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PlayStation (Games)

Valve's Newell Thinks PS3 Needs To Be "Open Like a Mac" 348

Posted by Soulskill from the open-like-something dept.
Eraesr writes "Apparently Valve boss Gabe Newell thinks the PS3 needs to be more of an open platform, drawing a comparison to Apple's Mac platform. In an interview with 5BY5.TV, he said he would like to see the PS3 be 'open like a Mac' instead of being 'more closed like a Gamecube.' 'Platform investments, like the Mac, are difficult because you have to be aware of what direction that platform is moving,' Newell said, referring to the firm's recent move onto Macs with its titles and distribution service Steam. 'We need to target platforms that do a better job of looking like where we want to be in a few years.'"
Databases

Cassandra and Voldemort Benchmarked 45

Posted by timothy from the rifling-the-file-cabinet dept.
kreide33 writes "Key/Value storage systems are gaining in popularity, much because of features such as easy scalability and automatic replication. However, there are several to choose from and performance is an important deciding factor. This article compares the performance of two of the most well-known projects, Cassandra and Voldemort, using several different mixes of access types, and compares both throughput and latency."

Comment Re:They are fighting nature (Score 1) 443

by EvolutionsPeak (#31666200) Attached to: Warner Brothers Hiring Undercover Anti-Pirates

When fighting nature, either nature always wins or everyone loses. In this case, they are fighting artistic and entertainment nature. Art and entertainment need to be free and need to be shared. It is an important part of what it means to be a human being. What big media is doing is wrong in the sense that they think they can control and limit and even "bottle up" art and entertainment to maximize their profits.

This gets said a lot here. Every time, it is said without explaining why art and entertainment "need" to be free. This makes it come off like hippies raving due to a false sense of entitlement. So, please, explain why those things "need" to be free in a clear, logical statement.

Comment Re:That makes sense (Score 1) 265

by EvolutionsPeak (#31580356) Attached to: Study Shows People In Power Make Better Liars

The solution to the problem of the ultra-rich is not to add more taxes for the [well-off,ultra-rich] rich to then avoid. It is to make taxes flat and remove the loopholes. One could argue that the loopholes exist because the tax is so high it requires them to not hurt normal people.

I want to live in a country where I have a right to keep what I earn and decide how to spend it. I also want to aspire to become rich so my kids can have it better than I did.

I've heard the argument many times that the rich became so by standing on the backs of others. And that may be true to some extent. But you can't get rich without doing a lot of business, and that means producing a lot, paying a lot of people's salaries, etc.

Stop looking at anecdotal evidence about the extremely rich (buffet, gates, etc) and getting riled about the lifestyles they lead. They are not representative of the people being taxed. It is the successful business owners and professionals, people who have worked hard all their lives who will be hurt.

How can anyone say with a straight face that a progressive tax is more fair than a flat tax? All else being equal. (If it's not, then that is what we should focus on fixing)
Australia

Good Language Choice For School Programming Test? 407

Posted by timothy from the 'strailian's-too-difficult dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The Australian Informatics Olympiad programming test is being run in a couple of months. I'm an experienced programmer and I'm thinking of volunteering to tutor interested kids at my children's school to get them ready. There will be children of all levels in the group, from those that can't write 'hello world' in any language, to somewhat experienced programmers. For those starting from scratch, I'm wondering what language to teach them to code in. Accepted languages are C, C++, Pascal, Java, PHP, Python and Visual Basic. I'm leaning towards Python, because it is a powerful language with a simple syntax. However, the test has a run-time CPU seconds limit, so using an interpreted language like Python could put the students at a disadvantage compared to using C. Is it better to teach them something in 2 months that they're likely to be able to code in but possibly run foul of the CPU time limit, or struggle to teach them to code in a more complicated syntax like C/C++ which would however give them the best chance of having a fast solution?"
Space

Fastest (and Most Compact) Stellar Spinner Confirmed 47

Posted by Soulskill from the getting-dizzy-now dept.
gregg writes "HM Cancri has been confirmed as a binary system of two white dwarfs orbiting each other so closely that they complete one orbit every 5.4 minutes; they are separated by a mere 8 Earth diameters. 'These are the burnt-out cinders of stars such as our Sun, and contain a highly condensed form of helium, carbon and oxygen. The two white dwarfs in HM Cancri are so close together that mass is flowing from one star to the other. HM Cancri was first noticed as an X-ray source in 1999, showing a 5.4 minutes periodicity, but for a long time it has remained unclear whether this period also indicated the actual orbital period of the system. It was so short that astronomers were reluctant to accept the possibility without solid proof. '"
NASA

Dying Man Shares Unseen Challenger Video 266

Posted by Soulskill from the new-perspective-on-an-old-tragedy dept.
longacre writes "An amateur video of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion has been made public for the first time. The Florida man who filmed it from his front yard on his new Betamax camcorder turned the tape over to an educational organization a week before he died this past December. The Space Exploration Archive has since published the video into the public domain in time for the 24th anniversary of the catastrophe. Despite being shot from about 70 miles from Cape Canaveral, the shuttle and the explosion can be seen quite clearly. It is unclear why he never shared the footage with NASA or the media. NASA officials say they were not aware of the video, but are interested in examining it now that it has been made available."

Comment Re:Are nerds not aware (Score 1) 844

by EvolutionsPeak (#30909554) Attached to: Is Programming a Lucrative Profession?

Sorry, I've never carved out a month to read that book; is that what it preaches?

While I certainly think there's a lot of parasites out there who want to live off the hard work of others (e.g., just about everyone on welfare, and many people on disability), a lot of the people at "the top" aren't exactly hard workers, they're also parasites (e.g., almost all politicians) who don't produce anything of real value, and are mostly sociopaths to boot.

The problem with unions is that they foster corruption and laziness, and mostly serve to enrich and empower the union bosses, who again are just parasites who do nothing of real value.

Actually, it preaches almost exactly what you just said you think. You'd probably like it a lot.

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