A lot of right-wingers are telling each other that America's biggest mistake of the last century was getting rid of Richard Nixon. Apparently if we'd overlooked his whimsies, he would have prevented the commies from taking over Vietnam, ended the cold war 10 years earlier, and maybe prevented the New Coke debacle. No, it doesn't make sense to me either, but that's the party line. So don't be too glib in comparing GWB to RN.
The ironic thing is that when Nixon was in office, the far right despised him.
What is the difference between this guy and waiters who snigger at customers who choose bad wine? The former has a blog, that's what.
Well, presumably the waiter also knows something about wine.
You've convinced me not to bother with this story when becomes deslashdotted. But jeez, what do you expect? Blogs are all about vanity. And yet people love this shit. That is what bothers me.
It may not be a full featured OS, but it will be an OS. If it didn't, it wouldn't be a thin client, it would be a dumb terminal.
In point of fact these machines are closer to to dumb terminals than any kind of real "client". All they do is download a video stream and upload mouse and keyboard events. They're not really "clients" at all. They're only called clients because the first machines created to serve this kind of market actually were designed as clients that downloaded application software (usually Java) from a server. This was back in the late 90s when Sun and Oracle and IBM were pushing "network computers" as an alternative to Wintel boxes. It turned out that everybody liked the idea of not having a lot of desktop boxes to administer, but nobody wanted Java-based "thin clients" -- they wanted something that would run Windows. Only way to do that is with a terminal server.
Not that I'm totally disagreeing with you. It is easier (though not impossible) to build a terminal on top of on OS. But it's also true that Windows CE is sort of overkill. CE may be "skinnier" than XP, but there are OSs that are even skinnier.
In any case, my response was not so much about the technology as the weirdness of booting Windows on one machine just to access Windows on another.
Starting an indie band is nothing like developing a game. Anybody who can play and has access to recording equipment can get an MP3 onto the net. To get a game out that anybody wants to play requires a huge layout in people, software, and hardware.
The dude asks for objective test results, and you give him the usual subjective anecdotes. I too have a Z520A, and I too get good reception. But is it because it's a GSM phone? Or is it because I happen to be in an area that's well served by Cingular?
A common misconception. New York is populated entirely by unsavory immigrants, liberal politicians, and "mainstream media". By the standard (Fox News) definition, none of these counts as "American".
The sound of hoof beats 'cross the glade Good folk, lock up your son and daughter Beware the deadly flashing blade Unless you want to end up shorter Black Adder, Black Adder, he rides a pitch black steed Black Adder, Black Adder, he's very bad indeed Black: his gloves of finest mole Black: his codpiece made of metal His horse is blacker than a hole His pot is blacker than his kettle Black Adder, Black Adder, with many an cunning plan Black Adder, Black Adder, you horrid little man.
Arise, ye workers from your slumber, Arise, ye prisoners of want. For reason in revolt now thunders, and at last ends the age of cant! Away with all your superstitions, Servile masses, arise, arise! We'll change henceforth the old tradition, And spurn the dust to win the prize!
CHORUS: So comrades, come rally, And the last fight let us face. The Internationale, Unites the human race. So comrades, come rally, And the last fight let us face. The Internationale, Unites the human race.
No more deluded by reaction, On tyrants only we'll make war! The soldiers too will take strike action, They'll break ranks and fight no more! And if those cannibals keep trying, To sacrifice us to their pride, They soon shall hear the bullets flying, We'll shoot the generals on our own side.
CHORUS
No saviour from on high delivers, No faith have we in prince or peer. Our own right hand the chains must shiver, Chains of hatred, greed and fear. E'er the thieves will out with their booty, And give to all a happier lot. Each at the forge must do their duty, And we'll strike while the iron is hot.
Half the issue here is that everybody (including the Slashdot editors, natch, but a lot of other folks as well) is very sloppy with the terms "Java" and "Open Source"
Java is not the Java Development Kit, or any other specific peice of software. To Sun, "Java" is a trademark, so they can't even use it as a noun. But the rest of us can get by with thinking of Java as a collection of specifications: the Java language, the Java class libraries, and the Java VM spec. None of these is software — software can only be a implementation of Java.
That might seem like a silly distinction, until you remember that Sun is not the only vendor for Java implementations. Not only are there commercial implementations, but there are open source implementations of allthree, specs. Of course, these all lag way behind commercial implementations, as open source clones are wont to do.
Anyway, when people say "Sun should open-source Java" what they really mean is "Sun should open-source their implementation of Java."
Which brings us to:
"Open source" is not software where the source code is freely available. It software where you can obtain the source code provided you agree to a license. That license specifies that you must make any changes to that source code available to anybody else who agrees to the same license.
And here's a non-legal issue: if you're serious about making your product open-source, you don't just throw the source code over the wall and say "go crazy!" You make a serious attempt to fold contributed code back into your main source tree. That's a serious administrative cost, and a big reason so many companies are unwilling to OS their products.
Despite what your high school English teacher told you, it's perfectly OK to verb a noun. Talking and writing is about communication. Artificial distinctions about what kinds of words you should use for what are cultural conventions, not moral imperatives.
The true use of the space station is that is shows that a long term spaceship can't be built in small sections over a long period of time without the whole assembly obsoleting itself or wearing out before it starts its main mission.
Uh, you are aware that they didn't plan such a long construction period. Not having a working shuttle has kind of screwed up the schedule.
I used to do affilliate links every time I talked about a book on Slashdot. Once I even snuck one into the main story. Not worth the trouble — I've earned maybe $15 doing that. Where's the Slashdot Effect when you really need it?
All the previous posts are lame as hell. I shouldn't add another one, but I have to point out the misuse of the word "ironic". Somebody seems to think that "ironic" means "sad coincidence". No, it means "incongruous circumstances". (There's actually several meanings of "ironic", but this is the one that comes closest to applying.) There's nothing incongruous about this. SGI went bankrupt because their specialized hardware got replaced by commodity hardware. The new VR room uses commodity hardware. No irony here, move along.
(We use Windows CE thin clients from HP, and you just setup one thin client exactly how you like then export the settings to a file, using the file you quickly setup all other thin clients).
You mean to say that your users boot up a Windows system for the sole purpose of accessing another Windows system? Oh well, given today's do everything with a PC mentality, that's not too suprising. But you have to admit it's a little weird.
Ironically, I'm typing this on a Sun Ray "client" (I'll resist the temptation to quibble with that word) that's connected to a Solaris system. I have no idea what OS the Sun Ray runs, but I'll bet it's not Solaris!
But how often do you text people who aren't T-mobile customers? And how difficult is it?
I do get that texting is taking off in the U.S. But we're still lagging behind other countries that have been into it for years. I read somewhere that in the Phillipines alone, there are billions of text messages a year — and that was 6 years ago. Since then, one Phillipines President has been forced out of office by demonstrators coordinating their efforts using text messages.
When Japan was a 3rd-world nation, its government spent almost no money on space development. Rather, Tokyo plowed money into developing industry so that Japan could reach 1st-world status as quickly as possible.
You're as ignorant as you are anonymous. When was Japan a "third world nation"? That refers to a country with no industrial infrastructure. Japan hasn't been in that category since 1868, when they were forced to give up isolationism and modernize. They've been an industrial nation ever since. Perhaps you're thinking of the period right after WW II, when they were recovering from the destruction of their industrial centers. But even then, they hardly resembled a "third world" nation: they were still an industrial economy, albeit a badly damaged one.
By contrast, the Indian government wastes huge sums of money on space exploration and nuclear-weapons development. Meanwhile, the majority of Indians live in squalor.
Well, I'm not going to endorse nuclear weapons in India or anywhere else. But if you think that spending money on technological developement has no impact on India's poor, you're as ignorant of economics as you are of history. In order to take better care of its people, India has to grow its economy, and to do that, they need to invest in intellectual capital. They've been very successful at that, as a lot of Americans who've seen their jobs taken over by Indians will tell you.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm strongly resisting the temptation to start another "it's more natural" argument....
The ironic thing is that when Nixon was in office, the far right despised him.
You've convinced me not to bother with this story when becomes deslashdotted. But jeez, what do you expect? Blogs are all about vanity. And yet people love this shit. That is what bothers me.
Batman's a scientist!.
You're right. But that's not the kind of game TFA was talking about.
Not that I'm totally disagreeing with you. It is easier (though not impossible) to build a terminal on top of on OS. But it's also true that Windows CE is sort of overkill. CE may be "skinnier" than XP, but there are OSs that are even skinnier.
In any case, my response was not so much about the technology as the weirdness of booting Windows on one machine just to access Windows on another.
Starting an indie band is nothing like developing a game. Anybody who can play and has access to recording equipment can get an MP3 onto the net. To get a game out that anybody wants to play requires a huge layout in people, software, and hardware.
The dude asks for objective test results, and you give him the usual subjective anecdotes. I too have a Z520A, and I too get good reception. But is it because it's a GSM phone? Or is it because I happen to be in an area that's well served by Cingular?
A common misconception. New York is populated entirely by unsavory immigrants, liberal politicians, and "mainstream media". By the standard (Fox News) definition, none of these counts as "American".
The sound of hoof beats 'cross the glade
Good folk, lock up your son and daughter
Beware the deadly flashing blade
Unless you want to end up shorter
Black Adder, Black Adder, he rides a pitch black steed
Black Adder, Black Adder, he's very bad indeed
Black: his gloves of finest mole
Black: his codpiece made of metal
His horse is blacker than a hole
His pot is blacker than his kettle
Black Adder, Black Adder, with many an cunning plan
Black Adder, Black Adder, you horrid little man.
Java is not the Java Development Kit, or any other specific peice of software. To Sun, "Java" is a trademark, so they can't even use it as a noun. But the rest of us can get by with thinking of Java as a collection of specifications: the Java language, the Java class libraries, and the Java VM spec. None of these is software — software can only be a implementation of Java.
That might seem like a silly distinction, until you remember that Sun is not the only vendor for Java implementations. Not only are there commercial implementations, but there are open source implementations of all three, specs. Of course, these all lag way behind commercial implementations, as open source clones are wont to do.
Anyway, when people say "Sun should open-source Java" what they really mean is "Sun should open-source their implementation of Java."
Which brings us to:
"Open source" is not software where the source code is freely available. It software where you can obtain the source code provided you agree to a license. That license specifies that you must make any changes to that source code available to anybody else who agrees to the same license.
And here's a non-legal issue: if you're serious about making your product open-source, you don't just throw the source code over the wall and say "go crazy!" You make a serious attempt to fold contributed code back into your main source tree. That's a serious administrative cost, and a big reason so many companies are unwilling to OS their products.
Despite what your high school English teacher told you, it's perfectly OK to verb a noun. Talking and writing is about communication. Artificial distinctions about what kinds of words you should use for what are cultural conventions, not moral imperatives.
How can it be old? They haven't finished building the damn thing yet!
I used to do affilliate links every time I talked about a book on Slashdot. Once I even snuck one into the main story. Not worth the trouble — I've earned maybe $15 doing that. Where's the Slashdot Effect when you really need it?
You have an exceptionally low teehee threshhold.
Yes, but Slashdot's kickback deal is with BN, not Amazon!
All the previous posts are lame as hell. I shouldn't add another one, but I have to point out the misuse of the word "ironic". Somebody seems to think that "ironic" means "sad coincidence". No, it means "incongruous circumstances". (There's actually several meanings of "ironic", but this is the one that comes closest to applying.) There's nothing incongruous about this. SGI went bankrupt because their specialized hardware got replaced by commodity hardware. The new VR room uses commodity hardware. No irony here, move along.
Ironically, I'm typing this on a Sun Ray "client" (I'll resist the temptation to quibble with that word) that's connected to a Solaris system. I have no idea what OS the Sun Ray runs, but I'll bet it's not Solaris!
I do get that texting is taking off in the U.S. But we're still lagging behind other countries that have been into it for years. I read somewhere that in the Phillipines alone, there are billions of text messages a year — and that was 6 years ago. Since then, one Phillipines President has been forced out of office by demonstrators coordinating their efforts using text messages.