There's one thing in reality that I find very unrealistic, and I don't like it when I see it in games either. If you walk by something like a white picket fence and the fence branches off at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the direction you are walking, then if you look through the fence at the other fence you'll get this sickly effect: Every few steps the fence will appear to be a solid wall in places as the holes in the front fence will match the fence in the second. For a moment you'll see something that looks like a glitch
This works with most kinds of fences. When you're head is in exactly the right place the fences overlap in the precise way to maximize obstruction. To the eye it looks just like a fence pixelating. It's especially bad when you're just the right distance from the fence such that the area when this happens is a couple inches. This makes it to bobbing your head back and forth will completely remove the effect, and completely introduce it-- looking completely like a glitch.
I've never seen direct connect mentioned on any of these studies or warnings. Even when my school, RIT, got warned and passed the warnings on to the students, they only complained about Kazaa and not direct connect, despite the fact that it is much larger on campus. Is there some big thing about Kazaa that I'm missing? No matter how rare the item is that I'm looking for, I'm sure to find several people that have it. I've never seen a reason to use anything else (yet).
Someone could implement that through an extension, couldn't they? I didn't actually download 0.9.2 to fix it, I just installed an extension which fixes the vulnerability. Now if they could just run some extensions the moment you install them they'd be ahead of IE (no browser restart). I'll admit this would be minor but it's a real gain as far as the mental picture of the program.
I think I can sum up everything you're feeling any every other fallout fan is feeling with one word.
*dance*
Seriously knowing this is on track I'm completely forgetting about Doom 3 and Half-life 2. What's so great about Fallout? Well finding an exploded whale carcass in the desert with a flowerpot next to it is a good start. Having your ear bitten off in a boxing match is also nice. Don't forget about the knights searching for the holy grail (who yes, have a holy hand grenade on them). Not only is the game/genre great fun but the sheer number of easter eggs in fallout 2 is astonishing. There is even a literal easter egg (you have to click on the correct pixel in a certain scene to get it).
Ok I'm going to be too psyched to sleep tonight. Is it too early to preorder?
Your "parser"? This is slashdot; you most certainly belong here.
Instead of nitpicking my not quoting "and" you could have pointed out that my first 'sentence' as it were is actually a sentence fragment with or without the quoted "and". I'm sure you parsed over your own reply several times to make sure you didn't have an error lest you look like an even greater fool. While your statement is grammatically correct your basic assumption is wrong: I did not flame anyone. I pointed out the all too common irony of his post without attacking him personally. You, on the other hand, spoke of the failures of me instead of my ideas. That constitutes a flame, and this is an anti-flame.
Starting a sentence with and, then not finish the sentence (fragment) and using "worst" instead of worse.. Yes, you are right. I didn't think it could get any worse than that.
You had a good piece on neural networks in there so I thought I'd reply about my own experiences. I've made a few networks from scratch in C++ and tried to train it a few things. From the problems I was having I came to the conclusion that we're training these analog thinkers to solve digital problems, and it's not working so well. Is this a mammal? That's a yes or no question and it is hard to teach a network to answer it. I think neural networks are much better at doing things such as "which". Which animal has the most "mammal essence". One thing I am thinking about doing is giving a cross-sectional view of a city and asking which building is the tallest. I think a network would be much better at answering that.
Another problem is the physical aspect: how many neurons does it take, how should they be linked, and can new ones be grown to solve the problem? I think the 2nd problem is very important. Will every problem be a straight shot input to output 2d map of neurons or will there be backwards traversal? Will these systems settle on a given output or be constantly slightly changing? If you look at an object and decide what it is, your mind will start making things out of it. If you ask a neural network what animal something is and show it a house cat, it's not at all incorrect for it to come up with "Lion" after selecting "Cat". The network is simply thinking about what it is seeing. Again, this implies feedback. I remember seeing one basic model of a neural network where every output node was also an input node. This is a good start but it assumes that no internal thoughts loop back which I believe is incorrect.
As for other issues.. how many neurons? may more grow? I suppose if we truely want a system to be completely organic then we want to start with just the input and output nodes. Let the network figure out that it can't figure it out, and try to guess at the best places to add neurons. I don't know if this has already been done, but I think it's safe to say it hasn't been done well.
I am very interested in this subject and being a computer engineer (er, in school) I am really looking forward to the hardware that can be designed using neural networks for processing.
I didn't bother checking to see if there was an aritcle attached to this story so I obviously haven't read it. I got the jist of your message and I agree.
I don't really mind Starbucks coffee. Yes it is a little burnt, but their cold drinks are really nice on a hot day (although they make you sweat profusely). That being said I probably would rather go to a smaller joint just for regular coffee, but I've only seen one before. In Shrewsbury, MA there's one called Lala Java (or something like that). Doing a quick search I see there's one in California. It didn't look like it but is there some sort of a chain going on?
How do people generally feel about Dunkin' Donut's coffee? It seems to me that they are trying to compete on par with Starbucks. At least in Mass, they're kicking Starbucks' asses.
Offtopic slightly but I had a question about the traveling salesman problem. Back in a computer science course we made a genetic algorithm to solve it. Then optionally for extra credit we could solve another problem very similiar to the traveling salesman. The name was almost the same with maybe a one word difference. Instead of there being a cost for each transit and having to traverse them all, there was a cost for each node (I think) and a start and a finish. Does anyone know the name of this problem or more details about it? I checked the top TSP google results but none mentioned it.
Sorry I didn't RTFM, but I think that's missing the point. What you are describing is using one computer to be a terminal for another computer. I believe what they mean is one computer being a terminal to your data. That is your data may not exist on a personal system of your own, but more of a ubiquitous system where your stuff may not be in any specific location at any time. Imagine an system with hundreds of millions of nodes just with plain old data. You log in through a terminal (probably holds data, perhaps not yours) and access your things. It then sends out data requests across the entire network much the day your own computer requests the memory from cache, then ram, then storage. Perhaps using some sort of routability internally (look up table, get something like an IP addres) it is directed towards your data. Perhaps frequent access to a specific terminal will have a consqeunce of your data being closer to that terminal (or even on it) in the network.
I'm pretty sure this is the ultimate goal however there are mammoth things to overcome. A short list: bandwidth up the arse, security up the arse, redundancy up the arse, and omnipotence (this word already implies up the arse). This also opens up the door to grid computing (sigh.. up the arse) as any currently unused machine can be instantly recognized and put to use for systems currently loaded (where it can help). Every little bit usually helps.
My phone isn't bad by my standards. The only thing they are doing with phones which I like is making them smaller. I'd like mine to be as flat as possible, while of course still having the strength required to hold its shape. My phome has a very soft ring that apparently only I can hear. It came with four free games, one is slightly amusing (bowling). The reception from the company (AT&T) has never fallen below two bars from the top (whatever that really means) across 4 states. The battery life takes me most of a week, if not longer (I really don't pay attention).
The phone was free (exchange for soul), and I really like it. It doesn't have any silly camera in it or anything else to get me arrested. There are a few unneeded features but I can get away without using them without too much hassle.
I am posting this because before I got a cell phone I really didn't want one because I wanted a phone matching the description that you describe. I've dropped it and it's fine. There is a screen protecting the screen (removable face plate) so I'm pretty sure I'm good to go.
Slashdot Mirror
I'd like to see you play defense in bowling. Or golf. I'll bring the camera, you bring the ambulance.
See replies to this post for witty comments.
I totally differentiated that zebra. Even if he somehow manages to integrate he'll never really know where he was before.
Don't forget the performance enhancing drugs. Oh yeah, and the hot chicks!
but the media is tightly controlled by a consotrium of owners.
Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Immelt for starters. Throw in a couple more names and you have half the newspapers in the US.
There's one thing in reality that I find very unrealistic, and I don't like it when I see it in games either. If you walk by something like a white picket fence and the fence branches off at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the direction you are walking, then if you look through the fence at the other fence you'll get this sickly effect: Every few steps the fence will appear to be a solid wall in places as the holes in the front fence will match the fence in the second. For a moment you'll see something that looks like a glitch
:-P
This works with most kinds of fences. When you're head is in exactly the right place the fences overlap in the precise way to maximize obstruction. To the eye it looks just like a fence pixelating. It's especially bad when you're just the right distance from the fence such that the area when this happens is a couple inches. This makes it to bobbing your head back and forth will completely remove the effect, and completely introduce it-- looking completely like a glitch.
I'm not alone, right?
If this searches IRC channels too, we'll be set for life!
Obviously not your life, as you don't have one.
Of course you're entirely correct. However if there's any lesson I've ever learned, it's that people don't learn their lessons.
I've never seen direct connect mentioned on any of these studies or warnings. Even when my school, RIT, got warned and passed the warnings on to the students, they only complained about Kazaa and not direct connect, despite the fact that it is much larger on campus. Is there some big thing about Kazaa that I'm missing? No matter how rare the item is that I'm looking for, I'm sure to find several people that have it. I've never seen a reason to use anything else (yet).
Without RFID all they have to fall back on is Gamera and Japan's legion of super robots.
Ahh! Internet explorer is on red alert for cry'n out glavin! With the security holes, and the unpatched bugs and the laaaaw suuuits!
</frink>
Someone could implement that through an extension, couldn't they? I didn't actually download 0.9.2 to fix it, I just installed an extension which fixes the vulnerability. Now if they could just run some extensions the moment you install them they'd be ahead of IE (no browser restart). I'll admit this would be minor but it's a real gain as far as the mental picture of the program.
I think I can sum up everything you're feeling any every other fallout fan is feeling with one word.
*dance*
Seriously knowing this is on track I'm completely forgetting about Doom 3 and Half-life 2. What's so great about Fallout? Well finding an exploded whale carcass in the desert with a flowerpot next to it is a good start. Having your ear bitten off in a boxing match is also nice. Don't forget about the knights searching for the holy grail (who yes, have a holy hand grenade on them). Not only is the game/genre great fun but the sheer number of easter eggs in fallout 2 is astonishing. There is even a literal easter egg (you have to click on the correct pixel in a certain scene to get it).
Ok I'm going to be too psyched to sleep tonight. Is it too early to preorder?
386... 486.. what are we going to call the FIVE 86? pent... hmm.. ium? Well I answered half of it for you. My guess is "ium" just sounds good.
1978: 8086 processor is released
1979-Present: Regret
I think many of you will know exactly what I mean.
Your "parser"? This is slashdot; you most certainly belong here. Instead of nitpicking my not quoting "and" you could have pointed out that my first 'sentence' as it were is actually a sentence fragment with or without the quoted "and". I'm sure you parsed over your own reply several times to make sure you didn't have an error lest you look like an even greater fool. While your statement is grammatically correct your basic assumption is wrong: I did not flame anyone. I pointed out the all too common irony of his post without attacking him personally. You, on the other hand, spoke of the failures of me instead of my ideas. That constitutes a flame, and this is an anti-flame.
Starting a sentence with and, then not finish the sentence (fragment) and using "worst" instead of worse.. Yes, you are right. I didn't think it could get any worse than that.
That's my email address!
You had a good piece on neural networks in there so I thought I'd reply about my own experiences. I've made a few networks from scratch in C++ and tried to train it a few things. From the problems I was having I came to the conclusion that we're training these analog thinkers to solve digital problems, and it's not working so well. Is this a mammal? That's a yes or no question and it is hard to teach a network to answer it. I think neural networks are much better at doing things such as "which". Which animal has the most "mammal essence". One thing I am thinking about doing is giving a cross-sectional view of a city and asking which building is the tallest. I think a network would be much better at answering that.
Another problem is the physical aspect: how many neurons does it take, how should they be linked, and can new ones be grown to solve the problem? I think the 2nd problem is very important. Will every problem be a straight shot input to output 2d map of neurons or will there be backwards traversal? Will these systems settle on a given output or be constantly slightly changing? If you look at an object and decide what it is, your mind will start making things out of it. If you ask a neural network what animal something is and show it a house cat, it's not at all incorrect for it to come up with "Lion" after selecting "Cat". The network is simply thinking about what it is seeing. Again, this implies feedback. I remember seeing one basic model of a neural network where every output node was also an input node. This is a good start but it assumes that no internal thoughts loop back which I believe is incorrect.
As for other issues.. how many neurons? may more grow? I suppose if we truely want a system to be completely organic then we want to start with just the input and output nodes. Let the network figure out that it can't figure it out, and try to guess at the best places to add neurons. I don't know if this has already been done, but I think it's safe to say it hasn't been done well.
I am very interested in this subject and being a computer engineer (er, in school) I am really looking forward to the hardware that can be designed using neural networks for processing.
Green Energy From Manhattan's East River
What are they doing, burning it?
I didn't bother checking to see if there was an aritcle attached to this story so I obviously haven't read it. I got the jist of your message and I agree.
I won't switch to Apple as I'd just see it as just another victory for the metrosexual movement.
Disclaimer: Move along. This is a joke, girlfriend.
I don't really mind Starbucks coffee. Yes it is a little burnt, but their cold drinks are really nice on a hot day (although they make you sweat profusely). That being said I probably would rather go to a smaller joint just for regular coffee, but I've only seen one before. In Shrewsbury, MA there's one called Lala Java (or something like that). Doing a quick search I see there's one in California. It didn't look like it but is there some sort of a chain going on?
How do people generally feel about Dunkin' Donut's coffee? It seems to me that they are trying to compete on par with Starbucks. At least in Mass, they're kicking Starbucks' asses.
Offtopic slightly but I had a question about the traveling salesman problem. Back in a computer science course we made a genetic algorithm to solve it. Then optionally for extra credit we could solve another problem very similiar to the traveling salesman. The name was almost the same with maybe a one word difference. Instead of there being a cost for each transit and having to traverse them all, there was a cost for each node (I think) and a start and a finish. Does anyone know the name of this problem or more details about it? I checked the top TSP google results but none mentioned it.
Thanks
Sorry I didn't RTFM, but I think that's missing the point. What you are describing is using one computer to be a terminal for another computer. I believe what they mean is one computer being a terminal to your data. That is your data may not exist on a personal system of your own, but more of a ubiquitous system where your stuff may not be in any specific location at any time. Imagine an system with hundreds of millions of nodes just with plain old data. You log in through a terminal (probably holds data, perhaps not yours) and access your things. It then sends out data requests across the entire network much the day your own computer requests the memory from cache, then ram, then storage. Perhaps using some sort of routability internally (look up table, get something like an IP addres) it is directed towards your data. Perhaps frequent access to a specific terminal will have a consqeunce of your data being closer to that terminal (or even on it) in the network.
I'm pretty sure this is the ultimate goal however there are mammoth things to overcome. A short list: bandwidth up the arse, security up the arse, redundancy up the arse, and omnipotence (this word already implies up the arse). This also opens up the door to grid computing (sigh.. up the arse) as any currently unused machine can be instantly recognized and put to use for systems currently loaded (where it can help). Every little bit usually helps.
My phone isn't bad by my standards. The only thing they are doing with phones which I like is making them smaller. I'd like mine to be as flat as possible, while of course still having the strength required to hold its shape. My phome has a very soft ring that apparently only I can hear. It came with four free games, one is slightly amusing (bowling). The reception from the company (AT&T) has never fallen below two bars from the top (whatever that really means) across 4 states. The battery life takes me most of a week, if not longer (I really don't pay attention).
The phone was free (exchange for soul), and I really like it. It doesn't have any silly camera in it or anything else to get me arrested. There are a few unneeded features but I can get away without using them without too much hassle.
I am posting this because before I got a cell phone I really didn't want one because I wanted a phone matching the description that you describe. I've dropped it and it's fine. There is a screen protecting the screen (removable face plate) so I'm pretty sure I'm good to go.