I agree that the profit incentive is powerful, but this misses the fact that corporations are constructs of the law, and are bound by it. A corporation that violates its charter, or violates the law, should expect the "death penalty" in the form of bankruptcy, or losing its right to do business in my state.
A business isn't a natural person, and corporations require approval (in the form of a charter or articles of incorporation) to exist. Charters ARE revokable. It doesn't happen often, but I expect a business to follow the law, and if that law says "corporation must pay taxes", or "corporation must give 10% of its profits to a charitable 501(c)3", then I'm not concerned about undue putting a burden on them, since every other corporation is expected to play by the same rules.
The "computer lab" is something your students won't encounter in grad school or the "real world". They will use a network-based resources, and redirect the display to their personal laptop, in most instances. So your CAD "lab" actually runs on servers, and students just need to run a display client to interact with it.
The future is portable, and multiplatform, with a mix of Windows, Linux, Mac. That's actually a good thing, as computer monocultures are bad for a number of reasons.
You may be driven to Windows (and Windows 7) by CAD software requirements, if nothing else. But that doesn't mean you have to install Windows on the desktop PCs, you just need something that allows screen sharing. If needed, use the Macs in the publication department for the "Mac Lab", for apps that need it.
My Son's school is considering Google Mail and Google Apps, because of onerous MS license renewal costs. My daughter's college switched to gmail in 2008.
Another way to consider the problem - what software would you choose if your students were bringing their own hardware? If they bring their own hardware, you certainly wouldn't waste time in a cat-and-mouse game of trying to restrict their actitivies, and you'd focus on preserving network access. By the time they are in high school, you want the combination of an acceptable use policy and computer ethics to have the students manage their behavior appropriately. If the AUP calls for a failing grade in a classes based on "cracking" into other systems, the problem will be self-correcting. 99% of the challenge is gone when the students use their own hardware.
As for grad school compatibility, you will find that Linux is more dominant there than in current elementary and secondary schools, especially in the schools your math and science geeks aspire to. SAGE, System R, and other Math/Computer Algebra packages are something they should be exposed to early.
And we are supposed to believe you because of your anonymity?
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Unfortunately, on slashdot, the second statement is usually (sometimes unfairly) tagged as the extraordinary one.
Apple wants me to replace a 4-year old Mac Mini just to run "Snow Leopard" on it? I don't believe I will do that. However, I don't always get that choice with cell phones.
Both computing models will remain because consumers want the choice.
We have this wonderful things called "Moore's law", and disk drive technology is on it, too. I've paid less for storage every year, and now I can get a 1TB drive for $100.
- Ralph
Clouds are unstable because people are making choices about when to upgrade the OS, how many machines to do it.
Which is EXACTLY why you don't let device drivers run in the same ring/priviledge space as the OS kernel. Microkernels (in the early days) didn't have device drivers build in - they just provided a message passing layer that ran in the priviledged space, while other systems services (file systems, the BSD operating system services, etc) ran in user space.
My children have two methods of getting to school:
* walk to school (neighborhood schools for elementary kids, they live * ride the taxpayer-funded school bus. These can also take children to after-school day care.
>>You like OS X and Cocoa? >>That was the kind of platform that Xerox PARC had developed in the 1970's, >>only what PARC had was even easier to develop for and better integrated.
>Troll please. I'm not even reading the rest of this comment.
That's a shame, because the new generations keep repeating the mistakes of the old. If re-use was really happening, how many versions of Unix would we need?
As Santyana said: "'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
In addition to the 'locked firmware' problem, "Telephone" implies that there is a centralized "telephone network" that can be surveilled and/or attacked, making for a short revolution.
Wireless device have an interesting property. They can communicate with ANY compatible device within range, as long as it is programmed correctly. Why depend on "the man" (who is typically government regulated, or depends on 'retroactive immunity' in the US), if you don't have to.
Just be more decentralized in your thinking. 10 years ago there was a great gadget called a 'Cybiko', which ran on unlicensed 900 Mhz frequencies, but you could program on your own. The device went through several hardware generations, but doesn't exist any more. It even had an interesting 'walking talkie' application, which converted your voice to a digital signal and sent it to other Cybikos within RF range.
FireWire is on its way out due to USB's huge dominance... if it's not discontinued now, it will be eventually. It will join the ranks of all the other discontinued proprietary formats like Atari, Commodore, Amiga, VHS, Betamax, DivX, HD DVD, and so on.
Firewire (aka IEEE 1394) is not proprietary. And it meets needs that USB does not.
It is isochronous, and supports high-end digital camera and camcorders better, with higher stability (less 'jitter' than USB).
It also doesn't force you to think about hosts and targets, and worry about whether the connector will fit. USB forces you to worry about which device is the host, and which is the target.
For example:
Connect PDA to PC - works OK.
Connect Scanner to PC - works OK.
Connect PDA to scanner - Hmm..
With firewire, this isn't an issue. As a result, I've been advocating firewire for interconnecting software-defined radio components for some time.
There aren't enough real events to chronicle, so we're moving on to virtual worlds...
What is wrong with us?
Why would you ask this question of people reading/.? That pretty much defines people with nothing better to do right at this very moment.
In August 2008, the real activists aren't passively waiting for news from the 'real world'.
They are out working for real change, either by working on political campaigns or other causes.
Well, some are probably watching the obama-girl mccain-girl olympics on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbDY7VYM158) or other venues
Didn't this topic start with video? This will put us back on topic.
If you want EMP to stop the electricity, then about 10-20 of these should do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16cewjeqNdw
So you can have Net Neutrality unless you want bits for TV over it? That's a 'set-top box' argument. How do they justify that?
When I had internet over ISDN (don't laugh), I could use any router I wanted.
>Nobody's going to pay upwards of $35 for a glorified USB cable.
The point here, is you pay $10 per device for connection to everything else.
The device is part of a network, not a point-to-point link. I'll certainly keep my
Gigabit-connected devices within 10m of each other when it suits me.
Time for Roadrunner would quit screwing w/ DNS
(http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20016620-TWC-Austin-with-domain-redirect-now)
and focus on increasing their speed to 100Mbps.
I believe I understand.
NeWS is like Lisp, but with PostScript instead of Lisp for programming, PostScript instead of Lisp for rendering, and PostScript instead of S-expressions for data representation.
If you take it apart, does that void the warranty?
As usual, I'll wait until I can read the reviews on amazon.com
Someone needs to tell me if it comes with a cheap plastic housing.
Don't laugh, LAX airport (Los Angeles) was shut down in 2004 due to a communications system failure traced to bad software combined with bad procedures.
At LAX, the Windows API call gettickcount() had an overflow problem, requiring a monthly reboot if the application wasn't coded around it.
One time in 2004, the person responsible forgot, and the controllers at LAX couldn't talk. The problem isn't really Windows, it's a lack of good software processes.
Slashdot Mirror
I saw articles from 2006 about spin graphene, so hopefully working transistors in 2015 will be feasible.
I agree that the profit incentive is powerful, but this misses the fact that corporations are constructs of the law, and are
bound by it. A corporation that violates its charter, or violates the law, should expect the "death penalty" in the form of
bankruptcy, or losing its right to do business in my state.
A business isn't a natural person, and corporations require approval (in the form of a charter or articles of incorporation) to exist.
Charters ARE revokable. It doesn't happen often, but I expect a business to follow the law, and if that law says
"corporation must pay taxes", or "corporation must give 10% of its profits to a charitable 501(c)3", then I'm not concerned
about undue putting a burden on them, since every other corporation is expected to play by the same rules.
The "computer lab" is something your students won't encounter in grad school or the "real world". They will use a network-based resources, and redirect the display to their personal laptop, in most instances. So your CAD "lab" actually runs on servers, and students just need to run a display client to interact with it.
The future is portable, and multiplatform, with a mix of Windows, Linux, Mac. That's actually a good thing, as computer monocultures are bad for a number of reasons.
You may be driven to Windows (and Windows 7) by CAD software requirements, if nothing else. But that doesn't mean you have to install Windows on the desktop PCs, you just need something that allows screen sharing. If needed, use the Macs in the publication department for the "Mac Lab", for apps that need it.
My Son's school is considering Google Mail and Google Apps, because of onerous MS license renewal costs. My daughter's college switched to gmail in 2008.
Another way to consider the problem - what software would you choose if your students were bringing their own hardware? If they bring their own hardware, you certainly wouldn't waste time in a cat-and-mouse game of trying to restrict their actitivies, and you'd focus on preserving network access. By the time they are in high school, you want the combination of an acceptable use policy and computer ethics to have the students manage their behavior appropriately. If the AUP calls for a failing grade in a classes based on "cracking" into other systems, the problem will be self-correcting. 99% of the challenge is gone when the students use their own hardware.
As for grad school compatibility, you will find that Linux is more dominant there than in current elementary and secondary schools, especially in the schools your math and science geeks aspire to. SAGE, System R, and other Math/Computer Algebra packages are something they should be exposed to early.
And we are supposed to believe you because of your anonymity?
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Unfortunately, on slashdot, the second statement is usually
(sometimes unfairly) tagged as the extraordinary one.
You forgot
c) When the cloud provider says you must.
Apple wants me to replace a 4-year old Mac Mini just to run "Snow Leopard" on it?
I don't believe I will do that. However, I don't always get that choice with cell phones.
Both computing models will remain because consumers want the choice.
We have this wonderful things called "Moore's law", and disk drive technology is on it, too. I've paid less for storage every year, and now I can get a 1TB drive for $100.
- Ralph
Clouds are unstable because people are making choices about when to upgrade the OS, how many machines to do it.
It's a monopolists's dream
Which is EXACTLY why you don't let device drivers run in the same ring/priviledge space as the OS kernel.
Microkernels (in the early days) didn't have device drivers build in - they just provided a message passing layer
that ran in the priviledged space, while other systems services (file systems, the BSD operating system services, etc)
ran in user space.
Nice try, though.
Nice.
If it's 150kLoc, then you could base an operating system on it.
You mean "the mass transit I have access to".
My children have two methods of getting to school:
* walk to school (neighborhood schools for elementary kids, they live
* ride the taxpayer-funded school bus. These can also take children to after-school day care.
My blender runs Linux and its knob goes to '12' - should I be worried about creating a singularity in my kitchen?
A number without Units is meaningless, people :-)
He's worked hard and he's added a lot to society. If we tried to cut him down so things were more fair, then it would be a loss to all of us.
Yeah, but all I want is to be able to replace the battery in my iPod myself.
It's not liking am asking to do my own liver surgery....
>>You like OS X and Cocoa?
>>That was the kind of platform that Xerox PARC had developed in the 1970's,
>>only what PARC had was even easier to develop for and better integrated.
>Troll please. I'm not even reading the rest of this comment.
That's a shame, because the new generations keep repeating the mistakes of the old. If re-use was really happening, how many versions of Unix would we need?
As Santyana said: "'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
In addition to the 'locked firmware' problem, "Telephone" implies that there is a centralized "telephone network" that can be
surveilled and/or attacked, making for a short revolution.
Wireless device have an interesting property. They can communicate with ANY compatible device within range, as long as it is programmed correctly. Why depend on "the man" (who is typically government regulated, or depends on 'retroactive immunity' in the US), if you don't have to.
Just be more decentralized in your thinking. 10 years ago there was a great gadget called a 'Cybiko', which ran on unlicensed
900 Mhz frequencies, but you could program on your own. The device went through several hardware generations, but doesn't exist any more. It even had an interesting 'walking talkie' application, which converted your voice to a digital signal and sent it to other Cybikos within RF range.
No cell network required.
>If we were all just as productive ... We might have green coal plants
I don't know about you, but I was kind of expecting the fusion guys in the 1980s to have developed
workable fusion power plants by now.
I guess 'Back to the Future' wasn't inspirational enough.
Thankfully, fast food and television don't have sustainable business models, long term.
The problem will correct itself, as the fast-food-eating TV watchers die off, to be replaced
by quick-thinking vegetarians who will outlive them.
Let's face it:
FireWire is on its way out due to USB's huge dominance... if it's not discontinued now, it will be eventually. It will join the ranks of all the other discontinued proprietary formats like Atari, Commodore, Amiga, VHS, Betamax, DivX, HD DVD, and so on.
Firewire (aka IEEE 1394) is not proprietary. And it meets needs that USB does not.
It is isochronous, and supports high-end digital camera and camcorders better, with higher stability (less 'jitter' than USB).
It also doesn't force you to think about hosts and targets, and worry about whether the connector will fit. USB forces you to worry about which device is the host, and which is the target.
For example:
Connect PDA to PC - works OK.
Connect Scanner to PC - works OK.
Connect PDA to scanner - Hmm..
With firewire, this isn't an issue. As a result, I've been advocating firewire for interconnecting software-defined radio components for some time.
There aren't enough real events to chronicle, so we're moving on to virtual worlds...
What is wrong with us?
Why would you ask this question of people reading /.?
That pretty much defines people with nothing better to do right at this very moment.
In August 2008, the real activists aren't passively waiting for news from the 'real world'.
They are out working for real change, either by working on political campaigns or other causes.
Well, some are probably watching the obama-girl mccain-girl olympics on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbDY7VYM158) or other venues
If Linux filesystems aren't able to be loaded on demand, then isn't that a bigger problem?
Perhaps the Loadable module concept could be used here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loadable_kernel_module
Didn't this topic start with video? This will put us back on topic.
If you want EMP to stop the electricity, then about 10-20 of these should do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16cewjeqNdw
So you can have Net Neutrality unless you want bits for TV over it? That's a 'set-top box' argument. How do they justify that? When I had internet over ISDN (don't laugh), I could use any router I wanted.
>Nobody's going to pay upwards of $35 for a glorified USB cable. The point here, is you pay $10 per device for connection to everything else. The device is part of a network, not a point-to-point link. I'll certainly keep my Gigabit-connected devices within 10m of each other when it suits me. Time for Roadrunner would quit screwing w/ DNS (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20016620-TWC-Austin-with-domain-redirect-now) and focus on increasing their speed to 100Mbps.
Why DID it take 30 years to find and indict the guy?
It's as if the FBI were still using 30-year old technology, like paper files, or something.
I believe I understand.
NeWS is like Lisp, but with PostScript instead of Lisp for programming, PostScript instead of Lisp for rendering, and PostScript instead of S-expressions for data representation.
If you take it apart, does that void the warranty? As usual, I'll wait until I can read the reviews on amazon.com Someone needs to tell me if it comes with a cheap plastic housing.
>That's not a democracy you're describing.. it's a constitutional republic.
I think you meant to say "conditional republic".
As in: "It's a republic unless the king says it isn't", or
"It's only a republic if the people will fight to keep it"
CALEA (1994) - mandated access to the telco switches (even local ones)
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/woissues/techinttele/calea/calea.cfm
Patriot Act (2001) - removed barriers between domestic law enforcement and "national security"
So, what did you expect?
At LAX, the Windows API call gettickcount() had an overflow problem,
requiring a monthly reboot if the application wasn't coded around it.
One time in 2004, the person responsible forgot, and the controllers
at LAX couldn't talk. The problem isn't really Windows, it's a lack of
good software processes.
Here's what didn't happen effectively:
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/21/2120203 (LAX down due to comm system failure)
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/15/1829256 (LAX down due to NIC card failure on PC)