Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:Skydiving apps (Score 1) 471

Skydiving may be a niche sport, but it's also at times a sport that relies on many gadgets.
As a skydiver, I could see uses for the following:
A barometric altimeter...

This could be hilarious:

"I wonder if it's time to pop the chute yet?"
[Checks watch]
"Damn beachball! Come on! Maybe I need to rebo..."
[Splat!]

Comment Re:The war that no one wanted (Score 1) 471

I just love the 4k TV trend.

Those rich people parting with their money now will finance a cheap very good quality set of computer monitors for me in just a few years.

They are coming out with 5K TVs now.

That's good, 'cause all those people with 4K TVs are probably tired of watching movies and TV in stupid 4K.

Comment Re:The 3 year cycle... (Score 1) 181

Maybe the fact that most kids these days only play on consoles?

I think you're right about this one.

Back 'in the day' the game software got more sophisticated almost with each game released. Home consoles were fairly primitive. For the game or pro computer consumer there was a constant pressure to build a machine that could keep up with the latest software.

I think there are several factors which contributed to the stagnation of the hardware upgrade cycle.

1. More game developers now are using middleware to develop their product; instead of writing fresh and improved code for each release. As such, the render demands are stratified between each release of middleware, rather than each release of title.
2. With a larger segment of the game consumers on consoles, the game quality, and render specs, again, tend to stratify between console releases, rather than individual game releases.
3. The build–your–own PC market has shrunk. Remember all those cool computer shows, and PC boutiques? Most are gone; and the hard-core builder is left with places like Fry's, and Newegg.
4. With the increase in game consoles, and smart phone games, the number of actual releases for PC has declined. Walk around a Game Stop these days looking for PC games, and you're likely to get the same feeling one would get wandering around an old video rental store looking for Betamax. "Oh look! There's the one shelf with the PC games on it!"

Comment Re:Mandatory panic! (Score 1) 421

Never thought of this until I made the same typo elsewhere a few minutes ago: B, or b doesn't look line N, or n in handwriting. On the other hand, B is next to N on a keyboard. Therefore, Woody Allen wrote that script on a typewriter.

You are very wise...

Mr. Allen writes everything on a typewriter. An Olympia portable model SM-3, to be precise.

He bought it in 1951, and has used it for every script he's written since.

Bonus factoid:
Instead of [CTL] X and [CTL] V, Mr. Allen uses scissors and stapler.

Comment Re:Amazing (Score 1) 161

You can keep adding factors to it, too:

in 2008 what is the population of the city where abraham lincoln was born:
Results: 2743 people

Plus it will show you all the sources involved:

Primary source: Wolfram|Alpha knowledgebase, 2014
External source:
        Administrative division data
                Law, G. Statoids.
        City data
                Brinkhoff, T. City Population.
                Cohen, S. (Ed.). The Columbia Gazetteer of the World. Columbia University Press, 2008.
                Demographics USA: City Edition 1996. Sales & Marketing Management, 1996.
                Federal Housing Finance Agency. "Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Divisions through 2008Q4." House Price Indexes.
                GeoHive. GeoHive.
                Gibson, Campbell. "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990." Population Division Working Paper no. 27, United States Bureau of the Census, 1998.
                Helders, S. World Gazetteer.
                Knowledgerush. List of City Nicknames.
                The London Times. Index Gazetteer of the World. Houghten Mifflin, 1966.
                Munro, D. (Ed.). Cambridge World Gazetteer: A Geographical Dictionary. Cambridge University Press, 1990.
                National Association of Realtors. Realtor.org.
                Room, A. Place-Name Changes Since 1900: A World Gazetteer. Scarecrow Press, 1979.
                Spiritus-Temporis.com. List of City Nicknames.
                Texas Transportation Institute. "Congestion Data for Your City." Urban Mobility Information.
                United States Census Bureau. "2005-2007 American Community Survey 3Year Estimates." American FactFinder.
                United States Census Bureau. International Data Base (IDB).
                United States Census Bureau. "Current Lists of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas and Definitions." Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas.
                United States Census Bureau. "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions." Population Estimates, Cities and Towns.
                United States Census Bureau. "Data Sets." Population Estimates.
                United States Census Bureau. "Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing." New Residential Sales Index.
                United States Census Bureau. "Table 3: Metropolitan Areas Ranked by Population: 2000." Ranking Tables for Metropolitan Areas: 1990 and 2000.
                United States Census Bureau. "The 2009 Statistical Abstract." The National Data Book.
                United States Census Bureau. United States Census 2000.
                United States Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook.
                United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Crime and Justice Data Online.
                United States Geological Survey. Geodata.gov.
                United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. NGA GEOnet Names Server (GNS).
                The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia.
        Country data
                Butler, R. A. "Imperiled Riches—Threatened Rainforests." Mongabay.com.
                Center for International Comparisions of Production, Income and Prices, University of Pennsylvania. Penn World Table.
                Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica Book of the Year. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2008.
                Federal Housing Finance Agency. "Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Divisions through 2008Q4." House Price Indexes.
                Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. "Food and Agricultural Commodities Production." FAOSTAT.
                GeoHive. GeoHive.
                Helders, S. World Gazetteer.
                Hijmans, R., et al. Global Administrative Areas (GADM).
                Lahmeyer, J. Population Statistics.
                National Association of Realtors. Realtor.org.
                O'Mara, M. (Ed.). Facts about the World's Nations. H. W. Wilson Company, 1999.
                Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. Tourism Industries.
                Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. "OECD Health Data 2008." SourceOECD.
                Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. "Tourism." OECD.
                Transparency International e.V. Transparency International.
                United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2003 Demographic Yearbook. United Nations, 2006.
                United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Statistical Yearbook 2002-2004. United Nations, 2004.
                United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. "World Urbanization Prospects: The 2008 Revision Population Database." United Nations Population Division.
                United Nations Statistics Division. UNdata.
                United Nations. "National Accounts Main Aggregates Database." United Nations Statistics Division.
                United States Census Bureau. "2005-2007 American Community Survey 3Year Estimates." American FactFinder.
                United States Census Bureau. United States Census 2000.
                United States Census Bureau. International Data Base (IDB).
                United States Census Bureau. "Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing." New Residential Sales Index.
                United States Census Bureau, Administrative and Customer Services Division, Statistical Compendia Branch. "Population by Age and Sex." County and City Data Book: 2007 (14th ed.) United States Census Bureau, 2008.
                United States Census Bureau, Administrative and Customer Services Division, Statistical Compendia Branch. "Population by Race and Hispanic Origin." County and City Data Book: 2007 (14th ed.) United States Census Bureau, 2008.
                United States Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook.
                United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Crime and Justice Data Online.
                United States Department of State. Background Notes.
                United States Department of Transportation. "Table 1-22: World Motor Vehicle Production, Selected Countries." Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
                United States Geological Survey. Geodata.gov.
                United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. NGA GEOnet Names Server (GNS).
                The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia.
                The World Bank Group. "World Development Indicators." The World Bank.
                World Intellectual Property Organization. "Statistics on the PCT System." Intellectual Property Statistics.
                World Tourism Organization. Tourism Factbook.
                World Travel and Tourism Council. World Travel and Tourism Council.
                World Health Organization. "WHO Mortality Database: Tables." Health Statistics and Health Information Systems.
        People data
                BrainyMedia.com. BrainyHistory.
                American Council of Learned Societies. Concise Dictionary of Scientific Biography. (2nd ed.) Scribners, 2000.
                Encyclopedia Britannica Company. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2007.
                Encyclopedia Britannica Company. Encyclopedia Britannica Vol. XXVI. (11th ed.) Cambridge University Press, 1911.
                Guardian News and Media Limited. "Obituaries." guardian.co.uk.
                Johnson, D. E. From Day to Day: A Calendar of Notable Birthdays and Events. (2nd ed.) The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2001.
                Kasneci, G. and F. M. Suchanek. "YAGO." Max-Planck-Institut Informatik.
                Los Angeles Times. "Obituaries." Los Angeles Times.
                The New York Times Company. "Obituaries." The New York Times.
                Rockwood, C. (Ed.). Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Larousse Kingfisher Chambers, 2007.
                School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews. Indexes of Biographies.
                Soylent Communications. NNDB.
                NFL information copyright 2012 by STATS. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited. Stats.com.
                Times Newspapers Ltd. "Obituaries." Times Online.
                Today in Science History. Today in Science History.
                University of St. Andrews, Scotland. The MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive.
                The Washington Post Company. "Obituaries." The Washington Post.
                Weisstein, E. W. "Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography." Eric Weisstein's World of Science.
                The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia.
        US census data
                Gibson, C. "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990." Population Division Working Paper no. 27. United States Bureau of the Census, 1998.
                United States Census Bureau. "2005-2007 American Community Survey 3Year Estimates." American FactFinder.
                United States Census Bureau, Administrative and Customer Services Division, Statistical Compendia Branch. "Population by Age and Sex." County and City Data Book: 2007 (14th ed.) U.S. Department of Commerce, 2008.
                United States Census Bureau, Administrative and Customer Services Division, Statistical Compendia Branch. "Population by Race and Hispanic Origin." County and City Data Book: 2007 (14th ed.) U.S. Department of Commerce, 2008.
        US state data
                ACT, Inc. "2009 Average ACT Scores by State." ACT News.
                Federal Housing Finance Agency. "Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Divisions through 2008Q4." House Price Indexes.
                National Association of Realtors. Realtor.org.
                National Center for Education Statistics, United States. Department of Education. Digest of Education Statistics.
                National Center for Education Statistics, United States Department of Education. "Table 146. SAT Mean Scores of College-Bound Seniors and Percentage of Graduates Taking SAT, by State or Jurisdiction: Selected Years, 1987-88 through 2008-09." Digest of Education Statistics.
                National Center for Education Statistics, United States. Department of Education. State Education Data Profiles.
                NSTATE, LLC. NETSTATE.COM.
                Shearer, B. F. and B. S. Shearer. State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide. (3rd ed.) Greenwood Press, 2002.
                United States Census Bureau. "2005-2007 American Community Survey 3Year Estimates." American FactFinder.
                United States Census Bureau. "The 2009 Statistical Abstract." The National Data Book.
                United States Census Bureau. "Quarterly Sales by Price and Financing." New Residential Sales Index.
                United States Census Bureau. State and Metropolitan Area Data Book: 2006. (6th ed.) Bureau of Census, 2006.
                United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Crime and Justice Data Online.
                The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Wikipedia.
        Note

        This list is intended as a guide to sources of further information. The inclusion of
        an item in this list does not necessarily mean that its content was used as the basis
        for any specific Wolfram|Alpha result.

Slashdot Top Deals

He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion

Working...