Alack, but the DVD standard thwarts this as well. Certain pieces of crucial data are put on a non-standard place on the disk, and you won't be able to write it there with a normal DVD burner drive. Playstation games have the same thing, but some very capable hardware hacker figured out how to get around it by soldering an extra programmable logic chip into the console. If you have it you can play copied games made with a standard CDR drive. Voids the warranty, and I wouldn't attempt it unless you know what you're doing. This probably won't happen with DVD players though - too many different kinds...
I'm not sure what to think about this - I mean, the FBI is probably right about the characteristics that a potentially violent student might have. Katz seems to be damning the program one sentence, then goes on to quote a school official with a lukewarm opinion about it (at worst).
To me, it seemss that the most important thing about this program is the school officials. The FBI doesn't seem to be saying anything here but to give a certain set of qualities to be on the lookout for. They aren't recommending courses of actions over-reactionary or otherwise. (I could be wrong - I've never heard anything about this outside of Katz's articles) The school officials are the ones that will choose between helping the "out of the mainstream" students by listening to their concerns, and choosing to alienate them even more by persecuting them. This program will probably not change anything - if a school has a bad set of officials, they will be quite able to screw things up whether the FBI helps them or not.
Comments Welcome!
bp
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CGI is easier in TV resolution vs. movie
on
Review:Toy Story 2
·
· Score: 1
I think part of the reason they could produce animation like that back then is that they were working in TV resolution. (what is that, 400x300 on a good screen w/ SVideo inputs?) I remember this came up last summer that the South Park tech guys did an interview, and they talked about how long it took to render a TV frame vs. a movie frame.
As for the artistic value, I would say that Toy Story was still better, but the Big Idea people made a really good production all the same.
Maybe fame and wealth don't necessarily make someone more deserving of being mourned, but it certainly increases the number of people who will mourn, simply because more people had had some form of contact with the deceased. Celebrities, in some ways, provide something similar to what we get from friends. If someone's work made you happy, it's not unreasonable at all to note their passing with a little rememberance.
I ran into this myself last summer, when Mark Sandman, lead singer, bassist, and songwriter for Morphine, one of my favorite bands, died on stage of an apparent heart attack. His work affected me in many positive ways, and I had even met him once after a show - very cool, no outward evidence of being some rockstar egomaniac at all, signed my CD and said "thanks" when I told him I thought it had been a good show.
Ms. Bergman, your work was greatly appreciated by me and many others, and I'd just like to say, "thank you," and that you will be missed.
For the IEEE's (Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineering) appraisal of the Y2K situation, check here. Basically, it says that there's nothing serious to worry about, and since they're the authorities on this type of thing, I think I'll trust 'em.
One thing to consider is that sometimes the surgery doesn't correct your vision 100%. I don't know about LASEK (sp?) but I know that Radial Karatotomy makes it impossible to wear contact lenses afterward. This would mean, then, that you might still need vision correction after the surgery, but your options would be limited to glasses.
OK, now I may be completely off base here (if I am please let me know), but I was under the impression that the Athlon was designed to use the same slot and chipsets as the Alpha. This would mean that all motherboard manufacturers (that is, the ones that already make Alpha m'boards) would have to do is replace the BIOS. At the very least there would be off-the-shelf parts to use, instead of having to start from square one.
Like I said, I might be completely misguided here...
Actually, and I'm not completely sure about this, but I think that the "turn the other cheek" verse had something to do with a Jewish law that said one couldn't strike someone on both sides of the face. I.E., get hit in the face, don't hit the guy back, but still keep yourself from getting hit again.
Please correct me if I'm wrong on this.
bp
This could be where it starts
on
$200 Linux PCs
·
· Score: 1
It's finally gotten to the point that the only way to reduce system prices is to reduce the OS fee... My theory on this - MS refuses to give up or reduce their licensing fees for Windows What-Year-Is-It-Again, at least for a while. System manufacturers, in the drive to compete, find that the only way they can be a contender price-wise is to drop said fee and go with something free. The public won't care as long as the systems are easy enough to use. MS loses it's chokehold on the market, and we've won.
The only thing that can prevent this is, if the systems are too hard to use (for average, non-CS degree users) or are made of really inferior hardware, the term "Linux Computer" could go right up there with "Betamax VCR" and "AMC Gremlin." (And "AMS laptop" for anyone who's ever owned one...) Even if they start out difficult and get better, there would still be the damage done, as the public tends to remember being burned this way.
We'll see, I guess - It's going to be a bumpy ride...
Sounds like the best way to prevent this from happening to yourself is to be a professional. In other words, even if you have enough self-taught computer skills and talents to get a job, it's still best not to skip out on a quality education.
Professional education is what differentiates an engineer from a technician. It involves not only learning the skills of your job, but also the theory and ethics of it. Engineers do not learn a laundry list of languages, operating systems, hardware types, etc, but rather we learn everything behind it.
I would say the biggest difference is, it's a lot harder to replace an engineer.
I personally think that Mr. Cringely has a good point here. For certain, using something like/. for free technical editing has limited possibilities - I mean, while it's generally possible to winnow out the people who know what they're talking about from those who don't, it isn't always. All it takes is a subject that not many people here know much about (say, Transmeta's operations), and a well developed gift of gab, and yes, even we, the "nerderati" can be fooled.
Alack, but the DVD standard thwarts this as well. Certain pieces of crucial data are put on a non-standard place on the disk, and you won't be able to write it there with a normal DVD burner drive. Playstation games have the same thing, but some very capable hardware hacker figured out how to get around it by soldering an extra programmable logic chip into the console. If you have it you can play copied games made with a standard CDR drive. Voids the warranty, and I wouldn't attempt it unless you know what you're doing. This probably won't happen with DVD players though - too many different kinds...
bp
-------------
"
I'm not sure what to think about this - I mean, the FBI is probably right about the characteristics that a potentially violent student might have. Katz seems to be damning the program one sentence, then goes on to quote a school official with a lukewarm opinion about it (at worst).
To me, it seemss that the most important thing about this program is the school officials. The FBI doesn't seem to be saying anything here but to give a certain set of qualities to be on the lookout for. They aren't recommending courses of actions over-reactionary or otherwise. (I could be wrong - I've never heard anything about this outside of Katz's articles) The school officials are the ones that will choose between helping the "out of the mainstream" students by listening to their concerns, and choosing to alienate them even more by persecuting them. This program will probably not change anything - if a school has a bad set of officials, they will be quite able to screw things up whether the FBI helps them or not.
Comments Welcome!
bp
------
I think part of the reason they could produce animation like that back then is that they were working in TV resolution. (what is that, 400x300 on a good screen w/ SVideo inputs?) I remember this came up last summer that the South Park tech guys did an interview, and they talked about how long it took to render a TV frame vs. a movie frame.
As for the artistic value, I would say that Toy Story was still better, but the Big Idea people made a really good production all the same.
I ran into this myself last summer, when Mark Sandman, lead singer, bassist, and songwriter for Morphine, one of my favorite bands, died on stage of an apparent heart attack. His work affected me in many positive ways, and I had even met him once after a show - very cool, no outward evidence of being some rockstar egomaniac at all, signed my CD and said "thanks" when I told him I thought it had been a good show.
Ms. Bergman, your work was greatly appreciated by me and many others, and I'd just like to say, "thank you," and that you will be missed.
bp
For the IEEE's (Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineering) appraisal of the Y2K situation, check here. Basically, it says that there's nothing serious to worry about, and since they're the authorities on this type of thing, I think I'll trust 'em.
bp
One thing to consider is that sometimes the surgery doesn't correct your vision 100%. I don't know about LASEK (sp?) but I know that Radial Karatotomy makes it impossible to wear contact lenses afterward. This would mean, then, that you might still need vision correction after the surgery, but your options would be limited to glasses.
bp
OK, now I may be completely off base here (if I am please let me know), but I was under the impression that the Athlon was designed to use the same slot and chipsets as the Alpha. This would mean that all motherboard manufacturers (that is, the ones that already make Alpha m'boards) would have to do is replace the BIOS. At the very least there would be off-the-shelf parts to use, instead of having to start from square one.
Like I said, I might be completely misguided here...
Comments Welcome!
bp
Actually, and I'm not completely sure about this, but I think that the "turn the other cheek" verse had something to do with a Jewish law that said one couldn't strike someone on both sides of the face. I.E., get hit in the face, don't hit the guy back, but still keep yourself from getting hit again.
Please correct me if I'm wrong on this.
bp
It's finally gotten to the point that the only way to reduce system prices is to reduce the OS fee... My theory on this - MS refuses to give up or reduce their licensing fees for Windows What-Year-Is-It-Again, at least for a while. System manufacturers, in the drive to compete, find that the only way they can be a contender price-wise is to drop said fee and go with something free. The public won't care as long as the systems are easy enough to use. MS loses it's chokehold on the market, and we've won.
The only thing that can prevent this is, if the systems are too hard to use (for average, non-CS degree users) or are made of really inferior hardware, the term "Linux Computer" could go right up there with "Betamax VCR" and "AMC Gremlin." (And "AMS laptop" for anyone who's ever owned one...) Even if they start out difficult and get better, there would still be the damage done, as the public tends to remember being burned this way.
We'll see, I guess - It's going to be a bumpy ride...Comments welcome!
bp
Professional education is what differentiates an engineer from a technician. It involves not only learning the skills of your job, but also the theory and ethics of it. Engineers do not learn a laundry list of languages, operating systems, hardware types, etc, but rather we learn everything behind it.
I would say the biggest difference is, it's a lot harder to replace an engineer.
Comments welcome!
bp
I personally think that Mr. Cringely has a good point here. For certain, using something like /. for free technical editing has limited possibilities - I mean, while it's generally possible to winnow out the people who know what they're talking about from those who don't, it isn't always. All it takes is a subject that not many people here know much about (say, Transmeta's operations), and a well developed gift of gab, and yes, even we, the "nerderati" can be fooled.
Comments welcome!
bp