Finally, another voice in a sea of voices of lunacy.
This whole twisting of issues to arrive at "success is dangerous" is the biggest load of bullshit.
The winner of a bicycle race is the one who pedals fastest. NOT the one who rams the most pumps into other riders' spokes. By this definition, Microsoft is NOT a succeeder, not a winner, but just a dirty rotten cheat.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
There is that one goofy propaganda page out there somewhere that has all kinds of relationships between the number 666 and Bill Gates' name, Windows95, etc. . . And, he IS the son of a Lawyer. ..
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Benjamin Franklin had a quote that goes something like; "I cannot conceive otherwise that the Infinite Father, neither desires, nor requires worship, but that He is infinitely above that." (not exact wording)
Actually, a lot of Christian doctrine points to this worship thing as not something that is for God, but is actually more of a mental excercise for the worshipper. I know there's language to the contrary in the Bible (I am a jealous God, you shall have no other above me - etc.), but fundamentally, it's the subjugation of one's Free Will to His Will that counts, and worship is more of a path to that end, rather than an end in of itself. Just like Jesse Ventura said; "organized religion is for those with weak minds." But he didn't necessarily say that he was opposed to religion, itself, or God.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
no - no - that's not what I meant - I meant that Microsoft's lawyers bungled on purpose to bring about a very harsh ruling from Jackson, to make him look even MORE biased than he was in the previous trial that was overthrown by the appelate court. Because they KNEW they couldn't win the case on merit, and that MS hadn't done a good job of burying the bodies. This is a typical tactic for microsoft. When they know they can't win something on merit (which is about 90% of the time), they use alternatives.)
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
From a Yank who's been to England (one week training stint).
Housing: The vast majority of US houses built in the 80's are like what you said, far better than their UK counterparts, for the money. But increasingly, new houses in the states are being built on much smaller plots of land. Even very, very large luxurious houses have these tiny tiny yards. Don't bother owning a large dog if you plan on buying a newer house. In California (at least around where I live), generally, older houses don't have basements, or screens on the windows (no bugs out here anyway). In Illinois though (where I came from) you're darn toonin' right you have screens on the windows. Bugs bugs bugs! And when there's no bugs, freezing rain.
Fuel: You poor bastards. That's all I have to say. Although, around London, I'd have to say you DO have a fabulous set of alternatives to driving. Best public transportation I've seen ANYWHERE, and I've been to MANY US cities, major and minor. Between the Great Western, and the Underground, you guys have it so nice. Back when I was in Illinois, they had trains and busses from the burbs into Chicago, but they were noisy, uncomfortable, and expensive as hell. Travelling by Great Western train in the London suburbs was luxurious, and pleasant. (what, I'm sure as hell not going to hire a car and hope I don't forget what side of the street to drive on - I nearly got killed several times as a pedestrian! Luckily, your works people are smart and painted "LOOK RIGHT" on the street by all pedestrian crossings - otherwise, I'd likely be dead now).
People: No arguments there - but you can't make a blanket statement about US people. It varies widely by region. It's a big honkin country.
Computers: You poor bastards!
Health service: You poor bastards. Clinton almost had us in a similar mess. Thank goodness that didn't come to pass.
Other things - Food: If you like food, England is NOT a nice place to live. Very little fruit is to be had, meat is often tough and fatty, and overcooked, although vegetables are often good quality. Lots of strange customary foods like blood pudding, and meat pies, etc. Luckily, American culture has somewhat infested the areas I was in, so there was some fallback to what I could eat.
Beauty: I'll agree. England is stark-raving beautiful as a country. It's architecture, and countryside are second to none. It's music and culture are as rich as any in the world. But dentistry is obviously a hundred years behind the US. Not just an "Austin Powers" joke. It's true. BRUSH AND FLOSS DAILY!!! But for the hottest chicks anywhere, listen to the Beach Boys song; you gotta come to California. The only problem is, they're a rare commodity in Northern California. SV guys should take weekend raids down to LA and import the hot chicks back to the Bay Area. They're wasted in Hollywood, where beauty can be bought cheaply.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Not so bad. I started at my company 8 years ago, in shipping & receiving, at roughly $11k/yr - it was a software company. I had dropped out of Art school due to lack of funds. I ressurected my old, forgotten love of computers from High School, and learned DOS and Netware, and graduated to testing hardware (we bundled some hardware with our products), and from there to Tech Support, where I got a raise up to $22k. Now I'm a senior Tech Support rep, and am making $65k, plus 401k, excellent health insurance, and other goodies, plus I have vested stock options worth in excess of a quarter million $ US. Probably worth half a million this time next year if current trends continue. Doesn't matter much to me, that's all icing on the cake. Not bad for an art school dropout. Though my company has been merged and squished and bought several times, and I ended up moving 2000 miles to keep my job (and those stock options), I'm still working for the same company, and definately not locked into a 5-7% raise structure. (though when I get increases, they're generally in the 2-5% range, the big increases have been from internal promotions).
I can't help but wonder what some of the coders are making at this company. I've actually spent some time trying to learn C on my own, but I've found that though I was great at self-paced learning in HS, I suck at it now, with family responsibilities competing for my time, so I'm finally going back to school, this time to get an engineering degree.
I don't know quite whom to thank for this life, but I gotta say, in retrospect, it's been great so far.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Oh, you don't even have to highlight the mail. If you have an empty inbox, with preview "on", and the message list pane has the focus, the first message that appears will automatically be highlighted. In this (admittedly rare scenario), the user doesn't even have to do anything!
Or, alternatively, if Bubbleboy arrives in the inbox while the user is reading other mail, and the user trashes the previous message, highlight in the box automatically goes to the next message on the list, and BOOM, another unintentional way to lauch the virus. Personally, I never went in for the preview pane thing, I thought it slowed things down, and took up too much real estate. I generally select all my unread messages that I want to read at once and open them in a group so they all get their own windows.
Anyone know how this thing behaves with the other form of preview activated, the one where the first three lines or so of each unread message shows up in the message list window? If THAT executes the payload, then we're all fucking doomed, because I think that's the default setup for Outlook, and nobody has to highlight anything. The message just has to be in the inbox, and unread. But since it only displays like the first three lines or so, I'm not sure if that will execute the payload.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Hell, on the Mac, there's a little extension thingie that recognizes email addresses and internet addresses, and automagically turns them into a hyperlink, without forcing the document to be in HTML. It's sort of a layer between the user and any displayed text on the screen. Just click on the link and the OS tells your browser to go there.
Probably a better solution. Wish I could remember what it was called.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Bullets in ASCI aren't bulletproof. If your viewer reads the file in a smaller window, and the window word-wraps, the lines of text that are bulleted will wrap to the next line without indent. Ugly.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
While this thread is hopelessly off topic, I do have to disagree with something you said. While we all love to hate the marketroids for pushing development schedules and feature specs beyond what's reasonable and sound from an engineering standpoint (causing the resulting unstable and bloated app), that cause itself has a cause, and ultimately, it goes back to the shareholders, media, and customers. The shareholders want their company's products to be a commercial success so that the value of their holdings will increase. The media compares software in these multi-page foldout "feature-matrix" reviews, which causes the customer to demand feature parity, even when it's not really important. The features have all been reduced to a visual checkmark on the matrix, and so all features bear the same weight at a glance, therefore, intelligent prioritization feedback goes by the wayside, and boom, this filters back through sales, to marketshare, to stock prices, to shareholders, to marketroids, to R&D, ultimately back to the customer.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Damn, that Pokemon virus IS nasty. My 12 year old son is infected, my 6 year old son is infected, my 3 year old daughter is infected, and of course, all of their friends. I'm even addicted to the Gameboy (emu) version of this virus. It's incredible, the range of hosts this species can adapt to.
Humanity is doomed.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
sigh. I don't know exactly WHAT remedy would improve things - but I DO know that. . .
(1) Microsoft should be forced to openly publish all of its APIs.
(2) They should be prohibited from utilizing any API that has not been completely disclosed.
(3) They should be forced to provide correction, clarification and explanation, when the behavior of any API differs from the published specification, or is unclear or appears to be in error.
(4) They should be forced to disclose all new APIs as they are created, to facilitate third parties' efforts to make their software compatable with Microsoft software.
*wont* work. First of all, how do you enforce something like this? How do you know they've disclosed ALL of their API? If they're hiding them, how would anyone, outside of the privileged few MS conspirators know? For EVERY API, undocumented behavior would have to be proven, and brought to court. I don't see that with a codebase of 140+ MLOC, there is enough time remaining in the life of the Universe before this could be rammed through the legal system.
Right now, I see Bill Gates as the Saddam Hussein of the software world. Right now, he's just invaded Kuwait, and the UN has finally got off their asses and said "BAD monopolist! NO STOCK OPTIONS!". And pretty much at every turn, Bill Gates has spewed his propaganda about how MS is doing nothing wrong, etc. Now, after the bombs fall and the surrender is signed, how can we be sure his secret labs aren't "building nukes?" how can we make sure his developers comply 100% with the "weapons inspectors"?
All they have to do is make a ruling like this, then MS can put up the appearance of putting forth their best effort to comply, and fail miserably at that, and it still won't fix the problem. Though I think you're right when you say, the problem is the API and the Platform - not necessarily the OS Monopoly (and bundling of apps), because it's already been well demonstrated that you can easily sleaze your way through defining the separating border between apps and OS, and almost every other company out there that writes an OS writes Apps for their own OS too.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
The only problem with X10 is that it doesn't fscking work. Had a buddy who was a total X10 freak. Started with just a couple of light switches. Then he went nuts and shelled out several hundred on getting everything set up. He started setting up his entertainment center, AC, etc. Nothing worked, and signals got crossed.
He's now building a new home, and wiring every room for ethernet. His plan is to have some goofy wince thingies that use infared, velcroed to the wall in every room, to control all the appliances in the room, and from there in the whole house via the ethernet.
He's spending significantly more cash this time around. I guess that's what stock options are for, eh? Of course, when I build MY house, I'm spending the extra bux on solar panels for the roof. I'll sell the surplus power back to PG&E - the bastards.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
The only problem with X10 is that it doesn't fscking work. Had a buddy who was a total X10 freak. Started with just a couple of light switches. Then he went nuts and shelled out several hundred on getting everything set up. He started setting up his entertainment center, AC, etc. Nothing worked, and signals got crossed.
He's now building a new home, and wiring every room for ethernet. His plan is to have some goofy wince thingies that use infared, velcroed to the wall in every room, to control all the appliances in the room, and from there in the whole house via the ethernet.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Were the shares they searched administrative shares?
(for the NT-unaware, and administrative share, is one that is at the root of every drive-letter, by default, on NT, anyone can use NET USE with the administrator password to gain access. Most savvy NT administrators delete these "hidden" shares after installation of the OS - but this subsequently can interfere with some applications)
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Basically, the whole point of these things is to allow lazy people to not have to return the phone to the retail outlet where they got it for reprogramming (and hopefully cleaning. . . what is that gunk in the speaker holes? I'm not putting that to MY ear!)
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
"1) Acres and acres of panels. These raise the temperature beneath them by enough to change the ecosystem beneath them (yes, there is an ecosystem beneath the surface in the desert). "
Why bother with acres and acres of panels? Most suburbs have acres and acres of rooftops. Why not put panels on your roofs, and tell the power company to go find a more productive way to make a living?
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Not so prevalent this year, but LAST year I can remember all the TV ads were directed at scaring people into buying cell phones.
Since it became common knowlege that a 911 call made on a cell phone could be blocked if you're in a competing network's region, the industry suddenly stopped that advertising practice (although I think the FCC banned the 911 blocking).
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Exactly. While I have messed with Linux, I think it's just not for me. Either I'm not ready for Linux, or Linux isn't ready for me yet.
I am a semi-geek,(at least a geek in spirit, I don't claim to hack kernels) and my OS of choice is Mac. At work, I work on Wintel machines, and soon, a little Solaris.
What attracts me to/. is the topics discussed, and especially the overall anti-Microsoft sentiment. Notice I don't call it a bias. I think MOST/. citizens value rational arguments over flamage, (hence the moderation system). While Pro-Microsoft arguments are accepted, it is carefully examined for FUD, and held to a very high standard. The rest of the world is talking about how great Active Directory is, and how DCOM will change your life,/. is gettng past Microsoft's marketing machine and talking about the nitty gritty truth of technical matters, and that is exactly why I like it here. I don't HATE Microsoft per se, but I have always disagreed with their business practices, on a "little voice" level (that little voice that tells you when you're doing something wrong).
There IS sort of a "geek morality" at play here, that involves a set of ethics valuing "technological advancement for everybody" over "profits for shareholders", and that's embodied in the whole Open Source thing, but it plays out again and again in the discussions. And THAT'S what I'm here to be a part of.
Plus - geeks have a wild sense of humor.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Combining of two words, and capitalization of the second word, as far as I know, is an Apple invention - because that convention was used extensively in Pascal. (and Mac OS was originally written mostly in Pascal, way back when).
AppleScript QuickTime MoviePlayer etc. This from an OS whose file system was one of the first ones to handle space characters in filenames.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Slashdot Mirror
Finally, another voice in a sea of voices of lunacy.
This whole twisting of issues to arrive at "success is dangerous" is the biggest load of bullshit.
The winner of a bicycle race is the one who pedals fastest. NOT the one who rams the most pumps into other riders' spokes. By this definition, Microsoft is NOT a succeeder, not a winner, but just a dirty rotten cheat.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
He already has. Ever hear of a GUID?
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
There is that one goofy propaganda page out there somewhere that has all kinds of relationships between the number 666 and Bill Gates' name, Windows95, etc. . . .
And, he IS the son of a Lawyer. .
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Benjamin Franklin had a quote that goes something like;
"I cannot conceive otherwise that the Infinite Father, neither desires, nor requires worship, but that He is infinitely above that."
(not exact wording)
Actually, a lot of Christian doctrine points to this worship thing as not something that is for God, but is actually more of a mental excercise for the worshipper. I know there's language to the contrary in the Bible (I am a jealous God, you shall have no other above me - etc.), but fundamentally, it's the subjugation of one's Free Will to His Will that counts, and worship is more of a path to that end, rather than an end in of itself. Just like Jesse Ventura said; "organized religion is for those with weak minds." But he didn't necessarily say that he was opposed to religion, itself, or God.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
The Bible also says the Pi=3.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
no - no - that's not what I meant - I meant that Microsoft's lawyers bungled on purpose to bring about a very harsh ruling from Jackson, to make him look even MORE biased than he was in the previous trial that was overthrown by the appelate court.
Because they KNEW they couldn't win the case on merit, and that MS hadn't done a good job of burying the bodies.
This is a typical tactic for microsoft. When they know they can't win something on merit (which is about 90% of the time), they use alternatives.)
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
From a Yank who's been to England (one week training stint).
Housing:
The vast majority of US houses built in the 80's are like what you said, far better than their UK counterparts, for the money. But increasingly, new houses in the states are being built on much smaller plots of land. Even very, very large luxurious houses have these tiny tiny yards. Don't bother owning a large dog if you plan on buying a newer house. In California (at least around where I live), generally, older houses don't have basements, or screens on the windows (no bugs out here anyway). In Illinois though (where I came from) you're darn toonin' right you have screens on the windows. Bugs bugs bugs! And when there's no bugs, freezing rain.
Fuel:
You poor bastards. That's all I have to say.
Although, around London, I'd have to say you DO have a fabulous set of alternatives to driving. Best public transportation I've seen ANYWHERE, and I've been to MANY US cities, major and minor. Between the Great Western, and the Underground, you guys have it so nice. Back when I was in Illinois, they had trains and busses from the burbs into Chicago, but they were noisy, uncomfortable, and expensive as hell. Travelling by Great Western train in the London suburbs was luxurious, and pleasant. (what, I'm sure as hell not going to hire a car and hope I don't forget what side of the street to drive on - I nearly got killed several times as a pedestrian! Luckily, your works people are smart and painted "LOOK RIGHT" on the street by all pedestrian crossings - otherwise, I'd likely be dead now).
People:
No arguments there - but you can't make a blanket statement about US people. It varies widely by region. It's a big honkin country.
Computers:
You poor bastards!
Health service:
You poor bastards. Clinton almost had us in a similar mess. Thank goodness that didn't come to pass.
Other things -
Food: If you like food, England is NOT a nice place to live. Very little fruit is to be had, meat is often tough and fatty, and overcooked, although vegetables are often good quality. Lots of strange customary foods like blood pudding, and meat pies, etc. Luckily, American culture has somewhat infested the areas I was in, so there was some fallback to what I could eat.
Beauty:
I'll agree. England is stark-raving beautiful as a country. It's architecture, and countryside are second to none. It's music and culture are as rich as any in the world. But dentistry is obviously a hundred years behind the US. Not just an "Austin Powers" joke. It's true. BRUSH AND FLOSS DAILY!!!
But for the hottest chicks anywhere, listen to the Beach Boys song; you gotta come to California. The only problem is, they're a rare commodity in Northern California. SV guys should take weekend raids down to LA and import the hot chicks back to the Bay Area. They're wasted in Hollywood, where beauty can be bought cheaply.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Not so bad. I started at my company 8 years ago, in shipping & receiving, at roughly $11k/yr - it was a software company. I had dropped out of Art school due to lack of funds. I ressurected my old, forgotten love of computers from High School, and learned DOS and Netware, and graduated to testing hardware (we bundled some hardware with our products), and from there to Tech Support, where I got a raise up to $22k. Now I'm a senior Tech Support rep, and am making $65k, plus 401k, excellent health insurance, and other goodies, plus I have vested stock options worth in excess of a quarter million $ US. Probably worth half a million this time next year if current trends continue. Doesn't matter much to me, that's all icing on the cake.
Not bad for an art school dropout.
Though my company has been merged and squished and bought several times, and I ended up moving 2000 miles to keep my job (and those stock options), I'm still working for the same company, and definately not locked into a 5-7% raise structure. (though when I get increases, they're generally in the 2-5% range, the big increases have been from internal promotions).
I can't help but wonder what some of the coders are making at this company. I've actually spent some time trying to learn C on my own, but I've found that though I was great at self-paced learning in HS, I suck at it now, with family responsibilities competing for my time, so I'm finally going back to school, this time to get an engineering degree.
I don't know quite whom to thank for this life, but I gotta say, in retrospect, it's been great so far.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Oh, you don't even have to highlight the mail. If you have an empty inbox, with preview "on", and the message list pane has the focus, the first message that appears will automatically be highlighted. In this (admittedly rare scenario), the user doesn't even have to do anything!
Or, alternatively, if Bubbleboy arrives in the inbox while the user is reading other mail, and the user trashes the previous message, highlight in the box automatically goes to the next message on the list, and BOOM, another unintentional way to lauch the virus. Personally, I never went in for the preview pane thing, I thought it slowed things down, and took up too much real estate. I generally select all my unread messages that I want to read at once and open them in a group so they all get their own windows.
Anyone know how this thing behaves with the other form of preview activated, the one where the first three lines or so of each unread message shows up in the message list window? If THAT executes the payload, then we're all fucking doomed, because I think that's the default setup for Outlook, and nobody has to highlight anything. The message just has to be in the inbox, and unread. But since it only displays like the first three lines or so, I'm not sure if that will execute the payload.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
TURN OFF hyperlinks?
Hell, on the Mac, there's a little extension thingie that recognizes email addresses and internet addresses, and automagically turns them into a hyperlink, without forcing the document to be in HTML. It's sort of a layer between the user and any displayed text on the screen. Just click on the link and the OS tells your browser to go there.
Probably a better solution. Wish I could remember what it was called.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Of course the trial was executed the way it was to make Microsoft appear to be the victims, to the appelate court.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Bullets in ASCI aren't bulletproof. If your viewer reads the file in a smaller window, and the window word-wraps, the lines of text that are bulleted will wrap to the next line without indent.
Ugly.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
While this thread is hopelessly off topic, I do have to disagree with something you said.
While we all love to hate the marketroids for pushing development schedules and feature specs beyond what's reasonable and sound from an engineering standpoint (causing the resulting unstable and bloated app), that cause itself has a cause, and ultimately, it goes back to the shareholders, media, and customers. The shareholders want their company's products to be a commercial success so that the value of their holdings will increase. The media compares software in these multi-page foldout "feature-matrix" reviews, which causes the customer to demand feature parity, even when it's not really important. The features have all been reduced to a visual checkmark on the matrix, and so all features bear the same weight at a glance, therefore, intelligent prioritization feedback goes by the wayside, and boom, this filters back through sales, to marketshare, to stock prices, to shareholders, to marketroids, to R&D, ultimately back to the customer.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Damn, that Pokemon virus IS nasty. My 12 year old son is infected, my 6 year old son is infected, my 3 year old daughter is infected, and of course, all of their friends. I'm even addicted to the Gameboy (emu) version of this virus. It's incredible, the range of hosts this species can adapt to.
Humanity is doomed.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
. . . these are good suggestions. I like them, but also, the government should regulate itself as well -
It should forbid any and all government purchasing of systems or software that do not comply with established open standards like ANSI, W3C etc.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
sigh. I don't know exactly WHAT remedy would improve things - but I DO know that. . .
(1) Microsoft should be forced to openly publish all of its APIs.
(2) They should be prohibited from utilizing any API that has not been completely disclosed.
(3) They should be forced to provide correction, clarification and explanation, when the behavior of any API
differs from the published specification, or is unclear or appears to be in error.
(4) They should be forced to disclose all new APIs as they are created, to facilitate third parties' efforts to
make their software compatable with Microsoft software.
*wont* work. First of all, how do you enforce something like this? How do you know they've disclosed ALL of their API? If they're hiding them, how would anyone, outside of the privileged few MS conspirators know?
For EVERY API, undocumented behavior would have to be proven, and brought to court. I don't see that with a codebase of 140+ MLOC, there is enough time remaining in the life of the Universe before this could be rammed through the legal system.
Right now, I see Bill Gates as the Saddam Hussein of the software world. Right now, he's just invaded Kuwait, and the UN has finally got off their asses and said "BAD monopolist! NO STOCK OPTIONS!". And pretty much at every turn, Bill Gates has spewed his propaganda about how MS is doing nothing wrong, etc. Now, after the bombs fall and the surrender is signed, how can we be sure his secret labs aren't "building nukes?" how can we make sure his developers comply 100% with the "weapons inspectors"?
All they have to do is make a ruling like this, then MS can put up the appearance of putting forth their best effort to comply, and fail miserably at that, and it still won't fix the problem. Though I think you're right when you say, the problem is the API and the Platform - not necessarily the OS Monopoly (and bundling of apps), because it's already been well demonstrated that you can easily sleaze your way through defining the separating border between apps and OS, and almost every other company out there that writes an OS writes Apps for their own OS too.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
The only problem with X10 is that it doesn't fscking work. Had a buddy who was a total X10 freak. Started with just a couple of light switches. Then he went nuts and shelled out several hundred on getting everything set up. He started setting up his entertainment center, AC, etc. Nothing worked, and signals got crossed.
He's now building a new home, and wiring every room for ethernet. His plan is to have some goofy wince thingies that use infared, velcroed to the wall in every room, to control all the appliances in the room, and from there in the whole house via the ethernet.
He's spending significantly more cash this time around. I guess that's what stock options are for, eh?
Of course, when I build MY house, I'm spending the extra bux on solar panels for the roof. I'll sell the surplus power back to PG&E - the bastards.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
The only problem with X10 is that it doesn't fscking work. Had a buddy who was a total X10 freak. Started with just a couple of light switches. Then he went nuts and shelled out several hundred on getting everything set up. He started setting up his entertainment center, AC, etc. Nothing worked, and signals got crossed.
He's now building a new home, and wiring every room for ethernet. His plan is to have some goofy wince thingies that use infared, velcroed to the wall in every room, to control all the appliances in the room, and from there in the whole house via the ethernet.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Just so I understand this;
Were the shares they searched administrative shares?
(for the NT-unaware, and administrative share, is one that is at the root of every drive-letter, by default, on NT, anyone can use NET USE with the administrator password to gain access. Most savvy NT administrators delete these "hidden" shares after installation of the OS - but this subsequently can interfere with some applications)
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Basically, the whole point of these things is to allow lazy people to not have to return the phone to the retail outlet where they got it for reprogramming (and hopefully cleaning. . . what is that gunk in the speaker holes? I'm not putting that to MY ear!)
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
"1) Acres and acres of panels. These raise the temperature beneath them by enough to change the ecosystem
beneath them (yes, there is an ecosystem beneath the surface in the desert). "
Why bother with acres and acres of panels?
Most suburbs have acres and acres of rooftops. Why not put panels on your roofs, and tell the power company to go find a more productive way to make a living?
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
I'm waiting for a missile warhead that seeks cell-phone emissions.
Why wait for brain cancer?
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
I'd say it was even the #1 reason.
Not so prevalent this year, but LAST year I can remember all the TV ads were directed at scaring people into buying cell phones.
Since it became common knowlege that a 911 call made on a cell phone could be blocked if you're in a competing network's region, the industry suddenly stopped that advertising practice (although I think the FCC banned the 911 blocking).
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Exactly.
/. is the topics discussed, and especially the overall anti-Microsoft sentiment. Notice I don't call it a bias. I think MOST /. citizens value rational arguments over flamage, (hence the moderation system). While Pro-Microsoft arguments are accepted, it is carefully examined for FUD, and held to a very high standard. The rest of the world is talking about how great Active Directory is, and how DCOM will change your life, /. is gettng past Microsoft's marketing machine and talking about the nitty gritty truth of technical matters, and that is exactly why I like it here. I don't HATE Microsoft per se, but I have always disagreed with their business practices, on a "little voice" level (that little voice that tells you when you're doing something wrong).
While I have messed with Linux, I think it's just not for me. Either I'm not ready for Linux, or Linux isn't ready for me yet.
I am a semi-geek,(at least a geek in spirit, I don't claim to hack kernels) and my OS of choice is Mac. At work, I work on Wintel machines, and soon, a little Solaris.
What attracts me to
There IS sort of a "geek morality" at play here, that involves a set of ethics valuing "technological advancement for everybody" over "profits for shareholders", and that's embodied in the whole Open Source thing, but it plays out again and again in the discussions. And THAT'S what I'm here to be a part of.
Plus - geeks have a wild sense of humor.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Combining of two words, and capitalization of the second word, as far as I know, is an Apple invention - because that convention was used extensively in Pascal. (and Mac OS was originally written mostly in Pascal, way back when).
AppleScript
QuickTime
MoviePlayer
etc.
This from an OS whose file system was one of the first ones to handle space characters in filenames.
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".