the only Nike shoes I have owned in years were a pair of leather boots that cost me $60 and lasted a year and a half, which were [sic] the best value that I could find...
when was the last time you saw a Nerd saying "Oh yah hey thats no problem, use slave labor if it'll save us a few bucks!"
I hear you saying it right now. Do you grasp the connection between *you* purchasing cheap shoes and *them* getting paid pennies to make said shoes? Apparently not.
The core point still remains. What distinguishes geeks/nerds from any other group? What about technical prowess and a fondness for hentai makes you more worthy to rule the world? You are an angry young man who spews revolutionary rhetoric. Thank the damn beancounters -- they're the ones that keep your water, electricity, and gas running. --the verb
The point remains, though, that most of the world's population would have to work for several weeks to buy that watch.
This does not mean that we should beat ourselves up over our good fortune, but it does make the original poster's "We're geeks! We're downtrodden!" rhetoric a bit silly.
Fuck the middle / upper class, let the Nerds rise up, w00t!
Yes. That's right.
The poor, downtrodden geeks of the world, whose disposable income allows them to play with technology more powerful than the entire planet's computational resources in the early 20th century.
The oppressed masses of software developers, mathematicians, and hardware engineers... The much-abused network administrator.
Perhaps we can take up a collection. I'm sure there's a sweatshop worker in Brazil who'll be thrilled to donate to the cause. After all, you paid his salary via Nike...
Who will use the service? Perhaps the millions of people who claimed they *wanted* to pay the artists, but had no legal alternative for easy-to-download-music.
Sadly, Napster's inevitable failure under Bertelsman will only confirm conventional industry wisdom: those who say they *want* to be legal are lying. Most users care more about getting their content for free than the 'convenience' they claimed Napster offered.
PNG files are NOT smaller than JPG when saved in full color.
A PNG file has higher potential image quality than JPG because of its lossless nature, and smaller file size than GIF due to a more efficient storage technique.
It is NOT smaller than JPG in true color, though. A 24 bit PNG image is freakin' huge.
All in all, my advice is to stay away from the Zaurus SL-5500, unless you're a hard-core Linux fan.
Sounds like he knows what he's talking about. He just told/. readers to go out and pick one up, but advised the folks who don't get off on an apache-capable palmtop to steer clear.
Applying that rationale to graphics is a bit difficult. A programmer who understood algorithms and good code 20 years ago will still understand those concepts, regardless of the language or platform or IDE used.
In production graphics, concepts like trapping, color correction, making separations, and so on are important professional skills. Photoshop is, plain and simple, the best choice for that work. There is no other software that even comes close to offering its flexibility, certainly nothing in the open source world. Add to that the fact that in the professional world, everyone uses Photoshop.
The alternative to Photoshop is a graphic design course based on traditional media, rather than computers. Any other approach would teach the same 'mindless button mashing,' but in software that *no one else uses*. It'd be the worst of all worlds.
I agree wholeheartedly. The classic noiry pulp detective feel that I thought gave BR its roots the first time I saw it is all but nonexistant in the director's cut.
My dream version includes the voicover, omits the stupid ending (the mountian scenes are outtakes from Dr. Zhivago, no kidding) and includes the unicorn dream.
There are three models for the 'everything works together' approach:
(a) Every program supports the same basic file formats, allowing Joe User to use the app he likes when writing a letter, editing a photo, etc, then open it in another app if he needs a special feature.
(b) Each company's programs work together smoothly, sharing functionality as needed. Adobe does this with Photoshop, Imageready, GoLive, Illustrator, and other apps. And they're getting better wit heach release. Microsoft Office is another example. It works because a given software developer can pursue its own vision for a particular split in functionality, a particular UI model, and so on. In additino, they reap all of the benefits from enhanced interoperability, and have a great incentive to keep at it.
(c) Every function a user could need is available as a lego-like app that interacts with other leg-like apps to create a 'custom tool.' This requires absolute standardization of file formats, APIs, UI standards, and more. In addition, it alters the paradigm that usres are comfortable with and complicates ramp-up.
In addition, it would result in one of two shifts in the software market: Lower margins for software companies, who would be forced to sell tinker-toy modules at much lower costs, instead of larger solutions... or a much higher price for each end-user solution, since mixing and matching pieces is generally more expensive than buying a single product.
Oh. That's right... all software will cost zero dollars. It'll just be so difficult to use that a $200 support contract will seem natural...
What about those of us who do use it, and find it usable for some tasks but completely broken from a basic User Interaction perspective?
Slashdot readers, by and large, demonstrate utter cluelesslness about basic human-computer interaction principles. If *they* like it, every target market should like it! And if they don't, well, slapping a GUI and some icons onto it will convince everyone else.
The fact that the KDE and Gnome environments are pretty does *not* mean that the Linux platform has good UI. It only means that an attractive shell has been painted on.
I like linux. It will never succeed if partisans refuse to admit its true weaknesses.
--the verb
I'll now make the legally required reference to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintinence. How new can this concept be if a large percentage of that book was dedicated to the discussion of this very issue?
Can't say the Internet made *that* happen.
Linux = UNIX
Gnome = MacOS/Windows GUI (without the consistency.)
Gimp = Photoshop (without the cluefulness.)
Your point is? There are certainly grounds to criticize Microsoft, but sticking to legitimate complaints rather than knee-jerk name calling does a lot of good.
I'm an old MacOS user, and I lost count of how many technologies cut their teeth as features in the MacOS, then became successful as MS refined them and implemented them in Windows.
My understanding is that the CLI code itself is verified, not just a header. It's amazing how a suspicion turns into The Gospel Truth here if it's not corrected in within a few hours...
Reality is reality. The web is still part of what the *rest* of us call reality -- not just some nebulous floaty cloud of UML shapes.
Because the web was at some point *not* there, and now it is, it has changed reality by existing. Of course lives are different now. Of course there are new metaphors, new flavors to experiences that touch the new medium. That's what any new technology is like.
Does that mean that time and space bow to its novelty? No.
--the verb
Re:I recognize that I don't know anime very well .
on
NY Times on Anime
·
· Score: 1
Well, that was a terribly formatted first post. My apologies, I'm used to plastic.com's auto-formatting. i've got a properly formatted version of the above at my home page.
--the verb
Re:I recognize that I don't know anime very well .
on
NY Times on Anime
·
· Score: 1
robotech
yeah, you know you remember brave rick hunter and that hottie minmei. robotech was the anime series that hit us television-weaned north american kids in the sweet spot back in the 80's. now that it's out on dvd, we can enjoy the massive nostalgia rush that comes with it. it's not the best out there by any means (kind of cheesy and overwrought at times, with washed out audio) but it sure seemed epic when i was nine...
neon genesis evangelion
mix equal parts x-files, enders' game, and big badass robots with guns. serve on a bed of broiled angst. eva is a truly great piece of anime marred by a bizarre conclusion. earth is under siege by hellaciously destructive critters called angels. secret government agencies and international strike forces mobilize to stop them, but the only real hope lies in the Evanglion Units: twenty-story tall robots piloted by a bunch of screwed up fourteen year olds. The series starts out as solid action, grows a healthy head of intrigue and character-driven angst, then -- around episode 19 or 20 -- veers into the world of the truly bizarre. By the time the conclusion rolls around, one of the best series around has turned into a bad acid trip. watch it for the art, watch it for the deep characterization. watch it for the great action sequences, and the sharp plot twists. don't watch it if you want a satisfying tie-up to the series.
cowboy bebop
ooh lah lah. this, in my opinion, is what solid dramatic anime should be. the art is exquisite, the writing is tight and witty without being too cute, and the jazz/blues/bebop soundtrack is a pleasure. spike and jet are odd-couple bounty hunters slogging through space trying to make a living and listening to charlie parker. as with all good pulp heroes, their pasts come back to haunt them. the series never gives in to cheesy cliches (save one episode that's a throway joke for fans) and it develops strong, solid characters. unlike eva, it avoids gratuitous melodrama and emotional manipulation in favor of a subplot plot that builds slowly over the entire series, then explodes in the last few episodes. spike, the grumpy twenty-something loner who favors martial arts and rumpled blue suits over guns and leather, is one of the cooler protagonists around. run, don't walk, to a video shop or a suncoast. get this series. trust me.
trigun
it's zany, over-the-top, and shrouded in a haze of smoke from all the gunfire. trigun is a space-opera scifi western series that follows vash, the humanoid typhoon: a gunman so dangerous that a $$60,000,000,000 price is on his head. The other regular characters are two insurance agents hired to follow him, keeping track of the cataclysmic destruction that Just Seems To Happen whenever he's around. See Vash take on hundreds of bandits with a handgun and a trash can lid! See him dodge bullets! Laugh as he steals donuts! It's a good action romp, and the last 10 episodes or so deliver some solid dramatic material.
Slashdot Mirror
the only Nike shoes I have owned in years were a pair of leather boots that cost me $60 and lasted a year and a half, which were [sic] the best value that I could find ...
when was the last time you saw a Nerd saying "Oh yah hey thats no problem, use slave labor if it'll save us a few bucks!"
I hear you saying it right now. Do you grasp the connection between *you* purchasing cheap shoes and *them* getting paid pennies to make said shoes? Apparently not.
The core point still remains. What distinguishes geeks/nerds from any other group? What about technical prowess and a fondness for hentai makes you more worthy to rule the world? You are an angry young man who spews revolutionary rhetoric. Thank the damn beancounters -- they're the ones that keep your water, electricity, and gas running.
--the verb
Mid 20th century, then.
The point remains, though, that most of the world's population would have to work for several weeks to buy that watch.
This does not mean that we should beat ourselves up over our good fortune, but it does make the original poster's "We're geeks! We're downtrodden!" rhetoric a bit silly.
--the verb
Fuck the middle / upper class, let the Nerds rise up, w00t!
Yes. That's right.
The poor, downtrodden geeks of the world, whose disposable income allows them to play with technology more powerful than the entire planet's computational resources in the early 20th century.
The oppressed masses of software developers, mathematicians, and hardware engineers... The much-abused network administrator.
Perhaps we can take up a collection. I'm sure there's a sweatshop worker in Brazil who'll be thrilled to donate to the cause. After all, you paid his salary via Nike...
--the verb
Who will use the service? Perhaps the millions of people who claimed they *wanted* to pay the artists, but had no legal alternative for easy-to-download-music.
Sadly, Napster's inevitable failure under Bertelsman will only confirm conventional industry wisdom: those who say they *want* to be legal are lying. Most users care more about getting their content for free than the 'convenience' they claimed Napster offered.
--the verb
Well, that is one of the core concepts of extreme programming. Small teams are a fundamental part of the methodology.
--the verb
PNG files are NOT smaller than JPG when saved in full color.
A PNG file has higher potential image quality than JPG because of its lossless nature, and smaller file size than GIF due to a more efficient storage technique.
It is NOT smaller than JPG in true color, though. A 24 bit PNG image is freakin' huge.
--the verb
All in all, my advice is to stay away from the Zaurus SL-5500, unless you're a hard-core Linux fan.
/. readers to go out and pick one up, but advised the folks who don't get off on an apache-capable palmtop to steer clear.
Sounds like he knows what he's talking about. He just told
--the verb
Applying that rationale to graphics is a bit difficult. A programmer who understood algorithms and good code 20 years ago will still understand those concepts, regardless of the language or platform or IDE used.
In production graphics, concepts like trapping, color correction, making separations, and so on are important professional skills. Photoshop is, plain and simple, the best choice for that work. There is no other software that even comes close to offering its flexibility, certainly nothing in the open source world. Add to that the fact that in the professional world, everyone uses Photoshop.
The alternative to Photoshop is a graphic design course based on traditional media, rather than computers. Any other approach would teach the same 'mindless button mashing,' but in software that *no one else uses*. It'd be the worst of all worlds.
--the verb
Of course not. The point of college is to ensure that students use open source software, even if it's inadequite for their needs.
Then, when they enter the workforce, the companies the hire on with will See The Light, and RMS will ride through the streets in a ticker-tape parade.
--the verb
I agree wholeheartedly. The classic noiry pulp detective feel that I thought gave BR its roots the first time I saw it is all but nonexistant in the director's cut.
My dream version includes the voicover, omits the stupid ending (the mountian scenes are outtakes from Dr. Zhivago, no kidding) and includes the unicorn dream.
Yeah. Thaaaaat'll happen.
--the verb
Those don't count.
-the verb
...and it failed pretty miserably.
There are three models for the 'everything works together' approach:
(a) Every program supports the same basic file formats, allowing Joe User to use the app he likes when writing a letter, editing a photo, etc, then open it in another app if he needs a special feature.
(b) Each company's programs work together smoothly, sharing functionality as needed. Adobe does this with Photoshop, Imageready, GoLive, Illustrator, and other apps. And they're getting better wit heach release. Microsoft Office is another example. It works because a given software developer can pursue its own vision for a particular split in functionality, a particular UI model, and so on. In additino, they reap all of the benefits from enhanced interoperability, and have a great incentive to keep at it.
(c) Every function a user could need is available as a lego-like app that interacts with other leg-like apps to create a 'custom tool.' This requires absolute standardization of file formats, APIs, UI standards, and more. In addition, it alters the paradigm that usres are comfortable with and complicates ramp-up.
In addition, it would result in one of two shifts in the software market: Lower margins for software companies, who would be forced to sell tinker-toy modules at much lower costs, instead of larger solutions... or a much higher price for each end-user solution, since mixing and matching pieces is generally more expensive than buying a single product.
Oh. That's right... all software will cost zero dollars. It'll just be so difficult to use that a $200 support contract will seem natural...
--the verb
Mmm-hmm. So, you're admitting that the Linux user experience is complex and confusing, but blaming the end users for that by calling them sheep?
You can't expect every computer user to make an OS choice based on ideology.
-the verb
What about those of us who do use it, and find it usable for some tasks but completely broken from a basic User Interaction perspective? Slashdot readers, by and large, demonstrate utter cluelesslness about basic human-computer interaction principles. If *they* like it, every target market should like it! And if they don't, well, slapping a GUI and some icons onto it will convince everyone else. The fact that the KDE and Gnome environments are pretty does *not* mean that the Linux platform has good UI. It only means that an attractive shell has been painted on. I like linux. It will never succeed if partisans refuse to admit its true weaknesses. --the verb
I'll now make the legally required reference to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintinence. How new can this concept be if a large percentage of that book was dedicated to the discussion of this very issue?
Can't say the Internet made *that* happen.
-the verb
Linux = UNIX
Gnome = MacOS/Windows GUI (without the consistency.)
Gimp = Photoshop (without the cluefulness.)
Your point is? There are certainly grounds to criticize Microsoft, but sticking to legitimate complaints rather than knee-jerk name calling does a lot of good.
I'm an old MacOS user, and I lost count of how many technologies cut their teeth as features in the MacOS, then became successful as MS refined them and implemented them in Windows.
It's not as if that's a *bad* thing.
--the verb
My understanding is that the CLI code itself is verified, not just a header. It's amazing how a suspicion turns into The Gospel Truth here if it's not corrected in within a few hours...
--the verb
Compared to Java? Perhaps. Compared to C++? Whatever. More knee-jerking. Sigh.
--the verb
Reality is reality. The web is still part of what the *rest* of us call reality -- not just some nebulous floaty cloud of UML shapes.
Because the web was at some point *not* there, and now it is, it has changed reality by existing. Of course lives are different now. Of course there are new metaphors, new flavors to experiences that touch the new medium. That's what any new technology is like.
Does that mean that time and space bow to its novelty? No.
--the verb
Well, that was a terribly formatted first post. My apologies, I'm used to plastic.com's auto-formatting. i've got a properly formatted version of the above at my home page.
--the verb
robotech yeah, you know you remember brave rick hunter and that hottie minmei. robotech was the anime series that hit us television-weaned north american kids in the sweet spot back in the 80's. now that it's out on dvd, we can enjoy the massive nostalgia rush that comes with it. it's not the best out there by any means (kind of cheesy and overwrought at times, with washed out audio) but it sure seemed epic when i was nine... neon genesis evangelion mix equal parts x-files, enders' game, and big badass robots with guns. serve on a bed of broiled angst. eva is a truly great piece of anime marred by a bizarre conclusion. earth is under siege by hellaciously destructive critters called angels. secret government agencies and international strike forces mobilize to stop them, but the only real hope lies in the Evanglion Units: twenty-story tall robots piloted by a bunch of screwed up fourteen year olds. The series starts out as solid action, grows a healthy head of intrigue and character-driven angst, then -- around episode 19 or 20 -- veers into the world of the truly bizarre. By the time the conclusion rolls around, one of the best series around has turned into a bad acid trip. watch it for the art, watch it for the deep characterization. watch it for the great action sequences, and the sharp plot twists. don't watch it if you want a satisfying tie-up to the series. cowboy bebop ooh lah lah. this, in my opinion, is what solid dramatic anime should be. the art is exquisite, the writing is tight and witty without being too cute, and the jazz/blues/bebop soundtrack is a pleasure. spike and jet are odd-couple bounty hunters slogging through space trying to make a living and listening to charlie parker. as with all good pulp heroes, their pasts come back to haunt them. the series never gives in to cheesy cliches (save one episode that's a throway joke for fans) and it develops strong, solid characters. unlike eva, it avoids gratuitous melodrama and emotional manipulation in favor of a subplot plot that builds slowly over the entire series, then explodes in the last few episodes. spike, the grumpy twenty-something loner who favors martial arts and rumpled blue suits over guns and leather, is one of the cooler protagonists around. run, don't walk, to a video shop or a suncoast. get this series. trust me. trigun it's zany, over-the-top, and shrouded in a haze of smoke from all the gunfire. trigun is a space-opera scifi western series that follows vash, the humanoid typhoon: a gunman so dangerous that a $$60,000,000,000 price is on his head. The other regular characters are two insurance agents hired to follow him, keeping track of the cataclysmic destruction that Just Seems To Happen whenever he's around. See Vash take on hundreds of bandits with a handgun and a trash can lid! See him dodge bullets! Laugh as he steals donuts! It's a good action romp, and the last 10 episodes or so deliver some solid dramatic material.