I am as big a fan of GAs as the next guy, but I don't see the point in using them for this. Why couldn't he just measure performance with and without each optimization and see which had the greatest improvement? Yes, this might not take into account interactions between different optimizations, but to the extent such interactions occur, it would probably be specific to his test cases anyway.
The use of GAs here seems like more of a gimmick, the same thing could have been achieved using conventional benchmarking.
Lastly, 10% or 20% improvements in compiler performance are of largely academic interest only these days most software's time is spent waiting on user input, disk IO, or network activity anyway?
Amazing how someone can write a thinly veiled advert for Apple's software in an article about Apple stealing some guys code and the/. moderator drones give it +4 Insightful. Next time there is an article about some bad thing Microsoft is doing I will see how far I get with my comment extolling the virtues of Visual Studio.
...well, I am more concerned about the lack of free speech in Singapore and its paternalistic government than the lack of ability to sell chewing gum freely. What was it William Gibson called it - "Disneyland with a Death Penalty".
Still, I am glad the US has its priorities right when it comes to pressuring repressive regimes into relaxing their strict laws. Who needs freedom of speech when you can sell chewing gum?!
He said the companies will also welcome an alternative to Red Hat and other commercial versions of Linux, which come with "odious" terms, limiting the number of seats and requiring expensive service contracts that are voided if users attempt to modify the software.
What is odious about that? How can RedHat be expected to support an operating system when they have no idea what modifications might have been made to it from the their version? The whole point of having a standardized version of the OS is to make support easier. Refusing to support versions of RedHat that have been modified from their default configuration isn't odious, it is a common sense precaution against your support staff wasting vast amounts of time.
Freenet's next-gen routing algorithm does detailed analysis of node performance and incorporates this into its routing decisions. In effect, Freenet already implements their proposal, neatly integrating it into the Freenet routing algorithm.
I think the logic behind this (not that I think it should be applied here) essentially stems from the fact that nobody's ever walked into a school and massacred people with anti-gun rhetoric
So how many people have been killed by pro-gun rhetoric?
It's not a violation of anyone's rights unless it's mandated by the government.
Wrong, it is a violation of my property rights. It is just as if I hired a cleaner to clean my house, only for her to go through my library throwing out books she doesn't like.
Well, if the ACLU does not fight this then it would confirm suspicions that they care more about pushing a left-wing agenda than defending the rights of all Americans.
Personally I hope they prove such suspicions wrong.
All proposed edits are simply placed in a vote list... this means that votes have to be taken quickly to prevent different useful edits from being unable to merge.
...the core problem seems to be the rediculous difficulty in obtaining cvs commit access for the project. It is stunning and insulting that someone who has demonstrated their dedication to the project over two years is still not deemed worthy of being able to commit directly to cvs, after all, CVS is designed such that a problematic commit can be backed out very easily.
These guys seem to care more about being able to brag about their commit access in their email signatures than streamlining development of their software and making things as easy as possible for those willing to devote their time and talent to the project.
If ever a project was in need of a fork, and if ever some project developers were in need of an attitude readjustment - this is it.
That would lead to censorship by majority and the inability to say anything that contradicts the weblog's collective "groupthink" without getting moderated down.
...you need Locutus! Its absolutely FREE and works with Outlook, Outlook Express, and Eudora!
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Is Microsoft really behind .NET?
on
Mono 2.8 Released
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· Score: 2, Insightful
I ask the question because as someone that had developed.NET software, the fact that Microsoft still requires users to download a 20MB runtime unless they already have.NET is absolutely the biggest reason not to develop for.NET. Microsoft could have addressed this by including.NET in XP by default, but they didn't.
Unless Microsoft throws their full weight behind.NET it will have all the problems of Java with no advantages over it.
'The chip will allow future machines to run, say, Windows XP together with Linux or the Apple operating system as easily as today's Windows computers run Word and Internet Explorer simultaneously.'
You mean like WMWare? Why would this require a hardware solution?
Then: "Freenet is not just theoretical, it has been downloaded by over 1.2 million users since the project started, and it is used for the distribution of censored information all over the world, including countries such as China and the Middle East." -- Freenet web site
Now: "Freenet is a research project, always has been. If people find that its usable, then great, they can help us research how to make it better." -- Ian, Newsgroup posting
No contradiction here. Linux had many users before reaching 1.0, this indicated that it was not just vaporware, but surely didn't indicate that it was production ready.
Then: "Freenet is a pretty effective and scalable way to distribute large files and it is immune to "denial of service" attacks, so it is certainly useful beyond its primary goal of permitting anonymous information distribution." -- Ian, GrepLaw Interview
Now: "If you want something easy to use that works today and claims to protect your anonymity, I suggest you try Earth Station 5, its developers tell us that its just *great*!" -- Ian, Newsgroup posting
Wow - I think someone needs a lesson in irony.
Then: "Freenet is also actively used in other countries, including the United States, to distribute censored information such as the Church of Scientology "Operating Thetan" documents. Freenet has been download by over 2,000,000 people." -- Ian, GrepLaw Interview
Now: "I have never ever characterized Freenet as being anything other than in development. Either help, stop griping, or find an alternative." -- Ian, Newsgroup posting
Again, no contradiction here either. Every single one of those 2,000,000 people saw that it was 0.xxxx, they knew that it wasn't yet production ready, and they wanted to try it anyway.
Please stop trying to turn a minor debate that has already been resolved into some kind of massive split in the ranks of Freenet. I have never seen the Freenet development process as vibrant or as active as it is now. Yes, they recently did some pretty significant code-overhauls that have destabilized the network temporarily, but when it comes back it will be better than ever.
Whoever submitted this divisive crap to Slashdot is just trying to stir up shit, where really there is nothing to stir up.
I'm getting the distinct impression that it's all getting too big for Ian, and he really doesn't know what to do next. I read his post as a plea for help, but sans the important admission that he really, really needs it.
The post was a plea for people to stop griping, and start helping - nothing more, nothing less.
I wonder if he's stuck in the situation where he really wants to retain control over Freenet (for the best of reasons), but has hit the limit of his technical ability.
If there was a problem here, which there isn't, it would be an organizational one, not a technical one.
Where should he go from here? Assign the copy rights to the FSF and trust in the basic goodness of people, I suggest.
We have already agreed on a resolution to this issue (in fact, we did probably about 24 hours before this was submitted - which raises some questions as to the motives of the poster).
I am disappointed that Slashdot would post this kind of thing, we have this kind of discussion on the Freenet mailing list all the time, in fact many of our debates are far more heated. Whoever submitted this story is just trying to stir up some crap, and it is a shame that Slashdot has given them a voice. It is interesting that they didn't also link to the rest of the discussion after the email they quoted where the debate was largely resolved - I guess that wouldn't have helped the "fracturing in the ranks!" hysteria.
What part of >0.<5.1 don't people understand? How can people claim that we describe Freenet as production ready when the fact that Freenet isn't is embodied in the very name of each release?!
This is not inconsistent in it being downloaded by users, nor is it inconsistent with people using it - since, as anyone familiar with Open Source development, such usage is part of any O.S development process.
Anyone that does choose to use Freenet is encouraged to understand what it does and does not protect at the moment, and those that do, do-so on this basis.
We agreed to resolve these issues by creating a more conservative stable branch of Freenet, and efforts are underway to make this happen as we speak. Bottom line: "Move along, there is nothing to see here".
Slashdot Mirror
The use of GAs here seems like more of a gimmick, the same thing could have been achieved using conventional benchmarking.
Lastly, 10% or 20% improvements in compiler performance are of largely academic interest only these days most software's time is spent waiting on user input, disk IO, or network activity anyway?
Amazing how someone can write a thinly veiled advert for Apple's software in an article about Apple stealing some guys code and the /. moderator drones give it +4 Insightful. Next time there is an article about some bad thing Microsoft is doing I will see how far I get with my comment extolling the virtues of Visual Studio.
Still, I am glad the US has its priorities right when it comes to pressuring repressive regimes into relaxing their strict laws. Who needs freedom of speech when you can sell chewing gum?!
I was quite amused when at a recent conference someone described Open Source as Free Software with a politics-obotomy...
Freenet's next-gen routing algorithm does detailed analysis of node performance and incorporates this into its routing decisions. In effect, Freenet already implements their proposal, neatly integrating it into the Freenet routing algorithm.
...sorry, just temporarily dazzled by the sun reflecting off your tinfoil hat.
If you outlaw nuclear weapons, only the outlaws will have nuclear weapons
Personally I hope they prove such suspicions wrong.
These guys seem to care more about being able to brag about their commit access in their email signatures than streamlining development of their software and making things as easy as possible for those willing to devote their time and talent to the project.
If ever a project was in need of a fork, and if ever some project developers were in need of an attitude readjustment - this is it.
*ducks*
So why not try the best anti-spam tool on the market and wave goodbye to those pesky spams?!
Unless Microsoft throws their full weight behind .NET it will have all the problems of Java with no advantages over it.
Please stop trying to turn a minor debate that has already been resolved into some kind of massive split in the ranks of Freenet. I have never seen the Freenet development process as vibrant or as active as it is now. Yes, they recently did some pretty significant code-overhauls that have destabilized the network temporarily, but when it comes back it will be better than ever.
Whoever submitted this divisive crap to Slashdot is just trying to stir up shit, where really there is nothing to stir up.
What part of >0.<5.1 don't people understand? How can people claim that we describe Freenet as production ready when the fact that Freenet isn't is embodied in the very name of each release?!
This is not inconsistent in it being downloaded by users, nor is it inconsistent with people using it - since, as anyone familiar with Open Source development, such usage is part of any O.S development process.
Anyone that does choose to use Freenet is encouraged to understand what it does and does not protect at the moment, and those that do, do-so on this basis.
We agreed to resolve these issues by creating a more conservative stable branch of Freenet, and efforts are underway to make this happen as we speak. Bottom line: "Move along, there is nothing to see here".
Fun fun fun!