Absolutely...NeXT does run Apple. Steve is the CEO and Avie Tevanian is in charge of the new operating system. If I recall my NeXT history, Avie was one of the bigwigs at good 'ol NeXT, too.
If people are willing to pay, then that's what they're worth. I'm no great capitalist, but people should pay what they think things are worth, and their stock price will reflect what the shareholders think. And if they tank, they tank!
My NeXTstation can decompress an mp3 stream (128kbps, 44LHz) in real time and play it, leaving plenty of cycles of the 33MHz processor left to do productive things.
Now now. Either you didn't read the last bit, or I was a little tired when I wrote it.
I support the admission of more female students, and I am not surprised that they are not as good (initially) as their male counterparts.
It is up to the admissions committee to identify female applicants that they feel could be as successful as male applicants. And to do that, they have to keep in mind that female high school students aren't as likely to have spent all sorts of time in CS classes and in front of computers as their male counterparts.
But, it is also true that they aren't as experienced as their male counterparts. That does not imply that they aren't as capable.
I am a CMU student, and the School of Computer Science has made an effort to admit more female CS students (beginning last year). The result is a lot of unqualified female CS students. My roommate's girlfriend is one.
Many of them know nothing about computers--there is a new intro course that teaches the most basic of basics (things that no other respectable CS school would find necessary to teach). It's only open to CS students, and the class is filled almost entirely with female students.
Just my observation--I have no problem with female students in CS or otherwise. I do have a problem with underqualified students. It might turn out that the decision was a correct one. The women might be better than the men when they graduate, and simply have to overcome the lack of CS interest in high school.
That's really what this all boils down to in my mind. Lots of people with vested interest are worried about something that they can't stop. And they'll make life obnoxious for all of us for a very long time.
I read the majority of the comments, waiting to see someone say something nice about.debs, and you finally did.
I can't agree more--there aren't enough nice things to say about the debian package format. It is largely automatic, clean, and it handles dependencies gorgeously!
The only problem is that when something breaks, it's somewhat tricky to clean things out. Of course, it's easier than with RPM.
i love linux, it and NEXTSTEP are the only operating systems that I use. But Linux users (for the most part) bug the heck out of me. The majority of the ones that I know are self-righteous people who use it for all the wrong reasons. And they bug me for answers when it doesn't work. But, when someone mentions that it has flaws, they attack with a knee-jerk, rabid reaction that boggles the mind.
Charles is right--Linux is hard to install. I am quite comfortable with it now, but I still have the chance LILO frustration, or partitioning oops. The first time I did it, it was mind-boggling.
His other technology specific point--that good project management is important--is very true. Due to the programmer-orientation of the OS, there are tons of little apps. Many of them work very well. Some are dreadful. Very few of them have consistent interfaces. While that doesn't bug me very much, when I compare it to my Mac or NEXTSTEP, I am reminded of how ragtag the effort is. That makes things difficult for Joe-user.
Things are maturing, and while that is both good and bad, it must be kept in mind that nothing is perfect, and one's choice of an OS doesn't always make him a good or bad person.
The other cool thing is that if you have the programming spleen to make your way through the toolbox with any facility, you'll be able to take on just about any task.
I find it exceptional that many of the UI widgets (even down to the button bar at the bottom), the left-hand scrollbars, the grouped arrow controls, the tab window decorations, and many other things are reminiscent of Steve's later accomplishment, NEXTSTEP.
That's the problem. There are UI designers who are very very good. I trust them and like them. I love my NEXTSTEP machines because they have a rigid, beautiful interface. I don't mind the default GTK look. It's pedestrian, but functional. When themes are applied, it becomes largely dreadful. And E is a catastrophe.
I think it's fine that the average user can customize his UI experience, but, IMHO, that results in some garish computer screens.
Just like every other program for the Amiga, it is ugly as hell.
Why are all Amiga apps so gosh-darned, butt ugly? I've used Amigas off and on for many years, but have always been repulsed by the way they look. Even when they try and make themselves attractive, they are breathtakingly tacky.
By 'looks good,' I mean that the more linux there is, and the more stress on the GPL there is, the better. For there to be a vibrant, effective community, there needs to be good along with the bad. And with free software, people can very simply throw it away and move on to better things.
QuickTime is altogether quite a bit more than a video playback system. It is a very impressive bit of technology.
Hair-tearing hard plug and play? I've been using Macs in bizarre and unusual setups for well over ten years and have never had an inconsistent or hair-tairing moment. The only problem that I have ever had is with SCSI voodoo, but that is very easily solved. I really don't know where you are coming up with this. And with regard to the Cray comment, if Macs cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, you'd probably be able to replace processors without going down as well. And people already complain that they're overpriced! Sheesh.
The Mac OS installer is great to use, but writing install scripts can be tricky. Sit and hqx are simply the compression and encoding processes. They are no different from.zip or.tar.gz. How often have you ever _really_ had a problem with a stuffit file? If you can't figure out how to use Stuffit Expander, you're probably in way over your head on your Cray.
InstallShield is nasty. The assorted installers for MacOS (Apple's and Aladdin's) are both pretty good programs.
And OS installation is a breeze. Have you ever installed Windows 95 or NT? It is a breathtakingly unsettling process. Particularly NT.
You're right...I think it had the word Thunder in its name somewhere. I saw a demo of it and thought it was more annoying than anything else. I think the red underline is really annoying as well.
The Taskbar doesn't really show the list of running apps, it shows the currently open windows. And it is a disaster to use when one is actually intensely using one's computer.
I'm pretty sure that System 7's Publish and Subscribe, though awkward at times, predated OLE by some time.
I really doubt that MS came up with DHCP, but I could be wrong.
Apple has certainly been transitioning to Unicode since Mac OS 8.
And the MacOS supported the Japanese language for the entire OS about ten years ago, I think.
Apple has made efforts to make the OS easier for disabled users for a long time. There was the screen magnification control panel, there is Macintalk that shows up a lot.
I'll give you docking toolbars and the real-time spell checker. That's not very impressive a list, though, is it?
Ehhh, I think the idea is to stop crazed vandals from looting Wean.
People might react oddly to the date, and I think the "martial law" decree is more about people than it is about technology.
Though it would be amusing to see a band of neo-luddites going head-to-head with the CS majors in a final Y2K showdown. =) All those years of Doom/Quake might finally pay off, eh?
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Absolutely...NeXT does run Apple. Steve is the CEO and Avie Tevanian is in charge of the new operating system. If I recall my NeXT history, Avie was one of the bigwigs at good 'ol NeXT, too.
--
Max V.
If people are willing to pay, then that's what they're worth. I'm no great capitalist, but people should pay what they think things are worth, and their stock price will reflect what the shareholders think. And if they tank, they tank!
--
Max V.
Nyuk, nyuk...
My NeXTstation can decompress an mp3 stream (128kbps, 44LHz) in real time and play it, leaving plenty of cycles of the 33MHz processor left to do productive things.
--
Max V.
Now now. Either you didn't read the last bit, or I was a little tired when I wrote it.
I support the admission of more female students, and I am not surprised that they are not as good (initially) as their male counterparts.
It is up to the admissions committee to identify female applicants that they feel could be as successful as male applicants. And to do that, they have to keep in mind that female high school students aren't as likely to have spent all sorts of time in CS classes and in front of computers as their male counterparts.
But, it is also true that they aren't as experienced as their male counterparts. That does not imply that they aren't as capable.
--
Max V.
I am a CMU student, and the School of Computer Science has made an effort to admit more female CS students (beginning last year). The result is a lot of unqualified female CS students. My roommate's girlfriend is one.
Many of them know nothing about computers--there is a new intro course that teaches the most basic of basics (things that no other respectable CS school would find necessary to teach). It's only open to CS students, and the class is filled almost entirely with female students.
Just my observation--I have no problem with female students in CS or otherwise. I do have a problem with underqualified students. It might turn out that the decision was a correct one. The women might be better than the men when they graduate, and simply have to overcome the lack of CS interest in high school.
I suppose it remains to be seen.
--
Max V.
That's really what this all boils down to in my mind. Lots of people with vested interest are worried about something that they can't stop. And they'll make life obnoxious for all of us for a very long time.
--
Max V.
I read the majority of the comments, waiting to see someone say something nice about .debs, and you finally did.
I can't agree more--there aren't enough nice things to say about the debian package format. It is largely automatic, clean, and it handles dependencies gorgeously!
The only problem is that when something breaks, it's somewhat tricky to clean things out. Of course, it's easier than with RPM.
--
Max V.
How the heck is that a troll? it's an opinion. A bloody opinion! Not even a negative one!!
--
Max V.
i love linux, it and NEXTSTEP are the only operating systems that I use. But Linux users (for the most part) bug the heck out of me. The majority of the ones that I know are self-righteous people who use it for all the wrong reasons. And they bug me for answers when it doesn't work. But, when someone mentions that it has flaws, they attack with a knee-jerk, rabid reaction that boggles the mind.
Charles is right--Linux is hard to install. I am quite comfortable with it now, but I still have the chance LILO frustration, or partitioning oops. The first time I did it, it was mind-boggling.
His other technology specific point--that good project management is important--is very true. Due to the programmer-orientation of the OS, there are tons of little apps. Many of them work very well. Some are dreadful. Very few of them have consistent interfaces. While that doesn't bug me very much, when I compare it to my Mac or NEXTSTEP, I am reminded of how ragtag the effort is. That makes things difficult for Joe-user.
Things are maturing, and while that is both good and bad, it must be kept in mind that nothing is perfect, and one's choice of an OS doesn't always make him a good or bad person.
--
Max V.
No.
Woz didn't, he doesn't own it, he doesn't work for apple.
Who cares?
Not that kind of browser.
------------
Who out there is a fan of miller columns?
--
Max V.
Heh. Ignore that. It's a 6502.
--
Max V.
Umm, the IIe didn't have a 68000 in it. If memory serves, it was a Zilog 80.
Death gnoll? Huh? The Apple machines and the Mac/Lisa evolution were two very separate timelines.
--
Max V.
You clearly have not programmed for the mac. It is as much spleen as brain. Perhaps more so.
--
Max V.
The other cool thing is that if you have the programming spleen to make your way through the toolbox with any facility, you'll be able to take on just about any task.
--
Max V.
I find it exceptional that many of the UI widgets (even down to the button bar at the bottom), the left-hand scrollbars, the grouped arrow controls, the tab window decorations, and many other things are reminiscent of Steve's later accomplishment, NEXTSTEP.
--
Max V.
That's the problem. There are UI designers who are very very good. I trust them and like them. I love my NEXTSTEP machines because they have a rigid, beautiful interface. I don't mind the default GTK look. It's pedestrian, but functional. When themes are applied, it becomes largely dreadful. And E is a catastrophe.
I think it's fine that the average user can customize his UI experience, but, IMHO, that results in some garish computer screens.
--
Max V.
Just like every other program for the Amiga, it is ugly as hell.
Why are all Amiga apps so gosh-darned, butt ugly? I've used Amigas off and on for many years, but have always been repulsed by the way they look. Even when they try and make themselves attractive, they are breathtakingly tacky.
Not a troll, just a personal observation.
--
Max V.
Think of the horrors for all of the motion sick people in the world.
Keyboards will need to be much more waterproof.
--
Max V.
By 'looks good,' I mean that the more linux there is, and the more stress on the GPL there is, the better. For there to be a vibrant, effective community, there needs to be good along with the bad. And with free software, people can very simply throw it away and move on to better things.
And that looks good to me.
--
Max V.
QuickTime is altogether quite a bit more than a video playback system. It is a very impressive bit of technology.
.zip or .tar.gz. How often have you ever _really_ had a problem with a stuffit file? If you can't figure out how to use Stuffit Expander, you're probably in way over your head on your Cray.
Hair-tearing hard plug and play? I've been using Macs in bizarre and unusual setups for well over ten years and have never had an inconsistent or hair-tairing moment. The only problem that I have ever had is with SCSI voodoo, but that is very easily solved. I really don't know where you are coming up with this. And with regard to the Cray comment, if Macs cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, you'd probably be able to replace processors without going down as well. And people already complain that they're overpriced! Sheesh.
The Mac OS installer is great to use, but writing install scripts can be tricky. Sit and hqx are simply the compression and encoding processes. They are no different from
InstallShield is nasty. The assorted installers for MacOS (Apple's and Aladdin's) are both pretty good programs.
And OS installation is a breeze. Have you ever installed Windows 95 or NT? It is a breathtakingly unsettling process. Particularly NT.
--
Max V.
You're right...I think it had the word Thunder in its name somewhere. I saw a demo of it and thought it was more annoying than anything else. I think the red underline is really annoying as well.
Didn't their red underline show up with Word 97?
--
Max V.
The Taskbar doesn't really show the list of running apps, it shows the currently open windows. And it is a disaster to use when one is actually intensely using one's computer.
--
Max V.
Okay. QuickTime. That's a pretty major one.
Consistent, easy plug and play for hardware.
Installer technology that doesn't give you ulcers.
There are many others.
--
Max V.
I'm pretty sure that System 7's Publish and Subscribe, though awkward at times, predated OLE by some time.
I really doubt that MS came up with DHCP, but I could be wrong.
Apple has certainly been transitioning to Unicode since Mac OS 8.
And the MacOS supported the Japanese language for the entire OS about ten years ago, I think.
Apple has made efforts to make the OS easier for disabled users for a long time. There was the screen magnification control panel, there is Macintalk that shows up a lot.
I'll give you docking toolbars and the real-time spell checker. That's not very impressive a list, though, is it?
--
Max V.
Ehhh, I think the idea is to stop crazed vandals from looting Wean.
People might react oddly to the date, and I think the "martial law" decree is more about people than it is about technology.
Though it would be amusing to see a band of neo-luddites going head-to-head with the CS majors in a final Y2K showdown. =) All those years of Doom/Quake might finally pay off, eh?
--
Max V.