Foreign keys are great; if you're a programmer. They provide an easy means to relate data in multiple tables, rather than the sometimes ridiculous joins you end up doing in MySQL. But, foreign keys suck if you're looking for raw speed -- that's one reason MySQL is so damn fast; the programmers didn't have to implement foreign keys. I just did a project that used 17 separate tables, heavily related, and I will say that I'll never try any such foolishness using a DB w/out foreign keys again. Oracle is huge and troublesome to administer, but for large projects, I think it (or equivalent) would be WELL worth it, especially for edu orgs, for which Oracle is free.
The argument that "they're not after me, so why should I care?" is _totally_ bogus! That's just the sort of attitude that has caused the continual erosion of our privacy rights as U.S. citizens. IMHO, this quote sums it up best:
"When they took the fourth amendment, I was quiet because I didn't deal drugs. When they took the sixth amendment, I was quiet because I was innocent. When they took the second amendment, I was quiet because I didn't own a gun. Now they've taken the first amendment, and I can say nothing about it."
Give Apple a break, eh? This sort of lawsuit is fairly common, more than likely the angle they'll take invovles trademark dilution. Like if Pepsi decided to give their bottle curves just like Coke's. The fact is, Apple has [again] made a name for themselves; for many people, solely based on the iMac. It's unfair (and probably illegal) for someone else to make some $ off Apple's hard work, marketing, and perseverence. There are probably an infinite number of possible case designs, and thus an infinite number cooler and better than the iMac -- I guess it's just easier to copy Apple's and wait until their next case to make a new 'breakthrough'.
Hmm, we already have several printers that are not connected to any computer...I could print to them from Japan if I wanted to -- the beauty of TCP/IP and PostScript. Unless of course your using Win9x, then you have to buy NT to get any sort of useful printing features...
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Foreign keys are great; if you're a programmer. They provide an easy means to relate data in multiple tables, rather than the sometimes ridiculous joins you end up doing in MySQL.
But, foreign keys suck if you're looking for raw speed -- that's one reason MySQL is so damn fast; the programmers didn't have to implement foreign keys.
I just did a project that used 17 separate tables, heavily related, and I will say that I'll never try any such foolishness using a DB w/out foreign keys again. Oracle is huge and troublesome to administer, but for large projects, I think it (or equivalent) would be WELL worth it, especially for edu orgs, for which Oracle is free.
The argument that "they're not after me, so why should I care?" is _totally_ bogus! That's just the sort of attitude that has caused the continual erosion of our privacy rights as U.S. citizens. IMHO, this quote sums it up best:
"When they took the fourth amendment, I was quiet because I didn't deal drugs. When they took the sixth amendment, I was quiet because I was innocent. When they took the second amendment, I was quiet because I didn't own a gun. Now they've taken the first amendment, and I can say nothing about it."
-- Anonymous
Give Apple a break, eh? This sort of lawsuit is fairly common, more than likely the angle they'll take invovles trademark dilution. Like if Pepsi decided to give their bottle curves just like Coke's.
The fact is, Apple has [again] made a name for themselves; for many people, solely based on the iMac. It's unfair (and probably illegal) for someone else to make some $ off Apple's hard work, marketing, and perseverence.
There are probably an infinite number of possible case designs, and thus an infinite number cooler and better than the iMac -- I guess it's just easier to copy Apple's and wait until their next case to make a new 'breakthrough'.
Hmm, we already have several printers that are not connected to any computer...I could print to them from Japan if I wanted to -- the beauty of TCP/IP and PostScript. Unless of course your using Win9x, then you have to buy NT to get any sort of useful printing features...