"Rambus is not the only memory company feeling the heat from the US government. The New York Times reports (free registration req'd and beware of the annoying Best Buy interstitial ad) Micron, Samsung and Infineon have been hit with a Department of Justice inquiry into anticompetitive practices."
Call me crazy, but I find it kind of funny that 4 of the largest RAM players are being accused of anti-competition. Competitive anti-competition??:)
"2^20 times denser! For those of you who aren't so fast, that's just over a million."
You're not so fast yourself, bub. Try and get your math right before you get all condescending.
Moore's Law doubles in density every 18 months, not every year. So the correct calculation is 2^(20*12/18), which is roughly 10,321, or 3 orders of magnitude lower than what you stated.
"But most programmers, myself included, tend to start writing code as soon as possible. This is often encouraged by management people that want to see results."
While this IS completely true, I have found you CAN get some additional time for planning if you bring it up right away. Next time you're discussing the timeline for a software project with the suits, say something like this:
"Well, remember how we had to spend X days fixing and rewriting parts of Project Foobar after initial coding? That's because we rushed into it without adequate time for proper planning. We should do it right this time, we need to spend Y days carefully designing the system ahead of time, before we begin programming."
As long as Y < X, you will get the planning time budgeted. But then, you had better put your money where your mouth is, design a clean system, and implement it efficiently.
I feel like I'm missing something here. The MSNBC/Space article seems to indicate that terrahertz waves are radiated by everything, and the camera simply picks these up.
'Scientists say T-rays are emitted by pretty much everything. They come from "the human hand, an envelope, someone with clothes on or a comet," says Geoff McBride.'
Now the AT&T Bell Labs article, on the other hand, says nothing about objects emitting anything, it talks exclusively about generating T-rays from the recording device, and measuring their effects, similar to X-Rays.
'They transmitted the T-rays through various objects, using an imaging system of lenses and mirrors to focus the signals and to analyze changes in the T-rays as they passed through the objects.
They characterized the materials by measuring the amounts of distortion - from absorption, dispersion and reflection - of the T-rays passing through to a detector.'
Are these articles talking about the same technology? Seems to be described quite differently.
'I have to wonder how much about that "scan only files that should be there" is really spin doctoring'
That's exactly what I thought. Who the hell writes scanning software that instead of 'scan *', only scans stuff on a list? The very fact that there ARE extra file(s) should immediately set of warning lights to any validation procedure worth it's salt, unless it's coded by a band of retarded monkeys.
Oh wait, we're talking about Microsoft, nevermind.
Someone once asked Einstein how many feet were in a mile. His response? "I don't know. Why would I clutter up my brain with stuff like that when I can look it up in any reference book in two minutes?"
You can get a Sony DSC-P50 for $400 *Canadian* right now. (Current low price on cnet: $238 USD) I have one, and I love it to death. Here's how it stacks up to your critera:
Adjustable Focus: Well, no, you can't adjust focus manually, it's automatic. You CAN do spot metering, though, to focus on exactly the point you want. You CAN manually adjust EV, ISO, white balance though. I've never had a problem with the focus not working perfectly.
Macro capability: Yup. You can get as close as 3 cm.
Flash: Yup, and you can set it to always on, always off, or auto, and can set the brightness level.
Decent pixel size: It is 2.1 megapixel, it can do 640x480, 1024x768, or 1600x1200. I can't imagine needing more than 1600x1200 for computer work. 1600x1200 is great for printing up to 8.5 x 11.
Lossless format: Yup, it can do uncompressed TIFF, and two compression levels for JPGs. It can also create stop-motion 10 frame animated GIFs, and 320x240x8fps MPEG video (no sound), length only limited by storage space. (On a 128MB stick, you can do up to 22 minutes, or 90 minutes of 240x120)
Battery: It really shines here, it can take either Sony Infolithium -OR- standard AA cells. Go buy a 4 pack of AA NiMH batteries and a charger for like $30, and you're laughing. And you can use standard AA in a pinch (it drains these like water though)
LCD screen: BEAUTIFUL LCD screen. Very very bright (adjustable), sharp, and accurate. I think it's around 110,000 pixel screen.
Storage options: Sony Memory Stick.. yeah I know it's proprietary, but these babies really do rock. Pick up a 128MB stick for $70 USD. (Unfortunately, the camera only comes with a measly 4MB stick)
This camera takes great looking pictures. It has a long exposure "twilight mode" which takes some of the best low-light pics I've ever seen.
"The whole point of the role play is to excercise imagination"
I always thought the whole point was to have fun. Imagination is just an essential ingredient:) Besides, with this NWN system, your view isn't narrowed, you can create anything you want! It's not just some one track eye candy clicktrek like Dungeon Siege (still very addicting I gotta admit:), this is a complete content creation toolkit, there should be infinite possibilities. (Which is not the same thing as being able to create anything, I know, but give it time:)
You answer your own question, albeit dismissively.
Play across distances. Yes! This is a great advantage.
Computerized dice roller. It's more than that. It completely handles the torrential rain of rules and tables that comprise D&D. Probably the biggest obstacle to people getting into P&P gaming is all the math they have to do. (Simple math, yes. But lots of simple math can still be tedious)
Pretty graphics. This is like asking why anyone would want to see a movie.. for the 'pretty pictures'?? Give me a break. Visualization adds a new dimension.
So yeah, I think there's some pretty sizable reasons right there.
Re:Digital cameras do need a portable hard drive
on
Terapin Mine Review
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· Score: 2
Why do you need 4 megapixel, TIFF images for vacation shots? I mean, if you're doing pro work for magazines or something I understand... but I take 1600x1200 JPGs, which look great printed on 8.5 x 11, and I can store 150-250 on my 128MB card. (Depending on compression) Or, if I don't intend on printing them out, I take 1024x768, and can store about 600, or even slum down to 640x480, and store almost 2000!:)
If you click the sidebar link at the bottom, there is a paragraph that reads:
"Even if Chiao's contraption works, it wouldn't allow the generation of antigravity fields, as Russian materials scientist Eugene Podkletnov, then at Tampere University of Technology in Finland, controversially claimed to have observed in 1992 (see link ). Antigravity requires canceling out a powerful, static gravitoelectric field, yet superconductors have no effect on such fields."
"the sun is probably bright enough to burn out your camera"
Um, do you know that for a fact or are you just making an unfounded guess?
I'm no optics expert, but I've never read any sort of warning not to point digicams at intense light.
Some quick hunting on google:
'CCDs... don't suffer from "burnout" or "trailing" in bright light.' (Link)
'A solar eclipse has huge contrast, and digital photos suffer from the "bloom" effect of the CCD, where super-bright pixels bleed like crazy into their neighbours.' (Link)
The second in particular seems to indicate there's nothing harmful about using a digicam to capture an eclipse, you just won't get a good image. I'm pretty handy with Photoshop though, so I still intend to try:)
Geez.. I posted a comment about his interesting name (I even deliberately removed my +1 score bonus, cuz I knew it was a pretty trivial post) and I got knocked down to 0 - Redundant by some asshole moderator. I wasn't expecting to GAIN karma or anything, but LOSE it??? What a crock of shit. It's just a message board.. not every post has to be a unique pearl, for Pete's sake.
Nice to see someone else get +4 funny for almost exactly the same thing.
I plan on trying to capture it with my digital camera. Hopefully the LED screen doesn't have enough power to blind me:) (Or, if it does, I'm going to sue the FUCK out of Sony;)
OK, the telephone was a bad example. In fact, many places (such as parts of Europe, IIRC) DO charge per use for local telephone.
It's still a question of degrees though.. you can't ever use more than that 64Kb "trickle". The only variable is time. With a broadband internet connection, there's a world of difference between Mom and Pop checking email and casual web surfing, and Joe L337 Haxor running a 24/7 Gnutella node, and downloading gigs of porn, isos, mp3s, and divx, know what I mean?
Water, gas, electricity, and long distance telephone are all pay per usage, I think bandwidth belongs in this category.
The two "unlimited flat-fee" services are local telephone, and television. Neither of these can be abused (hogged) the same way that bandwidth and the other aforementioned utilities can be.
Re:Katz is even more pathetic than usual
on
The Empire Stumbles
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· Score: 3, Insightful
Good points....
Yes, I should have qualified the "pretty decent writing and acting" of Spider-Man with a "RELATIVE to Star Wars" clause... I'm not saying they'll be handing out acting Oscars for Spider-Man at any rate.:)
Don't get me wrong... I LOVED Attack of the Clones. It was way better than Phantom Menace, and it's the one I've already seen a second time, whereas Spider-Man I've only seen once. But I will still stand by my statement that AotC has hit a new low for bad writing and flat acting, even next to the ho-hum acting of the rest of the series. Like right at the beginning, when Padme gets "upset" (and I use the term loosely) when her double gets blown up. Or nearly everything uttered by either Anakin or Padme that's supposed to come off as romantic. Miserable, cringe inducing stuff. McGregor was great as Kenobi, Chris Lee was amazing as always, Yoda steals the show, the Emperor was bang on, Jango Fett was good.. but yeah. The two young leads desperately needed better lines and directing. WTF was Lucas thinking hiring Jonathan "Scorpion King" Hales to co-write!?
Anyway, faults aside, I thought AotC had a cool story, breathtaking climactic sequences, and MAN I can't wait for Episode III.
Katz is even more pathetic than usual
on
The Empire Stumbles
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· Score: 5, Insightful
Mmmm.. it's a beautiful day outside. Looks like it's time to avoid working, slam the crap out of Katz, and burn some Karma.
Spider-Man spent twice as much money on advertising as AotC.
Spider-Man opened on nearly twice as many screens as AotC.
AotC is the sequel to a movie that was generally considered very dissapointing.
AotC had numerous scenes of painfully bad acting, caused by poor actor direction and a horribly written script. Spider-Man had pretty decent writing and acting.
But none of this had anything to do with Spider-Man making more money. No no no. It's a "cultural and generational coup d'etat". It's "The next generation [unseating] its elders". It's because "Lucas seemed to fall out of touch with post-9/11 America."
Katz, you're a pedantic, repetitive, overly dramatic idiot. You continuously put out poorly researched, sensational, buzzword laden drivel. You put the anal in analyze. Is it hard to breathe with your head so far up your ass? You try and cram EVERYTHING into your little "post 9/11, disillusioned generation gap, geek alienation" peghole. It's so, so sad. About the only thing I can say in your favour is how much discussion your articles tend to generate. Of course, 80% of it tends to be people criticizing your "ability" as a journalist.
"The real lesson is, if you're trying to make great movies aimed primarily at the young, avoid pomposity, self-indulgence and too much self-reference."
Listen to your own fucking advice when it comes to writing.
Reading your comment made me wonder if when they were developing CRTs for computer displays, somebody said: "Aaaaaand, why bother developing this in the first place, when we can just display computer output on a line printer, without using any specialized hardware? I fail to see how spending $20,000 for a bleeding edge 'display screen' makes more sense than outputting to paper, which most packages are capable of doing nowadays anyway."
I'm sorry, but I can't help but view this type of argument as anything other than anti-progressive and monumentally shortsighted. I for one (and I know I'm not alone) have never found the "cross-eyed" technique comfortable or intuitive, and even when it works, the resulting depth perception is nowhere near as good as looking at a real object. A true volumetric 3d display would drastically improve the user visualization experience. You want surgeons to rely on crossing their eyes to accurately perceive a high resolution model of your brain when performing surgery? Obviously, it's not as economical as using a stereogram, but it also won't cost $20K forever either. Does it "make more sense"??? In the long run, absolutely.
Give me a break. Producing a moden video game is waaaaay more complicated and difficult than recording an hour of audio.
Most games have a complete soundtrack as one small part of the entire game.
I could go bury myself in my room for a week (probably less), and come out with an audio CD of original music. Yeah, it would probably be crap, but the point is I could do it.
I could not write a modern computer game in that time period, not even a crappy one like, say, Daikatana. Not even close. Nobody could. Quality computer games these days take dozens of extremely high skilled people working for years. You get exceptions like Tetris, but those are increasingly rare these days. The days of Pac Man and Space Invaders are long gone.
Some legendary music albums have been written and cut in the space of a few weeks. Producing music isn't all that time consuming. Inspiration is the hard part.
Slashdot Mirror
Call me crazy, but I find it kind of funny that 4 of the largest RAM players are being accused of anti-competition. Competitive anti-competition??
"2^20 times denser! For those of you who aren't so fast, that's just over a million."
You're not so fast yourself, bub. Try and get your math right before you get all condescending.
Moore's Law doubles in density every 18 months, not every year. So the correct calculation is 2^(20*12/18), which is roughly 10,321, or 3 orders of magnitude lower than what you stated.
"But most programmers, myself included, tend to start writing code as soon as possible. This is often encouraged by management people that want to see results."
While this IS completely true, I have found you CAN get some additional time for planning if you bring it up right away. Next time you're discussing the timeline for a software project with the suits, say something like this:
"Well, remember how we had to spend X days fixing and rewriting parts of Project Foobar after initial coding? That's because we rushed into it without adequate time for proper planning. We should do it right this time, we need to spend Y days carefully designing the system ahead of time, before we begin programming."
As long as Y < X, you will get the planning time budgeted. But then, you had better put your money where your mouth is, design a clean system, and implement it efficiently.
Now the AT&T Bell Labs article, on the other hand, says nothing about objects emitting anything, it talks exclusively about generating T-rays from the recording device, and measuring their effects, similar to X-Rays.
Are these articles talking about the same technology? Seems to be described quite differently.
'I have to wonder how much about that "scan only files that should be there" is really spin doctoring'
That's exactly what I thought. Who the hell writes scanning software that instead of 'scan *', only scans stuff on a list? The very fact that there ARE extra file(s) should immediately set of warning lights to any validation procedure worth it's salt, unless it's coded by a band of retarded monkeys.
Oh wait, we're talking about Microsoft, nevermind.
Someone once asked Einstein how many feet were in a mile. His response? "I don't know. Why would I clutter up my brain with stuff like that when I can look it up in any reference book in two minutes?"
- Adjustable Focus: Well, no, you can't adjust focus manually, it's automatic. You CAN do spot metering, though, to focus on exactly the point you want. You CAN manually adjust EV, ISO, white balance though. I've never had a problem with the focus not working perfectly.
- Macro capability: Yup. You can get as close as 3 cm.
- Flash: Yup, and you can set it to always on, always off, or auto, and can set the brightness level.
- Decent pixel size: It is 2.1 megapixel, it can do 640x480, 1024x768, or 1600x1200. I can't imagine needing more than 1600x1200 for computer work. 1600x1200 is great for printing up to 8.5 x 11.
- Lossless format: Yup, it can do uncompressed TIFF, and two compression levels for JPGs. It can also create stop-motion 10 frame animated GIFs, and 320x240x8fps MPEG video (no sound), length only limited by storage space. (On a 128MB stick, you can do up to 22 minutes, or 90 minutes of 240x120)
- Battery: It really shines here, it can take either Sony Infolithium -OR- standard AA cells. Go buy a 4 pack of AA NiMH batteries and a charger for like $30, and you're laughing. And you can use standard AA in a pinch (it drains these like water though)
- LCD screen: BEAUTIFUL LCD screen. Very very bright (adjustable), sharp, and accurate. I think it's around 110,000 pixel screen.
- Storage options: Sony Memory Stick.. yeah I know it's proprietary, but these babies really do rock. Pick up a 128MB stick for $70 USD. (Unfortunately, the camera only comes with a measly 4MB stick)
This camera takes great looking pictures. It has a long exposure "twilight mode" which takes some of the best low-light pics I've ever seen.Here's a couple of in-depth reviews for you:
"The whole point of the role play is to excercise imagination"
:) Besides, with this NWN system, your view isn't narrowed, you can create anything you want! It's not just some one track eye candy clicktrek like Dungeon Siege (still very addicting I gotta admit :), this is a complete content creation toolkit, there should be infinite possibilities. (Which is not the same thing as being able to create anything, I know, but give it time :)
I always thought the whole point was to have fun. Imagination is just an essential ingredient
So yeah, I think there's some pretty sizable reasons right there.
Why do you need 4 megapixel, TIFF images for vacation shots? I mean, if you're doing pro work for magazines or something I understand... but I take 1600x1200 JPGs, which look great printed on 8.5 x 11, and I can store 150-250 on my 128MB card. (Depending on compression) Or, if I don't intend on printing them out, I take 1024x768, and can store about 600, or even slum down to 640x480, and store almost 2000! :)
If you check the sidebar, it mentions Dr. Podkletnov. This is different.
Um, do you know that for a fact or are you just making an unfounded guess?
I'm no optics expert, but I've never read any sort of warning not to point digicams at intense light.
Some quick hunting on google:
- 'CCDs
... don't suffer from "burnout" or "trailing" in bright light.' (Link) - 'A solar eclipse has huge contrast, and digital photos suffer from the "bloom" effect of the CCD, where super-bright pixels bleed like crazy into their neighbours.' (Link)
The second in particular seems to indicate there's nothing harmful about using a digicam to capture an eclipse, you just won't get a good image. I'm pretty handy with Photoshop though, so I still intend to tryGeez.. I posted a comment about his interesting name (I even deliberately removed my +1 score bonus, cuz I knew it was a pretty trivial post) and I got knocked down to 0 - Redundant by some asshole moderator. I wasn't expecting to GAIN karma or anything, but LOSE it??? What a crock of shit. It's just a message board.. not every post has to be a unique pearl, for Pete's sake.
Nice to see someone else get +4 funny for almost exactly the same thing.
I plan on trying to capture it with my digital camera. Hopefully the LED screen doesn't have enough power to blind me :) (Or, if it does, I'm going to sue the FUCK out of Sony ;)
OK, how many other people's first thought upon reading this article was "Whoah... Ransom Love is just a crazy name"?
Zeke: Durnit! All of a sudden, the DSL got reeeaal slow, then it stopped altogether!
Ezekiel: Hmmm, my 28.8 connection seems to be connecting fine... let's just surf on over to Slashdot... OH MY DEAR GOD
Well yeah, like the subject line says. That is all. Go away.
OK, the telephone was a bad example. In fact, many places (such as parts of Europe, IIRC) DO charge per use for local telephone.
It's still a question of degrees though.. you can't ever use more than that 64Kb "trickle". The only variable is time. With a broadband internet connection, there's a world of difference between Mom and Pop checking email and casual web surfing, and Joe L337 Haxor running a 24/7 Gnutella node, and downloading gigs of porn, isos, mp3s, and divx, know what I mean?
Water, gas, electricity, and long distance telephone are all pay per usage, I think bandwidth belongs in this category.
The two "unlimited flat-fee" services are local telephone, and television. Neither of these can be abused (hogged) the same way that bandwidth and the other aforementioned utilities can be.
Good points....
:)
Yes, I should have qualified the "pretty decent writing and acting" of Spider-Man with a "RELATIVE to Star Wars" clause... I'm not saying they'll be handing out acting Oscars for Spider-Man at any rate.
Don't get me wrong... I LOVED Attack of the Clones. It was way better than Phantom Menace, and it's the one I've already seen a second time, whereas Spider-Man I've only seen once. But I will still stand by my statement that AotC has hit a new low for bad writing and flat acting, even next to the ho-hum acting of the rest of the series. Like right at the beginning, when Padme gets "upset" (and I use the term loosely) when her double gets blown up. Or nearly everything uttered by either Anakin or Padme that's supposed to come off as romantic. Miserable, cringe inducing stuff. McGregor was great as Kenobi, Chris Lee was amazing as always, Yoda steals the show, the Emperor was bang on, Jango Fett was good.. but yeah. The two young leads desperately needed better lines and directing. WTF was Lucas thinking hiring Jonathan "Scorpion King" Hales to co-write!?
Anyway, faults aside, I thought AotC had a cool story, breathtaking climactic sequences, and MAN I can't wait for Episode III.
But none of this had anything to do with Spider-Man making more money. No no no. It's a "cultural and generational coup d'etat". It's "The next generation [unseating] its elders". It's because "Lucas seemed to fall out of touch with post-9/11 America."
Katz, you're a pedantic, repetitive, overly dramatic idiot. You continuously put out poorly researched, sensational, buzzword laden drivel. You put the anal in analyze. Is it hard to breathe with your head so far up your ass? You try and cram EVERYTHING into your little "post 9/11, disillusioned generation gap, geek alienation" peghole. It's so, so sad. About the only thing I can say in your favour is how much discussion your articles tend to generate. Of course, 80% of it tends to be people criticizing your "ability" as a journalist.
"The real lesson is, if you're trying to make great movies aimed primarily at the young, avoid pomposity, self-indulgence and too much self-reference."
Listen to your own fucking advice when it comes to writing.
Reading your comment made me wonder if when they were developing CRTs for computer displays, somebody said: "Aaaaaand, why bother developing this in the first place, when we can just display computer output on a line printer, without using any specialized hardware? I fail to see how spending $20,000 for a bleeding edge 'display screen' makes more sense than outputting to paper, which most packages are capable of doing nowadays anyway."
I'm sorry, but I can't help but view this type of argument as anything other than anti-progressive and monumentally shortsighted. I for one (and I know I'm not alone) have never found the "cross-eyed" technique comfortable or intuitive, and even when it works, the resulting depth perception is nowhere near as good as looking at a real object. A true volumetric 3d display would drastically improve the user visualization experience. You want surgeons to rely on crossing their eyes to accurately perceive a high resolution model of your brain when performing surgery? Obviously, it's not as economical as using a stereogram, but it also won't cost $20K forever either. Does it "make more sense"??? In the long run, absolutely.
Yup.
Give me a break. Producing a moden video game is waaaaay more complicated and difficult than recording an hour of audio.
Most games have a complete soundtrack as one small part of the entire game.
I could go bury myself in my room for a week (probably less), and come out with an audio CD of original music. Yeah, it would probably be crap, but the point is I could do it.
I could not write a modern computer game in that time period, not even a crappy one like, say, Daikatana. Not even close. Nobody could. Quality computer games these days take dozens of extremely high skilled people working for years. You get exceptions like Tetris, but those are increasingly rare these days. The days of Pac Man and Space Invaders are long gone.
Some legendary music albums have been written and cut in the space of a few weeks. Producing music isn't all that time consuming. Inspiration is the hard part.