Here at Reed College (Dr. Demento's alma mater), finding Dr. Demento's senior thesis in the Thesis Tower is a common scavenger hunt item. While the topic (the operas Wozzeck and Pelleas et Melisande) isn't traditionally nerdy, no one can get through Reed without being a little bit geeky.
That quote sounds like a parent showing off their third grade kid's finger painting.
You don't need parents who work in IT to know how to use wordpress and an audio/video editing program. You just need to know how to read manuals. He probably doesn't know how those programs work, he just has to know how to manipulate them.
Last time I checked, competence with technology was a little more than just reading TFM.
On a related note, Apple released Human Interface Guidelines for iPhone-centric web 2.0 apps today, which contained some very interesting language. I quote the introduction
Currently, developers create web applications for iPhone, not native applications. Hmm... currently? Does this hint at an SDK to come?
Oh yeah, I'm really gushing like a fanboi in that post, especially when I'm talking about how wonderful it is that Apple has made it damn near impossible for anyone to develop for the iPhone and Touch. In case you couldn't tell, I'm nuts about that part.
I'm not saying I agree with these decisions, I'm just explaining why many of those things are unlikely to ever happen. Apple tends to focus on overall usability rather than features, while there are lots of other devices with more features but with an interface which is much harder to pick up. Most people will pick the former - it sounds like the latter would be a better fit for you.
Oh, and good job reading those "numerous reviews". The fact that the iPhone doesn't have WiFi is something most people don't pick up on.
(Sorry, I forgot I was in HTML formatting the last time I posted)
You don't seem to have done your homework on the Touch - some of these features the Touch has, others, you're quite likely never to see adopted.
- The Touch is smaller than the iPhone in thickness, the same height, and very, very slightly wider than the iPhone. I've compared the two - they're the same form factor, besides the thinness of the Touch.
- I doubt that you'll ever see an iPod with an SD Slot. Why? Apple prides itself on vertical integration, and simplicity. Having an expansion slot would mean that Apple doesn't control the entire "product experience." It would add unnecessary thickness and complexity to the device.
- WiFi - Um, it has been heavily advertised as having 802.11g WiFi. Heard the fuss about the mobile Safari browser? The iTunes WiFi Music store?
- For the same reasons that Apple is trying its hardest to lock down the Touch and the iPhone, you're never going to see Java on the Touch. Why would you put Java on a device? Because you want to make it easier to develop for. Apple wants to make the Touch and the iPhone as hard to develop for as possible - adding Java makes no sense.
- Microphones are also unlikely to ever be added to the Touch - lest people take advantage of it, and WiFi, to create a VOIP app and lessen the appeal of the iPhone. That being said, there are companies that make third-party voice recording accessories, who might come out with a microphone attachment in the future.
- Increased storage will undoubtedly happen as the forward march of technology drives down Flash prices. 32GB models will probably come out in a year or so, when Apple typically refreshes the iPod line.
- The Touch has a 24 hour battery life if merely playing audio, a 5-6 hour battery life when playing video, and easily lasts 8 hours when mixing up audio, video, and web-browsing (from my own personal experience).
You don't seem to have done your homework on the Touch.
- The Touch is smaller than the iPhone in thickness, the same height, and very, very slightly wider than the iPhone. I've compared the two - they're the same form factor, besides the thinness of the Touch.
- I doubt that you'll ever see an iPod with an SD Slot. Why? Apple prides itself on vertical integration, and simplicity. Having an expansion slot would mean that Apple doesn't control the entire "product experience." It would add unnecessary thickness and complexity to the device.
- WiFi - Um, it has 802.11g. Heard the fuss about the mobile Safari browser? The iTunes WiFi Music store? Have you actually read a review of the Touch?
- For the same reasons that Apple is trying its hardest to lock down the Touch and the iPhone, you're never going to see Java on the Touch. Why would you put Java on a device? Because you want to make it easier to develop for. Apple wants to make the Touch and the iPhone as hard to develop for as possible - adding Java makes no sense.
- Microphones are also unlikely to ever be added to the Touch - lest people take advantage of it, and WiFi, to create a VOIP app and lessen the appeal of the iPhone. That being said, there are companies that make third-party voice recording accessories, who might come out with a microphone attachment in the future.
- Increased storage will undoubtedly happen as the forward march of technology drives down Flash prices. 32GB models will probably come out in a year or so, when Apple typically refreshes the iPod line.
- The Touch has a 24 hour battery life if merely playing audio, a 5-6 hour battery life when playing video, and easily lasts 8 hours when mixing up audio, video, and web-browsing (from my own personal experience).
I have a sweatshirt that has eight blinking orange LEDs on the left sleeve. I've gone through security at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and JFK International without any problems. Granted, there are no visible circuits, just the LEDs. I answer questions about it when asked, and I've never been detained or surrounded by armed guards.
While not responding to questioning was quite stupid of her, the guns were clearly overreacting. The thing that scares me about this situation, though, is how quickly the authorities responded with the threat of deadly force. One of the State Policeman involved said something to the effect of "it's good she ended up in our cell rather than in a morgue."
What kind of country are we living in, where wearing the wrong thing to the airport has a decent chance of getting us killed?
2) iPod touch is crippled. The Bluetooth is physically there (supposedly) but not enabled.
Actually, iFixit just disassembled a Touch, and found there is no bluetooth hardware at all. It was just a mistake on the part of an Apple product-mock-up guy.
You might want to take a look at Bean, a very light open-source text editor for OSX that reads and writes.doc and.txt (why the hell doesn't Textedit save in.txt?). It does lack a few features (mainly footnotes), but it's a damn sight better than OpenOffice.org in performance.
I RTFA, and the only bit about color I can find is a prediction that "Improved laser technology will enable images to be projected at greater distances and with more color." Additionally, all the example images show only white light. Sounds like the color aspect is an optimistic prediction to me, not a current capability.
I'm quoting from this Space.com article, which is Mary Glenn quoting Alan Shepard. I don't have a source for this, but when I was at Space Camp I was told it was Shepard who said this - and c'mon, Space Camp has to be on top of this, right?
That's what they're doing. The problem is, it's tricky to tell which move provides to most possible ways of winning. I'll illustrate a simple example, where I'll take your definition of "most possible ways of winning" to mean "greatest number of games in which my side wins when the tree of all possible moves stemming from this move is calculated."
Let's say I'm playing your program. I make the first move - e2-e4 (King's pawn forward two). Your program then goes through every possible move it could make - which happens to be 20 (two for each pawn, two for each knight). Uh-oh - all of these moves look like they provide the same advantage - that is none. So to distinguish, it goes through every possible move I could make (29 of them) in response - that's 580 (20*29). But that's only one level down the tree of all possible moves - you'd have to go about 50 levels down to get near the end of the game. This means, on the first move - keep in mind I'm not taking into account the greater number of moves possible the further you get into the game - your program has to evaluate about 580^50 (1.5*10^138 , or a 15 with 136 zeros after it) moves. Obviously, this isn't very feasible.
What Chess programs have done is devise short cut ways to calculate the best moves without playing every possible move either side could make out to the end of the game - this is the tricky part.
I hope that this helped illuminate the problem a little.:)
Sadly, the article doesn't say much about the technology of the device. Can the size of the balls of light be changed? Will colored images ever be a reality - might it be possible using a sealed chamber and changing the composition of the gas? What are the ratings of the laser diodes used in this? Would it be possible to use a laser diode from a DVD burner to construct a homebrew version of this?
For now, it remains a nifty demonstration, and nothing more.
They're not drawn in, they're just extremely bright. Take a look on the left side of the picture, where the earpiece recedes - you can see they're actually on his head. I don't think anyone would take the time in to photoshop those ridiculous things on him.
Amost- he said that right before he lifted off, "I wasnt scared, but I was up there looking around, and suddenly I realized I was sitting on top of a rocket built by the lowest bidder." - Alan Shepard
Harry begins to use unforgivable curses quite frequently in this book - why isn't there any exploration of that? How come it's acceptable for him to use them, but not for Death Eaters to do so? Why doesn't he show any remorse for his actions?
What would be wrong with a little more humanity among the Death Eaters? None of them seem to have any reason for being Death Eaters than because they hate Muggle-borns and Muggles.
The only character who is morally ambiguous is Snape. I think it can be more interesting than that.
Snape is the only character who was at all ambivalent in his loyalties, and I really enjoyed that part of the book. Draco doesn't really turn, he just falters enough to allow the trio to succeed. Throughout the last two books, Draco's main role has been the scared kid in over his neck. Dumbledore is still an overwhelmingly saintly character, despite his friendship with Grindelwald.
My problem with Harry tossing around unforgivable curses is just that - he begins to use them as lightly as the Death Eater's do, but it's okay for him to do, because he's Harry Potter. There was no exploration of his decision to use them, and he showed no remorse nor regret afterwards.
Voldemort and the Death Eaters are unspeakably evil in every manner - killing Muggle-borns, Muggles, and "Blood Traitors" indiscriminately, employing pedophiliac Werewolves, using the Cruciatus Curse as sport - hell, even the Dark Side of the Force has more moral ambiguity about it than they do.
I'd say every significant character besides Snape, and possibly Draco comes out as either a very good or very bad character - and there are is no question which side has the moral high ground.
After reading the final book, my opinion on the series is still the same: they're extremely entertaining, gripping, and emotionally engaging books, but their literary depth leaves something to be desired. Don't get me wrong - I love the series, but I just wish it had some more depth than the usual good vs. evil tale.
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Here at Reed College (Dr. Demento's alma mater), finding Dr. Demento's senior thesis in the Thesis Tower is a common scavenger hunt item. While the topic (the operas Wozzeck and Pelleas et Melisande) isn't traditionally nerdy, no one can get through Reed without being a little bit geeky.
That quote sounds like a parent showing off their third grade kid's finger painting.
You don't need parents who work in IT to know how to use wordpress and an audio/video editing program. You just need to know how to read manuals. He probably doesn't know how those programs work, he just has to know how to manipulate them.
Last time I checked, competence with technology was a little more than just reading TFM.
I wish I were a derivative, so I could lie tangent to your curves.
No one forced you to update.
Pitchfork Media is reporting that the album is coming out as a regular CD, too.
Currently, developers create web applications for iPhone, not native applications. Hmm... currently? Does this hint at an SDK to come?
Oh yeah, I'm really gushing like a fanboi in that post, especially when I'm talking about how wonderful it is that Apple has made it damn near impossible for anyone to develop for the iPhone and Touch. In case you couldn't tell, I'm nuts about that part.
I'm not saying I agree with these decisions, I'm just explaining why many of those things are unlikely to ever happen. Apple tends to focus on overall usability rather than features, while there are lots of other devices with more features but with an interface which is much harder to pick up. Most people will pick the former - it sounds like the latter would be a better fit for you.
Oh, and good job reading those "numerous reviews". The fact that the iPhone doesn't have WiFi is something most people don't pick up on.
Oh wait...
(Sorry, I forgot I was in HTML formatting the last time I posted)
You don't seem to have done your homework on the Touch - some of these features the Touch has, others, you're quite likely never to see adopted.
- The Touch is smaller than the iPhone in thickness, the same height, and very, very slightly wider than the iPhone. I've compared the two - they're the same form factor, besides the thinness of the Touch.
- I doubt that you'll ever see an iPod with an SD Slot. Why? Apple prides itself on vertical integration, and simplicity. Having an expansion slot would mean that Apple doesn't control the entire "product experience." It would add unnecessary thickness and complexity to the device.
- WiFi - Um, it has been heavily advertised as having 802.11g WiFi. Heard the fuss about the mobile Safari browser? The iTunes WiFi Music store?
- For the same reasons that Apple is trying its hardest to lock down the Touch and the iPhone, you're never going to see Java on the Touch. Why would you put Java on a device? Because you want to make it easier to develop for. Apple wants to make the Touch and the iPhone as hard to develop for as possible - adding Java makes no sense.
- Microphones are also unlikely to ever be added to the Touch - lest people take advantage of it, and WiFi, to create a VOIP app and lessen the appeal of the iPhone. That being said, there are companies that make third-party voice recording accessories, who might come out with a microphone attachment in the future.
- Increased storage will undoubtedly happen as the forward march of technology drives down Flash prices. 32GB models will probably come out in a year or so, when Apple typically refreshes the iPod line.
- The Touch has a 24 hour battery life if merely playing audio, a 5-6 hour battery life when playing video, and easily lasts 8 hours when mixing up audio, video, and web-browsing (from my own personal experience).
You don't seem to have done your homework on the Touch. - The Touch is smaller than the iPhone in thickness, the same height, and very, very slightly wider than the iPhone. I've compared the two - they're the same form factor, besides the thinness of the Touch. - I doubt that you'll ever see an iPod with an SD Slot. Why? Apple prides itself on vertical integration, and simplicity. Having an expansion slot would mean that Apple doesn't control the entire "product experience." It would add unnecessary thickness and complexity to the device. - WiFi - Um, it has 802.11g. Heard the fuss about the mobile Safari browser? The iTunes WiFi Music store? Have you actually read a review of the Touch? - For the same reasons that Apple is trying its hardest to lock down the Touch and the iPhone, you're never going to see Java on the Touch. Why would you put Java on a device? Because you want to make it easier to develop for. Apple wants to make the Touch and the iPhone as hard to develop for as possible - adding Java makes no sense. - Microphones are also unlikely to ever be added to the Touch - lest people take advantage of it, and WiFi, to create a VOIP app and lessen the appeal of the iPhone. That being said, there are companies that make third-party voice recording accessories, who might come out with a microphone attachment in the future. - Increased storage will undoubtedly happen as the forward march of technology drives down Flash prices. 32GB models will probably come out in a year or so, when Apple typically refreshes the iPod line. - The Touch has a 24 hour battery life if merely playing audio, a 5-6 hour battery life when playing video, and easily lasts 8 hours when mixing up audio, video, and web-browsing (from my own personal experience).
I have a sweatshirt that has eight blinking orange LEDs on the left sleeve. I've gone through security at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and JFK International without any problems. Granted, there are no visible circuits, just the LEDs. I answer questions about it when asked, and I've never been detained or surrounded by armed guards.
While not responding to questioning was quite stupid of her, the guns were clearly overreacting. The thing that scares me about this situation, though, is how quickly the authorities responded with the threat of deadly force. One of the State Policeman involved said something to the effect of "it's good she ended up in our cell rather than in a morgue."
What kind of country are we living in, where wearing the wrong thing to the airport has a decent chance of getting us killed?
Actually, iFixit just disassembled a Touch, and found there is no bluetooth hardware at all. It was just a mistake on the part of an Apple product-mock-up guy.
You might want to take a look at Bean, a very light open-source text editor for OSX that reads and writes .doc and .txt (why the hell doesn't Textedit save in .txt?). It does lack a few features (mainly footnotes), but it's a damn sight better than OpenOffice.org in performance.
This page for the iPod AV cable package says it's compatible with the iPod Touch (or, as I predict it will soon be known, the iTouch).
Hah! I don't wear socks!
I RTFA, and the only bit about color I can find is a prediction that "Improved laser technology will enable images to be projected at greater distances and with more color." Additionally, all the example images show only white light. Sounds like the color aspect is an optimistic prediction to me, not a current capability.
I'm quoting from this Space.com article, which is Mary Glenn quoting Alan Shepard. I don't have a source for this, but when I was at Space Camp I was told it was Shepard who said this - and c'mon, Space Camp has to be on top of this, right?
That's what they're doing. The problem is, it's tricky to tell which move provides to most possible ways of winning. I'll illustrate a simple example, where I'll take your definition of "most possible ways of winning" to mean "greatest number of games in which my side wins when the tree of all possible moves stemming from this move is calculated."
:)
Let's say I'm playing your program. I make the first move - e2-e4 (King's pawn forward two). Your program then goes through every possible move it could make - which happens to be 20 (two for each pawn, two for each knight). Uh-oh - all of these moves look like they provide the same advantage - that is none. So to distinguish, it goes through every possible move I could make (29 of them) in response - that's 580 (20*29). But that's only one level down the tree of all possible moves - you'd have to go about 50 levels down to get near the end of the game. This means, on the first move - keep in mind I'm not taking into account the greater number of moves possible the further you get into the game - your program has to evaluate about 580^50 (1.5*10^138 , or a 15 with 136 zeros after it) moves. Obviously, this isn't very feasible.
What Chess programs have done is devise short cut ways to calculate the best moves without playing every possible move either side could make out to the end of the game - this is the tricky part.
I hope that this helped illuminate the problem a little.
Sadly, the article doesn't say much about the technology of the device. Can the size of the balls of light be changed? Will colored images ever be a reality - might it be possible using a sealed chamber and changing the composition of the gas? What are the ratings of the laser diodes used in this? Would it be possible to use a laser diode from a DVD burner to construct a homebrew version of this?
For now, it remains a nifty demonstration, and nothing more.
They're not drawn in, they're just extremely bright. Take a look on the left side of the picture, where the earpiece recedes - you can see they're actually on his head. I don't think anyone would take the time in to photoshop those ridiculous things on him.
Amost- he said that right before he lifted off, "I wasnt scared, but I was up there looking around, and suddenly I realized I was sitting on top of a rocket built by the lowest bidder." - Alan Shepard
The last one seen alive reportedly said "I feel happy! I feel happy!"
Alduos Huxley. (The quote in question is near the bottom of the "Sourced" section).
Harry begins to use unforgivable curses quite frequently in this book - why isn't there any exploration of that? How come it's acceptable for him to use them, but not for Death Eaters to do so? Why doesn't he show any remorse for his actions?
What would be wrong with a little more humanity among the Death Eaters? None of them seem to have any reason for being Death Eaters than because they hate Muggle-borns and Muggles.
The only character who is morally ambiguous is Snape. I think it can be more interesting than that.
Snape is the only character who was at all ambivalent in his loyalties, and I really enjoyed that part of the book. Draco doesn't really turn, he just falters enough to allow the trio to succeed. Throughout the last two books, Draco's main role has been the scared kid in over his neck. Dumbledore is still an overwhelmingly saintly character, despite his friendship with Grindelwald.
My problem with Harry tossing around unforgivable curses is just that - he begins to use them as lightly as the Death Eater's do, but it's okay for him to do, because he's Harry Potter. There was no exploration of his decision to use them, and he showed no remorse nor regret afterwards.
Voldemort and the Death Eaters are unspeakably evil in every manner - killing Muggle-borns, Muggles, and "Blood Traitors" indiscriminately, employing pedophiliac Werewolves, using the Cruciatus Curse as sport - hell, even the Dark Side of the Force has more moral ambiguity about it than they do.
I'd say every significant character besides Snape, and possibly Draco comes out as either a very good or very bad character - and there are is no question which side has the moral high ground.
After reading the final book, my opinion on the series is still the same: they're extremely entertaining, gripping, and emotionally engaging books, but their literary depth leaves something to be desired. Don't get me wrong - I love the series, but I just wish it had some more depth than the usual good vs. evil tale.