Software bloat (Larkin was right)
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From: John Larkin on 25 May 2010 12:35 On Tue, 25 May 2010 12:03:15 -0400, Spehro Pefhany <speffSNIP(a)interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote: >On Tue, 25 May 2010 07:53:18 -0700, D Yuniskis ><not.going.to.be(a)seen.com> wrote: > >>Hi John, >> >>John Larkin wrote: >>>>> If I had 4900 children, I probably would. >>>> And your cars are parked in the driveway sorted by date >>>> purchased? Or, alphabetical by make/model? Or, VIN number? >>> >>> If I had 4900 cars, I would. But if I had 4900 cars, I could sell 4899 >>> of them and retire. >> >>I'd put the car I drive most closest to the *door*! >>I wouldn't get hung up "sorting" them based on some >>dubious and changeable criteria. > >It would suck to buy a new Alfa Romeo and then have to spend weeks >moving 4800 cars in order to maintain alphabetical order. Can you even buy a new Alfa? Imagine that the parking lot has lots of empty spaces scattered around. You usually only have to move a few cars to insert one in order. And bins are a lot easier to move than cars... you don't have to fish around in your pocket for keys. Big pocket for 4800 keys. In the case of bins, inserting a new bin usually takes, maybe, 5 seconds. Grab, slide, put. Having a location code as well as a part number is like having 4800 sets of keys. And it requires that either the parts never move (in which case you go where you expect to find the parts, and they're not there) or that you maintain the location codes religiously. That does sort of imply quantized (non-smooth) shelves. I wish my freezer were this well organized. I can never find a bagel when I really need one. John
From: Michael A. Terrell on 25 May 2010 15:48 D Yuniskis wrote: > > Hi Michael, > > Michael A. Terrell wrote: > >>> Sorry, I meant no publisher's stock number, like older books had. > >> Ah, OK. > >> > >>> They just named the publisher and listed it as 'Book Club Edition' which > >>> makes it hard to find any additional information on some books. I still > >> Understood. This is particularly true of "short run" > >> titles. > > > > Some of the book club editions are the standard volume, printed on > > newsprint grade paper so the printing costs are lower. They aren't > > intended to have a long life. Unfortunately, some collections of short > > Sci-Fi stories can only be found in that format. > > Understood. I have a copy of _Farewell to the Master_ (ties > with _The Sentinel_ as my favorite short story) in an > October 1940 issue of _Astounding Science Fiction_. I rarely > open it for fear of the pages "breaking" (I have another > copy in an anthology that is more resilient). I found a local source for different sizes of heavy zip lock bags to store each paperback. I haven't found what I want for the hardbacks, since they come in so many different sizes. > [If you enjoy SF, you might enjoy _The Lost Worlds of 2001_ > as an insight into the "film" (read it and you'll see why > I say "film" instead of "book" :> amusing bits of history) ] If I run across a copy, I'll pick it up. I recently picked up hardback copies of 2001, 2010 and 2061 in good condition. > >>> have another 1000 books to inventory. :( Some are stacked to the > >>> ceiling in Banana boxes. Every shelf in my library is full, and I am > >>> considering turning the bedroom next to it into another, larger library. > >> Yikes! I pruned all of my databooks and paperbacks some years > >> ago. Cherry picked what I wanted to hold onto and got rid of > >> everything else (donated the paperbacks to local library -- they > >> wouldn't be interested in databooks! :> ). I tend to only hold > >> onto the books (paperbacks) that I regularly re-read. Otherwise, > >> I'd rather use the space for something else ;-) > >> > >> Of course, got rid of a few things that I really wish I hadn't. > >> But, you don't figure that out until *after*! :< (Really > >> wish I had kept the "EYES ONLY" specs for the Raster Graphics > >> Processor -- though I don't think they ever made it but it > >> had some interesting ideas). Sure would be nice if there was > >> an "un-discard" button I could click! :-/ > >> > >> The books that I accumulate now get "recycled" at the end of > >> the year. I've found a few folks who like certain parts of > >> my "library" so I set things aside as appropriate. The rest > >> go to the library. (I read about 25,000 pp annually "for > >> entertainment") Lately trying to get the local library to > >> buy or ILL the books that I want to read as it gets pricey > >> to buy them, read them once and then "discard" them. :< > >> > >> The downside of donating paperbacks is they have an incredibly > >> short lifespan once "in circulation". It's like a death > >> sentence! :< > > > > Does your area have a 'Friends Of The *** Library' group? They > > Yes, I laid out the last newsletter for ours. I'm currently > chasing down a (free) source of "removable" self-adhesive > labels for them to use to mark prices on the books they sell > on their "used book cart". I've offered to maintain the local group's website, but haven't heard anything. One local group uses the tiny 'Avery' dots and a chart to code the prices. They also have a bargain room with 25 cent books. > > accept & resell used books to help the library they support. That > > allows the library to spend the money on new books or other items they > > need for their members. Here is an example: > > > > http://www.friends-of-belleview-library.org/ > > Correct. Though our group will *not* buy books with proceeds > from donations. The thinking is that the books *circulate* > so don't benefit *this* branch library as much as, for example, > aprons for the staff, a new table for the conference room, etc. > <shrug> Ha! The group I mentioned raised the money for a new, local library building. It replaces the old building pictured on that website. :) > Very few donated books end up making their way into circulation > because of their "flimsiness". Unfortunately (?), most of my > "hard bound" texts are keepers :> -- Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.
From: Philip Pemberton on 25 May 2010 17:47 On Tue, 25 May 2010 06:38:05 -0700, MooseFET wrote: > Switching to Altera looks to be safe to do. I haven't designed in any > of their parts lately so I won't have to warn you away from any of them. I'm quite fond of them. My first "proper" FPGA devkit was a DE1 (bought mainly because it had a good price-performance ratio and the Minimig-DE1 team were porting Minimig to it) so I've got a bit of a 'soft spot' for ALTR. I will, however, admit that the first PLD I ever used was a Lattice GAL; their insistence that I needed a "Lattice Approved" programmer for it was a bit offputting until I found out about (and built a) GALBlast. Software was mediocre, I used to use Atmel-WinCupl, tried to learn registered logic but couldn't stand the syntax for that. All my GALs ended up being used as address decoders in my 6502 computer. First CPLD I used was a Xilinx XC9572XL... back in the days when Windows 98 was king, and you only had Win2000 if you were on the beta team. I'm a compulsive hoarder of LCD displays, and had a couple of direct-drive ones in my scrap bin. Spent the afternoon reverse engineering the display pinouts with a Fluke 25 DMM, then hooked up the CPLD and reversed the pixel shift order. Good fun. > I like the Altera software (sort of). There VHDL compiler had a major > bug in it back when I tried to use one of their parts in a design. > Chances are, they have fixed it by now. I didn't use their part. I usually use the Verilog side of things, though occasionally do mixed- mode (Vlog+VHDL) when I have a VHDL IP core I need to use. That's pretty rare though. > Xilinx's tools are absolutely huge and so hard to figure out that I gave > up on their parts fairly early in looking at them. I started learning ISE because I'd just bought a Drigmorn2. I figured Xilinx's free dev tools would be about as good as Altera's... how wrong I was! Just getting the SDRAM timing right has been an exercise that would only appeal to a masochist. I finally figured it out at nearly 11:45 last night... kick the refresh timing down, then force everything SDRAM related into an IOB, set the slew rate to FAST, and figure out what to set the phase-shift of the DCM to. When I did this on the DE1, Quartus picked up most of what I was doing, and all I had to set was the PLL phase-shift. Not bad. I think I had the LatticeMico32 core up and running in a few hours, and SDRAM a day or so after that. > Lattice made some parts that looked interesting but IIRC you could not > get the actual datasheet without making a user name and password. I ran > away from that in terror. There is no way that a company that makes a > good part is going to do stuff like that. Can't say I've tried Lattice's FPGAs. I looked at them a few years ago and basically discounted them because I couldn't get hold of them (although I could get a programming cable... for £595, plus ~£2k for the ispLEVER software -- the cable alone was more expensive than XLNX's then- current offering IIRC) > Way back when, a company called ICT made some parts that just made it > into the CPLD class. They had the best tool for development of CPLD > stuff that I have ever seen. This was back in the DOS days. The tool > was dead simple to use and just flat worked. Unfortunately for them, I > designed in their flagship product. You know the rest of the story. That would be the ICT PEEL series, right? Allegedly still in production today -- ICT went bust, then Anachip bought the PLD product line, and Anachip were bought by Diodes Inc. The datasheets aren't on DI's website, but Mouser list the PEEL series as current products. If you're hellbent on using SPLDs, the GAL series are still the best (IMO), but these days you're better off looking at a small CPLD like a Xilinx XC9500XL, CoolRunner or one of the Altera MAX-II parts... for a start they tend to be equal in price to (or cheaper than) the SPLDs. -- Phil. usenet10(a)philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/ If mail bounces, replace "10" with the last two digits of the current year
From: Fredxx on 26 May 2010 05:06 John Larkin wrote: > On Tue, 25 May 2010 09:12:05 -0700 (PDT), d_s_klein > <d_s_klein(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > >> >> I've had *very* good responses when I've called Altera and said that >> I was wanting to migrate. >> >> That said, no matter which side of the fence (A<->X) I'm on, it >> always looks greener on the other side :) >> >> RK > > Xilinx probably has better silicon, and it works great. The software > is a train wreck. > It seems nothing much has changed in the past decade or more! Shame Xilinx don't make more effort with their software, then they'd win on both counts.
From: D Yuniskis on 26 May 2010 20:29
Hi Michael, Michael A. Terrell wrote: >> Yeah, the glue gets "funny" and the labels "yellow". >> I just use mineral spirits to remove self-adhesive labels. >> But, "on paper" you have to be careful (though covers are >> usually "coated") as once the liquid gets "around the side" >> it seeps into the cover and discolors it. > > The citrus oil based 'Goo Gone' seems to do less damage. In some > cases it completely evaporates and leaves no sign a label was ever Hmmm, I'll have to try it. I have an assortment of solvents that I use for cleaning and "dissolving" that I "escalate" until I have achieved the results I want *or* succeeded in "melting" the underlying material (e.g., many plastics) > there. I put a drop or two on top of the label to soften the adhesive. > If I time it right it will peel off and leave no old adhesive. The > others get a quick wipe with a paper towel dampened with more Goo Gone. > What I hate are used book stores that rubber stamp their advertising all > over a book. Yup. Even more amusing when you see different stamps from different stores from various parts of the country. I.e, you know the book has "traveled". >>> Maybe the group could contact a label manufacturer or large printing >>> company and request some obsolete or misprint labels be donated? >> Possible. They have a decent supply of their current labels >> (printed on a laser printer and then cut to size) so they >> haven't been pestering me. Something will turn up sooner >> or later... > > Do you have a 'Dollar tree' store in the area? A package of pre > printed of yard sale stickers is $1. Are they removable? >> The library (branch) posts the sale several weeks in advance. >> It is usually well attended "by locals". Their goal is more >> to get rid of the books than it is to try to make much money >> (I think they only bring in a few kilobucks). They want to >> keep people interested in the library, give people a reason >> to *come* to the library, etc. (*this* branch, not The Library). > > Around here "a couple weeks" isn't enough notice for a Saturday Ah. Here the thinking is the folks who "frequent" the library are more likely the types who will be interested in those materials. E.g., folks outside a red cross blood center are more likely to be frequent donors... (than the people who are NEVER "outside a red cross blood center" :> ) > event. That is why I am trying to get them to post a tentative schedule > for the year, then set a firm date for each sale as soon as possible. > They aren't greedy. In fact, at their sales they let you fill a brown > paper grocery bag for $1 from their stock of bargain books. This is a Our county-wide book sales are like that. Several days each (plus a two week event in February). They have "bag days" to try to move stuff out quicker -- though I think their bags are $5. > big county, with a lot of retirees. They buy books, read them, then > donate them back to the group. There are dozens of used book stores, > and probably 100 flea market book dealers in the county. Here, the sales are timed so "winter visitors" (retirees) can attend. They buy books and donate them back before they "go home" in April. >>> Not really. they were aggressive and spent a long time saving the >> Ah, OK. Here they try to spend the money quickly to get things >> *into* the library (plus things like recognition dinners for >> the volunteers and staff, scholarships, etc.) > > the old building was a house atone time. It was too small and not > disabled friendly. There was a ramp added to the rear of the building, > but the door was kept locked and you had to ring a doorbell, then wait > for it to be unlocked. Replacing the building with a more efficient and > larger building was their primary goal for a long time. It took over > ten years to find and purchase the property. Too many people would put > land up for sale that met their needs, then double or triple the asking > price when the county tried to buy it. Understood. Our original library (house) ended up with a modern addition (maybe 1000 sq ft). Then, some decades later they built a modern library (the old "house" only had 3 parking spaces!). I imagine it is easily 20,000 plus has a yet unused full basement (another 20K ft). >>> money. Here is a link to the new library, and some information about >>> the old building: >>> >>> http://24.248.52.224/Library/Branch_Belleview.aspx >> Wait, is this (photo) the new or the old? (there were two photos >> on the previous web page -- one of which was this building) > > > That is the new building. The old building was built in the late > 1800s. The front was stone, and 'Library' was spelled out in a second > color stone. |