American here. No, that is not anywhere NEAR the average American's grasp of geography. You're giving them far, far too much credit. Most of my countrymen below the age of about 30 have no clue about anything other than the area of the US they live in, and some vague notion of Africa being poor, and Iraq being "over there". They can't even pick out all the states, much less find Iraq on a map. They *might* be able to pick out the continent of Africa, but they'd probably be looking for a single country instead.
Our public school system has turned an entire generation into morons, who think being wrong is ok as long as they feel good about themselves.
Heh, I know just enough about long range shooting to realize I know next to nothing. Good to see that I didn't completely miss the mark with my understanding of mirage.
Of course, putting knowledge into practice is a different story, requiring lots of practice and patience -- more than I've got time for, anyway.
I didn't know the bit about light tricking the mind. Learn something every day.
You don't need high ambient temperatures. You just need a surface radiating heat -- asphalt & concrete roads, for example. Some fields. Talk to competitive long-range shooters (especially the benchrest guys shooting at 1k yard targets) about "reading the mirage" about how many places it occurs.
Not sure about his case, but Embarq refuses to offer dsl without POTS. Their reason? "It was popular in our trial markets, but we found we could make more money requiring phone service too." Word for word. They make more money charging people for something they don't need and don't want. Big surprise there, huh?
I'm sure it depends on what type of games. For most "hardcore" games (ie, FPSs) there's middleware that will handle almost all the work for you. For other games, you're probably on your own. And for some games (think re-creations of 8-bit arcade games), you don't really need much at all.
As I said, I'm not bashing boost, just pointing out that there are always multiple ways of doing things, and because someone prefers one way doesn't mean all other ways are wrong.
Not always the best way. Might be your favorite way, but that doesn't mean it is always the best/only way to do it.
signals and slots - game entities as properly isolated actors
Useful, depending on the game, but a 3rd party engine will likely handle most of that for you.
smart pointers - duh. we'll talk again when a dangling pointer hits you where it hurts the most.
Sure, old-school pointers need more attention. Doesn't mean you *HAVE* to have "smart" pointers though.
graphs - AI? pathfinding? don't really need those in games, do you?
You don't need to write them in C++ if you're using some other middleware to do all that for you.
In short, if you look at the way a lot of "game programming" is actually done, it is often a matter of writing glue and logic code to tie 3rd party game engines, 3rd party sound engines, 3rd party AI engines, 3rd party network engines, etc together.
Continue your internet rant because someone has a different opinion of a library you like. I hadn't heard of boost (my work doesn't require c++ except on very rare occasions) until now, so I've got no real opinion on which is better -- I'm just trying to point out that what is good for some is not necessarily good for others.
Well said. I too found I had a lot of stuff I'd collected for the sake of collecting. The last time I moved, I tossed almost all of it in the bin with the rest of the packing materials. The little bit I kept was stuff I liked but hadn't been able to buy a copy of -- mostly out-of-print games. I made a list, and started looking at garage sales, flea markets, etc. Inside of 3 months I had legit copies of all the games I play.
I still use no-disk cracks and such to avoid the hassle of DRM and remove the need to keep pulling the CD/DVD out. I don't mind Steam's DRM since it doesn't cause problems.
Publishers need to get over their fear of releasing actual demos (not "trailers" -- its a game, not a movie) and I suspect a lot of the pirating as a method of "try-before-you-buy" will go away. Until then, I'll just wait until someone I know buys a game, and play it at their place or at the next lan-party. No need to pirate, just have more friends.
Of course, that requires real-world activity, which I suppose could be a problem for many pirates.
Federal law only says you need to be licensed (or taxed) to manufacture firearms if you intend to sell them, or if you intend to manufacture certain types -- machineguns, supressors, destructive devices, and the interesting category of "any other weapon".
That depends on where you are. Some traffic offenses are civil cases. Others are criminal cases. Here, it depends (amongst other things) on how far over the speed limit you are caught driving.
Most of the people I know that pirate PC games end up buying the game a few days later if they like it, or dumping it if they don't. These are the same people that rent console games from blockbuster and then buy copies if they like it after the weekend.
If you could return PC games, or rent them, their piracy would stop.
Myself, I just wait for someone else to buy it, and then play it at their place, and buy it if I like it, since it isn't worth the time and effort to locate a working pirated version and download it (and yes, I know it isn't hard at all, it just isn't worth my time). Likewise, I rent console games or borrow them from friends before I buy them.
We have plenty of disposable income, and don't mind spending it on gaming. We just don't like to throw it away on a game we can't return when we find out it is junk. Which might be why we have disposable income and aren't broke.
Of course, the people I speak of are in their late 20s through early 40s - not high-school and college aged kids, which I suspect is the source of the majority of "true" pirating.
The backlash of that flood is what I'm more worried about -- the people on the forums that have a chip on their shoulder because they've been using *linux-flavor-of-the-year* longer than its been popular (forgetting that there's been someone using it longer than them, and that they were newbies once as well), and that all the newcomers should figure it out for themselves. You know the type, there's a few outspoken ones in every linux and open-source project that loudly proclaim that if you can't fix it without asking questions then you're too stupid to be using that project in the first place.
Yes, its the internet and people should have thick skins and all that. But if you're trying to convert people away from the MS empire, berating them for being stupid isn't exactly the best way to do it.
There's plenty of satellites in low-earth-orbit. Of course, communication satellites and such tend to be up in geostationary orbit, but those are not the only satellites in use.
They're not industry standards. As much as the open-source-is-the-messiah crowd would like to pretend otherwise, that little fact IS a deal-breaker in the real world.
However, Maya did (for the Alias|Wavefront versions, I'm not sure about the current owned-by-Autodesk releases) have a linux version available. And as noted elsewhere, there's at least one version of Photoshop that is supposed to work perfectly with Wine. The "various game engines" is probably the biggest issue though. Those are finicky, especially in development. Hacking together a custom version of Wine to support in-development versions of game engines is not a job I'd wish upon anyone.
Well, some of us simply don't have a problem with others making money off the code we write and release.
If some company decides they can use my code to make their product work, I see no reason to try to impose rules on them. If I didn't want my code used, I wouldn't release it.
As for this particular situation, they used GPL'd code, and they should abide by the license. That still doesn't change the fact that the GPL is a restrictive license, and as such, is something to be avoided in favor of less restrictive options whenever possible.
I still see this as a reason not to use GPL, preferring instead to use BSD-style licensed software or public domain software whenever possible.
Because proprietary software producers would be just as bad, or likely worse, does not mean that the GPL is always the best solution, since it is still a restrictive license.
Slashdot Mirror
American here. No, that is not anywhere NEAR the average American's grasp of geography. You're giving them far, far too much credit. Most of my countrymen below the age of about 30 have no clue about anything other than the area of the US they live in, and some vague notion of Africa being poor, and Iraq being "over there". They can't even pick out all the states, much less find Iraq on a map. They *might* be able to pick out the continent of Africa, but they'd probably be looking for a single country instead.
Our public school system has turned an entire generation into morons, who think being wrong is ok as long as they feel good about themselves.
Nicely done!
And I thought I was the only one that quoted lines from that movie.
Heh, I know just enough about long range shooting to realize I know next to nothing. Good to see that I didn't completely miss the mark with my understanding of mirage.
Of course, putting knowledge into practice is a different story, requiring lots of practice and patience -- more than I've got time for, anyway.
I didn't know the bit about light tricking the mind. Learn something every day.
You don't need high ambient temperatures. You just need a surface radiating heat -- asphalt & concrete roads, for example. Some fields. Talk to competitive long-range shooters (especially the benchrest guys shooting at 1k yard targets) about "reading the mirage" about how many places it occurs.
The space program itself was a result of WWII and Cold War missile programs.
She's a PhD student -- she probably didn't have any choice in the matter, as the patent is probably held by the university.
Seems only fitting -- after all, many (if not all) law enforcement officials view you as worthless scum until you prove otherwise.
Law enforcement, a few good apples being ruined by the rest of the barrel. Sigh.
Not sure about his case, but Embarq refuses to offer dsl without POTS. Their reason? "It was popular in our trial markets, but we found we could make more money requiring phone service too." Word for word. They make more money charging people for something they don't need and don't want. Big surprise there, huh?
I'm sure it depends on what type of games. For most "hardcore" games (ie, FPSs) there's middleware that will handle almost all the work for you. For other games, you're probably on your own. And for some games (think re-creations of 8-bit arcade games), you don't really need much at all.
As I said, I'm not bashing boost, just pointing out that there are always multiple ways of doing things, and because someone prefers one way doesn't mean all other ways are wrong.
regexps - configuration parsing
Not always the best way. Might be your favorite way, but that doesn't mean it is always the best/only way to do it.
signals and slots - game entities as properly isolated actors
Useful, depending on the game, but a 3rd party engine will likely handle most of that for you.
smart pointers - duh. we'll talk again when a dangling pointer hits you where it hurts the most.
Sure, old-school pointers need more attention. Doesn't mean you *HAVE* to have "smart" pointers though.
graphs - AI? pathfinding? don't really need those in games, do you?
You don't need to write them in C++ if you're using some other middleware to do all that for you.
In short, if you look at the way a lot of "game programming" is actually done, it is often a matter of writing glue and logic code to tie 3rd party game engines, 3rd party sound engines, 3rd party AI engines, 3rd party network engines, etc together.
Continue your internet rant because someone has a different opinion of a library you like. I hadn't heard of boost (my work doesn't require c++ except on very rare occasions) until now, so I've got no real opinion on which is better -- I'm just trying to point out that what is good for some is not necessarily good for others.
Well said. I too found I had a lot of stuff I'd collected for the sake of collecting. The last time I moved, I tossed almost all of it in the bin with the rest of the packing materials. The little bit I kept was stuff I liked but hadn't been able to buy a copy of -- mostly out-of-print games. I made a list, and started looking at garage sales, flea markets, etc. Inside of 3 months I had legit copies of all the games I play.
I still use no-disk cracks and such to avoid the hassle of DRM and remove the need to keep pulling the CD/DVD out. I don't mind Steam's DRM since it doesn't cause problems.
Publishers need to get over their fear of releasing actual demos (not "trailers" -- its a game, not a movie) and I suspect a lot of the pirating as a method of "try-before-you-buy" will go away. Until then, I'll just wait until someone I know buys a game, and play it at their place or at the next lan-party. No need to pirate, just have more friends.
Of course, that requires real-world activity, which I suppose could be a problem for many pirates.
It's illegal to conceal your identity in public in this state and everybody was up in arms over it.
I'd be willing to bet that the local SWAT teams use ski-masks to conceal their identities. Some animals more equal than others, etc.
Federal law only says you need to be licensed (or taxed) to manufacture firearms if you intend to sell them, or if you intend to manufacture certain types -- machineguns, supressors, destructive devices, and the interesting category of "any other weapon".
Again, states / cities may require more though.
4473 isn't required for all purchases, though individual states may require something similar.
That depends on where you are. Some traffic offenses are civil cases. Others are criminal cases. Here, it depends (amongst other things) on how far over the speed limit you are caught driving.
I'm a computer scientist, you insensitive clod! My pasty-white complexion cannot withstand the abuse of exposure to "pure unadulterated sunshine".
However, I'm open to a settlement offer of approximately 1/2 of your company's profits.
Most of the people I know that pirate PC games end up buying the game a few days later if they like it, or dumping it if they don't. These are the same people that rent console games from blockbuster and then buy copies if they like it after the weekend.
If you could return PC games, or rent them, their piracy would stop.
Myself, I just wait for someone else to buy it, and then play it at their place, and buy it if I like it, since it isn't worth the time and effort to locate a working pirated version and download it (and yes, I know it isn't hard at all, it just isn't worth my time). Likewise, I rent console games or borrow them from friends before I buy them.
We have plenty of disposable income, and don't mind spending it on gaming. We just don't like to throw it away on a game we can't return when we find out it is junk. Which might be why we have disposable income and aren't broke.
Of course, the people I speak of are in their late 20s through early 40s - not high-school and college aged kids, which I suspect is the source of the majority of "true" pirating.
The backlash of that flood is what I'm more worried about -- the people on the forums that have a chip on their shoulder because they've been using *linux-flavor-of-the-year* longer than its been popular (forgetting that there's been someone using it longer than them, and that they were newbies once as well), and that all the newcomers should figure it out for themselves. You know the type, there's a few outspoken ones in every linux and open-source project that loudly proclaim that if you can't fix it without asking questions then you're too stupid to be using that project in the first place.
Yes, its the internet and people should have thick skins and all that. But if you're trying to convert people away from the MS empire, berating them for being stupid isn't exactly the best way to do it.
There's plenty of satellites in low-earth-orbit. Of course, communication satellites and such tend to be up in geostationary orbit, but those are not the only satellites in use.
Bottom of the downloads page. Download source, listed under "More Downloads". Not hard to find at all.
Politicians are bought and paid for. Oh, wait. Its always been that way, and always will be.
They're not industry standards. As much as the open-source-is-the-messiah crowd would like to pretend otherwise, that little fact IS a deal-breaker in the real world.
However, Maya did (for the Alias|Wavefront versions, I'm not sure about the current owned-by-Autodesk releases) have a linux version available. And as noted elsewhere, there's at least one version of Photoshop that is supposed to work perfectly with Wine. The "various game engines" is probably the biggest issue though. Those are finicky, especially in development. Hacking together a custom version of Wine to support in-development versions of game engines is not a job I'd wish upon anyone.
That's odd. Quite a few sysadmin types I know follow golf. Several even play.
Well, some of us simply don't have a problem with others making money off the code we write and release.
If some company decides they can use my code to make their product work, I see no reason to try to impose rules on them. If I didn't want my code used, I wouldn't release it.
As for this particular situation, they used GPL'd code, and they should abide by the license. That still doesn't change the fact that the GPL is a restrictive license, and as such, is something to be avoided in favor of less restrictive options whenever possible.
I still see this as a reason not to use GPL, preferring instead to use BSD-style licensed software or public domain software whenever possible.
Because proprietary software producers would be just as bad, or likely worse, does not mean that the GPL is always the best solution, since it is still a restrictive license.