Glacial Wanderer - Slashdot User

Comment Re:Statistics failure (Score 1) 412

by Glacial Wanderer on Tuesday March 06, 2012 @09:57PM (#39269791) Attached to: What To Do About an Asteroid That Has a 1 In 625 Chance of Hitting Us In 2040?

Their wording is correct. With more data there is approximation 624 in 625 odds that the likelihood of impact will be reduced. I actually really liked his wording because it didn't try to sensationalize the problem by making it sound like we will find out if there is an impact 2013, which would push many people to think the problem is more of a 50/50 odds. The general media leverage this flaw in human thinking frequently.

Comment If they can, then I should be able to too (Score 1) 133

by Glacial Wanderer on Friday October 21, 2011 @07:55PM (#37800270) Attached to: Senator Introduces Bill To Stop Warrantless GPS Tracking

One way to solve this that seems logical to me is if they can use gps tracking on me without a warrant then I should be able to do the same to them. I'm pretty sure I can't put tracking devices on cop cars so they shouldn't be allowed to do that to my car. The same rule applies to UAVs, alternate imaging techniques, and other new technologies. It is hard to keep laws up to date with the pace of technology so having a guiding principle like allowing law enforcement/government to do no more without a warrant than civilians can seems like a fair solution. I know there needs to be a few exceptions like detaining a person, but those few exceptions won't change with technology.

Android 2.1 Finally Makes It To Droid 132

Posted by timothy on Wednesday March 17, 2010 @02:30PM from the for-all-your-robot-needs dept.

MrSmith0011000100110 writes "The lovely people over at AndroidCentral have broken the announcement that Android 2.1 is finally coming to the Motorola Droid, with actual proof on Verizon's Droid support page (PDF). I don't know about my Droid brethren, but I'm pretty excited to see the new series of Android ROMs for the Droid phone that are based on a stock Android 2.1. As most of us know, the existing 2.1 ROMs can be buggy as hell and either running vanilla 2.1 or a custom ROM; but this phone is still a tinkerer's best friend."

The Problems With Video Game Voice Acting 251

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday March 17, 2010 @06:50AM from the who-called-in-de-fleet dept.

The Guardian's Games blog explores the tendency of modern video games to suffer from poor voice acting, a flaw made all the more glaring by increasingly precise and impressive graphics. Quoting: "Due to the interactive nature of games, actors can't be given a standard film script from which they're able to gauge the throughline of their character and a feel for the dramatic development of the narrative. Instead, lines of dialogue need to be isolated into chunks so they can be accessed and triggered within the game in line with the actions of each individual player. Consequently, the performer will usually be presented with a spreadsheet jammed with hundreds of single lines of dialogue, with little sense of context or interaction. ... But according to David Sobolov, one of the most experienced videogame voice actors in the world (just check out his website), the significant time pressures mean that close, in-depth direction is not always possible. 'Often, there's a need to record a great number of lines, so to keep the session moving, once we've established the tone of the character we're performing, the director will silently direct us using the spreadsheet on the screen by simply moving the cursor down the page to indicate if he/she liked what we did. Or they'll make up a code, like typing an 'x' to ask us to give them another take.' It sounds, in effect, like a sort of acting battery farm, a grinding, dehumanizing production line of disembodied phrases, delivered for hours on end. Hardly conducive to Oscar-winning performances."

US Colleges Say Hiring US Students a Bad Deal 490

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday August 13, 2009 @09:27AM from the talking-to-you-cliff dept.

theodp writes "Many US colleges and universities have notices posted on their websites informing US companies that they're tax chumps if they hire students who are US citizens. 'In fact, a company may save money by hiring international students because the majority of them are exempt from Social Security (FICA) and Medicare tax requirements,' advises the taxpayer-supported University of Pittsburgh (pdf) as it makes the case against hiring its own US students. You'll find identical pitches made by the University of Delaware, the University of Cincinnati, Kansas State University, the University of Southern California, the University of Wisconsin, Iowa State University, and other public colleges and universities. The same message is also echoed by private schools, such as John Hopkins University, Brown University, Rollins College and Loyola University Chicago."

Comment Re:Try AUVSI ideas? (Score 2, Informative) 259

by Glacial Wanderer on Monday May 25, 2009 @05:54PM (#28088069) Attached to: Best Way To Build A DIY UAV?

Everything I've read from people knowledgeable in this matter say helicopters are more difficult because they are naturally unstable where as most airplanes are naturally stable. This means the feedback control systems for helicopters is more difficult.

The forums on the diydrones website (same website that this slashdot questions linked) has all the answers to the questions asked. It might take a few hours to search through those forums and understand enough about what you're reading to find the answers, but a few hours on a project like this is chump change.

Comment Letter to Microsoft (Score 2, Insightful) 535

by Glacial Wanderer on Friday February 13, 2009 @10:29AM (#26843035) Attached to: Microsoft To Open Retail Stores

Dear Microsoft,

This is a great idea! I am so sure it will be successful that you should get started on the second phase right away. Everybody will want to come to your stores so you need to stop diluting your brand by selling it via other distribution methods. You should immediately stop bundling your software with prebuilt computers from manufacturers like Dell. Also immediately remove your product from online stores. Having people come into your stores will form a strong community.

I was just talking to some IT Admins yesterday and they were complaining how the 1000 licenses of Windows they just bought were just an electric piece of paper. They really wanted to go to a physical store with physical shopping cards and put a 1000 boxes in that cart. They thought that would be much more satisfying that just a number on a piece of paper.

Your profits are falling, you need to implement this strategy to maximize profits in these tough economic time. It's time to make this change. Do it now. Please!

Comment Re:Parallax, touch screens, stupidity, and conspir (Score 1) 900

by Glacial Wanderer on Monday October 27, 2008 @12:35PM (#25529105) Attached to: WV Voters Say Machines Are Switching Votes

These machines are not "switching votes". They're just not.

You sound pretty sure about this, but remember that according to your own belief you only think that you're right.

When asked if she is sure she touched the box for Rockefeller, she said, 'I'm absolutely positive.'" Yeah, just like a lot of users are "absolutely positive" that they did the right thing. No, they THINK they did the right thing. That's the only thing they are "absolutely positive" of.

Slashdot Top Deals