Other mechanicalized video games?
on
Mechanical Pong
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· Score: 2, Interesting
A while ago I was wondering how hard it would be to rig up a totally mechanical pac-man. Of course, the ghost AI would be near-impossible (unless you want to create a mechanical computer) but I was thinking you could have the pac-man be a hold in the board, and when you moved it, pellets would fall through...
My grandpa keeps a typewriter at his house. He uses it pretty regularly. Last time I was there, my cousin had her daughters over ( ~7 and ~9). One of them asked my grandpa if he would turn on the 'old computer' for her.
I find analogue displays incredibly difficult to read. I don't know why. My sister has the same problem. It takes abouyt 15 seconds of staring for me to figure it out. I've heard some slashdotter say it's intuitive because it's like a stick in the ground. I disagree. I think perhaps the problem comes from the minute hand, which looks remarkably like the hour hand, and certainly breaks any similarity to a sundial. OTOH, I am a compulsive reader. I can't help but read any words I find around me.
Every time we read an article about some awesome new windows virus, or how there are so many viruses for windows, or how they is some new exploit in XP, there is always some token statement that Any Day Now(tm) the internet will be bursting with Linux virus. There is a veritable Litany(tm) of excuses as to why linux isn't being targeted yet, but soon! Soon! The folly and false sense of security you FOSS boys boast will be exposed! There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth!
Seriously, is linux actually more secure? Will desktop vendors make it less secure for Joe Sixpack by stuff like root by default? Why aren't people writing linux viruses?
I don't think you can ever convince them. From most of what I've seen, they aren't looking for an honest evaluation of the ideas, but are just out to support they viewpoint they already hold.
Leaving the origin of life aside for now, I would say the evidence for divergence of species from a common ancestor is pretty good, yet people still refuse to accept the theory. IMO, what would be really nice is an experiment where we keep a population of well-understood organisms (both morphologically and genetically, like fruitflies) in a highly selective environment, for throusands of generations. Perhaps something like a glass cage with a small space for flying, but a large water part, with lots of food in it. Something where they would be rewarded if they ventured into the water. Preserve each dead one as you remove it from the experiment. After a while you should notice changes in the population, enough to call them a new species. You can then look back at the entire set of ancestors for a good example of how evolution works, though you couldn't really call it natural selection.
IIRC, the big discovery about life near ocean vents was that they got their energy from metabolizing the nasty (read, highly reactive) checmicals that spew out of the vents, rather than make energy through photosynthesis, or eating other organisms.
When I lived on OSU campus, drunk guys would smash up bikes chained to bike racks at night. A few weeks after the beginning of each quarter, the back racks would be full of dead, twisted tires and handlebars.
This shows how desperate and scared MS is. It is trying to squeeze money our of people who really can't afford it. People who probably don't owe them anything anyway, but will probably end up having to pay for another license.
The only upshot of this is that hopefully people will start to realize the hidden costs they are paying, and start to dislike MS. People might start to investigate alternatives. Once you get burned by this, you will always make sure that you have your licence key and install disks, or try something else.
This will only create a negative perception of MS in the eyes of people who see computers as a necessary evil in their daily lives. MS is doing themselves in with their own greed. I will take pleasure in watching these psychopaths slowly destroy themselves.
Yes, there are plenty of counter-examples. Here is my counter-argument: those examples only come from the modern capitalist or industrialist periods where people were able to make a lot of money by mass-producing and selling new technology. Without that motivation ( capitalism in Europe from ~1500s on, industrialism in Europe and America from ~1800s on), the only motivator for massive changes in the way people live their lives has been war.
And I would argue that the military value of your examples are not 'negligible'.
I think a lot of historians would argue that warfare has driven technological advancement more than anything else. And some, including myself, would say that the space race was part of a warfare effort - the cold war against the Soviet Union.
If not created solely for warfare, many of our technological advances (metalugry, steel, plastic, computers, the internet, jet aviation, canned food) were promoted and mass produced to support a war effort.
Here's a few ideas in repsonse: If the data you are storing for someone goes down, you could send a notification as to whether its recoverable or not. To complement this, users will query periodically for random CRCs of the data they have backed up. So as long as you have > 1 backup partners, you have a reasonable degree of backup security.
Slashdot Mirror
Or, one line of perl ;)
A while ago I was wondering how hard it would be to rig up a totally mechanical pac-man. Of course, the ghost AI would be near-impossible (unless you want to create a mechanical computer) but I was thinking you could have the pac-man be a hold in the board, and when you moved it, pellets would fall through...
Mod parent up. He should be a regular contributor to Make Magazine.
"How well would XM come in when the skies pitch black from tornados?"
I think that'd be the least of your concerns.
My grandpa keeps a typewriter at his house. He uses it pretty regularly. Last time I was there, my cousin had her daughters over ( ~7 and ~9). One of them asked my grandpa if he would turn on the 'old computer' for her.
I find analogue displays incredibly difficult to read. I don't know why. My sister has the same problem. It takes abouyt 15 seconds of staring for me to figure it out. I've heard some slashdotter say it's intuitive because it's like a stick in the ground. I disagree. I think perhaps the problem comes from the minute hand, which looks remarkably like the hour hand, and certainly breaks any similarity to a sundial. OTOH, I am a compulsive reader. I can't help but read any words I find around me.
Seriously, is linux actually more secure? Will desktop vendors make it less secure for Joe Sixpack by stuff like root by default? Why aren't people writing linux viruses?
Leaving the origin of life aside for now, I would say the evidence for divergence of species from a common ancestor is pretty good, yet people still refuse to accept the theory. IMO, what would be really nice is an experiment where we keep a population of well-understood organisms (both morphologically and genetically, like fruitflies) in a highly selective environment, for throusands of generations. Perhaps something like a glass cage with a small space for flying, but a large water part, with lots of food in it. Something where they would be rewarded if they ventured into the water. Preserve each dead one as you remove it from the experiment. After a while you should notice changes in the population, enough to call them a new species. You can then look back at the entire set of ancestors for a good example of how evolution works, though you couldn't really call it natural selection.
IIRC, the big discovery about life near ocean vents was that they got their energy from metabolizing the nasty (read, highly reactive) checmicals that spew out of the vents, rather than make energy through photosynthesis, or eating other organisms.
Is slashdot trying to build the publicity of this?
This is just like Enron! I was planning on *retiring* on those Kryptonite locks I bought!
Quit talking about Finland that way.
When I lived on OSU campus, drunk guys would smash up bikes chained to bike racks at night. A few weeks after the beginning of each quarter, the back racks would be full of dead, twisted tires and handlebars.
"And this is your helmet. What is it for?"
Acceptable answers are 'easy cleanup' and 'open casket'.
Video editing?
The only upshot of this is that hopefully people will start to realize the hidden costs they are paying, and start to dislike MS. People might start to investigate alternatives. Once you get burned by this, you will always make sure that you have your licence key and install disks, or try something else.
This will only create a negative perception of MS in the eyes of people who see computers as a necessary evil in their daily lives. MS is doing themselves in with their own greed. I will take pleasure in watching these psychopaths slowly destroy themselves.
You can get a load of his work from the documentary Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control.
And I would argue that the military value of your examples are not 'negligible'.
You know the old saying? Nice guys get sloppy seconds. Sorry! That was crude. Am I bitter? Like coffee! Argh.
If not created solely for warfare, many of our technological advances (metalugry, steel, plastic, computers, the internet, jet aviation, canned food) were promoted and mass produced to support a war effort.
Yeah, they'll love that!
Dad: "Kids, get in here! We're watching a movie."
Bro: "Not again!"
Dad: "This is a great Sci-Fi classic. I loved it when I was your age."
Sis: "I hate these movies!"
Mom: "Honey, just let them play on their own."
Doesn't this belong in politics.slashdot.org? ;)
I thought junkmail was specifically tied to mail ;) That stuff probably goes back 500 years!
Project details here.
Here's a few ideas in repsonse: If the data you are storing for someone goes down, you could send a notification as to whether its recoverable or not. To complement this, users will query periodically for random CRCs of the data they have backed up. So as long as you have > 1 backup partners, you have a reasonable degree of backup security.