Since version 4.0x, Netscape Communicator for Windows provides a conduit to synchronize the Palm address book with communicator's one. This utility is nsabppin.exe, and can be found in the directory Communicator/Program where Netscape is installed.
See here for details.
...by providing space for file caching.
I totally agree with what you're saying, actually, just pointing out that tons of RAM (which is very cheap these days) is sometimes a cheaper way to accomplish a similar end.
It's called function points. The best resource I've ever been able to find on the web is SPR
Unfortunately, I just looked at their site and it's being redesigned (most of the content is unavailable right now).
A search brings back enough other links to get you started though.
I've never used it quite the way the rest of the world does, mostly because it's rather time consuming.
In essence, a "function point" (which I won't explain here - too long!) takes different numbers of lines of code, depending on the language. E.g. ASM might take 300 lines, SQL might take 6 to accomplish the same end.
There is also a limit to the number of [debugged] lines of code different programmers can produce per day.
If you start skimming through the Google results and pay particular attention to the numbers (tables) you'll find A - many references to SPR (they practically invented the concept) and B - enough info to get you started without $10k of training.
Using these numbers and your own knowledge of the project and the skills of the available programmers, you can make pretty good guesses about what you can accomplish on your own and when you'll need more bodies.
I never thought these sorts of numbers could be terribly accurate until I started using them myself out of desperation (similar situation to yours, actually).
The most important part though, is to know the programmer(s)! The easiest way to do that, I've found, is to take existing projects written solely by the person in question, look at the number of lines of code and time it took (real-world time, meetings and such, including other duties, do count!) and then figure out each person's numbers that way. The function points just serve to let you compare dissimilar (or unwritten) projects.
In summary there's no short answer.:)
Good luck!
I signed up with NSI a long time ago and finally decided to move to Register.Com (Who has provided very satisfactory spam-free service including DNS hosting and virtual domains for a mere $35 a year).
But to get back to the story, here's how to deal with NSI when the automated email etc. won't work:
1 - be prepared to spend several hours and about $20 in long-distance charges. Also have a pen and paper handy to make a record of the name and employee number of EVERY person you talk to.
2 - First call the main customer service # in Virginia: 1-888-642-9675
3 - This person will not be able to help you but they will give you another name and number (it varies).
4 - The second person will give a third person and a fax #. You'll have to fax a blown up copy of your driver's license to this number attn: the 3rd person. When you're talking to number 2, ALSO get #3's phone number.
5 - After faxing, call #3 to verify. They will tell you all is well and that you will receive a confirmation email etc. which you "just need to reply to for the changes to take place.
In a word - "horse-puckey!"
Ignore this, and every other email you receive, they won't do a darned bit of good. They are, however, indicators of progress.
6 - The first email is automated and useless. Call #3 back and say it didn't work. They will pass you off to #4 who will send you a real email which may or may not have info for #5. If so, call #5, otherwise call #4 back and they will give you info for #5 over the phone.
7 - #5 has the power and will make the changes for you.
I only know all this because I did it the hard way and went through about three times as many steps the first time 'round. I've done it for clients enough times now though that I've almost got it down.
Overall I would tend to agree. It was the simplistic nature of this particular request which I found off-putting. The CoLo and Office Culture examples are reasonable enough, and while I would tend to put the XBox question in the same category as this one it has the added facets of being (a) - a specific product, and (b) - brand new and thus lacking the wealth of online info that an older product would have.
A month from now I would probably consider the XBox question unsuitable as well.
Something like the RAID question is more suited for an IT version of Consumer Reports. E.g. Tom's Hardware or AnandTech, both of which he would find in a Google search along with many other far more useful pages (e.g. RAID HOWTO's:)
I think we should have a moratorium on questions which can be answered on Google with a simple query!
How freakin' lazy/stupid does a submitter have to be to fall below the "ask Slashdot threshhold", anyway?
...you'd have to give them your email address!
In exchange for which they would send you a "free" do-yourself, er, I mean do-it-yourself kit.
Shipped UPS of course.:)
They had several 8088-based PC's before they went under.
'Course his movies would be playing at about 1-fph (one frame per hour)... Worse torture than anything the Taliban ever came up with!:)
You can get cheap ($5-$25) accelerometers which are attached to the outside of the box in plain view of the shipper and everyone else. I've mostly seen them used for pallets and containers, but there are some for regular boxes.
Unfortunately, the only company I'm seeing online is Impact Register
Don't!
And even if you do have the original styrofoam, pack plastic peanuts into every little gap. (Put the machine in a bag beforehand so you don't have floppy drives full of peanut crumbs).
Peanuts work fine IF (and only if) you compact them as much as possible to prevent the contents from shifting as the box gets drop-kicked from hell to breakfast.
Yah, same here. We had a machine arrive in perfect condition. Nice clean box, not even a scratch. But when we opened it the keyboard inside was crushed with a forklift tire track across it!
...for that very reason. We're a VAR so we often have clients send us stuff from out of state and we, of course, ship stuff out all the time. We were loyal UPS customers up until about a year ago when we noticed their quality of handling take a real dive. We've switched to Fedex completely as of a couple of months ago and tell all our clients to do the same.
I dunno what the problem is. Maybe some management types need to get shipped, er, fired.
Slashdot Mirror
Since version 4.0x, Netscape Communicator for Windows provides a conduit to synchronize the Palm address book with communicator's one. This utility is nsabppin.exe, and can be found in the directory Communicator/Program where Netscape is installed.
See here for details.
...Intellisync
(It'll do ASCII sync's too).
...by providing space for file caching.
I totally agree with what you're saying, actually, just pointing out that tons of RAM (which is very cheap these days) is sometimes a cheaper way to accomplish a similar end.
...think of the applications! :)
Add some wireless capability and you'll really know when somebody's "happy to see you".
'Course there could be some ramifications to that:
Q: "Damn, look at the state of his, er, you know! Is he always like that?"
A: "24/7 since he pissed off those script-kiddies!"
It's called function points. The best resource I've ever been able to find on the web is SPR :)
Unfortunately, I just looked at their site and it's being redesigned (most of the content is unavailable right now).
A search brings back enough other links to get you started though.
I've never used it quite the way the rest of the world does, mostly because it's rather time consuming.
In essence, a "function point" (which I won't explain here - too long!) takes different numbers of lines of code, depending on the language. E.g. ASM might take 300 lines, SQL might take 6 to accomplish the same end.
There is also a limit to the number of [debugged] lines of code different programmers can produce per day.
If you start skimming through the Google results and pay particular attention to the numbers (tables) you'll find A - many references to SPR (they practically invented the concept) and B - enough info to get you started without $10k of training.
Using these numbers and your own knowledge of the project and the skills of the available programmers, you can make pretty good guesses about what you can accomplish on your own and when you'll need more bodies.
I never thought these sorts of numbers could be terribly accurate until I started using them myself out of desperation (similar situation to yours, actually).
The most important part though, is to know the programmer(s)! The easiest way to do that, I've found, is to take existing projects written solely by the person in question, look at the number of lines of code and time it took (real-world time, meetings and such, including other duties, do count!) and then figure out each person's numbers that way. The function points just serve to let you compare dissimilar (or unwritten) projects.
In summary there's no short answer.
Good luck!
[PHPUnit's]
http://phpunit.sourceforge.net/
http://sourceforge.net/projects/gpfr/
(has another php unit on its pages)
[PHPDoc's]
http://www.phpdoc.de/
http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpdoc
http://www.callowayprints.com/phpdoc/
I signed up with NSI a long time ago and finally decided to move to Register.Com (Who has provided very satisfactory spam-free service including DNS hosting and virtual domains for a mere $35 a year).
But to get back to the story, here's how to deal with NSI when the automated email etc. won't work:
1 - be prepared to spend several hours and about $20 in long-distance charges. Also have a pen and paper handy to make a record of the name and employee number of EVERY person you talk to.
2 - First call the main customer service # in Virginia: 1-888-642-9675
3 - This person will not be able to help you but they will give you another name and number (it varies).
4 - The second person will give a third person and a fax #. You'll have to fax a blown up copy of your driver's license to this number attn: the 3rd person. When you're talking to number 2, ALSO get #3's phone number.
5 - After faxing, call #3 to verify. They will tell you all is well and that you will receive a confirmation email etc. which you "just need to reply to for the changes to take place.
In a word - "horse-puckey!"
Ignore this, and every other email you receive, they won't do a darned bit of good. They are, however, indicators of progress.
6 - The first email is automated and useless. Call #3 back and say it didn't work. They will pass you off to #4 who will send you a real email which may or may not have info for #5. If so, call #5, otherwise call #4 back and they will give you info for #5 over the phone.
7 - #5 has the power and will make the changes for you.
I only know all this because I did it the hard way and went through about three times as many steps the first time 'round. I've done it for clients enough times now though that I've almost got it down.
Good luck!
Overall I would tend to agree. It was the simplistic nature of this particular request which I found off-putting. The CoLo and Office Culture examples are reasonable enough, and while I would tend to put the XBox question in the same category as this one it has the added facets of being (a) - a specific product, and (b) - brand new and thus lacking the wealth of online info that an older product would have. :)
A month from now I would probably consider the XBox question unsuitable as well.
Something like the RAID question is more suited for an IT version of Consumer Reports. E.g. Tom's Hardware or AnandTech, both of which he would find in a Google search along with many other far more useful pages (e.g. RAID HOWTO's
My 2c.
I think we should have a moratorium on questions which can be answered on Google with a simple query!
How freakin' lazy/stupid does a submitter have to be to fall below the "ask Slashdot threshhold", anyway?
"New Microsoft Spokesperson - Michael Jackson!"
Then they'll really be screwed...
...you'd have to give them your email address! :)
In exchange for which they would send you a "free" do-yourself, er, I mean do-it-yourself kit.
Shipped UPS of course.
They had several 8088-based PC's before they went under. :)
'Course his movies would be playing at about 1-fph (one frame per hour)... Worse torture than anything the Taliban ever came up with!
...all I had was a piece of string and a stick!
You can get cheap ($5-$25) accelerometers which are attached to the outside of the box in plain view of the shipper and everyone else. I've mostly seen them used for pallets and containers, but there are some for regular boxes.
Unfortunately, the only company I'm seeing online is Impact Register
And then triple-packing-tape every seam!!! :)
Don't!
And even if you do have the original styrofoam, pack plastic peanuts into every little gap. (Put the machine in a bag beforehand so you don't have floppy drives full of peanut crumbs).
Peanuts work fine IF (and only if) you compact them as much as possible to prevent the contents from shifting as the box gets drop-kicked from hell to breakfast.
Yah, same here. We had a machine arrive in perfect condition. Nice clean box, not even a scratch. But when we opened it the keyboard inside was crushed with a forklift tire track across it!
...for that very reason. We're a VAR so we often have clients send us stuff from out of state and we, of course, ship stuff out all the time. We were loyal UPS customers up until about a year ago when we noticed their quality of handling take a real dive. We've switched to Fedex completely as of a couple of months ago and tell all our clients to do the same.
I dunno what the problem is. Maybe some management types need to get shipped, er, fired.