Re: budget savaged to the tune of $1 billion
on
Cassini visits Earth
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· Score: 1
It isn't commercially sponsored yet because the US government won't let them go that route. Unfortunately, NASA got tied too close to the military (they were making a political move that backfired) early on, and the US Government isn't letting much in the way of private enterprise "interfere" with things. There are plenty of companies out there that already have plans and are simply waiting for the bloody US government to open up space travel to private industry. Once they do, we'll see another "billionaire boom". Arithon "Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the business of hate, debauchery, and self-annihilation." -- Johnny Hart
have my carriage returns gone? Oh where, oh where can they be? With my post real short and my pharagraph long, oh where oh where can they be?
Arithon "Trying to explain his technological approach to divisive issues, Al Gore has to delay a telephone interview twice because of problems with his cell phone." -- Wall Street Journal
(Sorry, couldn't resist the Darth Sidious quote) NT 3.51 was certified, and I believe that 4.0 is still undergoing testing (although I'm not positive it's ever even been submitted). Microsoft is breaking something here, if not fradulent advertising laws they're breaking their agreements with the certification authorities. And yet... for some reason... they're allowed to get away with it. Hmm. Wonder why? I admit, it'd be interesting to see how a class action false-advertising suit against MS would fair. Wraith "I was with Al Gore in the early days of the Internet. To this very day the Internet runs on many algorithms."
I hear this sort of thing a lot:) First, in that bit on the funeral scene, why couldn't it have been foreshadowing? Couldn't Lucas have been saying "Look, here's the next apprentice" rather than "Here's Mr. Sith Lord himself"? Face it, this whole movie was a set-up for the rest of the story. This scene being foreshadowing would fit the rest of the film better. Also, Mace says "But who was it that was killed? The master, or the apprentice?" which places a bit more emphasis on the apprentice than on the master. Also, since we know it was the apprentice that was killed, we know there's an opening... and since Palpatine has yet to turn to the dark side (he does it during the Clone Wars), this is more likely to be a comment on the next apprentice than the current master. It seems far more likely that Sidious was working the Senate through other proxies (he already had the Trade Federation... want to be the other race that supported the committe are under his control?). It seems unlikely that a Sith Lord is going to be able to disguise himself from two of the most powerful Jedi alive (Yoda and Mace Windu) while they're activly searching for him, while in the same room (ie. the funeral scene). Palpatine, as head of the Republic, is going to have a lot of contact with the Jedi Council, which would be extremely dangerous if he was Darth Sidious. It is much more likely that Palpatine, at the time of Phantom Menace, isn't evil but is politically ambitious, and later gets turned to the dark side as Sidous' apprentice.
Arithon If space is warped, time is all that's weft
Hydrogen fuel cells have been very interesting since the early sixties. This is technology that's been around a long, long time, and has been ready for the consumer market for a long time (not in the form of liquid hydrogen powered fuel cells, but in propane or methane or LNG powered fuel cells). Unfortunately, the massive opposition of the oil concerns has very much limited the amount of research into consumer products done in this area. Now that they've gone and invented a ludicrous Rube Goldbergish gasoline cracker to run a fuel cell from we'll seen FC powered autos in about five years. But the technology has been here all along.
Arithon If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate
Like the title says, what about Helium 3 fusion? It isn't supposed to produce any neutrons, just charged particles. And this is by accepted "hot fusion" theory. If Cold Fusion isn't understood properly yet (and since its existence is denied for the most part, how could it be understood if it exists?), why does it have to produce neutrons?
Why not simply allow more controlled experiments? If you're so concerned about the accuracy of the measurments, do them yourself. I thought that was the way science was supposed to work.
Arithon "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - Clarke's Law "Any technology, distinguishable from magic, is insufficiently advanced." - Corollary to Clarke's Law
Yes, the embossing isn't the same as the Matrox method (Environment-mapped). However, I've yet to see any real comparison as to what sort of performance hit the G400 takes when it's enabled. So far there are very few games far enough along in development to even demo this feature, and none of the ones I've heard of (or seen screenshots of) have full-screen environmental bump maps. Most have it strictly limited to a few surfaces (water, maybe a player skin, not much more), and the only review I've seen that mentioned the performance hit had a pretty substantial number (can't recall what it was, or I'd post it). It's yet to be the hot feature that it might end up.
I've been planning to build a new machine, so I've been looking at this sort of thing (about time I had a good gaming rig:), and right now my main problem is finding one of these TNT2 Ultras with a digital flatpanel output:( Of course, if Matrox gets their act together and offers better (and Linux) drivers, perhaps they'll get the spot.
Arithon I am the Imp of the Perverse - Knowing this won't help you, either.
Personally, I'm not that impressed with solar power yet. There's a long way to go before the price/efficency levels get to the viable point for home power. It makes a decent cheap water heater in some areas, but certainly isn't suitable for all areas. I'm looking forward to the propane or natural gas powered fuel cells that are supposed to start hitting the home market next year. Forget clunky diesel backup generators, forget ugly power lines, just a big natural gas connection:) In some areas this may not be good, but there are several areas where natural gas or propane prices are really low compared to electricity prices.
Arithon "Jim: I hate my life. Gonzo: I hate your life, too. Rizzo: If I had a life, I'd hate it." -- Muppet Treasure Island
Reverse Polish Notation is simply a different method of entering the information into the calculator. Instead of typing 3 + 5 = you type 3 Enter 5 +. It doesn't, at first glance, looks like it makes that much of a difference, but it can really speed up entering problems, especially more complex ones. Anyone doing advanced math on a regular basis should at least consider RPN. If you're at college, find one of the EE guys who knows it and ask for a demo.
Arithon "Never ask a geek why, just nod your head and slowly back away." -Rob Malda
Well, I've played AC quite a bit, but not too much CTP. I have to say that the first thing people tend to complain about AC is the graphics (even though it's the only game I know of that has an optional pallete for color-blind people) and the main praise for CTP is for its graphics. However, the rule about graphics is the same for games as it is for movies: if the only thing people can find to praise about it is fx/graphics, then it's not worth spending money on. There was a reason CTP dropped to $19.95 a couple weeks after release.
I know a lot of people don't like AC going with future tech, but I'm a big science-fiction fan, so I love it (even if the techs don't always make science sense, but since when have any mainstream SF stuff done so?). I don't find it any harder to relate to than telling my stone-age people to research the wheel (AC's blind research option is a very nice tough, btw).
As for gameplay, AC seems a lot nicer than CTP. AC does still have some problems (the infinte range Planet Busters cheif among them), but overall is a much better single-player game than CTP. AC has pretty much taken care of the old "musketeers killing battleships" problems, while CTP has them even worse than before. Of course, the AI isn't great for either game, but I've yet to see a good AI anywhere.
I simply vastly prefer AC, especially with all the little sound and video files for when you discover a new tech or finish a Special Project (The Network Backbone video is absolutely hilarious). For now, it might be worthwhile to buy CTP as a linux version simply because it is a linux version, by way of encouragement, but if you're simply looking for a great game, it's not the one to buy.
Arithon How can I build a Death Ray if they won't let me have any busbars?
I just to make a small comment here, living in the area: Houston is not the area we need. Austin, however, could be quite suitable...
Save our kids from High-school? It's mandatory, so unless you're a successful nerd who can afford private school, there's not much we can do about public education until we mobilize as a political group. I can see it now... the Nerd Party. Nah, too much a contradiction in terms;)
Arithon "My schooling not only failed to teach me what it professed to be teaching, but prevented me from being educated to an extent which infuriates me when I think of all I might have learned at home by myself." --George Bernard Shaw
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It isn't commercially sponsored yet because the US government won't let them go that route. Unfortunately, NASA got tied too close to the military (they were making a political move that backfired) early on, and the US Government isn't letting much in the way of private enterprise "interfere" with things. There are plenty of companies out there that already have plans and are simply waiting for the bloody US government to open up space travel to private industry. Once they do, we'll see another "billionaire boom". Arithon "Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the business of hate, debauchery, and self-annihilation." -- Johnny Hart
Arithon
"Trying to explain his technological approach to divisive issues, Al Gore has to delay a telephone interview twice because of problems with his cell phone."
-- Wall Street Journal
(Sorry, couldn't resist the Darth Sidious quote) NT 3.51 was certified, and I believe that 4.0 is still undergoing testing (although I'm not positive it's ever even been submitted). Microsoft is breaking something here, if not fradulent advertising laws they're breaking their agreements with the certification authorities. And yet... for some reason... they're allowed to get away with it. Hmm. Wonder why? I admit, it'd be interesting to see how a class action false-advertising suit against MS would fair. Wraith "I was with Al Gore in the early days of the Internet. To this very day the Internet runs on many algorithms."
Hail,
:)
I hear this sort of thing a lot
First, in that bit on the funeral scene, why couldn't it have been foreshadowing? Couldn't Lucas have been saying "Look, here's the next apprentice" rather than "Here's Mr. Sith Lord himself"? Face it, this whole movie was a set-up for the rest of the story. This scene being foreshadowing would fit the rest of the film better. Also, Mace says "But who was it that was killed? The master, or the apprentice?" which places a bit more emphasis on the apprentice than on the master. Also, since we know it was the apprentice that was killed, we know there's an opening... and since Palpatine has yet to turn to the dark side (he does it during the Clone Wars), this is more likely to be a comment on the next apprentice than the current master.
It seems far more likely that Sidious was working the Senate through other proxies (he already had the Trade Federation... want to be the other race that supported the committe are under his control?). It seems unlikely that a Sith Lord is going to be able to disguise himself from two of the most powerful Jedi alive (Yoda and Mace Windu) while they're activly searching for him, while in the same room (ie. the funeral scene). Palpatine, as head of the Republic, is going to have a lot of contact with the Jedi Council, which would be extremely dangerous if he was Darth Sidious. It is much more likely that Palpatine, at the time of Phantom Menace, isn't evil but is politically ambitious, and later gets turned to the dark side as Sidous' apprentice.
Arithon
If space is warped, time is all that's weft
Hydrogen fuel cells have been very interesting since the early sixties. This is technology that's been around a long, long time, and has been ready for the consumer market for a long time (not in the form of liquid hydrogen powered fuel cells, but in propane or methane or LNG powered fuel cells). Unfortunately, the massive opposition of the oil concerns has very much limited the amount of research into consumer products done in this area. Now that they've gone and invented a ludicrous Rube Goldbergish gasoline cracker to run a fuel cell from we'll seen FC powered autos in about five years. But the technology has been here all along.
Arithon
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate
Like the title says, what about Helium 3 fusion? It isn't supposed to produce any neutrons, just charged particles. And this is by accepted "hot fusion" theory. If Cold Fusion isn't understood properly yet (and since its existence is denied for the most part, how could it be understood if it exists?), why does it have to produce neutrons?
Why not simply allow more controlled experiments? If you're so concerned about the accuracy of the measurments, do them yourself. I thought that was the way science was supposed to work.
Arithon
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
- Clarke's Law
"Any technology, distinguishable from magic, is insufficiently advanced."
- Corollary to Clarke's Law
Yes, the embossing isn't the same as the Matrox method (Environment-mapped). However, I've yet to see any real comparison as to what sort of performance hit the G400 takes when it's enabled. So far there are very few games far enough along in development to even demo this feature, and none of the ones I've heard of (or seen screenshots of) have full-screen environmental bump maps. Most have it strictly limited to a few surfaces (water, maybe a player skin, not much more), and the only review I've seen that mentioned the performance hit had a pretty substantial number (can't recall what it was, or I'd post it). It's yet to be the hot feature that it might end up.
:), and right now my main problem is finding one of these TNT2 Ultras with a digital flatpanel output :(
I've been planning to build a new machine, so I've been looking at this sort of thing (about time I had a good gaming rig
Of course, if Matrox gets their act together and offers better (and Linux) drivers, perhaps they'll get the spot.
Arithon
I am the Imp of the Perverse - Knowing this won't help you, either.
Personally, I'm not that impressed with solar power yet. There's a long way to go before the price/efficency levels get to the viable point for home power. It makes a decent cheap water heater in some areas, but certainly isn't suitable for all areas. :) In some areas this may not be good, but there are several areas where natural gas or propane prices are really low compared to electricity prices.
I'm looking forward to the propane or natural gas powered fuel cells that are supposed to start hitting the home market next year. Forget clunky diesel backup generators, forget ugly power lines, just a big natural gas connection
Arithon
"Jim: I hate my life.
Gonzo: I hate your life, too.
Rizzo: If I had a life, I'd hate it."
-- Muppet Treasure Island
Reverse Polish Notation is simply a different method of entering the information into the calculator. Instead of typing 3 + 5 = you type 3 Enter 5 +. It doesn't, at first glance, looks like it makes that much of a difference, but it can really speed up entering problems, especially more complex ones. Anyone doing advanced math on a regular basis should at least consider RPN. If you're at college, find one of the EE guys who knows it and ask for a demo.
Arithon
"Never ask a geek why, just nod your head and slowly back away."
-Rob Malda
Well, I've played AC quite a bit, but not too much CTP. I have to say that the first thing people tend to complain about AC is the graphics (even though it's the only game I know of that has an optional pallete for color-blind people) and the main praise for CTP is for its graphics. However, the rule about graphics is the same for games as it is for movies: if the only thing people can find to praise about it is fx/graphics, then it's not worth spending money on. There was a reason CTP dropped to $19.95 a couple weeks after release.
I know a lot of people don't like AC going with future tech, but I'm a big science-fiction fan, so I love it (even if the techs don't always make science sense, but since when have any mainstream SF stuff done so?). I don't find it any harder to relate to than telling my stone-age people to research the wheel (AC's blind research option is a very nice tough, btw).
As for gameplay, AC seems a lot nicer than CTP. AC does still have some problems (the infinte range Planet Busters cheif among them), but overall is a much better single-player game than CTP. AC has pretty much taken care of the old "musketeers killing battleships" problems, while CTP has them even worse than before. Of course, the AI isn't great for either game, but I've yet to see a good AI anywhere.
I simply vastly prefer AC, especially with all the little sound and video files for when you discover a new tech or finish a Special Project (The Network Backbone video is absolutely hilarious). For now, it might be worthwhile to buy CTP as a linux version simply because it is a linux version, by way of encouragement, but if you're simply looking for a great game, it's not the one to buy.
Arithon
How can I build a Death Ray if they won't let me have any busbars?
I just to make a small comment here, living in the area:
;)
Houston is not the area we need. Austin, however, could be quite suitable...
Save our kids from High-school? It's mandatory, so unless you're a successful nerd who can afford private school, there's not much we can do about public education until we mobilize as a political group. I can see it now... the Nerd Party. Nah, too much a contradiction in terms
Arithon
"My schooling not only failed to teach me what it professed to be teaching, but prevented me from being educated to an extent which infuriates me when I think of all I might have learned at home by myself."
--George Bernard Shaw