Also, I had no idea 165 MILLION people were already using Passport - I suppose my
OS hasn't asked me enough times to sign up for it until I break under the strain...
On my 2+ year old laptop, w/w98, I still get an occasional [cannot find windows\..\..\outlook.exe] when I boot up. I never could findout what caused this extremely annoying thing to randomly launch and try to introduce me to the cuddly wonderful world of Outlook Express. I just got fed up and uninstalled it, but the bootup will still pester me. The bastards, not one fscking clue when it booted up on how to stop it from doing this, also killing it through the task manager was the only way I ever found of just getting rid of it, because it was designed to trap users into going through the tour, whether they had time and wanted to or not.
After all this time, now I'm finding other pre-installed stuff popping up, trying to dial out and update (often to dead URLs) and would like to see this preprogrammed behavior of software banned.
All the TV that was available was broadcast.. All the TV that is now available is more than what is broadcast. The difference and "quality of signal" are supposed to make up the difference in value. Still, americans now pay, quite a bit for an entertainment medium which is free. Once TV stations lower power or cut out transmitting all together, and reduce/eliminate overhead, what are you going to say, "I'm tired of paying $30+ a month, now give me back free TV"?
You have to be completely interchangeable and a lot cheaper.
Ok, I'll translate cheaper=less_expensive, but here's the predictable reactions:
Assume Brand X is the acceptable standard vendor
"Brand Y is less expensive" : "You get what you pay for"
"Brand Y is same price, but better" : "Nobody ever got fired for picking Brand X"
"Brand Y is more expensive, even if better" : "We'll go with Brand X, to save money."
One line arguments will not drive an entrenched standard from a business, but a very well done presentation can get the foot in the door. The problem is getting approval and funding to do such a study. Change, when I've seen it, usually has a patron, one willing to really stand up and fight if it's called for. Darn few of these people and sometimes they're idiots and do more damage than good.
When Microsoft does implode, it'll be because there's no longer any market left for them to grow into..NET is an effort to redefine the company, because simply selling software that does the job will produce declinging returns. Place M$ as a gatekeeper to commerce, communications, entertainment, business and home and they'll still hit this wall some day.
I'll give it a look, but aside from that, I've aready read Terry Pratchett's The Last Hero, which is profusely and beautifully illustrated (picturebook style) by Paul Kidby, which was a fun 4-5 hour read (only ~180 pages)
Also got a bulletin from Amazon.co.uk that he's got a 'childrens' book coming out shortly, too, Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, a Pied-Piper tale that goes awry (doesn't everything?) set in Diskworld.
Any mention of an Itanium counter to AMD's Hammer. With mid-2002 not so far away this would be the time for them to be drumming up interest in it. To be fair, I've checked the Comdex site for news or presskit from AMD and nothing so far, but I expect they must have something there, as this is where they'd run it up the flagpole and try to get potential customers to salute it.
When asked what
they thought of the Microsoft settlement half of Americans didn't care and the other half
were worried about anthrax.
Until americans begin receiving bills from Microsoft or their partners for services they can't get anywhere else and at rates they find outrageous, most won't care. There was once a time where all the TV that was available was broadcast for free, now millions are perfectly content to fork over $30+ a month for basic service. With scares over anthrax, threats against suspension bridges in the west, the world series and the ongoing bombing in Afghanistan, not too many people where I work are even aware there are issues with Microsoft, most seem to think the government is going after them because their Big.
Most state AG's aren't going to sign on to it, believing the remedy is too weak, particularly after the very strong victory of finding M$ guilty on monopoly charges. Barring M$ from entering into exclusive agreements really is BS, since their biggest partner has been themselves.
Looks like Bill, Steve and gang have finally learned the value of contributing heavily to campaign coffers.
he media that something resides on does not change the identity of what it is. Therefore a DVD-based movie is still a movie.
First off I consider analog or digital recordings, regardless of physical media, to be data. If, to manipulate that data, there resides on same media a mechanism, that should be considered software. Encrypted, compressed, whatever, it's data on your CD/DVD disk and to convert it to music requires logic circuitry and a D/A converter.
I've been to Digital Guru, which was comparable to the CL off Lawrence, it's OK, but didn't hold a candle to the main store off Trimble, that was geek heaven. Complete madness to close that store, I hope someone fills the gap, since sales will certainly not be replaced by sales on Fatbrain, from me anyway.
I was playing around with some C64 games with CCS this past weekend and, in the Halloween mood, recalled a spooky game I used to enjoy called Castles of Dr. Creep by Ed Hobbs. I just did a Google of the title and found a PC Beta version probably worth a look if you don't want to fool around with emulators. Looks cool and the came was a lot of fun on a C64, looks like Ed is still at it and has done a nice job.
I've played single player versions of NetHack for years, starting on my Amiga. I still have versions of HackLite and such, with pretty artwork done by the Software Distillery on there. The only time I defeated the Wizard of Yendor was on a PC, wich also had color, just representations of mobs were letters and characters instead of the nice colored tiles on the Amiga versions.
The complexity of these games, though, still blows away a lot of what's out today. Imagine taking the engine of NetHack, Larn, Moria or Omega and giving it a Quake like view. Sure, you'd have to impliment Real Time and handle interaction for far more than just point-and-shoot, but it might have potential. For all I know, someone's probably doing it.
Now how are all the geeks who are too old to go tricker treating but to young to go drinking gonna play nethack all night?
I wasn't aware there was such an age...
I'd play networked nethack, but my connection is pitiful and I don't have DSL, yet.
If you're in the the vicinity of Santa Cruz, California, c'mon down to 99 Bottles tonight and join those who don't get online, but have fun anyway. (PS. You underagers can still come in and sip rootbeers)
Fatbrain: this is a classic relic of the days when you couldn't get the "good dotcoms" anymore, but "building the brand"
was still everything. So companies combined unrelated words: fatbrain, fogdog, doughnet, etc. Of course, since they're
part of BN now they may not care, but I bet something as simple as "books.com" could be had cheap now.
I've often observed that approx 3khz sounds at low db levels can appreciably interfer with enjoyment of even the loudest soundtrack. Maybe your XYL isn't so shrill, but its nice not to hear a drive whining even through some serious audio carnage (no doubt the inspriation for Hemo's article) I've neber been able to totally tune out even a quiet whine in that freq. range. I think it's something like the whine of a mosquito can keep me awake at night. Others not so affect be lucky.
Consider the practical side of such a thing following toddlers around the house. Parents might by sold on something like this if it had a map of the house programmed in and warned if Kiddo was heading for the basement stairs or out in the back yard, etc. Think baby monitor with video and maybe even something like a local GPS.:-)
Considering Amazon's Financial Heath, every little bit helps. I don't buy from them often, but It's good to have that avenue open to shop. There was an article on Slashdot some time back about how Google has used BSD or Linux and lots of cheap PC's to build their successful search engine, good endorsements of non-Win engineering and cost-benefit.
In another sad note, Computer Literacy, a well known geek bookstore has closed it's doors in San Jose, prefering to do all their business on the web as FatBrain (how do ideas for names like that survive the first round of puzzled looks?), a subsidiary of Barnes and Noble. I'll miss them, as I used to buy about twice as many books as I intended to, because looking through books tells me more about whether I can use it or not than any glowing review ever will. Saving a few bucks from FatBrain.com is no deal over actually having the book in hand. A pity and ironic as brick and mortar have demonstrated staying power and web sales, as illustrated by Amazon's continuing effort to stay afloat.
Supposing VA Software decides to cut off Slashdot... What's the Slashdot operating budget and can it stand on its own (ad revenues being what they are and whatever other revenue there might be)?
Re:Rumors of passing on are vastly overrated
on
MS DOS: A Eulogy
·
· Score: 1
Thanks! That's actually a pretty helpful explaination. I worked on an NT4 workstation for 3 years and some of that rings a bell. The shell was quite a bit different than it is on w95/98, including directory listings, but I usually had a couple of them going with ftp sessions to Linux/Solaris/HPUX boxes. NT4 was actually pretty cool and only fubar'd a few times, but when it did, it could do some real damage, i.e. lost files/apps/configs and some mangelage.
The game where the Sims are cognoscent and write the next game they appear in.
Yeah, that's the ticket...
Re:Bad side of globalization
on
Globalization
·
· Score: 1
view is not supported by the facts. It is usually the middle class and upper middle
class that leads the revolution for or against fundamentalism.
And it is the poor who are the footsoldiers, without whom the mullahs would just be wackos standing on a street corner annoying people.
Why aren't poor Nigerians blowing up planes?
Different lands, different methods. Most of Africa isn't even developed enough, as there are still inter-tribal conflicts (Tutsi vs. Hutu) and other score settling going on.
Our billion dollars would be turned into weapons and turned back towards us.
Only if we continue to represent ourselves as a foe. It wasn't always that the USA was thought of as an evil country by these people and I expect the USA won't always remain thought of so. Nation building, which you refer to begins with treating people with respect and addressing grievances. However, it the US had spent 1 billion in Afghanistan after the Soviet pullout, building levees, educating farmers, building infrastructure, there would be significantly less support for "fundamentalists" or other rabble rousers. IIRC, the Taliban didn't arise in Afghanistan, but came in from outside the country and filled a power vaccuum, left by warring tribal factions and a weak central government.
Yeah, the fault is all Israel's. The fact that many Palestinians are dedicated to the distruction of the Israeli state and the
murder of all Jews isn't relevant. This issue is simple like the other one: just tell those evil Jews to stop beating up on the
virtuous Palestinians
many funny how you treat that word as all. You overlook that the country was named Palestine prior to 1947 and that the Israelis have been carving out the Promised Land at the expense of those who have been living there for hundreds of years. There's a significant and growing orthodox jewish population which believes they shouldn't even make peace with the palestinians as they are squatters anyway. It's also very disturbing the highly excessive amount of force and violations, of what we so proudly would call civil rights, that has been used on a daily basis for months. Americans should be shocked and appalled by the treatment palestinians have recieved, which even the UN has condemned, yet we're indifferent to.
Slashdot Mirror
On my 2+ year old laptop, w/w98, I still get an occasional [cannot find windows\..\..\outlook.exe] when I boot up. I never could findout what caused this extremely annoying thing to randomly launch and try to introduce me to the cuddly wonderful world of Outlook Express. I just got fed up and uninstalled it, but the bootup will still pester me. The bastards, not one fscking clue when it booted up on how to stop it from doing this, also killing it through the task manager was the only way I ever found of just getting rid of it, because it was designed to trap users into going through the tour, whether they had time and wanted to or not.
After all this time, now I'm finding other pre-installed stuff popping up, trying to dial out and update (often to dead URLs) and would like to see this preprogrammed behavior of software banned.
Doesn't anyone remember how naughty it is to be reporting all these bugs! Be sensible and sweep them under the rug.
All the TV that was available was broadcast .. All the TV that is now available is more than what is broadcast. The difference and "quality of signal" are supposed to make up the difference in value. Still, americans now pay, quite a bit for an entertainment medium which is free. Once TV stations lower power or cut out transmitting all together, and reduce/eliminate overhead, what are you going to say, "I'm tired of paying $30+ a month, now give me back free TV"?
I did a stock lookup on MSFT and found this chronology antitrust activities. Seems a long time, eh?
Ok, I'll translate cheaper=less_expensive, but here's the predictable reactions:
Assume Brand X is the acceptable standard vendor
"Brand Y is less expensive" : "You get what you pay for"
"Brand Y is same price, but better" : "Nobody ever got fired for picking Brand X"
"Brand Y is more expensive, even if better" : "We'll go with Brand X, to save money."
One line arguments will not drive an entrenched standard from a business, but a very well done presentation can get the foot in the door. The problem is getting approval and funding to do such a study. Change, when I've seen it, usually has a patron, one willing to really stand up and fight if it's called for. Darn few of these people and sometimes they're idiots and do more damage than good.
When Microsoft does implode, it'll be because there's no longer any market left for them to grow into. .NET is an effort to redefine the company, because simply selling software that does the job will produce declinging returns. Place M$ as a gatekeeper to commerce, communications, entertainment, business and home and they'll still hit this wall some day.
Also got a bulletin from Amazon.co.uk that he's got a 'childrens' book coming out shortly, too, Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, a Pied-Piper tale that goes awry (doesn't everything?) set in Diskworld.
Any mention of an Itanium counter to AMD's Hammer. With mid-2002 not so far away this would be the time for them to be drumming up interest in it. To be fair, I've checked the Comdex site for news or presskit from AMD and nothing so far, but I expect they must have something there, as this is where they'd run it up the flagpole and try to get potential customers to salute it.
Until americans begin receiving bills from Microsoft or their partners for services they can't get anywhere else and at rates they find outrageous, most won't care. There was once a time where all the TV that was available was broadcast for free, now millions are perfectly content to fork over $30+ a month for basic service. With scares over anthrax, threats against suspension bridges in the west, the world series and the ongoing bombing in Afghanistan, not too many people where I work are even aware there are issues with Microsoft, most seem to think the government is going after them because their Big.
Looks like Bill, Steve and gang have finally learned the value of contributing heavily to campaign coffers.
First off I consider analog or digital recordings, regardless of physical media, to be data. If, to manipulate that data, there resides on same media a mechanism, that should be considered software. Encrypted, compressed, whatever, it's data on your CD/DVD disk and to convert it to music requires logic circuitry and a D/A converter.
I've been to Digital Guru, which was comparable to the CL off Lawrence, it's OK, but didn't hold a candle to the main store off Trimble, that was geek heaven. Complete madness to close that store, I hope someone fills the gap, since sales will certainly not be replaced by sales on Fatbrain, from me anyway.
I was playing around with some C64 games with CCS this past weekend and, in the Halloween mood, recalled a spooky game I used to enjoy called Castles of Dr. Creep by Ed Hobbs. I just did a Google of the title and found a PC Beta version probably worth a look if you don't want to fool around with emulators. Looks cool and the came was a lot of fun on a C64, looks like Ed is still at it and has done a nice job.
The complexity of these games, though, still blows away a lot of what's out today. Imagine taking the engine of NetHack, Larn, Moria or Omega and giving it a Quake like view. Sure, you'd have to impliment Real Time and handle interaction for far more than just point-and-shoot, but it might have potential. For all I know, someone's probably doing it.
I wasn't aware there was such an age...
I'd play networked nethack, but my connection is pitiful and I don't have DSL, yet.
If you're in the the vicinity of Santa Cruz, California, c'mon down to 99 Bottles tonight and join those who don't get online, but have fun anyway. (PS. You underagers can still come in and sip rootbeers)
I suppose Egghead.com might become available...
I've often observed that approx 3khz sounds at low db levels can appreciably interfer with enjoyment of even the loudest soundtrack. Maybe your XYL isn't so shrill, but its nice not to hear a drive whining even through some serious audio carnage (no doubt the inspriation for Hemo's article) I've neber been able to totally tune out even a quiet whine in that freq. range. I think it's something like the whine of a mosquito can keep me awake at night. Others not so affect be lucky.
Ok, there's an important question! Which is the noisiest/quietest OS?
Frequency of disk activity
Cycle through any mechanical devices, i.e. floppy drive (my Sun IPX often goes click once a minute)
Anything else?
Shh! Be vewwy, vewwy quiet! I'm hunting viwtual wabbits!
Consider the practical side of such a thing following toddlers around the house. Parents might by sold on something like this if it had a map of the house programmed in and warned if Kiddo was heading for the basement stairs or out in the back yard, etc. Think baby monitor with video and maybe even something like a local GPS. :-)
In another sad note, Computer Literacy, a well known geek bookstore has closed it's doors in San Jose, prefering to do all their business on the web as FatBrain (how do ideas for names like that survive the first round of puzzled looks?), a subsidiary of Barnes and Noble. I'll miss them, as I used to buy about twice as many books as I intended to, because looking through books tells me more about whether I can use it or not than any glowing review ever will. Saving a few bucks from FatBrain.com is no deal over actually having the book in hand. A pity and ironic as brick and mortar have demonstrated staying power and web sales, as illustrated by Amazon's continuing effort to stay afloat.
Notable quote: "Four years and they haven't fired me?" said Rob "Cmdr Taco" Malda, director of operations, Slashdot. "Now that's a record."
Careful you don't jinx yourself, Rob.
Internet Wire is a PR service and the article is from VA Linux Systems. Notably lacking is any mention of VA dropping the 'Linux Systems' part.
Supposing VA Software decides to cut off Slashdot... What's the Slashdot operating budget and can it stand on its own (ad revenues being what they are and whatever other revenue there might be)?
Thanks! That's actually a pretty helpful explaination. I worked on an NT4 workstation for 3 years and some of that rings a bell. The shell was quite a bit different than it is on w95/98, including directory listings, but I usually had a couple of them going with ftp sessions to Linux/Solaris/HPUX boxes. NT4 was actually pretty cool and only fubar'd a few times, but when it did, it could do some real damage, i.e. lost files/apps/configs and some mangelage.
wait for it...
wait for it...
Sim Sim Developers rimshot
The game where the Sims are cognoscent and write the next game they appear in.
Yeah, that's the ticket...
And it is the poor who are the footsoldiers, without whom the mullahs would just be wackos standing on a street corner annoying people.
Why aren't poor Nigerians blowing up planes?
Different lands, different methods. Most of Africa isn't even developed enough, as there are still inter-tribal conflicts (Tutsi vs. Hutu) and other score settling going on.
Our billion dollars would be turned into weapons and turned back towards us.
Only if we continue to represent ourselves as a foe. It wasn't always that the USA was thought of as an evil country by these people and I expect the USA won't always remain thought of so. Nation building, which you refer to begins with treating people with respect and addressing grievances. However, it the US had spent 1 billion in Afghanistan after the Soviet pullout, building levees, educating farmers, building infrastructure, there would be significantly less support for "fundamentalists" or other rabble rousers. IIRC, the Taliban didn't arise in Afghanistan, but came in from outside the country and filled a power vaccuum, left by warring tribal factions and a weak central government.
Yeah, the fault is all Israel's. The fact that many Palestinians are dedicated to the distruction of the Israeli state and the murder of all Jews isn't relevant. This issue is simple like the other one: just tell those evil Jews to stop beating up on the virtuous Palestinians
many funny how you treat that word as all. You overlook that the country was named Palestine prior to 1947 and that the Israelis have been carving out the Promised Land at the expense of those who have been living there for hundreds of years. There's a significant and growing orthodox jewish population which believes they shouldn't even make peace with the palestinians as they are squatters anyway. It's also very disturbing the highly excessive amount of force and violations, of what we so proudly would call civil rights, that has been used on a daily basis for months. Americans should be shocked and appalled by the treatment palestinians have recieved, which even the UN has condemned, yet we're indifferent to.