Worrying about your hard drive going out is pretty silly, considering that Steam lets you re-download a copy of your game to ANY computer onto which you've installed Steam and your credentials.
In a way, it's the exact opposite...Steam IS the ultimate backup.
The sad thing about the Google Desktop is that, for the moment at least, it only supports things like the official AOL Instant Messenger software, Internet Explorer, and Outlook/Outlook Express.
And I thought Google was supposed to be this big challenger to Microsoft???
It would be nice to see support for Trillian and other IM clients in addition to Firefox/Thunderbird. I'm hopeful that this will come to fruition, I really can't see how it wouldn't. I can understand the strategy of releasing for these apps though, because of course every computer with Windows preinstalled likely has them.
Not precisely cheating, as the rules are set up to play this way...but this certainly violates the spirit of the original Prisoner's Dilemma. Why?
Real prisoners only get to choose ONCE.
By taking advantage of the multiple-iteration aspect of the simulation with this sort of 'portknocking' strategy, the winning programs kind of take a cheap shot at the original PD.
Of course, it's all hypothetical anyway, and come to think of it Tit For Tat technically takes advantage of the multiple-iteration aspect as well by doing whatever the opponent did the last time...
Ah well, at least the Wikipedia entry makes a distinction between regular "Prisoner's Dilemma" and "Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma".
Am I the only one that read this wrong?
on
OQO For Sale
·
· Score: 2, Funny
Sounded at first like OQO the company was for sale. My fist thought was, "Sheesh...after all this waiting!". Kind of like your woman telling you at the last minute that she's got a headache:-)
This sounds a lot like the "Earth" app in Neil Stephenson's "Snowcrash". Just not real-time and with as much detail:) Still, would be cool to see it integrated into Second Life or one of the other virtual worlds....
"Starter Edition allows only three applications to be run concurrently. According to Microsoft, this limitation 'helps [users] stay organized and reduces confusion.'"
Hm, so that is to say that it keeps you from starting another instead of merely crashing like the copy on my desktop?
You can't make the statement that "This was tried around 15 years ago by Virtuality", because the technology in question isn't VR...it's a moving floor. Virtuality did indeed create a fairly complete VR system, but this did not...repeat did not include a moving floor. The dais that the user stood on did include position sensors though (one on the helmet and one around your waist), so perhaps that is where the confusion comes in.
How can you have a post on graphic novels without including Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series?;)
Seriously, this is some of the most amazing stuff ever to come out, both with respect to storyline and art. Gaiman is a master wordsmith and weaves elements of ancient religion, existential philosophy, and wry british humor into his works. More here, here, and at Gaiman's Blog.
Another PeopleSoft SNAFU is at the University of Missouri. They have been working on their project for > 5 years and are STILL using their old COBOL-based mainframe system. Millions of dollars down the drain because the pointy-headed academic administrators can't lead their way out of a wet paper bag.
Similar to gun control measures, this only does one thing - takes a perfectly legal thing out of the hands of law-abiding people.
In this case, circumventing the technology (PARTICULARLY IF IT'S IN AN OSS PROJECT!) will prove to be fairly trivial to criminal counterfeiters. I myself can think of several ways that would take all of 5 minutes, although I won't share them here because I don't want the black helicopters landing on my front lawn.
In the meantime, some 37-year-old woman, with no criminal intent, trying to scan money to use in some car dealer's newspaper ad (DEALS DEALS! CASH BACK!) is going to go crazy. Likewise for the Art 101 student trying to make a collage out of GWB's face and the US $100. Likewise for the vending machine engineer trying to scan bills to teach the reader how to recognize them. And so on...
It's true that as long as you are keeping shots within the buffer space of the camera (can be up to 40 shots or more), you're OK. Once you overflow that buffer though, you're subjected to the speed difference between solid-state and the Microdrive. There's also about a 4-second spin-up time for the Microdrive - that's a real pain in the ass when you want a quick look at the shots you just took.
Also, one also shouldn't overlook some of the other potential drawbacks of Microdrives - such as incompatibility and heat generation. There are reports of earlier Microdrives creating so much heat that they melted the plastic in Nikon D1s. Granted, this isn't nearly as much of a problem in more recent revisions, but it's still a concern to some.
Microdrives have also had compatibility problems with some Pro and Pro-sumer equipment. Nikon wouldn't recommend their use in the D1H for a long time due to some goofy problem that would cause the camera to hang.
Slashdot Mirror
Worrying about your hard drive going out is pretty silly, considering that Steam lets you re-download a copy of your game to ANY computer onto which you've installed Steam and your credentials.
In a way, it's the exact opposite...Steam IS the ultimate backup.
-JT
The sad thing about the Google Desktop is that, for the moment at least, it only supports things like the official AOL Instant Messenger software, Internet Explorer, and Outlook/Outlook Express.
And I thought Google was supposed to be this big challenger to Microsoft???
It would be nice to see support for Trillian and other IM clients in addition to Firefox/Thunderbird. I'm hopeful that this will come to fruition, I really can't see how it wouldn't. I can understand the strategy of releasing for these apps though, because of course every computer with Windows preinstalled likely has them.
-JT
Not precisely cheating, as the rules are set up to play this way...but this certainly violates the spirit of the original Prisoner's Dilemma. Why?
Real prisoners only get to choose ONCE.
By taking advantage of the multiple-iteration aspect of the simulation with this sort of 'portknocking' strategy, the winning programs kind of take a cheap shot at the original PD.
Of course, it's all hypothetical anyway, and come to think of it Tit For Tat technically takes advantage of the multiple-iteration aspect as well by doing whatever the opponent did the last time...
Ah well, at least the Wikipedia entry makes a distinction between regular "Prisoner's Dilemma" and "Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma".
Sounded at first like OQO the company was for sale. My fist thought was, "Sheesh...after all this waiting!". Kind of like your woman telling you at the last minute that she's got a headache :-)
-JT
So this is what you get when you put a bunch of rocket scientists together and tell them to write a "Hello, World?" app?
-JT
This sounds a lot like the "Earth" app in Neil Stephenson's "Snowcrash". Just not real-time and with as much detail :) Still, would be cool to see it integrated into Second Life or one of the other virtual worlds....
-JT
"We are, as you heard, taking one of the major pillars of Longhorn and changing how we deliver that."
And now it all comes together! MS == Krikkit, and Hactar, in the form of Bill Gates, has come to reclaim the Wooden Pillar.
Anyone got a towel?
-JT
"It's time to kick ass and chew Bubble *YUM*...and I'm all out of Bubble *YUM*"
:)
-JT
Here's to hoping this has something to do with Princess Leia in Jabba's Palace :)
-JT
"Starter Edition allows only three applications to be run concurrently. According to Microsoft, this limitation 'helps [users] stay organized and reduces confusion.'"
Hm, so that is to say that it keeps you from starting another instead of merely crashing like the copy on my desktop?
:-)
-JT
You can't make the statement that "This was tried around 15 years ago by Virtuality", because the technology in question isn't VR...it's a moving floor. Virtuality did indeed create a fairly complete VR system, but this did not...repeat did not include a moving floor. The dais that the user stood on did include position sensors though (one on the helmet and one around your waist), so perhaps that is where the confusion comes in.
-JT
You don't take Microsoft...Microsoft takes YOU!
Yeah, Microsoft will be taking Sony...
...In the ASS!
:P
-JT
I was under the impression that all of this was handled by The Architect!
:)
-JT
How can you have a post on graphic novels without including Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series? ;)
:)
Seriously, this is some of the most amazing stuff ever to come out, both with respect to storyline and art. Gaiman is a master wordsmith and weaves elements of ancient religion, existential philosophy, and wry british humor into his works. More here, here, and at Gaiman's Blog.
Seriously, check it out. This stuff is awesome
-JT
Another PeopleSoft SNAFU is at the University of Missouri. They have been working on their project for > 5 years and are STILL using their old COBOL-based mainframe system. Millions of dollars down the drain because the pointy-headed academic administrators can't lead their way out of a wet paper bag.
-JT
Seeing as how submissions of old stories are getting front page attention now on Slashdot...
As reported by The San Fransico Chronicle: BRAVES WIN THE WORLD SERIES! Congrats to the Atlanta nine as they walked off the field triumphant.
-JT
- In Soviet Russia...PHP stacks YOU!
/. article about PHP OpenGL
- WHY DOESN'T SLASHDOT MIRROR THIS PHP TCP/IP STACK AND SAVE THIS POOR BASTARD THE DEATH OF HIS SERVER?
1. Read
2. Write equally useless TCP/IP stack in PHP
3. Write lame webserver utilizing useless TCP/IP stack
4. ?????
-JT
My question is, does the new G5 implement liquid cooling because of need (i.e. fans aren't enough), or do they just want to quiet things down some.
I really hope that Apple hasn't just become the biggest SUP4R 0verclox0r of them all...
-JT
So this conglomeration of PHP and Ming will let you download the latest Britney Spears single while protecting you from the RIAA???
:)
-JT
Similar to gun control measures, this only does one thing - takes a perfectly legal thing out of the hands of law-abiding people.
In this case, circumventing the technology (PARTICULARLY IF IT'S IN AN OSS PROJECT!) will prove to be fairly trivial to criminal counterfeiters. I myself can think of several ways that would take all of 5 minutes, although I won't share them here because I don't want the black helicopters landing on my front lawn.
In the meantime, some 37-year-old woman, with no criminal intent, trying to scan money to use in some car dealer's newspaper ad (DEALS DEALS! CASH BACK!) is going to go crazy. Likewise for the Art 101 student trying to make a collage out of GWB's face and the US $100. Likewise for the vending machine engineer trying to scan bills to teach the reader how to recognize them. And so on...
-JT
On the Nikons, this difference between CF and Microdrive is readily apparent.
It's true that as long as you are keeping shots within the buffer space of the camera (can be up to 40 shots or more), you're OK. Once you overflow that buffer though, you're subjected to the speed difference between solid-state and the Microdrive. There's also about a 4-second spin-up time for the Microdrive - that's a real pain in the ass when you want a quick look at the shots you just took.
Also, one also shouldn't overlook some of the other potential drawbacks of Microdrives - such as incompatibility and heat generation. There are reports of earlier Microdrives creating so much heat that they melted the plastic in Nikon D1s. Granted, this isn't nearly as much of a problem in more recent revisions, but it's still a concern to some.
Microdrives have also had compatibility problems with some Pro and Pro-sumer equipment. Nikon wouldn't recommend their use in the D1H for a long time due to some goofy problem that would cause the camera to hang.
-JT
Who would ever need a view camera? Who would ever like to shoot photos that can be printed at mural size?
Answer: Lots of folks. Not a ton mind you, but enough that the demand has already been proven on the film-technology side of the aisle.
Not everyone is a sorority girl shooting party pics to be emailed or printed out at 3x5...
-JT