Yes, many Taiwanese companies have a subsidiary in China. And as China steadily opens up, so will just about every other developed nation in the world! So? Are you claiming that China is going to build a beowulf cluster to crack all the passwords and take over the world? C'mon!
I think this attitude that China, by having access to computer hardware, is a major threat is downright crazy. The RSA keys aren't there are protect the West from China! That's the kind of FUD that is endangering the West itself.
Further, i do not argue that the 'reputable' news sources you mentioned are reputable. But that's just what they are: reputable. Don't take everything you read as the gospel, there are ALWAYS biases and opinions in any news media.
People, wake up! This isn't the 70's and hell, if anything, I'm feeling that the the States is becoming more and more commie and that China, OTOH, is running towards a more capitalistic economy!
To an extent, that's true. I have a Geforce FX5200 and i can still play Doom 3 (of course, not at the highest setting). But c'mon, nobody ever said the latest and greatest graphics card is a necessity.
OTOH, I used to have a TNT2 and palyed Warcraft III on it. It ran rather smoothly, and I thought all was good. Until I upgraded to the Geforce FX5200. The difference was pleasantly surprising. Hell, even the text in the chat-screen was so much more cripser and clearer.
So I guess for most users, it really isn't that big of a deal to get the latest card. But when you're gaming, it makes all the difference. Truly, how many of us do intensive graphics programming as a hobby anyway? They have specialized cards for professional use (CAD, etc..)...
That's true, as I said earlier, tools don't make the artist. However, the point of the poster was that he could not afford an artist. And in our competitive marketplace now, it doesn't seem to out-of-reason to try to hone more than one skill.
But then again, the graphical needs of said project do not seem 'intensive' so Photoshop and Maya definitely seem like overkill for simple development projects (icons and sprites?! only if Photoshop is for free!....)
Actually, that's interesting. It's like the chicken and the egg problem. Graphic tools can only become profitable if enough people use them (PHotoshop being an almost de facto standard in the graphics world). However, the learning curve for these programs are so high and they are so expensive that it seems hardly likely for them to start off.
It's kind of like Microsoft's penetration due to software piracy..
In any case, we aren't discussing tools, but computer art. Tools don't make the artist. Practice, patience and passion do, as some famous person once said.
Personally, I find any tutorial online a very weak foundation to build on. They teach you specific tricks but nothing about being 'artistic'.
Better would be for you to play around with the different tools. Experiment and keep the results, they might come in handy. And it's best not to start on the computer. Do a hand drawing of what you have in mind.
I heard this quote from my prof. once: "Laborers work with their hands, Crasftmen work with their brain, Artists work with their heart."
I would like to re-emphasize that laying out Access points to cover a wide area is much cheaper than laying landlines across thousands of kilometers. In large developing countries in particular (China, perhaps some parts of russia as well), it is simply cheaper to set up access points along a route. From the point of view of a new development project, starting from scratch, a landline has no observable advantages. Cellphone reliability has been steadily improving and I hardly experience disconnections, even in elevators. Further, with the merging of cellphones/PDA's, we will being to see many more applications.
Furthermore, I would like to emphasize that China today is a completely different universe from a decade ago. Press freedom is slightly more open, accountability of the higher officials is steadily improving and the GDP groowth has been unbelievably fast.
It's seriously a kinda American thing, to think that China is still a backwater 3rd world country. Although it is officially Communist, nobody really lives that way. There are so many private enterprises and foreign investment that it's no surprise China is a "world manufacturer".
I know this is meant to be funny, but on a serious note, it's probably NOT a good thing for people to think P2P is on the decline. i) It would mean less people would join the P2P community, which means less sources and less content for sharing. ii) RIAA et co. may just think that their heavy-handed tactics are working and step-up their efforts.
If anything, we WANT everyone to know that P2P is alive and kicking and there's no way of stopping the revolution.
A lot of users that I come into contact with seem to have a false sense of security. They seem to think that if they have an antivirus software, then their computer would become immune... But I think more needs to be done to educate the public that security isn't any single software/component, but rather, a process.. From passwords, to firewalls, to antivirus, to spyware, there are many parts to it.
I think it's unfair to blame the OS solely. Application developers need to be aware of bugs and potential problems. No matter how hard you idiot proof a system, they will build a better idiot, as the saying goes.
How come the NSA only publishes guidelines for the MacOS? Actually, I think that with the recent onslaught of network vulnerabilities, government organizations would do well to educate the public more about security.
In fact, where I live (Hong Kong), the government had a radio show where there would be a quick tip about securing your machine. Obviously, the focus was on Windoze, but anything that elevates the awareness of the general public to computer security is a good thing.
Well, actually, I have a fx5200 and can play the game at a reasonable fps. Without monsters, it reachers 60fps... I don't recall the fps for tight situations with lots of aliens, coz I'm usually too busy pissing my pants.... LOL =] But it hasn't reached being 'unplayable' at all... I have a P-4 2.4GHz and 1.5GB RAM at DDR-400.
Now isn't this like the copy-protection mechanism of the Blizzard games? Diablo II / WarCraft III ??
Incidentally, I think this kind of copy protection really has its merits. I had a fakey version of WarIII, but nonetheless, the lure of multiplayer made me buy the retail version anyhow.
Slashdot Mirror
Couldn't help it, but when I was skimming the headlines in Slashdot, I read "Linux in Robots, Windows in Headaches."
Yes, many Taiwanese companies have a subsidiary in China. And as China steadily opens up, so will just about every other developed nation in the world! So? Are you claiming that China is going to build a beowulf cluster to crack all the passwords and take over the world? C'mon!
I think this attitude that China, by having access to computer hardware, is a major threat is downright crazy. The RSA keys aren't there are protect the West from China! That's the kind of FUD that is endangering the West itself.
Further, i do not argue that the 'reputable' news sources you mentioned are reputable. But that's just what they are: reputable. Don't take everything you read as the gospel, there are ALWAYS biases and opinions in any news media.
People, wake up! This isn't the 70's and hell, if anything, I'm feeling that the the States is becoming more and more commie and that China, OTOH, is running towards a more capitalistic economy!
For business majors at my university, they have a compulsory course called "Business Ethics."
I've always wondered, and this article confirms, that 'business ethics' is probably the widest used oxymoron.
To an extent, that's true. I have a Geforce FX5200 and i can still play Doom 3 (of course, not at the highest setting). But c'mon, nobody ever said the latest and greatest graphics card is a necessity.
OTOH, I used to have a TNT2 and palyed Warcraft III on it. It ran rather smoothly, and I thought all was good. Until I upgraded to the Geforce FX5200. The difference was pleasantly surprising. Hell, even the text in the chat-screen was so much more cripser and clearer.
So I guess for most users, it really isn't that big of a deal to get the latest card. But when you're gaming, it makes all the difference. Truly, how many of us do intensive graphics programming as a hobby anyway? They have specialized cards for professional use (CAD, etc..)...
That's true, as I said earlier, tools don't make the artist.
However, the point of the poster was that he could not afford an artist. And in our competitive marketplace now, it doesn't seem to out-of-reason to try to hone more than one skill.
But then again, the graphical needs of said project do not seem 'intensive' so Photoshop and Maya definitely seem like overkill for simple development projects (icons and sprites?! only if Photoshop is for free!....)
Actually, that's interesting. It's like the chicken and the egg problem. Graphic tools can only become profitable if enough people use them (PHotoshop being an almost de facto standard in the graphics world). However, the learning curve for these programs are so high and they are so expensive that it seems hardly likely for them to start off.
It's kind of like Microsoft's penetration due to software piracy..
In any case, we aren't discussing tools, but computer art. Tools don't make the artist. Practice, patience and passion do, as some famous person once said.
Personally, I find any tutorial online a very weak foundation to build on. They teach you specific tricks but nothing about being 'artistic'.
Better would be for you to play around with the different tools. Experiment and keep the results, they might come in handy. And it's best not to start on the computer. Do a hand drawing of what you have in mind.
I heard this quote from my prof. once:
"Laborers work with their hands,
Crasftmen work with their brain,
Artists work with their heart."
m2c
I would like to re-emphasize that laying out Access points to cover a wide area is much cheaper than laying landlines across thousands of kilometers. In large developing countries in particular (China, perhaps some parts of russia as well), it is simply cheaper to set up access points along a route. From the point of view of a new development project, starting from scratch, a landline has no observable advantages. Cellphone reliability has been steadily improving and I hardly experience disconnections, even in elevators. Further, with the merging of cellphones/PDA's, we will being to see many more applications.
Furthermore, I would like to emphasize that China today is a completely different universe from a decade ago. Press freedom is slightly more open, accountability of the higher officials is steadily improving and the GDP groowth has been unbelievably fast.
It's seriously a kinda American thing, to think that China is still a backwater 3rd world country. Although it is officially Communist, nobody really lives that way. There are so many private enterprises and foreign investment that it's no surprise China is a "world manufacturer".
I know this is meant to be funny, but on a serious note, it's probably NOT a good thing for people to think P2P is on the decline.
i) It would mean less people would join the P2P community, which means less sources and less content for sharing.
ii) RIAA et co. may just think that their heavy-handed tactics are working and step-up their efforts.
If anything, we WANT everyone to know that P2P is alive and kicking and there's no way of stopping the revolution.
A lot of users that I come into contact with seem to have a false sense of security. They seem to think that if they have an antivirus software, then their computer would become immune...
But I think more needs to be done to educate the public that security isn't any single software/component, but rather, a process.. From passwords, to firewalls, to antivirus, to spyware, there are many parts to it.
I think it's unfair to blame the OS solely. Application developers need to be aware of bugs and potential problems. No matter how hard you idiot proof a system, they will build a better idiot, as the saying goes.
How come the NSA only publishes guidelines for the MacOS? Actually, I think that with the recent onslaught of network vulnerabilities, government organizations would do well to educate the public more about security.
In fact, where I live (Hong Kong), the government had a radio show where there would be a quick tip about securing your machine. Obviously, the focus was on Windoze, but anything that elevates the awareness of the general public to computer security is a good thing.
Well, actually, I have a fx5200 and can play the game at a reasonable fps. Without monsters, it reachers 60fps... I don't recall the fps for tight situations with lots of aliens, coz I'm usually too busy pissing my pants.... LOL =] But it hasn't reached being 'unplayable' at all... I have a P-4 2.4GHz and 1.5GB RAM at DDR-400.
Now isn't this like the copy-protection mechanism of the Blizzard games? Diablo II / WarCraft III ??
Incidentally, I think this kind of copy protection really has its merits. I had a fakey version of WarIII, but nonetheless, the lure of multiplayer made me buy the retail version anyhow.
Just m2c.