As much as I think this is just a hoax, I can't help but agree with this statement:
"Officially, Microsoft has always kept at a safe distance with Linux. We leave the actually muddying to others, like Mindcraft. The average Linux user has a much more direct response. Generally speaking, if you were to ask a Linux user the benefits of Linux they will not tell you about its merits, but rather Windows's flaws. I am generally distrustful of anyone that defines themselves by what they are against and not what they are for.
Many do not know exactly how true that is. Many, many people in the Open Source movement like to tell you about what other systems lack, rather than what they have accomplished. Something to think about anyway.
I'm afraid you misunderstand what.NET is all about. First of all, what you are refering to is actually the ASP+ component of.NET
It bring several advantages over the current ASP model (and some much-needed changes IMHO):
Code is stored separately from HTML
On first run, code is compiled into native x86 binaries which are cached until you edit the source again
There are no more "script" languages -- you can use full VB, C++, C#, perl, COBOL, or any other supported language. (I fail to see why more choice is somehow a problem)
You can mix languages in the same project if you wish -- your web classes can be written in high-performance C++, but glued together via Visual Basic for maintainability. You can even inherit and override the C++ classes in VB
Security model -- all ASP+ pages run under a security context. If the user under which your site is running doesn't have access to write to %systemroot%, then any attempt to write to that directory will yield access denied.
All of the functionality is based upon the Common Language Runtime. Since all the languages are full-blown, you can do just about anything you wish (provided your service is running under a user context that supports what you are trying to do.) Also, a *nix port of the.NET runtime is planned.
If you need a super-heavyweight database system, go with Oracle, or MS SQL. (The latter will never happen, no matter how good SQL Server is because/. will never admit Microsoft may have a good product)
Both are excellent database systems that support many more advanced features than just row-level locking, such as real-time English Natural Language Query systems.
Remember: You get what you pay for. Don't use a free database system then compain when it doesn't scale as well as the big boys
On a side note, IMHO the Dynamic locking on SQL Server works really well -- automatically adjusts to table, page, and row-level locking on the fly.
Windows is a moving target. I do buy the line about the hackers being interested in the.NET technologies -- those are the ones that will eventually replace the Win32 API altogether.
Windows has been moving forward more than many wish to admit. Since the Terminal Services have been integrated with 2000 (which gives *nix-style terminal features a GUI twist), whistler takes this a step further. When you log off of a Whistler workstation, it gives you the option to save your state. If you choose to do so, Whistler will save all your currently running programs to disk, then allow another user to immediately log on. Next time you log on, all your programs,etc... will still be running.... This is just like "sleep" or "hibernate", only MUCH better:)
Of course it will have much faster bootup times, integrated skins support, and much, much more, including a new graphics engine (GDI+). I've posted on that before, and why it makes some interesting changes that will make much more of a difference than (Apple's) Quartz ever will.
Every day it seems like Linux moves a little bit further behind windows. I mean, this is 2000 and Linux doesn't even support plug and play or dual monitors! (at least not very well) It doesn't scale on SMP systems very well (due to coarse grained locking), its network/TCPIP stack isn't fully multithreaded (resulting in lower network throughput than equiv. Solaris or 2000 systems), and the desktop UI is still a kludge (Do you see anybody running X on mission-critial Linux systems?) Granted, there are good things about it, but Linux is not some sort of magic spell that, when cast over your computer, will magically make your life better.
I expect the Open Source movement to start finally recognizing that the "high ground" they occupied not so long ago has been taken back by Microsoft, and respond in kind with a much better Linux. Of course that will just spur Microsoft on to achieve even greater things, and the process will repeat. Add in niche systems like OS X and BeOS, and you've got a winning combination of market forces and innovation.
These are exciting times to live in, indeed. I'm just glad I don't have to choose sides. (God bless whoever invented dual-booting:)
-----
Perhaps this is an attempt to circumvent the XBox and Sony's Playstation. Sega knows that their console business isn't going anywhere, but their network is valuable. Nintendo has a new console coming up, but they don't have a network infastructure in place. The deal makes sense -- each one provides what the other lacks. In the long term, things will be back to normal: Three console developers duking it out for the hearts of gamers and developers alike. -----
It is very true. Those who wish to be involved with Free Source movements must be sure to steer clear of any stolen source code, Microsoft or not.
You must ask yourself this: If the code were stolen from some guy who is struggling to support his family on some shareware app he sells for $10, are you going to go ahead and accept that code, distribute it, or use it in your projects? I think not. If you think that somehow the rules don't scale, then you are mistaken. If something is true on an individual level, it should be true on all levels.
You shouldn't try to "bend" the rules just to suite your goals, no matter how noble they may seem.
Audio quality for compression codecs cannot be measured in terms of visual graphs or synthetic benchmarks. (I.E. just comparing the difference between the original singal and the compressed signal does not work.)
It is quite possible to have a singal that very much resembles the original wave graph, and yet sounds horrible to the ear. It is also equally possible to have a signal who's graph doesn't resemble the original very much, and yet has a much higher 'percieved' quality.
Just remember: The first rule in every single BEGINNERS guide to sound is to "Trust your Ears," and that is the only way to tell a good codec from a bad one. -----
Windows NT has had a journaling filesystem since day 1 with NTFSv1.1
Its about time Linux included a standard journaling filesystem with a sort of "plug-in" support. Windows 2000 offers this, which leads to things like EFS. I don't see why Linux couldn't offer the same level of functionality as well. -----
While your title (you don't have to conspire to be evil) is true, I think you are reading too much into this. Do you honestly think that anyone who says anything positive about Microsoft is lying or a paid drone?
Thats as biased as the people who claim anything pro-Linux is false and just a farce by Microsoft's competitors.
Both ideas are false. In computers, and even life, things are usually never black and white. Microsoft is not the evil empire, and Linux is not a white knight that will solve all our problems. If only we could actually reduce all arguments to simple child-like A or B answers, but the real world likes to present us with A, B, C, D, E, F, G... and Z choices in most situations.
While that can be true of certain departments, my original intent is usually correct in regard to large corporations: Its hard to get thousands of individuals on the same page and usually boneheaded moves result.... that and the fact that managers can tend to make uninformed decisions and blame in on the employees... we call that "empowerment":) -----
In a big corporation, such as Microsoft, IBM, etc..., the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing sometimes. Things can get skewed out of proportion and bad managers make stupid decisions. Don't make a bigger deal than it is... instead, praise Microsoft when they do something right. Send them emails saying you are glad they are making the correct decisions. Lord knows they get enough flak when they make the wrong ones. If you really want to see things change, TELL the companies when they are pleasing you, not just when they screw up! -----
Come on, do you people really believe there are hundreds of hidden APIs that only Microsoft knows about? Get real! Most of these so-called 'undocumented' APIs come from programmers forgetting to log certain changes or new implementations being made after the MSDN/WinAPI books go to press.
At any rate, the Windows API along with COM is a very flexible and extensible architecture that really does work pretty well. In my line of work developing RAD applications, there is literally no other platform besides Windows, simply because the tools and interfaces for that type of work don't exist on Linux. -----
"My kernel can beat up your kernel"
Slashdot Mirror
As much as I think this is just a hoax, I can't help but agree with this statement:
"Officially, Microsoft has always kept at a safe distance with Linux. We leave the actually muddying to others, like Mindcraft. The average Linux user has a much more direct response. Generally speaking, if you were to ask a Linux user the benefits of Linux they will not tell you about its merits, but rather Windows's flaws. I am generally distrustful of anyone that defines themselves by what they are against and not what they are for.
Many do not know exactly how true that is. Many, many people in the Open Source movement like to tell you about what other systems lack, rather than what they have accomplished. Something to think about anyway.
-----
It bring several advantages over the current ASP model (and some much-needed changes IMHO):
Code is stored separately from HTML
On first run, code is compiled into native x86 binaries which are cached until you edit the source again
There are no more "script" languages -- you can use full VB, C++, C#, perl, COBOL, or any other supported language. (I fail to see why more choice is somehow a problem)
You can mix languages in the same project if you wish -- your web classes can be written in high-performance C++, but glued together via Visual Basic for maintainability. You can even inherit and override the C++ classes in VB
Security model -- all ASP+ pages run under a security context. If the user under which your site is running doesn't have access to write to %systemroot%, then any attempt to write to that directory will yield access denied.
.NET runtime is planned.
All of the functionality is based upon the Common Language Runtime. Since all the languages are full-blown, you can do just about anything you wish (provided your service is running under a user context that supports what you are trying to do.) Also, a *nix port of the
-----
If you need a super-heavyweight database system, go with Oracle, or MS SQL. (The latter will never happen, no matter how good SQL Server is because /. will never admit Microsoft may have a good product)
Both are excellent database systems that support many more advanced features than just row-level locking, such as real-time English Natural Language Query systems.
Remember: You get what you pay for. Don't use a free database system then compain when it doesn't scale as well as the big boys
On a side note, IMHO the Dynamic locking on SQL Server works really well -- automatically adjusts to table, page, and row-level locking on the fly.
-----
Windows is a moving target. I do buy the line about the hackers being interested in the .NET technologies -- those are the ones that will eventually replace the Win32 API altogether.
Windows has been moving forward more than many wish to admit. Since the Terminal Services have been integrated with 2000 (which gives *nix-style terminal features a GUI twist), whistler takes this a step further. When you log off of a Whistler workstation, it gives you the option to save your state. If you choose to do so, Whistler will save all your currently running programs to disk, then allow another user to immediately log on. Next time you log on, all your programs,etc... will still be running.... This is just like "sleep" or "hibernate", only MUCH better :)
Of course it will have much faster bootup times, integrated skins support, and much, much more, including a new graphics engine (GDI+). I've posted on that before, and why it makes some interesting changes that will make much more of a difference than (Apple's) Quartz ever will.
Every day it seems like Linux moves a little bit further behind windows. I mean, this is 2000 and Linux doesn't even support plug and play or dual monitors! (at least not very well) It doesn't scale on SMP systems very well (due to coarse grained locking), its network/TCPIP stack isn't fully multithreaded (resulting in lower network throughput than equiv. Solaris or 2000 systems), and the desktop UI is still a kludge (Do you see anybody running X on mission-critial Linux systems?) Granted, there are good things about it, but Linux is not some sort of magic spell that, when cast over your computer, will magically make your life better.
I expect the Open Source movement to start finally recognizing that the "high ground" they occupied not so long ago has been taken back by Microsoft, and respond in kind with a much better Linux. Of course that will just spur Microsoft on to achieve even greater things, and the process will repeat. Add in niche systems like OS X and BeOS, and you've got a winning combination of market forces and innovation.
These are exciting times to live in, indeed. I'm just glad I don't have to choose sides. (God bless whoever invented dual-booting :)
-----
Perhaps this is an attempt to circumvent the XBox and Sony's Playstation. Sega knows that their console business isn't going anywhere, but their network is valuable. Nintendo has a new console coming up, but they don't have a network infastructure in place. The deal makes sense -- each one provides what the other lacks. In the long term, things will be back to normal: Three console developers duking it out for the hearts of gamers and developers alike.
-----
It is very true. Those who wish to be involved with Free Source movements must be sure to steer clear of any stolen source code, Microsoft or not.
You must ask yourself this: If the code were stolen from some guy who is struggling to support his family on some shareware app he sells for $10, are you going to go ahead and accept that code, distribute it, or use it in your projects? I think not. If you think that somehow the rules don't scale, then you are mistaken. If something is true on an individual level, it should be true on all levels.
You shouldn't try to "bend" the rules just to suite your goals, no matter how noble they may seem.
-----
Audio quality for compression codecs cannot be measured in terms of visual graphs or synthetic benchmarks. (I.E. just comparing the difference between the original singal and the compressed signal does not work.)
It is quite possible to have a singal that very much resembles the original wave graph, and yet sounds horrible to the ear. It is also equally possible to have a signal who's graph doesn't resemble the original very much, and yet has a much higher 'percieved' quality.
Just remember: The first rule in every single BEGINNERS guide to sound is to "Trust your Ears," and that is the only way to tell a good codec from a bad one.
-----
Windows NT has had a journaling filesystem since day 1 with NTFSv1.1
Its about time Linux included a standard journaling filesystem with a sort of "plug-in" support. Windows 2000 offers this, which leads to things like EFS. I don't see why Linux couldn't offer the same level of functionality as well.
-----
While your title (you don't have to conspire to be evil) is true, I think you are reading too much into this. Do you honestly think that anyone who says anything positive about Microsoft is lying or a paid drone?
... and Z choices in most situations.
Thats as biased as the people who claim anything pro-Linux is false and just a farce by Microsoft's competitors.
Both ideas are false. In computers, and even life, things are usually never black and white. Microsoft is not the evil empire, and Linux is not a white knight that will solve all our problems. If only we could actually reduce all arguments to simple child-like A or B answers, but the real world likes to present us with A, B, C, D, E, F, G
-----
While that can be true of certain departments, my original intent is usually correct in regard to large corporations: Its hard to get thousands of individuals on the same page and usually boneheaded moves result.... that and the fact that managers can tend to make uninformed decisions and blame in on the employees... we call that "empowerment" :)
-----
In a big corporation, such as Microsoft, IBM, etc..., the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing sometimes. Things can get skewed out of proportion and bad managers make stupid decisions. Don't make a bigger deal than it is... instead, praise Microsoft when they do something right. Send them emails saying you are glad they are making the correct decisions. Lord knows they get enough flak when they make the wrong ones. If you really want to see things change, TELL the companies when they are pleasing you, not just when they screw up!
-----
Its the first time I've seen send AND receive capability in satillite systems for consumer use.
-----
"My kernel can beat up your kernel"
"I use Windows 2000. Get over it."
Come on, do you people really believe there are hundreds of hidden APIs that only Microsoft knows about? Get real! Most of these so-called 'undocumented' APIs come from programmers forgetting to log certain changes or new implementations being made after the MSDN/WinAPI books go to press. At any rate, the Windows API along with COM is a very flexible and extensible architecture that really does work pretty well. In my line of work developing RAD applications, there is literally no other platform besides Windows, simply because the tools and interfaces for that type of work don't exist on Linux.
-----
"My kernel can beat up your kernel"
"I use Windows 2000. Get over it."