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Recent Posts

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9326
Living Room / Re: File Size vs. Size on Disk: Why such a difference?
« Last post by wraith808 on April 07, 2010, 01:30 PM »
I think it has to do with block size- at least that's what I always attributed it to.

Update: I thought more about it, and that maybe I needed to expand on my explanation.  The block size is the minimum size of data on a drive.  If there is a file that is smaller than the block size, that's the minimum size that can be taken up even if it's smaller, i.e. if you store a 200 byte file, but the minimum size is 1024 bytes, you lose the other 824 bytes because it has to take a whole 1024 bytes.  Also, since they are allocated in blocks, if something is not exactly a multiple of the block size, there is some waste in space.  That's what I've always attributed the difference to- and looking on wikipedia at least, it seems to be borne up by how they write to NAND drives.
9327
Living Room / Re: First iPad Reviews Are In
« Last post by wraith808 on April 07, 2010, 09:13 AM »
Heh, heh - I do read voraciously. Still, I don't think that $300+ is reasonable.
-Darwin (April 07, 2010, 09:02 AM)

Well, I wouldn't pay $300+ for one... but am getting ready to get a nook.  The smaller kindle is the same price range too- both a little over $250.  I don't know why $50 is that big of a difference in price to me... but I think if they were over $300, I wouldn't be looking at getting one.  But I purchased a netbook thinking that it would be a better investment, and hardly use it.  The form factor kills it for me, I think.  On the road, at the end of the day, the netbook has too small a keyboard to be productive, and that same keyboard really sucks when you're reading. (as well as the perspective).  A slate is best for that, IMO.

On that note... would anyone be interested in buying a barely used netbook?  (only partly kidding...)
9328
Living Room / Re: First iPad Reviews Are In
« Last post by wraith808 on April 07, 2010, 08:43 AM »
IMNHO, the Sony eBook Readers and the Kindles et al. are already overpriced. Buying the iPad as a book reader would be ridiculous. Of course, I don't think that is what you were suggesting, and the review certainly isn't either, but I've heard/seen it suggested enough to feel compelled to comment.
-Darwin (April 06, 2010, 10:28 PM)

I think that people are pointing to buying it as a book reader in addition to other functionality.  I don't think that anyone would suggest buying it if your only function is to read books.  Sort of like netbooks; they are not only for keeping connected to the internet on the road, instead their selling point is they let you do that plus you have a full-fledged operating system.

And for people that read voraciously and consume written material at the rate that some do, the price of the kindle/nook (especially considering they include 3G- note that I don't say 'free' as I consider it part of the premium) is reasonable.
9329
Coding Snacks / Re: What language is the best for a new programmer to start with?
« Last post by wraith808 on April 02, 2010, 08:40 PM »
About cross-platform... maybe I'm biased, but really, I think the fact is that writing cross-platform software or OS-independent software just increases your consumer base.  I realize things like games can't be done easily in an OS-independent way, (Nor should they need to be... Windows and OS X can take the games, leave the other OS's for developers!) but for things like word-processors, it's definitely beneficial.

Bloated Eclipse may be.  Again, I'm probably biased, but I just don't think I could ever do my development in VS.  Eclipse is bloated because it supports so much.  I just happen to be one of the people who need all the plug-ins it supports.

As for the file thing... Have you ever tried to delete a file off the filesystem from within VS?  I could never do it, though they may have changed it since 2003, which was the last version I used.  I'd delete it out of the solution only to realize later that it was still on my system.  Either that or my memories fuzzy (it was 2005 when I last really used it!)
-SingingBoyo (April 01, 2010, 11:18 PM)

As far as the rest of it... you're coming across now as a person with an opinion and who realizes its his opinion rather than the fanboish way that f0dder called you out for in the beginning- and I can respect that.  Different approaches suit different developers, and there's nothing wrong with that.

And yes, you can delete from the file system from within VS.  There are two separate things- remove from solution, and delete.  Remove from solution does just that... and if you don't have VS set to show all files, it can look like you deleted it.  But you can delete also.
9330
Coding Snacks / Re: What language is the best for a new programmer to start with?
« Last post by wraith808 on April 01, 2010, 09:15 PM »
As much as you possibly can, look for cross-platform languages.
-SingingBoyo (April 01, 2010, 04:13 PM)
Even if you aren't doing (or thinking of doing) anything cross platform?  And even if such things adds to the complexity of your learning needlessly?  Cross platform is this big mantra... but sometimes, it's just added *stuff* that you don't need...

Eclipse beats Visual Studio every time...
-SingingBoyo (April 01, 2010, 07:56 PM)
Ummm... what?  Eclipse is bloated (which is saying something compared to a Microsoft product), and visual studio only supports Windows and .NET languages because it's Microsoft?  Just because something has a focus doesn't make it worse- in fact, at times, it makes it better.  And having used both, I can say that I like VS a lot better.

...dammit, I can actually delete my files completely from Eclipse!...
-SingingBoyo (April 01, 2010, 07:56 PM)

 :huh:  What does that mean?

9331
Living Room / Re: How I’d Hack Your Weak Passwords
« Last post by wraith808 on April 01, 2010, 11:12 AM »
And an (over?) zealous fraud department that calls me all the time  :huh:
9332
Living Room / Re: How I’d Hack Your Weak Passwords
« Last post by wraith808 on April 01, 2010, 10:49 AM »
Paypal actually does have checks and balances (which I've run afoul of several times), but point taken, even though I never activate online access to most of those other services...
9333
Living Room / Re: Cheers as Large Hadron Collider smashes atoms
« Last post by wraith808 on April 01, 2010, 10:46 AM »
And on the software side, it runs Linux. Woohoo!  :-*
-zridling (March 31, 2010, 11:32 PM)
This is why we're all going to die.
-f0dder (April 01, 2010, 10:22 AM)

Eóin?  Where's the rebuttal? :P
9334
Living Room / Re: Cheers as Large Hadron Collider smashes atoms
« Last post by wraith808 on April 01, 2010, 09:34 AM »
Oh quit ruining a perfectly good sarcastic joke...  :P
9335
Living Room / Re: Yay, Upgrade time! - Inspire me with hardware I can buy =-D
« Last post by wraith808 on April 01, 2010, 09:34 AM »
In other news, my odyssey of discovery is coming to an end. Finally all the components I have meticulously researched have arrived & I will be building my new system today.
-Innuendo (April 01, 2010, 09:14 AM)

Have fun!  I already built my daughter's (I don't know what I was thinking when I bought that pink case for her... they mounted the DVD vertically which has caused all sorts of problems), and will be upgrading mine and building my wife's tomorrow or saturday...
9336
Living Room / Re: Cheers as Large Hadron Collider smashes atoms
« Last post by wraith808 on April 01, 2010, 08:36 AM »
Because it will happen right before they stop it? ::shrug::
9337
Living Room / Re: How I’d Hack Your Weak Passwords
« Last post by wraith808 on April 01, 2010, 08:21 AM »
It still wouldn't work in most cases today... that's why banks have the authorization questions and pins in place, because they figured this out already.  If you try to login from a computer that the user hasn't already used, you'll get one of a series of questions before you get in... questions that are based on the user, not the password.  Then, if your bank is extremely paranoid like mine is, you'll have to enter a pin before you do anything after that.

They have a point, but it's not as big of a deal as it used to be.
9338
Living Room / Re: Cheers as Large Hadron Collider smashes atoms
« Last post by wraith808 on April 01, 2010, 08:14 AM »
We are living interesting times.
-bgd77 (April 01, 2010, 06:38 AM)

At least until 2012 when they create a black hole and destroy us all...  ;)
9339
Living Room / Re: Yea, I won't be getting an iPad anytime soon
« Last post by wraith808 on March 31, 2010, 10:57 PM »
Well, there's more than one way to skin a cat...

Introducing the Pad-Dock iPhone to Tablet Converter

http://bit.ly/91Z24S (via IWOOT)




























(yeah... it got me too...)
9340
Living Room / Re: Low energy use always on pc -- what's better, a laptop or a mini (htpc) pc?
« Last post by wraith808 on March 31, 2010, 03:54 PM »
Ick... Thinkpads and HP.  When I was running those, I did have problems.  But I went to Dell, and had no problems... and now my wife and I are running VAIOs.  I've had mine on pretty much continuously as a desktop replacement since October, and before I moved in October, had it up in the same capacity for a year before that.  I've only actually used it away from home at a LAN party... a 17" widescreen is pretty nasty to carry around.  My wife's is actually my old laptop, so I've had it since 2005 or so... never had a hardware problem, and the only software problems I've had are her picking up a virus from one of those Myspace games.  She has had it docked as a desktop replacement since we moved- before that she used it as a laptop most of the time... but that's still 6 months+ plugged in and on 24x7.
9341
Living Room / Re: Low energy use always on pc -- what's better, a laptop or a mini (htpc) pc?
« Last post by wraith808 on March 31, 2010, 02:47 PM »
I've always had my laptops on 24x7 and haven't had any problems with any of them (other than the one my ex had put a picture on and turned off the power management so it had one picture on the LCD for weeks... burned in (and out) the lcd.  but the other components still worked)  So IME having the laptop on continuously won't be a problem.
9342
DC Gamer Club / Re: Torchlight 50% off until Monday at Steam
« Last post by wraith808 on March 26, 2010, 08:37 PM »
And it's not just on sale on Steam... it's on sale everywhere...
9343
Living Room / Re: Howto: Torture people for money:French Contestants Torture People With Electric!
« Last post by wraith808 on March 20, 2010, 10:01 PM »
I was being sarcastic ;)
9344
Living Room / Re: Command & Conquer Copies Ubisoft's Awful DRM
« Last post by wraith808 on March 19, 2010, 08:01 PM »
Well, I haven't heard anything about the game until reading that article (and some of the comments), but apparently it requires an internet connection because it's like an MMO or something:

Here's the thing though, Ubisoft does it for piracy, EA does it to keep track of your leveling experience and unlocks. Singleplayer (which is arguably more fun in co-op anyways) experience goes towards your Skirmish and Multiplayer leveling, and vice versa. It's actually a smart move since it's more persistent like a standard MMO and cuts down on people who hack to get level 20 and dominate level 3 folks, but of course people complain about the whole "online only".

Does it have SecuROM? No. Do people treat it as such? Yes.
-Keerosene

It still sucks, but I guess people don't expect to be able to play World of Warcraft without an internet connection, do they?
-Deozaan (March 19, 2010, 04:56 PM)

For world of warcraft, everything is online.  It's an online game, and not single player as the term generally means.  This is an excuse.  As Lashiec said, they could have devised a way to store things offline and upload.  Especially not to just lose progress.  All you have to do is look at the battlefield games to see that they're lying.  Those are multiplayer games, but each one of them has a single player mode that you can play offline.  Even their newest, BFBC2 has a single player mode that you can play without being connected.

I call shenanigans.
9345
Living Room / Re: Yay, Upgrade time! - Inspire me with hardware I can buy =-D
« Last post by wraith808 on March 19, 2010, 11:54 AM »
One more question-

The combo with this motherboard, http://www.newegg.co...Item=N82E16813131622, includes DDR2 800 memory.  The motherboard says DDR3 in the specs- but I'm assuming it will take DDR2 800 memory?

UPDATE: Nevermind... I see now.  :-[
9346
DC Gamer Club / Re: Sniper Elite for $2 on Steam
« Last post by wraith808 on March 18, 2010, 08:23 PM »
Maybe with all of these people on steam with it, we can get some matchmaking together for a DC sniper hunt :)
9347
Living Room / Re: Yay, Upgrade time! - Inspire me with hardware I can buy =-D
« Last post by wraith808 on March 18, 2010, 08:22 PM »
Yeah, but I've had a bad experience with stock fans/pads... so I'm waffling on which to use.
9348
Living Room / Re: Command & Conquer Copies Ubisoft's Awful DRM
« Last post by wraith808 on March 18, 2010, 08:20 PM »
That's cool... cooler if they'd abbreviated plz better ;)

Oh... and notice that I put a reference to what the link goes to as a nod to f0dder. :)
9349
Living Room / Command & Conquer Copies Ubisoft's Awful DRM
« Last post by wraith808 on March 18, 2010, 01:13 PM »
http://bit.ly/acfGHj - (via Kotaku)

It seems that the wave has picked up speed... C&C requires that you have an internet connection to play.  And the representative had the nerve to advertise that C&C had no DRM...
9350
Living Room / Re: Howto: Torture people for money:French Contestants Torture People With Electric!
« Last post by wraith808 on March 18, 2010, 12:48 PM »
Well, they're just catching up to the Japanese level of game show it seems.
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