TFA says the largest piece could be about 40 pounds and hit at 100 mph. That wouldn't dent your car, it would totally destroy it.
If you're driving along a highway at 100mph, I have a hard time imaging that hitting a 40 pound child would totally destroy a car. Serious damage, sure.
How about for board games where you want to be able to view your position without having it on the table for everyone to see? If the device is able to sense that you're holding Alpha team's HUD and not Bravo team's it could show you only your map view rather than the opponent's. I'm sure there's other possible benefits, but the beauty of technology is that if it's possible, someone will come up with something really cool and then everyone will shift their thinking to "Why would anybody want to be restricted to a two-dimensional surface?"
The only way the roads in that "road map" idea would be in the right place is if you were hovering directly over the table -- except you'd be blocking the projector, and it still wouldn't be right towards the edges of the table.
The projector projects from under the table using alternate frames on the surface. By applying current or not, the surface is either translucent or transparent, thus the second image projects through while the first remains on the table surface itself. If you're standing directly over it, you're in a perfect spot to see it and nothing gets blocked.
The cool thing about not doing it in software is that you can have the extra layer be a piece of translucent plastic on top of the surface... or you can hold it a few feet up. The second projector can then focus on where you're holding it to project a sharp image. If you do this in software, you'll end up holding a blank, unlit object while the second image is superimposed on the surface, obscuring the main image and negating the benefits of a third dimension. Because of the alternating frames and the second projector, you see an unimpeded original image on the surface and an unimpeded second image on the object you're holding.
TFA gives the size of a patch or a game download. But that information is easily found. What would actually be useful is the information on how much bandwidth gameplay actually consumes, perhaps in Kbps, for a few of the more common MMOs like WoW.
It's possible that you live in one of the four or five countries (out of roughly 195) in the world where you have access to uncapped Internet access at acceptable speeds and monthly costs...
United States, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Korea, Singapore. That's 9 countries off the top of my head that I know of which offer uncapped downloads.
Back when I actually answered my land line, if I ever heard total silence on the other end, I would not say anything and just wait. The telemarketer computer generally hung up after a few seconds.
These days, my phones are set to not ring, I have no voicemail/answering machine, and I don't answer it. People who know me call my cell phone. The landline is generally for outbound calls only.
No, because you don't know which of them is backspace if you have to compare what's written to what's recorded. Or maybe I'm getting it wrong.
It makes it a bit tougher, but it's a basic substitution cypher. Assuming you can match up any correctly-typed portion of the text with sounds, finding the parts that don't match up will allow you to determine which is the backspace. Just think about how unique the spacebar sound is. If you can even match up the number of non-spacebar keypresses with the spacebar keypresses, you've just about solved it right there and the rest is a trivial exercise.
Of course, it's much tougher if someone is constantly using arrow keys and such to change position, but with any sufficiently long response you're likely to have more than enough source data.
AC was me, accidentally hit the "Post anonymously" checkbox... anyway, I'm well aware of Moonlight but that isn't exactly going to implement 2.0 soon, is it?
I was more trying to make the point that to me, a new version of Windows-only software is useless.
Okay, fair enough... but it comes across as more of a Microsoft bash than anything. It's well understood that if software X comes out for platform Y and a person uses platform Z which is incompatible with Y, that they won't be able to use software X... whether it's Apple software for OS X that Windows users can't use or any other combination. It really doesn't need to be pointed out any more than an article on a cure for ovarian cancer ought to be filled with posts saying "But I don't have ovaries, so this is useless to me." -- which might be true, but it's certainly useful for others.
approach to fighting terrorism. Your idea will not work. Here is why it won't work. (One or more of the following may apply to your particular idea, and it may have other flaws which used to vary from dictatorship to dictatorship before a bad federal law was passed.)
(*) Terrorists can easily encrypt their email ( ) Other legitimate email users would be affected ( ) It will stop terrorists for two weeks and then we'll be stuck with it ( ) Users of email will not put up with it
Slashdot Mirror
Okay, now you've started it. Calling plagiarism on one of Slashdot's time-honored memes is not funny! Some examples:
Mar 2003: http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/03/25/0032236 (the story itself!)
Feb 2003: http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=54732&cid=5361177
Apr 2002: http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=30403&cid=3267655 (the original?)
Who can come up with the earliest example that this was "plagiarized" from?
Sounds like he was flying with a skeleton crew.
I'd say he possibly broke the speed landing record.
TFA says the largest piece could be about 40 pounds and hit at 100 mph. That wouldn't dent your car, it would totally destroy it.
If you're driving along a highway at 100mph, I have a hard time imaging that hitting a 40 pound child would totally destroy a car. Serious damage, sure.
Indecent Iteration was voted out early on.
How about for board games where you want to be able to view your position without having it on the table for everyone to see? If the device is able to sense that you're holding Alpha team's HUD and not Bravo team's it could show you only your map view rather than the opponent's. I'm sure there's other possible benefits, but the beauty of technology is that if it's possible, someone will come up with something really cool and then everyone will shift their thinking to "Why would anybody want to be restricted to a two-dimensional surface?"
The only way the roads in that "road map" idea would be in the right place is if you were hovering directly over the table -- except you'd be blocking the projector, and it still wouldn't be right towards the edges of the table.
The projector projects from under the table using alternate frames on the surface. By applying current or not, the surface is either translucent or transparent, thus the second image projects through while the first remains on the table surface itself. If you're standing directly over it, you're in a perfect spot to see it and nothing gets blocked.
The cool thing about not doing it in software is that you can have the extra layer be a piece of translucent plastic on top of the surface... or you can hold it a few feet up. The second projector can then focus on where you're holding it to project a sharp image. If you do this in software, you'll end up holding a blank, unlit object while the second image is superimposed on the surface, obscuring the main image and negating the benefits of a third dimension. Because of the alternating frames and the second projector, you see an unimpeded original image on the surface and an unimpeded second image on the object you're holding.
Similarly, I made a Soviet Russia plugin that simulates what it's like to be inside you!
TSR? What?! Are you still using DOS as your main OS in 2008?
Today we call stuff that run in the background while you do other stuff "Programs", "Services" or "Daemons". Get with the times, man.
Note the user ID of 1263. I believe you're on his lawn.
Three Wiis? With twelve, I could set up a Beowulf Cluster and run Linux to calculate Pi to the 50 billionth decimal place!
The 50 billionth decimal place of pi is 2. (Source: http://www.geocities.com/hjsmithh/Pi/Record51.html)
TFA gives the size of a patch or a game download. But that information is easily found. What would actually be useful is the information on how much bandwidth gameplay actually consumes, perhaps in Kbps, for a few of the more common MMOs like WoW.
Such information is also easily found: http://www.google.com/search?q=wow+bandwidth
It's possible that you live in one of the four or five countries (out of roughly 195) in the world where you have access to uncapped Internet access at acceptable speeds and monthly costs...
United States, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Korea, Singapore. That's 9 countries off the top of my head that I know of which offer uncapped downloads.
[...] receive a call on a lan line [...] have your number moved from a LAN line [...] you can just LIE to them on a LAN line [...]
The first one I thought was just a typo, but it's landline and has nothing to do with Local Area Networks.
Back when I actually answered my land line, if I ever heard total silence on the other end, I would not say anything and just wait. The telemarketer computer generally hung up after a few seconds.
These days, my phones are set to not ring, I have no voicemail/answering machine, and I don't answer it. People who know me call my cell phone. The landline is generally for outbound calls only.
I was seriously considering getting this product: http://www.privacycorps.com/products/?id=4 though they seem to be perpetually out of stock.
...make it Binary only for all I care... compiled for 32 and 64 bit.
What's the point? You already have binary-only Windows to play a binary-only game on.
No, because you don't know which of them is backspace if you have to compare what's written to what's recorded. Or maybe I'm getting it wrong.
It makes it a bit tougher, but it's a basic substitution cypher. Assuming you can match up any correctly-typed portion of the text with sounds, finding the parts that don't match up will allow you to determine which is the backspace. Just think about how unique the spacebar sound is. If you can even match up the number of non-spacebar keypresses with the spacebar keypresses, you've just about solved it right there and the rest is a trivial exercise.
Of course, it's much tougher if someone is constantly using arrow keys and such to change position, but with any sufficiently long response you're likely to have more than enough source data.
That assumes no typos and no editing.
Because of the silent backspace key?
Its much easier with a cricket ball. Just use it to break the window.
That may be how the Brits do it, but using a bowling ball generally meets with smashing success.
AC was me, accidentally hit the "Post anonymously" checkbox... anyway, I'm well aware of Moonlight but that isn't exactly going to implement 2.0 soon, is it?
I was more trying to make the point that to me, a new version of Windows-only software is useless.
Okay, fair enough... but it comes across as more of a Microsoft bash than anything. It's well understood that if software X comes out for platform Y and a person uses platform Z which is incompatible with Y, that they won't be able to use software X... whether it's Apple software for OS X that Windows users can't use or any other combination. It really doesn't need to be pointed out any more than an article on a cure for ovarian cancer ought to be filled with posts saying "But I don't have ovaries, so this is useless to me." -- which might be true, but it's certainly useful for others.
It's probably a good time to ask them about it:
http://www.ixwebhosting.com/index.php/v2/pages.LiveChat
...call me again when Mono has an implementation.
I couldn't find your phone number, but here you go -- Mono project's Moonlight, the open source implementation of Silverlight.
Not news. We already know xkcd is funny and the New Yorker isn't. Dinosaurs in 1999 B.C.? Is this guy some kind of unfunny creationist?
What you completely missed is that it's a political jab at Palin. See this if you don't get it.
Your post advocates a
(*) technical (*) legislative ( ) market-based ( ) vigilante
approach to fighting terrorism. Your idea will not work. Here is why it won't work. (One or more of the following may apply to your particular idea, and it may have other flaws which used to vary from dictatorship to dictatorship before a bad federal law was passed.)
(*) Terrorists can easily encrypt their email
( ) Other legitimate email users would be affected
( ) It will stop terrorists for two weeks and then we'll be stuck with it
( ) Users of email will not put up with it
[...] anybody feeling ambitious? :)
Is the UK government and authorities completely without morales?
It would seem their morale is quite high, though their enthusiasm could be better directed to other tasks.
If it were cyclones around Uranus, would it be a moon then?