On the screenshots from the site, there's a cute sim-city style interface, overlaid with charts and graphs.
While the sim-city display is cute, it doesn't look particularly useful nor relevent. Why? The 2d-grid layout of a city does not match the N-d layout of most websites.
The charts and graphs look useful, but how do they differ from any other traffic analysis package?
eXtreme titles... bah.
on
Hardcore Java
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· Score: 1
Burbank, CA - The CRP (Center for Responsible Predictions) reports that articles about nanotechnology (especially ones that mention Neil Stephenson and/or Eric Drexler) will "almost certainly" contain over-optimistic estimates of the arrival of nanoassemblers. In short, these claims will be far enough in the future to protect the prognosticators from immediate ridicule, while still appearing chillingly close.
Burbank, CA - A consortium of one programmer is working to define a new file format intended to seve as a universal file format for all data. The new file format will be named the 'Universal File Format', of UFF. According to the consortium, he hopes to make the new format as standard as MP3 has become for audio, and JPEG has become for 2D images.
"The basic structure of my file format is a sequence of 8-bit numbers," says the consortium, "in which each number can represent anything required by the users of the file."
I did this a few years ago. I love Macs, but there was a *political* problem with giving Mom an IMac.
My Mom is clueless, and even though I gave her a IMac, she needed tons of help. She would ask everyone she knew for help, not just me. All her kids, sons-in-law, neighbors etc.
Statistically, 90% of these people had PCs and didn't know what to do with a Mac. Even though the Mac was easier to use for a newbie, it's *harder* to use for an experienced PC user. So all these people kept telling her that her computer was "hard to use" and that she should "just get a PC".
Since I didn't want to be her full-time tech-support guy, and constantly have to fight with the in-laws I eventually (after a couple years of this) told her to follow their advice.
Now she has a PC (probably filled with spyware and all kinds of awful stuff) but I don't have to answer the phone, or defend her choice of computer every christmas.
1) Sounds in space. Space ships could be heard making "thrusting" and "crashing" noises.
2) Continual stream of stars zoom past windows to convey forward momentum (as opposed to say, rotation or banking). Perhaps they were trying to reproduce one of the things I hated in the original series.
3) Lovely handheld-style (jerky) camera moves from space. I actually liked this (think they did it in Firefly too), but how do you get the cameraman from "Law and Order" into a spacesuit?
"These developments [molecular assemblers and nanomachines] will sweep the world within ten to fifty years - that is, within the expected lifetimes of ourselves or our families."
-- K. Eric Drexler, "Engines of Creation", 1985
When I read these words in 1986, I only remembered the "10" and forgot the "50". This is the problem with books containing predictions.
Okay Drexler: 18 years are up. When we hit 25 you will officially be branded an "over-optimist". Then you'll have 25 more years before you're officially an "insane crank".
Although the article does contain some review-like paragraphs near the end, it is clearly a promotional/puff piece that was done in cooperation with the studio (and its content is therefore suspect).
Real reviews don't contain extensive interviews with the cast & crew and "behind the scenes" reportage.
>> Newsweek has a first review of the third instalment of LOTR - and gives it two thumbs up
#1. That was not a review. It was a promotional article for the movie. Although the person writing the article appears to have seen the movie, he does not present his opinion about its quality.
#2. No where is the phrase "two thumbs up" used, this being something only done by Ebert & The Other Guy, who are not newsweek columnists.
Yahoo used to get their maps from Map Quest. Since 2002 they've been providing their own service. Both companies use data from Navigation Technologies Corp.
I just spent 50 bucks on "Mad Scientists Club" books so I can relive my childhood. All because of a little throwaway link in a story I didn't bother reading.
What I like about stuffit, is that if you double-click on an archive, it does the sensible thing (to me) without presenting you with an unnecessary dialog box.
If the zip file contains a single file, it unzips it into the same folder the archive is in. If the zip contains multiple files, it unzips it into a folder. All archiving programs that work with GUIs should be this simple.
Its hard to think of 10 things you NEED that don't ship with the OS install.
Your linux install will come with all the softare you need (strictly speaking). Your windows install will already have most of what you need, but will be missing a few things:
1. A decent archiving utility that can handle most common formats (not just ZIP). I like Aladdin's Stuffit, but there are others. Winzip, which is quite popular has a shitty interface. Why consumer operating systems don't have better built-in support for archiving, I don't know.
2. Spybot Search & Destroy. Otherwise, plan on having your computer filled with Gator and other unwanted visitors within a few days of moderate usage.
3. A decent anti-virus program (your computer probably ships with a time-limited trial of Norton AV or something similar).
4. An anti-spam filter. I like popmail on the windows side.
5,6,7. Non-microsoft replacements for your media player, email, word-processing etc...
Already, with #5, we're getting into things you don't strictly need, but you might WANT. So I'll stop listing stuff here.
This kaleidoscope is more entertaining than TV.
on
TV's Tipping Point
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· Score: 1
This is a link to my Internet image-searching kaleidoscope -- a very cool Google hack, and way more entertaining than most TV shows.
Slashdot Mirror
Office Depot sells an oblong pad of graph paper that is designed to sit under or in front of your keyboard.
It has the same width as a keyboard (but not as deep) and the binding is along the long edge.
I love this thing, and bought a handful of them in case I never find them again.
On the screenshots from the site, there's a cute sim-city style interface, overlaid with charts and graphs.
While the sim-city display is cute, it doesn't look particularly useful nor relevent. Why? The 2d-grid layout of a city does not match the N-d layout of most websites.
The charts and graphs look useful, but how do they differ from any other traffic analysis package?
What's wrong with "Advanced Java"?
My personal preference for coding this kind of thing:
KeyKit, an awk-like language designed specifically for manipulating MIDI data.
http://nosuch.com/keykit/
Burbank, CA - The CRP (Center for Responsible Predictions) reports that articles
about nanotechnology (especially ones that mention Neil Stephenson and/or Eric Drexler)
will "almost certainly" contain over-optimistic estimates of the arrival of nanoassemblers.
In short, these claims will be far enough in the future to protect the prognosticators
from immediate ridicule, while still appearing chillingly close.
Burbank, CA - A consortium of one programmer is working to
define a new file format intended to seve as a universal
file format for all data. The new file format will be
named the 'Universal File Format', of UFF. According to
the consortium, he hopes to make the new format as
standard as MP3 has become for audio, and JPEG has
become for 2D images.
"The basic structure of my file format is a sequence of
8-bit numbers," says the consortium, "in which each
number can represent anything required by the users of
the file."
Interesting how Pink Floyd keeps coming up in this discussion.
I think we can assume that if you're listening to Pink Floyd, then you're not making heavy use of the shuffle feature.
Heavy use of a bong mebbe...
Sure it's cool that a robot might build a house in a day, but would you really want to live in it?
Personally, I'd rather have my house built by 100 Amish carpenters over the course of one year.
I may be a Luddite, in this respect, but I'm also a big believer in TLC.
- jbum
I did this a few years ago. I love Macs, but there was a *political* problem with giving Mom an IMac.
My Mom is clueless, and even though I gave her a IMac, she needed tons of help. She would ask everyone she knew for help, not just me. All her kids, sons-in-law, neighbors etc.
Statistically, 90% of these people had PCs and didn't know what to do with a Mac. Even though the Mac was easier to use for a newbie, it's *harder* to use for an experienced PC user. So all these people kept telling her that her computer was "hard to use" and that she should "just get a PC".
Since I didn't want to be her full-time tech-support guy, and constantly have to fight with the in-laws I eventually (after a couple years of this) told her to follow their advice.
Now she has a PC (probably filled with spyware and all kinds of awful stuff) but I don't have to answer the phone, or defend her choice of computer every christmas.
1) Sounds in space. Space ships could be heard
making "thrusting" and "crashing" noises.
2) Continual stream of stars zoom past windows
to convey forward momentum (as opposed to say,
rotation or banking). Perhaps they were
trying to reproduce one of the things I hated
in the original series.
3) Lovely handheld-style (jerky) camera moves
from space. I actually liked this (think they
did it in Firefly too), but how do you get the
cameraman from "Law and Order" into a spacesuit?
ten to fifty years - that is, within the expected lifetimes of ourselves or our families."
-- K. Eric Drexler, "Engines of Creation", 1985
When I read these words in 1986, I only remembered the "10" and forgot the "50". This is the problem with books containing predictions.
Okay Drexler: 18 years are up. When we hit 25 you will officially be branded an "over-optimist". Then you'll have 25 more years before you're officially an "insane crank".
Although the article does contain some review-like paragraphs near the end, it is clearly a promotional/puff piece that was done in cooperation with the studio (and its content is
therefore suspect).
Real reviews don't contain extensive interviews with the cast & crew and "behind the scenes" reportage.
>> Newsweek has a first review of the third instalment of LOTR - and gives it two thumbs up
#1. That was not a review. It was a promotional
article for the movie. Although the person writing the article appears to have seen the movie, he does not present his opinion about its quality.
#2. No where is the phrase "two thumbs up" used, this being something only done by Ebert & The Other Guy, who are not newsweek columnists.
#3. The word 'installment' has two Ls.
this one's really a just fluff piece to promote "Paycheck."
... and provides a few inaccuracies of its own, if the new article is to be believed.
http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/jazz/reviews/balke_kyan os.shtml
Yahoo used to get their maps from Map Quest. Since 2002 they've been providing their own service. Both companies use data from Navigation Technologies Corp.
Here's an article on Yahoo's shift from MapQuest:
Yahoo! to MapQuest: Get Lost
I just spent 50 bucks on "Mad Scientists Club" books so I can relive my childhood. All because of a little throwaway link in a story I didn't bother reading.
Argh!
Stonehenge was revealed years ago to be a primitive mainframe computer by the good Dr. F. E. Tunalu at the Institute of Druidic Technology.
See his article on Hyperborean Mainframes
You will also enjoy the exhibits of flint-mice and bronze mouse-pads.
What I like about stuffit, is that if you double-click on an archive, it does the sensible thing (to me) without presenting you with an unnecessary dialog box.
If the zip file contains a single file, it unzips it into the same folder the archive is in. If the zip contains multiple files, it unzips it into a folder. All archiving programs that work with GUIs should be this simple.
Its hard to think of 10 things you NEED that don't ship with the OS install.
Your linux install will come with all the softare you need (strictly speaking). Your windows install will already have most of what you need, but will be missing a few things:
1. A decent archiving utility that can handle most common formats (not just ZIP). I like Aladdin's Stuffit, but there are others. Winzip, which is quite popular has a shitty interface. Why consumer operating systems don't have better built-in support for archiving, I don't know.
2. Spybot Search & Destroy. Otherwise, plan on having your computer filled with Gator and other unwanted visitors within a few days of moderate usage.
3. A decent anti-virus program (your computer probably ships with a time-limited trial of Norton AV or something similar).
4. An anti-spam filter. I like popmail on the windows side.
5,6,7. Non-microsoft replacements for your media player, email, word-processing etc...
Already, with #5, we're getting into things you don't strictly need, but you might WANT. So
I'll stop listing stuff here.
This is a link to my Internet image-searching kaleidoscope -- a very cool Google hack, and way more entertaining than most TV shows.
MetaScope
Now, if it could only search for MPEGs...
> the conventional wisdom that if Linux or Mac OS X were as popular as Windows...
The very features which make Linux less vulnerable to virii also insure that it will
never be as popular as Windows.
Try explaining 'chmod' to your mother-in-law.
How about this scenario:
:)
Ted: I'm thinking of Rice Crispies Cereal
Bob: (types into computer) Please show us what Ted is thinking about.
(The computer starts to show pictures of boxes of Rice Crispies Cereal...)
Sound farfetched? Actually you can already do this today, with this amusing little Google Hack called MetaScope:
www.krazydad.com
Yes, I'm shamelessly plugging my own program, but ya gotta admit, it's pretty darn cool
...is MetaScope, which performs Google Image searches inside a Windows screensaver.
t ml
:)
The real hack is the bizarre mind-reading trick:
http://www.krazydad.com/metascope_mindreading.h
A brilliant, yet very simple idea. Wish I'd thought of it