if only Lucas thought so as well - it just kind of ruins the scene for me - Han, the ruthless smuggler out for himself has to wait for a shot to be fired rather than shoot first while making a smart remark. Totally pointless (and rather damaging) change.
well, I can tell you at my office we are seriously considering offering Linux desktops as a choice for our developers. We would never try to get everyone to switch, but people who use Linux at home and are already familiar with it would jump at the chance!
We are still testing W2K server options and the new licensing is really pissing off the money people.
Since our databse solution is probably going to move away from SQL anyway, these annoying license practices are just another nudge to start getting rid of as many new Windows (server and workstation) licenses as possible right from the start.
I wonder how many companies (small companies, most likely!) are considering the same thing?
I think you are missing (or maybe just forgetting) a crucial thing about the "alienness" of those spiders.
WARNING SPOILER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ DEEPNESS!!!!
The whole description we have of them is NOT their own description, but their own description TRANSLATED into terms the human characters out in space can understand. I think this is one of the most brilliant parts of the book. The whole time I was reading it, I just couldn't shake the feeling that these spiders seemed a little too human even if we were assuming Vinge was simpy writing from their viewpoint. When our side of the story is revealed as a sort of translated, re-enacted entertainment program for the humans, it all just clicks into place quite nicely - especially when we eventually get that first-hand account of what the spiders and their buildings actually look like!
I'm not sure you grasp the underlying points of Vinge's fictional universe. Either that, or you are ingnoring them to make somewhat valid points that are somewhat irrelevant when discussing a work of fiction.
The Qeng Ho make a living selling technological advances to cultures that have reverted back to barbarism and are working their way back up. The Qeng Ho do make technological progress, but they never solve the "magical" problems that people always assumed would be solved eventually. They just happen to have a higher level of technology than their usual customers, that's all. According to the rules that Vinge set up in A Fire Upon the Deep, the Qeng Ho and everyone they meet must run into problems that are fundamentally impossible to solve because of their "geographical" position in Vinge's Zones. Once an author sets up rules like this, I really don't care how crazy they seem, as long as the author follows them (or breaks them in some well-written and well-reasoned manner!).
My point is that IN THE CONTEXT OF HIS BOOKS there are very good reasons why technology cannot advance beyond a certain point. In Deepness I think they mention that these problems have been attempted countless times over thousands of years, and not just by a few guys for a few years. Of course, the fact that the spiders seem to be able to break some of those rules might lead you to believe that Vinge is toying with this whole concept, but that's a topic for another time.
All I'm saying is that I see where you are going with your points, but they really have little to do with the "concept" of these novels. That's it. They don't necessarily have to have anything to do with the state of technological progress as we see it IRL.
EH_Rob
Vernor, tell me a little about the Qeng Ho background, their software for example. How much of your idea there comes from software development issues we're already facing?
Vernor_Vinge
Almost all of it. The scenario in Deepness is that we can't solve software complexity problems and so things begin to level out in the 21st cetnury. By the time of this story, there are literally millennia of legacy software out there. These guys are incrementally a lot better than we, but they still suffer from the same kinds of software and system gotchas.
So maybe you would consider that kind of answer a cop-out, but at least he has an explanation (and since you apparently did read A Fire Upon the Deep I assume you know why his explanation makes sense in that universe). And BTW, I happen to think that the award for the best sf novel should be based on the highest quality writing not the most accurate extrapolation of computer science technology. But hey, I like to read, so maybe that's just me:-)
Well, at most companies, your resume has to pass through the dreaded HR dept. before it gets to anybody in IT/IS. This means that they are going to want MSWord - no way around it. I usually just include the text version in my e-mail and attach the Word version.
Well, the flaw there is that if Taco comes across an anime story that he feels is interesting, he is going to post it on his website.
My question is: why do you care? Nobody is forcing you to read the articles. I understand you feel there is some other story more deserving of that slot on the main page, but obviously the editors of this website disagree. So why get all riled up about it? Just skip over it, filter it out, whatever you want to do (or complain about it - what would an anime story be without the same old predictable complaints?). Just don't expect Taco to stop liking things and to stop posting things he likes.
Does it say anywhere that this is a democracy? Even if 99% of the readers don't like anime, why should he give up his right to post whatever he thinks is interesting?
U.S. Army brat - I know, I know, you might technically consider me a Zonian, but believe me, the "real" Zonians do not think they are the same thing (and I wouldn't want to be called a Zonian anyway - not that I didn't know some nice Zonians, but most of them didn't speak Spanish and had no interest whatsoever in what was going on outside the CZ - then again, most Military people were the same way - I was just lucky I got to live in town for a while and already spoke Spanish!).
My dad worked at the embassy at first (so we were living in town - and no, NOT Punta Paitilla with the rest of the Americans:-)) but eventually (right around the time of the invasion) we were living on Ft. Amador. I was away at college (freshman year) when the invasion actually happened (I was stuck waiting for a flight home for Christmas for a few days until it was over) but the rest of my family was there when it happened (literally - helicopters overhead firing across the bay, troops in the backyard, etc.).
My favorite thing that happened (scary, but kinda funny) was when the govt. tabloid paper (can't remember the name exactly - maybe "La Barricada"?) photocopied the diplomatic carnets of all embassy personnel (and families!) and published them under the heading: "These are the ones who are starving your children!". Ah, good thing it was a bad picture and you could hardly recognize anybody.
Hrm, most people agree that the acronym, at least, is from Heinlein. I guess I always cofuse the origin of this with Niven's TANJ (There Ain't No Justice)
...more checking on google...
Well, looks like Heinlein used the Justice phrase first as well, but Niven used the acronym as an expletive.
I remember first using it when it was still on Stanford's servers. Of course I can't remember exactly how many years ago that was, so I guess that doesn't help much:-) (although I am quite sure it was before 1998!)
I've had very good luck with them. Excellent support under warranty, and even after the warranty expires, they are usually very good about providing sw updates/drivers.
The other thing I like about Dell (I'm sure other companies do this as well - compaq, for one, anyway) is that they keep certain product lines as stable as possible. For example, with their desktop machines, they have two separate lines of products, Dimension and Optiplex. The Dimension machines are constantly updated with new hardware (video cards, sound cards, etc.) while the Optiplexes are made as standard as possible for as long as possible so that any new machines you buy will basically be using the same parts. The same goes for their laptops - the Latitudes have the latest/greatest, while the Inspirons are meant to have longer product lifetimes.
This was extremely helpful to me when I was buying laptops for sales reps in our company - we would get waves of new sales reps and we could be confident that the new laptops we got would not be radically different (hardware-wise) from the ones we had purchased 3-4 months earlier.
Slashdot Mirror
It sure is quiet in here today!
Where are the achievements for "pointless jerky post in response to a low UID mention" and later "trumped by even lower UID"? :-)
I'm guessing that's why they felt the need to clarify their location on the license plate:
http://www.tax.state.nm.us/pubs/specplate.htm
You know, this can go on all day...
Funny how that works...
that joke is so...2001
well I kind of like the fact that they put the troll statues in the movie, but didn't have any of the characters mention it.
kind of a neat treat for those of us paying attention!
c'mon now - don't you get almost as much entertainment from the people that don't get the joke? :-)
if only Lucas thought so as well - it just kind of ruins the scene for me - Han, the ruthless smuggler out for himself has to wait for a shot to be fired rather than shoot first while making a smart remark. Totally pointless (and rather damaging) change.
That's an interesting use of a lever! (correct me if I'm wrong on my "simple machines" knowledge)
Has this type of design been used anywhere else (on earth, I mean), or is it just pure conjecture on the architect's part?
Overall, quite an interesting plan. Does it have a view of the monolith as well?
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well, I can tell you at my office we are seriously considering offering Linux desktops as a choice for our developers. We would never try to get everyone to switch, but people who use Linux at home and are already familiar with it would jump at the chance!
We are still testing W2K server options and the new licensing is really pissing off the money people.
Since our databse solution is probably going to move away from SQL anyway, these annoying license practices are just another nudge to start getting rid of as many new Windows (server and workstation) licenses as possible right from the start.
I wonder how many companies (small companies, most likely!) are considering the same thing?
-------
(sign on lunar lander monument)
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I think you are missing (or maybe just forgetting) a crucial thing about the "alienness" of those spiders.
WARNING SPOILER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ DEEPNESS!!!!
The whole description we have of them is NOT their own description, but their own description TRANSLATED into terms the human characters out in space can understand. I think this is one of the most brilliant parts of the book. The whole time I was reading it, I just couldn't shake the feeling that these spiders seemed a little too human even if we were assuming Vinge was simpy writing from their viewpoint. When our side of the story is revealed as a sort of translated, re-enacted entertainment program for the humans, it all just clicks into place quite nicely - especially when we eventually get that first-hand account of what the spiders and their buildings actually look like!
-------
I'm not sure you grasp the underlying points of Vinge's fictional universe. Either that, or you are ingnoring them to make somewhat valid points that are somewhat irrelevant when discussing a work of fiction.
The Qeng Ho make a living selling technological advances to cultures that have reverted back to barbarism and are working their way back up. The Qeng Ho do make technological progress, but they never solve the "magical" problems that people always assumed would be solved eventually. They just happen to have a higher level of technology than their usual customers, that's all. According to the rules that Vinge set up in A Fire Upon the Deep, the Qeng Ho and everyone they meet must run into problems that are fundamentally impossible to solve because of their "geographical" position in Vinge's Zones. Once an author sets up rules like this, I really don't care how crazy they seem, as long as the author follows them (or breaks them in some well-written and well-reasoned manner!).
My point is that IN THE CONTEXT OF HIS BOOKS there are very good reasons why technology cannot advance beyond a certain point. In Deepness I think they mention that these problems have been attempted countless times over thousands of years, and not just by a few guys for a few years. Of course, the fact that the spiders seem to be able to break some of those rules might lead you to believe that Vinge is toying with this whole concept, but that's a topic for another time.
All I'm saying is that I see where you are going with your points, but they really have little to do with the "concept" of these novels. That's it. They don't necessarily have to have anything to do with the state of technological progress as we see it IRL.
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OK, just in case you didn't see Zoyd's response, here's the relevant Vinge quote about your cs point:
(from this interview)
EH_Rob
Vernor, tell me a little about the Qeng Ho background, their software for example. How much of your idea there comes from software development issues we're already facing?
Vernor_Vinge
Almost all of it. The scenario in Deepness is that we can't solve software complexity problems and so things begin to level out in the 21st cetnury. By the time of this story, there are literally millennia of legacy software out there. These guys are incrementally a lot better than we, but they still suffer from the same kinds of software and system gotchas.
So maybe you would consider that kind of answer a cop-out, but at least he has an explanation (and since you apparently did read A Fire Upon the Deep I assume you know why his explanation makes sense in that universe). And BTW, I happen to think that the award for the best sf novel should be based on the highest quality writing not the most accurate extrapolation of computer science technology. But hey, I like to read, so maybe that's just me
-------
Well, at most companies, your resume has to pass through the dreaded HR dept. before it gets to anybody in IT/IS. This means that they are going to want MSWord - no way around it. I usually just include the text version in my e-mail and attach the Word version.
-------
Q
(until he passed away)
(and I'm not talking about Star Trek)
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Maybe it's termites for the codebooks and thermite for the rest of the stuff.
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Well, the flaw there is that if Taco comes across an anime story that he feels is interesting, he is going to post it on his website.
My question is: why do you care? Nobody is forcing you to read the articles. I understand you feel there is some other story more deserving of that slot on the main page, but obviously the editors of this website disagree. So why get all riled up about it? Just skip over it, filter it out, whatever you want to do (or complain about it - what would an anime story be without the same old predictable complaints?). Just don't expect Taco to stop liking things and to stop posting things he likes.
Does it say anywhere that this is a democracy? Even if 99% of the readers don't like anime, why should he give up his right to post whatever he thinks is interesting?
-------
U.S. Army brat - I know, I know, you might technically consider me a Zonian, but believe me, the "real" Zonians do not think they are the same thing (and I wouldn't want to be called a Zonian anyway - not that I didn't know some nice Zonians, but most of them didn't speak Spanish and had no interest whatsoever in what was going on outside the CZ - then again, most Military people were the same way - I was just lucky I got to live in town for a while and already spoke Spanish!).
My dad worked at the embassy at first (so we were living in town - and no, NOT Punta Paitilla with the rest of the Americans
My favorite thing that happened (scary, but kinda funny) was when the govt. tabloid paper (can't remember the name exactly - maybe "La Barricada"?) photocopied the diplomatic carnets of all embassy personnel (and families!) and published them under the heading: "These are the ones who are starving your children!". Ah, good thing it was a bad picture and you could hardly recognize anybody.
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ah, there are more categories than just those two, as I'm sure you know!
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...checking on google...
Hrm, most people agree that the acronym, at least, is from Heinlein. I guess I always cofuse the origin of this with Niven's TANJ (There Ain't No Justice)
Well, looks like Heinlein used the Justice phrase first as well, but Niven used the acronym as an expletive.
Sheesh! google kicks ass!
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I remember first using it when it was still on Stanford's servers. Of course I can't remember exactly how many years ago that was, so I guess that doesn't help much
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hey, remember the "batallones dignidad" and the "rabiblancos"?
Those protests of pot-banging and driving around town waving white flags?
The mandatory attendance at government sponsored protests for govt. workers?
Wow, that was some crazy stuff.
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I've had very good luck with them. Excellent support under warranty, and even after the warranty expires, they are usually very good about providing sw updates/drivers.
The other thing I like about Dell (I'm sure other companies do this as well - compaq, for one, anyway) is that they keep certain product lines as stable as possible. For example, with their desktop machines, they have two separate lines of products, Dimension and Optiplex. The Dimension machines are constantly updated with new hardware (video cards, sound cards, etc.) while the Optiplexes are made as standard as possible for as long as possible so that any new machines you buy will basically be using the same parts. The same goes for their laptops - the Latitudes have the latest/greatest, while the Inspirons are meant to have longer product lifetimes.
This was extremely helpful to me when I was buying laptops for sales reps in our company - we would get waves of new sales reps and we could be confident that the new laptops we got would not be radically different (hardware-wise) from the ones we had purchased 3-4 months earlier.
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