And I'd like to see all the Swiss Germans yelling "Chummt der Sprutz?" (does it come...) when the install some MS software
A Harry-and-Sally moment when watching the progress bar:
"Yes... Yeesssss... it's coming... 80% installed... almost there... almost there... 90%... yessss... yeeeeeeessssssssssss!!!!!!"
You don't want to name your project "WiX" in Germany
No, but boy will this be fun (see other posts for translations):)
Now, your installation can be "hingewixt" quickly on your "wixed" system. Many people already suspected that everything from MS is "abgewixt". But, best of all, as it is free (as in speech), anybody can "wixen", and everyone can share the "wixe" and knowledge about "wixen".
Thank you, Microsoft, for making tech-talk on public transit so much more... interesting.
These agents will be able to optimize their system(s) by adapting their own (rule based) behavior to the behavior of other agents in the system.
Very true, connecting devices (with or without wires) is just one step, making them "talk" to each other is another. The mentioning of "sentient" and "loyal" sounded to me a bit like AI - which I think won't provide any solutions in the next decade, as the topic of AI is not so hot anymore in research.
Agents on the other hand may truly be useful, although IMHO there will be a "controlling" agent responsible for several dedicated devices (like all lights in a house) instead of a single agent in every device (one agent in every lightbulb - a bit exaggerated, I know).
the ultimate interface would be one that can receive 'thought waves'
And then a low IQ results in sloppy mouse movement?;)
No, seriously, it's a good point. Audio is a good way of communication if you are in a quiet place. For crowds, where everyone babbles with their device, it's probably unpractical. Imagine a room full of people talking to their mobile phone. At the same time. *shudder*
Another possibility could be projection keyboards and displays. Again, very much dependend on your surroundings, since you need a (small) surface you can project the data on. And anybody may see your screen - but that's not so much different from todays technology (except for the laptop screen which can not viewed from the side).
Honestly, I don't think the question "why we need all this" will be asked. It simply will happen. Primarily to create additional 'benefit' for the users, whatever it may be.
I agree with you that the tools today are not quite there. Laptops are too bulky, PDAs (esp. PocketPCs) drain the battery too quickly. Still, consider that we are pretty much at the beginning of the development, comparable to the 60s or 70s with regard to the PC.
Taking into account the speed of development (and the interest from both the potential users and the industry), considering what cell phones lookes like 5-10 year ago, imagine what will happen over the next 10 years. My personal bet: it will be impressive.
To use another parallel from the early days of the internet, I'm sure nobody saw the immediate benefit of transporting some data packets over a network. Want news? Buy a newspaper. Want music? Buy a CD. You get the idea;)
Again, I agree with you that todays mobile/pervasive technology can be improved - pen and paper are currently still essential. And I'm sure it will happen. Then we end up with electronic paper which takes your notes and then displays, if requested, the headlines of the major newspapers around the globe.
If I read the results correctly, the probability is not linked to the object itself, but to the energy created by the impact. So while the chance of an object being exactly 100m in diameter may be zero, the energy created by the impact can also be achieved by other diameter/speed variations. Therefore, the probability of the "energy rating" is larger than zero.
"Prepare ship for light speed!"
"No no no, light speed is too slow!"
"Light speed too slow?"
"Yes, we're gonna have to go right to... ludicrous speed!"
"Ludicrous speed? Sir, we've never gone that fast before. I don't know if this ship can take it!"
"Whatsa matter, Colonel Sandurz? Chicken?"
Spaceballs. Has a few space battles, too, but... well...;)
All cell phones sold now days have a GPS receiver built in.
Are you sure about this? Given that a GPS receiver is about the same size of a small mobile phone, uses the battery and is normally not useful to the user, "all cell phones" is too general. There are cell phones with GPS, yes, but they are the exception. Since GPS is an additional feature, the handset manufacturer would happily announce it in the specs or the data sheet...
They send information they receive from the satellites to the towers/base station
Who is 'they'? Neither the mobile network antennas ('towers') nor the base station receive GPS signals. Why should they, they are stationary after all. Maybe you mean "assisted GPS", where a device can use GPS and mobile network positioning techniques to enhance the precision of the location.
The cell phone already knows my co-ordinates (E911 service).
Careful not to mix up different positioning techniques:) Your cell phones does _not_ know its position. The _base station_ of the network does. This is assuming that you are _not_ using GPS, but let the network find out the position of the device by
using the cell ID of your current radio cell - precision varies with cell size (100m to several km)
using the 'angle of arrival' (AoA) of the radio waves to and from your mobile device
triangulate the device with 'Enhanced Observed Time Difference' (E-OTD), requires additional base stations in rage
These are just a few, there are several more.
GPS, on the other hand, requires you to have a GPS receiver. If you have one, your device can determine its position. You do not require a mobile phone network for this, but you need at least 3 GPS satellites "in view" (meaning: you must see the sky, GPS won't work within buildings; there is "indoor GPS", but this is about creating 'artificial satellites' within a building).
GPS gives YOU your position, and YOU alone, unless you transmit the information (e.g. to a map service). The techniques described above give your position to the network operator, not you. The operator then has to give the information to you or some mobile service. With E911, in case of an emergency the network operator reports your position to the emergency units.
Why can't I send the coordinates using Bluetooth to my laptop, and use a mapping application to give me my location and directions to where i want to go.
As said above, if you do not have a GPS receiver, YOU do not have your position. You have to use whatever service your provider offers (if any). To use the laptop you need a GPS receiver. Connect that to the laptop, install the right software... and voila:)
Hope that helps;) There are tons of information on this subject. If you'd like to have more details, I'll point you to some papers on that matter.
I would further this point by saying that the main affliction of the indy game scene may be the how easy it is to actually make games in this day and age.
Good point. Plus, it has become a lot easier to distribute software over the internet. In "the old days", when the internet was virtually unknown and BBS ruled the world, making software known and distribute it without a publisher was much harder. Not impossible, but harder.
I won't repeat the mantra "code for standards, not for browser", that horn has been tooted enough already. But here's why I think it's true.
If you stick to the standards, and if you try to create a page that looks decent no matter which browser or platform you use, chances are the page will also work - somehow - on a mobile device. Opera is available for the P800/900, there's the PocketIE and there are several HTML browser for PalmOS devices. They do a good job, and if you stick to the standards, you won't be making it harder for them.
I think they will become more and more popular over the next few years - if you get it right now, you save yourself a lot of work later (which also applies if you do not care if mobile devices can render your page). Instant marketing bonus: you can label your page as "displays fine on mobile devices". Now, how many sites out there can claim that?:)
Hmmm, can anyone come up with a nice icon for that? *g*
I'd say that many of those games went from 'mainstream' to 'share-/freeware'. There are plenty Tetris games available for *nix, even multiplayer versions. And, as someone already mentioned, the web and Java are a popular platform for these games.
IMHO, games today are more and more trying to tell a story, an element rarely found in older games (with famous exceptions, of course, Bards Tale e.g.) This is necessary to catch the average user who just wants to play for an hour every other evening.
But I agree with you, genres like puzzle games, 2D shooter or point-and-click adventures have become rare.
IMHO the difference is that today many more games are produced than in the 8bit era. Back then, only a few games from every publisher came out each month (maybe with the exception of the C64 and huge companies like EA), so each game had to be "good" and "outstanding". If it wasn't, it simply wouldn't sell. And you couldn't really rip off ideas, because it would hurt the image of the company or the programmer. Plus, from the business perspective, licensing an engine never happened AFAIK.
Today, this is no longer an issue. Many companies license a 3D engine for example - thus producing "yet another 3D shooter" (hopefully with a different flavour).
The market has also grown, and the PC is reaching new customers which would have never used a 8bit machine, much less played games on it. As a result, games appealing to the casual gamer are created, which are "mediocre" in the eye of the typical gamer.
So application A communicates with application B by checking in the data and B checks it out again? Well, at least you could roll back the entire communication between A and B and see all the changes...
In a way, it does fit somehow (or so the author reasons):
Of all distributed computing environments, CORBA probably shares more surface-level similarities with grid computing than the others. This is due to the strategic relationship between grid computing and Web services in the Open Grid Services Architecture.
Oddly enough, WSDL and SOAP are mentioned, but never really discussed. And the would be probably better suited than CORBA.
Actually, "plain old" cell phones could be fading away: there are tendencies (mostly "imported" from Japan) that mobile phones will be more like fashion appliances than utility devices. There were some fancy design studies for UMTS prototypes (see a few here, although they are mostly harmless) and, a good example, are the Xelibris from Siemens. Agreed, none of those phones is selling strong, but the tendency to move phones into the fashion department is there. It won't happen tomorrow, and it may not happen at all... but you never know!
Slashdot Mirror
And I'd like to see all the Swiss Germans yelling "Chummt der Sprutz?" (does it come...) when the install some MS software
A Harry-and-Sally moment when watching the progress bar:
"Yes... Yeesssss... it's coming... 80% installed... almost there... almost there... 90%... yessss... yeeeeeeessssssssssss!!!!!!"
You don't want to name your project "WiX" in Germany
:)
No, but boy will this be fun (see other posts for translations)
Now, your installation can be "hingewixt" quickly on your "wixed" system. Many people already suspected that everything from MS is "abgewixt". But, best of all, as it is free (as in speech), anybody can "wixen", and everyone can share the "wixe" and knowledge about "wixen".
Thank you, Microsoft, for making tech-talk on public transit so much more... interesting.
These agents will be able to optimize their system(s) by adapting their own (rule based) behavior to the behavior of other agents in the system.
Very true, connecting devices (with or without wires) is just one step, making them "talk" to each other is another. The mentioning of "sentient" and "loyal" sounded to me a bit like AI - which I think won't provide any solutions in the next decade, as the topic of AI is not so hot anymore in research.
Agents on the other hand may truly be useful, although IMHO there will be a "controlling" agent responsible for several dedicated devices (like all lights in a house) instead of a single agent in every device (one agent in every lightbulb - a bit exaggerated, I know).
the ultimate interface would be one that can receive 'thought waves'
;)
And then a low IQ results in sloppy mouse movement?
No, seriously, it's a good point. Audio is a good way of communication if you are in a quiet place. For crowds, where everyone babbles with their device, it's probably unpractical. Imagine a room full of people talking to their mobile phone. At the same time. *shudder*
Another possibility could be projection keyboards and displays. Again, very much dependend on your surroundings, since you need a (small) surface you can project the data on. And anybody may see your screen - but that's not so much different from todays technology (except for the laptop screen which can not viewed from the side).
Honestly, I don't think the question "why we need all this" will be asked. It simply will happen. Primarily to create additional 'benefit' for the users, whatever it may be.
;)
I agree with you that the tools today are not quite there. Laptops are too bulky, PDAs (esp. PocketPCs) drain the battery too quickly. Still, consider that we are pretty much at the beginning of the development, comparable to the 60s or 70s with regard to the PC.
Taking into account the speed of development (and the interest from both the potential users and the industry), considering what cell phones lookes like 5-10 year ago, imagine what will happen over the next 10 years. My personal bet: it will be impressive.
To use another parallel from the early days of the internet, I'm sure nobody saw the immediate benefit of transporting some data packets over a network. Want news? Buy a newspaper. Want music? Buy a CD. You get the idea
Again, I agree with you that todays mobile/pervasive technology can be improved - pen and paper are currently still essential. And I'm sure it will happen. Then we end up with electronic paper which takes your notes and then displays, if requested, the headlines of the major newspapers around the globe.
How could he know, you never specified whether it was an AFRICAN or EUROPEAN swallow...
;)
BTW, what is your favourite colour?
Lucky you! Here is the movie you are asking for. Dunno which settings they used, though...
If I read the results correctly, the probability is not linked to the object itself, but to the energy created by the impact. So while the chance of an object being exactly 100m in diameter may be zero, the energy created by the impact can also be achieved by other diameter/speed variations. Therefore, the probability of the "energy rating" is larger than zero.
Ramming Speed? Awwwww... not good enough! ;)
;)
"Prepare ship for light speed!"
"No no no, light speed is too slow!"
"Light speed too slow?"
"Yes, we're gonna have to go right to... ludicrous speed!"
"Ludicrous speed? Sir, we've never gone that fast before. I don't know if this ship can take it!"
"Whatsa matter, Colonel Sandurz? Chicken?"
Spaceballs. Has a few space battles, too, but... well...
Yes, Word has one (insert an object, then pick the formula editor). AFAIK it won't export MathML, but it's decent otherwise.
All cell phones sold now days have a GPS receiver built in.
Are you sure about this? Given that a GPS receiver is about the same size of a small mobile phone, uses the battery and is normally not useful to the user, "all cell phones" is too general. There are cell phones with GPS, yes, but they are the exception. Since GPS is an additional feature, the handset manufacturer would happily announce it in the specs or the data sheet...
They send information they receive from the satellites to the towers/base station
Who is 'they'? Neither the mobile network antennas ('towers') nor the base station receive GPS signals. Why should they, they are stationary after all. Maybe you mean "assisted GPS", where a device can use GPS and mobile network positioning techniques to enhance the precision of the location.
Careful not to mix up different positioning techniques
- using the cell ID of your current radio cell - precision varies with cell size (100m to several km)
- using the 'angle of arrival' (AoA) of the radio waves to and from your mobile device
- triangulate the device with 'Enhanced Observed Time Difference' (E-OTD), requires additional base stations in rage
These are just a few, there are several more.GPS, on the other hand, requires you to have a GPS receiver. If you have one, your device can determine its position. You do not require a mobile phone network for this, but you need at least 3 GPS satellites "in view" (meaning: you must see the sky, GPS won't work within buildings; there is "indoor GPS", but this is about creating 'artificial satellites' within a building).
GPS gives YOU your position, and YOU alone, unless you transmit the information (e.g. to a map service). The techniques described above give your position to the network operator, not you. The operator then has to give the information to you or some mobile service. With E911, in case of an emergency the network operator reports your position to the emergency units.
Why can't I send the coordinates using Bluetooth to my laptop, and use a mapping application to give me my location and directions to where i want to go.
As said above, if you do not have a GPS receiver, YOU do not have your position. You have to use whatever service your provider offers (if any). To use the laptop you need a GPS receiver. Connect that to the laptop, install the right software... and voila
Hope that helps
I would further this point by saying that the main affliction of the indy game scene may be the how easy it is to actually make games in this day and age.
Good point. Plus, it has become a lot easier to distribute software over the internet. In "the old days", when the internet was virtually unknown and BBS ruled the world, making software known and distribute it without a publisher was much harder. Not impossible, but harder.
I won't repeat the mantra "code for standards, not for browser", that horn has been tooted enough already. But here's why I think it's true.
:)
If you stick to the standards, and if you try to create a page that looks decent no matter which browser or platform you use, chances are the page will also work - somehow - on a mobile device. Opera is available for the P800/900, there's the PocketIE and there are several HTML browser for PalmOS devices. They do a good job, and if you stick to the standards, you won't be making it harder for them.
I think they will become more and more popular over the next few years - if you get it right now, you save yourself a lot of work later (which also applies if you do not care if mobile devices can render your page). Instant marketing bonus: you can label your page as "displays fine on mobile devices". Now, how many sites out there can claim that?
Hmmm, can anyone come up with a nice icon for that? *g*
Here are also a few nifty (and probably expensive) solutions. All you should hear is the tapping of the fingers on the table ;)
Of course this adds yet another light source to the dark room...
I'd say that many of those games went from 'mainstream' to 'share-/freeware'. There are plenty Tetris games available for *nix, even multiplayer versions. And, as someone already mentioned, the web and Java are a popular platform for these games.
IMHO, games today are more and more trying to tell a story, an element rarely found in older games (with famous exceptions, of course, Bards Tale e.g.) This is necessary to catch the average user who just wants to play for an hour every other evening.
But I agree with you, genres like puzzle games, 2D shooter or point-and-click adventures have become rare.
IMHO the difference is that today many more games are produced than in the 8bit era. Back then, only a few games from every publisher came out each month (maybe with the exception of the C64 and huge companies like EA), so each game had to be "good" and "outstanding". If it wasn't, it simply wouldn't sell. And you couldn't really rip off ideas, because it would hurt the image of the company or the programmer. Plus, from the business perspective, licensing an engine never happened AFAIK.
Today, this is no longer an issue. Many companies license a 3D engine for example - thus producing "yet another 3D shooter" (hopefully with a different flavour).
The market has also grown, and the PC is reaching new customers which would have never used a 8bit machine, much less played games on it. As a result, games appealing to the casual gamer are created, which are "mediocre" in the eye of the typical gamer.
CSV vs. CVS ;)
;)
File that under "failed attempt at being funny" *sigh* Next time will be better, I promise
I just noticed I misread your comment. Maybe on purpose, maybe because I'm low on caffein.
So application A communicates with application B by checking in the data and B checks it out again? Well, at least you could roll back the entire communication between A and B and see all the changes...
In a way, it does fit somehow (or so the author reasons):
Of all distributed computing environments, CORBA probably shares more surface-level similarities with grid computing than the others. This is due to the strategic relationship between grid computing and Web services in the Open Grid Services Architecture.
Oddly enough, WSDL and SOAP are mentioned, but never really discussed. And the would be probably better suited than CORBA.
... "a 3d network protocol"?
A protocol where server go up & down?
Actually, "plain old" cell phones could be fading away: there are tendencies (mostly "imported" from Japan) that mobile phones will be more like fashion appliances than utility devices. There were some fancy design studies for UMTS prototypes (see a few here, although they are mostly harmless) and, a good example, are the Xelibris from Siemens. Agreed, none of those phones is selling strong, but the tendency to move phones into the fashion department is there. It won't happen tomorrow, and it may not happen at all... but you never know!
fixing all those crash bugs
Indeed, wouldn't it be fun if the boss key showed random samples of the real Windows code? *g* Talk about "Open Source" here...
Especially if you are an accountant and not a coder :)