madstork2000 - Slashdot User

Comment LTSP / VNC / XDMCP Similar "Dump Terminal" Option (Score 1) 507

by madstork2000 on Friday October 30, 2009 @07:17PM (#29930083) Attached to: Installing Linux On Old Hardware?

Using anything other than the most very basic console will be painful on a machine that old. Someone suggested using older software, but that won't be very fun, since the web will be practically useless on an old browser.

i have a Toshiba from that era that I have used as a dumb terminal on and off over the years. At one point I had gui-less version of linux, with a frame buffer version of vnc and used it to connect to my main machine. It was fast and served well as a bed side web browser for years. At another pointI had a LTSP server set up, and used an LTSP network boot floppy to use it as a dumb terminal. That was pretty cool too. Probably the most useful was using XDCMP and just having it login in to the remote X session on another linux box. A basic X setup with XDM and connection to a remote server. XDMCP worked quite nicely.

Any of those well proven technologies will make that little old machine useful again, provided you have working network and video drivers.

Comment What are the odds... (Score 1) 491

by madstork2000 on Sunday January 04, 2009 @11:37AM (#26320185) Attached to: Obama Moves To Link Pentagon With NASA

I've always suspected that the military has an active and advanced manned space program. I'm not a conspiracy nut, but I do have a soft spot for dreaming about all the cool stuff the military could create in 40 years with trillions of dollars and little oversight.

Why would we spend so much money in the 50's, 60's and 70's then essentially abandon space for short trips orbiting the planet, and relatively cheap robotic missions elsewhere. At the same time having military spend 100 times as much as NASA on totally secret "black" projects for national security. I personally think the shuttle has always been a distraction, something to keep the people pre-occupied while working on establishing a preemptive advantage in space.

Considering Hollywood has been predicting a Chinese dominance in space for decades, it seems reasonable that the Military foresaw that possibility much earlier and took steps to prevent it from happening.

Anyway, the bottom line though is that cooperation between the two, can only lead to the tax payers actually getting some value out of that tremendous investment we paid for but know nothing about.

Recognizing Scenes Like the Brain Does 115

Posted by kdawson on Sunday February 11, 2007 @05:26PM from the software-meets-wetware dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers at the MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research have used a biological model to train a computer model to recognize objects, such as cars or people, in busy street scenes. Their innovative approach, which combines neuroscience and artificial intelligence with computer science, mimics how the brain functions to recognize objects in the real world. This versatile model could one day be used for automobile driver's assistance, visual search engines, biomedical imaging analysis, or robots with realistic vision. Here is the researchers' paper in PDF format."

Submission + - Canadian copyright group wants iPod taxes

Submitted by

Anonymous Coward

on Sunday February 11, 2007 @03:26PM

Anonymous Coward writes: "Unable to define memory as a "recording medium," Canada's Private Copyright Collective goes directly after portable music player devices, memory cards, and anything else that can be used to make private copies. The Private Copyright Collective submitted a proposal to the country's Copyright Board that suggests levies of $5 on devices with up to 1GB of memory, $25 for 1 to 10 GB, $50 for between 10 GB and 30 GB and $75 for over 30 GB are in order to compensate artists and labels for the losses they suffer when people "illegally" copy or transfer music. They are also seeking a new $2 to $10 tax on memory cards. That's right, MEMORY CARDS! The backbone of digital photography has become tangled up in the fight for making sure music artists get every nickel and dime they feel that they deserve."

Blood Vessel Shunt May Save Limbs In War 157

Posted by kdawson on Sunday February 11, 2007 @02:56PM from the leg-to-stand-on dept.

The FDA has just approved for military use a shunt that allows partially-severed limbs to continue to get circulation. The FDA approved the device in a fast-track process lasting only a week. The article notes: "For most, it won't be a matter of saving a limb outright but rather salvaging the quality of a wounded leg or arm... The shunt may save injured limbs from amputation, since it can be implanted on the battlefield to maintain blood flow until a wounded soldier undergoes surgery, FDA officials said. Since the start of the Iraq war, more than 500 soldiers have lost limbs, many to injuries suffered in roadside bombings."

Feed High Security for $100 Laptop (feedburner.com)

From feed by wiredfeed on Sunday February 11, 2007 @09:12AM

The security guru for the One Laptop Per Child program unveils his plan to make the rugged machines uniquely resistant to spyware and hack attacks. Ryan Singel reports from the RSA Conference.

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