Well, it'll stop those fsckers at TiVo from using Linux in hardware devices that are locked down so you can't read the data or modify the software without serious hardware hacking.
Write text directly on the screen where you want it.
Draw a diagram under the text. Have the Newton automatically clean up your circles, rectangles and lines into vector graphics.
Write some more directly under that. Select the text and have your handwriting converted to text.
One gesture to start a new page.
In other words, the thing the Newton did which no other PDA has achieved that I've seen, is act enough like a notepad that you can actually use it for taking notes.
I now don't watch anything with a continuing plot on FOX until it makes it to season 2, at which point I start watching at season 1.
There was a time when they'd give shows time to find an audience, but now they just bounce them around the schedules, show them 10 minutes late so your TiVo misses the end, and randomly cancel episodes in favor of two guys talking about whatever sporting event just happened.
And they wonder why people download torrents instead...
...what really ticks me off is buying OS X at full price and then being expected to pay more to get full functionality from QuickTime.
And then having to pay again every time there's a new release, or lose all the functionality I had already paid for.
I don't think.Mac is worth $99, but I think 'free' is unrealistic too. I'd settle for $50 a year and some actual terms of service (for bandwidth usage) set out.
My wife worked for a university. I work for IBM. I have several friends who work in academia.
Something to bear in mind is that the university environment often has insane amounts of politics, and toxic office situations. I mean, IBM has politics, but nothing like my friends tell me about at universities. Sure, you have great job security--but so does the total asshole with tenure who decides to make every day of your life a living hell.
Another thing is mobility. So far in 7 years at IBM I've worked for 4 different departments; 4 slightly different jobs with different teams of people. Your academic job sounds like it would be the same thing for the next 10 years. Whether that's good or bad depends on your personality type.
At which point, I'll throw in a recommendation for What Color Is Your Parachute. The title's cheesy, it seems like bull, but it's really worth working through if you can stand it.
Microsoft support Office on the Mac because it makes them money. Most of their crap runs at a loss, so they don't want to kill one of their few money-making products.
They don't support IE and WMV on the Mac, because it doesn't make them money. Or at least, not directly. And they don't see any long term hope of it doing so.
And the 'support' in terms of the few million dollars of non-voting stock was to do with getting a lawsuit dropped, that was about to show that they stole QuickTime source code and used it for Video for Windows.
Now, will the Sci Fi channel show it properly, or will they chop the sides off to squeeze it onto a 4:3 screen? Perhaps it's time to write to them now, begging...
I managed to kill a Nikon D70 under warrant. (The shutter would start to jam after about half an hour of moderate shooting). I had to have it sent back 3 times.
Congratulations, you too have discovered that Nikon Digital's repair and service department is appallingly bad.
Google for my tales of Nikon Digital and scanner problems...
I'd settle for Thunderbird at least being able to read Internet calendar and address card data. I mean, RFC2426 has been around since 1998, and isn't being able to read someone's e-mail address info a fairly basic requirement for an e-mail program?
So, what's the adjustable parameter for, then, if not to control the maximum output frequency? It's not like you'd need or want a way to limit the speed and quality of the onboard D/A.
On the other hand, with commented code they are dealing with two similar but distinct things, that are related in exactly the same way as a fine-print contract (the code) and the car salesman's verbal promises (the comments). When push comes to shove, the salesman's words mean nothing and the contract is what matters.
I beg to differ. If my library call is commented as "adds two integers", and you notice it also works for floats, use it, and then a new release has refactored code that crashes when floats are passed in... then when push comes to shove, I'm gonna tell you it's your hard luck. The comments are the contract; they're the specification of what I warrant the code to do. If it doesn't do what the comments say, then that's a bug, and it's my problem. If you act on the basis of what the code says, and something breaks as a result, it's your problem.
All projects, no matter how simple, require comments.
The comment (or documentation) defines the supported API for the method or function. It is effectively the informal contract between the person writing the code and the person calling it.
The importance of the design contract is that it allows you to refactor code effectively, rather than having to reproduce every single side effect and internal detail of the code in order to avoid unknown amounts of breakage elsewhere.
And I'm with the previous guy in the thread. If you don't understand why all functions need comments, you shouldn't be writing anything even remotely important.
And yes, even code you write for yourself should be commented, so that you can come back to it a year later and refactor.
For example, take a very simple piece of code: something in a math library to add two vectors together. Suppose you implement it, and your initial implementation is generic and happens to work with complex numbers, rationals, dates, even strings. Well, that's great, but then you profile and discover it's a major bottleneck in your 3D graphics application. You want to refactor it to a high speed piece of inline assembler. You only intended to use the code for vectors of floats--but if you have no design contract, people might be using the routine with all kinds of data types, because it happened to give the result they wanted—and your hopes of a quick and easy refactoring are dashed. You end up having to define a new fastfloatvectoradd(), replace calls all over your code, and maybe end up with the original add() as dead code as far as your application is concerned.
If you care about sound quality, throw away the supplied earbuds. A pair of Sennheiser PX100s for $30 will offer an immediate improvement in both sound quality and noise insulation.
Next step after that is to get a headphone amp; it's not really worth spending more than $30 on headphones otherwise. You can get an Xin mini, which is smaller than the iPod and will happily drive full-size Sennheisers using 3xAAA cells. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes. Do spring for the crossover circuit to convert stereo to binaural.
Once I did that, I was rather embarrassed to find that the iPod competed quite well with my full-sized harman/kardon CD player.
I spend less time dicking around now that I run Linux, than I did when I ran Windows. To get Linux running on my ThinkPad, it was literally a matter of booting off a MEPIS CD and running the install-to-hard-disk option by double-clicking an icon. Sound worked, networking worked, printing worked, X11 was configured correctly, SMB file sharing worked, Bluetooth worked.
Re:C++ not dead, but it is a dead end
on
Demise of C++?
·
· Score: 1
The grafting of OO extensions onto C was the worst design decision I have ever run into. The result is a crappy arcane and confusing kitchen sink of language to work in.
It didn't need to be, though. Objective-C is simple enough that a C programmer can learn it in a weekend, yet it also allows object oriented programming, and supports dynamic programming better than C++ does.
Slashdot Mirror
A recruiting tool for the Python and Ruby communities.
Well, it'll stop those fsckers at TiVo from using Linux in hardware devices that are locked down so you can't read the data or modify the software without serious hardware hacking.
Write text directly on the screen where you want it.
Draw a diagram under the text. Have the Newton automatically clean up your circles, rectangles and lines into vector graphics.
Write some more directly under that. Select the text and have your handwriting converted to text.
One gesture to start a new page.
In other words, the thing the Newton did which no other PDA has achieved that I've seen, is act enough like a notepad that you can actually use it for taking notes.
I now don't watch anything with a continuing plot on FOX until it makes it to season 2, at which point I start watching at season 1.
There was a time when they'd give shows time to find an audience, but now they just bounce them around the schedules, show them 10 minutes late so your TiVo misses the end, and randomly cancel episodes in favor of two guys talking about whatever sporting event just happened.
And they wonder why people download torrents instead...
...what really ticks me off is buying OS X at full price and then being expected to pay more to get full functionality from QuickTime.
.Mac is worth $99, but I think 'free' is unrealistic too. I'd settle for $50 a year and some actual terms of service (for bandwidth usage) set out.
And then having to pay again every time there's a new release, or lose all the functionality I had already paid for.
I don't think
I refer you to http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1210067,00.as p
Yes, it's the Dvorak troll, but the stats from Bill G are enlightening.
My wife worked for a university. I work for IBM. I have several friends who work in academia.
Something to bear in mind is that the university environment often has insane amounts of politics, and toxic office situations. I mean, IBM has politics, but nothing like my friends tell me about at universities. Sure, you have great job security--but so does the total asshole with tenure who decides to make every day of your life a living hell.
Another thing is mobility. So far in 7 years at IBM I've worked for 4 different departments; 4 slightly different jobs with different teams of people. Your academic job sounds like it would be the same thing for the next 10 years. Whether that's good or bad depends on your personality type.
At which point, I'll throw in a recommendation for What Color Is Your Parachute. The title's cheesy, it seems like bull, but it's really worth working through if you can stand it.
Microsoft support Office on the Mac because it makes them money. Most of their crap runs at a loss, so they don't want to kill one of their few money-making products.
They don't support IE and WMV on the Mac, because it doesn't make them money. Or at least, not directly. And they don't see any long term hope of it doing so.
And the 'support' in terms of the few million dollars of non-voting stock was to do with getting a lawsuit dropped, that was about to show that they stole QuickTime source code and used it for Video for Windows.
Typically, 6 or 13 episodes. Happy to help.
Best SF series I've seen on TV in years.
Now, will the Sci Fi channel show it properly, or will they chop the sides off to squeeze it onto a 4:3 screen? Perhaps it's time to write to them now, begging...
Congratulations, you too have discovered that Nikon Digital's repair and service department is appallingly bad.
Google for my tales of Nikon Digital and scanner problems...
I'd settle for Thunderbird at least being able to read Internet calendar and address card data. I mean, RFC2426 has been around since 1998, and isn't being able to read someone's e-mail address info a fairly basic requirement for an e-mail program?
Try Panic's Unison.
Thunderbird has S/MIME support built in, no plugins needed. So does Apple Mail, so you can communicate with Mac users.
t ificate
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Installing_an_SMIME_cer
I use it. It works. Mailing lists tend to fsck up signatures, though.
The button is the fourth from the right at the bottom of the iTunes window. It turns off the Mini Store.
Denying me my legal rights is evil.
I'd just like to add a "me too". Their conversion software will almost certainly be a piece of Windows-only crap, and hence useless to me.
If they'd just made the thing understand at least one open format (PDF, OEB, whatever) they'd have gotten a sale.
I'd rather see things written in Python than written as shell scripts--and I hate Python.
So, what's the adjustable parameter for, then, if not to control the maximum output frequency? It's not like you'd need or want a way to limit the speed and quality of the onboard D/A.
It's trivial to strip out the comments, if you really feel that way.
I beg to differ. If my library call is commented as "adds two integers", and you notice it also works for floats, use it, and then a new release has refactored code that crashes when floats are passed in... then when push comes to shove, I'm gonna tell you it's your hard luck. The comments are the contract; they're the specification of what I warrant the code to do. If it doesn't do what the comments say, then that's a bug, and it's my problem. If you act on the basis of what the code says, and something breaks as a result, it's your problem.
All projects, no matter how simple, require comments.
The comment (or documentation) defines the supported API for the method or function. It is effectively the informal contract between the person writing the code and the person calling it.
The importance of the design contract is that it allows you to refactor code effectively, rather than having to reproduce every single side effect and internal detail of the code in order to avoid unknown amounts of breakage elsewhere.
And I'm with the previous guy in the thread. If you don't understand why all functions need comments, you shouldn't be writing anything even remotely important.
And yes, even code you write for yourself should be commented, so that you can come back to it a year later and refactor.
For example, take a very simple piece of code: something in a math library to add two vectors together. Suppose you implement it, and your initial implementation is generic and happens to work with complex numbers, rationals, dates, even strings. Well, that's great, but then you profile and discover it's a major bottleneck in your 3D graphics application. You want to refactor it to a high speed piece of inline assembler. You only intended to use the code for vectors of floats--but if you have no design contract, people might be using the routine with all kinds of data types, because it happened to give the result they wanted—and your hopes of a quick and easy refactoring are dashed. You end up having to define a new fastfloatvectoradd(), replace calls all over your code, and maybe end up with the original add() as dead code as far as your application is concerned.
If you care about sound quality, throw away the supplied earbuds. A pair of Sennheiser PX100s for $30 will offer an immediate improvement in both sound quality and noise insulation.
Next step after that is to get a headphone amp; it's not really worth spending more than $30 on headphones otherwise. You can get an Xin mini, which is smaller than the iPod and will happily drive full-size Sennheisers using 3xAAA cells. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes. Do spring for the crossover circuit to convert stereo to binaural.
Once I did that, I was rather embarrassed to find that the iPod competed quite well with my full-sized harman/kardon CD player.
I spend less time dicking around now that I run Linux, than I did when I ran Windows. To get Linux running on my ThinkPad, it was literally a matter of booting off a MEPIS CD and running the install-to-hard-disk option by double-clicking an icon. Sound worked, networking worked, printing worked, X11 was configured correctly, SMB file sharing worked, Bluetooth worked.
It didn't need to be, though. Objective-C is simple enough that a C programmer can learn it in a weekend, yet it also allows object oriented programming, and supports dynamic programming better than C++ does.