Linux is freedom. TPTB don't like that.
on
Tizen Reaches 1.0
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· Score: 1
I have a N900, which I bought the day Nokia announced it will no longer be supported.
I bought it because it is a real Linux machine. It's software is free, and it can run other free software with little modification.
I can do things with it I cannot do with any other phone: I can logon to any Unix machine with a wifi connection, I can load my movies and songs to it, I can extend it with any codecs I want, I can play MAME on it, and I can view almost any Flash video on it.
The N900 has been my 'laptop' computer for one and a half year now, and I do not miss my Toshiba laptop that I sold at all.
Why are companies so afraid of Linux on the phones? right, they cannot control the experience, and controlling it is what makes money for them.
But us geeks that do not want someone else to hold our hands in our computing tasks need a phone too.
It is too bad that they ignore us like that, we are many. And perhaps we would not buy so many apps from a 'store', but we certainly would buy good hardware to run our open source programs on.
The problem with AI in games is that it is not real AI, because it does not learn and adapt its strategies. AI in games is generally a set of conditionals, which if large enough, may seem realistic.
True AI would involve keeping facts in memory, doing a statistical analysis on which facts may lead to a better outcome, applying some Bayesian fliters etc. But I doubt these calculations could be done in real time at 60 fps, without cutting corners.
The collision calculations do not become heavier in higher video resolutions, they become havier on more detailed 3d models. The GP is correct that collision detection is independent of video resolution.
It may be that $50 in 1985 is $100 now, but $1000 now is $500 in 1985. If, in 1985, the average paycheck was $500 and not $1000, those $50 NES games would remain in the shelf.
There is not much of tech news these days.
on
In Nothing We Trust
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· Score: 1
Compared to 12 years ago, there is very little going on in computer tech these days.
Operating system development progress is very slow. Remember 12 years ago how hot those discussions were? nowadays most design decisions have been cast in stone and the only field of discussion are minor incremental changes to established OSes.
Programming language development has also been very slow. New programming languages are attempts to clean up the old ones, or too obscure for every day use. 12 years ago we were still discussing the merits of objected oriented code, and Java was fresh.
The desktop application space is saturated beyond belief. There has not been a hot desktop application for years now. Microsoft Office, Photoshop, all the established desktop applications offer way more features than needed.
Mobile operating systems are scaled down versions of desktop ones. There is motion in the mobile world, but it just does not justify talking about tech 24/7.
In the server and big distributed application space, the solutions and problems are well known for many years now, and since big companies offer cloud services, a new company does not have to do anything in that domain except to rent cloud space.
The hard problems of computer science seem to be unsolvable at the moment. Do not hold your breath for real time raytracing, human-like AI, human-like voice recognition, or flying cars.
So, what is left? big social problems, who are mounting like never before.
I do not have a problem with Slashdot presenting these topics. Slashdot discussions are still some of the top discussions online, in quality. Slashdotters are some of the cleverest and most educated and enlightened people, and this discussion is a very good example of that.
If progress in computer science and IT picks up again, I am certain Slashdot will be flooded with relevant topics. Until then, discussing social issues isn't that bad.
Micriosoft code is well known for its bit twiddling features. If you come across the leaked code of an old version of Windows, you will be amazed on how much low level code is there. They use the preprocessor and shift opeators arbitrarily. For me, it is not a surprise to see any part of Windows failing to run properly on ARM due to the low level hacks for the x86.
In no way I can believe that believing in something so fundamental like religion does not affect you in ways that it should not.
Take, for example, your request to be left alone. By not letting one criticise you on your beliefs, you help open the door for creationism in education: your right to be left alone is another man's right to be left alone too, and that includes educating his children on creationism.
Another example is politics: when you hear the politicians speaking about how God instructed them to act, your belief in the supernatural will certainly affect your judgement at some point. You believe that God is real, and so, in a moment of difficulty, why not believe God speaks to G. Bush, for example?
By the way, here is a mathematical proof that God does not exist:
Well, I'd rather have things like ideology instead of religion. At the very least, there would be no metaphysical mumbo jumbo, which science and logic would not have to face.
If someone says to me "you are incorrect for such and such reason", I will examine his argument, and if I cannot form a counterargument, I will say "you are correct".
If people put their emotions above logic, it is not my mistake.
Far Cry and Crysis were amazing virtual environments. I played both just to experience the graphics. There are tons of games out there with superior gameplay, so let this be a demo that is so immersive you can feel the sea breeze or smell the dirt fresh from rain...
And damn right they do. It is time for you to reexamine your position and think critically about the world, including your religion. You are part of a segment of the population that, by not thinking critically, you help perpetuate the myths and all their negative aspects, as well as the social structure that leads to huge inequalities between people.
And before you say 'freedom of religion', I'd say yes, there is freedom, but it is high time to end the mass insanity called religion. Being free to exercise religion results in far worse things than mocking you because you believe in fairy tails.
Think about only this: without the excuse of God, how many politicians would have to find another way to persuade us to follow them in their quest to serve their buddies' interests.
If it was a hotel, combined with a Star Trek simulator, i.e. if you could pay for an hour of playing the captain or an officer in it, it could have worked.
I live in the other side of the planet, but if this was real, I'd save up to visit America just for this.
When only the 1% of us would be able to buy oil, it would mean oil would be practically depleted. Yes, we will have some oil, but what good will it be if only the richest guys can afford it?
You also overstimate mankind's ability to invent new technology all the time. As time progresses, less and less people will be able to do progress in science, and hence there will be less and less new technology developed. At some point, we will not be able to push the boundaries of science any further.
Predictions will always miss specific events, because we cannot see the future, but the general trends are quite predictable.
For example, interactive computer networks were predicted even from the 60s. There was a presentation, I think it was by the inventor of hypertext and mouse Doug Engelbart, that consumers may buy things in the future from their television, and also communicate with their relatives and friends through the same medium.
Bird flu pandemics was an established fact in 1992, because there were some huge pandemics in the recent past, i.e. in the 1920s, I think, that wiped out a lot of people.
We also knew that antibiotics would be not that good, because instructions to lessen their use were already out in 1992.
The Euro was already in the planning phase, since the European Economic Community has been phased out in favor of the EU (the deal for the EU was signed in 1993, but the planning started way before that).
Yougoslavia was bound to be divided, as it already was a federation of states.
It is not too difficult to predict general trends. A global currency will appear within the next 20 years. Paper money will be replaced by electronic money in most first world nations. Some new countries will be born in the Middle East. Borders will be changed in the Balkans. Southern Europe will become largely Muslim. Southwest USA will become Mexican. The free internet we have now will no longer exist.
A non-programmer will not touch QML either.
on
Qt 5 Alpha Released
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· Score: 2
QML will seem like Chinese to anyone without some programming experience, so, if they are going to produce anything interesting, they will do it with UI designer applications, not by programming directly in QML.
Poor unsuspecting C++ programmers will then be given the QML code produced by the UI designer tool and try to dhoehorn it to the C++ application. They will feel tortured, because the QML fed to them will be not that readable (most automated code production tools produce awful code), the UI designers will certainly have programmed many horrible abominations using the UI tools, like copying and pasting the same thing over and over, instead of doing it in an object-oriented fashion, and the C++ programmer will simply have to deal with it.
Personally, I have not seen a web designer that he or she could or would code. They avoid coding like a plague. They just do not like coding, and that is why they chose to be designers. On the other hand, C++ programmers do not like scripting languages much. I seriously doubt QML will be of any use to anyone in any project, other than for toy projects.
Fashion is a double edged sword. If you follow fashion, you will stay relevant and 'in'. But you may accidentally introduce problems, especially if you are a software company.
One can have as many FB accounts as possible, so what's the problem? just create an FB account for using it with employers, throw in some fake content non representative of you but enough to make the empoyers like you and voila, problem solved.
Slashdot Mirror
I have a N900, which I bought the day Nokia announced it will no longer be supported.
I bought it because it is a real Linux machine. It's software is free, and it can run other free software with little modification.
I can do things with it I cannot do with any other phone: I can logon to any Unix machine with a wifi connection, I can load my movies and songs to it, I can extend it with any codecs I want, I can play MAME on it, and I can view almost any Flash video on it.
The N900 has been my 'laptop' computer for one and a half year now, and I do not miss my Toshiba laptop that I sold at all.
Why are companies so afraid of Linux on the phones? right, they cannot control the experience, and controlling it is what makes money for them.
But us geeks that do not want someone else to hold our hands in our computing tasks need a phone too.
It is too bad that they ignore us like that, we are many. And perhaps we would not buy so many apps from a 'store', but we certainly would buy good hardware to run our open source programs on.
Just create an empty facebook account with your real name, and nothing else in it, and tell them you do not use facebook that much.
And, to add autheniticy to it, just create some fake posts to neutral news items (e.g. how my cat woke me up this morning, etc).
The problem with AI in games is that it is not real AI, because it does not learn and adapt its strategies. AI in games is generally a set of conditionals, which if large enough, may seem realistic.
True AI would involve keeping facts in memory, doing a statistical analysis on which facts may lead to a better outcome, applying some Bayesian fliters etc. But I doubt these calculations could be done in real time at 60 fps, without cutting corners.
The collision calculations do not become heavier in higher video resolutions, they become havier on more detailed 3d models. The GP is correct that collision detection is independent of video resolution.
It may be that $50 in 1985 is $100 now, but $1000 now is $500 in 1985. If, in 1985, the average paycheck was $500 and not $1000, those $50 NES games would remain in the shelf.
Compared to 12 years ago, there is very little going on in computer tech these days.
Operating system development progress is very slow. Remember 12 years ago how hot those discussions were? nowadays most design decisions have been cast in stone and the only field of discussion are minor incremental changes to established OSes.
Programming language development has also been very slow. New programming languages are attempts to clean up the old ones, or too obscure for every day use. 12 years ago we were still discussing the merits of objected oriented code, and Java was fresh.
The desktop application space is saturated beyond belief. There has not been a hot desktop application for years now. Microsoft Office, Photoshop, all the established desktop applications offer way more features than needed.
Mobile operating systems are scaled down versions of desktop ones. There is motion in the mobile world, but it just does not justify talking about tech 24/7.
In the server and big distributed application space, the solutions and problems are well known for many years now, and since big companies offer cloud services, a new company does not have to do anything in that domain except to rent cloud space.
The hard problems of computer science seem to be unsolvable at the moment. Do not hold your breath for real time raytracing, human-like AI, human-like voice recognition, or flying cars.
So, what is left? big social problems, who are mounting like never before.
I do not have a problem with Slashdot presenting these topics. Slashdot discussions are still some of the top discussions online, in quality. Slashdotters are some of the cleverest and most educated and enlightened people, and this discussion is a very good example of that.
If progress in computer science and IT picks up again, I am certain Slashdot will be flooded with relevant topics. Until then, discussing social issues isn't that bad.
Micriosoft code is well known for its bit twiddling features. If you come across the leaked code of an old version of Windows, you will be amazed on how much low level code is there. They use the preprocessor and shift opeators arbitrarily. For me, it is not a surprise to see any part of Windows failing to run properly on ARM due to the low level hacks for the x86.
Since Youtube makes money off someone else's work, it is only fair that this someone must be compensated for their work.
In no way I can believe that believing in something so fundamental like religion does not affect you in ways that it should not.
Take, for example, your request to be left alone. By not letting one criticise you on your beliefs, you help open the door for creationism in education: your right to be left alone is another man's right to be left alone too, and that includes educating his children on creationism.
Another example is politics: when you hear the politicians speaking about how God instructed them to act, your belief in the supernatural will certainly affect your judgement at some point. You believe that God is real, and so, in a moment of difficulty, why not believe God speaks to G. Bush, for example?
By the way, here is a mathematical proof that God does not exist:
http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/sgs8t/can_this_work_as_a_math_proof_that_god_does_not/
You can argue with me on the existence of God till "hell freezes over", but you cannot argue with Mathematics.
Well, I'd rather have things like ideology instead of religion. At the very least, there would be no metaphysical mumbo jumbo, which science and logic would not have to face.
If someone says to me "you are incorrect for such and such reason", I will examine his argument, and if I cannot form a counterargument, I will say "you are correct".
If people put their emotions above logic, it is not my mistake.
It is not a matter of opinion. God simply does not exist, and it can be proven mathematically:
http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/sgs8t/can_this_work_as_a_math_proof_that_god_does_not/
I did not say politicians use only religion for their nefarious purposes. But if religion was not available, they would have one less excuse.
Was not my comment civil and respectful? I think it was.
As for being 'convinced of my own perspective', here is a mathematical proof that God does not exist:
http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/sgs8t/can_this_work_as_a_math_proof_that_god_does_not/
Very good reply. Kudos to you, sir!
Far Cry and Crysis were amazing virtual environments. I played both just to experience the graphics. There are tons of games out there with superior gameplay, so let this be a demo that is so immersive you can feel the sea breeze or smell the dirt fresh from rain...
Personally, I do not think so. because, no matter how lunatic they are, they are not lunatic enough to engage the US in a war.
But I guess the war industry should keep it going, eh folks?
And damn right they do. It is time for you to reexamine your position and think critically about the world, including your religion. You are part of a segment of the population that, by not thinking critically, you help perpetuate the myths and all their negative aspects, as well as the social structure that leads to huge inequalities between people.
And before you say 'freedom of religion', I'd say yes, there is freedom, but it is high time to end the mass insanity called religion. Being free to exercise religion results in far worse things than mocking you because you believe in fairy tails.
Think about only this: without the excuse of God, how many politicians would have to find another way to persuade us to follow them in their quest to serve their buddies' interests.
OS X has what, TWO viruses now?
They are called PROGRAMS, you insensitive clod!!!
If they view TOS, they will be too scared to come around fearing Kirk will sleep with all their women.
If it was a hotel, combined with a Star Trek simulator, i.e. if you could pay for an hour of playing the captain or an officer in it, it could have worked.
I live in the other side of the planet, but if this was real, I'd save up to visit America just for this.
When only the 1% of us would be able to buy oil, it would mean oil would be practically depleted. Yes, we will have some oil, but what good will it be if only the richest guys can afford it?
You also overstimate mankind's ability to invent new technology all the time. As time progresses, less and less people will be able to do progress in science, and hence there will be less and less new technology developed. At some point, we will not be able to push the boundaries of science any further.
Predictions will always miss specific events, because we cannot see the future, but the general trends are quite predictable.
For example, interactive computer networks were predicted even from the 60s. There was a presentation, I think it was by the inventor of hypertext and mouse Doug Engelbart, that consumers may buy things in the future from their television, and also communicate with their relatives and friends through the same medium.
Bird flu pandemics was an established fact in 1992, because there were some huge pandemics in the recent past, i.e. in the 1920s, I think, that wiped out a lot of people.
We also knew that antibiotics would be not that good, because instructions to lessen their use were already out in 1992.
The Euro was already in the planning phase, since the European Economic Community has been phased out in favor of the EU (the deal for the EU was signed in 1993, but the planning started way before that).
Yougoslavia was bound to be divided, as it already was a federation of states.
It is not too difficult to predict general trends. A global currency will appear within the next 20 years. Paper money will be replaced by electronic money in most first world nations. Some new countries will be born in the Middle East. Borders will be changed in the Balkans. Southern Europe will become largely Muslim. Southwest USA will become Mexican. The free internet we have now will no longer exist.
QML will seem like Chinese to anyone without some programming experience, so, if they are going to produce anything interesting, they will do it with UI designer applications, not by programming directly in QML.
Poor unsuspecting C++ programmers will then be given the QML code produced by the UI designer tool and try to dhoehorn it to the C++ application. They will feel tortured, because the QML fed to them will be not that readable (most automated code production tools produce awful code), the UI designers will certainly have programmed many horrible abominations using the UI tools, like copying and pasting the same thing over and over, instead of doing it in an object-oriented fashion, and the C++ programmer will simply have to deal with it.
Personally, I have not seen a web designer that he or she could or would code. They avoid coding like a plague. They just do not like coding, and that is why they chose to be designers. On the other hand, C++ programmers do not like scripting languages much. I seriously doubt QML will be of any use to anyone in any project, other than for toy projects.
Fashion is a double edged sword. If you follow fashion, you will stay relevant and 'in'. But you may accidentally introduce problems, especially if you are a software company.
One can have as many FB accounts as possible, so what's the problem? just create an FB account for using it with employers, throw in some fake content non representative of you but enough to make the empoyers like you and voila, problem solved.