Forgot to mention, morale is in the toilet, because after 2 years of effort we're about to release a new, fully standard-compliant version of the application with -0- new features, and even less compatibility with external applications than before.
Most people here have told me the only reason they have not left is because we'd never be able to get the same money or even half the vacation elsewhere.
My group is a prime example. We all worked for a startup that generally released a new version of our application about 3 times per year. Over a few years we had developed a nice lean development process that involved documenting our design, but only in enough detail to be able to fairly accurately estimate the development effort (in X days, X weeks, or X months).
Based on the estimates, the biz dev group would then pick and choose features to make up 3 months dev + test time.
This worked great, and we pretty much never had a late shipment and few bugs.
Then we got acquired by a giant 3-letter company with huge amounts of development process and tons and tons of "standards", and immediately were ordered to begin a 16 month release consisting of removing all open source and complying with standards. All their architects routinely veto our decisions and our design documents must be very very detailed and approved via heavyweight process before implementation can begin. 24 months later we're still in development, only recently the last design document was finally approved; at the moment it seems we'll be about 12 months late in total.
Now they're asking us why we have so many tests planned, and making us remove half of them. Supposedly quality is a major priority, but they have no testing group; only people to enforce standards. All tests and test cases are written and implemented by the developers themselves.
Dont even get me started about the outsourcing issues.
I always like DN3D because it ran so QUICKLY on the crap machine I had then. New maps, great. But what other sorts of "improvements" would anyone make? AFAIK it wasnt built to be "open" in any sort of developer-friendly way. But then again, perhaps thats just the kind of thing a lone OSD loves to chew on...
Our setup has a Linksys DSL Router plugged into the Cable Modem. It has 4 10/100 switched ports on the back, one of which goes to a Linksys 1 Mbit Home PNA bridge. I just noticed they now have a 10 Mbit Home PNA bridge.
This way, the several machines in the room with the switch have direct 10/100 ethernet, and our iMac downstairs just plugs into the phone jack for its connection. No rewiring necessary!
I bought a copy of the June 1968 issue of Popular Science magazine for 50 cents at a junk store a few weeks ago. On the cover is an illustration of the scene where Hal uses the pod pincers to snip the dude's air line, sending him spinning off into space. The cover title says "Astronaut Adrift Into Space! Exciting adventure from '2001: A Space Odyssey' - the amazing movie that predicts the future"
The article features a number of screenshots from the movie, as well as some neat illustrations showing how some of the scenes were shot, like the apes in the opening scene, and the cool rotating hub from the Discovery.
The caption on the hub illustration reads:
"Astronauts walk on the walls an ceilings in the fantastic sets of 2001. They exercise in the centrifuge which is part of the Discovery, a giant space probe. The huge wheel (shown in drawing above) is 60 feet in diameter and weighs 32 tons. It actually turned during filming, but not enough to generate centrifugal force. Specially mounted cameras were used to create the illusion on the screen. The wheel had to be sealed for shooting, and a special closed-circuit video system was set up to enable the director to monitor and direct the action, by radio, inside the centrifuge. Trained rescue guards stood by at all times, to help actors escape if a fire started in the centrifuge."
What about physics makes it impossible for the coin to become more dense? If I threw it onto a neutron star you'd better believe it would get a LOT smaller!
On the other hand, maybe it just gets a little thicker?
How in the world are all the morons supposed to
talk on the phone and drive with THIS thing?
On the plus side, you won't need to buy those
fake phones anymore to look cool, just plug your
finger in your ear and yak away into whatever
watch you have!
I really want to see a picture of someone using
this thing, I can't imagine how stupid it must look..
I actually built the Cassini one a couple years ago, took about 20 hours or so. Had it (and a mini intel Pentium astronaut) hanging from the giant spiderweb made from network cable over my desk. That is, the SECOND attempt took about that long. I got about halfway through the first attempt before figuring out all the skills needed to do a half-decent job of it, then crumpled it up and started over again.
Trials of the system are due to start in 2003. The US space shuttle will launch dummy targets of a similar size, and a laser back on Earth will attempt to lock on to them.
I don't understand, there's TONS of junk already up there that they're tracking all the time. Why release MORE of it to test with??
Slashdot Mirror
What's with the overwhelming number of comments from right-wing crazies?
Forgot to mention, morale is in the toilet, because after 2 years of effort we're about to release a new, fully standard-compliant version of the application with -0- new features, and even less compatibility with external applications than before.
Most people here have told me the only reason they have not left is because we'd never be able to get the same money or even half the vacation elsewhere.
My group is a prime example. We all worked for a startup that generally released a new version of our application about 3 times per year. Over a few years we had developed a nice lean development process that involved documenting our design, but only in enough detail to be able to fairly accurately estimate the development effort (in X days, X weeks, or X months).
Based on the estimates, the biz dev group would then pick and choose features to make up 3 months dev + test time.
This worked great, and we pretty much never had a late shipment and few bugs.
Then we got acquired by a giant 3-letter company with huge amounts of development process and tons and tons of "standards", and immediately were ordered to begin a 16 month release consisting of removing all open source and complying with standards. All their architects routinely veto our decisions and our design documents must be very very detailed and approved via heavyweight process before implementation can begin. 24 months later we're still in development, only recently the last design document was finally approved; at the moment it seems we'll be about 12 months late in total.
Now they're asking us why we have so many tests planned, and making us remove half of them. Supposedly quality is a major priority, but they have no testing group; only people to enforce standards. All tests and test cases are written and implemented by the developers themselves.
Dont even get me started about the outsourcing issues.
Umm. Exactly how does this help with the global problem of overfishing?
one word: pr0n.
"cee plus plus ox?"
"cox?"
"kooks?"
I dont understand, the home page has a cool looking slim machine pictured, but it just says its a "concept drawing".
Then, when you go to click "purchase", it looks like any old clunky PC box.
Whats the deal?
I always like DN3D because it ran so QUICKLY on the crap machine I had then. New maps, great. But what other sorts of "improvements" would anyone make? AFAIK it wasnt built to be "open" in any sort of developer-friendly way. But then again, perhaps thats just the kind of thing a lone OSD loves to chew on...
Anyone got a link to pictures of this castle home?
This way, the several machines in the room with the switch have direct 10/100 ethernet, and our iMac downstairs just plugs into the phone jack for its connection. No rewiring necessary!
-dave
The article features a number of screenshots from the movie, as well as some neat illustrations showing how some of the scenes were shot, like the apes in the opening scene, and the cool rotating hub from the Discovery.
The caption on the hub illustration reads: "Astronauts walk on the walls an ceilings in the fantastic sets of 2001. They exercise in the centrifuge which is part of the Discovery, a giant space probe. The huge wheel (shown in drawing above) is 60 feet in diameter and weighs 32 tons. It actually turned during filming, but not enough to generate centrifugal force. Specially mounted cameras were used to create the illusion on the screen. The wheel had to be sealed for shooting, and a special closed-circuit video system was set up to enable the director to monitor and direct the action, by radio, inside the centrifuge. Trained rescue guards stood by at all times, to help actors escape if a fire started in the centrifuge."
"not the least of which is single mode operation at all wavelengths"
What does single mode operation mean?
What about physics makes it impossible for the coin to become more dense? If I threw it onto a neutron star you'd better believe it would get a LOT smaller! On the other hand, maybe it just gets a little thicker?
On the plus side, you won't need to buy those fake phones anymore to look cool, just plug your finger in your ear and yak away into whatever watch you have!
I really want to see a picture of someone using this thing, I can't imagine how stupid it must look..
1/37 Scale Cassini Model
and
1/45 Scale Galileo Model
I actually built the Cassini one a couple years ago, took about 20 hours or so. Had it (and a mini intel Pentium astronaut) hanging from the giant spiderweb made from network cable over my desk. That is, the SECOND attempt took about that long. I got about halfway through the first attempt before figuring out all the skills needed to do a half-decent job of it, then crumpled it up and started over again.
I vote this one "overrated", "offtopic", and "stupid."
I don't understand, there's TONS of junk already up there that they're tracking all the time. Why release MORE of it to test with??