I mostly agree with your view of Halo. Interesting that you are the first I see to compare Halo to Tribes2 (very good comparison too).
Here are some of the things I thought of Halo after completing the game: - The 3D graphics ARE actually a notch up from anything out there. This said, you have to be a bit of an expert in the field of real time 3D computer graphics to notice some of the details. Besides it's original textures most surfaces are bumpmapped, glossmapped and have detail-textures. There are a lot of environment mapped surfaces. Most or all of the texturing is Trilinear (not sure, maybee even anisotropic filtered). The graphical models are very detailed, curved surfaces (quite a lot) are actually curved enought to not notice the individual polygons. The level of detail models are done really well, I could not see any popping (landscape popping is the one thing that still annoys me in Tribes2). None of this is new, but Halo is the first game that truely implements all these techniques to create a visually very pleasing environment. - The physics engine is pretty sweet, check out the movie "Warthog Jump" - Biggest frustration with the game: the controler. Not the size of it, I actually like it quite a bit. It's just that, as an avid PC-FPS player I neeeed a mouse. About 3/4 into halo I finaly felt fully comfortable with the controler. NOTE: If you have to play with a controler (and you do) then the X-Box controler and the way it was set up is probably the best you can do. - Minor frustration with the game: I suspect that the level designers where pushed to finish the game and had to revert to cut-and-paste to get some of the levels done. Like so many other gamers I would have probably preferred the game being shorter over the repetetiveness of a few areas (not that many really).
So what is the big deal about Halo? Simple, it is a great FPS with very good graphics and very reasonable game play...on a console! Thats a first.
My conclusion: FPS and console don't mix to well...but since I couldn't get Halo for the PC yet I was happy to play it on my X-Box.
Instead of the proposed novel yet stoopid approach of letting volunteers do the translating ("Sie sind sehr hübsch!" ---> bored kid ---> "you look like a pig!") why don't we get some experts together to once and for all design a universal META langauge. Create a dictionary for every language into the META language and from the META language into every language and voila, you can translate every language into every other language. To add a language, however obscure, you only need to add 2 translations (to and from the META language).
For n languages this reduces the need for having to have n*n dictionaries down to 2*n. (for example, to translate every of the 6500 languages mentioned on http://www.ethnologue.com/ you need only 13.000 dictionaries...instead of 42.250.000 if you do it the bablefish way)
Re:My pick goes for RSA ... NOT!
on
Deep Algorithms?
·
· Score: 1
recently it has been shown that RSA is not that great of an algorithm after all. New theories have shown that 1024-bit keys are not safe enough. The complexity of number factoring (though full of cool deep algorithms like the "Number Field Sieve") are not yet fully understood and seem to be easier computable then was previeously thought.
Time will tell if this is going to lead to some form of world chaos becuase certain powers will be capable of cracking the worlds secrets (HTTPS, SSH, IPSec, S/MIME, PGP).
> You only need 16MB to handle the highest > resolution computer graphics displays ever made
you will allways need more memory (in 3D graphics accelerators), even if the display resolutions don't increase. Lets say we settle for a nice 2000x2000 ish display. Thats 4M pixels, at 32-bit is 16MB for the display. At least double (32MB) but preferably triple (48MB) buffer this so you can create a new frame while the old one is being displayed. Then we need a Z-buffer (or W-buffer) to hold the depth values (24bit values) for each pixel, so we know what is in front of what, typically you might want to do some stencil effects to (8-bits, can be packed with the Z-buffer) that would be another 16MB. Now we have the basics for a 3D graphics display and are at 48-64MB.
But we are not done yet, now for some more interesting effects: - Texture memory. Typically use the leftover graphics memory and swap the rest from host memory (but we don't like swapping, so preferably all textures should be in onboard mem) 2-64MB - 2x Antialiasing (1 Backbuffer + 1 Z-buffer 2*2*size of display buffer) = 64MB (4x antialiasing = 256MB) - Shadowbuffer (rendering into a kind of Z-buffer from the lightsource to create realistic shadows) 16MB - Accumulation buffer effects like motion blur (very expensive, a good blur could take 4 to 32 frames) or depth of view could make us want another 4-32*16=64-512MB
I for one could easily use more then 1GB of onboard graphics memory.
for those familiar with SKI combinatorial expressions and Lambda terms it is always a fun thing to see that I can be expressed in S and K by: Ix = SKzx = Kx(zx) = x
But did you know that you can reduce the language to one-combinator?!
X = lambda f.fS(lambda xyz.x) K => XX S => X(XX)
The proof to this particular variation of a one-combinator basis for Lambda-terms was first published by Fokker, University of Utrecht The Netherlands, and shows that among several variations of one-combinator basis Lambda terms his is the shortest.
SAM and MAX: funniest LucasArts game, but short. Gameplay wasn't as intense as...
Monkey Island II: Best gameplay by far. OMG, the months I spend with friends trying to finish this game (pre-www.getyourcheathere.com) but it wasn't that funny which brings me to...
Day of the Tentacle: The BEST LucasArts game to date given that it had the best of the two things that LucasArts has to offer us, humor and gameplay.
Can't wait for keyboard designers to take the input from this program and remaps 'A', 'W', 'S', 'D' to a "more convenient" place to accomodate it's heavy use by gamers!;-)
(for those who don't play First Person Shooters (and I know you are out there) those are the keys used for basic movement and are probably the most used keys on my system)
ehh...the Playstation 1 and 2 games do not appear on a PC because Sony does not allow that to happend. Every game that has appeared and will appear on a Playstation2 could be ported to the PC without too much effort. Here is the simple reason why: A PC > Playstation2
Don't look so shocked, you know it's true. It is kinda true for an xbox too.
So maybee you should look into the part of "sony not allowing game ports".
The article is pretty good overall but lacks a major component. GRAPHICS performance (duh)!. It has one paragraph telling us something about multitexturing (guess which box? it starts with an 'x'), high polygon performance to render some cute girlees hair (rrrright), anti alliasing (same 'x'), anisotropic filtering ('x'), writing z-buffer optimised code (goes for all graphics software), if multiple lighting and transforming calculations can be offloaded of the main CPU (xbox again, sorry). It doesn't even mention other texturing tricks that we are allready used to on the PC. Environmentmapping, bumpmapping, etc. (damn impressive in Halo on my xbox).
I would recommend those that want a deeper analysis of why the xbox is the graphics gaming console of the future (verses these other boxes) to have a good look at what DX8 brought us. Hint: vertex shading and pixel shading.
Oh, and Mr CmdrTaco, get with the program:
- PS2 has more games, yes. 425 PS1 + PS2 combined titles. Xbox has about 40 now and that list is growing fast. 100x...whatever
- Overheating? Don't pull a 'the prerelease box was rumoured to overheat' kinda bull on this forum please
- Luigi??? Abe farts in the fase of Luigi! In more colors, with surround sound and at 1080i
They are not actually banning laptops...just the bags/cases that laptops typically come in. So go ahead bring your bare laptop and sit in the back of the room and play minesweeper while the rest of us pay attention to the talks.
How can you claim that ID cards would not have made a difference? Several terrorists in the recent events in New York and Washington seem to have made use of false ID's. Ask yourself what the use is of carrying an ID card. You have to show you are 21 to buy alcohol (in america). You have to show that the visum in your passport is valid. You have to verify that you are the person you claim to be for several types of money transactions (using your credit card, writing a check, etc).
Age verification is a simple one, the only thing you need to be sure of is that the ID card is valid (not falsified). The visas get to be trickier because you introduce new documents that themselves need to be checked if they are valid. With the money transactions I need to prove who I am so that a computer system can do a background check to see if my credit is ok.
The usefullness of an ID card is easy to see. Taking it one step further and making the card itself harder to falsify by adding thumbprints or retina scans (europe) seems to be a reasonable step. The problem lies with the database of information that is tapped into when I present my ID. I myself am actually in favor of such a system in theory. It could have easily prevented the recent terrorist attacks because the FBI (or whatever other appropriate inteligence agency) seemed to be aware that these people had some form of tie with a known terrorist organisation and that 'should' have triggerd the computer systems when they boarded the airplanes in groups.
What I really do NOT like is Larry E. turning this serious matter into a quick promo trip for his company. A company I would not trust with the design for a system that holds all the personal and private information that can be gathered about myself. This discussion should quickly lead to a feasability studie about such a database.
* Can it be designed safe and sound?
* Can we prevent it from being hacked?
* No really?
* Can we think of organizations that we trust to have access to this information?
* Is there a way to verify that only the things that should be stored are being stored?
first of, that is a funny cartoon you pointed me to, thanks.
in my defense:
- English is not my first language (Dutch is...though my spelling in dutch isn't much better)
- I had it right in the topic
- I'm a poor excuse for the IRC spelling generation
- Don't tell my you are still reading this? I'm just bored
anyway, how about "Guns don't kill people. Stupid people kill people!" ---------------------------------
From the license (it was in all caps):
[/quote]
14. NOTE ON JAVA SUPPORT..{cut}..JAVA TECHNOLOGY IS NOT FAULT TOLERANT AND IS NOT DESIGNED FOR USE IN HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRING FAIL-SAFE PERFORMANCE, SUCH AS IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL, DIRECT LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES, OR WEAPONS SYSTEMS, IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF JAVA TECHNOLOGY COULD LEAD DIRECTLY TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. Sun Microsystems, Inc. has contractually obligated Microsoft to make this disclaimer.
[/end_quote]
So the lesson here is: Guns don't kill people. JAVA kill's people!
What, you don't play EverQuest? The growing popularity of mmorpg (massive multiplayer online role playing games) and the fact that most of them charge you a monthly fee should give a hint at how very likely it is that people are in fact very willing to shell out $$/month.
If nerds like us are getting used to the idea then the masses will not stand a chance to protest the business model of monthly fees.
And why should they? In my opinion there are a few advantages for both sides. First there is choice. The moment I have to pay a recurring fee for software I will be more critical to the quality of that software (vs the "it came with windows, why should I replace it?"). Secondly, charging a small fee per month leads to a better measure of the quality of the product. In the analogy with EverQuest, the designers get a good feel how long they managed to hook people to their game and build on that knowledge to build a next and better game.
OMG, you don't have "Guards, Guards" yet?! That is my personal favorite in the whole series closely followed by "Pyramids"...buy them online if you have to!
I'm still dissapointed about the usual 6 months delay before PTerry's books appear in a merkin bookstore. I used to keep up with his 2 books a year release schedule back in The Netherlands. Now I have completely missed the launch of a book and stumble upon it in a review at/.
Have you looked at vmware to overcome the need for Office2000 and IE under Linux? Vmware creates a vertial machine that lets you install all flavors of windows OS's (win98, WinNT, Win2000) inside a window under Linux. I am trying the workstation version and installed Windows2000 in a window under Linux (2.4 kernel). Look at some of these pictures. Pretty cool stuff.
It almost completely bridges the gap between Linux and Windows (currently doesn't support 3D games very well). ---------------------------------
If you want extreem bouncy, then check this out. After watching some of the video's on this site I decided that I am not ever going to be THAT crazy. We are talking 6 foot jumps and leeps. The videos have this cute little disclaimer: "PLEASE, don't try this at home".
it should be: 2b||!2b
and while we are at it, that mathematically equels "true"
which in computer land is "1"
so there you have it, the infamous Hamlett quote reduced to "1" ---------------------------------
I would have felt so much better if you would have at least mentioned Turing in your post to Slashdot....go back and do your homework:-)
Slashdot featured a link to a pretty good article that holds a very cute and short intro to how Alan Turing got to his infamous Turing Machine and the start of computers and computer science. It does a quicky mathematical history from Cantor through Hilbert to Godel and Turing.
I have studied computer science and find that certain facts about the history of computer science seem go better with the non-computer scientist audiences (the friends and family I try to explain too what computers are). Your lessons should at least cover the following topics:
Explain what the generalized Turing machine is and how it was (and still is) used to describe the 'limitations' of computing machines.
Explain with as little math as possible what NP means and what impact it has on computing.
Explain Moores law and compare it to other industries to show that computer science is something very very new in our world history.
I recommend reading "The Age of Spiritual Machines" by Ray Kurzweil. Both an interesting overview of computing history and future.
Being a part of the online gaming community I really like to see cheating discuraged as much as possible.
Cheating takes away the fun for people that don't cheat (doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure that one out).
I can't believe that all you slashdot readers take it so lightly that such a small group of people (the cheaters) have the ability to ruin a game for so very many.
Don't tell me that 19000 half-life players (that I counted 5 minutes ago) will take it for granted that their onling game will be ruined just because the technical community doesn't care about moral issues.
It's a minor issue but has anyone considered the consequences of delivering Open Source Graphics Drivers into the hands of cheaters?
Yes I know the facts. Cheating can't be stopped completely. I'm just wondering what judgement this forum comes up with. Because if we list cheating as one of the "online-facts-of-life" I for one will lose some of my hope for a pleasant online future.
Slashdot Mirror
line 447, projects\freespace2_public\code\Parse\Encrypt.cpp
"ushort haha_you_dumbass = 0xe2A8;"
I mostly agree with your view of Halo. Interesting that you are the first I see to compare Halo to Tribes2 (very good comparison too).
Here are some of the things I thought of Halo after completing the game:
- The 3D graphics ARE actually a notch up from anything out there. This said, you have to be a bit of an expert in the field of real time 3D computer graphics to notice some of the details. Besides it's original textures most surfaces are bumpmapped, glossmapped and have detail-textures. There are a lot of environment mapped surfaces. Most or all of the texturing is Trilinear (not sure, maybee even anisotropic filtered). The graphical models are very detailed, curved surfaces (quite a lot) are actually curved enought to not notice the individual polygons. The level of detail models are done really well, I could not see any popping (landscape popping is the one thing that still annoys me in Tribes2).
None of this is new, but Halo is the first game that truely implements all these techniques to create a visually very pleasing environment.
- The physics engine is pretty sweet, check out the movie "Warthog Jump"
- Biggest frustration with the game: the controler. Not the size of it, I actually like it quite a bit. It's just that, as an avid PC-FPS player I neeeed a mouse. About 3/4 into halo I finaly felt fully comfortable with the controler. NOTE: If you have to play with a controler (and you do) then the X-Box controler and the way it was set up is probably the best you can do.
- Minor frustration with the game: I suspect that the level designers where pushed to finish the game and had to revert to cut-and-paste to get some of the levels done. Like so many other gamers I would have probably preferred the game being shorter over the repetetiveness of a few areas (not that many really).
So what is the big deal about Halo? Simple, it is a great FPS with very good graphics and very reasonable game play...on a console! Thats a first.
My conclusion: FPS and console don't mix to well...but since I couldn't get Halo for the PC yet I was happy to play it on my X-Box.
Traa-[CE]
Instead of the proposed novel yet stoopid approach of letting volunteers do the translating ("Sie sind sehr hübsch!" ---> bored kid ---> "you look like a pig!") why don't we get some experts together to once and for all design a universal META langauge. Create a dictionary for every language into the META language and from the META language into every language and voila, you can translate every language into every other language. To add a language, however obscure, you only need to add 2 translations (to and from the META language).
For n languages this reduces the need for having to have n*n dictionaries down to 2*n. (for example, to translate every of the 6500 languages mentioned on http://www.ethnologue.com/ you need only 13.000 dictionaries...instead of 42.250.000 if you do it the bablefish way)
recently it has been shown that RSA is not that great of an algorithm after all. New theories have shown that 1024-bit keys are not safe enough. The complexity of number factoring (though full of cool deep algorithms like the "Number Field Sieve") are not yet fully understood and seem to be easier computable then was previeously thought.
Time will tell if this is going to lead to some form of world chaos becuase certain powers will be capable of cracking the worlds secrets (HTTPS, SSH, IPSec, S/MIME, PGP).
> You only need 16MB to handle the highest
> resolution computer graphics displays ever made
you will allways need more memory (in 3D graphics accelerators), even if the display resolutions don't increase. Lets say we settle for a nice 2000x2000 ish display. Thats 4M pixels, at 32-bit is 16MB for the display.
At least double (32MB) but preferably triple (48MB) buffer this so you can create a new frame while the old one is being displayed. Then we need a Z-buffer (or W-buffer) to hold the depth values (24bit values) for each pixel, so we know what is in front of what, typically you might want to do some stencil effects to (8-bits, can be packed with the Z-buffer) that would be another 16MB. Now we have the basics for a 3D graphics display and are at 48-64MB.
But we are not done yet, now for some more interesting effects:
- Texture memory. Typically use the leftover graphics memory and swap the rest from host memory (but we don't like swapping, so preferably all textures should be in onboard mem) 2-64MB
- 2x Antialiasing (1 Backbuffer + 1 Z-buffer 2*2*size of display buffer) = 64MB (4x antialiasing = 256MB)
- Shadowbuffer (rendering into a kind of Z-buffer from the lightsource to create realistic shadows) 16MB
- Accumulation buffer effects like motion blur (very expensive, a good blur could take 4 to 32 frames) or depth of view could make us want another 4-32*16=64-512MB
I for one could easily use more then 1GB of onboard graphics memory.
for those familiar with SKI combinatorial expressions and Lambda terms it is always a fun thing to see that I can be expressed in S and K by:
Ix = SKzx = Kx(zx) = x
But did you know that you can reduce the language to one-combinator?!
X = lambda f.fS(lambda xyz.x)
K => XX
S => X(XX)
The proof to this particular variation of a one-combinator basis for Lambda-terms was first published by Fokker, University of Utrecht The Netherlands, and shows that among several variations of one-combinator basis Lambda terms his is the shortest.
SAM and MAX: funniest LucasArts game, but short. Gameplay wasn't as intense as...
...
Monkey Island II: Best gameplay by far. OMG, the months I spend with friends trying to finish this game (pre-www.getyourcheathere.com) but it wasn't that funny which brings me to
Day of the Tentacle: The BEST LucasArts game to date given that it had the best of the two things that LucasArts has to offer us, humor and gameplay.
Can't wait for keyboard designers to take the input from this program and remaps 'A', 'W', 'S', 'D' to a "more convenient" place to accomodate it's heavy use by gamers! ;-)
(for those who don't play First Person Shooters (and I know you are out there) those are the keys used for basic movement and are probably the most used keys on my system)
ehh...the Playstation 1 and 2 games do not appear on a PC because Sony does not allow that to happend. Every game that has appeared and will appear on a Playstation2 could be ported to the PC without too much effort. Here is the simple reason why: A PC > Playstation2
Don't look so shocked, you know it's true. It is kinda true for an xbox too.
So maybee you should look into the part of "sony not allowing game ports".
The article is pretty good overall but lacks a major component. GRAPHICS performance (duh)!. It has one paragraph telling us something about multitexturing (guess which box? it starts with an 'x'), high polygon performance to render some cute girlees hair (rrrright), anti alliasing (same 'x'), anisotropic filtering ('x'), writing z-buffer optimised code (goes for all graphics software), if multiple lighting and transforming calculations can be offloaded of the main CPU (xbox again, sorry). It doesn't even mention other texturing tricks that we are allready used to on the PC. Environmentmapping, bumpmapping, etc. (damn impressive in Halo on my xbox).
I would recommend those that want a deeper analysis of why the xbox is the graphics gaming console of the future (verses these other boxes) to have a good look at what DX8 brought us. Hint: vertex shading and pixel shading.
Oh, and Mr CmdrTaco, get with the program:
- PS2 has more games, yes. 425 PS1 + PS2 combined titles. Xbox has about 40 now and that list is growing fast. 100x...whatever
- Overheating? Don't pull a 'the prerelease box was rumoured to overheat' kinda bull on this forum please
- Luigi??? Abe farts in the fase of Luigi! In more colors, with surround sound and at 1080i
LINUX (kernel 0.9) SUCKS!!
please tell us you heard some important dude at IBM claim this growth patern first....
because I'm not looking forward to calling it cybrpnk's law
*sniffle*
Maximum resolution (cinematics)
X-box: 1920x1080
PS2: 1280X1024
Maximum resolution with 2 x 32bpp frame buffers + Z buffer (gameplay)
X-box: 1920x1080
PS2: 640x480
not sure if we all slasdotted gnutellashosts but I found that if you edit line 21 of gtv.py and replace
addr = socket.gethostbyname('gnutellahsots.com')
with
addr = socket.gethostbyname('router.limewire.com')
it also works.
They are not actually banning laptops...just the bags/cases that laptops typically come in. So go ahead bring your bare laptop and sit in the back of the room and play minesweeper while the rest of us pay attention to the talks.
How can you claim that ID cards would not have made a difference? Several terrorists in the recent events in New York and Washington seem to have made use of false ID's. Ask yourself what the use is of carrying an ID card. You have to show you are 21 to buy alcohol (in america). You have to show that the visum in your passport is valid. You have to verify that you are the person you claim to be for several types of money transactions (using your credit card, writing a check, etc).
Age verification is a simple one, the only thing you need to be sure of is that the ID card is valid (not falsified). The visas get to be trickier because you introduce new documents that themselves need to be checked if they are valid. With the money transactions I need to prove who I am so that a computer system can do a background check to see if my credit is ok.
The usefullness of an ID card is easy to see. Taking it one step further and making the card itself harder to falsify by adding thumbprints or retina scans (europe) seems to be a reasonable step. The problem lies with the database of information that is tapped into when I present my ID. I myself am actually in favor of such a system in theory. It could have easily prevented the recent terrorist attacks because the FBI (or whatever other appropriate inteligence agency) seemed to be aware that these people had some form of tie with a known terrorist organisation and that 'should' have triggerd the computer systems when they boarded the airplanes in groups.
What I really do NOT like is Larry E. turning this serious matter into a quick promo trip for his company. A company I would not trust with the design for a system that holds all the personal and private information that can be gathered about myself. This discussion should quickly lead to a feasability studie about such a database.
* Can it be designed safe and sound?
* Can we prevent it from being hacked?
* No really?
* Can we think of organizations that we trust to have access to this information?
* Is there a way to verify that only the things that should be stored are being stored?
first of, that is a funny cartoon you pointed me to, thanks.
in my defense:
- English is not my first language (Dutch is...though my spelling in dutch isn't much better)
- I had it right in the topic
- I'm a poor excuse for the IRC spelling generation
- Don't tell my you are still reading this? I'm just bored
anyway, how about "Guns don't kill people. Stupid people kill people!"
---------------------------------
[/quote]
14. NOTE ON JAVA SUPPORT..{cut}..JAVA TECHNOLOGY IS NOT FAULT TOLERANT AND IS NOT DESIGNED FOR USE IN HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRING FAIL-SAFE PERFORMANCE, SUCH AS IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL, DIRECT LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES, OR WEAPONS SYSTEMS, IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF JAVA TECHNOLOGY COULD LEAD DIRECTLY TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. Sun Microsystems, Inc. has contractually obligated Microsoft to make this disclaimer.
[/end_quote]
So the lesson here is: Guns don't kill people. JAVA kill's people!
(j/k)
---------------------------------
What, you don't play EverQuest? The growing popularity of mmorpg (massive multiplayer online role playing games) and the fact that most of them charge you a monthly fee should give a hint at how very likely it is that people are in fact very willing to shell out $$/month.
If nerds like us are getting used to the idea then the masses will not stand a chance to protest the business model of monthly fees.
And why should they? In my opinion there are a few advantages for both sides. First there is choice. The moment I have to pay a recurring fee for software I will be more critical to the quality of that software (vs the "it came with windows, why should I replace it?"). Secondly, charging a small fee per month leads to a better measure of the quality of the product. In the analogy with EverQuest, the designers get a good feel how long they managed to hook people to their game and build on that knowledge to build a next and better game.
my $0.02/month
---------------------------------
I'm still dissapointed about the usual 6 months delay before PTerry's books appear in a merkin bookstore. I used to keep up with his 2 books a year release schedule back in The Netherlands. Now I have completely missed the launch of a book and stumble upon it in a review at /.
---------------------------------
It almost completely bridges the gap between Linux and Windows (currently doesn't support 3D games very well).
---------------------------------
If you want extreem bouncy, then check this out. After watching some of the video's on this site I decided that I am not ever going to be THAT crazy. We are talking 6 foot jumps and leeps. The videos have this cute little disclaimer: "PLEASE, don't try this at home".
---------------------------------
http://www.itworld.com/Comp/2384/LWD010410maccomme nts/ should work.
---------------------------------
it should be: 2b||!2b
and while we are at it, that mathematically equels "true"
which in computer land is "1"
so there you have it, the infamous Hamlett quote reduced to "1"
---------------------------------
I would have felt so much better if you would have at least mentioned Turing in your post to Slashdot....go back and do your homework :-)
Slashdot featured a link to a pretty good article that holds a very cute and short intro to how Alan Turing got to his infamous Turing Machine and the start of computers and computer science. It does a quicky mathematical history from Cantor through Hilbert to Godel and Turing.
I have studied computer science and find that certain facts about the history of computer science seem go better with the non-computer scientist audiences (the friends and family I try to explain too what computers are). Your lessons should at least cover the following topics:
Explain what the generalized Turing machine is and how it was (and still is) used to describe the 'limitations' of computing machines.
Explain with as little math as possible what NP means and what impact it has on computing.
Explain Moores law and compare it to other industries to show that computer science is something very very new in our world history.
I recommend reading "The Age of Spiritual Machines" by Ray Kurzweil. Both an interesting overview of computing history and future.
Traa
---------------------------------
Being a part of the online gaming community I really like to see cheating discuraged as much as possible.
/whine off
Cheating takes away the fun for people that don't cheat (doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure that one out).
I can't believe that all you slashdot readers take it so lightly that such a small group of people (the cheaters) have the ability to ruin a game for so very many.
Don't tell me that 19000 half-life players (that I counted 5 minutes ago) will take it for granted that their onling game will be ruined just because the technical community doesn't care about moral issues.
It's a minor issue but has anyone considered the consequences of delivering Open Source Graphics Drivers into the hands of cheaters?
Yes I know the facts. Cheating can't be stopped completely. I'm just wondering what judgement this forum comes up with. Because if we list cheating as one of the "online-facts-of-life" I for one will lose some of my hope for a pleasant online future.
---------------------------------