Avoiding your flamebait "coders" comment, I'll agree with you on this one.
These days, Javascript is good for one thing only, and that's client-side manipulation of forms using the DOM (dynamically generating form fields, for instance). In terms of simplicity of information display, I'm finding more and more that the answer lies in using XML (notably XPath and XSLT) for complex data display.
I use flash as well, but I use it for tools internally that need to be available through a browser that also require some GUI elements. Other designers need to take a hint though, and recognize that minimalism is the way to go for effective presentation of information.
I personally could care less if "big music" goes belly up. Would that mean people would stop making music? Clearly, the answer is no.
God forbid the music industry's demise lead to Americans thinking for themselves, and actually having to discriminate in determining which music they like, instead of being force-fed by these soulless plutocrats.
You make a good point, but I'm not sure what the composition of such a group would be. If it were simply an appointed panel of beaurocrats (like the FCC), you might end up doing more harm than good. If we had a group tightly under the control of their political masters, it's quite possible that many patent decisions could result in highly anti-competetive decisions (especially under the current administration). Additionally, it would have to be clear where the power of this regulatory body ended and that of the judicial system began. Patent lawsuits aren't going anywhere anytime soon - but I could see the federal government trying to enact something like you suggest under the auspices of reducing frivolous patent lawsuits, but instead end up offering competetors heads on a plate to big corporations without them even having to ante up for massive legal fees.
For God's sake - how can you patent 1s and 0s? The only reason people would do that is to become a fat-cat, like Bill Gates.
What if you developed the software from 1/0's all the way up through every layer of abstraction to its current state? Then could you eat on my fat choad?
The adult entertainment industry has been doing this for years. Surely all manner of pr0n video-on-demand services must fall under this (rather large) umbrella. It seems to me that pr0n led the way in this department, and that Larry Flynt should make Bill Gates star in one of his films if he wants to keep this patent.
On a related note, I wonder what Bill's name would be if he appeared in one of Flynt's works?
I think Sammy Sosa has taught us everything we need to know about fair games in Illinois. We should pass a law to put bear traps in the bottom of every dumpster. That would solve the problem.
PS. I read somewhere that Sammy is dead.. is that true?!
Regulation of such large and complex industries under our political system simply does not, and will not work. Typically, tight regulations hamstring businesses, which then (via litigation and lobbying) slowly poke holes in them until they can hatch from their evil alien dinosaur eggs.
If we don't give in to these interests, we're seen as statists. If we do, our regulatory code degrades at great cost to the taxpayers.
Contrary to my usual function, I'll actually try to avert a flame war here by bringing some pragmatism to/.
Before the leftist cries for massive oversight and regulation start spewing forth from the electronic abyss, let me remind you all, dear readers, that regulation is only going to make a bigger mess - look at Health Care. The regulatory code becomes the type of swiss cheese policy that only tends to lead to more violations, more investigations, and more spurious litigation all around. (That's a separate rant, as I work in the industry - I will elaborate if my case must be made that the Health Care financial situation is a mess, but I think most people realize that as fact.)
But no, you say, deregulation will give those heartless plutocrats the freedom to stomp all over us! Absolutely. What do we do? The hell if I know - but it seems clear to me that the answer lies in trying to simplify what is a corrupt, bloated mess.
NT/2000/XP profiles at most schools will have private My Documents folders associated with them.
I found them very useful, mostly because I didn't have to buy a printer. I could just print assignments in the lab before class, accessing the documents from my ubiquitous My Docs folder.
Whether or not the 1337 gaming rig can get enough bandwidth to satiate its appetite on most college campuses these days. I graduated a year ago from one of the top 10 "most wired" colleges, and by the time I graduated, the on-campus network was pretty much constantly crawling.
As a freshman, the network was well-equipped to host big Duke3D games, but with increasing complexity in network games and rapidly growing network traffic on campus, things weren't looking so bright by the end. Nothing worse than getting fragged as your screen jerks around from the lag.
When I moved off campus and got a cable ISP, my bandwidth was vastly superior to the dorm networks.
I thought they were a pair of powerless sock puppets with Gates and Ballmer's hands firmly entrenched in the lower portion of their dorsal cavity. Bill can wiggle his pinky and puncture their intestines. Look for this to happen. Soon.
If I'm roleplaying a hideously evil character on some MMORPG, and I decide I'm going to ruthlessly kill you even though you've spent 18 hours a day for 6 weeks collecting all of the ancient artifacts of homoerotic power. Now you get killed, losing your precious artifacts and decide to go throw yourself down a flight of stairs in anguish.
You'd put me in jail for in-game actions that have unexpected repercussions on someone I've never seen in person before?
Sorry, we do need some protections here, because without them, some asshole is going to come along and screw it up for the rest of us.
MMORPG's and their ilk are beginning to tread into a world that has long been known to text-based mudders. As a nerd who worked in development on various text muds on and off for the past 10 years, I can see clearly the failures of those who administrate these online communities. By and large, the folks running the games of today are not the ones who have years and years of experience doing it (as most people who played text games still do as a matter of preference).
I have particular concern for those who use published tools (like NWN's Aurora toolset) to create persistent online worlds. Rarely do these individuals seem to have a firm grasp on what they're getting themselves into.. least of all on issues of virtual rights that may or may not present themselves.
Most places I have worked had agreements with builders that virtual property created for the game would become the property of the game and its administrators. As for actual items in the game, it's ludicrous to expect (in spite of the incessant everquest ebay activity) those items to be protected legally. Game administrators need to know their rights, however, to keep the few litigious individuals at bay. (How bored and obsessed do you have to be to sue because the server crashed and you lost your vorpal sword of owning +2?).
Yes, and it is your hammer's fault that every time you go to drive a nail, it is a 50/50 shot whether or not you will make a solid frame or stick the nail through your thigh.
Holy flamebait batman.. the analogy.. it makes no sense! But if I were to respond, I'd say it depends -- did Microsoft make the hammer?
Is that Visual Studio eats a monstrous one. It's really hard to develop (in VB.NET - ack - not my choice) on an IDE that is buggier than an ant farm. Every time I build it's basically 50/50 whether or not the compiler is going to start throwing spurrious exceptions.
This will be fun for about ten minutes, until the machine is either impossible, or laughably easy (more likely) to beat.
People in bars want games they can play socially, with other people. The people who would really be in to something like this would stay home tweaking their Debian installation and picking at their hemorrhoids.
It's clear to me that no matter how much arm waving is done by security experts and those who stand to profit from the implementation of wireless security (cough, IBM), nothing short of tragedy can motivate American organizations to take security seriously.
Security is NOT a necessity - in fact, many of the things people are trying to "protect" these days don't need to be protected at all - security consultants just want to rake in commissions as they help their clients "secure" their data.
It's high time that these profiteers take off their Microsoft hats and start acting with the best interest of the end-user in mind.
Nobody did the "I'm not dead, yet" joke, though - this thing really does look dead.
Elegy For *BSD
I am a *BSD user
and I try hard to be brave
That is a tall order
*BSD's foot is in the grave.
I tap at my toy keyboard
and whistle a happy tune
but keeping happy's so hard,
*BSD died so soon.
Each day I wake and softly sob
Nightfall finds me crying
Not only am I a zit faced slob
but *BSD is dying.
Slashdot Mirror
See subject for instructions.
HAND?
I may have lost, but I clearly have not Failed.
I now hold up my anti-vomit umbrella.
Avoiding your flamebait "coders" comment, I'll agree with you on this one.
These days, Javascript is good for one thing only, and that's client-side manipulation of forms using the DOM (dynamically generating form fields, for instance). In terms of simplicity of information display, I'm finding more and more that the answer lies in using XML (notably XPath and XSLT) for complex data display.
I use flash as well, but I use it for tools internally that need to be available through a browser that also require some GUI elements. Other designers need to take a hint though, and recognize that minimalism is the way to go for effective presentation of information.
this year's Usenix Bof
Usenix Bof? Sounds like what happens when a bunch of greasy, miserable nerds decide to play doctor in the server room.
You're right on the money with #2 and #4.
I personally could care less if "big music" goes belly up. Would that mean people would stop making music? Clearly, the answer is no.
God forbid the music industry's demise lead to Americans thinking for themselves, and actually having to discriminate in determining which music they like, instead of being force-fed by these soulless plutocrats.
You make a good point, but I'm not sure what the composition of such a group would be. If it were simply an appointed panel of beaurocrats (like the FCC), you might end up doing more harm than good. If we had a group tightly under the control of their political masters, it's quite possible that many patent decisions could result in highly anti-competetive decisions (especially under the current administration). Additionally, it would have to be clear where the power of this regulatory body ended and that of the judicial system began. Patent lawsuits aren't going anywhere anytime soon - but I could see the federal government trying to enact something like you suggest under the auspices of reducing frivolous patent lawsuits, but instead end up offering competetors heads on a plate to big corporations without them even having to ante up for massive legal fees.
For God's sake - how can you patent 1s and 0s? The only reason people would do that is to become a fat-cat, like Bill Gates.
What if you developed the software from 1/0's all the way up through every layer of abstraction to its current state? Then could you eat on my fat choad?
Most radio programs worth a damn these days stream webcasts or offer some sort of new media solution for obtaining their programming.
Radio is an on-the-go medium these days anyway - last I heard something like 80% of radio listeners listened from cars, and nowhere else.
Hear something you like on the car radio, find it on the web. No need for third-parties to peddle their odious wares.
The adult entertainment industry has been doing this for years. Surely all manner of pr0n video-on-demand services must fall under this (rather large) umbrella. It seems to me that pr0n led the way in this department, and that Larry Flynt should make Bill Gates star in one of his films if he wants to keep this patent.
On a related note, I wonder what Bill's name would be if he appeared in one of Flynt's works?
I'm from Illinois though.
I think Sammy Sosa has taught us everything we need to know about fair games in Illinois. We should pass a law to put bear traps in the bottom of every dumpster. That would solve the problem.
PS. I read somewhere that Sammy is dead.. is that true?!
Regulation of such large and complex industries under our political system simply does not, and will not work. Typically, tight regulations hamstring businesses, which then (via litigation and lobbying) slowly poke holes in them until they can hatch from their evil alien dinosaur eggs.
If we don't give in to these interests, we're seen as statists. If we do, our regulatory code degrades at great cost to the taxpayers.
Contrary to my usual function, I'll actually try to avert a flame war here by bringing some pragmatism to /.
Before the leftist cries for massive oversight and regulation start spewing forth from the electronic abyss, let me remind you all, dear readers, that regulation is only going to make a bigger mess - look at Health Care. The regulatory code becomes the type of swiss cheese policy that only tends to lead to more violations, more investigations, and more spurious litigation all around. (That's a separate rant, as I work in the industry - I will elaborate if my case must be made that the Health Care financial situation is a mess, but I think most people realize that as fact.)
But no, you say, deregulation will give those heartless plutocrats the freedom to stomp all over us! Absolutely. What do we do? The hell if I know - but it seems clear to me that the answer lies in trying to simplify what is a corrupt, bloated mess.
I'm not sure if it's worth $20, but it's worth something....
I'm pretty sure I'd rather punch myself repeatedly in the nuts than subscribe to this - or see the movie for that matter.
NT/2000/XP profiles at most schools will have private My Documents folders associated with them.
I found them very useful, mostly because I didn't have to buy a printer. I could just print assignments in the lab before class, accessing the documents from my ubiquitous My Docs folder.
Whether or not the 1337 gaming rig can get enough bandwidth to satiate its appetite on most college campuses these days. I graduated a year ago from one of the top 10 "most wired" colleges, and by the time I graduated, the on-campus network was pretty much constantly crawling.
As a freshman, the network was well-equipped to host big Duke3D games, but with increasing complexity in network games and rapidly growing network traffic on campus, things weren't looking so bright by the end. Nothing worse than getting fragged as your screen jerks around from the lag.
When I moved off campus and got a cable ISP, my bandwidth was vastly superior to the dorm networks.
Why are you creating illegal software?
Follow-Up: What is your address and phone number? I need to place a call to my friend Mr. Ashcroft.
Thank you,
Enjoy your time in Gitmo.
I thought they were a pair of powerless sock puppets with Gates and Ballmer's hands firmly entrenched in the lower portion of their dorsal cavity. Bill can wiggle his pinky and puncture their intestines. Look for this to happen. Soon.
So.
If I'm roleplaying a hideously evil character on some MMORPG, and I decide I'm going to ruthlessly kill you even though you've spent 18 hours a day for 6 weeks collecting all of the ancient artifacts of homoerotic power. Now you get killed, losing your precious artifacts and decide to go throw yourself down a flight of stairs in anguish.
You'd put me in jail for in-game actions that have unexpected repercussions on someone I've never seen in person before?
Sorry, we do need some protections here, because without them, some asshole is going to come along and screw it up for the rest of us.
MMORPG's and their ilk are beginning to tread into a world that has long been known to text-based mudders. As a nerd who worked in development on various text muds on and off for the past 10 years, I can see clearly the failures of those who administrate these online communities. By and large, the folks running the games of today are not the ones who have years and years of experience doing it (as most people who played text games still do as a matter of preference).
I have particular concern for those who use published tools (like NWN's Aurora toolset) to create persistent online worlds. Rarely do these individuals seem to have a firm grasp on what they're getting themselves into.. least of all on issues of virtual rights that may or may not present themselves.
Most places I have worked had agreements with builders that virtual property created for the game would become the property of the game and its administrators. As for actual items in the game, it's ludicrous to expect (in spite of the incessant everquest ebay activity) those items to be protected legally. Game administrators need to know their rights, however, to keep the few litigious individuals at bay. (How bored and obsessed do you have to be to sue because the server crashed and you lost your vorpal sword of owning +2?).
It's a thankless job running an online game.
Yes, and it is your hammer's fault that every time you go to drive a nail, it is a 50/50 shot whether or not you will make a solid frame or stick the nail through your thigh.
Holy flamebait batman.. the analogy.. it makes no sense! But if I were to respond, I'd say it depends -- did Microsoft make the hammer?
Is that Visual Studio eats a monstrous one. It's really hard to develop (in VB.NET - ack - not my choice) on an IDE that is buggier than an ant farm. Every time I build it's basically 50/50 whether or not the compiler is going to start throwing spurrious exceptions.
Give me Java, or give me death.
This will be fun for about ten minutes, until the machine is either impossible, or laughably easy (more likely) to beat.
People in bars want games they can play socially, with other people. The people who would really be in to something like this would stay home tweaking their Debian installation and picking at their hemorrhoids.
It's clear to me that no matter how much arm waving is done by security experts and those who stand to profit from the implementation of wireless security (cough, IBM), nothing short of tragedy can motivate American organizations to take security seriously.
Security is NOT a necessity - in fact, many of the things people are trying to "protect" these days don't need to be protected at all - security consultants just want to rake in commissions as they help their clients "secure" their data.
It's high time that these profiteers take off their Microsoft hats and start acting with the best interest of the end-user in mind.
Nobody did the "I'm not dead, yet" joke, though - this thing really does look dead.
Elegy For *BSD I am a *BSD user and I try hard to be brave That is a tall order *BSD's foot is in the grave. I tap at my toy keyboard and whistle a happy tune but keeping happy's so hard, *BSD died so soon. Each day I wake and softly sob Nightfall finds me crying Not only am I a zit faced slob but *BSD is dying.
I'm eagerly awaiting their move into adult markets with XXX86 servers. And Windows XXXP support!
Incidentally, Pr0stx0r fr1stx0r
Bitches