There are definitely way more than 1,000 personnel in the SDF. They also have many weapons that they're technically not supposed to, and the U. S. military has seen them and said nothing (a friend of mine is a military brat, and one of his relatives attended a reception at a Japanese base, where they were shown 50 tanks that they're technically not supposed to have under the current treaty.
My opinion - the Japanese will do what it takes to maintain face with the international community and the United States, but they're also probably quietly taking the necessary precautions should the U.S. fall through on its promises of protection.
I think when they say "drawn" in this context, they're using the wrong word.:)
As a computer animator, I am pretty certain that what I do is not "drawing," (unless you count storyboards, concept art, or texture mapping, which are completely different.)
If they were drawing, they wouldn't need a render farm, they'd need an inker.
I'm a privacy advocate, but I can see the current example of use as being a good thing more often than a bad.
If someone is checking my EDR because of routine maintenance or because of an accident, I'm cool with that. As long as nobody is sending that information off to my insurance company or the DMV every other time, no sweat.
Keep this in mind: the speed of your vehicle and whether or not you're wearing a seatbelt can hardly be said to be matters of privacy. Most definitely not your speed; it directly affects the world around you and the people in it. It's not exactly something you can keep secret very easily (laws of physics, in general, are very hard to keep secret. At least the big ones, like gravity, etc.)
Seatbelts are a bit trickier, because there are legitimate reasons someone might not be wearing one. For example, a driver could be held accountable for making sure everyone in the car is wearing a seatbelt, but say a passenger directly behind him decides to take it off, he's going to be hard-pressed to keep track of that sort of thing.
This is just one of those things where it's important to make sure the use is not abused, but the technology itself has benefits that outweigh the negatives.
Is it me, or does the phrase, "The cluster will be used to render the frames drawn by the animators..." bother anybody else? If the frames were "drawn," why would you need to render them?;)
This is 3D CG. There is no drawing involved in the frames that need to be rendered.
Normally, I avoid being anal, but I couldn't leave this one alone.
There have been documentaries about the windfarms in northern Germany causing a lot of sound polution (because really big windmills moving really fast tend to make a low, thrumming sound.)
The problem is, it lowers the quality of life for the residents, because the low-level background noise causes stress, irritation, and fatigue.
Yeah, to take ikkyuu (level-one Japanese), you have to know the official 2,036 kanji. "Common use" is a misnomer, since they may be very commonly used, just not with the "ha" pronunciation (most kanji have at least two pronunciations, if not more.)
You don't have to buy your landline nowadays. I rent mine, which works out to costing about as much as a base phone rate in the US. The rental rate is about the same as a keitai rate, so it's not that bad. Also, buying a landline only costs about 70,000 yen, which works out to less than $600. This is in Osaka, too, which is going to be among the top most expensive places to live. You can transfer the line pretty easily, as well, and the Japanese don't move very often. They'd much rather commute an hour-and-a-half rather than move, especially if they live in the countryside (a misnomer if I ever heard one when describing Japan) and work in the city.
Last year's cell phone model only cost me about 2000 yen, which means $17, and came with a built-in camera. Not a bad deal. New models will run you about $100.
Again, I am not sure how unlimited bandwidth for about $20 a month is cheaper than paying per message with a keitai. When I relied on my keitai for my sole email provider, before I got my DSL, I was spending about 5000 yen per month for just the email service, and that's without paying for incoming messages.
Work hours in Japan can be longer, but this is only because the average Japanese office worker has a terrible work ethic. They procrastinate, plain and simple. Also, they waste a lot of times in meetings. You can officially go home at 5pm if you have all your work done, no sweat. Many do.
School is from 8:30 to 3:30, which is pretty much the same as home. Students will hang around for clubs, but these usually run until 5. I am one of the co-sponsors of my high school's aikido club (yes, I'm a high school teacher.) This is also very similar to the rest of the world.
Cram schools are usually only once a week or in blocks in the summer, not every night, unless you're a real go-getter. Cram schooling usually starts in late middle school (for the high school entrance exams) and again late in high school; many students simply take a year off after high school and do cram school straight for one year in preparation for the college entrance exams.
I agree that the keitai is just damn convenient for idle time, though. Most Japanese just bring a book or sleep, though.
I agree that typing in Japanese is way easier than typing in English. I know that I prefer emailing my friends in Japanese than English on my cell phone, and I'm American.;)
A few corrections:
- There are almost 600 kanji with the pronunciation "ha" (my dictionary lists 591.)
- Cell phone usage and land line usage costs are almost exactly the same.
- Cellular internet is incredibly expensive. With J-Phone (the second most popular service provider after Docomo), I pay 30 yen per page (about 25 cents US) and downloads are about 200 yen. The reason I didn't go with Docomo is because they charge you 2 yen for every email you receive, solicited or not. You think anti-spam laws in America are an issue. Compare this with my 12Mbps DSL connection at about 2700 yen per month (about $22), and cell phones become the last option for internet service.
- Most of my Japanese friends are on the computer all the damn time when they're at home, just like everywhere else. I know, because they show up on my chat program. If Japanese are out and about more often, it's because they actually have hobbies outside of the home, or (gasp!) socialize, in contrast to the American habit of sitting at home and vegging out in front of the TV.
- Japanese urban planning is a disaster, but their transportation system is incredibly efficient. A train running late is about as common as a total lunar eclipse. You can set your clock by them.
- Cell phones aren't a social necessity here, just really damn convenient, just like everywhere else in the world. If you are suddenly called into a late meeting at work, you can just call home from the phone in the staff room or from your desk; you don't require a cell phone, plus the call is free.
Cell phones have done more to encourage sloppy scheduling and appointment-keeping than solve it, just as computers have made more work rather than less.:)
Yeah, the IRS is kinda particular if you mix your personal assets with your business assets without warning them, and sometimes they don't allow you to do it at all. Depends on the kind of business you are.
That's if you assume that they're placing Pluto at aphelion, or the point at which it:'s furthest from the sun. Pluto has an extremely ellipical orbit (it crosses the orbit of Neptune every so often.)
This doesn't help the small guy. If he continues to be small after the work is copyrighted, then the copyright is useless. This doesn't do a thing for the small guy. If, on the other hand, he becomes incredibly wealthy after copyrighting the work, then he no longer counts as a "small guy."
The thing is, Apple really does fill a niche. If you don't use a Mac, it's because you don't fit within the niche of users that want the system Apple offers. Trust me, you don't plunk down that kind of cash for a slick chassis. It's about the philosophy Apple espouses and implements in their hardware and software design.
It's all about image combined with the comfortable environment that Macs are famous for. If Microsoft or Linux managed to successfully offer the same thing, you'd probably sneer at that, too. It's just your personal preference.
You forgot Medal of Honor, UT2k3, Return to Wolfenstein, Warcraft 3, Age of Empires II, Civilization III, Masters of Orion III...the list goes on and on.
I never meant to imply that the machines are perfect, harmonious, nor homogeneous. I find it humorous and not just a bit ironic that the programs have succumbed to the same decadence and corruption (moral, that is) that humans are capable of in their "imperfection."
Note: believing that you are perfect is a form of imperfection.
I agree that they're independent and with varied personalities. IMHO, the Architect was pulling some serious smoke and mirrors. I do think he was mixing truth with the lies, however. He mentioned a system cascade failure. I'd say Agent Smith might just fit the bill. After all, he's killing everyone off by making copies of himself until there's no one left but him.
That's pretty close to my opinion on the matter. A lot of people speculating seem to think that the Matrix will be simulated the same way as a game, with polygons and physics simulations.
It seems to me a far more realistic approach would be - wait for it - to treat all of those humans like a really big Beowulf cluster. I am my own simulation.
Think about it: you don't actually have to represent an apple, with realistic specular highlights, bump-mapping, taste information, etc. You only have to give the person the suggestion of the apple, and let their brain fill in the blanks. Once the brain has learned something, it typically refers back to past experience to fill in the information before actually analyzing what it perceives. How often do you eat an apple and then, upon being asked later, recall if the skin was bruised anywhere, and if so, where and in how many places?
The matrix can work perfectly well by relying on the human brain's habit of glossing over details and being generally unreliable. The movie itself provides the answer, when Cypher explains why he reads the unencrypted code: "I don't even see the code. I just see blond, brunette, redhead..." His mind is filling in the mental picture of what is actually a very small, compressed, and simplified data stream.
Think about every network game you've ever played. When you play Quake, or UT, or any of the online games, does the computer actually have to pass along all of the geometric information, shading and lighting algorithms to every participant? Or does it send simplified placement data that allows the node to fill in the missing information using a local version of the program?
It was suggested in the second movie that the machines created programming to turn Neo into the One, by opening his mind to the realization that he was not bound by the simulation. In that same way, the machines could feed information into the human brain (much in the same way the fighting simulations work onboard the hovercraft) so that children would build up a perceptual library they can refer to as adults. The average human takes twelve years before they begin to lose their flexible knowledge and develop rigid rules of perception; that's plenty of time to build up the necessary relational information. If you actually had to simulate an object for the first time it was perceived, or for any reason need to pass along extra information, you would only have to do it the first time. After that, the brain just refers back to the first time and says, "Oh, apple. Yeah, I know what that tastes like."
Just remember: if you've lived your entire life in the matrix, you have no basis for comparison with the real world; therefore, if the matrix were flawed, you wouldn't be able to tell; it's your only frame of reference. As far as you're concerned, that's just the way things are.
Even without all of the speculation as to whether or not we're really living in the matrix, you can judge for yourself the effectiveness of the human brain to fool itself by just recalling what it's like when you dream. Sometimes, dreams can seem very real, even though they take place completely within your mind. All the machines of the matrix would require to fool a human who has lived his entire life in the matrix is the power of suggestion, which is a relatively low-power thing.
As to why the machines bother to keep humanity alive, here's one idea: they are machines, not humans. They don't necessarily think the way humans do. Perhaps they don't believe that the best way to conquer an enemy is to eliminate him. Perhaps they value the efficient utilization of a renewable resource, while at the same time, keeping their creators and former masters happily living their lives out in what is, theoretically, a full and productive life. A win-win situation. This doesn't have to have a noble basis; perhaps the machines have decided, in their self-appointed perfection, that perfection requires being better than humans, w
Apple's Airport Extreme already does throttle back to the 802.11b speed in a mixed network, but supposedly maintains the higher throughput with compatible g cards.
Bear in mind that, although Apple touts the 54Mbps, I'd benchmark it before you get in a snit about it; it's entirely likely you're already only topping out at the actual 20Mbps limit. All hardware vendors since time began have been interested in advertising the theoretical limits for sensationalistic press. (Marketing getting their hands on too much information despite the engineers' best efforts.)
If you want real speed, get a switch and deal with the cables. If you want convenience and style go with wireless. You currently can't have both.
I guess CGI fooled you this time around, huh? I'd declare that good enough.:)
Re:Mac users generally don't need or want
on
The Mac Made of Lego
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Actually, Mac users have been some of the biggest case mod fanatics, especially if you live in Japan. Just like people customize the Volkswagen bug with colorful patterns and paintings, so do people customize their Macs. There's even a traditional kimono designer in Kyoto who will customize your PowerBook with an original design if you want to spend the cash.
As for other Mac users modding, just Google it, or check out the original/. story.
You know...Kyoto is only about an hour-and-a-half from here by train...and $300 isn't too bad, considering...and I've got a TiBook...
Always been written? The good stuff, yes. The bad stuff, no.:)
There are some good tidbits in this article, but some of it sounds like somebody's reaching. Not that I don't admire the Wachowski brothers, but it sounds like people are reading a lot of meaning into things because they want it to be there.
Games have only turned to OpenGL in the last few years; development of high-end 3D cards has been going on far longer than that (after all, OpenGL was started by SGI for their Irix platform, which is notably game-free.)
Games don't do a very good job of supporting further OpenGL development right now; if you're using a high-end program that requires OpenGL support, the game benchmarks aren't not going to provide you with the best measure of what kind of card you should buy. Most graphics professionals prefer nVidia over ATI, because ATI's drivers are typically terrible for high-end 3D animation programs. If you're into 3D animation, chances are you've got a GeForce card.
Without the game industry, such cards would probably still be twice as expensive as they are now, if not more, but that's about it.
Uh... what world are you living in? Apple charges for point releases to OS-X. And their hardware is still 1.5-2x the price of PC hardware, for less performance. Don't even try to indicate that Apple isn't raping their customers as bad, if not worse, than Microsoft.
The problem with Apple products is that they include many hardware features standard that most other computer vendors do not offer in their base models. Go to a site like Dell (considered one of the cheapest vendors around) and configure a computer to match an Apple workstation as closely as possible. See what the cost is at that point, and then tell me who charges more.
Apple's second mistake is that they design "designer" computers that the average PC user just doesn't like (first a gumdrop, then a lamp.) Wintel users want beige boxes, dammit! (And the discriminating ones that like silver or black still have to contend with adding drives that have beige faceplates, which ruins the idea of an attractive box.)
Even the complaints about upgradeability are largely trivial; many claim they want the option to upgrade their computer, yet rarely use that ability before they're replacing the entire system. "I want the option to add a Firewire card." Standard on every Mac; not necessary. The only downside is you pay for it up front, whether you use it or not.
Apple has always charged for point releases. However, they also give purchasers of new Macs three coupons for use on future OS upgrades. In the past, these upgrade coupons have been good for a free OS update. With Jaguar 10.2, coupons were not honored, which ticked off a lot of Apple users, but they continue to package the coupons with new machines, so it can be hoped that future updates will revert to that tradition. Charging for Mac OS point releases can hardly be compared to Microsoft's licensing structure. Apple sells one OS only, with no differentiation between pro or home user. For example, just being able to use more than one language in the GUI (which I do) is built in by default, whereas Microsoft requires you to purchase extra software that only works with a Pro license.
It all comes down to preference and habit, and those are fine arguments by themselves. Justification through heresay and poorly researched information (on both sides) is the reason this debate always gets so heated.
Slashdot Mirror
Ah, okay, sorry.
There are definitely way more than 1,000 personnel in the SDF. They also have many weapons that they're technically not supposed to, and the U. S. military has seen them and said nothing (a friend of mine is a military brat, and one of his relatives attended a reception at a Japanese base, where they were shown 50 tanks that they're technically not supposed to have under the current treaty.
My opinion - the Japanese will do what it takes to maintain face with the international community and the United States, but they're also probably quietly taking the necessary precautions should the U.S. fall through on its promises of protection.
This is after you subtracted out equipment procurement and maintenance, right? Not to mention training, logistical costs, etc...
I think when they say "drawn" in this context, they're using the wrong word. :)
As a computer animator, I am pretty certain that what I do is not "drawing," (unless you count storyboards, concept art, or texture mapping, which are completely different.)
If they were drawing, they wouldn't need a render farm, they'd need an inker.
I'm a privacy advocate, but I can see the current example of use as being a good thing more often than a bad.
If someone is checking my EDR because of routine maintenance or because of an accident, I'm cool with that. As long as nobody is sending that information off to my insurance company or the DMV every other time, no sweat.
Keep this in mind: the speed of your vehicle and whether or not you're wearing a seatbelt can hardly be said to be matters of privacy. Most definitely not your speed; it directly affects the world around you and the people in it. It's not exactly something you can keep secret very easily (laws of physics, in general, are very hard to keep secret. At least the big ones, like gravity, etc.)
Seatbelts are a bit trickier, because there are legitimate reasons someone might not be wearing one. For example, a driver could be held accountable for making sure everyone in the car is wearing a seatbelt, but say a passenger directly behind him decides to take it off, he's going to be hard-pressed to keep track of that sort of thing.
This is just one of those things where it's important to make sure the use is not abused, but the technology itself has benefits that outweigh the negatives.
Is it me, or does the phrase, "The cluster will be used to render the frames drawn by the animators..." bother anybody else? If the frames were "drawn," why would you need to render them? ;)
This is 3D CG. There is no drawing involved in the frames that need to be rendered.
Normally, I avoid being anal, but I couldn't leave this one alone.
There have been documentaries about the windfarms in northern Germany causing a lot of sound polution (because really big windmills moving really fast tend to make a low, thrumming sound.)
The problem is, it lowers the quality of life for the residents, because the low-level background noise causes stress, irritation, and fatigue.
Yeah, to take ikkyuu (level-one Japanese), you have to know the official 2,036 kanji. "Common use" is a misnomer, since they may be very commonly used, just not with the "ha" pronunciation (most kanji have at least two pronunciations, if not more.)
You don't have to buy your landline nowadays. I rent mine, which works out to costing about as much as a base phone rate in the US. The rental rate is about the same as a keitai rate, so it's not that bad. Also, buying a landline only costs about 70,000 yen, which works out to less than $600. This is in Osaka, too, which is going to be among the top most expensive places to live. You can transfer the line pretty easily, as well, and the Japanese don't move very often. They'd much rather commute an hour-and-a-half rather than move, especially if they live in the countryside (a misnomer if I ever heard one when describing Japan) and work in the city.
Last year's cell phone model only cost me about 2000 yen, which means $17, and came with a built-in camera. Not a bad deal. New models will run you about $100.
Again, I am not sure how unlimited bandwidth for about $20 a month is cheaper than paying per message with a keitai. When I relied on my keitai for my sole email provider, before I got my DSL, I was spending about 5000 yen per month for just the email service, and that's without paying for incoming messages.
Work hours in Japan can be longer, but this is only because the average Japanese office worker has a terrible work ethic. They procrastinate, plain and simple. Also, they waste a lot of times in meetings. You can officially go home at 5pm if you have all your work done, no sweat. Many do.
School is from 8:30 to 3:30, which is pretty much the same as home. Students will hang around for clubs, but these usually run until 5. I am one of the co-sponsors of my high school's aikido club (yes, I'm a high school teacher.) This is also very similar to the rest of the world.
Cram schools are usually only once a week or in blocks in the summer, not every night, unless you're a real go-getter. Cram schooling usually starts in late middle school (for the high school entrance exams) and again late in high school; many students simply take a year off after high school and do cram school straight for one year in preparation for the college entrance exams.
I agree that the keitai is just damn convenient for idle time, though. Most Japanese just bring a book or sleep, though.
I agree that typing in Japanese is way easier than typing in English. I know that I prefer emailing my friends in Japanese than English on my cell phone, and I'm American. ;)
:)
A few corrections:
- There are almost 600 kanji with the pronunciation "ha" (my dictionary lists 591.)
- Cell phone usage and land line usage costs are almost exactly the same.
- Cellular internet is incredibly expensive. With J-Phone (the second most popular service provider after Docomo), I pay 30 yen per page (about 25 cents US) and downloads are about 200 yen. The reason I didn't go with Docomo is because they charge you 2 yen for every email you receive, solicited or not. You think anti-spam laws in America are an issue. Compare this with my 12Mbps DSL connection at about 2700 yen per month (about $22), and cell phones become the last option for internet service.
- Most of my Japanese friends are on the computer all the damn time when they're at home, just like everywhere else. I know, because they show up on my chat program. If Japanese are out and about more often, it's because they actually have hobbies outside of the home, or (gasp!) socialize, in contrast to the American habit of sitting at home and vegging out in front of the TV.
- Japanese urban planning is a disaster, but their transportation system is incredibly efficient. A train running late is about as common as a total lunar eclipse. You can set your clock by them.
- Cell phones aren't a social necessity here, just really damn convenient, just like everywhere else in the world. If you are suddenly called into a late meeting at work, you can just call home from the phone in the staff room or from your desk; you don't require a cell phone, plus the call is free.
Cell phones have done more to encourage sloppy scheduling and appointment-keeping than solve it, just as computers have made more work rather than less.
Yeah, the IRS is kinda particular if you mix your personal assets with your business assets without warning them, and sometimes they don't allow you to do it at all. Depends on the kind of business you are.
That's if you assume that they're placing Pluto at aphelion, or the point at which it:'s furthest from the sun. Pluto has an extremely ellipical orbit (it crosses the orbit of Neptune every so often.)
This doesn't help the small guy. If he continues to be small after the work is copyrighted, then the copyright is useless. This doesn't do a thing for the small guy. If, on the other hand, he becomes incredibly wealthy after copyrighting the work, then he no longer counts as a "small guy."
The thing is, Apple really does fill a niche. If you don't use a Mac, it's because you don't fit within the niche of users that want the system Apple offers. Trust me, you don't plunk down that kind of cash for a slick chassis. It's about the philosophy Apple espouses and implements in their hardware and software design.
It's all about image combined with the comfortable environment that Macs are famous for. If Microsoft or Linux managed to successfully offer the same thing, you'd probably sneer at that, too. It's just your personal preference.
I know I've read this post before. If you're plagiarizing someone else, shame on you. If you're plagiarizing yourself, get some new material.
I'll give you credit for the most elaborate troll I've seen yet, though.
You forgot Medal of Honor, UT2k3, Return to Wolfenstein, Warcraft 3, Age of Empires II, Civilization III, Masters of Orion III...the list goes on and on.
Try using a Mac sometime, then you'd know.
I never meant to imply that the machines are perfect, harmonious, nor homogeneous. I find it humorous and not just a bit ironic that the programs have succumbed to the same decadence and corruption (moral, that is) that humans are capable of in their "imperfection."
:)
Note: believing that you are perfect is a form of imperfection.
I agree that they're independent and with varied personalities. IMHO, the Architect was pulling some serious smoke and mirrors. I do think he was mixing truth with the lies, however. He mentioned a system cascade failure. I'd say Agent Smith might just fit the bill. After all, he's killing everyone off by making copies of himself until there's no one left but him.
Just my two cents. Something to think about.
That's pretty close to my opinion on the matter. A lot of people speculating seem to think that the Matrix will be simulated the same way as a game, with polygons and physics simulations.
It seems to me a far more realistic approach would be - wait for it - to treat all of those humans like a really big Beowulf cluster. I am my own simulation.
Think about it: you don't actually have to represent an apple, with realistic specular highlights, bump-mapping, taste information, etc. You only have to give the person the suggestion of the apple, and let their brain fill in the blanks. Once the brain has learned something, it typically refers back to past experience to fill in the information before actually analyzing what it perceives. How often do you eat an apple and then, upon being asked later, recall if the skin was bruised anywhere, and if so, where and in how many places?
The matrix can work perfectly well by relying on the human brain's habit of glossing over details and being generally unreliable. The movie itself provides the answer, when Cypher explains why he reads the unencrypted code: "I don't even see the code. I just see blond, brunette, redhead..." His mind is filling in the mental picture of what is actually a very small, compressed, and simplified data stream.
Think about every network game you've ever played. When you play Quake, or UT, or any of the online games, does the computer actually have to pass along all of the geometric information, shading and lighting algorithms to every participant? Or does it send simplified placement data that allows the node to fill in the missing information using a local version of the program?
It was suggested in the second movie that the machines created programming to turn Neo into the One, by opening his mind to the realization that he was not bound by the simulation. In that same way, the machines could feed information into the human brain (much in the same way the fighting simulations work onboard the hovercraft) so that children would build up a perceptual library they can refer to as adults. The average human takes twelve years before they begin to lose their flexible knowledge and develop rigid rules of perception; that's plenty of time to build up the necessary relational information. If you actually had to simulate an object for the first time it was perceived, or for any reason need to pass along extra information, you would only have to do it the first time. After that, the brain just refers back to the first time and says, "Oh, apple. Yeah, I know what that tastes like."
Just remember: if you've lived your entire life in the matrix, you have no basis for comparison with the real world; therefore, if the matrix were flawed, you wouldn't be able to tell; it's your only frame of reference. As far as you're concerned, that's just the way things are.
Even without all of the speculation as to whether or not we're really living in the matrix, you can judge for yourself the effectiveness of the human brain to fool itself by just recalling what it's like when you dream. Sometimes, dreams can seem very real, even though they take place completely within your mind. All the machines of the matrix would require to fool a human who has lived his entire life in the matrix is the power of suggestion, which is a relatively low-power thing.
As to why the machines bother to keep humanity alive, here's one idea: they are machines, not humans. They don't necessarily think the way humans do. Perhaps they don't believe that the best way to conquer an enemy is to eliminate him. Perhaps they value the efficient utilization of a renewable resource, while at the same time, keeping their creators and former masters happily living their lives out in what is, theoretically, a full and productive life. A win-win situation. This doesn't have to have a noble basis; perhaps the machines have decided, in their self-appointed perfection, that perfection requires being better than humans, w
Apple's Airport Extreme already does throttle back to the 802.11b speed in a mixed network, but supposedly maintains the higher throughput with compatible g cards.
Bear in mind that, although Apple touts the 54Mbps, I'd benchmark it before you get in a snit about it; it's entirely likely you're already only topping out at the actual 20Mbps limit. All hardware vendors since time began have been interested in advertising the theoretical limits for sensationalistic press. (Marketing getting their hands on too much information despite the engineers' best efforts.)
If you want real speed, get a switch and deal with the cables. If you want convenience and style go with wireless. You currently can't have both.
I guess CGI fooled you this time around, huh? I'd declare that good enough. :)
Actually, Mac users have been some of the biggest case mod fanatics, especially if you live in Japan. Just like people customize the Volkswagen bug with colorful patterns and paintings, so do people customize their Macs. There's even a traditional kimono designer in Kyoto who will customize your PowerBook with an original design if you want to spend the cash.
/. story.
As for other Mac users modding, just Google it, or check out the original
You know...Kyoto is only about an hour-and-a-half from here by train...and $300 isn't too bad, considering...and I've got a TiBook...
The mind boggles.
Verizon won't be able to enforce it anywhere, since the patent has been granted to Verisign. Brain fart?
They would have gotten Brosnan sooner, but he was stuck in his Remington Steele contract.
To me, there's Connery and Brosnan. It's definitely not just the toys and the lifestyle. You gotta be able to pull it off.
Always been written? The good stuff, yes. The bad stuff, no. :)
There are some good tidbits in this article, but some of it sounds like somebody's reaching. Not that I don't admire the Wachowski brothers, but it sounds like people are reading a lot of meaning into things because they want it to be there.
Yes, you're right. if you want to be incredibly picky, you should have said Quadro FX.
Games have only turned to OpenGL in the last few years; development of high-end 3D cards has been going on far longer than that (after all, OpenGL was started by SGI for their Irix platform, which is notably game-free.)
Games don't do a very good job of supporting further OpenGL development right now; if you're using a high-end program that requires OpenGL support, the game benchmarks aren't not going to provide you with the best measure of what kind of card you should buy. Most graphics professionals prefer nVidia over ATI, because ATI's drivers are typically terrible for high-end 3D animation programs. If you're into 3D animation, chances are you've got a GeForce card.
Without the game industry, such cards would probably still be twice as expensive as they are now, if not more, but that's about it.
Apple's second mistake is that they design "designer" computers that the average PC user just doesn't like (first a gumdrop, then a lamp.) Wintel users want beige boxes, dammit! (And the discriminating ones that like silver or black still have to contend with adding drives that have beige faceplates, which ruins the idea of an attractive box.)
Even the complaints about upgradeability are largely trivial; many claim they want the option to upgrade their computer, yet rarely use that ability before they're replacing the entire system. "I want the option to add a Firewire card." Standard on every Mac; not necessary. The only downside is you pay for it up front, whether you use it or not.
Apple has always charged for point releases. However, they also give purchasers of new Macs three coupons for use on future OS upgrades. In the past, these upgrade coupons have been good for a free OS update. With Jaguar 10.2, coupons were not honored, which ticked off a lot of Apple users, but they continue to package the coupons with new machines, so it can be hoped that future updates will revert to that tradition. Charging for Mac OS point releases can hardly be compared to Microsoft's licensing structure. Apple sells one OS only, with no differentiation between pro or home user. For example, just being able to use more than one language in the GUI (which I do) is built in by default, whereas Microsoft requires you to purchase extra software that only works with a Pro license.
It all comes down to preference and habit, and those are fine arguments by themselves. Justification through heresay and poorly researched information (on both sides) is the reason this debate always gets so heated.