Re:I work for a bike parts/accessories wholesaler.
on
Steel Bolt Hacking
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
I had a bike locked with the top-end kryptonite stolen. The thief then kindly re-attached the kryptonite to the bike rack. When I tried to redeem the "lock guarantee" or whatever that ridiculous thing is called, they called me a liar. They said I didn't lock it properly or some such.
I will never buy another lock, ever. I only trust my good bike ( A Trek Project One 5500/5600 (the OCLV 110 from a year or two ago) with campy record) to be within reach. My junker is a 1960s Schwin that cost about $60 and is in 4 colors of cheap spray paint. I just tie it in place with a double figure-eight knot:)
Intersting.
Well, for the T68 you just set it to "discoverable" (which only lasts 3 minutes), and send data. From the Palm Tungsten T it requires (from the contact screen) 2 clicks...
1) Send to (bluetooth)
2) Choose device
On my iPaq, it is as easy...
1) Click/hold and select send via Bluetooth
2) Select Device
3) Ok
How do you send a contact via 802.11b?
Oh yeah... YOU CAN'T.
-WS
I'd love to respond to this, since I am a huge fan of both 802.11* and Bluetooth.
Between my wife and I, we have 4 computers that we use regularly, 2 handhelds, and two phones. We have 802.11a set up at home, as well as a few cafes that we frequent. We use BT on all of machines, primarily for communication (iSync, Active Sync, keyboard, mouse, headset, etc.). We use 802.11* for network use.
For me, it is all about toolkits. I couldn't care less if the connection I made to dial out via my phone was 802.11* or BT. I don't care if my keyboard has a standard IP address or a partnership. I only know what matters to me (not in order): 1) BT allows me to have a very limited area network (10M max) 2) BT has software to prevent non-paired devices from seeing each other. This isn't absolute, but it works fairly well. 3) BT is super-easy to set up. Heck, my wife can do it. She can barely figure out a microwave oven. 4) BT is included in a LOT of devices... my Macs all have it built in, my phone has it, my iPaq has it, my Palm has it, my mouse has it, my keyboard has it (well, not my favorite keyboard, but my "recreational" keyboard), my headset has it, and it all WORKS. 5) I don't have to buy some super-expensive software or cable to have my headset work with my phone, or for my devices to talk. This isn't a BT vs. 802.11* point, but it currently only happens with BT. 6) I have found that it is so simple, even the MBA s I work with know how to exchange info via their BT devices. It takes like 15 seconds. 7) The adapters are super cheap.
Now, my points AGAINST 802.11 are simple: 1) It is fairly complicated to set up a secure 802.11* network. 2) It is not included in a lot of devices (see 5 above) 3) It is a rapidly changing standard
Now, here's my little summary: I want to be able to use ONE standard wireless connection protocol that is built into EVERYTHING. I want it to be as powerful as 802.11*, and as easy to use as BT.
My father-in-law is an anesthesiologist, and I assure you that the reason they can always start a line is because the ones who can't go into something else:)
The ones that really amaze me are the pediatric urologists... those people are amazing.
I'll reply to this one, since all ACs look alike:)
You can call me "un-american", whatever the hell that means, all you like. Especially since "America" is composed of quite a few different countries...
Personally, I am not socialist. I am not marxist, communist, capitalist, anarchist or most other 'ists'. I happen to believe that the government is a form of organization designed (deliberately) to protect our food, our land, our posessions, our lives, and our values. If it does these things for a majority of citizens, it is succeeding. If it does not, it is failing and will be replaced.
By your comments, I infer that you believe that it is failing. Great. Do something about it. AS A CITIZEN YOU HAVE THAT RIGHT IN THE US. Go write your congressman. Go hold up a sign someplace. VOTE.
If nobody else goes your way, then you are the minority. You should be thankful that the US is not a complete tyranny of the majority, but offers protections for the minority as well.
You want to be totally anonymous? Pay cash, avoid having an address by being homeless, and escape the system. If you think that even that minor infringement of your supposed privacy is an issue and must be stopped, you can opt out. Go be a monk or a vagrant in some other country. Go get lost in some former Soviet nation. I suspect you will have lots of privacy.
All I said was that we will never reach the point where "Big Brother" has complete control, and we never had a point where "Big Brother" had no control. It has always been a balance.
Posted as AC, no less.
There will always be some balance between the two. We don't live in a "Truman Show" environment, nor do we have absolute privacy. Society will never be either. Deal.
-WS
Re:Hardly insightful, more like casual dismissial
on
Hacking Quartz
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· Score: 1
See? Exactly my point:D
I'd like having a brand new Bugatti and house in Rio...
-WS
Re:Hardly insightful, more like casual dismissial
on
Hacking Quartz
·
· Score: 1
Probably more fair. The problem is that once an idea has been released, it is impossible hold on to it. If you want to develop commercially for the Mac (and really, for Windows too), you have to keep one or two steps ahead.
MS does the same thing. Skinning, screen savers, "power tools", etc. They just don't do it quite so aggressively.
Besides. There is no "fair" in business. That's why MS is practically running the x86 market. -WS
At my place, we currently have 4 cars: a classic Corvair (for fun), a classic Corvette (for commuting), a new Wrangler (for fun and ranch work), and a moderate aged Cherokee (for towing and ranch work).
I know somebody with a Sparrow, but I just can't stand it. Very pretty, but I would rather have one of these for even less than 14k. Certainly more interesting to drive!
I know you are being sarcastic, but you surely are aware that it takes longer than two weeks to find, hire, and train contractors? Even ones in your own country? When you have requirements like, "Build me a tool that gives me (x) from (x system) but also includes (pointless metric/widget) from (y system) for this super-critical SEC/SOX/DITSCAP/DOD requirement that is due next week", it is hard enough to get people who have been doing it for a few years and already have the correct system access to figure it out.
Worse still are the ones "Here, the contract with (consulting company in India) runs out next month. You will be assuming support of the app, and we need to you to alter it to include this new data from a new vendor..." (which happened to me just last month). Boy, that is fuuuun. I love comments like:
/** Insert Comment Here **//** Comment this routine **//** This loads data **/ (before an 1800 line SQL statement with table aliases like 'a', and 'b', and variables named 'v1', 'v2'. )
Yay. Maybe I should go into goat farming or something.
Actually, the statement "Its really funny to hear people give the same arguments against Java and C# that are word-for-word the same as what was said about C." is so true as to be almost scary. I recently was looking at the huge arguments against C++ (vs C) and just about died laughing.
To me, it all comes down to two things: 1) Can I do (x) with (new language)? 2) Will it take me longer to do (x) with (old language) than it does with (new language)?
The whole concept of programming can be summed up that way. I have reached the sad state of no longer caring at all about language performance. I have such incredibly tight deadlines to meet now, with so few people, I have to say that programming time is worth dollars while execution time is only worth cents. Especially since about 75% of the work we do is for "one-off" or "disposable" projects. It sucks, but it puts food on the table.
That's it. I have a "leash" (work provided free-time sucker) in the form of a windows laptop that is only used for X Windows to my Sun Boxen, but at home I'm all OSX. Two G4 towers and a G4 powerbook.
All of my development work is for Java/Oracle (which I do via X Windows, usually), and all of DBA type work is on Oracle. I use a PS2 for games (and possibly an XBOX soon), and I have an ipaq 5555 as a handheld, so it isn't some anti-MS bias.
I did try Office X at the Apple Store, but I actually liked Koffice better. Freaky, but true.
This is a really interesting idea, and I think I will have to look into it further. Anybody who would like to comment have something like this going on in a production environment?
Sounds like some fairly basic issues. Not hard to do a google search on. Of course, it should just be pinned on Java, right?
Java is about as intuitive to learn as MSVC... while the core language is simple, making a nifty little GUI work is not. It's easy to make a "hello world" jar that runs from the command line, but making an actual graphical applet that runs that way is quite a bit different.
(sarcasm) Considering only one species of "dinosaur" is still alive, that would be a very small asteroid... I bet we could:)
Now if it were a large iron core asteroid like the the ones that caused the two huge craters in the western hemisphere... well, I would hope X prize works really, really well.
Slashdot Mirror
I had a bike locked with the top-end kryptonite stolen. The thief then kindly re-attached the kryptonite to the bike rack. When I tried to redeem the "lock guarantee" or whatever that ridiculous thing is called, they called me a liar. They said I didn't lock it properly or some such.
:)
I will never buy another lock, ever. I only trust my good bike ( A Trek Project One 5500/5600 (the OCLV 110 from a year or two ago) with campy record) to be within reach. My junker is a 1960s Schwin that cost about $60 and is in 4 colors of cheap spray paint. I just tie it in place with a double figure-eight knot
-WS
Intersting. Well, for the T68 you just set it to "discoverable" (which only lasts 3 minutes), and send data. From the Palm Tungsten T it requires (from the contact screen) 2 clicks... 1) Send to (bluetooth) 2) Choose device On my iPaq, it is as easy... 1) Click/hold and select send via Bluetooth 2) Select Device 3) Ok How do you send a contact via 802.11b? Oh yeah... YOU CAN'T. -WS
I'd love to respond to this, since I am a huge fan of both 802.11* and Bluetooth.
Between my wife and I, we have 4 computers that we use regularly, 2 handhelds, and two phones. We have 802.11a set up at home, as well as a few cafes that we frequent. We use BT on all of machines, primarily for communication (iSync, Active Sync, keyboard, mouse, headset, etc.). We use 802.11* for network use.
For me, it is all about toolkits. I couldn't care less if the connection I made to dial out via my phone was 802.11* or BT. I don't care if my keyboard has a standard IP address or a partnership. I only know what matters to me (not in order):
1) BT allows me to have a very limited area network (10M max)
2) BT has software to prevent non-paired devices from seeing each other. This isn't absolute, but it works fairly well.
3) BT is super-easy to set up. Heck, my wife can do it. She can barely figure out a microwave oven.
4) BT is included in a LOT of devices... my Macs all have it built in, my phone has it, my iPaq has it, my Palm has it, my mouse has it, my keyboard has it (well, not my favorite keyboard, but my "recreational" keyboard), my headset has it, and it all WORKS.
5) I don't have to buy some super-expensive software or cable to have my headset work with my phone, or for my devices to talk. This isn't a BT vs. 802.11* point, but it currently only happens with BT.
6) I have found that it is so simple, even the MBA s I work with know how to exchange info via their BT devices. It takes like 15 seconds.
7) The adapters are super cheap.
Now, my points AGAINST 802.11 are simple:
1) It is fairly complicated to set up a secure 802.11* network.
2) It is not included in a lot of devices (see 5 above)
3) It is a rapidly changing standard
Now, here's my little summary:
I want to be able to use ONE standard wireless connection protocol that is built into EVERYTHING. I want it to be as powerful as 802.11*, and as easy to use as BT.
Happy now?
-WS
I have Cingular, and I actually posted this from my HP iPaq 5550 via an Ericsson T68i.
Which was still on my belt.
Bluetooth rocks, especially since it allows you to skip a few cables here and there.
-WS
Actually, they used UBB code... which I translated in my head before I even realized it :)
This was clearly a person who posts more frequently to UBB-driven boards than to slashdot.
-WS
My father-in-law is an anesthesiologist, and I assure you that the reason they can always start a line is because the ones who can't go into something else :)
The ones that really amaze me are the pediatric urologists... those people are amazing.
-WS
Interesting question. If you include non-US natives, you seem to get more people with a decent grasp of English.
/. is getting an un-just boost from the English, Canadian, and Australian audience?
Most of my co-workers from "furn parts" speak English far better than the co-workers who are natives.
Perhaps
-WS (tounge firmly in cheek)
-WS
I'll reply to this one, since all ACs look alike :)
You can call me "un-american", whatever the hell that means, all you like. Especially since "America" is composed of quite a few different countries...
Personally, I am not socialist. I am not marxist, communist, capitalist, anarchist or most other 'ists'. I happen to believe that the government is a form of organization designed (deliberately) to protect our food, our land, our posessions, our lives, and our values. If it does these things for a majority of citizens, it is succeeding. If it does not, it is failing and will be replaced.
By your comments, I infer that you believe that it is failing. Great. Do something about it. AS A CITIZEN YOU HAVE THAT RIGHT IN THE US. Go write your congressman. Go hold up a sign someplace. VOTE.
If nobody else goes your way, then you are the minority. You should be thankful that the US is not a complete tyranny of the majority, but offers protections for the minority as well.
You want to be totally anonymous? Pay cash, avoid having an address by being homeless, and escape the system. If you think that even that minor infringement of your supposed privacy is an issue and must be stopped, you can opt out. Go be a monk or a vagrant in some other country. Go get lost in some former Soviet nation. I suspect you will have lots of privacy.
All I said was that we will never reach the point where "Big Brother" has complete control, and we never had a point where "Big Brother" had no control. It has always been a balance.
-WS
Posted as AC, no less. There will always be some balance between the two. We don't live in a "Truman Show" environment, nor do we have absolute privacy. Society will never be either. Deal. -WS
See? Exactly my point :D
I'd like having a brand new Bugatti and house in Rio...
-WS
Well, they "like to have"... not "they have"...
Big difference.
-WS
Dragon (RPG magazine)
Dungeon (RPG magazine, with maps and quests)
NYTimes (does that count?)
Bicycling (good road articles)
Scientific American
Various comic books
Game Informer (Video gaming magazine)
The Scientist (online subscription)
Mac Design
Mac World
They are all for entertainment value... the only informative stuff I read is pretty much the SAP Professional Journal. Yuck.
-WS
You have killed my father... prepare to die!
-WS
Offtopic, sorry:
Zero cool? Is that a reference to "Hackers", by any chance?
-WS
Probably more fair. The problem is that once an idea has been released, it is impossible hold on to it. If you want to develop commercially for the Mac (and really, for Windows too), you have to keep one or two steps ahead.
MS does the same thing. Skinning, screen savers, "power tools", etc. They just don't do it quite so aggressively.
Besides. There is no "fair" in business. That's why MS is practically running the x86 market.
-WS
I know somebody with a Sparrow, but I just can't stand it. Very pretty, but I would rather have one of these for even less than 14k. Certainly more interesting to drive!
-WS
Of course, the part you are missing is:
sqlplus system/manager@cust_master
Hehehe
-WS
Worse still are the ones "Here, the contract with (consulting company in India) runs out next month. You will be assuming support of the app, and we need to you to alter it to include this new data from a new vendor..." (which happened to me just last month). Boy, that is fuuuun. I love comments like:
Yay. Maybe I should go into goat farming or something.
-WS
I happen to agree. I think the killer app at our fortune 100 company is Excel... everything can go down, as long as Excel works.
It's awful.
-WS
Actually, the statement
"Its really funny to hear people give the same arguments against Java and C# that are word-for-word the same as what was said about C." is so true as to be almost scary. I recently was looking at the huge arguments against C++ (vs C) and just about died laughing.
To me, it all comes down to two things:
1) Can I do (x) with (new language)?
2) Will it take me longer to do (x) with (old language) than it does with (new language)?
The whole concept of programming can be summed up that way. I have reached the sad state of no longer caring at all about language performance. I have such incredibly tight deadlines to meet now, with so few people, I have to say that programming time is worth dollars while execution time is only worth cents. Especially since about 75% of the work we do is for "one-off" or "disposable" projects. It sucks, but it puts food on the table.
-WS
One - The Dock
Two - XCode
Three - Studio
That's it. I have a "leash" (work provided free-time sucker) in the form of a windows laptop that is only used for X Windows to my Sun Boxen, but at home I'm all OSX. Two G4 towers and a G4 powerbook.
All of my development work is for Java/Oracle (which I do via X Windows, usually), and all of DBA type work is on Oracle. I use a PS2 for games (and possibly an XBOX soon), and I have an ipaq 5555 as a handheld, so it isn't some anti-MS bias.
I did try Office X at the Apple Store, but I actually liked Koffice better. Freaky, but true.
-WS
This is a really interesting idea, and I think I will have to look into it further. Anybody who would like to comment have something like this going on in a production environment?
-WS
Sounds like some fairly basic issues. Not hard to do a google search on. Of course, it should just be pinned on Java, right?
Java is about as intuitive to learn as MSVC... while the core language is simple, making a nifty little GUI work is not. It's easy to make a "hello world" jar that runs from the command line, but making an actual graphical applet that runs that way is quite a bit different.
-WS
(sarcasm) :)
Considering only one species of "dinosaur" is still alive, that would be a very small asteroid... I bet we could
Now if it were a large iron core asteroid like the the ones that caused the two huge craters in the western hemisphere... well, I would hope X prize works really, really well.
-WS