I'm glad somebody posted this. If it wasn't for TiVo, I'd have never seen these shows at all -- I thought Adult Swim was nothing but a morass of overrated anime trash until an insomniac friend at work mentioned Sealab...
Although I think this is bad in general -- huge opportunities to abuse it and plenty of evidence which clearly indicates they won't hesitiate to do so -- I tried to think about this critically. Who are they probably targeting here? I'd say ISPs... every ISP TOC document out there says that if they're asked to give out your personal information, you will be notified. I don't recall seeing that kind of written guarantee from any other organization, and I certainly haven't seen it done as an industry standard, as is the case with ISPs. Just a guess.
What surprises me is not that they sent you packing, but rather that it surprises you (apparently), and that you even bothered to try. Why in the world would you have expected Microsoft to greet a Linux-based company with enthusiasm, regardless of what you're making/selling/proposing/etc...?
It's written in Java, which sucks (flame me, I bite back), but even so I love it. In fact it might be the only java program that I like now that I think about it.
I always assumed it was a somewhat feeble reference to the fact that modem noise suggested "machine communication" back then... back when you could pick up the phone and whistle into it, and trick a 300 baud modem into actually thinking it had connected properly.
Maybe it will suck less than Flash and Director.
Macromedia is one of the most overrated companies of all-time.
They're successful in spite of their best efforts...
I wish slashdot posters would stop playing Ace Reporter and just link to the story with a clean synopsis. If you're concerned about nanotech, that doesn't mean you're universally freaked out by things merely because they are small. Just because both words start with "nano" doesn't mean they're always synonymous.
It's like saying "Engineers are concerned by the risks of exposure to electric current, so I'm pleased to report that IBM has proven that electrons can be used to build a microscope."
Airbag landings are considered easier than retro-rocket or soft landings
By whom? I can't find the reference, but I remember reading after the last airbagged probe to Mars where a bunch of reasonably reputable engineers were decrying this approach, and insisting that parachutes were still the best.
Sure the Martian wind storms would be bad for parachute descents, but it seems like you could mitigate that (this is me speculating now, I don't remember the discussion from the Real Engineers) by either delaying the landing by going to orbit first, or by combining air bags with chutes, or by using the chutes to control the descent trajectory. Or some combination. I'm not an engineer, but I do recognize all these are more complicated than just wrapping it in a bag, shooting it at Mars, and hoping for the best... but it does seem like a pretty sloppy way to design a landing.
Firebreathing dragons and flaming skulls... and yet the review continues to babble on about what a realistic game this is. Mmm hmmm... in a game that I can burn through in a weekend, I'm not about to consider it at all realistic if it has firebreathing dragons. My memory isn't that short.
Also, I'm wondering about the jab at GTA's "arm flapping weirdos". I thought the motion cap in GTA's cut scenes was pretty good, actually. The hands were disturbingly inanimate club-fists, but the GTA models weren't so hot, and were helped enormously by the decent mo-cap.
Similar to the way I avoid movies which are highly recommended by certain specific people, this review leads me to believe this game rates a "rental" rating (at best) rather than a "buy" rating for me...
For a person, sure. But for robotics?
I don't believe it's been identified as a big problem.
I could be wrong, but my wife and I have dabbled in robotics for many years, and as I said, other than grip-related scenarios, I haven't ever heard it even mentioned with any regularity.
Can you cite specific examples? Most everybody in the traffic around me each morning is doing more like 80-90MPH. And off-hand I can't think of any 6.5L engines which are terribly common. In fact, the ONLY American 6.5L engine I'm aware of is a Chevy turbo diesel which is only used in trucks, and yeah it's a dog, but it's also designed for low-end torque (tow-duty). The most common "large" American engine is the 5.7L Chevy 350, probably followed by the 5.0L Chevy 305, or maybe Ford's 302. None of them would have any trouble doing 70 MPH. Most American cars these days have 3.xL sixes, or four cylinder engines.
Since when was this a "big problem"? First I've heard of it. If you think about it, your skin actually plays a pretty minor role in your interaction with the environment, with the obvious exception of your hands and fingers, and maybe at a gross scale for things like monitoring temperature, which could be easily performed by individual sensors.
0. The word is "octothorpe". I suppose you may have been trying to make a pun, but the funny part appears to be missing from your effort.
1. Remind me what in C# makes it non-portable. It's highly non-platform-specific. You're probably thinking of.NET, which is not C#.
2. NO language is natively executable except machine language. That's what compilers are for. Again, you're mixing up the C# language with parts of.NET. And incidentally, the.NET C# compiler DOES have the ability to produce fully native executables, so even the point you thought you were making is wrong.
3. Your statement about.NET's purpose is pure babble. I believe.NET's purpose is to "capture" more platforms -- but it does that best by allowing Windows software to run on those platforms. I fail to see how it could capture other platforms in any other way. It's hardly doomed, Microsoft is using it extensively in-house, and MS development shops (of which there are many) are switching to it in droves.
4. If you like Java, C, and C++, you'd probably like C# if you bothered to learn anything about it. It actually combines a lot of the good features of all three, and does a pretty good job of avoiding a lot of their problems.
Slashdot Mirror
(I was tempted to post a sarcastic comment asking whether I can run XP on this Element tablet mentioned in the article...)
Ah, now perhaps you see my point. Walter Camp invented football.
A more accurate question would be, would a news story about football need to explain who Walter Camp is, and I would suggest that the answer is "yes".
Are we supposed to automatically know who Warren Spector is for some reason?
What is the difference between speaking English poorly, and having "very little English"? Or were you just speaking English poorly?
I'm glad somebody posted this. If it wasn't for TiVo, I'd have never seen these shows at all -- I thought Adult Swim was nothing but a morass of overrated anime trash until an insomniac friend at work mentioned Sealab...
Duh... "TOC" should be "T&C" for Terms & Conditions...
Although I think this is bad in general -- huge opportunities to abuse it and plenty of evidence which clearly indicates they won't hesitiate to do so -- I tried to think about this critically. Who are they probably targeting here? I'd say ISPs... every ISP TOC document out there says that if they're asked to give out your personal information, you will be notified. I don't recall seeing that kind of written guarantee from any other organization, and I certainly haven't seen it done as an industry standard, as is the case with ISPs. Just a guess.
What surprises me is not that they sent you packing, but rather that it surprises you (apparently), and that you even bothered to try. Why in the world would you have expected Microsoft to greet a Linux-based company with enthusiasm, regardless of what you're making/selling/proposing/etc...?
I WANT to flame you, but I agree with you!
Signed,
Gripped by Indecision
Admit it, you tried it too...
Bliss!
Actually, many gas stations do this. (Although this fact does not change or invalidate your point in any way.)
...it's firmware, not software. :) I know.
-1, Pedantic.
Maybe it will suck less than Flash and Director.
Macromedia is one of the most overrated companies of all-time.
They're successful in spite of their best efforts...
More like 1:50+ ...
It's like saying "Engineers are concerned by the risks of exposure to electric current, so I'm pleased to report that IBM has proven that electrons can be used to build a microscope."
Thanks, Ace.
By whom? I can't find the reference, but I remember reading after the last airbagged probe to Mars where a bunch of reasonably reputable engineers were decrying this approach, and insisting that parachutes were still the best.
Sure the Martian wind storms would be bad for parachute descents, but it seems like you could mitigate that (this is me speculating now, I don't remember the discussion from the Real Engineers) by either delaying the landing by going to orbit first, or by combining air bags with chutes, or by using the chutes to control the descent trajectory. Or some combination. I'm not an engineer, but I do recognize all these are more complicated than just wrapping it in a bag, shooting it at Mars, and hoping for the best... but it does seem like a pretty sloppy way to design a landing.
Thank you.
Also, I'm wondering about the jab at GTA's "arm flapping weirdos". I thought the motion cap in GTA's cut scenes was pretty good, actually. The hands were disturbingly inanimate club-fists, but the GTA models weren't so hot, and were helped enormously by the decent mo-cap.
Similar to the way I avoid movies which are highly recommended by certain specific people, this review leads me to believe this game rates a "rental" rating (at best) rather than a "buy" rating for me...
I could be wrong, but my wife and I have dabbled in robotics for many years, and as I said, other than grip-related scenarios, I haven't ever heard it even mentioned with any regularity.
Can you cite specific examples? Most everybody in the traffic around me each morning is doing more like 80-90MPH. And off-hand I can't think of any 6.5L engines which are terribly common. In fact, the ONLY American 6.5L engine I'm aware of is a Chevy turbo diesel which is only used in trucks, and yeah it's a dog, but it's also designed for low-end torque (tow-duty). The most common "large" American engine is the 5.7L Chevy 350, probably followed by the 5.0L Chevy 305, or maybe Ford's 302. None of them would have any trouble doing 70 MPH. Most American cars these days have 3.xL sixes, or four cylinder engines.
Since when was this a "big problem"? First I've heard of it. If you think about it, your skin actually plays a pretty minor role in your interaction with the environment, with the obvious exception of your hands and fingers, and maybe at a gross scale for things like monitoring temperature, which could be easily performed by individual sensors.
1. Remind me what in C# makes it non-portable. It's highly non-platform-specific. You're probably thinking of .NET, which is not C#.
2. NO language is natively executable except machine language. That's what compilers are for. Again, you're mixing up the C# language with parts of .NET. And incidentally, the .NET C# compiler DOES have the ability to produce fully native executables, so even the point you thought you were making is wrong.
3. Your statement about .NET's purpose is pure babble. I believe .NET's purpose is to "capture" more platforms -- but it does that best by allowing Windows software to run on those platforms. I fail to see how it could capture other platforms in any other way. It's hardly doomed, Microsoft is using it extensively in-house, and MS development shops (of which there are many) are switching to it in droves.
4. If you like Java, C, and C++, you'd probably like C# if you bothered to learn anything about it. It actually combines a lot of the good features of all three, and does a pretty good job of avoiding a lot of their problems.
Your turn to hear the "woosh"...