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Comment Re:Not surprising (Score 1) 168

by crotherm (#38523868) Attached to: China Begins Using New Global Positioning Satellites

China has a huge amount of their own infrastructure, so this isn't really surprising. Unlike U.S., China likes to do everything themselves. This also means you're not dependent on other countries like the U.S. is. What you don't understand is that China thinks long term, and everything they've done will grant them the leading country status some day, probably even within 10-15 years, especially when considering how much U.S. and EU are struggling now after thinking only short term financial gains.

China may like to do everything themselves, they still are extremely dependent upon the West's desire for goods made in China. Will China's middle class grow to the point that China will no longer need USA or Europe to buy their stuff in 10-15 years? I doubt it.

Comment Re:Standard practice of the military's networks.. (Score 1) 161

by crotherm (#37697932) Attached to: Air Force Network Admins Found Out About Drone Virus Through News Story

I think it would not be so difficult to know the difference between expected data streams and unexpected data streams without ever knowing the content of the streams. IP addresses, MACs, ports, and any app info is all you need. There is no need for deep inspection.
First Person Shooters (Games)

An Early Look At Next-Gen Shooter Bodycount 238

Posted by Soulskill from the piece-by-piece dept.
If you ask fans of first-person shooters what feature they'd like to see in a new game, their answers — now and for the past 15 years — probably involve destructible environments. Game developers have tried to satisfy this demand with scripted events, breakable objects, and more crates than you can shake a rocket launcher at. However, Bodycount, an upcoming game from Codemasters Guildford, is aiming to deliver what gamers have wanted for so long: the ability to blast apart whatever you please. Quoting the Guardian's games blog from their hands-on with the game: "... it's not just about effect, it's about access. In Bodycount, you can blow chunks out of thinner interior walls, allowing you to burst through and catch enemies by surprise. You can also brilliantly modify cover objects – if you're hiding behind a crate and want to take out enemies without popping up from behind it, shoot a hole in it. Bingo, you've got a comparatively safe firing vantage. The difference between this and say, Red Faction or Bad Company, is that the destruction isn't limited to pre-set building sections. It's everywhere. This should, of course, grind the processor to a halt, but the team has come up with a simple compromise to facilitate its vision. 'The trick is that we're not running full physics on everything,' explains lead coder, Jon Creighton. ... This is tied in with one of the best cover systems I've ever seen. While in a crouching position (gained by holding the left trigger down), you can use the left analogue stick to subtly look and aim around your cover object, ducking and peeking to gain that perfect view of the war zone. It's natural, it's comfortable and it's adaptive, and it will surely consign the whole 'locking on' mechanic to the graveyard of cover system history."
Google

Google Wins European Trademark Victory 39

Posted by timothy from the kleenex-runs-scared dept.
adeelarshad82 writes "A European court has ruled in Google's favor, saying that allowing advertising customers to use the names of other companies as search keywords does not represent a trademark violation. The court also went on to say that Google's AdWords program is protected by a European law governing Internet hosting services. Google's main line of defense was claiming that companies that want to extend trademark law to keywords are really interested in 'controlling and restricting the amount of information that users may see in response to their searches.' The decision is the first in a series of decisions from the court about how trademark rights can be used to restrict information available to users. Google is currently battling several trademark keyword cases in the US, including a case against Rosetta Stone, Inc."

Comment Paper trumps electronic (Score 2, Interesting) 538

by crotherm (#31030952) Attached to: Murdoch Says E-Book Prices Will Kill Paper Books

e-readers have their place. I'd say it would be for viewing more dynamic docs or quick reference over a networked feed for tech docs. Paper books, for me, are not replaceable. You don't have to worry so much about a paperback. I can smack my son (allegedly) with it when he acts like a kook. I can throw it off a twenty story building and it still works. I can treat my book like the $6.00 price it cost.

I know this is an old argument. I am an old dude, (allegedly), but I see what my son reads. And how he reads, and he decidedly did not want an e-reader for his reading needs.

I just wish I could buy books printed on hemp like God intended.!

Comment Re:Perforce (Score 1) 268

by crotherm (#29211827) Attached to: Making Sense of Revision-Control Systems

With all due respect to the many excellent coders who have contributed to this thread, IMHO the tools and methods discussed seem to be a rather free lance version of coding.

I have worked in areas of the computing worlds where coding is tightly controlled by humans and not software. Review boards, meetings, team efforts....

IMHO, relying of software to enforce proper coding practices is lazy. Communication is the key... Communication among coders who CAN communicate should be without question. Revision control software is not and should not be a mind reader.

And finally gvim >> emacs...

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