"Gilliam is a very dark individual when it comes to film, as shown by such films as 'The Meaning of Life', '12 Monkeys', and 'Time Bandits'. "
You can add Gilliam's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" to that list. It follows Hunter S. Thompson's book very closely, and looks like a visual orgy. The biggest complant I heard about this film was that it was disoganized and messy. The reason it's this way is that it tries to follow the style of the book very closely, which is basiclly a distorted account of a motorcycle race and a DA convention, and everything in between. Duke Raoul and Dr. Gonzo have one long ugly trip, and the film shows it all in detail.
I think the other reason the didn't do to well is the way it was advertized. The T.V. ads, if I remember correctly, tried to past this off as a Cheech and Chong type comedy, while the film is much more darker and violent than that (The scene where Dr. Gonzo is sitting in the tub, full of acid and trying to kill himself comes to mind).
Yeah, I'm a bit spoiled by perl as well. Perl tends to make CGI VERY easy. I learned to do Perl/CGI stuff at the same time, and it all seems much more natural than do it in C. Just slap in CGI.pm and away you go with easy-made forms. And Perl's string handling makes parsing out data quite easy. Of course, it's bit sluggish, but then again most of my scripts are small and run on a pretty fast server, so I guess I'm double spoiled.:) And you have to watch what modules you use, as some can be slow (like DateManip).
Then again, not all CGI HAS to be fast. I would use C/C++ for the user end stuff, so you can impress your client with fast searches, etc. But for other things, like just parsing logs and non-time critial events, a niced-down plain perl script is just fine, otherwise you might waste vaulible time not optimizing the good stuff.
I heard that it's possible that perl scripts CAN be compiled, but the last I heard of that was that the support was rather buggy. Has it got any better? Yeah, I should be checking it myself, but I'm still learning this stuff and want to hear from someone who did something heavyduty with it.
"I've had my N64 freeze on me, twice. That's the only time I've ever seen I've ever seen a console crash, including NES, SNES, Genesis, PSX, Saturn, Sega CD, Dreamcast... you get the picture. I'd hate to see buggy console games become as common as buggy PC games."
Yeah, the only buggy PSX game I own is Grand Thieft Auto. Heavy slowdown and dead crashes. The only thing that keeps me playing is that it's one of my favs. I think the fact that it's free formish is it's best feature.
1. Get drunk 2. Start killing as many people as you can. (i.e. drive on the sidewalk) 3. repeat 2 as long as you can before the cops kill you....
p.s. this is odd, while I am typing this, music from my quake2 CD is playing for no reason (I just stopped a gamespy session a half hour ago), and quake2 is NOT playing in the background...
Updates and patches? Uh-Oh. I don't like the sound of this. I will hate to see console software get into that "Ship it now, and release patches later" mindset. And most people will be using modems untill bandwidth becomes VERY cheap. And most patches are BIG.
This is not fun, and connections have a bad habit of breaking when you need them most. When bugs did surface on console games, you either sent in the game for a new disk, or got the bums rush from the company. Thankfully, most of the console games are mostly bug-free (and I mean bugs that kill a game, not little graphics burps), because of the bad PR/cost of making new disks is high. But the whole "patch it later" could be a headache.
As for savegames, 8GB is overkill. I only own 2 1Meg mem cards for my Playstation, but then again, I delete saved games when I get bored with a title. Even if you save tons of data, you don't need that much space. If you have games on your PC, pick your lastest game and see how big your saved game files are.
For add-ons/mods, that would be cool. But you'll still need either small mods or fast bandwith. Connections are flaky, even with a good modem. Yes, some people still use modems.
Free demos? Bandwith strikes again. Games are big. DVD based games will be Really Big, since they'll have all the cool, wizzbang stuff on them. Feel like downloading a DVD or a large part of it?:)
The current method of getting demos are demo CDs. I rather spend a few bucks for a slab of plastic then tie up the phone line.
Maybe Sony should look into software that will resume broken downloads, at least.
How dare you call the TI crappy! Have you ever used Extendend Basic? I used to spend hours screwing around with sprites. The TI version of basic was the easiest I've ever seen, otherwise I never would have become interested in programming. Yeah, it was slow (I think the basic was double-interpreted, not sure). But it had Hunt the Wumpus with GRAPHICS! WOO-HOO!:)
The speech synth was pretty cool for it's time too and could say anything if you had the TE 2 cart.
Faster access time? You know these win/dos games that have that full-super-install that copies everything (including FMV stuff) to the hard drive to speed things up? I have no idea how fast a dvd-drive is, is a goodish hard drive faster?
A cache for web access? A big memory card could do this, or using free memory+compression would work. But even a big cache doesn't make a dent in 8 GB.
Storing drivers/other data that would usally be on a mem card? This seems most likely. But 8 GB seems like overkill.
Ripping a DVD to the hard drive and then using the ports to copy it to another drive? Nah.:)
Wait. If this thing is so close in power to a "standard PC", a hard drive could store work. Just add a keyboard and type up your term paper by staring at your fuzzy tv for hours. Ick.
"Microsoft has used prison labor to package software. "
Lots of places do this, including one airline that I can't remember right now. There is a film called "The Big One" produced by Michael Moore that goes into some detail about this. He also did "Roger and me" (about the GM closing in Flint) and the cool TV show "TV Nation". Great stuff.
I watched this film a long time ago, and was mostly bored. The thing is, Bakshi was the wrong guy for this film. Have you ever seen Fritz the Cat or Coonskin? In his early days, Bakshi was the kind of guy that just likes to do crazy visuals without worrying too much about a plot. This isn't so much the case in later films, like American Pop and Hey Good Looking, but you can still see this in spots (like the goofy ending of Amer. Pop), where he seems to say, "alright, let's forget what's happening and do some cool visuals, or maybe something just wierd (like the talking trashcan in the begining of Hey Good Looking)". This is just the opposiite of what a LOTR film needs, because Tolken fans are pretty nit-picky about details, and Bakshi just wanted to skim over the work and do what he wanted to do.
"You missed the biggest problem with it... They'll give kids cash, T-shirts, etc, for these calls. It could easily lead to (and im sure it will somewhere if it goes national) "bounty hunting"-like activities. It'll no longer be about helping friends, it'll be about finding someone you can get away with reporting, and get as much cash as possible."
I just looked at the site: http://www.waveamerica.com/
and I don't see any mention of cash, just prizes. Where on the site does it talk about getting some cash?
The sign up page says this:
"Sign up for the WAVE, and free email isn't the only perk you'll receive! If you're a middle or high school student in North Carolina, you could also win a free computer! And that's just the first of many prizes you'll be eligible for as a participant in the WAVE. You can also become a WAVE Reporter and share your stories, poems and art on this website. So, be sure to signup and tell your parents or guardians about the WAVE."
So, a drawing for a free computer and some t-shirts. I think the average Wal-Mart grand opening has the same stuff.:)
Do you really think that this program will get kids to narc on each other that WOULDN'T have done it before?
"What's the most hideous use of bandwith-busting graphics that you've seen, and how do we avoid the brainless design decisions that lead us down such evil paths?:) "
How to prevent it? Easy. Force every web designer to view their work... with a 56k dialup. If you can hold your breath untill the page loads, you got it right. That last part I heard someplace else, but can't remember where. It's 1:30am now and all this Natty Boh is going to my head.:)
The whole "back in reality?" theme seems to be a fav of David Cronenberg and can be seen in some of his earlier films. Videodrome explores this in a cool way by video/mind control/reality mucking about with the idea that perception/hallucination=reality. Naked Lunch is simular, but uses drug addiction to examine the question of reality. Both are very good films, anyway.
Does anybody have any REAL idea what dent copied music is putting the pockets of the recording industry? Think about it. Modern copied music has been around since tape recorders were cheap enough for the public. How many of you have a tape copy of a CD a friend made for you, Hmmm? I have a copy of a Beastie Boys CD, and I had the tape since I was in high school. The tape wore out years ago, so I bought the CD because the tape format started failing on me. I could make lots of copies on tape and send them out in trade for other tapes (like a non-ROIO version of a tape-tree), but that would be expensive. Now I can send some rather low-quality music by email or upload. Wow. And only people who have the right hardware can play it, and such hardware costs a bit more than a walkman. And not everyone has a system for playing MP3s. I bet more people have a half-decent CD player/tape deck. Copying music has been around for years, and the recording industry seems to be doing alright. Is it wrong? Yeah, but life can suck that way, eh?
The e-machine that I use (Hey, it's cheap) uses a bit of software called "Easy Keyboard" which just runs a prog when it gets the right scancode. The version that I use can't be easier to change, just open up the config, type the path/prog name next to the button name (or a address next to the internet button) and that's it. As lame as it sounds, it's kinda growing on me.
"Bend over and kiss ISA, PCI, overclocked Celerons and The Computer Show and Sale good-bye."
Wait, you mean the Computer Show and Sale which is basicly just a flea market full of hole-in-the wall junk hardware dealers? Ugh. That's the last place you want to go to build your own system. I hate to go off on a tangent, but these dealers are the same types that try to make a living selling crap on Ebay instead of, uh, getting a JOB. They have this nice habit of lying about the hardware they sell ("Yeah, you can use this CD-ROM to play DVDs!"). and overprice it. I seen this in the Maryland area, so maybe it's different in other states.
Yeah, I have GTA for the Playstation and it's one buggy port of a game. When the cops are really chasing you (setting up roadblocks, etc.), the game slows to a crawl. Lockups, wierd errors that prevent you from finishing a level, sounds play for no reason, etc. Most games (at least the ones I have) don't have this problem, so I'm chalking it up to a bad port. Was the PC version any better?
Yeah, I have both WC1 and WC2. At least you can run WC1 on a old system, like a "good" 386 because it uses vga instead of svga, which puts less burden on old vid cards. As soon as I think of a way to put a 386 in my bathroom, WC1 is gonna be on it.
Jeez, the sharks around here must have smelled fresh blood or something.
He guy admitted that he is not a techie, a lay-person. Somethimes he writes for the lay-person in a style you may find simplistic. He writes from his own point of view, which some may find annoying or simple. Writers should write what they know about, or at least what interests them. Maybe thats why he only picks certain topics?
Hell, I only post/respond to topics I like. That's what keeps writers from writing about everything. When did we lose the right to be incorrect once in awhile? Why can't he just say, "Here's my view, what do you think?".
Chorus: But he doesn't belong here! He's not one of us!
Here is a little secret: non-techies read slashdot. It's true. Some people don't even use Linux.
Chorus: (GASP!)
But some people are interested in tech news, they hear that slashdot is a good source. Some of this stuff may be over their heads. They may want to hear what that evil old Katz has to say. If they don't like it, they won't read me again. Humans have this noble way of avoiding things they don't like, but some forget how to do that and shreik loudly instead.
Chorus: He is wasting our time! We don't want to see his blurbs!
Life just sucks, eh? Does some force make you read his views? Does not having checked the "ignore the infidel" box make the page load 100x slower?
Sometimes I read his stuff and think: 1. that was stupid 2. not bad 3. etc....
In no way has he wasted my time. He has no need to "validate his existance" to me. If the topic bores me, I don't read it. If I don't like his views, or think the essay was badly written, I make a firm resolution not to get my panties in a bunch.
Here's the secret, kids.....
You don't have to read everything here.
Chorus: But he has bad grammar!!!
Screw grammar, let's dance. Think you can do better? Put up or shut up.:)
This is not his full-time job, I think we could handle a bit of sloppiness once in a while.
Chorus: We don't want to hear about his damn books!
I guess pride is a bad, bad thing. And by the way, I modified some code someplace, and so, I shall be your God.
First of all, I don't work for any such company you desire, but since nobody else has responded and I hate to see this un-replied to.
Hmmm. Theres a fine line between "something new" and "unwanted interference". It all really depends on how visible you what all of this technology to be. You could do the standard video wallpaper with large banks of monitors, but the light output may ruin the overall mood. You could counter this by adjusting the brightness, or limiting the display to mostly black. Or forget that and use dimmed video projectors if you have enough unclutered wall/ceiling space.
I am not sure how you want this space to be "hooked into the net". Will it be sender, receiver, or both. Web cams, as you mentioned, have been done to death already, as have video confercing tricks, streamed audio from sound system (even though a radio station would be nice, provided you have interesting content). I really can't think of any tricks and candy that your space could provide to the net that hasn't been done before.
Maybe the key is to distort incoming/outgoing data in a more interesting mannor. Allow users on a site to send anon messages, have the messages scrabbled using some markov-type tricks and then presented. Video would be a more interesting data form, combine both local cam feeds mixed with external video in a pleasing way. This would break the webcam/"internet cafe" image you don't want. The data isn't meant to be studied here (as in a cafe), but be part the scene like the music (visual display of the sound system mixed with the above, maybe?). Keep the "normal and visable" computing element low.
Don't people go to these places to get away from computers?:)
"Drugs result in a chaotic, illogical state and I guess the reasons for using them are equally illogical"
I guess you never been to boozed-up tailgate party, very angry chaos, you might say that it's illogical to a scary extreme. But it's really not.
The reasons for using?
1. It's Fun. 2. Because it's THERE.
Why do people climb steep rocks? One wrong move and you're a CRIPPLE! Your life is runnied. But why do it? Adventure, something that some people never understand. Reality can be bore. Humans crave action and pleasure. That's why we drink and slow down when we pass a car crash. Danger can be both mental and physical, and some of us choose take that risk for our personal gain.
"...they risk their health, their precious jobs, legal ramifications."
Health reasons are understandable and I guess that's what keep most people from using. Fear of the unknown and it's effects on our bodys, the human body being an important tool of our meager little brains. If that goes, you can't work, and you'll be living in the street in no time. Some of the stronger ones can hack it and have a good time in the process. Legal ramifications are the result of highly developed monkeys (i.e. humans) trying to remind themselves how civilized they are.
Drug use in it's own terms poses no real threat, only human behavior can be threating, and some of us can destroy quite nicely without any chemicals.
The connection between computer/drug use is on the basis that there is a great deal of info on the internet concerning drug use. It comes from both sides, you have the DEA warriors spewing and then you have the users trying to sneak around the damn laws. And hot damn, it's all free. I mean, where else could you find out:
Legal info (without having to scan legal docs or hire a lawyer)
Production methods (barring certain "cookbooks" which are mostly useless)
Legal goodies (yes kids, there are a few interesting chemicals out there that haven't been scheduled yet, like DXM, salvia, and better stuff if you can twist around the right documents)
Places where to obtain the above goodies (www.jlfcatalog.com comes to mind, expensive but nice people)
Tools for trippin' (acidwarp anyone?)
Where to find a good lawyer (just in case)
Hell I remember when I started college and got the hang of FTP sites and that new fangled thing called gopher, and the first things I had stashed on my unix account were a list of legal highs, how to roll a joint, etc back in '92. Of course, most of this stuff was at the local libary, but here it was all indexed and bullshit free. Hell, all the ravers I knew back then always had the best computers (High powered 486's, The first time I saw a pirated copy of Alone in the Dark on one that was connected up to a loud stereo, I was hooked) Why? It was the new Big Thing. You have access to a good supply to chemicals, what else but use a powerful tool made of switches. Infinite fun on both fronts.
As for coding, I remember trying to finish a rather large comp sci project while under the influence. Tricky stuff and not much fun for me. Pretty much a waste of a good trip. But it can open the floodgates, for better or worse, for ideas on programing, art, music or whatever your twisted little mind wants.
I was wait for someone to talk about these guys. They do amazing stuff, far past the battle bots stuff. However, the stuff they do is not really in the same catogory, it's more of a loud, violent work of art, rather than a contest. I think one of the builders was injured by flamable propelant while making some of the robots.
The section on how some of the special effects were done is great. Did anyone ever notice that during the Turn The Pod Around HAL scene that HAL lies? Even though he can read lips, he refuses to turn the pod around when the comm link is shut off, making the crew think that he can't hear them.
In the same regards, the AE Unit failure can be seen as a trust exercise by HAL to see wiether or not the crew really trusts HAL's data, and in turn be trusted to complete the mission.
Re:Real news.(Goodbye to The 90's Channel?)
on
Live or Memorex?
·
· Score: 1
The Gulf War was covered like a football game, complete with fancy graphics. On the other hand, there was a cable channel in Baltimore (Ch. 43 I think) called "The 90's". It was a one hour show that was repeated 24/7 all week, where there was a new episode each week.
The kicker is that almost all of the show was independantly made by people with video cameras and other small film-makers, simular to PBS's POV show (I keep missing it for some reason). Just people filming whatever happened, mostly because they couldn't afford fancy editing. Of course some of the content had a slant, anything made by a human being has some kind of slant to it. One of the best memories of high school was watching that show. One time, they showed footage taken from Iraq showing damages to towns, etc. Of course, nowadays, that channel is now ESPN6 or whatever.
Does anybody know what happened to this show? Is it still around? I think I saw parts of it on PBS, but that was a while ago.
Slashdot Mirror
"Gilliam is a very dark individual when it comes to film, as shown by such films as 'The Meaning of Life', '12 Monkeys', and 'Time Bandits'. "
You can add Gilliam's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" to that list. It follows Hunter S. Thompson's book very closely, and looks like a visual orgy. The biggest complant I heard about this film was that it was disoganized and messy. The reason it's this way is that it tries to follow the style of the book very closely, which is basiclly a distorted account of a motorcycle race and a DA convention, and everything in between. Duke Raoul and Dr. Gonzo have one long ugly trip, and the film shows it all in detail.
I think the other reason the didn't do to well is the way it was advertized. The T.V. ads, if I remember correctly, tried to past this off as a Cheech and Chong type comedy, while the film is much more darker and violent than that (The scene where Dr. Gonzo is sitting in the tub, full of acid and trying to kill himself comes to mind).
Yeah, I'm a bit spoiled by perl as well. Perl tends to make CGI VERY easy. I learned to do Perl/CGI stuff at the same time, and it all seems much more natural than do it in C. Just slap in CGI.pm and away you go with easy-made forms. And Perl's string handling makes parsing out data quite easy. Of course, it's bit sluggish, but then again most of my scripts are small and run on a pretty fast server, so I guess I'm double spoiled. :) And you have to watch what modules you use, as some can be slow (like DateManip).
Then again, not all CGI HAS to be fast. I would use C/C++ for the user end stuff, so you can impress your client with fast searches, etc. But for other things, like just parsing logs and non-time critial events, a niced-down plain perl script is just fine, otherwise you might waste vaulible time not optimizing the good stuff.
I heard that it's possible that perl scripts CAN be compiled, but the last I heard of that was that the support was rather buggy. Has it got any better? Yeah, I should be checking it myself, but I'm still learning this stuff and want to hear from someone who did something heavyduty with it.
"I've had my N64 freeze on me, twice. That's the only time I've ever seen I've ever seen a console crash, including NES, SNES, Genesis, PSX, Saturn, Sega CD, Dreamcast... you get the picture. I'd hate to see buggy console games become as common as buggy PC games."
Yeah, the only buggy PSX game I own is Grand Thieft Auto. Heavy slowdown and dead crashes. The only thing that keeps me playing is that it's one of my favs. I think the fact that it's free formish is it's best feature.
1. Get drunk
2. Start killing as many people as you can. (i.e. drive on the sidewalk)
3. repeat 2 as long as you can before the cops kill you....
p.s. this is odd, while I am typing this, music from my quake2 CD is playing for no reason (I just stopped a gamespy session a half hour ago), and quake2 is NOT playing in the background...
3) Updates, patches, savegames, add ons, free demos.
:)
Updates and patches? Uh-Oh. I don't like the sound of this. I will hate to see console software get into that "Ship it now, and release patches later" mindset. And most people will be using modems untill bandwidth becomes VERY cheap. And most patches are BIG.
This is not fun, and connections have a bad habit of breaking when you need them most. When bugs did surface on console games, you either sent in the game for a new disk, or got the bums rush from the company. Thankfully, most of the console games are mostly bug-free (and I mean bugs that kill a game, not little graphics burps), because of the bad PR/cost of making new disks is high. But the whole "patch it later" could be a headache.
As for savegames, 8GB is overkill. I only own 2 1Meg mem cards for my Playstation, but then again, I delete saved games when I get bored with a title. Even if you save tons of data, you don't need that much space. If you have games on your PC, pick your lastest game and see how big your saved game files are.
For add-ons/mods, that would be cool. But you'll still need either small mods or fast bandwith. Connections are flaky, even with a good modem. Yes, some people still use modems.
Free demos? Bandwith strikes again. Games are big. DVD based games will be Really Big, since they'll have all the cool, wizzbang stuff on them. Feel like downloading a DVD or a large part of it?
The current method of getting demos are demo CDs. I rather spend a few bucks for a slab of plastic then tie up the phone line.
Maybe Sony should look into software that will resume broken downloads, at least.
"those crappy ti-994/a's heh."
:)
How dare you call the TI crappy! Have you ever used Extendend Basic? I used to spend hours screwing around with sprites. The TI version of basic was the easiest I've ever seen, otherwise I never would have become interested in programming. Yeah, it was slow (I think the basic was double-interpreted, not sure). But it had Hunt the Wumpus with GRAPHICS! WOO-HOO!
The speech synth was pretty cool for it's time too and could say anything if you had the TE 2 cart.
"How do you have a history of the pre-historic era?"
:)
Easy. You just make it up and hope nobody refutes your claims.
Why does a game console need a harddrive?
:)
Faster access time? You know these win/dos games that have that full-super-install that copies everything (including FMV stuff) to the hard drive to speed things up? I have no idea how fast a dvd-drive is, is a goodish hard drive faster?
A cache for web access? A big memory card could do this, or using free memory+compression would work. But even a big cache doesn't make a dent in 8 GB.
Storing drivers/other data that would usally be on a mem card? This seems most likely. But 8 GB seems like overkill.
Ripping a DVD to the hard drive and then using the ports to copy it to another drive? Nah.
Wait. If this thing is so close in power to a "standard PC", a hard drive could store work. Just add a keyboard and type up your term paper by staring at your fuzzy tv for hours. Ick.
Any other ideas?
"Microsoft has used prison labor to package software. "
Lots of places do this, including one airline that I can't remember right now. There is a film called "The Big One" produced by Michael Moore that goes into some detail about this. He also did "Roger and me" (about the GM closing in Flint) and the cool TV show "TV Nation". Great stuff.
I watched this film a long time ago, and was mostly bored. The thing is, Bakshi was the wrong guy for this film. Have you ever seen Fritz the Cat or Coonskin? In his early days, Bakshi was the kind of guy that just likes to do crazy visuals without worrying too much about a plot. This isn't so much the case in later films, like American Pop and Hey Good Looking, but you can still see this in spots (like the goofy ending of Amer. Pop), where he seems to say, "alright, let's forget what's happening and do some cool visuals, or maybe something just wierd (like the talking trashcan in the begining of Hey Good Looking)". This is just the opposiite of what a LOTR film needs, because Tolken fans are pretty nit-picky about details, and Bakshi just wanted to skim over the work and do what he wanted to do.
Stimulants?
:)
For caffine, try Mountain Lighting. I think you can only get it from Wal-mart. It's the poor man's Dew, so you can get all wired for cheap.
Or you can just go down to the local street corner and buy some meth.
"You missed the biggest problem with it... They'll give kids cash, T-shirts, etc, for these calls. It could easily lead to (and im sure it will somewhere if it goes national) "bounty hunting"-like activities. It'll no longer be about helping friends, it'll be about finding someone you can get away with reporting, and get as much cash as possible."
:)
I just looked at the site:
http://www.waveamerica.com/
and I don't see any mention of cash, just prizes. Where on the site does it talk about getting some cash?
The sign up page says this:
"Sign up for the WAVE, and free email isn't the only perk you'll receive! If you're a middle or high school student in North Carolina, you could also win a free computer! And that's just the first of many prizes you'll be eligible for as a participant in the WAVE. You can also become a WAVE Reporter and share your stories, poems and art on this website. So, be sure to signup and tell your parents or guardians about the WAVE."
So, a drawing for a free computer and some t-shirts. I think the average Wal-Mart grand opening
has the same stuff.
Do you really think that this program will get kids to narc on each other that WOULDN'T have done it before?
"What's the most hideous use of bandwith-busting graphics that you've seen, and how do we avoid the brainless design decisions that lead us down such evil paths? :) "
:)
How to prevent it? Easy. Force every web designer to view their work... with a 56k dialup. If you can hold your breath untill the page loads, you got it right. That last part I heard someplace else, but can't remember where. It's 1:30am now and all this Natty Boh is going to my head.
The whole "back in reality?" theme seems to be a fav of David Cronenberg and can be seen in some of his earlier films. Videodrome explores this in a cool way by video/mind control/reality mucking about with the idea that perception/hallucination=reality. Naked Lunch is simular, but uses drug addiction to examine the question of reality. Both are very good films, anyway.
Does anybody have any REAL idea what dent copied music is putting the pockets of the recording industry? Think about it. Modern copied music has been around since tape recorders were cheap enough for the public. How many of you have a tape copy of a CD a friend made for you, Hmmm? I have a copy of a Beastie Boys CD, and I had the tape since I was in high school. The tape wore out years ago, so I bought the CD because the tape format started failing on me. I could make lots of copies on tape and send them out in trade for other tapes (like a non-ROIO version of a tape-tree), but that would be expensive. Now I can send some rather low-quality music by email or upload. Wow. And only people who have the right hardware can play it, and such hardware costs a bit more than a walkman. And not everyone has a system for playing MP3s. I bet more people have a half-decent CD player/tape deck. Copying music has been around for years, and the recording industry seems to be doing alright. Is it wrong? Yeah, but life can suck that way, eh?
The e-machine that I use (Hey, it's cheap) uses a bit of software called "Easy Keyboard" which just runs a prog when it gets the right scancode. The version that I use can't be easier to change, just open up the config, type the path/prog name next to the button name (or a address next to the internet button) and that's it. As lame as it sounds, it's kinda growing on me.
"Bend over and kiss ISA, PCI, overclocked Celerons and The Computer Show and Sale good-bye."
Wait, you mean the Computer Show and Sale which is basicly just a flea market full of hole-in-the wall junk hardware dealers? Ugh. That's the last place you want to go to build your own system. I hate to go off on a tangent, but these dealers are the same types that try to make a living selling crap on Ebay instead of, uh, getting a JOB. They have this nice habit of lying about the hardware they sell ("Yeah, you can use this CD-ROM to play DVDs!"). and overprice it. I seen this in the Maryland area, so maybe it's different in other states.
Yeah, I have GTA for the Playstation and it's one buggy port of a game. When the cops are really chasing you (setting up roadblocks, etc.), the game slows to a crawl. Lockups, wierd errors that prevent you from finishing a level, sounds play for no reason, etc. Most games (at least the ones I have) don't have this problem, so I'm chalking it up to a bad port. Was the PC version any better?
Yeah, I have both WC1 and WC2. At least you can run WC1 on a old system, like a "good" 386 because it uses vga instead of svga, which puts less burden on old vid cards. As soon as I think of a way to put a 386 in my bathroom, WC1 is gonna be on it.
Jeez, the sharks around here must have smelled fresh blood or something.
:)
He guy admitted that he is not a techie, a lay-person. Somethimes he writes for the lay-person in a style you may find simplistic. He writes from his own point of view, which some may find annoying or simple. Writers should write what they know about, or at least what interests them. Maybe thats why he only picks certain topics?
Hell, I only post/respond to topics I like. That's what keeps writers from writing about everything. When did we lose the right to be incorrect once in awhile? Why can't he just say, "Here's my view, what do you think?".
Chorus: But he doesn't belong here! He's not one of us!
Here is a little secret: non-techies read slashdot. It's true. Some people don't even use Linux.
Chorus: (GASP!)
But some people are interested in tech news, they hear that slashdot is a good source. Some of this stuff may be over their heads. They may want to hear what that evil old Katz has to say. If they don't like it, they won't read me again. Humans have this noble way of avoiding things they don't like, but some forget how to do that and shreik loudly instead.
Chorus: He is wasting our time! We don't want to see his blurbs!
Life just sucks, eh?
Does some force make you read his views? Does not having checked the "ignore the infidel" box make the page load 100x slower?
Sometimes I read his stuff and think:
1. that was stupid
2. not bad
3. etc....
In no way has he wasted my time. He has no need to "validate his existance" to me. If the topic bores me, I don't read it. If I don't like his views, or think the essay was badly written, I make a firm resolution not to get my panties in a bunch.
Here's the secret, kids.....
You don't have to read everything here.
Chorus: But he has bad grammar!!!
Screw grammar, let's dance.
Think you can do better? Put up or shut up.
This is not his full-time job, I think we could handle a bit of sloppiness once in a while.
Chorus: We don't want to hear about his damn books!
I guess pride is a bad, bad thing.
And by the way, I modified some code someplace, and so, I shall be your God.
(all apologies to the Greeks)
First of all, I don't work for any such company you desire, but since nobody else has responded and I hate to see this un-replied to.
:)
Hmmm. Theres a fine line between "something new" and "unwanted interference". It all really depends on how visible you what all of this technology to be. You could do the standard video wallpaper with large banks of monitors, but the light output may ruin the overall mood. You could counter this by adjusting the brightness, or limiting the display to mostly black. Or forget that and use dimmed video projectors if you have enough unclutered wall/ceiling space.
I am not sure how you want this space to be "hooked into the net". Will it be sender, receiver, or both. Web cams, as you mentioned, have been done to death already, as have video confercing tricks, streamed audio from sound system (even though a radio station would be nice, provided you have interesting content). I really can't think of any tricks and candy that your space could provide to the net that hasn't been done before.
Maybe the key is to distort incoming/outgoing data in a more interesting mannor. Allow users on a site to send anon messages, have the messages scrabbled using some markov-type tricks and then presented. Video would be a more interesting data form, combine both local cam feeds mixed with external video in a pleasing way. This would break the webcam/"internet cafe" image you don't want. The data isn't meant to be studied here (as in a cafe), but be part the scene like the music (visual display of the sound system mixed with the above, maybe?). Keep the "normal and visable" computing element low.
Don't people go to these places to get away from computers?
"Drugs result in a chaotic, illogical state and I guess the reasons for using them are equally illogical"
I guess you never been to boozed-up tailgate party, very angry chaos, you might say that it's illogical to a scary extreme. But it's really not.
The reasons for using?
1. It's Fun.
2. Because it's THERE.
Why do people climb steep rocks? One wrong move and you're a CRIPPLE! Your life is runnied. But why do it? Adventure, something that some people never understand. Reality can be bore. Humans crave action and pleasure. That's why we drink and slow down when we pass a car crash. Danger can be both mental and physical, and some of us choose take that risk for our personal gain.
"...they risk their health, their precious jobs, legal ramifications."
Health reasons are understandable and I guess that's what keep most people from using. Fear of the unknown and it's effects on our bodys, the human body being an important tool of our meager little brains. If that goes, you can't work, and you'll be living in the street in no time. Some of the stronger ones can hack it and have a good time in the process. Legal ramifications are the result of highly developed monkeys (i.e. humans) trying to remind themselves how civilized they are.
Drug use in it's own terms poses no real threat, only human behavior can be threating, and some of us can destroy quite nicely without any chemicals.
The connection between computer/drug use is on the basis that there is a great deal of info on the internet concerning drug use. It comes from both sides, you have the DEA warriors spewing and then you have the users trying to sneak around the damn laws. And hot damn, it's all free. I mean, where else could you find out:
Legal info (without having to scan legal docs or hire a lawyer)
Production methods (barring certain "cookbooks" which are mostly useless)
Legal goodies (yes kids, there are a few interesting chemicals out there that haven't been scheduled yet, like DXM, salvia, and better stuff if you can twist around the right documents)
Places where to obtain the above goodies (www.jlfcatalog.com comes to mind, expensive but nice people)
Tools for trippin' (acidwarp anyone?)
Where to find a good lawyer (just in case)
Hell I remember when I started college and got the hang of FTP sites and that new fangled thing called gopher, and the first things I had stashed on my unix account were a list of legal highs, how to roll a joint, etc back in '92. Of course, most of this stuff was at the local libary, but here it was all indexed and bullshit free. Hell, all the ravers I knew back then always had the best computers (High powered 486's, The first time I saw a pirated copy of Alone in the Dark on one that was connected up to a loud stereo, I was hooked) Why? It was the new Big Thing. You have access to a good supply to chemicals, what else but use a powerful tool made of switches. Infinite fun on both fronts.
As for coding, I remember trying to finish a rather large comp sci project while under the influence. Tricky stuff and not much fun for me. Pretty much a waste of a good trip. But it can open the floodgates, for better or worse, for ideas on programing, art, music or whatever your twisted little mind wants.
I was wait for someone to talk about these guys. They do amazing stuff, far past the battle bots stuff. However, the stuff they do is not really in the same catogory, it's more of a loud, violent work of art, rather than a contest. I think one of the builders was injured by flamable propelant while making some of the robots.
Underman's 2001
The section on how some of the special effects were done is great. Did anyone ever notice that during the Turn The Pod Around HAL scene that HAL lies? Even though he can read lips, he refuses to turn the pod around when the comm link is shut off, making the crew think that he can't hear them.
In the same regards, the AE Unit failure can be seen as a trust exercise by HAL to see wiether or not the crew really trusts HAL's data, and in turn be trusted to complete the mission.
The Gulf War was covered like a football game, complete with fancy graphics. On the other hand, there was a cable channel in Baltimore (Ch. 43 I think) called "The 90's". It was a one hour show that was repeated 24/7 all week, where there was a new episode each week.
The kicker is that almost all of the show was independantly made by people with video cameras and other small film-makers, simular to PBS's POV show (I keep missing it for some reason). Just people filming whatever happened, mostly because they couldn't afford fancy editing. Of course some of the content had a slant, anything made by a human being has some kind of slant to it. One of the best memories of high school was watching that show. One time, they showed footage taken from Iraq showing damages to towns, etc. Of course, nowadays, that channel is now ESPN6 or whatever.
Does anybody know what happened to this show? Is it still around? I think I saw parts of it on PBS, but that was a while ago.