Comment Iceland? (Score 1) 542
is Iceland Scandinavian? It seems like they might be a counter example...
Submission + - Thunderstruck the invention of wireless dramatized
Ferante125 writes: This book is a immersive trip into the early 1900's, where Marconi's sensational new wireless technology meets a sensational mystery. I enjoyed this book very much, which is why I felt like reviewing it, and I also thought it would be a relevant and entertaining book for slashdot's audience, which is why I'm reviewing it here (c.f. internet at sea http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/13/1619201, which deals with some of the same issues, albeit in the book it is telegraphy at sea). This book was a gift from my brother Kurt for last year's Christmas, but i was busy so I didn't have time to read it right away. If it took me a long time to get around to start reading, it was quick to finish. It is a very engaging narrative that jumps between the story of Marconi, the infamous Italian inventor of radio, some of his rival inventors--in particular Oliver Joseph Lodge, whose interest in the occult sidetracked him from following up on his early wireless experiments, and Howley Harvey Crippen, a seller of patent medicine (like today's internet prescriptions) who has an overbearing wife that has mysteriously disappeared.
The mood of the book has a similar feel to "The Prestige" and Sherlock Holmes stories. Scientists are on the verge of revolutionary discoveries, but before the illumination of retrospect, people are dubious, superstitious, and opinionated. There are plenty of themes that seem applicable to our current time. There is the debate between science and engineering, wisdom and experience versus naive experimentation, Maxwellian professors versus the telegraph engineers. There are arguments about who is the originator of a discovery. Is invention the idea or following though and showing that it actually works and can be used practically? The scientists who may have actually first demonstrated wireless communication did not work on perfecting it because they did not think the signal would carry farther than sight, while Marconi thought that taller and more powerful antennae would enable longer range communication, and in the process realized the effects of the time of day and waves traveling over open sea. Another timely theme is proprietary versus open source. Marconi took great pains to maintain a monopoly on wireless telegraphy, but there was the problem of interference with competitors and nationalistic interests of Germany.
Another interesting aspect I saw is the relationships with women. Marconi does not have problems finding women because he's very rich and Italian, but he has a hard time keeping them because he's busy with his research and a bit asocial from being a boy-wonder. Crippen on the other hand, is a bit homely and is cheated and mistreated by his wannabe opera singer wife. He finally leaves her for his secretary, with whom he escapes by dressing her up as a boy. The relationships add to the story and though they are a tad exaggerated, they add to the sensationalism. The book's relationships are refreshingly dysfunctional and seem to cut out a lot of the typical Hollywood crap. As he is pursued as a suspect in his wife's disappearance, the wireless telegraphy between boats is instrumental in the search. The public's fascination with the mystery and the wireless technology makes this the turning point in wireless' adoption. A friend to whom I lent the book remarked that this may have been the first high-speed pursuit, with boats and telegrams standing in for cars and television. Though the high-speed pursuit may be slower and lower-tech, it is none the less exciting and the book ends with a nice denouement.
Despite the lengthy bibliography at the back of the book, I found it hard to believe this book was non-fiction. I'm a big fan of historical fiction and I have no qualms about an author's right and obligation to entertain, but this book is both entertaining and also seems to be the result of lots of digging through historical records, court transcripts, and memoirs of Marconi's relatives. Some of the dialog in the book was even based on transcripts.
Though my review may have focused on the tech, I also think that this is a good book for others due to its historical and dramatic content.
The mood of the book has a similar feel to "The Prestige" and Sherlock Holmes stories. Scientists are on the verge of revolutionary discoveries, but before the illumination of retrospect, people are dubious, superstitious, and opinionated. There are plenty of themes that seem applicable to our current time. There is the debate between science and engineering, wisdom and experience versus naive experimentation, Maxwellian professors versus the telegraph engineers. There are arguments about who is the originator of a discovery. Is invention the idea or following though and showing that it actually works and can be used practically? The scientists who may have actually first demonstrated wireless communication did not work on perfecting it because they did not think the signal would carry farther than sight, while Marconi thought that taller and more powerful antennae would enable longer range communication, and in the process realized the effects of the time of day and waves traveling over open sea. Another timely theme is proprietary versus open source. Marconi took great pains to maintain a monopoly on wireless telegraphy, but there was the problem of interference with competitors and nationalistic interests of Germany.
Another interesting aspect I saw is the relationships with women. Marconi does not have problems finding women because he's very rich and Italian, but he has a hard time keeping them because he's busy with his research and a bit asocial from being a boy-wonder. Crippen on the other hand, is a bit homely and is cheated and mistreated by his wannabe opera singer wife. He finally leaves her for his secretary, with whom he escapes by dressing her up as a boy. The relationships add to the story and though they are a tad exaggerated, they add to the sensationalism. The book's relationships are refreshingly dysfunctional and seem to cut out a lot of the typical Hollywood crap. As he is pursued as a suspect in his wife's disappearance, the wireless telegraphy between boats is instrumental in the search. The public's fascination with the mystery and the wireless technology makes this the turning point in wireless' adoption. A friend to whom I lent the book remarked that this may have been the first high-speed pursuit, with boats and telegrams standing in for cars and television. Though the high-speed pursuit may be slower and lower-tech, it is none the less exciting and the book ends with a nice denouement.
Despite the lengthy bibliography at the back of the book, I found it hard to believe this book was non-fiction. I'm a big fan of historical fiction and I have no qualms about an author's right and obligation to entertain, but this book is both entertaining and also seems to be the result of lots of digging through historical records, court transcripts, and memoirs of Marconi's relatives. Some of the dialog in the book was even based on transcripts.
Though my review may have focused on the tech, I also think that this is a good book for others due to its historical and dramatic content.
Is the Line-in Jack On the Verge of Extinction? 411
SlashD0tter writes "Many older sound cards were shipped with line-out, microphone-in, and a line-in jacks. For years I've used such a line-in jack on an old Windows 2000 dinosaur desktop that I bought in 2000 (600 Mhz PIII) to capture the stereo audio signal from an old Technics receiver. I've used this arrangement to recover the audio from a slew of old vinyl LPs and even a few cassettes using some simple audio manipulating software from a small shop in Australia. I've noticed only recently, unfortunately, that all of the four laptops I've bought since then have omitted a line-in jack, forcing me to continue keeping this old desktop on life support. I've looked around for USB sound cards that include a line-in jack, but I haven't been too impressed by the selection. Is the line-in jack doomed to extinction, possibly due to lobbying from vested interests, or are there better thinking-outside-the-box alternatives available?"
Submission + - $99 Moby Tablet as textbook alternative (engadget.com) 1
Taco Cowboy writes: Marvell's Moby tablet will be an "always-on, high performance multimedia tablet" capable of full Flash support and 1080p HD playback and supporting WiFi, Bluetooth, FM radio, GPS and both Android and Windows Mobile platforms for maximum flexibility.
Marvell's Moby tablet could eliminate the need for students to buy and carry bound textbooks and an array of other tools.
Actual size and weight vary by configuration, but Marvell's ultra thin and light Moby tablet is expected to hold a full year's worth of books but weigh less than half of one typical textbook.
Read it all at :
http://armdevices.net/2010/03/18/marvell-announces-99-moby-tablet-to-revolutionize-education/
and
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marvell-drives-education-revolution-with-99-all-in-one-moby-tablet-designed-for-the-worlds-students-88376967.html
Marvell's Moby tablet could eliminate the need for students to buy and carry bound textbooks and an array of other tools.
Actual size and weight vary by configuration, but Marvell's ultra thin and light Moby tablet is expected to hold a full year's worth of books but weigh less than half of one typical textbook.
Read it all at :
http://armdevices.net/2010/03/18/marvell-announces-99-moby-tablet-to-revolutionize-education/
and
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marvell-drives-education-revolution-with-99-all-in-one-moby-tablet-designed-for-the-worlds-students-88376967.html
Music By Natural Selection
164
maccallr writes "The DarwinTunes experiment needs you! Using an evolutionary algorithm and the ears of you the general public, we've been evolving a four bar loop that started out as pretty dismal primordial auditory soup and now after >27k ratings and 200 generations is sounding pretty good. Given that the only ingredients are sine waves, we're impressed. We got some coverage in the New Scientist CultureLab blog but now things have gone quiet and we'd really appreciate some Slashdotter idle time. We recently upped the maximum 'genome size' and we think that the music is already benefiting from the change."
Microsoft Game Software Preps Soldiers For Battle 44
coondoggie writes "Soldiers may go into battle better prepared to handle equipment and with a greater knowledge of their surroundings after an intellectual property licensing deal Monday between Microsoft and Lockheed Martin that will deepen the defense giant's access to visual simulation technology. The intellectual property agreement between the two focuses on Microsoft ESP, a games-based visual simulation software platform for the PC."
Comment no way! (Score -1, Offtopic) 320
and first post!??
"Mandelbulb," a 3D Mandlebrot Construct, Discovered 255
symbolset writes "Many know the beauty and complexity of the Mandelbrot set. For some years now a few enterprising mathematicians / rendering fiends have been seeking a true 3D Mandelbrot set. A month ago a solution was found, and it is awesome to behold."
Quantum Theory May Explain Wishful Thinking 415
explosivejared writes "Humans don't always make the most rational decisions. As studies have shown, even when logic and reasoning point in one direction, sometimes we chose the opposite route, motivated by personal bias or simply 'wishful thinking.' This paradoxical human behavior has resisted explanation by classical decision theory for over a decade. But now, scientists have shown that a quantum probability model can provide a simple explanation for human decision-making — and may eventually help explain the success of human cognition overall."
Comment Re:Quebeqois and French (Score 1) 1077
Um, last time I checked they speak Galician (Gallego) in Galicia, which is no where near Madrid. Galicia is near Portugal, so from what I've heard, it's similar to Portuguese. Also, they have a Celtic sound to their local music, so there might be some influence of that, but I'm not so sure.
Comment Re:They work well too (Score 1) 256
I got a naked dsl plan from at&t and it really sucks b/c they have to come to your home and change the wiring... it took them 2 months to finally do it... 2 months with out internet at home :@
Then it's impossible to use any of the online forms to change the service or pay bills b/c they all require a phone number, which I don't have (I have a cell, but they supposedly need the phone number associated with the dsl plan, which I don't have).
Comment Re:Rational (Score 1) 807
The opium wars are not a good argument for a number of reasons:
1. Opium != marijuana in an important way. One is physically addictive and the other is not.
2. Opium was marketed into China so that foreign powers could profit.
I think the opium war makes sense as an argument against fossil fuels as much as it does as an argument against the good herb.
Comment Re:WTF is up with IBM? (Score 1) 623
I agree... I'm one of the few home-grown grad-students here. It can be tough keeping up with some of the bright international students, but it makes more sense in the long run to keep the smart people here (hopefully, we can outbreed the people who voted for Bush). Having smart people in the country will do way more than any economic stimulus, tax rebates, or what have you. Here's an article about the perils of protectionism during the first great depression http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/id/17606.htm .
Comment AT&T has also been working on this (Score 1) 94
But it works by having the phone do speech recognition while being held at arms length. That way you can have multi-modal communication and it not simply speech replacing pointing, but having them work together, using each modality for what it's good for.
Here's a link to an article: http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/07/att-developing.html
The idea of using the phones accelerometer is a great idea. In AT&T's demo you need to "click to talk", which makes sense for their design, but the accelerometer idea is pretty nifty if you just have speech responses. Using the display is good for many things though, e.g. for maps, long lists. I'm thinking it could be a pain to have to hold the phone up to your ear over and over: hold it up to your ear, speak, look at the display, (speak again if something was misrecognized), (possibly click something), hold it up to hor ear, speak, look at the display, etc.
--
Why procrastinate now when you could procrastinate tomorrow.
Submission + - HPC on Wall Street and the banking crisis (linux-mag.com)
Ferante125 writes: This paper describes an interesting intersection of an HPC conference and insight into the banking crisis. I was out of the country for the last week or so and when I got back I wanted to see what all the hubub is about. I also wanted to see how it would affect tech stuff. I wasn't keeping up on either my email or slashdot, so I just found the linux mag notice in my inbox today, but it might be old news...
