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One of the key challenges of investment management is identifying and taking advantage of the technological disruption of an old economy. During a recent visit to Taiwan, Kunjal Gala, Senior Investment Analyst at Hermes Investment Management, found a country still at the forefront of innovation, despite recent political uncertainty.
Taiwan's tech industry is at a crossroads. While the dynamic entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley pioneered the app-driven economy, Taiwan remains influenced by first-generation tech industrialists – in a world where the growth of smartphones, tablets and PCs, as well as supporting infrastructure, is diminishing.
Political winds are also creating some cause for concern, as President Tsai Ing-wen seeks to reduce dependence on China, leading many Taiwanese companies to express worries over the government's inflexible attitude to investments to and from the regional powerhouse.
However, despite a confluence of headwinds, we see reasons for optimism. For example, a number of Taiwanese companies are diversifying and selling successfully in North America and Europe. Taiwanese companies are exploiting Moore's Law, establishing mass scale automated manufacturing, increasing the usage of industrial automation, pioneering an 'internet of things (IoT) platform, entering the global automotive supply chain in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), as well as participating in recent advances in virtual and augmented reality.
Smartphones and beyond
Smartphones have become nearly ubiquitous in the western world and there are few large economies, such as India, where penetration is yet to catch up. The opportunity is in the functionality of the phone – continually increasing applications in today's smartphones require ever more powerful application processors, benefiting the likes of TSMC.
TSMC benefits from the increasing semiconductor content per phone, a trend we expect to continue. The company is progressing on its technology roadmap to mass produce chips on 7 nanometer nodes in 2018, a development allowing them to enter the high-end server/data centre market. The foundry business is becoming increasingly challenging, and high capital requirements represent a major barrier – TSMC spends US$2bn on R&D and US$10bn on capex in advanced technology – making foundry a possible business proposition for very few corporations. TSMC is a tough competitor with an enviable track record of execution and profitability.
Hardware opportunities remain
Technology hardware is arguably the least dynamic segment of the market, but it nevertheless offers opportunities for investors. The continuous decline in personal computers, notebooks and now tablets is not surprising – considering the rise of powerful smartphones. However, there is potential in industrial PCs, and thus we are bullish on Advantech, the global leader.
Industrial PCs benefit from increasing factory automation globally and high barriers to entry due to customised design requirements and a long timeline for supplier qualification. Building on this core competency, Advantech has become 'future-ready' through the addition of new capabilities in middleware and software, as well as its ability to deliver bespoke IoT solutions for end customers across industry verticals. This approach demonstrates the ability of the company to move up the value chain and earn high margins. Advantech is confident it can double its business as IoT is built out by enterprises and governments in the creation of smart cities.
ADAS in the fast lane
Regulators are demanding more advanced active safety measures in automobiles and car makers are using technology to differentiate from their competitors, resulting in the rapid adoption of ADAS. ADAS has evolved from ultrasonic parking sensors into camera and radar-based systems – including automatic parking, surround view cameras, collision warning, lane detection, blind spot detection and emergency brake assistance. ADAS is a stepping stone towards fully autonomous driving.
Tung Thih Electronic is a company we like in this area, benefitting from the twin forces of increasing penetration of ADAS in China and their own entry into the General Motors global supply chain. Therefore, we see potential for strong growth as the company benefits from a rapidly expanding product pipeline in a segment of the market with high barriers to entry.
A clear vision of the future, along with R&D and innovation, constitute essential characteristics of a successful technology business. Taiwan will have to nurture top talent, processes and technologies to sustain its lead in the region and mitigate the growing threat from Korea and China. By using what they are good at to expand into new areas, Taiwanese companies are future-proofing business models – providing prospects of attractive long-term growth for investors.
Hermes Chief Economist responds to today's ECB press conference
Press contacts
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Head of Corporate Communications & Shareholder Relations email@example.com +44 (0)20 7680 2152 +44 (0)7841 324061
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Wednesday, Nov. 14
Women, Infants and Children clinic; and Family Planning Services, all by appointment only, Lee County Health Department, 309 S. Galena Ave., Suite 100, Dixon, 815-284-3371.
Sauk Valley Gold Chapter of Business Networking International, 7 a.m., Candlelight Inn, 2200 S. First St., Rock Falls, 815-535-1327.
Dixon Kiwanis Club meeting, 7 a.m., private dining room, KSB Hospital, 403 E. First St., Dixon.
Mercy Nursing Services free blood pressure clinic, 9 to 11 a.m., Northland Mall, 2900 E. Lincolnway, Sterling.
Rules of the Road class, 9 a.m., Dixon Senior Center, 100 W. Second St., 815-288-6563.
Auxiliary Senior Health Insurance Program, 9 a.m. to noon, CGH Medical Center, 100 E. LeFevre Road, Sterling. Appointment: 815-625-0400, ext. 5711.
Twin City Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, 9 a.m., women's group; noon; 3:30 p.m.; 7 p.m., Bazaar Americana, 609 W. Third St., Sterling.
Nurturing Program, 9:15 a.m., Sinnissippi Centers Inc., 2611 Woodlawn Road, Sterling, 815-625-0013 or 800-782-1584.
Narcotics Anonymous, 10 a.m., open, 403 13th Ave., Sterling.
Sharing Life's Memories program, 10 a.m., Rock River Center, 810 S. 10th St., Oregon, 815-732-3252.
American Red Cross blood drive, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Rock Falls Blood Donation Center, 112 W. Second St., www.redcrossblood.org or 800-733-2767.
Whiteside County Health Department free blood pressure clinic, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Sullivan's Foods, 300 N. Madison St., Morrison. 815-772-4213.
Blood pressure check, 10 a.m. to noon, Whiteside County Senior Center, 1207 W. Ninth St., Sterling, 815-622-9230.
Mercy Nursing Services free blood pressure clinic, 11 a.m. to noon, Dixon Food Center – Red Fox, 500 Chicago Ave., Dixon.
Dealing with the Diagnosis, 11 a.m., Home of Hope Cancer Wellness Centers, 1637 Plock Road, Dixon, 815-288-4673.
BorgWarner Retiree lunch, 11:30 a.m., River's Edge Inn, 2303 W. First St., Dixon.
Fellowship dinner, noon, Ashton Bible Church, 702 Main St., bring dish to pass and table service.
Avoiding Diabetes, noon, CGH Medical Center, 100 E. LeFevre Road, Sterling, 815-625-0400, ext. 5716.
Alcoholics Anonymous, noon, closed, St. Paul Lutheran Church, 114 S. Fifth St., Oregon.
AA Gratitude Group, noon, closed, Big Book; 6 p.m., closed, Big Book, tradition, 91-92 S. Hennepin Ave., Dixon.
Alcoholics Anonymous, noon, closed, grapevine; 6 p.m., closed, Spanish; 3:30 p.m., closed; 7 p.m., closed; Bazaar Americana, Avenue G and Third Street, Sterling.
Free blood pressure check, 1-3 p.m., Amboy Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, 15 W. Wasson Road, Amboy, 815-857-2550.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 1:30 p.m., closed, Rochelle Community Hospital, 900 N. Second St.
Red Cross blood drive, 2-6 p.m., 112 W. Second St., Rock Falls. Appointment: 815-625-0382.
Free blood pressure clinic, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Community Room, Odell Library, 307 S. Madison, Morrison.
Narcotics Anonymous, 4-5 p.m., Loveland Community House, 513 W. Second St., Dixon, 815-973-0165.
Walnut Board of Directors, 5:30 p.m., Walnut Public Library, 101 Heaton St., 815-379-2159.
Women's Support Group, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Choices Domestic Violence Program office, 114 W. Market St., Mount Carroll.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 5:30 p.m., closed, steps, tradition, United Methodist Church, state Route 72, Davis Junction.
Special Needs Parent Support Group, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Sterling Public Library, conference room, 102 W. Third St.
Pearl, a self-esteem support group of the YWCA Domestic Violence Program, 6 p.m., 815-625-0333.
Men's Cancer Support Group, 6-7 p.m., Home of Hope Cancer Wellness Centers, 1637 Plock Road, Dixon, 815-288-4673.
"How Will I Get through the Holidays?," 6 to 8:30 p.m., Hospice of the Rock River Valley, 264 state Route 2, Dixon, 815-288-3673.
AWANA, 6:30 to 8 p.m., ages 3 years through sixth grade, Northside Baptist Church, 598 River Lane, Dixon, 815-288-5212.
American Legion Post 12, 7 p.m., 1120 W. First St., Dixon, 815-284-2003.
Dixon Area Detachment Marine Corps League, 7 p.m., Veterans of Foreign Wars, 1560 Franklin Grove Road, Dixon.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 7 p.m., open, Immanuel Lutheran Church, state Route 52 N., Amboy.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 7 p.m., closed, Presbyterian Church, 1100 Calvin Road, Rochelle.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 7 p.m., closed, 808 Freeport Road, Sterling.
Alcoholics Anonymous 8 p.m., closed, Polo Town Hall, 117 N. Franklin.
Thursday, Nov. 15
Childhood immunization clinic; Women, Infants and Children clinic; and Family Planning Services, all by appointment only, Lee County Health Department, 309 S. Galena Ave., Suite 100, Dixon, 815-284-3371.
Abuse Changing Team, 815-625-0338.
Twin City Sunrise Rotary, 7 a.m., Ryberg Auditorium, CGH Medical Center, 100 E. LeFevre Road, Sterling.
Free blood sugar screening, 8-9 a.m., Community Health Services Department, Mendota Community Hospital, 1401 E. 12th St., Mendota. 815-539-7461, ext. 3291, weekdays. Tests can be fasting or 2 hours after eating.
North Central Illinois Logistics Council, 8 to 9:30 a.m., Illinois Valley Community College, Room C316, 815 N. Orlando Smith Ave., Oglesby, 815-220-3425.
TOPS IL 1426, 8:30 to 9 a.m. weigh-in, meeting at 9 a.m., Coloma Homes, 401 W. 18th St., Rock Falls.
Whiteside County Senior Center outreach worker, 9-10 a.m., Erie Public Library, 802 Eighth Ave., 815-622-9230.
Golden K Kiwanis, 9:30 a.m., YMCA, 2505 YMCA Way, Sterling.
Free blood pressure check, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Oregon Healthcare Center, 811 S. 10th St.
Osteoporosis Support Group, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Town Square Center, 101 W. Second St., Dixon, 815-499-7842.
'49ers, 11:30 a.m., Fiesta Cancun, 200 Keul Road, Dixon.
AA Gratitude Group, noon and 6 p.m., closed, Big Book, 91-92 S. Hennepin Ave., Dixon.
Alcoholics Anonymous, noon, closed, St. Paul Lutheran Church, 114 S. Fifth St., Oregon.
Parish Nurse Networking meeting, noon, CGH Professional Building, 15 W. Third St., Sterling, 815-625-0400, ext. 5425.
Twin City Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, noon, closed; 5:30, open, beginners; 7 p.m., closed, step, Bazaar Americana, 609 W. Third St., Sterling.
Tampico Area Long Range Planning Committee, 12:30 p.m., banquet room, Good Times, 106 S. Main St., Tampico, 815-535-3665.
Healthy Lifestyles Club, 1 and 7 p.m., ground-floor conference room, Mendota Community Hospital, 1315 Memorial Drive, Mendota. 815-539-7461, ext. 5319.
American Red Cross blood drive, 1-6 p.m., Milledgeville First Brethren Church, 521 N. Main Ave., www.redcrossblood.org or 800-733-2767.
United Methodist Women, 1:30 p.m., Faith United Methodist Church, 702 E. Dixon St., Polo, 815-946-3212.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 2:30 p.m., closed, clearance required, BAAbble on for Liife, prison group. Call 815-973-6150.
Whiteside County Airport Board of Directors meeting, 5 p.m., Airport Terminal Building, 10950 Hoover Road, Rock Falls, 815-622-3591.
OA/HOW, 6 p.m., Byron Public Library, 100 S. Washington St., Byron, 815-734-4662.
Helping Understand Grief for Survivors, 5:30 to 7 p.m., Serenity Hospice and Home, 1658 S. state Route 2, Oregon, 815-732-2499 by noon Thursday. If no one calls, they will not meet.
Overeaters Anonymous, 5:30 p.m., Lee County Council on Aging, 100 W. Second St., Dixon, 815-441-4452.
Ogle County Regional Planning Commission, 6 p.m., third-floor county board room, Old Ogle County Courthouse, 105 S. Fifth St., Oregon, 815-732-1190.
Sauk Valley Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, 6 p.m., open, 102 1/2 W. Second St., Rock Falls.
Fibromyalgia Support Group, 6 p.m., Positive Changes Acupuncture, 609 W. Third St., Suite 215, Sterling, 815-499-5425.
Breast Cancer Networking Group, 6-7 p.m., Home of Hope Cancer Wellness Centers, 1637 Plock Road, Dixon, 815-288-4673.
Sauk Valley Gluten-Free Support Group, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1013 Franklin Grove Road, Dixon, 815-973-0537. **Feb, April, June, Aug & Oct only**
Kiwanis Club of Rock Falls, 6:30 p.m., American Legion, 712 Fourth Ave., Rock Falls.
TOPS, 6:30 p.m., Rock Falls United Methodist Church, 210 Fourth Ave. 815-625-0431.
River Cities Quilters Guild, 7 p.m., Fulton Presbyterian Church, 311 N. Ninth St., Fulton, 815-499-5618.
Dixon Area Garden Club, 7 p.m., Plum Creek Garden, 626 Palmyra Road, Dixon.
Survivor's Group, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Rock River Center, 215 W. Washington St., Oregon.
Al-Anon, 7 p.m., St. John Lutheran Church, 703 Third Ave., Sterling.
Marine Corps League, 7 p.m., Rock Falls American Legion, 712 Fourth Ave. 815-625-9058.
Sauk Valley Landlord Association meeting, 7 p.m., Coventry Living Center, 612 W. St. Mary's Road, Sterling.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 7 p.m., closed, United Methodist Church, 709 Fourth Ave., Rochelle.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 7 p.m., closed, 808 Freeport Road, Sterling.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 7:30 p.m., closed, St. Anne Church, 401 N. Cherry St., Morrison.
Rock River Valley Barbershop Chorus practice, 7:30 p.m., Rock Falls Community Building, 603 W. 10th St., 815-284-7569.
Sterling Rock River Masonic Lodge 612, 7:30 p.m., 113 1/2 W. Third St., Sterling.
Al-Anon Family Group, 7:30 p.m., Village of Progress, 710 S. 13th St., Oregon.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., closed, United Steelworker's, 502 Woodburn Ave., Sterling.
Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., open, Big Book, Rolling Hills Center, state Route 64, Lanark.
Volunteer Care Center of Lee County, 403 E. First St., Dixon. Appointment: 815-284-9555.

subset: commoncrawl


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|How-To Setup A Basic Home Theater
|Monday, 01 January 2007
AV Education on RHT
How-To Setup A Basic Home Theater
By Jerry Del Colliano
Despite the increasing complexity of audio/video systems these days, not all people require (or have the budge to afford) a professional installation. Many performance-oriented readers who are on a tight budget prefer to do system installation themselves and invest their installation budget into better gear. While there is a point in every big-dollar AV system where you need the pros, the do-it-yourselfer can still have sweet success when setting up a receiver, a DVD player and other associated gear. I have compiled some ideas to think about and some tips from my recent installation of a bedroom theater. Hopefully they will give you some guidance for when you install your system.
Before You Start
Here are a few ideas to think about before you start setting up your system:
1. Consider where your gear is going to go. Is there enough room? You can make estimates from dimensions found on the manufacturer's websites. Do you have room for additional components (HD receivers, game machines, TiVos, DVD-R) in the future?
2. Do you have enough AC power coming in? Should you call an electrician first to run a dedicated line from your breaker? Normally, this costs no more than a few hundred dollars and can help your system run better (fewer hums and noise for starters) and makes connecting your system easier too.
3. How much heat are you going to be generating? If your gear is going to be making a lot of heat, you will want to deal with this concept first. Having a handyman or installing a whisper fan connected to a vent is a worthy idea before you start your install.
4. Do you have a phone connection and a high-speed data connection ready at your rack? Your satellite receivers and TiVos will need at least a telephone connection. If you are buying a new Tivo2 or will be connecting a PlayStation2 or Xbox, you will want to have a high-speed connection terminated with an Ethernet connection. Such a connection will allow you to program your TiVo2 from your computer (not just the remote) and a high-speed connection will allow you to connect your new game machine so that you can have interactive play with other gamers all over the world. Even if you don't plan on using the features, it might be worthwhile considering running the high-speed connection so that you do not have to disconnect the entire system in order to make an upgrade.
5. How far will you be sitting from your TV? A salesperson will sell you the biggest TV he or she can, often despite your needs. What you don't want is a set that is sized so that the width of the screen is at least 1.5 to 2.5 times the distance you sit from the set. Otherwise, even a great TV will look less than its best.
6. How heavy is your gear? Bryan Dailey and I recently installed a home theater in my bedroom. The shelf in my custom cabinet (which was specially braced with metal bars) sagged dramatically within hours of installation. A/V gear gets heavy and you need to consider this before you do all of the work to install your system. A big 34-inch Sony XBR HDTV, like the one I used, weighs 210 pounds. You need a strong stand to make this work without ruining any custom cabinetry.
7. Never order or buy a cable that is less than two meters long. It seems like you are saving money, but you are just making your system inflexible. You need the flexibility to move and adjust the placement of your gear. Too many times, short cables get in the way of making your system go together the way you want it to work.
Buy enough miscellaneous parts. You might want to make sure that you have things like:
• BNC to RCA adaptors
• Y adaptors
• Connectors (spades, banana, pins)
• an SPL meter (Radio Shack)
• BlueTac
• extra batteries (AA, AAA and nine-volt)
• long phone chords
• Ethernet cables
You ALWAYS need this stuff and keeping it on-hand saves you potential grief.
Make sure you have the right tools on hand. Things you might need include:
• a good power screw driver
• a drywall saw
• small tools such as screw drivers (flathead and Philips)
• a full set of Allen keys including metric
• a good flash light
• a good wire cutter and/or stripper (Klein is a recommended brand)
• a really nice wire stripper
• a solder pot (if you are getting really serious)
Consider the Cables
It is always a good idea to draw out your entire system on paper and project the cables you will need. Then buy extra because you always need them. My bedroom system is a basic yet modern setup that includes a 34-inch Sony XBR TV, a Denon receiver, a Denon DVD-Audio/SACD player, a Sony HD TV receiver, a Sony TiVo, a Mitsubishi VCR and a 5.1 Gallo Acoustics speaker system. Here is the list of the cables I needed – it may help you select the ones you might need:
• Three speaker cables (2 meters) for the front and center speakers. The length was more than sufficient, because the speakers were installed directly above the place where the receiver was to be installed
• Over 200 feet of in-wall speaker cable (Transparent's Music Link) was used during construction for the rear speakers. I had the speaker wires pulled to the location of the equipment.
• Three pairs of RCA interconnects for the 5.1 audio output of the DVD-Audio and SACD. You need these to be pretty good interconnects and will want them all the same length and variety. You don't want to get cheap on this connection. It is really important to the sound of your movies and music.
• Three two-meter component video cables were used to connect video from the HD Receiver to the TV (direct), the DVD player to the receiver and the receiver to the TV. If you are using a receiver, make sure that your cables have RCA connections on them or that you have enough BNC to RCA adaptors.
• DVI cables rock. If you have a set like mine and can connect a source via DVI, I highly recommend you do it. The cables are easy to use and easy to connect. Get a long one (or two). Ultra Link makes a nice DVI cable that is pretty affordable.
• S-Video cables are unfortunately a necessity for almost every system. The problem is that the cables inherently suck because the pins inside the connector need to be aligned perfectly when connecting the cable. If not, they bend or break off. If they do, consider yourself screwed. You might need S-Video cables for connecting a VCR, TiVo or a basic satellite receiver.
• Composite video cables look just like RCA audio cables but they are designed to pass video signal. They are useful for connecting VCRs, game machines and other components.
• TosLink digital cables are useful for connecting the audio out of an HDTV receiver and many receivers have inputs for them. You want a digital out of your satellite receiver so that you can listen to movies from the movie channels in surround (when available).
• COAX digital cables are also like RCA cables but they are formulated for passing digital information. You will likely want to connect one of these bad boys from your DVD-Audio player to your receiver, thus setting up movie input as an additional input for your system. Advantages to this include allowing you to be able to rip MP3s from CDs and playing DTS CDs in surround sound.
• Cable companies make specific subwoofer cables. I have never tried one, but they are an interesting option. If you opt for a traditional cable, make sure you leave yourself plenty of room for moving your subwoofer around the room. RCA to RCA connectors, needed to extend a subwoofer cable, work sometimes but not always. Sometimes they are the cause of hum and noise, which will drive you insane.
Installing The System
Knowing a few tricks ahead of time is like learning lessons when building Ikea bookcases. It takes a little while to get the hang of the first one. After the third one, you can build them in your sleep. Here are a few ideas to help you have more fun and fewer headaches installing your system.
1. Sucker a buddy to come over and help you. Buy him or her plenty of Red Stripe (don't forget limes) or open a nice Au Bon Climat XX Anniversary Chardonnay. Having a helper makes things go much faster. Imagine if a surgeon had to go looking for a scalpel every time her or she needed one.
2. Open all of the boxes, remove the manuals, remove the remotes and then remove the gear. Figure out how things are going to be stacked and confirm with a tape measure that they will fit.
3. Power up all remotes with batteries.
4. Find all warranty cards and save them in a big envelope. Fill them out the next day. Do not forget to fill them out or you may be sorry if anything ever breaks.
5. Open all of your cables and arrange them in a staging area near your tools. Be sure to cover your floor with a tarp or blanket to protect your carpet or hardwood floors.
6. Open and un-box your speakers, but don't sweat their positions too much. The first night you will want to just make them play. Fine-tuning them is for another time after your preliminary set-up.
7. Start loading up your rack or cabinet with the gear positioned such that you can install it easily. This is where you'll be glad you bought two-meter cables, because the slack you have now can be used to make your system slide together easily.
8. Start attaching all of your speaker cables first, especially if you are working with a receiver. If you have a pin or banana plug connector on the receiver end of the speaker cable, then you are in good shape. Most receivers do not leave enough room for connection of speaker cables and it is the single most frustrating part of the installation project. I recommend, especially if you are using bare wire, that you take your time during this part. Make sure you have the wire stripped far enough down the cable. Twist the cable very well and then twist it again around your binding post of your receiver. Having to do this twice is a pain in the ass you can live without. Also, installing other inputs first make installing the speaker connectors on the back of the receivers even harder to successfully complete.
9. Once the speakers are connected solidly, start connecting inputs. For example, you might connect your TV with a component cable. You might start with sources after that. Arrange the cables you need for each source one at a time. In the case of a DVD-Audio/SACD player connect the 6 RCA cables first – being careful to connect the correct corresponding interconnect from the player to the receiver. They are not always labeled the same. Sometimes Left Surround is labeled "left rear" or "LR." Connect the digital audio cable and the component video cable. Once done with plugging in cables, program the input(s) on your receiver for the source. Test with any DVD-Audio disc from 5.1 Entertainment (they have Bob Marley, Astrud Gilberto and many others) with their test tones. A lady's voice will read off your speakers (assuming your speakers are already connected at the speaker side). If the connections are crossed up, you'll know it now and can fix it. Trust me, it is easier now than a few hours (and a few Red Stripes) later.
10. Move on to other inputs, systematically installing each and adding up your successes with each source component.
11. Install a direct connection from your traditional satellite receiver or cable box right to your TV. You will want to have that so you can just turn your TV on and watch without getting involved with your entire system.
Programming your system has a lot to do with what brand gear you have purchased and will likely require a glance at your manuals.
1. One of the most important steps for any modern theater is setting up the speakers in your receiver. Be sure to measure off the distances of all of your speakers and subs. Write them down on a legal pad and then hunt down this menu in your receiver so you can program it in. This speaker set-up is elemental to good sound from your system in your room. It cannot be skipped.
2. In the speaker set-up section, look for the bass management tools. This is where you tell your receiver what kind of speakers you have. For example, if you have floor-standing speakers for fronts, you will need to let your receiver know this. The same holds true if you have small rear speakers. You might also want to consider where to cross your speakers over with your subwoofer. Figure out where your speakers start rolling off in the low frequencies and then consider setting your receiver's crossover to bring your sub in there. If that isn't enough punch for you, you can try to run your subwoofer full-range as well. Bass management is a huge issue specifically for getting great performance from your DVD-Audio and DVD-Video sources.
3. If you are using satellite receivers, you might need to have them go to the satellite and find all of the channels. This can be completed in the set-up menu.
4. If you are using TiVo or another PVR, you will want to have it dial into their servers and download the channels and programming. This can take as long as an hour. If your PVR needs a software update, then the download can take even longer.
5. Your TV is guaranteed to be set up poorly out of the box, even if you bought a brand new one. I highly recommend you invest $24 in the new Digital Video Essentials DVD and use its set-up modes for your TV. You will find that you can get blacker blacks, more contrast, more vibrant colors and more three-dimensionality from your TV than you thought possible. The DVE disc has the tools and setup menus for you that can help you through the process.
6. Universal remotes could be an entirely separate how-to article. If you invested in one, I recommend you take some time with your system to figure out how you use your system before you invest hours programming your remote. Otherwise, you will want to make changes.
Try to create a situation where the installation of your theater is fun. Take pride in each success you have in the process. Don't be in a rush and don't be afraid to call in for help. One of the best reasons to buy gear from a good local dealer is to have someone on the other end of the telephone who will answer quick questions. Trust me, it is worth 10 percent more than some gray market dealer who advertises in the New York Times.
In the end, you will be glad that you installed your own theater and you will likely get more out of it than someone who gets a 20-minute lesson from the installer from the local mega-dealer. You will own the knowledge of how your system is connected, how it is programmed and what it can do. Even after the initial installation, you can have fun learning more and more about how to take your system to the next level of performance and ease of use. You might install a remote repeater system. You might automate your drapes. You might add another zone to your system for outdoor speakers or a den. The possibilities are vast and the results will leave you loving your system more than you thought possible.


text:
Exclusively commissioned by TripAdvisor
About Cat G
Lives in Seville, Spain
Since Apr. 2014
25-34 year old female
A midwesterner girl who turn down a job in radio for the siesta lifestyle, I live, work and tapear in Seville, Spain. As curious as I am hungry, my free time is usually spent roaming the Andalusian capital, on the lookout for new tapas joints, interesting 'rincones', or corners, of my adoptive city, or at home having a nap. I also contribute to Rough Guides to Andalucia, The Local Spain and several blogs, as well as maintaining my own expat site, Sunshine and Siestas. To make it to the end of the month, I run a small language academy and do freelance recording work.
Seville's tourist path is well trodden. Apart from being home to three UNESCO World Heritage sites, southern Spain's capital city has been shaped by major entities such as Columbus, the Moors, and a recent Iberoamerican Fair. But Seville holds far more mystery than meets the eye, and beneath its glossy surface is a history and culture that most tourists don't see.
9 Places
3 City Tips
9 Places
Speciality Museums, Points of Interest & Landmarks
Ancient Ruins
Spas, Gift & Speciality Shops
Observation Decks & Towers, Points of Interest & Landmarks, Lookouts
Once known as the gypsy and mariner neighborhood, Triana oozes old Sevillano charm, just don't say that to the locals — 'trianeros' like to distinguish themselves from their across-the-river counterparts! There isn't much to see by way of churches or museums here, so spend your time getting lost in Triana's tangle of cobblestoned streets, popping into taverns and markets along the way. Triana is all about feeling.
Housed in a gorgeous Almohad palace, which served as a convent until 1998, Centro Cultural Santa Clara is one of Seville's newest cultural centers, featuring offbeat exhibitions and music festivals. Such a historically significant and architecturally stunning building seems the ideal place to celebrate and protect the unique culture of Seville, with seasonal exhibits on anything from flamenco to local literature.
Itálica is actually in the town of Santiponce, 9km (5.5mi) northwest of Seville's city center. Founded in the second century BC, this important archaeological site was one of the earliest Roman settlements in Spain, and the birthplace of emperors Trajan and Hadrian (of Hadrian's Wall fame). Today, you can visit the well-preserved ruins in a few hours, taking in an amphitheater, the original Roman road, ancient dwellings, and beautiful mosaics.
Fried fish might just be Seville's most famous food, and no one does 'fritura' like Freiduría Puerta de la Carne. In business since the 1929 Iberoamerican Fair, the joint serves little else but fried fare — battered in flour, thrown into a pan filled with hot olive oil, and served in a paper cone. There's little fanfare, but there doesn't need to be — locals flock to this restaurant for the food and the service, particularly on Sundays and holidays.
What began as a project to preserve Sephardic history in the Santa Cruz neighborhood has grown into one of the most highly regarded flamenco shows in a city filled with overpriced offerings. A small museum and patio introduce visitors to the basics of the dance, as well as its history and most distinguished personalities, and then there is the show itself. Casa de la Memoria attracts some of the best artists in flamenco, and its intimate atmosphere ensures a memorable introduction to flamenco.
Paying homage to the public baths that were fundamental to both Roman and Arab cultures, Aire de Sevilla is a modern spa and bathhouse with Old World echoes. Situated on the site of ancient Arab baths (with Roman foundations) in the Santa Cruz neighborhood, the 16th-century mansion bears classic 'mudejar' style, replete with stone arches and stunning lanterns.
Just steps from the tourist meccas of Barrio Santa Cruz and the cathedral, this hole-in-the-wall snack bar is known for its made-to-order sandwiches and orange wine. Álvaro Peregil, son of the famous flamenco singer Pepe Peregil, converted his great-grandfather's wine store into this tavern, which he owned until his death in 2012. It's with good reason that the rickety tables on the sidewalk are always filled with locals!
While most tourists climb the Giralda or the Metropol Parasol (an architectural newcomer), you'll get a different sort of bird's-eye view by visiting Torre de los Perdigones. Located just outside the city center and standing 45 meters (147 feet) tall, the observation deck holds a cámera oscura, a type of camera that allows light and mirrors to create a sort of moving picture of the Old Town.
Convent sweets have long been beloved by locals, and now the cloistered nuns at convents around the city are peddling their wares to the greater public. The Convent of San Leandro is one of the city's biggest producers of sweets, most notably their 'Yemas de San Leandro,' made with egg yolks, sugar, and lemon zest. You can have them packaged up for your afternoon coffee or to take back home.


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sourpatchkids needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 74 designs submitted by 19 freelance designers.
This website design needs to be clean with the products on the main page. I need a logo, and a simple website. Nothing too fancy. It will be used with http://www.volusion.com. I can also pay extra for coding, just send me a message with the coding cost.
Hi, I need a website designed. This website does not need to be coded, but I will pay extra money for someone who can do it. I am going to be making the site through http://www.volusion.com. If you can code the website, please tell me your price. Also, if you are experienced in SEO, I would like to pay you for that service as well.
It needs to have the products on the front page. We only have five colors which are Red, Clear, Pink, Aqua, and Purple. So I guess you can incorporate these colors into the design.
- I need a good logo that's cartoony/clipart-looking, but obviously not a ready made clipart. I think the logo can look just like this:http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/13000202/Images/4/macbookcl1.jpg
Just make it cartoon-ish, and the color purple would probably be the best. Make the Apple logo white, and put "13 Inch Shell" in a cool font after that.
I am not going to be too pushy with the logo design because I am mostly looking for the web layout. I may or may not make a different logo in the future.
I want a part or page of the website to say something like"
"Why 13InchShell?
-13InchShell's Products are made of 100% Pure Lexan raw material. This material is the same as what is used in bullet resistant glass.
-All items are shipped from America, and reach you in 3-5 days.
-Strict quality control, no second quality products."
Something like that, ya know?
- I do not want a crappy website. Honestly, if you are not experienced, or you aren't confident in your submission, please do not waste your time. I have no problem viewing 100 submissions, but I will tell you in advance that I am looking for a professional template, not a simple submission.


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Just a curious question not really meant to cause chaos. I have been racially stereotyped when I was in 6th grade. A white kid asked me why I talk like a white person. I got kinda pissed but since we were in PE, I couldn't really focus on talking to him.
I also remember one time I was thought to be Asian, though it makes me laugh when I think about it now.
Girl: Are you Asian?
Me: No.
Girl: Are you sure you don't have a long lost Asian father you don't know about?
Me: I'm pretty sure.
Girl: Isn't she like my twin?
Her Friends: No.
Me: ......
This makes me laugh somewhat to this day.
Has things like this happen to you?
Please lock up if duplicate.
Watch Cruel City! An amazing drama! :)
I had dreadlocks at one point, and even though I'm Filipino, people thought I was Jamaican and smoked weed. That's as racially stereotypical as I can remember
Yep im automatically asain and some how Ching chang became part of the language...
WHere is SAO 24?!?! TT
All. The. Time.
If I had a nickle for every time somebody asked me "Why do black people..." or "But you don't (blank) like a black person". Then i'd be able to buy a small country. Not all black people are 100% alike, not all white people are 100% alike, not all people are 100% alike. Chris Rock, Dave Chapell, and Eddie Murphy are comedians and their (hilarious) stand ups are not a layman's guide to black people.
If I had a type it'd be you, fortunately I don't have a type so please stop.
Yeah every now and again. It's surprising how many people are racist against white people. We are probably the most socially censored race there is, despite being a highly global minority on the planet.
If this counts, I've always had a few people of European descent and sometimes people of Asian descent walk really fast past me or turn away when they see me in an aisle in the grocery store. That happens a lot here in my area in Decatur. They look as if I or my family is going to bring them harm or something lol. It used to irk me since I always question why come into a store if you're scared of the people who just shop there, but now I laugh and go on with my business.
netdisorder wrote:
Yeah every now and again. It's surprising how many people are racist against white people. We are probably the most socially censored race there is, despite being a highly global minority on the planet.
I find ironic. and racist, that a very common assumption among even among some 'whites' themselves is that only 'white' people can be racist.
one particular occasion of being stereotyped that I remember was when my co-workers were have a discussion about things frankly above our paygrade I remember shrugging and saying "that's all in the mind of the bosses, sitting here on the night shift do I look like the boss?"
and one co-worker muttered something about me being white. (which is ironic again because I'm not. I'm more 'gray' or mauve or something)
11. Everything is air-droppable at least once.
Maybe, in a strange way: People think I'm white... but my mom is a Native and my dad was an insane mix of more countries than I can bother to remember, I know China is in there and Iceland, Germany, Czech Republic....
When I tell people, they often go "Oh, yeah! I can see it in your eyes, now when you say it."
Our planet is the mental institution of the universe.
Lol so I'm Viet/Cambodian and I could be talking about something as random like going to Taco Bell. And some folks would strangely segue-way into talking about a "ching chong" driver. That had nothing to do with me going to Taco Bell.
hellllll yes lol i go 2 a public school in city so its mostly every race but barely any Caucasians, in which i have white skin (im black,white,italian,and puerto rican) but because i have white skin its automatically "Whatup cracker?" or "yo you lost the country side is that way"
All I wanted was to start over.. miserable and alone.
Yup, I've been down that road quite a few times as a white person.
ღ - https://youtu.be/GSyXSeAHL_k - ღ
Being asian, being good at anything is instantly due to me being a ninja. Which is true, but still.
I guess this could be considered backwards racism. This is my story:
Picture the Holidays, three years ago. JetBlue was having major renovations at this departing airport. Everyone was packed in this place like a can of sardines. It smelled, etc etc. To make things worse, there were storms and a lot of cancellations. I was already there for three hours, but there was nothing I could do, so why get agitated? I will leave when I can.
I went in line to find out what my possible next flight could be. I found myself behind a young black male who started to raise his voice at the tan skinned JetBlue representative. "Why does she get to go on this flight?! Is it because she is white!?" Really now? She was a mother of an infant standing next to the terminal ready to board. The representive said as calmly as he could, "Sir, her flight was before your flight. If you-"
"THAT IS UTTER BULLSHIT get me on that flight Habib!" After hearing that I went from a nice calm 0 to 10 in 0.00000001 sec.
I opened my mouth now, "First of all, get your stereotypes right. He is Hispanic or Latin American. Second, if you want anyone to take care of you properly, stop and treat people like they are human. His day hasn't been any better than yours." [BTW I found out later, he was Puerto Rican].
He spun around, "What would a white chick like you get? Your great-grandparents enslaved-" I shut him up, "Wrong card to play. My great grandparents came over in a boat from Ireland escaping a famine, the other side were on reservations. Not every white person owned slaves, and not every Arabic person is a terrorist. If you want equality, stop playing the racial card. Granted we still have racial issues, but the last time I checked, we had a black president." There was a black woman behind me who added, "Now sit your black ass down." I admit, I did laugh at that. The woman behind me and I found out we were going to the same destination, enjoyed each other company for the 11 hours we were stuck there.
I apologize if any of this offends you. I am just stating what had occurred. Maybe it was not my place, but I can not stand there and let this random hatred bombard a man who is just doing his job.
Granted everyone is a little racist (like I for one like Chinese food to be from people who are actually Chinese, Italian food from Italians not Mexicans). In the end, just treat everyone as a human being.
Have safe travels.
My girlfriend in high school didn't think I was qualified to tutor her in calculus because I'm white (she was Korean). Really a strange case of racism.
People seem to think I am native american and get mistaken for that even by native americans. I have no native ancestery mostly Polish, with a little Irish and Danish, and very little Mongolian dating back to when Gengis Kahn pushed into Europe.


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Quick Weeknight Meals: 10 One-Dish Dinners
Tomorrow we're kicking off our September contest, Quick Weeknight Meals (are you ready?). Tonight, here are ten quick one-dish suppers for you to whet your appetite, and maybe to give you ideas too!
• 1 Potato, Squash, and Goat Cheese Gratin
• 2 Spelt Farotto with Tuna and Artichokes
• 3 Potato, Red Pepper, and Feta Frittata
• 4 Snapper Veracruzana
• 5 Big Green Salad with Shallots, Chicken, Smoked Almonds, Goat Cheese, and Dates
• 6 Cannellini Salad with Goat Cheese and Mint
• 7 Cream of Celery Soup with Bacon
• 8 Tomato and White Bean Panade
• 9 Eggplant Caponata Sandwiches with Mozzarella
• 10 Southwest Skillet Ragu
Related: 22 Fast, Fresh Pasta Dishes for Weeknight Suppers
(Images: See linked posts for image credits.)


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Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has moved to deny reports that his side are close to securing the services of Borussia Dortmund star Robert Lewandowski.
The Polish striker's current deal at Signal Iduna Park expires in June 2014, and he has been widely linked with a move to the Allianz Arena, or to Manchester United.
"I'm totally relaxed about the Lewandowski rumours," he told Bild.
"Bayern are not planning to hold negotiations with Borussia Dortmund over the transfer of Lewandowski."
Upon hearing what the former West Germany international had said, BVB chief Hans-Joachim Watzke admitted that he was relieved.
"It's great," he noted. "We also don't want to hear nothing from Bayern."
The German champions' sporting director Michel Zorc admitted on Saturday that he was unsure whether the 24-year-old would elect to sign a new deal.
Meanwhile, Rummenigge has voiced his delight with the way things have been going for Bayern this season as they sit 15 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
"We are going our own way," he told TZ.
"It's wonderful to see how the coach and the team are working right now."


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Lil Wayne is on the defensive after some controversial footage surfaced online showing him stepping on the American flag.
The rapper took to Twitter and Facebook to explain that his walking all over the Stars and Stripes was accidental as he was concentrating on filming a music video for his new single, "God Bless Amerika."
"I didn't step on the flag on purpose! It's a scene in a video where the flag drops behind me and after it drop it's just there as I perform," Lil Wayne tweeted.
NEWS: Lil Wayne: I'm more than good after hospitalization for seizures
Despite guidelines under federal law stipulating that the flag should never touch the ground, Weezy elaborated further that he didn't mean to be disrespectful and even went so far as to suggest the clip making the rounds on the Internet was a "camera trick."
"It was never my intention to desecrate the flag of the United States of America," Wayne wrote on his Facebook wall. "The clip that surfaced on the Internet was a camera trick clip that revealed that behind the American Flag was the Hoods of America. In the final edit of the video you will see the flag fall to reveal what is behind it but will never see it on the ground."
NEWS: Lil Wayne announces summer return of America's Most Wanted tour
While he still didn't directly address why the U.S. flag that was displayed behind him was handled as it was, the hip-hopster noted the aim of his music video is to portray the America that he says is often forgotten--like the neighborhood in New Orleans where he grew up.
"In most people eyes including my own who were raised in that environment, the Hood is the only America they know and the only America I knew growing up," he wrote. "I was fortunate from my God givin talents to escape the Hood and see the other beautiful places this country has to offer but most people who are born in that environment don't get that chance. That's their view of their America. That was Dwayne M Carter from Hollygrove New Orleans view of America. That's who I'm speaking for in this song."
PHOTOS: Musicians performing live on stage


text:
7 Beautiful and Durable Dustpans and Brushes
As I've mentioned before, I currently don't own a dust pan or brush simply because I haven't wanted to buy a cheap plastic one. But there have been multiple occasions recently (when my dehydrator fell over and smashed my buckwheat cereal into little smithereens all over the floor, for example) when a dust ban and broom/brush would have been very handy. Here are a few beautiful and durable non-plastic versions that I wouldn't mind spending money on:
These are definitely more expensive than your run-of-the-mill plastic variety, but in my mind, you pay for quality and durability. With proper care, these will all last for a lifetime:
1 Dustpan and Broom by Ole Jensen, 23.70 EUR from Finnish Design Shop: winner of the Formland Prize in 2003, the brush is made of specially-produced wood and Chinese pig bristles, with the long hairs bent around a rod and glued to a wedge in the wooden handle (an old technique that produces an extremely durable brush). Dustpan is made of flat, malleable polypropylene. Blue color is also available fro $24.95 from Green Depot.
2 Dust Pan and Brush, $26 and $32 respectively from Brook Farm General Store: the brush is handcrafted in Sweden with an oil-treated beechwood handle and natural horse hair bristles. The dust pan is made in the USA of powder-coated steel.
3 Swedish Table Brush Set, $38 from Mjolk: Iris Hantverk makes beautiful home cleaning tools using traditional Swedish craftsmanship techniques. The handle in this set is made of oak, while the brush bristles are made of horsehair. Oil as needed with mineral oil, and the brush will age beautifully.
4 Harimi Dustpan by Oji Masanori
, $50 from Mjolk: this dust pan is made with paper colored by Japanese persimmon, which coats the pan with a sealant that is waterproof, protects against insects and prevents deterioration.
5 Natural Wood Brush, $25 from General Store: Made with wood and natural fibers.
6 Plastic Free Stainless Steel Dust Pan, $24.95 from Life Without Plastic: stainless steel, rust-free dust pan is completely plastic-free, and has an oiled sustainably harvested beechwood handle. Made in Germany.
7 Plastic-Free Wooden and Natural Hand Brush, $24.95 from Life Without Plastic: made of sterilized horsehair on an oiled sustainably harvested beechwood grip body. Also made in Germany.


text:
Hi all,
I made several maps in the past, but I haven't posted any of them here on the forum. Now I made a new map, and decided to create an account on here to get some feedback.
I tried to keep it pretty basic, with sort of a classic, Abbey-styled look.
It has bot support and most gametypes are available. I'm not sure yet wich gametype is the most suitable.
Here the download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/x49na ... ork_v2.pk3
Please let me know what you think.


text:
There are many countries around the world that restrict the entry, residence and stay of foreigners who are HIV positive. These countries perpetuate stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV by singling out HIV as a "dangerous disease" This database lists country-by-country how each government of the world does or does not impose these outdated and discriminatory laws. While these restrictions are commonly referred to as "travel restrictions", the effect these laws have on individuals and families is more serious than this term may imply. Please use this database to learn more. Read more...
Singapore lifts ban on HIV-positive visitors 31/08/2015Read more
Constitutional Court: Expelling HIV-Positive Foreigners With Russian Families Is Unlawful16/03/2015Read more
Azerbaidjan: Foreigners be examined for HIV 10/10/2014Read more
UNAIDS welcomes Australia's commitment to equal treatment of people living with HIV in its immigration policies10/07/2014Read more
Executive Yuan approves draft amendments to HIV/AIDS law 03/04/2014Read more
Defying Realpolitik: Human Rights and the HIV Entry Bar
04/06/2012Read more
Trade unions call on Qatar-based Al Jazeera to reinstate HIV positive journalist12/03/2012Read more
Refusing a residence permit to a foreigner because he was HIV-positive was discriminatory10/03/2012Read more
HIV Justice Network announces Oslo Declaration22/02/2012Read more
South Africa: Outrage over HIV-positive journalist's dismissal and deportation 20/02/2012Read more


text:
EclipseFP is a set of Eclipse plugins for Haskell development.
You can see the release notes for full details, but these are the main points:
- you can do search and replace in a Haskell aware manner. Basically we keep a database of where everything is defined and used in all the modules of your workspace, which lets you open a module, search for definitions or usage, rename things everywhere they're used.
- better integration with Yesod: when you have a yesod project, you can easily launch "yesod devel" on it.
- Preferences to specify the paths of all the Haskell tools we use
- More quick fixes: add OverloadedString, install missing package, etc.
Hopefully you'll find this release and its new features helpful. Of course, post any issue to the sourceforge forum. As usual, use the Eclipse install feature to update/install your plugins by pointing it to http://eclipsefp.sf.net/updates.
Happy Haskell Hacking!


text:
- Tags:
- Distribution
- |
- Distribution
- |
- Distribution
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- Festival
- Festival
- Clear all
Jun 1, 2018
Celebrate Pride on Comcast Xfinity with New Films from Frameline Distribution
Comcast recently announced that Frameline Distribution has 12 films now available to all Comcast Xfinity subscribers at no additional cost through April 2019...
Jun 28, 2018
Frameline42 Awards Announced
Frameline42 Awards Announced on Closing Night at Oasis
Mar 5, 2018
In The News - GLAAD Highlights Youth in Motion
"Frameline's 2018 Youth in Motion films spotlight trans youth"
Feb 20, 2018
What To Watch - SUICIDE KALE
A dark comedy about two couples, one brunch, and a mysterious note...
Jan 16, 2018
Frameline42 Castro Passes Available Now!
Catch this exclusive offer to Frameline Members!
Nov 15, 2017
Frameline Appoints Paul Struthers Director of Exhibition & Programming
Frameline welcomes Struthers, who carries international festival and industry experience into his new role with the world's largest exhibition of queer media


text:
Gardner Museum prepares new wing
Gardner Museum prepares new wing
Mark McCusker, Scott Fulton, and Phil DiChiara washed windows in the glass corridor at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in preparation for the opening of the new wing.
Jim Labeck, project manager at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, walked through the front lobby of the new wing.
A lawn ornament was placed on the grounds to keep geese off the newly planted lawn in front of the new wing at the the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
The central stairway was cleaned on Jan. 6.
Workers prepard the front entrance of the building on Jan. 6.
M. K. Wong, museum shop manager, prepared an item for the new store at the museum.
Electrician Dan Vicente worked in the ceiling.
Taylor Johnson works in the greenhouse.
Kristin Pishvanov, a new visitor service representative, sat with the canaries who will live in the living room space just to the right of the new entrance.
Painter Bob Haskell touched up the ceiling in the music hall.
This will be the new main entrance to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Musueum.


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special bonus: Btooom! ?
Guts! Courage! Friendship!
JakePepito wrote:
special bonus: Btooom! ?
I don't think they cough up their bombs... You'd have to be pretty insane to swallow your own bombs... Also, game 1 is over
Game 1 has ended, Game 2 has begun.
Game 1 standings:
Spoiler Alert! Click to show or hide
havok86 - 7
dukenukem3dd - 4
Karnrage - 4
TAO_Arecibo - 3
lumpinstahp - 3
wolfsaiga - 3
koreissi - 3
GoldTStar - 3
Namyr99 - 2
aznxa21 - 2
sundin13 - 2
AnimeFreakFreaks - 2
Kikusui10 - 1
Giantsgiants - 1
Anton-kun - 1
I won't be telling anyone but the murderer which team they are on (normal or malicious).
This is because if the murderer was on the normal team, they could easily rig the game by killing themselves. Every other special role can end up on either side. (Yes, you could have a corrupt sheriff or even a corrupt bodyguard.
Teams have been set already. If two people want to swap to the opposite team, I may change up the teams a bit but not guaranteed.
I think it would be more fun if nobody else knows what side they are on since it makes it a mystery who will move on to the next game.
That being said, feel free to choose one of these three by the end of the first round:
1) Tell only the murderer:
2) Tell everyone
3) Give everyone a hint via some form of riddle (The difficulty of which will vary from person to person)
I'm voting for 3, but unless more people vote, I'm sticking with 1. My vote counts for 9001 votes, btw. So does everyone else's though.
For the third game, depending on the remaining participants, I might change the game to a game from a light novel series (Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria)
Second Game:
1) There are several roles:
Sheriff: Once per turn, can ask if another player is the murderer and will get a yes or no confirmation.
Bodyguard: Once per turn, can select a player to protect. Protected player cannot be murdered that turn.
Murderer: Once per turn, can select a player to kill. The player selected will die unless protected (or if the player selected is also a murderer).
Villagers: There are two types. Malicious and Normal. Unless the player is a special role, they may request a specific team via pm, but will not know what team they are on until the end of the game (the teams will be kept roughly even so there will be no guarantees). Villagers have the power to lynch one person per turn by majority vote.
2) Special actions (protecting (bodyguard), investigation (Sheriff), Murder (murderer)) are done via pm to the game master (sinnoaria)
3) No sharing pms between players unless permission was given beforehand. This is to prevent confusion due to people faking messages.
3a) pms between players are allowed but remember that not everyone will tell the truth!
4) The malicious team win if the murderer lives and all the villagers (including the malicious team) die or if the villagers have no way of killing the murderers (ie, one murderer, one villager). The normal team win if all the murderers die.
5) At the end of each turn, the villagers (everyone counts as a villager for this) may lynch a player by majority vote (if the majority vote for that player). The players may discuss before choosing who to lynch. And yes, a murderer can lynch another murderer. You can vote while discussing. Once a person has majority vote, they will be lynched and the discussions will end. You guys are a crazed mob after all ;P .
6) Players may choose to reveal what they are when they are lynched. If they choose to do this, it is assumed to be confirmed that they were the role unless the game master (sinnoaria) says otherwise.
7) The murderers may (in the pm) choose to specify how the victim dies as long as it is pg-13. (So they could do something like say the victim died of a heart attack in the middle of writing down the initials of the murderer).
Let the killings begin ;P. With 15 players, these rounds should go relatively fast. Especially if we can get 2+ deaths per round.
Note to all murderers: Don't have me decide the scenario or descriptions... Just don't. Especially not after the first round.
I, the supreme god, am omniscient and omnipotent. Bow down to me, peons.
I am willing to donate 2 guest passes for this contest
Good to hear, would be nice to see more winners.
Also, I think it might be a good idea to limit the rounds to 24 hours per round.
The sheriff (if not the one that died) can choose who to investigate during the discussion.
Round 1 special action results:
sundin13 as he travels on the road back home, happens to trip on the curb, landing in the middle of the street as a garbage truck just happens to run a red light, splitting their body in half before the garbage truck hits a telephone pole that falls and crushes the sundin13's head.
Sundin13 has died. Due to the grizzly nature of the death, the government has ruled that this was a freak accident and an act of God. However, the citizens know better. The citizens must now band together and find and kill the person or people that murdered sundin13.... Before they are the next victim.
Death toll: 1
(Discuss and vote for who you want to die in this thread)
I, the supreme god, am omniscient and omnipotent. Bow down to me, peons.
it would be me...AVENGE ME FRIENDS!
What even is this thread?
I'm guessing Anton-kun is the murderer (just random on the list). I have honestly no idea however, so yeah...
If he was black lets start a race riot over it being a hate crime, if he is white... *dramatic music* Lets start a man hunt.
Still on Reddit (NSFW section)
*closes eyes* ~ini mini miny mo~ *points at Anton-kun*
based on my awesome deduction skills i believe we should investigate Anton-kun.
anime ga daisuki!
Well, I'll let the killer and the protector and the sheriff do their special actions and once they are all done choosing, if nobody has a majority vote, (currently 8 votes), we can move onto the next round.
And also, I assume this means nobody wants to know which of the two groups they are in?
I, the supreme god, am omniscient and omnipotent. Bow down to me, peons.
Tbh, I have little idea of what the groups are for, sorry to say =p. Isn't this a version of mafia?
TAO_Arecibo wrote:
Tbh, I have little idea of what the groups are for, sorry to say =p. Isn't this a version of mafia?
Nobody ever reads rule 4, lol.
4) The malicious team win if the murderer lives and all the villagers (including the malicious team) die or if the villagers have no way of killing the murderers (ie, one murderer, one villager). The normal team win if all the murderers die.
In other words, it is whether you win if the murderer wins or win if the murderer loses.
I'll be honest, the murderer's team actually has a disadvantage when nobody knows their own side.
I, the supreme god, am omniscient and omnipotent. Bow down to me, peons.
ik the who it is
a good question is how does each turn work
on my way to my DREAMS- your smile - through food
Each turn:
Murderer chooses someone to kill.
Bodyguard chooses someone to protect.
Sheriff chooses someone to investigate.
If the bodyguard and murderer chose the same person, the person lives, otherwise, the murderer kills.
Sheriff gets notification of if he found the right person.
Villagers get to choose someone to lynch if the majority of the remaining villagers agree on that person. (Villagers can vote for someone at random, vote based on what they know, vote based on what others say, etc. Even not vote at all).
As we did not have enough votes for the first round, nobody has been lynched (several players chose to not vote).
Second round:
As namyr99 takes a scenic walk, he gets hit by a bicyclist, tearing open his leg and throwing him into a lake. namyr99 drowns minutes later.
Death toll: 2
(I will note that if everyone keeps passing on the lynching, the murderer will eventually win...)
I, the supreme god, am omniscient and omnipotent. Bow down to me, peons.
Weeeeell... I'll pass on voting again for now. I mean, I'm usually quite bad at guessing.


text:
The Lost Art of Separating Concerns
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The practice of "separating concerns" is a critically important tool for software architects, as it helps us introduce loose coupling where we need it in the systems we design. Unfortunately, it seems we're not as collectively proficient with that practice as we need to be, at least in the context of Web services and SOA.
If we are attempting to separate concern A from concern B, then we are seeking a design that provides that variations in A do not induce or require a corresponding change in B (and usually, the converse). If we manage to successfully separate those concerns, then we say that they are "decoupled", for obvious reasons. As a simple example, a car's side view mirror controls are decoupled from its accelerator, permitting us to adjust our mirrors without fear that the car will speed up or slow down.
In IT, in particular distributed systems, we often talk about the importance of the "separation of interface from implementation". Well, actually, we tend not to talk about it as much in recent years, since it seems to have become a law of the land; assumed desirable in the general case. Web services have certainly claimed to take it to heart with WSDL, the idea there being that clients implementations are authored to the platform/language/protocol/OS-independent description of the service, rather than to the service implementation. Definitely a good idea, of course. But does it really separate the concerns in the way we discussed above? Let's have a closer look ...
We can test WSDL's capacity to separate interface from implementation by asking the following question; can the implementation of a WSDL-described service vary arbitrarily without requiring a corresponding change in the interface? The answer is clearly no, as for any given WSDL document, it's quite trivial to identify a change in the implementation that would require a change in the interface. For example, if our interface included an operation for retrieving real time stock quotes - say, getRealtimeStockQuote() - then a change to an implementation of that operation to return delayed stock quotes would necessitate a change in the interface because clients would be assuming quotes were realtime, as that is what "getRealtimeStockQuote" would be documented to mean.
So, in fact, WSDL does *not* separate implementation from interface. Surprising, isn't it?
The billion dollar question then, is how *can* these concerns be separated? Obviously another kind of interface/service description language can't help us, since none of the reasons that the test above failed had anything to do with any specific feature of WSDL; CORBA's IDL would have faired just as badly, as would DCOM, Java RMI, etc. No, we need to look higher up in the stack.
We observed in the stock quote example above, that getRealtimeStockQuote() couldn't be used as part of an interface to both a realtime and delayed stock quote service implementation. The reason was simply that the operation is specific to realtime quotes. Had the operation been a more *general* one like getStockQuote(), then it could have accomodated that change in implementation by representing the *type* of stock quote in the data that is returned. And from this we learn a very important lesson; the more generic the operation, the more the concerns of interface and implementation are separated, and the more decoupled the message sender and receiver become.
But how far can we go with this generalization exercise? How much loose coupling can we hope to gain? Well, if getStockQuote() is more general than getRealtimeStockQuote(), wouldn't a simple get() operation be more general still, even *maximally* general; that such an operation would be implementable by any service which provided data to clients that asked for it?
The Web provides us such an operation (HTTP GET), and it has indeed been implemented by an extremely large and diverse set of services over the past 15 years. The sooner we as an industry collectively realize this, the sooner we can all get to work on building out the Web as the embodiment of the SOA vision.
About the author
Mark Baker is well-known in the SOA and Web services community because of his continuous efforts to promote an architectural style called REST (REpresentational State Transfer), criticizing many of the standards and specifications as being ignorant of what made and continues to make the Web successful.
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I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Paul Fremantle
You specifically define an interface to mean real time, and then say you can't change it to mean delayed. That's like me saying that GET isn't flexible enough because I can't make it mean POST!
It would be trivial in Web Services to define getStockQuote and then have multiple implementations that give different delays from milliseconds to minutes. However, most users don't want that because the delay is part of the business logic. A 20 minute delay can cost me millions if I assume its real-time.
I'd argue that swapping implementations in the manner you describe would be a mistake.
Effectively what you are saying in this article is that we would get maximum flexibility if all of our interfaces were:
public interface rest {
java.lang.Object get();
java.lang.Object post(java.lang.Object arg);
java.lang.Object put(java.lang.Object arg);
void delete();
Unfortunately years of programming experience shows that defining the right interface rather than the most generic is actually a useful activity. Hence why people like generics, because they can actually use types and not just have everything an untyped object.
I actually like REST as a model - I think it has its uses, but this article hasn't improved my opinion of it I'm afraid!
Re: I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Mark Baker
Paul - who's to say the data can't declare that it's a value taken 20 minutes ago? No need to change the interface to accomodate that use case.
"I actually like REST as a model - I think it has its uses, but this article hasn't improved my opinion of it I'm afraid!"
The intent was to show how REST separates interface from implementation, while SOA/WS doesn't. Are you saying you disagree? If so, what part of my argument do you disagree with? You say that swapping implementations can be harmful, but as I say above, if the data declares how it's different, then wouldn't that address that issue?
Anyhow, please be specific with your reasoning for why my claim is incorrect. Thanks.
Re: I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Noah Campbell
You say that swapping implementations can be harmful, but as I say above, if the data declares how it's different, then wouldn't that address that issue?
What if you don't want to parse the data to determine if the data is real time or not real time? What if you can't parse the data because the overhead is unacceptable or significantly increases the complexity of the consumer?
Re: I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Stefan Tilkov
Re: I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Stefan Tilkov
Re: I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Matt Dragon
"I actually like REST as a model - I think it has its uses, but this article hasn't improved my opinion of it I'm afraid!"
This article has NOTHING to do with REST, please don't let it ruin your opinion.
REST would replace the SOAP or WS- implementation with a URL allowing you to get your stock quotes via an GET /api/getStockQuote/?ticker=AAPL request rather than all the extra XML markup mumbo-jumbo.
I have no idea what this guy is talking about apparently he things your URL should be reduced to GET /api/get/?ticker=AAPL, because then your service could start returning news instead of stock quotes, without breaking the interface?
He seems to forget that the interface has two parts, what goes in and what comes out, and if you're going to break what comes out, you're correct in breaking the interface in the process (for example, changing getRealtimeQuote to getQuote) as this lets the consumer of your API know something different is going to come out of getQuote.
Now, if you're output all along has had the age of the data, you shouldn't have called it getRealtimeQuote in the first place, as the quotes aren't necessarily realtime, but rather each quote specifies it's age. If you need to support returning only realtime quotes, that has to be specified somewhere and to my mind calling getRealtimeQuote(blah) makes a lot more sense than calling get("Realtime","Quote","ReturnXML","UsingThisImplementation","you don't really need this variable, but we needed to support growth without breaking the interface")
Both REST and WS-blah can define horrible interfaces that make the client's life miserable. The real key point of REST is that the request itself contains the information about what you want to do, rather than having to read the whole message worth of information that was sent in, just to see that someone wanted a stock quote, and then start looking up that information.
Re: I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Mark Baker
And P.S. this article has everything to do with REST, and specifically why it's an improvement on SOA for large scale, evolvable systems.
Re: I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Mark Baker
Re: I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Mark Baker
Let me see if I got this straight
Rafael de F. Ferreira
But how so, precisely? The idea is that the representation format could be extended and existing clients should remain oblivious to the change? That could happen if clients were required to ignore data elements that they don't understand (if the clients were written with common X/RM tools they could break, but this is beside the point.) So this article is not just about REST on the general sense, but about REST applications with "loosely typed" data formats. Am I completely off the mark?
Re: Let me see if I got this straight
Mark Baker
To your second paragraph, the scenario isn't that you would evolve current software and data in this manner, it's that you start out using it. But your observations about ignoring unknown extensions is a good one.
Re: Let me see if I got this straight
Rafael de F. Ferreira
Am I getting closer? :-)
Re: Let me see if I got this straight
Stefan Tilkov
I think I understand it better now, thanks. We could say that it is not possible to design extensible operations, but it is possible to design extensible data formats. So this is a force in the direction of a reduced operation vocabulary. And, of course, a small fixed number of verbs is one of REST's hallmarks.
I think that's an excellent summary!
Joost de Vries
So, in fact, WSDL does *not* separate implementation from interface.
You're confusing implementation with semantics. You are aiming for interfaces that do not make technically explicit their semantics.
Of course the semantics of WSDL is very thin; there's the message pattern, some schema and an operation name.
You are saying that if you remove the operation name you're more flexible; so you can change it at will. But then your dependency just moves to your documentation and only appears during testing...
My impression is that REST leads to resource oriented services. Maybe that's ok for internet available services.
I don't think that resource oriented services are the most interesting services within enterprises; they are too low-level. Within enterprises you want to be able to express preconditions and effects. I don't think that's possible with REST style services.
To be fair that's not possible with WSDL as it is either. But new standards in the space of semantic services are proposing new standards that will be able to fill that gap.
In other words: the trick is to specify only essential features in interfaces. Maybe the fact that data is realtime is not essential maybe it is. But the 'inflexibility' that remains (either designtime with static typing or runtime with duckie typing) is the solidity that makes the contract between client and provider explicit.
Btw I had to laugh at the rest{ } interface...
Re: flexibility
Jason Lenhart
If you are collapsing the interface to be more generic to separate concerns - are you not adding a degree of coupling?
In other words - if I change something behind the interface won't my QA group scream "full regression test!" because the interface is so generic?
I am a big fan of 'Parnas' who I believe was the gentleman who coined the term Separation of Concerns back in the 70s - but I am wondering if we are looking at this in a very idealistic manner.
Re: I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Paul Beckford
Effectively what you are saying in this article is that we would get maximum flexibility if all of our interfaces were:
public interface rest {
java.lang.Object get();
java.lang.Object post(java.lang.Object arg);
java.lang.Object put(java.lang.Object arg);
void delete();
Hi Paul,
This is exactly what Mark is saying, and it is not such a novel idea. True OO languages rely on messages between objects. So it is the data (message selector) that determines which method (implementation) is selected. So a given object could be sent the message realTimeStockQuote or delayedStockQuote and if either of these messages are not supported (implemented) then the receiving object would respond with DoesNotUnderstand. Not that different to an HTTP Error 404, Page Not Found.
Unfortunately years of programming experience shows that defining the right interface rather than the most generic is actually a useful activity. Hence why people like generics, because they can actually use types and not just have everything an untyped object.
Yes you've got it. Years or C++ confusion has lead to the coupling of Class (implementation) with the idea of Type (interface). A virtual function call is not a message send, and a Class is not a Type.
So yes we need to think of objects as untyped (duck typed). When you do then you see that what Mark is saying makes sense. We do not what to leak the implementation into the interface. So WSDL/IDL etc that declare the message selectors upfront are brittle because they do not seperate these concerns. If you choose to add a new method such as stockQuoteInPoundSterling then the implication is that you've changed the interface, when in truth for delayedStockQuote and realTimeStockQuote the interface has stayed the same, the class (implementation) has been extended that's all. So the original messages should still work.
It took me a while to understand this, but think it through and you will see that Mark (and Alan Kay BTW) is right.
Hi Paul,
This is e
Re: I don't know much about art, but this isn't artistic
Paul Beckford
Agreed. I do not want to stretch the anolgy too far, but duck typing leaves out the message selector as part of the static interface to an object. All objects can recieve any message. The message selector becomes part of the data.
So by analogy, what Mark is suggesting is relevant to objects too.
Re: Let me see if I got this straight
Mark Baker
Also, REST's benefits are not dependent on having a "small fixed number of verbs" either; it's the *generality* of verbs that matters. There are other standardized and perfectly RESTful verbs that aren't GET, PUT, POST, or DELETE. See this list (scroll down to "Methods"). Not all of those are uniform (which REST requires) though; for example PROPFIND and PROPPATCH are unique to properties rather than resources in general. Ditto for the MK* methods plus some others.
Re: flexibility
Mark Baker
"You are aiming for interfaces that do not make technically explicit their semantics."
Sort of, yes. I'm encouraging hiding as much of the specifics of what the service does (its implementation) as possible behind the interface.
So instead of a single interface which has getFoo() and getBar() operations, I suggest making that two separately identifiable services with the same get() operation. I claim that such an interface better separates interface from implementation, because I can throw it in front of any other implementation which returns data.
Re: flexibility
Mark Baker
But if you consider two alternative architectures for solving the same problem, one which uses a specific interface, and the other which uses a generic interface, then the latter will have *less* degrees of coupling than the former because its use of the interface constraint separates two concerns which are not separated in the other architecture.
And yes, praise be to Parnas; AFAIK, the first to really think of software architecture in a principled way ... although it took Perry & Wolf to create a complete framework for the study of software architecture.
Re: flexibility
Joost de Vries
The point I'm trying to make is that the semantic coupling is an inherent one because of the contract between client and provider. If you remove any trace of this coupling from your syntactis, as you propose, the coupling still exists but is just not that easy to spot.
In other words; for any meaningful service you can't just change unilaterally the service your providing: this may break your client.
Re: flexibility
Paul Beckford
Let me try and explain this one if I may. I agree that the semantic coupling is inherent. The issue though is when the coupling occurs. With the interface Mark describes the coupling (or binding) occurs at runtime rather then at compile time.
Binding at runtime, or late-binding is inherently more flexible. Should the implementation change after compile time, then with late binding your clients still work, but with early binding they are likely to break.
For instance if a website adds a new page, and now supports an additional URL, should all the clients that have links to the old pages break? Has the website chnaged?
Infact the old "index page" interface has not changed (GET Index.html), and exisitng clients should see a link to the new page which they can choose to GET aswell (GET new.html).
This is what Mark is talking about. For me, it only made sense when I saw the analogy with messaging systems in general, that have reduced coupling compared to RPC, and in particular message based OO systems like in Smalltalk.
Sometimes less is more, which is why "interfaces" like WSDL and IDL have been shown to be brittle and less flexible over the years.
Re: flexibility
Joost de Vries
You say
Binding at runtime, or late-binding is inherently more flexible. Should the implementation change after compile time, then with late binding your clients still work, but with early binding they are likely to break
That isn't true; should the implementation change after compiletime, then with late binding your clients may not work either. It's just that you won't find out at compiletime.
There is a contract between client and provider, with or without REST, and if you change an essential part of this contract the client will 'break'. Maybe without compile errors or doesNotUnderstand messages, but still.
I object to your example of websites and pages. I claim that this is a circular proof because the claim that the inherent language of services is isomorf to the language of websites and pages is in itself the claim that REST makes.
I think a REST approach to services leads to the definition of resource- (or data-) oriented services. The REST vocabulary of GET, PUT, DELETE, etc. is basically the vocabulary of CRUD.
CRUD services are not very valuable to enterprises and are too fine grained. A high level business process definition should not directly be manipulating data/resources but should use coarse grained services that provide large chunks of business value.
A counter example: I want to provide to another company in my value chain the service 'Confirm transport'. Business logic states that transports can only be requested through the step of a making a reservation. The service thus has the precondition that the transport is planned and the effect that the transport is confirmed. What REST/CRUD keyword does this map to? "CREATE confirmation"? "UPDATE transport"? The fact is that REST does not provide a meaningful concept for transactions.
If I were to extrapolate the flexibility argument that REST makes I'd say that the vocabulary of REST is to brittle: what if I want to change the POST 'implementation' to a DELETE 'implementation' without changing the clients?
So the most flexible vocabulary is composed of two words: SEND and RECEIVE. that's not where these are not relevant to high-level enterprise services. The java equivalent being
public interface MostFlexibleInterface{
java.lang.Object send(java.lang.Object);
Effectively you're descending in the protocol layers when you're using a REST based service definition. In my view higher 'protocol layers' are needed in the service space to increase the level of abstraction.
Of course these higher abstractions should be the right ones and do not necessarily need be statically typed.
Re: flexibility
Joost de Vries
Re: flexibility
Stefan Tilkov
When you model your solution in a service-oriented way, your abstractions are services; when you model in a resource-oriented way, your abstractions are resources. The models are *very* different, but can definitely be used to address the same problem domain.
Re: flexibility
Mark Baker
If I were to extrapolate the flexibility argument that REST makes I'd say that the vocabulary of REST is to brittle: what if I want to change the POST 'implementation' to a DELETE 'implementation' without changing the clients?
That's perfectly fine, nothing breaks. Using POST, the client has no visibility into what the server may or may not do with the data the client sends it; any action the server might take is fine.
It's also perfectly fine if GET on a URI returns an XML document one moment, and a PNG image the next, because the expectation of the client is defined by GET, and that includes the fact that the response to GET will be self-descriptive and therefore not require knowledge of past interactions to establish context for the interpretation of that response.
We're talking about complete separation of implementation from interface, and loose coupling up the wazoo here.
Re: flexibility
Paul Beckford
I had difficulty with this too, and it took awhile for Marks explanantions to sink in. First of all I had to forget all I thought I knew about objects and interfaces.
The interesting phrase in Marks response is self describing. So the reason why I mentioned "GET index.html" as an example is because the href links in the index page are self describing, they tell you the resources available to you on this website. The resources can change but the interface remains the same.
This is achieved by narrowing the interface/connector to something that can be uniform across all websites. Likewise with the JMS SendMessage interface, it is applicable to any service listening on a JMS queue. Likewise again with the send byte code(s) in Smalltalk.
All of these interfaces/connectors are narrow, and gain flexibility by communicating additonal semantics in the data. All these interfaces are also (possibly) self describing. For instance you can send a message to a Smalltalk object to find out what messages it understands, this is a uniform part of the mesaging interface.
WSDL/IDL etc result in server specific interfaces/connectors. They do not self describe dynamicaLLY, the description of the interface is fixed.
This fixed semantics is what limits the flexibility over time. I'm sure that you have experienced having to redistribute client stubs each and everytime you make a benign change to a CORBA interface. As I understand it WSDL is equally as brittle.
Re: flexibility
Joost de Vries
Let me start by saying that I think this was an interesting discussion.
Yes, I was provoking a bit with the CRUD equation. But just a little...
The models are *very* different, but can definitely be used to address the same problem domain.That's true; but the abstractions do matter.
We're talking about complete separation of implementation from interface, and loose coupling up the wazoo here.My point is that this is not a desirable thing and IMO you're not separating what you think you are separting.
The interesting phrase in Marks response is self describing.I don't agree; I think REST is less self describing, or it is describing the wrong things.
Guys, I'm trying to get my analists and developers to leave the mindset of system X sends data Y to system Z because that leads to muddled thinking with unclear responsibilities and little separation of concerns. I want them to think in terms of a client who has to fulfill certain terms while the provider has to fulfill the specified outcome. I want them to have a clear picture wether a "send confirmation" message means a notification of the event or a request to confirm. When the message has been rejected; has the confirmation taken place? REST doesn't tell you squat and thus is not self describing but self obfuscating I'd say.
Using REST to do service based integration is similar to saying "I don't need no new fangled high faluting Smalltalk to do OO, I can dost do OO in good old C."
Yes you can, and you can even do it in assembly.
Ok, I get the impression I'm not convincing you guys and you are, I must say, not convincing me.
So let me say thanks for the exchange of ideas and groetjes uit Nederland,
Re: flexibility
Mark Baker
My point is that this is not a desirable thing and IMO you're not separating what you think you are separting.
Hmm. The litmus test for whether concerns were separated, was whether one could be varied without affecting the other.
If we use GET, then the implementation behind it can vary widely before GET no longer makes sense. That passes the litmus test. If we stick with getStockQuote, then the implementation can't be varied very much before the interface needs to change. That fails the litmus test.
I think it's really that easy. You brought up a bunch of other issues, but none of them affect the test. Please tell me what's wrong with that test.
Re: flexibility
Matthew Dow
Your argument is very intriguing and I thank you for posting it. My question is not about your argument so much but more about words - you say that by making the service capabilitity more generic, that it increases the loose-coupling. Most people I think would agree that be making it more generic, that increases the Reusability - since the service now can be used for many more functions... not just getting real time stock quotes, but any stock quotes for example. As most people agree reusability is usually one of the major goals of SOA... but how is doing what you proposed actually increasing loose-coupling? Perhaps these terms are just closely related - by increasing the reusability of a service capability, you automatically decouple it from its underlying service provider?
Messages, Methods and URIs
Mark Nottingham
For example, it presumes that the schema designer has the foresight to correctly structure their schema to account for such a thing, or to leave an appropriate extensibility point for them in the future. This is currently really, really hard to do in the most prevalent tools for XML; schema for JSON is only now emerging, and RDF's tools are appropriate for academia, not industry. Writing a schema needs to be easy and needs to default to doing the right thing.
It also presumes that the consumer is going to be looking for the information about the quotes' delay in the response. Few developers have the discipline or time to always check all of these conditions, and so you're setting them up to fail. Furthermore, since we're trying to be so generic, they basically have to parse, understand and take into account *every* part of the message to process it, or they'll be caught by some extension radically changing its meaning. Let's not even talk about performance.
So, this is all fine in theory, but in day to day use, you're only setting traps and unrealistic expectations for my developers.
Let's say you have the tooling to create the schema, and you also are able to guarantee that consumers will take the time to understand and apply it. Even then, just pushing such things down into the body is bad practice. Consider; if you add a "this is a delayed quote" extension, it's a backwards-incompatible change, so you'll need to version your namespace (assuming you're using XML). Old clients who don't understand that namespace will be broken if you update to it, so what are you to do?
I think this is why information like that needs to be in the URI. Putting it in the URI means that the client is explicitly asking for the delayed version, and so they know what they're getting. That way, you don't need a special extension in your XML for how delayed the quote is, but if you did (e.g., you wanted to be able to persist the message), you could add it without fear of breaking clients who don't understand the new namespace -- because they asked for it.
It also pushes the versioning problem into URIs, which are frankly a lot easier to deal with than versioning message formats.
BTW, one of the reasons the Web as practised doesn't see these problems as much is because it's based on standard formats with well-understood semantics and ubiquitous tooling. Most of the problems I've stumbled across using HTTP for services are a result of hand-rolled formats; using a standard, controlled format (like Atom, which I think hits the 80% case for HTTP services nicely) makes it more reasonable.
Embedding behavior in method names
Gregg Wonderly
This is all fine and well when the behavior can be focused into a parameter type. But draw(Shape) may not be the ultimate signature because there may be other parameterizations such as draw(Screen,Shape) or draw(Orientation,Shape) and other parameterizations.
What the REST proponents are suggesting is that if you just define draw() as the operation, and pass all the arguments in as data, none of which are explicitly required, then you allow the implementation of draw() to be changed to accept anything "new", without requiring clients to specify these additional arguments to remain compatible with the new implementation.
The use of document/structured messages, such as XML, which can allow varied content, as the only parameter, allows more/less information to be specified by each client to control what the "service" actually does.
What I do with Jini services, is just add additional interfaces to specify the additional method(s) required to support a specific client's needs. This provides the same level of functionality. It's really nothing new or different from what others do in other languages and platforms.
There seem to be a large number of developers teething/teethed on the web and only/mostly using HTTP. Those with experience mostly/only using HTTP may not recognize these other mechanisms or know/understand the history of software systems in this regard.
To me, it's not amazing to see some of the excitement over the concepts of REST, because, they are about valid software development ideas. But, the lack of rigidity in interface specification, is a big issue for me. When I'm developing software, I need to be able to test without being connected to the environment I will deploy in. Not being able to generate service stubs either by hand, or by tooling to evaluate my client is a big deal. Sure, some of it I can stub off.
But, I've not been excited by much of what people call "REST", considering most of the things that revolve around RESTful today are really features of the HTTP protocol and specific server implementation features.
I blogged about this last week at www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=187259
Re: Messages, Methods and URIs
Mark Baker
Regarding schemas, I think they're evil; an anathema to evolvable data formats in the general case. But the details will have to wait for another article ...
Re: Messages, Methods and URIs
Mark Nottingham
It's not that I disagree with what you're saying (as you should know ;), but I don't see how this line of argument is going to convince someone to steer away from WSDL, RPC and application-specific messages; it brings up more questions than it answers.
WRT Schemas -- I agree for XML Schema; do you extend that to *all* schemas?
Re: Messages, Methods and URIs
Mark Baker
Re schemas, pretty much, yes. If validity is defined as a function of time, then independent evolvability will be lost; having new software send documents it believes are valid to old software which disagrees, won't work. Speaking of failing to separate concerns ... 8-)
Re: flexibility
Eric Turley
It's not as if you're suddenly free to send whatever you want and get something useful. If you were to send, say, get(blah), you get nothing.
So doesn't all this just move the contract to a different layer?


text:
A list of Wii U games that support off screen play.
Off-screen is basically the primary reason I bought these on the Wii U. If they add nothing, I'd probably consider the PS3 version depending on which one my friends choose to buy.
It's a huge variable , that in my trully honest opinion makes the wiiu version superior.
I don't think people understand how revoloutionary it is to be able to play uninterupted.
I play in bed , I play whilst watching tv , I play in lying down positions. And it just generally feels cool to play on the gampad sometimes. I probably play more on the Gamepad than on the TV tbh....
Please don't respond telling me I'm an idiot. This is how I feel about this feature. It has tons of potential and adds a new dimension to the lazyness of gaming.
Every day I look at my wii u I tell myself why, I don't like it. If you don't own one don't buy one. Unless you must have super Mario games. And a gamepad the last 2 hours on a full charge.
i saw NG3: RE on that list and seriously i tried to put it on the gamepad and I thought i wasn't doing it right until i noticed it in option setting lol ( DUH)
off screen play is a great way to free up the big screen when the wife wants it.