Who would need an Open Source ERP solution? The amount saved by licensing is probably negligible compared to the total cost.
The question probably isn't a financial one. (beer/speech)
You're correct about the licensing being negligable compared to the vast sums of money needed to pay for ERP implemenation contractors. The advantage might be that there would be more opportunity for the rest of us to take a look at these systems. Most companies won't let you even try - they know that you'll leave for a better job.
I'd perfer linux (although its not my choice) b/c of the better tools, like grep, sed etc.
If you like these then get them on win32 with cygwin. It gives you a bash(ish) commandline and a fair few of the tools you most use on unix. Also, if you want the more complex stuff use perl. If you like make etc. use win32 gcc.
While these tools can't do everything that they do on unix, they'll do enough to get you by.
Spot on. Also, this is more of an issue here in the UK because so few of us have high speed access. The cover CD's on magazine's (such as Linux Format) are a far more valuable resource than in the US.
... you can license it under as many licenses as you like (even exclusionary ones). If it's not your code you can only re-license if the original license allows you to do it. Comments along the lines of "who cares, it's old code, no-one's making any money on it anymore" are both illegal and unfair to the owner of the code.
Don't make the mistake of trying to represent the whole of slashdot by remarking:
why is everyone on/. so hostile to professional marketeers? or: Instead, the SlashBots decided that their fantastic wisdom was too great to need help, and flamed him off the forum. Wasn't this a mistake?
Some people on slashdot might do these things, but not everyone. If you want good marketing, you either have to be good at it yourself, or you have to pay for it. Now, it is unfortunate that this "marketing guy" has been flamed off the face of the earth, he could perhaps have helped people out. However, if I start a project, and decide I need a hand then I put it on sourceforge and if it shows promise, then hopefully a forum like slashdot can draw attention to it - I might get some help. I agree that this is marketing, it might even be crap marketing, but it's also cheap and easy and it seems to work for a lot of projects.
Given that the main marketing effort of Open SOurce appears to be self-appointed "advocates" like Raymond and Stallman, who surely put off as many people as they attract, wouldn't some of the IPO money, or O'Reilly's be better spent on good marketing advice rather than yet another Perl wizard?
O'Reilly's have their own marketing (not just a word or two in Slashdot's ear) which they can afford. On the matter of Raymond and Stallman - well it's all a matter of personal opinion. I agree with yours.
release reasonably early and often, rather than constantly crying wolf over a product that's still sucking nipples
That's the only real way to gather support/bug-trackers/coders/zealots etc. In the Open Source world it seems necessary to do this so that the really good projects get plenty of eyeballs.
I haven't posted in a while; but I'm pissed now. I can't believe this comment was moderated to a 5-informative.
I think you've hit the meta-nail on the head. The problem is that on Slashdot, moderators tend to mark up based on agreeing with a point rather than on the merits of arguement being made. And fortunately (i think) there is no "good point, badly made" or "I wanted to say that" meta-moderation option.
They tend to be difficult or impossible to extend, they don't let you use your favorite editor, they're not cross-platform, and they're usually tied to a particular language.
At least these problems can be remedied in this case. I can't imagine adding you're favourite vi keybindings is going to need a CS degree. It's already xp and the language, I'm sure, can be altered or added to.
The vast vajority of GUI editors also suck big time, because almost all of them use coordinate placement of components (instead of proper geometry/layout management).
This sounds like an interesting point, could you explain a little further. Do you mean Delphi-like coordinates on forms vs. Java Swing layout components?
I think what you mean is you don't want VB - and neither do I, but lots of other people do. So, just because we can hack a bit of perl, it doesn't mean we should stand in the way of others wanting to hack a bit of VB (if they should want to).
What Microsoft should really include is a dialog box -- "Warning -- a program is trying to automatically send a mail message to xxx@yz.com! Proceed? Yes/[No]/See Message".
As I understand it from this article there will be a message if a script attempts to access the windows address book (The ease with which virii and trojans can access the address book would seem to be the core of the problem.)
... is that most users don't know that other extensions than.exe can actually run "a programme". So even if they did see.js or.vbs they wouldn't even know not to run it. For most users, the only way to find out what type a file is, is to double-click.
In their rush to chuck newer, faster versions of SQLServer on the market they tend to concentrate on the speed rather than the reliability.
This isn't a flame, but do you know where I can find data to back-up this statement? I can't find anywhere that documents the actual reliablility rather than speed of databases.
..as it is sooo easy to access the windows address book and Exchange from a program without even needing a password. I'm not sure how this one worked as our mail has been shut down and therefore I can't get a copy, but for there to be no need for permissions (at least, this is the case on NT) is ridiculous.
I'm not saying that they should necesarilly get a Master's degree in Computer science by completing the course, but I'm sure a lot of people are interested more in the lectures and curriculum than in the diploma.
All of the lectures, course notes etc will be released on the internet.
However, the lack of "well rounded" education at this institution is explained on the arsdigita site. I have a feeling that the most fantastic aspect of this university will be the fact that all materials (except, presumably, the course books) will be available for free (both senses of the word) to everyone.
Self-trained people such as myself get the opportunity to spend time looking in much greater depth at what we work with on a daily basis than would otherwise be possible. I just can't afford financially to do another degree.
As a Brit I agree that we need to change our laws. I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me as to the alternatives.
The U.K. needs to wise up and bring its libel law into the 20th century, or its citizens will quickly find themselves inhabiting a Bland Speech Zone.
While this is possibly true, the author ought to offer exactly what the 20th (21st?) Century of libel law is.
How, for instance, does American law handle libel - I assume it works in a way that is more baised toward freedom of speech, but so far I haven't seen any posts which explain clearly how.
This isn't intended as a flame, just as a question, and hopefully someone will reply with IAAL and not just IANAL.
This isn't a flaw - it's deliberate. It's no more a flaw than the flight simulator in Excel 97
I did consider the word "flaw" carefully before using it. I don't consider it to be a "bug" or a "mistake". A flaw, however, can be there by design. Something like deliberately being a troll on Slashdot can be considered funny (deliberate) by some, but a character flaw by others.
Slashdot Mirror
Who would need an Open Source ERP solution? The amount saved by licensing is probably negligible compared to the total cost.
The question probably isn't a financial one. (beer/speech)
You're correct about the licensing being negligable compared to the vast sums of money needed to pay for ERP implemenation contractors. The advantage might be that there would be more opportunity for the rest of us to take a look at these systems. Most companies won't let you even try - they know that you'll leave for a better job.
beats grits.
If he's good at Windows programming, though, good for him. It's not easy to be a *good* Windows programmer.
So refreshing to here this on slashdot. I was beginning to believe that there weren't any good Windows programmers (bar John Carmack).
If that's the case, then turn it off.
I'd perfer linux (although its not my choice) b/c of the better tools, like grep, sed etc.
If you like these then get them on win32 with cygwin. It gives you a bash(ish) commandline and a fair few of the tools you most use on unix. Also, if you want the more complex stuff use perl. If you like make etc. use win32 gcc.
While these tools can't do everything that they do on unix, they'll do enough to get you by.
Spot on. Also, this is more of an issue here in the UK because so few of us have high speed access. The cover CD's on magazine's (such as Linux Format) are a far more valuable resource than in the US.
... the Off-license.
... you can license it under as many licenses as you like (even exclusionary ones). If it's not your code you can only re-license if the original license allows you to do it. Comments along the lines of "who cares, it's old code, no-one's making any money on it anymore" are both illegal and unfair to the owner of the code.
Don't make the mistake of trying to represent the whole of slashdot by remarking:
/. so hostile to professional marketeers?
why is everyone on
or:
Instead, the SlashBots decided that their fantastic wisdom was too great to need help, and flamed him off the forum. Wasn't this a mistake?
Some people on slashdot might do these things, but not everyone. If you want good marketing, you either have to be good at it yourself, or you have to pay for it. Now, it is unfortunate that this "marketing guy" has been flamed off the face of the earth, he could perhaps have helped people out. However, if I start a project, and decide I need a hand then I put it on sourceforge and if it shows promise, then hopefully a forum like slashdot can draw attention to it - I might get some help. I agree that this is marketing, it might even be crap marketing, but it's also cheap and easy and it seems to work for a lot of projects.
Given that the main marketing effort of Open SOurce appears to be self-appointed "advocates" like Raymond and Stallman, who surely put off as many people as they attract, wouldn't some of the IPO money, or O'Reilly's be better spent on good marketing advice rather than yet another Perl wizard?
O'Reilly's have their own marketing (not just a word or two in Slashdot's ear) which they can afford. On the matter of Raymond and Stallman - well it's all a matter of personal opinion. I agree with yours.
release reasonably early and often, rather than constantly crying wolf over a product that's still sucking nipples
That's the only real way to gather support/bug-trackers/coders/zealots etc. In the Open Source world it seems necessary to do this so that the really good projects get plenty of eyeballs.
I haven't posted in a while; but I'm pissed now. I can't believe this comment was moderated to a 5-informative.
I think you've hit the meta-nail on the head. The problem is that on Slashdot, moderators tend to mark up based on agreeing with a point rather than on the merits of arguement being made. And fortunately (i think) there is no "good point, badly made" or "I wanted to say that" meta-moderation option.
There's already the British law requiring computer owners to turn over decryption passwords on request
I may be wrong, but I don't think that this law has been passed yet.
That's a British English vs. American English difference. In the US it means "not worthy of debate".
I'm English and I also thought it meant "not worthy of debate." Do I watch too much American T.V.?
Some very good points.
They tend to be difficult or impossible to extend, they don't let you use your favorite editor, they're not cross-platform, and they're usually tied to a particular language.
At least these problems can be remedied in this case. I can't imagine adding you're favourite vi keybindings is going to need a CS degree. It's already xp and the language, I'm sure, can be altered or added to.
The vast vajority of GUI editors also suck big time, because almost all of them use coordinate placement of components (instead of proper geometry/layout management).
This sounds like an interesting point, could you explain a little further. Do you mean Delphi-like coordinates on forms vs. Java Swing layout components?
We don't want VB!
I think what you mean is you don't want VB - and neither do I, but lots of other people do. So, just because we can hack a bit of perl, it doesn't mean we should stand in the way of others wanting to hack a bit of VB (if they should want to).
Can anyone explain why GNOME would need VB compatiable scripting?
Try here for a pretty good description of their reasoning.
What Microsoft should really include is a dialog box -- "Warning -- a program is trying to automatically send a mail message to xxx@yz.com! Proceed? Yes/[No]/See Message".
As I understand it from this article there will be a message if a script attempts to access the windows address book (The ease with which virii and trojans can access the address book would seem to be the core of the problem.)
... is that most users don't know that other extensions than .exe can actually run "a programme". So even if they did see .js or .vbs they wouldn't even know not to run it. For most users, the only way to find out what type a file is, is to double-click.
Or know where to find it?
In their rush to chuck newer, faster versions of SQLServer on the market they tend to concentrate on the speed rather than the reliability.
This isn't a flame, but do you know where I can find data to back-up this statement? I can't find anywhere that documents the actual reliablility rather than speed of databases.
..as it is sooo easy to access the windows address book and Exchange from a program without even needing a password. I'm not sure how this one worked as our mail has been shut down and therefore I can't get a copy, but for there to be no need for permissions (at least, this is the case on NT) is ridiculous.
I'm not saying that they should necesarilly get a Master's degree in Computer science by completing the course, but I'm sure a lot of people are interested more in the lectures and curriculum than in the diploma.
All of the lectures, course notes etc will be released on the internet.
I absolutely agree.
However, the lack of "well rounded" education at this institution is explained on the arsdigita site.
I have a feeling that the most fantastic aspect of this university will be the fact that all materials (except, presumably, the course books) will be available for free (both senses of the word) to everyone.
Self-trained people such as myself get the opportunity to spend time looking in much greater depth at what we work with on a daily basis than would otherwise be possible. I just can't afford financially to do another degree.
As a Brit I agree that we need to change our laws. I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me as to the alternatives.
The U.K. needs to wise up and bring its libel law into the 20th century, or its citizens will quickly find themselves inhabiting a Bland Speech Zone.
While this is possibly true, the author ought to offer exactly what the 20th (21st?) Century of libel law is.
How, for instance, does American law handle libel - I assume it works in a way that is more baised toward freedom of speech, but so far I haven't seen any posts which explain clearly how.
This isn't intended as a flame, just as a question, and hopefully someone will reply with IAAL and not just IANAL.
..rocks.
This isn't a flaw - it's deliberate. It's no more a flaw than the flight simulator in Excel 97
I did consider the word "flaw" carefully before using it. I don't consider it to be a "bug" or a "mistake". A flaw, however, can be there by design. Something like deliberately being a troll on Slashdot can be considered funny (deliberate) by some, but a character flaw by others.