I believe that the only way in which Canadians get free healthcare (I am one, but I'm not quite clear on this) is if it's something you "need" as well.
Apparently Canada's much more liberal in its definition of "need". =)
Okay, from the top:
1: [snip] Individual spiritualism and personal religion are fine, but organized religion and creationism have been the largest setbacks to human development and the most wide-scale causes of human suffering in the history of humankind.
2: I hope to see humankind mature enough for people to stop trying to force their personal opinions (including religious beliefs and personal definitions of morality) onto everyone else, and instead mind their own business without feeling a need to take away everyone else's rights and freedoms.
Someone didn't preview. =)
3: I hope to see the United States (and in fact, all countries in the world) become a true democracy with choices made by the general population, rather than a representative republic biased in favor of corporations, the wealthy, and/or old white men.
I hope so too, but the fact is: there will always be one person to enforce the laws, and to pass them into being. As soon as one person has more power than others, democracy shifts to dictatorship. The more equally it's originally balanced, the longer it takes to get there, though, so this may work for a millenium or so, at which point we can make a new millenium wish for a new form of gov't.
4: I hope to see backwards and artificial notions of "land ownership" and "intellectual property" abolished, and to see land and creative ideas once again free and open and shared cooperatively and courteously by people. (We could take a few lessons from the native American indians here.)
On the Land Ownership side of things: there's a certain amount of security involved with "owning" a set portion of land. I feel more secure knowing that I "own" a piece of land than believing that the land should be shared. People like security. Therefore, land ownership is not something that will be easily abolished.
As for intellectual property, I'd like it to be free as much as anyone else, but again, capitalism requires it for the creation of new capital in a progressive economy. I think that the terms for IP should be shortened, but not abolished.
Speaking of ludicrous laws, how about drug prohibition, eh? Who the hell is the government to say what chemicals I can put into my body? And some are better than others? Bah.
And as for takign lessons from First Nations peoples: Heh, really? While they sit on their reserves demanding more money and land, ignore our laws, and order the Canadian flag to be taken down out of Canadian courts just because they "don't recognize its authority", I cannot believe that they are for communal land ownership. Sorry. When they're equal with us, we'll see whether or not they still believe in it.
5: I hope to see all people fairly compensated for their work by the economy. No one should have to struggle and wear themselves to the point of near-insanity just to be able to feed themselves or their children or to have an adequate place to live. Retail workers and burger flippers should be getting a lot more than the current minimum wage because they are a lot more valuable to society then the economy gives them credit for.
Their value to society is exactly what they're getting paid. If it was more, they'd be paid more. If it was less, they'd be paid less. This is a fundamental tenet of capitalistic society. Supply and demand. Unskilled labourers are in rather high supply, therefore, low prices. It sounds harsh and cynical, but unless you want something other than capitalism ruling your country, this is a result.
6: I hope to see the day when humankind first touches down on another planet within our solar system, and first discovers independently-evolved life (even if it's just microbes) on another planet.
Hear here! On the negative side, however, it's very unlikely it's happened in the solar system. (Present company excepted!)
7: I hope to see society's priorities change from money and productivity to people and quality of life.
I agree with this, as well, but again, capitalism is holding us back.
What I hope to see in this new millenium before I bite the biscuit, are a feasible replacement for capitalism, an increased amount of social freedom, and an increased amount of equality for all.
Your scenario is hardly even plausible. The only IP laws that protect the inventions themselves are patents, and these expire after 20 years.
The push to change to renewable resources has to come from the people too. Noone I know wants to go out and buy a brand new car simply because it's better for the environment. We're North Americans. We don't care about the environment if it clashes with getting inexpensive product. IP is growing at a staggering rate, and, yes, there are many stupid patents. But is this slowing progress down? Nominally at best. Our technology itself is advancing at a phenomenal rate too. And so what if something "obvious" is patented? In 20 years, it's back to the people. Let them patent all this stuff now as opposed to later, when it actually may be useful. For every stupid patent passed, there are many more valid patents.
I agree that there needs to be different classes of Patent law. Software patents need to be radically reduced in duration. Patenting genetic information ought to be illegal unless its an original creation of that genetic information, or an application of it. So, what the hell? Democracy's supposed to be about the government doing what the people wants. Get out there and do something about it if you believe in it that intently. Activism increases awareness, for sure. Whether or not it can increase sympathy is questionable, so just make sure you have a good case.
Just don't knock IP law until you've actually thought it through and checked the limits. Yes, big corporations are scary, simply because of the power they have, so, vote Democrat/Green and limit the power of the big corps.
You too can make a difference! (just make sure people can agree with you)
Just be careful about the 1 click discount, might be patented...
Wouldn't that be a bitch: having methods of breaking the law covered by Intellectual Property law...
-=Canar=-
The Evolution Of The Input Device
on
Keyless Keyboard
·
· Score: 3
"For years [things] had been operated by means of pressing buttons... then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made [hand] sensitive - you merely had to [move] the panels your [hands]; now all you had to do is merely wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope."
Modified from that grand ol' book,
The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Because the US is all about Life Liberty And The Pursiut of Happiness or whatever. This precludes massive money outpourings from the government for social programs. Canada, however, is different. We're not a social experiment in Capitalism, rather more of an experiment in multiculturalism and social programs.
Alberta is the most States-like of our provinces in regard to privatisation and free market politics, and because of its budget surpluses due to its bulging economy, it can do things like this. At, of course, costs to public health care, but then, that's what BC's for, right? *grumble* I just hope the next BC government knows what the hell its doing in the resources department.
Anyways... The gist of this rant is that the US government likes its military. Us Canadians get by with our sub and our pair of F-15s. That leaves us with money for other stuff. Ya want ubiquitous broadband? Immigrate to Canada! Gheh.
Long live Canada, the US's semi-socialist neighbor! =P
That is most certainly _NOT_ what Browne said. Browne said something to the tune of "We'll pay $5e10 to the first person/corp. who can provide us with a working missile defense. That's a lot more sane than leeching tens and hundreds of millions per year for several decades with no observable effects. The Libertarians may not like big government, but they're not stupid enough to think what you said would work.
Okay... First off, it seems to be determined here, for some reason, that Sega's spreading some anti-Sony FUD. This happens. The fact that Sega's using a Microsoft OS seems to be enough for most people here to discount it. From the bottom of their page: "Segaweb is an independent site and is not associated in any official capacity with Sega Enterprises. All artwork and names are copyrights of the companies which rightfully own them." Sure, their eggs are in the Dreamcast bucket, and the reasoning is flawed, but the author honestly seems to believe what he said. So write to the author; tell him his shortcomings. Lend your writing skills to the War Against FUD.
Second, there are a few fledgling programs out there that are written for the Dreamcast by non-typical 3rd parties, like Sintendo, and the oft-cited Bleem! for Dreamcast. Why? Because unlike Sony, the Dreamcast hasn't been secured extremely well against piracy. You can bet your life that Sony's gonna have one hell of a tough anti-piracy system after the debacle of the mod-chip / backup copy mess that went on with the first Playstation. So? Well, the Dreamcast can be ported to a lot more easily than the PS2 (Old-schoolers: Grow up, we're not talking about the PS/2, despite what some posters claim. And no, moderators, it's not funny anymore.) Unless damn powerful libraries come out to route around the oddities, I doubt that too many developers will bother pushing the system to its max. Learning entirely new systems, while fun, is costly.
Another interesting point that the article made: The Dreamcast has done much better than its specs claimed it could, but the PS2 has not. The whole "early games" argument holds no water for me. The PS2's been out for a year now in more Easterly parts of the world (read: Japan), and the developers have had time to adjust. It's a big step, and those are much easier to take in terms of programming paradigm shifts than small ones, I find. (This is why I still program in Pascal. C still evades me, without all the little idiosyncrasies that I've become accustomed to. Programming in ASM came much easier) There are no little quirks to max the system out. It's just one hulking behemoth. I'm sure we'll see games use more than todays as time progresses, but 5-6Mpolys/sec on a machien supposedly capable of 10 times that? No amount of programmer stupidity can account for that kind of short coming unless its something in hardware, especially when the livelihoods of these programmers is resting on it.
Anyways, I'm likely going to be buying a Dreamcast soon. Why? Because it's hackable. Sega's a lot more open about its hardware than Sony.
Basically, it's a world where freedom is(/isn't) enslavement. The freedoms are complete, but its the mindsets that are created, there is an autocrat, and the populace is "free", yet enslaved to do work.
Contrasted to now, where freedom is(/isn't) enslavement. Our freedoms are complete, but we're enslaved by being forced to make choices.
Freedom is enslavement, At least in most cases, because you're forced to make choices. You can't just communistically trust your government to do the right thing.
Anyways, it seems a bit hard to understand, and I can't explain it very clearly, but freedom is not clearly the opposite of enslavement (Which, I assume, is what you were meaning by domination; dominants tend to be free themselves.)
Slightly offtopic, but there's a point to be made somewhere in here.
Earthworm Jim rocked. Super Metroid rocked. Megaman X rocked. (The first time through) What we need is a really well done 2D platformer. I've logged well over a hundred hours perfecting Super Metroid skillz, and it pays off in the end. I can get the Spazer before the Grappling Beam, and do various other things well before I'm supposed to, but why? because I've spent time increasing skills. I like that in a game. Another game like that was NiGHTS, for the Saturn. It was a slow-paced, open-ended game where ability didn't matter, practice and skill building did. It was over a bit too fast, and was kinda easy, and somewhat cheesy, but, if they ever make a sequel (and I think they are, for Dreamcast), I'll snap 'er up. Games with loads of (simple) complexity are a blast.
Another oldish hit was Virtual On for the Saturn, a port of an arcade game. It had amazingly simple gameplay, but each of the 'roids (Mech type thingies) were different enough, with weaknesses and such varied abilities that for six parties with my friends and I, I'd bring my Saturn, and we'd play, transfixed for hours. Why? Because someone would get good with a certain 'roid and strategy, stay in for fifteen minutes, then someone would figure out a strategy to counteract it.
Super Metroid was such a hit for me because once you were good, you could actually go about doing things in a completely different pattern. I'm still at about an 89% completion rate.
Bleh. That's it. I'm gonna make a kickass 2D platformer, and buy a Dreamcast. TTYL,
Now I feel stupid.:P That wasn't meant as a troll, I just really didn't know that. I do know that it still exists in dolphins and bats, two places where it's unnecessary, and that's kinda how I built that argument. I completely overlooked cows and stuff, but I'm not entirely sure you're 100%. I know that cats have 5 claws, and bone structures behind 'em. Never considered snakes. Duh. *smacks self*
I could rant for a while about Hell and how that all goes, but, knowing me, I'd screw something else up and get flamed more. Let's just leave it to that God will only hold ya responsible if you know about Christianity and reject the belief that Jesus was killed for your sins and rose from the dead three days later.
Thanks for the critique!
-=Canar=-
--The Abashedly Inaccurate
PS. If I've managed to even screw that up... Smack me.
I've spent a long time pondering this whole creation/evolution thing. There is "proof" of evolution, there is "proof" of creation, but ultimately, they're both consequential, and distinguishable. Over 50% of the Earth's population believes in some form of Creationism. Bang. Right there, the validity of teaching Creation in schools is shown. If more than 50% of people feel this way, would it not be the AMERICAN, DEMOCRATIC way to do things? Perhaps these statistics aren't accurate for Kansas, and maybe they are. If they are, all for teaching it! Separation of church and state is, IMHO, essential for the government to be at all efficient and unbiased, so long as it's proper in the eyes of the majority.
I also believe in speciation to some degree. If animals have tendencies only to mate with others that look similar to themselves, eventually they'll segregate, and a "species", by definition of the term, will be born. However, this does not explain for the addition of entire chromosomes and these chromosomes actually making sense and so on. Not one mammal descended from the first mammalian species has lost any of the five fingers. Not one has been able to change that much over how long? Arthropods are still segmented. There are pros and cons to this. Why are there not some completely unsegmented insects? They've had plenty of time. There are an amazing number of extremely chance events that had to take place to result in evolution. Amazing chances against. Whether the existance of an all-powerful God is more or less likely is the debate.
Another point: Ever hear of Pascal's wager? It went something along the lines of:
"I'd prefer to spend a fraction of my life in devotion to a deity in the chance that there could be an eternal consequence for not doing so rather than spend ~80 years doing what I want and an infinite amount in hell." OK, so my interpretation is much more politically correct and verbiose, but the the ideology is the same.
Anyways, this has gone on too long and I'm feeling my RSI again.
-=Canar=-
If you can believe in an all-powerful deity, isn't it just as easy to believe that He/She/It created everything?
-=Canar=-
--Creationist Extraordinaire
The 00's have drugs _AND_ disco, they just call 'em raves.;) They also have shitty music and watch MTV lots. I dunno, they seem to be more like a hybridization of all that went before.
First thing that glares out at me from the trailers: Humanity hasn't left Earth yet... We're at 6 billion and climbing, and people like sex. If tech was at the level it seems to be in the trailers, we'd probably even have gotten Venus colonizable by then. I have major problems with the idea of humanity confining itself to earth in a hundred years.
This right here shows me that that movie's going to be action--not intellectually--oriented. Don't even bother, IMHO.
I've always been mystified as to why all you "experienced" hackers shun GOTO so much. Sure, it can make for very confusing code, and doesn't teach "proper" loop coding, but in actuality it's what the computers *doing*. Ever done any ASM? Remember JMP? Where would computers be without JMP? Sure, there's LOOP, but that's a CISC novelty. (Yeah, I know. There is no CISC. But the mentality is what I'm driving at.) Let 'em use GOTO. Let them puzzle out the little problems with their _present_ knowledge, without browsing through the help files.
A very close friend of mine and I are both in a programming course at school. I took it for something fun to do rather than a spare, he picked it for science credits. Now, get me straight, this is a group of _quite_ intelligent people, (least of all the teacher. Blech.) but learning VB is absolutely destroying any talent they might be able to have. Having to worry about different events and where to place code is the last thing you want kids to worry about. I'm not a jack of all languages, but QBASIC is where I'd start someone. It is, IMHO, at heart BASIC*English, and allows loop structure, line numbers and no line numbers, an interpretive structure, etc. I know, it's a product of the Shaft, but it's damn easy. OOP, "form" (Oh how I hate it), data structures, proceduralization, modularity... Let them start simple. If they start complex, they'll get nowhere, only frustrated. I know.
Let them run up against the _limitations_ of the language before showing them a new one. Make them feel free to use the language they want to use. They'll go from BASIC, to probably pascal, then on to Java and C, and without that difficult of a time!
I own the Game Boy Color Super Mario rehash, and, admittedly, it's pretty decent. Personally, I'd rather play the new port than play the old NES game without continue or save or anything... I also believe it's got the Lost Levels in it and everything. The guy who said that these old games could very well serve as demos hit it right on the head. (With, of course, the exception that when playing SMB emulated, you can save and load at anytime anywhere)
I heard once, somewhere, (I'm a big emulation buff, myself) that interpretive cycles can be matched, with optimization, at about 1 to 4 or so.
The reason so few emulators manage that is because consoles have excellent graphical and sound subsystems (ie, self-contained, very little overhead, etc.). Computers on the other hand are very centralized. ('cept maybe for the Miggy, I don't know much about that.) We're starting to see a bit of an attempt at a paradigm switch over to the console system in several areas (Some sound cards, such as the GUS, and some video cards with GPUs rather than just your typical 3dfx chipset or whatever), some of which don't do so well.
The DreamCast, on the other hand, is a rather extensive, well-thought-out video game console. It adheres to the typical decentralized paradigm, and as such, could probably easily handle PSX games. I don't know a lot about either system, but I assume that both are rather similar when it comes down to it, except that the DC is much more advanced.
What I'm saying is, hell yeah, the DC can handle it blindfolded, IMO.
>In fact, current day drug >prohibition, is a failure in ALL of the same >ways as Alcohol prohibition of the 1920's. >In fact, in an interview, the head of the DEA >advocated bringing back alcohol prohibition, and >stated that he believed it could be done within >"the next 10 years".
Wow. I didn't know that. If they were going to bring back alcohol prohibition, though, wouldn't it make sense to bring in tobacco prohibition too, and be consistant with allowing no recreational drugs/substances of any kind?
Personally, my own ideology is that all substances should be free, regardless of recreational use potential. Let the druggies weed themselves out! =)
But then again, maybe not. Remember, a mouse is analog (within certain limits... Digital analog, the oxymoronic marketing statement), and a keyboard is completely digital. I don't care how many function keys ya got, the only way to play Quake or and FPS is with a mouse, and you all know it! Joysticks are almost on an equal level, but with a mouse there's so much resolution in movement. A little wiggle, and the mouse moves a pixel or two. A wrist flick, and you're across the screen. At best, a joystick can be used to calculate some velocity function, and requires movement. A voice-based system is also very impractical, as our voices are very slow. Maybe if we were French or had some other language with crisply enunciated syllables it'd be somewhat efficient, but English. And you Yanks and your slloow drrraaaawwwlls. =)
Having something reading your eyeball to track eye movement could ultimately eclipse that little rodent, but the mouse is so easy to use, so precise... It's gonna take some massive thought to come up with something much more easy to use and powerful than it.
Maybe, but things'll change after a while It'd be a lot easier just to subcutaneously inject a chip into your hand. Then, of course, there are gonna be the people who are proud of that, and get it injected into their forehead. Then they'll become mandatory, and that'll be how you buy stuff. Of course, right before this chip comes into the market, a billion, maybe more people will get "abducted by aliens" or some similar hogwash. Read Revelation, it's all in there. (In forms more easily deciphered by the ancient Romans, but it's there nevertheless) -=Canar=-
[snip]Based on the DCMA and its application (so far) to the DeCSS case, it would appear that Big Business (having a monetary advantage) has bought out Government. </i>
This is the scary part. Do we sit back and allow this to happen? Do people even care about the landmark this sets? Apparently not, as the case is going through, and DeCSS is getting the shaft. If Big Business did happen to buy Government out of the loop completely, and since Big Business in a Dictatorship for the most part, wouldn't government then also be a dictatorship? *shiver* If IPv6 can keep Big Business from interfering, go IPv6. If it can't, to say it l337ly, we're fuX0r3d if we're concerned about freedom and free information.
"My Computer, My Documents, My Connection, MY ASS!" -- My Dad. =)
Slashdot Mirror
I believe that the only way in which Canadians get free healthcare (I am one, but I'm not quite clear on this) is if it's something you "need" as well.
Apparently Canada's much more liberal in its definition of "need". =)
2: I hope to see humankind mature enough for people to stop trying to force their personal opinions (including religious beliefs and personal definitions of morality) onto everyone else, and instead mind their own business without feeling a need to take away everyone else's rights and freedoms.
Someone didn't preview. =)
3: I hope to see the United States (and in fact, all countries in the world) become a true democracy with choices made by the general population, rather than a representative republic biased in favor of corporations, the wealthy, and/or old white men.
I hope so too, but the fact is: there will always be one person to enforce the laws, and to pass them into being. As soon as one person has more power than others, democracy shifts to dictatorship. The more equally it's originally balanced, the longer it takes to get there, though, so this may work for a millenium or so, at which point we can make a new millenium wish for a new form of gov't.
4: I hope to see backwards and artificial notions of "land ownership" and "intellectual property" abolished, and to see land and creative ideas once again free and open and shared cooperatively and courteously by people. (We could take a few lessons from the native American indians here.)
On the Land Ownership side of things: there's a certain amount of security involved with "owning" a set portion of land. I feel more secure knowing that I "own" a piece of land than believing that the land should be shared. People like security. Therefore, land ownership is not something that will be easily abolished. As for intellectual property, I'd like it to be free as much as anyone else, but again, capitalism requires it for the creation of new capital in a progressive economy. I think that the terms for IP should be shortened, but not abolished. Speaking of ludicrous laws, how about drug prohibition, eh? Who the hell is the government to say what chemicals I can put into my body? And some are better than others? Bah. And as for takign lessons from First Nations peoples: Heh, really? While they sit on their reserves demanding more money and land, ignore our laws, and order the Canadian flag to be taken down out of Canadian courts just because they "don't recognize its authority", I cannot believe that they are for communal land ownership. Sorry. When they're equal with us, we'll see whether or not they still believe in it.
5: I hope to see all people fairly compensated for their work by the economy. No one should have to struggle and wear themselves to the point of near-insanity just to be able to feed themselves or their children or to have an adequate place to live. Retail workers and burger flippers should be getting a lot more than the current minimum wage because they are a lot more valuable to society then the economy gives them credit for.
Their value to society is exactly what they're getting paid. If it was more, they'd be paid more. If it was less, they'd be paid less. This is a fundamental tenet of capitalistic society. Supply and demand. Unskilled labourers are in rather high supply, therefore, low prices. It sounds harsh and cynical, but unless you want something other than capitalism ruling your country, this is a result.
6: I hope to see the day when humankind first touches down on another planet within our solar system, and first discovers independently-evolved life (even if it's just microbes) on another planet.
Hear here! On the negative side, however, it's very unlikely it's happened in the solar system. (Present company excepted!)
7: I hope to see society's priorities change from money and productivity to people and quality of life.
I agree with this, as well, but again, capitalism is holding us back.
What I hope to see in this new millenium before I bite the biscuit, are a feasible replacement for capitalism, an increased amount of social freedom, and an increased amount of equality for all.
-=Canar=-
Your scenario is hardly even plausible. The only IP laws that protect the inventions themselves are patents, and these expire after 20 years.
The push to change to renewable resources has to come from the people too. Noone I know wants to go out and buy a brand new car simply because it's better for the environment. We're North Americans. We don't care about the environment if it clashes with getting inexpensive product. IP is growing at a staggering rate, and, yes, there are many stupid patents. But is this slowing progress down? Nominally at best. Our technology itself is advancing at a phenomenal rate too. And so what if something "obvious" is patented? In 20 years, it's back to the people. Let them patent all this stuff now as opposed to later, when it actually may be useful. For every stupid patent passed, there are many more valid patents.
I agree that there needs to be different classes of Patent law. Software patents need to be radically reduced in duration. Patenting genetic information ought to be illegal unless its an original creation of that genetic information, or an application of it. So, what the hell? Democracy's supposed to be about the government doing what the people wants. Get out there and do something about it if you believe in it that intently. Activism increases awareness, for sure. Whether or not it can increase sympathy is questionable, so just make sure you have a good case.
Just don't knock IP law until you've actually thought it through and checked the limits. Yes, big corporations are scary, simply because of the power they have, so, vote Democrat/Green and limit the power of the big corps.
You too can make a difference!
(just make sure people can agree with you)
-=Canar=-
Just be careful about the 1 click discount, might be patented...
Wouldn't that be a bitch: having methods of breaking the law covered by Intellectual Property law...
-=Canar=-
"For years [things] had been operated by means of pressing buttons... then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made [hand] sensitive - you merely had to [move] the panels your [hands]; now all you had to do is merely wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope."
Modified from that grand ol' book,
The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Alberta is the most States-like of our provinces in regard to privatisation and free market politics, and because of its budget surpluses due to its bulging economy, it can do things like this. At, of course, costs to public health care, but then, that's what BC's for, right? *grumble* I just hope the next BC government knows what the hell its doing in the resources department.
Anyways... The gist of this rant is that the US government likes its military. Us Canadians get by with our sub and our pair of F-15s. That leaves us with money for other stuff. Ya want ubiquitous broadband? Immigrate to Canada! Gheh.
Long live Canada, the US's semi-socialist neighbor! =P
-=Canar=-
-=Canar=-
Second, there are a few fledgling programs out there that are written for the Dreamcast by non-typical 3rd parties, like Sintendo, and the oft-cited Bleem! for Dreamcast. Why? Because unlike Sony, the Dreamcast hasn't been secured extremely well against piracy. You can bet your life that Sony's gonna have one hell of a tough anti-piracy system after the debacle of the mod-chip / backup copy mess that went on with the first Playstation. So? Well, the Dreamcast can be ported to a lot more easily than the PS2 (Old-schoolers: Grow up, we're not talking about the PS/2, despite what some posters claim. And no, moderators, it's not funny anymore.) Unless damn powerful libraries come out to route around the oddities, I doubt that too many developers will bother pushing the system to its max. Learning entirely new systems, while fun, is costly.
Another interesting point that the article made: The Dreamcast has done much better than its specs claimed it could, but the PS2 has not. The whole "early games" argument holds no water for me. The PS2's been out for a year now in more Easterly parts of the world (read: Japan), and the developers have had time to adjust. It's a big step, and those are much easier to take in terms of programming paradigm shifts than small ones, I find. (This is why I still program in Pascal. C still evades me, without all the little idiosyncrasies that I've become accustomed to. Programming in ASM came much easier) There are no little quirks to max the system out. It's just one hulking behemoth. I'm sure we'll see games use more than todays as time progresses, but 5-6Mpolys/sec on a machien supposedly capable of 10 times that? No amount of programmer stupidity can account for that kind of short coming unless its something in hardware, especially when the livelihoods of these programmers is resting on it.
Anyways, I'm likely going to be buying a Dreamcast soon. Why? Because it's hackable. Sega's a lot more open about its hardware than Sony.
-=Canar=-
--over and out.
Basically, it's a world where freedom is(/isn't) enslavement. The freedoms are complete, but its the mindsets that are created, there is an autocrat, and the populace is "free", yet enslaved to do work.
Contrasted to now, where freedom is(/isn't) enslavement. Our freedoms are complete, but we're enslaved by being forced to make choices.
Freedom is enslavement, At least in most cases, because you're forced to make choices. You can't just communistically trust your government to do the right thing.
Anyways, it seems a bit hard to understand, and I can't explain it very clearly, but freedom is not clearly the opposite of enslavement (Which, I assume, is what you were meaning by domination; dominants tend to be free themselves.)
Slightly offtopic, but there's a point to be made somewhere in here.
-=Canar=-
Earthworm Jim rocked. Super Metroid rocked. Megaman X rocked. (The first time through) What we need is a really well done 2D platformer. I've logged well over a hundred hours perfecting Super Metroid skillz, and it pays off in the end. I can get the Spazer before the Grappling Beam, and do various other things well before I'm supposed to, but why? because I've spent time increasing skills. I like that in a game. Another game like that was NiGHTS, for the Saturn. It was a slow-paced, open-ended game where ability didn't matter, practice and skill building did. It was over a bit too fast, and was kinda easy, and somewhat cheesy, but, if they ever make a sequel (and I think they are, for Dreamcast), I'll snap 'er up. Games with loads of (simple) complexity are a blast.
Another oldish hit was Virtual On for the Saturn, a port of an arcade game. It had amazingly simple gameplay, but each of the 'roids (Mech type thingies) were different enough, with weaknesses and such varied abilities that for six parties with my friends and I, I'd bring my Saturn, and we'd play, transfixed for hours. Why? Because someone would get good with a certain 'roid and strategy, stay in for fifteen minutes, then someone would figure out a strategy to counteract it.
Super Metroid was such a hit for me because once you were good, you could actually go about doing things in a completely different pattern. I'm still at about an 89% completion rate.
Bleh. That's it. I'm gonna make a kickass 2D platformer, and buy a Dreamcast. TTYL,
-=Canar=-
Now I feel stupid. :P That wasn't meant as a troll, I just really didn't know that. I do know that it still exists in dolphins and bats, two places where it's unnecessary, and that's kinda how I built that argument. I completely overlooked cows and stuff, but I'm not entirely sure you're 100%. I know that cats have 5 claws, and bone structures behind 'em. Never considered snakes. Duh. *smacks self*
I could rant for a while about Hell and how that all goes, but, knowing me, I'd screw something else up and get flamed more. Let's just leave it to that God will only hold ya responsible if you know about Christianity and reject the belief that Jesus was killed for your sins and rose from the dead three days later.
Thanks for the critique!
-=Canar=-
--The Abashedly Inaccurate
PS. If I've managed to even screw that up... Smack me.
I've spent a long time pondering this whole creation/evolution thing. There is "proof" of evolution, there is "proof" of creation, but ultimately, they're both consequential, and distinguishable. Over 50% of the Earth's population believes in some form of Creationism. Bang. Right there, the validity of teaching Creation in schools is shown. If more than 50% of people feel this way, would it not be the AMERICAN, DEMOCRATIC way to do things? Perhaps these statistics aren't accurate for Kansas, and maybe they are. If they are, all for teaching it! Separation of church and state is, IMHO, essential for the government to be at all efficient and unbiased, so long as it's proper in the eyes of the majority.
I also believe in speciation to some degree. If animals have tendencies only to mate with others that look similar to themselves, eventually they'll segregate, and a "species", by definition of the term, will be born. However, this does not explain for the addition of entire chromosomes and these chromosomes actually making sense and so on. Not one mammal descended from the first mammalian species has lost any of the five fingers. Not one has been able to change that much over how long? Arthropods are still segmented. There are pros and cons to this. Why are there not some completely unsegmented insects? They've had plenty of time. There are an amazing number of extremely chance events that had to take place to result in evolution. Amazing chances against. Whether the existance of an all-powerful God is more or less likely is the debate.
Another point: Ever hear of Pascal's wager? It went something along the lines of:
"I'd prefer to spend a fraction of my life in devotion to a deity in the chance that there could be an eternal consequence for not doing so rather than spend ~80 years doing what I want and an infinite amount in hell." OK, so my interpretation is much more politically correct and verbiose, but the the ideology is the same.
Anyways, this has gone on too long and I'm feeling my RSI again.
-=Canar=-
If you can believe in an all-powerful deity, isn't it just as easy to believe that He/She/It created everything? -=Canar=- --Creationist Extraordinaire
The 00's have drugs _AND_ disco, they just call 'em raves. ;) They also have shitty music and watch MTV lots. I dunno, they seem to be more like a hybridization of all that went before.
Better be careful. That might not be covered under copyright law, especially the way things are going.
-=Canar=-
I do believe it's #ifdef... But then, I don't hack C too much.
-=Canar=-
First thing that glares out at me from the trailers: Humanity hasn't left Earth yet... We're at 6 billion and climbing, and people like sex. If tech was at the level it seems to be in the trailers, we'd probably even have gotten Venus colonizable by then. I have major problems with the idea of humanity confining itself to earth in a hundred years.
This right here shows me that that movie's going to be action--not intellectually--oriented. Don't even bother, IMHO.
-=Canar=-
A very close friend of mine and I are both in a programming course at school. I took it for something fun to do rather than a spare, he picked it for science credits. Now, get me straight, this is a group of _quite_ intelligent people, (least of all the teacher. Blech.) but learning VB is absolutely destroying any talent they might be able to have. Having to worry about different events and where to place code is the last thing you want kids to worry about. I'm not a jack of all languages, but QBASIC is where I'd start someone. It is, IMHO, at heart BASIC*English, and allows loop structure, line numbers and no line numbers, an interpretive structure, etc. I know, it's a product of the Shaft, but it's damn easy. OOP, "form" (Oh how I hate it), data structures, proceduralization, modularity... Let them start simple. If they start complex, they'll get nowhere, only frustrated. I know.
Let them run up against the _limitations_ of the language before showing them a new one. Make them feel free to use the language they want to use. They'll go from BASIC, to probably pascal, then on to Java and C, and without that difficult of a time!
I own the Game Boy Color Super Mario rehash, and, admittedly, it's pretty decent. Personally, I'd rather play the new port than play the old NES game without continue or save or anything... I also believe it's got the Lost Levels in it and everything. The guy who said that these old games could very well serve as demos hit it right on the head. (With, of course, the exception that when playing SMB emulated, you can save and load at anytime anywhere)
Anyways,
-=Canar=-
I heard once, somewhere, (I'm a big emulation buff, myself) that interpretive cycles can be matched, with optimization, at about 1 to 4 or so.
The reason so few emulators manage that is because consoles have excellent graphical and sound subsystems (ie, self-contained, very little overhead, etc.). Computers on the other hand are very centralized. ('cept maybe for the Miggy, I don't know much about that.) We're starting to see a bit of an attempt at a paradigm switch over to the console system in several areas (Some sound cards, such as the GUS, and some video cards with GPUs rather than just your typical 3dfx chipset or whatever), some of which don't do so well.
The DreamCast, on the other hand, is a rather extensive, well-thought-out video game console. It adheres to the typical decentralized paradigm, and as such, could probably easily handle PSX games. I don't know a lot about either system, but I assume that both are rather similar when it comes down to it, except that the DC is much more advanced.
What I'm saying is, hell yeah, the DC can handle it blindfolded, IMO.
-=Canar=-
>In fact, current day drug
>prohibition, is a failure in ALL of the same >ways as Alcohol prohibition of the 1920's.
>In fact, in an interview, the head of the DEA
>advocated bringing back alcohol prohibition, and
>stated that he believed it could be done within
>"the next 10 years".
Wow. I didn't know that. If they were going to bring back alcohol prohibition, though, wouldn't it make sense to bring in tobacco prohibition too, and be consistant with allowing no recreational drugs/substances of any kind?
Personally, my own ideology is that all substances should be free, regardless of recreational use potential. Let the druggies weed themselves out! =)
-=Canar=-
But then again, maybe not. Remember, a mouse is analog (within certain limits... Digital analog, the oxymoronic marketing statement), and a keyboard is completely digital. I don't care how many function keys ya got, the only way to play Quake or and FPS is with a mouse, and you all know it! Joysticks are almost on an equal level, but with a mouse there's so much resolution in movement. A little wiggle, and the mouse moves a pixel or two. A wrist flick, and you're across the screen. At best, a joystick can be used to calculate some velocity function, and requires movement. A voice-based system is also very impractical, as our voices are very slow. Maybe if we were French or had some other language with crisply enunciated syllables it'd be somewhat efficient, but English. And you Yanks and your slloow drrraaaawwwlls. =)
Having something reading your eyeball to track eye movement could ultimately eclipse that little rodent, but the mouse is so easy to use, so precise... It's gonna take some massive thought to come up with something much more easy to use and powerful than it.
Maybe, but things'll change after a while It'd be a lot easier just to subcutaneously inject a chip into your hand. Then, of course, there are gonna be the people who are proud of that, and get it injected into their forehead. Then they'll become mandatory, and that'll be how you buy stuff. Of course, right before this chip comes into the market, a billion, maybe more people will get "abducted by aliens" or some similar hogwash. Read Revelation, it's all in there. (In forms more easily deciphered by the ancient Romans, but it's there nevertheless) -=Canar=-
Either to read Jon Katz's stuff, XOR To flame Jon Katz's stuff.
There are three parties that matter, sort of:
Government
Big Business
Individuals
[snip]Based on the DCMA and its application (so far) to the DeCSS case, it would appear that Big Business (having a monetary advantage) has bought out Government. </i>
This is the scary part. Do we sit back and allow this to happen? Do people even care about the landmark this sets? Apparently not, as the case is going through, and DeCSS is getting the shaft.
If Big Business did happen to buy Government out of the loop completely, and since Big Business in a Dictatorship for the most part, wouldn't government then also be a dictatorship? *shiver* If IPv6 can keep Big Business from interfering, go IPv6. If it can't, to say it l337ly, we're fuX0r3d if we're concerned about freedom and free information.
"My Computer, My Documents, My Connection, MY ASS!"
-- My Dad. =)