see subject. how many people do they expect to pay for music downloads? pay-per-hear/view is a stupid concept, and won't work as a business model for bertelsmann/napster.
well, unless you view the restrictions put onto the development process by pointy haired bosses as selective pressure, source code as DNA, and programmers as a software-replication machinery (since no idea is new, only modified).
you can choose whether you take this comment seriously or not, but although it is a crude simplification of reality,it's not completely invalid in my opinion.
and perhaps in the old days/. was a site for "serious intellectual discussion" (yes i have seen it: you're user #3115 and i bow with great respect to you, sir:-) ), but get real,/. is now a place where you can gather enough information about recent development in geek-world to astonish your IT buddies who think you don't know shite about their business:-P
he he
(nope no flamebait intended, it was a *joke*)
simple tasks for the robot a better thing?
on
Hospital Robots
·
· Score: 1
[disclaimer]slightly off topic perhaps[/disclaimer]
allright, i'm all for efficiency in medical care etc. if the robot does it's job properly, it could be a blessing.
the thing is that the simple tasks like getting some medication for the patients and having a chat with your co-worker while waiting for the elevator can be just the things that relieve some tension. when the only things you do all day are the tasks that require lots of skill, you don't get the chance to relax once in a while.
relaxation in between difficult tasks is a good thing, and helps a lot in keeping stress at acceptable levels. i'm sometimes very frustrated to see that a lot of efficiency measures are designed to keep those "idle" moments as short as possible, while these little breaks can help you a lot to stay focussed during the "stressfull" moments because you're more relaxed.
just a thought, and counterarguments are greatly appreciated...
there's a realy nice utility called abcde you might find usefull:
http://freshmeat.net/projects/abcde/
it's a command-line utility that used cdparanio and some other stuff (see the url) and rips, gets info from cddb database, and automagically edit the id tags. after running, you have a dir with the name of the cd, and the ogg files nicely put in it.
insert cd, type abcde, wait, and voila: ripping without thinking:-) that's what you like right?
you wrote: "The alternative to patents is secrecy."
you are forgetting the other alternative: free flow of information. but maybe i'm being unrealistically idealistic;-).
using the idea to make money? sorry, but that's not completely true. say a company patents a methodology which is very usefull for my research. i have to pay them to use the method, although my research doesn't yield any money whatsoever.
ps. i do have a huge hangover at the moment, so maybe i misunderstood you (shrugs shoulders)
funny that stallman uses biotech as an example where patents "work differently"
patents obstruct biotech in the same way as they obstruct software development. everyone is holding on to their little precious idea and tries to make as much money from it, and if that's not possible, lock up the idea with a patent.
yes! finally it's the other way around! we always have to set the page size to the normal size: A4. why those pesky americans always want things to be sized bigger is a mistery to me...;-)
[qoute] Printing hasn't been a problem at all, although North American users (guilty) may want to make sure the page size is set to "Letter" before printing; A4 seems to be the default. [/quote]
... you are forgetting that older software doesn't get maintained at the same level as newer software. developers upgrade their apps according to the latest & greatest version of qt/kde (or gtk/gnome), and in the meanwhile also add new features. these new features aren't neccesarily bloat, and wil only be available in new (slower & less functional) versions of the app.
please reread the original post, and then my answer, and then your own post. there is no need for such a strong reaction as yours.
you're actually helping me strengthening my previous argument with your information. thank you. clearly you know more about all these protocols and the way MS uses them than I do.
i was reacting to the previous posters' incorrect (IMO) assumption that dominance on the desktop eventually will give MS control over the server market.
if you feel the need to caution anyone that this thread is offtopic (desktop not server) you should've reacted to an earlier post than mine.
and then the last remark: "nice try, but no prize...". just because you can show the world you have more factual knowledge about network communication protocols, your arguments do not deface mine.
relax a little okay? and if you feel my comment is inflammatory, please don't bother to answer me anymore.
now go and cut your teeth some more on old unices:-)
[quote] Microsoft knows that as long as they control the desktop they can eventually take the server market. [/quote]
oh and where was that rule carved in stone? how does this rule allow for the rise of linux server installs the last few years? the only server os that seems to be able to grow at a comparable rate to NT is linux. how can linux compete with ms on the server market when ms already controls the desktop and has controlled it for years?
microsoft does use it's embrace&extend strategies on the server market, but their desktops needed non-windows protocols to talk to the outside world (think tcpip). actually, if ms hadn't adapted their desktop clients to speak to unix servers, it wouldn't have ruled the desktop as it does now. i don't see al lot of "netbui" (or whatever they call it) networks in places where i work...
see subject. let me state the obvious here: it's good that the discussion includes more than the bundled software issues.
one of the main reason microsoft can practice their "embrace & extend" strategy, is the widespread use of windows. one way of restoring fair competition is to punish ms for punishing resellers when they don't include windows with a new pc.
since microsoft is going to try to be nokia's competitor in the mobile phone market.
i surely hope ms will fail by the way, since IMHO no mobile phone is more "usable" than a nokia. imagine: "welcome to M$ PhoneWindows, please wait while the system is booting". and when you finally get to contact the other end: "this mobile phone is currently rebooting, please leave a message after the tone..."
at least you will be able to know for sure who is calling, because everyone who uses an M$ phone will have to sign up for a passport account before being able to use it...
how the fuck can my comment be overrated when it's not even been rated yet?
the pricy hardware apple supplies, and the binding of their OS to the hardware is a very legitimite reason to stick to pc hardware. and yes, apple hardware does cost more, at least where i live (netherlands). we complain all the time about the oem versions of windows that you're forced to buy with a new pc, but when i make a similar remark about macos, it's all of the sudden overrated?
i was asking questions, because i was not sure about the availability of powerpc *clones* that would be & cheaper & sold without the mac-os.
how the fuck can a comment which is informative, and stimulates discussion by asking opinions be overrated. well probably a critical note doesn't align with reigning opinions on/.:-[
now mod me into oblivion because this will probable be seen as flamebait/OT or something. see if i care:-|
but apple hardware is very expensive as compared to intel. and you buy it with the software (osx) included.
maybe i missed that somewhere cheap clones can be found, but i never saw any of these. maybe some mac-fan can shed light on this?
Re:Biologists and Psychologists Abuse this...
on
Digital Biology
·
· Score: 1
[quote] As a neuroscientist and former CS major in college (and long time Slashdot reader) I can also assert that programmers abuse biology metaphors just as badly! [/quote]
amen!
i was very amused for example by the incorrect parrallel drawn by linus & friends on the LKML lately, regarding linux development as an evolutionary process. linux development is directed by a (group of) person(s), which can hardly be compared to the way nature randomly applies selective pressure onto a living organism.
i could take this argument further, but i don't want to be filtered out as a page-lengthening post;-)
nevertheless, the parallel was instrumental in the sense that it got the discussion going. and let's face it, this particular discussion even made it to slashdot, so it must have been important...;p
the bad guy is always a german...
on
To The Pain
·
· Score: 2, Informative
as you know, the bad guy almost always has a fake-german (or russian) accent. it's a shame american actors are so bad at these accents... that's why the hire dutch guys for it (eg rutger hauer, jeroen krabbe).
therefore, they will never reach a reasonable state of happiness?
i think that's a bit of an overstatement. happiness cannot possibly be totally dependent on the end of development and total overclassification of species;-)
this is a very limited view of world. i cannot imagine anyone being so obsessed with these matters, don't you agree? maybe it's just my limited imagination;^)
i got your point the first time. well, there's several ways to define a species of course, use divergence in genetic information, use morphological criteria, use the "breeding" criterium. they will often conflict if you see them as isolated means to define a species. perhaps we should speak of species gradients and species barriers.
this whole thing could become one stupid philosophical debate: stupid because the answer to the question is not important. it might as well be 42;-). wat matters is the complete inventory of living organisms on the earth, let the biologists fight a while over classification issues, and let the more practical scientists dig through the data and try to do something useful with it.
hey, i was merely trying to point out that anyone can think of their own way to define a species and start reasoning from that. we'll see what definition wil become generally accepted in the scientific world (yes, an evolutionary process:-) it might not deliver the best definition, but it will be the definition that is most fit for scientists, so it'll keep them busy for a while:P
and don't get me started on anti-evolutionists, you can never enter a religious debate and stay friendly and reasonable at the same time IMHO. i can't, at least.
> (And as for "environmental activists" -- hey, > housing developers are environmental activists > too, they just prefer environments more suited > to humans than to some random critter.;-)
following your reasoning, the work that will be done by these scientists will once and for all end the discussions about extinct species that have a (interbreedable) variant somewhere else on the planet, since every species would be identified.
this doesn't answer your "what defines a species" question, but we al know that these definitions will always change with time and opinions. i guess, given the fact that they want to collect huge amounts of data on the various organsisms that live on this planet, and given the fact that its open sourced, you can hack your own definition of a species together, and analyse their data with that, so you can decide for yourself how many species there really are on this little planet;-)
on a sidenote: i do think you're overreacting a bit about the people you call "ecofreaks". if scientists & science supporters would stop talking in such a way about enviromental activists, maybe one day we could start a dialog with them instead of having them break open our labs to release lab-animals. just a thought...
it might just be a typical "ignorance is bliss" situation on my side, but if this effect was largely achieved by disabling the (apparently buggy) hinting support in freetype, why did they enable it in the first place?
i'm not trying to insult the freetype guys, they've done great work to make X look nicer, but this hack would probably not exist if they would have disabled hinting by default.
the screenshots do look okay, but are still somewhat blurry. i actually prefer not using antialiasing below 10pt anyway, the fonts quickly become unreadable. but that IMHO of course.
Slashdot Mirror
commenting to your useless post and buring karma in the process... priceless
see subject. how many people do they expect to pay for music downloads? pay-per-hear/view is a stupid concept, and won't work as a business model for bertelsmann/napster.
just my 2eurocents
well, unless you view the restrictions put onto the development process by pointy haired bosses as selective pressure, source code as DNA, and programmers as a software-replication machinery (since no idea is new, only modified).
/. was a site for "serious intellectual discussion" (yes i have seen it: you're user #3115 and i bow with great respect to you, sir :-) ), but get real, /. is now a place where you can gather enough information about recent development in geek-world to astonish your IT buddies who think you don't know shite about their business :-P
you can choose whether you take this comment seriously or not, but although it is a crude simplification of reality,it's not completely invalid in my opinion.
and perhaps in the old days
he he
(nope no flamebait intended, it was a *joke*)
[disclaimer]slightly off topic perhaps[/disclaimer]
allright, i'm all for efficiency in medical care etc. if the robot does it's job properly, it could be a blessing.
the thing is that the simple tasks like getting some medication for the patients and having a chat with your co-worker while waiting for the elevator can be just the things that relieve some tension. when the only things you do all day are the tasks that require lots of skill, you don't get the chance to relax once in a while.
relaxation in between difficult tasks is a good thing, and helps a lot in keeping stress at acceptable levels. i'm sometimes very frustrated to see that a lot of efficiency measures are designed to keep those "idle" moments as short as possible, while these little breaks can help you a lot to stay focussed during the "stressfull" moments because you're more relaxed.
just a thought, and counterarguments are greatly appreciated...
there's a realy nice utility called abcde you might find usefull:
:-) that's what you like right?
http://freshmeat.net/projects/abcde/
it's a command-line utility that used cdparanio and some other stuff (see the url) and rips, gets info from cddb database, and automagically edit the id tags. after running, you have a dir with the name of the cd, and the ogg files nicely put in it.
insert cd, type abcde, wait, and voila: ripping without thinking
where are the bash scripts and "good old fashion c/c++" ? i'm very interested!
you wrote: "The alternative to patents is secrecy."
;-).
you are forgetting the other alternative: free flow of information. but maybe i'm being unrealistically idealistic
using the idea to make money? sorry, but that's not completely true. say a company patents a methodology which is very usefull for my research. i have to pay them to use the method, although my research doesn't yield any money whatsoever.
ps. i do have a huge hangover at the moment, so maybe i misunderstood you (shrugs shoulders)
funny that stallman uses biotech as an example where patents "work differently"
patents obstruct biotech in the same way as they obstruct software development. everyone is holding on to their little precious idea and tries to make as much money from it, and if that's not possible, lock up the idea with a patent.
yes! finally it's the other way around! we always have to set the page size to the normal size: A4. why those pesky americans always want things to be sized bigger is a mistery to me ... ;-)
[qoute]
Printing hasn't been a problem at all, although North American users (guilty) may want to make sure the page size is set to "Letter" before printing; A4 seems to be the default.
[/quote]
... you are forgetting that older software doesn't get maintained at the same level as newer software. developers upgrade their apps according to the latest & greatest version of qt/kde (or gtk/gnome), and in the meanwhile also add new features. these new features aren't neccesarily bloat, and wil only be available in new (slower & less functional) versions of the app.
please reread the original post, and then my answer, and then your own post. there is no need for such a strong reaction as yours.
:-)
you're actually helping me strengthening my previous argument with your information. thank you. clearly you know more about all these protocols and the way MS uses them than I do.
i was reacting to the previous posters' incorrect (IMO) assumption that dominance on the desktop eventually will give MS control over the server market.
if you feel the need to caution anyone that this thread is offtopic (desktop not server) you should've reacted to an earlier post than mine.
and then the last remark: "nice try, but no prize...". just because you can show the world you have more factual knowledge about network communication protocols, your arguments do not deface mine.
relax a little okay? and if you feel my comment is inflammatory, please don't bother to answer me anymore.
now go and cut your teeth some more on old unices
[quote]
Microsoft knows that as long as they control the desktop they can eventually take the server market.
[/quote]
oh and where was that rule carved in stone? how does this rule allow for the rise of linux server installs the last few years? the only server os that seems to be able to grow at a comparable rate to NT is linux. how can linux compete with ms on the server market when ms already controls the desktop and has controlled it for years?
microsoft does use it's embrace&extend strategies on the server market, but their desktops needed non-windows protocols to talk to the outside world (think tcpip). actually, if ms hadn't adapted their desktop clients to speak to unix servers, it wouldn't have ruled the desktop as it does now. i don't see al lot of "netbui" (or whatever they call it) networks in places where i work...
all IM-not-so-HO of course...
see subject. let me state the obvious here: it's good that the discussion includes more than the bundled software issues.
one of the main reason microsoft can practice their "embrace & extend" strategy, is the widespread use of windows. one way of restoring fair competition is to punish ms for punishing resellers when they don't include windows with a new pc.
since microsoft is going to try to be nokia's competitor in the mobile phone market.
i surely hope ms will fail by the way, since IMHO no mobile phone is more "usable" than a nokia. imagine: "welcome to M$ PhoneWindows, please wait while the system is booting". and when you finally get to contact the other end: "this mobile phone is currently rebooting, please leave a message after the tone..."
at least you will be able to know for sure who is calling, because everyone who uses an M$ phone will have to sign up for a passport account before being able to use it...
oops, i'm getting carried away...
how the fuck can my comment be overrated when it's not even been rated yet?
/. :-[
:-|
the pricy hardware apple supplies, and the binding of their OS to the hardware is a very legitimite reason to stick to pc hardware. and yes, apple hardware does cost more, at least where i live (netherlands). we complain all the time about the oem versions of windows that you're forced to buy with a new pc, but when i make a similar remark about macos, it's all of the sudden overrated?
i was asking questions, because i was not sure about the availability of powerpc *clones* that would be & cheaper & sold without the mac-os.
how the fuck can a comment which is informative, and stimulates discussion by asking opinions be overrated. well probably a critical note doesn't align with reigning opinions on
now mod me into oblivion because this will probable be seen as flamebait/OT or something. see if i care
it might be fast etc
but apple hardware is very expensive as compared to intel. and you buy it with the software (osx) included.
maybe i missed that somewhere cheap clones can be found, but i never saw any of these. maybe some mac-fan can shed light on this?
[quote]
;-)
;p
As a neuroscientist and former CS major in college (and long time Slashdot reader) I can also assert that programmers abuse biology metaphors just as badly!
[/quote]
amen!
i was very amused for example by the incorrect parrallel drawn by linus & friends on the LKML lately, regarding linux development as an evolutionary process. linux development is directed by a (group of) person(s), which can hardly be compared to the way nature randomly applies selective pressure onto a living organism.
i could take this argument further, but i don't want to be filtered out as a page-lengthening post
nevertheless, the parallel was instrumental in the sense that it got the discussion going. and let's face it, this particular discussion even made it to slashdot, so it must have been important...
see subject
hey guys, read the post please. i was giving examples, and i was not stating that the guy in this particular bond film wasn't a german...
;^). i will never understand the way people moderate overhere :P
amazing nevertheless that i'm getting a +1 informative for such a stupid comment
ssl? tunneling? it's not like they rely on the far from flawless security 802.11b delivers...
1 28 887
read this comment:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=29142&cid=3
as you know, the bad guy almost always has a fake-german (or russian) accent. it's a shame american actors are so bad at these accents... that's why the hire dutch guys for it (eg rutger hauer, jeroen krabbe).
:-)
score: -1, informative
therefore, they will never reach a reasonable state of happiness?
;-)
;^)
i think that's a bit of an overstatement. happiness cannot possibly be totally dependent on the end of development and total overclassification of species
this is a very limited view of world. i cannot imagine anyone being so obsessed with these matters, don't you agree? maybe it's just my limited imagination
i got your point the first time. well, there's several ways to define a species of course, use divergence in genetic information, use morphological criteria, use the "breeding" criterium. they will often conflict if you see them as isolated means to define a species. perhaps we should speak of species gradients and species barriers.
;-). wat matters is the complete inventory of living organisms on the earth, let the biologists fight a while over classification issues, and let the more practical scientists dig through the data and try to do something useful with it.
:-) it might not deliver the best definition, but it will be the definition that is most fit for scientists, so it'll keep them busy for a while :P
;-)
this whole thing could become one stupid philosophical debate: stupid because the answer to the question is not important. it might as well be 42
hey, i was merely trying to point out that anyone can think of their own way to define a species and start reasoning from that. we'll see what definition wil become generally accepted in the scientific world (yes, an evolutionary process
and don't get me started on anti-evolutionists, you can never enter a religious debate and stay friendly and reasonable at the same time IMHO. i can't, at least.
> (And as for "environmental activists" -- hey,
> housing developers are environmental activists
> too, they just prefer environments more suited
> to humans than to some random critter.
ROTFL (again it's all about definitions)
alrright, you made your point already :^)
;-)
following your reasoning, the work that will be done by these scientists will once and for all end the discussions about extinct species that have a (interbreedable) variant somewhere else on the planet, since every species would be identified.
this doesn't answer your "what defines a species" question, but we al know that these definitions will always change with time and opinions. i guess, given the fact that they want to collect huge amounts of data on the various organsisms that live on this planet, and given the fact that its open sourced, you can hack your own definition of a species together, and analyse their data with that, so you can decide for yourself how many species there really are on this little planet
on a sidenote: i do think you're overreacting a bit about the people you call "ecofreaks". if scientists & science supporters would stop talking in such a way about enviromental activists, maybe one day we could start a dialog with them instead of having them break open our labs to release lab-animals. just a thought...
it might just be a typical "ignorance is bliss" situation on my side, but if this effect was largely achieved by disabling the (apparently buggy) hinting support in freetype, why did they enable it in the first place?
i'm not trying to insult the freetype guys, they've done great work to make X look nicer, but this hack would probably not exist if they would have disabled hinting by default.
the screenshots do look okay, but are still somewhat blurry. i actually prefer not using antialiasing below 10pt anyway, the fonts quickly become unreadable. but that IMHO of course.