But then I got to thinking. Is this really different than Microsoft using various incentives to get governments/schools/other customers to buy Microsoft products? Does it just feel different because it's a bunch of big evil corporations using shady practices to try and outdo each other?
Actually, the other part we're talking about here is Sony... remember the payola scandls?
I agree on this story not being a big deal. Not because what these corporations do is right (by any standarts), but because of the names involved in the discussion. Actually, i don't think a story about Howard Stringer selling crack to nuns in order to somehow sell more PS3s and Blu-Ray movies would shock me much either.
Basically, to jump into the OSS bandwagon which, while it's not an actual threat to Microsoft outside the server arena, has been steadily gaining popularity for the past years. The idea is, IMHO, to shift the perception of open source from the more "common" licenses to their own, which, yes, can be quite restrictive. It's a smart move - either you get into the OSS club with your own rules, or you fail... but atleast appear supportive.
FWIW, i don't like their shared source licenses. In a way, they could be thought of like a step in the right direction, but they're not really very useful if all they allow you to do with the code is watch it.
Ah, yes. Sadly enough, it happens with all browsers, and in my eyes is a testament on how useful Javascript really is:) Still, GMail used to did the same and the Google guys ended up supporting Opera. I guess it's just a matter of time until they do the same for Google Docs.
I dunno... i use Opera 9.23 with QT compiled statically (on Linux using XFCE) and it runs quite snappier than Firefox, specially on startup/shutdown.
I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this subject, i know:) But, AFAIK, Opera is today the most useable browser out there. I like Firefox a lot, but Opera is still far superior, specially when it comes to user interfase, speed, and memory footprint.
...and other low end models - some of Nokia's best selling phones. I wonder how many of the end users will even bother to send their batteries back, but still, that's gotta hurt.
That's the general trend of Slashdot nowadays. The realization hit me when everyone started bashing the PS3, which contains a very impressive processor, allows installation of linux, has built-in media streaming, uses standard USB and Bluetooth hardware, runs folding@home, upscales DVDs and old games, etc. etc. All anyone here says, though, is "OMG SONY I BET THERE'S A ROOTKIT ON IT LOL".
Which is all fine and dandy, but the PS3 is a videogames console that sells for $500-600, with a very poor selection of games. The bashing is justified IMHO - and if you care about specs alone, you can get yourself a very nice new computer for that kind of money.
It is realistic in the sense it involves "real" sniping techinques - finding spots with cover, firing, relocating, watching your pulse and breath between shots. Then again, the missions are fun and well laid out with more than just long range shots - you go from assasination and cover missions to POW rescues. It is a very fun game, and well worth a fetch from the bargain bin.
That would be Sniper Elite, a terrific game in my opinion. I don't think i've seen another sniper sim ever since. It had a great balance of realistic shooting and action.
But seriously, what's the real point? Are the means to actually make one of these processors beyond 99% of companies and pretty much 99.99% of the people on the planet? What about the patenting of the process or equipment to actually make the processor?
If i understand correctly, this means that any company with a sillicon fab can manufacture UltraSPARC CPUs without paying any royalties to Sun. If this means cheap, ubitiquous CPUs then it's great news.
Now, don't get me wrong - it's a very neat proyect, but is it that far from a BT client with web server capabilities and Opera mini in your cell? I know of atleast one person who used to have his computer bookmarked in his cell for stuff like this.
Both parallel and serial ports are extremely useful, if only because they're the two most basic, easy to implement ways to communicate with electronic equipment. The cost impact of adding a UART to a moterboard is negligible. A while ago the company i work for paid premium prices for new laptops with onboard serial adapters because nowadays is impossible to find a stock laptop with "vintage" connectors.
And no, USB adapters won't cut it - they're either no configurable in speed, parity and other comm options or totally unreliable.
You must have missed the dozen or so stories put up in the last few months. They posted something like three stories about Edward James Olmos claiming the show was ending. Not surprising that you didn't notice. Most people only complain about things that irritate them.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I sad discussions. Discussions. A story about the end of BS is interesting for most of the/. demographic. So is a story about the launch of the latest HP book. Inviting a discussion like this is a reading club is, i repeat, outside the scope of the site, even when a story would end up the same way.
I was thinking the exact same thing. From the description of the tax they're trying to tax the hardware capabilites of the camera when much of it is actually determined by software. Expect downloadable flash files with legal disclaimers or even "secret" unlock codes for video recording and such if the tax is approved.
I disagree. If this was a discussion about, say, a big hit sci-fi novel, would you accept it? My money's on yes, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Actually, no, i really wouldn't. Then again, i wouldn't accept it if it were a sci-fi film either (and i was surprised when the fuzz about the new Transformers film didn't hit/., if that can be called sci-fi;).
My peeve is that this is not a story, nor an editorial, and not even a book review. It's an invitation to discussion for a topic that barely interests a lot of/. (even while it very well interests the rest!); a "geee, let's all discuss the hot thing this week" sort of thing which usually fits better forums and blogs. So, we have to draw a distinction: is this a forum about things "geeks" will find interesting? Or is it a portal with news for nerds? I like Battlestar Galactica, why don't we have a front page discussion on it at the end of every season?
I'm not aware of any scoping document for Slashdot that defines precisely what should and should not be here.
Neither do i, but a line has to be drawn. Live free or Die Hard was released a while ago; why can't we have a front page discussion on it? Hey, almost every geek i know loves action movies, so it must be relevant! Ratatouille was great and those Pixar guys use computers - let's have another one! What about music? Should we have one the next time, say, Kraftwerk releases an album? Synths, oooh. And Transformers? Robots falling from the sky disguised as trucks is as sci-fi and geeky as stories about a boy attending to wizard school, isn't it?
My point is that these discussion invitations are nice, but they're not editorials. Heck, they're not even stories. Not even reviews - and we happen to have a space for book reviews here, even when most are for tech-oriented books. This is more of a blog or fan forum thing. Which is, let me repeat, perfectly fine. Just not the scope of this site.
After all, Slashdot started as just some guy's blog, with stories he found interesting.
I know. I weren't arround back then, but as far as i know, it was a blog about tech stories he found interesting. I doubt they had stories on pottery just because the owner happened to start a course and liked it either.
Slashdot Mirror
But then I got to thinking. Is this really different than Microsoft using various incentives to get governments/schools/other customers to buy Microsoft products? Does it just feel different because it's a bunch of big evil corporations using shady practices to try and outdo each other?
Actually, the other part we're talking about here is Sony... remember the payola scandls?
I agree on this story not being a big deal. Not because what these corporations do is right (by any standarts), but because of the names involved in the discussion. Actually, i don't think a story about Howard Stringer selling crack to nuns in order to somehow sell more PS3s and Blu-Ray movies would shock me much either.
Bummer. At least it looked nice on paper... not that i'd like to have anything to do with .NET :) Or Java, for that matter.
Basically, to jump into the OSS bandwagon which, while it's not an actual threat to Microsoft outside the server arena, has been steadily gaining popularity for the past years. The idea is, IMHO, to shift the perception of open source from the more "common" licenses to their own, which, yes, can be quite restrictive. It's a smart move - either you get into the OSS club with your own rules, or you fail... but atleast appear supportive.
FWIW, i don't like their shared source licenses. In a way, they could be thought of like a step in the right direction, but they're not really very useful if all they allow you to do with the code is watch it.
Wow. Cool proyect.
Sounds like something Willie E. Coyote would design. That is, if we had no prior art on the subject...
Ah, yes. Sadly enough, it happens with all browsers, and in my eyes is a testament on how useful Javascript really is :) Still, GMail used to did the same and the Google guys ended up supporting Opera. I guess it's just a matter of time until they do the same for Google Docs.
I can have over 50 tabs open sometimes - this is on a Linux system, an old AthlonXP 1800 with 512mb of RAM.
it might be because opera needs qt libraries.
:) But, AFAIK, Opera is today the most useable browser out there. I like Firefox a lot, but Opera is still far superior, specially when it comes to user interfase, speed, and memory footprint.
I dunno... i use Opera 9.23 with QT compiled statically (on Linux using XFCE) and it runs quite snappier than Firefox, specially on startup/shutdown.
I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this subject, i know
...and other low end models - some of Nokia's best selling phones. I wonder how many of the end users will even bother to send their batteries back, but still, that's gotta hurt.
...but fuck Voltron. Where is my Centurions movie?! That one has been overdue for years now!
That's the general trend of Slashdot nowadays. The realization hit me when everyone started bashing the PS3, which contains a very impressive processor, allows installation of linux, has built-in media streaming, uses standard USB and Bluetooth hardware, runs folding@home, upscales DVDs and old games, etc. etc. All anyone here says, though, is "OMG SONY I BET THERE'S A ROOTKIT ON IT LOL".
Which is all fine and dandy, but the PS3 is a videogames console that sells for $500-600, with a very poor selection of games. The bashing is justified IMHO - and if you care about specs alone, you can get yourself a very nice new computer for that kind of money.
It is realistic in the sense it involves "real" sniping techinques - finding spots with cover, firing, relocating, watching your pulse and breath between shots. Then again, the missions are fun and well laid out with more than just long range shots - you go from assasination and cover missions to POW rescues. It is a very fun game, and well worth a fetch from the bargain bin.
That would be Sniper Elite, a terrific game in my opinion. I don't think i've seen another sniper sim ever since. It had a great balance of realistic shooting and action.
...can be seen in this trailer for iD's upcoming game, Rage. Even keeping in mind it's work in progress i'm floored.
But seriously, what's the real point? Are the means to actually make one of these processors beyond 99% of companies and pretty much 99.99% of the people on the planet? What about the patenting of the process or equipment to actually make the processor?
If i understand correctly, this means that any company with a sillicon fab can manufacture UltraSPARC CPUs without paying any royalties to Sun. If this means cheap, ubitiquous CPUs then it's great news.
Now, don't get me wrong - it's a very neat proyect, but is it that far from a BT client with web server capabilities and Opera mini in your cell? I know of atleast one person who used to have his computer bookmarked in his cell for stuff like this.
I see. So you have no problem with stealing an Audi or Jag then either?
;)
I guess most people wouldn't if they could download it
I have no use for a serial, parallel...
Both parallel and serial ports are extremely useful, if only because they're the two most basic, easy to implement ways to communicate with electronic equipment. The cost impact of adding a UART to a moterboard is negligible. A while ago the company i work for paid premium prices for new laptops with onboard serial adapters because nowadays is impossible to find a stock laptop with "vintage" connectors.
And no, USB adapters won't cut it - they're either no configurable in speed, parity and other comm options or totally unreliable.
It's a blog. It's their blog. It's a forum about things CmdrTaco et al. find interesting.
/. demographic. So is a story about the launch of the latest HP book. Inviting a discussion like this is a reading club is, i repeat, outside the scope of the site, even when a story would end up the same way.
Ummm...
You must have missed the dozen or so stories put up in the last few months. They posted something like three stories about Edward James Olmos claiming the show was ending. Not surprising that you didn't notice. Most people only complain about things that irritate them.
Oh, for fuck's sake. I sad discussions. Discussions. A story about the end of BS is interesting for most of the
Well if we can have articles announcing the death of The Lone Gunmen, I don't see why we can't have this.
Well, that would be news. For nerds, even. Not a "hey, let's all discuss the latest HP book!".
I was being facetious. Next time i'll add more smileys so it's more of a giveaway, relax.
I was thinking the exact same thing. From the description of the tax they're trying to tax the hardware capabilites of the camera when much of it is actually determined by software. Expect downloadable flash files with legal disclaimers or even "secret" unlock codes for video recording and such if the tax is approved.
I don't have to. I think they've no business on this site.
I disagree. If this was a discussion about, say, a big hit sci-fi novel, would you accept it? My money's on yes, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
/., if that can be called sci-fi ;).
/. (even while it very well interests the rest!); a "geee, let's all discuss the hot thing this week" sort of thing which usually fits better forums and blogs. So, we have to draw a distinction: is this a forum about things "geeks" will find interesting? Or is it a portal with news for nerds? I like Battlestar Galactica, why don't we have a front page discussion on it at the end of every season?
Actually, no, i really wouldn't. Then again, i wouldn't accept it if it were a sci-fi film either (and i was surprised when the fuzz about the new Transformers film didn't hit
My peeve is that this is not a story, nor an editorial, and not even a book review. It's an invitation to discussion for a topic that barely interests a lot of
I'm not aware of any scoping document for Slashdot that defines precisely what should and should not be here.
Neither do i, but a line has to be drawn. Live free or Die Hard was released a while ago; why can't we have a front page discussion on it? Hey, almost every geek i know loves action movies, so it must be relevant! Ratatouille was great and those Pixar guys use computers - let's have another one! What about music? Should we have one the next time, say, Kraftwerk releases an album? Synths, oooh. And Transformers? Robots falling from the sky disguised as trucks is as sci-fi and geeky as stories about a boy attending to wizard school, isn't it?
My point is that these discussion invitations are nice, but they're not editorials. Heck, they're not even stories. Not even reviews - and we happen to have a space for book reviews here, even when most are for tech-oriented books. This is more of a blog or fan forum thing. Which is, let me repeat, perfectly fine. Just not the scope of this site.
After all, Slashdot started as just some guy's blog, with stories he found interesting.
I know. I weren't arround back then, but as far as i know, it was a blog about tech stories he found interesting. I doubt they had stories on pottery just because the owner happened to start a course and liked it either.