Y'know, asking MS to fix an obscure bug in their encryption that took a dedicated researcher to find is pretty much pointless. Remember - these are the same guys that are having a hard time poking through their code and replacing all the strcpy() calls with strncpy().
Asking these guys to address this is like asking someone to turn off the faucet in a burning building.
That's true! Thanks for reminding me...I'd forgotten about that. Yeah, it came with a real working radiation badge on some rank insignia, as well as real directions on its use. I wonder if I still have mine somewhere...
Buy an old C64 or Amiga copy still in the box if you can. Seriously, I mean it. It comes with 2 manuals.
Book 1 has a short story and some player info, and Book 2 describes step-by-step exactly how they developed the AI for the game. Going to cons and watching successful players play, getting them to give out their strategies, and then translating those ideas into code. As a bonus, they describe the exact formulas the Ogre uses to determine its move, targeting sequence and deployment of arms.
It's brilliant, informative, and well worth the price of the game alone. Highly recommended reading if you're into game AI.
A fantatic technique I was taught - go to people you respect and ask them to list
1) Your two best traits.
2) Your two worst traits.
3) The two best traits of a manager.
4) The two worst traits of a manager.
5) Fire anyone where 2==4, and promote those where 1==3.;^)
The web is stripping away the layers of insulation between companies and the public by giving everyday people access to massive amounts of information. Increasingly companies are finding themselves like the emperor naked and exposed.
Sounds like Harvey Mackay having a wet dream. Cripes.
Slashdot: News for Managers, stuff that maximizes synergy.
When 1.0 comes out, Microsoft may have another reason to worry about Internet Explorer marketshare.
True enough, but MS should worry more about the Embedded IE that comes with Platform Builder. A small FireFox, clean and stripped down could do for palm devices what FireFox is doing for desktop PCs.
Odd isn't it - how many times a flat broke intern turns our entire industry upside-down?
On another note, I wonder how the IE team feels knowing that an intern who had to share an apartment with his mom and have her drive him to work basically outperformed their entire team.
Well, I think it's great and sounds like a really fun game, but I don't think it'll teach anyone math. I think it might be true that if you already know some trig and basic physics you'll do better...but I doubt it would stand up as a learning tool.
A good question to ask is "Would you drive over a bridge designed by a guy who only played Silent Hunter to learn math and physics?"
We're all pretty much geeks her on/., and we love using tech to solve problems. But - sometimes tech is not the best answer. Until we get head plugs and can learn math the same way Neo learned Kung-Fu, I'm afraid a book and a pencil (for a lot of things) can't be beat.
Agreed. You need to study Calc and work through problems to get any real benefit whatsoever.
Yes there is software that can help teach math. Maple is a good example. But - I wouldn't call it a game. Some things require concentrated effort, and video games aren't really known for that.
You can buy a Catweasel. Or alternately, you can pop on eBay and snag an old Amiga for about 50 bucks. Find a Fred Fish disk with a terminal program...buy a null modem cable and move the files over.
Currently that's what I do. I DMS a disk into a file, and then null-modem it to my laptop. WinUAE runs 99% of the images I make that way.
Hope that helps. BTW, my Amiga 500 was my first C programming experience too. Aztec C. Loved it.
To put it another way, if you change a single setting in a single program (IE) any web page can zap your system. To make your *nix box as insecure, you have to change the file permissions for every single file on the system.
IE is a single point of failure. That's what makes the comparison invalid. You'd have to go out of your way to screw up a *nix box that bad.
Why would you lose your house ? Is there some law in the US that makes you lose ownership of property if you don't live there for a while ?
Actually, yes there is. Every year you owe property tax in the US. If you fail to pay it, they can put a lein on your property. Eventually, if you don't take care of things the state will confiscate the property to pay the lein.
Also, depending on your local township's zoning, turning off your utilities for a certain length of time will declare your property as condemned. The state will (surprise surprise) confiscate it.
Ironic, isn't it? Especially when you consider the American Revolution/Colony Revolt in the late 1700's. Just a few short hundred years ago we were angry enough about this kind of treatment to not want to be British anymore. It's kind of sad, really.
Spending 8 months hiking in the mountains made be happier than anything ever has. Enjoy the world...its bloody cool. Personally I don't think the insurance policies are the best bit.
Oh, I agree completely. Hiking = great, Insurance = suck.
If I could go hiking for 8 months and not lose my house, I'd be off like a shot! You could probably hear the thunderclap I'd make. But if I did, I'd miss 8 months worth of house payments (I don't own my home yet). Interest on my college loans would accrue. I'd be broke, and the state would want tax on my property. I have no idea how I'd eat.
I guess my point is that this guy is just sitting in front of a theater for 139 days, and I just can't understand the logistics of it all. Seems like the mundane details of your life would catch up to you and nail you. Mind you, I agree that life should be fun. Dunno about 139 days squatting in front of a theater, but to each their own.
Maybe I'd like to know how it's done so I could go do it. And have a place to sleep when I'm done doing it.
When you hear about someone like this, who feeds them? How the hell can you take 139 days out of your life and still have a house? Or insurance? Or a job?
Yes, I know the standard/. answer is that he lives in his mom's basement and she takes care of him...but is that actually true?
How the @#@##% do you go on a 139 day hiatus and return to your life afterwards???
Well, that's always the matador's cape that gets displayed every time a P2P app shows up on the radar. "It makes a handy way to distribute and promote non-*AA media." But realistically, and I'm sure most people would agree - the lion's share of bandwidth in all P2P is copyrighted.
And that's why the music mafia are gunning for P2P. And if some legitimate users get stomped on...well then it's tough luck. The fact that they're producing a competing product is, of course, a complete accident.;^)
Slashdot Mirror
If any Chinese citizens can post here to tell you how, then the Great Firewall isn't really a problem, is it?
Y'know, asking MS to fix an obscure bug in their encryption that took a dedicated researcher to find is pretty much pointless. Remember - these are the same guys that are having a hard time poking through their code and replacing all the strcpy() calls with strncpy().
Asking these guys to address this is like asking someone to turn off the faucet in a burning building.
That's true! Thanks for reminding me...I'd forgotten about that. Yeah, it came with a real working radiation badge on some rank insignia, as well as real directions on its use. I wonder if I still have mine somewhere...
Buy an old C64 or Amiga copy still in the box if you can. Seriously, I mean it. It comes with 2 manuals.
Book 1 has a short story and some player info, and Book 2 describes step-by-step exactly how they developed the AI for the game. Going to cons and watching successful players play, getting them to give out their strategies, and then translating those ideas into code. As a bonus, they describe the exact formulas the Ogre uses to determine its move, targeting sequence and deployment of arms.
It's brilliant, informative, and well worth the price of the game alone. Highly recommended reading if you're into game AI.
1) Your two best traits.
2) Your two worst traits.
3) The two best traits of a manager.
4) The two worst traits of a manager.
5) Fire anyone where 2==4, and promote those where 1==3. ;^)
You sure that's a good idea?
Whoa. ;^)
The web is stripping away the layers of insulation between companies and the public by giving everyday people access to massive amounts of information. Increasingly companies are finding themselves like the emperor naked and exposed.
Sounds like Harvey Mackay having a wet dream. Cripes.
Slashdot: News for Managers, stuff that maximizes synergy.
When 1.0 comes out, Microsoft may have another reason to worry about Internet Explorer marketshare.
True enough, but MS should worry more about the Embedded IE that comes with Platform Builder. A small FireFox, clean and stripped down could do for palm devices what FireFox is doing for desktop PCs.
Odd isn't it - how many times a flat broke intern turns our entire industry upside-down?
On another note, I wonder how the IE team feels knowing that an intern who had to share an apartment with his mom and have her drive him to work basically outperformed their entire team.
Outstanding reference. Really cracked me up.
The people who solved the first 3 are currently in jail for DCMA violations. ;^)
A Chinese company pushing for consumer rights.
This is 4.
4. Whine and bitch about it, adopt new DRM system, and force consumers to buy another round of gadgets.
There's where the profit comes from in step #5.
Exactly how old will the kid from the Netherlands be that cracks it? And how many days will it take after the specs doc is released?
I'm betting 15 years, and 47 days. Place your bets!
Well, I think it's great and sounds like a really fun game, but I don't think it'll teach anyone math. I think it might be true that if you already know some trig and basic physics you'll do better...but I doubt it would stand up as a learning tool.
A good question to ask is "Would you drive over a bridge designed by a guy who only played Silent Hunter to learn math and physics?"
We're all pretty much geeks her on /., and we love using tech to solve problems. But - sometimes tech is not the best answer. Until we get head plugs and can learn math the same way Neo learned Kung-Fu, I'm afraid a book and a pencil (for a lot of things) can't be beat.
Agreed. You need to study Calc and work through problems to get any real benefit whatsoever.
Yes there is software that can help teach math. Maple is a good example. But - I wouldn't call it a game. Some things require concentrated effort, and video games aren't really known for that.
A few things might benefit, but replacing books with video games? On the advice of the video gaming industry??
Ok then gaming industry, put your money where your mouth is. Write a really great game that teaches Calc I. Go ahead - I dare you.
"Dude, I totally fragged you with that asymptote!"
No sweat. =)
You can buy a Catweasel. Or alternately, you can pop on eBay and snag an old Amiga for about 50 bucks. Find a Fred Fish disk with a terminal program...buy a null modem cable and move the files over.
Currently that's what I do. I DMS a disk into a file, and then null-modem it to my laptop. WinUAE runs 99% of the images I make that way.
Hope that helps. BTW, my Amiga 500 was my first C programming experience too. Aztec C. Loved it.
They say they've retired Carnivore.
Why tell us? And how do we know they actually did?
That's it exactly.
To put it another way, if you change a single setting in a single program (IE) any web page can zap your system. To make your *nix box as insecure, you have to change the file permissions for every single file on the system.
IE is a single point of failure. That's what makes the comparison invalid. You'd have to go out of your way to screw up a *nix box that bad.
Why would you lose your house ? Is there some law in the US that makes you lose ownership of property if you don't live there for a while ?
Actually, yes there is. Every year you owe property tax in the US. If you fail to pay it, they can put a lein on your property. Eventually, if you don't take care of things the state will confiscate the property to pay the lein.
Also, depending on your local township's zoning, turning off your utilities for a certain length of time will declare your property as condemned. The state will (surprise surprise) confiscate it.
Ironic, isn't it? Especially when you consider the American Revolution/Colony Revolt in the late 1700's. Just a few short hundred years ago we were angry enough about this kind of treatment to not want to be British anymore. It's kind of sad, really.
Spending 8 months hiking in the mountains made be happier than anything ever has. Enjoy the world...its bloody cool. Personally I don't think the insurance policies are the best bit.
Oh, I agree completely. Hiking = great, Insurance = suck.
If I could go hiking for 8 months and not lose my house, I'd be off like a shot! You could probably hear the thunderclap I'd make. But if I did, I'd miss 8 months worth of house payments (I don't own my home yet). Interest on my college loans would accrue. I'd be broke, and the state would want tax on my property. I have no idea how I'd eat.
I guess my point is that this guy is just sitting in front of a theater for 139 days, and I just can't understand the logistics of it all. Seems like the mundane details of your life would catch up to you and nail you. Mind you, I agree that life should be fun. Dunno about 139 days squatting in front of a theater, but to each their own.
Maybe I'd like to know how it's done so I could go do it. And have a place to sleep when I'm done doing it.
When you hear about someone like this, who feeds them? How the hell can you take 139 days out of your life and still have a house? Or insurance? Or a job?
Yes, I know the standard /. answer is that he lives in his mom's basement and she takes care of him...but is that actually true?
How the @#@##% do you go on a 139 day hiatus and return to your life afterwards???
Courts lately keep doing the right thing.
Well, that's always the matador's cape that gets displayed every time a P2P app shows up on the radar. "It makes a handy way to distribute and promote non-*AA media." But realistically, and I'm sure most people would agree - the lion's share of bandwidth in all P2P is copyrighted.
And that's why the music mafia are gunning for P2P. And if some legitimate users get stomped on...well then it's tough luck. The fact that they're producing a competing product is, of course, a complete accident. ;^)