That's a difficult question. After 10 years of being a viable, usable operating system, one would have thought that Linux would have made more inroads and become more mainstream. I think that Microsoft's blackmailing of computer vendors has something to do with it, but there's no single factor.
Where I work, for example, we are forced to use XP on the desktop despite the fact that the main tools that most of the core team use are available for Linux (Java, Eclipse). Ok, some of the tools that the core team uses are unavailable on Linux, like Photoshop, Lightwave, 3DStudio Max, etc. But a lot of people could be switched over tomorrow. Why, then, are the free *nixes relegated to the server-side? There are also issues with lockout on the server side, though, with some properietry packages such as our VPN software only running on Windows, yet Linux has still managed to gain a significant portion of the server market despite these factors. So why not the desktop?
I think a lot of it has to do with the mindset of the managers at companies - for the most part they are not willing to give new technologies the go-ahead, even if it makes sense financially. The only way to solve this is to either get more technically competent management into companies (yeah, right), or to find a way to break Microsoft's strangehold of OEM and desktop markets.
Are DVDs that expensive ? I don't object to downloading the occasional movie, but I didn't buy a 42" flat-screen and home theater to watch low-res cams or DivXs with bad sound quality. If it's something I really want, I will buy it on DVD.
I might be in the minority, but for me, watching a rip ruins my viewing experience. Obviously there are a lot of people who find the difference between a DVD and a DivX rip acceptable, but I just wish that instead of going after them by taking legal action, the MPAA would improve the quality of their DVDs to widen the gap. This could be done in a number of ways: anything from including more extras to improving the sound quality and video quality to adding interactive games and features. Perhaps lowering prices will also help, although personally I don't think that DVD prices are too high at the moment.
It's not just the US - I have similar problems up here in Lumby (Canada). I agree fully with the grandparent - just make phones that work well for their intended purpose - making and receiving phone calls.
I have an MP3 player in my car, a DVD player, a PC at home and at work, a laptop, and a regular iPod - all of which play MP3s flawlessly. It would be nice to have a decent, simple, reliable handset without any additional features (just text messages and voice capabilities)!
You can throw as much hardware as you want at the "problem" of AI, but in my opinion, that isn't the easiest route to achieving a breakthrough in AI - it would be like throwing hardware at a dog's brain - the dog would still think like a dog, only 1000 times faster. Sure, you might see improvement in "mechanical reasoning", and chess playing programs and the like, where most of the neccessary conclusions can be reached mechanically (mathematically), but that's about as far as it will go, I think. You won't get the dog to reach non-doggy (for example, human) conclusions by doing that.
The real key to AI lies in software, and superior algorithms. So far in AI, most of the progress has been on the mechanical side - expert systems using algorithms to match and discard possibilities until it finds the "correct" option. This is a good way of doing things for applications that expert systems are currently being utilized for, but to progress to the realm of true (self-aware) AI, scientists need to find out how it works in biological structures first. Once that has been established, computer scientists can try converting those (theoretical) signals into instructions, and plug those into new-generation algorithms.
So we don't have to "deal with" the cashiers at a store? We're eliminating the need for human contact.
I'm sure they would still have people working at the store in some capacity, so I think that particular fear is unfounded:)
Why do they want to be faster? So they can continue to work a 40-hour week and rush home to...to what? The internet?
Personally, I would be glad if these systems were introduced and saved time at stores. To me, spending time at home with my girlfriend and horses is more important than standing in a qeue waiting for a cashier to process everyone's purchases.
I don't get what all the fuss is about. Linux and other free systems are already prety well entrenched in the server market. I work in the areospace industry, and although Microsoft products are widely used, I've seen Linux and Open/FreeBSD servers being used a lot in LANspace.
The entire engineering department where I work basically scoffs at Microsoft NT4/2000/2003 servers and there's a general consensus that they stink, and although we do have to use Windows 2000 Server regularly, Linux is certainly there humming away in the background. Most people just tend to notice it less because there are fewer problems with its day to day operation. While there will most likely be a Microsoft servers around for a while longer, Linux is by no means a product with only a toehold in the market. Just look at any ISP.
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That's a difficult question. After 10 years of being a viable, usable operating system, one would have thought that Linux would have made more inroads and become more mainstream. I think that Microsoft's blackmailing of computer vendors has something to do with it, but there's no single factor.
Where I work, for example, we are forced to use XP on the desktop despite the fact that the main tools that most of the core team use are available for Linux (Java, Eclipse). Ok, some of the tools that the core team uses are unavailable on Linux, like Photoshop, Lightwave, 3DStudio Max, etc. But a lot of people could be switched over tomorrow. Why, then, are the free *nixes relegated to the server-side? There are also issues with lockout on the server side, though, with some properietry packages such as our VPN software only running on Windows, yet Linux has still managed to gain a significant portion of the server market despite these factors. So why not the desktop?I think a lot of it has to do with the mindset of the managers at companies - for the most part they are not willing to give new technologies the go-ahead, even if it makes sense financially. The only way to solve this is to either get more technically competent management into companies (yeah, right), or to find a way to break Microsoft's strangehold of OEM and desktop markets.
Are DVDs that expensive ? I don't object to downloading the occasional movie, but I didn't buy a 42" flat-screen and home theater to watch low-res cams or DivXs with bad sound quality. If it's something I really want, I will buy it on DVD.
I might be in the minority, but for me, watching a rip ruins my viewing experience. Obviously there are a lot of people who find the difference between a DVD and a DivX rip acceptable, but I just wish that instead of going after them by taking legal action, the MPAA would improve the quality of their DVDs to widen the gap. This could be done in a number of ways: anything from including more extras to improving the sound quality and video quality to adding interactive games and features. Perhaps lowering prices will also help, although personally I don't think that DVD prices are too high at the moment.
It's not just the US - I have similar problems up here in Lumby (Canada). I agree fully with the grandparent - just make phones that work well for their intended purpose - making and receiving phone calls.
I have an MP3 player in my car, a DVD player, a PC at home and at work, a laptop, and a regular iPod - all of which play MP3s flawlessly. It would be nice to have a decent, simple, reliable handset without any additional features (just text messages and voice capabilities)!
You can throw as much hardware as you want at the "problem" of AI, but in my opinion, that isn't the easiest route to achieving a breakthrough in AI - it would be like throwing hardware at a dog's brain - the dog would still think like a dog, only 1000 times faster. Sure, you might see improvement in "mechanical reasoning", and chess playing programs and the like, where most of the neccessary conclusions can be reached mechanically (mathematically), but that's about as far as it will go, I think. You won't get the dog to reach non-doggy (for example, human) conclusions by doing that.
The real key to AI lies in software, and superior algorithms. So far in AI, most of the progress has been on the mechanical side - expert systems using algorithms to match and discard possibilities until it finds the "correct" option. This is a good way of doing things for applications that expert systems are currently being utilized for, but to progress to the realm of true (self-aware) AI, scientists need to find out how it works in biological structures first. Once that has been established, computer scientists can try converting those (theoretical) signals into instructions, and plug those into new-generation algorithms.
I'm sure they would still have people working at the store in some capacity, so I think that particular fear is unfounded :)
Personally, I would be glad if these systems were introduced and saved time at stores. To me, spending time at home with my girlfriend and horses is more important than standing in a qeue waiting for a cashier to process everyone's purchases.
I don't get what all the fuss is about. Linux and other free systems are already prety well entrenched in the server market. I work in the areospace industry, and although Microsoft products are widely used, I've seen Linux and Open/FreeBSD servers being used a lot in LANspace.
The entire engineering department where I work basically scoffs at Microsoft NT4/2000/2003 servers and there's a general consensus that they stink, and although we do have to use Windows 2000 Server regularly, Linux is certainly there humming away in the background. Most people just tend to notice it less because there are fewer problems with its day to day operation. While there will most likely be a Microsoft servers around for a while longer, Linux is by no means a product with only a toehold in the market. Just look at any ISP.