Thank you. This has nothing to do with MS or any particular software vendor, merely a warning about entrenchment. (and by the way, this was not an exaggeration -- my post was 100% serious)
Coincidently, it is also well known that mathematical talents are completely separate from spelling ability. For instance, at the very moment you said "intelligence is inversely proportional to common sence", an immense fleet of microscopic warships was consumed by a small dog in the vicinity of Islington. Fortunately this is nothing to be concerned by, because this sort of this is usually Somebody Else's Problem.
Wow, your comments sounds just like my old company. They refused to look at modern technology because they had 200 (combined) years of experience with obsolete server software. They're bankrupt now..
That's pretty neat, I wasn't aware they'd added that feature. Regardless, that's not what I meant in my original post. Perhaps you are not aware of the old technique of maintaining 2, 3, 4 *complete* separate versions of a site, to be served up to different browsers? (In 1997, there was little choice.)
What Google is doing here appears to be object oriented (if they have any sense, and I think they do), the forking takes place within each object, not maintaining a completely separate codebase for the "plain" and "enhanced" versions.
More specifically, the MPAA or BSA might claim that something is illegal, but that does not make it so. (Just like Nintendo claiming how emulation is "illegal") These are not government bodies, they are corporations, and what they're doing is called propaganda.
If they can get enough people to believe something, it effectively is so. (Just look at their success at confusing the issue of copyright VS copy protection)
I see what you mean, although I'd give a web application like Gmail a little more latitude in this area. Mainly, I was talking about the late-90's development method of creating separate versions of sites for different browsers. This is no longer necessary, although some developers may not be aware of the newer methods. Even Gmail does not have signifigant amounts of code forking (just the XMLHttpRequest stuff AFAIK). It's just that they lock out browsers which are not known to support their site. (something I don't really agree with, but..)
What is your point exactly? Gmail uses a few tables -- not a ridiculous number -- and they appear to not be using spacer images. (I can tell this by Firefox's Web Developer toolbar) While I like Google's technology, their markup has never impressed me.
The difference is that you can run a current, maintained Linux distro on old hardware (hint: use a light window manager). But the equivalent Windows version will be obsolete and non-maintained. Security updates are good, yes?
And as far as drivers go, Windows drivers tend to disappear (or become hard to find) after several years, and will probably never be updated. I'd much rather deal with open source drivers, once a driver is written it tends to be included with the Kernel source.
People might assume that MS intends to compete in the marketplace. However, I'm sure that Steve's intent was more like, "We will obliterate Google HQ with our ICBM array of patents!"
This is probably the first version of Netscape which is *not* cross platform. I used to use Netscape 3.x on Solaris, and remember seeing *nix binaries for 2.0 also. Their current offering is just.. sad.
Build a site correctly and it won't be necessary to have code forks or multiple versions -- even to support mobile devices, screen readers, text browsers, etc. This has been true for years, it's unfortunate there are still those stuck in a 1997 world of nested tables, image slices, and browser-specific code.
Actually, IE for Mac use(s|d) an entirely different rendering engine from the Windows version of IE. In its time, it was one of the most standards-compliant browsers out there. Of course, it has now been superceded by Safari, Firefox, and Opera (and IE 6.0 for Windows in some areas).
Slashdot Mirror
My only regret.. is that I have.. bone-itis!
"You don't need a pinhead just to hang around.."
clicky
Thank you. This has nothing to do with MS or any particular software vendor, merely a warning about entrenchment. (and by the way, this was not an exaggeration -- my post was 100% serious)
Coincidently, it is also well known that mathematical talents are completely separate from spelling ability. For instance, at the very moment you said "intelligence is inversely proportional to common sence", an immense fleet of microscopic warships was consumed by a small dog in the vicinity of Islington. Fortunately this is nothing to be concerned by, because this sort of this is usually Somebody Else's Problem.
It's always sad when a great scientific mind dies.
Meh, he'll be back. Just gotta wait 20 or 30 years for the respawn..
Wow, your comments sounds just like my old company. They refused to look at modern technology because they had 200 (combined) years of experience with obsolete server software. They're bankrupt now..
Phantom Console May Never Materialize
Uh, huh. Ya think?!
Slashdot is working on a standards-based layout. Check Taco's journal.
What is Netscape likely to give me that Firefox can't?
Browser exploits, thanks to it's embedded IE control. The likely tracking of your browsing information, thanks to AOL's proprietary additions.
It also showed that "upgrade" page irrespective of OS. Yeah, I'm sure that .EXE file will do a lot of good on my Mac or Linux box..
That's pretty neat, I wasn't aware they'd added that feature. Regardless, that's not what I meant in my original post. Perhaps you are not aware of the old technique of maintaining 2, 3, 4 *complete* separate versions of a site, to be served up to different browsers? (In 1997, there was little choice.)
What Google is doing here appears to be object oriented (if they have any sense, and I think they do), the forking takes place within each object, not maintaining a completely separate codebase for the "plain" and "enhanced" versions.
More specifically, the MPAA or BSA might claim that something is illegal, but that does not make it so. (Just like Nintendo claiming how emulation is "illegal") These are not government bodies, they are corporations, and what they're doing is called propaganda.
If they can get enough people to believe something, it effectively is so. (Just look at their success at confusing the issue of copyright VS copy protection)
I see what you mean, although I'd give a web application like Gmail a little more latitude in this area. Mainly, I was talking about the late-90's development method of creating separate versions of sites for different browsers. This is no longer necessary, although some developers may not be aware of the newer methods. Even Gmail does not have signifigant amounts of code forking (just the XMLHttpRequest stuff AFAIK). It's just that they lock out browsers which are not known to support their site. (something I don't really agree with, but..)
What is your point exactly? Gmail uses a few tables -- not a ridiculous number -- and they appear to not be using spacer images. (I can tell this by Firefox's Web Developer toolbar) While I like Google's technology, their markup has never impressed me.
These guys seem to have table-free sites figured out: MySQL, Wikipedia, Wired, ESPN..
The difference is that you can run a current, maintained Linux distro on old hardware (hint: use a light window manager). But the equivalent Windows version will be obsolete and non-maintained. Security updates are good, yes?
And as far as drivers go, Windows drivers tend to disappear (or become hard to find) after several years, and will probably never be updated. I'd much rather deal with open source drivers, once a driver is written it tends to be included with the Kernel source.
They'll probably cripple it not to run on modern processors, just like the Windoze XP "Starter Edition" being sold in Asia.
People might assume that MS intends to compete in the marketplace. However, I'm sure that Steve's intent was more like, "We will obliterate Google HQ with our ICBM array of patents!"
Check out the Flashblock extension. It replaces Flash content with a button. The Flash does not play by default.
This is probably the first version of Netscape which is *not* cross platform. I used to use Netscape 3.x on Solaris, and remember seeing *nix binaries for 2.0 also. Their current offering is just.. sad.
Build a site correctly and it won't be necessary to have code forks or multiple versions -- even to support mobile devices, screen readers, text browsers, etc. This has been true for years, it's unfortunate there are still those stuck in a 1997 world of nested tables, image slices, and browser-specific code.
Actually, IE for Mac use(s|d) an entirely different rendering engine from the Windows version of IE. In its time, it was one of the most standards-compliant browsers out there. Of course, it has now been superceded by Safari, Firefox, and Opera (and IE 6.0 for Windows in some areas).
Mental note: Using a waffle iron as a pillow is not a good idea..
It tastes like burning!
Yeah, but can you type "typewriter" in Dvorak using only the top row? Huh?