But I honestly do prefer VB over C# because I find it easier to read. I have never *liked* the "C syntax". 15 years ago, I switched from Borland C++ to Borland Pascal (I honestly did!) because I enjoyed Pascal's verbosity. I used Delphi for a long time, until.NET came along - then I switched to VB.NET for the same reason. I never wanted to touch "classic" VB because it was a steaming pile of donkey poo, however.
It's not like I can't read C-style syntax or write it; I can. I do a lot of JavaScript programming, I extensively use both PHP and C# at work, but when it comes to personal projects, VB(.NET) all the way.
I guess it's just a matter of preference. Some people like && || !, some like And Or Not. Some like curly braces, some like Begin..End blocks. And with.NET, it's mostly about the framework, anyway, as it's language-agnostic. You cannot get far if you don't know the framework; if you do, then the actual language is mostly irrelevant, the differences can be picked-up in half an hour.
That said, some things in VB irritate me. The stupid typecasting via CType(var, type) is something I wish would just die in favour of C-style (type)var. Multiline strings as well, and the root namespace is something I always forget to destroy when starting a new project...
Anyway, congratulations to the Mono team. When I get rid of Windows soon, in favour of Linux, I will be glad to know that my pet language is going to be usable for ASP.NET apps!
It's more of a problem for slow-travelling vehicles. I know that most noise on higher speeds does come from tires and wind, as you say, but if a car is travelling 25 mph / 40 kmh in a residential area, those factors are pretty small compared to engine noise. Electric cars would be even quieter.
Now, there are buzzers and beeps as potential solutions... But what would they do? A cacophony of buzzing sounds would be much worse than engine noise...
This is surely going to get lost in all the replies, but nevertheless...
How are electric cars going to impact pedestrian safety? They run very quietly; you can get hit by an electric car without knowing it's right behind you, whereas with classic cars you can at least hear the combustion engines from some distance away and take notice. What about kids? Blind people? Even animals might have problems - they stay away from noisy roads, but if the roads aren't noisy anymore...
On a sidenote, it would be pretty cool not to have noise pollution. I imagine a city with electric cars and without smog would be a very nice place to live in for humans and small animals, such as birds and squirrels. Perhaps we'd see more rare bird species in such a city. The quality of life would definitely improve.
What I do know is that I totally and utterly am scared easily, be it movies / games etc, it's fantastic - because I can enjoy some games more but it's terrible because I can be frightened so much.
So tell me, mr. AbRASiON, how do you really feel about Windows Vista...?
What happens when you write a blog post which includes two images of gray spaghetti and claim that one web server is more (in)secure than another?
Judging security by Secunia's advisories is the same as judging security by pictures that don't make sense at all. You can spread FUD either way, which is what I just did, in accordance with my nickname (which isn't really meant to be taken literally, but hey, I have to live up to it sometimes). Even Secunia says "Please Note: The statistics provided should not be used to compare the overall security of products against one another."
My post is the equivalent of the linked blog entry. Crappy FUD.
Now, for our favourite car analogy (we like those, don't we?): a car cheap made in 1970 doesn't make any system calls (obviously). Is it more secure when driving than the latest 2007 top-end BMW or Toyota, both of which include very complex computer systems?;)
Has 2.0 finally implemented outgoing message filtering, so they can be moved to a particular folder automatically?
I never understood why I could tell TB to move a message from John Doe to a folder named "Friday Night Booze", but a reply *to* John Doe ends up in the old "Sent" folder so I have to remember to move it manually if I want to keep the entire conversation in one place.
Also, what about threading? When I tried TB 1.0.x, it used to thread by subject, which was basically unusable. If I got an e-mail from John Doe with the subject "Hey, man", it was going to enter a thread with the same subject from maybe a year ago, 500 threads up.
Does any one know what happened to message tabs. Its a feature I would really like as I become sick of having to re-find a message if I want to check another at the same time. I saw this proposed at some stage and thought it was going to be a 2.0 feature but there is no comments on it in the review. Did it get pushed back to 3.0?
I'm still using Eudora because it has "tabs" (a MDI interface, actually). As soon as TB gets a tabbed interface, not just for messages, but also for mail folders (and it gets to remember the last open tabs between sessions), I'll be the happiest person in the world and switch.
Eudora allows me to keep different mailboxes open, and I use that functionality to remind myself of the messages I need to soon reply to.
... and the apparent need of Microsoft to HTML-ize everything.
I'm in the middle of coding a desktop app (using MS Visual Studio 2003, though), and let me tell you something: no matter how much HTML is a bitch, especially with the crapfest that is IE, every single day I get reminded how much easier it is to do something in HTML. Regular GUI programming can be a real bitch compared to HTML.
For example, I had to make a simple table. A header, 8 rows, 6 columns. Fixed size, one column resizing to the control width. I've literally spent HOURS trying to make something on my own until I've said "screw it" and found a 3rd-party table control. It's still not easy to program against it, but at least it does what it's supposed to.
I could have done it in HTML in two minutes.
Likewise, I've used the IE browser control to make the main special report in the app. It hogs memory like there's no tomorrow, I had to screw around to even make it work and feed it data, but it's nothing compared to what I would have went through if I had to create and owner-draw my own custom controls. Also, one day, whoever picks up my code will probably know HTML, so if the main report needs changing, it will be just a matter of editing a few templates. With custom controls, ugh.
In many ways, and in many cases, HTML is superiour to classic GUI development -- well, at least when it comes to design and maintainability, so I can understand their need to HTML-ize... Hell, I'm doing it because it's easier and more understandable. I'd rather have the app as a web app on a server, but it has to be a desktop client, so it's the only thing I can do.
I haven't looked at Windows Presentation Foundation and XAML in.NET 3.0, and I don't know if there are other HTML/XML-like methods of designing a classic GUI on any platform. If anyone knows some (and I don't care which platform it is, since the app will dictate the platform for its users!), please point me to it, I'd be much grateful.
It all depends, I've just put together the worst things that could happen, based on some past work experiences and those of people I know.
Right now, I'm not an admin, but I do have admin access to everything - every workstation, every server. I can ignore the phone completely and I can skip a day of work whenever I feel like it, no questions asked. Still, my PC is crap because it's close to impossible to deal with all the bureaucracy. Hardware is bought in bulk, no chance for individual requests unless one of the überbosses has a good day (which still hasn't happened).
Still, what I said holds true in a lot of cases. What I've described is exactly what one of my friends is going through, with the added "benefit" of every minute less than 8 hours spent on the job being deducted from his salary (as you can guess, overtime isn't added). Another friend has a security camera monitoring his and the neighbourhood cubicles. Neither of them is allowed to listen to music.
The older the company and the management are, the more restrictive the job.
"The project, implemented by the original developer of InterBase (Jim Starkey) was commissioned for SAS Institute, the world's largest vendor of business and medical statistics application software. SAS had made the decision in 2003 to move many of its business applications over from Oracle to Firebird."
"The largest Firebird database we have heard of is about 11 Terabytes and growing."
I develop ASP.NET apps at work. I truly like the platform, and chose it myself when given green light by the boss to start on the project; I could choose any OS+platform, but I needed to get away from incompetent coworkers who (ab)use PHP (in other words, I needed peace, quiet, and well-written code - I couldn't have that unless I did it all by myself). Before I leave the company, I can tweak the apps to work with Mono, so the people in my department can take them over for maintenance on the Linux servers (there shouldn't be any more coding required, so they shouldn't have a big chance to screw things up).
Really good news. I hope we will see more cross-OS-platform apps in the future.
You probably haven't thought of one thing: freedom.
In the large company, you will be locked to a regular user account. You won't get to install unapproved software (this includes your favourite text editors, browsers, music players, etc).
They might run some sort of software metering service, perhaps even keyloggers.
You will access the net through IE (which I'm sure is the official company browser), and their proxy might have half the net blocked.
You will probably be locked into using Outlook.
There will be all sorts of crap on your PC (since it's going to be a company-wide standard image); perhaps even something like McAfee AV, which happily chews away on 70-80 MB of RAM and makes things unbearable.
If your workstation is lacking RAM or other hardware, you're going to have to file a ton of paperwork and have it signed by 10 different people until you get the stuff half a year later... If you get it.
Also, it's very possible that your movement through the building will be monitored. Cameras everywhere, and your ID card will log the exact moment you get to work and leave it. Your lunch break will be exactly 60 minutes. You won't be able to go outside for a two-hour walk in spring if you feel like it and if you have nothing more important to do.
You will work with drones, not people. Mostly incompetent drones.
Listening to music will probably be forbidden, thought you might sneak in some headphones and find out you don't hear your phone ringing when you have them on, and if you make the music quieter, you won't be able to listen to it from the phones ringing (catch 22).
(Disclaimer: I work in a large company. I do have admin access and unrestricted internet access, but I had to buy RAM by myself, and I'm still waiting for a new monitor - on my desk is an old 17" curved CRT.)
Why? My parents are using my old box - an old Celeron with 256 MB of memory and a 20 gig drive. I don't feel like spending money to buy them a new PC. This one is still good enough, and will be good enough for at least the next 4-5 years.
You mean only those running XP or later? Mozilla now have an ideal target in Windows 2000 (businesses) and 98 (still in some peoples homes) as well as Linux and Mac.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that Firefox 3 will drop support for Windows 98. I'm not sure if you should recommend people to download Firefox 2 on such machines, because they might be pissed off when they can't upgrade in a few months. IMHO, Windows 9x machines should be switched to Ubuntu first.
I will admit that the first thing I do with a CD when I buy a new one is CDex it to high quality MP3 format.
Why? Storage space isn't an issue as it once was, when mp3's were starting to hit the scene and 128 kbps was "good enough". I remember I used to pay the equivalent of $10 to a friend's friend to get a burned mp3 CD...
Anyway, I rip my CD's with Exact Audio Copy (offset-corrected) and archive them with FLAC on high-quality DVD media (plus leave a copy on the HDD). Covers and booklets are scanned, CUE sheets verified. In the end, I have a bit-exact copy of the original, and I can fit a dozen CD's on a single DVD. As a bonus, should I ever buy a Rockbox-compatible audio player, it will be able to play my music.
Slashdot Mirror
There. I said it. Now shoot me.
.NET came along - then I switched to VB.NET for the same reason. I never wanted to touch "classic" VB because it was a steaming pile of donkey poo, however.
.NET, it's mostly about the framework, anyway, as it's language-agnostic. You cannot get far if you don't know the framework; if you do, then the actual language is mostly irrelevant, the differences can be picked-up in half an hour.
But I honestly do prefer VB over C# because I find it easier to read. I have never *liked* the "C syntax". 15 years ago, I switched from Borland C++ to Borland Pascal (I honestly did!) because I enjoyed Pascal's verbosity. I used Delphi for a long time, until
It's not like I can't read C-style syntax or write it; I can. I do a lot of JavaScript programming, I extensively use both PHP and C# at work, but when it comes to personal projects, VB(.NET) all the way.
I guess it's just a matter of preference. Some people like && || !, some like And Or Not. Some like curly braces, some like Begin..End blocks. And with
That said, some things in VB irritate me. The stupid typecasting via CType(var, type) is something I wish would just die in favour of C-style (type)var. Multiline strings as well, and the root namespace is something I always forget to destroy when starting a new project...
Anyway, congratulations to the Mono team. When I get rid of Windows soon, in favour of Linux, I will be glad to know that my pet language is going to be usable for ASP.NET apps!
It's more of a problem for slow-travelling vehicles. I know that most noise on higher speeds does come from tires and wind, as you say, but if a car is travelling 25 mph / 40 kmh in a residential area, those factors are pretty small compared to engine noise. Electric cars would be even quieter.
Now, there are buzzers and beeps as potential solutions... But what would they do? A cacophony of buzzing sounds would be much worse than engine noise...
This is surely going to get lost in all the replies, but nevertheless...
How are electric cars going to impact pedestrian safety? They run very quietly; you can get hit by an electric car without knowing it's right behind you, whereas with classic cars you can at least hear the combustion engines from some distance away and take notice. What about kids? Blind people? Even animals might have problems - they stay away from noisy roads, but if the roads aren't noisy anymore...
On a sidenote, it would be pretty cool not to have noise pollution. I imagine a city with electric cars and without smog would be a very nice place to live in for humans and small animals, such as birds and squirrels. Perhaps we'd see more rare bird species in such a city. The quality of life would definitely improve.
What happens when you write a blog post which includes two images of gray spaghetti and claim that one web server is more (in)secure than another?
;)
Judging security by Secunia's advisories is the same as judging security by pictures that don't make sense at all. You can spread FUD either way, which is what I just did, in accordance with my nickname (which isn't really meant to be taken literally, but hey, I have to live up to it sometimes). Even Secunia says "Please Note: The statistics provided should not be used to compare the overall security of products against one another."
My post is the equivalent of the linked blog entry. Crappy FUD.
Now, for our favourite car analogy (we like those, don't we?): a car cheap made in 1970 doesn't make any system calls (obviously). Is it more secure when driving than the latest 2007 top-end BMW or Toyota, both of which include very complex computer systems?
Secunia disagrees with the blog contents. I disagree as well - this is pure FUD.
(IIS 5 and IIS 4 are humiliating for mankind. Won't link those, but search yourself if you want to cry and have nightmares.)
IIS 6
Affected By 3 Secunia advisories
Unpatched 0% (0 of 3 Secunia advisories)
Apache 1.3.x
Affected By 19 Secunia advisories
Unpatched 5% (1 of 19 Secunia advisories)
Apache 2.0.x
Affected By 33 Secunia advisories
Unpatched 9% (3 of 33 Secunia advisories)
Apache 2.2.x
Affected By 3 Secunia advisories
Unpatched 33% (1 of 3 Secunia advisories)
Has 2.0 finally implemented outgoing message filtering, so they can be moved to a particular folder automatically?
I never understood why I could tell TB to move a message from John Doe to a folder named "Friday Night Booze", but a reply *to* John Doe ends up in the old "Sent" folder so I have to remember to move it manually if I want to keep the entire conversation in one place.
Also, what about threading? When I tried TB 1.0.x, it used to thread by subject, which was basically unusable. If I got an e-mail from John Doe with the subject "Hey, man", it was going to enter a thread with the same subject from maybe a year ago, 500 threads up.
Eudora allows me to keep different mailboxes open, and I use that functionality to remind myself of the messages I need to soon reply to.
For example, I had to make a simple table. A header, 8 rows, 6 columns. Fixed size, one column resizing to the control width. I've literally spent HOURS trying to make something on my own until I've said "screw it" and found a 3rd-party table control. It's still not easy to program against it, but at least it does what it's supposed to.
I could have done it in HTML in two minutes.
Likewise, I've used the IE browser control to make the main special report in the app. It hogs memory like there's no tomorrow, I had to screw around to even make it work and feed it data, but it's nothing compared to what I would have went through if I had to create and owner-draw my own custom controls. Also, one day, whoever picks up my code will probably know HTML, so if the main report needs changing, it will be just a matter of editing a few templates. With custom controls, ugh.
In many ways, and in many cases, HTML is superiour to classic GUI development -- well, at least when it comes to design and maintainability, so I can understand their need to HTML-ize... Hell, I'm doing it because it's easier and more understandable. I'd rather have the app as a web app on a server, but it has to be a desktop client, so it's the only thing I can do.
I haven't looked at Windows Presentation Foundation and XAML in
It all depends, I've just put together the worst things that could happen, based on some past work experiences and those of people I know.
Right now, I'm not an admin, but I do have admin access to everything - every workstation, every server. I can ignore the phone completely and I can skip a day of work whenever I feel like it, no questions asked. Still, my PC is crap because it's close to impossible to deal with all the bureaucracy. Hardware is bought in bulk, no chance for individual requests unless one of the überbosses has a good day (which still hasn't happened).
Still, what I said holds true in a lot of cases. What I've described is exactly what one of my friends is going through, with the added "benefit" of every minute less than 8 hours spent on the job being deducted from his salary (as you can guess, overtime isn't added). Another friend has a security camera monitoring his and the neighbourhood cubicles. Neither of them is allowed to listen to music.
The older the company and the management are, the more restrictive the job.
Don't be so bent on "this is an MS Access replacement". Firebird is a full-featured RDBMS.
Check some information in this white paper.
Some info from that document:
"The project, implemented by the original developer of InterBase (Jim Starkey) was commissioned for SAS Institute, the world's largest vendor of business and medical statistics application software. SAS had made the decision in 2003 to move many of its business applications over from Oracle to Firebird."
"The largest Firebird database we have heard of is about 11 Terabytes and growing."
Hmm, maybe I should try this thing...
I develop ASP.NET apps at work. I truly like the platform, and chose it myself when given green light by the boss to start on the project; I could choose any OS+platform, but I needed to get away from incompetent coworkers who (ab)use PHP (in other words, I needed peace, quiet, and well-written code - I couldn't have that unless I did it all by myself). Before I leave the company, I can tweak the apps to work with Mono, so the people in my department can take them over for maintenance on the Linux servers (there shouldn't be any more coding required, so they shouldn't have a big chance to screw things up).
Really good news. I hope we will see more cross-OS-platform apps in the future.
You probably haven't thought of one thing: freedom.
In the large company, you will be locked to a regular user account. You won't get to install unapproved software (this includes your favourite text editors, browsers, music players, etc).
They might run some sort of software metering service, perhaps even keyloggers.
You will access the net through IE (which I'm sure is the official company browser), and their proxy might have half the net blocked.
You will probably be locked into using Outlook.
There will be all sorts of crap on your PC (since it's going to be a company-wide standard image); perhaps even something like McAfee AV, which happily chews away on 70-80 MB of RAM and makes things unbearable.
If your workstation is lacking RAM or other hardware, you're going to have to file a ton of paperwork and have it signed by 10 different people until you get the stuff half a year later... If you get it.
Also, it's very possible that your movement through the building will be monitored. Cameras everywhere, and your ID card will log the exact moment you get to work and leave it. Your lunch break will be exactly 60 minutes. You won't be able to go outside for a two-hour walk in spring if you feel like it and if you have nothing more important to do.
You will work with drones, not people. Mostly incompetent drones.
Listening to music will probably be forbidden, thought you might sneak in some headphones and find out you don't hear your phone ringing when you have them on, and if you make the music quieter, you won't be able to listen to it from the phones ringing (catch 22).
(Disclaimer: I work in a large company. I do have admin access and unrestricted internet access, but I had to buy RAM by myself, and I'm still waiting for a new monitor - on my desk is an old 17" curved CRT.)
It's not sick, and you have nothing to be ashamed of. It just shows that you have a very good memory and pay attention to details.
The benchmarks are interesting... I suppose that stuff works about as fast as Apache+PHP on a libre OS.
Why? My parents are using my old box - an old Celeron with 256 MB of memory and a 20 gig drive. I don't feel like spending money to buy them a new PC. This one is still good enough, and will be good enough for at least the next 4-5 years.
Anyway, I rip my CD's with Exact Audio Copy (offset-corrected) and archive them with FLAC on high-quality DVD media (plus leave a copy on the HDD). Covers and booklets are scanned, CUE sheets verified. In the end, I have a bit-exact copy of the original, and I can fit a dozen CD's on a single DVD. As a bonus, should I ever buy a Rockbox-compatible audio player, it will be able to play my music.
Give it a try. mp3's are a thing of the past.