but that is absolutely the wrong way to use a gun.
Outcomes are all that matter. It's easy to talk tough and come up with hypotheticals about what you should or should not do. Reality is that the op saved a life and did not take one. That is the best possible outcome. Had we used your rules, we would have killed one for sure, and likely shot through the assailant and injured or killed the girl -- which would have defeated the purpose.
But really, I suspect the reason so many of you are so intent on proving how awesome "Version 2.2" of your operating system is might be because you and I both know the iDevice is the future. And it pisses you off because for the first time ever, "computers" dont need you and I to maintain them. They just fucking work, instead of barely work.
A) I hope my computer does not do any fucking work - I don't need cute little baby Apple products in my house. I refuse to change iDiapers.
B) Gadgets are gadgets. In five years, we'll be using totally different stuff and remembering fondly the good old days when the iPad came out and all those bizarre Android phones were out there. Change in tech is good.
C) I'd say the future is undecided, interoperable and free. Apple will be quite successful in the short term, but past performance does not guarantee future results. Android appears to be doing about as well as Windows+Intel did against the Mac in the 90s, mostly because it's open (lots of HW mfgs use it), interoperable (it supports lots of standards) and has fewer walls for both users and developers.
D) You are confusing Android with Windows. Android devices don't need an staff of 25 IT pros to keep running.
Our US thuggery is fairly predictable. I'm sure the CIA or equivalent has already been given hit orders.
You've seen a few too many movies.
More than likely, Assange is having his lawyers try to get some kind of amnesty deal in turn for testimony and/or returning the materials. The only danger to Assange is that he be arrested, held and tried like any other person who breaks the law. He may even get off at trial due to Constitutional protection of freedom of the press.
Playing up the danger does get Wikileaks more press, so bonus points for good guerrilla PR for Assange.
They work for the Shareholders - NOT the Customers.
While this maxim is a common and glib reminder that is used by greedy managers who are attempting to get compliance with unethical or illegal practices, it is wrong as a matter of contract and law and the results of chronic poor service is poor profits. It takes time to happen, but it always does, and when it does it's painful, and usually results in those who live and die by the "we don't work for the customer" maxim usually are quickly fired.
Actually, every company that provides a contract service does in a very clear and legal sense work for the customer. When companies forget this, the market (and often courts) provide intense and painful reminders to that company.
I'm used to being on the other side of the table. Here are a couple of things people need to understand:
I may be paying you all I can. In which case, there are all kinds of non-monetary things on the table. Days off, vacation, title, etc...
I'm going to ask you what I'd like you to do, and expect you to tell me what you need to do it. More money, someone to take over task X, etc... Tell me. Whatever I'm asking you to take over is probably as important or more important than task X.
Asking for more money isn't a firing level offense by itself. Lots of posts say asking for more money will get you fired. Not true. What will is asking for money and then telling coworkers, acting like you are on a one man strike, or not getting your job done to your usual level. Everyone wants more money. Management gets that. Asking for more money, then copping an attitude doesn't work.
Understand your golden handcuffs -- there's a reason business owners spring for health insurance, options, 401Ks with vesting, etc... If you have benefits that are worth more than your pay (i.e. wife with cancer on company health care or ownership options), don't be shocked when that is pointed out to you... and be very scared if you are not reminded. I had one guy with $28,000 in 401K matching up in six months tell me he'd quite if he didn't get the raise. Remember, sometimes you are worth more fired.
I would love to see more Adobe software for Linux. I use a few Air apps (Tweetdeck) and I'd love to use Creative Suite on Linux. In fact, Creative Suite on linux would get me to dump my Virtual Box instance with XP and Corel.
So far as Flash goes, I'm just glad it works on Linux. I'd love to see it get better, or see Adobe support an open Flash player project (especially given that Flash player is free as in beer anyway).
Not too disagree with you, just to point out that what's good for the goose doesn't seem to be good for the gander
Well, the issue is as you go up the chain of command, small mistakes get magnified more, and you have to count on those under you to identify and avoid those mistakes - hopefully before you make them.
Typical Example: Captain orders right rudder full. Enlisted guy belays the order to avoid running billion dollar sub aground.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work well in reverse.
Enlisted guy calls in the HQ to ask permission to turn the boat right. HQ says OK. Boat ends up on beach.
The guy on the scene is going to pay the biggest price, event though the Admiral at HQ said OK.
In Abu Garib's case, it's scenario 2 with compounded interest.
Having served, all I can say is that this young man is either an idiot, or his beliefs were strong enough he felt the consequences were worth it. Regardless what right and wrong are on in the videos and documents he disclosed, this young man will bear the full consequences for his actions. One can only hope he is comfortable with trading his freedom or even his life for disclosing what he did, because it was a federal felony, a violation of the UCMJ and likely will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Or you could just use Android's libraries and widgets and let the OS pop up the onscreen keyboard when someone taps into a text field or accept keyboard input when a slider's keyboard is open. Ironically, those phones with keyboards actually use both the onscreen keyboard (when the phone is closed) and the hardware keyboard. The whole thing is largely invisible to the programmer.
there are too many variables in the android world to code an app once to run successfully across the ecosystem. Fail. There already are thousands of apps that work across everything from the original G-1 to the latest, greatest device from HTC, Moto, Samsung or whoever.
You have to design a version for on-screen keyboards
I suppose you could do that, if you wanted to spend 90% of your money rewriting libraries that are part of the Android operating system. And your app would be huge. It's a lot easier to use Android's widgets and let the operating system help you out with things like keyboard input and the like. If you do it right, the user can pick from the 25 or so virtual input devices in the market and enter text in the format they like. These really aren't a big deal, and are in many ways the same issues we've dealt with for years with Windows and Macintosh applications running on different size monitors, with different resolutions and different pixel densities.
So fragmentation will ALWAYS be an android issue until they say "here is our reference hardware platform(s) -- you must use of these three sets of features when building hardware."
You have a very fundamental lack of understanding of how computers work. This is what operating systems, device drivers and APIs are for. I code to the GPS API. The API talks to the driver, the driver to the hardware, and the OS orchestrates everything. I don't have to know the details of the underlying hardware. This is also not a new concept in computers and is one of the reasons operating systems exist - to abstract hardware details. Most OSes have an open file command. That command makes all the software and hardware that goes into accessing something stored in a compressed, encrypted hard drive invisible to the programmer. Same goes with keyboard input. With Android, it goes a level deeper - Android apps, even when ran on an Android phone run inside of a virtual machine that insulates the application from raw hardware nearly completely.
Coincidentally this is exactly what MS is doing with Windows Phone 7 -- three hardware platforms, that's it. Microsoft has certainly not been doing a knock out job in the decision making department for several year, outside Xbox. They've lost the catbird's seat in mobile phones, and their CE/Mobile operating system hasn't evolved much in ten years. MS is now trying to replicate the iTunes model, and not trying to come out with a world beating platform. It's remarkable how far away this strategy is to how MS became the biggest game in the computer business. They allowed rapid evolution of hardware. They encouraged their customers like Compaq, HP, ALR, IBM, Dell and Gateway to push envelopes and bring better, faster computers on an almost weekly basis for 20 years.
Well, here's the good news: Android is nothing like Windows CE. The fragmentation issue is a non starter, except with people who have no clue that Android apps run in a virtual machine, and are nearly totally insulated from the underlying hardware. Most of the whining about screen sizes comes from developers who want to use photoshop slicedowns as GUIs instead of using Android's GUI.
Got to agree with you. The "fragmentation" issue is a non starter, and is a good way to spot a pundit or expert that has no experience with Android other than molesting a phone at a cell phone booth in the mall.
Given that the devs are pissed about the vendor's control of the platform(which Microsoft plans to emulate), rather than the platform's technical prowess, I'd say that anybody who is hoping that Windows Phone 7 will save them is moderately delusional.
Try "Stark Raving Mad." It fits better.
Open is winning and the market dynamics all point to Android arriving at an industry leading position. Windows CE in any flavor is a has been, much like the old Palm OS.
There is no alternative platform, despite what others may say about Android, it's immature and their app store(s) are a wild west nightmare.
Apparently you missed that the railroad boom, the gold rush and the oil boom all happened in the Wild West. The craziness over on the Android platform? That's called opportunity.
Oh, and saying there is no alternative platform when there, A) clearly is, and B) it is now outselling iPhone is... shortsighted. Android is evolving at a speed that neither Microsoft, RIM or Apple can keep pace with.
KDE has nothing to do with your multi screen woes. I've had the same problem with Gnome - the issue is that the way that X works has changed since 3.5 KDE was all over the place. Using Xorg.conf files is out. Most utilities that manage multiple screens would simple fix Xorg and replace your current session. That doesn't work so much. There is a new command, xrandr that manages this. xrandr is your friend for dealing with two monitors. I'm sure we'll see better support soon in KDE, but until then, learn a little about xrandr - it's not that hard and gives you a level of control you've never had over how X uses multiple desktops.
KDE does remember your widget setup - you can assign an activity (basically, a desktop, complete with unique widgets and panels) to each monitor. Hit the cashew and create a new activity. When you only have one screen, you can hit the cashew and zoom to the activity you want or you can put an activity tab widgent in a panel for one click access to your different activities.
Second, most KDE4+ distros have the "get icon themes" enabled in system settings, so new icons are pretty close. Most KDE icon sets are very nice, but most do have a very trendy gloss to them.
Oh, and if you want a simple widget theme, try sKulpture. It should be a yum or apt-get install away. It's pretty, simple and clean.
Everyone is trying to create their own iPod/iTunes like market for eBooks. It's a silly strategy that has little future because books and multimedia are very different technologies.
* The killer application is actually publishing your book as a computer file instead of inked on dead trees, not creating a device that is only remarkable in that it is compatible with your DRM scheme. * Finding ways to sell your books to the largest market possible should be the goal. * The only thing that differentiates and the sizes of the walled garden markets is the number of devices that are compatible with their DRM schemes. * DRM is defective by design for most eBooks as it can be defeated a touch typist with some time on their hands. Music and movies actually require a much higher level of skill to crack.
It's like everyone missed Apple's secret weapon with iPod: $1 songs and $2 TV Shows - and tons of free podcasts. Pricing on eBooks, aside the occasional sale at O'Reiley is nuts.
In short, book publishers need to rethink the need for walled gardens. They add little value, given that portable devices that can read open formats have existed since the 1980s, and the current crop of slates and ePaper devices are not much different than a regular computer anyway.
No, they are suggesting a patent encumbered format that lock free (as in GPL and price) software out of the game in finality. Adobe has indicated they are more than happy to implement an open replacement for H.264 in Flash.
Slashdot Mirror
Perhaps a demo of what happens to the average streamed MP3 without buffering and with no caching. Or without allowing access to server copies.
but that is absolutely the wrong way to use a gun.
Outcomes are all that matter. It's easy to talk tough and come up with hypotheticals about what you should or should not do. Reality is that the op saved a life and did not take one. That is the best possible outcome. Had we used your rules, we would have killed one for sure, and likely shot through the assailant and injured or killed the girl -- which would have defeated the purpose.
What moron wants to open a zipped file attachment on his PHONE
Some guy who was sent a zipped attachment and would like to do something useful, like say, read the pdf in the zipfile ...
So while parent may have seen too many movies, you, dear friend, have seen too few congressional hearings.
Movies are more entertaining and more likely to be factual than what is presented in a congressional hearing.
But really, I suspect the reason so many of you are so intent on proving how awesome "Version 2.2" of your operating system is might be because you and I both know the iDevice is the future. And it pisses you off because for the first time ever, "computers" dont need you and I to maintain them. They just fucking work, instead of barely work.
A) I hope my computer does not do any fucking work - I don't need cute little baby Apple products in my house. I refuse to change iDiapers.
B) Gadgets are gadgets. In five years, we'll be using totally different stuff and remembering fondly the good old days when the iPad came out and all those bizarre Android phones were out there. Change in tech is good.
C) I'd say the future is undecided, interoperable and free. Apple will be quite successful in the short term, but past performance does not guarantee future results. Android appears to be doing about as well as Windows+Intel did against the Mac in the 90s, mostly because it's open (lots of HW mfgs use it), interoperable (it supports lots of standards) and has fewer walls for both users and developers.
D) You are confusing Android with Windows. Android devices don't need an staff of 25 IT pros to keep running.
Our US thuggery is fairly predictable. I'm sure the CIA or equivalent has already been given hit orders.
You've seen a few too many movies.
More than likely, Assange is having his lawyers try to get some kind of amnesty deal in turn for testimony and/or returning the materials. The only danger to Assange is that he be arrested, held and tried like any other person who breaks the law. He may even get off at trial due to Constitutional protection of freedom of the press.
Playing up the danger does get Wikileaks more press, so bonus points for good guerrilla PR for Assange.
They work for the Shareholders - NOT the Customers.
While this maxim is a common and glib reminder that is used by greedy managers who are attempting to get compliance with unethical or illegal practices, it is wrong as a matter of contract and law and the results of chronic poor service is poor profits. It takes time to happen, but it always does, and when it does it's painful, and usually results in those who live and die by the "we don't work for the customer" maxim usually are quickly fired.
Actually, every company that provides a contract service does in a very clear and legal sense work for the customer. When companies forget this, the market (and often courts) provide intense and painful reminders to that company.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. AMD's history is a great study in this. So is Apple's.
I'm used to being on the other side of the table. Here are a couple of things people need to understand:
I may be paying you all I can. In which case, there are all kinds of non-monetary things on the table. Days off, vacation, title, etc...
I'm going to ask you what I'd like you to do, and expect you to tell me what you need to do it. More money, someone to take over task X, etc... Tell me. Whatever I'm asking you to take over is probably as important or more important than task X.
Asking for more money isn't a firing level offense by itself. Lots of posts say asking for more money will get you fired. Not true. What will is asking for money and then telling coworkers, acting like you are on a one man strike, or not getting your job done to your usual level. Everyone wants more money. Management gets that. Asking for more money, then copping an attitude doesn't work.
Understand your golden handcuffs -- there's a reason business owners spring for health insurance, options, 401Ks with vesting, etc... If you have benefits that are worth more than your pay (i.e. wife with cancer on company health care or ownership options), don't be shocked when that is pointed out to you... and be very scared if you are not reminded. I had one guy with $28,000 in 401K matching up in six months tell me he'd quite if he didn't get the raise. Remember, sometimes you are worth more fired.
I would love to see more Adobe software for Linux. I use a few Air apps (Tweetdeck) and I'd love to use Creative Suite on Linux. In fact, Creative Suite on linux would get me to dump my Virtual Box instance with XP and Corel.
So far as Flash goes, I'm just glad it works on Linux. I'd love to see it get better, or see Adobe support an open Flash player project (especially given that Flash player is free as in beer anyway).
Not too disagree with you, just to point out that what's good for the goose doesn't seem to be good for the gander
Well, the issue is as you go up the chain of command, small mistakes get magnified more, and you have to count on those under you to identify and avoid those mistakes - hopefully before you make them.
Typical Example: Captain orders right rudder full. Enlisted guy belays the order to avoid running billion dollar sub aground.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work well in reverse.
Enlisted guy calls in the HQ to ask permission to turn the boat right. HQ says OK. Boat ends up on beach.
The guy on the scene is going to pay the biggest price, event though the Admiral at HQ said OK.
In Abu Garib's case, it's scenario 2 with compounded interest.
Having served, all I can say is that this young man is either an idiot, or his beliefs were strong enough he felt the consequences were worth it. Regardless what right and wrong are on in the videos and documents he disclosed, this young man will bear the full consequences for his actions. One can only hope he is comfortable with trading his freedom or even his life for disclosing what he did, because it was a federal felony, a violation of the UCMJ and likely will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Stupid management gets stupid results.
Or you could just use Android's libraries and widgets and let the OS pop up the onscreen keyboard when someone taps into a text field or accept keyboard input when a slider's keyboard is open. Ironically, those phones with keyboards actually use both the onscreen keyboard (when the phone is closed) and the hardware keyboard. The whole thing is largely invisible to the programmer.
Oh, and you have one app.
there are too many variables in the android world to code an app once to run successfully across the ecosystem.
Fail. There already are thousands of apps that work across everything from the original G-1 to the latest, greatest device from HTC, Moto, Samsung or whoever.
You have to design a version for on-screen keyboards
I suppose you could do that, if you wanted to spend 90% of your money rewriting libraries that are part of the Android operating system. And your app would be huge. It's a lot easier to use Android's widgets and let the operating system help you out with things like keyboard input and the like. If you do it right, the user can pick from the 25 or so virtual input devices in the market and enter text in the format they like. These really aren't a big deal, and are in many ways the same issues we've dealt with for years with Windows and Macintosh applications running on different size monitors, with different resolutions and different pixel densities.
So fragmentation will ALWAYS be an android issue until they say "here is our reference hardware platform(s) -- you must use of these three sets of features when building hardware."
You have a very fundamental lack of understanding of how computers work. This is what operating systems, device drivers and APIs are for. I code to the GPS API. The API talks to the driver, the driver to the hardware, and the OS orchestrates everything. I don't have to know the details of the underlying hardware. This is also not a new concept in computers and is one of the reasons operating systems exist - to abstract hardware details. Most OSes have an open file command. That command makes all the software and hardware that goes into accessing something stored in a compressed, encrypted hard drive invisible to the programmer. Same goes with keyboard input. With Android, it goes a level deeper - Android apps, even when ran on an Android phone run inside of a virtual machine that insulates the application from raw hardware nearly completely.
Coincidentally this is exactly what MS is doing with Windows Phone 7 -- three hardware platforms, that's it.
Microsoft has certainly not been doing a knock out job in the decision making department for several year, outside Xbox. They've lost the catbird's seat in mobile phones, and their CE/Mobile operating system hasn't evolved much in ten years. MS is now trying to replicate the iTunes model, and not trying to come out with a world beating platform. It's remarkable how far away this strategy is to how MS became the biggest game in the computer business. They allowed rapid evolution of hardware. They encouraged their customers like Compaq, HP, ALR, IBM, Dell and Gateway to push envelopes and bring better, faster computers on an almost weekly basis for 20 years.
Well, here's the good news: Android is nothing like Windows CE. The fragmentation issue is a non starter, except with people who have no clue that Android apps run in a virtual machine, and are nearly totally insulated from the underlying hardware. Most of the whining about screen sizes comes from developers who want to use photoshop slicedowns as GUIs instead of using Android's GUI.
Got to agree with you. The "fragmentation" issue is a non starter, and is a good way to spot a pundit or expert that has no experience with Android other than molesting a phone at a cell phone booth in the mall.
Given that the devs are pissed about the vendor's control of the platform(which Microsoft plans to emulate), rather than the platform's technical prowess, I'd say that anybody who is hoping that Windows Phone 7 will save them is moderately delusional.
Try "Stark Raving Mad." It fits better.
Open is winning and the market dynamics all point to Android arriving at an industry leading position. Windows CE in any flavor is a has been, much like the old Palm OS.
The approval process needs more transparency
No, the approval process needs to go away.
There is no alternative platform, despite what others may say about Android, it's immature and their app store(s) are a wild west nightmare.
Apparently you missed that the railroad boom, the gold rush and the oil boom all happened in the Wild West. The craziness over on the Android platform? That's called opportunity.
Oh, and saying there is no alternative platform when there, A) clearly is, and B) it is now outselling iPhone is ... shortsighted. Android is evolving at a speed that neither Microsoft, RIM or Apple can keep pace with.
they provide free h.264 playing facilities in their OSes
Thanks for restating the problem.
KDE has nothing to do with your multi screen woes. I've had the same problem with Gnome - the issue is that the way that X works has changed since 3.5 KDE was all over the place. Using Xorg.conf files is out. Most utilities that manage multiple screens would simple fix Xorg and replace your current session. That doesn't work so much. There is a new command, xrandr that manages this. xrandr is your friend for dealing with two monitors. I'm sure we'll see better support soon in KDE, but until then, learn a little about xrandr - it's not that hard and gives you a level of control you've never had over how X uses multiple desktops.
KDE does remember your widget setup - you can assign an activity (basically, a desktop, complete with unique widgets and panels) to each monitor. Hit the cashew and create a new activity. When you only have one screen, you can hit the cashew and zoom to the activity you want or you can put an activity tab widgent in a panel for one click access to your different activities.
Second, most KDE4+ distros have the "get icon themes" enabled in system settings, so new icons are pretty close. Most KDE icon sets are very nice, but most do have a very trendy gloss to them.
Oh, and if you want a simple widget theme, try sKulpture. It should be a yum or apt-get install away. It's pretty, simple and clean.
Everyone is trying to create their own iPod/iTunes like market for eBooks. It's a silly strategy that has little future because books and multimedia are very different technologies.
* The killer application is actually publishing your book as a computer file instead of inked on dead trees, not creating a device that is only remarkable in that it is compatible with your DRM scheme.
* Finding ways to sell your books to the largest market possible should be the goal.
* The only thing that differentiates and the sizes of the walled garden markets is the number of devices that are compatible with their DRM schemes.
* DRM is defective by design for most eBooks as it can be defeated a touch typist with some time on their hands. Music and movies actually require a much higher level of skill to crack.
It's like everyone missed Apple's secret weapon with iPod: $1 songs and $2 TV Shows - and tons of free podcasts. Pricing on eBooks, aside the occasional sale at O'Reiley is nuts.
In short, book publishers need to rethink the need for walled gardens. They add little value, given that portable devices that can read open formats have existed since the 1980s, and the current crop of slates and ePaper devices are not much different than a regular computer anyway.
No, they are suggesting a patent encumbered format that lock free (as in GPL and price) software out of the game in finality. Adobe has indicated they are more than happy to implement an open replacement for H.264 in Flash.