Wal-Mart is pushing for RFID as a means of controlling its own inventory and its own supply chain. I haven't read anything to suggest that they'll use it for self-checkout purposes.
But thanks for the handy tips on shoplifting. The next time I want to steal from a company because I feel they're too rich already, I'll remember you.
I see you have the usual/.malady of not knowing what you are talking about.
Thank you. I see you have the usual Slashdot malady of not explaining your terse points.
With the appropriate drivers, you can read/write Access files using OOo.
But you can't replicate the graphical interfaces that were built on top of them.
a)If the company is smart, they won't convert the scripts, but hire somebody to rewrite them from scratch.
That costs a lot of money -- more money than it would cost to stay with Windows and Office, based on my calculations.
b) Companies have to spend almost as much time to convert their VBA scripts, every time they "upgrade" to a new version of Office, as they would spend upgrading to OOo.
That's a complete lie. I have Word files created seven years ago whose macros still work in Word 2003. Unlike the Open Source community, whose frequent releases require meticulous conversion of text-based configuration files (note: I'm fighting FUD with FUD here), Microsoft hasn't changed the core Office format in any meaningful way since Office 97.
OpenOffice lacks a database component for making simple DBs and graphical interfaces to them. Look at all the companies that rely on Access databases, regardless of what you think about Access.
Likewise, VBA is so entrenched that it would take thousands of man-hours to convert a business's scripts to StarBasic.
A comparison based solely on features is great for a new company, but existing companies have a lot to ask of OpenOffice.
Saying "My web page is perfect because the validator said so" is like saying "My application is perfect because I didn't get any compile-time warnings."
Valid XHTML+CSS doesn't necessarily look pretty, and pretty XHTML+CSS doesn't necessarily validate. Likewise, it's not hard to make pages that look great in Firefox but not in IE (or, for that matter, KHTML-based browsers like Safari).
Lastly, the W3C doesn't have any "standards." It has recommendations. To test all the W3C recommendation support, you would have to test your web pages with a screen reader, a printer terminal, graphical and non-graphical browsers, and so on. Validators don't do that. They also don't test style, like setting appropriate alternate text for images and so on.
Name one airline that tells you to "remove DVD/CD drives from laptops." Bonus points if it's a US-based airline.
There are dozens of people on your average flight that have either a laptop or a portable CD player of some kind. Airlines will not ask that you turn them off except during takeoff and landing, during which all electronic devices must not be used.
Tapwave is trying to do something very similar with a Palm OS-based device. They included two SD slots, some 3D acceleration hardware, and a button layout that's suited towards gaming. They're targeting it at a professional market where people could use their Tapwave device as both an organizer and a game device. Sales have been meager so far. PalmOne still controls most the Palm OS device space, which itself is about half of the total PDA marketplace.
There's no integration with an existing device, but I'm skeptical about the idea of a gaming device being tied to another gaming device. The NeoGeo Pocket Color linked with the Dreamcast (according to the manual) and neither system was successful. The PocketStation linked with the PlayStation, but the PocketStation was never officially released in the US. The Game Boy Advance was supposed to link up with the GameCube, but few games took advantage of that capability.
Sales tax in Japan is 5%, so the pre-tax price is 19,800 yen. According to xe.com, that's about $192 US. It's definitely gotten pricier since October due to the exchange rate worsening.
Perhaps we'll see the "PSP II," much like the way Atari fixed the early Lynx products with the Lynx II.
In any case, I agree that there are still a lot of problems with the PSP that people have commented on. However, I still think that there are enough people to support at least a minority market for the PSP (I) as a platform. The system is already off to a fast start in Japan.
10 Great Things About the N-Gage (not the N-Gage QD)
1. Plays MP3s. 2. Runs the popular Series 60 OS, for which many non-N-Gage-specific apps are already available. 3. Synchronizes built-in PIM software with Mac OS X (iSync) and Windows (Intellisync). 4. Built-in FM radio. 5. Supports on-line play with built-in GPRS radio. 6. Available used for about the same price as a Game Boy Advance SP. 7. Memory expansion with widely-available albeit slow MultiMedia Cards. 8. Includes software that lets me surf the web and check e-mail using the built-in modem. 9. Supports Bluetooth, letting me use a cordless headset instead of Sidetalkin'. 10. Has a built in Media Player, which supports not only MP3s (#1) but also video clips and streaming media.
There, that wasn't too hard. Maybe I should put it on a web page myself and submit it as an article!
So if you don't parrot the same "why X sucks" line, and instead post "why X is good," that makes you a shill?
Reminds me of how Slashdot posts "why Linux rules" articles all the time, but posting a "why Linux is bad" comment automatically makes you a Microsoft spokesman.
Sometimes it's good to read both sides of the issue. I thought it's important to hear multiple viewpoints of everything, not just the viewpoint you agree with.
Thanks. How does that amount to "a patent on on-line shopping"?
I've spent thousands of dollars at Amazon, and I have never once used 1-Click shopping. I'd rather not have my credit card instantly billed for something. According to exhaustive searches I pretend to have performed, most Americans have not enabled 1-Click for their Amazon purchases.
In conclusion, I don't consider the 1-Click patent to be anything worth caring about. The end.
Because it's a U.S.-based news site, I find as a subheadline that a few Americans are among the dead. However, the vast majority of the coverage is international in nature.
If you wish to reply, please note at least one incident of conservative bias in the second link I posted. Replies lacking this information will be considered "double-opt-in replies to be added to my value-added email list."
What Slashdot neglected to mention was that nobody in the United States gives a shit about software patents, so all the rallying cries of "boycott Amazon!" mean absolutely nothing.
My view is that Google in 2009 will be like Yahoo! in 2004. Everyone will have heard of them, they will have some excellent products, but all the "real" computer nerds will have moved on to more obscure (and therefore better) competitors. People will start rumors that Google has sold out and is now evil; whether or not these are substantiated, Slashdot will start advocating that people who are smarter than "Joe Sixpack" use CoolObscureSearchEngine instead.
IM would be a fantastic win for Google. Imagine being able to organize conversations by both email and IM to the same person.
People will let Google serve them contextual ads based on IM. Remember all the outrage about contextual ads in email? Remember how Google made no changes to their service to deal with that outrage?
What the hell are you talking about?Linux, and why it sucks.No one did.Clearly someone did, or I would write as such.Hey, let's be clearThat's a good idea....either it's taking down the systemWhich it does, for me!or it isn't.It is.mpg123 not crashingIt does crash, Randy."as badly" as noatun doesn't mean anything. A program crashes; it's not running anymore. I want to hear my music, not whining from the open source community (that's you, Randy) about how crashing is good.If it crashesIt does crash, Randy.it either crashes only itselfThat's what I mean.(segfault, etc.)No, I don't get any segmentation faults.or is it crashing the OS.That's what it's doing.That's what we'reWe? You're doing the talking here.talkingAnd another thing, Randy -- people shouting at each other doesn't constitute "support."aboutAbout?here - crashing the OSLinux never crashes, ever. Except when it does.- not some program misbehavingLinux does not permit programs to misbehave.and crashing.Crashing is poor behavior.What?That's what I said, Randy. Now change the baby already; his diaper smells awful.Debian's kernel?DEBIAN HAS NO KERNEL. GNU/Linux has kernels.KDE's kernel?KDE HAS NO KERNEL. GNU/Linux has kernels.First,A good place to start.no oneExcept you, Randy.suggestedI think "stated confidently and arrogantly" is a more appropriate term for what people have been doing to me here. that your kernelOh, for the last time. It's GNU/Linux Kernel and not "KDE Kernel."wasIt still IS, and I can't get my e-mail until it stops.malfunctioning.Crashing.Second,That should probably be "secondly."DebianThat's DEBIAN GNU/LINUX. and KDEI like KDE much better than GNOME.don't have kernelsGNU/LINUX IS A KERNEL.of their own...I agree.KDE isWAS, Randy. Right now it is a smoldering heap of core dump! just a user level appIt's a desktop environment! How can I access my desktop without an environment?like anything else.You mean like Linux, or our baby, or my OGG collection of the Beatles?Kernel has no meaningAbout as much meaning as "corn."in that context.Context is good.And DebianDEBIAN GNU/LINUX.is just a distro,It happens to be the BEST distribution.and if I'm not mistaken,But you often are. uses stock kernel.org kernels.GNU/LINUX KERNELS.If thereThere's not.were a bugNo bugs.in the kernelThe GNU/LINUX kernel.causing this,It probably isn't. you shouldn't be talkingNow who's talking about who shouldn't be talking.to Debian's or KDE's teams.Their teams are pretty good, though.Once again, you have no clue. KDE doesn't have a kernel. You've already been told you have a buggy driver. Whining that your hardware is old doesn't change the fact that you probably have a buggy driver. Replace it and recompile the kernel with the new driver code if it's compiled in, or recompile the module if you're using dynamic loading.That sounds complicated. Can't Debian GNU Linux Kernel do that for me?Millions of peopleJust on Slashdot and in your mind, Randy. Name just one, Randy. Just one million people who use Linux.all over the worldIn which countries and which cities?use LinuxGNU/Linux.and playGames?sound filesOh, sound files. How innovative.just fineDo they have MP3 capability?on Sound Blaster Live! cards.Can they use better cards?This may be a corrupted download,Highly unlikely. I ran Winzip on the file, and it said OK.or it may be PEBKAC,Sorry, I don't speak German.based on your postsMy posts are my own.above.Above I only see Internet Explorer.In any case,Oh, good, a conclusion.don't flame LinuxLinux is not a person. You, Randy, are.because you don't knowI know a lot.what you're doing. I've done it well.
Slashdot Mirror
Wal-Mart is pushing for RFID as a means of controlling its own inventory and its own supply chain. I haven't read anything to suggest that they'll use it for self-checkout purposes.
But thanks for the handy tips on shoplifting. The next time I want to steal from a company because I feel they're too rich already, I'll remember you.
I see you have the usual /.malady of not knowing what you are talking about.
Thank you. I see you have the usual Slashdot malady of not explaining your terse points.
With the appropriate drivers, you can read/write Access files using OOo.
But you can't replicate the graphical interfaces that were built on top of them.
a)If the company is smart, they won't convert the scripts, but hire somebody to rewrite them from scratch.
That costs a lot of money -- more money than it would cost to stay with Windows and Office, based on my calculations.
b) Companies have to spend almost as much time to convert their VBA scripts, every time they "upgrade" to a new version of Office, as they would spend upgrading to OOo.
That's a complete lie. I have Word files created seven years ago whose macros still work in Word 2003. Unlike the Open Source community, whose frequent releases require meticulous conversion of text-based configuration files (note: I'm fighting FUD with FUD here), Microsoft hasn't changed the core Office format in any meaningful way since Office 97.
OpenOffice lacks a database component for making simple DBs and graphical interfaces to them. Look at all the companies that rely on Access databases, regardless of what you think about Access.
Likewise, VBA is so entrenched that it would take thousands of man-hours to convert a business's scripts to StarBasic.
A comparison based solely on features is great for a new company, but existing companies have a lot to ask of OpenOffice.
Saying "My web page is perfect because the validator said so" is like saying "My application is perfect because I didn't get any compile-time warnings."
Valid XHTML+CSS doesn't necessarily look pretty, and pretty XHTML+CSS doesn't necessarily validate. Likewise, it's not hard to make pages that look great in Firefox but not in IE (or, for that matter, KHTML-based browsers like Safari).
Lastly, the W3C doesn't have any "standards." It has recommendations. To test all the W3C recommendation support, you would have to test your web pages with a screen reader, a printer terminal, graphical and non-graphical browsers, and so on. Validators don't do that. They also don't test style, like setting appropriate alternate text for images and so on.
If the Packard Bell brand name can still sell computers, MP3 players, and televisions, anything is possible.
How do we know what the "real address" is?
That's right. The N-Gage QD doesn't play MP3s or have Bluetooth.
Name one airline that tells you to "remove DVD/CD drives from laptops." Bonus points if it's a US-based airline.
There are dozens of people on your average flight that have either a laptop or a portable CD player of some kind. Airlines will not ask that you turn them off except during takeoff and landing, during which all electronic devices must not be used.
Nice FUD, though.
Tapwave is trying to do something very similar with a Palm OS-based device. They included two SD slots, some 3D acceleration hardware, and a button layout that's suited towards gaming. They're targeting it at a professional market where people could use their Tapwave device as both an organizer and a game device. Sales have been meager so far. PalmOne still controls most the Palm OS device space, which itself is about half of the total PDA marketplace.
There's no integration with an existing device, but I'm skeptical about the idea of a gaming device being tied to another gaming device. The NeoGeo Pocket Color linked with the Dreamcast (according to the manual) and neither system was successful. The PocketStation linked with the PlayStation, but the PocketStation was never officially released in the US. The Game Boy Advance was supposed to link up with the GameCube, but few games took advantage of that capability.
About 200,000 people bought the PSP to start, and as many as 500,000 have by now.
Not like it matters too much, but it already looks like the PSP will outsell the Xbox in the Japanese market. That's total sales, not weekly sales.
Sales tax in Japan is 5%, so the pre-tax price is 19,800 yen. According to xe.com, that's about $192 US. It's definitely gotten pricier since October due to the exchange rate worsening.
Perhaps we'll see the "PSP II," much like the way Atari fixed the early Lynx products with the Lynx II.
In any case, I agree that there are still a lot of problems with the PSP that people have commented on. However, I still think that there are enough people to support at least a minority market for the PSP (I) as a platform. The system is already off to a fast start in Japan.
10 Great Things About the N-Gage (not the N-Gage QD)
1. Plays MP3s.
2. Runs the popular Series 60 OS, for which many non-N-Gage-specific apps are already available.
3. Synchronizes built-in PIM software with Mac OS X (iSync) and Windows (Intellisync).
4. Built-in FM radio.
5. Supports on-line play with built-in GPRS radio.
6. Available used for about the same price as a Game Boy Advance SP.
7. Memory expansion with widely-available albeit slow MultiMedia Cards.
8. Includes software that lets me surf the web and check e-mail using the built-in modem.
9. Supports Bluetooth, letting me use a cordless headset instead of Sidetalkin'.
10. Has a built in Media Player, which supports not only MP3s (#1) but also video clips and streaming media.
There, that wasn't too hard. Maybe I should put it on a web page myself and submit it as an article!
So if you don't parrot the same "why X sucks" line, and instead post "why X is good," that makes you a shill?
Reminds me of how Slashdot posts "why Linux rules" articles all the time, but posting a "why Linux is bad" comment automatically makes you a Microsoft spokesman.
Sometimes it's good to read both sides of the issue. I thought it's important to hear multiple viewpoints of everything, not just the viewpoint you agree with.
The war over 1-Click is over. Amazon won. BN.com is still open. Nobody cares any more.
For a related topic, see how the League for Programming Freedom got their panties in a bunch about Apple, calling for a boycott of all Apple products. They later rescinded that boycott, except their about-face took less than a year.
I hear the rainforest is still in need of saving, if you'd like a cause celebre...
Thanks. How does that amount to "a patent on on-line shopping"?
I've spent thousands of dollars at Amazon, and I have never once used 1-Click shopping. I'd rather not have my credit card instantly billed for something. According to exhaustive searches I pretend to have performed, most Americans have not enabled 1-Click for their Amazon purchases.
In conclusion, I don't consider the 1-Click patent to be anything worth caring about. The end.
That's funny. The news tells me that 44,000 people have died so far as a top story.
Because it's a U.S.-based news site, I find as a subheadline that a few Americans are among the dead. However, the vast majority of the coverage is international in nature.
If you wish to reply, please note at least one incident of conservative bias in the second link I posted. Replies lacking this information will be considered "double-opt-in replies to be added to my value-added email list."
I don't believe you.
I also don't want to use Google to verify what you said. Please provide a link to validate that ridiculous claim.
What Slashdot neglected to mention was that nobody in the United States gives a shit about software patents, so all the rallying cries of "boycott Amazon!" mean absolutely nothing.
No wireless. Less space than an iPod. Lame.
My view is that Google in 2009 will be like Yahoo! in 2004. Everyone will have heard of them, they will have some excellent products, but all the "real" computer nerds will have moved on to more obscure (and therefore better) competitors. People will start rumors that Google has sold out and is now evil; whether or not these are substantiated, Slashdot will start advocating that people who are smarter than "Joe Sixpack" use CoolObscureSearchEngine instead.
I liked Froogle the first time around, when it was called Yahoo! Shopping. (There are lots of other sites that do the same thing, too.)
Google Image Search is nothing unique, and it often fails on anything more complex than a person's name.
If Google can't come up with anything better than Yet Another Web Mail Service and Yet Another Social Networking Site, they'll teeter dangerously over the cliff of irrelevancy in 2005. It's hard to get revved up over yet more mergers and acquisitions, an amazingly-inflated stock price, and ugly downgrades with a "BETA" logo slapped on top.
IM would be a fantastic win for Google. Imagine being able to organize conversations by both email and IM to the same person.
People will let Google serve them contextual ads based on IM. Remember all the outrage about contextual ads in email? Remember how Google made no changes to their service to deal with that outrage?
oh sorry you had to go to japan for that didn't you, don't they kill Jews over their still?
Yes, they do. I was killed several times while there. It was quite bothersome.
What the hell are you talking about?Linux, and why it sucks.No one did.Clearly someone did, or I would write as such.Hey, let's be clearThat's a good idea....either it's taking down the systemWhich it does, for me!or it isn't.It is.mpg123 not crashingIt does crash, Randy."as badly" as noatun doesn't mean anything. A program crashes; it's not running anymore. I want to hear my music, not whining from the open source community (that's you, Randy) about how crashing is good.If it crashesIt does crash, Randy.it either crashes only itselfThat's what I mean.(segfault, etc.)No, I don't get any segmentation faults.or is it crashing the OS.That's what it's doing.That's what we'reWe? You're doing the talking here.talkingAnd another thing, Randy -- people shouting at each other doesn't constitute "support."aboutAbout?here - crashing the OSLinux never crashes, ever. Except when it does.- not some program misbehavingLinux does not permit programs to misbehave.and crashing.Crashing is poor behavior.What?That's what I said, Randy. Now change the baby already; his diaper smells awful.Debian's kernel? DEBIAN HAS NO KERNEL. GNU/Linux has kernels.KDE's kernel? KDE HAS NO KERNEL. GNU/Linux has kernels.First,A good place to start.no oneExcept you, Randy.suggestedI think "stated confidently and arrogantly" is a more appropriate term for what people have been doing to me here. that your kernelOh, for the last time. It's GNU/Linux Kernel and not "KDE Kernel."wasIt still IS, and I can't get my e-mail until it stops.malfunctioning.Crashing.Second,That should probably be "secondly."DebianThat's DEBIAN GNU/LINUX. and KDEI like KDE much better than GNOME.don't have kernelsGNU/LINUX IS A KERNEL.of their own...I agree.KDE isWAS, Randy. Right now it is a smoldering heap of core dump! just a user level appIt's a desktop environment! How can I access my desktop without an environment?like anything else.You mean like Linux, or our baby, or my OGG collection of the Beatles?Kernel has no meaningAbout as much meaning as "corn."in that context.Context is good.And DebianDEBIAN GNU/LINUX.is just a distro,It happens to be the BEST distribution.and if I'm not mistaken,But you often are. uses stock kernel.org kernels.GNU/LINUX KERNELS.If thereThere's not.were a bugNo bugs.in the kernelThe GNU/LINUX kernel.causing this,It probably isn't. you shouldn't be talkingNow who's talking about who shouldn't be talking.to Debian's or KDE's teams.Their teams are pretty good, though.Once again, you have no clue. KDE doesn't have a kernel. You've already been told you have a buggy driver. Whining that your hardware is old doesn't change the fact that you probably have a buggy driver. Replace it and recompile the kernel with the new driver code if it's compiled in, or recompile the module if you're using dynamic loading.That sounds complicated. Can't Debian GNU Linux Kernel do that for me?Millions of peopleJust on Slashdot and in your mind, Randy. Name just one, Randy. Just one million people who use Linux.all over the worldIn which countries and which cities?use LinuxGNU/Linux.and playGames?sound filesOh, sound files. How innovative.just fineDo they have MP3 capability?on Sound Blaster Live! cards.Can they use better cards?This may be a corrupted download,Highly unlikely. I ran Winzip on the file, and it said OK.or it may be PEBKAC,Sorry, I don't speak German.based on your postsMy posts are my own.above.Above I only see Internet Explorer.In any case,Oh, good, a conclusion.don't flame LinuxLinux is not a person. You, Randy, are.because you don't knowI know a lot.what you're doing. I've done it well.