ALAN: It's called Tron. It's a security program itself, actually. Monitors all the contacts between our system and other systems... If it finds anything going on that's not scheduled, it shuts it down. I sent you a memo on it.
DILLINGER: Mmm. Part of the Master Control Program?
ALAN: No, it'll run independently. It can watchdog the MCP as well.
I was going to suggest Grisoft AVG as well. Actually, I went the other way; I used to use Avast, and switched to AVG.
The NAV resident scanner was too much of a resource hog. My entire system was noticably slower when it was running. Since the AVG changover, there has been a clear increase in performance.
Also, AVG caught two viruses on my system that Norton had been missing for who-knows how long. So, free+faster+better=Winner.
I still have NAV installed to run weekly scans until my subscription expires, but my day to day AV is AVG.
I have an on-demand water heater for my bath/shower. It heats the water faster than you can run it out full blast, and it's darn near boiling (that's what the other, cold water tap is for). It's definitely hotter than the "Green" water heater from my last place.
I take a normal length shower every morning (despite being a Slashdot reader), and my total water heating bill for the month averages around $16. It may be less now; I haven't had the kerosene tank refilled since January. The temperature remains fairly constant throughout.
Of course, I also live in Japan, where such heaters are the standard. Presumably, the kinks have been worked out here.
I also have a second on-demand water heater in the kitchen, but that runs on propane (as the stove does), so it is not independent, and I don't know how much exactly it is costing me.
Disney used to know this (hell look at Bambi alone, can you imagine Disney of today doing a show where the main character's mother is killed shortly into it?)
Compare something like Trigun or DBZ (as examples of shows in which motion is very important) to Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast and the differences in the way motion is portrayed are just phenomenal, and there's more and smoother motion in American animation, hands down.
I'm going to set aside the fact that you are comparing American movies with Japanese TV shows (would you say that The Simpsons is better animated than Trigun?), nor will I ask you to find a part of FLCL (Fooly Cooly) that's static (besides the manga), and instead suggest that if Cowboy Bebop is your frame of reference maybe you should watch something more recent. Take a look at the body movements in, for example, episode 133 of Naruto (big fight scene there). Now find an American-style TV show that matches it. Not to say that anime is inherently well-animated (DBZ and Ranma come immediately to mind as popular counter-examples).
I would instead say that anime encompasses a wider spectrum of animation quality (compared to American-style animation) both higher and lower. I wouldn't call anime a style (as there are many different styles of anime); it's more just the country of origin. As Japan produces much more animation (and for a wider range of viewers), it makes sense that the quality spectrum is likewise wider.
As such, arguments can always be made that American-style animation is worse than or superior to Japanese anime, as appropriate examples of both can be found as the need dictates.
It might be more accurate to liken it to the DIVX rental system (not the coincidentally named unrelated codec).
In the original DIVX system, you would buy DIVX-DVDs for, say $5. This would give you one 48-hour window to watch the movie, at some point in the future (of your choosing). Then, if you wished to watch it again, you purchase another window.
After several (seven, IIRC) uses, the movie became permanently free, and you could unlock it whenever you wanted to watch it.
Theoretically, it was akin to renting-to-buy the movie. You could pick it up for $5 and watch it once (a bit more than renting, but no late fees). If you wanted to 'rent' it again later, well, you already had the disc, you just needed to unlock it again. Again, similar to renting, except you do it from home, immediately. Eventually it's permanently unlocked, and if you liked it enough to unlock it so many times, you've purchased it.
Perfectly logical idea.
The best part of the analogy, though, is how DIVX ended.
There was so little popular support for the idea (because people couldn't get over the idea of purchasing a physical disc without the right to watch it whenever they wanted), that the company eventually went bankrupt, and all the people that actually HAD purchased DIVX discs then had no way to unlock them. And of course the same sort of thing has happened to people with large iTunes collections that have had a hardware failure. Their legitimate purchase suddenly has no value.
This is the real fear of Digital Restrictions Management. Despite assurances, if permission is required to use the product, it is by it's very nature, unreliable.
Would you buy a car if you had to get permission each time you wanted to drive it? Maybe (if the car was cheap), but the first time you needed to be somewhere, and the guy who holds the keys for you cannot be found, you'll start looking for a new permission-free car.
Brazil is fast becoming the coolest country in the world.
You know how the United States government is offering AIDS relief money to countries who desperately need it? Well, it comes with a caveat. Basically, any country trying to get U.S. AIDS relief dollars is required to teach =only abstinence=. This is exactly the sort of all or nothing approach that will (and likely is) making the world AIDS situation even worse. But Brazil basically told Bush to blow it out his ass and turned down our money.
Now Brazil is ruffling the feathers of Bill Gates by wiring its shantytowns using recycled hardware and open-source software. A terrified Gates has tried, unsuccessfully, to schedule a meeting with Brazil's president, who =turned him down=.
Brazil may not be the richest, most bestest country in the world, but I like their style.
With Anakin's performance in the Pod race, it's not unfathomable.
I thought Obi-Wan stayed on the ship. Did he see the Pod race? I am mistaken then. Still, it's a stretch to refer to a Pod racer as a 'pilot' as that implies someone who uses a flying craft, whereas the Pods hover a meter or so above the ground.
Or how about when Obi-Wan offers to train Han Solo in the use of the force (ep. IV), but Yoda says that child Anakin is too old to be trained (ep. I)? Of course, Yoda himself trained Luke when Luke was much older.
This isn't a hole at all. (I assume you mean Luke, not Han.)
No, I mean Han. In the original release, while on the Falcon while training Luke, Obi-Wan offers to teach Han also. But you are correct, Obi-Wan never says Anakin is too old, so it is possible that he wasn't as age-ist as the other Jedis. And it's likewise possible that Yoda had changed his mind about the age requirement between Episodes I and V. Although, it didn't make any sense in the first place to refuse to train Anakin after stating how powerful he was (yeah, let's cast out this potential ally for our enemies to tap, that makes perfect sense).
And I'm not saying there's no genetic predisposition to force ability, I'm saying everyone could be trained to use it (in the original trilogy). Just like everyone can learn to play basketball, but not everyone is going to be in the NBA.
However, the necessity to have to stretch to see these possible interpretations to get around otherwise gaping plot-holes significantly distracts from the enjoyment of the movies.
It's just a movie...It's just a movie...It's just a movie...It's just a movie...
How about when Obi-Wan says he met Anakin when Anakin was a pilot?
Or how about when Obi-Wan offers to train Han Solo in the use of the force (ep. IV), but Yoda says that child Anakin is too old to be trained (ep. I)? Of course, Yoda himself trained Luke when Luke was much older.
The force went from being something anyone could learn to use, to being something only a select few who were born with the right blood could use.
On the other hand, a lot of these nitpicks can be traced back to Obi-Wan. Maybe he was just messing with everyone?
Q.I always thought the most profitable movie of all time (based on percentage return) was "The Blair Witch Project." However, the movie poster for "Inside Deep Throat" claims that "Deep Throat" is the most profitable movie ever. Is there an authority who can settle this once and for all?
Andrew Woodhouse, Tempe Ariz.
A. Startled by the claim in "Inside Deep Throat" that the original movie grossed $600 million in circa-1970 dollars, Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times ran the numbers and wrote an article suggesting that figure was a fantasy that has been repeated for years without any fact-checking.
Hiltzik writes me: "The Web site www.the-numbers.com says $40.8 million. That could be in the ballpark, keeping in mind that given the cash nature of the distribution, it's a pretty muddy ballpark. At the time of the Memphis verdicts, the standard newspaper estimate seemed to be $30-$50 million, and then it abruptly jumped up to $600 million and no one ever looked back. When Linda Lovelace appeared before a Congressional committee in the mid-'80s, the chair, Arlen Specter, said something like, 'So it grossed $600 million and you got a lot of bruises?' and she replied, in effect, 'Yeah.'"
Since the mob owned most of the porn theaters in the pre-video days and inflated box office receipts as a way of laundering income from drugs and prostitution, it is likely, in fact, that "Deep Throat" did not really gross $600 million, although that might have been the box office tally.
In the fourth book, they devise a method of approximating what the Question was. What they come up with was "What do you get when you multiply six by nine".
Now, while 6 * 9 = 42 (in base 13), they make a point of mentioning how this method will only approximate the true Question.
The true Question is, of course, "What do you get when you multiply six by seven" and is mentioned by Arthur several books earlier. He immediately dismisses it as too obvious, overlooking the fact that he is from Earth, the planet/computer designed to come up with the Question. Earthlings' brains work different from other sentient beings, which is also why they can name a place "Belgium" without blushing, and why they are not so adversely affected by Vogon poetry.
Some could even argue that Earthlings can know both the Question and the Answer simultaneously without going insane, but those people are idiots who haven't been paying attention.
I disagree. Futurama and The Simpsons are quite similar, where one focuses on family members, and the other on co-workers. They both have similar three-act formats, but Futurama is more of an ensemble show (like early Simpsons, before the "Jerkass Homer" years). The main draw for Family Guy on the other hand isn't the family plotline, but the numerous short flashbacks.
<rant>
The less said about American Dad, however, the better. In other animated shows (Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama) the main character is basically a dumb guy with no authority. That's fine. He's an idiot, but can't do any harm.
In American Dad, the main character is not only dumb, but psychotic. He has anger management and control issues, and readily abuses his position of authority to impose his idiotic will on others. In addition, there are no intelligent characters to counter-balance his insanity (Homer has Lisa, Peter has Brian, Fry has Leela). He is a nightmare bully who isn't checked by anything.
Every character on the show is a whinging loser. With whom are we supposed to identify? For whom are we supposed to cheer?
</rant>
Here in Japan, we've had broadcast TV capable phones for a while now. Here's a link: v402sh
My favorite part of the description? "Of course, there are no communication charges for TV and radio reception."
Of course.
This model is a bit old though (a year?). It's only got a 1-megapixel camera, and no optical zoom. But, what do you expect for a $50 phone?
The newer v603sh has more features, but costs almost $200. I don't know if I need an electronic program guide or the ability to record shows, but I don't spend two hours on the train going to and from work each day.
No worries. I should have linked to the referenced article in my original post. I thought the issue had been given more airtime here on Slashdot, but maybe it was too long ago for people to remember.
Sigh.
I guess I was just trying to vent on two topics at the same time.
Man, people that say "Evolution is only a Theory" are simply announcing their ignorance of what the word theory means. That really, REALLY bugs me. What's higher on the scientific credibility chart than a theory? Nothing! Argh!
Slashdot Mirror
(Yamada Denki, anybody?)
AAAAARGH!
Now that's going to be stuck in my head all day, you insensitive clod!
ALAN: It's called Tron. It's a security program itself, actually. Monitors all the contacts between our system and other systems... If it finds anything going on that's not scheduled, it shuts it down. I sent you a memo on it.
DILLINGER: Mmm. Part of the Master Control Program?
ALAN: No, it'll run independently. It can watchdog the MCP as well.
31 Replies.
20 of which argue who is faster.
You can see where our priorities are.
---
Flash is faster.
http://web.archive.org/web/19981111190256/http://
Highlights:
- Episode 1 teaser sheets
- Does the world really need a 25 gig drive?
- Patents: how do we keep software free?
Oh, how far we've come.I was going to suggest Grisoft AVG as well. Actually, I went the other way; I used to use Avast, and switched to AVG.
The NAV resident scanner was too much of a resource hog. My entire system was noticably slower when it was running. Since the AVG changover, there has been a clear increase in performance.
Also, AVG caught two viruses on my system that Norton had been missing for who-knows how long. So, free+faster+better=Winner.
I still have NAV installed to run weekly scans until my subscription expires, but my day to day AV is AVG.
I have an on-demand water heater for my bath/shower. It heats the water faster than you can run it out full blast, and it's darn near boiling (that's what the other, cold water tap is for). It's definitely hotter than the "Green" water heater from my last place.
I take a normal length shower every morning (despite being a Slashdot reader), and my total water heating bill for the month averages around $16. It may be less now; I haven't had the kerosene tank refilled since January. The temperature remains fairly constant throughout.
Of course, I also live in Japan, where such heaters are the standard. Presumably, the kinks have been worked out here.
I also have a second on-demand water heater in the kitchen, but that runs on propane (as the stove does), so it is not independent, and I don't know how much exactly it is costing me.
Does it bother any other Dvorak typers that when keyboards are shown in futuristic sci/fi movies (5th Element, Matrix), they are invariably QWERTY?
<stumped>
I can do without the ninja chicks in bikinis
Speak for yourself.
I would instead say that anime encompasses a wider spectrum of animation quality (compared to American-style animation) both higher and lower. I wouldn't call anime a style (as there are many different styles of anime); it's more just the country of origin. As Japan produces much more animation (and for a wider range of viewers), it makes sense that the quality spectrum is likewise wider.
As such, arguments can always be made that American-style animation is worse than or superior to Japanese anime, as appropriate examples of both can be found as the need dictates.
It might be more accurate to liken it to the DIVX rental system (not the coincidentally named unrelated codec).
In the original DIVX system, you would buy DIVX-DVDs for, say $5. This would give you one 48-hour window to watch the movie, at some point in the future (of your choosing). Then, if you wished to watch it again, you purchase another window.
After several (seven, IIRC) uses, the movie became permanently free, and you could unlock it whenever you wanted to watch it.
Theoretically, it was akin to renting-to-buy the movie. You could pick it up for $5 and watch it once (a bit more than renting, but no late fees). If you wanted to 'rent' it again later, well, you already had the disc, you just needed to unlock it again. Again, similar to renting, except you do it from home, immediately. Eventually it's permanently unlocked, and if you liked it enough to unlock it so many times, you've purchased it.
Perfectly logical idea.
The best part of the analogy, though, is how DIVX ended.
There was so little popular support for the idea (because people couldn't get over the idea of purchasing a physical disc without the right to watch it whenever they wanted), that the company eventually went bankrupt, and all the people that actually HAD purchased DIVX discs then had no way to unlock them. And of course the same sort of thing has happened to people with large iTunes collections that have had a hardware failure. Their legitimate purchase suddenly has no value.
This is the real fear of Digital Restrictions Management. Despite assurances, if permission is required to use the product, it is by it's very nature, unreliable.
Would you buy a car if you had to get permission each time you wanted to drive it? Maybe (if the car was cheap), but the first time you needed to be somewhere, and the guy who holds the keys for you cannot be found, you'll start looking for a new permission-free car.
And I'm not saying there's no genetic predisposition to force ability, I'm saying everyone could be trained to use it (in the original trilogy). Just like everyone can learn to play basketball, but not everyone is going to be in the NBA.
However, the necessity to have to stretch to see these possible interpretations to get around otherwise gaping plot-holes significantly distracts from the enjoyment of the movies.
How about when Obi-Wan says he met Anakin when Anakin was a pilot?
Or how about when Obi-Wan offers to train Han Solo in the use of the force (ep. IV), but Yoda says that child Anakin is too old to be trained (ep. I)? Of course, Yoda himself trained Luke when Luke was much older.
The force went from being something anyone could learn to use, to being something only a select few who were born with the right blood could use.
On the other hand, a lot of these nitpicks can be traced back to Obi-Wan. Maybe he was just messing with everyone?
Here's a quote from Roger Ebert's Movie Answer Man: In his review of Inside Deep Throat, he also says:
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
I have mod points, how do I mod TFA down?
For now, here's a direct link without the ad-crappiness.
Pardon my foolishness, but...
...note to self: Research first, post on Slashdot second. But I'm new here.
That's actually the end of the second book, not the fourth book.
And the question was: "What do you get if you multiply six by nine".
Of course, you can always just ask Google for the answer, or look it up on Wikipedia.
Pardon my nerdiness, but...
>Meaning of life=42, Question=???
In the fourth book, they devise a method of approximating what the Question was. What they come up with was "What do you get when you multiply six by nine".
Now, while 6 * 9 = 42 (in base 13), they make a point of mentioning how this method will only approximate the true Question.
The true Question is, of course, "What do you get when you multiply six by seven" and is mentioned by Arthur several books earlier. He immediately dismisses it as too obvious, overlooking the fact that he is from Earth, the planet/computer designed to come up with the Question. Earthlings' brains work different from other sentient beings, which is also why they can name a place "Belgium" without blushing, and why they are not so adversely affected by Vogon poetry.
Some could even argue that Earthlings can know both the Question and the Answer simultaneously without going insane, but those people are idiots who haven't been paying attention.
I disagree. Futurama and The Simpsons are quite similar, where one focuses on family members, and the other on co-workers. They both have similar three-act formats, but Futurama is more of an ensemble show (like early Simpsons, before the "Jerkass Homer" years). The main draw for Family Guy on the other hand isn't the family plotline, but the numerous short flashbacks.
<rant>
The less said about American Dad, however, the better. In other animated shows (Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama) the main character is basically a dumb guy with no authority. That's fine. He's an idiot, but can't do any harm.
In American Dad, the main character is not only dumb, but psychotic. He has anger management and control issues, and readily abuses his position of authority to impose his idiotic will on others. In addition, there are no intelligent characters to counter-balance his insanity (Homer has Lisa, Peter has Brian, Fry has Leela). He is a nightmare bully who isn't checked by anything.
Every character on the show is a whinging loser. With whom are we supposed to identify? For whom are we supposed to cheer?
</rant>
Sigh.
Here in Japan, we've had broadcast TV capable phones for a while now. Here's a link: v402sh
My favorite part of the description? "Of course, there are no communication charges for TV and radio reception."
Of course.
This model is a bit old though (a year?). It's only got a 1-megapixel camera, and no optical zoom. But, what do you expect for a $50 phone?
The newer v603sh has more features, but costs almost $200. I don't know if I need an electronic program guide or the ability to record shows, but I don't spend two hours on the train going to and from work each day.
No worries. I should have linked to the referenced article in my original post. I thought the issue had been given more airtime here on Slashdot, but maybe it was too long ago for people to remember.
Sigh.
I guess I was just trying to vent on two topics at the same time.
Man, people that say "Evolution is only a Theory" are simply announcing their ignorance of what the word theory means. That really, REALLY bugs me. What's higher on the scientific credibility chart than a theory? Nothing! Argh!
Or, as we say here in Japan, BAKA...