game AIs aren't supposed to be smart. they're supposed to be entertaining. this usually means they must let the user win at some point... which usually means they can't be as smart as they could be.
also, so much CPU cycle goes into the amazing graphics, sound, and the physics engine in today's games that there is little CPU cycle left over for AIs. eye candy sells more than the good AI, for better or worse.
An AI researcher once told me that the AI research industry can't get its R&D funding from the game industry because game AIs have inherently different goals than the research AIs. AI research is usually about using all available CPU power to create the smartest AI possible - game AI is about using as little CPU as possible to create AI that eventually defeats itself.
Here's some extra information from the VIM help menu (`:help "+`):
There are three documented X selections: PRIMARY (which is expected to represent the current visual selection - as in Vim's Visual mode), SECONDARY (which is ill-defined) and CLIPBOARD (which is expected to be used for
cut, copy and paste operations).
Of these three, Vim uses PRIMARY when reading and writing the "* register (hence when the X11 selections are available, Vim sets a default value for |'clipboard'| of "autoselect"), and CLIPBOARD when reading and writing the "+ register. Vim does not access the SECONDARY selection.
Examples: (assuming the default option values)
Select an URL in Visual mode in Vim. Go to a text field in Netscape and click the middle mouse button. The selected text will be inserted (hopefully!).
Select some text in Netscape by dragging with the mouse. Go to Vim and press the middle mouse button: The selected text is inserted.
Select some text in Vim and do "+y. Go to Netscape, select some text in a textfield by dragging with the mouse. Now use the right mouse button and select "Paste" from the popup menu. The selected text is overwritten by the text from Vim.
Note that the text in the "+ register remains available when making a Visual selection, which makes other text available in the "* register. That allows overwriting selected text.
The netscape example works with Mozilla, Epiphany, and Konquoror on my system (Debian unstable). Furthermore, what I copy in Mozilla pastes under Konqueror, and vice versa, and what I select in Mozilla middle-clicks fine under Konqueror, and vice versa. It appears all the apps are simply following the standards to me?
The University of California system does weapons research for the government. The UC system would rather not do it, but choose to do it anyway. The reasoning being that, since the government will contract out weapons research anyway, it's better to do it in a open forum like a university where the public can review the findings, rather than behind the closed doors of a private institution. I think it's a good reason...
Controlling the blood sugar level
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Powered by Blood
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I wonder if this device can purposely "waste" the glucose in the blood to control the blood sugar level? It could help those who are diabetic. Imagine no more need to "control" the blood sugar level, but just eating as much sugar as you want and let the machine lower the blood sugar to the proper level.
I also wonder if it'd be possible to use the same technique to make a person thinner?:P
When I saw Macguyver use duct tapes to fix things and tie bad guys' hands, I said, "hey, that's pretty useful." Throughout jr. high and high school, I carried duct tape wrapped around a poker card in my wallet. And I used it, too, and had to refill now and then, and the pesky part was trying to figure out whether I wanted to empty out the card before refilling or just refill right over it. I can't believe some guy is gonna get a patent for commercializing such a simple idea.
Unfortunately the document doesn't have too much information on it, but check the bottom-right of the first page for a picture. It simplifies things a bit if you don't already have a compatible console machine and just want some extra kick to help you exercise. Not sure where you can get one, though.
"There were no signs on the garbage, 'Do not open. Do not trespass.' There was every indication...she had relinquished her privacy, possessory interest."
I don't know about others, but my trash can says "Property of the Disposal Company." The police shouldn't be able to open the trash can unless they have permission of the disposal company. And I pay good money to have the disposal company take the garbage away, so they better take them away and not give them away to the police! If they do, they better give me my money back!
Everything was black, then it came into being. I was in a movie theater, watching a scary movie with my parents. On the screen was an [almost?] naked lady in a dark cave with a big snake crawling over her body. I wasn't quite sure why, but I thought, "This feels like an important moment. I should remember it." Perhaps my Mom thought the movie was getting too scary for me, or perhaps she was uncomfortable with the naked lady on the screen, because she asked me if I wanted to leave the theater. I told her "yes," then the three of us we left.
I kept the memory for a while without quite realizing why I thought that moment was important and I had to remember it. Later, I realized it was the earliest memory I have, maybe even the moment I gained self-awareness. I believed it really was the moment I gained self-awareness for a long time but I'm not so sure any more; now I think I was just waking up from a sleep at that moment, hence the initial blackness then things coming into being, and it just happens to be the earliest memory I have. But who knows?:)
I've asked my mother a couple times to see if she can recall which movie that was, what theater, or even the approximate date we saw the movie. She's never been able to remember, and she doesn't even remember watching any such movie (but it is quite difficult to remember a movie just by one scene, I suppose, though I'd remember any movie I walked out of, which to date is zero... as far as I remember, anyway:). But I'm pretty sure I was around 4 or 5 years old.
If any of you know what movie this is, I'd greately appreciate it if you let me know. This was when I was in Korea but I'm pretty sure it was a foreign film (either European or American). I'd like to watch the movie again just to see if any memory comes back, or at least to verify I wasn't dreaming the whole event. I do remember the cave scene fairly well so I'd be able to recognize it.
Oh, in regards to the poster's theory -- I spoke Korean then, and I still speak Korean now (and I didn't speak English then, but I do speak English now.) I don't think that neither helps nor disproves your theory. But I thought you'd wanna know::shrug::
I read the forward to Asimov's I, Robot, and Asimov says the book title was the publisher's decision, but he was against using that title because there was already another writing by the title, but of course the publisher won in the end. So there's a prior art even before Asimov...:P
If anyone's interested, I can post the relevant portion of the forward. I don't have the book with me at the moment but I should be able to grab it this weekend.
Thanks for pointing out that sentence. Well, GPS already uses triangulation to locate things (PDAs in this case), so I don't know what that whole WiFi antennas thing is about. If you got GPS, I don't see any need for any other locating system.
Well, given that you already gave your word to accept the other job, you shouldn't change your mind. I think one's word means a lot, and the word about one's flakiness can travel (especially within any single industry) and come to bite you in the future.
Having said that, I don't think what the website says has much relevance. Once you decide to take the offer, whether you change your mind later or not, your loyalty issue is already out -- both employers know you're willing to leave a job for more money. That pretty much makes all the point on the website moot.
The point the website brings up may be relevant if your current employer is a type of person who takes things personally. You don't want to work for someone like that, but if you're seriously considering staying at your current job then I'm thinking you probably don't think he is that kind of person.
BTW, if you stay at a job because they match your current salary (not beat it), then you obviously prefer your current job over the other. That's not exactly loyalty, but it shows you like the job. Your current employer may take that into account -- he knows he can always hold onto you as long as he matches other offers.
But again, having already given your word, I think you should move on. I think it'll be better in the long run.
But don't take my word for it. I'm still a newbie to this whole job thing -- I graduated from college just last year and this is my first year working for a company full-time. So perhaps that means I don't have much experience... but hopefully it also means I have fresher perspective on things to help you think about this issue, too.
From the article, it sounds like the technology *does* use GPS:
The location-tracking software itself, developed by a 15-year-old student at the university, draws upon triangulation technology used by global positioning system (GPS) devices.
Furthermore, the article states:
If students program their PDAs properly, their buddies can also track their locations around the world whenever they log into a Wi-Fi network.
which means people can be tracked anywhere in the world, which you can't do with a triangulation of signals but you can with GPS (more or less.) It sounds like all they're doing is getting the PDAs to receive the GPS signal, decode it, then send the GPS coordinates to some computer on the UCSD campus
via the Internet using SSL.
And not to mention any lack of information in the article about any custom (or at least rare) hardware that are required for triangulation were they not using GPS.
I have never understood why people think that passwords suffer from wear and tear
There are several circumstances in which passwords get exposed over time. One example is if one starts using the password at various places (home, work, websites, etc.) because s/he doesn't want to pick new password every time. In this case, the password is now most susceptable exposure at the weakest link of all the places where the password is used -- a website's database gets broken into, a website is run by a cracker that wants to break into your company, etc. The longer one uses the same password, the more exposure the password gets by being used at more places. Of course ideally one should use different password for every place they have to use a password, but I don't know anyone that does that (though I'm sure there are floods of people waiting to contradict me on/.)
Another example of the password getting weaker as time passes is if there is someone near you that wants to steal your password. They can simply look over everytime you type a password, then catch one letter at a time until they get the whole thing.
But I do agree with you that the system shouldn't force you to change the password. Best passwords are made when the user is inspired... or at least it is for me.
(or issue them with one that they can't change for the first 3 months or something)
The system should never keep the user from changing the password. If, for example, the password gets stolen during the time one cannot change the password, then the account (thus potentially the system) becomes vulnerable for the password thief to attack.
According to Apple's letter, it sounds like they're claiming Finlay isn't bound by the NDA. So does it mean Finlay can release everything confidential he knows about Darwin without legal consequences? If Finlay were ever sued for disclosing Darwin's secrets, he can show the court the letter and claim it was Apple that told him he's not bound by the NDA.
It looks like it doesn't come with a middle button (I don't see anywhere about a pushable wheel). You can't even emulate three buttons because you can press *either* the left or the right button, but not both!:(
I found out about this book after reading a review of the Japanese animation, "Gunbuster". Apparently Gunbuster, a three-tape VHS available at many video sale and rental places, took some ideas (among other places:) from this novel.
The common factor I liked about Gunbuster and The Forever War is their dealing with time and relativity -- Once you go out into space, you know you'll never come back to the same place again because of the effects of traveling at relativistic speeds. But you go anyway, to protect what you know and value.
If you like how The Forever War deals with relativity, and like animation, I suggest Gunbuster. Gunbuster also develops the characters a little better (but that's just my opinion), which is what I liked best about Gunbuster, not that The Forever War does a bad job.
Haldeman also wrote The Forever Peace, which is semi-sequel of The Forever War, but apparently Haldeman says it's not a sequel. One of these days I'll get around to reading *that* book...
I've been watching Anime since I was a little kid. Anyways, the bestest everest Anime film I think is Gunbuster. It's a classic mecha flick from the 80's but I still haven't seen anything that can quite match its drama, scientific accuracy/slander, and its puns/parody and such.
The setting is in sometime in the future (2XXX). The first spaceship Leuksion (sp?) capable of traveling at relativstic speed is launched (by Japan, of course:P) This ship encounters a space creature that destroys it.
The earth, finding out of these space creatures, realizes their danger and mobilizes troops to fight against these creatures (they fight in robot suits, of course). One of the cadets is the daughter of the captain of Leuksion, Noriko. She wants to avenge her father's death but she doesn't measure up, and she doesn't have the zeal for the job.
For some reason, Noriko gets to be one of the two cadets from her school who gets to be part of the first ships to be launched to defend the earth against the space creatures. During their travel on this ship (now the technology has advanced enough to travel at warp speed that does not get affected too much by the relativistic effects), Noriko encounters her first love and learns to build strong relationships with her partner ("older sister") and her coach.
Anyways, going further than this would be ruining this wonderful movie. There are many surprises and twists. It also has a lot of real science stuff in it (Doppler effects, relativity) as well as all those sci-fi science (warp theory... among others). There are "science lessons" every thirty minutes that make a good comic relief.
Any science + Anime fans will fall in love with Gunbuster. Gunbuster link at Geocities (Just picked it out of Yahoo.)
Slashdot Mirror
game AIs aren't supposed to be smart. they're supposed to be entertaining. this usually means they must let the user win at some point... which usually means they can't be as smart as they could be.
also, so much CPU cycle goes into the amazing graphics, sound, and the physics engine in today's games that there is little CPU cycle left over for AIs. eye candy sells more than the good AI, for better or worse.
An AI researcher once told me that the AI research industry can't get its R&D funding from the game industry because game AIs have inherently different goals than the research AIs. AI research is usually about using all available CPU power to create the smartest AI possible - game AI is about using as little CPU as possible to create AI that eventually defeats itself.
The netscape example works with Mozilla, Epiphany, and Konquoror on my system (Debian unstable). Furthermore, what I copy in Mozilla pastes under Konqueror, and vice versa, and what I select in Mozilla middle-clicks fine under Konqueror, and vice versa. It appears all the apps are simply following the standards to me?
The University of California system does weapons research for the government. The UC system would rather not do it, but choose to do it anyway. The reasoning being that, since the government will contract out weapons research anyway, it's better to do it in a open forum like a university where the public can review the findings, rather than behind the closed doors of a private institution. I think it's a good reason...
I wonder if this device can purposely "waste" the glucose in the blood to control the blood sugar level? It could help those who are diabetic. Imagine no more need to "control" the blood sugar level, but just eating as much sugar as you want and let the machine lower the blood sugar to the proper level.
:P
I also wonder if it'd be possible to use the same technique to make a person thinner?
When I saw Macguyver use duct tapes to fix things and tie bad guys' hands, I said, "hey, that's pretty useful." Throughout jr. high and high school, I carried duct tape wrapped around a poker card in my wallet. And I used it, too, and had to refill now and then, and the pesky part was trying to figure out whether I wanted to empty out the card before refilling or just refill right over it. I can't believe some guy is gonna get a patent for commercializing such a simple idea.
This story sounds so familiar... thought it was a dupe, but it's another story of the same things happenning all over the world:
::shrug::
FYI, Konami has an exercise bike that plugs directly into the TV (PDF document). No console necessary.
Unfortunately the document doesn't have too much information on it, but check the bottom-right of the first page for a picture. It simplifies things a bit if you don't already have a compatible console machine and just want some extra kick to help you exercise. Not sure where you can get one, though.
I don't know about others, but my trash can says "Property of the Disposal Company." The police shouldn't be able to open the trash can unless they have permission of the disposal company. And I pay good money to have the disposal company take the garbage away, so they better take them away and not give them away to the police! If they do, they better give me my money back!
Everything was black, then it came into being. I was in a movie theater, watching a scary movie with my parents. On the screen was an [almost?] naked lady in a dark cave with a big snake crawling over her body. I wasn't quite sure why, but I thought, "This feels like an important moment. I should remember it." Perhaps my Mom thought the movie was getting too scary for me, or perhaps she was uncomfortable with the naked lady on the screen, because she asked me if I wanted to leave the theater. I told her "yes," then the three of us we left.
:)
:). But I'm pretty sure I was around 4 or 5 years old.
::shrug::
I kept the memory for a while without quite realizing why I thought that moment was important and I had to remember it. Later, I realized it was the earliest memory I have, maybe even the moment I gained self-awareness. I believed it really was the moment I gained self-awareness for a long time but I'm not so sure any more; now I think I was just waking up from a sleep at that moment, hence the initial blackness then things coming into being, and it just happens to be the earliest memory I have. But who knows?
I've asked my mother a couple times to see if she can recall which movie that was, what theater, or even the approximate date we saw the movie. She's never been able to remember, and she doesn't even remember watching any such movie (but it is quite difficult to remember a movie just by one scene, I suppose, though I'd remember any movie I walked out of, which to date is zero... as far as I remember, anyway
If any of you know what movie this is, I'd greately appreciate it if you let me know. This was when I was in Korea but I'm pretty sure it was a foreign film (either European or American). I'd like to watch the movie again just to see if any memory comes back, or at least to verify I wasn't dreaming the whole event. I do remember the cave scene fairly well so I'd be able to recognize it.
Oh, in regards to the poster's theory -- I spoke Korean then, and I still speak Korean now (and I didn't speak English then, but I do speak English now.) I don't think that neither helps nor disproves your theory. But I thought you'd wanna know
I read the forward to Asimov's I, Robot, and Asimov says the book title was the publisher's decision, but he was against using that title because there was already another writing by the title, but of course the publisher won in the end. So there's a prior art even before Asimov... :P
If anyone's interested, I can post the relevant portion of the forward. I don't have the book with me at the moment but I should be able to grab it this weekend.
Thanks for pointing out that sentence. Well, GPS already uses triangulation to locate things (PDAs in this case), so I don't know what that whole WiFi antennas thing is about. If you got GPS, I don't see any need for any other locating system.
Well, given that you already gave your word to accept the other job, you shouldn't change your mind. I think one's word means a lot, and the word about one's flakiness can travel (especially within any single industry) and come to bite you in the future.
Having said that, I don't think what the website says has much relevance. Once you decide to take the offer, whether you change your mind later or not, your loyalty issue is already out -- both employers know you're willing to leave a job for more money. That pretty much makes all the point on the website moot.
The point the website brings up may be relevant if your current employer is a type of person who takes things personally. You don't want to work for someone like that, but if you're seriously considering staying at your current job then I'm thinking you probably don't think he is that kind of person.
BTW, if you stay at a job because they match your current salary (not beat it), then you obviously prefer your current job over the other. That's not exactly loyalty, but it shows you like the job. Your current employer may take that into account -- he knows he can always hold onto you as long as he matches other offers.
But again, having already given your word, I think you should move on. I think it'll be better in the long run.
But don't take my word for it. I'm still a newbie to this whole job thing -- I graduated from college just last year and this is my first year working for a company full-time. So perhaps that means I don't have much experience... but hopefully it also means I have fresher perspective on things to help you think about this issue, too.
From the article, it sounds like the technology *does* use GPS:
Furthermore, the article states:
which means people can be tracked anywhere in the world, which you can't do with a triangulation of signals but you can with GPS (more or less.) It sounds like all they're doing is getting the PDAs to receive the GPS signal, decode it, then send the GPS coordinates to some computer on the UCSD campus via the Internet using SSL.And not to mention any lack of information in the article about any custom (or at least rare) hardware that are required for triangulation were they not using GPS.
Agree with everything except...
There are several circumstances in which passwords get exposed over time. One example is if one starts using the password at various places (home, work, websites, etc.) because s/he doesn't want to pick new password every time. In this case, the password is now most susceptable exposure at the weakest link of all the places where the password is used -- a website's database gets broken into, a website is run by a cracker that wants to break into your company, etc. The longer one uses the same password, the more exposure the password gets by being used at more places. Of course ideally one should use different password for every place they have to use a password, but I don't know anyone that does that (though I'm sure there are floods of people waiting to contradict me on /.)
Another example of the password getting weaker as time passes is if there is someone near you that wants to steal your password. They can simply look over everytime you type a password, then catch one letter at a time until they get the whole thing. But I do agree with you that the system shouldn't force you to change the password. Best passwords are made when the user is inspired... or at least it is for me.
The system should never keep the user from changing the password. If, for example, the password gets stolen during the time one cannot change the password, then the account (thus potentially the system) becomes vulnerable for the password thief to attack.
According to Apple's letter, it sounds like they're claiming Finlay isn't bound by the NDA. So does it mean Finlay can release everything confidential he knows about Darwin without legal consequences? If Finlay were ever sued for disclosing Darwin's secrets, he can show the court the letter and claim it was Apple that told him he's not bound by the NDA.
The article says:
> Although it has been moving north or
> northwest for a hundred years,
How can the north pole move even more "north" than where it is?
It looks like it doesn't come with a middle button (I don't see anywhere about a pushable wheel). You can't even emulate three buttons because you can press *either* the left or the right button, but not both! :(
I found out about this book after reading a review of the Japanese animation, "Gunbuster". Apparently Gunbuster, a three-tape VHS available at many video sale and rental places, took some ideas (among other places :) from this novel.
The common factor I liked about Gunbuster and The Forever War is their dealing with time and relativity -- Once you go out into space, you know you'll never come back to the same place again because of the effects of traveling at relativistic speeds. But you go anyway, to protect what you know and value.
If you like how The Forever War deals with relativity, and like animation, I suggest Gunbuster. Gunbuster also develops the characters a little better (but that's just my opinion), which is what I liked best about Gunbuster, not that The Forever War does a bad job.
Haldeman also wrote The Forever Peace, which is semi-sequel of The Forever War, but apparently Haldeman says it's not a sequel. One of these days I'll get around to reading *that* book...
I've been watching Anime since I was a little kid. Anyways, the bestest everest Anime film I think is Gunbuster. It's a classic mecha flick from the 80's but I still haven't seen anything that can quite match its drama, scientific accuracy/slander, and its puns/parody and such.
The setting is in sometime in the future (2XXX). The first spaceship Leuksion (sp?) capable of traveling at relativstic speed is launched (by Japan, of course :P) This ship encounters a space creature that destroys it.
The earth, finding out of these space creatures, realizes their danger and mobilizes troops to fight against these creatures (they fight in robot suits, of course). One of the cadets is the daughter of the captain of Leuksion, Noriko. She wants to avenge her father's death but she doesn't measure up, and she doesn't have the zeal for the job.
For some reason, Noriko gets to be one of the two cadets from her school who gets to be part of the first ships to be launched to defend the earth against the space creatures. During their travel on this ship (now the technology has advanced enough to travel at warp speed that does not get affected too much by the relativistic effects), Noriko encounters her first love and learns to build strong relationships with her partner ("older sister") and her coach.
Anyways, going further than this would be ruining this wonderful movie. There are many surprises and twists. It also has a lot of real science stuff in it (Doppler effects, relativity) as well as all those sci-fi science (warp theory... among others). There are "science lessons" every thirty minutes that make a good comic relief.
Any science + Anime fans will fall in love with Gunbuster. Gunbuster link at Geocities (Just picked it out of Yahoo.)