I had a friend that did the same thing until I pointed out to him that without a "none of the above" option his vote was lumped together with people who are too stupid to put an X in a circle.
A better way to protest a lack of options is to not vote. Poor voter turnout is noticed.
...the case demonstrates the importance of protecting one's identity on the internet
I think the case demonstrates that the internet is no different than the real world. Trade insults with a guy you just met (online or not) and he may be a violent person that will come over to your house with his buddy and kick your ass. I'm glad he wasn't killed and I hope he'll completely recover but I don't have too much sympathy.
Too many people use the supposed anonymity of the internet as an excuse to be asshats. Always remember...the other guy could be a bigger asshat.
Like many people I've ignored The Christian Science Monitor because of a knee-jerk reaction to the name. After reading your comments and others I decided to take a look around their site and give it a fair chance. Being from Toronto I checked out the story on the terror suspects recently arrested here. I found CSM's coverage fair, balanced, thorough and from a slightly different angle, four things I haven't found very much in the frenzy of local coverage.
Although I'm still a bit wary of a possible hidden agenda (which may subside I as read more of their work) I've now added CSM to my regular reading.
Not to be picky (OK, I'm being picky) but the "velarium" imployed in the Colosseum (aka Flavian Amphitheater) was not a roof but a type of awning. It did provide protection for all the spectators but only covered 2/3 of the Colosseum. If the roof of your house only covered 2/3 of the interior it wouldn't be a very good roof would it?
I guess the point I was trying to make and that you alluded to was that the traditional definitions of "interpreted" or "compiled" do not really apply to Java. It is neither and both at the same time. As the English language continues to evolve so should our definitions...or perhaps a new word should be created to describe Java and langauges/VMs like it.
Actually I would say you're both right and you're both wrong.
Java is neither 100% compiled or 100% interpreted. Java is compiled in the sense that what is executed is not the original source code. The Java compiler has taken the code and produced a bytecode file that is closer to machine code than the original source and as a result executes far more efficiently than a purely interpreted language. Also, because what is interpreted is not the original source code it is not an interpreted language in the classic sense. Although I agree, it is not truly compiled.
About 10 years ago I was working closely with the IBM COBOL division on their PC compiler and in those discussions they told me that IBM's compilers, and I assume other vendor's as well, are built as a two phase compile. The first part is specific to each language (COBOL, C++, PL/1, etc) and compiles the code to a common internal format. This intermediate code is then taken the rest of the way to machine code by a common back-end compile used by all languages. This way they write a front-end for each language and a back end for each platform they wanted to produce machine code for.
What Sun has done is take these two steps and separated them. In a traditional compiler both these steps would happen during the "compile". With Java the first step, generating the intermediate or bytecode, occurs during the compile. The second step, generating the machine code, occurs at runtime on the target platform.
And because the intermediate code generation is the most costly part of the compile process most of the compiling has been done before execution. This is what allows Java to approach native code speeds.
Thridly, Libraries need to be rehashed to have far better backward compatability. IF I have glib 22.9.8.3 and a app that is compiled against 7.2.1 the app had damn well better run under 22.9.8.3 and what moron thinks it's a good idea to link against a specifically named lib instead of it's normal generic symlink? How many times have you installed and app and found it looking for a specific version of a lib in the/lib directory instead of the generic symlink?
I totally agree. I've had Java programs compiled with 1.1 still run under 1.5 (aka 5.0). I've also seen mainframe programs run for almost a decade without needing to be recompiled. In the Linux world you can't have a 0.0.0.1 change in the glib or kernel version without having to possibly force a recompile.
Finally - pick a fricking installer/packager and use it. IF you all love RPM so much then let's all use it. An RPM for Ubuntu should work flawlessly for REdHat,Mandrake,and Slackware. There is no excuse for them to not. I know that I will get pages of excuses from people on this point but I counter with the fact that XFCE, Mozilla, Crossover office, can all install on any distro... Are they simply that much better programmers than the rest of you?
I'm glad it's not just me. Try explaining to anyone outside the Linux community that they can't install a particular program because the RPM they just downloaded wasn't created for their distro, kernel version, glib version and has dependencies on a dozen or so libraries that are either missing on their machine or are incompatible with the ones already installed. Now I know that there are a ton of tools out there to help you with this but they aren't exactly for the casual user.
It's this type of situation that drives people to Windows and will keep Linux as a distant second place.
Now before anyone labels me a Linux hater, I'm not. I just think it could stand some improvement to make it easier to use in order to reach a larger audience.
The way your statement was worded the "it" in "when it started" looked like it referred to when The United Way started and not the link between Microsoft and The United Way.
It was a simple misunderstanding that could have been cleared up without the name calling or the profanity. In the future you may want to pay more attention to your use of pronouns to avoid confusion. Remember, you have the full thought in your head but we only have the words you type.
You certainly were not there. You might check out the link between Microsoft and the United Way and when it started, and how Bill and his mother were the driving force behind that long before Melinda became Mrs Gates.
I know few people here like or appreciate Gates, but must we make shit up to slime the dude?
I didn't realize that Microsoft had been around since 1887 (according to the United Way's own history) or that Bill and his mother were that old.
I know a lot of people elsewhere like and appreciate Gates, but must we "make shit up" to protect a convicted monopolist...dude.
You must also think Al Gore invented the internet.
There is a difference between personal fair use and corporate fair use. I can download an image and use it as my desktop background but Microsoft can't include that same image in their install as an available desktop background.
The question here seems to be is Google profiting from the image. If so, then the copyright holder may have a case.
For the past couple of years my eye doctor has used a device called "Optomap" (http://www.optomap.com/) to capture a digital image of my retina. The first time he used it he identified that I had hypertension, which I had been diagnosed with a number of years before, and can even track it's progress. Had this device been in use before I was diagnosed my hypertension might have been caught earlier.
Since biometric passports failed, are they gonna request us to get chipped? after all, it is for our own good.
Maybe the chip could be stored in a crystal that glows with a different colour depending on your age. And when you reach 30 it could blink. Hey, mine's blinking now. Wait...who are you? Stop, don't shoot! It's a mistake! Really, I'm only 29!
I agree it's very difficult to convince the general public that they need to be concerned about something that's 100 or 1000 years off. If you want to get people to do something about it now then you have to push home the very real, measurable and immediate effects such as air quality.
Tell people they'll have trouble breathing in 10 years and you'll get more results than telling them that in 1000 years the Great Lakes will be ocean front property.
Helping the Chines government quash dissent is wrong, and "But I have to to make money" is not a defense.
I agree with you ethically but corporations are created to make money not implement social policy. CEOs are brainwashed to ignore moral dilemmas and make decisions that will maximize profits. That is until governments step in and tell them the right thing to do.
Slashdot Mirror
I had a friend that did the same thing until I pointed out to him that without a "none of the above" option his vote was lumped together with people who are too stupid to put an X in a circle.
A better way to protest a lack of options is to not vote. Poor voter turnout is noticed.
I think the case demonstrates that the internet is no different than the real world. Trade insults with a guy you just met (online or not) and he may be a violent person that will come over to your house with his buddy and kick your ass. I'm glad he wasn't killed and I hope he'll completely recover but I don't have too much sympathy.
Too many people use the supposed anonymity of the internet as an excuse to be asshats. Always remember...the other guy could be a bigger asshat.
Yeah, but watch out for our beaver-bombs.
Frank and Gordon are working on them as we speak (inside joke for the Canucks in the audience).
Molecules wobble but they don't fall down.
Ahh, the most famous of the classic blunders - never get involved in a land war in Asia. Now what was the slightly less well-known one...
Like many people I've ignored The Christian Science Monitor because of a knee-jerk reaction to the name. After reading your comments and others I decided to take a look around their site and give it a fair chance. Being from Toronto I checked out the story on the terror suspects recently arrested here. I found CSM's coverage fair, balanced, thorough and from a slightly different angle, four things I haven't found very much in the frenzy of local coverage.
Although I'm still a bit wary of a possible hidden agenda (which may subside I as read more of their work) I've now added CSM to my regular reading.
Not to be picky (OK, I'm being picky) but the "velarium" imployed in the Colosseum (aka Flavian Amphitheater) was not a roof but a type of awning. It did provide protection for all the spectators but only covered 2/3 of the Colosseum. If the roof of your house only covered 2/3 of the interior it wouldn't be a very good roof would it?
As a Torontonian myself I don't acknowledge failed implementations of flawed designs. :D
The Toronto Skydome beat them by 8 years.
I guess the point I was trying to make and that you alluded to was that the traditional definitions of "interpreted" or "compiled" do not really apply to Java. It is neither and both at the same time. As the English language continues to evolve so should our definitions...or perhaps a new word should be created to describe Java and langauges/VMs like it.
How about "comterpreted" or perhaps "interpiled"?
Actually I would say you're both right and you're both wrong.
Java is neither 100% compiled or 100% interpreted. Java is compiled in the sense that what is executed is not the original source code. The Java compiler has taken the code and produced a bytecode file that is closer to machine code than the original source and as a result executes far more efficiently than a purely interpreted language. Also, because what is interpreted is not the original source code it is not an interpreted language in the classic sense. Although I agree, it is not truly compiled.
About 10 years ago I was working closely with the IBM COBOL division on their PC compiler and in those discussions they told me that IBM's compilers, and I assume other vendor's as well, are built as a two phase compile. The first part is specific to each language (COBOL, C++, PL/1, etc) and compiles the code to a common internal format. This intermediate code is then taken the rest of the way to machine code by a common back-end compile used by all languages. This way they write a front-end for each language and a back end for each platform they wanted to produce machine code for.
What Sun has done is take these two steps and separated them. In a traditional compiler both these steps would happen during the "compile". With Java the first step, generating the intermediate or bytecode, occurs during the compile. The second step, generating the machine code, occurs at runtime on the target platform.
And because the intermediate code generation is the most costly part of the compile process most of the compiling has been done before execution. This is what allows Java to approach native code speeds.
I totally agree. I've had Java programs compiled with 1.1 still run under 1.5 (aka 5.0). I've also seen mainframe programs run for almost a decade without needing to be recompiled. In the Linux world you can't have a 0.0.0.1 change in the glib or kernel version without having to possibly force a recompile.
I'm glad it's not just me. Try explaining to anyone outside the Linux community that they can't install a particular program because the RPM they just downloaded wasn't created for their distro, kernel version, glib version and has dependencies on a dozen or so libraries that are either missing on their machine or are incompatible with the ones already installed. Now I know that there are a ton of tools out there to help you with this but they aren't exactly for the casual user.
It's this type of situation that drives people to Windows and will keep Linux as a distant second place.
Now before anyone labels me a Linux hater, I'm not. I just think it could stand some improvement to make it easier to use in order to reach a larger audience.
Homer Simpson?
The way your statement was worded the "it" in "when it started" looked like it referred to when The United Way started and not the link between Microsoft and The United Way.
It was a simple misunderstanding that could have been cleared up without the name calling or the profanity. In the future you may want to pay more attention to your use of pronouns to avoid confusion. Remember, you have the full thought in your head but we only have the words you type.
I didn't realize that Microsoft had been around since 1887 (according to the United Way's own history) or that Bill and his mother were that old.
I know a lot of people elsewhere like and appreciate Gates, but must we "make shit up" to protect a convicted monopolist...dude.
You must also think Al Gore invented the internet.
Excellent B5 reference. Londo was one of my favourite characters.
As long as he doesn't try to fight a war on two fonts.
The case you cited is not really applicable here because Google is not using these images for parody.
There is a difference between personal fair use and corporate fair use. I can download an image and use it as my desktop background but Microsoft can't include that same image in their install as an available desktop background.
The question here seems to be is Google profiting from the image. If so, then the copyright holder may have a case.
Because regular Coke is fattening.
For the past couple of years my eye doctor has used a device called "Optomap" (http://www.optomap.com/) to capture a digital image of my retina. The first time he used it he identified that I had hypertension, which I had been diagnosed with a number of years before, and can even track it's progress. Had this device been in use before I was diagnosed my hypertension might have been caught earlier.
Maybe the chip could be stored in a crystal that glows with a different colour depending on your age. And when you reach 30 it could blink. Hey, mine's blinking now. Wait...who are you? Stop, don't shoot! It's a mistake! Really, I'm only 29!
I agree it's very difficult to convince the general public that they need to be concerned about something that's 100 or 1000 years off. If you want to get people to do something about it now then you have to push home the very real, measurable and immediate effects such as air quality.
Tell people they'll have trouble breathing in 10 years and you'll get more results than telling them that in 1000 years the Great Lakes will be ocean front property.
Care to share some of those "facts"?
I agree with you ethically but corporations are created to make money not implement social policy. CEOs are brainwashed to ignore moral dilemmas and make decisions that will maximize profits. That is until governments step in and tell them the right thing to do.