I totally hear where you're coming from. It sucks that people judge us by how we look. I know a super-talented, hard-working guy who rocks a mohawk and facial piercings. Unfortunately, due to our limited amount of time, getting judged based on appearance is kind of inevitable.
Think about it: Do you have time to really get to know every single person you meet? Of course not. This means you have to take shortcuts when you're deciding who to ask out, do business with, etc. If I'm meeting with a client to pitch a project, they have no idea who I am. If I show up in sweats, they get stuck assuming I'm a jackass, because they don't have time to investigate everyone. If I wear a nice shirt with a matching tie, they can tell themselves, "Well, he at least cares about his appearance. Hopefully that means he cares about his work too." They know it doesn't mean for certain I will do a good job, but it's at least a good sign that will help get my foot in the door so I can prove I do good work. Then, it matters less how I dress.
What ever happened to the idea that you can't patent facts?
Pretty close. The basic idea is that you can patent "anything under the sun made by man." So you can't patent a law of physics or whatever, even if you discover it, because you didn't make it. You just found it.
Any experienced gamer uses a large mousepad and sets the sensitivity so that moving to the left or right edge of the pad == 180 degree turn. It's common sense. No lifting of the mouse is necessary. If it is, then the sensitivity is not set correctly.
I would be interested to know how you turn more than 180 degrees without lifting the mouse, for example while circle-strafing.
The 50s-era maternal admonition of "boys don't like girls who are too smart" still echoes today.
I think this is only true to a point. While I'll acknowledge that there are men out there who don't like intelligent women, in my circle of friends at least they're in the minority. My feeling is that this attitude stems primarily from insecurity and a need to "be the man" in the relationship. Personally I find that dating women smarter (!) than I am makes the relationship more interesting. I get to learn a lot more from someone who has more experience/intelligence than I do than I would from a dumb blonde who just looks nice (which is not, of course, to say that looks are irrelevant). The consensus among my friends is pretty much the same: smarter == gooder. Geeks, if you've never dated someone smarter than you, give it a shot. For that matter, if you never dated someone more anything than you, give it a shot. There's no way you can know what works for you without trying it once or twice.
You can return software. If I told you that you had no right to express your opinions on George W. Bush in public, what would you say? Of course I do. The sad fact is that many, many people will try to tell you that you don't have rights that you do, in fact, have. Most people are sheep and just accept it. This is one of those cases. If you buy something from a retailer, then it doesn't work or you don't want to accept the license agreement, either the retailer or the publisher owes you a refund. Be vocal and get it.
You're right in that general contract law principles (The effectiveness of EULAs is a matter of contract law, not copyright law) would indicate that contracts inside of a box shouldn't be binding. As far as I can tell, though, the general consensus of courts is that they should be made binding after the consumer has a chance to read and reject them, because pragmatically it just works better.
With all due respect, I think you are the one missing the point. There's way more to getting hurt than bleeding. We see someone who has been shot or assaulted and we feel sympathy for that person, as we should. Our sense of justice demands that whoever hurt them be put away.
But you know what we don't see? We don't see the kid who can't go to college because some fuck wiped out his parents' portfolio. We don't see the mom who has to choose between buying a smoke detector or food because her budget just can't stretch that extra little bit to cover what the cracker skimmed off the top. There are all these little costs that are basically invisible, but they add up and when they affect enough people THEY MATTER. So while physical injuries are certainly easier to empathize with, saying that someone shouldn't go to jail for a long time because they "didn't hurt anybody" is sophistry.
I've got news for you, bud. If not-so-little Johnny, who is now in college, doesn't live up to performance expectations, he'll be kicked out of the school after a semester. Then your problem will be solved - your tax dollars will no longer be sent to him.
I think this ignores the fact that academic rigor has utterly collapsed in American undergraduate study. My ex used to grade papers for a physics class, and she was not allowed to give anything less than a C. They had to rewrite it instead. How hard do you think those kids were working when they knew that the worst thing that could possibly happen is they would have to rewrite the paper? I think it's a great idea in theory to kick people out of school for sucking, but the reality is that as long as something gets turned in it just doesn't happen.
The president signs treties, but that means nothing.
IANAL, etc.
The point I think you're trying to make is technically true but misleading. The President can in fact make "treaties" without going through the Senate. The only real difference is they're called executive agreements and only the President has to expressly approve them. The Supreme Court has established that these are constitutional. See for example Moore v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654.
To keep things in perspective, kids die of hunger all over the world and don't even know what video games are. Therefore, one should feel compelled to suck it up and carry around a piece of plastic in his wallet.
Fallacious. There is no connection between the two. The simple fact that we (Or, in this case, the Canadians) have it better than some other people does NOT justify the government dragging down the standard of living. Something else very well might, but starving kids certainly do not.
"...nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself" 5th Amendment
This means you can't be forced to testify against yourself in court. Identifying yourself as you break the law has nothing to do with the 5th Amendment. Posting your email address when you share files is more akin to not wearing a mask in a public place.
A. I don't know the context for Slick Willy's quote, but just by reading it a certain way, it seems to show his deep concern for protecting peoples' liberties, not a callous disregard.
B. Hillary was talking to a bunch of rich people about raising taxes. That quote was about money.
My understanding is the FCC just hasn't sold it to anyone else yet. So "unlicensed" means that neither the FCC nor anyone else will come knocking on your door.
The parent is responding to an ask Slashdot, not being redundant.
In any case, I try to keep the back of my hand even with my forearm so my wrists aren't bent, and I've never had trouble with the whole RSI thing. I think form is the most important aspect of prevention.
Actually, that's precisely what I was thinking. Whether you love them or not, Sony is pretty good at what they do, plus they have EQ under their belts. I'm going to wait and see how tightly they can optimize it before I make up my mind on how it will run on my box.
The parent has it right. I just started my first programming job a couple months ago. I had a starting wage that was pretty low because I was completely unfamiliar with all the technologies I was using, and I just got moved up to $18/hr, which is where I'll be staying for a good bit. When I was "discussing" the size of the raise with my boss, he stated indirectly that I was lucky to have a job at all, and he was right. I wouldn't have gotten it at all without networking. So I think the bottom line is get any job you can, then work your ass off learning as much as possible so when you look for another job you've moved yourself up on the totem pole.
The reason MMOs are limited to typical MUD turn-based combat is more of a technical limitation than a creative one. Think for a second about the sheer amount of data that have to be moved to keep a 16-player game of UT2004 in sync. That kind of bandwidth usage simply does not scale to thousands of players. Even Planetside does not have true FPS combat. The bandwidth costs to keep the server going would be too high. It has an approximation based on trusted clients and large cones of fire. I think having true reflex-based MMO combat would make them much more fun to play, but it looks like we'll have to wait a while until we get it. On the bright side, designers have come up with enough tricks with time-based special attacks and such that combat is still fairly involving.
For those who have played it, I think a system like Legend of Dragoon would work well to enhance MMO gameplay. This sort of system is basically turn-based, but by clicking at precise moments one's damage output can be increased dramatically. I believe EQ2 may have something like this planned.
I'm not so sure the problem is simply one of adoption. I don't remember the exact statistics, but spammers need only a very small fraction of targets to buy their crap to make a profit. So think for a second about someone who actually thinks to themselves, "20% bigger? WHERE DO I SIGN UP?" Is this a person who has the motivation or knowledge to set up a filter? I doubt it.
Note that I'm not saying technical solutions are completely ineffective. They work, but to really get to the core of the problem I believe social solutions are needed as well.
My dad works for the IRS, and you would not believe how much of this crap goes on. The attitude of the IRS (The guys running the place at least, not necessarily the rank-and-file types) is that you cheat on your taxes. No ifs and or buts. Their job is to punish you for it. Whether punishment is deserved or not is rarely considered.
I'm a senior in computer science, and I've been doing about half Linux-based (gcc, Kdevelop) and half VC++ development throughout my undergraduate studies. VC++ just crushes Linux development. Even after you figure out makefiles, CVS, and all the other fun stuff that gets in the way of real programming, the ease of use just isn't there. With VC++ you can load up, tweak a few variables, and do your thing. Plus, it's more pleasant coding in the VC++ editor than emacs, at least for me.
Also, I realize makefiles and CVS are incredibly useful, but not for me personally. When working with small projects like I do, being able ot just get going is a huge advantage.
Slashdot Mirror
I totally hear where you're coming from. It sucks that people judge us by how we look. I know a super-talented, hard-working guy who rocks a mohawk and facial piercings. Unfortunately, due to our limited amount of time, getting judged based on appearance is kind of inevitable.
Think about it: Do you have time to really get to know every single person you meet? Of course not. This means you have to take shortcuts when you're deciding who to ask out, do business with, etc. If I'm meeting with a client to pitch a project, they have no idea who I am. If I show up in sweats, they get stuck assuming I'm a jackass, because they don't have time to investigate everyone. If I wear a nice shirt with a matching tie, they can tell themselves, "Well, he at least cares about his appearance. Hopefully that means he cares about his work too." They know it doesn't mean for certain I will do a good job, but it's at least a good sign that will help get my foot in the door so I can prove I do good work. Then, it matters less how I dress.
There must be a good reason it's not being done now.
I shudder to think what the world would be like if, to pick a random example, da Vinci thought the way you do.
What ever happened to the idea that you can't patent facts?
Pretty close. The basic idea is that you can patent "anything under the sun made by man." So you can't patent a law of physics or whatever, even if you discover it, because you didn't make it. You just found it.
Any experienced gamer uses a large mousepad and sets the sensitivity so that moving to the left or right edge of the pad == 180 degree turn. It's common sense. No lifting of the mouse is necessary. If it is, then the sensitivity is not set correctly.
I would be interested to know how you turn more than 180 degrees without lifting the mouse, for example while circle-strafing.
The 50s-era maternal admonition of "boys don't like girls who are too smart" still echoes today.
I think this is only true to a point. While I'll acknowledge that there are men out there who don't like intelligent women, in my circle of friends at least they're in the minority. My feeling is that this attitude stems primarily from insecurity and a need to "be the man" in the relationship. Personally I find that dating women smarter (!) than I am makes the relationship more interesting. I get to learn a lot more from someone who has more experience/intelligence than I do than I would from a dumb blonde who just looks nice (which is not, of course, to say that looks are irrelevant). The consensus among my friends is pretty much the same: smarter == gooder. Geeks, if you've never dated someone smarter than you, give it a shot. For that matter, if you never dated someone more anything than you, give it a shot. There's no way you can know what works for you without trying it once or twice.
I should be able to return software.
You can return software. If I told you that you had no right to express your opinions on George W. Bush in public, what would you say? Of course I do. The sad fact is that many, many people will try to tell you that you don't have rights that you do, in fact, have. Most people are sheep and just accept it. This is one of those cases. If you buy something from a retailer, then it doesn't work or you don't want to accept the license agreement, either the retailer or the publisher owes you a refund. Be vocal and get it.
... only users who can be verified as being in France will not see ads for competitors.
I wouldn't be surprised if only users who can be verified as not being in France will see ads for competitors.
You're right in that general contract law principles (The effectiveness of EULAs is a matter of contract law, not copyright law) would indicate that contracts inside of a box shouldn't be binding. As far as I can tell, though, the general consensus of courts is that they should be made binding after the consumer has a chance to read and reject them, because pragmatically it just works better.
With all due respect, I think you are the one missing the point. There's way more to getting hurt than bleeding. We see someone who has been shot or assaulted and we feel sympathy for that person, as we should. Our sense of justice demands that whoever hurt them be put away.
But you know what we don't see? We don't see the kid who can't go to college because some fuck wiped out his parents' portfolio. We don't see the mom who has to choose between buying a smoke detector or food because her budget just can't stretch that extra little bit to cover what the cracker skimmed off the top. There are all these little costs that are basically invisible, but they add up and when they affect enough people THEY MATTER. So while physical injuries are certainly easier to empathize with, saying that someone shouldn't go to jail for a long time because they "didn't hurt anybody" is sophistry.
I've got news for you, bud. If not-so-little Johnny, who is now in college, doesn't live up to performance expectations, he'll be kicked out of the school after a semester. Then your problem will be solved - your tax dollars will no longer be sent to him.
I think this ignores the fact that academic rigor has utterly collapsed in American undergraduate study. My ex used to grade papers for a physics class, and she was not allowed to give anything less than a C. They had to rewrite it instead. How hard do you think those kids were working when they knew that the worst thing that could possibly happen is they would have to rewrite the paper? I think it's a great idea in theory to kick people out of school for sucking, but the reality is that as long as something gets turned in it just doesn't happen.
The president signs treties, but that means nothing. IANAL, etc. The point I think you're trying to make is technically true but misleading. The President can in fact make "treaties" without going through the Senate. The only real difference is they're called executive agreements and only the President has to expressly approve them. The Supreme Court has established that these are constitutional. See for example Moore v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654.
How in the name of the Lord did a post consisting entirely of sheer speculation get modded informative?
To keep things in perspective, kids die of hunger all over the world and don't even know what video games are. Therefore, one should feel compelled to suck it up and carry around a piece of plastic in his wallet.
Fallacious. There is no connection between the two. The simple fact that we (Or, in this case, the Canadians) have it better than some other people does NOT justify the government dragging down the standard of living. Something else very well might, but starving kids certainly do not.
"...nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself" 5th Amendment
This means you can't be forced to testify against yourself in court. Identifying yourself as you break the law has nothing to do with the 5th Amendment. Posting your email address when you share files is more akin to not wearing a mask in a public place.
A. I don't know the context for Slick Willy's quote, but just by reading it a certain way, it seems to show his deep concern for protecting peoples' liberties, not a callous disregard.
B. Hillary was talking to a bunch of rich people about raising taxes. That quote was about money.
My understanding is the FCC just hasn't sold it to anyone else yet. So "unlicensed" means that neither the FCC nor anyone else will come knocking on your door.
The parent is responding to an ask Slashdot, not being redundant.
In any case, I try to keep the back of my hand even with my forearm so my wrists aren't bent, and I've never had trouble with the whole RSI thing. I think form is the most important aspect of prevention.
SWG is using a lesser engine
Actually, that's precisely what I was thinking. Whether you love them or not, Sony is pretty good at what they do, plus they have EQ under their belts. I'm going to wait and see how tightly they can optimize it before I make up my mind on how it will run on my box.
The parent has it right. I just started my first programming job a couple months ago. I had a starting wage that was pretty low because I was completely unfamiliar with all the technologies I was using, and I just got moved up to $18/hr, which is where I'll be staying for a good bit. When I was "discussing" the size of the raise with my boss, he stated indirectly that I was lucky to have a job at all, and he was right. I wouldn't have gotten it at all without networking. So I think the bottom line is get any job you can, then work your ass off learning as much as possible so when you look for another job you've moved yourself up on the totem pole.
Sounds more like socialist France.
The reason MMOs are limited to typical MUD turn-based combat is more of a technical limitation than a creative one. Think for a second about the sheer amount of data that have to be moved to keep a 16-player game of UT2004 in sync. That kind of bandwidth usage simply does not scale to thousands of players. Even Planetside does not have true FPS combat. The bandwidth costs to keep the server going would be too high. It has an approximation based on trusted clients and large cones of fire. I think having true reflex-based MMO combat would make them much more fun to play, but it looks like we'll have to wait a while until we get it. On the bright side, designers have come up with enough tricks with time-based special attacks and such that combat is still fairly involving. For those who have played it, I think a system like Legend of Dragoon would work well to enhance MMO gameplay. This sort of system is basically turn-based, but by clicking at precise moments one's damage output can be increased dramatically. I believe EQ2 may have something like this planned.
I'm not so sure the problem is simply one of adoption. I don't remember the exact statistics, but spammers need only a very small fraction of targets to buy their crap to make a profit. So think for a second about someone who actually thinks to themselves, "20% bigger? WHERE DO I SIGN UP?" Is this a person who has the motivation or knowledge to set up a filter? I doubt it. Note that I'm not saying technical solutions are completely ineffective. They work, but to really get to the core of the problem I believe social solutions are needed as well.
My dad works for the IRS, and you would not believe how much of this crap goes on. The attitude of the IRS (The guys running the place at least, not necessarily the rank-and-file types) is that you cheat on your taxes. No ifs and or buts. Their job is to punish you for it. Whether punishment is deserved or not is rarely considered.
I'm a senior in computer science, and I've been doing about half Linux-based (gcc, Kdevelop) and half VC++ development throughout my undergraduate studies. VC++ just crushes Linux development. Even after you figure out makefiles, CVS, and all the other fun stuff that gets in the way of real programming, the ease of use just isn't there. With VC++ you can load up, tweak a few variables, and do your thing. Plus, it's more pleasant coding in the VC++ editor than emacs, at least for me.
Also, I realize makefiles and CVS are incredibly useful, but not for me personally. When working with small projects like I do, being able ot just get going is a huge advantage.
Tell you what. You tell my gf that she "lacks confidence" and I'll see if I can hold her back.