Maybe they hit 128 mph, and the system decided they were suddenly going at -127 mph.
Sounds like a joke, but there was the famous incident where a fighter plane flew over the international date line, and suddenly decided it was flying upside-down.
Someone driving the speed limit, obeying the law, will cause drivers behind them to back up and try and go around on the right side, which creates a hazard.
You need a better example. The Massachusetts Drivers Manual states quite clearly that in that situation, you should move right a lane when it's clear to do so, and use the leftmost lane for passing only. I assume it's the same in other states.
So in your hypothetical situation, the driver isn't obeying the law. (You implicitly state that the lane to his right is clear, because if it wasn't the other vehicles wouldn't be able to use it to overtake him.)
The guy needs to put "Shilling For Dummies" on his Amazon wish list.
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already!
on
Out Of The XBox
·
· Score: 1
I started off with a PS2, because it had the most games I wanted to play. I got a GameCube next, because it was dirt cheap and had at least half a dozen games I really wanted to play. But like I say, the Xbox only has one exclusive game I really want to play. So even if the Xbox was from another company, I doubt I'd buy it.
I'm pretty critical of Nintendo and their overemphasis on cutesy crap too. (Please, someone, kill Mario!) But at least they had enough great exclusive games to make it worth getting the console. On the other hand, their lineup for the DS handheld is godawful compared to the PSP, so I won't be buying a DS any time soon, if ever.
Re:Enough with the Xbox hype already!
on
Out Of The XBox
·
· Score: 1
I suppose, if by "failed", you mean "failed to achieve complete and total domination". They certainly make a profit on their server OS, server tools, development tools, hardware, XBox,...
I thought I was quite clear about exactly what I meant by "failed": failed to achieve #1 position in the market and profitable status, which is what all the Slashdot articles have been suggesting Xbox 360 will do in the console market. In fact, this latest one seems to think they'll get over 50% market share like they did with Windows on the desktop.
Thanks for spreading more Microsoft propaganda, anyway. As of this quarter, Xbox is still losing money. SQL Server is a distant third in market share after DB2 and Oracle. Entertainment software and mobile devices both run at a loss. Microsoft's developer tools business isn't evidence that they can achieve another big success, because it basically has no competition--if you want to develop Windows applications for current and future versions of Windows, you have no serious alternative.
When it comes to server OS market share, note that most pro-Microsoft articles (e.g. from IDC) deliberately undercount Linux and BSD by only counting sales of boxed product. Restricting ourselves to more statistically valid data, we see that Microsoft's web server market share is a fraction of OSS's. In messaging, Exchange may or may not be #1 in commercial offerings (it's highly disputed), but add in OSS and their market share is well below 50%.
So in short: you're wrong, or deliberately lying.
It's easy to get market share or profits; Microsoft could make Xbox 360 the #1 console by sales volume just by dumping (i.e. selling below cost) even more than they did with the first Xbox. That's not what I call a business success, though.
How freaking sad do you have to be to be convinced that anyone who doesn't rabidly hate the XBox as much as you do has to be a "Microsft astroturfer"?
So I guess you want us to believe you're just an ill-informed idiot, rather than a paid shill? OK by me.
Enough with the Xbox hype already!
on
Out Of The XBox
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
How many Microsoft astroturfers are working full time to get this amount of "Xbox 360 will rule the gaming industry!" crap onto Slashdot?
I really don't give a crap about how great Xbox 360 is supposed to be. There was only one game on Xbox I wanted to play that wasn't on one of the other consoles; that is the real problem with Xbox, not the hardware. Same goes for GameCube, really.
I'm quite happy with the graphical sophistication my GameCube already pumps out in Metroid Prime; what I want is good games.
The only place where I see the hardware as important is PS3, because frankly the PS2 is showing its limits, games like GT4 notwithstanding.
And remember: Microsoft has succeeded in turning a profit and becoming #1 in exactly two markets: office applications, and desktop operating systems. They've failed in every single other arena. Their success in gaming consoles would be remarkable, given their long history of failures and the strong competition. Xbox 360's dominance is far from assured, and the pro-Microsoft FUD being spread on Slashdot doesn't change that.
You don't actually need to use the printer installer for anything, though. It's just a handy point-click tool for people who can't deal with setting up a printer connection.
And this is an important point, because it means that OpenOffice.org requires *Sun* Java. Not just Java, specifically the Sun VM and libraries. Those of us using the IBM JVM are probably out of luck; it may not run on the Apple JVM either.
I think it's just incompetence or bad design on the part of Sun rather than a deliberate decision, but it's still a problem.
Convergence devices could work. Having tried Pocket PC phones, Palm devices and various others, the closest thing to a workable convergence device is the Sony Ericsson P910.
It'll play music and has a headphone socket. It has a usable size screen, a web browser that can cope with real web pages, a POP and IMAP client, a PDF viewer, and so on. It'll sync via Bluetooth with your desktop. Unlike Palm, it'll actually multi-task properly. Unlike Pocket PC, the UI isn't totally crap.
Now, how many mobile phone providers in the US offer the P910? And even if they did offer it, they'd lock it down so you couldn't change provider, couldn't install software, couldn't load music or do anything with it without being nickel-and-dimed by them.
Even the P910 isn't perfect. You have to put your MP3s on Memory Stick Duo. And the idea of a single all-in-one device sounds great, until you're on the phone and need to take some notes...
Also, it's big. And that's the real reason why I think we won't see convergence to a single device, beyond those few geeks willing to strap a small brick to their belts. What most people want is a tiny phone that flips open to be just large enough; until we get folding screens, you're not going to be browsing the web or reading books on that.
So my ideal "convergence" would be something like the Sony Librié without the crippling DRM, plus something like the Sony Ericsson T68i only usably fast.
Maybe I wasn't clear enough... it's not the interface that's the problem, it's more fundamental than that--it's that a textureless flat LCD surface makes a lousy control interface for entertainment equipment.
I had a fancy LCD remote. I programmed it from scratch to have a really easy interface--the controls were consistent from device to device, things like "next track" and "previous track" were always labeled the same way and in the same location. The startup page had buttons for each device, which led to the pages for those devices.
But you know what? It sucked. Backlit or not, an LCD is a really lousy interface for a media remote. I sold the unit and bought a Harmony remote, which has physical buttons.
I'm assuming Apple is smart enough to know why LCD interfaces suck, because the iPod doesn't have a flat touch surface for all the controls.
Then again, maybe I'm wrong. I find the current iPods a major step back from the good design of the 3G iPods, because they've lost the easy-to-find-by-feel buttons for play, pause, next track, previous track. (Very useful when using the iPod in the car.) So maybe Apple is going to produce some hideous remote with an LCD screen.
Paying the absurd premium for Apple hardware just to rip the already-beautiful OS off of it and install *nix?
Absurd premium? No doubt you'll post links to equivalent non-Apple machines that are significantly cheaper. Something like a complete fanless mini-ITX system in a Mac Mini size box, for $300, right? Or are you just bullshitting?
Even though I'm still inexperienced at writing Ruby code, I already find it faster to write good code in than Perl.
You're missing the point
on
Perl Medic
·
· Score: 1
For many problems in the busines world, a 12% speed increase isn't worth having if it doubles development time.
For example, I recently put together a reporting system. It's all scripting and Java. Could it run faster if it was all in C? Undoubtedly. However, it's only going to run once a month, so whether it takes 20 minutes or 22 minutes to crunch the data is utterly unimportant. Writing it in C would simply be premature optimization.
Yes, it's possible to learn social interaction. A friend of mine has done a very good job of it. I didn't realize the situation until he explained to me that it's hard work, because he has to run through mental checklists, consciously examine body language, remember to behave in various ways at appropriate times, and so on.
Drugs are for temporarily helping you regain your sanity until you can control your life just fine on your own. They're a boost to regain self-reliance, not a permanent crutch.
Not necessarily. There are plenty of people whose brains are just broken in some way; unable to maintain chemical balance. For those people, drugs may be a permanent requirement.
For example, bipolar disorder is typically something that requires lifetime treatment. Schizophrenia too.
I feel it's important to point this out, as we don't want any more schizophrenics going off their medication because they've sorted their lives out now...
Yes, the exact same problems can occur in the USA. I know someone who was not only without broadband, but was without a phone line at all, because the existing line was marked as belonging to someone who had moved out ages ago, and they had no idea how to contact him to get him to transfer it.
Sure, British Telecom are crap. But phone companies in general are crap, including US ones.
It's also amusing to see Americans preening about the supposed deregulation of the US market. I tried to experience the joys of deregulation last month when I moved into my new house, and found that the telephone market where I live had been deregulated into a complete monopoly owned by a single company--just like in England.
Yes, I had a choice of broadband providers--I could go with the cable monopoly or the telephone monopoly. It's the same in England, if you have cable available.
As far as US law is concerned, yes. I'm all for tightening up the CAFE standards. Unfortunately America elected Bush, so it's about as likely as Slashdot fixing their HTML.
I don't want to buy something else unless the fuel efficiency would pay for the thing in a year or two. So probably I'll be driving what I have until the wheels fall off.
Pity you didn't get a Ford, you could have been shopping for a shiny new car by Christmas.
How can these cars be touted as environmentally friendly when you could easily increase your gas mileage by driving a 4-cylinder instead.
Because "environmentally friendly" is not the same as "economical".
The Prius sacrifices some efficiency in order to get lower emissions. Specifically, emissions less than a tenth of what's allowed by California's standards.
It's also 90% recyclable, recycled materials are used in its construction.
Slashdot Mirror
Interestingly enough, 63mph is the optimum speed for fuel-efficient highway cruising in the Prius.
Maybe they hit 128 mph, and the system decided they were suddenly going at -127 mph.
Sounds like a joke, but there was the famous incident where a fighter plane flew over the international date line, and suddenly decided it was flying upside-down.
You need a better example. The Massachusetts Drivers Manual states quite clearly that in that situation, you should move right a lane when it's clear to do so, and use the leftmost lane for passing only. I assume it's the same in other states.
So in your hypothetical situation, the driver isn't obeying the law. (You implicitly state that the lane to his right is clear, because if it wasn't the other vehicles wouldn't be able to use it to overtake him.)
What I want to know is if we'll be able to burn diamonds on a fire, like coal, once they get cheap enough. That would be really cool.
The guy needs to put "Shilling For Dummies" on his Amazon wish list.
I started off with a PS2, because it had the most games I wanted to play. I got a GameCube next, because it was dirt cheap and had at least half a dozen games I really wanted to play. But like I say, the Xbox only has one exclusive game I really want to play. So even if the Xbox was from another company, I doubt I'd buy it.
I'm pretty critical of Nintendo and their overemphasis on cutesy crap too. (Please, someone, kill Mario!) But at least they had enough great exclusive games to make it worth getting the console. On the other hand, their lineup for the DS handheld is godawful compared to the PSP, so I won't be buying a DS any time soon, if ever.
I thought I was quite clear about exactly what I meant by "failed": failed to achieve #1 position in the market and profitable status, which is what all the Slashdot articles have been suggesting Xbox 360 will do in the console market. In fact, this latest one seems to think they'll get over 50% market share like they did with Windows on the desktop.
Thanks for spreading more Microsoft propaganda, anyway. As of this quarter, Xbox is still losing money. SQL Server is a distant third in market share after DB2 and Oracle. Entertainment software and mobile devices both run at a loss. Microsoft's developer tools business isn't evidence that they can achieve another big success, because it basically has no competition--if you want to develop Windows applications for current and future versions of Windows, you have no serious alternative.
When it comes to server OS market share, note that most pro-Microsoft articles (e.g. from IDC) deliberately undercount Linux and BSD by only counting sales of boxed product. Restricting ourselves to more statistically valid data, we see that Microsoft's web server market share is a fraction of OSS's. In messaging, Exchange may or may not be #1 in commercial offerings (it's highly disputed), but add in OSS and their market share is well below 50%.
So in short: you're wrong, or deliberately lying.
It's easy to get market share or profits; Microsoft could make Xbox 360 the #1 console by sales volume just by dumping (i.e. selling below cost) even more than they did with the first Xbox. That's not what I call a business success, though.
So I guess you want us to believe you're just an ill-informed idiot, rather than a paid shill? OK by me.
How many Microsoft astroturfers are working full time to get this amount of "Xbox 360 will rule the gaming industry!" crap onto Slashdot?
I really don't give a crap about how great Xbox 360 is supposed to be. There was only one game on Xbox I wanted to play that wasn't on one of the other consoles; that is the real problem with Xbox, not the hardware. Same goes for GameCube, really.
I'm quite happy with the graphical sophistication my GameCube already pumps out in Metroid Prime; what I want is good games.
The only place where I see the hardware as important is PS3, because frankly the PS2 is showing its limits, games like GT4 notwithstanding.
And remember: Microsoft has succeeded in turning a profit and becoming #1 in exactly two markets: office applications, and desktop operating systems. They've failed in every single other arena. Their success in gaming consoles would be remarkable, given their long history of failures and the strong competition. Xbox 360's dominance is far from assured, and the pro-Microsoft FUD being spread on Slashdot doesn't change that.
You don't actually need to use the printer installer for anything, though. It's just a handy point-click tool for people who can't deal with setting up a printer connection.
And this is an important point, because it means that OpenOffice.org requires *Sun* Java. Not just Java, specifically the Sun VM and libraries. Those of us using the IBM JVM are probably out of luck; it may not run on the Apple JVM either.
I think it's just incompetence or bad design on the part of Sun rather than a deliberate decision, but it's still a problem.
Convergence devices could work. Having tried Pocket PC phones, Palm devices and various others, the closest thing to a workable convergence device is the Sony Ericsson P910.
It'll play music and has a headphone socket. It has a usable size screen, a web browser that can cope with real web pages, a POP and IMAP client, a PDF viewer, and so on. It'll sync via Bluetooth with your desktop. Unlike Palm, it'll actually multi-task properly. Unlike Pocket PC, the UI isn't totally crap.
Now, how many mobile phone providers in the US offer the P910? And even if they did offer it, they'd lock it down so you couldn't change provider, couldn't install software, couldn't load music or do anything with it without being nickel-and-dimed by them.
Even the P910 isn't perfect. You have to put your MP3s on Memory Stick Duo. And the idea of a single all-in-one device sounds great, until you're on the phone and need to take some notes...
Also, it's big. And that's the real reason why I think we won't see convergence to a single device, beyond those few geeks willing to strap a small brick to their belts. What most people want is a tiny phone that flips open to be just large enough; until we get folding screens, you're not going to be browsing the web or reading books on that.
So my ideal "convergence" would be something like the Sony Librié without the crippling DRM, plus something like the Sony Ericsson T68i only usably fast.
Maybe I wasn't clear enough... it's not the interface that's the problem, it's more fundamental than that--it's that a textureless flat LCD surface makes a lousy control interface for entertainment equipment.
I had a fancy LCD remote. I programmed it from scratch to have a really easy interface--the controls were consistent from device to device, things like "next track" and "previous track" were always labeled the same way and in the same location. The startup page had buttons for each device, which led to the pages for those devices.
But you know what? It sucked. Backlit or not, an LCD is a really lousy interface for a media remote. I sold the unit and bought a Harmony remote, which has physical buttons.
I'm assuming Apple is smart enough to know why LCD interfaces suck, because the iPod doesn't have a flat touch surface for all the controls.
Then again, maybe I'm wrong. I find the current iPods a major step back from the good design of the 3G iPods, because they've lost the easy-to-find-by-feel buttons for play, pause, next track, previous track. (Very useful when using the iPod in the car.) So maybe Apple is going to produce some hideous remote with an LCD screen.
Absurd premium? No doubt you'll post links to equivalent non-Apple machines that are significantly cheaper. Something like a complete fanless mini-ITX system in a Mac Mini size box, for $300, right? Or are you just bullshitting?
Also: Mac OS X is Unix.
(But not necessarily UNIX(TM))
Notice the word "typically" in what I wrote.
If sleep, food, exercise and not watching TV has cured you, that's great. Most people are not going to be so lucky.
Even though I'm still inexperienced at writing Ruby code, I already find it faster to write good code in than Perl.
For many problems in the busines world, a 12% speed increase isn't worth having if it doubles development time.
For example, I recently put together a reporting system. It's all scripting and Java. Could it run faster if it was all in C? Undoubtedly. However, it's only going to run once a month, so whether it takes 20 minutes or 22 minutes to crunch the data is utterly unimportant. Writing it in C would simply be premature optimization.
I wasn't talking about the mechanical soundness of the car, I was talking about how noisy and uncomfortable it is, and what poor handling it has.
Yes, it's possible to learn social interaction. A friend of mine has done a very good job of it. I didn't realize the situation until he explained to me that it's hard work, because he has to run through mental checklists, consciously examine body language, remember to behave in various ways at appropriate times, and so on.
Not necessarily. There are plenty of people whose brains are just broken in some way; unable to maintain chemical balance. For those people, drugs may be a permanent requirement.
For example, bipolar disorder is typically something that requires lifetime treatment. Schizophrenia too.
I feel it's important to point this out, as we don't want any more schizophrenics going off their medication because they've sorted their lives out now...
Yes, the exact same problems can occur in the USA. I know someone who was not only without broadband, but was without a phone line at all, because the existing line was marked as belonging to someone who had moved out ages ago, and they had no idea how to contact him to get him to transfer it.
Sure, British Telecom are crap. But phone companies in general are crap, including US ones.
It's also amusing to see Americans preening about the supposed deregulation of the US market. I tried to experience the joys of deregulation last month when I moved into my new house, and found that the telephone market where I live had been deregulated into a complete monopoly owned by a single company--just like in England.
Yes, I had a choice of broadband providers--I could go with the cable monopoly or the telephone monopoly. It's the same in England, if you have cable available.
As far as US law is concerned, yes. I'm all for tightening up the CAFE standards. Unfortunately America elected Bush, so it's about as likely as Slashdot fixing their HTML.
Barbie and I take the car over to G.I. Joe's house all the time...
Pity you didn't get a Ford, you could have been shopping for a shiny new car by Christmas.
Because "environmentally friendly" is not the same as "economical".
The Prius sacrifices some efficiency in order to get lower emissions. Specifically, emissions less than a tenth of what's allowed by California's standards.
It's also 90% recyclable, recycled materials are used in its construction.