Are they serious? They expect corporation to agree to allow their PCs to be booted remotely and used for a task outside their control, and which doesn't make them any money.
I honestly can't see anyone willingly agreeing to install it.
On the other hand, the review states that Novell has futher crippled the multimedia capabilities of their distribution by removing MP3 playback support.
Growl. Oh well, guess I won't be bothering with that upgrade then.:-(
It's bad enough that they crippled Kaffine/Xine in 9.2 -- You can't even download and install the missing libs; they've blocked them from within the software - if you really want to play DVDs in 9.2, you have to remove Xine and install a non-crippled version from elsewhere, and then install the missing libs as well. Way too much hassle to be worth the effort for a home user. But I don't mind. I can watch DVDs without SuSE's help. MP3s are different - I play music all the time on my computer, so if MP3 playing is crippled in the same way in 9.3, I certainly won't be upgrading, no matter how good the new KDE sounds.
It comes down the maturity of the development environment. For all its many faults, VB is a mature platform. Gambas is not. If you're planning to release an application for use in the real world, Gambas is not a choice you should be considering. No matter how tempting it may be for a VB developer, if you're serious about using it, at least wait until v1.0 is ready.
I think the closest match you're going to find for a serious project would probably be the QT designer. I know it's based around C++, but it is a stable and mature environment, and has a track record of producing real-world applications.
If your VB app was well written, with a decent class structure, it shouldn't be too hard to convert to any OO language, so as long as you have a grasp of C++, the process wouldn't be too difficult.
If the app *isn't* well written, converting it is probably the wrong approach - you should be thinking of re-implimenting it your chosen new language - in other words, take the opportunity of the change in language to improve your code structure; don't carry your old mistakes across into new code.
In truth, you should stick to whatever your contract says, unless you have good reason not to.
The consensus here seems to say two weeks is normal, but every job I've ever seen has had a four week termination period in the contract. Perhaps the norms are different here, but in any case, I would say that four weeks is reasonable, especially given that you have a key role.
Much more than four weeks is much less reasonable, because it can affect your chances of being accepted for your next job - employers want to hire you as soon as possible, and if they have to wait six weeks for you, they might pick someone else.
The idea of being 'on call' for several months after that is even more tricky. Nobody minds taking the occasional call from their former colleagues if they don't understand your code, but a formal deal for it is different. Bear in mind that any work you do for them in this period will be on the time of your new employer, who might not appreciate it. For you to agree to it, you'll probably also need your new employer to agree, and they'll quite likely want to take a cut if it eats into your time that should be spent working for them.
When I used to share a ride to work a few years ago, we used to listen to the original "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" radio series (on CD), and the Goon Show (a 1960s vintage BBC radio comedy show - kinda like Monty Python, but on radio). Between them, they kept us entertained for months.
Diamanou does *not* possess the right to license his code in anything other than the GPL. In short, he has limited rights to his code; it is his IP, but has binding restrictons on it. It was the condition for his right to use the initial GPLed code. He has absolutely no right to break that license.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the GPL only requires source code release if the software is released. If I make a modification to a GPL program, but don't release the program with those changes, I don't need to release the code.
In that case, Diamanou has full rights over the code he wrote prior to joining the company: provided he had never released it, he could keep his IP in whatever way he wanted.
The code written while he was at the company is not his; it is owned by the company, and the same applies to that as above. However, by sharing his previous code with the company, I would argue that he effectively released the code he had written earlier, and thus it becomes GPL code that must be released.
That is obviously in conflict with his employment contract. I don't know which takes priority here, but I suspect that the GPL would take priority, resulting in a breach of the employment contract.
As long as they make it before Ian McKellen dies, otherwise they could have a problem - Gandalf has an even bigger part in The Hobbit than he did in LOTR.
(not that I'm suggesting he's about to keel over... but he is getting on a bit - and look what happened to Dumbledore)
Can they be adapted to another type of technology?
Probably not: they're not going to be wanted in Japan, and they're not going to be compatible anywhere else. Which just begs the same old question: Why do we insist on always making so many incompatible standards to do the same thing???
If all countries used GSM [for example], it would make re-use of all those old phones so much easier. Plus I wouldn't need to buy a special phone that supports multiple technologies just so I can take it overseas.:-/
[note - before you all flame me for suggesting GSM, it was just an example. I don't really care which technology we use; just stop with the stupidity of each continent having its own set of standards]
The obvious objection is that he went to the big brand names... and they all have contracts with MS that makes it difficult for them not to sell Windows.
If you go to a white box PC company, they will sell you a PC without windows, and it will be cheaper than their with-windows option. But I don't know any businesses bigger than a few people that buy PCs that way -- they want the assurance of support from a big supplier (not that it's ever all that good in practice, but it makes them feel good).
And also the same doesn't hold true with laptops. The white box builders don't do them, because you can't just plug the bits together in a laptop the way you can in a desktop model... or if they do sell them, they just resell pre-built systems with windows included.
The reason I don't have a laptop computer today is because I couldn't find anyone willing to sell me one without Windows on it. And it wasn't for lack of trying either.:-(
I'm suprised that Dibol didn't make it into either chart - for a while it was a fairly important business language. It was supplied with DEC VAX systems, and ran a *lot* of software for a *lot* of businesses. It even had its own ANSI standard.
It's not doing much any more (it still exists, on various platforms, but is mainly limited to legacy systems), but I think it was big enough in its day to be worthy of at least an entry.
This is one of several big issues that is giving GM crops such a bad name in the rest of the world.
Europeans are well aware of the issue; the anti-GM protesters have used it very effectively to win support. There are stories in the news of non-GM farmers being sued because of cross-polination that they weren't aware of and had no control over, and it has upset a lot of people.
There are African countries that have refused food aid from the US because it would include GM crops. That grain would be useless to a rural African, because the first thing they would want to do would be to keep a portion of it to plant for next year, even if it was intended as food aid (that's how subsistence farming works).
Personally, I avoid engineered food for other reasons, but the legal issues are certainly helping to put a lot of other people off them as well.
It's such an obvious idea, I can't belive it's taken this long for someone to produce it.
I've been wondering for ages why the anti-virus companies haven't been producing this sort of thing.
The only difficulty with the format is that it's harder to update for new viruses than a traditional virus checker, but even then it's still a good idea, and I'm sure it's a problem they could find a way around.
For databases both postgres and mysql are two great database backends. they are both free and open source, and both have stable ports to windows.
And you see, that's the point of the question.
He isn't looking for a back-end - he already knows about MySQL and Postgres. What he's looking for is a quick-n-dirty front-end designer like Access.
Access is a horrible DB. But the reason small companies use it is because they can design their database, draw their input forms, and have a working application, customis written for their business, without having to hire a programmer to write it.
Small businesses don't need a decent DB - Access does the job, because they often only need a one-user system, with relatively small volumes of data. What they *do* need is the ability to design a front end so they can get at their data without spending a fortune buying a specialist software package.
That's what they need. Is there anything like that available?
Is seven different 8 character passwords (with numbers and mixed cases) really too much to ask?
Absolutely it is. Just like asking mom or dad to "just open the command line.."
I've got to agree with you there. It is the non-techies that have the most problems with this, but how old is the internet culture among non-techies? Five years? Maybe less? The point is that until the internet made everything accessible from a single computer, you didn't need a dozen different passwords. Before that, the only people who needed to even think about the possibility of keeping multiple passwords were sys admins.
The general public simply isn't comfortable yet either with passwords or computer security in general, and it'll probably take another ten years for it to truly get ingrained. In the meanwhile, the criminally inclined will continue to have an easy time of things.
Will a first gen HD player read Blu Ray discs? Probably not. I'm not saying that dual format HD/Blu-Ray devices won't come out. I am saying that it will be a longer wait than with +R/-R readers.
But on the bright side, at least all this means the current DVD standard will last slightly longer while the new formats battle for supremacy.
It'll give me an extra year or two of service out of my current systems before I have to start thinking about splashing out *again* on a new player. The manufacturers may want us to spend, spend, spend, but there's plenty of people who don't want (or can't afford) to buy a whole new entertainment system every three years just because they keep inventing new formats.
When people start stirring up this idea, they need to be reminded of the fact that Earth and Mars have been trading meteorites for millions of years. There are plenty of Martian meteors already on this planet, and doubtless plenty of Terrestrial ones on Mars. Any 'infection' that was going to happen would already have taken place quite naturally.
Also, on the stability issue, Stirling Moss has one and loves it....and for all those of you who don't know, Stirling Moss is a (retired) racing driver, so he should have some idea of what makes a good car.
Slashdot Mirror
Are they serious? They expect corporation to agree to allow their PCs to be booted remotely and used for a task outside their control, and which doesn't make them any money.
I honestly can't see anyone willingly agreeing to install it.
On the other hand, the review states that Novell has futher crippled the multimedia capabilities of their distribution by removing MP3 playback support.
:-(
Growl. Oh well, guess I won't be bothering with that upgrade then.
It's bad enough that they crippled Kaffine/Xine in 9.2 -- You can't even download and install the missing libs; they've blocked them from within the software - if you really want to play DVDs in 9.2, you have to remove Xine and install a non-crippled version from elsewhere, and then install the missing libs as well. Way too much hassle to be worth the effort for a home user. But I don't mind. I can watch DVDs without SuSE's help. MP3s are different - I play music all the time on my computer, so if MP3 playing is crippled in the same way in 9.3, I certainly won't be upgrading, no matter how good the new KDE sounds.
It comes down the maturity of the development environment. For all its many faults, VB is a mature platform. Gambas is not. If you're planning to release an application for use in the real world, Gambas is not a choice you should be considering. No matter how tempting it may be for a VB developer, if you're serious about using it, at least wait until v1.0 is ready.
I think the closest match you're going to find for a serious project would probably be the QT designer. I know it's based around C++, but it is a stable and mature environment, and has a track record of producing real-world applications.
If your VB app was well written, with a decent class structure, it shouldn't be too hard to convert to any OO language, so as long as you have a grasp of C++, the process wouldn't be too difficult.
If the app *isn't* well written, converting it is probably the wrong approach - you should be thinking of re-implimenting it your chosen new language - in other words, take the opportunity of the change in language to improve your code structure; don't carry your old mistakes across into new code.
Firstly, what does your employment contract say?
In truth, you should stick to whatever your contract says, unless you have good reason not to.
The consensus here seems to say two weeks is normal, but every job I've ever seen has had a four week termination period in the contract. Perhaps the norms are different here, but in any case, I would say that four weeks is reasonable, especially given that you have a key role.
Much more than four weeks is much less reasonable, because it can affect your chances of being accepted for your next job - employers want to hire you as soon as possible, and if they have to wait six weeks for you, they might pick someone else.
The idea of being 'on call' for several months after that is even more tricky. Nobody minds taking the occasional call from their former colleagues if they don't understand your code, but a formal deal for it is different. Bear in mind that any work you do for them in this period will be on the time of your new employer, who might not appreciate it. For you to agree to it, you'll probably also need your new employer to agree, and they'll quite likely want to take a cut if it eats into your time that should be spent working for them.
When I used to share a ride to work a few years ago, we used to listen to the original "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" radio series (on CD), and the Goon Show (a 1960s vintage BBC radio comedy show - kinda like Monty Python, but on radio). Between them, they kept us entertained for months.
Diamanou does *not* possess the right to license his code in anything other than the GPL. In short, he has limited rights to his code; it is his IP, but has binding restrictons on it. It was the condition for his right to use the initial GPLed code. He has absolutely no right to break that license.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the GPL only requires source code release if the software is released. If I make a modification to a GPL program, but don't release the program with those changes, I don't need to release the code.
In that case, Diamanou has full rights over the code he wrote prior to joining the company: provided he had never released it, he could keep his IP in whatever way he wanted.
The code written while he was at the company is not his; it is owned by the company, and the same applies to that as above. However, by sharing his previous code with the company, I would argue that he effectively released the code he had written earlier, and thus it becomes GPL code that must be released.
That is obviously in conflict with his employment contract. I don't know which takes priority here, but I suspect that the GPL would take priority, resulting in a breach of the employment contract.
As long as they make it before Ian McKellen dies, otherwise they could have a problem - Gandalf has an even bigger part in The Hobbit than he did in LOTR.
(not that I'm suggesting he's about to keel over... but he is getting on a bit - and look what happened to Dumbledore)
Can they be adapted to another type of technology?
:-/
Probably not: they're not going to be wanted in Japan, and they're not going to be compatible anywhere else. Which just begs the same old question: Why do we insist on always making so many incompatible standards to do the same thing???
If all countries used GSM [for example], it would make re-use of all those old phones so much easier. Plus I wouldn't need to buy a special phone that supports multiple technologies just so I can take it overseas.
[note - before you all flame me for suggesting GSM, it was just an example. I don't really care which technology we use; just stop with the stupidity of each continent having its own set of standards]
Schlock Mercenary didn't miss a single update in 58 weeks, and still I rate is as one of two best webcomics (together with UF).
Schlock is good. UF... hmmm.... nah. I never liked it.
But if you *really* want a top quality webcomic, the one you really should be reading is Freefall.
And no, Freefall has never missed an update either (it is only three times a week, though).
He does make a good point.
:-(
The obvious objection is that he went to the big brand names... and they all have contracts with MS that makes it difficult for them not to sell Windows.
If you go to a white box PC company, they will sell you a PC without windows, and it will be cheaper than their with-windows option. But I don't know any businesses bigger than a few people that buy PCs that way -- they want the assurance of support from a big supplier (not that it's ever all that good in practice, but it makes them feel good).
And also the same doesn't hold true with laptops. The white box builders don't do them, because you can't just plug the bits together in a laptop the way you can in a desktop model... or if they do sell them, they just resell pre-built systems with windows included.
The reason I don't have a laptop computer today is because I couldn't find anyone willing to sell me one without Windows on it. And it wasn't for lack of trying either.
I'm suprised that Dibol didn't make it into either chart - for a while it was a fairly important business language. It was supplied with DEC VAX systems, and ran a *lot* of software for a *lot* of businesses. It even had its own ANSI standard.
It's not doing much any more (it still exists, on various platforms, but is mainly limited to legacy systems), but I think it was big enough in its day to be worthy of at least an entry.
This is one of several big issues that is giving GM crops such a bad name in the rest of the world.
Europeans are well aware of the issue; the anti-GM protesters have used it very effectively to win support. There are stories in the news of non-GM farmers being sued because of cross-polination that they weren't aware of and had no control over, and it has upset a lot of people.
There are African countries that have refused food aid from the US because it would include GM crops. That grain would be useless to a rural African, because the first thing they would want to do would be to keep a portion of it to plant for next year, even if it was intended as food aid (that's how subsistence farming works).
Personally, I avoid engineered food for other reasons, but the legal issues are certainly helping to put a lot of other people off them as well.
If it was really self sustaining, it wouldn't be expensive to operate. :-/
It's such an obvious idea, I can't belive it's taken this long for someone to produce it.
I've been wondering for ages why the anti-virus companies haven't been producing this sort of thing.
The only difficulty with the format is that it's harder to update for new viruses than a traditional virus checker, but even then it's still a good idea, and I'm sure it's a problem they could find a way around.
Yay! At long last! Mr Solar is a reality. :-D
For databases both postgres and mysql are two great database backends. they are both free and open source, and both have stable ports to windows.
And you see, that's the point of the question.
He isn't looking for a back-end - he already knows about MySQL and Postgres. What he's looking for is a quick-n-dirty front-end designer like Access.
Access is a horrible DB. But the reason small companies use it is because they can design their database, draw their input forms, and have a working application, customis written for their business, without having to hire a programmer to write it.
Small businesses don't need a decent DB - Access does the job, because they often only need a one-user system, with relatively small volumes of data. What they *do* need is the ability to design a front end so they can get at their data without spending a fortune buying a specialist software package.
That's what they need. Is there anything like that available?
Wah? An Original Slashdot story?
;)
Who could've preditcted that...
Nah - it was featured on Wikipedia first.
LA Times announced that it is folding its national edition
Folding it, eh? I wonder if they'll enter it in the national origami championships?
Is seven different 8 character passwords (with numbers and mixed cases) really too much to ask?
Absolutely it is. Just like asking mom or dad to "just open the command line.."
I've got to agree with you there. It is the non-techies that have the most problems with this, but how old is the internet culture among non-techies? Five years? Maybe less? The point is that until the internet made everything accessible from a single computer, you didn't need a dozen different passwords. Before that, the only people who needed to even think about the possibility of keeping multiple passwords were sys admins.
The general public simply isn't comfortable yet either with passwords or computer security in general, and it'll probably take another ten years for it to truly get ingrained. In the meanwhile, the criminally inclined will continue to have an easy time of things.
I use my dog's name as my password.
:-D
My dog is called Pchg65Lb, but he changes his name every few weeks.
Will a first gen HD player read Blu Ray discs? Probably not. I'm not saying that dual format HD/Blu-Ray devices won't come out. I am saying that it will be a longer wait than with +R/-R readers.
But on the bright side, at least all this means the current DVD standard will last slightly longer while the new formats battle for supremacy.
It'll give me an extra year or two of service out of my current systems before I have to start thinking about splashing out *again* on a new player. The manufacturers may want us to spend, spend, spend, but there's plenty of people who don't want (or can't afford) to buy a whole new entertainment system every three years just because they keep inventing new formats.
When people start stirring up this idea, they need to be reminded of the fact that Earth and Mars have been trading meteorites for millions of years. There are plenty of Martian meteors already on this planet, and doubtless plenty of Terrestrial ones on Mars. Any 'infection' that was going to happen would already have taken place quite naturally.
Also, on the stability issue, Stirling Moss has one and loves it. ...and for all those of you who don't know, Stirling Moss is a (retired) racing driver, so he should have some idea of what makes a good car.
"These programmers are crazy!"
tap-tap-tap.
"Why, Asterix, they don't even eat wild boar."
"Lookout"...
...
Isn't that the name of their email client?
Ah... no - it's just what I call it.