The HTML component exposes some navigation methods/properties/events, but that's about it. Using IE's browser control and Visual Basic, it would take approximately five minutes to build a GUI, upon which a fully functional web browser could be made. Think of the NeoPlanet browser, that now seems to be gone.
VPN has always provided me with an IP within the LAN (therefore no extra config required), with its packets forwarded through the tunnel. I assume this is just how it works, although it's possible that this is just one of many ways to implement it.
Re:Okay, so maybe I'm being stupid but...
on
802.11b on your Tivo
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
For starters, a LAN Internet connection would seem adequate enough for the programming updates it normally does via dialup. If you don't have a land line, I can see this as being a big deal. Second, if you don't want to run Cat5 from your home theater to your wiring closet/office/whatever, you don't have to anymore.
I've admitted that handling backflow is no problem. An actual browser "Back" navigation would absolutely kill us. There is quite a bit of stateful things are going on in much of the stuff I work in, and this is something that Macromedia quite rightfully states as an advantage of Flash in certain situations.
I'm not defending "Flash for Everything". It's not the be-all, end-all tool for the web. It's not even close. I'm simply trying to sell the idea of Flash not only as annoying graphics, but as an application. The example I am working, is just one of MANY that make it the clear choice over web "standards", none of which (final OR draft) can provide the kind of interactivity and intelligence we put into Flash courseware. We've tried it -- you can't offload the work to the client, with dozens of possible browser quirks, so work goes to the server. The server starts taking on loads, it needs to be stateful, and the thing doesn't scale. I've been there, you haven't, you'll just have to trust me.
If you'd like to see what REAL education companies (not $20 CD's at Best Buy) are doing with Flash, I suggest you go to a place like Riverdeep (URL implied), try some of their content, then come back with some suggestions on how to reimplement their work in "something better". On second thought, maybe you shouldn't, not that you were even thinking about trying. A lot of the work I'm seeing there is quite poor (I work for another company), and I wouldn't want to give you the wrong idea.
At long last, some sanity : ) Your points are all well made:
Authorware is such a high bandwidth proposition, and that does make it difficult to work with over the web. Director is similar, and for that reason, we chose Flash over the other two options in Macromedia's monopoly toolchest.
I agree that Flash should not make up an entire website. In the places where it's used now, whether it's Flash as an application or Flash as an image, I can't really think of it as something that should be indexed, anyway.
Personally, I'm looking forward to Flash 6. From the accessibility at runtime to the inevitably improved interface at author time, I'm hoping it will lessen my hatred for producing with it.
The SWF format isn't exactly open in the way that everyone would like it to be. I'm not counting on SVG to be any better, and it still won't suit my (company's) needs, though. However, as long as I can keep hacking the binaries for certain production work we do, I'm fine.
They've got some draft standards, and an API frozen for the not-yet-released GNOME 2.0 -- not much to work with. Besides, what if I prefer KDE (if any desktop environment at all)? BeOS? The answer, particularly in a low-margin sector, is that you're not going to get it unless someone asks for it, and even then, it's got to be at least a break-even proposition.
Additionally, I'll say that our content does provide for the other things you speak of, where appropriate.
Purely instructional content provides the learner with a bookmark that saves the locations where they left the lesson. The user is allowed backflow on as many as three levels, from the micro (step) level to an overall (hub) level. If you want to retry the questions there, you can.
In tests, one answers the question, and is told nothing more than whether the response is correct or incorrect.
Somewhere in the middle, there will be a pre-test. This is a time where you are not allowed retries, but ARE given the correct answer, and an explanation of what you've done wrong. Depending on the content and your response, it may even be able to tell you where you went wrong.
I think it's a pretty good system, and maybe not perfect to a techie's eyes (myself included), but if you've got some way of revolutionizing a 30 year old industry with years-long product cycles and multimillion dollar budgets, I'll see if I can find you a consulting job, after you've sifted through a couple thousand hours worth of content.
We only allow so many attempts before locking out the user. If the user hits Refresh or closes the window, the session is terminated, and any information collected up to that point is submitted. On top of that, there are a minimum of 3 question sets in every test, and in mathematical subjects, it can be in the millions. Furthermore, you're working off the assumption that you're given the right answer. The process of elimination adds difficulty, and would only apply to multiple choice questions.
You're working on the assumption that this is a fill-in-the-dots-and-finish-before-the-bell kind of test... Sophisticated computer instruction hasn't been like that in years.
Flash is not perfect, and it has been abused quite a bit. However, most of you are ignorant of its capabilities, largely because you've never seen them used.
First of all, Flash can be made accessible. The latest version will work with screen readers, and on top of that, you've obviously heard the annoying music in some of them -- do you suppose that audio could be used to read the screen?
Second, Flash does have its place. I'm a programmer for an educational software company, and let me tell you -- it's just about the only thing educational software companies are using these days, with the exception of slower, more bloated Macromedia formats like Director and Authorware. It's relatively fast, and the small file sizes make a HUGE difference when content is delivered via Internet.
Third -- the "usability" whiners. No, you can't use the back button, and that's a good thing when you're talking about instruction. Did you give a wrong answer? Well oops, I guess you just hit the back button and do it again -- that sounds like a really bad way to give tests to me. As for "deep" linking, you may or may not be able to. It has been possible to load a Flash movie using a query string that sets variables within the movie, e.g. "marketing_crap.swf?section=FAQ", which could be used for navigation into that section.
Lastly, Flash is open. You can download the SDK from Macromedia's site. It explains the file format, internal data types, plus low and high level interfaces for creating SWF files with Visual C++. I understand that it is not as cutesy as the overbuilt XML-type SVG format, but for many people, that isn't a Bad Thing®.
Macromedia Flash Player 6 now supports assistive technologies such as screen readers through support of Microsoft Active Accessibility. In addition, Macromedia Flash MX now integrates tools for creating accessible content. To add descriptive text to animations and user interface elements, select an item and enter the appropriate description. Users with disabilities will be able to experience your content.
My apologies for lollygagging (personal/corporate info omitted):
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Funny, the message timestamp on my alert says 2/11@5:40, and my inbox says it was received at 5:34. My clock and theirs may be a few minutes apart, but it would seem that I got the message almost immediately.
I've been told that these PDA phones are "jack of all trades, master of none" buggers, but it does seem silly that there would be two independent devices, when they have so much (including form factor) in common.
I'm basing my assessment on the CPU and OS independent "time it takes to accomplish basic tasks" index, which means copying files, writing basic text documents, browsing the web, and so on.
My old 366A compares quite favorably compared to a 400MHz G4 tower that I've used for unit testing. That Mac was less responsive, and nearly every task seemed more time consuming, both in terms of wrestling with the UI and the time required to complete the process.
If the "MHz Myth" actually applied to Macs, then you'd have something, but FWIW, normal tasks on a G4 with OS 9 seem slightly sluggish compared to a Celeron of the same clockspeed with Win2K. Dressed up numbers on a couple of Photoshop filters don't make any difference if the overall experience remains slow.
If one takes the leap of putting a CD-ROM drive in a car, I doubt that the welfare of the drive is considered a high priority. Hacking is much more fun with disposable parts that get broken, explode, or melt. Successful hacks can only hope to be "cool".
Anyway, your point is a valid one, so if I decide I'm going to try running sensitive electronic equipment off the wiring in my car (not likely, since I don't drive), I'll remember that those lines aren't the cleanest.
Slashdot Mirror
Other people around Chippewa Falls never managed to pull this off, at least not with one case. A local computer company stayed up many late nights and weekends "working" on this problem until they had enough cases.
Your answer is here: http://www.snpp.com/guides/lisa-3.html#3.1.4
And one post to bind them all!
The HTML component exposes some navigation methods/properties/events, but that's about it. Using IE's browser control and Visual Basic, it would take approximately five minutes to build a GUI, upon which a fully functional web browser could be made. Think of the NeoPlanet browser, that now seems to be gone.
Yeah, it's probably a tad easier to configure existing software than to install and get acquainted with something entirely different.
VPN has always provided me with an IP within the LAN (therefore no extra config required), with its packets forwarded through the tunnel. I assume this is just how it works, although it's possible that this is just one of many ways to implement it.
For starters, a LAN Internet connection would seem adequate enough for the programming updates it normally does via dialup. If you don't have a land line, I can see this as being a big deal. Second, if you don't want to run Cat5 from your home theater to your wiring closet/office/whatever, you don't have to anymore.
I've admitted that handling backflow is no problem. An actual browser "Back" navigation would absolutely kill us. There is quite a bit of stateful things are going on in much of the stuff I work in, and this is something that Macromedia quite rightfully states as an advantage of Flash in certain situations.
I'm not defending "Flash for Everything". It's not the be-all, end-all tool for the web. It's not even close. I'm simply trying to sell the idea of Flash not only as annoying graphics, but as an application. The example I am working, is just one of MANY that make it the clear choice over web "standards", none of which (final OR draft) can provide the kind of interactivity and intelligence we put into Flash courseware. We've tried it -- you can't offload the work to the client, with dozens of possible browser quirks, so work goes to the server. The server starts taking on loads, it needs to be stateful, and the thing doesn't scale. I've been there, you haven't, you'll just have to trust me.
If you'd like to see what REAL education companies (not $20 CD's at Best Buy) are doing with Flash, I suggest you go to a place like Riverdeep (URL implied), try some of their content, then come back with some suggestions on how to reimplement their work in "something better". On second thought, maybe you shouldn't, not that you were even thinking about trying. A lot of the work I'm seeing there is quite poor (I work for another company), and I wouldn't want to give you the wrong idea.
At long last, some sanity : ) Your points are all well made:
Authorware is such a high bandwidth proposition, and that does make it difficult to work with over the web. Director is similar, and for that reason, we chose Flash over the other two options in Macromedia's monopoly toolchest.
I agree that Flash should not make up an entire website. In the places where it's used now, whether it's Flash as an application or Flash as an image, I can't really think of it as something that should be indexed, anyway.
Personally, I'm looking forward to Flash 6. From the accessibility at runtime to the inevitably improved interface at author time, I'm hoping it will lessen my hatred for producing with it.
The SWF format isn't exactly open in the way that everyone would like it to be. I'm not counting on SVG to be any better, and it still won't suit my (company's) needs, though. However, as long as I can keep hacking the binaries for certain production work we do, I'm fine.
They've got some draft standards, and an API frozen for the not-yet-released GNOME 2.0 -- not much to work with. Besides, what if I prefer KDE (if any desktop environment at all)? BeOS? The answer, particularly in a low-margin sector, is that you're not going to get it unless someone asks for it, and even then, it's got to be at least a break-even proposition.
Additionally, I'll say that our content does provide for the other things you speak of, where appropriate.
Purely instructional content provides the learner with a bookmark that saves the locations where they left the lesson. The user is allowed backflow on as many as three levels, from the micro (step) level to an overall (hub) level. If you want to retry the questions there, you can.
In tests, one answers the question, and is told nothing more than whether the response is correct or incorrect.
Somewhere in the middle, there will be a pre-test. This is a time where you are not allowed retries, but ARE given the correct answer, and an explanation of what you've done wrong. Depending on the content and your response, it may even be able to tell you where you went wrong.
I think it's a pretty good system, and maybe not perfect to a techie's eyes (myself included), but if you've got some way of revolutionizing a 30 year old industry with years-long product cycles and multimillion dollar budgets, I'll see if I can find you a consulting job, after you've sifted through a couple thousand hours worth of content.
Uh, what's the point of a back button if you're not allowed to use it?
Bzzt! Wrong! Thanks for playing.
We only allow so many attempts before locking out the user. If the user hits Refresh or closes the window, the session is terminated, and any information collected up to that point is submitted. On top of that, there are a minimum of 3 question sets in every test, and in mathematical subjects, it can be in the millions. Furthermore, you're working off the assumption that you're given the right answer. The process of elimination adds difficulty, and would only apply to multiple choice questions.
You're working on the assumption that this is a fill-in-the-dots-and-finish-before-the-bell kind of test... Sophisticated computer instruction hasn't been like that in years.
Hmm, can't seem to find it. Are you sure your "open sores" operating system supports accessibility at the API level?
Flash is not perfect, and it has been abused quite a bit. However, most of you are ignorant of its capabilities, largely because you've never seen them used.
First of all, Flash can be made accessible. The latest version will work with screen readers, and on top of that, you've obviously heard the annoying music in some of them -- do you suppose that audio could be used to read the screen?
Second, Flash does have its place. I'm a programmer for an educational software company, and let me tell you -- it's just about the only thing educational software companies are using these days, with the exception of slower, more bloated Macromedia formats like Director and Authorware. It's relatively fast, and the small file sizes make a HUGE difference when content is delivered via Internet.
Third -- the "usability" whiners. No, you can't use the back button, and that's a good thing when you're talking about instruction. Did you give a wrong answer? Well oops, I guess you just hit the back button and do it again -- that sounds like a really bad way to give tests to me. As for "deep" linking, you may or may not be able to. It has been possible to load a Flash movie using a query string that sets variables within the movie, e.g. "marketing_crap.swf?section=FAQ", which could be used for navigation into that section.
Lastly, Flash is open. You can download the SDK from Macromedia's site. It explains the file format, internal data types, plus low and high level interfaces for creating SWF files with Visual C++. I understand that it is not as cutesy as the overbuilt XML-type SVG format, but for many people, that isn't a Bad Thing®.
as soon as we USians switch to the metric system.
My apologies for lollygagging (personal/corporate info omitted):
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Funny, the message timestamp on my alert says 2/11@5:40, and my inbox says it was received at 5:34. My clock and theirs may be a few minutes apart, but it would seem that I got the message almost immediately.
Hmm, I haven't been watching the show much...
I've been told that these PDA phones are "jack of all trades, master of none" buggers, but it does seem silly that there would be two independent devices, when they have so much (including form factor) in common.
The Samsung I300 trounces both, and manages to do so without being quite so fugly.
I'm basing my assessment on the CPU and OS independent "time it takes to accomplish basic tasks" index, which means copying files, writing basic text documents, browsing the web, and so on.
My old 366A compares quite favorably compared to a 400MHz G4 tower that I've used for unit testing. That Mac was less responsive, and nearly every task seemed more time consuming, both in terms of wrestling with the UI and the time required to complete the process.
If the "MHz Myth" actually applied to Macs, then you'd have something, but FWIW, normal tasks on a G4 with OS 9 seem slightly sluggish compared to a Celeron of the same clockspeed with Win2K. Dressed up numbers on a couple of Photoshop filters don't make any difference if the overall experience remains slow.
Anyway, your point is a valid one, so if I decide I'm going to try running sensitive electronic equipment off the wiring in my car (not likely, since I don't drive), I'll remember that those lines aren't the cleanest.
--