Looking from outside in my opinion problem isn't with gun control. Problem is that civil war hasn't ended. South still things they can legimitely take back what they have lost during that war. They think 2nd admentment legally allows them to do that when they finally goes in official minority (now they have tweaked House of Represatives, but they will ran out of these tricks too). Therefore they are very touchy. No one wants to ban all arms. But there's arms who are really meant for utter destruction than real protection of your property or your pulse. But most people who oppose this are mostly freakishly obsessed with assault guns. If they could buy and shoot a tank - they would do it.
1) Huge number of people uses it for various specialised desktop application software. Java is still best crossplatform IT has to offer. No, HTML5 can't do all of it, however it works towards that goal. Java propably will be gone in next 5 years, but not in near future; 2) Applets are used there and there, but also very specific applications. Flash can't cover all areas, especially with specific code which doesn't cover graphics; Still, I agree, Java applets are nightmare to manage from security POV, and last fallouts won't keep them around for long; 3) Java isn't really a shitty language. Problem is usage - applet concept quickly turned out disaster for Sun (altough Microsoft counterpart ActiveX also got their share of shame), and only fact that it was only capable enterprise language at the time of creation helped to keep it alive. Also if you look at it, there's not a lot you would want to do with Java on browser in it's heiday - it's graphics capacities are limited (Flash essentially started as crossplatform animation framework), it's slow to start (therefore no reason to use it for small, fast animations), etc. Essentially, it's really an crossplatform language for medium size applications.
Will some other language will end it's suffering?.NET is out of question, Python covers some parts of Java, but isn't unified and stable as it should be (but it's getting there). HTML/JS works only for apps with certain workflows, but of course has biggest mindshare and it's reasonable that lot of old Flash and Java stuff will be made absolete due of this duet. You can't do reasonable sound editor in it, but you can do rather good simple text editor, business apps, etc.
Also standartizing of exchange formats, web services, etc. allows to have different apps on different platforms without worrying much about porting them to other platforms.
So, I don't agree Java is really shitty (try to do C++), however I agree it's time come to end. Actually I would say that it held on for so long not because of their owners (Sun/Oracle), but despite them. Both these companies (Sun to lesser extent) has done absolutely everything for people to loath Java. That's sad.
Just a stupid hanch, but Attachmate saved Novell as good Linux oriented company, which still offers solid package of enterprise software, which is mostly crossplatform, but Linux support obviously is one the best.
So I guess someone tried to "get over with" lefovers of Novell, and didn't get it? Or someone made a bet on that and didn't get share price he wanted?
"I used to play Elite. I used to play Homeworld. I play Eve. And I sincerely hope to play Elite: Dangerous. But Elite will be competing with Eve for my monthly dollars, and they have some serious architectural challenges ahead of them."
You do know that Elite: Dangerous isn't subscription based?:) Also audience could be the same, but games are so far and different in their execution that I won't even start to talk about it.
Of course EVE is rolling dice, because otherwise you can't do a MMO in scale they wanted it. Heck, all MMO I play is rolling dice. I still enjoy them - as very dedicated EVE fans enjoy their share of game.
Eve Online is click and point rolling dice game. In Elite and Elite: Dangerous you have actually to fly ship. There's actual collitions, you can damage many parts of the ship and it changes accordingly. Planets are real physical objects. In extenstions there's planned walking on planets and around space stations.
Also there won't be lot of hand crafted things (thus costs will be smaller than imagined for scope of the game) - most of stuff will be proceduralrly generated. And as Elite first did use this concept to keep game's universe big in small memory, I trust David will pull this off again. See this update http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461411552/elite-dangerous/posts/349783 for more information.
As for money - yes, it's just nominal startup costs for core game. Lot of stuff will be in updates (free for game owners) and extentions (those will be longer in development and will cost accordingly more).
Still, it's biggest game Kickstarter for now, in goal and soon in total (for now it's still SC).
It is easy answer to your confusion - at the begining, all religions are full of hope and looking for spiritual answers. However, when time comes and goes and religion starts to give power to those who lead people in this religion, thus problem with questioning authority rised.
Reminder - power is security, and security means survival. As people are all about survival, it is understandable, that they don't give up power so easily. Especially those uneducated.
It was easy answered with (for Christianity, for example) - God is never wrong, God never fails, Church is never wrong and never fails.
Because if you question authority you get "sects", people, who can remove you from power.
At the moment belief and religion gave power, it was downhill. Therefore I believe in Christ, but I hardly take organized religion seriously (altough I don't question other people's faith - it's their own private world, as my beliefs are mine).
I'm tired of another one trying to prove that 3D is money grab scheme, or just pompous extra to pay more for ticket. Essentially, *any* technical improvement ends in that bin, so please stop speculate. It all depends how it's used.
I have seen quite a number of 3D movies for these last years and as usual, it all depends on talent. "Prometheus" was just so well done in 3D - you can discuss about acting, script, but 3D was awesomely done here. Thing there and there, not overdone, but done at right time and place it made wonders.
"Hobit" 3D with all 48 FPS was also beautiful. It took time to adapt, but when I "forgot" that it moves too fast, it was amazing.
"Transfomers 3" in same time was kinda shitty, only few scenes like done specially for 3D looked good, but also not immersion, but "ohh nice 3D demo" wise (not that I'm against nice 3D demos, but that's not worth the ticket).
What about 3D scientific movies (nature movies, ocean movies)? What about Cirque du Soleil new 3D movie, which looks so artistic that I can't hardly see money maker there? What about Life of Pi?
Look, 3D is technology, essentially it's a tool - as 48 FPS, or Doubly Surround. It all matters how it's used. 3D won't make shallow movie enjoyable to me. But it sure can make movie I like more spectacular.
I'm more interested (and what seems also much closer target, some research promise it in next 5 years) that you can clone tissue, kidney, etc. in laboratory. That would make much bigger impact on society.
For creating an offspring better try sex. Much funier expierence.
In civilized countries, once you decide to open a store to anyone, you must open it to everyone, and you're not allowed to refuse service to an individual.
No. In most Western civilized countries, shop is still private estabilishment, and while traders are very keen in trading with you, they are not obliged if you are not welcome there because of your past behaviour.
Also, you as customer are not obliged to trade with this estabilishment too.
Ok, I'm seriously missing something. Is that my paranoid gene? So all tech now will be bad, because all tech can be used to kill people? Seriously?
Come on, idea of Internet was conceptually concieved by military for communication infrastructure to survive localized nuclear attack! So it must be bad too!
I'm the only one who sees beneficts of this, or drones... Or Slashdot has long time ago lost it's common, humor and cool head senses and I'm preaching to wall here?
Well, Kickstarter *looks* like it's risk free from finansial point of view. However, if you completely fail to deliver or walk away with money your reputation is tarnished at best. With choosing Kickstarter it's like burning bridges with publishers - while they do like money, they don't like to be talked about like they're ignorant about good bets - and if you went KS, they will put a stigma on you (I know mentality of these guys). And if you collect your money and don't deliver a inch you never ever will get donation money either.
So it's actually "make it or brake it", and definitely there are long term risks involved for any serious game developer who seeks finansing this way. Because I really doubt is there way back.
But world has moved on long time ago - investigations happened, and they indicated what exactly went wrong. World has learnt from this incindent. And still does.
So, how dangerous it is? Because world still can't get their shit together about dangers of coal and fossil in overall.
Also it's still sorted out in 2012 because Soviet Union collapse happened. In Western sphere cleanup would have happened long time ago.
You know how it's defined - when it decide to kill you on his own, knowing that you are not a valid target.
There's no such AI around. But of course humanity is much better at spending time not to thinking about themselves as liabilities. Because hey, it requires change. Humans sucks at change.
"What's wrong with you libertarians is that you cannot accept that government is the people joined together to protect ourselves, at a great scale economy. You're obsessed with authoritarian private corporations that demonstrate daily the vast waste they layer atop most widespread services, especially those that are equally available to all. You reduce actual life experiences demonstrated everywhere to inane sloganeering like "heading down the path of communism, and history has already told us how well that works". No, you have merely cherrypicked history and called things names without regard to their meaning.
There's more to economics than economics 101. There's more to reality than the libertarian mayor of Sim City bothers to carp about."
Completely seconded these lines. I see most of libertarians as another "it would be very good life if things wouldn't be so damn complex" crowd (other being leftie populists and nativists at right side). State and goverment is there for a reason - much older one than libertarian fantasies. Also fact that most libertarians come from places with heavy corportion monopoly power doesn't surprise.
Microsoft does it too. Recently in my country someone pointed out that while goverment pays huge sums for software to Microsoft, most of this money doesn't get even taxed.
For US corporations profit is only sane thing for them. Being good and responsible corporative subject of the country - naaah.
My expierence tells me that there is posibility to have "good enough" system for voting trough eletronic means - if elections are organised trough centralised means and trust. Problem is, it won't be "good enough" for geeks. And we have trust problem here, as both Dems and Reps lawyers already sharpening pencils for possible legal fallouts if vote will be very close.
It's nothing to do with tools and systems. It's everything to do with humans. If there will be a trust, e-voting will be good enough to have it as good *alternative*. Paper ballot still should be mandatory as primary method.
While for logical reasons Greece must go bankrupt, there's simply no way out of it, I don't support that notion and I agree that IMF and EU must help. However, evil as always is in details. I disagree strongly with several of so called "reforms" and think that with strong performance in several key ones would be enough.
However, problem of course is that Greece is very slow of implementing exactly those, because those problems runs deep within their society. Country officially going under and they still enjoy not paying taxes? Maybe there's reason why Greece is a birth place of modern anarchy. Maybe they really need a lesson here, real taste of their own medicine. This is very sad, as lot of people suffer of lack of any serious politician (trust me, there's such rare breed), one group of parties are just oligarchy, other part - just plain stupid populists. There's not even serious left center. This is price of populism and nation who aren't aware that's not enough to throw cash around and call themselves a "socialist" to have effective, self-sustained country. I'm leftie leaning center and I'm saddened by that ignorance of living within means. You can support poor, eldery, unemployed in many other ways, actually helping them. You can follow budget and your income and see if there's trouble. If greeks have paid their taxes, they wouldn't be in such trouble.
As for journalist, it simply doesn't register why they made this stupid decision to bring him criminal charges which won't withstand scrutiny for 5 minutes in a court room - only revenge as reason makes sense. For *breaching privacy*? First, what that good old "oy protect richies from public" law do in their criminal codex in first place? I think modern consensus in such cases is civil case.
I think at one point in very relatively soon future Germany will simply require to bring justice upon all tax evaders or there won't be any support.
*Your* country? Or a country you thought you can terrorize and isolate from the rest of the world? If it was your country, then people wouldn't wait for foreign army with open arms.
You claim a country when you run it properly, when people of it supports you. If support is relative, then you are just one of the forces who fights for power. And in a case you have harbored terrorist who have brought war to Americans at home - well, though luck. Karma sure is a bitch - for them and for you.
And in what case blowing up market places with no Americans around become part of "opposing military conquest"?
No matter what law says, this is wrong. OSCE election observers has never been accused in pushing agenda by visited country, they are really neutral as much as human beings can be. They just observe. So no matter what intend is here it just feels like they are unwelcome because ugly things can happen.
That's also stuff that worries me with US - while two party system, unlimited money-speech, etc. stuff is very problematic (I won't call it dead end, but there's little ray of hope), if someone starts to tamper with election process itself - and all those voter fraud laws and creative ways to block so called "Dem vote" from happening indicates that desire is there, there are violations from other side of the fence, but enough evidence indicates that they are exceptions rather than rule - then whole (not perfect, but stable) system can unravel very quickly enough.
I just don't get it why part of super rich people in US are so found of radicalism (After all, Tea Party in essence is their business project). Gives them crowd easy to manipulate? Is it really all they want?
Slashdot Mirror
Looking from outside in my opinion problem isn't with gun control. Problem is that civil war hasn't ended. South still things they can legimitely take back what they have lost during that war. They think 2nd admentment legally allows them to do that when they finally goes in official minority (now they have tweaked House of Represatives, but they will ran out of these tricks too). Therefore they are very touchy. No one wants to ban all arms. But there's arms who are really meant for utter destruction than real protection of your property or your pulse. But most people who oppose this are mostly freakishly obsessed with assault guns. If they could buy and shoot a tank - they would do it.
Just my two cents,
Peter.
1) Huge number of people uses it for various specialised desktop application software. Java is still best crossplatform IT has to offer. No, HTML5 can't do all of it, however it works towards that goal. Java propably will be gone in next 5 years, but not in near future;
2) Applets are used there and there, but also very specific applications. Flash can't cover all areas, especially with specific code which doesn't cover graphics; Still, I agree, Java applets are nightmare to manage from security POV, and last fallouts won't keep them around for long;
3) Java isn't really a shitty language. Problem is usage - applet concept quickly turned out disaster for Sun (altough Microsoft counterpart ActiveX also got their share of shame), and only fact that it was only capable enterprise language at the time of creation helped to keep it alive. Also if you look at it, there's not a lot you would want to do with Java on browser in it's heiday - it's graphics capacities are limited (Flash essentially started as crossplatform animation framework), it's slow to start (therefore no reason to use it for small, fast animations), etc. Essentially, it's really an crossplatform language for medium size applications.
Will some other language will end it's suffering? .NET is out of question, Python covers some parts of Java, but isn't unified and stable as it should be (but it's getting there). HTML/JS works only for apps with certain workflows, but of course has biggest mindshare and it's reasonable that lot of old Flash and Java stuff will be made absolete due of this duet. You can't do reasonable sound editor in it, but you can do rather good simple text editor, business apps, etc.
Also standartizing of exchange formats, web services, etc. allows to have different apps on different platforms without worrying much about porting them to other platforms.
So, I don't agree Java is really shitty (try to do C++), however I agree it's time come to end. Actually I would say that it held on for so long not because of their owners (Sun/Oracle), but despite them. Both these companies (Sun to lesser extent) has done absolutely everything for people to loath Java. That's sad.
Just a stupid hanch, but Attachmate saved Novell as good Linux oriented company, which still offers solid package of enterprise software, which is mostly crossplatform, but Linux support obviously is one the best.
So I guess someone tried to "get over with" lefovers of Novell, and didn't get it? Or someone made a bet on that and didn't get share price he wanted?
"I used to play Elite. I used to play Homeworld. I play Eve. And I sincerely hope to play Elite: Dangerous. But Elite will be competing with Eve for my monthly dollars, and they have some serious architectural challenges ahead of them."
You do know that Elite: Dangerous isn't subscription based? :) Also audience could be the same, but games are so far and different in their execution that I won't even start to talk about it.
Of course EVE is rolling dice, because otherwise you can't do a MMO in scale they wanted it. Heck, all MMO I play is rolling dice. I still enjoy them - as very dedicated EVE fans enjoy their share of game.
For people with lot of questions and doubts about this game, check out reddit AMA, he is already there and gives answers http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/15od2s/i_am_david_braben_cocreator_of_elite_creator_of/
Also check out updates section on Kickstarter which has lots of videos, dev diaries, concept arts, renders http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461411552/elite-dangerous/posts
Eve Online is click and point rolling dice game. In Elite and Elite: Dangerous you have actually to fly ship. There's actual collitions, you can damage many parts of the ship and it changes accordingly. Planets are real physical objects. In extenstions there's planned walking on planets and around space stations.
Also there won't be lot of hand crafted things (thus costs will be smaller than imagined for scope of the game) - most of stuff will be proceduralrly generated. And as Elite first did use this concept to keep game's universe big in small memory, I trust David will pull this off again. See this update http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1461411552/elite-dangerous/posts/349783 for more information.
As for money - yes, it's just nominal startup costs for core game. Lot of stuff will be in updates (free for game owners) and extentions (those will be longer in development and will cost accordingly more).
Still, it's biggest game Kickstarter for now, in goal and soon in total (for now it's still SC).
It is easy answer to your confusion - at the begining, all religions are full of hope and looking for spiritual answers. However, when time comes and goes and religion starts to give power to those who lead people in this religion, thus problem with questioning authority rised.
Reminder - power is security, and security means survival. As people are all about survival, it is understandable, that they don't give up power so easily. Especially those uneducated.
It was easy answered with (for Christianity, for example) - God is never wrong, God never fails, Church is never wrong and never fails.
Because if you question authority you get "sects", people, who can remove you from power.
At the moment belief and religion gave power, it was downhill. Therefore I believe in Christ, but I hardly take organized religion seriously (altough I don't question other people's faith - it's their own private world, as my beliefs are mine).
Who cares?
Main idea was to give conservatives and corporations their voice heard despite their decreasing popularity.
If you elect SCOTUS judges by their political leaning, this is what you get - not really a fair judgement.
I'm tired of another one trying to prove that 3D is money grab scheme, or just pompous extra to pay more for ticket. Essentially, *any* technical improvement ends in that bin, so please stop speculate. It all depends how it's used.
I have seen quite a number of 3D movies for these last years and as usual, it all depends on talent. "Prometheus" was just so well done in 3D - you can discuss about acting, script, but 3D was awesomely done here. Thing there and there, not overdone, but done at right time and place it made wonders.
"Hobit" 3D with all 48 FPS was also beautiful. It took time to adapt, but when I "forgot" that it moves too fast, it was amazing.
"Transfomers 3" in same time was kinda shitty, only few scenes like done specially for 3D looked good, but also not immersion, but "ohh nice 3D demo" wise (not that I'm against nice 3D demos, but that's not worth the ticket).
What about 3D scientific movies (nature movies, ocean movies)? What about Cirque du Soleil new 3D movie, which looks so artistic that I can't hardly see money maker there? What about Life of Pi?
Look, 3D is technology, essentially it's a tool - as 48 FPS, or Doubly Surround. It all matters how it's used. 3D won't make shallow movie enjoyable to me. But it sure can make movie I like more spectacular.
I'm more interested (and what seems also much closer target, some research promise it in next 5 years) that you can clone tissue, kidney, etc. in laboratory. That would make much bigger impact on society.
For creating an offspring better try sex. Much funier expierence.
In civilized countries, once you decide to open a store to anyone, you must open it to everyone, and you're not allowed to refuse service to an individual.
No. In most Western civilized countries, shop is still private estabilishment, and while traders are very keen in trading with you, they are not obliged if you are not welcome there because of your past behaviour.
Also, you as customer are not obliged to trade with this estabilishment too.
Essentially, goal must be a Communism/Socialism.
Ups, it came out loud.
Yes, that's goal of our civilisation. Not Communism of Russian kind though.
Ok, I'm seriously missing something. Is that my paranoid gene? So all tech now will be bad, because all tech can be used to kill people? Seriously?
Come on, idea of Internet was conceptually concieved by military for communication infrastructure to survive localized nuclear attack! So it must be bad too!
I'm the only one who sees beneficts of this, or drones... Or Slashdot has long time ago lost it's common, humor and cool head senses and I'm preaching to wall here?
Disclaimer: I'm a author of summary.
Well, Kickstarter *looks* like it's risk free from finansial point of view. However, if you completely fail to deliver or walk away with money your reputation is tarnished at best. With choosing Kickstarter it's like burning bridges with publishers - while they do like money, they don't like to be talked about like they're ignorant about good bets - and if you went KS, they will put a stigma on you (I know mentality of these guys). And if you collect your money and don't deliver a inch you never ever will get donation money either.
So it's actually "make it or brake it", and definitely there are long term risks involved for any serious game developer who seeks finansing this way. Because I really doubt is there way back.
...is not leaded by logic, but by "evil you know" decision chain. Therefore no matter how many homeworks Windows will eat, it will stay.
Finally some insightful comment about Soviet Union economy.
But world has moved on long time ago - investigations happened, and they indicated what exactly went wrong. World has learnt from this incindent. And still does.
So, how dangerous it is? Because world still can't get their shit together about dangers of coal and fossil in overall.
Also it's still sorted out in 2012 because Soviet Union collapse happened. In Western sphere cleanup would have happened long time ago.
You know how it's defined - when it decide to kill you on his own, knowing that you are not a valid target.
There's no such AI around. But of course humanity is much better at spending time not to thinking about themselves as liabilities. Because hey, it requires change. Humans sucks at change.
"What's wrong with you libertarians is that you cannot accept that government is the people joined together to protect ourselves, at a great scale economy. You're obsessed with authoritarian private corporations that demonstrate daily the vast waste they layer atop most widespread services, especially those that are equally available to all. You reduce actual life experiences demonstrated everywhere to inane sloganeering like "heading down the path of communism, and history has already told us how well that works". No, you have merely cherrypicked history and called things names without regard to their meaning.
There's more to economics than economics 101. There's more to reality than the libertarian mayor of Sim City bothers to carp about."
Completely seconded these lines. I see most of libertarians as another "it would be very good life if things wouldn't be so damn complex" crowd (other being leftie populists and nativists at right side). State and goverment is there for a reason - much older one than libertarian fantasies. Also fact that most libertarians come from places with heavy corportion monopoly power doesn't surprise.
Microsoft does it too. Recently in my country someone pointed out that while goverment pays huge sums for software to Microsoft, most of this money doesn't get even taxed.
For US corporations profit is only sane thing for them. Being good and responsible corporative subject of the country - naaah.
Not exactly, NFC is just RFID v. 2 in disguise :) Technology in basics is the same.
One name: paranoia.
My expierence tells me that there is posibility to have "good enough" system for voting trough eletronic means - if elections are organised trough centralised means and trust. Problem is, it won't be "good enough" for geeks. And we have trust problem here, as both Dems and Reps lawyers already sharpening pencils for possible legal fallouts if vote will be very close.
It's nothing to do with tools and systems. It's everything to do with humans. If there will be a trust, e-voting will be good enough to have it as good *alternative*. Paper ballot still should be mandatory as primary method.
While for logical reasons Greece must go bankrupt, there's simply no way out of it, I don't support that notion and I agree that IMF and EU must help. However, evil as always is in details. I disagree strongly with several of so called "reforms" and think that with strong performance in several key ones would be enough.
However, problem of course is that Greece is very slow of implementing exactly those, because those problems runs deep within their society. Country officially going under and they still enjoy not paying taxes? Maybe there's reason why Greece is a birth place of modern anarchy. Maybe they really need a lesson here, real taste of their own medicine. This is very sad, as lot of people suffer of lack of any serious politician (trust me, there's such rare breed), one group of parties are just oligarchy, other part - just plain stupid populists. There's not even serious left center. This is price of populism and nation who aren't aware that's not enough to throw cash around and call themselves a "socialist" to have effective, self-sustained country. I'm leftie leaning center and I'm saddened by that ignorance of living within means. You can support poor, eldery, unemployed in many other ways, actually helping them. You can follow budget and your income and see if there's trouble. If greeks have paid their taxes, they wouldn't be in such trouble.
As for journalist, it simply doesn't register why they made this stupid decision to bring him criminal charges which won't withstand scrutiny for 5 minutes in a court room - only revenge as reason makes sense. For *breaching privacy*? First, what that good old "oy protect richies from public" law do in their criminal codex in first place? I think modern consensus in such cases is civil case.
I think at one point in very relatively soon future Germany will simply require to bring justice upon all tax evaders or there won't be any support.
*Your* country? Or a country you thought you can terrorize and isolate from the rest of the world? If it was your country, then people wouldn't wait for foreign army with open arms.
You claim a country when you run it properly, when people of it supports you. If support is relative, then you are just one of the forces who fights for power. And in a case you have harbored terrorist who have brought war to Americans at home - well, though luck. Karma sure is a bitch - for them and for you.
And in what case blowing up market places with no Americans around become part of "opposing military conquest"?
No matter what law says, this is wrong. OSCE election observers has never been accused in pushing agenda by visited country, they are really neutral as much as human beings can be. They just observe. So no matter what intend is here it just feels like they are unwelcome because ugly things can happen.
That's also stuff that worries me with US - while two party system, unlimited money-speech, etc. stuff is very problematic (I won't call it dead end, but there's little ray of hope), if someone starts to tamper with election process itself - and all those voter fraud laws and creative ways to block so called "Dem vote" from happening indicates that desire is there, there are violations from other side of the fence, but enough evidence indicates that they are exceptions rather than rule - then whole (not perfect, but stable) system can unravel very quickly enough.
I just don't get it why part of super rich people in US are so found of radicalism (After all, Tea Party in essence is their business project). Gives them crowd easy to manipulate? Is it really all they want?