Actually I think the problem for Microsoft is that Windows has been done. It is done like the row boat and the aeroplane. From here on Microsoft have to invent new directions for their product. But that is being done elsewhere by the likes of google and twitter.
I used to work on traffic signal systems in Victoria, Australia. Our system used 32 bit embedded computers attached to leased phone lines. The system could be adapted to carry meta data. We used that to add applications such as vehicle tracking with short range transponders.
In a place like Los Angeles there must be traffic signals every couple of hundred metres. The controller boxes have a nice deep concrete foundation because they need to contain cable conduits which go off to the signal pylons. I am sure you can see where I am going with this.
Given the amount of money at stake in earthquake prone areas the notion of using laptop accelerometers as a primary source of information doesn't impress me. But a traffic signal network with seismometers in the bottom of every controller box would generate a fantastic torrent of data. And in real terms, the cost would not be much at all.
I have to tell you that most of the buildings in those towns are very *very* old buildings, not concrete-seismic-proof structures. Thatt is because central Italy has still got a lot of its medieval towns up and running.
These buildings must have survived dozens of similar quakes, so presumably they are degrading over time. If lives are important the buildings need to be reinforced or replaced.
Another way to deal with the threat would be to install systems warn people of the earthquake on the scale of minutes or seconds. Pressure waves travel slower than light, so if you install a network of sensors, and connect them to warning systems such as cell phones and sirens in towns then you might be able to give some people warning to get out of vulnerable buildings.
Another way would be to identify buildings at risk and close them for the duration. Some people would have to move but possibly only next door or down the street.
My wife works as an architect. They spend a lot of money on big printed plans, which get used during construction. A good sized tablet with e-ink would displace some of the use cases for printing, and provide a way for builders to get accurate information about the structure they are working on. I recall one argument with a builder over whether a thick line on the plan always denotes a fire rated wall.
I'm waiting to see the live video footage of that scene where the poor sweet little baby polar bear is trapped on an ice floe which shrinks until he falls off to be eaten by sharks or some garbage like that *splash*
It would be quite remarkable to have video footage of polar bears in the Antarctic.
Here in the southern hemisphere we call them Polar Koalas.
Its a bit like filtering urls with child porn in Australia. If somebody sends CP to a gmail user in Australia will the blacklist include the URL for the image download forever? Will they blacklist gmail because it is used to distribute pornography?
> if you ignore north korea, it will do progressively more and more dangerous things, all
> calculated to garner attention again. and then it will screw up, and then it can finally
> be taken down like the rabid dog it is
At the cost of how many hundred thousand South Korean (and possibly Japanese) lives?
I reckon China have a kill switch for that eventuality. They don't want to lose customers.
The missile had to land in the Pacific. The NK leadership may be crazy but they are not stupid. Flying a launcher over the USA creates a risk that hardware would drop on to the USA. If that happened North Korea would be in all kinds of trouble. They know that and will not allow their launchers to leave the pacific ocean. I would be interested to see how high this launcher flew though. That would tell us how much energy they have available.
I would have bought one but they sold out very quickly. I assume they kept production runs short to reduce risk. But doing that guarantees failure. Lately I have been checking back on openmoko.com from time to time. There is no way to buy the phone on line, and the nearest dealer to me is in India.
Its not like they made millions of the things and couldn't sell them.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually I think the problem for Microsoft is that Windows has been done. It is done like the row boat and the aeroplane. From here on Microsoft have to invent new directions for their product. But that is being done elsewhere by the likes of google and twitter.
Totally true, but you can't buy a new '68 Covrette C3 StingRay from the GM Factory.
But you can get that horrible PT Cruiser. And my 1994 Townace van is basically a 1970 Corona.
I used to work on traffic signal systems in Victoria, Australia. Our system used 32 bit embedded computers attached to leased phone lines. The system could be adapted to carry meta data. We used that to add applications such as vehicle tracking with short range transponders.
In a place like Los Angeles there must be traffic signals every couple of hundred metres. The controller boxes have a nice deep concrete foundation because they need to contain cable conduits which go off to the signal pylons. I am sure you can see where I am going with this.
Given the amount of money at stake in earthquake prone areas the notion of using laptop accelerometers as a primary source of information doesn't impress me. But a traffic signal network with seismometers in the bottom of every controller box would generate a fantastic torrent of data. And in real terms, the cost would not be much at all.
I dare you, I double dare you - do the right thing for a change.
Only if Elon Musk is in charge.
+10 Funny.
Wait till the end of the month and give the jaunty (ubuntu 9.04) "netbook remix" a try.
I am running stock jaunty now on my eeepc. It is a lot better than 8.10 on the same machine. I didn't need to do any tweaks from the shell.
I have to tell you that most of the buildings in those towns are very *very* old buildings, not concrete-seismic-proof structures. Thatt is because central Italy has still got a lot of its medieval towns up and running.
These buildings must have survived dozens of similar quakes, so presumably they are degrading over time. If lives are important the buildings need to be reinforced or replaced.
I'm disgusted by this kind of charlatans.
Personally I am disgusted that nobody thought to check the structure of buildings in an earthquake prone area.
Another way to deal with the threat would be to install systems warn people of the earthquake on the scale of minutes or seconds. Pressure waves travel slower than light, so if you install a network of sensors, and connect them to warning systems such as cell phones and sirens in towns then you might be able to give some people warning to get out of vulnerable buildings.
Another way would be to identify buildings at risk and close them for the duration. Some people would have to move but possibly only next door or down the street.
My wife works as an architect. They spend a lot of money on big printed plans, which get used during construction. A good sized tablet with e-ink would displace some of the use cases for printing, and provide a way for builders to get accurate information about the structure they are working on. I recall one argument with a builder over whether a thick line on the plan always denotes a fire rated wall.
... timothy failed the Turing Test because the script couldn't figure out there was a problem with the other story before posting this one.
Its this glass bird which rocks forward and backward, pressing the Y key every time around. You know the one:
/. story [Y/N]:
Vent reactor coolant [Y/N]:
Post next
This is cause for alarm if you're concerned about iceberg free shipping lanes, correct?
Considering there's about zero shipping lanes near Antarctica I'd say this doesn't rank up there on the priority list.
Except the shipping lanes which service people in Antarctica.
I'm waiting to see the live video footage of that scene where the poor sweet little baby polar bear is trapped on an ice floe which shrinks until he falls off to be eaten by sharks or some garbage like that *splash*
It would be quite remarkable to have video footage of polar bears in the Antarctic.
Here in the southern hemisphere we call them Polar Koalas.
Ice is white and reflects a lot of heat back into space. If this ice melts it may cause ice elsewhere to melt faster.
A lot of airports around the world are on coastal plains, because the land there is flat and cheap.
Its a bit like filtering urls with child porn in Australia. If somebody sends CP to a gmail user in Australia will the blacklist include the URL for the image download forever? Will they blacklist gmail because it is used to distribute pornography?
Heres a hint: if you need a quick way out of Thailand, confess to a sex crime in the USA. It will get you extradited no worries.
> if you ignore north korea, it will do progressively more and more dangerous things, all > calculated to garner attention again. and then it will screw up, and then it can finally > be taken down like the rabid dog it is
At the cost of how many hundred thousand South Korean (and possibly Japanese) lives?
I reckon China have a kill switch for that eventuality. They don't want to lose customers.
Maybe they have a pf rule in to block non-Thais.
The missile had to land in the Pacific. The NK leadership may be crazy but they are not stupid. Flying a launcher over the USA creates a risk that hardware would drop on to the USA. If that happened North Korea would be in all kinds of trouble. They know that and will not allow their launchers to leave the pacific ocean. I would be interested to see how high this launcher flew though. That would tell us how much energy they have available.
Not to mention Android using the linux kernel with a netbsd userland. I guess google don't want to mess with GPLv3.
Do you have something productive to contribute?
I would have bought one but they sold out very quickly. I assume they kept production runs short to reduce risk. But doing that guarantees failure. Lately I have been checking back on openmoko.com from time to time. There is no way to buy the phone on line, and the nearest dealer to me is in India.
Its not like they made millions of the things and couldn't sell them.
Dragging the disk to the trash was a way to un-mount the volume
I wish gnome would do that. It seems very intuitive to me.
Actually I always thought that communication was the main problem between Hans and the Kernel team.