have sucked real bad, for a long time now. Ever since the team of Claremont/Byrne/Austin left the book, it has been a shade of what it once was. But it will keep chugging along so long as the kiddies keep buying.
Sorry, that ain't stuff that matters. Take it over to rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks please, you'll be in good company over there.:)
Brown dwarfs are thought to form in much the same way as stars, by the gravitational collapse of clumps of cold gas and dust in dense molecular clouds. However, for reasons not yet entirely clear, some clumps end up with masses less than about 7.5% of that of our Sun, or 75 times the mass of planet Jupiter. Below that boundary, there is not enough pressure in the core to initiate nuclear hydrogen fusion, the long-lasting and stable source of power for ordinary stars like the Sun. Except for a brief early phase where some deuterium is burned, these low-mass objects simply continue to cool and fade slowly away while releasing the heat left-over from their birth.
For more information on the history of AOL, might I suggest picking up a copy of 'aol.com' by Kara Swisher (Crown Pub. Co., 1999, ISBN 0812931912)? As well as the story of AOL, it delved into the lives of Steve Case, Jim Kimsey and the other key players. It doesn't cover the period leading up to the merger with Time-Warner, and as far as I know there isn't a book out yet that covers that part of the story.
Yep, but now that is irrevelent. Microsoft has combined their code bases for home and business OS's into XP (or so they claim). The Windows95 track is dead, NT is dead. The hybrid OS that would serve both business server needs and home user gaming needs that was promised to us in MS timelines in 1993 is finally here with XP. Or so they say. Apparently not?
You got that right!:)
The problem is, although Windows 95/98 and Windows NT (as an add-in for NT 3.51, and integral in NT 4) share a similar UI, the Win32 API that each platform supported was markedly different. Windows 9x lacked the security APIs and (for a long time) OpenGL, whilst NT did not have the direct hardware access that Windows 9x could fall back on. Also, the hardware driver architechture was completely different between the two.
This was one of the problems that caused the release of what would become Windows 2000 to be pushed back - the new Windows needed to support the features and idiocyncrasies of both platforms, in order to support the *applications* that were being used on either platform. This was the crucial part - it didn't matter how technically superior the new Windows was, if the customer's existing applications wouldn't run properly then it would sink, and quite possibly take Microsoft with it. (Remember, Windows 2000 was the *only* option at this point, there was no Plan B waiting in the wings).
Actually, it was originally supposed to be release in 1998, but was repeatedly pushed back due to changing priorities being handed down from Bill, which in turn was influenced by changes in the marketplace (Internet, Java, XML). Also, a lot of stuff that was supposed to be part of Windows NT 5 ended up being dropped, due to problems getting the technology working properly - this was Microsoft's now-rarely-mentioned Cairo project, which envisaged what is now planned for Longhorn and beyond, back in the mid-90s. The Register has a write-up on the history of Cairo, and what became of it.
No, they couldn't possibly do that - if they did, they's be two version behind Sun's Solaris (9.0) and a whole three version behind Apple's MacOS (10.2) - can't be having that!:)
Let me guess... you've never used or written software for Windows, have you?
The code base of the NT side of the family has changed dramatically between NT 3.51 and XP, although thanks to the backwards compatibility of the Win32 API a lot of the changes aren't immediately apparent.
Actually, I think it's more like what they did when they changed Windows NT 5.0 to Windows 2000 - hoping to ditch all the bad news (mainly delays in getting to a working product) associated with the former name.
It's not that they don't need friends - if they don't take care, they won't have any friends!
Imagine what Microsoft will do when they have $100B in the bank, or $500B. Imagine that power. They could sign deals like this with ENTIRE COUNTRIES.
Given the amount of scrutiny that Microsoft will be under, and will continue to be under for the forseeable future, I'd expect the stockpile to decrease rather than increase.
Interestingly, executives in software companies don't seem to learn from history/other's mistakes: I guess you know how MS stole valuable assets and IP from borland trough their engineers - made very high offers to the Borland engineers while contacting with Borland for "cooperation".
Know all about that one - practically qualifies for a FAQ on the Borland newsgroups, the number of times people ask about it!
Well, the same identical thing happened years later to Oracle (with Microsoft, of course), after which MS SQL server started to suck less.
I'm a bit hazy on this one. Who did they lure away? When was this? Got any links?
I've always loved the fact that hitting the tilde (~) key would bring a semi-transparent console down over the top half of the screen when playing Quake engine games. I think this is one of the smartest features of the product.
Not just the Quake games, but all games either based on them or influenced by them.
I used to have great fun in Unreal, going to a particular level, turning on noclip and godmode, then spawning a load of characters and either fragging them silly or just go invisible and watch what they do on their own. Sometimes you could get different characters to duke it out with one another too.
I mean, if I would have THIS clause in the contract, it is NORMAL to assume that MS would play hardball to then gain all the rights. This is to be expected. Unless they crossed some lines then (which to proove will be the problem of Sendo), Sendo got what they deserved - for neglecting the reality of harsh businesses practices.
This part doesn't suprise me much, having read up on the history of Microsoft's dealings with its 'partners' over the years.
What gets me is that this sequence of events started back in 2001, at the time that Judge Jackson was throwing the book at Microsoft for, amongst other misdemeanours, doing the very same thing they were evidently planning on doing to Sendo!
Even if Sendo's case falls flat, it will have served to make Microsoft's circle of friends even smaller. What more proof could you ask for to show that the people in charge of Microsoft have not learned to play fair?
All the computers I owned before my first PC are there - Sinclair ZX81 + 16K RAMpack, Acorn Electron + Plus1 + Plus3, BBC Master 128 + 6502 Coprocessor. And I managed to acquire a 20MB hard drive for the Master too!
All flogged off or given to charity now. The Master and its peripherals were bequeathed to a professor at Herriot-Watt Univerity up in Scotland, to be used at a research station on Orkney, the northernmost of the British Isles!
We don't have any IBM systems here, but my firm regularly makes EBCDIC tape archives every week for one of our customers, and distribute them to about 20-odd banks and insurance firms. Most go out on 3480 cartridges, plus one QIC Data Cartridge, and one person still receives theirs on a 2400FT 9-Track tape reel! Mind you, they now have to supply their own tapes, as 9-Track tape production ceased at the end of last year (too little demand to justify keeping the operation going, as I recall).
We used to have a MicroVAX in a corner, for the simple reason that it was the only way, at the time, to duplicate DEC DLT (TK50) tapes. Went to the scrapyard once we had DLT drives that could be connected to a SCSI-equiped PC. (We write our own duplication software)
Mary Jo Foley's article is worth a read, and free too! (You don't to know how much the Microsoft Watch Newsletter will cost you, trust me, it'll make your eyes water). And the predictions look to be spot-on too.
The E-cyclopedia is worth a read too, although some of the words probably won't make sense if you don't live in the UK (eg. 'archery' refers to Jeffrey Archer, sent down last year for perjury).
Slashdot Mirror
have sucked real bad, for a long time now. Ever since the team of Claremont/Byrne/Austin left the book, it has been a shade of what it once was. But it will keep chugging along so long as the kiddies keep buying.
:)
Sorry, that ain't stuff that matters. Take it over to rec.arts.comics.marvel.xbooks please, you'll be in good company over there.
I know I would... Id undress Rogue and then.... Never you mind.
:)
Uh-huh, you'd go 'Urk!' and get real sickly real quick the minute you touched her. Bad choice.
(there are as many variants of x-men comics as there are linux distros)
:)
Ain't that the truth!
...is Commander Riker!
:)
He's got experience with this stuff.
Yeah, right! That old tub of lard wouldn't last five seconds against Jubilee, let alone Wolverine!
Will someone please think of the children?
:)
I'm pretty sure that both Rachel and Nathan (Cable) are old enough to be able to look after themselves now, don't you think?
May the Shwartz be with you, young man. :)
Thanks for pointing that out. Hey, can someone mod the above post +1 Insightful, please?
For some reason, the scene from the end of Mel Brooks's film History of The World Part 1 just bounced into my head... :)
Brown dwarfs are thought to form in much the same way as stars, by the gravitational collapse of clumps of cold gas and dust in dense molecular clouds. However, for reasons not yet entirely clear, some clumps end up with masses less than about 7.5% of that of our Sun, or 75 times the mass of planet Jupiter. Below that boundary, there is not enough pressure in the core to initiate nuclear hydrogen fusion, the long-lasting and stable source of power for ordinary stars like the Sun. Except for a brief early phase where some deuterium is burned, these low-mass objects simply continue to cool and fade slowly away while releasing the heat left-over from their birth.
Troll Stars, anyone?
For more information on the history of AOL, might I suggest picking up a copy of 'aol.com' by Kara Swisher (Crown Pub. Co., 1999, ISBN 0812931912)? As well as the story of AOL, it delved into the lives of Steve Case, Jim Kimsey and the other key players. It doesn't cover the period leading up to the merger with Time-Warner, and as far as I know there isn't a book out yet that covers that part of the story.
Yep, but now that is irrevelent. Microsoft has combined their code bases for home and business OS's into XP (or so they claim). The Windows95 track is dead, NT is dead. The hybrid OS that would serve both business server needs and home user gaming needs that was promised to us in MS timelines in 1993 is finally here with XP. Or so they say. Apparently not?
:)
:
You got that right!
The problem is, although Windows 95/98 and Windows NT (as an add-in for NT 3.51, and integral in NT 4) share a similar UI, the Win32 API that each platform supported was markedly different. Windows 9x lacked the security APIs and (for a long time) OpenGL, whilst NT did not have the direct hardware access that Windows 9x could fall back on. Also, the hardware driver architechture was completely different between the two.
This was one of the problems that caused the release of what would become Windows 2000 to be pushed back - the new Windows needed to support the features and idiocyncrasies of both platforms, in order to support the *applications* that were being used on either platform. This was the crucial part - it didn't matter how technically superior the new Windows was, if the customer's existing applications wouldn't run properly then it would sink, and quite possibly take Microsoft with it. (Remember, Windows 2000 was the *only* option at this point, there was no Plan B waiting in the wings).
Some links for your further enlightenment
Microsoft Windows History
Another potted history of Windows (warning - pop-ups lurking here!)
The official word on the name-change to Windows 2000, from Microsoft PressPass
An article on the historical links between Windows NT and VMS (They're more related than you think!)
'Why Windows NT 5.0 Will Make the World a Better Place', written in September 1997(!) by Jesse Berst for ZDNet Anchordesk. Gives a run-down of the feature list at that time, and also gives a figure of how long NT 5.0 had been in development at that point.
'New Windows could solve age-old puzzle', courtesy of News.com - a write-up of the (in)famous Cairo project, and where it fits into the Windows story.
Food for thought, I thing you'll agree.
Actually, it was originally supposed to be release in 1998, but was repeatedly pushed back due to changing priorities being handed down from Bill, which in turn was influenced by changes in the marketplace (Internet, Java, XML). Also, a lot of stuff that was supposed to be part of Windows NT 5 ended up being dropped, due to problems getting the technology working properly - this was Microsoft's now-rarely-mentioned Cairo project, which envisaged what is now planned for Longhorn and beyond, back in the mid-90s. The Register has a write-up on the history of Cairo, and what became of it.
No, they couldn't possibly do that - if they did, they's be two version behind Sun's Solaris (9.0) and a whole three version behind Apple's MacOS (10.2) - can't be having that! :)
Let me guess... you've never used or written software for Windows, have you?
The code base of the NT side of the family has changed dramatically between NT 3.51 and XP, although thanks to the backwards compatibility of the Win32 API a lot of the changes aren't immediately apparent.
Makes sense, although MS still hasn't got it right in practice. The last time I looked, "Works Suite 2003" was shipping with "Streets & Trips 2002".
S&T hardly changes, so it boggles the mind how MS could miss the schedule for including S&T 2003 in the suite.
'Err... ah... ignore the old software behind the curtain... FOR I AM THE GREAT AND MIGHTY.. err.. BILL, YES, THE GREAT AND MIGHTY BILL!!!'
Actually, I think it's more like what they did when they changed Windows NT 5.0 to Windows 2000 - hoping to ditch all the bad news (mainly delays in getting to a working product) associated with the former name.
People with $40B in the bank don't need friends.
It's not that they don't need friends - if they don't take care, they won't have any friends!
Imagine what Microsoft will do when they have $100B in the bank, or $500B. Imagine that power. They could sign deals like this with ENTIRE COUNTRIES.
Given the amount of scrutiny that Microsoft will be under, and will continue to be under for the forseeable future, I'd expect the stockpile to decrease rather than increase.
Interestingly, executives in software companies don't seem to learn from history/other's mistakes: I guess you know how MS stole valuable assets and IP from borland trough their engineers - made very high offers to the Borland engineers while contacting with Borland for "cooperation".
Know all about that one - practically qualifies for a FAQ on the Borland newsgroups, the number of times people ask about it!
Well, the same identical thing happened years later to Oracle (with Microsoft, of course), after which MS SQL server started to suck less.
I'm a bit hazy on this one. Who did they lure away? When was this? Got any links?
As most geeks have probably learnt the hard way; Popular bullies are rarely challenged by the authorities.
I suspect Microsoft will find out this year just how 'popular' they are, one way or another.
I've always loved the fact that hitting the tilde (~) key would bring a semi-transparent console down over the top half of the screen when playing Quake engine games. I think this is one of the smartest features of the product.
Not just the Quake games, but all games either based on them or influenced by them.
I used to have great fun in Unreal, going to a particular level, turning on noclip and godmode, then spawning a load of characters and either fragging them silly or just go invisible and watch what they do on their own. Sometimes you could get different characters to duke it out with one another too.
I mean, if I would have THIS clause in the contract, it is NORMAL to assume that MS would play hardball to then gain all the rights. This is to be expected. Unless they crossed some lines then (which to proove will be the problem of Sendo), Sendo got what they deserved - for neglecting the reality of harsh businesses practices.
This part doesn't suprise me much, having read up on the history of Microsoft's dealings with its 'partners' over the years.
What gets me is that this sequence of events started back in 2001, at the time that Judge Jackson was throwing the book at Microsoft for, amongst other misdemeanours, doing the very same thing they were evidently planning on doing to Sendo!
Even if Sendo's case falls flat, it will have served to make Microsoft's circle of friends even smaller. What more proof could you ask for to show that the people in charge of Microsoft have not learned to play fair?
YES! :) Recommended viewing for UK peeps.
All the computers I owned before my first PC are there - Sinclair ZX81 + 16K RAMpack, Acorn Electron + Plus1 + Plus3, BBC Master 128 + 6502 Coprocessor. And I managed to acquire a 20MB hard drive for the Master too!
All flogged off or given to charity now. The Master and its peripherals were bequeathed to a professor at Herriot-Watt Univerity up in Scotland, to be used at a research station on Orkney, the northernmost of the British Isles!
EBCDIC anyone?
We don't have any IBM systems here, but my firm regularly makes EBCDIC tape archives every week for one of our customers, and distribute them to about 20-odd banks and insurance firms. Most go out on 3480 cartridges, plus one QIC Data Cartridge, and one person still receives theirs on a 2400FT 9-Track tape reel! Mind you, they now have to supply their own tapes, as 9-Track tape production ceased at the end of last year (too little demand to justify keeping the operation going, as I recall).
We used to have a MicroVAX in a corner, for the simple reason that it was the only way, at the time, to duplicate DEC DLT (TK50) tapes. Went to the scrapyard once we had DLT drives that could be connected to a SCSI-equiped PC. (We write our own duplication software)
Mary Jo Foley's article is worth a read, and free too! (You don't to know how much the Microsoft Watch Newsletter will cost you, trust me, it'll make your eyes water). And the predictions look to be spot-on too.
The E-cyclopedia is worth a read too, although some of the words probably won't make sense if you don't live in the UK (eg. 'archery' refers to Jeffrey Archer, sent down last year for perjury).
PS. 2003 in da house! (UK)
The one-handed Slashdot poster strikes again! :)