Sound is just another effective method to provide instant feedback to the user. Use of colour and shapes are also excellent methods.
I think more software should integrate sound, colour, and shapes as informational cues than they do. Less text to read, and yet instant recognition because of the amazing properties of our brains.
The best examples I've seen that use these techniques are games which have lots of options and feedback - like simulated war games, etc... The biggest challenge with those games is coming up with an easy to use and intuitive interface. Sound, colour, and shapes play a crucial role in their design.
Of course what I meant is a player based on open standards. No spyware, no bloatware. No hidden agendas! Just play the damn music/audio/what have you and leave me alone.
That's nothing a good analogy couldn't explain. I don't know if I can think of a good one off the top of my head.
Okay, say a new doctor had received his instruments one at a time and upon each delivery they were placed in a random spot in the operating room. During operations, the doctor found himself wasting a lot of time looking everywhere for the right instrument so one afternoon he took the time to organize them all into one place. While operating, he was still able to do the same things, but more efficiently.
Since I heard about China buying censoring technology from the US, it has bothered me that companies' ethics aren't better. IMO it's a major source of social decay in any country when companies are allowed to do whatever they want. What kind of example are they setting as corporate citizens of the community?
What if I wanted to write software for the mafia? I could just pretend the software wouldn't be used for illegal purposes. Would that be ethical of me? Could I be aiding and abetting (to assist or support in the achievement of a purpose) known criminals? Of course. How is this different than aiding known human rights violators?
If people don't see the ads, the site can't continue, and so people no longer get to visit it..... and order is restored once again.
If I put up a website, it is because I have something to say or something to sell. I don't expect anyone to pay for my site if I have something to say. I did it out of my own volition. What I get is a warm, fuzzy feeling that I've made someone else's day, or in the case of a commercial site, I get customers.
Ad banners should go the way of the dinosaur. Their benefit is negligible while their drain on the web community is measurable and tiresome.
Actually my theory is that Linux on the Desktop will be "there" when KDE (or Gnome, but I expect KDE would do it first) drops X in favor of a simpler, less complicated and less legacy-encumbered layer which is easier to configure.
That is right on the money. And might I add "intuitive" to the list. The interface is extremely important for the next phase of Linux adoption and user's must feel comfortable and productive with it.
If under the hood Linux remains complex, then fine: that is much less important than day to day usability being top notch.
It's easy to put the whole of the Open Source Community into the same pot if you've been burned by someone's foul tongue in the past. It's just as easy to throw the whole human race into same pot because someone took your parking spot or swore at you.
If the answer is to hate everyone, then God help us.
Fortunately, though, there are lots of nice people in OSS world and Real Life... you just have to be patient and persistent enough to crack their shell (and let them crack yours) and meet them.
We're going to blow this one... big time. We can't even introduce foreign species into an environment without screwing it up. Not to mention a foreign lifeform!
Doctor's don't even know why many people die, why people give birth exactly when they do, why why why.. and it goes on.
We are not even close to understanding everything that makes humans tick. It could very well be more than a physical system; we don't know that it's not. I'm sure many would deny the possibilities.
Dr. Rick Havburt's lip trembles as the words come out during our exclusive interview.
Today is the fifth anniversary of the end of our freedom to go outdoors whenever we please. 2005 marked the release of thousands of genetically altered creatures into the wild. Contrary to scientists' claims that the animals would benefit the environment, hideous mutations occurred as the lab creations cross-bred with altered and natural wildlife.
Pre-2005, people used to joke that Monday's were so hard. Now every Monday is a federal GE Population Control Day (Gee-Pop). The chemicals used to eliminate the unwanted can kill a human being in a few seconds, but thus far the genetically engineered creatures have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to the deadliest chemicals.
Only time will tell if the creatures can be destroyed.
My dream system would be something like what you've said, except the functions would be stored in a language-independent manner (okay, Perl's probably out). When you need a function, 'fvs' would generate code in the language of your choice.
Thanks! I'm a little amazed just because of the big dollars involved, but it makes sense. I wonder if Mars Pathfinder was covered? (the one with the metric<->imperial mixup)
An interesting quote from the article you cited (page 5):
"In the last five years, the rate for launch plus 12 months of on-orbit coverage has gone from a low of 7% of satellite and launch vehicle value in 1998 to around 16% today. This represents a 129% premium increase in the last four years. In addition, the terms of the insurance coverage are changing to include more exclusions, new and increased deductibles, and reduced coverage time. These changes were in direct response to the increase in anomalies shown in Figure 1."
"to a lesser extent strength" ?? For their size, ants are one of the strongest creatures on the planet.
Yes, but that's not the point I was trying to get across. We don't all have to be Hercules to make a difference if we _all_ are shooting for the same goal. Strength can be important, but "to a lesser extent" than sheer numbers and tenacity.
Would I be willing to get a fine or go to the bad place for playing a DVD on Linux - hell no
You always have to weight the consequences with how strongly you feel.
What if kissing was illegal? Or dancing? You know in your heart it's not wrong to do either of those things. Would you risk kissing or dancing because you felt it was your right; because you wanted to make a statement?
Damn straight. 'Legal' doesn't mean 'Right'. It means that the court and the government and even large corporations think it should be allowed. 'Illegal' means the opposite of that, of course.
I like to think about what an ant colony would be like if one ant out of the millions was 'persecuted' by someone with a magnifying glass and as a result the rest of the ants avoided leaving the nest. What good could they accomplish if they were so easily deterred?
In reality, ants accomplish amazing feats just by sheer number, tenacity, and to a lesser extent strength.
It would be entertaining to modify your User-Agent string to add something like "This user charges $5.00 per window for allowing a site to display pop-up advertising. The creation of pop-up windows shall be considered to constitute acceptance of contract".
Hehe.. For that matter, you could simply add a copyrighted Haiku to your query string whenever you access a website.
Operated by European astronomers in the Chilean Andes, the VLT has four mirrors eight metres across linked by optical fibres. It can see a single human hair from 16 kilometres away.
This really intrigued me. Can the VLT really see a human hair from 16km away, or is that just a size comparison? I mean, would the hair have to give off light the power of the sun in order to be seen 16km away? Does hair really reflect that much light that those photons will travel 16km to be seen by someone with good enough equipment?
That's not true necessarily. There was a discussion recently that touched on Google's advertising (which is not images, but text). According to people who replied and to my thoughts, everyone agreed that they were more likely to read Google's advertising.
Slashdot Mirror
Put it this way. I'm in sales.
;)
Reminds me of the time I admitted to owning a Packard Bell computer here on Slashdot.
Now wait for the tide....
Sound is just another effective method to provide instant feedback to the user. Use of colour and shapes are also excellent methods.
I think more software should integrate sound, colour, and shapes as informational cues than they do. Less text to read, and yet instant recognition because of the amazing properties of our brains.
The best examples I've seen that use these techniques are games which have lots of options and feedback - like simulated war games, etc... The biggest challenge with those games is coming up with an easy to use and intuitive interface. Sound, colour, and shapes play a crucial role in their design.
Hehe, good one.
Of course what I meant is a player based on open standards. No spyware, no bloatware. No hidden agendas! Just play the damn music/audio/what have you and leave me alone.
Why do content producers insist on using RealAudio? Give me a real player and I'll listen to to the stream. I'm not installing spyware on my machine.
I LUF AMEDEEKAAAAAAA!!!
The Constitution is a piece of paper that basically says US citizens have certain rights. It had to be fought for.
What about God given rights? Your rights as a human being? I don't need a bunch of old geezers to tell me what I should be free to do.
I guess the Beastie Boys were right. You gotta fight... for your right... to paaaaaaaarrtttayy!
That's nothing a good analogy couldn't explain. I don't know if I can think of a good one off the top of my head.
Okay, say a new doctor had received his instruments one at a time and upon each delivery they were placed in a random spot in the operating room. During operations, the doctor found himself wasting a lot of time looking everywhere for the right instrument so one afternoon he took the time to organize them all into one place. While operating, he was still able to do the same things, but more efficiently.
The physicists who can make stuff like this comprehensible to laymen like me (like Stephen Hawkings) are the ones that really deserve a Nobel prize.
Five years ago, Joe Sixpack couldn't install Linux and didn't have a clue about the universe's mysteries.
My how times have changed.
Since I heard about China buying censoring technology from the US, it has bothered me that companies' ethics aren't better. IMO it's a major source of social decay in any country when companies are allowed to do whatever they want. What kind of example are they setting as corporate citizens of the community?
What if I wanted to write software for the mafia? I could just pretend the software wouldn't be used for illegal purposes. Would that be ethical of me? Could I be aiding and abetting (to assist or support in the achievement of a purpose) known criminals? Of course. How is this different than aiding known human rights violators?
If people don't see the ads, the site can't continue, and so people no longer get to visit it..
If I put up a website, it is because I have something to say or something to sell. I don't expect anyone to pay for my site if I have something to say. I did it out of my own volition. What I get is a warm, fuzzy feeling that I've made someone else's day, or in the case of a commercial site, I get customers.
Ad banners should go the way of the dinosaur. Their benefit is negligible while their drain on the web community is measurable and tiresome.
Actually my theory is that Linux on the Desktop will be "there" when KDE (or Gnome, but I expect KDE would do it first) drops X in favor of a simpler, less complicated and less legacy-encumbered layer which is easier to configure.
That is right on the money. And might I add "intuitive" to the list. The interface is extremely important for the next phase of Linux adoption and user's must feel comfortable and productive with it.
If under the hood Linux remains complex, then fine: that is much less important than day to day usability being top notch.
It's easy to put the whole of the Open Source Community into the same pot if you've been burned by someone's foul tongue in the past. It's just as easy to throw the whole human race into same pot because someone took your parking spot or swore at you.
If the answer is to hate everyone, then God help us.
Fortunately, though, there are lots of nice people in OSS world and Real Life... you just have to be patient and persistent enough to crack their shell (and let them crack yours) and meet them.
Who the fuck is Michael Jackson trying to look like?
Is there any proof that life is not digital?
Lack of an analog->digital converter?
We're going to blow this one... big time. We can't even introduce foreign species into an environment without screwing it up. Not to mention a foreign lifeform!
Doctor's don't even know why many people die, why people give birth exactly when they do, why why why.. and it goes on.
We are not even close to understanding everything that makes humans tick. It could very well be more than a physical system; we don't know that it's not. I'm sure many would deny the possibilities.
"My God. We were so wrong."
Dr. Rick Havburt's lip trembles as the words come out during our exclusive interview.
Today is the fifth anniversary of the end of our freedom to go outdoors whenever we please. 2005 marked the release of thousands of genetically altered creatures into the wild. Contrary to scientists' claims that the animals would benefit the environment, hideous mutations occurred as the lab creations cross-bred with altered and natural wildlife.
Pre-2005, people used to joke that Monday's were so hard. Now every Monday is a federal GE Population Control Day (Gee-Pop). The chemicals used to eliminate the unwanted can kill a human being in a few seconds, but thus far the genetically engineered creatures have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to the deadliest chemicals.
Only time will tell if the creatures can be destroyed.
My dream system would be something like what you've said, except the functions would be stored in a language-independent manner (okay, Perl's probably out). When you need a function, 'fvs' would generate code in the language of your choice.
Thanks! I'm a little amazed just because of the big dollars involved, but it makes sense. I wonder if Mars Pathfinder was covered? (the one with the metric<->imperial mixup)
An interesting quote from the article you cited (page 5):
"In the last five years, the rate for launch plus 12 months of on-orbit coverage has gone from a low of 7% of satellite and launch vehicle value in 1998 to around 16% today. This represents a 129% premium increase in the last four years. In addition, the terms of the insurance coverage are changing to include more exclusions, new and increased deductibles, and reduced coverage time. These changes were in direct response to the increase in anomalies shown in Figure 1."
Insurance. Duh.
Do insurance companies really cover stuff like this?
I'd think it would be cheaper to take your chances without insurance with a 92% success rate. Just imagine what the premiums would be!
"to a lesser extent strength"
??
For their size, ants are one of the strongest creatures on the planet.
Yes, but that's not the point I was trying to get across. We don't all have to be Hercules to make a difference if we _all_ are shooting for the same goal. Strength can be important, but "to a lesser extent" than sheer numbers and tenacity.
Would I be willing to get a fine or go to the bad place for playing a DVD on Linux - hell no
You always have to weight the consequences with how strongly you feel.
What if kissing was illegal? Or dancing? You know in your heart it's not wrong to do either of those things. Would you risk kissing or dancing because you felt it was your right; because you wanted to make a statement?
I don't know.....I mean Canada is already moving farther and farther toward the US system for everything else.
;)
And oddly enough Canadian politics is starting to suck more, too. Doesn't anyone correlate these statistics anymore?
Damn straight. 'Legal' doesn't mean 'Right'. It means that the court and the government and even large corporations think it should be allowed. 'Illegal' means the opposite of that, of course.
:)
I like to think about what an ant colony would be like if one ant out of the millions was 'persecuted' by someone with a magnifying glass and as a result the rest of the ants avoided leaving the nest. What good could they accomplish if they were so easily deterred?
In reality, ants accomplish amazing feats just by sheer number, tenacity, and to a lesser extent strength.
Yes, friends, humans should be more like ants.
It would be entertaining to modify your User-Agent string to add something like "This user charges $5.00 per window for allowing a site to display pop-up advertising. The creation of pop-up windows shall be considered to constitute acceptance of contract".
a h_ dee_blah
Hehe.. For that matter, you could simply add a copyrighted Haiku to your query string whenever you access a website.
website.com?MyCopyrightedHaiku=roses_are_red_bl
Then when they stick your request in the access log, nail'em for storing it without paying for it.
Operated by European astronomers in the Chilean Andes, the VLT has four mirrors eight metres across linked by optical fibres. It can see a single human hair from 16 kilometres away.
This really intrigued me. Can the VLT really see a human hair from 16km away, or is that just a size comparison? I mean, would the hair have to give off light the power of the sun in order to be seen 16km away? Does hair really reflect that much light that those photons will travel 16km to be seen by someone with good enough equipment?
That's not true necessarily. There was a discussion recently that touched on Google's advertising (which is not images, but text). According to people who replied and to my thoughts, everyone agreed that they were more likely to read Google's advertising.