(and how about booting off of USB 2.0 hard drives and cdroms):)
...why, that sounds up to slightly better than* booting off Firewire drives!
...
<span style="font:flyspeck3;"> * Slightly better goodness based on optimal performance levels of VaporTek Hard Drive of Magical Seeking (+5). All Real World data falls somewhere between "disappointing" and "ass-sucky". Results my vary.</span>
Re:Why a social robot?
on
Social Robot?
·
· Score: 2
So it's a neat exercise. Is this really what we want robots to do? Recognizing human emotional states and predicting their responses from facial expressions and actions is one of the things humans do best. Why work at making a robot do it? It would seem to make more sense to design robots to do things that humans are BAD at, rather than having them try to do things we're GOOD at.
Hwah?
Humans, *good* at social interaction?
Sure, we're leading the pack species-wise, but I wouldn't go so far as to call humanity as a whole "good" at social graces.
As proof, I submit any number of individuals employed in the "service" industry. Maybe one out of every ten has -good- social skills, and the primary role of a service person is to interact with the general public!
I much prefer interacting with a cheerful, courteous automaton than with a surly, mumbling automaton, human or robotic...
How to make other developers "suck less"? Good gravy. Part of being a lead developer is leading; if your attitude is "making them suck less", you can expect a bit of a bumpy ride right off the bat!
A good lead developer keeps on top of their team. Review your team's work at least weekly, visit them for a quick chat once or twice a day, offer help/advice at every opportunity, and keep in close communication with the Project Manager/business end of things. The sad truth of the matter is that 20-50% of your time is going to be spent taking care of your team; get used to spending entire days without writing a single line of code on your own. If your developers are under-developed, you're doubly responsible for guiding them as best you can from the very beginning, or pressuring the PM to get them training at earliest convenience (and, in any case, keeping PM informed of the fact that the developers are really lagging and that the project is going to have trouble hitting deadline.)
As for the predicament you're in now, there's not much you can do besides busting your balls to help the developers (yeah, it'd be nice if they came to you, but it's the lead developer's job to go to them,) and talk to the PM about damage control. Look at what has happened, learn from what you can, and make sure not to repeat it on the next job.
Note to editors: Yeesh. This passed as front-page? This is barely readable, much less first-draft quality. Sure, it's an important issue and well worth posting, but at least clean the danged thing up, or send it back to the submitter to do so!
The absolute best solution to this kind of thing has been around for decades, works perfectly, doesn't cost a cent, and causes your day to suddenly seem a couple of hours longer:
Sell your TV.
Try, just try, life without a television. You'd be amazed how little you miss it, and how much other stuff you'll do instead. If you have a significant other, you'll have time to actually spend with that person, instead of sitting on your arse and not looking at each other. If you don't have an SO, you'll drastically increase your chances of finding one. If you're not looking, you'll at least have time to pursue other hobbies, like coding, or cooking, or bungee jumping, or whatever the heck else trips your trigger. Just try it. You may very well love it.
We live in a capitalist society. If you don't like what the businesses are trying to do to you, then stop using their product. What the hell does a federally-mandted broadcast flag matter to you when you don't watch TV?
Re:Gah. I can see it now...
on
Robot Wars
·
· Score: 1
*sigh*.
...would <sarcasm> tags have helped?
Or a nice <blink>THIS POST HAS IT'S TONGUE PLANTED FIRMLY IN IT'S CHEEK</blink> disclaimer, perhaps?
Gah. I can see it now...
on
Robot Wars
·
· Score: 4, Funny
...if this technique could be used with any kind of bird plumage, it would mean that Google is well-positioned to save a great deal of money on hardware...
If only H.L. Mencken or A.J. Liebling were still around to weigh in on the kidnapping stories suffusing our media lately. Alas, they're not. They wouldn't even be able to find work these days.
The real tragedy here is that we've got a pabulum-spouting geek who writes for a news source that can't even be bothered to spell-check headlines implying that H.L. Mencken or A.J. Liebling couldn't fill his shoes.
The name associated with this type of hardware/software shuold be called NAZIWARE.
...
Promote the term. It would be a PR fiasco.
Yeah. Just like the term "tree-huggers" has sooo damaged environmental groups, right? And remember all the flak feminist groups took for that ever-so-clever "Femi-Nazis" quip?
Please.
There are clever, catchy phrases that can seriously damage a group's reputation, and there are trite, sensationalist phrases that make the accusers look like a bunch of freakin' nutjobs.
Which direction do you think the term "Naziware" leans?
If you're going to fight this battle from a PR angle, at least try to come up with something slightly more clever than "Naziware".
Why do we jump to have the government certify our electronic devices, standards, and protocols? Why can't we merely rely on the private sector to develop sound products? Why don't we fight for LESS government and LESS government intervention? How much control over your daily lives do you want the government to have?
Many Slashdot readers are "liberal" or "left-leaning" and are opposed to the War on Drugs and drug laws in general. If you don't like the government telling you what you can and cannot put in your body, why are you so eager to have the government tell you what it thinks the best and worst products are? Let the private sector handle this.
An excellent point, my "conservative" or "right-leaning" friend!
Besides, I don't want such important things left up to some government agency that could disappear from the face of the planet in an instant--no, thank you, I'll take private enterprise any day. They're really looking out for what's best for me.
...perhaps we should look to Europe for examples of how to do things properly...
Extremest speech is defined as (among other things) anything that threatens the "safety" of Russia. Penalties are not strictly limited. This thing looks lie a total mess. At least they removed the provision that required foreigners to comply with the law. (Now wouldn't *that* make you reconsider your vacation to Russia?)
...at the very least, it should make you reconsider your trip there to present your company's latest reader software...
Perhaps I'm too much of a purist, but I've always seen the internet as an ever-changing medium, not a permanent one. Archives have bothered me ever since the fledgling days of DejaNews.
I'd say it makes you more of a control freak than a purist, personally.
Seriously, how did you ever get it into your head that a medium that serves documents to the general public on demand would be somehow exempt from archiving?
Would it bother you of John Q. Savant could recite the contents of your web pages from memory ten years after you'd taken it down?
Would it bother you to learn that stock prices, perhaps the most "ever-changing" thing out there, are permanently archived by a variety of services?
Or are you just jittery at the thought that your spouse/boss/Friendly Neighborhood Representative of The Man/kids may be able to someday look at the shite you plastered all over the web in your younger days? ("Ech, that stupid Netscape 2 animated title hack--honey, you actually -did- that?")
if its durable ernough (there are moving parts) i can see this being used by ther military since they would obviously last through an EMP blast. perfect for high density long term archiving.
...unlike optical media, which would obviously not last through...
Wait. Nevermind.
Somebody's been playing waaay too much Starcraft. The only way of generating an EMP Blast of any appreciable size or strength carries with it some other pesky side effects, as well. That, and if such an EMP blast is ever generated, well, it'll take us a while to lament the loss of long-term digital archives...
...but I guess it's little more than sticking my head in the sand by saying that The Terrorists (tm) will never get their hadns on EMP technology...after all, it only takes 100 energy units...
Wow. A small group of dedicated individuals fights the Telcoms, wins, and gets their own homebrew DSP ISP up and running.
Slashdot comes along, posts the story, and within seconds they're/.ed into oblivion.
Now isn't that just the nicest way to start off your small CO-OP ISP--a deluge of traffic from marginally interested geeks who'll forget all about you in 48 hours.
Editors et al, are you even considering the impact you have on these sites? You'll forgive me for being cynical, but the reasons you give for not caching smacks of "don't want to deal with it" rather than "genuinely concerned about the effect we have". (Wait six hours for breaking news? Heaven forfend...)
Slashdot, you're like a bad concert. You come into town unannounced, make downtown completely inaccessible for a day, and leave the next morning without so much as packing out your mess. Take some responsability for the social impact of the Slashdot Effect. Pursue a solution. It is important.
Slashdot Mirror
Damn, Bruce. Now I really want to know what you had planned for your anti-DMCA presentation...
<span style="font:flyspeck3;"> * Slightly better goodness based on optimal performance levels of VaporTek Hard Drive of Magical Seeking (+5). All Real World data falls somewhere between "disappointing" and "ass-sucky". Results my vary.</span>
Hwah?
Humans, *good* at social interaction?
Sure, we're leading the pack species-wise, but I wouldn't go so far as to call humanity as a whole "good" at social graces.
As proof, I submit any number of individuals employed in the "service" industry. Maybe one out of every ten has -good- social skills, and the primary role of a service person is to interact with the general public!
I much prefer interacting with a cheerful, courteous automaton than with a surly, mumbling automaton, human or robotic...
A good lead developer keeps on top of their team. Review your team's work at least weekly, visit them for a quick chat once or twice a day, offer help/advice at every opportunity, and keep in close communication with the Project Manager/business end of things. The sad truth of the matter is that 20-50% of your time is going to be spent taking care of your team; get used to spending entire days without writing a single line of code on your own. If your developers are under-developed, you're doubly responsible for guiding them as best you can from the very beginning, or pressuring the PM to get them training at earliest convenience (and, in any case, keeping PM informed of the fact that the developers are really lagging and that the project is going to have trouble hitting deadline.)
As for the predicament you're in now, there's not much you can do besides busting your balls to help the developers (yeah, it'd be nice if they came to you, but it's the lead developer's job to go to them,) and talk to the PM about damage control. Look at what has happened, learn from what you can, and make sure not to repeat it on the next job.
Note to editors: Yeesh. This passed as front-page? This is barely readable, much less first-draft quality. Sure, it's an important issue and well worth posting, but at least clean the danged thing up, or send it back to the submitter to do so!
Sell your TV.
Try, just try, life without a television. You'd be amazed how little you miss it, and how much other stuff you'll do instead. If you have a significant other, you'll have time to actually spend with that person, instead of sitting on your arse and not looking at each other. If you don't have an SO, you'll drastically increase your chances of finding one. If you're not looking, you'll at least have time to pursue other hobbies, like coding, or cooking, or bungee jumping, or whatever the heck else trips your trigger. Just try it. You may very well love it.
We live in a capitalist society. If you don't like what the businesses are trying to do to you, then stop using their product. What the hell does a federally-mandted broadcast flag matter to you when you don't watch TV?
Or a nice <blink>THIS POST HAS IT'S TONGUE PLANTED FIRMLY IN IT'S CHEEK</blink> disclaimer, perhaps?
if (target.headgear == "turban")
{
FireDeathRay();
} else {
GlowerMenacingly();
}
Five nines uptime is cheap and easy. It all boils down to where you put the decimal point.
I suppose that it really is too much to ask. Editors to perform the most basic. Submission proofing.
...if this technique could be used with any kind of bird plumage, it would mean that Google is well-positioned to save a great deal of money on hardware...
The real tragedy here is that we've got a pabulum-spouting geek who writes for a news source that can't even be bothered to spell-check headlines implying that H.L. Mencken or A.J. Liebling couldn't fill his shoes.
That makes me sad.
...
Promote the term. It would be a PR fiasco.
Yeah. Just like the term "tree-huggers" has sooo damaged environmental groups, right? And remember all the flak feminist groups took for that ever-so-clever "Femi-Nazis" quip?
Please.
There are clever, catchy phrases that can seriously damage a group's reputation, and there are trite, sensationalist phrases that make the accusers look like a bunch of freakin' nutjobs.
Which direction do you think the term "Naziware" leans?
If you're going to fight this battle from a PR angle, at least try to come up with something slightly more clever than "Naziware".
What do you plan to do the day after the launch?
Huh. Keep your eyes open for "Entwhistle the White", I guess...
All in good fun,
AAiP
Many Slashdot readers are "liberal" or "left-leaning" and are opposed to the War on Drugs and drug laws in general. If you don't like the government telling you what you can and cannot put in your body, why are you so eager to have the government tell you what it thinks the best and worst products are? Let the private sector handle this.
An excellent point, my "conservative" or "right-leaning" friend!
I, for one, trust the private sector to make important standards decisions in a just and unbiased manner. I know that can count on private enterprise to interact with the public an an open and honest fashion, and think that your average board of directors has a much better handle on what's going on with their company than some hare-brained committee of bureaucrats has over some bloated, complex government scheme.
Besides, I don't want such important things left up to some government agency that could disappear from the face of the planet in an instant--no, thank you, I'll take private enterprise any day. They're really looking out for what's best for me.
Pot(Kettle(black));
Why, the surface, of course.
I'd say it makes you more of a control freak than a purist, personally.
Seriously, how did you ever get it into your head that a medium that serves documents to the general public on demand would be somehow exempt from archiving?
Would it bother you of John Q. Savant could recite the contents of your web pages from memory ten years after you'd taken it down?
Would it bother you to learn that stock prices, perhaps the most "ever-changing" thing out there, are permanently archived by a variety of services?
Or are you just jittery at the thought that your spouse/boss/Friendly Neighborhood Representative of The Man/kids may be able to someday look at the shite you plastered all over the web in your younger days? ("Ech, that stupid Netscape 2 animated title hack--honey, you actually -did- that?")
Wait. Nevermind.
Somebody's been playing waaay too much Starcraft. The only way of generating an EMP Blast of any appreciable size or strength carries with it some other pesky side effects, as well. That, and if such an EMP blast is ever generated, well, it'll take us a while to lament the loss of long-term digital archives...
My guess? They'll blame Robert Morris. That's just wild conjecture, though...
(Yes, yes, shameless self-linking. So sue me.)
<stonecutter>We do! We do!</stonecutter>
Slashdot comes along, posts the story, and within seconds they're /.ed into oblivion.
Now isn't that just the nicest way to start off your small CO-OP ISP--a deluge of traffic from marginally interested geeks who'll forget all about you in 48 hours.
Editors et al, are you even considering the impact you have on these sites? You'll forgive me for being cynical, but the reasons you give for not caching smacks of "don't want to deal with it" rather than "genuinely concerned about the effect we have". (Wait six hours for breaking news? Heaven forfend...)
Slashdot, you're like a bad concert. You come into town unannounced, make downtown completely inaccessible for a day, and leave the next morning without so much as packing out your mess. Take some responsability for the social impact of the Slashdot Effect. Pursue a solution. It is important.