The Matrix stories didn't "steal" ideas any more than other Arthurian and messiah stories past or present.
What the Wachowski brothers did well is the depth and detail of the story. Why the name "Thomas Anderson" (Neo's pod name) for instance? It was not just picked. "Anderson" is from the Greek andreas, meaning man. Put it together and you have "son of Man" (an name given to Jesus Christ)--an allusion to Neo's messianic destiny. "Thomas" is an allusion to "doubting Thomas", a disciple that would not believe Jesus' return until he saw and touched Christ's wounds himself--just as a doubting Neo touched his own wounds from the shots from Smith in "Matrix" before he "died" and returned with full awareness as the One.
Treat a movie like a burger and all you'll get is a burger. Seek a story and you'll usually find one. (OK, except "Battlefield Earth", which stank on ice.) Try out some depth, just for fun.
And you can only buy Coca-Cola from the Coca-Cola Company. And don't expect to buy Windows from Sun Microsystems.
Your argument makes little sense. What most people who know their UNIX have learned is that Apple's operating system, unlike Windows, and like most *Nixes, doesn't get in the way. They can have as much OSS on their computer as they want to install, living concurrently and working just fine (even ditching the GUI if necessary).
Apple is Open as in Install-What-You-Like-On-Hardware-We-Make-To-Work- For-And-Not-Against-Almost-Any-OS, but the company would not be Apple and would not give people what they bought if it were Open as in Buy-Your-Computer-With-Questionable-and-Lowest-Bid der-Parts-At-Crazy-Mike's. You can be cheap, you can be a zealot, or you can buy one computer, install what you like, get your work done, and go home.
FWIW to ya, A.L.I.C.E is an cool webbot AI similar to the old ELIZA bots of old, but with some sophistication that allows it to be programmed to answer specific questions and recognize some words and phrases well. Won't pass a Turing test, but hey, it's free.
The webpage above has an animation that appears to have a bot attached to it. Pretty and cool.
You had to reset Palm PDAs in interesting ways, like poking a tiny button hidden ina hole with a paper clip. Imagine what you'd have to do a bot with Palm-like AI...
"Sir, to reset the machine, you'll need to sharply press its reset button, located at the back of the machine, just before its legs. just quickly pop your foot against it to press it."
"Uh, are you telling me that to reset it, I have to kick its ass?"
It's more like "Those who post on Slashdot are doomed to repeat it."
"It" being the same damned joke over and over.
It's like I'm in some bad "Star Trek" meets "Doctor Who" meets "2010" time travel episode or something...
"All these worlds" my ass. How about, "All my fists are yours in the face, except my foot, which has attempted a landing in your ass."
[awaiting judges' score for best turn-of-phrase]
Re:Apple as an indicator of future dominance.
on
Apple Backs Blu-ray
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Incorrect. Apple chose DVD-R, the typical format most used in all burners on all platforms when the DVD burn thing began becoming available for computers in a barely affordable way around 2001. The DVD+RW format never really took hold anywhere. Some PC makers used DVD+RWs that Apple systems couldn't read.
Today, Apple places DVD-RW drives in pro desktops and laptops. I don't know if that helps with +RW disc reading.
Fallacious thinking on behalf of Israel military people. I wonder if a county whose identity is rooted so strongly in a state-sponsored faith can see outside of the box as the United States has in accepting almost any religion, yet taking no direct preference in any one.
(This isn't a jab at the Jewish faith at all. I'm about to join the Catholic faith myself, but the question is there, as I'll explain.)
There are a few studies that show positives with game playing. At heart, a proper game based on reality or fantasy settings in an Earth-like setting is a simulation. Sims teach with low costs and reduce or eliminate the expenses needed in live training. Twitch games aid in dexterity and coordination, of course.
While board games like D&D itself may not show an immediate dividend to fighting a war, consider that any game helps plot strategy, conserve resources, and deal consequence.
Game playing may help a soldier think "outside of the box" in a combat situation where unusual solutions with conventional weapons and tactics may prove worthwhile. It seems that the Israeli Army may decide to stick to convention.
One was done by Apple Europe, others were private. This was back in the original Mac OS days, where the OS was much more uncrackable because there was no command line layer to speak with, and the OS had its own command structure that was not like anything else.
Combined with a robust web server software like WebSTAR was at the time, there were many prize purses that were never distributed.
While OS X today uses Apache and have many common ports closed by default in the client, it's more of a target, though I haven't heard of any cracking contests for it. To date, there haven't been any successful cracks not due to bad administration, though I'd like to hear about one if there is.
A better realization to keep the storyline consistent is that Leia never really saw her true mother. Perhaps Bail Organa's wife, who might have died around the time of Leia's memory. Remember that it appears that Leia is raised not fully knowing she is adopted until maybe later as a grownup, and certainly when Luke provides her his family revolation in RotJ.
Further, it was never implied that Anakin did not know he had offspring. It was one of those point-of-view things. Anakin obviously knew of the pregnancy. It can be assumed, if the site is right, that Anakin knows Padme has died, but mistakenly presumes that her demise has taken the children with her. This fits better as we know that Vader would destroy his children if he knew they existed, anywhere.
Obi Wan hides Luke on Tatooine since he knows it would one of the last places Vader would want to go (bad memories on a ball of sand and because "nothing really happens there"). Alderaan is likely one of the worlds least tainted by the new Empire at the start, and has a prominent senator with sufficient resources to make an effective cover for Leia.
Rick Berman and Viacom/Paramount should understand a few things of the science-fiction fan of today:
1) We are fickle. We like sophisticated, mostly episodic shows that don't give us Stepford-Wives characters with little personality. If you can imagine yourself having (or knowing why you don't want to have) a cup of coffee with a character in an imaginary shop, then the writers are too busy or the environment/premise of the show is too damned tired.
Hell, even "The Matrix" is panned...and it is a deep, rich story that will survive the years. We LIKE to pan the controversial. We ignore the BORING that Star Trek has become.
2),b>We are far, far more sophisticated in our SF tastes today than our parents. Paramount should understand there is no longer a "regulated" SF viewership out there. They need to take an airline approach to what they serve us: "We know you have a choice in SF, and we're glad you chose us." Their attitude about fans is quite the opposite, and the fans react in kind with "we'll take our viewership and cash somewhere else."
I'm still buzzed over the new Battlestar Galactica. It's depressing. It's dire. The effects are great. The storyline was freaking great with its first episode, "33." I know RIGHT now that I'd sooner punch the character of Tigh that talk to him on anything not about the ship. In just 2 episodes I am wholly entranced about the direction of this show (which is episodic).
I like Enterprise. But they take too long to move along. They don't mesh things. And the near-lack of a true continuum (vs. B5, the new BSG, Farscape, et al.) make you want to tune to something else.
Star Trek has even been outdone by a parody, "Galaxy Quest." The story is tired; let it rest, then bring it back, episodic, with a bible, and a reason to tell us something again.
If only the media could understand the magnitude of how completely frakked this OS design is in Windows, our government would start using systems less likely to be compromised during hostile acts against the US and its population.
Not that any OS that doesn't use ActiveX is perfect...nothing is. But allowing the OS to be commanded through something as commonplace as a Web page or email is just ASKING for it.
"No networked computers on my ship," says Adama in the new Galactica series. That point saves their asses from the other ships of the fleet, whose computers were rooted by the Cylons and quickly destroyed because of over-integration.
Sure, it's fiction. But fiction has a grain of fact in it to make it real.
Die-hard views in IT about Apple products may change, as did many ways we do things post-September 11, when (not if) a major computer security catastrophe occurs which could render many Windows operating systems inoperable. It's bound to happen--the laws of chaos and Murphy's Law dictate that something with order will be occasionally paired with disorder.
IT hasn't had that wake-up call yet. History has shown that lack of diversification leads to fatal results. Having only one way of doing things, or in this case, only one choice in handling services, causes a backlash when elements of the systems are put to test.
I've been an IT professional specializing in Apple products for over 12 years now. Despite the advances (administratively and competitively) that Apple and other companies have done in providing alternatives that work as well or better than the mainstream products, many IT pros still have NO FSCKING CLUE about the alternatives. They aren't TRAINED to think about alternatives, but only to do what they can with what they have.
They may be a time where one of the many serious vulnerabilties found in Windows is fully and dangerously exploited, leading to failures of various sorts throughout the country and the world. Data is lost. Networks paralyzed. And all through such a time, computers running operating systems that are much more resistant or immune to these issues will aid in keeping our businesses working despite ourselves and our industry's lack of vision.
It was a lack of imagination that led to the some of the world's notable disasters like the Titanic, the recent tsunamis, the Apollo 1, Shuttle Challenger and Columbia tragedies, the Macerena and Anna Nicole Smith. Someone in the IT world has to wake up and see that putting all the eggs in a basket may be cheaper, but that it is still one basket.
I try to educate and never preach about the use and capabilities of Apple products, and I'm sure others try with Linux and other operating systems. I hope a site like this, sanctioned by Apple itself, adds a bit more professionalism to the mix of offerings.
The music set the stage just as in a blockbuster movie. Not that the Marathon games were "all that," but what would "Star Wars" feel like without John Williams' scores?
My favorite track: "Blaspheme Quarantine."
The sad part about the music was that is was made using musical instrument simulations built into QuickTime version 2.5. When QT version 3 arrived, the music didn't play the same and things sounded very weird.
Happily, I just find my Action Sack CD, and I may be able to find a Mac that can play the old QuickTime and then record the output--it would be nice to record the music as it was meant to be heard.
The medium is the message,, Marshall McLuhan said. I remember watching a film in high school and was baffled.
Today, I'm more aware.
People are gullible as they wish to trust news from a higher source. That is, they will trust what they see on the TV because the information came from the TV. Never mind that the television or radio itself is not a guarantee of truth. Never mind that your neighbor's story may not be as strong in your mind, despite the fact that they are directly involved in the story and have first hand information.
The Internet is generating a cult of self-truth, a desire to seek information at will. However, most of us lack the logical means to determine the value and authenticity of gathered information, relying on someone they see in a suit on TV. Advertisers play with this concept to sell product often with actors that play attorneys and doctors. Actors themselves believe their OWN play-image as they speak at congressional hearings on matters of which they have no professional skills or experience. Merely because they pretended to be something makes them credible in the eyes of many.
Many believe the information on the Intenret is valid because it is simply ON the Internet.
Honestly, I think the age range is more 17-20...that shallow time in most men's life where tasting your own boogers gives way to...well, hell, just about anything OTHER than booger tasting.
It's not just that one show. Spike TV changed format about a year ago to male-oriented programming from its roots as The Nashville Network (TNN). TNN originally showed some country music-oriented programming, but became more mainstream in its latter years as it began to compete with TBS and other national entertainment channels.
Apparently someone at Viacom (owners) got a bee in their ass that the Lifetime Oh-My-God-Judith-Light-Is-On-AGAIN Network and the Oxygen (deprivation) women's oriented networks needed some competition. I think, however, that like some women claim about us men, that the Viacom men were caught programming with the wrong head.
Spike TV is a travesty of programming for men with moronic tastes, and I mean STOOOPID. They could not take the tack that the Fine Living Channel took, or even pair up with known good magazine formats and features such as that found in "Mens Health", "Esquire", "GQ" or even "Playboy" magazines, opting instead to rot our brains with tripe that makes "Maxim" and "Stuff" magazines seem like professional and academic thesis journals.
WTF were they thinking? The only thing good on Spike are spoadic episodes of "Star Trek-TNG", but you have to dodge commercials of the recanned and redubbed Japanese game shows to watch it.
Not even Comcast fucked up this big when they acquired TechTV, ripped a few vital organs from it for G4, then killed TTV. At least you can see a little TTV in the Frankensteinian G4.
Slashdot Mirror
Oxyride is made of PEOPLE playing games!!!
The Matrix stories didn't "steal" ideas any more than other Arthurian and messiah stories past or present.
What the Wachowski brothers did well is the depth and detail of the story. Why the name "Thomas Anderson" (Neo's pod name) for instance? It was not just picked. "Anderson" is from the Greek andreas, meaning man. Put it together and you have "son of Man" (an name given to Jesus Christ)--an allusion to Neo's messianic destiny. "Thomas" is an allusion to "doubting Thomas", a disciple that would not believe Jesus' return until he saw and touched Christ's wounds himself--just as a doubting Neo touched his own wounds from the shots from Smith in "Matrix" before he "died" and returned with full awareness as the One.
Treat a movie like a burger and all you'll get is a burger. Seek a story and you'll usually find one. (OK, except "Battlefield Earth", which stank on ice.) Try out some depth, just for fun.
And you can only buy Coca-Cola from the Coca-Cola Company. And don't expect to buy Windows from Sun Microsystems.
- For-And-Not-Against-Almost-Any-OS, but the company would not be Apple and would not give people what they bought if it were Open as in Buy-Your-Computer-With-Questionable-and-Lowest-Bid der-Parts-At-Crazy-Mike's. You can be cheap, you can be a zealot, or you can buy one computer, install what you like, get your work done, and go home.
Your argument makes little sense. What most people who know their UNIX have learned is that Apple's operating system, unlike Windows, and like most *Nixes, doesn't get in the way. They can have as much OSS on their computer as they want to install, living concurrently and working just fine (even ditching the GUI if necessary).
Apple is Open as in Install-What-You-Like-On-Hardware-We-Make-To-Work
If I could mod in the same topic I post, it would be 100 quatloos to you!
FWIW to ya, A.L.I.C.E is an cool webbot AI similar to the old ELIZA bots of old, but with some sophistication that allows it to be programmed to answer specific questions and recognize some words and phrases well. Won't pass a Turing test, but hey, it's free.
The webpage above has an animation that appears to have a bot attached to it. Pretty and cool.
You had to reset Palm PDAs in interesting ways, like poking a tiny button hidden ina hole with a paper clip. Imagine what you'd have to do a bot with Palm-like AI...
"Sir, to reset the machine, you'll need to sharply press its reset button, located at the back of the machine, just before its legs. just quickly pop your foot against it to press it."
"Uh, are you telling me that to reset it, I have to kick its ass?"
"Er...yes, sir."
This gives the curse of bugger! a whole new set of meanings, none of them pleasant to the user or their computer...
Forget all of this.
How many of us can remember how many girlfriends we've had sex with?
Oh.--wait--I forgot where I was posting...
It's more like "Those who post on Slashdot are doomed to repeat it."
"It" being the same damned joke over and over.
It's like I'm in some bad "Star Trek" meets "Doctor Who" meets "2010" time travel episode or something...
"All these worlds" my ass.
How about, "All my fists are yours in the face, except my foot, which has attempted a landing in your ass."
[awaiting judges' score for best turn-of-phrase]
Incorrect. Apple chose DVD-R, the typical format most used in all burners on all platforms when the DVD burn thing began becoming available for computers in a barely affordable way around 2001. The DVD+RW format never really took hold anywhere. Some PC makers used DVD+RWs that Apple systems couldn't read.
Today, Apple places DVD-RW drives in pro desktops and laptops. I don't know if that helps with +RW disc reading.
Fallacious thinking on behalf of Israel military people. I wonder if a county whose identity is rooted so strongly in a state-sponsored faith can see outside of the box as the United States has in accepting almost any religion, yet taking no direct preference in any one.
(This isn't a jab at the Jewish faith at all. I'm about to join the Catholic faith myself, but the question is there, as I'll explain.)
There are a few studies that show positives with game playing. At heart, a proper game based on reality or fantasy settings in an Earth-like setting is a simulation. Sims teach with low costs and reduce or eliminate the expenses needed in live training. Twitch games aid in dexterity and coordination, of course.
And the US Army believes that a good sim of their work is also not only a fun game, but a great recruiting tool.
While board games like D&D itself may not show an immediate dividend to fighting a war, consider that any game helps plot strategy, conserve resources, and deal consequence.
Game playing may help a soldier think "outside of the box" in a combat situation where unusual solutions with conventional weapons and tactics may prove worthwhile. It seems that the Israeli Army may decide to stick to convention.
One was done by Apple Europe, others were private. This was back in the original Mac OS days, where the OS was much more uncrackable because there was no command line layer to speak with, and the OS had its own command structure that was not like anything else.
Combined with a robust web server software like WebSTAR was at the time, there were many prize purses that were never distributed.
While OS X today uses Apache and have many common ports closed by default in the client, it's more of a target, though I haven't heard of any cracking contests for it. To date, there haven't been any successful cracks not due to bad administration, though I'd like to hear about one if there is.
"Let my takeoff-to-safe landings ratio always remain at 1:1."
[click]
...heartbeatd shut down ...cortexd shut down ...spiritd suspended
Are you sure you want to shut down, Jef?
Yes.
[click]
A better realization to keep the storyline consistent is that Leia never really saw her true mother. Perhaps Bail Organa's wife, who might have died around the time of Leia's memory. Remember that it appears that Leia is raised not fully knowing she is adopted until maybe later as a grownup, and certainly when Luke provides her his family revolation in RotJ.
Further, it was never implied that Anakin did not know he had offspring. It was one of those point-of-view things. Anakin obviously knew of the pregnancy. It can be assumed, if the site is right, that Anakin knows Padme has died, but mistakenly presumes that her demise has taken the children with her. This fits better as we know that Vader would destroy his children if he knew they existed, anywhere.
Obi Wan hides Luke on Tatooine since he knows it would one of the last places Vader would want to go (bad memories on a ball of sand and because "nothing really happens there"). Alderaan is likely one of the worlds least tainted by the new Empire at the start, and has a prominent senator with sufficient resources to make an effective cover for Leia.
Rick Berman and Viacom/Paramount should understand a few things of the science-fiction fan of today:
,b>We are far, far more sophisticated in our SF tastes today than our parents. Paramount should understand there is no longer a "regulated" SF viewership out there. They need to take an airline approach to what they serve us: "We know you have a choice in SF, and we're glad you chose us." Their attitude about fans is quite the opposite, and the fans react in kind with "we'll take our viewership and cash somewhere else."
1) We are fickle. We like sophisticated, mostly episodic shows that don't give us Stepford-Wives characters with little personality. If you can imagine yourself having (or knowing why you don't want to have) a cup of coffee with a character in an imaginary shop, then the writers are too busy or the environment/premise of the show is too damned tired.
Hell, even "The Matrix" is panned...and it is a deep, rich story that will survive the years. We LIKE to pan the controversial. We ignore the BORING that Star Trek has become.
2)
I'm still buzzed over the new Battlestar Galactica. It's depressing. It's dire. The effects are great. The storyline was freaking great with its first episode, "33." I know RIGHT now that I'd sooner punch the character of Tigh that talk to him on anything not about the ship. In just 2 episodes I am wholly entranced about the direction of this show (which is episodic).
I like Enterprise. But they take too long to move along. They don't mesh things. And the near-lack of a true continuum (vs. B5, the new BSG, Farscape, et al.) make you want to tune to something else.
Star Trek has even been outdone by a parody, "Galaxy Quest." The story is tired; let it rest, then bring it back, episodic, with a bible, and a reason to tell us something again.
Dreamy.
If you're g-h-e-y. And a Beatles fan. Or a girl. Or just looking for someone rich.
Someone did have a point. Macs did NOT exist in 1983. Unless Bill got a special one from Steve, this was a picture taken in early 1984.
If only the media could understand the magnitude of how completely frakked this OS design is in Windows, our government would start using systems less likely to be compromised during hostile acts against the US and its population.
Not that any OS that doesn't use ActiveX is perfect...nothing is. But allowing the OS to be commanded through something as commonplace as a Web page or email is just ASKING for it.
"No networked computers on my ship," says Adama in the new Galactica series. That point saves their asses from the other ships of the fleet, whose computers were rooted by the Cylons and quickly destroyed because of over-integration.
Sure, it's fiction. But fiction has a grain of fact in it to make it real.
Actually, Apple reneged and decided to make the presentation available, just not live.
Here is where you can watch it. QuickTime and streaming access to the Internet required.
Die-hard views in IT about Apple products may change, as did many ways we do things post-September 11, when (not if) a major computer security catastrophe occurs which could render many Windows operating systems inoperable. It's bound to happen--the laws of chaos and Murphy's Law dictate that something with order will be occasionally paired with disorder.
IT hasn't had that wake-up call yet. History has shown that lack of diversification leads to fatal results. Having only one way of doing things, or in this case, only one choice in handling services, causes a backlash when elements of the systems are put to test.
I've been an IT professional specializing in Apple products for over 12 years now. Despite the advances (administratively and competitively) that Apple and other companies have done in providing alternatives that work as well or better than the mainstream products, many IT pros still have NO FSCKING CLUE about the alternatives. They aren't TRAINED to think about alternatives, but only to do what they can with what they have.
They may be a time where one of the many serious vulnerabilties found in Windows is fully and dangerously exploited, leading to failures of various sorts throughout the country and the world. Data is lost. Networks paralyzed. And all through such a time, computers running operating systems that are much more resistant or immune to these issues will aid in keeping our businesses working despite ourselves and our industry's lack of vision.
It was a lack of imagination that led to the some of the world's notable disasters like the Titanic, the recent tsunamis, the Apollo 1, Shuttle Challenger and Columbia tragedies, the Macerena and Anna Nicole Smith. Someone in the IT world has to wake up and see that putting all the eggs in a basket may be cheaper, but that it is still one basket.
I try to educate and never preach about the use and capabilities of Apple products, and I'm sure others try with Linux and other operating systems. I hope a site like this, sanctioned by Apple itself, adds a bit more professionalism to the mix of offerings.
...was the music.
The music set the stage just as in a blockbuster movie. Not that the Marathon games were "all that," but what would "Star Wars" feel like without John Williams' scores?
My favorite track: "Blaspheme Quarantine."
The sad part about the music was that is was made using musical instrument simulations built into QuickTime version 2.5. When QT version 3 arrived, the music didn't play the same and things sounded very weird.
The MIDI music was available online at one time, but it is hard to find now. This site might be of help for some.
Happily, I just find my Action Sack CD, and I may be able to find a Mac that can play the old QuickTime and then record the output--it would be nice to record the music as it was meant to be heard.
The medium is the message, , Marshall McLuhan said. I remember watching a film in high school and was baffled.
Today, I'm more aware.
People are gullible as they wish to trust news from a higher source. That is, they will trust what they see on the TV because the information came from the TV. Never mind that the television or radio itself is not a guarantee of truth. Never mind that your neighbor's story may not be as strong in your mind, despite the fact that they are directly involved in the story and have first hand information.
The Internet is generating a cult of self-truth, a desire to seek information at will. However, most of us lack the logical means to determine the value and authenticity of gathered information, relying on someone they see in a suit on TV. Advertisers play with this concept to sell product often with actors that play attorneys and doctors. Actors themselves believe their OWN play-image as they speak at congressional hearings on matters of which they have no professional skills or experience. Merely because they pretended to be something makes them credible in the eyes of many.
Many believe the information on the Intenret is valid because it is simply ON the Internet.
With your purchase you'll receive an amazing way to keep your teeth clean and enjoy the luscious bounties from the farm...
Seedless Corn!
and coming soon, watch out Atkins!
Here comes Fat-Free Lard!
Honestly, I think the age range is more 17-20...that shallow time in most men's life where tasting your own boogers gives way to...well, hell, just about anything OTHER than booger tasting.
For geeks, this change might even include girls.
It's not just that one show. Spike TV changed format about a year ago to male-oriented programming from its roots as The Nashville Network (TNN). TNN originally showed some country music-oriented programming, but became more mainstream in its latter years as it began to compete with TBS and other national entertainment channels.
Apparently someone at Viacom (owners) got a bee in their ass that the Lifetime Oh-My-God-Judith-Light-Is-On-AGAIN Network and the Oxygen (deprivation) women's oriented networks needed some competition. I think, however, that like some women claim about us men, that the Viacom men were caught programming with the wrong head.
Spike TV is a travesty of programming for men with moronic tastes, and I mean STOOOPID. They could not take the tack that the Fine Living Channel took, or even pair up with known good magazine formats and features such as that found in "Mens Health", "Esquire", "GQ" or even "Playboy" magazines, opting instead to rot our brains with tripe that makes "Maxim" and "Stuff" magazines seem like professional and academic thesis journals.
WTF were they thinking? The only thing good on Spike are spoadic episodes of "Star Trek-TNG", but you have to dodge commercials of the recanned and redubbed Japanese game shows to watch it.
Not even Comcast fucked up this big when they acquired TechTV, ripped a few vital organs from it for G4, then killed TTV. At least you can see a little TTV in the Frankensteinian G4.