Arthur Clarke's short story "A meeting with Medusa" focuses largely on gas-based organisms within the atmosphere of Jupiter. He also touches upon this idea for 'creatures' in "The city and the stars" whereby he describes a basic intelligence that has adapted to take advantage of helium and other gases and collect them in huge 'sacs' that allow it to wander about the atmosphere. The creatures feed off one another and methane-rich atmosphere.
He paints such a great image with these creatures to the point where they are completely believable and upon reflection plausible. Especially when he describes how fragile and 'dumb' they are. They come across as being similar to jellyfish, albeit floating about a gigantic atmosphere rather than meandering about the sea.
Is anyone in a position to state how, if at all, this may affect RHEL Certification?
I ask as I am currently studying and don't want to shell out for certification that will soon perhaps be considered null and void. If a revision to the RH certs comes in the wake of RHEL5, I'll perhaps hold off.
Does anyone actually [i]use[/i] this? Its all good and well reading the slew of predictable comments, though I'd actually like to hear from people using this new build on some of the chunkier applications - namely WOW and Steam Powered games (HL2).
I ask as I'm curious about performance. Granted Wine and related projects can 'run' many of these games, thats pretty much the end of it. Performance is usually stunted at best, with the Windows equivalent blowing it out of the water. If anyone here is actually using this product, it would be nice if you'd share your experiences in the performance department. Last I tried Wine, it was nothing more than an impressive proof of concept as far as games were concerned.
And I still play Quakeworld today - I actually just finished playing a duel on DM6 about 10 minutes ago.
Quake is timeless. Its fast, its violent, the feel is awesome, its brutal. Quake leaves no room for whiney bitches who are out to complain about balance unfairness. You're given the same disadvantages every player has, and luck determines a good spawn point and the potential for a hosing run. Dominating a map only to have it snatched from you and witness the tide turn for the worst is the best feeling ever - and in Quake, it all happens so fast its not funny.
I still play and love Quake for the sheer pace of the game - nothing else compares to it. Sure, FPS games may try and cite 'fast gameplay and intense action' and all that marketing bullshit - but they have nothing over Quake when it comes to raw speed and carnage.
People may call upon the dead Quake community - but the last time I checked servers, they were pumping and were full of genuine fans of the game that have been smashing each other to pieces with rockets and slicing through one another with thundering shafts for years.
Long live Quake. Its one of the few old-school games that truely kicks ass and showcases how we used to do things before the Counterstrikes, WOWs and Battlefields of this world numbed the intensity and speed pixellated chaos could throw at us.
Remember your first telefrag?
Your first quad rocket hurled into a mass of axe wielding and shotgun spamming idiots?
How about your first quad toting, invulnerability juiced Quad shaft run - where you'd simply touch other players and see them fall to pieces?
How about your first rocket jump to red armour to dominate a map's items and beginning a rape cycle upon your duel adversary?
How about coming to terms with the ludicrous weapon balance and learning that it was simply so and to make the most out of obtaining the items that guaranteed more than three seconds of survival?
So yes, there is still a viable market for CDs. At least among those who cringe at any form of digital compression coming through a good set of speakers.
I see newcomers to the IT industry here in Australia quite regulary who quite literally do not give a toss about what they are doing - there's no passion, care or genuine interest in what they are doing. And from what I gather at the moment, there are entire armies of these University produced clones to be rolled out across the country.
I block all ads online as I cannot stand web advertising. I'm perhaps overly picky as I recall an Internet that had no intrusive ads back in the day. The hijacking of the Internet by ambitious advertisers really irks me.<p>
I also no longer buy magazines due to the advertising:actual content ratio being all screwed up.<p>
I also no longer listen to the radio because of excess advertising (and the proliferation of entertainment marketed as 'music' though thats another discussion entirely)<p>
But hey, thats just me. I'm aware of the alledged justification for advertising and all that jazz. I'm just being honest with myself when I say outright that advertising pisses me off no end, irrespective of medium.
So you would be referring to the release bug where offline mode wasn't implemented properly that was fixed within two days?
Oddly, this bug didn't affect me. I installed the Steam client, fired it up, selected HL2, entered by CC details for the secure purchase, went out with some mates, came home, fired up HL2 and had a blast.
The built in function to 'backup' your Steam delivered games to 640 Mb slices for burning to CD is fantastic. You can burn HL2 to disc, lump a copy of the Steam client on the CD and install wherever you like - offline or otherwise.
As for the information you're whinging about, whoopdy doo. They generate a list of CPU, HDD, OS and Graphics card specs and upload it to the Steam database so as to identify target market hardware capabilities. You can even view this info yourself. I think its quite interesting.
But anyway - to each their own. I think Steam is a fantastic system and hope more developers take advantage of what it has to offer. I imagine it will only continue to get better.
FYI, you can buy the boxed version of HL2 and install it without the dramas you're talking about.
My only problem with certification is that there is a proliferation of certifying going on here in Sydney, Australia to pump people into core positions - irrespective as to whether or not they have experience.
I've met and worked with many people who have certification for everything, yet their practical, hands-on applied experience and knowledge is severely lacking. I've noticed many people who get certified often don't have that passion for IT or computing, and its merely a means to get a foothold in the industry to begin making that 'big IT pay cheque.'
Its all good and well to go for certification, but without a solid foundation of experience it really is kinda silly - especially from the employer's behalf - when they plug these guys and girls into positions the hiring market recognises them as being 'qualified' for, dispite the fact that they've never mounted a switch into a rack, deployed a replacement Exchange server or built a Redhat box out of spare parts to work as a sendmail server for e-mailed scanning, etc.
I've been in IT for just shy of ten years. I'm a systems administrator. I don't have one scrap of paper that says I can do what I do - but I do it and I do my job well. To each their own in the certifying game, but please don't fail to recognise the importance of experience to back that stuff up.
Funny story - a guy I work with attended a seminar recently in Sydney for various Wireless security issues. The seminar went for a day. At the end of it, he was presented with a nice laminated pretty certificate stating 'Certified Attendance' to talks and examples pertaining to wireless security.
Slashdot Mirror
Its like the 1950's all over again.
He paints such a great image with these creatures to the point where they are completely believable and upon reflection plausible. Especially when he describes how fragile and 'dumb' they are. They come across as being similar to jellyfish, albeit floating about a gigantic atmosphere rather than meandering about the sea.
Wikipedia has a nice summary on the story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Meeting_with_Medusa
Zing.
We're really overdue for that one.
Is anyone in a position to state how, if at all, this may affect RHEL Certification? I ask as I am currently studying and don't want to shell out for certification that will soon perhaps be considered null and void. If a revision to the RH certs comes in the wake of RHEL5, I'll perhaps hold off.
Sweet geezus, there is a god. Bravo YouTube, bravo.
Vista is about as big a threat to Internet Freedom as Slashdot is a threat to the Oprah Winfrey Show.
I ask as I'm curious about performance. Granted Wine and related projects can 'run' many of these games, thats pretty much the end of it. Performance is usually stunted at best, with the Windows equivalent blowing it out of the water. If anyone here is actually using this product, it would be nice if you'd share your experiences in the performance department. Last I tried Wine, it was nothing more than an impressive proof of concept as far as games were concerned.
Quake is timeless. Its fast, its violent, the feel is awesome, its brutal. Quake leaves no room for whiney bitches who are out to complain about balance unfairness. You're given the same disadvantages every player has, and luck determines a good spawn point and the potential for a hosing run. Dominating a map only to have it snatched from you and witness the tide turn for the worst is the best feeling ever - and in Quake, it all happens so fast its not funny.
I still play and love Quake for the sheer pace of the game - nothing else compares to it. Sure, FPS games may try and cite 'fast gameplay and intense action' and all that marketing bullshit - but they have nothing over Quake when it comes to raw speed and carnage.
People may call upon the dead Quake community - but the last time I checked servers, they were pumping and were full of genuine fans of the game that have been smashing each other to pieces with rockets and slicing through one another with thundering shafts for years.
Long live Quake. Its one of the few old-school games that truely kicks ass and showcases how we used to do things before the Counterstrikes, WOWs and Battlefields of this world numbed the intensity and speed pixellated chaos could throw at us.
Remember your first telefrag?
Your first quad rocket hurled into a mass of axe wielding and shotgun spamming idiots?
How about your first quad toting, invulnerability juiced Quad shaft run - where you'd simply touch other players and see them fall to pieces?
How about your first rocket jump to red armour to dominate a map's items and beginning a rape cycle upon your duel adversary?
How about coming to terms with the ludicrous weapon balance and learning that it was simply so and to make the most out of obtaining the items that guaranteed more than three seconds of survival?
Yeah - Quake rules \m/
To balance out that obvious overdose of alcohol?
Thats bullshit. I need to meta-moderate.
Thats a 5, easily.
I'd place it at or around 57. Perhaps 59.
"People still use IE?"
No. Noone uses IE. About seven people alive today do. I believe IE remains for backwards compatibility.
SMH doesn't hire journalists. Rather, they employ a mob of thumbless monkeys, armed with rolling pins and keyboards and let them have at it.
Common sense isn't.
My ISP in Australia has mirrored 5, but has denied access to the dir.
GG, Internode!
Idiots.
- Signing my handle in the vinyl appreciation post.
Digital audio sounds terrible.
So yes, there is still a viable market for CDs. At least among those who cringe at any form of digital compression coming through a good set of speakers.
I like your attitude. Well put. Especially concerning Bob and the protocols he has to adhere to.
I enjoyed this post.
I see newcomers to the IT industry here in Australia quite regulary who quite literally do not give a toss about what they are doing - there's no passion, care or genuine interest in what they are doing. And from what I gather at the moment, there are entire armies of these University produced clones to be rolled out across the country.
I block all ads online as I cannot stand web advertising. I'm perhaps overly picky as I recall an Internet that had no intrusive ads back in the day. The hijacking of the Internet by ambitious advertisers really irks me.<p>
I also no longer buy magazines due to the advertising:actual content ratio being all screwed up.<p>
I also no longer listen to the radio because of excess advertising (and the proliferation of entertainment marketed as 'music' though thats another discussion entirely)<p>
But hey, thats just me. I'm aware of the alledged justification for advertising and all that jazz. I'm just being honest with myself when I say outright that advertising pisses me off no end, irrespective of medium.
Oddly, this bug didn't affect me. I installed the Steam client, fired it up, selected HL2, entered by CC details for the secure purchase, went out with some mates, came home, fired up HL2 and had a blast.
The built in function to 'backup' your Steam delivered games to 640 Mb slices for burning to CD is fantastic. You can burn HL2 to disc, lump a copy of the Steam client on the CD and install wherever you like - offline or otherwise.
As for the information you're whinging about, whoopdy doo. They generate a list of CPU, HDD, OS and Graphics card specs and upload it to the Steam database so as to identify target market hardware capabilities. You can even view this info yourself. I think its quite interesting.
But anyway - to each their own. I think Steam is a fantastic system and hope more developers take advantage of what it has to offer. I imagine it will only continue to get better.
FYI, you can buy the boxed version of HL2 and install it without the dramas you're talking about.
Your 'next' and 'finish' clicking skills need to be worked on.
lol.
I've met and worked with many people who have certification for everything, yet their practical, hands-on applied experience and knowledge is severely lacking. I've noticed many people who get certified often don't have that passion for IT or computing, and its merely a means to get a foothold in the industry to begin making that 'big IT pay cheque.'
Its all good and well to go for certification, but without a solid foundation of experience it really is kinda silly - especially from the employer's behalf - when they plug these guys and girls into positions the hiring market recognises them as being 'qualified' for, dispite the fact that they've never mounted a switch into a rack, deployed a replacement Exchange server or built a Redhat box out of spare parts to work as a sendmail server for e-mailed scanning, etc.
I've been in IT for just shy of ten years. I'm a systems administrator. I don't have one scrap of paper that says I can do what I do - but I do it and I do my job well. To each their own in the certifying game, but please don't fail to recognise the importance of experience to back that stuff up.
Funny story - a guy I work with attended a seminar recently in Sydney for various Wireless security issues. The seminar went for a day. At the end of it, he was presented with a nice laminated pretty certificate stating 'Certified Attendance' to talks and examples pertaining to wireless security.
I believe he's getting it framed.