Yep, I don't know why browser creators don't consider this information leakage a significant bug.

Here's a nice XKCD to check first: that may shed some light

Similar applies to who has seen what movies. Still, I see your point.

While I agree the his GPL is necessary statement is a bit crap, this:

Everyone uses BSD's back scratcher, GPL's back scratcher stays a niche tool for GPL fanboys who continue to be befuddled by the fact that it isn't the year of the Linux desktop.

Is also crap. When is an open source BSD on the desktop going to happen? How about BSD on a smartphone?

Just sayin' each license has its place and uses. I still don't understand why there are so many others. BSD and GPL pretty much cover the two main philosophies, everything else seems to want to be some kind of sneaky open-source-except-for-we-who-can-take-it-closed.

For performance you never call an function to execute virtual instructions. The best way today seems to be load a byte, use it as an index into a jump table and jump. You make that operation a macro and put it at the end of every virtual instruction. It eliminates the central loop which is really strange.

One person suggested to me that the byte-code be replaced with the addresses normally found in the jump table. Then you could use a stack pointer as the virtual machines instruction pointer and just execute a RETurn instruction to do: fetch, decode (they're pre-decoded), increment, and jump. The problems with that are 1) you need to do the translation (address substitution) which means problems with dynamic code (or similar) and 2) You need an extra stack pointer in the host processor - otherwise function calls in the emulator or interrupts will overwrite the decoded instructions on the virtual machine. Neat thought though, 1 instruction for all that decoding. And it also means every instruction emulation function would end with RETurn. Weird.

I didn't mean that type of virtual machine ;-) I meant like the Java Virtual Machine, the Python interpreter, the .net Virtual Machine. For interpreted programming languages and emulators. This is important since Android apps run on the Dalvik VM.

Support for full virtual machines is nice too, but not so needed for tablets or phones at this point in time.

But they keep telling us warmer is going to be catastrophic. ;-)

I'd love to have the MUX instruction, as it is a pain to simulate.

Isn't that just a = (b&mask) | (c& ~mask) ?

Off the top of my head:

0) A proper MMU and at least 1Meg of cache
1) 64bit - If not, there will be a need for yet another version at some point. Just do this.
2) Double precision floating point in hardware (for + - * / and preferably rsqrt)
3) GCC support.
4) LLVM support
5) LLVM-Pipe for OpenGL support
6) It would be nice if some instructions were optimized for running virtual machines.

I haven't looked into what makes sense for #6, but with all the VMs around it would be nice to have them run efficiently.

A higher share price (for the same number of shares, obviously) makes it easier for the company to get more money though. They can issue new stock or more likely be able to borrow more money.

No it doesn't. Issuing new shares dilutes the stock and the price will change almost over night to reflect that change. The selling of the new shares will still bring in money, but this is independent of the price - almost. The amount of dilution required to bring in a particular amount of money will depend on the valuation of the company. But short term IIRC this doesn't work anyway because the company will probably have to do a vote on issuing new shares which will take some time and will not be able to benefit from a short-term market manipulator.

since when is being inquisitive and analytical a bad thing?

Since someone is letting him use slashdot as a blog - for things he admits changing his mind on in under week.

They mention that the Calcium Perchlorate may be an energy source. How about using it to manufacture rocket fuel on mars? It's similar to other oxidizers used in solid fuel rockets. Wouldn't it be strange if the fuel for a return-to-earth trip could be manufactured right there from materials lying right there on the planet surface? Or am I totally smoking something?

If you're in favor of "mandatory internet ID" as the summary says, what form should that take? I have been an advocate of fixed IP addresses for everyone, but would something like that be sufficient? I realize there may be issues with mobile devices, but in principle does a fixed IP come close to what you're in favor of? Or is it something much more complex?

I could invent a missile guidance system on my own and it probably would suck. If I got a job at General Dynamics and invented a missile guidance system, then there is an argument there.

And that's why the employer should make you sing something that claims all inventions "related to the work you do for them". Or perhaps "related to the products of the company". This could be a reasonable argument for the agreement to over reach into your personal life. However, it's important that they define what they consider their business. I once worked for someone who thought anything with a micro controller fell within their business, and that's totally unwarranted. They considered their business something like "making electronic stuff".

Personally I have signed many of these things. Some are what I'd call close to perfect, some have the right intent with marginal wording, and some aim for various level of over reach. I haven't seen a need for the law to change further toward an employers interest.

If it automatically belongs to the employer, they'll hire some low-end attorneys (law school interns?) and patent anything and everything that comes to mind. Right now some developer has to think something is a good idea to get a patent. If every PHB on earth can patent what the employees do, you're in for a flood of seriously horrible stuff hitting the patent office.

If you're on the clock at work, then yes, it counts as a work/invention for hire.

Nope. It's still yours in the U.S. Most employers who anticipate any inventing on the job require you to sign an agreement at the time of hire stating that everything you invent is theirs. Some of these agreements are very nice and cover job related stuff, others try to include unrelated stuff you think of in the shower. And even then, you have to sign paperwork to assign an individual invention to the company.