I hope you get some better answers than I can give. My own terrain engine is much simpler in scope, although possibly wider (rendering planet-sized maps for an RPG in real-time) and I'm yet to come to this problem. When I get there, maybe I'll read how you solved it!
As an aside, after reviewing ROAM and all sorts of CLOD algorithms, I've decided to go for a completely GPU-based approach. Split my world map (about 5000km squared at 1m resolution) into chunks of 1025m squared, which can be low-res (33x33 vertices, good for distant scenery) or high-res (1025x1025 vertices, with a low-res version as well). Each high-res chunk is then split into patches of 33x33 vertices. I keep nearly all of my patches and low-res chunks on the GPU, and create a list of ones I want to render using the CPU (frustrum cull, simple horizon occlusion). I then just step through the remaining patches and render each.
CPU load is as close to zero as makes no difference, leaving more time for AI and world management. The GPU needs a good bit of memory, but rendering is very fast using VBOs and static geometry. Also, every patch and low-res chunk shares the same triangle design, so I re-use the vertex index list, saving some memory.
For most people, serious work on a computer involves word processing. I'd agree with them as well.
Perhaps you could define what the phrase "serious work" means to you before you use it as a differentiator.
Ports? I can't even recall when Macs *ever* had PC-style serial or parallel ports. I've been usings Macs and PCs since the beginning, and I've never seen one. Why single this model out for attention?
Another point - PCMCIA slots have never appeared in their consumer iBook laptop line, but the professional line includes an ExpressCard/34 slot, allowing somewhat for future expansion. Since the main focus of the PCMCIA cards I used to sell (in retail) was around networking, I don't know what you're looking for. Can you define this before using it as a negative?
No, what I've noticed is that Apple people want to load up the Dell with crap that is what makes Apple unique, but not vice versa. I don't see them demanding the Apple be compared with a Word Processor tacked on, or a copy of XP Pro and Boot Camp... because you know, you have to make them comparable.
Then remind people to do that. The price comparison is most valid when the two things being compared are as equal as possible. Leaving stuff out because you don't want it means the comparison is valid only for you - no-one else may have the precise requirements you have.
By the way, OS X does come with a basic word processor which reads and writes plain text, RTF, Word (not really complex files though) and some others; supports styles; supports tables; supports reasonably complex formatting options and so on. It's not great, but for most simple uses it's adequate. Perhaps any word processor added to the Mac price should reflect that there's already sort of half a word processor in the basic install.
Someone else kindly posted the text, which notes the drag-to-applications-folder method.
You're worrying about a user who changed from Windows on second-hand equipment, uses a completely new operating system while expecting to just somehow know it and is incapable of looking for help either online or offline.
Don't you think you're reaching a bit?
Just give it up. The user had every option for help, Apple provide several mechanisms for help and yet the application developer made it less obvious. Even Microsoft makes this simple. It's not in any way an Apple issue, and trying to paint it as such shows a failure to see the point.
Do you mean when you want to use a simple heightfield in a way that it can have two Y values at a single XZ coord pair?
Why not have a 3D object that looks like a cave entrance, and use portal rendering to put the cave inside it? Or dropt he heightfield model altogether and use a full 3D mesh (ugly!)
Good luck with it. These things can get very tricky very quickly.
People have to individually judge whether they follow any order, based on their own morality. If they don't want to do it, they are morally obliged to speak out. First to their superiors, secondly to an ombudsman and finally to the general public. In that order.
The problem is when their superiors are compromised, and the ombudsman is similarly compromised. All that's left is the public.
Yes, they violated their oaths. Their oaths cannot exceed their constitutional rights though, and they can never be ordered to break a law.
Speaking up against an illegal act is in no way illegal, except under totalitarian regimes.
If the acts themselves are illegal, as they seem to be, then they absolutely did not break the law. However, given their belief in the compromised nature of the government, they have no option but to do this in secret.
I'm all for giving users help, and think Apple have done enough here. They've got an inbuilt help system in OS X, web-based help and a little colour manual in the box.
If a user can't manage to find any of these, there's Google.
But really, this is an issue for the Firefox dev team, not Apple. Apple provide an installer app but drag and drop is much simpler. Unfortunately some devs don't put the little helpful note in the disk image saying "just drag the app to your Applications folder" and so novice users have to work it out for themselves.
Blame the actual devs here, not the company that provided everything they needed but failed to use.
Apple should absolutely not be filling OS X with help for ex-Windows users. That's a bad way to design an OS, and sends a poor message to users.
That's either a troll, someone kidding about or the most woefully misinformed post by someone with only the dimmest glimmer of understanding of the past 5-10 years of operating system developments.
I congratulate you! Not content with learning how to use a computer, you've posted something on the Intarweb. Well done!
After years of Clippy, wizards appearing at every opportunity, task-bar messages that seem to take a vindictive pleasure in slowing down the process of actually booting the OS and dialogue boxes with text like "A problem has occurred and this computer must be rebooted. Yes/No"?
I think the sane world can do without that sort of intuition.
Apple are not perfect, but they've got UI designers who at least have seen users in person, not through the dim lens of a cheap telescope. If Windows users have to unlearn something, that's not such a bad thing.
Yeah, those Firefox developers could have made it easier.
Apple's issue? No, they provide a full interface for software installation. It's up to software vendors to actually use it. Some opt for the much simpler drag-and-drop method, which is used for apps from Firefox to MS Office. Most of the smarter devs put a folder image with a note saying "Drag this to your Applications folder" next to the app's icon, as a hint for new users.
But that's just me. I actually know how to use the computers I work with or have at home. Not taking the time to understand them seems a bit backwards to me.
People might snigger a bit, but that's because you never installed Firefox and the Firefox people decided against a hand-holding wizard as in the Windows world.
Installation is a matter of dragging the application from the virtual disk to the Applications folder. That's it.
Once you do that, you'll see that virtual disk won't open again.
Mac users actually do get to have their cake and eat it too. I'm guessing you didn't take any time to read up on how to use OS X, and that's why you failed at this first task. If you think the Windows way is better, you'll have a hard time convincing me. Even Microsoft do the virtual disk thing with Office on OS X, although they put an icon saying "Drag this to your Applications folder" giving them a point on the Firefox dev team.
Vegemite is the food of champions, the perfect food. All you need for complete nutrition is a teaspoon of vegemite each day, possibly with a glass of orange juice, and perhaps a half-kilo of vegetables and a teensy 250g of lean meat.
Apple doesn't have a monopoly in mp3 players, technical or otherwise, until there's a legal ruling on this. Since no-one is stepping up to seriously claim it, there's no monopoly.
Microsoft have had their monopoly status confirmed by the US courts, and I think the EU confirmed it as well. That's why they get special rules applied to the way they do things. Lucky Microsoft.
Bundling is a real issue for Microsoft, but a non-issue for Apple. The reason Apple can bundle all it likes is that it's not a monopoly player in the computer world, so the special rules that Microsoft must follow do not bind Apple.
The post is about fascism and Hitler should be mentioned during that post. Godwin's law is irrelevant when it comes to political discussion, as an extreme side of politics actually included Hitler, the Third Reich, Mussolini and others.
Hitler was just a guy. He was no more 'evil' than most people to begin with, but through cunning and manipulation he managed to gain unfettered power to do what he wanted. Over time, that power changed him, and his baser side emerged.
People who believe Hitler was a monster and started evil completely and utterly miss the actual point - he was a man like so many others, but who became so thoroughly corrupted by power that any act was reasonable to him. Anyone can become like that given the right circumstances, and that's why we have checks and balances in our world. You or I could do anything he did if we were put through a set of circumstances particular to us.
Invoke irrelevant political correctness if you like, but remember that Hitler started as a simple man, like anyone you see around you, like you or I.
Vegemite is Australia's way of determining what people are made of.
If you can eat a piece of white bread with margarine and a good serve of vegemite, then you're made of the tough stuff. Sadly, few people outside Australia seem to be made of the sort of stuff we are.
Mod that parent funny! I mean, compared to my post it's bloody hilarious.
Under the DMCA, there's no restriction to format shifting unless you're removing a protection mechanism. Clearly normal CDs have no such mechanism, so there's no need to invoke the spectre of the DMCA.
Seriously - take off that tin-foil hat for a bit.
As for the FTA, I'd be absolutely bloody thrilled to have it go in our direction for once. Until now, it seems to be a completely US-centric way of screwing our country out of yet more money while simultaneously failing to open US markets in anything but the most trivial sense.
To paraphrase a question to Gandhi - "What do you think of free trade with the US? It would be a good thing."
I'll tell Johnno, the Prime Minister, that you're out there on this Intarweb thing next time I see him down the pub. He'll tear you a new arsehole pretty quick smart with that boot of his.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe you should suggest that the GPL be rewritten then?
After all, Apple use it within the rules and if some people get emotional about it, then they should change it.
Don't complain when people do what you explicitly ask them to do.
Maybe the thread's come along since you posted, but I see a good number of people pretty much asking for hangings at dawn.
But is Slashdot. There's a huge variety of opinions. Possibly you missed that in your haste to troll.
... and I, being a Slashdot reader, failed to follow the link.
D'oh!
That's a lot more reply than my post deserved!
? forum_id=12
Perhaps you could look at some sites like...
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/forum.asp
(good place to ask questions about graphics programming)
http://www.vterrain.org/
(very interesting stuff here, lots of theory in the rendering section)
I hope you get some better answers than I can give. My own terrain engine is much simpler in scope, although possibly wider (rendering planet-sized maps for an RPG in real-time) and I'm yet to come to this problem. When I get there, maybe I'll read how you solved it!
As an aside, after reviewing ROAM and all sorts of CLOD algorithms, I've decided to go for a completely GPU-based approach. Split my world map (about 5000km squared at 1m resolution) into chunks of 1025m squared, which can be low-res (33x33 vertices, good for distant scenery) or high-res (1025x1025 vertices, with a low-res version as well). Each high-res chunk is then split into patches of 33x33 vertices. I keep nearly all of my patches and low-res chunks on the GPU, and create a list of ones I want to render using the CPU (frustrum cull, simple horizon occlusion). I then just step through the remaining patches and render each.
CPU load is as close to zero as makes no difference, leaving more time for AI and world management. The GPU needs a good bit of memory, but rendering is very fast using VBOs and static geometry. Also, every patch and low-res chunk shares the same triangle design, so I re-use the vertex index list, saving some memory.
It's early stages yet, but it's looking good.
Again - best of luck with your efforts.
For most people, serious work on a computer involves word processing. I'd agree with them as well.
Perhaps you could define what the phrase "serious work" means to you before you use it as a differentiator.
Ports? I can't even recall when Macs *ever* had PC-style serial or parallel ports. I've been usings Macs and PCs since the beginning, and I've never seen one. Why single this model out for attention?
Another point - PCMCIA slots have never appeared in their consumer iBook laptop line, but the professional line includes an ExpressCard/34 slot, allowing somewhat for future expansion. Since the main focus of the PCMCIA cards I used to sell (in retail) was around networking, I don't know what you're looking for. Can you define this before using it as a negative?
It might be the MacMac Duo Core 2 Extreme Pro Directors Edition (tm)
My G4 iBook (first generation) has the little magnetic latch thingy. It still works beautifully.
No, what I've noticed is that Apple people want to load up the Dell with crap that is what makes Apple unique, but not vice versa. I don't see them demanding the Apple be compared with a Word Processor tacked on, or a copy of XP Pro and Boot Camp... because you know, you have to make them comparable.
Then remind people to do that. The price comparison is most valid when the two things being compared are as equal as possible. Leaving stuff out because you don't want it means the comparison is valid only for you - no-one else may have the precise requirements you have.
By the way, OS X does come with a basic word processor which reads and writes plain text, RTF, Word (not really complex files though) and some others; supports styles; supports tables; supports reasonably complex formatting options and so on. It's not great, but for most simple uses it's adequate. Perhaps any word processor added to the Mac price should reflect that there's already sort of half a word processor in the basic install.
Are you sure about the finish? Looking at the pictures and the Quicktime-VR thingy it looked matt to me.
Good post, but $400 AUD for a *used* X-Box? They're about $100 AUD tops. I bought one brand new two years ago for $280 AUD.
Someone else kindly posted the text, which notes the drag-to-applications-folder method.
You're worrying about a user who changed from Windows on second-hand equipment, uses a completely new operating system while expecting to just somehow know it and is incapable of looking for help either online or offline.
Don't you think you're reaching a bit?
Just give it up. The user had every option for help, Apple provide several mechanisms for help and yet the application developer made it less obvious. Even Microsoft makes this simple. It's not in any way an Apple issue, and trying to paint it as such shows a failure to see the point.
Do you mean when you want to use a simple heightfield in a way that it can have two Y values at a single XZ coord pair?
Why not have a 3D object that looks like a cave entrance, and use portal rendering to put the cave inside it? Or dropt he heightfield model altogether and use a full 3D mesh (ugly!)
Good luck with it. These things can get very tricky very quickly.
He's a great programmer, does things with graphics that few others can do.
But he didn't make Q3 on his own, and that plotless wonder sucked. As did Doom3.
Great engines, very licencable, but I've never enjoyed an id game on gameplay merits yet.
People have to individually judge whether they follow any order, based on their own morality. If they don't want to do it, they are morally obliged to speak out. First to their superiors, secondly to an ombudsman and finally to the general public. In that order.
The problem is when their superiors are compromised, and the ombudsman is similarly compromised. All that's left is the public.
Yes, they violated their oaths. Their oaths cannot exceed their constitutional rights though, and they can never be ordered to break a law.
Speaking up against an illegal act is in no way illegal, except under totalitarian regimes.
If the acts themselves are illegal, as they seem to be, then they absolutely did not break the law. However, given their belief in the compromised nature of the government, they have no option but to do this in secret.
I'm all for giving users help, and think Apple have done enough here. They've got an inbuilt help system in OS X, web-based help and a little colour manual in the box.
If a user can't manage to find any of these, there's Google.
But really, this is an issue for the Firefox dev team, not Apple. Apple provide an installer app but drag and drop is much simpler. Unfortunately some devs don't put the little helpful note in the disk image saying "just drag the app to your Applications folder" and so novice users have to work it out for themselves.
Blame the actual devs here, not the company that provided everything they needed but failed to use.
Apple should absolutely not be filling OS X with help for ex-Windows users. That's a bad way to design an OS, and sends a poor message to users.
That's either a troll, someone kidding about or the most woefully misinformed post by someone with only the dimmest glimmer of understanding of the past 5-10 years of operating system developments.
I congratulate you! Not content with learning how to use a computer, you've posted something on the Intarweb. Well done!
"Intuitive to Windows users" ?
Why on Earth would that be a good idea?
After years of Clippy, wizards appearing at every opportunity, task-bar messages that seem to take a vindictive pleasure in slowing down the process of actually booting the OS and dialogue boxes with text like "A problem has occurred and this computer must be rebooted. Yes/No"?
I think the sane world can do without that sort of intuition.
Apple are not perfect, but they've got UI designers who at least have seen users in person, not through the dim lens of a cheap telescope. If Windows users have to unlearn something, that's not such a bad thing.
Yeah, those Firefox developers could have made it easier.
Apple's issue? No, they provide a full interface for software installation. It's up to software vendors to actually use it. Some opt for the much simpler drag-and-drop method, which is used for apps from Firefox to MS Office. Most of the smarter devs put a folder image with a note saying "Drag this to your Applications folder" next to the app's icon, as a hint for new users.
But that's just me. I actually know how to use the computers I work with or have at home. Not taking the time to understand them seems a bit backwards to me.
People might snigger a bit, but that's because you never installed Firefox and the Firefox people decided against a hand-holding wizard as in the Windows world.
Installation is a matter of dragging the application from the virtual disk to the Applications folder. That's it.
Once you do that, you'll see that virtual disk won't open again.
Mac users actually do get to have their cake and eat it too. I'm guessing you didn't take any time to read up on how to use OS X, and that's why you failed at this first task. If you think the Windows way is better, you'll have a hard time convincing me. Even Microsoft do the virtual disk thing with Office on OS X, although they put an icon saying "Drag this to your Applications folder" giving them a point on the Firefox dev team.
Marmite! Pester me not with this inferior sludge.
Vegemite is the food of champions, the perfect food. All you need for complete nutrition is a teaspoon of vegemite each day, possibly with a glass of orange juice, and perhaps a half-kilo of vegetables and a teensy 250g of lean meat.
The perfect foodstuff!
Apple doesn't have a monopoly in mp3 players, technical or otherwise, until there's a legal ruling on this. Since no-one is stepping up to seriously claim it, there's no monopoly.
Microsoft have had their monopoly status confirmed by the US courts, and I think the EU confirmed it as well. That's why they get special rules applied to the way they do things. Lucky Microsoft.
Bundling is a real issue for Microsoft, but a non-issue for Apple. The reason Apple can bundle all it likes is that it's not a monopoly player in the computer world, so the special rules that Microsoft must follow do not bind Apple.
The post is about fascism and Hitler should be mentioned during that post. Godwin's law is irrelevant when it comes to political discussion, as an extreme side of politics actually included Hitler, the Third Reich, Mussolini and others.
Hitler was just a guy. He was no more 'evil' than most people to begin with, but through cunning and manipulation he managed to gain unfettered power to do what he wanted. Over time, that power changed him, and his baser side emerged.
People who believe Hitler was a monster and started evil completely and utterly miss the actual point - he was a man like so many others, but who became so thoroughly corrupted by power that any act was reasonable to him. Anyone can become like that given the right circumstances, and that's why we have checks and balances in our world. You or I could do anything he did if we were put through a set of circumstances particular to us.
Invoke irrelevant political correctness if you like, but remember that Hitler started as a simple man, like anyone you see around you, like you or I.
Vegemite is Australia's way of determining what people are made of.
If you can eat a piece of white bread with margarine and a good serve of vegemite, then you're made of the tough stuff. Sadly, few people outside Australia seem to be made of the sort of stuff we are.
Mod that parent funny! I mean, compared to my post it's bloody hilarious.
Under the DMCA, there's no restriction to format shifting unless you're removing a protection mechanism. Clearly normal CDs have no such mechanism, so there's no need to invoke the spectre of the DMCA.
Seriously - take off that tin-foil hat for a bit.
As for the FTA, I'd be absolutely bloody thrilled to have it go in our direction for once. Until now, it seems to be a completely US-centric way of screwing our country out of yet more money while simultaneously failing to open US markets in anything but the most trivial sense.
To paraphrase a question to Gandhi - "What do you think of free trade with the US? It would be a good thing."
That's a bootable offence, saying that.
I'll tell Johnno, the Prime Minister, that you're out there on this Intarweb thing next time I see him down the pub. He'll tear you a new arsehole pretty quick smart with that boot of his.