The initiative it takes to back-engineer the.Net frame work, while admirable, is a wee bit misguided, i'd say. You have to understand what's really at play here.
The whole idea of chasing after a proprietary standard like.Net (and treating the development process like some open source cat-and-mouse game) is pointless. It accomplishes nothing but an at-best "acceptable" knock-off.
If Microsoft doesn't want the.Net framework available on other platforms, they're not going to make it available. Then on the other hand, if they find it's to their benefit to do so, they will make it available. It's as simple as that. Suppose you actually make it to the point where you have an equivalent framework to offer. Surprise, Microsoft releases.Net for Unix, and the entire effort is null and void. Your pride and joy is now a footnote, and a deprecated one at that. Realistically, how many people are going to feel sorry for someone who's stance reads, "Damn those fuckers in Redmond for making their framework available in Unix!" ?
Unfortunately, Miguel seems to have a fairly long track record with this sort of Microsoft-chasing. You can run along and play catch-up all you like with other technologies, but, it'll be just like it is with Gnome ---- With Gnome, you're guaranteed nothing better than a perpetual second place finish. Gnome amounts to a Windows wanna-be, instead of a Windows-killer, when it didn't have to be that way. Miguel made it that way.
Look...If you HAVE the talent to do something better, for God's sake, do it. Don't waste your time (and other peoples time) churning out flea market knock-offs of worthwhile products. I'm certainly no fan of Microsoft..I just call it like I see it..Net needs not the taint of open-source muckery.
As a symbolic gesture, I suggest people go to AutoZone and buy an air freshener.. Symbolically, it'll help clear out the stink that SCO's making. Total cost to you: $1-$3.
Sooooo... You want to fly halfway around the planet to a county that hasn't even managed to figure out how to keep the lights on reliably, for "state of the art medical treatment".
Sure, you and I know that, but what do you think the story is going to sound like to the PHBs out there? To them, it's as if the entire source tree was leaked. Theyre not going to know about (or care about) the details. "I hear Linux does X Y and Z now.....They probably learned how to do it by looking at the leaked Windows source code."
Most of the world makes decisions based on perceptions. Not on facts.
Stop and think about it. Regardless of whether or not the leak was intentional or not, it hurts us. If the code leak was deliberate, it was a brilliant move, strategically. It will hurt the open source community far, far more than it will hurt Microsoft. Infact, this is probably the biggest punch Microsoft has landed on the face of Linux. If it was unintentional, the net result is the same. Here's why.
Think of the leaking of the Win2K/NT source tree as a virus.
It's a virus designed to undermine the credibility of open-source community. It operates by exploiting two well-known vulnerabilities in open-source coders---Their curiosity, and their propensity for sharing. The dispersal of portions of the Win2K/NT source tree effectively taints the entire open source community's efforts to develop cleanly. Think about it. By leaking the code, every new OSS project that has anything even remotely to do with Windows interoperability can now be accused of having it's hand in an (at best) an unethical cookie jar. The folks who maintain Windows-interoperable projects now have to second-guess every new submission they recieve. Even worse, the availability of portions of the Win2K/NT source tree means the functional validity of all open source projects can now be called into question. Before, it was certain that any "feature" present in open-source software was the result of hard work, close observation, and the occasional dose of clever back-engineering.. Now that we can see over the fence, we can be accused of everything from violating Microsoft's intellectual property rights to wholesale misappropriation of entire blocks of Windows code.. Sort of makes SCO's accusations seem a little more well-grounded, doesn't it?
The sad thing is, the virus is having an easy time making the rounds, since theres nothing we can do to stop it. We cant become "less curious". We can't become "less industrious". The only way to avoid being under the cloud of suspicion is to stop developing alltogether. Just watch what happens. My guess is, by the end of this year, the trade rags are going to begin to equate open-source software with "questionable parentage".
I do admire your sense of morality, and your desire to adhere to the agreement your employer is forcing you to sign.
However.
That clause doesn't exactly have your best interests in mind. You're not the first person to have that question, about that clause. Whats important is, you adhere to the spirit of the agreement---You dont take shit from work and release it as open source, and conversely, you dont work on a level editor for Super Mega Mario Pong World 3 on company time (or company resources). Similarly, you dont talk about your work in your weblog, and you dont spend company time (and use company resources) talking about your intensely interesting personal life outside of work.
Theres an unspoken agreement that most companies have regarding that clause. Adhere to the spirit of it, and be sure nobody gets hurt---especially them---and you'll be fine.
No sense in stirring up things, either. What they dont know wont hurt them, y'know?
I think thats what "organization" is for. You place files like "DSC0001.jpg" in things called "folders", and then name the folder "Wedding" or something.
I dunno.
Re:I still cant help but be a little disappointed.
on
Review: KDE 3.2
·
· Score: 1
"(..Windows GUI became the way everyone should do things..)when they captured 90% of the desktop market."
That reason really doesn't hold water.
There was a time when 90% of the bicycle market was dominated by a design that had an enormous 10-foot-tall wheel in front, and a tiny little wheel in back, where the rider was perched a good 10 feet off the ground.. And hey, learning to ride one was as simple as watching some other guy get 10 feet up off the ground on a giant metal bike with a huge wheel in front.
Times change, designs improve.
In my mind, Windows GUI is the design equivalent of an 1890's-era bicycle; Not the standard we should be looking for, but a design to consider along the way.
Cheers,
Re:I still cant help but be a little disappointed.
on
Review: KDE 3.2
·
· Score: 1
Hi Smitty,
"I really don't think that you're suggestion that both the GNOME or KDE teams should focus entirely on building a new and non Windows-like (or Mac, for that matter) UI....are you ?"
Oh, certainly not. Whether I like it or not, Windows is "the standard" right now..and in order to attract users to the platform, it's important (for now, at least) to play by their rules, visually. It should look and feel like Windows. The days of suggesting that KDE or GNOME create a radical departure from "the standard" are long, long gone. Such a thing would actually be a bad move at this point. Very bad. So, to some degree, I can understand their reluctance to even examine new and different ideas.
However.
Considering the resources and mindshare that KDE and GNOME have developed over the past 8'ish years, I see no harm in at least providing an area for developers to experiment and find newer/better ways of doing stuff. Who knows, some of it might actually make it over the fence into the "main" development arena, if the idea were good enough.
Here's a good example. I had a really nice conversation with a guy from over in the KDE camp maybe a month ago. He was (at least, partially) responsible for Kicker. He had an interest in a project I was working on (Pogo) and expressed an interest in adopting some of Pogo's ideas into Kicker. My apparently crappy code aside:), one of Pogo's features got his attention. It had merit to him. I don't know if he'll end up incorporating it or anything, but..I can't help but imagine how many other people's ideas would find their way into KDE or GNOME, if they were simply given a sandbox and a little encouragement. It would make KDE and GNOME that much better to have a skunk-works to draw from, thats all.
Cheers,
Re:I still cant help but be a little disappointed.
on
Review: KDE 3.2
·
· Score: 1
Wow, you're a particularly bitter troll..
Bitter about what, precisely, I don't have a clue.. I'm trying to understand why you could possibly be angry over something you were getting free of charge. It would be different if you were paying money for my stuff, but you're not. Not only are you complaining about something you can have for free, but you're complaining about the person who took the time to make it available to you for free!:) That doesn't make alot of sense.
"I still have a copy of the emails you sent. Do you? (...) Ring a bell already?"
No, because a) such an email doesn't exist, and b) If it "exists" then I sure as hell didn't write such a thing. Feel free to post it here, though. I'd be interested to see a fake email I supposedly wrote 6 years ago, that I sent to a single person at Red Hat. BTW, do a good job on it. I'd imagine a good forgery takes time......Speaking of which, why would you even claim to posess an email written by me 6 years ago? That's kind of..sick, in a way. Am I really that important to you?
As for my "contributions that amount to nothing", my contributions to Red Hat alone amount to about 5-10MB of every distrib they have released since 1999. But that's just Red Hat. Debian, Mandrake, Slackware, Gentoo, and most of the other major distribs also have my work in them. It's something i'm pretty proud of. It makes me feel good to know other people like my work enough to include it with theirs.
Again, i'm trying to understand why you have such a venomous hatred of me. All i've done are make some nice pictures for people. All the work i've done was done without expecting a penny to come of it. I've done nothing but offer you things for free, things that you and others continue to consume. So why all the anger? I'm a real person, just like you. It hurts my feelings in a way to get spit on and scoffed at, when all i've done is give things to people for free. It's not like it's being forced on you.
I'd actually like to answer whatever questions you might have; But lobbing bizzare accusations at me and expecting me to answer them isn't the way to do it.
Re:I still cant help but be a little disappointed.
on
Review: KDE 3.2
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
(I try not to feed the trolls these days, but the odor eminating from that one was overwhelming. Infact, I passed out at least 3 times before I managed to get to the last line, and hit Reply.)
Troll,
I've done a number of things besides Propaganda, all of which are free for guys like you to use, and enjoy. I'm glad you at least remember some of it. Considering it's been like 2 years since i've made any concerted effort to make more "pretty backgrounds", the fact you remember them makes me think you like them. Thats cool. You're welcome to use and enjoy them.
I have never written an operating system. By saying "We wrote an entire enterprise-class OS from scratch", i'm referring to the entire Linux movement, et al. From the kernel maintainers to the app writers, from the documentation guys to the guys who paint icons. Out of curiosity, where do you fit in, exactly? Or are you one of those people that just sponges off everyone? You know, the ones that contribute nothing of value in return?
As for your allegation that I tried to "make Red Hat pay me for my backgrounds"... (Heheheh, God, where do you guys come up with this stuff!?) I never asked Red Hat to pay me cent. The images were then, and are now, free...Free as in beer. How could I have charged them for something I was giving away for free? Or charge anyone else, for that matter?
I was happy enough knowing Red Hat had an interest in my work..Interestingly, I didn't even approach them about including my stuff in their distrib. They were the ones who approached me, back in May of '98, asking me if it was OK to include Volumes 1-6 in their next release. I was shocked they even heard of me. I was very honored, both then and now, to be included. Infact, I remember buying a bottle of champagne that night, and uncorking it on my balcony with a few friends to celebrate. It made me really happy to know that somebody felt my work was good enough to include, and that tons of people were going to use and enjoy my stuff.
With all the offshoring HP is engadged in, they have no other choice but to call flaws "features".:) It's too expensive to call the original American engineers back to fix it.;)
I still cant help but be a little disappointed..
on
Review: KDE 3.2
·
· Score: 2, Troll
The work the KDE team has done is great, but... (*deep breath*)
...at the end of the day, all they've done is mimic a pre-existing design with (at best) a questionable pedigree...Windows. Since when did "the Windows way" become "the way everyone should do everything, including Linux users" ?
Before you go off and mod this a troll, stop and think about the idea. Why are we mimicking Windows? Or anything, for that matter? By mimicking Windows, aren't we simply reinforcing bad habits that Redmond introduced 10 years ago? If we all agree that Windows' GUI is sub-optimal, why are we expending so much time and energy attempting to replicate it, point for point?
I'd be sort of interested to see the point in KDE's history where this debate took place, if it ever did.. It certainly should have.
It's just frustrating to see so much work go into being the desktop equivalent of an Elvis impersonator, when we could easilly challenge (or even trump!) the real Elvis.. We've built an enterprise-class OS from scratch...You'd think that a good GUI would be trivial.
Anyway, as far as I know, neither GNOME nor KDE's team offer a skunk-works forum to discuss and develop new and different ideas. Quite the contrary. New ideas tend to be ridiculed and quickly dismissed. It's sort of odd, given how many truly creative people there are working on these respective projects.
..Believe me...I should know.:) I published a paper on the subject back in '97. It's not a new idea by any stretch.
Anyway, Color-reactivity has been around for ages. Even within the scope of involving computers in one form or another.. There are two examples that i'm aware of, both were implemented w/ early 60's technology:
1) I wish I could remember the name. It was basically a computer-controlled art exhibit. They set aside a room in an art gallery with an old IBM 704, rigged the room up with motion sensors and microphones, and used the input levels to drive color wheels and light projectors... So if the gallery was quiet, the walls and all the stuff hanging from the ceiling would turn deep blue and move slowly. If there were alot of people visiting the gallery, the color of the room would turn more pink and yellow. If there was alot of chatter going on inside the gallery, with people talking to eachother, the more psychedelic the room became.
2) There used to be a device back in the early-mid 60's called an Audiovox, if i'm not mistaken...The Audiovox was just a simple amplifier with three colored lights on the front.... Red, Yellow,and Green. It was used to help deaf children learn how to modulate their speech, based upon the feedback the lights produced.... If the lights flickered red, the user would know that their pronunciation was way off. By trying to make (and keep) the green light as solid as possible, deaf children could refine their speech without necessarrily knowing what it sounded like. Neat stuff..
Any effort to familliarize the public with Linux that doesn't involve a creepy-looking 9 year old with yellow hair has my support.
That, and anything that doesn't involve Laverne talking about "chaos theory"..sheesh.
What the hell would be so wrong about simply putting a few kernel/distrib contributors infront of a camera, and letting them talk for 30 seconds? "Hi, I'm Dave. I wrote the part of Linux that makes this camera work. I did it because it's fun....and because the manufacturer wouldn't." Sure, most of us are pretty damn ugly but there's gotta be a few photogenic nerds among us. With good stories, too.
Ever wish companies like Nike would just STFU and make shoes, Apple would just STFU and make computers, and Pepsi would just STFU and make soft drinks? Is it too much to ask that a company does what the hell it's supposed to do, and doesn't "take a stance" on every possible disagreement on God's green earth? Jesus. The whole essence of marketing is to tell your audience that what they have isn't good enough. The last thing I want to see is the same group of marketroid assholes telling me (or others) how and what to think about political issues.
Yes, I know. STFU Bowie, go make us more tiles. Ugh.:)
Seen any diagrams of the Electromagnetic Spectrum lately?
Big friggin deal. Looks like we'll have to go without pretty pictures, which have practically zero scientific value. Sure, it makes for nice posters calendars, but having a telescope that doesn't have visible-light sensitivity isn't a big loss.
I live nextdoor to a 7-11..And even with odds like that, I wouldn't even bother walking over there to buy a lottery ticket.
70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water.
Most of Earth's landmass (the remaining 30%) is sparsely inhabited, and in many areas, completely empty.
Major population centers are few and far between on a geographic scale.
There's plenty of evidence that says Earth's atmosphere could destroy Hubble like Mike Tyson on a bad day. Think about it. How many craters do _you_ live near?:)
Hubble wont fall to Earth straight down. It will come in on a shallow angle, which improves the likelyhood that yes, Virginia, it will disintegrate during re-entry.
Hubble is hollow.
Hubble is made out of materials with low melting points....So whats the problem? Hell, call up Taco Bell, tell em to float another target out in the Pacific. Thats how insignificant the "threat" is, in my book.
You guys make it sound like Hubble is the last telescope we will ever make, let alone put up in orbit.
Hubble is a Cracker Jack toy compared to whats on the books right now. Letting Hubble fall into obsolescence is a _blessing_ in a way, since it paves the way for newer, better (interferometer!) telescopes to go into the mix.
Besides, it's not like we're at a loss for data. Hubble generated enough data to keep researchers busy for decades. Let it burn up, as far as i'm concerned. Make way for the bigger and better.
Slashdot Mirror
Hmm.
The initiative it takes to back-engineer the
The whole idea of chasing after a proprietary standard like
If Microsoft doesn't want the
Unfortunately, Miguel seems to have a fairly long track record with this sort of Microsoft-chasing. You can run along and play catch-up all you like with other technologies, but, it'll be just like it is with Gnome ---- With Gnome, you're guaranteed nothing better than a perpetual second place finish. Gnome amounts to a Windows wanna-be, instead of a Windows-killer, when it didn't have to be that way. Miguel made it that way.
Look...If you HAVE the talent to do something better, for God's sake, do it. Don't waste your time (and other peoples time) churning out flea market knock-offs of worthwhile products. I'm certainly no fan of Microsoft..I just call it like I see it.
My ass it is.
It's Apple's best selling MP3 player.
You'll notice Apple only sells one kind of MP3 player.
Dumbass.
As a symbolic gesture, I suggest people go to AutoZone and buy an air freshener.. Symbolically, it'll help clear out the stink that SCO's making. Total cost to you: $1-$3.
Put your money where your mouth is: AutoZone Reigonal Store Locator
Even if SCO succeeds, AutoZone will be able to pay them off via air freshener sales to thoughtful Linux users.
Cheers,
Sooooo... You want to fly halfway around the planet to a county that hasn't even managed to figure out how to keep the lights on reliably, for "state of the art medical treatment".
Mmkay.
Have fun!
Sure, you and I know that, but what do you think the story is going to sound like to the PHBs out there? To them, it's as if the entire source tree was leaked. Theyre not going to know about (or care about) the details. "I hear Linux does X Y and Z now.....They probably learned how to do it by looking at the leaked Windows source code."
Most of the world makes decisions based on perceptions. Not on facts.
Stop and think about it. Regardless of whether or not the leak was intentional or not, it hurts us. If the code leak was deliberate, it was a brilliant move, strategically. It will hurt the open source community far, far more than it will hurt Microsoft. Infact, this is probably the biggest punch Microsoft has landed on the face of Linux. If it was unintentional, the net result is the same. Here's why.
Think of the leaking of the Win2K/NT source tree as a virus.
It's a virus designed to undermine the credibility of open-source community. It operates by exploiting two well-known vulnerabilities in open-source coders---Their curiosity, and their propensity for sharing. The dispersal of portions of the Win2K/NT source tree effectively taints the entire open source community's efforts to develop cleanly. Think about it. By leaking the code, every new OSS project that has anything even remotely to do with Windows interoperability can now be accused of having it's hand in an (at best) an unethical cookie jar. The folks who maintain Windows-interoperable projects now have to second-guess every new submission they recieve. Even worse, the availability of portions of the Win2K/NT source tree means the functional validity of all open source projects can now be called into question. Before, it was certain that any "feature" present in open-source software was the result of hard work, close observation, and the occasional dose of clever back-engineering.. Now that we can see over the fence, we can be accused of everything from violating Microsoft's intellectual property rights to wholesale misappropriation of entire blocks of Windows code.. Sort of makes SCO's accusations seem a little more well-grounded, doesn't it?
The sad thing is, the virus is having an easy time making the rounds, since theres nothing we can do to stop it. We cant become "less curious". We can't become "less industrious". The only way to avoid being under the cloud of suspicion is to stop developing alltogether. Just watch what happens. My guess is, by the end of this year, the trade rags are going to begin to equate open-source software with "questionable parentage".
This game is gonna get interesting in a hurry.
Squeaky wheel gets grease. Film at 11.
Sheesh.
I do admire your sense of morality, and your desire to adhere to the agreement your employer is forcing you to sign.
However.
That clause doesn't exactly have your best interests in mind. You're not the first person to have that question, about that clause. Whats important is, you adhere to the spirit of the agreement---You dont take shit from work and release it as open source, and conversely, you dont work on a level editor for Super Mega Mario Pong World 3 on company time (or company resources). Similarly, you dont talk about your work in your weblog, and you dont spend company time (and use company resources) talking about your intensely interesting personal life outside of work.
Theres an unspoken agreement that most companies have regarding that clause. Adhere to the spirit of it, and be sure nobody gets hurt---especially them---and you'll be fine.
No sense in stirring up things, either. What they dont know wont hurt them, y'know?
Cheers,
I think thats what "organization" is for. You place files like "DSC0001.jpg" in things called "folders", and then name the folder "Wedding" or something.
I dunno.
"(..Windows GUI became the way everyone should do things..)when they captured 90% of the desktop market."
That reason really doesn't hold water.
There was a time when 90% of the bicycle market was dominated by a design that had an enormous 10-foot-tall wheel in front, and a tiny little wheel in back, where the rider was perched a good 10 feet off the ground.. And hey, learning to ride one was as simple as watching some other guy get 10 feet up off the ground on a giant metal bike with a huge wheel in front.
Times change, designs improve.
In my mind, Windows GUI is the design equivalent of an 1890's-era bicycle; Not the standard we should be looking for, but a design to consider along the way.
Cheers,
Hi Smitty,
:), one of Pogo's features got his attention. It had merit to him. I don't know if he'll end up incorporating it or anything, but..I can't help but imagine how many other people's ideas would find their way into KDE or GNOME, if they were simply given a sandbox and a little encouragement. It would make KDE and GNOME that much better to have a skunk-works to draw from, thats all.
"I really don't think that you're suggestion that both the GNOME or KDE teams should focus entirely on building a new and non Windows-like (or Mac, for that matter) UI....are you ?"
Oh, certainly not. Whether I like it or not, Windows is "the standard" right now..and in order to attract users to the platform, it's important (for now, at least) to play by their rules, visually. It should look and feel like Windows. The days of suggesting that KDE or GNOME create a radical departure from "the standard" are long, long gone. Such a thing would actually be a bad move at this point. Very bad. So, to some degree, I can understand their reluctance to even examine new and different ideas.
However.
Considering the resources and mindshare that KDE and GNOME have developed over the past 8'ish years, I see no harm in at least providing an area for developers to experiment and find newer/better ways of doing stuff. Who knows, some of it might actually make it over the fence into the "main" development arena, if the idea were good enough.
Here's a good example. I had a really nice conversation with a guy from over in the KDE camp maybe a month ago. He was (at least, partially) responsible for Kicker. He had an interest in a project I was working on (Pogo) and expressed an interest in adopting some of Pogo's ideas into Kicker. My apparently crappy code aside
Cheers,
Wow, you're a particularly bitter troll..
Bitter about what, precisely, I don't have a clue.. I'm trying to understand why you could possibly be angry over something you were getting free of charge. It would be different if you were paying money for my stuff, but you're not. Not only are you complaining about something you can have for free, but you're complaining about the person who took the time to make it available to you for free!
"I still have a copy of the emails you sent. Do you? (...) Ring a bell already?"
No, because a) such an email doesn't exist, and b) If it "exists" then I sure as hell didn't write such a thing. Feel free to post it here, though. I'd be interested to see a fake email I supposedly wrote 6 years ago, that I sent to a single person at Red Hat. BTW, do a good job on it. I'd imagine a good forgery takes time......Speaking of which, why would you even claim to posess an email written by me 6 years ago? That's kind of..sick, in a way. Am I really that important to you?
As for my "contributions that amount to nothing", my contributions to Red Hat alone amount to about 5-10MB of every distrib they have released since 1999. But that's just Red Hat. Debian, Mandrake, Slackware, Gentoo, and most of the other major distribs also have my work in them. It's something i'm pretty proud of. It makes me feel good to know other people like my work enough to include it with theirs.
Again, i'm trying to understand why you have such a venomous hatred of me. All i've done are make some nice pictures for people. All the work i've done was done without expecting a penny to come of it. I've done nothing but offer you things for free, things that you and others continue to consume. So why all the anger? I'm a real person, just like you. It hurts my feelings in a way to get spit on and scoffed at, when all i've done is give things to people for free. It's not like it's being forced on you.
I'd actually like to answer whatever questions you might have; But lobbing bizzare accusations at me and expecting me to answer them isn't the way to do it.
(I try not to feed the trolls these days, but the odor eminating from that one was overwhelming. Infact, I passed out at least 3 times before I managed to get to the last line, and hit Reply.)
Troll,
I've done a number of things besides Propaganda, all of which are free for guys like you to use, and enjoy. I'm glad you at least remember some of it. Considering it's been like 2 years since i've made any concerted effort to make more "pretty backgrounds", the fact you remember them makes me think you like them. Thats cool. You're welcome to use and enjoy them.
I have never written an operating system. By saying "We wrote an entire enterprise-class OS from scratch", i'm referring to the entire Linux movement, et al. From the kernel maintainers to the app writers, from the documentation guys to the guys who paint icons. Out of curiosity, where do you fit in, exactly? Or are you one of those people that just sponges off everyone? You know, the ones that contribute nothing of value in return?
As for your allegation that I tried to "make Red Hat pay me for my backgrounds"... (Heheheh, God, where do you guys come up with this stuff!?) I never asked Red Hat to pay me cent. The images were then, and are now, free...Free as in beer. How could I have charged them for something I was giving away for free? Or charge anyone else, for that matter?
I was happy enough knowing Red Hat had an interest in my work..Interestingly, I didn't even approach them about including my stuff in their distrib. They were the ones who approached me, back in May of '98, asking me if it was OK to include Volumes 1-6 in their next release. I was shocked they even heard of me. I was very honored, both then and now, to be included. Infact, I remember buying a bottle of champagne that night, and uncorking it on my balcony with a few friends to celebrate. It made me really happy to know that somebody felt my work was good enough to include, and that tons of people were going to use and enjoy my stuff.
Does that answer your questions?
With all the offshoring HP is engadged in, they have no other choice but to call flaws "features".
The work the KDE team has done is great, but... (*deep breath*)
Before you go off and mod this a troll, stop and think about the idea. Why are we mimicking Windows? Or anything, for that matter? By mimicking Windows, aren't we simply reinforcing bad habits that Redmond introduced 10 years ago? If we all agree that Windows' GUI is sub-optimal, why are we expending so much time and energy attempting to replicate it, point for point?
I'd be sort of interested to see the point in KDE's history where this debate took place, if it ever did.. It certainly should have.
It's just frustrating to see so much work go into being the desktop equivalent of an Elvis impersonator, when we could easilly challenge (or even trump!) the real Elvis.. We've built an enterprise-class OS from scratch...You'd think that a good GUI would be trivial.
Anyway, as far as I know, neither GNOME nor KDE's team offer a skunk-works forum to discuss and develop new and different ideas. Quite the contrary. New ideas tend to be ridiculed and quickly dismissed. It's sort of odd, given how many truly creative people there are working on these respective projects.
..Believe me...I should know.
Anyway, Color-reactivity has been around for ages. Even within the scope of involving computers in one form or another.. There are two examples that i'm aware of, both were implemented w/ early 60's technology:
1) I wish I could remember the name. It was basically a computer-controlled art exhibit. They set aside a room in an art gallery with an old IBM 704, rigged the room up with motion sensors and microphones, and used the input levels to drive color wheels and light projectors... So if the gallery was quiet, the walls and all the stuff hanging from the ceiling would turn deep blue and move slowly. If there were alot of people visiting the gallery, the color of the room would turn more pink and yellow. If there was alot of chatter going on inside the gallery, with people talking to eachother, the more psychedelic the room became.
2) There used to be a device back in the early-mid 60's called an Audiovox, if i'm not mistaken...The Audiovox was just a simple amplifier with three colored lights on the front.... Red, Yellow,and Green. It was used to help deaf children learn how to modulate their speech, based upon the feedback the lights produced.... If the lights flickered red, the user would know that their pronunciation was way off. By trying to make (and keep) the green light as solid as possible, deaf children could refine their speech without necessarrily knowing what it sounded like. Neat stuff..
Anyway. Not a new idea. Not even when I had written about it.
Any effort to familliarize the public with Linux that doesn't involve a creepy-looking 9 year old with yellow hair has my support.
That, and anything that doesn't involve Laverne talking about "chaos theory"..sheesh.
What the hell would be so wrong about simply putting a few kernel/distrib contributors infront of a camera, and letting them talk for 30 seconds? "Hi, I'm Dave. I wrote the part of Linux that makes this camera work. I did it because it's fun....and because the manufacturer wouldn't." Sure, most of us are pretty damn ugly but there's gotta be a few photogenic nerds among us. With good stories, too.
Hahahahah...Too true, too true.
The instructions that Gilgamesh recieves from the heavens on how to build a boat, to survive the flood. 4500 B.C., written on cuneiform tablets.
6500 years ago.
Cheers,
Ever wish companies like Nike would just STFU and make shoes, Apple would just STFU and make computers, and Pepsi would just STFU and make soft drinks? Is it too much to ask that a company does what the hell it's supposed to do, and doesn't "take a stance" on every possible disagreement on God's green earth? Jesus. The whole essence of marketing is to tell your audience that what they have isn't good enough. The last thing I want to see is the same group of marketroid assholes telling me (or others) how and what to think about political issues.
Yes, I know. STFU Bowie, go make us more tiles. Ugh.
Cheers,
So we'll be without a visible-light telescope.
Seen any diagrams of the Electromagnetic Spectrum lately?
Big friggin deal. Looks like we'll have to go without pretty pictures, which have practically zero scientific value. Sure, it makes for nice posters calendars, but having a telescope that doesn't have visible-light sensitivity isn't a big loss.
1 in 700. Hmm..
:)
...So whats the problem? Hell, call up Taco Bell, tell em to float another target out in the Pacific. Thats how insignificant the "threat" is, in my book.
I live nextdoor to a 7-11..And even with odds like that, I wouldn't even bother walking over there to buy a lottery ticket.
70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water.
Most of Earth's landmass (the remaining 30%) is sparsely inhabited, and in many areas, completely empty.
Major population centers are few and far between on a geographic scale.
There's plenty of evidence that says Earth's atmosphere could destroy Hubble like Mike Tyson on a bad day. Think about it. How many craters do _you_ live near?
Hubble wont fall to Earth straight down. It will come in on a shallow angle, which improves the likelyhood that yes, Virginia, it will disintegrate during re-entry.
Hubble is hollow.
Hubble is made out of materials with low melting points.
Did you bother read a single word I wrote before writing your reply?
You guys make it sound like Hubble is the last telescope we will ever make, let alone put up in orbit.
Hubble is a Cracker Jack toy compared to whats on the books right now. Letting Hubble fall into obsolescence is a _blessing_ in a way, since it paves the way for newer, better (interferometer!) telescopes to go into the mix.
Besides, it's not like we're at a loss for data. Hubble generated enough data to keep researchers busy for decades. Let it burn up, as far as i'm concerned. Make way for the bigger and better.
Cheers,
Hah...wonderful. :)
Somebody definitely must have let Timmy out of the playpen. Without his harness even!
Cheers,