Er.. I hate Windows as much as the next guy, but really, when was the last time you saw Windows bluescreen? Perhaps you could make your point by comparing Windows and Linux versions that aren't 11 years apart.
Windows XP. Windows muthaf*ckin' XP Professional is installed on a machine right next to me (I am at work) and the man who uses that machine constantly (5-6 times a day) deals with a BSOD. It ain't physical (I've run scandisk, memtest86, various tools, etc.) and it is only when he logs on (maybe a user profile error?) but neither I nor the sys admin can track it down.
No one knows what's wrong with that machine. Well, I do--it has a Windows operating system installed on it. Installing Windows is a gamble, it always was and it always will be.
Man, it's crazy but we have this thing where I work. Uh, what do you call those things again?
They are very good at convincing people to do things regardless of what they get out of it... I think they're called 'leaders.'
If Andrew Morton doesn't have leadership skills, I suggest he step down and let another manager step up.
If I were in his position, I'd get everyone who's even mildly important in a room (or, failing that, an e-mail) and:
"Guys, remember back to the reason you first joined in the contribution to develop a free operating system. Now, think of all the hard work you've put into it and other people have put into it. Now, that's all in jeopardy and here's why..."
Spend some time reasoning with them and pointing out the bugs that are really really hurting the kernel. In the end, wrap up with:
"Look, I know this sucks and you're going to have to tangle with a lot of bugs that aren't even your own. But what have got if we haven't got a stable operating system? We've got another Windows, that's what. You just don't have to pay for our piece of malware. Just see this one development cycle through, I promise we'll make it as quick and painless as possible and after all is said and done, we'll have another meeting like this were anyone can suggest any crazy-ass feature they want to add. Once we pick out what we want, we'll spend the next development cycle letting our imaginations run wild. We'll make a kernel so unstable that the user'll have to re-flash their BIOS when it crashes! Then maybe we'll work on solidifying that. Right now, we just owe it to ourselves and our fans to give them something that's 100% stable and reliable."
If you can't reason with them like that, maybe you just have to accept they can't be persuaded and let them do what they want but prune their work if it detracts from your goal end system.
A lot of times, the old debate of Windows Vs Linux covers how often the OS fails miserably. Yes, we all know the famous "blue screen of death" and I think that that single concept connected with Windows makes it unappealing. I believe that Linux has the ability to handle internal errors more elegantly but that's only because I've only seen it fail from hardware errors. Granted, I don't know enough about the inner workings of Windows or Linux but let's face it, Win95 & Win98 first editions would crash if you looked at them wrong.
Here's a possible horror story:
While the debate rages on, Linux gets more complex. Linux gains more bugs. Linux begins to aim for more end-user features. Developers get sick of maintaining other developers code and focus on making new features (asked for or un-asked for) because it gives them pride to make something new. The Linux kernel hits the same pitfalls as the Windows kernel.
If it takes an entire developement cycle to simply improve the current version's bugs, I'd gladly accept and encourage that.
Two of my friends collected all of these DVDs--yes, I realize there's cheaper unlicensed versions that are possibly of lower quality. One Saturday (with nothing else to do) we watched them all from morning to night.
I couldn't believe they had spent the ~$30 per 4 episodes to collect this set!
If you don't care about spoilers or have seen all the episodes and movies, check out the Wiki page on it. That has the best definitive analysis of this series that I've ever read. I know that since I am not a native Japanese speaker, I probably missed a lot of this implied meaning just by being preoccupied with reading the subbed script. I honestly always predicted something very Freudian about every relationship in the series but I think it was just because of the father figure and strange emotions that were sometimes appearant.
There's not much I can say without ruining any plot so I believe I'll hold my tongue.
Yes the episodes were good but I don't agree with:
...sparking a massive public debate over its controversial final episode -- which many criticized for leaving the work unfinished...
That's both ridiculous and preposterous! The episode completely wrapped up and
Why that wasn't included in the posted story, I'll never know. If you actually take a look at the PDF, it's got some good histograms and charts as well as a little more detail into the Leap virus.
Yes, it does follow from this that users should buy McAfee anti-virus for Macs. The simple fact of the matter is that this is a white paper that tilts in their favor. It has some valid points, though, and I don't think they need to tell people to be afraid. If Mac users start getting these viruses then they will truly need anti-virus software for their machines. They site the National Vulnerability Database and other sources in this document so it's not like they're making stuff up or are the only ones claiming there is an upcoming security risk.
I hate McAfee software. Like most anti-virus software, it uses too much memory and hogs the CPU if it's a real-time checker. I wouldn't opt for it if it was the last anti-virus company in existence. However after reading their white paper, it is convincing. I do think that if Apple doesn't take an initiative to protect their users from things like Leap then Mac users will need auxiliary anti-virus protection from a third party.
One man's FUD is another man's common sense. I don't care about the size or manufacturer of a device--if it runs programs in a turing-machine like manner, it can be infected.
Search isn't the only place where adCenter will place advertising. In the future, Microsoft said, it expects to launch ads in e-mail, the Spaces blogging program, on mobile applications, in Office and on the Xbox.com Web site.
That's wonderful! If there's one thing I enjoy about watching television, it's when my favorite program cuts to commercials and there's a guy with an annoying voice repeating everything. Damn, I just get elated at the prospect of someone soliciting products & services to me non-stop.
Yeah, I also like it when I'm trying to read an article and a 20mb flash application kicks up on top of what I'm trying to read telling me about Toyota's Western Washington specials. Like TFA's advertisements. That sure is awesome.
I love turning on the radio because I'm not looking for music, I'm looking for annoying talk about some product I'm missing out on. There's nothing like nodding your head to a good advertisement of a Fat Bastard impersonator trying to get you to come to Bub's Bar & Grill.
And now you want to make my mobile device throw random messages at me. Hey, maybe you can interrupt my personal telephone calls with advertisements from an annoying sounding person! That would be great.
And advertising in my productivity applications! And my games! *eye twitches* That's just... great, it really is.
But why stop there? What boundaries does my personal life have yet that you have failed to knock down adn ignore? What about the novels I read? Can they have advertisements that cover up the words until I read them? Or maybe you could make software that injects product placement into scripts and storylines?
In fact, I love advertisements so much, you can tattoo me and inject electrodes into my head so all I do is think about Microsoft and how badly I want the XBox 360. Yes, I would finally be able to die happy!
The system even allowed us to change the information....
That's right, (*snicker*) Broer is now a 38 year old pregnant mother of four from Belgrade with a passport that expired in 1983. Let's see how long it takes him to figure out he's the victim of identity mod!
I doubt "Mrs." Broer will ever throw away her airplane ticket stub again!
The plot of a Dukes Of Hazzard episode is the least essential part of the script. Be creative in the structure of your episode, but adhere to the following rule: If the question "Is this the episode where Boss Hogg comes up with a crazy scheme to put the Dukes in jail or swindle honest folk, but in the end is foiled in part due to his own stupidity?" doesn't apply to your episode, you've got to go back to the drawing board. Remember: there is no "very special episode" where Uncle Jesse reveals that he can't read, or the Dukes learn a special lesson about teenage pregnancy. A "very special episode" of Dukes Of Hazzard is one that features the Oak Ridge Boys.
You know, there's something undeniably good about Episodes IV, V & VI.
Especially when you see it on the big screen. Unfortunately, I was born in 1982 meaning that I wasn't quite to the point of being able to go see it in theatres when it was released. But the special edition releases changed all that--though the changes George Lucas made did leave me feeling kind of hollow (wtf, Han?).
I would think that the mass turn out to see the special edition movies would be proof enough that releasing the originals to theatres every ten years would be profitable. In fact, I would conjecture that releasing it every ten years would give everyone the chance to see it at an early age and be beneficial to the Star Wars franchise. I know Lucas wouldn't be able to resist changing parts of it but hopefully he'll be preoccupied with destroying the Indiana Jones Trilogy by then.
I did notice that Mr. Lucas isn't cited once in this article and instead we hear from Jim Ward who is perhaps actually interested in what the fans have to say as they are providing his paycheck.
If you were to ask me on any day of the week, "Would you like to go see one of the Star Wars movies on the big screen?" You bet I would. It's immeasurably better than the utter drek that's in theatres now. Oftentimes my friends propose we go see a movie only to discover that there is nothing but pure crap. What does Lucasfilm have that so few movies today lack? Timelessness--the ability to surpass the aging of the film and the advances in technology that every movie today uses.
While it's true I'm a fan of Star Wars so my opinion might be biased, I've never found anyone who's outright hated it.
Well, I got original separate movies for my birthday at a young age, the VHS set of this trilogy when I was about 15, I bought the special edition DVDs in wide screen format a couple years ago and now it looks like I'll be purchasing yet another copy of these movies. Boy, Lucasfilm sure has my number.
Follow these directions should you be afflicted with the Yahoo! Toolbar.
That toolbar is probably the portal for this Spyware and crap. You know, it comes with applications and installs itself (seemingly) sometimes. I've had to remove it countless times, the battle rages on.
Or you can just switch to Firefox. A new version is out, now's as good a time as ever!
A breakdown in profits of the 99 cents per song from MacNN:
"But figures from the US show that Apple, the dominant legal download business in Europe and the US, retains just 4 cents from each 99-cent (55p) track sale while 'mechanical copyright' holders - generally the record labels, who own copyright in the song's recording - take 62 cents or more. Music publishers take the rest - about 8 cents."
I remember reading this article back in December of '05. In it, there is a little blurb of the same nature:
But what price is "fair"? Apple says it is 99 cents a song. Of this, Apple gets a sliver--4 cents--while the music publishers snag 8 cents and the record companies pocket most of the rest. Even though record companies earn more per track from downloads than CD sales, industry execs have been pushing for more. One option is a tiered pricing model, with the most popular tunes selling for as much as $3. After all, the music honchos reason, people pay up to $3 for cell-phone ring tones, mere snippets of songs.
I found that interesting. Executives that have nothing to do with the end product (probably haven't ever even picked up an instrument) are constantly arguing that they should be charging more and padding their pockets.
Being a bass player, I'm concerned about what's left over for the musician. Very concerned.
Weren't all the commercials and marketing schemes out there to make me feel guilty for the musician when I illegally share music? Perhaps they should have been showing me pictures of an executive in his Lexus... unable to afford a Lamborghini Diablo becuase I was file sharing... *runs to his room crying in shame*
Let us post some more articles about how stupid the name 'Wii' is.
Let us ignore the fact that we all like gaming consoles and instead resort to childish puns to evaluate something before it's even released.
Let the developers (and leaders of developers) proclaim to the world just how stupid this name is so that not only does the public think it's stupid, so do the developers. Think about that, the one group of people that are truly going to determine how this console does is jointly standing up and bashing it before the API is even in their hands. It is within their power to take this console--regardless of its name--and create some truly genuine games with a new controller interface. Before they even start that, they are all communally agreeing that the name is 'stupid.'
Kind of sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me.
The only two responses I read that defended the name were weak. Did no one stand up and say, "No comment until I've got this thing in my hands and I can really see what it's made of."
Let us all make fun of Dick Butkus now for his name. Hahahaha, dick. Hahahahah, butt. Get it all out of your system.
This is sheer madness. I use a piece of software called "The Gimp 2.0" but I have never once heard anyone make fun of it. "Gimp" means disabled where I grew up, why would you call a piece of software 'disabled?' Who cares? No one because it kicks ass and it's a free alternative solution to photoshop.
It's not like they called it "Engelbert Humperdinck's Genitals" so that when you want to use it you would have to say, "I want to play with Engelbert Humperdinck's genitals now." For crying out loud, "wii," "wee," or "we" all sound the same and the latter is good pun. You hear it how you want to hear it so grow up and stop wanting to hear it as "wee wee."
Email Communications Do Not Correspond Priority
If everyone used Outlook (70% of Central Desktop users use Outlook), then the ability to assign priority to each message would actually work. But we don't live in a Microsoft world (in spite of what many of you might think) and instead, we usually measure and weigh the importance of an email message by the number of people included in the carbon copy. This is highly subjective and fails to address the need to order and sort messages and task by importance.
One alternative is to use ALL CAPS IN YOUR MESSAGE TO IMPLY PRIORITY.
I can attest to that. Send me an e-mail via the Microsoft Outlook Exchange servers at work. But don't just send it regular style, send it in Outlook with the super duper maxi-ultra-important urgent need flag (the little red '!') enabled. Yeah, on top of that, make it required that the user send a response (thank you, Microsoft).
Wait a few minutes... or maybe an hour. I'll get back to my desk and see a notice that I'm 13 hours overdue to read your message (they've managed to somehow attach a meeting notice to it and insert it in my calendar for yesterday at noon without me knowing) that I missed the funniest super bowl commercial last night. And then put everything in caps.
Yeah, I think I'd pretty much wait for you in the parking lot after work. And I wouldn't be there to give you a hug, ifyaknowwhatimean.
Oh, by the way, my boss has it somehow set to default that it's urgent and he needs a response once I've read it. Same with his secretary.
Urge to kill rising... rising...
1) The author talks about 'complexity', but all software is complex, the number of people who understand the countless abstraction layers that exist in a typical piece of modern software can be counted on one hand (a closed fist). I suspect by complexity, the author means usability
I don't think the author's confused. I think the author is trying to argue the same thing that Microsoft argues when it says that Linux costs more than Windows. I know that this goes against the Slashdot mantra and I don't agree with it but Gates claims that the complexity of an operating system (like Linux or Windows) coupled with the lack of support leads to an unmeasurable cost. Since most distros of Linux don't have quite the support he claims necessary, he can then argue that they will only end up costing you more when something goes wrong and the people who wrote the code aren't around to fix it. This author seems to be trying to argue the same theory for FOSS. In that complexity without support is dangerous.
I don't agree with his argument but it's not because he's confused... it's just because I don't agree with his base assumptions which the author attempts to deduce fact from.
As a tax paying citizen of the United States, it sure is frustrating to try to find the results of DARPA research.
Yes, they do research in defense but shouldn't there be a little more than a tiny graphic or blurb about what work they're doing? Couldn't they at least take the time to write an abstract or 1-2 page paper with unclassified information on each project?
Instead, I find the following links in the 'Archives':
My alma mater has produced better papers than this in these fields. I know that a lot of this stuff isn't classified and they list their programs on their sites, why can't they do a better job in showing the American public what they've done with our money?
The Grand Challenge Forums are flooded with only vendors. Where are the designs and reports by the teams from older Grand Challenges? Why isn't this structured more like RoboCup where the learning algorithms are released every year so that future contestants can build on this?
The fact that this contest isn't run in a more open way makes it seems like less of a "contest" and more of a "do our research for us!" kind of thing.
I agree with the parent post, but I'll attempt to target the real problems with the analogy a little more concretely.
The most important difference here is that Google is not a subsidiary or owned by the Mozilla Foundation whereas MSN is owned by Microsoft.
Firefox and Google are two companies that are (to my knowledge) completely independent. Firefox can choose whatever search engine they want to set to default. On top of that, you don't pay for Firefox where you kind of paid for IE7.
The author's analogy of:
I notice that in my version of Firefox the search box defaults to Google, and that the pulldown menu of pre-entered options doesn't even include MSN Search, but Google seems to have been oddly quiet on that front for the many years prior to IE7 that Firefox has made this feature available."
Is, in my opinion, a poor one. A Mozilla based browser is free for almost any operating system while IE7 is free... so long as you've purchased Windows.
To recap, Microsoft putting Microsoft as the default search engine is bad because they are using their operating system and browser market dominance to corner the search engine market. They have no right to do that. Where would we make them stop? It's kind of a slippery slope. It's fine that they've put unlimited funds toward web search and the console market--it's not fine if their forcing or even defaulting their users to themselves in other markets.
I once read Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock which explored in depth the theory that ancient civilizations are linked by a possible master race. It is a very loose theory in that I ended the book more confused than anything and doubting not only Hancock but also the conventional history I learned in school. Whether that's good or bad, I can't really say.
What I can say is that even if they were half baked theories they certainly were outside the box.
In it, the position and building of massive structures (like pyramids) are very important to his theories. He linked the Egyptian and Incan/Pima cultures via structures and similarities in creation stories (the latter being quite weak). The worst part is that at the end he alludes to a possible alien influence in the matter of building these massive structures (because we can't understand what technology they used).
With this (possibly) even larger structure, I'm certain that this will give him more ammo for another book.
If you're interested in things like this, it's a good read. You can take pieces of it like the famous Pirie Ries maps that were coverd by Charles Hapgood. A similar theory is the also famous 1421 Theory. Be warned that many of these theories are unverifiable and can amount to simply someone's imagination running wild. They rely on events thousands of years old--a time darker than the the dark ages.
Be caution that most of the links below Hancock's Wikipedia page are just rebuttles disproving him as much of his work is a bit hard to swallow.
Yeah, community is important. In fact, it's becoming one of the new buzzwords in the fortune 500 company I work for. Blame Rupert Murdoch and the success of MySpace for that.
It's a novel idea but "Communities of Practice" are now an enforced thing to take part in where I work. That's right, these CoPs are supposed to give us an opportunity to partake in idea creation and discussion... so they are mandatory (a minor flaw in my opinion).
With the success of Ubuntu and Fedora, and the advent of OpenSuSE and Freespire, are businesses and distributions paying more attention to the community?
I think businesses are concentrating on community only so far as it will go to get them ahead in their market.
If I take the word "businesses" to mean literally any kind of business (not just that one operating system maker we all know and love), then I'd propose something like General Motors. Do you think General Motors values community within their company? Probably not. I'm sure they think about local communities but I doubt they're concerned with the communities within their company. That was just an example, I have nothing for or against GM.
Being able to post on a forum (anonymously, if you prefer) about anything from your working conditions to an idea you had is vital to the happiness of the workers. However, I've had bosses that I've pitched this to who just read it as a waste of company time--they feared addicts working the threads 24/7 (much like I do on Slashdot). I would prefer if they would see it as an investment in idea exchanges and employee satisfaction. Ha! That's not their concern!
Back to the original topic, I think that Linux distributions should be more concerned about their corner of the market. Microsoft is their competition. They make an amazing operating system. They aren't going to win the casual computer user by creating a community. They will win them through marketing and raising awareness. It's a cold hard thing to say but I think most of the developers for Linux should be concentrating on educating users about what they can provide. I learned about Linux in college from a friend but, looking back, there's really no reason why some flash advertisement on the side of a website couldn't have done the same.
If you're looking for reasons to get new users,
"Tired of forking money over to Microsoft?"
would probably be more effective than
"Join a community of people who will become abrasive if you're not at their level of intelligence!"
Now, if you're looking at keeping the users involved with the OS and the development of it, this community thing is the answer. I just don't think Linux distros risk losing that support. Their fanbase is extremely solid--the problem is that it is minute compared to Microsoft's.
When the shuttle disaster occurred in 2003, I took the time to research what went wrong. And, in fact, a lot of people were saying things like "that's what you get when you try to fly something 20 years old." Just because it's 20 years old (or more) doesn't make it obsolete.
What's even more interesting is the blatant fact that the old foam is actually more safe than the new foam that failed. That's right, the foam that failed was a new EPA regulation applied to NASA. From that article:
But instead of returning the much safer, politically incorrect, Freon-based foam for Discovery's launch, the space agency tinkered with the application process, changing "the way the foam was applied to reduce the size and number of air pockets," according to Newsday.
Here's a crazy idea, allow the few launches to use old foam as it's apparently safer. NASA should be given time to fix and test the new foam so that more Columbia disasters don't occur.
Why does the shuttle need safety revisions when models that worked for years failed when environmental revisions were applied to them? Do we have a list of "safety revisions" or is it just: 1. Change external fuel tank foam covering to be safer.? We've got an environmentally unfriendly freon based solution. Let's use it to continue our space program and get off our asses to find a better one!
I know there are "love the whales" slashdotters out there so I'm just warning any environmental freak that I'm going to ignore their replies to this.
Damn, I hope they don't abuse the hell out of the Weka Project, that's one slick open source engine I've used time and again. It'd be a crying shame to see it put to use of ill repute!
The researchers predict that this will be extremely hard to detect, but they do offer a few suggestions for combating it.
Like what? Capital punishment for spammers?
Nintendo's Wii akin to Chevrolet's Nova?
on
Both Sides of Wii
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· Score: 5, Insightful
I missed the first article about this name change but this reminds me of the urban legend of the Chevrolet Nova in Latin America. Nova means literally "doesn't go" in Spanish and so my teacher told me in Spanish class that it did horrible in Latin America. This isn't true, as the article points out and I wonder what exactly goes through an executive's head as they pick out a name for a product. From the article:
A logical analysis of the story would also indicate its unlikelihood: It strains credibility to believe that a company as large as General Motors, with marketing executives and other employees and contacts throughout the world, wouldn't be aware of a negative meaning of a product name. In fact, according to one marketing analyst (Cecelia Bouleau, quoted in Business Mexico magazine), GM marketers discussed the possibility of confusion with the name, but "they kept the name and it sold very well.... I think that the word is sufficiently incorporated into the language as meaning 'new' as in 'bossa nova' that the criticism isn't valid."
You have to imagine that the execs at Nintendo saw this as a risqué move and weighed in the possible problems they would have marketing it. Is there a cultural barrier here that is plaguing a dominantly Japanese company?
Also to note about Wii is that the logo looks very... Apple-esque in its very light gray on white background way.
All these jokes have been made about the name but on the manufacturer's site, you'll find this little blurb:
Introducing... Wii.
As in "we."
While the code-name "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.
Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else.
Wii will put people more in touch with their games... and each other. But you're probably asking: What does the name mean?
Wii sounds like "we," which emphasizes this console is for everyone.
Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.
Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.
And Wii, as a name and console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.
So that's Wii. But now Nintendo needs you.
Because, it's really not about you or me.
It's about Wii.
And together, Wii will change everything.
So you see, even they are aware of the puns that come with a name like Wii. Personally, I'm glad they chose something other than an old name coupled with a high number (Nintendo 64, Xbox 360, Sega 32, etc.) because that makes it sound like something where bitrate and technical specs are the only things that concern a gamer. And they're not. The thing that concerns me the most is if there's going to be games that I enjoy, Tetris did that with 16 bits so I welcome anything at any bit rate that provides me with entertainment.
I don't think you'll be arrested for not having it...
I'm sorry, but "don't think" doesn't suffice for me. What I'm looking for is "will not" be arrested for lack of having it and the article and clause of the law that said statement appears in.
Slashdot Mirror
No one knows what's wrong with that machine. Well, I do--it has a Windows operating system installed on it. Installing Windows is a gamble, it always was and it always will be.
Man, it's crazy but we have this thing where I work. Uh, what do you call those things again?
... I think they're called 'leaders.'
They are very good at convincing people to do things regardless of what they get out of it
If Andrew Morton doesn't have leadership skills, I suggest he step down and let another manager step up.
If I were in his position, I'd get everyone who's even mildly important in a room (or, failing that, an e-mail) and:
"Guys, remember back to the reason you first joined in the contribution to develop a free operating system. Now, think of all the hard work you've put into it and other people have put into it. Now, that's all in jeopardy and here's why..."
Spend some time reasoning with them and pointing out the bugs that are really really hurting the kernel. In the end, wrap up with:
"Look, I know this sucks and you're going to have to tangle with a lot of bugs that aren't even your own. But what have got if we haven't got a stable operating system? We've got another Windows, that's what. You just don't have to pay for our piece of malware. Just see this one development cycle through, I promise we'll make it as quick and painless as possible and after all is said and done, we'll have another meeting like this were anyone can suggest any crazy-ass feature they want to add. Once we pick out what we want, we'll spend the next development cycle letting our imaginations run wild. We'll make a kernel so unstable that the user'll have to re-flash their BIOS when it crashes! Then maybe we'll work on solidifying that. Right now, we just owe it to ourselves and our fans to give them something that's 100% stable and reliable."
If you can't reason with them like that, maybe you just have to accept they can't be persuaded and let them do what they want but prune their work if it detracts from your goal end system.
A lot of times, the old debate of Windows Vs Linux covers how often the OS fails miserably. Yes, we all know the famous "blue screen of death" and I think that that single concept connected with Windows makes it unappealing. I believe that Linux has the ability to handle internal errors more elegantly but that's only because I've only seen it fail from hardware errors. Granted, I don't know enough about the inner workings of Windows or Linux but let's face it, Win95 & Win98 first editions would crash if you looked at them wrong.
Here's a possible horror story:
While the debate rages on, Linux gets more complex. Linux gains more bugs. Linux begins to aim for more end-user features. Developers get sick of maintaining other developers code and focus on making new features (asked for or un-asked for) because it gives them pride to make something new. The Linux kernel hits the same pitfalls as the Windows kernel.
If it takes an entire developement cycle to simply improve the current version's bugs, I'd gladly accept and encourage that.
I couldn't believe they had spent the ~$30 per 4 episodes to collect this set!
If you don't care about spoilers or have seen all the episodes and movies, check out the Wiki page on it. That has the best definitive analysis of this series that I've ever read. I know that since I am not a native Japanese speaker, I probably missed a lot of this implied meaning just by being preoccupied with reading the subbed script. I honestly always predicted something very Freudian about every relationship in the series but I think it was just because of the father figure and strange emotions that were sometimes appearant.
There's not much I can say without ruining any plot so I believe I'll hold my tongue.
Yes the episodes were good but I don't agree with: That's both ridiculous and preposterous! The episode completely wrapped up and
First off, read the original McAfee Report before you bash them as FUD spreading capitalists.
Why that wasn't included in the posted story, I'll never know. If you actually take a look at the PDF, it's got some good histograms and charts as well as a little more detail into the Leap virus.
Yes, it does follow from this that users should buy McAfee anti-virus for Macs. The simple fact of the matter is that this is a white paper that tilts in their favor. It has some valid points, though, and I don't think they need to tell people to be afraid. If Mac users start getting these viruses then they will truly need anti-virus software for their machines. They site the National Vulnerability Database and other sources in this document so it's not like they're making stuff up or are the only ones claiming there is an upcoming security risk.
I hate McAfee software. Like most anti-virus software, it uses too much memory and hogs the CPU if it's a real-time checker. I wouldn't opt for it if it was the last anti-virus company in existence. However after reading their white paper, it is convincing. I do think that if Apple doesn't take an initiative to protect their users from things like Leap then Mac users will need auxiliary anti-virus protection from a third party.
One man's FUD is another man's common sense. I don't care about the size or manufacturer of a device--if it runs programs in a turing-machine like manner, it can be infected.
Yeah, I also like it when I'm trying to read an article and a 20mb flash application kicks up on top of what I'm trying to read telling me about Toyota's Western Washington specials. Like TFA's advertisements. That sure is awesome.
I love turning on the radio because I'm not looking for music, I'm looking for annoying talk about some product I'm missing out on. There's nothing like nodding your head to a good advertisement of a Fat Bastard impersonator trying to get you to come to Bub's Bar & Grill.
And now you want to make my mobile device throw random messages at me. Hey, maybe you can interrupt my personal telephone calls with advertisements from an annoying sounding person! That would be great.
And advertising in my productivity applications! And my games! *eye twitches* That's just
But why stop there? What boundaries does my personal life have yet that you have failed to knock down adn ignore? What about the novels I read? Can they have advertisements that cover up the words until I read them? Or maybe you could make software that injects product placement into scripts and storylines?
In fact, I love advertisements so much, you can tattoo me and inject electrodes into my head so all I do is think about Microsoft and how badly I want the XBox 360. Yes, I would finally be able to die happy!
If you hadn't noticed, I was being sarcastic.
Some spammer was DDoSing personal logs on the internet?
What are they going to charge him with? Logjammin'?
I guess that isn't so funny if you've never seen The Big Lebowski.
I doubt "Mrs." Broer will ever throw away her airplane ticket stub again!
The Dukes of Hazzard had the worst cookie cutter plot lines ever. From the above link:
You know, there's something undeniably good about Episodes IV, V & VI.
Especially when you see it on the big screen. Unfortunately, I was born in 1982 meaning that I wasn't quite to the point of being able to go see it in theatres when it was released. But the special edition releases changed all that--though the changes George Lucas made did leave me feeling kind of hollow (wtf, Han?).
I would think that the mass turn out to see the special edition movies would be proof enough that releasing the originals to theatres every ten years would be profitable. In fact, I would conjecture that releasing it every ten years would give everyone the chance to see it at an early age and be beneficial to the Star Wars franchise. I know Lucas wouldn't be able to resist changing parts of it but hopefully he'll be preoccupied with destroying the Indiana Jones Trilogy by then.
I did notice that Mr. Lucas isn't cited once in this article and instead we hear from Jim Ward who is perhaps actually interested in what the fans have to say as they are providing his paycheck.
If you were to ask me on any day of the week, "Would you like to go see one of the Star Wars movies on the big screen?" You bet I would. It's immeasurably better than the utter drek that's in theatres now. Oftentimes my friends propose we go see a movie only to discover that there is nothing but pure crap. What does Lucasfilm have that so few movies today lack? Timelessness--the ability to surpass the aging of the film and the advances in technology that every movie today uses.
While it's true I'm a fan of Star Wars so my opinion might be biased, I've never found anyone who's outright hated it.
Well, I got original separate movies for my birthday at a young age, the VHS set of this trilogy when I was about 15, I bought the special edition DVDs in wide screen format a couple years ago and now it looks like I'll be purchasing yet another copy of these movies. Boy, Lucasfilm sure has my number.
See Zfone.
Follow these directions should you be afflicted with the Yahoo! Toolbar.
That toolbar is probably the portal for this Spyware and crap. You know, it comes with applications and installs itself (seemingly) sometimes. I've had to remove it countless times, the battle rages on.
Or you can just switch to Firefox. A new version is out, now's as good a time as ever!
Being a bass player, I'm concerned about what's left over for the musician. Very concerned.
Weren't all the commercials and marketing schemes out there to make me feel guilty for the musician when I illegally share music? Perhaps they should have been showing me pictures of an executive in his Lexus
Let us post some more articles about how stupid the name 'Wii' is.
Let us ignore the fact that we all like gaming consoles and instead resort to childish puns to evaluate something before it's even released.
Let the developers (and leaders of developers) proclaim to the world just how stupid this name is so that not only does the public think it's stupid, so do the developers. Think about that, the one group of people that are truly going to determine how this console does is jointly standing up and bashing it before the API is even in their hands. It is within their power to take this console--regardless of its name--and create some truly genuine games with a new controller interface. Before they even start that, they are all communally agreeing that the name is 'stupid.'
Kind of sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy to me.
The only two responses I read that defended the name were weak. Did no one stand up and say, "No comment until I've got this thing in my hands and I can really see what it's made of."
Let us all make fun of Dick Butkus now for his name. Hahahaha, dick. Hahahahah, butt. Get it all out of your system.
This is sheer madness. I use a piece of software called "The Gimp 2.0" but I have never once heard anyone make fun of it. "Gimp" means disabled where I grew up, why would you call a piece of software 'disabled?' Who cares? No one because it kicks ass and it's a free alternative solution to photoshop.
It's not like they called it "Engelbert Humperdinck's Genitals" so that when you want to use it you would have to say, "I want to play with Engelbert Humperdinck's genitals now." For crying out loud, "wii," "wee," or "we" all sound the same and the latter is good pun. You hear it how you want to hear it so grow up and stop wanting to hear it as "wee wee."
Wait a few minutes
Yeah, I think I'd pretty much wait for you in the parking lot after work. And I wouldn't be there to give you a hug, ifyaknowwhatimean.
Oh, by the way, my boss has it somehow set to default that it's urgent and he needs a response once I've read it. Same with his secretary. Urge to kill rising
I don't agree with his argument but it's not because he's confused
Yes, they do research in defense but shouldn't there be a little more than a tiny graphic or blurb about what work they're doing? Couldn't they at least take the time to write an abstract or 1-2 page paper with unclassified information on each project?
Instead, I find the following links in the 'Archives':
- Quantum Computing
- Infrared Focal Plane Array/Uncooled Integrated Sensors
- Advanced Lithography
- Most of the Other Links
My alma mater has produced better papers than this in these fields. I know that a lot of this stuff isn't classified and they list their programs on their sites, why can't they do a better job in showing the American public what they've done with our money?The Grand Challenge Forums are flooded with only vendors. Where are the designs and reports by the teams from older Grand Challenges? Why isn't this structured more like RoboCup where the learning algorithms are released every year so that future contestants can build on this?
The fact that this contest isn't run in a more open way makes it seems like less of a "contest" and more of a "do our research for us!" kind of thing.
The most important difference here is that Google is not a subsidiary or owned by the Mozilla Foundation whereas MSN is owned by Microsoft.
Firefox and Google are two companies that are (to my knowledge) completely independent. Firefox can choose whatever search engine they want to set to default. On top of that, you don't pay for Firefox where you kind of paid for IE7.
The author's analogy of: Is, in my opinion, a poor one. A Mozilla based browser is free for almost any operating system while IE7 is free
To recap, Microsoft putting Microsoft as the default search engine is bad because they are using their operating system and browser market dominance to corner the search engine market. They have no right to do that. Where would we make them stop? It's kind of a slippery slope. It's fine that they've put unlimited funds toward web search and the console market--it's not fine if their forcing or even defaulting their users to themselves in other markets.
I once read Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock which explored in depth the theory that ancient civilizations are linked by a possible master race. It is a very loose theory in that I ended the book more confused than anything and doubting not only Hancock but also the conventional history I learned in school. Whether that's good or bad, I can't really say.
What I can say is that even if they were half baked theories they certainly were outside the box.
In it, the position and building of massive structures (like pyramids) are very important to his theories. He linked the Egyptian and Incan/Pima cultures via structures and similarities in creation stories (the latter being quite weak). The worst part is that at the end he alludes to a possible alien influence in the matter of building these massive structures (because we can't understand what technology they used).
With this (possibly) even larger structure, I'm certain that this will give him more ammo for another book.
If you're interested in things like this, it's a good read. You can take pieces of it like the famous Pirie Ries maps that were coverd by Charles Hapgood. A similar theory is the also famous 1421 Theory. Be warned that many of these theories are unverifiable and can amount to simply someone's imagination running wild. They rely on events thousands of years old--a time darker than the the dark ages.
Be caution that most of the links below Hancock's Wikipedia page are just rebuttles disproving him as much of his work is a bit hard to swallow.
I can't believe it, this is already a B-movie from 1950. You can catch it at the internet archive of movies. I think that D.O.A. for that movie stands for Dead On Arrival though.
I am shocked that Uwe Boll didn't get to direct this sure-to-be masterpiece! Can Corey Yuen live up to my expectations?!
It's a novel idea but "Communities of Practice" are now an enforced thing to take part in where I work. That's right, these CoPs are supposed to give us an opportunity to partake in idea creation and discussion
If I take the word "businesses" to mean literally any kind of business (not just that one operating system maker we all know and love), then I'd propose something like General Motors. Do you think General Motors values community within their company? Probably not. I'm sure they think about local communities but I doubt they're concerned with the communities within their company. That was just an example, I have nothing for or against GM.
Being able to post on a forum (anonymously, if you prefer) about anything from your working conditions to an idea you had is vital to the happiness of the workers. However, I've had bosses that I've pitched this to who just read it as a waste of company time--they feared addicts working the threads 24/7 (much like I do on Slashdot). I would prefer if they would see it as an investment in idea exchanges and employee satisfaction. Ha! That's not their concern!
Back to the original topic, I think that Linux distributions should be more concerned about their corner of the market. Microsoft is their competition. They make an amazing operating system. They aren't going to win the casual computer user by creating a community. They will win them through marketing and raising awareness. It's a cold hard thing to say but I think most of the developers for Linux should be concentrating on educating users about what they can provide. I learned about Linux in college from a friend but, looking back, there's really no reason why some flash advertisement on the side of a website couldn't have done the same.
If you're looking for reasons to get new users,
"Tired of forking money over to Microsoft?"
would probably be more effective than
"Join a community of people who will become abrasive if you're not at their level of intelligence!"
Now, if you're looking at keeping the users involved with the OS and the development of it, this community thing is the answer. I just don't think Linux distros risk losing that support. Their fanbase is extremely solid--the problem is that it is minute compared to Microsoft's.
What's even more interesting is the blatant fact that the old foam is actually more safe than the new foam that failed. That's right, the foam that failed was a new EPA regulation applied to NASA. From that article: Indeed, even their exemption was denied.
Here's a crazy idea, allow the few launches to use old foam as it's apparently safer. NASA should be given time to fix and test the new foam so that more Columbia disasters don't occur.
Why does the shuttle need safety revisions when models that worked for years failed when environmental revisions were applied to them? Do we have a list of "safety revisions" or is it just: 1. Change external fuel tank foam covering to be safer.? We've got an environmentally unfriendly freon based solution. Let's use it to continue our space program and get off our asses to find a better one!
I know there are "love the whales" slashdotters out there so I'm just warning any environmental freak that I'm going to ignore their replies to this.
Also to note about Wii is that the logo looks very
All these jokes have been made about the name but on the manufacturer's site, you'll find this little blurb: So you see, even they are aware of the puns that come with a name like Wii. Personally, I'm glad they chose something other than an old name coupled with a high number (Nintendo 64, Xbox 360, Sega 32, etc.) because that makes it sound like something where bitrate and technical specs are the only things that concern a gamer. And they're not. The thing that concerns me the most is if there's going to be games that I enjoy, Tetris did that with 16 bits so I welcome anything at any bit rate that provides me with entertainment.