wwalker3

11 ms·

61.
by wwalker3 17y ago
They said it was a 20-hour scan, at 5K, with the AFM tip 0.5 nanometers from the pentacene molecule. The molecule itself is 1.4 nm long, so they were only about 30% of its length away from it in the vertical direction.
62.
by wwalker3 17y ago
If I know that an author doesn't want me to copy his book, I won't copy it. It's not a matter of law or monopoly, it's just politeness.
63.
by wwalker3 17y ago
It's a reiteration of a sentiment I've seen a lot recently: "My livelihood doesn't depend on copyright, so I'll feel free to violate yours." Are people really so unconcerned about the livelihood of others? Each of us is already free to give
64.
by wwalker3 17y ago
I apologize for any offense. I don't mean to imply that all "backwoods Christians" are really baffled by Hinduism -- I also know some of the type you mention, the serious students who learn ancient Greek. I was using the "backwoods Christia
65.
by wwalker3 17y ago
Lambda the Ultimate discussing object-oriented programming is like backwoods Christians discussing Hinduism. "What do them folks need all them gods for anyways? An' that one Krishna, why's he look like a blue baby? Ah guess some folks'll be
66.
by wwalker3 17y ago
Not quite the same. Your Mazda shift lever's manual slot doesn't disappear when you're in automatic. You can still sign a draft contract, it's just not binding. In the software case you explained, the interface changes so you can't even tr
67.
by wwalker3 17y ago
This is a mind-blowing and cool idea as others have said, but the idea of an object whose methods change depending on their internal state is a bit counter-intuitive. Real-world objects don't have this property -- it would be like the gas t
68.
by wwalker3 17y ago
I think this objection still misses the point. In my vector rotation example, a vector object's internal state is just three floating-point numbers. Even for this simple and well-understood object, "v.rotX( 30 ); v.rotY( 30 );" can give a d
69.
by wwalker3 17y ago
The author's objection to data encapsulation seems to be that for an object X, the internal state produced by "X.a(); X.b();" may be different from that produced by "X.b(); X.a();". But this behavior is exactly what makes an object. Program
70.
by wwalker3 17y ago
This looks like an assembler that writes out byte code that a virtual machine runs (where that VM also supports just-in-time optimization and garbage collection). There seem to be a bunch of these for the Java VM that convert "Java assembly
71.
An Abbreviated History of ACP, One of the Oldest Open Source Applications (2009)(computerworld.com)
2 points by wwalker3 17y ago|0 comments
72.
by wwalker3 17y ago
The original seems to be from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research at http://www.wehi.edu.au/education/wehi-tv/ . I've never seen such a detailed and beatiful animation of this process -- I need to do more research to se
73.
Scientifically accurate 3D animation of DNA replication in a living cell(scienceblogs.com)
4 points by wwalker3 17y ago|1 comments
74.
by wwalker3 17y ago
It would be hard to create truly "functional" hardware. A piece of hardware is a real physical object with an internal state which is shared by all accessors and which can change over time. Shared, modifiable state is the exact opposite par
75.
by wwalker3 17y ago
"Time travel" is real, but the only thing you can do is slow down relative to others. The way you describe is a valid method, though some might quibble that it's the accelerations involved that slow down time for you, rather than simply the
76.
by wwalker3 17y ago
A common thread to these Malthusianisms is that you can't understand dynamic phenomena by assuming they're static. Something like the number of hours in a work week isn't just a fixed number; it's got a history behind it and driving forces
77.
by wwalker3 17y ago
That's exactly my point -- NaCl would make languages and tools available to web app developers which have already proven their worth in developing complex, graphically intense application interfaces on the desktop.
78.
by wwalker3 17y ago
Perhaps you're replying to a different comment than the one I made? I was talking about the difficulty of creating complex, responsive user interfaces in JavaScript. NaCl (if it works out) seems to open another path for developing interface
79.
by wwalker3 17y ago
Once technologies like Google's Native Client take off, the web browser becomes merely the installer and updater for my native app. And it'll be none too soon -- then we can abandon the doomed effort to somehow cobble together huge, powerfu
80.
by wwalker3 17y ago
I think Atwood's point that many people are putting unpaid effort into sites that may benefit others is sound. I just don't think it's a calamity, since the time being put in is mostly spare time that the donors aren't expecting payment for
81.
by wwalker3 17y ago
I'm not sure if the sharecropper analogy holds up. Sharecroppers essentially rent land, paying the landowner back with a share of the crops grown on it. Assuming the crop doesn't fail, both the cropper and the landowner make money. On most
82.
by wwalker3 17y ago
And it's easy to cheat in bartering -- just don't tell the other party that your goods have some hidden flaw. If I barter you my old laptop that crashes when you leave it on more than an hour, you're going to be mad later when you find out
83.
by wwalker3 17y ago
If your code has no bugs, the problem you're attacking is too easy for you. The best programmers are working on problems that no one knows how to solve yet.
84.
Electromechanical Hacking: "Pong" game made from relays and motors(cyberniklas.de)
1 points by wwalker3 17y ago|0 comments
85.
by wwalker3 17y ago
The ratio of things we know to things we don't know is essentially zero. Thankfully that doesn't preclude us from dreaming big and accomplishing great things.
86.
The (Not So) Simple Pendulum(myreckonings.com)
1 points by wwalker3 17y ago|0 comments
87.
by wwalker3 17y ago
I think the completely comprehensible system has always been an illusion. There's always some cutoff level below which people don't understand (or don't care to understand) the system they're working in. The old Apple 2 hackers had a great
88.
by wwalker3 17y ago
I agree that the physical printing of news on paper is becoming quaint, but having less print isn't what worries me, it's having less news. I want to read stories about events all over the world and their meanings, context and history. I wa
89.
by wwalker3 17y ago
I totally agree with these guys that getting out the soldering iron and working on real hardware is satisfying as hell. But ironically, many hardware engineers like me spend all day writing what's essentially software (Verilog code) and run
90.
by wwalker3 17y ago
A very interesting essay about using some types of mathematical surfaces in architecture. The architect chooses surfaces with useful properties, like being able to walk between any two points without turning upside down, and uses them as fl

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