Just to clarify things a bit, I read the story on El Tiempo (Colombia's biggest newspaper). The online version is here (use babelfish if you can't read Spanish), but it lacks lots of details found on the printed version.
The guy is Colombian. In fact he is from Pereira, a city not far away from Parque de los Nevados ("Park of the snow Topped Mountains", a region with several...errr... permanently snow topped mountains). The weather conditions there vary wildly, it is by no means easy to predict it. You can get into a heavy blizzard half an hour after walking in a bright and clear sky. In fact, at night he was able to see the lights of several cities.
He was lost in Nevado del Ruiz, the third highest mountain in Colombia. Where he got lost, the snow was knee-deep.
He was traveling with several other people. It is reasonable to suppose that others did have maps and GPS. He got stranded because the blizzard gave them a visibility of under 2 meters (and probably also impaired their hearing). Anyway up in those mountains there are basically no signs, the blizzard probably hid all the trail signs and recognizing landmarks is far more difficult than you may think.
He also had purchased an additional cell phone card, but was stupid enough to forget it in the camp site that day. He should have also packed an extra battery, of course.
There is EXCELLENT cell phone coverage in the Parque de los Nevados (I've been there although I didn't get to perpetual snow). As other posters said, that's because there's line of sight with antennas in towns at either side of the mountain chain. By the way Bellsouth does provide cell phone service in Colombia, after they bought a provider called Celumovil.
This post explains why it may be a good idea to take small amounts of brandy in the freezing cold (basically, to prevent frostbite, and also for the sugar content). Also, don't undermine the psychological effect of feeling warmth when you are about to freeze to death.
He did have a sleeping bag and a small tent. Maybe they weren't adequate for the conditions he was in, though.
Finally, although a search party was on its way, he was actually found by some French tourists who spotted his tent.
So, the guy is no expert and he made several mistakes, but he is not as dumb as you imply.
"Shares of Apple tumbled $2.12 to $18.03 after hours, widening their year-to-date loss to 17.7 percent" [....] hardly what i would call "consistently profitable"
You are confusing stock prices and profitability. Although profitability (and profitability announcements and rumors) DO affect stock prices, there are a lot of other factors involved.
In fact, you may be very surprised by Microsoft's stock behavior in the last years.
[...] also last quarter 2001 was the first point that Apple turned a profit, so they are not exactly brimming with stability
You've got it all wrong. The quarter prior to that one was the ONLY one in which Apple did NOT turn a profit in several years.
Considering that this is probably Apple's best value system, they still have a long way to go if they want to come close to being competetive in the real world [...] They can do that just as well if not faster with a $599 Dell system as they can with a $1100+ Apple system.
I just checked Dell's site and found that comparable systems start at $819, not at $599 as you suggest. This cuts the $500 difference you claim to $280 (almost half).
Yes, I know that's not your point, but it does weaken it, doesn't it?
OSXVnc allows you to control your main (and only) Aqua/Quartz display (thus allowing you to work with your machine just as if you were sitting in front of it, as with the Windows and classic MacOS versions). I haven't tried it, but it displays all the Aqua applications and should also display Classic and X11 applications running in the main display.
Xvnc for MacOS X, on the other hand, is a patch for Xvnc that allows it to run under MacOS X. Xvnc allows you to create up to 99 X11 virtual desktops (with any X11 window manager) and run all your X11 applications (MacGimp, LyX, etc), but you can't run your Aqua applications in them.
1.12 times higher x 1.32 times wider x 1.7 times deeper = around 2.5 times in volume.
According to your numbers, the Archos is noticeably bigger than the iPod in terms of volume, mainly because it's almost twice as deep. No wonder it's almost twice as heavy.
I have an archos jukebox 6000, which has a 6 gig hard drive and connects via USB, and can also function as a USB hard drive. So yes, it took about 80-90 minutes to fill up the hard drive initially. But, uh, I haven't transferred any files to or from it since then.
Why would I?
If your Archos Jukebox 6000 can function as an external hard drive you would probably want to use it to backup your imporant files (and some not-so-important but HUGE files such as 700 MB movies). Or you could use it to transfer lots of huge files between computers that are too far away to connect directly.
In my opinion the iPod is not a portable MP3 player. It's a cool self-powered 2.5" Firewire drive that can be recharged trhough the FW cable and that hapens to play MP3's nicely.
In Tanenbaum's book there's an exercise where you tie a small box of 3 GB tapes around the neck of your dog Bernie (a Saint Bernard), and calculate his throughput and latency as a data transportation medium. It's in chapter 1, I think.
The train analogy was also good, though. Since a lot of people (other than CS/EE mayors) may learn something it's not karma whoring.
Duh. Of course it isn't democratic. We live in a REPUBLIC.
From The New Bantam English Dictionary:
democracy 1. government by the people, usu. through elected representatives; 2. country so governed; 3. practical or social equality as opposed to aristocracy
republic 1. state in which the supreme power is held by the citizen qualified to vote, through their elected representatives and executive officers; 2. any nation of which the head of government is a president rather than a hereditary monarch
They're not quite the same, but almost.
Anyway, according to these definitions, the U.S. are both a democracy AND a republic.
But getting to the point, what is IMO most "undemocratic" (or "unrepublican" if you wish) about the EC, is that, according to the Howstuffworks.com article mentioned above:
On the Monday following the second Wednesday in December, the electors of each state meet in their respective state capitals to officially cast their votes for president and vice president. This year that day is Dec. 18. (...) Most of the time, electors cast their votes for the candidate who has received the most votes in that particular state. However, there have been times when electors have voted contrary to the people's decision, which is entirely legal.
So the voter isn't actually voting for a candidate but for some guys who may actually contradict the popular desire of the citizens of their state !
Of course in any "Democracy" or "Republic" the "elected representatives" (President, VP, etc) may contradict the desires of the citizens, but in EC based systems (such as the U.S.) the range of this disrespect is allowed to reach even the election of these "representatives".
Hummmm.... I went back to the original post but couldn't find any direct reference to BSD. mfterman never claimed that the "unified, consistant and extendable XML setup for system, application and user configuration files" was inherited from BSD. Even the title of his post ("What GNU/Linux can learn from OS/X") makes this clear. Are you sure you aren't replying to the wrong post?
Look at the apple.com, for instance. Eye candy? Perhaps. Look again. Notice any _text_? It's nearly 100% images. Even what should've been sheer plaintext. Ugh. The average Apple user is very unlikely to notice. Apple realizes the Linux crowd is generally more perceptive to such things; it just might be that someone in there consciously made _that_ page much more lynx-friendly than the average apple.com site.
Uhm, no..... At least the apple.com homepage, when viewed in lynx allows you to select exactly the same links (and the search dialog) that appear in the graphic version. So do most Apple pages. Not iTools, but anyway you probably wouldn't want to use iTools with lynx...
By the way, I was unable to preview the html tags of this post when using the Extrans (html tags to text) option. Could someone fix this, please?
To start with there is a setting to get the menus up at the top (Mac style) in KDE. Of course, it sucks because it means you have to move the mouse a lot more to reach the menus, so no one in their right mind would use it.
In the Windows box I'm using right now, I have to move the mouse just an inch to cross the screen, with mouse acceleration set to the middle in the control panel.
In many window managers, nondestructive buttons such as Maximize are placed right next to destructive buttons such as Close, increasing the chances that the user will accidentally destroy a window. Again, even my grandmother can hit these buttons, so can you. I promise.
As a matter of fact, I use Windows daily and I still make that mistake occasionally, specially in Netscape, making me loose the page that I found after browsing for a long time... OK, call me a moron, but I know it's not a rare problem. On the other hand, in Linux I use WindowMaker's default button settings, so I don't have that problem.:-)
Umm, because you are a Mac user you think you have to hold the mouse down the whole time while using the menu, which you don't in Windows or in most window managers. Just click on the menu, and behold, it stays open. Move to the submenu (you can move the curser 16 laps around the screen on the way if that gets you going) and click on it. It will open too!
The Mac desktop is ANYTHING but ideal for todays computer usage. The position of the shortcuts (open the tiny little Apple menu) stinks, as does having to use a menu to change tasks, as does having to move the curser out of the window to get the menus. For anyone will to give them half a chance, the best of the Linux window managers are vastly superior in almost every way.
I think you didn't read the original post carefully. The guys says "I hate the classic MacOS..." I don't think he is a Mac user, or at least not a Mac zealot.
It seems you haven't used MacOS since version 7.x.x. Since a long time ago, Mac menus stay open when you click them. (I'm not sure if this is configurable or not, though...)
The original poster said nothing about this menu/mouse button issue, so your argument seems pointless, anyway. He was talking about a "forgiveness zone" which may be the reason why I select menus more accurately in MacOS than in WindowMaker. (Or at least it seems to me)
Paraphrasing you, if you gave the MacOS half a chance, you may find that its UI has some features that make it at least exemplary, even if the underlying OS sucks.
And by giving it half a chance, I mean using for a few hours a modern Mac with MacOS 8.x or 9.x, not ten minutes with MacOS 7.5. The last time I used an iMac (about a week ago) I even got used to the weird mouse after an hour or so, you just have to hold it differently. (I would stick to normal mice anyway).
They've probably already GOT ultra-secure versions of OpenBSD for PC-based, single-processor servers, but Linux isn't just for PC's or just for one processor.
OpenBSD branched from NetBSD and therefore it has been ported to a great number of hardware platforms (and could be ported easily to many more). See http://www.openbsd.org/plat.html for a list.
I'm not sure if OpenBSD (or NetBSD, for that matter) is multiprocessor enabled. But FreeBSD is, and AFAIK it's far more efficient than Linux handling several processors.
please educate yourself and realize that rc5 cracking is a pure integer task. Altivec does not help the slightest little bit.
AFAIK each 128 bit Altivec register can act as either four 32 bit FP registers, or as sixteen 8 bit/eight 16 bit/four 32 bit/two 64 bit/one 128 bit integer register(s) depending on your needs.
In that case you can certainly optimise rc5 cracking using Altivec.
If someone _must_ hold the Option key down to open the Startup Manager, this is unacceptable for any server (unless the user can specify a default boot partition and write it to firmware NVRAM).
The Option key method is used when you want to boot form a non-default volume. You are supposed to set the default boot volume (HD partition, CD, etc) using the Startup Device control panel, although I believe this still works only for MacOS. In the meantime, you must use special utilities to modify the NVRAM, or use a method similar to BootX, to boot non-Apple OS's.
What happens when the power is restored after an outage (and a graceful UPS shutdown)? Must I go to work at 3AM to hold down the Option key?
No, in that case the computer uses the default partition dictated by the NVRAM parameters.
Slashdot Mirror
So, the guy is no expert and he made several mistakes, but he is not as dumb as you imply.
I just checked Dell's site and found that comparable systems start at $819, not at $599 as you suggest. This cuts the $500 difference you claim to $280 (almost half).
Yes, I know that's not your point, but it does weaken it, doesn't it?
It seems you are confusing OSXVnc with Xvnc for OS X.
OSXVnc allows you to control your main (and only) Aqua/Quartz display (thus allowing you to work with your machine just as if you were sitting in front of it, as with the Windows and classic MacOS versions). I haven't tried it, but it displays all the Aqua applications and should also display Classic and X11 applications running in the main display.
Xvnc for MacOS X, on the other hand, is a patch for Xvnc that allows it to run under MacOS X. Xvnc allows you to create up to 99 X11 virtual desktops (with any X11 window manager) and run all your X11 applications (MacGimp, LyX, etc), but you can't run your Aqua applications in them.
OK, CNET sucks. But in the middle of the Download.com homepage there is a link to this page, where you can find the Mac related software.
1.12 times higher x 1.32 times wider x 1.7 times deeper = around 2.5 times in volume.
According to your numbers, the Archos is noticeably bigger than the iPod in terms of volume, mainly because it's almost twice as deep. No wonder it's almost twice as heavy.
Why would I?
If your Archos Jukebox 6000 can function as an external hard drive you would probably want to use it to backup your imporant files (and some not-so-important but HUGE files such as 700 MB movies). Or you could use it to transfer lots of huge files between computers that are too far away to connect directly.
In my opinion the iPod is not a portable MP3 player. It's a cool self-powered 2.5" Firewire drive that can be recharged trhough the FW cable and that hapens to play MP3's nicely.
In Tanenbaum's book there's an exercise where you tie a small box of 3 GB tapes around the neck of your dog Bernie (a Saint Bernard), and calculate his throughput and latency as a data transportation medium. It's in chapter 1, I think.
The train analogy was also good, though. Since a lot of people (other than CS/EE mayors) may learn something it's not karma whoring.
democracy 1. government by the people, usu. through elected representatives; 2. country so governed; 3. practical or social equality as opposed to aristocracy
republic 1. state in which the supreme power is held by the citizen qualified to vote, through their elected representatives and executive officers; 2. any nation of which the head of government is a president rather than a hereditary monarch
They're not quite the same, but almost. Anyway, according to these definitions, the U.S. are both a democracy AND a republic. But getting to the point, what is IMO most "undemocratic" (or "unrepublican" if you wish) about the EC, is that, according to the Howstuffworks.com article mentioned above:So the voter isn't actually voting for a candidate but for some guys who may actually contradict the popular desire of the citizens of their state !
Of course in any "Democracy" or "Republic" the "elected representatives" (President, VP, etc) may contradict the desires of the citizens, but in EC based systems (such as the U.S.) the range of this disrespect is allowed to reach even the election of these "representatives".Hummmm.... I went back to the original post but couldn't find any direct reference to BSD. mfterman never claimed that the "unified, consistant and extendable XML setup for system, application and user configuration files" was inherited from BSD. Even the title of his post ("What GNU/Linux can learn from OS/X") makes this clear. Are you sure you aren't replying to the wrong post?
I think they refer to the following error:
BootX is a Linux booter for MacOS which allows you to boot linux from withing MacOS
It should be within . I suppose it's only a typo, although we should let them know. Unfortunately, there is no e-mail address to write to...
Uhm, no..... At least the apple.com homepage, when viewed in lynx allows you to select exactly the same links (and the search dialog) that appear in the graphic version. So do most Apple pages. Not iTools, but anyway you probably wouldn't want to use iTools with lynx...
By the way, I was unable to preview the html tags of this post when using the Extrans (html tags to text) option. Could someone fix this, please?
Yes, the post is really a (bad) joke. But the link to AppleInsider is nevertheless interesting (and informative).
In the Windows box I'm using right now, I have to move the mouse just an inch to cross the screen, with mouse acceleration set to the middle in the control panel.
In many window managers, nondestructive buttons such as Maximize are placed right next to destructive buttons such as Close, increasing the chances that the user will accidentally destroy a window.
Again, even my grandmother can hit these buttons, so can you. I promise.
As a matter of fact, I use Windows daily and I still make that mistake occasionally, specially in Netscape, making me loose the page that I found after browsing for a long time... OK, call me a moron, but I know it's not a rare problem. On the other hand, in Linux I use WindowMaker's default button settings, so I don't have that problem.
Umm, because you are a Mac user you think you have to hold the mouse down the whole time while using the menu, which you don't in Windows or in most window managers. Just click on the menu, and behold, it stays open. Move to the submenu (you can move the curser 16 laps around the screen on the way if that gets you going) and click on it. It will open too!
The Mac desktop is ANYTHING but ideal for todays computer usage. The position of the shortcuts (open the tiny little Apple menu) stinks, as does having to use a menu to change tasks, as does having to move the curser out of the window to get the menus. For anyone will to give them half a chance, the best of the Linux window managers are vastly superior in almost every way.
And by giving it half a chance, I mean using for a few hours a modern Mac with MacOS 8.x or 9.x, not ten minutes with MacOS 7.5. The last time I used an iMac (about a week ago) I even got used to the weird mouse after an hour or so, you just have to hold it differently. (I would stick to normal mice anyway).
They've probably already GOT ultra-secure versions of OpenBSD for PC-based, single-processor servers, but Linux isn't just for PC's or just for one processor.
OpenBSD branched from NetBSD and therefore it has been ported to a great number of hardware platforms (and could be ported easily to many more). See http://www.openbsd.org/plat.html for a list.
I'm not sure if OpenBSD (or NetBSD, for that matter) is multiprocessor enabled. But FreeBSD is, and AFAIK it's far more efficient than Linux handling several processors.
please educate yourself and realize that rc5 cracking is a pure integer task. Altivec does not help the slightest little bit.
AFAIK each 128 bit Altivec register can act as either four 32 bit FP registers, or as sixteen 8 bit/eight 16 bit/four 32 bit/two 64 bit/one 128 bit integer register(s) depending on your needs.
In that case you can certainly optimise rc5 cracking using Altivec.
The Option key method is used when you want to boot form a non-default volume. You are supposed to set the default boot volume (HD partition, CD, etc) using the Startup Device control panel, although I believe this still works only for MacOS. In the meantime, you must use special utilities to modify the NVRAM, or use a method similar to BootX, to boot non-Apple OS's.
What happens when the power is restored after an outage (and a graceful UPS shutdown)? Must I go to work at 3AM to hold down the Option key?
No, in that case the computer uses the default partition dictated by the NVRAM parameters.