iPhone - sometimes flaky signal. Curiosity - working from millions of miles away. WIN Curiosity.
iPhone - works on Earth within range of cell towers. Curiosity - working on frakking Mars. WIN Curiosity.
iPhone - 1 day power life. Curiosity - radioactive power pack. WIN Curiosity.
iPhone - plays games, makes calls, takes pictures of girls making duck faces. Curiosity - scientifically explores and photographs another planet. WIN Curiosity.
iPhone - will shatter if you handle it wrong. Curiosity - dropped onto another world and still going. As designed. WIN Curiosity.
Curiosity, doing way the hell more, with way the hell less.
And please stop to take a breath. OK. We all feel better? Good. Now, my 2 cents...
First off, it's so stinking early in the procedure that lots of things are bound to change. Just because Abrams was announced now doesn't mean either he or someone else won't change their mind.
Second, currently the release date is planned for 2015. That's a long way off in itself, let alone any delays that come along. Lots of time to go through a couple dozen writers, numerous re-writes, and even director changes.
Third, yes, I too have some reservation about Disney running this show. But it won't be "Disney" releasing the films, they'll still be Lucasfilm. And yes, while Disney and their brands have released stinkers, these aren't dumb people. They won't release a total bomb. Now I do see it likely that they'll do something on the dumb, cute side to appeal to marketing. But we'll see.
The important part is to keep our minds open. This is a beloved franchise with countless stories that have been told ever the decades, greatly expanding on the original adventures. I can only think of 2 other franchises that touch on that: Star Trek and Dr. Who. I'd guess those are the three biggest franchises ever made. Everyone has their favorite piece that they hold sacred. But no movie could possibly fill everyone's "want". This is a marketing game though. They can't make a movie that only appeals to the hard core uber-fans. Nor can they make a movie that only appeals to only new fans.
We'll see. 2015 is a long way off and lots can happen in the meantime. And for every true rumor, there will be 100 false ones.
Alrighty Ms. Franklin, and just who gets to decide what is a "violent" video game? You and your church ladies?
I'm sure it'll have a broad enough definition that nearly every game could count. Space Invaders? You shot a weapon at enemies. Pac-Man? Ran around eating dots until eating "special" dots that make you strong enough to go take out your enemies. Super Mario Brothers? Stomped on enemies or sometimes shot them with fire once obtaining a special weapon.
Yet another bill proposed by someone that hasn't got a clue about the real world around them.
The key word there being "should". Sadly, there are many reasons this doesn't occur.
1. Overloaded tech guy who was told to crank out new laptops ASAP, damn the torpedoes.
2. Tech guy that knows better but was overruled by his boss.
3. Tech guy told them it needed done, but CEO said "screw it, it costs too much and is too complicated for us to learn".
4. Plain ol' oversight.
My money would probably be on 3. "How's 70 year old Beloved Bill, who's been with our company forever, ever suppose to remember how to do this stuff?" "I don't care that it's automatic, it's too confusing and complicated." "My teenage kid knows all about computers and he says we don't need it."
This is all starting to remind me a bit of Randy Quaid. Formerly relatively sane, had a decent career and money, and now going completely nuts. Telling all kinds of stories on conspiracies and how people are out to get him. (although in this case they really do want McAfee)
Makes me wonder (besides the obvious drugs) what flips in someones head to make them bonkers like this.
But sometimes it's nice to get the opinions of others. Sometimes it's hard to hit just the right terms on a Google search. And sure, you can RTFM, but all too often practical experience trumps a book. Or possibly the solution in the manual would be more complex than is needed for the given situation.
Well said, really. And you're correct, the companies own the games, not us. The people that are whining about losing pets? Get a life! They aren't real! If you're that hard up for companionship, step away from your PC and join the rest of us in the real world now and then.
There are a couple games I play on my Xoom that I got through the Google Play store. I've gotten the free versions. But on each I've spent a couple bucks to get better items or whatever to have a better time playing. I don't spend tons of money on stuff. That's just my choice. Now, will I be upset if they shut down the games next week? Sure. I enjoy playing them. But I also don't expect the respective companies to run them forever. They have every right to eventually shut down a game server and move on.
Now, I do find it odd to shutter so many games at once. But, as is mentioned in the article, it's likely they just aren't very popular, or are more trouble than they're worth.
But there's a huge difference between patting someone on the head and sending them on their way (which I agree wouldn't work) and just being a plain ol' jackass, as Linus seems to be in this case. You can take corrective action without acting like a two year old that missed their nap. There are too many people willing to let him off simply because he's the "God of Linux" and we should all bow before him. Even if this maintainer told Linus to screw off and left, there would be some other poor sucker drooling over the empty chair. I don't care who you are, what language or program you created, or what mighty revolution you started, bad behavior is bad behavior. And from what I've seen, Linus has a pretty swollen ego from his God-complex.
But can you even find "plain" kits any more? Seems like everything Lego I see is tied to a franchise of some sort. Even their "Friends" line is just buildings to put together.
One noticeable thing you forgot: multiple layers of people (most of whom wouldn't know a good design if it bit them in the aft end) offering their non-optional opinions, therefore fudging up the whole process.
I'm guessing they're just going to change the language into a more confusing form. Same terms, just more confusing so they can try to get away with it.
You've got the same general thought I had. "It's not our *intention*...but if it happens, well, the TOS said we can!"
Same thing with companies that say they won't sell your email address. Riiiight.
We all know how this will turn out. They'll run a few tests with bubbling beakers and screens full of pretty graphs and come back with the magical answer of "The data is inconclusive so we'll keep using them."
You make valid points. Are they in bed together? Don't honestly know. Would it surprise me? Not really. And I'd imagine some of the weapons makers come up with the tests themselves. It passes, I'm more likely to get DoD funding to keep paying the bills. It fails, I've burned a ton of money.
Still, I'll give some benefit of the doubt simply because there's no proof otherwise. I still call this a very initial test under prime conditions. That it works at all really is impressive. I won't argue that. Great engineering went into this. I'll be interested to see where this develops in the next couple years. But I do hope "nastier" tests will come.
Well, I'm not saying the testing was rigged by any means. And it really is impressive that it worked that well for the first big field test. I'm sure there were many issues in the initial lab tests.
What had triggered things in my mind was when we first went to Iraq under Bush senior. Our tanks were shut down because they didn't want them sucking in all the sand into their air intakes. Same with our jets...sand would've trashed those engines in a heartbeat. And our advanced weapons couldn't "see" targets due to blowing sand. Yeah, they were good systems, and NO system will function in 100% of conditions. But they were tested under pretty ideal conditions. Our military at the time was built for open land or forestry type conditions. No one ever thought about the effects of tons of blowing sand. No one thought about "How are we going to get this 70 ton tank across a river bridge built to hold small pickup trucks?"
This was a very impressive feat. I can't argue that. And I'm sure more testing is to come. But I call it a very first test. Throw more harsh conditions at it and lets see how it goes.
My first thought is "So what?" Granted, pretty darn good for a first test. But these were very ideal looking conditions. Try it in real world conditions and then get back to me. Cloudy days, rain, fog, high winds, snow and ice, sandstorms...I'd bet any of those would throw this thing for a big loop.
Very cool development! I'm really interested to see what else comes about in my lifetime. I was born in '74 and just think about the huge advances in space knowledge that have been made since then. Exciting stuff to come!
Microsoft has had a number of blunders over the last several years. In no particular order:
Early Xbox red ring of doom
Zune (and come on, who picked poo brown for one of the color choices?)
Vista
Delays with OS
Delays in phone OS
Netbooks flopped (not the fault of MS, but didn't help their reputation)
UI of Windows 8 (too big a change I feel)
If their products aren't flops, they are badly delayed in too many cases. It continually gives them a reputation of "following the other guys". Frankly, I'm surprised Ballmer is still there. I don't know if he's the "hands on" guy like Jobs over at Apple, but he's the CEO. It's happening on HIS watch. HE'S the guy up front introducing this stuff.
Voted mid-morning today. Had a decent line. There were 2 lines actually. The first was for the blasted voter ID crud. (sorry, but fraud is not really an issue) It was the slowest line by far and easily backed up. The second line was for electronic voting. If you didn't mind doing a paper ballot you could skip the second line as there was no waiting to do paper.
Slashdot Mirror
I'll give Curiosity the gold medal any day.
Lets compare, shall we?
iPhone - sometimes flaky signal. Curiosity - working from millions of miles away. WIN Curiosity.
iPhone - works on Earth within range of cell towers. Curiosity - working on frakking Mars. WIN Curiosity.
iPhone - 1 day power life. Curiosity - radioactive power pack. WIN Curiosity.
iPhone - plays games, makes calls, takes pictures of girls making duck faces. Curiosity - scientifically explores and photographs another planet. WIN Curiosity.
iPhone - will shatter if you handle it wrong. Curiosity - dropped onto another world and still going. As designed. WIN Curiosity.
Curiosity, doing way the hell more, with way the hell less.
And please stop to take a breath. OK. We all feel better? Good. Now, my 2 cents...
First off, it's so stinking early in the procedure that lots of things are bound to change. Just because Abrams was announced now doesn't mean either he or someone else won't change their mind.
Second, currently the release date is planned for 2015. That's a long way off in itself, let alone any delays that come along. Lots of time to go through a couple dozen writers, numerous re-writes, and even director changes.
Third, yes, I too have some reservation about Disney running this show. But it won't be "Disney" releasing the films, they'll still be Lucasfilm. And yes, while Disney and their brands have released stinkers, these aren't dumb people. They won't release a total bomb. Now I do see it likely that they'll do something on the dumb, cute side to appeal to marketing. But we'll see.
The important part is to keep our minds open. This is a beloved franchise with countless stories that have been told ever the decades, greatly expanding on the original adventures. I can only think of 2 other franchises that touch on that: Star Trek and Dr. Who. I'd guess those are the three biggest franchises ever made. Everyone has their favorite piece that they hold sacred. But no movie could possibly fill everyone's "want". This is a marketing game though. They can't make a movie that only appeals to the hard core uber-fans. Nor can they make a movie that only appeals to only new fans.
We'll see. 2015 is a long way off and lots can happen in the meantime. And for every true rumor, there will be 100 false ones.
Don't forget his ex-wife. I hear she had a pretty big hand in keeping things sane too.
Alrighty Ms. Franklin, and just who gets to decide what is a "violent" video game? You and your church ladies?
I'm sure it'll have a broad enough definition that nearly every game could count. Space Invaders? You shot a weapon at enemies. Pac-Man? Ran around eating dots until eating "special" dots that make you strong enough to go take out your enemies. Super Mario Brothers? Stomped on enemies or sometimes shot them with fire once obtaining a special weapon.
Yet another bill proposed by someone that hasn't got a clue about the real world around them.
The key word there being "should". Sadly, there are many reasons this doesn't occur.
1. Overloaded tech guy who was told to crank out new laptops ASAP, damn the torpedoes.
2. Tech guy that knows better but was overruled by his boss.
3. Tech guy told them it needed done, but CEO said "screw it, it costs too much and is too complicated for us to learn".
4. Plain ol' oversight.
My money would probably be on 3. "How's 70 year old Beloved Bill, who's been with our company forever, ever suppose to remember how to do this stuff?" "I don't care that it's automatic, it's too confusing and complicated." "My teenage kid knows all about computers and he says we don't need it."
This is all starting to remind me a bit of Randy Quaid. Formerly relatively sane, had a decent career and money, and now going completely nuts. Telling all kinds of stories on conspiracies and how people are out to get him. (although in this case they really do want McAfee)
Makes me wonder (besides the obvious drugs) what flips in someones head to make them bonkers like this.
I don't recall Slashdot having a giant banner that exclaimed "Nerds only, all others can "F" off".
But sometimes it's nice to get the opinions of others. Sometimes it's hard to hit just the right terms on a Google search. And sure, you can RTFM, but all too often practical experience trumps a book. Or possibly the solution in the manual would be more complex than is needed for the given situation.
Well said, really. And you're correct, the companies own the games, not us. The people that are whining about losing pets? Get a life! They aren't real! If you're that hard up for companionship, step away from your PC and join the rest of us in the real world now and then.
There are a couple games I play on my Xoom that I got through the Google Play store. I've gotten the free versions. But on each I've spent a couple bucks to get better items or whatever to have a better time playing. I don't spend tons of money on stuff. That's just my choice. Now, will I be upset if they shut down the games next week? Sure. I enjoy playing them. But I also don't expect the respective companies to run them forever. They have every right to eventually shut down a game server and move on.
Now, I do find it odd to shutter so many games at once. But, as is mentioned in the article, it's likely they just aren't very popular, or are more trouble than they're worth.
They'd never admit to it anyway. They'd have some other random excuse for why they didn't hire you.
But there's a huge difference between patting someone on the head and sending them on their way (which I agree wouldn't work) and just being a plain ol' jackass, as Linus seems to be in this case. You can take corrective action without acting like a two year old that missed their nap. There are too many people willing to let him off simply because he's the "God of Linux" and we should all bow before him. Even if this maintainer told Linus to screw off and left, there would be some other poor sucker drooling over the empty chair. I don't care who you are, what language or program you created, or what mighty revolution you started, bad behavior is bad behavior. And from what I've seen, Linus has a pretty swollen ego from his God-complex.
But can you even find "plain" kits any more? Seems like everything Lego I see is tied to a franchise of some sort. Even their "Friends" line is just buildings to put together.
One noticeable thing you forgot: multiple layers of people (most of whom wouldn't know a good design if it bit them in the aft end) offering their non-optional opinions, therefore fudging up the whole process.
One question...once the place is filled with apocalypse nuts, can we seal the door and just leave them in there for good?
I'm guessing they're just going to change the language into a more confusing form. Same terms, just more confusing so they can try to get away with it.
You've got the same general thought I had. "It's not our *intention*...but if it happens, well, the TOS said we can!" Same thing with companies that say they won't sell your email address. Riiiight.
We all know how this will turn out. They'll run a few tests with bubbling beakers and screens full of pretty graphs and come back with the magical answer of "The data is inconclusive so we'll keep using them."
Oh they fully realize it and they take joy in it.
You make valid points. Are they in bed together? Don't honestly know. Would it surprise me? Not really. And I'd imagine some of the weapons makers come up with the tests themselves. It passes, I'm more likely to get DoD funding to keep paying the bills. It fails, I've burned a ton of money.
Still, I'll give some benefit of the doubt simply because there's no proof otherwise. I still call this a very initial test under prime conditions. That it works at all really is impressive. I won't argue that. Great engineering went into this. I'll be interested to see where this develops in the next couple years. But I do hope "nastier" tests will come.
Well, I'm not saying the testing was rigged by any means. And it really is impressive that it worked that well for the first big field test. I'm sure there were many issues in the initial lab tests.
What had triggered things in my mind was when we first went to Iraq under Bush senior. Our tanks were shut down because they didn't want them sucking in all the sand into their air intakes. Same with our jets...sand would've trashed those engines in a heartbeat. And our advanced weapons couldn't "see" targets due to blowing sand. Yeah, they were good systems, and NO system will function in 100% of conditions. But they were tested under pretty ideal conditions. Our military at the time was built for open land or forestry type conditions. No one ever thought about the effects of tons of blowing sand. No one thought about "How are we going to get this 70 ton tank across a river bridge built to hold small pickup trucks?"
This was a very impressive feat. I can't argue that. And I'm sure more testing is to come. But I call it a very first test. Throw more harsh conditions at it and lets see how it goes.
My first thought is "So what?" Granted, pretty darn good for a first test. But these were very ideal looking conditions. Try it in real world conditions and then get back to me. Cloudy days, rain, fog, high winds, snow and ice, sandstorms...I'd bet any of those would throw this thing for a big loop.
Very cool development! I'm really interested to see what else comes about in my lifetime. I was born in '74 and just think about the huge advances in space knowledge that have been made since then. Exciting stuff to come!
Even if they had him, I kinda doubt they'd admit to it. He could very likely be sitting in a very tiny, very dark little cell for all anyone knows.
Microsoft has had a number of blunders over the last several years. In no particular order:
Early Xbox red ring of doom
Zune (and come on, who picked poo brown for one of the color choices?)
Vista
Delays with OS
Delays in phone OS
Netbooks flopped (not the fault of MS, but didn't help their reputation)
UI of Windows 8 (too big a change I feel)
If their products aren't flops, they are badly delayed in too many cases. It continually gives them a reputation of "following the other guys". Frankly, I'm surprised Ballmer is still there. I don't know if he's the "hands on" guy like Jobs over at Apple, but he's the CEO. It's happening on HIS watch. HE'S the guy up front introducing this stuff.
Voted mid-morning today. Had a decent line. There were 2 lines actually. The first was for the blasted voter ID crud. (sorry, but fraud is not really an issue) It was the slowest line by far and easily backed up. The second line was for electronic voting. If you didn't mind doing a paper ballot you could skip the second line as there was no waiting to do paper.