No, I didn't. My parents told me several years ago that they regretted even those two times because it wasn't necessary and they did that out of anger instead of taking the time to think and consider some better way of dealing with the situation. And that they never did such a thing again (I was four years old then, I can still remember the second time, but barely the first) just because it's the worst possible way of bringing someone up. Also, those particular situations had really nothing to do with being good and bad, they were really stupid things, just the circumstances weren't very lucky.
No, no, no. If their parents weren't COMPLETE DUMBASSES, the problem wouldn't be there in the first place. If they just cared about what are their kids doing, or maybe even - ${DEITY} forbid - TALKED to them, everyday, ever since their kids were born, the problem wouldn't be there at all, except maybe some corner cases of inborn blockheadedness. Disciplining won't do any good if there's no feel of doing wrong without being disciplined. Do you want a society of people who are "good" just because they were being beaten as kids?
I was disciplined (in the common sesne of this word) TWICE in my whole life, yet I know what's good and what's bad and don't like doing the latter because it's just something intrinsically wrong for me. And that was explained to me when I was a kid, not beaten into my head. It can be done, it's just that most people out there should have never had children because they are unable to give proper upbringing. And disciplining won't help anything.
Re:The best thing about Xorg documentation ever:
on
X Power Tools
·
· Score: 1
I'm glad you asked about TCP and Ethernet - which are decades old as well - as those are exactly the same kind of solid, dependable engineering that can survive the test of time almost unchanged (compatible ABI being one indicator of that), despite other technologies around it coming and going all the time. If you think about it, there aren't many of those, but we don't usually notice how outstanding they are because we take them for granted or even treat them as something basic and simple. Sure, understanding how TCP works isn't very challenging, but to *desing* something like that is everything but simple. The same with X, IMHO.
Re:The best thing about Xorg documentation ever:
on
X Power Tools
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I'm saying that a binary that is 20 years old and uses the X11 protocol as a client most likely will work with a modern Xorg server. It would probably be a problem to find an OS and libc able to run it while being modern enough to run X, but that wasn't the point. X connection itself should work just fine.
The best thing about Xorg documentation ever:
on
X Power Tools
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
From man xorg.conf, verbatim:
VIDEOADAPTOR SECTION
Nobody wants to say how this works. Maybe nobody knows...
On the more serious note, Xorg might have some misfeatures and shortcomings - that don't really justify everyone whining there, but, well, it's kind of typical - but the sheer fact that something designed over 20 years ago to operate with hardware and software long forgotten still does its job well and manages to keep up with other windowing systems even when it comes to bells and whistles (Composite, etc.), while being ABI (ABI, mind you, not API) compatible with software that actually is 20 years old, means something. That's one solid piece of engineering, the kind one doesn't see often.
Re:My only suggestion for X
on
X Power Tools
·
· Score: 2, Informative
mv/etc/X11/xorg.conf/etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
And restart it. Seriously. Since about a year, the best way of running X on a PC is to let it autoconfigure itself without any configuration file, not even the one generated by some distro-supplied automatic configuration system.
As far as I know, Google uses their custom, in-house backend, so this thing they use has as much in common with MySQL we all have as is probably the connection handler and some parts of the query parser.
You could say that about any protocol out there, a moot point IMHO. An XMPP-based system *can* be open without any effort, by itself. What you do to it is another matter, but it doesn't really say anything about the protocol itself. Well, it *can* be adapted to carry proprietary information, that's all. Oh, and standardised methods for using e.g. GPG for XMPP message encryption do exist.
That's just this library. For example, the Smack API for Java is literally five lines of actual code to connect, announce the presence, load the roster and send a message. PyXMPP is quite low-level for a Python network library. Try XMPPy, much easier to work with if you need Python.
Have you ever actually SEEN this protocol in action, its specifications, functionality and security features? This is one of the few cases where XML is actually a proper, well-implemented technology suitable for the job. I've been using Jabber as my IM of choice for a few years already, and XMPP as a communication platform for a few non-IM projects and all I can say is that the people involved in its design got it right and created a really flexible, adaptable and secure technology.
Yeah, I know, this is Slashdot, where people like to spew completely uninformed pseudo-opinions, but this one is just too obvious. Well, happy IMing on unencrypted, stone-age, propertiary networks that force-feed you with ads and censor your messages, if that's what you want.
Refining and idea and turning it into a process, product, or whatever else it might describe takes time and effort, but the idea, as in the core concept, really a few words or images in one's mind, sometimes *might* come in an "enlightenment" of sorts. Maybe those aren't big things, but it's innovation nevertheless. Or, in my case, something between innovation and evolution, as I often think about how all the devices I use every day could be improved - and sometimes, I end up with a sudden outbreak of simple, yet effective ideas. I test whichever of them I can and they usually work (that is, I get some tools and hack something out of the original device and some scrap parts lying around). The hard part is taking it further - as a student, I don't really have the funds or connections for that - so most of those end up in the proverbial drawer.
In the case of a laptop, that's easy. Intel makes the whole MiniPCI card and markets it with their brand. With a desktop, you can either try to find a working PCI card, or just... Well, buy a MiniPCI->PCI converter for $10 or so and you're done. That's what I did.
Yes, one of the articles states quite clearly that the co-pilot remained calm in a situation he wasn't even trained to expect (stalling just above the ground) and, by well-judged control of the angle of attack, managed to keep the lift enough for the plane to glide down in a controlled fashion instead of just dropping down like a stone. That, in turn, allowed the plane to crash into the ground while still gliding, not straight on, so it kind of remained in one piece. Had the co-pilot not do anything, the plane would just smash into the ground, probably killing everyone on board and making a nice, burnt-out crater.
And how exactly do you get those 320kbps MP3s? Steal the master recordings from the labels? You see, upsampling a 200-something (or was it even 192?) track from a CD to 320 doesn't make more sound appear spontaneously where it's supposed to be, it's still the same crap it was, maybe even worse due to approximations performed during upsampling.
That depends. Generally speaking, high solar activity is good because the ionosphere is ionised enough and deflects the radio waves better (that's why there's poor propagation in winter - less solar radiation reaches the more distant hemisphere due to longer nights and lower angle). However, too high activity causes interferences and distrupts communication. So it's the best when the Sun is moderately active.
Actually, RPG is a russian term, meaning "Ruchnoy Protivotankovyy Granatomyot", that is, "mobile anti-tank grenade launcher". "Rocket-propelled grenade" is an imprecise term made up by the Americans, possible just by coincidence in the first place.
For me that's about the quality. I've got a very good, stand-alone CD player and an analog amplifier - and quite a crappy sound card in the laptop, so I prefer listening to the CDs. Yes, there's a clearly audible difference, mostly in the amount of "white noise" hum in the speakers and high frequency distortions on higher volumes - the latter especially noticeable when listening to classical music and operas, rich in high-pitched sounds. Of course that's because most of today's music is low frequencies (beat and the like) so no one is going to notice that and manufacturers can save a few bucks using a crappy amplifier with crippled frequency response in the consumer devices...
Well, you can pry my self-contained, customised ultraportable laptop from my dead, cold hands. And only then. I have yet to see a web-based application that is as fast and convenient to use as a native program and doesn't get in the way due to being a slightly overpowered web page. And I have yet to see two (let alone any more) separate web applications that have a consistent look&feel, which is a critical feature of any *work*station, that is, a computer used for doing some kind of *work*, not wasting time on MySpace. I see a very, very long way for this whole "web-based" hype to produce something serious enough...
Looks like you are misunderstanding the GPL. You can distribute a piece of GPL software just fine on your device, CD or whatever, side by side with your proprietary software, being obliged to provide the source just for the GPL parts - as long, as your software doesn't link to the GPL code, as that would be considered a "derivative work". If you, for example, put Linux on your device, together with some GPL programs and include your own one, but do the communication using some kind of IPC protocol or just simple pipes, you're fine. Nothing links together, you don't have to release your code.
Well, I've got a Proliant 6400R under my desk as a heavy-duty test box, that beast has seven 900mA fans in it - let's just say that a pair of wireless Sennheiser TR140 headphones is a bare minimum when working with it, something along the lines of 200 series would be nice (better sound insulation, that is).
On the bright side, I've positioned it so that a steady stream of nice, warm air blows out of its back just by my legs. I can have the lower-than-normal tempretature I like in the room, while not freezing my feet after a long coding session...
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that the hell would rather freeze over - well, looks like Satan is now skating on frozen magma lakes...
No, I didn't. My parents told me several years ago that they regretted even those two times because it wasn't necessary and they did that out of anger instead of taking the time to think and consider some better way of dealing with the situation. And that they never did such a thing again (I was four years old then, I can still remember the second time, but barely the first) just because it's the worst possible way of bringing someone up. Also, those particular situations had really nothing to do with being good and bad, they were really stupid things, just the circumstances weren't very lucky.
No, no, no. If their parents weren't COMPLETE DUMBASSES, the problem wouldn't be there in the first place. If they just cared about what are their kids doing, or maybe even - ${DEITY} forbid - TALKED to them, everyday, ever since their kids were born, the problem wouldn't be there at all, except maybe some corner cases of inborn blockheadedness. Disciplining won't do any good if there's no feel of doing wrong without being disciplined. Do you want a society of people who are "good" just because they were being beaten as kids?
I was disciplined (in the common sesne of this word) TWICE in my whole life, yet I know what's good and what's bad and don't like doing the latter because it's just something intrinsically wrong for me. And that was explained to me when I was a kid, not beaten into my head. It can be done, it's just that most people out there should have never had children because they are unable to give proper upbringing. And disciplining won't help anything.
I'm glad you asked about TCP and Ethernet - which are decades old as well - as those are exactly the same kind of solid, dependable engineering that can survive the test of time almost unchanged (compatible ABI being one indicator of that), despite other technologies around it coming and going all the time. If you think about it, there aren't many of those, but we don't usually notice how outstanding they are because we take them for granted or even treat them as something basic and simple. Sure, understanding how TCP works isn't very challenging, but to *desing* something like that is everything but simple. The same with X, IMHO.
I'm saying that a binary that is 20 years old and uses the X11 protocol as a client most likely will work with a modern Xorg server. It would probably be a problem to find an OS and libc able to run it while being modern enough to run X, but that wasn't the point. X connection itself should work just fine.
From man xorg.conf, verbatim:
...
VIDEOADAPTOR SECTION
Nobody wants to say how this works. Maybe nobody knows
On the more serious note, Xorg might have some misfeatures and shortcomings - that don't really justify everyone whining there, but, well, it's kind of typical - but the sheer fact that something designed over 20 years ago to operate with hardware and software long forgotten still does its job well and manages to keep up with other windowing systems even when it comes to bells and whistles (Composite, etc.), while being ABI (ABI, mind you, not API) compatible with software that actually is 20 years old, means something. That's one solid piece of engineering, the kind one doesn't see often.
mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
And restart it. Seriously. Since about a year, the best way of running X on a PC is to let it autoconfigure itself without any configuration file, not even the one generated by some distro-supplied automatic configuration system.
As far as I know, Google uses their custom, in-house backend, so this thing they use has as much in common with MySQL we all have as is probably the connection handler and some parts of the query parser.
You could say that about any protocol out there, a moot point IMHO. An XMPP-based system *can* be open without any effort, by itself. What you do to it is another matter, but it doesn't really say anything about the protocol itself. Well, it *can* be adapted to carry proprietary information, that's all. Oh, and standardised methods for using e.g. GPG for XMPP message encryption do exist.
That's just this library. For example, the Smack API for Java is literally five lines of actual code to connect, announce the presence, load the roster and send a message. PyXMPP is quite low-level for a Python network library. Try XMPPy, much easier to work with if you need Python.
Have you ever actually SEEN this protocol in action, its specifications, functionality and security features? This is one of the few cases where XML is actually a proper, well-implemented technology suitable for the job. I've been using Jabber as my IM of choice for a few years already, and XMPP as a communication platform for a few non-IM projects and all I can say is that the people involved in its design got it right and created a really flexible, adaptable and secure technology.
Yeah, I know, this is Slashdot, where people like to spew completely uninformed pseudo-opinions, but this one is just too obvious. Well, happy IMing on unencrypted, stone-age, propertiary networks that force-feed you with ads and censor your messages, if that's what you want.
Refining and idea and turning it into a process, product, or whatever else it might describe takes time and effort, but the idea, as in the core concept, really a few words or images in one's mind, sometimes *might* come in an "enlightenment" of sorts. Maybe those aren't big things, but it's innovation nevertheless. Or, in my case, something between innovation and evolution, as I often think about how all the devices I use every day could be improved - and sometimes, I end up with a sudden outbreak of simple, yet effective ideas. I test whichever of them I can and they usually work (that is, I get some tools and hack something out of the original device and some scrap parts lying around). The hard part is taking it further - as a student, I don't really have the funds or connections for that - so most of those end up in the proverbial drawer.
Since when does a Wii cost $40?
The mods should get a break, this guy is quite right, if a bit rough with words, definitely not a flamebait.
Just imagine - no need for cellphone shoot-em-up games when you can use this direction stick on the keyboard to control a real Marine with Bluetooth!
In the case of a laptop, that's easy. Intel makes the whole MiniPCI card and markets it with their brand. With a desktop, you can either try to find a working PCI card, or just... Well, buy a MiniPCI->PCI converter for $10 or so and you're done. That's what I did.
Yes, one of the articles states quite clearly that the co-pilot remained calm in a situation he wasn't even trained to expect (stalling just above the ground) and, by well-judged control of the angle of attack, managed to keep the lift enough for the plane to glide down in a controlled fashion instead of just dropping down like a stone. That, in turn, allowed the plane to crash into the ground while still gliding, not straight on, so it kind of remained in one piece. Had the co-pilot not do anything, the plane would just smash into the ground, probably killing everyone on board and making a nice, burnt-out crater.
And how exactly do you get those 320kbps MP3s? Steal the master recordings from the labels? You see, upsampling a 200-something (or was it even 192?) track from a CD to 320 doesn't make more sound appear spontaneously where it's supposed to be, it's still the same crap it was, maybe even worse due to approximations performed during upsampling.
That depends. Generally speaking, high solar activity is good because the ionosphere is ionised enough and deflects the radio waves better (that's why there's poor propagation in winter - less solar radiation reaches the more distant hemisphere due to longer nights and lower angle). However, too high activity causes interferences and distrupts communication. So it's the best when the Sun is moderately active.
Actually, RPG is a russian term, meaning "Ruchnoy Protivotankovyy Granatomyot", that is, "mobile anti-tank grenade launcher". "Rocket-propelled grenade" is an imprecise term made up by the Americans, possible just by coincidence in the first place.
For me that's about the quality. I've got a very good, stand-alone CD player and an analog amplifier - and quite a crappy sound card in the laptop, so I prefer listening to the CDs. Yes, there's a clearly audible difference, mostly in the amount of "white noise" hum in the speakers and high frequency distortions on higher volumes - the latter especially noticeable when listening to classical music and operas, rich in high-pitched sounds. Of course that's because most of today's music is low frequencies (beat and the like) so no one is going to notice that and manufacturers can save a few bucks using a crappy amplifier with crippled frequency response in the consumer devices...
Well, you can pry my self-contained, customised ultraportable laptop from my dead, cold hands. And only then. I have yet to see a web-based application that is as fast and convenient to use as a native program and doesn't get in the way due to being a slightly overpowered web page. And I have yet to see two (let alone any more) separate web applications that have a consistent look&feel, which is a critical feature of any *work*station, that is, a computer used for doing some kind of *work*, not wasting time on MySpace. I see a very, very long way for this whole "web-based" hype to produce something serious enough...
Looks like you are misunderstanding the GPL. You can distribute a piece of GPL software just fine on your device, CD or whatever, side by side with your proprietary software, being obliged to provide the source just for the GPL parts - as long, as your software doesn't link to the GPL code, as that would be considered a "derivative work". If you, for example, put Linux on your device, together with some GPL programs and include your own one, but do the communication using some kind of IPC protocol or just simple pipes, you're fine. Nothing links together, you don't have to release your code.
AFAIK, they were rebooted at least once for a firmware upgrade, so that number wouldn't look so nice...
Well, I've got a Proliant 6400R under my desk as a heavy-duty test box, that beast has seven 900mA fans in it - let's just say that a pair of wireless Sennheiser TR140 headphones is a bare minimum when working with it, something along the lines of 200 series would be nice (better sound insulation, that is).
On the bright side, I've positioned it so that a steady stream of nice, warm air blows out of its back just by my legs. I can have the lower-than-normal tempretature I like in the room, while not freezing my feet after a long coding session...