Taco,
Some of us remember what slashcode looked like before pudge and friends started cleaning it up.
Not only are you opposed to OOP, but you don't seem to be terrible wild about structured programming either. Nor do you give readibility and maintainability the time of day. Your relationship with elegant code is in the "distant admiration" category and you seem to consider sobriety an impediment to productivity.
I'm all for biting the hand that feeds us, but is this just one man's opinion? He may even be trolling for karma, since attacks against the creators tend to raise eyebrows and earn karma.
I don't have time to look over the slashcode, and I don't know what it used to look like. I do know that often, in production scenarios, you have to run with your prototype and what you are familiar with, OOP and style be damned.
Anyway, I'm wondering if someone who knows more than myself wants to defend slashcode, or give some examples of what Shoeboy is talking about.
Scientists, mathemeticians, doctors, and STUDENTS!!!
I'm only a little out of school, and I remember how math was one of the bottlenecks in my studies. For most of high-school, a good calculator, $50 - $100, was all I needed to breeze through Algebra. The simple interface and display was enough to do most problems, except for geometry. Computer tools really did help me understand concepts and check my work.
Calculus changed that. You feel like you need a quill pen just for the notation, and it feels like you are hacking your own tools to do simple problems. It doesn't get better as you go on, with more complex subjects adding more notation. And I thought only classical students needed to learn Greek.
I'm not saying this will change the way we teach the natural sciences and engineering, but it will facilitate a new generation of computer-based tools, the same way a graphing calculator was a leap over the basic scientific calculator.
Now we are closer to an age where the textbook, the notebook, the scratch paper, the homework assignment, the completed homework, the exam, and the calculator all have the same interface, and the student doesn't have to constantly translate between the media.
Interesting. I wonder how cheap this will get once and if it is widely adopted. A good interface may take care of the linear access problems.
I am looking for some sort of mass storage technology, though. Movies are great, etc, but I have two hard drives at 10 GB each, and we'll be pushing 100 GB in a matter of months. I still don't have a great backup system, but something like this may work, especially at $14.95 for a blank tape. It could be an interesting bridge between broadcast and the desktop as well, if the manufacturers wanted it to be.
However, you are right. An amatuer movie maker would expect to pay $2000 - $4000 for a complete digital system, including camera, editing hardware and software, and media. This may be too big of a cost for these semi-professionals, not to mention the home user. It may help user in the era of movie being made primarily in the digital realm, rather than the celluloid realm.
Of course, you need experts. Experts who are willing to judge any fact on its correctness, to do the research, and who have a gift for sniffing out a hoax. Obviously, the best system would be to run the whole internet on slashcode, and let the moderators decide what is interesting and/or true.
As you've probably observed, Slashdot users are generally good at filtering out nonsense. We don't try to make money quick, we don't believe there are AIDS infested needles everywhere or many unwilling kidney donors, and we've all seen hamsters dancing.
Occasionally, something will pass under the radar, when a false story passes the editor's bullshit detectors, and quite a few of the slashdot readers. This is usually because the story attacks us where we are most vunerable, promising free computing power, revealing a new Microsoft problem, or announcing that Linux and BSD have been ported to the central nervous system. There are enough sceptics amoung us, however, that the hoax is eventually found out. We quickly learn our lesson - In God We Trust, and all others require verification.
Of course, if all the Internet was on slashcode, the trolls would outnumber the virtuous by 10000 to 1. And that's why I keep getting forwards about Microsoft, AOL, and Disney teaming up to offer cash to folks who forward emails, etc. But I'm sure the next version of the slashcode will have an even more powerful moderation system.
As an added bonus, every web site will have its spelling, punctutation, and grammer reviewed / berated at no extra cost!!!
Slightly off-topic issue, but may be relevant...
on
Racism At Microsoft?
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· Score: 2
The lawyers have used percentages to justify their claims (2.6% employed, 1.6% in management). As others will probably mention, this means nothing, unless you compare it to the percentage of black employees in the tech world in general. As many of you may be aware, U.S. minorities are under-represented in the tech world, below their percentage in the population. This is the so-called digital divide.
(Forget for a moment those working under H1-B or green cards, since it is questionable whether management could say, look at all these foriegn-born minorities, some in management! We're not racist! It could equally support the claim that management likes indentured servitude)
Now, why is this the case? We all say that we are in a performance-based industry, where the best rise to the top. But why is it this way? I say that one factor in how far you go in the industry is how early you were exposed to tools of the trade. For my part, I had a computer and modem ($2000 or so at the time) when I was 10 or so. I also was given a C++ compiler ($500 or so), my dad had a fairly complete computer library ($500 or so), and I got help purchasing books in subjects that interested me.
I know that when I reached college, many of the first-year CS courses were too basic for my needs, but I know many who struggled. It is my assertion that someone who has studied computers at an early age will get more out of college when he or she gets there, no matter the natural talent, and that some may be unable to complete a CS course without prior knowledge.
So, in my opinion, one of the pre-requisites for doing well in the IT world is early exposure, which is fairly expensive, but within the middle-class household's budget - if the parents believe that it is important. So, the IT world will probably look like society in general - rich kids at the top (including those from other countries), and the poor mostly left out.
Do I have a solution? Not really. Microsoft (i believe) once had a mission statement of a computer in every home. They are doing their best by making a lowest-common denominator operating system, as well as making huge contributions to non-profits that are trying to get computer access for the poorer folks. Hopefully, these efforts will come to light during the trial, and be expanded.
Maybe there should be a social project to make cheap computers (Pentium 100, or 250, or something that is now cheap and easy to make), with Linux or BSD pre-installed, so that poorer folks can jump on board. If they get cheap enough, maybe we can even have a public subsidy (maybe a 1% tax on broadband services to pay for them). Of course, that smells of big government and socialism. But capitalism just seems to be making it worse, by only looking for candidates availible today (H1-B), rather than doing something to cultivate candidates 10 years from now.
Sorry, had to rant since I think this is a more important issue than "Does Microsoft Disciminate?"
Most don't think anything of it. Most like the idea that someone is in charge to act as a policeman when tragedies happen "over there". They don't think the UN should have to much influence over the US, but it's OK to exert pressure on other "bad" countries. Many think the UN is controlled by the US.
There is a vocal minority that thinks all remote government authority is evil, and that the UN is trying to establish a world government. A smaller number think that a one world government is the prefered tool of the AntiChrist, signalling the Apocolypse. Others swear they saw the UN's unmarked black helicopters on the skyline...
In short, I don't think it's a major issue for Americans, unlike the EU for Europeans. Many don't even know we are way behind in our UN dues, and couldn't name our envoy.
If anyone else sees things differently, feel free to speak up.
Excellent question, even if some think it was ridiculous or made the wrong assumptions.
In America like anywhere else, freedom is tied to money, but I believe the percentage of people above the critical line is greater here than other countries. If you are a Slashdot reader, I'm assuming you have enough money for a computer, probably a job, etc. You aren't in a ghetto situation, where the police officers assume you are a criminal, or they don't show up in time, leaving rule by the strongest.
Our Constitution and courts reign in the worst of those who oppose freedom (on both the left and the right). For the most part, you can do as you wish, as long as you don't do it publicly. You can do quite a bit publicly, as long as you are willing to fight in the legal system to secure your rights. If you are that type of pioneer, more power to you.
What we may not have is freedom of the mind. While I'm typing here in Slashdot, exercising my freedom of speech, there is an anoying little banner ad for Compaq. It flashes every few seconds, in a red that contrasts most of the page - in other words, it's hard to ignore. I ignore these all day, but they have to be hammering on my subconscience. Every day I'm confronted with advertising trying to appeal to my baser emotions and instincts: in the newspaper, on the web, on TV, on billboards, on the radio, in my mail...
We like to think these don't affect us, and many of us are savvy media critics. But look around you, and see if you've bought into the notion that you need to buy things to be happy. Ask how long it would take to pack up your things, if they would fit in a backpack, what you would do if it all disappeared. Because we now believe that items will make us happy, we need a larger income, which means we have to work, and work hard. It takes a lot to save up for that Beowulf cluster.
With that, at least 8 hours a day now belong to someone else. Is that freedom? Most of us get 2-3 weeks vacation, while Europeans get a month or more. Is that freedom?
Even when we have become desensitized to the advertisements, they still color the mass thinking. Politics is no longer about the best candidate, but the best looking candidate. I could found a better president-elect, even if I was restricted to the Bush family, but George W. sure is pretty!
This is the great irony - our nation's success is due to a capitalistic model, which allows private life and certain freedoms, but the tools of capitalism (advertisements) slowly sap our free will and ability to exercise that freedom. The biggest struggle in this country is not against an oppressive government (or even oppresive corporations), it is the fight to get back your own mind.
Thanks for the link to the Underdogs. I can't believe I never found it before. Also, thanks for causing me to lose my free time for the next three years or so.
I'm glad to see the idea of an Angband interview getting modded up. There would be two good results:
1) We'd actually get to show our appreciation, get some questions answered, and get to see what these programmers are doing now,
2) Everyone would be reminded how good this old-school stuff is, and some of the younger slashdotters could get hooked.
That being said, do you think there would be a measurable effect on the economy if all the techies started playing Angband / Moria / Rogue-like games all at once? Maybe Greenspan would start talking about Binary Download indicators, and their effect on productivity, blah blah.
I've found a handful of gems at the dollar stores. Unfortunately, Tulsa, OK, really isn't a software mecca, and the good games don't always make it to the dollar stores, since they really didn't get here in the first place.
BTW, Masters of Orion is very cool, but showing it's age. You may need some skill at getting the old DOS games to work, and I had to mess around with sound drivers, etc. Still, it's nice to see where games like Stars! got their start.
Why not Angband or Moria? Because more people played Diablo, and happily forked over another $50 or so to play the sequel. It proved that it wasn't the hacker types looking at a text display that loved these games, and that people would pay for the graphics and interface. Moria, Angband, Hack, and Rogue may be the grandfathers, but this one showed the world what they were missing.
And yes, I've played Angband, which has much greater replay value than Diablo. When you are trying to sell a game, there is presure to make it a limited experience, so the user will pay for the next incarnation. I remember uniques at a depth of 1000ft giving me more trouble than Diablo.
BTW, wouldn't it be an interesting interview to talk to either Ben Harrison (the previous maintainer, whose efforts to clean up the code spawned a thousand variants), or the current maintainer (Robert Rühlmann????) It would be a nice bit of advocacy to remind Slashdotters of the great classics that are still being developed.
I've heard great things about System Shock I, but one small problem - I can't get a copy of it anywhere! Maybe someone's selling it on eBay, but otherwise, I have to take the word of a handful of people who played it back when it was state-of-the-art.
Meanwhile, I'm tracking down a copy of SS2, knowing that the same people say it's not as good as the original...
It may be a great game, but if you can't even find a copy, and no one is trying to port it to modern systems, how influential can it be?
Sorry if I sound troll-like, but I'm serious. I used to play Angband for months, loving every second of it, thinking it was one of the greatest games ever. But since the world-wide market is tiny, I would never nominate it for a most influential list. Maybe Hack or Rogue, for starting the genre, but that's it.
And, IMHO, Half-life should be on the list, if only for the fact that they have fostered a great mod community that keeps me playing longer than any other game I've ever played. Yes, Counterstrike, Team Fortress, and all those are great, but they wouldn't exist except for Half Life.
I'm disappointed that John didn't answer the first question. It was, by far, the most interesting question posed to them.
I read the first question, which was basically, "What do you think about the Street Performer Protocol?" I followed that link, and saw a 6500-word document that resembled a manifesto or research paper. It starts, "Consider a world without copyright enforcement", which makes me think, great, someone has come up with what they think is a great idea, but is probably untested, or even been thoroughly debated. I looked at my clock, saw that I had about 5 minutes of lunch break left, and decided to skip it, maybe come back to it tommorrow.
I probably know John's answer to question 1: No, I don't know about it, and I'm too busy answering these other 9 questions that I know something about, to read some undergraduate student's thesis and comment on it.
That being said, maybe it would be interesting to get the opinion of someone in the music world on this thing, and TMBG would be a good candidate. Better than Limp Bizkit, at least.
The OmniRemote Springboard Module seems like the best bet - you get a remote-like IR signal (wide, correct timing, etc), and the ease and programability of a Visor. The more I think about it, this is probably what I really want.
At first, when I saw the module option, I thought "Didn't those go out with the GameBoy?". Well, for one, it appears the GameBoy is still around, and two, this kind of new hardware functionality seems to be a real benefit.
Of course, I'm waiting for the day where everything is seemlessly connected, where I can set up TiVo over a mobile phone to tape a show, then start it up with the Visor when I get home. Oh, and while I'm at it, why not throw away the keys, and unlock the front door with a remote.
Now if only there was a way to excercise by remote...
As someone else mentioned, you never hear the politicians denounce Myst, or say that the ship date of Riven would be marked as the point of decline of civilization. It's the violent, first-person shooters that concern the folks that always get concerned...
There are definitely different types of games out there. Some, like Mortal Combat, Doom, Quake, etc., feed our animal instincts - quick reflexes, high adrenaline, violence, repetitive motion, to name a few. Teen-agers love these games, for obvious reasons, and much the same reason my grandfather would never play them at his age. It's a lot like other sports (American football, for instance), except that you get almost no health benefit.
Other games take thought, contemplation, attention to the rules, and a certain level of imagination and personal involvement. These games (Civilization, Myst, many role-playing games, even the Warcraft / Starcraft real-time genres) excercise a different part of the mind, the more intellectual side. Again, however, no health benefit, but then chess players were never that buff, either.
I've played both kinds, and enjoyed both kinds. But I still believe there is a difference, and that one may be better for you than another.
Since the adrenaline games do tweak that animial part of you, it is possible for your brain to get trained on those neural passageways. Atheletes, or at least those for whom athletics is their life, may deserve the "dumb-jock" label. Part of it may be nature, but part of it is probably a decision to exercise one part of the mind at the expense of the other parts. Next time you go on-line, look and see if the banter would be easily converted to the playing feild or the locker room. You may be suprised.
Not that the intellectual games are perfect. They help exercise a part of the brain, but that's it. Look at Bobby Fisher, or others who are solely in the realm of the intellectual, and ask whether that is a desired goal.
One thing that these games have a hard time exercising is the social instincts. For all the chat rooms and Everquest mariages, it still is JUST A GAME, and does not map well to the "real world". Like other "game" skills, social skills built in the context of a game are mostly limited to the context of the game. If "real-world" social skills could be taught by a game, then Leisure-Suit Larry would be one of the top sellers, teaching young teenage males how to talk to sexy women.
This is where the politicians may be correct. I'm not concerned with the Internet or Quake "turning hearts dark", or any other such nonesense. I'm worried about a generation of computer-literate types who are either used to the instant animal gratification of first-person shooters or whose minds are drifting in a virtual reality world. I'm worried that a talented generation will be unable to effectively move in the real world, and thus loose the ability to be effective socially and politically, leaving the computer illiterate to run the show.
How cool would it be to say we've lived to see the "backup plan" of the electoral college set to work?
This may get known as "those years the Constitution got a workout". All we need now is the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the Army trying to put soldiers in people's homes, and a few more amendments!
Obviously, we need one or two SlashDotters to actually look at the results as they come in, and report to the rest of us. This would lower the load on the news servers.
Now, let's start electing the representatives...
If this was any other company, they would not get such attention, but simply because it has some affiliation with Linus Torvalds means that people actually care?
Well, I could care less if Linus worked for 'em (glad he has a day job). The power consumption is exciting, but no big deal in my book. The exciting thing for me is the code morphing, and the idea that this chip could be made to emulate other chips, and that chip-level emulation could be developed.
I work in aircraft simulation. You get to see some of the state-of-the-art stuff, but you also spend a LOT of time making today's technology fit in yesterday's equipment. I'm currently working on a computer system that can provide hard real-time, fast data transfers, yada yada, but it is as old as me. Consider Moore's Law, and project back 25 years.
The parts are so expensive, you would think they are antiques (in more ways then one). Ethernet cards are 16x24 inches, and around $1000 each. Forget about replacement processors boards (early, early Motorola). It's ridiculous - but there aren't many options. Real time is still real time, and, apparently, PC platforms aren't proven yet. Who would want to convert 10 million lines of Fortran 77, anyway?
So, my hope is that the processor, and indeed the whole system, may be emulated on a Crusoe-based processor someday, and my line of business can be dragged, kicking and screaming, back onto the Moore's Law curve. Bonus if the system runs Linux.
So, yes, I'm fairly concerned that Transmeta succeeds financially, in the hope that the idea survives until other engineers can start getting their hands on Code Morphing.
I agree, but I often wonder how long the other customer support calls are taking. I average about 30 minutes on hold, then 5 minutes talking with someone. That would suggest one of two things:
1) There are 6 or 7 times more calls then staffed customer support
2) I am in the minority - most people take 15 minutes or longer.
Of course, most times I call, it's to either cancel service or get a replacement part, so the customer support person is just the gateway to the replacements or accounts department. I've always had the luxury of secondary access so I could scour the websites looking for solutions first.
And that's what I want on the customer service screen - a little check box which is the equivalent of "This guy has probably seen everything on the web site". I've found that refering to the web site often has lowered the time of the phone call to the 2 minutes range - it seems this puts me in a class of customers that make them redundant. I just wish they would have known while I was on hold...
I agree with you, that even the "experts" can overlook the simple stuff. But there is a big difference between:
"OK, let's go over the simple stuff first. Is the phone plugged in? Do you get dial-tone?" (etc.)
And:
"OK, sir. I need you look look behind the computer - that's the box that everything plugs into, not the screen that the pictures are on. OK, you should see a thick black wire going from your electrical outlet to the computer. Are you connected to the power supply?"
I have been guilty of bone-headed mistakes, but that means I need to go over a checklist, not be treated as if I just arrived from the Middle Ages. I just want the guy on the other line to know to ask the first set of questions, rather than start explaining that the modem needs to be plugged in to work. And, if I lied about being an expert, I would fully expect them to drop me to a less experienced level.
I think it's a good idea to charge more for the service as well - there would be a financial dis-incentive to go for the expert service - but perhaps make it a pay-as-you go type of service. Of course, it's just a five-minutes-of-thought Slashdot idea, not a business proposal...
I'm still looking, but not that hard. My perfect service provider is still my workplace - fast, very little downtime, and, for the moment, little or no monitoring. If I want something, I download it at work, and walk it home on a Zip disk.
What I want in a home provider (be it DSL, Cable, or dial-up) is an option when you sign up to self-declare as a newbie, a knowledgable user, or a telecom techie. Of course, feel free to replace these with terms more favorable to the newbie...
When my Grandmother calls, I want the tech guy to look and see the "Newbie" checkbox marked, and start with the "Can you hook a phone to the computer line, and see if you get a dial-tone?" level of questions. Either her problems are obvious, or a serious ISP-side problem that the tech guy already knows about.
When I call (yes, I would self-declare as a knowledgable user, not the telecom expert), I want the tech guy to assume that I've already checked the phone line, that I know what an IP address is, and that I've tried stuff like pinging common servers and looking at their web page for reported outages. In other words, that the problem is probably on their side, and they should make a few phone calls to eliminate that first.
When the telecom guy calls, he should be transfered to the Alpha-tech on duty, so they can talk in the same language. Hell, if the telecom guy calls, he's probably providing a diagnostic service, and his bill should be reduced for the month. Or, at least, not bore him to tears with responces of "You can't use Linux with our service! You must be lying!".
Anyway, anyone know a service like that out there? Or do you self-declare by going with AOL or MSN, DSL or Cable, or a local small-time ISP?
Slashdot Mirror
Taco,
Some of us remember what slashcode looked like before pudge and friends started cleaning it up.
Not only are you opposed to OOP, but you don't seem to be terrible wild about structured programming either. Nor do you give readibility and maintainability the time of day. Your relationship with elegant code is in the "distant admiration" category and you seem to consider sobriety an impediment to productivity.
I'm all for biting the hand that feeds us, but is this just one man's opinion? He may even be trolling for karma, since attacks against the creators tend to raise eyebrows and earn karma.
I don't have time to look over the slashcode, and I don't know what it used to look like. I do know that often, in production scenarios, you have to run with your prototype and what you are familiar with, OOP and style be damned.
Anyway, I'm wondering if someone who knows more than myself wants to defend slashcode, or give some examples of what Shoeboy is talking about.
Scientists, mathemeticians, doctors, and STUDENTS!!!
I'm only a little out of school, and I remember how math was one of the bottlenecks in my studies. For most of high-school, a good calculator, $50 - $100, was all I needed to breeze through Algebra. The simple interface and display was enough to do most problems, except for geometry. Computer tools really did help me understand concepts and check my work.
Calculus changed that. You feel like you need a quill pen just for the notation, and it feels like you are hacking your own tools to do simple problems. It doesn't get better as you go on, with more complex subjects adding more notation. And I thought only classical students needed to learn Greek.
I'm not saying this will change the way we teach the natural sciences and engineering, but it will facilitate a new generation of computer-based tools, the same way a graphing calculator was a leap over the basic scientific calculator.
Now we are closer to an age where the textbook, the notebook, the scratch paper, the homework assignment, the completed homework, the exam, and the calculator all have the same interface, and the student doesn't have to constantly translate between the media.
Interesting. I wonder how cheap this will get once and if it is widely adopted. A good interface may take care of the linear access problems.
I am looking for some sort of mass storage technology, though. Movies are great, etc, but I have two hard drives at 10 GB each, and we'll be pushing 100 GB in a matter of months. I still don't have a great backup system, but something like this may work, especially at $14.95 for a blank tape. It could be an interesting bridge between broadcast and the desktop as well, if the manufacturers wanted it to be.
However, you are right. An amatuer movie maker would expect to pay $2000 - $4000 for a complete digital system, including camera, editing hardware and software, and media. This may be too big of a cost for these semi-professionals, not to mention the home user. It may help user in the era of movie being made primarily in the digital realm, rather than the celluloid realm.
Of course, you need experts. Experts who are willing to judge any fact on its correctness, to do the research, and who have a gift for sniffing out a hoax. Obviously, the best system would be to run the whole internet on slashcode, and let the moderators decide what is interesting and/or true.
As you've probably observed, Slashdot users are generally good at filtering out nonsense. We don't try to make money quick, we don't believe there are AIDS infested needles everywhere or many unwilling kidney donors, and we've all seen hamsters dancing.
Occasionally, something will pass under the radar, when a false story passes the editor's bullshit detectors, and quite a few of the slashdot readers. This is usually because the story attacks us where we are most vunerable, promising free computing power, revealing a new Microsoft problem, or announcing that Linux and BSD have been ported to the central nervous system. There are enough sceptics amoung us, however, that the hoax is eventually found out. We quickly learn our lesson - In God We Trust, and all others require verification.
Of course, if all the Internet was on slashcode, the trolls would outnumber the virtuous by 10000 to 1. And that's why I keep getting forwards about Microsoft, AOL, and Disney teaming up to offer cash to folks who forward emails, etc. But I'm sure the next version of the slashcode will have an even more powerful moderation system.
As an added bonus, every web site will have its spelling, punctutation, and grammer reviewed / berated at no extra cost!!!
The lawyers have used percentages to justify their claims (2.6% employed, 1.6% in management). As others will probably mention, this means nothing, unless you compare it to the percentage of black employees in the tech world in general. As many of you may be aware, U.S. minorities are under-represented in the tech world, below their percentage in the population. This is the so-called digital divide.
(Forget for a moment those working under H1-B or green cards, since it is questionable whether management could say, look at all these foriegn-born minorities, some in management! We're not racist! It could equally support the claim that management likes indentured servitude)
Now, why is this the case? We all say that we are in a performance-based industry, where the best rise to the top. But why is it this way? I say that one factor in how far you go in the industry is how early you were exposed to tools of the trade. For my part, I had a computer and modem ($2000 or so at the time) when I was 10 or so. I also was given a C++ compiler ($500 or so), my dad had a fairly complete computer library ($500 or so), and I got help purchasing books in subjects that interested me.
I know that when I reached college, many of the first-year CS courses were too basic for my needs, but I know many who struggled. It is my assertion that someone who has studied computers at an early age will get more out of college when he or she gets there, no matter the natural talent, and that some may be unable to complete a CS course without prior knowledge.
So, in my opinion, one of the pre-requisites for doing well in the IT world is early exposure, which is fairly expensive, but within the middle-class household's budget - if the parents believe that it is important. So, the IT world will probably look like society in general - rich kids at the top (including those from other countries), and the poor mostly left out.
Do I have a solution? Not really. Microsoft (i believe) once had a mission statement of a computer in every home. They are doing their best by making a lowest-common denominator operating system, as well as making huge contributions to non-profits that are trying to get computer access for the poorer folks. Hopefully, these efforts will come to light during the trial, and be expanded.
Maybe there should be a social project to make cheap computers (Pentium 100, or 250, or something that is now cheap and easy to make), with Linux or BSD pre-installed, so that poorer folks can jump on board. If they get cheap enough, maybe we can even have a public subsidy (maybe a 1% tax on broadband services to pay for them). Of course, that smells of big government and socialism. But capitalism just seems to be making it worse, by only looking for candidates availible today (H1-B), rather than doing something to cultivate candidates 10 years from now.
Sorry, had to rant since I think this is a more important issue than "Does Microsoft Disciminate?"
Most don't think anything of it. Most like the idea that someone is in charge to act as a policeman when tragedies happen "over there". They don't think the UN should have to much influence over the US, but it's OK to exert pressure on other "bad" countries. Many think the UN is controlled by the US.
There is a vocal minority that thinks all remote government authority is evil, and that the UN is trying to establish a world government. A smaller number think that a one world government is the prefered tool of the AntiChrist, signalling the Apocolypse. Others swear they saw the UN's unmarked black helicopters on the skyline...
In short, I don't think it's a major issue for Americans, unlike the EU for Europeans. Many don't even know we are way behind in our UN dues, and couldn't name our envoy.
If anyone else sees things differently, feel free to speak up.
Excellent question, even if some think it was ridiculous or made the wrong assumptions.
In America like anywhere else, freedom is tied to money, but I believe the percentage of people above the critical line is greater here than other countries. If you are a Slashdot reader, I'm assuming you have enough money for a computer, probably a job, etc. You aren't in a ghetto situation, where the police officers assume you are a criminal, or they don't show up in time, leaving rule by the strongest.
Our Constitution and courts reign in the worst of those who oppose freedom (on both the left and the right). For the most part, you can do as you wish, as long as you don't do it publicly. You can do quite a bit publicly, as long as you are willing to fight in the legal system to secure your rights. If you are that type of pioneer, more power to you.
What we may not have is freedom of the mind. While I'm typing here in Slashdot, exercising my freedom of speech, there is an anoying little banner ad for Compaq. It flashes every few seconds, in a red that contrasts most of the page - in other words, it's hard to ignore. I ignore these all day, but they have to be hammering on my subconscience. Every day I'm confronted with advertising trying to appeal to my baser emotions and instincts: in the newspaper, on the web, on TV, on billboards, on the radio, in my mail...
We like to think these don't affect us, and many of us are savvy media critics. But look around you, and see if you've bought into the notion that you need to buy things to be happy. Ask how long it would take to pack up your things, if they would fit in a backpack, what you would do if it all disappeared. Because we now believe that items will make us happy, we need a larger income, which means we have to work, and work hard. It takes a lot to save up for that Beowulf cluster.
With that, at least 8 hours a day now belong to someone else. Is that freedom? Most of us get 2-3 weeks vacation, while Europeans get a month or more. Is that freedom?
Even when we have become desensitized to the advertisements, they still color the mass thinking. Politics is no longer about the best candidate, but the best looking candidate. I could found a better president-elect, even if I was restricted to the Bush family, but George W. sure is pretty!
This is the great irony - our nation's success is due to a capitalistic model, which allows private life and certain freedoms, but the tools of capitalism (advertisements) slowly sap our free will and ability to exercise that freedom. The biggest struggle in this country is not against an oppressive government (or even oppresive corporations), it is the fight to get back your own mind.
Oh no oh no oh no.
Thanks for the link to the Underdogs. I can't believe I never found it before. Also, thanks for causing me to lose my free time for the next three years or so.
I'm glad to see the idea of an Angband interview getting modded up. There would be two good results:
1) We'd actually get to show our appreciation, get some questions answered, and get to see what these programmers are doing now,
2) Everyone would be reminded how good this old-school stuff is, and some of the younger slashdotters could get hooked.
That being said, do you think there would be a measurable effect on the economy if all the techies started playing Angband / Moria / Rogue-like games all at once? Maybe Greenspan would start talking about Binary Download indicators, and their effect on productivity, blah blah.
I've found a handful of gems at the dollar stores. Unfortunately, Tulsa, OK, really isn't a software mecca, and the good games don't always make it to the dollar stores, since they really didn't get here in the first place.
BTW, Masters of Orion is very cool, but showing it's age. You may need some skill at getting the old DOS games to work, and I had to mess around with sound drivers, etc. Still, it's nice to see where games like Stars! got their start.
Why not Angband or Moria? Because more people played Diablo, and happily forked over another $50 or so to play the sequel. It proved that it wasn't the hacker types looking at a text display that loved these games, and that people would pay for the graphics and interface. Moria, Angband, Hack, and Rogue may be the grandfathers, but this one showed the world what they were missing.
And yes, I've played Angband, which has much greater replay value than Diablo. When you are trying to sell a game, there is presure to make it a limited experience, so the user will pay for the next incarnation. I remember uniques at a depth of 1000ft giving me more trouble than Diablo.
BTW, wouldn't it be an interesting interview to talk to either Ben Harrison (the previous maintainer, whose efforts to clean up the code spawned a thousand variants), or the current maintainer (Robert Rühlmann????) It would be a nice bit of advocacy to remind Slashdotters of the great classics that are still being developed.
I've heard great things about System Shock I, but one small problem - I can't get a copy of it anywhere! Maybe someone's selling it on eBay, but otherwise, I have to take the word of a handful of people who played it back when it was state-of-the-art. Meanwhile, I'm tracking down a copy of SS2, knowing that the same people say it's not as good as the original... It may be a great game, but if you can't even find a copy, and no one is trying to port it to modern systems, how influential can it be? Sorry if I sound troll-like, but I'm serious. I used to play Angband for months, loving every second of it, thinking it was one of the greatest games ever. But since the world-wide market is tiny, I would never nominate it for a most influential list. Maybe Hack or Rogue, for starting the genre, but that's it. And, IMHO, Half-life should be on the list, if only for the fact that they have fostered a great mod community that keeps me playing longer than any other game I've ever played. Yes, Counterstrike, Team Fortress, and all those are great, but they wouldn't exist except for Half Life.
I'm disappointed that John didn't answer the first question. It was, by far, the most interesting question posed to them.
I read the first question, which was basically, "What do you think about the Street Performer Protocol?" I followed that link, and saw a 6500-word document that resembled a manifesto or research paper. It starts, "Consider a world without copyright enforcement", which makes me think, great, someone has come up with what they think is a great idea, but is probably untested, or even been thoroughly debated. I looked at my clock, saw that I had about 5 minutes of lunch break left, and decided to skip it, maybe come back to it tommorrow.
I probably know John's answer to question 1: No, I don't know about it, and I'm too busy answering these other 9 questions that I know something about, to read some undergraduate student's thesis and comment on it.
That being said, maybe it would be interesting to get the opinion of someone in the music world on this thing, and TMBG would be a good candidate. Better than Limp Bizkit, at least.
The OmniRemote Springboard Module seems like the best bet - you get a remote-like IR signal (wide, correct timing, etc), and the ease and programability of a Visor. The more I think about it, this is probably what I really want.
At first, when I saw the module option, I thought "Didn't those go out with the GameBoy?". Well, for one, it appears the GameBoy is still around, and two, this kind of new hardware functionality seems to be a real benefit.
Of course, I'm waiting for the day where everything is seemlessly connected, where I can set up TiVo over a mobile phone to tape a show, then start it up with the Visor when I get home. Oh, and while I'm at it, why not throw away the keys, and unlock the front door with a remote.
Now if only there was a way to excercise by remote...
As someone else mentioned, you never hear the politicians denounce Myst, or say that the ship date of Riven would be marked as the point of decline of civilization. It's the violent, first-person shooters that concern the folks that always get concerned...
There are definitely different types of games out there. Some, like Mortal Combat, Doom, Quake, etc., feed our animal instincts - quick reflexes, high adrenaline, violence, repetitive motion, to name a few. Teen-agers love these games, for obvious reasons, and much the same reason my grandfather would never play them at his age. It's a lot like other sports (American football, for instance), except that you get almost no health benefit.
Other games take thought, contemplation, attention to the rules, and a certain level of imagination and personal involvement. These games (Civilization, Myst, many role-playing games, even the Warcraft / Starcraft real-time genres) excercise a different part of the mind, the more intellectual side. Again, however, no health benefit, but then chess players were never that buff, either.
I've played both kinds, and enjoyed both kinds. But I still believe there is a difference, and that one may be better for you than another.
Since the adrenaline games do tweak that animial part of you, it is possible for your brain to get trained on those neural passageways. Atheletes, or at least those for whom athletics is their life, may deserve the "dumb-jock" label. Part of it may be nature, but part of it is probably a decision to exercise one part of the mind at the expense of the other parts. Next time you go on-line, look and see if the banter would be easily converted to the playing feild or the locker room. You may be suprised.
Not that the intellectual games are perfect. They help exercise a part of the brain, but that's it. Look at Bobby Fisher, or others who are solely in the realm of the intellectual, and ask whether that is a desired goal.
One thing that these games have a hard time exercising is the social instincts. For all the chat rooms and Everquest mariages, it still is JUST A GAME, and does not map well to the "real world". Like other "game" skills, social skills built in the context of a game are mostly limited to the context of the game. If "real-world" social skills could be taught by a game, then Leisure-Suit Larry would be one of the top sellers, teaching young teenage males how to talk to sexy women.
This is where the politicians may be correct. I'm not concerned with the Internet or Quake "turning hearts dark", or any other such nonesense. I'm worried about a generation of computer-literate types who are either used to the instant animal gratification of first-person shooters or whose minds are drifting in a virtual reality world. I'm worried that a talented generation will be unable to effectively move in the real world, and thus loose the ability to be effective socially and politically, leaving the computer illiterate to run the show.
Time to go to bed, since Jenni has. I'll dream of a cut-and-dry election, where the ballot-counting devices work instantly.
It must be hard for the print media - they have to start printing tommorrow's paper soon. What will they say for the headline?
My candidate:
Nation Flips a Coin - Lands on Edge
How cool would it be to say we've lived to see the "backup plan" of the electoral college set to work?
This may get known as "those years the Constitution got a workout". All we need now is the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the Army trying to put soldiers in people's homes, and a few more amendments!
CmdrTaco started a new thread, Election Part 2. Join the party. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/11/08/035123 8&mode=thread
Obviously, we need one or two SlashDotters to actually look at the results as they come in, and report to the rest of us. This would lower the load on the news servers. Now, let's start electing the representatives...
Anyone keeping track if Nader has the 5% the Green Party needs?
If this was any other company, they would not get such attention, but simply because it has some affiliation with Linus Torvalds means that people actually care?
Well, I could care less if Linus worked for 'em (glad he has a day job). The power consumption is exciting, but no big deal in my book. The exciting thing for me is the code morphing, and the idea that this chip could be made to emulate other chips, and that chip-level emulation could be developed.
I work in aircraft simulation. You get to see some of the state-of-the-art stuff, but you also spend a LOT of time making today's technology fit in yesterday's equipment. I'm currently working on a computer system that can provide hard real-time, fast data transfers, yada yada, but it is as old as me. Consider Moore's Law, and project back 25 years.
The parts are so expensive, you would think they are antiques (in more ways then one). Ethernet cards are 16x24 inches, and around $1000 each. Forget about replacement processors boards (early, early Motorola). It's ridiculous - but there aren't many options. Real time is still real time, and, apparently, PC platforms aren't proven yet. Who would want to convert 10 million lines of Fortran 77, anyway?
So, my hope is that the processor, and indeed the whole system, may be emulated on a Crusoe-based processor someday, and my line of business can be dragged, kicking and screaming, back onto the Moore's Law curve. Bonus if the system runs Linux.
So, yes, I'm fairly concerned that Transmeta succeeds financially, in the hope that the idea survives until other engineers can start getting their hands on Code Morphing.
I agree, but I often wonder how long the other customer support calls are taking. I average about 30 minutes on hold, then 5 minutes talking with someone. That would suggest one of two things:
1) There are 6 or 7 times more calls then staffed customer support
2) I am in the minority - most people take 15 minutes or longer.
Of course, most times I call, it's to either cancel service or get a replacement part, so the customer support person is just the gateway to the replacements or accounts department. I've always had the luxury of secondary access so I could scour the websites looking for solutions first.
And that's what I want on the customer service screen - a little check box which is the equivalent of "This guy has probably seen everything on the web site". I've found that refering to the web site often has lowered the time of the phone call to the 2 minutes range - it seems this puts me in a class of customers that make them redundant. I just wish they would have known while I was on hold...
I agree with you, that even the "experts" can overlook the simple stuff. But there is a big difference between:
"OK, let's go over the simple stuff first. Is the phone plugged in? Do you get dial-tone?" (etc.)
And:
"OK, sir. I need you look look behind the computer - that's the box that everything plugs into, not the screen that the pictures are on. OK, you should see a thick black wire going from your electrical outlet to the computer. Are you connected to the power supply?"
I have been guilty of bone-headed mistakes, but that means I need to go over a checklist, not be treated as if I just arrived from the Middle Ages. I just want the guy on the other line to know to ask the first set of questions, rather than start explaining that the modem needs to be plugged in to work. And, if I lied about being an expert, I would fully expect them to drop me to a less experienced level.
I think it's a good idea to charge more for the service as well - there would be a financial dis-incentive to go for the expert service - but perhaps make it a pay-as-you go type of service. Of course, it's just a five-minutes-of-thought Slashdot idea, not a business proposal...
I'm still looking, but not that hard. My perfect service provider is still my workplace - fast, very little downtime, and, for the moment, little or no monitoring. If I want something, I download it at work, and walk it home on a Zip disk.
What I want in a home provider (be it DSL, Cable, or dial-up) is an option when you sign up to self-declare as a newbie, a knowledgable user, or a telecom techie. Of course, feel free to replace these with terms more favorable to the newbie...
When my Grandmother calls, I want the tech guy to look and see the "Newbie" checkbox marked, and start with the "Can you hook a phone to the computer line, and see if you get a dial-tone?" level of questions. Either her problems are obvious, or a serious ISP-side problem that the tech guy already knows about.
When I call (yes, I would self-declare as a knowledgable user, not the telecom expert), I want the tech guy to assume that I've already checked the phone line, that I know what an IP address is, and that I've tried stuff like pinging common servers and looking at their web page for reported outages. In other words, that the problem is probably on their side, and they should make a few phone calls to eliminate that first.
When the telecom guy calls, he should be transfered to the Alpha-tech on duty, so they can talk in the same language. Hell, if the telecom guy calls, he's probably providing a diagnostic service, and his bill should be reduced for the month. Or, at least, not bore him to tears with responces of "You can't use Linux with our service! You must be lying!".
Anyway, anyone know a service like that out there? Or do you self-declare by going with AOL or MSN, DSL or Cable, or a local small-time ISP?