You will notice when reading the book how closely the storyboards match the movie. It's downright scary. There are so many details in the storyboards that some frames took hours. It's also fairly amazing how Hollywood makes some expensive-looking things cheaply and cheap-looking things expensive. Good insight, a good read, and fairly expensive.
I need to trivialize the concept of an evolving algorithm to get at what a few other posts implied.
Imagine the task at hand is to navigate a simple maze--a maze with exactly one entrance, one exit, and no loops. Now imagine that it has the exit intentionally close to the entrance and the one path is intentionally circuitous and counter-intuitive. If the algorithm to solve this maze starts evolving based on mistakes and random variations, there is a really good chance it will dwell on the wrong solution. By evolving, there will be bits of the wrong solution left behind in it's algorithm.
This effect can be minimized by saving the state of the algorithm when the deviations occur and backtracking to avoid unnecessary calculations. This requires you know the proper solution. This is very easy with a maze, very hard with image recognition, sound recognition, and any other task which is not completely understood from the human point-of-view.
Adrian Thompson should do more trials on his evolving algorithm. There should be variations in his results. Two weeks is not a long time for a science experiment. He may get many unremarkable results, a few fantastic ones, and a couple of "just plain strange" ones.
I'll have you all know that I still have my appendix, thank you.
I have no idea why it's www.blahblah.com when it'd be more logical to be www.com.blahblah. Least-Specific to most-specific (like a telephone number) gives domain names more versatility and overall sense. I had predicted Microsoft would be the first company to try to break this, but I guess they have enough problems.
Clarification: Make sure you avoid using trade secret training in your new job.
Also, In the contracting yourself thingy, you are self-employed, and anyone can hire you. It changes the type of corporation you work for and may or may not violate the non-competition clause. I have seen it used repeatedly by retiring military and government employees successfully.
I'm afraid this puts the burden on the employee to track his skills. Carefully word your Resume to show exactly what skills you went in with. Keep close documentation of the training you learned that is not specifically your corporation, like learning an operating system or new programming language. Separately maintain that training which is trade secret. Make sure you avoid using training from the trade secret list.
Strong documentation of your skills is very valuable in lawsuits, especially with dates, hours, who paid for it, what was learned, and whether these skills are publicly taught.
Unfortunately, non-competition clauses are very bad and very legal by precedence. Relative newcomers don't have the choice, usually, so know your own contract. Once you are free of that first contract, don't ever sign a non-compete again.
One more word of advice: contracting yourself out to a company is not being employed by that company. This primarily applies to government workers who wish to apply their skills and avoid a contract violation ("inside information").
The last thing the shook me personally was the microwave oven. The PC really wasn't that new, just a "gradual improvement." VCRs were just consumer versions of the TV industry. In fact very few of the things in the question were really earth-shaking. An no, neither was the internet. What was amazing about the internet was its versatility as opposed to its technology.
No, I'm afraid that:...mechanized warfare, the radio, television, PC, and the Internet really don't strike me as monumental as the author thinks, but he's not wrong, its an opinion.
Digital Versatile Disc, the DVD, is a logical extension of the video tape. But it has so shaken the industry in such strange ways. American industry pushed it on us until we realized that, yes, it was much better than video tape and very compact. Japan had to have a video game/DVD hybrid (*ahem* Playstation 2) before DVD really took off. England still hasn't taken hold because there are so few titles in their region, and so many in REGION ONE.
Meanwhile, it makes us rethink marketing. What do you do when only obselescence gets you to re-buy a movie when the disc hardly degrades over time. Widescreen or Pan-and-scan. Both? Two editions? Collector's editions? Anti-copying devices and region encoding. Do video tapes get released before or after the DVD? What about the "next format."
Consider this when you also think about the music industry and mp3s. Same scenario, different medium. No, I think things are changing very rapidly. We are so used to expanding technologies, they don't excite us as much anymore.
The article has been updated with a reply. It's not entirely bailing, but cutting back. They conspicuously use the word "software" and avoid the words "hardware" and "boards." The most interesting thing is that I was under the erroneous opinion that Japanese Arcades were in great shape.
The current American popularity recipe is two equal parts of cheap and easy. The easy part just flew out the window. Even though it is still VERY easy, it is not simplistic. The cheap part is going next, so can I download "Taps.mp3?"
The limit on market share was supposed to protect the little companies from being hedged out by bigger companies that offer better products. That's a bad thing because it means being forced to stuck with MaPaSux Cable. It also creates a government mandated non-competition clause which I believe is ultimately illegal.
The bad side is that when a big company takes over completely, they can control the entire nation's cable content and advertising. Then the government can break them up into little MaPaSuxes. The prices skyrocket (read: deregulation) due to overhead costs of keeping track of who's using what wires how often. Then the process starts all over again.
Printable batteries, printable video displays, and now printable chips. This could easily change our media in the near future. Do I see the next version of Hallmark cards on the horizon?
Comcast@Home has a clause in their TOS that forbids being a server. Sorry, Napster-like participation is a no-no. It is probably a mainstay in ISP TOS by now. It's goal is to reduce unmonitored data transfers and "protect" the average home user, aka e-mail and occasional surf.
This idea is very pratical and sensible, but how do we convince the web pages to reduce their file sizes? Nothing worse than waiting for a humungo-flash animation to load unexpectedly.
Metering will really require greater security controls on browsers.
Turn-based games probably got their start because programmers were coding boardgames into computer and video games. Turn-based model yields turn-based code. The switch to real-time type games is only in games that were originally always represented in turns because of pencil and paper, but actually model a more analog-style play (RPGs are prime examples). Turn-based games (board games, game shows) are maintaining their model.
...if lawsuits involving improper suspensions and/or expulsions resulted in settlements that must be used to further the student's education? That is assuming that missed school was the only damage. I always wonder about the events that led up to the expulsion that are always omitted from these stories.
Let's reiterate some concepts of proving things. A guess is a nearly random prediction. A hypothesis is an informed guess, formed to test in experimentation. A theory is a hypothesis supported by scientific experimentation, and repeatable. To prove a theory, you continue to add evidence with little or no counter evidence. To disprove a theory, it usually takes a single decisive counterexample.
Hypothesis: All crows are white.
Evidence: A black crow.
All crows are white is disproven by counter example.
New hypothesis: Some crows are white
Evidence: 1000 sampled crows, 1000 black crows.
Conclusion: though not disproven, some crows are white is not elevated to the status of theory.
So yes, evolution continues to be a proven theory. There are reams of evidence to support it.
The article doesn't explain what Deinococcus radiodurans does with the radiation, other than sequester it withing. I have two questions: What about the organisms that feed on or will develop a fondness for the superbug? and what happens when superbug mutates? The bug itself may be hearty, but it's DNA is as susceptible as always. It's heartiness implies a DNA structure that persists despite mutation.
Thanks for the critique, especially how you used the same terminology. I believe by giving up the normal "tricks" in games, i.e. pre-coded libraries, the games will be either very long in the programming stage, very short in the game-playing stage, or very repetitive. The real trick will be making the game satisfying. If the game takes a long time to create, it may lack tech-savviness. If the game is short, it has to be really intense. Dragon's Lair an Zork I come to mind--at the time. If the game is repetitive, it must have an extremely high fun factor. Most early video games and computer games were of the third variety: high fun, yet repetitive--Space Invaders, Pac Man, Lode Runner.
The previous article about Oni is germane to this discussion, even if it does toot its own horn a bit too much. The part about a game teaching you how to play it is a fantastic idea. I personally think all games should have capability of evolution--Lode Runner, Unreal, Vampire all had editors.
The film vow was to give up gimmicks that are now substituting for plots. They were not required to give up genres: drama, comedy, science fiction, fantasy, fiction, or nonfiction. Yet the article suggests we give up genres. I'd love to see a new genre, but I currently don't have the creative energy to create one. It's a monumental task to give up all genres and create a new one. I'd settle for retiring hackneyed genres, like 3-D shooters, for awhile.
The show the article refutes presumes that any idea is equal to anyother. Given that, the concept of "Dragon's Exist" and the concept of "Dragon's Don't Exist" clearly are equal. However, there are so many facts the support the second idea, it is a much better, more valid idea.
Superstitions are based on this concept, and it is why paranoids believe stupid things.
Despite the fact most games are rated, the codes are voluntary. Enforcing of the codes, in most states anyway, is voluntary. I would simply stop using the ESRB. That way, when I publish a game and target it at kids (who are my primary consumers), I don't violate this proposal. Many record companies do not use the codes or "parental advisory" on grounds of censorship.
As for the ratings, they're probably too high anyway. What is mature about Quake anyway? I would allow my (if I had one) under-17 play it at about age 12 or 13. Keep in mind that some manufacturer's ask for a higher rating to start with. It's the same reason why there are so many R movies out there.
The first Star Trek movie was exactly that: both good and boring. Who cares if it was a rehash of The Changeling episode. Great special effects at the time and enough plot for 60 minutes. However, it did have the world's miniest of mini's on the late Persis Khambata. I hope they dedicate it to her.
As for the extra footage they added to the movie from the cutting room floor: Oh boy! more passes around the Enterprise.
Another thing to keep in mind, this movie was the ultimate laserdisk player demo as The Matrix is to DVD. Just make sure you have 2.5 free hours and a lot of caffeine.
Slashdot Mirror
You will notice when reading the book how closely the storyboards match the movie. It's downright scary. There are so many details in the storyboards that some frames took hours. It's also fairly amazing how Hollywood makes some expensive-looking things cheaply and cheap-looking things expensive. Good insight, a good read, and fairly expensive.
----------------------
Imagine the task at hand is to navigate a simple maze--a maze with exactly one entrance, one exit, and no loops. Now imagine that it has the exit intentionally close to the entrance and the one path is intentionally circuitous and counter-intuitive. If the algorithm to solve this maze starts evolving based on mistakes and random variations, there is a really good chance it will dwell on the wrong solution. By evolving, there will be bits of the wrong solution left behind in it's algorithm.
This effect can be minimized by saving the state of the algorithm when the deviations occur and backtracking to avoid unnecessary calculations. This requires you know the proper solution. This is very easy with a maze, very hard with image recognition, sound recognition, and any other task which is not completely understood from the human point-of-view.
Adrian Thompson should do more trials on his evolving algorithm. There should be variations in his results. Two weeks is not a long time for a science experiment. He may get many unremarkable results, a few fantastic ones, and a couple of "just plain strange" ones.
I'll have you all know that I still have my appendix, thank you.
----------------------
I have no idea why it's www.blahblah.com when it'd be more logical to be www.com.blahblah. Least-Specific to most-specific (like a telephone number) gives domain names more versatility and overall sense. I had predicted Microsoft would be the first company to try to break this, but I guess they have enough problems.
----------------------
Also, In the contracting yourself thingy, you are self-employed, and anyone can hire you. It changes the type of corporation you work for and may or may not violate the non-competition clause. I have seen it used repeatedly by retiring military and government employees successfully.
----------------------
Unfortunately, non-competition clauses are very bad and very legal by precedence. Relative newcomers don't have the choice, usually, so know your own contract. Once you are free of that first contract, don't ever sign a non-compete again.
One more word of advice: contracting yourself out to a company is not being employed by that company. This primarily applies to government workers who wish to apply their skills and avoid a contract violation ("inside information").
----------------------
The last thing the shook me personally was the microwave oven. The PC really wasn't that new, just a "gradual improvement." VCRs were just consumer versions of the TV industry. In fact very few of the things in the question were really earth-shaking. An no, neither was the internet. What was amazing about the internet was its versatility as opposed to its technology. No, I'm afraid that: ...mechanized warfare, the radio, television, PC, and the Internet really don't strike me as monumental as the author thinks, but he's not wrong, its an opinion.
----------------------
Meanwhile, it makes us rethink marketing. What do you do when only obselescence gets you to re-buy a movie when the disc hardly degrades over time. Widescreen or Pan-and-scan. Both? Two editions? Collector's editions? Anti-copying devices and region encoding. Do video tapes get released before or after the DVD? What about the "next format."
Consider this when you also think about the music industry and mp3s. Same scenario, different medium. No, I think things are changing very rapidly. We are so used to expanding technologies, they don't excite us as much anymore.
----------------------
The article has been updated with a reply. It's not entirely bailing, but cutting back. They conspicuously use the word "software" and avoid the words "hardware" and "boards." The most interesting thing is that I was under the erroneous opinion that Japanese Arcades were in great shape.
----------------------
The current American popularity recipe is two equal parts of cheap and easy. The easy part just flew out the window. Even though it is still VERY easy, it is not simplistic. The cheap part is going next, so can I download "Taps.mp3?"
----------------------
The bad side is that when a big company takes over completely, they can control the entire nation's cable content and advertising. Then the government can break them up into little MaPaSuxes. The prices skyrocket (read: deregulation) due to overhead costs of keeping track of who's using what wires how often. Then the process starts all over again.
Talk about no-win scenarios.
----------------------
Printable batteries, printable video displays, and now printable chips. This could easily change our media in the near future. Do I see the next version of Hallmark cards on the horizon?
----------------------
Comcast@Home has a clause in their TOS that forbids being a server. Sorry, Napster-like participation is a no-no. It is probably a mainstay in ISP TOS by now. It's goal is to reduce unmonitored data transfers and "protect" the average home user, aka e-mail and occasional surf.
----------------------
Metering will really require greater security controls on browsers.
----------------------
Turn-based games probably got their start because programmers were coding boardgames into computer and video games. Turn-based model yields turn-based code. The switch to real-time type games is only in games that were originally always represented in turns because of pencil and paper, but actually model a more analog-style play (RPGs are prime examples). Turn-based games (board games, game shows) are maintaining their model.
----------------------
...if lawsuits involving improper suspensions and/or expulsions resulted in settlements that must be used to further the student's education? That is assuming that missed school was the only damage. I always wonder about the events that led up to the expulsion that are always omitted from these stories.
----------------------
- Hypothesis: All crows are white.
- Evidence: A black crow.
- All crows are white is disproven by counter example.
- New hypothesis: Some crows are white
- Evidence: 1000 sampled crows, 1000 black crows.
- Conclusion: though not disproven, some crows are white is not elevated to the status of theory.
So yes, evolution continues to be a proven theory. There are reams of evidence to support it.----------------------
The genome conference was held on Charles Darwin's birthday, February 12th. It was probably intentional.
----------------------
The article doesn't explain what Deinococcus radiodurans does with the radiation, other than sequester it withing. I have two questions: What about the organisms that feed on or will develop a fondness for the superbug? and what happens when superbug mutates? The bug itself may be hearty, but it's DNA is as susceptible as always. It's heartiness implies a DNA structure that persists despite mutation.
----------------------
The previous article about Oni is germane to this discussion, even if it does toot its own horn a bit too much. The part about a game teaching you how to play it is a fantastic idea. I personally think all games should have capability of evolution--Lode Runner, Unreal, Vampire all had editors.
----------------------
The film vow was to give up gimmicks that are now substituting for plots. They were not required to give up genres: drama, comedy, science fiction, fantasy, fiction, or nonfiction. Yet the article suggests we give up genres. I'd love to see a new genre, but I currently don't have the creative energy to create one. It's a monumental task to give up all genres and create a new one. I'd settle for retiring hackneyed genres, like 3-D shooters, for awhile.
----------------------
The show the article refutes presumes that any idea is equal to anyother. Given that, the concept of "Dragon's Exist" and the concept of "Dragon's Don't Exist" clearly are equal. However, there are so many facts the support the second idea, it is a much better, more valid idea. Superstitions are based on this concept, and it is why paranoids believe stupid things.
----------------------
Just for the record, I don't publish games. This was a hypothetical.
----------------------
Looks like the Aussies beat the US to Kamen's IT idea. Oh well, I guess I should cancel that pre-buy order on the book at Amazon!
----------------------
As for the ratings, they're probably too high anyway. What is mature about Quake anyway? I would allow my (if I had one) under-17 play it at about age 12 or 13. Keep in mind that some manufacturer's ask for a higher rating to start with. It's the same reason why there are so many R movies out there.
----------------------
As for the extra footage they added to the movie from the cutting room floor: Oh boy! more passes around the Enterprise.
Another thing to keep in mind, this movie was the ultimate laserdisk player demo as The Matrix is to DVD. Just make sure you have 2.5 free hours and a lot of caffeine.
----------------------