Taking this even further off topic... I have a copy of an old book from the People's Computer Company (anybody who hasn't read Hackers, shame on you) called What To Do After You Hit Enter, published in the late 70's (I think) when personal computers were just getting off the ground, and access to mainframes was more common. Mainly, it's a book of computer games (Wumpus, Hamurabi, Mugwump, Biorythm, etc.) with BASIC source code, all suitable for use on a TTY. What impresses me even today is the enthusiasm for the budding computer revolution which shows in every haphazardly laid-out page of TTY source and output listings, quirky program descriptions, scrawled notes, and cartoons. One of the main points of emphasis was how you could learn more about computers by tweaking the programs. What happens if you change this number? How can you add new hazards to the Wumpus caves? Maybe this spirit of exploration is something we would all do well to remember. Hey -- maybe converting some of these old programs is the project I need to teach myself Perl...
Aren't CS degrees for those dangerous weird kids who don't play sports, like the internet, and play those soul-destroying video games? Anybody who's read Katz the last couple of days might want to consider the connection between hazing the kids who are too smart to fit in, and students who don't want to go into more intellectual fields of study.
According to an interview in the Linux Magazine I read a few days ago, Microsoft has never offered Linus a job. Linus implied that if he were to receive such an offer, he wouldn't be offended, just that he wouldn't find it technically interesting.
Does anybody really expect them to suddenly start saying anything that isn't total BS? Get real. Maybe I should get involved in consulting; it's gotta be a lot easier than working.
I've seen a couple of very sketchy reports that Linus said "Windows Sucks" at some point during his speech. This seems so out of character for him that I'd really like to know the context. I could see Linus making a more specific statement about some specific aspect of Windows that sucks, but find a blanket condemnation of Windows unlikely. In several interviews I've seen, Linus expresses a fairly balanced opinion of Windows, praising some aspects and condemning others.
What I've heard is that there won't be any out-of-the-box DVD movie support, but Sony may release an add-on later. A pity, because that was one of the main reasong I would have bought a PS2 on day one.
Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago that someone was whining about a book review that didn't have an Amazon link? No matter what Rob does, someone is going to piss and moan. It's a link. You can click on it or not.
So, does this applet actually require that much horsepower, or is there some Java function to find out what type of processor it's running on? Somehow, given Intel's track record, I'd tend to suspect the latter.
Now that we've got a movie made primarily to show off the "virtual camera" 3-D freeze-frame effect, can we stop using it in every single commercial on TV? It's getting so tired that I'm sure Wired is going to do a cover story on it in the next issue.
I think I've finally figured out Keanu Reeves as an actor. He's embarassed about playing such a goofy comic character in Bill & Ted that he was determined not to be typecast as such. Since then, he's tried so hard not to be typecast as a goofball that now he's being typecast as a stony, reserved man of action -- the "strong, silent type." Personally, I preferred him as the former; his acting in everything I've seen since has been pretty wooden. I guess that works for this kind of action flick, but Keanu should be prevented by Any Means Necessary from ever attempting to do Shakespeare again.
Please don't blame ZDNet for what was said about Slashdot and Slashdotters. The comments about Slashdot came from one particular reader, who has a chip on his shoulder that is much too large to fit into a type 1 slot. I prefer to judge ZDNet articles on their own merits (or lack thereof) rather than on the Talkback; after all, Free Software advocates are free to post just as much FUD as anyone else.
As somebody who reads ZDNet Commentaries on a fairly regular basis (whether I agree with them or not) I wouldn't worry too much about what Lewis A. Mettler, Esq. says. I see him as the ZDNet equivalent of the grumpy old men who write daily 10-page letters to the editor of the local newspaper, complaining about Those Darned Kids and describing how Things Were Better In Their Day. He posts long-widned responses to what seems like the vast majority of commentaries on Microsoft and Open Source. I rarely read his comments (or those of Robert "Boycott Crashware" Flash) because he seeems determined to say the same thing over and over again, every time he gets a chance. He seems to be carrying a grudge over a disagreement several months ago about the idea of "security through obscurity," which drew a few flames among the relatively civil debate. The idea of Lewis A. Mettler, Esq. having room to call anyone arrogant is amusing.
Unfortunately, as long as Microsoft operating systems run a majority of the world's computers, vendors are unlikely to implement a standard like this until Microsoft systems can use it. This doesn't necessarily mean that Microsoft itself needs to implement this standard; I'm sure some third-party developer could develop an IPP implementation for Windows. The problem there is, if a third-party product makes IPP popular, Microsoft is likely to "integrate" it into their OS, as they did with memory management, disk compression, etc. Maybe HP or one of the other printer makers will provide an implementation for Windows. Hopefully, the spec really is open enough to allow for a Free Software implementation for Linux.
I think the original poster was referring to news services that are purely web-based, as opposed to those "traditional media" services (like the Reuters and AP sites you mention) that also publish to the internet. Some internet news services, particularly those dealing with technical matters, may provide better coverage of specific, focused areas. However, I have yet to see a decent general news site that was not a counterpart to a print, TV, or wire media operation.
I'm just a Linux newbie, but if you can do all this with existing Linux tools, I'd like more details. What is the command to query a printer and find out its capabilities under Linux, without having to configure it by hand?
As it was explained to me several months ago, "Anorak" and "Trainspotter" are Brit synonyms for "nerd" or "geek". Trainspotting is an activity roughly akin to bird-watcing; sitting atound in dreary English weather for hours on end with a book of train engines, watching trains go by and hoping to see a rare engine. Apparently, the activity is common enough to have become a stereotype of a lonely, pathetic person with no social skills and, therefore, nothing better to do. An anorak is a hooded, waterproof cloak, often in bright colors, which might be called a "rain slicker" in parts of the US. Supposedly it's the outerwear of choice for sitting around in cold, drippy weather, and therefore, at least by the stereotype, the most common identifying mark of a trainspotter.
The problem isn't that people necessarily need to use Microsoft Office, it's that they are likely to need to open Office files that someone else has created. As much as I might wish otherwise, Microsoft Office is likely to be the dominant office suite for some time to come. Even happy Linux users may have to annotate Word docs from clients, update Excel spreadsheets from cow orkers, and pretend to have looked at Powerpoint presentations from suits. I've still got one foot in Windows land myself, and have yet to work with any Linux office apps. What kind of filters are available for Applix, WordPerfect, etc. to import and export Microsoft's various moving target file formats? Also, can they cope with embedded stuff, like a chunk of Excel spreadsheet in a Word doc? Compatiblity with existing files is probably a bigger obstacle to acceptance of alternative office suites than any kind of UI or training issues.
I once saw some old (1950's at a guess) cartoon about the wonders that science would create for us, such as crossing a chicken with a centipede to produce drumsticks by the hundreds. It seemed funny at the time...
I think it's great that The GIMP is getting recognition from web design sites like Web Review and Webmonkey. Still, it's time to come up with a new title for these articles; "Bring out the GIMP" is getting stale. After all, once Wired does something, it's no longer cool (if it ever was in the first place). Dammit, isn't there at least some line from The Usual Suspects that would make a decent title?
It worked fine at home on my Win9X box. Craps out after 2 seconds at work on my NT4 box. I don't have any other QT movies handy to test; is it general to QT3/NT4 or specific to the Star Wars trailer?
IIRC, another important aspect of this version of SAFE is that it prevents the government from imposing Key Escrow requirements on encryption software. I presume that this provision is still intact.
Even though I don't agree with a lot of what RMS says, I have a great deal of repect for him, and am glad that he (end extremists like him) are out there. Thoughtful extremists contribute new ideas, encourage debate, and keep the movement from becoming stagnant. I do, however, get tired of the "RMS said it, I believe it, that settles it" types who are more interested in fanning the flames than contributing anything new.
Slashdot Mirror
Taking this even further off topic...
I have a copy of an old book from the People's Computer Company (anybody who hasn't read Hackers, shame on you) called What To Do After You Hit Enter, published in the late 70's (I think) when personal computers were just getting off the ground, and access to mainframes was more common. Mainly, it's a book of computer games (Wumpus, Hamurabi, Mugwump, Biorythm, etc.) with BASIC source code, all suitable for use on a TTY. What impresses me even today is the enthusiasm for the budding computer revolution which shows in every haphazardly laid-out page of TTY source and output listings, quirky program descriptions, scrawled notes, and cartoons. One of the main points of emphasis was how you could learn more about computers by tweaking the programs. What happens if you change this number? How can you add new hazards to the Wumpus caves? Maybe this spirit of exploration is something we would all do well to remember. Hey -- maybe converting some of these old programs is the project I need to teach myself Perl...
Aren't CS degrees for those dangerous weird kids who don't play sports, like the internet, and play those soul-destroying video games? Anybody who's read Katz the last couple of days might want to consider the connection between hazing the kids who are too smart to fit in, and students who don't want to go into more intellectual fields of study.
According to an interview in the Linux Magazine I read a few days ago, Microsoft has never offered Linus a job. Linus implied that if he were to receive such an offer, he wouldn't be offended, just that he wouldn't find it technically interesting.
Does anybody really expect them to suddenly start saying anything that isn't total BS? Get real. Maybe I should get involved in consulting; it's gotta be a lot easier than working.
I've seen a couple of very sketchy reports that Linus said "Windows Sucks" at some point during his speech. This seems so out of character for him that I'd really like to know the context. I could see Linus making a more specific statement about some specific aspect of Windows that sucks, but find a blanket condemnation of Windows unlikely. In several interviews I've seen, Linus expresses a fairly balanced opinion of Windows, praising some aspects and condemning others.
What I've heard is that there won't be any out-of-the-box DVD movie support, but Sony may release an add-on later. A pity, because that was one of the main reasong I would have bought a PS2 on day one.
Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago that someone was whining about a book review that didn't have an Amazon link? No matter what Rob does, someone is going to piss and moan. It's a link. You can click on it or not.
So, does this applet actually require that much horsepower, or is there some Java function to find out what type of processor it's running on? Somehow, given Intel's track record, I'd tend to suspect the latter.
Now that we've got a movie made primarily to show off the "virtual camera" 3-D freeze-frame effect, can we stop using it in every single commercial on TV? It's getting so tired that I'm sure Wired is going to do a cover story on it in the next issue.
I think I've finally figured out Keanu Reeves as an actor. He's embarassed about playing such a goofy comic character in Bill & Ted that he was determined not to be typecast as such. Since then, he's tried so hard not to be typecast as a goofball that now he's being typecast as a stony, reserved man of action -- the "strong, silent type." Personally, I preferred him as the former; his acting in everything I've seen since has been pretty wooden. I guess that works for this kind of action flick, but Keanu should be prevented by Any Means Necessary from ever attempting to do Shakespeare again.
If this is typical of the accuracy, tone, and depth of Slate article, can anybody wonder why it couldn't find enough subscribers to support it?
Please don't blame ZDNet for what was said about Slashdot and Slashdotters. The comments about Slashdot came from one particular reader, who has a chip on his shoulder that is much too large to fit into a type 1 slot. I prefer to judge ZDNet articles on their own merits (or lack thereof) rather than on the Talkback; after all, Free Software advocates are free to post just as much FUD as anyone else.
As somebody who reads ZDNet Commentaries on a fairly regular basis (whether I agree with them or not) I wouldn't worry too much about what Lewis A. Mettler, Esq. says. I see him as the ZDNet equivalent of the grumpy old men who write daily 10-page letters to the editor of the local newspaper, complaining about Those Darned Kids and describing how Things Were Better In Their Day. He posts long-widned responses to what seems like the vast majority of commentaries on Microsoft and Open Source. I rarely read his comments (or those of Robert "Boycott Crashware" Flash) because he seeems determined to say the same thing over and over again, every time he gets a chance. He seems to be carrying a grudge over a disagreement several months ago about the idea of "security through obscurity," which drew a few flames among the relatively civil debate. The idea of Lewis A. Mettler, Esq. having room to call anyone arrogant is amusing.
Unfortunately, as long as Microsoft operating systems run a majority of the world's computers, vendors are unlikely to implement a standard like this until Microsoft systems can use it. This doesn't necessarily mean that Microsoft itself needs to implement this standard; I'm sure some third-party developer could develop an IPP implementation for Windows. The problem there is, if a third-party product makes IPP popular, Microsoft is likely to "integrate" it into their OS, as they did with memory management, disk compression, etc. Maybe HP or one of the other printer makers will provide an implementation for Windows. Hopefully, the spec really is open enough to allow for a Free Software implementation for Linux.
I think the original poster was referring to news services that are purely web-based, as opposed to those "traditional media" services (like the Reuters and AP sites you mention) that also publish to the internet. Some internet news services, particularly those dealing with technical matters, may provide better coverage of specific, focused areas. However, I have yet to see a decent general news site that was not a counterpart to a print, TV, or wire media operation.
I'm just a Linux newbie, but if you can do all this with existing Linux tools, I'd like more details. What is the command to query a printer and find out its capabilities under Linux, without having to configure it by hand?
As it was explained to me several months ago, "Anorak" and "Trainspotter" are Brit synonyms for "nerd" or "geek". Trainspotting is an activity roughly akin to bird-watcing; sitting atound in dreary English weather for hours on end with a book of train engines, watching trains go by and hoping to see a rare engine. Apparently, the activity is common enough to have become a stereotype of a lonely, pathetic person with no social skills and, therefore, nothing better to do. An anorak is a hooded, waterproof cloak, often in bright colors, which might be called a "rain slicker" in parts of the US. Supposedly it's the outerwear of choice for sitting around in cold, drippy weather, and therefore, at least by the stereotype, the most common identifying mark of a trainspotter.
Look for them to at least make up their own closed-source widget library, and then start touting it as a "standard" library over Qt, GTK, etc.
The problem isn't that people necessarily need to use Microsoft Office, it's that they are likely to need to open Office files that someone else has created. As much as I might wish otherwise, Microsoft Office is likely to be the dominant office suite for some time to come. Even happy Linux users may have to annotate Word docs from clients, update Excel spreadsheets from cow orkers, and pretend to have looked at Powerpoint presentations from suits. I've still got one foot in Windows land myself, and have yet to work with any Linux office apps. What kind of filters are available for Applix, WordPerfect, etc. to import and export Microsoft's various moving target file formats? Also, can they cope with embedded stuff, like a chunk of Excel spreadsheet in a Word doc? Compatiblity with existing files is probably a bigger obstacle to acceptance of alternative office suites than any kind of UI or training issues.
I once saw some old (1950's at a guess) cartoon about the wonders that science would create for us, such as crossing a chicken with a centipede to produce drumsticks by the hundreds. It seemed funny at the time...
I think it's great that The GIMP is getting recognition from web design sites like Web Review and Webmonkey. Still, it's time to come up with a new title for these articles; "Bring out the GIMP" is getting stale. After all, once Wired does something, it's no longer cool (if it ever was in the first place). Dammit, isn't there at least some line from The Usual Suspects that would make a decent title?
It worked fine at home on my Win9X box. Craps out after 2 seconds at work on my NT4 box. I don't have any other QT movies handy to test; is it general to QT3/NT4 or specific to the Star Wars trailer?
I heard that ESR sneaks around at night dumping fluoride in out water supply too!
IIRC, another important aspect of this version of SAFE is that it prevents the government from imposing Key Escrow requirements on encryption software. I presume that this provision is still intact.
Even though I don't agree with a lot of what RMS says, I have a great deal of repect for him, and am glad that he (end extremists like him) are out there. Thoughtful extremists contribute new ideas, encourage debate, and keep the movement from becoming stagnant. I do, however, get tired of the "RMS said it, I believe it, that settles it" types who are more interested in fanning the flames than contributing anything new.