I wish this were still the case with myself. I, too, was comfortable in my low tax-bracket until getting married and having a child. Now, with the exact same income, my taxes have tripled. Welcome to Canada.
Some excellent points. I'm again not saying Canada is the worst country in the world any more than I am saying the US is. We could do a lot worse.
The only thing I disagree with is government owned and operated companies. ICBC should not have the right to impose a levy, neither should Telus, or any other company for that matter. The government should stick to the business of governing and stay out of everything else. That is how they keep pulling shit like the fast-ferry fiasco.
And I agree, more people should take the bus. I do. Which is why I don't feel as though people who don't take the bus should have to pay for their budgetting problem (you know which ones I mean so I'll try to get back on topic).
Instead of picking my post apart, you should make a point of your own perhaps, one relevant to the discussion at hand.
I don't hate Americans. In fact, I hate the Canadian Government's own policies for constantly screwing their own citizens while letting themselves be screwed by America.
Case in point(hopefully not irrelevant):
2 types of Salmon co-exist in the Georgia Straight (no names off-hand, shows how up-to-date I am;)) which lies partially on the CAN/AM border in BC. One fish has been identified as Canadian and therefore subject to our own fishing laws, the other as American under it's laws.
The US demanded we stop taking their fish, or we would have to pay some outrageous duty fee on them. However, they refuse to do the same for us! So: The US action is an example of self-government, not a counter-example is the sort of pro-American additude which most non-Americans have grown to love hating.
How often do we hear of non-US countries enforcing trade tarrifs on other countries, never. Perhaps this is because the US is Canada's neighbor and all of our media is an import of the US(almost), perhaps just because it never happens otherwise.
I like Bush, very strong president even if some of his views are extremist. But to bully other countries with the US' "Our way or the Highway" additude isn't going to help anyone but the US. Not like Americans care.
Another example: The Canadian logging industry has become one of our largest, with the US as are largest trading partner. In fact, it costs less for the US to buy our lumber than it does Canadians! Another example of our own retard governemt keeping it's priorities straight but not the point I want to make.
Bush decided it was time for US manufacturers to start buying domestic lumber instead so imposed a rather large duty on Canadian lumber, thus forcing US manufacturers to do just that.
Great idea I think, the kind that will really boost the economy in the US. But what about Canada? How will that effect our economy? Does Bush and his voters care? No.
Same situation in The Ukraine, only less impact. It's not likely thousands of loggers and mill-workers will be out of a job, like in Canada, yet the concept is the same.
The US cons other countries into beleiving they care about the world economy and the welfare of the global village, but we non-Americans know what they really care about, themselves
Continuing with the Vietnam example, we organize, protest, and occasionally riot. It's just that whether or not we can get Disney videos for the cost of the tape isn't that important
It's not the cause of America's action that is in question here, it's the action itself.
I agree, making sure consumers pay full-price for a CD is minuscule compared to some of the atrocities in the world in which Americans have fought-and-died for. But enforcing a 100% duty on a country for that same minuscule reason? That's absurd!
The US shouldn't even have the right to impose such actions on other countries! Isn't the whole point of being a country as self-government? The US doesn't seem to think so, except when it suits them.
As a Canadian citizen, I am fully used to taking it up the ass (I can see the Troll moderation already).
No, really. We Canadians are taxed around 55% of our total income. Our own government (my province anyways) allows companies the right to a monopoly in areas like Home/Auto Insurance, Transportation, local Telco etc... and even worse, grants those companies the right to levy citizens, even if those citizens don't use the service provided by the company (eg. Bus tax on Auto-Insurance).
I've always said that our governemt could not get away with, or even propose, the things they do here in any other country. The people wouldn't stand for it.
What I want to know, is what Americans do when their government does something that obviously by the replies to this post, the people don't agree with. Do you guys just sit by and bitch about it like us Canadians?
I've come to accept that nothing I do or say will change the vast scheme of the big-business take over in the world. I'm not rich enough to have a voice. I've written letters, petitioned my local office, even protested, nothing changes.
So I ask in this case of the world's self-proclaimed big-brother pushing around yet another perfectly content country. What are American Citizens going to do about it?
I don't think his targetting the 12-14yr demographic is by any means selling out. After all, how many of us owned a light saber at age 12?
More importantly, Lucas wants his series to be a classic. He wants the new-age myth of Star Wars to outlive him. Can it be that this is just Tabloid BS and Lucas isn't such an idiot to include N-SYNC?
After all, if the series does outlive him (and the rest of us), who will remember N-SYNC in 10 years? In 2 years?
This is a good point. One worthy of an intelligent response. Thank You for not/.'ing!!
It's not the program I feel is insecure, but the concept of a 'keep alive' protocol being allowed through an otherwise secure connection.
For Example, your FTP software only connects when processing a request (ls, get, etc...) and otherwise the connection times out as per the server's own rules. IM software does not time out. It keeps the connections alive until otherwise specified, leaving time for someone with the patience and a packet sniffer to spoof that connection and possibly use that connection maliciously.
Of course, this is possible with ANY network connection. My point is that the IM programs aren't very secure and by keeping their connections alive, give hackers the time they need to act.
Anyways, I'm beating the cat a little too much here. Cheers!
My point was that BOTH AIM and MSN Messenger keep a port open on even firewalled networks and yes, evey unfirewalled Internet server in the world is vulnerable, that's why there IS firewalls.
Spoofing a connection from such an application is perhaps the easiest way to subvert an Internet connection.
Perhaps your corporate network allows IM services?
AIM and MSN Messenger ARE the security hole. Anything running on a PC which keeps a port open is a major security risk. Connections should not use any sort of "keep alive" to unknown remote hosts.
And just giving an application to "feature" to accept all inbound connections has to be the worst idea any service provider ever had. I'm just surprised more attacks haven't been made on the IM applications.
It's likely because of all of today's Elite Haxor types know very little about the fundamentals of IP. I bet the guys at Phrack already knew about this and many other "holes" in the IM protocols.
This email is obviously part of a new "anti-linux" virus campaign by Micro$oft.
Pretty soon, all Outlook users will receive an email marked "Microsoft Confidential" sent to them by a freind or colleague with a note of some sort of discrediting comment regarding Linux.
It's a simple War Propaganda tactic, like US troops dropping food onto Afghanistan or the German troops in WWII distributing newspapers to the enemy Russians hailing Hitler.
Another underestimation of MS: Everyone thought MS Outlook was 'vunerable' to email worms, turns out MS just wanted to use the program as another Marketting platform.
I am not a coder, and am thus immune to the female-repelling prowess of geekdom. My wonderfully beautiful wife and I beleive that today's society has too much vested in the wrong aspects of itself.
The heros in this world are pop stars and actors and arrogant hockey players, people who really only contribute to selfish, shallow morals. The additude of "do less, get payed more" is the moto of the new millenium.
I wish men, women and children would learn that the real heros in today's world are the scientists, engineers, programmers, thinkers or all kinds. These are the people who make the world turn, give the bloated western world the toys it needs to consume, the entertainment it needs to absorb, run the systems that control the money they spend.
If all of geekdom decided to stop working for a day, 1 day, the world would stop.
If IBM would stop trying to sell PCs based soley on the name 'IBM' and start selling based on the performance of the PC itself, maybe more people would buy one.
In Vancouver BC, Canada, an IBM Netvista with a CELERON 800 (?), 128MB of SDRAM, 20GB HD, ONBOARD Video (eeew) and several useless "features" like a V.90 modem, can cost around $1999.00 CAD! (That's like $999 USD)
Meanwhile, a "clone" PC at any local outlet: PIII 1100, 256MB SDRAM, 40GB HD, 150W 2.1 Sound, 10/100 NIC, 32MB DDR Video Card, etc... costs $780 CAD ($390 USD).
It's not like the IBM PC is any more reliable, after all, BOTH PCs come with WinXP installed?
I don't care if they invented the PC, doesn't mean anyone with half a noodle would pay $1999 for a freaking CELERON!
Who did he ask for this "wisdom"? The increasing number of AI researchers would be pretty upset if they heard there was no hope for AI, their holy-grail.
I recommend to anyone who doubts the inevitibility of AI to read Ray Kurzweil's, "The Age of Spiritual Machines" and/or check out http://www.kurzweilai.net/index.html?flash=2
The way technology has evolved over the last 100 years, if computers aren't SMARTER than humans in the next 50 years, it's only because we've destroyed ourselves.
We all know gaming is addictive. But from what I've read here gamers and Internet junkies alike are saying the same type of thing people say about violence in society when trying to shift the blam in directions other than their own: "It's the same as it has always been, people have always been like this..."
A study of children 8-12 showed that Television was addictive, not like anyone didn't know that. The study actually focused not on what the children were watching as in CONTENT, but what they were taking in; the amount of stimulous they were receiving.
The average number of times a picture on the screen changes, or a camera angle is switched, or there is a *flash* on the screen, today versus 20 years ago, has increased more than 1000%. Music videos are a good example. The average music video displays more than 60 "snaps" per minute; for you Math buffs, that's once every second!
The behavioral study concluded that for each of these "snaps", the mind is triggered into an alertness similar to that of a danger-mode response. Similar effects have been observed in animals when placed into unknown environments.
The amount of adreniline introduced is very small, but long-term small doses have been known to cause an addiction. The system adjusts, assuming the heightened state is normal.
Video games have the same effect. Cut-scenes in RPG games, battle sequences, lighting effects, quick flashes on the screen for almost every camera-angle change are all designed to keep the mind in this state. First-person shooter games have characters which move faster in their environments than most people even could. This is to trigger the sensation of urgency (which is probably why so many people just run into the frey and get slaughtered).
So yes, I agree that for the modest gamer (1-2 hours a night), it's most likely just an escape from reality, a chance to just stop thinking consciensly for a while.
In today's paper where I live, front page, was an article about local Internet gaming clubs which operate 24 hours a day. Local government, police and parents are worried because their 13-25 (some patrons are up to 60) year old kids are spending up to 18-24 HOURS in these places, sometimes forgetting to EAT.
What are they playing? CS mostly, some other first-person shooters included. Police think they might be places where gangs recruit kids but only because of one incident where a kid got killed at one of these Internet Clubs. The kid had done something to expect retribution by his assailants but police aren't convinced.
But I digress. These clubs have VERY high speed connections, 20-30 high-powered PCs with nice screens and sound-systems, and servers worthy of Enterprise systems. The number of these clubs has increased over the last year from 3 to 20 just in the major metropolitan area. Like I said, some kids are going there until late, some just don't leave. If thats not addiction, nothing is.
I don't think it's nearly as bad as local police think, these kids aren't actually hurting anyone (except me when I play against them), they just get engulfed by the games. One kid when interviewed said, "I sometimes look at the time and say WOW, IT'S BEEN 8 HOURS SINCE I'VE EVEN MOVED!"
I mean, I like CS. But 8 HOURS? Maybe I'm just not good enough to play for that long without getting kicked off a server...
I think it's worthy to mention: Thes clubs are making a KILLING. After the initial cost to open, all they pay is rent, electricity, and the odd system upgrade. They are almost always PACKED. Anyone interested in starting a franchise? We'd be bigger than McDonalds!
My main point, which I never fully elaborate on while posting to/. is that Microsoft may or may not be the anti-christ of software companies. They may lie, cheat, steal or even kill (I loved the movie Anti-trust even though it was pretty cheesy) to get what they want.
BUT...
Unless someone who posts here has even WORKED for Microsoft, or even catched a GLIMPSE of the code they produce, they have NO right assuming because they are evil they don't know how to program properly!
I have seen some of the source code that came out of Redmond. Not for an OS mind-you but for the topic of this discussion, it doesn't matter. I thought the code (easily found in the Perl directories on the NT 4.0 Resource Kit CD) was pretty clean, compact and well documented.
I just think for what is supposed to be an intelligent dicussion group, slashdotters tnd to be pretty bios with their opinions, and THAT'S not intelligent ANYWHERE...
I'm not sure many/. posters can see much past the self-righteous Open Source movement, and your post is a prime example.
The point of Joel's comment, the entire article in fact, was that companies don't NEED to care about messy code. Clean, compact code will not sell any more copies and re-writing it practically takes you out of the competition because while you're re-writing from scratch, companies LIKE Microsoft are bludgening you in the marketplace.
As for maintaining code, how well were the bux-fixes for the VMM handled in the last distro of Linux? I wish I never even downloaded the latest kernel!
At least in an environment where NOT everyone has equal say, are you ensured the code is controlled and MANAGED (a work some Linux developers seem to fear). Think of it like this: Not all doctors graduate at the top of their class. Do you want some surgeon who just BARELY passed having some say in the next new cancer treatment? I think not. You want someone GOOD.
My theory, if ANY one of the Linux developers out there was offered a job at Micro$oft for $100,000/yr to go code for them instead, they would drop Linux in a SECOND.
I would attribute the failure of companies (and non-companies), to thier unwillingness to fight the battle on equal terms. There is no such thing as a fair fight.
Slashdot Mirror
I wish this were still the case with myself. I, too, was comfortable in my low tax-bracket until getting married and having a child. Now, with the exact same income, my taxes have tripled. Welcome to Canada.
They've done it! They solved NP Complete!
Otherwise, how would they know I haven't used my own encryption key, then another different key, to hide images in encrypted images.
I know, I know, Troll.
Some excellent points. I'm again not saying Canada is the worst country in the world any more than I am saying the US is. We could do a lot worse.
The only thing I disagree with is government owned and operated companies. ICBC should not have the right to impose a levy, neither should Telus, or any other company for that matter. The government should stick to the business of governing and stay out of everything else. That is how they keep pulling shit like the fast-ferry fiasco.
And I agree, more people should take the bus. I do. Which is why I don't feel as though people who don't take the bus should have to pay for their budgetting problem (you know which ones I mean so I'll try to get back on topic).
Instead of picking my post apart, you should make a point of your own perhaps, one relevant to the discussion at hand.
Any hey, I'll see ya on the bus...;)
I don't hate Americans. In fact, I hate the Canadian Government's own policies for constantly screwing their own citizens while letting themselves be screwed by America.
Case in point(hopefully not irrelevant):
2 types of Salmon co-exist in the Georgia Straight (no names off-hand, shows how up-to-date I am;)) which lies partially on the CAN/AM border in BC. One fish has been identified as Canadian and therefore subject to our own fishing laws, the other as American under it's laws.
The US demanded we stop taking their fish, or we would have to pay some outrageous duty fee on them. However, they refuse to do the same for us! So:
The US action is an example of self-government, not a counter-example
is the sort of pro-American additude which most non-Americans have grown to love hating.
How often do we hear of non-US countries enforcing trade tarrifs on other countries, never. Perhaps this is because the US is Canada's neighbor and all of our media is an import of the US(almost), perhaps just because it never happens otherwise.
I like Bush, very strong president even if some of his views are extremist. But to bully other countries with the US' "Our way or the Highway" additude isn't going to help anyone but the US. Not like Americans care.
Another example: The Canadian logging industry has become one of our largest, with the US as are largest trading partner. In fact, it costs less for the US to buy our lumber than it does Canadians! Another example of our own retard governemt keeping it's priorities straight but not the point I want to make.
Bush decided it was time for US manufacturers to start buying domestic lumber instead so imposed a rather large duty on Canadian lumber, thus forcing US manufacturers to do just that.
Great idea I think, the kind that will really boost the economy in the US. But what about Canada? How will that effect our economy? Does Bush and his voters care? No.
Same situation in The Ukraine, only less impact. It's not likely thousands of loggers and mill-workers will be out of a job, like in Canada, yet the concept is the same.
The US cons other countries into beleiving they care about the world economy and the welfare of the global village, but we non-Americans know what they really care about, themselves
Continuing with the Vietnam example, we organize, protest, and occasionally riot. It's just that whether or not we can get Disney videos for the cost of the tape isn't that important
It's not the cause of America's action that is in question here, it's the action itself.
I agree, making sure consumers pay full-price for a CD is minuscule compared to some of the atrocities in the world in which Americans have fought-and-died for. But enforcing a 100% duty on a country for that same minuscule reason? That's absurd!
The US shouldn't even have the right to impose such actions on other countries! Isn't the whole point of being a country as self-government? The US doesn't seem to think so, except when it suits them.
As a Canadian citizen, I am fully used to taking it up the ass (I can see the Troll moderation already).
No, really. We Canadians are taxed around 55% of our total income. Our own government (my province anyways) allows companies the right to a monopoly in areas like Home/Auto Insurance, Transportation, local Telco etc... and even worse, grants those companies the right to levy citizens, even if those citizens don't use the service provided by the company (eg. Bus tax on Auto-Insurance).
I've always said that our governemt could not get away with, or even propose, the things they do here in any other country. The people wouldn't stand for it.
What I want to know, is what Americans do when their government does something that obviously by the replies to this post, the people don't agree with. Do you guys just sit by and bitch about it like us Canadians?
I've come to accept that nothing I do or say will change the vast scheme of the big-business take over in the world. I'm not rich enough to have a voice. I've written letters, petitioned my local office, even protested, nothing changes.
So I ask in this case of the world's self-proclaimed big-brother pushing around yet another perfectly content country. What are American Citizens going to do about it?
I don't think his targetting the 12-14yr demographic is by any means selling out. After all, how many of us owned a light saber at age 12?
More importantly, Lucas wants his series to be a classic. He wants the new-age myth of Star Wars to outlive him. Can it be that this is just Tabloid BS and Lucas isn't such an idiot to include N-SYNC?
After all, if the series does outlive him (and the rest of us), who will remember N-SYNC in 10 years? In 2 years?
This is a good point. One worthy of an intelligent response. Thank You for not /.'ing!!
It's not the program I feel is insecure, but the concept of a 'keep alive' protocol being allowed through an otherwise secure connection.
For Example, your FTP software only connects when processing a request (ls, get, etc...) and otherwise the connection times out as per the server's own rules. IM software does not time out. It keeps the connections alive until otherwise specified, leaving time for someone with the patience and a packet sniffer to spoof that connection and possibly use that connection maliciously.
Of course, this is possible with ANY network connection. My point is that the IM programs aren't very secure and by keeping their connections alive, give hackers the time they need to act.
Anyways, I'm beating the cat a little too much here. Cheers!
To all above replies:
I may be mislead or even straight-up wrong, but Flaimbait is as Flaimbait does, and Anonymous Cowards don't exist except for each other...;)
And Happy New Year to all, especially the movie buff who liked Hackers!
My point was that BOTH AIM and MSN Messenger keep a port open on even firewalled networks and yes, evey unfirewalled Internet server in the world is vulnerable, that's why there IS firewalls.
Spoofing a connection from such an application is perhaps the easiest way to subvert an Internet connection.
Perhaps your corporate network allows IM services?
I think not.
I don't understand the concern.
AIM and MSN Messenger ARE the security hole. Anything running on a PC which keeps a port open is a major security risk. Connections should not use any sort of "keep alive" to unknown remote hosts.
And just giving an application to "feature" to accept all inbound connections has to be the worst idea any service provider ever had. I'm just surprised more attacks haven't been made on the IM applications.
It's likely because of all of today's Elite Haxor types know very little about the fundamentals of IP. I bet the guys at Phrack already knew about this and many other "holes" in the IM protocols.
This email is obviously part of a new "anti-linux" virus campaign by Micro$oft.
Pretty soon, all Outlook users will receive an email marked "Microsoft Confidential" sent to them by a freind or colleague with a note of some sort of discrediting comment regarding Linux.
It's a simple War Propaganda tactic, like US troops dropping food onto Afghanistan or the German troops in WWII distributing newspapers to the enemy Russians hailing Hitler.
Another underestimation of MS: Everyone thought MS Outlook was 'vunerable' to email worms, turns out MS just wanted to use the program as another Marketting platform.
Vive le Resistance!
I'll stick to the cardinal rule of computing.
Computer+Water=Bad News
Besides. Anything overclocked to even *twice* it's manufactured spec is STILL going to be obsolete in 6-8 months.
That equals time well wasted.
I say we show them, and any other companies boasting security of data, just how secure they really are.
Slashdotters UNITE!
There must be tens, no, dozens of people who read Slashdot! We could hack these companies just to show them it can be done!
We could take over the world!
Just as soon as I get this Vic-20 up and running...
"and 999CAD is 1250USD..."
Man, I will trade you on THAT ratio ANY time...;P
I would have to agree with you.
I am not a coder, and am thus immune to the female-repelling prowess of geekdom. My wonderfully beautiful wife and I beleive that today's society has too much vested in the wrong aspects of itself.
The heros in this world are pop stars and actors and arrogant hockey players, people who really only contribute to selfish, shallow morals. The additude of "do less, get payed more" is the moto of the new millenium.
I wish men, women and children would learn that the real heros in today's world are the scientists, engineers, programmers, thinkers or all kinds. These are the people who make the world turn, give the bloated western world the toys it needs to consume, the entertainment it needs to absorb, run the systems that control the money they spend.
If all of geekdom decided to stop working for a day, 1 day, the world would stop.
$664 USD, that's $1328 CAD man! For a Celeron!
Is that what you Americans will pay for crap!
Remember something else man, we Canadian beat your ASSES in 1812...;)
If IBM would stop trying to sell PCs based soley on the name 'IBM' and start selling based on the performance of the PC itself, maybe more people would buy one.
In Vancouver BC, Canada, an IBM Netvista with a CELERON 800 (?), 128MB of SDRAM, 20GB HD, ONBOARD Video (eeew) and several useless "features" like a V.90 modem, can cost around $1999.00 CAD! (That's like $999 USD)
Meanwhile, a "clone" PC at any local outlet: PIII 1100, 256MB SDRAM, 40GB HD, 150W 2.1 Sound, 10/100 NIC, 32MB DDR Video Card, etc... costs $780 CAD ($390 USD).
It's not like the IBM PC is any more reliable, after all, BOTH PCs come with WinXP installed?
I don't care if they invented the PC, doesn't mean anyone with half a noodle would pay $1999 for a freaking CELERON!
keep your lame-ass script-kiddie shit on CS where it belongs. You wouldn't know elite if it fucked you in the ass!
You should KNEEL to the likes of Dave Jones.
Who did he ask for this "wisdom"? The increasing number of AI researchers would be pretty upset if they heard there was no hope for AI, their holy-grail. I recommend to anyone who doubts the inevitibility of AI to read Ray Kurzweil's, "The Age of Spiritual Machines" and/or check out http://www.kurzweilai.net/index.html?flash=2 The way technology has evolved over the last 100 years, if computers aren't SMARTER than humans in the next 50 years, it's only because we've destroyed ourselves.
This is BY FAR the nerdiest article I've ever seen on slashdot...
We all know gaming is addictive. But from what I've read here gamers and Internet junkies alike are saying the same type of thing people say about violence in society when trying to shift the blam in directions other than their own: "It's the same as it has always been, people have always been like this..."
A study of children 8-12 showed that Television was addictive, not like anyone didn't know that. The study actually focused not on what the children were watching as in CONTENT, but what they were taking in; the amount of stimulous they were receiving.
The average number of times a picture on the screen changes, or a camera angle is switched, or there is a *flash* on the screen, today versus 20 years ago, has increased more than 1000%. Music videos are a good example. The average music video displays more than 60 "snaps" per minute; for you Math buffs, that's once every second!
The behavioral study concluded that for each of these "snaps", the mind is triggered into an alertness similar to that of a danger-mode response. Similar effects have been observed in animals when placed into unknown environments.
The amount of adreniline introduced is very small, but long-term small doses have been known to cause an addiction. The system adjusts, assuming the heightened state is normal.
Video games have the same effect. Cut-scenes in RPG games, battle sequences, lighting effects, quick flashes on the screen for almost every camera-angle change are all designed to keep the mind in this state. First-person shooter games have characters which move faster in their environments than most people even could. This is to trigger the sensation of urgency (which is probably why so many people just run into the frey and get slaughtered).
So yes, I agree that for the modest gamer (1-2 hours a night), it's most likely just an escape from reality, a chance to just stop thinking consciensly for a while.
In today's paper where I live, front page, was an article about local Internet gaming clubs which operate 24 hours a day. Local government, police and parents are worried because their 13-25 (some patrons are up to 60) year old kids are spending up to 18-24 HOURS in these places, sometimes forgetting to EAT.
What are they playing? CS mostly, some other first-person shooters included. Police think they might be places where gangs recruit kids but only because of one incident where a kid got killed at one of these Internet Clubs. The kid had done something to expect retribution by his assailants but police aren't convinced.
But I digress. These clubs have VERY high speed connections, 20-30 high-powered PCs with nice screens and sound-systems, and servers worthy of Enterprise systems. The number of these clubs has increased over the last year from 3 to 20 just in the major metropolitan area. Like I said, some kids are going there until late, some just don't leave. If thats not addiction, nothing is.
I don't think it's nearly as bad as local police think, these kids aren't actually hurting anyone (except me when I play against them), they just get engulfed by the games. One kid when interviewed said, "I sometimes look at the time and say WOW, IT'S BEEN 8 HOURS SINCE I'VE EVEN MOVED!"
I mean, I like CS. But 8 HOURS? Maybe I'm just not good enough to play for that long without getting kicked off a server...
I think it's worthy to mention: Thes clubs are making a KILLING. After the initial cost to open, all they pay is rent, electricity, and the odd system upgrade. They are almost always PACKED. Anyone interested in starting a franchise? We'd be bigger than McDonalds!
WHY would anyone want to port 'Debian' to the Win32 platform anyways?
I could see Gnome, or some other replacement to the dull, drab, boring Windows GUI. I think a true 3D GUI would be awsome.
But porting an OS to...another OS?
Isn't that like driving your car...to your other car?
My main point, which I never fully elaborate on while posting to /. is that Microsoft may or may not be the anti-christ of software companies. They may lie, cheat, steal or even kill (I loved the movie Anti-trust even though it was pretty cheesy) to get what they want.
BUT...
Unless someone who posts here has even WORKED for Microsoft, or even catched a GLIMPSE of the code they produce, they have NO right assuming because they are evil they don't know how to program properly!
I have seen some of the source code that came out of Redmond. Not for an OS mind-you but for the topic of this discussion, it doesn't matter. I thought the code (easily found in the Perl directories on the NT 4.0 Resource Kit CD) was pretty clean, compact and well documented.
I just think for what is supposed to be an intelligent dicussion group, slashdotters tnd to be pretty bios with their opinions, and THAT'S not intelligent ANYWHERE...
I'm not sure many /. posters can see much past the self-righteous Open Source movement, and your post is a prime example.
The point of Joel's comment, the entire article in fact, was that companies don't NEED to care about messy code. Clean, compact code will not sell any more copies and re-writing it practically takes you out of the competition because while you're re-writing from scratch, companies LIKE Microsoft are bludgening you in the marketplace.
As for maintaining code, how well were the bux-fixes for the VMM handled in the last distro of Linux? I wish I never even downloaded the latest kernel!
At least in an environment where NOT everyone has equal say, are you ensured the code is controlled and MANAGED (a work some Linux developers seem to fear). Think of it like this: Not all doctors graduate at the top of their class. Do you want some surgeon who just BARELY passed having some say in the next new cancer treatment? I think not. You want someone GOOD.
My theory, if ANY one of the Linux developers out there was offered a job at Micro$oft for $100,000/yr to go code for them instead, they would drop Linux in a SECOND.
I would attribute the failure of companies (and non-companies), to thier unwillingness to fight the battle on equal terms. There is no such thing as a fair fight.