Article is/.'ed, so I assume the game is Donkey. It was merely a technology and programming demo, it was obviously not intended to be played as a game. It was the first non-trivial program I ever saw - IIRC, a couple thousand lines of interpreted BASIC. I learned how to write simple graphics programs by studying the source. (320x200, 4 color CGA left a lot to the imagination)
Almost everyone my age learned to code the Apple II, but I had the original 8088 PC and had to make do with what I had. Took me all summer of cutting grass to save $300 to buy that friggin' CGA card.
Alien box set for $100? That's $50 per non-crap movie. No thanks.
Regarding the original post of original vs. Special Editions:
The SW DVDs should be the original releases as seen in theaters. If the director and/or producer wants to add extra scenes as part of a extras disc, so much the better. I am on the fence regarding technical improvements. If it is a clear technical improvement, like removing the matte lines around the spaceships, I'm ok with it. If it changes the creative direction of the film in any way, it needs to be separated from the original.
Limit poker, the kind most commonly dealt around the world, is at most 10% bluffing for skilled players. Unskilled players bluff more and lose. No limit poker has more bluffing, but is played almost exclusively in tournaments, where money management, stack equity, etc. are especially important. Pot limit poker is the only cash game with a high degree of bluffing.
Electricity is required for a minimum standard of living. If municipal water & sewer is not available, they can be handled with wells and septic tanks. Arguably, telephone service (wire or wireless) is necessary for emergency 911 service. Broadband internet, like cable television, is a luxury. The government is plenty big already without getting into the entertainment business. How much easier is it for big brother to monitor you if they are providiing the access?
I have the choice of cable, DSL from several vendors, satellite, and dialup. The private sector is handling my business just fine.
After 12 years as a coder, I quit my programming job in January, in part so I would have more time to play poker. It doesn't pay as well, but it's a hell of lot more fun, and I don't have to sit in a cubicle all day. I play in home games 3-4 days a week, and once a month I play tournaments in casinos. I use my formerly high-flying stock options to bankroll my trips.
I'm surprised more geeks don't play poker. Computing odds and expected value comes easy to coder types. Once you get past being intimidated by the rules and etiquette, it's a great game.
It costs $99 just to unlock the software. You still have to buy a USB ethernet adaptor. And for the old-timers like me, you have to get a series 2 TiVo. (And pay for a new lifetime subscription)
All I wanted was to dump the crappy built-in modem that has died twice in 3 years and use my internet link to get the guide information.
Stuff like this makes me want a roll-your-own PVR. (Gratuitous MythTV link)
You're missing the point. Not every app will have its own version. Apps indicate which version of the DLL they want - typically it will be the same as all the other apps. However, if one application wants to use a newer DLL, it can do so without breaking the older apps.
This interview sounds highly dubious. Gates gives many interviews to the press every year, and I doubt he would express himself in such an off-the-cuff manner.
But even if it's true, how is this news? The interview, even it's accurate, is 8 years old!
This is not correct. MSDE is basically a stripped down SQL Server 7. It can be accessed over TCP/IP just like SQL Server. For example, the Enterprise Manager application in SQL Server can manage remote MSDE databases.
My application installs MSDE for a local database and I have to change the sa password if I want want to keep the data secure.
As boneheaded VC money dries up, web businesses will have to have a meaningful revenue stream. To me, there are maybe 10 sites on the net that have compelling content worth paying for.
If I could make micropayments to content providers, I would have no problem chipping in. I'd pay 3-5 cents/hit to IMDb if the content is kept up to date and free of Amazon's sales pitches. Yes, I know the content is updated by its users, but how many would continue to work for free on a pay site?
I use Yahoo every day - but never for web searches. The Reuters news feed, stock quotes, and movie listings are as good as anybody's and the Akamai distribution is excellent. Lately I've been playing Java applet based card games there. It's a quality site with a lot to offer.
People who pay over retail are usually people with bad credit or teenagers who do not have a credit card. I sell PS2 games after I get tired of them, and I always get near or more than full retail for them. They will get a money order at a convenience store because they have no other way to pay.
I believe the author meant this statement in the context of American software companies. In other words, within an American software company, the more routine tasks might be delegated to offshore development. Obviously, non-American companies can and do have significant creative development teams.
My company has a team of Indian engineers to help out with data conversion and routine UI development. Like the US, India was a British colony, so the English skills of most Indians is better than other Asian nations. Progress is slower because of timezone and management difficulties, but the Indian teams we've worked with have been completely adequate.
I should have expected the Slashdot Socialist Brigade to rise yet again.
This is the best argument you guys can come up with? "It's not the same as MP3, and besides, I can steal it anyway, so why should I pay? Anyway, only the fat cats at the record companies would benefit. If I could pay the artists directly, then yeah, maybe."
Why stop there? Why shouldn't you pay programmers directly for software instead of their employers? When I buy a gallon of milk, shouldn't the money go directly to the dairy farmer instead of the grocery store? [ PETA version: it goes to the cow. ] And of course every penny of that $25K Explorer should go to the auto workers that built it.
It's very simple, folks. These artists chose to enter into an agreement that stated they gave up the right to market their work. That's the way business works - sometimes you make a good deal, sometimes you don't.
I wish folks would stop rationalizing theft in the name of some distorted notion of "freedom".
A B.S. degree takes four years. Most universities put CS in the Arts & Sciences college, which means there will be a healthy staple of humanities, math, etc. in addition to the CS classes. If you attend during the summer and schedule your curriculum carefully, you can save 9 months.
You can test out of some freshman classes with the AP/CLEP tests, but that's only 1-2 semesters maximum, and you would need to take tests in several subjects to receive that much credit. When I was a student (early 80s) I received a 5 (maximum) in the CS AP test. Woo-hoo. I got credit for two freshman programming classes, but that's a drop in the bucket.
Do you really need a degree? Depends. Not having a degree will automatically exclude you from many large companies. You won't pass HR screening. On the other hand, if you have good references, you can bypass HR most of the time. If you decide not to go the college route, you will need to get good exposure in your company so you will have an advocate when you want to change jobs.
Network; cultivate professional relationships with people you don't necessarily consider "friends". A solid recommendation from a coworker at a new job prospect is worth much more than your academic credentials.
If you want to see where your old-fashoined bills go, Where's George? is an interesting site. I give rubber stamps to kids as gifts and they watch their money float around the country.
The editors at IMDb, for good or bad, scale the average rating for movies that receive a higher than average number of votes. The details are at the bottom of the Top 250 list.
In general, I support this. Art-house indie movies almost always receive very high ratings, because in general only those people predisposed to give indie movies high ratings take the time to seek them out. Therefore, the system gives preference to movies that receive praise from more viewers.
This means that new movies have a built-in edge over classic movies. Movie buffs will take the time to rate old films, but for the most part people are going to rate movies that are still fresh in their minds.
To combat this, some people have decided to "police" the ratings and give "1" ratings to some very good films in order to bring the rating down. This happened previously with "Shawshank Redemption" and "Schindler's List". Some people have expressed opinions that the former is too long and predictable, and the latter is too sentimental and preachy, but I can't see how anybody can give either of them a 1 out of 10.
Other than being up and down for a couple of days, service has been ok so far. I had to walk the CSR through rebuilding my mail account - it took a while for them to understand that "User has no maildrop" errors in POP are not the same as "Bad password"...
DNS was down on Thursday. I switched to the old Mediaone DNS server until AT&T fixed it.
Bandwidth does seem to be capped at 1.5Mb. This is a nuisance, but not a huge deal to me. The only time I can find servers that could reach the 3-4Mb max speed is when downloading Linux ISOs, which I always do overnight anyway. I am more concerned with low latency than peak bandwidth.
Comcast/AT&T intends to drop Usenet and introduce tiered service, so I'm taking a wait and see attitude. I don't mind paying more if I truly get more. (i.e. low latency, high bandwidth, no port blocking, minimal outages)
Slashdot Mirror
Article is /.'ed, so I assume the game is Donkey. It was merely a technology and programming demo, it was obviously not intended to be played as a game. It was the first non-trivial program I ever saw - IIRC, a couple thousand lines of interpreted BASIC. I learned how to write simple graphics programs by studying the source. (320x200, 4 color CGA left a lot to the imagination)
Almost everyone my age learned to code the Apple II, but I had the original 8088 PC and had to make do with what I had. Took me all summer of cutting grass to save $300 to buy that friggin' CGA card.
His nickname is Hand Solo.
Alien box set for $100? That's $50 per non-crap movie. No thanks.
Regarding the original post of original vs. Special Editions:
The SW DVDs should be the original releases as seen in theaters. If the director and/or producer wants to add extra scenes as part of a extras disc, so much the better. I am on the fence regarding technical improvements. If it is a clear technical improvement, like removing the matte lines around the spaceships, I'm ok with it. If it changes the creative direction of the film in any way, it needs to be separated from the original.
So nice to have you back where you belong.
Limit poker, the kind most commonly dealt around the world, is at most 10% bluffing for skilled players. Unskilled players bluff more and lose. No limit poker has more bluffing, but is played almost exclusively in tournaments, where money management, stack equity, etc. are especially important. Pot limit poker is the only cash game with a high degree of bluffing.
Electricity is required for a minimum standard of living. If municipal water & sewer is not available, they can be handled with wells and septic tanks. Arguably, telephone service (wire or wireless) is necessary for emergency 911 service. Broadband internet, like cable television, is a luxury. The government is plenty big already without getting into the entertainment business. How much easier is it for big brother to monitor you if they are providiing the access?
I have the choice of cable, DSL from several vendors, satellite, and dialup. The private sector is handling my business just fine.
After 12 years as a coder, I quit my programming job in January, in part so I would have more time to play poker. It doesn't pay as well, but it's a hell of lot more fun, and I don't have to sit in a cubicle all day. I play in home games 3-4 days a week, and once a month I play tournaments in casinos. I use my formerly high-flying stock options to bankroll my trips.
I'm surprised more geeks don't play poker. Computing odds and expected value comes easy to coder types. Once you get past being intimidated by the rules and etiquette, it's a great game.
It costs $99 just to unlock the software. You still have to buy a USB ethernet adaptor. And for the old-timers like me, you have to get a series 2 TiVo. (And pay for a new lifetime subscription)
All I wanted was to dump the crappy built-in modem that has died twice in 3 years and use my internet link to get the guide information.
Stuff like this makes me want a roll-your-own PVR. (Gratuitous MythTV link)
You're missing the point. Not every app will have its own version. Apps indicate which version of the DLL they want - typically it will be the same as all the other apps. However, if one application wants to use a newer DLL, it can do so without breaking the older apps.
.NET are quite powerful and useful.
Assemblies in
Body armor should be available to bears. After all, the second amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right to arm bears.
Oh, wait...
This interview sounds highly dubious. Gates gives many interviews to the press every year, and I doubt he would express himself in such an off-the-cuff manner.
But even if it's true, how is this news? The interview, even it's accurate, is 8 years old!
Sticking a toothpick in the fan blades made my computer super quiet.
Steve Jobs. Insanely Great.
Steve Jobs. Vote Different.
All the muck that's fit to rake
[ No more offtopic than the parent, be kind ]
"Can you give me faster pornography?"
-- Comic Book Guy
This is not correct. MSDE is basically a stripped down SQL Server 7. It can be accessed over TCP/IP just like SQL Server. For example, the Enterprise Manager application in SQL Server can manage remote MSDE databases.
My application installs MSDE for a local database and I have to change the sa password if I want want to keep the data secure.
The programmers must have had bitchin' hydroponic weed to stay that long.
As boneheaded VC money dries up, web businesses will have to have a meaningful revenue stream. To me, there are maybe 10 sites on the net that have compelling content worth paying for.
If I could make micropayments to content providers, I would have no problem chipping in. I'd pay 3-5 cents/hit to IMDb if the content is kept up to date and free of Amazon's sales pitches. Yes, I know the content is updated by its users, but how many would continue to work for free on a pay site?
I use Yahoo every day - but never for web searches. The Reuters news feed, stock quotes, and movie listings are as good as anybody's and the Akamai distribution is excellent. Lately I've been playing Java applet based card games there. It's a quality site with a lot to offer.
People who pay over retail are usually people with bad credit or teenagers who do not have a credit card. I sell PS2 games after I get tired of them, and I always get near or more than full retail for them. They will get a money order at a convenience store because they have no other way to pay.
I believe the author meant this statement in the context of American software companies. In other words, within an American software company, the more routine tasks might be delegated to offshore development. Obviously, non-American companies can and do have significant creative development teams.
My company has a team of Indian engineers to help out with data conversion and routine UI development. Like the US, India was a British colony, so the English skills of most Indians is better than other Asian nations. Progress is slower because of timezone and management difficulties, but the Indian teams we've worked with have been completely adequate.
I should have expected the Slashdot Socialist Brigade to rise yet again.
This is the best argument you guys can come up with? "It's not the same as MP3, and besides, I can steal it anyway, so why should I pay? Anyway, only the fat cats at the record companies would benefit. If I could pay the artists directly, then yeah, maybe."
Why stop there? Why shouldn't you pay programmers directly for software instead of their employers? When I buy a gallon of milk, shouldn't the money go directly to the dairy farmer instead of the grocery store? [ PETA version: it goes to the cow. ] And of course every penny of that $25K Explorer should go to the auto workers that built it.
It's very simple, folks. These artists chose to enter into an agreement that stated they gave up the right to market their work. That's the way business works - sometimes you make a good deal, sometimes you don't.
I wish folks would stop rationalizing theft in the name of some distorted notion of "freedom".
A B.S. degree takes four years. Most universities put CS in the Arts & Sciences college, which means there will be a healthy staple of humanities, math, etc. in addition to the CS classes. If you attend during the summer and schedule your curriculum carefully, you can save 9 months.
You can test out of some freshman classes with the AP/CLEP tests, but that's only 1-2 semesters maximum, and you would need to take tests in several subjects to receive that much credit. When I was a student (early 80s) I received a 5 (maximum) in the CS AP test. Woo-hoo. I got credit for two freshman programming classes, but that's a drop in the bucket.
Do you really need a degree? Depends. Not having a degree will automatically exclude you from many large companies. You won't pass HR screening. On the other hand, if you have good references, you can bypass HR most of the time. If you decide not to go the college route, you will need to get good exposure in your company so you will have an advocate when you want to change jobs.
Network; cultivate professional relationships with people you don't necessarily consider "friends". A solid recommendation from a coworker at a new job prospect is worth much more than your academic credentials.
If you want to see where your old-fashoined bills go, Where's George? is an interesting site. I give rubber stamps to kids as gifts and they watch their money float around the country.
The editors at IMDb, for good or bad, scale the average rating for movies that receive a higher than average number of votes. The details are at the bottom of the Top 250 list.
In general, I support this. Art-house indie movies almost always receive very high ratings, because in general only those people predisposed to give indie movies high ratings take the time to seek them out. Therefore, the system gives preference to movies that receive praise from more viewers.
This means that new movies have a built-in edge over classic movies. Movie buffs will take the time to rate old films, but for the most part people are going to rate movies that are still fresh in their minds.
To combat this, some people have decided to "police" the ratings and give "1" ratings to some very good films in order to bring the rating down. This happened previously with "Shawshank Redemption" and "Schindler's List". Some people have expressed opinions that the former is too long and predictable, and the latter is too sentimental and preachy, but I can't see how anybody can give either of them a 1 out of 10.
Other than being up and down for a couple of days, service has been ok so far. I had to walk the CSR through rebuilding my mail account - it took a while for them to understand that "User has no maildrop" errors in POP are not the same as "Bad password"...
DNS was down on Thursday. I switched to the old Mediaone DNS server until AT&T fixed it.
Bandwidth does seem to be capped at 1.5Mb. This is a nuisance, but not a huge deal to me. The only time I can find servers that could reach the 3-4Mb max speed is when downloading Linux ISOs, which I always do overnight anyway. I am more concerned with low latency than peak bandwidth.
Comcast/AT&T intends to drop Usenet and introduce tiered service, so I'm taking a wait and see attitude. I don't mind paying more if I truly get more. (i.e. low latency, high bandwidth, no port blocking, minimal outages)