All the nice properties of Quantum Mechanics that makes Quantum Key Distribution works implies that it is impossible to have amplifier for quantum data. To amplify a signal, you need to read it, but reading it changes the data, which acts as an eavesdropper and thus prevent the key exhcnage to take place.
Down the road, someone bright enough might figure out a (probably weird) way to have 'routers' or 'amplifiers', but right now, it's not theorically feasible.
Yeah, but you exchange a key that can (and will) be broken when large integer factorization is going to be easier to compute.
With quantum key distribution, you not only exchange a key securely, you generate a one-time pad algorithm on the fly, which is the most secure way of encrypting data, being provably unbreakable.
Quantum Key Distribution(stop calling it quantum encryption) is a way to generate a one-time pad on the fly, on a totally secure communication line. Except for a man-in-the-middle attack(which renders ANY computational solutions useless, it's not something that can be solved with computer), you cannot eavesdrop the key exchange. This means you have a OTP without the potential problem of losing your pad or having a pad for every friend you want to talk to(well, you need a quantum link between each of them tho, but "wireless" quantum lines are in the work).
Since OTP is provably unbreakable, this is not only better than RSA, IT IS the best way to do it.
Yeah, but in QKD(Quantum Key Distribution) you generate OTP keys on the fly, so you actually don't need a "pad" to store keys, meaning someone cannot stole your keys.
In the article they are talking about the X800 XT, not the X800 Pro. My friend has a X800 Pro, so it's hardly vaporware. However, anyone got a X800 XT? Are they really on to something or just did poor research? I know they are pretty damn rare and don't know anyone with one(which hardly proves anything), but vaporware?
For all its praise I'm not too happy with steam. The essence of which boiled down to this for me; pay $50 for a game, then download it at 30-50K/s (on a line capable of 200K/s).
First, I bought HL2 on steam before it's release, so I already had the whole game on my PC when the game was released, so I only went thru a ~10 minutes 'unlocking' phase. Then I went right in the game. That was a 4 am EST, 1 hour after the game was released(midnight PST).
My friend bought it this weekend from Steam. He downloaded the game at 600-800KB/s, which is pretty much the max he can get. At first he was a 50KB/s, but after opening the correct Steam ports on his router, he was flying.
To add insult to injury, I have to go through Steam every time I try to play the game, which wastes a few seconds 'Preparing' for an unknown reason (I have heard that it actually connects to the server every time I play... which seems rather redundant)
You can play in offline mode, BUT you either have to disconnect yourself from the net or do some non-obvious tweaking. A big 'play offline' button would be nice, I agree. You still need to be connected to the net to authentify the game if you bought it in store.
On the other hand, I think it's a MUCH better piracy protection that having it on the CD (which results in slow load times, incompatibility problems, etc.) The problem is that Vivendi Universal included a CD-check on the boxed version, which defeats the purpose IMHO, but that's not Valve's fault. I'd rather have no cd-checks but authenticate the game once via the net, than to have a cd-check over and over and having to download 'untrusted' cd fix to bypass it(if you're so inclined).
In terms of the game itself, I haven't played Half Life (1), so I really don't understand what is going on, or why. Vague references from the in game charecters hint at what is going on, but I really think I would have needed to play the first game to understand
Well, playing HL1 won't help much. The 'basics' of HL1 and HL2 is this: you are at the wrong place at the wrong time and all hell break lose. The only driving force is survival, but along the way you encounter people that help you or that you help out to survive. It's a 'fugitive' feel in HL2 while you're trapped and need to get out in HL1. I believe no story is needed for those kinds of games, as they suck you right in. Some people might not like that kind of narrative tho, so I can understand you.
Valve needs to walk over to Bungie with a presents one day, and beg them for education on how this load/save/death thing should work. Pausing for 3-20seconds in the middle of an action sequence while the game loads the next zone doesn't make any sense and just works to break up the game play. Death also requires a reload of the previous checkpoint. This is all stuff that Bungie figgured out for Halo 2, if only Valve could watch and learn.
Hmmm... You ever loaded in the middle of action? I finished it this weekend and NEVER loaded in middle of action. Might depends on play style, but I rarely pussy-out of combat and run back.
For the other part, well, you die then load your last save game. I never played Halo 2 but I can't see how different it is. You know you can quicksave with the F6 key, right?
The physics is fun, I really enjoy the ocasional puzzle with ropes and weights, It adds a little something, especially when most of them are optional for extra ammo or health. You feel like you've accomplished a little something when it's done. There have been a few places in a game where I was requird to load a previous save in order to continue (dune buggy was under water, and couldn't be moved,
Tried the gravity gun to get it out of water? You shouldn't be stuck often, and in this case it needed creative thinking =) And yeah, physics really adds to this game, it's not just eye candy, which I love.
Well, if you've played DOOM, you whould know what IDK is... it's the start of the most awesome cheat ever IDKFA! So he means: Give me a shit load of weapons and ammunitions and let me kick FDA's ass. Really. He's just a communist afterall.
Isn't that argument ("only commercial software spurs economical growth"), which seems to be the biggest gun of MS and other entities against Free/Open Source softwares, only the Broken Window Fallacy applied to something else?
I mean, surely they can't be serious. The govt have the choice bewteen paying a lot of money for commercial software, or much much less for free/open source software. The opponent of FOSS says that since they pay more, and people working for companies are earning money and got a job, it spurs the economic growth as opposed to FOSS who supports some people in their basement given nothing back to the economy.
Isn't this bullshit? I mean, if they pay MUCH less for the needed system/software, they have MORE money left afterward, money that can be INJECTED back in the economy in different ways. So, the govt fulfilled their needs PLUS they have more money for the economy, and can spend it anyway they want.
It's WIN/WIN isn't it? With commercial, they get their software at an overinflated price and they inject money ONLY in a specific part of economy and don't have the luxury to choose how to spend it.
2) Don't accept drinks from others or leave your drinks behind and pick them up later. I don't care if s/he's your best friend, turn it down and get your own drink. Doesn't matter what time of day it is. Be careful. If this doesn't make sense to you, reread #1.
I'll expand to this and say that EVEN for guys, this advice holds.
Never leave your drink unattended. Never. Especially if you are alone.
A friend of mine was chatting with a nice lady he just met in a bar, when she convinced him for a quick dance. It was going well, until he came back, drank the rest of his beer and passed out, thanks to GHB.
He woke up the next morning in the hospital, with his asshole tored up and full of stitches. He sometimes has flashback of him getting raped in the ass by 2-3 guys. They probably worked with the girl to scout potentials and used her to distract him.
So, yeah, even guys need to watch out for that kind of things.
They are not illegal by Geneva or any international body's standards.
Well, they are abusing the system a lot. All the prisoners at Guantanamo are not POW(Prisoners of War), they are called all sort of names to dodge the geneva convention. They are given silly labels that means nothing legally, like "battlefield detainees" or "enemy combatant" or some such. Red Cross urged the US many times to label them POW because they meet all criteria, but the US never complied, holding to its silly labeling.
What do you want the red cross, or the UN, to do? Sanction the US? haha.
All prisoners during a war should be POW, no questions asked. But, you know, because they 'attacked' the US troops, that makes them 'enemy combatant' and not POW. Woohoo! Holy legal dodge Batman!
Well, your point of view is EXACTLY why MS is getting in trouble. There are a lot of issues where the US is over sensitive: terrorism/911 for example. Didn't Westwood had to change the box art because the box for Red Alert 2 showed the WTC towers? Howabout abortion? A lot of people/factions/etc. are very sensitive in the US too. If those people are in a position of power they'll do the same. I'm not saying they are right or wrong, I'm telling you how this puts MS in diffcult positions all around the world.
1) So? What's your point? They can still be sensitive about it. It's not because of of the bombing in Oklahoma that US couldn't be sensitive about 911.
2) Well, what if people outside the US started using the US flags with 46 stars? Let me tell you, patriotic americans would be up in arms. Same thing happening.
3) Yup, a difference in dialect. Mexican spanish is not like the rest of south america's spanish. They should have researched that before.
4) Well, because it's not a LAW to remove Cuba from the map. It's a LAW in china to refer Taiwan as china's territory.
5) Dunno, after the american revolution, what if people abroad would still use the Queen's birthday instead of the 4th of july as the official holiday of the US?
The fact that *you* find something silly doesn't invalidate the point. Others find it important/sensitive. We're talking about MS losing sales, for good reasons. You agreeing with the reasons or not doesn't make it less or more real for Microsoft.
You could say: fuck the others viewpoints. Go ahead, but expect to be viewed as a bitch by the rest of the world and good luck starting an international venture.
Are you sure you watched Firefly and not John Doe or Fast Lane? True, you had to watch more than a couple episodes to get into(especially since the first few eps Fox decided to show were just OK, while the pilot(that they showed at the END of the series...?) was great, maybe that's why you 'hated' it. Or maybe that, for you, sci-fi = aliens and space battles? It's probably the total opposite of Star Trek in terms of Sci-Fi.
And, I dunno, I HATE westerns and all, but the movie never dwelled into a 'cowboys' in space thing. It's more of a setting things. Sure sme bar fights here and there, a couple of horse rides and shootouts, but it added an interesting element to the story, wasn't just for show.
Still, I coul understand someone not liking it, as it was not something standard at all, but hating it? That's a bit strong, isn't it?
I don't like nVidia because they have fallen so much since the TNT2 era. It seems that, since they bough 3dfx, they are going the same way as the voodoo cards: going for pure FPS, anyway they can. Engineering be damned.
The new FX cards requires 2!! slots and 2 power connectors!! They are big, have really noisy fans, but hey, they are faster and can run in SLI!(remember voodoo SLi?) W00t.
I dunno, I believe that ATi as a much better card, not because it can churn out more FPS, but because it is small, requires much less power and have somewhat quiet fans. Also, 2d image quality is still better on a ATi(still doesn't come close to Matrox, but better than nVidia). AA is much better(although slower) on ATI too. Dual screen support is much better too. Only linux support is worse than nVidia, but still not bad. Anyway, I wouldn't buy a ATI x800 on my linux workstation, would be pretty useless IMHO.
Really, nVidia tries to do like 3dfx: look, we have more FPS in games, we're better. Same as : look, we have more MHz, we're better.
Still, I think ATI cards are too expensive, but it's because they use more technologically advanced manufacturing compared to nVidia, so the higher cost comes there, even for a much smaller package. Next gen cards should start getting cheaper. Well, I hope =)
64x64 texture?? 1996 called, they want their textures back. Usually High Res texture are at least around 512x512 at 32 bits, so around 8 megs per tetxures, a bit higher than 16k.
Most of the memory used nowadays are for textures. That's why videocards have 256/512mb ram now alone, mostly for the framebuffers and textures.
I won't even respond to the rest of your post =) You've obviously never written a multimedia/game application.
I was reading a while ago a comment that started to make me think. I don't remember who and when,. but it went something like this:
"Let's say we invent a car replicator that could replicate cars at the cost of raw materials. Car manufacturer would go bankrupt. It would throw of the economy as resources aren't as scarce now, and that's the basis of economy(along with unlimited needs)"
Then a reply:
"But they[car manufacturers] would fight to the death to make this not happend, have it outlawed and destroyed in it's infancy."
Then I started thinking...
Let's go back to the basics. Things cost money because of 2 things: 1) It costs money to produce/sell/ship/etc. 2) Supply and Demands
The economy is based on the fact that a near 0 cost is impossible and that supplies are limited.
However, with the net we see a radical shift about Information(data). Demand is very high and supplies unlimited(you can copy bits at [virtually] no costs.) Any commodity that can be turned into pure data is at 'risk' of this new paradigm. It throws off economy completely.
Is it bad?
Take the car example above... would it be a bad thing for people, us? It sure would be bad for corpos, but us? (ok, bad example, car pollutes and all, more traffic jams, etc...)
Let's say we have machine that replicates food instead, at virtually no cost. It would make all companies producing food to go out of business, so it's going to be really bad for the economy, same as cars. However, is it going to be bad for us, humans? for humanity? Heck, we'd be able to feed everyone at virtually no cost.
Building replicators? Energy replicators/cold fusion? Hell, we'd solve all our problems.
Sure, it's science fiction... unless we're talking about data. With internet and all, costs to replicate and share data is near to nil. We have those sci-fi things in our hands right now, but its restricted to data and information. Is it bad? It's throwing economy off for sure, but in the end, isn't it better this way?
Sure, RIAA and all are in a uproar, and they should be. Since music, movies, games, etc. can all be conveyed using only data and have no material worth, this throws their market off.
I believe we'll have to adapt to this new economy. 'The Information Economy'(TIE, that makes us TIE Fighters... ok, bad pun, couldn't resist =). RIAA and all needs to revise their market and all, they'll need major changes if they want to survive. Market based on information and data will be obselete soon(tm). They'll have to start making actual products to make money.
I don't advocate filesharing of copyrighted materials and all per se, but we won't be able to stop it... and I don't think we should try to stop it. Information wants to be free. It sucks that music, movies, games, etc. are *all* data, but it's not humanity's fault, and certainly not OUR fault. why should we pay for people who based their revenu on information that can now be copied at virtually no cost?
Information is free because it doesn't fit in the whole 'economy' we created. What should we do, fight it? Embrace it? Makes you think, doesn't it?
I say, let's do what's best for us, humans, in the long run, and not corpos that will come and go.
Then again, that's my somewhat socialist view of the whole thing, so YMMV =)
So, "Mommy what does f__k mean?" or worse is not considered harm coming from a 4 year old who happened to see the wrong TV show?
I always liked that 'argument'. Let's get outside the debate right now, my opinion on it isn't important. What is important is your reaction to the above.
Do you fear it? Are you insecure because your 4 years old said that? Do you know how to react? How will you react? Will you explanation change depending on your child's age? What's the difference, for you, between 4 or 8 or 14 years old?
You should be prepared. You do not have to shelter your child from the world, just help them protect themselves and know better. You educate your children, you do not dictate their lives. I think it's the mistake most parents do. If you avoid he question with your 4 yrs old, he will hear it soemwhere anyway and might start saying it because he has no idea what is the impact of the word, since you never told him.
Why does everyone love the last flight of the osiris that much? The opening duel scene is long and boring, catering to young geeks that wants to see *virtual* skin. Wow, he cut her shirt, wohoo!
What's the appeal? The last part is a little better, but the story is weak, only having maybe 2-3 important bits.
Sure, the animations was superb (felt a bit contrived in some parts tho) but still, can't see why everyone loved it so much. I much prefered the others. Heck, I believe the 4 free animatrix they offered on their website are the bests IMHO. The art in Detective Story is more appealing to me, and the animation on Program was incredible. The Second Renaissance is packed with info and the art is also nice.
I dunno, sure Squaresoft anims are usually high quality, but I was pretty disappointed with it after that much hype.
The paragraph you quoted is bullshit. I know they use numbers later on, but they want to lie/argue with stats on this one, which is irrevelent.
Take for example 33% of OSX vuln. are high or extreme vs 30% for XP... If OSX has only 3 vulnerabilities and 1 of them is high/extreme, then it makes 33%! XP could have 100 exploits and 30 of them high/extreme for a lower 30%. The stats here are meaningless. 33% of what?
I have a different story here. All my maxtor drives crapped out on me(old and new ones), some after only 1-2 month, some after a year. One time the first drive died after 2 months, then the replacement drive died after 1 month, then the other replacement drive died after 4 months... then I stopped sending RMA and now I buy only WD or Seagates.
I think it's the same with Motherboard... some people have more affinity with some specific brand, but overall, they are all mostly equal.
What I like about Seagate is their 3 years warranty instead of 1.
I won't try to argue about the language police. If you break the law and don't want to pay the small fine, then too bad. The fine isn't that big, and it's not that hard to comply. Why does everyone works with that without problems but there is always a self-righteous group that wants to fight it? There are always 2-3 public cases like these that are beaten and debated to death. Like I said, I would personally not mind, but it's not the case for everyone, especially not the law.
Heck, I find the american constitution, especially the part about firearms to be totally stupid. I cannot understand why you want to have guns and stuff, it's just totally criptic for me and I believe it's dangerous for the lives of other and against the charter of rights. Does that means it's a stupid thing? No. I respect our southern neighbors for it and understand that it's a cultural thing, with the revolution, founding fathers and all. Our language law has the same exact root. We have language police, the US has the NRA and laws defending this ideal. The right to bear arms, the right to live ina french province. I personally find our much less dangerous but that's just me.
The thing is, except in Montreal, most people speak french and often doesn't even speak english. We're a province whose the official language is French, but we're lost in a sea of english speaking people. It's hard for a canadian or american to understand, but we're a minority who happens to have a whole province to itself. How do you want to preserve a culture? It's pretty hard as it is, but I agree the penalties for the 101 law is usually way too draconian.
As for your personal attacks, they are quite vain I believe. What most people don't understand is that we don't hate english speaking people, or their culture or whatever. Heck, I work in english all day, read english books, watch movies in english, etc. There's a minority that does hate you, as there's a minority of racist, nazi, KKK, etc. in every culture anyway.
We don't mind the rest of Canada, however, we believe we could rule ourselves better as a nation. It's not that we hate them, it's that we believe that they cannot rule fairly for us and our specific needs. I'm not that seperatist, but I can understand why some people are, especially when you check history and see how shafted we've been in the past.
Also, don't bring the Bloc into it, beside being a seperatist, its a left group that many people, english people, outside Quebec would vote for if they had candidates outside Quebec and dropped the seperatist part.
We could say the same of the Prairies, who voted about 80%+ Conservative. Should we hate them too because they don't vote Liberals? Heck, there was even a movement for the seperation of the west a couple of years ago. Should they be lapidated because they voted en masse for another party?
Also, about the West Island "mov[ing] out because they couldn't work with the new laws". They still are govern by the same laws wherever they are, so I don't understand this argument.
You see, people gather in communities. We, the french speaking people living in a greater english Canada, band together and try to defend our common interests, whatever they are, because we believe some of the laws and politics are not for our best interests.
Then, english people living among us band together in small english communities for exactly the same motives. You cannot say, without being biased, that it's different. I approve of people gathering in communities and cultures(greek, jewish, etc.) to be stronger and defend their interests. Heck, Montreal is extremely multicultural, it's incredible. I live in one of the most multi-ethnic part of Montreal (Cotes-des-neiges) and I'm a white middle aged man and feel at home, having all kinds of restaurants and cultural events around me.
It just happens that we are(Quebec) a lot bigger than most communities and have a province and a governement(provincial) to ourselves. Heck, our territory is 3 times as big
The "Loi 101" (Law 101) that tries protect the french langauge (whether you agree with it or not) doesn't force people to speak french.
Also, there are no Language Police or anything like that.
However, the laws does put some restrictions: Public display(ads, etc.) must be in french. It can also be both in french and english, provided that the french font is X%(10-15 I think) larger than the english font, so that it's predominantly french. Also, public channels(hotline, support line, websites, etc.) must have a french version.
Also, the government (or companies under governmental control, like Hydro Quebec) must use french as an official language, which only means that accounting and such is in french. It can also be in english, provided that a french version is also done. It doesn't mean everyone must speak french.
Actually, there are a lot of english only companies, they just have to advertise in french and provide support in french, so only an handful of person actually need to be bilingual.
Like I said, there is no 'language police', but people can complain to the govt about a company advertising/having a sign only in english, and the company can be fined.
This is probably not exhaustive, but I think it shows that it's not draconian like you said.
I do not personally agree with the law(and I'm french, but I find it stupid, especially the "the font must be X% bigger in french" part) but I reckon that it's at least a somewhat good attempt to try to protect our language and culture in a sea of english speaking people, I wasn't able to find another one.
And, BTW, like anything(religion, race, language, etc.), some people always act badly and are filled with hate, but don't let them fool you, the french speaking people are usually friendly toward other canadians and americans, and if you come downtown or in the west part of Montreal(which is the english speaking community), 90%+ of the people will speak english anyway so you won't have a problem. Heck, the whole west island is english only, not many speaks french there.
You may be right, but CANNOT is pretty strong language. I can see that one cannot "read" the data without collapsing the wavefunction, but I wonder if one cannot create further entanglements that copy the information or otherwise permit manipulation of the data streams inside a sealed Schroedinger box.
Yes it seems to be strong. However, the laws of quantum mechanics are pretty strong on this, here are 2 of those laws:
- You cannot read quantum information without changing it. - You cannot copy quantum information.
Hence, you cannot play 'inside a Schroedinger box' like you stated.
This is why quantum encryption is useless. It only works if both the sender and the recipient happen to have a dedicated quantum-fiber hardline between them. With no way to switch or route a connection, the system needs O(N^2) lines that connect every possible sender to every possible recipient.
This is true... if you only use fiber. Most recent implementation uses 'wireless' methods over open air, which would only require a kind of 'quantum dish' or something, which is much better than having to lay fiber lines everywhere.
Hmmmm.. . I'm now imagining a franchise retail operation (McQuantalds? PhotonBucks?) that lets two people exchange private keys that they then use for communications on the normal internet. A limited number of franchise outlets could maintain a full complement of secure connections to other outlets.
To be effective and uncoditionally secure, the key must be randomly generated BEFORE sending each message and needs to be used only once, so I doubt these kinds of outlets would be useful.
Yet the system is still vulnerable at the edges. Anything between the magic quantum modem (an entangler/de-entangler or enden?) and the user is the weak link -- being vulnerable to all manner of attacks and snooping (keyboard loggers, backdoors, etc.). The quantum stuff only secures a fraction of the channel.
Which is true for everything: once a message it decrypted, it's vulnerable. Social engineering is not a technological problem, it's a social problem, thus it cannot be solved solely by technology.
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What? QKD (quantum Key Distribution) generates a OTP key on the fly using the quantum link. AFAIK, there is no bandwith problem.
It is currently working and some companies are selling those system (idQuantique comes to mind). It doesn't use AES, as it would be pointless.
Yes.
All the nice properties of Quantum Mechanics that makes Quantum Key Distribution works implies that it is impossible to have amplifier for quantum data. To amplify a signal, you need to read it, but reading it changes the data, which acts as an eavesdropper and thus prevent the key exhcnage to take place.
Down the road, someone bright enough might figure out a (probably weird) way to have 'routers' or 'amplifiers', but right now, it's not theorically feasible.
Yeah, but you exchange a key that can (and will) be broken when large integer factorization is going to be easier to compute.
With quantum key distribution, you not only exchange a key securely, you generate a one-time pad algorithm on the fly, which is the most secure way of encrypting data, being provably unbreakable.
Quantum Key Distribution(stop calling it quantum encryption) is a way to generate a one-time pad on the fly, on a totally secure communication line. Except for a man-in-the-middle attack(which renders ANY computational solutions useless, it's not something that can be solved with computer), you cannot eavesdrop the key exchange. This means you have a OTP without the potential problem of losing your pad or having a pad for every friend you want to talk to(well, you need a quantum link between each of them tho, but "wireless" quantum lines are in the work).
Since OTP is provably unbreakable, this is not only better than RSA, IT IS the best way to do it.
Yeah, but in QKD(Quantum Key Distribution) you generate OTP keys on the fly, so you actually don't need a "pad" to store keys, meaning someone cannot stole your keys.
In the article they are talking about the X800 XT, not the X800 Pro. My friend has a X800 Pro, so it's hardly vaporware. However, anyone got a X800 XT? Are they really on to something or just did poor research? I know they are pretty damn rare and don't know anyone with one(which hardly proves anything), but vaporware?
Here's my anecdotal rebutal =)
For all its praise I'm not too happy with steam. The essence of which boiled down to this for me; pay $50 for a game, then download it at 30-50K/s (on a line capable of 200K/s).
First, I bought HL2 on steam before it's release, so I already had the whole game on my PC when the game was released, so I only went thru a ~10 minutes 'unlocking' phase. Then I went right in the game. That was a 4 am EST, 1 hour after the game was released(midnight PST).
My friend bought it this weekend from Steam. He downloaded the game at 600-800KB/s, which is pretty much the max he can get. At first he was a 50KB/s, but after opening the correct Steam ports on his router, he was flying.
To add insult to injury, I have to go through Steam every time I try to play the game, which wastes a few seconds 'Preparing' for an unknown reason (I have heard that it actually connects to the server every time I play... which seems rather redundant)
You can play in offline mode, BUT you either have to disconnect yourself from the net or do some non-obvious tweaking. A big 'play offline' button would be nice, I agree. You still need to be connected to the net to authentify the game if you bought it in store.
On the other hand, I think it's a MUCH better piracy protection that having it on the CD (which results in slow load times, incompatibility problems, etc.) The problem is that Vivendi Universal included a CD-check on the boxed version, which defeats the purpose IMHO, but that's not Valve's fault. I'd rather have no cd-checks but authenticate the game once via the net, than to have a cd-check over and over and having to download 'untrusted' cd fix to bypass it(if you're so inclined).
In terms of the game itself, I haven't played Half Life (1), so I really don't understand what is going on, or why. Vague references from the in game charecters hint at what is going on, but I really think I would have needed to play the first game to understand
Well, playing HL1 won't help much. The 'basics' of HL1 and HL2 is this: you are at the wrong place at the wrong time and all hell break lose. The only driving force is survival, but along the way you encounter people that help you or that you help out to survive. It's a 'fugitive' feel in HL2 while you're trapped and need to get out in HL1. I believe no story is needed for those kinds of games, as they suck you right in. Some people might not like that kind of narrative tho, so I can understand you.
Valve needs to walk over to Bungie with a presents one day, and beg them for education on how this load/save/death thing should work. Pausing for 3-20seconds in the middle of an action sequence while the game loads the next zone doesn't make any sense and just works to break up the game play. Death also requires a reload of the previous checkpoint. This is all stuff that Bungie figgured out for Halo 2, if only Valve could watch and learn.
Hmmm... You ever loaded in the middle of action? I finished it this weekend and NEVER loaded in middle of action. Might depends on play style, but I rarely pussy-out of combat and run back.
For the other part, well, you die then load your last save game. I never played Halo 2 but I can't see how different it is. You know you can quicksave with the F6 key, right?
The physics is fun, I really enjoy the ocasional puzzle with ropes and weights, It adds a little something, especially when most of them are optional for extra ammo or health. You feel like you've accomplished a little something when it's done. There have been a few places in a game where I was requird to load a previous save in order to continue (dune buggy was under water, and couldn't be moved,
Tried the gravity gun to get it out of water? You shouldn't be stuck often, and in this case it needed creative thinking =) And yeah, physics really adds to this game, it's not just eye candy, which I love.
I was surrounded by radioactive slime, an
Well, if you've played DOOM, you whould know what IDK is... it's the start of the most awesome cheat ever IDKFA! So he means: Give me a shit load of weapons and ammunitions and let me kick FDA's ass. Really. He's just a communist afterall.
Isn't that argument ("only commercial software spurs economical growth"), which seems to be the biggest gun of MS and other entities against Free/Open Source softwares, only the Broken Window Fallacy applied to something else?
I mean, surely they can't be serious. The govt have the choice bewteen paying a lot of money for commercial software, or much much less for free/open source software. The opponent of FOSS says that since they pay more, and people working for companies are earning money and got a job, it spurs the economic growth as opposed to FOSS who supports some people in their basement given nothing back to the economy.
Isn't this bullshit? I mean, if they pay MUCH less for the needed system/software, they have MORE money left afterward, money that can be INJECTED back in the economy in different ways. So, the govt fulfilled their needs PLUS they have more money for the economy, and can spend it anyway they want.
It's WIN/WIN isn't it? With commercial, they get their software at an overinflated price and they inject money ONLY in a specific part of economy and don't have the luxury to choose how to spend it.
2) Don't accept drinks from others or leave your drinks behind and pick them up later. I don't care if s/he's your best friend, turn it down and get your own drink. Doesn't matter what time of day it is. Be careful. If this doesn't make sense to you, reread #1.
I'll expand to this and say that EVEN for guys, this advice holds.
Never leave your drink unattended. Never. Especially if you are alone.
A friend of mine was chatting with a nice lady he just met in a bar, when she convinced him for a quick dance. It was going well, until he came back, drank the rest of his beer and passed out, thanks to GHB.
He woke up the next morning in the hospital, with his asshole tored up and full of stitches. He sometimes has flashback of him getting raped in the ass by 2-3 guys. They probably worked with the girl to scout potentials and used her to distract him.
So, yeah, even guys need to watch out for that kind of things.
Only if it goes to 11.
I will just reply to one point:
They are not illegal by Geneva or any international body's standards.
Well, they are abusing the system a lot. All the prisoners at Guantanamo are not POW(Prisoners of War), they are called all sort of names to dodge the geneva convention. They are given silly labels that means nothing legally, like "battlefield detainees" or "enemy combatant" or some such. Red Cross urged the US many times to label them POW because they meet all criteria, but the US never complied, holding to its silly labeling.
What do you want the red cross, or the UN, to do? Sanction the US? haha.
All prisoners during a war should be POW, no questions asked. But, you know, because they 'attacked' the US troops, that makes them 'enemy combatant' and not POW. Woohoo! Holy legal dodge Batman!
Well, your point of view is EXACTLY why MS is getting in trouble. There are a lot of issues where the US is over sensitive: terrorism/911 for example. Didn't Westwood had to change the box art because the box for Red Alert 2 showed the WTC towers? Howabout abortion? A lot of people/factions/etc. are very sensitive in the US too. If those people are in a position of power they'll do the same. I'm not saying they are right or wrong, I'm telling you how this puts MS in diffcult positions all around the world.
1) So? What's your point? They can still be sensitive about it. It's not because of of the bombing in Oklahoma that US couldn't be sensitive about 911.
2) Well, what if people outside the US started using the US flags with 46 stars? Let me tell you, patriotic americans would be up in arms. Same thing happening.
3) Yup, a difference in dialect. Mexican spanish is not like the rest of south america's spanish. They should have researched that before.
4) Well, because it's not a LAW to remove Cuba from the map. It's a LAW in china to refer Taiwan as china's territory.
5) Dunno, after the american revolution, what if people abroad would still use the Queen's birthday instead of the 4th of july as the official holiday of the US?
The fact that *you* find something silly doesn't invalidate the point. Others find it important/sensitive. We're talking about MS losing sales, for good reasons. You agreeing with the reasons or not doesn't make it less or more real for Microsoft.
You could say: fuck the others viewpoints. Go ahead, but expect to be viewed as a bitch by the rest of the world and good luck starting an international venture.
200% increase != 2x. 200% increase == x3.
100% increase = 2x.
Are you sure you watched Firefly and not John Doe or Fast Lane? True, you had to watch more than a couple episodes to get into(especially since the first few eps Fox decided to show were just OK, while the pilot(that they showed at the END of the series...?) was great, maybe that's why you 'hated' it. Or maybe that, for you, sci-fi = aliens and space battles? It's probably the total opposite of Star Trek in terms of Sci-Fi.
And, I dunno, I HATE westerns and all, but the movie never dwelled into a 'cowboys' in space thing. It's more of a setting things. Sure sme bar fights here and there, a couple of horse rides and shootouts, but it added an interesting element to the story, wasn't just for show.
Still, I coul understand someone not liking it, as it was not something standard at all, but hating it? That's a bit strong, isn't it?
I don't like nVidia because they have fallen so much since the TNT2 era. It seems that, since they bough 3dfx, they are going the same way as the voodoo cards: going for pure FPS, anyway they can. Engineering be damned.
The new FX cards requires 2!! slots and 2 power connectors!! They are big, have really noisy fans, but hey, they are faster and can run in SLI!(remember voodoo SLi?) W00t.
I dunno, I believe that ATi as a much better card, not because it can churn out more FPS, but because it is small, requires much less power and have somewhat quiet fans. Also, 2d image quality is still better on a ATi(still doesn't come close to Matrox, but better than nVidia). AA is much better(although slower) on ATI too. Dual screen support is much better too. Only linux support is worse than nVidia, but still not bad. Anyway, I wouldn't buy a ATI x800 on my linux workstation, would be pretty useless IMHO.
Really, nVidia tries to do like 3dfx: look, we have more FPS in games, we're better. Same as : look, we have more MHz, we're better.
Still, I think ATI cards are too expensive, but it's because they use more technologically advanced manufacturing compared to nVidia, so the higher cost comes there, even for a much smaller package. Next gen cards should start getting cheaper. Well, I hope =)
I hope this was a joke...
64x64 texture?? 1996 called, they want their textures back. Usually High Res texture are at least around 512x512 at 32 bits, so around 8 megs per tetxures, a bit higher than 16k.
Most of the memory used nowadays are for textures. That's why videocards have 256/512mb ram now alone, mostly for the framebuffers and textures.
I won't even respond to the rest of your post =) You've obviously never written a multimedia/game application.
Ok, a little rant here.
I was reading a while ago a comment that started to make me think. I don't remember who and when,. but it went something like this:
"Let's say we invent a car replicator that could replicate cars at the cost of raw materials. Car manufacturer would go bankrupt. It would throw of the economy as resources aren't as scarce now, and that's the basis of economy(along with unlimited needs)"
Then a reply:
"But they[car manufacturers] would fight to the death to make this not happend, have it outlawed and destroyed in it's infancy."
Then I started thinking...
Let's go back to the basics. Things cost money because of 2 things:
1) It costs money to produce/sell/ship/etc.
2) Supply and Demands
The economy is based on the fact that a near 0 cost is impossible and that supplies are limited.
However, with the net we see a radical shift about Information(data). Demand is very high and supplies unlimited(you can copy bits at [virtually] no costs.) Any commodity that can be turned into pure data is at 'risk' of this new paradigm. It throws off economy completely.
Is it bad?
Take the car example above... would it be a bad thing for people, us? It sure would be bad for corpos, but us? (ok, bad example, car pollutes and all, more traffic jams, etc...)
Let's say we have machine that replicates food instead, at virtually no cost. It would make all companies producing food to go out of business, so it's going to be really bad for the economy, same as cars. However, is it going to be bad for us, humans? for humanity? Heck, we'd be able to feed everyone at virtually no cost.
Building replicators? Energy replicators/cold fusion? Hell, we'd solve all our problems.
Sure, it's science fiction... unless we're talking about data. With internet and all, costs to replicate and share data is near to nil. We have those sci-fi things in our hands right now, but its restricted to data and information. Is it bad? It's throwing economy off for sure, but in the end, isn't it better this way?
Sure, RIAA and all are in a uproar, and they should be. Since music, movies, games, etc. can all be conveyed using only data and have no material worth, this throws their market off.
I believe we'll have to adapt to this new economy. 'The Information Economy'(TIE, that makes us TIE Fighters... ok, bad pun, couldn't resist =). RIAA and all needs to revise their market and all, they'll need major changes if they want to survive. Market based on information and data will be obselete soon(tm). They'll have to start making actual products to make money.
I don't advocate filesharing of copyrighted materials and all per se, but we won't be able to stop it... and I don't think we should try to stop it. Information wants to be free. It sucks that music, movies, games, etc. are *all* data, but it's not humanity's fault, and certainly not OUR fault. why should we pay for people who based their revenu on information that can now be copied at virtually no cost?
Information is free because it doesn't fit in the whole 'economy' we created. What should we do, fight it? Embrace it? Makes you think, doesn't it?
I say, let's do what's best for us, humans, in the long run, and not corpos that will come and go.
Then again, that's my somewhat socialist view of the whole thing, so YMMV =)
So, "Mommy what does f__k mean?" or worse is not considered harm coming from a 4 year old who happened to see the wrong TV show?
I always liked that 'argument'. Let's get outside the debate right now, my opinion on it isn't important. What is important is your reaction to the above.
Do you fear it? Are you insecure because your 4 years old said that? Do you know how to react? How will you react? Will you explanation change depending on your child's age? What's the difference, for you, between 4 or 8 or 14 years old?
You should be prepared. You do not have to shelter your child from the world, just help them protect themselves and know better. You educate your children, you do not dictate their lives. I think it's the mistake most parents do. If you avoid he question with your 4 yrs old, he will hear it soemwhere anyway and might start saying it because he has no idea what is the impact of the word, since you never told him.
Ok, back to topic now.
Why does everyone love the last flight of the osiris that much? The opening duel scene is long and boring, catering to young geeks that wants to see *virtual* skin. Wow, he cut her shirt, wohoo!
What's the appeal? The last part is a little better, but the story is weak, only having maybe 2-3 important bits.
Sure, the animations was superb (felt a bit contrived in some parts tho) but still, can't see why everyone loved it so much. I much prefered the others. Heck, I believe the 4 free animatrix they offered on their website are the bests IMHO. The art in Detective Story is more appealing to me, and the animation on Program was incredible. The Second Renaissance is packed with info and the art is also nice.
I dunno, sure Squaresoft anims are usually high quality, but I was pretty disappointed with it after that much hype.
The paragraph you quoted is bullshit. I know they use numbers later on, but they want to lie/argue with stats on this one, which is irrevelent.
Take for example 33% of OSX vuln. are high or extreme vs 30% for XP... If OSX has only 3 vulnerabilities and 1 of them is high/extreme, then it makes 33%! XP could have 100 exploits and 30 of them high/extreme for a lower 30%. The stats here are meaningless. 33% of what?
I have a different story here. All my maxtor drives crapped out on me(old and new ones), some after only 1-2 month, some after a year. One time the first drive died after 2 months, then the replacement drive died after 1 month, then the other replacement drive died after 4 months... then I stopped sending RMA and now I buy only WD or Seagates.
I think it's the same with Motherboard... some people have more affinity with some specific brand, but overall, they are all mostly equal.
What I like about Seagate is their 3 years warranty instead of 1.
I won't try to argue about the language police. If you break the law and don't want to pay the small fine, then too bad. The fine isn't that big, and it's not that hard to comply. Why does everyone works with that without problems but there is always a self-righteous group that wants to fight it? There are always 2-3 public cases like these that are beaten and debated to death. Like I said, I would personally not mind, but it's not the case for everyone, especially not the law.
Heck, I find the american constitution, especially the part about firearms to be totally stupid. I cannot understand why you want to have guns and stuff, it's just totally criptic for me and I believe it's dangerous for the lives of other and against the charter of rights. Does that means it's a stupid thing? No. I respect our southern neighbors for it and understand that it's a cultural thing, with the revolution, founding fathers and all. Our language law has the same exact root. We have language police, the US has the NRA and laws defending this ideal. The right to bear arms, the right to live ina french province. I personally find our much less dangerous but that's just me.
The thing is, except in Montreal, most people speak french and often doesn't even speak english. We're a province whose the official language is French, but we're lost in a sea of english speaking people. It's hard for a canadian or american to understand, but we're a minority who happens to have a whole province to itself. How do you want to preserve a culture? It's pretty hard as it is, but I agree the penalties for the 101 law is usually way too draconian.
As for your personal attacks, they are quite vain I believe. What most people don't understand is that we don't hate english speaking people, or their culture or whatever. Heck, I work in english all day, read english books, watch movies in english, etc. There's a minority that does hate you, as there's a minority of racist, nazi, KKK, etc. in every culture anyway.
We don't mind the rest of Canada, however, we believe we could rule ourselves better as a nation. It's not that we hate them, it's that we believe that they cannot rule fairly for us and our specific needs. I'm not that seperatist, but I can understand why some people are, especially when you check history and see how shafted we've been in the past.
Also, don't bring the Bloc into it, beside being a seperatist, its a left group that many people, english people, outside Quebec would vote for if they had candidates outside Quebec and dropped the seperatist part.
We could say the same of the Prairies, who voted about 80%+ Conservative. Should we hate them too because they don't vote Liberals? Heck, there was even a movement for the seperation of the west a couple of years ago. Should they be lapidated because they voted en masse for another party?
Also, about the West Island "mov[ing] out because they couldn't work with the new laws". They still are govern by the same laws wherever they are, so I don't understand this argument.
You see, people gather in communities. We, the french speaking people living in a greater english Canada, band together and try to defend our common interests, whatever they are, because we believe some of the laws and politics are not for our best interests.
Then, english people living among us band together in small english communities for exactly the same motives. You cannot say, without being biased, that it's different. I approve of people gathering in communities and cultures(greek, jewish, etc.) to be stronger and defend their interests. Heck, Montreal is extremely multicultural, it's incredible. I live in one of the most multi-ethnic part of Montreal (Cotes-des-neiges) and I'm a white middle aged man and feel at home, having all kinds of restaurants and cultural events around me.
It just happens that we are(Quebec) a lot bigger than most communities and have a province and a governement(provincial) to ourselves. Heck, our territory is 3 times as big
That's mostly BS.
The "Loi 101" (Law 101) that tries protect the french langauge (whether you agree with it or not) doesn't force people to speak french.
Also, there are no Language Police or anything like that.
However, the laws does put some restrictions:
Public display(ads, etc.) must be in french. It can also be both in french and english, provided that the french font is X%(10-15 I think) larger than the english font, so that it's predominantly french. Also, public channels(hotline, support line, websites, etc.) must have a french version.
Also, the government (or companies under governmental control, like Hydro Quebec) must use french as an official language, which only means that accounting and such is in french. It can also be in english, provided that a french version is also done. It doesn't mean everyone must speak french.
Actually, there are a lot of english only companies, they just have to advertise in french and provide support in french, so only an handful of person actually need to be bilingual.
Like I said, there is no 'language police', but people can complain to the govt about a company advertising/having a sign only in english, and the company can be fined.
This is probably not exhaustive, but I think it shows that it's not draconian like you said.
I do not personally agree with the law(and I'm french, but I find it stupid, especially the "the font must be X% bigger in french" part) but I reckon that it's at least a somewhat good attempt to try to protect our language and culture in a sea of english speaking people, I wasn't able to find another one.
And, BTW, like anything(religion, race, language, etc.), some people always act badly and are filled with hate, but don't let them fool you, the french speaking people are usually friendly toward other canadians and americans, and if you come downtown or in the west part of Montreal(which is the english speaking community), 90%+ of the people will speak english anyway so you won't have a problem. Heck, the whole west island is english only, not many speaks french there.
You may be right, but CANNOT is pretty strong language. I can see that one cannot "read" the data without collapsing the wavefunction, but I wonder if one cannot create further entanglements that copy the information or otherwise permit manipulation of the data streams inside a sealed Schroedinger box.
Yes it seems to be strong. However, the laws of quantum mechanics are pretty strong on this, here are 2 of those laws:
- You cannot read quantum information without changing it.
- You cannot copy quantum information.
Hence, you cannot play 'inside a Schroedinger box' like you stated.
This is why quantum encryption is useless. It only works if both the sender and the recipient happen to have a dedicated quantum-fiber hardline between them. With no way to switch or route a connection, the system needs O(N^2) lines that connect every possible sender to every possible recipient.
This is true... if you only use fiber. Most recent implementation uses 'wireless' methods over open air, which would only require a kind of 'quantum dish' or something, which is much better than having to lay fiber lines everywhere.
Hmmmm.. . I'm now imagining a franchise retail operation (McQuantalds? PhotonBucks?) that lets two people exchange private keys that they then use for communications on the normal internet. A limited number of franchise outlets could maintain a full complement of secure connections to other outlets.
To be effective and uncoditionally secure, the key must be randomly generated BEFORE sending each message and needs to be used only once, so I doubt these kinds of outlets would be useful.
Yet the system is still vulnerable at the edges. Anything between the magic quantum modem (an entangler/de-entangler or enden?) and the user is the weak link -- being vulnerable to all manner of attacks and snooping (keyboard loggers, backdoors, etc.). The quantum stuff only secures a fraction of the channel.
Which is true for everything: once a message it decrypted, it's vulnerable. Social engineering is not a technological problem, it's a social problem, thus it cannot be solved solely by technology.