Comment Re:Get a laser printer (Score 1) 540
"...without refilling it for sure in the next 2 years..."
Or until the little microchip inside the toner cartridge decides that you need a new one, regardless of how much toner is left.
Submission + - Einstein's twin paradox resolved
slashthedot writes: "An Indian American scientist Subhash Kak from Louisiana State University has resolved the 100+ years old Einstein's twin paradox.
"The fact that time slows down on moving objects has been documented and verified over the years through repeated experimentation. But, in the previous scenario, the paradox is that the earthbound twin is the one who would be considered to be in motion — in relation to the sibling — and therefore should be the one aging more slowly. Einstein and other scientists have attempted to resolve this problem before, but none of the formulas they presented proved satisfactory.
Kak's findings were published online in the International Journal of Theoretical Science, and will appear in the upcoming print version of the publication."
"The implications of this resolution will be widespread, generally enhancing the scientific community's comprehension of relativity. It may eventually even have some impact on quantum communications and computers, potentially making it possible to design more efficient and reliable communication systems for space applications."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-02/lsu -lpr021407.php"
"The implications of this resolution will be widespread, generally enhancing the scientific community's comprehension of relativity. It may eventually even have some impact on quantum communications and computers, potentially making it possible to design more efficient and reliable communication systems for space applications."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-02/ls
Submission + - Girls of Engineering pin up calendar ?
bongey writes: Thought this was funny , seems some engineering students got together and talked some of the woman engineers at U of I to take some racy photos for a calendar . Needless to say the title of the calendar is smart is sexy . All I can say is where can I get a copy.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/246420,CST-NWS- calendar07.article
Submission + - An Overview of Parallelism
Mortimer.CA writes: Hello,
Tim Bray points out a recently released report from Berkley entitled "The Landscape of Parallel Computing Research: A View from Berkeley".
Generally they conclude that the 'evolutionary approach to parallel hardware and software may work from 2 or 8 processor systems, but is likely to face diminishing returns as 16 and 32 processor systems are realized, just as returns fell with greater instruction-level parallelism.' This assumes things stay "evolutionary" and that programming stays more or less how it has done in previous years (though languages like Erlang can probably help to change this view).
Some of the 'conventional wisdowms', and their replacements, that they list are:
Tim Bray points out a recently released report from Berkley entitled "The Landscape of Parallel Computing Research: A View from Berkeley".
Generally they conclude that the 'evolutionary approach to parallel hardware and software may work from 2 or 8 processor systems, but is likely to face diminishing returns as 16 and 32 processor systems are realized, just as returns fell with greater instruction-level parallelism.' This assumes things stay "evolutionary" and that programming stays more or less how it has done in previous years (though languages like Erlang can probably help to change this view).
Some of the 'conventional wisdowms', and their replacements, that they list are:
-
- Old CW: Power is free, but transistors are expensive.
- New CW is the "Power wall": Power is expensive, but transistors are "free". That is, we can put more transistors on a chip than we have the power to turn on.
-
- Old CW: Monolithic uniprocessors in silicon are reliable internally, with errors occurring only at the pins.
- New CW: As chips drop below 65 nm feature sizes, they will have high soft and hard error rates.
-
- Old CW: Multiply is slow, but load and store is fast.
- New CW is the "Memory wall" [Wulf and McKee 1995]: Load and store is slow, but multiply is fast. [...]
-
- Old CW: Don't bother parallelizing your application, as you can just wait a little while and run it on a much faster sequential computer.
- New CW: It will be a very long wait for a faster sequential computer (see above).
Submission + - Custom Built Computers
the eric conspiracy writes: For several years I've been buying custom barebones systems from Monarch Computer based on a recommendation I found on slashdot, and have been happy with the result. However in 2006 they really went downhill, and now appear to be out of business. So I am looking for suppliers whom I can go to for a computer where I can specify the motherboard, case, power supply, memory on a piece by piece basis, get feedback from the supplier as to whether these items would be a reliable combination, and have the supplier assemble the custom system and test it. The system may just be a motherboard and CPU, or it might be all the way to a complete package.
Any suggestions?
Submission + - The future of Open Source Java
An anonymous reader writes: Thanks largely to the open sourcing of the JDK, 2007 promises to be the most exciting year in Java programming. With the developer community in the driver's seat, expect to see Java programming propelled forward, backward, and sideways, probably all at once. This article takes a look at what's ahead for Java in Open Source and predicts what is coming for the Java platform.
Submission + - Julie Amero Convicted by Malware
krasicki writes: "Julie Amero, a substitute teacher in Norwich, CT has been convicted of a morals charge when the computer in her classroom began a cascade of porn pop-ups. This woman needs your help. Make your voices heard.
My blog is http://region19.blogspot.com./ Sunbelt Software's Alex Eckelberry is speaking out here http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/13/teacher_faces _40_yea.html
Alternet has the most lucid piece; http://www.alternet.org/rights/46925/
This is a truly unbelievable story."
My blog is http://region19.blogspot.com./ Sunbelt Software's Alex Eckelberry is speaking out here http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/13/teacher_face
Alternet has the most lucid piece; http://www.alternet.org/rights/46925/
This is a truly unbelievable story."
Submission + - What is the best notebook for programmer?
javaObject writes: I am going to pass my 2.5 year-old IBM T42 (Pentium M, 14") notebook to my wife soon. That means I can spend some money to get a new notebook ;) I am a programmer. And have been pretty happy with my T42. I really like it for the following reasons:
. keyboard layout
. big "backspace", "\", "enter" key
. ThinkPad System Update (find updates for drivers and ThinkPad-related software automatically)
. the ports layout
. the business-look of the notebook (yeah, I am an uncool kind of guy)
. non-wide screen
What is the criteria for you Slashdotters-programmers' notebook ? And fellow Slashdotters, what do you think is the best notebook for programmers?
. keyboard layout
. big "backspace", "\", "enter" key
. ThinkPad System Update (find updates for drivers and ThinkPad-related software automatically)
. the ports layout
. the business-look of the notebook (yeah, I am an uncool kind of guy)
. non-wide screen
What is the criteria for you Slashdotters-programmers' notebook ? And fellow Slashdotters, what do you think is the best notebook for programmers?
Submission + - Co-Inventor Of Electron Microscope Dies At 91
Arivia writes: "James Hillier, co-inventor of the electron microscope, has died at the age of 91. He invented it with another student, Albert Prebus, at the University of Toronto in 1938."
