Branches are particularly bad on GPUs. In that SIMD model of computation you usually have multiple hardware blocks (called threads but unrelated to CPU threads) implementing the same instruction on different data in parallel. Since some of the threads will evaluate the branch condition to true and others false, and they are all operating in lockstep, that means the hardware needs to execute both branches every time, with some of the threads just sitting doing nothing while the other threads execute the "if", and visa-versa while the others execute the "else".

At least that was the case when I was doing CUDA 5+ years ago. Don't know if things have changed since then.

Vorbis was significantly better quality than MP3 and roughly on par with WMA and AAC. But yeah everything but MP3 had an uphill battle, and without a big company to push it, vorbis only ever had limited support on portable players.

FLAC was completely uncompetitive for portable players at the time because it uses like 5-10x the space than high quality AAC or Vorbis encoding that could not be distinguished in side-by-side listening tests with high quality audio equipment. FLAC was a good format for CD rips and online purchases because it was lossless, but if you wanted to take your music with you had to reencode with something else.

It was at least a decade after the first iPod until storage on portables became large enough that 5-10x wasn't worth worrying about and lossless encoding become obsoleted by convenience.

No, adding friends is opt-in, but they changed what information is shared with friends, and that change was opt-out and done without notice.

This mission is part of a program that is all about low-cost projects that are willing to take on more risk. The total cost of the mission was $80 million including $20 million for launch. A Falcon 9 launch costs around $70 million, which would have been more expensive than all the other hardware and operations costs combined. So if it works NASA get a great bargain, and whether it works or not they are helping develop competition in the launch market.

That is one of four factors *considered* in determining fair use. Something can be radically transformative and still be considered copyright infringement if it fairs poorly on the other factors. The effect upon the work's value is a big one when talking about ML, particularly where the value the model provides is competing directly with the works used to train it (for example, stock art).

Sure, the RX 7600 is basically is on par with the RX 6650 XT, and doesn't really push the midrange significantly forward. But it is launching at an MSRP that is $130 less than the RX 6650 XT launch price. Attracting customers that skipped the last two generations due to price is more important to the video card manufacturers than providing an increase in capability for those who purchased a card recently, especially in the mid-range.

The $4.5 million of the criminal judgement may be classified as restitution (I haven't read the decision), but I don't think you can say the same for the $10 million civil settlement. In that case Nintendo was asking for actual, statutory, and punitive damages, and the actual damages were significantly smaller that the other two. Since this settlement is an agreement to cover all of the claims of the lawsuit, it is fair to say that most of the amount is punishment not restitution.

I've made more money as an author than you've made in whatever job it is you work at.
I'm just relating a personal experience that happened to me when I started out, and what I did to solve it (switched genres to one where people are willing to pay).

It's a better thought out rebuttal than your original comment.
I'm quoting the law. You're just making shit up.

Well the law certain disagrees with you.
And if someone takes you to court, you will lose.

Edge cases do not prove your point.

No, so I, a best selling 6 figure a year author says. I've been doing this for over a decade.
Horror stories always exist because there are people who break the rules, people who are trying to scam the system, or people who didn't listen to the warnings.

Because you will make a lot more money being in KU. That's why authors do it.

No, as a general statement this is true.
I've had tens of thousands of my books stolen.
Over the last ten years only TWO people have sent me money for them.

You really don't get it, do you?

Wrong. It's theft.