I'd personally also add the provision that the copyright can only be held by the original author(s) of the work, and is non-transferrable. This forces corporations to treat authors more fairly, since if an author feels they aren't getting a fair deal, they can take their entire portfolio to someone who will.
People don't think about computers the same way they think about everything else. Most non-techies I know don't apply the same common sense to their computers that they apply to other mundane objects in their lives - like their cars. Computers are like magical gods that you must appease before you can get your work done.
I suppose it's possible that eventually the "secrets" of programming can filter down to the masses, much the way that writing filtered down to the masses from the Egyptian scribe class, but most of the non-techies I know have little interest in learning about it. I can't count the number of times I've explained something about computers to a layperson, and gotten a shrug of disinterest in return.
Re:Will anyone admit that DRM isn't bad?
on
DRM and Democracy
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· Score: 1
This brings to mind an utterly impractical thought...
What if all the Slashdotters moved en masse to a particular geographical area? A homeland for geeks plunked down in the middle of the USA? (or Canada - we have lots of room up here!) Then, idealogical representation would *become* geographical representation.
It seems like those of us who are savvy to these issues need a homeland of our own:)
Just adding to this. Yes, OOo 2.0 has PDF bookmarks, provided you set the outline levels accordingly in Tools | Outline Numbering.
Once you do that, every paragraph that's in the appropriate style triggers a level in the navigator (F5), Table of Contents (if you add one), and PDF bookmark list (if you export to PDF).
The problem with this scenario is that there's no accountability for the guy behind the webcam. He can anonymously phone in "violations" because "he doesn't like them ho-mos" or any other of a zillion, petty reasons.
Not to Godwin the thread, but see Nazi Germany for the effectiveness of having citizens inform on "undesirables". Heck, many Slashdot geeks would be "undesirables" by the majority's standards.
There's the shipped male-torso-with-nipple that is used on female bodies but covered with a bra. All that's needed to use this one is replace the bra texture with nothing; so, it's in the game, but it's not actually meant for female bodies (it's got everything in the wrong places).
Then, other modders have reskinned the female torso to make "proper" breasts. This requires installing a mod to override the textures.
This is more or less accurate - it's a generic texture, with nipples, that looks right on a male torso. Applied to a female torso, it's pretty ugly, and the nipples are in the wrong place. They just apply it to both anyway, and put a bra over the female upper body, so no one sees it. The "patch" just overrides the model for the female bra with, well, nothing.
I guess if you're a teenager who needs to see teh boobies, it'll work - but I don't think Bethesda meant to put in a nude female model.
I'd like to add to this, and point out that there are also certain traits (asthma, to name one) that are survival-impeding traits that have no impact on the ability to attract a mate whatsoever.
I used to live in rural Manitoba (the boondocks), and nearly everyone had multiple hunting rifles, and the occasional shotgun - so I can pretty much confirm that (a) it's probably true, (b) it's people in the boonies, and (c) they're hunting rifles for animals, not hunting pistols for people.
Not me, though, although I did target shooting every once in a while.
How would you want all lead women action roles to be portrayed? The women gets her ass kicked in the first scene and then goes back to cooking in the kitchen? Also having women in lead roles in action films is somewhat new and broke the old archetype. Compare versus the damsel in distress type role.
Why does it have to be one extreme or the other? What's wrong with a reasonable middle ground - you know, like real women?
Perhaps I stumbled upon the one area where Perl shines in comparison with Python, for that is the impression I got. The Python regex methods do not seem a natural fit for the problem.
To put my Python/Perl bias out in the open - I've used both, but prefer Python to Perl.
However, I'd say that Perl's regexes are among its greatest strengths. Python's regexes are alright (about the same as many other languages), but are certainly nothing spectacular. So, yes, your particular problem was more ideally suited to Perl, and less so to Python.
I'd probably say that it's because Python is both reference-counted and garbage-collected.
That is, it tracks reference counts for objects and calls __del__ when the last reference to the object goes away. If you don't create object reference cycles in your code, using __del__ for cleanup works great, but if you do, you then have to wait for the next run of the garbage collector to clean up the "lost" objects. The catch is that the garbage collector doesn't automatically reclaim the objects if you have a __del__ method - you have to manually determine the order to reclaim the objects in the cycle using the gc module (see here for more pedantic details).
Speaking solely for myself (INTJ), I'd say that because my internal stimulus level is naturally "cranked up", I find external stimulus (noise, crowds, and so on) somewhat painful - like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard. I can tolerate it, but when I'm at a party, I always end up drifting somewhere where it's a bit quieter and there are a bit fewer people. It's like "stimulus overload" for me to be in an extremely noisy, crowded, etc. environment. So, I'd say that my internal stimulus is the cause (at least for me), and the desire to be alone is the effect.
As an INTJ, I'd say your comments on "low-level detail" and "high-level out-of-the-box" thinking are more differences along the S/N scale than the E/I scale. My thought processes are mercilessly high-level - in fact, I tend to be a "systems guy", seeing the overall high-level patterns of everything I'm forced to interact with (including people). I can do detail work, but I tend to approach it from the top-down. I rarely think inside the box, and often find everyone else who does so (and doesn't see the simple, logical solutions that I do) very frustrating.
However, I'll add that, at least for me, my social functions are purely emulated. I have little-to-no perception of body language, nuance, or other people's emotional states. All of these functions, for me, are performed by glorified pattern matching - I have to semi-consciously match what-I-observe with what-I-see, and compare it to patterns I've seen before. Fortunately, I have pretty good pattern matching skills, so I'm not a complete social retard. My wife (INFJ), on the other hand, is almost an telepath/empath. It's almost scary, and I don't dare lie to her.
The bottom line is: Star Office can never beat MS Office, because it emulates MS Office.
While normally I'd agree with you, in this case it might actually be a benefit to mimic MS Office as it stands now. MS Office 12 won't look or work like previous versions of MS Office, so it might very well be easier to "upgrade" to Star/OpenOffice instead of learning how the new MS Office works.
MS may have shot themselves in the foot on this one, in the interests of being "pretty".
As someone who has been using LFS (Linux From Scratch) as my primary system at home for several years, I'm not looking forward to the prospect of upgrading GNOME again.
The dependencies are brutal. Often to get full functionality from a package, you will need to install it, install some other package (which depends on it), then reinstall the original package (because it can optionally depend on the second package) just to satisfy all of the cross-dependencies.
Installing things like totem and gstreamer are even worse, if you want the "full GNOME" versions.
There are plans in the works to rid GNOME of libgnome and libgnomeui, but they haven't happened yet, AFAIK.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, pretty much. As Bruce Schneier said, "Making bits uncopyable is like making water not wet".
Too bad the dinosaurs at the MPAA/RIAA don't get it yet. The sooner they do, the better it will be for everyone - them and their profits included.
I wish I had mod points - this bit of information was very interesting. Instead, a measly reply will have to do :)
Thank you.
I'd personally also add the provision that the copyright can only be held by the original author(s) of the work, and is non-transferrable. This forces corporations to treat authors more fairly, since if an author feels they aren't getting a fair deal, they can take their entire portfolio to someone who will.
Because computers are scary and magical ;-)
People don't think about computers the same way they think about everything else. Most non-techies I know don't apply the same common sense to their computers that they apply to other mundane objects in their lives - like their cars. Computers are like magical gods that you must appease before you can get your work done.
I suppose it's possible that eventually the "secrets" of programming can filter down to the masses, much the way that writing filtered down to the masses from the Egyptian scribe class, but most of the non-techies I know have little interest in learning about it. I can't count the number of times I've explained something about computers to a layperson, and gotten a shrug of disinterest in return.
Well said. If I had mod points, I'd mod you up.
Um... UPS, RAID, anyone? If you want near-perfect uptime, these things are sorta par for the course...
This brings to mind an utterly impractical thought...
:)
What if all the Slashdotters moved en masse to a particular geographical area? A homeland for geeks plunked down in the middle of the USA? (or Canada - we have lots of room up here!) Then, idealogical representation would *become* geographical representation.
It seems like those of us who are savvy to these issues need a homeland of our own
Just adding to this. Yes, OOo 2.0 has PDF bookmarks, provided you set the outline levels accordingly in Tools | Outline Numbering.
Once you do that, every paragraph that's in the appropriate style triggers a level in the navigator (F5), Table of Contents (if you add one), and PDF bookmark list (if you export to PDF).
No macros, works like a charm.
The problem with this scenario is that there's no accountability for the guy behind the webcam. He can anonymously phone in "violations" because "he doesn't like them ho-mos" or any other of a zillion, petty reasons.
Not to Godwin the thread, but see Nazi Germany for the effectiveness of having citizens inform on "undesirables". Heck, many Slashdot geeks would be "undesirables" by the majority's standards.
Well done. If I had mod points, they'd be yours for this magnificent feat of searchitude :)
Not that I could tell from that fluff piece, but it's obviously some sort of kerneldriver interface layer or wrapper of some kind.
The question is, how much overhead does the abstraction add?
Both, actually.
There's the shipped male-torso-with-nipple that is used on female bodies but covered with a bra. All that's needed to use this one is replace the bra texture with nothing; so, it's in the game, but it's not actually meant for female bodies (it's got everything in the wrong places).
Then, other modders have reskinned the female torso to make "proper" breasts. This requires installing a mod to override the textures.
This is more or less accurate - it's a generic texture, with nipples, that looks right on a male torso. Applied to a female torso, it's pretty ugly, and the nipples are in the wrong place. They just apply it to both anyway, and put a bra over the female upper body, so no one sees it. The "patch" just overrides the model for the female bra with, well, nothing.
I guess if you're a teenager who needs to see teh boobies, it'll work - but I don't think Bethesda meant to put in a nude female model.
I'd like to add to this, and point out that there are also certain traits (asthma, to name one) that are survival-impeding traits that have no impact on the ability to attract a mate whatsoever.
I used to live in rural Manitoba (the boondocks), and nearly everyone had multiple hunting rifles, and the occasional shotgun - so I can pretty much confirm that (a) it's probably true, (b) it's people in the boonies, and (c) they're hunting rifles for animals, not hunting pistols for people.
Not me, though, although I did target shooting every once in a while.
Why does it have to be one extreme or the other? What's wrong with a reasonable middle ground - you know, like real women?
I loved that game.
Get it from Home of the Underdogs if you still want it.
"Protecting yourselves" != occupying another sovereign country.
It's the latter that tends to get people really P.O.ed.
Flame on!
To put my Python/Perl bias out in the open - I've used both, but prefer Python to Perl.
However, I'd say that Perl's regexes are among its greatest strengths. Python's regexes are alright (about the same as many other languages), but are certainly nothing spectacular. So, yes, your particular problem was more ideally suited to Perl, and less so to Python.
I'd probably say that it's because Python is both reference-counted and garbage-collected.
That is, it tracks reference counts for objects and calls __del__ when the last reference to the object goes away. If you don't create object reference cycles in your code, using __del__ for cleanup works great, but if you do, you then have to wait for the next run of the garbage collector to clean up the "lost" objects. The catch is that the garbage collector doesn't automatically reclaim the objects if you have a __del__ method - you have to manually determine the order to reclaim the objects in the cycle using the gc module (see here for more pedantic details).
Speaking solely for myself (INTJ), I'd say that because my internal stimulus level is naturally "cranked up", I find external stimulus (noise, crowds, and so on) somewhat painful - like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard. I can tolerate it, but when I'm at a party, I always end up drifting somewhere where it's a bit quieter and there are a bit fewer people. It's like "stimulus overload" for me to be in an extremely noisy, crowded, etc. environment. So, I'd say that my internal stimulus is the cause (at least for me), and the desire to be alone is the effect.
Bah, I should preview before I post.
s/what-I-observe/what-I've-observed-before/g
s/an telepath/a telepath/g
As an INTJ, I'd say your comments on "low-level detail" and "high-level out-of-the-box" thinking are more differences along the S/N scale than the E/I scale. My thought processes are mercilessly high-level - in fact, I tend to be a "systems guy", seeing the overall high-level patterns of everything I'm forced to interact with (including people). I can do detail work, but I tend to approach it from the top-down. I rarely think inside the box, and often find everyone else who does so (and doesn't see the simple, logical solutions that I do) very frustrating.
However, I'll add that, at least for me, my social functions are purely emulated. I have little-to-no perception of body language, nuance, or other people's emotional states. All of these functions, for me, are performed by glorified pattern matching - I have to semi-consciously match what-I-observe with what-I-see, and compare it to patterns I've seen before. Fortunately, I have pretty good pattern matching skills, so I'm not a complete social retard. My wife (INFJ), on the other hand, is almost an telepath/empath. It's almost scary, and I don't dare lie to her.
While normally I'd agree with you, in this case it might actually be a benefit to mimic MS Office as it stands now. MS Office 12 won't look or work like previous versions of MS Office, so it might very well be easier to "upgrade" to Star/OpenOffice instead of learning how the new MS Office works.
MS may have shot themselves in the foot on this one, in the interests of being "pretty".
As someone who has been using LFS (Linux From Scratch) as my primary system at home for several years, I'm not looking forward to the prospect of upgrading GNOME again.
The dependencies are brutal. Often to get full functionality from a package, you will need to install it, install some other package (which depends on it), then reinstall the original package (because it can optionally depend on the second package) just to satisfy all of the cross-dependencies.
Installing things like totem and gstreamer are even worse, if you want the "full GNOME" versions.
There are plans in the works to rid GNOME of libgnome and libgnomeui, but they haven't happened yet, AFAIK.