Why the hell can't I map whatever keys or mouse buttons I want to cut and paste? Can I do this in X? I seem to remember being able to remap the keyboard but being limited on the mouse.
On Windows, I have it set so that if I press both mouse buttons simultaneously, it copies, and clicking the mouse wheel pastes.. of course I'm using third-party mouse software.
I suppose under the covers it's really just doing a Ctrl-C or Ctrl-V, and that this only works because Windows is more standardized in that area. It sure would be nice if there were a separate key code for 'cut' and another for 'paste', so we don't have to rely on wacky combinations of the existing ones. One of you folks reading this, please come up with a new character set for me;)
And while you're at it, it would be cool to define a code to toggle a 'copy' mode, that captures keystrokes into the copy buffer, so I don't have to select and copy separately, after I've typed my text.
I have to agree. I'm a musician when I'm not doing computer stuff, and I've had musician friends who've gone pro. The music we play (Irish trad) is pretty non-commercial, and as a result some of the pros jazz it up or mix it with other kinds of music.
I wonder why. I wouldn't say that these guys aren't bored with traditional stuff, and don't prefer the more modern version; but I don't prefer the modern stuff, and it seems to me that in general the trend is that once you go pro, you change your style. The only reason I can see is reaction to commercial pressures. I tend to think this happens in lots of other disciplines as well, but particularly creative ones. I'd just as soon not have that pressure.
On the other hand, I've been programming as a hobby for 21 years, and still enjoy my programming-related career. Maybe that's because of the rate of change in the tech world?
The height-to-width ratio of the pages isn't solely responsible for the fact that metric pages "add up" when placed side-by-side. They also have to be the right size, and that has nothing to do with the metric system. I could design any arbitrary measurement system, and a paper standard based on it that would have the same properties.
On an unrelated note, one benefit of the English system is that measurements tend to be divisible in more ways. For example, 10 is evenly divisible by 1, 2 and 5. 12 (upon which much of the English system is based) is evenly divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.
Not that I think that's a reason not to switch over:)
Not all hydrogen technologies involve high-pressure tanks. Millennium Cell has a sodium-borohydride based solution that is (according to them) environmentally friendly, non-explosive, non-toxic, recyclable, and plentiful, and has a higher energy density than high-pressure hydrogen. Read more here. Of course I wonder what they're not telling me, and there's no standard yet for hydrogen storage technology for passenger vehicles, so all bets are off right now...
IANAEE, but I was just wondering if this technology provides greater advantages to unique monolithic apps as opposed to apps targeted for virtual machines such as the JVM or CLR. Those VMs are general-purpose, and maybe apps that run on them would be "invisible" to the hardware reprogrammability... however I don't know how just-in-time native compilation might change that picture. Anyone with knowledge of this stuff care to enlighten?
I've been curious if there are any studies about the impact of waste heat vs. CO2 emissions. It seems to me that with the billions of machines of all types in the world, virtually all of which produce heat as a byproduct of their operation, that waste heat could be a factor, especially without other factors to moderate it (like plants, which flourish with more CO2 and help keep it under control).
That's nothing. At one of my recent clients' office, we once filled the VP of development's office four feet deep with styrofoam packing peanuts* while he was on vacation. His office has a vertical glass front so he was able to see it from the outside. It was pretty impressive:) If I can find the picture of it I'll post it.
He is a former programmer with a great sense of humor and was touched that we thought of him as 'one of the guys'. Of course we did it on off-hours and cleaned it up afterwards.
* We didn't actually fill the room - we arranged plastic sheeting over most of it so that there were 1-2 feet of peanuts on top, and brought the sheeting down to the bottom of the front window so it looked full from outside. This way it took fewer peanuts and was easier to clean up. The effect was the same though.
1) I'd just like to point out that outsourcing does not necessarily equal offshoring. Offshoring is one type of outsourcing. I'm all for the latter (as I work for an IT consulting company) but not convinced on the former. A lot of people seem to use these terms interchangeably.
2) It seems inconsistent to me that American IT companies should be able to move most of their jobs overseas while still enjoying the benefits of being U.S. companies (legal and IP protection, infrastructure, etc.). To me this amounts to subsidy of foreign nations and U.S. stockholders by the U.S. government.
So far, no one has found a road-and wheel combination in which the road has the same shape as the wheel. That's an intriguing challenge for mathematicians.
Seems to me you could ride a bike with circular wheels on the inside (or outside) of a circular track (2001 space odyssey-style). The wheels and road would have the same shape then, right?
All you guys complaining that/. should try harder on their April Fools' jokes are missing the point. The funny part isn't the posting - it's laughing at the folks who still didn't get it. By that logic, the more obvious you make the joke, the better:)
Lots of companies rank employees on a given scale. The one I work for now does this and I don't mind it - IMO it's a company's duty to try to evaluate performance. Of course I always rank very highly:)
However another company I used to for ranked employees relative to each other. The resulting list was broken into thirds, and depending on where you were in the list, either your exact place was made common knowledge or you were just told what third you were in. Here's the clincher: in some departments (sales as I recall), the entire bottom third was eliminated each year. Talk about draconian.
Needless to say, I didn't hang around there too long. Well, I guess four years is too long:)
"Fair and balanced", if you take it to mean always giving both extremes equal coverage, does not equal "right". There is the possibility that one side is right and the other is wrong. IMO a real journalist is one who strives for accuracy, not necessarily equal representation. Of course a quest for accuracy requires research into alternative viewpoints, but it doesn't follow that they should always be presented as equally correct, if they're not.
All of which says nothing about whether any given forum presents an accurate picture of reality (/. included). Unfortunately, I think most people have made up their minds beforehand, and see what they want to see. I think perceived bias is usually a measure of the difference between the reporting and the viewer's prejudice.
One thing I've always disliked about console games is that they're played on a TV, which has much lower resolution than a computer monitor. I like high resolution - for example my laptop runs 1600 x 1200. I appreciate the extra detail in computing and PC gaming, but as I don't watch much TV, I only have a 19" TV and haven't yet moved to HDTV. I might consider doing so and getting a console when and if they have direct output to HDTV (if they already do, please let me know;) As it is, console games generally look like crap on my TV.
I wonder about the long-term effects of anti-spam strategies that rely on eliminating the market or profitability for spammers. It seems to me that this may result in spam levels oscillating between prevalence and rarity. Lemme explain.
Let's assume we implement some Bayesian filtering on a widespread basis. Let's then assume that most spammers go out of business, and that the amount of spam sent drops drastically. Sounds great! But after a year or two (or five) of this, it seems to me things will be ripe for new spam action. Some spammer will get a message past the filters, which ironically may be less effective due to the lower incidence of spam. Users who haven't seen a spam message in a year will open it, and all of a sudden this particular spammer is immensely profitable. Other spammers see his success and jump on the bandwagon, and pretty soon we're back where we were before.
Of course this is all conjecture, but I do wonder if we need a better fix, one that can guarantee results long-term.
I think you're taking a big chance if you go on tour. I do recognize that it gets harder to do things like this as you get older (my wife and 8-month-old boy have restricted my free time, but it's worth it). However, let me describe a friend of mine.
My friend John has a band that plays original progressive rock (like old Yes, Rush, etc.) He is a very good bass player, and has a collection of custom-made 7- and 8-string basses by Bill Conklin - one of them a doubleneck that made it into Bass Player magazine.
John and I both left pretty safe but infuriating and stagnant jobs at a large software company about the same time. I went to a startup consulting company, and John went to another company. The main difference is that John focused on building out a basement recording studio so he could make a 2-CD set with his band; whereas although I'm a musician as well (different music though), I focused on learning as much as possible about relevant technologies.
John subsequently got laid off, and spent some time outside the IT industry without upgrading his skills. That, in combination with the.com bust, depressed job market, and offshoring, meant that he's now competing with lots of highly qualified people to find a job, and not having much luck. If he hadn't married an accountant he probably would have lost his house.
I'm not saying you shouldn't follow your dream, but do recognize that your choices affect your own self-interests, and that your self-interests later in life are just as valid as the ones now. Furthermore, your interests will (and should) change over time... all part of getting older and wiser.
IANAME, but I've always been curious about whether a dirigible could be built without resorting to light gases like hydrogen or helium. Instead, construct a light but strong structure, maybe out of composites, make it airtight, and then stick a solar-powered pump on it to remove most of the air inside. While on the ground, you could attach externally-powered pumps to get it off the ground quicker.
Possible downsides: cost; no real advantages over conventional designs; more complex and probably heavier structure due to higher strength needed to resist air pressure; vulnerability to punctures and leaks. I'm just curious if this has ever been attempted.
Well, at the YMCA where I work out, all the machines are on a FitLinxx network. The machines have sensors on them that can tell how fast you're lifting, how much weight, etc., and based on information you've previously entered, will give you feedback as you're working out. For example, it will tell you to slow down and lift more evenly if you're jerking the weight.
Not that it's as cool as a direct nerve implant, but from what I've seen it does the job pretty well...
I used to play (read?) an interactive book/game that simulated WWI air combat: Ace of Aces. Totally weird but fun! The book had pictures of the planes from various angles, firing, etc. You would declare a maneuver, and then turn to the correct page showing the outcome. Your opponent had his own book.
Slashdot Mirror
Why the hell can't I map whatever keys or mouse buttons I want to cut and paste? Can I do this in X? I seem to remember being able to remap the keyboard but being limited on the mouse.
;)
On Windows, I have it set so that if I press both mouse buttons simultaneously, it copies, and clicking the mouse wheel pastes.. of course I'm using third-party mouse software.
I suppose under the covers it's really just doing a Ctrl-C or Ctrl-V, and that this only works because Windows is more standardized in that area. It sure would be nice if there were a separate key code for 'cut' and another for 'paste', so we don't have to rely on wacky combinations of the existing ones. One of you folks reading this, please come up with a new character set for me
And while you're at it, it would be cool to define a code to toggle a 'copy' mode, that captures keystrokes into the copy buffer, so I don't have to select and copy separately, after I've typed my text.
I have to agree. I'm a musician when I'm not doing computer stuff, and I've had musician friends who've gone pro. The music we play (Irish trad) is pretty non-commercial, and as a result some of the pros jazz it up or mix it with other kinds of music.
I wonder why. I wouldn't say that these guys aren't bored with traditional stuff, and don't prefer the more modern version; but I don't prefer the modern stuff, and it seems to me that in general the trend is that once you go pro, you change your style. The only reason I can see is reaction to commercial pressures. I tend to think this happens in lots of other disciplines as well, but particularly creative ones. I'd just as soon not have that pressure.
On the other hand, I've been programming as a hobby for 21 years, and still enjoy my programming-related career. Maybe that's because of the rate of change in the tech world?
The height-to-width ratio of the pages isn't solely responsible for the fact that metric pages "add up" when placed side-by-side. They also have to be the right size, and that has nothing to do with the metric system. I could design any arbitrary measurement system, and a paper standard based on it that would have the same properties.
:)
On an unrelated note, one benefit of the English system is that measurements tend to be divisible in more ways. For example, 10 is evenly divisible by 1, 2 and 5. 12 (upon which much of the English system is based) is evenly divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.
Not that I think that's a reason not to switch over
Not all hydrogen technologies involve high-pressure tanks. Millennium Cell has a sodium-borohydride based solution that is (according to them) environmentally friendly, non-explosive, non-toxic, recyclable, and plentiful, and has a higher energy density than high-pressure hydrogen. Read more here. Of course I wonder what they're not telling me, and there's no standard yet for hydrogen storage technology for passenger vehicles, so all bets are off right now...
IANAEE, but I was just wondering if this technology provides greater advantages to unique monolithic apps as opposed to apps targeted for virtual machines such as the JVM or CLR. Those VMs are general-purpose, and maybe apps that run on them would be "invisible" to the hardware reprogrammability... however I don't know how just-in-time native compilation might change that picture. Anyone with knowledge of this stuff care to enlighten?
Here's a picture. Enjoy!
OMG - I had no idea it was out there for download! There's nothing like a bit of nostalgia (sniff.. sniff ;)
I've been curious if there are any studies about the impact of waste heat vs. CO2 emissions. It seems to me that with the billions of machines of all types in the world, virtually all of which produce heat as a byproduct of their operation, that waste heat could be a factor, especially without other factors to moderate it (like plants, which flourish with more CO2 and help keep it under control).
That's nothing. At one of my recent clients' office, we once filled the VP of development's office four feet deep with styrofoam packing peanuts* while he was on vacation. His office has a vertical glass front so he was able to see it from the outside. It was pretty impressive :) If I can find the picture of it I'll post it.
He is a former programmer with a great sense of humor and was touched that we thought of him as 'one of the guys'. Of course we did it on off-hours and cleaned it up afterwards.
* We didn't actually fill the room - we arranged plastic sheeting over most of it so that there were 1-2 feet of peanuts on top, and brought the sheeting down to the bottom of the front window so it looked full from outside. This way it took fewer peanuts and was easier to clean up. The effect was the same though.
1) I'd just like to point out that outsourcing does not necessarily equal offshoring. Offshoring is one type of outsourcing. I'm all for the latter (as I work for an IT consulting company) but not convinced on the former. A lot of people seem to use these terms interchangeably.
2) It seems inconsistent to me that American IT companies should be able to move most of their jobs overseas while still enjoying the benefits of being U.S. companies (legal and IP protection, infrastructure, etc.). To me this amounts to subsidy of foreign nations and U.S. stockholders by the U.S. government.
So far, no one has found a road-and wheel combination in which the road has the same shape as the wheel. That's an intriguing challenge for mathematicians.
Seems to me you could ride a bike with circular wheels on the inside (or outside) of a circular track (2001 space odyssey-style). The wheels and road would have the same shape then, right?
All you guys complaining that /. should try harder on their April Fools' jokes are missing the point. The funny part isn't the posting - it's laughing at the folks who still didn't get it. By that logic, the more obvious you make the joke, the better :)
Lots of companies rank employees on a given scale. The one I work for now does this and I don't mind it - IMO it's a company's duty to try to evaluate performance. Of course I always rank very highly :)
:)
However another company I used to for ranked employees relative to each other. The resulting list was broken into thirds, and depending on where you were in the list, either your exact place was made common knowledge or you were just told what third you were in. Here's the clincher: in some departments (sales as I recall), the entire bottom third was eliminated each year. Talk about draconian.
Needless to say, I didn't hang around there too long. Well, I guess four years is too long
Excuse me, but isn't it protection from creditors?
"Fair and balanced", if you take it to mean always giving both extremes equal coverage, does not equal "right". There is the possibility that one side is right and the other is wrong. IMO a real journalist is one who strives for accuracy, not necessarily equal representation. Of course a quest for accuracy requires research into alternative viewpoints, but it doesn't follow that they should always be presented as equally correct, if they're not.
:)
All of which says nothing about whether any given forum presents an accurate picture of reality (/. included). Unfortunately, I think most people have made up their minds beforehand, and see what they want to see. I think perceived bias is usually a measure of the difference between the reporting and the viewer's prejudice.
And for what it's worth, I want Bush out too
Here are some good things to read:
Traffic Patterns and How To Erase Traffic Jams
Traffic Psychology
One thing I've always disliked about console games is that they're played on a TV, which has much lower resolution than a computer monitor. I like high resolution - for example my laptop runs 1600 x 1200. I appreciate the extra detail in computing and PC gaming, but as I don't watch much TV, I only have a 19" TV and haven't yet moved to HDTV. I might consider doing so and getting a console when and if they have direct output to HDTV (if they already do, please let me know ;) As it is, console games generally look like crap on my TV.
I wonder about the long-term effects of anti-spam strategies that rely on eliminating the market or profitability for spammers. It seems to me that this may result in spam levels oscillating between prevalence and rarity. Lemme explain.
Let's assume we implement some Bayesian filtering on a widespread basis. Let's then assume that most spammers go out of business, and that the amount of spam sent drops drastically. Sounds great! But after a year or two (or five) of this, it seems to me things will be ripe for new spam action. Some spammer will get a message past the filters, which ironically may be less effective due to the lower incidence of spam. Users who haven't seen a spam message in a year will open it, and all of a sudden this particular spammer is immensely profitable. Other spammers see his success and jump on the bandwagon, and pretty soon we're back where we were before.
Of course this is all conjecture, but I do wonder if we need a better fix, one that can guarantee results long-term.
I think you're taking a big chance if you go on tour. I do recognize that it gets harder to do things like this as you get older (my wife and 8-month-old boy have restricted my free time, but it's worth it). However, let me describe a friend of mine.
.com bust, depressed job market, and offshoring, meant that he's now competing with lots of highly qualified people to find a job, and not having much luck. If he hadn't married an accountant he probably would have lost his house.
My friend John has a band that plays original progressive rock (like old Yes, Rush, etc.) He is a very good bass player, and has a collection of custom-made 7- and 8-string basses by Bill Conklin - one of them a doubleneck that made it into Bass Player magazine.
John and I both left pretty safe but infuriating and stagnant jobs at a large software company about the same time. I went to a startup consulting company, and John went to another company. The main difference is that John focused on building out a basement recording studio so he could make a 2-CD set with his band; whereas although I'm a musician as well (different music though), I focused on learning as much as possible about relevant technologies.
John subsequently got laid off, and spent some time outside the IT industry without upgrading his skills. That, in combination with the
I'm not saying you shouldn't follow your dream, but do recognize that your choices affect your own self-interests, and that your self-interests later in life are just as valid as the ones now. Furthermore, your interests will (and should) change over time... all part of getting older and wiser.
My $.02.
IANAME, but I've always been curious about whether a dirigible could be built without resorting to light gases like hydrogen or helium. Instead, construct a light but strong structure, maybe out of composites, make it airtight, and then stick a solar-powered pump on it to remove most of the air inside. While on the ground, you could attach externally-powered pumps to get it off the ground quicker.
Possible downsides: cost; no real advantages over conventional designs; more complex and probably heavier structure due to higher strength needed to resist air pressure; vulnerability to punctures and leaks. I'm just curious if this has ever been attempted.
Well, at the YMCA where I work out, all the machines are on a FitLinxx network. The machines have sensors on them that can tell how fast you're lifting, how much weight, etc., and based on information you've previously entered, will give you feedback as you're working out. For example, it will tell you to slow down and lift more evenly if you're jerking the weight.
Not that it's as cool as a direct nerve implant, but from what I've seen it does the job pretty well...
Why did this get modded as 'Insightful'? It should have been modded down as 'Troll'.
I used to play (read?) an interactive book/game that simulated WWI air combat: Ace of Aces. Totally weird but fun! The book had pictures of the planes from various angles, firing, etc. You would declare a maneuver, and then turn to the correct page showing the outcome. Your opponent had his own book.
Bah! All that means is that you can't land. That doesn't stop my plans for a floating Bespin-style cloud city 5 km above the surface ;)