James T. Kirk was way ahead of his time in deciding "to boldly go" into far-flung galaxies. The "Star Trek" captain was out there splitting infinitives in his 1960s TV science-fiction series long before the "official" green light was given.
Now, in the New Oxford Dictionary of English (NODE), 30 editors and 60 consultants around the world have sided with Captain Kirk and given their blessing to what some grammatical sticklers still regard as anathema or worse.
Indeed, the compilers not only approve of splitting infinitives but also seem bent on dividing the English-speaking world - or at least the part of it that cares about language and grammar.
Among the volume's more than 2,000 new words and phrases, split infinitives rub shoulders with "shock jocks," "Blairite," "alcopops," "tamagotchi," and "zero tolerance" as acceptable present-day usage.
Of all the Sims games Sim Ant was the best, it had all the usual Sim ingredients...instead of controlling the lives of humans you had a colony of Ants. But unlike The Sims it had good old fashioned warfare thrown in.
You could either try to take over a rival ant colony or even better you could attack your local pesky humans by first invading their garden, then trying to invade their house.
The thing the bored me with both the Sims and the Sim City series was the pointlessness of the game. OK Sim City had disasters and The Sims had 'beat the Jones's ' need to upstage your neighbours but I still got bored quickly.
Really if I wanted a simple goal orientated game, that modelled human behaviour I much prefer to boot up 'Jone in the Fast Lane'. Ok so the graphics are dated, and it only models the life of a student but its a damn site more fun than the Sims.
Damn I was hoping for a remake of Spy vs Spy
on
Spy v. Spy
·
· Score: 1
Just skimming the headline, I read the article and was sorely disappointed.
I was hoping for news of a remake of Spy vs Spy, damn I'm showing my age.
Anyoneout there remember the classic Spy vs Spy computer game, It was based on the old MAD Spy vs Spy cartoons. One of THE classic 2 player arcade games.
It was released for amongst others the NES, C64, Spectrum, Atari and Amiga and probably many more.
This 1980 home computer came with 1k (yes 1k of memory) with memory expansion packs ranging from 16k up to a whopping 64k (surely enough for anyone as Bill G would say)
Anyway the really outrageous advertising claim involved an advert stating that the ZX80 could run a nuclear powerstation (with the advert showing a ZX80 with 16k ram expansion)
What is really bad is that the ZX80 was notorious for 'Ram pack wobble' meaning that if you nudged the ram pack by mistake....it crashed
Not witstanding the fact that it would be totally unsuitable for running a powerstation for a number of other factors such as not having a real time os, system unreliability etc.
I always wondered whether the Russians had seen the advert and tired to use (or copy one) one at Chernoybl...one for the conspiracy theorists.
Yeah both Netscape and IE had there problems, but I was more blaming the content providers and web developers who force IE only sites on us.
I just wish that websites would either provide html compliant sites or a least a vanilla site along the lines of the "no frames" pages that allow non-frames browsers to still access content.
I guess a "no ie" tag is out of the question, but I sorely wish it existed. Maybe it could be introduced into the xhtml standard ?
Personally I think the introduction of Flash only sites is even worse, than the IE/Netscape browser wars. But I don't really want to start a Flash flame war. I've seen enough of those to last a lifetime...:)
I don't care if they're just doing this to save money, the end result could benefit all web users so its "a good thing" tm and the only people this will hurt are those companies making IE only sites
This could mean that web developers might finally be allowed to write html conforming sites, rather than the current notion of supporting the current two generations of IE and thats it.
Perhaps the bean counters will start to think of making websites more accessible when a large minority of users suddenly don't use IE.
Like it or not AOL users make up a significant number of internet users (30% in the US for ex), and if AOL uses Mozilla for the client it can only increase web standards compliance... hopefully we'll start to see more sites that don't purely rely on Microsoft's interpretation of the html standards and actually try to reach the widest possible audience by making standards compliant web sites.
From the article:-
The only thing that might delay -- not stop, just delay -- AOL's change from Explorer to a Mozilla-based browser is allowing time for some of AOL's largest and most important "partner sites" to do away with any Explorer-specific features they have been using in place of W3C standards.
A browser shift by AOL is going to leave an awful lot of companies that assume their Web sites only need to work with Explorer scrambling to rewrite their code so that they don't lose AOL's 30 million-plus subscribers, or about 30% of all U.S. Internet users.
also I wonder about the name Flash MX...is this another johnny come lately to the Bill Gates School of Product Naming: Windows XP, Athlon XP, Flash (err) MX
Hmm seeing as WIndows products used to be named after the year they were supposed to be released...I wonder if Macromedia are following Micro$ofts old trend...
Flash MX...hmm perhaps it was meant to be released in 2000, hence MX ?
IANAL but in the UK here we have the data protection act, which could be used to find out what information Micro$oft stores or any of our UK slashdotters
Under the DPA there are constraints on what personal information can be stored about a uk resident person.
You can ask for a copy of any information stored AND any information how any judgements made about you because of using or transmitting that data.....
The CD32 was left out of the list, (a cd based console version of the Amiga 1200 for those that dont remember) one of many consoles that failed due to lack of third party developer support and frankly naff marketing...just like the Jaguar, Indrema and the CDTV.
The CD32 had one bonus for consumers, through 3rd party add ons it could be turned into a 'real computer', that could be upgraded with a new processor, extra ram and even an external modem to get surfing...
"is it a games console, is it a PC, no we'll just hide the CDTV amongst the electronics section and hope someone buys it".. aah Commodore marketing at its best, on wonder noone bought one and the idiots took a similar approach to the CD32...
I know most of the stuff released for the CD32 it was shovelware, but that was more due to Commodore's legendary lack of marketing skill and their stupidity in trying to sell a console without first getting the backing of developers to make games exclusively for their console.
Witness the XBox, who would REALLY buy a stripped down PC if it wasn't for the exclusive XBOX only games ?
If you're wanting to buy or sell real geek rarities (say D&D rarities) which is better the online auctions like ebay or traditional auction houses ?
I know for standard computer kit, sites like ebay are best for sellers, but are usually overbid by buyers, but if you look hard enough and have the right bidding software you can get bargains.
Has anyone out there had experience in trading the more obscure geek gear...whether it's old Winchester drives , dust gathering PDP's, or old D&D stuff in your attic I want your opinion;)
Yeah sure morally they should do something, but they cant stop people gaining access to high level encyption technologies, and in the end it doesn't matter...is there any encryption they can't currently break given enough time.
I don't think they should trade off peoples right to privacy,if the government really wants to read your emails or data its always a matter of when not if.
There are other issues here such as industrial espionage on companies by other companies and governemtn agencies, if we have weak encyption its not just governments who can abuse this...everyone should have a right to privacy excpet under exceptional circumstances....weak encrpyption allows anyone to potentially access your data form script kiddies to the government which I'm sure is NOT what they intend.
But with strong encryption already in the wild, how can they stop people getting access to it in any practical sense (bar banning the internet;) )
Whether you use macs, linux unix, pc or even good ole os/2 high level encrpyption for home users is a reality...they've just got to admit reality
Surely this should be in the top ten vapourware list.
For over six years who ever has owned the dead parrot that call itself Amiga has been telling us that "the Amiga revival is going to happen real soon." and that new Amigas are going to built.
Lately the Amiga One is supposed to be on sale real soon...
How I wish it was true, but in reality it should be the vapourware list....
Or if you want to be obtuse and tell me Microsoft is promising another MSX revival (oops showing my age there) i'll take that as vapourware instead
Doomdark was one good turn based fantasy wargame that had over 200,000 locations all running on an 80's 48k ZX Spectrum, for those thirtysomethings its a piece of pure nostalgia.
For all you PeeCee owners theres a decent remake at Icemark and best of all its free and runs on low spec machines too.....
Oh yeah what to have for christmas , well as Neverwinter Nights isn't out yet I guess its AliensVsPredator2 for me.
Slashdot Mirror
Nor do I. Anyway, by picking on split infinitives,
Shame on you for picking on split infinitives.
Even the Oxford English Dictionary approves of split infinitives now.
To roughly quote Star Trek on the topic.
James T. Kirk was way ahead of his time in deciding "to boldly go" into far-flung galaxies. The "Star Trek" captain was out there splitting infinitives in his 1960s TV science-fiction series long before the "official" green light was given.
Now, in the New Oxford Dictionary of English (NODE), 30 editors and 60 consultants around the world have sided with Captain Kirk and given their blessing to what some grammatical sticklers still regard as anathema or worse.
Indeed, the compilers not only approve of splitting infinitives but also seem bent on dividing the English-speaking world - or at least the part of it that cares about language and grammar.
Among the volume's more than 2,000 new words and phrases, split infinitives rub shoulders with "shock jocks," "Blairite," "alcopops," "tamagotchi," and "zero tolerance" as acceptable present-day usage.
So there....
Ok this is obviously another Aprils Fool...
/. !
But I think I see a pattern here...
All the stories are April Fools, but I bet there will be one story that looks like an April Fool but is really true...
Like if someone had posted that Microsofts new mantra is to be security, security, security...
Boy did I think that was really an early April Fool...come on if Bill had delayed saying it till today it would have made a great april fool for
Considering /. is read throughout the world how are they supposed to decide which 12 noon is the April's fool cutoff ?
Thats the problem 12 noon in the US, could be 9am for some viewers of even 5 or 6pm for others!
Even better companies could pay for their rivals site (if its NT/XP based of course) to be a front page story. So that said site could be slashdotted.
They could always claim "We just wondered what the load balancing was on your site, so we gave you some free load testing..."
The Toilet PC
If you're on the subject of high tech toilets, then check out the toilet pc [envador.com], its got to be seen to be believed.
Personally, I think it would be inconvenient to make one yourself.
After all that trouble to make a toilet pc, it would only take one drunken guy to 'christen' the pc case and fry the mobo...
If you're on the subject of weird pc cases, then check out the toilet pc, its got to be seen to be believed.
Personally, I think it would be inconvenient to make one yourself.
After all that trouble to make a customised case, it would only take one drunken guy to 'christen' the pc case....
Of all the Sims games Sim Ant was the best, it had all the usual Sim ingredients...instead of controlling the lives of humans you had a colony of Ants. But unlike The Sims it had good old fashioned warfare thrown in.
You could either try to take over a rival ant colony or even better you could attack your local pesky humans by first invading their garden, then trying to invade their house.
The thing the bored me with both the Sims and the Sim City series was the pointlessness of the game.
OK Sim City had disasters and The Sims had 'beat the Jones's ' need to upstage your neighbours but I still got bored quickly.
Really if I wanted a simple goal orientated game, that modelled human behaviour I much prefer to boot up 'Jone in the Fast Lane'. Ok so the graphics are dated, and it only models the life of a student but its a damn site more fun than the Sims.
Just skimming the headline, I read the article and was sorely disappointed.
I was hoping for news of a remake of Spy vs Spy, damn I'm showing my age.
Anyoneout there remember the classic Spy vs Spy computer game, It was based on the old MAD Spy vs Spy cartoons. One of THE classic 2 player arcade games.
It was released for amongst others the NES, C64, Spectrum, Atari and Amiga and probably many more.
This 1980 home computer came with 1k (yes 1k of memory) with memory expansion packs ranging from 16k up to a whopping 64k (surely enough for anyone as Bill G would say)
Anyway the really outrageous advertising claim involved an advert stating that the ZX80 could run a nuclear powerstation (with the advert showing a ZX80 with 16k ram expansion)
What is really bad is that the ZX80 was notorious for 'Ram pack wobble' meaning that if you nudged the ram pack by mistake....it crashed
Not witstanding the fact that it would be totally unsuitable for running a powerstation for a number of other factors such as not having a real time os, system unreliability etc.
I always wondered whether the Russians had seen the advert and tired to use (or copy one) one at Chernoybl...one for the conspiracy theorists.
Thinking about the ubergeek Gary Gygax, got me wondering. (Wasn't it E.Gary.Gygax ?)
Is old D&D stuff collectable now ?
I've got bits and bobs such as a 1979 Dungeons & Dragons rule book (3rd Edition D&D, Not Advanced D&D) are they actually worth anything these days?.
I'm not that bothered either way, if its worthless financially, its still an heirloom from a mispent youth.
Ah wistful thoughts about +5 Backscratchers... (for those scratching their heads...it was a cartoon in the 1st edition AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide)
Guess TSR wasn't TSR without old Gygax....At least Wizards are trying to make the best of the old stuff now.
Yeah both Netscape and IE had there problems, but I was more blaming the content providers and web developers who force IE only sites on us.
... :)
I just wish that websites would either provide html compliant sites or a least a vanilla site along the lines of the "no frames" pages that allow non-frames browsers to still access content.
I guess a "no ie" tag is out of the question, but I sorely wish it existed. Maybe it could be introduced into the xhtml standard ?
Personally I think the introduction of Flash only sites is even worse, than the IE/Netscape browser wars. But I don't really want to start a Flash flame war. I've seen enough of those to last a lifetime
I don't care if they're just doing this to save money, the end result could benefit all web users so its "a good thing" tm and the only people this will hurt are those companies making IE only sites
This could mean that web developers might finally be allowed to write html conforming sites, rather than the current notion of supporting the current two generations of IE and thats it.
Perhaps the bean counters will start to think of making websites more accessible when a large minority of users suddenly don't use IE.
Like it or not AOL users make up a significant number of internet users (30% in the US for ex), and if AOL uses Mozilla for the client it can only increase web standards compliance... hopefully we'll start to see more sites that don't purely rely on Microsoft's interpretation of the html standards and actually try to reach the widest possible audience by making standards compliant web sites.
From the article:-
The only thing that might delay -- not stop, just delay -- AOL's change from Explorer to a Mozilla-based browser is allowing time for some of AOL's largest and most important "partner sites" to do away with any Explorer-specific features they have been using in place of W3C standards.
A browser shift by AOL is going to leave an awful lot of companies that assume their Web sites only need to work with Explorer scrambling to rewrite their code so that they don't lose AOL's 30 million-plus subscribers, or about 30% of all U.S. Internet users.
also I wonder about the name Flash MX...is this another johnny come lately to the Bill Gates School of Product Naming: Windows XP, Athlon XP, Flash (err) MX
Hmm seeing as WIndows products used to be named after the year they were supposed to be released...I wonder if Macromedia are following Micro$ofts old trend...
Flash MX...hmm perhaps it was meant to be released in 2000, hence MX ?
Perhaps they've just gone all latin on us ?
IANAL but in the UK here we have the data protection act, which could be used to find out what information Micro$oft stores or any of our UK slashdotters
Under the DPA there are constraints on what personal information can be stored about a uk resident person.
You can ask for a copy of any information stored AND any information how any judgements made about you because of using or transmitting that data.....
Perhaps there is a US equivilent ?
Congratulations.
;)
Heres to a happy marriage, hoping the sound of tiny feet is not too far away.
After all the more up and coming coders the better
Too right...
"Survey shows open source developers mostly veteran pros, not slashdot weenies. Like any survey, it's bound to miss some avenues of exploration"
Maybe next time they'll get the answer to the other question troubling historians of the browser wars of the 90's...are Netscape engineers weenies ?
Wow! I never thought i'd see the day that my Sig's actually on topic
To all those Chess players who DON'T think they are paranoid check my sig...
The CD32 was left out of the list, (a cd based console version of the Amiga 1200 for those that dont remember) one of many consoles that failed due to lack of third party developer support and frankly naff marketing...just like the Jaguar, Indrema and the CDTV.
The CD32 had one bonus for consumers, through 3rd party add ons it could be turned into a 'real computer', that could be upgraded with a new processor, extra ram and even an external modem to get surfing...
"is it a games console, is it a PC, no we'll just hide the CDTV amongst the electronics section and hope someone buys it".. aah Commodore marketing at its best, on wonder noone bought one and the idiots took a similar approach to the CD32...
I know most of the stuff released for the CD32 it was shovelware, but that was more due to Commodore's legendary lack of marketing skill and their stupidity in trying to sell a console without first getting the backing of developers to make games exclusively for their console.
Witness the XBox, who would REALLY buy a stripped down PC if it wasn't for the exclusive XBOX only games ?
If you're wanting to buy or sell real geek rarities (say D&D rarities) which is better the online auctions like ebay or traditional auction houses ?
;)
I know for standard computer kit, sites like ebay are best for sellers, but are usually overbid by buyers, but if you look hard enough and have the right bidding software you can get bargains.
Has anyone out there had experience in trading the more obscure geek gear...whether it's old Winchester drives , dust gathering PDP's, or old D&D stuff in your attic I want your opinion
Yeah sure morally they should do something, but they cant stop people gaining access to high level encyption technologies, and in the end it doesn't matter...is there any encryption they can't currently break given enough time.
;) )
I don't think they should trade off peoples right to privacy,if the government really wants to read your emails or data its always a matter of when not if.
There are other issues here such as industrial espionage on companies by other companies and governemtn agencies, if we have weak encyption its not just governments who can abuse this...everyone should have a right to privacy excpet under exceptional circumstances....weak encrpyption allows anyone to potentially access your data form script kiddies to the government which I'm sure is NOT what they intend.
But with strong encryption already in the wild, how can they stop people getting access to it in any practical sense (bar banning the internet
Whether you use macs, linux unix, pc or even good ole os/2 high level encrpyption for home users is a reality...they've just got to admit reality
Read up on Bernard Shifman
I know hes been featured here on slashdot, but Shifman just goes to prove you can't legislate against stupidity
Surely this should be in the top ten vapourware list.
For over six years who ever has owned the dead parrot that call itself Amiga has been telling us that "the Amiga revival is going to happen real soon." and that new Amigas are going to built.
Lately the Amiga One is supposed to be on sale real soon...
How I wish it was true, but in reality it should be the vapourware list....
Or if you want to be obtuse and tell me Microsoft is promising another MSX revival (oops showing my age there) i'll take that as vapourware instead
Thinking of seeing LOTR ?
Remember if you see the film....
Even one read of LOTR or one viewing of the film can be dangerous.
LOTR can be hobbit forming, just ask Saruman... all that pipeweed got to his head he'd tell you how addictive it was.
Theres one sure fire way to get your software project to fail.....
;)
Get EA to buy your company
Well it worked for Lord British.....
Doomdark was one good turn based fantasy wargame that had over 200,000 locations all running on an 80's 48k ZX Spectrum, for those thirtysomethings its a piece of pure nostalgia.
For all you PeeCee owners theres a decent remake at Icemark and best of all its free and runs on low spec machines too.....
Oh yeah what to have for christmas , well as Neverwinter Nights isn't out yet I guess its AliensVsPredator2 for me.