1/7     In the spirit of the post below regarding 0.1 (IEEE floating point
        representation), how do I find out what the rounding rule is for
        a particular processor, and what DBL_EPSILON is? Would this pose a
        big problem for scientific applications (e.g. Mars Rover, satellite,
        atomic energy simulations, etc)?
        \_ DBL_EPSILON is defined in /usr/include/float.h.  I don't know if
           the value is only for C running on that processor or if it's good
           for any language running on that processor.
        \_ Go talk to Kahan.  Be prepared to be insulted for your stupidity.
           But hey, it's a small price to pay.
           \_ Apparently, Kahan can be neutralized if you talk to him in
              the Right Way.  For instance, a friend of mine would go ask
              him a small question about linear algebra, then he just sits
              back for the next hour and listen about linear algebra fairy
              tales with dragons of perturbation, maidens of symmetric
              forms, and knights of floating points.  He highly recommends
              it to anybody.  Unfortunately I think this Right Way involves
              being humble and perceptive, hence unsuitable for most of this
                    \_ Precisely. And I highly recommend the experience if
                       you have time to kill (having tried it
                       first-hand). -alexf
                                    \- prepare to be quizzed. also Kahan's
                                    insults/derision is pretty funny. it's
                                    always "sincere" rather than "mean-
                                    spirited" if you know what i mean.
                                        --partha "meromorphic" banerjee
              audience.  Too bad.

1/7     If you have DSL at home, do you just need a 10/100Base-T hub to set
        up a LAN?  Or do you need a router/switcher?
           \_ Yes. You need a router and a switch. Most broadband routers
              include a built-in switch, so, you might not need to buy a switch
              separately.
              \_ What's the price of a switch, a hub, or a router nowadays?
                 \_ OK, new acronym: GTFG. Go to fucking Google. RTFM is
                    just too narrow for today's information techonology env.
                    Or maybe UTID. Use the Internet, Dumbass.
                    \_ dang, that question really pains you alot huh.
                    \_ there already is a common acronym.  It's STFW
                       (Search the Fucking Web).
                 \_ $100 or less without a wireless access point. If you get
                    a router with a wireless access point its going to cost
                    between $160 and $300. See http://www.practicallynetworked.com
                    for reviews .. SMC and Netgear seem to be making pretty
                    good stuff in general.
                \_ http://Pricewatch.com is your friend here, not google.
        \_ do you have multiple IPs?  if not, and if you want multiple machines
           to be able to access the internet, you'll need something to do NAT.
        \_ What I did (and many others): ISP -> Cable/DSL -> Computer External
           Interface.  Then Computer has second NIC which is Internal Interface
           -> Hub/Switch.  Computer runs NAT/Proxy/whatever.  Internal net is
           10.x.x.x or 192.168.x.x or 172.??? (I forget the third non-routable
           net).  So you get: ISP -> DSL -> Computer External <-> Computer/NAT
           <-> Computer Internal -> Hub/Switch <- Other Computers on Internal
           Net.  The External IP is assigned by your ISP.  Some DSL modems
           will do NAT so you get: ISP -> DSL (uses ISP assigned IP) <-> All
           Computers on Interal 10.x.x.x interface via NAT on the DSL modem.
           \_ You are nothing more than a common thief:
              http://www.cedmagazine.com/ced/2001/1101/11d.htm
              \_ Troll, don't be stupid.  My ISP has directions posted on how
                 to use NAT.  NO COOKIE!  --Nat User posting info above
              \_ "Gyp-sies, tramps, and thieves, we'd hear it from the people
                  of the town..."
              \_ This has got to be a joke.
           \_ actually to just make your LAN out of your DSL, cable service,
              wouldn't a regular hub be enuf?  Or is it not true for people
              don't have static IP?
              \_ No.  Who is providing IP addresses?  You need Nat or you
                 need to buy/rent multiple IPs.  IP addresses don't magically
                 appear when you plug into a hub.
           \_ Yes. You need a router and a switch. Most broadband routers
              include a built-in switch, so, you might not need to buy a switch
              separately.
              \_ What's the price of a switch, a hub, or a router nowadays?
                 \_ OK, new acronym: GTFG. Go to fucking Google. RTFM is
                    just too narrow for today's information techonology env.
                    Or maybe UTID. Use the Internet, Dumbass.
                    \_ dang, that question really pains you alot huh.
                 \_ $100 or less without a wireless access point. If you get
                    a router with a wireless access point its going to cost
                    between $160 and $300. See http://www.practicallynetworked.com
                    for reviews .. SMC and Netgear seem to be making pretty
                    good stuff in general.
                \_ http://Pricewatch.com is your friend here, not google.

1/7     Anyone has any good experience with website that allows one to
        send SMS message?  Please name a few...
        \_ http://www.attws.com
        \_ SMS in the US, or SMS in the civilized (well, the "Our cellular
           phone system is standardized and doesn't use circa 1985 technology)
           world? -dans
           \_ SMS in US and Europe.  Btw, I am using cingular network.
              \_ So it breaks down like this: The US cell phone carriers use
                 different SMS standards so, generally speaking, it is
                 non-trivial to send an SMS across networks (i.e. AT&T
                 customer messages Cingular customer) in the US.  At this
                 point, most of the US carriers provide web-based SMS gateways
                 to message their own customers.  To the best of my knowledge,
                 there is no network-neutral SMS gateway in the US.  Much of
                 the problem stems from the fact that most of the US carriers
                 implemented SMS messaging as a hack over their existing
                 half-baked text paging systems.
                 Totally different story in Europe.  It's been a few months,
                 since I last looked, but there were several competing
                 web-based SMS gateways that could send to pretty much any
                 phone on the European GMS system.  Most were charging a small
                 fee per message (~10 cents).  Google should make it easy to
                 find specifics. -dans
                 \_ thanks for the detail explanation.  interesting to
                    know the differnece between US and Europe.
                 \_ and cingular, at&t in western states, voicestream,
                    and more all operate GSM in the US (though on a
                    different frequency).  they're also deploying
                    GSM/GPRS (GSM "3G") like mad.  should be able to
                    message other GSM users worldwide from these
                    networks, but I don't use the messaging on mine so
                    I can't tell you for certain.  search usenet for
                    any of those words in combination for lots of
                    lively discussions.

1/7     Does anyone use PacBell for dial-up?  Have you notice their
        service drop off in the past month or so?  May it have something to do
        with the SBC or Prodigy thing I see being splashed on their site now?
        Has Prodigy f-it up or is it just me?
        \_ Prodigy still exists??

1/7     The IP address from which you have visited the NSI Registrar WHOIS
        database is contained within a list of IP addresses that may have
        failed to abide by Network Solutions' Whois policy.  Failure to
        abide by this policy can adversely impact our systems and servers,
        preventing the processing of other WHOIS requests.
        \_ did we do something wrong?

1/7     So anybody going to get their Lovage Wednesday at Slim's?
        \_ What is this?
           \_ http://www.thefanbase.com/lovageone.html