"...I'm fairly up to speed on signal processing and such, but what exactly is "true digital-delivery"? How does it differ from "false digital-delivery" (if there is such a thing)? I can't say that I have *ever* heard this phrase before...."
Waall, it's quite simple, really.
Your true digital delivery is the preferred, high-quality system used by well respected manufacturers like Sony, Marantz, Technics, Panasonic etc. In this system, a true value is represented by a "1", while a false is represented by a "0".
This is not the case with disreputable and lesser manufacturers such as "Tecknichs", "Somy", "Panisonic" - you know, the real dregs who prey on folk with poor reading skills (ie. US high school graduates). Well, they are too damn cheap to license true digital delivery technology and so they're forced to use the inferior false digital delivery. In the false system, a false is represented by a "1", while a true value is represented by a "0". This is obviously backwards and wrong, hence the reduction in sound quality when compared to the far-superior true-delivery system.
"I'm all for anything that will stop terrorism. I think people who are afraid of this are only those with something to hide. Honest, law-abiding citizens have no need to fear this legislation passed by our benevolent and wise MPs."
As of 17:44, this is lingering at -1.
I thought it was only irony that had usasians perplexed. Don't tell me that full-on sarcasm, similarly, is now a closed book!
C'mon mods - give him a couple of funnies and an underrated or two.
"...When I was an independant consultant I had the worst boss I've ever had in my life. I got no vacation days, he made me go to work when I was sick, and the bastard was on my ass all the time to find the next gig before the current one was up..."
But on the plus side I bet the boss provided you with non-stop hotter-than-hot sex...
Well an FOS of 10 wasn't uncommon in the days of steam, when IIRC correctly the con-rods between driven wheels would be designed to have an FOS of 30+. More a comment on the (lack of) insight engineers at the time had into what makes con-rods break, rather than anything else.
Returning to 'planes, yes, an FOS < 1.5 sounds about right. Back when I had anything to do with plane design (military), the airframes were designed to support "120% fully-factored load". Whoa, we all gasp, only 20% over the maximum load? Indeedy, but it has to be born in mind that the calculated maximum loads were themselves pretty extreme. For wing attachments on an agile fighter, fer instance, the max load may be based on 9g manouvers which may not even be aerodynamically possible or may never be allowed by the control system. So 120% of some big number that's probably not even attainable isn't quite as cavalier as it sounds on first inspection.
Yeah. If left to its devices, the JDK will do all numerical stuff in double-precision. This is absolutely diabolical for things like acumulating the results of a matrix multiplication, where intermediate result accuracy can be allowed to slide while the final total accuracy must be maintained. Who ever said that numerical calcs were easy? Java can be slow, but it doesn't have to be...
Well, memory leaks and array bounds probably won't go wrong;-)
Looking at some benchmarks for numerical processing using Java, it appears to stack up quite well agains C++ at least.
Yeah I know, what exactly is being measured, are the benchmarks relevant, are any benchmarks relevant, blah blah blah. Just pointing out that the parent's postulated x60 slowdown is a trifle pessimistic.
"...I'd like to point out something here... EVERYONE here *assumed* that "Aryan" meant "Aryan Nation"..."
*I* didn't.
To assume that aryan = "Aryan Nation" is a spectacularly US-centric blunder, in any case.
If your group is "Aryan Friendly", then what are they to other races? "Jew Indifferent"? "Black Dismissive"? "Arab Snide"?
My point was that GLBT is self-selecting, while the other groups postulated by the OP are rather poor rheotorical strawmen that the OP imagines to be abhorrent to the/. populace.
No it isn't. Pedophilia, or in commonwealth English, paedophilia, is the condition of being sexually attracted primarily or exclusively to prepubescent children.
If the attraction isn't acted upon, then where's the crime? People who indulge in sex acts with prepubescent children are child molesters, not merely pedophiles.
"...People defend "GLBT-friendly" - would they defend "Aryan-friendly" or "pedo-friendly" as much as they do "GLBT-friendly?..."
Christ, are you really that stupid, or just trying to be controversial for it's own sake. "Trolling", even, as the kids call it these days...
GLBT, for all its PC horror is inclusive: Anyone who decides they are G, L, B or T can self-identify (PC alert again!) and join up.
An "Aryan-friendly" group is by definition exclusive and due to the misdemeanours of certain fans of the Aryan ideal it's still considered distasteful. "Pedo-friendly"? Something to do with feet? If it was "Paedo-friendly", some mob who were aroused by pre-pubescent children, I can't say I'd be a fan, but its a sight better than "Child-molester-friendly". The media can't make the distinction that Paedophile != child molester, but we're not that dumb. Are we? Eh? Ohhh shiiiit...
"... There have been several wrongful murder convictions and there was the whole Native schools thing for which the federal government did have to deliver financial compensation..."
Just how much money do you think the federal government makes, in order that it can then pay it out as compensation, eh? Here's a clue: Absolutely none! Zero, nada, bupkis, zilch.
One of my pet peeves is people talking about governments "paying for things". They can't and they don't.
Last time that Bob Geldof (spits!) was raising all kinds of hell about cancelling third world debt, the UK's pitiful prime minister was making magnanimous noises about the government being willing to match private donations pound-for-pound. The cheeky, cheeky bastard!
Apologies for going way OT, but this just gets my goat...
"... If my kids spent half the time that they play games on learning a computer language, then they would be pulling down six figure salaries..."
If you love your kids, then for God's sake don't be saying shit like that around them!
When your dog bites someone and has to be destroyed, you tell your kid that it's gone to live on a farm where it can chase rabbits all day without getting in trouble.
Say your kid catches you downing your first stiff scotch of the day at 08:30. You tell them its "special medicine" for grownups.
Your wife boots you out, so you tell the kid that mommy and daddy are going to spend a little time apart so they don't yell at each other so much.
- These are all inconsequential, harmless, miniscule white lies compared to the black, satanic, evil untruth that software development is a desirable and highly-paid profession.
"20. The Queen has never been on a computer, she told Bill Gates as she awarded him an honorary knighthood."
Only 50% correct IMHO - I've seen some pretty convincing (and funny) porn fakes featuring her royal hotness. Or does she mean she's never used a computer? Dang!
"...If you already know you want to work at the place, ask questions like you already work there.
Questions similar to "What dress code will I need to follow?" can easily bump you up into the "you're hired" zone. When you ask questions like that, you are showing confidence AND you are acting like a fellow employee rather than a prospective one. (Salesmen will recognize this as "closing the sale/deal")..."
And it's not just salesmen who will recognise this kind of behaviour. (Many) People are not fools: They've bought cars, they've bought big ticket consumer durables. They sigh inwardly when the seller asks "What day would be best for us to deliver?" before you've even said that you want the damn car/fridge/carpet.
Be warned that coming across all "ABC" (Always Be Closing) during an interview situation may very well turn the stomach of the interviewer. Unless you're interviewing for a sales job, of course...
"...That means your local gang-land thugs will find a way to avoid their registration plate being scanned (custom plate with obscure font)...."
Great idea! Unfortunately, The Man seems to be slightly ahead of./'s criminal geniuses on this one and is dishing out 3 license points and an (up to) £1000 fine for displaying plates that are non-standard. Your plan is a winner only if you wish to attract law-enforcement attention while lightening your wallet.
"Important when the populace is entirely unarmed and at their mercy"
Cop has no gun: Citzen has no gun - it's a decent balance of power, no?
Seriously, I see a lot of this kind of sniping, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of logic behind it.
Say you're in a state where open or even concealed carry is legal, you're in a confrontation with a cop and you decide it's going badly, so you draw on him/her. What happens now?
He backs off and forgets about it? Yeah , sure.
You shoot double-taps, aiming for the centre of mass (ie. to disable & hopefully kill, but let's not use such impolite language)? Now you're a hunted felon - yeah, innocent until proven guilty, but how many cop-killers get a "self defense" or other "justifiable homicide" verdict? You're a felon all right, it's just a matter of time until the label can be made to stick.
You've got the full attention of the criminal justice system focussed on you. If captured and tried, you can obviously expect the DA to be calling for the harshest possible sentence against a merciless mad-dog killer...
Me, I prefer a society where as few people as possible have access to firearms.
I'd like to own a weapon, try my hand at the range (which I haven't done since the Air Training Corps many moons ago). OTOH, I'd be scared shitless if my crazy neighbour had similar easy access to deadly ranged weapons.
That's the crux of it: I'd like to own a weapon. I'd absolutely hate to feel I needed to own one.
"I think having a government that wasn't bought out by international oil companies would make officials more accountable to the needs of the population.
"
Yeah, but the guy asking the question is from Nigeria. What the hell can he do about political conditions in the USA?
"...I ask any reasonable person (most slashdotters excluded here;-) ) to name a benefit of fornication...."
With luck and a following wind, fornication can result in some of the most pleasurable, exciting and intense experiences that will occur during your oh-so brief lifetime.
As you say, it can also result in STDs, babies, shame and regret. Speaking of regrets, my biggest regret is that I declined, when my girlfriend & her (female) cousin came home drunk and offered to double up on me. However, I digress...
Many choices in life are a gamble. If the fornification gamble had no payoff, why would people "place their bets" with such frequency?
T&K.
Mac fanboi mods on crack yet again.
on
Name That Worm
·
· Score: 1
Maybe it's just a throwaway remark, but there is still a widespread perception that methane stinks.
Of course, it don't. The vile odour present in the domestic natural gas supply is due to the deliberate addition of a stenching agent such as an ethyl mercaptan. Of course, the purpose of the stenching agent is to alert people to the presence of uncombusted gas.
"...The one place where roots are unavoidable is normals, which are just so damn handy. But even there you can sometimes get away without normalizing for comparisons in things like backface culling..."
Isn't the calculation of normal vectors the very basis of backface culling? ie. If the normal is facing away from the viewer, then the face can't be seen and may be discarded from further visual processing?(Naive check).
Where N is the face normal & V is the view vector: if N.V > 0, then cull.
Putting to one side all the obvious hardware & software options: Aeron chair, cinema displays, eclipse/VS, super-duper box with gobs of ram and quad processors...
...have you fully considered your requirements for developer knowledge resources?
No, I don't mean a boxed set of O'Reilly books all standing to attention like good little soldiers on tasteful Ikea Billy bookshelves.
I mean Donald Knuth, in a cage in the corner of your office. Richard Stallman, in a seperate cage too, if you can get him.
All that programming and design knowledge will be there for the asking (and a scrap of beef jerky - keep 'em hungry).
It's absolutely vital, of course that Knuth and Stallman are kept segregated, as communal quarters will lead to them fighting, or even uglier, breeding!
[Re: Hiring of non-CS graduates into software engineering roles]
"...I've also had very good luck with mechanical engineers (I think it's the same thought process in mechanical as in software... ie, chain reactions)...
I agree (Having a 14 year software career on the back of a BEng in mechanical engineering).
Although EE is the "classic" non-CS precursor to a software engineering role, Mech Eng does have the following going for it:
Analytical.
Maths-heavy.
Fact-based (cf. The much-derided Media Studies or any subjective field).
A large computing component (Maple, FEA et al).
A constant refrain by the profs that once graduated, you're just about qualified to start learning the really useful stuff!
Slashdot Mirror
"...I'm fairly up to speed on signal processing and such, but what exactly is "true digital-delivery"? How does it differ from "false digital-delivery" (if there is such a thing)? I can't say that I have *ever* heard this phrase before...."
Waall, it's quite simple, really.
Your true digital delivery is the preferred, high-quality system used by well respected manufacturers like Sony, Marantz, Technics, Panasonic etc. In this system, a true value is represented by a "1", while a false is represented by a "0".
This is not the case with disreputable and lesser manufacturers such as "Tecknichs", "Somy", "Panisonic" - you know, the real dregs who prey on folk with poor reading skills (ie. US high school graduates). Well, they are too damn cheap to license true digital delivery technology and so they're forced to use the inferior false digital delivery. In the false system, a false is represented by a "1", while a true value is represented by a "0". This is obviously backwards and wrong, hence the reduction in sound quality when compared to the far-superior true-delivery system.
T&K.
"I live in the UK and my major worry is that when I get an ID card it could easily end up getting lost or stolen."
I too live in the uk but I had rather different worries about the proposed card system.
Thanks to our courageous(1), wise(2) and benvolent(3) MP's musings I don't have to worry anymore. I definitely will be getting a card.
T&K.
(1) Spinless lickspittles.
(2) Can't see boyond the next cabinet reshuffle.
(3) Shameless self-serving opportunists.
"I'm all for anything that will stop terrorism. I think people who are afraid of this are only those with something to hide. Honest, law-abiding citizens have no need to fear this legislation passed by our benevolent and wise MPs."
As of 17:44, this is lingering at -1.
I thought it was only irony that had usasians perplexed. Don't tell me that full-on sarcasm, similarly, is now a closed book!
C'mon mods - give him a couple of funnies and an underrated or two.
T&K.
"...When I was an independant consultant I had the worst boss I've ever had in my life. I got no vacation days, he made me go to work when I was sick, and the bastard was on my ass all the time to find the next gig before the current one was up..."
But on the plus side I bet the boss provided you with non-stop hotter-than-hot sex...
T&K.
Well an FOS of 10 wasn't uncommon in the days of steam, when IIRC correctly the con-rods between driven wheels would be designed to have an FOS of 30+. More a comment on the (lack of) insight engineers at the time had into what makes con-rods break, rather than anything else.
Returning to 'planes, yes, an FOS < 1.5 sounds about right. Back when I had anything to do with plane design (military), the airframes were designed to support "120% fully-factored load". Whoa, we all gasp, only 20% over the maximum load? Indeedy, but it has to be born in mind that the calculated maximum loads were themselves pretty extreme. For wing attachments on an agile fighter, fer instance, the max load may be based on 9g manouvers which may not even be aerodynamically possible or may never be allowed by the control system. So 120% of some big number that's probably not even attainable isn't quite as cavalier as it sounds on first inspection.
T&K.
Yeah. If left to its devices, the JDK will do all numerical stuff in double-precision. This is absolutely diabolical for things like acumulating the results of a matrix multiplication, where intermediate result accuracy can be allowed to slide while the final total accuracy must be maintained. Who ever said that numerical calcs were easy? Java can be slow, but it doesn't have to be...
"...What could possibly go wrong?..."
Well, memory leaks and array bounds probably won't go wrong
Looking at some benchmarks for numerical processing using Java, it appears to stack up quite well agains C++ at least.
Yeah I know, what exactly is being measured, are the benchmarks relevant, are any benchmarks relevant, blah blah blah. Just pointing out that the parent's postulated x60 slowdown is a trifle pessimistic.
T&K
"...I'd like to point out something here... EVERYONE here *assumed* that "Aryan" meant "Aryan Nation"..."
*I* didn't.
To assume that aryan = "Aryan Nation" is a spectacularly US-centric blunder, in any case.
If your group is "Aryan Friendly", then what are they to other races? "Jew Indifferent"? "Black Dismissive"? "Arab Snide"?
My point was that GLBT is self-selecting, while the other groups postulated by the OP are rather poor rheotorical strawmen that the OP imagines to be abhorrent to the
"...Pedophilia is a crime..."
No it isn't. Pedophilia, or in commonwealth English, paedophilia, is the condition of being sexually attracted primarily or exclusively to prepubescent children.
If the attraction isn't acted upon, then where's the crime? People who indulge in sex acts with prepubescent children are child molesters, not merely pedophiles.
"...People defend "GLBT-friendly" - would they defend "Aryan-friendly" or "pedo-friendly" as much as they do "GLBT-friendly?..."
Christ, are you really that stupid, or just trying to be controversial for it's own sake. "Trolling", even, as the kids call it these days...
GLBT, for all its PC horror is inclusive: Anyone who decides they are G, L, B or T can self-identify (PC alert again!) and join up.
An "Aryan-friendly" group is by definition exclusive and due to the misdemeanours of certain fans of the Aryan ideal it's still considered distasteful. "Pedo-friendly"? Something to do with feet? If it was "Paedo-friendly", some mob who were aroused by pre-pubescent children, I can't say I'd be a fan, but its a sight better than "Child-molester-friendly". The media can't make the distinction that Paedophile != child molester, but we're not that dumb. Are we? Eh? Ohhh shiiiit...
"... There have been several wrongful murder convictions and there was the whole Native schools thing for which the federal government did have to deliver financial compensation..."
Just how much money do you think the federal government makes, in order that it can then pay it out as compensation, eh? Here's a clue: Absolutely none! Zero, nada, bupkis, zilch.
One of my pet peeves is people talking about governments "paying for things". They can't and they don't.
Last time that Bob Geldof (spits!) was raising all kinds of hell about cancelling third world debt, the UK's pitiful prime minister was making magnanimous noises about the government being willing to match private donations pound-for-pound. The cheeky, cheeky bastard!
Apologies for going way OT, but this just gets my goat...
T&K.
"... If my kids spent half the time that they play games on learning a computer language, then they would be pulling down six figure salaries..."
If you love your kids, then for God's sake don't be saying shit like that around them!
When your dog bites someone and has to be destroyed, you tell your kid that it's gone to live on a farm where it can chase rabbits all day without getting in trouble.
Say your kid catches you downing your first stiff scotch of the day at 08:30. You tell them its "special medicine" for grownups.
Your wife boots you out, so you tell the kid that mommy and daddy are going to spend a little time apart so they don't yell at each other so much.
- These are all inconsequential, harmless, miniscule white lies compared to the black, satanic, evil untruth that software development is a desirable and highly-paid profession.
T&K.
I was going to post a longer comment, but two Marine officers have arrived at my house in an unmarked car. All they said was:
"Dr Titzandkunt? There's been a fire."
Gotta go!
T&K.
"20. The Queen has never been on a computer, she told Bill Gates as she awarded him an honorary knighthood."
Only 50% correct IMHO - I've seen some pretty convincing (and funny) porn fakes featuring her royal hotness. Or does she mean she's never used a computer? Dang!
T&K.
"...If you already know you want to work at the place, ask questions like you already work there.
Questions similar to "What dress code will I need to follow?" can easily bump you up into the "you're hired" zone. When you ask questions like that, you are showing confidence AND you are acting like a fellow employee rather than a prospective one. (Salesmen will recognize this as "closing the sale/deal")..."
And it's not just salesmen who will recognise this kind of behaviour. (Many) People are not fools: They've bought cars, they've bought big ticket consumer durables. They sigh inwardly when the seller asks "What day would be best for us to deliver?" before you've even said that you want the damn car/fridge/carpet.
Be warned that coming across all "ABC" (Always Be Closing) during an interview situation may very well turn the stomach of the interviewer. Unless you're interviewing for a sales job, of course...
"...That means your local gang-land thugs will find a way to avoid their registration plate being scanned (custom plate with obscure font).
Great idea! Unfortunately, The Man seems to be slightly ahead of
See Current Requirements on the Display of Number Plates for more info.
T&K.
"Important when the populace is entirely unarmed and at their mercy"
Cop has no gun: Citzen has no gun - it's a decent balance of power, no?
Seriously, I see a lot of this kind of sniping, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of logic behind it.
Say you're in a state where open or even concealed carry is legal, you're in a confrontation with a cop and you decide it's going badly, so you draw on him/her. What happens now?
You've got the full attention of the criminal justice system focussed on you. If captured and tried, you can obviously expect the DA to be calling for the harshest possible sentence against a merciless mad-dog killer...
Me, I prefer a society where as few people as possible have access to firearms.
I'd like to own a weapon, try my hand at the range (which I haven't done since the Air Training Corps many moons ago). OTOH, I'd be scared shitless if my crazy neighbour had similar easy access to deadly ranged weapons.
That's the crux of it: I'd like to own a weapon. I'd absolutely hate to feel I needed to own one.
T&K.
"I think having a government that wasn't bought out by international oil companies would make officials more accountable to the needs of the population. "
Yeah, but the guy asking the question is from Nigeria. What the hell can he do about political conditions in the USA?
T&K.
"...I ask any reasonable person (most slashdotters excluded here
With luck and a following wind, fornication can result in some of the most pleasurable, exciting and intense experiences that will occur during your oh-so brief lifetime.
As you say, it can also result in STDs, babies, shame and regret. Speaking of regrets, my biggest regret is that I declined, when my girlfriend & her (female) cousin came home drunk and offered to double up on me. However, I digress...
Many choices in life are a gamble. If the fornification gamble had no payoff, why would people "place their bets" with such frequency?
T&K.
Mac fanboi mods on crack yet again.
"...Show some repect, coward! That's a 2-digit UID you're talking to!..."
Pah. Numerically low UIDs are just a kind of FIRST MEMBER!
Unless the UID is 1, YOU FAIL IT!
T&K.
"The batteries double as a stinkbomb"
Maybe it's just a throwaway remark, but there is still a widespread perception that methane stinks.
Of course, it don't. The vile odour present in the domestic natural gas supply is due to the deliberate addition of a stenching agent such as an ethyl mercaptan. Of course, the purpose of the stenching agent is to alert people to the presence of uncombusted gas.
T&K.
"...The one place where roots are unavoidable is normals, which are just so damn handy. But even there you can sometimes get away without normalizing for comparisons in things like backface culling..."
Isn't the calculation of normal vectors the very basis of backface culling? ie. If the normal is facing away from the viewer, then the face can't be seen and may be discarded from further visual processing?(Naive check).
Where N is the face normal & V is the view vector: if N.V > 0, then cull.
T&K.
Ultimate developer setup?
Putting to one side all the obvious hardware & software options: Aeron chair, cinema displays, eclipse/VS, super-duper box with gobs of ram and quad processors...
No, I don't mean a boxed set of O'Reilly books all standing to attention like good little soldiers on tasteful Ikea Billy bookshelves.
I mean Donald Knuth, in a cage in the corner of your office. Richard Stallman, in a seperate cage too, if you can get him.
All that programming and design knowledge will be there for the asking (and a scrap of beef jerky - keep 'em hungry).
It's absolutely vital, of course that Knuth and Stallman are kept segregated, as communal quarters will lead to them fighting, or even uglier, breeding!
T&K.
[Re: Hiring of non-CS graduates into software engineering roles]
"...I've also had very good luck with mechanical engineers (I think it's the same thought process in mechanical as in software... ie, chain reactions)...
I agree (Having a 14 year software career on the back of a BEng in mechanical engineering).
Although EE is the "classic" non-CS precursor to a software engineering role, Mech Eng does have the following going for it:
T&K.