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User: naroom

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Comments · 138

  1. Re:Another perspective on Console Manufacturers Want the Impossible? · · Score: 1

    Yes. This is correct. We have an upcoming generation of gamers who, in five years, are going to be interested in playing things that aren't crap. If even a tiny percentage of the Angry Birds crowd grows into console and PC gamers, the industry is looking damn good in about five years.

  2. Re:Agile doesn't mean that the project won't fail on World's Biggest 'Agile' Software Project Close To Failure · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If all "Agile" really means is "Do the project in such a way that it will succeed", then "Agile" is a useless word. Agile has a bad case of "No true Scotsman".

  3. Re:Popcorn time! on Predicting IQ With a Simple Visual Test · · Score: 0

    Well played.

  4. Re:Roach Motel - Free Wifi on Cockroaches Evolving To Avoid Roach Motels · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Once wifi has been around for 30+ years, we may start to see pests like roaches and mosquitoes becoming attracted to it. A wifi signal is a good indicator of delicious things nearby.

  5. Re:The author has the RAW file. Case closed on World Press Photo Winner Accused of Photoshopping · · Score: 1

    Personally I know of no software that can currently reverse a jpeg into raw.

    Print at high res, then take a picture of the print!

  6. Re:Yes--But the Trend is Toward Biological Realism on The New AI: Where Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence Meet · · Score: 1

    Typo: That should be *low* signal to noise. Someday we'll get an edit button.

  7. Re:Yes--But the Trend is Toward Biological Realism on The New AI: Where Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence Meet · · Score: 1

    I'm still mystified by the desire to make computational neural nets more like biological ones. Biological neurons are *bad* in many ways -- for one, they are composed of a large number of high signal-to-noise sensors (ion channels). This random behavior is necessary to conserve energy and space in a brain. But computers have random-access memory and energy isn't really a limiting factor; why impose these flaws?

    Sure, there may be things that can be discovered by playing with network models more inspired by biology. But there's this bizarre meme going around that we have to make computers act like brains for them to be any good. We don't.

  8. Re:Geoffrey Hinton on The New AI: Where Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence Meet · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the rec. It's very cheap used on Amazon right now.

  9. Video on Omnidirectional Treadmill: The Ultimate FPS Input Device? · · Score: 1

    The treadmill in action. I am likewise reminded of Sisyphus.

  10. Unconstitutional as heck on Senate To Vote On Internet Sales Tax (For Real This Time) · · Score: 2, Insightful

    But very practical, and should have happened sooner. The overall efficiency of our society will increase if people buy more things at local stores. Less gas wasted on shipping, more money staying in its own communities.

  11. Re:Amazon Showroom Effect on Kobo CEO Says Not Selling Washing Machines Key To Overtaking Amazon · · Score: 1
  12. Re:How long before Sega asks for it back? on Former Sega Employee Reveals Sega Pluto Prototype Console · · Score: 1

    I saw a man wearing a plain gray shirt, denim jeans, a hard hat, and a well stocked tool pouch walking my way towards the relay box with a large pair of bolt cutters slung over his shoulder.

    Does he know how to erect dispensers too?

  13. Amazon Showroom Effect on Kobo CEO Says Not Selling Washing Machines Key To Overtaking Amazon · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When Amazon started out, big-box stores became a showroom: people would look at that new TV, and go buy it on Amazon.

    Now, I go to Amazon to check reviews, but do most of my shopping on specialized vendors like Newegg or B&H Photo & Video. The specialized stores tend to have slightly better prices, or better selections, or better recommendations. Amazon is now my showroom for the rest of the Internet.

  14. MC Hawking, trash talking on Prof. Stephen Hawking: Great Scientist, Bad Gambler · · Score: 1
  15. Re:WIRED on Ask Slashdot: What Magazines Do You Still Read? · · Score: 1

    Yes, it was exactly when they started the digital version of the magazine. The advertising started to take up increasing space in the magazine. The worst were the not-too-subtle iProducts sentences interspersed into articles apparently at random.

  16. Mint experience on ZDNet Proclaims "Windows: It's Over" · · Score: 1

    I just went Mint with my home desktop and HTPC. Works well for both! Been using it since January, and will continue to do so.

    Pros:
    - Most Steam games work great via PlayOnLinux! This was a very nice surprise.
    - All HTPC functions work really, really well (filesharing, video + music playback, emulators for old console games). XBMC is amazing.
    - Sweet, sweet terminal. Oh, how I have missed you.
    - Programming is way easier, especially for Python and C++.
    - Lots of historically rough spots (e.g. sound playback) have been recently overhauled and work much better than they used to.
    - The Software Manager is awesome. You type in what you want, and it gives it to you. Fast, intuitive, no hassle.

    Cons:
    - Learning curve will be harder than Win8 if you're coming from a Windows background like me. The options and settings are all very accessible and well laid out, but learning where to look for them takes a while. I Googled "how to change my wallpaper in Linux Mint" for several minutes last night, to find out the answer was "right click on the desktop". Setting up VPN access to work was a similar adventure (answer: "click on the network connection icon.") I kept expecting things to be harder than they actually were.
    - Some games are just not meant to be, and won't work on Linux. Guild Wars 2 was more trouble than it was worth.
    - GIMP is a pretty bad image editor.


    Overall, I love Mint, and I'm sticking with it.

  17. Re:Not shocking. on Disney Closes LucasArts · · Score: 1

    This is Slashdot. That only works on Kickstarter.

  18. Re:Promotion? on How That 'Extra .9%' Could Ward Off a Zombie Apocalypse · · Score: 1

    If this is an example of the level of intellectual masturbation on Quora now I will continue to stay away from that boring site.

    As opposed to Slashdot, where we discuss posts about blogs about Quora answers. Much more interesting..

  19. Hindsight on How Scientists Know An Idea Is a Good One · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The only way to know if an idea was good, is after you've already done it. Future prediction is always a crapshoot. People who claim to be good at it were typically just lucky, and are deluding themselves into thinking it was all skill.

  20. Personal connections on How Scientists Know An Idea Is a Good One · · Score: 2

    This is why it's so important in biology to know people, or to have a PI who does. Friends tell friends their negative results, and that's how word gets around.

  21. Re:Guerrilla guide on Ask Slashdot: Best 3-D Design Software? · · Score: 1

    Depends how much larger, and how many of them you want. Milling machines are more expensive in setup cost, but *possibly* cheaper in the long run. As long as you don't break too many cutters, and you buy cheap wood. The author of the "guerilla guide" notes that he's spent tens of thousands of dollars on his milling setup over the years.

    Another consideration when it comes to filament is that you don't need the total volume of the object to be filled in. All you need is a solid outside, and the inside of the object can be perhaps 10% full and still be pretty solid. So it doesn't take as much filament as you might think, although you're right -- cheap wood or MDF is still cheaper.

    If you're making a large enough quantity that the cost of the machine isn't a factor, actually you don't want 3D printing OR milling. You want molding and casting. Plastic's cheaper than both. Send your model into Shapeways, get back one of the thing you want to make, make a mold of it, and cast a million. Or pay a Chinese guy to do it even cheaper.

  22. Re:Guerrilla guide on Ask Slashdot: Best 3-D Design Software? · · Score: 1

    Yeah, that doc is pretty damn awesome overall. There's a ton of great information in there.

    However, it does push milling over 3D printing. For the author's application, making teeny tiny gears, he's right: milling machines are the right way to go. But 3D printing is awesome for making larger things, and it's a MUCH faster and simpler process than milling is. Not to mention cheaper. So bear that in mind as you read it.

  23. Sketchup, OpenSCAD on Ask Slashdot: Best 3-D Design Software? · · Score: 5, Informative

    I tried Wings3d first, and it's easy to get into and make some compositions of cubes and spheres and whatnot. There's a good starting tutorial here where you make a simple table.

    However, as a programmer, I find it much faster and more intuitive to use OpenSCAD. Instead of clicking on things and moving them around on the screen, you edit code that generates the objects. There are thousands of examples to get you started at thingiverse. Here's one of mine.

    At the other extreme, Google Sketchup is excellent for the "click and drag objects around" approach. Its UI is way more powerful than Wings3D, and it may even be an easier starting point for non-programmers.

  24. Re:An important reminder... on Doctors Bypass Biometric Scanners With Fake Fingers · · Score: 2

    People hate feeling stupid, and if you pass information to them in a way that makes them feel smart, it will stick better. Your average undergraduate doesn't care about what you're trying to teach them, but they DO care about looking better than their peers, and looking good to employers. Knowledge isn't an end, it's a means to an end. Before you try to teach something, make sure it's something they want to know (even if it's for a stupid reason).

  25. Hire a trainer on Ask Slashdot: How Do You Stay Fit At Work? · · Score: 1

    A personal trainer helped me a TON. Wife and I went together for a year. It cost a bunch, but it established a habit. And the habit has stuck since. Now the game is, if one of us skips a gym session, that person must pay $20 the other's favorite charity. The EFF only made $60 from her last year :)