I couldn't agree more. The problems they're having will go away as the engineering and practices fill the gaps, and as the networks adapt to actual use conditions. The power we give them now will never go away. Only Cincinnatus gave up his dictatorship, and nobody in a board room is anything like him.
This reads like an ad with just enough to make it slashdot-worthy... but the line at the end makes me think it's just necessary gadget-lust spec gushing. I can't tell if he copy-pasted bits of the article from a press release, or just chose their writing style.
In theory, that would be better. But every time I've seen that method used it tends to create more issues. Whether this is because of shoddy java, shoddy javascript-java interface, or because the idea in flawed in a way I can't figure out, I tend to groan when a page loads up java without holding a visible applet. But from what I've done playing around with WebSockets, it seems to not have those problems. If I had to guess, I'd say it's because much better than I am with sockets wrote the device, and it lets me use my javascript skills.
Though that does make me wonder why nobody has come out with a cross-platform java embed with generalized javascript hooks. Now I'm gonna have to google to see if that exists to figure out why it hasn't caught on.
That's why I said I still need to optimize the experience on different resolutions, but when I do my job right and keep my HTML semantic, it's as simple as using @media-like css (the actual @media doesn't work well except for print css) to change the output to look better on a smaller screen. Then I don't have to change my php/ruby code based on browser sniffing - which is just a pain to maintain - and still get my site to look good across devices.
It's got a big overhead compared to straight JS, which I'm ok because it makes my coding process faster, but judging by how much everybody else here seems to be decrying JS/AJAX because it repurposes HTTP/TCP instead of opening a socket and using a different protocol with less overhead. Is it less efficient than optimum? Yes. But it works better for me than creating discrete applications for every platform, or re-writing my browser-specific code every time. I could do a lot of this with Java, but that doesn't get me onto smartphones as well as HTML/JS/AJAX does.
Now Spring and all that other Java EE stuff, that doesn't increase usability or ease of coding, that I can't stand using. It's mostly marketing without any of the benefits I'm looking for.
I agree on WebSockets, but you don't get paid if you don't ship code, and I don't feel like putting off eating until WebSockets is deployed enough to use.
I couldn't disagree more. Writing desktop apps (even using your new deployment methods) propagates the number 1 issue designing an app for the web tries to solve: platform independence. If you work in a windows ecosystem, live in a windows ecosystem, you might not understand the problem, but when I write an app for the web I know that it'll work with any modern platform (even if I have to do workarounds for IE), including modern smartphones.
No other platform can say that.
While I need to optimize the experience on different screen resolutions/devices/etc, that's a lot easier to do than cross compiling for every platform I want people to use my application on. HTML/AJAX/JS is a brilliant way to do this. Yes, to get additional functionality you have to be a bit hacky about protocols until the full-featured replacements become ubiquitous (I'm looking at you WebSockets!), but in the end it works better for the kind of apps that lend themselves to the web. Trust me, it's not because we don't want to branch out - it's because we have a reason to work with this platform.
Because that's an engineering solution in a medium populated with designers.
Also, I personally think you've found a solution in search of a problem, since good class naming practices essentially create a nest anyways (though not declaratory).
From what I understand of the games/gaming industry, programmers have a short lifespan and are easily replaced without pay at a major studio. If they really want to make games, tell them to start making games ASAP, and ask them if they think they can do that 80 hours a week! If they do, then it's a tossup: the DigiPen and FullSail programs give them focused experience (note: hiring managers are reported to not care that they went to gaming schools), while a CS degree gives them career flexibilty.
Personally, I'd sit them down and ask why they want to make games, and if it doesn't sound like they want to because of a desire to be clever with object inheretence or design complex AIs, encourage them to take storywriting or point them to a program like my Alma Matter (UT Dallas)'s Arts and Technologies (ATEC) program, where they can help a kid develop art and storytelling skills and give him experience making projects of all kinds in fields. From there he can work his way into industry the old fashioned way: tons of unpaid hard work for the love of it, perhaps with eventual success by getting hired. Being a CS gaming guru is great if you're interested in writing a network stack for a multiplayer game or increasing the engine's efficiency with DirectX, but most kids who want to get into games aren't thinking about those jobs.
Being unemployed (B.S. in Chemistry, likely going back to Grad School in one of a few fields next year if anybody in Texas is hiring and reads this. Also capable in IT and PHP development.) I've got some time to think about this myself, and I think I might try to make an indie game working with an artist friend of mine. If that works out, then I might try and make it work as a career, but from what I've read working ANY job in the gaming industry requires loving the medium and loving making things more than any love of money or sleep (unless you're a publisher, accountant, or HR, then I hear it's a better work environment with similar pay to other positions). In fact, that goes for doing anything creative in today's society. Encourage your kids to take a serious look at what they want in life and if the reality of the gaming industry fits it.
And, when they don't do that, point them to CS. If they hate it, they'll have the math for almost anything else in college so they don't lose a year.
Companies are already doing the kind of marketing you're talking about. I had the twitter account for the Sci-Fi B movie 'Sharktopus' place me in it's 'Midnight Snack' list after I tweeted about how terrible it looked. (aside - saying that last sentence out loud makes the whole thing sound far more stupid than the process actually is)
As a result, they show up in the 'recent lists you've been put in' in the new twitter interface. Pretty sharp on their part. That being said, I think that doing business with twitter lets you get additional info and, most importantly, more screen space on your target audience's screens than following them. If Best Buy's logo appears on my screen every time I log in, that's a service they couldn't get otherwise.
For that matter, if they didn't make it obtrusive, I wouldn't mind if they put in cheaper, market-targeted promoted tweet into my feed from time to time if it makes the service profitable so they don't have to shut it down when/if venture runs out. I'm sure as hell not likely to pay per month for the service, it's nifty but not life-changing for me.
The military thinks of that as people throwing rocks over the fence - an annoyance to be dealt with, but not a serious enemy.
Unless its the Israeli military in which case someone throwing rocks over the fence is taken seriously enough to send some artillery rounds back at them... maybe with white phosphorous for good measure.
Not even close. Rocks are returned with rubber bullets or paintballs, when they're returned at all (most of the time, they post no threat at all and are ignored). They only use artillery against where the rockets are fired from, and only use white phosphorous when the rockets are being stored underground. The Israeli Army has very, very strict firing guidelines, but get vilified because HAMAS is more than happy to fire from populated buildings (especially schools, mosques, and hospitals!) because it will force Israel to retaliate, and the international media will write stories about how Israel attacked a school.
For example, there was a reporter for Al Arabiya talking about how they heard explosions and how Israel had fired a rocket that landed on the border. Then, live on air, she got a phone call from her producer that told her the rocket wasn't Israeli, and was fired FROM THE BUILDING THEY WERE RECORDING IN. Without their knowledge or consent. Hamas fired from there so the Israeli response would be an attack on innocent reporters (which, btw, is exactly how the stories were written).
There are many good reasons to dislike Israel's policies - water rights, the "only the base necessities" policy of the blockade, the far-right Hassidic political block, and especially settlements - but the military response isn't one of them. Is it heavy handed? Perhaps, but Israel has a choice between retaliation with artillery into the areas the attacks come from or allowing the rockets to fall and kill Israeli civilians. In a world of greys, this is a very nearly black-and-white decision.
Oh yeah? Put a couple of rounds into a slow router and see how fast management authorizes the purchase request for new equipment.
Well it has to go through the unit's procurement office, and then to Command so it can be routed to the quartermaster's office who will send you the same model with the same faults because that's what the mission documents specify. That's if they have surplus on hand.
If not, then a bid will be put out for replacement hardware. The bid will be reviewed and passed to the Congressional Armed Services Committee for budgeting, where it will eventually be awarded to some important Congressman's Nephew so he can go and stump that he "got jobs for this district" when elections come around again. The bid will be low to win, but there will be unexpected delays and cost overages. The hardware itself will be made in the USA, and consist of one fully-functional-but-kinda-shitty router from China complete with back doors and a sticker (also produced in China) that's applied in the USA to finish the product. It will get to you a year after it was requisitioned.
Of course, when it shows up you'll curse, because your unit commander will have already gone out and bought a real router to replace the bullet-ridden one that has performed better than the old one ever did for a fraction of the cost of the new one. It will have to be sold for pennies on the dollar when the replacement shows up, in theory. Nobody cares about that, though, and the overpriced router will sit in it's box on a pallet somewhere, further reinforcing the belief that the people in the field know how to run this organization better than the pencil necks in requisition. You see, the people in the field are people of action, and the other are bureaucrats.
Any people who have served, feel free to correct/embellish.
Minecraft isn't American, but is really good and so popular these days that the guy behind it has flown to talk to Valve and had to shut down his registration and payment system (which also means it's free to play right now!).
Dwarf Fortress, of course.
Lugaru HD is another classic indie title, and I think the non-HD version got open sourced as part of the Humble Indie Bundle deal. The game is a bit sparse at times, but for me the gameplay was top-notch.
Darwinia will make you more attached to little green pixel men than should be right.
These are some of the well-known ones. Really there are too many to list, but I HIGHLY recommend buying fresh, innovative indie games. They don't have the polish of AAA big-budget titles, but they make up for it in interesting gameplay mechanics and sometimes genuinely good storytelling that wipes the floor with the "everything you do must be epic to the extreme!" plots that the AAA titles have. I've gotten more hours of fun from VVVVV (look for it on steam for $5) than I got from playing Gears of War 2 which cost 10x that much.
Seriously, support your indie developers. The more people who buy their games, the more they get to make. Here is a good place to start looking.
It's not necessarily a stunt, it could be they've been negotiating with publishers/backers to keep it open and today they got a shut-it-down-now ultimatum, and are announcing their contingency plan on Wednesday.
Though this is slashdot, and conspiracy makes for a better story:P
While I agree that the west has fucked with Iran a lot, the analysis the article makes isn't the crazy, anti-Iranian spin you're making it out to be. Iran absolutely wants to become the regional hegemon of the middle east, and this is a way to increase their ability to do so. Whether or not that's innocuous is up for debate. I lean on the side that feels Iran being a hegemon is ok as long as that means they give way to control by their democratized populace instead of being run by secret police and a theological council. But having a government that's run on a religious level calling shots over a sphere of influence is a step backwards to incorporating the middle east into the larger world.
You might not have an issue with the Ayatollah asserting his unilateral authority against the general will of the people (see the Green Revolution), but I do. Remember: the CIA-made puppet government was overturned by scholars and students acting in Iran and abroad, with the population expecting democracy afterwards. Then the theocrats gained power by thuggery (each street had a block captain to point the thug squads in the right direction) and the scholars started disappearing. I don't want those people making regional security calls Monroe-doctrine style
I'm not buying this. The DOM used to be an ugly, untamed beast that did little more than parlor tricks. Then the last decade happened and both the technology (especially the last few years in engine speed!) and ability to work with data (the use of ajax) have increased its usability amazingly. Especially with frameworks like jQuery and prototype, building a full-featured webapp that works as well as a native app isn't the heresy you make it out to be.
So what exactly are the advantages native apps have? Short of local-data intensive apps like Photoshop, After Effects, or CAD programs I can't think of any big advantages, and a lot of disadvantages (locked to local data, inability to access the program from another location easily, DLL/library issues causing the app not to work).
Slashdot Mirror
The same Wowio who managed to not pay the webcomic authors whose work they were selling?
I couldn't agree more. The problems they're having will go away as the engineering and practices fill the gaps, and as the networks adapt to actual use conditions. The power we give them now will never go away. Only Cincinnatus gave up his dictatorship, and nobody in a board room is anything like him.
This reads like an ad with just enough to make it slashdot-worthy... but the line at the end makes me think it's just necessary gadget-lust spec gushing. I can't tell if he copy-pasted bits of the article from a press release, or just chose their writing style.
I'd call Godwin's law on this, but somebody's already got a patent on that...
Sigg'd.
In theory, that would be better. But every time I've seen that method used it tends to create more issues. Whether this is because of shoddy java, shoddy javascript-java interface, or because the idea in flawed in a way I can't figure out, I tend to groan when a page loads up java without holding a visible applet. But from what I've done playing around with WebSockets, it seems to not have those problems. If I had to guess, I'd say it's because much better than I am with sockets wrote the device, and it lets me use my javascript skills.
Though that does make me wonder why nobody has come out with a cross-platform java embed with generalized javascript hooks. Now I'm gonna have to google to see if that exists to figure out why it hasn't caught on.
That's why I said I still need to optimize the experience on different resolutions, but when I do my job right and keep my HTML semantic, it's as simple as using @media-like css (the actual @media doesn't work well except for print css) to change the output to look better on a smaller screen. Then I don't have to change my php/ruby code based on browser sniffing - which is just a pain to maintain - and still get my site to look good across devices.
It's got a big overhead compared to straight JS, which I'm ok because it makes my coding process faster, but judging by how much everybody else here seems to be decrying JS/AJAX because it repurposes HTTP/TCP instead of opening a socket and using a different protocol with less overhead. Is it less efficient than optimum? Yes. But it works better for me than creating discrete applications for every platform, or re-writing my browser-specific code every time. I could do a lot of this with Java, but that doesn't get me onto smartphones as well as HTML/JS/AJAX does.
Now Spring and all that other Java EE stuff, that doesn't increase usability or ease of coding, that I can't stand using. It's mostly marketing without any of the benefits I'm looking for.
Really? Why? What are you metrics for evaluation and decison-making?
I agree on WebSockets, but you don't get paid if you don't ship code, and I don't feel like putting off eating until WebSockets is deployed enough to use.
I couldn't disagree more. Writing desktop apps (even using your new deployment methods) propagates the number 1 issue designing an app for the web tries to solve: platform independence. If you work in a windows ecosystem, live in a windows ecosystem, you might not understand the problem, but when I write an app for the web I know that it'll work with any modern platform (even if I have to do workarounds for IE), including modern smartphones.
No other platform can say that.
While I need to optimize the experience on different screen resolutions/devices/etc, that's a lot easier to do than cross compiling for every platform I want people to use my application on. HTML/AJAX/JS is a brilliant way to do this. Yes, to get additional functionality you have to be a bit hacky about protocols until the full-featured replacements become ubiquitous (I'm looking at you WebSockets!), but in the end it works better for the kind of apps that lend themselves to the web. Trust me, it's not because we don't want to branch out - it's because we have a reason to work with this platform.
Because that's an engineering solution in a medium populated with designers.
Also, I personally think you've found a solution in search of a problem, since good class naming practices essentially create a nest anyways (though not declaratory).
From what I understand of the games/gaming industry, programmers have a short lifespan and are easily replaced without pay at a major studio. If they really want to make games, tell them to start making games ASAP, and ask them if they think they can do that 80 hours a week! If they do, then it's a tossup: the DigiPen and FullSail programs give them focused experience (note: hiring managers are reported to not care that they went to gaming schools), while a CS degree gives them career flexibilty.
Personally, I'd sit them down and ask why they want to make games, and if it doesn't sound like they want to because of a desire to be clever with object inheretence or design complex AIs, encourage them to take storywriting or point them to a program like my Alma Matter (UT Dallas)'s Arts and Technologies (ATEC) program, where they can help a kid develop art and storytelling skills and give him experience making projects of all kinds in fields. From there he can work his way into industry the old fashioned way: tons of unpaid hard work for the love of it, perhaps with eventual success by getting hired. Being a CS gaming guru is great if you're interested in writing a network stack for a multiplayer game or increasing the engine's efficiency with DirectX, but most kids who want to get into games aren't thinking about those jobs.
Being unemployed (B.S. in Chemistry, likely going back to Grad School in one of a few fields next year if anybody in Texas is hiring and reads this. Also capable in IT and PHP development.) I've got some time to think about this myself, and I think I might try to make an indie game working with an artist friend of mine. If that works out, then I might try and make it work as a career, but from what I've read working ANY job in the gaming industry requires loving the medium and loving making things more than any love of money or sleep (unless you're a publisher, accountant, or HR, then I hear it's a better work environment with similar pay to other positions). In fact, that goes for doing anything creative in today's society. Encourage your kids to take a serious look at what they want in life and if the reality of the gaming industry fits it.
And, when they don't do that, point them to CS. If they hate it, they'll have the math for almost anything else in college so they don't lose a year.
Chrome gets the best advertising real estate on the web: it has a blurb on the otherwise minimalist google homepage.
Companies are already doing the kind of marketing you're talking about. I had the twitter account for the Sci-Fi B movie 'Sharktopus' place me in it's 'Midnight Snack' list after I tweeted about how terrible it looked. (aside - saying that last sentence out loud makes the whole thing sound far more stupid than the process actually is)
As a result, they show up in the 'recent lists you've been put in' in the new twitter interface. Pretty sharp on their part. That being said, I think that doing business with twitter lets you get additional info and, most importantly, more screen space on your target audience's screens than following them. If Best Buy's logo appears on my screen every time I log in, that's a service they couldn't get otherwise.
For that matter, if they didn't make it obtrusive, I wouldn't mind if they put in cheaper, market-targeted promoted tweet into my feed from time to time if it makes the service profitable so they don't have to shut it down when/if venture runs out. I'm sure as hell not likely to pay per month for the service, it's nifty but not life-changing for me.
That's exactly why I'm ok with government trust-busting early 1900's style, even with heavy libertarian leanings.
Also, this is why I hate Ayn Rand. Yes, you can believe in libertarianism without masturbating to Ayn Rand.
I'm going to go ahead and read this as "scientists develop nanobots to hack the brain".
I know it's not true, but it sounds awesome.
So what's your alternative?
The military thinks of that as people throwing rocks over the fence - an annoyance to be dealt with, but not a serious enemy.
Unless its the Israeli military in which case someone throwing rocks over the fence is taken seriously enough to send some artillery rounds back at them... maybe with white phosphorous for good measure.
Not even close. Rocks are returned with rubber bullets or paintballs, when they're returned at all (most of the time, they post no threat at all and are ignored). They only use artillery against where the rockets are fired from, and only use white phosphorous when the rockets are being stored underground. The Israeli Army has very, very strict firing guidelines, but get vilified because HAMAS is more than happy to fire from populated buildings (especially schools, mosques, and hospitals!) because it will force Israel to retaliate, and the international media will write stories about how Israel attacked a school.
For example, there was a reporter for Al Arabiya talking about how they heard explosions and how Israel had fired a rocket that landed on the border. Then, live on air, she got a phone call from her producer that told her the rocket wasn't Israeli, and was fired FROM THE BUILDING THEY WERE RECORDING IN. Without their knowledge or consent. Hamas fired from there so the Israeli response would be an attack on innocent reporters (which, btw, is exactly how the stories were written).
There are many good reasons to dislike Israel's policies - water rights, the "only the base necessities" policy of the blockade, the far-right Hassidic political block, and especially settlements - but the military response isn't one of them. Is it heavy handed? Perhaps, but Israel has a choice between retaliation with artillery into the areas the attacks come from or allowing the rockets to fall and kill Israeli civilians. In a world of greys, this is a very nearly black-and-white decision.
Oh yeah? Put a couple of rounds into a slow router and see how fast management authorizes the purchase request for new equipment.
Well it has to go through the unit's procurement office, and then to Command so it can be routed to the quartermaster's office who will send you the same model with the same faults because that's what the mission documents specify. That's if they have surplus on hand.
If not, then a bid will be put out for replacement hardware. The bid will be reviewed and passed to the Congressional Armed Services Committee for budgeting, where it will eventually be awarded to some important Congressman's Nephew so he can go and stump that he "got jobs for this district" when elections come around again. The bid will be low to win, but there will be unexpected delays and cost overages. The hardware itself will be made in the USA, and consist of one fully-functional-but-kinda-shitty router from China complete with back doors and a sticker (also produced in China) that's applied in the USA to finish the product. It will get to you a year after it was requisitioned.
Of course, when it shows up you'll curse, because your unit commander will have already gone out and bought a real router to replace the bullet-ridden one that has performed better than the old one ever did for a fraction of the cost of the new one. It will have to be sold for pennies on the dollar when the replacement shows up, in theory. Nobody cares about that, though, and the overpriced router will sit in it's box on a pallet somewhere, further reinforcing the belief that the people in the field know how to run this organization better than the pencil necks in requisition. You see, the people in the field are people of action, and the other are bureaucrats.
Any people who have served, feel free to correct/embellish.
A few more for your list:
Minecraft isn't American, but is really good and so popular these days that the guy behind it has flown to talk to Valve and had to shut down his registration and payment system (which also means it's free to play right now!).
Dwarf Fortress, of course.
Lugaru HD is another classic indie title, and I think the non-HD version got open sourced as part of the Humble Indie Bundle deal. The game is a bit sparse at times, but for me the gameplay was top-notch.
Darwinia will make you more attached to little green pixel men than should be right.
These are some of the well-known ones. Really there are too many to list, but I HIGHLY recommend buying fresh, innovative indie games. They don't have the polish of AAA big-budget titles, but they make up for it in interesting gameplay mechanics and sometimes genuinely good storytelling that wipes the floor with the "everything you do must be epic to the extreme!" plots that the AAA titles have. I've gotten more hours of fun from VVVVV (look for it on steam for $5) than I got from playing Gears of War 2 which cost 10x that much.
Seriously, support your indie developers. The more people who buy their games, the more they get to make. Here is a good place to start looking.
It's not necessarily a stunt, it could be they've been negotiating with publishers/backers to keep it open and today they got a shut-it-down-now ultimatum, and are announcing their contingency plan on Wednesday.
Though this is slashdot, and conspiracy makes for a better story :P
While I agree that the west has fucked with Iran a lot, the analysis the article makes isn't the crazy, anti-Iranian spin you're making it out to be. Iran absolutely wants to become the regional hegemon of the middle east, and this is a way to increase their ability to do so. Whether or not that's innocuous is up for debate. I lean on the side that feels Iran being a hegemon is ok as long as that means they give way to control by their democratized populace instead of being run by secret police and a theological council. But having a government that's run on a religious level calling shots over a sphere of influence is a step backwards to incorporating the middle east into the larger world.
You might not have an issue with the Ayatollah asserting his unilateral authority against the general will of the people (see the Green Revolution), but I do. Remember: the CIA-made puppet government was overturned by scholars and students acting in Iran and abroad, with the population expecting democracy afterwards. Then the theocrats gained power by thuggery (each street had a block captain to point the thug squads in the right direction) and the scholars started disappearing. I don't want those people making regional security calls Monroe-doctrine style
I'm not buying this. The DOM used to be an ugly, untamed beast that did little more than parlor tricks. Then the last decade happened and both the technology (especially the last few years in engine speed!) and ability to work with data (the use of ajax) have increased its usability amazingly. Especially with frameworks like jQuery and prototype, building a full-featured webapp that works as well as a native app isn't the heresy you make it out to be.
So what exactly are the advantages native apps have? Short of local-data intensive apps like Photoshop, After Effects, or CAD programs I can't think of any big advantages, and a lot of disadvantages (locked to local data, inability to access the program from another location easily, DLL/library issues causing the app not to work).
My favorite is from the show How It's Made.
They said, "when complete it weighs 10 pounds, about the weight of a full-grown cat."
For the next 2 years, my roomates and I refered to weights in terms of full-grown cats.