Comment Re:All I see is (Score 3, Insightful) 282
There's an assumption there that Georgian prisons have either of those things. I'm not holding my breath.
Comment what to pick... (Score 1) 264
60 exactly (one nice 26in 16:10 flanked by two neat 17in pretty bang on a4 size ones), so what do I pick?
Comment Re:Everyone focuses on the engine.... (Score 1) 227
Neither do the french ones.
This looks on the surface similar to the Ariane-5 failure in '96. Which, as we all know, was eventually traced to an unprotected 64-bit double to 16-bit integer conversion overflow ...
This looks on the surface similar to the Ariane-5 failure in '96. Which, as we all know, was eventually traced to an unprotected 64-bit double to 16-bit integer conversion overflow
The Perfect Way To Slice a Pizza 282
iamapizza writes "New Scientist reports on the quest of two math boffins for the perfect way to slice a pizza. It's an interesting and in-depth article; 'The problem that bothered them was this. Suppose the harried waiter cuts the pizza off-center, but with all the edge-to-edge cuts crossing at a single point, and with the same angle between adjacent cuts. The off-center cuts mean the slices will not all be the same size, so if two people take turns to take neighboring slices, will they get equal shares by the time they have gone right round the pizza — and if not, who will get more?' This is useful, of course, if you're familiar with the concept of 'sharing' a pizza."
Hand Mounted Flame Thrower 30
emeraldd writes "Everett Bradford's 'Prometheus Device' is a hand-mounted appliance that shoots fire."
Comment Branching out (Score 1) 211
Reduce pollination? What, on earth, does plant birth control have to do with toyota? Unless they're going for umbrella corporation status, that sort of thing would be way outside their usual line of business.
Of course, if they ARE...
Oh wait. Pollution.
Oh wait. Pollution.
Comment What I did - and recommend (Score 5, Informative) 185
1. Get a (the) Spartan-3 starter board. It's got the 500 variant of the Spartan-3 on it which is big enough to implement even small processors. The board also has some very limited VGA output, and a heap of other things that makes it fun to work with (Serial I/F, etc). The manual for this board is one of the better ones for beginners, as well. I broke my own teeth on this board. It's 149 US schmucks from digilent.
2. Get Xilinx's free tool suite; its nicely compatible with that board. Free download from the web. Heck, you can even download and play with it without the / any board (but then you don't, of course, get the blinkenlights.) You can however try out and simulate designs before going to FPGA, and thus figure out why the (redacted) it doesn't (redacted) work. Simulations are your main way of verifying your design once you're past 20-odd gates.
3. Learn the HDL of your choice. Read the books. One warning only: it is NOT a programming language - the entire model in your head about how software works needs to be replaced. Case statements are king. Productivity with HDL's are generally way lower than software; don't be surprised by this.
4. Do points 1 through 3 in reverse order. Having a shiny 150 schmucker board won't help anything if you still have to spend two weeks grokking HDL's.
HTH.
2. Get Xilinx's free tool suite; its nicely compatible with that board. Free download from the web. Heck, you can even download and play with it without the / any board (but then you don't, of course, get the blinkenlights.) You can however try out and simulate designs before going to FPGA, and thus figure out why the (redacted) it doesn't (redacted) work. Simulations are your main way of verifying your design once you're past 20-odd gates.
3. Learn the HDL of your choice. Read the books. One warning only: it is NOT a programming language - the entire model in your head about how software works needs to be replaced. Case statements are king. Productivity with HDL's are generally way lower than software; don't be surprised by this.
4. Do points 1 through 3 in reverse order. Having a shiny 150 schmucker board won't help anything if you still have to spend two weeks grokking HDL's.
HTH.
Faction Changes Coming To World of Warcraft 209
A Blizzard representative today announced that they're working on a service for players to switch factions in World of Warcraft, going from Horde to Alliance or vice versa. "There's still much work to do and many details to iron out, but the basic idea is that players will be able to use the service to transform an existing character into a roughly equivalent character of the opposing faction on the same realm. Players who ended up creating and leveling up characters on the opposite factions from their friends have been asking for this type of functionality for some time, and we're pleased to be getting closer to being able to deliver it." They also said there would be "some rules involved with when and how the service can be used."
Comment I'd do that. (Score 3, Insightful) 13
I'd set that exercise. Its a perfectly good educational exercise, both in critical thinking and security.
To be a white hat you need to think like a black hat.
To be a white hat you need to think like a black hat.
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