You'll find that plenty of people's favourite sitcoms are the ones where they can see the jokes coming a mile off. Personally, mine tend to be the black comedies with no laughter tracks. Are you saying that people who like catchphrase-based sitcoms are actually not laughing when they make that laughing noise, but when they watch the comedies I like they are secretly bursting with laughter but suppressing it?
Python does not mandate a particular number of spaces. You can even use a different number of spaces for different blocks in the same file, which I'm not convinced is a good idea. The worst idea of all, in my opinion, was allowing tabs to be used as syntactic whitespace. Every text editor with a fixed-width font renders spaces equivalently, but tabs are a can of worms.
I am not asking for in-depth technical details on how Apple writes its software or designs its hardware!
I think you are. You might be able to explain some of their design principles in terms of well-known laws such as Hick's or Fitts's. But they also do a large amount of user testing, at financial cost to themselves, so they keep it to themselves.
I just want the details - e.g., "It tastes better"
I don't really see the difference between "It tastes better" and "It just works".
I know that "It's easier to use" means "I find it easier to use" - that's the same sentence written slightly differently. I still expect them to explain why.
Would you expect someone who prefers Coke to Pepsi to explain (in technical terms) why you should too?
And no, Mac users who state that "It's easier to use", "It Just Works" are not implying that other phones are just as good for other people, they're making a claim that the Iphone actually is better than all other phones.
No. They're making the claim that the ease-of-use of the iPhone is more important to them than cut and paste, or whatever other features Blackberry users keep complaining that the iPhone doesn't have.
I don't understand? I'm not the one making an assertion.
Sure you are. You disagree with my statement that "The iPhone is known for its UI". You are making the assertion that "The iPhone is not known for its UI".
If the only advantages are not ones available to the public, then how is that any use?
The advantages may be available to the public, just not any description of them. You can taste Coca-Cola without knowing how it's made.
If an "average user" makes a claim, I expect him to back up that claim with a rational argument. If he considers himself not to be qualified, then he shouldn't make that claim in the first place.
When people say "it's easier to use", what they usually mean is "I find it easier to use [and if you don't, why not use something else]".
I disagree. Anyone can assert that their favourite item is "known for its X", but that doesn't make it true.
I most certainly wasn't talking out of my ass. I did think the new iPhone fixed it. Assuming you're not talking out of your ass, I'll have to revise what I thought. But I still thought it.
I think it would have been better phrased "Live Dissection of Giant Squid Tomorrow". Just in case the reader is unaware of the vivisection/dissection distinction;)
With a lack of fundamental UI features like copy/paste? Well, I guess that's differentiating...
Agreed, that was crap. But I think the new iPhone (released a few days ago) has fixed that.
And I don't run Linux, btw. I'm just curious that the Iphone's advantages are always argued in terms of assertions ("It works better! It just does.") and not evidence or examples.
I'm sure the evidence exists -- Apple takes HCI very seriously indeed -- but I doubt it's publicly available. And your average user doesn't really have the vocabulary to describe that stuff. If you want it quantified, look at the HCI fanatic sites.
It was the original MacOS which was known for its UI, btw. Macs today are running a different operating system.
The original Mac OS was known for its UI. The current Mac OS is known for its UI. The iPhone is known for its UI. Notice a pattern emerging?
I'll try not to pull a troll moment here either, but what differentiates the iPhone, just like the Mac itself, is its user interface.
You hear a lot of "yeah but... it doesn't have any more features than XYZ" -- mostly from people who don't really understand why everyone isn't running linux, now that these days you only need to edit one or two config files by hand...
But you can't just generate pictures of cats. With alphanumeric CAPTCHAs, you never need show the same one twice, whereas a large botnet will soon have downloaded your entire database of cat images.
I suggest we harness the power of Slashdot to detect bots.
1) Show a comment from Slashdot along with one of its moderations. 2) Ask whoever is wanting to sign up for your website to meta-moderate the moderation. 3) If their meta-moderation agrees with what the Slashdot meta-moderators have said, they must be a human!
Hahahahaha.
No, but seriously, it could work the other way round. Instead of having Slashdotters meta-moderate comments, have random internet users meta-moderate comments before letting them see porn. Actually, scratch that: just reward meta-moderation on Slashdot with porn.
Your "random but light noise" idea intrigues me, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. Have you also considered using alphanumeric symbols instead of pictures of cats and dogs?
Everyone knows that when hackers go head to head the winner is the one who ends up typing the most frantically (preferably, smoke should come off the keys).
From the very article you linked to: (emphasis mine)
A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates new fissile or fissionable material at a greater rate than it consumes such material. [...] Production of fissile material in a reactor occurs by neutron irradiation of fertile material, particularly uranium-238 and thorium-232.
In other words, a breeder reactor is not a perpetual motion machine...
Slashdot Mirror
You'll find that plenty of people's favourite sitcoms are the ones where they can see the jokes coming a mile off. Personally, mine tend to be the black comedies with no laughter tracks. Are you saying that people who like catchphrase-based sitcoms are actually not laughing when they make that laughing noise, but when they watch the comedies I like they are secretly bursting with laughter but suppressing it?
Or 'Hilarious Lizzie', as she is known in these parts.
I am not that person. He stole my nick ;)
Besides, it was a gentle pun, not a disrespectful sleight!
Python does not mandate a particular number of spaces. You can even use a different number of spaces for different blocks in the same file, which I'm not convinced is a good idea. The worst idea of all, in my opinion, was allowing tabs to be used as syntactic whitespace. Every text editor with a fixed-width font renders spaces equivalently, but tabs are a can of worms.
I'll feed the troll today.
So he can learn how important white space is
Indeed. Unlike most other programming languages, Python mandates readability, which is an excellent discipline for a youngster to learn.
and write entire apps with a single line of code
This is possible in most languages, but somewhat less likely in Python owing to the aforementioned discipline.
and no idea how it happened
This is impossible in most languages, and Python is no exception.
and learn to program with no job prospects?
You just keep telling yourself that; the world will change around you.
I have nothing against Python
In that case you need to brush up on your writing skills.
but as a learning language I put it down there with Perl.
A lot of people cut their teeth on Perl. I am not one of them, so I can't comment.
WHOOOSH.
Only, unfortunately, it's not a joke that's gone way over your head.
Hint: people who are concerned about rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere are not afraid of asphyxiation.
Let me spell it out for you one more time, since you're obviously not a native speaker of the English language:
Do you understand the difference between the following two statements?
1) But I think the new iPhone (released a few days ago) has fixed that.
2) But the new iPhone (released a few days ago) has fixed that.
I'll give you a clue: one of them was true, and one of them wasn't.
Indeed; that's much better!
No, the hypothetical guy in question stole from a pharmacy to save someone's life.
Crikey, you leaf through 200 pages of emails and manage to find the 1 or 2 false positives? That must take a while.
I am not asking for in-depth technical details on how Apple writes its software or designs its hardware!
I think you are. You might be able to explain some of their design principles in terms of well-known laws such as Hick's or Fitts's. But they also do a large amount of user testing, at financial cost to themselves, so they keep it to themselves.
I just want the details - e.g., "It tastes better"
I don't really see the difference between "It tastes better" and "It just works".
I know that "It's easier to use" means "I find it easier to use" - that's the same sentence written slightly differently. I still expect them to explain why.
Would you expect someone who prefers Coke to Pepsi to explain (in technical terms) why you should too?
And no, Mac users who state that "It's easier to use", "It Just Works" are not implying that other phones are just as good for other people, they're making a claim that the Iphone actually is better than all other phones.
No. They're making the claim that the ease-of-use of the iPhone is more important to them than cut and paste, or whatever other features Blackberry users keep complaining that the iPhone doesn't have.
I don't understand? I'm not the one making an assertion.
Sure you are. You disagree with my statement that "The iPhone is known for its UI". You are making the assertion that "The iPhone is not known for its UI".
We have laws. People that break them get locked up.
I shed a tear for the human race every time I hear a someone claiming that you should always stay on the right side of the law.
Laws should follow morality, not the other way round. Government by the people, for the people.
If the only advantages are not ones available to the public, then how is that any use?
The advantages may be available to the public, just not any description of them. You can taste Coca-Cola without knowing how it's made.
If an "average user" makes a claim, I expect him to back up that claim with a rational argument. If he considers himself not to be qualified, then he shouldn't make that claim in the first place.
When people say "it's easier to use", what they usually mean is "I find it easier to use [and if you don't, why not use something else]".
I disagree. Anyone can assert that their favourite item is "known for its X", but that doesn't make it true.
Indeed. Likewise with the converse.
I most certainly wasn't talking out of my ass. I did think the new iPhone fixed it. Assuming you're not talking out of your ass, I'll have to revise what I thought. But I still thought it.
I think it would have been better phrased "Live Dissection of Giant Squid Tomorrow". Just in case the reader is unaware of the vivisection/dissection distinction ;)
With a lack of fundamental UI features like copy/paste? Well, I guess that's differentiating...
Agreed, that was crap. But I think the new iPhone (released a few days ago) has fixed that.
And I don't run Linux, btw. I'm just curious that the Iphone's advantages are always argued in terms of assertions ("It works better! It just does.") and not evidence or examples.
I'm sure the evidence exists -- Apple takes HCI very seriously indeed -- but I doubt it's publicly available. And your average user doesn't really have the vocabulary to describe that stuff. If you want it quantified, look at the HCI fanatic sites.
It was the original MacOS which was known for its UI, btw. Macs today are running a different operating system.
The original Mac OS was known for its UI. The current Mac OS is known for its UI. The iPhone is known for its UI. Notice a pattern emerging?
Well, I'm a geek, and I prefer a better UI to a less good one -- almost by definition ;)
I'll try not to pull a troll moment here either, but what differentiates the iPhone, just like the Mac itself, is its user interface.
You hear a lot of "yeah but... it doesn't have any more features than XYZ" -- mostly from people who don't really understand why everyone isn't running linux, now that these days you only need to edit one or two config files by hand...
But you can't just generate pictures of cats. With alphanumeric CAPTCHAs, you never need show the same one twice, whereas a large botnet will soon have downloaded your entire database of cat images.
I suggest we harness the power of Slashdot to detect bots.
1) Show a comment from Slashdot along with one of its moderations.
2) Ask whoever is wanting to sign up for your website to meta-moderate the moderation.
3) If their meta-moderation agrees with what the Slashdot meta-moderators have said, they must be a human!
Hahahahaha.
No, but seriously, it could work the other way round. Instead of having Slashdotters meta-moderate comments, have random internet users meta-moderate comments before letting them see porn. Actually, scratch that: just reward meta-moderation on Slashdot with porn.
Your "random but light noise" idea intrigues me, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. Have you also considered using alphanumeric symbols instead of pictures of cats and dogs?
Antispam test are essentially Turing tests, only looking for bots instead of humans.
Turing tests differentiate between bots and humans. If you fail the "are you a human" test, you're a bot. It's the same test.
They obviously weren't typing fast enough.
Everyone knows that when hackers go head to head the winner is the one who ends up typing the most frantically (preferably, smoke should come off the keys).
From the very article you linked to: (emphasis mine)
A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates new fissile or fissionable material at a greater rate than it consumes such material. [...] Production of fissile material in a reactor occurs by neutron irradiation of fertile material, particularly uranium-238 and thorium-232.
In other words, a breeder reactor is not a perpetual motion machine...
Base load should be nuclear, since that's all fixed cost.
When oil starts getting scarce, you're going to find out that Uranium is a resource too...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_uranium