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User: Bob9113

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  1. Re:Feature Request on The Conference Bike · · Score: 2, Informative

    You must mean this ingenious device. What a beautiful country that is to allow such a thing. Alas, when I was there a couple months ago it was raining and we had to cancel our reservation.

  2. Blue Collar Work? on U.S. Programmers An Endangered Species? · · Score: 1

    Well, I was thinking I would switch to blue collar work, but since US based manufacturing became extinct in the 60's and 70's, I guess that isn't an option. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to sound like Chicken Little.

  3. Re:still very different on Java 1.5 vs C# · · Score: 2, Informative

    C# does not force you to declare exceptions

    Correction: C# does not give you the option of using checked exceptions. Java has both checked and unchecked.

    Checked exceptions, when used properly, are a very good thing. The point of a checked exception is: "Pardon me developer, but did you ensure that precondition X is satisfied before calling this method?" If there is a precondition that is not apparent from the API itself, the checked exception is a good compile-time method for getting the developer's attention.

    That said, I have seen (and even committed) overuse or misuse of checked exceptions. Thus I can understand Microsoft's assumption that programmers aren't smart enough to use them properly.

  4. This is The Right Approach on Iceland and USA Feel the Copyright Industry's Wrath · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...the music industry is now determined to vent its wrath on helpless men, women and children who can't hope to stand up to it with its tremendous political and financial power.

    This is precisely the right thing for the labels to do. Go after the people who are breaking the law, not the people who make products that can be used to break the law. It is good because it is the way law should be (punishing the infringer, not the toolmaker), and it is good because it shows people how much the current copyright model sucks. Actions like this are exactly what we want, so that people will be motivated to move to new economic models of content distribution.

    We need to find an economic model that both compensates the creator and moves the product into the public domain (or a similar Open license). Actions like this are exactly what will show the general public the value of the public domain.

  5. SOA What? SOA This. on Survey: SOA Prominent On 2005 budgets · · Score: 3, Informative

    Lots of comments on the buzzwordiness of SOA, and questioning the technical merit. I've been working on a SOA project for a couple months now, and I can tell you - the technical merit is there (as well as the acrid stench of buzz).

    The core idea of SOA is that there are a lot of enterprises out there with lots of legacy databases on their networks. They also have small, decentralized app development teams that just want to put the data in front of the customer, as quickly as possible. Allowing all those teams direct access to all those databases is both expensive and risky (from a security standpoint) and expensive and difficult (from the front end developer's standpoint). SOA is a way to put a single point of entry across multiple databases. The front end people can code hellbent for leather against SOAP, without thinking about security or SQL, while the SOA team writes at a somewhat slower more methodic pace, linking in security (perhaps via LDAP) and handling handling the SQL.

    Basically it's a way of keeping the O/R mapping and database security problem with a single team, while also allowing individual departments and divisions of the corporation to have their own app development teams.

  6. License? on Microsoft Releases FlexWiki as Open Source · · Score: 2, Informative

    Candera's FlexWiki Contrib uses the IBM license, but the FlexWiki Core project has no license listed. I didn't know you could start a project on SF without selecting a license, I thought it was a mandatory part of the project submission form. Does anyone know what license they are using?

  7. Ogg Vorbis & FLAC Please on The Perfect Online Music Store? · · Score: 1

    Should it have OGG and FLAC tracks, as well as MP3?

    I'm sure this is highly redundant, but yes, I would like Ogg Vorbis and FLAC. Roughly speaking I would pay 50% more for FLAC over MP3, and maybe 25% more for Ogg Vorbis than MP3. MP3 at anything less than 256 VBR sounds like tin cans and string. Vorbis can comfortably go down to the 196 VBR range. (of course, this is only my experience with LAME, OggEnc, a mid-range DAC (Echo Gina), and Sennheiser headphones - YMMV) As for a true CD substitute; FLAC is the only real choice.

  8. Platform Independence Too on Report Says Patents Threaten Software Innovation · · Score: 1

    From the report:

    Breakthrough 4: Realize the vision of 'any content, anytime, anywhere, any platform'

    Content is considered an important engine for future economic growth and employment. The EU needs to fuel this engine by realizing the vision of 'any content, anytime, anywhere, any platform' by e.g. introducing multiplatform access for content producers and new digital rights management regimes.

  9. Re:Legal action on MPAA Sends Linux Australia Dubious Takedown Notice · · Score: 1

    Actually, most people do *NOT* have a problem ripping off someone who is honest and decent, as long as they don't actually have to actually see the person or in some other way be connected to them in a manner that could reasonably and forseeably (adversely) affect their life. Large and effectively invisible organizations like the RIAA fit into this category quite nicely

    While I agree with the nature of your implication in general, I think the specifics are off. While I agree that the RIAA doesn't "see" the honest and decent music consumers that they rip off through price fixing, they and the labels they represent do (at least in a metaphorical sense) "see" the honest and decent musicians they are ripping off by cooking the books. That is to say that while I agree that the RIAA fits nicely into the category; "people who don't have a problem ripping off unknown honest and decent people," they also fit in the category; "people who don't have a problem ripping of honest and decent people to whom they have a clear, explicit legal obligation."

  10. Re:Tune up the bass on Digital Generation, Analog Retro Chic · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's all psychological. Or settings. I've heard a few people say they didn't care for their CD systems' sound. Turns out, they aren't using their equalizers for anything.

    Turn up the bass, and poof, sounds warmer.


    Valves (tubes) also mutate the sound. They actually do add something to the sound that is extremely hard to reproduce with non-analog systems. You could argue (correctly) that valve systems don't reproduce the original sound as accurately as digital, but they do sound different. For systems where perfect reproduction is not the goal (EG: electric guitar and electric bass amps), valves are still the king.

    Here's a great article that explains the whole thing.

  11. Mechanical Wrist Watches on Digital Generation, Analog Retro Chic · · Score: 1

    Mechanical wrist watches have never gone out of style. Some of the geekiest geeks I know are watch geeks. Mass production has also reached a level where even a tightwad like me can own one. A few months ago I bought this Rolex knock-off with a Japanese movement for US$100. Keeps pretty good time (loses about 1 minute per week), and feels sooo much smoother when changing time zones than a quartz watch. With the clear back, you can look at all the cool little parts too.

  12. Re:Can't treally blame them... on Report Claims SCO Intends to Charge IBM with Fraud · · Score: 1

    Typo Correction:

    It will be nice to tell our grandchildren about this company named SCO that tried to profit off of others work.

    Should Read:

    It will be sad to tell our grandchildren about one of the companies, named SCO, that profited off of others work and further catalyzed the explosive growth of IP lawyerism in the late 1900's and early 2000's.

    The pump and dump worked. The SCO executives took a 2 dollar stock and sold many thousands of shares at over 10 dollars.

  13. Re:Shut that HATCH on Copyright Office Suggests Changes To Induce Act · · Score: 1

    First have a proposed act that is so ridiculous no one can sanely accept it, then turn around and seem to offer a compromise, and suddenly the masses gobble it all up!

    Yes, exactly. It's a hardball negotiation technique called "lowballing." The term originates in reference to making your first bid for a product ridiculously low to try to get the seller to reassess his or her valuation of the product.

    Herb Cohen has a couple great books on negotiation tactics. I highly recommend "Negotiate This." It's good stuff to know when dealing with management.

  14. Have Cake, Eat It on Broadband Envy: Fixing American Broadband · · Score: 2, Insightful

    the media has apparently developed a nasty case of broadband envy.

    So we spend the past 6 or 7 years creating laws that make running an ISP a legal and regulatory minefield, other laws that reduce the consumer value of having broadband, and create an environment in which incumbent telecoms are encouraged to kill competition and cook the books, then we scratch our heads and wonder why we don't have a better information infrastructure. Well, gee, I just can't figure it out.

  15. Re:DIY on Replacing FileMaker with Free Software? · · Score: 1

    Well for one, if the tool is data driven, it just makes more sense to have the database on ONE SERVER rather than as part of an app that you have to store on a million different boxes and then update constantly.

    Flawed assumption. The database still lives on one machine. With a GUI based application, it is actually possible to ship less data per screen to the client than with an HTML based app. With HTML you have to ship markup plus text. With GUI, you only ship the text (having shipped the markup as part of the initial install, instead of with every page load).

    Second, one ... interface that everyone can reach and access make it easier to maintain.

    Agreed, but only from the software distribution standpoint. Writing for web or GUI is pretty much the same in terms of difficulty.

    Also, everyone is familiar with the web, the way it works and how to get things done. They don't have to figure out whatever GUI you develop for the tool.

    Your web screens are your user interface. They have to learn the flow and layout just like they would in a GUI app. GUI apps, however, are a bit more mature and have more standards (File, Edit, and Help menus, Copy and Paste icons, etc.)

    It's portable as well as long as you have a connection.

    Definitely true, and one of the best reasons to use web applications.

    For database driven apps, it's pretty much the best way to go.

    Speaking as a hammer manufacturer, I must tell you that this problem is clearly a nail.

  16. Security is for Sissies on Absentee Ballots by Email? · · Score: 4, Funny

    A spokesman for the Secretary of State's office downplays the privacy and security considerations by saying, "If the soldier is uncomfortable with this process, he or she should not consider this option".

    So I wonder what they'll say afterwards...
    Spokesman: See, this plan worked perfectly - we got 100% turnout.
    Soldier: 100%? How? I didn't use the email voting system.
    Spokesman: Sure you did, we have your vote right here. You voted for Kevin Mitnick, and used the reply-to address "haX0r-v0t3r@133t.ru."
    Soldier: What?
    Spokesman: There you have it folks, as we said beforehand, if they didn't trust it, they wouldn't use it. 100% used it, so clearly 100% trust it. And if 100% of our fighting men and women trust a system they know nothing about, who are you to question it? It's a simple question really: Do you support our soldiers, or are you a terrorist? The terrorists don't want our soldiers to vote.

  17. It's About Compensation on Businessweek Recommends License Switch for Linux · · Score: 1

    That would be tremendously controversial in the open-source community, where the GPL sometimes seems more like an object of religious veneration than a legal document, but it would be good for all concerned.

    It's a legal document, and an economic document. It's a simple matter of compensation. Proprietary software provides compensation to the developer via capitalism. GPL software provides compensation to the developer via communism. BSD software provides compensation to the developer via socialism.

    None of these three is right, none of them is wrong. It's a question of how the developer wants to be compensated. None of the three is particularly efficient (capitalism, which typically does well on efficiency, doesn't work well with software because of the zero cost of reproduction). Broad statements that any one license "will be good for all concerned" should be an immediate red flag that the speaker is either ignorant or biased.

  18. MS Stock Price on Microsoft Developing Linux Policy, Plan of Attack · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ballmer griped that Microsoft's profits have more than doubled in the past six years, but the stock, at $29, is right where it was then. "Linux creates a cloud of uncertainty over Microsoft. Every time Red Hat reports earnings, Microsoft seems to take a hit," says Goldman Sachs software analyst Richard Sherlund.

    Hmmm, let's see - it's a 300 billion dollar company with a P/E ratio of 36.19. To get to the point where they are bringing home a 10% return on that market cap (the traditional good rate of return), they would have to more than triple their earnings. They already have the entire market in their primary fields, which means they've got nowhere to go but lateral markets. Looking at XBox, MSN, WMA, and the like, it doesn't look like Microsoft is going to be able to pull a Microsoft in any other market.

    Frankly, Steve, if I were you I'd be real grateful for the 36.19 P/E. It doesn't look like you deserve it.

  19. Re:Boss of eWEEK.com here ... on Ziff Davis To Website: License To Link, Updated · · Score: 1

    My personal apologies to anyone inconvenienced by this error, and I'm personally going to see that it isn't repeated in the future.

    Hi Matthew,

    Thank you for taking the time to respond to our concerns, and for taking this issue as a matter of personal pride. That level of commitment to your company and your readers is commendable.

    One note; as this sort of thing becomes increasingly common, there are many people, myself included, who feel that a simple apology and commitment to do better in the future is not always sufficient. The problem with many of the recent laws involving the various types of intellectual property is that damage often occurs immediately, with no judicial oversight, based simply on the allegation. In this case, PocketPCTools had to revise its content based on an allegation. The ability for allegations to lead directly to damages is one form of "chilling effect" - the ability for vague or overbroad laws to restrict legal activities. When an allegation leads to such damage, and if the allegation was unjustified, it seems that apologizing and agreeing to do better does not always address the damage done.

    It is clear that you are on the right side of the issue in this case, and I don't want to belittle your efforts - it seems that you are genuinely interested in setting the situation right. I only mention the above in the hopes that you can communicate this larger issue to the people at your company who control the process that resulted in the initial allegation.

    Thanks,

    Bob

  20. What's That Bruce? on IBM Has 'No Intention' of Using Patents Against Linux · · Score: 1

    "For IBM's part, we pledge to do everything in our power to help stroke that balance. I can promise you that," Donofrio said.

    Could you repeat that Bruce? I couldn't hear you over the deafening rattle coming from IBM's sabre.

    Ease up a little, it's good to have friends.

  21. Re:new trend in IP on Microsoft's Marshall Phelps On Patents And Linux · · Score: 2, Informative

    Submarine patents are a nasty and relatively recent development in the intangible property arena.

    My father is an engineer who has been involved in a number of patent applications going back to the 70's. He once mentioned that using non-industry-standard language is, and long has been, the common practice, because it increases the likelihood that competitors will not notice the patent and start infringing. Intentionally abusing the pitiful review process may be a recent development, but submarine patents are standard operating procedure.

  22. Bite Me, Apple on Apple Not Too Harmonious with Real · · Score: 1

    I've been evangelizing Apple to anyone who is afraid to try Linux. This pretty much makes my desktop operating platform recommendations, in order or long term value to the consumer (just the four leading desktop platforms):

    1. Linux
    2 - 51. Linux
    52 - 83. Linux or BSD
    84 - 98. Linux or BSD or Apple
    99 - 100. Any

    Yesterday it would have been
    1. Linux
    2 - 52. Linux or Apple
    52 - 98. Linux or Apple or BSD
    99 - 100. Any

    My apologies to BSD, but I've always found installing software to be too hard for desktop users.

  23. They Got it Backwards on Vaccinated Against Vices? · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Childhood immunisation would provide adults with protection from the euphoria that is experienced by users, making drugs such as heroin and cocaine pointless to take.

    What an idiotic approach. The problem with drugs is not the temporary feeling of euphoria, the problem is that some of them are physically addictive and some have negative side effects. Riding a roller coaster, running a 10K, or having sex provides a temporary feeling of euphoria. Temporary feelings of euphoria are good - they are what our genes give us in return for being their host and propagation vector. The entire hedonistic meaning of life is the pursuit of temporary feelings of euphoria. Without those temporary feelings of euphoria the only reasons to go on living are religion and socialism. What will they do next? put all the children on Ritalin? Solve the physical addiction problem, eliminate the negative side effects, and promote healthy recreational use.

  24. Nice Work on Apollo 11 Photographs Unfrozen · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wow! These new images are the best yet. The shadows are all going the same direction, you can't see the movie set reflected in the visors, and there's no apparent line where the backdrop meets the stage. And they managed to build a set that looks virtually identical to the original set from the 60's. You've got to hand it to NASA for listening to public feedback and making a more believable set of photographs.

  25. Other Examples on Using P2P To Make Gov't Documents Easy To Find · · Score: 3, Informative

    For once, we have a concrete example to point to when citing the merits of P2P.

    Let me offer a few others that have been around for a while:
    - Distributing FLOSS. For example, Linux.
    - Distributing music with the copyright holder's permission. For example, eTree.
    - Distributing internally developed software to employees in a large enterprise. For example, LANDesk and Marimba use peer to peer distribution.