I've often wished I lived in the US, just for the convenience of ordering things online and the availability of a lot of new technology-- the iTunes Music Store, for example.
But if this bill gets passed, DAMN I'll be GLAD I'm not in the US!
What makes LaTeX so powerful is, IMHO, not just its ease of use but also its delivery format. You _could_ export to HTML if you so wanted, or you could typeset it as PDF, PS, DVI, or distribute the file as plain LaTeX. The PDF option is my personal favourite, and it's important, too, because it doesn't depend on what fonts the user has installed, works cross- platform, and looks good.
That's enough to make me a happy LaTeX user. Also, if you might enter academia, many academic journals require submissions in LaTeX/TeX format.
LaTeX is also very easy to learn with a simple LaTeX book. Get some LaTeX reference book, virtually any such book, and start typing away-- you'll pick it up in a couple of hours.
I've seen several comments about how the new interface isn't as pretty as Aqua, and also how Panther feels snappier than Jaguar.
I'd like to suggest a reason for this: the new interface seems to lack some of the transparency that was present in Jaguar. This could make it much faster, since transparency, even as handled by Quartz Extreme, still takes a bit more time than no transparency-- especially with fade-in effects.
Try it on Jaguar: Use Unsanity's Fruit Menu to turn off transparency in the menus and see that they drop down instantaneously rather than fading in.
I'm surprised that slashdot is still stuck on benchmarks as an indication of processor speed. Hasn't it already been pointed out over and again that it is incredibly difficult to compare across platforms?
I think it is best leave the pointless statistics to hardware fanatics, and use whatever platform makes one most productive. As such, if any benchmark is even minimally admissible, it is `real world' benchmarks. Yet they do not complete the picture, since productivity is a function of other things, such as user experience, planning required (for the type of job), ease of use-- the list goes on, but you get the idea.
After a point, increasing the number of FPS you get in Quake 3 is not going to make it any more fun for you; likewise, beyond a certain threshold, it becomes pointless trying to get those pro tools to run faster.
Part of what I had in mind, that I did not make clear, was that even objectionable material contains some value. I didn't mean to suggest (which, in retrospect, I loosely did) that one should enjoy participating in evil.
Perhaps, as more of a movie fan than gamer, I should explain myself with examples from films instead. I'm using the following examples because once, on a Christian website, I saw them listed as being `Very Offensive', yet I had watched them and found them illuminating.
Requiem from a Dream
A film that involves drugs, but is more generally about addiction. Throughout the film one sees examples of people unable to help themselves, because they are unaware that everything they do to escape their reality merely feeds their addiction, be it dieting, sex, drugs, whatever.
On a personal note, the film reminded me that religion itself can be addictive. It's easy to hide behind hosannas and hallelujahs, as I once did-- then one day I woke up and asked myself whether I enjoyed church for the people, the sense of continuity, the music-- or because I was truly committed to Christ. There was no question of what had to be done, yet suddenly all my religiosity seemed empty at that moment-- as, indeed, it was.
Magnolia
A film ultimately about the interwovenness of our relationships. Sometimes, a little action builds up to a tremendous effect-- at some point a choice is made, and things go up/downhill from there.
I couldn't understand the rationale behind rating Magnolia `Offensive', because towards the end, touching reconciliations were made in several previously injured relationships; furthermore, the narrator is also a character in the film, a Christian policeman who does his best despite all the sadness he sees in the course of his job.
Interview with the Vampire
I found this interesting for the same reasons as I did the CRPG below:
Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption
Rather an old game, I know, but anyway: You play Christof, a crusader in the Dark Ages, who falls in love with a nun. However, because you vanquish a vampire, you are targetted for revenge and turned into a vampire yourself. As the story unfolds, one of the characters you meet is a vampire who, despite being your enemy and exceedingly powerful, begs you to kill him because he is extremely religious, and cannot bear his damned existence.
Vampire spoke volumes to me because it so acutely reflected the human condition. In its fantastical world, a vampire is a beast (drinks blood) that he may not become one (enter a blood rage). Throughout the game, Christof searches for a path by which he may become human again, yet ultimately he has to drink blood. Of course there is a difference in that we need not perform evil deeds to survive, but the point is we do, and searching for salvation through controlling our actions is futile (I do not mean to suggest that we should not seek self- control-- only that self- salvation is impossible).
Perhaps it's easier to distill themes from films than games, which is why I get bored with games very quickly. It's the themes and not the gameplay per se that interest me. I've never really enjoyed FPS's; I've mainly liked RPG's, despite the bad reputation of Dungeons and Dragons. I enjoyed Warcraft 3, although I used the cheats on more difficult levels just to get on with the plot-- told you I wasn't a gamer.
I think the challenge is to maintain a sensible balance, and not go overboard. On the one hand we have to empathise with others to connect on a meaningful level; on the other, we have to be sanctified, set apart, consecrated-- is this possible? I hope it is! I cannot possibly recommend a method of doing this, as it depends so much on the attitude of the person, but in general I'd say, `Open your eyes, but guard your heart and mind.'
Lastly, I didn't mean to say anything dangerous or misleading. I guess sometimes, even when the sheer `evilness' of a scene strikes me, I just feel more acutely why we need God.
...for `Christian' videogames. Or `Christian' movies.
I am speaking a Christian-- specifically, an evangelical, relatively conservative Christian.
A faith that cannot deal with death, violence, evil and malice is impratical-- our world is fallen. A faith that does not endeavour to accept sinners is arrogant. And a faith that is impractical and arrogant is not faith-- it is a crutch, a psychological dependence on superiority; it is not transforming, not understanding, not gentle, not strong, not uplifting-- it is not meaningful.
Is there evil in a videogame? Well, then, it is a reflection of our world. Surely there will be truth in the game as well! It is of paramount import that one knows how to recognise and dwell on good, and reject evil. Adults should know how to do this; children should be taught.
It's not about teaching people what to do, or how to act. It's about the meaning of their acts, and of the acts that they witness; though the topic of the day is religion, this is true of most things. In short: adults, behave responsibly; children, learn how to.
(You know, we could do away with a lot of legislation if people just behaved decently (or made the effort to).)
Vern Loucks, who had been quietly watching the fireworks up to this point, said, "You mean Gob Click Tong. He's not a king, he's the prime minister. I can get us in to see him if we want to do that," he added.
Speaking as a Singaporean: the Prime Minister's name is Goh Chok Tong.
And thanks to the program's "self-healing" feature, a dead player is automatically replaced or resurrected in millionths of a second without affecting the rest of the band. QNX has been the only company so far to commercialize a microkernel OS.
1. Isn't OS X a microkernel OS that has been commercialised?
2. Wouldn't it be marvellous is OS X gained this `self- healing' feature?
Mathworld is great for maths- related information. A website from the makers of Mathematica-- one reason why ideologically I prefer Mathematica over Maple, even though my uni uses the latter. Wolfram is simply more involved in education.
My knee- jerk reaction was `What the f*** were they thinking?'
If Apple yanked Internet- wide MP3 streaming because of third- party apps, what makes you think they won't yank streaming ALTOGETHER because of this third- party app?
That is, assuming the copying programs work with it . . . which I myself have no intention of verifying.
Wasn't 3DO responsible for the HOMM series, which consistently did well? I've enjoyed all the HOMM games that I've played so far, and I'd be gutted if the franchise perished.
heavily involved with extending the Half-Life franchise
Anyone else read that as `heavily involved with extending the Half-Life of the Half-Life franchise'? My first thought was, `I didn't know it was undergoing radioactive decay'.
This is the most idiotic text i have ever read. Next time you lack a topic to write about, by all means drop a note to bugtraq, i'm sure that collectivelly we can come up with something more compelling than this mindless rambling of fighter pilots and "coders".
. . . and . ..
Not sure what exactly you are suggesting would be better than C/C++? Java? PHP? PERL? C#?
These comments entirely miss the point: I think Lasser's main point is that programmers need to focus more on security instead of being lulled into a false sense of security, and that it is the quality of code and not the tools used that make a system secure.
A related note on Linux security vs Windows security: yes, Linux is `inherently more secure' than Windows; no, Linux is not inherently secure. (I know most/. readers know this, but there is sometimes the tendency to fall into a `security high ground' trap.)
Slashdot Mirror
I've often wished I lived in the US, just for the convenience of ordering things online and the availability of a lot of new technology-- the iTunes Music Store, for example.
But if this bill gets passed, DAMN I'll be GLAD I'm not in the US!
It's a bitch, but HTTP and FTP work for file transfers, even if it is with web space as an intermediary.
On the upside, it works with offsite computers as well.
What makes LaTeX so powerful is, IMHO, not just its ease of use but also its delivery format. You _could_ export to HTML if you so wanted, or you could typeset it as PDF, PS, DVI, or distribute the file as plain LaTeX. The PDF option is my personal favourite, and it's important, too, because it doesn't depend on what fonts the user has installed, works cross- platform, and looks good.
That's enough to make me a happy LaTeX user. Also, if you might enter academia, many academic journals require submissions in LaTeX/TeX format.
LaTeX is also very easy to learn with a simple LaTeX book. Get some LaTeX reference book, virtually any such book, and start typing away-- you'll pick it up in a couple of hours.
I've seen several comments about how the new interface isn't as pretty as Aqua, and also how Panther feels snappier than Jaguar.
I'd like to suggest a reason for this: the new interface seems to lack some of the transparency that was present in Jaguar. This could make it much faster, since transparency, even as handled by Quartz Extreme, still takes a bit more time than no transparency-- especially with fade-in effects.
Try it on Jaguar: Use Unsanity's Fruit Menu to turn off transparency in the menus and see that they drop down instantaneously rather than fading in.
Of course, I could be horribly mistaken...
You forgot `beleaguered'!!!
Oh, wait...
I'm surprised that slashdot is still stuck on benchmarks as an indication of processor speed. Hasn't it already been pointed out over and again that it is incredibly difficult to compare across platforms?
I think it is best leave the pointless statistics to hardware fanatics, and use whatever platform makes one most productive. As such, if any benchmark is even minimally admissible, it is `real world' benchmarks. Yet they do not complete the picture, since productivity is a function of other things, such as user experience, planning required (for the type of job), ease of use-- the list goes on, but you get the idea.
After a point, increasing the number of FPS you get in Quake 3 is not going to make it any more fun for you; likewise, beyond a certain threshold, it becomes pointless trying to get those pro tools to run faster.
which ads are skipped on the DVRs
All of them?
Whoa! In the last 24 hours:
Damn cool. This is one of those days when I feel especially proud to be a Mac user.
Thank you for your reminder. Seriously.
Part of what I had in mind, that I did not make clear, was that even objectionable material contains some value. I didn't mean to suggest (which, in retrospect, I loosely did) that one should enjoy participating in evil.
Perhaps, as more of a movie fan than gamer, I should explain myself with examples from films instead. I'm using the following examples because once, on a Christian website, I saw them listed as being `Very Offensive', yet I had watched them and found them illuminating.
A film that involves drugs, but is more generally about addiction. Throughout the film one sees examples of people unable to help themselves, because they are unaware that everything they do to escape their reality merely feeds their addiction, be it dieting, sex, drugs, whatever.
On a personal note, the film reminded me that religion itself can be addictive. It's easy to hide behind hosannas and hallelujahs, as I once did-- then one day I woke up and asked myself whether I enjoyed church for the people, the sense of continuity, the music-- or because I was truly committed to Christ. There was no question of what had to be done, yet suddenly all my religiosity seemed empty at that moment-- as, indeed, it was.
A film ultimately about the interwovenness of our relationships. Sometimes, a little action builds up to a tremendous effect-- at some point a choice is made, and things go up/downhill from there.
I couldn't understand the rationale behind rating Magnolia `Offensive', because towards the end, touching reconciliations were made in several previously injured relationships; furthermore, the narrator is also a character in the film, a Christian policeman who does his best despite all the sadness he sees in the course of his job.
I found this interesting for the same reasons as I did the CRPG below:
Rather an old game, I know, but anyway: You play Christof, a crusader in the Dark Ages, who falls in love with a nun. However, because you vanquish a vampire, you are targetted for revenge and turned into a vampire yourself. As the story unfolds, one of the characters you meet is a vampire who, despite being your enemy and exceedingly powerful, begs you to kill him because he is extremely religious, and cannot bear his damned existence.
Vampire spoke volumes to me because it so acutely reflected the human condition. In its fantastical world, a vampire is a beast (drinks blood) that he may not become one (enter a blood rage). Throughout the game, Christof searches for a path by which he may become human again, yet ultimately he has to drink blood. Of course there is a difference in that we need not perform evil deeds to survive, but the point is we do, and searching for salvation through controlling our actions is futile (I do not mean to suggest that we should not seek self- control-- only that self- salvation is impossible).
Perhaps it's easier to distill themes from films than games, which is why I get bored with games very quickly. It's the themes and not the gameplay per se that interest me. I've never really enjoyed FPS's; I've mainly liked RPG's, despite the bad reputation of Dungeons and Dragons. I enjoyed Warcraft 3, although I used the cheats on more difficult levels just to get on with the plot-- told you I wasn't a gamer.
I think the challenge is to maintain a sensible balance, and not go overboard. On the one hand we have to empathise with others to connect on a meaningful level; on the other, we have to be sanctified, set apart, consecrated-- is this possible? I hope it is! I cannot possibly recommend a method of doing this, as it depends so much on the attitude of the person, but in general I'd say, `Open your eyes, but guard your heart and mind.'
Lastly, I didn't mean to say anything dangerous or misleading. I guess sometimes, even when the sheer `evilness' of a scene strikes me, I just feel more acutely why we need God.
...for `Christian' videogames. Or `Christian' movies.
I am speaking a Christian-- specifically, an evangelical, relatively conservative Christian.
A faith that cannot deal with death, violence, evil and malice is impratical-- our world is fallen. A faith that does not endeavour to accept sinners is arrogant. And a faith that is impractical and arrogant is not faith-- it is a crutch, a psychological dependence on superiority; it is not transforming, not understanding, not gentle, not strong, not uplifting-- it is not meaningful.
Is there evil in a videogame? Well, then, it is a reflection of our world. Surely there will be truth in the game as well! It is of paramount import that one knows how to recognise and dwell on good, and reject evil. Adults should know how to do this; children should be taught.
It's not about teaching people what to do, or how to act. It's about the meaning of their acts, and of the acts that they witness; though the topic of the day is religion, this is true of most things. In short: adults, behave responsibly; children, learn how to.
(You know, we could do away with a lot of legislation if people just behaved decently (or made the effort to).)
Vern Loucks, who had been quietly watching the fireworks up to this point, said, "You mean Gob Click Tong. He's not a king, he's the prime minister. I can get us in to see him if we want to do that," he added.
Speaking as a Singaporean: the Prime Minister's name is Goh Chok Tong.
Yeesh.
And thanks to the program's "self-healing" feature, a dead player is automatically replaced or resurrected in millionths of a second without affecting the rest of the band. QNX has been the only company so far to commercialize a microkernel OS.
1. Isn't OS X a microkernel OS that has been commercialised?
2. Wouldn't it be marvellous is OS X gained this `self- healing' feature?
For movie reviews, rottentomatoes.com is pretty good.
Mathworld is great for maths- related information. A website from the makers of Mathematica-- one reason why ideologically I prefer Mathematica over Maple, even though my uni uses the latter. Wolfram is simply more involved in education.
The earth is not a sphere either. Any celestial body with a reasonable angular velocity will be slightly elliptical.
My knee- jerk reaction was `What the f*** were they thinking?'
If Apple yanked Internet- wide MP3 streaming because of third- party apps, what makes you think they won't yank streaming ALTOGETHER because of this third- party app?
That is, assuming the copying programs work with it . . . which I myself have no intention of verifying.
Wasn't 3DO responsible for the HOMM series, which consistently did well? I've enjoyed all the HOMM games that I've played so far, and I'd be gutted if the franchise perished.
What's going to happen then?
A nice touch is the pinstripe background when you visit it on OS X.
How about other operating systems? Does it tailor its appearance to them too?
Anyone else read that as `heavily involved with extending the Half-Life of the Half-Life franchise'? My first thought was, `I didn't know it was undergoing radioactive decay'.
I swear, my exams are getting to me.
Consider:
Would anyone be surprised if Longhorn turns out to be BETTER than OS X?
Would anyone be shocked if, alternatively, by 2005, OS X had progressed to a further point than Longhorn then?
And which of you would switch just because of that? As for me, I'm sticking to the Mac anyway.
WM ran beautifully on my old P133 with 32MB RAM, and it is fairly configurable through a graphical utility.
It's a good compromise between usability and minimalism.
The fact that such generated music can make it onto the charts is telling about the quality of MTV hits in general, no?
Try generating Mozart.
Apple has been going with an alternating `paid upgrade, free upgrade, paid upgrade...' plan for years. I imagine this will be the same.
(Of course, some people will have to pay $20 for an upgrade CD.)
Don't take my word for it, but I don't see why they would change their policy now.
Looks like Mozilla is going to the birds
:-)
I like the names, though
Anyone else read the comments on the page?
This is the most idiotic text i have ever read. Next time you lack a topic to write about, by all means drop a note to bugtraq, i'm sure that collectivelly we can come up with something more compelling than this mindless rambling of fighter pilots and "coders".
. . . and . . .
Not sure what exactly you are suggesting would be better than C/C++? Java? PHP? PERL? C#?
These comments entirely miss the point: I think Lasser's main point is that programmers need to focus more on security instead of being lulled into a false sense of security, and that it is the quality of code and not the tools used that make a system secure.
A related note on Linux security vs Windows security: yes, Linux is `inherently more secure' than Windows; no, Linux is not inherently secure. (I know most /. readers know this, but there is sometimes the tendency to fall into a `security high ground' trap.)
In short, carefully consider what Lasser has to say-- he's no fool on the subject of security.
Hopefully the iBook/PowerBook battery life issue will be fixed by an upcoming update...
Almost a pity they couldn't have released a fix for that at this time, actually. Since it probably affects more people, in a greater way.