I suppose the answer to your question is that everyone wants a sort of X terminal on steroids application with a genuinely write once run anywhere VM (That is, with absolutely NO platform specific extensions allowed for any reason)
Did we not have exactly that, about ten years ago? (Or at least pretty close to it.) IIRC it's called a "Java VM inside the browser"... I know that applets at the time were spectacularly ugly, and that performance was not great, but those were problems that just need a little time to work out.
Oh well, Microsoft pissed in that particular soup, didn't they?
Actually you've completey missed Doctorow's point. (Didn't RTFA, did we?:)
The crappy little 450x300-pixel, lossy-compressed-format, lousy audio version would be free and on the 'net. But if you enjoyed the storyline, you might well be willing to pay something to watch it on a big-screen in 7-channel. Or to buy a high-def limited-edition DVD that comes with a bunch of (physical) other stuff. Or perhaps you'd pay serious money to attend a local premier where some of the stars and technical people attend, together with dinner afterwards and a DVD-signing.
It's not about the content. It's about the differing values that people derive from these various format. The "premier, dinner, signing" thing is about being able to say to your friends, "I was there!" (Presumably they'd be impressed by that.)
It's about the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.
To my mind, one of the most interesting and absorbing was "Wooden Ships and Iron Men" which consisted of sailing/commanding one of a number of classes of sailing ships in combat. The game had plenty of detail (not as much as Nethack, though!) like different weapons, ammunition, and lots of fickle weather to screw up your carefully-planned strategy. It was only multi-player; there were no AI-players (at least in the version I played.) All this was in the mid- to late-80's.
And management thought we were hard at work on our terminals...
Sounds like this person has a deeply vested interest. I would guess that the real problem with open-source software is that it's free (as in "beer"!) so no chance to cash-in by playing favourites.
Find out where the kickbacks are coming from and blow the whistle.
The fact is that the last serious efforts to measure the Earth's magnetic field in the South Atlantic were terminated in the mid-1980's when the British government pulled the funding for their geomagnetic programme in the South Atlantic. Everything that's been speculated upon since then is postulated on their measurements of rapid ans significant weakening of the magnetic field in the South Atlantic... but nobody's been watching since the mid-80's.
So we don't really know.
Last time anybody bothered to look, there was a local North Pole in the South Atlantic. But that was 25 years ago. And nobody can be bothered to fund looking again.
Never mind that any significant change in the Earth's magnetic field will have serious impact on the Van Allen belts and therefore on minor shit like communication satellites, space stations and the ionosphere...
I'm pretty sure I di get that email. Very pleasant sound message.
"Your packets have recently been sighted in Langley, VA. We value your loyal custom so esteemedly. According you have won our GRAND PRIZE of $250000000000...."
Now I just have to figure out how to get them that $1000 processing fee and I'll be set for life!
There is virtually zero chance the LHC will produce micro-black holes.
So I guess that makes it finitely probable that it will. So all I need to do is stick the end of this LHC thingie into a decent Brownian Motion Generator, and voila... the Infinite Improbability Drive!
For a couple of years now, I (a steenkin' furiner) have a deal-breaker clause in ALL work contracts: I will not, at any time or for any reason, travel in, to or through the USA or any of its territories.
It's not that I have any problem with the US or its citizens -- hell a bunch of really good friends are US citizens or residents. It's just not worth the hassle and risk that the US Gestapo will take an "unusual interest" in me or mine.
Me too. Lots. Evidently it worked pretty well for some guy name Willy Shakespeare, too. ISTR reading (and too lazy to google for it) that something like 10% of all words in the English* langauge were made up by Willy.
[*] which lets the Merkins off the hook, since they haven't spoken English in nearly a century...
The PS3 OS is not based on Linux, but the devkit is. The GPU drivers are unavailable to the general public, but an OpenGL based setup for Linux does exist (it's an NVidia GPU underneath after-all).
So although development on an ordinary PS3 with Linux is not really possible, the actual devkit is Linux based.
Slashdot Mirror
And here I always thought it was just adblock detritus...
I suppose the answer to your question is that everyone wants a sort of X terminal on steroids application with a genuinely write once run anywhere VM (That is, with absolutely NO platform specific extensions allowed for any reason)
Did we not have exactly that, about ten years ago? (Or at least pretty close to it.) IIRC it's called a "Java VM inside the browser"... I know that applets at the time were spectacularly ugly, and that performance was not great, but those were problems that just need a little time to work out.
Oh well, Microsoft pissed in that particular soup, didn't they?
That should be "Kent Beck" in the summary, not "Brock".
Actually you've completey missed Doctorow's point. (Didn't RTFA, did we? :)
The crappy little 450x300-pixel, lossy-compressed-format, lousy audio version would be free and on the 'net. But if you enjoyed the storyline, you might well be willing to pay something to watch it on a big-screen in 7-channel. Or to buy a high-def limited-edition DVD that comes with a bunch of (physical) other stuff. Or perhaps you'd pay serious money to attend a local premier where some of the stars and technical people attend, together with dinner afterwards and a DVD-signing.
It's not about the content. It's about the differing values that people derive from these various format. The "premier, dinner, signing" thing is about being able to say to your friends, "I was there!" (Presumably they'd be impressed by that.)
It's about the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.
To my mind, one of the most interesting and absorbing was "Wooden Ships and Iron Men" which consisted of sailing/commanding one of a number of classes of sailing ships in combat. The game had plenty of detail (not as much as Nethack, though!) like different weapons, ammunition, and lots of fickle weather to screw up your carefully-planned strategy. It was only multi-player; there were no AI-players (at least in the version I played.) All this was in the mid- to late-80's.
And management thought we were hard at work on our terminals...
Sounds like this person has a deeply vested interest. I would guess that the real problem with open-source software is that it's free (as in "beer"!) so no chance to cash-in by playing favourites.
Find out where the kickbacks are coming from and blow the whistle.
The fact is that the last serious efforts to measure the Earth's magnetic field in the South Atlantic were terminated in the mid-1980's when the British government pulled the funding for their geomagnetic programme in the South Atlantic. Everything that's been speculated upon since then is postulated on their measurements of rapid ans significant weakening of the magnetic field in the South Atlantic... but nobody's been watching since the mid-80's.
So we don't really know.
Last time anybody bothered to look, there was a local North Pole in the South Atlantic. But that was 25 years ago. And nobody can be bothered to fund looking again.
Never mind that any significant change in the Earth's magnetic field will have serious impact on the Van Allen belts and therefore on minor shit like communication satellites, space stations and the ionosphere...
Not at all like a $700-billion hand^H^H^H^H bailout to a bunch of rich fuckers who ripped you off in the first place, then...
If you had RTFA you'd have seen that the Wikipedia article is exactly where they drew the list from in the first place.
And for that you get +5 Informative?
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber called, and wants his score for Cats back...
sheesh... what a day to not have mod-points! ...and I'm not even a 'Merkin!
I'm pretty sure I di get that email. Very pleasant sound message.
"Your packets have recently been sighted in Langley, VA. We value your loyal custom so esteemedly. According you have won our GRAND PRIZE of $250000000000...."
Now I just have to figure out how to get them that $1000 processing fee and I'll be set for life!
You beat me to it... I was about to mention my current employer! (About to be my ex-employer at the end of this month.)
There is virtually zero chance the LHC will produce micro-black holes.
So I guess that makes it finitely probable that it will. So all I need to do is stick the end of this LHC thingie into a decent Brownian Motion Generator, and voila... the Infinite Improbability Drive!
Shades of Cryptonomicon...!
I bet over 2/3 of americans...
Make that more like 95%, since only something like 5% of all US citizens actually hold a passport.
For a couple of years now, I (a steenkin' furiner) have a deal-breaker clause in ALL work contracts: I will not, at any time or for any reason, travel in, to or through the USA or any of its territories.
It's not that I have any problem with the US or its citizens -- hell a bunch of really good friends are US citizens or residents. It's just not worth the hassle and risk that the US Gestapo will take an "unusual interest" in me or mine.
They did!
They posted a sign saying, "Private Road" or similar (I don't know the exact requirements in your country. Arounf here, "Private Road" would suffice.)
Google minions chose to ignore it. That's crossing the "Do No Evil" line!
I would expect Google's founder to step up to the bar here and say "We're sorry. Our people screwed up."
Frankly, if GoogleSat (or whatever) flies over my house (and I become aware of what they're doing) I'm going to shoot the fuckers down.
Me too. Lots. Evidently it worked pretty well for some guy name Willy Shakespeare, too. ISTR reading (and too lazy to google for it) that something like 10% of all words in the English* langauge were made up by Willy.
[*] which lets the Merkins off the hook, since they haven't spoken English in nearly a century...
"Spelunkers Explore Crystalline Cave in New Mexico; A Hollow Voice Says 'plugh'."
...for me it's Zodiac.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNdijknRxfU "ooooohhh"
"We're sorry. This video is no longer available."
YouTube vulnerable to the /. effect? :-O
The PS3 OS is not based on Linux, but the devkit is. The GPU drivers are unavailable to the general public, but an OpenGL based setup for Linux does exist (it's an NVidia GPU underneath after-all).
So although development on an ordinary PS3 with Linux is not really possible, the actual devkit is Linux based.
of course we'd first have to agree on how to define "properly"...
G W Bush is a Kangaroo???