is, ironically, much nicer than RDC for Windows;) (it connects my main G5 to my secondary::cough:: slave::cough:: Windoze machines I use for testing and for whatever I can't use the Mac for... which isn't much)
GeForce 6800 Ultra Dual-link DVI graphics card: $400 Apple 30" Cinema Display HD: $2999 Ability to view HD in full rez off a firewire stream from my cable box, PLUS games, PLUS movies, PLUS anything in any format that you can conceivably view on a computer screen... Priceless
But seriously, when I was in the market to invest in both an expensive HDTV screen and a nice computer (in this case, a dual 2.5ghz G5), I thought... why not merge, AND save money? So I got a hideaway desk that looks like an entertainment center, stuck it in my living room, and voila, my computer is also my entertainment center. All I do is push the Aeron out of the way when I'm entertaining guests;) The system in all honesty isn't perfect (for example, my cable box won't output the menu system over the firewire connection, at this time... but I hear it's planned), but it makes for damn good demo. And if you have a PC, you can still buy this screen and a GeForce and be doing this. (I am trying to get a PC to hot-switch in this setup but there are no dual-link DVI KVM switches yet...)
I've wanted this feature for forever- being able to add music videos to an iTunes playlist so that if, say, I'm entertaining people, I can have the visualizer playing for the regular audio content and the actual song video playing for those songs that I have a video for...
Granted, OS X is not open-source, but I would have been OK with an OS X to complete-open-source migration. I am not OK with an OS X to Windoze backwards migration.
Any monolithic system creates a single point of failure. And since no system in existence is invulnerable, you are essentially creating a huge privacy security risk.
My 120gb drive could most likely store a very large amount of sensitive information about U.S. citizens. Any national ID system implies that this information WILL be present in a single location, and probably not just in 1 location, but duplicated in a few locations. If any ONE of these is broken into (imagine how valuable that database would be! are you kidding me?), we are all screwed.
The way it is now, with state ID's that are only required for driving, a database breakin or informational leak is confined to one area. I don't recall any such information theft (or perhaps we simply never hear about it), but a mass database of every U.S. citizen would be an order of magnitude more valuable to pilfer/hack.
Not to mention, there seems to be a history of required-national-ID-or-paperwork being a prelude to some very bad things (conjures images of "Vere are your paperzzz?!!?!") The Rwanda massacre, rise of the nazi party, etc. etc. It's just far too easy for someone in power to take advantage of.
And also, this is too much like that whole "mark of the beast" thing that those crazy thumpers warn about/obligatory-troll (lol)
I don't know how well this would serve as foundation material for weather-resistant buildings, because I have an inkling of a feeling that under that great a weight, flexing concrete would generate a decent amount of internal heat, and is it really designed to conduct that heat away?
The information that informs this feeling is that that is the same reason why we don't have solid rubber tires, the internal heat generated would melt the tire from the inside out under normal stresses.
I've traveled to a lot of places and Georgia (particularly Atlanta and Savannah) has some of the nicest, most beautiful people I've ever seen. I have so many anecdotes. People have invited me off the street to their parties, I have nearly gotten in accidents while in dumbfounded awe at the beauty of some women... I was invited to sit with a table full of women at this restaurant and a cake shaped like a penis came out, it was insane... and most ironic of all, I met a girl in a Boston bar the other night (I've lived in Boston for a year, now) and she was beautiful, sweet... and only in town for the weekend... from Atlanta, Georgia. Damn.
The only thing appalling for me down there, actually, is the whole bible-belt thing and perhaps some old-school racism.
Sorta OT, but those Georgia folks sure have a clue how to live, it seems. Especially from a single guy's perspective...
In the late 80's/early 90's, I was all about VR. I devoured "The Media Lab" by Stuart Brand, about MIT's media lab, etc. Then I was a psych major at Cornell who focused on perception. I was going to post largely the same information that you just did. So instead I will add an interesting anecdote.
Yes, latency is the main bitch here, but there are a few extra bits of interesting info. One is that your nervous system already has its own latency "lag", and you are already adapted to it. The upshot is that it is possible to adapt to a bit more latency incurred by extra hardware. This has been shown in military virtual cockpit simulators that attempt to present a lot of information to a fighter pilot with a 3D display inside a helmet, as if he can "see through" the hull of the aircraft. The negative is that once you leave that environment, adjusting to the "normal" real-life latency leads you to get nauseous sometimes;)
Another interesting phenomenon of perception is that if you are walking in a curve with a large enough radius, you will not be able to tell (if blindfolded... or wearing a 3D VR HUD) whether you are walking in a straight line or not. So in theory you can have a fully-navigable VR system inside, say, a hangar, that tricks you into thinking you are walking forever in a straight line (i.e., in any direction in the world) when in actuality you might be walking in large figure 8's on the hangar floor. This of course conjured images in my head of real-life Holodecks and whatnot, but it's interesting nevertheless;)
I am stunned at how good this article is. If he accepted PayPal, I'd put in 5 bucks for John, it was well worth it. I wasted (?) most of a workday afternoon digesting it in its entirety. SOO many tidbits of info! They include
1) How to enable ACL's on a non-Server OS X installation 2) The fact that Quartz 2D "Extreme" (wow! nice breakdown of the tech!) is there, but not turned on... and probably won't be until 10.4.1 or later... but you CAN turn it on temporarily... and it explains how. 3) How to play with the emerging metadata features 4) A description of how Spotlight (which is file-focused) indexes objects such as Address Book entries which are (normally) not stored as separate files
Very much one of those movies with a high ratio of quality/popularity. I watched it on a strong recommendation, enjoyed it highly (even with all the references to other sci-fi works), and everyone I've shown it to has also enjoyed it.
Christian Bale acted well in this flick as well as in American Psycho. (Although my fraternity friends unfortunately still love to quote that one line where he yells "Don't just look at her ass, eat it!")
I fired up Apple's Mail and although there were counts on my mailboxes, as soon as I clicked on them, the counts disappeared and there was nothing inside. Where did all my archived mail go? Even though I use Gmail mostly nowadays, I need to be able to access old mail for archival purposes. Anyone else see a bug like this when upgrading to Tiger?
I've seen recommendations NOT to install an OS on an iPod and boot off it regularly because it's not designed for the heavy disk activity long-term (heat dissipation, wear&tear, etc.)
Although it's definitely nice to be able to do so (boot off another device easily) on a Mac.
Almost impossibly, Apple has further improved PDF rendering in Tiger. You really have to see it to believe it. Multipage PDF's now fly on my system. I know it's hard to believe you can get excited about PDF rendering, but when I have to fight with clunky Acrobat Reader on my Windows laptop at work all day, it really makes the difference more jarring.
I couldn't help but be reminded of the China faction in the game Command & Conquer: Generals, which have a unit called the Hacker with the humorous ability of "hacking" money out of thin air.;)
The reason Microsoft only got slaps on the wrist is ironically because judge Thomas Penfield Jackson could not hide his contempt for the defense, and therefore the case was effectively dismissed on the grounds of a biased judge.
That incredible fuckup and all its implications pain me to this day. To think, that the evidence was so clearly not in Microsoft's favor that the judge was openly (and unfortunately, vocally) hostile towards the defendant, so much so that the decision for the plaintiff was tossed out... The landscape of my industry might look a heck of a lot more interesting now if it wasn't for that.
Mark Twain's famous quote about statistics STILL applies.
Linux here is suffering from the same issue that Mac/Windows comparisons suffer from- Everyone has used Windows, but not everyone has used Macs, so quoting statistics such as "75% of computer users think non-Windows computers also have virus, spyware and security issues" really doesn't say squat, unless you ONLY survey those who use both regularly... but since that intersection is a much smaller set than the "set of all computer users", you run into other issues. or?
I loved computers and programming long before it was cool, and I will long after it is. I'm glad the temporary fanboys are leaving, so my chosen profession can be pure again. I am not the best programmer by far, and I am not the highest-paid one by far, but IMHO, the challenge of designing and building a good application out of thin air that fits a need well is the most fun you can have while still getting paid, without being a gigolo.
I thought your post was very interesting. I happen to have a brilliant 5 year old nephew (who recently declared that "the Easter Bunny is nocturnal!") and even though I am a big videogame fan, I have been wary of exposing him to games for this reason among others. (Thankfully, I guess, his father is more into sports than games.)
A few months ago I might have criticized your decision, but the truth is that "beginnings matter" and exposure to some experiences too early (especially those that tap too well into the very punishment/reward mechanism of the brain) is probably not advisable.
I currently play World of Warcraft and there are times when hours pass and I feel bitter about the "loss of time". Beware of addictive timesucks that leave you nothing to show, but "levels"...
1) Explain the fact that somehow, you never consciously decided to like the opposite sex (since it is jarringly obvious that this is the only thing you ever conceived), yet somehow ALL homosexuals DID consciously decide to like the SAME sex, AND put up with all the shit that goes along with that. Explain that one to me. Gay sex must feel good something FIERCE, for these people to have to WANT to go through this shit. See the flaw in your logic? It pretty much HAS to be something you're born with, or at least, something you never "decided" to like.
2) It is "undermine", not "undermind".
3) Use of the phrase "sexual deviant" should be reserved for when someone is harmed, such as child abuse- not two consenting adults.
4) I have no idea when the fuck Apple became some sort of lightning-rod for computer-using fags, but it is really starting to piss me off. I loves me some pussy and I also use a G5 at home, and wish I didn't have to use Windows at work. I just have more of an open mind than about everyone I run into.
Slashdot Mirror
is, ironically, much nicer than RDC for Windows ;) (it connects my main G5 to my secondary ::cough:: slave ::cough:: Windoze machines I use for testing and for whatever I can't use the Mac for... which isn't much)
GeForce 6800 Ultra Dual-link DVI graphics card: $400
;) The system in all honesty isn't perfect (for example, my cable box won't output the menu system over the firewire connection, at this time... but I hear it's planned), but it makes for damn good demo. And if you have a PC, you can still buy this screen and a GeForce and be doing this. (I am trying to get a PC to hot-switch in this setup but there are no dual-link DVI KVM switches yet...)
Apple 30" Cinema Display HD: $2999
Ability to view HD in full rez off a firewire stream from my cable box, PLUS games, PLUS movies, PLUS anything in any format that you can conceivably view on a computer screen... Priceless
But seriously, when I was in the market to invest in both an expensive HDTV screen and a nice computer (in this case, a dual 2.5ghz G5), I thought... why not merge, AND save money? So I got a hideaway desk that looks like an entertainment center, stuck it in my living room, and voila, my computer is also my entertainment center. All I do is push the Aeron out of the way when I'm entertaining guests
I've wanted this feature for forever- being able to add music videos to an iTunes playlist so that if, say, I'm entertaining people, I can have the visualizer playing for the regular audio content and the actual song video playing for those songs that I have a video for...
Because they are switching back to Dells.
Granted, OS X is not open-source, but I would have been OK with an OS X to complete-open-source migration. I am not OK with an OS X to Windoze backwards migration.
Here, I'll give you one.
/obligatory-troll (lol)
Any monolithic system creates a single point of failure. And since no system in existence is invulnerable, you are essentially creating a huge privacy security risk.
My 120gb drive could most likely store a very large amount of sensitive information about U.S. citizens. Any national ID system implies that this information WILL be present in a single location, and probably not just in 1 location, but duplicated in a few locations. If any ONE of these is broken into (imagine how valuable that database would be! are you kidding me?), we are all screwed.
The way it is now, with state ID's that are only required for driving, a database breakin or informational leak is confined to one area. I don't recall any such information theft (or perhaps we simply never hear about it), but a mass database of every U.S. citizen would be an order of magnitude more valuable to pilfer/hack.
Not to mention, there seems to be a history of required-national-ID-or-paperwork being a prelude to some very bad things (conjures images of "Vere are your paperzzz?!!?!") The Rwanda massacre, rise of the nazi party, etc. etc. It's just far too easy for someone in power to take advantage of.
And also, this is too much like that whole "mark of the beast" thing that those crazy thumpers warn about
I don't know how well this would serve as foundation material for weather-resistant buildings, because I have an inkling of a feeling that under that great a weight, flexing concrete would generate a decent amount of internal heat, and is it really designed to conduct that heat away?
The information that informs this feeling is that that is the same reason why we don't have solid rubber tires, the internal heat generated would melt the tire from the inside out under normal stresses.
Ahahahahaha.
Troll, time to do some reading on OS X system architecture. Note: Best viewed with Apple's Preview.app reader.
I've traveled to a lot of places and Georgia (particularly Atlanta and Savannah) has some of the nicest, most beautiful people I've ever seen. I have so many anecdotes. People have invited me off the street to their parties, I have nearly gotten in accidents while in dumbfounded awe at the beauty of some women... I was invited to sit with a table full of women at this restaurant and a cake shaped like a penis came out, it was insane... and most ironic of all, I met a girl in a Boston bar the other night (I've lived in Boston for a year, now) and she was beautiful, sweet... and only in town for the weekend... from Atlanta, Georgia. Damn.
The only thing appalling for me down there, actually, is the whole bible-belt thing and perhaps some old-school racism.
Sorta OT, but those Georgia folks sure have a clue how to live, it seems. Especially from a single guy's perspective...
What VCS does Microsoft use for its own internal development efforts?
;) Internally, we don't call it VSS, we call it SSS (SourceSafe Sux).
If it was Visual SourceSafe, then that might explain some... Windows issues.
It just seems like most of the large-project-oriented VCS's (Perforce, cvs, Subversion, etc.) are open-source.
In the late 80's/early 90's, I was all about VR. I devoured "The Media Lab" by Stuart Brand, about MIT's media lab, etc. Then I was a psych major at Cornell who focused on perception. I was going to post largely the same information that you just did. So instead I will add an interesting anecdote.
;)
;)
Yes, latency is the main bitch here, but there are a few extra bits of interesting info. One is that your nervous system already has its own latency "lag", and you are already adapted to it. The upshot is that it is possible to adapt to a bit more latency incurred by extra hardware. This has been shown in military virtual cockpit simulators that attempt to present a lot of information to a fighter pilot with a 3D display inside a helmet, as if he can "see through" the hull of the aircraft. The negative is that once you leave that environment, adjusting to the "normal" real-life latency leads you to get nauseous sometimes
Another interesting phenomenon of perception is that if you are walking in a curve with a large enough radius, you will not be able to tell (if blindfolded... or wearing a 3D VR HUD) whether you are walking in a straight line or not. So in theory you can have a fully-navigable VR system inside, say, a hangar, that tricks you into thinking you are walking forever in a straight line (i.e., in any direction in the world) when in actuality you might be walking in large figure 8's on the hangar floor. This of course conjured images in my head of real-life Holodecks and whatnot, but it's interesting nevertheless
Well, it comes up only when discussing the movie, which happens infrequently.
a "fix" for the button toolbar change in Mail 2.0, in case you loathe it and prefer the old style...
I am stunned at how good this article is. If he accepted PayPal, I'd put in 5 bucks for John, it was well worth it. I wasted (?) most of a workday afternoon digesting it in its entirety. SOO many tidbits of info! They include
1) How to enable ACL's on a non-Server OS X installation
2) The fact that Quartz 2D "Extreme" (wow! nice breakdown of the tech!) is there, but not turned on... and probably won't be until 10.4.1 or later... but you CAN turn it on temporarily... and it explains how.
3) How to play with the emerging metadata features
4) A description of how Spotlight (which is file-focused) indexes objects such as Address Book entries which are (normally) not stored as separate files
Etc., etc. Excellent.
YOU ROCK!
That was it! I had installed HTTPMail also, some time ago! Thank you!!
Very much one of those movies with a high ratio of quality/popularity. I watched it on a strong recommendation, enjoyed it highly (even with all the references to other sci-fi works), and everyone I've shown it to has also enjoyed it.
Christian Bale acted well in this flick as well as in American Psycho. (Although my fraternity friends unfortunately still love to quote that one line where he yells "Don't just look at her ass, eat it!")
That link takes one to a page which (when you click on "fullscreen") links to the iTunes Music Store.
It appears the iTMS is currently down! NONE of it works!
OMG, did you guys just Slashdot the iTMS?!?! ROTFL
I fired up Apple's Mail and although there were counts on my mailboxes, as soon as I clicked on them, the counts disappeared and there was nothing inside. Where did all my archived mail go? Even though I use Gmail mostly nowadays, I need to be able to access old mail for archival purposes. Anyone else see a bug like this when upgrading to Tiger?
I've seen recommendations NOT to install an OS on an iPod and boot off it regularly because it's not designed for the heavy disk activity long-term (heat dissipation, wear&tear, etc.)
Although it's definitely nice to be able to do so (boot off another device easily) on a Mac.
Almost impossibly, Apple has further improved PDF rendering in Tiger. You really have to see it to believe it. Multipage PDF's now fly on my system. I know it's hard to believe you can get excited about PDF rendering, but when I have to fight with clunky Acrobat Reader on my Windows laptop at work all day, it really makes the difference more jarring.
I couldn't help but be reminded of the China faction in the game Command & Conquer: Generals, which have a unit called the Hacker with the humorous ability of "hacking" money out of thin air. ;)
The reason Microsoft only got slaps on the wrist is ironically because judge Thomas Penfield Jackson could not hide his contempt for the defense, and therefore the case was effectively dismissed on the grounds of a biased judge.
That incredible fuckup and all its implications pain me to this day. To think, that the evidence was so clearly not in Microsoft's favor that the judge was openly (and unfortunately, vocally) hostile towards the defendant, so much so that the decision for the plaintiff was tossed out... The landscape of my industry might look a heck of a lot more interesting now if it wasn't for that.
Mark Twain's famous quote about statistics STILL applies.
Linux here is suffering from the same issue that Mac/Windows comparisons suffer from- Everyone has used Windows, but not everyone has used Macs, so quoting statistics such as "75% of computer users think non-Windows computers also have virus, spyware and security issues" really doesn't say squat, unless you ONLY survey those who use both regularly... but since that intersection is a much smaller set than the "set of all computer users", you run into other issues. or?
I loved computers and programming long before it was cool, and I will long after it is. I'm glad the temporary fanboys are leaving, so my chosen profession can be pure again. I am not the best programmer by far, and I am not the highest-paid one by far, but IMHO, the challenge of designing and building a good application out of thin air that fits a need well is the most fun you can have while still getting paid, without being a gigolo.
Can I get an amen?
I thought your post was very interesting. I happen to have a brilliant 5 year old nephew (who recently declared that "the Easter Bunny is nocturnal!") and even though I am a big videogame fan, I have been wary of exposing him to games for this reason among others. (Thankfully, I guess, his father is more into sports than games.)
A few months ago I might have criticized your decision, but the truth is that "beginnings matter" and exposure to some experiences too early (especially those that tap too well into the very punishment/reward mechanism of the brain) is probably not advisable.
I currently play World of Warcraft and there are times when hours pass and I feel bitter about the "loss of time". Beware of addictive timesucks that leave you nothing to show, but "levels"...
1) Explain the fact that somehow, you never consciously decided to like the opposite sex (since it is jarringly obvious that this is the only thing you ever conceived), yet somehow ALL homosexuals DID consciously decide to like the SAME sex, AND put up with all the shit that goes along with that. Explain that one to me. Gay sex must feel good something FIERCE, for these people to have to WANT to go through this shit. See the flaw in your logic? It pretty much HAS to be something you're born with, or at least, something you never "decided" to like.
2) It is "undermine", not "undermind".
3) Use of the phrase "sexual deviant" should be reserved for when someone is harmed, such as child abuse- not two consenting adults.
4) I have no idea when the fuck Apple became some sort of lightning-rod for computer-using fags, but it is really starting to piss me off. I loves me some pussy and I also use a G5 at home, and wish I didn't have to use Windows at work. I just have more of an open mind than about everyone I run into.