Mar
24th
2016
Computers can't tell time · 8:23pm Mar 24th, 2016
Seriously, why do computers use Freeza minutes? I try downloading something. It says one hour. An hour later, it still has forty five minutes even though the download speed has remained for the most part constant. 
Anyway, Chapter 1 of the ItB novel has been completely redone. Those of you who have read the preview, that will no longer be in the book. When I finish the new one, I'll put it up. I feel it's improved in every way, the pacing, setting, interactions, character introduction, and setting up future events. Hopefully it'll work better in the story as a whole.
Don't ask for a source on this because it's been YEARS since I read up on this stuff...
But the way I've heard it? It's a psychological trick. A complete nonsense number so that nincompoops won't ruin their computers.
A tiny box that just says downloading? People keep restarting it, because they're sure it shouldn't go that slow.
A tiny box that says a percentage slash current download rate? To 'technical,' and 'confusing.'
But if you add a really bad ball-park figure? The idiots actually leave their computers alone, and let it work because 'at least it's working on it.'
Heck, I heard this one extreme anecdote once of a research-team that had to add this animation of a spinning hour glass that tripled the time it would take to run some sort of simulation they were doing. Why? Well, cleaning staff and even other researches would 'help' by restarting the computer that had 'crashed.' Not even leaving notes taped over the monitors worked, but that silly little waste of clock-cycles did because it gave people the illusion of something happening.
So... Yeah. Lowest common denominator stuff.
3824802 I don't know. I don't see a reason when having an actual estimate isn't hard. If that story about the spinning hourglass is true, it was likely in the early 90s if that made it take so much longer. With today's processing power, it shouldn't be hard to have a somewhat accurate estimate.
3824824 Yeah, but I'm sure the guys making the software are much more interested in figuring out how to make the things doing the work actually go faster than figuring out how to accurately predict how long it will take. I know I am!
Everything is going according to plan.
Well if we are talking about internet downloading, then its going to vary with ANY hiccup on the line given data rates will cause the estimate to screw up.
If we are talking file transfer (typical with windows)..then one big file is a more accurate rate, than a whoel bunch of little files and also depending on if its a hard drive that's fragmented.
Sorry for the lack of progress on my part. Real life, school, and building of new house has basically took all my time for last few months. and after that there will be move.... I can still do some work on he cover, but I can't even tell you if I will be have it finished in april. It depends on whenever my life decides tow slow down or not. freeing up more time...
3825372 From the time Freeza told Goku the planet had five minutes, to the time it actually exploded, the total time, adding up only the scenes with Goku, was 54 minutes and 52 seconds.
3825486 I do know the reasons why the estimates are inaccurate, I just can't figure out how no one has come up with a more accurate way to do it.
3825973 It's cool. Life takes priority.