Killed and wounded from a ground assault on mainland Japan, Japanese and American: 0 (because it didn't happen)
Killed and wounded from combat use of nuclear weapons since 1945 (globally): 0 (actual deployment against a target)
The threat of nuclear weapons keeping the USA and USSR from engaging in full-scale (Korea and Vietnam weren't anywhere -near- as bad as they could have been) war against each other (especially in various 'puppet countries'): Priceless
Do I promote use of nuclear weapons? No. Could things have been much worse if America hadn't used nucleics? Yes. History is our biggest resource of 'things not to do'... but it is a tool that requires thought and perspective to use properly.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki data from website: Division of Scientific Data Registry(Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, School of Medicine, Nagasaki University)
Actually, these three used to carry different meanings, indicating different levels of 'feedlemindedness,' according to this 1932 psychology textbook 'Social Problems' I just happened to be lucky enough to pick up. In summary:
Imbecile - mental development never passes that of a 2 year old; cannot comprehend text or speech; cannot fully take care of self. Idiot - mental development never passes that of an 8 year old; can comprehend speech, but not text; can take care of basic needs of self (barely) Moron - mental development never surpasses that of a 12 year old: can comprehend both speech and text (at a limited level, of course); these people can take care of themselves, and contribute to society in a limited scope (though the book recommends they not propigate for 'the better good of future society'. 1932, go fig...)
American English is losing so much flavor by merely making things synonymous. I mean, really, if I insult someone with one of the above three terms, I'd love for -them- to know which level of 'feedle-mindness' I'm placing them at.;)
Your mind is like a parachute. If it doesn't work, you're screwed.
I've seen posts talking about the dirth of 'pre-recorded' MDs, and it boggles the mind. Why, in God's name, would any right-minded music pusher drop money into releasing music on MD, when they can use the good old CD pressing equipment they've had in mass use for X number of years and pay the extremely low cost for CD medium upon which to press/burn? I mean, heaven forbid they release music onto a high-quality medium you can record or rerecord to, anything released 'new' on MDs from companies would be on some modified 'read only' version of the medium.
Also, have you looked at the technology that allows MD medium to be so small? Clipping the audio spectrum to 'only what's detectable to the human ear' is all well and fine in the economics of space, but the nigh-unto-fanatical "golden eared" audiophiles would have fits with their overtones clipped. Sure, I may not be able to hear it all myself with my ears of lead, but if I'm going to drop money on music, I want -all- of it, overtones and all, for my money.
MD never had/has too much of a chance for the 'first sale' market of music. The strength of MD has been and will continue to be the realm of RErecordable medium.
I can't say I remember much of the push for MD in the States, but of what I recall, the push was for MD to 'replace' CD. Wasn't gonna happen then, isn't gonna happen now.
MD is the replacement for tape, pure and simple.
The fact that MD is rerecordable wasn't really expressed to Joe Sixpack at the most crucial time, and the market foothold for the general public wasn't established. Sure, MD may be big in Europian and Asian markets; maybe it's been marketed for its true value. Sure, small radio stations, DJs, professional journalists in warzones (gotta love NPR, when a reporter can have enough time to talk about the bullet-proof MD recorder he uses) and other various people may know of the value of MD. But if good ol' Joe Sixpack doesn't buy into it... it ain't gonna go anywhere here in the States.
These quarter-sized disks are all well and good, but even if the recording companies find it cost-effective to switch over the big question still remains; 'Will Joe Sixpack see buying a completely new medium and system worth it, with a functional CD player at hand?'
I know I wouldn't... Besides, I don't think you could grind down the edge to a blade and send these things slashing through thick vis-queen quite like you can a CD.;) (gotta love AOL, for nice DVD-style boxes and plenty of CDs to fool around with)
But instead you have guerilla IT departments go through and trash peoples computers, and make linux-ites look like a bunch of freaks. In an example of 'guerilla tactics,' the former network admin where I work came in on a weekend and changed all the servers over to Linux in one foul swoop. At first, there were numerous complaints and 'concerns' raised, but as time went on the tone changed, from 'Well... this isn't so bad...' to 'Hey, we don't have -near- the troubles we used to.'
While I certainly don't actively advocate 'guerilla tactics' on the workstations, those who support such methods have a valid point: People fear change.
Joe Sixpack looks at Linux as this unknown beast, an unbroken stallion who only the 'l33t hackers' (and yes, the 'snotty' reputation is unfortunately deserved too frequently) can ever have hope of breaking and taming. People know Windows, they've often been officially trained on Windows, and for those who have computers at home, it's what they're used to at home. They look at the question of OSes 'If it ain't broke, why try to fix it?' Out of use comes habit, and out of habit, comes formed behavior.
So, why would Joe Sixpack ever really want to change? Joe Sixpack doesn't really need the full extent of what Linux has to offer (I mean, when will Joe Sixpack ever need access to source code to exercise the freedom of modifying a program??), so why convert? Why try to tackle that 'unknown beast' named Linux, when Joe can shell out a few extra $ and stay with what Joe knows?
Now (for a work situation), sit Joe in front of an existing Linux setup, say 'This is what you get. It may look different, but here is your word processor, here is how you check your e-mail, etc.' And guess what, Joe finds that although his office suite may not have 'Clippy' popping up to offer those wonderful gems of 'wisdom', it does pretty much what Joe needs it to do (except possibly for writing in/converting to those nice, bloated, proprietary M$ file types, but that's a story for a different time).
Humans are adaptable, especially when given reasons TO adapt. One of the main reasons Linux is not much of a contender on the desktop market: if Joe Sixpack doesn't see a need, he ain't gonna...
Caller: "Ummm, yes. I need to re-install XP. Some hackers trashed my hard drive and I need an authorization code."
M$: "Hmmm... What was the reason you were hacked?"
Caller: "What? They... just did it, I don't know why!"
M$: "Funny... Mr. Caller, according to this report I have here from the RIAA, your machine crashed because you had illegal.mp3s on your hard drive. We cannot condone such use of our product, and therefore, we will not give you further support for your installation."
Caller: "WTF!?!?"
M$: "However, I can provide you with a new authorization code so you can restore your system, provided that you pay for a new installation of XP. How do you want to pay today? By credit, checking account number, or first-born child?"
People for the Eating of Tasty Animals (PETA), terrorists?? Damnation, I should've known something was up when I got a copy of the Anarchist'S Cookbook along with my membership card...
(BTW, what -would- be considered 'ethical treatment' for a cow born and raised to someday wind up on a dinner plate...?)
What the Hell?? Who fell asleep on the job here? With how the pr0n are multi-million/billion industries, wouldn't this mean they just cut themselves out of a chunk of market?? Let's see if any M$ heads roll for this little oversight.:)
Y'know, with the various husband/wife teams that NASA has sent up through the years (all the Shuttle years that get little to 'nil media coverage to begin with), I'd almost be surprised if '0 G copulation' -hasn't- been on the 'experiments to do' list.
IMHO, studying mice would at least give us humans some pointers on factors that could later become problems, general data if not necessarily 'human specific'.
Great use for the International Space Station, I'd say, though I wonder if the female would -stay- up there long enough to come to term (without going insane), not to mention re-entry with either a many-month-pregnant female, or a newborn.
As for web-cams... I dunno. Although it wouldn't be quite as bad as watching octopi go at it, I'd imagine it'd be pretty damn 'ametuer', awkward, and just plain -weird- action for the first few goes.;)
Mr. Dean,
We write in regard to your fradulent use of the words "nobody", "owns", "the", "fucking", "words", and "man". The legal holders of these words for Internet usage are as follows:
Nobody - Registered by Microsoft Corp., used in reference to a person who does not run their OS.
Owns and Ownz - Registered by Microsoft Corp., for use in describing Microsoft global market share of OSes.
The - Registered by Microsoft Corp., as it is an integral term used in their pending OS release.
Fucking - Registered by goatse.cx. 'nuff said.
Words - Registered by Microsoft Corp., as a reference to multiple installations of a component of Office. Sites and all Internet usages of the term 'words' will be traced to their owner/s and audited by the BSA for licensing compliance.
Man - Owned by the United States government, as it is a term frequently used in reference to them (ie. 'the man').
Use of these terms on the internet constitutes circumvention of U.S. copyright law under the DMCA, and enforcement of said laws will be carried out, regardless of state and international borders, local law, and common sense. In behalf His Lord Majesty Gates, I issue a cease and desist order on your use of these terms on His internet. Good day.
"On that basis, Microsoft argues that the district judge should have been disqualified from any further role in the case as of the time the earliest violation occurred," Microsoft told the court. The appeals court strongly condemned Jackson's actions, but said that nevertheless Microsoft still acted as an illegal monopoly."
"The Supreme Court's review of the disqualification issue is important to restoring public confidence in the integrity of the judicial system," Microsoft argues.
Here's my question: How much does M$'s spin staff get paid? I mean, really, they seem to be fairly on the ball with their jobs, 24/7...
Okay, maybe I'm biased in that Atlanta doesn't fit the 'stereotypical tech city' template for me to begin with. Main reason, I used to live around there myself (Snellville, to be more specific). Loved it when I lived out there, and look at moving back in about 5 years.
Atlanta may not have the public transportation factor, but I think what makes Atlanta most appealing to me, is room. Folks in the Atlanta area don't have to crowd into a geographically defined/limited area, as is so often found in other cities (Salt Lake, mountains all around; many west coast cities, ocean on one side, mountains on other, etc). All of the suburban areas surrounding Atlanta provide the places to live, and the 'city proper' provides all the advantages of a big city without you having to actually live in it. There's also the more 'laid back' atmosphere in general, but that comes with tradition and custom more than anything.
My 'ideal' for a tech city would be one not of a huge, built-up downtown area, but of nice, reasonably spread-out suburban areas, with the bustle and action of downtown when I want it, and relative peace and isolation when I want it. I've done my time in 'cube land' over the years at work , I want some room, dammit!
One of the worst things I've seen/heard from people who live in the 'high tech heavy' cities/areas, is how high (most often termed 'insane' from them) the cost of living is in such places. The term 'high tech' seems to almost always conjure the idea 'big bucks'. With the pay rates assosciated with the stable tech industries/vendors (read 'not fly-by-night dot coms'), people start to feel there's 'more money in the air', and prices start getting jacked up. Hell, here in the Salt Lake valley, there's a nearly constant difference of 10 to 15 cents per gallon of gas between the west side (more middle and lower incomes) and the east side ('where the money is', the usual sentiment goes).
The point: people will try to milk perceived 'cash cows' as hard as they can, and having high-tech industry/service around, one can suddenly 'feel money in the air'.
As for 'The Three T's', well, think of the truly 'techie' people you know. They almost always can be considered 'eccentrics' in one way or another in relation to 'the general accepted public view' (Goths, anime junkies, Pythonites, Stars Wars fanatics, 'l33t g4m3r phr34kz', 'furries', RPGers, etc, etc. (And yes, I consider myself a few of these, so I have license to poke fun:b ) ). Techie people just -tend- to desire a varied and wide range of things. Hell, just look at a cross-segment of/. topics and threads.;)
"Your mind is like a parachute. If it doesn't work, you're screwed..."
Now, if they could start detecting fertilized embryos early enough, we have a new side-benefit for abortion!
"But this isn't 'REAL' Amiga" complaint
on
An Amiga Round-up
·
· Score: 1
Well folks, guess what. Yes, the new plans and goals of the new Amiga are -NOT- the same as original. And why is that? Simply put, because what made the original Amiga so great, is what wound up -killing- it in the long run.
I mean, seriously, Amigas were pretty much integral machines. They didn't need whopping fast CPUs, because the various functions were sub-divided amongst custom chips (ie. good ol' Agnus). The hardware was developed integrally, so it all performed beautifully together. However, components began to be produced by individual, competing companies, who had entire R&D staffs for the development of new components, handling 'task Y' exclusively. It's damn hard to compete, trying to develop new technologies for a whole -system- instead. Thus, one of the main advantages of Amiga, was one of it's disadvantages in the long run.
The time is now. Getting itself out of the hardware where it can't really compete against multitudes of vendors and makers, Amiga narrows focus on, guess what, a GUI OS! They were in the forefront of GUI back in the day (ever play with an old 1000? Very innovative and original) and machines of even not that long ago could boot a GUI OS with preemptive multitasking that uses little memory (under 1 meg) and disk space (a minimal system can run from a DD floppy).
With such advances before, now just -imagine- what Amiga can do, focusing solely on an OS. They don't have to make their own hardware, but instead, decide what would perform the best, and declare the hardware as 'optimal configuration'. Hence the 'Amiga One' is born.
Is Amiga 'the same' as before? No. They've learned from the past, and have taken steps to improve and be adaptable to the future. And I for one, certainly look forward to see what comes along...
Hacker, there's a need to feel down.
I said, hacker, we'll nail your a-- to the ground.
I said, hacker, 'cause there's a flawed law in town
there's a way to make you unhappy.
Hacker, there's no place you can go.
I said, hacker, trials'll make you short on your dough.
You can fight it, but I'm sure you will find
There's no way you'll beat our law staffs!
It's fun to screw ya with the D-M-C-A!
It's fun to screw ya with the D-M-C-A!
We have good protection, big corporations can enjoy,
We can buy any Congressional ploy!
It's fun to screw you with the D-M-C-A!
It's fun to screw you with the D-M-C-A!
We can get your a-- jailed, copyrights we will seal,
We can do whatever we feel!
Mu*puppy - proof of the effects of boredom, and Altoid dust snorting
It's always interesting to note the attention that works noted as 'classics' get. What I wonder is how much (if any) attention the actual, original -books- get as a result of TV/movie publication? (anyone know of any sites/publications/etc that address this?) Or perhaps to look ever deeper, how much do people actually -read- these days? What I have always found attractive about reading, is picturing the settings, events, characters, etc. in my -own- mind. But in a society where we are getting used to the 'provided content' of TV, movies, the Internet or whatever, how much do we actually -think- for ourselves, still? With the tools of today (especially computers) yes, there is increased potential and oppurtunity for artists to express their ideas. However, I believe this is also a two-edged sword. Artists can express themselves perhaps more clearly and reach a broader audience, but in turn, it's killing the habit of individual thought and interpretation. I mean, who can read something like the Star Wars radio plays and -not- think the voice of James Earl Jones, or the design of Vader's black helmet, if they've seen the movie first? Or in the case of the original Dune movie, think of Feyd-ratha (sp?) and not think Sting? *shudder*
Exercise your minds and give your creativity a workout, people, lest they atrophy with a lack of use. If you rely on actors to convey the ideas and imagry of a book, you are cheating yourself of the full experience.
Read the book/s, -then- see the movie...
"Your mind is like a parechute. If it doesn't work, you're screwed."
Slashdot Mirror
Killed in Nagasaki: 150,000
Killed and wounded from a ground assault on mainland Japan, Japanese and American: 0 (because it didn't happen)
Killed and wounded from combat use of nuclear weapons since 1945 (globally): 0 (actual deployment against a target)
The threat of nuclear weapons keeping the USA and USSR from engaging in full-scale (Korea and Vietnam weren't anywhere -near- as bad as they could have been) war against each other (especially in various 'puppet countries'): Priceless
Do I promote use of nuclear weapons? No. Could things have been much worse if America hadn't used nucleics? Yes. History is our biggest resource of 'things not to do'... but it is a tool that requires thought and perspective to use properly.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki data from website: Division of Scientific Data Registry(Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, School of Medicine, Nagasaki University)
Imbecile - mental development never passes that of a 2 year old; cannot comprehend text or speech; cannot fully take care of self.
Idiot - mental development never passes that of an 8 year old; can comprehend speech, but not text; can take care of basic needs of self (barely)
Moron - mental development never surpasses that of a 12 year old: can comprehend both speech and text (at a limited level, of course); these people can take care of themselves, and contribute to society in a limited scope (though the book recommends they not propigate for 'the better good of future society'. 1932, go fig...)
American English is losing so much flavor by merely making things synonymous. I mean, really, if I insult someone with one of the above three terms, I'd love for -them- to know which level of 'feedle-mindness' I'm placing them at. ;)
Your mind is like a parachute. If it doesn't work, you're screwed.
Also, have you looked at the technology that allows MD medium to be so small? Clipping the audio spectrum to 'only what's detectable to the human ear' is all well and fine in the economics of space, but the nigh-unto-fanatical "golden eared" audiophiles would have fits with their overtones clipped. Sure, I may not be able to hear it all myself with my ears of lead, but if I'm going to drop money on music, I want -all- of it, overtones and all, for my money.
MD never had/has too much of a chance for the 'first sale' market of music. The strength of MD has been and will continue to be the realm of RErecordable medium.
I can't say I remember much of the push for MD in the States, but of what I recall, the push was for MD to 'replace' CD. Wasn't gonna happen then, isn't gonna happen now.
MD is the replacement for tape, pure and simple.
The fact that MD is rerecordable wasn't really expressed to Joe Sixpack at the most crucial time, and the market foothold for the general public wasn't established. Sure, MD may be big in Europian and Asian markets; maybe it's been marketed for its true value. Sure, small radio stations, DJs, professional journalists in warzones (gotta love NPR, when a reporter can have enough time to talk about the bullet-proof MD recorder he uses) and other various people may know of the value of MD. But if good ol' Joe Sixpack doesn't buy into it... it ain't gonna go anywhere here in the States.
These quarter-sized disks are all well and good, but even if the recording companies find it cost-effective to switch over the big question still remains; 'Will Joe Sixpack see buying a completely new medium and system worth it, with a functional CD player at hand?'
I know I wouldn't... Besides, I don't think you could grind down the edge to a blade and send these things slashing through thick vis-queen quite like you can a CD. ;) (gotta love AOL, for nice DVD-style boxes and plenty of CDs to fool around with)
rm -rf /bin/laden
In an example of 'guerilla tactics,' the former network admin where I work came in on a weekend and changed all the servers over to Linux in one foul swoop. At first, there were numerous complaints and 'concerns' raised, but as time went on the tone changed, from 'Well... this isn't so bad...' to 'Hey, we don't have -near- the troubles we used to.'
While I certainly don't actively advocate 'guerilla tactics' on the workstations, those who support such methods have a valid point:
People fear change.
Joe Sixpack looks at Linux as this unknown beast, an unbroken stallion who only the 'l33t hackers' (and yes, the 'snotty' reputation is unfortunately deserved too frequently) can ever have hope of breaking and taming. People know Windows, they've often been officially trained on Windows, and for those who have computers at home, it's what they're used to at home. They look at the question of OSes 'If it ain't broke, why try to fix it?' Out of use comes habit, and out of habit, comes formed behavior.
So, why would Joe Sixpack ever really want to change? Joe Sixpack doesn't really need the full extent of what Linux has to offer (I mean, when will Joe Sixpack ever need access to source code to exercise the freedom of modifying a program??), so why convert? Why try to tackle that 'unknown beast' named Linux, when Joe can shell out a few extra $ and stay with what Joe knows?
Now (for a work situation), sit Joe in front of an existing Linux setup, say 'This is what you get. It may look different, but here is your word processor, here is how you check your e-mail, etc.' And guess what, Joe finds that although his office suite may not have 'Clippy' popping up to offer those wonderful gems of 'wisdom', it does pretty much what Joe needs it to do (except possibly for writing in/converting to those nice, bloated, proprietary M$ file types, but that's a story for a different time).
Humans are adaptable, especially when given reasons TO adapt. One of the main reasons Linux is not much of a contender on the desktop market: if Joe Sixpack doesn't see a need, he ain't gonna...
rm -rf /bin/ladin
Caller: "Ummm, yes. I need to re-install XP. Some hackers trashed my hard drive and I need an authorization code."
M$: "Hmmm... What was the reason you were hacked?"
Caller: "What? They... just did it, I don't know why!"
M$: "Funny... Mr. Caller, according to this report I have here from the RIAA, your machine crashed because you had illegal
Caller: "WTF!?!?"
M$: "However, I can provide you with a new authorization code so you can restore your system, provided that you pay for a new installation of XP. How do you want to pay today? By credit, checking account number, or first-born child?"
rm -rf
Just imagine: you find a pr0n pic with a stegangraphic message. You decode it and find......
a picture of Janet Reno! ARRRRGGGHH!!
(BTW, what -would- be considered 'ethical treatment' for a cow born and raised to someday wind up on a dinner plate...?)
"...promote racism, hatred or pornography."
What the Hell?? Who fell asleep on the job here? With how the pr0n are multi-million/billion industries, wouldn't this mean they just cut themselves out of a chunk of market?? Let's see if any M$ heads roll for this little oversight. :)
Y'know, with the various husband/wife teams that NASA has sent up through the years (all the Shuttle years that get little to 'nil media coverage to begin with), I'd almost be surprised if '0 G copulation' -hasn't- been on the 'experiments to do' list.
;)
IMHO, studying mice would at least give us humans some pointers on factors that could later become problems, general data if not necessarily 'human specific'.
Great use for the International Space Station, I'd say, though I wonder if the female would -stay- up there long enough to come to term (without going insane), not to mention re-entry with either a many-month-pregnant female, or a newborn.
As for web-cams... I dunno. Although it wouldn't be quite as bad as watching octopi go at it, I'd imagine it'd be pretty damn 'ametuer', awkward, and just plain -weird- action for the first few goes.
"Nobody owns the fucking words man." - James Dean
Mr. Dean,
We write in regard to your fradulent use of the words "nobody", "owns", "the", "fucking", "words", and "man". The legal holders of these words for Internet usage are as follows:
Nobody - Registered by Microsoft Corp., used in reference to a person who does not run their OS.
Owns and Ownz - Registered by Microsoft Corp., for use in describing Microsoft global market share of OSes.
The - Registered by Microsoft Corp., as it is an integral term used in their pending OS release.
Fucking - Registered by goatse.cx. 'nuff said.
Words - Registered by Microsoft Corp., as a reference to multiple installations of a component of Office. Sites and all Internet usages of the term 'words' will be traced to their owner/s and audited by the BSA for licensing compliance.
Man - Owned by the United States government, as it is a term frequently used in reference to them (ie. 'the man').
Use of these terms on the internet constitutes circumvention of U.S. copyright law under the DMCA, and enforcement of said laws will be carried out, regardless of state and international borders, local law, and common sense. In behalf His Lord Majesty Gates, I issue a cease and desist order on your use of these terms on His internet. Good day.
M. P. Hornswoggle
Attorney at law
From the article:
"On that basis, Microsoft argues that the district judge should have been disqualified from any further role in the case as of the time the earliest violation occurred," Microsoft told the court. The appeals court strongly condemned Jackson's actions, but said that nevertheless Microsoft still acted as an illegal monopoly."
"The Supreme Court's review of the disqualification issue is important to restoring public confidence in the integrity of the judicial system," Microsoft argues.
Here's my question: How much does M$'s spin staff get paid? I mean, really, they seem to be fairly on the ball with their jobs, 24/7...
Okay, maybe I'm biased in that Atlanta doesn't fit the 'stereotypical tech city' template for me to begin with. Main reason, I used to live around there myself (Snellville, to be more specific). Loved it when I lived out there, and look at moving back in about 5 years.
Atlanta may not have the public transportation factor, but I think what makes Atlanta most appealing to me, is room. Folks in the Atlanta area don't have to crowd into a geographically defined/limited area, as is so often found in other cities (Salt Lake, mountains all around; many west coast cities, ocean on one side, mountains on other, etc). All of the suburban areas surrounding Atlanta provide the places to live, and the 'city proper' provides all the advantages of a big city without you having to actually live in it. There's also the more 'laid back' atmosphere in general, but that comes with tradition and custom more than anything.
My 'ideal' for a tech city would be one not of a huge, built-up downtown area, but of nice, reasonably spread-out suburban areas, with the bustle and action of downtown when I want it, and relative peace and isolation when I want it. I've done my time in 'cube land' over the years at work , I want some room, dammit!
...there is a Hari Seldon...
One of the worst things I've seen/heard from people who live in the 'high tech heavy' cities/areas, is how high (most often termed 'insane' from them) the cost of living is in such places. The term 'high tech' seems to almost always conjure the idea 'big bucks'. With the pay rates assosciated with the stable tech industries/vendors (read 'not fly-by-night dot coms'), people start to feel there's 'more money in the air', and prices start getting jacked up. Hell, here in the Salt Lake valley, there's a nearly constant difference of 10 to 15 cents per gallon of gas between the west side (more middle and lower incomes) and the east side ('where the money is', the usual sentiment goes).
The point: people will try to milk perceived 'cash cows' as hard as they can, and having high-tech industry/service around, one can suddenly 'feel money in the air'.
As for 'The Three T's', well, think of the truly 'techie' people you know. They almost always can be considered 'eccentrics' in one way or another in relation to 'the general accepted public view' (Goths, anime junkies, Pythonites, Stars Wars fanatics, 'l33t g4m3r phr34kz', 'furries', RPGers, etc, etc. (And yes, I consider myself a few of these, so I have license to poke fun :b ) ). Techie people just -tend- to desire a varied and wide range of things. Hell, just look at a cross-segment of /. topics and threads. ;)
"Your mind is like a parachute. If it doesn't work, you're screwed..."
Now, if they could start detecting fertilized embryos early enough, we have a new side-benefit for abortion!
Well folks, guess what. Yes, the new plans and goals of the new Amiga are -NOT- the same as original. And why is that? Simply put, because what made the original Amiga so great, is what wound up -killing- it in the long run.
I mean, seriously, Amigas were pretty much integral machines. They didn't need whopping fast CPUs, because the various functions were sub-divided amongst custom chips (ie. good ol' Agnus). The hardware was developed integrally, so it all performed beautifully together. However, components began to be produced by individual, competing companies, who had entire R&D staffs for the development of new components, handling 'task Y' exclusively. It's damn hard to compete, trying to develop new technologies for a whole -system- instead. Thus, one of the main advantages of Amiga, was one of it's disadvantages in the long run.
The time is now. Getting itself out of the hardware where it can't really compete against multitudes of vendors and makers, Amiga narrows focus on, guess what, a GUI OS! They were in the forefront of GUI back in the day (ever play with an old 1000? Very innovative and original) and machines of even not that long ago could boot a GUI OS with preemptive multitasking that uses little memory (under 1 meg) and disk space (a minimal system can run from a DD floppy).
With such advances before, now just -imagine- what Amiga can do, focusing solely on an OS. They don't have to make their own hardware, but instead, decide what would perform the best, and declare the hardware as 'optimal configuration'. Hence the 'Amiga One' is born.
Is Amiga 'the same' as before? No. They've learned from the past, and have taken steps to improve and be adaptable to the future. And I for one, certainly look forward to see what comes along...
Hacker, there's a need to feel down.
I said, hacker, we'll nail your a-- to the ground.
I said, hacker, 'cause there's a flawed law in town
there's a way to make you unhappy.
Hacker, there's no place you can go.
I said, hacker, trials'll make you short on your dough.
You can fight it, but I'm sure you will find
There's no way you'll beat our law staffs!
It's fun to screw ya with the D-M-C-A!
It's fun to screw ya with the D-M-C-A!
We have good protection, big corporations can enjoy,
We can buy any Congressional ploy!
It's fun to screw you with the D-M-C-A!
It's fun to screw you with the D-M-C-A!
We can get your a-- jailed, copyrights we will seal,
We can do whatever we feel!
Mu*puppy - proof of the effects of boredom, and Altoid dust snorting
It's always interesting to note the attention that works noted as 'classics' get. What I wonder is how much (if any) attention the actual, original -books- get as a result of TV/movie publication? (anyone know of any sites/publications/etc that address this?) Or perhaps to look ever deeper, how much do people actually -read- these days? What I have always found attractive about reading, is picturing the settings, events, characters, etc. in my -own- mind. But in a society where we are getting used to the 'provided content' of TV, movies, the Internet or whatever, how much do we actually -think- for ourselves, still? With the tools of today (especially computers) yes, there is increased potential and oppurtunity for artists to express their ideas. However, I believe this is also a two-edged sword. Artists can express themselves perhaps more clearly and reach a broader audience, but in turn, it's killing the habit of individual thought and interpretation. I mean, who can read something like the Star Wars radio plays and -not- think the voice of James Earl Jones, or the design of Vader's black helmet, if they've seen the movie first? Or in the case of the original Dune movie, think of Feyd-ratha (sp?) and not think Sting? *shudder* Exercise your minds and give your creativity a workout, people, lest they atrophy with a lack of use. If you rely on actors to convey the ideas and imagry of a book, you are cheating yourself of the full experience. Read the book/s, -then- see the movie... "Your mind is like a parechute. If it doesn't work, you're screwed."