Well, I doubt a good standard graphical interface will be possible until the nightmarish, out-dated hack that is X finally dies. I wish BeOS had gone the open-the-source route instead of the web- appliance route (of course, wider acceptance of proprietary BeOS would have been best. A BeOS based GUI on top of linux still leaves you running an insecure, unstable Minix derivative. This, however, is a different issue, and is probably more than enough to get my post modded down).
As for standard RAD tool, well, Borland Delphi for Linux will be available by the end of the year. Or, if you're not an Object Pascal fan (your loss), Borland C++ Builder for Linux will be out Q2 of 2001. And, of course, Borland JBuilder already runs on linux.
Let's not forget that Lances (exceptional pikes) don't get dropped because of errors in the data file (really sucks for Spearazons on Hell mode).
Also, in a wonderful display of anti-software-engineering practices, there's so much duplicated code that your stats are rarely what's displayed on the character window.
And then there's the fact that certain death conditions will leave your single-user character files open, such that they exist in the filesystem but cannot be accessed. Fortunately, Window's scandisk fixed that.
Surely you aren't suggesting that the constant realm crashing of bnet, the lag-kill inducing level caching system, the after-thought synchronization pulse, or the perspective-warping graphics engine were the result of pitiful programmers?
I completely agree with you about properties. They're a handy feature for improved code flexibilty and readability. However, I somewhat disagree with you about operator overloading. Sure, it could be useful if you were doing something like creating the TComplexNumber class. However, I'd be concerned about Object Pascal programmers following their C++ peers in overusing operator overloading. I mean, logic shift for input and output streaming? Class methods (static methods for you Java programmers) are generally a much cleaner solution.
But who knows. Operator Overloading is a frequently requested feature in the Borland newsgroups.
Operator overloading is, for example, having a class change the meaning of "+". So you could make a TComplexNumber class support FComplex1 + FComplex2, instead of having something like TComplexNumber.Add(FComplex1, FComplex2).
I do. Delphi/Object Pascal can do everything that C++ can do, except macros, multiple inheritence (although, like Java, this can be simulated with Interfaces), and templates. Of course, these are three of the worst misfeatures of the C++ language.
People complaining that Pascal is restrictive have obviously never worked with a Borland product.
Let's see... the only job openings in my area were for Windows programming. Why? Because Microsoft's FUD has been sucsessful at turning the majority of vendors into Windows-only shops. Since I did not have the financial ability to move right after graduation, I had to stick around and develop windows software. This may be difficult for someone of your limited mental capacity to understand, but that means I was fored into use Microsoft software, jackass.
QT and Python must respond to market conditions. RMS undeserved clout in the Open Source market means that IT managers will make decisions based on what he says. RMS cannot provide any valid technical reasons for dismissing QT or Python, so he resorts to political trickery involving the license.
The only whore here is you, my friend. You'll be getting it in the end.
Look, I'll admit that this comment was amusing (unlike that majority of posts that get +Funny), but there is a lot of INFORMATIVE TECHNICAL posts below that should be rated higher. Slashdot is a news site first and foremost.
I wish I knew who was going to protect us from RMS. I wish that person had appeared before RMS *forced* TrollTech to GPL QT. Hopefully that person will appear before RMS has forced Python to be GPLed.
Authors can no longer just decide on a license that is right for them. RMS is using every tactic he can to thwart author's intentions for their software. When MICROS~1 does this, we call it FUD. When RMS does it, we call it advocacy.
As to the (-1, Troll) comment, it's perfectly valid. Will you deny that MAN legitimate comments receive unfair moderation due solely to zealot moderators? Please note the cowardly "Overrated" down-moderation spent on this post. Nothing like "Overrated" to punish a non-believer without risking precious karma in metamod.
This commented isn't directed at the AC, it's directed at the people claiming this is a troll. A lot of Slashdot readers are libertarians. You people must know this, they dominate via sheer numbers any political thread. Good thing the moderators are more open-minded than the responders. You may not agree with the AC, but calling it a troll is nothing more than arogantly dismissing a valid viewpoint. We obviously all love technology here, and corporations have been key in creating new technology and bring it into our everyday lives.
Reading at +1 is the WORST. Sure, you'll still get the few worthwhile comments, but the rest is PURE MINDLESS SLASHBOT CRAP. You have all of the disadvantages of reading at -1, but you don't get to see all the FUNNY TROLLS!
I want Rob to make it so I can browse at +5/-1, and hide everything in between.
That, or make it so users can customize in their accounts whether TROLL is a penalty or a bonus.
Of course, that wouldn't be the best solution, as the $3 crack crowd DOESN'T KNOW WHAT A FUCKING TROLL IS! Spam is not trolling. Spam is OFFTOPIC or REDUNDANT. Aggrevated verbal abuse is not trolling. Verbal abuse is FLAIMBAIT. Trolling is posting seemingly legitimate messages that exagerate, misunderstand, or confuse an issue such that tons of people respond and moderator's go nuts.
I browse at -1, Highest First, Nested. The majority of +5 have been the most obviously, utterly useless jokes moderated all the way to the top as "FUNNY". Then you have the Whores like Siggy, Money, 1123... If you don't like trolls, how can you like those Slashbots? They do the same damn thing (post comments designed to get a reaction from moderators), except the upwords-moderation gives them more visibility. They're no less playing a game than the trolls, only the Slashbot's aren't being funny.
So you claim Slashdot's better now than it ever was. Let's take a look at the creme-de-la-creme (according to the $3 crack smoking moderators) of some recent stories:
+4, FUNNY?And less than a year after they bring AOL in line we'll see our first story about Micorsoft kerebosing up the new protocol. You've read about these things in history class, kids. Now you can see it as it happens.
+4, INFORMATIVE?If anyone is curious, 'Zvezda' means 'Star' in Russian, 'Zarya' means 'Dawn'. [note: not only do I think a dictionary post doesn't deserve +4, the fact that Zvezda=Star was already stated in the blurb]
+3 FUNNY?great... attach a 5km tether to that puppy and lets drag it around like a motorhome.;)
+3 INFORMATIVE?They'll be basically 6 kinds of replies to this story: 1) I still don't know why we're wasting money on {tech} when people in {place} are {mode of suffering agreed to be bad}. We should be worrying about solving our problems here on Earth! 2) This is the coolest thing ever! The most magnificent achievement since {primitive yet crucial tech}. It's the first step towards {cosmic achievement}, just like {author} predicted. 3) Imagine a Beowolf cluster of these! 4) I shrug. I am so underwhelmed. Millions and millions of {currency} wasted so we could put more trash in space. It will last less than {hyperbole of brevity} and be as useless as {hyperbole of futility}. 5) Look up these links here. Yeah, I need the karma. 6) Not bad for a Pizza Hut flight.
The only thing that gives me any hope for slashdot is this topic, as the first 2 +5s are trolls. Shoeboy is a god.
And I've seen the trolls take down topics. The only reason Troll Day Tuesday doesn't happen anymore is that a few of the best trolls are busy with other projects/jobs. Saying that the trolls have little impact is rather ignorant.
Tired of whiney, karma-whoring, out of touch, UNFUNY slashbots.
Back when Slashdot was small, intelligent comments were the norm. Browsing the site was interesting and often educational. Then, as Slashdot grew, the S/N ratio plummeted. The less knowledgeable geeks began seeing Slashdot comments as a status symbol instead of as a means of exchanging ideas. Most of the older crowd moved on to smaller forums where meaningful conversations could be held.
Then, the trolls showed up. They mocked the Slashbots that drove the intelligent posters away. In a desparate attempt to foster useful conversion, and because he couldn't stand to see people make fun of his site, he implemented moderation. This has been nothing but a disaster. Rather than act as a catalyst for spot-lighting the few intelligent messages, it allowed the Slashbot Karma Whores to pat themselves on the back for useless, mindless drivel. But, the trolls fought back. They organized and attacked brilliantly. They posted hysterical rants, mocked the repetitions, UNFUNY Slashbots (you Slashbots used to think "Imagine a beowulf cluster of these!" was "Insightful", not "Inciteful"), and fictional opinions designed to trigger the knee-jerk response of the hive-minded Slashbots. They are entertaining and artistic. Now that the old guard has mostly abandoned Slashdot for smaller communities, the trolls are the best thing about Slashdot. Frankly, they are the only good thing about Slashdot.
I no longer come to Slashdot to learn and share. I come here for a cheap laugh.
Let's live in a world where everyone is hypersensitive and can't handle a slightest amount of criticism, constructive or not. I mean, really. What have the brilliant scientific, artistic, and culture minds of history who's contributions were fueled by a need to better themselves and the world around them ACTUALLY done for us? Let's just retreat into a world-wide kindergarten state, where people can sue for hurt feelings and all the nasty truths are hid behind a sugar coating for our protection.
But, do we really want to support Ebay while they continue removing valid auctions of Microsoft products?
I don't share the overwhelming hatred of MS that some on Slashdot express. But Ebay violating their own EULA is an important blow against consumer rights. Acceptance of this policy is a bad precident for the online marketplace.
Boycotting Ebay until they change their policy can be a worthy action. Nerds like us still make up the majority of the population that are making internet purchases. Our boycot would be felt.
Besides, does anybody really need more garage-sale junk?:-)
I'm stick to death of people writting things like:
IANASOO (I Am Not A Something-or-Other)
I mean, damn, if it's so difficult to glark an acronym that you provide the expanded form, don't use it! Your common-part acronym, odd-part expanded notation is, frankly, a joy to behold.
...when SegFault stopped letting people enter their own choices for polls. SegFault is where most of this Natalie Portman N&P and other nonsense came from.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, I doubt a good standard graphical interface will be possible until the nightmarish, out-dated hack that is X finally dies. I wish BeOS had gone the open-the-source route instead of the web- appliance route (of course, wider acceptance of proprietary BeOS would have been best. A BeOS based GUI on top of linux still leaves you running an insecure, unstable Minix derivative. This, however, is a different issue, and is probably more than enough to get my post modded down).
As for standard RAD tool, well, Borland Delphi for Linux will be available by the end of the year. Or, if you're not an Object Pascal fan (your loss), Borland C++ Builder for Linux will be out Q2 of 2001. And, of course, Borland JBuilder already runs on linux.
Let's not forget that Lances (exceptional pikes) don't get dropped because of errors in the data file (really sucks for Spearazons on Hell mode).
Also, in a wonderful display of anti-software-engineering practices, there's so much duplicated code that your stats are rarely what's displayed on the character window.
And then there's the fact that certain death conditions will leave your single-user character files open, such that they exist in the filesystem but cannot be accessed. Fortunately, Window's scandisk fixed that.
----------------------
Surely you aren't suggesting that the constant realm crashing of bnet, the lag-kill inducing level caching system, the after-thought synchronization pulse, or the perspective-warping graphics engine were the result of pitiful programmers?
----------------------
I completely agree with you about properties. They're a handy feature for improved code flexibilty and readability. However, I somewhat disagree with you about operator overloading. Sure, it could be useful if you were doing something like creating the TComplexNumber class. However, I'd be concerned about Object Pascal programmers following their C++ peers in overusing operator overloading. I mean, logic shift for input and output streaming? Class methods (static methods for you Java programmers) are generally a much cleaner solution.
But who knows. Operator Overloading is a frequently requested feature in the Borland newsgroups.
----------------------
Operator overloading is, for example, having a class change the meaning of "+". So you could make a TComplexNumber class support FComplex1 + FComplex2, instead of having something like TComplexNumber.Add(FComplex1, FComplex2).
Are you thinking of method overloading?
----------------------
I do. Delphi/Object Pascal can do everything that C++ can do, except macros, multiple inheritence (although, like Java, this can be simulated with Interfaces), and templates. Of course, these are three of the worst misfeatures of the C++ language.
People complaining that Pascal is restrictive have obviously never worked with a Borland product.
----------------------
nslookup is your friend.
----------------------
Let's see... the only job openings in my area were for Windows programming. Why? Because Microsoft's FUD has been sucsessful at turning the majority of vendors into Windows-only shops. Since I did not have the financial ability to move right after graduation, I had to stick around and develop windows software. This may be difficult for someone of your limited mental capacity to understand, but that means I was fored into use Microsoft software, jackass.
QT and Python must respond to market conditions. RMS undeserved clout in the Open Source market means that IT managers will make decisions based on what he says. RMS cannot provide any valid technical reasons for dismissing QT or Python, so he resorts to political trickery involving the license.
The only whore here is you, my friend. You'll be getting it in the end.
Look, I'll admit that this comment was amusing (unlike that majority of posts that get +Funny), but there is a lot of INFORMATIVE TECHNICAL posts below that should be rated higher. Slashdot is a news site first and foremost.
I wish I knew who was going to protect us from RMS. I wish that person had appeared before RMS *forced* TrollTech to GPL QT. Hopefully that person will appear before RMS has forced Python to be GPLed.
Authors can no longer just decide on a license that is right for them. RMS is using every tactic he can to thwart author's intentions for their software. When MICROS~1 does this, we call it FUD. When RMS does it, we call it advocacy.
As to the (-1, Troll) comment, it's perfectly valid. Will you deny that MAN legitimate comments receive unfair moderation due solely to zealot moderators? Please note the cowardly "Overrated" down-moderation spent on this post. Nothing like "Overrated" to punish a non-believer without risking precious karma in metamod.
This commented isn't directed at the AC, it's directed at the people claiming this is a troll. A lot of Slashdot readers are libertarians. You people must know this, they dominate via sheer numbers any political thread. Good thing the moderators are more open-minded than the responders. You may not agree with the AC, but calling it a troll is nothing more than arogantly dismissing a valid viewpoint. We obviously all love technology here, and corporations have been key in creating new technology and bring it into our everyday lives.
I want Rob to make it so I can browse at +5/-1, and hide everything in between.
That, or make it so users can customize in their accounts whether TROLL is a penalty or a bonus.
Of course, that wouldn't be the best solution, as the $3 crack crowd DOESN'T KNOW WHAT A FUCKING TROLL IS! Spam is not trolling. Spam is OFFTOPIC or REDUNDANT. Aggrevated verbal abuse is not trolling. Verbal abuse is FLAIMBAIT. Trolling is posting seemingly legitimate messages that exagerate, misunderstand, or confuse an issue such that tons of people respond and moderator's go nuts.
So you claim Slashdot's better now than it ever was. Let's take a look at the creme-de-la-creme (according to the $3 crack smoking moderators) of some recent stories:
+4, FUNNY? And less than a year after they bring AOL in line we'll see our first story about Micorsoft kerebosing up the new protocol. You've read about these things in history class, kids. Now you can see it as it happens.
+4, INFORMATIVE? If anyone is curious, 'Zvezda' means 'Star' in Russian, 'Zarya' means 'Dawn'. [note: not only do I think a dictionary post doesn't deserve +4, the fact that Zvezda=Star was already stated in the blurb]
+3 FUNNY? great... attach a 5km tether to that puppy and lets drag it around like a motorhome. ;)
+3 INFORMATIVE? They'll be basically 6 kinds of replies to this story: 1) I still don't know why we're wasting money on {tech} when people in {place} are {mode of suffering agreed to be bad}. We should be worrying about solving our problems here on Earth! 2) This is the coolest thing ever! The most magnificent achievement since {primitive yet crucial tech}. It's the first step towards {cosmic achievement}, just like {author} predicted. 3) Imagine a Beowolf cluster of these! 4) I shrug. I am so underwhelmed. Millions and millions of {currency} wasted so we could put more trash in space. It will last less than {hyperbole of brevity} and be as useless as {hyperbole of futility}. 5) Look up these links here. Yeah, I need the karma. 6) Not bad for a Pizza Hut flight.
The only thing that gives me any hope for slashdot is this topic, as the first 2 +5s are trolls. Shoeboy is a god.
And I've seen the trolls take down topics. The only reason Troll Day Tuesday doesn't happen anymore is that a few of the best trolls are busy with other projects/jobs. Saying that the trolls have little impact is rather ignorant.
Tired of whiney, karma-whoring, out of touch, UNFUNY slashbots.
Then, the trolls showed up. They mocked the Slashbots that drove the intelligent posters away. In a desparate attempt to foster useful conversion, and because he couldn't stand to see people make fun of his site, he implemented moderation. This has been nothing but a disaster. Rather than act as a catalyst for spot-lighting the few intelligent messages, it allowed the Slashbot Karma Whores to pat themselves on the back for useless, mindless drivel. But, the trolls fought back. They organized and attacked brilliantly. They posted hysterical rants, mocked the repetitions, UNFUNY Slashbots (you Slashbots used to think "Imagine a beowulf cluster of these!" was "Insightful", not "Inciteful"), and fictional opinions designed to trigger the knee-jerk response of the hive-minded Slashbots. They are entertaining and artistic. Now that the old guard has mostly abandoned Slashdot for smaller communities, the trolls are the best thing about Slashdot. Frankly, they are the only good thing about Slashdot.
I no longer come to Slashdot to learn and share. I come here for a cheap laugh.
Thank you, trolls.
Someday, you'll be all grown up, and will realize that highschoolers are children.
Let's live in a world where everyone is hypersensitive and can't handle a slightest amount of criticism, constructive or not. I mean, really. What have the brilliant scientific, artistic, and culture minds of history who's contributions were fueled by a need to better themselves and the world around them ACTUALLY done for us? Let's just retreat into a world-wide kindergarten state, where people can sue for hurt feelings and all the nasty truths are hid behind a sugar coating for our protection.
My guess would be "No." Of course, neither is osm.
...that you had no right to post your whiney crap to Slashdot.
Another Gainesville boy that gets it!
I don't share the overwhelming hatred of MS that some on Slashdot express. But Ebay violating their own EULA is an important blow against consumer rights. Acceptance of this policy is a bad precident for the online marketplace.
Boycotting Ebay until they change their policy can be a worthy action. Nerds like us still make up the majority of the population that are making internet purchases. Our boycot would be felt.
Besides, does anybody really need more garage-sale junk? :-)
IANASOO (I Am Not A Something-or-Other)
I mean, damn, if it's so difficult to glark an acronym that you provide the expanded form, don't use it! Your common-part acronym, odd-part expanded notation is, frankly, a joy to behold.
No, but take your cyborg vision to the beach and it comes with hardware T&A.
Maybe "a friend of yours" should post to Slashdot as an AC about some of these technologies :-)
...when SegFault stopped letting people enter their own choices for polls. SegFault is where most of this Natalie Portman N&P and other nonsense came from.
...but I got my hands on Uranus.