* Posts by JEDIDIAH

2525 publicly visible posts • joined 26 Jan 2009

Samsung brandishes quad-core Galaxy S5, hopes nobody wants high specs

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: Brilliant

> More bits also mean more registers. More registers means doing things in less cycles.

The two are entirely independent of each other.

That's just the path that Intel chose. The same is not necessarily true of ARM.

ARM doesn't necessarily have the same cruft that x86 did. Probably doesn't in fact. The x86 was ugly and primitive compared to a lot of it's contemporaries.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Brilliant

> Just because they don't understand the benefits that it brings doesn't mean they should switch back to a 32 bit processor from 2003.

The benefits you are blithering about have actually little to do with the "bit-ness" of the CPU. A lot of that advantage comes from the original crapulence of the x86 CPUs when compared to their competitors 30 years ago. Those aren't exactly qualities you can expect to be relevant in an entirely different architecture from a different manufacturer.

Chances are that an ARM from 2003 doesn't suffer from those problems.

Yes! New company smartphones! ... But I don't WANT one

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: "Apple has to be the first smartphone manufacturer anyone considers."

> You must love poor service, tacky plastic cheapness and spending hours of forums looking for help with some intermittent error code.

Can't say that I've ever had that problem.

Apple products are nothing special.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: The Big Question

One thing to get me to upgrade would be increased storage capacity. The first 128G mSD card was just announced. That's something that can get my attention. It might even get me to upgrade to the latest Galaxy.

...beyond that you do have to seriously figure out what you expect to get out of the upgrade.

"Its a this season's model" is just not a good enough answer.

Wii got it WRONG: How do you solve a problem like Nintendo?

JEDIDIAH

Re: Wii failed

Sour grapes. That's all you people trying to hate on the Wii have, Sour Grapes. It didn't pander to your personal tastes so you want to try and pretend that it was a failure when it really wasn't.

The problem isn't that the Wii failed. The Wii succeeded and completely reshaped console gaming.

The problem is that the followup console was not nearly as interesting by comparison.

Apple Mac Pro: It's a death star, not a nappy bin, OK?

JEDIDIAH
Holmes

Re: Really?

I watched them back to back and I found neo-Khan to be not such a bad thing really. It's a more modern interpretation of the character. Montalban looks like a cheesey scenery chewer by comparison.

Some elements of Abrams Trek seem more sophisticated and thought out. Much of that stems from the benefit of 40 years to examine and contemplate the material.

Kirk "trying" to fist fight with Khan is a good example of this.

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: Oooo, the shiny!

> It's cheaper than anything in the PC world; it's not even possible to build an equivalent machine.

The problem with the bleeding edge is that you end up with diminishing returns. Once you get past a certain sweet spot with hardware, marginal improvements become drastically more expensive. The advantage of all other PCs is that you aren't playing an all or nothing game of trying to clone Apple's bad decisions.

The value of the marginal improvements is disputable despite fanboy attempts to mischaracterize corporate culture when it comes to spending money.

For Windows guest - KVM or XEN and which distro for host?

JEDIDIAH

Re: Space

"Building gcc very often" is a batch job, not something to drive the spec of a box. Even so, there are plenty of single cores that will be quite respectable for that kind of workload. Even some older hardware (like my Hex core) would be respectable for that sort of thing.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Lateral approach

> There is no loft and there is no space in the cupboard.

Virtualization is no silver bullet. It doesn't matter what tech you are using. This applies even to high end Unix server systems. If you have high performance and responsiveness requirements, decoupling two competiing operating systems is a better way to go. There are plenty of viable options here. The Intel NUC has been all over the "blogosphere" lately. There's also the Brix. That has plenty of power.

It's pretty easy to have a "CPU-in-can" setup similar to the new Mac Pro. Just put a suitable CPU on a mITX board and put it in as small of an enclosure as you want. If you don't care about the GPU in a Linux box you can make a LOT of compromises.

I would tend to avoid virtualization for anything compute heavy or IO heavy that's bound to come in contention with other VMs or the host OS.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: For Windows guest - KVM or XEN and which distro for host?

My thought was a small headless box for the Linux work. It's only purpose would be computation and could be a smallish box with a decent (but not terribly expensive) CPU. It would be a compute node that sits in a corner or closet somewhere out of the way. Since you're only interested in connecting to it with terminal sessions it would just be a headless "server".

Linux will play nice with Windows network protocols going either direction.

Windows 8.1 becomes world's fourth-most-popular desktop OS

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: MS took that to heart and people still complain.

>> MS took that to heart and people still complain.

>

> No one is complaining about the security of Win8. What people complain about is the utterly broken interface.

I think that's only because people are distracted.

It remains to be seen whether or not Win8 is a security disaster like the versions before it.

Why IBM's server sell-off is a lightbulb moment

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Avoid the commodity

> The fact of the matter is that 'single X86' is no longer an appropriate technological solutin except on the desktop or small office server,

You couldn't have come up with a statement that is less true if you tried.

Furthermore, that statement is even less true now than is used to be.

If anything, it's IBMs more "high end" server business that's in danger of being obsolete.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: buy out

> That kind of death previsions already have been done in mid-80's, remember?

...and IBM was basically bailed out due to direct intervention from the President of the United States. It wasn't quite as flashy as the fed throwing billions of dollars at them but it was an intervention at the highest levels all the same.

Valve showers Debian Linux devs with FREE Steam games

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: One very important thing...

> In my time I've seen countless people completely screw up their system by attempting to partition hard drives and install linux. Many a kid has accidentally wiped their windows installation and erased their father's work files.

...which has squat to do with whether or not it's installing Linux, Windows, or MacOS. Each of them will happily destroy your files for you if you decide to use them on the wrong machine, or in an inappropriate manner, or without backing your files up first.

JEDIDIAH

Re: probably be a low take up

> Linux's backward compatibility is strictly at the Source Code level -- you generally have to recompile anything to make it run on a newer kernel or libc.

...which is not that different from DirectX really.

On the other hand, Unix-in-general has a number of ways of helping you get around this kind of problem.

MAC TO THE FUTURE: 30 years of hindsight and smart-arsery

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: Locked into enforced throw-away

> Mac Mini?

Overpriced and underpowered crap that will cook itself.

> Mac Pro?

Ridiculously overpriced.

Elderly Bletchley Park volunteer sacked for showing Colossus exhibit to visitors

JEDIDIAH
Linux

> Basically they are two separate things on the same site, pay for one or the other or both, its your call *

It's useful to have a heads up either way. It would be a shame to fly across the pond and then schlep all the way up there and miss out because of a misunderstanding fueled by petty politics and the egos of tiny men.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: "heroic codebreakers of Bletchley Park"

They were heroes. So they were heroic by definition.

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover might have DIED in the NIGHT after 'abnormality'

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: Considering...

China also has the benefit of 50 years worth of experience of other nations and the intervening improvements in technology. The US and Soviets were making this stuff up as they went along and doing it with tech older than you are.

JEDIDIAH
FAIL

Re: In the words of Arnold J. Rimmer

Nah. You know everything made in China is crap...

Apple’s Mac turns 30: How Steve Jobs’ baby took its first steps

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Floppy Eject

> Seriously, what's with all this intolerance?

The myth of Apple superiority and improved usability is pushed hard and often.

That trash can nonsense is a good example of how bogus the mythology is and always has been.

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: Floppy dicks

> Then laptop development reached a stage where you could go light and breezy, guess what happened next?

What really happened? PC manufacturers delivered.

Apple waited another 5+ years and then all of the blithering fanboys assumed that Apple invented the idea.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Floppy Eject

> Software ejecting is something USB drives do today, or do you just pull your USB memory stick out and enjoy losing your data?

If your OS is doing that to you then it's inferior trash that belongs back in the 80s. Every little hiccup should not be a total disaster. Sometimes those hiccups aren't even caused by the end user. Ensuring that they get kicked in the balls is just bad engineering.

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: Floppy Eject

> You drag the disc to the trashcan to eject. Simples.

Yes. Because THAT is oh so intuitive.

That sounds like something you would do to WIPE a disk, not eject it.

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: Wired ethernet is not a rarity for laptops

Network EASIER with wireless? You're all on crack.

Ethernet is a stable well established standard and a mature technology. It's cheap, reliable and secure. Meanwhile, anything wireless has to deal with multiple protocol variants and even more protection schemes. NONE of that extra complexity is present with wired networking.

Then there's the whole speed thing.

Wireless is only OK if you have very low expectations.

Google, Netflix ready next weapon in net neutrality battle: The fury of millions

JEDIDIAH
Alert

Re: The Internet is so so last decade

> The internet is being depreciated in every way. Apple and Microsoft are concentrating on apps so don't expect your web support to work well there.

Was this meant as some sort of satire or sarcasm? It's hard to tell sometimes. Some people are just stupid. You can't always be sure when someone is joking.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: when their interests coincide with ours.

> And me streaming an old episode of Chuck on Netflix shouldn't gum up your phone calls. Prioritizing services can guarantee that. Net Neutrality destroys it.

No. Allowing the common carrier to run amok ensures that you will have no choice in VOIP carriers and you will be forced to use your local ISP which also happens to be the local physical monopoly.

This is about Verizon packets and Netflix packets being equal. If they want to prioritize one type of traffic, then they need to do it for EVERYONE.

If you're a sheepish rube, then it shouldn't only be your VOIP packets that get through. Mine also should benefit from the same QoS policy even if I choose to treat my local physical monopoly strictly as a common carrier.

MPAA spots a Google Glass guy in cinema, calls HOMELAND SECURITY

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: Precedent-setting by the overseers...

...as if I already didn't have plenty of reasons to stay out of the local movie theater.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Swatting flies with a shotgun.

It was a real "Judge Dredd" style of over reaction. The guy should have just been asked to leave.

JEDIDIAH
Thumb Down

Re: Actually old boy,

>>"Thomas Jefferson was an American."

>>>He was British and a traitor.

>>>>No, he was fully American: born and raised in Virginia.

.> .. and that made him British.

No. That made him a Virginian and he would have told you so.

That's something else that people tend to overlook about the States, the fact that we are distinct states. You would think the name would be a clue. Apparently not.

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: But... it is the USA...

> You know... the same place where property rights as so sacred that it is considered acceptable in many states to kill a person with a gun i

No. You can be shot for committing the violent act of burglary. The notion of "home invasion" being a crime of violence is an idea that we inherited from that country that founded our original colonies.

It's not about "stuff". It's about being enough of a man that there's a place you don't have to retreat from.

TiVo: Yes we've axed staff, but we're NOT packing in hardware biz

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: They might be able to refocus on cord-cutters

> I am well aware that I could build my own HTPC that would also have DVR capabilities, but I have other hobbies that are more rewarding for me.

The idea of an HTPC is not for it to be a pet. The idea of an HTPC is for it to be a custom appliance. You set it up and pretty much forget about it.

Judge shoots down Oracle's Solaris support 'trafficking' claim

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: Oh the irony

It's perfectly comparable. Being the original manufacturer doesn't mean that you can claim exclusive rights to service end user devices. In classic form, this software robber baron is trying to claim rights it doesn't really have. It's trying to lay claim things to things it would be laughed at for suggesting with actual property (as opposed to imaginary property).

4K-ing hell! Will your shiny new Ultra HD TV actually display HD telly?

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Broadcasting Linear TV Should End

Netflix can be as passive as you want it to be. Just start it up and it will keep itself going.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: But will there ever be anything worth watching?

TV drama is not good fodder for increased image clarity. You will just end up becoming far to intimate with the skin conditions of the actors. Not all films benefit from increased image clarity or increased screen size.

As far as sports goes... it already sounds like they are being gravely compromised.

That's not even getting into whether or not your home viewing setup is even capable of showcasing the extra screen resolution.

Microsoft buries Sinofsky Era... then jumps on the coffin lid

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: A common API is definitely a must.

> Windows has always had a common API. It is called Win32. As of today, you can run a Win32 app written 10 years ago in any machine

How a bout a Rasberry PI? Where's the version of msword to go with it?

Talk is cheap. I can recompile stuff for the PI and go on my way. Microsoft seems unwilling or unable and their lack of comittment sets the stage for the rest of the industry.

Top Microsoft bod: ARM servers right now smell like Intel's (doomed) Itanic

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: Microsoft change CPUs???

What's to bet on? You take some of your billions and a few interns and you start porting your product to the other CPU. You don't have to bet the farm on it. Just make it a viable option. At least port your own stuff.

The whole point of Microsoft's core product is to isolate applications from the details of the underlying hardware. That's what an operating system is for.

If they weren't the incompetents and PHBs that we all know that they are, they would be able to target a different hardware platform at the drop of a hat.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Bloat

> Leaving incompetent admins stranded. Good admins were already

That's great except you're talking about a platform sold on the idea that you don't need competent people managing it.

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: Laughie Charlie Translation from MS speak

Linux killing Wintel? I think you have that backwards. It was NT that was supposed to kill Unix in the server room. People were saying that back in the 90s. So how did that go for you?

Linux doesn't need world domination. The fact that Linux makes the world safe for other Unixen is an incredibly good thing. Those hacked ATMs are the perfect example why. The world needs ot be kept safe from totally crapulent monopolies.

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: Dinosaur MS

> SecureBoot is a good technology. Look at the ATMs

...which is the perfect reason to force this on consumers buying ARM based tablets.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: @DainB

The question isn't one of portability. If you build your platform tools on a particular architecture, then porting apps is a relatively trivial affair. This is how different Unix platforms feed off of each other. They are all very similar and a relatively easy port versus something entirely else.

The real problem is one of comittment. Microsoft had an Alpha port. Sun had an early x86 port. Neither of those was really supported as well as they should have been so they kind of languished and deteiorated.

That's why Windows ARM tablets are so tricky. There's no software for them. The 30 years of Win/DOS legacy apps aren't there.

3rd parties have to be willing to port stuff. Microsoft saying "make it so" won't change anything. Although there isn't any good reason that Microsoft's (or Oracle's) flagship apps couldn't be ported to whatever-on-ARM.

Anatomy of a 22-year-old X Window bug: Get root with newly uncovered flaw

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: I have looked

> If I work on it, zero. One of the first things I do when I start working for a new company is to enforce warnings-as-errors

So what you're really saying is that this problem is pervasive across the industry and that closed proprietary code isn't any worse in this regard than Free Software is. It's just easier to hide your sins when no one can see your code.

Sony seeks mojo reboot with 147-inch 'honey-you-can't-afford-me' 4K home projector

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: But...

> Given the little boxes us plebs have to live in (and getting smaller every year) pretty soon anything over 42in is going to seem huge.

I think the whole point of this tech is that you don't need a bat cave in order to throw a large image.

A conventional projector is what forces you to have a cavernous expanse in order for the image to expand.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: why?

> Keep these sort of systems for those that can afford dedicated home theatre spaces.

pppfffffft.

All you need is a room with a nice unobstructed stretch of wall and the ability to draw the shades.

There's no reason the space has to be "dedicated".

In fact, all of the dedicated media room spaces in the local McMansions all seem to be total pants.

My "finished attic" is better than all of that oversized/overpriced nonsense.

4K projectors are a welcome addition to the market. They are absurdly priced now but they won't always be so. These things will allow you to fully appreciate the format unlike really small TVs in spaces not well optimized for them.

Amazon, Hollywood, Samsung: PLEASE get excited about 4K telly

JEDIDIAH
Devil

More corporate welfare please.

No. "HD took off so quickly" because there was a government mandated transition causing everyone's old TV sets to become doorstops.

JEDIDIAH
Mushroom

Re: hold 25% of a film.

All of this nonsense makes me glad that I still have the disk-by-mail part of Netflix.

The amount of over compression that pirates will put up with is appalling.

JEDIDIAH
Devil

Re: Devaluation of the K

Kilo as 1024 makes perfect sense in context... once you realize that you aren't dealing with base 10 anymore.

NONE of the SI units make sense in a base 2 context. It's best to not bother getting your beaurocratic panties in a bunch to begin with.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: WGAF

> Go and see one of these in the store and tell me you still don't want one.

Of course putting your nose up to the screen doesn't count.

What kind of impression does it give in a real viewing environment that closely matches your own house?

"Artificial benchmarks" really don't tell you anything and never have.

How to kill trolls and influence Apple people: A patent solution

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Tabarrok's curve, first mover and the elephant

>>In the real world, being first to market is an advantage.

>

> Something of a myth, I fear. Far easier to learn from the mistakes of the first mover.

That's still not a problem. Progress will occur rather than everyone being stuck in a 20 year quagmire waiting for some patents to expire. The current market leaders benefit from this despite whining that others want to do likewise to them.

JEDIDIAH
Linux

Re: Proof by assertion

> The problem with your argument is that innovation then becomes a trade secret.

...which is really no different then the situation we already have.

Patent applications are CRAP. They SUCK as documentation. They're worthless for their stated purpose of disclosing trade secrets. Beyond that, something being a "trade secret" is more advantageous because it allows all of the trivial crap that can be recreated by undergraduates to be safely recreated by other companies.

On top of all of that we have the treble damages rule which ensures that NO ONE ever looks at the patent database anyways. They do this to avoid further liability.

The "point of patents" has been totally subverted.