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User: Rollo

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  1. I've got your 'maglev' blender... RIGHT HERE. on Maglev Chip Finds Niche in Power Tools · · Score: 1

    http://www.proscitech.com/get_frames.htm?e11a.htm

    OK, more 'mag' than actual 'lev', but still...

  2. Re:reminds me of Cryptonomicon on LED Lights: Friend or Foe? · · Score: 1
    Ah, the Covert Channel method. Security Through Illumination rather than Obscurity...

    ObLEDs: I'm doubtful. Of course, the lights give away that something is sent, which - in some cases - might be considered a vulnerability

  3. Already covered by Wired (and Slashdot, 'fcourse) on Coming Back Soon... The Tasmanian Tiger? · · Score: 1

    The Wired ran the story quite some time ago (Sep. 13, 1999). Slashdot had a go at it as well.

  4. Re:Still new to GNU/Linux on Rage Against the File System Standard · · Score: 1

    rpm takes the --prefix=/your/install/dir parameter as well.

  5. Re:Stable & reliable VM design PSE! on Linus And Alan Settle On A New VM System · · Score: 1
    Different VM philosophies work in different ways. Linux has traditionally worked the way you describe - writing to swap starts when real mem is exhaust. AIX and, I believe, Win NT keep a image of the total virtual memory in swap - including stuff currently in real memory.

    The second approach (AIX & NT) results in a smaller performance hit when real mem is exhausted - since anything that has to be swapped out already is written to disk, the VM subsystem just frees the real mem associated with the process that is being swapped out. This disk I/O costs a bit (and requires a larger swap space), but is generally faster on systems where swap usage is common.

  6. Re:but then.. on Soviet Computing Technology? · · Score: 2
    Or, wouldn't we have seen something of it post cold war ??

    The existance of companies like Elbrus show that there is some competence in the field available.

  7. Wishes granted (more or less...) on Cell Phone Purchasing: Drop Down? · · Score: 1
    1. Most Nokia and Ericson phones have their OS stored in flashable memory. It is possible to fetch the version and revision number by entering a code. I guess it would be possible to do someb reverse engineering and write your own OS.
    2. Nokia has a cellphone in PCMCIA formfactor. You can use the mic and speakers of your laptop to emulate an ordinary phone.
      Newer offices install their own GSM stations and issue cellphones to the employees - calls within the office are free, since the company own the local GSM network, and when you leave the office you can still be reached - without having to forward your phone.
    3. You usually get a hefty discount on the phone if you sign up for a long-term service subscription. Also, see the 'local network' part above.
    4. We're getting there...
    5. WAP.
  8. From synopsis: "...legal consumer privacy laws..." on DoubleClick DoublesBack · · Score: 1

    Hmmm, aren't all laws legal by definition?

  9. Assorted Thoughts on Care to Register Your Own TLD? · · Score: 1

    Regarding .sucks & Co: aren't the vast majority of these more suitable as .orgs? (And hey, if you allow me to get a tad revolutionary, wouldn't the world be a better place if three-letter TLDs were reserved for sites international in nature, with more regional companies instead being in the .us domain.
    Not that it is possible now, but perhaps in the next revision of the internet. :)

  10. Re:Why should the next be exempt? on New Federal Government Stance on Internet Taxes · · Score: 1

    I believe the point of the original poster was that tax should be paid on all sales, regardless of medium, not that it would be very good for the government to get more income through taxes.

    From a programmer's point of view, I applaud this attempt at introducing a little consistency into taxation, whatever non-altruistic motives may be behind it. It seems as if each new government creates benefits to counter the lasts governments raised taxes, making the legislation a kludgy mess.
    Oh, and for the "They will take all you give them" and "The people must say no": In a democratic country, you deserve your own government.

  11. Possible outcomes on Export Controls on Beowulf? · · Score: 1

    I assume the restriction defines 'potentially evil hardware' in terms of processing power, thus allowing the software to be exported without restriction. And since every node is a not-too powerful separate computing entity, the restriction can't be applied to the nodes either.
    So what can the government do? I can see three scenarios:
    1. No change, export of traditional supercomputers still controlled, beowulfs unrestricted.
    2. The ineffective export control lessened since beowulfs circumvent the restriction anyway, and the restriction was kind of stupid in the first place.
    3. The export rules get kludged in some ugly way to encompass clusters of computers. More pain, less fun for all involved parties.

    Oh, and imagine a MetaBeowulf cluster of those things! (Ah, the comment you all had been waiting for!)

  12. Monochrome vs. Color on XFree86 3.9.18 Today, v4.0 in March · · Score: 1

    Also, different pieces of wetware (What, you suppose me to know what they are called? In a foreign language? Come on! :) are used for detecting intensity and colors. The intensity-detecting ones are much more sensitive, thus making everything seem gray when it's dark (the reflected light is below the threshold of the hue/saturation wetware). So it's really not a question of 24 bits RGB or not, but more like 24 bits HSV, with the Value part hogging most of the bits...
    Tomorrow, I will look at this analogy and cry. But tonight, it all makes sense...koffee, come hither...

  13. Re:Danger on Sunlight + Algae = Hydrogen fuel · · Score: 1

    If this algae can turn ordinary water into hydrogen through photosynthesis, what happens when/if it escaped into the wild?
    I doubt the algae are very effective outside of their preferred habitat (rather hot, lots of sun, lots of nutrition), just like yeast (producing flammable ethanol) or bacteria producing methane & co.

  14. What comes first, HW bypass or SW cracker? on Intel Goes for Display Encryption · · Score: 2

    Ho hum. This will surely stand the test of time (for infinitely small values of t) just like the other copy-protection attempts.
    Lemmesee, will dvd rippers build something that intercepts the decrypted signal or will they go for the software solution and break the crypto? It's just a matter of personal preference, both methods are kinda easy.
    Encryptimg something that eventually will be presented to the user in decrypted form...doesn't this sound fundamentally wrong?

  15. /. polled this some time ago on How many hours did you work this week? · · Score: 5

    ...and here's the link.

  16. Re:Resolution independent GUIs on Super LCD Screens: 200 PPI · · Score: 2

    Ah, an opportunity to plug the Berlin windowing system! How sweet!
    In Berlin, rendering the vector-based description of the GUI to actual pixels is done at a very late stage, thus allowing almost anything (CRT, LCD, sport arena jumbotrons(!)) to act as visual device - just rewrite the rendering and output modules & off you go.
    With the varying resolutions on screens (PDA->CRT->this new LCD), this is the natural next step in GUI development.

  17. Already compressed on Are there MP3 Players that use Minidiscs? · · Score: 1

    The sound on a minidisc is already compressed (I think the algorithm is called ATRAC) and you won't be able to gain that much storage.
    I guess that uploading songs to a minidisc usually is done in realtime (1x spin, in cdrom terms), and not very conveninent. Does anybody know of a way (presumably using some proprietary hardware) that accept transfer of a raw audio data stream (or similar) onto the MD?

  18. Re:Rhyming programs - other languages on Perl Poetry Contest · · Score: 1

    The Quine prints itself
    Spills its source onto the screen
    You get what you had

    Easiest Quine is:
    Using error as code, thus
    getting error back

  19. Re:Cases on Retro Palm Pilot Case · · Score: 1

    So? I made a case out of STONE! And not just any old stone, mind you...

  20. "Bug Fixes" + "Complete Rewrite" = ? on Open Source == Faster bug fixes · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't the introduction of new code cancel the effect of the bugfixes? Code maturity, anyone?

  21. Re:Why is this surprising? on Open Source == Faster bug fixes · · Score: 1

    Well, Linux seldom just hangs the way Win9x does due to an error in an application. You can say what you want about reliability - recoverability is where Linux truly triumphs.

  22. Re:Open Source doesn't always == faster bug fixes on Open Source == Faster bug fixes · · Score: 1

    I won't call it a success until it actually puts a dent in Microsoft's huge majority.

    Eh, I hope you aren't measuring quality by comparing market share? Or do you think McDonalds taste better than a restaurant rated in the Guide Michelin (since there are so many McDs and so few star-awarded restaurants)?
    Personally, I couldn't care less for market share - as long as it does its job in a stable, efficient manner, I'll use it.

    I don't think that there are any hugely successful pieces of open source software (sendmail? but then it basically started off with a monopoly)

    fetchmail, the gcc, gzip, lynx, emacs and a slew of the other GNU tools... I fear the number of installed emacses out there! These are programs that do their job well - some are even popular among typical "users".

    I don't work for free, I have to pay bills. Infact, I'm quite happy to be paid a lot of money for what I do.

    I bet the programmers at, for instance, RedHat are happy getting paid, too. Many a healthy business gain most/all of their income by offering support (Linux distributors), add-ons (Sendmail Pro), courses and documentation to open-source software.

  23. Re:Children Turn on Santa on Children Turn On Santa · · Score: 1

    Sub-conscious influence? Errr.. don't you mean something along the lines of 'under the influence of substances' instead - seems like Santa isn't the only one who is stoned. (No offence! Honest!)

  24. Re:Speaking of limerics (somewhat offtopic...) on Keyboards - Dvorak or Qwerty? · · Score: 1

    Hmm, there is a limeric about this guy called Nero. Can't remember how it went, tho. Can somebody help me out. :)

  25. No protection is good protection. on The Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle · · Score: 1

    > The point is, guys, that defensive military equipment is a very, very good thing, and would be a boon to peace in many areas of the world.
    In the case of nuclear arms, the contrary has been proven during the last 50 tense years. As long as the only "defence" against a nuclear attack is retaliation, the suffering of the people on the recieving end of the trajectory constistutes a crime against humanity, certain to result in trade embargos and such from many countries.
    As the possibilities to reduce the damage from a nuclear ICBM attack increase, the percieved damage decreases, thus (eventually) making the use och nukes "acceptable" in a conflict.

    So what happens is that we (humanity that is, I'm not into specifics right now) just traded an old, very dangerous weapon no-one was going to use for a new, somewhat less dangerous one someone might have the nerve to use. And that's when we (all) will be very sorry.