the dual proc system only wins if software is written to take advanatage of parallelism. And therein lies the rub; parallel programming is still something of a dark art, and few programmers really grasp the issue involved.
This is an issue with higher levels of parallelism, and for computers that perform a single task. For desktop use, though, you'll get the benefits of multiple processors just by running several programs.
Try no boolean operators, at all. "And", "Or" and "Not" are all bitwise in MS Basic, which is why "True" is -1 (all 1s, at the bit level), rather than 1. This can lead to some strange results before you learn how it works:
x = "This is a test." If Instr(x, "This") Then Whatever ' 1 is considered true; whatever is called. If Instr(x, " ") Then Whatever ' 5 is considered true; whatever is called. If Instr(x, "This") And Instr(x, " ") Then Whatever ' 1 And 5, bitwise, evaluate to 0, which is considered false. Whatever is not called.
Putting in explicit comparisons (for example, adding "> 0" in the code above) will cause genuine -1 true values to be used, clearing up the problem. However, VB will not enforce that.
"AndAlso" and "OrElse" were compromises dragged out of MicroSoft after VB.Net beta 1 was out. Originally, the regular "And" and "Or" operators were going to be short-circuiting boolean operators (they were actually bitwise in earlier MS BASICs), but that was going to cause too much trouble in the porting wizard.
I don't think the "Is Nothing" part is different in VB.Net than in classic VB. The "Is" operator compares the pointer values in the object reference variables. If "A Is B" returns true, that means the variable A and the variable B refer to the same object, while if "A = B" returns true, that means the default functions return the same value. "Nothing" is simply a constant object reference value. You could use "A = null" instead of "A Is Nothing", but that would lead to Java's "A.equals(B)" nonsense.
Finally, dude, if you just don't like the keyword choices in VB.Net, just use C#; they're two different shells over the same system.
This one $15 shareware program is what keeps me firmly on PalmOS. I've tried other RPN calculators, but they don't show me the stack and let me drag entries around like RPN does.
Yes, they could keep accounts of everyone who voted. But what's to stop people from crying foul after the results are in that they want to switch their vote. How many people do you think would have switched from a 3rd party to Gore after they learned Bush was gonna win by such a small margin?
Is that supposed to be an argument against it? Do that, and you've got built-in runoffs. That would be fantastic.
An automatic transmission is not the same as a stickshift controlled by a computer; it's a different mechanism. For one thing, automatics existed before using a computer would have been feasible.
It may well be that a few companies are starting to include robotic manual transmissions and calling them automatics, which would be cool. I may enjoy driving a stick, but I won't deny that a computer could do it better.
If you look, though, nothing inside the computer is more than about 12" deep. If you're willing to just buy power supplies and drill a few holes into sheet metal, the musician racks would work just fine.
This is really a better point, because most people are still going to want a car for visiting friends, shopping, etc.
I moved a mile away from my office when I was 21, and rode a bicycle to work for a couple years. It was always a problem figuring out where they were going to let me park it, but it saved a lot of money, and was good for me. We bought a second car when I started going to school part time, and then it was hard to work up the motivation to ride the bike. Since then, my office has moved 20 miles away, so the bike is no longer an option.
The real issue, though, is quality of life. If you're spending four hours a day travelling to work, and you could spend 40 minutes a day instead, I think almost any sane person would choose the car as long as the cost was in any way affordable.
I supposed it depends on how complicated the transfers are, and what you're going home to. If I could just take one or two trains, and I was single, I'd go for taking a subway and using the time to read.
As it is, I'm married with a kid, and want to see my family. Also, I live in Detroit, and the idea of public transportation has never been terribly popular here.
We can go back to the early part of the century when companies could spy on their workers' private lives in order to ensure they were living "morally".
The last time I tried to find a payphone to call my wife for directions somewhere, it took me roughly a half an hour (not counting the first one, which didn't work). With the popularity of cell phones these days, there aren't many payphones left.
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That's about when I decided that Legolas was more of a Jedi than an elf.
For a while, I was having trouble remembering that it wasn't Count Roogan.
"You wouldn't happen to have six fingers on you right hand, would you?"
the dual proc system only wins if software is written to take advanatage of parallelism. And therein lies the rub; parallel programming is still something of a dark art, and few programmers really grasp the issue involved.
This is an issue with higher levels of parallelism, and for computers that perform a single task. For desktop use, though, you'll get the benefits of multiple processors just by running several programs.
Try no boolean operators, at all. "And", "Or" and "Not" are all bitwise in MS Basic, which is why "True" is -1 (all 1s, at the bit level), rather than 1. This can lead to some strange results before you learn how it works:
x = "This is a test."
If Instr(x, "This") Then Whatever ' 1 is considered true; whatever is called.
If Instr(x, " ") Then Whatever ' 5 is considered true; whatever is called.
If Instr(x, "This") And Instr(x, " ") Then Whatever ' 1 And 5, bitwise, evaluate to 0, which is considered false. Whatever is not called.
Putting in explicit comparisons (for example, adding "> 0" in the code above) will cause genuine -1 true values to be used, clearing up the problem. However, VB will not enforce that.
In VB.Net beta 1, "And" and "Or" were short-circuit boolean, but that was changed for beta 2, as it would have made porting old code harder.
"AndAlso" and "OrElse" were compromises dragged out of MicroSoft after VB.Net beta 1 was out. Originally, the regular "And" and "Or" operators were going to be short-circuiting boolean operators (they were actually bitwise in earlier MS BASICs), but that was going to cause too much trouble in the porting wizard.
I don't think the "Is Nothing" part is different in VB.Net than in classic VB. The "Is" operator compares the pointer values in the object reference variables. If "A Is B" returns true, that means the variable A and the variable B refer to the same object, while if "A = B" returns true, that means the default functions return the same value. "Nothing" is simply a constant object reference value. You could use "A = null" instead of "A Is Nothing", but that would lead to Java's "A.equals(B)" nonsense.
Finally, dude, if you just don't like the keyword choices in VB.Net, just use C#; they're two different shells over the same system.
If fewer people are impacted, shouldn't those needs be given less of a voice?
in fact I'm making an RPN calculator for PalmOS if anyone is interested in helping
What's wrong with RPN?
This one $15 shareware program is what keeps me firmly on PalmOS. I've tried other RPN calculators, but they don't show me the stack and let me drag entries around like RPN does.
Yes, they could keep accounts of everyone who voted. But what's to stop people from crying foul after the results are in that they want to switch their vote. How many people do you think would have switched from a 3rd party to Gore after they learned Bush was gonna win by such a small margin?
Is that supposed to be an argument against it? Do that, and you've got built-in runoffs. That would be fantastic.
The flip side of that is that each person in NY and CA does not count for as much as a person in Alaska. That can't be right, either.
An automatic transmission is not the same as a stickshift controlled by a computer; it's a different mechanism. For one thing, automatics existed before using a computer would have been feasible.
It may well be that a few companies are starting to include robotic manual transmissions and calling them automatics, which would be cool. I may enjoy driving a stick, but I won't deny that a computer could do it better.
If you look, though, nothing inside the computer is more than about 12" deep. If you're willing to just buy power supplies and drill a few holes into sheet metal, the musician racks would work just fine.
They can't do shore bombardment in support of an amphibious landing.
A monitor, however, could. It would also be a lot cheaper than the battleship, and could have a crew of 50.
An eighth grade civics book is not a terribly good way to find out what the government is intended to do.
Start with Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws, as this is what the writers of the U.S. Constitution were reading, or if you're feeling more ambitious, start with Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy, as that's what Montesquieu was reading.
Also, I know that an unsigned 32 bit integer holds 0 to 4*1024*1024*1024 -1.
However, that number would be right for just the 32nd square, alone.
Personally, I'd like a system like this to store all my shit at home.
This is really a better point, because most people are still going to want a car for visiting friends, shopping, etc.
I moved a mile away from my office when I was 21, and rode a bicycle to work for a couple years. It was always a problem figuring out where they were going to let me park it, but it saved a lot of money, and was good for me. We bought a second car when I started going to school part time, and then it was hard to work up the motivation to ride the bike. Since then, my office has moved 20 miles away, so the bike is no longer an option.
The real issue, though, is quality of life. If you're spending four hours a day travelling to work, and you could spend 40 minutes a day instead, I think almost any sane person would choose the car as long as the cost was in any way affordable.
I supposed it depends on how complicated the transfers are, and what you're going home to. If I could just take one or two trains, and I was single, I'd go for taking a subway and using the time to read.
As it is, I'm married with a kid, and want to see my family. Also, I live in Detroit, and the idea of public transportation has never been terribly popular here.
that MS Bob was going to make computers usable by everyone
That one was probably just him hitting on the project manager (who is now Melinda Gates).
That generally means they'll make you pee in a cup to see if you've done anything in the last month.
We can go back to the early part of the century when companies could spy on their workers' private lives in order to ensure they were living "morally".
"We strive to be a drug-free workplace."
You see, your friend here is only mostly dead. Mostly dead is a lot different from all dead.
Every button is well placed, and easy to locate without looking.
As long as you point it the right way. I'm always holding the thing upside down, and fast-forwarding when I mean to rewind.
I *am* expected to be remotely connected all the time, as are most of my coworkers. It's not a big deal.
If it's that important, find a land line.
The last time I tried to find a payphone to call my wife for directions somewhere, it took me roughly a half an hour (not counting the first one, which didn't work). With the popularity of cell phones these days, there aren't many payphones left.