Having worked for the Secretary of State here in Florida (and working on the first couple of election results systems for the Florida Dept. of State, Division of Elections), I feel confident saying that the problems in Florida are mostly due to sheer incompetence. The few people who actually know anything aren't compensated enough to stay on, and the rest rely on Peter Principle to stay in their positions. Problem is, this incompetence allows those who are truly evil to have free reign over the elections. It's not some big, carefully orchestrated plot, it's pure opportunism - wait around for a big enough screw up, and have your fun during the resulting confusion.
Don't laugh. The popular design company, Ideo, does just that in one of their offices. In fact, if you pick up the book about Ideo's innovative practices, The Art of Innovation, you'll read pulleys described as a technique for increasing office space and creating office decor. A photo of this technique exists here - second row, middle selection in the gallery.
Personally, I like the simultaneous release of the book AND an accompanying CD with an electronic copy of the book. Programming books are the most commonly found dual-release books available, and it makes the book so much more useful. I keep the book on in my office, and can tote a copy on my laptop to client sites: the best of both worlds.
I don't have a problem with this sort of release, and the publisher can lock down the electronic copy in any way they see fit, as my right of access to the book is not really affected, and I can still lend the hard copy out at will. It's just when you buy an electronic-only version that weird shit happens, and it's such a freaking pain to read, that I don't want it anyway.
I love this article, because it reinforces what I've thought all along: take the e-book and shove it if you don't want to give us the right of fair use.
Right. Strategy. It's nothing more than a walk, click, walk, click. If you mess up, re-load your saved game and try to click right this time. Phbbbbbt!
Of course, I disagree with the idea that Final Fantasy is a game. A game involves strategic decision, with tradeoffs and non-linear development. Final Fantasy is a single plot-line, interspersed with puzzles and button-mashing. You're simply rewarded for pushing the right buttons with a little more of the story. Not that FF is not fun, it's just not a game, but an interactive movie in its current iteration.
Read Game Architecture and Design and see if you agree. I think we've lost sight of gaming with the advent of the interactive movie. That's why I stick to real, old-fashioned wargaming.
Although it's not remotely in the same league of complexity as PDF (or any of the Postscripts), eXtensible Form Definition Language (XFDL) is an XML-based schema set that will allow the precise placement of document components (as well as arbitrary base64 encoded bin files) within an XML document. The proper tools can be used to display and handle the forms, as well as print them (although without the extensive printer involvement of Postscript...it's going to be pure PCL).
The latest W3C note is here. Check it out, then go look at the tools out there. This sort of thing could well become the new "generic" format for portable documents.
I wonder how much of this is caused by the inefficiencies within the telco's themselves. For example, years ago, we approached the local Sprint/Centel office about dark fiber (we had FDDI on our minds). The local office's response: "what?" There was NO provision for sales whatsoever. Now, if you wanted a bunch of T1's or something...no problem.
Google staff are interested in "Cashing out" - converting their investment to valuable stock, and exercising their options while interest and price is high
Google is money-starved and is looking for an influx of public capital to maintain the business
There is, among the public, some bizarre fascination with IPOs. For some reason, people think that your business isn't a "real" business until it makes a public offering. Come ON people! Companies go public for money - that's ALL. Look at the privately-held companies that are many times as large as little startups as Google (I used to work for one: Watkins Motor Lines, part of Watkins Associated Industries: $1B plus in revenues). If you're making money, it's not necessary to sell public stock.
Man, I got that thrown at me, too. Don't get me wrong, FORTRAN has it's place (garbage pail, septic tank, the city dump...kidding), but it's just not terribly relevant to modern software development, except as an historical exercise. I was actually stuck with FORTRAN 77 (in about 95) for a grad-level course on Scientific and Numerical programming I was taking from a local university. Talk about USELESS. I've been a professional developer for 10 years, write component-based (COM/CORBA) code in C++, and have absolutely no FORTRAN tools excepting the GNU stuff. How was I supposed to apply this course?!
I suggest closely reviewing the curriculum of any CS school you might attend. It becomes pretty obvious who's real and who's not.
Not that I'm particularly fond of Smalltalk, but it is a simple language to learn, it's well-connected to its development environment (thus, very, very simple to prototype in), and Object-Oriented at its very core. Java, on the other hand, is much too complex and idiosyncratic for placement as a learning language... ditto C/C++. I think a more straightforward language benefits the student of OOA&D.
Plus, some of the better CS departments (GATech, etc.) seem to agree. Check out Squeak.
Yes, I read the article. Notice that the author still indicates that the company intended to reduce functionality of those devices that are not partaking of the subscription services. Now, admittedly, if this functionality is part of the subscription, then fine, reduce away. Otherwise, it would appear to me that the company is trying to steer owners to the subscription service in a rather heavy-handed way. I think, if I owned one of these things, I would hack hell out of it to get away from the TiVo company...or I'd just ante up for the subscription.
Personally, why watch so much TV in the first place? You guys should be coding.
Actually, I LOVE Bill Gates. I'm a software developer who focuses on apps for the Windows platforms. Personally, I've always felt that I'd do the same thing BillG does if it were ME up in Redmond.
You may not like it, but he uses his power. Read The 48 Laws of Power for a good explanation.
Still, it irks me to see companies act foolishly. I DO agree with the subscriber line comment, though. Very good thought.
...that any application of hardware that THEY built should be sanctioned and controlled by THEM. These people think they still own the boxes, even after you've plunked over your money and taken the box home. It's not uncommon in the technology world, just look at Microsoft's attempt to foist XP on the world.
What's particularly funny about it, is that OTHER industries seem to want to drop their products like a hot rock as soon as the merchandise is off the sales floor. Have you ever tried to complain about defects that appear in your car after the warranty is expired? What about return a stereo component or video camera?
I think the difference here is that companies that actually have CONTENT to provide confuse their content with the medium used to provide it. (Of course, Microsoft only THINKS they have content to provide, TiVo might actually have some.)
Forgive me for being an ignorant putz, but isn't the diagonal merely a perspective issue? I know I've seen cards with diagonals...this design doesn't carry over into IC's?
A graphic, someone, PLEASE!
Re:We must thank his sister
on
Just For Fun
·
· Score: 3
Yep...I have a woman behind, and lemme tell you, I am SO hot in a dress....
kidding, dammit....kidding
My title of choice...
on
Just For Fun
·
· Score: 5
...would have been:
Linus Torvalds: The Man Page
But I think the public might have misconstrued the book's content.
The article characterizes all South Koreans as game-obsessed nutjobs, drawn into this fantasy as the product of some cultural flaw. Of course, the press isn't generally so kind to Western (American, Canadian, even Western European) gamers, either, but at least it generally has the courtesy to consider us some bizarre subset, rather than the entire culture.
Personally, I'd find this pretty damned offensive if I were of Asian decent of any sort. Sorry, folks, this is embarassing.
Personally, I think it's an even more brilliant example of just how arbitrary and random the Slashdot posting guidelines are. Sure, it's funny, but what does this have to do with anything? I guess I'll have to start posting Satirewire, BBSpot, and Onion links every freaking week.
I hate to say it, but I'm starting to tire of this irrelevancy. Come on, Slashdot...be interesting again!
Surprisingly, no one has mentioned the most obviously distressing point of the article: the sites designed with the most consistency (the most usable content) were the worst for advertising.
Doesn't this just underscore what everyone already knows, that annoying advertising gets results because people pay attention to it? Imagine a world where television programmers religiously ran their advertising between shows, leaving the content of the shows uninterrupted. Would you ever see ads in such a world? Wonderfully usable sites such as Google, although conforming to Jakob Nielsen's design ideas, don't create enough ruckus around their ads to create a reliable advertising medium. Television, on the other hand, has awful ads all through its content, with varying ad lengths and spot times to keep the user in his/her seat, expecting the content to return at any minute.
The funny paradox here is that TV continues to attract viewers, even with such practices, while sites that attempt to conform to a more television-like advertising standard merely run off their users. Personally, I believe that this is primarily due to a comparatively higher level of sophistication on the part of web users (say all you want...at least we can turn on the computer, right?); if the web is ever saturated with the masses that TV attracts, then the ad model could well change to the more annoying TV-style (Sign of the apocalypse, btw...), where sites that are inconsistent, confusing, or otherwise forcing the user to see the ads can create a revenue stream based on the ad.
Slashdot Mirror
Having worked for the Secretary of State here in Florida (and working on the first couple of election results systems for the Florida Dept. of State, Division of Elections), I feel confident saying that the problems in Florida are mostly due to sheer incompetence. The few people who actually know anything aren't compensated enough to stay on, and the rest rely on Peter Principle to stay in their positions. Problem is, this incompetence allows those who are truly evil to have free reign over the elections. It's not some big, carefully orchestrated plot, it's pure opportunism - wait around for a big enough screw up, and have your fun during the resulting confusion.
Don't laugh. The popular design company, Ideo, does just that in one of their offices. In fact, if you pick up the book about Ideo's innovative practices, The Art of Innovation, you'll read pulleys described as a technique for increasing office space and creating office decor. A photo of this technique exists here - second row, middle selection in the gallery.
However, in line with Vivendi's (the French parent company) thinking, we will soon see:
Personally, I can't wait!
Personally, I like the simultaneous release of the book AND an accompanying CD with an electronic copy of the book. Programming books are the most commonly found dual-release books available, and it makes the book so much more useful. I keep the book on in my office, and can tote a copy on my laptop to client sites: the best of both worlds.
I don't have a problem with this sort of release, and the publisher can lock down the electronic copy in any way they see fit, as my right of access to the book is not really affected, and I can still lend the hard copy out at will. It's just when you buy an electronic-only version that weird shit happens, and it's such a freaking pain to read, that I don't want it anyway.
I love this article, because it reinforces what I've thought all along: take the e-book and shove it if you don't want to give us the right of fair use.
I am exceedingly embarassed to say, "you got me." Shithead. :P
Perhaps I should say..."i'm-bare-assed."
Right. Strategy. It's nothing more than a walk, click, walk, click. If you mess up, re-load your saved game and try to click right this time. Phbbbbbt!
Of course, maybe I'm just being difficult. :)
Of course, I disagree with the idea that Final Fantasy is a game. A game involves strategic decision, with tradeoffs and non-linear development. Final Fantasy is a single plot-line, interspersed with puzzles and button-mashing. You're simply rewarded for pushing the right buttons with a little more of the story. Not that FF is not fun, it's just not a game, but an interactive movie in its current iteration.
Read Game Architecture and Design and see if you agree. I think we've lost sight of gaming with the advent of the interactive movie. That's why I stick to real, old-fashioned wargaming.
Although it's not remotely in the same league of complexity as PDF (or any of the Postscripts), eXtensible Form Definition Language (XFDL) is an XML-based schema set that will allow the precise placement of document components (as well as arbitrary base64 encoded bin files) within an XML document. The proper tools can be used to display and handle the forms, as well as print them (although without the extensive printer involvement of Postscript...it's going to be pure PCL).
The latest W3C note is here. Check it out, then go look at the tools out there. This sort of thing could well become the new "generic" format for portable documents.
Bill Gates says: Check out this worm, baby! Boo-yah!
I wonder how much of this is caused by the inefficiencies within the telco's themselves. For example, years ago, we approached the local Sprint/Centel office about dark fiber (we had FDDI on our minds). The local office's response: "what?" There was NO provision for sales whatsoever. Now, if you wanted a bunch of T1's or something...no problem.
Wait, wait! How does this finding affect the expansion of the universe!?
It appears that either:
There is, among the public, some bizarre fascination with IPOs. For some reason, people think that your business isn't a "real" business until it makes a public offering. Come ON people! Companies go public for money - that's ALL. Look at the privately-held companies that are many times as large as little startups as Google (I used to work for one: Watkins Motor Lines, part of Watkins Associated Industries: $1B plus in revenues). If you're making money, it's not necessary to sell public stock.
Orientated!? How many times to I have to tell you people:
Orientate: to face the east (only)
The word you're looking for is oriented.
Man, I got that thrown at me, too. Don't get me wrong, FORTRAN has it's place (garbage pail, septic tank, the city dump...kidding), but it's just not terribly relevant to modern software development, except as an historical exercise. I was actually stuck with FORTRAN 77 (in about 95) for a grad-level course on Scientific and Numerical programming I was taking from a local university. Talk about USELESS. I've been a professional developer for 10 years, write component-based (COM/CORBA) code in C++, and have absolutely no FORTRAN tools excepting the GNU stuff. How was I supposed to apply this course?!
I suggest closely reviewing the curriculum of any CS school you might attend. It becomes pretty obvious who's real and who's not.
Not that I'm particularly fond of Smalltalk, but it is a simple language to learn, it's well-connected to its development environment (thus, very, very simple to prototype in), and Object-Oriented at its very core. Java, on the other hand, is much too complex and idiosyncratic for placement as a learning language ... ditto C/C++. I think a more straightforward language benefits the student of OOA&D.
Plus, some of the better CS departments (GATech, etc.) seem to agree. Check out Squeak.
True, true! We forget, the electronic paper will require a 5-pound battery/charger/port expander/whatever appliance to make it work. Joy!
Yes, I read the article. Notice that the author still indicates that the company intended to reduce functionality of those devices that are not partaking of the subscription services. Now, admittedly, if this functionality is part of the subscription, then fine, reduce away. Otherwise, it would appear to me that the company is trying to steer owners to the subscription service in a rather heavy-handed way. I think, if I owned one of these things, I would hack hell out of it to get away from the TiVo company...or I'd just ante up for the subscription.
Personally, why watch so much TV in the first place? You guys should be coding.
Actually, I LOVE Bill Gates. I'm a software developer who focuses on apps for the Windows platforms. Personally, I've always felt that I'd do the same thing BillG does if it were ME up in Redmond.
You may not like it, but he uses his power. Read The 48 Laws of Power for a good explanation.
Still, it irks me to see companies act foolishly. I DO agree with the subscriber line comment, though. Very good thought.
...that any application of hardware that THEY built should be sanctioned and controlled by THEM. These people think they still own the boxes, even after you've plunked over your money and taken the box home. It's not uncommon in the technology world, just look at Microsoft's attempt to foist XP on the world. What's particularly funny about it, is that OTHER industries seem to want to drop their products like a hot rock as soon as the merchandise is off the sales floor. Have you ever tried to complain about defects that appear in your car after the warranty is expired? What about return a stereo component or video camera? I think the difference here is that companies that actually have CONTENT to provide confuse their content with the medium used to provide it. (Of course, Microsoft only THINKS they have content to provide, TiVo might actually have some.)
Forgive me for being an ignorant putz, but isn't the diagonal merely a perspective issue? I know I've seen cards with diagonals...this design doesn't carry over into IC's?
A graphic, someone, PLEASE!
Yep...I have a woman behind, and lemme tell you, I am SO hot in a dress.... kidding, dammit....kidding
...would have been: Linus Torvalds: The Man Page
But I think the public might have misconstrued the book's content.
The article characterizes all South Koreans as game-obsessed nutjobs, drawn into this fantasy as the product of some cultural flaw. Of course, the press isn't generally so kind to Western (American, Canadian, even Western European) gamers, either, but at least it generally has the courtesy to consider us some bizarre subset, rather than the entire culture.
Personally, I'd find this pretty damned offensive if I were of Asian decent of any sort. Sorry, folks, this is embarassing.
Still, I would LOVE to see this game.
Personally, I think it's an even more brilliant example of just how arbitrary and random the Slashdot posting guidelines are. Sure, it's funny, but what does this have to do with anything? I guess I'll have to start posting Satirewire, BBSpot, and Onion links every freaking week.
I hate to say it, but I'm starting to tire of this irrelevancy. Come on, Slashdot...be interesting again!
Surprisingly, no one has mentioned the most obviously distressing point of the article: the sites designed with the most consistency (the most usable content) were the worst for advertising.
Doesn't this just underscore what everyone already knows, that annoying advertising gets results because people pay attention to it? Imagine a world where television programmers religiously ran their advertising between shows, leaving the content of the shows uninterrupted. Would you ever see ads in such a world? Wonderfully usable sites such as Google, although conforming to Jakob Nielsen's design ideas, don't create enough ruckus around their ads to create a reliable advertising medium. Television, on the other hand, has awful ads all through its content, with varying ad lengths and spot times to keep the user in his/her seat, expecting the content to return at any minute.
The funny paradox here is that TV continues to attract viewers, even with such practices, while sites that attempt to conform to a more television-like advertising standard merely run off their users. Personally, I believe that this is primarily due to a comparatively higher level of sophistication on the part of web users (say all you want...at least we can turn on the computer, right?); if the web is ever saturated with the masses that TV attracts, then the ad model could well change to the more annoying TV-style (Sign of the apocalypse, btw...), where sites that are inconsistent, confusing, or otherwise forcing the user to see the ads can create a revenue stream based on the ad.