Posts by David Dawson

Re: "Ever heard of pseudocode?"

Ok, so by way of example Mr Ru.

I frequently do the following

- Draw a few boxes with another coder or two to decide basic system components.

- Take a component and decide its responsibilities. These are put in some doc (even if its just a comment at the top, or a note next to its box).

- Figure out the code paths by writing very high level, 'do this', 'now do this', 'followed by this'. never goes beyond half a dozen.

- Then, in turn, expand each item into tests and code.

- Go to the pub having finished.

The first two items give us a simple spec we can check we aren't going renegade against, the third is a design/ development device that is high level pseudo code.

If you are talking about writing the gif compression algorithm in pseudo code, then sure, you might have a point (although I would probably still disagree). If you have large problems, they need to be designed properly or you'l screw it up. If you try to do all the design in your head, you're doing it wrong.

On the vagaries of languages getting in the way, I'd say it depends on your development process and the time allowed to create the correct level of abstraction. I would certainly not like to try to do my system design in code first time. Paper is cheap, writing working code is not.

Re: It's all about the kids

To put my anecdotal penneth worth in, all I see kids with where I live is android. Normally one of the cheapo/ older HTC ones like the wildfire (or whatever the networks are giving away with a sim card these days).

Blackberries were popular, but most of my sons friends stopped using them a couple of years ago. Once the critical mass of friends changed (away from BBM) and they realised alternates were available on android for their messaging fix, they all seemed to switch pretty quickly, with the odd iphone from a parent.

Thats just my experience, of course.

I reckon Blackberry is in zombie mode, shuffling along with nokia.

Even Baidu sells more than windows phone. They really shouldn't have abandoned windows mobile.

Re: Why, oh why...

Because IP is an obvious interest of his.

Is your argument seriously that "its ok, because they received compensation after the fact" ?

It doesn't just border on the ridiculous, its invaded installed a puppet government.

Re: Not Good :(

While simultaneously already having one!

Re: haha

You think tides come from outside the solar system?

--

LOL. Yeah, I accidentally posted half way through an edit.

The intent was to cause the OP to think of the tides providing energy from the moon/ sun, so the earth is certainly not a closed system in that regard, as well as taking a large amount of energy directly from the sun.

Re: Why?

A preference for rounded corners?

Re: so if APIs are copyrightable...

Samba can only work by copying the API. Where is the legal definition of one company copying the API is copying, another is interoperability when they are doing the same thing? Does the law have a section such as "2.b) ii) Unless the program creates fragmentation, under which case it will be illegal".

===============

Sorry, Samba is an implementation of protocol (CIFS), not an API.

They are fundamentally different, and not related.

Try again.

Re: We're all doomed I tells ya

There is a significant cost to reducing our CO2 levels down to what is wanted by greenpeace et al. It will be very disruptive to economies and society at large.

Doing it 'just in case' seems a bit misguided, as it will be tremendously expensive. Stifling alternate points of view with ad hominem attacks seems a bit dodgy too.

And yes, shoot the stupid, good show.

Re: How about containers?

This is not too dissimilar to what actually happens, in effect.

With HTTP pipelining and transparent compression, you end up with a single content stream that has been compressed.

This is totally transparent to the user, website and client side developer tooling.

Plus, it has the added advantage that files are available to render as soon as they have been downloaded.

I thought so. So here they are again!

Mobile operators are giddy at the prospect of doubling, tripling or quadrupling the number of devices connected to their networks over the coming years. Next generation portable devices such as tablets, laptops, cloudbooks and Ultrabooks are seen as candidates for 3G/4G integration that will help shore up the carrier position now that handset penetration has hit the saturation ceiling. However, considering that these gadgets will be used overwhelmingly on Wi-Fi networks, it's difficult to justify integrating cellular functionality now that most consumers are walking around with a Wi-Fi hotspot in their pocket: their smartphone.

According to industry analyst Chetan Sharma, about 90 per cent of tablets sold in the US towards the end of 2011 were Wi-Fi only. This is not surprising considering the ubiquity of Wi-Fi. And for the occasions when Wi-Fi isn't available, there's tethering.

Re: Washington DC

Ooh. What fun!

"He's right, your wrong. Communism proved you were wrong by being a complete and utter failure in every country in which it was attempted. Government only exists by taking money from those who are productive."

Setting bad grammar aside for the moment, you are making an equally fallacious argument as the OP. Yours is summarised nicely here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accident_(fallacy)

Just because you consider communism to be a failure, doesn't mean that all government is a failure. To believe otherwise is really showing a lack of intellectual rigour.

FWIW communism ran for 80 years in Russia, and has run for 90 years in China. I wouldn't call that a failure, as most world democracies have been in existence for far less time.

Imagine what the large cities of the world would turn into if there was no government?

"But then you knew that when you pointed out that the state wasts money on things that would not be built if people had a choice how their money was spent"

I certainly did not. I pointed out that government support the activity of the state by building things that there is no incentive for private individuals and companies to build. This is extremely different. If the government didn't perform these services, society would collapse.

"Also I've moved around many 3rd world cities but the only place I've been mugged is in London. But then in those 3rd world countries they shoot muggers instead of waiting for the police to fail. I guess adding a bit of danger to a muggers life is a disincentive"

You have a broad brush idea of the '3rd world'. Its not some kind of hellhole with no government.

It's a totally outdated idea in any case (1st = western democracies, 2nd= communist, 3rd= neutrals), there's a reason the term used now is 'developing world'.

There are very, very few places on earth without governments, for a good reason, people will construct one if one doesn't exist, because they are necessary.

By all means pretend that we could all happily live without governments in place, but don't expect me to join your delusion on the strength of your misguided and selective arguments.

Re: Know thy enemy and know thyself

Win every battle in Italy but don't take sufficient siege weapons?

I don't particularly disagree with your actual point, but carthage ain't the example you want.

What you need

is a good migration strategy to allow you to make your changes without causing destructive side effects.

Tell the shell fish to just move, lazy buggers.

Re: Secure?

Indeed, but in the UK at least, the (locked) boxes are taken from the polling booths straight to be counted. So, you'd have to break into them either in the polling booth, in the transporting vehicle or in the counting station. Any of which would be pretty obvious, since people (volunteers) are always around them.

I like our system, generally good physical security. Problems generally appear with the postal ballots.

Re: @Eddie Edwards - Right on the spot

No. Andrew is advocating a return to the view of science as the saviour. The great scientific ashes of the past were hugely optimistic about science. It was assumed that people could solve the great problems of the age. Almost invariably, they did.

The reaction to peak oil, our bankers, or global warming has become 'let's tax it' or the tragic 'we're doomed'.

Today's scientists and engineers are brilliant in an age of brilliance. Technology and science has never progressed as fast as it has, today.

We need to throw our resources behind solving this problem, not wringing hands about howp the latest bogeyman has caused the problem (talking about bankers, seriously, old news guys)

@john brown

Spokes

Axles

Ball bearings

Iron fittings

Pneumatic tyres.

The wheel has undergone many upgrades since its invention.

Also, we now have caterpillar tracks, hover craft, and flight, to supplement it.

I give you the point about not necessarily being better, but certainly we can design something more suited to its situations.