I would prefer to see Sun come out with more Intel-competitive products than stick with their niche. They have the potential to make astounding lower-end hardware, and if they could keep the prices low enough it would be fantastic to have more competition with Intel's lines of chips. AMD is proving to be valuable competition, but I'd also like to see more desktop hardware that doesn't aim for compatibility with Intel.
First, you really need to read this. The first half you're probably familiar with, but read the rest. Second, cross-language development is irrelevant when all of the languages are new. If a company is picking.NET, they're also picking just one language, because those who were using C++ will keep with C++ or switch to C#. Those using VB need to learn a whole new VB or learn C#. Either way, moving to.NET for now means picking one language. Instead of providing all the great new functionality in COM, MS chose to go with a whole new platform, not because anything is wrong with COM, but to generate revenue and continue vendor lock-in. Again, read "What's the need for.NET?".
Take a look at some Linux User Groups (LUGs) online. These organizations are very similar to what you're trying to create. In fact, if there's one in your area, you could possibly start something affiliated with them with their help.
I just noticed that for the NY Organized Crime Task Force's 7 intercepts, the average cost was $886,999. Yet for Special Narcotics it's only $8747. I suppose it's due to the duration of the intercepts.
I think "the next big thing" in advertising could be plain old hypertext links within writings. If an online magazine has an article about C++, wherever it says "C++ compiler" in the article it could be a link to a compiler vendor. Newsfactor does this to some extent in their articles, plus with descriptive icons so you know you're going to an ad. It would seem much more successful and useful to the user to go this route.
Along with everything else said about the extra.NET layer, this will work out the same as everything else for developers on Windows: those who look for the best solution to their needs may or may not use it (probably not), but those who blindly follow Microsoft's push - the vast majority - will use it if MS tells them to. Unfortunately most developers only familiar with the Microsoft world do whatever they push. It may seem like COM is dying, but it's the underlying technology to all of.NET until they rewrite.NET to do all the work Win32 already does. So if you want to keep using COM go right ahead, it's not going anywhere for a long time. But Microsoft will be able to push the majority of developers to.NET simply because they'll listen to whatever they're told.
In NYC hailed cab drivers must drive you wherever you request, at least within the city limits. If they don't you can write down his/her hack license number, which also must be posted, and report the person. Maybe you could look into getting the same law (or maybe cab company rule) put into place in DC.
The bigger problem in NYC is racial discrimination. Many times an empty cab will pass a black person hailing them. Let's say you hail the cab with this new system, but when he arrives he takes off because of your color. Since the system would know which cab took the call it should be trivial to allow the caller to report the discrimination.
This will most certainly help the poor image of the US in the middle east. We're showing our strong corporate interests. It's such a nice, clean, humanitarian image the US partrays, isn't it?
While this is all very interesting and becoming more practical for everyday use, we don't hear enough about the stuff that's related but not quite bleeding edge. We know there are people trying to create intelligent systems such as for language understanding and intelligent web searching, but it seems we don't hear much about them. I'm wondering if it's because most of that is being done within corporations while much of this bleeding edge research is done by universities.
I've been considering going back to school full time for my masters also, but there's one big problem: cost. I live in the US and I don't know how I'd be able to afford a masters program with little to no income. Of course I would go after scholarships and such, but they're hard to come by. Financial loans (at least for the schools in my area) can't completely cover tuition for the masters programs. I suppose they're hoping you're working part time. So the question becomes: go for scholarships and financial aid with the risk there won't be a job available after graduation? Plus come out with a huge debt? I don't know...
Not that I disagree, but one concern with the Internet becoming a public utility is government regulation. When something private becomes ubuiquitous enough, the public basically gets a right to regulate it (overly simplistic explanation). Of course the public regulation is handled by the government, which should be handled in the public interest, but we all know how that's been going. So while becoming a utility would keep it relatively open to the consumers, it could allow stifling government regulation.
I had Verizon (baby Bell) DSL and switched to Cablevision cable in the NYC metro area. I had to pay extra to get 1.5mbps for DSL. For cable, which is much cheaper here, there is no specified bandwidth limit. Without tweaking I now max out at about 750kB/s. One major difference is that tweaking network settings (packet sizes, etc) can greatly increase speed. But with DSL there's a much lower bandwidth limit. So now I pay less and get much better speed. That's why when I read the headline I first said, "Well, duh!"
Can $250 billion in market capitalization be wrong?
Yes.
Their questions probably keep out those who are bad at business. So far they've been successful in business and marketing. But their software quality is still low, so they may not be keeping out bad developers.
Since calling it Firebird is a recent change, why not just pick another name if it's becoming such a big deal? Any particular reason to stick with the name Firebird for Mozilla other than the fact it's already been publicized? If they're getting so much heat from it, I think they should just pick another name right now and end this.
to understand what developers look at to know when things are going well and when they're not
The bug list and feature request list are one way. Strong feedback implies interested users. Also adoption by other developers into the development group shows others are interested, so you must be doing something right.
I can tell you my VP is still pissed about Slammer and other worms and viruses. He's wasted so much time with Windows vulnerabilities he's happy to hear about alternatives. It's only because those alternatives can run Windows apps, however, that keep him listening. If the latest MS Office didn't run on Linux he wouldn't consider it because the users are just too used to having it and refuse to try anything else. With greater stability and easier software deployments already on Linux' side, having Wine is helping the situation in many places.
I recently saw an Apple store in my local mall for the first time. Having all white glowing walls and glass tables it felt a little space-fantasy-ish. It was nice and had all their products laid out with salesman around but not annoying. The new online store gives me the same sort of feel. Someone probably gave their marketing department a good kick in the pants recently and it's paying off. Someone in marketing is earning their bonus.
So I can legally post software that tells people how to create a bomb. Posting how to create a bomb on a web site has been to federal court and protected. But I can't write software to conceal a communications device? Which is more dangerous? And where does it end? Will anyone in the federal government be able to say code is a form of speech any time soon?
Exactly. Type in a few words and get a million pages to look at in under a second. Beating that will take some major innovation (AI or some sort of highly intelligent ranking system), and I certainly don't pray facing Redmond when seeking devine innovation.
Slashdot Mirror
I would prefer to see Sun come out with more Intel-competitive products than stick with their niche. They have the potential to make astounding lower-end hardware, and if they could keep the prices low enough it would be fantastic to have more competition with Intel's lines of chips. AMD is proving to be valuable competition, but I'd also like to see more desktop hardware that doesn't aim for compatibility with Intel.
First, you really need to read this. The first half you're probably familiar with, but read the rest. Second, cross-language development is irrelevant when all of the languages are new. If a company is picking .NET, they're also picking just one language, because those who were using C++ will keep with C++ or switch to C#. Those using VB need to learn a whole new VB or learn C#. Either way, moving to .NET for now means picking one language. Instead of providing all the great new functionality in COM, MS chose to go with a whole new platform, not because anything is wrong with COM, but to generate revenue and continue vendor lock-in. Again, read "What's the need for .NET?".
Take a look at some Linux User Groups (LUGs) online. These organizations are very similar to what you're trying to create. In fact, if there's one in your area, you could possibly start something affiliated with them with their help.
I just noticed that for the NY Organized Crime Task Force's 7 intercepts, the average cost was $886,999. Yet for Special Narcotics it's only $8747. I suppose it's due to the duration of the intercepts.
For those who don't RTFA, here's one interesting number: Average cost per intercept order = $54,586
I don't see any reference to how the number is determined, like if it includes parts of salaries for employees.
Good point. The reason I trust newsfactor.com is because hovering over the link produces the note "Find related products from IBM" (or whoever).
I think "the next big thing" in advertising could be plain old hypertext links within writings. If an online magazine has an article about C++, wherever it says "C++ compiler" in the article it could be a link to a compiler vendor. Newsfactor does this to some extent in their articles, plus with descriptive icons so you know you're going to an ad. It would seem much more successful and useful to the user to go this route.
Along with everything else said about the extra .NET layer, this will work out the same as everything else for developers on Windows: those who look for the best solution to their needs may or may not use it (probably not), but those who blindly follow Microsoft's push - the vast majority - will use it if MS tells them to. Unfortunately most developers only familiar with the Microsoft world do whatever they push. It may seem like COM is dying, but it's the underlying technology to all of .NET until they rewrite .NET to do all the work Win32 already does. So if you want to keep using COM go right ahead, it's not going anywhere for a long time. But Microsoft will be able to push the majority of developers to .NET simply because they'll listen to whatever they're told.
In NYC hailed cab drivers must drive you wherever you request, at least within the city limits. If they don't you can write down his/her hack license number, which also must be posted, and report the person. Maybe you could look into getting the same law (or maybe cab company rule) put into place in DC.
The bigger problem in NYC is racial discrimination. Many times an empty cab will pass a black person hailing them. Let's say you hail the cab with this new system, but when he arrives he takes off because of your color. Since the system would know which cab took the call it should be trivial to allow the caller to report the discrimination.
This will most certainly help the poor image of the US in the middle east. We're showing our strong corporate interests. It's such a nice, clean, humanitarian image the US partrays, isn't it?
While this is all very interesting and becoming more practical for everyday use, we don't hear enough about the stuff that's related but not quite bleeding edge. We know there are people trying to create intelligent systems such as for language understanding and intelligent web searching, but it seems we don't hear much about them. I'm wondering if it's because most of that is being done within corporations while much of this bleeding edge research is done by universities.
I've been considering going back to school full time for my masters also, but there's one big problem: cost. I live in the US and I don't know how I'd be able to afford a masters program with little to no income. Of course I would go after scholarships and such, but they're hard to come by. Financial loans (at least for the schools in my area) can't completely cover tuition for the masters programs. I suppose they're hoping you're working part time. So the question becomes: go for scholarships and financial aid with the risk there won't be a job available after graduation? Plus come out with a huge debt? I don't know...
Not that I disagree, but one concern with the Internet becoming a public utility is government regulation. When something private becomes ubuiquitous enough, the public basically gets a right to regulate it (overly simplistic explanation). Of course the public regulation is handled by the government, which should be handled in the public interest, but we all know how that's been going. So while becoming a utility would keep it relatively open to the consumers, it could allow stifling government regulation.
I had Verizon (baby Bell) DSL and switched to Cablevision cable in the NYC metro area. I had to pay extra to get 1.5mbps for DSL. For cable, which is much cheaper here, there is no specified bandwidth limit. Without tweaking I now max out at about 750kB/s. One major difference is that tweaking network settings (packet sizes, etc) can greatly increase speed. But with DSL there's a much lower bandwidth limit. So now I pay less and get much better speed. That's why when I read the headline I first said, "Well, duh!"
Can $250 billion in market capitalization be wrong?
Yes.
Their questions probably keep out those who are bad at business. So far they've been successful in business and marketing. But their software quality is still low, so they may not be keeping out bad developers.
You didn't get the memo? There is no more fair use for anything electronic any more.
Since calling it Firebird is a recent change, why not just pick another name if it's becoming such a big deal? Any particular reason to stick with the name Firebird for Mozilla other than the fact it's already been publicized? If they're getting so much heat from it, I think they should just pick another name right now and end this.
The closest thing they have is this.
to understand what developers look at to know when things are going well and when they're not
The bug list and feature request list are one way. Strong feedback implies interested users. Also adoption by other developers into the development group shows others are interested, so you must be doing something right.
I can tell you my VP is still pissed about Slammer and other worms and viruses. He's wasted so much time with Windows vulnerabilities he's happy to hear about alternatives. It's only because those alternatives can run Windows apps, however, that keep him listening. If the latest MS Office didn't run on Linux he wouldn't consider it because the users are just too used to having it and refuse to try anything else. With greater stability and easier software deployments already on Linux' side, having Wine is helping the situation in many places.
I recently saw an Apple store in my local mall for the first time. Having all white glowing walls and glass tables it felt a little space-fantasy-ish. It was nice and had all their products laid out with salesman around but not annoying. The new online store gives me the same sort of feel. Someone probably gave their marketing department a good kick in the pants recently and it's paying off. Someone in marketing is earning their bonus.
So I can legally post software that tells people how to create a bomb. Posting how to create a bomb on a web site has been to federal court and protected. But I can't write software to conceal a communications device? Which is more dangerous? And where does it end? Will anyone in the federal government be able to say code is a form of speech any time soon?
I only have 19 day's to invent the next programming language?!? I'd better get to work!
Your Rights Online?
It seems to relate more to offline, doesn't it?
Exactly. Type in a few words and get a million pages to look at in under a second. Beating that will take some major innovation (AI or some sort of highly intelligent ranking system), and I certainly don't pray facing Redmond when seeking devine innovation.