So I recently sent a post to my Linux group with reference to a certain article and this has spawned a very serious and heated argument.
The post, as you'll see, is related to French Parliament's decision to incorporate, even replace, Microsoft Windows with "the open source operating system, Linux" for their government office computing. Before I get much further in to this whole story let me make one thing very clear: THIS IS A VERY GOOD THING FOR THE LINUX COMMUNITY. This is government openly recognizing the power, capability, cost benefit and ease of deployment of using a Linux infrastructure.
So the post spawns a debate about which distro will be chosen. Myself and a couple other users suggests that Novell's SuSE Linux would be a good choice (find the open version here). I stated that the interoperability with closed-source functionality will be a key factor in their decision. That's a founded concern in the IT field and I felt justified in saying so. Many agreed with me. But some didn't, and voiced their concerns vehemently.
This all turned to an ongoing argument about the partnership between Novell and Microsoft. Some good arguments were made about this, both for and against the two rival companies cooperating. I even commented on the parntership, which I am very much for, by the by. So "what's the big deal?" you ask.
It was off topic. I'm all for being a little off topic but this was getting out of hand. In the space of a single day the argument had turned to insults, innuendo and general backbiting. I don't approve of this and stated so. I was greeted by semi-apologetic replies from the offending parties and now all is well.
What the fuck am I talking about?
The deal between Microsoft and Novell is that Microsoft will, over the course of the next five years, distribute SuSE Linux to 350,000 of their customers in an effort to "work together to improve the interoperability between Linux and Windows". This is good, right? Microsoft gets to lie and say they don't fear or hate Linux and SuSE, at least, will get more exposure to the world.
SuSE is, at least in my opinion, the easiest Linux distro to use. I set it up just today and it just friggin' works. With the exception of DVD playback, which is easily solved by getting libdvdcss. Everything else, from simply browsing the web to installing programs to reading (not writing to, unfortunately) from NTFS partitions, is unbelievably easy or works automatically. I RPMd Firefox 2.0 and it just worked. It replaced the existing version (at least as far as I can tell it's gone) and just started working. I had to run a version check just to make sure because I wasn't interrupted by install scripts and wasn't asked to reboot, something that happens quite frequently in Windows and other Linux distros.
Sound worked from the get go, as did video and networking. The cards were detected automatically (and correctly, much to my surprise...), drivers loaded for them and they just worked. I set my monitor type (LCD), resolution (1280x1024) and aspect ratio (4:3) and rebooted. I was logged in automatically and there was a beautiful, high res desktop in about 23 seconds. I've never had to work less!
I've yet to run in to any issues that I didn't cause myself (tried to download libdvdcss the first time and grabbed a package that contained the utils but not the library; my bad). Changing system settings is never more than a few clicks away. The shell is still BASH, so no change there and it has yet to fail me. Things load exceedingly fast, close faster and the whole thing just works almost flawlessly (I won't say completely flawlessly because a) I'm not that far in to it yet and b) it'd just be stupid; there's always some little thing that makes it incomplete).
These are a few of my favorite things...
GET OUT OF MY HEAD, JULIE ANDREWS! Sorry, stroked out for a second there.
1. YaST, the installer/configurator/guru tool for SuSE is much improved over previous versions. It's not nearly as invasive as it has been in the past and is truly enjoyable to use now.
2. RPM management, whether through YaST or the other system installer tools, has gotten a hell of a lot better over the years and I don't have to think as much if I don't want to. You click to download an RPM and 99% of the time the browser asks if you want to save or launch the file with the appropriate utility, resulting in a fast install.
3. GNOME (haven't played with KDE yet and don't think I will now... :) is just as fantastic as always. The re-org on the interface, namely the sys bar, makes it way too easy to use. The menus make more sense and things are where they are supposed to be. If you browse your applications and go to the "Multimedia" menu you expect to see media players and tools. That's what you see. Isn't it great when you don't have to think?
4. Size has always been an issue for SuSE. My last installation, SLED (SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, these are the boxed versions) 9.3 Pro, was a whopping 8.5 GB. That's huge. Open 10.1 is a mere 3.44 and theres probably stuff I'll remove. I didn't install everything for either of them but being less than half, almost 1/3 the size, of 9.3 is a huge accomplishment and Novell should be very proud of themselves.
Hey Mikey, I don't think he likes it
1. The package selection used to be as granular as I wanted. Not so much now. During install YaST makes many of the decisions for you, just like it should. But I like to get picky, to the point of taking an hour or so removing this and adding that (why do I need the Arabic help for PERL again?). I can't do that as much now. While the packages are available for review it's pretty much grouped by dependencies or application. In other words "you take all of this stuff or none of it".
2. Partitioning and disk setup is somewhat lacking. All of the partitions are available but the expert mode isn't as expansive as I prefer and mounting Windows partitions is a little... weird.
3. Documentation, while available online, feels like it was relegated to the back seat. I downloaded all of the docs that were available but they didn't go much beyond "this is your computer, it has disks; this is SuSE; go at it, big guy". In other words it was lacking in the detail. They should really get O'Reilly to write their docs.
Wait, that's it?
Yep, that's it. Those are really my only complaints. I'm used to being on the phone with Squall while I'm configuring stuff. I'm smart but he's miles ahead of me when it comes to Linux. After all, he introduced me back when SuSE 8.0 was "new" (god, I'm old... :( ). But this time I was able to call and tell him "it just...fucking...works!". And that's a really good feeling.
Dumb fucker of the week
Maybe it's DF of the past few months. Haven't had one for a while, but this is a doosy.
"Is that those flappy things that look like wings?"
Yeah, this one was fun. My friends and I were up camping on a four day trip a while back. We'd been getting drunk until well in to the evening. The group was mixed company and all but one of us had someone of the opposite sex on our lap. Except Scott. Kid is completely fucking hopeless.
So we're pretty sloshed and talking about sex in general. You know,... well, you know. Drunk and sex are like peanut butter and jelly, they go between bread (or sheets, as it were). Somebody gets on the topic of female anatomy and brings up labia, a subject I never get tired of talking about (god I need to get laid!). We've been having a serious discussion about what types of labia we enjoy, what we like to do to them and whether or not it's proper to dress them in little dresses or make them carry heavy objects when Scott pipes up with what I thought was a joking comment. "Labia (he pronounced it lab-by-uh)... is that those flappy things that look like wings?"
I looked at him, as did everybody else. He had a serious look on his face, like he was in math class and wanted to know what the pythagorean theorem was. The rest of us thought he was in math class and had just asserted that 2+2=5. So everyone completely fucking lost it.
We'd been laughing for about 15 minutes when we all finally regained our composure. Then Brandon (not you, Baren) decided to fuck it up for us again with an impersonation of what should have been a baby seal but wasn't. More hilarity followed by weird barking sounds, accompanied by wet sloshing and slapping sounds. I really have to get some new friends...
Gryyphyn, out.
Section-9/The Wired
20061202
20061122
Green Society
What is a 'Green Society'?
Apart from being an environmentalist society tied up in politics a green society is one where many public laws and regulations, pertaining largely to environmental decisions, is governed by a naturalist viewpoint. This means that a good portion of the society is interested in so-called 'green energy' that does not harm the environment to produce and low-emission, non-petroleum based fuel sources for transportation.
Many ideals that have come from this point of view are: electric rail transportation (New York's subway system is a great example); bio-diesel (diesel fuel manufactured by purifying and modifying vegetable oils used in restraunt deep fryers and corn oils); solar and wind power (this solution is expensive to implement but works exceedingly well); and electric/hybrid car designs.
One of the more revolutionary ideas comes from GM: the hydrogen fuel cell platforms. Their Hy-wire designed skateboard platform vehicles run entirely on hydrogen fuel cells and put of clean, pure water. A renewable resource that is clean and *could* help our environment recover some.
What the hell am I talking about?
I was out driving earlier tonight (which for me, coincidentally, is about 0300 hrs) and was looking at the dealerships along our local auto row. 4.5 miles of auto dealerships, most of which are full of SUVs and trucks. I love trucks, having owned three previously, but hate SUVs. Why? If you've ever looked at a) the people who drive them and b) their mileage specs you know why. Before I explore this tangent let me make one thing very, very, clear: I don't hate the smaller SUVs such as the Toyota Rav series or the Subaru wagon/SUV concoctions. We're talking about the larger vehicles here. The kind rappers usually drive, incedentally...
Why do I hate SUVs so much? Their mileage is horrid. "Our new SUV has an industry standard high mileage of .5 mpg!" The other reason: they cost way too fucking much. "Our high mileage means we can charge you $48,000 for $8,000 in materials!" Don't believe me? Ever check what kind of mileage the Hummer gets? 15 piddly-ass miles per gallon. You know how bad that sucks? It sucks real bad. My '04 Cavalier costs half as much as I have it configured and gets almost twice the mileage. If I stay off the pedal and stick to the high speed roads it gets more than twice the highway miles.
Who needs SUVs? People who carpool with large groups. I can fit four in my car comfortably and I don't know many people who carpool with more than that. People who run sports teams, but a van is better suited to this purpose. People who haul pets around, and I'm talking about medium to large dogs or many pets, not your fucking poodle or chihua"annoying little yipping bastard"hua. No contention there. And people who haul Girl Scout cookies. Soccer moms, you know who you are. Now buy a damned van because it's better suited to what you do!
What I'm trying to say here is if you're not in the military and running through bogs you don't need a fucking Hummer (and the new ones, bless GMs stupid think-tank brains, suck). If you're not rock crawling and camping in a different canyon every weekend you don't need a big Jeep. If you're not hauling a soccer team all over the place and their gear at least once a week you don't need a Yukon Denali. 'Nuff said.
Trucks and their place in society.
Ah, the truck. It's the perennial choice of transport for Americans... that are farmers and contractors! The people who need trucks are the guys hauling just enough hay to fill a small trailer but not enough to require a flatbed. Guys that are hauling loads of lumber and sheetrock to do one house, not five. Guys that go up in the hills at least once a week when they're not hauling previously mentioned articles and get muddy heading to a favorite camping spot!
You know who doesn't need a truck? Your 17 year old son who managed to pass a test for once in is wretched life. I'm serious here! An old friend of mine had his parents co-sign on an F-350 because he got better than a C average in school for a year! A-fucking-mazing, isn't it? "You're a failure at life and you've had too many accidents to get a fast care so we'll get you a big truck!" Then, and this is my favorite part, he jacked it 4", put 36" tires on it and, get this, refused to take it on a dirt road because "I'll have to wash it once I get home". Why don't you just chop your dick off now and save your future wife (or husband, you fucking nancy) the trouble?
As I said previously I don't hate trucks and have owned three. First was a '69 F-100. Beat the hell out of it. Sunk it 6' in to a river bed up in the hills (heh heh heh, that one was fun!). Rebuilt the trans myself. Next one was a '79 GMC C2500. God, that thing was a beast! Shit mileage but ran perfect (until the engine seized going down the freeway). Managed to put 130,000 miles on it myself, bringing the total to 300,000 w/ rebuild. They don't make 'em like that anymore... Last one was a late 1980's Toyota pickup. Great little truck, perfect for the city, the hills, the highway and haulin' stuff. Know what I did with all of them? Hauled stuff around, moved people's homes, made regular runs to Lowes, got them dirty (and fucked up) in the hills and had the self-satisfaction of being able to fix them myself. I did a lot with those trucks. Even made a trip across country in the GMC with 1500 lbs. of my friends life in the back to move him 1400 miles! Yeah, I used them like the trucks they were meant to be.
What's the point, Gryyphyn?
My point is that to get to a green society we should start with our transportation. If you look at other countries there are strict limitations on what types of vehicles you can own/operate under normal circumstances. Gas prices are higher to help influence people to use mass transit. There are also manufacturing standards that are 300% more strict and effective than ours, cutting pollution drastically. I've made the vow to many of my friends and I'll make it publicly here: the moment GM releases one of their hydrogen platforms I'll be first in line to get the coupe. I am committed to making the environment a better place for future generations because I just might sire kids in to the future (gods help us...). And because I know that I don't need a seven-ton SUV to drive 1/2 mile to work and back every day.
I'm going to continue this line of thought for the next little while. Next post I'll be delving more deeply in to electrical power and alternative systems for achieving a green environment and lower cost than is currently available.
Apart from being an environmentalist society tied up in politics a green society is one where many public laws and regulations, pertaining largely to environmental decisions, is governed by a naturalist viewpoint. This means that a good portion of the society is interested in so-called 'green energy' that does not harm the environment to produce and low-emission, non-petroleum based fuel sources for transportation.
Many ideals that have come from this point of view are: electric rail transportation (New York's subway system is a great example); bio-diesel (diesel fuel manufactured by purifying and modifying vegetable oils used in restraunt deep fryers and corn oils); solar and wind power (this solution is expensive to implement but works exceedingly well); and electric/hybrid car designs.
One of the more revolutionary ideas comes from GM: the hydrogen fuel cell platforms. Their Hy-wire designed skateboard platform vehicles run entirely on hydrogen fuel cells and put of clean, pure water. A renewable resource that is clean and *could* help our environment recover some.
What the hell am I talking about?
I was out driving earlier tonight (which for me, coincidentally, is about 0300 hrs) and was looking at the dealerships along our local auto row. 4.5 miles of auto dealerships, most of which are full of SUVs and trucks. I love trucks, having owned three previously, but hate SUVs. Why? If you've ever looked at a) the people who drive them and b) their mileage specs you know why. Before I explore this tangent let me make one thing very, very, clear: I don't hate the smaller SUVs such as the Toyota Rav series or the Subaru wagon/SUV concoctions. We're talking about the larger vehicles here. The kind rappers usually drive, incedentally...
Why do I hate SUVs so much? Their mileage is horrid. "Our new SUV has an industry standard high mileage of .5 mpg!" The other reason: they cost way too fucking much. "Our high mileage means we can charge you $48,000 for $8,000 in materials!" Don't believe me? Ever check what kind of mileage the Hummer gets? 15 piddly-ass miles per gallon. You know how bad that sucks? It sucks real bad. My '04 Cavalier costs half as much as I have it configured and gets almost twice the mileage. If I stay off the pedal and stick to the high speed roads it gets more than twice the highway miles.
Who needs SUVs? People who carpool with large groups. I can fit four in my car comfortably and I don't know many people who carpool with more than that. People who run sports teams, but a van is better suited to this purpose. People who haul pets around, and I'm talking about medium to large dogs or many pets, not your fucking poodle or chihua"annoying little yipping bastard"hua. No contention there. And people who haul Girl Scout cookies. Soccer moms, you know who you are. Now buy a damned van because it's better suited to what you do!
What I'm trying to say here is if you're not in the military and running through bogs you don't need a fucking Hummer (and the new ones, bless GMs stupid think-tank brains, suck). If you're not rock crawling and camping in a different canyon every weekend you don't need a big Jeep. If you're not hauling a soccer team all over the place and their gear at least once a week you don't need a Yukon Denali. 'Nuff said.
Trucks and their place in society.
Ah, the truck. It's the perennial choice of transport for Americans... that are farmers and contractors! The people who need trucks are the guys hauling just enough hay to fill a small trailer but not enough to require a flatbed. Guys that are hauling loads of lumber and sheetrock to do one house, not five. Guys that go up in the hills at least once a week when they're not hauling previously mentioned articles and get muddy heading to a favorite camping spot!
You know who doesn't need a truck? Your 17 year old son who managed to pass a test for once in is wretched life. I'm serious here! An old friend of mine had his parents co-sign on an F-350 because he got better than a C average in school for a year! A-fucking-mazing, isn't it? "You're a failure at life and you've had too many accidents to get a fast care so we'll get you a big truck!" Then, and this is my favorite part, he jacked it 4", put 36" tires on it and, get this, refused to take it on a dirt road because "I'll have to wash it once I get home". Why don't you just chop your dick off now and save your future wife (or husband, you fucking nancy) the trouble?
As I said previously I don't hate trucks and have owned three. First was a '69 F-100. Beat the hell out of it. Sunk it 6' in to a river bed up in the hills (heh heh heh, that one was fun!). Rebuilt the trans myself. Next one was a '79 GMC C2500. God, that thing was a beast! Shit mileage but ran perfect (until the engine seized going down the freeway). Managed to put 130,000 miles on it myself, bringing the total to 300,000 w/ rebuild. They don't make 'em like that anymore... Last one was a late 1980's Toyota pickup. Great little truck, perfect for the city, the hills, the highway and haulin' stuff. Know what I did with all of them? Hauled stuff around, moved people's homes, made regular runs to Lowes, got them dirty (and fucked up) in the hills and had the self-satisfaction of being able to fix them myself. I did a lot with those trucks. Even made a trip across country in the GMC with 1500 lbs. of my friends life in the back to move him 1400 miles! Yeah, I used them like the trucks they were meant to be.
What's the point, Gryyphyn?
My point is that to get to a green society we should start with our transportation. If you look at other countries there are strict limitations on what types of vehicles you can own/operate under normal circumstances. Gas prices are higher to help influence people to use mass transit. There are also manufacturing standards that are 300% more strict and effective than ours, cutting pollution drastically. I've made the vow to many of my friends and I'll make it publicly here: the moment GM releases one of their hydrogen platforms I'll be first in line to get the coupe. I am committed to making the environment a better place for future generations because I just might sire kids in to the future (gods help us...). And because I know that I don't need a seven-ton SUV to drive 1/2 mile to work and back every day.
I'm going to continue this line of thought for the next little while. Next post I'll be delving more deeply in to electrical power and alternative systems for achieving a green environment and lower cost than is currently available.
20061117
Smash my PS3!
Smash my fucking $600 PS3!
Yeah! Smash the holy living shit out of it! Why? Because you can! I love SmashMyPS3.com! It's fucking hilarious! Go, watch, enjoy.
Other links of interest:
Smash My XBox (360)
Coming soon...
Smash My Wii (Nintendo)
Begin edit...
I forgot to add this:
I'm an asshole!
This guy's a serious piece of shit. Everyone knows (or should know...) that I hate stupid people. Everybody also knows (or again, should know...) that Sony owns half of my soul. Probably more. But I was cheering for this one. Hell, I've been waiting for it since the announcement of the PS3! I hate stupid people.
Stupid-assed comment of the week!
"I hope that you all put up douchebag comments and I hope a big pile of shit falls on them!"
Yeah! Smash the holy living shit out of it! Why? Because you can! I love SmashMyPS3.com! It's fucking hilarious! Go, watch, enjoy.
Other links of interest:
Smash My XBox (360)
Coming soon...
Smash My Wii (Nintendo)
Begin edit...
I forgot to add this:
I'm an asshole!
This guy's a serious piece of shit. Everyone knows (or should know...) that I hate stupid people. Everybody also knows (or again, should know...) that Sony owns half of my soul. Probably more. But I was cheering for this one. Hell, I've been waiting for it since the announcement of the PS3! I hate stupid people.
Stupid-assed comment of the week!
"I hope that you all put up douchebag comments and I hope a big pile of shit falls on them!"
20061031
Blurb
UPDATE
I've just upgraded to the Blogger Beta which runs on a Google platform base. I strongly urge you to make the switch if you can. This should help in getting the new Blogger up and going faster. ^_^ But I'll be god damned if I can figure out how to edit a friggin' post with the new interface!
I've just upgraded to the Blogger Beta which runs on a Google platform base. I strongly urge you to make the switch if you can. This should help in getting the new Blogger up and going faster. ^_^ But I'll be god damned if I can figure out how to edit a friggin' post with the new interface!
For the love of...
It's official: I'm a jerk
It's been months since I've updated. And yes, I am aware of this.
Have you ever been just unbelievably busy? I have. I am. And it's not stopping.
Quickies
Head over to Baren's blog and you can see his update about Anime Banzai! 2006. I'll have mine up soon with more pics.
Check out Hookie Dookie Panic!, a new favorite web comic of mine.
That's all folks!
That's all I have for today. Look for a more detailed update soon.
Gryyphyn, out.
UPDATE
I've just upgraded to the Blogger Beta which runs on a Google platform base. I strongly urge you to make the switch if you can. This should help in getting the new Blogger up and going faster. ^_^
It's been months since I've updated. And yes, I am aware of this.
Have you ever been just unbelievably busy? I have. I am. And it's not stopping.
Quickies
Head over to Baren's blog and you can see his update about Anime Banzai! 2006. I'll have mine up soon with more pics.
Check out Hookie Dookie Panic!, a new favorite web comic of mine.
That's all folks!
That's all I have for today. Look for a more detailed update soon.
Gryyphyn, out.
UPDATE
I've just upgraded to the Blogger Beta which runs on a Google platform base. I strongly urge you to make the switch if you can. This should help in getting the new Blogger up and going faster. ^_^
20060614
Dumbass
Dumbass: Contraction of the words 'dumb' and 'ass'.
Dumb: Definition: voiceless; Synonyms: impaired, inarticulate, incoherent
Ass: Definition: idiot; Synonyms: blockhead*, bonehead, dolt, donkey*, dope, dunce, fool, halfwit, idiot, imbecile, jackass*, jerk*, nincompoop, nitwit*, numskull, schmuck, simpleton*, twerp, twit*
These words are perfect descriptions for Scott Kurtz. This guy is a fucking idiot. A moron. A dumbass. And I'm done reading his shit.
PVP, what would be a decent web comic, is now totally bullshit for me. I've been reading for a year now and my opinion, my thoughts on it, have changed due to Scott's desire to prove he's a fuckwad on a daily basis. This is not designed to be a flame or a personal attack. I could care less for this shit. My biggest problem with Kurtz is it's so damned easy to make him feel like he's making a difference. He's begun going right-wing on the Net Neutrality issue and touting savetheinternet.com, a site that I disagree with on principle.
Yes, net neutrality is something the everyone should be pushing for. Yes signing petitions is a good idea. However this site has taken things to another level: personal attacks. You should not make something like this a person to person issue. It's about government regulations and big business limiting our right to accessing information. And the COPE act is a hollow injunction similar to the Emancipation Proclimation. It doesn't do anything, doesn't sanction or ban anything and has no real reprocussion except what you want to make of it.
My point is that this site is garbage in my opinion. Also I'm not trying to force you to stop liking Scott Kurtz or stop reading his comics and thoughts. What I'm trying to tell you is he's a dumbass. Fighting on the internet is like running in the special olympics: even if you win you're still retarded.
Oh, yeah, here's what I envision Scott Kurtz being like in real life, minus the anonimity thing. He knows he's getting traffic and that people 'listen' to him. What a fuckwad.
Dumb: Definition: voiceless; Synonyms: impaired, inarticulate, incoherent
Ass: Definition: idiot; Synonyms: blockhead*, bonehead, dolt, donkey*, dope, dunce, fool, halfwit, idiot, imbecile, jackass*, jerk*, nincompoop, nitwit*, numskull, schmuck, simpleton*, twerp, twit*
These words are perfect descriptions for Scott Kurtz. This guy is a fucking idiot. A moron. A dumbass. And I'm done reading his shit.
PVP, what would be a decent web comic, is now totally bullshit for me. I've been reading for a year now and my opinion, my thoughts on it, have changed due to Scott's desire to prove he's a fuckwad on a daily basis. This is not designed to be a flame or a personal attack. I could care less for this shit. My biggest problem with Kurtz is it's so damned easy to make him feel like he's making a difference. He's begun going right-wing on the Net Neutrality issue and touting savetheinternet.com, a site that I disagree with on principle.
Yes, net neutrality is something the everyone should be pushing for. Yes signing petitions is a good idea. However this site has taken things to another level: personal attacks. You should not make something like this a person to person issue. It's about government regulations and big business limiting our right to accessing information. And the COPE act is a hollow injunction similar to the Emancipation Proclimation. It doesn't do anything, doesn't sanction or ban anything and has no real reprocussion except what you want to make of it.
My point is that this site is garbage in my opinion. Also I'm not trying to force you to stop liking Scott Kurtz or stop reading his comics and thoughts. What I'm trying to tell you is he's a dumbass. Fighting on the internet is like running in the special olympics: even if you win you're still retarded.
Oh, yeah, here's what I envision Scott Kurtz being like in real life, minus the anonimity thing. He knows he's getting traffic and that people 'listen' to him. What a fuckwad.
20060605
Such a freaking slacker...
I'm a slacker!!!
And yes I'm fully aware of this. There is no need to remind me. But damnit I deserve to slack a little bit. I'm a busy man! Anyway, since it's been over a month since I last updated I'm going to give you a real present: a full review on some flash animations. First up is one that, from the reaction I have received, needs some explanation.
Before I begin let me state that, for the record, I am not the artist for these animations. I do not know the artist nor am I aware of their opinions or motivations for the creation of their flash anims. The opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone and any correlation of my opinions to the authors are sheer coincidence and good artistic taste on both sides (viewer/creator). On the link provided for each animation is the author's report on the flash and I highly recommend viewing their statements. Also please watch each animation before you read my review. That said enjoy!
For what it's worth (I'm sorry)
Ok, so what I'm hearing from everyone is that this is a creepy animation. But how far from the truth are we here? We're talking about recycling humans for use as 'helpers'. Let's look at the title first: "For what it's worth (I'm sorry)". Which side of things is this statement coming from? There's no remorse from the 'person' who is making and selling this contraptions. Aside from the fact that they can't think there is no emotion from the automatons. No, the appology is coming from the 'users'.
That's what they are. They're users. They are using an appliance that is designed to make their life easier. What correlation do we have in our world? Computers, perhaps? I would say yes. We mindlessly use computers every day. We rely on them to help/force us to get up in the morning. We use them to give us the news of the morning as we are getting ready for school/work. We rely on them to get us to work in the morning when we start our communte. We rely on them to keep traffic flowing. To tell us how much we owe for breakfast. Keep track of hours at work... Print out reports and other things for work... We use them to learn... We use them for entertainment... To make our food... To track our resources... Manage our time... etc...
What if they all stopped working? The artist for this video, Matt Merrill, has shown us a different aspect of the computerised world that we live in. Rather than spending gobs of cash to make a computer or computerised man he takes a man, severs his free-thinking mind from his body and markets the 'robot' as a do-all machine to do our work for us. Then, when the robot malfunctions we get angry at it as though it will solve the problem or make them work harder. Only when one person realizes what's happening to things change for him. He realizes that having another do his work for him is accomplishing no good and he feels sorrow, remorse for his actions.
We've become a complacent society that gladly gives up working for itself and pushes the actual or perceived work off on others. We gladly force someone else to do our work so we can work on things that are more entertaining, more desirable, more fun. So we can be lazy.
On the horizon...
Within the next few years we are going to see a change, a shift in the computing and daily living world. There some devices and computing shifts that are going to affect our daily life in ways that most can't imagine. I'll highlight a few of these here.
1. HTPC (Home Theater PC)
Commonly known as Tivo, variations on this device are already prevalent on the market. Tivo uses a slimmed down version of Linux and a hard drive to record shows, replacing your VCR. It is able to record more than a typical tape and is much easier to maintain and program. You can even tell it what your favorite shows are and it will tape them automatically by downloading the times from a distributed database held by it's manufacturer.
You can build a similar device at home and completely replace your entire home theater system. For the same price you would pay for all of the components in the typical home theater/tv/gaming setup you can build a PC with the same functionality and better components. DVD player, Tivo-like functionality, good TV and a great 5.1 or better sound system. And it all fits in one box. Later I'll outline my ideal HTPC setup.
2. Quantum Computing
A new development coming down the pipe is the thought of quantum computing. This involves more than I can fully list here but I'll give you a rundown.
In computing currently you have what are called bits. A bit is a single-state object: either a 1 or a 0. Combinations of bits make up larger collections called bytes, then kilobytes, then megabytes, then gigabytes, etc... It's these collections of bits and bytes that make up things like documents and songs on storage devices within your computer.
The principle behind quantum computing is the qubit. A qubit is a quantum bit. Rather than existing in one state it is in a constant state of flux. The principle that allows it to hold information, in fact many times more information, is Quantum Bit Discovery. The theory holds that the bit does not have a definitive state until you examine it. Then and only then do you see what information it holds.
I wouldn't be able to say how viable the technology is. The reason is I can see both sides: It will work because the theory is sound and we have the ability and mindpower to make it happen. It won't work because we don't have anything that can exist in multiple states except for plasma (not blood plasma you phlebotomists) which is too unstable to work with currently.
3. Perpendicular recording
This technology, specifically for harddrives, reorganizes the magnetic structure of the recording layer by aligning the bits vertically rather than horizontally. This allows for higher bit compaction than is available currently: approximately 75% more compact for increased storage.
4. Mass quantity solid state storage
We are currently coming to a headway in harddrive technology where we are exceeding the physical limits of the recording media. The next closest technology that could solve these problems is solid state storage. Working similarly to the memory module in your digital camera they store bits within an electrically charged core of silicon, also similar to a processor. The current issue is the sophistication of these devices requires an extremely high price right now, upwards of $100 per GB. The technology is effectively here but it is not in high enough capacities or low enough price to be truly effective. But it will be soon.
5. Blu-ray
The industry is facing another format war similar to what was seen between DVD + and -. The difference is there is a clear winner this time: Sony's Blu-ray. BD (Blu-ray disc acronym and common reference) has 8x the capacity per single layer than a single layer DVD and 1.7x more than it's competitor: HD-DVD. The reason for this is the tighter focusing tolerance of the blue laser and the ability to cram more info on the same diameter disc. It is also thinner, lighter and more scratch resistent: it has a protective coating over the disc's play side, similar technology to your plastic-lensed glasses. This means a more resilient disc with higher capacity. And it's backwards compatible with your current collection. Oh, yeah, it's going to be the new format for the PS3. Need I say more?
Dumb fucker for the past month...
This award goes to someone who can't speak. She can't even walk anymore. Nope, she's dead now. And she used to be a ninja. Now she's not. My pet rat decided to take a header of the top shelf of her new cage apparently. I got home for lunch and Baren told me she was dead. She was more than dead. Her legs and tail were blue. We just can't seem to keep the little fuckers alive.
Dumbass award number two goes to Baren's little shit who drowned herself last week. I wish some people would do that to themselves... Wishful thinking.
Closing thoughts...
Get bent. It took to long to write this post and longer to read it. Good night.
And yes I'm fully aware of this. There is no need to remind me. But damnit I deserve to slack a little bit. I'm a busy man! Anyway, since it's been over a month since I last updated I'm going to give you a real present: a full review on some flash animations. First up is one that, from the reaction I have received, needs some explanation.
Before I begin let me state that, for the record, I am not the artist for these animations. I do not know the artist nor am I aware of their opinions or motivations for the creation of their flash anims. The opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone and any correlation of my opinions to the authors are sheer coincidence and good artistic taste on both sides (viewer/creator). On the link provided for each animation is the author's report on the flash and I highly recommend viewing their statements. Also please watch each animation before you read my review. That said enjoy!
For what it's worth (I'm sorry)
Ok, so what I'm hearing from everyone is that this is a creepy animation. But how far from the truth are we here? We're talking about recycling humans for use as 'helpers'. Let's look at the title first: "For what it's worth (I'm sorry)". Which side of things is this statement coming from? There's no remorse from the 'person' who is making and selling this contraptions. Aside from the fact that they can't think there is no emotion from the automatons. No, the appology is coming from the 'users'.
That's what they are. They're users. They are using an appliance that is designed to make their life easier. What correlation do we have in our world? Computers, perhaps? I would say yes. We mindlessly use computers every day. We rely on them to help/force us to get up in the morning. We use them to give us the news of the morning as we are getting ready for school/work. We rely on them to get us to work in the morning when we start our communte. We rely on them to keep traffic flowing. To tell us how much we owe for breakfast. Keep track of hours at work... Print out reports and other things for work... We use them to learn... We use them for entertainment... To make our food... To track our resources... Manage our time... etc...
What if they all stopped working? The artist for this video, Matt Merrill, has shown us a different aspect of the computerised world that we live in. Rather than spending gobs of cash to make a computer or computerised man he takes a man, severs his free-thinking mind from his body and markets the 'robot' as a do-all machine to do our work for us. Then, when the robot malfunctions we get angry at it as though it will solve the problem or make them work harder. Only when one person realizes what's happening to things change for him. He realizes that having another do his work for him is accomplishing no good and he feels sorrow, remorse for his actions.
We've become a complacent society that gladly gives up working for itself and pushes the actual or perceived work off on others. We gladly force someone else to do our work so we can work on things that are more entertaining, more desirable, more fun. So we can be lazy.
On the horizon...
Within the next few years we are going to see a change, a shift in the computing and daily living world. There some devices and computing shifts that are going to affect our daily life in ways that most can't imagine. I'll highlight a few of these here.
1. HTPC (Home Theater PC)
Commonly known as Tivo, variations on this device are already prevalent on the market. Tivo uses a slimmed down version of Linux and a hard drive to record shows, replacing your VCR. It is able to record more than a typical tape and is much easier to maintain and program. You can even tell it what your favorite shows are and it will tape them automatically by downloading the times from a distributed database held by it's manufacturer.
You can build a similar device at home and completely replace your entire home theater system. For the same price you would pay for all of the components in the typical home theater/tv/gaming setup you can build a PC with the same functionality and better components. DVD player, Tivo-like functionality, good TV and a great 5.1 or better sound system. And it all fits in one box. Later I'll outline my ideal HTPC setup.
2. Quantum Computing
A new development coming down the pipe is the thought of quantum computing. This involves more than I can fully list here but I'll give you a rundown.
In computing currently you have what are called bits. A bit is a single-state object: either a 1 or a 0. Combinations of bits make up larger collections called bytes, then kilobytes, then megabytes, then gigabytes, etc... It's these collections of bits and bytes that make up things like documents and songs on storage devices within your computer.
The principle behind quantum computing is the qubit. A qubit is a quantum bit. Rather than existing in one state it is in a constant state of flux. The principle that allows it to hold information, in fact many times more information, is Quantum Bit Discovery. The theory holds that the bit does not have a definitive state until you examine it. Then and only then do you see what information it holds.
I wouldn't be able to say how viable the technology is. The reason is I can see both sides: It will work because the theory is sound and we have the ability and mindpower to make it happen. It won't work because we don't have anything that can exist in multiple states except for plasma (not blood plasma you phlebotomists) which is too unstable to work with currently.
3. Perpendicular recording
This technology, specifically for harddrives, reorganizes the magnetic structure of the recording layer by aligning the bits vertically rather than horizontally. This allows for higher bit compaction than is available currently: approximately 75% more compact for increased storage.
4. Mass quantity solid state storage
We are currently coming to a headway in harddrive technology where we are exceeding the physical limits of the recording media. The next closest technology that could solve these problems is solid state storage. Working similarly to the memory module in your digital camera they store bits within an electrically charged core of silicon, also similar to a processor. The current issue is the sophistication of these devices requires an extremely high price right now, upwards of $100 per GB. The technology is effectively here but it is not in high enough capacities or low enough price to be truly effective. But it will be soon.
5. Blu-ray
The industry is facing another format war similar to what was seen between DVD + and -. The difference is there is a clear winner this time: Sony's Blu-ray. BD (Blu-ray disc acronym and common reference) has 8x the capacity per single layer than a single layer DVD and 1.7x more than it's competitor: HD-DVD. The reason for this is the tighter focusing tolerance of the blue laser and the ability to cram more info on the same diameter disc. It is also thinner, lighter and more scratch resistent: it has a protective coating over the disc's play side, similar technology to your plastic-lensed glasses. This means a more resilient disc with higher capacity. And it's backwards compatible with your current collection. Oh, yeah, it's going to be the new format for the PS3. Need I say more?
Dumb fucker for the past month...
This award goes to someone who can't speak. She can't even walk anymore. Nope, she's dead now. And she used to be a ninja. Now she's not. My pet rat decided to take a header of the top shelf of her new cage apparently. I got home for lunch and Baren told me she was dead. She was more than dead. Her legs and tail were blue. We just can't seem to keep the little fuckers alive.
Dumbass award number two goes to Baren's little shit who drowned herself last week. I wish some people would do that to themselves... Wishful thinking.
Closing thoughts...
Get bent. It took to long to write this post and longer to read it. Good night.
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