- the generally poor standard of GUI's on Linux itself and Linux software
- the generally dismissive attitude of Linux users / software developers for a nice polished GUI with all the details taken care of.
Which is so utterly completely contrary to the wonderfully intuitive and industry leading GUI of professionally designed Software like, for instance, the ever-popular MS Outlook.... *Tadum* *CRASH!* *Thud!*... Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week.
I'm one of the fortunate rare few that is good at both, programming *and* design. And I can asure you that either - when done professionally - is extremely hard work until you get a routine. Since you are the Geek type that even *admits* he's bad at designing and you've got a full time job already doing all the stuff you mentioned, let me give you one advice for this particular situation you've just described: Stear clear of any design work what-so-ever. Don't even try to do it - you most certainly *will* fail miserably. You've basically got two options: Get a professional (!!!) designer to pimp your site (Any one of these will do just fine: http://www.csszengarden.com/ ) or get yourself a template *or* a web-professional who's got a template subscription with a good template foundry.
Don't get me wrong: Learning good webdesign is possible for anyone. But you will have to learn two things: Design *and* Webdesign. The former being what programmers often neglect as simply "drawing cute little colorfull mockups and layouts in Photoshop" (way harder that many imagine) and the latter transferring said mockups into compliant CSS based web document frames and scaffolds while maintaing the overall look and feel on various OSes and browsers. I'd say both together take about 800 hrs. to learn for somebody who is proficient in operating computers and has a ood suply of O'reilly's at hand, but hasn't done any of those thouroughly. You can start now, but I wouldn't expect to get up to speed before a year has passed and you've had you designs scrutinized a few times by the people at cssbeauty or cssvault. So once again: Hand the design stuff over to someone else or buy a template. Then integrating that into a functional website and optimised pageflow is work enough for one guy.
Errrm, folks, what's the big fat hairy deal?
on
The Future of XML
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· Score: 5, Informative
Ok. I've once again seen the full range of XML comments here. From 'cool super technology modern java' to 'OMFG it sucks' right over to 'XML has bad security' - I mean... WTF? XML is a Data Format Standard. It has about as much to do with IT security as the color of your keyboard.
And for those of you out there who haven't yet noticed: XML sucks because data structure serialisation sucks. It allways will. You can't cut open, unravel and string out an n-dimensional net of relations into a 1-dimensional string of bits and bytes without it sucking in one way or the other. It's a, if not THE classic hard problem in IT. Get over it. It's with XML that we've finally agreed upon in which way it's supposed to suck. Halle-flippin'-luja! XML is the unified successor to the late sixties way of badly delimited literals, indifference between variables and values and flatfile constructs of obscure standards nobody wants. And which are so arcane by todays standards that they are beyond useless (Check out AICC if you don't know what I mean). Crappy PLs and config schemas from the dawn of computing.
That's all there is to XML: a universal n-to-1 serialisation standard. Nothing more and nothing less. Calm down.
And as for the headline: Of-f*cking-course it's here to stay. What do you want to change about it (much less 'enhance'). Do you want to start color-coding your data? Talking about the future of XML is allmost like talking about the future of the wheel ("Scientist ask: Will it ever get any rounder?"). Give me a break. I'm glad we got it and I'm actually - for once - gratefull to the academic IT community doing something usefull and pushing it. It's universal, can be handled by any class and style of data processing and when things get rough it's even human readable. What more do you want?
Now if only someone could come up with a replacement for SQL and enforce universal utf-8 everywhere we could finally leave the 1960s behind us and shed the last pieces of vintage computing we have to deal with on a daily basis. Thats what discussions like these should actually be about.
They actually built this one for Construction workers. I've dropped mine various times very hard. From a bicycle onto the pavement at full speed, onto tiled floors, etc. It still works A-OK. I've still got mine and if it weren't for me trying to merge my PDA (Palm) and my Phone into one - which I did with a Blackberry 7130G - I'd be still using it. They manage to score above original pricing on Ebay at times. Before getting the Blackberry I actually considered getting a new shell and a new LiIon Battery for my M35i and skip another round of updating. I think it's safe to say that it's the toughest cellphone ever built.
From what I can tell skimming the YPL it takes nothing more than setting up a Sourceforge Project to fork each of these products. It was only a few years ago when Push&Pull JavaScript and a few guys competing with Exchange with a Web ASP were nothing but a handfull of nutcases. Apart from the corporate fuled buzz Yahoo is putting behind YUI and the consited branding of Zimbra there is absolutely nothing for FOSS to lose with this MS-Yahoo deal. On the contrary. We're watching the evil empire blowing ca. 50 billion on a pipe dream about going head-to-head with Google in search. That's fine with me.
The Nazis had this 'Concentration Camp Reporting Ban'. Worked pretty nicely.
Just giving some second thought on this.
I believe a newsban could be usefull, but it would require independant regulation and should allways be temporary with a resonable maximum (4 weeks or so).
I remember downloading it an liking the Tron-esque grafics, the fact that it ran on Linux and OS X and that it was a neat little independant publisher. However I found the gaming experience to be extremly frustrating - I couldn't get any meaningfull task finished. The mouse-gestures were unintuive and the enemy units far to fast to get organised against them. I never understood how the game made 90% with PC Gamer and recieved all the other awards.
Hehe. Right on. Our sempai allways picks me when it's time to practice yonkyo again. He has relatively small hands and short arms, and a yonkyo grip like a vice. I allways have difficulty wrapping my hands around his arms to hit the spot.
To the non-insiders: Yonkyo is the end part of any technique that ends in one holding the opponents lower arm like a sword (Katana/Shin-Ken) and squeezing it in a certain way that the opponents nerves get pushed against his bones. It hurts like hell once you find the right spot - but finding it often takes a very long time for any Aikido-n00b.
It is also said - by esotherics and mysticists - that the cerebellum is the part of the brain that prophets and seers have learned to use 100% on command. The Bodi-Tree under which Budda sits is supposed to be a symbol of the cerebellum and have a simular structue with its branches and leaves, and thus represents enlightenment. If you read about the prime goals in Zen Buddisim ('thoughtless thinking', 'reasonless acting' etc.) you get the impression that it does involve a superior flexibility in activating and de-activating cognitive functions of the brain. I practice Aikido, and the most difficult part of it is not to have your cognitive brain interfere when you're exectuing a technique against an opponent (or two or three...). It's what you practice in such Arts. Thus all the meditating and all that. It's really nothing religious - it's simply training your mind in the very same methodic and well-planned manner you train your body.
From what I have allways heard and read - also in this thread - Lotus Notes is about the crappiest of Groupwares right behind Outlook/Exchange. A nighmare to maintain and operate, close to SAP in it's fatness and stuck in the early ninties in terms of usability.
Give the traction Linux and OSS in general has gained in professional businesses I doupt that this is needed. It's probably more that Notes needs Linux. If it helps Lotus Notes shops migrate easyer - all the better. But I'm recommending all my business customers to stear clear of any proprietary thick-client-server groupware. Given the state of rich internet applications and web-based solutions nowadays the concept strickes me as totally backwards.
Two people accustomed to often using the Unix CLI for their work/passion are likely to have a lot in common, as using the CLI a) really isn't that common and b) requires a measurable amount of intelligence and mental flexibility combined with precision and foresight. A specialty like unix cli usage really isn't the worst measurement for finding a partner for life. It definitely holds more water that looks or brand of car.
I remember doing the same with and editor and saved mechs from the old MechWarrior series on DOS (and later Win95). You could put something like 20+ lasers and 20 heatsinks per apenditure into your mech and blow up everything and everybody with one hit with the heatbar not even budging. Very neat. But it got boring after 5 minutes.:-)
I'll give you a counter example: You now all these Frameworks out there that are gaining traction? Rails, Django, CakePHP, etc.? Well, there is this one, Symfony, that uses a powerfull PHP DB abstraction layer called 'Propel'. One of it's perks is that you don't write any SQL anymore. None. Meaning: You write your transactions and persistance layer interactions in the programming language in which you write everything else aswell. If SQL is so cool, then why don't we have a different PL for each task? We could use 'Loop-Language' for loops, 'description-language' for building our objects, etc. I'm not saying "replace everything". There's still enough cobol out there being maintained - but no one would use cobol today to build a new system. The same should apply even more so to SQL.
Seriously, the DB Community calling something 'backwards' is a joke. Before going after others the DB people maybe should get up to date with their technology and maybe just get rid of that ancient, crappy POS PL called SQL. They should spend their time migrating to some up-to-date LGPLd solution for connection and glue-code. 'Them' using an early 70s interactive terminal hack as cornerstone of their work and calling others 'backwards' is just plain silly. When rotating HD disks will be replaced by SSDs and start going the way of the do-do, then we'll see who's backwards and outdated. Until then I'd tune low on any wisecracking about something being 'backwards' compared to DB technology.
But honestly: You have downtime in an IT related job? WTF is that? How about automizing your workflow or that of your team? If your downtime amounts to reasonable slices of time talk to your boss about which processes you should look into to speed things up. Learn a new PL, check out neat new technologies and products that could help you, your team or your company. Train interns and get them on the right path and away from the dark side of the force (Windows & Closed Source). Downtime - there is no such thing. And if it only is that you train yourself for a broadened set of work-related skills.
I've taken a few appart lately and now have a wonderfull set of 6 3,5" aluminum coasters. I still have to find some 5mm thick felt to stick to one side with doulbe sided carpeting tape. Stick felt to one side, carefully cut away the overlap and the hole with a scalpel or something. Voila! Luxury coasters. You could ask 15$ each in a designer furniture store for those.:-)
"Software T-Rex eats Software Brontosaurus while OSS Meteor comes closer and closer."
I can't help but think of both of these companies as outdated giants from the last decade. In that respect they go together very well.
This is *good* news.
on
Sun Buys MySQL
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· Score: 3, Informative
The truth is: Sun can't possibly screw around more than MySQL AB has been doing ever since they went IPO. Just the other day I looked for MySQL Workbench - expecting it to be delayed yet another 2 years. Only to discover something worse: A beta is out and they've written in in DOt-f*cking-NET! Can you believe it? They've rewritten MySQLs core selling argument to many people in a prorpietary plattform that is owned by MS. MySQLs core design tool only runs on MS 2k SP4 and above! Unbelievable. Suns marketing is just as shoddy as that of MySQL, so that's a perfect fit. But I sure do hope Sun will bring back some technical oper-source superiority to MySQL, which it once shared with many mature OSS projects.
I'd say the biggest problems in the US are 1.) Basic Medical Care 2.) Basic Social Wellfare (we're talking 'basic' folks - not German style "luxury" wellfare) - the US lack the most basic social wellfare. 3.) Education 4.) Gun law 5.) Media 6.) Election system. 7.) current ultra-kazillion deficit (Thanks to GWB)
Number 1+2 are obvious, number 3 is a large biggie and number 4 is the prime cause of unnatural death in the US. The US Education system is bad and needs attention. The gun problem I'd try to tackle by making the NRA a gouverment authority and requireing every US citizen who wants to have a gun to be member of the NRA and take a thourough official gun training (+ license) and psychological evaluation. I'd fund german style 100% gouverment funded independant media (media is independant by constitutional law in Germany - a very good thing that the US desperately needs). It's one of the few things German authorities actually do right. I'd also change the US election system to be more true to reality. Fixing dept along the way would be hard to do but nice to have - you'd have to reduce military spending or something.
Wether your software is OSS or not hardly matters anything - unless it's a small desktop app or something. Marketing otoh is key. If your software is ready for market and you have a working developement pipeline up and running be sure to prepare professional branding of your software and it's future community before hand. All successfull OSS projects have solid marketing, good looking websites and are generally attractive to work with and give money to. I'd also not underestimate donations and sponsorships.
The people that should read this won't. That's the sadest part.
Design looks tacky - unlike other releases.
on
KDE 4.0 Is Out
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· Score: 1
Can't help it but the GUI design looks shoddy. Icons to big, bad alignments across the board. The design team needs another month or two. Visually this is a beta.
Slashdot Mirror
- the generally poor standard of GUI's on Linux itself and Linux software
... *Tadum* *CRASH!* *Thud!* ... Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week.
- the generally dismissive attitude of Linux users / software developers for a nice polished GUI with all the details taken care of.
Which is so utterly completely contrary to the wonderfully intuitive and industry leading GUI of professionally designed Software like, for instance, the ever-popular MS Outlook.
Check Google for Neiman Marcus + Cookie recipe.
I'm one of the fortunate rare few that is good at both, programming *and* design. And I can asure you that either - when done professionally - is extremely hard work until you get a routine.
Since you are the Geek type that even *admits* he's bad at designing and you've got a full time job already doing all the stuff you mentioned, let me give you one advice for this particular situation you've just described: Stear clear of any design work what-so-ever. Don't even try to do it - you most certainly *will* fail miserably. You've basically got two options: Get a professional (!!!) designer to pimp your site (Any one of these will do just fine: http://www.csszengarden.com/ ) or get yourself a template *or* a web-professional who's got a template subscription with a good template foundry.
Don't get me wrong: Learning good webdesign is possible for anyone. But you will have to learn two things: Design *and* Webdesign. The former being what programmers often neglect as simply "drawing cute little colorfull mockups and layouts in Photoshop" (way harder that many imagine) and the latter transferring said mockups into compliant CSS based web document frames and scaffolds while maintaing the overall look and feel on various OSes and browsers. I'd say both together take about 800 hrs. to learn for somebody who is proficient in operating computers and has a ood suply of O'reilly's at hand, but hasn't done any of those thouroughly. You can start now, but I wouldn't expect to get up to speed before a year has passed and you've had you designs scrutinized a few times by the people at cssbeauty or cssvault. So once again: Hand the design stuff over to someone else or buy a template. Then integrating that into a functional website and optimised pageflow is work enough for one guy.
Ok. I've once again seen the full range of XML comments here. From 'cool super technology modern java' to 'OMFG it sucks' right over to 'XML has bad security' - I mean ... WTF? XML is a Data Format Standard. It has about as much to do with IT security as the color of your keyboard.
And for those of you out there who haven't yet noticed: XML sucks because data structure serialisation sucks. It allways will. You can't cut open, unravel and string out an n-dimensional net of relations into a 1-dimensional string of bits and bytes without it sucking in one way or the other. It's a, if not THE classic hard problem in IT. Get over it. It's with XML that we've finally agreed upon in which way it's supposed to suck. Halle-flippin'-luja! XML is the unified successor to the late sixties way of badly delimited literals, indifference between variables and values and flatfile constructs of obscure standards nobody wants. And which are so arcane by todays standards that they are beyond useless (Check out AICC if you don't know what I mean). Crappy PLs and config schemas from the dawn of computing.
That's all there is to XML: a universal n-to-1 serialisation standard. Nothing more and nothing less. Calm down.
And as for the headline: Of-f*cking-course it's here to stay. What do you want to change about it (much less 'enhance'). Do you want to start color-coding your data? Talking about the future of XML is allmost like talking about the future of the wheel ("Scientist ask: Will it ever get any rounder?"). Give me a break. I'm glad we got it and I'm actually - for once - gratefull to the academic IT community doing something usefull and pushing it. It's universal, can be handled by any class and style of data processing and when things get rough it's even human readable. What more do you want?
Now if only someone could come up with a replacement for SQL and enforce universal utf-8 everywhere we could finally leave the 1960s behind us and shed the last pieces of vintage computing we have to deal with on a daily basis. Thats what discussions like these should actually be about.
They actually built this one for Construction workers. I've dropped mine various times very hard. From a bicycle onto the pavement at full speed, onto tiled floors, etc. It still works A-OK. I've still got mine and if it weren't for me trying to merge my PDA (Palm) and my Phone into one - which I did with a Blackberry 7130G - I'd be still using it. They manage to score above original pricing on Ebay at times. Before getting the Blackberry I actually considered getting a new shell and a new LiIon Battery for my M35i and skip another round of updating.
I think it's safe to say that it's the toughest cellphone ever built.
From what I can tell skimming the YPL it takes nothing more than setting up a Sourceforge Project to fork each of these products. It was only a few years ago when Push&Pull JavaScript and a few guys competing with Exchange with a Web ASP were nothing but a handfull of nutcases.
Apart from the corporate fuled buzz Yahoo is putting behind YUI and the consited branding of Zimbra there is absolutely nothing for FOSS to lose with this MS-Yahoo deal. On the contrary. We're watching the evil empire blowing ca. 50 billion on a pipe dream about going head-to-head with Google in search. That's fine with me.
The Nazis had this 'Concentration Camp Reporting Ban'. Worked pretty nicely.
Just giving some second thought on this.
I believe a newsban could be usefull, but it would require independant regulation and should allways be temporary with a resonable maximum (4 weeks or so).
I remember downloading it an liking the Tron-esque grafics, the fact that it ran on Linux and OS X and that it was a neat little independant publisher. However I found the gaming experience to be extremly frustrating - I couldn't get any meaningfull task finished. The mouse-gestures were unintuive and the enemy units far to fast to get organised against them. I never understood how the game made 90% with PC Gamer and recieved all the other awards.
Hehe. Right on. Our sempai allways picks me when it's time to practice yonkyo again. He has relatively small hands and short arms, and a yonkyo grip like a vice. I allways have difficulty wrapping my hands around his arms to hit the spot.
To the non-insiders: Yonkyo is the end part of any technique that ends in one holding the opponents lower arm like a sword (Katana/Shin-Ken) and squeezing it in a certain way that the opponents nerves get pushed against his bones. It hurts like hell once you find the right spot - but finding it often takes a very long time for any Aikido-n00b.
It is also said - by esotherics and mysticists - that the cerebellum is the part of the brain that prophets and seers have learned to use 100% on command. The Bodi-Tree under which Budda sits is supposed to be a symbol of the cerebellum and have a simular structue with its branches and leaves, and thus represents enlightenment. If you read about the prime goals in Zen Buddisim ('thoughtless thinking', 'reasonless acting' etc.) you get the impression that it does involve a superior flexibility in activating and de-activating cognitive functions of the brain. ...). It's what you practice in such Arts. Thus all the meditating and all that. It's really nothing religious - it's simply training your mind in the very same methodic and well-planned manner you train your body.
I practice Aikido, and the most difficult part of it is not to have your cognitive brain interfere when you're exectuing a technique against an opponent (or two or three
From what I have allways heard and read - also in this thread - Lotus Notes is about the crappiest of Groupwares right behind Outlook/Exchange. A nighmare to maintain and operate, close to SAP in it's fatness and stuck in the early ninties in terms of usability.
Give the traction Linux and OSS in general has gained in professional businesses I doupt that this is needed. It's probably more that Notes needs Linux. If it helps Lotus Notes shops migrate easyer - all the better. But I'm recommending all my business customers to stear clear of any proprietary thick-client-server groupware. Given the state of rich internet applications and web-based solutions nowadays the concept strickes me as totally backwards.
Don't use Quicktime.
It is mainly for this reason that I consider email a third-class means of communication, even below sticky-notes attached to the desk.
Two people accustomed to often using the Unix CLI for their work/passion are likely to have a lot in common, as using the CLI a) really isn't that common and b) requires a measurable amount of intelligence and mental flexibility combined with precision and foresight.
A specialty like unix cli usage really isn't the worst measurement for finding a partner for life. It definitely holds more water that looks or brand of car.
I remember doing the same with and editor and saved mechs from the old MechWarrior series on DOS (and later Win95). You could put something like 20+ lasers and 20 heatsinks per apenditure into your mech and blow up everything and everybody with one hit with the heatbar not even budging. Very neat. But it got boring after 5 minutes. :-)
I'll give you a counter example:
You now all these Frameworks out there that are gaining traction? Rails, Django, CakePHP, etc.? Well, there is this one, Symfony, that uses a powerfull PHP DB abstraction layer called 'Propel'. One of it's perks is that you don't write any SQL anymore. None. Meaning: You write your transactions and persistance layer interactions in the programming language in which you write everything else aswell. If SQL is so cool, then why don't we have a different PL for each task? We could use 'Loop-Language' for loops, 'description-language' for building our objects, etc. I'm not saying "replace everything". There's still enough cobol out there being maintained - but no one would use cobol today to build a new system. The same should apply even more so to SQL.
Seriously, the DB Community calling something 'backwards' is a joke. Before going after others the DB people maybe should get up to date with their technology and maybe just get rid of that ancient, crappy POS PL called SQL. They should spend their time migrating to some up-to-date LGPLd solution for connection and glue-code. 'Them' using an early 70s interactive terminal hack as cornerstone of their work and calling others 'backwards' is just plain silly.
When rotating HD disks will be replaced by SSDs and start going the way of the do-do, then we'll see who's backwards and outdated. Until then I'd tune low on any wisecracking about something being 'backwards' compared to DB technology.
But honestly: You have downtime in an IT related job? WTF is that? How about automizing your workflow or that of your team? If your downtime amounts to reasonable slices of time talk to your boss about which processes you should look into to speed things up. Learn a new PL, check out neat new technologies and products that could help you, your team or your company. Train interns and get them on the right path and away from the dark side of the force (Windows & Closed Source).
Downtime - there is no such thing. And if it only is that you train yourself for a broadened set of work-related skills.
I've taken a few appart lately and now have a wonderfull set of 6 3,5" aluminum coasters. I still have to find some 5mm thick felt to stick to one side with doulbe sided carpeting tape. :-)
Stick felt to one side, carefully cut away the overlap and the hole with a scalpel or something. Voila! Luxury coasters. You could ask 15$ each in a designer furniture store for those.
"Software T-Rex eats Software Brontosaurus while OSS Meteor comes closer and closer."
I can't help but think of both of these companies as outdated giants from the last decade.
In that respect they go together very well.
The truth is:
Sun can't possibly screw around more than MySQL AB has been doing ever since they went IPO. Just the other day I looked for MySQL Workbench - expecting it to be delayed yet another 2 years. Only to discover something worse: A beta is out and they've written in in DOt-f*cking-NET! Can you believe it? They've rewritten MySQLs core selling argument to many people in a prorpietary plattform that is owned by MS. MySQLs core design tool only runs on MS 2k SP4 and above! Unbelievable.
Suns marketing is just as shoddy as that of MySQL, so that's a perfect fit. But I sure do hope Sun will bring back some technical oper-source superiority to MySQL, which it once shared with many mature OSS projects.
I'd say the biggest problems in the US are
1.) Basic Medical Care
2.) Basic Social Wellfare (we're talking 'basic' folks - not German style "luxury" wellfare) - the US lack the most basic social wellfare.
3.) Education
4.) Gun law
5.) Media
6.) Election system.
7.) current ultra-kazillion deficit (Thanks to GWB)
Number 1+2 are obvious, number 3 is a large biggie and number 4 is the prime cause of unnatural death in the US. The US Education system is bad and needs attention. The gun problem I'd try to tackle by making the NRA a gouverment authority and requireing every US citizen who wants to have a gun to be member of the NRA and take a thourough official gun training (+ license) and psychological evaluation.
I'd fund german style 100% gouverment funded independant media (media is independant by constitutional law in Germany - a very good thing that the US desperately needs). It's one of the few things German authorities actually do right. I'd also change the US election system to be more true to reality.
Fixing dept along the way would be hard to do but nice to have - you'd have to reduce military spending or something.
Wether your software is OSS or not hardly matters anything - unless it's a small desktop app or something. Marketing otoh is key. If your software is ready for market and you have a working developement pipeline up and running be sure to prepare professional branding of your software and it's future community before hand. All successfull OSS projects have solid marketing, good looking websites and are generally attractive to work with and give money to. I'd also not underestimate donations and sponsorships.
The people that should read this won't. That's the sadest part.
Can't help it but the GUI design looks shoddy. Icons to big, bad alignments across the board. The design team needs another month or two. Visually this is a beta.