I noticed I received a Troll for this and ouch! I completely see this now - I was being sarcastic... sorry! What I meant was, what a perfectly non-scientific 'word' or phrase.
Constant verification and review is always a good part of science.
I agree TCP/IP has problems with raw file transfers.
However, a Torrent system ensures the delivery of the file based on the files hash value.
This is very beneficial if an update or recovery of the original file needs to be made. Simply recreate the torrent, upload the updated torrent. Once the clients get the new torrent they only download the changes to that file.
For instance. A 10GB virtual image file needs to be changed. Make the changes needed, recreate the torrent, upload the new torrent. Clients download the new torrent fot the same file. Restart the download of that file to the same location. The client makes a hash check. This time according to the hash value only 12% of the file has changed. Only the bits that need to be needed to match the hash are downloaded.
Not only that but because it an asyncronis file transfer across multiple machines, on a large network, the update occurs incredibly fast.
This works 100% of the time.
Since a central file server is not needed, any machine on the network can act as the tracker, hardware failure maybe is the biggest concern. But then again a failed component is always inevitable. With a torrent system corrupted data transmission is no longer a real problem.
I was being required to copy sometimes 10-20GB of Virtual Machine Image Files from Server to PC or PC to PC on up 40 machines at one time. This was taking way too long and copies were not perfect. Restoration of VM images presented the same problem. Updating a VM meant redistribution of the entire file to all machines again.
Using (Micro) Torrent and my own tracker changed all that.
I came up with the following solution using all available resources. First I started by copying all images to workstations to a separate partition. (about 200GB of VM's.) Then I created created my own internal Tracker and Web Page to host torrents.
The results were: 1. Extremely efficient use of all available network hard drive space. 2. Utilities every machine on the network to distribute the files. 3. Works extremely well restoring or redistributing the VM's to any one machine or several machines at once. (The more the better) 4. 100% accuracy in distribution. 5. The ability to quickly modify any one image on any machine, recreate the torrent(hash) and then update that image across hundreds of machines very quickly. In other words, modifying a file only means that the machines only have to download the bits that changed not the whole image again. 6. With Micro Torrent any machine can be used as the tracker. 7. The Tracker is also the "master" file server, however any machine can be used to modifiy and upload a change Just recreate and re-upload the new torrent replacing the old one. Remember that a torrent file serving network is Not a server centric file sharing system.
This is SUN vs. MicroSoft (BD-J vs. HDi aka MSJava Script)
Java is the platform for the world wide distribution of IPTV.
I don't think that MS will be pushing anything that competes with their version of a Java virtual machine much less include a Sony product in their 360. (the final offer by MS and Toshiba to prevent a format war was the inclusion of HDi... Sony and Sun walked away)
While it makes Cents that they should, I don't think they will.
Fan of Asimov since I as was a kid. So I thought I would respond to this. (I am just having a little fun with this so please forgive me.)
It wouldn't take AC to recreate the universe. The reset button is built in.
The real question is how would you fit all the matter of the universe into the big bang? That single dimensional point that contains everything and nothing...
After entropy take its coarse, matter reaches a point where it no longer supports a dimensional universe. At that point everything reverts to a single point, every where and no where that contains everything and nothing. For a single moment a super atom or alpha particle exists. Then it explodes into the big gang that we call the universe.
When did the last universe end? About the same time ours began.
How long will ours last? Until the beginning of the next one.
I used BitTorrent to distribute virtual machines across a LAN.
Not only does this make use of extra space on the hard drives, also the network and spare CPU cycles of every PC available to distribute the files.
VM's can be huge and not easily restored or cleaned after use. Point to Point copies of a VM can take a very long time and are not guaranteed to be 100% CRC free.
A "restored VM" or a torrent that has been restarted on a file that has been used or changed can be reverted very quickly back to it original crc/hash and is 100% perfect.
Essentially I was able to take a job that would take 2-3 hours to complete down to about 35-40 Minutes. The job required copying multiple 8-12GB VM's accross 20 machines with 100% accuracy Point to point copies are not 100% perfect. A Torrent copy is. I cant tell you how important this is for a student who needs their VM to work 100% and not crash in the middle of a week becuase there was an unknown error resulting from a strait P2P download.
In addition a "restoration" of the VM would be a simple restart of the Torrent download. This would only take about 10 minutes. So if a student made a mistake, restoring that VM would only take minutes and not require replacing the whole VM with a new one. This is becuase all it does first is a crc/hash check and then only downloads the bits needed to restore the file to its original state. Its an instantly restored VM.
No FTP, No Media, No open shares. Just a simple Torrent file server with a HTML page for all the torrents. The clients are their own trackers.
Just an example. I do not know exactly how this could be applied to other uses.
I have read that passive tags can be read from 1 inch to 40 feet. And Active tags can be read up to a mile or more.
The range all has to do with cost and need. With all tech reducing cost is only a matter of scale and time.
As with all things its also only a matter of time before malevolent use any tool or technology occurs.
So while I agree that Orwellian references to RFID technology are certainly overblown, Dismissing the need for caution and prudence with any technology can only lead to big problems in the long run.
As you pointed out so well a soup can worm could shut the doors on a supermarket. I think that this is a simple example of what could be the tip of a greater iceberg once truely talented indiviuals start taking advantage of an embedded technology that is only bound to evolve. Once it become part of the system it will be hard to get rid of.
They are acting like they are giving away the original source wav for free. When really its a compressed version of what they could be selling on CD's.
After all I would rather own the CD, which is closest I am ever going to get to the source material. Then I'll make my own MP3, Flak, OGG, WMV, at whatever sample rate for whatever portable device I own.
If CD's didn't cost so much then maybe they will be able sell them again. I suggest they rethink the way they sell CD's. Make the packaging less expensive. Make the music selection better. Include Music Videos Just make it a better deal. Maybe no more than 5.99 a CD?
Seriously a hammer works best. Just beat the crap out of it. Think of a bad manager, high maintenance user, or some kid from the entitlement generation...
It's true. Businesses know what IT is about now. They don't have to hire the kid with green hair anymore.
Focusing on the business of IT, which also means customer service, will get you a better job. When people like being around you it brings in whole host of other benefits.
Here we go again. Most folks seem to graduate high school and forget everything in the search for the all mighty dollar. Then they start believing in their own fantasies.
Science is always just theory. There is no such thing as science fact.
Evidence for global warming is over whelming. Why people want to find blame is a whole other subject.
Proofs offer examples that backup scientific theory. Cassini is a great example of what is possible when those proofs where used to put a satellite around Saturn. Work based on a proof like this is usually called work based on well established scientific theory. You know like math. That thing you use that makes your head hurt when you try to figure out just how much debt you're in.
The earth is well over 14,000 years old. There are plenty of proofs for that. Whether you accept them or not, is always your choice.
The earth was flat at one time too. Don't forget the sinful spyglass. Earth is at the center of the universe... don't you know? Tolerance equals advocacy (whoa what a load of BS!)
My question: Does E.T. know who Jesus is? Or will it just be the focus of the next intergalactic crusades?
There is Proof that George W. Bush is an idiot. Folks liked him so much they voted for him TWICE. Proof that people will believe anything they want.
350 Billion And counting. That's a fact. Who's got their hands in your pocket?
My theory: We are still living in the dark ages. With all of our flashy silicon and pyramids of glass and steel we are still only crawling up out of the soup of our ignorance.
Sin is purporting to know the mind of God. Where is the humility of the Christian people? It seems gone, buried in pride and shored up with hateful ignorant rhetoric. Generating more heat than light.
Easy. Do not compare it to a PC. Don't worry many have the same problem.
Generally speaking its called resolution.
A game console, more and more so, is a dedicated machine with specialized hardware. A PC is a generalized design made for general computing. (Specialized PC Video Cards later became a huge market, SGI-nVidia and ATI)
Consoles, historically, have always been a few generations behind in silicon when compared to PC. Yet, seemingly out performed their PC counterparts.
The difference is consoles are/were designed to do one thing play games on a good old TV. PC's are designed to play games on a high resolution monitor.
Besides there being a huge difference between a computer game console rendering games at a dedicated resolution of say 640x480 on average, PC games must render games and textures at resolutions many times this.
Today for the first time in computer game console history this generation of consoles are arguably more powerful than today's PC and they contain all type of exotic hardware that have yet to see the light of day on any PC. This is because the game industry has exploded in terms of revenue. Gains bigger than Hollywood.
This has meant great changes. Consoles can now for the first time, with some limited support in the original Xbox, display graphics at resolutions close to a high end PC monitor.
Sure you may get 1080i on your 42" Plasma (1080x768) But you can only see 1600x1200 on a PC and most likely on a display that is only 22 Inches wide.
Nintendo is the exception. With the competition of the likes of M$ and $ony Nintendo has chosen to take a different path... that looks a whole lot like the past with a focus on games (the experience) not graphics.
This response is generalized in terms of numbers and historical information. There is more that makes the difference.
Slashdot Mirror
I noticed I received a Troll for this and ouch! I completely see this now
- I was being sarcastic... sorry!
What I meant was, what a perfectly non-scientific 'word' or phrase.
Constant verification and review is always a good part of science.
I don't understand it therefor it must be junk!
Perfectly scientific.
The difference is geographic size and distance.
Upgrading the infrastructure for a larger country takes more time and money.
The Netherlands is slightly less than twice the size of the state of New Jersey.
Japan is roughly the size of California.
Its the same reason why cell phone technology is so much more advanced.
I agree TCP/IP has problems with raw file transfers.
However, a Torrent system ensures the delivery of the file based on the files hash value.
This is very beneficial if an update or recovery of the original file needs to be made.
Simply recreate the torrent, upload the updated torrent.
Once the clients get the new torrent they only download the changes to that file.
For instance.
A 10GB virtual image file needs to be changed.
Make the changes needed, recreate the torrent, upload the new torrent.
Clients download the new torrent fot the same file.
Restart the download of that file to the same location.
The client makes a hash check.
This time according to the hash value only 12% of the file has changed.
Only the bits that need to be needed to match the hash are downloaded.
Not only that but because it an asyncronis file transfer across multiple machines, on a large network, the update occurs incredibly fast.
This works 100% of the time.
Since a central file server is not needed, any machine on the network can act as the tracker, hardware failure maybe is the biggest concern.
But then again a failed component is always inevitable.
With a torrent system corrupted data transmission is no longer a real problem.
I have been using Torrents for this very reason.
I was being required to copy sometimes 10-20GB of Virtual Machine Image Files from Server to PC or PC to PC on up 40 machines at one time.
This was taking way too long and copies were not perfect.
Restoration of VM images presented the same problem.
Updating a VM meant redistribution of the entire file to all machines again.
Using (Micro) Torrent and my own tracker changed all that.
I came up with the following solution using all available resources.
First I started by copying all images to workstations to a separate partition. (about 200GB of VM's.)
Then I created created my own internal Tracker and Web Page to host torrents.
The results were:
1. Extremely efficient use of all available network hard drive space.
2. Utilities every machine on the network to distribute the files.
3. Works extremely well restoring or redistributing the VM's to any one machine or several machines at once. (The more the better)
4. 100% accuracy in distribution.
5. The ability to quickly modify any one image on any machine, recreate the torrent(hash) and then update that image across hundreds of machines very quickly.
In other words, modifying a file only means that the machines only have to download the bits that changed not the whole image again.
6. With Micro Torrent any machine can be used as the tracker.
7. The Tracker is also the "master" file server, however any machine can be used to modifiy and upload a change
Just recreate and re-upload the new torrent replacing the old one. Remember that a torrent file serving network is Not a server centric file sharing system.
Make DX10 for XP
Sell the 64bit XP upgrade for cheap.
Make you customers happy!
Give them what they want... not what you think they need MS!
Remember?
This is SUN vs. MicroSoft
(BD-J vs. HDi aka MSJava Script)
Java is the platform for the world wide distribution of IPTV.
I don't think that MS will be pushing anything that competes with their version of a Java virtual machine much less include a Sony product in their 360.
(the final offer by MS and Toshiba to prevent a format war was the inclusion of HDi... Sony and Sun walked away)
While it makes Cents that they should, I don't think they will.
The 360 is already a DVD-Upscaler
They could easily add a Blu-Ray player.
Thats been confirmed.
Get rid of that HD-DVD before it starts gathering dust in the closet with that old laser disk player and beta-max porn.
Fan of Asimov since I as was a kid.
So I thought I would respond to this.
(I am just having a little fun with this so please forgive me.)
It wouldn't take AC to recreate the universe.
The reset button is built in.
The real question is how would you fit all the matter of the universe into the big bang?
That single dimensional point that contains everything and nothing...
After entropy take its coarse, matter reaches a point where it no longer supports a dimensional universe.
At that point everything reverts to a single point, every where and no where that contains everything and nothing.
For a single moment a super atom or alpha particle exists.
Then it explodes into the big gang that we call the universe.
When did the last universe end?
About the same time ours began.
How long will ours last?
Until the beginning of the next one.
I used BitTorrent to distribute virtual machines across a LAN.
Not only does this make use of extra space on the hard drives,
also the network and spare CPU cycles of every PC available to distribute the files.
VM's can be huge and not easily restored or cleaned after use.
Point to Point copies of a VM can take a very long time and are not guaranteed to be 100% CRC free.
A "restored VM" or a torrent that has been restarted on a file that has been used
or changed can be reverted very quickly back to it original crc/hash and is 100% perfect.
Essentially I was able to take a job that would take 2-3 hours to complete down to about 35-40 Minutes.
The job required copying multiple 8-12GB VM's accross 20 machines with 100% accuracy
Point to point copies are not 100% perfect.
A Torrent copy is.
I cant tell you how important this is for a student who needs their VM to work 100%
and not crash in the middle of a week becuase there was an unknown error resulting from a strait P2P download.
In addition a "restoration" of the VM would be a simple restart of the Torrent download.
This would only take about 10 minutes.
So if a student made a mistake, restoring that VM would only take minutes and not require replacing the whole VM with a new one.
This is becuase all it does first is a crc/hash check
and then only downloads the bits needed to restore the file to its original state.
Its an instantly restored VM.
No FTP, No Media, No open shares.
Just a simple Torrent file server with a HTML page for all the torrents.
The clients are their own trackers.
Just an example.
I do not know exactly how this could be applied to other uses.
I have read that passive tags can be read from 1 inch to 40 feet.
And Active tags can be read up to a mile or more.
The range all has to do with cost and need.
With all tech reducing cost is only a matter of scale and time.
As with all things its also only a matter of time before malevolent use any tool or technology occurs.
So while I agree that Orwellian references to RFID technology are certainly overblown,
Dismissing the need for caution and prudence with any technology can only lead to big problems in the long run.
As you pointed out so well a soup can worm could shut the doors on a supermarket.
I think that this is a simple example of what could be the tip of a greater iceberg once truely talented indiviuals
start taking advantage of an embedded technology that is only bound to evolve.
Once it become part of the system it will be hard to get rid of.
Save Farscape!
They are acting like they are giving away the original source wav for free.
When really its a compressed version of what they could be selling on CD's.
After all I would rather own the CD, which is closest I am ever going to get to the source material.
Then I'll make my own MP3, Flak, OGG, WMV, at whatever sample rate for whatever portable device I own.
If CD's didn't cost so much then maybe they will be able sell them again.
I suggest they rethink the way they sell CD's.
Make the packaging less expensive.
Make the music selection better.
Include Music Videos
Just make it a better deal.
Maybe no more than 5.99 a CD?
Generation Y needs to wake up and smell the coffee.
Seriously a hammer works best.
Just beat the crap out of it.
Think of a bad manager, high maintenance user, or some kid from the entitlement generation...
"There is no expected time period for a fix at this time"
That's a customer satisfaction kick is shorts for sure.
They more they talk the worse their ratings get.
So please let them keep talking.
The more we know what their thoughts are, the more we know what kind of people they really are.
The best thing they could do now is stop talking.
Goes to show the length at which people will go to subjugate one another.
It's a disease of the ego.
(They also think that tolerance equals advocacy.)
If you think what they are saying is good thing?
Then let you be the one.
I have always had a passion for the railgun concept.
(Next up the Hellbore cannon... I can dream)
What about the pressure wave this thing generates?
It's true.
Businesses know what IT is about now.
They don't have to hire the kid with green hair anymore.
Focusing on the business of IT, which also means customer service, will get you a better job.
When people like being around you it brings in whole host of other benefits.
Piss on Bob Shaye
Without Peter there would be no money.
I won't watch The Hobbit in theaters unless Jackson makes the film.
Shaye wantes to rob the people of this and cover his tracks with shady accounting.
Somethings never change.
"When we first came out no one knew what DVR was," said Richard Bullwinkle
Then I have no idea what my ReplayTV is, why I keep using it or even what I am using it for... ungh...
Can I re-invent the wheel too?
Maybe I'll just make it look different and give it a new spiffy name.
Q: What's a TiVo?
A: Its like a ReplayTV.
Oh, OK!
Let the first guy get sued into oblivion and then I'll get my chance to claim it all for myself.
My life for you!
bumpity, bump, bump...
Here we go again.
Most folks seem to graduate high school and forget everything in the search for the all mighty dollar.
Then they start believing in their own fantasies.
Science is always just theory.
There is no such thing as science fact.
Evidence for global warming is over whelming.
Why people want to find blame is a whole other subject.
Proofs offer examples that backup scientific theory.
Cassini is a great example of what is possible when those proofs where used to put a satellite around Saturn.
Work based on a proof like this is usually called work based on well established scientific theory.
You know like math.
That thing you use that makes your head hurt when you try to figure out just how much debt you're in.
The earth is well over 14,000 years old.
There are plenty of proofs for that.
Whether you accept them or not, is always your choice.
The earth was flat at one time too.
Don't forget the sinful spyglass.
Earth is at the center of the universe... don't you know?
Tolerance equals advocacy (whoa what a load of BS!)
My question:
Does E.T. know who Jesus is?
Or will it just be the focus of the next intergalactic crusades?
There is Proof that George W. Bush is an idiot.
Folks liked him so much they voted for him TWICE.
Proof that people will believe anything they want.
350 Billion And counting. That's a fact.
Who's got their hands in your pocket?
My theory:
We are still living in the dark ages.
With all of our flashy silicon and pyramids of glass and steel we are still only crawling up out of the soup of our ignorance.
Sin is purporting to know the mind of God.
Where is the humility of the Christian people?
It seems gone, buried in pride and shored up with hateful ignorant rhetoric.
Generating more heat than light.
The Ramen Museum has got to be one of the new 7 wonders of the world.
It's AWESOME!
Absolutely correct.
Thank you for shoring up/strengthening the response.
Sorry about the HDTV numbers being way off.
I am still adjusting to the new HD world.
I am not part of it.
Easy.
Do not compare it to a PC.
Don't worry many have the same problem.
Generally speaking its called resolution.
A game console, more and more so, is a dedicated machine with specialized hardware.
A PC is a generalized design made for general computing.
(Specialized PC Video Cards later became a huge market, SGI-nVidia and ATI)
Consoles, historically, have always been a few generations behind in silicon when compared to PC.
Yet, seemingly out performed their PC counterparts.
The difference is consoles are/were designed to do one thing play games on a good old TV.
PC's are designed to play games on a high resolution monitor.
Besides there being a huge difference between a computer game console rendering games
at a dedicated resolution of say 640x480 on average,
PC games must render games and textures at resolutions many times this.
Today for the first time in computer game console history this generation of consoles are arguably more powerful than today's PC
and they contain all type of exotic hardware that have yet to see the light of day on any PC.
This is because the game industry has exploded in terms of revenue.
Gains bigger than Hollywood.
This has meant great changes.
Consoles can now for the first time, with some limited support in the original Xbox,
display graphics at resolutions close to a high end PC monitor.
Sure you may get 1080i on your 42" Plasma (1080x768)
But you can only see 1600x1200 on a PC
and most likely on a display that is only 22 Inches wide.
Nintendo is the exception.
With the competition of the likes of M$ and $ony Nintendo has chosen to take a different path...
that looks a whole lot like the past with a focus on games (the experience) not graphics.
This response is generalized in terms of numbers and historical information.
There is more that makes the difference.