Yes! Mod4 is wonderful! I rambled about that a bit in the last Optimus Keyboard thread, so I won't do it again, but I think one of the most ironic things about the key is that it is millions of times more useful in most Linux environments than it is in Windows. In the realm of Fluxbox/Blackbox/pekwm and their ilk, Mod4 reigns king. >8)
When I read that line, I thought about it for a bit and I think the person must have had her confused with the actress that played the backup goalkeeper in D2. They do look remarkably similar, from my recollection of the movie (been ages since I've seen it).
Right, I first learned to type by pressing every key on the keyboard until I found the right one. No, I looked at the keyboard and related the image on the key to where I would have to move my fingers to hit it. A one-step correlation.
Currently, you seem to imply that the best way to remember multiple-key commands (e.g. copy) by remembering that it's Ctrl-C...but you have to know where the C is first, no? Two-step correlation, with a mnemonic thrown in.
Touch typing is remembering the finger movements, not the actual layout of the keyboard. It doesn't matter what's on the key after you've learned, but a one-step correlation would seem to me to be much more direct than a two-step correlation + (often cryptic) mnemonic as a way to train the fingers.
Believe it or not, not every game is a twitch-reflex FPS.
Even if it were, I can't see how extra feedback can be harmful. If I see a bright red key light up out of the corner of my eye and am trained to react to it as an indicator that my ammo is low, and that pushing it will reload my weapon and turn off the light, then I don't see the harm in it.
In fact, displaying ammunition status data on the keys is far preferable to me than having it on the screen. Again, that's just a preference. The first thing I do when playing any FPS is turn every non-essential HUD component off (including--no, especially--the actual weapon graphic). As long as I have my health, a crosshair, and, depending on the game, a minimap (as small as it can possibly be while still maintaining sufficient legibility), I prefer to keep all state-based information in my head ("How do you know which weapon you're using?"..."Dude, how can you NOT know which weapon you're using?"). Unfortunately, non-essential but still-useful state information that's hard to track mentally (i.e. ammo count) must remain on the screen, taking up precious pixels that could be used for rendering, say, an incoming projectile.
This doesn't even begin to describe the value of using it as an additional factor of the game (pie-in-the-sky here, probably, since you can't assume everyone who plays the game has one). Bringing up your datapad actually changing your keyboard INTO a datapad, for example. Press the key marked "Mission" for mission info, "Map" for map data, etc.. Sequences where you have to learn how to use an alien terminal interface, with an actual ALIEN INPUT DEVICE! That, alone, would warrent this technology for gamers.
You can't just be like, "Oh, it's the H key, I can hit that without looking at the keyboard." because there is no "H" key. There is only a "Hand Tool" key now.
How is this any different? How do you know where the H key is? You remember it as a two-key reach with the left index finger on the home row, or a one-key reach with the right index finger on the home row. When you use Ctrl-C to copy text, do you actually think "Ctrl-C"? Or do you just align your hand down a bit and angle it so that hitting the button under your pinky then rolling down the index finger excecutes a "copy" command? I think this would be better because it would help train touch typing for ALL uses of the keyboard, not just typing alphabetical characters.
Why is everybody always hatin' on the "Windows" (Mod4) key? I've fallen in love with using it for window management. Mod4+LeftMouse anywhere in a window to move it; Mod4+RightMouse similarily to resize it; Mod4+MiddleMouse to send a window to the bottom layer; use it in conjunction with the arrow keys or cursor movement near the edges for desktop switching, etc...
Many programs bind the other meta-keys (I use Maya a lot, so using Alt for such tasks essentially disables all viewport manipulation in the program), so I find it very handy to have a meta-key that I can more-or-less reserve for my own use on a WM-level.
(Disclaimer: pekwm at work, BlackBox at home. May not fit as well with other WM designs, but I can't see why it wouldn't)
Technology? As far as I can tell, these are just pure concept renderings, with the "Patents Pending" referring to the idea and design, not the actual function. Notice how almost everything else on the site has a date attached to indicate when the product will be available for consumption. Not so with this one.
If I ever had one of these things for real, I'm not too sure. I noticed the Quake-mode mock-up and I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to envision, say, darkened-out weapon keys for which you have no ammo, or only an outline drawn if you do not currently have the weapon. Heck, you could program it to display your remaining ammo, updated realtime. A key that lights up when you need to reload. I could go on forever. There are some great possibilities with this idea.
I work for DoD HPC. We use SGIs, and we're having a bear of a time converting our server platforms from IRIX/MIPS Onyx machines to Linux/ia64 Altix machines, for this reason alone. It just isn't feasable to dump 90% of your commercial software to move to another platform, regardless of its technical merits. With a workflow based around these software packages, you can't just up and obsolete everything to switch. For in-house stuff, it's great, naturally, and anything you can do with Open Source. It's the commercial software (modeling and simulation, in our case) that holds everything back.
Threw together some raytracing (mental ray) benchmarks awhile ago. License was for two processors; the first two machines had plenty more than that, the last one (my PC) only one. Since all the ia64 experts are in here, thought I might see if any of you can explain these:
SGI Onyx3900 MIPS R16000
Wall: 00:04:36.58 CPU : 00:09:10.00 Load: 198.8%
SGI Altix3700 ia64 Itanium2
Wall: 00:08:30.92 CPU : 00:00:18.51 Load: 3%
Pentium 4 2.0GHz
Wall: 00:05:41.90 CPU : 00:05:04.34 Load: 89% (was using the computer for web browsing, etc. simultaneously)
I know there's (intentionally) woefully little background info here, but the discrepancies would seem to indicate something really screwed up. Is the problem obvious to anyone here? Configuration is more or less stock.
Dude, that happened like last week, and wasn't really the end-all be-all you seem to think. They just voted to keep everything the same as it is now. Where have you been?
Probably more. That $1172 in lots of 1000 means you have to spend over one million dollars before you get that price. Single-unit mark-up would likely make them at least $2000 apiece.
Unfortunately, finding 64-bit commercial programs for the architecture is nigh-impossible, so you almost have to be able to run a lot of 32-bit code. The problem lies in the fact that ALL of your software has to be compatible, and that's not even close to feasable currently.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes! Mod4 is wonderful! I rambled about that a bit in the last Optimus Keyboard thread, so I won't do it again, but I think one of the most ironic things about the key is that it is millions of times more useful in most Linux environments than it is in Windows. In the realm of Fluxbox/Blackbox/pekwm and their ilk, Mod4 reigns king. >8)
Be.
Did some IMDB/Google image searchin'...Image of said actress (Colombe Jacobsen). They do look enough alike that one could forgive the mix-up, I think.
When I read that line, I thought about it for a bit and I think the person must have had her confused with the actress that played the backup goalkeeper in D2. They do look remarkably similar, from my recollection of the movie (been ages since I've seen it).
Right, I first learned to type by pressing every key on the keyboard until I found the right one. No, I looked at the keyboard and related the image on the key to where I would have to move my fingers to hit it. A one-step correlation.
Currently, you seem to imply that the best way to remember multiple-key commands (e.g. copy) by remembering that it's Ctrl-C...but you have to know where the C is first, no? Two-step correlation, with a mnemonic thrown in.
Touch typing is remembering the finger movements, not the actual layout of the keyboard. It doesn't matter what's on the key after you've learned, but a one-step correlation would seem to me to be much more direct than a two-step correlation + (often cryptic) mnemonic as a way to train the fingers.
Believe it or not, not every game is a twitch-reflex FPS.
Even if it were, I can't see how extra feedback can be harmful. If I see a bright red key light up out of the corner of my eye and am trained to react to it as an indicator that my ammo is low, and that pushing it will reload my weapon and turn off the light, then I don't see the harm in it.
In fact, displaying ammunition status data on the keys is far preferable to me than having it on the screen. Again, that's just a preference. The first thing I do when playing any FPS is turn every non-essential HUD component off (including--no, especially--the actual weapon graphic). As long as I have my health, a crosshair, and, depending on the game, a minimap (as small as it can possibly be while still maintaining sufficient legibility), I prefer to keep all state-based information in my head ("How do you know which weapon you're using?"..."Dude, how can you NOT know which weapon you're using?"). Unfortunately, non-essential but still-useful state information that's hard to track mentally (i.e. ammo count) must remain on the screen, taking up precious pixels that could be used for rendering, say, an incoming projectile.
This doesn't even begin to describe the value of using it as an additional factor of the game (pie-in-the-sky here, probably, since you can't assume everyone who plays the game has one). Bringing up your datapad actually changing your keyboard INTO a datapad, for example. Press the key marked "Mission" for mission info, "Map" for map data, etc.. Sequences where you have to learn how to use an alien terminal interface, with an actual ALIEN INPUT DEVICE! That, alone, would warrent this technology for gamers.
You can't just be like, "Oh, it's the H key, I can hit that without looking at the keyboard." because there is no "H" key. There is only a "Hand Tool" key now.
How is this any different? How do you know where the H key is? You remember it as a two-key reach with the left index finger on the home row, or a one-key reach with the right index finger on the home row. When you use Ctrl-C to copy text, do you actually think "Ctrl-C"? Or do you just align your hand down a bit and angle it so that hitting the button under your pinky then rolling down the index finger excecutes a "copy" command? I think this would be better because it would help train touch typing for ALL uses of the keyboard, not just typing alphabetical characters.
Why is everybody always hatin' on the "Windows" (Mod4) key? I've fallen in love with using it for window management. Mod4+LeftMouse anywhere in a window to move it; Mod4+RightMouse similarily to resize it; Mod4+MiddleMouse to send a window to the bottom layer; use it in conjunction with the arrow keys or cursor movement near the edges for desktop switching, etc...
Many programs bind the other meta-keys (I use Maya a lot, so using Alt for such tasks essentially disables all viewport manipulation in the program), so I find it very handy to have a meta-key that I can more-or-less reserve for my own use on a WM-level.
(Disclaimer: pekwm at work, BlackBox at home. May not fit as well with other WM designs, but I can't see why it wouldn't)
Wow, man. Your mind...just...the thought process to even arrive at such a discov...gah!
Technology? As far as I can tell, these are just pure concept renderings, with the "Patents Pending" referring to the idea and design, not the actual function. Notice how almost everything else on the site has a date attached to indicate when the product will be available for consumption. Not so with this one.
If I ever had one of these things for real, I'm not too sure. I noticed the Quake-mode mock-up and I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to envision, say, darkened-out weapon keys for which you have no ammo, or only an outline drawn if you do not currently have the weapon. Heck, you could program it to display your remaining ammo, updated realtime. A key that lights up when you need to reload. I could go on forever. There are some great possibilities with this idea.
Are you saying you willfully cracked military encryption?
Marines are on their way; have a nice day.
Vee vill lhet it pass zis time. Now move along, and don't let it happen again.
The thin end of the wedge of commercial crap that may one day ruin Kennywood, if you ask me.
Oh my god, they killed Kennywood!
Oops, guess it's too early in the morning; reply was meant for subject. Carry on, I'm stupid.
Is this the same one that happened a few weeks ago? Wasn't it covered already here? Or is this another round?
I work for DoD HPC. We use SGIs, and we're having a bear of a time converting our server platforms from IRIX/MIPS Onyx machines to Linux/ia64 Altix machines, for this reason alone. It just isn't feasable to dump 90% of your commercial software to move to another platform, regardless of its technical merits. With a workflow based around these software packages, you can't just up and obsolete everything to switch. For in-house stuff, it's great, naturally, and anything you can do with Open Source. It's the commercial software (modeling and simulation, in our case) that holds everything back.
Hmm, yea. The price is right...
/duck
I know there's (intentionally) woefully little background info here, but the discrepancies would seem to indicate something really screwed up. Is the problem obvious to anyone here? Configuration is more or less stock.
Right. Hence the "...and I don't believe I know any gamers that buy processors in lots of 1000" in my post. >8)
Dude, that happened like last week, and wasn't really the end-all be-all you seem to think. They just voted to keep everything the same as it is now. Where have you been?
Consumers aren't going to start paying 10x as much for their processors "cold-turkey", no matter how sound the long-term outlook is.
Probably more. That $1172 in lots of 1000 means you have to spend over one million dollars before you get that price. Single-unit mark-up would likely make them at least $2000 apiece.
Unfortunately, finding 64-bit commercial programs for the architecture is nigh-impossible, so you almost have to be able to run a lot of 32-bit code. The problem lies in the fact that ALL of your software has to be compatible, and that's not even close to feasable currently.
Some problems we run into with program support for our Itanium2-driven Altixes (Altices? Altixen??):
PTC Products System Requirements
Alias Maya 64-bit Requirements