> Well, what you say is true, but isn't the pre-
> selection ("hmmm the light is probably
> insufficient") somewhat comparable to post-
> selection ("well ok, it really was too dark
> *delete*") ?
No, because there isn't much pre-selection.
("hmmm the light is probably insufficient--
take some shots in case it'll work and then we'll
see if we can't get more light on it"). The
professional photographer *always* goes ahead
and shoots--film is cheap. A wasted shot is
a minor irritation. A missed shot is a major
failure.
> Wasn't there some murder mystery where Mr. Body
> was offed by an ice knife or icicle?
I remember a Lord Wimsey short story in which
the victim was bludgeoned over the head with
a frozen roast; the perpetrator almost got away
with it by proceding to thaw and cook the
murder weapon.
> I wonder if most "DOS" applications,
> (including qbasic) will run under WINE?
As a guess, I'd say not. But you can
always use dosemu, which is much more
mature and stable anyways.
Chris Mattern
Re:No more 16-bit DOS code... again?
on
MS DOS: A Eulogy
·
· Score: 3, Informative
> windows 95:
>
>
> A 32-bit extention to
> a 16-bit graphical interface running on
> an 8-bit command line coded for
> a 4-bit microprocessor by
> a 2-bit company.
That can't stand one bit of competition!
Chris Mattern
Re:MS doesn't actually turn a profit.
on
Microsoft's Future
·
· Score: 2
> Are you saying that is every MS employee with
> stocks decided to cash them, MS would go
> bankrupt?
No, because you can't "cash in" stocks; you
can't force the company to buy back its stock
(although it can decide to do so). What he's
saying is that if every MS employee with MS stock
decided to sell it, the price of MS stock would
crash, which is absolutely true. And since
MS uses its stock as currency to draw top-notch
employees and buy up desired acquistions, this
would put a severe crimp in MS's business style.
Chris Mattern
Re:Tell that to university sys admins
on
Linux Kernel Bugs
·
· Score: 2, Informative
As it happens, *I'm* a sysadmin for a university.
If you think students have login accounts on our
database servers, you are frickin' insane.
Students get accounts on the academic systems,
which are set up solely for them to play on.
They are not let into the administrative systems
that actually run the school; we keep tight
control over who gets to log into those.
> Sad but true, if it's in the license agreement
> that "Thou shalt not resell this OS", then
> that's the way the ball bounces, cookie
> crumbles, yadda yadda. It sucks, but that's the
> bitter pill that we as the consumer will
> probably have to swallow.
BZZZT! I'm sorry, would you like to play again?
Book publishers tried this trick of "Our contract
in selling this to you says you can't resell it"
bit in the early 1900s. Courts told 'em, "No,
you can't do that; as the new owner of the book,
the buyer has rights that can't be signed away,
and that includes the right of resale." That's
why all the software contracts insist that you're
not BUYING the software, you're LICENSING it.
This dodge has not yet been truly tested in court
(just like the shrinkwrap license hasn't been
either), but unless they completely sell out to
Microsoft, they seem unlikely to uphold this.
Courts take a dim view of relabeling X as Y
while not changing anything else solely so that
the court can be told, "See, it's not X."
> I would get fired for architecting so many
> single points of failure.
Single points of failure? You're still thinking
about your crap PC servers. An enterprise Unix
server has multiple busses, redundant power
supplies, RAID-5 (if not mirrored) disks--
you may have a single box, but there's
no single point of failure.
> I mean, besides violating common sense, your
> explanation defies simple economics.
How so? When the US government prints a $100
bill, it has just *created* one hundred dollars.
It can then use that bill to buy $100 worth of
goods--or more likely, ship it to a bank and
charge the bank $100 for it--or it can replace a
worn-out $100 bill with the new one, perpetuating
the interest-free $100 loan the bill represents.
Seigniorage is not a significant part of the
government's income; any attempt to make it so
would result in massive inflation (see "monetizing
the nation debt" and why it's a bad idea). The
obvious fact remains that printing money makes
money for the government.
Geez, get a grip. The US Govt. literally has
a license to print money, and you're complaining
because the printing costs so much? The fact
is, the fact that a dollar bill is worth a
dollar more than pays for its printing and
replacement. This is called "seigniorage". The
US Mint shows a *profit*, not a loss.
> but it is possible to call your credit card
> company and have your credit limit lowered...
The credit limit is not the point. The point is
that it is easily to look in your wallet and
say, "Wow, I only got about $30 left!" than it is
to remember how much you've spent with your
credit card. He's right, it does help a lot. I'm
trying to go all cash myself for very similar
reasons.
> Even then they almost managed to pull off a
> successful blitzkreig against the Allies in the
> west.
Um, I assume you're referring to the Bulge.
"Almost successful"? Depends on your definition
of "success", I guess. It almost succeeded in
creating a major setback for the Allies. It had
*no* chance of forcing the Allies off the
Continent, or anything like that. In the final
analysis, it cost the Germans more than it gained
them; the last of their elite panzers were mostly
destroyed at the Bulge.
> UPGRADES. To use a Product identified as an
> upgrade, you must first be licensed for the
> product identified by Microsoft as eligible for
> the upgrade. After upgrading, you may no longer
> use the product that formed the basis for your
> upgrade eligibility.
Upgrade broke something and you want to do a
rollback? Sorry, Charlie.
> Imagine Carl Djerassi, inventor of the birth-
> control pill, arrested at an endocrinology
> conference in Japan during the decades before
> 1999, when oral contraceptives were illegal
> there.
Actually, birth control pills were *not* illegal
in Japan before 1999; it was simply not legal to
prescribe them for birth control. Using them
for other purposes (and they do have other
purposes: they are used for control of excessive
menstrual bleeding, among other things) was quite
legal.
> When are they going to come up with a heat
> sinking device that runs like the engine block
> on a car (I.E. the water/freon/liquid
> nitrogen/liquid helium/butane actually flows in
> channels built for it within a heatsink block)
Talk to yer granddad or someone your granddad's
age if your granddad didn't work with computers
about the IBM 360, or just about any other main-
frame of that era. From the 50's to the 80's
just about *all* the big iron was cooled in just
that manner. Mostly water--I can still remmeber
having to monitor the chilled water flow through
an IBM 3033--although I believe that the Crays
used some funky proprietary coolant (it was
pink!).
> In Michigan at least, you can't make a
> citizen's arrest unless a felony was committed
> (in the case of shoplifting, stealing $1k or
> more of goods). Practically, this means that
> security guards can't detain you
Unless, of course, the security guard *is* a
policeman. It's a very popular second job for
a lot of cops specifically because they retain
their right to make an arrest while off duty.
> Oh, too funny! It's those scientists who
> invented the automobile that are the reason why
> we have to care about the environment! Ye gods,
> what a biting stroke!
While car pollution *is* a problem, the fact of
the matter is that the automobile has *cleaned
up* our cities. Stop and think about it for a
moment--would you rather live in a city with
automobile exhaust...
> We have congressional elections every two years > (1/3 of them each time, serving for a 6 year
> term),
True for the Senate. Since every state has
two at-large senators and terms are staggered
so that the senators from the same state are
never up for reelection in the same year, that
means you vote for a senator in two out of every
three two-year election cycles. The entire House
of Representatives, of course, goes to the
voters every cycle, so you always vote for a
candidate for your district every cycle.
> Most governments have their own mints and
> printing press to do the work of making money.
Actually, no, they don't. Almost all *large,
rich* countries print their money themselves,
but the majority of *all* countries--i.e.,
the poor ones--countract it out, usually to
some US or European firm like American Banknote
Co. (who used to print US money before the
government decided to do it themselves) or Joh. Enschede Banknotes.
> Let's stipulate a couple things: 1) DMCA is the
> law of the land, like it or not; 2) There was
> sufficient probable cause that Sklyarov
> violated DMCA to warrant his arrest. If you
> agree to those two points, then his arrest was
> not unfair.
No; agreeing to those two points means agreeing
that his arrent not *illegal*. Not the same
thing.
Actually, after posting this, I realized there
*is* a way to prevent someone from intimidating
people into not voting: make it illegal not to
vote, which is a solution that is in fact used
in some countries. Unlikely that it will ever be
used here, but there it is.
Slashdot Mirror
> Well, what you say is true, but isn't the pre-
> selection ("hmmm the light is probably
> insufficient") somewhat comparable to post-
> selection ("well ok, it really was too dark
> *delete*") ?
No, because there isn't much pre-selection.
("hmmm the light is probably insufficient--
take some shots in case it'll work and then we'll
see if we can't get more light on it"). The
professional photographer *always* goes ahead
and shoots--film is cheap. A wasted shot is
a minor irritation. A missed shot is a major
failure.
Chris Mattern
> Wasn't there some murder mystery where Mr. Body
> was offed by an ice knife or icicle?
I remember a Lord Wimsey short story in which
the victim was bludgeoned over the head with
a frozen roast; the perpetrator almost got away
with it by proceding to thaw and cook the
murder weapon.
Chris Mattern
> I wonder if most "DOS" applications,
> (including qbasic) will run under WINE?
As a guess, I'd say not. But you can
always use dosemu, which is much more
mature and stable anyways.
Chris Mattern
> windows 95:
>
>
> A 32-bit extention to
> a 16-bit graphical interface running on
> an 8-bit command line coded for
> a 4-bit microprocessor by
> a 2-bit company.
That can't stand one bit of competition!
Chris Mattern
> Are you saying that is every MS employee with
> stocks decided to cash them, MS would go
> bankrupt?
No, because you can't "cash in" stocks; you
can't force the company to buy back its stock
(although it can decide to do so). What he's
saying is that if every MS employee with MS stock
decided to sell it, the price of MS stock would
crash, which is absolutely true. And since
MS uses its stock as currency to draw top-notch
employees and buy up desired acquistions, this
would put a severe crimp in MS's business style.
Chris Mattern
As it happens, *I'm* a sysadmin for a university.
If you think students have login accounts on our
database servers, you are frickin' insane.
Students get accounts on the academic systems,
which are set up solely for them to play on.
They are not let into the administrative systems
that actually run the school; we keep tight
control over who gets to log into those.
Chris Mattern
> Sad but true, if it's in the license agreement
> that "Thou shalt not resell this OS", then
> that's the way the ball bounces, cookie
> crumbles, yadda yadda. It sucks, but that's the
> bitter pill that we as the consumer will
> probably have to swallow.
BZZZT! I'm sorry, would you like to play again?
Book publishers tried this trick of "Our contract
in selling this to you says you can't resell it"
bit in the early 1900s. Courts told 'em, "No,
you can't do that; as the new owner of the book,
the buyer has rights that can't be signed away,
and that includes the right of resale." That's
why all the software contracts insist that you're
not BUYING the software, you're LICENSING it.
This dodge has not yet been truly tested in court
(just like the shrinkwrap license hasn't been
either), but unless they completely sell out to
Microsoft, they seem unlikely to uphold this.
Courts take a dim view of relabeling X as Y
while not changing anything else solely so that
the court can be told, "See, it's not X."
Chris Mattern
> I would get fired for architecting so many
> single points of failure.
Single points of failure? You're still thinking
about your crap PC servers. An enterprise Unix
server has multiple busses, redundant power
supplies, RAID-5 (if not mirrored) disks--
you may have a single box, but there's
no single point of failure.
Chris Mattern
> I mean, besides violating common sense, your
> explanation defies simple economics.
How so? When the US government prints a $100
bill, it has just *created* one hundred dollars.
It can then use that bill to buy $100 worth of
goods--or more likely, ship it to a bank and
charge the bank $100 for it--or it can replace a
worn-out $100 bill with the new one, perpetuating
the interest-free $100 loan the bill represents.
Seigniorage is not a significant part of the
government's income; any attempt to make it so
would result in massive inflation (see "monetizing
the nation debt" and why it's a bad idea). The
obvious fact remains that printing money makes
money for the government.
Chris Mattern
> It's a new product. They can set whatever price
> (and price policy) they want.
Uh, no, they can't. They're a monopoly. Certain
business policies that are perfectly legal to
normal businesses are prohibited *by law* to
monopolies.
Chris Mattern
Geez, get a grip. The US Govt. literally has
a license to print money, and you're complaining
because the printing costs so much? The fact
is, the fact that a dollar bill is worth a
dollar more than pays for its printing and
replacement. This is called "seigniorage". The
US Mint shows a *profit*, not a loss.
Chris Mattern
> but it is possible to call your credit card
> company and have your credit limit lowered...
The credit limit is not the point. The point is
that it is easily to look in your wallet and
say, "Wow, I only got about $30 left!" than it is
to remember how much you've spent with your
credit card. He's right, it does help a lot. I'm
trying to go all cash myself for very similar
reasons.
Chris Mattern
> Even then they almost managed to pull off a
> successful blitzkreig against the Allies in the
> west.
Um, I assume you're referring to the Bulge.
"Almost successful"? Depends on your definition
of "success", I guess. It almost succeeded in
creating a major setback for the Allies. It had
*no* chance of forcing the Allies off the
Continent, or anything like that. In the final
analysis, it cost the Germans more than it gained
them; the last of their elite panzers were mostly
destroyed at the Bulge.
Chris Mattern
> UPGRADES. To use a Product identified as an
> upgrade, you must first be licensed for the
> product identified by Microsoft as eligible for
> the upgrade. After upgrading, you may no longer
> use the product that formed the basis for your
> upgrade eligibility.
Upgrade broke something and you want to do a
rollback? Sorry, Charlie.
Chris Mattern
> Imagine Carl Djerassi, inventor of the birth-
> control pill, arrested at an endocrinology
> conference in Japan during the decades before
> 1999, when oral contraceptives were illegal
> there.
Actually, birth control pills were *not* illegal
in Japan before 1999; it was simply not legal to
prescribe them for birth control. Using them
for other purposes (and they do have other
purposes: they are used for control of excessive
menstrual bleeding, among other things) was quite
legal.
Chris Mattern
> When are they going to come up with a heat
> sinking device that runs like the engine block
> on a car (I.E. the water/freon/liquid
> nitrogen/liquid helium/butane actually flows in
> channels built for it within a heatsink block)
Talk to yer granddad or someone your granddad's
age if your granddad didn't work with computers
about the IBM 360, or just about any other main-
frame of that era. From the 50's to the 80's
just about *all* the big iron was cooled in just
that manner. Mostly water--I can still remmeber
having to monitor the chilled water flow through
an IBM 3033--although I believe that the Crays
used some funky proprietary coolant (it was
pink!).
Chris Mattern
> You forgot about Linus.
Well, Linus already has Linux. After all,
he *wrote* it...
Chris Mattern
> In Michigan at least, you can't make a
> citizen's arrest unless a felony was committed
> (in the case of shoplifting, stealing $1k or
> more of goods). Practically, this means that
> security guards can't detain you
Unless, of course, the security guard *is* a
policeman. It's a very popular second job for
a lot of cops specifically because they retain
their right to make an arrest while off duty.
Chris Mattern
> Oh, too funny! It's those scientists who
> invented the automobile that are the reason why
> we have to care about the environment! Ye gods,
> what a biting stroke!
While car pollution *is* a problem, the fact of
the matter is that the automobile has *cleaned
up* our cities. Stop and think about it for a
moment--would you rather live in a city with
automobile exhaust...
...or a city with *horse* "exhaust".
Chris Mattern
We are a hedge. Please move along...
Chris Mattern
> We have congressional elections every two years > (1/3 of them each time, serving for a 6 year
> term),
True for the Senate. Since every state has
two at-large senators and terms are staggered
so that the senators from the same state are
never up for reelection in the same year, that
means you vote for a senator in two out of every
three two-year election cycles. The entire House
of Representatives, of course, goes to the
voters every cycle, so you always vote for a
candidate for your district every cycle.
Chris Mattern
> Most governments have their own mints and
> printing press to do the work of making money.
Actually, no, they don't. Almost all *large,
rich* countries print their money themselves,
but the majority of *all* countries--i.e.,
the poor ones--countract it out, usually to
some US or European firm like American Banknote
Co. (who used to print US money before the
government decided to do it themselves) or Joh. Enschede Banknotes.
Chris Mattern
>> Due to its half-life, it's never been seen
>> outside the Intel labs...
No, it's also been observed in the Black Mesa
Research Facility.
Chris Mattern
> Let's stipulate a couple things: 1) DMCA is the
> law of the land, like it or not; 2) There was
> sufficient probable cause that Sklyarov
> violated DMCA to warrant his arrest. If you
> agree to those two points, then his arrest was
> not unfair.
No; agreeing to those two points means agreeing
that his arrent not *illegal*. Not the same
thing.
Chris Mattern
Actually, after posting this, I realized there
*is* a way to prevent someone from intimidating
people into not voting: make it illegal not to
vote, which is a solution that is in fact used
in some countries. Unlikely that it will ever be
used here, but there it is.
Chris Mattern