Maybe I am mistaken, and the decimal point was there the whole time... I thought I cut n' pasted it directly though. Oh well... I won't lose any sleep over it.:)
".4 frame per second isn't 4FPS"
What the heck does that mean? Where did 4FPS come from? I guess he meant 0.4FPS? Because even THAT is wrong. Should read: ".4 seconds per frame isn't.4FPS"
Great, just great. I don't normally nitpick article goofs like this, but this is just shamefully amateurish and unprofessional.
I always liked Unreal Tournament better than Quake 3. I'll admit Q3 probably has a bit of an edge graphic engine-wise, but UT has better bot AI, much more sophisticated GUI, and WAY better level design in general. (How many brown-gold-greyish castle type levels are there in Q3 anyway??)
"an ineffective security measure does NOT give you the RIGHT to circumvent it."
An ineffective security measure does not HAVE to be circumvented, that's why it's ineffective! Take "secure" ebooks. They are already defeating their own protection by decoding themselves for end users to view. It's not even a question of circumventing the protection, the technology is doing that for you. However, thanks to the DMCA, it is a criminal offence to even TALK about it. That is WRONG. Don't you see where that kind of thinking can lead?
Centuries ago when the printing press was invented, book publishers put scribes out of business, because information became a lot cheaper to copy. Now we have a global data network that renders copying information basically free. (A simplification, but for the purposes of this argument, essentially true). The publishers don't want to go the way of the scribes, and they're rich, so they guide the inception of legislation to protect their antiquated outdated archaic profit scheme based on the scarcity of their product. With the Internet, information will never be scarce again, but we will see all the old dinosaur publishers struggling to impose artificial scarcity to keep their profits high.
Have you heard of the book "Thinking in Java"? The author, Bruce Eckel, released the book entirely for free, on the web, and encouraged reader feedback. He got lots of feedback and corrections, and improved his book. Soon, he was FLOODED with requests for a hard copy book to purchase. Now he's made quite a lot of money off something he initally offered for free. Read his notes on this subject.
"Just as with someone who steals cars, the fact that he is ABLE to do it doesn't justify his actions.
It's amazing (and a little disheartening) how people are so quick to admit that they are untrustworthy."
What is with all these personal attacks!? Ever hear of devil's advocate? I'm not trying to justify anything, or claim I'm some 1337 ebook hacker, I'm merely pointing out WHAT WILL HAPPEN, and how easy it will be. The DMCA encourages (hell, ENFORCES) ignorance of technology. I always thought technology was about the empowerment of the individual; it appears it is becoming a tool of oppression and corporate dominance. Orwell was right, he was just off by a couple of decades.
A month? Are you kidding? Try a day or two. Hell, I could crack it right NOW with some sort of jerry rigged automated screen capture and OCR scheme. (Uh oh, I just violated the DMCA by saying that. Good thing I don't live in the States or they'd throw me in a cell with Dimitry)
When will content publishers realize that security/encryption isn't worth a damn when the end party is NOT TRUSTED. Guess what? If I can read/view/hear it on my computer, there is a way of capturing it, and re-releasing it with no protection. This simple fact will never change. And yet the industries will waste countless millions of dollars trying to invent secure delivery/viewer systems, which is a complete fool's crusade.
The only answer is to add enough value, that consumers are willing to pay the money to avoid the hassle. What these guys are doing is ADDING MORE hassle, and no real added value.
I think his best point is about the motives of those who are establishing the new digital IP protection schemes. Why are motives so central to court cases, yet so ignored by the government when legislating new laws?
The motive behind the inception of DCMA and UCITA and more to come is not balance, ease of use, fairness, improving society and culture, the progression of technology, or consumer benefits. It is profit, and control. Nothing more. We're turning into the fucking Ferengi... it's so pathetic. How to coax and twist the system into a state to ensure that truckloads of money continue to pour in, regardless of whether they do anything to earn it anymore. I am reminded of that scene in Episode 1: "My lord, is that legal?" "I will make it legal."
"First, his jurassic park III "review" was a cop-out"
No kidding! What the hell was that?? "Gee, I went to see Jurassic Park III, but much to my surprise when the movie started, those losers actually made it about DINOSAURS again, so I left without even giving it a fair chance."
For some real reviews of Jurassic Park III check out Rotten Tomatoes (No I am not affiliated with them) The reviews are about half positive, half negative.
"I was disappointed to see that every single review of [The Score] has trashed it."
Actually most critics are generally liking it it... check out Rotten Tomatoes which is kind of a meta-review site; they don't review anything themselves, they just keep track of dozens of REAL reviews (read: Not by Jon Katz).
At the time of this writing, The Score has a 71% approval rating, which is VERY high for that site. (For example, Tomb Raider has 15%, Pearl Harbor has 25%. The general consensus seems to be that the script is only average and somewhat predictable, but this is made up for in spades by the magnificent acting of De Niro, Norton, and Brando.
Personally I thought it had some familiar caper-plot elements, but was NOT a cliched, predictable plot. Spoiler warning: Norton's retarded janitor angle was original and brilliantly played, as was how De Niro broke the safe. And I'd like to meet someone who wasn't surprised (at least for a second) when Norton suddenly started lying and delaying in the middle of the heist in order to eventually betray De Niro.
But how many people actually know if the size() method in the vector class in whatever library they use (e.g. Java, C++, etc) actually use lazy evaluation or overeager evaluation?
Well, speaking as a Java programmer, I check the Java library source code all the time for issues just like this... and Vector.size() simply returns a counter variable, so there's no calculation, just method call overhead to worry about. Actually I avoid using Vectors altogether as they are synchronized; ArrayLists are much faster for single threaded access. (And take up less memory to boot)
"this article reads almost like a flame-attempt due to frustration at installation."
What do you mean, almost?
How can he claim to know enough about the game to give it a 0 in gameplay, graphics, and sound if he didn't even play it? I don't debate the value score, but trashing the entire game outright due to installation problems isn't a review, it's bitterly lashing out at the game company with a high profile/. story, which is just abusive, IMO.
Yeah, I am working my way through Green Mars right now... awesome series. Robinson's elevator (in Red Mars, anyway) is a bit different than the one proposed here; the cable is a uniform 10 metres thick (not tapering down to 10 cm) and its central core is a double helix of diamond.
I think the damage caused by a space elevator falling on Earth would be considerably more than that portrayed in Red Mars. Firstly our gravity well is stronger, secondly, the elevator cable would fall mostly into the ocean, which would cause massive waves, probably wreck a lot of coastal cities.
Yes... Java I/O leaves a lot to be desired, especially its non-interruptible blocking read()'s. (Although I'm not sure why you think it would require 2 threads per connection. You only need 1 thread per connection, or far far fewer if you take a polling approach)
However, Java 1.4 (Merlin) is nearing completion and they have a new I/O API coming designed specifically for scalibility.. I guess we will have to wait and see.
I know there is a tendancy (and well justified, I suppose) to associate anything from Sun that starts with "J" to be a Java project.. but this is not the case with JXTA.. it's a short form for "Juxtapose" to acknowledge that peer-to-peer is essentially "backwards" from the standard client-server model.
So to reiterate, JXTA is just a protocol, it is not a Java package.
So no, it cannot be serialized anymore than HTTP could be.
JXTA is not a Java package, it is a language independant protocol spec. Most of the work done so far is on the lowest Core layer, which involves services such as peer discovery and grouping. They have written an early IMPLEMENTATION of this in Java.. and why not? Java was built for platform independance and networking.
But anyone can write an implementation in any language they want. It uses XML for communication.
My company has recently become involved in JXTA as we are developing a pure Java P2P file sharing app called File Rogue. (I am lead coder)
"make the theft of intellectual property or copyrighted materials exactly the same in the eyes of the law as the theft of a physical object"
Why should they be treated "exactly the same"? They are not exactly the same. When you steal a physical object, the person you stole it from has lost something. When you make a copy of an MP3, they haven't lost anything. They haven't neccessarily lost a sale, because said copier is probably copying it because he doesn't have the money to buy it in the first place! If Napster didn't exist, said copier would probably copy a friend's CD, or tape it from the radio, or find another place to download it from, like an FTP site or IRC. Napster (and other P2P) has simply made it easier to do what millions of people have been doing forever anyway. That doesn't make it right... but it's not the same as stealing a physical object.
Excuse me, where does it say in Tom's writeup that this system is unstable? Where does it say it overheats, and that Windows crashes every 5 minutes? On the contrary:
"the Power Box is a real system, running quietly and reliably without making any headaches" - Tom's Hardware
If Tom found that the box was not running stable, he would have lowered the clock speed until he found a speed that worked perfectly. That's what he does, and that's what he's trying to do here.. push the available technology to its limits and see just how fast fast can get.
"the real reason we have a computer on our desktops - to perform productive work for our bosses"
First of all, speak for yourself, not everyone else.. there are plenty of other uses for computers besides producing for an employer. Secondly, how can you claim that a faster computer will not aid in productivity? The world is FULL of applications just waiting for faster computers to become available. Real time video processing, ray tracing, language interpretation, gene analysis.. etc.
'...introduced by BC was what I now call the "comical one-two strip punch" -- in other words, a punchline at a frame in the middle of the "story", followed immediately by a SECOND punchline/retort in the last frame'
You hit the nail on the head.. I always noticed this about his cartoons.. showing one frame of the "aftermath" of the subject or gag.. a glimpse of what happened immediately after most strips would have ended. Now of course, you're right.. it's everywhere.
"Entertainment industry executives are vehemently opposed to such a license, saying the government should not have role in setting the prices paid for music."
Absolutely... but neither should greedy corporations like the RIAA. Prices should be between the artist and the consumer. But personally, I think the government actually encouraging online music distribution is definitely a good thing.
Slashdot Mirror
I think he also left out the word "free" at the end of this:
"They believed that information wants to be."
But that's just speculation. He DID however, spell "Adobe" as "Abode" in his first usage of it.
Maybe I am mistaken, and the decimal point was there the whole time... I thought I cut n' pasted it directly though. Oh well... I won't lose any sleep over it. :)
The Video Toaster!
What, it's already been done?
Great, just great. I don't normally nitpick article goofs like this, but this is just shamefully amateurish and unprofessional.
I always liked Unreal Tournament better than Quake 3. I'll admit Q3 probably has a bit of an edge graphic engine-wise, but UT has better bot AI, much more sophisticated GUI, and WAY better level design in general. (How many brown-gold-greyish castle type levels are there in Q3 anyway??)
An ineffective security measure does not HAVE to be circumvented, that's why it's ineffective! Take "secure" ebooks. They are already defeating their own protection by decoding themselves for end users to view. It's not even a question of circumventing the protection, the technology is doing that for you. However, thanks to the DMCA, it is a criminal offence to even TALK about it. That is WRONG. Don't you see where that kind of thinking can lead?
Centuries ago when the printing press was invented, book publishers put scribes out of business, because information became a lot cheaper to copy. Now we have a global data network that renders copying information basically free. (A simplification, but for the purposes of this argument, essentially true). The publishers don't want to go the way of the scribes, and they're rich, so they guide the inception of legislation to protect their antiquated outdated archaic profit scheme based on the scarcity of their product. With the Internet, information will never be scarce again, but we will see all the old dinosaur publishers struggling to impose artificial scarcity to keep their profits high.
Have you heard of the book "Thinking in Java"? The author, Bruce Eckel, released the book entirely for free, on the web, and encouraged reader feedback. He got lots of feedback and corrections, and improved his book. Soon, he was FLOODED with requests for a hard copy book to purchase. Now he's made quite a lot of money off something he initally offered for free. Read his notes on this subject.
What is with all these personal attacks!? Ever hear of devil's advocate? I'm not trying to justify anything, or claim I'm some 1337 ebook hacker, I'm merely pointing out WHAT WILL HAPPEN, and how easy it will be. The DMCA encourages (hell, ENFORCES) ignorance of technology. I always thought technology was about the empowerment of the individual; it appears it is becoming a tool of oppression and corporate dominance. Orwell was right, he was just off by a couple of decades.
When will content publishers realize that security/encryption isn't worth a damn when the end party is NOT TRUSTED. Guess what? If I can read/view/hear it on my computer, there is a way of capturing it, and re-releasing it with no protection. This simple fact will never change. And yet the industries will waste countless millions of dollars trying to invent secure delivery/viewer systems, which is a complete fool's crusade.
The only answer is to add enough value, that consumers are willing to pay the money to avoid the hassle. What these guys are doing is ADDING MORE hassle, and no real added value.
The motive behind the inception of DCMA and UCITA and more to come is not balance, ease of use, fairness, improving society and culture, the progression of technology, or consumer benefits. It is profit, and control. Nothing more. We're turning into the fucking Ferengi... it's so pathetic. How to coax and twist the system into a state to ensure that truckloads of money continue to pour in, regardless of whether they do anything to earn it anymore. I am reminded of that scene in Episode 1:
"My lord, is that legal?"
"I will make it legal."
It also has a really cool site dedicated to hacking/programming it, www.ozdev.com
No kidding! What the hell was that?? "Gee, I went to see Jurassic Park III, but much to my surprise when the movie started, those losers actually made it about DINOSAURS again, so I left without even giving it a fair chance."
For some real reviews of Jurassic Park III check out Rotten Tomatoes (No I am not affiliated with them) The reviews are about half positive, half negative.
Actually most critics are generally liking it it... check out Rotten Tomatoes which is kind of a meta-review site; they don't review anything themselves, they just keep track of dozens of REAL reviews (read: Not by Jon Katz).
At the time of this writing, The Score has a 71% approval rating, which is VERY high for that site. (For example, Tomb Raider has 15%, Pearl Harbor has 25%. The general consensus seems to be that the script is only average and somewhat predictable, but this is made up for in spades by the magnificent acting of De Niro, Norton, and Brando.
Personally I thought it had some familiar caper-plot elements, but was NOT a cliched, predictable plot. Spoiler warning: Norton's retarded janitor angle was original and brilliantly played, as was how De Niro broke the safe. And I'd like to meet someone who wasn't surprised (at least for a second) when Norton suddenly started lying and delaying in the middle of the heist in order to eventually betray De Niro.
"Huh? Blue Screen of wha-"
Well, speaking as a Java programmer, I check the Java library source code all the time for issues just like this... and Vector.size() simply returns a counter variable, so there's no calculation, just method call overhead to worry about. Actually I avoid using Vectors altogether as they are synchronized; ArrayLists are much faster for single threaded access. (And take up less memory to boot)
What do you mean, almost?
How can he claim to know enough about the game to give it a 0 in gameplay, graphics, and sound if he didn't even play it? I don't debate the value score, but trashing the entire game outright due to installation problems isn't a review, it's bitterly lashing out at the game company with a high profile /. story, which is just abusive, IMO.
"Hey, did you hear? They're going to send a spacecraft to the Sun!"
"Wow... isn't that dangerous? The Sun is so hot!"
"Well yeah, normally. But they're going at night."
I think the damage caused by a space elevator falling on Earth would be considerably more than that portrayed in Red Mars. Firstly our gravity well is stronger, secondly, the elevator cable would fall mostly into the ocean, which would cause massive waves, probably wreck a lot of coastal cities.
Actually everyone in the band has denied it, EXCEPT for Roger Waters.
However, Java 1.4 (Merlin) is nearing completion and they have a new I/O API coming designed specifically for scalibility.. I guess we will have to wait and see.
So to reiterate, JXTA is just a protocol, it is not a Java package.
So no, it cannot be serialized anymore than HTTP could be.
JXTA is not a Java package, it is a language independant protocol spec. Most of the work done so far is on the lowest Core layer, which involves services such as peer discovery and grouping. They have written an early IMPLEMENTATION of this in Java.. and why not? Java was built for platform independance and networking.
But anyone can write an implementation in any language they want. It uses XML for communication.
My company has recently become involved in JXTA as we are developing a pure Java P2P file sharing app called File Rogue. (I am lead coder)
3 Napster related articles on /. within 9 hours of each other. There's something fundamentally wrong with the universe today.
Why should they be treated "exactly the same"? They are not exactly the same. When you steal a physical object, the person you stole it from has lost something. When you make a copy of an MP3, they haven't lost anything. They haven't neccessarily lost a sale, because said copier is probably copying it because he doesn't have the money to buy it in the first place! If Napster didn't exist, said copier would probably copy a friend's CD, or tape it from the radio, or find another place to download it from, like an FTP site or IRC. Napster (and other P2P) has simply made it easier to do what millions of people have been doing forever anyway. That doesn't make it right... but it's not the same as stealing a physical object.
"the Power Box is a real system, running quietly and reliably without making any headaches" - Tom's Hardware
If Tom found that the box was not running stable, he would have lowered the clock speed until he found a speed that worked perfectly. That's what he does, and that's what he's trying to do here.. push the available technology to its limits and see just how fast fast can get.
"the real reason we have a computer on our desktops - to perform productive work for our bosses"
First of all, speak for yourself, not everyone else.. there are plenty of other uses for computers besides producing for an employer. Secondly, how can you claim that a faster computer will not aid in productivity? The world is FULL of applications just waiting for faster computers to become available. Real time video processing, ray tracing, language interpretation, gene analysis.. etc.
You hit the nail on the head.. I always noticed this about his cartoons.. showing one frame of the "aftermath" of the subject or gag.. a glimpse of what happened immediately after most strips would have ended. Now of course, you're right.. it's everywhere.
Absolutely... but neither should greedy corporations like the RIAA. Prices should be between the artist and the consumer. But personally, I think the government actually encouraging online music distribution is definitely a good thing.
Just my two cents.