If you had ever participated in a demo party (or "computer party" as TG organizers have called it for the past few years) you'd know that the "no alcohol" policy doesn't mean that people don't drink alcohol;-)
Usually the majority of demo sceners (the people who come there to participate in the art competitions) spend most of their time outside the party hall, boozing around open fire with other likeminded folks that they can only meet at parties.
When the Finnish equivalent party, Assembly (it is also one of the oldest demoparties along with The Gathering) is held, there is a shadow party called Boozembly going on in the nearby woods and you can find all the demo scene legends out there when there are no competitions running.
I hope that the quality of releases at TG will be OK, but I'm afraid that the majority of people will go to Breakpoint instead which is a strictly demo scene oriented party.
1500 drunk guys all trying to impress each other with real-time computer generated art. It might not be heaven but it's far from Hell.
Learning the syntax of a language is trivial compared to problem solving itself. Joe User will make the same logical fallacies (= bugs) using English that he would if he was using Python/C++/COBOL.
Besides, the syntax of English language is a lot more complex than that of most common programming languages. Because of that it would be easier for non-native English speakers to learn some simple scripting language than to learn English well enough to avoid syntax errors on line XX.
The most ambitious feature is called musicmix, an online equivalent of a pajama party where people take turns playing deejay. Each group member contributes favorite tunes into a shared playlist, displayed on a dashboard with a customized "skin," and everyone listens together. A click from any participant can choose a new song. Then everyone chats about the tunes.
Does this mean that everyone must already have the tunes licenced on their computer? The following quote suggests otherwise:
Interestingly, men and women use this feature differently: guys will see it as a contest--who's brought the coolest tunes?
Sounds a bit like P2P on a tiny scale to me. I wonder how this fits in with Microsoft's DRM schemes...
The biggest problem with mandatory registration is that it's really easy to forget login names / passwords for sites which you visit only occasionally. I've forgotten my password 3 times already, since I check the site only when slashdot links to it's articles.
Another thing that annoys me as an IRC addict about it is that you can't spread the news on IRC by just pasting the link on some channel (99% of people don't have an nytimes.com account and they won't bother to create one just to check out some url). I usually end up googling for a site with no reg required and tell people to check the news there.
Why in the world would they do that? This isn't a reverse-engineering job. They made the game, so they probably have all of the source data for the movies. Why wouldn't they just recreate the movies in a format that is Linux friendly?
Because the game comes with the movies in the Bink format. Even if they recreated the movies in another format the people who already paid for the game would have to spend a lot of time (and bandwith) to get the new versions of the movies. I know I would prefer a simple converter script over that.
A lot of possibilities for creative gamers
on
Gobs Of Gaming Goodies
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· Score: 2, Informative
The great thing is that extending console games is becoming possible with the new generation consoles. For example, Timesplitters 2 (available for XBOX, PS2 and GameCube) includes a fully functional (and truly intuitive) map maker with which players can create single player missions and multiplayer levels.
IMHO this is very cool, I didn't care much about Half-Life but spent many hours messing with it's level editor:)
One thing that I find strange about the majority of GUI's is that the program's top level menu entries have nearly no relation to commands that you find under them. The file menu for one often seems to be there just "because every program should have one".
For example, Kazaa Lite (just a program I happened to be running while reading this article) has the following items under the file menu: Connect, Disconnect, New Search, Hide in systray and Exit. None of these actions have anything to do with manipulating files. Using the file menu as a garbage bin for a bunch of random actions seems to be quite common and I'm surprised that the article didn't mention this issue.
I wouldn't even count that as a coincidence. If the headline had appeared on slashdot at the same moment, or at least the same day you had the quiz, then that would be something.
Entertainment and music related stories come up quite often on slashdot so the chance of slashdot having a story which relates to a certain question in your quiz in the next 2 weeks isn't that slim.;-)
They were using a stock KDE since it's as close to the "default Linux" look as you can get.
I bet the coders' own machines look pretty different from that (and I'm also pretty certain that you couldn't associate their desktops with Linux immediately, as you can do with this screenshot).
There's only undo in edit mode. Press the U-Key after editing a mesh and it will be restored to the state it was in when you entered edit mode.
I was playing with LW some time ago and the layout only seemed to have 1 level of undo. (I might be wrong here since I've only spent very little time with it yet)
That's not much more useful than no undo at all, since you still have to resort to saving all the time.
"Take a look at graphs worldwide caloric intake counts for the last 50 years (hint, they drop significantly, especially in the last 20 years of neo-liberal deregulation and globalization) then tell me again about your beautiful system..."
The caloric intake will be HIGHER for capitalist countries. This only means that people under capitalism are generally doing far BETTER than people in communist/fundamentalist countries do.
What was your point again? Do you suggest we should all go commie just to lose some weight? (by forcing people to stand in lines for bread just to find out there is none in the federally controlled stores)
I haven't lived in a socialist country but a person I know has. It sure as hell isn't a "workers' paradise".
As well as playing CDs or DVDs, you will be able to watch TV and record shows on to the computer's hard drive.
That's weird. I thought the whole point behind MS's DRM OS was to prevent people from making illegal copies of the latest Disney movies. I guess this feature won't live too long...
You can configure it so that it doesn't show popup actions for certain applications. By default these include mozilla, konqueror and a few others (at least that's how it's on my Debian box).
And besides, this is just a matter of taste. I for instance just love Klipper. It's just so much more convinient to higlight an URL someone pasted to IRC and have it opened immediately, instead of manually opening a browser, deleting the contents of the url bar and then pasting the URL there. But then again I'm a lazy bastard;-)
The problem is not that you couldn't do the things you want in Linux. It's that almost everything requires too much fiddling around with the system which could have been done by the vendor, or automated. This is especially important when the users try to install new hardware by themselves (the CD-writer example).
Many people pointed out that MacOS X would be perfect for this guy. That's because Apple has
Set things up for you properly in the first place
Automated the tedious tasks and added point'n'click dialogs for user interaction
(I have no experience of MacOS X but this is how I understood it works)
As soon as some Linux distribution vendor does all this AND releases the improvements as open source you'll have a Linux system your grandma could use by herself, with the scripts and utilities doing all the dirty work so she doesn't have to.
"In my opinion, an open-source ColdFusion would be a hell of a lot more interesting than an open source Flash."
Zope is a free (as in speech) application server written in python.
From the Zope website:
Zope is a leading open source application server, specializing in content management, portals, and custom applications. Zope enables teams to collaborate in the creation and management of dynamic web-based business applications such as intranets and portals.
Slashdot Mirror
Well the original was his too. If editors repost stories it's only natural that users repost their comments for the maximum rerun experience. :-)
Usually the majority of demo sceners (the people who come there to participate in the art competitions) spend most of their time outside the party hall, boozing around open fire with other likeminded folks that they can only meet at parties.
When the Finnish equivalent party, Assembly (it is also one of the oldest demoparties along with The Gathering) is held, there is a shadow party called Boozembly going on in the nearby woods and you can find all the demo scene legends out there when there are no competitions running.
I hope that the quality of releases at TG will be OK, but I'm afraid that the majority of people will go to Breakpoint instead which is a strictly demo scene oriented party.
1500 drunk guys all trying to impress each other with real-time computer generated art. It might not be heaven but it's far from Hell.
Oh well, back to coding my demo for BP..
I don't care as long as they keep using the Geeko layout engine.
It's GNU/Linux you insensitive clod!
Besides, the syntax of English language is a lot more complex than that of most common programming languages. Because of that it would be easier for non-native English speakers to learn some simple scripting language than to learn English well enough to avoid syntax errors on line XX.
The joke was fine but it was your sig that cracked me up, thanks for the laughs :-)
Minimalistic techno played with a C64 (so really not for everyones ears ;-). The guy also does live gigs.
Does that joke count as retro already? :)
Using Crystal Space would really make sense in a project like this.
The most ambitious feature is called musicmix, an online equivalent of a pajama party where people take turns playing deejay. Each group member contributes favorite tunes into a shared playlist, displayed on a dashboard with a customized "skin," and everyone listens together. A click from any participant can choose a new song. Then everyone chats about the tunes.
Does this mean that everyone must already have the tunes licenced on their computer? The following quote suggests otherwise:
Interestingly, men and women use this feature differently: guys will see it as a contest--who's brought the coolest tunes?
Sounds a bit like P2P on a tiny scale to me. I wonder how this fits in with Microsoft's DRM schemes...
There was a keyboard like this previewed in slashdot -- but I can't find it today.
Don't worry, it'll be posted as news any time now.
The biggest problem with mandatory registration is that it's really easy to forget login names / passwords for sites which you visit only occasionally. I've forgotten my password 3 times already, since I check the site only when slashdot links to it's articles.
Another thing that annoys me as an IRC addict about it is that you can't spread the news on IRC by just pasting the link on some channel (99% of people don't have an nytimes.com account and they won't bother to create one just to check out some url). I usually end up googling for a site with no reg required and tell people to check the news there.
I'd find it tedious to keep my fingertips in the air all the time I'm in front of a computer, even if my wrists could lie down on the table.
Because the game comes with the movies in the Bink format. Even if they recreated the movies in another format the people who already paid for the game would have to spend a lot of time (and bandwith) to get the new versions of the movies. I know I would prefer a simple converter script over that.
IMHO this is very cool, I didn't care much about Half-Life but spent many hours messing with it's level editor :)
For "creative gamers" on nearly any computer platform there is Blender, which is licenced under the GPL. You can find both standalone and browser plugin based games at www.blender3d.org
His name is Robert Paulson
For example, Kazaa Lite (just a program I happened to be running while reading this article) has the following items under the file menu: Connect, Disconnect, New Search, Hide in systray and Exit. None of these actions have anything to do with manipulating files. Using the file menu as a garbage bin for a bunch of random actions seems to be quite common and I'm surprised that the article didn't mention this issue.
Entertainment and music related stories come up quite often on slashdot so the chance of slashdot having a story which relates to a certain question in your quiz in the next 2 weeks isn't that slim. ;-)
They were using a stock KDE since it's as close to the "default Linux" look as you can get.
I bet the coders' own machines look pretty different from that (and I'm also pretty certain that you couldn't associate their desktops with Linux immediately, as you can do with this screenshot).
I was playing with LW some time ago and the layout only seemed to have 1 level of undo. (I might be wrong here since I've only spent very little time with it yet)
That's not much more useful than no undo at all, since you still have to resort to saving all the time.
"Take a look at graphs worldwide caloric intake counts for the last 50 years (hint, they drop significantly, especially in the last 20 years of neo-liberal deregulation and globalization) then tell me again about your beautiful system..."
The caloric intake will be HIGHER for capitalist countries. This only means that people under capitalism are generally doing far BETTER than people in communist/fundamentalist countries do.
What was your point again? Do you suggest we should all go commie just to lose some weight? (by forcing people to stand in lines for bread just to find out there is none in the federally controlled stores)
I haven't lived in a socialist country but a person I know has. It sure as hell isn't a "workers' paradise".
As well as playing CDs or DVDs, you will be able to watch TV and record shows on to the computer's hard drive.
That's weird. I thought the whole point behind MS's DRM OS was to prevent people from making illegal copies of the latest Disney movies. I guess this feature won't live too long...
You can configure it so that it doesn't show popup actions for certain applications. By default these include mozilla, konqueror and a few others (at least that's how it's on my Debian box).
And besides, this is just a matter of taste. I for instance just love Klipper. It's just so much more convinient to higlight an URL someone pasted to IRC and have it opened immediately, instead of manually opening a browser, deleting the contents of the url bar and then pasting the URL there. But then again I'm a lazy bastard ;-)
I absolutely agree on this one.
The problem is not that you couldn't do the things you want in Linux. It's that almost everything requires too much fiddling around with the system which could have been done by the vendor, or automated. This is especially important when the users try to install new hardware by themselves (the CD-writer example).
Many people pointed out that MacOS X would be perfect for this guy. That's because Apple has
- Set things up for you properly in the first place
- Automated the tedious tasks and added point'n'click dialogs for user interaction
(I have no experience of MacOS X but this is how I understood it works)As soon as some Linux distribution vendor does all this AND releases the improvements as open source you'll have a Linux system your grandma could use by herself, with the scripts and utilities doing all the dirty work so she doesn't have to.
"In my opinion, an open-source ColdFusion would be a hell of a lot more interesting than an open source Flash."
Zope is a free (as in speech) application server written in python.
From the Zope website: