Sorry but I have to disagree. This will impact any user that copies files to their system. It also looks as if it is a problem with the DRM a "feature" that doesn't benefit the people that actually pay for the software at all. Also that hot fix is only available to average users that call up and ask for it. The one thing you have almost correct is that people should have waited until Vista proves it's self. Everybody should wait until Vista proves it's self. I really don't see any reason to run Vista if you are not a developer. The really cool new API is available for XP if you install.NET 3.0 What I really don't like is that Microsoft is making it hard for average people to buy systems with XP on it. They shouldn't be forcing people to Vista since it clearly isn't ready yet.
As far as I can tell same thing in the US. I can get a PS3 anywhere but no Wiis. Nintendo had better get it's act together, Sony seems to have no problem making enough PS3s to meet demand while Nintendo keeps falling farther and farther behind.
Not only that but I don't carry my Ipod with me everyday I do carry my phone. If they can make a phone that is as small as my current phone but will play music for hours, has Gigs of storage, and still will give me 3 hours of talk time I am all for it.
"The FIRST requirement of a fax is to communicate a message. If it can be done more efficiently by using just a single page (the fax "cover sheet" with the message written on it, rather than both a cover sheet and a page with the message, because your clip art took up too much space on the cover page), then it should be done that way."
I don't know about you but in my company we don't fax messages. The only faxes I get or send tend to be documents with signatures. Of then they are many pages long. Messages tend to be via email or IM not by fax. So yes there is a need for a fax cover page. We keep a few printed up next to the fax machine for the few times we need to send a fax. We tend to receive more faxes than we get. I don't think we have any clip art on our at all and I have no idea who makes them.
"In other words develop some manners please and stop bashing someone that probably lacks the time and or talent to produce what you think is a "professional" looking fax cover sheet."
"There are 3 simple remedies available to them, two of which are free:" I guess the idea that the real problem is that your being nasty just for the sake of being nasty is lost on you. You could have said what you wanted in many ways without being vile. Maybe something like this, "Most canned clip art really isn't of very good quality, I suggest that you just leave it out or look for some that you really like." That is the thing that I really don't like about online communities. For some reason perfectly normal people seem to think that there is no need to have any manners at all. They have no consideration for anyone else,'s feelings. The worst part is that same attitude seems to be flooding into everyday life.
The good thing is if somebody you knew asked you about templates and clip art face to face I bet you wouldn't have been so insulting.
Let's separate the requirements. 1.Templates there is nothing wrong with templates for things like a fax cover page. I bet 99% of the ones I get are just that. 2. Clip art. It doesn't matter if it is trashy in your opinion. There is a lot of it included with things like Word, WP, PowerPoint... Most of it I don't like but if it was universally scorned then it wouldn't exists. In other words develop some manners please and stop bashing someone that probably lacks the time and or talent to produce what you think is a "professional" looking fax cover sheet. Remember the old saying. If you can't say something nice or at least constructive don't say anything all all.
One quick not on Java + Postgres. My second program in Java was one to replace our support Phone call tracking system. We do calls a little differently than most. Our outgoing calls are a flat fee but incoming on our 800 number is charged per minute. We return support calls and don't make customers wait on hold. I think it is a better system than the wait on hold and we try to call back in 20 minutes or less. My program tracks those calls in real-time. It used constantly and is very interactive. I have also added issue tracking and RMAs to the system. The database server is an old PII desktop with a single IDE drive and is on 100BaseT adapter. We was just a test server but it worked so well we never took it down. Been running for 4 years and we average 100,000 support calls a year and it has never had a major failure. Every once in a while it will loose it's DDE link with our CMS yes I know yickk... but other than having to restart that client it just keeps working.
Ekkk. Well you might have to move at some point since VF is at end of life. I understand vertical markets I develop for one myself. The thing is even in a vertical market you often have to change to keep up with what Microsoft is doing. I find it better to choose when to move then be forced into it. I heard that VF is good until 2012 which is only five years. Best start the move now so it is done and tested in five years. Otherwise you may have to deploy a solution without proper testing.
Notice I said "starting sysadmin at Google".. Anyone at the top of the Network admin food chain at Google is probably worth many times what a starting PHD Of course the people that plan and are in charge of Google's network may also have a few PHDs under their belt. Goodness knows that the idea of planing and implementing a network infrastructure like Google's makes my head hurt, but I would love to give it a shot.
Notice that I was willing to keep the Microsoft servers. I understand learning how to be a good sysadmin for Windows or Linux is hard work. If you have made the investment then moving from a working Windows server to a Linux server is lot of pain for little up front return. The same is true of development enforcements. Moving from VF to anything is going to be a large pain for little upfront gain. If your application is working well now then moving the back-end from an XBase/Foxpro back-end to a SQL back-end would be a relatively low pain move. Not only that you could set up a test environment using PostgresSQL or MySql for very little cost. Just import a test set of data and get your system to talk through ODBC. It should scale well and put a much lower load on your network and your client systems. I don't know about your application but we have an old XBase/Foxpro application that requires constant re-indexing which will be less of a problem with a SQL server. BTW I am a fan of Postgres but MySql is good also and you can buy support if that is important. It also has good support for clustering if you need it. After you are used to a SQL back-end you can then migrate to a new development platform when you have time. If you really want to use C# I think there is a Mono plug-in for Visual Studio. Just remember that at one time there where all DEC shops, all Control Data shops, and all Data General Shops at one time. Nothing is in computers is forever except COBOL:)
Well if you are going to rewrite it then I suggest Java and the SQL back end of your choice running under Linux. I feel Linux is a better server solution than Windows free or not. But if you are a happy Windows shop I will mention that both MySQL and PostgresSQL run under Windows with no problem. I like Java over.NET because it will run on anything and you have a large and mature selections of libraries that you can use. You also have a selection of good free development tools. I like NetBeans and others love Eclipse. The real benefit is that now that Java is GPLed you have less of a worry that you will be forced to port your application be cause the single source supplier has killed you development environment, server platform, or client platform. C# and mono are another option but one I have never used.
I do understand the Concept of Apple TV. Apple wants to be the cable company. I am not saying that AppleTV will not be a hit but I have a feeling that the XBox 360 and PS3 will offer the same functionality plus games. I wonder if Apple will offer games for AppleTV? Web browsing? An maybe an interface with.MAC?
Your are right. Some programs will never need to be multi-threaded. However if a program is running slow right now you can no longer bet on the next generation of hardware to give you a performance boost unless it is multi-threaded. It will really depend on your application.
I will try to explain it. Each machine on the internet has an address. Those are called IP addresses. The company that hosts the website peacefire also hosts a bunch of spammers. They moved peacefire to the a block of IP address that spammers use. Spam uses a lot of bandwidth so many ISPs just block everything from those address to save on the bandwidth. You see ISPs have to pay for bandwidth so in effect they are the ones that pay for the SPAM emails we all get. The Hosting company moved Peacefire to that address because they knew that it would get blocked. The guy that runs Peacefire has turned down free hosting to make some point about censorship or to get free publicity and the front page of slashdot. If you wonder why you would block not just the mail port but everything coming from those address it is simple. They can use those addresses for images in html spam. A lot of time it might just be a single pixel. By looking at the logs you can then tell what email address are valid address. The real lesson here is if you lie down with dogs you get fleas. You host with a company that hosts spammers there is a good chance you will get black listed.
Interesting. A few are Vista only application. But none are what I consider Mission Critical applications. I guess if you are going to use.NET and have no w2k machines you can use it.
I don't know if FORTRAN is any harder to use than c or c++. I took FORTRAN in college many years ago. FORTRAN is a great tool for taking a BIG BUNCH OF DATA and doing a lot of math with it. Just about any task you would use a supercomputer for is a good job for FORTRAN.
"Today you are much more likely to be called upon to work with XML schemas, which follows a simple easily understood philosophy: if something is worth saying, then it is worth saying with a lot words." Sounds like COBOL.
It will be a long time before people write a lot of code that ONLY runs on Vista. Hell there are companies still using W2K just because it works, is as secure as XP, and doesn't use as many resources as XP. XP will be around for years and people will want to sell software to people that are still on XP for years. Welcome to the world of Windows.
This is all kind of iffy. 1. The nickle in the batteries will be recycled. Cars are the most recycled consumer item on the planet. 2. Shipping the nickel to Europe then Japan, then to the US is all done on ships. Ships are very energy efficient ways to move stuff so how much energy does it take to ship the nickle? I don't think that hybrids are the best plan to save energy. I don't own one and frankly I haven't seen one I would want to own. I am all for diesels myself but this was way short of facts and way long on emotion.
I would say it puts out a lot more heat than light.
Maybe so you can run your code on something other than Windows. I don't have time to learn a programing language that only runs on one OS. That is why I never learned VB. C# may be worth learning under Mono.
VB.NET is nothing like traditional Visual Basic. Your old projects will not recompile under.NET so I have to wonder. Why make the effort to move to another Microsoft development system after getting burned. I doubt that Java is that much harder for a VB shop to move to than C#. Plus you are not stuck with a one vendor one OS solution.
Yes I know about Mono but I also know Mono lags behind.NET so compatibility isn't close to what it is for Java.
If you didn't care about cost and or keeping people alive in the data center Helium would be the ideal inert gas. No fires to worry about and it is a great conductor of heat.
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Sorry but I have to disagree. .NET 3.0 What I really don't like is that Microsoft is making it hard for average people to buy systems with XP on it. They shouldn't be forcing people to Vista since it clearly isn't ready yet.
This will impact any user that copies files to their system. It also looks as if it is a problem with the DRM a "feature" that doesn't benefit the people that actually pay for the software at all.
Also that hot fix is only available to average users that call up and ask for it.
The one thing you have almost correct is that people should have waited until Vista proves it's self. Everybody should wait until Vista proves it's self. I really don't see any reason to run Vista if you are not a developer. The really cool new API is available for XP if you install
Wow I guess I really have to put a :) after every joke post.
As far as I can tell same thing in the US. I can get a PS3 anywhere but no Wiis. Nintendo had better get it's act together, Sony seems to have no problem making enough PS3s to meet demand while Nintendo keeps falling farther and farther behind.
But my IPod has 80. Not only that but my Cell only has around 3 hours of talk time. That is the problem, battery life.
Not only that but I don't carry my Ipod with me everyday I do carry my phone.
If they can make a phone that is as small as my current phone but will play music for hours, has Gigs of storage, and still will give me 3 hours of talk time I am all for it.
"The FIRST requirement of a fax is to communicate a message. If it can be done more efficiently by using just a single page (the fax "cover sheet" with the message written on it, rather than both a cover sheet and a page with the message, because your clip art took up too much space on the cover page), then it should be done that way."
I don't know about you but in my company we don't fax messages. The only faxes I get or send tend to be documents with signatures. Of then they are many pages long. Messages tend to be via email or IM not by fax. So yes there is a need for a fax cover page. We keep a few printed up next to the fax machine for the few times we need to send a fax. We tend to receive more faxes than we get. I don't think we have any clip art on our at all and I have no idea who makes them.
"In other words develop some manners please and stop bashing someone that probably lacks the time and or talent to produce what you think is a "professional" looking fax cover sheet."
"There are 3 simple remedies available to them, two of which are free:"
I guess the idea that the real problem is that your being nasty just for the sake of being nasty is lost on you. You could have said what you wanted in many ways without being vile.
Maybe something like this, "Most canned clip art really isn't of very good quality, I suggest that you just leave it out or look for some that you really like."
That is the thing that I really don't like about online communities. For some reason perfectly normal people seem to think that there is no need to have any manners at all. They have no consideration for anyone else,'s feelings. The worst part is that same attitude seems to be flooding into everyday life.
The good thing is if somebody you knew asked you about templates and clip art face to face I bet you wouldn't have been so insulting.
Let's separate the requirements.
1.Templates there is nothing wrong with templates for things like a fax cover page. I bet 99% of the ones I get are just that.
2. Clip art. It doesn't matter if it is trashy in your opinion. There is a lot of it included with things like Word, WP, PowerPoint... Most of it I don't like but if it was universally scorned then it wouldn't exists.
In other words develop some manners please and stop bashing someone that probably lacks the time and or talent to produce what you think is a "professional" looking fax cover sheet.
Remember the old saying. If you can't say something nice or at least constructive don't say anything all all.
One quick not on Java + Postgres.
My second program in Java was one to replace our support Phone call tracking system. We do calls a little differently than most. Our outgoing calls are a flat fee but incoming on our 800 number is charged per minute. We return support calls and don't make customers wait on hold. I think it is a better system than the wait on hold and we try to call back in 20 minutes or less. My program tracks those calls in real-time. It used constantly and is very interactive. I have also added issue tracking and RMAs to the system. The database server is an old PII desktop with a single IDE drive and is on 100BaseT adapter. We was just a test server but it worked so well we never took it down. Been running for 4 years and we average 100,000 support calls a year and it has never had a major failure. Every once in a while it will loose it's DDE link with our CMS yes I know yickk... but other than having to restart that client it just keeps working.
Ekkk. Well you might have to move at some point since VF is at end of life. I understand vertical markets I develop for one myself. The thing is even in a vertical market you often have to change to keep up with what Microsoft is doing. I find it better to choose when to move then be forced into it.
I heard that VF is good until 2012 which is only five years. Best start the move now so it is done and tested in five years. Otherwise you may have to deploy a solution without proper testing.
Notice I said "starting sysadmin at Google".. Anyone at the top of the Network admin food chain at Google is probably worth many times what a starting PHD Of course the people that plan and are in charge of Google's network may also have a few PHDs under their belt. Goodness knows that the idea of planing and implementing a network infrastructure like Google's makes my head hurt, but I would love to give it a shot.
Notice that I was willing to keep the Microsoft servers. I understand learning how to be a good sysadmin for Windows or Linux is hard work. If you have made the investment then moving from a working Windows server to a Linux server is lot of pain for little up front return. The same is true of development enforcements. Moving from VF to anything is going to be a large pain for little upfront gain. :)
If your application is working well now then moving the back-end from an XBase/Foxpro back-end to a SQL back-end would be a relatively low pain move. Not only that you could set up a test environment using PostgresSQL or MySql for very little cost. Just import a test set of data and get your system to talk through ODBC. It should scale well and put a much lower load on your network and your client systems. I don't know about your application but we have an old XBase/Foxpro application that requires constant re-indexing which will be less of a problem with a SQL server.
BTW I am a fan of Postgres but MySql is good also and you can buy support if that is important. It also has good support for clustering if you need it.
After you are used to a SQL back-end you can then migrate to a new development platform when you have time.
If you really want to use C# I think there is a Mono plug-in for Visual Studio. Just remember that at one time there where all DEC shops, all Control Data shops, and all Data General Shops at one time. Nothing is in computers is forever except COBOL
Well if you are going to rewrite it then I suggest Java and the SQL back end of your choice running under Linux. .NET because it will run on anything and you have a large and mature selections of libraries that you can use. You also have a selection of good free development tools. I like NetBeans and others love Eclipse.
I feel Linux is a better server solution than Windows free or not. But if you are a happy Windows shop I will mention that both MySQL and PostgresSQL run under Windows with no problem.
I like Java over
The real benefit is that now that Java is GPLed you have less of a worry that you will be forced to port your application be cause the single source supplier has killed you development environment, server platform, or client platform.
C# and mono are another option but one I have never used.
I do understand the Concept of Apple TV. .MAC?
Apple wants to be the cable company.
I am not saying that AppleTV will not be a hit but I have a feeling that the XBox 360 and PS3 will offer the same functionality plus games.
I wonder if Apple will offer games for AppleTV? Web browsing? An maybe an interface with
I some how doubt that the actual developers with PHDs are treated the same as a starting sysadmin at Google.
Welcome to the real world.
Your are right. Some programs will never need to be multi-threaded. However if a program is running slow right now you can no longer bet on the next generation of hardware to give you a performance boost unless it is multi-threaded. It will really depend on your application.
I don't think you have to leave Foxbase. Can't Foxbase be used as a front end for MSSQL or just about any SQL database that supports ODBC?
Moving to a client server database might allow you to have multiple sites linked with a VPN and still have good performance.
I will try to explain it.
Each machine on the internet has an address. Those are called IP addresses.
The company that hosts the website peacefire also hosts a bunch of spammers. They moved peacefire to the a block of IP address that spammers use.
Spam uses a lot of bandwidth so many ISPs just block everything from those address to save on the bandwidth. You see ISPs have to pay for bandwidth so in effect they are the ones that pay for the SPAM emails we all get.
The Hosting company moved Peacefire to that address because they knew that it would get blocked. The guy that runs Peacefire has turned down free hosting to make some point about censorship or to get free publicity and the front page of slashdot.
If you wonder why you would block not just the mail port but everything coming from those address it is simple. They can use those addresses for images in html spam. A lot of time it might just be a single pixel. By looking at the logs you can then tell what email address are valid address.
The real lesson here is if you lie down with dogs you get fleas. You host with a company that hosts spammers there is a good chance you will get black listed.
Interesting. .NET and have no w2k machines you can use it.
A few are Vista only application. But none are what I consider Mission Critical applications.
I guess if you are going to use
I don't know if FORTRAN is any harder to use than c or c++. I took FORTRAN in college many years ago.
FORTRAN is a great tool for taking a BIG BUNCH OF DATA and doing a lot of math with it. Just about any task you would use a supercomputer for is a good job for FORTRAN.
"Today you are much more likely to be called upon to work with XML schemas, which follows a simple easily understood philosophy: if something is worth saying, then it is worth saying with a lot words."
Sounds like COBOL.
It will be a long time before people write a lot of code that ONLY runs on Vista. Hell there are companies still using W2K just because it works, is as secure as XP, and doesn't use as many resources as XP. XP will be around for years and people will want to sell software to people that are still on XP for years.
Welcome to the world of Windows.
This is all kind of iffy.
1. The nickle in the batteries will be recycled. Cars are the most recycled consumer item on the planet.
2. Shipping the nickel to Europe then Japan, then to the US is all done on ships. Ships are very energy efficient ways to move stuff so how much energy does it take to ship the nickle?
I don't think that hybrids are the best plan to save energy. I don't own one and frankly I haven't seen one I would want to own. I am all for diesels myself but this was way short of facts and way long on emotion.
I would say it puts out a lot more heat than light.
Maybe so you can run your code on something other than Windows.
I don't have time to learn a programing language that only runs on one OS. That is why I never learned VB.
C# may be worth learning under Mono.
VB.NET is nothing like traditional Visual Basic. Your old projects will not recompile under .NET so I have to wonder.
.NET so compatibility isn't close to what it is for Java.
Why make the effort to move to another Microsoft development system after getting burned.
I doubt that Java is that much harder for a VB shop to move to than C#. Plus you are not stuck with a one vendor one OS solution.
Yes I know about Mono but I also know Mono lags behind
If you didn't care about cost and or keeping people alive in the data center Helium would be the ideal inert gas.
No fires to worry about and it is a great conductor of heat.