15163980
submission
digitalderbs writes:
As a researcher in the physical sciences, I have generated thousands of experimental datasets that need to be sorted and organized--a problem which many of you have had to deal with as well, no doubt. I've sorted my data with an elaborate system of directories and symbolic links to directories that sort my data by sample, pH, experimental type, and other qualifiers, but I've found that through the years, I've needed to move, rename, and reorganize these directories and links, which have left me with thousands of dangling links and a heterogeneous naming scheme. What have you done to organize, tag and add metadata to your data, and how have you dealt with redirecting thousands of symbolic links at a time?
4957237
submission
digitalderbs writes:
A problem plaguing most people with multiple computers is the arduous task of synchronizing files between them : documents, pictures, code, or data. Every one seems to have their own strategies, whether they involve usb drives, emailed attachments, rsync or a distributed management system, all of which have varying degrees of success in implementing fast synchronization, interoperability, redundancy and versioning, and encryption. Myself, I've used unison for file synchronization and rsnapshot for backups between two linux servers and a Mac OS X laptop. I've recently considered adding some sophistication by implementing a version control system like subversion, git or bazaar, but have found some shortcomings in automating commits and pushing updates to all systems. What system do you use to manage your home directories, and how have they worked for you for managing small files (dot config files) and large (gigabyte binaries of data) together?
4543593
submission
digitalderbs writes:
The New York Times has a story on the price of e-books and how much they should cost, compared to their printed forms. "Publishers and authors say it is much more complicated than the cost of paper and shipping. The lower e-book price "is not sustainable," said Mr. Baldacci, whose novels regularly rise to the top of hardcover best seller lists. If readers insist on cut-rate electronic books, he said, "unfortunately there won't be anyone selling it anymore because you just can't make any money."
At the same time we're being charged full price to replace the same books, music and movies every decade, and being led to believe that what we're "buying is the content, not necessarily the format."
752991
submission
digitalderbs writes:
The Netflix player company, Roku, has released their software under the GPL, as required by the GPL of the software the Roku player uses. Could this lead to software players on other platforms? They, however, imply that not all of their software has been GPL'ed.
"Certain components of the software included with the Netflix Player by Roku are subject to separate license terms, including "free" or "open source" software ("Separately Licensed Code"). As required by the terms of the relevant Separately Licensed Code licenses, Roku makes the "free" and "open source" code provided under such licenses, and Roku's modifications to such code, available on Roku's website, at no charge. If you believe any additional source code files should be provided under the applicable open source license, please contact us at support@roku.com and provide in detail the product or code module in question."
547628
submission
digitalderbs writes:
In reading comments on Slashdot, I've discovered many interesting books. Some of my finds include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich and Design Patterns by Gamma, Helm, Johnson and Vlissides. What are your favorite fiction and non-fiction books and why? I'm hoping we can share those gems in our library collections.
147765
submission
digitalderbs writes:
CNN is reporting that the MIT dean of admissions has been fired for falsifying her resume 28 years ago. She misrepresented degrees from Albany Medical College, Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute and Union College. Despite not having these credentials, she was well recognized for her service at the university :
Jones was named dean of admissions at MIT in 1997 and received MIT's highest award for administrators, the "MIT Excellence Award for Leading Change." She was also the 2006 winner of the "Gordon Y Billard Award" given "for special service of outstanding merit" performed for the school.
59476
submission
digitalderbs writes:
CNN is covering the Time Magazine person of the year.. you. In the December 25th 2006 issue of Time, the article will discuss how the biggest story of 2006 is the revolution on the internet : blogging, YouTube, myspace, facebook, wikipedia and so on. From the article :
"It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes...The new Web is a very different thing. It's a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter."
