Is talking on the phone really a single task? Is cooking? Surely each of those is made up of countless sub-tasks even if you don't consciously think about them.
If you were just saying random words, then perhaps not. But if you are discussing the new project at work, or what little Johnny did at school, or even about sports, it requires pulling in previous experiences, remembering specific events, drawing conclusions, etc., which are "subroutines" in a single task, communicating. A phone conversation can actually take more brain power than driving down the highway. Think about it, when someone is driving and talking on the phone, it is obvious that the cell phone requires more attention than driving. As for being sub-tasks, all tasks are generally linear subtasks that would qualify as a single task.
Perhaps that is why people tend to stray into the other lane when driving/talking on the cell. A third activity comes in or they have to fork a thought for consideration during the conversation, and they run out of brainpower/memory, so the least important activity (driving) gets swapped out for a second. Humans just need more RAM.
How about that, a computer analog for a car problem, instead of the other way around!
You could do what we did: outsource email for $15 a month (up to 200 clients) to yahoo.com. It works, it uses a familiar interface, it has AV, it has some spam filtering, it uses a web browser so it is usable on all platforms. It isn't perfect, but if email is such a mission critical element, then they need to put more resources into it. Likely, you needs are not that much different than ours (15 people who use email to talk to customers daily). We have been on it for 5 years now, and it is the best 15 bucks a month we have ever spent.
Some of us really LIKE the work we do. Its the people we do it with that we don't like. If I had to do less actual work, and spend more time with the people I do the work with, I would quit.
The fact that you never heard anything doesn't mean much. Go google "class action lawsuit best buy" and filter through the 65 million hits. Its pretty easy to find. There have been countless lawsuits against them for being dishonest in their business practices. Don't take my word for it, it is amazingly easy to verify this.
Many of us old timers wouldn't buy from them if they were selling 1 TB drives for a nickel each.
But everyone knows that is only on the website. Once you go into the store, they use an intranet and tell the customer that the drive isn't listed, so it must not be on sale anymore, then sells them a more expensive one. At least that was the story in the class action suit against Best Buy.
They put up the cameras in North Carolina, but there was a problem: Our state Constitution says that *all* fines collected must be put into the education fund (this would exclude court costs). They installed the cameras, collected a bunch of money, a lawsuit was had, and it was judged that both halves of the funds collected (was a 50/50 split between cities and the company that owned the cameras) must be given to the schools. That means the camera company would have to do it for free, which wasn't going to happen. Since this is a Constitutional mandate and not just a law that was passed, it would require an amendment to change, which wasn't going to happen.
Needless to say, we don't have cameras in NC anymore. I don't think the schools ever got their money either. And yes, they shortened the yellow lights, which means that here in NC, we have crooked politicians, too.
That was pretty damn funny. Actually, if you create a spiritual successor, (or rather a spiritual precursor) perhaps they would just buy it off of you. Then release it 10 years later.
I don't remember making a moral judgement about the guy. I do remember saying that it would likely be viewed in one of two ways, and both sides are arguable. As for elitism and moral authority, I'm an American, and we tend to think that we *do* have just as much of a right to have an opinion as that guy had to spend 84 hours playing a video game. In this instance, I don't really have a strong opinion either way, but I fail to see why having one smacks of elitism.
I sell luxury goods for a living. You are welcome to view that as wasteful or beneficial, as you see fit. It doesn't change anything, but you are welcome to your own opinion. I won't even consider it elitist.
I was referring to MS Windows, but if they did, that would make sense: software engineers can only create updates that work properly if they are sure everyone has a completely different machine....
Grant and Jamie (mythbusters) have done something similar but more difficult, using an RC controller, while in a completely different vehicle. The only problems they have had is losing transmission with the controller, or trying to control a bus with bad steering linkage to begin with. It isn't easy, but they have done just fine, without the benefit of being in the vehicle and having a direct view of what they are controlling.
Thank goodness we allow software and concept patents in the US, else this new advancement in computer optimization might never have been developed. As a bonus, once the patent expires, the method will be in the public domain, so everyone will be free to optimize their code using trial and error.
Now, you say that, but us guys in our 40s have gained one thing: persistence. If needed, I can do whatever it takes, including super long hours, not because my body is better prepared for it than a 25 year old (it isn't) but because my mind is. Older guys tend to be more persistent and willing to get the job done, regardless of the body damage it causes.
Call it "intestinal fortitude" or just hard headedness, but while I don't have the physical stamina I might have had 20 years ago, I can more than make up for it by having a more determined mindset.
Amen, the first thing I do is toggle out of 3rd person view. And besides, these guys were pretty dorky about it. Too bad, because it looks like they had the exact right setup to test the theory, but they didn't allow any time to adjust to the perspective, which is NOT exactly like a video game. Let them drive the course a few times, and even these dorks could have done it as well as they would have in the game.
In this respect, even Microsoft does a better job. They have to update a more sophisticated operating system that runs on a HUGE variety of systems and processors. Sony knows 100% the exact software and hardware they are updating on, and 100% of the software that will run on the console, yet they can't manage an update without borking somebody's box. If they worried more about quality than piracy or someone running linux on their hardware, they might actually be able to produce a decent product some day.
American justice might be blind, but it know what money smells like. One more reason why we need judicial reform to prevent abuses like this. Of course fighting it wouldn't be worth it, as even if you won, your "winnings" would have only been the ability to continue using the name. Another good example is http://www.nissan.com, where he actually fought and won, at a great price. His name is Nissan, and his computer business and name existed back when the cars were called "Datsun", but they sued anyway. This is another one of those "We are bigger than you, thus more deserving of the domain name than you" cases.
There is an exponential difference between "20 times per second" and "20 instructions per second". I don't know how much headroom this would generate, but I know it would likely be a few million times more than "20 instructions per second".
Except that kissing a girl who smokes is like licking an ashtray.
Who's talking about kissing her? I was talking about having sex, not falling in love. And most single guys will tell you that most of the time, it is better to have sex with a fun girl that smells like an ashtray than to have sex with your own hand.
When I was young, I always found girls that smoke to be more desirable, ie: if she smokes, she pokes. The friend that originally explained this to me (when I was 18) noticed that girls that smoked had lower self-esteem, and girls with lower self-esteem were more likely to "do things" to get your acceptance. This isn't to say that all girls that smoke will have sex with you, it just says the odds are better, and you spend less time looking and more time doing.
So, if you are looking for a WIFE, then avoid smokers, but if you are looking for a good time, then girls that smoke are a better bet.
Corporations (C corps, to be exact) are only taxed on profits that they don't pay out in payroll. So the govt does tax money that isn't paid out as payroll, which is normally the money they use for expansion, to pay for things that can't be written off as tax exempt in the first year, etc. S corps, LLC's, etc. aren't double taxed at all, as ALL profit passes directly to the owners where it is taxed as income.
The problems *is* the tax rate for corps, which is excessively high and enough to prevent reinvestment and encourage going overseas. Of course, as soon as you bring the money back into the US, it is taxed as profits again, but it still has tremendous advantages being able to grow the profits further while paying 1% tax (Bahamas) vs. 35% (US) on undistributed gains.
And I call BS on your BS. *None* of the games I own on Steam are that way. If the last login was successful, you can play for weeks on Steam without an internet connection. I've done it. You can play without an internet connection in "offline mode" on the computer you last logged on from.
Lots of Steam games *are* available as disks you install manually, then you update via steam and never have to insert the CD again. Counter Strike, Orange Box, HL2, etc. all are/were available on plastic wrapped in dead tree. I just bought Bioshock (killer game, particularly for $20), which I could have bought on disk. But granted, for those with limited bandwidth, the platform may not be as advantageous. For the majority of users globally, it is.
Slashdot Mirror
Is talking on the phone really a single task? Is cooking? Surely each of those is made up of countless sub-tasks even if you don't consciously think about them.
If you were just saying random words, then perhaps not. But if you are discussing the new project at work, or what little Johnny did at school, or even about sports, it requires pulling in previous experiences, remembering specific events, drawing conclusions, etc., which are "subroutines" in a single task, communicating. A phone conversation can actually take more brain power than driving down the highway. Think about it, when someone is driving and talking on the phone, it is obvious that the cell phone requires more attention than driving. As for being sub-tasks, all tasks are generally linear subtasks that would qualify as a single task.
Perhaps that is why people tend to stray into the other lane when driving/talking on the cell. A third activity comes in or they have to fork a thought for consideration during the conversation, and they run out of brainpower/memory, so the least important activity (driving) gets swapped out for a second. Humans just need more RAM.
How about that, a computer analog for a car problem, instead of the other way around!
You could do what we did: outsource email for $15 a month (up to 200 clients) to yahoo.com. It works, it uses a familiar interface, it has AV, it has some spam filtering, it uses a web browser so it is usable on all platforms. It isn't perfect, but if email is such a mission critical element, then they need to put more resources into it. Likely, you needs are not that much different than ours (15 people who use email to talk to customers daily). We have been on it for 5 years now, and it is the best 15 bucks a month we have ever spent.
Some of us really LIKE the work we do. Its the people we do it with that we don't like. If I had to do less actual work, and spend more time with the people I do the work with, I would quit.
The fact that you never heard anything doesn't mean much. Go google "class action lawsuit best buy" and filter through the 65 million hits. Its pretty easy to find. There have been countless lawsuits against them for being dishonest in their business practices. Don't take my word for it, it is amazingly easy to verify this.
Many of us old timers wouldn't buy from them if they were selling 1 TB drives for a nickel each.
But everyone knows that is only on the website. Once you go into the store, they use an intranet and tell the customer that the drive isn't listed, so it must not be on sale anymore, then sells them a more expensive one. At least that was the story in the class action suit against Best Buy.
They put up the cameras in North Carolina, but there was a problem: Our state Constitution says that *all* fines collected must be put into the education fund (this would exclude court costs). They installed the cameras, collected a bunch of money, a lawsuit was had, and it was judged that both halves of the funds collected (was a 50/50 split between cities and the company that owned the cameras) must be given to the schools. That means the camera company would have to do it for free, which wasn't going to happen. Since this is a Constitutional mandate and not just a law that was passed, it would require an amendment to change, which wasn't going to happen.
Needless to say, we don't have cameras in NC anymore. I don't think the schools ever got their money either. And yes, they shortened the yellow lights, which means that here in NC, we have crooked politicians, too.
That was pretty damn funny. Actually, if you create a spiritual successor, (or rather a spiritual precursor) perhaps they would just buy it off of you. Then release it 10 years later.
I don't remember making a moral judgement about the guy. I do remember saying that it would likely be viewed in one of two ways, and both sides are arguable. As for elitism and moral authority, I'm an American, and we tend to think that we *do* have just as much of a right to have an opinion as that guy had to spend 84 hours playing a video game. In this instance, I don't really have a strong opinion either way, but I fail to see why having one smacks of elitism.
I sell luxury goods for a living. You are welcome to view that as wasteful or beneficial, as you see fit. It doesn't change anything, but you are welcome to your own opinion. I won't even consider it elitist.
I was referring to MS Windows, but if they did, that would make sense: software engineers can only create updates that work properly if they are sure everyone has a completely different machine....
Grant and Jamie (mythbusters) have done something similar but more difficult, using an RC controller, while in a completely different vehicle. The only problems they have had is losing transmission with the controller, or trying to control a bus with bad steering linkage to begin with. It isn't easy, but they have done just fine, without the benefit of being in the vehicle and having a direct view of what they are controlling.
Thank goodness we allow software and concept patents in the US, else this new advancement in computer optimization might never have been developed. As a bonus, once the patent expires, the method will be in the public domain, so everyone will be free to optimize their code using trial and error.
Now, you say that, but us guys in our 40s have gained one thing: persistence. If needed, I can do whatever it takes, including super long hours, not because my body is better prepared for it than a 25 year old (it isn't) but because my mind is. Older guys tend to be more persistent and willing to get the job done, regardless of the body damage it causes.
Call it "intestinal fortitude" or just hard headedness, but while I don't have the physical stamina I might have had 20 years ago, I can more than make up for it by having a more determined mindset.
Are you trying to say that ALL SysAdmins smoke crack? I know the job has a lot of pressure, but still.
Amen, the first thing I do is toggle out of 3rd person view. And besides, these guys were pretty dorky about it. Too bad, because it looks like they had the exact right setup to test the theory, but they didn't allow any time to adjust to the perspective, which is NOT exactly like a video game. Let them drive the course a few times, and even these dorks could have done it as well as they would have in the game.
In this respect, even Microsoft does a better job. They have to update a more sophisticated operating system that runs on a HUGE variety of systems and processors. Sony knows 100% the exact software and hardware they are updating on, and 100% of the software that will run on the console, yet they can't manage an update without borking somebody's box. If they worried more about quality than piracy or someone running linux on their hardware, they might actually be able to produce a decent product some day.
The question is, is his "a life well spent" or "a life, well, spent".
American justice might be blind, but it know what money smells like. One more reason why we need judicial reform to prevent abuses like this. Of course fighting it wouldn't be worth it, as even if you won, your "winnings" would have only been the ability to continue using the name. Another good example is http://www.nissan.com, where he actually fought and won, at a great price. His name is Nissan, and his computer business and name existed back when the cars were called "Datsun", but they sued anyway. This is another one of those "We are bigger than you, thus more deserving of the domain name than you" cases.
There is an exponential difference between "20 times per second" and "20 instructions per second". I don't know how much headroom this would generate, but I know it would likely be a few million times more than "20 instructions per second".
Except that kissing a girl who smokes is like licking an ashtray.
Who's talking about kissing her? I was talking about having sex, not falling in love. And most single guys will tell you that most of the time, it is better to have sex with a fun girl that smells like an ashtray than to have sex with your own hand.
When I was young, I always found girls that smoke to be more desirable, ie: if she smokes, she pokes. The friend that originally explained this to me (when I was 18) noticed that girls that smoked had lower self-esteem, and girls with lower self-esteem were more likely to "do things" to get your acceptance. This isn't to say that all girls that smoke will have sex with you, it just says the odds are better, and you spend less time looking and more time doing.
So, if you are looking for a WIFE, then avoid smokers, but if you are looking for a good time, then girls that smoke are a better bet.
Corporations (C corps, to be exact) are only taxed on profits that they don't pay out in payroll. So the govt does tax money that isn't paid out as payroll, which is normally the money they use for expansion, to pay for things that can't be written off as tax exempt in the first year, etc. S corps, LLC's, etc. aren't double taxed at all, as ALL profit passes directly to the owners where it is taxed as income.
The problems *is* the tax rate for corps, which is excessively high and enough to prevent reinvestment and encourage going overseas. Of course, as soon as you bring the money back into the US, it is taxed as profits again, but it still has tremendous advantages being able to grow the profits further while paying 1% tax (Bahamas) vs. 35% (US) on undistributed gains.
And I call BS on your BS. *None* of the games I own on Steam are that way. If the last login was successful, you can play for weeks on Steam without an internet connection. I've done it. You can play without an internet connection in "offline mode" on the computer you last logged on from.
Lots of Steam games *are* available as disks you install manually, then you update via steam and never have to insert the CD again. Counter Strike, Orange Box, HL2, etc. all are/were available on plastic wrapped in dead tree. I just bought Bioshock (killer game, particularly for $20), which I could have bought on disk. But granted, for those with limited bandwidth, the platform may not be as advantageous. For the majority of users globally, it is.
On the up side, it only takes one mouse click and a pop up that says "Are you sure you want to get burnt?" to do so.
That's the beauty of it, you don't have to dry clean polyester.