As good as it is, MP3 is a lossy compression scheme. It is simply not as good as CD. Until the time comes we can download an entire uncompressed song (~30+ Megs), a lot of people will still be buying CDs.
Maybe it would work if a company put together custom recording studio setups based on BeOS. It would be a business model similar to the companies who go into small businesses, set up their entire network, get the check, and handle the occasional support issue.
Building the boxes wouldn't be too hard -- it's commodity hardware and you could make sure the soundcard(s) were compatible in advance.
It's been my experience that most musicians don't give a flip about the OS -- they just want something that sounds good, is easy to use, and helps them make better recordings faster. As a platform, BeOS could fit the bill nicely.
Obviously, the software part is what's missing. If EMagic goes ahead with their Logic port, that would help. The important step would be for Be and EMagic to partner with consultants and certify "BeMagic Studio" systems.
And the total cost of ownership must be cheaper than an equivalent Windows or Mac system.
Personally, I would LOVE the chance to do something like this using Be or perhaps Linux as the platform, but there would be significant start-up costs and a few years before profits are realized. Maybe a brave venture capitalist group would be interested in backing it (hint to Bruce Perens and anybody else:).
Sheeesh. I'm working on Palm software, knowing now that I'll get to port it to ARM in a year or so.
I wanted to try compiling a few class libraries under Be -- maybe make some software for that. Of course, now I know that I'll probably have to do it all over for BeIA.
Forget it. I'm sticking with Visual C++. At least I know that my OLE objects, oh wait -- COM, no -- ActiveX, no -- DCOM.... wait....
What I meant to say was that my RDO database code, no -- make that my DAO, no -- ADO, yeah, won't have to change every year.
(This post had no point other than I hate my job today. Sorry.)
I agree with the spirit of your post -- buffer overruns are not hard to prevent. Even without malicious exploits, defensive coding requires handling of the "what if I get a bucket when I'm expecting a dixie cup?" scenario.
However, I disagree with your final assertions and conclusions:
1. Windows has its share of buffer overruns.
2. strcpy() is the most visible offender in these exploits, but any code which is careless with pointers and/or does unbounded memory access is vulnerable.
3. Object-Oriented code is not necessarily the solution. Some C++ methods simply wrap low-level C-style memory manipulation. If this code is faulty, no amount of OO abstraction will help.
In fact, if the faulty code is in a class which is inherited or used with templates, you may make the problem WORSE by propagating the same code throughout several classes.
I agree that the string class is a nice thing to have. However, there are still a lot of special-case home-grown classes out there for the cases which ANSI C++ doesn't cover. A language with this much power just requires more care on the part of the programmer.
How long will it take to get the GCC/PilRC toolset working with PalmOS on ARM?
How long will it take to get a working PalmOS Emulator using ARM?
Oh, I'll be able to buy MetroWerks Code Warrior? I see... That means I'll have to buy a Mac or a Windows PC. I won't be able to use my preferred development environment and I'll have to use an IDE which I don't particularly like.
I don't mean to complain (much) -- Palm has been great at making developers happy. I'm just a little worried about when or if a Free Software toolkit will be available.
Your post will almost certainly be modded down as flamebait. Thou shalt not malign the great Camel on the holy slashdot and all....
But the idea of being "expressive" with a computer language has always bugged me. I just don't get it. I want a computer language to be efficient and elegant, but not "expressive".
Expressive is for poets and musicians. Bending notes and changing dynamics is "expressive". Metaphors are expressive.
I don't want programmers to be expressive, I want them to be efficient and accurate. I don't want air traffic controllers to be expressive, either ("Turn away from the harsh yellow globe and climb higher than the billowy cotton vapor, for there is another much like yourself directly ahead.")
So can someone please explain to a simpleminded guy what "expressive" programming is -- maybe with an example?
After reading about the JavaOS project and now the PerlOS project, I've decided to start my own OS project.
DonkPunch hereby officially announces: THE C OS PROJECT.
That's right, folks -- an entire operating system written in C! Utilities and shells all written in C! It will be the most C-friendly OS the world has ever seen!
It's a revolutionary idea, I know. In fact, I'm kind of surprised nobody has tried it yet....
Ok, that's a good example. I'll assume you're not using the kids' names/ages/e-mails for anything other than personalization of the application. (If you're selling the data, I hope something nasty happens to you).
However, is it REALLY such a bad thing to have to get the parents' permission before collecting this information? Shouldn't the parents be checking out the service before the kids sign up anyway?
Frankly, I can't think of a single, legitimate, non-sleazy reason to collect information from anyone under 13. How about giving kids a break from your demographic-analyzing targeted-marketing schemes, guys?
Next, you'll be calling them at home before school to tell them about your great new breakfast cereal. Give me a break.
The music industry applauds "Rage Against The Machine" because they improve their profits. The band's social message is simply a tool to brand and market them -- just like Britney Spears' bellybutton, Shania Twain's cleavage, or N'Synch's pretty-boy looks.
Rage Against The Machine is a calculated effort to appeal to a particular demographic -- frustrated, aggressive adolescent males. Despite their Marxist message, their CDs, concerts, and T-shirts cost at least as much as everyone else's. They measure CD sales just as much as everyone else. If you set up a website to give away MP3s of their music, their record company would sue you like everyone else.
You just summed up the whole problem right there. I installed BeOS, played with it, said, "Wow, this will be great for sequencing", went to get a sequencer, and....
Nothing. Not a darn thing is out there.
Oh, there's plenty of MIDI players/jukeboxes -- so many that I'm starting to think BeOS has a single API call for MIDI -- PlayMIDIFile(char* filename).
But real sequencers DO NOT EXIST for BeOS. What a waste.
1. Someone tries to censor it. 2. The DMCA prohibits it. 3. The CIA/FBI/Congress/Al Gore declares it a prohibited ordinance punishable by fine or imprisonment. 4. ZDNet benchmarks it against Exchange. 5. JonKatz is able to compare it to the Nazi Resistance. 6. Amiga claims that they will build their OS on top of it.
(DonkPunch -- offending slashdotters since 1999!)
Re:We win! Where is the Party?
on
Microsoft Loses
·
· Score: 1
I hope by "we" you mean software consumers in general -- not just the Linux/BSD/Mac/BeOS advocates.
That's funny. Years ago, when few people admitted to using Linux in a corporate environment, the Linux advocates were pushing for freedom of choice.
Now, with Linux proudly in widespread use, the Slashdot editors criticize and whine when a company exercises freedom of choice and uses something OTHER than Linux.
And how does not using Linux affect a company's stock value? "Your stock value will drop if you don't use Linux?" That sounds an awful lot like, "No one ever got fired for buying Microsoft."
Of course, when Linux had nothing to do with the stock market, it was all about quality software. It was about using the right system for the right job.
This "movement" has gone from "freedom" to "world domination" almost overnight. I sure hope these Slashdot editorial snipes don't reflect the attitudes of most Linux users. I know they damn sure don't reflect mine.
Several (most?) of the "Ask Slashdot" questions I've seen lately involve legal issues better suited for attorneys and legal scholars.
This site is targeted at "nerds" -- apparently the technical/computer kind. What good are legal questions in such a forum? I can count on one hand the number of real attorneys I've seen posting on this site in the past. Of those, I only see a few still posting these days (where did you go, Hawk?:)
Questions like this tend to elicit a lot of knee-jerk emotionalism, a lot of "IANAL, but I think my Business Law I professor once said....", and a frightening amount of uninformed or just bad advice. Worse yet, some of the bad advice gets moderated up, perhaps giving an impression of credibility. As proof, I offer a recent copyright-related story in which a highly-scored post suggested a "poor man's copyright" -- mailing yourself a registered letter with the song inside. Five minutes of research will show that this is a popular legal myth.
I often find a lot of good technical information in "Ask Slashdot", but I consider these diversions into legal matters to be somewhat pointless at best. At worst, they are dangerous. Woe be to the person who follows a course of action based on what they read on Slashdot. They may well find themselves on the losing end of a lawsuit. I don't think, "The guy on Slashdot said it was ok," is a defense most judges would honor.
For this reason, I ask the Slashdot editors to please reconsider the number of law-related "Ask Slashdot" articles. Technical questions may not generate as many comments, but they may provide more useful information. You have an audience of technical professionals, not lawyers (although I'm sure some of them are honest-to-goodness attorneys).
For those who are considering posting to "Ask Slashdot" for legal advice, I urge you to find a real attorney instead.
Thanks for your time. Now back to the peanut gallery.
Slashdot Mirror
As good as it is, MP3 is a lossy compression scheme. It is simply not as good as CD. Until the time comes we can download an entire uncompressed song (~30+ Megs), a lot of people will still be buying CDs.
Granted, we may be buying them online, though....
Blue sky time....
:).
Maybe it would work if a company put together custom recording studio setups based on BeOS. It would be a business model similar to the companies who go into small businesses, set up their entire network, get the check, and handle the occasional support issue.
Building the boxes wouldn't be too hard -- it's commodity hardware and you could make sure the soundcard(s) were compatible in advance.
It's been my experience that most musicians don't give a flip about the OS -- they just want something that sounds good, is easy to use, and helps them make better recordings faster. As a platform, BeOS could fit the bill nicely.
Obviously, the software part is what's missing. If EMagic goes ahead with their Logic port, that would help. The important step would be for Be and EMagic to partner with consultants and certify "BeMagic Studio" systems.
And the total cost of ownership must be cheaper than an equivalent Windows or Mac system.
Personally, I would LOVE the chance to do something like this using Be or perhaps Linux as the platform, but there would be significant start-up costs and a few years before profits are realized. Maybe a brave venture capitalist group would be interested in backing it (hint to Bruce Perens and anybody else
Sheeesh. I'm working on Palm software, knowing now that I'll get to port it to ARM in a year or so.
I wanted to try compiling a few class libraries under Be -- maybe make some software for that. Of course, now I know that I'll probably have to do it all over for BeIA.
Forget it. I'm sticking with Visual C++. At least I know that my OLE objects, oh wait -- COM, no -- ActiveX, no -- DCOM.... wait....
What I meant to say was that my RDO database code, no -- make that my DAO, no -- ADO, yeah, won't have to change every year.
(This post had no point other than I hate my job today. Sorry.)
I agree with the spirit of your post -- buffer overruns are not hard to prevent. Even without malicious exploits, defensive coding requires handling of the "what if I get a bucket when I'm expecting a dixie cup?" scenario.
However, I disagree with your final assertions and conclusions:
1. Windows has its share of buffer overruns.
2. strcpy() is the most visible offender in these exploits, but any code which is careless with pointers and/or does unbounded memory access is vulnerable.
3. Object-Oriented code is not necessarily the solution. Some C++ methods simply wrap low-level C-style memory manipulation. If this code is faulty, no amount of OO abstraction will help.
In fact, if the faulty code is in a class which is inherited or used with templates, you may make the problem WORSE by propagating the same code throughout several classes.
I agree that the string class is a nice thing to have. However, there are still a lot of special-case home-grown classes out there for the cases which ANSI C++ doesn't cover. A language with this much power just requires more care on the part of the programmer.
How long will it take to get the GCC/PilRC toolset working with PalmOS on ARM?
How long will it take to get a working PalmOS Emulator using ARM?
Oh, I'll be able to buy MetroWerks Code Warrior? I see... That means I'll have to buy a Mac or a Windows PC. I won't be able to use my preferred development environment and I'll have to use an IDE which I don't particularly like.
I don't mean to complain (much) -- Palm has been great at making developers happy. I'm just a little worried about when or if a Free Software toolkit will be available.
So basically the language allows the programmer to code the same way she or he thinks?
Ok, assuming there's no performance penalty for choosing if (COND) {dostuff} over dostuff if COND , I can see the coolness of that. Thanks!
Your post will almost certainly be modded down as flamebait. Thou shalt not malign the great Camel on the holy slashdot and all....
But the idea of being "expressive" with a computer language has always bugged me. I just don't get it. I want a computer language to be efficient and elegant, but not "expressive".
Expressive is for poets and musicians. Bending notes and changing dynamics is "expressive". Metaphors are expressive.
I don't want programmers to be expressive, I want them to be efficient and accurate. I don't want air traffic controllers to be expressive, either ("Turn away from the harsh yellow globe and climb higher than the billowy cotton vapor, for there is another much like yourself directly ahead.")
So can someone please explain to a simpleminded guy what "expressive" programming is -- maybe with an example?
After reading about the JavaOS project and now the PerlOS project, I've decided to start my own OS project.
DonkPunch hereby officially announces: THE C OS PROJECT.
That's right, folks -- an entire operating system written in C! Utilities and shells all written in C! It will be the most C-friendly OS the world has ever seen!
It's a revolutionary idea, I know. In fact, I'm kind of surprised nobody has tried it yet....
Actually, I think you guys make pretty good cookies. And that treehouse is cool!
DonkPunch like OOG, too. Therefore, OOG in chapter 2. DonkPunch think OOG good early troll.
Second Edition. I promise.
For the upcoming anniversary of Slashdot, I will be releasing the paperback version of "Voices From The Trolls."
Table of Contents:
Chapter I:
"First Post!"
Chapter II:
"The Glorious MEEPT -- Early Slashdot"
Chapter III;
"Futility -- GPL vs. BSD, KDE vs. GNOME, Emacs vs. vi"
Chapter IV:
"Nudity and Petrification -- From Segfault to Slashdot"
Chapter V:
"Hot Grits -- Not Just For Breakfast Anymore"
Chapter VI:
"The Final Option -- CmdrTaco/Hemos/CowboyNeal Sucks"
Ok, that's a good example. I'll assume you're not using the kids' names/ages/e-mails for anything other than personalization of the application. (If you're selling the data, I hope something nasty happens to you).
However, is it REALLY such a bad thing to have to get the parents' permission before collecting this information? Shouldn't the parents be checking out the service before the kids sign up anyway?
Frankly, I can't think of a single, legitimate, non-sleazy reason to collect information from anyone under 13. How about giving kids a break from your demographic-analyzing targeted-marketing schemes, guys?
Next, you'll be calling them at home before school to tell them about your great new breakfast cereal. Give me a break.
Get a login so you won't have to post AC anymore. :)
The music industry applauds "Rage Against The Machine" because they improve their profits. The band's social message is simply a tool to brand and market them -- just like Britney Spears' bellybutton, Shania Twain's cleavage, or N'Synch's pretty-boy looks.
Rage Against The Machine is a calculated effort to appeal to a particular demographic -- frustrated, aggressive adolescent males. Despite their Marxist message, their CDs, concerts, and T-shirts cost at least as much as everyone else's. They measure CD sales just as much as everyone else. If you set up a website to give away MP3s of their music, their record company would sue you like everyone else.
It's marketing. Don't believe the hype.
You just summed up the whole problem right there. I installed BeOS, played with it, said, "Wow, this will be great for sequencing", went to get a sequencer, and....
Nothing. Not a darn thing is out there.
Oh, there's plenty of MIDI players/jukeboxes -- so many that I'm starting to think BeOS has a single API call for MIDI -- PlayMIDIFile(char* filename).
But real sequencers DO NOT EXIST for BeOS. What a waste.
There's nothing in C that you can't do in assembly.
:)
Yes there is: Finishing the project before dropping dead or going insane.
Geez, S11, don't you read Slashdot anymore? :)
Slashdot will run a story about Evolution when:
1. Someone tries to censor it.
2. The DMCA prohibits it.
3. The CIA/FBI/Congress/Al Gore declares it a prohibited ordinance punishable by fine or imprisonment.
4. ZDNet benchmarks it against Exchange.
5. JonKatz is able to compare it to the Nazi Resistance.
6. Amiga claims that they will build their OS on top of it.
(DonkPunch -- offending slashdotters since 1999!)
I hope by "we" you mean software consumers in general -- not just the Linux/BSD/Mac/BeOS advocates.
That's funny. Years ago, when few people admitted to using Linux in a corporate environment, the Linux advocates were pushing for freedom of choice.
Now, with Linux proudly in widespread use, the Slashdot editors criticize and whine when a company exercises freedom of choice and uses something OTHER than Linux.
And how does not using Linux affect a company's stock value? "Your stock value will drop if you don't use Linux?" That sounds an awful lot like, "No one ever got fired for buying Microsoft."
Of course, when Linux had nothing to do with the stock market, it was all about quality software. It was about using the right system for the right job.
This "movement" has gone from "freedom" to "world domination" almost overnight. I sure hope these Slashdot editorial snipes don't reflect the attitudes of most Linux users. I know they damn sure don't reflect mine.
Several (most?) of the "Ask Slashdot" questions I've seen lately involve legal issues better suited for attorneys and legal scholars.
:)
This site is targeted at "nerds" -- apparently the technical/computer kind. What good are legal questions in such a forum? I can count on one hand the number of real attorneys I've seen posting on this site in the past. Of those, I only see a few still posting these days (where did you go, Hawk?
Questions like this tend to elicit a lot of knee-jerk emotionalism, a lot of "IANAL, but I think my Business Law I professor once said....", and a frightening amount of uninformed or just bad advice. Worse yet, some of the bad advice gets moderated up, perhaps giving an impression of credibility. As proof, I offer a recent copyright-related story in which a highly-scored post suggested a "poor man's copyright" -- mailing yourself a registered letter with the song inside. Five minutes of research will show that this is a popular legal myth.
I often find a lot of good technical information in "Ask Slashdot", but I consider these diversions into legal matters to be somewhat pointless at best. At worst, they are dangerous. Woe be to the person who follows a course of action based on what they read on Slashdot. They may well find themselves on the losing end of a lawsuit. I don't think, "The guy on Slashdot said it was ok," is a defense most judges would honor.
For this reason, I ask the Slashdot editors to please reconsider the number of law-related "Ask Slashdot" articles. Technical questions may not generate as many comments, but they may provide more useful information. You have an audience of technical professionals, not lawyers (although I'm sure some of them are honest-to-goodness attorneys).
For those who are considering posting to "Ask Slashdot" for legal advice, I urge you to find a real attorney instead.
Thanks for your time. Now back to the peanut gallery.
Yes. Is joke.
This is very good for 3Com. They need to get back to their core business -- making PostIt Notes.
I hate issue re-tread.
:)
Agreed.
By the way, when's the next "Ask Slashdot" on "Which license should I use?"
When's the next Your Rights Online article about censorware?
Just curious.