Speaking of which, does anyone want to help with my attempt to fill the gap that this article talks about?
My old XLogo project needs some tender loving care: http://xlogo.sourceforge.net/.
It's a simple Logo/Turtle app, just like in the old days. It works: runs commands, even complex series of commands. However, it has not been
worked on for quite some time and still needs someone to implement other commands into the parser, and make it Intel processor
compatible (aka. Universal Binary).
Can you list the core skills you would recommend to someone if they wanted to be as adept as you at designing, crafting, and engineering things? (For example: knowledge of welding, some carpentry, basic chemical interactions and electrical engineering)
I used to be disgusted by the continued fight between SCO and others, but now I am overwhelmed
with a feeling of embarassment of what this looks like to non-Americans and how they see
us.
Yes, start the posts about how bad we are already viewed, which I already know about. Reminding
me of that only makes my ulcer gets worse.
This used to be aggravating, frustrating, even maddening, but now it feels more like
a kick in the stomach. I cannot believe these guys!
And Apple's Safari, supposedly, just hit roughly 3%. Are these percentages better indicators of OS market share than actual purchase levels which don't take into account pre-existing machines already in use?
Maybe this is why Apple wasn't able to sell machines with a CPU faster than 3.0 Ghz. Microsoft had made a deal with IBM to buy them, leaving Apple to wait? Can anyone confirm or deny this? How "custom" were these CPUs? Were they so custom that they did not effect the supply of G5's to Apple?
Engineering within limits brings great results
on
Where's My 10 Ghz PC?
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
I remember the old days, when programmers nudged every single bit of speed and capability out of the machines they had. When computer engineers, faced with limits, still made magic happen.
I hope this ushers that habit back into the profession. We have a lot of great technology, right now, let's find a better way to use it and make it more ubiquitous.
I sometimes to photography or video work, which as time goes on, has a lot more to do with technology than ever before.
I got into engineering because I liked building things. (Additional joy comes from seeing people use what I build). So, you're not so far off when you guess that HVAC, electrical, and plumbing work may be a good side job option. I've known some guys that do car stereo installations, or home alarm system installations as side jobs.
Another side job related to IT work is typing. Sometimes you can find a simple temp job that requires you to type in data. Because programmers are generally fast at typing, it's an easy fit.
Sort of.... Private property != intellectual property. One is private, and is meant to stay that way. It does not affect public. The other is coveted, and meant to be used. It affects the rest of the society.
When you patent an idea, you are not doing the same thing as planting a flag in the ground and building a house for yourself. You are taking a piece of "society" and claiming it for yourself.
I tend to agree with you, but in this case it's not as relevant? Why? When most companies add functionality to a product, they also add complexity. New buttons get in the way, new menus to maneuver through, etc... Honestly, I like this new iPod Photo because it is color. Will I ever put photos on it? Not sure. But the additionally photo capabilities aren't obtrusive, or an obstacle to overcome in order to get to the main functionality: music.
No entity (person, company, or organization) has faced a more damaging enemy than their own mistakes, laziness, and incompetence. [aka. themselves]
Microsoft will be it's own downfall, it's already happening, and will only snowball. This is probably example #1,542 of thousands to come.
Of course, thank god for the alternatives, without them, no one jumping ship would have anywhere else to go but the cold drink of water below.
It's frustrating to see people/companies/governments stung by things so simple to avoid, especially when one (me, IT people?) feels like the have the "answer" but no one is listening. (It could be Linux, BeOS, Apple, who knows.... it all depends really) To me it may be similar to the feeling a doctor has if/when they have a patient who refuses to stop a habit that will eventually kill them, despite being told so to the point of exhaustion.
I'm not sure anyone really WANTS to dislike Microsoft, but they make so many bad mistakes, spit out so many garbage products that it's hard not to. It only frustrates me even more when "users" stick up for them! They need to read "The inmates are running the asylum" and learn about dancing bears, and the other ideas within. Being a power user of bad software does not make you an expert, it makes you blind to the way things really should be.
There are hit/stand/double down tables crafted by those who play it. For example (a fake one): if the dealer has XYZ cards and you have 14, always hit.
Only using those "tables" can you closely acheive some kind of winning capacity. It's all about odds, they figure that if you hit, or stand, at certain cards your *odds* of winning that hand are higher.
This is no different than with the Poker bots.
Moreover, Poker is not just between players. Why would casinos, or online casinos, facilitate games between people if they were to win nothing? The casinos get a cut of the pot, that's why they make tables available to poker players.
Bots do harm the playing between Poker players, yes. But that ultimately harms the casino.
Yes, I agree, but when you gamble you always lose. The odds are always against you. Only with blackjack, do the odds near something favorable for the gambler.
Also, with bots, the casino makes less money, as you said, the casino gets less money. That was my original point: less money/winnings for the casino.
With bots, the online casino starts making less money.... We both agree. So, why the discourse?
To quote the rest of my comment: "Of course, if you don't like casinos, don't go to them. They only exist to fulfill a need/desire that many people have, and unless that goes away, they'll continue to exist."
Casinos are out to make a buck, with little regard for the welfare of future of the players. They don't care if an addict comes in with all of his life savings, and blows it all in one sitting. A business that has millions, but really gives you nothing for your money in return, deserves a good stinging pinch like this.
Poker won't be the only one to have bots. Blackjack can be easily played via pre-defined rules. In fact, it's a lot easier to make a bot for Blackjack than for poker, since Poker is more affected by bluffing, and human interaction. That's why most poker players wear sunglasses, and show little emotion. Hence the phrase "poker face".
I guess in summary: "Online poker bots becoming problematic?"
Sure, but problematic for whom? The casinos are notorious for putting a winning blackjack player on a blacklist, and not letting them in. Why? Did they cheat? No, they just won, and casinos hate to lose money.
Bots are problematic for casinos, but is that something to cry about?
Of course, if you don't like casinos, don't go to them. They only exist to fulfill a need/desire that many people have, and unless that goes away, they'll continue to exist.
You said in your post that her car got broken into, not her home. So, some more suggestions....
Put some semi-bullet proof glass in the car, to replace the side windows. Check out Bulldog direct, they have great prices.
Also, change the locks to something more sturdy. Sometimes the locks on a car can be circumvented by a simple flathead screwdriver. It happened to me once, someone saw the whole thing (though, the jerk never called the cops, but anyways....). Get new locks installed in the doors, ones that are heavy duty and can withstand that kind of attack. They DO sell them, you'll need to search.
-Put a mannequin in the passenger seat (dressed, of course). -Wire up a camera to the motion sensor in the driveway. You'll
catch the person(s) breaking in. Also, set the camera, if
possible, to put time & date stamp on the photo. -Wire a barking dog to the motion sensor in the driveway. -Put up a fence around the house, with a gate to get in and out
of the driveway.
Think deterrence, and capture, instead of bulletproof system.
Since when should people be listening to Bill Gates, aside from when he points out the obvious? Quotes from the article:
"Apple become the first mass-market computer manufacturer to stop including floppy drives altogether with the release of their iMac model in 1998."
then it said....
"Bill Gates recently predicted the DVD would be obsolete within a decade."
Obvious, really, but shouldn't they be listening to Apple, if they were the first to really see such a trend in the market and drop the floppy? Since when has Microsoft, or Bill Gates, *led* the industry in anything new? "This just in! IBM builds the best stuff in the world, but let's interview Tandy PC makers for their opinion instead!".
The rational for such logic escapes me.
Also, the title of the article should have been "The SLOW death of the floppy disk." It wasn't until USB flash drives came out that people felt comfortable with replacing their floppy. (IMHO)
Thanks, Lorenz Textor and I need to work on this some more. time is always the issue though. (PS. Anyone who has suggestions, fire them away. CocoaMySQL needs supporters)
Anyways, as I commented before, this guys should stick with Filemaker 7. It *finally* has a lot of the same features as MySQL/PostgreSQL, so why leave it now? Especially when he has already a lot of work done in Filemaker 6 and prior. It would make no sense.
If you ask me, recoding the database for Filemaker 7 would be much easier than going to another system/platform/application.
The improvements in Filemaker 7 are vast, and much needed. It's a great platform, and unbeatable unless you move to a PostgreSQL&Web platform, which would require a lot more re-tooling. Look into a possible Filemaker 6 to Filemaker 7 conversion tool.
In the future, if you truly need to use a different interface, such as the web, Filemaker is very capable of supporting that on its own, when placed on a server, without a SQL-access plug-in.
Slashdot Mirror
Speaking of which, does anyone want to help with my attempt to fill the gap that this article talks about? My old XLogo project needs some tender loving care: http://xlogo.sourceforge.net/. It's a simple Logo/Turtle app, just like in the old days. It works: runs commands, even complex series of commands. However, it has not been worked on for quite some time and still needs someone to implement other commands into the parser, and make it Intel processor compatible (aka. Universal Binary).
Can you list the core skills you would recommend to someone if they wanted to
be as adept as you at designing, crafting, and engineering things?
(For example: knowledge of welding, some carpentry, basic chemical interactions and electrical engineering)
I used to be disgusted by the continued fight between SCO and others, but now I am overwhelmed with a feeling of embarassment of what this looks like to non-Americans and how they see us. Yes, start the posts about how bad we are already viewed, which I already know about. Reminding me of that only makes my ulcer gets worse. This used to be aggravating, frustrating, even maddening, but now it feels more like a kick in the stomach. I cannot believe these guys!
And Apple's Safari, supposedly, just hit roughly 3%. Are these percentages
better indicators of OS market share than actual purchase levels which don't
take into account pre-existing machines already in use?
Maybe this is why Apple wasn't able to sell machines with a CPU
faster than 3.0 Ghz. Microsoft had made a deal with IBM to buy them, leaving
Apple to wait? Can anyone confirm or deny this? How "custom" were these
CPUs? Were they so custom that they did not effect the supply of G5's to Apple?
I remember the old days, when programmers nudged every
single bit of speed and capability out of the machines they had.
When computer engineers, faced with limits, still made magic
happen.
I hope this ushers that habit back into the profession. We have a lot of great technology, right now, let's find a better way to use it and make it more ubiquitous.
I sometimes to photography or video work, which as time goes on, has a lot more to do with technology than ever before.
I got into engineering because I liked building things. (Additional joy comes from seeing people use what I build). So, you're not so far off when you guess that HVAC, electrical, and plumbing work may be a good side job option. I've known some guys that do car stereo installations, or home alarm system installations as side jobs.
Another side job related to IT work is typing. Sometimes you can find a simple temp job that requires you to type in data. Because programmers are generally fast at typing, it's an easy fit.
Sort of....
Private property != intellectual property.
One is private, and is meant to stay that way. It does
not affect public.
The other is coveted, and meant to be used. It affects the
rest of the society.
When you patent an idea, you are not doing the same thing
as planting a flag in the ground and building a house for yourself. You are taking a piece of "society" and claiming it for yourself.
I tend to agree with you, but in this case it's not as relevant?
Why?
When most companies add functionality to a product, they also add complexity. New buttons get in the way, new menus to maneuver through, etc...
Honestly, I like this new iPod Photo because it is color. Will I ever put photos on it? Not sure. But the additionally photo capabilities aren't obtrusive, or an obstacle to overcome in order to get to the main functionality: music.
Awesome. That's about the funniest thing I've read in ages.
No entity (person, company, or organization) has faced a more damaging enemy than their own mistakes, laziness, and incompetence. [aka. themselves]
Microsoft will be it's own downfall, it's already happening, and will only snowball.
This is probably example #1,542 of thousands to come.
Of course, thank god for the alternatives, without them, no one jumping ship would have anywhere else to go but the cold drink of water below.
It's frustrating to see people/companies/governments stung by things so simple to avoid, especially when one (me, IT people?) feels like the have the "answer" but no one is listening.
(It could be Linux, BeOS, Apple, who knows.... it all depends really)
To me it may be similar to the feeling a doctor has if/when they have a patient who refuses to stop a habit that will eventually kill them, despite being told so to the point of exhaustion.
I'm not sure anyone really WANTS to dislike Microsoft, but they make so many bad mistakes, spit out so many garbage products that it's hard not to. It only frustrates me even more when "users" stick up for them! They need to read "The inmates are running the asylum" and learn about dancing bears, and the other ideas within. Being a power user of bad software does not make you an expert, it makes you blind to the way things really should be.
Sigh.
Blackjack is not 100% luck.
There are hit/stand/double down tables crafted by those who play it.
For example (a fake one): if the dealer has XYZ cards and you have 14, always hit.
Only using those "tables" can you closely acheive some kind of winning capacity. It's all about odds, they figure that if you hit, or stand, at certain cards your *odds* of winning that hand are higher.
This is no different than with the Poker bots.
Moreover, Poker is not just between players. Why would casinos, or online casinos, facilitate games between people if they were to win nothing? The casinos get a cut of the pot, that's why they make tables available to poker players.
Bots do harm the playing between Poker players, yes. But that ultimately harms the casino.
Yes, I agree, but when you gamble you always lose. The odds are always against you. Only with blackjack, do the odds near something favorable for the gambler.
Also, with bots, the casino makes less money, as you said, the casino gets less money. That was my original point: less money/winnings for the casino.
With bots, the online casino starts making less money....
We both agree. So, why the discourse?
Yes but the house makes money by taking a cut of every pot. Casinos exist to make money, and they have poker tables for a reason: to make money.
To quote the rest of my comment:
"Of course, if you don't like casinos, don't go to them. They only exist
to fulfill a need/desire that many people have, and unless that goes away, they'll continue to exist."
Casinos are out to make a buck, with little regard for the welfare of future of the players. They don't care if an addict comes in with all of his life savings, and blows it all in one sitting.
A business that has millions, but really gives you nothing for your money in return, deserves a good stinging pinch like this.
Poker won't be the only one to have bots. Blackjack can be easily played via pre-defined rules. In fact, it's a lot easier to make a bot for Blackjack than for poker, since Poker is more affected by bluffing, and human interaction. That's why most poker players wear sunglasses, and show little emotion. Hence the phrase "poker face".
I guess in summary: "Online poker bots becoming problematic?"
Sure, but problematic for whom? The casinos are notorious for putting a winning blackjack player on a blacklist, and not letting them in. Why? Did they cheat? No, they just won, and casinos hate to lose money.
Bots are problematic for casinos, but is that something to cry about?
Of course, if you don't like casinos, don't go to them. They only exist
to fulfill a need/desire that many people have, and unless that goes away, they'll continue to exist.
Costeños.... I wonder why he's hosting a site in English, if he's Ecuadorian.
You said in your post that her car got broken into, not her home. So, some more suggestions....
Put some semi-bullet proof glass in the car, to replace the side windows. Check out Bulldog direct, they have great prices.
Also, change the locks to something more sturdy. Sometimes the locks on a car can be circumvented by a simple flathead screwdriver. It happened to me once, someone saw the whole thing (though, the jerk never called the cops, but anyways....).
Get new locks installed in the doors, ones that are heavy duty and can withstand that kind of attack. They DO sell them, you'll need to search.
-Put a mannequin in the passenger seat (dressed, of course).
-Wire up a camera to the motion sensor in the driveway. You'll
catch the person(s) breaking in. Also, set the camera, if
possible, to put time & date stamp on the photo.
-Wire a barking dog to the motion sensor in the driveway.
-Put up a fence around the house, with a gate to get in and out
of the driveway.
Think deterrence, and capture, instead of bulletproof system.
Since when should people be listening to Bill Gates, aside from when he points out the obvious? Quotes from the article:
"Apple become the first mass-market computer manufacturer to stop including floppy drives altogether with the release of their iMac model in 1998."
then it said....
"Bill Gates recently predicted the DVD would be obsolete within a decade."
Obvious, really, but shouldn't they be listening to Apple, if they were the first to really see such a trend in the market and drop the floppy? Since when has Microsoft, or Bill Gates, *led* the industry in anything new?
"This just in! IBM builds the best stuff in the world, but let's interview Tandy PC makers for their opinion instead!".
The rational for such logic escapes me.
Also, the title of the article should have been "The SLOW death of the floppy disk." It wasn't until USB flash drives came out that people felt comfortable with replacing their floppy. (IMHO)
Does SP2 cause bovine lesbianism?
I thought the article was referring to Macromedia Coldfusion!
Phew!
Why discuss physical versus transmission?
Do both.
Send out various satellites, in various directions, and have them broadcast a signal as they go.
Thanks, Lorenz Textor and I need to work on this some more. time is always the issue though. (PS. Anyone who has suggestions, fire them away. CocoaMySQL needs supporters)
Anyways, as I commented before, this guys should stick with Filemaker 7. It *finally* has a lot of the same features as MySQL/PostgreSQL, so why leave it now? Especially when he has already a lot of work done in Filemaker 6 and prior. It would make no sense.
If you ask me, recoding the database for Filemaker 7 would be much easier
than going to another system/platform/application.
The improvements in Filemaker 7 are vast, and much needed. It's a great platform, and unbeatable unless you move to a PostgreSQL&Web platform, which would require a lot more re-tooling.
Look into a possible Filemaker 6 to Filemaker 7 conversion tool.
In the future, if you truly need to use a different interface, such as the web, Filemaker is very capable of supporting that on its own, when placed on a server, without a SQL-access plug-in.
It's a good book, exactly about this subject. I high recommend it.