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When I was a kid the idea of a child being able to use a computer was so hard to believe people would suffer shock and denial when presented with proof of the exsistence of a 9 year old programmer.
The idea of BBSes and online shopping was such an amazing thing people couldn't believe it.
When Byte ran an artical about how computers would replace TVs eventually people were sceptical. The pet rock of the 80s or so they belived.

For kids today computers have already replaced TV. They probably don't even know what radio is. Music comes from MP3s and CD players. Books are PDF files.

Bugs Bunny has nothing on Neopets.com
Yugi and Pokemon... and while the cartoons exist as 30 min daily ads for the card games it seams more and more kids only watch them becouse of the card games.

Now a days the Yugi and Pokemon video games are ads for the TV shows and card games.

Willy Wonka candys advertises by having a website filled with games and runs ads on Neopets.com.

It's not just the kids. Thow they lead the way.
CNN Headline News already knows the future. CNN.com. FoxNews has it's website. and when NBC looks for a partnership it looks to Microsoft.

People complain less about the crap on TV... Not becouse there is less crap. All the good shows are going away or going to hell leaving nothing but crap. But it's the crap that people who won't go online like.

It's the digital age. I just gave a 7 year old a Knoppix CD and then the topic of upgrading ram came up... (The Bosses son.. His computer need more memory)

The next generation understands Rinkworks Computer Stupidities.
For them Google is the place to look up information not the public libary.

The idea of sitting around watching TV for 30 minuts seams.. alien.

My boss dosen't worry about her kids watching to much TV. She worrys about them playing to many video games.

When are people going to get some god damn common sense? People always want technical, detailed labels on stuff defining things that everyone knows.

"Cigarettes may cause cancer."
"California Recognizes that burning gasoline may pollute the environment."
"Warning, Coffee May Be Hot"
How about a whole list of stuff?

So when a company decides to use the techinal term, (a REAL technical term) people get all pissed off because it doesn't quite meet thier own made up definition. When are people going to wake up and realize that labels aren't going to save you, and the government isn't going to build a private padded room for everyone to live in?

It isn't just one to ten either; I've noticed that when you ask people to pick a number from N to M, where N to M are relatively close together, a particular answer seems to come up more often than others; for example, 12 comes up often among numbers from 1 to 15. Can anyone suggest an explanation for this?

Would be translation sites. Sure they normally end up with funny renditions of the original text, but at the very least they allow me to browse sites I otherwise wouldn't have a clue about. Nicely done with perl's robust string handlers.

Another very fun application is rinkwork's dialectizer

Would be translation sites. Sure they normally end up with funny renditions of the original text, but at the very least they allow me to browse sites I otherwise wouldn't have a clue about. Nicely done with perl's robust string handlers.

Another very fun application is rinkwork's dialectizer

Do you remember when Enterprise was first introduced? We were promised it would be "Star Trek with phasers". In other words, lots of action, less "character development" episodes and other slow topics.

That recent "Stigma" episode (T'Pol has mind-meld disease) was as far from "Star Trek with phasers" as you can get. On the other hand, that recent "Canamar" epsiode (Con Air, in space) was pretty cool.

Here is the best hope for the series: Berman and Pillar have stopped writing all the episodes. Every time I watch Enterprise, I make careful note of who wrote the episode. The whole first season was purely written by Berman and Pillar. Recently, we have had a string of episodes written by other writers.

If they want to make us happy, they ought to get some scripts from actual SF authors. How about John E. Stith, David Weber, or Catherine Asaro? (I draw the line at Piers Anthony, though...)

steveha

For more tech support stories, look here

No freaking DUH you haven't read the book.

The movie pretty much missed the point of the book. Read the Rinkworks summary of the book - it's pretty much on target. Heinlein was a complete reactionary, and, politically, the book was an ode to patriarchal rule (though not exactly totalitarian, kind comes close) by soldiers, the ultimate conformists. The only people who could vote were veterans.

The other point of the book was power armor. One guy enclosed in a solid suit of powered armor who could be dropped from orbit and take on a conventional tank battalion gets together with a platoon of his closest friends and wreaks havoc on a planet. (I've not read an earlier scifi story about power-armored soldiers; as nearly as I can tell it's the archetype for the whole armored infantry subgenre of military scifi.) The armor in the movie is nifty, but the soldiers are susceptible to a headshot from a high-velocity pellet gun, for crying out loud, while Heinlein's mobile infantry could handle nukes a nuke with no problem.

In short, if the producers wanted to make an B-grade campy anti-authoritarian sci-fi movie with nifty costumes that lack verisimilitude, that's fine with me. I'd see it twice in theaters and buy the video. But WHY oh WHY did they have to eliminate the possiblity that anyone would ever produce a movie that treated Heinlein's novel and its two core ideas with some respect?

Doesn't Book-A-Minute already provide this?

I meun, hoo doomb du yuoo theenk ve-a ere-a? I checked zee seete-a, und zeere's nut a "bork bork bork" unyvhere-a!

Translation courtesy of The Dialectizer". For effect, here's the Slashdot summary:

Zee Next Lefel ooff X-Bux Muddeeng Herdvere
Pusted by CmdrTecu oon Tooe-a Feb 25, '03 08:04 EM
frum zee noo-veeet-a-meenoote-a dept.

Um de hur de hur de hur. neekitin2k vreetes "A svedeesh gooy deed a reelly sveet xbux mud. Bork bork bork! He-a mufed zee vhule-a theeng intu un eloomeenioom chessees, chunged zee dfd und hdd, instelled a mud-cheep, vureless lun, leds, sveetches und Leenoox. Meet zee xXx-bux. Zee seete-a is in svedeesh, boot zee peecs speek fur zeemselfes. Um gesh dee bork, bork! Luts ooff peectoores here-a" I gutt esk thu, et vhet pueent vuoold it hefe-a mede-a mure-a sense-a joost tu booy a regooler cumpooter? Zee greee leeghting is a neece-a tuooch thu.

Here is a pretty good explanation of its origin in the days of mainframes and terminals.

The SysRq (System Request) key is left over from the days of mainframes and terminals. I found a pretty good explanation here.

Any chance we could get the Red Neck edition for browsing aol.com?

How about the h4x0r edition for Linux?

It would save me from browsing via the dialectizer http://rinkworks.com/dialect/

Oh, and any idle speculators care to guess how many "funny" meta-mods we'll be seeing for the next few weeks? I'm betting at least half...

Well, I managed to skip #8 without noticing it, jumping from #7 to #9.

Fortunately some nice guy uploaded the story to Book-A-Minute

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

The Return of the King

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

The Return of the King

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

The Return of the King

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

The Return of the King

What did you feed him?

Hot Dogs.

What an old idea.

Most companies above a certain size whose work force isn't completely composed of computer experts have an IS staff who is given the odious task of maintaining all of the computers in the company -- odious, because most of the users wreak havoc on the computers' set-up. This is from where most of the "my computer's cup holder is broken" stories have spawned from.

In order to decrease their work load, they typically standardize on a few specific PC models and set-ups, and when a user blows it to hell they restore from a standard drive image. Ordering a special piece of hardware with a non-standard set-up usually requires a note from upper management saying "take care of this guy, he's cool", and a contract signed in blood, in triplicate, saying "I will never bring this machine to you".

Click here for the hacker translation.

At least it's funny now...

Click here for the hacker translation.

At least it's funny now...

Not exactly Cliff's Notes, but here's the book-a-minute synopsis...

Think your stories are funny? Check out these!

Death Gate?

Granted the complete LotR pales in comparison to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, but nobody who reads that (myself included) can be considered in his right mind.

Granted the complete LotR pales in comparison to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, but nobody who reads that (myself included) can be considered in his right mind.

Granted the complete LotR pales in comparison to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, but nobody who reads that (myself included) can be considered in his right mind.

Here's another deep link to Intentia

I read that one on Computer Stupidities a while ago.

Does any translator know swedish?

Yup, not a problem

Iff I dun't understund svedeesh, I vun't understund svedeesh murse-a cude-a. Dues uny trunsletur knoo svedeesh?

Tons of mind-boggling cases of hardware, software, OS and tech support abuse can be found at the Computer Stupidities Page.
As for the squeaky clean computer, this is one from there:

* Customer: "My computer doesn't work."
* Tech Support: "Ok, what happens?"
* Customer: "When I turn it on, nothing happens."
* Tech Support: "Hmmm. Can you think of anything you might have done to cause it to stop functioning?"
* Customer: "Well, I just cleaned it. There was dirt on the fan, and I wiped it off."
* Tech Support: "Oh, that shouldn't have hurt anything."
* Customer: "Then I opened up the computer and wiped the insides as well. I took it apart and washed everything with Windex."

Couldnt the guys at The Dialectizer write a "backwards" dialect for their system? Viewing elgooG through that would sort it out.

No, you got the correct one!

however, for the right one...
THIS is the expurgated version

I spent a summer working for Softdisk in Shreveport LA, back in ohhh.. I think 94... It might have been 93... not sure

I did QA work for all their subscription software including a little gem called Catacombs 3D which semed remarkably like Wolfenstein 3D. It was at that point that I heard the story about the Id guys having been former employees...

I think this link: the link on which you click

explains the history quite well. ( I remember Dan Tobias... what a character)

I really loved Rescue Rover.

Daniel

Anyone up for Swedish Chef'ing this?

IE und Kunqooerur dun't but tu check zee issooer ooff thees intermedeeete-a cert mekeeng SSL in but broosers sumetheeng ooff a juke-a.

Hey, you asked...

:-)

From the Rinkworks Dialectizer...

This page is full of anecdotes of stupid things people did with their floppy drives.

Based off rinkwork.com's book-a-minute.....

Mulder
I see dead people!

Cigarette Smoking Man
I'm not dead!

THE END.

Check out the good old Rinkworks at

http://rinkworks.com/stupid/cs_stuptech.shtml

Of course, most of the Computer stupidities deal with stupid users (and they have some really funny stories), but the above page is about "role reversal" and stupid tech support being a pain for a computer-literate user seeking help.

There is a section about stupid salespeople as well :)

Check out the good old Rinkworks at

http://rinkworks.com/stupid/cs_stuptech.shtml

Of course, most of the Computer stupidities deal with stupid users (and they have some really funny stories), but the above page is about "role reversal" and stupid tech support being a pain for a computer-literate user seeking help.

There is a section about stupid salespeople as well :)

And I found Heinlein's style to be all over the board--some of it is good, some of it is just abysmal. At this point in my life, Heinlein holds little draw for me. He's light on advanced science, and Iain Banks does a better job with advanced societies. IMO, of course. YMMV, &c.

You're both right. "Duke Nukem Forever" was originally the title for a 2d side-scroller, like the first 2, but it got cancelled and the name was reused for the current project. So technically it wasn't ever 2d, but then again it was.

The Apogee FAQ: Section [2.8.13]: Duke Nukem 3D

Which is the attitude I was critcizing, the Us vs Them attitude between technology haves and have nots.

This is very easily seen in comedy pages about tech support horror stories, Like Computer Stupidities. This is evidence of what happens when geek culture separates from the culture of those around it.

Note: in the USA "Working Stiffs" is a generic slang for people who work for a living, vs those born to money, and is a common enough term, and is not usually confused with the dead, except for moments of humor or irony.

People who recognize the term realize it is a term of respect.

.... Nothing could be better than learning from others mistakes:

Computer Stupidities

This fine book is about this very thing happening (asteroid hitting earth). Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle. (Both kick-ass authors) Another book by them, that is somewhat similar (aliens throwing the asteroids at us) is Footfall. Both are very good. If you don't have time to read 600 pages, here is a slightly shorter version.

First off, I'm doubtful that there are any open-source programs that do this well, as it's a very difficult problem! It has to do with understanding a document, which computers really can't do.

So I'd like to take a moment to point out a good resource for some existing summaries, at bookaminute.

• Whut be Linux?

Fo' everyone else, please eyeball on. 'S coo', bro.

Here is 10 reasons why Linux could be da damn best opuh'tin' system fo' ya':

• A Linux Distribushun gots dousands uh dollars wo'd uh software fo' no cost (o' some couple uh dollars if purchased on CD)
• Linux be a complete opuh'tin' system dat is, dig dis:
• stable - de crash uh an applicashun be much less likesly t'brin' waaay down de opuh'tin' system unda' Linux
• reliable - Linux servers is often down fo' hundreds uh days compared wid de regular reboots required wid some Windows system
• extremely powerful
• Comes wid some complete development environment, includin' C, C++, Fo'tran compilers, toolkits such as Qt and scriptin' languages such as Perl, Awk and sed. A C compila' fo' Windows alone would set ya' back hundreds uh dollars.
• Excellent netwo'kin' facilities, dig dis: allowin' ya' t'share CPUs, share doodads etc; all uh which is not included o' available wid Windows 95.
• De ideal environment t'run servers such as some web serva' (e.g. What it is, Mama! Apache), o' an FTP server. Ah be baaad...
• A wide variety uh commercial software be available if yo' needs ain't satisifed by de free software.
• An opuh'tin' system dat be easily downgradeable. Afta' any lengd uh time some typical installashun uh Windows and software digs into some complete mess. Often de only way t'clear out all de debris be to refo'mat da damn hard disk and start again. 'S coo', bro. Linux, however, be much betta' fo' maintainin' de system. WORD!
• Suppo'ts multiple processo's as standard.
• True multi-tax'in'; de ability t'run mo'e dan one honky code at da damn same time.
• An 'sellent window system called X; de equivalent uh Windows but much mo'e flexible.

It be possible t'set down yo' system t'have mo'e dan one opuh'tin' system on yo' clunker. If ya' is contemplatin' usin' Linux dis kin be real handy; it lets ya' still keep Windows 95/NT (e.g. What it is, Mama! if wo'k commitments require dat ya' use certain software) and use Linux. Slap mah fro! Dis gots'ta require creatin' partishuns on yo' Hard Disk. Ya' know? Documentashun dat accompanies most Linux distribushuns gots'ta 'splain how t'create some 'multi-boot' system. WORD!

Yes, this movie sucks. It's mostly predictable, there's nothing new here. If you came to the theater expecting something on the order of "Die Hard", or "Indiana Jones", you'd be disappointed.

However it doesn't suck that much. It could've sucked much, much worse than it did. It was clear to me, when I sat down, that the flick is going to blow. With my expectations already lowered, the movie didn't really turn out to be that bad.

Yes, it's the typical output of the paint-by-numbers Hollywood screenplay mill. Still, I think the movie did make a couple of valiant attempts at being original. Ahnold's, uhhh.... impression of Mike Tyson was completely unexpected. And it was funny. And it did seem, at first, that Ahnold was going to end up bedding down whatsherface. The way that character actually turned out to be was also unexpected.

So, go and see the movie on a bargain matinee, and check your brain at the door. Or wait for it to come up on video. You could do worse. There's plenty of crap out there that's even worse than "Collateral Damage".