macemoneta

6 ms·

1.
by macemoneta 16y ago
This isn't 'How to Think Like A Computer Scientist', but rather 'Introducing Programming with Python'. It's a good introductory text for learning Python. However programming is a very small part of Computer Science. http://abstrusegoose.c
2.
by macemoneta 16y ago
Diatomaceous earth (DE) does the job. https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Diatomaceous_...
3.
by macemoneta 16y ago
You're right, there's no reason to try to correct the 20% of the population that believes the Sun revolves around the Earth. It's a lost cause; you win.
4.
by macemoneta 16y ago
Which is at odds with the (correct) definition of MTTF as a rate-based calculation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failure_rate The person that wrote the Wikipedia article you referenced read the same mythology you did; repeating it doesn't
5.
by macemoneta 16y ago
Your statement was: "A RAID0 over three disks has about 1/3 the MTBF of a single disk." This is incorrect, the MTTF and MTBF are not significantly changed. Assuming you meant failure probability, my issue with the probability variance is t
6.
Qualcomm building a $2b Mirasol plant(engadget.com)
1 points by macemoneta 16y ago|0 comments
7.
by macemoneta 16y ago
Yeah, a closed source application installed as root, with the express purpose of accessing your webcam and microphone. What could go wrong?
8.
by macemoneta 16y ago
tl;dr: For RAID0 arrays there is a non-linear increase in the probability of failure, but the MTTF/MTBF doesn't change much.
9.
by macemoneta 16y ago
While the probability of failure is nearly a function of the number of drives, the MTBF/MTTF calculations do not work that way. For example, if there were a probability of 5% that the disk would fail within three years, in a three disk RAID
10.
by macemoneta 16y ago
You'll probably find this interesting reading on the internal architecture of SSDs: http://www.denali.com/wordpress/index.php/dmr/2010/02/02/ssd-interfaces-and-performance-effects Also, while RAID0 reduces the MTBF, it's not linea
11.
by macemoneta 16y ago
I back up several times a day, automatically. I've run RAID arrays for years with no problems, but all drives eventually fail. An SSD is internally a RAID0 that can be up to 16 wide (that's how they get their performance). Used and manag
12.
by macemoneta 16y ago
It really depends on the platform and requirements. On a desktop, a three-drive RAID0 provides about the same performance, and gives you nearly 40x the storage for a given price-point. On a mobile platform the physical space, vibration/moti
13.
by macemoneta 16y ago
Make friends with spiders and house centipedes. They are the natural enemies of most every house pest, including bedbugs, and mostly harmless to people. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
14.
by macemoneta 16y ago
Fedora, for example, already does this with UUIDs and the smolt project. A UUID is generated on installation and used for the 'ping'. The user opts-in at first boot, and the software runs periodically: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smolt_
15.
by macemoneta 16y ago
That seems to be a misunderstanding of the nature of a UUID. Simply replacing the model with the UUID provides no tracking in this use case, as it's a single purpose reference.
16.
by macemoneta 16y ago
Model numbers? Isn't that why UUIDs were created? Unique identifier, and anonymous: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/UUID
17.
by macemoneta 16y ago
So women are only permitted to search for men? No lesbians allowed? After the eHarmony lawsuit and $500,000 payout, you'd think dating sites wouldn't want to repeat that disaster.
18.
by macemoneta 16y ago
As background, from WikiPedia: "On November 13, 2006, Sun released much of Java as open source software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). On May 8, 2007, Sun finished the process, making all of Java's core code availa
19.
by macemoneta 16y ago
I actually have no problem with Apple's prices. People don't buy a Rolls-Royce because it's a car, they buy it because it's a Rolls-Royce. Comparing the purchase price or mpg to a Toyota Camry is missing the point. I build my own machines
20.
by macemoneta 16y ago
My comment was in reply to the author's statement that "sharing a copyrighted design is theft". This is clearly false.
21.
by macemoneta 16y ago
Why does everyone forget that copyrighted content can be shared if the license allows it? Copyright does not automatically prohibit sharing. http://creativecommons.org/about/ http://www.opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical The r
22.
by macemoneta 16y ago
It's a joke. If you're not using v4l, then you're rolling your own. So you either have to fix it yourself, or hold it upside down. :)
23.
by macemoneta 16y ago
Regressive is the term used here for describing property taxes. While not entirely appropriate, for the sake of communication commonly agreed upon terminology is used by politicians and the media. Yes, the taxation of property needs to be
24.
by macemoneta 16y ago
They neglected the impact of property taxes, which are regressive (independent of income). Here in NJ for example, my property taxes are now at 25% of my income, and that's before other taxes and fees (income tax, sales tax, gas tax, tolls
25.
by macemoneta 16y ago
In the United States, the problem started with the war on drugs. The increasing privatization of the prison system made crime a business opportunity, which in turn lead to more things being criminalized. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe
26.
by macemoneta 16y ago
You are assuming shared memory as the communication medium. When using processes, you can use sockets for IPC for example. The advantage is that the application can then scale beyond a single system with no change - something that's impossi
27.
by macemoneta 16y ago
Exactly. For example, process forks are much lighter in overhead than they used to be (depending on the platform), and for long running processes their initiation and termination is insignificant compared to the overall task time. Process
28.
by macemoneta 16y ago
That bill carries no legal weight; it's an opinion, not a law.
29.
by macemoneta 16y ago
I switched all our machines to Linux (currently Fedora 13) 10 years ago, and never looked back. All our software since is free.
30.
by macemoneta 16y ago
I haven't read a (paper) newspaper or magazine in about 10 years, and I'm 54. I think it's weird that people still read paper. Our local free newspaper still delivers to us each week (we can't get them to stop), but I actually read the con

More ›