Comment: Re:Diff the copies and merge (Score 1) 447
Comment: Re:Article in case of slashdotting (Score 1) 447
Comment: Re:Not needed, thanks (Score 1) 139
Where did you think most of C syntax came from?
BCPL and maybe a bit of Algol? (Those $( and )$ represent curly braces for uppercase-only terminals.)
(Wow, I had forgotten that Amiga OS was originally written in BCPL.)
Comment: Slashdotted (Score 5, Informative) 87
Comment: Re:this just in (Score 2) 168
Comment: Re:The solution to cable (Score 1) 168
I "cut the cable" in 2000, and I've been ATSC-only since around 2007 or so (even had to do without Fox for a year because I was using a digital-only tuner and their digital was very low power at the time). I'm old enough to remember that the reason cable TV got so popular in the first place was the trouble with getting a good picture. With ATSC, I get a good picture as long as the antenna is pointed in the right direction. (Strong winds can really mess things up, but the real problem is that I'm about 10 miles from the transmitter, which is maybe a bit too close.)
When I wanted to get an antenna DVR a few years ago, I was surprised to find that Tivo had effectively gone cable-only. So I got a Channel Master CM-7000PAL. It was definitely no Tivo, and it will randomly crash, taking up to 2 minutes to reboot, but it's still pretty decent. It didn't help when (Mac)Rovi(sion) cut off the TVGOS signal, so instead of a week of guide I barely get 24 hours, but at least I can still set the freaking clock, unlike that Sony model people bitch about.
I'm currently building a MythTV box. It's mostly complete, but still needs an IR reciever (years later, the Hauppage 2250 receiver still isn't supported in Linux) and shelf space.
+ - Hotel Renovations->
Link to Original Source
Comment: Re:State? (Score 1) 322
Comment: Re:Multi-mode is old news (Score 1) 146
This. Trains can't just pull out and drive anytime they feel like it. Even when there are two tracks to allow a train in each direction, you still can't just pass a train that's in front of you. And even if you could use that second track to pass, you still have to be sure there isn't a train already coming the other way. You absolutely positively do not want head-on collisions on railroad track, even with small 2-car commuter trains, and hitting a stopped train isn't much better.
Freight can wait an hour or two to wait for another train to move out of the way, passengers can't. That is likely to be the main flaw in this idea, at least for passenger travel.
Comment: Re:Multi-mode is old news (Score 1) 146
if I need to fly Berlin - Frankfurt - Huston - Austin, with the train solution I get the additional ride to the center of town instead of switching in the airport.
...at which point you find out that there's no way to get anywhere else without waiting half an hour for a bus, which even with a transfer or two could still end up miles away from where you need to be. FYI, the Amtrak station is west of downtown, the hotels are on the east side of downtown, and there's no rail anywhere near the airport anyhow unless someone pays big money to build it. Even then you would still have to wait for a slot between scheduled trains, because you can't just pass another train anywhere you want.
There's a good reason why airports in Texas have very large parking lots around them where you can park for a week while you're away. Rail stations (other than commuter rail) don't, because it's not a popular mode of transportation. And don't say "Look! Austin has a commuter rail line!" because it only runs at commuter times on weekdays, or on Saturday afternoons/evenings for downtown alcohol consumption, and has a weird path due to using existing local freight tracks.
Comment: Re:In Japan?! (Score 1) 71
Comment: Dupe (Score 1) 54
Better ATLAS here:
http://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/23/2130239/the-large-hadron-collider-has-been-recreated-in-lego
http://www.geek.com/news/the-large-hadron-collider-has-been-recreated-in-lego-1452279/
I thought this was a dupe story, but apparently this one is a miniature model:
+ - Video Gamers See The World Differently->
Gamers capture more information faster for visual decision-making. Hours spent at the video gaming console not only train a player's hands to work the buttons on the controller, they probably also train the brain to make better and faster use of visual input, according to Duke University researchers. "Gamers see the world differently," said Greg Appelbaum, an assistant professor of psychiatry in the Duke School of Medicine. "They are able to extract more information from a visual scene." (...) This study, which appears in the June edition of the journal Attention, Perception and Psychophysics, was supported by grants from the Army Research Office (54528LS), the Department of Homeland Security (HSHQDC-08-C-00100), DARPA (D12AP00025-002) and Nike Inc.
Link to Original Source
Comment: Re:How stupid is a Mac Pro Cylinder? (Score 5, Funny) 607
But a cylinder? No.
Apple's next product will be donut-shaped expansion cases that fit around it.