IANAL, but IIRC, the GPL is a licence which you grant to your users, allowing the them the ability to copy/use your copyrighted material.
Which... again IIRC... means that if someone manages to get the GPL turned down in courts, they are REJECTING the licence you provided them and there for, they have no right to copy your copyrighted material. (Although... I dont know if this denies them USE of it. Considering they obtained THEIR copy legally.)
Mind you, the world of C/C++ can be a lot more complex than a lot of other language. Things like learning how to deal with pointers and the most efficient way to utilize objects in C++ is something a developer learns with use. (A more real world example than yours would be: do you use virtual methods and inheritance, or Polymorphism with templates?)
There is a lot more to C/C++ than just pointers and etc. And even further, many of the patterns, ideas, and practices can all be used across different languages.
Odds are, the developer who can program in C++, Ruby, Java, Python, Smalltalk and (insert your fav language here)... will have a stronger knowledge of programming practices and syntax concepts, which will let him/her program in EVERY language more efficiently.
Even further. Once the programmer feels comfortable in programming for a wide range of languages and syntaxes, he/she will generally have a lot shorter learning curve when picking up a new language.
After a point, learning a new language is less about learning that languages syntax and specialized sugar, and more about learning what kind of new programming practices that language has to give you.
Probably the largest advantage to knowing multiple languages... is that you have a better understand to which language is the best tool for the job.
I'm not going to use C++ to develop my web application. I am probably going to use a language with stronger web development support. And while I might use C++ for developing the core components of a game, odds are I am going to use a language like python for scripting those components. Especially with the VERY nice python integration that the BOOST library provides.
On the same note, I'm probably going to lean away from C++ for developing a desktop application. (Especially applications which don't have large hungry loops.. and even then, I might just use C or C++ for just the intensive part)... I'm probably going to use Ruby or Python. (Ruby if I can find good enough bindings for what I need, python if I can't.)
Even further... for small unix scripts, I will probably use BASH + awk/sed/etc (and it will generally be typed into the shell, instead of saved to a file). But for larger scripts... I am going to use python, ruby or perl depending on what kind of library support I need. Obviously, if my script needs to cover a very wide range of territories... I will probably use perl... But if my script is mostly self contained, I much prefer ruby.
If Im working on my system, I have to be carful. If I get up for too long, my 3 year old will literally close all my programs... log me out.. and log him self in. (which involves typing his password and etc. We recently changes his password. Was 123...now its a bit more complex. Wife didn't think he could do it.. ohhh how she was wrong hehe.)
Then he either visits one of his websites (has links on his desktop for all his sites)... or loads up a game (various fisher price and etc... but he also likes to play railroad tycoon 3... he is a total train freak hehe)
The one thing I REALLY HATE about the fisher price games though... is that they dont automatically shut down if you eject the cd. He forgets to quit the game now and then.. and just ejects the cd.. then remembers he has to quit first.. but by that time to game is acting funky =/)
Heh... I was a total fan of python until I started programing in ruby.
I still do some programming in python though. Although I love ruby to bits.. it truly does lack decent library support. Python definatly has the advantage in that respect (Although nothing beats perl if your looking for a vast amount of modules.. LOL)
actually, there was a study done recently about 3d spacial processing in both men and women. (Heh, done by microsoft actually)
On average, men have a better time processing, and virtualizing 3d information on a computer screen. But it turns out that, if you give a women a wide screen, or multi screen environment.. they can process 3d information just as good (and some times better), than men
The Linux version of QT being pseudo-gpl'e is a very common misconception. Trolltech's marketing speak is a bit confusing in regards to this... You will notice that on their site, they state:
"Any software produced with QT under the GPL license, and any derivatives of this software, must also be released under the GPL."
Which is true of ANY GPL'ed software. (Although, software based on a GPL library, is still a gray issue.) You can still sell your software in any way you see fit. However, you are obligated to release the source code for your software, under the GPL... to the people you SELL your software to. (Which brings us to a big misconception people have with the GPL. You ONLY have to release source code to people who obtain a binary from you. Regardless if this is from a free download, or a purchased copy. )
But following that, they state:
"As before, any user who wishes to create proprietary or closed source software must first purchase a development license from Trolltech."
Which means that due to the fact that QT is duel licensed, you have the OPTION of purchasing a non GPL version of the QT library from Trolltech, if you wish your derivative to remain preparatory. (Because Trolltech owns the copyright to QT, they reserve the right to duel license, or even stop using the GPL all together for future versions of their software. Which is something you CAN'T do as a third party, who does not control the copyright.)
Why is that? The new HDTVs (that haven't even caught-on yet) don't support it, and it's not like TV standards change every week
Easy... You dont use a format just because its the 'most supported'. For example, the DVD (eraa, next gen) players could scale the content from 1080P to the format supported by your TV. This way, when your TV actually DOES support 1080P, you will be able to make the most out of it.
The largest is probably the... horible casting. It just feels... wrong... to watch some japanese woman with a US southern accent. Mind you, if she was a japanese woman who LIVED in the southern US states it would be different... (Ive heard some hard core North American accents from some very asian faces before.)
The other issue I have,... and mind you this is not always an issue... But the subs tend to take a lot of liberties. Generally in the form of quips or cuss words. Some times its bad enough that the entire scene has a different feel to it.
I dont know if its the best example... but look at Demon City Shinjuku... If I remember right, (I could be wrong, its been a while since I watched it)... the dubs end up being different than the subs in many places... (A lot of times with just... a retarted amount of liberty taken with the voice acting) On top of that, they just picked some really really horible choices for voice actors (IMHO).
Of course, the quality of more recent dubs have improved quite a bit. But you get the idea =)
Oh... then again... subs some times are not all that great either. The problem I noticed is that some of the translations end up not makeing a huge amount of since in some parts. (Some times the translations DO require a little liberty to make the translation make since to english speaking minds)
So I guess the only way to truly be happy is to learn japanese =) LOL
One thing I noticed that kindof happens to me when I watch a subed movie... is that the subs become somewhat transparent. By the end of the movie, I almost forget that I have been reading sub titles... and it almost feels like Im actually 'understanding' the voices.
I dont know if we 'need' to become a spacefaring race... IANAS (I am not a scientist) but... I can probably think of a few advantages.
For the short term, places like the asteroid belt can be mined for metals and what have you. (Of course, I can only see that happening if someone can come up with a cost effective way to do this... but if it was profitable, I could definatly see companies being interested in this)
Maybe the next material used in computer chips is some before now unknown (or low avalibility) material we find in the belt?
For the long term, the further existance of the human race. Yah yah, they are saying that the chance of a planet killer is now like 30 percent less than they thought... but it would suck pretty hard for the entire human race to be wiped out by a rock. Of course, falling rocks are not even our biggest consern. The human race is very capable at wiping it self out without any external help.
If you look at the motherboard, I believe it has 4 ide channels.
If you look at this pic: http://www.firingsquad.com/media/hirez.asp?f ile=/h ardware/building_budget_storage_server/images/04.j pg
You can see them in the following order: 1. Blue ATA Connector 2. ATA Connector(s) (Is that one, or two SATA Connectors I see?) 3. ATA Connector 4. White ATA Connector
The author is using an SATA drive for the system drive. This leaves an entire ATA channel for other things (cdrom and atc)
My motherboard for example has 4 channels. Two ATA and two SATA. Its very common now for motherboard manufactuers to include additional IDE ports, especially with 'raid' capabilities. (Generally done via a third party ide controller chip.)
I can tell ya, I truly feel for the poster of this article.
A year ago or so ago I was working for an employer whom... well.. I really had some problems with.
Before I start, please note.. I was working salery...
It was typical for me to give large amounts of overtime for this company. (did I say give.. I mean it was EXPECTED of me)
A lot of times, I ended up LEAVING the building, around 11 pm... yah.. close to midnight...
There where also a couple times where I ended up staying even past then... one time my boss tells me "Umm, I have to have this done by tomarrow morning before my flight out to taiwan" me asking "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?", boss tells me, "I just remembered it".
So I get to stay in the office until 4 in the morning making sure my boss has her shit together.
Lets not forget being sent to a customer site, expected to fix a problem our manufacturing department in taiwan made... and expected to stay there every day... for weeks if need be.. working 9-10 or so until its done. (If you dont do this, the company could go out of business they tell me)
anyways... you get the idea. So add ontop of that.. the fact that my boss was always on my case about being an hour or so late.
"You need to stop coming in late luke, we will have to dock your pay", to which I reply, "You need to stop expecting me to work 14 hours a day, or allow me to come in late."
Literally.. at the time.. I did not mind working the hours I did. The thing that bugged me was that they gave me shit if I came in any later than 8 am. (Look, if I go home at 11 pm.. and get HOME at 12:30 pm.. and get to bed around 1:30 pm... you cant expect me to be up at 5:30 am, and out of the house at 6:30 am.. so I can arrive at work at 8:00 am.)
anyways, needless to say.. after TRYING to work things out with management and getting exactly nowhere.. I quit =)
On my way out the door to go to work... so I cant spell check or anything =) But anyways... thats my story.
Neither company offers a product that really distinguishes itself from the other, so it's all a wash anyway.
You mean, besides the fact that the raidon cards are known for having awesome picture quality when using AA and etc features turned on vs the nvidia cards which have only 'okay' (if not poor) picture quality at the same (or near same) settings?
Hehehe... honestly, to me... this feature alone makes the raidon the better buy. (Not to mention its $100 cheaper... which I personally think as another feature to help distinguish the raidon from the nvidia card.)
Don't get me wrong... but if these two features don't count to distinguish one card from the other, what kind of feature difference are you looking for?
Do you use the real powerswitch on your PC? Odds are no =)
Although I wouldn't mind a more deticated button... the reset button is also the soft poweroff... just like the soft poweroff on the front of your PC. (Except you don't accedently reboot your PC thinking you turned it off.. haha) (Oh yah.. and some cheaper psu's are always on... they have no real power off switch.)
I think they would have done better having the soft power button act in reverse. Hold to reset, tap for power-off. *shrugs*, what can you do =)
Hehe... again I was not trying to imply the PS2 has any advantages over the XBox... but the hardware is different. They come from two different worlds.
CPU type.. the two consoles use totally different cpu's... Not that one is better than the other for any reason.. but that they are different so the Mhz to Mhz doesnt work so well.
the PS2 has a 800mhz bus from one of its Vector processors to its graphics chip... etc etc. Silly stuff =)
However, as far as true advantages... the XBox does have more graphics memory availible... and although you can work around this (Heh, was just reading an article about porting an xbox game to PS2 =).. obviously the PS2 would be a lot stronger had it more memory.
My main gripe wasnt so much as to.. which has more power... but how people compair the two.
Things like a more open/documented API would put the PS2 a lot closer to the xbox. (Most developers didn't (and some still dont) know the proper way to do antialiasing on the PS2 until a couple of generations of games had past... for example)
I have a feeling sony is using this as leverage. Some point in the future Sony will come out with say, a nice shiney set of new API's and documention that will let future generations of games better compete... but they probably dont want to do that until its required.
Compairing the PS2's hardware to the X-Box is a bit hard.
The PS2's hardware was designed from the ground up to run games... where the x-box is basically.. a PC with some optimisations.
The PS2 has a lot of power still that a lot of companies don't (or can't) yet take advantage of. Unfortunatly one of the bad things about the PS2 is that its not eactly the easiest to program for. (Sony isnt exactly helping too much with this either.)
I have a feeling we are going to see games evolve over the years on the PS2... (Same thing that happened on the PS1. Compare almost any first gen PS1 game with one of the last gen PS1 games to see what I mean. They almost look like they are for totally different hardware platforms.) While on the other hand, graphics on the xbox will be more or less the same. (Developers already know how to program its hardware, obviously.)
Anyways... Im in no way trying to say the PS2 is more powerful than the X-Box. I am just trying to explain why compairing the two is kindof useless... atleast when your just going by pure specs. (Which btw, you dont mention anything about the PS2s processor design, which does have advantages over the xbox.)
Anyways... this is the same reason why you cant compare AMD and Intel chips directly just by specs.
Don't get me wrong here. I am all for genetic engineering... but I have play devils advocate for a moment here...
IANAS but they are takeing a cold virus... and makeing it kill BAD brain tissue? What happens if the virus ends up killing normal brain tissue for some reason? Mutation or oversight on their part?
Not that I am saying this could or would happen... but what if? Especially if this thing managed to spread much like SARS has been doing?
It would be pretty damn scary if the next plague was caused by people having their brains eaten away =)
Of course, then again... Benificial genetically modified virii are probably very much our future. Could you imagine one day going in for innoculations... where the innoculation is a host of ACTIVE virii designed with keeping specific things in check? (Cancer and etc.) Or even more interesting... becomeing innoculated just by hanging out with a friend who went in for the shots? LOL
Hehe... I personally learned to touch type back when I was a kid.. on my dads 'laptop' (Back when a laptop was really a 20 pound, desktop computer sized device, with a battery and a really crappy display)
I tought my self how to touch type... so I never did learn to type 'right'. I think for the most part I only type with just... 6 fingers? Something like that. 3 fingers and a thumb on one hand two fingers on the other... LOL (With a pinky from either hand now and then for caps) Considering this, I still type for the most part around 80 WPM. I can type faster, but I generally need some time to think inbetween words =). When I am really pissed or really....... driven?... I am known to type about 120 wpm or so. (Its actually pretty funny. I generally dont pay attention to the pitter patter of the keyboard when I type. But every now and then, if I am in my angry typing, (or driven) mode... I will generally have someone come into the room going "what the hell was that?"
I used to get that at work a lot =)
But anyways... I know what you mean about typing by reflex. If I just... tried.. to remember the layout of the keyboard.. I couldnt. (And generally, if I need to say.. put my keyboard back together after cleaning.. I have to pretend typing some things on the empty spaces to get an idea where the letters go LOL)
Someone earlier mentioned that, one of the things that leads to some level of efficiency in the QWERTY layout, is that when you type, you end up switching between your two hands quite a bit...
This is actually somewhat a problem for me. I seem to have a habit of hitting the next offhand key, before I finish hitting the first one.
For an example. Its easy for me to do things like thsi, and etc.
Anyways... now to get back on subject here.. hehe...
A while ago, I spent about two weeks at work, typing in the dvorak layout. I actually managed to learn it alright... although I was typing at about half speed. The only real problem was... I could type okay if I just didnt think about typing. But any time I actually THOUGHT about which keys I was hitting, I ended up switching to QWERTY.
Needless to say, Im back to QWERTY =)
BTW... anyone else out there take a typing class in jrhigh just for the letter grade? "Gee ohh no, the teacher made us cover up our keys" *snicker*.
I did the same thing with the programming class... We where learning 'basic' on apple iie's... but I already knew how to program in basic quite well =)
(I guess I needed something to balance out all the d's and f's I was getting for not turning in any of my homework =)
(This is one thing I really hate about school. Homework counted for WAY too much of your grade. It seems they really could care less if you get a's and b's on all your tests... without turning in homework you still get a final grade of around d =(
"You got an A on this test, this stuff obviously isnt hard for you... why dont you just do your homework?", "Because it bores the living heck out of me! I would rather be working on my MUD server", "mud what?", "Oh never mind"
(I think the second thing I did back in 94, after getting linux installed... was learn C since I finally had a development environment. I was getting REALLY tired of qbasic on dos =) hehe)
I honestly don't get that much spam. Even to my hotmail account (which I get some... maybe a spam a week).
I think it all depends on how you use your email address.. Lately, when I need to post my email on a web page... I will generally create an image with the text of the address in there.
This will require either sophisticated software (which most spammers wont be using).. or human intervention. (Although its possible, I truly dont see spammers sitting there typing in thousands of emails manually)
It might be annoying for people who wish to email me.. but it works =)
Another few things...
I use my hotmail account for anything that must be public... if I am going to get spam, its most likely to that account.
My other account... I use for personal stuff.. friends.. etc... which I generally dont give out at all.
Anyways... thats just me. I realize say, an author on slashdot is going to have a lot larger presense on the net than say... a programmer like my self... But even for people with a high presense, it never hurts to practice safe email posting (hehehe)
I used Dreamweaver DX quite a bit lately (and vs 4... but I always hated 4s interface)... I honestly havent noticed anything non complient about the code it generates.
Then again my pages tend to be somewhat simple.... tables for layout and CSS for formatting. (Yes I know... DX supports CSS layers and such... but I could never get them to work right LOL... I think this has more to do with my inexperiance with the tool its complience however =))
You actually CAN make decent websites with it... and fairly easily... but you REALLY have to understand EXACTLY how to use zope before you get very productive. This is one of the things they are trying to address in zope 3.
Being a big fan of Python... I am using Webware now for my web development stuff. It is a bit lower level than zope... but it works pretty well. It is modeled after the java servlet and JSP frameworks...
You should check it out. See the Wiki page for a good deal of information too. (You might check out the Model 2+1 wiki page I have been working on... not near completed yet though)
I think it's because they get into a groove where the code is coming right from their stream of consciousness without anything getting in their way. As you go down the bell curve, the programmers have to force their mind into an unfamiliar state to generate code.
This is one of the things that drives me nuts about programming. Some times I will just be in the mood for it. Its hard to explain what exactly this mood is... Im usually a tad tired... But not where you feel really sleepy... (like right now.. ROTFL)... but where you feel zoned out... or not fully present.
When Im in that state, I find my self writing huge amounts of code... When I come back to it the next day... it usually takes me a while to figure out what the heck I wrote =)
Ah well... Im sure my bipolar disorder has a good part to play in this too =)
As I write this I think maybe only one person who has posted actually understands why something like this is not only usefull, but important.
No most geeks do not need something like this. However you have to consider the fact that, 98 percent of your computer users are not geeks. On top of that, a good chunk of those people can hardly use their computer.
Example... My grand parents where set up with a computer last year. They love their computer... but they are VERY timid with it. They are afraid to break things.
Right now they are using windows ME. Actually I think XP might have been a better choice but at the time it was not really an option.
Many of the things on their desktop, they dont know how to use. Not only that, they dont WANT to figure out what these things do. They would rather spend their time trying to remember how you go about accessing stock quotes, or reading email than learning new functionality.
What most people dont understand is the fact that things like window management is intimidateing! Why do I need to worry about what size some window is... how I make it full screen... how to get it back once I clicked some button and made it disapear!
The idea behind OEone's desktop is not actually a new one. However it is quite a good idea. (and urgh... Microsoft is in the process of developing their own version of this... they have been for a while actually.) The user should not need to know which applications do what... let alone know how to MANAGE the applications, Instead the user is presented with documents and tasks. If the user wants to browse a web page... thats all they should have to deal with. The web page should become their interface. If the user wants to make a document, their computer nees to BE a word processor.
Anyways, sorry for being a bit ranty. I did not sleep at all last night and Im quite tired =)
Slashdot Mirror
IANAL, but IIRC, the GPL is a licence which you grant to your users, allowing the them the ability to copy/use your copyrighted material.
Which... again IIRC... means that if someone manages to get the GPL turned down in courts, they are REJECTING the licence you provided them and there for, they have no right to copy your copyrighted material. (Although... I dont know if this denies them USE of it. Considering they obtained THEIR copy legally.)
Mind you, the world of C/C++ can be a lot more complex than a lot of other language. Things like learning how to deal with pointers and the most efficient way to utilize objects in C++ is something a developer learns with use. (A more real world example than yours would be: do you use virtual methods and inheritance, or Polymorphism with templates?)
There is a lot more to C/C++ than just pointers and etc. And even further, many of the patterns, ideas, and practices can all be used across different languages.
Odds are, the developer who can program in C++, Ruby, Java, Python, Smalltalk and (insert your fav language here)... will have a stronger knowledge of programming practices and syntax concepts, which will let him/her program in EVERY language more efficiently.
Even further. Once the programmer feels comfortable in programming for a wide range of languages and syntaxes, he/she will generally have a lot shorter learning curve when picking up a new language.
After a point, learning a new language is less about learning that languages syntax and specialized sugar, and more about learning what kind of new programming practices that language has to give you.
Probably the largest advantage to knowing multiple languages... is that you have a better understand to which language is the best tool for the job.
I'm not going to use C++ to develop my web application. I am probably going to use a language with stronger web development support. And while I might use C++ for developing the core components of a game, odds are I am going to use a language like python for scripting those components. Especially with the VERY nice python integration that the BOOST library provides.
On the same note, I'm probably going to lean away from C++ for developing a desktop application. (Especially applications which don't have large hungry loops.. and even then, I might just use C or C++ for just the intensive part)... I'm probably going to use Ruby or Python. (Ruby if I can find good enough bindings for what I need, python if I can't.)
Even further... for small unix scripts, I will probably use BASH + awk/sed/etc (and it will generally be typed into the shell, instead of saved to a file). But for larger scripts... I am going to use python, ruby or perl depending on what kind of library support I need. Obviously, if my script needs to cover a very wide range of territories... I will probably use perl... But if my script is mostly self contained, I much prefer ruby.
No kidding.
.now its a bit more complex. Wife didn't think he could do it.. ohhh how she was wrong hehe.)
If Im working on my system, I have to be carful. If I get up for too long, my 3 year old will literally close all my programs... log me out.. and log him self in. (which involves typing his password and etc. We recently changes his password. Was 123..
Then he either visits one of his websites (has links on his desktop for all his sites)... or loads up a game (various fisher price and etc... but he also likes to play railroad tycoon 3... he is a total train freak hehe)
The one thing I REALLY HATE about the fisher price games though... is that they dont automatically shut down if you eject the cd. He forgets to quit the game now and then.. and just ejects the cd.. then remembers he has to quit first.. but by that time to game is acting funky =/)
Heh... I was a total fan of python until I started programing in ruby.
I still do some programming in python though. Although I love ruby to bits.. it truly does lack decent library support. Python definatly has the advantage in that respect (Although nothing beats perl if your looking for a vast amount of modules.. LOL)
actually, there was a study done recently about 3d spacial processing in both men and women. (Heh, done by microsoft actually)
On average, men have a better time processing, and virtualizing 3d information on a computer screen. But it turns out that, if you give a women a wide screen, or multi screen environment.. they can process 3d information just as good (and some times better), than men
Just thought I would put that 2c in =)
The Linux version of QT being pseudo-gpl'e is a very common misconception. Trolltech's marketing speak is a bit confusing in regards to this... You will notice that on their site, they state:
"Any software produced with QT under the GPL license, and any derivatives of this software, must also be released under the GPL."
Which is true of ANY GPL'ed software. (Although, software based on a GPL library, is still a gray issue.) You can still sell your software in any way you see fit. However, you are obligated to release the source code for your software, under the GPL... to the people you SELL your software to. (Which brings us to a big misconception people have with the GPL. You ONLY have to release source code to people who obtain a binary from you. Regardless if this is from a free download, or a purchased copy. )
But following that, they state:
"As before, any user who wishes to create proprietary or closed source software must first purchase a development license from Trolltech."
Which means that due to the fact that QT is duel licensed, you have the OPTION of purchasing a non GPL version of the QT library from Trolltech, if you wish your derivative to remain preparatory. (Because Trolltech owns the copyright to QT, they reserve the right to duel license, or even stop using the GPL all together for future versions of their software. Which is something you CAN'T do as a third party, who does not control the copyright.)
Why is that? The new HDTVs (that haven't even caught-on yet) don't support it, and it's not like TV standards change every week
Easy... You dont use a format just because its the 'most supported'. For example, the DVD (eraa, next gen) players could scale the content from 1080P to the format supported by your TV. This way, when your TV actually DOES support 1080P, you will be able to make the most out of it.
I have two real complains with dubs personally.
The largest is probably the... horible casting. It just feels... wrong... to watch some japanese woman with a US southern accent. Mind you, if she was a japanese woman who LIVED in the southern US states it would be different... (Ive heard some hard core North American accents from some very asian faces before.)
The other issue I have,... and mind you this is not always an issue... But the subs tend to take a lot of liberties. Generally in the form of quips or cuss words. Some times its bad enough that the entire scene has a different feel to it.
I dont know if its the best example... but look at Demon City Shinjuku... If I remember right, (I could be wrong, its been a while since I watched it)... the dubs end up being different than the subs in many places... (A lot of times with just... a retarted amount of liberty taken with the voice acting) On top of that, they just picked some really really horible choices for voice actors (IMHO).
Of course, the quality of more recent dubs have improved quite a bit. But you get the idea =)
Oh... then again... subs some times are not all that great either. The problem I noticed is that some of the translations end up not makeing a huge amount of since in some parts. (Some times the translations DO require a little liberty to make the translation make since to english speaking minds)
So I guess the only way to truly be happy is to learn japanese =) LOL
One thing I noticed that kindof happens to me when I watch a subed movie... is that the subs become somewhat transparent. By the end of the movie, I almost forget that I have been reading sub titles... and it almost feels like Im actually 'understanding' the voices.
I dont know if we 'need' to become a spacefaring race... IANAS (I am not a scientist) but... I can probably think of a few advantages.
For the short term, places like the asteroid belt can be mined for metals and what have you. (Of course, I can only see that happening if someone can come up with a cost effective way to do this... but if it was profitable, I could definatly see companies being interested in this)
Maybe the next material used in computer chips is some before now unknown (or low avalibility) material we find in the belt?
For the long term, the further existance of the human race. Yah yah, they are saying that the chance of a planet killer is now like 30 percent less than they thought... but it would suck pretty hard for the entire human race to be wiped out by a rock. Of course, falling rocks are not even our biggest consern. The human race is very capable at wiping it self out without any external help.
Im sure there are others =)
If you look at the motherboard, I believe it has 4 ide channels.
f ile=/h ardware/building_budget_storage_server/images/04.j pg
If you look at this pic:
http://www.firingsquad.com/media/hirez.asp?
You can see them in the following order:
1. Blue ATA Connector
2. ATA Connector(s) (Is that one, or two SATA Connectors I see?)
3. ATA Connector
4. White ATA Connector
The author is using an SATA drive for the system drive. This leaves an entire ATA channel for other things (cdrom and atc)
My motherboard for example has 4 channels. Two ATA and two SATA. Its very common now for motherboard manufactuers to include additional IDE ports, especially with 'raid' capabilities. (Generally done via a third party ide controller chip.)
I can tell ya, I truly feel for the poster of this article.
.. so I can arrive at work at 8:00 am.)
A year ago or so ago I was working for an employer whom... well.. I really had some problems with.
Before I start, please note.. I was working salery...
It was typical for me to give large amounts of overtime for this company. (did I say give.. I mean it was EXPECTED of me)
A lot of times, I ended up LEAVING the building, around 11 pm... yah.. close to midnight...
There where also a couple times where I ended up staying even past then... one time my boss tells me "Umm, I have to have this done by tomarrow morning before my flight out to taiwan" me asking "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?", boss tells me, "I just remembered it".
So I get to stay in the office until 4 in the morning making sure my boss has her shit together.
Lets not forget being sent to a customer site, expected to fix a problem our manufacturing department in taiwan made... and expected to stay there every day... for weeks if need be.. working 9-10 or so until its done. (If you dont do this, the company could go out of business they tell me)
anyways... you get the idea. So add ontop of that.. the fact that my boss was always on my case about being an hour or so late.
"You need to stop coming in late luke, we will have to dock your pay", to which I reply, "You need to stop expecting me to work 14 hours a day, or allow me to come in late."
Literally.. at the time.. I did not mind working the hours I did. The thing that bugged me was that they gave me shit if I came in any later than 8 am. (Look, if I go home at 11 pm.. and get HOME at 12:30 pm.. and get to bed around 1:30 pm... you cant expect me to be up at 5:30 am, and out of the house at 6:30 am
anyways, needless to say.. after TRYING to work things out with management and getting exactly nowhere.. I quit =)
On my way out the door to go to work... so I cant spell check or anything =) But anyways... thats my story.
Neither company offers a product that really distinguishes itself from the other, so it's all a wash anyway.
You mean, besides the fact that the raidon cards are known for having awesome picture quality when using AA and etc features turned on vs the nvidia cards which have only 'okay' (if not poor) picture quality at the same (or near same) settings?
Hehehe... honestly, to me... this feature alone makes the raidon the better buy. (Not to mention its $100 cheaper... which I personally think as another feature to help distinguish the raidon from the nvidia card.)
Don't get me wrong... but if these two features don't count to distinguish one card from the other, what kind of feature difference are you looking for?
But thats just my 2 cents on this subject =)
Ever visit a Fry's Electronics store?
They are like, walmart for electronics... Also happen to carry various non electronic items like some food stuffs.
Do you use the real powerswitch on your PC? Odds are no =)
Although I wouldn't mind a more deticated button... the reset button is also the soft poweroff... just like the soft poweroff on the front of your PC. (Except you don't accedently reboot your PC thinking you turned it off.. haha) (Oh yah.. and some cheaper psu's are always on... they have no real power off switch.)
I think they would have done better having the soft power button act in reverse. Hold to reset, tap for power-off. *shrugs*, what can you do =)
Hehe... again I was not trying to imply the PS2 has any advantages over the XBox... but the hardware is different. They come from two different worlds.
CPU type.. the two consoles use totally different cpu's... Not that one is better than the other for any reason.. but that they are different so the Mhz to Mhz doesnt work so well.
the PS2 has a 800mhz bus from one of its Vector processors to its graphics chip... etc etc. Silly stuff =)
However, as far as true advantages... the XBox does have more graphics memory availible... and although you can work around this (Heh, was just reading an article about porting an xbox game to PS2 =).. obviously the PS2 would be a lot stronger had it more memory.
My main gripe wasnt so much as to.. which has more power... but how people compair the two.
Things like a more open/documented API would put the PS2 a lot closer to the xbox. (Most developers didn't (and some still dont) know the proper way to do antialiasing on the PS2 until a couple of generations of games had past... for example)
I have a feeling sony is using this as leverage. Some point in the future Sony will come out with say, a nice shiney set of new API's and documention that will let future generations of games better compete... but they probably dont want to do that until its required.
Dont ask me why, Im not a marketing person =)
Compairing the PS2's hardware to the X-Box is a bit hard.
The PS2's hardware was designed from the ground up to run games... where the x-box is basically.. a PC with some optimisations.
The PS2 has a lot of power still that a lot of companies don't (or can't) yet take advantage of. Unfortunatly one of the bad things about the PS2 is that its not eactly the easiest to program for. (Sony isnt exactly helping too much with this either.)
I have a feeling we are going to see games evolve over the years on the PS2... (Same thing that happened on the PS1. Compare almost any first gen PS1 game with one of the last gen PS1 games to see what I mean. They almost look like they are for totally different hardware platforms.) While on the other hand, graphics on the xbox will be more or less the same. (Developers already know how to program its hardware, obviously.)
Anyways... Im in no way trying to say the PS2 is more powerful than the X-Box. I am just trying to explain why compairing the two is kindof useless... atleast when your just going by pure specs. (Which btw, you dont mention anything about the PS2s processor design, which does have advantages over the xbox.)
Anyways... this is the same reason why you cant compare AMD and Intel chips directly just by specs.
Anyways... back to my beer =P
Don't get me wrong here. I am all for genetic engineering... but I have play devils advocate for a moment here...
IANAS but they are takeing a cold virus... and makeing it kill BAD brain tissue? What happens if the virus ends up killing normal brain tissue for some reason? Mutation or oversight on their part?
Not that I am saying this could or would happen... but what if? Especially if this thing managed to spread much like SARS has been doing?
It would be pretty damn scary if the next plague was caused by people having their brains eaten away =)
Of course, then again... Benificial genetically modified virii are probably very much our future. Could you imagine one day going in for innoculations... where the innoculation is a host of ACTIVE virii designed with keeping specific things in check? (Cancer and etc.) Or even more interesting... becomeing innoculated just by hanging out with a friend who went in for the shots? LOL
Hehe... I personally learned to touch type back when I was a kid.. on my dads 'laptop' (Back when a laptop was really a 20 pound, desktop computer sized device, with a battery and a really crappy display)
I tought my self how to touch type... so I never did learn to type 'right'. I think for the most part I only type with just... 6 fingers? Something like that. 3 fingers and a thumb on one hand two fingers on the other... LOL (With a pinky from either hand now and then for caps) Considering this, I still type for the most part around 80 WPM. I can type faster, but I generally need some time to think inbetween words =). When I am really pissed or really....... driven?... I am known to type about 120 wpm or so. (Its actually pretty funny. I generally dont pay attention to the pitter patter of the keyboard when I type. But every now and then, if I am in my angry typing, (or driven) mode... I will generally have someone come into the room going "what the hell was that?"
I used to get that at work a lot =)
But anyways... I know what you mean about typing by reflex. If I just... tried.. to remember the layout of the keyboard.. I couldnt. (And generally, if I need to say.. put my keyboard back together after cleaning.. I have to pretend typing some things on the empty spaces to get an idea where the letters go LOL)
Someone earlier mentioned that, one of the things that leads to some level of efficiency in the QWERTY layout, is that when you type, you end up switching between your two hands quite a bit...
This is actually somewhat a problem for me. I seem to have a habit of hitting the next offhand key, before I finish hitting the first one.
For an example. Its easy for me to do things like thsi, and etc.
Anyways... now to get back on subject here.. hehe...
A while ago, I spent about two weeks at work, typing in the dvorak layout. I actually managed to learn it alright... although I was typing at about half speed. The only real problem was... I could type okay if I just didnt think about typing. But any time I actually THOUGHT about which keys I was hitting, I ended up switching to QWERTY.
Needless to say, Im back to QWERTY =)
BTW... anyone else out there take a typing class in jrhigh just for the letter grade? "Gee ohh no, the teacher made us cover up our keys" *snicker*.
I did the same thing with the programming class... We where learning 'basic' on apple iie's... but I already knew how to program in basic quite well =)
(I guess I needed something to balance out all the d's and f's I was getting for not turning in any of my homework =)
(This is one thing I really hate about school. Homework counted for WAY too much of your grade. It seems they really could care less if you get a's and b's on all your tests... without turning in homework you still get a final grade of around d =(
"You got an A on this test, this stuff obviously isnt hard for you... why dont you just do your homework?", "Because it bores the living heck out of me! I would rather be working on my MUD server", "mud what?", "Oh never mind"
(I think the second thing I did back in 94, after getting linux installed... was learn C since I finally had a development environment. I was getting REALLY tired of qbasic on dos =) hehe)
I honestly don't get that much spam. Even to my hotmail account (which I get some... maybe a spam a week).
.. or human intervention. (Although its possible, I truly dont see spammers sitting there typing in thousands of emails manually)
I think it all depends on how you use your email address.. Lately, when I need to post my email on a web page... I will generally create an image with the text of the address in there.
This will require either sophisticated software (which most spammers wont be using)
It might be annoying for people who wish to email me.. but it works =)
Another few things...
I use my hotmail account for anything that must be public... if I am going to get spam, its most likely to that account.
My other account... I use for personal stuff.. friends.. etc... which I generally dont give out at all.
Anyways... thats just me. I realize say, an author on slashdot is going to have a lot larger presense on the net than say... a programmer like my self... But even for people with a high presense, it never hurts to practice safe email posting (hehehe)
I used Dreamweaver DX quite a bit lately (and vs 4... but I always hated 4s interface)... I honestly havent noticed anything non complient about the code it generates.
Then again my pages tend to be somewhat simple.... tables for layout and CSS for formatting. (Yes I know... DX supports CSS layers and such... but I could never get them to work right LOL... I think this has more to do with my inexperiance with the tool its complience however =))
On my gentoo linux machine... all I have to do to stay current is type:
emerge sync
emerge update
no real need to babysit... hehe
Zope is an interesting beast...
You actually CAN make decent websites with it... and fairly easily... but you REALLY have to understand EXACTLY how to use zope before you get very productive. This is one of the things they are trying to address in zope 3.
Being a big fan of Python... I am using Webware now for my web development stuff. It is a bit lower level than zope... but it works pretty well. It is modeled after the java servlet and JSP frameworks...
You should check it out. See the Wiki page for a good deal of information too. (You might check out the Model 2+1 wiki page I have been working on... not near completed yet though)
I think it's because they get into a groove where the code is coming right from their stream of consciousness without anything getting in their way. As you go down the bell curve, the programmers have to force their mind into an unfamiliar state to generate code.
This is one of the things that drives me nuts about programming. Some times I will just be in the mood for it. Its hard to explain what exactly this mood is... Im usually a tad tired... But not where you feel really sleepy... (like right now.. ROTFL)... but where you feel zoned out... or not fully present.
When Im in that state, I find my self writing huge amounts of code... When I come back to it the next day... it usually takes me a while to figure out what the heck I wrote =)
Ah well... Im sure my bipolar disorder has a good part to play in this too =)
ROTFL... And this is why we put food in the microwave... So it can evaporate and then... ohh wait... where is the point in that =)
As I write this I think maybe only one person who has posted actually understands why something like this is not only usefull, but important.
No most geeks do not need something like this. However you have to consider the fact that, 98 percent of your computer users are not geeks. On top of that, a good chunk of those people can hardly use their computer.
Example... My grand parents where set up with a computer last year. They love their computer... but they are VERY timid with it. They are afraid to break things.
Right now they are using windows ME. Actually I think XP might have been a better choice but at the time it was not really an option.
Many of the things on their desktop, they dont know how to use. Not only that, they dont WANT to figure out what these things do. They would rather spend their time trying to remember how you go about accessing stock quotes, or reading email than learning new functionality.
What most people dont understand is the fact that things like window management is intimidateing! Why do I need to worry about what size some window is... how I make it full screen... how to get it back once I clicked some button and made it disapear!
The idea behind OEone's desktop is not actually a new one. However it is quite a good idea. (and urgh... Microsoft is in the process of developing their own version of this... they have been for a while actually.) The user should not need to know which applications do what... let alone know how to MANAGE the applications, Instead the user is presented with documents and tasks. If the user wants to browse a web page... thats all they should have to deal with. The web page should become their interface. If the user wants to make a document, their computer nees to BE a word processor.
Anyways, sorry for being a bit ranty. I did not sleep at all last night and Im quite tired =)