Because it's human nature to enjoy being validated, even if it's just a validation of your tastes. Just as children enjoy being told that their drawings are good, adults enjoy having some aspect of their personality praised, whether it's their sense of humor or their taste in movies.
Sure, but yelling at a TV set, or applauding (which seems to happen a bit in theaters) seems self-congratulatory.
Just to be clear, I haven't even seen ROTK (not out on DVD where I live); I'm speaking generally.
I don't watch the "Oscars" as with the Grammys and a few other award shows, I feel they're pretty phoney. It's Hollywood's big chance to toot its horn, but I see enough movies to realize some of the best don't stand a snowball's chance in hell against the much promoted favorites. It's rather like going to the track where half the horses are ballyhooed no end, while the other horses gates are locked just to be sure there's no surprises.
Let's see if he actually ends up serving 3 years. Maybe the judge had in mind that a 3 year sentence would be more like 1 or 1.5 after parole. A financial penalty alone isn't much of a penalty if he made all his money from the crime.
I'm disappointed not to see some of that $1,000,000 going to pay fines, but he may lose it all in civil court, now that he's admited his goal.
Perhaps Bob The Big Prison Rapist will mistake him for a girly...
Many people have posted that they require a proprietary cable to flash firmware. I have the same issue with my Motorola i90c phone, but bought the cable.
Is there a market for including a "universal" firmware upgrade access port, coupled with a cable that connects to a PC's serial port?
Some newer laptops lack serial ports, so maybe something like USB could be used?
I did a quick look around and the cable for the 'scope (Meade #505) is $25 for the real deal and $20 for a 'compatible' cable.
If you've been into tech like I have for the past 20 years, you've got a box of cables, power supply blocks and odd bits most of which you're not sure what they go to, if you still have it and are afraid to throw them out. This box, above all my worldly things, will be my legacy.
Actually, I consider myself tech-savvy, but I've just got too damn many things I'm trying to remember how to use, let alone keep a calendar of upgrades and latest versions. Don't get me wrong, it's better to get a bug fix or upgrade (where reasonably necessary), but, like keeping plug-ins up to date (Adobe Acrobat, Real, Flash, to name a few) I'm generally disposed to keep plodding along with what I have until I reach the pain threshold (either it's unusable or the constant upgrading ticks me off and I cast it aside, like Real.)
Now I've found my telescope (Meade ETX-125AC) Autostar computer can be upgraded, but with a special cable for my purchasing pleasure. Hm.
Who said it'd be GPL? Most likely, they'd keep it under something similar to the Sun Industry Standards Source license ala Oo.o, which IIRC gives them a bit more control.
I meant OS contributions that find their way into Sun's version (with GPL tag attached, like those found on mattresses.)
computers can recognize patterns and allow programming based on these patterns to say, know if a mouse is thinking about pushing his water lever.
Sounds like an old joke we shared around the IT dept about 20 years ago related to 'anticipatory paging', why not anticipatory programming.
Hmm. Useful
This could save some of the
effort of heavy lifting of that axe or driving that nail.
"after the nth time the process failed I gave the computer such a look that the software uninstalled itself, the harddrive crashed and the O/s committed suicide."
I cant see clearly at all that an open-source java would necessarily outpace a proprietary version, why do you assume that that would be the case? I'm confused.
You can't see and OS imp of Java hardening and improving in ways Sun would have to include in a proprietary copy? I think Sun has done a fine job, but they'll be left in a position of also ran unless they're targeting their proprietary version for their own development (which doesn't strike me as a successful ploy in the long term, either.)
Then there will be enough libre programmers to make decent libre IDEs etc, and the proprietary Java will wither away (and Sun with it).
This, aside from Sun withering away, is what I see, too. Or possibly worse, a fork. Anything added to the OSS that finds its way into Suns would likely fall under the GPL, how's Sun feel about that? Clearly Sun and IBM have some things to sort out.
Sun officials planned to meet with IBM as early as Thursday to discuss the merits of whether the company should work with IBM on an independent project to create an open-source implementation of Java.
Wait... an.. implementation?
Rick Ross, president of Javalobby Inc., of Cary, N.C., an association of Java developers with more than 100,000 members, said, "On the surface, Rod's reply indicates a clear willingness on IBM's behalf to invest in an independent, open-source Java implementation that would benefit everyone"
What? Two Javas? This sounds weird. Obviously an open source implementation will grow and respond to demand rapidly and outpace something proprietary, yet it sounds like there will still be a proprietary version. Can anyone shed light on this? I'm confused.
What about that dumb-looking CG dog that appears by default when you go to search for a file in Windows XP Pro? What kind of a "pro" would consider that a useful feature?
Yeah, what we really need is an animation of John Ashcroft.
So your stress level has gone up because the company you work for has decided to lower the stress level of their customers, who wanted GUIs with on-screen help, intuitive interfaces, and the like. So the company has decided that the people who pay them should have less stress, while the people who they pay can handle a little more.
Sorry, but it seems pretty reasonable to me.
Assuming everything worked as expected it would seem reasonable to me, too. However, the more parts there are to a process, the more likely it is to break somewhere. Once there were one or two parts, now there can be 5, 6 or more. Also, parts of that process are subject to change independently or not follow the current documentation. Worst of all, I'd say, is expecting so much production and support from few points. Then there's the funny bit where the app you create for the customer (to make their life easy, remember?) gets so convoluted they can't figure it out or misuse it (what's happening where I work right now with a vendor's product.)
There's a happy medium somewhere, but reeling in expectations to what's needed (rather than wanted) is a great place to start.
When I'm working, I'm almost always multitasking on my 3 computers (gotta keep that productivity up!!). I have to make sure to answer my cell phone, pager and work phone, often using the phone while typing or working on a project. Those people who used to concentrate on just one thing at once were really missing out. No matter where I am, someone will always be able to get ahold of me, but it doesn't matter, I don't need any time to myself. Of course, I have to work more in order to keep up with the tech trends. When I'm too busy working, I use my TiVo to record anything I may miss.
I'm sorry if I read this wrong, but it appears a bit facetious, and you mean your life is overrun by technology and your dependence upon and servitude of.
Assuming you were driving and your cell phone came on and you were suddenly drawn into a conference call, your lack of attention to driving (and possible slowing down to avoid an accident as attention is divided) your apparent change of attitude in driving is observed by other drivers. The change lanes to get around you, or sit there and put up with it (possibly stewing over the situation) other drivers shift to accomodate, and so on. Perhaps time at work, to keep your job, places stress upon the family and how they interact with others. And so on.
It does seem that KISS has been thrown out the window, to make life easier for someone, somewhere, but a lot of people are being put upon to make that happen. Maybe someone is suffering because they've slaved away under stress to give you the tools and devices you depend upon. Is more actually getting done, or is technology simply a circular treadmill with several people on it at once?
Clippy: Microsoft's way of telling you you're stupid and need help. Kinda like the messenger and flashing red stuff in XP or even modal prompts which freeze other related processes.
I don't know what's more disturbing. These helpers or the fact some people actually like them.
Years ago I was a happy little coder, plodding through Pascal, Basic, Assembler, C, etc., doing amazing things, datawarehousing and stuff with simple terminal interfaces
Then came GUI's, not so bad but designing a GUI application required more time.
Then came GUI apps for people who can't follow directions or need lots of verification so apps have to access servers constantly and there's always the worry about time-out, so it has to be bullet-proof and tolerant. More time developing.
Last came web apps, which are a masochists dream come true. The target browser behaves stupidly (I'll let you guess which one, but it starts with an 'I') and you have to trap all sorts of junk with javascript before you even get to the app. I needs all sorts
of little pop-up doo-dads to help people so they don't need to memorize anything or have a guide by their desk. Then the server has to make sense of things that you've already tried to verify at the point of entry, then you've got dozens of stored procedures and
modules and the spec changes in some critical way you have to go back and completely re-engineer the app, because some things can only be done in a certain order (pre-requisite info). All this is expected to be done as fast as when I coded in all those old languages for a dumb terminal. You also have to work out the
interfaces and how to do things in a half dozen toolkits, some or all of which you get no training on because there's no time for it or no budget, or nobody even offers training. Budgets are lean, so there's no Q/A people or their stretched very thin, do the testing yourself, do the docs yourself, do it all yourself. Very stressful.
I can't help wondering if they're anticipating a sales problem. If a CEO sees an upgrade request and "knows" that upgrading helps security issues, they're sure to say yes. Unless, of course the CEO thinks that the upgrade is really just another type of patch or realizes that they will get forced into a costly upgrade spiral. But, I wouldn't want to give anyone any ideas.
Best bet: Get a firewall and not one running the stupid OS you're trying to shield from the outside.
Seems like vertical marketing, doesn't it? Back when IBM had the PS/2 you could only upgrade so much before you had to get a bigger box, but no box ever seemed to be sufficient for more than a year. Too bad for IBM that other companies were all over the place that sold boxes that you could upgrade to your hearts content.
Microsoft doesn't have a competitor, i.e. Thrudco Windows. You have to buy their OS if you buy into their argument that newest version==most secure (remember the XP ads, most secure ever? Pinocchio, eat your heart out boy) Built in Profit machine. Just upgrade, and conveniently they have a *NEW* OS every few years ready for your buying and installing pleasure.
Other ridiculous statements that have also been proven false.
Or pretty close to false. The BBC has had a great track record of interrogating people (includingworld leaders who could order the deaths of their correspondents), I wonder why this was so soft on 'experts' (0==0 except where 1==0).
Meanwhile they're doing a bang-up job on thursdays explaining the war on terrorism (a pretty good series which highlights intelligence failures around the world.)
Malicious hackers and vandals are lazy and wait for Microsoft to issue patches before they produce tools to work out how to exploit loopholes in Windows, say experts.
I love how people with vested interests are called 'experts'
thhhhhhhhhtttt *choke* *gag* "ahhhhhhh" So as I was saying, hackers haven't found any of these flaws and exploited them before they were patched. Man, this is some strong crack, I almost believe what I said, myself"
And how do these fine experts actually know there aren't, at this moment, flaws being exploited left and right? Ah, they're experts, of course!
Linux + OS Java is not something a certain proprietary company would like to see. Really does present a dynamite combination the more I think about it.
Slashdot Mirror
Ah, so the names probably go like:
San Andreas==Los Angeles
Liberty City==Philadelphia
Vice City==New York City
They oughta try some variations on the GTA idea:
Grand Theft Pickup Truck: Dallas
Grand Theft Tractor: Des Moines
Grand Theft Segway: Cleveland
Grand Theft Pinto: Detroit
Grand Theft SUV: San Jose
Grand Theft Burro: Guadalajara
Grand Theft Moose: Chilliwac
Grand Theft Tricycle: Neverland Ranch
San Andreas? Where'd they get that name? How about Grand Theft Bicycle: Vatican
Sure, but yelling at a TV set, or applauding (which seems to happen a bit in theaters) seems self-congratulatory.
Just to be clear, I haven't even seen ROTK (not out on DVD where I live); I'm speaking generally.
I don't watch the "Oscars" as with the Grammys and a few other award shows, I feel they're pretty phoney. It's Hollywood's big chance to toot its horn, but I see enough movies to realize some of the best don't stand a snowball's chance in hell against the much promoted favorites. It's rather like going to the track where half the horses are ballyhooed no end, while the other horses gates are locked just to be sure there's no surprises.
I'm disappointed not to see some of that $1,000,000 going to pay fines, but he may lose it all in civil court, now that he's admited his goal.
Perhaps Bob The Big Prison Rapist will mistake him for a girly...
DeCSS ok, but not DVD X-Copy. Why is that? Because DeCSS doesn't do anything by itself, but having X Copy demonstrates criminal intent?
1) Announce Product with features X, Y and Z
2) Ship Product with feature X
3) ???
4) Go bankrupt.
Nope. Look at this way. Product is loss leader, cable and other bits to upgrade are Profit.
Go on, doubt me, I dare you.
Is there a market for including a "universal" firmware upgrade access port, coupled with a cable that connects to a PC's serial port?
Some newer laptops lack serial ports, so maybe something like USB could be used?
I did a quick look around and the cable for the 'scope (Meade #505) is $25 for the real deal and $20 for a 'compatible' cable.
If you've been into tech like I have for the past 20 years, you've got a box of cables, power supply blocks and odd bits most of which you're not sure what they go to, if you still have it and are afraid to throw them out. This box, above all my worldly things, will be my legacy.
Now I've found my telescope (Meade ETX-125AC) Autostar computer can be upgraded, but with a special cable for my purchasing pleasure. Hm.
I meant OS contributions that find their way into Sun's version (with GPL tag attached, like those found on mattresses.)
Well, so they claim, it's a robot that just appeared one day and keeps complaining about this horrible pain in all the diodes down its left side.
What? Outlook automatically downloads all youre V1@gr@ spam onto your drive for your perusal?
Sounds like an old joke we shared around the IT dept about 20 years ago related to 'anticipatory paging', why not anticipatory programming. Hmm. Useful
"after the nth time the process failed I gave the computer such a look that the software uninstalled itself, the harddrive crashed and the O/s committed suicide."
You can't see and OS imp of Java hardening and improving in ways Sun would have to include in a proprietary copy? I think Sun has done a fine job, but they'll be left in a position of also ran unless they're targeting their proprietary version for their own development (which doesn't strike me as a successful ploy in the long term, either.)
This, aside from Sun withering away, is what I see, too. Or possibly worse, a fork. Anything added to the OSS that finds its way into Suns would likely fall under the GPL, how's Sun feel about that? Clearly Sun and IBM have some things to sort out.
Wait... an .. implementation?
Rick Ross, president of Javalobby Inc., of Cary, N.C., an association of Java developers with more than 100,000 members, said, "On the surface, Rod's reply indicates a clear willingness on IBM's behalf to invest in an independent, open-source Java implementation that would benefit everyone"
What? Two Javas? This sounds weird. Obviously an open source implementation will grow and respond to demand rapidly and outpace something proprietary, yet it sounds like there will still be a proprietary version. Can anyone shed light on this? I'm confused.
Maybe Larry doesn't contribute enough towards ... uh .. certain funding. Then again, maybe PeopleSoft has connections.
After the spying on the UN scandals in the news this morning my head is swimming.
Yeah, what we really need is an animation of John Ashcroft.
Sorry, but it seems pretty reasonable to me.
Assuming everything worked as expected it would seem reasonable to me, too. However, the more parts there are to a process, the more likely it is to break somewhere. Once there were one or two parts, now there can be 5, 6 or more. Also, parts of that process are subject to change independently or not follow the current documentation. Worst of all, I'd say, is expecting so much production and support from few points. Then there's the funny bit where the app you create for the customer (to make their life easy, remember?) gets so convoluted they can't figure it out or misuse it (what's happening where I work right now with a vendor's product.)
There's a happy medium somewhere, but reeling in expectations to what's needed (rather than wanted) is a great place to start.
Assuming you were driving and your cell phone came on and you were suddenly drawn into a conference call, your lack of attention to driving (and possible slowing down to avoid an accident as attention is divided) your apparent change of attitude in driving is observed by other drivers. The change lanes to get around you, or sit there and put up with it (possibly stewing over the situation) other drivers shift to accomodate, and so on. Perhaps time at work, to keep your job, places stress upon the family and how they interact with others. And so on.
It does seem that KISS has been thrown out the window, to make life easier for someone, somewhere, but a lot of people are being put upon to make that happen. Maybe someone is suffering because they've slaved away under stress to give you the tools and devices you depend upon. Is more actually getting done, or is technology simply a circular treadmill with several people on it at once?
I don't know what's more disturbing. These helpers or the fact some people actually like them.
Years ago I was a happy little coder, plodding through Pascal, Basic, Assembler, C, etc., doing amazing things, datawarehousing and stuff with simple terminal interfaces
Then came GUI's, not so bad but designing a GUI application required more time.
Then came GUI apps for people who can't follow directions or need lots of verification so apps have to access servers constantly and there's always the worry about time-out, so it has to be bullet-proof and tolerant. More time developing.
Last came web apps, which are a masochists dream come true. The target browser behaves stupidly (I'll let you guess which one, but it starts with an 'I') and you have to trap all sorts of junk with javascript before you even get to the app. I needs all sorts of little pop-up doo-dads to help people so they don't need to memorize anything or have a guide by their desk. Then the server has to make sense of things that you've already tried to verify at the point of entry, then you've got dozens of stored procedures and modules and the spec changes in some critical way you have to go back and completely re-engineer the app, because some things can only be done in a certain order (pre-requisite info). All this is expected to be done as fast as when I coded in all those old languages for a dumb terminal. You also have to work out the interfaces and how to do things in a half dozen toolkits, some or all of which you get no training on because there's no time for it or no budget, or nobody even offers training. Budgets are lean, so there's no Q/A people or their stretched very thin, do the testing yourself, do the docs yourself, do it all yourself. Very stressful.
Best bet: Get a firewall and not one running the stupid OS you're trying to shield from the outside.
Seems like vertical marketing, doesn't it? Back when IBM had the PS/2 you could only upgrade so much before you had to get a bigger box, but no box ever seemed to be sufficient for more than a year. Too bad for IBM that other companies were all over the place that sold boxes that you could upgrade to your hearts content.
Microsoft doesn't have a competitor, i.e. Thrudco Windows. You have to buy their OS if you buy into their argument that newest version==most secure (remember the XP ads, most secure ever? Pinocchio, eat your heart out boy) Built in Profit machine. Just upgrade, and conveniently they have a *NEW* OS every few years ready for your buying and installing pleasure.
Or pretty close to false. The BBC has had a great track record of interrogating people (includingworld leaders who could order the deaths of their correspondents), I wonder why this was so soft on 'experts' (0==0 except where 1==0).
Meanwhile they're doing a bang-up job on thursdays explaining the war on terrorism (a pretty good series which highlights intelligence failures around the world.)
I love how people with vested interests are called 'experts'
thhhhhhhhhtttt *choke* *gag* "ahhhhhhh" So as I was saying, hackers haven't found any of these flaws and exploited them before they were patched. Man, this is some strong crack, I almost believe what I said, myself"
And how do these fine experts actually know there aren't, at this moment, flaws being exploited left and right? Ah, they're experts, of course!
Linux + OS Java is not something a certain proprietary company would like to see. Really does present a dynamite combination the more I think about it.