Re:I wouldn't call it a crapfest, but. . .
on
Return of the Mac
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· Score: 1
"The worst thing about OS 9 (and earlier) was system extensions. In theory, they provided some great functionality as a type of OS plugin. In practice, they were a pain in the ass, and led to most of the instabilities of OS 9 (and earlier)."
I understand this is off-topic, but I hope the Firefox team learns what you already know - outsourcing a bunch of program functionality to extension plug-ins is *not* a smart, long-term move.
"and to think it was only about 40 years ago that John F. Kennedy said, "The ignorance of one voter anywhere threatens the freedom of all voters everywhere."
Totally agree. Until lots of Joe Publics (Arabs don't count for most Americans - after all, "they" are part of the problem, even if it's not actually true) are carried off and disappeared, or government actions become extremely heavy handed against Aunt Julie, public apathy is more than enough to let this to continue to happen.
You kids today, with your online THIS and convergence THAT, you don't know how good you've got it. Back in my day, we hiked six miles through the trees and snow and mud to our mailbox, and we were grateful! We also had to pay for the damn thing, $0.10 a day, whether we got it or not because our thieving neighbors stole it from off our fenceline, and most of the time there was a little news and whole lot of ads.
"It would be great if textbooks were on there. $120 is too much for a calculus book."
Actually, there are three reasons you should be paying that much. First, that's the cost of the book as determined by a free, deregulated market.
Second, the publisher has a greater responsibility to its employees and shareholders than to you, so it needs to maximize its product prices and profit margins.
From your sig, I thought you would have grasped these basic facts.
"2) It's FEDERAL LAW. No one smokes on an airplane, period. Are they supposed to just throw away the law because some addicted nut pulls out a helmet?"
Depends. Are we talking about the Lesser Helmet of +5 Charisma for 8,000GP, or the Greater Helmet of +10 Charisma for 24,000GP?
"For this reason the firefox team would do well by continuing to encourage developers to make more really useful extensions - things likes calendars, flash and ad-blockers, bookmarking tools and download managers all make the idea of moving from firefox very remote for me."
I agree, but did you know that every time Firefox comes out with a new incremental 0.0.1 upgrade, all the extension folks have to re-write their extensions to make them work with the new FF version?
I'm guessing that this will piss off a *lot* of average PC users when they realize that when they upgraded FF, they now have to track down the new versions of the extensions they've been using (assuming there are new versions put out by the developer), they have to download them, and then they have to manually install them. For the sake of FF, I genuinely hope FF's developers address this issue so that it's easier for the enduser. Otherwise, the enduser can just go back to IE6 or 7.
"Any bank that requires you to run an application on your computer isn't doing it right."
You are undoubtedly correct, but I'm betting the consultants that the bank hired to help them move to the WWW told them to do it this way. In the absence of any other intelligent in-bank alternatives, or inthe stupidity of not getting second opinions, they went this route.
"Also, the bug that causes the user to lose the entire contents of their hard disk drive while uninstalling Firefox 1.0 is worrysome."
No offense intended, but like the post above me asked, either provide proof in the form of a link, or shut up.
On an unrelated note, while Firefox is doing better, the FF team needs to figure out what they're going to do about the extensions mess. Every incremental x.x.1 upgrade of Firefox forces the extension developers to recode their extensions to work with the new FF version. While that may be fine for geeks like us, it/WILL/ be a major pain in the butt for all the average users who don't want to laboriously re-install their extensions after every upgrade. For an interesting take on this, about halfway down the page: Force extensions to work with 1.0.1 http://www.windowssecrets.com/comp/050310
Re:Still no word from the pr0n industry
on
Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD
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· Score: 1
"And, as peculiar it may sound, both competitors are holding their breath to see what the pornographic industry will decide."
Having the bigger disc size might put Blu-Ray ahead, but I'm guessing PornWorld isn't just looking for who's bigger, but for who can do more with the entrenched audience they already have.
"I for one can't wait for this crap to get settled out so we can just enjoy having huge discs."
Uh, Taco, some of us don't have to wait for this to be settled to have huge discs. Rrrrroooowwwrrrr!
" because I have a habit of rolling the wheel when I try to click it. I prefer designs that put a button under the thumb."
Hmmm, my mileage varies. I can't imagine anything worse than a scroll whell under the thumb. Just stick it between the two primary buttons where my more-dextrous index finger can use it.
John, listen closely, it's four letters and 11 words. PHBs - they don't give a flying crap if you can do something.
In Corporate Land, the needs or desires of Slashdot-style geeks fall about ten levels of importance below the texture of the toilet paper in the corporate wash room. Until there's a consistent way to embarrass these companies and highlight these abuses in ways that will generate sufficient heat to make Sony back up, nothing's going to change to address your needs unless there are some mod chippers who think they won't get caught.
I did a Google search on cool programming for kids, no quotes, and found a lot. Also worth noting about programming, copied and pasted as-is:
"They should learn the syntax after they see the example, not before. They should be provoked to answer questions in a Socratic style. They should solve their programming problems out loud, say their answers in English, then convert to code. Syntax should come last. This is the exact opposite of an adult class."
Mod parent up. By letting them futz around with a limited set of live code, and immediately seeing what differences their input made, it should hook some of them. Best yet, leave the code with the kids and they can take it home and do it themselves.
I'm honestly not whipping out a stupid Political Correctness stick, but try to think of demonstrating something that has a big/COOL/ factor for both sexes in your class, or demonstrate two things, each of which might appeal to either sex. Demoing Madden 2004 might work for the boys, but will probably be a bore to the girls.
I'd suggest showing off software about music, the WWW, instant messaging or IRC, or non-NeoMasculine games a la Madden.
In the end, consider asking any kids with your family or friends what they think is cool PC-wise. They should be able to give you insights that an adult wouldn't have the perspective to realize, and will help make your presentation a winner.
Not a bad idea, but I prefer the term 'user.' It's sexier, is more robust, has fewer syllables, and it takes less time to type out when combined with the letter L. It's also more one-hand friendly.:-D
He's complaining about that same thing I noted above, and that you replied to. If you want the same functionality from Firefox that you already have in Mozilla, you have to play Whack The Mole with a bunch of different extension downloads that may or may not be rebuilt to work with the latest version of Firefox. As-is, Firefox isn't nearly as functional as Mozilla browser.
Yes, you're right, but instead of defaulting to the base behavior of Mozilla, the developers made the decision to completely change the behaviors unless you're willing to muck about in the config file to restore that functionality.
For me, it was annoying but fixable, and points 4, 5, and unnamed 6-x still stand. For newbies or the tech-shy who aren't comfortable tooling around in the config file, they're stuck with these behaviors until their son visits to fix these 'problems' (hopefully before they exercised their right to say "screw it" and switch back to IE).
In short, none of their decisions are fatal, but IMO they add to the annoying factor that cruds up the acceptance rate. YMMV.
For what it's worth, I agree with you, especially on the note that all extensions require separate downloading and installation (annoying!). It's even worse when you realize that every time FF comes out with a new version, all the extensions have to be rebuilt to keep with the newest release.
I can't code, like 90+% of the public, but I've contributed money to the project in the hope that it won't die. I hope some of it goes to maturely recognizing Firefox's deficiencies compared to Mozilla and fixing them. A browser isn't just a rendering engine, it's an experience and a UI.
"Is there some great advantage that I'm not thinking of to having a giant bundled suite of apps, rather than five or six individual downloads?"
It's not that, it's that Mozilla's behaviors and interface are much, much smoother compared to my experience with Firefox 1.0.0. Some key UI examples: * When I download from Mozilla, it automatically allows me to choose where it's going, instead of defaulting to what it thinks is best. * The address and search bar are combined - not separate, which means extra keystrokes to do what previously took one. * Searching from the/large/, not/micro/ address field takes me to the Google results page where my brain can eyeball the best possible results, instead of annoyingly, automatically taking me to the "I'm Feeling Lucky" result. * Removing features so that we get to play whack the mole with multiple extension downloads, installations, and configurations. * If you separately download Firefox, Thunderbird, and the components which give you the same functionality as Moz 1.7.x, they take up more space and have a larger memory footprint than the "kitchen sink" suite.
There are other annoying issues to boot, but listing all of them is just kicking a baby. For now, IMO, Firefox is nowhere near as nice as Mozilla 1.7.x.
Slashdot Mirror
"The worst thing about OS 9 (and earlier) was system extensions. In theory, they provided some great functionality as a type of OS plugin. In practice, they were a pain in the ass, and led to most of the instabilities of OS 9 (and earlier)."
I understand this is off-topic, but I hope the Firefox team learns what you already know - outsourcing a bunch of program functionality to extension plug-ins is *not* a smart, long-term move.
(/lurk)
"and to think it was only about 40 years ago that John F. Kennedy said, "The ignorance of one voter anywhere threatens the freedom of all voters everywhere."
;-)
John Who?
Totally agree. Until lots of Joe Publics (Arabs don't count for most Americans - after all, "they" are part of the problem, even if it's not actually true) are carried off and disappeared, or government actions become extremely heavy handed against Aunt Julie, public apathy is more than enough to let this to continue to happen.
Apathy - it's what's for dinner.
You kids today, with your online THIS and convergence THAT, you don't know how good you've got it. Back in my day, we hiked six miles through the trees and snow and mud to our mailbox, and we were grateful! We also had to pay for the damn thing, $0.10 a day, whether we got it or not because our thieving neighbors stole it from off our fenceline, and most of the time there was a little news and whole lot of ads.
Ungrateful slackers, the lot of you.
Here's the article cache.
"It would be great if textbooks were on there. $120 is too much for a calculus book."
Actually, there are three reasons you should be paying that much. First, that's the cost of the book as determined by a free, deregulated market.
Second, the publisher has a greater responsibility to its employees and shareholders than to you, so it needs to maximize its product prices and profit margins.
From your sig, I thought you would have grasped these basic facts.
"2) It's FEDERAL LAW. No one smokes on an airplane, period. Are they supposed to just throw away the law because some addicted nut pulls out a helmet?"
Depends. Are we talking about the Lesser Helmet of +5 Charisma for 8,000GP, or the Greater Helmet of +10 Charisma for 24,000GP?
>;-)
Here here!, I agree. Now if only they'd sue someone named Beechslap to complete the loop...
"For this reason the firefox team would do well by continuing to encourage developers to make more really useful extensions - things likes calendars, flash and ad-blockers, bookmarking tools and download managers all make the idea of moving from firefox very remote for me."
I agree, but did you know that every time Firefox comes out with a new incremental 0.0.1 upgrade, all the extension folks have to re-write their extensions to make them work with the new FF version?
I'm guessing that this will piss off a *lot* of average PC users when they realize that when they upgraded FF, they now have to track down the new versions of the extensions they've been using (assuming there are new versions put out by the developer), they have to download them, and then they have to manually install them. For the sake of FF, I genuinely hope FF's developers address this issue so that it's easier for the enduser. Otherwise, the enduser can just go back to IE6 or 7.
"Any bank that requires you to run an application on your computer isn't doing it right."
You are undoubtedly correct, but I'm betting the consultants that the bank hired to help them move to the WWW told them to do it this way. In the absence of any other intelligent in-bank alternatives, or inthe stupidity of not getting second opinions, they went this route.
"Also, the bug that causes the user to lose the entire contents of their hard disk drive while uninstalling Firefox 1.0 is worrysome."
/WILL/ be a major pain in the butt for all the average users who don't want to laboriously re-install their extensions after every upgrade. For an interesting take on this, about halfway down the page:
No offense intended, but like the post above me asked, either provide proof in the form of a link, or shut up.
On an unrelated note, while Firefox is doing better, the FF team needs to figure out what they're going to do about the extensions mess. Every incremental x.x.1 upgrade of Firefox forces the extension developers to recode their extensions to work with the new FF version. While that may be fine for geeks like us, it
Force extensions to work with 1.0.1
http://www.windowssecrets.com/comp/050310
"And, as peculiar it may sound, both competitors are holding their breath to see what the pornographic industry will decide."
Having the bigger disc size might put Blu-Ray ahead, but I'm guessing PornWorld isn't just looking for who's bigger, but for who can do more with the entrenched audience they already have.
"I for one can't wait for this crap to get settled out so we can just enjoy having huge discs."
Uh, Taco, some of us don't have to wait for this to be settled to have huge discs. Rrrrroooowwwrrrr!
" because I have a habit of rolling the wheel when I try to click it. I prefer designs that put a button under the thumb."
Hmmm, my mileage varies. I can't imagine anything worse than a scroll whell under the thumb. Just stick it between the two primary buttons where my more-dextrous index finger can use it.
John, listen closely, it's four letters and 11 words. PHBs - they don't give a flying crap if you can do something.
In Corporate Land, the needs or desires of Slashdot-style geeks fall about ten levels of importance below the texture of the toilet paper in the corporate wash room. Until there's a consistent way to embarrass these companies and highlight these abuses in ways that will generate sufficient heat to make Sony back up, nothing's going to change to address your needs unless there are some mod chippers who think they won't get caught.
I did a Google search on cool programming for kids, no quotes, and found a lot. Also worth noting about programming, copied and pasted as-is:
"They should learn the syntax after they see the example, not before. They should be provoked to answer questions in a Socratic style. They should solve their programming problems out loud, say their answers in English, then convert to code. Syntax should come last. This is the exact opposite of an adult class."
Mod parent up. By letting them futz around with a limited set of live code, and immediately seeing what differences their input made, it should hook some of them. Best yet, leave the code with the kids and they can take it home and do it themselves.
Ouch, that is cruelly hilarious. Still, it made me laugh out loud...
I'm honestly not whipping out a stupid Political Correctness stick, but try to think of demonstrating something that has a big /COOL/ factor for both sexes in your class, or demonstrate two things, each of which might appeal to either sex. Demoing Madden 2004 might work for the boys, but will probably be a bore to the girls.
I'd suggest showing off software about music, the WWW, instant messaging or IRC, or non-NeoMasculine games a la Madden.
In the end, consider asking any kids with your family or friends what they think is cool PC-wise. They should be able to give you insights that an adult wouldn't have the perspective to realize, and will help make your presentation a winner.
Not a bad idea, but I prefer the term 'user.' It's sexier, is more robust, has fewer syllables, and it takes less time to type out when combined with the letter L. It's also more one-hand friendly. :-D
"So why, exactly, should I be pining for a format war?"
The poster was being sarcastic since clearly, no one wants a format war if it can avoided.
He's complaining about that same thing I noted above, and that you replied to. If you want the same functionality from Firefox that you already have in Mozilla, you have to play Whack The Mole with a bunch of different extension downloads that may or may not be rebuilt to work with the latest version of Firefox. As-is, Firefox isn't nearly as functional as Mozilla browser.
Yes, you're right, but instead of defaulting to the base behavior of Mozilla, the developers made the decision to completely change the behaviors unless you're willing to muck about in the config file to restore that functionality.
For me, it was annoying but fixable, and points 4, 5, and unnamed 6-x still stand. For newbies or the tech-shy who aren't comfortable tooling around in the config file, they're stuck with these behaviors until their son visits to fix these 'problems' (hopefully before they exercised their right to say "screw it" and switch back to IE).
In short, none of their decisions are fatal, but IMO they add to the annoying factor that cruds up the acceptance rate. YMMV.
For what it's worth, I agree with you, especially on the note that all extensions require separate downloading and installation (annoying!). It's even worse when you realize that every time FF comes out with a new version, all the extensions have to be rebuilt to keep with the newest release.
I can't code, like 90+% of the public, but I've contributed money to the project in the hope that it won't die. I hope some of it goes to maturely recognizing Firefox's deficiencies compared to Mozilla and fixing them. A browser isn't just a rendering engine, it's an experience and a UI.
"Is there some great advantage that I'm not thinking of to having a giant bundled suite of apps, rather than five or six individual downloads?"
/large/, not /micro/ address field takes me to the Google results page where my brain can eyeball the best possible results, instead of annoyingly, automatically taking me to the "I'm Feeling Lucky" result.
It's not that, it's that Mozilla's behaviors and interface are much, much smoother compared to my experience with Firefox 1.0.0. Some key UI examples:
* When I download from Mozilla, it automatically allows me to choose where it's going, instead of defaulting to what it thinks is best.
* The address and search bar are combined - not separate, which means extra keystrokes to do what previously took one.
* Searching from the
* Removing features so that we get to play whack the mole with multiple extension downloads, installations, and configurations.
* If you separately download Firefox, Thunderbird, and the components which give you the same functionality as Moz 1.7.x, they take up more space and have a larger memory footprint than the "kitchen sink" suite.
There are other annoying issues to boot, but listing all of them is just kicking a baby. For now, IMO, Firefox is nowhere near as nice as Mozilla 1.7.x.
It seems the facts bear you out about Nelson, even if they don't say so explicitly:
http://snipurl.com/dbbr (A Google cache of Linux at NASA).