You don't patent your work, if you work at an observatory. I work in radio astronomy, so I'm familiar with the sort of stuff our crowd invents all the time that's not in the USPTO database.
Do you know what a heliostat is? It's a mirror that tracks the sun. Helio == sun. This is a patent application for a heliostat tracking system using a video camera.
Just because the rest of us use digital controllers, doesn't mean that everyone does. Process control suppliers such as Foxboro spent decades building analog loop controllers. Yes, they are used in big panels full of big analog gauges with actual knobs to set the setpoints and gains etc. I had the joy of working in a cement factory in 1982. It had a control room packed with analog Foxboro stuff. There was also a PDP-8 computer, but it didn't do anything to run the plant; it was used to compute batch ingredients based on quarry assays.
Symmetricon has been buying up all the other precision clock makers, and is now a monopoly. They can and do charge whatever they like for such products.
I used to pay Google to advertise my Nixie watches. Ho-hum results. Then time passed, and the Woz started to wear his Nixie watch when he talked in front of thousands of techno-geeks. I sell way more Nixie watches through Google's steering of folks searching for "woz watch" to my site, than I ever got by giving Google money for ads.
Amen. The notion that everyone is chasing each other's clicks to the bank is mystifying to me. Who's producing actual stuff?
The worst sites for me are the sites that have millions of electronic component part numbers listed on thousands of pages, but that don't sell any of these parts. WTF???!!!??
Of course, I'm looking for actual parts because I produce actual stuff to sell.
I work on a telescope that uses helium-based refrigeration systems like these, and they don't keep running more than a few months without maintenance. The displacer seals get worn out, and things go south fast.
The other computers that could be purchased at that time had rows of LEDs and switches on their front panels, and they needed them. The Apple was quite sophisticated for a single board computer - Altair and IMSAI used that many ICs just to make a CPU chip talk to a bus.
From TFA: "We haven’t negotiated rights for our programs to be viewed on anything other than a real TV. The question remains, what constitutes a real TV?"
I think the cable guys have their knickers in a twist because soon the only thing their cable will carry is TCP/IP.
It's not slavery. Working for the betterment of mankind instead of its hasty demise is liberating. On the contrary, working for greedy pigs is slavery, no matter how much money they give you.
I used to work for the military-industrial complex. It paid very well, but it's a soul-sucking job. After one of my kids developed cancer and 9-11 happened, I decided that I couldn't go on in that line of work, and left the industry. I now work at a university for 1/3 the income, and feel much better about what I do for a living.
Slashdot Mirror
You don't patent your work, if you work at an observatory. I work in radio astronomy, so I'm familiar with the sort of stuff our crowd invents all the time that's not in the USPTO database.
That's the problem with the USPTO, in a nutshell.
Do you know what a heliostat is? It's a mirror that tracks the sun. Helio == sun. This is a patent application for a heliostat tracking system using a video camera.
Just because the rest of us use digital controllers, doesn't mean that everyone does.
Process control suppliers such as Foxboro spent decades building analog loop controllers. Yes, they are used in big panels full of big analog gauges with actual knobs to set the setpoints and gains etc.
I had the joy of working in a cement factory in 1982. It had a control room packed with analog Foxboro stuff. There was also a PDP-8 computer, but it didn't do anything to run the plant; it was used to compute batch ingredients based on quarry assays.
You try having kids and not calling them LEGOs. "Sammy! Clean up your LEGOs right this minute!"
Technic LEGOs are 8mm tall. I don't know what is this "brick" thing you speak of.
Legos are 8mm tall.
There is a difference between movies and videos, and between projectors and cameras. Subtle, but it's there.
Er, his brother, who's a weightlifter, has it.
I'd love to give it a break, but every time I turn around they've ruined another perfectly good product designed by someone else.
Symmetricon has been buying up all the other precision clock makers, and is now a monopoly. They can and do charge whatever they like for such products.
And she didn't use it. She used tumblr to host her photos.
She got what she paid for.
Big hosting companies don't care that it's counterproductive. They have policies.
Best to buy a domain name for yourself.
I used to pay Google to advertise my Nixie watches. Ho-hum results. Then time passed, and the Woz started to wear his Nixie watch when he talked in front of thousands of techno-geeks. I sell way more Nixie watches through Google's steering of folks searching for "woz watch" to my site, than I ever got by giving Google money for ads.
Amen. The notion that everyone is chasing each other's clicks to the bank is mystifying to me. Who's producing actual stuff?
The worst sites for me are the sites that have millions of electronic component part numbers listed on thousands of pages, but that don't sell any of these parts. WTF???!!!??
Of course, I'm looking for actual parts because I produce actual stuff to sell.
I work on a telescope that uses helium-based refrigeration systems like these, and they don't keep running more than a few months without maintenance. The displacer seals get worn out, and things go south fast.
If not, then I don't expect to notice a change in the Internet.
The PowerPC sorta has that zero page with 65536 registers. At least, you have to stand on your head to get a 32 bit literal into it.
The other computers that could be purchased at that time had rows of LEDs and switches on their front panels, and they needed them. The Apple was quite sophisticated for a single board computer - Altair and IMSAI used that many ICs just to make a CPU chip talk to a bus.
From TFA: "We haven’t negotiated rights for our programs to be viewed on anything other than a real TV. The question remains, what constitutes a real TV?"
I think the cable guys have their knickers in a twist because soon the only thing their cable will carry is TCP/IP.
You can make the people appear any which way you like, by reversing the leads to the deflection yoke.
Not only that, but I'm much happier these days. Life is fun again!
It's not slavery. Working for the betterment of mankind instead of its hasty demise is liberating. On the contrary, working for greedy pigs is slavery, no matter how much money they give you.
I used to work for the military-industrial complex. It paid very well, but it's a soul-sucking job. After one of my kids developed cancer and 9-11 happened, I decided that I couldn't go on in that line of work, and left the industry. I now work at a university for 1/3 the income, and feel much better about what I do for a living.
So was my twin brother. Hmm... two suits. Birthday presents for each other?
Darn right! I HATE those content farms.
The Anarchists Cookbook is a very provocative book on first sight, but the closer one looks, the more it is revealed to be a coffee-table ornament.