For one thing the life-expectancy of a soccer career will be about 10 years... pretty much nearly as long as Starcraft has been around.
But that is not really the point I'm trying to make... if you've played one RTS, then you've played them all. Once you understand diffrent armour types, damage types (piercing/splash/etc) group tactics, queueing, build orders, build trees, then they are all basically the same game.
Same goes for FPSes... have a sure hand, know the map, move fast, time the power-ups, and if you play in a team, work well together... then you should be able to swop between different games easier. With perhaps the exception of Quake3, which is unique in it's movement skills. (but has rather limited uncomplicated weapons)
Practically everyone I know who has tried to get a Beta account has gotten one...
I've sent out about 15 invites, and most people I've invited have already sent out more than 10 each.
And since there is not real restriction in space, those accounts are being clobbered.
But this is besides the point. The point is the design of the interface... the way they cleverly have most of the data in Java locally, and some things are faster than even having a local mail client! And considering that I'm not in the USA and have a minimum ping og 400ms to the States!
Another point to consider, I'm sure Google will not even feel the amount of traffic of their e-mail even once it is post-beta. Their spiders and search traffic would far exceed any e-mail traffic my miles.
Just replace 200 with a suitably small amount, and make it BCC. -shrug-
It can still be abused... you only need to create more zombie accounts.
I mostly run my own domain, and use SpamAssasin with sendmail extensively, so I know of all the tricks people pull.
Hotmail may be okay, but since hotmail is one of the most spoofed mail addresses, I have built in a heuristic rule for hotmail in SA (I only know of one person that has a hotmail account, so I don't really care)
So not Pfah to their attempts which is commendable in the fight against spam, more 'Pfah' to the fact that hotmail is becoming more and more unusable by hotmail users.
The little I have used hotmail, I can say that google gmail is sooo much better.
Because I have a firewall (NON-XP-SP2) and a Linux gateway with another firewall and packet sniffers... I would see the traffic.
Sure one could get polymorphic virii, and do all sorta funny stuff. But mostly their memory footprint (or key parts thereof) remain the same or similar to existing virii and spyware. Good Virii and spyware detection software can detect derivatives even before they were programmed to.
Yup, this is just spoofing... don't give it a second thought.
Most probably some virus/worm somewhere.
I just got a bounce message today where I allegedly sent a message to someone that bounced. Strange thing it was sent from a dormant e-mail of mine which is not configured anywhere in any of my local programs and only an old 'official' contact on the web. (A mail alias on my domain...)
So I would not worry.
I'm running this XP box, with SP 4 (Using Kerio Personal Firewall 2.1.5 instead of windows's one) as well as having the lates updated Norton Internet security running and scanning all my outgoing mail for me. The I have also bought AdAware SE, and I KNOW I'm clean. (And My other boxes are Apple and Linux... and not configured for mail...)
And, Oh please, don't post any more queries until you have a Real OS installed.
I switched about 8 months ago, and for work I switched back to windows a month ago.
This only highlighted all the problems for me again, and I have reverted to the Mac again.
I have a P800 phone and an iPod... and they are practically useless when it comes to syncing on windows... first there is the driver nightmare, and then there is the address book maze which is windows.... most of my contacts get lost.
Besides the fact that I cannot use multiple clients on windows, since they all use different contacts... but a single address book on Mac.
I have installed custom drivers at times even though the device was working natively, and as with the MS mouse drivers for OS X I found that native was better, if not so feature-packed.
Things that just worked on OS X that I had to load drivers for (and failed to use effectively) under windows:
Cordless Mice/keyboards. Bluetooth Phones. iPod Generic Epox USB to Bluetooth dongle Digital cameras. Printers. (Various HP and Brother)
-shrug-
I use my PC for Work (programming) and Games these days, and leave my personaly stuff on Mac.
Windows for Work for Now. OS X for Life for Ever.:P
The windows drivers are slightly better than logitech ones IMHO, but the OS X native driver is all you will need, so go for the better mouse. (See my Journal...)
FFView - Similar to IrfanView iTerm - like putty for windows. DVDattache - same as windows one iGetter - like flash download accel.
Some tips:
Get a 3 button mouse and a microsoft USB internet keyboard... then load the MS keyboard software to config the keyboard... works like a charm... don't bother with loading any other mouse drivers (logitech or MS)
Also, just get a thawte freemail certificate instead of using SSH, and you won't need SSH apps...
Also, there are no replacements for a good movie viewer... the best is VLC or MPlayer... nothing in the league of Media Player Classic for windows.
Alas, there is nothing you will find that will totally replace TotalCMD... but then again you have zsh!!;)
Besides these, as a power-user that has tried and bought many programs on many platforms, the Mac may seem simple, but it has all the features and then some to compare with the most powerful windows apps... they are just hidden in intuitive ways.:P
My leetle iBook G3 is still my fav machine... and I also have the latest DELL Inspiron 9100 running XP!
Kernel maintainers see linux as a server platform... and that seems to be that... webcams don't really make headway in the Apache-server linux arena which is what Linux is really mainly being used for apart from embedded stuff.
Sure, perhaps they have a point? A kernel-hook here and a direct access there, and next thing you will have something like DirectX under linux! The Horror! A Security Nightmare!
But then there is also the practical approach... if they remove these things, then there *should* be alternatives!
Otherwise I will stop using Linux as my development platform as it's not consistent...
-sigh-
I've been using the pxc.o driver of Allesondro Rubini for some time now, and even that is a bit of a pain to install... One has to modify gub configs with kernel params etc...
'Don't learn Design Patterns... learn from Design Patterns.'
One is not always afforded the luxury today to understand principles instead of just memorising them, sure... I had trouble finishing many math exams since I had difficulty remembering proofs, and re-invented as I went along. As a result my marks sucked.:(
Sure it did... all I'm saying is that it was accidental and not intended sense. It had an underlying story (a simple one) and a lot of symbolism (which may or may not have had an intentional meaning, but certainly some unintentional ones).
I had long discussions about this with a friend of mine after watching it... the discussions were more fun then the movie even! Which is what I think makes Lynch's movies great.
I'm not talking about passing references, but about the main aim of the book. The book could be set in a context you are not familiar with, sure, but you can still infer what you need from the book only. I don't know much about history, but I got the gist of 'Catch 22'. I may not have known about Dogson's fascination with little girls and drug use, but I sorta could tell by reading 'Alice in Wonderland'... -shrug-
It's nice to know the context, but not essencial to get the point of the book.
That's friggin' harsh. I'm guessing you've never read Paradise Lost, Ulysses, or Wasteland.
You're right.
I soon am still to read Ulysses, and perhaps Paradise Lost as well. Have so much else to read at the moment, as well as trying to reach dan-level in Go, learning to Tango, doing tai-chi and yoga, watching new art movies, programming C++, learning SAP and competing in Magic (the Gathering) and computer gaming competitions.
:P
See my response to someone else about this for elaboration on my 'harsh' comment.
Re:it's not really cheating
on
Cheating Made Easy
·
· Score: 1, Insightful
Perhaps, but still when a work is self-contained and does not make implicit references to concepts and ideas outside the subject (course) domain, then the person *should* be able to understand it (to a small degree) if they wish to pass.
The point is that a university degree sets one apart as a leader and not a follower. The first person to make a specific link between a written work and an outside reference is a uniqe thinker or a well-read person. Why should you be rated with the same level of credentials by just copying his work?
Sure one can read other people's papers in regard to this... but most people will ONLY read papers pertaining to that particular topic... THAT's cheating. One should read other people's articles on all subjects possible within the same domain, to learn new ways to analyse and think. Not to just blatantly memorise and copy facts!
I love watching art/classic movies and read books... I read other people's views on these, not because I need to understand the films, but to see how other people perceive things. David Lynch's Mulholland Drive point in case... it made no sense, and I don't think Lynch had an idea in mind while making it. (The point of the movie was for people to draw their own conclusions... but then again, that's my view.)
If you don't know that Animal Farm had parallels in Russian history, then perhaps you have not read enough other fiction? Tolstoy? Dostoyevsky? Chekhov? And perhaps that is an indication of a lack of encompassing knowledge and perhaps you should fail to pass? Hmm...
I'm not an English major... in fact I've got very little English experience. (with it being my second language and all) Thus I expect a person who is actually doing this language at university level to have at least a fundamental knowledge of literature and preferably know more than I do.
I've never read Animal Farm... so would not be able to make informed statements in this regard, but I have read 1984 and know a bit about George Orwell. (Having made a point at one time to try and read the top 100 books (subjective) of all time...)
Well, if you cannot understand books by reading them and need help... do you really deserve to pass?
Unless (of course) you are studying to be a reporter, then perhaps it's valuable to be able to source material even though you do not understand the nature of the subject.
But I personally would feel cheated if I got good grades, but failed to learn skills (as opposed to learning how to memorise)
As far as I can tell you are actually agreeing with me.
I still think Thing on a Spring being 20 years old has better music than Doom3's mood setting sound. That doesn't make it the best game music, though
Thus what you are saying is you don't discriminate on game period (age). That's Good. What your choice is is irelevant.
This seems to be a sensitive subject and people seem to want to read things into posts.
PS: I like your band concept... as a VERY avid Vic20/C64/Amiga demo collector I could probably appreciate it. Good to hear it's rock. Don't like techno much.
Certain levels had certain tracks. I remember certain levels specifically for their music.
Besides, Sanxion did not do context-dynamic music either, so my argument still stands.
Doom 3 has been reviewed as an awesomely scary sound experience by many sites... they focused on single player... yay!
Sometimes dynamic music can be boring and predictable, causing only irritation. Other times it can be good. So I agree with you in this regard (transitions are important).
I remember the place in RtC Wolfenstein where the corpse in a coffin just jerked upright when you looked into it... the music was pretty well synced to that and gave me such a scare!
Anyway, I was comparing new games to old games, and not to other new games. All I was saying was that games actually got better.
PS: Played Doom3 this week-end... -grin-... my soundcard does not do it justice.
This is just another case of "the old games were better". Not true! Again!
Game music is there to create an atmosphere, and thus has to be in the domain we are familiar with to be able to illict a human response.
Something as arbitrary as Rob Hubbard whose Sanxion and Delta music was admitedly memorable does not promote the genre as a whole to be 'better'. He simply was good at creating atmosphere, and that's all he had to work with.
Take Doom III and Quake I for instance. It's the best in-game music ever! Why? Because it got it's desired effect like few other games ever has.
It was way before games like "Out of this World", but lacked something to hook one for long.
I loved the humour in the games though, but I think the game lacked gaming value(?). It wasn't bad, just not as good as others to play.
Dunno... it was more like a demo I guess... you played it to be wowed by effects (which were cool at the time), but not fun to play. If someone else was playing, then great!;)
-mumble- -mumble-
I had mixed feelings at the time, as well as now...
Slashdot Mirror
Soccer vs. Starcraft?
For one thing the life-expectancy of a soccer career will be about 10 years... pretty much nearly as long as Starcraft has been around.
But that is not really the point I'm trying to make... if you've played one RTS, then you've played them all. Once you understand diffrent armour types, damage types (piercing/splash/etc) group tactics, queueing, build orders, build trees, then they are all basically the same game.
Same goes for FPSes... have a sure hand, know the map, move fast, time the power-ups, and if you play in a team, work well together... then you should be able to swop between different games easier. With perhaps the exception of Quake3, which is unique in it's movement skills. (but has rather limited uncomplicated weapons)
-shrug-
Makes sense really.
You get the invite yet?
Sorry about Pharmboy being taken already... testiment to populatity I guess.
Practically everyone I know who has tried to get a Beta account has gotten one...
I've sent out about 15 invites, and most people I've invited have already sent out more than 10 each.
And since there is not real restriction in space, those accounts are being clobbered.
But this is besides the point. The point is the design of the interface... the way they cleverly have most of the data in Java locally, and some things are faster than even having a local mail client! And considering that I'm not in the USA and have a minimum ping og 400ms to the States!
Another point to consider, I'm sure Google will not even feel the amount of traffic of their e-mail even once it is post-beta. Their spiders and search traffic would far exceed any e-mail traffic my miles.
PS: You want a gmail account?
Nope, have not ever really used hotmail.
Just replace 200 with a suitably small amount, and make it BCC.
-shrug-
It can still be abused... you only need to create more zombie accounts.
I mostly run my own domain, and use SpamAssasin with sendmail extensively, so I know of all the tricks people pull.
Hotmail may be okay, but since hotmail is one of the most spoofed mail addresses, I have built in a heuristic rule for hotmail in SA (I only know of one person that has a hotmail account, so I don't really care)
So not Pfah to their attempts which is commendable in the fight against spam, more 'Pfah' to the fact that hotmail is becoming more and more unusable by hotmail users.
The little I have used hotmail, I can say that google gmail is sooo much better.
Sir, you underestimate the fiendish cleverness of spammers!
Just the other day another SPAM message broke through my SpamAssassin fortress to nestle in my inbox!
Can't they just send 100 messages each with 200 receipients? And repeat this from their 100 accounts?
Anyway, as if this will stop them anyway... Pfah!
The point was a choice between CD distros.
;)
Thus Knoppix (eugh!), Mandrake Move and now Ubuntu...
I agree, Xandros is not a bad distro for your mother-in-law...
Don't get a dog, rather get an Aibo then?
(What a fearsome creature!) -shiver-
Because I have a firewall (NON-XP-SP2) and a Linux gateway with another firewall and packet sniffers... I would see the traffic.
Sure one could get polymorphic virii, and do all sorta funny stuff. But mostly their memory footprint (or key parts thereof) remain the same or similar to existing virii and spyware. Good Virii and spyware detection software can detect derivatives even before they were programmed to.
But this is irrelevant, as it's a network issue.
Thanks! :)
Yup, this is just spoofing... don't give it a second thought.
Most probably some virus/worm somewhere.
I just got a bounce message today where I allegedly sent a message to someone that bounced. Strange thing it was sent from a dormant e-mail of mine which is not configured anywhere in any of my local programs and only an old 'official' contact on the web. (A mail alias on my domain...)
So I would not worry.
I'm running this XP box, with SP 4 (Using Kerio Personal Firewall 2.1.5 instead of windows's one) as well as having the lates updated Norton Internet security running and scanning all my outgoing mail for me. The I have also bought AdAware SE, and I KNOW I'm clean. (And My other boxes are Apple and Linux... and not configured for mail...)
And, Oh please, don't post any more queries until you have a Real OS installed.
I switched about 8 months ago, and for work I switched back to windows a month ago.
:P
This only highlighted all the problems for me again, and I have reverted to the Mac again.
I have a P800 phone and an iPod... and they are practically useless when it comes to syncing on windows... first there is the driver nightmare, and then there is the address book maze which is windows.... most of my contacts get lost.
Besides the fact that I cannot use multiple clients on windows, since they all use different contacts... but a single address book on Mac.
I have installed custom drivers at times even though the device was working natively, and as with the MS mouse drivers for OS X I found that native was better, if not so feature-packed.
Things that just worked on OS X that I had to load drivers for (and failed to use effectively) under windows:
Cordless Mice/keyboards.
Bluetooth Phones.
iPod
Generic Epox USB to Bluetooth dongle
Digital cameras.
Printers. (Various HP and Brother)
-shrug-
I use my PC for Work (programming) and Games these days, and leave my personaly stuff on Mac.
Windows for Work for Now.
OS X for Life for Ever.
Learn to use a 3 button mouse, since most mac users use 3 button mice instead of the standard one.
:P
Get used to a centralized consistent address book, and not one per application.
Get used to *not* installing drivers for every. single. hardware device.
Get used to a lack of crashes, even when suspending/sleeping.
Oh, and get used to suspend actually working.
Then also get used to pretty fonts and visual effects that do not get in the way.
Also get used to just dragging apps to your hard drive to install, and dragging them to your trash to uninstall.
Ah, yes, and the trashcan is actually consistently used by all apps.
Also get used to the fact that all your internet, network and proxy settings are stored centrally for all apps, and stored per user location.
Hmm... ah yes... OS X does not have a good TotalCMD clone... pity about that... perhaps I cannot switch after all...
Just remember to make it logitech.... ;)
The windows drivers are slightly better than logitech ones IMHO, but the OS X native driver is all you will need, so go for the better mouse. (See my Journal...)
Some more apps:
;)
:P
;)
FFView - Similar to IrfanView
iTerm - like putty for windows.
DVDattache - same as windows one
iGetter - like flash download accel.
Some tips:
Get a 3 button mouse and a microsoft USB internet keyboard... then load the MS keyboard software to config the keyboard... works like a charm... don't bother with loading any other mouse drivers (logitech or MS)
Also, just get a thawte freemail certificate instead of using SSH, and you won't need SSH apps...
Also, there are no replacements for a good movie viewer... the best is VLC or MPlayer... nothing in the league of Media Player Classic for windows.
Alas, there is nothing you will find that will totally replace TotalCMD... but then again you have zsh!!
Besides these, as a power-user that has tried and bought many programs on many platforms, the Mac may seem simple, but it has all the features and then some to compare with the most powerful windows apps... they are just hidden in intuitive ways.
My leetle iBook G3 is still my fav machine... and I also have the latest DELL Inspiron 9100 running XP!
Just a teensy bit slow these days...
-grin-
Kernel maintainers see linux as a server platform... and that seems to be that... webcams don't really make headway in the Apache-server linux arena which is what Linux is really mainly being used for apart from embedded stuff.
Sure, perhaps they have a point? A kernel-hook here and a direct access there, and next thing you will have something like DirectX under linux! The Horror! A Security Nightmare!
But then there is also the practical approach... if they remove these things, then there *should* be alternatives!
Otherwise I will stop using Linux as my development platform as it's not consistent...
-sigh-
I've been using the pxc.o driver of Allesondro Rubini for some time now, and even that is a bit of a pain to install... One has to modify gub configs with kernel params etc...
To lend from a Go-proverb:
'Don't learn Design Patterns... learn from Design Patterns.'
One is not always afforded the luxury today to understand principles instead of just memorising them, sure... I had trouble finishing many math exams since I had difficulty remembering proofs, and re-invented as I went along. As a result my marks sucked.
Sure it did... all I'm saying is that it was accidental and not intended sense. It had an underlying story (a simple one) and a lot of symbolism (which may or may not have had an intentional meaning, but certainly some unintentional ones).
I had long discussions about this with a friend of mine after watching it... the discussions were more fun then the movie even! Which is what I think makes Lynch's movies great.
I'm not talking about passing references, but about the main aim of the book. The book could be set in a context you are not familiar with, sure, but you can still infer what you need from the book only. I don't know much about history, but I got the gist of 'Catch 22'. I may not have known about Dogson's fascination with little girls and drug use, but I sorta could tell by reading 'Alice in Wonderland'... -shrug-
It's nice to know the context, but not essencial to get the point of the book.
That's friggin' harsh. I'm guessing you've never read Paradise Lost, Ulysses, or Wasteland.
:P
You're right.
I soon am still to read Ulysses, and perhaps Paradise Lost as well. Have so much else to read at the moment, as well as trying to reach dan-level in Go, learning to Tango, doing tai-chi and yoga, watching new art movies, programming C++, learning SAP and competing in Magic (the Gathering) and computer gaming competitions.
See my response to someone else about this for elaboration on my 'harsh' comment.
Perhaps, but still when a work is self-contained and does not make implicit references to concepts and ideas outside the subject (course) domain, then the person *should* be able to understand it (to a small degree) if they wish to pass.
The point is that a university degree sets one apart as a leader and not a follower. The first person to make a specific link between a written work and an outside reference is a uniqe thinker or a well-read person. Why should you be rated with the same level of credentials by just copying his work?
Sure one can read other people's papers in regard to this... but most people will ONLY read papers pertaining to that particular topic... THAT's cheating. One should read other people's articles on all subjects possible within the same domain, to learn new ways to analyse and think. Not to just blatantly memorise and copy facts!
I love watching art/classic movies and read books... I read other people's views on these, not because I need to understand the films, but to see how other people perceive things. David Lynch's Mulholland Drive point in case... it made no sense, and I don't think Lynch had an idea in mind while making it. (The point of the movie was for people to draw their own conclusions... but then again, that's my view.)
If you don't know that Animal Farm had parallels in Russian history, then perhaps you have not read enough other fiction? Tolstoy? Dostoyevsky? Chekhov? And perhaps that is an indication of a lack of encompassing knowledge and perhaps you should fail to pass? Hmm...
I'm not an English major... in fact I've got very little English experience. (with it being my second language and all) Thus I expect a person who is actually doing this language at university level to have at least a fundamental knowledge of literature and preferably know more than I do.
I've never read Animal Farm... so would not be able to make informed statements in this regard, but I have read 1984 and know a bit about George Orwell. (Having made a point at one time to try and read the top 100 books (subjective) of all time...)
Well, if you cannot understand books by reading them and need help... do you really deserve to pass?
Unless (of course) you are studying to be a reporter, then perhaps it's valuable to be able to source material even though you do not understand the nature of the subject.
But I personally would feel cheated if I got good grades, but failed to learn skills (as opposed to learning how to memorise)
Me.
As far as I can tell you are actually agreeing with me.
I still think Thing on a Spring being 20 years old has better music than Doom3's mood setting sound. That doesn't make it the best game music, though
Thus what you are saying is you don't discriminate on game period (age). That's Good. What your choice is is irelevant.
This seems to be a sensitive subject and people seem to want to read things into posts.
PS: I like your band concept... as a VERY avid Vic20/C64/Amiga demo collector I could probably appreciate it. Good to hear it's rock. Don't like techno much.
Not totally true about Quake I.
... my soundcard does not do it justice.
Certain levels had certain tracks. I remember certain levels specifically for their music.
Besides, Sanxion did not do context-dynamic music either, so my argument still stands.
Doom 3 has been reviewed as an awesomely scary sound experience by many sites... they focused on single player... yay!
Sometimes dynamic music can be boring and predictable, causing only irritation. Other times it can be good. So I agree with you in this regard (transitions are important).
I remember the place in RtC Wolfenstein where the corpse in a coffin just jerked upright when you looked into it... the music was pretty well synced to that and gave me such a scare!
Anyway, I was comparing new games to old games, and not to other new games. All I was saying was that games actually got better.
PS: Played Doom3 this week-end... -grin-
This is just another case of "the old games were better". Not true! Again!
Game music is there to create an atmosphere, and thus has to be in the domain we are familiar with to be able to illict a human response.
Something as arbitrary as Rob Hubbard whose Sanxion and Delta music was admitedly memorable does not promote the genre as a whole to be 'better'. He simply was good at creating atmosphere, and that's all he had to work with.
Take Doom III and Quake I for instance. It's the best in-game music ever! Why? Because it got it's desired effect like few other games ever has.
-shrug-
Now stop flogging a dead horse!
It was way before games like "Out of this World", but lacked something to hook one for long.
;)
I loved the humour in the games though, but I think the game lacked gaming value(?). It wasn't bad, just not as good as others to play.
Dunno... it was more like a demo I guess... you played it to be wowed by effects (which were cool at the time), but not fun to play. If someone else was playing, then great!
-mumble- -mumble-
I had mixed feelings at the time, as well as now...