I run transmission on my WD MyBook Live hard drive (it's got a linux variant on it), and connect to it using the desktop client. I cue up whatever I want it to DL, then I can power off my desktop, and let the hard drive (network attached) DL the torrents. My XBMC client(s) just serve the content up from there. No bloatware, no ads, no hassles.

+1 for Groove Salad. It's usually got a great mix of music suitable for long code sessions.

Vocal trance is my usual cup of tea for programming to. Maybe some Psy Goa Trance, but all too often that becomes a bit distracting.

My guess is most the screens are done in Flash.

Space 1999 got it more right than any other show on tv since... ...they would type a question into the keyboard, lights on the mainframe sized machine would flash, and then a paper roll tape would print the answer, which a character would read to everyone...

"Computer says no"

It's still wrong, but not as wrong as screens of information constantly scrolling...often in the wrong direction. Or fingerprint / facial recognition databases that show random fingerprints and faces as they return the answer. They never get anything even remotely right when it comes to computers on these shows.

I haven't watched an episode of NCIS for a while, but don't they all go like this:

2 min intro, a vignette of a body being discovered
Cue the show intro
Office scene, team assemble - Gibbs might whack the back of Denozzo's head
Stand around murder scene, taking turns at exposition

At some point in every episode reinforce the very narrow character definitions:

* Ducky talks to a corpse
* Abby gets excited, says she loves someone, and does some stupidly hard science thing in a couple of minutes (least 'gothic' alternative girl on tv)
* Denozzo makes a reference to a movie
* Zeva, despite flawless English fails to understand the meaning of an idiom or phrase
* Probie hacks the NSA / CIA or some other thing or is the butt of a joke
* Gibbs makes a gut decision

There is almost always a scene where the main characters stand around a large screen and each deliver a line or two of exposition.

After presenting nothing but misleading information for 20 mins of the show, the person with very little camera time turns out to be the murderer, thanks to evidence that is only revealed in the last 2 mins.

A progress bar makes far more sense than throwing up random faces on the screen as you search. Does it really make sense to you that you load and blit to the screen a full face shot 20 times sec to show progress, rather that updating a little text and a bar? I know it's used in every single movie and tv show ever made, but I cringe every time I see it due to it's stupidity.

How much is that in hogsheads?

That's hysterical, they have Rammstein singing in English instead :D

You should learn c++ unless your real intent is to write a lot of software for an Apple only environment in a language they are looking at deprecating.

You can get a c++ build chain for pretty much any platform worth working on, and those without it will have a c build chain. There are literally billions of lines of c++ code out there, working in every possible environment. Programmers are churning out millions of more lines every year. You will never be out of work if you are a c++ programmer.

So, this is an announcement for a product that doesn't actually exist, and which wouldn't even work given the two points made on the site! You need the photo to be taken using a flash, and for the camera to not have an IR filter or decent exposure software. I guess that does take out a lot of the crappy photos of people our partying at least.

Personally, I think a better idea for a time when this might actually be useful, say attending an anti--capitalism rally, would be to cut out a mask using the front packaging of some name brand product. Think of how much the manufacturers would hate to see a sea of faces, hidden behind "Coco Pops", "OMO Washing Powder" (stronger whites, lol!) and other brands they've spent billions enforcing into our psyches. Frosty the Tiger is smashing in that store-front! Captain Crunch just got a face full of mace and clubbed by those cops! Oh the humanity! Is that Princess Elsa walking topless down the street!

I've switched to using DuckDuckGo. They seem less evil than Google, for now.

"Virgos, today you will be waterboarded by the state to facilitate a confession of terrorism charges. Move to your safe house before 10am today. Make sure to switch off your phone and remove the SIM card before leaving the house. Use public transport away from surveillance cameras."

Why is astrology advice never as pointed and useful as that? Instead you get...

"Virgos, today will bring many things. Travel is a possibility, and expect to meet some new people."

Stop pissing around with a video camera and video editing software and spend time with your daughter now instead. Don't waste time trying to predict the things she might want to hear about at graduation, on her wedding day, or other events, the truth is she probably doesn't want to spend those happy days crying over a ghost her left her life a decade ago. Stop being selfish and trying to memorialise yourself, your daughter is alive and in need now. Give her the chance to mourn you and put you to rest, without haunting her later years with boxes of tapes labelled "first date", "prom", "graduation" and the like.

You're on a timer, live in the moment. Leave happy memories in your wake.

Here's a hint, they are all trivial. If someone can't be bothered to talk to you in person, it's probably not something that needs your attention immediately, if ever.