I would be quite interested to learn more details about this "possible manned landing" mentioned in the article. I would especially like to hear that NASA is putting more time, money, and effort into this than the orbiting white elephant known as the "International Space Station," and that they're working on a replacement vehicle (or even a beanpoll or orbital elevator) to replace the antiquated kludge known as the space shuttle.
When I was growing up, I expected us to have made a manned landing on Mars by now. I fear that NASA's bureauscoliocis has made that event ever-more unlikely under the current bureaucracy.
I think Nintendo's days as a hardware company are numbered. Handhelds were the last area they had a commanding lead over the opposition, and the PSP has blown that to hell. I have four friends, two of whom have never owned any dedicated video-gaming system, who bought the PSP within a week of release. Without that handheld revenue, what are they making money on?
Given the deep pockets they're competing against, if Nintendo doesn't have at least three out-of-the-park homerun titles for release on their next platform, I think they're dead as a hardware company and will have to turn themselves into a pure game publisher.
"Newer, more compliant browsers, will in time not support the older tags and code
Garbage. The amount of code necessary to support basic HTML is so tiny amidst the vast beasts major broswers have become that there's no reason to dispense with it. And why use anything else when straight, primative HTML is still the most effective tool for conveying simple information?
Crow T. Trollbot
Where's the Monty Pythonizer?
on
BBC Launches APIs
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· Score: 5, Funny
I want an API that turns any webpage into a Monty Python sketch!
Customer: Excuse me, I would like to complain about this Windows Security Update what I downloaded just yesterday.
Shopkeeper: Oh yes, a great Windows Update! Beautiful plummage.
Customer: The plummage don't enter into it! The problem is that this Windows Security Update is dead.
Shopkeeper: No, it's just resting! It will hop up any minute and dance around destroying viruses.
Customer: This Windows Security Update would not dance around even if Linus Torvalds himself gave it CPR!
Apple patents a lot of things which never see the light of day. It may be that their tablet implamentation has a few unique features they want to patent, but they have no real intention of bringing a TabletMac to market anytime soon. Of course, that could change if they think market conditions warrent...
Though the pictures don't indicate this, I wonder if they could also be filling in a few final functional gaps to turn the iPod into a full-blown PDA? Tantalizing as that might be, it's probably unlikely as well, seeing as how they're making bigger margins on the iPod Photo than PDA manufacturers are making on their product...
Time between Apple vulnerability being found and patched: Measured with a stopwatch.
Time between Microsoft vulnerability being found and patched: Measured by counting redwood tree rings.
Alternately, we could measure Microsoft's patch time by the number of spam e-mails an unpatched zombie system sends out. "Wow, Microsoft patched that security hole after only 9,000,000 SoBigs! They're really improving!"
Instead of buying games from games developers, they'll just download them from the Internet and burn them to Sony MiniDiscs instead! Yeah, that will teach them!
And just who has wireless equipped devices? It's certainly not the "have nots" of the so-called "digital divide." It's the well-to do with laptops and WiFi. This is a subsidy forpeople with expensive high tech gadgets paid for by the tax dollars of people who have to ride the bus to the library to use their internet access, or at best have dialup for an ancient computer.
Plus just imagine what kind of service you'll get from your new Government ISP Overlords. Public WiFi will have the same sterling quality as Public Housing, and technical problems will be resolved with the same lightning speed of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Crow T. Trollbot
Golems. Lots of Golems.
on
Iron Council
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· Score: 1
I enjoyed it just a tick less than I did The Scar, which I enjoyed just a tick less than Perdido Street Station. What I find interesting is that over the last few years, fantasy has been filled with golems. In addition to Iron Council, you have:
Mary Gentle's Ash: A Scret History
Lisa Goldstein's The Alchemist's Door
Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Thane Rosenbaum's The Golems of Gotham
It's possible it started with Ted Chiang's brilliant "72 Letters," but I can't prove it. Did a book on Rabbi Judah Lowe come out around the year 2000?
A similar convention is Linucon in Austin. Last year's guests included Steve Jackson, Eric Raymond, John Ringo and Tamara Gorski. This year's convention is scheduled for October 14-16.
We didn't have no fancy E-lec-tronic games! For "handheld games" we had a paddleball! And some days we didn't even have the string! Or the ball! Or the paddle! And we liked it! We liked it justy fine!
You tell kids that these days, and they just don't believe you...
- Crow T. Trollbot
Golly, I WONDER where they got that idea!
on
Pentium M Goes SFF
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· Score: 5, Funny
How on earth has the Wintel world decided that now is the right time for a quiet, small-form factor computer? I have no idea! *coughcoughMAC MINIcoughcough*
Slashdot Mirror
Crow T. Trollbot
When I was growing up, I expected us to have made a manned landing on Mars by now. I fear that NASA's bureauscoliocis has made that event ever-more unlikely under the current bureaucracy.
Crow T. Trollbot
Hmm, just what would you call Windows without a GUI? Walls?
Crow T. Trollbot
Steve Jobs: Nope.
Sirrus: I'll be your friend!
Steve Jobs: Nope.
Sirrus: If you don't put us in the iPod, I'll sign an exclusive deal with RealPlayer!
(pause)
Sirrus & Steve Jobs: AHAHAHAHH!
Sirrus: That's a good one. But seriously, how about putting us in the iPod?
Steve Jobs: Nope.
-Crow T. Trollbot
Crow T. Trollbot
- Reference to it running Duke Nukem Forever: Check
- Obvious Pun on Platform Name: Check.
- Reference to Original Hard OPC Article: Check.
- Link to Penny Arcade strip on Phantom:....?
Woo-hoo! A chance to Karma Whore!Take two! They're small!
And another!
And still another!
Crow T. TrollbotGiven the deep pockets they're competing against, if Nintendo doesn't have at least three out-of-the-park homerun titles for release on their next platform, I think they're dead as a hardware company and will have to turn themselves into a pure game publisher.
That said:
Garbage. The amount of code necessary to support basic HTML is so tiny amidst the vast beasts major broswers have become that there's no reason to dispense with it. And why use anything else when straight, primative HTML is still the most effective tool for conveying simple information?Crow T. Trollbot
Customer: Excuse me, I would like to complain about this Windows Security Update what I downloaded just yesterday.
Shopkeeper: Oh yes, a great Windows Update! Beautiful plummage.
Customer: The plummage don't enter into it! The problem is that this Windows Security Update is dead.
Shopkeeper: No, it's just resting! It will hop up any minute and dance around destroying viruses.
Customer: This Windows Security Update would not dance around even if Linus Torvalds himself gave it CPR!
Crow T. Trollbot
Though the pictures don't indicate this, I wonder if they could also be filling in a few final functional gaps to turn the iPod into a full-blown PDA? Tantalizing as that might be, it's probably unlikely as well, seeing as how they're making bigger margins on the iPod Photo than PDA manufacturers are making on their product...
Crow T. Trollbot
Time between Microsoft vulnerability being found and patched: Measured by counting redwood tree rings.
Alternately, we could measure Microsoft's patch time by the number of spam e-mails an unpatched zombie system sends out. "Wow, Microsoft patched that security hole after only 9,000,000 SoBigs! They're really improving!"
Crow T. Trollbot
Crow T. Trollbot
Hey, wait a minute...
Crow T. Trollbot
Plus just imagine what kind of service you'll get from your new Government ISP Overlords. Public WiFi will have the same sterling quality as Public Housing, and technical problems will be resolved with the same lightning speed of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Crow T. Trollbot
It's possible it started with Ted Chiang's brilliant "72 Letters," but I can't prove it. Did a book on Rabbi Judah Lowe come out around the year 2000?
Crow T. Trollbot
Crow T. Trollbot
- Crow T. Trollbot
Crow T. Trollbot
The is a remarkably cruel April Fools taunt for Apple fans and Mac owners. Good job!
- Crow T. Trollbot (Apple fan and Mac owner)
_____
"Screw you guys, I'm beaming home."
_____
"Sorry, we have a little morale problem with Ensign Redshirt. It seems-"
"Beam him into space. Now, onto the issue of dinner. I want-"
"Captain! we can't just beam a crew member into space. It's-"
"GODDAMN IT! I SAID BEAM HIM INTO SPACE! RESPECT MY A-THOR-I-TAY!"
- Crow T. Trollbot
- Crow T. Trollbot
I look forward to your in-depth discussion of how Soviet Communism is superior to Capitalist Democracy.
- Crow T. Trollbot
- Crow T. Trollbot
You tell kids that these days, and they just don't believe you...
- Crow T. Trollbot
Crow T. Trollbot