Only one problem--the current AMD TV ads I thought was a bit stupid.:-P
Intel got burned by the Pentium FPU bug back in 1994 and doesn't want to go through THAT again. Besides, extensive testing by both Compaq and Dell indicate the problem is extremely rare, something that will unlikely come up in normal use. Most likely, there'll be a flash BIOS upgrade for Intel motherboards to permanently correct this issue soon, just like the BIOS upgrade that corrected the issue with the Windows 98 SE shutdown failures.
It should be noted that Windows 2000 is still quite a ways from being shipped for overseas editions. The North American edition (for US/Canadian use) will ship on February 17, 2000; the versions for European users will probably not ship for at least a month after that.
There's still time to substitute a different disk defragmenter (or remove it altogether) to comply with German laws. For example, doesn't Symantec make a version of Norton Utilities for Windows NT? This means the German version of Windows 2000 will use Symantec's disk defragmenter instead of Diskkeeper.
I think we should be at least glad that the Pentium IIIE CPU/VC820 motherboard reboot issue was caught very early in the production cycle.
Earlier this year, when Windows 98 Second Edition was released, not a few people complained about the system not shutting down. Microsoft kind of ignored it until Intel told them that the problem existed on the SE440BX-2 motherboard running any Slot 1 CPU. That got Microsoft into action and the problem was cured by 1) Intel revving a new veresion of the flash BIOS for the SE440BX-2 motherboard and 2) Microsoft providing a 520 KB patch file that updated a number of.INF files in Windows 98 SE so it properly worked with the PIIX4E (Intel 82371EB) chipset for ACPI Plug and Play/power management operations.
Believe me, that Windows 98 SE problem got not a few unhappy folks on the phone (I was working in tech support for a computer company at that time and some of them were literally swearing at ME).
Someone here has written one of the BEST comments to stick it to those Neo-Luddites out there! (^_^)
What is very interesting is that our technology has advanced so fast in the last few years that pollution problems that were extremely severe back in the 1950's and 1960's are far, far reduced in 1999.
I mean look at the Los Angeles Basin--30 years ago, air pollution was so bad that there were frequent smog alerts for much of the summer. This last summer (1999), there was the fewest number of smog alerts in a LONG, LONG time, thanks to the rapid implementation of modern pollution controls on cars, buses, trucks, trains and industrial sites implemented since the 1970's.
Also, look at the Great Lakes region. The waters in the Great Lakes are VASTLY cleaner now, thanks to technological innovations that have drastically curbed the dumping of raw sewage and industrial waste from cities and industrial sites on the Great Lakes. I can hazard a guess that Lake Erie in probably right now far cleaner in 1999--almost to the point of the same cleaniness before the industrial plants on both sides of the lake were built.
So, Neo-Luddites--stop applying a broad brushstroke denouncing technology. The proper use of technology has actually MADE the world a better place to live.
>> Finally, what would our food supply situation be like without modern food storage technology? (My original comment)
We would starve when we exceeded the ecosystem's capacity, keeping our population in check... I'm sorry, is there something wrong with that? It seems to work pretty well for a few million other species, and worked well for us until the past few thousand years, a tiny fraction of the time our species has been on this planet.
My response:
(shaking head) You need to get a dose of reality. You obvious haven't read about great plagues that decimated the human population over the years. Ever heard of the bubonic plague--the disease that is supposed to have wiped out nearly 40% of the population of humans everywhere the disease spread in the 1300's? Today, the bubonic plague is easily controlled by modern medicine and modern pest eradication methods.
Being sentient ourselves, do we REALLY need to have nature take its course and having a natural calamity weed out the human population? In my opinion, we have the technology AND the scientific know-how to avoid that end. You must be a Malthusian--and unfortunately, modern technology has proven Malthus wrong.:-p
I mean, look at our food supply. Technological developments of the last 200 years--from higher yields per acre, better control of pests that destroy grains, fruits and vegetables while on the farm, better transportation of foodstuffs, and rapid advances in the development of long-term food storage--has made it possible to get a steady supply of food year-round in most of the world.
What famine that is left is caused more by political decisions more than problems in the food supply. The tragedies of the famines in northeastern Africa since the 1970's are a result of various civil wars that have wracked that region of the world.
So stop being a Luddite; the world has left you FAR behind.
I think many of the anti-technologists are those who have a bit too much time on their hands.
Think about it: in 1899, women had to bear many more children than now, no thanks to much higher infant mortality rates and the fact the average person in the developed countries (e.g., Europe and the USA) would be lucky to be able to live to 50 years old.
The advances in medicine in the last 100 years has allowed people in the developed world to live at least 70 years or more. Dieseases that would have struck down people very quickly in the past are now treatable for the most part. Thanks to modern medicine, people with supposedly incurable diseases like cancer and AIDS actually now have a fighting chance to live quite a bit longer than previously thought possible.
Also, modern technology has drastically reduced the drudgery of housework. Think about it: today, you can keep the inside of your home and your possessions far cleaner than it was possible 100 years ago, thanks to vacuum cleaners, clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, air filtration systems, and air conditioners.
Finally, what would our food supply situation be like without modern food storage technology? The development of modern canning methods, vacuum bottles, vacuum packaging and the use of plastic in storage materials has dramatically reduced food poisoning to the point that if there IS a food poisoning outbreak it's considered a very unusual event.
In short, too many people just don't understand if we go back 100 years, you'll actually find out that living conditions were appalling poor by our modern standards.
Fortunately, SOME "hippies" have managed to channel their ideals into something REAL, like the modern desktop computer.
Ever heard of the Homebrew Computer Club? They were a bunch of 60's hippies that discovered that technology CAN change the world. Think of the two founders of Apple Computer--both hung around the hippie movement in the 1960's, were very active in the Homebrew Computer Club, and Jobs and Wozniak created Apple in 1976 to build computers. And they're still around today.
Or how about other 60's hippies like Stewart Brand, Jim Warren and Alan Kay? All three of them either encouraged the development of computer technology or are heavily involved in its development. They also had close ties to the Homebrew Computer Club, too.
Unfortunately, we have a bunch of "yay-hoos" (to quote radio talk show host Jim Rome) who seem to use this protest for (sadly) violent purposes. It's this group that's making a mockery of the _legitimate_ protesters, and the right sentient upstairs help us all if we see a repeat of what happened today tomorrow.:-(
I looked at what Tom C. wanted in a keyboard....
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Interface Zen
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...And frankly, forget it!!
I'm very used to a Microsoft Natural Keyboard. Yes, it sounds like heresy, but if you plan to type for long periods of time, the current Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite was actually more comfortable for this purpose than the PFU keyboard Mr. Christensen likes. This is because on the MS Natural Keyboard, you don't have to turn your wrists in an unnatural manner to put your fingers on the home row of keys, and this means the wrists don't hurt as much when you have long typing sessions on a MS Natural KB versus a standard KB.
I have news for you, Mr. Christensen: most of the world's desktop users are running Windows 95, 98, NT and soon 2000. In that case, the "Windows" keys are extremely useful, because they have actual functions.
When I heard the St. Louis Galleria announced they would ban the display of web site information for the local store, that could end up being a HUGE mistake.
There are these reasons for the mistake: 1) this is definitely a major violation of First Amendment rights, especially since the owners of the shopping center didn't bother to put in such a clause in the store rental contract, and 2) they just may have forced a potential boycott of the shopping center from specifically the group that would SPEND the most money at these stores.
Gives new meaning to the phrase "Bah, Humbug!", that's to be sure.
If we use the classical definition of "hack," the Lockheed Skunk Works wins hands down.
Thanks to the undeniable genius of one Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, they were building airplanes and rockets that were FAR ahead of their time.
Look at what projects Johnson was involved in--P-38 Lightning, P-80 Shooting Star, F-104 Starfighter, U-2, A-12/SR-71, among many others. What is so amazing about the U-2 and the A-12/SR-71 was the fact that both projects were done mostly by computations on a slide rule and were done only by no more than 30 engineers on the project! The way the Skunk Works improvised the U-2 design from the F-104 Starfighter bordered on absolute genius--and it was all done in less than 8 months....
If you're talking a "hack" in the classic definition, the ones done at MIT and CalTech make computer hacking seem like a minor incident in comparison. (^_^)
The ones done at MIT--namely the "R2-D2" modification to a building, the famous "VU Meter" during a Boston Pops concert, and the weather balloon with "MIT" emblazoned on it that popped up in the middle of the field during a Harvard-Yale game--require a LOT of ingenuity and planning to pull it off. The same applies for the legendary hacks at CalTech: the placard modification on a cheering section that when displayed read "CalTech" or the sudden modification of the electronic sign board at the Rose Bowl some years ago.
I still think the great college "hack" of all time was that placard display in the cheering section during the football game that when displayed read CALTECH. This is an incredible feat of genius, especially since the hack was done well before the days when there was easy access to computers and someone managed to quietly change the cheering section placard display without everyone ELSE knowing about it.
I wonder does Microsoft have a programming reference available for the Intellimouse Explorer so you can run it under KDE or Gnome GUI interfaces.
Since the Intellimouse Explorer works also on PS/2 mouse ports, this means someone should be able to write a Linux driver in no time.
I like the Intellimouse Explorer but that mouse is physically a bit on a large side. I like the smaller version that uses the standard Intellimouse housing design.
I have a Logitech Marble Mouse like yours, and I LOVE it.
Sure I kind of miss the third button and the scroll wheel, but not having to hog up valuable real estate on my desk at home in order to put in a mouse pad is a BIG plus for this unit.
It's US$39.95 at Fry's Electronics in my area, but it was the wisest investment in a mouse I've ever made. (^_^)
Well, Linux still has a ways to go.
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I read with considerable interest Brett Glass' commentary about the Linux displays at COMDEX/Fall 1999.
I think people are realizing that Linux still has a ways to go before it becomes extremely popular. The limitations can be defined in the following parts:
1. Lack of widespread hardware support. Most computer hardware out there have full Windows 98/NT/2000 support via software drivers, while Linux support is still limited to the most common hardware configurations. I mean, does Linux support all the functions of a motherboard with the Intel i810e chipset that has built-in video, sound, etc.?
2. Lack of a programming interface along the lines of Microsoft's Common Object Model (COM). This is where Linux really needs major improvements--and a number of commentators in the industry have noted this.
3. Lack of support for future technologies (with the current Linux 2.2.x kernel) such as Universal Serial Bus and IEEE-1394 "FireWire" hot-docked peripheral connections. This is going to be _critically_ important because Intel has already stated they plan to do away with serial ports, the parallel port, and even the PS/2 mouse and keyboard connectors (!) on future motherboard chipset designs. I wonder does Linux support Fibre Channel "out of the box" or do you have to literally write from scratch your own Fibre Channel driver.
Once Linux overcomes these limitations (and Mr. Torvalds has admitted that they will be addressed in the upcoming Linux 2.4.x and 3.0.x kernels), THEN we can consider Linux a serious competitor--and possible successor--to Windows.
You Linux folks can flame me all you want, but think about it--many of you Linux users come from Computer Science college degree backgrounds, where learning to use UNIX is a must, since UNIX is the operating system of choice for most college campuses. Unfortunately, most home and corporate computer users out there don't have that type of experience, and frankly, they may get a bit overwhelmed at the enormous flexibility and unfriendly command-line structure of Linux (which is very closely related to UNIX).
Linux is getting better, but much work needs to be done in make it "user friendly" to the average computer user.
I have this feeling that Judge Thomas P. Jackson must have read the series of articles in Business Week magazine about the US v. Microsoft case.
Business Week states a very good case that any sort of structural breakup has some very serious downsides, which in turn will cause chaos in the computer industry (and IMHO hand the computer industry to a someone like the Japanese on a platinum platter). They cite the unfortunate experience of the AT&T breakup as a good example.
Business Week wants this simple solution: open up the source information (at least the full WIN32 API) to anyone who wants it. They imply that an ending to all current Microsoft ISV/IHV contracts is in order, too.
It appears that the resolution to this case will be in three parts:
1. Complete disclosure to the entire WIN32 API library.
2. Freedom of any ISV/IHV to make changes to the startup of Windows 98/2000.
3. The ending of all current Microsoft ISV/IHV contracts. All future computer sales will have to count the operating system as a separate cost item.
This three-part solution will satisfy the majority of people, because Microsoft will be left more or less intact, but now will no longer have the ISV/IHV contracts that will keep out competitors.
Speaking of the NBA, have you noticed that the Portland Trailblazers are the hottest team in the NBA right now? Given the fact that Paul Allen used the proceeds from the sale of Microsoft stock to buy the Trailblazers, I can just see the gripes and complaints about the NBA Championship being "bought with Microsoft 'money' " (shrug).
While Internet Information Server is great for small web server setups, if you have to run a large ISP, datacenter or e-commerce web server, forget it!
That's where "big iron" like higher-end Sun servers and the mainframe-based IBM machines functioning as web servers work well. After all, a number of web sites being maintained by IBM (PGA Tour, Wimbledon, US Open, Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan) all run IBM web servers running AIX or an IBM mainframe operating system and they have never experienced any major slowdowns even under heavy use.
We know that the Linux 2.4.x kernel (due end of this year) and the Linux 3.0.x kernel (due the end of 2000) will address the scalability issues so Linux can handle large web server requests, but until then, any major web site application will be better served by giving Sun or IBM a call.
When I saw that screenshot of Konqueror, I was nearly floored.
This project is only a few months old? Wow, whoever is writing Konqueror has done a _damn_ good job at it because it appears the browser is just about at least as good as Mozilla, and the fact that serious development has only begun a few days ago bodes extremely well for Konqueror.
I can just see the Mozilla crowd gnashing their teeth to see an interloper with much less development time than Mozilla come up with something this good so quickly.
Whoever is writing Konqueror--if they like adult beverages--should be treated to a few rounds of either Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Anchor Steam.;-)
I'm damn impressed at what Konqueror has done so far!
It certainly renders most web pages extremely well, and unlike Mozilla, it appears Konqueror was very well-coded and could make a surprising end-around run to getting a very decent Web browser for Linux over Mozilla-based versions of Netscape Communicator.
This is where KDE's ability to take advantage of C++ code becomes very useful, as someone else said in the comments.
If you think Microsoft smashing Netscape on the Windows platform is bad news, consider this possibility: Microsoft could easily direct its resources to create a Linux version (written under GPL guidelines) that will effectively finish off Netscape once and for all.
People conveniently forget that Microsoft has written a version of Internet Explorer that runs on the Sun Solaris operating system. It wouldn't take much work to convert that code into something that will run under Linux.
I mean, look at the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer. This version was literally written from scratch specifically for MacOS, and it's a very good and very FAST browser (it's certainly faster than Netscape Communicator 4.5 and later).
Because Internet Explorer for Linux will be open source, that bunch of 1,000 Linux programmers will be able to suggest changes that will improve it rapidly. Microsoft could make like quarterly releases of IE for Linux on CD-ROM (with all the suggestions and changes from Linux programmers).
Another thing people forget about is the MS-funded TransVirtual open-source Java project. Microsoft will likely incorporate TransVirtual Java code into Internet Explorer for Linux, and given TransVirtual's goal of full Sun Java 2.0 compliance, it'll be VERY interesting to see what Scott McNealy has to say if TransVirtual's open source Java VM and compiler is submitted to Sun for Sun compliance testing (especially given the fact that Sun is still reluctant to "open source" Java).
In short, don't just count out Microsoft just yet. They could literally turn the open source community upside down (and you wonder why Microsoft has opened a major development center in Mountain View, CA--the heart of Linux development).
Personally, the problem with Netscape right now is that Netscape Communicator 4.7 is just too bloated and unstable for its own good.
Netscape should just forget about including RealPlayer G2 and AOL Instant Messenger and just install the browser suite ONLY.
Also, Netscape's development team cannot compete against just the excellent Microsoft "usability" lab, where much of the features of Internet Explorer were refined.
The problems with Netscape are as follows:
1. The current web browser renders pages in a number of cases 25% slower than IE 5.0.
2. The Collabra and Messenger modules are overkill and unintuitive to use compared to Outlook Express 5.0. In fact, I consider Outlook Express 5.0 to be one of the BEST email programs out there; only the Professional version of Eudora is better.
3. The bookmarking of favorite pages and checking on the history of sites visited recently is FAR better under IE 5.0.
4. IE 5.0 can be easily configured so it doesn't tie in to the MSN home page; meanwhile, it appears that Communicator 4.7 wants you to do a lot of functions through the Netcenter page, and there's NO way around it.:-(
There is much hope that Communicator 5.0 (which will incorporate the Mozilla open source code) will be much improved. I REALLY hope that the Netscape coders have carefully looked at how Internet Explorer 5.0 functions and come up with something better.
However, if the DoJ as constituted by George W. Bush becomes reality, the DoJ will still set the precedent (remember the 19 states in the suit are using the DoJ precedent). In this case, we might see the DoJ drop the suit or settle for a much-reduced punishment.
What I'd LIKE to see the DoJ go after are the big media conglomerates, because they could seriously affect what we see on TV, hear on radio and even the content we see on the Internet. But given the fact that the Clinton family has many close friends in Hollywood, the last thing the Hollywood Left wants in the DoJ being sicced on them for decreasing choices in the mass media.
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Only one problem--the current AMD TV ads I thought was a bit stupid. :-P
Intel got burned by the Pentium FPU bug back in 1994 and doesn't want to go through THAT again. Besides, extensive testing by both Compaq and Dell indicate the problem is extremely rare, something that will unlikely come up in normal use. Most likely, there'll be a flash BIOS upgrade for Intel motherboards to permanently correct this issue soon, just like the BIOS upgrade that corrected the issue with the Windows 98 SE shutdown failures.
Folks,
It should be noted that Windows 2000 is still quite a ways from being shipped for overseas editions. The North American edition (for US/Canadian use) will ship on February 17, 2000; the versions for European users will probably not ship for at least a month after that.
There's still time to substitute a different disk defragmenter (or remove it altogether) to comply with German laws. For example, doesn't Symantec make a version of Norton Utilities for Windows NT? This means the German version of Windows 2000 will use Symantec's disk defragmenter instead of Diskkeeper.
I think we should be at least glad that the Pentium IIIE CPU/VC820 motherboard reboot issue was caught very early in the production cycle.
.INF files in Windows 98 SE so it properly worked with the PIIX4E (Intel 82371EB) chipset for ACPI Plug and Play/power management operations.
Earlier this year, when Windows 98 Second Edition was released, not a few people complained about the system not shutting down. Microsoft kind of ignored it until Intel told them that the problem existed on the SE440BX-2 motherboard running any Slot 1 CPU. That got Microsoft into action and the problem was cured by 1) Intel revving a new veresion of the flash BIOS for the SE440BX-2 motherboard and 2) Microsoft providing a 520 KB patch file that updated a number of
Believe me, that Windows 98 SE problem got not a few unhappy folks on the phone (I was working in tech support for a computer company at that time and some of them were literally swearing at ME).
Oh my G**.
Someone here has written one of the BEST comments to stick it to those Neo-Luddites out there! (^_^)
What is very interesting is that our technology has advanced so fast in the last few years that pollution problems that were extremely severe back in the 1950's and 1960's are far, far reduced in 1999.
I mean look at the Los Angeles Basin--30 years ago, air pollution was so bad that there were frequent smog alerts for much of the summer. This last summer (1999), there was the fewest number of smog alerts in a LONG, LONG time, thanks to the rapid implementation of modern pollution controls on cars, buses, trucks, trains and industrial sites implemented since the 1970's.
Also, look at the Great Lakes region. The waters in the Great Lakes are VASTLY cleaner now, thanks to technological innovations that have drastically curbed the dumping of raw sewage and industrial waste from cities and industrial sites on the Great Lakes. I can hazard a guess that Lake Erie in probably right now far cleaner in 1999--almost to the point of the same cleaniness before the industrial plants on both sides of the lake were built.
So, Neo-Luddites--stop applying a broad brushstroke denouncing technology. The proper use of technology has actually MADE the world a better place to live.
RaveX wrote:
:-p
>> Finally, what would our food supply situation be like without modern food storage technology? (My original comment)
We would starve when we exceeded the ecosystem's capacity, keeping our population in check... I'm sorry, is there something wrong with that? It seems to work pretty well for a few million other species, and worked well for us until the past few thousand years, a tiny fraction of the time our species has been on this planet.
My response:
(shaking head) You need to get a dose of reality. You obvious haven't read about great plagues that decimated the human population over the years. Ever heard of the bubonic plague--the disease that is supposed to have wiped out nearly 40% of the population of humans everywhere the disease spread in the 1300's? Today, the bubonic plague is easily controlled by modern medicine and modern pest eradication methods.
Being sentient ourselves, do we REALLY need to have nature take its course and having a natural calamity weed out the human population? In my opinion, we have the technology AND the scientific know-how to avoid that end. You must be a Malthusian--and unfortunately, modern technology has proven Malthus wrong.
I mean, look at our food supply. Technological developments of the last 200 years--from higher yields per acre, better control of pests that destroy grains, fruits and vegetables while on the farm, better transportation of foodstuffs, and rapid advances in the development of long-term food storage--has made it possible to get a steady supply of food year-round in most of the world.
What famine that is left is caused more by political decisions more than problems in the food supply. The tragedies of the famines in northeastern Africa since the 1970's are a result of various civil wars that have wracked that region of the world.
So stop being a Luddite; the world has left you FAR behind.
I think many of the anti-technologists are those who have a bit too much time on their hands.
Think about it: in 1899, women had to bear many more children than now, no thanks to much higher infant mortality rates and the fact the average person in the developed countries (e.g., Europe and the USA) would be lucky to be able to live to 50 years old.
The advances in medicine in the last 100 years has allowed people in the developed world to live at least 70 years or more. Dieseases that would have struck down people very quickly in the past are now treatable for the most part. Thanks to modern medicine, people with supposedly incurable diseases like cancer and AIDS actually now have a fighting chance to live quite a bit longer than previously thought possible.
Also, modern technology has drastically reduced the drudgery of housework. Think about it: today, you can keep the inside of your home and your possessions far cleaner than it was possible 100 years ago, thanks to vacuum cleaners, clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, air filtration systems, and air conditioners.
Finally, what would our food supply situation be like without modern food storage technology? The development of modern canning methods, vacuum bottles, vacuum packaging and the use of plastic in storage materials has dramatically reduced food poisoning to the point that if there IS a food poisoning outbreak it's considered a very unusual event.
In short, too many people just don't understand if we go back 100 years, you'll actually find out that living conditions were appalling poor by our modern standards.
Fortunately, SOME "hippies" have managed to channel their ideals into something REAL, like the modern desktop computer.
Ever heard of the Homebrew Computer Club? They were a bunch of 60's hippies that discovered that technology CAN change the world. Think of the two founders of Apple Computer--both hung around the hippie movement in the 1960's, were very active in the Homebrew Computer Club, and Jobs and Wozniak created Apple in 1976 to build computers. And they're still around today.
Or how about other 60's hippies like Stewart Brand, Jim Warren and Alan Kay? All three of them either encouraged the development of computer technology or are heavily involved in its development. They also had close ties to the Homebrew Computer Club, too.
strabo,
:-(
Unfortunately, we have a bunch of "yay-hoos" (to quote radio talk show host Jim Rome) who seem to use this protest for (sadly) violent purposes. It's this group that's making a mockery of the _legitimate_ protesters, and the right sentient upstairs help us all if we see a repeat of what happened today tomorrow.
...And frankly, forget it!!
I'm very used to a Microsoft Natural Keyboard. Yes, it sounds like heresy, but if you plan to type for long periods of time, the current Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite was actually more comfortable for this purpose than the PFU keyboard Mr. Christensen likes. This is because on the MS Natural Keyboard, you don't have to turn your wrists in an unnatural manner to put your fingers on the home row of keys, and this means the wrists don't hurt as much when you have long typing sessions on a MS Natural KB versus a standard KB.
I have news for you, Mr. Christensen: most of the world's desktop users are running Windows 95, 98, NT and soon 2000. In that case, the "Windows" keys are extremely useful, because they have actual functions.
When I heard the St. Louis Galleria announced they would ban the display of web site information for the local store, that could end up being a HUGE mistake.
There are these reasons for the mistake: 1) this is definitely a major violation of First Amendment rights, especially since the owners of the shopping center didn't bother to put in such a clause in the store rental contract, and 2) they just may have forced a potential boycott of the shopping center from specifically the group that would SPEND the most money at these stores.
Gives new meaning to the phrase "Bah, Humbug!", that's to be sure.
Only one thing though: does Linux really need someone like Steve Jobs and his comments about "insanely great products" to promote it?
No likely. After all, Linus Torvalds is the right spokesperson for Linux itself.
If we use the classical definition of "hack," the Lockheed Skunk Works wins hands down.
Thanks to the undeniable genius of one Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, they were building airplanes and rockets that were FAR ahead of their time.
Look at what projects Johnson was involved in--P-38 Lightning, P-80 Shooting Star, F-104 Starfighter, U-2, A-12/SR-71, among many others. What is so amazing about the U-2 and the A-12/SR-71 was the fact that both projects were done mostly by computations on a slide rule and were done only by no more than 30 engineers on the project! The way the Skunk Works improvised the U-2 design from the F-104 Starfighter bordered on absolute genius--and it was all done in less than 8 months....
Folks,
If you're talking a "hack" in the classic definition, the ones done at MIT and CalTech make computer hacking seem like a minor incident in comparison. (^_^)
The ones done at MIT--namely the "R2-D2" modification to a building, the famous "VU Meter" during a Boston Pops concert, and the weather balloon with "MIT" emblazoned on it that popped up in the middle of the field during a Harvard-Yale game--require a LOT of ingenuity and planning to pull it off. The same applies for the legendary hacks at CalTech: the placard modification on a cheering section that when displayed read "CalTech" or the sudden modification of the electronic sign board at the Rose Bowl some years ago.
I still think the great college "hack" of all time was that placard display in the cheering section during the football game that when displayed read CALTECH. This is an incredible feat of genius, especially since the hack was done well before the days when there was easy access to computers and someone managed to quietly change the cheering section placard display without everyone ELSE knowing about it.
I wonder does Microsoft have a programming reference available for the Intellimouse Explorer so you can run it under KDE or Gnome GUI interfaces.
Since the Intellimouse Explorer works also on PS/2 mouse ports, this means someone should be able to write a Linux driver in no time.
I like the Intellimouse Explorer but that mouse is physically a bit on a large side. I like the smaller version that uses the standard Intellimouse housing design.
I have a Logitech Marble Mouse like yours, and I LOVE it.
Sure I kind of miss the third button and the scroll wheel, but not having to hog up valuable real estate on my desk at home in order to put in a mouse pad is a BIG plus for this unit.
It's US$39.95 at Fry's Electronics in my area, but it was the wisest investment in a mouse I've ever made. (^_^)
I read with considerable interest Brett Glass' commentary about the Linux displays at COMDEX/Fall 1999.
I think people are realizing that Linux still has a ways to go before it becomes extremely popular. The limitations can be defined in the following parts:
1. Lack of widespread hardware support. Most computer hardware out there have full Windows 98/NT/2000 support via software drivers, while Linux support is still limited to the most common hardware configurations. I mean, does Linux support all the functions of a motherboard with the Intel i810e chipset that has built-in video, sound, etc.?
2. Lack of a programming interface along the lines of Microsoft's Common Object Model (COM). This is where Linux really needs major improvements--and a number of commentators in the industry have noted this.
3. Lack of support for future technologies (with the current Linux 2.2.x kernel) such as Universal Serial Bus and IEEE-1394 "FireWire" hot-docked peripheral connections. This is going to be _critically_ important because Intel has already stated they plan to do away with serial ports, the parallel port, and even the PS/2 mouse and keyboard connectors (!) on future motherboard chipset designs. I wonder does Linux support Fibre Channel "out of the box" or do you have to literally write from scratch your own Fibre Channel driver.
Once Linux overcomes these limitations (and Mr. Torvalds has admitted that they will be addressed in the upcoming Linux 2.4.x and 3.0.x kernels), THEN we can consider Linux a serious competitor--and possible successor--to Windows.
You Linux folks can flame me all you want, but think about it--many of you Linux users come from Computer Science college degree backgrounds, where learning to use UNIX is a must, since UNIX is the operating system of choice for most college campuses. Unfortunately, most home and corporate computer users out there don't have that type of experience, and frankly, they may get a bit overwhelmed at the enormous flexibility and unfriendly command-line structure of Linux (which is very closely related to UNIX).
Linux is getting better, but much work needs to be done in make it "user friendly" to the average computer user.
I have this feeling that Judge Thomas P. Jackson must have read the series of articles in Business Week magazine about the US v. Microsoft case.
Business Week states a very good case that any sort of structural breakup has some very serious downsides, which in turn will cause chaos in the computer industry (and IMHO hand the computer industry to a someone like the Japanese on a platinum platter). They cite the unfortunate experience of the AT&T breakup as a good example.
Business Week wants this simple solution: open up the source information (at least the full WIN32 API) to anyone who wants it. They imply that an ending to all current Microsoft ISV/IHV contracts is in order, too.
It appears that the resolution to this case will be in three parts:
1. Complete disclosure to the entire WIN32 API library.
2. Freedom of any ISV/IHV to make changes to the startup of Windows 98/2000.
3. The ending of all current Microsoft ISV/IHV contracts. All future computer sales will have to count the operating system as a separate cost item.
This three-part solution will satisfy the majority of people, because Microsoft will be left more or less intact, but now will no longer have the ISV/IHV contracts that will keep out competitors.
Speaking of the NBA, have you noticed that the Portland Trailblazers are the hottest team in the NBA right now? Given the fact that Paul Allen used the proceeds from the sale of Microsoft stock to buy the Trailblazers, I can just see the gripes and complaints about the NBA Championship being "bought with Microsoft 'money' " (shrug).
I kind of find this story incredulous.
While Internet Information Server is great for small web server setups, if you have to run a large ISP, datacenter or e-commerce web server, forget it!
That's where "big iron" like higher-end Sun servers and the mainframe-based IBM machines functioning as web servers work well. After all, a number of web sites being maintained by IBM (PGA Tour, Wimbledon, US Open, Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan) all run IBM web servers running AIX or an IBM mainframe operating system and they have never experienced any major slowdowns even under heavy use.
We know that the Linux 2.4.x kernel (due end of this year) and the Linux 3.0.x kernel (due the end of 2000) will address the scalability issues so Linux can handle large web server requests, but until then, any major web site application will be better served by giving Sun or IBM a call.
When I saw that screenshot of Konqueror, I was nearly floored.
;-)
This project is only a few months old? Wow, whoever is writing Konqueror has done a _damn_ good job at it because it appears the browser is just about at least as good as Mozilla, and the fact that serious development has only begun a few days ago bodes extremely well for Konqueror.
I can just see the Mozilla crowd gnashing their teeth to see an interloper with much less development time than Mozilla come up with something this good so quickly.
Whoever is writing Konqueror--if they like adult beverages--should be treated to a few rounds of either Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or Anchor Steam.
I'm damn impressed at what Konqueror has done so far!
It certainly renders most web pages extremely well, and unlike Mozilla, it appears Konqueror was very well-coded and could make a surprising end-around run to getting a very decent Web browser for Linux over Mozilla-based versions of Netscape Communicator.
This is where KDE's ability to take advantage of C++ code becomes very useful, as someone else said in the comments.
I hate to pour cold water on you folks, but just what kind of CPU the Transmeta Crusoe will be?
Will it be an embedded processor? Or will it be a CPU for desktop and laptop machines?
If the latter, what CPU connection design will it use? Intel's Slot 1, Socket 7, Socket 370 or the upcoming Socket 423? Or AMD's Slot A or Socket A?
Inquiring minds want to know....
Folks,
If you think Microsoft smashing Netscape on the Windows platform is bad news, consider this possibility: Microsoft could easily direct its resources to create a Linux version (written under GPL guidelines) that will effectively finish off Netscape once and for all.
People conveniently forget that Microsoft has written a version of Internet Explorer that runs on the Sun Solaris operating system. It wouldn't take much work to convert that code into something that will run under Linux.
I mean, look at the Macintosh version of Internet Explorer. This version was literally written from scratch specifically for MacOS, and it's a very good and very FAST browser (it's certainly faster than Netscape Communicator 4.5 and later).
Because Internet Explorer for Linux will be open source, that bunch of 1,000 Linux programmers will be able to suggest changes that will improve it rapidly. Microsoft could make like quarterly releases of IE for Linux on CD-ROM (with all the suggestions and changes from Linux programmers).
Another thing people forget about is the MS-funded TransVirtual open-source Java project. Microsoft will likely incorporate TransVirtual Java code into Internet Explorer for Linux, and given TransVirtual's goal of full Sun Java 2.0 compliance, it'll be VERY interesting to see what Scott McNealy has to say if TransVirtual's open source Java VM and compiler is submitted to Sun for Sun compliance testing (especially given the fact that Sun is still reluctant to "open source" Java).
In short, don't just count out Microsoft just yet. They could literally turn the open source community upside down (and you wonder why Microsoft has opened a major development center in Mountain View, CA--the heart of Linux development).
Personally, the problem with Netscape right now is that Netscape Communicator 4.7 is just too bloated and unstable for its own good.
:-(
Netscape should just forget about including RealPlayer G2 and AOL Instant Messenger and just install the browser suite ONLY.
Also, Netscape's development team cannot compete against just the excellent Microsoft "usability" lab, where much of the features of Internet Explorer were refined.
The problems with Netscape are as follows:
1. The current web browser renders pages in a number of cases 25% slower than IE 5.0.
2. The Collabra and Messenger modules are overkill and unintuitive to use compared to Outlook Express 5.0. In fact, I consider Outlook Express 5.0 to be one of the BEST email programs out there; only the Professional version of Eudora is better.
3. The bookmarking of favorite pages and checking on the history of sites visited recently is FAR better under IE 5.0.
4. IE 5.0 can be easily configured so it doesn't tie in to the MSN home page; meanwhile, it appears that Communicator 4.7 wants you to do a lot of functions through the Netcenter page, and there's NO way around it.
There is much hope that Communicator 5.0 (which will incorporate the Mozilla open source code) will be much improved. I REALLY hope that the Netscape coders have carefully looked at how Internet Explorer 5.0 functions and come up with something better.
However, if the DoJ as constituted by George W. Bush becomes reality, the DoJ will still set the precedent (remember the 19 states in the suit are using the DoJ precedent). In this case, we might see the DoJ drop the suit or settle for a much-reduced punishment.
What I'd LIKE to see the DoJ go after are the big media conglomerates, because they could seriously affect what we see on TV, hear on radio and even the content we see on the Internet. But given the fact that the Clinton family has many close friends in Hollywood, the last thing the Hollywood Left wants in the DoJ being sicced on them for decreasing choices in the mass media.