: Those who sleep not that much/well tend to head for the fridge at night for little "snacks".

    At least that was my first thought when I read the headline...

  14. Re:Anarchist, dammit on Gates Nose-Dives at CES · · Score: 1
    Like I said I don't like the concept of death tolls in general, because guilt can't be calculated by such numbers.

    I don't intend to write a world encyclopedia of mischief - I just wanted to point out that those wars led by the US don't add up to the state terror established in the former SU.

    Btw: It's not like I am the biggest fan of US policy. Being born in (west-)Berlin I've got a rather old-european view of current affairs.

  15. Re:Anarchist, dammit on Gates Nose-Dives at CES · · Score: 1
    I'm sorry that I came up with this source. When I created my original post I was looking for some data to back it up (because I didn't want to rely on my selective memory). So first I tried to find something on the website of Memorial (that was just my first guess). However, there is not much English content available. So I headed for google and picked this page because it seemed trustworthy to me. After some thinking I agree that those numbers can't be right since 62 million would be 21% of the total population of the SU (in 1989). On the other hand it also has to be taken into account that any number is roughly a guess. There is only one genocide in history which was documented with allegiance by the culprits themselves - the one performed by the Nazis. Even if the Russian government would publish official results they couldn't be accurate because those in charge didn't keep journals on their victims.

    But we should get back to my original point: Let's just assume that only a third died (that's ~20 million people). Wikipedia states that historians agree that the number of people killed under Stalin is in a range between 8 and 20 millions. So 20 millions for the entire SU seems not to be far off to me.

    So would this number make it any better? It's still an example of unequaled disrespect of human lifes.

  16. Re:Drive arrays for consumers on Hitachi to Release Half TB Drive Soon · · Score: 1

    I've posted the link before, but this is another great opportunity to mention the brilliant USB floppy disk drive RAID. It really is a shame that USB doesn't support more than 128 devices per root hub ;)

  17. Re:Anarchist, dammit on Gates Nose-Dives at CES · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Whilst making a valid point in your post, this statement is highly misleading:
    "Communism" didn't kill anyone any more than our "democracy" has.
    You should really read this article about Democide in the Soviet Union before you make such a statement. I really hate to bring death tolls into such discussions, but in this case there is a completely different dimension in numbers *and* course of action.
  18. Re:Gentoo? on Interview with Debian Project Leader · · Score: 1
    Spent hours and hours installing it, (which doesn't make too much sense - why not have a functioning system in 5 minutes and then rebuild everything?)
    That's the reason Knoppix is very popular among gents. Having a full desktop as an installation environment really kicks ass.

    They also release binary packages from time to time so installing in minutes and rebuilding later on really is an option.

  19. Re:True, but... on Indian Consortium To Offer 2 Mbps At $2.30/month · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's not like they are planing to cover the entire country with this service. They "just" plan to operate in Andhra Pradesh.

  20. Re:I'm suprised he's a windows geek on Justin Frankel Reveals Life After Winamp · · Score: 1
    There used to be more developers creating OSS for Windows IMO. Probably many of them moved to linux. Might be more fulfilling to contribute free software on a free platform, but that's just a guess.

    Here's an old discussionon this topic.

  21. Re:Why the Germans won't go there on Indoor Tropical Island · · Score: 1

    I must say that when I visited this place with parts of my family we started to compare it to dreadful holiday trips instantaneously. It was very crowded (having read news coverage we didn't expect that) and after getting to the wardrobes and locking our stuff we were exhausted.

    Since I'm at it, here's the rest of the story: They just have two huge (but regular) pools with some sand around them.
    The place is decorated with palm trees, but it's not enough to create the illusion of a tropical island. You are at all times reminded that you are standing in the middle of a giant industrial hall. There is not enough light from outside to keep those trees alive for long besides. I'm quite curious what they'll do about it. The only option I see is to replace them constantly.

    It might be 25C/77F somewhere in there, but definitely not at ground level. I guess it gets quite hot in higher regions, which explains the condensed water dripping on you from time to time.

    The staff didn't seem to be up to the task - there were large crowds around the bars and restaurants and some people got really angry. It took me more than 20 minutes just to get coffee for us. However, since the place is really new they might get better in the future regarding service.

    Needless to say we were all quite glad to leave.

    So it might be a little more complex and costy, but I'd rather fly to a real beach (or take a three hour trip to the Baltic Sea at summer time).

  22. Re:nope on eBay Retires MS Passport Sign-In · · Score: 1

    I don't think you are as trollish as some of the people replying suggest - they might use such a feature in Longhorn. It's not exactly a new idea to include such a service and it worked before.

    Who thought Microsoft would ever dominate the browser market when the first version of IE was released? I guess we all laughed. Then the newer versions became slightly better and since it was more convenient to use IE than Netscape (because IE came with the OS) everybody switched.
    Why shouldn't it work this time? And it's not like this feature would tie Passport to a certain userbase - I'm quite sure there would be a corresponding piece of software for OSX. As soon as it is widely used among the users of the dominating OS those Apple users will install it just like they installed the port of IE.

  23. Re:100 million? on The Coming Atlantic Mega-Tsunami · · Score: 1

    Maybe that's a guess of how much people would die in total. It's not like this tsunami would only hit US coasts...

  24. Re:Wikipedia on The Coming Atlantic Mega-Tsunami · · Score: 1

    Well if it's such a big deal why don't we at least consider to ablate the parts which could possibly fall of?

    Might sound naive and there might be the risk of triggering the landslip during the process, but wouldn't it be an option? I guess the people living on La Palma wouldn't be happy about it, but if so much is at stake...
    (and yes, I've been there so I know that we are talking about moving some rocks)

    On a side note there is a giant crack about 2 meters wide and deep going through half of the island. I can't really remember any details, but it was caused by an earthquake and might be a leading sign.

  25. Not necessarily a dup, on Comparative CPU Benchmarks From 1995 to 2004 · · Score: 1

    but I'm sure that I read a similar article at tom's this year comparing x86 CPUs from ~386 to recent systems.

    IIRC they decompressed zip files and encoded video stuff among other things. It's quite impressive to see a fairly modern CPU performing the same task in minutes which used to take several hours on one of those 'antiques'.