Posts by toughluck

Re: Eraser + SSD

Depending on the implementation and controller, TRIM will destroy any meaningful way to restore the data from an SSD.

If the disk uses encryption and/or compression, TRIM will prevent any restore of the data since it also drops all pointers to how the data is arranged, how it is compressed or what encryption key is used.

And theoretical methods to restore data from magnetic drives are unusable on SSDs, the cells of which deteriorate/degrade much quicker than magnetic domains on a hard disk. Even if you were able to recreate the bits, you've no idea what they represent, if the data is encrypted or compressed and you have no way to rearrange it.

As for the Gutmann method, Wikipedia has an excellent article about it, and Gutmann himself says it best -- 35 passes was never needed for any drive. The first and last four passes are with random data, and there are RLL (two methods) and MFM-specific passes. MFM "needs" 18 passes at most, (1,7)RLL "needs" 26.

In case of modern PRML disks, these MFM- or RLL-specific passes do nothing special and are completely unnecessary.

Re: Short warranty for Archive drive?

500,000 hours? Wow, that's really a lot. It's nearly 21,000 days and almost equal to 57 years constant run time. I don't think there's any piece of IT equipment that could claim that long run time.

So very true. By the end of the day, it's not like their data is stored in some fine mist with a cable dangling from it. The data has to be on an array somewhere, so they end up paying for the purchase, support, connection and on top of that, overhead and margin of their provider.

If you use a considerable portion of your storage, shifting to cloud makes no sense whatsoever. If somebody offers you a lower price per byte stored and transferred, they're cutting corners somewhere. The problem is, you don't know where. And finally, if they grossly underestimated costs or overestimated profits, their business model falls apart, they fold and you're left without a provider and usually without any way with which you can recover your data.

Re: Why use an unsuitable tool in the first place?

Did I make even the slightest hint that the work should be submitted full of errors?

1. The tool I suggested (focuswriter) has a spelling dictionary and checks on the fly or at the end.

2. Word is not better (or worse) in this regard.

The software you use is not an excuse for errors. However, let me point out that it used to be common to submit written works as typescript (or manuscript) and the writers did not have the luxury of spellcheckers or even error correction. And the quality of manuscripts and typescripts was vastly superior to some examples of today's works where the writer did not even bother to run a spellchecker on his or her text once.

However, it's Alastair Reynolds we're talking about. So your comment that the publisher would give excuses not to use your work is absurd. Mr. Reynolds has been published extensively and his publisher is definitely not going to give excuses not to use his work since it's basically printing money. Well, okay, I presume if he submitted utter rubbish, the publisher would firmly say 'no,' but otherwise, you're very unreasonable.

Your post reveals that you may have been rejected by some publishers. However, I would offer an alternative explanation. Whatever tools you use (or don't), they're not the reason you were rejected. And they were right -- they want "stuff" that's readable. Yours is not. It displays as three lines on my screen and I can say with all certainty that if I were to read through three thousand lines of such dubious quality, my eyes would bleed out of my eyesockets.

Re: I think Mr Carl Bass is making the same mistake Steve Balmer did with tablets

There's one problem with this approach. Scale.

Think about it. You can go and buy a nice model aeroplane for, say, 50 quid, then put it together.

3D printing would allow you to print the same nice model aeroplane for, say, 25 quid, plus up-front cost of 5,000. That's not including energy prices, though, and if it takes days to print at several hundred watts of power, it's starting to get a little ineffective.

Worse still, you have to file off the bits sticking out, then wonder why the wings are uneven.

3D printing at a local shop will be a different matter. Let's say a plastic part failed in some appliance (say, a washing machine latch). The manufacturer will either say they don't stock spares, or they'll try to force you to buy the latch assembly, or the whole door, or at the very least, sell you the plastic bit, but charge 20% of a new washing machine.

One of the reasons is that you have to use the 3D printer regularly for the resin to not clog the nozzles. I had the rather sobering experience of using epoxy two weeks ago when it cured in the mixing nozzle within two minutes of being squeezed into it. I think 3D printers use thermal compound for this, but there are two problems with it -- if it doesn't re-plasticize after being warmed, you have to clean out the nozzle mechanically or use solvents, and either of these methods may damage the delicate nozzle. If it does re-plasticize, there's the question how you can heat all pipes that hold it and whether it will be stable in any useful application.

That might be exactly what Carl Bass implied all along -- 3D printing won't be ubiquitous at home, but local businesses will be built around it for sure.

KSplice?

Re: Ready market...

Wrong. If margin goes UP by a percentage and they're fine to report it, it means it was positive in the first place.

10% margin up 26% is 12.6% now. -10% margin up 26% is negative 12.6% after going up.

Note that nobody uses these statements when margin is negative and drops further down.

And what you're describing is a change that would necessarily be expressed in percentage points, not raw percentage.

Re: Macumba

There is just one problem with Putin. He was a KGB colonel. Have you ever seen a colonel commanding generals?

Putin may be deranged. He may believe himself to be the Czar. However, that makes him all the easier to manipulate and I can't shake that nagging feeling there's another power behind the throne and it's not even that hard to find.

Just goes to show you how little you can do with a MacBook Pro rather than the other way around. Seriously, why did you have a high performance laptop in the first place if you managed to completely replace it with a commodity appliance? For show?

Aren't ARM SOCs going for as low as 50 cents? Let's imagine a proper dual core goes for 2 bucks, how much can they save by going lower?

First, the slave drivers there will not allow him to dig the stuff.

Second, nobody would buy from him. Companies do not buy such small amounts because they are not sustainable, and because it's hugely unlikely the ore would be of a useful grade (if an ore in the first place). You really need a lot of buckets (=a lot of hands), and you need some ore preprocessing on site, hence operations are set up.

Having recently read about the proceedings in Congo myself, I am appalled by this situation. Unsurprisingly, the corrupt government is not interested in resolving this problem, since they benefit from the minerals one way or another, and probably are involved in illegal dealings themselves.

Cue someone coming there, trying to enforce some humane standards, and be labeled a warmongering world police.

Re: Good luck to you Penny Arcade

By all means apply. The problem is, they've got millions of readers and PA has a budget of several hundred thousand dollars, perhaps into millions now. The job will definitely suck hard. Of course it won't be a 160 hours per week job, they will expect you to squeeze the 160 hours into 40.

Sure, prioritization, but I seriously doubt they have a ticketing system and any SLAs. You'll likely be doing a few things at once, like trying to work out the network because there are some looming problems that might bring down the whole operation and fixing a printer because the printouts for the next month's presentation come out a bit too dark to the art director's liking. Guess who will demand you drop everything and solve his problem immediately. You'll end up fixing the network after hours, which nobody will notice since you're directly managed by people with no IT experience whatsoever.

If you are professional, if you prioritize and never take overtime, you'll have a working network, but you'll be kicked out because of ignoring the key person in the company. Hint: in a small organization, they are *all* key people and their problems come first. If they retain you, expect no raises because you're not doing your job well.

Re: Why when Radio is already free?

What's so bad about DAB?

Re: Hmmm, what about tape?

You're welcome. And no, I didn't mean absolute leadership, but some of the names and companies should have never made the list.

Re: The success of capitalism

I've yet to see Capitalism at work. The bailouts are precisely where the problems lie -- it's not Capitalism, it's thinly-veiled Socialism with tolerated Personal Property (unless said Personal Property needs to be taken over by the Government to support its own interests).

@Andy Gates

Why would it matter whether they are experts on global climate? The only conclusion of the research is the unprecedented scale of carbon sequestration in peat, and the enormous rate of growth of mires and bogs. The additional conclusion that the amount of carbon sequestrated might be high enough to offset human industrial CO2 emissions is added almost as an afterthought.

By the way, annual anthropogenic CO2 emissions are within the margin of error of estimates on amount of CO2 emissions from a medium-sized volcano eruption. How could human-made CO2 be responsible for anything? That's the thing that I've never seen climate scientists refute. It's like they're trying to explain how we can heat an ocean using a candle.

Re: To quote Top Gear... How Hard Can It Be™

Okay, so I'm risking a reply to what may be an obvious troll, but... The Soviets were thought to have enormous apparent advantage in rocket design 50 years ago, and well, look up N1.

Soviets couldn't build a "simple rocket" to reach the Moon, it makes the American Saturn V that much more remarkable. (Some try to say it was a lucky break, but the perfect safety record says otherwise).

It's Intel's GPU drivers, which are not up to scratch.

@E 2 : Ummm, no

The beta drivers were there earlier. Plus, the older drivers worked (sort of). And let's not forget that it was 6 weeks after the *announcement* was made. General availability wasn't until a few weeks after the release.