Because I, J, K, L, M, or variable names beginnning with them, are integers in Fortran. Otherwise variables are floating point, and floating point loop variables is a bad idea especially in Fortran.
This is why the statement:
IMPLICIT INTEGER (A-Z)
is my friend.:-)
I still write new Fortran 77 code on occasion, and I tend to use things like LOOOP or LOOP1, LOOP2, etc. for loop counters. Or something like COUNT. Or PAGE. Or something else meaningful.
I, J, K, etc., are good for use in DEFINE statements and such, tho.:-)
If he succeeds, then REAL scifi authors could have a field day. No more helicopters, hovercraft, or zillions of other inventions they wrote about without getting their permission first...
In essence, you're blaming trucking companies for poor interchange design or low-capacity roads on the interstate system in crowded metro areas.
It should be obvious to most observers that the trucking companies didn't design the roads, and for the most part they don't maintain them, though they might providing funding for such... they just use them.
Delays which occur on the freeways are a function of traffic levels which are, in some cases, now advancing well beyond the original design parameters for those freeways.
The airlines are the same way when it comes to airport design and the establishment and maintenance of airspace and air corridors between cities, at least in the US.
Airlines are forced to operate within the system and are limited by its constraints, but they generally had little to do with the design of that system in the first place. They're just trying to get passengers from A to B safely and as quickly as can be accomplished given the limitations placed on them by the folks who run the airways, namely the FAA and friends.
Not making excuses, just stating facts. It all seems so "easy" to change this or that about the airline industry until you actually learn how it works.:-(
Airlines will collectively schedule as many flights as the local airport authority permits.
If airline A decided to not schedule as many flights at station XYZ, then airline B will pick up the slack and effectively use up that airport's capacity, at least at airports which are at or near capacity, as long as those airlines have passengers available to fill up those flights.
If you have an issue with overscheduling at a particular airport, blame that airport. They're the ones who set those limits, and the airlines are generally forced to operate within those constraints.
Events like FAA Ground Stops are a different matter entirely... those are systemic issues which are created by oversaturated airways and are often caused by weather systems disrupting station operations at another location.
The fact of the matter is that airlines do rather a lot to reduce delays and perform irregular ops (ship changes, flight changes, route changes, etc.) in a smooth manner, and flight delay assignment ("finger pointing") was a science at Northwest Airlines when I worked there in flight ops.
We took great pride in reducing flight delays when I worked there, but sometimes delays are unavoidable on the east coast of the US especially because of the high levels of flight traffic that are permitted, and the ease at which a single unexpected delay can percolate through the entire system. Again, that's probably an FAA issue.
I agree that On Demand, by itself, is not worth the $$, and that Netflix is a better deal for what it provides, but at this point we have both (in our case Netflix streaming through a 360).
Thankfully, the Comcast DVR we have is a Motorola DCH3416, which sucks compared to my ReplayTV 5040, but which has an acceptable UI (IMO) for a basic DVR.
For those of us who haven't had time to watch all of the series that have been out over the past 10 or 20 years, Netflix is a very nice service. It's fun to watch shows like Earth 2, Tripping The Rift, Farscape, and others shows that I've only seen bits and pieces of in the past. And we can sit down and watch a bunch of episodes at once on a weekend.:-)
How is the capability "worlds apart"...? Can you quantify it or express it in some way so that comparisons are possible?
I'm an old and gray 47-year-old who juggles (Unisys in my case) mainframe transactions systems, C and Java stuff, and perl/PHP web stuff for a living, and most of the stuff I see on the web side tends to be OO reimplementations of the same stuff we were using 20 years ago on airline systems.
Many of the same ideas on the web, though somewhat less mature at this point.
Even Unisys MAPPER supported the mouse and graphics at one point with the right remote terminal. Not bad for a mainframe.:-)
Multi-tier systems have actually existed in various forms for decades, though that might depend on definitions, and complex networked systems have existed for much longer. Airlines have been sharing data for over 60 years in some form.:-)
I think you find that there are a fair number of "old timers" who get new tech, but most of us are the folks who got into the industry for fun in the first place, not just for the money.:-)
I find this whole discussino amusing given that I'm 47 and I'm having to deal with multiple folks 15-20 years my senior here. And some of them are VERY clueful.
Why add messages I care even less about to the mix?:-)
Okay, some work messages I do care about, since they mean I actually have to take some action, but I would rather keep my phone free from non-work-related traffic.
The only person whose text messages really interest me is my wife. She made me say that, too.:-)
In many states, it is against the law to interfere with the progress of emergency vehicles, and other folks on the road are required to make room for such vehicles so they can pass by.
Put a police escort in front of the critical storm chasing vehicles... that way anyone who decides to be a smart ass and get in the way "for a good picture" will get a nice ticket for their trouble.
Seriously... I respect the fact that others have as much right to view these storms as the folks making scientific readings, but there are legal ways to expedite movement through traffic. And I'm not talking about fixing snow plow blades to the front of the radar trucks, either.:-)
What about the little guy inventor who comes up with an incredible and magical piece of software that no one would never have thought of in a million years ?
Without software patents:
1. Copyright law protects both copying of the source and the binaries, and software licenses and/or EULAs can legally limit things like reverse engineering, specific types of usage, etc.
2. Those protections might be sufficient even if a large company (e.g., Microsoft) decided to appropriate the tech. An obvious appropriation may require legal action, but
3. The source to successful proprietary programs has been released on a number of occasions. 4DOS, Doom/Quake, and DR-DOS are three potentially interesting examples.
With software patents:
1. He can get a monopoly on not just his specific implementation of an idea, but ON ALL POSSIBLE IMPLEMENTIONS of that idea. This prevents even those approaches to solving the problem which are technically quite dissimilar from being independently invented and used.
NOTE: This is the main problem with software patents: they often describe general concepts, not specific implementations. It's just patenting a "two wheeled vehicle" instead of a "scooter".
2. He can make the patent application without disclosing source code, and without disclosing enough meaningful technical information for someone else to actually reimplement the idea.
NOTE: This is the second huge problem with software patents: while the intent of a patent is to disclose the invention so others can benefit, in reality a software patent does no such thing because it is a legal rather than technical representation of the idea.
3. The patent will effectively last forever in an information technology context. Yes, I've had the chance to work with software older than 20 years of age, but that's in a mainframe context in a line of business where core procedures have changed very little in 20+ years. In a desktop context, 20 years might as well be 100. Or 1000.
NOTE: This is the third problem with software patents: the term is usually not reasonable given the context of the invention.
I thought there was something in federal law which either seriously limited or prohibited the creation of single-person companies for the sole purpose of software development. Maybe I'm mistaken...
What do you mean "...had gotten..."?? A certain percentage of people in the corporate world have always been slow on the uptake when it comes to computer UI changes, etc.
Slashdot Mirror
This is true of programmers ... or humanity ... in general.
This is why the statement:
is my friend. :-)
I still write new Fortran 77 code on occasion, and I tend to use things like LOOOP or LOOP1, LOOP2, etc. for loop counters. Or something like COUNT. Or PAGE. Or something else meaningful.
I, J, K, etc., are good for use in DEFINE statements and such, tho. :-)
Uh... Doesn't the software license from Microsoft specifically disclaim responsibility for most conceivable negative events?
Capitalism is what is causing this. Lawsuits in pursuit of the almighty dollar.
If they gave you 50 million, why not turn around and spent that 2-3 million to make them think twice about trying to screw you again?
If he succeeds, then REAL scifi authors could have a field day. No more helicopters, hovercraft, or zillions of other inventions they wrote about without getting their permission first...
Because Lake Minnetonka isn't really all that clean? :-)
In essence, you're blaming trucking companies for poor interchange design or low-capacity roads on the interstate system in crowded metro areas.
It should be obvious to most observers that the trucking companies didn't design the roads, and for the most part they don't maintain them, though they might providing funding for such ... they just use them.
Delays which occur on the freeways are a function of traffic levels which are, in some cases, now advancing well beyond the original design parameters for those freeways.
The airlines are the same way when it comes to airport design and the establishment and maintenance of airspace and air corridors between cities, at least in the US.
Airlines are forced to operate within the system and are limited by its constraints, but they generally had little to do with the design of that system in the first place. They're just trying to get passengers from A to B safely and as quickly as can be accomplished given the limitations placed on them by the folks who run the airways, namely the FAA and friends.
Not making excuses, just stating facts. It all seems so "easy" to change this or that about the airline industry until you actually learn how it works. :-(
Airlines will collectively schedule as many flights as the local airport authority permits.
If airline A decided to not schedule as many flights at station XYZ, then airline B will pick up the slack and effectively use up that airport's capacity, at least at airports which are at or near capacity, as long as those airlines have passengers available to fill up those flights.
If you have an issue with overscheduling at a particular airport, blame that airport. They're the ones who set those limits, and the airlines are generally forced to operate within those constraints.
Events like FAA Ground Stops are a different matter entirely ... those are systemic issues which are created by oversaturated airways and are often caused by weather systems disrupting station operations at another location.
The fact of the matter is that airlines do rather a lot to reduce delays and perform irregular ops (ship changes, flight changes, route changes, etc.) in a smooth manner, and flight delay assignment ("finger pointing") was a science at Northwest Airlines when I worked there in flight ops.
We took great pride in reducing flight delays when I worked there, but sometimes delays are unavoidable on the east coast of the US especially because of the high levels of flight traffic that are permitted, and the ease at which a single unexpected delay can percolate through the entire system. Again, that's probably an FAA issue.
I spent over 10 years working in IT for a major airline, and if you think the airlines are fond of operational delays, you're crazy!
...unless I have really big fists, in which case your protestations will stop as soon as you lose consciousness. :-)
Or go by themselves. :-)
I agree that On Demand, by itself, is not worth the $$, and that Netflix is a better deal for what it provides, but at this point we have both (in our case Netflix streaming through a 360).
Thankfully, the Comcast DVR we have is a Motorola DCH3416, which sucks compared to my ReplayTV 5040, but which has an acceptable UI (IMO) for a basic DVR.
For those of us who haven't had time to watch all of the series that have been out over the past 10 or 20 years, Netflix is a very nice service. It's fun to watch shows like Earth 2, Tripping The Rift, Farscape, and others shows that I've only seen bits and pieces of in the past. And we can sit down and watch a bunch of episodes at once on a weekend. :-)
Comcast has a fairly nice On Demand selection including the past few episodes of a few dozen current TV series (it isn't just crappy movies).
We tend to use the DVRs anyway (one from Comcast, one ReplayTV) and Netflix, but still On Demand is sometimes useful.
How is the capability "worlds apart"...? Can you quantify it or express it in some way so that comparisons are possible?
I'm an old and gray 47-year-old who juggles (Unisys in my case) mainframe transactions systems, C and Java stuff, and perl/PHP web stuff for a living, and most of the stuff I see on the web side tends to be OO reimplementations of the same stuff we were using 20 years ago on airline systems.
Many of the same ideas on the web, though somewhat less mature at this point.
Even Unisys MAPPER supported the mouse and graphics at one point with the right remote terminal. Not bad for a mainframe. :-)
Multi-tier systems have actually existed in various forms for decades, though that might depend on definitions, and complex networked systems have existed for much longer. Airlines have been sharing data for over 60 years in some form. :-)
I think you find that there are a fair number of "old timers" who get new tech, but most of us are the folks who got into the industry for fun in the first place, not just for the money. :-)
I find this whole discussino amusing given that I'm 47 and I'm having to deal with multiple folks 15-20 years my senior here. And some of them are VERY clueful.
Why add messages I care even less about to the mix? :-)
Okay, some work messages I do care about, since they mean I actually have to take some action, but I would rather keep my phone free from non-work-related traffic.
The only person whose text messages really interest me is my wife. She made me say that, too. :-)
Wouldn't that be something for the local authorities to decide?
In many states, it is against the law to interfere with the progress of emergency vehicles, and other folks on the road are required to make room for such vehicles so they can pass by.
Put a police escort in front of the critical storm chasing vehicles ... that way anyone who decides to be a smart ass and get in the way "for a good picture" will get a nice ticket for their trouble.
Seriously... I respect the fact that others have as much right to view these storms as the folks making scientific readings, but there are legal ways to expedite movement through traffic. And I'm not talking about fixing snow plow blades to the front of the radar trucks, either. :-)
What about network support?
Mail and web servers?
Custom applications you might use?
For larger companies, those areas are far larger and more complex than the desktop support piece.
What about the little guy inventor who comes up with an incredible and magical piece of software that no one would never have thought of in a million years ?
Without software patents:
1. Copyright law protects both copying of the source and the binaries, and software licenses and/or EULAs can legally limit things like reverse engineering, specific types of usage, etc.
2. Those protections might be sufficient even if a large company (e.g., Microsoft) decided to appropriate the tech. An obvious appropriation may require legal action, but
3. The source to successful proprietary programs has been released on a number of occasions. 4DOS, Doom/Quake, and DR-DOS are three potentially interesting examples.
With software patents:
1. He can get a monopoly on not just his specific implementation of an idea, but ON ALL POSSIBLE IMPLEMENTIONS of that idea. This prevents even those approaches to solving the problem which are technically quite dissimilar from being independently invented and used.
NOTE: This is the main problem with software patents: they often describe general concepts, not specific implementations. It's just patenting a "two wheeled vehicle" instead of a "scooter".
2. He can make the patent application without disclosing source code, and without disclosing enough meaningful technical information for someone else to actually reimplement the idea.
NOTE: This is the second huge problem with software patents: while the intent of a patent is to disclose the invention so others can benefit, in reality a software patent does no such thing because it is a legal rather than technical representation of the idea.
3. The patent will effectively last forever in an information technology context. Yes, I've had the chance to work with software older than 20 years of age, but that's in a mainframe context in a line of business where core procedures have changed very little in 20+ years. In a desktop context, 20 years might as well be 100. Or 1000.
NOTE: This is the third problem with software patents: the term is usually not reasonable given the context of the invention.
I thought there was something in federal law which either seriously limited or prohibited the creation of single-person companies for the sole purpose of software development. Maybe I'm mistaken...
What do you mean "...had gotten..."?? A certain percentage of people in the corporate world have always been slow on the uptake when it comes to computer UI changes, etc.