Just like others who started up in the 80s, my first language was BASIC. Specifically, AtariBasic. Later, when I had gotten a C128, it switched to Commodore BASIC 7.0
In both cases, I remember the hours I would spend typing in programs from magazines. Some of the games were fun. Unfortunately, I didn't have a disk (or tape) drive at the time, so after getting a program to work, the computer was kept on for days at a time until I tired of whatever I was playing with and moved on.
Actually, by "Walkthrough," I meant "Longplay." Some people (like yours truly) just don't have the coordination to play some games, but are still curious to know how they turn out.
The problem with video or audio is that such information is not easily referenced; you have to go from beginning to end, and then, if you want to go back to a specific step later on, you need to keep clicking on the timeline until you reach something that looks like what you want. And then hope you found the right spot. This is as opposed to blogs and other forms of written content, which are usually separated be headings, and are easily skimmed through until you find what you want.
What all this means is that anything requiring the person to perfectly follow all steps from A to Z will benefit from the video treatment. However, anything that can be modified as appropriate should be presented in a text-based way, so that the person can skim through and find the salient parts of the post.
An example of something that benefits from video would be a video game walkthrough; by showing the action on-screen, the viewer will be able to see the sequence of events, both the actions of the player, and the reaction of the game engine and AIs.
An example of something that benefits from a text-based blog would be a tutorial for a program like Photoshop, or the GIMP. These programs are complex, and no video can possibly cover everything, and often people desire things on these programs that require a collection of different actions. Sometimes, all the actions are required, sometimes, they want to get to a point, and then diverge. Or maybe they simply want to refer to step 5, because it might be something that would work with their current project. For whatever reason, trying to find that step in a 30- to 50-minute YouTube video is downright frustrating.
Committed fraud? Maybe... that word can have several definitions.
Willfully? You'd have to point out any evidence that this was willful instead of someone who had to watch as reality gutted his intentions with reckless abandon. I suspect he fully intended to release the game as advertised, only to discover that his reference platform was not what most gamers (and especially PS4 owners) were capable of.
I bought the game, and while I'm disappointed, I understand this is essentially the tuition for the life lesson: don't buy into hype. Never buy a game when it's brand new. Wait and see how it will turn out.
To be perfectly fair, I can understand why certain features are missing. When the game came out, there were performance issues that even top-of-the-line gaming systems were struggling to deal with. Those other promised features may have been in the prototype, but cut until it could be determined how to add them without causing massive slowdown.
For my part, I'll just accept that I lost my money, and wait to see what happens next. If nothing, I'll still get another $60 on my next payday, so while it stings, it's no great loss.
I don't really mind the ads too much; the ads I hate are the javascript and flash monstrosities that slow browsers down to a crawl. But I'm willing to wait 4-15 seconds for the content to come on; it's what allows content producers to get paid for their (sometimes) hard work (something I eventually want to do for myself one day).
Back when that tactic was standard practice, we had Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer in charge of the company. Both have since stepped down (BG is now the technology advisor, but not in charge of the business strategy of the company). I'm not saying that Microsoft has definitely changed, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.
I intend to use Lubuntu with LXDE and an Awesome (window manager, not superlative) desktop. No PulseAudio, very minimal system usage, and full access to KXStudio, which provides an immense collection of programs that can cover just about every possible function, especially when you take Jack, Ardour, Claudia, and the immense collection of plugins available.
If you last tried Ardour 15 years ago, you owe it to yourself to try it again now. It took a major boost in features in the Ardour 3 release, and increased its polish for version 4. All in all, it's an excellent tool to make use of for music or other forms of audio production.
Before mathematical capability was baked into the main processor cores, motherboards used to have mathematical co-processors, which could handle the advanced math in a computer.
Even if a quantum chip cannot compare with a classical chip's calculation performance at this time, just how feasible would it be to include a quantum co-processor on a classical motherboard for quantum calculations? Would the two combined provide any benefit that either by itself could not?
So far, I haven't seen anyone mention one very useful application of said technology: Advanced input devices.
Think about it. If a computer could predict your actions even a second before you do them, then the system can use this data to keep pace with your actions. Who needs a tablet interface, when one can draw on a piece of paper, and the desktop reacts accordingly? What's the point of a touchpad or mouse when one can just move a finger or two over the tabletop next to the computer? Any monitor can be used as a touchscreen, as there is no need for a sensitive layer.
The one feature I have not seen on ANY of the VoIP programs, game, phone, or otherwise, is a nifty little system called JACK. To have a VoIP client with the ability to connect with other JACK clients would be downright awesome; this would especially be the case for broadcasters, podcasters, and other types of people who work with sound for a living.
I've played a number of MMORPGs. I've found that most of them make grinding a part of the game. There's some strategy, but it starts to look pretty shallow about 100 missions in or so. You get stuff, but you're limited to which stuff you can use based on choices you made at the beginning of your game. The map is pretty static; nothing really changes unless the developers decide to change something on the map, and any player- or team-owned locations are more likely than not to be instances rather than part of the standard world map.
In this game, there is far less grinding for money or skill, which means that the playing can be done for other reasons; and with the corporation/alliance structures, as well as the ability to control star systems in nullsec (or lowsec, depending on how you roll), there are some definite benefits to play that won't involve grinding, but still include doing stuff.
Perhaps I'm just paranoid, but there are three things the mind allows us to do, think, act, and stay alive (involuntary reflexes maintaining the body).
Now, in terms of thinking, this could allow other people to intentionally, uncontrollably interrupt my thoughts without first having direct physical access to me. I don't know about you guys, but I rely heavily on continuous thought, and can't do squat with discrete thought (think long-term focus vs. multitasking). Having an interface that can interrupt my thought process by another would be a bad thing. It might not be so bad if the wire could be pulled, but if the work being done needs information pulled from remote locations, it can be a very risky proposition.
Additionally, even now, people can operate with incorrect thoughts, but they are acquired through the normal inputs and outputs, and must pass through a reason filter in order to be integrated into the mind. The idea of there being a way to bypass that filter scares me to no end; imagine someone being able to plant a suggestion, telling you to do anything they want you to do. Maybe you'd still have the presence of mind to resist stuff you wouldn't normally do, but I've done enough technical work to know that not everybody has this presence of mind, especially when threats or enticements are used ("your computer is infected, download a security upgrade to fix," vs. "You have won $1,000,000, please provide your bank information to have it transferred to your account"). Believe me, it's not just the savvy that would want such an implant.
Next, action. Our minds determine what actions we will take, even if most of the steps are handled by nerve-based autonomous processes known as reflex (you don't have to consciously think about how to walk, you just walk). If I were to be rendered unconcious, so that an attacker could make use of my body, there's no telling how law would apply; I was unconscious at the time, I performed the action, but someone else is responsible. And that's not taking into account...
The health aspects of such a thing is probably the most frightening thing about having such a device in the mind. Every part of the human body has some basic activity that can be harmful if it stopped, even for a short time. A healthy nervous system allows the proper timing signals to be received by the involuntary muscles in the body including heart, lungs, and digestive tract. Without these, neither nutrients nor oxygen would make it to the cellular tissue, especially the muscles themselves. The body would break down, eventually dying as a result.
We do have diseases, but right now, they are limited to physical infections which are localized, and usually contained and expelled by a healthy immune system (autoimmune diseases notwithstanding). Having a direct access to the brain, however, opens up the risk for a much more dangerous form of infection; imagine some really antisocial people coming up with a virus program that can alter the signals going to the heart muscles, such as, say stopping the heart, or maybe increasing the rate to even more dangerous levels. Imagine something that can force the adrenal glands to keep producing. Or perhaps stop the pancreas, inducing a state of diabetes in anyone. Or perhaps disable dopamine production, leading to a number of frightening diseases.
The point is this, if you set your brain up to be affected by computers, then it'll be just as well-protected as any computer is against attack. And unlike a computer, this cannot easily be reformatted, nor can an alternative OS be installed... at least, not without you no longer being you.
There are no beginnings or ends to a circle. However, there are circumference and area. The idea behind the "size of the universe" theory is that the Universe size exists in a similar manner, three dimensions bent in such a way that they are circular in nature. In such a state, one can't determine where is specifically ends, but one can get a clearer idea of the scope of what's there based on a similar model.
And considering purpose the original Tron character had (track down insecure activities in the master control program, an early reference to the anti-malware software of today), the name pretty well fit.
The worst Google could do to me is market out personal information. I can ignore marketing with the well-known circular file.
The worst the government can do is fine me, lock me up, make me "disappear," and/or possibly kill me in the color of justice, depending on what they find, and how they interpret it. This is especially the case if my political views are too "radical" for whoever finds them, in which case, they could use their loopholes to call me a criminal, inciter, terrorist, traitor, or any other number of names that simply mean "someone we don't like."
So, yeah, I'm more comfortable with Google knowing my information than Big Brother.
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable."
Ruining the stock market =/= ruining the market.
The stock market is simply a way to trade ownership in government-regulated organizations, big hulking behemoths that only want one thing... more money. They will make substandard products, cut corners like crazy, perform unconscionable acts to do so, and lobby to alter the laws to benefit them. It is because of this system that copyrights have gained an order of magnitude in length, software patents exist, the US has been waging wars for oil, and all manner of large-scale ecological damage has been produced. It is because of this system that rampant consumerism exists, buying things that will fail for a short period of time in order that more things are purchased, only to see them fail in a similarly-small time period.
The only problem is that the transition involved would be a very devastating blow to people who have come to depend on it.
That's an interesting set of premises there, but to get a better picture, you need to put them together, and expand a bit.
* Amtrak's purpose is to provide public transportation.
* Public transportation requires moving people about.
* Moving people about requires devices that can move themselves that people can occupy(trains).
* Devices that move themselves need power.
* Devices that move themselves need maintenance.
* Power must be generated.
* Maintenance requires staff.
* Power generators require constant resources (fuel) to generate.
* Staff are people.
* People will work if motivated.
* Survival is a motivation.
* Survival requires several resources.
* Money can be traded for generator resources.
# Therefore, money is required for power for transport devices.
* Money can be traded for survival resources.
# Therefore, money is required for maintenance staff.
# Therefore, Amtrak requires money to provide public transportation.
* Amtrak was unable to bring in enough money to provide fuel and motivation for its staff.
# Therefore, Amtrak's supply of public transportation was not constant.
* Demand for public transportation is constant.
# Therefore, Amtrak was not able to supply the amount of public transportation needed.
Slashdot Mirror
Just like others who started up in the 80s, my first language was BASIC. Specifically, AtariBasic. Later, when I had gotten a C128, it switched to Commodore BASIC 7.0
In both cases, I remember the hours I would spend typing in programs from magazines. Some of the games were fun. Unfortunately, I didn't have a disk (or tape) drive at the time, so after getting a program to work, the computer was kept on for days at a time until I tired of whatever I was playing with and moved on.
Actually, by "Walkthrough," I meant "Longplay." Some people (like yours truly) just don't have the coordination to play some games, but are still curious to know how they turn out.
I am a big fan of audio drama, which means that the podcasting format is great for my kind of entertainment.
Here are my audio drama podcasts:
I also listen to Dan Carlin's podcasts (Common Sense and Hardcore History) for a pretty balanced view on history and politics.
Also, as I'm studying and training to do voice work, I also subscribe to a number of voice-over feeds.
In addition to the general voice-over stuff, I find that podcasts about podcasting (meta, anyone?) are also useful sources of knowledge.
I know there's a lot here, so I hope you find something of interest.
The problem with video or audio is that such information is not easily referenced; you have to go from beginning to end, and then, if you want to go back to a specific step later on, you need to keep clicking on the timeline until you reach something that looks like what you want. And then hope you found the right spot. This is as opposed to blogs and other forms of written content, which are usually separated be headings, and are easily skimmed through until you find what you want.
What all this means is that anything requiring the person to perfectly follow all steps from A to Z will benefit from the video treatment. However, anything that can be modified as appropriate should be presented in a text-based way, so that the person can skim through and find the salient parts of the post.
An example of something that benefits from video would be a video game walkthrough; by showing the action on-screen, the viewer will be able to see the sequence of events, both the actions of the player, and the reaction of the game engine and AIs.
An example of something that benefits from a text-based blog would be a tutorial for a program like Photoshop, or the GIMP. These programs are complex, and no video can possibly cover everything, and often people desire things on these programs that require a collection of different actions. Sometimes, all the actions are required, sometimes, they want to get to a point, and then diverge. Or maybe they simply want to refer to step 5, because it might be something that would work with their current project. For whatever reason, trying to find that step in a 30- to 50-minute YouTube video is downright frustrating.
Committed fraud? Maybe... that word can have several definitions. Willfully? You'd have to point out any evidence that this was willful instead of someone who had to watch as reality gutted his intentions with reckless abandon. I suspect he fully intended to release the game as advertised, only to discover that his reference platform was not what most gamers (and especially PS4 owners) were capable of.
I bought the game, and while I'm disappointed, I understand this is essentially the tuition for the life lesson: don't buy into hype. Never buy a game when it's brand new. Wait and see how it will turn out. To be perfectly fair, I can understand why certain features are missing. When the game came out, there were performance issues that even top-of-the-line gaming systems were struggling to deal with. Those other promised features may have been in the prototype, but cut until it could be determined how to add them without causing massive slowdown. For my part, I'll just accept that I lost my money, and wait to see what happens next. If nothing, I'll still get another $60 on my next payday, so while it stings, it's no great loss.
Really? How would you calibrate such a thing? And how would you ensure such calibration wasn't biased itself?
...using the money they paid him to make it.
I don't really mind the ads too much; the ads I hate are the javascript and flash monstrosities that slow browsers down to a crawl. But I'm willing to wait 4-15 seconds for the content to come on; it's what allows content producers to get paid for their (sometimes) hard work (something I eventually want to do for myself one day).
Back when that tactic was standard practice, we had Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer in charge of the company. Both have since stepped down (BG is now the technology advisor, but not in charge of the business strategy of the company). I'm not saying that Microsoft has definitely changed, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.
I intend to use Lubuntu with LXDE and an Awesome (window manager, not superlative) desktop. No PulseAudio, very minimal system usage, and full access to KXStudio, which provides an immense collection of programs that can cover just about every possible function, especially when you take Jack, Ardour, Claudia, and the immense collection of plugins available.
If you last tried Ardour 15 years ago, you owe it to yourself to try it again now. It took a major boost in features in the Ardour 3 release, and increased its polish for version 4. All in all, it's an excellent tool to make use of for music or other forms of audio production.
I also give instructions on setting up the same desktop in a blog post: http://certainthought.blogspot.com/2011/07/simple-linux-desktop.html
Before mathematical capability was baked into the main processor cores, motherboards used to have mathematical co-processors, which could handle the advanced math in a computer. Even if a quantum chip cannot compare with a classical chip's calculation performance at this time, just how feasible would it be to include a quantum co-processor on a classical motherboard for quantum calculations? Would the two combined provide any benefit that either by itself could not?
Actually, you can watch the whole series from the Internet Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/computerchronicles
So far, I haven't seen anyone mention one very useful application of said technology: Advanced input devices. Think about it. If a computer could predict your actions even a second before you do them, then the system can use this data to keep pace with your actions. Who needs a tablet interface, when one can draw on a piece of paper, and the desktop reacts accordingly? What's the point of a touchpad or mouse when one can just move a finger or two over the tabletop next to the computer? Any monitor can be used as a touchscreen, as there is no need for a sensitive layer.
The one feature I have not seen on ANY of the VoIP programs, game, phone, or otherwise, is a nifty little system called JACK. To have a VoIP client with the ability to connect with other JACK clients would be downright awesome; this would especially be the case for broadcasters, podcasters, and other types of people who work with sound for a living.
I've played a number of MMORPGs. I've found that most of them make grinding a part of the game. There's some strategy, but it starts to look pretty shallow about 100 missions in or so. You get stuff, but you're limited to which stuff you can use based on choices you made at the beginning of your game. The map is pretty static; nothing really changes unless the developers decide to change something on the map, and any player- or team-owned locations are more likely than not to be instances rather than part of the standard world map.
In this game, there is far less grinding for money or skill, which means that the playing can be done for other reasons; and with the corporation/alliance structures, as well as the ability to control star systems in nullsec (or lowsec, depending on how you roll), there are some definite benefits to play that won't involve grinding, but still include doing stuff.
Now, in terms of thinking, this could allow other people to intentionally, uncontrollably interrupt my thoughts without first having direct physical access to me. I don't know about you guys, but I rely heavily on continuous thought, and can't do squat with discrete thought (think long-term focus vs. multitasking). Having an interface that can interrupt my thought process by another would be a bad thing. It might not be so bad if the wire could be pulled, but if the work being done needs information pulled from remote locations, it can be a very risky proposition.
Additionally, even now, people can operate with incorrect thoughts, but they are acquired through the normal inputs and outputs, and must pass through a reason filter in order to be integrated into the mind. The idea of there being a way to bypass that filter scares me to no end; imagine someone being able to plant a suggestion, telling you to do anything they want you to do. Maybe you'd still have the presence of mind to resist stuff you wouldn't normally do, but I've done enough technical work to know that not everybody has this presence of mind, especially when threats or enticements are used ("your computer is infected, download a security upgrade to fix," vs. "You have won $1,000,000, please provide your bank information to have it transferred to your account"). Believe me, it's not just the savvy that would want such an implant.
Next, action. Our minds determine what actions we will take, even if most of the steps are handled by nerve-based autonomous processes known as reflex (you don't have to consciously think about how to walk, you just walk). If I were to be rendered unconcious, so that an attacker could make use of my body, there's no telling how law would apply; I was unconscious at the time, I performed the action, but someone else is responsible. And that's not taking into account...
The health aspects of such a thing is probably the most frightening thing about having such a device in the mind. Every part of the human body has some basic activity that can be harmful if it stopped, even for a short time. A healthy nervous system allows the proper timing signals to be received by the involuntary muscles in the body including heart, lungs, and digestive tract. Without these, neither nutrients nor oxygen would make it to the cellular tissue, especially the muscles themselves. The body would break down, eventually dying as a result.
We do have diseases, but right now, they are limited to physical infections which are localized, and usually contained and expelled by a healthy immune system (autoimmune diseases notwithstanding). Having a direct access to the brain, however, opens up the risk for a much more dangerous form of infection; imagine some really antisocial people coming up with a virus program that can alter the signals going to the heart muscles, such as, say stopping the heart, or maybe increasing the rate to even more dangerous levels. Imagine something that can force the adrenal glands to keep producing. Or perhaps stop the pancreas, inducing a state of diabetes in anyone. Or perhaps disable dopamine production, leading to a number of frightening diseases.
The point is this, if you set your brain up to be affected by computers, then it'll be just as well-protected as any computer is against attack. And unlike a computer, this cannot easily be reformatted, nor can an alternative OS be installed... at least, not without you no longer being you.
There are no beginnings or ends to a circle. However, there are circumference and area. The idea behind the "size of the universe" theory is that the Universe size exists in a similar manner, three dimensions bent in such a way that they are circular in nature. In such a state, one can't determine where is specifically ends, but one can get a clearer idea of the scope of what's there based on a similar model.
And considering purpose the original Tron character had (track down insecure activities in the master control program, an early reference to the anti-malware software of today), the name pretty well fit.
The worst Google could do to me is market out personal information. I can ignore marketing with the well-known circular file.
The worst the government can do is fine me, lock me up, make me "disappear," and/or possibly kill me in the color of justice, depending on what they find, and how they interpret it. This is especially the case if my political views are too "radical" for whoever finds them, in which case, they could use their loopholes to call me a criminal, inciter, terrorist, traitor, or any other number of names that simply mean "someone we don't like."
So, yeah, I'm more comfortable with Google knowing my information than Big Brother.
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable."
Ruining the stock market =/= ruining the market. The stock market is simply a way to trade ownership in government-regulated organizations, big hulking behemoths that only want one thing... more money. They will make substandard products, cut corners like crazy, perform unconscionable acts to do so, and lobby to alter the laws to benefit them. It is because of this system that copyrights have gained an order of magnitude in length, software patents exist, the US has been waging wars for oil, and all manner of large-scale ecological damage has been produced. It is because of this system that rampant consumerism exists, buying things that will fail for a short period of time in order that more things are purchased, only to see them fail in a similarly-small time period. The only problem is that the transition involved would be a very devastating blow to people who have come to depend on it.
* Amtrak's purpose is to provide public transportation.
* Public transportation requires moving people about.
* Moving people about requires devices that can move themselves that people can occupy(trains).
* Devices that move themselves need power.
* Devices that move themselves need maintenance.
* Power must be generated.
* Maintenance requires staff.
* Power generators require constant resources (fuel) to generate.
* Staff are people.
* People will work if motivated.
* Survival is a motivation.
* Survival requires several resources.
* Money can be traded for generator resources.
# Therefore, money is required for power for transport devices.
* Money can be traded for survival resources.
# Therefore, money is required for maintenance staff.
# Therefore, Amtrak requires money to provide public transportation.
* Amtrak was unable to bring in enough money to provide fuel and motivation for its staff.
# Therefore, Amtrak's supply of public transportation was not constant.
* Demand for public transportation is constant.
# Therefore, Amtrak was not able to supply the amount of public transportation needed.
# Therefore, Amtrak failed on both counts.