topbanner_forum
  *

avatar image

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
  • Thursday March 28, 2024, 7:25 am
  • Proudly celebrating 15+ years online.
  • Donate now to become a lifetime supporting member of the site and get a non-expiring license key for all of our programs.
  • donate

Last post Author Topic: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!  (Read 62322 times)

Arizona Hot

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 3,181
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #50 on: October 29, 2012, 09:39 AM »
I, myself, don't know. I upgraded mine to Pro even though I don't use it as my primary anti-virus. I've always been able to update, but that may be because I have always used an administrator-type account. I avoid drive-by viri by surfing sandboxed. That also enables me to easilly ditch scripts that won't let me leave a site. You've had experience with those I presume.

MilesAhead

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2009
  • **
  • Posts: 7,736
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #51 on: October 29, 2012, 12:22 PM »
I only use MBAM Free for scanning. But I find from checking manually that often it updates the database at least a couple of times a day.
Do you have to run it as administrator before it will update?  I don't, and the update button is always greyed out.

My account is in Administrator group and I have UAC disabled. MBAM just comes up normally. The only thing not enabled is the real-time protection.

edit: btw, shouldn't we split this off to a security discussion thread? No SciFi spoken here lately. :)

Arizona Hot

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 3,181
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #52 on: October 29, 2012, 09:06 PM »
MilesAhead: Go ahead. It's your choice, I don't know how to do that.

MilesAhead

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2009
  • **
  • Posts: 7,736
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #53 on: October 29, 2012, 10:58 PM »
Cool. I'll just stick the link here for the jump:

https://www.donation....msg304911#msg304911


IainB

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2008
  • **
  • Posts: 7,540
  • @Slartibartfarst
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #54 on: October 30, 2012, 07:33 AM »
Cool. I'll just stick the link here for the jump:
https://www.donation....msg304911#msg304911

Prompted by the discussion (above) that led to @MilesAhead making the post - General av and anti-malware discussion, I got off my backside and posted: Malwarebytes FREE and PRO - Mini-Review (as at 2012-10-30). - which I had been meaning to do for some time now.

rjbull

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 3,199
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #55 on: October 30, 2012, 05:03 PM »
shouldn't we split this off to a security discussion thread? No SciFi spoken here lately.
You're right, and now done, I see :)  Thanks to IainB for the review.

If it's any help, I just finished reading Monster Blood Tattoo 3: Factotum by D.M. Cornish.  It's great - a fantasy with strong steampunk SF and New Weird (Wikipedia) overtones.  Ships driven by engines of cultured muscle tissue, people getting organs implanted into them to dish out electric shocks, or going into battle throwing short-range chemical weapons at each other.  And, the library service tells me that Mark Lawrence's King of Thorns is on its way; the first one, Prince of Thorns, makes you think it's going to be sword-and-sorcery.  It isn't.  It's definitely SF, very dark, with a very young and startlingly amoral viewpoint character.  Also on its way, Pale by Chris Wooding, so new it's not yet mentioned on his Web site.  From the blurb, it looks more like horror/supernatural than SF, though.

IainB

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2008
  • **
  • Posts: 7,540
  • @Slartibartfarst
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Yes - "Fallen Angels"
« Reply #56 on: March 25, 2013, 08:09 PM »
Illegal to be an SF fan?

After downloading a Kindle version from Baen Books (price US$6.99), I have been enjoying reading a new (to me) book: Fallen Angels by Messrs. Larry Niven; Jerry Pournelle; Michael Flynn.
First published in 1992 and presumably written around 1990/1, the story is surprisingly and accurately prescient. It tells of a future time on Earth when a new Ice Age has occurred, and humankind lives in two environments: on the Earth, in a relatively Luddite and anti-science fashion; and in space, reliant on science and technology.
In space, there has been a collaborative and developmental peace. However, there has been war on the Earth and hostilities are still being maintained, and society is governed by Fascist states, and it is even illegal to read science fiction or to admit to being a fan of SF.

Here's an excerpt describing this (emphasis is the authors'):
  'Tis a Proud and Lonely Thing to Be a Fan, they used to say, laughing. It had become a very lonely thing. The Establishment had always been hard on science fiction. The government-funded Arts Councils would pass out tax money to write obscure poetry for "little" magazines, but not to write speculative fiction. "Sci-fi isn't literature." That wasn't censorship.

  Perversely, people went on buying science fiction without grants. Writers even got rich without government funding. They couldn't kill us that way!

  Then the Luddites and the Greens had come to power. She had watched science fiction books slowly disappear from the library shelves, beginning with the children's departments. (That wasn't censorship either. Libraries couldn't buy every book, now could they? So they bought "realistic" children's books funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, books about death and divorce, and really important things like being overweight or fitting in with the right school crowd.)

  Then came paper shortages, and paper allocations. The science fiction sections in the chain stores grew smaller. ("You can't expect us to stock books that aren't selling." And they can't sell if you don't stock them.)

  Fantasy wasn't hurt so bad. Fantasy was about wizards and elves, and being kind to the Earth, and harmony with nature, all things the Greens loved. But science fiction was about science.

  Science fiction wasn't exactly outlawed. There was still Freedom of Speech; still a Bill of Rights, even if it wasn't taught much in the schools-—even if most kids graduated unable to read well enough to understand it. But a person could get into a lot of unofficial trouble for reading SF or for associating with known fen. She could lose her job, say. Not through government persecution-—of course not-—but because of "reduction in work force" or "poor job performance" or "uncooperative attitude" or "politically incorrect" or a hundred other phrases. And if the neighbors shunned her, and tradesmen wouldn't deal with her, and stores wouldn't give her credit, who could blame them? Science fiction involved science; and science was a conspiracy to pollute the environment, "to bring back technology."

  Damn right! she thought savagely. We do conspire to bring back technology. Some of us are crazy enough to think that there are alternatives to freezing in the dark. And some of us are even crazy enough to try to rescue marooned spacemen before they freeze, or disappear into protective custody.

  Which could be dangerous. The government might declare you mentally ill, and help you.

  She shuddered at that thought. She pushed and rolled Bob aside. She sat up and pulled the comforter up tight around herself. "Do you know what it was that attracted me to science fiction?"

  He raised himself on one elbow, blinked at her change of subject, and looked quickly around the room, as if suspecting bugs. "No, what?"

  "Not Fandom. I was reading the true quill long before I knew about Fandom and cons and such. No, it was the feeling of hope." "Hope?" "Even in the most depressing dystopia, there's still the notion that the future is something we build. It doesn't just happen. You can't predict the future, but you can invent it. Build it. That is a hopeful idea, even when the building collapses."

  Bob was silent for a moment. Then he nodded. "Yeah. Nobody's building the future anymore, 'We live in an Age of Limited Choices.' " He quoted the government line without cracking a smile. "Hell, you don't take choices off a list. You make choices and add them to the list. Speaking of which have you made your choice?"
_______________________________
Larry Niven; Jerry Pournelle; Michael Flynn (1992-12-07T05:00:00+00:00). Fallen Angels (Kindle Locations 285-305). Baen Publishing Enterprises. Kindle Edition.

Edvard

  • Coding Snacks Author
  • Charter Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,017
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #57 on: March 25, 2013, 09:57 PM »
Mmmmm.... Sci-fi...

I remember some of my favorite sci-fi stories were to be found in old copies of Amazing, Galaxy, and Analog.  The pulp era was a fertile field for the innovative, the plagiaristic, and the canonical alike.  I found that old spirit briefly revived in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future series, where young unpublished writers could send in stories for a chance at publication and future fame and notoriety.  Lots of great ideas in those first few, every one could have been a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode and it would have gelled beautifully.

For some smart new science fiction podcast style, check Escape Pod:

Escape Pod is the premier science fiction podcast magazine. Every week we bring you short stories from some of today’s best science fiction stories, in convenient audio format for your computer or MP3 player.

We pay our authors, but we will always be 100% free. We are supported through listener donations and sponsorship, so if you like what you hear, please consider donating via our PayPal button!


from Admit-one
« Last Edit: March 25, 2013, 10:03 PM by Edvard »

Arizona Hot

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 3,181
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #58 on: March 27, 2013, 12:04 PM »
In regards to Oblivion interest in "I think the piece might have been called "Sideways [or maybe sidewise] In Time" ", I looked for such a story because I remember such a story. Unfortuantely, I didn't find anything like that. I did find this comic of the same name.

Sideways in time.jpg

Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine Number 1265 Sideways in Time!

IainB

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2008
  • **
  • Posts: 7,540
  • @Slartibartfarst
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Jack Vance has died.
« Reply #59 on: June 02, 2013, 10:02 PM »
I just read that one of my favourite authors has died. Jack Vance (the science fiction writer, creator of the real Baron Bodissey, and his The Dying Earth Series being a major influence on Dungeons & Dragons) has died in California at the age of 96.
He apparently published his first story in 1945 and his last novel in 2008, and his autobiography in 2009.
That's a span of writing covering sixty-four years.
A quick google shows that there are a lot of tributes to him across the blogosphere from his fans.
This is another.    R.I.P. JV.      :Thmbsup:

panzer

  • Participant
  • Joined in 2008
  • *
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 941
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #60 on: June 03, 2013, 04:06 AM »
I have just started to read his Tales of the Dying Earth last week ...

Requiescat in pace aeterna, Jack.

 :(

oblivion

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2010
  • **
  • Posts: 491
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #61 on: June 03, 2013, 04:59 AM »
This is another.    R.I.P. JV.      :Thmbsup:
Definitely one of the greats. :(
-- bests, Tim

...this space unintentionally left blank.

panzer

  • Participant
  • Joined in 2008
  • *
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 941
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member

IainB

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2008
  • **
  • Posts: 7,540
  • @Slartibartfarst
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #63 on: June 10, 2013, 05:16 AM »
^^ I don't recall reading anything by Iain Banks. He didn't have a very long innings, did he?

wraith808

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 11,186
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #64 on: June 10, 2013, 09:37 AM »
Very long innings?  Haven't heard that expression.  But he was very influential in his writings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Banks

He won several science fiction awards for his novels, and his total science fiction writings published as of his death was 26 novels.

oblivion

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2010
  • **
  • Posts: 491
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #65 on: June 10, 2013, 09:45 AM »
^^ I don't recall reading anything by Iain Banks. He didn't have a very long innings, did he?
30 years?

His first novel, The Wasp Factory, was odd, affecting and unsettling: I remember the disconcerting feeling, after I'd finished it, that I'd never really been made to feel sympathy with a complete psycho before.

His SF output, written as Iain M Banks, started with Consider Phlebas and introduced The Culture, a system that housed most of his later SF. (Actually, Walking On Glass was sort of sf too, but I might be the only person in the world who liked it -- it's often forgotten.)

Non-SF novels included The Crow Road (which was televised) and Complicity (which was filmed).

I haven't read all his books, by quite a stretch, but I haven't read anything of his that I didn't like, at least to some extent. He often didn't create characters that were easy to sympathise with, or even like, but you couldn't complain about the quality of his creations, which were almost always stunning.

Oh, and you might remember the fuss about Feersumm Enjinn.

I think he grew in importance with every book, and as The Wasp Factory was pretty important from the get-go, I think he was a major loss.

The notice in The Scotsman might remind you of some things you've forgotten about him.
-- bests, Tim

...this space unintentionally left blank.

kyrathaba

  • N.A.N.Y. Organizer
  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 3,200
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #66 on: June 10, 2013, 02:15 PM »
I've read "Consider Phlebas", "The Player of Games" and "Use of Weapons". Good, action-packed scifi.

urlwolf

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,837
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #67 on: June 10, 2013, 04:46 PM »
Oh, Firefly and serenity...
How I long for the day netflix decides to do a relaunch, like they did for 'Arrested development'.
A pity the actors may be too old by now ;)

IainB

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2008
  • **
  • Posts: 7,540
  • @Slartibartfarst
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #68 on: June 10, 2013, 09:18 PM »
Very long innings?  Haven't heard that expression. ...
  Sorry, it's an English cricketing metaphor/term. The period of time that you are a batsman "in" the crease and being bowled at is your "innings", and you are defending your wicket (from being hit by the ball) meanwhile.
   To say that someone "didn't have a long innings" means that he didn't last long before being bowled "out", caught "out", or otherwise adjudged "out" by the umpire (e.g., LBW - leg before wicket).
It's complicated by the fact that, in any given innings, there would be two batsmen - one at each of the two wickets. The one who is currently not being bowled at is waiting his turn and just supports the other in taking any runs.

Iain Banks was apparently only 59 years old when he died - well below the typical "three score and ten" (Christian Biblical, Leviticus 12, and Psalms 90) - hence "He didn't have a very long innings, did he?" - i.e., a lifespan prematurely cut short.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2013, 09:30 PM by IainB »

rjbull

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 3,199
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Jack Vance has died.
« Reply #69 on: June 12, 2013, 02:55 PM »
Jack Vance (the science fiction writer
I think there's a project to bring all his work back into print.  I haven't read very many of his; last one I read was the entertaining Night Lamp.

[Edit at UK time 2013-06-12, 21:51:-] There is such a project: see the Jack Vance Wikipedia page [/Edit]
« Last Edit: June 12, 2013, 03:51 PM by rjbull »

rjbull

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 3,199
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #70 on: June 12, 2013, 03:00 PM »
I don't recall reading anything by Iain Banks. He didn't have a very long innings, did he?
(Actually, Walking On Glass was sort of sf too, but I might be the only person in the world who liked it -- it's often forgotten.)
I read a few of his, including Walking On Glass.  He seemed to specialise in odd, unsettling novels, but in some cases, they stick in your mind.  In the case of that one, the "matrioshka doll" creatures.

Oh, and you might remember the fuss about Feersumm Enjinn.
No, but I remember having fun decoding Bascule the Teller's spelling  :)

Against a Dark Background was a good one (IMHO).  But, I remember reading a review which commented that he "gleefully" killed off his characters.

rjbull

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 3,199
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #71 on: June 12, 2013, 03:03 PM »
  Sorry, it's an English cricketing metaphor/term.
I suggest you don't confuse non-cricketing nations further by explaining how to bowl a maiden over  ;D

Iain Banks was apparently only 59 years old when he died - well below the typical "three score and ten"
There've been news bulletins about a Web site that reports life expectancy in different parts of Britain.  They apparently used an average span of 75.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2013, 03:52 PM by rjbull, Reason: typo »

IainB

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2008
  • **
  • Posts: 7,540
  • @Slartibartfarst
    • View Profile
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #72 on: June 13, 2013, 10:08 AM »
...There've been news bulletins about a Web site that reports life expectancy in different parts of Britain.  They apparently used an average span of 75.
Yes, statistically, the likely lifespan has increased.
This is actuarily quite a sound tool: Assess your life expectancy (Flash).swf

mahesh2k

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 1,426
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #73 on: June 13, 2013, 03:08 PM »
There is one series called otherland on amazon kindle. It has some interesting future-based scifi plot.

Target

  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 1,832
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: You like science fiction, don't you? Of course you do!
« Reply #74 on: June 13, 2013, 05:13 PM »
There is one series called otherland on amazon kindle. It has some interesting future-based scifi plot.

If anyones interested, this series is by Tad Williams.  A worthwhile read (one of my faves), albeit long (each book is 800+ pages)