The main problem with realistic sci-fi is, you have to be updated on scientific discoveries and technology (well that shouldn't be so hard for us slashdotters, would it?:) . Let's take an example. Suppose you write a story around 2040 where cars don't fly. Suddenly in slashdot there's a story about flying cars to be appearing in 2030. Darn. You have to rewrite everything. Or how about this: You imagine a world where computer viruses are spread over common videoplayers. But then turns out that videoplayers will run Linux. Wham, no viruses.
In the end, this turns into a massive speculation. How accurate are your current predictions going to be?
Still, I find realistic sci-fi much more appealing than say, Startrek, because of the possibility of such future ACTUALLY happening. This has a very good potential.
Now - the second problem is, the future might be much darker than we imagine. Suppose you write about a near future (2050) where ecology is rule #1. But recently on physorg I read that global warming cannot be stopped easily and that the current trend is that the planet will heat about 1 degree centigrate per year. This means that in the future there would be a scenario of overheated regions of the planet (i.e. deserts), something like Mad Max. Not exactly a post-nuclear wasteland, but certainly worrysome.
So, the question is: How much realism do we want to impregnate our stories with, and how benevolent are we going to be with the future?
Well, there's got to be some degree of freedom. Besides these obstacles, writing a realistic story is very appealing, at least to me. I've been slowly losing interest for unrealistic sci-fi. Why? I know it's not real. There are no time portals, warp speeds, so I know this thing will NEVER EVER become real. So why think about something that will never happen but PRETENTS to be possible?
When Star Wars was created, I fantasized about all those things becoming real. (After all, that's the catch, isn't it?) Space travel was thought far-fetched, but NOT impossible. And this is what lets us dream.
Because, sci-fi and fantasy is about dreaming, isn't it?
Well that gives me an idea. Well, more like a thought. How feasible it is for the chinese to begin giving second meaning to certain words, sort like a secret code?
If the photo looks too professional, they should ask the client to give some ID, so if the owner then claims copyright violations, we know who to blame.
seriously damaged veteran, a poster child for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Hmmm letme see. Anakin eats some worms AND HE LIKES IT! He says, humorously: "But master, you've always told me to feed from the force".
In his freeing the Nova warriors from the machines, the only traumatic experience was the loss of his already cybernetic hand. And then he built himself a new one! Oh, and this wasn't just a simple battle, it was the last test of a Jedi.
So tell me, what part of "post traumatic stress" did he experience? No, he was just a warrior who was constantly tempted to the dark side by the Sith. Remember how he killed that Sith in the jungle, by using his anger?
So will anyone explain me how the heck is he a "poor veteran suffering from PTSD"? No, the traumatic experience was the loss of his mother, and he NEVER recovered from it.
Oh yeah, the script still sucked. I'm sure he'd been given a much better chance to perform with a better story.
Pretty nice idea, but it made me wonder about the push to get expectent mothers to take excessive amounts of folic acid (folate). Does that make them more prone to cancer by giving the cancer cells extra food?
The embryo has a growth rate comparable to cancer, and that's not the only similarity. Medicines which caused malformation of the fetus (due to their inhibition of blood vessels) can be used effectively to prevent cancer growth.
An expecting woman usually has to wait till the baby is born to start taking cancer treatment.
Ok now the mods are definitely on pot. Firesomething was a plugin created (as a joke) after the Firebird -> Firefox name change. It allows you to pick up weird names like firegoat, waterbird, etc.
From TFA: That shift began in earnest with a well-publicized memo written by Gates on the concept of "trustworthy computing" in 2002. Security had long been a concern at Microsoft, but the issue became imperative after several high-profile attacks exposed the degree of its vulnerabilities.
Sheesh! It's 2005 and there are still unpatched vulnerabilities. Damn hackers, they're always faster than us! (/sarcasm)
New applications from Apple will be named "paper", "pencil", "doors", "toy". The name "clip" was not taken due to possible conflict with Microsoft Office's animated assistant.
I think elliminating debt to poor countries (AND helping them develop an industry) would be more than adequate. It's not fair to buy raw material from them and then sell them the processed goods for several times more. How are they gonna pay the debt if the US takes from them the very resources they need?
How do these sites get on the first page of Google results?
1. Do-it-yourself search site (doesn't matter if it uses google, just put it there) 2. Store in a database the most used search terms 3. Produce a list of links with query strings that contain the search terms 4. Wait for google to index the page and crawl it 5. ??? 6. Profit!!
Slashdot Mirror
If I where to be ordered to kill someone else (an enemy) or get shot myself I know what I would choose.
:(
In Soviet America, Uncle Sam wants YOU! (pathetic, isn't it?
welcome our new fragile - *CRASH!*
Uh, now that I think about it, a beowulf cluster would be much more appropriate.
Science fiction wasn't meant to be a rehash of your college physics book with a storyline thrown in, it was meant to be fun.
Are you saying stories in a realistic world are not fun? How about The Three Musketeers, Les Miserables or Robinson Crusoe? How about Treasure Island?
And don't get me started on "20,000 leagues under the sea". That's the PERFECT example of mundane sci-fi.
And regarding your physics book, Sherlock Holmes could teach you a few things.
The main problem with realistic sci-fi is, you have to be updated on scientific discoveries and technology (well that shouldn't be so hard for us slashdotters, would it? :) . Let's take an example. Suppose you write a story around 2040 where cars don't fly. Suddenly in slashdot there's a story about flying cars to be appearing in 2030. Darn. You have to rewrite everything. Or how about this: You imagine a world where computer viruses are spread over common videoplayers. But then turns out that videoplayers will run Linux. Wham, no viruses.
In the end, this turns into a massive speculation. How accurate are your current predictions going to be?
Still, I find realistic sci-fi much more appealing than say, Startrek, because of the possibility of such future ACTUALLY happening. This has a very good potential.
Now - the second problem is, the future might be much darker than we imagine. Suppose you write about a near future (2050) where ecology is rule #1. But recently on physorg I read that global warming cannot be stopped easily and that the current trend is that the planet will heat about 1 degree centigrate per year. This means that in the future there would be a scenario of overheated regions of the planet (i.e. deserts), something like Mad Max. Not exactly a post-nuclear wasteland, but certainly worrysome.
So, the question is: How much realism do we want to impregnate our stories with, and how benevolent are we going to be with the future?
Well, there's got to be some degree of freedom. Besides these obstacles, writing a realistic story is very appealing, at least to me. I've been slowly losing interest for unrealistic sci-fi. Why? I know it's not real. There are no time portals, warp speeds, so I know this thing will NEVER EVER become real. So why think about something that will never happen but PRETENTS to be possible?
When Star Wars was created, I fantasized about all those things becoming real. (After all, that's the catch, isn't it?) Space travel was thought far-fetched, but NOT impossible. And this is what lets us dream.
Because, sci-fi and fantasy is about dreaming, isn't it?
A beowulf book of these. :)
cookies don't steal your CPU usage or disable your windows firewall.
In all seriousness, isn't rampage a bit strong of a word to use?
You're right. The correct term is berserk.
But remember, having Google on your resume looks better than McDonalds!
And CERTAINLY much better than working for Electronic Arts.
Well that gives me an idea. Well, more like a thought. How feasible it is for the chinese to begin giving second meaning to certain words, sort like a secret code?
Argh, you're right. Stupid chinese alphabet.
Oh well.
Why not use pornsites' tactics in here?
Like for example, "dmeocarcy" instead of "democracy", "frit psot" instead of well youknow, etc?
If the photo looks too professional, they should ask the client to give some ID, so if the owner then claims copyright violations, we know who to blame.
Ta-da, problem solved.
seriously damaged veteran, a poster child for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Hmmm letme see. Anakin eats some worms AND HE LIKES IT! He says, humorously: "But master, you've always told me to feed from the force".
In his freeing the Nova warriors from the machines, the only traumatic experience was the loss of his already cybernetic hand. And then he built himself a new one! Oh, and this wasn't just a simple battle, it was the last test of a Jedi.
So tell me, what part of "post traumatic stress" did he experience? No, he was just a warrior who was constantly tempted to the dark side by the Sith. Remember how he killed that Sith in the jungle, by using his anger?
So will anyone explain me how the heck is he a "poor veteran suffering from PTSD"? No, the traumatic experience was the loss of his mother, and he NEVER recovered from it.
Oh yeah, the script still sucked. I'm sure he'd been given a much better chance to perform with a better story.
http://news.nanoapex.com/ - They have a grey goo comic there :)
Pretty nice idea, but it made me wonder about the push to get expectent mothers to take excessive amounts of folic acid (folate). Does that make them more prone to cancer by giving the cancer cells extra food?
The embryo has a growth rate comparable to cancer, and that's not the only similarity. Medicines which caused malformation of the fetus (due to their inhibition of blood vessels) can be used effectively to prevent cancer growth.
An expecting woman usually has to wait till the baby is born to start taking cancer treatment.
Why can't OSS just pick a name
:-S
Not recursive acronyms please!
"PAF Ain't Firefox!" *shudders*
I'm gonna have nightmares tonight...
Ok now the mods are definitely on pot. Firesomething was a plugin created (as a joke) after the Firebird -> Firefox name change. It allows you to pick up weird names like firegoat, waterbird, etc.
use coral cache.
n s/AuroraTemp/
http://www.ghiapet.homeip.net.nyud.net:8090/~jowe
From TFA: That shift began in earnest with a well-publicized memo written by Gates on the concept of "trustworthy computing" in 2002. Security had long been a concern at Microsoft, but the issue became imperative after several high-profile attacks exposed the degree of its vulnerabilities.
Sheesh! It's 2005 and there are still unpatched vulnerabilities. Damn hackers, they're always faster than us! (/sarcasm)
New applications from Apple will be named "paper", "pencil", "doors", "toy". The name "clip" was not taken due to possible conflict with Microsoft Office's animated assistant.
P2P downloads YOU!
Conversely, if these countries do not want to buy processed goods from the US, they are free not to.
Note: Those "processed goods" include gasoline.
I think elliminating debt to poor countries (AND helping them develop an industry) would be more than adequate. It's not fair to buy raw material from them and then sell them the processed goods for several times more. How are they gonna pay the debt if the US takes from them the very resources they need?
The infection path is simply a self-extracting file that contains the content you wanted, along with a spyware tag-along.
Excuse me, wasn't this called "virus" in the old napster times?
How do these sites get on the first page of Google results?
1. Do-it-yourself search site (doesn't matter if it uses google, just put it there)
2. Store in a database the most used search terms
3. Produce a list of links with query strings that contain the search terms
4. Wait for google to index the page and crawl it
5. ???
6. Profit!!