I think GP's mention of "budget" means he was not blaming NASA itself. But indeed, much less than 10% off of the military budget would get NASA back to the manned space exploration track.
I disagree. A terrible idea with a beautifully executed development goes no where. A great idea that is hacked together with shell scripts and kilometers of spaghetti code can make someone a fortune and (lame as it sounds) change the world.
All that is good, but what really gets me is when a lame idea with the poorest possible implementation goes on and takes over the world. Maybe it is because I had to write something for Twitter at work, I don't know, but I still shudder at a really-not-well-thought-out API on Ruby On Rails trying to support millions of users (the twits) depositing their wisdom one line a time...
and it was about fear of Death, you know, fear of THE Death. So the less educated could not look past the scythe and the bony construction, but more educated and wiser people see much more. Ok, it is a bit annoying that he uses all-caps, but he has shown compassion at a number of times and loves cats.
I have read so many times in so many different places about people complaining how Paypal froze their funds without any explanation, that I find it strange for someone to ask for sources. Start typing paypal fr.. on google, it will autocomplete it for you and give you as many sources as you want. The fact is that paypal works exactly like a bank (and abusing ebay's monopoly over online auctions it is the exclusive bank for those transactions), yet for some unfathomable reason they have not been regulated as a bank, which is dangerous for their customers. Imagine a bank deciding to freeze your account and funds whenever it felt like it. Banks can't do that, why let paypal?
I saw that of course. But the distortion is either movement or color (in any case without an explanation of what he is trying to do we can't judge), because when he walks slowly forward or backward there "distortion" is simply a static offset of the background. With a simple camera you can have different distortions with movement or brightness or color etc, with a kinect you could make the body look like a lens and that is not done here.
Notice how when he walks far back, the distortion goes away and he disappears completely. What does that tell you? So, he is using depth info, but what he is doing with it is rather lame. He still has a static image of the empty room, otherwise when the person went far enough back, he would have to appear uncloaked not disappear completely. Of course you would need 2 kinects and much more work to avoid the need for a static background image and just apply the "cloak" to objects nearer than the background. But that would certainly be cool. What we have here, you can do better without a kinect by simple diffing of the background image. If he at least used the depth info to alter the distortion it would be interesting, but it seems to me that when he is walking towards or away from the camera the distortion does not change at all.
Hmm, upon watching more of the video, he seems to stop the effect or "disappear" completely if he goes far back enough, so I guess that is a way he is using the kinect depth data. However, when he walks forward or backward, nothing changes on how the background is seen through him, I would have expected something like the effect of a lens moving closer or farther, in general different distortion depending on how close he is to the cam. Anyway, without knowing what he is trying to do, I can't be impressed by this video.
But he does have a point. How is this using kinect's abilities? How is this different than EffectTV's PredatorTV filter? Is the guy just using all the late kinect dev rage to get credit for doing something simple and available for years, or he is really doing something new? I can't really see how the kinect depth info could help. Now, the other guy with 2 kinect's providing a 3d view really did have something, and he could easily add a predator filter to make something invisible, as he would be able to see behind it anyway as long as it was not a blind spot.
It is not easy for me to follow my company's patents when they deal with technologies we use and I am familiar with. I am sure automatically translated versions would be pretty much incomprehensible.
Replace the Iranian government with a democratic government.
My view on these things is that the citizens of the country are responsible for the actions of their government. If the government is not democratic, it is by choice of the people.
Your ignorance actually makes your statements amusingly ironic. It was the US & UK who replaced the democratic Iranian country with a dictatorship in 1953 (look up "Operation Ajax") and that's where the problems started, as a 25-year US controlled dictatorship seems to have really pissed the Iranians off (you can't blame them...) and made them turn to religion, establishing a theocracy after their revolution.
Nice post. One thing you missed out is that you agree that Iran is not a democracy and say the last democratically elected (and very popular in his country) leader was overthrown over 50 years ago, but you don't mention how/why he was overthrown. So, why is Iran not a democracy? But of course because of US' Operation Ajax (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax) which established a 25 year dictatorship to protect the British petroleum interests. Way to go guys!
No, silly. He meant the kid should take apart the computer. And in fact suggests that he should do it while intoxicated, which I guess would be ok in some countries. Obviously you can't easily take a screwdriver apart, I mean, I haven't heard of any vodka-phobe material to use as a filter...
Ehmm... Verizon had been offering the amazing top speed of 3mbit to our company for $80/month in the middle of Manhattan until recently (we relocated, so I don't know if they managed to get Fios over). For years it was the fastest we could buy at any price (5Mbit/384 cable alternative was actually slower, T1 was much more expensive for slower download). Then, 1-2 years ago, I see Speakeasy is offering "up to 12Mbit" adsl2+ in our area. I call them up and they would not guarantee speeds of course (they said we were at an average distance and it would depend on our building since we were on a high rise) and wanted $160/month (note I asked for residential rate, but it included static IP - they offered no dynamic) for the CHANCE to get something faster than 3mbit (potentially, if the stars align apparently, up to 12). So IF you can get 150Mbps at $195 it sounds to me like an amazing deal for the US - those who need it will gladly pay. Now if you compare to other countries it might feel steep, but again for the US you should not complain.
My personal feeling is that bans give power to words and symbols, but I can understand that other people feel strongly about such things, I'm willing to respect their feelings accordingly.
That is exactly what I am saying. It is an artificial reaction, induced by banning the thing and constantly reminding its connection to atrocities. Ban racist talk if you wish but stop needlessly demonizing a geometric shape and people (the vast majority with no connection to WW2) will not react at all to it. I would even go on to say that by reacting to a symbol like that you are empowering it, when it will be just a piece of history if you treat it that way.
First of all, the symbol is much more common than Hindu mythology. If you are into ancient Greek antiquities it is almost certain you have come across the swastika on helmets, pottery etc. See example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GreekHelmetSwastika.jpg , note it is even the Nazi orientation, and you will see it in most large collections of artifacts (e.g. the Met or museums in Greece). The reverse orientation is also common for other eras, e.g. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kretominoisches_Hakenkreuz_asb_2004_PICT3431.JPG Minoan pottery. Now, if someone wanted to make a red black avatar with a bird and a swastika, I can see how it would offend some people (I guess unless the bird was taking a dump on the swastika...). However, should they be offended? The Nazi regime ended 65 years ago, my father still shudders at the thought of drunk Nazi soldiers during occupation yelling "Fraulein" while he is hiding with his sisters in the basement, or the sound of Stukas diving, but even he doesn't get "offended" by the sight of a swastika, why should most of the population with no direct WW2 experience? It is not like it was the only case of a highly racist ideology. Neither was it the only case where an ideology led to mass murder. Why be so exclusive to the swastika? Stalin was not bad with mass extermination, perhaps we should ban the sickles and hammers (except for Grabthar's of course). And let me not get started on the cross, oh, boy, it is the symbol behind more mayhem than any other! I will mention just one example of the cross and murder, one that nobody expects... The Spanish Inquisition!... and the Crusades! So, two examples, The Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades... and...;)
Surely the judge was thinking that this case would allow the rival company construct cheaper cars by saving R&D costs, thus enabling MORE people to buy a car and cause death by driving dangerously!
Ahh! Right, it uses sub-pixel optimizations, that is why it kind of sucks on my main (vertical) monitor, but clears up when moving the window over to the lower end horizontal monitor...
Slashdot Mirror
is she hot?
Also, does she run linux at home?
I think GP's mention of "budget" means he was not blaming NASA itself.
But indeed, much less than 10% off of the military budget would get NASA back to the manned space exploration track.
Is it indecent of me to reminisce on the days of olde when such a topic would simply turn into a lengthy discussion mocking BASIC programmers?
I disagree. A terrible idea with a beautifully executed development goes no where. A great idea that is hacked together with shell scripts and kilometers of spaghetti code can make someone a fortune and (lame as it sounds) change the world.
All that is good, but what really gets me is when a lame idea with the poorest possible implementation goes on and takes over the world. Maybe it is because I had to write something for Twitter at work, I don't know, but I still shudder at a really-not-well-thought-out API on Ruby On Rails trying to support millions of users (the twits) depositing their wisdom one line a time...
and it was about fear of Death, you know, fear of THE Death. So the less educated could not look past the scythe and the bony construction, but more educated and wiser people see much more. Ok, it is a bit annoying that he uses all-caps, but he has shown compassion at a number of times and loves cats.
I have read so many times in so many different places about people complaining how Paypal froze their funds without any explanation, that I find it strange for someone to ask for sources. Start typing paypal fr.. on google, it will autocomplete it for you and give you as many sources as you want.
The fact is that paypal works exactly like a bank (and abusing ebay's monopoly over online auctions it is the exclusive bank for those transactions), yet for some unfathomable reason they have not been regulated as a bank, which is dangerous for their customers. Imagine a bank deciding to freeze your account and funds whenever it felt like it. Banks can't do that, why let paypal?
I saw that of course. But the distortion is either movement or color (in any case without an explanation of what he is trying to do we can't judge), because when he walks slowly forward or backward there "distortion" is simply a static offset of the background. With a simple camera you can have different distortions with movement or brightness or color etc, with a kinect you could make the body look like a lens and that is not done here.
Notice how when he walks far back, the distortion goes away and he disappears completely. What does that tell you?
So, he is using depth info, but what he is doing with it is rather lame. He still has a static image of the empty room, otherwise when the person went far enough back, he would have to appear uncloaked not disappear completely. Of course you would need 2 kinects and much more work to avoid the need for a static background image and just apply the "cloak" to objects nearer than the background. But that would certainly be cool.
What we have here, you can do better without a kinect by simple diffing of the background image. If he at least used the depth info to alter the distortion it would be interesting, but it seems to me that when he is walking towards or away from the camera the distortion does not change at all.
Hmm, upon watching more of the video, he seems to stop the effect or "disappear" completely if he goes far back enough, so I guess that is a way he is using the kinect depth data. However, when he walks forward or backward, nothing changes on how the background is seen through him, I would have expected something like the effect of a lens moving closer or farther, in general different distortion depending on how close he is to the cam.
Anyway, without knowing what he is trying to do, I can't be impressed by this video.
But he does have a point. How is this using kinect's abilities? How is this different than EffectTV's PredatorTV filter? Is the guy just using all the late kinect dev rage to get credit for doing something simple and available for years, or he is really doing something new?
I can't really see how the kinect depth info could help. Now, the other guy with 2 kinect's providing a 3d view really did have something, and he could easily add a predator filter to make something invisible, as he would be able to see behind it anyway as long as it was not a blind spot.
It is not easy for me to follow my company's patents when they deal with technologies we use and I am familiar with. I am sure automatically translated versions would be pretty much incomprehensible.
Bravo, Ecuador.
You're welcome!
Wow.
And I don't mean world of warcraft.
He will be quite comfortable and safe in my mother's basement.
Replace the Iranian government with a democratic government.
My view on these things is that the citizens of the country are responsible for the actions of their government. If the government is not democratic, it is by choice of the people.
Your ignorance actually makes your statements amusingly ironic. It was the US & UK who replaced the democratic Iranian country with a dictatorship in 1953 (look up "Operation Ajax") and that's where the problems started, as a 25-year US controlled dictatorship seems to have really pissed the Iranians off (you can't blame them...) and made them turn to religion, establishing a theocracy after their revolution.
Nice post.
One thing you missed out is that you agree that Iran is not a democracy and say the last democratically elected (and very popular in his country) leader was overthrown over 50 years ago, but you don't mention how/why he was overthrown.
So, why is Iran not a democracy? But of course because of US' Operation Ajax (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax) which established a 25 year dictatorship to protect the British petroleum interests.
Way to go guys!
No, silly. He meant the kid should take apart the computer. And in fact suggests that he should do it while intoxicated, which I guess would be ok in some countries.
Obviously you can't easily take a screwdriver apart, I mean, I haven't heard of any vodka-phobe material to use as a filter...
Yeah, all that is the same, across universes. What is different is facial hair fashion.
Ehmm... Verizon had been offering the amazing top speed of 3mbit to our company for $80/month in the middle of Manhattan until recently (we relocated, so I don't know if they managed to get Fios over). For years it was the fastest we could buy at any price (5Mbit/384 cable alternative was actually slower, T1 was much more expensive for slower download). Then, 1-2 years ago, I see Speakeasy is offering "up to 12Mbit" adsl2+ in our area. I call them up and they would not guarantee speeds of course (they said we were at an average distance and it would depend on our building since we were on a high rise) and wanted $160/month (note I asked for residential rate, but it included static IP - they offered no dynamic) for the CHANCE to get something faster than 3mbit (potentially, if the stars align apparently, up to 12).
So IF you can get 150Mbps at $195 it sounds to me like an amazing deal for the US - those who need it will gladly pay.
Now if you compare to other countries it might feel steep, but again for the US you should not complain.
Well, it seems he could and he proved it again and again over the years since...
My personal feeling is that bans give power to words and symbols, but I can understand that other people feel strongly about such things, I'm willing to respect their feelings accordingly.
That is exactly what I am saying. It is an artificial reaction, induced by banning the thing and constantly reminding its connection to atrocities. Ban racist talk if you wish but stop needlessly demonizing a geometric shape and people (the vast majority with no connection to WW2) will not react at all to it.
I would even go on to say that by reacting to a symbol like that you are empowering it, when it will be just a piece of history if you treat it that way.
First of all, the symbol is much more common than Hindu mythology. If you are into ancient Greek antiquities it is almost certain you have come across the swastika on helmets, pottery etc. See example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GreekHelmetSwastika.jpg , note it is even the Nazi orientation, and you will see it in most large collections of artifacts (e.g. the Met or museums in Greece). The reverse orientation is also common for other eras, e.g. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kretominoisches_Hakenkreuz_asb_2004_PICT3431.JPG Minoan pottery. ... and the Crusades! So, two examples, The Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades... and... ;)
Now, if someone wanted to make a red black avatar with a bird and a swastika, I can see how it would offend some people (I guess unless the bird was taking a dump on the swastika...).
However, should they be offended? The Nazi regime ended 65 years ago, my father still shudders at the thought of drunk Nazi soldiers during occupation yelling "Fraulein" while he is hiding with his sisters in the basement, or the sound of Stukas diving, but even he doesn't get "offended" by the sight of a swastika, why should most of the population with no direct WW2 experience?
It is not like it was the only case of a highly racist ideology. Neither was it the only case where an ideology led to mass murder.
Why be so exclusive to the swastika? Stalin was not bad with mass extermination, perhaps we should ban the sickles and hammers (except for Grabthar's of course). And let me not get started on the cross, oh, boy, it is the symbol behind more mayhem than any other! I will mention just one example of the cross and murder, one that nobody expects... The Spanish Inquisition!
Surely the judge was thinking that this case would allow the rival company construct cheaper cars by saving R&D costs, thus enabling MORE people to buy a car and cause death by driving dangerously!
It was an amusing reference to the case where Verizon CSR's could not get the difference between 0.02$ and 0.02 cents...
To put it simply...
woooosh!
Ahh! Right, it uses sub-pixel optimizations, that is why it kind of sucks on my main (vertical) monitor, but clears up when moving the window over to the lower end horizontal monitor...