For true holographic displays, we need a resolution smaller then the wavelength of light, and a metric f*ckton of processing power. I think we'll be there in 20-40 years.
The real reason why 3D failed in the 60s was that it required keeping two projectors synchronized. This proved too difficult, and theater owners decided to abandon 3D. Until we can get holographic displays; I anticipate that "3D" movies will be a niche option, like diet soda.
I look at 3D like the evolution of color film. Some movies were hand-painted. Then other movies had short scenes in limited color. Some color films required special projectors that were very dark and blurry, or had a lot of flicker. Eventually, color was exclusive to Disney animations because technicolor couldn't be filmed live. Finally, when technicolor cameras were invented, it still took a long time to become the "default" because it was expensive to use.
A CEO getting butthurt over not following something in their company core values shouldn't be running that company. Not everything can be easily quantifiable by dollars and cents, but you can bet your ass that that corporate philosophy has made them money over the years. Schmidt is short sighted.
Or perhaps Schidmt's interpretation of "don't be evil" was different. I think he thought they could still not be evil by working with China.
While I agree that experience should, of course, count towards salary--I've also encountered a *LOT* of IT staff in general and programmers in particular who stubbornly refused to learn anything new after they left college (or shortly afterward). They fell further and further behind and became more useless every day. I have absolutely no sympathy for someone who works in a field as fast-changing as a computer-related field and refuses to learn new skills (including, *GASP*, on your OWN time). These are not professions in which it is cute (or acceptable in any way) to be the old curmudgeon.
That's not quite the case here. The lead was someone who they couldn't go out and hire; he knew the business, and seemed pretty capable when it came to the desired technology.
There's something to be said for people who "know the business" in that they're harder to find then people who know the latest technology.
Intel has a very efficient design and *internally* build structure, with the best process technology in the industry. Which means 32nm Intel chips battle 42nm ARM ones. It was this process disadvantage that did for AMD
Which is really getting to the point that most people are missing: Most mobile apps talk to some kind of server in "the cloud." This server in "the cloud" is most likely Intel, with a fair mix of Windows and Linux.
Intel isn't letting go of the server market any time soon; and I don't expect anyone to run a server off of an iPad any time soon either. Furthermore, Intel's made plenty of investments in Linux such that they aren't wedded to Microsoft for managing their servers.
After reading two pages of the really long and drawn out article; I didn't see any mention of the simple social gaming metric that the industry talks about: Cost per user acquisition: It costs every game about $1-3 per user they acquire, usually through direct advertising.
The newer Civics get better mileage then the 03s and 04s. Anyway, the Hybrid really isn't about gas savings. It's a quieter and smoother ride, and has climate control.
Odd. We have a 2008 Camry Hybrid and a 2010 Prius, and both shutdown the engine in the cold.
It's because the Honda system is completely different then the Toyota system. In the Toyota system, you can still drive with the engine off, thus if it takes an extra second or two for the gas engine to start, it's not a big deal.
The same can't be said for cars discussed in the article; or Honda hybrids. Honda hybrids are an ordinary car with a dynamo embedded in the engine block. They can't run on just electricity like the Toyotas can. It's because Honda's dynamo is directly attached to the crankshaft, unlike Toyota where the hybrid system is a completely new kind of transmission.
And, believe me when I say this, I've had to really crank my Honda hybrid on a very cold New England morning. If you're driving down the street in a Toyota hybrid on a very cold New England morning, you might feel some kind of louder or harder thud when its gas motor kicks in.
Well, I bought the car because it's smooth and quiet. Maintenance isn't as cheap as an ordinary car because its CVT transmission needs flushing every 6-12 months. In addition, it's hard to take the car anywhere but Honda if I'm doing anything other then an oil change, even though it's a "light" hybrid. This is the first car I've owned for 7 years, so I really can't compare it to anything else. I'm also going to be on the hook for about 2-3K worth of work so I can pass my CA smog test this summer. (First major repair out-of-warrenty)
The nice thing about the car is that I can go about 400 miles on a single tank, or almost 500 when most of the trip is downhill. It's also nice knowing that my cost of operation isn't going to swing out of whack based on gas.
That being said; if I really wanted the cheapest and most reliable Civic possible, I'd have bought the 5-speed LX instead of the hybrid. I'm happy to spend the extra money for something that's quiet and has a smoother ride.
Does anyone know the truth? Was the engineer full of it? Is Ford using higher-capacity and/or faster-charging batteries? Don't tell me to RTFA, because I did and know enough not to take everything at face value.
My guess is that it requires a different kind of starter. My 2003 Civic Hybrid has this feature; but the reason why it works is that there's a 15hp dynamo built into the engine block.
I really like Mercurial, and I'm starting to switch to git because github has a really nice way to merge in changes. That being said, I'm still not 100% sure that distributed source code control is the *perfect* solution. I really like Perforce and Microsoft's Team Foundation Server; and I'm not going to be snobbish or require that all team members host local copies of all of the history if there's a more appropriate tool for the team's dynamic.
43 pages sounds a bit insane, until you actually look at it. Large print, lots of diagrams, lots of whitespace/formatting not 43 walls of text. It actually looks pretty clean and readable.
It's actually pretty admirable; and respectful of the people who need to dress the part. There are plenty of business situations where appearance DOES matter, and having a well put together guide helps this.
It almost reminds me of how Disney World doesn't have employees; it has cast members.
It also reminds me of how when I used to Google various Oracle issues; I kept coming across articles from a contracting company. They clearly stated on their "employment" page that their employees are expected to wear suits when making on-site calls at banks; but could work in their underwear when telecommuting.
I've generally been enjoying SGU on an episode-by-episode basis; but the twists have been getting a little ridiculous. The energy signature thing was a little too hokey for me. I was hoping they weren't going to do the American thing and draw the series out faaar too long, given that Stargate is a decent franchise; but now it seems like they got too ambitious and won't get to put in a good plot ending.
I started using a different password for every site and tracking them in a spreadsheet. It's grown too unwieldy for decent use, and it's surprising to see the number of things that I've signed up for.
Last night I managed to get a free Chrome (CR-48) laptop.:) The first thing I did was log into ObjectCloud, my operating system designed for web computers.
The nice thing about ObjectCloud is that it's an operating system that you can host yourself on your own cable modem; or inexpensively at a hosting provider like Rackspace. ObjectCloud has a very simple programming model, so you can write cloud-based web applications in a web browser on the Chrome laptop, all while hosting it on a simple server behind your router on your cable modem.
With this in mind, one thing that would be nice to have are offline apps. This way, a glitch in Internet connectivity would not mean a corrupted term paper.
That's what local storage in HTML 5 is for. When I played with Google Gears in 2007, there was a complete Javascript API for an in-browser SQLite database; AND I could specify which files would be served locally. Thus, I could make a web application that would work without an internet connection.
Google Gears is now depricated because a lot of the lessons are applied to the HTML 5 spec.
Last week I watched a Microsoft Rep demonstrate MongoDB on Azure. He didn't even configure the database with enough space to store a single document. (MongoDB pre-allocates large blocks of disk space to avoid fragmentation.)
It seems like they're genuinely trying to make cloud services easier to to set up and administer; but they're doing a bad job of making it simple to understand. For example, I know that a VM at Rackspace costs $xx a month and does whatever I want it to do. In contrast, even though Azure has services that sound nice; the system itself is so difficult to understand that I don't know what I need to buy or how much it'll cost me.
This is why you build each group of cores and the corresponding cache on a separate die, test and bin each die independently, then wire them together inside the package. Sure, there's the added potential for interconnect failure, but so long as you test the integrated module before you epoxy the lid on, you should be able to salvage those parts.
Reducing the core count lets Oracle make each core bigger, to add features making each faster. But can't Oracle keep the same core count, and instead of increasing the core count in the next generation the way most other CPU makers will, just add circuits to each existing core? Is it really necessary to reduce the count? Process size will probably also be shrinking in that generation, and new tricks developed, as usual. Can't Oracle just make a bigger chip, and also keep the benefits of the high core count Sun already achieved?
From what it sounds like, Oracle could be devoting the extra space to cache. A large cache can go a long way in CPU-bound operations; or help make a very fast database.
Making a bigger chip isn't as easy as it sounds. As the die size increases, the probability of a defect within the die increases. (Imagine that you have 5 specs of dust on a wafer, if the die size is larger then the ratio of good to bad is worse.) Large die sizes will also have problems with heat distribution, or could limit total clock speed due to irregularities that small die sizes mitigate.
It requires jailbreaking, and they said "Native applications are web applications. It's fully possible to do everything that you can do with native technology with web technologies". Which sounds pretty dubious, although it does apparently support NativeClient.
My guess is that Jailbreaking may be needed for bleeding edge browser plugins.
It provides a set of APIs that can be used to federate social networks.
Not quite. I spoke with them when they ran an installfeast a few weeks ago, and they don't provide the APIs.
What they did is follow the OStatus recommendations, and then built their own undocumented APIs for items that are private. Yes, Diaspora is open-source, but their APIs beyond OStatus aren't documented enough to the point where someone else can build a compatible network.
For some context, OStatus is a recommendation to support a whole bunch of independently-developed protocols that lets you have a federated twitter where you don't know who's following you. There's no way to share private information when following OStatus.
Somehow I don't see a startup needing NoSQL unless they specialized in processing huge amounts of data, in which case trying to make slashdot work on your core business seems stupid. But maybe I missed something...
It depends on the kinds of queries and/or feature set you're trying to do. Don't assume that NoSQL is all about scalability, I chose MongoDB for my startup because we have a requirement that's very difficult to address in MySQL, but trivial in MongoDB.
Slashdot Mirror
All you need to do is grab an extra set of glasses and put one of the filters in front of the camera.
For true holographic displays, we need a resolution smaller then the wavelength of light, and a metric f*ckton of processing power. I think we'll be there in 20-40 years.
The real reason why 3D failed in the 60s was that it required keeping two projectors synchronized. This proved too difficult, and theater owners decided to abandon 3D. Until we can get holographic displays; I anticipate that "3D" movies will be a niche option, like diet soda.
I look at 3D like the evolution of color film. Some movies were hand-painted. Then other movies had short scenes in limited color. Some color films required special projectors that were very dark and blurry, or had a lot of flicker. Eventually, color was exclusive to Disney animations because technicolor couldn't be filmed live. Finally, when technicolor cameras were invented, it still took a long time to become the "default" because it was expensive to use.
They will find out that the Matrix true purpose is not energy generation, but to discover the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.
And then the execs cancel Stargate Universe.
A CEO getting butthurt over not following something in their company core values shouldn't be running that company. Not everything can be easily quantifiable by dollars and cents, but you can bet your ass that that corporate philosophy has made them money over the years. Schmidt is short sighted.
Or perhaps Schidmt's interpretation of "don't be evil" was different. I think he thought they could still not be evil by working with China.
While I agree that experience should, of course, count towards salary--I've also encountered a *LOT* of IT staff in general and programmers in particular who stubbornly refused to learn anything new after they left college (or shortly afterward). They fell further and further behind and became more useless every day. I have absolutely no sympathy for someone who works in a field as fast-changing as a computer-related field and refuses to learn new skills (including, *GASP*, on your OWN time). These are not professions in which it is cute (or acceptable in any way) to be the old curmudgeon.
That's not quite the case here. The lead was someone who they couldn't go out and hire; he knew the business, and seemed pretty capable when it came to the desired technology.
There's something to be said for people who "know the business" in that they're harder to find then people who know the latest technology.
Intel has a very efficient design and *internally* build structure, with the best process technology in the industry. Which means 32nm Intel chips battle 42nm ARM ones. It was this process disadvantage that did for AMD
Which is really getting to the point that most people are missing: Most mobile apps talk to some kind of server in "the cloud." This server in "the cloud" is most likely Intel, with a fair mix of Windows and Linux.
Intel isn't letting go of the server market any time soon; and I don't expect anyone to run a server off of an iPad any time soon either. Furthermore, Intel's made plenty of investments in Linux such that they aren't wedded to Microsoft for managing their servers.
After reading two pages of the really long and drawn out article; I didn't see any mention of the simple social gaming metric that the industry talks about: Cost per user acquisition: It costs every game about $1-3 per user they acquire, usually through direct advertising.
The newer Civics get better mileage then the 03s and 04s. Anyway, the Hybrid really isn't about gas savings. It's a quieter and smoother ride, and has climate control.
Odd. We have a 2008 Camry Hybrid and a 2010 Prius, and both shutdown the engine in the cold.
It's because the Honda system is completely different then the Toyota system. In the Toyota system, you can still drive with the engine off, thus if it takes an extra second or two for the gas engine to start, it's not a big deal.
The same can't be said for cars discussed in the article; or Honda hybrids. Honda hybrids are an ordinary car with a dynamo embedded in the engine block. They can't run on just electricity like the Toyotas can. It's because Honda's dynamo is directly attached to the crankshaft, unlike Toyota where the hybrid system is a completely new kind of transmission.
And, believe me when I say this, I've had to really crank my Honda hybrid on a very cold New England morning. If you're driving down the street in a Toyota hybrid on a very cold New England morning, you might feel some kind of louder or harder thud when its gas motor kicks in.
Well, I bought the car because it's smooth and quiet. Maintenance isn't as cheap as an ordinary car because its CVT transmission needs flushing every 6-12 months. In addition, it's hard to take the car anywhere but Honda if I'm doing anything other then an oil change, even though it's a "light" hybrid. This is the first car I've owned for 7 years, so I really can't compare it to anything else. I'm also going to be on the hook for about 2-3K worth of work so I can pass my CA smog test this summer. (First major repair out-of-warrenty)
The nice thing about the car is that I can go about 400 miles on a single tank, or almost 500 when most of the trip is downhill. It's also nice knowing that my cost of operation isn't going to swing out of whack based on gas.
That being said; if I really wanted the cheapest and most reliable Civic possible, I'd have bought the 5-speed LX instead of the hybrid. I'm happy to spend the extra money for something that's quiet and has a smoother ride.
Does anyone know the truth? Was the engineer full of it? Is Ford using higher-capacity and/or faster-charging batteries? Don't tell me to RTFA, because I did and know enough not to take everything at face value.
My guess is that it requires a different kind of starter. My 2003 Civic Hybrid has this feature; but the reason why it works is that there's a 15hp dynamo built into the engine block.
My 2003 Civic Hybrid has this feature. The engine doesn't stop in cold weather.
I really like Mercurial, and I'm starting to switch to git because github has a really nice way to merge in changes. That being said, I'm still not 100% sure that distributed source code control is the *perfect* solution. I really like Perforce and Microsoft's Team Foundation Server; and I'm not going to be snobbish or require that all team members host local copies of all of the history if there's a more appropriate tool for the team's dynamic.
XML is the equivalent of a binary blob when you are up to your ass in alligators trying to get things working again with minimal tools available.
Depends on if the programmer understands XML or not. Microsoft's XML configuration system is an obfuscated behemoth that I avoid whenever possible.
In contrast, I've combined a low-level XML reader with a dependency-injection library to create a very easy-to-use configuration file.
43 pages sounds a bit insane, until you actually look at it. Large print, lots of diagrams, lots of whitespace/formatting not 43 walls of text. It actually looks pretty clean and readable.
It's actually pretty admirable; and respectful of the people who need to dress the part. There are plenty of business situations where appearance DOES matter, and having a well put together guide helps this.
It almost reminds me of how Disney World doesn't have employees; it has cast members.
It also reminds me of how when I used to Google various Oracle issues; I kept coming across articles from a contracting company. They clearly stated on their "employment" page that their employees are expected to wear suits when making on-site calls at banks; but could work in their underwear when telecommuting.
I've generally been enjoying SGU on an episode-by-episode basis; but the twists have been getting a little ridiculous. The energy signature thing was a little too hokey for me. I was hoping they weren't going to do the American thing and draw the series out faaar too long, given that Stargate is a decent franchise; but now it seems like they got too ambitious and won't get to put in a good plot ending.
I started using a different password for every site and tracking them in a spreadsheet. It's grown too unwieldy for decent use, and it's surprising to see the number of things that I've signed up for.
Last night I managed to get a free Chrome (CR-48) laptop. :) The first thing I did was log into ObjectCloud, my operating system designed for web computers.
The nice thing about ObjectCloud is that it's an operating system that you can host yourself on your own cable modem; or inexpensively at a hosting provider like Rackspace. ObjectCloud has a very simple programming model, so you can write cloud-based web applications in a web browser on the Chrome laptop, all while hosting it on a simple server behind your router on your cable modem.
With this in mind, one thing that would be nice to have are offline apps. This way, a glitch in Internet connectivity would not mean a corrupted term paper.
That's what local storage in HTML 5 is for. When I played with Google Gears in 2007, there was a complete Javascript API for an in-browser SQLite database; AND I could specify which files would be served locally. Thus, I could make a web application that would work without an internet connection.
Google Gears is now depricated because a lot of the lessons are applied to the HTML 5 spec.
Last week I watched a Microsoft Rep demonstrate MongoDB on Azure. He didn't even configure the database with enough space to store a single document. (MongoDB pre-allocates large blocks of disk space to avoid fragmentation.)
It seems like they're genuinely trying to make cloud services easier to to set up and administer; but they're doing a bad job of making it simple to understand. For example, I know that a VM at Rackspace costs $xx a month and does whatever I want it to do. In contrast, even though Azure has services that sound nice; the system itself is so difficult to understand that I don't know what I need to buy or how much it'll cost me.
This is why you build each group of cores and the corresponding cache on a separate die, test and bin each die independently, then wire them together inside the package. Sure, there's the added potential for interconnect failure, but so long as you test the integrated module before you epoxy the lid on, you should be able to salvage those parts.
Sounds expensive
Reducing the core count lets Oracle make each core bigger, to add features making each faster. But can't Oracle keep the same core count, and instead of increasing the core count in the next generation the way most other CPU makers will, just add circuits to each existing core? Is it really necessary to reduce the count? Process size will probably also be shrinking in that generation, and new tricks developed, as usual. Can't Oracle just make a bigger chip, and also keep the benefits of the high core count Sun already achieved?
From what it sounds like, Oracle could be devoting the extra space to cache. A large cache can go a long way in CPU-bound operations; or help make a very fast database.
Making a bigger chip isn't as easy as it sounds. As the die size increases, the probability of a defect within the die increases. (Imagine that you have 5 specs of dust on a wafer, if the die size is larger then the ratio of good to bad is worse.) Large die sizes will also have problems with heat distribution, or could limit total clock speed due to irregularities that small die sizes mitigate.
It requires jailbreaking, and they said "Native applications are web applications. It's fully possible to do everything that you can do with native technology with web technologies". Which sounds pretty dubious, although it does apparently support NativeClient.
My guess is that Jailbreaking may be needed for bleeding edge browser plugins.
It provides a set of APIs that can be used to federate social networks.
Not quite. I spoke with them when they ran an installfeast a few weeks ago, and they don't provide the APIs.
What they did is follow the OStatus recommendations, and then built their own undocumented APIs for items that are private. Yes, Diaspora is open-source, but their APIs beyond OStatus aren't documented enough to the point where someone else can build a compatible network.
For some context, OStatus is a recommendation to support a whole bunch of independently-developed protocols that lets you have a federated twitter where you don't know who's following you. There's no way to share private information when following OStatus.
Somehow I don't see a startup needing NoSQL unless they specialized in processing huge amounts of data, in which case trying to make slashdot work on your core business seems stupid. But maybe I missed something...
It depends on the kinds of queries and/or feature set you're trying to do. Don't assume that NoSQL is all about scalability, I chose MongoDB for my startup because we have a requirement that's very difficult to address in MySQL, but trivial in MongoDB.