That's why I signed up with Telocity. They encourage Linux Servers, firewalls, and NAT. Oh, and no contract.
Of course, it isn't hooked up yet, so I can't tell you about quality. Considering GTE is doing the outside wires, and Northpoint Communications is doing the inside wiring, I assume that it will be a matter of how good GTE quality is -- I doubt the line quality will reflect anything about Telocity itself.
I remember running a whole bunch of SLBBS/WWIV boards and playing TradeWars ALL THE TIME! I wonder if I still have my old software with the saved games:)
Have you considered contacting the Trademark office? I have contacted the Secretary of State's office many times with "Can I...", "How do I...", is _____ an option... Surprisingly, they answered all my questions and were really helpful.
Perhaps you could email them and say, "We are making and distributing a product for free. How do we trademark it so that we can create a presence for ourselves?"
Or, can you give away free products as a way of making a name for your group as a software company -- like PowWow/TribalVoice did?
I agree. Technology is moving faster than our pocket books. Does that mean that it is vaporware if we can't develop it by the time we publicly announce we are going to try to?
Besides, didn't the article say that they succeeded in doing it?
Support, choice of OS and apps, training/tutoring, etc...
Oh, and if you are only worried about the price thing. Point out that the other product cost an extra 1-3 years of _ispname_ at $20-30/month... That WILL increase that machine from $500 to as much as $1600! And don't let them tell you they will just buy the computer then not sign up or quit the service -- "Early Termination Fee".... Most people that have asked for my advice have seen the light when they bring out their calculator.
Re:Good business technique
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Wouldn't that count as SLAMMING according to the FCC?
Re:http://www.telocity.com/
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What is the deal with Telocity? I emailed questions to them like 5 times, each time pointing out that the answers would determine whether I went with them or someone else. I never got a response.
Finally, I wrote an email complaining about never getting a response. I got an email back with someone assigned to be my personal rep.
I called that person and explained my questions. They were really helpful and said that they would email me the answers the next day.
That was 3 weeks ago or so. No emails. I have called 3 times since -- just answering machine.
Are they severly swamped, or just don't care about their customers? I have been working on getting hooked up through them for 3 months yet and they STILL haven't answered my basic questions about their EUA.
The hardest thing is going to be proving you can still do it. It doesn't matter, in most cases, how much you did in the past if you HAVEN'T done it for the last couple years.
What you need to do is get yourself back onto the market. Take any computer-related field (Administration, tech support, programming, etc). Also, decide on a language and try to pick it up -- mostly to show that you are still trying to learn more. That seems to be VERY important. Check out places like dice.com to see what qualifications people are looking for.
If you can dazzle them, that's great. But realize that it might be completely pointless to dazzle the wrong person. If you do an interview with one person and totally amaze them -- and the person doing the hiring is only looking at your work experience..... So, make sure to ask for and talk to the right people.
Don't forget to include anything you HAVE been doing for the last 10 years. Even if it is not computer related, you can usually spin it to show why it will help you with the job you are applying for.
One other option might be for you to be a team lead. If you are managing other programmers, they might see your age and programming experience as a plus -- after all, their boss knows what they are going through.
If they are techs, they are probably somwhat curious and hackish. Give them unix accounts and teach the VERY basics... They will figure out a lot on their own if they know the basics and about things like Search on redhat.com.
I am saying this because I remember that the people who got unix accounts at my college were always the first to jump in and try to fix unix issues. The college, by the way, did teach a basics unix class. One near you would probably have a nice course outline.
I agree with a few of your statements, but definitely not all.
Corporations are no different from the Mom & Pop operation - it's just people trying to make a living.
There's the same people working for both
True. I have been running a Consulting firm as a Sole Proprietor for a few years now, and am going to Incorporate in July -- trying to start my own ISP/InternetCafe. Many of my friends and myself, whom have all worked for various of the larger ISPs
it's just that one provides a living for a few hundred or a few thousand people rather than just a handful.
Not true. Once I Incorporate, that does not change the number of people working for me. Some Corporations have LESS people (see Delaware and Nevada). The ones that have thousands are usually the ones that everyone hates -- including their own employees (before you disagree, reread that I used to work for them, and many of my friends still do).
The big ISP makes more money, makes more people successful, and will provide its service for less money (through the economies of scale).
That is definitely NOT true. While the Corporation DOES see more money, the average grunt tech does not see most of it. I currently make about 10 times what I did working at the ISP. And the fact of the matter is that the large ISPs push the market -- thus INCREASING the costs. Currently, DSL costs $50/month here for 128-768k. 300 miles away, in a town MUCH smaller, they get full T1 speeds over fiber for $35/month. Larger ISPs charge more because their brand allows it, thus causing everyone else to raise their price because everyone will pay it. I will probably be undercutting them by at least 50%.
Those people working for the big ISP aren't complaining - they're working shorter hours than the overstretched Mom & Pop team, and the customers are happy too - they are getting their connection cheaper.
Untrue. The techs complain. The customer support complain. The customers complain. The techs and customer support leave to start their own. And again, the prices are actually higher.
Keep in mind, I am not saying the Corps are evil -- I am in fact starting my own. I am saying that it is too common for large corps to take advantage of the smaller businesses and people BECAUSE THEY CAN. That is why people assume that corporations are evil.
Well, here's a question. Does anyone know where we can get a PDA-sized color OLED for under, say $40? Since we can get the LCDs for Palm/Handspring for about $80, it would not make sense for the OLED version to be more than half of that... Handspring is 160x160 with 16-bit color... So, at least that or better at the same size...
And from a company that we actually WANT to encourage?
From the different NDAs I have signed, I have noticed a trend. You are not allowed (in general) to say anything good OR bad about the company. They also are not allowed to say anything good OR bad about YOU.
However, I believe it does NOT apply to speaking with other people who have signed the NDA. For example, I got my girlfriend her current job. Since I no longer work for the company, she can not, in Theory, tell me even where she works -- BUT I AM THE ONE WHO TOLD HER. And what it came down to is that I am still under the NDA, and thus we can speak to each other as if I was still employeed there. But, I can NOT talk to "outsiders" (people who never signed the NDA) about my opinions.
At least, that is the way I understood what I read.
This technology has a lot of potential. In my previous post about designing VR hardware, I was thinking the OLEDs would be a good way to do the screens. However, I don't think Sony should be changing the acronymn to sound like their own technology. It is exactly the same thing.
I completely agree. I started my first business (ie: first REAL business) when I was 16. I had the same reactions.
Because of that, I got in the habit of talking business over the phone BEFORE meeting them in person. The reason was simple. I had no problem getting them to see my vision -- unless they were already deciding against it before listening to me.
Even now, 11-12 years later, I still do that. Now I am 27 and starting my own Corporation. Everyone I have talked to has faith in what I am trying to do. The reason behind that is that I do not talk with them about it in person until after I talk to them on the phone or in email. There have been some exceptions to that. Some people see your performance and vision before you talk to them about your plans. That is where you get your most avid supporters.
But I digress. If you feel like you are not being taken seriously at work because of your age, then consider the opposite. Perhaps they are no longer able to keep up. Perhaps they do not realize what can be done because they have not kept up with the changes. When you start to realize that you are in a BETTER position than they are BECAUSE you are younger and already know what you do -- then it starts to come across. At first, they will just ask you a question or two. Next thing you know they will be bouncing ideas off of you to see what you think (will it work?)...
But the change has to come in your mindset and attitude. Success really does rub off. So does Vision. If you are inspired and doing something -- they start to notice. Especially when you are getting results and they are not.
Everyone probably already knows what I am going to say, but why not look for Java solutions?
This page explains to Java developers how to develop bidirectional support. It even covers how to do English with Hebrew embedded in the middle of the string. I would suggest finding Java applications that use such techniques. The full Internationalization Trail of the Java Tutorial is here.
For example, here is a Java Calendar that does Hebrew from IBM. Here is an editor using an older form of Java that does Hebrew, also from IBM
You might even ask JEdit if they have or are planning on adding support for multiple languages, importing/exporting Word, etc..
You want to utilize computers to help people? Make sure to get rid of what usually annoys them.
For example, when my gf had to get her records transfered recently, it took 3 months of going back and forth between the two clinics (one 300 miles away) to finally get them faxed. I don't know why it took so long, but it seems that it usually does. It would be nice if we could avoid that hassle.
Then there is the setting up of meetings. Online scheduling makes things much easier -- especially if you have more access than free phone time at work (or if you don't want people to hear you). They should be able to schedule their appointment with you, get an email verification, and an email reminder.
Prescription refills. If it is for something the doctor has every intention to refill, and does not need to see the client, then allow web-based refill requests instead of phone-calls.
So you can't show the entire medical file to your patient. What if they want a second opinion. Maintain a database of verified practioneers, and allow the patient to forward a file to any doctor in the list. Preferably, if their family doctor (out-of-town doctor, etc) is not listed, that would be rectified the first time the patient signs in.
Realistically, patients (at least/.ers) was full access to their records. Though that is not currently an option, perhaps you should focus part of your attention towards that end as well. As long as part of the records are being kept from the patient, the patients will never fully trust the doctor -- because the doctor is obviously hidding something from them. When I called around to every clinic/hospital in my area (Portland, OR) when I was about to run out of medication (I had moved, my doctor was no longer local) -- and nobody was even willing to tell me what to EXPECT (side effects etc) when I ran out of meds (Asacol. Didn't have health insurance at the time and new Doctors would not see my and just accept my recent records from a previous doctor. They wanted me to go through a $fullexam) -- what did it do? It convinced me that they were ripping me off and that I didn't need the meds and that they were all quacks. I had been told I had to take the meds every day for the rest of my life, and I have not taken any for a couple years -- with no side effects... Perhaps they were just lying to me to take my money.... ANYWAYS, the anecdotal thing was an example why hiding records from patients make them feel untrusting of you... You should attempt to take that into account as well.
I would say the courts are definitely contadicting themselves. This quote is from page 5:
"The Reimerdes case dealt with somebody who didn't have a right to the DVD but was cracking through it to get the code, whereas the Connectix case dealt with a situation where a company was legally entitled to be using the code and reverse-engineering it for purposes of interoperability," he explains.
Can someone explain to me why DeCSS doesn't count as "for the purposes of interoperability"? I thought the whole point was to make DVD work on Linux? And, as far as him not having the right to it.... Does that mean that I don't have the right to [loop start]keep making VCDs on my home system, and run them on my DVD player[loop end] until it works?
If I understand correctly, you are specifically looking for games that "Playing" is the Point. If that is incorrect, none of this may relate.
The first two that come to mind are non-computer oriented. One is the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) -- living the life of Medieval nobles is the point [sorta, no spam].... The other is V:tM LARP (Vampire: The Masquerade - Live Action RolePlaying) -- group improv.... In both case, acting out a persona is the point.
I mention both of those because there is no "end goal". While your persona may be trying to accomplish something, that is specific to the persona you create -- thus YOUR motivations.
On the computer side of things... Hmm. That one is a bit more difficult... DikuMUD usually is setup so that a lot of people are trying to compete -- but you don't HAVE to -- your purpose could be completely different... Robot Odyssey did give you limited resources, and an end goal, but the reason you played was because it was intellectually challenging (thus bringing its own rewards when you figured out a puzzle)...
I personally play Medieval Madness (pinball) and Sega Air Hockey (go MULTIPUCK!!!) for entertainment, not because of scores. Well, not really -- I play both because I **LOVE** multi-ball/puck... I can care less about the scores, I just want multiball.
I would also have to say that any sport you play with your friends in the backyard (volleyball, tag in the swimming pool, etc) would probably qualify as entertainment-oriented more than score-oriented.
Perhaps you could give an example of the type of computer game that would qualify -- then we could brainstorm whether we know of anything like it...
For many companies, the extra ten seconds it would take to spin up a backup server's hard drive(s) likely would be a non-issue. So, why don't server grade computers support advanced power management (APM), APCI and the like?"
The extra ten seconds might not seem like long -- but most web-based business could loose all of their customers that way. Imagine if the webpage you are loading takes an extra 10 seconds. Though not a significant amount of time, we have grown impatient enough that most people will not wait the extra time -- thinking that the page is down, broke, or full of advertisements.
On the flip side of the issue... I used to do tech support for NICs, hubs, switches, etc... One of the major issues we found was that sometimes Power Management would turn off the NIC, and it never would spin back up.... What that meant was that they lost network connection until they rebooted (definitely not good for servers).
Even at home, I have it Disabled. Why? Because every time I have it disabled, half of my hardware becomes unusable within a matter of minutes (granted -- that is with Windows, I have not noticed the issue in Linux) -- like my SCSI card.
In summary, I think the biggest reason is because it is not very reliable (from a tech support point of view) and because the extra 10 seconds (to users, the OS, etc) sometimes registers as a timeout.
If you are a corporate junkie, it is NOT important - read NOONE CARES - we just need it to run.
While I agree on your point about reaching new markets, I think you are generalizing the corporate junkie portion. Corporations spend a lot of money on programs that are NOT cross-platform. For example, do you think that most corporations were satisfied with how "well" their programs worked when they moved from Win95/98 to NT like they were told? I don't think so. They have to get new software that worked under the new platform (specifically without DOS interrupt 13h I think). Sure, they can budget it in, buy new copies of the software, download patches to make it work on the new machines, call technical support, backtrack and reload win 95/98 until their NT systems are up and running correctly -- whatever.... But then, some bigwig decides that Linux is the "next big thang" and everyone has to figure out what the hell to do, what hardware to get, what software to get, how to use the software, etc... Oh, and their little programs that used to work one way MOSTLY work the same way when available on Linux (ie: Netscape, WordPerfect, etc), and some are just complete replacements (Gnomepad+, whatever)...
My point is, Corporations are starting to realize that being cross-platform can make things much easier in the long run (and cheaper). Sure, they are going to be a lot slower in changing than a small company -- but when is that NOT true about a large corporation?
When I get my community-access-computer-lab up, and I am running Linux and WinWhatevers and Mac and anything else people need/want (yes, I realize that I could FORCE everyone to use Linux or whatever -- but tell me how much smaller your target market is then) -- we are ONLY going to be installing programs that are cross-platform. Why? Because, I want ONE copy on the network that will install EXACTLY the same way on EVERY machine. We are probably going to have intern students from the local college working at the lab, installing the software -- and being someone who has been in that position before, I know that is the best way. And what OS is our customer running at home? Doesn't matter. What OS is on the laptop someone brings in? Doesn't matter.
To sum up -- if the corporation you are working for does not see the NEED for cross-platform coding, they are obviously not knowledgeable enough about the real world of HiTech and you might want to leave while you have the chance. If I ever went to interview someone for an IT job and they gave me some NT-solution to some question, they'd loose the job on the spot.
When programming in C/C++, you usually will use pointers (*) or references (& or -> or . or whatever)... If you get them mixed up (like A LOT of C/C++ programmers do) it makes your program unstable or not work at all.
I was simply stating that you don't use them in java. sure, they are behind the scenes, but you are NOT going to use the wrong one.
What do you mean inconsistent? You pass in your variable name in all cases.
Ok, I will take your bait. I went to DICE.COM and did searches for Oregon (where I am) unrestricted hire-type. I searched for the words "java", "J++", "C#", "windows", and "unix".... Wonder what I found?
documents that say "J++": 13
of those:
# that say "unix": 7
# that say "windows": 3
documents that say "C#": unknown. Dice not setup to handle that.
documents that say "java": 372
of those:
# that say "windows": 102
# that say "unix": 188
# that say "windows" AND "unix": 77
# that DO NOT say "windows": 270
# that DO NOT say "unix": 184
# that DO NOT say "windows" OR "unix": 159
documents that mention "unix": 480
of those:
# that say "windows": 156
# that DO NOT mention "windows": 324
# that say "java": 188
# that say "windows" AND "java": 77
documents that mention "windows": 365
of those:
# that say "unix": 156
# that DO NOT mention "unix": 209
# that say "java": 102
# that say "unix" AND "java": 77
So, now for all of those who keep going off about M$ implementations, or M$ having 85% of the market share -- trying checking the market sometime instead of believing M$ propaganda.
Although I would prefer a Screwdriver, Kahlua, Jaegger, etc.... I do think it is interesting they are going to make Barley more nutricious.. I can see it now...
I was actually thinking of my Cortona plugin (written in Java) when I mentioned Plugins, but the fact of the matter is that even the NT ServicePack page tells you to install the JRE.
Java IS the way to code for the least common denominator. Almost everyone has the ability to see Java applets right now. I have not come across ANY other way of getting real-time client-side through the browser that works on HALF of the browsers I have installed. Obviously not any M$ version, since only IE supports those. Not Javascript because half of my browsers have about 4 different versions of it installed -- the others none. Using Java is the ONLY way to get real-time client-side inside of a browser to work on most of the browsers. Even if you only went with Netscape4&6, IE5.5, and Opera -- your download would be bigger to get a DHTML page that works on all 4....
I understand the 28.8 thing. I was dialing up over 28.8 when I first started coding Java in the pre-JIT days.
one of the fundamental flaws of Java is the absurd amount of crap required to do the simplest tasks
perhaps you could give me an example? I don't remember other languages being able to open a stream to a url and zip the output on the fly -- in one line of command. Maybe I am missing your point?
Slashdot Mirror
That's why I signed up with Telocity. They encourage Linux Servers, firewalls, and NAT. Oh, and no contract.
Of course, it isn't hooked up yet, so I can't tell you about quality. Considering GTE is doing the outside wires, and Northpoint Communications is doing the inside wiring, I assume that it will be a matter of how good GTE quality is -- I doubt the line quality will reflect anything about Telocity itself.
I remember running a whole bunch of SLBBS/WWIV boards and playing TradeWars ALL THE TIME! I wonder if I still have my old software with the saved games :)
Have you considered contacting the Trademark office? I have contacted the Secretary of State's office many times with "Can I...", "How do I...", is _____ an option... Surprisingly, they answered all my questions and were really helpful.
Perhaps you could email them and say, "We are making and distributing a product for free. How do we trademark it so that we can create a presence for ourselves?"
Or, can you give away free products as a way of making a name for your group as a software company -- like PowWow/TribalVoice did?
I agree. Technology is moving faster than our pocket books. Does that mean that it is vaporware if we can't develop it by the time we publicly announce we are going to try to?
Besides, didn't the article say that they succeeded in doing it?
Support, choice of OS and apps, training/tutoring, etc...
Oh, and if you are only worried about the price thing. Point out that the other product cost an extra 1-3 years of _ispname_ at $20-30/month... That WILL increase that machine from $500 to as much as $1600! And don't let them tell you they will just buy the computer then not sign up or quit the service -- "Early Termination Fee".... Most people that have asked for my advice have seen the light when they bring out their calculator.
Wouldn't that count as SLAMMING according to the FCC?
What is the deal with Telocity? I emailed questions to them like 5 times, each time pointing out that the answers would determine whether I went with them or someone else. I never got a response.
Finally, I wrote an email complaining about never getting a response. I got an email back with someone assigned to be my personal rep.
I called that person and explained my questions. They were really helpful and said that they would email me the answers the next day.
That was 3 weeks ago or so. No emails. I have called 3 times since -- just answering machine.
Are they severly swamped, or just don't care about their customers? I have been working on getting hooked up through them for 3 months yet and they STILL haven't answered my basic questions about their EUA.
The hardest thing is going to be proving you can still do it. It doesn't matter, in most cases, how much you did in the past if you HAVEN'T done it for the last couple years.
What you need to do is get yourself back onto the market. Take any computer-related field (Administration, tech support, programming, etc). Also, decide on a language and try to pick it up -- mostly to show that you are still trying to learn more. That seems to be VERY important. Check out places like dice.com to see what qualifications people are looking for.
If you can dazzle them, that's great. But realize that it might be completely pointless to dazzle the wrong person. If you do an interview with one person and totally amaze them -- and the person doing the hiring is only looking at your work experience..... So, make sure to ask for and talk to the right people.
Don't forget to include anything you HAVE been doing for the last 10 years. Even if it is not computer related, you can usually spin it to show why it will help you with the job you are applying for.
One other option might be for you to be a team lead. If you are managing other programmers, they might see your age and programming experience as a plus -- after all, their boss knows what they are going through.
If they are techs, they are probably somwhat curious and hackish. Give them unix accounts and teach the VERY basics... They will figure out a lot on their own if they know the basics and about things like Search on redhat.com.
I am saying this because I remember that the people who got unix accounts at my college were always the first to jump in and try to fix unix issues. The college, by the way, did teach a basics unix class. One near you would probably have a nice course outline.
Corporations are no different from the Mom & Pop operation - it's just people trying to make a living.
There's the same people working for both
True. I have been running a Consulting firm as a Sole Proprietor for a few years now, and am going to Incorporate in July -- trying to start my own ISP/InternetCafe. Many of my friends and myself, whom have all worked for various of the larger ISPs
it's just that one provides a living for a few hundred or a few thousand people rather than just a handful.
Not true. Once I Incorporate, that does not change the number of people working for me. Some Corporations have LESS people (see Delaware and Nevada). The ones that have thousands are usually the ones that everyone hates -- including their own employees (before you disagree, reread that I used to work for them, and many of my friends still do).
The big ISP makes more money, makes more people successful, and will provide its service for less money (through the economies of scale).
That is definitely NOT true. While the Corporation DOES see more money, the average grunt tech does not see most of it. I currently make about 10 times what I did working at the ISP. And the fact of the matter is that the large ISPs push the market -- thus INCREASING the costs. Currently, DSL costs $50/month here for 128-768k. 300 miles away, in a town MUCH smaller, they get full T1 speeds over fiber for $35/month. Larger ISPs charge more because their brand allows it, thus causing everyone else to raise their price because everyone will pay it. I will probably be undercutting them by at least 50%.
Those people working for the big ISP aren't complaining - they're working shorter hours than the overstretched Mom & Pop team, and the customers are happy too - they are getting their connection cheaper.
Untrue. The techs complain. The customer support complain. The customers complain. The techs and customer support leave to start their own. And again, the prices are actually higher.
Keep in mind, I am not saying the Corps are evil -- I am in fact starting my own. I am saying that it is too common for large corps to take advantage of the smaller businesses and people BECAUSE THEY CAN. That is why people assume that corporations are evil.
Well, here's a question. Does anyone know where we can get a PDA-sized color OLED for under, say $40? Since we can get the LCDs for Palm/Handspring for about $80, it would not make sense for the OLED version to be more than half of that... Handspring is 160x160 with 16-bit color... So, at least that or better at the same size...
And from a company that we actually WANT to encourage?
From the different NDAs I have signed, I have noticed a trend. You are not allowed (in general) to say anything good OR bad about the company. They also are not allowed to say anything good OR bad about YOU.
However, I believe it does NOT apply to speaking with other people who have signed the NDA. For example, I got my girlfriend her current job. Since I no longer work for the company, she can not, in Theory, tell me even where she works -- BUT I AM THE ONE WHO TOLD HER. And what it came down to is that I am still under the NDA, and thus we can speak to each other as if I was still employeed there. But, I can NOT talk to "outsiders" (people who never signed the NDA) about my opinions.
At least, that is the way I understood what I read.
- EInk
- Ritek
- RollTronics
- Universal Display
- Cambridge Display
- Kodak
- and check out this page at Stanford Research
-
This technology has a lot of potential. In my previous post about designing VR hardware, I was thinking the OLEDs would be a good way to do the screens. However, I don't think Sony should be changing the acronymn to sound like their own technology. It is exactly the same thing.I completely agree. I started my first business (ie: first REAL business) when I was 16. I had the same reactions.
Because of that, I got in the habit of talking business over the phone BEFORE meeting them in person. The reason was simple. I had no problem getting them to see my vision -- unless they were already deciding against it before listening to me.
Even now, 11-12 years later, I still do that. Now I am 27 and starting my own Corporation. Everyone I have talked to has faith in what I am trying to do. The reason behind that is that I do not talk with them about it in person until after I talk to them on the phone or in email. There have been some exceptions to that. Some people see your performance and vision before you talk to them about your plans. That is where you get your most avid supporters.
But I digress. If you feel like you are not being taken seriously at work because of your age, then consider the opposite. Perhaps they are no longer able to keep up. Perhaps they do not realize what can be done because they have not kept up with the changes. When you start to realize that you are in a BETTER position than they are BECAUSE you are younger and already know what you do -- then it starts to come across. At first, they will just ask you a question or two. Next thing you know they will be bouncing ideas off of you to see what you think (will it work?)...
But the change has to come in your mindset and attitude. Success really does rub off. So does Vision. If you are inspired and doing something -- they start to notice. Especially when you are getting results and they are not.
Unless, of course, they feel threatened by it.
This page explains to Java developers how to develop bidirectional support. It even covers how to do English with Hebrew embedded in the middle of the string. I would suggest finding Java applications that use such techniques. The full Internationalization Trail of the Java Tutorial is here.
For example, here is a Java Calendar that does Hebrew from IBM.
Here is an editor using an older form of Java that does Hebrew, also from IBM
You might even ask JEdit if they have or are planning on adding support for multiple languages, importing/exporting Word, etc..
Anyways, just a thought.
For example, when my gf had to get her records transfered recently, it took 3 months of going back and forth between the two clinics (one 300 miles away) to finally get them faxed. I don't know why it took so long, but it seems that it usually does. It would be nice if we could avoid that hassle.
Then there is the setting up of meetings. Online scheduling makes things much easier -- especially if you have more access than free phone time at work (or if you don't want people to hear you). They should be able to schedule their appointment with you, get an email verification, and an email reminder.
Prescription refills. If it is for something the doctor has every intention to refill, and does not need to see the client, then allow web-based refill requests instead of phone-calls.
So you can't show the entire medical file to your patient. What if they want a second opinion. Maintain a database of verified practioneers, and allow the patient to forward a file to any doctor in the list. Preferably, if their family doctor (out-of-town doctor, etc) is not listed, that would be rectified the first time the patient signs in.
Realistically, patients (at least /.ers) was full access to their records. Though that is not currently an option, perhaps you should focus part of your attention towards that end as well. As long as part of the records are being kept from the patient, the patients will never fully trust the doctor -- because the doctor is obviously hidding something from them. When I called around to every clinic/hospital in my area (Portland, OR) when I was about to run out of medication (I had moved, my doctor was no longer local) -- and nobody was even willing to tell me what to EXPECT (side effects etc) when I ran out of meds (Asacol. Didn't have health insurance at the time and new Doctors would not see my and just accept my recent records from a previous doctor. They wanted me to go through a $fullexam) -- what did it do? It convinced me that they were ripping me off and that I didn't need the meds and that they were all quacks. I had been told I had to take the meds every day for the rest of my life, and I have not taken any for a couple years -- with no side effects... Perhaps they were just lying to me to take my money.... ANYWAYS, the anecdotal thing was an example why hiding records from patients make them feel untrusting of you... You should attempt to take that into account as well.
"The Reimerdes case dealt with somebody who didn't have a right to the DVD but was cracking through it to get the code, whereas the Connectix case dealt with a situation where a company was legally entitled to be using the code and reverse-engineering it for purposes of interoperability," he explains.
Can someone explain to me why DeCSS doesn't count as "for the purposes of interoperability"? I thought the whole point was to make DVD work on Linux? And, as far as him not having the right to it.... Does that mean that I don't have the right to [loop start]keep making VCDs on my home system, and run them on my DVD player[loop end] until it works?
The first two that come to mind are non-computer oriented. One is the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) -- living the life of Medieval nobles is the point [sorta, no spam].... The other is V:tM LARP (Vampire: The Masquerade - Live Action RolePlaying) -- group improv.... In both case, acting out a persona is the point.
I mention both of those because there is no "end goal". While your persona may be trying to accomplish something, that is specific to the persona you create -- thus YOUR motivations.
On the computer side of things... Hmm. That one is a bit more difficult... DikuMUD usually is setup so that a lot of people are trying to compete -- but you don't HAVE to -- your purpose could be completely different... Robot Odyssey did give you limited resources, and an end goal, but the reason you played was because it was intellectually challenging (thus bringing its own rewards when you figured out a puzzle)...
I personally play Medieval Madness (pinball) and Sega Air Hockey (go MULTIPUCK!!!) for entertainment, not because of scores. Well, not really -- I play both because I **LOVE** multi-ball/puck... I can care less about the scores, I just want multiball.
I would also have to say that any sport you play with your friends in the backyard (volleyball, tag in the swimming pool, etc) would probably qualify as entertainment-oriented more than score-oriented.
Perhaps you could give an example of the type of computer game that would qualify -- then we could brainstorm whether we know of anything like it...
The extra ten seconds might not seem like long -- but most web-based business could loose all of their customers that way. Imagine if the webpage you are loading takes an extra 10 seconds. Though not a significant amount of time, we have grown impatient enough that most people will not wait the extra time -- thinking that the page is down, broke, or full of advertisements.
On the flip side of the issue... I used to do tech support for NICs, hubs, switches, etc... One of the major issues we found was that sometimes Power Management would turn off the NIC, and it never would spin back up.... What that meant was that they lost network connection until they rebooted (definitely not good for servers).
Even at home, I have it Disabled. Why? Because every time I have it disabled, half of my hardware becomes unusable within a matter of minutes (granted -- that is with Windows, I have not noticed the issue in Linux) -- like my SCSI card.
In summary, I think the biggest reason is because it is not very reliable (from a tech support point of view) and because the extra 10 seconds (to users, the OS, etc) sometimes registers as a timeout.
While I agree on your point about reaching new markets, I think you are generalizing the corporate junkie portion. Corporations spend a lot of money on programs that are NOT cross-platform. For example, do you think that most corporations were satisfied with how "well" their programs worked when they moved from Win95/98 to NT like they were told? I don't think so. They have to get new software that worked under the new platform (specifically without DOS interrupt 13h I think). Sure, they can budget it in, buy new copies of the software, download patches to make it work on the new machines, call technical support, backtrack and reload win 95/98 until their NT systems are up and running correctly -- whatever.... But then, some bigwig decides that Linux is the "next big thang" and everyone has to figure out what the hell to do, what hardware to get, what software to get, how to use the software, etc... Oh, and their little programs that used to work one way MOSTLY work the same way when available on Linux (ie: Netscape, WordPerfect, etc), and some are just complete replacements (Gnomepad+, whatever)...
My point is, Corporations are starting to realize that being cross-platform can make things much easier in the long run (and cheaper). Sure, they are going to be a lot slower in changing than a small company -- but when is that NOT true about a large corporation?
When I get my community-access-computer-lab up, and I am running Linux and WinWhatevers and Mac and anything else people need/want (yes, I realize that I could FORCE everyone to use Linux or whatever -- but tell me how much smaller your target market is then) -- we are ONLY going to be installing programs that are cross-platform. Why? Because, I want ONE copy on the network that will install EXACTLY the same way on EVERY machine. We are probably going to have intern students from the local college working at the lab, installing the software -- and being someone who has been in that position before, I know that is the best way. And what OS is our customer running at home? Doesn't matter. What OS is on the laptop someone brings in? Doesn't matter.
To sum up -- if the corporation you are working for does not see the NEED for cross-platform coding, they are obviously not knowledgeable enough about the real world of HiTech and you might want to leave while you have the chance. If I ever went to interview someone for an IT job and they gave me some NT-solution to some question, they'd loose the job on the spot.
I was simply stating that you don't use them in java. sure, they are behind the scenes, but you are NOT going to use the wrong one.
What do you mean inconsistent? You pass in your variable name in all cases.
Regarding your C++ conventions, take a look at Java Programmers FAQ: For C and C++ Fans.
Ok, I will take your bait. I went to DICE.COM and did searches for Oregon (where I am) unrestricted hire-type. I searched for the words "java", "J++", "C#", "windows", and "unix".... Wonder what I found?
documents that say "J++": 13
of those:
# that say "unix": 7
# that say "windows": 3
documents that say "C#": unknown. Dice not setup to handle that.
documents that say "java": 372
of those:
# that say "windows": 102
# that say "unix": 188
# that say "windows" AND "unix": 77
# that DO NOT say "windows": 270
# that DO NOT say "unix": 184
# that DO NOT say "windows" OR "unix": 159
documents that mention "unix": 480
of those:
# that say "windows": 156
# that DO NOT mention "windows": 324
# that say "java": 188
# that say "windows" AND "java": 77
documents that mention "windows": 365
of those:
# that say "unix": 156
# that DO NOT mention "unix": 209
# that say "java": 102
# that say "unix" AND "java": 77
So, now for all of those who keep going off about M$ implementations, or M$ having 85% of the market share -- trying checking the market sometime instead of believing M$ propaganda.
Although I would prefer a Screwdriver, Kahlua, Jaegger, etc.... I do think it is interesting they are going to make Barley more nutricious.. I can see it now...
"____: The only beer that is TRULY good for you"
I was actually thinking of my Cortona plugin (written in Java) when I mentioned Plugins, but the fact of the matter is that even the NT ServicePack page tells you to install the JRE.
Java IS the way to code for the least common denominator. Almost everyone has the ability to see Java applets right now. I have not come across ANY other way of getting real-time client-side through the browser that works on HALF of the browsers I have installed. Obviously not any M$ version, since only IE supports those. Not Javascript because half of my browsers have about 4 different versions of it installed -- the others none. Using Java is the ONLY way to get real-time client-side inside of a browser to work on most of the browsers. Even if you only went with Netscape4&6, IE5.5, and Opera -- your download would be bigger to get a DHTML page that works on all 4....
I understand the 28.8 thing. I was dialing up over 28.8 when I first started coding Java in the pre-JIT days.
perhaps you could give me an example? I don't remember other languages being able to open a stream to a url and zip the output on the fly -- in one line of command. Maybe I am missing your point?