Yes with respect to Dolby Digital. No with respects to low-level re-routing, not to my knowledge. Of course someone with hardware skills (not me) could just come up with a small box with a switch that rewires the signals...
You could do something like that in Windows using the (free) ac3filter's output matrix. This matrix enables you to assign every channel to any output channel, including spreading a channel over several output channels. You can also save the configuration to a preset.
I'm sure other surround sound applications feature something akin to the output matrix.
No, they blow up in TV shows and movies because producers and probably the audience think it looks cool. As far as I know, real cars typically don't explode.
For what it's worth, 1 Euro per writable CD is extremely expensive. Here in Germany, it's more like 0.30 Euro and less, depending, of course, on how many you buy. That said, DVDs have been far cheaper per megabyte for a long time now, so that's what you'd probably use. 1 Euro per DVD seems about right, if and only if you buy just one - if you buy a spindle of 100 DVDs, it's more like 0.35 apiece. If CDs and DVDs are really that expensive in Finland, I'd seriously consider importing them...
There really was no need to set anything straight, the explanation the grandparent (and another poster) gives was sufficient in my eyes.
TBH I really don't think your definition is very good, either - a real item is an item that has an impact on your real life? So the reality of an item is dependent on the person? ("Well, the item is real to me!") And is reality gradable depending on how much impact an item has? Doesn't your virtual life have any impact on your real life, and if so, don't virtual items have an impact by that virtue? Isn't explaining real items by referring to real life a circular definition? That said, maybe your definition is actually better since it might more accurately reflect what people actually mean when using the word.
The files on the CD can only be used given the appropriate device (ie. audio CD player). The appropriate device for using the EQ2 items is a computer with an EQ2 subscription.
That said, I tend to agree given that additional explanation. Then again, if there was a way to transfer items from your EQ2 account (or from another game, possibly single player) and use them on a friends computer independently of the online game - would they be more real? E.g. Diablo 1 items on a CD? Granted, even if they were real, they'd have very little value since you can "create" them for free with trainers.
I don't see the relevance to my post...? Please enlighten me. The original poster said since A is better than B, A must be good. My point is, both can still be bad. As can be seen in: I'll either cut off your head (B) or I'll cut off your hand (A). A is better than B, both suck.
Yep, you're right. I had hoped nobody would notice.;) But I'd still wager that my computer could stand prolonged exposure to (relatively) high temperatures better than I could. Granted, I'm a sissy. But CPUs for instance are designed to run stable at up to 90C (core temp) - claims that the CPU temp needs to be below, say, 50C have wildly exaggerated safety windows for bad measurement. I'm not sure what my system would do when exposed to a 60C room - I don't have very effective cooling, most of my fans are not plugged in - but 50C should be fine.
No, the CD is real, the data still isn't any more real than before. You can also print a screenshot of the item and take it with you, or even install the game on your laptop and take it with you.
This has already been done. Not in any of the large fantasy MMORPGs (ie WOW, EQ, FFX, &c.), but many of the smaller MMORPGs offer items of various types for sale. There's this arcadish Worms-like online game the name of which eludes me - the Penny Arcade guys liked it, I thought it was terrible - anyway, I think they sell mounts and weapons and whatever. And then there is, of course, Project Entropia, of $30k-island fame. Since you can convert real currency into virtual currency (and back), everything you can buy in game is effectively bought with real currency.
And of course, both WOW and EQ2 (I think) offer special items for people who pre-ordered or bought the collectors edition, which, in the end, comes down to the same thing. None of those items really does anything with respects to game mechanics, though.
Physics, on the other hand, does not have the concept of meaning. Therefore, it is impossible to understand consciousness based solely on physics - or at least current physics are insufficient for the task.
Okay, that I can agree with. It also seems to be very much in line with things proposed by previous posters in this thread; one that we can't really talk about consciousness since we don't have any kind of rational (or maybe rather: physical) definition of it and two, that thus any seamingly meaningful discussion enters the realm of metaphysics. This all makes me doubt whether there really is such a thing as meaningful discussion on the topic (as opposed to the somewhat meaningful meta-discussion we're having).:)
It would be extremely difficult to explain even simple information-handling systems (such as the Linux kernel, for example) with nothing but physics
It'd probably be extremely painful to try and explain all the physics that go into running Linux on a specific computer. But obviously you don't have to do it all by yourself, and people have worked for a long time to establish the various physical notions that are part of computers. If they hadn't, we couldn't build the darned things. In the end, even programming languages can be viewed as extremely abstract descriptions of the physical processes involved in running the program. There are no meta-physics involved, despite the fact that it sometimes seems that way when using Linux or programming software. I really have no idea where you're going with that. Physics, or rather, natural science is not the wrong tool, it's the only tool in explaining this stuff.
But something else also happens: you experience "blueness." You have a sensation, one which cannot be reduced to words (the problem of trying to explain color to a blind man).
I'll have to attribute this to the difficulties you mentioned of talking about this stuff online and accept your apology, because I really don't know what you are talking about. Sorry.:)
I was making a joke. Most people, when asked to grade their own driving abilities, grade themselves as above average. Apparently, most people think that their own driving is great and it's just everybody else that's driving atrociously. Obviously, this isn't the case.
Judging by his post, the grandparent kind of fit into that whole crowd, even though he has just posted his own credentials which indicate that for what it's worth at the very least he seems to have a better than average driving record.
No, they are clearly supposed to go out and get one of the players that supports PlaysForSure, Microsoft's DRM FUD scheme. Motto: "Look for the PlaysForSure logo on Windowsbased Media Connect devices. Match it to the PlaysForSure logo on the hottest online music stores and you'll know the music will play for sure."
Note that the PlaysForSure site apparently is down, "An application error occurred on the server." Way to go, Microsoft!
Yes, driver support has always been a problem on the Windows platform. Haha. While I do get update drivers from the internet or a USB stick once I install a Windows system (disks? CDs? eek), saying you "must" do this for any MS operating systems. XP has a LOT of drivers available on the install CD, and many systems are at least usable with them on their own. Unless something has dramatically changed in the past year or so, XP still supports more (x86) devices out of the box than Linux, exceptions like your SCSI adapter nonwithstanding. And getting updated drivers on Windows usually is quite painless and done in minutes, while it's a fairly involved process in Linux.
And that of course makes total sense to you, but for a PC user that CD would have booted without human interaction.
That's true for some PCs, not for others. Changing boot options in the BIOS isn't exactly understandable for granny either. And actually, don't all Windows install CDs require you to press enter ("Press Enter to boot from CD" prompt)? But I guess granny might be able to figure that one out.
Eh, I wouldn't be too sure about that. I've got a budget laptop (Averatec), and it supports three pressure points. Only in Linux, though, the Windows driver doesn't seem to make use of it. Anyway, if my cheap laptop has that kind of a touchpad I figure most current models do.
Slashdot Mirror
Poor heise online servers, they just survived days of SYNflooding and now they're being slashdotted.
Yes with respect to Dolby Digital. No with respects to low-level re-routing, not to my knowledge. Of course someone with hardware skills (not me) could just come up with a small box with a switch that rewires the signals...
You could do something like that in Windows using the (free) ac3filter's output matrix. This matrix enables you to assign every channel to any output channel, including spreading a channel over several output channels. You can also save the configuration to a preset.
I'm sure other surround sound applications feature something akin to the output matrix.
No, they blow up in TV shows and movies because producers and probably the audience think it looks cool. As far as I know, real cars typically don't explode.
For what it's worth, 1 Euro per writable CD is extremely expensive. Here in Germany, it's more like 0.30 Euro and less, depending, of course, on how many you buy. That said, DVDs have been far cheaper per megabyte for a long time now, so that's what you'd probably use. 1 Euro per DVD seems about right, if and only if you buy just one - if you buy a spindle of 100 DVDs, it's more like 0.35 apiece. If CDs and DVDs are really that expensive in Finland, I'd seriously consider importing them...
Yep, Gunbound is what I was referring to. No critcism was intended, I'm sure it's a great game, if not for me.
There really was no need to set anything straight, the explanation the grandparent (and another poster) gives was sufficient in my eyes.
TBH I really don't think your definition is very good, either - a real item is an item that has an impact on your real life? So the reality of an item is dependent on the person? ("Well, the item is real to me!") And is reality gradable depending on how much impact an item has? Doesn't your virtual life have any impact on your real life, and if so, don't virtual items have an impact by that virtue? Isn't explaining real items by referring to real life a circular definition?
That said, maybe your definition is actually better since it might more accurately reflect what people actually mean when using the word.
The files on the CD can only be used given the appropriate device (ie. audio CD player). The appropriate device for using the EQ2 items is a computer with an EQ2 subscription.
That said, I tend to agree given that additional explanation. Then again, if there was a way to transfer items from your EQ2 account (or from another game, possibly single player) and use them on a friends computer independently of the online game - would they be more real? E.g. Diablo 1 items on a CD? Granted, even if they were real, they'd have very little value since you can "create" them for free with trainers.
I don't see the relevance to my post...? Please enlighten me. The original poster said since A is better than B, A must be good. My point is, both can still be bad. As can be seen in: I'll either cut off your head (B) or I'll cut off your hand (A). A is better than B, both suck.
Yep, you're right. I had hoped nobody would notice. ;) But I'd still wager that my computer could stand prolonged exposure to (relatively) high temperatures better than I could. Granted, I'm a sissy. But CPUs for instance are designed to run stable at up to 90C (core temp) - claims that the CPU temp needs to be below, say, 50C have wildly exaggerated safety windows for bad measurement. I'm not sure what my system would do when exposed to a 60C room - I don't have very effective cooling, most of my fans are not plugged in - but 50C should be fine.
No, the CD is real, the data still isn't any more real than before. You can also print a screenshot of the item and take it with you, or even install the game on your laptop and take it with you.
This has already been done. Not in any of the large fantasy MMORPGs (ie WOW, EQ, FFX, &c.), but many of the smaller MMORPGs offer items of various types for sale.
There's this arcadish Worms-like online game the name of which eludes me - the Penny Arcade guys liked it, I thought it was terrible - anyway, I think they sell mounts and weapons and whatever. And then there is, of course, Project Entropia, of $30k-island fame. Since you can convert real currency into virtual currency (and back), everything you can buy in game is effectively bought with real currency.
And of course, both WOW and EQ2 (I think) offer special items for people who pre-ordered or bought the collectors edition, which, in the end, comes down to the same thing. None of those items really does anything with respects to game mechanics, though.
Okay, you conveniently forgot to read 3 out of 4 paragraphs of the grandparent when replying to it! Nicely done. Here's a helpful link.
Amazingly enough, that doesn't mean that either choice is good. Just bad and worse. Obviously something a lot of Slashdotters can't seem to fathom.
Hmm how about third worlders now have a chance to earn money and gain computer skills while participating in recreational activities.
The only significant thing about this comment is the attidudes it reveals about those writing it.
My system would comfortably run at 60C (140F) ambient air temperature. I don't.
Physics, on the other hand, does not have the concept of meaning. Therefore, it is impossible to understand consciousness based solely on physics - or at least current physics are insufficient for the task.
:)
Okay, that I can agree with. It also seems to be very much in line with things proposed by previous posters in this thread; one that we can't really talk about consciousness since we don't have any kind of rational (or maybe rather: physical) definition of it and two, that thus any seamingly meaningful discussion enters the realm of metaphysics. This all makes me doubt whether there really is such a thing as meaningful discussion on the topic (as opposed to the somewhat meaningful meta-discussion we're having).
It would be extremely difficult to explain even simple information-handling systems (such as the Linux kernel, for example) with nothing but physics
It'd probably be extremely painful to try and explain all the physics that go into running Linux on a specific computer. But obviously you don't have to do it all by yourself, and people have worked for a long time to establish the various physical notions that are part of computers. If they hadn't, we couldn't build the darned things. In the end, even programming languages can be viewed as extremely abstract descriptions of the physical processes involved in running the program. There are no meta-physics involved, despite the fact that it sometimes seems that way when using Linux or programming software. I really have no idea where you're going with that. Physics, or rather, natural science is not the wrong tool, it's the only tool in explaining this stuff.
But something else also happens: you experience "blueness." You have a sensation, one which cannot be reduced to words (the problem of trying to explain color to a blind man).
:)
I'll have to attribute this to the difficulties you mentioned of talking about this stuff online and accept your apology, because I really don't know what you are talking about. Sorry.
I was making a joke. Most people, when asked to grade their own driving abilities, grade themselves as above average. Apparently, most people think that their own driving is great and it's just everybody else that's driving atrociously. Obviously, this isn't the case.
Judging by his post, the grandparent kind of fit into that whole crowd, even though he has just posted his own credentials which indicate that for what it's worth at the very least he seems to have a better than average driving record.
No, they are clearly supposed to go out and get one of the players that supports PlaysForSure, Microsoft's DRM FUD scheme. Motto: "Look for the PlaysForSure logo on Windowsbased Media Connect devices. Match it to the PlaysForSure logo on the hottest online music stores and you'll know the music will play for sure."
Note that the PlaysForSure site apparently is down, "An application error occurred on the server." Way to go, Microsoft!
The real problem is that most drivers have marginal skills.
Actually, nearly all people have better than average driving skills. That apparently includes you.
Yes, driver support has always been a problem on the Windows platform. Haha. While I do get update drivers from the internet or a USB stick once I install a Windows system (disks? CDs? eek), saying you "must" do this for any MS operating systems. XP has a LOT of drivers available on the install CD, and many systems are at least usable with them on their own. Unless something has dramatically changed in the past year or so, XP still supports more (x86) devices out of the box than Linux, exceptions like your SCSI adapter nonwithstanding. And getting updated drivers on Windows usually is quite painless and done in minutes, while it's a fairly involved process in Linux.
And that of course makes total sense to you, but for a PC user that CD would have booted without human interaction.
That's true for some PCs, not for others. Changing boot options in the BIOS isn't exactly understandable for granny either. And actually, don't all Windows install CDs require you to press enter ("Press Enter to boot from CD" prompt)? But I guess granny might be able to figure that one out.
Eh, I wouldn't be too sure about that. I've got a budget laptop (Averatec), and it supports three pressure points. Only in Linux, though, the Windows driver doesn't seem to make use of it. Anyway, if my cheap laptop has that kind of a touchpad I figure most current models do.