Cleanliness without the target attribute? Excuse me? Fugly javascript so you can open in a new window, which doesn't work with NoScript, is clean? How about iframes? Erm, yes.
Right, it's because people scare the shit out of them. It's because rarely they hear "Ubuntu installer can handle everything for you, just BE CAREFUL, or better, call me to install it." They hear "Reconfigure the kernel in order to turn on FFS filesystem support because vanilla Debian packages are not set up with it by default." or "You must edit/etc/X11/xorg.conf to get your ATI card to run because the open source drivers are broken. Just follow the tutorial!"
...and that advocate attitude, along with still-present non-cooperativeness of manufacturers, as well as numerous silly "fails" in Gnome and KDE design decisions or simply bugs in their code, is the reason why 2009, 2010 and 2011 won't be years of the Linux desktop.
But I still love my XFCE+Gnome panel+Luna theme+XP icons mutant, because I'm a geek and because I can. Because I can do shit with Linux that Windows won't let me. Including designing my own login manager - work in progress, but will happen.
When you don't have any, yes, it takes on a certain importance.
Yes, "if you don't have any". But don't expand that to "if you have little". If I can get a job $1000/mo (net) in Croatia, that's quite enough for me, thank you very much - as long as I can do the stuff I like. No matter if I can theoretically get $5000/mo (net) in the States for the same work: I value our food, I value speaking our language, I value my friends. And there's a lot of people I know that have the same attitude.
The first time this became evident was in response to the patch and website update at the end of September, when account names were being introduced. Several players were worried about the security of their accounts, especially since account names were not hidden with asterisks at first when logging in. Moreover, the account names were displayed on the account management page. We forwarded your overwhelming feedback and within two days we did not only reintroduce the asterisks when logging in but also added a button allowing you to choose between showing your account name and email on your account page and hiding it.
This happened when they replaced masked account numbers with unmasked account names. Let me repeat that. Replaced masked account numbers with unmasked account names.
We're talking about unmasked usernames here and people demanded them masked!
Mr Nielsen, while you're right about people not needing reset button ("refresh" button can do the trick in properly written app), you're so wrong about people not actively seeking password masking. Go and form a test group to back your statements. While I'm sure you wrote much interesting content, with this article, you're just seeking attention, and you know it.
On topic, this reminds me like the mr Nielsen is too impressed by This Week in Unnecessary Censorship. Except this is no censorship, and it's not unnecessary.
Well, at least they're having more luck squeezing money out of people than real Nikola Tesla...
Despite having sold his AC electricity patents, Tesla was destitute and died with significant debts. Later that year the US Supreme Court upheld Tesla's patent number, in effect recognizing him as the inventor of radio.
Immediately after Tesla's death became known, the government's Alien Property Custodian office took possession of his papers and property, despite his US citizenship. His safe at the hotel was also opened.
...
Tesla's family and the Yugoslav embassy struggled with the American authorities to gain these items after his death due to the potential significance of some of his research.
As is the EU's lawsuits to begin with. Its their OS, they should get to bundle their software with it. As long as I can chose to install Firefox, which I do, I couldn't give less of a shit whether IE is on there. Don't want it there, don't install Windows. People have choices.
Wrong. Many people depend on Windows, yet they don't depend on IE, and especially not on Windows Media Player. Still, at the same time they ignore all the other products because IE and WMP are, well, there.
For example, on my Windows installation I'm well informed so I don't use IE, not even IE8. But I use WMP because it's just enough. I don't need more. Yes, it's a memory hog and bloat... but I don't feel like digging through all the music and video players out there.
And I need the Windows installation, despite spending most of my time in Debian. Sadly I can't do without Windows. I need it for work, for coding games. I need it for university, for programming in God-forsaken Hell of.Net (no, Mono is not suitable, because the class is too VS-and-MSSQL-centric). I also need it for occasional game that doesn't work or works like shit in Wine.
IE perhaps needs to be bundled so people can download a better browser. It is however silly that it is not optional and that OEMs must install it, no matter what, without ability to opt-out and put Firefox in. It should be OEM's choice: MS can install IE, but OEM should be able to remove it.
What about WMP? Why the heck does that have to be bundled with the OS, if not to kill off Winamp and friends? Oh yes, I remember: it was an attempt to actually kill MP3 and make people switch to DRMed WMAs only. Because, y'know, by default you can rip your CD music only into WMA, and by default it's DRMed. There's a checkbox, but think about how many people are unknowingly DRM-encumbering music they have ripped from a non-DRMed medium such as CD audio?
No, it shouldn't be Microsoft's choice. Microsoft should have added a rudimentary "Windows Media Player", and a start menu program group "Get Free Extras" with "Install Windows Media Player Premium".
And there it is: you're not abusing your position so horribly then, you're just advertising additional products people can choose, or not. It's not forced upon you by default.
Sadly, IE can no longer be removed from the OS unless you want to break loads of software using its HTML renderer (such as numerous HTML Help.chm files). Unless you can get Mozilla's Gecko to replace it (like Wine guys are doing).
1. Supporting many wars of in late 1st and during most of the 2nd millenium
2. Supporting forced conversions and inquisition during 2nd millenium
3. Some elements in church hiding criminal behavior of some priests
4. Pretty dumb attitudes held by some priests, as well as attempts to politically brainwash people
5. Greed of many priests (too many for my tastes)
There, I spelled it out. I'm aware of all this. I am horrified by creationists. I am surprised by attitude toward artificial insemination by a church which values life and fights against abortion.
On the other hand, I have faith, and don't think it's Christ that's directing these horrible actions of men and women of this world.
But during my childhood, my country was at war. I have seen priests who were truly committed to helping people. I've more than once made myself happier by talking to "someone" in my mind. Doesn't matter if God is real if he's real to me, and talking to Him gives me relief. Crazy talk, sure.
Christian religion per se is not horrible, compared to Scientology. I have faith that Christ was there, that he saved us. I do however question what the priests of this world say. And any sensible person will do so. This doesn't mean the religion is bad. Especially since it's integrated deeply into our culture, and since much of the early printed (and a lot of medieval written) material was of religious content.
With Scientology, on the other hand, you have nothing already established in the culture, and you have loads of poor sci-fi and technobabble embedded into the core of the quasi-religion. My belief says Christ was there; and there's loads and loads of content out there saying the same thing. It may be a different kind of bad fantasy in your eyes, but to me it's far more plausible. Not to mention it matches scientific possibilities much more than Scientology (apart from the "5500 years old world", which is not even a firmly held belief by the Catholic Church, especially since many of the European scientists from the past centuries were priests).
Christian churches are also no longer employing torture against their own, and there won't be priests or other closely tied associates of a Christian church that will hunt you down and torture you if you are a "suppressive person".
I am not attending servies, but I have faith. I also believe that John Paul II was a very good person. I have no idea, though, what was on cardinals' minds when they picked Joseph Ratzinger for the new pope.
So you see, I know of faults of church. Thing is, Church is something else, it's "us", not just the hierarchy which often makes bad, bad mistakes and has wrong attitude. And Christianity as a whole is incomparable to Scientology; a modern piece of imagination thought up by a sci-fi writer who saw a good way to earn money and a good living. With Christianity, at least there's a lot more lunatics out there who think the same way as you do, there's a lot of literature to back you up that's not (c) Catholic Church Scriptoral Center, 1995, and there's at least 4 sources for content on Christ, and few more apostoles, writers of epistles.
Thanks, but even if I had no faith, I'd pick the LARGER crowd of lunatics. kthxbye.
You don't get it: It's not banned for use by professors and researchers. It's not banned for use on classes. In fact, many classes depend on Linux exclusively, and there are 'softies that would protest against those classes the same way I want to against the ones where MS is on the throne. And they're right. Except it's pretty obvious.Net came to some of these classes by powerful lobbying on part on MS, in addition to fanatism from a certain department, and not only because of practical reasons. Linux and FreeBSD are on some classes because of practicality.
It's not banned anywhere, but the attitude on the part of "those in charge" is preposterous.
I am one of those who support copyright, but with major, major, major revisions, especially in the area of its expiration date. Most songs lose value after 5 years, so 25 years should be more than enough. Even death + 25 is much more than enough, except in extreme cases (Tolkien's works). But death + 95 for all content is silly and stupid. If things keep going this way, soon we'll see death + 150, and that's just plain silly.
And how do they get paid if anyone can replicate their content for free? Just hope for donations? There's a guy with a guitar on the corner of my street who does that. It doesn't seem to be working all that well for him.
How do you know that donations wouldn't start working? See, if people suddenly had no new music, perhaps they might pay for new music in other ways.
Or they might say "We have enough old music, we don't need more" and that'd be it. Why do you think that free market can't regulate itself?
That said, some basic protection at least for first few years is stimulative enough. As I said, even 25 years would be enough. I definitely won't think of paying for stuff more than 25 years old because it's just that -- old. Except in case of really cult movies.
How about the freedom of matters of fact? For example, we should have the freedom to know how our tax dollars are spent. That doesn't mean Microsoft should have the freedom to steal the code for Firefox, slap an IE-logo on it, and call it their own.
But they can take it. It's not even stealing, you can rebrand Firefox, uhm I mean Iceweasel.
You, sir, are one of the rare ones. Most people using emulators or jailbreak hacks for running pirated, not homebrew software they or other people made.
You don't understand, the dean is the one that made the deal, and used to be the head of the most pro-MS department. And I don't think the associate deans[1] care; they'll just say "It's faculty programme, OBEY." There are people trying to raise awareness among students that this is unacceptable (forcing particular software when there are acceptable alternatives) but they're ridiculed. At least I was when I tried.
[1] I assume this means the same as Croatian "prodekan" -- approximately vice-dean assigned to a job, such as "prodekan za nastavu" - for classes.
When you're forced to go in a team with other, Windows-infested students, this doesn't work.
When you're forced to work with MSSQL (obligatory) this doesn't work.
When you're forced to work with Crystal Reports (obligatory) this doesn't work.
When you're forced to work with MS Project (obligatory) this doesn't work.
When you're forced to work with... well, you get my point.
Guess what the class I unwillingly enrolled in combines. I tried using Monodevelop for the first week, and quite enthusiastically, too. Unfortunately, professor's assistants that are grading the work simply have no understanding for GNU/Linux users' woes, and there's no plan in place when someone doesn't want to or can't use.Net.
And the ultimate response: "We gave you the software through MSDNAA, plus you can come to work on faculty [uni] computers. You have no excuse." They could add "You have no chance to survive make your time", or "We will add your biological and technological distinctivenesses to our own", based on one's preferences.
Let's just hope that this tool only monitors files on his computer and communicates them to the base. It could also monitor some other stuff, like names of hardware equipment, such as VMWARE CD-ROM DRIVE or whatever.
Or it may insist on talking directly to its network. Or it may actually be responsible for authenticating the detected MAC address.
Slashdot Mirror
It's an urban legend that there's Facebook-CIA ties. You decide.
Whoosh. GPs point is that data SHOULD be moveable, same as yours.
It's either giving that to my sister or letting her use my laptop.
Just kidding. iMac G3 seems to run OSX 10.2.8 very well, so we've got that. But to run OS9 software, you need OS9, and that's it.
Cubicles & Condos
Cleanliness without the target attribute? Excuse me? Fugly javascript so you can open in a new window, which doesn't work with NoScript, is clean? How about iframes? Erm, yes.
Right, it's because people scare the shit out of them. It's because rarely they hear "Ubuntu installer can handle everything for you, just BE CAREFUL, or better, call me to install it." They hear "Reconfigure the kernel in order to turn on FFS filesystem support because vanilla Debian packages are not set up with it by default." or "You must edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf to get your ATI card to run because the open source drivers are broken. Just follow the tutorial!"
But I still love my XFCE+Gnome panel+Luna theme+XP icons mutant, because I'm a geek and because I can. Because I can do shit with Linux that Windows won't let me. Including designing my own login manager - work in progress, but will happen.
Wrong, they just don't like doing all the stuff you mentioned.
When you don't have any, yes, it takes on a certain importance.
Yes, "if you don't have any". But don't expand that to "if you have little". If I can get a job $1000/mo (net) in Croatia, that's quite enough for me, thank you very much - as long as I can do the stuff I like. No matter if I can theoretically get $5000/mo (net) in the States for the same work: I value our food, I value speaking our language, I value my friends. And there's a lot of people I know that have the same attitude.
I don't.
I find this quote fascinating.
But password masking and Reset buttons are not something users actively seek out.
Hm, some would not agree.
The first time this became evident was in response to the patch and website update at the end of September, when account names were being introduced. Several players were worried about the security of their accounts, especially since account names were not hidden with asterisks at first when logging in. Moreover, the account names were displayed on the account management page. We forwarded your overwhelming feedback and within two days we did not only reintroduce the asterisks when logging in but also added a button allowing you to choose between showing your account name and email on your account page and hiding it.
This happened when they replaced masked account numbers with unmasked account names. Let me repeat that. Replaced masked account numbers with unmasked account names.
We're talking about unmasked usernames here and people demanded them masked!
Mr Nielsen, while you're right about people not needing reset button ("refresh" button can do the trick in properly written app), you're so wrong about people not actively seeking password masking. Go and form a test group to back your statements. While I'm sure you wrote much interesting content, with this article, you're just seeking attention, and you know it.
Is it **** ***, by any chance?
On topic, this reminds me like the mr Nielsen is too impressed by This Week in Unnecessary Censorship. Except this is no censorship, and it's not unnecessary.
A tip on using this fascinating concept called common sense
Any guesses how long it will take before the appeal starts?
Any guesses how long it will take before decisions are made?
Any guesses how long it will take before [other stuff happens]?
You're welcome.
Y'mean, s/ informs /, informs /g?
Z80 - a Z-80 based computer. He built it when he was 15 :-)
Well, at least they're having more luck squeezing money out of people than real Nikola Tesla...
Despite having sold his AC electricity patents, Tesla was destitute and died with significant debts. Later that year the US Supreme Court upheld Tesla's patent number, in effect recognizing him as the inventor of radio.
Immediately after Tesla's death became known, the government's Alien Property Custodian office took possession of his papers and property, despite his US citizenship. His safe at the hotel was also opened.
Tesla's family and the Yugoslav embassy struggled with the American authorities to gain these items after his death due to the potential significance of some of his research.
As is the EU's lawsuits to begin with. Its their OS, they should get to bundle their software with it. As long as I can chose to install Firefox, which I do, I couldn't give less of a shit whether IE is on there. Don't want it there, don't install Windows. People have choices.
Wrong. Many people depend on Windows, yet they don't depend on IE, and especially not on Windows Media Player. Still, at the same time they ignore all the other products because IE and WMP are, well, there.
For example, on my Windows installation I'm well informed so I don't use IE, not even IE8. But I use WMP because it's just enough. I don't need more. Yes, it's a memory hog and bloat... but I don't feel like digging through all the music and video players out there.
And I need the Windows installation, despite spending most of my time in Debian. Sadly I can't do without Windows. I need it for work, for coding games. I need it for university, for programming in God-forsaken Hell of .Net (no, Mono is not suitable, because the class is too VS-and-MSSQL-centric). I also need it for occasional game that doesn't work or works like shit in Wine.
IE perhaps needs to be bundled so people can download a better browser. It is however silly that it is not optional and that OEMs must install it, no matter what, without ability to opt-out and put Firefox in. It should be OEM's choice: MS can install IE, but OEM should be able to remove it.
What about WMP? Why the heck does that have to be bundled with the OS, if not to kill off Winamp and friends? Oh yes, I remember: it was an attempt to actually kill MP3 and make people switch to DRMed WMAs only. Because, y'know, by default you can rip your CD music only into WMA, and by default it's DRMed. There's a checkbox, but think about how many people are unknowingly DRM-encumbering music they have ripped from a non-DRMed medium such as CD audio?
No, it shouldn't be Microsoft's choice. Microsoft should have added a rudimentary "Windows Media Player", and a start menu program group "Get Free Extras" with "Install Windows Media Player Premium".
And there it is: you're not abusing your position so horribly then, you're just advertising additional products people can choose, or not. It's not forced upon you by default.
Sadly, IE can no longer be removed from the OS unless you want to break loads of software using its HTML renderer (such as numerous HTML Help .chm files). Unless you can get Mozilla's Gecko to replace it (like Wine guys are doing).
I'm well aware of the worst sins of the church:
1. Supporting many wars of in late 1st and during most of the 2nd millenium
2. Supporting forced conversions and inquisition during 2nd millenium
3. Some elements in church hiding criminal behavior of some priests
4. Pretty dumb attitudes held by some priests, as well as attempts to politically brainwash people
5. Greed of many priests (too many for my tastes)
There, I spelled it out. I'm aware of all this. I am horrified by creationists. I am surprised by attitude toward artificial insemination by a church which values life and fights against abortion.
On the other hand, I have faith, and don't think it's Christ that's directing these horrible actions of men and women of this world.
But during my childhood, my country was at war. I have seen priests who were truly committed to helping people. I've more than once made myself happier by talking to "someone" in my mind. Doesn't matter if God is real if he's real to me, and talking to Him gives me relief. Crazy talk, sure.
Christian religion per se is not horrible, compared to Scientology. I have faith that Christ was there, that he saved us. I do however question what the priests of this world say. And any sensible person will do so. This doesn't mean the religion is bad. Especially since it's integrated deeply into our culture, and since much of the early printed (and a lot of medieval written) material was of religious content.
With Scientology, on the other hand, you have nothing already established in the culture, and you have loads of poor sci-fi and technobabble embedded into the core of the quasi-religion. My belief says Christ was there; and there's loads and loads of content out there saying the same thing. It may be a different kind of bad fantasy in your eyes, but to me it's far more plausible. Not to mention it matches scientific possibilities much more than Scientology (apart from the "5500 years old world", which is not even a firmly held belief by the Catholic Church, especially since many of the European scientists from the past centuries were priests).
Christian churches are also no longer employing torture against their own, and there won't be priests or other closely tied associates of a Christian church that will hunt you down and torture you if you are a "suppressive person".
I am not attending servies, but I have faith. I also believe that John Paul II was a very good person. I have no idea, though, what was on cardinals' minds when they picked Joseph Ratzinger for the new pope.
So you see, I know of faults of church. Thing is, Church is something else, it's "us", not just the hierarchy which often makes bad, bad mistakes and has wrong attitude. And Christianity as a whole is incomparable to Scientology; a modern piece of imagination thought up by a sci-fi writer who saw a good way to earn money and a good living. With Christianity, at least there's a lot more lunatics out there who think the same way as you do, there's a lot of literature to back you up that's not (c) Catholic Church Scriptoral Center, 1995, and there's at least 4 sources for content on Christ, and few more apostoles, writers of epistles.
Thanks, but even if I had no faith, I'd pick the LARGER crowd of lunatics. kthxbye.
You don't get it: It's not banned for use by professors and researchers. It's not banned for use on classes. In fact, many classes depend on Linux exclusively, and there are 'softies that would protest against those classes the same way I want to against the ones where MS is on the throne. And they're right. Except it's pretty obvious .Net came to some of these classes by powerful lobbying on part on MS, in addition to fanatism from a certain department, and not only because of practical reasons. Linux and FreeBSD are on some classes because of practicality.
It's not banned anywhere, but the attitude on the part of "those in charge" is preposterous.
...but I have a better plan..
I am one of those who support copyright, but with major, major, major revisions, especially in the area of its expiration date. Most songs lose value after 5 years, so 25 years should be more than enough. Even death + 25 is much more than enough, except in extreme cases (Tolkien's works). But death + 95 for all content is silly and stupid. If things keep going this way, soon we'll see death + 150, and that's just plain silly.
And how do they get paid if anyone can replicate their content for free? Just hope for donations? There's a guy with a guitar on the corner of my street who does that. It doesn't seem to be working all that well for him.
How do you know that donations wouldn't start working? See, if people suddenly had no new music, perhaps they might pay for new music in other ways.
Or they might say "We have enough old music, we don't need more" and that'd be it. Why do you think that free market can't regulate itself?
That said, some basic protection at least for first few years is stimulative enough. As I said, even 25 years would be enough. I definitely won't think of paying for stuff more than 25 years old because it's just that -- old. Except in case of really cult movies.
How about the freedom of matters of fact? For example, we should have the freedom to know how our tax dollars are spent. That doesn't mean Microsoft should have the freedom to steal the code for Firefox, slap an IE-logo on it, and call it their own.
But they can take it. It's not even stealing, you can rebrand Firefox, uhm I mean Iceweasel.
I agree, I do similar stuff, as long as I care. Mostly I don't, except when I'm playing from "backup copies".
I just wish they'd quit making my life harder when it doesn't change a damned thing.
You know what people say: "House doors are meant to keep the HONEST ones away."
You, sir, are one of the rare ones. Most people using emulators or jailbreak hacks for running pirated, not homebrew software they or other people made.
You don't understand, the dean is the one that made the deal, and used to be the head of the most pro-MS department. And I don't think the associate deans[1] care; they'll just say "It's faculty programme, OBEY." There are people trying to raise awareness among students that this is unacceptable (forcing particular software when there are acceptable alternatives) but they're ridiculed. At least I was when I tried.
[1] I assume this means the same as Croatian "prodekan" -- approximately vice-dean assigned to a job, such as "prodekan za nastavu" - for classes.
When you're forced to go in a team with other, Windows-infested students, this doesn't work.
When you're forced to work with MSSQL (obligatory) this doesn't work.
When you're forced to work with Crystal Reports (obligatory) this doesn't work.
When you're forced to work with MS Project (obligatory) this doesn't work.
When you're forced to work with ... well, you get my point.
Guess what the class I unwillingly enrolled in combines. I tried using Monodevelop for the first week, and quite enthusiastically, too. Unfortunately, professor's assistants that are grading the work simply have no understanding for GNU/Linux users' woes, and there's no plan in place when someone doesn't want to or can't use .Net.
And the ultimate response: "We gave you the software through MSDNAA, plus you can come to work on faculty [uni] computers. You have no excuse." They could add "You have no chance to survive make your time", or "We will add your biological and technological distinctivenesses to our own", based on one's preferences.
PS Python rules :)
Yes, that might work.
Let's just hope that this tool only monitors files on his computer and communicates them to the base. It could also monitor some other stuff, like names of hardware equipment, such as VMWARE CD-ROM DRIVE or whatever.
Or it may insist on talking directly to its network. Or it may actually be responsible for authenticating the detected MAC address.
Who knows.