1) Slashdot posters have no problem commenting on something they know nothing about. 2) Slashdot moderators have no problems giving points to comments on something they know nothing about.
The result is that uninformed posts go straight to the top if they sound halfway reasonable. It's like peer review by a bunch of monkeys. Sure it's been reviewed, but that doesn't really give the content any more validity.
It's not that shifts aren't done in software. It's that no one would bother doing shifts in software if they weren't made more efficient by the hardware.
...and all the related plug-ins. Every time a story is posted on Slashdot that link to a.mov file or a RealAudio file, people bitch because the appropriate software isn't available on Linux. It's surely not available on StrongArm! But it is availabe on Windows. So to really get a quality web browsing portable at this time, it has to be X86 compatible. Which leaves StrongArm in the cold.
Excuse me, but why were they supposed to spend time and money developing drivers for Linux? To support the small market that would develop them themselves anyway, at no cost to Diamond? I don't think so. Not a smart business decision.
Now using Linux on a webpad... Well, it's free. Much cheaper than Win98. That's a smart business decision. Maybe they are hypocritical from your viewpoint. But from the viewpoint of their investors, they're quite consistent. They always act in the way that will gain them the most money. That's how public businesses are REQUIRED to operated.
Of course, the fact that you have to stretch to chorded keyboards shows what's wrong with this idea. An x-term is still rather keyboard centric. Any device that doesn't have a keyboard just isn't going to be a good replacement for a desktop.
Just because X is a viable solution in many situations doesn't mean it's the best one. I personally don't want the complexity of the desktop in a portable. Isn't that the major gripe with the Windows CE machines?
Well, I'm sure they're quoting list price. So the cost to you will surely be less. But I agree it's a little steep. And the article also says that when it's idle, it uses much less power. So unless you're planning on giving it constant use for 4-5 hours, that should be plenty. It'll probably be like those Win CE devices, where you plug it in every night to recharge, and it's ready the next morning.
Well, I'm sure this will fall on deaf ears, but here are some responses.
I think their concept is low power, similar performance. So why would they brag about their similar performance if that's not their selling point?
Did you watch the technical briefing? The one that followed the press conference? It was much less jargony. Sometimes companies have to play to their audience. Quotes like you gave are the only things the reporters understand sometimes, and most people don't get their news from Slashdot, so the reporters have to understand.
Also, Transmeta isn't quite as vaporware as you make it sound. Having production silicon from IBM is a lot different than just having software simulations (like that Russian company a while ago). Since they aren't selling to end users, it's real hard to tell whether these are actually obtainable right now. If no one release a product using them before the end of Feb, then you can start shouting Vaporware.
And that cheap fanatic comment at the end does make you a flamebaiter. Really, it does. Look in the mirror.
Big. Like a 15.4" LCD w/ a thin border around it, about 3/4" thick. It was hard to tell what it was running, you could just see windows floating around.
According to this story in Wired News, ICANN is now letting registrars take 10-year renewals. Since $350 is just as much a drop in the bucket to a big corp as $35, I'm sure every one will take them up on it. The result will be far fewer cracks like this for some random stranger to fill.
beautiful... a product that makes no sense legally
on
MP3.com's Beam-It
·
· Score: 2
but a lot of fun illegaly. Obviously, there is no big demand to get mp3s of cd's you own. But the idea of collectively sharing a pool of cd's amoung some geographically distributed friends is quite tempting and interesting. Illegal of course, but all that's stopping you is a stupid FAQ question that says "Should I give out my password"?
Interesting... Slate is owned by Microsoft. Slate posted an article this morning titled "What's the Difference Between CEO's and Chairmen?". Coincidence???:)
The article is actually rather interesting for those who don't know the answer. Anyway, here's a link:
Gotta agree on this one. I've bought a lot of MS hardware, and it's always been on merit, not because of their monopoly power. They make nice joysticks, nice keyboards, and nice mouses. Anyone who can't see that is just blinded by their random MS-hating fury.
Sure free/open source is better *in general*. But that doesn't mean that all such products are better in a given specific situation. Just because Linux is open source doesn't mean it is an intrinsically better OS for a handheld.
Gee, I know I have a couple of hours of day to throw away on doing something that I don't enjoy at all. 2 hours a day is 1/12 of your life! Do you realize that?
"The programmer should ALWAYS provide a good build system."
This reminds me of something that came up w/ the CmdrTaco interview last week. He suggested he hadn't released the code yet because he hadn't done all the little things, like documenting and setting up a proper configuration system. The response was that he should release it anyway, and the community would fix the problems. I'd say the same philosophy should apply here. I'd rather have the source now, then wait for the programmer to LEARN to setup a proper build system.
...in that 320x240 interlaced is only every other line in *ONE* direction, not both. So if it's vertically interlaced, that means the non-interlaced source would be 320x480, since the horizontal rez stays the same. If you started w/ a 640x480 source, the result would be 640x200 per interlaced frame.
Slashdot Mirror
You mean slashdot has a science/math story that isn't related to patents? No way! Someone tell this guy he's missing the boat....
Two reasons:
1) Slashdot posters have no problem commenting on something they know nothing about.
2) Slashdot moderators have no problems giving points to comments on something they know nothing about.
The result is that uninformed posts go straight to the top if they sound halfway reasonable. It's like peer review by a bunch of monkeys. Sure it's been reviewed, but that doesn't really give the content any more validity.
It's not that shifts aren't done in software. It's that no one would bother doing shifts in software if they weren't made more efficient by the hardware.
What's he got to do with this?
Are you insane? $6000 on cd's? You probably are that weird data point floating above all the normal people who just do it to pirate.
They paid $9.2 billion for them in October. So I don't think that lawsuit is being filed anytime soon.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-2 00-806223.html
...and all the related plug-ins. Every time a story is posted on Slashdot that link to a .mov file or a RealAudio file, people bitch because the appropriate software isn't available on Linux. It's surely not available on StrongArm! But it is availabe on Windows. So to really get a quality web browsing portable at this time, it has to be X86 compatible. Which leaves StrongArm in the cold.
Excuse me, but why were they supposed to spend time and money developing drivers for Linux? To support the small market that would develop them themselves anyway, at no cost to Diamond? I don't think so. Not a smart business decision.
Now using Linux on a webpad... Well, it's free. Much cheaper than Win98. That's a smart business decision. Maybe they are hypocritical from your viewpoint. But from the viewpoint of their investors, they're quite consistent. They always act in the way that will gain them the most money. That's how public businesses are REQUIRED to operated.
Of course, the fact that you have to stretch to chorded keyboards shows what's wrong with this idea. An x-term is still rather keyboard centric. Any device that doesn't have a keyboard just isn't going to be a good replacement for a desktop.
Just because X is a viable solution in many situations doesn't mean it's the best one. I personally don't want the complexity of the desktop in a portable. Isn't that the major gripe with the Windows CE machines?
Well, I'm sure they're quoting list price. So the cost to you will surely be less. But I agree it's a little steep. And the article also says that when it's idle, it uses much less power. So unless you're planning on giving it constant use for 4-5 hours, that should be plenty. It'll probably be like those Win CE devices, where you plug it in every night to recharge, and it's ready the next morning.
Are you serious? This story is about Crusoe! So why exactly is the crusoe logo the wrong one?
How dare you... linking w/o attribution. I've sworn his articles off. Now I feel dirty.
Well, I'm sure this will fall on deaf ears, but here are some responses.
I think their concept is low power, similar performance. So why would they brag about their similar performance if that's not their selling point?
Did you watch the technical briefing? The one that followed the press conference? It was much less jargony. Sometimes companies have to play to their audience. Quotes like you gave are the only things the reporters understand sometimes, and most people don't get their news from Slashdot, so the reporters have to understand.
Also, Transmeta isn't quite as vaporware as you make it sound. Having production silicon from IBM is a lot different than just having software simulations (like that Russian company a while ago). Since they aren't selling to end users, it's real hard to tell whether these are actually obtainable right now. If no one release a product using them before the end of Feb, then you can start shouting Vaporware.
And that cheap fanatic comment at the end does make you a flamebaiter. Really, it does. Look in the mirror.
Hidden away in the Press section (along w/ some unimpressive pics of the chip) is the Transmeta FAQ:
http://www2adm.transmeta.com/press/faq. html
Interesting stuff.
Big. Like a 15.4" LCD w/ a thin border around it, about 3/4" thick. It was hard to tell what it was running, you could just see windows floating around.
According to this story in Wired News, ICANN is now letting registrars take 10-year renewals. Since $350 is just as much a drop in the bucket to a big corp as $35, I'm sure every one will take them up on it. The result will be far fewer cracks like this for some random stranger to fill.
but a lot of fun illegaly. Obviously, there is no big demand to get mp3s of cd's you own. But the idea of collectively sharing a pool of cd's amoung some geographically distributed friends is quite tempting and interesting. Illegal of course, but all that's stopping you is a stupid FAQ question that says "Should I give out my password"?
You buy stock. Stock goes up on vaguely Linux related news. You sell stock. You roll in dough.
Interesting... Slate is owned by Microsoft. Slate posted an article this morning titled "What's the Difference Between CEO's and Chairmen?". Coincidence??? :)
//www.slate.com/Code/explainer/explainer.asp?Show= 1/12/00&idMessage=4361
The article is actually rather interesting for those who don't know the answer. Anyway, here's a link:
http:
Gotta agree on this one. I've bought a lot of MS hardware, and it's always been on merit, not because of their monopoly power. They make nice joysticks, nice keyboards, and nice mouses. Anyone who can't see that is just blinded by their random MS-hating fury.
Sure free/open source is better *in general*. But that doesn't mean that all such products are better in a given specific situation. Just because Linux is open source doesn't mean it is an intrinsically better OS for a handheld.
Gee, I know I have a couple of hours of day to throw away on doing something that I don't enjoy at all. 2 hours a day is 1/12 of your life! Do you realize that?
http://www.howstuffworks.com/question2 25.htm
And since the line is added by the broadcaster, there isn't just one company doing it. Each of the 3 broadcasters has their own system, I think.
ESPN (and MNF) use SporTVision for example, not PVI.
"The programmer should ALWAYS provide a good build system."
This reminds me of something that came up w/ the CmdrTaco interview last week. He suggested he hadn't released the code yet because he hadn't done all the little things, like documenting and setting up a proper configuration system. The response was that he should release it anyway, and the community would fix the problems. I'd say the same philosophy should apply here. I'd rather have the source now, then wait for the programmer to LEARN to setup a proper build system.
...in that 320x240 interlaced is only every other line in *ONE* direction, not both. So if it's vertically interlaced, that means the non-interlaced source would be 320x480, since the horizontal rez stays the same. If you started w/ a 640x480 source, the result would be 640x200 per interlaced frame.