3D TV is different to VR, IMO. 3D is a little like the jump from 720p to 1080p. You notice it, sure, but soon merges into the background. The VR headsets, by many accounts, offer a very different and more immersive experience and they're better suited to their medium. VR headsets are pitched at games because in a game you're interacting with a virtual world. Up until now, your window into that world is a fixed screen that you control with your fingers. With a VR headset you're stepping into that world. Many beta testers have reported that the experience is quite startling.
The parent is on to something. The so-called "maker" movement is definitely on the upswing. It's possibly a slightly different crowd to the original electronics hobbyists, but these people are building things and they need tools, parts, and somewhere to hang out. I wonder if it would help Radioshack's image in the community if they were to open a large store and devote half of it to a hacker-space?
I had the RadioShack 120 as a kid and I spent some time with it but I was never addicted. Now, as an adult, I've started doing basic digital electronics for work. Mostly microcontroller stuff so far and my knowledge of ICs is poor, but I plan on improving it soon. Nonetheless, I've built a motor control system and micro-manipulator that performs everything I'd have needed from a commercial unit but is about 10x cheaper and tailored for what I need. I'm currently finishing off a programmable dose-delivery unit for our samples. There are various other, smaller, things for which electronics has been handy. I shop from Digikey, Mouser, Robot Shop, Adafruit, and Sparkfun. It wouldn't even occur to me to go to the local Radioshack unless I was desperate for a part *right away*. They usually have bugger all in stock anyway.
I'd agree with that. I once tried, very politely, to get data from authors of an NPG paper. They stalled and it become awkward. In the end I gave up because my interest was purely motivated by curiosity and I didn't want to make an enemy (even if the person in question was in a different field). Glad I backed off now as I've ended up moving into that field...
Standard policy. Nature have been doing this for some time. They state: authors are required to make materials, data and associated protocols promptly available to readers without undue qualifications. So have Cell Press and Science. I stopped searching at this point, but I'm sure other major journals do the same thing.
I wish I was convinced, but I'm using it right now and it's no fun. Criticisms may be faded compared to earlier versions but, IMHO, they're still present.
When I learned how to scoop up a bunch of code and turn that into an icon with inputs and outputs I realized I could never go back.
Back to what? Scooping up a bunch of text and writing "function blah()" above it?:) The only thing LabVIEW is easier for is quickly producing a GUI.
Indeed, everyone says that LV "plays nice" so it should be used. Yet for many tasks you can use MATLAB for the job, which is easier and much more pleasant. I don't yet understand in what ways LV plays nicer with NI hardware than does MATLAB.
Thanks for the links. I was aware of LabWindows but not Measurement Studio. My C needs polishing but, TBH, I'd much rather invest the effort into doing that than into learning LV. At least C is a transferable skill. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to do that, but in the short term I have to learn LV because that's what's being used in my environment right now.
I agree they should change the site little. The commenting should stay as is. The threaded discussions should stay. The lack of smilies and other bullshit should stay. Modernising the skin isn't a bad thing, though. If they want to stick an image next to each story, so what? I disagree that bringing in new faces is a bad thing. New blood is always good, you just have to make sure that it's the right sort. That should be possible to do. TBH, I imagine the powers that be probably want to do something about this: http://www.google.com/trends/e...
What's special about Skydrive? All the cloud storage services are free up to a limited number of Gbs. Skydrive offers 7 gigs free. Copy offers 15 gigs with an extra 5 gigs for each person you refer. Sounds like a better deal to me. Oh, and it's not Microsoft. Even better.
Typing Chinese characters usually means typing out the pronunciation and then selecting the character.
I think the point that symbolic characters are on the decline is very valid.
It's true that symbolic (logographic) writing systems have various disadvantages. However there are also advantages. For example, whilst reading Chinese is harder to learn, once learned it's easier to read quickly because there are fewer characters needed to make up a word. You can squeeze up a lot of meaning into a very space. A good example has appeared fairly recently on the Chinese intertubes. They have a Youtube-like service which shows pirated TV shows over which are laid viewers' comments, which scroll horizontally across the screen. Many different comments are floating across the screen at the same time. The idea is to poke fun at the plot line, etc, etc. Now the interesting thing is that you're only allowed very few characters to make your comment, I don't recall how many but I think it's about 3 or 5 or so. That's easily enough for them to make a witty point. This just wouldn't work in, say, English. The comments would take up too much space and you'd likely only ever be able to read one at a time.
I think LabVIEW is just as "hard" as text-based languages. The difference, however, is that it allows you to do more stuff with less experience. As a result, a beginner can end up producing shit code very easily.
I know several smart people who can code in text based languages but, for some weird reason, decide they have to use LabVIEW for data acquisition. Now, against my will, I have to learn the stupid thing. Fuck me, it's an annoying language. The only thing I can see it being good for is quickly building a GUI (which I normally avoid). However, the thought of building a large application in it makes me shudder. The first thing I plan on doing is figuring out how to embed text based code into it. I really hope it's possible.
There are "visual" (non-text) languages out there and they're not very nice. A major proprietary one is LabVIEW, which mainly used for data acquisition and instrument control (hence the name). This is what the code might look like. Developing small applets in LabVIEW is very fast, but things get horrible as the project gets larger. LabVIEW issues include:
Hard to comment
Very easy to write bad code (particularly for beginners)
Version control is awkward
Clunky to debug because programs are hard to follow.
Hard to modify existing code
Coding becomes an exercise in placing the mouse in just the right places and finding the right little block.
As a beginner you waste lots of time trivialities instead of actually learning to code.
Hard to learn from a book or even from reading somebody else's code.
Documentation is crappy.
Graphical languages are still programming. Syntax errors don't go away, they just manifest themselves differently. I don't think graphical languages really solve any problems, they just create new ones. That's why they haven't caught on.
Please post this to new articles if it hasn't been posted yet. (Copy-paste the html from here so links don't get mangled!)
On February 5, 2014, Slashdot announced through a javascript popup that they are starting to "move in to" the new Slashdot Beta design. Slashdot Beta is a trend-following attempt to give Slashdot a fresh look, an approach that has led to less space for text and an abandonment of the traditional Slashdot look. Much worse than that, Slashdot Beta fundamentally breaks the classic Slashdot discussion and moderation system.
If you haven't seen Slashdot Beta already, open this in a new tab. After seeing that, click here to return to classic Slashdot.
We should boycott stories and only discuss the abomination that is Slashdot Beta until Dice abandons the project. We should boycott slashdot entirely during the week of Feb 10 to Feb 17 as part of the wider slashcott
Moderators - only spend mod points on comments that discuss Beta Commentors - only discuss Beta http://slashdot.org/recent - Vote up the Fuck Beta stories
Keep this up for a few days and we may finally get the PHBs attention.
I visited it today for the first time in ages. Still sucks. Masses of wasted screen space. Surely it's possible to create a portal that converts the beta to the classic style?
So now you have a collection of ebook files that can be used on any device and will always be available until you decide you no longer want them. Show me your collection of Netflix movie files.
Bogus argument. My purchased e-book is my file to read as and when I choose. That is what I paid for. My Netflix subscription is exactly like a subscription to a private lending library, such as The London Library. i.e. I pay for access to a content collection. I am not purchasing the content collection or even a part of the content collection. If I wanted to the latter, I'd buy the movie in a format of my choosing. Netflix is actually an example of DRM done right.
Yeah, sure, but it's still possible. I'm in the US and I've found ebooks I wanted that were only available in a UK store (Waterstones, IIRC). It's been quite feasible to purchase them from here.
There was a famous story a few years back about Wil Wheaton flying on a plane to/from Canada and suddenly his DVD stopped playing because his region changed or something silly. Are e-book readers smart/dumb enough to do this also? Is it even possible to region restrict an e-book?
E-books aren't region-locked and the DVD playing story sounds like complete fiction.
Please tell me how the DRM on my Kindle is more cumbersome to me the user than that of Netflix or Steam...
Personally I find it is. With Netflix, all I have to do to watch is sign into my account and be on-line. If I'm abroad, it switches to the local content. That's not intrusive. The steam experience is pretty similar, TBH. I have just one gaming machine and I don't even notice Steam. Books, OTH, are different. I read on my phone, tablet, e-reader, and computer (Linux or OS X). I want to be able to get my books onto the device of my choosing reliably. To do this, I've stripped the DRM from every book I've bought. Some are MOBI books that I've converted to epub. It wouldn't be possible for me to use my books in this way if they were still DRMed (it would be much harder, anyway). It certainly wouldn't be possible if the supplier I purchased them from went bust.
I read enough of it. The article claims to talk about medicines ("what if the drugs are worthless") but spends most of its time discussing supplements, which are not medicines and do not require clinical trials to be conducted in order to be sold. That is why the article is BS.
Yes, TFA talks about one opioid with dubious utility in dogs. There are also human drugs that likely do not work. Dodgy drugs are a problem. But the article isn't telling us very much about that. Instead it informs us that snake oil won't help our pets.
Slashdot Mirror
Check out this guy: completely blind but can cycle by making clicking noises. i.e. he's a bat.
3D TV is different to VR, IMO. 3D is a little like the jump from 720p to 1080p. You notice it, sure, but soon merges into the background. The VR headsets, by many accounts, offer a very different and more immersive experience and they're better suited to their medium. VR headsets are pitched at games because in a game you're interacting with a virtual world. Up until now, your window into that world is a fixed screen that you control with your fingers. With a VR headset you're stepping into that world. Many beta testers have reported that the experience is quite startling.
My local shop has this stuff too, but the selection of mics is poor and the component section is rather bare.
I had the RadioShack 120 as a kid and I spent some time with it but I was never addicted. Now, as an adult, I've started doing basic digital electronics for work. Mostly microcontroller stuff so far and my knowledge of ICs is poor, but I plan on improving it soon. Nonetheless, I've built a motor control system and micro-manipulator that performs everything I'd have needed from a commercial unit but is about 10x cheaper and tailored for what I need. I'm currently finishing off a programmable dose-delivery unit for our samples. There are various other, smaller, things for which electronics has been handy. I shop from Digikey, Mouser, Robot Shop, Adafruit, and Sparkfun. It wouldn't even occur to me to go to the local Radioshack unless I was desperate for a part *right away*. They usually have bugger all in stock anyway.
I'd agree with that. I once tried, very politely, to get data from authors of an NPG paper. They stalled and it become awkward. In the end I gave up because my interest was purely motivated by curiosity and I didn't want to make an enemy (even if the person in question was in a different field). Glad I backed off now as I've ended up moving into that field...
Ok, sorry, I see they want the data deposited upon publication.
Standard policy. Nature have been doing this for some time. They state: authors are required to make materials, data and associated protocols promptly available to readers without undue qualifications. So have Cell Press and Science. I stopped searching at this point, but I'm sure other major journals do the same thing.
All of your criticism have faded over time
I wish I was convinced, but I'm using it right now and it's no fun. Criticisms may be faded compared to earlier versions but, IMHO, they're still present.
When I learned how to scoop up a bunch of code and turn that into an icon with inputs and outputs I realized I could never go back.
Back to what? Scooping up a bunch of text and writing "function blah()" above it? :) The only thing LabVIEW is easier for is quickly producing a GUI.
dupe.
"Insightful"? "Interesting"? "Off-topic"? Come one guys! I was hoping for at least one "Funny"
How many readers are going to leave if slashdot classic is cut off completely?
Good question. Maybe Timothy should set a poll?
Indeed, everyone says that LV "plays nice" so it should be used. Yet for many tasks you can use MATLAB for the job, which is easier and much more pleasant. I don't yet understand in what ways LV plays nicer with NI hardware than does MATLAB.
Thanks for the links. I was aware of LabWindows but not Measurement Studio. My C needs polishing but, TBH, I'd much rather invest the effort into doing that than into learning LV. At least C is a transferable skill. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to do that, but in the short term I have to learn LV because that's what's being used in my environment right now.
I agree they should change the site little. The commenting should stay as is. The threaded discussions should stay. The lack of smilies and other bullshit should stay. Modernising the skin isn't a bad thing, though. If they want to stick an image next to each story, so what? I disagree that bringing in new faces is a bad thing. New blood is always good, you just have to make sure that it's the right sort. That should be possible to do. TBH, I imagine the powers that be probably want to do something about this: http://www.google.com/trends/e...
What's special about Skydrive? All the cloud storage services are free up to a limited number of Gbs. Skydrive offers 7 gigs free. Copy offers 15 gigs with an extra 5 gigs for each person you refer. Sounds like a better deal to me. Oh, and it's not Microsoft. Even better.
Typing Chinese characters usually means typing out the pronunciation and then selecting the character.
I think the point that symbolic characters are on the decline is very valid.
It's true that symbolic (logographic) writing systems have various disadvantages. However there are also advantages. For example, whilst reading Chinese is harder to learn, once learned it's easier to read quickly because there are fewer characters needed to make up a word. You can squeeze up a lot of meaning into a very space. A good example has appeared fairly recently on the Chinese intertubes. They have a Youtube-like service which shows pirated TV shows over which are laid viewers' comments, which scroll horizontally across the screen. Many different comments are floating across the screen at the same time. The idea is to poke fun at the plot line, etc, etc. Now the interesting thing is that you're only allowed very few characters to make your comment, I don't recall how many but I think it's about 3 or 5 or so. That's easily enough for them to make a witty point. This just wouldn't work in, say, English. The comments would take up too much space and you'd likely only ever be able to read one at a time.
I know several smart people who can code in text based languages but, for some weird reason, decide they have to use LabVIEW for data acquisition. Now, against my will, I have to learn the stupid thing. Fuck me, it's an annoying language. The only thing I can see it being good for is quickly building a GUI (which I normally avoid). However, the thought of building a large application in it makes me shudder. The first thing I plan on doing is figuring out how to embed text based code into it. I really hope it's possible.
Graphical languages are still programming. Syntax errors don't go away, they just manifest themselves differently. I don't think graphical languages really solve any problems, they just create new ones. That's why they haven't caught on.
Please post this to new articles if it hasn't been posted yet. (Copy-paste the html from here so links don't get mangled!)
On February 5, 2014, Slashdot announced through a javascript popup that they are starting to "move in to" the new Slashdot Beta design. Slashdot Beta is a trend-following attempt to give Slashdot a fresh look, an approach that has led to less space for text and an abandonment of the traditional Slashdot look. Much worse than that, Slashdot Beta fundamentally breaks the classic Slashdot discussion and moderation system.
If you haven't seen Slashdot Beta already, open this in a new tab. After seeing that, click here to return to classic Slashdot.
We should boycott stories and only discuss the abomination that is Slashdot Beta until Dice abandons the project.
We should boycott slashdot entirely during the week of Feb 10 to Feb 17 as part of the wider slashcott
Moderators - only spend mod points on comments that discuss Beta
Commentors - only discuss Beta
http://slashdot.org/recent - Vote up the Fuck Beta stories
Keep this up for a few days and we may finally get the PHBs attention.
-----=====##### LINKS #####=====-----
Discussion of Beta: http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=56395415
Discussion of where to go if Beta goes live: http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&type=submission&id=3321441
Alternative Slashdot: http://altslashdot.org (thanks Okian Warrior (537106))
I visited it today for the first time in ages. Still sucks. Masses of wasted screen space. Surely it's possible to create a portal that converts the beta to the classic style?
So now you have a collection of ebook files that can be used on any device and will always be available until you decide you no longer want them. Show me your collection of Netflix movie files.
Bogus argument. My purchased e-book is my file to read as and when I choose. That is what I paid for. My Netflix subscription is exactly like a subscription to a private lending library, such as The London Library. i.e. I pay for access to a content collection. I am not purchasing the content collection or even a part of the content collection. If I wanted to the latter, I'd buy the movie in a format of my choosing. Netflix is actually an example of DRM done right.
Yeah, sure, but it's still possible. I'm in the US and I've found ebooks I wanted that were only available in a UK store (Waterstones, IIRC). It's been quite feasible to purchase them from here.
There was a famous story a few years back about Wil Wheaton flying on a plane to/from Canada and suddenly his DVD stopped playing because his region changed or something silly. Are e-book readers smart/dumb enough to do this also? Is it even possible to region restrict an e-book?
E-books aren't region-locked and the DVD playing story sounds like complete fiction.
Please tell me how the DRM on my Kindle is more cumbersome to me the user than that of Netflix or Steam...
Personally I find it is. With Netflix, all I have to do to watch is sign into my account and be on-line. If I'm abroad, it switches to the local content. That's not intrusive. The steam experience is pretty similar, TBH. I have just one gaming machine and I don't even notice Steam. Books, OTH, are different. I read on my phone, tablet, e-reader, and computer (Linux or OS X). I want to be able to get my books onto the device of my choosing reliably. To do this, I've stripped the DRM from every book I've bought. Some are MOBI books that I've converted to epub. It wouldn't be possible for me to use my books in this way if they were still DRMed (it would be much harder, anyway). It certainly wouldn't be possible if the supplier I purchased them from went bust.
Fork it.
Yes, TFA talks about one opioid with dubious utility in dogs. There are also human drugs that likely do not work. Dodgy drugs are a problem. But the article isn't telling us very much about that. Instead it informs us that snake oil won't help our pets.