RDP's display model is, basically, GDI's; in fact the RDP layer appears to Windows as a display device driver exposing all the usual APIs. Which means that the client can push pixmaps across the link, get a handle to the opaque pixmap object (an HBITMAP in Windows parlance if I remember right), and then issue a draw call that just says "draw this pixmap" (or part of this pixmap).

For a lot of samey-looking GUI applications where elements like button backgrounds and borders are reused, this can add up to a huge savings in network traffic.

Of course, X can do this too; in fact the XRENDER extension can do Porter-Duff compositing of server-side pixmaps with an alpha channel. But if you compare RDP making full use of the Windows display model with X11 where the app developer coded it like a VGA video game and just scribbled into a frame buffer which it pushes to X for display on every update, then you're bound to think "holy shit, RDP is fast" and "holy shit, X is slow".

Two things:

1) X isn't really stable anymore. Doing compositing on top of X has historically required ad-hoc solutions like Xgl and AIGLX in order to get around X's legacy display model. Wayland solves this problem by integrating directly with EGL.

2) X isn't really used by app devs anymore. They use toolkits like Gtk and Qt, which do all their rendering client side. Since this is Wayland's native display model, performance using these toolkits should increase with Wayland.

Abandoning X (except as an optional, legacy add-on through Xwayland) and making Wayland the default graphics stack would vastly improve the situation for distros. The same with systemd -- I'm honestly surprised SteamOS doesn't use systemd.

That's the same combination I have on my luggage!

forall(x).Human(x)=>(forall(y).Cat(y)=>Loves(x,y))

Asteroid Apocalypse: What Could Happen, But Probably Won't, in 2032

[Cue a solid hour of CG destruction porn.]

...Dropbear.

I've said before that Gates stepping down as CEO was exactly like Ernst Stavro Blofeld stepping down as head of SPECTRE and letting Number Two take the reins. There's a reason why he's called Number Two, and a reason why Blofeld is considered the evil genius.

So? These days, Naughty Dog use C++. On Visual Studio. Because they're part of Sony and that's what Sony uses.

I've done a lot of hacking in C, C++, Objective-C, even Java, with Emacs and command-line tools. It's fine, but it's not for the average programmer. IDEs, with their inline syntax checkers, autocomplete, refactoring tools and integrated source debuggers, extend the reach of great programmers and bring programming within reach for average folks. And the best of breed in IDEs is Visual Studio. Nothing else comes close.

It helps that the compiler vendor is the same as the IDE vendor. This enabled VS to be knowledgeable about the languages you write in it in a way that gcc has expressly forbid Linux tools from ever possibly matching, for years. (With the proliferation of LLVM-based compilers this may change.)

Linux needs a Visual Studio. Something that's just as easy to use and comes with at least as many productivity-enhancing tools as does VS for Windows.

1) Switch to the Wayland graphics stack -- games don't need X11 and all its complexities

2) Provide a Direct3D-compatible state tracker so devs don't have to mess with OpenGL

3) Linux really, really needs a Visual Studio. The reason why Visual Debugger is so great is largely because of the rest of Visual Studio. No, Eclipse doesn't count.

Game devs are used to the Windows ecosystem. Compared to it, what's available on Linux is stone knives and bearskins. Until that changes, not many game devs will be enthused about Linux development.

I swear, the way laws get passed in this country is like pushing any commit from a developer straight into production based on its commit message, without even a code review process.

...does that mean Snooki is on the no-fly list?

She had no shortage of confidence -- just about all of it earned and well-justified. She could have held her own in today's job market -- especially with her pedigree and reputation.

Microsoft: "For you the day your servers all went down simultaneously was the most important day of your life, but for us it was Tuesday."

... to the UNSW researchers I say, good on you, mates.