Yeah, but a common complaint of CIL-based languages is that they all look suspiciously like C# in the end. Since I've never written Smalltalk et al. for.NET, I don't know, but it's certainly the case that the only widespread languages in use for the CLR are C# and VB.NET, so the multiple languages thing seems like a bit of a lame duck.
However, Python, which bears little resemblance to Java, runs very nicely on the JVM thanks to the Jython project, and can import and use Java's class libraries and so forth. So maybe the JVM (and Java byte code) is more generalised than you thought.
Unfortunately, MS Research has one of the worst efficiency records around (according to this week's issue of The Economist). Despite the vast funds pumped into it, their record of innovation is abysmal. So maybe we can make some assumptions here about who invented what first.
I'm a developer. For me, it's rather extreme underground metal - currently Arsis, Darkthrone, Weakling, Drudkh, a bit of Burzum, Finntroll, and many more. Those wacky Finns with their polka - that is some good stuff.
I make $90 000 a year, and I don't have a 50% tax rate. Where on earth do you get your figures?
The cost of living is less here. It is safe, the roads are fixed (not like the nightmares I had to deal with in New Jersey), and we don't let 25% of our population go without medical care. It seems worth it to pay a bit more in taxes when the reward is a better society.
Yes, and our cinematic treatment of them often glosses this over in a big way. Witness the new movie "Troy", which totally fails to mention the love affair of Achilles and Patroclus. Instead, Achilles is a totally straight sex god, which is pretty funny.
Fighting, philosophy lite, a troubled personality, and tons of sex with hot chicks - your standard Hollywood hero, according to "Troy".
I'm a computer programmer of nearly 10 years. Not to brag, but I climb rock pretty well: when fit, I redpoint 5.12 cracks and 5.13- sport. Yes, I can do a one-armed pull up.
So furious masturbation does work, I guess. Also, such are the advantages of living in Vancouver: proximity to Squamish and the Coast Range.
I also like to juggle a bit, and I'm a longstanding cyclist (commuting only these days). So I suppose I have the geek sports thing covered, except for martial arts.
I agree with all that you've said, except I'm not exclusively a "lit geek". I liked "Cryptonomicon" quite a bit, like I said. I read "Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion" probably once every year or two. I've read other classic SF like "Dune" probably a half-dozen times. I also like Philip K. Dick a lot (although he is pretty uneven). And so on.
I too like the whole "carried away" feeling one gets from reading, but neat ideas by themselves aren't enough. In other words, that feeling comes from well-written fiction that also contains enough invention to really transport me. Some SF has it; most doesn't, because the writing is generally so poor. Writers like Cormac Macarthy have it - if you haven't read "Blood Meridian" or "Child of God", you should check them out; both are quite horrifying.
I agree about Franzen. Boring, boring.
Here's another one for you: Elmore Leonard. No SF in sight, but enough incredible writing and great plots to make you feel like you're right in the middle of a pack of dimwitted thugs plotting some ludicrous scam. It's the kind of writing where you eventually glance at the clock and just can't believe that three hours have passed. This is the kind of writing more SF needs. Imagine how much better "Perdido Street Station" might have been if in the hands of a competent writer.
The reviewer says "Snow Crash" is of "another class completely", implying that it's really good or something. I thought "Snow Crash" sucked. It was just silly, and the writing wasn't very good. That book sees so much undeserved hype, and I can't figure out why. "Cryptonomicon" was much better, although let's face it, that's pretty faint praise.
So if the reviewer is a fan of "Snow Crash" and enjoyed this novel too, then maybe I'll give it a pass. And first I have to finish William Golding's "Pincher Martin". Now there's another class completely...
You would choose Win32 over MFC?? Gaaaah. MFC was not wonderful, but it greatly simplified app development on Windows. Apparently every application company out there felt the same way, because Win32 was swiftly abandoned (along with competing class libraries like OWL) once MFC and Visual C++ became usable (around VC++ 4.2, if I recall - sometime in 1996).
Personally, I'm busy learning PyQt and PyKDE for fun. This is the way to do app development - Python is a nice language with the ease and speed of development of VB but without its general horribleness. I think the combination of Python and Qt (and even better, the KDE libraries, if you are targeting KDE only) is fantastic.
The only people I can think of who still write GUI apps in C are the Gnome/GTK types with way too much time on their hands. In places I've worked in the past, I think you'd get canned for even suggesting it.
You're absolutely correct, it really is indexed to where you live. I make $70 000 a year as a developer, and given my location, I can't buy a place to live. I will seemingly rent forever:(
Then again, Vancouver is a very nice city, so I can't really complain.
Qt/Windows is at version 3.01. Many successful Windows-based commercial apps have been written with it, by many different customers ranging from Adobe to Intel to NASA. It looks great on Windows XP, by the way. You are talking out of your ass here.
Really? Try running an X app over dial-up, or even DSL. MS's RDP can do it, and do it well. How come X can't? Because X is bandwidth hungry. For a LAN it's okay, I guess. Add to this the other problems the grandparent post mentions, and you'll quickly realise its time has come.
If there are other ways to do the same job better, shouldn't they be explored? Assuming that X is some perfect protocol is just stupid.
Because greater awareness of scientific study and method is good for our culture in general? Because it's an effective way to combat pseudoscience, superstition, quackery, and so forth?
Sagan's role wasn't just as a scientific entertainer. That's why your film analogy is flawed. He tried to teach people to think skeptically and to recognise the wonderful world and universe we live in without resorting to fringe-dwelling nuttiness, religion, or whatever.
I know, there is a capitalist argument here: if there was sufficient widespread demand for the magazine, then prices would drop and profits would increase due to increased sales.
I guess we won't know until those magazines make it easier to subscribe or to get information from them. Paying is fine, but it takes a really massive enthusiast to subscribe at their current rates.
To be honest, I don't know what the solution is. But making access to original scientific research easier for everyone is only a good thing.
Evolution is a) non-commercial except for the optional connector part and b) not popular, except in Linux circles, and even there it has effective competition (I use Kmail, for example).
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, but a common complaint of CIL-based languages is that they all look suspiciously like C# in the end. Since I've never written Smalltalk et al. for .NET, I don't know, but it's certainly the case that the only widespread languages in use for the CLR are C# and VB.NET, so the multiple languages thing seems like a bit of a lame duck.
However, Python, which bears little resemblance to Java, runs very nicely on the JVM thanks to the Jython project, and can import and use Java's class libraries and so forth. So maybe the JVM (and Java byte code) is more generalised than you thought.
Unfortunately, MS Research has one of the worst efficiency records around (according to this week's issue of The Economist). Despite the vast funds pumped into it, their record of innovation is abysmal. So maybe we can make some assumptions here about who invented what first.
"Too bad they're Canadian, though....."
Fuck you too, shithead.
Actually, this AC is right.
http://world.std.com/~mhuben/faq.html
http://www.sethf.com/essays/major/libstupid.php
Libertarianism is naive and silly. Thankfully, it has no chance of ever going anywhere close to an elected office.
Wow. Well done. I buy minor items on eBay, and I've always wondered what would happen to scammers. Now I know.
I guess a bunch of people owe you a pat on the back, eh?
I'm a developer. For me, it's rather extreme underground metal - currently Arsis, Darkthrone, Weakling, Drudkh, a bit of Burzum, Finntroll, and many more. Those wacky Finns with their polka - that is some good stuff.
I make $90 000 a year, and I don't have a 50% tax rate. Where on earth do you get your figures?
The cost of living is less here. It is safe, the roads are fixed (not like the nightmares I had to deal with in New Jersey), and we don't let 25% of our population go without medical care. It seems worth it to pay a bit more in taxes when the reward is a better society.
You certainly live up to your name.
Harpers
Economist
Skeptical Enquirer
Saturday edition of the Globe and Mail on occasion
That's about it. The rest comes from the web.
Yeah, because sex is just so evil, ain't that right y'all? Praise the Lord! Smart people should NEVER be horny!
1. KDE has been defining its UI with XML for years.
2. Mozilla did XAML first. They called it XUL, though.
3. KDE has Java bindings to do all sorts of stuff, like write applications or whatever.
4. Through KDE's DCOP, you can script applications to respond to whatever events you want, with whatever language you want.
5. Python isn't as slow as you think it is.
Before bashing things, you should probably learn about what the hell it is you're talking about.
Are you a Christian? Or just incredibly fucking stupid?
No one writes professional Windows apps in gtk/glib/gdk. Why do you think that is?
Hint: gtk is garbage on Windows.
Yes, and our cinematic treatment of them often glosses this over in a big way. Witness the new movie "Troy", which totally fails to mention the love affair of Achilles and Patroclus. Instead, Achilles is a totally straight sex god, which is pretty funny.
Fighting, philosophy lite, a troubled personality, and tons of sex with hot chicks - your standard Hollywood hero, according to "Troy".
How come you right wing retards never seem to log in?
I'm a computer programmer of nearly 10 years. Not to brag, but I climb rock pretty well: when fit, I redpoint 5.12 cracks and 5.13- sport. Yes, I can do a one-armed pull up.
So furious masturbation does work, I guess. Also, such are the advantages of living in Vancouver: proximity to Squamish and the Coast Range.
I also like to juggle a bit, and I'm a longstanding cyclist (commuting only these days). So I suppose I have the geek sports thing covered, except for martial arts.
Thanks for the clarification. I didn't want to come across as insulting...I'm mostly just bewildered by the exalted status of "Snow Crash", I guess.
The analogy with "Slaughterhouse Five" is a good one. Thanks again.
I agree with all that you've said, except I'm not exclusively a "lit geek". I liked "Cryptonomicon" quite a bit, like I said. I read "Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion" probably once every year or two. I've read other classic SF like "Dune" probably a half-dozen times. I also like Philip K. Dick a lot (although he is pretty uneven). And so on.
I too like the whole "carried away" feeling one gets from reading, but neat ideas by themselves aren't enough. In other words, that feeling comes from well-written fiction that also contains enough invention to really transport me. Some SF has it; most doesn't, because the writing is generally so poor. Writers like Cormac Macarthy have it - if you haven't read "Blood Meridian" or "Child of God", you should check them out; both are quite horrifying.
I agree about Franzen. Boring, boring.
Here's another one for you: Elmore Leonard. No SF in sight, but enough incredible writing and great plots to make you feel like you're right in the middle of a pack of dimwitted thugs plotting some ludicrous scam. It's the kind of writing where you eventually glance at the clock and just can't believe that three hours have passed. This is the kind of writing more SF needs. Imagine how much better "Perdido Street Station" might have been if in the hands of a competent writer.
The reviewer says "Snow Crash" is of "another class completely", implying that it's really good or something. I thought "Snow Crash" sucked. It was just silly, and the writing wasn't very good. That book sees so much undeserved hype, and I can't figure out why. "Cryptonomicon" was much better, although let's face it, that's pretty faint praise.
So if the reviewer is a fan of "Snow Crash" and enjoyed this novel too, then maybe I'll give it a pass. And first I have to finish William Golding's "Pincher Martin". Now there's another class completely...
You would choose Win32 over MFC?? Gaaaah. MFC was not wonderful, but it greatly simplified app development on Windows. Apparently every application company out there felt the same way, because Win32 was swiftly abandoned (along with competing class libraries like OWL) once MFC and Visual C++ became usable (around VC++ 4.2, if I recall - sometime in 1996).
Personally, I'm busy learning PyQt and PyKDE for fun. This is the way to do app development - Python is a nice language with the ease and speed of development of VB but without its general horribleness. I think the combination of Python and Qt (and even better, the KDE libraries, if you are targeting KDE only) is fantastic.
The only people I can think of who still write GUI apps in C are the Gnome/GTK types with way too much time on their hands. In places I've worked in the past, I think you'd get canned for even suggesting it.
You're absolutely correct, it really is indexed to where you live. I make $70 000 a year as a developer, and given my location, I can't buy a place to live. I will seemingly rent forever :(
Then again, Vancouver is a very nice city, so I can't really complain.
Qt/Windows is at version 3.01. Many successful Windows-based commercial apps have been written with it, by many different customers ranging from Adobe to Intel to NASA. It looks great on Windows XP, by the way. You are talking out of your ass here.
Really? Try running an X app over dial-up, or even DSL. MS's RDP can do it, and do it well. How come X can't? Because X is bandwidth hungry. For a LAN it's okay, I guess. Add to this the other problems the grandparent post mentions, and you'll quickly realise its time has come.
If there are other ways to do the same job better, shouldn't they be explored? Assuming that X is some perfect protocol is just stupid.
Because greater awareness of scientific study and method is good for our culture in general? Because it's an effective way to combat pseudoscience, superstition, quackery, and so forth?
Sagan's role wasn't just as a scientific entertainer. That's why your film analogy is flawed. He tried to teach people to think skeptically and to recognise the wonderful world and universe we live in without resorting to fringe-dwelling nuttiness, religion, or whatever.
I know, there is a capitalist argument here: if there was sufficient widespread demand for the magazine, then prices would drop and profits would increase due to increased sales.
I guess we won't know until those magazines make it easier to subscribe or to get information from them. Paying is fine, but it takes a really massive enthusiast to subscribe at their current rates.
To be honest, I don't know what the solution is. But making access to original scientific research easier for everyone is only a good thing.
Evolution is a) non-commercial except for the optional connector part and b) not popular, except in Linux circles, and even there it has effective competition (I use Kmail, for example).
Bad example.