Recent Posts

3526

Living Room / Re: Movies or films you've seen lately

« Last post by 40hz on May 04, 2013, 12:46 PM »

re: Watchlist

Ooooo...my cuppa tea that sounds like!

And I never even heard of it - which surprised me

Thx Mouser! Just put it on my "to watch" list.

P.S. The IMDB page had three suggestions I'm also gonna have to check out. Big score this one!

3527

Living Room / Re: May the 4th Be With You... (cue Star Wars music)

« Last post by 40hz on May 04, 2013, 12:34 PM »

Until tomorrow...which is Revenge of the fifth

-Stephen66515 (May 04, 2013, 11:53 AM)

Shouldn't that be the day after the day after for Revenge of the Sixth?

Wonder what we should do for the 4th of Jed-i?

3528

Living Room / Re: Microsoft Mohoro OS?

« Last post by 40hz on May 03, 2013, 03:08 PM »

@tomos - Must be both of our days for not doing those boring things we really should be doing....

3529

Living Room / Re: [Breaking News] Afghanistan cargo plane crash caught on camera

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 09:38 PM »

What am I missing?

-Stoic Joker (May 02, 2013, 09:25 PM)

Nothing apparently. I did a Google search earlier and came up with hits only for "alternative" news sites. Got none of the majors when I looked.

Weird.

3530

Living Room / Re: [Breaking News] Afghanistan cargo plane crash caught on camera

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 04:44 PM »

Cause of crash is believed to be its cargo shifting and upsetting the plane's balance, based on communications with air traffic control.

The craft reared up into too steep of a climb, stalled, skidded sideways from lack of airspeed, and then couldn't pull up in time after righting itself.

-SeraphimLabs (May 02, 2013, 04:09 PM)

I actually found it quite odd that I didn't see this on the BBC or any other news station on TV...at all.

-Stephen66515 (May 02, 2013, 04:14 PM)

Agree. Supposedly it isn't a hoax either. Makes one wonder....

3531

Living Room / Re: MegaUpload Comeback?

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 04:18 PM »

Could be.

But it seems like they're doing their best right now to keep Pirate Bay on the run. Each time they move, pressure gets brought to bear to make them move again. Sooner or later they're going to run out of havens.

Wonder of something similar is starting to happen to the other sites? Maybe some combination of legal and covert harassment? They're already pressuring the big search engines to not index any of the major filesharing sites, regardless of the legality of content the spiders identify.

3532

General Software Discussion / Re: Ghost - a new "just blogging" platform now fully funded on Kickstarter

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 04:08 PM »

What is Markdown?

-TaoPhoenix (May 02, 2013, 03:26 PM)

It's totally awesome!

See here and here and here.

-40hz (May 02, 2013, 03:47 PM)

That's too many "Here" 's. They make me allergic!

-TaoPhoenix (May 02, 2013, 03:55 PM)

That's the price you pay for being too lazy to Google it yourself!

3533

Living Room / Re: One year without the internet: An Interesting Read

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 04:03 PM »

You can't shut the world out - best you can do is shut yourself in, as the saying goes.

The problem I see many people get into with the Internet is trying to shove everything in their life through it. Even those times when it makes no sense to do so. It's just another tool AFAIC. Learn how - and where - to use a tool and all is well.

Having come from a world before personal computers and the Internet, I can say honestly many things today are better because of them. And I wouldn't willingly go back to how things were before.

True, with these new technologies came new problems, challenges, and wrongs. But that's just part of the human condition. The levy we were assessed when we got kicked out of the garden according to some.

Nothing new. We'll learn to make our way through this new world one way or another. Or we won't.

The universe will continue on either way.

3534

Living Room / Re: Microsoft Mohoro OS?

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 03:51 PM »

Are you guys aware that I have deleted accounts because of "worshippers"?

-app103 (May 02, 2013, 03:26 PM)

It's not so much worship as we're egging you on. It's been kinda quiet around here since Renegade went on hiatus.

3535

General Software Discussion / Re: Ghost - a new "just blogging" platform now fully funded on Kickstarter

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 03:47 PM »

What is Markdown?

-TaoPhoenix (May 02, 2013, 03:26 PM)

It's totally awesome!

See here and here and here.

3536

General Software Discussion / Re: Ghost - a new "just blogging" platform now fully funded on Kickstarter

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 03:44 PM »

One of the apparent raison d'etre of Ghost is being a simpler WordPress. I never saw WordPress as complex so I don't get that. Otherwise a simple attractive blogging platform is nice.

-rgdot (May 02, 2013, 03:05 PM)

I don't think it's so much it's complex as that it's very easy to break.

And because of its "everything plus the kitchen sink" modular design (with plug-ins independently developed by coders of varying talent) it's not problem that will ever go completely away.

Ghost seems to be approaching this with a "less is more" philosophy. As in: address one use extremely well and call it a day. You say you want to do other stuff with Ghost? Ok, here's the source code. Go knock yourself out.

The problem I see most non-tech types having with WP is they just don't get the basic idea behind it. They can't (or won't) grok the whole concept of a CMS - which is kinda technical, even on a cursory level. HTML they get. CSS gets dicey. But when you mention pHp code plus a database and a web server, their eyes start to glaze over. "Whaddaya mean my pages don't actually exist as webpages? Whaddya mean they're created on the fly as they're requested by a browser except for static pages. And what's static pages, eh Preciousssss? Give us nice HTML files and keep your nasty CMS!"

Face it rgdot. We're all basically mutants here.

3537

General Software Discussion / Re: Ghost - a new "just blogging" platform now fully funded on Kickstarter

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 03:26 PM »

I love Markdown, and for that reason alone, I want this to succeed.

-wraith808 (May 02, 2013, 03:21 PM)

Exactly.

3538

Living Room / Re: Cute jokes' thread

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 02:47 PM »

Probably one of the finest moments ever in American comic strip writing:



 

3539

Living Room / Re: Microsoft Mohoro OS?

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 02:34 PM »

"Thus I have heard!"

(The opening line to a lot of the Old School Buddhist sutras!)

 

-TaoPhoenix (May 02, 2013, 01:59 PM)

Yeah, but I think all of April's should begin: "Now the way it all went down was like this."

3540

General Software Discussion / Ghost - a new "just blogging" platform now fully funded on Kickstarter

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 02:29 PM »

This is a very interesting Kickstarter project that is now fully funded. It's called Ghost, and it promises to be an incredibly powerful but simple to use tool that is designed to be "just a blogging platform." (KS project page here.)

Ghost is a platform dedicated to one thing: Publishing. It's beautifully designed, completely customiseable and completely Open Source. Ghost allows you to write and publish your own blog, giving you the tools to make it easy and even (gasp) fun to do. It's simple, elegant, and designed so that you can spend less time messing with making your blog work - and more time blogging.

This is the part that really caught my attention

Ghost has a smart writing screen. Markdown on the left, and a live preview on the right. Write down your ideas and format them on the fly, never pausing to click on endless formatting buttons, never having to write long/painful HTML to express your ideas. You can even theme the preview pane to match your blog's formatting exactly.

That looks to be the answer to a prayer for the average blog writer. Adding images also seems to be done with a simple drag and drop. Very nice that!

Check out their video here.

This dev team has rock solid credentials and programming experience, plus a working prototype, so this project looks very good so far. Apparently other people thought so too. Funding target was for £25,000. Actual funding is now at £87,000 with 25 days still left to go.

The public release of the software is set for September 2013. It will be released under the MIT License.

They'll also be offering a hosted package like Wordpress does if you don't want to host your own installation. It will be available to project backers in November of this year. The general public will need to wait until January 2014 to open an account.  Pricing has yet to be determined.

This looks to be very cool.

3541

Living Room / Re: Microsoft Mohoro OS?

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 01:53 PM »

we can do Chapter and Verse from the Collected Writings of App103!

-TaoPhoenix (May 02, 2013, 01:31 PM)

I'm all for chapter and verse. app103 will always be a guru in my book.

Hmm...how about The April Sutra? Kinda has a nice ring to it doesn't it?

3542

Living Room / Re: Microsoft Mohoro OS?

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 01:19 PM »

Behold! ...Windows DaaStardly.

-Stoic Joker (May 02, 2013, 11:30 AM)

LOL!

3543

Living Room / Re: Microsoft Mohoro OS?

« Last post by 40hz on May 02, 2013, 08:51 AM »

From the sound of it, it's yet another 'thin client' solution.

Nothing much new there, as the article noted.

Funny in a way. 50 years ago, the only way to use a computer was to rent time on a fairly dumb terminal connected to a mainframe and run your programs from there. Then along came the personal computer revolution which pulled the power away from corporate behemoths like IBM and Sperry-Rand and handed it over to the users. (Microsoft and Apple should know a bit about that since they were material in bringing it to be.)

However, now it's 2013, and it looks like Apple and Microsoft (and all the other advocates of personal computing freedom like Google) are doing their best to return our computing landscape to exactly what it was in 1968. Except with better graphics, fancier games, and online shopping.

Rather ironic if you think about it. When Apple introduced the Macintosh, their historic ad said that, thanks to them, 1984 would not be like 1984.

And they were right...

But it's sure looking more and more like 2014 will be.

At least if if Microsoft and Apple have anything to say about it.

3544

Site/Forum Features / Re: Google ad test

« Last post by 40hz on May 01, 2013, 07:53 PM »

Still, i think there's some value in experimenting with them every few years to see what kind of revenue they generate, what kind of feedback they generate, if they affect the site, etc., and see what kinds of options there are.

-mouser (May 01, 2013, 05:18 PM)

Oh I agree 100%. When it comes to experimenting, I say bring it on. If nothing else, when something doesn't work out as hoped, it helps remind us all just how different this site is from most other places on the web. And that's largely because of the mutual respect shared between the site's operators and the membership.

It's something to be proud of.

3545

Site/Forum Features / Re: Google ad test

« Last post by 40hz on May 01, 2013, 05:13 PM »

@Mouser - don't know if it's just me, but somehow allowing something to appear on your site - but then have a huge amount of text warning how this something might not be what it appears to be (along with full caveates) sends a mixed message. And in some respects I think it makes DoCo look bad because of it. To me it's almost like introducing a guest at a party you're hosting by saying "Hi folks. Meet my new acquaintance Goog. He's basically a nice guy - but watch your wallet whenever you're around him. And please don't blame me if he tries to pull a fast one on you ok? You have been warned."

(IMHO there has got to be a better way to generate ongoing revenue for the site than this. Just my anyway. )

3546

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by 40hz on May 01, 2013, 08:48 AM »

Just read a couple of books on Django in my ongoing quest to design the next best web framework..

-mouser (May 01, 2013, 07:50 AM)

Maybe these guys can help!

http://www.bbc.co.uk.../technology-22249490

 

-TaoPhoenix (May 01, 2013, 08:18 AM)

^What's up with these Google AdSense robot pseudo-posts in the forums?

Something new DoCo is doing?


UPDATE:

Oops! Never mind. Just found the other thread discussing it.

I skipped reading it earlier because I personally despise most things Google.  

3547

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by 40hz on May 01, 2013, 07:39 AM »

There ought to be a law mandating disclosure when this is done.

-kyrathaba (May 01, 2013, 07:31 AM)

Should - but there probably never will be. The institution of 'ghostwriter' is too well established and understood that any attempt to characterize the practice as misleading, or a form of false advertising, would probably be dismissed as "unnecessary and excessive government regulation" by our enlightened legislatures.

Unless, of course, Amazon and/or B&N objected to the practice - since those two are rapidly becoming the gatekeepers and de facto arbiters of the 'printed' word in North America.
 

3548

Living Room / Re: What books are you reading?

« Last post by 40hz on May 01, 2013, 07:29 AM »

Book 3 throws all of that out. Suddenly, it's omniscient third person narration with countless points of view, few of which are familiar characters from the previous books. What started as survival horror is now a mashup of government conspiracy, tactical shooter and science fiction. Yeah, there's aliens in it now.

-allen (April 30, 2013, 10:17 PM)

  Things like that make me wonder if the same author actually wrote it. Some publishers have this bad habit of convincing authors to franchise their name, and then supply a small team of writers to finish a series or write the half dozen sequels that follow the first two.

3549

Living Room / Re: The Internet's new content cops - meet 'The Deciders'

« Last post by 40hz on April 30, 2013, 09:03 PM »

The whole idea of the internet was an exchange of idea's and thoughts, and when you start censoring what gets through, you basically cripple the whole concept.

-Tinman57 (April 30, 2013, 08:02 PM)

Amen.

Ken White over at Popehat had a nice piece on that which illustrates how even people who truly believe themselves to be advocates of free speech are somehow blind when it comes to their own demands for censorship. In this case journalist Nicholas Jackson's rant against sports commentator Chris Broussard's recent rant about homosexuality and gay marriage.

It seems Mr. Jackson wants to suppress Broussard's rambling bible invoking comments by branding them a form of "hate speech."  He then goes on to completely misinterpret US laws regarding freedom of speech, and present a totally erroneous argument that US courts have historically moved to restrict freedom of speech (and have supposedly done so) when, in fact, US courts have done the exact opposite.

And why does journalist and self proclaimed free speech supporter Nicholas Jackson want comments like Broussrd's retricted or outlawed? Look no further than Mr. Jackson's article written for the Pacific Standard, where he tells us:

...Over the years, the U.S. Supreme Court has tightened the definition of free speech over and over again. <NOTE from 40hz:This is not true according to attorney Ken White.>
 -
As a 15-year-old, that made me livid. Now, as a 25-year-old, I appreciate those restrictions, because, frankly, I don’t want to listen to your bullshit. In fact, I don’t think the existing restrictions go far enough.

Ah yes. Yet another 20-something that doesn't want to listen to any bullshit - other than his own - as Ken's Popehat article points out.


Here's an excerpt:

Chris Broussard is a dinosaur snarling at the oncoming asteroid. Even opposition to gay marriage is doomed in the long term, let alone dwindling opposition to gays and lesbians living openly. If they are angered by people like Jason Collins, Broussard and his ilk are destined for lives of increasingly marginalized bitterness and resentment.

But that's not enough for some who think Chris Broussard's views should be suppressed by force of law. For instance, over at Pacific Standard, Nicholas Jackson uses Chris Broussard as an opportunity to call for censorship and be thoroughly wrong about free speech and the First Amendment. It's typical for people to react to obnoxious speech by waving their arms and proclaiming vaguely there oughta be a law; that's banal. Jackson distinguishes himself by asserting authority and then promoting disinformation about the law, all in the service of an argument that the law should prohibit Broussard's speech.

Read the whole article here.
 

3550

Living Room / Re: The Internet's new content cops - meet 'The Deciders'

« Last post by 40hz on April 30, 2013, 06:12 PM »

ROFLMFAO   ...But you have to admit, she is half right. Everybody in IT related fields has a FB account ... Because it is only the people that truly are in IT that know better..  

-Stoic Joker (April 30, 2013, 05:15 PM)

Ah Stoic! There are times when you cut through the chaff and put your finger directly on it. Bravo!

(Wish I thought of that comeback when I was talking to her. Oh well. It's cataloged for next time!)