I don't you would be particularily wise to pay SCO their fee until after a trial decides just how shaky their ground really is. Why? Because if they lose the lawsuit, then SCO can pretty much say goodnight and you'll never see your tuppence again.
IBM is pretty savy for adopting an open source project as one of their main OS offerings, largely because it does provide them with a certain level of insulation from OS problems, but also because it provides them with considerable developement power at minimal cost.
Let us not forget that Apple has pretty much put their entire future into an open source OS as well, for pretty much the same reasons I think.
It just makes sense to me to build your OS upon a common open source framework. More compatable, more developers, more solutions to problems.
Ya, there are hoards of problems with that approach as well, but I think they can be succesfully managed.
in order to find the company guilty, they must agree that company representatives knew their actions were illegal and intended to violate the law. Merely offering a product that could violate copyrights was not enough to warrant a conviction(from the Judges instructions to the jury)
I think that pretty much sums it up. If you clearly intend to perform an illegal act then the DCMA is fully in effect. Elcom did not intend to circumvent the copy protection on ebooks except for the legitimate user making backup copies. Elcom reacted to Adobe's concerns in reasonable time and in manner that clearly demonstrated Elcom's concern with the legality of their eBook software.
In summary: the court found that intent is everything.
However, OpenBSD vs OS X on a MacPPC (G3 PB).
the OpenBSD installation is no different than on x86 machines, no surpirse. Takes no longer. Ask no extra questions. It does require some knowledge of the underlying hardware, but no more that you would for x86.
On the other hand, OS X install from a recent OS X purchase was . . . well, brain dead. Put in the disk, boot from CD, click install, fall asleep for 15 minutes, click "reboot", wait about 68 seconds and voila, OS X is up and running.
I'd say "no comparison" and I like openBSD, but I use them for different things.
Let's start with the executive summary of the article by the author
I expected Windows 2000's installation would be seamless, fast, and lightyears ahead of upstart Red Hat's by any measure I could concoct. It turns out the Windows 2000 Pro installation is superior to Linux, but in two dubious categories. (2,000 words)
Reading the text, it turns out that the author actually found Red Hat supperior pretty much across the board. So much for summaries.
While I'm on the topic, I'd like to see a comparission with Windows XP, I just did four installations of XP and one of OpenBSD. All five were flawless and worked perfectly first time. All completed within minutes of each other and required only minimal interaction on my part.
My opinion is that Microsoft has improved their installation process many orders of magnitude over the last few years, about time, eh? However, I still find the *nix to be far more secure out of the box and much easier to keep that way.
Yup, it's a fake, that's for sure. Just look at the writing, it is precisely in line and spaced absolutely perfectly, on a standard European A4 lined notebook sheet.
Compare that with authentic maps from that period, even with authentic written works.
That alone makes it a fake. Also, examine the geography of the map overall and compare that with the geography of the North american part.
And that completely ignores the ink data. Dating the paper doesn't prove that the map is old, only the paper.
GUI design? AFAIK that is not a language feature but an IDE feature, which are available for pretty much any language. My favourite IDE is elvis . . .
advanced error handling
compared to what? C has excellent error handling, if you can program.
advanced object oriented design including multiple inheritance, abstract classes, and garbage collection
We use Laidlaw for our garbage collection and we always design our programs BEFORE we code them. In fact, by the time the design process is done, the C code is usually pretty darned easy to write.
full support for operator and function overloading
And you absolutely need this because. . . ?
and portable (at compile-time) across various platforms
You make some excellent points. I agree, we are changing the way business is done.
BUT, I disagree that it is revolutionary. One can argue that any change is revolutionary in some way, however, I believe that simply changing from a black and white newsprint catalogue to a full colour glossy is simple evolution. It's just a change in the tech, and does not necessarily change the way we go about our lives or interact with those around us.
The industrial revolution has had a far greater impact on social and cultural lives than the internet has. And yes, someone still churns cream to make butter. I just buy it in tin wrap at my local grocers instead of doing it myself.
I'd have to agree with the reviewer. The internet, and the web, have not so much transformed life, as enabled it.
We used to shop by catalogue and phone, now we shop by point and click.
We used to talk to distant friends by phone and letter, now we do it by email and web page, conference software and the like.
While the internet has made some things easier, I, for one, don't see that it has created a paradigm shift in any area of culture or social interaction.
So, you buy a TV, take it out side to watch the "big" games, dispite the fact that it is raining, BOOM. Now, I wonder why the manufacturer wouldn't replace that TV?
This is really a gold mine. I can't believe how fortunate we are to have a site like this. It may well do for Bronze age knowledge what Pompeii did for Roman knowledge.
We are going to see, for the first time, what life was REALLY like in bronze age Europe. It could very well change all our ideas about the development of early societies.
A lot of interesting replies, and since this is going to take me some time to articulate clearly there'll be more by the time I'm done.
The BSD style license is a good license because it allows the end user a good deal of flexibility.
The GPL is a good license because it protects the code base from proprietary obfuscation.
The BSD may be bad because it does not force the end user to report back to the original author, though it does not forbid this. My experience in working with BSD style licensing is that MOST changes find their way back to the developer.
The GPL may be bad because it does not take into account the reliality of the commercial market. It simply prohibits the end user from making those changes that they may require to make their product a commercial success.
Having said all that, my personal choice has always been to make my code PUBLIC DOMAIN if I want it freely available, otherwise I retain FULL copyright.
Afterall, if freedom is what you want then you MUST allow freedom. I do not feel that it is legitimate to say that something is free if you want to place restrictions on its use.
If you want to retain COMPLETE control then look at some sort of realistic license that fits your business model. Otherwise, I'd say, if you want your code to be FREE then make it FREE, without restriction of any sort.
Which is probably the big advantage of the BSD style license.
Ah, I didn't say they were interested in profit, I said SHORT TERM PROFIT. There is a critical difference.
I never mentioned either Sony or Nintendo. And they are not the ONLY game platforms on the market.
I did not mention Sony, at all, nor did I imply Sony.
MS is genuinely interested in what is good for the CEO in the short term.
And this post is NOT A TROLL!
Think for god's sake!
I'm asking you, what are the long term consequences of Microsoft's dominace of PC market? Do you want similar consequences for the game market?
In five years MS will own the game market as completely as they own the Home Computer market. What do you see those games being like? Are you going to find them challenging to play, enjoyable?
I am not saying that you should buy a PS2, or a "cube". I am saying that you should think about your desire for an X-box, before you purchase it.
Maybe you shouldn't buy a game console at all? Ever think of that?
Even if the X-box is the best gaming console out there, should you buy one?
My answer is no.
Microsoft has demonstrated that they are interested in one thing only, short term Profit. Which translates into total control of the market. In the past, that total control of the market has translated into poor quality, poor stability, feature bloat, and increasing cost of ownership.
If you want a game console that offers Quality, Stability, and Usability then I say that you should consider the long term consequences of Microsoft ownership of the game console market.
Arguably, the X-box is already demonstrating its Heritage.
If I were you, I would seriously consider my game console purchase in light of the PC market and the long term consequences.
The same goes for the "dotNet" initiative. Marketing ploy or genuine interest in what is best for the internet?
Long Answer: I ordered a snowblower attachment to my ride on mower. We get "winter" here you know!. It was shipped in full wooden crate, complete with wooden sides from Montreal to Vancouver.
There was no single piece of wood on the crate that was not splinters. I have no idea how they did that much damage. The case stated "rated to 2000lbs". Fortunately the thing was WAY over packaged and nothing was even scratched. Bizzare.
UPS? Unlimited Peril Service. or Unlikey Parcel Survives.
It is the age old story. You can buy a car, but the manufacturer determines the quality of your experience. Consumer beware!
Cable or DSL or Modem, it's all one. Your quality of experience will depend upon the quality of your supplier.
In my area, my cable has been up and with the same IP without interruption for almost one year now.
On the otherhand, I still use my modem for one account that has a certain utility. However, since I live in a VERY rural setting, the telephone service is absolute . . .
Not bragging, just pointing out that quality varies. In modem connects and in broadband.
If consumers vote with their dollars and make sure that they are signing a contract that is favourable to them and not the provider, then things will get better. No-one is going to stand up for your rights except you. So get too it!
The real problem is that few, if any, games are actually designed as a test of real time strategic thinking. Most are designed for a quick and bloody romp, thus the hoard mentality.
The control system needs to be changed from DIRECT control over every unit to being able to give tactical commands to individual groups of units.
I am appointing this guy as commander of these troops. Go take that hill.
That guy will have some hidden ratings, moral, courage, smeartz, such as. These will influence what decisions he will make as he tries to comply with your orders. Will he ask for help? Direction? or will he just charge in. This is all left to the AI.
That frees the human gamer to consider tactical as well as strategic goals.
The earliest Squad Leader game was like this to some extent, and not too bad either. Harpoon is another example, though to a lesser extent.
One last item of depth to be consider is psychological warfare. That's a tough one and would require a good deal of research to implement.
All in all, you've just come up against the biggest problem in Computer Design period: lowest common denominator.
What sells? that which is popular
What is popular? that which most people like
Who are most people? And what do they want?
I think, if you look carefully around you, you will discover that most people use Windows, and that should tell you all you need to know.
I'm not being sarcastic here or trying to start a flame war. Think about it. What makes windows popular and what is the MOST popular game out there today?
It would be extremely difficult to get a game company to spend the effort and time to develope a game that is a learning experience. That requires the user to put in some serious thought inorder to win. That requires, in short, some effort on the part of the user. That is simply not what the vast majority of people out there want, beer and blood, and damn that thinking crap!
Slashdot Mirror
So, we want the Iranians to visit websites, but instead of allowing their government to censor what they can see, we'll make their choices for them.
Brilliant. Now I've heard it all. So, when do we start "conserving bandwidth" in the US?
What they announced was a new research project into the possibility of these devices. There is no device yet.
They don't even have a timeline for having something useful. Only a plan to tackle at least two possible approaches.
And no-one read the article before they posted a response?
Good point, and absolutely true. They decided to go with the BSD License, which is significantly different.
Witness Microsoft's use of openBSD code in their Unix Tools for XP.
I don't you would be particularily wise to pay SCO their fee until after a trial decides just how shaky their ground really is. Why? Because if they lose the lawsuit, then SCO can pretty much say goodnight and you'll never see your tuppence again.
IBM is pretty savy for adopting an open source project as one of their main OS offerings, largely because it does provide them with a certain level of insulation from OS problems, but also because it provides them with considerable developement power at minimal cost.
Let us not forget that Apple has pretty much put their entire future into an open source OS as well, for pretty much the same reasons I think.
It just makes sense to me to build your OS upon a common open source framework. More compatable, more developers, more solutions to problems.
Ya, there are hoards of problems with that approach as well, but I think they can be succesfully managed.
Lithium Ion batteries can be recharged about 500 times maximum.
that is almost certainly the net sum total of the problem.
in order to find the company guilty, they must agree that company representatives knew their actions were illegal and intended to violate the law. Merely offering a product that could violate copyrights was not enough to warrant a conviction(from the Judges instructions to the jury)
I think that pretty much sums it up. If you clearly intend to perform an illegal act then the DCMA is fully in effect. Elcom did not intend to circumvent the copy protection on ebooks except for the legitimate user making backup copies. Elcom reacted to Adobe's concerns in reasonable time and in manner that clearly demonstrated Elcom's concern with the legality of their eBook software.
In summary: the court found that intent is everything.
Exactly my point!
any user that can create a directory can EASILY kill your server! DEAD DEAD DEAD!
I must admit to being somewhat taken aback by the comments here . . .
While this bug appears trivial it is not.
Consider: An entire apple server can be totally killed requiring a human to reboot it just by getting a totally unpriveleged shell access.
EVEN A GUEST can kill the system using this simple simple set of commands. That's not good. Of course it's not the end of the world either.
anyone know of a way to get unprivileged access on an apple server of your choice?!
dunno with N6, but N5 you could enable appletalk, which worked really slick for us for any number of years.
course we now use OS X as our central server and have the Dozer clients authenticate on that, no probs and cheap compared to Novell.
Don't ask much do you?
OS X won't install on x86.
Windows won't install on MacPPC.
However, OpenBSD vs OS X on a MacPPC (G3 PB). the OpenBSD installation is no different than on x86 machines, no surpirse. Takes no longer. Ask no extra questions. It does require some knowledge of the underlying hardware, but no more that you would for x86.
On the other hand, OS X install from a recent OS X purchase was . . . well, brain dead. Put in the disk, boot from CD, click install, fall asleep for 15 minutes, click "reboot", wait about 68 seconds and voila, OS X is up and running.
I'd say "no comparison" and I like openBSD, but I use them for different things.
Reading the text, it turns out that the author actually found Red Hat supperior pretty much across the board. So much for summaries.
While I'm on the topic, I'd like to see a comparission with Windows XP, I just did four installations of XP and one of OpenBSD. All five were flawless and worked perfectly first time. All completed within minutes of each other and required only minimal interaction on my part.
My opinion is that Microsoft has improved their installation process many orders of magnitude over the last few years, about time, eh? However, I still find the *nix to be far more secure out of the box and much easier to keep that way.
Summary: biggest Objection to Windows -- License!
As a matter of fact, I don't have 1434 paper, I do have a sheet of paper that was made in 1796.
However, I might try looking on Google and asking for museum suppliers and then looking in museum "market" places for museum items for sale.
Yup, it's a fake, that's for sure.
Just look at the writing, it is precisely in line and spaced absolutely perfectly, on a standard European A4 lined notebook sheet.
Compare that with authentic maps from that period, even with authentic written works.
That alone makes it a fake. Also, examine the geography of the map overall and compare that with the geography of the North american part.
And that completely ignores the ink data. Dating the paper doesn't prove that the map is old, only the paper.
Ya, it's nice, and it's pretty clear, and it's a cube, but it ain't Apple.
And, I still like my lego case better. Maybe I should take some pictures of that . . .
You make some excellent points. I agree, we are changing the way business is done.
BUT, I disagree that it is revolutionary. One can argue that any change is revolutionary in some way, however, I believe that simply changing from a black and white newsprint catalogue to a full colour glossy is simple evolution. It's just a change in the tech, and does not necessarily change the way we go about our lives or interact with those around us.
The industrial revolution has had a far greater impact on social and cultural lives than the internet has. And yes, someone still churns cream to make butter. I just buy it in tin wrap at my local grocers instead of doing it myself.
I'd have to agree with the reviewer. The internet, and the web, have not so much transformed life, as enabled it.
We used to shop by catalogue and phone, now we shop by point and click.
We used to talk to distant friends by phone and letter, now we do it by email and web page, conference software and the like.
While the internet has made some things easier, I, for one, don't see that it has created a paradigm shift in any area of culture or social interaction.
So, you buy a TV, take it out side to watch the "big" games, dispite the fact that it is raining, BOOM. Now, I wonder why the manufacturer wouldn't replace that TV?
This is really a gold mine. I can't believe how fortunate we are to have a site like this. It may well do for Bronze age knowledge what Pompeii did for Roman knowledge.
We are going to see, for the first time, what life was REALLY like in bronze age Europe. It could very well change all our ideas about the development of early societies.
Yeeha! I can't wait to go . . .
A lot of interesting replies, and since this is going to take me some time to articulate clearly there'll be more by the time I'm done.
The BSD style license is a good license because it allows the end user a good deal of flexibility.
The GPL is a good license because it protects the code base from proprietary obfuscation.
The BSD may be bad because it does not force the end user to report back to the original author, though it does not forbid this. My experience in working with BSD style licensing is that MOST changes find their way back to the developer.
The GPL may be bad because it does not take into account the reliality of the commercial market. It simply prohibits the end user from making those changes that they may require to make their product a commercial success.
Having said all that, my personal choice has always been to make my code PUBLIC DOMAIN if I want it freely available, otherwise I retain FULL copyright.
Afterall, if freedom is what you want then you MUST allow freedom. I do not feel that it is legitimate to say that something is free if you want to place restrictions on its use.
If you want to retain COMPLETE control then look at some sort of realistic license that fits your business model. Otherwise, I'd say, if you want your code to be FREE then make it FREE, without restriction of any sort.
Which is probably the big advantage of the BSD style license.
Ah, I didn't say they were interested in profit, I said SHORT TERM PROFIT. There is a critical difference.
I never mentioned either Sony or Nintendo. And they are not the ONLY game platforms on the market.
I did not mention Sony, at all, nor did I imply Sony.
MS is genuinely interested in what is good for the CEO in the short term.
And this post is NOT A TROLL!
Think for god's sake!
I'm asking you, what are the long term consequences of Microsoft's dominace of PC market? Do you want similar consequences for the game market?
In five years MS will own the game market as completely as they own the Home Computer market. What do you see those games being like? Are you going to find them challenging to play, enjoyable?
I am not saying that you should buy a PS2, or a "cube". I am saying that you should think about your desire for an X-box, before you purchase it.
Maybe you shouldn't buy a game console at all? Ever think of that?
Even if the X-box is the best gaming console out there, should you buy one?
My answer is no.
Microsoft has demonstrated that they are interested in one thing only, short term Profit. Which translates into total control of the market. In the past, that total control of the market has translated into poor quality, poor stability, feature bloat, and increasing cost of ownership.
If you want a game console that offers Quality, Stability, and Usability then I say that you should consider the long term consequences of Microsoft ownership of the game console market.
Arguably, the X-box is already demonstrating its Heritage.
If I were you, I would seriously consider my game console purchase in light of the PC market and the long term consequences.
The same goes for the "dotNet" initiative. Marketing ploy or genuine interest in what is best for the internet?
My 2 cents.
Short Answer: no.
Long Answer: I ordered a snowblower attachment to my ride on mower. We get "winter" here you know!. It was shipped in full wooden crate, complete with wooden sides from Montreal to Vancouver.
There was no single piece of wood on the crate that was not splinters. I have no idea how they did that much damage. The case stated "rated to 2000lbs". Fortunately the thing was WAY over packaged and nothing was even scratched. Bizzare.
UPS? Unlimited Peril Service. or Unlikey Parcel Survives.
It is the age old story. You can buy a car, but the manufacturer determines the quality of your experience. Consumer beware!
Cable or DSL or Modem, it's all one. Your quality of experience will depend upon the quality of your supplier.
In my area, my cable has been up and with the same IP without interruption for almost one year now.
On the otherhand, I still use my modem for one account that has a certain utility. However, since I live in a VERY rural setting, the telephone service is absolute . . .
Not bragging, just pointing out that quality varies. In modem connects and in broadband.
If consumers vote with their dollars and make sure that they are signing a contract that is favourable to them and not the provider, then things will get better. No-one is going to stand up for your rights except you. So get too it!
The real problem is that few, if any, games are actually designed as a test of real time strategic thinking. Most are designed for a quick and bloody romp, thus the hoard mentality.
The control system needs to be changed from DIRECT control over every unit to being able to give tactical commands to individual groups of units.
I am appointing this guy as commander of these troops. Go take that hill.
That guy will have some hidden ratings, moral, courage, smeartz, such as. These will influence what decisions he will make as he tries to comply with your orders. Will he ask for help? Direction? or will he just charge in. This is all left to the AI.
That frees the human gamer to consider tactical as well as strategic goals.
The earliest Squad Leader game was like this to some extent, and not too bad either. Harpoon is another example, though to a lesser extent.
One last item of depth to be consider is psychological warfare. That's a tough one and would require a good deal of research to implement.
All in all, you've just come up against the biggest problem in Computer Design period: lowest common denominator.
What sells? that which is popular
What is popular? that which most people like
Who are most people? And what do they want?
I think, if you look carefully around you, you will discover that most people use Windows, and that should tell you all you need to know.
I'm not being sarcastic here or trying to start a flame war. Think about it. What makes windows popular and what is the MOST popular game out there today?
It would be extremely difficult to get a game company to spend the effort and time to develope a game that is a learning experience. That requires the user to put in some serious thought inorder to win. That requires, in short, some effort on the part of the user. That is simply not what the vast majority of people out there want, beer and blood, and damn that thinking crap!