I bought my mum an iBook recently. I've always been a fan of the Mac to a certain degree. Never owned one though. I'll be getting a Mac Mini in the not too distant future (after Tiger is released probably) to use as a media center. And yes I do own an iPod.
I'll still do all my work on my Linux laptop though.
Re:Thomas Jefferson's opinion
on
Is IP Property?
·
· Score: 1
I completely and utterly agree. And I'm not an American. Once an idea leaves your head it is no longer yours.
IMO Interlectual Property law has be the single most damaging imaginary construct to be visited upon the human race in the last 500 years.
Patents are patently evil.
However given this opinion I am at a loss when it comes to figuring out how to encourage commerce and profit from creative endevour when one lacks such constructs as Copyright and Patents.
The core issue of IP is money, it has nothing to do with ideas, expression or freedom. How do creators make money?
For musicians it is easy, go on tour. This has been a tried and true way of making a living as a musician for thousands of years. Get paid directly (or indirectly via venue owners) for your performance.
Actors, poets, bards, and even writers (spoken performance of a work) can make money this way. I hear most bigger musicians (Rolling Stones etc) make more money touring than they do on records these days anyway. It's just harder work.
Problems come in when you start recording creative work on easily duplicatable media.
Without Copyright the printing press would have all but destroyed writers and artists earning potential, as anyone could have produced vast quantities of a book or illustration. My history is sketchy so this may have even been the case when the printing press was first developed.
Similarly, audio recording devices may reduce the potential earnings of a musician. Though it can also be argued that a musician is more likely to get a larger audience at a concert through wide distribution of their recordings.
Film did the same for actors. Now you don't have to show up and be in front of a troup of actors to enjoy a dramatic performance. For an actor this isn't actually the ideal situation. There is a reason why all the best actors have a background in stage and why many prefer stage acting over film. It's because you can see, feel and react to your audience. Film is devoid of this emotional connection. It has become an industry rather than an art.
Patents and Copyright are ideas, inventions of the human mind. Perhaps it is time we invented something new to replace them. A way of rewarding the artists and creative individuals of our global society directly, without middlemen, without corporate leeches getting in the way. Once we have solved that problem then we we can truely enjoy the free and unfetted exchange of ideas that would ensue.
Do people read the linked articles. DOOM3 is still headed to PC (AFAIK).
"latest game an Xbox-only title as far as consoles are concerned. (It'd still come out on the PC, of course.)"
1) The XBox is probably the only console platform capable of running DOOM 3.
From what I've read the DOOM3 engine makes heavy use of bump mapping. AFAIK the PS2 can't do bump mapping. The Xbox & Gamecube can. However the Gamecube might still be too memory (48mb) or speed restricted to run DOOM3. Though I must admit I didn't think the PS2 was capable of running Splinter Cell. But then the PS2 version of SC is of much lower visual quality than the XBOX and uses cheap hacks to simulate the more complex lighting that the XBOX does. Given the choice I'd still buy the XBOX version of SC over other editions.
2) I remember Carmack say in the past that the only console they'd probably target DOOM 3 at would be the XBox.
Has the thought that a seatbelt might just _save your life_ in the case of an accident ever crossed your mind??
People who drive without wearing a seatbelt need to have their head checked.
Maybe the legislation in some countries was encouraged by interested parties such as insurance companies but the underlying fact that seat belts save lives is undeniable.
If you're too stupid to realise this then maybe your country is rightly justified in trying to instill intelligence in you via legislation.
The bigger question is actually, will the Linux binary contain the 'tools' portion of the engine?
From comments made in an interview on GameSpy it appeared that the level editor was rather reliant on Windows API's. I can only hope that the ID tools programmers move to QT or GTK before the game ships.
Relevant Quote: Robert Duffy: Yeah. The editor and the BSPer and all the tools are actually built into the game itself. You can run it from the console. On a Windows system, if you can run the game you can essentially run the tools. The editor still uses a lot of Windows code so it's not going to run on a Macintosh, but I think all the other tools should run fine.
This bug might the result of a flaw in Turbo Pascal's Runtime Lib. Lots of DOS apps were written in TP and they bail with a "Runtime Error 200" or something on Pentium 90's and up.
The problem is a flaw in the "delay" procedure. It overflows it's counter trying to calibrate 1 second in CPU ticks.
Using "slowmo" type utils can fix it. I think Borland also released a patch to TP's runtime lib source. But if you don't have the source to the app you're out of luck there.
I'm a New Zealander, I own GTA3. It's not banned in NZ but god I hope some polition's kid doesn't buy this game. The game is rated here for mature audiences. And I certainly would recommend letting anyone under the age of 15 play it.
The game really is exceptional, and I don't think that is just because of the violence. It's brilliant at a technical level. The gameplay is really addictive. I've been doing silly things like play this game from 10pm to 5am on occasion. It is really hard to drag yourself away from it. "I just gotta find and boost the Mr Whoopee van, then I'll go to bed" etc.
If.AU has banned this game just because of the 'Hooker trick' then their censors need to be slapped. It is by far the least controversial part of the game and I can think of far more distirbing films that no doubt got a release in.AU.
And as a poster above says, just import a NZ copy of the game.
Why is it that the 'Kernel hacking' community have resisted putting the Kernel source into CVS (or similar) system?
Also, why is there no bug tracking and patch support system like Bugzilla for the Kernel.
I believe that both of these sorts of systems would be of great benefit to the Linux community. They would help add transparancy to development cycle and provide ways for a larger community of users to provide quality assurance feedback and patches.
I must first say I'm not a kernel developer and don't plan on being one.
However from an outside looking in it appears to be that the way the kernel is developed needs to change drastically.
Change 1. Impliment CVS. How the kernel has come this far without CVS (or similar) support is a mystery to me.
Change 2. Bug/Patch tracking system. Guys, download Bugzilla (or Fenris or whatever), set it up and USE IT.
From what I've seen it appears that kernel development is ruled over by Linus just a little too much. Everything must pass by him or one of his lutenants. I guess this isn't a bad thing. All code should be audited by those in the know but to me it seems far too pyramid like at the moment. To tightly controlled from the top. I fear that without more open access to core linux kernel code base that there is a kernel source fork in Linux's not too distant future.
Later
I would actually take this is as a blessing in disguise. It'll be a lesson in writing portable code.
When I was at Uni I took a 2nd year programming course on file and data proccessing. The course was taught using C on SunOS 4.5. (This course taught me to love Unix, I'd not used Linux/Unix before then). I didn't have Linux on my Home PC (instead I was running DOS with Quaterdeck's DesqView multitasker). Which incidentally let me run my BBS and still use my system for work. A great program. Much better than Windows. Pity the company disappeared. But I digress.
Getting back on track. Instead of treking to Uni to work in the crowded labs on the black and white X Terminals connected to the Sun's, I instead decided to write all my programs under DOS using Watcom C++ (while my BBS ran in the background). This was a great lesson to me in writing protable code that would run without fault on both DOS and Unix.
Fortunately for me Watcom C++ is 32bit so I didn't have to worry about memory problems (not that the programs I was writing would have allocated more than 640k). And it was ANSI compliant so as long as I stuck to ANSI I was safe.
I suggest you do something similar. Use the Debian boxes (or your own machine) to code your apps and then transfer the code to Code Warrior. The exercise will be beneficial to your overall education.
I think in conjunction with the EFF we Linux users and Electronic Freedom Fighters need to start a legal fund. Perhaps someone wants to volonteer to be the organizer of this fund? It should be established under the EFF's control though. Later
To quote the article, "The new network-computer manufacturer, which, according to Ellison, will adopt the discarded Network Computer Inc. moniker, will unveil Intel-powered machines running the Linux operating system and Netscape Navigator." They discarded the NAME "Network Computer Inc." not the actual computer.
I'm sure everyone else who has seen the movie 'Office Space' noticed that the main characters PC displayed a Macintosh UI yet understood DOS filenames that used a forward slash instead of a back slash.
And also, later on in the movie the PC had a Windows App in one Window and Mac App in another. I do believe there were other instances of multiple different UI's displayed on the one screen as well.
I think this type of computer would be very handy though. Being able to run completely different OS's at the same time with no restrictions (ala VMWare) would be great.
Another Hollywood fubar on computers was a 'geek' T-Shirt in the Simpsons which read:
C:/DOS C:/DOS/RUN RUN/DOS/RUN
or something similar. They could have at least put the slashes in correctly. This is actually quite a common error on TV. I can clearly remember an instance of it in The Pretender as well.
Once we have perfected Genetic Engineering the whole concept of birth defects will become something we tell our grandchildren to scare them on Halloween. But then Genetic Engineering is a big 'Ethical' sticking point as well so perhaps we are no better off. Examples of GE gone mad: Star Trek and the Eugenic Wars, Gattaga (written and directed by a Kiwi too! And no I do not mean the fuzzy brown/green fruit!)
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I bought my mum an iBook recently. I've always been a fan of the Mac to a certain degree. Never owned one though. I'll be getting a Mac Mini in the not too distant future (after Tiger is released probably) to use as a media center. And yes I do own an iPod.
I'll still do all my work on my Linux laptop though.
I completely and utterly agree. And I'm not an American. Once an idea leaves your head it is no longer yours.
IMO Interlectual Property law has be the single most damaging imaginary construct to be visited upon the human race in the last 500 years.
Patents are patently evil.
However given this opinion I am at a loss when it comes to figuring out how to encourage commerce and profit from creative endevour when one lacks such constructs as Copyright and Patents.
The core issue of IP is money, it has nothing to do with ideas, expression or freedom. How do creators make money?
For musicians it is easy, go on tour. This has been a tried and true way of making a living as a musician for thousands of years. Get paid directly (or indirectly via venue owners) for your performance.
Actors, poets, bards, and even writers (spoken performance of a work) can make money this way. I hear most bigger musicians (Rolling Stones etc) make more money touring than they do on records these days anyway. It's just harder work.
Problems come in when you start recording creative work on easily duplicatable media.
Without Copyright the printing press would have all but destroyed writers and artists earning potential, as anyone could have produced vast quantities of a book or illustration. My history is sketchy so this may have even been the case when the printing press was first developed.
Similarly, audio recording devices may reduce the potential earnings of a musician. Though it can also be argued that a musician is more likely to get a larger audience at a concert through wide distribution of their recordings.
Film did the same for actors. Now you don't have to show up and be in front of a troup of actors to enjoy a dramatic performance. For an actor this isn't actually the ideal situation. There is a reason why all the best actors have a background in stage and why many prefer stage acting over film. It's because you can see, feel and react to your audience. Film is devoid of this emotional connection. It has become an industry rather than an art.
Patents and Copyright are ideas, inventions of the human mind. Perhaps it is time we invented something new to replace them. A way of rewarding the artists and creative individuals of our global society directly, without middlemen, without corporate leeches getting in the way. Once we have solved that problem then we we can truely enjoy the free and unfetted exchange of ideas that would ensue.
Do people read the linked articles. DOOM3 is still headed to PC (AFAIK).
"latest game an Xbox-only title as far as consoles are concerned. (It'd still come out on the PC, of course.)"
1) The XBox is probably the only console platform capable of running DOOM 3.
From what I've read the DOOM3 engine makes heavy use of bump mapping. AFAIK the PS2 can't do bump mapping. The Xbox & Gamecube can. However the Gamecube might still be too memory (48mb) or speed restricted to run DOOM3. Though I must admit I didn't think the PS2 was capable of running Splinter Cell. But then the PS2 version of SC is of much lower visual quality than the XBOX and uses cheap hacks to simulate the more complex lighting that the XBOX does. Given the choice I'd still buy the XBOX version of SC over other editions.
2) I remember Carmack say in the past that the only console they'd probably target DOOM 3 at would be the XBox.
So this is old and fairly unimportant news.
Has the thought that a seatbelt might just _save your life_ in the case of an accident ever crossed your mind??
People who drive without wearing a seatbelt need to have their head checked.
Maybe the legislation in some countries was encouraged by interested parties such as insurance companies but the underlying fact that seat belts save lives is undeniable.
If you're too stupid to realise this then maybe your country is rightly justified in trying to instill intelligence in you via legislation.
The bigger question is actually, will the Linux binary contain the 'tools' portion of the engine?
From comments made in an interview on GameSpy it appeared that the level editor was rather reliant on Windows API's. I can only hope that the ID tools programmers move to QT or GTK before the game ships.
GameSpy Article: http://www.gamespy.com/e32002/pc/id/
Relevant Quote:
Robert Duffy: Yeah. The editor and the BSPer and all the tools are actually built into the game itself. You can run it from the console. On a Windows system, if you can run the game you can essentially run the tools. The editor still uses a lot of Windows code so it's not going to run on a Macintosh, but I think all the other tools should run fine.
This bug might the result of a flaw in Turbo Pascal's Runtime Lib. Lots of DOS apps were written in TP and they bail with a "Runtime Error 200" or something on Pentium 90's and up.
The problem is a flaw in the "delay" procedure. It overflows it's counter trying to calibrate 1 second in CPU ticks.
Using "slowmo" type utils can fix it. I think Borland also released a patch to TP's runtime lib source. But if you don't have the source to the app you're out of luck there.
Err. That should be "wouldn't recommend letting anyone under the age of 15 play it". Not would.. My bad.
I'm a New Zealander, I own GTA3. It's not banned in NZ but god I hope some polition's kid doesn't buy this game. The game is rated here for mature audiences. And I certainly would recommend letting anyone under the age of 15 play it.
.AU has banned this game just because of the 'Hooker trick' then their censors need to be slapped. It is by far the least controversial part of the game and I can think of far more distirbing films that no doubt got a release in .AU.
The game really is exceptional, and I don't think that is just because of the violence. It's brilliant at a technical level. The gameplay is really addictive. I've been doing silly things like play this game from 10pm to 5am on occasion. It is really hard to drag yourself away from it. "I just gotta find and boost the Mr Whoopee van, then I'll go to bed" etc.
If
And as a poster above says, just import a NZ copy of the game.
Later
Why is it that the 'Kernel hacking' community have resisted putting the Kernel source into CVS (or similar) system?
Also, why is there no bug tracking and patch support system like Bugzilla for the Kernel.
I believe that both of these sorts of systems would be of great benefit to the Linux community. They would help add transparancy to development cycle and provide ways for a larger community of users to provide quality assurance feedback and patches.
Doesn't anyone else remember old Nintendo game watches? Pop eye, Donky kong etc. Check out www.gameandwatch.com.
I must first say I'm not a kernel developer and don't plan on being one. However from an outside looking in it appears to be that the way the kernel is developed needs to change drastically. Change 1. Impliment CVS. How the kernel has come this far without CVS (or similar) support is a mystery to me. Change 2. Bug/Patch tracking system. Guys, download Bugzilla (or Fenris or whatever), set it up and USE IT. From what I've seen it appears that kernel development is ruled over by Linus just a little too much. Everything must pass by him or one of his lutenants. I guess this isn't a bad thing. All code should be audited by those in the know but to me it seems far too pyramid like at the moment. To tightly controlled from the top. I fear that without more open access to core linux kernel code base that there is a kernel source fork in Linux's not too distant future. Later
I would actually take this is as a blessing in disguise. It'll be a lesson in writing portable code.
When I was at Uni I took a 2nd year programming course on file and data proccessing. The course was taught using C on SunOS 4.5. (This course taught me to love Unix, I'd not used Linux/Unix before then). I didn't have Linux on my Home PC (instead I was running DOS with Quaterdeck's DesqView multitasker). Which incidentally let me run my BBS and still use my system for work. A great program. Much better than Windows. Pity the company disappeared. But I digress.
Getting back on track. Instead of treking to Uni to work in the crowded labs on the black and white X Terminals connected to the Sun's, I instead decided to write all my programs under DOS using Watcom C++ (while my BBS ran in the background). This was a great lesson to me in writing protable code that would run without fault on both DOS and Unix.
Fortunately for me Watcom C++ is 32bit so I didn't have to worry about memory problems (not that the programs I was writing would have allocated more than 640k). And it was ANSI compliant so as long as I stuck to ANSI I was safe.
I suggest you do something similar. Use the Debian boxes (or your own machine) to code your apps and then transfer the code to Code Warrior. The exercise will be beneficial to your overall education.
I think in conjunction with the EFF we Linux users and Electronic Freedom Fighters need to start a legal fund. Perhaps someone wants to volonteer to be the organizer of this fund? It should be established under the EFF's control though. Later
To quote the article, "The new network-computer manufacturer, which, according to Ellison, will adopt the discarded Network Computer Inc. moniker, will unveil Intel-powered machines running the Linux operating system and Netscape Navigator." They discarded the NAME "Network Computer Inc." not the actual computer.
I'm sure everyone else who has seen the movie 'Office Space' noticed that the main characters PC displayed a Macintosh UI yet understood DOS filenames that used a forward slash instead of a back slash.
And also, later on in the movie the PC had a Windows App in one Window and Mac App in another. I do believe there were other instances of multiple different UI's displayed on the one screen as well.
I think this type of computer would be very handy though. Being able to run completely different OS's at the same time with no restrictions (ala VMWare) would be great.
Another Hollywood fubar on computers was a 'geek' T-Shirt in the Simpsons which read:
C:/DOS
C:/DOS/RUN
RUN/DOS/RUN
or something similar. They could have at least put the slashes in correctly. This is actually quite a common error on TV. I can clearly remember an instance of it in The Pretender as well.
Later
Once we have perfected Genetic Engineering the whole concept of birth defects will become something we tell our grandchildren to scare them on Halloween. But then Genetic Engineering is a big 'Ethical' sticking point as well so perhaps we are no better off. Examples of GE gone mad: Star Trek and the Eugenic Wars, Gattaga (written and directed by a Kiwi too! And no I do not mean the fuzzy brown/green fruit!)