Hmmm. Serves me right for spouting off on proprietary software I haven't touched in about five years-- and obviously haven't paid much attention to. I can see your point.
Personally I enjoy the ability to make a new directory when I'm in a save dialog. That can be handy. But other than that I completely agree. Keep the navigation extremely simple and the basic widget from being too cluttered-- at least make most of the clutter optional and not on by default.
Um. What? Who the hell modded this insightful? Virtual PC runs on Macs. So the only XP license they will be selling is the one included with your copy of Virtual PC. The one and only time I've ever bought a Microsoft disc it came in the box with Virtual PC.
If they sell a copy of Virtual PC that includes Red Hat Linux (as an example), then they aren't selling any MS product at all (other than Virtual PC).
But who cares? Why run an x86 Linux or BSD distro on top of an emulator when you can just run it native. Between Yellow Dog Linux, Gentoo PPC, Debian PPC, FreeBSD, and the gods only know how many millions of other distros, it's not like there's a shortage of Linux options for the PowerPC architecture at the base of all Macs!
So, tell me, why would anyone in their right mind want to buy a $100+ copy of Virtual PC only to use it to run a copy of some software that they can probably run native? Not only that, Mac OS is a goddamn UNIX to begin with! *boggle*
The fact remains that writing software and giving it away has yet to be proven as a longtime viable industry.
In fact, you are full of it!:)
All software started out free. In fact, the whole idea that someone can "own" an idea and sell it in widget form is relatively new in the world. On top of that you aren't even listening. The guy you responded was getting paid to write free software-- the parts his clients needed the most. I think it's extremely common for successful entrepeneurs like him to be the ones donating to projects.
I can give examples: Perl (first with O'Reilly kind of hiring Larry Wall in a patron fashion, and then via the Perl Foundation), Ruby (Yukihiro Matsumoto works for a Japanese open source company Netlab), Apache (go look at the list of contributors/members), Free Software Foundation (not exactly hurting for funds), KDE/Qt (Qt being both free and non-free, a lot of shared developers on these projects at TrollTech), and many more. A lot of projects done by small firms seem to use the TrollTech and MySQL approach, releasing with dual-licenses. Some of these firms are also the first call for help when looking for new features.
If anything, free software firms seem to be at least as healthy as proprietary software firms because they are constantly being paid to add value, not just to homestead the realm of ideas and put up a tollbox for passing through. Even the "big guys" like IBM are clear that selling the widgets is not a permanent strategy , which is why they have their huge services division.
Interesting. I wonder how many appeals were made. Maybe the plaintiffs got tired of the whole thing? Personally I find it unbelievable that courts would uphold this whole notion that you can attach contracts to purchased goods and that the contracts are enforceable because you can always return the item (not that I don't believe you, it's just that the mind boggles).
Prior to a change in copyright law which (in my opinion) nullifies EULAs, the act of copying software from a floppy or CD to a hard drive (during installation, for instance) or from media into memory was technically an infringement. Therefore, in order to legally install or use software, the license was necessary. Since this is obviously contrary to common sense, Congress added a clause in Title 17 that says it is not an infringement to copy software if doing so is a requirement to use the software.
Nevertheless, you could probably be forced to agree to a EULA if you would like to "register" your product for such advantages such as being able to download updates for free from the software firm's web site. And because most updates create a modified work using the original software, it is quite possible that such an agreement on the user's part could be binding even on the original software package. Thus, rights one would normally have in a work are surrendered in order to be able to obtain and use the update.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or a doctor. This is not legal or medical advice. Past performance does not indicate future value. Do not attempt to use this post internally. And personally, I prefer Free Software.
Yes. Which is why you don't see a lot of IPOs from companies that don't make any money and don't have realistic business plans. As I understand it, Google makes money from actual revenues (as opposed to the dot-com feeling of "making" money by getting it from VCs) and they have a solid business plan. At worst, this IPO is just to help the current investors "cash out" a little-- fair enough. At best, this helps Google fund some new R&D or a new project that requires some major infrastructure.
I believe that there will be little "irrational exuberance" during an IPO like this at this time. I'd be surprised if the stock weren't actually undervalued for a while because so many people will be looking at with the taste of the dot-com fever in mind.
BTW, I find your phrase "legalized criminal activity" amusing. I believe you mean to say there are loopholes which look shady or unethical to your way of thinking, but if it's legal it can't possibly be criminal activity. Besides, printing an extra million shares dilutes the value of all the existing shares. Most professional investors measure company performance on a per share basis. So in the example you give, now the company's profit is spread over additional shares, making their measurements look worse. So while they may have the option to do something, the decision to do it does have an impact which may mitigate the desirability of doing it. It's not like they were being allowed to just print money or something.
Hmmm. I'm wondering why I ever stopped using Galeon then. If it will match the rest of my gtk2 apps, if not the GNOME standards, that's all I'm asking for. I enjoyed using that browser before, so I'll definitely look again. And yeah, when I said Mozilla I probably meant Gecko in several instances. AFAIK you still have to have a full-on Mozilla install to build any of the Gecko-based projects out there.
So. How many of the projects that embed Mozilla are actually complete or have kept up? Galeon was almost there, but WTF? It's not the GNOME browser now that GNOME is at 2.4... now there is thing called Epiphany? Best part, the Moz folks came out with Firebird, but it ain't nowhere near where Galeon is-- except that it can be compiled under gtk2 and Galeon can't? Are there any email clients that work off Mozilla except Thunderbird?
It's enough to make a GNU/Linux user run screaming into the arms of KDE, which not only has a fairly functional browser, but a very functional matching email client... and an office suite and a metric boatload of other "native" applications.
Got any suggestions? I agree that the best way to avoid all this negative stuff is to focus on positive stuff, but that's easier said than done, in many instances. It's not like corporate employers and the bosses one might encounter in those environments are going to be easily bribed by a box of donuts and a pamphlet on Pair Programming and the wonders of CVS.
So what are some good books about positive habits we need to have as programmers, first, and then how to be a successful programmer without signing up for The Program?
Hmmm. I agree that it's hard to get excited about downloading from these particular onlines sources (nothing compares to the old emusic.com or just plain ripping from disc), but I have to disagree with the rest of what you're saying. CDs already seem kind chintzy to some of us who grew up in the era of vinyl. Gone are the days where you pull off the shrink wrap and out falls a lyric sheet, a booklet, pictures, other assorted gimcracks and geegaws. Gone are the days where cute tricks like locked grooves made listening to some vinyl a bit more interesting. Also gone: playing any 33 1/3 album at 45 for that Chipmunks sound, playing a wide hole 45 off center, picture discs, foldout covers, affordable indie singles, legible cover text, and probably a lot more.
To me, there is nothing less tactile than a smooth plastic disc. You can't even check the grooves to see how long the songs are! And those little booklets? Always printed on the same lame glossy paper, always printed with miniature type because that's the only way you can fit more than two words on a page. And those lame plastic cases. So easy to break, so annoying to attempt to replace.
I don't think Joe User cares about logging in remotely. I think if Joe User cared about that, he would probably buy a laptop and just bring the whole computer with him. I mean, I'm kinda geeky, and that's what I do.
And then one would ask why Joe User needs to be running sshd in the first place, especially on a machine that may be exposed to the internet directly. That doesn't sound like a "high" level of security to me!
You are a regular laugh riot. RTFM. There is a preferences setting if you don't want to read about MS. Use it or shut up about the number of MS stories. It's really that simple. The quantity of different types of stories on Slashdot is probably directly related to the number of submissions on those topics made by readers.
I'm not even going to get into the logical fallacies going on with your comparison (via.sig) of MS and Linux security issues.
RTFM. What you're saying is more true for trademarks than copyrights-- although I'm sure, given the (ahem) flexible nature of our legal system, there are exceptions to be found in both arenas.
While I would normally shy away from this sort of thing,... does anyone out there have any experience running the MS Flight Simulator under WINE? Although I suppose I could always pull out my trusty Commodore 64s and the attendant FlightSim package and Chuck Yeagers flight simulator (which was cool because you could take the SR-71 (?) practically into orbit-- a point at which I usually decided the best path was to see just how fast of a nosedive I could engineer)... but from what I understand Flight is one of MS' better products.
Ah, it is supported after all. The correct link has been included for your amusement. It will be interesting to see if IT keeps up the donation schedule, or if they fall back, letting movies/music/tv pull ahead in 2004.
Nor is it supported by the linked data. In fact, it's off by quite a bit, as far as I can tell. And so far, for 2003-2004, most of the guys listed appear to have made more from the IT industry than movies/music. So will they be listening when the Microsofts of the world tell them this is not necessary?
I think the problem here is that bugs and defects are possibly two different things (not that you missed this distinction). Obviously it's going to cost a lot (either money or time or whatever) to fix a defective requirement that gets fully coded. You'd quite possibly have to start entire pieces of the project from scratch. On the other hand, a buffer overflow error that is introduced early on in the process isn't going to be any harder to fix later than it is if it is caught right away.
I wonder if the best way to produce error-free code isn't to design as a team and code in pairs. Sure it sounds like a lot of upfront expense, but some studies show that pair programming especially has a positive impact on the process in spite of the seemingly higher opportunity cost.
Slashdot Mirror
Excellent advice, but it doesn't work for those of us outside the US.
According to the FAQ at copyright.gov, many foreign-made works can be registered with the U.S. copyright office.
Hmmm. Serves me right for spouting off on proprietary software I haven't touched in about five years-- and obviously haven't paid much attention to. I can see your point.
Personally I enjoy the ability to make a new directory when I'm in a save dialog. That can be handy. But other than that I completely agree. Keep the navigation extremely simple and the basic widget from being too cluttered-- at least make most of the clutter optional and not on by default.
Um. What? Who the hell modded this insightful? Virtual PC runs on Macs. So the only XP license they will be selling is the one included with your copy of Virtual PC. The one and only time I've ever bought a Microsoft disc it came in the box with Virtual PC.
If they sell a copy of Virtual PC that includes Red Hat Linux (as an example), then they aren't selling any MS product at all (other than Virtual PC).
But who cares? Why run an x86 Linux or BSD distro on top of an emulator when you can just run it native. Between Yellow Dog Linux, Gentoo PPC, Debian PPC, FreeBSD, and the gods only know how many millions of other distros, it's not like there's a shortage of Linux options for the PowerPC architecture at the base of all Macs!
So, tell me, why would anyone in their right mind want to buy a $100+ copy of Virtual PC only to use it to run a copy of some software that they can probably run native? Not only that, Mac OS is a goddamn UNIX to begin with! *boggle*
The fact remains that writing software and giving it away has yet to be proven as a longtime viable industry.
:)
In fact, you are full of it!
All software started out free. In fact, the whole idea that someone can "own" an idea and sell it in widget form is relatively new in the world. On top of that you aren't even listening. The guy you responded was getting paid to write free software-- the parts his clients needed the most. I think it's extremely common for successful entrepeneurs like him to be the ones donating to projects.
I can give examples: Perl (first with O'Reilly kind of hiring Larry Wall in a patron fashion, and then via the Perl Foundation), Ruby (Yukihiro Matsumoto works for a Japanese open source company Netlab), Apache (go look at the list of contributors/members), Free Software Foundation (not exactly hurting for funds), KDE/Qt (Qt being both free and non-free, a lot of shared developers on these projects at TrollTech), and many more. A lot of projects done by small firms seem to use the TrollTech and MySQL approach, releasing with dual-licenses. Some of these firms are also the first call for help when looking for new features.
If anything, free software firms seem to be at least as healthy as proprietary software firms because they are constantly being paid to add value, not just to homestead the realm of ideas and put up a tollbox for passing through. Even the "big guys" like IBM are clear that selling the widgets is not a permanent strategy , which is why they have their huge services division.
Or we could all just go to UTC and stop dealing with all this timezone shit in the first place.
Interesting. I wonder how many appeals were made. Maybe the plaintiffs got tired of the whole thing? Personally I find it unbelievable that courts would uphold this whole notion that you can attach contracts to purchased goods and that the contracts are enforceable because you can always return the item (not that I don't believe you, it's just that the mind boggles).
Prior to a change in copyright law which (in my opinion) nullifies EULAs, the act of copying software from a floppy or CD to a hard drive (during installation, for instance) or from media into memory was technically an infringement. Therefore, in order to legally install or use software, the license was necessary. Since this is obviously contrary to common sense, Congress added a clause in Title 17 that says it is not an infringement to copy software if doing so is a requirement to use the software.
Nevertheless, you could probably be forced to agree to a EULA if you would like to "register" your product for such advantages such as being able to download updates for free from the software firm's web site. And because most updates create a modified work using the original software, it is quite possible that such an agreement on the user's part could be binding even on the original software package. Thus, rights one would normally have in a work are surrendered in order to be able to obtain and use the update.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or a doctor. This is not legal or medical advice. Past performance does not indicate future value. Do not attempt to use this post internally. And personally, I prefer Free Software.
Didn't we learn anything from the '90s?
Yes. Which is why you don't see a lot of IPOs from companies that don't make any money and don't have realistic business plans. As I understand it, Google makes money from actual revenues (as opposed to the dot-com feeling of "making" money by getting it from VCs) and they have a solid business plan. At worst, this IPO is just to help the current investors "cash out" a little-- fair enough. At best, this helps Google fund some new R&D or a new project that requires some major infrastructure.
I believe that there will be little "irrational exuberance" during an IPO like this at this time. I'd be surprised if the stock weren't actually undervalued for a while because so many people will be looking at with the taste of the dot-com fever in mind.
BTW, I find your phrase "legalized criminal activity" amusing. I believe you mean to say there are loopholes which look shady or unethical to your way of thinking, but if it's legal it can't possibly be criminal activity. Besides, printing an extra million shares dilutes the value of all the existing shares. Most professional investors measure company performance on a per share basis. So in the example you give, now the company's profit is spread over additional shares, making their measurements look worse. So while they may have the option to do something, the decision to do it does have an impact which may mitigate the desirability of doing it. It's not like they were being allowed to just print money or something.
Hmmm. I'm wondering why I ever stopped using Galeon then. If it will match the rest of my gtk2 apps, if not the GNOME standards, that's all I'm asking for. I enjoyed using that browser before, so I'll definitely look again. And yeah, when I said Mozilla I probably meant Gecko in several instances. AFAIK you still have to have a full-on Mozilla install to build any of the Gecko-based projects out there.
So. How many of the projects that embed Mozilla are actually complete or have kept up? Galeon was almost there, but WTF? It's not the GNOME browser now that GNOME is at 2.4... now there is thing called Epiphany? Best part, the Moz folks came out with Firebird, but it ain't nowhere near where Galeon is-- except that it can be compiled under gtk2 and Galeon can't? Are there any email clients that work off Mozilla except Thunderbird?
It's enough to make a GNU/Linux user run screaming into the arms of KDE, which not only has a fairly functional browser, but a very functional matching email client... and an office suite and a metric boatload of other "native" applications.
Dang. Sorry for the unclosed anchor tag. I swear I previewed that post too!
Got any suggestions? I agree that the best way to avoid all this negative stuff is to focus on positive stuff, but that's easier said than done, in many instances. It's not like corporate employers and the bosses one might encounter in those environments are going to be easily bribed by a box of donuts and a pamphlet on Pair Programming and the wonders of CVS.
So what are some good books about positive habits we need to have as programmers, first, and then how to be a successful programmer without signing up for The Program?
Hmmm. I agree that it's hard to get excited about downloading from these particular onlines sources (nothing compares to the old emusic.com or just plain ripping from disc), but I have to disagree with the rest of what you're saying. CDs already seem kind chintzy to some of us who grew up in the era of vinyl. Gone are the days where you pull off the shrink wrap and out falls a lyric sheet, a booklet, pictures, other assorted gimcracks and geegaws. Gone are the days where cute tricks like locked grooves made listening to some vinyl a bit more interesting. Also gone: playing any 33 1/3 album at 45 for that Chipmunks sound, playing a wide hole 45 off center, picture discs, foldout covers, affordable indie singles, legible cover text, and probably a lot more.
:)
To me, there is nothing less tactile than a smooth plastic disc. You can't even check the grooves to see how long the songs are! And those little booklets? Always printed on the same lame glossy paper, always printed with miniature type because that's the only way you can fit more than two words on a page. And those lame plastic cases. So easy to break, so annoying to attempt to replace.
For my part, I welcome the digital age. It means: custom playlists without changing physical media or time-consuming mix making, putting my mp3 server on shuffle and not hearing the same song twice for over a month, having Festival act as my own personal DJ, no more scratches, pops, dings on the physical media. The only thing missing is the packaging, which I've already pointed out has lost 99% of its enjoyment during the switch from vinyl to CDs anyway.
Anyway, that's my rant and I'm sticking to it.
I don't think Joe User cares about logging in remotely. I think if Joe User cared about that, he would probably buy a laptop and just bring the whole computer with him. I mean, I'm kinda geeky, and that's what I do.
And then one would ask why Joe User needs to be running sshd in the first place, especially on a machine that may be exposed to the internet directly. That doesn't sound like a "high" level of security to me!
You are a regular laugh riot. RTFM. There is a preferences setting if you don't want to read about MS. Use it or shut up about the number of MS stories. It's really that simple. The quantity of different types of stories on Slashdot is probably directly related to the number of submissions on those topics made by readers.
.sig) of MS and Linux security issues.
I'm not even going to get into the logical fallacies going on with your comparison (via
Um, they won't take your cash, therefore they're out for cash? That's an interesting argument.
RTFM. What you're saying is more true for trademarks than copyrights-- although I'm sure, given the (ahem) flexible nature of our legal system, there are exceptions to be found in both arenas.
While I would normally shy away from this sort of thing, ... does anyone out there have any experience running the MS Flight Simulator under WINE? Although I suppose I could always pull out my trusty Commodore 64s and the attendant FlightSim package and Chuck Yeagers flight simulator (which was cool because you could take the SR-71 (?) practically into orbit-- a point at which I usually decided the best path was to see just how fast of a nosedive I could engineer)... but from what I understand Flight is one of MS' better products.
Ah. That makes sense.
Ah, it is supported after all. The correct link has been included for your amusement. It will be interesting to see if IT keeps up the donation schedule, or if they fall back, letting movies/music/tv pull ahead in 2004.
Nor is it supported by the linked data. In fact, it's off by quite a bit, as far as I can tell. And so far, for 2003-2004, most of the guys listed appear to have made more from the IT industry than movies/music. So will they be listening when the Microsofts of the world tell them this is not necessary?
When did I complain or moan or gripe about anything? I am happily enjoying more music than I can listen to without any help from Apple or their DRM.
I think the problem here is that bugs and defects are possibly two different things (not that you missed this distinction). Obviously it's going to cost a lot (either money or time or whatever) to fix a defective requirement that gets fully coded. You'd quite possibly have to start entire pieces of the project from scratch. On the other hand, a buffer overflow error that is introduced early on in the process isn't going to be any harder to fix later than it is if it is caught right away.
I wonder if the best way to produce error-free code isn't to design as a team and code in pairs. Sure it sounds like a lot of upfront expense, but some studies show that pair programming especially has a positive impact on the process in spite of the seemingly higher opportunity cost.