I wonder if when the first e-mail message was sent over 30 years, the sender would imagine that only a short time later his invention would be abused by marketers. Although it is true that we all get junk mail in our physical mailboxes, it seems like such a violation of the technology to get them in our e-mail. Here we have an system of computers which is so powerful that it links the whole world. It is the ideal medium for knowledge. It is a convient mode of communication. But this great thing we call the internet is becoming more of a tool of advertising than the great source of unity it was intended to be. As nerds and rightful inheritors of this technology we should be outraged that it has degraded into such a state.
They can call that little thing whatever they want but its still a PDA, which most people do not have. As of right now most people who want computers and can afford them already have one. If this device is intended for people who are currently unsure about buying a computer, the marketers are not very intelligent. People who are wary about technology are not going to be any more inclined to buy this than they are to buy an imac.
In this interview Moore mention that the chief reason that more people are not entering into the technical field is that kids are not really properly introduced to it in thier pre-college years. I fully agree with this belief, but i also think it is due to some other factors. Although a nerd's status in society has greatly improved since the eighties, there still exists a stereotype that nerds(hackers, engineers...) are socially inept and romantically unatractive. This belief is instilled in most children, forever deterrering them from a deep interest in computers. To some degree of course this stereotype is true, but then again most people who have highly developed social skills and popular personalities are the ones who tend to avoid the technical fields.
Although, nerds are now often portrayed as malicious computer crackers, our image has improved since the 80s. In many movies/shows nerds have a cool persona about them, often respectected to some degree, at least for their skills. This portrait of us may not be ideal, but it is sureley better than the socially inept, pocket protecting wearing, geek of the 80s and early 90s. This change proabably comes from the fact that most americans have computers and the internet is no longer portrayed as an esorteric gathering place for those who do not fit into society.
a previous post mention that the screen was spinning at 600rpm. A glass plate spinning at 600rpm would have to be very well balanced. if it was at all off centered then the thing would mostlike fall over and start spinning around until it broke. I imagine this thing is bolted quite well to their desk.
I think when generating this list Gamespot was trying to be nice to everyone. There are quite a few people on here who i would not consider Godfathers. For instance the dude who made Croc, is not worthy of the title godfather. His games were not entertaining nor technologically ground breaking.
I'm not sure in what order the list was generated, but Shigeru Miyamoto should definetly be first.
i guess overall it is a cool list, but they really need to narrow it down ot like 5 people.
While on a tour of the MIT AI labs i was shown a project they were working on, which has similair components to this. Essentially what they were doing was, creating a system in which they could point to a part of the room (with their hand) and vocally tell the computer to project some image there. The project is called Hal The Next Generation Intelligent Room
I know a lot of linux fans hate the idea of a government running Windows on thier machines. However, if for some reason the software was to fail and seriously screw something up, you guys would be able to sit back and laugh as Bill Gates is being prosecuted for international war crimes.
People are entirely valid when they accuse anonymity of protecting criminals. However, its protection is not merely limited to the socially unconscious, it also applies to the thousands of people, who can voice their opinions without fear of violent retribution. Although, the United States constitution does not grant us the freedom of anonymity, it does gaurantee us the right to speech and the right to live without fear. If these rights can only be protected, by allowing citizens to remain nameless than so be it. Until the rise of the internet such anonymity was nearly impossible, being published in a newspaper or magazine could be difficult if your views deviated from that of the publisher. In breaking that sort of freedom you are approaching a complete breech of our rights and freedoms as American Citizens
Might it be possible that the black outs in california are caused by one of the many particle accelerators there. I remember reading about a fusion lab in california which used in one day the same that a city used in a month. This demonstrates that not only does fusion not produce electricity, but causes blackouts in Calfornia.:)
p.s. I'm not actually serious
I personally don't think a pocket linux is that feasable. The console is one of linux's most powerful features. Considering how tedious it is to enter characters on a pda, it would be impractical to use linux in console mode. Linux is also good because of it's developement enviroment and its excellence at running servers. Again neither of these would work well on a PDA. For the same reason you can't use a console on a PDA it would also be hard to program. Running a server would be an absurd thing to do on a PDA, because they are mobile, very rarely do they have a constant internet connection.
Although it would be great to have an open source OS on a PDA i don't think linux is the right answer.
I read somewhere that Sega never actually made any moeny on the dreamcast, only on the liscensing of games. It cost them something like $250 to manufacture and they sold it for 200. If anything this announcment means they will be making more money because they will only be making games
As most of us know Microsoft was out to get Java from the start. Their reasons were quite simple really: they feared and hated what they could not control. Over the past 5(more/less?) years we have seen microsoft make many attempts at destroying java. Many of these attacks have been only partially successful, although they have removed Java from some areas, it is still quite strong in others. As some of you may know, Java is the most common language taught in College Comp Sci courses. In the past 2 years schools have been increasingly moving away from c++ and closer to java. I believe this recent victory of Microsoft will barely influence college's choice to use Java.
It is obvious that the world, and more specifically the US needs to address this issue of global warming. However considering our new president has a horrible record with the enviroment, it is highly unlikely that this problem will even be addressed by the US anytime in the next 4 years. Let us not loose hope, if the government won't do something, then let us. I imagine most readers of slashdot are above the average intelligence, therefore, let us brainstorm some possible solutions. I have heard some ideas in some of the previous comments, however many of them are out of science fiction and are not very plausible in the near future. So, instead let us try to generate some realistic ideas.
Dan East (the author) has said that he will release the source code, but because this is just an early alpha he is going to wait until he has the code to a more stable state. Technically it is a violation of the GPL, but it will be fixed.
They are already at the same level as Bell Labs and i think they are nearly as old. Personally i'de say they are the two most imrpessive private research firms. They are the only computer companies that can claim nobel prizes. Here is a list of the years in which each was one. The only one which is actually related to computers is Bell's 1956 award for the discovery fo the transistor.
Bell: 1988,1978,1977,1956
IBM: 1987,1986,1973
Uhm 256 sounds pretty crappy considering they don't expect mainstream production for 10 years. By that time 256 meg will be meaningless. The average amount fo ram today is like 64 to 128 meg. it will only be about a year or two until the average is 256. In ten years i wiouldn't be surprised fi the average RAM per computer is like 2 gig.
Although buckyball transistors would indeed be useful for storage it wouldn't be in the form of a harddrive like we know them. Hard drivers are mechanical things that store stuff magenetically. these would work alot like RAM.
While visiting the MIT AI labs, i had the honor to use a phantom (or at least a prototype of it). This thing was almsot like a drug. The five minutes i used it made be addicted. Being able to feel and move around objects which do not actualyl exist is truly amazing. It is a feel which i cannot wholy describe. Needless to say it was painfully hard returning to my normal mouse. The potential for phantom like products is stagery. They are already being widely used in graphics design and engineering. However, like msot technologies it would be very popular for entertainment purposes. Combinded with 3D glasses and a nice video card it would allow for some very itneresting 3D GUIs.
Obviously the LEDs aren't actually alive. It would be a little absurd to have a bunch of little glwoing bugs running around in your monitor.
But on the plus side of all that your monitor wouldn't have to be plugged in. you just have to feed it a cup of simple proteins each day.
Then there is the problem of your monitor evolving into some new form of life. Theoretically if you left your monitor going for long enough it might be become an ape or a fish or something.
I heard the Quake idea might actually be done. It was prolly just some internal rumor, but it would be a good way for compaq to show off the power of the handheld. As far as the idea of running linux on a PDA, it is pretty absurd to me. I find the main function of linux is superior servering and of course the open sourceness. Now obviously running servers on a PDA is not the brightest idea. The open source part would allow much more customability of a PDA, but think about it. The iPaq is mainly designed to run pocketpc and it is msot functional runnign it. Although linux would be pretty cool it would take some of the functionability out of the device. And after payign 500 dollars for a PDA i'de wnat it to perform optimally.
I remember when the Metallica suit was first made public. Some people interviewed other musicians. i distinctly remember courtny love saying Metallica was greedy amd she would be honored if people wanted to download her music
If anyone has seen startrek(prolly everyone reading this) they will know that the borg are connected to everyother borg. Each borg must have terabit of bandwidth, because they communicate their every thought and reaction to every other borg. In their society everyone gets nearly unlimited bandwidth. Sure, the individual lacks any real unqiue thought, but at least they all have a really kick ass connection to the borgnet.
I agree with you and would love to help start a fund. But we gotta remember that Andover and VA merged. I'm pretty sure the people at VA have a lot of money.
I could easily see microsoft doign this, however their definition of "parts of the Windows operating system code used by independent software companies to design their software applications to run on Windows" is probably much different than everyone else's opinion. The use of the word "software companies" might mean it's only open to them, not the whole community.
Slashdot Mirror
I wonder if when the first e-mail message was sent over 30 years, the sender would imagine that only a short time later his invention would be abused by marketers. Although it is true that we all get junk mail in our physical mailboxes, it seems like such a violation of the technology to get them in our e-mail. Here we have an system of computers which is so powerful that it links the whole world. It is the ideal medium for knowledge. It is a convient mode of communication. But this great thing we call the internet is becoming more of a tool of advertising than the great source of unity it was intended to be. As nerds and rightful inheritors of this technology we should be outraged that it has degraded into such a state.
They can call that little thing whatever they want but its still a PDA, which most people do not have. As of right now most people who want computers and can afford them already have one. If this device is intended for people who are currently unsure about buying a computer, the marketers are not very intelligent. People who are wary about technology are not going to be any more inclined to buy this than they are to buy an imac.
In this interview Moore mention that the chief reason that more people are not entering into the technical field is that kids are not really properly introduced to it in thier pre-college years. I fully agree with this belief, but i also think it is due to some other factors. Although a nerd's status in society has greatly improved since the eighties, there still exists a stereotype that nerds(hackers, engineers...) are socially inept and romantically unatractive. This belief is instilled in most children, forever deterrering them from a deep interest in computers. To some degree of course this stereotype is true, but then again most people who have highly developed social skills and popular personalities are the ones who tend to avoid the technical fields.
Although, nerds are now often portrayed as malicious computer crackers, our image has improved since the 80s. In many movies/shows nerds have a cool persona about them, often respectected to some degree, at least for their skills. This portrait of us may not be ideal, but it is sureley better than the socially inept, pocket protecting wearing, geek of the 80s and early 90s. This change proabably comes from the fact that most americans have computers and the internet is no longer portrayed as an esorteric gathering place for those who do not fit into society.
a previous post mention that the screen was spinning at 600rpm. A glass plate spinning at 600rpm would have to be very well balanced. if it was at all off centered then the thing would mostlike fall over and start spinning around until it broke. I imagine this thing is bolted quite well to their desk.
I think when generating this list Gamespot was trying to be nice to everyone. There are quite a few people on here who i would not consider Godfathers. For instance the dude who made Croc, is not worthy of the title godfather. His games were not entertaining nor technologically ground breaking. I'm not sure in what order the list was generated, but Shigeru Miyamoto should definetly be first. i guess overall it is a cool list, but they really need to narrow it down ot like 5 people.
While on a tour of the MIT AI labs i was shown a project they were working on, which has similair components to this. Essentially what they were doing was, creating a system in which they could point to a part of the room (with their hand) and vocally tell the computer to project some image there. The project is called Hal The Next Generation Intelligent Room
I know a lot of linux fans hate the idea of a government running Windows on thier machines. However, if for some reason the software was to fail and seriously screw something up, you guys would be able to sit back and laugh as Bill Gates is being prosecuted for international war crimes.
People are entirely valid when they accuse anonymity of protecting criminals. However, its protection is not merely limited to the socially unconscious, it also applies to the thousands of people, who can voice their opinions without fear of violent retribution. Although, the United States constitution does not grant us the freedom of anonymity, it does gaurantee us the right to speech and the right to live without fear. If these rights can only be protected, by allowing citizens to remain nameless than so be it. Until the rise of the internet such anonymity was nearly impossible, being published in a newspaper or magazine could be difficult if your views deviated from that of the publisher. In breaking that sort of freedom you are approaching a complete breech of our rights and freedoms as American Citizens
Might it be possible that the black outs in california are caused by one of the many particle accelerators there. I remember reading about a fusion lab in california which used in one day the same that a city used in a month. This demonstrates that not only does fusion not produce electricity, but causes blackouts in Calfornia. :)
p.s. I'm not actually serious
I personally don't think a pocket linux is that feasable. The console is one of linux's most powerful features. Considering how tedious it is to enter characters on a pda, it would be impractical to use linux in console mode. Linux is also good because of it's developement enviroment and its excellence at running servers. Again neither of these would work well on a PDA. For the same reason you can't use a console on a PDA it would also be hard to program. Running a server would be an absurd thing to do on a PDA, because they are mobile, very rarely do they have a constant internet connection. Although it would be great to have an open source OS on a PDA i don't think linux is the right answer.
I read somewhere that Sega never actually made any moeny on the dreamcast, only on the liscensing of games. It cost them something like $250 to manufacture and they sold it for 200. If anything this announcment means they will be making more money because they will only be making games
As most of us know Microsoft was out to get Java from the start. Their reasons were quite simple really: they feared and hated what they could not control. Over the past 5(more/less?) years we have seen microsoft make many attempts at destroying java. Many of these attacks have been only partially successful, although they have removed Java from some areas, it is still quite strong in others. As some of you may know, Java is the most common language taught in College Comp Sci courses. In the past 2 years schools have been increasingly moving away from c++ and closer to java. I believe this recent victory of Microsoft will barely influence college's choice to use Java.
It is obvious that the world, and more specifically the US needs to address this issue of global warming. However considering our new president has a horrible record with the enviroment, it is highly unlikely that this problem will even be addressed by the US anytime in the next 4 years. Let us not loose hope, if the government won't do something, then let us. I imagine most readers of slashdot are above the average intelligence, therefore, let us brainstorm some possible solutions. I have heard some ideas in some of the previous comments, however many of them are out of science fiction and are not very plausible in the near future. So, instead let us try to generate some realistic ideas.
Dan East (the author) has said that he will release the source code, but because this is just an early alpha he is going to wait until he has the code to a more stable state. Technically it is a violation of the GPL, but it will be fixed.
They are already at the same level as Bell Labs and i think they are nearly as old. Personally i'de say they are the two most imrpessive private research firms. They are the only computer companies that can claim nobel prizes. Here is a list of the years in which each was one. The only one which is actually related to computers is Bell's 1956 award for the discovery fo the transistor. Bell: 1988,1978,1977,1956 IBM: 1987,1986,1973
Uhm 256 sounds pretty crappy considering they don't expect mainstream production for 10 years. By that time 256 meg will be meaningless. The average amount fo ram today is like 64 to 128 meg. it will only be about a year or two until the average is 256. In ten years i wiouldn't be surprised fi the average RAM per computer is like 2 gig.
Although buckyball transistors would indeed be useful for storage it wouldn't be in the form of a harddrive like we know them. Hard drivers are mechanical things that store stuff magenetically. these would work alot like RAM.
While visiting the MIT AI labs, i had the honor to use a phantom (or at least a prototype of it). This thing was almsot like a drug. The five minutes i used it made be addicted. Being able to feel and move around objects which do not actualyl exist is truly amazing. It is a feel which i cannot wholy describe. Needless to say it was painfully hard returning to my normal mouse. The potential for phantom like products is stagery. They are already being widely used in graphics design and engineering. However, like msot technologies it would be very popular for entertainment purposes. Combinded with 3D glasses and a nice video card it would allow for some very itneresting 3D GUIs.
Obviously the LEDs aren't actually alive. It would be a little absurd to have a bunch of little glwoing bugs running around in your monitor. But on the plus side of all that your monitor wouldn't have to be plugged in. you just have to feed it a cup of simple proteins each day. Then there is the problem of your monitor evolving into some new form of life. Theoretically if you left your monitor going for long enough it might be become an ape or a fish or something.
I heard the Quake idea might actually be done. It was prolly just some internal rumor, but it would be a good way for compaq to show off the power of the handheld. As far as the idea of running linux on a PDA, it is pretty absurd to me. I find the main function of linux is superior servering and of course the open sourceness. Now obviously running servers on a PDA is not the brightest idea. The open source part would allow much more customability of a PDA, but think about it. The iPaq is mainly designed to run pocketpc and it is msot functional runnign it. Although linux would be pretty cool it would take some of the functionability out of the device. And after payign 500 dollars for a PDA i'de wnat it to perform optimally.
I remember when the Metallica suit was first made public. Some people interviewed other musicians. i distinctly remember courtny love saying Metallica was greedy amd she would be honored if people wanted to download her music
If anyone has seen startrek(prolly everyone reading this) they will know that the borg are connected to everyother borg. Each borg must have terabit of bandwidth, because they communicate their every thought and reaction to every other borg. In their society everyone gets nearly unlimited bandwidth. Sure, the individual lacks any real unqiue thought, but at least they all have a really kick ass connection to the borgnet.
I agree with you and would love to help start a fund. But we gotta remember that Andover and VA merged. I'm pretty sure the people at VA have a lot of money.
I could easily see microsoft doign this, however their definition of "parts of the Windows operating system code used by independent software companies to design their software applications to run on Windows" is probably much different than everyone else's opinion. The use of the word "software companies" might mean it's only open to them, not the whole community.