I agree. A prime example is Gaim, and it too could be considered a 'gateway drug' to F/OSS.;)
Now, I don't want to speak for the Gaim devs on this, but IMO, porting it to Win32 has little, if any, effect on it's development. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the main devs and patch writers put it all together and when it comes to release time, one guy compiles WinGaim and works out any Win32-specific bugs as needed. Given, the Windows port can be two or three days later than the *nix release, but as for the progress of the project overall, it certainly doesn't "slow down development and testing."
For more on who-does-what in the Gaim project, go here.
IBM has been doing this for a very, very long time. Ever wonder how the IBM-Compatible PC became so popular, and the Apples didn't? It's simple, IBM kept the AT backplane and CPU architecture open, and Apple didn't. Maintainers of the machines don't have to worry about interoperability, and have a huge list of vendors they can get software and add-on hardware from.
Open hardware is just as important as the software that runs on it.
I understand this Gallium-based "Liquid Metal" is highly conductive, but that does no good if the heat isn't being taken away from the chip. So my question is: Where does the heat go? Is there a radiator that's away from the chip somewhere that the hot Gallium is pumped to?
This is probably the smartest thing I've heard all day. Not only would bounties be bigger, but users would have an indirect say in what features got implemented. (i.e. - More users want feature X than Y, the bounty for X grows more rapidly than Y, X gets more man-hours of coding than Y and is implemented sooner.)
"Good to know that those files aren't completely locked."
Since when have we ever run across something that was 'completely locked?' I think if we've learned anything from the protectors v. crackers battle, it's that nothing can be totally locked down and still have a reasonable amount of usability.
First, to use bittorrent for file xfers, the files would need to be in multiple locations around his network.
Second, bittorent is no good for streaming technologies (live video/audio, gaming, etc').
In this case, bittorent doesn't really apply. However, I agree that intelligence is easier and cheaper to impliment at the application layer.
From the article: Single photons do not split, so if the hacker (Eve) measures the photons on the fibre, they will not reach the intended recipient (Bob).
IIRC, "Oscar" was the traditional (wo)man-in-the-middle. If this new "Eve" is hot, she can have all the photons she wants.
I've been playing piano for about five years now, and you're absolutely right. Now, if he could learn a song blindfolded, by ear, with bamboo shoots under his toe nails, then yes, it would be an accomplishment.
Oh, of course it would be a shock. I think you're right in that the bottle-neck lies in the patient's psychological ability to cope with the new vision and accompanying neural changes.
The thing is: It depends on having a viable set of optic nerves, etc'. Most people that (effectively) haven't had sight all their lives have functioning eyes (and in some cases even retinas) but due to infection during infancy, genetic defect, etc', either their optic nerves or parts of the brain are non-functional. (Case in point: Helen Kellar had meningitis as an infant and lost her hearing and sight before she was two years old.)
Consequently, the article has no mention of people "blind from birth" (as the original post suggests). This will, however, greatly benefit the folks that incurred eye damage as a result of an accident, age, and so forth.
The task of "rewiring the brain" isn't as much an issue as one might think.
There was an episode of Scientific American Frontier where a test subject was blindfolded and asked to interpret symbols (braille) by touch. The sight-area of the brain took on the task of interpreting the symbols (since it's used often for reading, etc') only after a few days without sight.
Adults learning to play music. I started piano lessons when I was starting high school and I suffer from some of the road-blocks of a late-starter. Nonetheless, I can do it.
The brain is an amazing, dynamic machine. If there's one hard and fast rule about it, it's that it has no hard and fast rules.
From the article: "We're here to give a face to people being hurt by illegal downloads," said Erin Enderlin, one of the songwriters. "When we don't get paid, we can't pay our rent."
When the heck has an executive said to a musician, "Sorry pal, due to illegal downloads, we don't have enough money to pay you."
Sorry, but the musicians-are-getting-screwed defense is a crock.
Slashdot Mirror
RTFA, man. They're using this for atom-smashing and the like. The nearest you'll ever come to a rail-weapon is your copy of Quake.
/. supper-happy-fun-times scientific article, not CSPAN.
Seriously, this is a
Oh, do tell me what kind of uesful payload you'd put into space that could withstand the acceleration of being shot out of one of these. ;-)
On the other hand, a chicken gun sounds like good times.
I agree. A prime example is Gaim, and it too could be considered a 'gateway drug' to F/OSS. ;)
Now, I don't want to speak for the Gaim devs on this, but IMO, porting it to Win32 has little, if any, effect on it's development. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the main devs and patch writers put it all together and when it comes to release time, one guy compiles WinGaim and works out any Win32-specific bugs as needed. Given, the Windows port can be two or three days later than the *nix release, but as for the progress of the project overall, it certainly doesn't "slow down development and testing."
For more on who-does-what in the Gaim project, go here.
You're absolutely right.
IBM has been doing this for a very, very long time. Ever wonder how the IBM-Compatible PC became so popular, and the Apples didn't? It's simple, IBM kept the AT backplane and CPU architecture open, and Apple didn't. Maintainers of the machines don't have to worry about interoperability, and have a huge list of vendors they can get software and add-on hardware from.
Open hardware is just as important as the software that runs on it.
"We're not yet sure about the right licensing terms for the libraries. It can be hard to give stuff away for free," Kahle said...
Yeah? Since when?
If you guys haven't already dl'ed it, don't bother -- it's not worth the bandwidth.
/.? Certainly not.
Funny? No.
Witty? Hardly.
Informative? Not Quite.
Worthy of
A pathetic attempt to plug an otherwise unremarkable blog? Bingo.
In the /. tradition, our commuity has been riding the crest of this digital wave with our BitTorrent clients for some time.
I understand this Gallium-based "Liquid Metal" is highly conductive, but that does no good if the heat isn't being taken away from the chip. So my question is: Where does the heat go? Is there a radiator that's away from the chip somewhere that the hot Gallium is pumped to?
Shouldn't they be sueing Monty Python and his gang? Just a thought..
...as free as beer can be.
This is probably the smartest thing I've heard all day. Not only would bounties be bigger, but users would have an indirect say in what features got implemented. (i.e. - More users want feature X than Y, the bounty for X grows more rapidly than Y, X gets more man-hours of coding than Y and is implemented sooner.)
"Good to know that those files aren't completely locked."
Since when have we ever run across something that was 'completely locked?' I think if we've learned anything from the protectors v. crackers battle, it's that nothing can be totally locked down and still have a reasonable amount of usability.
First, to use bittorrent for file xfers, the files would need to be in multiple locations around his network.
Second, bittorent is no good for streaming technologies (live video/audio, gaming, etc').
In this case, bittorent doesn't really apply. However, I agree that intelligence is easier and cheaper to impliment at the application layer.
From the article:
Single photons do not split, so if the hacker (Eve) measures the photons on the fibre, they will not reach the intended recipient (Bob).
IIRC, "Oscar" was the traditional (wo)man-in-the-middle. If this new "Eve" is hot, she can have all the photons she wants.
...or as we say in the south, "Stomp them HURD!"
Maybe I should get myself arrested so I can blog about prison life.
What do you guys think?
I've been playing piano for about five years now, and you're absolutely right.
Now, if he could learn a song blindfolded, by ear, with bamboo shoots under his toe nails, then yes, it would be an accomplishment.
Oh, of course it would be a shock. I think you're right in that the bottle-neck lies in the patient's psychological ability to cope with the new vision and accompanying neural changes.
Consequently, the article has no mention of people "blind from birth" (as the original post suggests). This will, however, greatly benefit the folks that incurred eye damage as a result of an accident, age, and so forth.
The task of "rewiring the brain" isn't as much an issue as one might think.
- There was an episode of Scientific American Frontier where a test subject was blindfolded and asked to interpret symbols (braille) by touch. The sight-area of the brain took on the task of interpreting the symbols (since it's used often for reading, etc') only after a few days without sight.
- Adults learning to play music. I started piano lessons when I was starting high school and I suffer from some of the road-blocks of a late-starter. Nonetheless, I can do it.
The brain is an amazing, dynamic machine. If there's one hard and fast rule about it, it's that it has no hard and fast rules.From the article: "We're here to give a face to people being hurt by illegal downloads," said Erin Enderlin, one of the songwriters. "When we don't get paid, we can't pay our rent."
When the heck has an executive said to a musician, "Sorry pal, due to illegal downloads, we don't have enough money to pay you."
Sorry, but the musicians-are-getting-screwed defense is a crock.