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Messages - Will

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1111
Completely Off-Topic / Re: Heh...
« on: March 25, 2003, 09:47:02 pm »
Quote from: "kev222"

Potentially interesting fact: Frontier Elite II was the last computer game to be written entirely in assembly language.
-Kev


Better change that to "commercial computer game." I'm working on a version of breakout right now for the TI-83 Pluses we have at school. While I could use the built-in lobotomized BASIC, it is much too slow with most of the commands, especially the graphics one.

So, I'm using my mad z80 assembler skillz (so mad, they were nonexistant before this project  :wink:) to write the program. So far, I am getting it to display my opening graphic. I still need more tech docs though. I don't know enough about the internals on the sucker to do much of anything.

Oh well....

1112
Completely Off-Topic / Heh...
« on: March 25, 2003, 08:08:37 pm »
I saw this thread and I'm all "did I create this? I don't remember doing that." LOL.

And Andrew, if she wants to be serious about programming, then yes, hell yeah I'll recommend asm as a first language. I don't expect anyone to do any major projects in it though. Getting down to the metal helps you understand how the computer runs at the most basic level. You kinda get into the mentality and you know what kind of programming will run faster and more efficently at a higher level.

And yes, I think OO is for the lazy. Doesn't mean I don't use it when it is the best suited thing for a particular problem. And besides, every major programming project these days seems to use it. If you don't know it well, you can't work all that well in a team.

Most of the stuff written in OO languages these days doesn't need it. A good procedural language is pretty powerful if you know your way around it. And yes Andrew, I think I could beat your deadline thing on most projects in a decent prcedural language. Hell no am I going to do most stuff in asm. Cuts down on portability too much. Just small parts that can take lots of improvement from it's use.

Pretty much, you have the attitude of a computer engineer. Very practical. Like you came from a trade school. I am more of a computer scientist. Someone who studies theory for the sake of knowing it, not necessarily looking at the practical aspect of things. A strictly academic pursuit. Not practical in the least. But, I know computers very well. If I want to get practical, I can do so really quickly. That is because I understand how this machine works at the most basic levels. I fully understand what is going on.

But, I closed my post by saying that if she just wants a taste of programming, take a VB class. I'm just giving my recommendations on how I would go about being a good programmer. If I were to take one programming class in my life and not do anything more about it, I would take a VB class.

But, good code is beautiful. Would you believe that I print out beautiful code when I find it, just to read later? Kinda like high tech poetry.

1113
Completely Off-Topic / Programming languages
« on: March 24, 2003, 11:54:30 pm »
Quote from: "kev222"
It might also be a good idea to wait for Will (m125 boy) to drop by and comment. He know everything about computers.


One of the mods says I know everything about computers! It must be true! Yay!  :D

Honestly, I think Java is a lousy language to start off with. I think it is lousy in general, only having an advantage in the "write once, run anywhere department." Too bloated. If I can't run a simple program on my p233, somebody needs to clean up their code. There is no serious number crunching going on with most things.

If I were to learn programming from scratch, I would learn asm first, just to know how things work at a very basic level. You learn about registers and such. How a computer processes data. Memory access. You don't even have to get all that into it. Just understand the basics enough so you can see the abstractions on top of it. Oh yeah, Stay away from x86 asm if you do go this route. Go with mk68k. Much easier. x86 is hell without a compiler to hide the strange querks in the kludged arch from you.

Next, I would learn a higher level procedural language, like BASIC or Pascal. I would avoid BASIC because it will get you into bad habits. Pascal makes it harder to write bad code than most languages, so it is a good teaching language.

Now, for the modern programming stuff. Learn an Object Oriented language, like Java (EEEKKKK!!!!), C++, or ObjC (showing my MacNESS right there). I think C++ will get you further in the end, but hey.

Of course, if you just want to learn how to do simple programming and you aren't that serious about it, take a Visual Basic class. It will probably be much easier for you and you will end up learning more about programming techniques.

Besides, I have never seen a Java class for the beginner to programming.

(This incoherant rant brought to you by the letter ∂ and the number e)

1114
I have a Crayser upright. Really old and really ghetto. Don't think the company is even in buisness anymore. I don't have any pics of it.

I want this though.

Steinway Model D

I also have an Alesis QS8.1 that I love to death.


The QS8.2 I am linking to is pretty much a crippled, but prettier version of the 8.1. This only has two pedal things. I can have a single sustain and two analog pedals on the 8.1. Also, I have an optical out on the 8.1. There are two additional outputs that you can set to not have effects on mine. There are two PCMICA slots on mine and only one on the 8.2. Also, there is no serial port on the 8.2.

I also have some various guitars.

I'm a keyboarist though... so the guitars really don't matter to me. They are decent. And I have a Martin steel string. That ends up being loaned out to anyone I'm in a band with because I really can't play.

1115
Polls / What kind of computer do you use?
« on: March 20, 2003, 12:02:50 am »
Quote from: "PintOGuinness"
HA!!!  Technically my first "Computer" was a Texas Instruments TI994A that had to be hooked up to a TV.. programmed in BASIC and if you wanted to save anything.. you hadd to hook it up to a tape recorder and record the "noises" onto an audio cassette.


TI-99/4A users unite!!!

Anywho...my first computer was my dad's TI-99/4A. Later, we picked up a 486DX with ghetto specs.

Then..... I got a Mac Classic. 8 MHz, bus and processor, four megs of ram, 40 MB HD, no expansion so to speak. Slow as hell, but I didn't care. My dad hooked me up with ResEdit and a Pascal compiler (ThinkPascal?) and I started to do real programming. I still think of Pascal as my home language to this day. I don't get how C could have won over it... but oh well.

This computer I am using right now is a Revision A iMac. IBM PPC 740 (G3) running at 233 MHz, bus 66 MHz, 288 MB of RAM, Rage IIC 2MB, 4 GB HD, 15" CRT.

I also have a Powerbook G3, 500 MHz, 100 MHz bus, 6 GB HD, 256 MB RAM. Blah... can't remember most of the specs. It's the family laptop... so I don't get to use it much. My mom uses it for school, mostly. (She is going back to college).

Then... I have my very own laptop... a PowerBook 5300cs... the most flimsy Apple Laptop ever, not to mention the one with the nifty blowing up battery (yes, mine is fixed). IBM PPC 603e @ 100 MHz. 10.4" LCD. 16 MB of RAM. 750 MB HD. One floppy drive.

I also have three PowerBook 180s from 1993, but those hardly qualify as real computers anymore. They play Bolo well, so all is good in the world.

I did have a G4 tower... but I had to sell it because I needed the money. Those things retain value forever, it seems!

Ok... my macs right there. Now for my Intel boxen.

I have five machines on a little network as my little experiment with networking and distributed computing, ranging from a P166 to a P300. They have anywhere from 32 to 128 MB of RAM, and 2 GB to 6 GB of HD. Most of them are running Debian. I also have a P233 loaded up with NICs acting as a ghetto router.

The family file/media server is a PII300 with 128 MB of RAM with 160 GB (80x2) of storage. It's running OpenBSD.

Then I have my new project, a P233 with 32 MB of RAM. A 2.5 GB and a 1 GB HD. Two 16x CD drives. It dual boots Win2k and Debian.

Then... probably the best machine in the house..... my 900 MHz PIII. 60 GB HD, 512 MB RAM, some half decent graphics card (I don't pay attention to these things anymore). It runs 2k and Mandrake. It is pretty much for my parents.

I just came to the realization that I have way too many computers. :-P

Blah... I need to stop taking people's discards......

BTW.... I am really beginning to like Debian (as you can tell from above). apt-get install foo is so wonderful. Now if only the installer at the beginning wasn't so retarded. Oh well... my beloved OpenBSD and NetBSD are worse.........

Now if only ports were at the same level as apt-get/dselect/whatever......

1116
Polls / What is your favorite Instrument?
« on: March 19, 2003, 11:40:28 pm »
Quote from: "badsrx7"


any other violists out there?


samantha


YOu already know that I play violin. Give me a viola and I will gladly learn.  :wink:

1117
Polls / Do you prefer NESSAholics.com to be Flash, HTML, or both.
« on: March 14, 2003, 05:10:37 pm »
Blah... it looks nice.

But no.....

Sometimes I like to use Links to surf the web.

Also... right clicking is a problem. If I am surfing on my laptop which is really slow, then things are downright unbearable.

I agree, Flash looks cool. But, only if you want this to be a page designed to be looked at once. Like a brochure.

If you expect people to use it often, put usability above pretiNESS.

1118
Other Musicians / Maren Ord!
« on: March 12, 2003, 08:29:03 pm »
Check her out and tell me what you think!

http://www.marenord.com

She's kinda like Michelle Branch and Mandy Moore rolled into one.

1119
FAQ / Board Issues / Problems with athousandroses.org
« on: March 12, 2003, 08:19:15 pm »
Thanks. I know that now.

Anyway, the problem still needs to be fixed. Thanks for putting that on your list of things to do!

1120
FAQ / Board Issues / Problems with athousandroses.org
« on: March 12, 2003, 06:29:45 pm »
I guess having the same forum on two domains can cause some weirdness.

I don't access this site enough yet to put it in my toolbar bookmarks, so when I visit, I usually click through to here through athousandroses.org to avoid the flash at nessaholics.com.

Ok. So far, so good. But nothing works. Every action just takes me to the main forum page until I change the domain to nessaholics.com. Once I do that, everything works.

1121
General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / SING & PLAY A DUET WITH NESSA!
« on: March 12, 2003, 06:12:28 pm »
Quote from: "kev222"
Maybe its legal reasons.

-Kev


I could agree with you, if there was no upper limit on age.

1122
General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / SING & PLAY A DUET WITH NESSA!
« on: March 12, 2003, 05:22:22 pm »
Quote from: "STARGiRL"
i look younger than 25 and can pass for 18.. but im not =( *cries in corner* not fair!

<3 -wants-to-play-duet-with-vanessa-sad-cos-she-cant -jess

Same here.

Blah... and I have the skills too. Nine years of classical training, lots of jazz.

Singing... blah.. I have been in the church choir forever.

I wish MTV wouldn't exclude people based on age. :-\

1123
Introduce Yourself / Hey... I'm William
« on: March 12, 2003, 04:57:02 pm »
Quote from: "kev222"

*perk* History of programming languages???


There is one on the site I gave you.

Check it out!

:D

1124
Introduce Yourself / Hey... I'm William
« on: March 11, 2003, 10:00:05 pm »
Hey, I'm William. You probably already know me or know of me from AIM or the VCBBS.

I'm posting here because the other site is having major problems. Anyway, it's great to be here. Avatars..... *drools*

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