The biggest thing that you have to watch out for with VMWare ESXi is the hardware compatibility list. You will run into trouble with two major components: RAID controllers and network adapters.
The network adapter solution is simple: buy the most plain-jane Intel PCI or PCIe adapter that you can find. Examples of ones that are known to work right out of the box are the Intel PWLA8391 GT (single-port PCI) and the Intel EXPI9402PT (dual-port PCIe). I own both of these and can personally confirm operation with the latest version of VMWare ESXi.
The drive controller situation is both complicated and -- more importantly -- expensive. Overall, Adaptec seems to be the most well-supported controller hardware out there. I have tried LSI controllers, but they often don't play well with desktop boards. Unfortunately for experimenters, the built-in RAID on practically every Intel motherboard is completely unsupported in RAID mode. Obviously no enterprise environment would be using on-board RAID like that, but it would be nice to have for experimentation.
Which brings me to my favorite storage solution for ESXi: Openfiler. Openfiler is an open-source NAS/SAN solution based on rPath Linux. It turns any supported PC into a storage applicance, and can share its storage in a plethora of ways. In the case of a virtualization effort, it has two major things going for it: it supports any storage controller that Linux supports, and it supports iSCSI and NFS.
If, say, you do have a machine sitting there with Intel on-board RAID, you can install Openfiler there. While the hardware might not work under ESXi, it'll work great for Openfiler. Even better, Openfiler also supports Linux software RAID which can be superior when it comes to disaster recovery (no need to have a specific controller card to see your data). With this in mind, you'll be able to get Openfiler running on just about any hunk of shit box you have sitting around.
Once you have Openfiler set up, you can take the next step in virtualization-on-the-cheap: installing ESXi on a USB flash drive. There are a number of tutorials on the web for this (just google 'ESXi USB flash install'), but the basic process amounts to extracting the drive image from the ESXi installation archive and simply writing it to flash with dd (on Linux) or physdiskwrite (on Windows). Once this is done, you can plug the flash drive into nearly *any* recent x86 hardware and it will boot ESXi. A really neat feature that you get along with this is the ability to substitute hardware with ease, and upgrade to later versions of ESXi simply by swapping the flash drive.
Once you have ESXi installed, create an iSCSI volume on your Openfiler box. Then, use the VMWare management software to connect the ESXi box to your Openfiler iSCSI volume. You can then create virtual disks and machines from the actual USB-flash-booted VMWare host, all of which will be stored on your Openfiler machine. You may also want to try experimenting with NFS instead of iSCSI. There are a couple proponents of this out there that say under certain circumstances it's even faster than iSCSI. It also makes backing up your virtual machines a little simpler since an NFS share is generally easier to get to than iSCSI from most machines. Another cool aspect of the Openfiler-based configuration is that you will get access to another whiz-bang feature of VMWare called vMotion. Since the VMs and their disks are stored centrally, you can actually move the VM execution from one ESXi box to another - on the fly.
In all, this is a great way to get your feet wet in virtualization because you can have a pretty sophisticated setup with very basic commodity hardware. If you want to go the extra mile and get really fancy, put a dedicated gigabit NIC (or two, bonded) in each box and enable jumbo frames; the SAN will be more than fast enough most anything you'd like to do.
I like the comments I've seen to the effect that a little time away from the Internet might actually be a good thing. There's a well-known blogger (don't recall his name though) out there that specifically takes "unplugged vacations" to get away and gain a little perspective.
That said, you might like looking into getting your amateur radio license before leaving. If conditions allow, you could use this to supplement your on-board access. There are of course caveats, not the least of which is the fact that data over HF is pretty damn slow. While not exactly web-browsing speed, you could manage to do a better job of keeping in contact via e-mail at least.
From a practical standpoint, you would be surprised at the station you could run from your cabin. HF antennas are known for being really big, but there are plenty of compact designs out there and nothing beats good old saltwater as a ground plane.
Amateur radio can of course be fun just as a hobby too, especially on a ship. You could have the opportunity to talk to some really neat people all around the world. It would be a great way to occupy your time should you find yourself bored between classes and getting laid -- just be sure not to show the girls your license or that'll never happen. It's worse than being tagged as a computer nerd:)
Having your license may also allow you to build some comraderie with the ship's radio operators, with at least some possibility of fanagling some additional time:)
This was actually done 5 to 10 years ago with cats. The researchers used directly implanted electrodes to 'see' the same things the cats were seeing. I've always thought this was one of the most-amazing-yet-little-known pieces of research I've ever read.
I can't recall the journal or anything like that, but that article at least DID have pictures.
Say it with me...SiliCONE.
SiliCON boobs would be ridiculously uncomfortable.
Of course, if you used the hydrogenated amorphous variant, you might be able to work out a way to turn them into flat panels as well.
Since it's Slashdot, I'll leave the next joke for someone else.
I was about to post the same thing until I logged in, reloaded, and saw your comment.
We use an ERU in nearly every building we build. I would be VERY surprised if there aren't many datacenters using these already even if they don't know it.
The major source of echo when using the TDM cards under Asterisk has to do with an impedance mismatch between the card and the line. This was a terrible problem when Asterisk first came out, but now the auto-matching routines are pretty good and it shouldn't be noticeable. If you have your card set up correctly there shouldn't be any issue.
There is another type of echo that can be seen when using speakers and a mic. There are auto-training algorithms to handle this but they range from very effective to not useful at all. If you are using a headset you won't have this issue.
In short, a properly-configured Asterisk installation won't have any echo with POTS lines.
The problem with this theory is that it doesn't really solve any of the 'big questions'. You immediately run into what I call 'The Matrioshka Paradox'.
It's like this - let's say that we choose to explain the universe as we know as VR (leave off the 'simulation', it's redundant). Then, it must by definition exist inside another universe. If we choose VR as our explanation for 'something inside of seemingly nothing' (a Universe), then this argument would apply equally to the parent universe. Recursion abounds.
This paradox gets in the way of pretty much every line of human thought that attempts to explain existence.
njo77918011btqrahgnu
There are two reasons to care about a lost/stolen laptop: 1) losing the value of the laptop itself, and 2) the value of the data within.
For the value of the laptop itself, I would argue that the cost of any tracking solutions is bound to be more than (the chance of laptop being stolen x value of laptop itself). This comes down to the age-old question of 'whether or not to buy insurance'. In this case, it's just not worth it - especially considering that you're buying insurance that may or may not 'pay' in the event of a loss!
Regarding the value of the data contained in the laptop, my reasoning is that if you are carrying around data that is *truly* valuable, then being able to get the laptop back if stolen is the least of your worries. If you are not responsible enough to keep valuable data either by your side at all times, or in a safe place, then you aren't responsible enough to be working with said data to begin with. Secondly, if people are clever enough to track down a laptop with valuable data in the pursuit of corporate/governmental espionage - they're damn well clever enough not to hook the thing up to the internet. Finally, if by some chance the swipers decide to drop the thing off at the pawn shop in order to make an extra $100 (yeah right), by the time you get the laptop back the real damage has been done anyway.
While I agree that people should pay for software that they use, your argument has a critical flaw. You fail to take into account marginal cost of production. It's like this - if you make something you have the cost to develop the product, then the cost to copy that product.
If someone who WOULD NOT HAVE BOUGHT YOUR PRODUCT ANYWAY steals a purse, you have lost the cost of creating the copy that they stole - i.e. the marginal cost of production. Put into numbers, say purse costs $50,000 to develop, and $5/copy then you lost $5.
Software and other 'virtual' items have *zero marginal cost of production* (unlike your clothing store example). If someone (again, who would not have bought your product anyway) 'steals' your software, you lose nothing. Zip. Nada. I'm not sure why this is so hard for people to get their heads around, but it's true.
The caveat here of course is that not all pirates never buy software. Some people will steal your software who might have bought it anyway, and it is in these cases that you have tangible losses. Of course, we go 'round and 'round over how many pirates would have bought the software had they not pirated it. Probably someone has good numbers somewhere, but for sure they're not going to share them.
Copy protection should be an economic decision, not an emotional one. On one side list the costs of copy protection (development/licensing, lost sales, et cetera) and on the other list the benefits (how many additional sales will be made). If column B > column A, put on copy protection.
4. If you had the opportunity to play a free game of bingo coming directly to you from the spacecraft with the possibility to win prizes, how often would you visit the site?
WTF? Space Bingo? What kind of circus clown is running Bigelow Aerospace if this is their idea for making piles of cash with a manned spacecraft? And who the hell thought the target market for an aerospace venture would be my 70-year-old grandmother?
Just goes to show why nerds work on the tech end of things, not the marketing...
I have worked standing up for the last 3 years. It all started when I began to outfit my new office; my work requires me to look at a lot of plans and hence I built a drafting table, which are traditionally at standing height. To make matters simpler, I decided to also build my regular workstation at the same height. To make things just right, I hung my dual LCD flat panels at eye level.
I ordered two nice Hon drafting chairs and expected to wind up sitting in them as I had a regular desk chair in the past.
I soon found though, that it was much more convenient and comfortable to just forego the chairs and work standing up. I discovered that I didn't get tired from standing at all, and in fact felt more awake and alert as a result. There's also the nice side benefit that without chairs, people don't really tend to come and camp out in my office:)
Last year, I was diagnosed with a herniated disc in my lower back. This is where the working-standing-up plan really pays off. I quickly discovered that when I sit, the pain is worse. After sitting awhile, it's a *lot* worse. The doctor explained that this is because sitting puts the more pressure on your disc than laying or standing. In fact, standing seems to be the most neutral position for your back and relieves more pressure on the disc than other positions. So if you have back problems - working while standing could mean the difference between working or not. I know it has for me on many days.
So to those who haven't tried working while standing up - I highly recommend it. I believe the health benefits are strong and the impact on your mental processes is positive.
"So next time you see one being sold on eBay from Hong Kong, give the cops a call."
This is just a fucking stupid thing to say. First off, lots of electronics are sold on eBay from Hong Kong. The chances of one DS Lite being part of a stolen shipment is not great enough to warrant calling the cops every time you see one. Secondly, to think the authorities aren't watching eBay themselves is pretty ignorant. Of *course* they're watching eBay, in addition to a million other outlets.
Finally, just which "cops" is the poster suggesting you call? Because seeing as how this theft occured *in Hong Kong*, I doubt that anyone besides the authorities there even care. Your local deputy, and even the FBI, don't give a shit.
Ignore this advice and avoid wasting everyones' time, including your own...
...because I refuse to support the most INEPT management of a project ever. At this point why even bother? The franchise is no longer exciting and most of the people who played the original are too busy *raising their kids*. Add to that the fact that at this point any game you release would be a complete fucking EMBARASSMENT because no matter what people are still going to sit back and say, "WTF? *THAT* took 10 years to complete?"
3DRealms is the most pitiful excuse for a games development company ever. Given the lack of lawsuits in their direction, they have to either also be the slickest talkers ever, or the investors are completely vacant
What the author seems to want is a many thousand player MOO or MUSH. I'm sorry to be the one to break it to him, but most people just have no interest in such an open-ended environment. MOOs and MUSHes were always more niche and less popular than their MUD brethren (though there were big ones out there, don't get me wrong.) But whereas anyone is capable of typing in a few lines of text and thus creating an object in a MOO, a modern game requires the ability to create 3D Models. And not only that to animate them. And not only that to do so well enough that it warrants repetitious viewing.
What you are describing is Second Life, and I hate to break it to you but it's becoming immensely popular for exactly the reasons set forth by the author. Because it's so open-ended, people come -- and stay. They're over a couple hundred thousand in population now, and the rate of increase is growing all the time.
Did you use the latest version ?
Yes. Note that I used the word "recently" to describe when I tried it out. I tried Scribus 1.3.3.1 on both Windows and Linux.
Define "immature" ?
Not having many features that most professionals take for granted. Palette windows that don't resize correctly and other goofy UI bugs. Lack of solid, professionally written documentation. No text box margins. Broken PDF exporter. Broken PostScript importer. Opening even moderately-sized documents takes forever. Would you like me to continue?
Scribus is admittedly usable for some projects but it's not yet qualified to be a mission-critical application. I certainly wouldn't stake MY job on it.
What is your professional qualifications to make such a judgement ?
Besides knowing how to conjugate the verb "to be" you mean? How about 10 years as a graphic designer? That enough for you??? That sort of accusatory question really grates on me, and doesn't exactly invite me to come over to Scribus.
Incidentally, the Scribus bios make my point nicely. I see a lot of things like "DTP/IT Consultant", "pre-press and software engineer", et cetera but I don't see much in the way of experienced designers. Scribus is what you get when engineers try to design software; typical of most open-source applications.
He also notes, however, that a great part of his troubles came from an early start, at a time when programs such as Scribus weren't mature enough yet.
This comment shows a little wishful thinking, IMO. I recently tried Scribus, and it's nowhere near mature. This is typical of a lot of open-source software I think; might work good enough for light 'hobbyist' use but nowhere close for real professional work. Probably because it's hobbyists writing the stuff for the most part.
Another good example is Sodipodi/Inkscape. Lots of potential there, but I only used it for about an hour before I 'hit the wall' so to speak and became frustrated with its lack of capability.
If they play their marketing cards right, this could really be a boon for the independent anti-malware guys.
There is a definite trait in the human personality that feels that a bone-stock mechanism isn't good enough. Evidence the number of after-market mufflers, 3rd party ringtones, Windows defragmentation utilities, et cetera that are sold every single day.
By making anti-malware 'standard', Microsoft is actually enlarging the population of people interested in the product. As it stands now, there are a lot of people who still feel anti-malware is optional or haven't even a concept of what it is. Once it's standard in the OS, it not only won't be optional but there will be a huge market of people exposed to anti-malware that haven't been. And guess what? A goodly portion can be convinced that MS's offering isn't good-enough, and why don't you 'upgrade' to the Norton Super-Whiz Bang Mega Suite while you're at it?
This is a big win for the 3rd party developers if they manage the opportunity correctly.
I'm a resident of Second Life, an online virtual world. Very different than a MMORPG, it's basically an open-ended place for people to socialize, build, et cetera. Second Life is also unique in that you own the copyright of any content you create in-world. This has lead to some really creative and clever objects.
More to the point though, the phenomenon of live music has really taken hold within Second Life. There are several artist residents (Astrin Few and Flaming Moe are two I can think of) who hold regular concerts, play in virtual taverns, and overall take advantage of the relatively cultured community that exists within the world (the client supports streaming audio via ShoutCast servers). I also know of a Live Music Festival (organized by a resident named Nethermind Bliss) that will be happening this year, with both a true live venue on the east cost and a virtual venue in-world. This hybrid event will be a great opportunity to expose residents to some talented artists.
Slashdot Mirror
Good comments, but vMotion most certainly does work with ESXi. Yes you need Virtual Center, but ESX is not a prerequisite.
In the long term, I believe that VMWare sees greater uptake of ESXi vs. ESX since it is a lot thinner and plays better in a dense environment.
The biggest thing that you have to watch out for with VMWare ESXi is the hardware compatibility list. You will run into trouble with two major components: RAID controllers and network adapters.
The network adapter solution is simple: buy the most plain-jane Intel PCI or PCIe adapter that you can find. Examples of ones that are known to work right out of the box are the Intel PWLA8391 GT (single-port PCI) and the Intel EXPI9402PT (dual-port PCIe). I own both of these and can personally confirm operation with the latest version of VMWare ESXi.
The drive controller situation is both complicated and -- more importantly -- expensive. Overall, Adaptec seems to be the most well-supported controller hardware out there. I have tried LSI controllers, but they often don't play well with desktop boards. Unfortunately for experimenters, the built-in RAID on practically every Intel motherboard is completely unsupported in RAID mode. Obviously no enterprise environment would be using on-board RAID like that, but it would be nice to have for experimentation.
Which brings me to my favorite storage solution for ESXi: Openfiler. Openfiler is an open-source NAS/SAN solution based on rPath Linux. It turns any supported PC into a storage applicance, and can share its storage in a plethora of ways. In the case of a virtualization effort, it has two major things going for it: it supports any storage controller that Linux supports, and it supports iSCSI and NFS.
If, say, you do have a machine sitting there with Intel on-board RAID, you can install Openfiler there. While the hardware might not work under ESXi, it'll work great for Openfiler. Even better, Openfiler also supports Linux software RAID which can be superior when it comes to disaster recovery (no need to have a specific controller card to see your data). With this in mind, you'll be able to get Openfiler running on just about any hunk of shit box you have sitting around.
Once you have Openfiler set up, you can take the next step in virtualization-on-the-cheap: installing ESXi on a USB flash drive. There are a number of tutorials on the web for this (just google 'ESXi USB flash install'), but the basic process amounts to extracting the drive image from the ESXi installation archive and simply writing it to flash with dd (on Linux) or physdiskwrite (on Windows). Once this is done, you can plug the flash drive into nearly *any* recent x86 hardware and it will boot ESXi. A really neat feature that you get along with this is the ability to substitute hardware with ease, and upgrade to later versions of ESXi simply by swapping the flash drive.
Once you have ESXi installed, create an iSCSI volume on your Openfiler box. Then, use the VMWare management software to connect the ESXi box to your Openfiler iSCSI volume. You can then create virtual disks and machines from the actual USB-flash-booted VMWare host, all of which will be stored on your Openfiler machine. You may also want to try experimenting with NFS instead of iSCSI. There are a couple proponents of this out there that say under certain circumstances it's even faster than iSCSI. It also makes backing up your virtual machines a little simpler since an NFS share is generally easier to get to than iSCSI from most machines. Another cool aspect of the Openfiler-based configuration is that you will get access to another whiz-bang feature of VMWare called vMotion. Since the VMs and their disks are stored centrally, you can actually move the VM execution from one ESXi box to another - on the fly.
In all, this is a great way to get your feet wet in virtualization because you can have a pretty sophisticated setup with very basic commodity hardware. If you want to go the extra mile and get really fancy, put a dedicated gigabit NIC (or two, bonded) in each box and enable jumbo frames; the SAN will be more than fast enough most anything you'd like to do.
Good luck!
Even better I'd think would be, "testiphony". I would say that I just made that up, but someone probably beat me to it.
I like the comments I've seen to the effect that a little time away from the Internet might actually be a good thing. There's a well-known blogger (don't recall his name though) out there that specifically takes "unplugged vacations" to get away and gain a little perspective. That said, you might like looking into getting your amateur radio license before leaving. If conditions allow, you could use this to supplement your on-board access. There are of course caveats, not the least of which is the fact that data over HF is pretty damn slow. While not exactly web-browsing speed, you could manage to do a better job of keeping in contact via e-mail at least. From a practical standpoint, you would be surprised at the station you could run from your cabin. HF antennas are known for being really big, but there are plenty of compact designs out there and nothing beats good old saltwater as a ground plane. Amateur radio can of course be fun just as a hobby too, especially on a ship. You could have the opportunity to talk to some really neat people all around the world. It would be a great way to occupy your time should you find yourself bored between classes and getting laid -- just be sure not to show the girls your license or that'll never happen. It's worse than being tagged as a computer nerd :)
Having your license may also allow you to build some comraderie with the ship's radio operators, with at least some possibility of fanagling some additional time :)
This was actually done 5 to 10 years ago with cats. The researchers used directly implanted electrodes to 'see' the same things the cats were seeing. I've always thought this was one of the most-amazing-yet-little-known pieces of research I've ever read. I can't recall the journal or anything like that, but that article at least DID have pictures.
Say it with me...SiliCONE. SiliCON boobs would be ridiculously uncomfortable. Of course, if you used the hydrogenated amorphous variant, you might be able to work out a way to turn them into flat panels as well. Since it's Slashdot, I'll leave the next joke for someone else.
I was about to post the same thing until I logged in, reloaded, and saw your comment. We use an ERU in nearly every building we build. I would be VERY surprised if there aren't many datacenters using these already even if they don't know it.
The major source of echo when using the TDM cards under Asterisk has to do with an impedance mismatch between the card and the line. This was a terrible problem when Asterisk first came out, but now the auto-matching routines are pretty good and it shouldn't be noticeable. If you have your card set up correctly there shouldn't be any issue.
There is another type of echo that can be seen when using speakers and a mic. There are auto-training algorithms to handle this but they range from very effective to not useful at all. If you are using a headset you won't have this issue. In short, a properly-configured Asterisk installation won't have any echo with POTS lines.
The best people for this job would be the Craigslist folks. They have proven themselves superhumanly immune to selling out.
The problem with this theory is that it doesn't really solve any of the 'big questions'. You immediately run into what I call 'The Matrioshka Paradox'. It's like this - let's say that we choose to explain the universe as we know as VR (leave off the 'simulation', it's redundant). Then, it must by definition exist inside another universe. If we choose VR as our explanation for 'something inside of seemingly nothing' (a Universe), then this argument would apply equally to the parent universe. Recursion abounds. This paradox gets in the way of pretty much every line of human thought that attempts to explain existence. njo77918011btqrahgnu
There are two reasons to care about a lost/stolen laptop: 1) losing the value of the laptop itself, and 2) the value of the data within.
For the value of the laptop itself, I would argue that the cost of any tracking solutions is bound to be more than (the chance of laptop being stolen x value of laptop itself). This comes down to the age-old question of 'whether or not to buy insurance'. In this case, it's just not worth it - especially considering that you're buying insurance that may or may not 'pay' in the event of a loss!
Regarding the value of the data contained in the laptop, my reasoning is that if you are carrying around data that is *truly* valuable, then being able to get the laptop back if stolen is the least of your worries. If you are not responsible enough to keep valuable data either by your side at all times, or in a safe place, then you aren't responsible enough to be working with said data to begin with. Secondly, if people are clever enough to track down a laptop with valuable data in the pursuit of corporate/governmental espionage - they're damn well clever enough not to hook the thing up to the internet. Finally, if by some chance the swipers decide to drop the thing off at the pawn shop in order to make an extra $100 (yeah right), by the time you get the laptop back the real damage has been done anyway.
Summary: tracking services = waste of time. -JT
While I agree that people should pay for software that they use, your argument has a critical flaw. You fail to take into account marginal cost of production. It's like this - if you make something you have the cost to develop the product, then the cost to copy that product.
If someone who WOULD NOT HAVE BOUGHT YOUR PRODUCT ANYWAY steals a purse, you have lost the cost of creating the copy that they stole - i.e. the marginal cost of production. Put into numbers, say purse costs $50,000 to develop, and $5/copy then you lost $5.
Software and other 'virtual' items have *zero marginal cost of production* (unlike your clothing store example). If someone (again, who would not have bought your product anyway) 'steals' your software, you lose nothing. Zip. Nada. I'm not sure why this is so hard for people to get their heads around, but it's true.
The caveat here of course is that not all pirates never buy software. Some people will steal your software who might have bought it anyway, and it is in these cases that you have tangible losses. Of course, we go 'round and 'round over how many pirates would have bought the software had they not pirated it. Probably someone has good numbers somewhere, but for sure they're not going to share them.
Copy protection should be an economic decision, not an emotional one. On one side list the costs of copy protection (development/licensing, lost sales, et cetera) and on the other list the benefits (how many additional sales will be made). If column B > column A, put on copy protection.
...how most Japanese culture makes sense whatsoever to Americans. Including me.
4. If you had the opportunity to play a free game of bingo coming directly to you from the spacecraft with the possibility to win prizes, how often would you visit the site?
WTF? Space Bingo? What kind of circus clown is running Bigelow Aerospace if this is their idea for making piles of cash with a manned spacecraft? And who the hell thought the target market for an aerospace venture would be my 70-year-old grandmother?
Just goes to show why nerds work on the tech end of things, not the marketing...
-JT
I have worked standing up for the last 3 years. It all started when I began to outfit my new office; my work requires me to look at a lot of plans and hence I built a drafting table, which are traditionally at standing height. To make matters simpler, I decided to also build my regular workstation at the same height. To make things just right, I hung my dual LCD flat panels at eye level.
:)
I ordered two nice Hon drafting chairs and expected to wind up sitting in them as I had a regular desk chair in the past.
I soon found though, that it was much more convenient and comfortable to just forego the chairs and work standing up. I discovered that I didn't get tired from standing at all, and in fact felt more awake and alert as a result. There's also the nice side benefit that without chairs, people don't really tend to come and camp out in my office
Last year, I was diagnosed with a herniated disc in my lower back. This is where the working-standing-up plan really pays off. I quickly discovered that when I sit, the pain is worse. After sitting awhile, it's a *lot* worse. The doctor explained that this is because sitting puts the more pressure on your disc than laying or standing. In fact, standing seems to be the most neutral position for your back and relieves more pressure on the disc than other positions. So if you have back problems - working while standing could mean the difference between working or not. I know it has for me on many days.
So to those who haven't tried working while standing up - I highly recommend it. I believe the health benefits are strong and the impact on your mental processes is positive.
...when his mailbox gets Slashdotted :)
"So next time you see one being sold on eBay from Hong Kong, give the cops a call."
This is just a fucking stupid thing to say. First off, lots of electronics are sold on eBay from Hong Kong. The chances of one DS Lite being part of a stolen shipment is not great enough to warrant calling the cops every time you see one. Secondly, to think the authorities aren't watching eBay themselves is pretty ignorant. Of *course* they're watching eBay, in addition to a million other outlets.
Finally, just which "cops" is the poster suggesting you call? Because seeing as how this theft occured *in Hong Kong*, I doubt that anyone besides the authorities there even care. Your local deputy, and even the FBI, don't give a shit.
Ignore this advice and avoid wasting everyones' time, including your own...
-JT
...because I refuse to support the most INEPT management of a project ever. At this point why even bother? The franchise is no longer exciting and most of the people who played the original are too busy *raising their kids*. Add to that the fact that at this point any game you release would be a complete fucking EMBARASSMENT because no matter what people are still going to sit back and say, "WTF? *THAT* took 10 years to complete?"
3DRealms is the most pitiful excuse for a games development company ever. Given the lack of lawsuits in their direction, they have to either also be the slickest talkers ever, or the investors are completely vacant
What the author seems to want is a many thousand player MOO or MUSH. I'm sorry to be the one to break it to him, but most people just have no interest in such an open-ended environment. MOOs and MUSHes were always more niche and less popular than their MUD brethren (though there were big ones out there, don't get me wrong.) But whereas anyone is capable of typing in a few lines of text and thus creating an object in a MOO, a modern game requires the ability to create 3D Models. And not only that to animate them. And not only that to do so well enough that it warrants repetitious viewing.
What you are describing is Second Life, and I hate to break it to you but it's becoming immensely popular for exactly the reasons set forth by the author. Because it's so open-ended, people come -- and stay. They're over a couple hundred thousand in population now, and the rate of increase is growing all the time.
-JT
Some questions:
Did you use the latest version ?
Yes. Note that I used the word "recently" to describe when I tried it out. I tried Scribus 1.3.3.1 on both Windows and Linux.
Define "immature" ?
Not having many features that most professionals take for granted. Palette windows that don't resize correctly and other goofy UI bugs. Lack of solid, professionally written documentation. No text box margins. Broken PDF exporter. Broken PostScript importer. Opening even moderately-sized documents takes forever. Would you like me to continue?
Scribus is admittedly usable for some projects but it's not yet qualified to be a mission-critical application. I certainly wouldn't stake MY job on it.
What is your professional qualifications to make such a judgement ?
Besides knowing how to conjugate the verb "to be" you mean? How about 10 years as a graphic designer? That enough for you??? That sort of accusatory question really grates on me, and doesn't exactly invite me to come over to Scribus.
Incidentally, the Scribus bios make my point nicely. I see a lot of things like "DTP/IT Consultant", "pre-press and software engineer", et cetera but I don't see much in the way of experienced designers. Scribus is what you get when engineers try to design software; typical of most open-source applications.
He also notes, however, that a great part of his troubles came from an early start, at a time when programs such as Scribus weren't mature enough yet.
This comment shows a little wishful thinking, IMO. I recently tried Scribus, and it's nowhere near mature. This is typical of a lot of open-source software I think; might work good enough for light 'hobbyist' use but nowhere close for real professional work. Probably because it's hobbyists writing the stuff for the most part.
Another good example is Sodipodi/Inkscape. Lots of potential there, but I only used it for about an hour before I 'hit the wall' so to speak and became frustrated with its lack of capability.
Not a dig on open-source, just an observation...
If they play their marketing cards right, this could really be a boon for the independent anti-malware guys.
There is a definite trait in the human personality that feels that a bone-stock mechanism isn't good enough. Evidence the number of after-market mufflers, 3rd party ringtones, Windows defragmentation utilities, et cetera that are sold every single day.
By making anti-malware 'standard', Microsoft is actually enlarging the population of people interested in the product. As it stands now, there are a lot of people who still feel anti-malware is optional or haven't even a concept of what it is. Once it's standard in the OS, it not only won't be optional but there will be a huge market of people exposed to anti-malware that haven't been. And guess what? A goodly portion can be convinced that MS's offering isn't good-enough, and why don't you 'upgrade' to the Norton Super-Whiz Bang Mega Suite while you're at it?
This is a big win for the 3rd party developers if they manage the opportunity correctly.
-JT
I'm a resident of Second Life, an online virtual world. Very different than a MMORPG, it's basically an open-ended place for people to socialize, build, et cetera. Second Life is also unique in that you own the copyright of any content you create in-world. This has lead to some really creative and clever objects.
More to the point though, the phenomenon of live music has really taken hold within Second Life. There are several artist residents (Astrin Few and Flaming Moe are two I can think of) who hold regular concerts, play in virtual taverns, and overall take advantage of the relatively cultured community that exists within the world (the client supports streaming audio via ShoutCast servers). I also know of a Live Music Festival (organized by a resident named Nethermind Bliss) that will be happening this year, with both a true live venue on the east cost and a virtual venue in-world. This hybrid event will be a great opportunity to expose residents to some talented artists.
-JT
Nor can it replace...the smell.
Would those be Schrodinger's Kittens?