Comment Re:Replying to self (Score 1) 183
I'm not sure how your reply is in any way related to what I said. Does SourceForge have a "Menu -> Add/Remove Software" option that I'm not aware of?
Comment Re:Replying to self (Score 2, Insightful) 183
Riiiight... how many new Linux users do you think would like to go messing around in SourceForge, getting lost in all the operating systems, CPU architectures and package versions, just to try out the open source version of Bejewelled?
"App store" has come to mean something where people can browse a list of apps, click "install" on the apps they like, and immediately start using the app. I'm sure it's not hard to see why SourceForge does not fit that description.
Left 4 Dead 2 Announced For November 231
hansamurai writes "Left 4 Dead 2 has been announced at E3, and a trailer for the game has surfaced. It will be released November 17, 2009, just a year after the first game. Gameplay changes include a new focus on melee weapons, especially the iconic anti-zombie weapon, the chainsaw. The cast of characters is brand new, but the plot appears to take place during the same zombie outbreak."
The game is being developed for the PC and Xbox 360, and Valve says it will make use of a new version of their AI engine, which has the ability to "procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players' performance." Rock, Paper, Shotgun got the chance to do a hands-on preview, providing details about the gameplay and confirming that "it's a coherent new imagining of the game, this time bigger, smarter, and far more elaborate. Oh, and gloriously more gory."
Supreme Court To Review "Business Method" Patents 181
xzvf alerts us to big news on the patent front: the Supreme Court decided today to review the validity of "business method" patents. In particular, the Supremes will look over the "In re: Bilski" case, which we have discussed before. "By agreeing to weigh in on the case, the high court is venturing into controversial terrain. Critics of business-method patents say it was never the intent of the law to protect such things, which in their view are often far closer to abstract concepts or mathematical algorithms rather than physical inventions. Proponents say they are key to promoting innovation in today's knowledge- and service-based economy. ... The court's decision to review the Bilski case caught many observers by surprise. The Bilski patent claims are widely viewed as vulnerable to challenge on a number of grounds, and the sense among some experts was it would make a poor test case. ... The Supreme Court won't hear arguments in Bilski until its next term, which begins in October. A ruling is likely during the first half of 2010."
Google Set To Tackle eBook Market 170
Mike writes "Google's latest decision to try its hand selling eBooks promises to make life in the eBook world more interesting, and will likely spur a standards war that in the end may prove beneficial to many consumers. Google's eBook store will pit it directly against Amazon and Amazon's Kindle — an enormously popular eBook reader. This will push many companies to create eBook readers to take advantage of Google's new store, and will flood the market with tough choices. Google does not have a dedicated eBook reader yet, but it seems a logical next step for the search giant."
Comment Re:Inkscape? (Score 1) 130
Are you out of your mind?
The overhead in Inkscape will surely be greater than the 2MB required for Cairo (which for some reason the OP finds unacceptable). Furthermore, Inkscape, like other similar applications, probably stores its graphics in an internal data structure. The SVG reading and writing are only a front-end for constructing and translating the internal data structure. The code that draws the image will be using the internal data structure, not actual SVG data. All of these things coupled together will almost certainly result in a multi-megabyte overhead.
Furthermore, in addition to the multi-megabyte overhead, but there will be the [probably not insignificant] time and effort required to learn the Inkscape architecture. Then he will need to find and extract the relevant parts of code, so that they can be linked to his C++ program.
In short, I'm afraid that "leveraging" Inkscape is not a very feasible idea at all.
Comment Re:Twitter... again? (Score 1) 186
Because the shorter the message, the less intelligent thought has to go into it, I guess.
I beg to differ.
Given a topic to write about, what's easier:
- Writing an 8 page stream of consciousness rant of whatever pops into your head, or
- writing 1000 words of structured, focused and useful information?
Now which takes more intelligence?
Comment Visit (Score 1) 37
Looks like another good reason to visit Silicon Valley, if only 4G devices were readily available to the general public.
Comment Re:addendum (Score 2, Insightful) 232
Given infinite time and resources, [t]here isn't any program that can't be done well in C++
Fixed that for you.
Not true. The assertion that you will somehow need infinite resources and time to develop programs, just because you're using C++, is completely false, not to mention ignorant.
With a solid knowledge of C++ and STL, Boost and a handful of other what I'd call core libraries, you can accomplish most tasks very quickly. Similarly if you are experienced in Perl, you can accomplish tasks quickly with few lines of code. On the other hand, if you are a beginner in Perl or C++, you can easily waste days or weeks solving simple problems in messy, convoluted ways.
This knee-jerk response that C++ absorbs "infinite time and resources", for no reason other than the fact that it's C++, is not constructive at all, and just serves to exhibit your own tunnel vision when it comes to Perl (or whatever your tool of choice happens to be).
Comment Re:Slide Rule (Score 1) 776
I have some fond memories of nights in the back seat of my Chevrolet wagon, with a hot slide rule, on the turnpike overlooking the city lights... *sigh*
Comment Re:purell (Score 5, Informative) 524
Har har har... burning a Canadian Tire...
For people not from Canada: http://www.canadiantire.ca/
Submission + - Clues to Elusive Male Sexuality Unravelled (nationalgeographic.com)
SupplyMission writes: In a shocking discovery from the world of psychology, researchers at Princeton University have begun piecing together one of the most elusive secrets of human male sexuality. Susan Fiske, lead researcher, reports that when men are presented with photographs of women dressed as sex objects, the male volunteers in her study had a tendency to regard the women as sex objects. Next, Fiske will look at women's reactions to men posing beside symbols of material wealth such as expensive cars, prostitutes, and Rolex watches.
Comment Re:Take a break (Score 1) 87
solafide, those odds don't sound much better than high school!
Comment Re:Take a break (Score 1) 87
University admissions might not be there. You can take a break when you get your degree.
I see the point you're trying to make, and it may apply to average, underachieving nerds who need all the help they can get to get into a good school. But aantn seems to be in great shape for university admissions, regardless of whether or not he goes to science camp.
Second, he may find out that some university profs (and future employers) appreciate the fact that he took the time to develop his cultural and artistic sides. You know what I've found in my life? It's less awkward to be around someone culturally and artitistically developed, and easier to have a conversation with them, too.
Comment Take a break (Score 5, Insightful) 87
Seriously, are we all supposed to congratulate you because you're so involved in computer stuff while being "only" grade 11? And you want something that will be academically challenging and research-oriented? And you have dual citizenship? Whoa!
Even more seriously, please take a break from all the computer and robot stuff. You get enough of that every day by the sounds of it. You need to take the summer off to travel, see new things out there in the world, volunteer in the community, make some friends, meet some girls. You know, the real stuff that will get you ahead in life. Computers and robots will be there for you for the rest of your life, whether you still love them or not, but your friends, youth, health and curiosity may not be.
