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Comment Depends on the Day (Score 1) 331

I enjoy programming and have gotten to the point where I can pick up and start home projects on a whim. Normal workdays usually involve Python, maybe JavaScript and a heavier language, usually C/C++ or Java, now Scala. Of course build system DSLs are a plenty: make, cmake, autotools, pants, scons, etc. When I home I pick a personal project, with the language depending on the use case. Things that can possibly see the light of day get prototyped in Python. Experiments are usually Lisp or something new that helps solve the issue. Actual code I'm trying to release is Java for Android, C++ for performance, and Vala for home libraries which compiles to C.

Comment Re: Ransome-ware (Score 2) 664

Good God , this is slashdot and we're still burning USBs to CD?!?! dd if=yourdvdorusb.iso of=/dev/yourusbdsticdrvice bs=4m or whatever you want Put in USB, restart, find boot menu, try to boot. If this fails it's usually because the firmware has issues with USB boot, go into the BIOS and set the USB emulation type to hard disk. BAM USB boot, this had never failed for me. Shame on your CD burning ways

Comment Re:Are they soft lenses? (Score 1) 98

guy with degenerative eye disease here! mine is keratoconus, and I've had the unfortunate opportunity to have used soft lenses at first. they're amazing in comfort compared to rgp lenses, but I find that the rgp lenses don't pose that much of a difficulty. sure they're a bit of a nuisance, but once I remember to use my drops I can wear them all day no problem.

i see that these lcd lenses can't be used for personal screens, so i would definitely say in that case they're not worth the effort if they're similar to rgp lenses. the effort is worth it when you're actually getting to see something

Comment Wayland vs X (Score 4, Interesting) 315

Okay so I understand the whole desire to toss out X and it's extreme amount of legacy code, but Wayland to me seems like even at version 1 will be crippled compared to X. The no network transparency I can handle (just barely), but no apps that require full OpenGL? I've tinkered around with OpenGL ES in the past and it does not seem like an acceptable substitute when you need full OpenGL. Why are distros planning on adopting it so quickly? Are these flaws that normal users would not notice or care about?

Submission + - Cell phone radiation may cause disorders in offspring (netonnews.com)

monikasaini123 writes: "Experience rays from phones during pregnancy impacts the mind development of kids, potentially leading to hyperactivity, Yale School of Medicine scientists have determined.This is the first experimental evidence that fetal exposure to radiofrequency radiation from cellular telephones does in fact affect adult behaviorResearchers exposed pregnant mice to radiation from a muted and silenced cell phone positioned above the cage and placed on an active phone call for the duration of the trial. A control group of mice was kept under the same conditions but with the phone deactivated.The team assessed the mind electrical action of adult rats that were revealed to rays as fetuses, and performed a battery of emotional and personality testing. They found that the rats that were revealed to rays maintained to be more overactive and had reduced memory. Taylor assigned the personality changes to an effect during having a baby on the progression of nerves in the prefrontal cortex location of the mind.Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is a developmental disorder associated with neuropathology localized primarily to the same brain region, and is characterized by inattention and hyperactivity.Results have shown that behavioral problems in mice that resemble ADHD are caused by cell phone exposure in the womb. The rise in behavioral disorders in human children may be in part due to fetal cellular telephone irradiation exposure.Taylor said that further analysis is required in people to better comprehend the systems behind these conclusions and to determine secure visibility boundaries during pregnancy.First writer Tamir Aldad added that mouse pregnancies last only 19 days and offspring are born with a less-developed mind than people infants, so further research is needed to determine if the danger of experience rays during human pregnancy are similar.Cell phones were used in this study to mimic potential human exposure but future research will instead use standard electromagnetic field generators to more precisely define the level of exposure.Reference: http://news.yale.edu/2012/03/15/cell-phone-use-pregnancy-may-cause-behavioral-disorders-offspring"
Microsoft

Submission + - What Microsoft is doing wrong (tekgoblin.com) 1

tekgoblin writes: "Knowing how defensive people can get about their favorite companies and OSs, let me start by saying, this is an opinion piece. Using news and facts yes, but my conclusions are my own. If you don’t agree, think I’m misinterpreting, leave a comment.

Way back in August, I wrote an article discussing why Windows tablets have a chance. At the time, we’d seen images of the new Windows 8 operating system, and I predicted that Microsoft would offer transforming devices, which would use the new interface on tablets but move to full desktop Windows when plugged into a mouse and keyboard setup. I predicted that that extra capability to use full Windows would give Windows Tablets the ability to succeed where the iPad has failed, namely, enterprise."

Education

Submission + - Best way to salvage out-of-copyright or out-of-print textbooks? 1

linjaaho writes: "I have found that there are many high-quality science textbooks that are out-of-copyright because 70 years has passed from the death of the original author. For 99 % in cases, 70+ years is too old to be used in teaching. But there are also many Finnish and English textbooks that are 10-20 years old but out-of-print, and could be published free online by just asking the permission from the original author. But I have a technical problem: how to digitize a book containing lots of math formulae, and where to publish it online? I know Project Gutenberg, but they only support books with text and photos."

Submission + - Console Preservation

sick_em writes: I remember being the proud and amazed owner of an original Xbox, having secured one on the launch date of Nov. 15, 2001. That was nearly ten years ago, and I have had to perform Frankensteinian surgery to keep it working: softmod with AID, replacing the worn out 8GB hard drive with a 120GB WD, fixing a blown power supply, replacing the original fan with a new working one. These mods are merely delaying the inevitable though, and I fear that one day I will wake up to a dead Xbox with my years (literally in some cases...my Morrowind save hasn't even began the main quest, Tribunal was distracting :) ) of gamesaves and my legitimate backup collection (dvd drive burned out on year 5, gave away all the scratched up discs) simply gone. I am somewhat aware of the emulator scene, but from what I know Microsoft has made it extremely difficult to emulate the Xbox, which I feel would be the best way to preserve my collection. My main question is, what methods would you recommend for saving everything I can in a way that is hopefully usable in the future? Also, is it possible to continue the life of my system through emulation? The only thing that comes to mind right now is to copy all files over using FTP, since the file system is some wonky FATX that can't be read by modern systems, but a fat lot of good that would do me, with no way to play the games on my PC. While this question is specific, its applications can be useful and applied to other consoles, as this current generation will face the same problems once they are abandoned by their companies.

Submission + - How do I create a spiritual game successor?

An anonymous reader writes: So I have recently been on a legacy video game binge, reliving the nostalgic days when I realized that one of my favorite old games can be vastly improved with a few tweaks. This game is pretty much made for a controller, so I would love to get it done on Xbox Live, but doing it on the PC is just as viable. Unfortunately, I am pretty positive the game is not in the public domain yet. Based on previous stories covered here, some companies are all for community made successors while others choose to give them the crushing blow from the start. My question is, how far is too far when one is trying to make a spiritual successor? FYI, I do not intend to copy any materials, but it would be lovely if I could incorporate some game design ideas (very general level design, movement, and just one or two game features).

Comment Backstage evolution pass? (Score 1) 197

what seems the most interesting to me is that when you think about it, should the monkeys go on as they do, communication will become more complex. given a few thousand years and a very luckily unscathed civilization and habitat (ha...), does anyone else not find the idea of them eventually forming some semblance of civilization possible, and intriguing? personally i say seal the suckers off and go god complex on their asses, time to play some real life spore

Submission + - Moving Into Real World Software Development

sick_em writes: As a collegiate software developer I have dealt with endless examples of academia programming, keeping the work that I have done that I find interesting or useful (my school kindly gives us copyrights to our work). One of my academic projects in the pipeline is gaining an increasing amount of commercial value because it deals with a relatively obscure field where the current competition is capable of charging outlandish fees simply because of lack of choice. I have decided that should this software meet expectations, I will attempt to bring it to market. The actual selling of the software (marketing, site design, price setting, licensing, etc.) is understandable enough, but unfortunately, computer scientists here are taught to design systems and program, not to sell, which leaves me in the dark as to what legal courses I have to take to begin selling the software. How does a new software developer gain the ability to legally sell software that they have created?

Comment Re:MS needs to be thinking about the 720 (Score 1) 169

If I remember correctly, Microsoft seems to be positioning Project Natal as a sort of new console launch. The dvd problem is mitigated in their eyes by the introduction of digital downloads (although some consumers do not regard them as equal. As for the RROD, console hardware gets new revisions during its lifetime. The 360 has been through three or four of them I think. Combine more efficient hardware revisions, improved hard drive capabilities (please let us install our own....), and a new software interaction paradigm and you can get something resembling a new console. side note: as a graphics programmer, it seems to me that we're reaching a point of diminishing returns in real-time realism. its to the point where some developers choose a less realistic look to avoid the uncanny valley, and real time ray-tracing not being hungrily pursued by everyone due to raster algorithms being "good enough"

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