GPL may not be *fully* enforce*able* in germany. The Heise artikle goes on about Service contractors being liable for damages when installing GPL software without reasonable cause and that developers, if paid writing GPL software, still can be liable for damages caused by said software due to overlapping contracts.
Bottom Line: The article says that, no other than in the US, RL situations like where the GPL fully protects contractors from liability are rare at most. Nothing new here, move on.
I've only tested moregroupware myself. Apart from a bug or two due to developement status (and a recently discovered hole thats being worked on) it actually looked quite cool. PHProject and Twig are the two classic PHP based Groupware giants and each have a large community.
What's this 'if I have been' stuff you're talking about? And, btw, Debian in fact is *growing* in users due to the first people recongizing that SuSE, RH and Co. only can make money from homeusers by changing their distro 3 times a year and asking for a pricey update in order to get the newest XFree and stuff. The last SuSE I got was 7.2 Pro and that was my third. Now I'm fed up and will go vendor independent. So do *many* others. Gues why the deb mailinglist is by now almost just as frequented as the suse ml.
Bottom Line: This article comes damn close to serious bullshitting territory.
Meanwhile I'll watch the day draw nearer where the german military finally switches to SuSE/United Linux or BSD due to unanswered questions wether M$ OSes have secret US-"No such Agency" backdoors built in or not.
Allthough keeping in mind that germany has been blowing 500 Million Euro since the eighties on building a new military IT strukture that still may take a while....
Can you think of even one Java application that you use on your desktop and like?
Actually, yes. Jedit.
And yes.
And yes.
And so on.
I like Python too, and choose it over Java if it's really applicable. But not understanding 'the allure of Java' is a little overinflated don't you think? The apps above are good reasons to use Java, and they're not even Javas prime homeground. Maybe you haven't done any serious server side programming or tight client-server stuff, but be ashured that there are very good reasons to use Java. Especially with a big team and an emphasis on solid OOAD.
...but not allways and sometimes even the other way. Here's my expierience in a quote from an earlier comment:
My Senior would squish me (and anybody else) (Score:5, Interesting) by Qbertino (265505) on Saturday May 10, @12:18PM (#5926075)
On my last Job (all staff laid off on Dec. 31, 2k3) I shared the office with the Senior Developer, a 40 year old with 20 years expierience in Pascal/Delphi Developement who had a University Diploma in Informatics (that's what it's called in germany, go figure...). He didn't know zilch 'bout OSS, Linux and the lot. I went about evangelizing him and six months later he was way ahead of me in gcc, Python, Java/Netbeans and co. I was/am the young guy (well, sort of young (32:-) )) who new all those new goodies and he has the RL expierience. I'd pick him over any hotshot podknocker on *any* IT related project I can think of. And I'd advise anybody to do the same. 3 Days with him are more worth than 2 weeks with a team of twens with all but a handfull of coding-years each. The same would count if he were fifty or just before retirement.
I'm shure you also get elderly coders that suck big time 'cause they won't budge a millimeter from using Mickeysoft. Just as you can get some 20+ hotshot that isn't worth the space he takes up, claiming that Flash is the successor to Java. It works both ways and ageism may be, but, personally, I'd look at the woman or guy and the skills, learning ability and the ability to work solution oriented and *not* at the age. I believe there are some 60+ coders out there with whom it's a bazillion times more fun and productive to code a dynamic website project with the newest and flashyest buzz-PL than it is with somebody still wet behind the ears. But there are also some youngsters that would outcoede me with no sweat, there's no doupt about that aswell.
Re:Gen-X people are the best coders out there
on
Ageism in IT?
·
· Score: 1
You are so very right on! I'd mod you into heaven if I could.
What it all boils down to: We (I'm 33) are the generation that grew *with* the computers available! With 13 it was ZX81, with 16 it was the C64 and PC-1402 assembler, with 19 it was the Amiga and during College there were the first 286 and 386 PCs, with QBasic, Pascal and eventually the first GUI Applications. I remeber the transition from coding Qbasic to Geos to Win3.1 and quark express layouting. One would actually see how a GUI grows out of the basic system and gains usefullness. Even with gaming you'd see evolution. From Pong over Encouter and Pharaos Curse past Defender of the Crown right up to The Dig. *Nobody* will *ever* have that real-life chance of feeling and seeing the computers emerge as a cultural technique!
When my daughter grows up I don't want her to miss some of it. I'm going to see to it that she get's going on the command line before she fiddles with a desktop.
Publish a list of software versions before (!!) the show, so people can prepare their boxxen with the right stuff.
Stick to TCP/IP and maybe even assigned IPs. Everybody should be able to set up their own box with that. WIth static IPs on the entry-tickets you'll also always know who's who on the LAN.
Put the patches on an extra LAN-Info Server, with all the rules of the party and a billboard and a sceduler for tournatments and stuff.
Don't (!!) have an internet connection that is available for everyone, only one for the admins and emergencys.
Prohibit Filesharing! I mean it.
Use Linux or BSD for the Gameservers if not for all servers.
You might want to restrict to certain games, or support more seldom played games by doing tournaments or organizing specials. Tribes 2 is a top-line Multiplayer that isn't recognized enough for instance.
You're heading in the wrong direction with this question. From what I gather you've got:
1.) rock solid expierience with Linux 2.) are in a position where you're opinion weighs in 3.) are (partly) in charge when new software is installed 4.) have competent collegues
You should seriously ask yourself if you need an OSS-confectionist like Red Hat alltogether. I'd take a small, non-showstopper piece of your network (2-3 boxen) and migrate to Debian Woody (Debian Woody being a substitute for [fill in favourite free distro here]). If it works out and you feel comfortable (which I'd allmost bet) you're gonna have a product lifetime that's top-of-the-line in the software business.
Better yet: If fiddling with that debian stuff isn't your job and you need some in-depth tuning done for it to work out, you should definitly look for a small company that offers their own OSS solutions based on free distros. Since you are savy of all the details it would be adeqate to do some kind of cooperation, like them setting everything up debian-compliant and you paying them for the extras, adding an agreement to the contract that all extras go stante pede to debian.org as a contribution by [fill in you company name here] and [fill in your small local linuxhouse here]. Documentation included. This will ashure three things: 1.) You get what you pay for. Nothing more, nothing less. In the end you'll most certainly come out cheaper. 2.) You'll have the above mentioned, quasi infinite product lifetime 3.) You'll have a good and loyal partner for the maintainence jobs inhouse and maybe with customers and you'll get some bragging rights for supporting the superhip OSS community.
In something like a half a year from now I'd consider the company I'm about to found a viable partner for such a cooperation. From what I've read, that is.
I live in germany but still read a lot of US 'zines. The german law in this case is more strikt and good. Better than the US version, imho. If a advertising is technically-oriented - rather than emotionally - german advertizing generally is much more informative. I trust american advertizing much less.
Curious enough, only a few years ago the ban of compareative advertizing was lifted and some nice little campaigns took of. I remember some shootouts between the vehicle-renters Sixt and Eurocar where they even simulated each others CI to emphasize the difference to the competitor.
I haven't attended an Online University, but I have been involved in serveral serious E-Learning projects on the developers side - also on campus related projects. Some of them being reference grade online e-learning systems and enviroments that I had the opportunity to design. When doing E-Learning or setting up an E-Learning enviroment or teaching in an E-Learning enviroment there are a few things one has to keep in mind:
1.) Quality and content costs work and effort. The LMF may be SCORM compliant and cost 10 Million $, but if there's no quality content that has been set up by a competent team of developers, editors and teachers it's just a big hunk of code - and a big pile of useless, steaming excrement.
2.) E-Learning has benefits and drawbacks and so does classic learning compared to E-Learning. In your situation E-Learning may be more benefitial, but only if all involved know how to reap the benefits of E-Learning! If your Profs haven't the most basic skills of preparing and browsing online content - be it with their special system or the usual tools - it's somewhat pointless of taking lessons with them. Training the teachers is crucial to an online learning enviroment!
3.) E-Learning requires a basic skillset to even actually take place! Like normal learning and teaching requires skills like reading and writing, and, let's take math for an example, a basic knowlege of a formal language, so does E-Learning and E-Teaching require skills like proper e-mailing, online editing, preparing content for hypercontext, object-oriented thinking and a totally different subset of discipline. In class you shut up and listen and raise your hand when you want to ask something. And you only speak when asked (usually that is). Via E-Mail you use quoting and don't write tofu. (that's a simple example of this discipline thing)
With these points in mind and a whole lot more in the background I'd like to add that E-Learning hasn't grown up yet, imho. When I see the last remaining stashes of 'dot-bomb' cash being burnt on E-Learning projects that have no link to reality whatsoever (performance and usability wise) with hideously bloated databases that aren't even properly normalized and LMFs (learning mamagement frameworks) that cost enough money to give Etiopia a real chance and zilch usable content in them, I think it's safe to say one does good when looking closely thrice at an E-Learning enviroment. Be it as a teacher, scholar or the president of a university. E-Learning/Online Learning will grow up when standards have prevailed and people generally will have grasped the concept of Hypertext and quoted commenting. Until then it will remain closer to pointless. The rest is just detailwork by us developers and is mostly academic by real-world standards. Who in the end gives a damn if you use Smil or XML or JBoss or Zope? Right.
Touched enter key, sorry. Allthough that actually emphasises what I'm just saying: Keyboards and screen suck at emulating paper. They're a whole different thing with different advantages and disadvantages alltogether.
The computer is unmatchable at written dialog (email, slashdot, you name it (imagine/. via letters!!!) and at writing, assembling and 'retouching' worked-over text (or layout for that matter).
BUT: The computer *sux* at notes!
Notes you *allways* do on paper.
For the lectures and courses get yourself a top-quality pen and notepad (with high-quality paper and hardcover) so that it's fun writing on. That's what I allways do. I really dig cool pens in all kinds of flavors and with some real high-tech on them too. Spare no money when getting a cool notepad/book, you'll give extra effort to write in a way that you'll be able to read 10 years from now.
And trust me: You can spend a lot on cool Paper and Pens. But it still will be a lot cheaper and more hassle free than a comp.
If you want a 'puter for the gadgets sake, then get whatever you fancy. But you might want to keep an eye on battery-time, so I sugggest you get yourself a transmeta. If it really *has* to be a computer, that is. The Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook P with modular and power pack has 16 hrs. of real offline power. It's the only PC I'd consider for *real* working off the powergrid. Everything else is a wast of money, imho. Unless you've got an old, cheapo P150 Laptop somewhere...
Your brain will hold more when you've been forced to process things in *two* areas of your head one wile listening and the other when writing it down. Typing is much to linear for actuall notes, unless you have a mindmapper running and are top-notch at operating it.
Call me a nittpicker, but this is what gives *everyone* introduced to GNU/Linux the creeps. Even with themes those desktops more than often look like someone did doo-doo on those screens. I never was convinced by fvwm and its shoddy-looking, pixelfont-ridden little gadgets on the screen. They where introduced to me 5 years ago and look crappy back then allready. Here I'd like to hail Enlightenment and GKrellm, projects that actually managed to look like something done by people not completely colorblind.
Mod me down, but to me fvwm, along with Motifs bizar font technologies is one of those odd anacronisims of GNU/Linux that I would want begone rather sooner than later. Those geeks who still use fvwm, do as you please, but you might want to switch your WM before showing of Linux to some n00b, or else it could be that they think you're a little far out. Oh, and Happy Birthday anyway.:-)
How about a little philosophy inbetween?
on
A Good Summer Read?
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I won't even think about mentioning my favorites, since I guess all alternative to Gibson and Stephenson have been mentioned 3 times allready. I recommend two rock solid classics that are considered the best in putting people to thinking (and finding answers). Aka:
The best in philosophy:
Arthur Schopenhauer; The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims This is, iirc, Schopenhauers last book and is generally considered one of the references in philosophy in general. Basically an extract of modern & classic philosophy since the ancient greek. Actually a must-read for every literate grown-up. Beware Schopenhauers pessimism though, that's the catch with his stuff. Very educative read though.
Rudolf Steiner; The Philosophy of Freedom: The Basis for a Modern World Conception This one is generally rewarded as the best 'unknown' work of philosophy of our cultural epoch. Steiner is a monist, just like Schopenhauer, but he unweeds Schopenhauers general pessimism and takes on all the dualists generalisims that are used nowadays to prove that humans have no free will (and stuff like that) and does a very good job at correcting Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Hartmann, Kant and a whole league of all the rest of know philosophers. I personally consider this a *very* important read for anyone who likes to ponder the life and times of the human race and the human individual. So I think you could say everybody should read it.:-) BTW: Afaik one could say that the currently very popular Ken Wilbur is something like a 'makeshift Rudolf Steiner'. Allthough I have to admit that I haven't gotten around to reading a lot from him....
And if I like it I'm gonna pay back by helping out in developement and setting up a planeshift server. I'll even be able to help build my own impression of a fantasy world.
Just like with them *real* pen'n'paper RPGs.
How long do you think an exploit like this would live in an OSS MMORPG? Right.
At first this sounds silly, but it makes sense to use a standard to acutallly benchmark messures and since this one seems to have served quite long (iirc Napoleon was the first to establish the metric system in a broad range) it might as well be also used today.
The flawed weight could be due to magnetisim (scales base/table/platform/whatever and cylinder repelling each other) caused by microwave induction from cellphones or the likes. I wonder if the place where the standard is weighed is shielded form this. I would be supprised if not.
The first two verses of the german national anthem actually are illegal in germany. Singing or reciting them in public is an actuall criminal offense(!!). The one line you refer to "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" (Germany, germany over everything...) is the first in the song. It was well and purposefully abused by the Nazis to express supriority of the german 'Übermensch' and his realm ("Reich"). Thus the somewhat rigid and humorless approach of the german authorities, and germans in general, with this issue.
The actuall meaning comes from a much earlier date, where the nation of germany as a union of a bazillion small shires and earldoms was to be formed and the anthems composer (his name evades me just now...) wanted to express his notion and emphasise on the formation of the nation of germany. 'Germany, germany over everthing' ("including petty interrests of local lords"). Another interressting example of how goodwill and meaning can be abused. Anyway, don't get caught singing the first two verses of the Deutschlandlied in germany, we'll give you a hard time.:-) The third verse is perfectly ok, though, and sung at any official occasion (International Soccer match, for instance):
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Für das deutsche Vaterland Danach lasst uns alle streben Brüderlich mit Herz und Hand Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit Sind des glückes Unterpfand Blüh' im glanze dieses Glückes Blühe deutsches Vaterland.
This verse is also the one best reflecting the actuall initial intention of the german national anthem and offers no chance of Nazi-misinterpretation.
You meant: Could this also be due to closed source software being potential spyware? The answer is: yes. Yet that has nothing to do with the Iraq Invasion. Germans throughout society can very well differentiate between a nations gouverment and a software vendor. Your headline is missleading when you look at it that way.
1st of all: Linux Tag *is* damaged if Linux loses reputation. 2nd: This kind of thing SCO appears to be doing (falls claims and statements) actually *is* 'wettbewerbswidrig' (roughly translates to 'comerce opstructive') and thus plain and simply illegal in germany. And Linux Tag need not even be directly affected by it to have a reason, if not to say the lawfull duty of filing a notice to german officials that SCO is acting 'comerce obstructive'. A 'Einstweilige Verfügung' ('temporal decree') could actually force SCO Germany to publish proofs for the supposed violation or officially back down from their claims/statements and even publish a suing partys 'Gegendarstellung' ('counter statement') in the media releases SCO Germany controlls (Websites, corporate flyers & publications, etc.). With the Linux Tag being a rock-solid institution in the country with the highest amount of linux-users per capita (even high-ranked politicians and officials attend the linux tag) this is not just far from insane, it's also quite conclusive and weighs pretty hard in favor of the OSS community.
Aside from that, if you ask me, I see a major ass-chewing for SCO at the horizon. Not just in germany. I was bound to become one of their customers, but 650 $ for their United Linux distro and now this shurely asks for serious trouble from *everybody* in the *nix world.
What's this supposed to be? Is this such a big fat hairy deal that you have to charge a minimum of 800$ for a "oh-so-extra-special-secure-Linux" distro? Ok, if it's so easy to install that any Webdesigner could get it on right out of the box I say ok, let them Dreamweavers pay the price if they're to cheap for hiring a sysadmin to their team. But I seriously doupt that this one pulls the trick better than a securepatched SuSE, Debian or OpenBSD. Does anybody have solid expierience with this distro and can they testify that its bizar retail price is justified?
I'll use Hash when he makes a Linux version. Since it doesn't look like that (which is a shame, imho) Blender will do just very(!!!) fine and often even better.
That was a missunderstanding. Predictable though, I'll admit that. Houdini is a kick ass product if you pay the price which is something like 9000$ for the full featureset version (renderman and mental ray included!). The smaller featureset versions cost aprox. 3000$. That's what I ment.
Having used both I must say Houdini is OK, but it's interface builds up slow as hell whenever it's redrawn which gives the impression of a somewhat clunky piece of software. I'll still have a look at the new version though, allthough I'm gonna stick with Blender. Also because Houdinis pricing is somewhat silly.
You've got a point here. Blender's learning curve at first sight isn't just steep, it seems like a wall. For instance there is no way for a Blender-newbie to suspect the interface to be manipulatable with the same functions you manage the viewport. Try zooming (ctrl&Keypad+/-) on the viewport and on the button windows for starts to see what I mean... The fist 3 weeks I started with blender my head was spinning and I couldn't get a grasp of doing stuff that was remotely usefull in a reasonable amount of time. Blenders interface seems to make a sport of doing *everything* different. That's especially tough when you're used to Cinema 4D, 3DSMax or stuff like that. One point being the difference between edit and select mode, the other being selected & active condition (grasp those for starts). The keyboard shortcuts are not standard due to the extremely bizare amounts of them. Check this overview of shortcuts from the 1.8 version (still very usefull!) to see what I mean. Yet, beyond all this, one you've grasped the interface you'll be faster with blender than you could possibly be with *any* other 3D tool. It's a little extreme a copmarsion, but one might be able to say that Blender is the Emacs of 3D tools. With all the downsides, but also with all the benefits.
You're describing the very same thing that Leonardo da Vinci must have felt. I'm not saying that every geek has the same genius or the same capabilities but I remember that I hated being presented with a math-formula or musical cord in school without understanding it. I would get very aggressive with my teachers if they weren't able to explain - which often they weren't. Those who could - because they themselves understood - I still deeply respect for being real teachers or 'masters' if you will. This is the very same 'drive' that made me achieve a lot doing stuff one would consider 'ungeekish', namely studying a stage art before I got into full-time computing. This is what separates the 'geek' from the 'meek', a strong uncomfort with everything he/she has or wants to deal with and doesn't fully understand. It's a deep longing for liberty and independence, imho. I would consider my mother a geek aswell, since everything she achieved she achieved by explore-&-do-it-yourself. Curiously enough there was a time in her life when she protocoled the Nasa Apollo missions radiotalk and did technical translations (english/german) for top-secret weapons systems (Harpoon/Cruise Missile). With no actuall degree in anything technical. My dad, who was an electronics engineer, actually would ask her first if he didn't understand something. Guess I got my geekdom from my mother.:-)
Slashdot Mirror
GPL may not be *fully* enforce*able* in germany. The Heise artikle goes on about Service contractors being liable for damages when installing GPL software without reasonable cause and that developers, if paid writing GPL software, still can be liable for damages caused by said software due to overlapping contracts.
Bottom Line:
The article says that, no other than in the US, RL situations like where the GPL fully protects contractors from liability are rare at most.
Nothing new here, move on.
I've only tested moregroupware myself. Apart from a bug or two due to developement status (and a recently discovered hole thats being worked on) it actually looked quite cool. PHProject and Twig are the two classic PHP based Groupware giants and each have a large community.
w are.org/
http://www.phproject.org/
http://www.moregroup
http://twig.screwdriver.net/
What's this 'if I have been' stuff you're talking about?
And, btw, Debian in fact is *growing* in users due to the first people recongizing that SuSE, RH and Co. only can make money from homeusers by changing their distro 3 times a year and asking for a pricey update in order to get the newest XFree and stuff.
The last SuSE I got was 7.2 Pro and that was my third. Now I'm fed up and will go vendor independent. So do *many* others. Gues why the deb mailinglist is by now almost just as frequented as the suse ml.
Bottom Line:
This article comes damn close to serious bullshitting territory.
Meanwhile I'll watch the day draw nearer where the german military finally switches to SuSE/United Linux or BSD due to unanswered questions wether M$ OSes have secret US-"No such Agency" backdoors built in or not.
Allthough keeping in mind that germany has been blowing 500 Million Euro since the eighties on building a new military IT strukture that still may take a while....
Can you think of even one Java application that you use on your desktop and like?
Actually, yes. Jedit.
And yes.
And yes.
And so on.
I like Python too, and choose it over Java if it's really applicable. But not understanding 'the allure of Java' is a little overinflated don't you think? The apps above are good reasons to use Java, and they're not even Javas prime homeground. Maybe you haven't done any serious server side programming or tight client-server stuff, but be ashured that there are very good reasons to use Java. Especially with a big team and an emphasis on solid OOAD.
...but not allways and sometimes even the other way. Here's my expierience in a quote from an earlier comment:
:-) )) who new all those new goodies and he has the RL expierience. I'd pick him over any hotshot podknocker on *any* IT related project I can think of. And I'd advise anybody to do the same. 3 Days with him are more worth than 2 weeks with a team of twens with all but a handfull of coding-years each. The same would count if he were fifty or just before retirement.
My Senior would squish me (and anybody else) (Score:5, Interesting)
by Qbertino (265505) on Saturday May 10, @12:18PM (#5926075)
On my last Job (all staff laid off on Dec. 31, 2k3) I shared the office with the Senior Developer, a 40 year old with 20 years expierience in Pascal/Delphi Developement who had a University Diploma in Informatics (that's what it's called in germany, go figure...).
He didn't know zilch 'bout OSS, Linux and the lot. I went about evangelizing him and six months later he was way ahead of me in gcc, Python, Java/Netbeans and co.
I was/am the young guy (well, sort of young (32
I'm shure you also get elderly coders that suck big time 'cause they won't budge a millimeter from using Mickeysoft. Just as you can get some 20+ hotshot that isn't worth the space he takes up, claiming that Flash is the successor to Java.
It works both ways and ageism may be, but, personally, I'd look at the woman or guy and the skills, learning ability and the ability to work solution oriented and *not* at the age. I believe there are some 60+ coders out there with whom it's a bazillion times more fun and productive to code a dynamic website project with the newest and flashyest buzz-PL than it is with somebody still wet behind the ears. But there are also some youngsters that would outcoede me with no sweat, there's no doupt about that aswell.
You are so very right on!
I'd mod you into heaven if I could.
What it all boils down to:
We (I'm 33) are the generation that grew *with* the computers available!
With 13 it was ZX81, with 16 it was the C64 and PC-1402 assembler, with 19 it was the Amiga and during College there were the first 286 and 386 PCs, with QBasic, Pascal and eventually the first GUI Applications. I remeber the transition from coding Qbasic to Geos to Win3.1 and quark express layouting. One would actually see how a GUI grows out of the basic system and gains usefullness. Even with gaming you'd see evolution. From Pong over Encouter and Pharaos Curse past Defender of the Crown right up to The Dig. *Nobody* will *ever* have that real-life chance of feeling and seeing the computers emerge as a cultural technique!
When my daughter grows up I don't want her to miss some of it. I'm going to see to it that she get's going on the command line before she fiddles with a desktop.
Publish a list of software versions before (!!) the show, so people can prepare their boxxen with the right stuff.
Stick to TCP/IP and maybe even assigned IPs. Everybody should be able to set up their own box with that. WIth static IPs on the entry-tickets you'll also always know who's who on the LAN.
Put the patches on an extra LAN-Info Server, with all the rules of the party and a billboard and a sceduler for tournatments and stuff.
Don't (!!) have an internet connection that is available for everyone, only one for the admins and emergencys.
Prohibit Filesharing! I mean it.
Use Linux or BSD for the Gameservers if not for all servers.
You might want to restrict to certain games, or support more seldom played games by doing tournaments or organizing specials.
Tribes 2 is a top-line Multiplayer that isn't recognized enough for instance.
You're heading in the wrong direction with this question.
From what I gather you've got:
1.) rock solid expierience with Linux
2.) are in a position where you're opinion weighs in
3.) are (partly) in charge when new software is installed
4.) have competent collegues
You should seriously ask yourself if you need an OSS-confectionist like Red Hat alltogether.
I'd take a small, non-showstopper piece of your network (2-3 boxen) and migrate to Debian Woody (Debian Woody being a substitute for [fill in favourite free distro here]). If it works out and you feel comfortable (which I'd allmost bet) you're gonna have a product lifetime that's top-of-the-line in the software business.
Better yet:
If fiddling with that debian stuff isn't your job and you need some in-depth tuning done for it to work out, you should definitly look for a small company that offers their own OSS solutions based on free distros . Since you are savy of all the details it would be adeqate to do some kind of cooperation, like them setting everything up debian-compliant and you paying them for the extras, adding an agreement to the contract that all extras go stante pede to debian.org as a contribution by [fill in you company name here] and [fill in your small local linuxhouse here]. Documentation included. This will ashure three things:
1.) You get what you pay for. Nothing more, nothing less. In the end you'll most certainly come out cheaper.
2.) You'll have the above mentioned, quasi infinite product lifetime
3.) You'll have a good and loyal partner for the maintainence jobs inhouse and maybe with customers and you'll get some bragging rights for supporting the superhip OSS community.
In something like a half a year from now I'd consider the company I'm about to found a viable partner for such a cooperation. From what I've read, that is.
I live in germany but still read a lot of US 'zines. The german law in this case is more strikt and good. Better than the US version, imho.
If a advertising is technically-oriented - rather than emotionally - german advertizing generally is much more informative. I trust american advertizing much less.
Curious enough, only a few years ago the ban of compareative advertizing was lifted and some nice little campaigns took of. I remember some shootouts between the vehicle-renters Sixt and Eurocar where they even simulated each others CI to emphasize the difference to the competitor.
I haven't attended an Online University, but I have been involved in serveral serious E-Learning projects on the developers side - also on campus related projects. Some of them being reference grade online e-learning systems and enviroments that I had the opportunity to design.
When doing E-Learning or setting up an E-Learning enviroment or teaching in an E-Learning enviroment there are a few things one has to keep in mind:
1.) Quality and content costs work and effort. The LMF may be SCORM compliant and cost 10 Million $, but if there's no quality content that has been set up by a competent team of developers, editors and teachers it's just a big hunk of code - and a big pile of useless, steaming excrement.
2.) E-Learning has benefits and drawbacks and so does classic learning compared to E-Learning. In your situation E-Learning may be more benefitial, but only if all involved know how to reap the benefits of E-Learning! If your Profs haven't the most basic skills of preparing and browsing online content - be it with their special system or the usual tools - it's somewhat pointless of taking lessons with them. Training the teachers is crucial to an online learning enviroment!
3.) E-Learning requires a basic skillset to even actually take place! Like normal learning and teaching requires skills like reading and writing, and, let's take math for an example, a basic knowlege of a formal language, so does E-Learning and E-Teaching require skills like proper e-mailing, online editing, preparing content for hypercontext, object-oriented thinking and a totally different subset of discipline. In class you shut up and listen and raise your hand when you want to ask something. And you only speak when asked (usually that is). Via E-Mail you use quoting and don't write tofu. (that's a simple example of this discipline thing)
With these points in mind and a whole lot more in the background I'd like to add that E-Learning hasn't grown up yet, imho. When I see the last remaining stashes of 'dot-bomb' cash being burnt on E-Learning projects that have no link to reality whatsoever (performance and usability wise) with hideously bloated databases that aren't even properly normalized and LMFs (learning mamagement frameworks) that cost enough money to give Etiopia a real chance and zilch usable content in them, I think it's safe to say one does good when looking closely thrice at an E-Learning enviroment. Be it as a teacher, scholar or the president of a university.
E-Learning/Online Learning will grow up when standards have prevailed and people generally will have grasped the concept of Hypertext and quoted commenting. Until then it will remain closer to pointless.
The rest is just detailwork by us developers and is mostly academic by real-world standards. Who in the end gives a damn if you use Smil or XML or JBoss or Zope? Right.
Touched enter key, sorry.
/. via letters!!!) and at writing, assembling and 'retouching' worked-over text (or layout for that matter).
Allthough that actually emphasises what I'm just saying: Keyboards and screen suck at emulating paper. They're a whole different thing with different advantages and disadvantages alltogether.
The computer is unmatchable at written dialog (email, slashdot, you name it (imagine
BUT: The computer *sux* at notes!
Notes you *allways* do on paper.
For the lectures and courses get yourself a top-quality pen and notepad (with high-quality paper and hardcover) so that it's fun writing on. That's what I allways do. I really dig cool pens in all kinds of flavors and with some real high-tech on them too. Spare no money when getting a cool notepad/book, you'll give extra effort to write in a way that you'll be able to read 10 years from now.
And trust me: You can spend a lot on cool Paper and Pens. But it still will be a lot cheaper and more hassle free than a comp.
If you want a 'puter for the gadgets sake, then get whatever you fancy. But you might want to keep an eye on battery-time, so I sugggest you get yourself a transmeta. If it really *has* to be a computer, that is.
The Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook P with modular and power pack has 16 hrs. of real offline power. It's the only PC I'd consider for *real* working off the powergrid. Everything else is a wast of money, imho. Unless you've got an old, cheapo P150 Laptop somewhere...
Your brain will hold more when you've been forced to process things in *two* areas of your head one wile listening and the other when writing it down.
Typing is much to linear for actuall notes, unless you have a mindmapper running and are top-notch at operating it.
Call me a nittpicker, but this is what gives *everyone* introduced to GNU/Linux the creeps.
:-)
Even with themes those desktops more than often look like someone did doo-doo on those screens.
I never was convinced by fvwm and its shoddy-looking, pixelfont-ridden little gadgets on the screen. They where introduced to me 5 years ago and look crappy back then allready.
Here I'd like to hail Enlightenment and GKrellm, projects that actually managed to look like something done by people not completely colorblind.
Mod me down, but to me fvwm, along with Motifs bizar font technologies is one of those odd anacronisims of GNU/Linux that I would want begone rather sooner than later. Those geeks who still use fvwm, do as you please, but you might want to switch your WM before showing of Linux to some n00b, or else it could be that they think you're a little far out.
Oh, and Happy Birthday anyway.
I won't even think about mentioning my favorites, since I guess all alternative to Gibson and Stephenson have been mentioned 3 times allready.
:-)
I recommend two rock solid classics that are considered the best in putting people to thinking (and finding answers). Aka:
The best in philosophy:
Arthur Schopenhauer;
The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims
This is, iirc, Schopenhauers last book and is generally considered one of the references in philosophy in general. Basically an extract of modern & classic philosophy since the ancient greek. Actually a must-read for every literate grown-up. Beware Schopenhauers pessimism though, that's the catch with his stuff. Very educative read though.
Rudolf Steiner;
The Philosophy of Freedom: The Basis for a Modern World Conception
This one is generally rewarded as the best 'unknown' work of philosophy of our cultural epoch. Steiner is a monist, just like Schopenhauer, but he unweeds Schopenhauers general pessimism and takes on all the dualists generalisims that are used nowadays to prove that humans have no free will (and stuff like that) and does a very good job at correcting Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Hartmann, Kant and a whole league of all the rest of know philosophers.
I personally consider this a *very* important read for anyone who likes to ponder the life and times of the human race and the human individual. So I think you could say everybody should read it.
BTW: Afaik one could say that the currently very popular Ken Wilbur is something like a 'makeshift Rudolf Steiner'. Allthough I have to admit that I haven't gotten around to reading a lot from him....
...its gonna be Planeshift.
And if I like it I'm gonna pay back by helping out in developement and setting up a planeshift server.
I'll even be able to help build my own impression of a fantasy world.
Just like with them *real* pen'n'paper RPGs.
How long do you think an exploit like this would live in an OSS MMORPG? Right.
At first this sounds silly, but it makes sense to use a standard to acutallly benchmark messures and since this one seems to have served quite long (iirc Napoleon was the first to establish the metric system in a broad range) it might as well be also used today.
The flawed weight could be due to magnetisim (scales base/table/platform/whatever and cylinder repelling each other) caused by microwave induction from cellphones or the likes. I wonder if the place where the standard is weighed is shielded form this. I would be supprised if not.
The first two verses of the german national anthem actually are illegal in germany. Singing or reciting them in public is an actuall criminal offense(!!).
:-)
The one line you refer to "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles" (Germany, germany over everything...) is the first in the song. It was well and purposefully abused by the Nazis to express supriority of the german 'Übermensch' and his realm ("Reich"). Thus the somewhat rigid and humorless approach of the german authorities, and germans in general, with this issue.
The actuall meaning comes from a much earlier date, where the nation of germany as a union of a bazillion small shires and earldoms was to be formed and the anthems composer (his name evades me just now...) wanted to express his notion and emphasise on the formation of the nation of germany. 'Germany, germany over everthing' ("including petty interrests of local lords").
Another interressting example of how goodwill and meaning can be abused.
Anyway, don't get caught singing the first two verses of the Deutschlandlied in germany, we'll give you a hard time.
The third verse is perfectly ok, though, and sung at any official occasion (International Soccer match, for instance):
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit
Für das deutsche Vaterland
Danach lasst uns alle streben
Brüderlich mit Herz und Hand
Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit
Sind des glückes Unterpfand
Blüh' im glanze dieses Glückes
Blühe deutsches Vaterland.
This verse is also the one best reflecting the actuall initial intention of the german national anthem and offers no chance of Nazi-misinterpretation.
You meant:
Could this also be due to closed source software being potential spyware?
The answer is: yes.
Yet that has nothing to do with the Iraq Invasion.
Germans throughout society can very well differentiate between a nations gouverment and a software vendor.
Your headline is missleading when you look at it that way.
1st of all:
Linux Tag *is* damaged if Linux loses reputation.
2nd:
This kind of thing SCO appears to be doing (falls claims and statements) actually *is* 'wettbewerbswidrig' (roughly translates to 'comerce opstructive') and thus plain and simply illegal in germany. And Linux Tag need not even be directly affected by it to have a reason, if not to say the lawfull duty of filing a notice to german officials that SCO is acting 'comerce obstructive'.
A 'Einstweilige Verfügung' ('temporal decree') could actually force SCO Germany to publish proofs for the supposed violation or officially back down from their claims/statements and even publish a suing partys 'Gegendarstellung' ('counter statement') in the media releases SCO Germany controlls (Websites, corporate flyers & publications, etc.).
With the Linux Tag being a rock-solid institution in the country with the highest amount of linux-users per capita (even high-ranked politicians and officials attend the linux tag) this is not just far from insane, it's also quite conclusive and weighs pretty hard in favor of the OSS community.
Aside from that, if you ask me, I see a major ass-chewing for SCO at the horizon. Not just in germany. I was bound to become one of their customers, but 650 $ for their United Linux distro and now this shurely asks for serious trouble from *everybody* in the *nix world.
What's this supposed to be?
Is this such a big fat hairy deal that you have to charge a minimum of 800$ for a "oh-so-extra-special-secure-Linux" distro?
Ok, if it's so easy to install that any Webdesigner could get it on right out of the box I say ok, let them Dreamweavers pay the price if they're to cheap for hiring a sysadmin to their team.
But I seriously doupt that this one pulls the trick better than a securepatched SuSE, Debian or OpenBSD.
Does anybody have solid expierience with this distro and can they testify that its bizar retail price is justified?
I'll use Hash when he makes a Linux version.
Since it doesn't look like that (which is a shame, imho) Blender will do just very(!!!) fine and often even better.
That was a missunderstanding. Predictable though, I'll admit that.
Houdini is a kick ass product if you pay the price which is something like 9000$ for the full featureset version (renderman and mental ray included!).
The smaller featureset versions cost aprox. 3000$.
That's what I ment.
Having used both I must say Houdini is OK, but it's interface builds up slow as hell whenever it's redrawn which gives the impression of a somewhat clunky piece of software. I'll still have a look at the new version though, allthough I'm gonna stick with Blender. Also because Houdinis pricing is somewhat silly.
You've got a point here.
Blender's learning curve at first sight isn't just steep, it seems like a wall.
For instance there is no way for a Blender-newbie to suspect the interface to be manipulatable with the same functions you manage the viewport. Try zooming (ctrl&Keypad+/-) on the viewport and on the button windows for starts to see what I mean...
The fist 3 weeks I started with blender my head was spinning and I couldn't get a grasp of doing stuff that was remotely usefull in a reasonable amount of time. Blenders interface seems to make a sport of doing *everything* different. That's especially tough when you're used to Cinema 4D, 3DSMax or stuff like that. One point being the difference between edit and select mode, the other being selected & active condition (grasp those for starts).
The keyboard shortcuts are not standard due to the extremely bizare amounts of them. Check this
overview of shortcuts from the 1.8 version (still very usefull!) to see what I mean.
Yet, beyond all this, one you've grasped the interface you'll be faster with blender than you could possibly be with *any* other 3D tool.
It's a little extreme a copmarsion, but one might be able to say that Blender is the Emacs of 3D tools. With all the downsides, but also with all the benefits.
You're describing the very same thing that Leonardo da Vinci must have felt. :-)
I'm not saying that every geek has the same genius or the same capabilities but I remember that I hated being presented with a math-formula or musical cord in school without understanding it. I would get very aggressive with my teachers if they weren't able to explain - which often they weren't. Those who could - because they themselves understood - I still deeply respect for being real teachers or 'masters' if you will. This is the very same 'drive' that made me achieve a lot doing stuff one would consider 'ungeekish', namely studying a stage art before I got into full-time computing.
This is what separates the 'geek' from the 'meek', a strong uncomfort with everything he/she has or wants to deal with and doesn't fully understand. It's a deep longing for liberty and independence, imho.
I would consider my mother a geek aswell, since everything she achieved she achieved by explore-&-do-it-yourself. Curiously enough there was a time in her life when she protocoled the Nasa Apollo missions radiotalk and did technical translations (english/german) for top-secret weapons systems (Harpoon/Cruise Missile). With no actuall degree in anything technical. My dad, who was an electronics engineer, actually would ask her first if he didn't understand something.
Guess I got my geekdom from my mother.