I am using Slackware 8.1, and found after I purchased the software that the tarball versions weren't ready yet. In case this dissuades anyone from purchasing the game, it is no hassle to install from slackware. Just install the two RPMs with the --nodeps option. Worked without any problems.
If there was a DBD for the Ruby DBI driver, I'd give it a go. I haven't seen a lot of comparisons between it and PostgreSQL in terms of performance or reliability.
PostgreSQL is really pretty good for the price, though, and it has been mostly dependable, quick enough, and easy to administer. They have been improving it by leaps and bounds, not tiny increments, and most of the time that is nice.
Why are people who don't like Unix interested in Linux at all? Just because of crashes? I don't want my nice Unix-like environment to be friendly and happy and sunny all of the time if it means it won't be like Unix anymore.
I compile C code because that is how it is done, it is incredibly portable in these days of autoconf (how anyone can complain when they have autoconf, I can't imagine; must not have been around in the days of xmkmf...), and gosh darn it, it isn't that hard.
I use the command line because the command line is where it's at in Unix. I accept the fonts and the occasional crash in XFree86 because it is, after all, X _FREE_ 86, and it gets better all of the time. Not that there aren't commercial alternatives, like those from Xi.
I accept that sometimes my IDE CD R/W device has to pretend to be a SCSI device. Isn't it impressive and wonderful that it CAN do that?
I've never had problems with windows under X moving slowly, but if I did, I'd get a decent video card that XFree86 supports. I'd do that because I like Linux more than I care about what trivial problems I have with hardware I run.
I know these Johnny-come-latelys who actually liked Windows at one time in their life want to play with the cool toys too, and by all means they should, but let's not kow-tow to their whims and turn Linux from Unix-like to Windows-like. Or Mac-like. Or VMS-like. Well, maybe VMS-like.
Kyocera's best PDA, and strangely, the last machine for which Bill Gates ever wrote a BASIC interpreter/ operating system, was marketed in the early eighties by Radio Shack as the TRS-80 Model 100. I still use it; runs 22 hours off of AA batteries. It's lightweight, has a great keyboard, built in word processor and terminal software, and you can even today buy a ROM for it so you can do 8085 assembly programming when you are bored on the bus.
If only it had a bit more RAM. I snagged some off of an ethernet card; it exceeds the power draw expected a bit, but it works. If it had a bit more, it could probably run UZI, the Unix that ran on Z80s, with a little work.
You can see bits of Burroughs' influence in just about any science fiction film today. I am really excited about the possibility of seeing this stuff on the big screen, especially if it maintains the settings of the books.
I don't see any reason why the producers of "The Mummy" would be a bad choice. "The Mummy" was very much in the vein of pulp sci-fi and the old movies that arose from it. In fact, he'd probably make a super John Carter.
It was nice having a few decent games for Linux. I've really enjoyed Tribes2 the past several months. I suppose the patches will stop, the servers will disappear... time to get back to trying to ascend my Monk character.
I have felt a bit hypocritical anyway, having these proprietary binaries on my machine when there is plenty of entertainment to be found in all of the free software available for my operating system.
I know that many GNU/Linux systems are referred
to as "GNU Systems", and that the GNU offerings are an important part of making many OS's useful.
I wonder, though, when there will be a pure GNU
system, running HURD, shipping with the GNU Software Source CD set, and building the base
system purely from that at install time.
If such a product existed, and was packaged with secure server systems in mind, I'd definitely buy a copy.
Sure, it's not real time. You lose more messages than anyone ever receives. Political games cause splits in the network. Nothing is private, unless encrypted. The long distance gets expensive. The grafted-on file transfer and uucp/nntp gateways are klunky and unreliable. Hrm.
Somehow, though, I have more faith in amateur hobbyists than hyper-ambitious money-grubbing swine.
It would be nice if Free Software was saving people money, and even helping companies make more of it. Nothing wrong with saving money and making money. Even if using Free Software turned out to
be a viable fuel for outright greed, fine, doing a good thing for a bad reason still gets the good thing done.
The reasons for using Free Software though, have to do with liberty, and even if the big companies don't remember that, even if users don't care about it, it's nice if the smart people who develop the code do remember and do care. Maybe it isn't something as blatant as a quarterly earnings statement, but profit margins can't be instilled in the character of a human being, but a love for freedom can.
What about a non-patent office, where everyone submits what amount to patent applications, along with some sort of public key notary system (I don't know, there has to be something). Anytime you notice anything about any technology you use, or any new idea you have, you log in and submit it. Yeah, it would fill up with garbage very quickly, but I'll bet a lot of "prior art" would
accumulate there as well.
I stayed home from school that day and saw it on
TV... I thought it was a joke, and then they kept showing it over and over again; I couldn't believe it.
What a horrible tragedy to show over and over on television all day.
I wasn't clear. You and I agree. When I say
"any reason less than that" I am saying that
you should first do it because you want to, because you love it, second because it's your job and you at least take some pride and making it
actually work, but if you are doing it for some
lesser reason than that, why do it.
Best Reason: Love of the art
Second Best: Pride in chosen profession
...
Worst: Don't care about it at all, just want to write it and forget about it.
I think it's unfortunate that this comment got modded down; it's a legitimate question. I wouldn't have put it quite the same way, however.
I guess it's obvious that a lot of people do enjoy reading code. It's part of what computer literacy is; being able to read and write the language.
If you can't read it, or don't want to read it, I don't understand why you'd want to write it. I know some people think of programming as something to do to put food on the table, and their intended audience for the code is the machine itself and the QA department. If you are writing for any reason less than that, I don't see why you bother at all.
That is an acceptable definition for beauty too. The simple beauty of something that works. There are a lot of wonderful paintings of simple farm scenes. The rusted tractor, a broken wheel, a dilapidated barn, but besides the rustic feel, you get a sense that something honest is happening there; something useful and good, that works harmoniously with the universe.
Certainly there is a lot of code to be found in books. The bibliography at the end of Code Complete is excellent. I guess I am looking more for beautiful production code in the Free Software community.
I have read his "A Discipline of Programming"... it's interesting, especially now that someone has developed an interpreter for his invented language.
Like functional programming, I can see the beauty, but it's a frustratingly slow read nonetheless. I WANT to believe I can write "provably correct" programs, but I don't suppose that will happen any time soon:)
That's a really good idea; codepoetry.net. I was also thinking maybe of a "Peer Review of the Week" type feature, where one can submit an excerpt from their current project and people can critique it line by line.
In the Perl world, there is Perl Monks; something more ecumenical would be nice though.
Slashdot Mirror
If I was foolish enough to live within 100 miles of an ocean, I wouldn't feel safe unless there was at least some sort of wall between me and Cthulhu.
How many of these molecules can fit in someone's hand? Even for small values of 'handful', this seems like an awful lot of molecules.
I am using Slackware 8.1, and found after I purchased the software that the tarball versions weren't ready yet. In case this dissuades anyone from purchasing the game, it is no hassle to install from slackware. Just install the two RPMs with the --nodeps option. Worked without any problems.
If there was a DBD for the Ruby DBI driver, I'd give it a go. I haven't seen a lot of comparisons between it and PostgreSQL in terms of performance or reliability.
PostgreSQL is really pretty good for the price, though, and it has been mostly dependable, quick enough, and easy to administer. They have been improving it by leaps and bounds, not tiny increments, and most of the time that is nice.
Why are people who don't like Unix interested in Linux at all? Just because of crashes? I don't want my nice Unix-like environment to be friendly and happy and sunny all of the time if it means it won't be like Unix anymore.
I compile C code because that is how it is done, it is incredibly portable in these days of autoconf (how anyone can complain when they have autoconf, I can't imagine; must not have been around in the days of xmkmf...), and gosh darn it, it isn't that hard.
I use the command line because the command line is where it's at in Unix. I accept the fonts and the occasional crash in XFree86 because it is, after all, X _FREE_ 86, and it gets better all of the time. Not that there aren't commercial alternatives, like those from Xi.
I accept that sometimes my IDE CD R/W device has to pretend to be a SCSI device. Isn't it impressive and wonderful that it CAN do that?
I've never had problems with windows under X moving slowly, but if I did, I'd get a decent video card that XFree86 supports. I'd do that because I like Linux more than I care about what trivial problems I have with hardware I run.
I know these Johnny-come-latelys who actually liked Windows at one time in their life want to play with the cool toys too, and by all means they should, but let's not kow-tow to their whims and turn Linux from Unix-like to Windows-like. Or Mac-like. Or VMS-like. Well, maybe VMS-like.
Floorb.
Kyocera's best PDA, and strangely, the last machine for which Bill Gates ever wrote a BASIC interpreter/ operating system, was marketed in the early eighties by Radio Shack as the TRS-80 Model 100. I still use it; runs 22 hours off of AA batteries. It's lightweight, has a great keyboard, built in word processor and terminal software, and you can even today buy a ROM for it so you can do 8085 assembly programming when you are bored on the bus.
If only it had a bit more RAM. I snagged some off of an ethernet card; it exceeds the power draw expected a bit, but it works. If it had a bit more, it could probably run UZI, the Unix that ran on Z80s, with a little work.
Er, I meant that Brendan Frasier would make a super John Carter.
You can see bits of Burroughs' influence in just about any science fiction film today. I am really excited about the possibility of seeing this stuff on the big screen, especially if it maintains the settings of the books.
I don't see any reason why the producers of "The Mummy" would be a bad choice. "The Mummy" was very much in the vein of pulp sci-fi and the old movies that arose from it. In fact, he'd probably make a super John Carter.
Who do you think WILL play John Carter?
It was nice having a few decent games for Linux. I've really enjoyed Tribes2 the past several months. I suppose the patches will stop, the servers will disappear... time to get back to trying to ascend my Monk character.
I have felt a bit hypocritical anyway, having these proprietary binaries on my machine when there is plenty of entertainment to be found in all of the free software available for my operating system.
I doubt it. It isn't called "X-Windows". From the man page:
The X Consortium requests that the following names be used when referring to this software:
X
X Window System
X Version 11
X Window System, Version 11
X11
X Window System is a trademark of X Consortium, Inc.
One of us! One of us!
I know that many GNU/Linux systems are referred
to as "GNU Systems", and that the GNU offerings are an important part of making many OS's useful.
I wonder, though, when there will be a pure GNU
system, running HURD, shipping with the GNU Software Source CD set, and building the base
system purely from that at install time.
If such a product existed, and was packaged with secure server systems in mind, I'd definitely buy a copy.
Is this something that is on the FSF map?
Sure, it's not real time. You lose more messages than anyone ever receives. Political games cause splits in the network. Nothing is private, unless encrypted. The long distance gets expensive. The grafted-on file transfer and uucp/nntp gateways are klunky and unreliable. Hrm.
Somehow, though, I have more faith in amateur hobbyists than hyper-ambitious money-grubbing swine.
It would be nice if Free Software was saving people money, and even helping companies make more of it. Nothing wrong with saving money and making money. Even if using Free Software turned out to
be a viable fuel for outright greed, fine, doing a good thing for a bad reason still gets the good thing done.
The reasons for using Free Software though, have to do with liberty, and even if the big companies don't remember that, even if users don't care about it, it's nice if the smart people who develop the code do remember and do care. Maybe it isn't something as blatant as a quarterly earnings statement, but profit margins can't be instilled in the character of a human being, but a love for freedom can.
What about a non-patent office, where everyone submits what amount to patent applications, along with some sort of public key notary system (I don't know, there has to be something). Anytime you notice anything about any technology you use, or any new idea you have, you log in and submit it. Yeah, it would fill up with garbage very quickly, but I'll bet a lot of "prior art" would
accumulate there as well.
I stayed home from school that day and saw it on
TV... I thought it was a joke, and then they kept showing it over and over again; I couldn't believe it.
What a horrible tragedy to show over and over on television all day.
I wasn't clear. You and I agree. When I say
"any reason less than that" I am saying that
you should first do it because you want to, because you love it, second because it's your job and you at least take some pride and making it
actually work, but if you are doing it for some
lesser reason than that, why do it.
Best Reason: Love of the art
Second Best: Pride in chosen profession
...
Worst: Don't care about it at all, just want to write it and forget about it.
I think it's unfortunate that this comment got modded down; it's a legitimate question. I wouldn't have put it quite the same way, however.
I guess it's obvious that a lot of people do enjoy reading code. It's part of what computer literacy is; being able to read and write the language.
If you can't read it, or don't want to read it, I don't understand why you'd want to write it. I know some people think of programming as something to do to put food on the table, and their intended audience for the code is the machine itself and the QA department. If you are writing for any reason less than that, I don't see why you bother at all.
That is an acceptable definition for beauty too. The simple beauty of something that works. There are a lot of wonderful paintings of simple farm scenes. The rusted tractor, a broken wheel, a dilapidated barn, but besides the rustic feel, you get a sense that something honest is happening there; something useful and good, that works harmoniously with the universe.
Ada code can be incredibly beautiful. While I am cranking out Perl somedays I wish 'use strict' enforced the same sort of discipline.
Certainly there is a lot of code to be found in books. The bibliography at the end of Code Complete is excellent. I guess I am looking more for beautiful production code in the Free Software community.
I have read his "A Discipline of Programming"... it's interesting, especially now that someone has developed an interpreter for his invented language.
Like functional programming, I can see the beauty, but it's a frustratingly slow read nonetheless. I WANT to believe I can write "provably correct" programs, but I don't suppose that will happen any time soon:)
Heh, I had seen this one and spent a good deal of time marveling at it, and wondering if it was a good or bad thing :).
That's a really good idea; codepoetry.net. I was also thinking maybe of a "Peer Review of the Week" type feature, where one can submit an excerpt from their current project and people can critique it line by line.
In the Perl world, there is Perl Monks; something more ecumenical would be nice though.
Indeed, it was this book that got me thinking
about beautiful code again.