There's a difference between voting against a person, disagreeing with a person, witholding your own business dealings with the same, and rallying for support against someone's professional business based on their personal opinions. Essentially, in the current world, you're arguing that you are allowed to discriminate on a small scale based on someone's opinion, which is sort of true. Sure, you can't discriminate based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, but go ahead on everything else, please, right?
Brendan Eich made a personal comment that was not representative of the views of the entire office at Mozilla. The man's career shouldn't have to suffer for his personal views. This type of personal extortion is no different than firing a man for being straight, or gay. Would it have been morally right if Brendan Eich stated in his departure speech that the 'net in general, as well as all non-LGBT persons should boycott OKCupid as a dating site due to their anti-free speech and pro-gay agenda?
Either way, as much as I believe in LGBT rights, the first shot fired was by OKCupid, and it was uncouth and general BM.
.. I can say they are not just there to "educate." They educate the soul and raise human beings! I attended the highschool there from Grade 9 to Grade 12. At the Toronto Waldorf School, there'd never been a fistfight in the highschool in 25 years. The people (teachers & students) are genuinely nice, genuinely caring, and genuinely good people - it's all based on their philosophies.
No cliques, no popularity contests, no teenage pregnancies and other delinquent behaviours. If you want your kids to grow up wholesome, Waldorf is awesome for that!
In regards to computers, I don't know how it is in LA, but at the Toronto Waldorf School we had computer courses. We learned the history of computing, and even built mechanical gates by hand using wood, paper clips, wires, etc, and as a whole class project we put together all the gates and made a mechanical calculator! Throughout my high school years, in fact, I'd built so many things with my hands that I would never have the opportunity to build if my parents had never sent me to that school.
I don't get a word he says, and I know a little bit about programming. Can somone dumb this down?
From what I know, a loop is a loop and you need to satisfy a condition and do some processing. Won't it be a problem if I don't have the data resulting from the last loop before I do the next one?
She alleges that she has not downloaded any music, but there must've been a reason why they are suing her. I mean, you don't throw down a lawsuit for nothing. Unless MediaSentry secrewed up.
What I want to know is what evidence they found. She's probably guilty of downloading (or someone in her household is), but she's using the system to maneuver out of it because the evidence of her infringement was obtained illegally, and that gets the whole thing thrown out the window.
My comp runs fine, but what about my ROOM?! I have central air cond, but my bedroom is the only room in the house that is boiling hot in the summer. As a power user who doesn't like turning off his comp, that sucks:P
I don't fully agree with the article, but consider this:
If some genius built a bomb that destroys only structures and buildings, but never hurts people, and decides to set it off in downtown New York for whatever non-sensical reason (fun? fame? just 'cause he could?), what does he deserve as a penalty?
Do we want that to happen? And how could we prevent that from happening when knowledge for mass destruction is becoming easier and easier to come by? Pipe bombs and anarchist's cookbooks, anyone?
If some powert really did cheat the system, how would we know? How would you go about investigating that sort of thing? There's no real way to prove that he did, and besides, no one would have the authority to conduct such an investigation. In fact, no one even would *start* one, nor have the access to information that they need because the government can keep anything "confidential." So, democracy can be just as bad, if not worse, than Communism. In fact, it's the difference between your wife cheating on you, and your wife cheating on you and flat out telling you, and forcing you to stay with her because you have nowhere else to go. Think about this, I want to hear your opinions.
I have been following the releases of Irrlicht because I've been looking for a good 3D Engine that's easy to use. The only problem that I've found with the Irrlicht Engine is that things just don't look so good, and have a gritty look to them. I don't know what is the problem, but I haven't seen any "nice" renders of anything using Irrlicht yet. Nothing production quality, anyway.
The biggest reason why Windows has a definite edge over Linux in terms of adoption is because of its user interface for configuration. For example: In Windows, if I want to add something to my startup sequence, all I have to do is add it to my aptly-named Startup folder.
Poor user-interface design was what kept me away from using Litestep as my Windows Shell replacement I couldn't just drag things where I wanted them, but instead had to go in and edit some configuration file. Expose users to settings in different graphical menu systems - that's what they were designed for.
I myself know that I have a great sense of usability when it comes to wetware-software interaction (I, Robot reference ripped). It's unfortunate that I don't have all the necessary skills to help a project. Would love to do some free design/consulting work for a project, though, if I was taught how to do the whole design process.
I believe that no matter how powerful these console machines will be, there's still the problem of games becoming stale due to the repetitive nature of current gameplay. It's been two generations since the last small innovation in controllers (Dual Analog sticks). It's time to innovate more (I hope that nintendo will do that).
And as for the computer - I can only point and click with the mouse so many times until I find it boring. I mean, honestly, the gameplay mechanics in Duke Nukem 3D, Half-Life, and Doom 3 are pretty much the same - Point at baddie, click on baddie. Not much innovation there, no matter how much immersion there is in the game. That being said, Doom 3 is still a kick-ass game because of graphics and immersion, the gameplay just sucks because it's the same as every other shooter (not their fault):)
No, bit-torrent users are generally nerds because it takes a higher technical ability to get it set up and using. The Kazaa search and download GUI is designed to make search and download accessible to the common man.
Anyway, nerds don't like to see daylight because it blinds them. No vacation for them:) Or, hell, they have Tablet PC's:)
I'm a computer student currently studying at a college. I have a computer at home that has personalized settings, as well as a host of software applications, that makes accomplishing tasks such as homework and web-surfing easier. However, a lot of my time is spent at school, in the labs, where they do not have the applications I use, nor do they have my settings. For example, while they have the Firefox browser installed, it is not their default browser, nor does it have Mouse Gestures installed with my settings. So, if I'm preparing for a long period of surfing at school (like I'm doing now as I'm writing this comment), I must install and configure my proper extensions, etc... VNC doesn't work worth a damn from here, as the response time is horrible, and I feel very detached from my machine.
I love customization, and I love the computer that I have set up at home, so it would be nice to be able to access "My Computer" and my applications from any of the school's terminals, or even my girlfriend's place. After all, wasn't that the whole reason why we have different User Accounts on a machine for different users? Imagine if Slashdot didn't have a Login system? I would be browsing at 1 instead of 4 by default, and would have to change my settings for every article.
I look forward to the wide-spread deployment of this system. Only problem I see with it is not a malicious hijacking of the system (AFAIK, it's still not easy to steal my banking records from a bank mainframe undetected), but rather with undetected Government-sponsored raid. I'm not up on American Politics, and don't know the details of the PATRIOT act, but I've heard evils, and can only cringe at how much they would love to get their hands on a database of every computer using this system.
The only thing I can imagine is having a physical counter-part to this system, like a USB memory key, as the access key. If files were stored as encrypted, ID'ed, fragmented, and de-sequenced chunks of anonymous data, the USB key could hold the equivalent of a file-allocation table. In this scenario, one would only be able to gain access (or, more accurately, "rebuild") the system by physically possessing the USB key. Of course, there would have to be safeguards against copying of the USB key, and the key (as well as file chunk ID's) would have to be constantly changing (the data in the key, not the physical instance). Perhaps one would have to create secure USB ports that are not connected to the terminal computer, but only a direct network connection. Then again, it would still suffer from attacks on the central access point.... so hard to protect...
I love All-In-One Gestures for Firefox, as it is the most customizable Mouse-Gestures set for any browser out there. Mouse gestures, specifically being able to switch tabs with the mousewheel, combined with the middle-button for opening links in new background tabs, makes browsing much faster and much more convenient.
I fell in love with the new generation of browsers when I first touched Opera. I love to have multiple links opened and preloaded for later browsing, but I find it clunky to switch tabs with the keyboard in Netscape (CTRL-TAB was not what the keyboard was designed for, not to mention CTRL-SHIFT-TAB). When I learned that I could use the wheel to switch tabs in Opera, as well as being able to close windows WITHOUT having to aim your pointer in the middle of a button and click (takes time, finess, and focus to aim - DOWN-RIGHT mouse gestures is better), I was in love. I've always been fascinated with designing human-to-machine software interfaces (UI), and Opera definitely took the cake for me. Naturally, when I heard that firefox was open-sourced, and could be extended to mimic any browser's functionality, I was hooked (yes, and Opera's dictionary search, as well, and opening dictionaries in BACKGROUND tabs!!!). I love firefox, and I've already made one convert (I've only been using ff since the day 0.9 came out).
My stance is simple: P2P apps, in and of themselves, should not be illegal - just like port scanner apps, or even virus source code, to some degree. Only problem is: Pirate traffic accounts for (and I can only guess this figure) at least 50% of the traffic on most P2P networks. P2P networks, like firearms, should not be outlawed, but rather regulated. How, and by what organizations? That remains for governments and nations to decide for themselves. The UN has stepped in to fight Spam, and I think that it's a good first step. If they start working on other fair internet use laws, then the internet would be a safer place, and I wouldn't have to worry about getting hit by the blaster worm before I can even finish downloading my XP updates.
And for those who think that "sampling" music on the net before buying a CD is good, and those who are using P2P to attain legal backup copies of music they already own - it's a load of crock. Sure, one of the side-effects of piracy is that artists are becoming more popular quicker due to their music coming down the grapevine faster, but it's just an unintentional side-effect. How many people actually delete MP3's of the songs where they didn't buy the CD? People keep illegal copies of songs that they've "sampled" but never bought - that's a known fact.
A good "sampling" system would be programs that create self-destructive tracks that die after X number of playing times. Imagine a P2P application that not only allows you to search and download, but allows you to RIP them from CD or DVD as well! However, only files of a specific format that has that sort of protection built-in should be ripped. RIAA would eat it up, as it would allow their artists' songs to be sampled without a real loss in revenue.
I must admit, first of all, that I am a Buccaneer-Canadian, and that I am of Chinese (Hong Kong) descent.
Let me say, though, on the MPAA and RIAA's behalf, that piracy is honestly and truly wrong, and is going to cause the destruction of the music and movie industries (and whatever else can be downloaded, like personal and SOHO targetting apps such as games).
The only reason why the MPAA and RIAA's earnings are going up rather than down is because, in North America (where these outfits are based), piracy is still in its infancy. There are two main barriers preventing the music and movie industries from crumbling right now: the last mile distribution problem and piracy source organization.
In North America, our main method of piracy right now is downloading via broadband internet. The effort required to overcome the technological barriers that are required when downloading pretty much anything (starting to get changed by bit-torrent and Suprnova, though not nearly enough), as well as the long wait times, deters a large chunk of our populace from pirating. At the moment, if I wanted to look for an album or first-run movie that's new, the absolute easiest way is to go to Suprnova.org and see if it is out, then click, save, wait, etc. However, imagine how much one would be able to pirate if you were in a place like Hong Kong, China, and could just walk down the street and buy (for $2) a first-run film or brand-new album from a vendor?
The other thing is that the big pirates (release groups, etc) in North America are just not organized enough. If they were so organized as to have ALL first-run films catalogued the day they're out, without fail, and delivered to a central source?
One day, in a few years, transfer speeds of broadband connections to the home will be able to send a DVD-Quality video to your home in mere minutes. Imagine a Grandmother coming home and having ALL of the recent movies released on Suprnova already on her harddrive? Imagine the interface for playing these movies being as easy to operate as a regular digital cable box? Wow... the RIAA and MPAA and the entire industry will surely die then...
Wouldn't it be much easier if they simply did a primitive watermarking technique such as individualizing the picture (content) for each academy reviewer? I mean, if I printed the words "This copy belongs to Hillary Goldstein" right on the movie, scrolling across random places on the screen (top-down, diagonally, etc), but semi-transparent, so as to not disturb the actual viewing of the movie so much), one would be able to locate the leaked source just by examining the copy that's in the wild. No need for fancy DVD players, and more responsibility is put on the reviewers not to leak the films.
I'm currently 24, and have a brother of age 2.5. I usually don't live with him, so it's only during the summer that I'm able to "parent" him to the best of my abilities.
Long story short: My brother's father allows him to watch TV with all sorts of different content - This I did not know until I started living with my brother again. So, let's just say, imagine my surprise when the kid gets pissed and lets loose a string of obscenities that he does not even understand!!!
Once a kid is ten years old, he starts to understand different things, and what to do and not to do. However, before that age, children can only imitate what they hear (which sucks if they grow up in a home with parents yelling at each other). Now, I'm not being pompous (sp?) or anything, but I would not want any child to start hearing obscenities on mass-media at any time of day, as it desensitizes the child. Children WILL imitate what they see, and if they see it on TV often enough, they will believe that it is OK to say and do, despite your best efforts to parent them. Think about why upper-class kids have such a huge vocabulary, and lower-class kids can't find enough creative ways to swear (well, actually, they just copy whatever hiphop celeb is fashionable).
There are already people in different parts of the world who use "texting" (SMS) so much that they can touch-type on a cellphone relatively quickly. I would say that the only drawback to the single-button keypad system is that it either requires up to three strokes to enter a character, or uses a menu to select words in a predictive-text input system, which requires more user intervention. If, however, someone creates a chorded keypad system for cellphone input, speeds can improve dramatically. I would estimate that, with about a week or two of training, one would possibly type 30-40wpm on a cellphone, which is not at all bad.
On this chorded keypad system, I already have some preliminary ideas. The face of the phone will probably have the same 9-key keypad, or have a 8 directional rocker (kind of like a digital version of the analog controller on game systems, but shorter). The back would have three shift buttons that will change the current character selection within the current key. So, using the current T9 mapping, Index Finger (on the back) + the 2 key will give you A, Middle + 2 will give you B, and your third finger (sorry, forgot the name) + 2 will give you C. This system (thumb + three finger chords) seemed to work well for Abacus users of an older age, so it's already proven that users can input this stuff pretty fast. The only problem is to make this mainstream enough for all cellphone makers to incorporate it into the phones.
And, hey, if you don't like it, you can just turn the option off. Or, you can even remove the back keypad via removing the keypad and using a different faceplate! Should NOT be a problem. Nokia should really start thinking outside the box and making useful things, instead of making stupid LED "messages in the air" type gadgets. I can imagine that this system would use no more resources than T9 predictive text.
I am an XBox owner, who loves his xbox to death due to the many applications of the xbox. I was fully prepared to buy an XBox 2 until I heard first that it would run on apple, then that a HDD would not be in it, and then that the XBox will not be backwards compatible. Due to the fact that the Play Station 3 will probably be backwards compatible, I will probably buy one of those, since it will allow me access to a huge library of PS2 games that I've missed by being an XBox owner.
Microsoft is really shooting themselves in the foot with this one. Anyone see a pattern with their new console launches?
I read the article, and really wanted to go to Chicago and take a tour. However, the website appeared to say that the chicago tour wasn't up yet, so after some googling, I found that you could tour old montreal with a segway! Yeehaw!
It's here - http://www.segcanada.com/index.html - I know I'll be signing up for Canada Day weekend.
I would definitely disagree. She has a knack for picking up languages, and has no problems getting A's in some of her design oriented courses. I mean, she speaks English, Polish, and Spanish fluently - the last of which she simply picked up from friends.
I'm sure that your SO likes to do her fair share of shopping or window shopping. If you each find yourselves a time-slot for "alone-time," it will work quite well.
I'm a college programming student who has a girlfriend in the same program who I constantly have to tutor, so I definitely understand what I'm talking about.
IF she has an analytical brain that is still pretty intact, she should not have a problem with C, as long as you explain it properly, and in laymen's terms. Personally, I would start with a Dummy's book, and try and work through it. For everything that she does not understand, find yourself a million analogies to explain it until she understands it. And then, here's the kicker, ask her to explain it back to you!!! As long as she learns the basic notion that the computer is a dumb machine who takes orders and only understands how to interpret them if given to them correctly, she'll understand most of what's happening in a computer. If even that is hard for her, try and illustrate the inner workings of a computer (gates, then memory and conditions).
Remember: One statement performs (on a basic level) One outcome. You tell the computer to do something, and it does it. And remember that the reason why computers need variables is because it doesn't understand and doesn't remember anything you don't tell it to remember. Show her a calculator with a memory function, and tell her that the computer is just really a calculator with a fuckload of memory:)
>Point is, if your mom had an interest, and she's not a retard, she would be able to handle VB.
I'm currently in a Canadian college doing a 3 year programming college diploma course, which is an absolute fucking breeze for me because I have a programming background. I met a girlfriend who started at the same time as I did, but did not have such a background. Let me tell you: things are not always as simple as you think.
My gf definitely has an interest (she's paying $1500 per semester), and really does want to learn, but at the end of the day, it's just hard for her to understand certain concepts, and it takes a mastery of communications to try and explain things to her the right way (hey, if she's already taken the course twice, and both profs couldn't do explain it, fuck, it's going to be a bitch). She's definitely not a retard, and has an excellent business sense and a knack for picking up languages, but I believe that she is not well-suited to be a programmer.
The hard fact is: people are born to do certain things - it's just the way it is. And the later in life that you start, the harder it is to pick something up and learn it. To give you a better analogy: imagine trying to learn how to play hockey when you're 50 and don't even know how to skate - it's going to be a bitch! The brain is a muscle, just like any other, and it deteriorates with age. You can't blame people for not being able to learn fast enough. And besides, in programming, everything is a concept - you either get it, or you don't. And if you get it, that doesn't mean you'll be lightning quick to figure out how to apply it to problem solving.
Slashdot Mirror
There's a difference between voting against a person, disagreeing with a person, witholding your own business dealings with the same, and rallying for support against someone's professional business based on their personal opinions. Essentially, in the current world, you're arguing that you are allowed to discriminate on a small scale based on someone's opinion, which is sort of true. Sure, you can't discriminate based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, but go ahead on everything else, please, right?
Brendan Eich made a personal comment that was not representative of the views of the entire office at Mozilla. The man's career shouldn't have to suffer for his personal views. This type of personal extortion is no different than firing a man for being straight, or gay. Would it have been morally right if Brendan Eich stated in his departure speech that the 'net in general, as well as all non-LGBT persons should boycott OKCupid as a dating site due to their anti-free speech and pro-gay agenda?
Either way, as much as I believe in LGBT rights, the first shot fired was by OKCupid, and it was uncouth and general BM.
.. I can say they are not just there to "educate." They educate the soul and raise human beings! I attended the highschool there from Grade 9 to Grade 12. At the Toronto Waldorf School, there'd never been a fistfight in the highschool in 25 years. The people (teachers & students) are genuinely nice, genuinely caring, and genuinely good people - it's all based on their philosophies.
No cliques, no popularity contests, no teenage pregnancies and other delinquent behaviours. If you want your kids to grow up wholesome, Waldorf is awesome for that!
In regards to computers, I don't know how it is in LA, but at the Toronto Waldorf School we had computer courses. We learned the history of computing, and even built mechanical gates by hand using wood, paper clips, wires, etc, and as a whole class project we put together all the gates and made a mechanical calculator! Throughout my high school years, in fact, I'd built so many things with my hands that I would never have the opportunity to build if my parents had never sent me to that school.
I don't get a word he says, and I know a little bit about programming. Can somone dumb this down?
From what I know, a loop is a loop and you need to satisfy a condition and do some processing. Won't it be a problem if I don't have the data resulting from the last loop before I do the next one?
She alleges that she has not downloaded any music, but there must've been a reason why they are suing her. I mean, you don't throw down a lawsuit for nothing. Unless MediaSentry secrewed up.
What I want to know is what evidence they found. She's probably guilty of downloading (or someone in her household is), but she's using the system to maneuver out of it because the evidence of her infringement was obtained illegally, and that gets the whole thing thrown out the window.
My comp runs fine, but what about my ROOM?! I have central air cond, but my bedroom is the only room in the house that is boiling hot in the summer. As a power user who doesn't like turning off his comp, that sucks :P
I don't fully agree with the article, but consider this:
If some genius built a bomb that destroys only structures and buildings, but never hurts people, and decides to set it off in downtown New York for whatever non-sensical reason (fun? fame? just 'cause he could?), what does he deserve as a penalty?
Do we want that to happen? And how could we prevent that from happening when knowledge for mass destruction is becoming easier and easier to come by? Pipe bombs and anarchist's cookbooks, anyone?
If some powert really did cheat the system, how would we know? How would you go about investigating that sort of thing? There's no real way to prove that he did, and besides, no one would have the authority to conduct such an investigation. In fact, no one even would *start* one, nor have the access to information that they need because the government can keep anything "confidential." So, democracy can be just as bad, if not worse, than Communism. In fact, it's the difference between your wife cheating on you, and your wife cheating on you and flat out telling you, and forcing you to stay with her because you have nowhere else to go. Think about this, I want to hear your opinions.
I have been following the releases of Irrlicht because I've been looking for a good 3D Engine that's easy to use. The only problem that I've found with the Irrlicht Engine is that things just don't look so good, and have a gritty look to them. I don't know what is the problem, but I haven't seen any "nice" renders of anything using Irrlicht yet. Nothing production quality, anyway.
The biggest reason why Windows has a definite edge over Linux in terms of adoption is because of its user interface for configuration. For example: In Windows, if I want to add something to my startup sequence, all I have to do is add it to my aptly-named Startup folder.
Poor user-interface design was what kept me away from using Litestep as my Windows Shell replacement I couldn't just drag things where I wanted them, but instead had to go in and edit some configuration file. Expose users to settings in different graphical menu systems - that's what they were designed for.
I myself know that I have a great sense of usability when it comes to wetware-software interaction (I, Robot reference ripped). It's unfortunate that I don't have all the necessary skills to help a project. Would love to do some free design/consulting work for a project, though, if I was taught how to do the whole design process.
I believe that no matter how powerful these console machines will be, there's still the problem of games becoming stale due to the repetitive nature of current gameplay. It's been two generations since the last small innovation in controllers (Dual Analog sticks). It's time to innovate more (I hope that nintendo will do that).
:)
And as for the computer - I can only point and click with the mouse so many times until I find it boring. I mean, honestly, the gameplay mechanics in Duke Nukem 3D, Half-Life, and Doom 3 are pretty much the same - Point at baddie, click on baddie. Not much innovation there, no matter how much immersion there is in the game. That being said, Doom 3 is still a kick-ass game because of graphics and immersion, the gameplay just sucks because it's the same as every other shooter (not their fault)
No, bit-torrent users are generally nerds because it takes a higher technical ability to get it set up and using. The Kazaa search and download GUI is designed to make search and download accessible to the common man.
:) Or, hell, they have Tablet PC's :)
Anyway, nerds don't like to see daylight because it blinds them. No vacation for them
I'm a computer student currently studying at a college. I have a computer at home that has personalized settings, as well as a host of software applications, that makes accomplishing tasks such as homework and web-surfing easier. However, a lot of my time is spent at school, in the labs, where they do not have the applications I use, nor do they have my settings. For example, while they have the Firefox browser installed, it is not their default browser, nor does it have Mouse Gestures installed with my settings. So, if I'm preparing for a long period of surfing at school (like I'm doing now as I'm writing this comment), I must install and configure my proper extensions, etc... VNC doesn't work worth a damn from here, as the response time is horrible, and I feel very detached from my machine.
... so hard to protect...
I love customization, and I love the computer that I have set up at home, so it would be nice to be able to access "My Computer" and my applications from any of the school's terminals, or even my girlfriend's place. After all, wasn't that the whole reason why we have different User Accounts on a machine for different users? Imagine if Slashdot didn't have a Login system? I would be browsing at 1 instead of 4 by default, and would have to change my settings for every article.
I look forward to the wide-spread deployment of this system. Only problem I see with it is not a malicious hijacking of the system (AFAIK, it's still not easy to steal my banking records from a bank mainframe undetected), but rather with undetected Government-sponsored raid. I'm not up on American Politics, and don't know the details of the PATRIOT act, but I've heard evils, and can only cringe at how much they would love to get their hands on a database of every computer using this system.
The only thing I can imagine is having a physical counter-part to this system, like a USB memory key, as the access key. If files were stored as encrypted, ID'ed, fragmented, and de-sequenced chunks of anonymous data, the USB key could hold the equivalent of a file-allocation table. In this scenario, one would only be able to gain access (or, more accurately, "rebuild") the system by physically possessing the USB key. Of course, there would have to be safeguards against copying of the USB key, and the key (as well as file chunk ID's) would have to be constantly changing (the data in the key, not the physical instance). Perhaps one would have to create secure USB ports that are not connected to the terminal computer, but only a direct network connection. Then again, it would still suffer from attacks on the central access point.
I love All-In-One Gestures for Firefox, as it is the most customizable Mouse-Gestures set for any browser out there. Mouse gestures, specifically being able to switch tabs with the mousewheel, combined with the middle-button for opening links in new background tabs, makes browsing much faster and much more convenient.
I fell in love with the new generation of browsers when I first touched Opera. I love to have multiple links opened and preloaded for later browsing, but I find it clunky to switch tabs with the keyboard in Netscape (CTRL-TAB was not what the keyboard was designed for, not to mention CTRL-SHIFT-TAB). When I learned that I could use the wheel to switch tabs in Opera, as well as being able to close windows WITHOUT having to aim your pointer in the middle of a button and click (takes time, finess, and focus to aim - DOWN-RIGHT mouse gestures is better), I was in love. I've always been fascinated with designing human-to-machine software interfaces (UI), and Opera definitely took the cake for me. Naturally, when I heard that firefox was open-sourced, and could be extended to mimic any browser's functionality, I was hooked (yes, and Opera's dictionary search, as well, and opening dictionaries in BACKGROUND tabs!!!). I love firefox, and I've already made one convert (I've only been using ff since the day 0.9 came out).
My stance is simple: P2P apps, in and of themselves, should not be illegal - just like port scanner apps, or even virus source code, to some degree. Only problem is: Pirate traffic accounts for (and I can only guess this figure) at least 50% of the traffic on most P2P networks. P2P networks, like firearms, should not be outlawed, but rather regulated. How, and by what organizations? That remains for governments and nations to decide for themselves. The UN has stepped in to fight Spam, and I think that it's a good first step. If they start working on other fair internet use laws, then the internet would be a safer place, and I wouldn't have to worry about getting hit by the blaster worm before I can even finish downloading my XP updates.
And for those who think that "sampling" music on the net before buying a CD is good, and those who are using P2P to attain legal backup copies of music they already own - it's a load of crock. Sure, one of the side-effects of piracy is that artists are becoming more popular quicker due to their music coming down the grapevine faster, but it's just an unintentional side-effect. How many people actually delete MP3's of the songs where they didn't buy the CD? People keep illegal copies of songs that they've "sampled" but never bought - that's a known fact.
A good "sampling" system would be programs that create self-destructive tracks that die after X number of playing times. Imagine a P2P application that not only allows you to search and download, but allows you to RIP them from CD or DVD as well! However, only files of a specific format that has that sort of protection built-in should be ripped. RIAA would eat it up, as it would allow their artists' songs to be sampled without a real loss in revenue.
I must admit, first of all, that I am a Buccaneer-Canadian, and that I am of Chinese (Hong Kong) descent.
Let me say, though, on the MPAA and RIAA's behalf, that piracy is honestly and truly wrong, and is going to cause the destruction of the music and movie industries (and whatever else can be downloaded, like personal and SOHO targetting apps such as games).
The only reason why the MPAA and RIAA's earnings are going up rather than down is because, in North America (where these outfits are based), piracy is still in its infancy. There are two main barriers preventing the music and movie industries from crumbling right now: the last mile distribution problem and piracy source organization.
In North America, our main method of piracy right now is downloading via broadband internet. The effort required to overcome the technological barriers that are required when downloading pretty much anything (starting to get changed by bit-torrent and Suprnova, though not nearly enough), as well as the long wait times, deters a large chunk of our populace from pirating. At the moment, if I wanted to look for an album or first-run movie that's new, the absolute easiest way is to go to Suprnova.org and see if it is out, then click, save, wait, etc. However, imagine how much one would be able to pirate if you were in a place like Hong Kong, China, and could just walk down the street and buy (for $2) a first-run film or brand-new album from a vendor?
The other thing is that the big pirates (release groups, etc) in North America are just not organized enough. If they were so organized as to have ALL first-run films catalogued the day they're out, without fail, and delivered to a central source?
One day, in a few years, transfer speeds of broadband connections to the home will be able to send a DVD-Quality video to your home in mere minutes. Imagine a Grandmother coming home and having ALL of the recent movies released on Suprnova already on her harddrive? Imagine the interface for playing these movies being as easy to operate as a regular digital cable box? Wow... the RIAA and MPAA and the entire industry will surely die then...
Wouldn't it be much easier if they simply did a primitive watermarking technique such as individualizing the picture (content) for each academy reviewer? I mean, if I printed the words "This copy belongs to Hillary Goldstein" right on the movie, scrolling across random places on the screen (top-down, diagonally, etc), but semi-transparent, so as to not disturb the actual viewing of the movie so much), one would be able to locate the leaked source just by examining the copy that's in the wild. No need for fancy DVD players, and more responsibility is put on the reviewers not to leak the films.
I'm currently 24, and have a brother of age 2.5. I usually don't live with him, so it's only during the summer that I'm able to "parent" him to the best of my abilities.
Long story short: My brother's father allows him to watch TV with all sorts of different content - This I did not know until I started living with my brother again. So, let's just say, imagine my surprise when the kid gets pissed and lets loose a string of obscenities that he does not even understand!!!
Once a kid is ten years old, he starts to understand different things, and what to do and not to do. However, before that age, children can only imitate what they hear (which sucks if they grow up in a home with parents yelling at each other). Now, I'm not being pompous (sp?) or anything, but I would not want any child to start hearing obscenities on mass-media at any time of day, as it desensitizes the child. Children WILL imitate what they see, and if they see it on TV often enough, they will believe that it is OK to say and do, despite your best efforts to parent them. Think about why upper-class kids have such a huge vocabulary, and lower-class kids can't find enough creative ways to swear (well, actually, they just copy whatever hiphop celeb is fashionable).
There are already people in different parts of the world who use "texting" (SMS) so much that they can touch-type on a cellphone relatively quickly. I would say that the only drawback to the single-button keypad system is that it either requires up to three strokes to enter a character, or uses a menu to select words in a predictive-text input system, which requires more user intervention. If, however, someone creates a chorded keypad system for cellphone input, speeds can improve dramatically. I would estimate that, with about a week or two of training, one would possibly type 30-40wpm on a cellphone, which is not at all bad.
On this chorded keypad system, I already have some preliminary ideas. The face of the phone will probably have the same 9-key keypad, or have a 8 directional rocker (kind of like a digital version of the analog controller on game systems, but shorter). The back would have three shift buttons that will change the current character selection within the current key. So, using the current T9 mapping, Index Finger (on the back) + the 2 key will give you A, Middle + 2 will give you B, and your third finger (sorry, forgot the name) + 2 will give you C. This system (thumb + three finger chords) seemed to work well for Abacus users of an older age, so it's already proven that users can input this stuff pretty fast. The only problem is to make this mainstream enough for all cellphone makers to incorporate it into the phones.
And, hey, if you don't like it, you can just turn the option off. Or, you can even remove the back keypad via removing the keypad and using a different faceplate! Should NOT be a problem. Nokia should really start thinking outside the box and making useful things, instead of making stupid LED "messages in the air" type gadgets. I can imagine that this system would use no more resources than T9 predictive text.
I am an XBox owner, who loves his xbox to death due to the many applications of the xbox. I was fully prepared to buy an XBox 2 until I heard first that it would run on apple, then that a HDD would not be in it, and then that the XBox will not be backwards compatible. Due to the fact that the Play Station 3 will probably be backwards compatible, I will probably buy one of those, since it will allow me access to a huge library of PS2 games that I've missed by being an XBox owner.
Microsoft is really shooting themselves in the foot with this one. Anyone see a pattern with their new console launches?
I read the article, and really wanted to go to Chicago and take a tour. However, the website appeared to say that the chicago tour wasn't up yet, so after some googling, I found that you could tour old montreal with a segway! Yeehaw!
It's here - http://www.segcanada.com/index.html - I know I'll be signing up for Canada Day weekend.
I would definitely disagree. She has a knack for picking up languages, and has no problems getting A's in some of her design oriented courses. I mean, she speaks English, Polish, and Spanish fluently - the last of which she simply picked up from friends.
I'm sure that your SO likes to do her fair share of shopping or window shopping. If you each find yourselves a time-slot for "alone-time," it will work quite well.
Simon Cowell would probably get punched in the face - something I'm trying to avoid :)
Of course, I'm sure that it's something a lot of people have thought about doing... lol
I'm a college programming student who has a girlfriend in the same program who I constantly have to tutor, so I definitely understand what I'm talking about.
:)
IF she has an analytical brain that is still pretty intact, she should not have a problem with C, as long as you explain it properly, and in laymen's terms. Personally, I would start with a Dummy's book, and try and work through it. For everything that she does not understand, find yourself a million analogies to explain it until she understands it. And then, here's the kicker, ask her to explain it back to you!!! As long as she learns the basic notion that the computer is a dumb machine who takes orders and only understands how to interpret them if given to them correctly, she'll understand most of what's happening in a computer. If even that is hard for her, try and illustrate the inner workings of a computer (gates, then memory and conditions).
Remember: One statement performs (on a basic level) One outcome. You tell the computer to do something, and it does it. And remember that the reason why computers need variables is because it doesn't understand and doesn't remember anything you don't tell it to remember. Show her a calculator with a memory function, and tell her that the computer is just really a calculator with a fuckload of memory
>Point is, if your mom had an interest, and she's not a retard, she would be able to handle VB.
I'm currently in a Canadian college doing a 3 year programming college diploma course, which is an absolute fucking breeze for me because I have a programming background. I met a girlfriend who started at the same time as I did, but did not have such a background. Let me tell you: things are not always as simple as you think.
My gf definitely has an interest (she's paying $1500 per semester), and really does want to learn, but at the end of the day, it's just hard for her to understand certain concepts, and it takes a mastery of communications to try and explain things to her the right way (hey, if she's already taken the course twice, and both profs couldn't do explain it, fuck, it's going to be a bitch). She's definitely not a retard, and has an excellent business sense and a knack for picking up languages, but I believe that she is not well-suited to be a programmer.
The hard fact is: people are born to do certain things - it's just the way it is. And the later in life that you start, the harder it is to pick something up and learn it. To give you a better analogy: imagine trying to learn how to play hockey when you're 50 and don't even know how to skate - it's going to be a bitch! The brain is a muscle, just like any other, and it deteriorates with age. You can't blame people for not being able to learn fast enough. And besides, in programming, everything is a concept - you either get it, or you don't. And if you get it, that doesn't mean you'll be lightning quick to figure out how to apply it to problem solving.
My 2 cents, anyway...