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User: Zebra_X

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Comments · 830

  1. Chump change. on How Would You Handle a $1,000,000 Coding Error? · · Score: 1

    How about AT&T's siebel upgrade debacle? 100 million in lost revenue, and the issue took over 3 months to get resolved.

  2. Not Microsoft on Advice for Developers: Make Common Usage Easy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How the hell can you come to the conclusion that Thomas Sowell is using Microsoft's products, furthermore, that he thinks that they aren't useable?

    Ken Hendrickson says "I don't believe he uses Free Software; that means that Microsoft is not satisfying their customers, and Free Software can perform better than Microsoft even in the ease of use area!"

    After reading to the article I noticed that Thomas refers to "computer programs", not "Operating systems, office applications, e-mail, or web browsers." The only particular type of program that he specifically mentions are a "dictionary, an atlas, and an encyclopedia". There are a number of manufacturers of these types software. Crap like this is usually found in the $5 bin and comes with a beautiful VB installer, and accompanying VB application used to browse the content on 100 cd roms of uncompressed video (in the case of a multimedia encyclopedia). Though given all of Thomas information on what is rubbing him the wrong way, there is no way to deduce which particular products Thomas has been using given the words in the article.

    I'm not going to jump to any conclusions as to what he uses, becuase I can't. The point regarding usability is well taken, and should always followed when building an application.

    Although, with people with Ken's superior power of reasoning and logic, it's a wonder more products don't turn out better.

  3. DIY Stealth Bomber on RF-Blocking Wallpaper · · Score: 1

    Just get some epoxy, and some of this new fangled wall paper, and we can all have stealth bombers of our very own.

  4. Re:New RFC? on AgroWaste Oil Plant Starts Production · · Score: 1

    the number is closer to 20 million barrels a day

  5. In other news.... on Worms Jack Up the Total Cost of Windows · · Score: 1

    Your momz getz jacked by wormz, has to go to the vet.

  6. Dag. on The Most Powerful Man in Technology Journalism · · Score: 2, Informative

    Debatable. For instance in the case of real networks, the show "Car Talk" dropped real media distribution of their audio based on the fact that it was too difficult to aquire the free real player. It's not about one mans voice, but about the ears (or lack there of, listeners)

  7. Re:Code folding is: on Eclipse Finally Gets Code Folding · · Score: 1

    If you have to scroll some pages to find the corresponding closing tag, something has gone wrong.

    Perhaps, but it's just as annoying tracing your way through a bunch of method/function calls.

  8. Re:duh.... on AMD Beats Intel in CPU Sales · · Score: 1

    I've seen it coming - why pay more $$ when you get can get better bangs for less $$??

    Yeah seems pretty silly to me too. Say, where do you find those better bangs for less $$? Chintown rates seem pretty high these days.

  9. Apple Tax on Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" Preview at WWDC · · Score: 1

    I own a mac and I'm tired of system upgrades every year. I'm also tired of getting 50mb system updated in apple software update.

    Granted I don't have to upgrade or patch for that matter, but apple is creating a mess of OS's that will be supported for how long?

    Not only that but I can't get an "upgrade" price from apple for owning the previous version. Nope, I have to shell out 120 bucks for a new version.

    On top of this many of the features and "enhancements" aren't even worth 120 dollars. I'm not feeling like apple is delivering a lot of value for my dollar.

  10. wait wait on Thermoacoustic Cooler Means Green-Friendly Icecream · · Score: 1

    Thermoacoustic refrigeration has been a focus of research for more than a decade at Purdue and elsewhere, and has reportedly flown on the Space Shuttle

    Why on earth would you put something like this on the space shuttle? I mean, you are in SPACE after all, a place known for very low temperatures. Seems like it might be a bit of a waste of the shuttles $100,000/kg lift costs.

  11. Re:The real innovation on Laser Vision Offers New Insights · · Score: 1

    Whahoo!!! Now I will never have to remeber a single persons name again!

  12. Re:Uncle Sammy will double your salary right now! on Moving Up the IT Ladder in a Poor Economy? · · Score: 4, Funny

    Qualifications: Click on link below to view qualification standard. General Schedule Work may entail extended work shift of 12-16 hours a day. Generally, indoor work location has power, water, heating, and air conditioning, although outages should be expected. Lack of sleep may occur due to long work hours and uncomfortable living conditions. Employee will report symptoms of stress and fatigue to the on-site supervisor.

    Well at least it won't be any worse than my current Job!

  13. Damn. on OO.org Selects Its Own Sea Bird · · Score: 1, Insightful

    That seagull was drawn by a 4th grader. While I don't think that they need to go "mainstream" with a mascot. It certainly can't hurt their cause any to have a mascot that is a little more serious.

  14. Re:747-400F on Factory Testing of Airborne Laser Cannon Completed · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah, because rogue nations are suicidal.

    It's not that they sucidial - it's that the leaders are not rational. It is very difficult to reason with someone that doesn't not percieve the world in the same way that you do. North Korea is a very good example of this at work.

  15. Another option on Few Takers For Microsoft's Settlement Cash · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Seems everyone is saying that it's too time consuming or confusing - but maybe, just maybe, no one really cares.

  16. Low? on One Third of Email Now Spam · · Score: 1

    I think that number might be a little low. For every 1 message that I get that's legitimate there are at least 5-10 that aren't. That would put the % closer to 85-90%.

    What are other peoples observations?

  17. Re:MOD PARENT DOWN - BOGUS on C, Objective-C, C++... D! Future Or failure? · · Score: 1

    I programmed professionally for two years in Java.

    When 1997?

    I don't like java for a number of reasons. However your statement that java is really bad at interfacing with the real world is completely false.

    Java is now embedable in a number of hardware devices. It runs on chips that have A/D converters and Serial communication lines that are accessible by an embedded JVM aka TINI. That's about as close to real world as you can get. As far as real-time java is concerned, for something such as a missle guidance system - well that's still out there.

    There are also a number of Cellular phone manufacturers who have chosen j2me as a platform for deploying their applications. That's another area that is very real world as well.

    I'd say that java is pretty damn flexible these days.

  18. Re:Interesting on Real Begs Apple for Alliance · · Score: 1

    Yes - but not the DRM version, the one that is useable.

  19. Interesting on Real Begs Apple for Alliance · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As it is now - Real offers the ONLY player that incorporates all major music formats WMA, MPEG, ATRAC3, with exception for Apple's AAC. Real would be in a great position to offer a player that finally brings the whole mess of crap that is DRM under one umbrella and offer a music management platform to rival all others provided of course Jobs goes along with their scheme. So the real question is "Is Job's going to go for it?"

    "BUT BITCH, I SAID BIIIITCH, I AIN'T GONNA GO FOR IT, NOT NOW, NOT EVEAH!" - SD

  20. Re:Vonage on Cheap and Reliable IP Telephony? · · Score: 1

    THis guy isn't a troll, he's right.

  21. Re:Old != Bad on Sphere XP Makes GUI 3D · · Score: 1

    3d interfaces will be harder to use than traditional 2d interfaces. Its only the coolness factor, for the most part.

    Do you know this for a fact? How many years have you been using a 3d GUI?

    To look for an object, you will have the difficulty increasing exponentially in the third dimension.

    Perhaps given the current methods of navigating 3 dimensions.

    The real issue behind a 3d desktop, which I think is still feasible, is that we are using the wrong type of input device. A mouse's movement is within two dimensions. Most the early VRML work on the web showed that this is not a very good way to interact with a 3d environment. What's needed is an input device that can navigate 3 dimensions easily, and with little or no strain.

    3 dimensions could offer a completly new way of representing information. Shape, size, and texture could easily be used to help convey more information, and more quickly than our current 2d desktops. It also allows one's work space to have more volume, which could be used in many ways to organize information.

    The 3d desktop will likely have it's hay day, but the idea is young and the engineering complex. Making for a difficult road ahead.

  22. Re:He wants HOW much? on Funding An Individual BSD Developer · · Score: 1

    Ahh.... we over on the east coast, boston in particular, suffer from the same thing, 400K gets you a closet around here.

  23. Re:He wants HOW much? on Funding An Individual BSD Developer · · Score: 1

    Which isn't a lot for a really good programmer. Perhaps my friend you bought too much house, and perhaps you are underpaid. You might want to take that up with HR, and of course interest rates are quite low these days (or recently were).

  24. Re:Humor Impaired on Diebold Fails Again in San Diego · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Occured to you HHAAHAH is way of expressing acknowldegement of humor? No?

  25. Re:Huh? on Diebold Fails Again in San Diego · · Score: 1

    HHhahaha yeah - but this is slashdot.