You're absolutely right! Not only are you correct when you say the "COBOL language didn't degrade over time", but you're right when you discuss people's perceptions. But I'm not sure when the perceptions changed. When I had a chance to learn COBOL in college 20 years ago, my thoughts on COBOL were: "No.. it had it's time, please let it die."
Considering that Microsoft and IBM are not on such great terms anymore (not to mention the various Sun lawsuits), Microsoft is deliberately positioning themselves to have legal teeth in the market.
It seems to me that this patent is meant to apply to word processing software. Since IBM and Sun don't write word processing software anymore (AFAIK), I think its more likely that the patent is targeted at the various free word processing programs.
Just as bad is using some built-in function that works perfectly (in the current langauge version) on my PC, but that doesn't work (in the previous version) on the server. D'ohh! I guess that "Since" section in the method detail is there for a reason.
No, Creative's objective is to sell enough MP3 players this holiday season to increase "mindshare". If they can do that for a couple years then they'll be able to come out with a real "iPod killer".
I think you both have good points: You're right when you say that the article was not objective. It would be nice if that was hinted at in the story summary, but that may be too much to ask from the/. editors. He's right when he says you should have mentioned that you're a Microsoft employee. Most people won't check your posting history or user page to learn that, but most people will think it affects your viewpoint.
Disclaimer: I work for an advertising agency, so everything I say should be taken with a (large) grain of salt.
Offshore programming is not practical. Developing usually requires "close interface" with non-programmers and leads that intimately know the project including (ahem) salespeople. It's not easy to have this close interface when the developers don't speak English fluently, don't even share the same culture or underlying business knowledge, are 12 hours out of phase requiring that $1.50/minute conference call to be specially scheduled at 6am or 7am or so, and doing "on-site" requires the purchase of a $3k-$8k plane ticket and consumes at least 3 or 4 days when you consider the time zone differences, jet lag, etc.
Aside from the "don't speak English fluently" part, I think all of these points are good ones. While I won't argue with you when you say "... you can get really good work done at really cheap prices, provided you pick the right company!", I do think that is beside the point. Most business programming projects (that I have seen in 10+ years of experience) do not have well-defined, stable requirements. In my opinion, to be successful an offshore programming project must be well-defined. Despite what some people want, I don't see any large-scale move toward projects with stable, well-defined requirements.
The U.S. companies that do try offshore programming will be taking a gamble that their requirement definition and communication channels are good enough to make up for the problems that letxa2000 pointed out. My guess is that U.S. companies that take this gamble are going to go after the lowest quote they can get (within reason). This means that most of the time they won't "pick the right company". So I have to agree with the other posters who think there will be an "offshore programming bust".
IANAL but it seems to me that all this money being spent may be a waste. The way the DMCA is worded, they could simply program a few bits to be at the front of whatever digital content they sell, and force the hardware manufacturers to make their hardware look for just those bits.
The content-producing companies who will use DRM to protect their merchandise want a DRM scheme that will be difficult to crack. Theres a good reason for this... Lets say the scheme is so simple that 5000 programmers around the world crack it in the first month that its out. Can these 5000 people all be incarcerated? Can implementations of those 5000 "cracks" all be found and controlled? Probably not. However, the picture changes if only 5 programmers around the world can crack it in the first 6 months. Then its quite possible that the cat can be kept in the bag. Therefore content-producers think that money used to come up with better DRM schemes is money well spent.
As a long time WSJ subscriber (both online and in print), I can tell you that Walt Mossberg's reviews are always thorough and fair.
Well, I don't usually read the WSJ so I can't comment in general, but this review is far too short to be called "thorough." In fact, it is more editorial-length than review-length. I haven't played with the Zaurus, so I can't comment on whether this review is fair or not.
The Palm OS is still the standard for simplicity as far as the GUI is concerned.
I agree. I own a Palm and I love it. However, I think the Zaurus is competing for the PocketPC market instead of the Palm market (or maybe I should say the gadget/PDA market instead of the PDA-only market).
If the Linux community wants a broader acceptance of the platform then we have to stop with the attitude that something is good enough because a nerd can figure it out.
Sh!t, thats good advice. You should create your own web page: AVeeOnSoftware. Personally, I think you would do a better job than Joel. Its not that he doesn't have any valuable knowledge; He just presents things in a judgemental, condescending way. Let's face it, its hard to listen to someone after they piss you off. Luckily there are lots of "software development gurus" out there, so I don't have to read Joel's stuff.
... they're patenting the idea of computers providing an easy to navigate function to arbitrarily reference, and allow you to go to another machine. Sounds like on-site linking isn't covered by this patent, but any link to another website is.
After reading the text of the patent, I have to disagree. They patented the idea of using (dumb) terminals which are simpler than a regular computer to access information on a central computer. You are right that on-site linking isn't covered by this patent, but I don't think that links going from one server to another is covered either. The patent repeatedly says "a central computer". They also specify that each block of information is divided into two sub-blocks. One of data and the other consisting of formatting, program instructions, and addressing information. They don't say anything about mixing it all together in one document. In fact, they don't say anything about documents at all. Its all "blocks of data". I didn't see anything about selecting links either, its all about entering keywords.
I don't see how BT has a prayer. If you look at the specifics of the patent its not about hyperlinking or the Web. If you generalize the patent enough so it covers hyperlinking, it could be describing any remote access to a file system.
At least it will give people with half a clue, but who are too scared right now, the power to try it out.
I believe I have half a clue, and I'm not too scared - what's stopping me is the 28 Meg download (only 23 Meg for the b-zipped version). I guess Aunt Tillie either has broadband or a lot of time on her hands...
On a personal level, anyone who enjoys computer programming enjoys 'short and clever' programs.
I disagree. I program for a living and for fun, but I think "clever and understandable" beats "short and clever" every time. Plus, "short and understandable" beats "short and clever" fairly often.
On a personal level I appreciate that this is short and clever:
@P=split//...
obfuscated garbage ...print
Yikes! I know some people think obfuscated code is clever. I'm not one of them. If that's clever then Earnest was right - cleverness is overrated.
Keeping the recording industry's behavior in mind, I think I can clear up the RIAA's confusion over why this brief was filed (quote from the Siliconvalley.com article):
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was surprised by the filing. "Their decision to file is as baffling as it is irrelevant," said Jano Cabrera, a spokesman for the RIAA. "It's irrelevant because there can be no doubt that the record companies own or control the copyrights at issue here. This is something that artists don't contend," said Cabrera.
"It's baffling because artists have as much at stake in protecting copyrights online as do record companies," he said.
First, the artists just don't like what the RIAA represents. It doesn't really hurt the artists if the Napster case has to go to trial, but it does inconvenience the RIAA. Secondly, and more importantly, the artists need to take every opportunity they can to fight the "work for hire" idea. If they can't (someday) own their own music, then they'll never be free of the recording industry.
> > If Sun added a decimal data type to Java I'd love to see COBOL die.
> What do you think java.math.BigDecimal is?
I think what Kamelion is looking for is a primitive data type instead of a reference data type (class). A primitive datatype would allow you to write statements like this:
Thanks for the link(s)! Can't believe I missed that set of strips. Boondocks is the best cartoon that is printed by our local paper. I guess I'll have to start reading it daily (online of course - dead tree news is just a Sunday thing).
This post is the kind of apologizing for terrorism which makes me sick. Whenever I see someone talking about the U.S. "causing slow death as millions starve" (in Iraq) I get mad. The economic and political sanctions against Iraq are 100% due to the actions of the Iraqi government. Free trade with the world in general (or the U.S. in particular) is NOT some fundamental right that the U.S. is witholding from Iraq. Free trade is a priviledge that Iraq currently does not deserve. Again, this is due to the actions of the Iraqi government.
What part of the above mentioned code allows them to do this now?
That's what I wondered when I read through the "current law" link in the article. Most of the language of the bill refers to "protected machines" (machines belonging to the government or financial institutions), however. I can only guess that the RIAA believes that its okay to hack "unprotected" computers. That doesn't seem right to me, though, so I welcome clarification.
While I won't argue with your cynicism, I do disagree with this statement when applied to the SSSCA:
Every crisis is just an excuse for the government monster to grow a bit more, and your rights to shrink.
Although our rights would shrink if the SSSCA passes, I don't think that governmental power would grow. In fact, I think that the government would be "selling off" some of their power to the entertainment industry.
The notion of forcing an individual to look at obnoxioous ads (probably including sound effects, i can just imagine a CIP-Pool of machines bleeping their ads) on his own hardware is just plain ridiculous.
This is my big objection to adware (like the "free" version of Opera). Whats worse, a lot of these programs will use your internet connection to download new ads for you to see. There is a lot of adware out there however, so I guess this just doesn't bother a lot of people.
Coming back to the topic, I hope that sound effects would not be allowed in these screensaver ads. That would be too distracting.
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You're absolutely right! Not only are you correct when you say the "COBOL language didn't degrade over time", but you're right when you discuss people's perceptions. But I'm not sure when the perceptions changed. When I had a chance to learn COBOL in college 20 years ago, my thoughts on COBOL were: "No.. it had it's time, please let it die."
It seems to me that this patent is meant to apply to word processing software. Since IBM and Sun don't write word processing software anymore (AFAIK), I think its more likely that the patent is targeted at the various free word processing programs.
Just as bad is using some built-in function that works perfectly (in the current langauge version) on my PC, but that doesn't work (in the previous version) on the server. D'ohh! I guess that "Since" section in the method detail is there for a reason.
No, Creative's objective is to sell enough MP3 players this holiday season to increase "mindshare". If they can do that for a couple years then they'll be able to come out with a real "iPod killer".
... but everybody knows who is in charge.
Yep. Karl Rove is in charge. And this is his style.
I think you both have good points: You're right when you say that the article was not objective. It would be nice if that was hinted at in the story summary, but that may be too much to ask from the /. editors. He's right when he says you should have mentioned that you're a Microsoft employee. Most people won't check your posting history or user page to learn that, but most people will think it affects your viewpoint.
Disclaimer: I work for an advertising agency, so everything I say should be taken with a (large) grain of salt.
letxa2000's major points are here:
Aside from the "don't speak English fluently" part, I think all of these points are good ones. While I won't argue with you when you say "... you can get really good work done at really cheap prices, provided you pick the right company!", I do think that is beside the point. Most business programming projects (that I have seen in 10+ years of experience) do not have well-defined, stable requirements. In my opinion, to be successful an offshore programming project must be well-defined. Despite what some people want, I don't see any large-scale move toward projects with stable, well-defined requirements.
The U.S. companies that do try offshore programming will be taking a gamble that their requirement definition and communication channels are good enough to make up for the problems that letxa2000 pointed out. My guess is that U.S. companies that take this gamble are going to go after the lowest quote they can get (within reason). This means that most of the time they won't "pick the right company". So I have to agree with the other posters who think there will be an "offshore programming bust".
I'm curious, what many uses are you refering to where Flash is the only option? The only things I can think of are games and eye-candy.
Yes, it would be fixed. But you might not like how it calculates bonuses.
Sh!t, thats good advice. You should create your own web page: AVeeOnSoftware. Personally, I think you would do a better job than Joel. Its not that he doesn't have any valuable knowledge; He just presents things in a judgemental, condescending way. Let's face it, its hard to listen to someone after they piss you off. Luckily there are lots of "software development gurus" out there, so I don't have to read Joel's stuff.
I don't see how BT has a prayer. If you look at the specifics of the patent its not about hyperlinking or the Web. If you generalize the patent enough so it covers hyperlinking, it could be describing any remote access to a file system.
I just have to comment on this.
I disagree. I program for a living and for fun, but I think "clever and understandable" beats "short and clever" every time. Plus, "short and understandable" beats "short and clever" fairly often. Yikes! I know some people think obfuscated code is clever. I'm not one of them. If that's clever then Earnest was right - cleverness is overrated.Keeping the recording industry's behavior in mind, I think I can clear up the RIAA's confusion over why this brief was filed (quote from the Siliconvalley.com article):
First, the artists just don't like what the RIAA represents. It doesn't really hurt the artists if the Napster case has to go to trial, but it does inconvenience the RIAA. Secondly, and more importantly, the artists need to take every opportunity they can to fight the "work for hire" idea. If they can't (someday) own their own music, then they'll never be free of the recording industry.
> > If Sun added a decimal data type to Java I'd love to see COBOL die.
> What do you think java.math.BigDecimal is?
I think what Kamelion is looking for is a primitive data type instead of a reference data type (class). A primitive datatype would allow you to write statements like this:
instead of this:
Most people find the first example easier to understand than the second.
Wow. This quote should go in a book somewhere as an example of "damning with faint praise".
Thanks for the link(s)! Can't believe I missed that set of strips. Boondocks is the best cartoon that is printed by our local paper. I guess I'll have to start reading it daily (online of course - dead tree news is just a Sunday thing).
This post is the kind of apologizing for terrorism which makes me sick. Whenever I see someone talking about the U.S. "causing slow death as millions starve" (in Iraq) I get mad. The economic and political sanctions against Iraq are 100% due to the actions of the Iraqi government. Free trade with the world in general (or the U.S. in particular) is NOT some fundamental right that the U.S. is witholding from Iraq. Free trade is a priviledge that Iraq currently does not deserve. Again, this is due to the actions of the Iraqi government.
Yes, I have most likely been trolled.
While I won't argue with your cynicism, I do disagree with this statement when applied to the SSSCA:
Although our rights would shrink if the SSSCA passes, I don't think that governmental power would grow. In fact, I think that the government would be "selling off" some of their power to the entertainment industry.This is my big objection to adware (like the "free" version of Opera). Whats worse, a lot of these programs will use your internet connection to download new ads for you to see. There is a lot of adware out there however, so I guess this just doesn't bother a lot of people.
Coming back to the topic, I hope that sound effects would not be allowed in these screensaver ads. That would be too distracting.