Bring the self-indulgence on. If I enjoy every single page, why would I want fewer of them?
Re:This is Neal's Best Book Yet
on
Anathem
·
· Score: 1
"I love how this book isn't written to the lowest common denominator." You nailed it. Anybody who is overly bothered by the made-up words (or who was expecting Snow Crash II) should probably be reading something else. As far as I'm concerned, those invented words and the long conversations on philosophical subjects are there for good reason, and my brain loved the workout. The fact that parts of the book flew right over my head did not diminish my enjoyment of it at all - just makes a re-read more likely.
The choice between 'light' and 'dark' in the Bioware games (much as I actually enjoy them) is so crude I'd sooner not have it, to tell you the truth. Same goes for something like Fable. Hopefully, some day they will evolve into something a bit more nuanced, but until then, I prefer the non-judgemental approach of something like TES, where actions aren't defined as good or evil, only punishable or not.
This is actually a pretty good idea. A camera with a loudspeaker is not actually more of an encroachment on your privacy (to the extent where there can be privacy in a *public* place) than one without, and it can mean the difference between the camera operators being able to prevent a crime, or just having to watch and grit their teeth waiting for the police to turn up.
Honestly, I'm fairly bored with the "The UK is turning into 1984" recurrent Slashdot meme.
Apple is the most closely scrutinized hardware company *ever*. If my MacBook appears to make an elusive noise beyond the hearing range of the average dog, it makes the cover of Time. If my Packard Bell shitbox releases its magic smoke and dies, it doesn't even get on Digg.
It's just the story of the month, and people will get bored of it eventually. The alternative conspiracy theory, of course, is that it could keep being fuelled by Microsoft's astroturf budget.
I've been addicted to Google Earth ever since I came across it. Generally, I'm very skeptical about the use of computers in the classroom environment, I think they are help and hindrance in pretty much equal measure - but there should be a computer running Google Earth in every classroom. It's a fantastic tool for teaching geography and geology, and would even help with biology, history and politics.
*shrug*. Being able to verb nouns at will is one of the things I love the most about the English language (of which I'm not a native speaker). It's not really a beautiful language, but it's a really beautiful tool.
I won't comment on VF4, I admit I haven't played it enough to let it grow on me (although IMO the new characters have a distinct whiff of cheese about them - they look a bit, dare I say, Tekken-esque). As far as VF3 goes, the walls and uneven terrain were interesting, but the "dodge" button was the biggest WTF moment in the whole series. At least they didn't take long to remove it.
For what it's worth, the best 3D fighting game on a home system is still Virtua Fighter 2 on the Saturn. Fighting is a genre where more isn't necessarily better. If gainaxing is your cup of tea, probably DoA Extreme Beach Volleyball is a better investment, since at least the game doesn't get in the way as much.
Slashdot Mirror
Done better, earlier. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVvDKPpexJQ
I'll get my coat...
Bring the self-indulgence on. If I enjoy every single page, why would I want fewer of them?
"I love how this book isn't written to the lowest common denominator."
You nailed it. Anybody who is overly bothered by the made-up words (or who was expecting Snow Crash II) should probably be reading something else. As far as I'm concerned, those invented words and the long conversations on philosophical subjects are there for good reason, and my brain loved the workout. The fact that parts of the book flew right over my head did not diminish my enjoyment of it at all - just makes a re-read more likely.
I must have a slow morning, I only just now "got" the storage tag... many thanks to the anonymous wit for a screenful of cornflakes.
To paraphrase Yogi Berra, 30% of zero is better than nothing.
In the time people have been complaining about the lack of a mid-range Mac, those same people would easily have saved enough for a Mac Pro...
The choice between 'light' and 'dark' in the Bioware games (much as I actually enjoy them) is so crude I'd sooner not have it, to tell you the truth. Same goes for something like Fable. Hopefully, some day they will evolve into something a bit more nuanced, but until then, I prefer the non-judgemental approach of something like TES, where actions aren't defined as good or evil, only punishable or not.
Well, consider my gob officially smacked.
Surely his dream Mac app would be something that nukes the hard drive...
Nah, that's pretty weak. Read John Dvorak's columns to learn to troll Mac users successfully.
This is actually a pretty good idea. A camera with a loudspeaker is not actually more of an encroachment on your privacy (to the extent where there can be privacy in a *public* place) than one without, and it can mean the difference between the camera operators being able to prevent a crime, or just having to watch and grit their teeth waiting for the police to turn up.
Honestly, I'm fairly bored with the "The UK is turning into 1984" recurrent Slashdot meme.
*shrug*
Apple is the most closely scrutinized hardware company *ever*. If my MacBook appears to make an elusive noise beyond the hearing range of the average dog, it makes the cover of Time. If my Packard Bell shitbox releases its magic smoke and dies, it doesn't even get on Digg.
It's just the story of the month, and people will get bored of it eventually. The alternative conspiracy theory, of course, is that it could keep being fuelled by Microsoft's astroturf budget.
*shrug*
If it's already perfect, don't fuck with it.
Particularly since I found out it's not a Japanese game.
Actually, letting geeks do your marketing works well if you are marketing to geeks.
"sensation and novelty-seeking, short cycles of arbitrary fashion" etc.
I submit those are the symptom of exactly the opposite - mankind finally beginning to grow up.
I've been addicted to Google Earth ever since I came across it. Generally, I'm very skeptical about the use of computers in the classroom environment, I think they are help and hindrance in pretty much equal measure - but there should be a computer running Google Earth in every classroom. It's a fantastic tool for teaching geography and geology, and would even help with biology, history and politics.
Like, say, a face?
*shrug*. Being able to verb nouns at will is one of the things I love the most about the English language (of which I'm not a native speaker). It's not really a beautiful language, but it's a really beautiful tool.
I won't comment on VF4, I admit I haven't played it enough to let it grow on me (although IMO the new characters have a distinct whiff of cheese about them - they look a bit, dare I say, Tekken-esque). As far as VF3 goes, the walls and uneven terrain were interesting, but the "dodge" button was the biggest WTF moment in the whole series. At least they didn't take long to remove it.
For what it's worth, the best 3D fighting game on a home system is still Virtua Fighter 2 on the Saturn. Fighting is a genre where more isn't necessarily better. If gainaxing is your cup of tea, probably DoA Extreme Beach Volleyball is a better investment, since at least the game doesn't get in the way as much.
It's more likely that Bill Gates wants to be Steve Jobs than the other way around.
In other words, being a soft-spoken, respectable religious figure automatically makes one an authority in biology and physics.