> Just about everything right now is being sent to them in PDF or DOC format. What do you think the odds are of being able to access these documents in 25 years' time?

Since even Google Docs can import these formats, they must not be as closed and impenetrable as you seem to think they are. Not saying it wouldn't be easier if the formats were completely "open", but ... ok let's pretend MSFT and ADBE go out of business tomorrow. Nobody'll be able to read those documents? I don't think so.

I'm not defending closed formats here. But I have text documents bitrotting on tapes whose hardware readers have very much expired.

Your Sunspider results do not match other tests, so there seems to be a problem with your computer. Opera is definitely faster at JS.

The V8 benchmark is useless since it basically cheats. It skips the parts Chrome is slow at. So it just looks like Chrome is faster.

He probably also fell into a trap of not wanting even more people to know about his "problem"...

The number of keys has become ridiculous, and with multiple cars (I have two, plus carry keys to my wife's) the large multikey/alarm that each car needs now adds major bulk as well. When I wear cargo pants, the side pockets solve the issue. Even when buying shorts now, I look for cargo type.... And it isn't just the keys. Wallet, keys, iPhone, sometimes an iPod, cash, maybe sunglasses... Where does a guy put his 'stuff'? If you have a backpack or messenger bag, fine. But what if you don't want to be carrying a bag around? I tried the photographer's vest for a while, but that gets as dorky as a 'fanny pack' (sorry to those who like either). Ugh. I have found one solution, at least for all but the hot summer months. A company called ScottEVest - www.ScottEVest.com - that makes pants, coats, shorts, tees, jackets, shirts, vests, etc. They not only multiple pockets, but have a lot of those pockets on the inside (yet still accessible) so you can carry a LOT (or not) but you don't look all bulky. They advertise more for the traveler, but I wear them daily! You have your hands free and no bags to lose. I started with a fleece that I can wear in fall and spring that has over 20 pockets and over 10 of them are really good size. For the winter I bought a coat (over 20 more pockets, lol) I can wear over the fleece. Now that summer is here, I'm back to cargo shorts if casual and using my wife's purse when dressed up and on the town. :-)

The trick is to not bother with the forums directly. Use a couple sites like reddit or hacker news. When something worthwhile shows up in forums, someone will post a link to reddit or HN (and a week later to Slashdot...). If you want to discuss it, discuss it on reddit or HN. The threading is better than most forums and the discussion is generally better.

I have to disagree. I have a no-name Atheros 5007, a RT73 based intellinet and a 8187l based Gsky that all work in linux. Haven't tried my Dlink (5007 based, so should work too)...

Not only that, but the gaming industry is one of the hardest gigs in Computer Science. People really do it for the love of it, not the love of millions, or they are very seriously misguided.

Think about it. Most business software costs a magnitude of millions to produce, test etc. But seriously look at the level of functionality that business software has compared to games.

Games have such wondrous things such as fully fledged physics engines, statistics systems, and a whole plethora of other goodies as standard,that business software stakeholders can only drool over, and definitely never want to/have to pay for. Finally, the most important thing for a successful game is a truly slick UI/UX. If it's not a pleasure to use, it kind of defeats the purpose for a game. In most business software the main driver is making money for the company, not enjoying use.

So what does that mean for everyone involved in producing? You're building a $500m project for a $100m budget, (if you're even getting that), so you have to product 5x as much value as your friend who's building a business system, whereas you will never get the return from it like in a business application of the same calibur.

So what do you think your boss will say to you in a games company when you want to be paid as much as your friend who produces the same value? Either ramp up your production to 5x your friends, or be happy to be paid 1/5 of his wage. If he gives it to you, he doesn't understand the business, and you're all probably going to be looking for work shortly.

It's grim, but reality. You really have to have games in your blood to survive in the industry, and do it for the love of it rather than making money.

It's not quite as simple.

There are two things that are missing in Reflector output compared to the original code: local variable names, and comments. All class member named etc (including private ones) are fully preserved. This is different when IL obfuscation is involved, but .NET standard libraries aren't obfuscated.

The other problematic thing is that there are certain high-level constructs in C# - e.g. LINQ queries, lambdas, or iterator methods - which are basically syntactic sugar for some more primitive stuff. Reflector - so far, at least - isn't smart enough to "restore" the sugar, so decompiled code will contain lower-level primitives. E.g. where the original code had a lambda, you'll see an explicit instantiation of the closure class, and delegate creation for its method.

All in all, though, Reflector output is quite readable, and is nowhere near a native disassembly in complexity.

Not to contradict your post, but the Government we have in this country only vaguely resembles Democracy.

The only time the people are involved in the process in a significant way is at elections, when they vote in candidates based on their image. After that almost all of the politicians take their orders from large Corporations who pay them for their services.

We saw recently that even the US Supreme Court can be bought and owned. It that is true where is our Democracy now?

Actually, I use as little as possible and I have been one of those "whiny eco-nuts" calling for alternative energy for years (except that I consider nuclear to be an excellent option). I have long held that we should internalize the externalities (including the cost of military operations in the Middle east). Not just raise taxes, but shift them from general income taxes to fuel taxes.

There are plenty of people who have done the same over the years. If you want to blame people, blame the ones who just don't care and the ones who actively fight against reasonable proposals to minimize or remove the problem.

You know, Orthodox christians would take offense at that. Do you assert that their practice of marriage been not only allowed, but effectively obligatory for some categories of priests, has not been there "from the very start"?

Methinks the problem is not their browser.

I'll stand behind that statement, hp-u IS barely an operating system.

At any rate anyone that didn't see this coming after the palm buyout must be blind. It will fail, consumers don't need another mobile os given there are three good choices with MS bleeding along at 4th place.

     

Hit list:

Human based Global Warming

Evolution

Physics (return to Universe creation in 4004 BC)

And the last part is where the contention lies.

Return to either the 1870's and 80's, or return to the pre-enlightment era. The middle ages were more in line with the correct philosophy, but the late 1800's there was some serious money to be made, and the fashions were so Steampunky cool.

I take a different postion on Global Warming. I see nothing to refute the fact that in an atmosphere composed of multiple gases, that the percentage of those gases known collectively as "greenhouse gases" will cause that atmosphere to retain heat.

And while it is possible that there are mitigating actions that lessen or eliminate that effect, we don't get that, we get pejoratives about liberals, or eggheads, or just monetary concerns.

That isn't proof or refutation, that's political posturing.

If human based GW isn't happening, then there IS a scientific way to prove it. Come up with a theory, then provide some funding to test the theory, then duplicate the results, and there you have it.

Now with all that being said, there is no doubt in my mind that we have set upon a course, and we did it a log time ago. Whatever the results of this experiment of greatly increasing the CO2 content of our atmosphere, we aren't going to alter it much now.