As far as I am qualified to do so I agree with the point you are making but i think the point about the stability of a distribution is about the extra packages and how they interact and are set up.
As far as I understand it the stability of debian refers to that and not the kernel of the operating system.
Microsoft not profitable shock.
OK but why doesn't it have to report the cost of its options as part of its earnings?
The argument for a tax break would be that giving the options out is a legitimate business expense. If so Microsoft is either being far to generous to its employees or it is not a profitable business!
What happens if the shares stop going up and options are not worth anything anymore? Will the employees just keep working for their basic salary? If so why give them options now?
Typical practice for many Euroopean companies would be to buy the options from an investment bank thus precisely crystalising the value of the options. Think how much better off microsoft shareholders would be if they had done the same! Of course some of the earnings figures would not look as pretty but
The real question is how much does it cost to run Microsoft?
There are more peole in the EU than in the US. They all use GSM. Even those European countries outside the EU use GSM. How easy do you think it is to get a Brit to agree with a German and a Frenchman? I don't think size has much to do with it.
Is anyone answering the question?
on
Linux Failover?
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· Score: 1
The poor guy has a solution involving Linux that he can't implement for want of a device driver. Everybody seems to be proposing alternate solutions which seems like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Is there nobody witha nutcracker?
Re:Experience with MySQL with Ciritcal Role
on
Why Not MySQL?
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· Score: 1
The value of ACID is quite clear and if I were you I would not be in such a hurry to assume that posters have not understood them. Their real value is in making it simpler to code robust software by allowing the programmer to assume that Oracle's programmers have already taken care of the reliability. It is not the only way of ensuring reliability nor obviously the best. If a database application does not require constant additions the way a stock control system might for instance the advantages are much diminished and a little care can be a valid substitute. Likewise if the ratio between reads and writes is different or write operations are relatively simple similar things apply. There are plenty of cases of web sites abandoning Oracle in favour of MySQL effectively because the latter doesn't have transactions because of the speed differentials. Ever wondered why the database companies are not keen on benchmarks? Speed, cost and ease of administration are important considerations in many missions you know.
By the way have you ever tried to configure an Oracle Parallel Server failover system? Have you ever s
Flash has so far ben used for complicated functionality but could be used for simple things too. Compared to html it is faster to download, easier to design for, can download in the background and offers complete control of the image. The pdf format offers similar advantages. Do you have any objections to using these formats instead of html?
Best yet. The best point in Mr. Parish's article, also supported by the work of Smithers & Co. and reported in the Financial Times in the UK, is the way that Microsoft has claimed multi billion dollar tax losses for its options without the costs going through the profit and loss account. As to valuing the options there is a well tested method that supports a multi billion dollar industry. Namely the Black Scholes formula. Failing agreement on a precise cost it should be possible to poll a panel of derivative houses to get an up to the minute cost at reporting period ends.
Whether or not the costs are real is an interesting question to which I popose the following answer. If the options are necessary to run the business then they are a real cost. On the other hand if they are not necessary they should not be granted.
Finally, Mr Parish may be scaremongering but the role the options play in the valuation of the shares makes things very unpredictable. That's quite alarming in a company fast approaching a trillion dollar valuation.
I agree M(r/s) Fulgham. I am surprised to see it get such a panning in Slashdot since it seems so much in sympathy with things that Slashdot readers feel. Francis Benoit is embittered because his lovely chip is used to run Windows. The good guys fight back by opensourcing Java. The description of how force is exerted by shareholders is also refreshing. I didn't think it was quite as convincing as Bombardiers but then Mr. Bronson started out as a bond salesman rather than a chip designer. For anyone wanting a look at life in the capital markets though truth is stranger than fiction and Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis is even better.
Two points though. In my edition Andy's surname is Caspar not Piper and had I been answering the clock question I would have been tempted to answer that it was time to get a new clock sincewhenn the big hand is at the 4 the little hand should be a third of the way from one number to the next.
I would really like to build a small low power Linux box that I could leave on all the time at home. The main problem is fan noise. Obviously this and other slightly less extreme solutions could offer that. However as someone who is not a very hardcore programmer and not too keen to part with my money I would also like to be able to use a fairly standard distribution and to pay something like standard x86 prices (all those tiny embedded boards seem incredibly expensive). Does anyone have any ideas? Underclocking perhaps? The main problems I imagine are the power supply, the processor and the hard disk. Suggestions on any would be most welcome. For my purposes I would not need to run X on it but would want full internet connectivity and perhaps reasonable performance running a scanner and printer.
If I remember rightly Zeus and Apache can both be run on NT so there is no excuse for the syllogism "IIS does more hits than Apache so NT is faster than Linux". Staying in the nearly free world there are faster web servers available for Linux, Medusa for example, so the test proves little more than benchmark optimisation.
The Windows NT magazine article (What are they going to call it when everything is called Windows 2000?) I think you are talking about was discussed on these pages. http://slashdot.org/articles/99/03/06/1339230.shtm l The posting by Scott Crosby are particulalry informative. One main point was that the supposed benefits of NT's multithreading were more theoretical than practical and that kernel 2.2 had them anyway. The discussions on security were particularly amusing. I also seem to remember a detailed attempt to debunk the article appearing a little while later but where escapes me.
Melissa preys upon MICROSOFT Outlook and maybe other MICROSOFT technologies and could easily have been made somewhat deadlier. Why would Microsoft publicise the risks of using its over elaborate technology?
If the financial reports contain divisional breakdowns it will be interesting. The divisions are closely linked to particular products so there may be an answer to the great Windows margin question. Questions might also be asked about the pofitability of msn for example.
Slashdot Mirror
As far as I am qualified to do so I agree with the point you are making but i think the point about the stability of a distribution is about the extra packages and how they interact and are set up.
As far as I understand it the stability of debian refers to that and not the kernel of the operating system.
Microsoft not profitable shock.
OK but why doesn't it have to report the cost of its options as part of its earnings?
The argument for a tax break would be that giving the options out is a legitimate business expense. If so Microsoft is either being far to generous to its employees or it is not a profitable business!
What happens if the shares stop going up and options are not worth anything anymore? Will the employees just keep working for their basic salary? If so why give them options now?
Typical practice for many Euroopean companies would be to buy the options from an investment bank thus precisely crystalising the value of the options. Think how much better off microsoft shareholders would be if they had done the same! Of course some of the earnings figures would not look as pretty but
The real question is how much does it cost to run Microsoft?
There are more peole in the EU than in the US. They all use GSM. Even those European countries outside the EU use GSM. How easy do you think it is to get a Brit to agree with a German and a Frenchman? I don't think size has much to do with it.
The poor guy has a solution involving Linux that he can't implement for want of a device driver. Everybody seems to be proposing alternate solutions which seems like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Is there nobody witha nutcracker?
The value of ACID is quite clear and if I were you I would not be in such a hurry to assume that posters have not understood them. Their real value is in making it simpler to code robust software by allowing the programmer to assume that Oracle's programmers have already taken care of the reliability. It is not the only way of ensuring reliability nor obviously the best. If a database application does not require constant additions the way a stock control system might for instance the advantages are much diminished and a little care can be a valid substitute. Likewise if the ratio between reads and writes is different or write operations are relatively simple similar things apply. There are plenty of cases of web sites abandoning Oracle in favour of MySQL effectively because the latter doesn't have transactions because of the speed differentials. Ever wondered why the database companies are not keen on benchmarks? Speed, cost and ease of administration are important considerations in many missions you know.
By the way have you ever tried to configure an Oracle Parallel Server failover system? Have you ever s
What difference will khttpd make to caching software and the need to use caches?
Flash has so far ben used for complicated functionality but could be used for simple things too. Compared to html it is faster to download, easier to design for, can download in the background and offers complete control of the image. The pdf format offers similar advantages. Do you have any objections to using these formats instead of html?
Best yet.
The best point in Mr. Parish's article, also supported by the work of Smithers & Co. and reported in the Financial Times in the UK, is the way that Microsoft has claimed multi billion dollar tax losses for its options without the costs going through the profit and loss account.
As to valuing the options there is a well tested method that supports a multi billion dollar industry. Namely the Black Scholes formula. Failing agreement on a precise cost it should be possible to poll a panel of derivative houses to get an up to the minute cost at reporting period ends.
Whether or not the costs are real is an interesting question to which I popose the following answer. If the options are necessary to run the business then they are a real cost. On the other hand if they are not necessary they should not be granted.
Finally, Mr Parish may be scaremongering but the role the options play in the valuation of the shares makes things very unpredictable. That's quite alarming in a company fast approaching a trillion dollar valuation.
I agree M(r/s) Fulgham. I am surprised to see it get such a panning in Slashdot since it seems so much in sympathy with things that Slashdot readers feel. Francis Benoit is embittered because his lovely chip is used to run Windows. The good guys fight back by opensourcing Java. The description of how force is exerted by shareholders is also refreshing.
I didn't think it was quite as convincing as Bombardiers but then Mr. Bronson started out as a bond salesman rather than a chip designer. For anyone wanting a look at life in the capital markets though truth is stranger than fiction and Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis is even better.
Two points though. In my edition Andy's surname is Caspar not Piper and had I been answering the clock question I would have been tempted to answer that it was time to get a new clock sincewhenn the big hand is at the 4 the little hand should be a third of the way from one number to the next.
A question. Is there a real life La Honda?
Was there really a 6/31/99 posting?
I would really like to build a small low power Linux box that I could leave on all the time at home. The main problem is fan noise. Obviously this and other slightly less extreme solutions could offer that. However as someone who is not a very hardcore programmer and not too keen to part with my money I would also like to be able to use a fairly standard distribution and to pay something like standard x86 prices (all those tiny embedded boards seem incredibly expensive). Does anyone have any ideas? Underclocking perhaps? The main problems I imagine are the power supply, the processor and the hard disk. Suggestions on any would be most welcome. For my purposes I would not need to run X on it but would want full internet connectivity and perhaps reasonable performance running a scanner and printer.
If I remember rightly Zeus and Apache can both be run on NT so there is no excuse for the syllogism "IIS does more hits than Apache so NT is faster than Linux". Staying in the nearly free world there are faster web servers available for Linux, Medusa for example, so the test proves little more than benchmark optimisation.
The Windows NT magazine article (What are they going to call it when everything is called Windows 2000?) I think you are talking about was discussed on these pages. http://slashdot.org/articles/99/03/06/1339230.shtm l
The posting by Scott Crosby are particulalry informative.
One main point was that the supposed benefits of NT's multithreading were more theoretical than practical and that kernel 2.2 had them anyway. The discussions on security were particularly amusing. I also seem to remember a detailed attempt to debunk the article appearing a little while later but where escapes me.
Isn't UF Canadian? Woldn't that mean that Mr. DeWitt would be a Canadian too?
Melissa preys upon MICROSOFT Outlook and maybe other MICROSOFT technologies and could easily have been made somewhat deadlier. Why would Microsoft publicise the risks of using its over elaborate technology?
If the financial reports contain divisional breakdowns it will be interesting. The divisions are closely linked to particular products so there may be an answer to the great Windows margin question. Questions might also be asked about the pofitability of msn for example.
Has anyone tried Linux on an HP journada 820?