Moving to Canada wouldn't stop the European Union's investigation of Microsoft. Of course, they're still investigating, not actually suing. Not yet, anyway.
I'm sorry, this article is lame. Period. People use Mac OS and Linux for vastly different reasons, largely because they are vastly different operating systems designed to emphasize vastly different things. That CNET actually ran this article leads me to believe that either their content is getting thin, or their editors are smoking something they should be passing around...
WordPerfect is cursed, I tell you! First, Microsoft starts beating WordPerfect (the original company) with Word, so they sell to Novell, which subsequently falls into its worst market position since the 80s (until 2 weeks ago, anyway). Then Novell sells WordPerfect to Corel, who's now knocking at death's door, too. WordPerfect is cursed, I tell you! Cursed!
Seriously, though (so as to avoid an "off-topic" moderation, I suppose), I do not think Microsoft Word is the end-all be-all word processor like the Mac person in this article seems to think. In fact, I hate Word, with all the hate one can have for a stupid piece-of-junk software program. Impling that Word is the only real word processor like she does is an affront to all of us who just want a nice, easy-to-use word processor (despite WordPerfect's curse).
Unless you do some fancy sharing of connections, this is going to be a big problem when you use Oracle. This forces Philip Greenspun to use TCL/AOLServer for his work, since it allows connections to stay up between CGI invocations.
Actually, Apache's mod_perl module allows you to transparently cache database connections through its Apache::DBI module. I haven't actually looked at the Slash code, so I can't say that it actually does this, but that's one of the many big performance wins that come from using mod_perl rather than CGI.
I know when I've been in a crisis situation, it has been helpful to have something that you know will work. I remember having problems with Caldera, trying to get a web server installed, and finally giving up and installing Red Hat, which is what I normally used.
What I'm trying to say is, given that Pat is the "31337 BSD junkie", even if Linux and FreeBSD both had all the necessary stuff, it's logical that Pat used BSD 'cause that's what he's most familar with and helps get the site back up quicker (which is the goal, after all).
Remember, we're all friends here, people! Use the best tool for the job!
I agree; Palm will definitely have to provide a DragonBall emulator because of the thousands of apps they have (and they're using that fact in the press to fight off the PocketPCs). If a 200MHz RISC processor can't emulate a 16-bit 20Mhz DragonBall, it's probably not worth using in the first place, is it?;-)
But, I too will miss popping in a couple of AAA batteries and not worrying about batteries for a month.
I remember a while back a guy from a mobile phone maker commenting that they used either WinCE or EPOC instead of PalmOS because "the screen size couldn't be changed." They may have decided they were going to have to handle different size screens anyway so they could license to other mobile device makers.
Palm Inc. won't move to EPOC because they've positioned themselves directly against it. One of the goals of the spin-off from 3Com was to focus Palm more on developing PalmOS and licensing it to others. Now, OTOH, if ARM PalmOS ends up having a lot of EPOC-like pieces, well, there you go.
"I think we all know that the screen sizes suck, and that the drop-down menus are the road to hell," Yankowski said.
Yes, Palm (and WinCE) handhelds have really small screens. But, what's this deal about the pull-down menus? One of the reasons I like my Palm organizer so much is you don't have to worry about the pull-down menus because you rarely use them. And, with MenuHack or PalmOS 3.5, to pull down the menus you just tap the application tab at the top of the screen; what's so hard about that?
I had been thinking lately about how Palm was going to take that next hardware leap. As much as we all like it, let's face it: the DragonBall is a 20Mhz 16-bit processor in a world that is demanding 32-bit processors more and more. So, the StrongARM sounds like an OK choice. But, this new CEO dude sounds like he doesn't care about the famed "Zen of Palm." It sounds more like he's willing to sacrifice the simplicity and elegance of the Palm design to get a few lame options like "voice activation." If that happens, I think he'll find a lot of Palm faithful going somewhere else (or buying up old Palm units!), and those new users he's trying to attract buying PocketPCs.
...in several cars (the Honda VTEC engines come to mind). Unless this new electronic technique can reduce cost/raise reliability of variable valve timing, I still don't see much benefit to gasoline-powered cars. OTOH, diesel engines need all the help they can get...
You mean the ship that sank in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and has sunk everytime the government tries to raise it? Doesn't the Navy consider that ship nothing short of haunted???
OK, I'm having a *major* geek-gasm here. I apologize in advance for knowing the following information, because to remember this information 20 years later is just too geeky for words.
I think the ship you're talking about was the Andromeda, and, as I recall, it was the "flagship" of the new fleet built after the Argo/Yamato got back to Earth.
Seriously, while you're at it, you should ask exactly what Windows is. It's in the same boat - there's several flavors of a single OS that really don't have much in common. Windows CE and Windows NT don't share much except a start button, when it comes down to brass tacks.
We can also ask just exactly what CE is, since the soon-to-be-out-don't-call-it-CE Pocket PC platform is radically different than the CE of today.
You babble on about how Orwell got it right except he was afraid of governments, he was right except for blah, blah, blah. And you only momentarily mention sci-fi authors etc., and you completely miss the works that illustrate your point: William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy.
Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive are all about how corporations eventually made governments irrelevant, conducting their own private wars and controlling access to all media outlets. [H|Cr]ackers raid corporate networks trying to pilfer data to sell on the black market, while the rest of the world just takes comfort in whatever the corporate media feeds them. Which is exactly your point, I think.
In any case, despite your sub-optimal choice, I agree that the corporations are indeed taking over and the geeks of the world may be the only ones capable of doing anything about it. But, as you say, how do we motivate our own community to action, especially since huge numbers of us are employed (or would love to be employed) by these companies? Should we bite the hands that feed us?
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Moving to Canada wouldn't stop the European Union's investigation of Microsoft. Of course, they're still investigating, not actually suing. Not yet, anyway.
I'm sorry, this article is lame. Period. People use Mac OS and Linux for vastly different reasons, largely because they are vastly different operating systems designed to emphasize vastly different things. That CNET actually ran this article leads me to believe that either their content is getting thin, or their editors are smoking something they should be passing around...
WordPerfect is cursed, I tell you! First, Microsoft starts beating WordPerfect (the original company) with Word, so they sell to Novell, which subsequently falls into its worst market position since the 80s (until 2 weeks ago, anyway). Then Novell sells WordPerfect to Corel, who's now knocking at death's door, too. WordPerfect is cursed, I tell you! Cursed!
Seriously, though (so as to avoid an "off-topic" moderation, I suppose), I do not think Microsoft Word is the end-all be-all word processor like the Mac person in this article seems to think. In fact, I hate Word, with all the hate one can have for a stupid piece-of-junk software program. Impling that Word is the only real word processor like she does is an affront to all of us who just want a nice, easy-to-use word processor (despite WordPerfect's curse).
That's my goal. When the future's done, I'll retire and do something else...maybe be a sysadmin for the past...
Unless you do some fancy sharing of connections, this is going to be a big problem when you use Oracle. This forces Philip Greenspun to use TCL/AOLServer for his work, since it allows connections to stay up between CGI invocations.
Actually, Apache's mod_perl module allows you to transparently cache database connections through its Apache::DBI module. I haven't actually looked at the Slash code, so I can't say that it actually does this, but that's one of the many big performance wins that come from using mod_perl rather than CGI.
I know when I've been in a crisis situation, it has been helpful to have something that you know will work. I remember having problems with Caldera, trying to get a web server installed, and finally giving up and installing Red Hat, which is what I normally used.
What I'm trying to say is, given that Pat is the "31337 BSD junkie", even if Linux and FreeBSD both had all the necessary stuff, it's logical that Pat used BSD 'cause that's what he's most familar with and helps get the site back up quicker (which is the goal, after all).
Remember, we're all friends here, people! Use the best tool for the job!
I agree; Palm will definitely have to provide a DragonBall emulator because of the thousands of apps they have (and they're using that fact in the press to fight off the PocketPCs). If a 200MHz RISC processor can't emulate a 16-bit 20Mhz DragonBall, it's probably not worth using in the first place, is it? ;-)
But, I too will miss popping in a couple of AAA batteries and not worrying about batteries for a month.
I remember a while back a guy from a mobile phone maker commenting that they used either WinCE or EPOC instead of PalmOS because "the screen size couldn't be changed." They may have decided they were going to have to handle different size screens anyway so they could license to other mobile device makers.
Palm Inc. won't move to EPOC because they've positioned themselves directly against it. One of the goals of the spin-off from 3Com was to focus Palm more on developing PalmOS and licensing it to others. Now, OTOH, if ARM PalmOS ends up having a lot of EPOC-like pieces, well, there you go.
"I think we all know that the screen sizes suck, and that the drop-down menus are the road to hell," Yankowski said.
Yes, Palm (and WinCE) handhelds have really small screens. But, what's this deal about the pull-down menus? One of the reasons I like my Palm organizer so much is you don't have to worry about the pull-down menus because you rarely use them. And, with MenuHack or PalmOS 3.5, to pull down the menus you just tap the application tab at the top of the screen; what's so hard about that?
I had been thinking lately about how Palm was going to take that next hardware leap. As much as we all like it, let's face it: the DragonBall is a 20Mhz 16-bit processor in a world that is demanding 32-bit processors more and more. So, the StrongARM sounds like an OK choice. But, this new CEO dude sounds like he doesn't care about the famed "Zen of Palm." It sounds more like he's willing to sacrifice the simplicity and elegance of the Palm design to get a few lame options like "voice activation." If that happens, I think he'll find a lot of Palm faithful going somewhere else (or buying up old Palm units!), and those new users he's trying to attract buying PocketPCs.
My $0.02, of course.
...in several cars (the Honda VTEC engines come to mind). Unless this new electronic technique can reduce cost/raise reliability of variable valve timing, I still don't see much benefit to gasoline-powered cars. OTOH, diesel engines need all the help they can get...
Gundam Wing is cool! Not for kids, really, but cool!
You mean the ship that sank in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and has sunk everytime the government tries to raise it? Doesn't the Navy consider that ship nothing short of haunted???
OK, I'm having a *major* geek-gasm here. I apologize in advance for knowing the following information, because to remember this information 20 years later is just too geeky for words.
I think the ship you're talking about was the Andromeda, and, as I recall, it was the "flagship" of the new fleet built after the Argo/Yamato got back to Earth.
Seriously, while you're at it, you should ask exactly what Windows is. It's in the same boat - there's several flavors of a single OS that really don't have much in common. Windows CE and Windows NT don't share much except a start button, when it comes down to brass tacks.
We can also ask just exactly what CE is, since the soon-to-be-out-don't-call-it-CE Pocket PC platform is radically different than the CE of today.
Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive are all about how corporations eventually made governments irrelevant, conducting their own private wars and controlling access to all media outlets. [H|Cr]ackers raid corporate networks trying to pilfer data to sell on the black market, while the rest of the world just takes comfort in whatever the corporate media feeds them. Which is exactly your point, I think.
In any case, despite your sub-optimal choice, I agree that the corporations are indeed taking over and the geeks of the world may be the only ones capable of doing anything about it. But, as you say, how do we motivate our own community to action, especially since huge numbers of us are employed (or would love to be employed) by these companies? Should we bite the hands that feed us?