And the Windows95 Easter Egg where with a complex series of actions on the desktop you would get a window + music scrolling the names of all the contributors to the OS.
However. Make sure it is tested properly. The only easter eggs I ever add are useful troubleshooting features which I use to debug it. But I'm boring, too much under the gun to write games etc as well.
My guess is that Neanderthals were the ultimate rugged individuals. There are suggestions they were not as sociable as us or culturally flexible. But they were smart, they had artistically fashioned tools. But without cultural intercourse (dangerous word for the/. yahoos), there would be no magnification of any innovation... you know what I mean. So we get smart, rugged people who tend to keep to themselves. Yeah they are resilient but they are no match for an organised opponent. So in this little scenario we have a being that is not like us, but is still smart (and worth knowing) but who would be no match against our society.
I have to say though, the ethics of this are frightening. Even the thought of it is disturbing.
And you know in 20 years they will be in exactly the same position. Software and hardware will have progressed so much the youngsters will say: "what less than 20 cores?"
Do this for 40 years, and you'll be just as sharp at 50 as you were at 20
Though your numeric skills may decline.:)
Seriously, I am aware of this problem myself. I find that I am nowhere near as able to do late night / all night coding / problem solving sessions as I once was (oh for the days when I was just 40). Well sleep does wonders. A good diet is essential, daily work at the gym (not hard stuff but enough to get your heart pumping for more than half an hour). And reading about lots of different stuff. Being curious but willing to change your mind. Don't let your mind get in a rut. I see too much of that kind of thinking here on/. from youngsters who are turning themselves into old farts without realising it.
Good genes help of course. But we can only work with what we've got. Long way of saying I agree with pretty much everything you said. I would also add socialize. A lot of the human brain is geared towards communication with other humans, we are a gregarious species... we need other people. Without them our health suffers, and so does our thinking. Sadly, in our society this is much harder to satisfy than you would expect.
And before that in 1966 there was The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" during the war between Luna and Earth. Though I wouldn't be surprised if there were even earlier examples.
Ahh. Good rant! And I even agree, somewhat... where I can work out what you are saying:) Interestingly the style and opening sentence would fit perfectly into the mouth of Yuri Orlov (the fictional one) from Lord of War. Not sure if I am more impressed or disturbed, variety is nice I guess.
Found this completely by accident. Shift-tilde (~) changes the case of the letter under the cursor and moves to the next character. Still have need to use this occasionally.
And let's not forget the marking of blocks (I know it's fundamental but sometimes you can forget it). e.g
ma --- mark the start of block 'a' move to end of block yank, delete whatever the block y'a or d'a
And more often than you would believe the remote connection is slow even via ssh. So abbreviated commands are a lifesaver... this is when you are glad you are using vi.
Ahem. How often does this happen? Breaking into an up to date linux system is much harder that cracking the typical windows box. Sure it happens, because no OS is invulnerable but is it worth their effort, and there are always counter-measures. High profile targets will draw some talented attempts of course (Redhat I'm looking at you).
Thanks for mentioning it. I remember reading a text on dBase II when it first came out, and the argument was that dBase didn't sell well at all, so it was rebadged as version 2 and was a runaway success. Then I recall the horrendous marketing decision to name the line of Java from 1.2 onwards as Java 2, while still keeping the normal versioning like 1.2 or 1.3.1 or even 1.4 (still Java 2). Now what do we have Java 6 ( version 1.6), arrrggg what lunacy! But I digress.
If that was the case then why was there an attempt to sue Apple? Perhaps because Apple copied more than was intended? Personally I have nothing against Apple and in a different context would probably even be praising them, though I find Mac fanboys the most annoying form of life on the planet. However, I do believe Apple's reputation for the GUI is completely undeserved. I believe those who buy Macs are often victims of cognitive dissonance: that is, they have to believe their computer is so wonderful because they have spent so much on it.
Good teaching idea. It is also close to the truth. Because that is what a variable is: it is a container (with an address, hence mailbox). Goes back to the basic ideas of how we learn numbers and addition etc when we were kids.
I remember that object oriented programming seemed too abstract to me (when I first learned C++) until I compared an object to a VCR (it was a while ago). The remote sends a message to the object, to perform a task. The On button calls the constructor and the off button invokes the destructor. It has defined inputs and outputs.
If you do any game engine physics then you are going to be doing a large amount of calculus. Other branches of programming are less likely.
I always believed that people who say: "I don't see how this relates to me", usually have a singular lack of imagination. That is why curiosity is a survival trait, it forces us to learn things that may be useful later on. There are some things I am terrible at, but that doesn't stop me knowing something of them because I am just curious.
Calculus, is a less likely contender for the curiosity list but it was curiosity about it (and matrix algebra) that got me interested in mathematics, leading to a degree in it. OTOH, programming languages I find I am curious about but unless I will be using it I know there is no point learning them in detail. Ruby I've read some stuff on, learnt the syntax, but haven't bothered learning it properly because if I am not using it I will just forget it all. Whereas, Java, Python, C/C++, awk etc are different... I use those often.
Has everyone forgotten that Apple stole (or excessively copied) the idea of the gui from PARC? Xerox tried to sue later on because of the similar look and feel but statute of limitations won out.
It seems to me that a truly free capitalist economy would strongly resemble organized crime. Not joking about this. Organized crime doesn't bother with legal restrictions at all when they are pressed. They don't even 'need' the police since they do their own 'enforcement'. For an example: see the last 15 years in the former Soviet Union.
But. And this is my objection to the original quote. The environment is special. If they live off the special conditions the paint offers, then they can't live easily off it. If they adapt to it so it doesn't kill them then they have added biochemical machinery that is pointless off the paint environment. Most likely, I can't say for sure of course, the paint will either kill the critters or evolve them towards a weakened, specialised state.
If you pumped enough water vapour into the air to make a difference to global temperature then it would have self corrected within 7-10 days. Water vapour is *not* an issue, you know too much water vapour causes rain, snow etc. Whereas too much CO2 hangs around for half a millenium or so.
From wikipedia on Arrhenius in 1896 (and don't even mention that you don't know who he was).
Arrhenius estimated that halving of CO2 would decrease temperatures by 4 - 5 ÂC and a doubling of CO2 would cause a temperature rise of 5 - 6 degrees Celsius[3]or 7 - 11 degrees Fahrenheit. Recent (2007) estimates from IPCC say this value (the Climate sensitivity) is likely to be between 2 and 4.5 degrees. What is remarkable is that Arrhenius came so close to the most recent IPCC estimate.
Greenhouse has been an issue for a very long time. Just not trendy until recently.
Climate science is complex. Do not base your opinions on half baked fringe stuff. Go to the real science first. e.g. Realclimate first.
I used to have cassette tapes of the first series. Well it was before teh Intarweb, couldn't download it so I just taped the suckers. Lost now. But I thought the TV series was lame and the movie even more so but the radio series was inspired. The book just doesn't capture it either. I will eagerly grab them if they are available. Even, ahem, pay for them.
Slashdot Mirror
And the Windows95 Easter Egg where with a complex series of actions on the desktop you would get a window + music scrolling the names of all the contributors to the OS.
However. Make sure it is tested properly. The only easter eggs I ever add are useful troubleshooting features which I use to debug it. But I'm boring, too much under the gun to write games etc as well.
My guess is that Neanderthals were the ultimate rugged individuals. There are suggestions they were not as sociable as us or culturally flexible. But they were smart, they had artistically fashioned tools. But without cultural intercourse (dangerous word for the /. yahoos), there would be no magnification of any innovation ... you know what I mean. So we get smart, rugged people who tend to keep to themselves. Yeah they are resilient but they are no match for an organised opponent. So in this little scenario we have a being that is not like us, but is still smart (and worth knowing) but who would be no match against our society.
I have to say though, the ethics of this are frightening. Even the thought of it is disturbing.
And you know in 20 years they will be in exactly the same position. Software and hardware will have progressed so much the youngsters will say: "what less than 20 cores?"
Do this for 40 years, and you'll be just as sharp at 50 as you were at 20
Though your numeric skills may decline. :)
Seriously, I am aware of this problem myself. I find that I am nowhere near as able to do late night / all night coding / problem solving sessions as I once was (oh for the days when I was just 40). Well sleep does wonders. A good diet is essential, daily work at the gym (not hard stuff but enough to get your heart pumping for more than half an hour). And reading about lots of different stuff. Being curious but willing to change your mind. Don't let your mind get in a rut. I see too much of that kind of thinking here on /. from youngsters who are turning themselves into old farts without realising it.
Good genes help of course. But we can only work with what we've got. Long way of saying I agree with pretty much everything you said. I would also add socialize. A lot of the human brain is geared towards communication with other humans, we are a gregarious species ... we need other people. Without them our health suffers, and so does our thinking. Sadly, in our society this is much harder to satisfy than you would expect.
And before that in 1966 there was The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" during the war between Luna and Earth. Though I wouldn't be surprised if there were even earlier examples.
Ahh. Good rant! And I even agree, somewhat ... where I can work out what you are saying :) Interestingly the style and opening sentence would fit perfectly into the mouth of Yuri Orlov (the fictional one) from Lord of War. Not sure if I am more impressed or disturbed, variety is nice I guess.
Found this completely by accident. Shift-tilde (~) changes the case of the letter under the cursor and moves to the next character. Still have need to use this occasionally.
And let's not forget the marking of blocks (I know it's fundamental but sometimes you can forget it). e.g
And more often than you would believe the remote connection is slow even via ssh. So abbreviated commands are a lifesaver ... this is when you are glad you are using vi.
Ahem. How often does this happen? Breaking into an up to date linux system is much harder that cracking the typical windows box. Sure it happens, because no OS is invulnerable but is it worth their effort, and there are always counter-measures. High profile targets will draw some talented attempts of course (Redhat I'm looking at you).
Thanks for mentioning it. I remember reading a text on dBase II when it first came out, and the argument was that dBase didn't sell well at all, so it was rebadged as version 2 and was a runaway success. Then I recall the horrendous marketing decision to name the line of Java from 1.2 onwards as Java 2, while still keeping the normal versioning like 1.2 or 1.3.1 or even 1.4 (still Java 2). Now what do we have Java 6 ( version 1.6), arrrggg what lunacy! But I digress.
If that was the case then why was there an attempt to sue Apple? Perhaps because Apple copied more than was intended? Personally I have nothing against Apple and in a different context would probably even be praising them, though I find Mac fanboys the most annoying form of life on the planet. However, I do believe Apple's reputation for the GUI is completely undeserved. I believe those who buy Macs are often victims of cognitive dissonance: that is, they have to believe their computer is so wonderful because they have spent so much on it.
Good teaching idea. It is also close to the truth. Because that is what a variable is: it is a container (with an address, hence mailbox). Goes back to the basic ideas of how we learn numbers and addition etc when we were kids.
I remember that object oriented programming seemed too abstract to me (when I first learned C++) until I compared an object to a VCR (it was a while ago). The remote sends a message to the object, to perform a task. The On button calls the constructor and the off button invokes the destructor. It has defined inputs and outputs.
If you do any game engine physics then you are going to be doing a large amount of calculus. Other branches of programming are less likely.
I always believed that people who say: "I don't see how this relates to me", usually have a singular lack of imagination. That is why curiosity is a survival trait, it forces us to learn things that may be useful later on. There are some things I am terrible at, but that doesn't stop me knowing something of them because I am just curious.
Calculus, is a less likely contender for the curiosity list but it was curiosity about it (and matrix algebra) that got me interested in mathematics, leading to a degree in it. OTOH, programming languages I find I am curious about but unless I will be using it I know there is no point learning them in detail. Ruby I've read some stuff on, learnt the syntax, but haven't bothered learning it properly because if I am not using it I will just forget it all. Whereas, Java, Python, C/C++, awk etc are different ... I use those often.
Has everyone forgotten that Apple stole (or excessively copied) the idea of the gui from PARC? Xerox tried to sue later on because of the similar look and feel but statute of limitations won out.
That this conversation is amongst people who use nicknames instead of their real names. Just hilarious.
It seems to me that a truly free capitalist economy would strongly resemble organized crime. Not joking about this. Organized crime doesn't bother with legal restrictions at all when they are pressed. They don't even 'need' the police since they do their own 'enforcement'. For an example: see the last 15 years in the former Soviet Union.
And let's not forget high-speed pizza delivery. Sorry couldn't help myself.
However, frightened people are easy to manipulate. That is the whole point of 'terror'. Thinking of Stalin here.
But. And this is my objection to the original quote. The environment is special. If they live off the special conditions the paint offers, then they can't live easily off it. If they adapt to it so it doesn't kill them then they have added biochemical machinery that is pointless off the paint environment. Most likely, I can't say for sure of course, the paint will either kill the critters or evolve them towards a weakened, specialised state.
Anyway my 2 cents.
Ahh. Everyday is a McSoylent day.
You mean the ISS. Though an attack on IIS would probably be business as usual, after all doesn't it stand for It Isn't Secure ?
3) People who argue about people rather than facts and science.
If you pumped enough water vapour into the air to make a difference to global temperature then it would have self corrected within 7-10 days. Water vapour is *not* an issue, you know too much water vapour causes rain, snow etc. Whereas too much CO2 hangs around for half a millenium or so.
From wikipedia on Arrhenius in 1896 (and don't even mention that you don't know who he was).
Greenhouse has been an issue for a very long time. Just not trendy until recently.
Climate science is complex. Do not base your opinions on half baked fringe stuff. Go to the real science first. e.g. Realclimate first.
I used to have cassette tapes of the first series. Well it was before teh Intarweb, couldn't download it so I just taped the suckers. Lost now. But I thought the TV series was lame and the movie even more so but the radio series was inspired. The book just doesn't capture it either. I will eagerly grab them if they are available. Even, ahem, pay for them.