Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Fri Jul 16, 2010 9:14 pm

Well, if you're like me and end up out of range of the network frequently, it sucks. You get random lag and broken pages and hangs.

If you're not, you get a lighter-weight terminal and access to a huge powerhouse of processing power and databanks. Google is a better spellchecker than the one on any of my computers; having a million help pages instead of just the manual on your harddrive; being able to access any song instead of the few with you.

In practice, though, some things have further to go than others. I can assemble a bigger archive of music on an ipod than I can legally stream at my command, though I can finally stream more overall music, I can't specify which songs. Same for movies, I can stream a few hundred, but I can put a few hundred in the size of a large book. At least I can select which movies I want to see, but usually the ones available I don't. Manuals and helpdesk stuff is the best, currently, as much of it isn't hidden behind pay walls, but books and actual sources still are, but you could pay for them to be part of your cloud, unlike the music and movies.

-Crissa

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Jul 16, 2010 9:24 pm

how are your documents and stuff stored and accessed with a netbook using a cloud OS?

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Fri Jul 16, 2010 9:36 pm

Some set of servers somewhere have copies of them. I have no idea where my google docs are, just that google has them and I can get them.

This is different from, say, TGDMB, because I know where that is physically (okay, not specifically, but I can say 'in Seattle' and be reasonably close), as opposed to things in Google which are in more than one place at a time. I'm reasonably sure it's not 'in China' but 'in Germany' is reasonable, because I trade documents with a friend there. But I know they're also near me somewhere.

The size of my data is so miniscule compared to modern storage that Google could literally have billions of copies of my data and it would still fit on one hard-drive. That it is on multiple drives in multiple countries, is how the cloud is different from the web.

-Crissa

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:41 pm

huh. interesting.

The reason I'm wondering about cloud computing is because last night, I realized that if/when congress fixes things and my unemployment kicks back up, I could conceivably treat myself to an ipad. That's not going to happen for a couple of reasons, but the relevant one is that it doesn't fit my needs.

What I require from a portable device is the following:

Ability to go online, preferably anywhere, but as I can't really pony up for a subscription 3g service, I'm not too worried about this, and specifically I want to be able to check: The Den, Facebook (especially my games on there), Youtube, Twitter, webcomics, and check email.
Work on novels and game material
listen to music
play videos
IM
View ebooks, pdfs and cbrs
Do at least two of the above at once, preferably with music being one, while I also browse the internet or write.

things that would be nice are

Play computer games, usually either a single player rpg or Civ. But the ability to play old doom games from time to time would be nice too.
be able to store and access photos and documents in a way that allows me to just open their location and grab them (like in a normal folder, rather than having to log into photobucket or the like)
If it can, somehow, access and use apps from android, google, apple, that'd be awesome, but it's extremely low on my priorities.

I'll mostly be using the computer in more comfortable seating at home, so, on my bed, on the couch, etc. But also at cafes and where ever a D&D game is put together.

I'll be looking at about 400-500 dollars of discretionary funds.

Any suggestions on the best netbook (or similar device) for me to get?

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 12:56 am

Well... You can't play Civ on a netbook. You're going to burn your lap. It's possible to get a more powerful notebook, but it will be a PC and it's lifetime will be... Iffy.

You can do all of list A (except 3G) on an iPod Touch. I don't know of similar. You can do all that on most smartphones, but they retail at a thousand dollars without a contract.

You can get applications which integrate various random things like photobucket or Google Docs into a smartphone or laptop and it'll seem seamless - but you'll actually be using some third-party app to do it.

Basic point: Anything under $900 will come with strings; a contract (smartphone), limited power (netbook), limited processing power (pad or reader), or limited lifetime/extra maintenance (PC notebook). Once you get the $1000 level, you can basically have anything you want.

-Crissa

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 1:03 am

an ipod touch can multitask?

Hicks · Post by **Hicks** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 4:24 am

I have a question: what is the formula for determining an object's appearant size at a distance, like how you can hold your thumb close to your eye and squish six foot tall people with it who are standing accross the street.

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 5:01 am

Off the top of my head, I think it's...S(apparent) = S(actual)/D; but I think that's wrong.

However, what's important is that apparent size is dependent on the visual angle. A 2m tall person object 10m away from your eye will have a visual angle of 11.42 degrees. Something only .5m away from your eye, such as your pinching fingers slightly outstretched, would need about 2 inches (or .05m) to create the same visual angle and overlap with the person.

ADDENDUM: From that, I think I can figure out the formula.

arctan[.5S(actual)/D(a)] = arctan[.5S(apparent)/D(b)]
* S(actual) = actual size
* S(apparent) = size of overlapping object
* D(a) = distance of actual object
* D(b) = distance of overlapping object

From this, I realize that you can apply the tangent function to both sides to get the MUCH simpler formula of...
S(actual)/D(a) = S(apparent)/D(b)

From here, it all depends on the information you have available, followed by redistributing the formula to find the unknowns.

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 5:21 am

I just remember the moon is 1/400th the size of the sun and 1/400th the distance away.

-Crissa

Hicks · Post by **Hicks** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 3:40 pm

Thank you and thank you. I've been searching everywhere for a straight answer like that.

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:07 am

Is there a solution of a^2 + b^2 = c^2 that uses positive real integers?

-Crissa

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:19 am

Crissa wrote:Is there a solution of a^2 + b^2 = c^2 that uses positive real integers?

-Crissa

Wouldn't that just be 3, 4, 5?

Post by **fbmf** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:21 am

Or 6, 8, 10

Game On,
fbmf

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:22 am

I knew there was a solution, I just couldn't figure out how to ask Google for it.

-Crissa

Parthenon · Post by **Parthenon** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 1:20 am

Yes, but is there a solution of a^3 + b^3 = c^3 with real integers? I don't think so and I've worked out why but I don't have time to write it out now...

Quantumboost · Post by **Quantumboost** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 2:45 am

Parthenon wrote:Yes, but is there a solution of a^3 + b^3 = c^3 with real integers? I don't think so and I've worked out why but I don't have time to write it out now...

Yay subsets of Fermat's Last Theorem. According to Wikipedia on the subject, not only is there no set of integers that satisfies a^3 + b^3 = c^3 (essentially proven in 1770), there's no set that satisfies a^n + b^n = c^n for any integer n > 2.

The proof for that one is about 15 years old.

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 6:00 am

I have a segment of a circle that needs to be x long with a chord of y. I need a formula to describe the various circles which would fit this description?

-Crissa

jadagul · Post by **jadagul** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 7:17 am

Crissa wrote:I have a segment of a circle that needs to be x long with a chord of y. I need a formula to describe the various circles which would fit this description?

-Crissa

Crissa: I assume a segment is an arc along the circumference of the circle?

If so, if we have a segment of length x on a circle of radius r then it sweeps out an angle of x/r radians. From wikipedia we see that the length of the corresponding chord is 2r sin (x/2r); so we'd need y = 2r sin(x/2r). (note that since -pi < x < pi there will be at most one circle for any given pair (x,y)).

I'm about 90% sure this is right; you should probably check my math or do a couple examples to make sure it works.

Edit: just to clarify, there's going to be at most one r such that the equation has a solution, and you want a circle of radius r. The parenthetical note above is dumb--I was solving for the wrong thing--but the idea is more or less right. We can assume x<2 pi r and so -pi < x/2r < pi, and at most one solution exists.

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 8:27 pm

Oh, thanks. That's what I was thinking, but I'm poor on radians. Also, being 'close' in math can still leave you way off :P When I started doing the match myself I realized that if I stipulate the chord as a number instead of a range, it would be one circle.

Thanks!

^-^

-Crissa

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:41 am

Question: how much is acid reflux supposed to hurt? Because I'm fairly sure it's what I've been getting on-and-off for a few weeks now, and it exceeds the "sometimes need over 60mg of codeine" level backpains and is in the "If I go to a hospital will they shoot me full of morphine?" level.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:55 am

I don't know how much it's supposed to hurt, but I every so often get a surge of pain from heartburn that makes me stop what I'm doing until it passes... I'd rate the pain higher than the occasional migrane I get, I guess. Fortunately it doesn't last as long as those...

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 1:17 am

There's a reason why it's tough to tell acid from a heart attack from pain alone.

Your best bet is to not let it happen. Don't eat, drink water and alkaline stuff. Stay upright. Look at the acid-reducers closely. Zantac is my preference.

Of course, while I had heartburn alot as a teen, I mostly only get it as an adult from allergies or stomach upset. So it's much easier to avoid.

Also, did I mention Zantac? After getting a prescription for it during a bout of allergies, I'm totally sold on it.

-Crissa

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 1:42 am

do you happen to know how it compares to ranitadine?

cthulhu · Post by **cthulhu** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 1:50 am

Koumei wrote:Question: how much is acid reflux supposed to hurt? Because I'm fairly sure it's what I've been getting on-and-off for a few weeks now, and it exceeds the "sometimes need over 60mg of codeine" level backpains and is in the "If I go to a hospital will they shoot me full of morphine?" level.

I used to have issues with acid reflux, but I am not a professional. At or beyond 'sore throat' levels, it has potential to damage soft tissue in your throat, like your vocal cords.

I'd recommend seeing a doctor.

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:18 am

Prak_Anima wrote:do you happen to know how it compares to ranitadine?

It's the brand name thereof?

Anyhow, it's the breadth and position of the pain you should worry about, not how intense it is. Being intense just means you're already injured or sensitive there.

-Crissa