Things that make you go "Wow!"
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Windows 95. Or more specific, the insights on The Old New Thing[^] blog explaining some details; like applications with topmost-windows that fight on who gets to be on top, the work that went into getting SimCity to run on W95, and the reason why you press "start" to shut down. Why did the Windows 95 Start button have a secret shortcut for closing it? – The Old New Thing[^] Why do you have to click the Start button to shut down? – The Old New Thing[^] Why did the word Start disappear from the Start button? – The Old New Thing[^] (Vista!)
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^] "If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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As developers we often look at software and start reverse engineering it in our heads. There's plenty of stuff that might deeply impress us but we can figure out roughly how it does what it does even if we wouldn't be confident in writing it ourselves. Sometimes, though, you see something and think "Blimey! I wouldn't have come up with that in a million years. That's not code, that's sorcery!" For me, the Great Amazer has always been Shazam - yes, it's been around for years and I've read a fair old bit about the central fingerprinting algorithm (much of which has passed over my head) but it still absolutely blows me away. As Ozymandias put it: "look upon my works ye mighty and despair!" What does it for you?
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
PeejayAdams wrote:
What does it for you?
Self driving cars. SpaceX landing the first stage. On a barge. In the friggin' ocean!
Latest Article - Building a Prototype Web-Based Diagramming Tool with SVG and Javascript Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802
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At that time I still had fun with a real rifle, real ammo, ears ringing from the noise, the smell of the powder, real sand between the teeth and at every time of day, from high noon to pitch black night. Doom was boring against that.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
Alot things are, also safer, I'm not anti-gun, it's just idiots with guns worry me!
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As developers we often look at software and start reverse engineering it in our heads. There's plenty of stuff that might deeply impress us but we can figure out roughly how it does what it does even if we wouldn't be confident in writing it ourselves. Sometimes, though, you see something and think "Blimey! I wouldn't have come up with that in a million years. That's not code, that's sorcery!" For me, the Great Amazer has always been Shazam - yes, it's been around for years and I've read a fair old bit about the central fingerprinting algorithm (much of which has passed over my head) but it still absolutely blows me away. As Ozymandias put it: "look upon my works ye mighty and despair!" What does it for you?
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
I get the opposite feeling: Whenever I look at code I wrote say 10 years ago, I go: "Blimey! I would never, EVER do it that way now. Whatever was I thinking? That's not code, that's black magic!" :sigh:
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain -
Thanks for making me discover The Old New Thing.
GCS d-- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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Alot things are, also safer, I'm not anti-gun, it's just idiots with guns worry me!
Is that how you thank us for having made sure day and night that you never had to wake up one morning to discover that you had become a communist over night? :-)
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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Is that how you thank us for having made sure day and night that you never had to wake up one morning to discover that you had become a communist over night? :-)
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
He's a Bristiolian - they are already communists according to No 10... :laugh:
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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As developers we often look at software and start reverse engineering it in our heads. There's plenty of stuff that might deeply impress us but we can figure out roughly how it does what it does even if we wouldn't be confident in writing it ourselves. Sometimes, though, you see something and think "Blimey! I wouldn't have come up with that in a million years. That's not code, that's sorcery!" For me, the Great Amazer has always been Shazam - yes, it's been around for years and I've read a fair old bit about the central fingerprinting algorithm (much of which has passed over my head) but it still absolutely blows me away. As Ozymandias put it: "look upon my works ye mighty and despair!" What does it for you?
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
The Dazzle Kaleidoscope program. For its time, you could tell that every single line was hand-crafted assembly because it made all other programs feel super slow. [Dazzle (1993) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV7T1eqnvas)
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He's a Bristiolian - they are already communists according to No 10... :laugh:
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
I live in Bristol, but not a Bristolian (I don't need subtitles... :) )
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He's a Bristiolian - they are already communists according to No 10... :laugh:
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
Ah, ok. Communists without guns would not have been our customers at that time. :-)
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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I live in Bristol, but not a Bristolian (I don't need subtitles... :) )
So you infiltrate them and have a good eye on them?
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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So you infiltrate them and have a good eye on them?
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
Quote:
So you infiltrate them and have a good eye on them?
OK why?
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The Dazzle Kaleidoscope program. For its time, you could tell that every single line was hand-crafted assembly because it made all other programs feel super slow. [Dazzle (1993) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV7T1eqnvas)
Circa 1993 I was somewhat chuffed when I managed to render a Mandelbrot set in less than twenty minutes on a 386, so yes, that's pretty darned quick! Something else that impressed me a lot in those days was [Fractint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractint) which could render fractals in seconds rather than minutes by doing all the calculations with ints rather than floats.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Circa 1993 I was somewhat chuffed when I managed to render a Mandelbrot set in less than twenty minutes on a 386, so yes, that's pretty darned quick! Something else that impressed me a lot in those days was [Fractint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractint) which could render fractals in seconds rather than minutes by doing all the calculations with ints rather than floats.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
If you missed it, I released a Mandelbrot browser a couple weeks ago that allows you to zoom, pan, and recolor to your hearts content[^]! 1080p in approximately 0.2 seconds!
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As developers we often look at software and start reverse engineering it in our heads. There's plenty of stuff that might deeply impress us but we can figure out roughly how it does what it does even if we wouldn't be confident in writing it ourselves. Sometimes, though, you see something and think "Blimey! I wouldn't have come up with that in a million years. That's not code, that's sorcery!" For me, the Great Amazer has always been Shazam - yes, it's been around for years and I've read a fair old bit about the central fingerprinting algorithm (much of which has passed over my head) but it still absolutely blows me away. As Ozymandias put it: "look upon my works ye mighty and despair!" What does it for you?
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
For me, it has always been the game StarFlight. How did they get so much awesome gameplay and adventure on a 3 1/2 inch floppy disk?
When you are dead, you won't even know that you are dead. It's a pain only felt by others. Same thing when you are stupid.
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If you missed it, I released a Mandelbrot browser a couple weeks ago that allows you to zoom, pan, and recolor to your hearts content[^]! 1080p in approximately 0.2 seconds!
I did, indeed, miss it but look forward to taking a look. Thanks!
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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For me, it has always been the game StarFlight. How did they get so much awesome gameplay and adventure on a 3 1/2 inch floppy disk?
When you are dead, you won't even know that you are dead. It's a pain only felt by others. Same thing when you are stupid.
Yes, there have certainly been some "how on earth did they fit that in there?" games over the years. Some of the 16k Spectrum things are amazing - [Way of the Exploding Fist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA5b8Zhdb7c) is a nice example.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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As developers we often look at software and start reverse engineering it in our heads. There's plenty of stuff that might deeply impress us but we can figure out roughly how it does what it does even if we wouldn't be confident in writing it ourselves. Sometimes, though, you see something and think "Blimey! I wouldn't have come up with that in a million years. That's not code, that's sorcery!" For me, the Great Amazer has always been Shazam - yes, it's been around for years and I've read a fair old bit about the central fingerprinting algorithm (much of which has passed over my head) but it still absolutely blows me away. As Ozymandias put it: "look upon my works ye mighty and despair!" What does it for you?
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
The thing that most makes me go "Wow" is how my GPS device can plan a route through real-world roads and take into account all the traffic laws, such as where you're not allowed to turn left, and such. Amazing! :)
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The thing that most makes me go "Wow" is how my GPS device can plan a route through real-world roads and take into account all the traffic laws, such as where you're not allowed to turn left, and such. Amazing! :)
... and then direct you into a river and give up ... :laugh:
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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As developers we often look at software and start reverse engineering it in our heads. There's plenty of stuff that might deeply impress us but we can figure out roughly how it does what it does even if we wouldn't be confident in writing it ourselves. Sometimes, though, you see something and think "Blimey! I wouldn't have come up with that in a million years. That's not code, that's sorcery!" For me, the Great Amazer has always been Shazam - yes, it's been around for years and I've read a fair old bit about the central fingerprinting algorithm (much of which has passed over my head) but it still absolutely blows me away. As Ozymandias put it: "look upon my works ye mighty and despair!" What does it for you?
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
