One of the stereotypes of linux users is that we think it is better than everything else in every application. This is simply not the case.
You just debunked your own stereotype. Why bother repeating it?
And then, you conjure up a Mac story, trying to corrolate Macs, being designed for ease of use and grandmother-friendliness, with Windows. And this has what, exactly, to do with Linux?
You made no statements on how Linux could possibly work in this situation, and rightly so. Linux is not ready for Grandma, but in the IT world, it rocks.
Linux servers are faster, cheaper, more reliable, and run more securely than Windows Servers of equal stature. The desktops run faster on older hardware, and the programs read the same file formats. Bottom line, Linux wins on this front. This is the position taken in the article, which you might not have bothered to read, considering your odd comments.
The utilities and control-panel-like programs may not be up to snuff w/ Windows (and they're not, rest assured), but for everything else, its hard not to say that Linux doesn't have an advantage and is quickly closing the gap.
I would love more than anything for Penn & Teller's Bullshit to do a story entitled "Everything funds terrorism."
Their insights on topics from Feng Sheu and Bottled Water (easily one of my favorite episodes) are classic. They take the average urban myth (such as Chiropractics are actually doing you some good...not) and deconstruct it to shreds.
This is political BS and those who don't believe it have their head in the sand.
What's worse is this is just going to lead to more legislation taking away American Civil Liberties. I've got my ACLU membership card, do you?
Wow. I've never read such a vague article in my life.
Here's the synop:
We used Windows. It crashed and got viruses. We didn't want to upgrade to XP.
We played around with Linux. We decided on Mandrake. We went Ogg Vorbis. Life is grand.
Nothing on the implentation, nothing on what programs/hardware they used in Windows or Linux, nothing in regards to performace of said hardware and/or ported software.
Linux is great for them, but being too vague doesn't help small time studios understand how to use it in their shop, or how best to go about it.
Why not get a little more in-depth, such as what utilities they used, what hardware settings needed to be tweaked (if any), and how difficult it was to train for.
For example:
What was the hardest part to train/learn? What features are you hoping Linux audio programs will add in the future? What advice would you give to a small, struggling studio in regards to using Linux in a studio? Do you know of any other studios who have utilized Linux? The list goes on.
Right Direction, Wrong Implementation
on
Opencroquet
·
· Score: 1
Good lord, does this look terrible. That screenshot makes me want to run and hide.
Why? Because it slows any kind of navigation to a screeching halt.
Because it doesn't make sense that you will have to "walk around" or "fly" in some fashion inside a 3d space just because you want to open a web browser, open a spreadsheet, or do basically anything with any sort of timeliness.
Sure it's got that cool Minority Report feel. But inside a 17" or 15" screen? Sure we have 19"+, but mainstream America is still using 15"-ers by and large. This is a problem with this "solution."
3D Desktops just are not usable right now. This guy is way ahead of his time. I'll give him that. I respect all of his prior work. And the groundings for this system have to start somewhere.
But until it gets practical, until our desktop expands away from the flatscreen and the CRT (whether it be a wall-projection or cool goggles, who knows), this will be one of those I'm-Running-This-Because-It's-Cool-But-The-Usabili ty-Sucks thing, just like early Linux distros.
Remember those early WM's? Take a look at Redhat 5.2 sometime and prepare to cringe.
That's the exact same effect this will bring in about 5 years.
Since the article was fairly light, I'll give you a scenario:
You buy a meal from McDonalds. "Would you like Internet Access?" the 15 year old hottie asks you.
"Um...sure," you say, your laptop getting heavy on your shoulder.
She hands you a card (or perhaps its printed on the receipt). It has an IP Address, a subnet mask, and a gateway. Hopefully there would be instructions nearby, with settings for Macs, Win95 - WinXP.
They could specify IP addresses that are good for only one hour, and to keep up with the load they could also use different subnets. The NAT used in the router would take care of IP leasing issues, and there should be no DHCP (or else you'd get free 'net access just by turning on your laptop and WiFi card).
Sounds fairly simple to me, but the hype is probably louder than customers who actually want this.
I'd have to disagree... That is the point where I open a new window. I use them both, each window is a subject, and it might have multiple tabs. Like I have one window that just has news tabs, and then I have a general browsing window.
But he's not speaking to your audience, those who like to have multiple windows open, each with their own tabs.
Me, I like to have one window open and none others. This can get a little daunting once you have around 15+ tabs loaded (which, at any point during the day, is a possibility).
I'd love to be looking at php.net and then have sub-tabs of different functions I'm using at the time.
This is a brilliant idea. Don't dimiss it because you wouldn't use it. Now where is the execution?
If you treat your customers like this, you're going to lose them. Simple as that.
I liked the analogy someone else came up with, such as someone running an extension cord from your house to theirs. Who is responsible here?
If I had hosting with your company, and the slammer bug hit servers that your sys admins failed to update, then you better eat that burstable bandwidth bill or a lawsuit couldn't be far behind (depending on the amount, of course). If the servers were my responsibility, including keeping them updated, etc, then I could understand your reasoning.
If a DDoS attack cripples my site, and you expect me to pay for that, you're sorely mistaken.
The simple fact is if they caused it, they paid for it. This includes patches/fixes the customer should've implemented. If you run and maintain that server for them, then no bill increase should be applied.
If someone out in the world caused it, a random malicious event that they just so happened to be on the brunt end of, just throw away that burstable bandwidth bill and make sure your customer knows you did them a favor.
It may not be your place as to pay for that second scenario, but you'll keep your customers longer, keep them happier and keep word of mouth on your company going strong.
It's just good business. Were this my company, I would never even think of treating customers this way.
" According to Marcus Lindblom, the game's producer, War of the Ring isn't being designed as a hard-core real-time strategy game, but rather more as an RTS that will be accessible and fun for both strategy fans and fans of The Lord of the Rings who might never have played a strategy game before"
You know what? I want to play a game based on Lord of the Rings, the first of its kind, to be for strategy fans. I want it to be for those of us with a lot of experience, who are looking for something new and innovative, yet at the same time incorporating all that has come before.
I want to see the orcs crawling over the mountains in the distance, covering them like bugs as they advance. I want to see the classic over-the-horizon shot as an army of uru'khai come to wage war. I want a Risk-like map available showing me where I can move my troops in position, and then be able to switch to a warcraft-3 like view to see the ensuing battles.
I want the slow buildup of supplies and buildings, and long sessions with cabinet members on how best to defend my kingdom. If this is real time strategy, it doesn't have to go at Warcraft 3's pace. I don't need another Warcraft 3 mod that has Lord of the Rings characters and a "Warcraft 3-esque" storyline. You know why? Becuase people have modded Warcraft 3 enough already that there are maps that replay the adventures in The Fellowship of the Ring (playable w/ 8 of your friends) and The Battle of Helms Deep. I don't want a few more units, some new models and a screwed up story. If you're going to go, do it right!
This is one of the single biggest opportunities that a game designer could have and they are screwing it up so they can get sales. I'm sure they'll try to put this out on all platforms (probably not GBA, but hell, in some marketing meeting they might throw out the possibility for laughs), on all systems, so they can make tons of cash and have the Click Button Repeatedly To Win syndrome that is so common nowadays. You ever played The Two Towers on PS2 or PC? Same concept. Oh sure, there are "combos", but really, you're just mashing the same buttons over and over.
Think of a combination of Medieval: Total War (and for that matter Shogun: Total War) and Warcraft 3 and Master of Orion. You could have commanders that report to you, building guilds who construct defense structures, a cabinet to help advise you, and then, when the battle heats up, you can go there and watch it happen.
Are we really so void of time and in such a hurry that a half-way thinking man's LOTR RTS is impossible?
It's got a ton of information for future Office 11 Developers, including the explanation of "Shared Workspace," "Smart Documents," bits of code, and more. Interesting stuff there.
I know its easy to go the "+1 Funny" route here and tell everyone to get ready to jerk off a lot and buy stock in [some company that will explode with profits], but after thinking about this for awhile, I've deduced my advice to a sentence:
Don't take shit.
My life from 12-17 generally consisted of me putting up with bullying, putting up with being put down, putting up with people who had no business trying to tell me what to do, and even when they had that right, they did it all the wrong way. A little standing up for yourself goes a long way.
What would I tell myself? When that bully picks on you, punch him in the face as hard as you can. Go Ender on him--don't stop until they pull you off of him. I guarantee that he'll never try it again, yet this amazing fact eluded me, and I just assumed that no matter what I did, and that included fighting back, that I would be stuck in my little hole of miserableness forever.
Don't let your boss walk all over you. When I entered the "corporate world," also known as the Full Time Job, my little "Computer Operator" job got me nothing but headaches and more miserableness. Just when I thought I had escaped the clutches of bullies and put downs, here comes Office Politics to screw it all up again. Suddenly my boss would take credit for all my work and leave me hung out to dry when I made a mistake, holding myself up to the whole place as an example of How To Screw Up Rightly. The more I think about it, the more it hurts in the futility of it all.
Did I ever finally grow some gumption and let it fly? Sure. But it was far too late. The damage had been done, and this fantastic article rang so true my ears are still ringing. I told off my old boss, let the higher ups know what was going on, and moved on to greener pastures. I settled down, found a wonderful wife and now have a gorgeous 8 month old daughter who I value more than my own life. And I'll be sure to let her know, when she turns 12, that life isn't about the microcosm of high school, or the inmates, er, students in it.
My greatest hope would be that my 12 year old self would be, at the very least, left alone. And that's more than most depressed, repressed teenagers get.
Ah, I wasn't aware of the fact that the mouse button was configurable. And now I have to be a bit more specific. I was actually using those gestures with Phoenix (I think that the package was designed for Mozilla, anyway) and at the time I was testing the gestures package, there was no way to change the configuration of any plug-in functionality.
I hate to call this one, but you walked right into it:
Let's note here you say "I was testing the gestures package" with a browser that isn't even up to version 1.0.
If you truly want to see how gestures work and interact (and how they are F*cking awesome), try it with a post 1.0 version of Mozilla. Once you begin using them you'll never go back.
Why do we have all these new ask slashdot question that sounds like a tech with a years experience is asking how to do his job?
You sir have certainly never held a sys admin job.
Considering I do, here's what I think: I'd like to think of myself as constantly learning, reading something today that makes me change my mind about something I was advicating yesterday, improving on something never before thought possible. Reading all of this gives me insight on how I would use FTP/HTTP for file download servers, yet now we're helping him do his job?
Have you never Googled for a quick error message, or some oddity you'd never heard of?
Have you never asked at least 3 geeks around you what's the best way to clear up some freaky [printer/file/program] problem?
Have you never felt your blood run ice cold as you save yourself from a huge mistake at the last minute, and realize that another keystroke would've could've crippled your entire network and caused a major F*uck Up?
If not, then I seriously doubt you have experience working in the IS sector. Great jobs are to be had, but with great power comes great responsibility (cheesy, but bear with me), and decisions like these could cost money.
No one ever got fired from asking slashdot how best to do a job now assigned to them.
I've had the full game since last Friday (I'd rather not reveal my sources, yadda yadda). I've played through the China campaign, and would've played more online but since the full game wasn't released until yesterday (and I can't pick up my copy until today incidentally), there was no one on there:P
So, here are my thoughts:
* I love the idea that cutscenes are gone.
They are cheesy, and it would take Spielberg to make them even resemble TV Mini-Series status. I mean, did anyone actually care about those overracted scenes and goofy costumes? Tiberian Sun wasn't the worst (Red Alert 1 + 2 takes that honor), but they certainly make the game more serious, and the beautiful engine makes the most of showing what's going on and what you need to do.
* I'm so glad they broke the formula but didn't break the game.
This refers to the fact that they took the command bar from the right to the bottom of the screen, and now you have the ability to minimize it (why isn't this in Warcraft 3?). Also, they quit that "Primary" crap that haunted old C&C's forever, and now you can have 5 different barracks on seperate hotkeys. This was not previously available in past versions of C&C.
* The game is SO BALANCED. It is unbelievably balanced. I was so impressed how the rocket launchers now have much more effect on tanks, yet the infantry can take out rocket launcher units in no time flat. Defenses and offensive units strike an excellent balance, and this is probably because the game was delayed, and the online beta test was a rousing success. This just goes to show you that if you keep the game in beta long enough to try it out on many different systems, and people find the weaknesses and strenghts of all the different factions, you'll strike a perfect balance that never upsets the gameplay or the fun. This is huge, and what might make C&C Generals a classic (I can't wait for the Expansion Pack/Sequel).
* The engine is glorious.
It's not Jaw Dropping, it's no Doom 3, but its damn good and better than Warcraft 3's in my opinion. Again, thanks to in-game cutscenes utilizing what they've already got, you cut down on the cheese and can really showcase what's truly great about the game. The environmental effects are truly staggering. I just cannot explain how cool it is to be attacking a garrisoned tower, blowing it up, and then watching it fall on the rest of the enemy forces, crushing them instantly. Geek greatness is found here!
Anyway, to sum up, the more I play it the more I like it. They've finally put some of the most balanced gameplay into an RTS (even War3 can't touch this one), and the engine is a delight. Truly a notable game, and I'm so glad they delayed it to add functionality, gameplay and a graphics polish that the difference between the God Awful Beta Test (if you've played it, rest assured the final game is Much Much Better) and the Final Game is truly Night and Day.
The marketing was fine. But its when you get past that marketing that makes a film truly earn its keep. The "legs" of the picture as it were. And as soon as everyone got the word it was crap, and even when die-hard fans hated it, you knew it was too late.
This sounds like William Shatner's lamentation on the train wreck that was Part V. He was sure he made a great film, despite being angry about Paramount pulling funding for his grandoise ending (which wouldn't have made up for the awfulness of the film anyway).
Some day Berman will see what a terrible film this was and hopefully realize what went wrong...
I can't believe that people haven't been talking about the rumor posted up at Penny Arcade (it's from two posts or so ago -- look for it). It involves the next holiday sales idea from Microsoft:
Selling tiny new XBox's (complete w/ built-in network adapter) for $99.
And the catch is you sign a two year contract for XBox Live. That's $9.95 a month for Microsoft, guaranteed, from each person with a new form factor XBox. Oh, I'm sure you could still get the new Form Factor and not pay the fee for two years, but you know they will charge around $150-$175 for it. And the $75 difference is huge a low middle class home where that is a lot to spend on your kids, and that's bound to be appealing.
This way, even if they lose on hardware in the short run, their subscription service will make it even out in the long haul. The $99 XBoxes will finally not make Microsoft lose money (due to hardware depreciation, ie, lower prices) and their subscription service will fuel new games and keep people playing their XBoxes.
I hate to devil's advicate, but that's a pretty damn good marketing strategy, if only taken for its orginality alone.
All you need to do is go here [zarb.org] to configure and add a urpmi source from one of the plf mirror sites, and it is literally as easy as "urpmi.update -a && urpmi mplayer".
How does a newbie or god forbid a grandmother who wants to watch the DVD of Steel Magnolia's on her computer just like her grandson does accomplish this?
UI is important. That's what JWZ rants about time and time again. UI is what the user interacts with. Only geeks care about what goes on under the hood. Everyone else in the world just wants it to work.
Every time I try to show the greatness of Linux, I usually end up apologizing for the archaic methods of installation, compiling programs, finding libraries, etc etc. The first thing 9/10 users I've tried to convert to Linux want to know is if their current programs they use in Windows can run in Linux. More apologies.
I love Linux, and I love the idea of it, but I don't use it on the desktop because most of the UI is crap, X Windows is a sad, lumbering giant of missed opportunity, and dependencies drive me up the wall. Why is apt always a command line utility? And why don't any apt interfaces not automatically update w/ package information? Or put that package information into an easily readable/understandable UI?
I don't want to mess with odd skins and strange UI problems with mplayer. What is so hard in making the thing work like its supposed to? Mozilla is the most friendly open source project every created to fruition (instead of dying a slow death in beta development) because users recognize the interface and, despite a few differences, can catch on pretty quickly and be adding their bookmarks and their AIM buddies in no time. Unfortunately little else can be said for myplayer, or any other open source video player.
But unfortunately, again, it all comes down to standards, compliance, and ego. Everyone wants their work to be their own, they don't need no steekin standards, and compliance within two seperate apps is still a myth at best. We still haven't gotten copy and paste (using ctrl + C & V, respectively) working correctly 100% of the time.
I'll run Linux servers all day, but I wouldn't trade my Windows XP desktop just yet. Linux still has miles to go.
[Justice Breyer] "...if we agree with you, does that mean, in principal, [we] have to hold the 1976 extension unconstitutional? I mean, in 1976, Congress extended the term from 28 years, renewable once, to life of the author plus 50 years. Now they're extending [copyright to] life of the author plus 70 years. If the latter is unconstituional in your theory, how could the former not be? And if the former is, the chaos that would ensue would be horrendous."
[Eldred Lawyer] "Justice Breyer, under our theory as we've advanced it, you're right."
Right there he lost the argument, in my opinion. If you say one is unconstitutional, all of them are. The congress screwed up passing it (and Clinton for signing it), but once you've taken that toothpaste out of the tube, it's too late to backup. The lawyer goes on and tries to renig his statement, but the case was lost.
I don't know why everyone is freaking out here, it's another twenty years from what I can tell. Life will go on.
Coming in 2004 from Microsoft, the leader in enterprise security, Microsoft Home Security.NET version 1.0!
Not only can you now keep track of your MSN (tm) Instant Messenger Buddies on your computer, they can instantly know when you get home too! And don't forget about exciting new features like Internet Explorer In The Bathroom (version 8.0!) and a free Tablet PC with every purchase! Now you can feel secure about your home knowing that Microsoft's Award Winning Security Task Force is on your side! Sign up today and get 10% off the already 100% marked-up price!
And coming soon, look for Microsoft's answer to Parking Lot security, Security Guard Who Looks Like A Drunk Bum Lying Near The Booth version 2.0! Hackers will never figure that one out!
Also brings us The Dead Zone, simply be best sci fi show to come out in a long time.
The supernatural element is mixed perfectly with existing conflicts (ie, his relationship to his ex-girlfriend, his new found fame) and the first season was simply one of the best sustained-quality tv series I've seen in awhile. Now we get a big second season arc, dealing with the presidential canidate that's going to bring Armaggedon, on top of his now nationally renowned notoriety, has made for a fine season opener and promise of greater things to come.
I'll admit they've made some serious crap before, but between That Other Great USA Show, Monk (if you don't like it you haven't seen it), and the fantastic Dead Zone, I do believe that USA doesn't get it wrong all of the time.
Maybe I'm just used to a HFS, but I find it simple to open up a command prompt and type "pico/documents/foo/bar/fubar.txt"
That's the whole reason for the program -- you shouldn't have to remember long, detailed folder structures and filenames in order to retrieve a file you were looking for.
I can't tell you how many times I've had to help users find some file, shortcut, document or spreadsheet that they've "lost" because they forgot the correct path. But they do remember it involved a loan, or it involved a party announcement, or something similar. I swear, just the other day I spent an hour waiting on another employee to get off the phone so I could find a folder shortcut another employee had lost. She wasn't sure what folder the shortcut referred to, but she knew it contained documents of a certain type.
Do you see a pattern here? To me, this sounds just like what Microsoft is trying to do with Longhorn, and potentially Office 11. People are tired of searching and hunting through folders and heirarchies full of oddly named files and temp folders that can confuse Joe User.
This is awesome software and definitely a step forward. It might not change the geek community, but it will certainly help out system admins of the world. While your method still works (and hopefully, in the future, these two systems should work hand-in-hand, but that's another project I suppose), this is a damn fine alternative.
Here is Universal's official response, as found on The Digital Bits:
Thank you for your email. Universal Studios will exchange Back to the Future parts 2 and 3 for copies with the updated framing in late February 2003. You may send the DVDs back now or wait until February. Please send Back to the Future disks 2 and 3, without the case, and a letter with the following information: Name, Full Mailing Address, Daytime Phone Number, Reason for Return and Return Address. Send to:
Back to the Future DVD Returns PO Box 224468 Dallas, Texas 75260
Thank you, Universal Studios Customer Service
Those in Canada can call 866-532-2202.
As for me, I'm waiting until February to get a correct version of all three films. The fanboy who reviewed this got a bit carried away.
Slashdot Mirror
One of the stereotypes of linux users is that we think it is better than everything else in every application. This is simply not the case.
You just debunked your own stereotype. Why bother repeating it?
And then, you conjure up a Mac story, trying to corrolate Macs, being designed for ease of use and grandmother-friendliness, with Windows. And this has what, exactly, to do with Linux?
You made no statements on how Linux could possibly work in this situation, and rightly so. Linux is not ready for Grandma, but in the IT world, it rocks.
Linux servers are faster, cheaper, more reliable, and run more securely than Windows Servers of equal stature. The desktops run faster on older hardware, and the programs read the same file formats. Bottom line, Linux wins on this front. This is the position taken in the article, which you might not have bothered to read, considering your odd comments.
The utilities and control-panel-like programs may not be up to snuff w/ Windows (and they're not, rest assured), but for everything else, its hard not to say that Linux doesn't have an advantage and is quickly closing the gap.
...a new administration tool called "Desktop sharing" that allows remote control of other desktops
Yeah, the rest of the world has that already. It's called VNC.
I would love more than anything for Penn & Teller's Bullshit to do a story entitled "Everything funds terrorism."
Their insights on topics from Feng Sheu and Bottled Water (easily one of my favorite episodes) are classic. They take the average urban myth (such as Chiropractics are actually doing you some good...not) and deconstruct it to shreds.
This is political BS and those who don't believe it have their head in the sand.
What's worse is this is just going to lead to more legislation taking away American Civil Liberties. I've got my ACLU membership card, do you?
Wow. I've never read such a vague article in my life.
Here's the synop:
We used Windows. It crashed and got viruses. We didn't want to upgrade to XP.
We played around with Linux. We decided on Mandrake. We went Ogg Vorbis. Life is grand.
Nothing on the implentation, nothing on what programs/hardware they used in Windows or Linux, nothing in regards to performace of said hardware and/or ported software.
Linux is great for them, but being too vague doesn't help small time studios understand how to use it in their shop, or how best to go about it.
Why not get a little more in-depth, such as what utilities they used, what hardware settings needed to be tweaked (if any), and how difficult it was to train for.
For example:
What was the hardest part to train/learn?
What features are you hoping Linux audio programs will add in the future?
What advice would you give to a small, struggling studio in regards to using Linux in a studio?
Do you know of any other studios who have utilized Linux?
The list goes on.
Good lord, does this look terrible. That screenshot makes me want to run and hide.
i ty-Sucks thing, just like early Linux distros.
Why? Because it slows any kind of navigation to a screeching halt.
Because it doesn't make sense that you will have to "walk around" or "fly" in some fashion inside a 3d space just because you want to open a web browser, open a spreadsheet, or do basically anything with any sort of timeliness.
Sure it's got that cool Minority Report feel. But inside a 17" or 15" screen? Sure we have 19"+, but mainstream America is still using 15"-ers by and large. This is a problem with this "solution."
3D Desktops just are not usable right now. This guy is way ahead of his time. I'll give him that. I respect all of his prior work. And the groundings for this system have to start somewhere.
But until it gets practical, until our desktop expands away from the flatscreen and the CRT (whether it be a wall-projection or cool goggles, who knows), this will be one of those I'm-Running-This-Because-It's-Cool-But-The-Usabil
Remember those early WM's? Take a look at Redhat 5.2 sometime and prepare to cringe.
That's the exact same effect this will bring in about 5 years.
Since the article was fairly light, I'll give you a scenario:
You buy a meal from McDonalds. "Would you like Internet Access?" the 15 year old hottie asks you.
"Um...sure," you say, your laptop getting heavy on your shoulder.
She hands you a card (or perhaps its printed on the receipt). It has an IP Address, a subnet mask, and a gateway. Hopefully there would be instructions nearby, with settings for Macs, Win95 - WinXP.
They could specify IP addresses that are good for only one hour, and to keep up with the load they could also use different subnets. The NAT used in the router would take care of IP leasing issues, and there should be no DHCP (or else you'd get free 'net access just by turning on your laptop and WiFi card).
Sounds fairly simple to me, but the hype is probably louder than customers who actually want this.
I'd have to disagree... That is the point where I open a new window. I use them both, each window is a subject, and it might have multiple tabs. Like I have one window that just has news tabs, and then I have a general browsing window.
But he's not speaking to your audience, those who like to have multiple windows open, each with their own tabs.
Me, I like to have one window open and none others. This can get a little daunting once you have around 15+ tabs loaded (which, at any point during the day, is a possibility).
I'd love to be looking at php.net and then have sub-tabs of different functions I'm using at the time.
This is a brilliant idea. Don't dimiss it because you wouldn't use it. Now where is the execution?
If you treat your customers like this, you're going to lose them. Simple as that.
I liked the analogy someone else came up with, such as someone running an extension cord from your house to theirs. Who is responsible here?
If I had hosting with your company, and the slammer bug hit servers that your sys admins failed to update, then you better eat that burstable bandwidth bill or a lawsuit couldn't be far behind (depending on the amount, of course). If the servers were my responsibility, including keeping them updated, etc, then I could understand your reasoning.
If a DDoS attack cripples my site, and you expect me to pay for that, you're sorely mistaken.
The simple fact is if they caused it, they paid for it. This includes patches/fixes the customer should've implemented. If you run and maintain that server for them, then no bill increase should be applied.
If someone out in the world caused it, a random malicious event that they just so happened to be on the brunt end of, just throw away that burstable bandwidth bill and make sure your customer knows you did them a favor.
It may not be your place as to pay for that second scenario, but you'll keep your customers longer, keep them happier and keep word of mouth on your company going strong.
It's just good business. Were this my company, I would never even think of treating customers this way.
The Total War games can get into the tens of thousands and still look pretty cool.
This is because of a little trick called using 2D sprites for the army, and not having fully 3d characters.
Right now, thousands of 3d characters on screen at one time is impossible, but Total War's 2d replacements aren't half bad.
And I'll tell you why:
" According to Marcus Lindblom, the game's producer, War of the Ring isn't being designed as a hard-core real-time strategy game, but rather more as an RTS that will be accessible and fun for both strategy fans and fans of The Lord of the Rings who might never have played a strategy game before"
You know what? I want to play a game based on Lord of the Rings, the first of its kind, to be for strategy fans. I want it to be for those of us with a lot of experience, who are looking for something new and innovative, yet at the same time incorporating all that has come before.
I want to see the orcs crawling over the mountains in the distance, covering them like bugs as they advance. I want to see the classic over-the-horizon shot as an army of uru'khai come to wage war. I want a Risk-like map available showing me where I can move my troops in position, and then be able to switch to a warcraft-3 like view to see the ensuing battles.
I want the slow buildup of supplies and buildings, and long sessions with cabinet members on how best to defend my kingdom. If this is real time strategy, it doesn't have to go at Warcraft 3's pace. I don't need another Warcraft 3 mod that has Lord of the Rings characters and a "Warcraft 3-esque" storyline. You know why? Becuase people have modded Warcraft 3 enough already that there are maps that replay the adventures in The Fellowship of the Ring (playable w/ 8 of your friends) and The Battle of Helms Deep. I don't want a few more units, some new models and a screwed up story. If you're going to go, do it right!
This is one of the single biggest opportunities that a game designer could have and they are screwing it up so they can get sales. I'm sure they'll try to put this out on all platforms (probably not GBA, but hell, in some marketing meeting they might throw out the possibility for laughs), on all systems, so they can make tons of cash and have the Click Button Repeatedly To Win syndrome that is so common nowadays. You ever played The Two Towers on PS2 or PC? Same concept. Oh sure, there are "combos", but really, you're just mashing the same buttons over and over.
Think of a combination of Medieval: Total War (and for that matter Shogun: Total War) and Warcraft 3 and Master of Orion. You could have commanders that report to you, building guilds who construct defense structures, a cabinet to help advise you, and then, when the battle heats up, you can go there and watch it happen.
Are we really so void of time and in such a hurry that a half-way thinking man's LOTR RTS is impossible?
I'd like to think not.
.. is right here (on the MSDN network).
It's got a ton of information for future Office 11 Developers, including the explanation of "Shared Workspace," "Smart Documents," bits of code, and more. Interesting stuff there.
Just FYI
I know its easy to go the "+1 Funny" route here and tell everyone to get ready to jerk off a lot and buy stock in [some company that will explode with profits], but after thinking about this for awhile, I've deduced my advice to a sentence:
Don't take shit.
My life from 12-17 generally consisted of me putting up with bullying, putting up with being put down, putting up with people who had no business trying to tell me what to do, and even when they had that right, they did it all the wrong way. A little standing up for yourself goes a long way.
What would I tell myself? When that bully picks on you, punch him in the face as hard as you can. Go Ender on him--don't stop until they pull you off of him. I guarantee that he'll never try it again, yet this amazing fact eluded me, and I just assumed that no matter what I did, and that included fighting back, that I would be stuck in my little hole of miserableness forever.
Don't let your boss walk all over you. When I entered the "corporate world," also known as the Full Time Job, my little "Computer Operator" job got me nothing but headaches and more miserableness. Just when I thought I had escaped the clutches of bullies and put downs, here comes Office Politics to screw it all up again. Suddenly my boss would take credit for all my work and leave me hung out to dry when I made a mistake, holding myself up to the whole place as an example of How To Screw Up Rightly. The more I think about it, the more it hurts in the futility of it all.
Did I ever finally grow some gumption and let it fly? Sure. But it was far too late. The damage had been done, and this fantastic article rang so true my ears are still ringing. I told off my old boss, let the higher ups know what was going on, and moved on to greener pastures. I settled down, found a wonderful wife and now have a gorgeous 8 month old daughter who I value more than my own life. And I'll be sure to let her know, when she turns 12, that life isn't about the microcosm of high school, or the inmates, er, students in it.
My greatest hope would be that my 12 year old self would be, at the very least, left alone. And that's more than most depressed, repressed teenagers get.
Ah, I wasn't aware of the fact that the mouse button was configurable. And now I have to be a bit more specific. I was actually using those gestures with Phoenix (I think that the package was designed for Mozilla, anyway) and at the time I was testing the gestures package, there was no way to change the configuration of any plug-in functionality.
I hate to call this one, but you walked right into it:
Let's note here you say "I was testing the gestures package" with a browser that isn't even up to version 1.0.
If you truly want to see how gestures work and interact (and how they are F*cking awesome), try it with a post 1.0 version of Mozilla. Once you begin using them you'll never go back.
You sir have certainly never held a sys admin job.
Considering I do, here's what I think: I'd like to think of myself as constantly learning, reading something today that makes me change my mind about something I was advicating yesterday, improving on something never before thought possible. Reading all of this gives me insight on how I would use FTP/HTTP for file download servers, yet now we're helping him do his job?
Have you never Googled for a quick error message, or some oddity you'd never heard of?
Have you never asked at least 3 geeks around you what's the best way to clear up some freaky [printer/file/program] problem?
Have you never felt your blood run ice cold as you save yourself from a huge mistake at the last minute, and realize that another keystroke would've could've crippled your entire network and caused a major F*uck Up?
If not, then I seriously doubt you have experience working in the IS sector. Great jobs are to be had, but with great power comes great responsibility (cheesy, but bear with me), and decisions like these could cost money.
No one ever got fired from asking slashdot how best to do a job now assigned to them.
I've had the full game since last Friday (I'd rather not reveal my sources, yadda yadda). I've played through the China campaign, and would've played more online but since the full game wasn't released until yesterday (and I can't pick up my copy until today incidentally), there was no one on there :P
So, here are my thoughts:
* I love the idea that cutscenes are gone.
They are cheesy, and it would take Spielberg to make them even resemble TV Mini-Series status. I mean, did anyone actually care about those overracted scenes and goofy costumes? Tiberian Sun wasn't the worst (Red Alert 1 + 2 takes that honor), but they certainly make the game more serious, and the beautiful engine makes the most of showing what's going on and what you need to do.
* I'm so glad they broke the formula but didn't break the game.
This refers to the fact that they took the command bar from the right to the bottom of the screen, and now you have the ability to minimize it (why isn't this in Warcraft 3?). Also, they quit that "Primary" crap that haunted old C&C's forever, and now you can have 5 different barracks on seperate hotkeys. This was not previously available in past versions of C&C.
* The game is SO BALANCED. It is unbelievably balanced. I was so impressed how the rocket launchers now have much more effect on tanks, yet the infantry can take out rocket launcher units in no time flat. Defenses and offensive units strike an excellent balance, and this is probably because the game was delayed, and the online beta test was a rousing success. This just goes to show you that if you keep the game in beta long enough to try it out on many different systems, and people find the weaknesses and strenghts of all the different factions, you'll strike a perfect balance that never upsets the gameplay or the fun. This is huge, and what might make C&C Generals a classic (I can't wait for the Expansion Pack/Sequel).
* The engine is glorious.
It's not Jaw Dropping, it's no Doom 3, but its damn good and better than Warcraft 3's in my opinion. Again, thanks to in-game cutscenes utilizing what they've already got, you cut down on the cheese and can really showcase what's truly great about the game. The environmental effects are truly staggering. I just cannot explain how cool it is to be attacking a garrisoned tower, blowing it up, and then watching it fall on the rest of the enemy forces, crushing them instantly. Geek greatness is found here!
Anyway, to sum up, the more I play it the more I like it. They've finally put some of the most balanced gameplay into an RTS (even War3 can't touch this one), and the engine is a delight. Truly a notable game, and I'm so glad they delayed it to add functionality, gameplay and a graphics polish that the difference between the God Awful Beta Test (if you've played it, rest assured the final game is Much Much Better) and the Final Game is truly Night and Day.
But the film was terrible!
The marketing was fine. But its when you get past that marketing that makes a film truly earn its keep. The "legs" of the picture as it were. And as soon as everyone got the word it was crap, and even when die-hard fans hated it, you knew it was too late.
This sounds like William Shatner's lamentation on the train wreck that was Part V. He was sure he made a great film, despite being angry about Paramount pulling funding for his grandoise ending (which wouldn't have made up for the awfulness of the film anyway).
Some day Berman will see what a terrible film this was and hopefully realize what went wrong...
I can't believe that people haven't been talking about the rumor posted up at Penny Arcade (it's from two posts or so ago -- look for it). It involves the next holiday sales idea from Microsoft:
Selling tiny new XBox's (complete w/ built-in network adapter) for $99.
And the catch is you sign a two year contract for XBox Live. That's $9.95 a month for Microsoft, guaranteed, from each person with a new form factor XBox. Oh, I'm sure you could still get the new Form Factor and not pay the fee for two years, but you know they will charge around $150-$175 for it. And the $75 difference is huge a low middle class home where that is a lot to spend on your kids, and that's bound to be appealing.
This way, even if they lose on hardware in the short run, their subscription service will make it even out in the long haul. The $99 XBoxes will finally not make Microsoft lose money (due to hardware depreciation, ie, lower prices) and their subscription service will fuel new games and keep people playing their XBoxes.
I hate to devil's advicate, but that's a pretty damn good marketing strategy, if only taken for its orginality alone.
But I'd like to see some scans of the original pages from back in 1991.
:)
What can I say, I'm a skeptic
Will you listen to yourself?
All you need to do is go here [zarb.org] to configure and add a urpmi source from one of the plf mirror sites, and it is literally as easy as "urpmi.update -a && urpmi mplayer".
How does a newbie or god forbid a grandmother who wants to watch the DVD of Steel Magnolia's on her computer just like her grandson does accomplish this?
UI is important. That's what JWZ rants about time and time again. UI is what the user interacts with. Only geeks care about what goes on under the hood. Everyone else in the world just wants it to work.
Every time I try to show the greatness of Linux, I usually end up apologizing for the archaic methods of installation, compiling programs, finding libraries, etc etc. The first thing 9/10 users I've tried to convert to Linux want to know is if their current programs they use in Windows can run in Linux. More apologies.
I love Linux, and I love the idea of it, but I don't use it on the desktop because most of the UI is crap, X Windows is a sad, lumbering giant of missed opportunity, and dependencies drive me up the wall. Why is apt always a command line utility? And why don't any apt interfaces not automatically update w/ package information? Or put that package information into an easily readable/understandable UI?
I don't want to mess with odd skins and strange UI problems with mplayer. What is so hard in making the thing work like its supposed to? Mozilla is the most friendly open source project every created to fruition (instead of dying a slow death in beta development) because users recognize the interface and, despite a few differences, can catch on pretty quickly and be adding their bookmarks and their AIM buddies in no time. Unfortunately little else can be said for myplayer, or any other open source video player.
But unfortunately, again, it all comes down to standards, compliance, and ego. Everyone wants their work to be their own, they don't need no steekin standards, and compliance within two seperate apps is still a myth at best. We still haven't gotten copy and paste (using ctrl + C & V, respectively) working correctly 100% of the time.
I'll run Linux servers all day, but I wouldn't trade my Windows XP desktop just yet. Linux still has miles to go.
..this conversation takes place.
Check out the oral argument pdf, page 8, at the bottom.
It reads:
[Justice Breyer]
"...if we agree with you, does that mean, in principal, [we] have to hold the 1976 extension unconstitutional? I mean, in 1976, Congress extended the term from 28 years, renewable once, to life of the author plus 50 years. Now they're extending [copyright to] life of the author plus 70 years. If the latter is unconstituional in your theory, how could the former not be? And if the former is, the chaos that would ensue would be horrendous."
[Eldred Lawyer]
"Justice Breyer, under our theory as we've advanced it, you're right."
Right there he lost the argument, in my opinion. If you say one is unconstitutional, all of them are. The congress screwed up passing it (and Clinton for signing it), but once you've taken that toothpaste out of the tube, it's too late to backup. The lawyer goes on and tries to renig his statement, but the case was lost.
I don't know why everyone is freaking out here, it's another twenty years from what I can tell. Life will go on.
I can see it now...
.NET version 1.0!
<press release>
Coming in 2004 from Microsoft, the leader in enterprise security, Microsoft Home Security
Not only can you now keep track of your MSN (tm) Instant Messenger Buddies on your computer, they can instantly know when you get home too! And don't forget about exciting new features like Internet Explorer In The Bathroom (version 8.0!) and a free Tablet PC with every purchase! Now you can feel secure about your home knowing that Microsoft's Award Winning Security Task Force is on your side! Sign up today and get 10% off the already 100% marked-up price!
And coming soon, look for Microsoft's answer to Parking Lot security, Security Guard Who Looks Like A Drunk Bum Lying Near The Booth version 2.0! Hackers will never figure that one out!
</press release>
Also brings us The Dead Zone, simply be best sci fi show to come out in a long time.
The supernatural element is mixed perfectly with existing conflicts (ie, his relationship to his ex-girlfriend, his new found fame) and the first season was simply one of the best sustained-quality tv series I've seen in awhile. Now we get a big second season arc, dealing with the presidential canidate that's going to bring Armaggedon, on top of his now nationally renowned notoriety, has made for a fine season opener and promise of greater things to come.
I'll admit they've made some serious crap before, but between That Other Great USA Show, Monk (if you don't like it you haven't seen it), and the fantastic Dead Zone, I do believe that USA doesn't get it wrong all of the time.
Dude, it was just a movie.
That's the whole reason for the program -- you shouldn't have to remember long, detailed folder structures and filenames in order to retrieve a file you were looking for.
I can't tell you how many times I've had to help users find some file, shortcut, document or spreadsheet that they've "lost" because they forgot the correct path. But they do remember it involved a loan, or it involved a party announcement, or something similar. I swear, just the other day I spent an hour waiting on another employee to get off the phone so I could find a folder shortcut another employee had lost. She wasn't sure what folder the shortcut referred to, but she knew it contained documents of a certain type.
Do you see a pattern here? To me, this sounds just like what Microsoft is trying to do with Longhorn, and potentially Office 11. People are tired of searching and hunting through folders and heirarchies full of oddly named files and temp folders that can confuse Joe User.
This is awesome software and definitely a step forward. It might not change the geek community, but it will certainly help out system admins of the world. While your method still works (and hopefully, in the future, these two systems should work hand-in-hand, but that's another project I suppose), this is a damn fine alternative.
Check out the Home Theater Forum for evidence.
Here is Universal's official response, as found on The Digital Bits:
Thank you for your email. Universal Studios will exchange Back to the Future parts 2 and 3 for copies with the updated framing in late February 2003. You may send the DVDs back now or wait until February. Please send Back to the Future disks 2 and 3, without the case, and a letter with the following information: Name, Full Mailing Address, Daytime Phone Number, Reason for Return and Return Address. Send to:
Back to the Future DVD Returns
PO Box 224468
Dallas, Texas 75260
Thank you,
Universal Studios Customer Service
Those in Canada can call 866-532-2202.
As for me, I'm waiting until February to get a correct version of all three films. The fanboy who reviewed this got a bit carried away.