A virus that can propagate through an entire enterprise's array of servers, and then wipe out all data?
Most enterprises comprise a heterogeneous mix of servers of differing breeds. Getting a program to run on all of them, and then to gain access to data and transform it all in a single virus would be a great piece of programming, and any enterprise looking to hire an efficient data migration specialist or integration architect should consider hiring...
Put your website adverstisment in your signature. That way, you don't piss off people who don't want to see any signatures at all and have them turned off.
I tell you where else this would be a positive thing - in erasing the memory of good books/films/video games, so that you can experience them all again as if for the first time. I would love to be able to re-experience the magic of reading some of my favorite fiction as if for the first time.
I can provide a quick review. I read my copy (a pre-release ARC) a month or two ago.
First things first - the accompanying CD isn't brilliant. If you want some atmospheric music to listen to while reading the book, then get some Gregorian chant.
The book is a departure from both the post-cyberpunk sci-fi of Snow Crash and the historical counter-factuals of the Baroque Cycle. If nothing else, at least Neal Stephenson is keeping fresh in his narrative direction.
I'm not going to go into spoiler territory here, but I will say that my guess is that it will disappoint a lot of geeks. The book is actually very heavily based around philosophical concepts, with not a great deal of action, and technology itself playing an ancilliary role to experiments of the mind.
Does Stephenson end this novel well? Yes, far more cleverly than in previous novels. Note: I didn't say "more satisfactorily". How the narrative strands of the novel tie up at the end is well thought out.
I think it was Umberto Eco who said that the first 100 pages of his novel, The Name of the Rose was a challenge, and only dedicated readers who persevered would be rewarded. I think that this applies equally to Anathem. The comparisons to Eco don't end there - this is very much a novel of ideas. Not all of them original, but certainly originally executed.
If it were a drink, it'd be a complicated whisky. Not to everyon'e taste, and certainly needing to be appreciated in small doses with adequate contemplation. But ultimately rewarding.
And it does. If there are those who have ideological issues with the means of distribution, exactly why should the BBC have to cater to their every whim? If I'm part of an obscure religion that demands that all broadcasts are in flipbook format, should the BBC cater to me as well?
I appreciate the noble ideological position at play here. However, the BBC also have a responsibility to ensure that the monies they are collecting are spent well - spending lots of money on producing codecs for niche reasons when perfectly acceptable (and free to the end-user) alternatives are available, is to me, not a good use of funds. (Neither is spending millions on Jonathan Fucking Ross, but that's a rant for another day).
It usually boils down to these two things:
#1) Respect the privacy of others.
#2) Think before you type.
#3) With great power comes great responsibility.
That's interesting - almost like a way of scoring trolls - the bigger your minicity, the bigger the jerk you happen to be. All they need now is a way to incorporate a Rickroll in there to demonstrate their douchebaggery further.
I just noticed that the Ig Nobel mantra is "Research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK". I wonder whether Professor Frink deliberately echoed that in his little ditty: " Professor Frink, Professor Frink, He'll make you laugh, he'll make you think". After all, Professor Frink certainly deserves a few Ig Nobel Awards...
A recent In Our Time radio broadcast covered the impact of Indians on the history of mathematics. Rather interesting listening, as are all In Our Times.
Slashdot Mirror
Holy shit! Kirk Douglas is still alive?!
Apparently, the UK submarine was carrying red paint, and the French sub was carrying blue paint.
All the sailors are marooned.
Before you say how silly this PR is, consider that it's made it to frontpage of slashdot (yeah, yeah, idle I know, but it still counts)...
A virus that can propagate through an entire enterprise's array of servers, and then wipe out all data?
Most enterprises comprise a heterogeneous mix of servers of differing breeds. Getting a program to run on all of them, and then to gain access to data and transform it all in a single virus would be a great piece of programming, and any enterprise looking to hire an efficient data migration specialist or integration architect should consider hiring...
Beowulf imagined a cluster of one of these!
They're not commas but apostrophes that fell of the "it's" and wandered upstream like salmon.
Put your website adverstisment in your signature. That way, you don't piss off people who don't want to see any signatures at all and have them turned off.
While this might positively applicaple
I tell you where else this would be a positive thing - in erasing the memory of good books/films/video games, so that you can experience them all again as if for the first time. I would love to be able to re-experience the magic of reading some of my favorite fiction as if for the first time.
I can provide a quick review. I read my copy (a pre-release ARC) a month or two ago.
First things first - the accompanying CD isn't brilliant. If you want some atmospheric music to listen to while reading the book, then get some Gregorian chant.
The book is a departure from both the post-cyberpunk sci-fi of Snow Crash and the historical counter-factuals of the Baroque Cycle. If nothing else, at least Neal Stephenson is keeping fresh in his narrative direction.
I'm not going to go into spoiler territory here, but I will say that my guess is that it will disappoint a lot of geeks. The book is actually very heavily based around philosophical concepts, with not a great deal of action, and technology itself playing an ancilliary role to experiments of the mind.
Does Stephenson end this novel well? Yes, far more cleverly than in previous novels. Note: I didn't say "more satisfactorily". How the narrative strands of the novel tie up at the end is well thought out.
I think it was Umberto Eco who said that the first 100 pages of his novel, The Name of the Rose was a challenge, and only dedicated readers who persevered would be rewarded. I think that this applies equally to Anathem. The comparisons to Eco don't end there - this is very much a novel of ideas. Not all of them original, but certainly originally executed.
If it were a drink, it'd be a complicated whisky. Not to everyon'e taste, and certainly needing to be appreciated in small doses with adequate contemplation. But ultimately rewarding.
The BBC has a duty to provide access to all
And it does. If there are those who have ideological issues with the means of distribution, exactly why should the BBC have to cater to their every whim? If I'm part of an obscure religion that demands that all broadcasts are in flipbook format, should the BBC cater to me as well?
I appreciate the noble ideological position at play here. However, the BBC also have a responsibility to ensure that the monies they are collecting are spent well - spending lots of money on producing codecs for niche reasons when perfectly acceptable (and free to the end-user) alternatives are available, is to me, not a good use of funds. (Neither is spending millions on Jonathan Fucking Ross, but that's a rant for another day).
Gritty plot!
This reminds me of those stupid Candlejack threads tha
Hindu saints have IP addresses?
Score:-1, Insightful
Win! Wait, no, the other thing - Fail! No, hold on...... (Head kerplodes)
It usually boils down to these two things:
#1) Respect the privacy of others.
#2) Think before you type.
#3) With great power comes great responsibility.
Intelligent speculation has led one knowledgeable observer....
But I thought that god did not play dice...
You misspelt Fsat Waller on your sig: Don't give your right name, no no no --- Fats Waller
That's interesting - almost like a way of scoring trolls - the bigger your minicity, the bigger the jerk you happen to be. All they need now is a way to incorporate a Rickroll in there to demonstrate their douchebaggery further.
60 posts into a story about moons and rings, and no-one's mentioned Urectum.
Cows don't vacuum (more the other way around)
You know, I've spent the last ten minutes trying to understand that clause. I don't get it. Help...
I just noticed that the Ig Nobel mantra is "Research that makes people LAUGH and then THINK". I wonder whether Professor Frink deliberately echoed that in his little ditty: " Professor Frink, Professor Frink, He'll make you laugh, he'll make you think". After all, Professor Frink certainly deserves a few Ig Nobel Awards...
Ah yes, Super Monkey Ball. Specifically: Expert Level 7. Those who have faced this level will understand the sheer frustration felt.
Another hard game: Project X on the Amiga. It took two of us playing co-operatively to beat it. And this is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up!
I thought it was the fact that Jobs is Gates' ventriloquist dummy, hence the reference to drinking water.
You know, if we're talking about digital technology, then I reckon that the best digital technology of all time would be opposable thumbs.
A recent In Our Time radio broadcast covered the impact of Indians on the history of mathematics. Rather interesting listening, as are all In Our Times.