Maybe there could be an optional feature to put an "H" button next to the "X" button to "hibernate" a specific application, instead of closing it. This could absolutely free up the resources of the application, but still make it quickly available.
What's really sweet is if you use a vertical-oriented taskbar, you can see all of your applications more visually as a "stack". The most recent applications are at the bottom, and the longest-running apps are at the top. Not to metion a vertical title-bar lets you see more of the application name.
It does tend to "square-up" your available screen space, but face it, you've probably got more horizontal space than vertical space anyway (especially with 16:9 type monitors).
1. fixing a bug in the library immediately fixes it in all the applications that use that library without having to recompile them
Unless the author has come to rely on that bug/feature... then they begin distributing the old library with their app taking extra space in the app directory, or sometimes enjoy writing over the newer one if they put it in the system directory.
Is it just me or did the Amiga do libraries much more efficiently?
My favortie is the Save/Open Dialog box, a relic from the single tasking days, why do people use crippled version of the file browser?
I especially like that you can't drag-drop a file to the filename text box in a Open/Save file dialog window (at least in win2k)... So even if I already have a deeply-nested directory window open, I'll have to trudge through the same tree branches to get down to the directory where I want to save...
The same thing happens if you use a vertical taskbar on the right side of your screen. The start button aligns to the left. I use the vertical taskbar becuase I can see more of the application names, but always have to consciously look for the start button.
Speaking of modal dialog boxes... Another annoyance I have with most GUI designs (especially win2k) is that I can't move the parent window of a modal dialog box. Sometimes I need to reference some information on my screen beneath that window. So I have to close the modal window, move the parent window, then re-open the modal window so that I can see both things at once. Why is this limitation still with us?
Not only did WMP become bloated in the change from 6.x to 7, but it lost most (all?) of it's keyboard controls. I could live with the bloat, but I'm not happy when I lose access to features.
Does anyone seriously use maximised windows in this day and age? 8-)
With three monitors and four desktops, yes =)
I've even got a nifty system with my web browser windows; I keep them maximized when they are the focus of my attention, and then I break open new non-maximized windows for quick tangents. If that tangent turns into a another significant interest, I maximize the window. =)
On an all-in-ram storage device, if you are competant (i.e. not Microsoft or Sharp) you want to take advantage of a stateless interface model, where there is no quitting of applications or saving. You go to a different work area and the process is suspended in ram as you left it, and your data is just as you left it.
The Palm apps seem to do this most of the time, but I do notice on my new Sidekick, that what you describe is exactly how it seems to work. It's very convenient, and fast...
What I wish they'd do is make the X in the upper right corner of almost all PocketPC apps ACT LIKE AN X IN WINDOWS! The X icon has always truely closed apps and not the psuedo close that PocketPC does.
Unless they're one of those programs who's purpose is to run all the time (such as AIM, Proxomitron, etc...), and when you click the x, the program "closes" to the tray, but is still running...
I've seen many people mention an unlimited amount of "Undo" file revisions saved, but that would start taking up too much space. Maybe within a short timeframe, it'd be ok, but then start "merging" older revisions together to save space.
Or, just control it all by time. I think most people (at least I) have an intuitive sense of how long ago we were doing something significant. I'd like something that would let me jump back:
10 seconds
30 seconds
1 minute
2 minutes
5 minutes
10 minutes
30 minutes
1 hour
2 hours
3 hours
4 hours
6 hours
8 hours
12 hours
1 day
2 days
3 days
4 days
5 days
7 days
14 days
21 days
1 month
2 months
3 months
4 months
6 months
9 months
1 year
2 years
...
Some time steps could be taken out to save even more space, and specific points could be milestoned not to expire, but at least this puts a cap on the number of revisions sitting around...
They didn't give very many technical details... Is this font being implemented with a new encoding scheme, or is it being used in part of an existing one? If so, which one?
Designers are also adding the alphabet, numbers and other common characters to the STIX font
Which alphabet will that be? English, Japanese, Cryllic, or other? My only objection is that if they're going to start adding non-symbol letters to the font, then they should probably start looking down the road to incorporating many alphabets, so everyone can share in the convenience.
For example, a mathematician cannot just plug a particular equation into Google and expect to find other scholars working on a similar problem
Won't most of these new non-alphanumeric symbols just be ignored by google's search tokenizer anyway?
Or keep track of the voltage waveform coming in off the power lines, and post processing it after a year to look for frequency shifts.
Curious... What significance can this information provide? It seems like there is some significance to it, though I can't immediately put my finger on it.
I don't remember where, but I seem to recall there being a standard HTML form in the linksys web admin interface which would let you upgrade the firmware with an HTML INPUT type=FILE sort of upload thingy...
My philosophy is that if I need to remotely administer anything on my home network (including my LinkSys gateway), I'll do so over eSVNC or Radmin from the inside...
It all seems moot to me if I can't put in my old 3.5 DD OFS/NFS floppies and boot up to revive some old memories...
I do seriously miss the device modularity and directory standardization of the Amiga though... Assigns/device names were nice... All CLI commands were primarily in C:, Most configs in S:, DLLs in LIBS:, boot drive was always SYSTEM:, etc... That was a sweet setup, and nothing today seems to compare to that level of OS organization and potential.
Hell, I remember writing Arexx scripts that talked to the abstracted TCP: device to do all kinds of nifty things (SMTP, NNTP, IRC, etc), long before I learned more complex languages like C and Java... I even got some of them bundled with AWeb (my 15 seconds of fame, as it were) =)
Will this bring back those days? Probably not... At least not unless I can find a VNC server for this system, since I've got enough monitors on my desk already =)
Anyone know of a graphics editor that'll run on win2k that works like DPaint did? BTW, EA has come quite a long way since then, eh? =)
I imagine within ten years or so, the technology will probably be cheap enough to combine the following devices together into one:
High resolution digital cameras
Global wireless internet connection
GPS receiver
Cheap sensors
At that point, it would be not only convenient, but automatic, if you opted to save your photos to the project as well as your "personal network storage location".
I'm already seeing the beginning of this in Danger's HipTop Sidekick. Though the resolution for it's detachable digital camera is ultra-miniscule, it's enough to instantiate the concept.
I no longer need more than a small buffer for temporary storage when I'm 24/7 on the internet. So long as it can keep uploading pictures faster than I take them, I've got the potential for unlimited storage. Once the resolution becomes more practical, I can see this as being a Very Cool Thing (TM), espeically for professional photographers.
Eventually, when these kind of devices have GPS capability, it will be interesting =)
I'd be interested in hearing the results of your research. It seems to me the web is slowly getting bogged down as more and more content centralizes. I'd be more than interested in knowing of and/or contributing to any ongoing projects to implement distributed web servents.
I wonder about the possibility of a project that would use GPS data, a compass, declination sensor, and accurate clock to create a "world collage" of sorts.
Most areas would remain blank, but popular touristy areas would probably get enough data together to construct some sort of 3D environment, given the proper algorithms to transform all of the 2D pictures and associated coordinates into 3D.
Re:Electronic voting ... where's the code?
on
Indecision 2002
·
· Score: 4, Informative
Does anyone have any information on how (and to what extent) voting machines are audited?
Basically, they're not. Not only that, but they're typically being designed in other countries; and they're protected by the DMCA from anyone to even attempt to audit them by opening the voting machines up and taking a look around inside (including the government itself!).
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe there could be an optional feature to put an "H" button next to the "X" button to "hibernate" a specific application, instead of closing it. This could absolutely free up the resources of the application, but still make it quickly available.
It does tend to "square-up" your available screen space, but face it, you've probably got more horizontal space than vertical space anyway (especially with 16:9 type monitors).
Unless the author has come to rely on that bug/feature... then they begin distributing the old library with their app taking extra space in the app directory, or sometimes enjoy writing over the newer one if they put it in the system directory.
Is it just me or did the Amiga do libraries much more efficiently?
The same thing happens if you use a vertical taskbar on the right side of your screen. The start button aligns to the left. I use the vertical taskbar becuase I can see more of the application names, but always have to consciously look for the start button.
Anyone have any speculation and/or insight on how this will change with the new database-oriented filesystem in Longhorn?
Speaking of modal dialog boxes... Another annoyance I have with most GUI designs (especially win2k) is that I can't move the parent window of a modal dialog box. Sometimes I need to reference some information on my screen beneath that window. So I have to close the modal window, move the parent window, then re-open the modal window so that I can see both things at once. Why is this limitation still with us?
Not only did WMP become bloated in the change from 6.x to 7, but it lost most (all?) of it's keyboard controls. I could live with the bloat, but I'm not happy when I lose access to features.
With three monitors and four desktops, yes =)
I've even got a nifty system with my web browser windows; I keep them maximized when they are the focus of my attention, and then I break open new non-maximized windows for quick tangents. If that tangent turns into a another significant interest, I maximize the window. =)
The Palm apps seem to do this most of the time, but I do notice on my new Sidekick, that what you describe is exactly how it seems to work. It's very convenient, and fast...
Unless they're one of those programs who's purpose is to run all the time (such as AIM, Proxomitron, etc...), and when you click the x, the program "closes" to the tray, but is still running...
- 10 seconds
- 30 seconds
- 1 minute
- 2 minutes
- 5 minutes
- 10 minutes
- 30 minutes
- 1 hour
- 2 hours
- 3 hours
- 4 hours
- 6 hours
- 8 hours
- 12 hours
- 1 day
- 2 days
- 3 days
- 4 days
- 5 days
- 7 days
- 14 days
- 21 days
- 1 month
- 2 months
- 3 months
- 4 months
- 6 months
- 9 months
- 1 year
- 2 years
- ...
Some time steps could be taken out to save even more space, and specific points could be milestoned not to expire, but at least this puts a cap on the number of revisions sitting around...Actually, what they need to come up with is something like
Won't most of these new non-alphanumeric symbols just be ignored by google's search tokenizer anyway?
Curious... What significance can this information provide? It seems like there is some significance to it, though I can't immediately put my finger on it.
Flash Off:
Flash On:You'll need to adjust your paths to fit your system...
I don't remember where, but I seem to recall there being a standard HTML form in the linksys web admin interface which would let you upgrade the firmware with an HTML INPUT type=FILE sort of upload thingy...
My philosophy is that if I need to remotely administer anything on my home network (including my LinkSys gateway), I'll do so over eSVNC or Radmin from the inside...
I do seriously miss the device modularity and directory standardization of the Amiga though... Assigns/device names were nice... All CLI commands were primarily in C:, Most configs in S:, DLLs in LIBS:, boot drive was always SYSTEM:, etc... That was a sweet setup, and nothing today seems to compare to that level of OS organization and potential.
Hell, I remember writing Arexx scripts that talked to the abstracted TCP: device to do all kinds of nifty things (SMTP, NNTP, IRC, etc), long before I learned more complex languages like C and Java... I even got some of them bundled with AWeb (my 15 seconds of fame, as it were) =)
Will this bring back those days? Probably not... At least not unless I can find a VNC server for this system, since I've got enough monitors on my desk already =)
Anyone know of a graphics editor that'll run on win2k that works like DPaint did? BTW, EA has come quite a long way since then, eh? =)
Someone should fire up their Amiga and run some of these old games just to sample the music for "historical archival" purposes.
I imagine within ten years or so, the technology will probably be cheap enough to combine the following devices together into one:
- High resolution digital cameras
- Global wireless internet connection
- GPS receiver
- Cheap sensors
At that point, it would be not only convenient, but automatic, if you opted to save your photos to the project as well as your "personal network storage location".I'm already seeing the beginning of this in Danger's HipTop Sidekick. Though the resolution for it's detachable digital camera is ultra-miniscule, it's enough to instantiate the concept.
I no longer need more than a small buffer for temporary storage when I'm 24/7 on the internet. So long as it can keep uploading pictures faster than I take them, I've got the potential for unlimited storage. Once the resolution becomes more practical, I can see this as being a Very Cool Thing (TM), espeically for professional photographers.
Eventually, when these kind of devices have GPS capability, it will be interesting =)
I'd be interested in hearing the results of your research. It seems to me the web is slowly getting bogged down as more and more content centralizes. I'd be more than interested in knowing of and/or contributing to any ongoing projects to implement distributed web servents.
No problem here... =)
I wonder about the possibility of a project that would use GPS data, a compass, declination sensor, and accurate clock to create a "world collage" of sorts.
Most areas would remain blank, but popular touristy areas would probably get enough data together to construct some sort of 3D environment, given the proper algorithms to transform all of the 2D pictures and associated coordinates into 3D.
Rebecca Mercuri did her CS PhD thesis on this very topic. Here is her summary. She's often quoted on this topic.