Speaking of which: A few weeks ago, I saw someone returning a copy of "Civilization CTP" to the software store. Seems that he bought the Linux version by mistake.
But I may have convinced him to buy a copy of Linux, and give it a try:-)
Er, you're running Debian, known to be a distribution aimed at enthusiasts; yet you're complaining that it took some fiddling to get the sound card working.
Is it possible that if you'd installed Mandrake, SuSE, or RedHat, that it would have been done automatically? I know that SuSE tends to set things up (like X) with minimal user intervention.
Just concurring: I had almost the same setup, except for a K6-2/333. The game didn't even seem particularly buggy, certainly far less than Gabriel Knight 3.
I only had a handful of crashes through 40-80 hours of gameplay, and they were all to the desktop (meaning I just had to restart the game).
The company I worked for last year is writing their entire system in Java, and they even had me write a compiler for it in that language. I was surprised to find that my compiler's performance was quite good, hardly any slower than previous ones I'd written in C++.
Hey, I remember, back in the 80's, seeing a bunch of ads in the L.A. Times for "The Last Program You'll Ever Buy". It claimed that you just had to tell it in simple steps what you wanted, and it would do it for you. A couple people I know even expressed worry about me being able to continue making a living as a software engineer.
I never got to see this product, but I imagine telling one of these things: "I'd like a word-processor. And it's got to handle footnotes. It better be able to import.png's too, or you'll be heading out/dev/null!"
Yes, it's not too hard to keep your job if you're good at it, assuming your employer isn't going bankrupt. Your manager should know that you're important to the companay and won't want to hurt himself/herself by letting you get laid off.
But finding a job is another matter. The people who receive your resume generally don't know a thing about you, so they'll likely judge you entirely on the buzzwords that you include. Then, if you get an interview, your chance of being hired is based largely on whether they like your personality (and maybe even appearance) better than other candidates.
Specialized devices are nice when the technology is stable; a toaster is a good example.
On the other hand, it seems that about 3 weeks after I buy a piece of audio or video equipment, it's obsolete, and can't be upgraded.
So, instead of a $300 DVD player, or a $600 HDTV tuner, maybe I'd be better off with a $500 computer with a DVD drive and an HDTV tuner card.
The pieces would be a lot cheaper, and I wouldn't have to throw the whole damn thing out when the next "progressive scan" or "digital blah-blah surround" specification comes out. Plus, it could be used as an MP3 jukebox and a digital recorder.
Of course, I'm sure the PC companies would love to sell me a web-browser box, email receiver, MP3-player, digital VCR, and dedicated word-processor (which used to exist back in the 80's!). But I'd rather buy one PC.
After playing the slots on a cruise ship, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the machines weren't totally random. If I dropped a quarter into a machine that nobody had played recently, there was an excellent chance that I'd get several quarters back. But if I kept playing, they'd soon be gone. I think the basic idea is that the machine suckers you in with an early win.
So, I'd walk in, put a couple quarters into machines that weren't being played, and then walk out. This resulted in a few dollars net win through the week.
They've been planning this for years, ever since IBM came out with speech recognition integrated with OS/2 V4 around 1995. They called it WHISPER, for "Windows Highly Advanced Speech Recognition". As usual, MS was far better at inventing marketing terms than creating software.
Will there be a need for developers at all? That would be cool (I'm posting from Beaverton!), but my understanding is that this is mainly a testing lab.
More seriously, your ideas are good, but a bit naive. I like dancing, but doing so involves a drive downtown. And the bands that play aren't accoustic, nor are the places lit by candlelight.
Fishing would take a much longer drive.
Unfortunately, most of us don't live in small towns where the dance hall is just around the corner and the lake is a mile hike.
Doesn't Windows95 support loadable drivers? Seems like it's usually the case that the hardware maker supplies free drivers so you'll be more likely to buy their product (and not return it). But in this case, the hardware maker also happens to be our friendly software monopoly. And they'll make even more profit on your Windows upgrade then they did on the joystick.
Besides, I think USB was around when Windows95 was introduced; there just weren't many devices for it yet.
Perhaps I'm being a bit paranoid, but I can imagine a 'Hacker War' similar to the current Drug War. If someone suggests to the police that you're using a non-approved substance, they can break into your house, seize your possessions, and throw you in jail for years.
So, if the public can be convinced that 'hackers' with their illicit computer equipment are, say, a 'threat to our children', we could have similar laws targetting 'controlled technology'.
I haven't played Elite, but I heard it was the predecessor to Privateer. That's my favorite all-time game, being a space sim. in the Wing Commander universe, but with a plot that you had to discover through exploration. And, as in RPG's, NPC's treated you differently depending on your alignment.
I know Infocom did great stuff, but were they really the originators of Zork? I remember playing it on a DEC minicomputer before the days of Infocom, and read that it was originally written at MIT in some language like 'MDL', then translated to Fortran. That version is still available as the 'dungeon' game that comes with BSD (and maybe Linux dists. too).
There's no significant penalty for missing a date in open source...
Yes, the above is true. I also agree with your other points regarding software engineering practices. But, there is one overriding difference for most open source: The people working on it are often not getting paid.
So, unless critics of Linux or other open-source projects are willing to contribute time or money, they have no right to tell the developers how to work.
Slashdot Mirror
But I may have convinced him to buy a copy of Linux, and give it a try:-)
Is it possible that if you'd installed Mandrake, SuSE, or RedHat, that it would have been done automatically? I know that SuSE tends to set things up (like X) with minimal user intervention.
I only had a handful of crashes through 40-80 hours of gameplay, and they were all to the desktop (meaning I just had to restart the game).
Typical RPG: Walk around. Slay monsters. Talk to NPC's. Find or kill what they specify.
Typical adventure: Walk around. Click on everything. Pick up items. 'Use' each on everything.
Three. I thought it was a great game.
The company I worked for last year is writing their entire system in Java, and they even had me write a compiler for it in that language. I was surprised to find that my compiler's performance was quite good, hardly any slower than previous ones I'd written in C++.
I never got to see this product, but I imagine telling one of these things: "I'd like a word-processor. And it's got to handle footnotes. It better be able to import .png's too, or you'll be heading out /dev/null!"
But finding a job is another matter. The people who receive your resume generally don't know a thing about you, so they'll likely judge you entirely on the buzzwords that you include. Then, if you get an interview, your chance of being hired is based largely on whether they like your personality (and maybe even appearance) better than other candidates.
It's probably for the same reason that someone will read a book when they could be watching television.
It is kind of a pain getting through airport security with one, though. They either want to X-ray it, or turn it on to see if it's really just a game!
On the other hand, it seems that about 3 weeks after I buy a piece of audio or video equipment, it's obsolete, and can't be upgraded.
So, instead of a $300 DVD player, or a $600 HDTV tuner, maybe I'd be better off with a $500 computer with a DVD drive and an HDTV tuner card. The pieces would be a lot cheaper, and I wouldn't have to throw the whole damn thing out when the next "progressive scan" or "digital blah-blah surround" specification comes out. Plus, it could be used as an MP3 jukebox and a digital recorder.
Of course, I'm sure the PC companies would love to sell me a web-browser box, email receiver, MP3-player, digital VCR, and dedicated word-processor (which used to exist back in the 80's!). But I'd rather buy one PC.
In any case, here are a few other possible choices:
The Eight Virtues
Moon Crystal Magic
The Great Meowth of Bounty
The first thing I thought of was old Star Trek episodes where they met aliens who were composed of 'pure energy'.
So, I'd walk in, put a couple quarters into machines that weren't being played, and then walk out. This resulted in a few dollars net win through the week.
They've been planning this for years, ever since IBM came out with speech recognition integrated with OS/2 V4 around 1995. They called it WHISPER, for "Windows Highly Advanced Speech Recognition". As usual, MS was far better at inventing marketing terms than creating software.
Will there be a need for developers at all? That would be cool (I'm posting from Beaverton!), but my understanding is that this is mainly a testing lab.
... a Jon Katz article on the potential dangers of this.
More seriously, your ideas are good, but a bit naive. I like dancing, but doing so involves a drive downtown. And the bands that play aren't accoustic, nor are the places lit by candlelight.
Fishing would take a much longer drive.
Unfortunately, most of us don't live in small towns where the dance hall is just around the corner and the lake is a mile hike.
Besides, I think USB was around when Windows95 was introduced; there just weren't many devices for it yet.
So, if the public can be convinced that 'hackers' with their illicit computer equipment are, say, a 'threat to our children', we could have similar laws targetting 'controlled technology'.
Thanks for the reply. I dimly remember hearing that Zork came about that way, but it was cool hearing it from the Implementor himself.
Too bad it's such a pain getting it to run.
Anyone know more about the history of Zork?
Yes, the above is true. I also agree with your other points regarding software engineering practices. But, there is one overriding difference for most open source: The people working on it are often not getting paid.
So, unless critics of Linux or other open-source projects are willing to contribute time or money, they have no right to tell the developers how to work.
And also note that Gordon Slade, "the senator from Microsoft", isn't coming back. And I don't think his replacement will be quite so friendly to MS.