Then again, Youtube videos play on more devices than Flash animations do and don't require installation of a plugin of waning relevance. Mobile devices, which tend to have a more restricting bandwidth cap than most users' home Internet connection, would also be the least likely to be able to play the animation in swf form. The answer of which one is better would really depend on your audience, I suppose, but Flash is becoming more and more of a niche filler instead of a first choice for content delivery.
I work for a dedicated software development division of a large corporation. I think there are perhaps 200 people in the office here, divided among development, quality assurance, product management, support, release engineering, etc. A "spot-check" of the org chart for the dev teams I usually work with gave me about 15% female, but I know that the count among the QA engineers is higher.
I can't say that I've noticed quality problems from the ladies (at least not any more than I do from the men I work with). We've got a couple of "rockstar" guys that really stand out, but I think that's more of a numbers game than anything. I can't say that I'm more impressed with the females than the males, but I'm not less impressed either, for whatever worth my opinion has.
In close to 30 years of working with computers, I can count on one hand the number of females I've run into who actually code for a living.
Well, what do you mean by "code for a living"? Do you mean women that held an engineering position for that entire 30 year span of time? Most of my coworkers are male, granted, but I'd have to at least include my toes to count the number of female software engineers in the building with me right now.
That doesn't seem to be true: here and here, there are several Thinkpad ultrabooks listed. Now, if you said that there were no Thinkpad ultrabooks prior to the "Chief River" set of Intel's specifications, that would be true.
That kind of testing wouldn't be done at the level of the independent farmer, but by one of the large chemical companies (like Monsanto, BASF, etc). Those companies produce a patentable and productizable strain of food crop through trial and error, and they produce seeds for sale to farmers.
All I can go by is what Valve has claimed to be its intention. So far, they've said that Steambox devices will be open and modifiable. And if they aren't, then you'll still be able to load Steam on any Linux OS anyhow, so I don't see a problem there. If some specific vendor locks down their hardware, I'd speculate that they'll have to deal with competition from vendors that produce products that aren't boot-locked. In fact, in the case that all vendors build closed systems, that sounds like a good space for entrepreneurship. Someone could become very popular by building SteamOS boxes that are easily modifiable.
Valve knows their customers pretty well. They know that PC games have a modding community, and I'd assume that they realize that there are a fair number of DIYers in their userbase. They've been smart businessmen thus far, and I don't see evidence that they'll make the mistake of over-consolifying their product now.
Well, consider 2001, when I could get an Xbox for $300 and a game for about $60. In comparison, my gaming PC at that time cost close to 3x that much, and the games cost a similar amount. Also, there's the simplicity factor. It's a little more complicated than "plug in the cartridge and turn it on" now, but there's also an OS that maintains itself, no need to worry about system requirements, etc. It's disingenuous to say that consoles don't have any features that someone's going to consider an upside. I prefer my PC in most cases, but consoles have the occasional perk.
I don't recall Valve or any of its hardware partners saying anything about running games on them that aren't yet approved on Steam.
From what I understand, SteamOS is Linux-based OS. Valve's been quoted as saying that users "can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want". That certainly sounds like you're free to run any game that'll run on Linux anyhow.
Resale and rental of games.
Meh. I've never sold a game; not about to start.
Use with no Internet connection for weeks at a time, such as by deployed service members.
Can't really argue with that point. Almost all of the AAA games in the last few years have been DRM-laden, with online authentication via Steam, Origin, Battle.net, et al. It's less of a problem for me; the last few games I've played were either console games, recent DRM-free indie games, or games that were released 15-20 years ago. Those last two aren't going to be the most popular of choices, so you're left with....closed (but mostly foolproof) console systems.
As an American reader, I didn't have any problem with the wording that you used. You've just run into a den of trolls (or perhaps just linguistic prescriptivists, which can be even worse).
"Educated people" realize that "alot" is not a dictionary-standard spelling, true. But it's common enough to be noteworthy and doesn't cause any ambiguity in its meaning. The purpose of language is communication, and the purpose of standardized language is *clear* communication. Still, language will naturally drift from the standard over time, and when it drifts far enough, the standard needs to be updated to reflect the new definition of "correct".
Meh. They claim that "open source" always has to be "Free Libre OSS". I claim that "open source" is rather non-specific, also encompassing "Free Gratis OSS", unless otherwise specified.
I disagree with the OSI's "no true Scotsman"-style argument.
I don't know their exact circumstances, of course, but it's possible that the different cards have different rewards programs, and each one will gain them different benefits under different circumstances. Either that, or 2 are less-commonly-accepted cards that have lower interest rates, or something.
The cards have a smart-chip in them. The data on the chip is encrypted, which makes it much more difficult to counterfeit with a credit card skimmer. As a second authentication factor, the cardholder punches in a PIN. This style of card is becoming more common in Europe right now, and a lot of automated terminals won't take a card that only has a magnetic stripe, apparently.
FLOSS = "Free/Libre Open Source Software". The "L" is to give more information about "Free", contrasting it to "free/gratis".
POV-Ray is a raytracer. Raytracing is an image rendering method that follows rays of light around a scene, keeping track of interactions with the geometry in the scene.
Since the source was downloadable, viewable, and modifiable (as long as you didn't redistribute the modified version), it was "open source", just not of the "free/libre" variety.
Obviously, the model numbers are keys in a database; meaningless except that they have unique values. Comparison graphs of performance in applications similar to what you're interested in running are the only way to actually judge the performance...then you use the "database key" to purchase the card at your favorite retailer once you've identified the appropriate balance of features, price, and performance.
So, "YMMV", as usual. For your case, online is better. Your objections to in-store shopping don't apply to me, so in my case, retail shopping is better (most of the time).
Amazon: You order a jacket on Wednesday, it doesn't fit, and the replacement comes in a week later. You probably have to drive to a post office to ship it back.
Retail store: You got to the store on Wednesday, and you find a jacket you like. You try on 5 different sizes in the store, right then and there, to preclude the possibility of needing to return it to the store. You get a jacket on the same day you decide to buy one.
There's a big difference between "You earn me money, and I pay you. Deal?" and "I'm going to sell ad space and use someone else's work to earn myself money without asking them".
The first is a situation that's often initiated by the one providing the work, for the mutual benefit of the employer and employee. If either finds that it's not to their own benefit, they can end the relationship. The second is a one-sided use of someone else's property for their own gain. I'm not saying that it's necessarily wrong (no harm, no foul), just that it's not the same thing.
Even "capitalism" is defined as private ownership and production of goods and services. Lyrics sites provide a service, but they don't own the goods that they use to do what they do.
You'd also have to reproduce the burning and the scent to really replicate alcoholic drinks. Otherwise, you're just making a new drink, not necessarily a replacement for the old one.
Stated another way, 0.0000000016% is 1 in 62,500,000,000. Apparently, "As of 2008, the WHO estimated that more than 81 million units of blood were being collected annually." If a single unit of that blood were to be found contaminated, that would constitute a 0.0000012% contamination of the supply, which makes is sound like the FDA is making something like 1:750 odds that adding some African countries to Red Cross donation lists would introduce a *single* tainted unit of blood.
Also from the WHO site:
25 countries are not able to screen all donated blood for one or more of the above infections. [HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis]
24% blood donations in low-income countries are not screened following basic quality procedures which include documented standard operating procedures and participation in an external quality assurance scheme.
The prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) in blood donations in high-income countries is considerably lower than in low- and middle-income countries. The prevalence of HIV in blood donations in high-income countries is 0.003% (median), in comparison with 0.1% and 0.6% in middle- and low-income countries respectively.
With those things in mind, I don't have a problem of disallowing donations from certain countries, in theory. In practice, it depends on exactly which countries are on the "no-fly list", and the safety statistics of those countries.
Also, the American Red Cross has called for an end to the lifetime male homosexual donation ban.
I'd prefer to give to other charities with lower administrative overhead, but none of the information you've provided argues compellingly for a boycott of Humble Bundle...then again, that's your choice to make for yourself.
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Then again, Youtube videos play on more devices than Flash animations do and don't require installation of a plugin of waning relevance. Mobile devices, which tend to have a more restricting bandwidth cap than most users' home Internet connection, would also be the least likely to be able to play the animation in swf form. The answer of which one is better would really depend on your audience, I suppose, but Flash is becoming more and more of a niche filler instead of a first choice for content delivery.
I work for a dedicated software development division of a large corporation. I think there are perhaps 200 people in the office here, divided among development, quality assurance, product management, support, release engineering, etc. A "spot-check" of the org chart for the dev teams I usually work with gave me about 15% female, but I know that the count among the QA engineers is higher.
I can't say that I've noticed quality problems from the ladies (at least not any more than I do from the men I work with). We've got a couple of "rockstar" guys that really stand out, but I think that's more of a numbers game than anything. I can't say that I'm more impressed with the females than the males, but I'm not less impressed either, for whatever worth my opinion has.
In close to 30 years of working with computers, I can count on one hand the number of females I've run into who actually code for a living.
Well, what do you mean by "code for a living"? Do you mean women that held an engineering position for that entire 30 year span of time? Most of my coworkers are male, granted, but I'd have to at least include my toes to count the number of female software engineers in the building with me right now.
Second link fixed: here. You'd think I'd've learned to use preview.
Thinkpads are not ultrabooks.
That doesn't seem to be true: here and here, there are several Thinkpad ultrabooks listed. Now, if you said that there were no Thinkpad ultrabooks prior to the "Chief River" set of Intel's specifications, that would be true.
That kind of testing wouldn't be done at the level of the independent farmer, but by one of the large chemical companies (like Monsanto, BASF, etc). Those companies produce a patentable and productizable strain of food crop through trial and error, and they produce seeds for sale to farmers.
All I can go by is what Valve has claimed to be its intention. So far, they've said that Steambox devices will be open and modifiable. And if they aren't, then you'll still be able to load Steam on any Linux OS anyhow, so I don't see a problem there. If some specific vendor locks down their hardware, I'd speculate that they'll have to deal with competition from vendors that produce products that aren't boot-locked. In fact, in the case that all vendors build closed systems, that sounds like a good space for entrepreneurship. Someone could become very popular by building SteamOS boxes that are easily modifiable.
Valve knows their customers pretty well. They know that PC games have a modding community, and I'd assume that they realize that there are a fair number of DIYers in their userbase. They've been smart businessmen thus far, and I don't see evidence that they'll make the mistake of over-consolifying their product now.
When has there ever been?
Well, consider 2001, when I could get an Xbox for $300 and a game for about $60. In comparison, my gaming PC at that time cost close to 3x that much, and the games cost a similar amount. Also, there's the simplicity factor. It's a little more complicated than "plug in the cartridge and turn it on" now, but there's also an OS that maintains itself, no need to worry about system requirements, etc. It's disingenuous to say that consoles don't have any features that someone's going to consider an upside. I prefer my PC in most cases, but consoles have the occasional perk.
I don't recall Valve or any of its hardware partners saying anything about running games on them that aren't yet approved on Steam.
From what I understand, SteamOS is Linux-based OS. Valve's been quoted as saying that users "can alter or replace any part of the software or hardware they want". That certainly sounds like you're free to run any game that'll run on Linux anyhow.
Resale and rental of games.
Meh. I've never sold a game; not about to start.
Use with no Internet connection for weeks at a time, such as by deployed service members.
Can't really argue with that point. Almost all of the AAA games in the last few years have been DRM-laden, with online authentication via Steam, Origin, Battle.net, et al. It's less of a problem for me; the last few games I've played were either console games, recent DRM-free indie games, or games that were released 15-20 years ago. Those last two aren't going to be the most popular of choices, so you're left with....closed (but mostly foolproof) console systems.
As an American reader, I didn't have any problem with the wording that you used. You've just run into a den of trolls (or perhaps just linguistic prescriptivists, which can be even worse).
"Educated people" realize that "alot" is not a dictionary-standard spelling, true. But it's common enough to be noteworthy and doesn't cause any ambiguity in its meaning. The purpose of language is communication, and the purpose of standardized language is *clear* communication. Still, language will naturally drift from the standard over time, and when it drifts far enough, the standard needs to be updated to reflect the new definition of "correct".
Indeed.
174,592 EPM, for whatever use that is.
Depends on if the BB gun uses air to propel the projectile. If it's just a spring, then "air rifle" is a bit of a misnomer, isn't it?
Meh. They claim that "open source" always has to be "Free Libre OSS". I claim that "open source" is rather non-specific, also encompassing "Free Gratis OSS", unless otherwise specified.
I disagree with the OSI's "no true Scotsman"-style argument.
I don't know their exact circumstances, of course, but it's possible that the different cards have different rewards programs, and each one will gain them different benefits under different circumstances. Either that, or 2 are less-commonly-accepted cards that have lower interest rates, or something.
The cards have a smart-chip in them. The data on the chip is encrypted, which makes it much more difficult to counterfeit with a credit card skimmer. As a second authentication factor, the cardholder punches in a PIN. This style of card is becoming more common in Europe right now, and a lot of automated terminals won't take a card that only has a magnetic stripe, apparently.
FLOSS = "Free/Libre Open Source Software". The "L" is to give more information about "Free", contrasting it to "free/gratis".
POV-Ray is a raytracer. Raytracing is an image rendering method that follows rays of light around a scene, keeping track of interactions with the geometry in the scene.
Since the source was downloadable, viewable, and modifiable (as long as you didn't redistribute the modified version), it was "open source", just not of the "free/libre" variety.
Obviously, the model numbers are keys in a database; meaningless except that they have unique values. Comparison graphs of performance in applications similar to what you're interested in running are the only way to actually judge the performance...then you use the "database key" to purchase the card at your favorite retailer once you've identified the appropriate balance of features, price, and performance.
So, "YMMV", as usual. For your case, online is better. Your objections to in-store shopping don't apply to me, so in my case, retail shopping is better (most of the time).
Amazon: You order a jacket on Wednesday, it doesn't fit, and the replacement comes in a week later. You probably have to drive to a post office to ship it back.
Retail store: You got to the store on Wednesday, and you find a jacket you like. You try on 5 different sizes in the store, right then and there, to preclude the possibility of needing to return it to the store. You get a jacket on the same day you decide to buy one.
There's a big difference between "You earn me money, and I pay you. Deal?" and "I'm going to sell ad space and use someone else's work to earn myself money without asking them".
The first is a situation that's often initiated by the one providing the work, for the mutual benefit of the employer and employee. If either finds that it's not to their own benefit, they can end the relationship. The second is a one-sided use of someone else's property for their own gain. I'm not saying that it's necessarily wrong (no harm, no foul), just that it's not the same thing.
Even "capitalism" is defined as private ownership and production of goods and services. Lyrics sites provide a service, but they don't own the goods that they use to do what they do.
You'd also have to reproduce the burning and the scent to really replicate alcoholic drinks. Otherwise, you're just making a new drink, not necessarily a replacement for the old one.
Also from the WHO site:
25 countries are not able to screen all donated blood for one or more of the above infections. [HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis]
24% blood donations in low-income countries are not screened following basic quality procedures which include documented standard operating procedures and participation in an external quality assurance scheme.
The prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) in blood donations in high-income countries is considerably lower than in low- and middle-income countries. The prevalence of HIV in blood donations in high-income countries is 0.003% (median), in comparison with 0.1% and 0.6% in middle- and low-income countries respectively.
With those things in mind, I don't have a problem of disallowing donations from certain countries, in theory. In practice, it depends on exactly which countries are on the "no-fly list", and the safety statistics of those countries.
Also, the American Red Cross has called for an end to the lifetime male homosexual donation ban.
I'd prefer to give to other charities with lower administrative overhead, but none of the information you've provided argues compellingly for a boycott of Humble Bundle...then again, that's your choice to make for yourself.