If this was integrated with urpmi (or something else that did automatic dependencies) then any gui installer could really kick some butt, because whatever it installed would be available to the package manager, but the installer could install however it wanted.
Maybe not exactly on the same lines, but on my linux server I use RPMs, and I find it extremely convenient to run 2 scripts I wrote that back up certain files:
Script 1 runs "rpm -Va" and checks the output for any files that have a different MD5 sum. It tars up all of these. (Most are in/etc).
Script 2 looks at each file under given directories (I run it under/etc,/usr/local, and/var) and for any file found that doesn't belong to an rpm, it tars up.
The result is this: if I had to reinstall things how I have them now on a new system, I can easily see which rpm files I changed (and have the changes right there), and also which files I added (also tar'd up).
This is much easier than copying/etc somewhere, then referring to it on a new system. Sure you can see which files are different, but are they different because you changed them or because the newer rpm changed them?
And of course, I keep a list of installed rpms. (rpm -qa > rpm.list).
The first is to select the file in the Finder, and drag it to a new location while holding down the Option and Command keys (or select Make Alias from the File menu). This creates a Mac OS alias that Cocoa, Carbon, and Classic applications can follow. However, Unix applications will ignore those links, seeing them as zero-byte files.
You can also create a link with ln or ln -s. If you use this kind of link, Unix, Cocoa, Carbon, and Classic applications will happily follow it.
I have no knowledge of the reasons for this design decision, but why isn't it just "All links are symlinks, no matter where they came from"?
Having links that the gui creates be incompatible with the command line, but having links the command line makes be compatible with the gui, just creates complication.
This is why I subscribe to the Mandrake Security mailing list. I got an e-mail about this a little while back, did a "urpmi --auto-select", saw ssl in there, and bang. No more problem for me.
Writing uninitialized memory isn't a problem, it's reading uninitialized memory that causes unpredictable results.
Unless, of course, you meant the pointer to the dynamic memory was the uninitialized bit, but in that case, you're still reading the uninitialized pointer to find where to write, so again, it's reading uninitialized memory that causes problems.
I do somewhat the same thing, but it's more like "Yeah, this is the decision maker of the household. You're selling what? I'm totally interested! Let me just get my credit card..."
That's when I put the phone down. When they think they have a sale, you'd be surprised as to how long they'll wait. I think my record is 50-ish minutes.
And if you order something online w/o verifying HTTPS, you're a moron.
Really? How about all of the people who do online shopping, but know nothing more than point-and-click? Let me put it another way: How many people that shop online could answer what 'https' stands for? Or even 'http'? And why https is a good thing when shopping with credit card numbers? I don't think a majority of the people fall into this category...
Don't be so quick to assume that all computer users have any idea what they are doing other than to click where it says to. That's what makes computers so easy to use. Unfortunately, it also makes it easier for malicious people to take advantage of others. But this has been a trade off in many things...
A well designed OS would not barf all over itself and dy because of a bad driver. The driver/device might fail, but the OS would chug right along.
Are you serious? I could write a linux module that, when loaded, destroyed the system. A poorly written module can cause the OS to do just about anything. The benefits of open source include spotting poorly written modules instantly by checking out the code.
That sucks. When I moved to New York, they put my name on my license as "First Initial" "Middle Initial" "Last Name" because if they wrote out either my first or middle names, the last name wouldn't fit (it's 11 characters).
Go figure. I hope I don't move to your state, because they'll never accept my license there:)
Apache has the ability to serve up every page gzipped from disk, on the fly, and since most web browsers automatically gunzip data streams that don't end in.gz, this saves bandwidth all over the place.
Why doesn't slashdot make a local mirror or a page on their servers, good while the story is on the front page? I mean the slash servers can obviously handle the pressure...
There are other alternatives too. Like automatically checking google to see if google has a cache entry, and providing a second link there. Or maybe copying the page to something like freenet. Use your imagination.
I understand that for a lot of pages and sites that fall within reach of slashdot destruction, the material is copyrighted. But isn't this just creating a cache of the page? This doesn't seem much different than an ISP transparently proxying all of the web connections via squid and caching their own pages...
Well anyway, there are things that can be done. Why not look around?
I think a bigger picture really needs to be examined in this (and many other areas) of computing in general before software can begin to follow Moore's law as closely as hardware has and does.
First, the ideas presented in the article make a lot of sense, but for a Linux system that uses RPM. Why should my software have to be distributed in an RPM on linux? That's silly. As a developer, one should describe the files in the program (like RPM spec files do), but leave the locations of things like configuration files, documentation, and installation points be left up to the OS, the evnironment, or the end user.
Actaully, I don't even believe that my program should be writing configuration files. As a developer, my application should simply encapsulate the internal state that defines its "configutaion" into some format and let some external service handle how it is stored on a permanent basis. Linux and unix can store my configuration in/etc/appname, Windows can put it in the registry, Mac can put it wherever it wants, etc.
I believe that the "package" format in which something is distributed shouldn't encapsulate locations at all, except for relative things that may be internal to the program. Let the environment decide how to locate other binaries, libraries, and files that the application might need, either via XXX_PATH variables, file system standards, or whatever flies on the user's system at the time. As a developer, why should it matter to me, and why should I have to deal with the changes?
As wine improves, more and more applications can be installed with it. The main problem is that Install Shield is advancing faster than wine is, but I've installed Lotus Notes entirely in linux before. (It's a work thing, unfortunately, and if I can get out of windows by running Lotus Notes in Linux, I'm all for it.)
Ah, but you are assuming that the 1x cost won't come back and bite you when the program needs to be...
Maintained
Updated
Modified
Enhanced
etc...
I would rather spend 5x on a program that was well written and could be easily modified, even by someone else, for as little as another 1x, than spend 1x on a program that needs another 8x in the future to figure out how to make it work, or scrap it altogether and re-write another version because it was written poorly to begin with.
-Serp
Here's where I'd like to start...
on
Windows in 2020
·
· Score: 0
I read slashdot often, and I see countless posts about people giving their reasons for why Microsoft still has the desktop market by far, and why they think that everyone should run Something Else(tm). I agree that Windows isn't my favorite operating system, but I will also agree that nothing else comes close to supporting the games I play, the hardware I own, and the simplicity of setting it all up from scratch very quickly.
Don't get me wrong, I use linux and unix (Solaris, HP-UX, and AIX) constantly. It's my job. I'm a systems programmer for a large company, and all the software I write has to be supported on all of those systems, both 32 and 64 bit. We don't support windows, because it would be too much of a porting headache.
My point is that if all of you zealots want to get vendor's support on more than Windows, we have to show the World what linux/unix/other operating systems can do.
I have never seen a Linux add on TV. Of course, I don't watch TV anymore, but I bet if there were some Alternative OS advertisements on TV about "Free, powerful, productive, (fill in *nix strength here)" then people might open their eyes. Maybe it won't be a big start, but its a start.
Who knows, maybe with some time and Spreading The Word, individuals will start inquiring around work, school, computer dealers, and a movement might begin. Maybe not. But would it be so hard to try?
Slashdot Mirror
700 hours. Free.
In the first month, maybe. And if you use 700 hours of AOL in the first month, you are one of their target customers, and you belong on AOL.
It uses ints, which are signed, and only checks one bound (the upper one). If I said
array[-2]
I would get back a bad result. Even worse,
array[-2] = 5
would overwrite someone else's memory.
Bounds checking means bounds checking - both sides need to be checked (or use an unsigned index).
Look at checkinstall
If this was integrated with urpmi (or something else that did automatic dependencies) then any gui installer could really kick some butt, because whatever it installed would be available to the package manager, but the installer could install however it wanted.
the talking to the other players feature is amazing (finally some REAL socializing in a game)
Dude, go outside
There are already programs for the computer that allow you to talk to the other players...
... like Roger Wilco for one.
Maybe not exactly on the same lines, but on my linux server I use RPMs, and I find it extremely convenient to run 2 scripts I wrote that back up certain files:
/etc).
/etc, /usr/local, and /var) and for any file found that doesn't belong to an rpm, it tars up.
/etc somewhere, then referring to it on a new system. Sure you can see which files are different, but are they different because you changed them or because the newer rpm changed them?
Script 1 runs "rpm -Va" and checks the output for any files that have a different MD5 sum. It tars up all of these. (Most are in
Script 2 looks at each file under given directories (I run it under
The result is this: if I had to reinstall things how I have them now on a new system, I can easily see which rpm files I changed (and have the changes right there), and also which files I added (also tar'd up).
This is much easier than copying
And of course, I keep a list of installed rpms. (rpm -qa > rpm.list).
-Serp
The first is to select the file in the Finder, and drag it to a new location while holding down the Option and Command keys (or select Make Alias from the File menu). This creates a Mac OS alias that Cocoa, Carbon, and Classic applications can follow. However, Unix applications will ignore those links, seeing them as zero-byte files.
You can also create a link with ln or ln -s. If you use this kind of link, Unix, Cocoa, Carbon, and Classic applications will happily follow it.
I have no knowledge of the reasons for this design decision, but why isn't it just "All links are symlinks, no matter where they came from"?
Having links that the gui creates be incompatible with the command line, but having links the command line makes be compatible with the gui, just creates complication.
Apple's been on this site before... The Interface Hall of Shame
802.11b! Peer to peer sharing on the mountain! I hope it catches on :)
-Serp
This is why I subscribe to the Mandrake Security mailing list. I got an e-mail about this a little while back, did a "urpmi --auto-select", saw ssl in there, and bang. No more problem for me.
-Serp
Writing uninitialized memory isn't a problem, it's reading uninitialized memory that causes unpredictable results.
Unless, of course, you meant the pointer to the dynamic memory was the uninitialized bit, but in that case, you're still reading the uninitialized pointer to find where to write, so again, it's reading uninitialized memory that causes problems.
that one song that I heard the other week...
i think it was after this one...
no no, about 200 back from here (scroll...)
was it around here? maybe down a few... (tap tap tap)...
*incoming telephone pole*
I do somewhat the same thing, but it's more like "Yeah, this is the decision maker of the household. You're selling what? I'm totally interested! Let me just get my credit card..."
That's when I put the phone down. When they think they have a sale, you'd be surprised as to how long they'll wait. I think my record is 50-ish minutes.
And if you order something online w/o verifying HTTPS, you're a moron.
Really? How about all of the people who do online shopping, but know nothing more than point-and-click? Let me put it another way: How many people that shop online could answer what 'https' stands for? Or even 'http'? And why https is a good thing when shopping with credit card numbers? I don't think a majority of the people fall into this category...
Don't be so quick to assume that all computer users have any idea what they are doing other than to click where it says to. That's what makes computers so easy to use. Unfortunately, it also makes it easier for malicious people to take advantage of others. But this has been a trade off in many things...
A well designed OS would not barf all over itself and dy because of a bad driver. The driver/device might fail, but the OS would chug right along.
Are you serious? I could write a linux module that, when loaded, destroyed the system. A poorly written module can cause the OS to do just about anything. The benefits of open source include spotting poorly written modules instantly by checking out the code.
That sucks. When I moved to New York, they put my name on my license as "First Initial" "Middle Initial" "Last Name" because if they wrote out either my first or middle names, the last name wouldn't fit (it's 11 characters).
:)
Go figure. I hope I don't move to your state, because they'll never accept my license there
Apache has the ability to serve up every page gzipped from disk, on the fly, and since most web browsers automatically gunzip data streams that don't end in .gz, this saves bandwidth all over the place.
-Serp
Why doesn't slashdot make a local mirror or a page on their servers, good while the story is on the front page? I mean the slash servers can obviously handle the pressure...
There are other alternatives too. Like automatically checking google to see if google has a cache entry, and providing a second link there. Or maybe copying the page to something like freenet. Use your imagination.
I understand that for a lot of pages and sites that fall within reach of slashdot destruction, the material is copyrighted. But isn't this just creating a cache of the page? This doesn't seem much different than an ISP transparently proxying all of the web connections via squid and caching their own pages...
Well anyway, there are things that can be done. Why not look around?
I think a bigger picture really needs to be examined in this (and many other areas) of computing in general before software can begin to follow Moore's law as closely as hardware has and does.
/etc/appname, Windows can put it in the registry, Mac can put it wherever it wants, etc.
First, the ideas presented in the article make a lot of sense, but for a Linux system that uses RPM. Why should my software have to be distributed in an RPM on linux? That's silly. As a developer, one should describe the files in the program (like RPM spec files do), but leave the locations of things like configuration files, documentation, and installation points be left up to the OS, the evnironment, or the end user.
Actaully, I don't even believe that my program should be writing configuration files. As a developer, my application should simply encapsulate the internal state that defines its "configutaion" into some format and let some external service handle how it is stored on a permanent basis. Linux and unix can store my configuration in
I believe that the "package" format in which something is distributed shouldn't encapsulate locations at all, except for relative things that may be internal to the program. Let the environment decide how to locate other binaries, libraries, and files that the application might need, either via XXX_PATH variables, file system standards, or whatever flies on the user's system at the time. As a developer, why should it matter to me, and why should I have to deal with the changes?
better yet, create and use an identical account on the local machine and just run ssh ftp.site.com
Entirely pointless, especially if you're already set up on the local machine with a different username.
Instead, edit your ~/.ssh/config, make a section for your remote host, and specify the username there.
$ cat ~/.ssh/config
Host remotehost
User remoteuser
$
Bash:
(sort file1 | uniq -d; sort file2 | uniq -d) | sort | uniq -d
As wine improves, more and more applications can be installed with it. The main problem is that Install Shield is advancing faster than wine is, but I've installed Lotus Notes entirely in linux before. (It's a work thing, unfortunately, and if I can get out of windows by running Lotus Notes in Linux, I'm all for it.)
-Serp
theoretically many DirectX games should run under Windows
just about sums it all up.
-Serp
I would rather spend 5x on a program that was well written and could be easily modified, even by someone else, for as little as another 1x, than spend 1x on a program that needs another 8x in the future to figure out how to make it work, or scrap it altogether and re-write another version because it was written poorly to begin with.
-Serp
I read slashdot often, and I see countless posts about people giving their reasons for why Microsoft still has the desktop market by far, and why they think that everyone should run Something Else(tm). I agree that Windows isn't my favorite operating system, but I will also agree that nothing else comes close to supporting the games I play, the hardware I own, and the simplicity of setting it all up from scratch very quickly.
Don't get me wrong, I use linux and unix (Solaris, HP-UX, and AIX) constantly. It's my job. I'm a systems programmer for a large company, and all the software I write has to be supported on all of those systems, both 32 and 64 bit. We don't support windows, because it would be too much of a porting headache.
My point is that if all of you zealots want to get vendor's support on more than Windows, we have to show the World what linux/unix/other operating systems can do.
I have never seen a Linux add on TV. Of course, I don't watch TV anymore, but I bet if there were some Alternative OS advertisements on TV about "Free, powerful, productive, (fill in *nix strength here)" then people might open their eyes. Maybe it won't be a big start, but its a start.
Who knows, maybe with some time and Spreading The Word, individuals will start inquiring around work, school, computer dealers, and a movement might begin. Maybe not. But would it be so hard to try?
-Serp
Yeah, I must be... except if I take a look at "Help"... "About Netscape Navigator"... it tells me I'm not using IE. Moron.