The Netscape browser will end up on the desktops of the 30 million or so hapless AOL users, when the next version of AOL ships. AOL's contract with Microsoft for IE is up soon (if not already) and they own Netscape, so it's no extra cost to them. -----------------
This is bascially the same as the testing methodology I learned fifteen years ago, but without the integration testing. So I pose the question again: in the XP methodology, who (if anyone) tests the 'units' to make sure they work together properly?
It sounds like you're taking it on faith until you hand it off to the customer, and I can't believe that's the case. -----------------
Okay, the problem I see here is that you're turning one programmer into a tester. (Actually, you're probably turning both programmers into part-time testers, but the idea is the same.) Programmers generally see themselves as being higher on the evolutionary ladder than testers, and many corporate shops re-enforce this idea. If you want to become a programmer, you start off as a tester, and get 'promoted' to programmer.
The point is I think this is going to be a tough sell to many programmers brought up with this mindset, no matter how effective the solution may be. -----------------
First of all, it means programmers have to learn to write test specs (which is not trival), and second, it suggests that programmers test their own code, which I always thought was a bad idea(tm).
Aside from 'smoke testing' (you know, if smoke doesn't come out of the computer, it's passed the test) I think the testing should be done by someone else. Programmers get too intimate with their code too quickly.
Anyone from the XP camp care to comment?
BTW, what happened to integration testing? I didn't see it mentioned anywhere in the article. -----------------
Re:Cool hack, but what's the framerate
on
PanQuake
·
· Score: 1
Simulator rides use two techniques: matching the motion of the ride to the motion in the film and play the film back at a high frame rate (somewhere between 60-70 fps).
The system was invented by Douglas Trumbull back in the seventies, when it was discovered that a faster framerate gave a heightened sense of reality. (I think IMAX films use a higher framerate, too, but I'm not sure.)
So, yeah if you want to trick the brain into believing it's 'real' a faster framerate will work. At least 60, but I don't know what the upper limit is. -----------------
Actually, it's been done, kinda. Forte for Java stores its Swing form layouts in XML format. Look for a.form file in your Forte project. I think Borland jBuilder does the same thing, too. -----------------
The evil empire made it work. After Visual Basic 1.0 came out they introduced Visual Basic for DOS. I re-built Windows Apps written in VB 1.0 by just re-compling the source code. The programs ran fine on old 8088s.
O'course, then Microsoft decided DOS was 'dead' and VB DOS never got past version 1.0. But it was nice while it lasted.
Let the flames begin! -----------------
The review mentions an article in the Atlantic in 1945 about hyperlinks, and Tim Berners-Lee, but no mention of the Ted Nelson's infamous 'Xanadu' project. The last I heard of it was an article in Wired in 1995 (found here) but I haven't heard anything since then.
Xanadu was supposed be be a two-way hypertext system, not only could you link other documents to your own, but you could link your document to others. Needless to say, there was much wailing and hand-wringing over copyright, IP and so forth, and the general consensus is that Nelson is a bit weird, but it's an interesting story, none the less. -----------------
But the iBook is $500 cheaper, and comes bundled with a load of (semi-) useful software. As soon as Apple starts shipping them with OS X pre-installed, I'm buying one. -----------------
Gates cracked under the strain of having two much money and developed a split personality. The RMS persona is Gates in disguise when the mood spectrum swings. (Check the glasses, they don't change.)
Besides, you never see them together, do you? -----------------
It's a cheap way to get to orbit, and orbit is half the battle. Of the energy required to break to pull of Earth's gravity, half of it is used to reach orbit. So if you can get to the orbital platform cheaply, (as opposed to big, expensive, noisy rockets) you have much more resources to devote to moving stuff into the rest of the solar system, and beyond. -----------------
Just to ruin your ( and all other KSR fans) day; the Scifi Channel is making a mini-series of "Red Mars". What are the odds it will suck lemons? -----------------
I thought of "The Shadow" with Alce Baldwin's network of agents sending reports via pneumatic tubes to a central clearing office. There was a pretty cool "tube's eye view' sequence, too.
Never did figure out how the flashing red signal rings worked, though. -----------------
Cable modem support varies a great deal. I have Mediaone RoadRunner here in Cambridge MA, which is now part of AT&T, and the service has been fine, but they won't support any OS other than Win9X and Mac. They also hardcode my MAC address in at their end, so no other machine can use my connection.
OTOH, my brother has Rogers@home in Victoria BC, and he has the same QOS that I do, but no hard-coded MAC address to worry about. It's a crap-shoot, depending on the monopoly controlling cable access in your area.
Oh yeah, and AT&T are raising their rates $6.00, for no good reason, just greed. -----------------
How are they going to know the kids were genetically modified? I don't remember reading anything in the article about barcodes on the backs of their necks. -----------------
I smell an "X-Files" episode, if Fox can spring to fly Mulder and Skully (the heck with Doggit) to the U.K. to film it. Could be cool. -----------------
As soon as I saw this I nipped over to Fatbrain and ordered the book. Vance's work is all classic stuff, but so little of it is available these days (due to the dearth of Star Trek and Star Wars crud filling the shelves, but I digress). I hope the five "Demon Princes" novels get reprinted soon, too; they deserve to be read by a younger generation. -----------------
No, you can never read too much Iain M. Banks. I have everything he's written and it's all brilliant. Make sure you get Look to Windward, his latest. It's only available in the U.K. right now, the US imprint should arrive soon. -----------------
Exactly right. Check the Corbis web site for all the art you thought was in the public domain, but you now have to pay for. And although the site says that Corbis is a privately owned comapny, nowhere does it say that Gates owns it.
Dennis Miller was right, "Bill Gates is a monocle and a persian cat away from being a Bond villian." -----------------
But nobody creates a passenger aircraft, or an automobile, or a new, nicer design of personal computer for pure creative self-actualising joy.
I have to disagree with you there. The Wright brothers weren't in it for the money, neither were the pioneers of automobile development (according to the History Channel), and it certainly sounds like Woz built the Apple I for the fun of it, not to get stinkin' rich.
People innovate for the fun of it, people exploit for the money. So Boeing is big because of the early flight pioneers, Ford just applied Colt's princples of mass production to cars, and Steve Jobs saw a way to make money with his friend's toy.
-----------------
Just one example of the stupidity of this speech
on
MS VP Speech Online
·
· Score: 3
From the speech: Furthermore, it (Open Source Software) has inherent security risks and can force intellectual property into the public domain.
As opposed to Microsoft's approach to security documented here (Article from the Registry: "Microsoft tells U.S. Air Force to bug off).
With an attitude like this, he has no basis what so ever in talking about security risks!
-----------------
Slashdot Mirror
The Netscape browser will end up on the desktops of the 30 million or so hapless AOL users, when the next version of AOL ships. AOL's contract with Microsoft for IE is up soon (if not already) and they own Netscape, so it's no extra cost to them.
-----------------
It sounds like you're taking it on faith until you hand it off to the customer, and I can't believe that's the case.
-----------------
The point is I think this is going to be a tough sell to many programmers brought up with this mindset, no matter how effective the solution may be.
-----------------
First of all, it means programmers have to learn to write test specs (which is not trival), and second, it suggests that programmers test their own code, which I always thought was a bad idea(tm).
Aside from 'smoke testing' (you know, if smoke doesn't come out of the computer, it's passed the test) I think the testing should be done by someone else. Programmers get too intimate with their code too quickly.
Anyone from the XP camp care to comment?
BTW, what happened to integration testing? I didn't see it mentioned anywhere in the article.
-----------------
The system was invented by Douglas Trumbull back in the seventies, when it was discovered that a faster framerate gave a heightened sense of reality. (I think IMAX films use a higher framerate, too, but I'm not sure.)
So, yeah if you want to trick the brain into believing it's 'real' a faster framerate will work. At least 60, but I don't know what the upper limit is.
-----------------
I think SourceForge needs a 'lameness' filter.
-----------------
Nope, sorry, after my time. They just checked our sliderules to make sure we hadn't written cheat notes on the edges.
-----------------
Actually, it's been done, kinda. Forte for Java stores its Swing form layouts in XML format. Look for a .form file in your Forte project. I think Borland jBuilder does the same thing, too.
-----------------
The evil empire made it work. After Visual Basic 1.0 came out they introduced Visual Basic for DOS. I re-built Windows Apps written in VB 1.0 by just re-compling the source code. The programs ran fine on old 8088s.
O'course, then Microsoft decided DOS was 'dead' and VB DOS never got past version 1.0. But it was nice while it lasted.
Let the flames begin!
-----------------
The review mentions an article in the Atlantic in 1945 about hyperlinks, and Tim Berners-Lee, but no mention of the Ted Nelson's infamous 'Xanadu' project. The last I heard of it was an article in Wired in 1995 (found here) but I haven't heard anything since then.
Xanadu was supposed be be a two-way hypertext system, not only could you link other documents to your own, but you could link your document to others. Needless to say, there was much wailing and hand-wringing over copyright, IP and so forth, and the general consensus is that Nelson is a bit weird, but it's an interesting story, none the less.
-----------------
But the iBook is $500 cheaper, and comes bundled with a load of (semi-) useful software. As soon as Apple starts shipping them with OS X pre-installed, I'm buying one.
-----------------
Gates cracked under the strain of having two much money and developed a split personality. The RMS persona is Gates in disguise when the mood spectrum swings. (Check the glasses, they don't change.)
Besides, you never see them together, do you?
-----------------
It's a cheap way to get to orbit, and orbit is half the battle. Of the energy required to break to pull of Earth's gravity, half of it is used to reach orbit. So if you can get to the orbital platform cheaply, (as opposed to big, expensive, noisy rockets) you have much more resources to devote to moving stuff into the rest of the solar system, and beyond.
-----------------
Just to ruin your ( and all other KSR fans) day; the Scifi Channel is making a mini-series of "Red Mars". What are the odds it will suck lemons?
-----------------
I remember "The Fountains of Paradise". Do you remember that David Brin had two space needles in his first book, "Sundiver"?
-----------------
I dunno, but replace "Govt" with "Dogbert" and I'm sold.
-----------------
I thought of "The Shadow" with Alce Baldwin's network of agents sending reports via pneumatic tubes to a central clearing office. There was a pretty cool "tube's eye view' sequence, too.
Never did figure out how the flashing red signal rings worked, though.
-----------------
Cable modem support varies a great deal. I have Mediaone RoadRunner here in Cambridge MA, which is now part of AT&T, and the service has been fine, but they won't support any OS other than Win9X and Mac. They also hardcode my MAC address in at their end, so no other machine can use my connection.
OTOH, my brother has Rogers@home in Victoria BC, and he has the same QOS that I do, but no hard-coded MAC address to worry about. It's a crap-shoot, depending on the monopoly controlling cable access in your area.
Oh yeah, and AT&T are raising their rates $6.00, for no good reason, just greed.
-----------------
How are they going to know the kids were genetically modified? I don't remember reading anything in the article about barcodes on the backs of their necks.
-----------------
I smell an "X-Files" episode, if Fox can spring to fly Mulder and Skully (the heck with Doggit) to the U.K. to film it. Could be cool.
-----------------
As soon as I saw this I nipped over to Fatbrain and ordered the book. Vance's work is all classic stuff, but so little of it is available these days (due to the dearth of Star Trek and Star Wars crud filling the shelves, but I digress). I hope the five "Demon Princes" novels get reprinted soon, too; they deserve to be read by a younger generation.
-----------------
No, you can never read too much Iain M. Banks. I have everything he's written and it's all brilliant. Make sure you get Look to Windward, his latest. It's only available in the U.K. right now, the US imprint should arrive soon.
-----------------
Exactly right. Check the Corbis web site for all the art you thought was in the public domain, but you now have to pay for. And although the site says that Corbis is a privately owned comapny, nowhere does it say that Gates owns it.
Dennis Miller was right, "Bill Gates is a monocle and a persian cat away from being a Bond villian."
-----------------
But nobody creates a passenger aircraft, or an automobile, or a new, nicer design of personal computer for pure creative self-actualising joy.
I have to disagree with you there. The Wright brothers weren't in it for the money, neither were the pioneers of automobile development (according to the History Channel), and it certainly sounds like Woz built the Apple I for the fun of it, not to get stinkin' rich.
People innovate for the fun of it, people exploit for the money. So Boeing is big because of the early flight pioneers, Ford just applied Colt's princples of mass production to cars, and Steve Jobs saw a way to make money with his friend's toy.
-----------------
From the speech: Furthermore, it (Open Source Software) has inherent security risks and can force intellectual property into the public domain.
As opposed to Microsoft's approach to security documented here (Article from the Registry: "Microsoft tells U.S. Air Force to bug off).
With an attitude like this, he has no basis what so ever in talking about security risks!
-----------------