I assume you're a world class recording engineer? Simply by having hearing that good you're a limited commodity, in fact I'm not sure I've ever heard of anyone have a hearing range 30% above average! Even 24Khz is, quite frankly, incredible.
You really can't see the difference between 30 and 60FPS in video. Try a double blind test to see if you really can see the difference although be aware you can just luck out on those. I'm pretty certain that such trials have been done, however, and the picture is that you can't distinguish.
When it comes to games though I personally do think there is a bit of a difference. It's not to do with the image as such but I'm sure there's perceptibly less input lag at 60fps than at 30fps. I only really feel it in FPS games and it's not to do with frame rate dropping below 30. I've logged sessions with FRAPS recording in the background without the rate showing and I'm certain FPS games are more responsive at a steady 60fps compared to a steady 30fps.
Of course there are probably all sorts of confounding factors that are maybe common to all FPS games that mean that there is a difference but it's not due to me. Someone should get a grant to go pl^H^Hstudy lots of FPSs!
If I were selling HDTVs I'd want them demoing a blu-ray. Get hold of a copy of the new Baraka release, the cinematography in it is incredible. Do you get commission? If so that situation is loosing you money!
Although local analog channels didn't come in particularly well at my location anyways.
Which I think makes the point that expensive antennas aren't needed for especially for HDTV, they're just needed for poor signal areas.
Due to the DVB-T switchover here in the UK a lot of people who have put up with a slightly fuzzy TV image for years have had to go and buy decent antenna. Past a certain level of interference DVB looses too much information to correct for meaning lots of artefacts or no reception at all.
Well, you violated Godwin and you're wrong. Germans in the 1930s put Hilter in power, you really cant stereotype or generalise about things like that. The situation in Germany then is different to the situation in the USA now and I don't think you can really compare any of the political or social trends groups found in Germany then with the USA today.
Also, you've done the classic communism = Russia mistake. The Stalinists in Russia claimed they were socialist but then again, politicians in the USA claim they are free market capitalist. It serves politicians in capitalist democracies to paint a picture of Marxism leading inevitably to stalinism and other forms of totalitarianism but that argument just doesn't hold water. Stalinism was opposed within the USSR by people like Trotsky. He was persecuted for arguing that the party should just stick to classical marxism and not abandon democracy and was eventually assassinated after fleeing to Mexico. Any countries that had a revolution and then tried to introduce these "trotskyist" ideas were isolated leading to more assassinations and exclusion of their opposing ideas.
I'm saying Trotsky was a saint mind you, I'm just trying to show that communism is complicated with a history of real disagreement and also psychopaths just using revolutions to gain absolute power.
Still, I basically agree with you about progressives and racism. My view on it is that because these progressives have essentially made peace with Capitalism they can't come up with a sensible answer to these problems. Instead their only option is for the results of the game that is Capitalism to be changed after the fact in the form of "positive discrimination". Capitalism will never produce fair results, certain groups always rise to the top and exclude other groups for particular social and economic reasons. This is inevitable because the economy is controlled by small groups of private individuals who, like any human being in their position would, try to plan and manipulate the economy to their own advantage.
The only solution is for working people to organise together and try to find common ground. It requires a mass political movement amongst actual real people trying to solve our common problems, not this vacuous "Yes, we can!" rubbish that's just about some personality trying to get power in the current system so that they can be the man grinding the organ for us monkeys. That's the only solution I can see for racism.
OK, that's actually the best explanation I've seen for that distinction and I appreciate it.
However, the serotonin model of depression is flaky at best and most probably flat out wrong. Drug companies like to push it but there's very little data to back it up. SSRIs are really only more effective than placebo for serious chronic depression and even then only marginally so. Although as you mentioned cocaine I think you might have been talking about dopamine (definitely involved in rewarding behaviour).
Ben Goldacre raps on this (and other topics/. should love, funny I've never see links to him from here) on Bad Science, his one man crusade against bad statistics and science in mainstream journalism.
OK, so you simplify the brain, then imagine how your simple brain interacts with drugs, then say that's just the same as how your simple brain works anyway except with bits wibbled around slightly.
I think the problem in your understanding is your simple brain.
Wrong. Drug addiction isn't just psychologically addicted, it's physically addictive. That's the difference.
As I read that I remembered this show here in the UK called QI (for "Quite Interesting") that/.'ers might like. The host, Stephen Fry, (legendary comedian / actor / walking encyclopedia / gadget freak and longtime associate of Hugh Laurie who Americans will know about from House) ask various questions in the hope of eliciting witty, interesting and relevant facts and jokes on the topic. They have a big buzzer for the obvious and totally wrong answer so in that spirit, BZZZZZZZZZT!
Most drugs don't cause physical dependancy. Alcohol and tranquillisers do you're addicted and then go cold turkey you can die. They work on the same bit of the brain so if your an alcoholic they'll often just shift you over to a comparable dose of Tamazepan and then start weaning you off. Most other drugs like heroin or cocaine don't do that. When you stop you'll feel like total shit but you won't actually die.
All addiction is psychological, physical dependence is just something that has to be considered when it comes to managing and treating the addiction. You're right that comparing any video game to heroin is ridiculous though.
So you post a story about how Symantec are more on the ball then their competition and follow it up with comments about how their sensing capability is much more advanced than their competition without referencing any sources. This has to be the lamest astroturf I've ever seen.
While a bit of a squeamish action if you're not a butcher or farmer or hunter, what message are PETA actually trying to get across?
Their message is that anyone who is involved in the exploitation of animals in any fashion whatsoever is equivalent to a Nazi and is participating in a horror worse than the Nazi Holocaust.
I was going to do that smartarse thing where each word linked to a damning indictment of PETA and their lunatic values but there's just too much of it. Google PETA Holocaust and see the madness for yourself.
Because as long as they aren't doing the whole "domestic terrorism" thing
They are. They say it's just their members, but that's like Sinn Fein saying they didn't bomb, it was the IRA.
or going after kids while the parents aren't looking I don't really give a damn.
Using video games would probably reach children directly and, even though this shouldn't be the case, there probably won't be much parental oversight. Most parents will just see a flash game featuring animals.
PETA believe that anyone who is involved in the use (even keeping pets) of animals is equivalent to a Nazi. That's not an overstatement or a strawman, it's exactly what they believe. The only thing someone who honestly believes a holocaust is being perpetrated can do is hope to have the courage to fight to stop it. Because they've made the basic mistake of thinking human rights = animal rights a lot of PETA members believe violent struggle is needed.
So, whilst they're not really a threat now they have the potential to be. They're well funded by clueless celebrities and so have the potential to win over lots of new recruits with their propaganda. Anyone who uses or produces any animal products whatsoever should be wary; whenever PETA is mentioned we need to spread the message that meat != murder.
The ALF is basically the paramilitary wing of PETA. All senior ALF members are also senior PETA members. It's a false distinction they use for propaganda and plausible deniablity purposes. This is common amongst all political terrorist organisations, e.g. IRA / Sinn Fein.
You should take PETA seriously because they equate farming animals with the Nazi Holocaust. If you came across a concentration camp then, ethically, it'd be OK for you to kill the guards to liberate the captives. Never mind that the guards are just following orders, sometimes you have to fight for freedom.
Publicly PETA try to have it both ways by arguing that animal slaughter and the holocaust are equivalent but that doesn't mean anyone has to kill the people involved in the mass slaughter. Privately, however there are many videos of senior PETA officials taking their argument to it's only rational conclusion.
PETA are far out bonkers and the only reason people aren't more afraid is because they're not organised enough for a proper paramilitary effort. I don't doubt they're heading in that direction though, their values compel them to act.
The Great Flying Spaghetti Monster has revealed to us that there is a link between pirates and global warming, as piracy goes down, global warming increases. Surely this is evidence (not that any is needed) for this basic truth? As pirates steal oil tankers the price of oil will increase thereby limiting its consumption and decreasing the amount of global warming.
It's plain simple logic, just like the plain, simple, wholesome taste of pasta with a tomato sauce.
I only bothered to read the link for D, but that page clearly states that you have to be over 50 for D absorption to be impaired. It also lists side effects for taking too much vitamin D.
I think the message here should be go see your doctor. Don't go taking nutritional supplements based off what you read on teh intarwebs, otherwise you could end up increasing your risk of disease. I know there are lots of other supplements that are actually quite poisonous taken in the doses available in some supplements if you're not suffering from a nutrition disorder.
I personally find DLC just cheapens most games and makes them feel like a product rather than an experience, like a book or movie.
All you read and Wear or see and Hear on tv Is a product Begging for your Fatass dirty Dollar
So...shut up and
Buy my new record Send more money Fuck you, buddy.
Once you accept everything is a product it makes it all easier. It becomes part of the artistic form, in fact, and seeing how the producers work within the constraints of it being a product becomes part of the charm of whatever work you're looking at.
If you want something different then stick to "high art" in galleries. They have films, music / sounds and I bet it wont be too long before there are games that exist purely as art, that is to say they have no purpose other than their own existence (which is, I think, the only really universal characteristic of art).
My parents ran a taxi for just over 300,000 miles. That was a pretty reliable car (Peugeot 405 diesel, can't remember the year but would have been early to mid 90s) but 250,000 miles wasn't unusual for them. I don't think it had many major overhauls in its lifetime, when you're running a taxi it's best to buy the most reliable car you can find new and then run it down to scrap. You don't even bother with dealer servicing, you get a trusted mechanic who can do things cheap.
These are UK miles though, don't know if they're different to USian miles.
Re:Hey, remember when Ender's Game was good?
on
Ender in Exile
·
· Score: 2, Funny
Don't be disrespectful to your elders, death to all 4 digit and above UIDs!
He's arguing that people should get jobs at development shops that deliver Free Software solutions. TBH Free in this sense doesn't even mean GPL, it just means the customer gets the code. I think most custom programming jobs work like that anyway, you'd have to be mental to get a contractor to write a system for you and not get copyright assigned to you as a "work for hire". In such a situation a developer could rip off as much GPL code as they want and not be in violation because they're not restricting anyone from distributing or modifying the code, they would just be keeping the system internally. The business itself would probably have no interest in giving its improvements to other firms but if they ever did then they wouldn't be able to restrict any other parties freedom.
I think that's what RMS is arguing for. There should be a vast body of Free Software that everyone should be free to use. People would contribute back to a certain degree but also keep things internal just to themselves for a competitive edge in certain cases. It'd be different but there would still be software being written.
One of the things he argues for is that copyrighted works that function as tools should have GPL like freedoms. So yes, he does argue that developers should loose freedom to exploit their work in the way they see fit because he's got his eye on a much bigger freedom.
You can agree or disagree if that's a good thing but he is honest about what he believes and why he believes it.
If you get the chance you should watch the Adam Curtis documentary series "The Trap: Whatever Happened to our Dreams of Freedom". You may think it to be some form of Communist propaganda (from the BBC no less!) but it does a good job highlighting how nobody has a monopoly on the idea of freedom. Free is such a loaded word.
Stallman does believe in restricting the freedom of rightsholders to own and exploit copyrighted works. His views are a little more nuanced than you make out as he actually believes there should be a 3 tier copyright system that ranges from technical manuals and software tools that should be broadly available along the lines of the GFDL and GPL to entertainment works that should have pretty much the same copyright protection as at the moment, just with shorter terms.
So yes, freedom at the cost of freedom, although in this case I'd say it's a good thing.
I realise this post is a little redundant too what with the post below but this one really needs the attention of todays' mods. How people can get away with posting stuff that's so obviously wrong and still get modded up?
What REALLY happened is this: Every security hole that MS discovered on its own, was exploited BUT we are supposed to be happy because in 40% of the cases MS correctly predicted that it would be exploited.
I know we don't RTFA but please at least RTFS.
'Four of the [nine] issues that we said where consistent exploit code was likely did have exploit code appear over the first two weeks. And another key was that in no case did we rate something too low.'
So no, at least according to the summary not every security hole was exploited. If you're going to claim otherwise at least provide some links to an article; hopefully one supporting your claims although that's not always necessary for the +5 informative.
In fact I just actually bothered to RTFA, just to make sure, and it said that no exploit code appeared for the low ranked vulnerabilities.
Slashdot Mirror
I assume you're a world class recording engineer? Simply by having hearing that good you're a limited commodity, in fact I'm not sure I've ever heard of anyone have a hearing range 30% above average! Even 24Khz is, quite frankly, incredible.
You really can't see the difference between 30 and 60FPS in video. Try a double blind test to see if you really can see the difference although be aware you can just luck out on those. I'm pretty certain that such trials have been done, however, and the picture is that you can't distinguish.
When it comes to games though I personally do think there is a bit of a difference. It's not to do with the image as such but I'm sure there's perceptibly less input lag at 60fps than at 30fps. I only really feel it in FPS games and it's not to do with frame rate dropping below 30. I've logged sessions with FRAPS recording in the background without the rate showing and I'm certain FPS games are more responsive at a steady 60fps compared to a steady 30fps.
Of course there are probably all sorts of confounding factors that are maybe common to all FPS games that mean that there is a difference but it's not due to me. Someone should get a grant to go pl^H^Hstudy lots of FPSs!
Just after I hit submit I realised the delicious irony of using that film to sell TVs. Oh well, money!
If I were selling HDTVs I'd want them demoing a blu-ray. Get hold of a copy of the new Baraka release, the cinematography in it is incredible. Do you get commission? If so that situation is loosing you money!
Although local analog channels didn't come in particularly well
at my location anyways.
Which I think makes the point that expensive antennas aren't needed for especially for HDTV, they're just needed for poor signal areas.
Due to the DVB-T switchover here in the UK a lot of people who have put up with a slightly fuzzy TV image for years have had to go and buy decent antenna. Past a certain level of interference DVB looses too much information to correct for meaning lots of artefacts or no reception at all.
Well, you violated Godwin and you're wrong. Germans in the 1930s put Hilter in power, you really cant stereotype or generalise about things like that. The situation in Germany then is different to the situation in the USA now and I don't think you can really compare any of the political or social trends groups found in Germany then with the USA today.
Also, you've done the classic communism = Russia mistake. The Stalinists in Russia claimed they were socialist but then again, politicians in the USA claim they are free market capitalist. It serves politicians in capitalist democracies to paint a picture of Marxism leading inevitably to stalinism and other forms of totalitarianism but that argument just doesn't hold water. Stalinism was opposed within the USSR by people like Trotsky. He was persecuted for arguing that the party should just stick to classical marxism and not abandon democracy and was eventually assassinated after fleeing to Mexico. Any countries that had a revolution and then tried to introduce these "trotskyist" ideas were isolated leading to more assassinations and exclusion of their opposing ideas.
I'm saying Trotsky was a saint mind you, I'm just trying to show that communism is complicated with a history of real disagreement and also psychopaths just using revolutions to gain absolute power.
Still, I basically agree with you about progressives and racism. My view on it is that because these progressives have essentially made peace with Capitalism they can't come up with a sensible answer to these problems. Instead their only option is for the results of the game that is Capitalism to be changed after the fact in the form of "positive discrimination". Capitalism will never produce fair results, certain groups always rise to the top and exclude other groups for particular social and economic reasons. This is inevitable because the economy is controlled by small groups of private individuals who, like any human being in their position would, try to plan and manipulate the economy to their own advantage.
The only solution is for working people to organise together and try to find common ground. It requires a mass political movement amongst actual real people trying to solve our common problems, not this vacuous "Yes, we can!" rubbish that's just about some personality trying to get power in the current system so that they can be the man grinding the organ for us monkeys. That's the only solution I can see for racism.
OK, that's actually the best explanation I've seen for that distinction and I appreciate it.
However, the serotonin model of depression is flaky at best and most probably flat out wrong. Drug companies like to push it but there's very little data to back it up. SSRIs are really only more effective than placebo for serious chronic depression and even then only marginally so. Although as you mentioned cocaine I think you might have been talking about dopamine (definitely involved in rewarding behaviour).
Ben Goldacre raps on this (and other topics /. should love, funny I've never see links to him from here) on Bad Science, his one man crusade against bad statistics and science in mainstream journalism.
OK, so you simplify the brain, then imagine how your simple brain interacts with drugs, then say that's just the same as how your simple brain works anyway except with bits wibbled around slightly.
I think the problem in your understanding is your simple brain.
Wrong. Drug addiction isn't just psychologically addicted, it's physically addictive. That's the difference.
As I read that I remembered this show here in the UK called QI (for "Quite Interesting") that /.'ers might like. The host, Stephen Fry, (legendary comedian / actor / walking encyclopedia / gadget freak and longtime associate of Hugh Laurie who Americans will know about from House) ask various questions in the hope of eliciting witty, interesting and relevant facts and jokes on the topic. They have a big buzzer for the obvious and totally wrong answer so in that spirit, BZZZZZZZZZT!
Most drugs don't cause physical dependancy. Alcohol and tranquillisers do you're addicted and then go cold turkey you can die. They work on the same bit of the brain so if your an alcoholic they'll often just shift you over to a comparable dose of Tamazepan and then start weaning you off. Most other drugs like heroin or cocaine don't do that. When you stop you'll feel like total shit but you won't actually die.
All addiction is psychological, physical dependence is just something that has to be considered when it comes to managing and treating the addiction. You're right that comparing any video game to heroin is ridiculous though.
So you post a story about how Symantec are more on the ball then their competition and follow it up with comments about how their sensing capability is much more advanced than their competition without referencing any sources. This has to be the lamest astroturf I've ever seen.
While a bit of a squeamish action if you're not a butcher or farmer or hunter, what message are PETA actually trying to get across?
Their message is that anyone who is involved in the exploitation of animals in any fashion whatsoever is equivalent to a Nazi and is participating in a horror worse than the Nazi Holocaust.
I was going to do that smartarse thing where each word linked to a damning indictment of PETA and their lunatic values but there's just too much of it. Google PETA Holocaust and see the madness for yourself.
Because as long as they aren't doing the whole "domestic terrorism" thing
They are. They say it's just their members, but that's like Sinn Fein saying they didn't bomb, it was the IRA.
or going after kids while the parents aren't looking I don't really give a damn.
Using video games would probably reach children directly and, even though this shouldn't be the case, there probably won't be much parental oversight. Most parents will just see a flash game featuring animals.
PETA believe that anyone who is involved in the use (even keeping pets) of animals is equivalent to a Nazi. That's not an overstatement or a strawman, it's exactly what they believe. The only thing someone who honestly believes a holocaust is being perpetrated can do is hope to have the courage to fight to stop it. Because they've made the basic mistake of thinking human rights = animal rights a lot of PETA members believe violent struggle is needed.
So, whilst they're not really a threat now they have the potential to be. They're well funded by clueless celebrities and so have the potential to win over lots of new recruits with their propaganda. Anyone who uses or produces any animal products whatsoever should be wary; whenever PETA is mentioned we need to spread the message that meat != murder.
The ALF is basically the paramilitary wing of PETA. All senior ALF members are also senior PETA members. It's a false distinction they use for propaganda and plausible deniablity purposes. This is common amongst all political terrorist organisations, e.g. IRA / Sinn Fein.
You should take PETA seriously because they equate farming animals with the Nazi Holocaust. If you came across a concentration camp then, ethically, it'd be OK for you to kill the guards to liberate the captives. Never mind that the guards are just following orders, sometimes you have to fight for freedom.
Publicly PETA try to have it both ways by arguing that animal slaughter and the holocaust are equivalent but that doesn't mean anyone has to kill the people involved in the mass slaughter. Privately, however there are many videos of senior PETA officials taking their argument to it's only rational conclusion.
PETA are far out bonkers and the only reason people aren't more afraid is because they're not organised enough for a proper paramilitary effort. I don't doubt they're heading in that direction though, their values compel them to act.
The Great Flying Spaghetti Monster has revealed to us that there is a link between pirates and global warming, as piracy goes down, global warming increases. Surely this is evidence (not that any is needed) for this basic truth? As pirates steal oil tankers the price of oil will increase thereby limiting its consumption and decreasing the amount of global warming.
It's plain simple logic, just like the plain, simple, wholesome taste of pasta with a tomato sauce.
I only bothered to read the link for D, but that page clearly states that you have to be over 50 for D absorption to be impaired. It also lists side effects for taking too much vitamin D.
I think the message here should be go see your doctor. Don't go taking nutritional supplements based off what you read on teh intarwebs, otherwise you could end up increasing your risk of disease. I know there are lots of other supplements that are actually quite poisonous taken in the doses available in some supplements if you're not suffering from a nutrition disorder.
What's been proved is that people who smoke pot tend to drink alcohol too.
And what, exactly, does that have to do with the price of eggs?
I personally find DLC just cheapens most games and makes them feel like a product rather than an experience, like a book or movie.
All you read and
Wear or see and
Hear on tv
Is a product
Begging for your
Fatass dirty
Dollar
So...shut up and
Buy my new record
Send more money
Fuck you, buddy.
Once you accept everything is a product it makes it all easier. It becomes part of the artistic form, in fact, and seeing how the producers work within the constraints of it being a product becomes part of the charm of whatever work you're looking at.
If you want something different then stick to "high art" in galleries. They have films, music / sounds and I bet it wont be too long before there are games that exist purely as art, that is to say they have no purpose other than their own existence (which is, I think, the only really universal characteristic of art).
My parents ran a taxi for just over 300,000 miles. That was a pretty reliable car (Peugeot 405 diesel, can't remember the year but would have been early to mid 90s) but 250,000 miles wasn't unusual for them. I don't think it had many major overhauls in its lifetime, when you're running a taxi it's best to buy the most reliable car you can find new and then run it down to scrap. You don't even bother with dealer servicing, you get a trusted mechanic who can do things cheap.
These are UK miles though, don't know if they're different to USian miles.
Don't be disrespectful to your elders, death to all 4 digit and above UIDs!
He's arguing that people should get jobs at development shops that deliver Free Software solutions. TBH Free in this sense doesn't even mean GPL, it just means the customer gets the code. I think most custom programming jobs work like that anyway, you'd have to be mental to get a contractor to write a system for you and not get copyright assigned to you as a "work for hire". In such a situation a developer could rip off as much GPL code as they want and not be in violation because they're not restricting anyone from distributing or modifying the code, they would just be keeping the system internally. The business itself would probably have no interest in giving its improvements to other firms but if they ever did then they wouldn't be able to restrict any other parties freedom.
I think that's what RMS is arguing for. There should be a vast body of Free Software that everyone should be free to use. People would contribute back to a certain degree but also keep things internal just to themselves for a competitive edge in certain cases. It'd be different but there would still be software being written.
One of the things he argues for is that copyrighted works that function as tools should have GPL like freedoms. So yes, he does argue that developers should loose freedom to exploit their work in the way they see fit because he's got his eye on a much bigger freedom.
You can agree or disagree if that's a good thing but he is honest about what he believes and why he believes it.
If you get the chance you should watch the Adam Curtis documentary series "The Trap: Whatever Happened to our Dreams of Freedom". You may think it to be some form of Communist propaganda (from the BBC no less!) but it does a good job highlighting how nobody has a monopoly on the idea of freedom. Free is such a loaded word.
Stallman does believe in restricting the freedom of rightsholders to own and exploit copyrighted works. His views are a little more nuanced than you make out as he actually believes there should be a 3 tier copyright system that ranges from technical manuals and software tools that should be broadly available along the lines of the GFDL and GPL to entertainment works that should have pretty much the same copyright protection as at the moment, just with shorter terms.
So yes, freedom at the cost of freedom, although in this case I'd say it's a good thing.
I realise this post is a little redundant too what with the post below but this one really needs the attention of todays' mods. How people can get away with posting stuff that's so obviously wrong and still get modded up?
Grr!
What REALLY happened is this: Every security hole that MS discovered on its own, was exploited BUT we are supposed to be happy because in 40% of the cases MS correctly predicted that it would be exploited.
I know we don't RTFA but please at least RTFS.
'Four of the [nine] issues that we said where consistent exploit code was likely did have exploit code appear over the first two weeks. And another key was that in no case did we rate something too low.'
So no, at least according to the summary not every security hole was exploited. If you're going to claim otherwise at least provide some links to an article; hopefully one supporting your claims although that's not always necessary for the +5 informative.
In fact I just actually bothered to RTFA, just to make sure, and it said that no exploit code appeared for the low ranked vulnerabilities.