manned space technology should be our #1 priority.
Is space technology more important than feeding the poor? Curing cancer and AIDS? Switching to renewable energy sources? World-fracking-peace?
Lets first get our stuff together on this rock before we go out and spread the blessings of humanity to other rocks. Who knows, we might even become worth saving.
I can also see Grid Computing being used also for computer animations where the time to render animations would be greatly reduced, and allowing movies, and shows to be released much faster than before.
I'm afraid that that will take quite some time to realize. Rendering CG, besides taking a lot of processing time, also requires enormous amounts of data, which restricts the rendering to render farms, the data being pumped over a high-speed LAN.
Actually the amount of problems solvable by using Grid Computing over the internet isn't very high. You need computationally-intensive problems that can be easily parallized, besides requiring limited amounts of data. There's little point in distributing a problem if it takes longer to distribute the data than that you gain by using multiple nodes.
Sorry to rain on your damn-the-media parade, but these exact claims were made by the company, presentations and all. In this case the media really wasn't hyping anything, the examples D-wave showed during their presentation however did seem more like a PR-stunt than scientific research. Could be wrong though, IANAQCS.
It might be a killer application if Wikipedia wouldn't be accessible via any other means, however even then people would have to actively install FreeNet in order to view it. How many people would be willing to do so? It's a big internet, people would simply revert to other websites.
I think P2P-distribution would work if it was server-side only. Something like Globule, where the clients can still access the same website without having to download/install anything. P2P-distribution is done between server-nodes. Setting up such a node would be vastly easier than mirroring Wikipedia and using DNS to load-balance, so more people would chip in.
What is amazing (to me) is that so many slashdotters are still defending Google practices (just like they did when Google did China's bidding). If Microsoft did the same thing we'd be all over them.
Wake-up call fanboys: big corporations, big profit. Moral and ethics has nothing to do with it, as long as the shareholders remain happy.
Interesting thoughts, and I agree with you: software development isn't being taught (well). The problem as I see it is that the mediocre developers get their degrees and leave for a company. Like you did, very few of those actually get to grips with proper software development. Unfortunately, the people ending up teaching software development have even less affinity and experience with software development than your average programmer.
After having completed an AI degree and wrapping up a CS degree with a pinch of software development beside my own consultancy company, all I can say about SD is: those who can't, teach.
There's a whole generation of well-paid people rather older than you who never had any formal computer training but got their feet wet in exactly this kind of way.
The problem is that now there are many people on the market that do have a CS degree. Which do you think HR will look at first: someone with a degree or someone with experience in some Unix-blabla? That's how a non-techie will look at your resume.
Naturally it all boils down to what you want to achieve. Experience in open-source projects does help (I've landed a few jobs this way myself), but be aware that you'll need quite a reputation if you want to throw it on solely FLOSS-experience.
Also note that you don't learn C if you do CS: you learn Computer Science. That means theoretical background, algorithms, the ability to switch to different programming languages without starting back from square 1. Sure you can learn C by yourself, however what if there are only Java, PHP or C# jobs on the market? Learn to be flexible.
There is little of R&D and added value in Dell products. After all, building a PCs and pre-installing HDD with useless crap is not rocket science.
But Dell isn't after rocket science, its goal isn't to do R&D. Just like Walmart isn't going to offer top-cuisine, Dell isn't going to improve the computer. What made Dell big is selling computers dirt-cheap via the internet. Many people simply don't even look around to find a better deal, if they need a PC they go to Dell.
My take is that the bloatware that is Vista will boost Dell's sales considerably. Lots of people simply buy a new PC instead of upgrading their old one, as much as I find that a waste of cash and a perfectly good PC.
Indeed. I'm off to Serre-Chevalier myself on Friday, with 90cm/25cm it isn't perfect. Even so, most of the slopes are open and they're expecting a bit of snow over the next few days, so it'll be okay. GP is a bit alarmist.
Happy boarding! Besides, if it turns out bad we can always go to Norway next year...
A location-based wiki (wikipedia, wikitravel) would be pretty neat. Travel to a city, walk around while having access to short descriptions of monuments. Figure out which restaurants are good by walking up to them and reading a few reviews.
Of course, abuse would be just as easy as messing up a wiki page, but that hasn't stopped their popularity either.
I don't see why this would have to be tied into an OS though, and it would make more sense for phones than laptops. Once we have cheap unlimited GPRS/UMTS connections, that is.
Not sure if declassified documents have already been placed online for the FBI or NSA, but the FBI, NSA and CIA FOIA sites might be good places to start. The CIA does have a few new documents online. Pick your favorite incident and happy hunting!
Just bought an LCD
on
Plasma or LCD?
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
A few days ago I bought a new LCD TV to replace my decades-old CRT TV. Why didn't I go for Plasma?
Screen burn - Plasmas are known to 'burn in' after a few years. This is especially the case with static images, and I want to use my TV as an additional computer screen (gaming, movies etc)
Longetivity - This LCD should last me another 20 years. Plasmas have been known to fail in less than 5
Power usage - I don't want to pay 50 euros/month just to have my TV on. LCDs use less energy than CRT, which use less energy than Plasma.
The only pro's for Plasmas would be the 'warmer colors' and the larger screens. But I really don't need a 1.5m screen and if I want to be warmer I'll turn up the heating.
I'm no expert, but this was what I learned after searching the net and going around to a number of TV stores.
3) the non-existent security regarding JS code; anyone can see it.
Repeat after me: Obscurity is not the same as Security
If you are sending information to the browser that you don't want to be known, then you're doing something wrong. This is the case for JS, as well as for AJAX, Flash or Java applets. Or client-side code in general.
Seriously, I've seen students faces turn white when I mention that I could log into and mess up their remote SQL database, thanks to them putting their (administrator!) username/password combinations in client-side Java bytecode. They would then try to obscure their passwords somehow, which leads to an arms-race with other teams trying to break in. Security can be loads of fun!
Pygame and SDL are integrated, just like XNA is an extension of DirectX (and then some)
No, I think what you want is simply impossible. Reading on for a bit more about XNA left me the idea that the whole point is to lock in developers. We're going to have to roll up our sleves if we want both Python and XNA-like features.
methinks Microsoft is pumping up the marketing on this one. XNA seems to be a combination of previously-separated technologies (DirectX, IDE), and integration (if you like it or not) is one of Microsoft's strongpoints IMHO.
As the target of XNA seems to be both the professional and the home-brew-market, can the Free Software camp beat this? Well, we already have quite a few game libraries, heaps of engines and a number of IDEs. I'm not aware of any FOSS-'game asset pipeline management tools', and targetting consoles (outside of the Linux-on-the-* projects) has always been something for the big players due to licensing fees.
What is interesting is their idea of having various 'starter kits' for certain types of games (FPS, RTS, platform), all using a common framework. Using them you could quickly get nice results. Is anyone aware of similar FOSS-projects? Might be interesting to build something similar on top of pygame.
Remember that these are kids. More than enough time to learn the nitty-gritty malloc-details or pointer arithmetic. Programming should be fun in order to capture their attention.
I agree with the OP, C would be a terrible choice for first-time programmers IMHO. You need to keep them motivated, and that works best when the reward-to-effort ratio is high. Python would be a great choice: learn them the basics (forced indenting! \o/), and introduce them to stuff like pygame which allow nice results with very little code. At the end of the semester they would be able to make small stand-alone games. Kids like flashy things.
For a follow-up course, you could choose to go C/C++. But it would only be of use to those who will eventually get a CS/EE degree, which already (should) have enough courses on C.
The geek in me wants next-gen, 3D HDMI-enabled toys. However, yesterday the misses and I pulled out Super Mario 3 for an evening of retro-gaming, and it was a blast. Great graphics, 3D gaming on a HDTV are great to impress your friends, but this dinosaur craves for the simple fun games you can play together for a few hours and be done with them.
Although I'm skeptical about it, they claim that hydrogen is merely a ploy of the energy/car industry: hydrogen wouldn't work and would be much more costly (both in fuel and replacement parts) than simply stuffing a car full with batteries. Don't forget your tinfoil hat.
JESUS H. CHRIST jumping a barbed wire fence, Slash editors. Who's letting these submissions across the wire? While slash is not a world-class journal or trade rag, it ought tot
Welcome, you must be new here!
They actually did say that, but you could claim the slashdot post was misquoted: "Recommendation: Do not open or save Word files that you receive from un-trusted or that are received unexpected from trusted sources. This vulnerability could be exploited when a user opens a file."
Slashdot Mirror
Is space technology more important than feeding the poor? Curing cancer and AIDS? Switching to renewable energy sources? World-fracking-peace?
Lets first get our stuff together on this rock before we go out and spread the blessings of humanity to other rocks. Who knows, we might even become worth saving.
I'm afraid that that will take quite some time to realize. Rendering CG, besides taking a lot of processing time, also requires enormous amounts of data, which restricts the rendering to render farms, the data being pumped over a high-speed LAN.
Actually the amount of problems solvable by using Grid Computing over the internet isn't very high. You need computationally-intensive problems that can be easily parallized, besides requiring limited amounts of data. There's little point in distributing a problem if it takes longer to distribute the data than that you gain by using multiple nodes.
Anything for the VC.
It might be a killer application if Wikipedia wouldn't be accessible via any other means, however even then people would have to actively install FreeNet in order to view it. How many people would be willing to do so? It's a big internet, people would simply revert to other websites.
I think P2P-distribution would work if it was server-side only. Something like Globule, where the clients can still access the same website without having to download/install anything. P2P-distribution is done between server-nodes. Setting up such a node would be vastly easier than mirroring Wikipedia and using DNS to load-balance, so more people would chip in.
Anyway, just my two cents.
Wake-up call fanboys: big corporations, big profit. Moral and ethics has nothing to do with it, as long as the shareholders remain happy.
After having completed an AI degree and wrapping up a CS degree with a pinch of software development beside my own consultancy company, all I can say about SD is: those who can't, teach.
Naturally it all boils down to what you want to achieve. Experience in open-source projects does help (I've landed a few jobs this way myself), but be aware that you'll need quite a reputation if you want to throw it on solely FLOSS-experience.
Also note that you don't learn C if you do CS: you learn Computer Science. That means theoretical background, algorithms, the ability to switch to different programming languages without starting back from square 1. Sure you can learn C by yourself, however what if there are only Java, PHP or C# jobs on the market? Learn to be flexible.
My take is that the bloatware that is Vista will boost Dell's sales considerably. Lots of people simply buy a new PC instead of upgrading their old one, as much as I find that a waste of cash and a perfectly good PC.
Klik is more-or-less what you're asking for. I also suspect that it is one of the reasons why CNR is going multi-distro...
Thanks for the info, glad you had a good time!
Happy boarding! Besides, if it turns out bad we can always go to Norway next year...
Of course, abuse would be just as easy as messing up a wiki page, but that hasn't stopped their popularity either.
I don't see why this would have to be tied into an OS though, and it would make more sense for phones than laptops. Once we have cheap unlimited GPRS/UMTS connections, that is.
Not sure if declassified documents have already been placed online for the FBI or NSA, but the FBI, NSA and CIA FOIA sites might be good places to start. The CIA does have a few new documents online. Pick your favorite incident and happy hunting!
- Screen burn - Plasmas are known to 'burn in' after a few years. This is especially the case with static images, and I want to use my TV as an additional computer screen (gaming, movies etc)
- Longetivity - This LCD should last me another 20 years. Plasmas have been known to fail in less than 5
- Power usage - I don't want to pay 50 euros/month just to have my TV on. LCDs use less energy than CRT, which use less energy than Plasma.
The only pro's for Plasmas would be the 'warmer colors' and the larger screens. But I really don't need a 1.5m screen and if I want to be warmer I'll turn up the heating.I'm no expert, but this was what I learned after searching the net and going around to a number of TV stores.
If you are sending information to the browser that you don't want to be known, then you're doing something wrong. This is the case for JS, as well as for AJAX, Flash or Java applets. Or client-side code in general.
Seriously, I've seen students faces turn white when I mention that I could log into and mess up their remote SQL database, thanks to them putting their (administrator!) username/password combinations in client-side Java bytecode. They would then try to obscure their passwords somehow, which leads to an arms-race with other teams trying to break in. Security can be loads of fun!
Trac is what we use for network, backup and project-documentation. And bugtracking. And for browsing through our projects' code. "It just works (tm)".
Great tip, thanks!
No, I think what you want is simply impossible. Reading on for a bit more about XNA left me the idea that the whole point is to lock in developers. We're going to have to roll up our sleves if we want both Python and XNA-like features.
As the target of XNA seems to be both the professional and the home-brew-market, can the Free Software camp beat this? Well, we already have quite a few game libraries, heaps of engines and a number of IDEs. I'm not aware of any FOSS-'game asset pipeline management tools', and targetting consoles (outside of the Linux-on-the-* projects) has always been something for the big players due to licensing fees.
What is interesting is their idea of having various 'starter kits' for certain types of games (FPS, RTS, platform), all using a common framework. Using them you could quickly get nice results. Is anyone aware of similar FOSS-projects? Might be interesting to build something similar on top of pygame.
I agree with the OP, C would be a terrible choice for first-time programmers IMHO. You need to keep them motivated, and that works best when the reward-to-effort ratio is high. Python would be a great choice: learn them the basics (forced indenting! \o/), and introduce them to stuff like pygame which allow nice results with very little code. At the end of the semester they would be able to make small stand-alone games. Kids like flashy things.
For a follow-up course, you could choose to go C/C++. But it would only be of use to those who will eventually get a CS/EE degree, which already (should) have enough courses on C.
Do games have to be 'next-gen' to be fun?
The geek in me wants next-gen, 3D HDMI-enabled toys. However, yesterday the misses and I pulled out Super Mario 3 for an evening of retro-gaming, and it was a blast. Great graphics, 3D gaming on a HDTV are great to impress your friends, but this dinosaur craves for the simple fun games you can play together for a few hours and be done with them.
Now get off my lawn!
Seriously. If you haven't already watched Who Killed the Electric Car?, you should.
Although I'm skeptical about it, they claim that hydrogen is merely a ploy of the energy/car industry: hydrogen wouldn't work and would be much more costly (both in fuel and replacement parts) than simply stuffing a car full with batteries. Don't forget your tinfoil hat.
... from my cold dead hands.
They actually did say that, but you could claim the slashdot post was misquoted: "Recommendation: Do not open or save Word files that you receive from un-trusted or that are received unexpected from trusted sources. This vulnerability could be exploited when a user opens a file."
I know this is slashdot, but RTFA.
<Burns-mode>Excellent...</Burns-mode>
I'd say game _prices_ are crazy.