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6976

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

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 04:17 PM »

Does such a thing exist for any of these services?

6977

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

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 03:49 PM »

It can import into its own ecosystem from others... or that's not the type of import you're talking about?

6978

Developer's Corner / Re: A Bonehead Programming "Bug"

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 03:43 PM »

I had a similar problem recently that I spent half the day on 

In one particular case, the data wasn't rendering.  I called over someone to look at it with me, and she pointed out that in the case where it wasn't rendering, I wasn't returning a value, just null.  D'oh!

And on that subject... I saw this piece of code:

Code: C# [Select]

1. private void Execute()
2. {
3.     if (InvokeRequired)
4.     {
5.         lock (new object())
6.         {
7.             if (m_instance != null)
8.                 Invoke(new threadDelegate(Execute), new object[] { });
9.         }
10.     }
11.     else
12.     {
13.         if(OnInstanceChanged != null)
14.             OnInstanceChanged();
15.     }
16. }

WTF?!?

6979

Living Room / Re: I want a Sony Xperia SX, but I think it's stupid to buy one.

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 03:37 PM »

The 8X features Qualcomm's dual-core Krait Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) running at 1.5GHz. The 8S on the other hand uses a lower clocked MSM8627 (1GHz) with a slower Adreno 305 GPU

Just that part seems like a big deal.  I bet if you used both side by side, just the CPU difference would be obvious, let alone the GPU difference.

The two phones differ in the amount of on-package DRAM (1GB for the 8X and 512MB for the 8S)

Add that in, and you're going to see a large difference in UX.  Load a few programs, and the 8S is going to be bogging down while the 8X is still cruising along.

Storage is split between the two as well, with the 8X featuring 16GB of NAND on-board (no microSD card slot), and the 8S with only 4GB integrated and a microSD card slot for expansion.

That's a big difference... though I think it curious that the lower priced phone has room for expansion while the pricier one does not.  Hmm...

But on to the issue at hand, to me, personally, there's an obvious difference between the two... and more than the generational gap that 8MP vs 10MP represents- though that's pretty big to actual photographers- my wife had to school me on that by blowing up two pictures from said cameras.  The difference is night and day, even on that!

6980

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

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 03:32 PM »

Oh, great, you can export the data you actually provided yourself. Now that's useful.

-Tuxman (September 20, 2012, 12:55 PM)

Isn't that what we were talking about?  Being able to get at your data instead of being locked into an ecosystem?  I mean, you can't truly expect them to make the interface for transferring into everything there is out there, can you?  I haven't seen anything (other than dedicated import/export utilities) that go that far.

6981

Developer's Corner / Re: Licensing Free Software

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 12:35 PM »

I think anything can be abstracted to the point of absurdism, i.e. art as math which becomes code which becomes...

I think you have to deal with practicalities rather than abstractions.

6982

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

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 12:08 PM »

I don't know how you'd get the information into diaspora, but you can get all of your information out of google through google takeout.  From there, your information is yours.

Ref: http://www.dataliber...org/takeout-products

6983

Living Room / Re: I want a Sony Xperia SX, but I think it's stupid to buy one.

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 12:06 PM »

• The 8X features Qualcomm's dual-core Krait Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) running at 1.5GHz. The 8S on the other hand uses a lower clocked MSM8627 (1GHz) with a slower Adreno 305 GPU.
• The two phones differ in the amount of on-package DRAM (1GB for the 8X and 512MB for the 8S)
• Connectivity differs between the two, the 8X features LTE while the 8S is single carrier WCDMA.
• The 8X features a 4.3-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display, while the 8S uses a smaller 4-inch 800x480 display.
• Storage is split between the two as well, with the 8X featuring 16GB of NAND on-board (no microSD card slot), and the 8S with only 4GB integrated and a microSD card slot for expansion.
• Aided by HTC's external imaging processor there's an 8MP f/2.0 rear facing camera with a 28mm lens. The front facing camera sounds pretty impressive at 2.1MP with a f/2.0 aperture and an 88-degree, ultra-wide-angle lens. The 8S features a 5MP f/2.8 camera by comparison.
• Audio is also a priority for the 8X, which gets a 2.55V amplified headphone output for what promises to be a much better implementation of Beats. The 8X also features two microphones for noise cancelling duty.
• The 8X features dual-band WiFi while the 8S continues its cost-reduced theme by only supporting 2.4GHz.

Looks like quite a few differences.  And that is from the linked article.

6984

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

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 11:28 AM »

So Google is not a walled garden?
Good luck with your online life when Google Mail is down again.

-Tuxman (September 20, 2012, 11:18 AM)

You can get your information out of google in order to use other services.  And it interacts with other services, and doesn't lock you into using only what they release when they release it.

I think that's the definition of walled garden here- not service outages.  If you use a cloud based service (any cloud based service) there are things out of your control.  What you can use doesn't have to be one of them.

6985

Living Room / Re: I want a Sony Xperia SX, but I think it's stupid to buy one.

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 11:12 AM »

What I don't get is how some of these releases are coming in pairs...like the GX and SX (>4", <4")...this HTC 8S and 8X (both >4")...the Nokia 820 920 (both >4").  What's the deal?  Why offer two phones at the exact same time with just about everything being the same?  I mean, that 820 and 920 are almost identical, yet Nokia made a very conscious decision to release them both in this way.

-superboyac (September 19, 2012, 03:31 PM)

From what I understand, the specs and the price points are different on the phones.  Anandtech has a good breakdown on the differences between the 8S and the 8X - not inconsiderable.

6986

Developer's Corner / Re: Licensing Free Software

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 10:56 AM »

^ I thought I saw that somewhere when I got into the whole licensing bit.  I use CC for my writing, but that's what got me started looking at licensing my software.  But looking into it, other than Renegade's and 40s suggestions, there doesn't seem to be much help for people who don't want to release the source. 

And the reasons for not releasing the source are valid:
1. A lot of the source is derived from code for other people that I maintain the rights to use- but not distribute. 
2. Other source is just not compatible with OSS, i.e. commercial components.
3. I've had experiences with OSS that I don't want to repeat- it's just easier to not deal with it, especially for something that I'm not looking to derive compensation from.

But people are so focused on OSS that they forget about people who just want to release free stuff.  IMO, the Free Software Definition shouldn't be synonymous with OSS.  But it seems to be.  Just because you can't tinker with use the source, doesn't make the software not free.

But that's a different rant...

6987

Living Room / Re: Thread to annoy mouser

« Last post by wraith808 on September 20, 2012, 10:46 AM »

^ That was GREAT!

6988

Developer's Corner / Re: Licensing Free Software

« Last post by wraith808 on September 19, 2012, 10:44 PM »

Does CC work for software?  I thought it was only for artistic works (though one could argue that software was artistic, I suppose)

6989

Developer's Corner / Re: Licensing Free Software

« Last post by wraith808 on September 19, 2012, 09:35 PM »

I'm not sure... but like I said, I don't really care about enforcement.  It was more along the lines of why do we put locks on doors... not to keep determined criminals out (because that doesn't work), but to make non-determined criminals think twice.

Thanks for the advice!

6990

Developer's Corner / Re: Licensing Free Software

« Last post by wraith808 on September 19, 2012, 09:10 PM »

Ok.. a quick stab at a license (like I said, I don't really care about enforceability):

This software is licensed under the Don't Blame Me License (DBML)

This software is released as-is for the general good. It may never be distributed for direct payment, though inclusion in software downloads is permissible with permission obtained from (email address) as long as everything included in the distribution where it was obtained is likewise included in your distribution, and the linking page includes a link to (link to software page).  I claim no responsibility for damages that may occur to any person, place, thing, idea or noun through the direct or indirect use, misuse or disuse of this product. Caveat lector.

6991

Developer's Corner / Licensing Free Software

« Last post by wraith808 on September 19, 2012, 08:53 PM »

I've never thought about this before- I just release software and forget about it.  However, if I was going to release free software, and did want to license it to make sure that no one else made a profit off of it, but it was free (not open source), are there licenses for that?  If so, can anyone suggest a good one?  I'm not worried about enforceability, because truthfully, I don't have the resources to pursue someone for a violation for free software.  But doing nothing seems wrong also.

Any thoughts?

6992

DC Gamer Club / Re: The story of Origin/Ultima/EA

« Last post by wraith808 on September 19, 2012, 07:38 PM »

Ultima 7 was the best for me... I spent way too much time with that game.  They were the definition of overproduced with all of their nice extras.  It seems that would be a good way to cut down on piracy- start making the game worth having the physical product again.

6993

Living Room / Re: Thread to annoy mouser

« Last post by wraith808 on September 19, 2012, 03:26 PM »

I'm confused... it wasn't moved?

6994

DC Gamer Club / Re: The story of Origin/Ultima/EA

« Last post by wraith808 on September 19, 2012, 03:24 PM »

Necro post? That first article was written in 2005.

-Deozaan (September 18, 2012, 09:49 PM)

Perhaps, but I just came across it, and found it interesting.  Should I not post links to something that was written long ago that I come across just because its old?

-wraith808 (September 18, 2012, 10:37 PM)

That's not it. I just read it with the assumption that it was a new article about EA's Origin software (the Steam competitor) and was thrown off by all the seemingly out of date information found within the article. It wasn't until the last page when the article mentioned Tabula Rasa being in its fourth year of development that I knew for sure something was fishy.

I guess what I'm saying is that some sort of notice about the date of the article would have been nice to help prevent confusion. (c:

-Deozaan (September 19, 2012, 02:06 AM)

Ah.. I didn't relate Origin to their new Origin platform.  Whenever I hear Origin, I still think of Origin Systems.  Hmm... I guess perhaps that's the reason that they used that for the name, though I never even thought of that relationship, though it seem that Ultima would be a telling bit, and the fact that their Origin platform wasn't an acquisition...

6995

DC Gamer Club / Re: The story of Origin/Ultima/EA

« Last post by wraith808 on September 18, 2012, 10:37 PM »

Necro post? That first article was written in 2005.

-Deozaan (September 18, 2012, 09:49 PM)

Perhaps, but I just came across it, and found it interesting.  Should I not post links to something that was written long ago that I come across just because its old?

6996

DC Gamer Club / The story of Origin/Ultima/EA

« Last post by wraith808 on September 18, 2012, 07:55 PM »

Very interesting reading on one of the largest acquisitions in gaming that led to the current monolith that is EA.

http://www.escapistm...e-Conquest-of-Origin

http://hardcoregamin...t/ultima/ultima8.htm

6997

Living Room / Re: In rememberance of....The antiquated hardware/software reminiscence thread

« Last post by wraith808 on September 18, 2012, 01:34 PM »

Later this job was done by a more flexible Zip-Drive

-Crush (March 07, 2010, 08:35 AM)

I still have a Zip drive, but the Jaz drive was the one that revolutionized it for me.  I still hate that none of my machines have SCSI now.  In terms of video cards, the Rendition Verite was so cool.

6998

Living Room / Re: Cascading grammar trolls

« Last post by wraith808 on September 18, 2012, 01:29 PM »

This is getting to be something of a ritual but your rite on the lolly.

-cranioscopical (September 18, 2012, 01:19 PM)

To write rite isn't quite right in this situation.  It shouldn't take a wright to correct it, how ever.

6999

Living Room / Re: 500 Internal Server Error

« Last post by wraith808 on September 18, 2012, 11:42 AM »

A good comment:

The base64 data is very likely encrypted, and only Google, Inc. has the decryption key. It's useful to them if you send the base64 junk, but you can't get any details about their server through that error.

7000

Living Room / IndieGogo spotlight: Internet 2012 Bus Tour

« Last post by wraith808 on September 18, 2012, 09:39 AM »

Internet 2012 Bus Tour
Campaign-style bus tour talking to local startups, colleges, media, politicians & orgs about the power & promise of the Open Internet.

$13,494 Raised of $40,000 Goal as of September 18th 2012.  Ends on Fri Sep 28 at 11:59PM PT.

On January 18, 2012, tens of millions of Americans defeated SOPA and PIPA two bills that threatened the Internet, one of the healthiest parts of the American economy.

And now we’re making sure our government understands just how important the Internet is to all Americans. This October we’re taking a bus (literally half red, half blue) from Denver, CO to Danville, KY to campaign for the Internet during the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates.

The Internet 2012 Bus Tour will collect, document and share stories throughout the American heartland, because this isn’t just about Silicon Valley. It’s about parents taking Skillshare classes on blogging in Boulder, TED meetups in Omaha, Kentucky folk festivals that get funded on Kickstarter, artists in Missouri who can sell to the world on Etsy and retirees who can make some extra money renting out a room on Airbnb. Thanks to the Open Internet, people are learning marketable skills that are turning them from unemployed to gainfully employed.  

There are many more stops to come, but we need your help! Join us by contributing here, or by telling us who to meet along the way on r/Internet2012.

The Open Internet is about the freedom for Americans to help themselves, and it's an enormous engine for economic growth. Let’s make sure both parties know it this fall.

reddit is covering some of the hard costs of the trip (gas, bus, driver etc), but we need your help to get a graphic wrap for the bus, host events across the country, and document and share the stories we find with the whole Internet.

Open Internet for All!

Alexis Ohanian, startup guy and co-founder, reddit
Erik Martin, GM, reddit

r/Internet2012
#Internet2012

// Press contact: [email protected]