It's becoming more common where I study (Chemical Engineering, Imperial College, London). Unix machines are being phased out on the desktop (still got the fifty-node linux cluster though), and more clueless Windows users are coming in, so Word usage is becoming more common.
I know of someone who wrote their entire PhD thesis as one Word document, only to have Word do its "move every diagram to the beginning of the document" thing. He didn't get much sympathy from the Latex users around him!
Automated unit testing is definitely an excellent way to ensure broken code doesn't get out the door. How code gets released when the only guarantee of it working is that a developer 'thinks it'll work' is beyond me.
...spent a lot of time on the computer and was proficient at video games, even giving advice online to players of a game called Mech Commando about how to rearm and rearmor their combatants.
Mech Commando? Do they mean Mech Commander maybe? A unit-level RTS. And he posted advice online! Dear god, he must be some kind of psycho. It's not like pretty much everyone who games does that at some point. How do these kind of journalists get jobs?
The top link (of two, the other one is a coincidence) on Google for Mech Commando is the Philidephia Inquirer article itself, so they can't even use Google
The problem with most of these projects seems to be the lack of that standard incentive scheme most companies run which goes:
Do job really badly -> lose job
Here in the UK, government IT projects go vastly over budget and fall apart time after time, yet the same companies get hired again and again to do the contracting.
There was a slightly more questioning article on the Register about this a while back. Basically, the phrasing of the questions in the survey was a little suspect.
As this was commisioned by AMD, the fact that it finds that people don't know what a megahertz is is convenient, as it provides more 'evidence' for their use of processor ratings rather than clock speed.
(This post was typed on an Athlon-1800XP, before the AMD fan boys attack me)
Linux is being split into two separate incompatible groups.
And what's wrong with that? Are you going to go round to all the KDE developers' houses and beat them until they work on Gnome (or vice versa)? Free software == choice.
Personally, I reckon the cheap laser printers (hp laserjet 1000, samsung izzy etc) are the best option unless you absolutely have to have colour. The initial cost is about the same, the print quality is better and the cost per page is lower.
You can even pick up an old HP laserjet 4L of ebay for like £20. Give the paper rollers a clean and those things go on for ever.
I can't believe the number of posts basically saying "well, it's their problem they're blind, let them sort it out". People are people and you should accommodate them as much as possible. For example, elderly people are increasingly using the web. May of them are partially sighted - should they be prevented from using email to contact their family?
In the UK (at least, I guess more so on the continent), there is extensive legislation about disabled access to public buildings. You have to provide reasonable access to wheelchairs etc. All new lifts have braille buttons, spoken announcements etc for the blind. Why shouldn't this apply to some extent to web sites too?
Huh? What good reputation? In the UK at least, Spam is generally a derogatory name - as in "he's an awful cook - all he cooks is Spam". Surely there has to be some good reputation to damage first before you can sue for damages.
Well, no, it wasn't designed to slow down typing. But it wasn't designed specifically in order to put the most frequently used characters under the strongest fingers.
It's a design that's optimal for mechanical typewriters. As we no longer have the constraint of physical hammers, it is no longer necessarily the best design. So it is a partially correct statement. Not that I've ever used dvorak.
What about those waivers you have to sign before doing dangerous activities like rock climbing at sports centres - "I understand that rock climbing is a dangerous activity and could result in all sorts of horrible painful injuries". Do they not really have any legal standing?
I'm a little unsure of the details of this (~9 years since I last read any German, so I didn't even try).
But they talk about liability and GPL software *customers*. Since when are people who donwload a GPLed project customers? If you get linux from IBM, say, then you're an IBM customer and IBM shouldn't release products without checking and testing all the code they're selling. But going from that to holding contributing developers liable is ridiculous (even if it is German law).
"This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY"
Why is IT always seen as some sort of miracle fix? Kids aren't learning in schools? Give them all computers to 'learn' on. People are living below the poverty line? Give them WiFi, that'll fix their economy.
What's that big tall white thing? Oh, it's an ivory tower.
and, assuming a very conservative average of two readers per book, a larger audience as well.
People are sharing books! Quick, send in the licensing police. That's $100 million in lost sales. This new trend in book piracy must be stamped out before our book industry is ruined.
"In relation to sources of law, clearly the French constitution is the principal source in France, contrasting sharply with the UK position.
Secondly, all legal systems define laws to some extent through precedent - if the original law is ambiguously worded, then its exact meaning is defined generally through its first usage in court.
The US system has shown itself incapabable of judging what the state of the art in software is. The European legal systems aren't all that good either - take the Berlusconi and Chirac immunity cases for example. So why should anything be better in Europe?
Say, for example, that Microsoft made some clever algorithm that improved their.DOC file format and patented it. This effectively gives them a complete, legally mandated monopoly on word processing for the lifetime of the patent (which is huge compared to the lifetime of software). Nobody can produce an interoperating program without violating the patent or paying a huge licensing fee. How does this help anyone other than Microsoft?
Yes, there are differences. I suppose what annoys me is that this is what passes for good kids fiction these days - a derivative story line, increasingly poor editing in the books, massive marketing, film, game and merchandising tie-ins. Harry Potter burgers, drinks, chocolate.
Compare that to Roald Dahl's kids books - nobody could say that those were derivative. A Big Friendly Giant that runs around blowing dreams into peoples' ears while they sleep? An international group of witches trying to turn all the children in the world into mice? Pretty imaginative stuff.
JK Rowling trying to prevent people stealing her ideas? Harry Potter is the most derivative piece of fiction I've seen. I mean 'the Dark Side', kid with unknown Force/magical powers living with his aunt/uncle who happens to be really good on an x-wing/broomstick. If Voldemort turns out to be Harry's father, George Lucas should sue.
" Keith Hodson, a Microsoft spokesman, said the contract could help the Army reduce its costs and "validates the Army's belief in our security model.""
I guess the Iraqi information minister's initials being M.S. isn't a coincidence then - he appears to work for them
Slashdot Mirror
It's becoming more common where I study (Chemical Engineering, Imperial College, London). Unix machines are being phased out on the desktop (still got the fifty-node linux cluster though), and more clueless Windows users are coming in, so Word usage is becoming more common.
I know of someone who wrote their entire PhD thesis as one Word document, only to have Word do its "move every diagram to the beginning of the document" thing. He didn't get much sympathy from the Latex users around him!
Automated unit testing is definitely an excellent way to ensure broken code doesn't get out the door. How code gets released when the only guarantee of it working is that a developer 'thinks it'll work' is beyond me.
Mech Commando? Do they mean Mech Commander maybe? A unit-level RTS. And he posted advice online! Dear god, he must be some kind of psycho. It's not like pretty much everyone who games does that at some point. How do these kind of journalists get jobs?
The top link (of two, the other one is a coincidence) on Google for Mech Commando is the Philidephia Inquirer article itself, so they can't even use Google
The problem with most of these projects seems to be the lack of that standard incentive scheme most companies run which goes:
Do job really badly -> lose job
Here in the UK, government IT projects go vastly over budget and fall apart time after time, yet the same companies get hired again and again to do the contracting.
There was a slightly more questioning article on the Register about this a while back. Basically, the phrasing of the questions in the survey was a little suspect.
As this was commisioned by AMD, the fact that it finds that people don't know what a megahertz is is convenient, as it provides more 'evidence' for their use of processor ratings rather than clock speed.
(This post was typed on an Athlon-1800XP, before the AMD fan boys attack me)
Placebo? Is that the art of convincing your enemy you hit him really without actually touching him?
Linux is being split into two separate incompatible groups.
And what's wrong with that? Are you going to go round to all the KDE developers' houses and beat them until they work on Gnome (or vice versa)? Free software == choice.
Is the full stop key broken on your keyboard or something?
Personally, I reckon the cheap laser printers (hp laserjet 1000, samsung izzy etc) are the best option unless you absolutely have to have colour. The initial cost is about the same, the print quality is better and the cost per page is lower.
You can even pick up an old HP laserjet 4L of ebay for like £20. Give the paper rollers a clean and those things go on for ever.
I can't believe the number of posts basically saying "well, it's their problem they're blind, let them sort it out". People are people and you should accommodate them as much as possible. For example, elderly people are increasingly using the web. May of them are partially sighted - should they be prevented from using email to contact their family?
In the UK (at least, I guess more so on the continent), there is extensive legislation about disabled access to public buildings. You have to provide reasonable access to wheelchairs etc. All new lifts have braille buttons, spoken announcements etc for the blind. Why shouldn't this apply to some extent to web sites too?
I think xman would do what you want. It's a pretty damn ugly x app though
From the 1Beyond page:
"12lbs. with Battery, 16.1" display, and 2 Hard Drives.
It's not a heavy laptop, it's a light TOWER! "
12 lbs! That's insane. Plus, they don't seem to give any battery life estimates. My guess is ~15 minutes.
"substantial goodwill and good reputation"
Huh? What good reputation? In the UK at least, Spam is generally a derogatory name - as in "he's an awful cook - all he cooks is Spam". Surely there has to be some good reputation to damage first before you can sue for damages.
Well, no, it wasn't designed to slow down typing. But it wasn't designed specifically in order to put the most frequently used characters under the strongest fingers.
It's a design that's optimal for mechanical typewriters. As we no longer have the constraint of physical hammers, it is no longer necessarily the best design. So it is a partially correct statement. Not that I've ever used dvorak.
What about those waivers you have to sign before doing dangerous activities like rock climbing at sports centres - "I understand that rock climbing is a dangerous activity and could result in all sorts of horrible painful injuries". Do they not really have any legal standing?
I'm a little unsure of the details of this (~9 years since I last read any German, so I didn't even try).
But they talk about liability and GPL software *customers*. Since when are people who donwload a GPLed project customers? If you get linux from IBM, say, then you're an IBM customer and IBM shouldn't release products without checking and testing all the code they're selling. But going from that to holding contributing developers liable is ridiculous (even if it is German law).
"This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY"
Make that two moderators. What the hell has happened to Slashdot?
Why is IT always seen as some sort of miracle fix? Kids aren't learning in schools? Give them all computers to 'learn' on. People are living below the poverty line? Give them WiFi, that'll fix their economy.
What's that big tall white thing? Oh, it's an ivory tower.
and, assuming a very conservative average of two readers per book, a larger audience as well.
People are sharing books! Quick, send in the licensing police. That's $100 million in lost sales. This new trend in book piracy must be stamped out before our book industry is ruined.
Europe doesn't center around the UK/USian one where courts directly or indirectly create laws by interpreting the constitution
Not really sure what you mean here. From here
"In relation to sources of law, clearly the French constitution is the principal source in France, contrasting sharply with the UK position.
Secondly, all legal systems define laws to some extent through precedent - if the original law is ambiguously worded, then its exact meaning is defined generally through its first usage in court.
The US system has shown itself incapabable of judging what the state of the art in software is. The European legal systems aren't all that good either - take the Berlusconi and Chirac immunity cases for example. So why should anything be better in Europe?
Say, for example, that Microsoft made some clever algorithm that improved their .DOC file format and patented it. This effectively gives them a complete, legally mandated monopoly on word processing for the lifetime of the patent (which is huge compared to the lifetime of software). Nobody can produce an interoperating program without violating the patent or paying a huge licensing fee. How does this help anyone other than Microsoft?
Yes, there are differences. I suppose what annoys me is that this is what passes for good kids fiction these days - a derivative story line, increasingly poor editing in the books, massive marketing, film, game and merchandising tie-ins. Harry Potter burgers, drinks, chocolate.
Compare that to Roald Dahl's kids books - nobody could say that those were derivative. A Big Friendly Giant that runs around blowing dreams into peoples' ears while they sleep? An international group of witches trying to turn all the children in the world into mice? Pretty imaginative stuff.
JK Rowling trying to prevent people stealing her ideas? Harry Potter is the most derivative piece of fiction I've seen. I mean 'the Dark Side', kid with unknown Force/magical powers living with his aunt/uncle who happens to be really good on an x-wing/broomstick. If Voldemort turns out to be Harry's father, George Lucas should sue.
You forgot the trolley to push the battery around in.
1 million = 1e6 = 1,000,000
471 million= 471e6=471,000,000
" Keith Hodson, a Microsoft spokesman, said the contract could help the Army reduce its costs and "validates the Army's belief in our security model.""
I guess the Iraqi information minister's initials being M.S. isn't a coincidence then - he appears to work for them