mrshoe - Slashdot User

Submission + - Mini-Jets Set to Revolutionize Civilian Aviation

Submitted by longacre on Tuesday May 22, 2007 @07:53PM

longacre writes: A new class of aircraft known as Very Light Jets (VLJs) is close to takeoff and could result in a giant leap forward in private aviation. The sub-10,000 lb planes carry 2 to 6 passengers (plus 2 pilots) up to 450 mph and as high as airliner altitudes of 41,000 feet. The price range: only $1.5 to $4 million, which is about half that of a current entry-level biz-jet. Popular Mechanics examines the advances in engine technology that make these low-cost fliers possible — the Diamond D-Jet, for example, uses a derivative of the ultra-high thrust-to-weight ratio engine found in Tomahawk cruise missiles. Also, a breakdown of the VLJ offerings from aviation giants Cessna and Embraer, the notable HondaJet, and others from smaller concerns such as Eclipse Aviation. The theoretical next step: the Extremely Light Jet, which could carry 2 passengers 250 mph for the price of a Bentley.

Submission + - Freenode and OFTC IRC networks buddy up

Submitted by exeme on Tuesday May 22, 2007 @06:45PM

exeme writes: After growing apart for six years, Freenode and OFTC are now working together, and seeing where cooperation might take them.

"Two Internet Relay Chat (IRC) networks that are used heavily by free and open source software projects, Freenode and the Open and Free Technology Community (OFTC), are building bridges by swapping staff and observing each other's operations. The rapprochement brings together two organizations that sprang from a single project, and may be a precursor for more intimate ties."

Full article.

Submission + - AT&T Ready to Wield iWeapon

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 22, 2007 @06:17PM

An anonymous reader writes: "Today's market is not about finding new opportunities," said Forrester Research's Charles Golvin about the mobile phone industry. "It's about stealing somebody else's customers." That's the gist of what happens when a maturing market meets Wall Street's clammor for continued growth. Enter the iPhone, which AT&T feels is their best opportunity to take market share away from Verizon and Sprint. Presently, AT&T has 62.2 million users versus Verizon's 60.7 million and Spint's 53.6 million. If Apple reaches its goal of 10 million iPods sold by the end of 2008 it should break AT&T away from the pack if enough customers switch networks. Thus expect AT&T to unleash their full marketing prowess to promote the iPhone, which could include a price drop. Verizon CEO Denny Strigl played down his decision to pass on the iPhone in the article, but then admits that Verizon isn't taking any chances with their answer to the iPhone already in the works.

Submission + - Top 5 OS X Style Dock Replacements for Linux

Submitted by

Dan the man

on Tuesday May 22, 2007 @03:39PM

Dan the man writes: "Why lie about it? Linux right out of the box is lacking style. Even with the new Ubuntu and RedHat packages, people look at Linux as a Legacy Operating system because it 's style looks like something that Al gore would have used 20 years ago. Here you will find my reviews and videos of the top 5 OS X Style Dock Replacements for Linux. Check out the top 5 list here: http://pimpyourlinux.com/linux-feature-review/top- 5-os-x-style-dock-replacements-for-linux/"

Submission + - What is the best console controller of all time?

Submitted by Mateo Slovinsky on Tuesday May 22, 2007 @12:59PM

Mateo Slovinsky writes: Is the XBox 360's controller the best controller of all time? CNet seems to think so in its line up of the top five gamepads of all time. "Did you expect the Wii? Sorry. It's a brilliant piece of innovation, that's not in question, but there simply aren't enough games to judge it against the best controllers ever. The Xbox 360 pad has proven itself over a longer time and on a wider selection of titles — and it has its own claims to originality."

Comment Summary is misleading (Score 1) 197

by mrshoe on Sunday February 11, 2007 @02:00AM (#17969574) Attached to: An Overview of Parallelism

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'

I saw Patterson give this talk at PARC. While he did say something similar to the above quote, he was NOT suggesting that fewer, more powerful processors is the future (which is the impression I got from the summary). In fact, the entire talk was to the opposite point. Parallelism is the future; the processor is the new transistor; processors will have thousands of cores, etc. Very fascinating stuff. I hope more researchers participate and use his emulation system, because I think he's correct (as he has been in the past) that we will need to adopt parallelism more in the future.

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