Slashdot Mirror


User: ChrisA90278

ChrisA90278's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
1,011
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 1,011

  1. DTrace in OSX on IBM Derides OpenSolaris as Not-So-Open · · Score: 1

    One good proof that Solaruis is really open is that DTrace is now in Mac OSX, or at least in the version of OSX released to Apple developers. I thinki that is a sign of an open project: When other projects can use your code in theirs. To be truely open code has to flow both ways to and from your project. Getting DTrace into OSX is a major contribution by Sun.

  2. Re:Partial credit on The Expert Mind · · Score: 1
    There are no studies showing a trainer taking a few average joes and getting them into the world championships of bodybuilding. But there are such examples in chess, as TFA states.

    This may be true but I claim that for the example of chess how many counter examples are there? How many worked hard for years and never became great. I'm sure this applie to music too. Yes we can find cases where a kid studied for years and became graet but how many more studied just as hard and never became very good. The thing is we never hear about the not-greats, no one knows who they are.

    I did read the article. I appeared in the print edition of Scientic Americal last month. The author has NO statistics on success and failure rates but only a hand full for examples of success. No blind studies. no control groups. I would not call this science.

    Oh and by the way. I did the "Chicken Dance" in my backyard and it rained the next day. Maybe I can write about this as a way to make rain. Maybe I should study the chicken dancers in Florida as they seem to be more successful. You see, without a control group you can "proove" anyhting you want.

    For the theory to be valid one would need to train a couple hundred kids in music or chess every day for 10 years then at the end see how many became great or if there is any difference in greatness between them. I will argue it is a combination of talent and study. You need both to be truely great.

    OK what about the unlucky person who was born with mild retardation, has an IQ of about 65 can he work hard and become a great chess player. Likley not. Just like every other body part, our brains are not all identical.

  3. Re:How can one be certain that it's dark matter? on Astronomers Make Important Dark Matter Discovery · · Score: 1
    Appearently the collision was observed and i loks like the "normal" matter interacted like we all would expect but the dark matter interacted weakly with the normal mater and whent on a differntn tradjectory. We can see the normal mater and know where it is and we can see the effects of the dark matter's gravity on nearby normal matter and gues where it must be.

    I'm thinking now that we might know something ore about dark matter. For example that it does not intercat electrically with normal mater. It is the electric force that makes it so two rocks bounce off each other and one does not pass through the other. It appears like maybe a "dark rock" could pass through nomal matter maybe. To actualy observe this effect would be a real milestone.

    I'm just guessing from very little information. We all will see (or not) by the 21st.

  4. Clasic testbokk issue on The Trouble With Rounding Floats · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I still have this textbook I got in 1971. It's called "Computer Science, A first course". It talks about this same exact problem or representation. If compared integer, floating and decimal representations.

    Why would this count as "news". Everyone who has to deal with this would already know about it.

  5. The problem is not with just Pluto on IAU Rules Pluto Still a Planet · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People seem to be mising the point. The problem here is not to vote on if Puto is a planet or not. The problem is to define what is a planet. Many people have proposed ways to define "Planet" but then what you apply the proposed definition to our solar system yu get undesired results. Almost every resonable proposed definition results in a solar system with either 8 planets or more than 9. Next problemis that you want your new definition to "work" outside the our solar system on the 100+ planets that have been discovered around other stars.

  6. Re:oh no! on Has Anyone Seen the Moon Pictures? · · Score: 1

    What I need to do is tell one of those nuts who beleive that people have never been to the moon That I am certain that World War II never happened. Hitler wass nothing but fiction and the Japaneese never would have attacked Hawaii. It will be fun listening to him argue with me that such a thing could never have been faked because to many people were there and saw it first hand. He would use all the arguments we use to explain how the moon landing really did happen.

  7. Re:Only works as an administrator but... on Vista Hacking Challenge Answered · · Score: 2, Interesting

    All Microsoft would have to do to prevent home users from runiing as Admin would be to put a check in MS Office and IE to make both of them fail to run on any admn account or possable put up a big ugly dialog box "You ar running as admin, Continue?, Are you sure? Really continue?" If these came up every 5 minutes people would not run as Admin but could still swtich over now and then. One other Idea would be to make the admin account aauto logout after 10 minutes. Lot of things they could have done.

  8. Re:Other way round please on VMWare Announces Version for OS X In Development · · Score: 1

    Doesn't QEMU allow you to do this? I think QEMU running in Linux/X86 will boot OSX/PPC. Of course running PPC in a Intel would not be fast unless you have a very fast Linux/X86 system.

  9. 70% of 2007 car models will have an iPod dock. on Warner to Sell Music on DVD · · Score: 1
    A recent anouncement from Apple is that they have agreements with many auto makers (GM, Ford, Masdz, .....) and that in the 2007 model year 70% of the 2007 models will have the ability to integrate an iPod int the car's audio system.

    I think this means that people don't want to cary around a book or box filled with 50 or 100 CDs (or DVDs) Theu like the idea that a 3 cubic inch device can hold two soes boxes worth of CDs and that it can still play seemlessly over the car's stoero system. 70% that is a huge number and the car companies would never have done this if they did not know there was a big demand for this. Car companies aways thing along the line of "if it costs us a buck more to ake each car, then e loose a milion bucks if we sell a million cars" They would not add a $5 iPod dock unless they thought it would make them some money.

    Who wants these DVDs?

  10. Which chip depends on your goals on IBM Opts for AMD · · Score: 1
    In a recent interview Steve Jobs (of Apple) made the most level headed comment about AMD vs. Intel I've heard. I don't remember the exact words but it was very close to this:

    "AMD has some very interesting products at the high end, but the new Intel chips ar more in-line with the kind od product we build."

    I think what he means is that you you can have different goals and your goal determines which processor is best. If you are building a sub $1K notebook an AMD Opteron would be a pretty dumb choise. Apple seelscomputers to users who value computers that don't make fan noise and don't take up loads of space and are will ing to pay a slight preium for a quality product. right now, if that is the goal The Intel "Core 2" series is the best processor. Other things matter too, for example Intel was able to supply the enginerring labor to design the main login boards for some of Apples new systems. I don't knopw if AMD is evenin the mother board bussines. When you have a "we are betting the company on this" kind of new product you absolutly have to reduce any risk. Having Intel design the main board lets them get to market first with a new CPU and have a good chance of it working. So if you compare Intel to AMD look at the services each can supply. The company that bys the CPUs mayb e buying more then just chips, service is also a key product that end users see only indirectly

  11. Re:USPS Ranked Most Trusted on Internet Usage Boosts Post Office Revenue · · Score: 1

    Here in the US there are only three branches of governmetn the Post Office fals into the Executive Branch.

  12. Re:I can just see it now on Another Pass at the Personal Jetpack · · Score: 1

    If a diver is carying O2 it is NOT for breathing at depth. O2 is toxic at depths below about 20 to 30 feet

  13. There is no end.... on Intel - Market Doesn't Need Eight Cores · · Score: 1

    We don't need 8 cores for normal desktop stuff yet. (Servers of course might need 64 or 200 cores and such large scale machines are avalable today) But desktop software has not changed much in over a decade. The next Big Revolution will be natural language proceing. Not just brainless "voice typing" but you tell your omputr. "Hold all calls but if Jim or marry cals forward them to my cell phone and write a letter about getting that warenty repair done too" A machine that could understand andact on the above will be much differnt then the things we have now. I can see that they might have 64 or so cores and a terabyte of system RAM. Iwant a computer like the secritary just outside my office. All I ned to do is tel here I'm needing to by in "Washington" thurs and Fri. and she knows where in DC I need to be and where I live and so on and gets me a car, hotel and air tickets. Maybe in 50 years and then once I have this I'll want one that works 10 times faster then a real person. It will not end there either.

  14. Re:What's the point? on High-Definition Video Add-on Coming to iPod · · Score: 1

    You are right. They could have put an HD inthe device but then it would be work with iTunes. The iPod is simply beingused as the interface to the conputer and to the iTunes software.

  15. Re:Thanks for the conversion on Ripeness Sticker Coming to Supermarket Fruit · · Score: 1

    Why measue fruit is "bushels". Because a "Bushel" was a standard sized basket used by farmers. For years it was made of wood or woven straw with two handles and was about the sixe that a farmer could lift and carry. The food (fruit vegtables and grain) would stay in this same basket all the way to market. And shoppers would see these and "everyone" would know how big a "bushel" was because it was a common container. Yes today Bussel is a silly unit because no one uses those old baskets or even remembers how big they where

  16. Re:Asimov (and Hollywood) got it wrong on Pharaoh's Gem Brighter Than a Thousand Suns · · Score: 1
    Asimov was writing in 1966 but still should have known better.

    If the big nuke were delivered far enough ahead of time the debries fild of smaller rocks would be very large, Likely much larger then the Earch. If it were that larg then most of it would miss the earth and those which did hit would be spread out over time, maybe even over a several hours or days long period. But yes you are corect the TOTAL kinetic energy remains the same

    Would you rather have me drop 10,000 one pound rocks on you over a two day period and have 80 % of them miss you or would you like one 10,000 pound rock to hit you? The total kinetic energy of the rocks is the same in either case. The span of TIME over which the collision takes place matters. Given time the heat can be absorbed by a larger mass of air

    Also, you could light off the nukes inside deep crater or hole and nudge the orbit slightly, Basically make an atomic powered rocket where the force of the blast propels rock and debries on mosly one direction and the reaction moves the orbit very slighly. With 20 years advance notice it does not take much to defect an asteriod.

  17. Re:And so it begins on Intel Stepping Up to Combat AMD's 4x4 · · Score: 1

    I think most people buy new computers when they need a new computer. School starts in September not Feb. so You buy the machine in Sept. I think most people go for what ever gives them the best bang for the buck with in their price range at the time. And I'm sure most don't wait they buy only when they need to. That said. I know Apple will be putting one of these upcomming Core 2 Dual CPUs in the new "Mac Pro" that will come out in August and possably they will use it in a new iMac too. I'll buy it in Late October for a video project I want to do then.

  18. Re:insecurity 101 on Card Locks Thwarted by Shopping Club Card · · Score: 1
    For a company yes you can issue company IDs and have each person punch in a PIN or use a fingerprint reader. In some places we post a gard at the door to watch for things like "tail gating" or maybe some guy with a gun forsing an employee to let him in. In one facility there is a scale on the floor that tacks the total weight inside the room that is betawwen the inner and outter doors. In one other place I used to visit. after you got through the door with a badge and pass code. You had to hand the badge to a gard who then handed you another badge for use inside the building. The exchange with the gard force a human interaction.

    But the problem here is NOT the same. A bussines hopes to let in people they DO NOT KNOW. They want customers and more then that they want NEW customers they have not yet seen. You can't issue people you have never met an ID card. In this case because you WANT everyone to have access you are in no case ever to to not let someone in All you really are trying to do is record who is there with the idea that people will not commit a crime if they know they will by identified. All you need is a finger print sensor on the door or a camera that can detect a REAL face or maybe both.

  19. Re:Why walking? on Cheap, Open-design Humanoid Bot - Runs Linux, Too · · Score: 1
    Why a Biped? If a robot is ever to work in a human world it needs it look like a human. We built our world for things that look like humans. Try taking a wheel chair or a donkey up a flight of stairs or even making a u-turn with a donkey or wheel chair in a narrow hall way. Other things that don't look like humans have trouble too. Pogo sticks, unicycles, wheel barrowes, bicycles, hang glidrs, minivans, just about anything has trouble operating outside of it's special environment but human bipeds can do it all. We can walk on smooth roads, climb over stuff, pole vault over bigger stuff, swimm in water or climb up a shear clif (like in Yosemeite)

    In terms in energy usage, a biped is about as good as it gets. We beat wheeled vehicles (except on smoot surfaces) and we beat quadopeds in terms of energy used per mile. But really I doubt this maters for a robot.

    Also if the goal is to bete understand human movment then of course you need a human-like device. For example suppose you want to learn how wrist possition afects swimming speed. You would ned a human-like model arm for you water tank tests. Much of the reasearch is not directed at building usable gadgets but is derected at understanding humans kinetics or physcology. For that a human model would be usfull.

  20. This is NOT a gambling case on Internet Gambling CEO Arrested by FBI · · Score: 2, Informative
    Everyone seems to be complainning the the FBI is cracking down on GAMBLING. No, it is fraud and non-payment of taxes. The actuall gambling is being done overseas where it is legal but they are ripping off customers here in the US. Come on now, how many of you really believe those on-line gamming site really pay out all the winning and don't seriously cheat their customers. That is fraud. Even if they don't cheat they still own taxes on their US operations. Yes even Honda, a japanees car company has to pay US taxs on the money they make in the US and likewise do on-line gabling companies. The IRS sais that even drug dealers are required to pay taxes on their dealling (of couse they'd be stupid to claim such income on a signed government form) but still if they don't pay that is one more charge added when they are caught.

    Apearently there IS NO LAW against on-line gambling possably there are some state laws but the FBI does not enforce state laws. These guys could have been sell shoes buti f they cheated customers and didn't pay taxes they be shut down just the same --- well likey not the FBI does not waste time with small scale crimes and I doubt they'd be selling $3 billion in shoes

    Even the Porn industry is mostly above board and gets the required permits, pays resonable wadges, takes out payroll and income tax withholdings and keeps books and pays taxes. on-line gambling could do the same but apearently these guys didn't. This is NOT a big deal.

  21. Re:Comments from people who actually create Creati on Beginning GIMP · · Score: 1
    Of course Gimp was written by programmers. Who else writes softwsre? But it certainly was not written FOR programers. What would someone writting code need with Gimp? And Gimp required zero programer skills to use, it is simply "point and click". Gimp's interface is very much like Photoshop's interface. Both require some study and neither is all that easy to master. When it comes right down to it how many people actually edit photos? Of all the billions of digital imges taken I would guess that 99.99% of them are used "straight". How mamy people do things like paint out utility poles or wires or change the color of the sky? For most users all they need is to adjust the overall exposure and crop. Doing that with Gimp is dead easy but Gimp is also overkill. Apple's iPhoto would be set for that.

    I do use Gimp and have some experiance with Photoshop and PSE. The only complaints I hear about Gimp from full time PS users is the Gimp's interfwce is "different". Not worse just "different". From my viewpoint they are about equivalent although Gimp lacks some high-end features like 16-bit color depth and a CMYK color model.

    If you want ease of use look at "Capture NX" by Nikon (Yes Nikon the camera maker) they have added some new ease of use features that are "new" ideas www.nikonimaging.com/global/products/software/capt urenx/index.htm

  22. Re:When will systems be available? on Core 2 Reviews All Around the Web · · Score: 1

    Really? Yes you can buy a generic PC for dirt cheap but not a PC with premium specs. Buy the time you get a near silent case and a M/B with two xeon sockets and two new Core 2 Dual Xeons and some RAM and a quality graphic card and then software (an OS at least) the price comes in maybe higher than Apple's. I was looking at a Core Dual notebook a while back and noticed they cost more than Apple's Macbook when you configure them the same way. It's hard to find a Core Dual noteook with wireless Eithernet, blue tooth and a webcam and good build quality for under Apple's $1100 price. Apple $1100 notbooks are only expensive if you compare them to $600 Celeron powered Gateway notebooks

  23. Re:When will systems be available? on Core 2 Reviews All Around the Web · · Score: 1

    Apple is selling systems with Intel Core Dual CPS right now and has been for months. They will anounce systems with the new intel processors in Mid August, on th 12th, I think. Apple typicaly does not announce machines until they are actually available to buy. So to directly answer your question: "In the second week of August 2006." If you really want so good performance the top of the line Apple "Mac Pro" will almost certainly contain two Intel Core 2 Dual Xeons in a quad core configuration. The main logic board is designed by Intel. It will likly be the fastest Intel powered desktop system available anywhere but the price will likely be well over $3K. I suspect the Core 2 Dual "Macbook Pros" to follow shortly but would not be totally surprized by a mid August anouncement. If not in Aug then in lete 2006. Apple has outsourced the design work to Intel. If anyone will be first to market I'd guess it would be Intel

  24. Re:The Switch? on The Future of Apple's Pro Desktop Line · · Score: 1

    Depends on who you talk to. Many profesional users spend all their time in Final Cut Pro and have little interest in waiting for CS3. In general is makes little sense to buy a computer which wil not run your application. Full time Adobe users should hold off buying Intel Macs but people using Apples line of Pro Apps have no reason to wait. Also people using scientif applications or any other ccustom software or Open Source software have no reason to wait.

  25. Re:UNIX is a brand on ReactOS Reviewed in Depth · · Score: 1

    I think you are right. Solaris, Open BSD, Ultrix, Irix and so on are are UNIX but with out the brand name. Maybe we all should start spelling UNIX as "unix" in lower case to refer to al thos unix derived OSes. the word "*nix" does not really cover Solaris, or Irix. OK from now on I'm using lower case