It's short for Cybernetics, which is a much older throw back, (nearly?) pre-dating computers, and is applicable not only to technology, but any system with information feedback loops. Cybernetic research has been a huge boon to business since at least the 50s.
Applying "Cyber" to only systems of logic in a computer or computer network is just wrong and should end. Your own mind is a Cybernetic Entity.
Bittorrent traffic can seek out closer peers... If only they weren't so retarded, they could use everyone's DRVs to reduce their server loads -- But that would require removing limits and acknowledging there's really no such thing as client or server at the link layer, and that P2P actually has non infringing uses.
Then, -- come on folks -- you know the answer is No. How many times do we have to go through this?
Now, if you "make games" and you outsource it -- Well, then you don't actually "make" shit, you're just worthless idea men. No wonder everyone bailed. You can outsource art / assets, but not the codebase (that's just daft). Offsite Coder: Herp! Imma make U a gaem enjun, for thousands and U kan maek meeeluns for it! Iz prommis not be violating any IP law of my country. Derp!
There are thousands of indie game artists / composers / devs dying to get a chance to actually join a studio and make some mulah working with you. Many create stuff just for free. Ask around: "Hey, you wanna get paid? Show us a portfolio and Join us." Hit up the game modder community. Put out the word you're hiring. Outsource? Seriously? Might as well go die in a fire if that's your best option.
Otherwise, you're trying to be a game publisher not a developer. Go whine about it on a Kickstarter.
"There are two reasons I use google services. One is to create an alias for a particular focus of online activity." The other is to create an alibi using my OS's built in automation tools.
Well, when people tell me that nobody uses Google+, I'm quick to point out that's the single best feature about it.
I strongly disagree! The best feature is that it's NOT owned by that Zuckerberg prick. The second best feature is that NO ONE uses it.
I think a decentralised social network where every computer is also a server, and you have full control over your media (not by giving it to a 3rd part), will be the next big thing. I mean, I've been through several social media sites. Facebook the shortest. Currently on G+. It's just one more stream -- Another pane along side the various others (email / usenet, IRC, etc) on my 2nd screen's 3rd desktop...
XBL has the best social online service for consoles... Diaspora is an Abortion on Rails, There's a PHP fork (this is an improvement?!); Linux / Mac lack the eyballs; However, MS actually has the market share to pull it off on the desktop, but they always make horrible UI decisions... Eg: Searching "index of C:\" on Google was clunky to say the least -- I really think their experimental social network "Firewall Disabled by Default" was just too far ahead of its time. Come to think of it, FDD shared many similarities with G+: Funky name, Tied in with Google Search, Animated GIFs, Under publicised except to a nich nerd market...
I have yet to see a DSL provider that does not state in very small print that the connection is "burst" or "variable" or "up to".
Burst is actually kind of silly. It really screws with data rate prediction required to get smooth performance in multi-player games. So, you start playing, the game figures out the rates, everything's smooth, then the burst is over, you lag all to hell, as the game has to renegotiate the data rate. For downloads, no big deal, but for real time stuff like games or voice/video chat this is a problem... It's not that you connection is too slow after the throttle either, after a while you'll get smoother connection -- It's that initial period of "increased" performance that's screwing up the rate guesstimation.
OK, so here's the silly thing: If you have "bursting", start a D/L of a largeish file. Then, watch the data rate drop after a little while. Now, hit the pause button on the download. Wait a sec, then resume it. Tada! You can burst the whole D/L by re-establishing the HTTP connection -- Not that the pipes have changed at all, just that they throttle on a per connection basis. (How else would you do "bursting"?)
So, two things: 0. Use a Download Accelerator. I use the Firefox plugin: DownThemAll. Acceleration works by opening multiple connections to the source at different parts of the file -- per connection throttle? Increase connections until max bandwith is reached, heh. If one part of the file gets done before the onthers, it splits a remaining segment and starts a new connection; That actually boosts DL speed even more. It's too bad DTA doesn't have an option to open N connections each only S size chunks, and roll across the file... Guys? There's a viable plugin idea if you need one.
1. My new game client / server code has a "rolling" connection system to bypass time based throttling (bursting). It's all about the port numbers -- that's how they identify the connection. In my games I use UDP, but it falls back to TCP; Point is: this also works on TCP. What I do is open a new connection every once in a while, and send some data across it while the current connection is open (It's just port number changing in UDP). I track the speeds and latency of each connection (port number), and detect the timer duration at which the throttling happens by tracking data rates, then I set the connection roll over rate to be less than that. So, on non bursting lines, rolling rarely happens. I can also have more than just two ports open -- I can max my neighbor's 10Mbps bursting DSL line with just 6 concurrent rolling connections. Note: The server port doesn't have to change, seems that most per connection throttling is based on client port number.
It's weird, but shorter connections seem to cope with buffer bloat a bit too; Not sure why...You'd think the buffers were connection independent? Tuning the data rates helps combat BB lag even more though.
I'd write a RFC for this maximal bandwidth optimization technique, but let's just keep it between us geeks, OK?
P.S. My game server defaults to port 80, and displays a simple TCP / HTTP / HTML page about the current game in progress and where to D/L the game if you hit it with a browser. If you hit it with the game client, then the client's HTTP header tells the server to go into game protocol mode. Note: it's not a full HTTP 1.1 stack, just canned response with inserted real time stats, to reduce attack surface while giving the server a bit of info for HTML browsers & apps. Yeah, that's kind of weird eh? Except when you consider that to a deep packet inspection my game protocol initially looks like a "high priority" TCP/HTML query... heh.
I have a 3 connections at my Office/home (indie dev). One is a consumer grade 10Mb DSL with AT&T. Completely LOATHE the company's tactics and customer support (screwed my billing up eight times in 3 years); However, I got the connection before they decided to change their terms. They keep trying to get me to change that service / sign a new contract, but no way am I going to. Thanks to the minimum rates in my contract that I've haggled over and held them to: Data over that line is almost as stable as my business grade symmetric fiber-optic, and beats out my ~25Mb consumer grade Cable connection in terms of latency and the DSL has a higher upload speeds, so it's what I use for competitive online games.
Note: As with anything in the "cloud" of your network diagram, your YMMV.
Well, there's the rub. Android is meant to be a decent competitor to iOS (and it is) but the sort of crap foisted on the user base by handset makers who simply abandon the old models without providing an upgrade path to the newer versions of Android only takes away from that.
Android fragmentation? Blame Microsoft. Seriously. As evidenced in the B&N ordeal, MS's Linux Extortion agreement stipulations require the phone manufacturers re-up the ante and pay more for each version of Android the MFGs push out on a device. THIS is why older hardware is lagging behind. Not that they don't want to push out newer OS updates, but that they have to pay the MS Tax each time they do so. I mean, the hardware's not THAT different on new models, the differences are minimal in the software changes needed, and Linux is designed to easily run on devices with different hardware, Android's Davlik takes care of the rest of the hardware abstraction... It's necessary to pay the extortion fees to get the OS on new hardware, but the cost / benefit doesn't pan out for existing models.
I do agree that it may be a MFG forced obsolescence tactic to keep OS updates off the phones -- However, before MS got involved they'd still push out a few updates before cutting them off... So, the reality is there's more than just the MFGs to blame: They're not the only factor to consider.
Fortunately Google sees the issue and is trying to do something about it. They'll be trying a different distribution model whereby MS would have to forge an agreement with Google (or sue them) to enforce the MS tax on Android that's helping to prevent the updates. Just try it. I've seen the patents they're using. They're all bogus. If the Oracle BS going on right now is any indication, Google won't just back down when confronted with bogus patents.
Several video game studios use BT or similar protocol to alleviate bandwidth consumption. Blizzard distributes updates via P2P, so if World of Warcraft isn't mainstream enough for you then nothing will ever be. Fact is, BT itself is niche and geek, so the entire premise is flawed.
Revision3 uses it to push out their videos. So do the indie and folk musicians I know. These are "mainstream" among young and old alike -- hell gramps has been donating to musicians on Kickstarter for years before it got popular, it's all relative. So, there are plenty of uses, some may be infringing, some aren't. Give it a chance. I'm building a BT client into my game engine too...
Guess what? MIXTAPES happened. Sony's Betamax video tape decks WON in court against Universal because of THE CHANCE they could be used in NON INFRINGING ways. Screw you and your desire for statistics -- Your brain is fucked up man. Get right to the point. WHY SHOULD A PROTOCOL BE ILLEGAL? That's the fundamental question. Furthemore, will banning a protocol change anything at all?! No.
BT is great because it works WITH the decentralized structure of the Internet, not against it. As more people become aware of distributed P2P, they find more legitimate uses for it. I'll be damned if I sit idly by and let a bunch of fools and media mongers kill P2P before it actually has a chance to thrive. The "BT IS ILLEGAL" stigma is what's kept many from utilizing it legitimately.
Additionally -- If you hate proprietary 3rd party data silos, like Facebook, and want full control over your data then P2P systems are the only option. They'll be an ESSENTIAL component in a self hosting mesh network. Banning BT isn't a step wrong direction -- It's a step the CORRUPT, OPPRESSIVE and EVIL direction.
To put it another way: Since BT works the way the Internet is designed to work, if you kill this protocol, 100 more will spring up instantly. The mechanisms actually capable of destroying P2P are VERY FUCKING EVIL!
Intellectual property (or IP as everyone calls it) has existed, exists, and will exist forever.
Ah, that explains the restricted use of tools to single geographic areas in the stone age, and the (C), (TM), and (Patent Pending) found on every cave painting...
My mind has combined these glyphs to share an idea with your mind. The basis of humanity is the sharing of information. The concept of "copying" is the very MECHANISM of ALL LIFE -- Constructing meaning and order from chaos, AND SHARING IT MOST PROFUSELY is life's core principal. To assume otherwise is quite ignorant...
To assume that it's socially beneficial for anyone to limit the expression of another's mind is to ignore the giants we've scaled, and arrogantly proclaim: "My Small Contribution to the Universe is Sacred! It has NO WORTH unless SHARED with the minds of others, but once shared I own YOUR MIND's actions. DO NOT BUILD UPON ME AS I HAVE BUILT UPON ALL OTHERS"
Let's call "copyright" what it really is. Anti-Sharing Laws. Such laws go against EVERY FIBER OF EVERY BEING, and should never exist. To make a law against human nature is the very foundation of a police state.
What if laws were vetted as if a theory or hypothesis via the scientific method?
What if, instead of blindly applying a blanket of legal rules, hoping for the best while ignoring the possibility of failure, we tested laws such as these on smaller samples of the country to prove the hypothetical benefits?
What if the country were segmented into regions whereby people could examine these different legal statuses and vote with their feet?
Why, we could call the regions having differing states of law: "States"
What if, instead of relying on only law making bodies and ultimately upon pompous pontifications of the elite "supreme" ruling clas--er... court, we also had a law unmaking body which could call for re-testing of the theories to adjust to changing socio-economic realities via examination of real world evidence?
What if basic proven scientific methods were applied rationally to government? I know, I know... rational thought and government, oil and water... yes... but WHAT IF?!
I mean, its not as if the human society of the World isn't already doing such an experiment using countries as the legal boundary regions. Letting states enforce their own civil laws would only accelerate the process of legal evolution. What if, instead of trying to force a single unproven set of rules upon the entire world, we let each country compete on socially beneficial rules and let the best laws win? What if, indeed.
So please tell me, how does one generically "install" an application on "Linux"?
Well, first the user has typically "subscribed" to an "app store" called a software repository, this is typically already done for them at OS install, but you're free to add other "app stores" if you're an "advanced" user (read: average Linux user).
Then the user searches for an app, and is presented results from EVERY app store they've registered (or "advanced mode": select only specific app stores to search in). The chose app is then automatically downloaded, configured and installed from the "App Store". On Ubuntu: Applications > Ubuntu Software Center. Via terminal (debian): sudo apt-get install $APP_NAME
Then the App is installed... You can even "que up" a bunch of things to install then walk away, come back and they're installed. The process is the same on Fedora/Red Hat (yum instead of apt-get) and even the source code based distributions do things this way, with the added step that the source code compiles itself after download and before installation. Some "app stores" (repositories) can be downloaded as a complete set of disks so you can install them offline. Individual applications in a "package" can also be transfelred via disk, email, flash drive, etc and double clicked to install. A program called "Alien" helps install apps that are in different package formats than your own.
Let me reiterate, for the typical application installation: You search your app store and click "install". o_O
Now if you have developed a platform independent system like Java or a Web Browser, then creating an "App Repository" typically follows the same model, as evidenced by Mozilla's very own plug-in repository.
Let's s/application/plug-in/ and s/Linux/Firefox, then see if your question isn't down right obvious:
I expect to see facebook left in the dustbin of internet history by software that runs mostly on our phones.
I agree with you except this part. It will take a while to get it to you, but it will not just involve phones (which can 'die', or get lost far too easily). The software will run mostly on your home PC -- All the hard stuff anyway, like data synchronisation and storage. Phones will get more powerful, but so will PCs. The notion of a "client" and "server" are irrelevant -- That's much higher level distinction than needed, but if I must apply these horrible terms which are used to limit your use of technology, then I will...
Your PC would run server software that handles the majority of synchronisation and data storage and notification between other always on boxes. Then your data can actually be marked private, and kept private, or actually only shared with select people (not a 3rd party), or made public for all to see. Security will be of utmost importance, so I doubt this will be a MS OS, maybe not even GNU/Linux or Apple... I've been working on such an animal for about two decades (security conscious from machine code, to programming language, all the way to the script terminal & GUIs -- Applications that run in their own separate OS instance granted only the features they need, for actual sandboxing and app-level snapshots), but I digress. The mobile devices will talk with your home server(s) and receive notifications and data -- Not just social data, but email, documents, photos, videos, etc. An identity network will also be needed -- However, it will be as simple to add trusted contacts as it is to share phone #'s via calling someone so they have your number in their call history.
Fortunately there are several existing solutions one could "glue" together to create such a system. Unfortunately, I can remotely compromise nearly every one of them -- if I can do it, there are many other exploits others will find.::Sigh:: The cost in time and attention to detail required to write ACTUALLY secure code are very high, but it is completely possible to create systems that are immune to remote threats. Humans are fallible, but I test my creations very rigorously to ensure they are completely correct and do only what they should before I ever use them, and continually re-test EVERYTHING each addition to ensure integrity.
"Diaspora", you say? You access that with a web browser that compiles arbitrary data to machine code, then flags it as executable and runs it...on an OS that allows a compromise in one application to affect others; The "server" is written in Ruby on Rails -- Such a system is Swiss cheese in terms of security. Most current software that "powers" the web practically exploits itself under the slightest pressure.
I reiterate: It is NOT impossible to create secure technology that is focused on end user freedom, privacy, and capabilities. It's just that no one wants to create it, (well, almost no one), because it's VERY hard work, and does NOT pay well in terms of reward or profit. In fact, I'm frequently criticised for wanting to fix everything... To such nay-sayers: My Mt. Everest looks different than yours, but they're both climbed for the same reasons. Myself or someone else will achieve this goal, or I'll happily die trying to complete it.
------- Protip: Many consumer ISPs prohibit running "servers", so a distributed data & notification network becomes much more difficult to create, but it must happen, the Internet was thus designed. If we could decentralise and redistribute the data loads it would be cheaper for them to operate / less peering needed.
> 2012 > Still not being able to easily leverage tech for simple things.
Screw 3rd party Data Silos. You only use them because utilising your tech hasn't been made easy enough yet. As a coder I feel partly responsible, and am working to fix this as one of my life's goals...
If only giving freedoms and removing limitations was as profitable as imposing limits and removing capabilities.
We use phpchain at work. A few hundred accounts for various servers, devices, vendor support accounts, and logins for accounts at companies we work with. All stored securely. Google it if you arent familiar with it. It has been a huge win for us, and does everything asked for. We even wrote a simple search functionality for at that I think has. Een rolled into mainlIne at this point.
I read the headline -- OK sounds cool, proprietary stuff being reverse engineered and getting FLOSS drivers for it.
Start to read TFS - "Florian --" Nope! Next! If it wasn't for my lack of caffeine this early in the evening I'd have skipped right over this one.
That aside: It's pretty sweet! I love that my Kinect has never been connected to GNU/Linux doing mo-cap for all but two days I've had it; IMO, wouldn't have been such a hot seller without the openness. I hope MS doesn't start locking down their interfaces like they did with the Zune (not that that's what killed it -- Just would have been nice for my Mom to use hers on the Ubuntu Laptop I gave her). Hardware should be OS agnostic.
Except that it never had, and never will. Even Flash had better cross-platform compatibility (and better performance).
S-so did Java applets... you know, the ones that JavaScript was meant to hand the heavy lifting off too. Except the TCK prevents "Java" platforms from dropping the deprecated cruft, and making a fast booting, lean and mean web targeted bytecode compliable VM.
Sun & Oracle dropped the ball. They could have been the Web's "App Store" backbone. They have all the functionality, just not the mentality to "be the platform". Oh, we'll have the cross platform web app stores eventually, with a bit of fragmentation (you can't help it).
It's just silly to Hack a static document display network into a stateful application delivery system using the least acceptable tools -- But that's what we're doing, and we wonder why it sucks to be a web dev. Screw that crap. I went back to C to escape the horrors of HTML5. <audio> and <canvas> runs crappier on my 2.3Ghz dual core P4 test machine for simple sprite based pac-man & tetris clones (in chrome and ff) than IE6 does with <object> for audio and DOM manipulation (style.top and style.left and img.src) for sprite animation.
That's ridiculous. It's like a High School football team winning against every professional team in the league.
Materials:
You will need an inanimate entity or concept, an emotional situation, a forum of discourse, and a mind with approx 80 to 120 billion neurons. Procedure:
0. Select commonly known, generally accepted concept or phrase.
1. Personify the inanimate subject.
2. Rephrase the concept or phrase including the situation designed to invoke an emotion, such as sympathy.
3. Await until an opportunity with sufficient relevance presents itself.
4. Present the phrase in the forum of discourse.
5. Cite a nebulous entity, so as to lend artificial credence.
6. Observe the Science!
7....
10. Prophet!
------
"If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything." -- Unknown Econometrician.
Nope. Not a good motivator. More precisely it's a motivator for the wrong type of behaviour. Once you "gamify" a system, you've just added one more layer of indirection, and several orders of magnitude more ways to game the system.
Perfection in game design is not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to cheat.
What appears to be happening here is the chimp devising a new behavior, not by chance, but by anticipating the future.
Your premise is flawed. By your definition, the Dog is the same as the Chimp -- The chimp found by chance leaving the stones out of the view of humans gave him better chance to throw them. He learned by chance that gathering the stones first allowed him to throw more at the people. Just like you learned by chance that uttering "mama" or "dada" invoked positive responses.
I put it to you that all neural networks learn thus. Cognition is merely an ongoing wave of synaptic re-configuring. Internalising an episode of memory is no different than experiencing it, and any creature (such as a dog) that has an episodic memory can reflect upon the past events, devising an action in the moment. Planning ahead? Seriously? That's no different than trying something different in the moment -- The time scales are simply larger in the former. The more neurons and synapses the more complex the neural network.
For example: A dog must decide -- translate the internal desire into action. It begins with the desire for a treat, sensing this desire and the opportunity at hand they decide, then act. If the human isn't in the room to give the treat, they don't bring the treat to the door when they want a snack! Sense, Decide, Act! It's the basis of logic. If I bring this toy to the door the human will reward me. THAT'S PLANNING AHEAD. They don't just mindlessly crave a treat and arrive at the door toy in mouth. Somewhere in that dog's mind the must conclude, this action will lead to the satisfaction of my desire. It's actually a primitive form of communication you chauvinist.
The ape is thinking, it may not use words, but just because it has fewer neurons doesn't mean the animals do not reason or plan. THINK MAN!
Slashdot Mirror
It's short for Cybernetics, which is a much older throw back, (nearly?) pre-dating computers, and is applicable not only to technology, but any system with information feedback loops. Cybernetic research has been a huge boon to business since at least the 50s.
Applying "Cyber" to only systems of logic in a computer or computer network is just wrong and should end. Your own mind is a Cybernetic Entity.
Bittorrent traffic can seek out closer peers... If only they weren't so retarded, they could use everyone's DRVs to reduce their server loads -- But that would require removing limits and acknowledging there's really no such thing as client or server at the link layer, and that P2P actually has non infringing uses.
Then, -- come on folks -- you know the answer is No. How many times do we have to go through this?
Now, if you "make games" and you outsource it -- Well, then you don't actually "make" shit, you're just worthless idea men. No wonder everyone bailed. You can outsource art / assets, but not the codebase (that's just daft).
Offsite Coder: Herp! Imma make U a gaem enjun, for thousands and U kan maek meeeluns for it! Iz prommis not be violating any IP law of my country. Derp!
There are thousands of indie game artists / composers / devs dying to get a chance to actually join a studio and make some mulah working with you. Many create stuff just for free. Ask around: "Hey, you wanna get paid? Show us a portfolio and Join us." Hit up the game modder community. Put out the word you're hiring. Outsource? Seriously? Might as well go die in a fire if that's your best option.
Otherwise, you're trying to be a game publisher not a developer. Go whine about it on a Kickstarter.
"There are two reasons I use google services. One is to create an alias for a particular focus of online activity." The other is to create an alibi using my OS's built in automation tools.
Well, when people tell me that nobody uses Google+, I'm quick to point out that's the single best feature about it.
I strongly disagree! The best feature is that it's NOT owned by that Zuckerberg prick. The second best feature is that NO ONE uses it.
I think a decentralised social network where every computer is also a server, and you have full control over your media (not by giving it to a 3rd part), will be the next big thing. I mean, I've been through several social media sites. Facebook the shortest. Currently on G+. It's just one more stream -- Another pane along side the various others (email / usenet, IRC, etc) on my 2nd screen's 3rd desktop...
XBL has the best social online service for consoles... Diaspora is an Abortion on Rails, There's a PHP fork (this is an improvement?!); Linux / Mac lack the eyballs; However, MS actually has the market share to pull it off on the desktop, but they always make horrible UI decisions... Eg:
Searching "index of C:\" on Google was clunky to say the least -- I really think their experimental social network "Firewall Disabled by Default" was just too far ahead of its time. Come to think of it, FDD shared many similarities with G+: Funky name, Tied in with Google Search, Animated GIFs, Under publicised except to a nich nerd market...
"Avast Armageddon" - Sounds like a planet-scale AV product gone awry.
"Here comes one now!" to which they replied: "PHA!"
I have yet to see a DSL provider that does not state in very small print that the connection is "burst" or "variable" or "up to".
Burst is actually kind of silly. It really screws with data rate prediction required to get smooth performance in multi-player games. So, you start playing, the game figures out the rates, everything's smooth, then the burst is over, you lag all to hell, as the game has to renegotiate the data rate. For downloads, no big deal, but for real time stuff like games or voice/video chat this is a problem... It's not that you connection is too slow after the throttle either, after a while you'll get smoother connection -- It's that initial period of "increased" performance that's screwing up the rate guesstimation.
OK, so here's the silly thing: If you have "bursting", start a D/L of a largeish file. Then, watch the data rate drop after a little while. Now, hit the pause button on the download. Wait a sec, then resume it. Tada! You can burst the whole D/L by re-establishing the HTTP connection -- Not that the pipes have changed at all, just that they throttle on a per connection basis. (How else would you do "bursting"?)
So, two things:
0. Use a Download Accelerator. I use the Firefox plugin: DownThemAll. Acceleration works by opening multiple connections to the source at different parts of the file -- per connection throttle? Increase connections until max bandwith is reached, heh. If one part of the file gets done before the onthers, it splits a remaining segment and starts a new connection; That actually boosts DL speed even more. It's too bad DTA doesn't have an option to open N connections each only S size chunks, and roll across the file... Guys? There's a viable plugin idea if you need one.
1. My new game client / server code has a "rolling" connection system to bypass time based throttling (bursting). It's all about the port numbers -- that's how they identify the connection. In my games I use UDP, but it falls back to TCP; Point is: this also works on TCP. What I do is open a new connection every once in a while, and send some data across it while the current connection is open (It's just port number changing in UDP). I track the speeds and latency of each connection (port number), and detect the timer duration at which the throttling happens by tracking data rates, then I set the connection roll over rate to be less than that. So, on non bursting lines, rolling rarely happens. I can also have more than just two ports open -- I can max my neighbor's 10Mbps bursting DSL line with just 6 concurrent rolling connections. Note: The server port doesn't have to change, seems that most per connection throttling is based on client port number.
It's weird, but shorter connections seem to cope with buffer bloat a bit too; Not sure why...You'd think the buffers were connection independent? Tuning the data rates helps combat BB lag even more though.
I'd write a RFC for this maximal bandwidth optimization technique, but let's just keep it between us geeks, OK?
P.S. My game server defaults to port 80, and displays a simple TCP / HTTP / HTML page about the current game in progress and where to D/L the game if you hit it with a browser. If you hit it with the game client, then the client's HTTP header tells the server to go into game protocol mode. Note: it's not a full HTTP 1.1 stack, just canned response with inserted real time stats, to reduce attack surface while giving the server a bit of info for HTML browsers & apps. Yeah, that's kind of weird eh? Except when you consider that to a deep packet inspection my game protocol initially looks like a "high priority" TCP/HTML query... heh.
I have a 3 connections at my Office/home (indie dev). One is a consumer grade 10Mb DSL with AT&T. Completely LOATHE the company's tactics and customer support (screwed my billing up eight times in 3 years); However, I got the connection before they decided to change their terms. They keep trying to get me to change that service / sign a new contract, but no way am I going to. Thanks to the minimum rates in my contract that I've haggled over and held them to: Data over that line is almost as stable as my business grade symmetric fiber-optic, and beats out my ~25Mb consumer grade Cable connection in terms of latency and the DSL has a higher upload speeds, so it's what I use for competitive online games.
Note: As with anything in the "cloud" of your network diagram, your YMMV.
Well, there's the rub. Android is meant to be a decent competitor to iOS (and it is) but the sort of crap foisted on the user base by handset makers who simply abandon the old models without providing an upgrade path to the newer versions of Android only takes away from that.
Android fragmentation? Blame Microsoft. Seriously. As evidenced in the B&N ordeal, MS's Linux Extortion agreement stipulations require the phone manufacturers re-up the ante and pay more for each version of Android the MFGs push out on a device. THIS is why older hardware is lagging behind. Not that they don't want to push out newer OS updates, but that they have to pay the MS Tax each time they do so. I mean, the hardware's not THAT different on new models, the differences are minimal in the software changes needed, and Linux is designed to easily run on devices with different hardware, Android's Davlik takes care of the rest of the hardware abstraction... It's necessary to pay the extortion fees to get the OS on new hardware, but the cost / benefit doesn't pan out for existing models.
I do agree that it may be a MFG forced obsolescence tactic to keep OS updates off the phones -- However, before MS got involved they'd still push out a few updates before cutting them off... So, the reality is there's more than just the MFGs to blame: They're not the only factor to consider.
Fortunately Google sees the issue and is trying to do something about it. They'll be trying a different distribution model whereby MS would have to forge an agreement with Google (or sue them) to enforce the MS tax on Android that's helping to prevent the updates. Just try it. I've seen the patents they're using. They're all bogus. If the Oracle BS going on right now is any indication, Google won't just back down when confronted with bogus patents.
Several video game studios use BT or similar protocol to alleviate bandwidth consumption. Blizzard distributes updates via P2P, so if World of Warcraft isn't mainstream enough for you then nothing will ever be. Fact is, BT itself is niche and geek, so the entire premise is flawed.
Revision3 uses it to push out their videos. So do the indie and folk musicians I know. These are "mainstream" among young and old alike -- hell gramps has been donating to musicians on Kickstarter for years before it got popular, it's all relative. So, there are plenty of uses, some may be infringing, some aren't. Give it a chance. I'm building a BT client into my game engine too...
Guess what? MIXTAPES happened. Sony's Betamax video tape decks WON in court against Universal because of THE CHANCE they could be used in NON INFRINGING ways. Screw you and your desire for statistics -- Your brain is fucked up man. Get right to the point. WHY SHOULD A PROTOCOL BE ILLEGAL? That's the fundamental question. Furthemore, will banning a protocol change anything at all?! No.
BT is great because it works WITH the decentralized structure of the Internet, not against it. As more people become aware of distributed P2P, they find more legitimate uses for it. I'll be damned if I sit idly by and let a bunch of fools and media mongers kill P2P before it actually has a chance to thrive. The "BT IS ILLEGAL" stigma is what's kept many from utilizing it legitimately.
Additionally -- If you hate proprietary 3rd party data silos, like Facebook, and want full control over your data then P2P systems are the only option. They'll be an ESSENTIAL component in a self hosting mesh network. Banning BT isn't a step wrong direction -- It's a step the CORRUPT, OPPRESSIVE and EVIL direction.
To put it another way: Since BT works the way the Internet is designed to work, if you kill this protocol, 100 more will spring up instantly. The mechanisms actually capable of destroying P2P are VERY FUCKING EVIL!
I was going to upload a free game to The Pirate Bay, but if that's how you're going to be, Someone, then fine. No game for you!
Looks like I get to add another nebulous ? to my arch enemies list.
Intellectual property (or IP as everyone calls it) has existed, exists, and will exist forever.
Ah, that explains the restricted use of tools to single geographic areas in the stone age, and the (C), (TM), and (Patent Pending) found on every cave painting...
My mind has combined these glyphs to share an idea with your mind. The basis of humanity is the sharing of information. The concept of "copying" is the very MECHANISM of ALL LIFE -- Constructing meaning and order from chaos, AND SHARING IT MOST PROFUSELY is life's core principal. To assume otherwise is quite ignorant...
To assume that it's socially beneficial for anyone to limit the expression of another's mind is to ignore the giants we've scaled, and arrogantly proclaim: "My Small Contribution to the Universe is Sacred! It has NO WORTH unless SHARED with the minds of others, but once shared I own YOUR MIND's actions. DO NOT BUILD UPON ME AS I HAVE BUILT UPON ALL OTHERS"
Let's call "copyright" what it really is. Anti-Sharing Laws. Such laws go against EVERY FIBER OF EVERY BEING, and should never exist. To make a law against human nature is the very foundation of a police state.
What if laws were vetted as if a theory or hypothesis via the scientific method?
What if, instead of blindly applying a blanket of legal rules, hoping for the best while ignoring the possibility of failure, we tested laws such as these on smaller samples of the country to prove the hypothetical benefits?
What if the country were segmented into regions whereby people could examine these different legal statuses and vote with their feet?
Why, we could call the regions having differing states of law: "States"
What if, instead of relying on only law making bodies and ultimately upon pompous pontifications of the elite "supreme" ruling clas--er... court, we also had a law unmaking body which could call for re-testing of the theories to adjust to changing socio-economic realities via examination of real world evidence?
What if basic proven scientific methods were applied rationally to government?
I know, I know... rational thought and government, oil and water... yes... but WHAT IF?!
I mean, its not as if the human society of the World isn't already doing such an experiment using countries as the legal boundary regions. Letting states enforce their own civil laws would only accelerate the process of legal evolution. What if, instead of trying to force a single unproven set of rules upon the entire world, we let each country compete on socially beneficial rules and let the best laws win?
What if, indeed.
So please tell me, how does one generically "install" an application on "Linux"?
Well, first the user has typically "subscribed" to an "app store" called a software repository, this is typically already done for them at OS install, but you're free to add other "app stores" if you're an "advanced" user (read: average Linux user).
Then the user searches for an app, and is presented results from EVERY app store they've registered (or "advanced mode": select only specific app stores to search in). The chose app is then automatically downloaded, configured and installed from the "App Store". On Ubuntu: Applications > Ubuntu Software Center. Via terminal (debian): sudo apt-get install $APP_NAME
Then the App is installed... You can even "que up" a bunch of things to install then walk away, come back and they're installed. The process is the same on Fedora/Red Hat (yum instead of apt-get) and even the source code based distributions do things this way, with the added step that the source code compiles itself after download and before installation. Some "app stores" (repositories) can be downloaded as a complete set of disks so you can install them offline. Individual applications in a "package" can also be transfelred via disk, email, flash drive, etc and double clicked to install. A program called "Alien" helps install apps that are in different package formats than your own.
Let me reiterate, for the typical application installation: You search your app store and click "install".
o_O
Now if you have developed a platform independent system like Java or a Web Browser, then creating an "App Repository" typically follows the same model, as evidenced by Mozilla's very own plug-in repository.
Let's s/application/plug-in/ and s/Linux/Firefox, then see if your question isn't down right obvious:
So, how do you install a plug-in on "FireFox"
Artists & coders: Meh, I still on copyright on my work.
However, the idea men are livid.
I expect to see facebook left in the dustbin of internet history by software that runs mostly on our phones.
I agree with you except this part. It will take a while to get it to you, but it will not just involve phones (which can 'die', or get lost far too easily). The software will run mostly on your home PC -- All the hard stuff anyway, like data synchronisation and storage. Phones will get more powerful, but so will PCs. The notion of a "client" and "server" are irrelevant -- That's much higher level distinction than needed, but if I must apply these horrible terms which are used to limit your use of technology, then I will...
Your PC would run server software that handles the majority of synchronisation and data storage and notification between other always on boxes. Then your data can actually be marked private, and kept private, or actually only shared with select people (not a 3rd party), or made public for all to see. Security will be of utmost importance, so I doubt this will be a MS OS, maybe not even GNU/Linux or Apple... I've been working on such an animal for about two decades (security conscious from machine code, to programming language, all the way to the script terminal & GUIs -- Applications that run in their own separate OS instance granted only the features they need, for actual sandboxing and app-level snapshots), but I digress. The mobile devices will talk with your home server(s) and receive notifications and data -- Not just social data, but email, documents, photos, videos, etc. An identity network will also be needed -- However, it will be as simple to add trusted contacts as it is to share phone #'s via calling someone so they have your number in their call history.
Fortunately there are several existing solutions one could "glue" together to create such a system. Unfortunately, I can remotely compromise nearly every one of them -- if I can do it, there are many other exploits others will find. ::Sigh:: The cost in time and attention to detail required to write ACTUALLY secure code are very high, but it is completely possible to create systems that are immune to remote threats. Humans are fallible, but I test my creations very rigorously to ensure they are completely correct and do only what they should before I ever use them, and continually re-test EVERYTHING each addition to ensure integrity.
"Diaspora", you say? You access that with a web browser that compiles arbitrary data to machine code, then flags it as executable and runs it...on an OS that allows a compromise in one application to affect others; The "server" is written in Ruby on Rails -- Such a system is Swiss cheese in terms of security. Most current software that "powers" the web practically exploits itself under the slightest pressure.
I reiterate: It is NOT impossible to create secure technology that is focused on end user freedom, privacy, and capabilities. It's just that no one wants to create it, (well, almost no one), because it's VERY hard work, and does NOT pay well in terms of reward or profit. In fact, I'm frequently criticised for wanting to fix everything... To such nay-sayers: My Mt. Everest looks different than yours, but they're both climbed for the same reasons. Myself or someone else will achieve this goal, or I'll happily die trying to complete it.
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Protip: Many consumer ISPs prohibit running "servers", so a distributed data & notification network becomes much more difficult to create, but it must happen, the Internet was thus designed. If we could decentralise and redistribute the data loads it would be cheaper for them to operate / less peering needed.
> 2012
> Still not being able to easily leverage tech for simple things.
Screw 3rd party Data Silos. You only use them because utilising your tech hasn't been made easy enough yet. As a coder I feel partly responsible, and am working to fix this as one of my life's goals...
If only giving freedoms and removing limitations was as profitable as imposing limits and removing capabilities.
We use phpchain at work. A few hundred accounts for various servers, devices, vendor support accounts, and logins for accounts at companies we work with. All stored securely. Google it if you arent familiar with it. It has been a huge win for us, and does everything asked for. We even wrote a simple search functionality for at that I think has. Een rolled into mainlIne at this point.
NEAT! Thanks for the contribution! To repay the favor, I offer you my services. if someone accidentally deletes your passwords, just email me and I'll forward you a copy.
> PHP
> Secure
Choose one.
We use phpchain at work for this sort of thing.
Uhm. You are aware that using PHP for anything security related is like making a vault door out of lit sticks of dynamite, right?
I read the headline -- OK sounds cool, proprietary stuff being reverse engineered and getting FLOSS drivers for it.
Start to read TFS - "Florian --" Nope! Next! If it wasn't for my lack of caffeine this early in the evening I'd have skipped right over this one.
That aside: It's pretty sweet! I love that my Kinect has never been connected to GNU/Linux doing mo-cap for all but two days I've had it; IMO, wouldn't have been such a hot seller without the openness. I hope MS doesn't start locking down their interfaces like they did with the Zune (not that that's what killed it -- Just would have been nice for my Mom to use hers on the Ubuntu Laptop I gave her). Hardware should be OS agnostic.
Except that it never had, and never will. Even Flash had better cross-platform compatibility (and better performance).
S-so did Java applets... you know, the ones that JavaScript was meant to hand the heavy lifting off too. Except the TCK prevents "Java" platforms from dropping the deprecated cruft, and making a fast booting, lean and mean web targeted bytecode compliable VM.
Sun & Oracle dropped the ball. They could have been the Web's "App Store" backbone. They have all the functionality, just not the mentality to "be the platform". Oh, we'll have the cross platform web app stores eventually, with a bit of fragmentation (you can't help it).
It's just silly to Hack a static document display network into a stateful application delivery system using the least acceptable tools -- But that's what we're doing, and we wonder why it sucks to be a web dev. Screw that crap. I went back to C to escape the horrors of HTML5. <audio> and <canvas> runs crappier on my 2.3Ghz dual core P4 test machine for simple sprite based pac-man & tetris clones (in chrome and ff) than IE6 does with <object> for audio and DOM manipulation (style.top and style.left and img.src) for sprite animation.
That's ridiculous. It's like a High School football team winning against every professional team in the league.
Materials: ...
You will need an inanimate entity or concept, an emotional situation, a forum of discourse, and a mind with approx 80 to 120 billion neurons.
Procedure:
0. Select commonly known, generally accepted concept or phrase.
1. Personify the inanimate subject.
2. Rephrase the concept or phrase including the situation designed to invoke an emotion, such as sympathy.
3. Await until an opportunity with sufficient relevance presents itself.
4. Present the phrase in the forum of discourse.
5. Cite a nebulous entity, so as to lend artificial credence.
6. Observe the Science!
7.
10. Prophet!
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"If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything."
-- Unknown Econometrician.
Nope. Not a good motivator. More precisely it's a motivator for the wrong type of behaviour. Once you "gamify" a system, you've just added one more layer of indirection, and several orders of magnitude more ways to game the system.
Perfection in game design is not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to cheat.
What appears to be happening here is the chimp devising a new behavior, not by chance, but by anticipating the future.
Your premise is flawed. By your definition, the Dog is the same as the Chimp -- The chimp found by chance leaving the stones out of the view of humans gave him better chance to throw them. He learned by chance that gathering the stones first allowed him to throw more at the people. Just like you learned by chance that uttering "mama" or "dada" invoked positive responses.
I put it to you that all neural networks learn thus. Cognition is merely an ongoing wave of synaptic re-configuring. Internalising an episode of memory is no different than experiencing it, and any creature (such as a dog) that has an episodic memory can reflect upon the past events, devising an action in the moment. Planning ahead? Seriously? That's no different than trying something different in the moment -- The time scales are simply larger in the former. The more neurons and synapses the more complex the neural network.
For example: A dog must decide -- translate the internal desire into action. It begins with the desire for a treat, sensing this desire and the opportunity at hand they decide, then act. If the human isn't in the room to give the treat, they don't bring the treat to the door when they want a snack! Sense, Decide, Act! It's the basis of logic. If I bring this toy to the door the human will reward me. THAT'S PLANNING AHEAD. They don't just mindlessly crave a treat and arrive at the door toy in mouth. Somewhere in that dog's mind the must conclude, this action will lead to the satisfaction of my desire. It's actually a primitive form of communication you chauvinist.
The ape is thinking, it may not use words, but just because it has fewer neurons doesn't mean the animals do not reason or plan. THINK MAN!