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Comment Re:NOT machine learning (YAMH) (Score 1) 250

From the article:

This isn't like a machine learning task where we collected a limited corpus of real data and then we're trying to make statements about our ability to perform on future data, yet-to-be-collected.

My (rather limited) understanding of it is that within the field (i.e. to people who actually know what they're talking about), the phrase 'machine learning' refers to the above case; using a training set of real data to develop a model, then applying that model to real problems.

In contrast, Remy takes a (stochastic) traffic model, rather than raw data, which would make it a different kind of AI.

Comment Re:It'll do a lot for pre-installed Linux too... (Score 1) 438

Last week I let apt-get install it for me, since they finally had a Linux version available.

Unfortunately, the Linux version is only suitable for running games native to Linux (as far as I am aware), which is at present pales in comparison to the number of games for Windows. Running Steam under Wine is the easiest way of getting said games to work, especially when you consider the difficulties associated with DRM.

Comment Re:It'll do a lot for pre-installed Linux too... (Score 2) 438

When I moved from XP to Ubuntu 7.04, I had to get wine up and running for WoW. I had to switch a bunch of config files to make it use OpenGL. I had to adjust a bunch of settings to turn off poorly supported features. Then WoW worked.

Given that 7.04 was half a decade ago, you might want to use a more up to date example.
Last week I installed Steam under Linux. It was as simple as './winetricks steam'. Admittedly, I still had to know to use winetricks and download a more recent version of it, but that's a significant improvement over 5 years ago, especially as all you need to know for any piece of software now is:
a) use (the latest version of) winetricks
b) check the Wine AppDB if it still doesn't work

Comment Re:Why not just base it off Debian? (Score 1) 109

Debian unstable (sid) - up-to-date, but unstable

Sid isn't as up-to-date as the name suggests.
My biggest issue with Debian is that it's only a cyclical rolling release, not a true one. When the feature freeze comes 'round, it affects sid as well as testing. Keep in mind that the freeze lasts for 6+ months (the current one has been 8 so far - http://wiki.debian.org/DebianWheezy), and happens once every 2 years; at least 25% of the life cycle is spent in freeze. This is equivalent to being stuck on the previous release of Ubuntu. e.g. I'm still using KDE 4.8, despite 4.10 coming out last month.

Freezing makes sense for testing, since it becomes the next stable, but there's no reason that sid/unstable should be frozen as well.

Comment Re:Because it isn't ergonomic (Score 1) 298

Squishy doesn't necessarily mean soft - tactile feedback is different to actuation force.

I used to have a Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard, but after half a decade of use, the keys became so stiff that it started hurting my hands to type with it. I tried buying one of the newer Microsoft keyboards to replace it, but the tactile feedback was so horrendous I returned it immediately. I bought a mechanical (Das) keyboard shortly afterwards, and it actually had a lower actuation force that the Microsoft keyboard, and my typing speed has improved significantly since I got it.

I agree absolutely that you need a decent keyboard if you want to type quickly, but I question your assessment of actuation force; I'd say it's more a matter of preference.

Comment Re:Canonical swirling down to irrelevance. (Score 1) 354

Same here. Debian Sid is great when Testing isn't frozen, but then it stops being fun for far too long. If I wanted to run Stable, I'd run Stable, and if I want to run a rolling distro, I'd rather not run some slow-moving, semi-stable slush.

Seconded. I've heard aptosid improves things slightly, but a lot of the packages I'm interested in aren't there (e.g. KDE). I've considered setting up a VM to automatically source packages from the Ubuntu repos and recompile them for Debian - not sure how well that would work. (If there's an existing repo that does this, please let me know.) Even a list of repos like this one would be quite useful.

Comment Re:IP Address, Car... (Score 1) 189

There is a flaw in this analogy that none of the sibling posts seem to have picked up on: only one person can (legally) display a given number plate / be in control of a car at once, whereas multiple people can and do share IP addresses. A better analogy would be "just because a person is on a bus does not mean they are guilty of infringements committed on that bus."

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