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5276

Living Room / Re: Is there a non-Schwartzenegger Terminator in your future?

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 04:59 PM »

I can imagine a near future scenario where the battlefields will start seeing real versions of Phillip K. Dick's small battle robots called  "Claws" in his 1953 post-nuclear apocalypse short story The Second Variety. If you haven't read it yet, you should. It's a great story. (Available to read or download free from The Gutenberg Project - link here.)

-40hz (September 07, 2012, 09:54 AM)

Thanks for the link. I just read it.

-Deozaan (September 07, 2012, 01:31 PM)

Glad you liked. Phillip K. Dick was awesome. Few ever hit as many high notes as he did in a career that spanned 44 novels and at least 120 short stories in the 53 all too brief years he lived. His influence is still being felt 30 years later.


          Phillip K.Dick
           1928 - 1982

5277

General Software Discussion / Re: instant linux on winxp

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 04:49 PM »

kalos, I really think you need to go with the virtual machine route.  That's the least invasive way to do what you want.

-skwire (September 07, 2012, 04:43 PM)

I think it's more like the only way.

5278

Living Room / Re: Cyber Attack on Nutrition Site?

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 04:48 PM »

Brave new world folks! Push the big guys a little too hard and you can expect them to push right back.

-40hz (September 07, 2012, 10:13 AM)

...And that's why Anonymous had (has?) a fan base.

-Stoic Joker (September 07, 2012, 02:46 PM)

Much as I understand where Anonymous is coming from, every so often I can't help thinking:

The problem with anon vigilantism

Waging a war in the shadows, without first capturing the minds of the masses, and gaining their active support, only brings about more oppression - and further entrenches those in already in power.

 

5279

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 02:07 PM »

Totally needed one of these this week...

Wonder of it comes in a network integration version.

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Living Room / Re: Most BitTorrent users being monitored by copyright agencies, study finds

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 12:34 PM »

I guess quite a few of us have VPN subscriptions~!

Just kidding~! (Or not? tongue )

-Renegade (September 07, 2012, 12:35 AM)

Actually, I do have VPN subscriptions. Plus access to a dozen more through client owned networks I do work for.

But oddly enough, I have never downloaded a movie, game, or song I didn't specifically pay to download.

I'm such a Boy Scout about some things. Pretty sad huh?

5281

Living Room / Re: It's about ... oldish films

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 12:20 PM »

OMG - not exactly movies, but let's not leave out the TV classics either. Old B&W television still tried to retain a lot of the old Hollywood studio feel (i.e. limited set changes, static cameras, excessive background textures to compensate for lack of color, overacted characters, etc.) long after the real studios moved into more modern film making techniques.

So let's toss in ALL the episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Thriller, plus the original Twilight Zone and Outer Limits series.

Almost everybody who ever watched them has a favorite (or three) with each those shows.

Maybe it would be a better idea to start a new thread just for those? Anybody? Anybody?

5282

Living Room / Re: It's about ... oldish films

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 12:04 PM »

Couldn't quite relate to NCFOM despite three full viewings. Guess I'm just not a fan of plots that revolve around drugs or drug deals.

But a big +1 for Donny Darko.

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Living Room / Re: It's about ... oldish films

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 11:36 AM »

I'm kinda partial to The Thing, with Matt Dillon aka James Arness as the monster.  The Kurt Russell release I saw left me cold - colder than the climate it depicted  .

-barney (September 05, 2012, 11:59 PM)

Warning! The following is mostly off topic.  

Agree 100% With all due respect to Kurt, he did far better with his 'Snake Plissken' character in Escape from New York. Plus we got Adrienne Barbeau (Maggie) thrown in for some serious eye candy. Which is a fair characterization since she only said maybe 20 words in the entire movie despite "that gown" speaking volumes. (As my GF said when she saw it: "Well oh-kay then! 'Big Girl' dress huh?)


Oh look! It's Kurt Russell. I didn't even know he was in this picture!

For modern antarctic thrillers, the 2009 Whiteout with the lovely and talented Kate Beckinsale as Federal Marshall Carrie Stetko is about as good as it currently gets.



A fun flick even though it didn't even come close to meeting viewer expectations considering the budget and cast. Which just goes to show how great acting talent and a well written script still can't quite make up for a storyline that needed a lot more work.

But an even better modern cold climate flick (Northern Tundra this time) - in the whole enviro-disaster/horror/sci-fi/psychological thriller/did we leave anything out genre - might be the 2006 sleeper: The Last Winter. It's got Ron Perlman (ol' Hellboy himself) in a major role. Strange, slightly unpredictable, and semi-slow moving story - with an utterly bizarre ending.

Maybe it's not an oldie. But IMHO it's still a goodie!

5284

General Software Discussion / Re: What went wrong with Linux on the Desktop

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 11:01 AM »

Yes. I guess so. It's not my first language and it's lot harder to express something in less words more clearly.

-mahesh2k (September 07, 2012, 10:32 AM)

^My hat is off to you for being bi-lingual and willing to put it use. I have enough trouble speaking the language I grew up with. My own wordiness is often a problem when I post. One for which I have no excuse since American English is my first language. I'd be totally up the creek in a non-English speaking forum.

5285

General Software Discussion / Re: What went wrong with Linux on the Desktop

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 10:29 AM »

I am not changing course midstream, I am aware of nitpicking here from the start and I am pointing out that before people keep on assuming something which isnt there.

-mahesh2k (September 07, 2012, 07:53 AM)

Maybe most of this misunderstanding/miscommunication is more a colloquial language issue than anything else?  

5286

Living Room / Re: NCH Software - "There Be Dragons"

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 10:26 AM »

I've heard several complaints from clients about NCH software products lately for reasons much like those above. Very annoying. Right up there with the idiots who bundle the Funmoods Toolbar  (a browser hijacker) in with their products.

5287

Living Room / Re: Cyber Attack on Nutrition Site?

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 10:13 AM »

It is pretty amazing. Usually the motives or potential beneficiaries behind such an attack aren't made quite so obvious. But this was just sheer brute force.

I guess that article and video were causing big enough concerns that subtlety and finesse went right out the window when whoever got freaked out about it decided to take it down.

Brave new world folks! Push the big guys a little too hard and you can expect them to push right back.

5288

Living Room / Is there a non-Schwartzenegger Terminator in your future?

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 09:54 AM »

This just posted over on MAKE:

Boston Dynamic’s Cheetah Robot Can Now Outrun Usain Bolt
By Eric Weinhoffer, 2012/09/06 @ 3:30 pm

This is the latest video from Boston Dynamics, the company famous for creating the dynamically stable quadruped Big Dog. Just six months ago, we saw this Cheetah robot run at 18mph, crushing the previous speed record of 13.1mph, which was set at MIT in 1989. This time, it’s running at 28.3mph; quick enough, in fact, to overtake sprinter Usain Bolt.

Ok...so it's not tether-free or self-contained. Yet. But it's only a matter of time...

I can imagine a near future scenario where the battlefields will start seeing real versions of Phillip K. Dick's small battle robots called  "Claws" in his 1953 post-nuclear apocalypse short story The Second Variety. If you haven't read it yet, you should. It's a great story. (Available to read or download free from The Gutenberg Project - link here.)

read excerpt here

The Russian soldier made his way nervously up the ragged side of the hill, holding his gun ready. He glanced around him, licking his dry lips, his face set. From time to time he reached up a gloved hand and wiped perspiration from his neck, pushing down his coat collar.

Eric turned to Corporal Leone. “Want him? Or can I have him?” He adjusted the view sight so the Russian’s features squarely filled the glass, the lines cutting across his hard, somber features.

Leone considered. The Russian was close, moving rapidly, almost running. “Don’t fire. Wait.” Leone tensed. “I don’t think we’re needed.”

The Russian increased his pace, kicking ash and piles of debris out of his way. He reached the top of the hill and stopped, panting, staring around him. The sky was overcast, drifting clouds of gray particles. Bare trunks of trees jutted up occasionally; the ground was level and bare, rubble-strewn, with the ruins of buildings standing out here and there like yellowing skulls.

The Russian was uneasy. He knew something was wrong. He started down the hill. Now he was only a few paces from the bunker. Eric was getting fidgety. He played with his pistol, glancing at Leone.

“Don’t worry,” Leone said. “He won’t get here. They’ll take care of him.”

“Are you sure? He’s got damn far.”

“They hang around close to the bunker. He’s getting into the bad part. Get set!”

The Russian began to hurry, sliding down the hill, his boots sinking into the heaps of gray ash, trying to keep his gun up. He stopped for a moment, lifting his fieldglasses to his face.

“He’s looking right at us,” Eric said.

The Russian came on. They could see his eyes, like two blue stones. His mouth was open a little. He needed a shave; his chin was stubbled. On one bony cheek was a square of tape, showing blue at the edge. A fungoid spot. His coat was muddy and torn. One glove was missing. As he ran his belt counter bounced up and down against him.

Leone touched Eric’s arm. “Here one comes.”

Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of mid-day. A metal sphere. It raced up the hill after the Russian, its treads flying. It was small, one of the baby ones. Its claws were out, two razor projections spinning in a blur of white steel. The Russian heard it. He turned instantly,  firing. The sphere dissolved into particles. But already a second had emerged and was following the first. The Russian fired again.

A third sphere leaped up the Russian’s leg, clicking and whirring. It jumped to the shoulder. The spinning blades disappeared into the Russian’s throat.

Eric relaxed. “Well, that’s that. God, those damn things give me the creeps. Sometimes I think we were better off before.”

“If we hadn’t invented them, they would have.” Leone lit a cigarette shakily. “I wonder why a Russian would come all this way alone. I didn’t see anyone covering him.”

Lt. Scott came slipping up the tunnel, into the bunker. “What happened? Something entered the screen.”

“An Ivan.”

“Just one?”

Eric brought the view screen around. Scott peered into it. Now there were numerous metal spheres crawling over the prostrate body, dull metal globes clicking and whirring, sawing up the Russian into small parts to be carried away.

“What a lot of claws,” Scott murmured.

“They come like flies. Not much game for them any more.”

Scott pushed the sight away, disgusted. “Like flies. I wonder why he was out there. They know we have claws all around.”

A larger robot had joined the smaller spheres. It was directing operations, a long blunt tube with projecting eyepieces. There was not much left of the soldier. What remained was being brought down the hillside by the host of claws.

“Sir,” Leone said. “If it’s all right, I’d like to go out there and take a look at him.”

“Why?”

“Maybe he came with something.”

Scott considered. He shrugged. “All right. But be careful.”

“I have my tab.” Leone patted the metal band at his wrist. “I’ll be out of bounds.”

 

------------

Addendum: There was a fairly decent movie version made of the The Second Variety in 1995 called Screamers starring Peter Weller. Although the plot details were reworked, and the political scenarios updated, it kept very close to the original story. Recommended.

Here's the trailer:

 

5289

Living Room / Re: Cyber Attack on Nutrition Site?

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 07:16 AM »

The site owners commented that such attacks are usually the work of corporations or government backed hackers. However, I would suggest it can also be the work of major investors and stakeholders if there is a possibility share prices may be adversely affected by such an article.

5290

General Software Discussion / Re: What went wrong with Linux on the Desktop

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 06:11 AM »

I dunno, Red Flag Linux never really took off, even in China, and even after Nanchang internet cafés were forced to install it.

-Edvard (September 07, 2012, 12:36 AM)

I think that's because Red Flag (could they have picked a worse name?) was a little too heavy handed and obvious about what it was all about. China won't make that mistake a second time. The next Chinese state controlled Linux distro will be created in a university by a "club" of "unaffiliated students." There will be some minor concessions to internet freedoms. And that will allow the government to get what it wants while still keeping it generally palatable to the intended audience. The Chinese apparently have far fewer issues with authority than most people from my experience. A token concession or two towards personal freedom goes a long way in China.

And besides, India will probably design it anyway. It will be India's design (based on a US authored codebase), built in China, and selling like hotcakes in most of the world.

Maybe it won't be that popular in the USA and some parts of Europe. But why should that be a concern? The US economy is in trouble, and Europe's isn't far behind. So it's not like the US/Eur is going to continue to have infinite amounts of money to spend like they did in the old days.

In the meantime there are literally billions of potential first time computer buyers in the rest of the world. All that's needed is something "good enough" and "cheap enough" to become the new reference platform for personal computing.

"Necessity furthers. It is advisable to have a goal in view. No blame." as the I Ching says.
 
 

5291

Living Room / Re: Raspberry Pi being manufactured in the UK

« Last post by 40hz on September 07, 2012, 05:49 AM »

^Touché! 

5292

Living Room / Re: Kiss Your Keyboard and Mouse Goodbye With The Leap

« Last post by 40hz on September 06, 2012, 09:24 PM »

How many here would like to use their computer the way he did in 'Minority Report'?

-Arizona Hot (September 05, 2012, 03:34 PM)

Whenever I see something like this, the first thing that comes to mind is, "Wouldn't your arms get tired?"

-cthorpe (September 06, 2012, 06:14 PM)

Really? The first thing that comes to my mind is: OMG! Cats! Their tails!!! What if they were suddenly able to get access to Internet? Humanity would be doomed!
 

5293

General Software Discussion / Re: What went wrong with Linux on the Desktop

« Last post by 40hz on September 06, 2012, 09:15 PM »

So I'm all for a Chinese-Indian Alliance! (I have NO idea what that means GeoPolitically, it sounds kinda neat.)

-TaoPhoenix (September 06, 2012, 06:40 PM)

I'm guessing it would mean major changes in the world's economic patterns and spheres of influence. And that's just for openers.
                                                           

5294

Living Room / Re: Raspberry Pi being manufactured in the UK

« Last post by 40hz on September 06, 2012, 09:04 PM »

No and yes.

Although I wonder if the UK manufacturer will be able to resist the urge to flop the ports to the exact opposite side from where they currently are - just to make it a little more British?

Ok...I'm just kidding m'lords and ladies. Now please put down those rocks, bottles, and dead cats?

5295

General Software Discussion / Re: What went wrong with Linux on the Desktop

« Last post by 40hz on September 06, 2012, 06:33 PM »

^yeah. But we're not looking for good here. All we need is good enough.
Yup  I'm still betting on China.   (Although India may still end up being who designs it.)

5296

Living Room / Re: Bitcoin theft causes Bitfloor exchange to go offline

« Last post by 40hz on September 06, 2012, 05:28 PM »

I think it's only going to be a matter of time before regulators are forced to shut BitCoin down. There's too much at stake to allow it to continue with its current track record for insufficient security..

-40hz (September 06, 2012, 01:22 PM)

I doubt it's going to be shut down before it poses a serious threat to the current money model - but you can bet it'd be shut down with extreme prejudice as soon as it does.

-f0dder (September 06, 2012, 02:09 PM)

As soon as money gets lost via wire the Feds get involved where we are. And BitCoin is already functioning in a gray area under US Law. Arguments could be made it's operating illegally as an unlicensed money transfer agent. Nobody's done much since it hasn't rocked the boat for anybody but Apple so far. But now that a lawsuit has been filed against them, the US courts are going to have to make a determination, and the regulators will be forced to take action.

And besides....it's an election year!!!!

5297

Living Room / Re: Kiss Your Keyboard and Mouse Goodbye With The Leap

« Last post by 40hz on September 06, 2012, 05:21 PM »

Did we lose that innocent sense of wonder and get crushed into being drones?

-TaoPhoenix (September 06, 2012, 04:04 PM)

Nope. Opportunistic IP laws and patent trolls crushed it for us.

5298

General Software Discussion / Re: What went wrong with Linux on the Desktop

« Last post by 40hz on September 06, 2012, 05:12 PM »

^What you're describing sounds an awful lot like what Android was originally (supposedly?) intended to do - except you're suggesting it come with a better keyboard and bigger screen.

And yeah...if anybody does build it, it's gonna be China I'm guessing. Probably take it to Mars with them too at the rate they're going.

5299

Living Room / Re: Most BitTorrent users being monitored by copyright agencies, study finds

« Last post by 40hz on September 06, 2012, 01:40 PM »

Plus there must be some privacy issues (internationally) if they are potentially using it to personally identify people.

-Carol Haynes (September 06, 2012, 01:10 PM)

I don't know how it works in other places, but over here you can scream about privacy until you're blue in the face if such privacy would interfere with preventing or stopping an illegal activity. On paper it might make for a compelling argument. But in a courtroom your rights to privacy get very short shrift if you're being charged with a crime. Most judges and jurors simply don't want to hear it. Especially in cases where  "invasion of privacy" is offered as your primary defense argument against the charges being brought.

It's very difficult to get evidence thrown out of court despite how easy TV 'cop shows' make it out to be.

5300

Living Room / Re: Bitcoin theft causes Bitfloor exchange to go offline

« Last post by 40hz on September 06, 2012, 01:22 PM »

Regardless of my political feelings, or love of new ways to do old things, the number of times  BitCoin exchanges get targeted and hacked doesn't give me the warm fuzzies. Especially considering these aren't insured accounts.

I think it's only going to be a matter of time before regulators are forced to shut BitCoin down. There's too much at stake to allow it to continue with its current track record for insufficient security..