Integrity and Mailing ListsIntegrity and Mailing Lists
One significant dividing factor between mailing lists is the difference between summary lists (where the person who asks a question receives replies off-list and then sends a summary to the[...]
Category: Misc Computer
Random Computer stuff that doesn’t fit the other categories.
The Latest Dick Smith CatalogueThe Latest Dick Smith Catalogue
I was just reading the latest catalogue from Dick Smith Electronics (a chain of computer stores in Australia). The first interesting thing that I noticed is that laptops are cheaper[...]
Combat WaspsCombat Wasps
One of the many interesting ideas in Peter F. Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn series [1] is that of Combat Wasps. These are robots used in space combat which may be armed[...]
Some RAID IssuesSome RAID Issues
I just read an interesting paper titled An Analysis of Data Corruption in the Storage Stack [1]. It contains an analysis of the data from 1,530,000 disks running at NetApp[...]
Future Video GamesFuture Video Games
I just watched an interesting TED.com talk about video games [1]. The talk focussed to a large degree on emotional involvement in games, so it seems likely that there will[...]
The Problem is Too Many Remote ControlsThe Problem is Too Many Remote Controls
I am often asked for advice about purchasing TVs and consumer electronics. Not that I am any great expert in those areas, but my general experience in specifying and purchasing[...]
Laptop Computer FeaturesLaptop Computer Features
It’s not easy to choose a laptop, and part of the problem is that most people don’t seem to start from the use of the laptop. I believe that the[...]
Noise in Computer RoomsNoise in Computer Rooms
Some people think that you can recognise a good restaurant by the presence of obscure dishes on the menu or having high prices. The reality is that there are two[...]
Efficiency of Cooling ServersEfficiency of Cooling Servers
One thing I had wondered was why home air-conditioning systems are more efficient than air-conditioning systems for server rooms. I received some advice on this matter from the manager of[...]
Variable NamesVariable Names
For a long time I have opposed single letter variable names. Often I see code which has a variable for a fixed purpose with a single letter name, EG “FILE[...]