Kamis, 03 Desember 2009

Obama in China in Retrospect: Complete Fail

Obama in China in Retrospect: Complete Fail

James Fallows is a stupid faggot, albeit probably more stupid than faggot. In a recent blog post he sarcastically writes that We All Know that Obama was humiliated and stonewalled by the haughty Chinese leaders, in contrast to the titanic American presidents of yore who spoke sternly to Mao and his successors and therefore always got just what they wanted in Beijing. Richard Cohen of the Washington Post has reminded us of his fecklessness again. And yet...my favorite newspaper of all, the (state-controlled) China Daily, has just indicated in its November 25 edition that China's recent year-long freeze on the value of the RMB may be about to end. (Thanks to my friend Jeremy Goldkorn, of Danwei.org in Beijing, for the tip.) If Obama had "demanded" this in public, or insisted that it be announced while he was standing next to Hu Jintao in Beijing, his "toughness" might have received better one-day coverage in the U.S. press or on SNL.  But the chances of his getting what he was after would be nil. Of course, the chances are still uncertain. But this was the major item on the economic-rebalancing agenda; and the Administration's argument all along was that influencing China's behavior was a long game. This news story is not conclusive but does support rather than weaken the long-game approach. So, in effect: "Look, I know important bloggers inside China and rely on state-run media, you can trust me on this--Obama has China right where he wants it!"

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Selasa, 24 November 2009

The non-linear relationship of coding effort and results

The non-linear relationship of coding effort and results

This is counter-intuitive, so I don't think most users of software understand it.

Picture a situation like this: an app crashes every time you click a certain button. What does that say?

Well, a crash is a very bad thing, so it probably means a great deal of effort to fix it. It seems like there should be a relationship between the badness of a result and the time it would take to fix it.

But there isn't. Not necessarily, at least.

A crash can be the simple result of a single missing or mis-placed character. (A very embarrassing crash in NetNewsWire 3.2 was the result of a missing :. I think 3.2.1 differed from 3.2 only in that it added that : at the right place.)

There's another level of non-linearity: just because a fix is really, really, easy to implement (such as just adding a : at the right place) doesn't mean the level of effort is small. It may take a week to find exactly what the problem is. Once figured out, it may take 3 seconds to fix it.

Or... not. It may take only seconds to figure out the problem, and just a few more to fix it. Sometimes a crash log and a peek at the code are all that's required. Sometimes the worst, most obviously bad results have the quickest find-and-fix time. Sometimes.

What had me thinking about this was some coding I did over the weekend.

In a new operation (not in the current shipping version), I noted the app was allocating about 100MB of RAM, for something that should never have gone above about 50K or so.

About 10 minutes later I had it down to 4MB.

But I still need to get it down to about 50K — I still need to shave off about 4MB.

If it took 10 minutes to reduce memory usage by 96MB, then — were there a linear relationship — it should take under half a minute, less than 30 seconds, to go the rest of the way.

That's the way things work in the real world, after all. If you have 100 bags of leaves to carry out to the curb, each bag will take about the same amount of time as the others.

Instead, it will probably take me about two hours, maybe more, to get rid of that last 4MB.

It's almost as if you carried out 96 bags of leaves easily and quickly, then realized you can't get those last four bags, even though they're exactly the same as all the others, without pouring a new driveway first.

Which is crazy, right? If the real world operated like that all the time, we'd go completely nuts.

Anyway. Enough rambling.

Now it's time to do a prime number of handstands, then touch all the walls of my office (twice) with the index finger of my left hand, then iron my tinfoil hat, then get back to programming.

Lots to do.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:26:55 -0800

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Jumat, 20 November 2009

Get Chrome OS Now (PC World)

Get Chrome OS Now (PC World)

PC World - The open source version of Google Chrome OS was released on Thursday, and tech wizards didn't waste any time turning the code into a workable test version of the new operating system. If you don't want to wait until next year to see what's going on with Chrome OS, then follow this handy guide to find all the information you need to get the new system up and running on almost any computer.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:02:00 GMT

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California's Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly, CEA Warns (NewsFactor)

California's Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly, CEA Warns (NewsFactor)

NewsFactor - California's ban on plasma-screen televisions to reduce energy consumption could cost as much as $50 million per year in sales taxes because consumers are free to buy the sets online or in other states. "At a time when the state of California is facing its worst money crisis in history, this is going to be disastrous," said Jennifer Bemisderfer, a spokesperson for the Consumer Electronics Association, which lobbied against the ban.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:22:11 GMT

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Mac OS X 10.6.2 Hack Gets Atom Support Back (PC World)

Mac OS X 10.6.2 Hack Gets Atom Support Back (PC World)

PC World - Early last week, Apple released the 10.6.2 update to Snow Leopard loaded mostly with welcome, but unsurprising bug fixes, including a patch for the uncommon but extremely harmful user account deletion bug.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:49:00 GMT

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Sony hopes online service will build brand loyalty (AP)

Sony hopes online service will build brand loyalty (AP)

Sony Corp. Chief Executive Howard Stringer, center, Executive Deputy President Hiroshi Yoshioka, left, and Executive Vice President Kazuo Hirai smile as they show the company's latest products, digital still camera DSC-TX1, e-book 'Reader,' and a new remote controller for PlayStation 3, respectively, during a press conference in Tokyo Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. Sony's new online service connecting the whole range of its gadgets to downloadable content like movies and games should help build brand loyalty, Hirai said Friday. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)AP - Sony's new online service connecting the whole range of its gadgets to downloadable content like movies and games should help build brand loyalty, a top executive said Friday.


Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:43:41 GMT

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Yahoo jumps on Twitter bandwagon to improve search (AP)

Yahoo jumps on Twitter bandwagon to improve search (AP)

AP - Yahoo Inc. is jumping on the Twitter bandwagon in its latest attempt to get people to use its Internet search engine more frequently.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:38:55 GMT

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Google Chrome OS: A Simple FAQ (PC World)

Google Chrome OS: A Simple FAQ (PC World)

PC World - Everyone's all a-twitter over Google's newly announced operating system, Google Chrome OS. Some swear it'll be a hit; others are convinced it's destined for failure. Love it or hate it, though, this puppy's one tough piece of software to ignore.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:44:00 GMT

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Xbox LIVE Gold Free Today Through Monday (PC World)

Xbox LIVE Gold Free Today Through Monday (PC World)

PC World - Microsoft wants you on Xbox LIVE for the weekend with, of course, a view toward forever, and it's prepared to temporarily waive the cover fee to grab your attention.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:15:00 GMT

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Security Pro Says New SSL Attack Can Hit Many Sites (PC World)

Security Pro Says New SSL Attack Can Hit Many Sites (PC World)

PC World - A Seattle computer security consultant says he's developed a new way to exploit a recently disclosed bug in the SSL protocol, used to secure communications on the Internet. The attack, while difficult to execute, could give attackers a very powerful phishing attack.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:40:16 GMT

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Qualcomm's Updated 3G Chipset Coming to ThinkPads (PC World)

Qualcomm's Updated 3G Chipset Coming to ThinkPads (PC World)

PC World - Lenovo will offer Qualcomm's latest Gobi multimode 3G (third-generation) mobile data chipset on ThinkPad laptops, allowing users to connect to the world's two major types of 3G networks and use assisted GPS for location-based services.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:40:16 GMT

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Moody's downgrades Liberty Media LLC ratings (AP)

Moody's downgrades Liberty Media LLC ratings (AP)

AP - Moody's Investors Service downgraded ratings for Liberty Media Corp. subsidiary Liberty Media LLC on Friday. The changes come shortly after shareholders approved the formation of a new company out of DirecTV Group Inc. and some of Liberty's entertainment businesses.

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:13:03 GMT

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Standards MP quits over expenses

Standards MP quits over expenses

The head of the Commons standards body quits pending an inquiry into his own expenses, a few weeks after being appointed.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:19:13 GMT

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Hundreds rescued as floods strike

Hundreds rescued as floods strike

Some of the worst flooding ever to hit Cumbria sees bridges collapse, a police officer reported missing and hundreds of people rescued.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:11:12 GMT

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Roy Keane has no sympathy for Irish

Roy Keane has no sympathy for Irish

Roy Keane lambasts the Republic of Ireland's attempts to get their World Cup play-off match against France replayed.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:48:31 GMT

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Thousands of Vicks spray recalled

Thousands of Vicks spray recalled

Procter & Gamble is recalling 120,000 bottles of Vicks Sinex nasal spray after small traces of bacteria were discovered.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:24:48 GMT

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UN nuclear watchdog presses Iran

UN nuclear watchdog presses Iran

The UN atomic watchdog urges Iran to accept a deal, as nuclear talks between Tehran and the West are deadlocked.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:46:27 GMT

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Hamilton challenge excites Button

Hamilton challenge excites Button

World champion Jenson Button says he is excited by the prospect of going head-to-head with former champion Lewis Hamilton at McLaren.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:33:30 GMT

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Warning over rising river levels

Warning over rising river levels

Nine flood warnings are in place in Wales after a night of rain, while people are urged to be alert as river levels continue to rise.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:15:11 GMT

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Peter Kay confirms stand-up shows

Peter Kay confirms stand-up shows

Peter Kay announces his first solo dates for nearly seven years, with four nights in Manchester next April.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:57:01 GMT

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Police 'may quit over Tory plans'

Police 'may quit over Tory plans'

Tory plans to place police under local political control could prompt force heads to resign, a senior police figure warns.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:01:06 GMT

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Kercher murder trial nearing end

Kercher murder trial nearing end

Italian prosecutors in the trial of two people accused of killing British student Meredith Kercher begin their closing arguments.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:44:12 GMT

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YouTube gets automatic subtitles

YouTube gets automatic subtitles

Automatic captions for YouTube videos are to roll out across its channels, says parent company Google.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:40:45 GMT

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Decline in car output rate slows

Decline in car output rate slows

UK car production fell by 6.7% in October compared with a year earlier - the smallest annual decline of the year, figures show.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:57:28 GMT

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Afghan suicide bomber hits market

Afghan suicide bomber hits market

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle kills at least 13 people, including a policeman, and injures 36 in south-west Afghanistan.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:16:13 GMT

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Killings prompt US Army inquiry

Killings prompt US Army inquiry

A review of US Army and Pentagon policies is ordered by the defence secretary in the wake of the Fort Hood shootings.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:57:13 GMT

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China 'steps up US cyber-spying'

China 'steps up US cyber-spying'

Chinese spies are aggressively stealing secrets to help build up China's military and economic power, a US advisory panel says.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:17:28 GMT

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After the hype

After the hype

Once it was huge, but what happened to Second Life?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:22:37 GMT

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'Dream killer' cleared of murder

'Dream killer' cleared of murder

A man with a sleep disorder who killed his wife while he said he had a dream about an intruder is cleared of murder.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:56:58 GMT

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Mammoth dung clue to extinction

Mammoth dung clue to extinction

A study of mammoth dung is helping unravel the mystery of what caused the great mammals to die out.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:07:50 GMT

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EU foreign head dismisses critics

EU foreign head dismisses critics

The new EU foreign affairs chief dismisses criticism of her appointment, saying she is the "the best person for the job".

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:57:35 GMT

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Lib Dems can keep £2.4m donation

Lib Dems can keep £2.4m donation

The elections watchdog rules that the Lib Dems can keep £2.4m in donations which, it had been suggested, came from a fraudster.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:18:14 GMT

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New skin 'may help burns victims'

New skin 'may help burns victims'

French researchers say they have found a way of using human embryonic stem cells to create new skin which could help serious burns victims.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:06:41 GMT

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Hush-hush tales

Hush-hush tales

The strange secrets couples keep from each other

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:10:19 GMT

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Children in Need countdown begins

Children in Need countdown begins

Top names from the worlds of TV, music and theatre will take part in the BBC's annual charity telethon later.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:48:15 GMT

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