My favorite quote from Cosmonaut Keep (not verbatim as I can't find the book right now):
[The computer started up], showing the familiar Windows 2045 logo, which soon faded away to leave a demonically grinning penguin and the words 'But seriously...'.
As for the statement that you "prefer reality to Star Trek," I assume you meant this reality, because, according to a theory of multiverse, there exists a universe where Star Trek IS the reality.:-) Something to ponder!
I thought the many worlds interpretation only said that all consistent universes exist...
until the RIAA comes into my house (and faces Reason)...
Nice Stephenson reference there (and entirely appropriate)! For those that didn't read Snow Crash: Reason is a Gatling gun on drugs: depleted uranium bullets, powered by a miniature nuclear reactor...
Since this is just a simple transformation and no key is required to undo it, it is not encryption, and thus probably not covered by the DMCA.
They could just alter the scheme to move a different number of letters around, so key 2 would give itneyBr, key -1 gives yBritne etcetera. There, you got your key!
When the 'government to be' decides one candidate has the most votes, all it takes for the situation to be reversed is massive strikes. So all you people from FL: don't like the way the results are coming out? Don't go to work tomorrow!
We'll just have to see whether all upper management stays home - or all factory workers!
I'm sorry to be posting three times on the same thread, but what is the stance of the other imperative languages on this issue?
I mean, Mercury and such-like (ie. functional languages) are eager/frantic to get on the.NET bandwagon, but how are other lang.communities reacting to this?
I believe some Haskell folks are at least, well, thinking, about (voluntarily!) targeting the dotNet platform. At the very least, Simon Peyton Jones, a major Haskell guru, seems to have (tried to:) convince(d) MSFT to introduce tail call optimization for.net (which benefits functional languages no end; tail call optimization that is, not sure about.net though).
OTOH, I seem to have a memory of Fergus Henderson (one of Mercury's lead developer persons) dropping some oblique refereneces to the NDA on the Mercury mailing list quite some time ago (poss. July/Aug this year). It was quite scary back then, nearly everyone going: 'Aaargh you've sold out our little research baby to MSFT!!!'
But I couldn't find it when unthoroughly scanning the Mercury mailing list archives, so maybe the NDA is retro-active?? Or maybe some Mercury regulars can correct me?
I would (and will if questioned) shore up my unsubstianted claims with hyperlinks to relevant articles if I had the time...
Yeah, just typing a brace or a semi-colon is bad enough! Come on, you don't hear the serious LISP users out there complaining about every parenthesis they have to type, now don't you?
If a language is worth using, the syntax is the least of your worries!
It's still in beta. They haven't figured out a work-around for the 120 second RTT in the ftp protocol. (ftp'ing to the University of Mars wouldn't work!)
Ken Macleod (a British scifi writer) has written some books which (partially) revolve around the Singularity taking place around the 2060's. Check out 'The Cassini Division', 'The Star Fraction' and 'The Stone Canal'. Going by the parent link, it seems he stole most of his terminology from Vernor Vinge though...
I can't understand exactly why Lanier thinks the Singularity would be a bad thing. After all, he's a geek and he might be part of it! I for one wouldn't turn down the chance to get my own mind into a computer (not that I'm complaining about a lack of a life, btw)
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My favorite quote from Cosmonaut Keep (not verbatim as I can't find the book right now):
[The computer started up], showing the familiar Windows 2045 logo, which soon faded away to leave a demonically grinning penguin and the words 'But seriously...'.
I thought the many worlds interpretation only said that all consistent universes exist...
It so new people don't even know how to spell the sponge's name!
until the RIAA comes into my house (and faces Reason)...
:-)
Nice Stephenson reference there (and entirely appropriate)! For those that didn't read Snow Crash: Reason is a Gatling gun on drugs: depleted uranium bullets, powered by a miniature nuclear reactor...
If only they'd get the bugs ironed out
Yeah, but if you look closely at the CNN picture, you can see the core of NGC 4013 going nova!
It might not be as big a discovery as aliens but they might be signalling us.
Seriously, I didn't see the bright spot at the two other pictures I checked. Did anyone at CNN get creative with Photoshop, or what?
(Imagining a speech balloon with 'all your base are belong to us'...)
Since this is just a simple transformation and no key is required to undo it, it is not encryption, and thus probably not covered by the DMCA.
They could just alter the scheme to move a different number of letters around, so key 2 would give itneyBr, key -1 gives yBritne etcetera. There, you got your key!
When the 'government to be' decides one candidate has the most votes, all it takes for the situation to be reversed is massive strikes. So all you people from FL: don't like the way the results are coming out? Don't go to work tomorrow!
We'll just have to see whether all upper management stays home - or all factory workers!
I'm sorry to be posting three times on the same thread, but what is the stance of the other imperative languages on this issue?
.NET bandwagon, but how are other lang.communities reacting to this?
I mean, Mercury and such-like (ie. functional languages) are eager/frantic to get on the
Not implying anything, just being curious...
I believe some Haskell folks are at least, well, thinking, about (voluntarily!) targeting the dotNet platform. At the very least, Simon Peyton Jones, a major Haskell guru, seems to have (tried to :) convince(d) MSFT to introduce tail call optimization for .net (which benefits functional languages no end; tail call optimization that is, not sure about .net though).
OTOH, I seem to have a memory of Fergus Henderson (one of Mercury's lead developer persons) dropping some oblique refereneces to the NDA on the Mercury mailing list quite some time ago (poss. July/Aug this year). It was quite scary back then, nearly everyone going: 'Aaargh you've sold out our little research baby to MSFT!!!'
But I couldn't find it when unthoroughly scanning the Mercury mailing list archives, so maybe the NDA is retro-active?? Or maybe some Mercury regulars can correct me?
I would (and will if questioned) shore up my unsubstianted claims with hyperlinks to relevant articles if I had the time...
Yeah, just typing a brace or a semi-colon is bad enough! Come on, you don't hear the serious LISP users out there complaining about every parenthesis they have to type, now don't you?
If a language is worth using, the syntax is the least of your worries!
In the case of Gates ranking second, and Linus third, you've got to think -- Would Linux matter as much if Windows weren't around?
At least Andrew S. Tanenbaum would've made it to number 2 on the list in that case!
It's still in beta. They haven't figured out a work-around for the 120 second RTT in the ftp protocol. (ftp'ing to the University of Mars wouldn't work!)
Ken Macleod (a British scifi writer) has written some books which (partially) revolve around the Singularity taking place around the 2060's. Check out 'The Cassini Division', 'The Star Fraction' and 'The Stone Canal'. Going by the parent link, it seems he stole most of his terminology from Vernor Vinge though...
I can't understand exactly why Lanier thinks the Singularity would be a bad thing. After all, he's a geek and he might be part of it! I for one wouldn't turn down the chance to get my own mind into a computer (not that I'm complaining about a lack of a life, btw)