You can't have it both ways. Look at MacOS and Windows.
MacOS is very standardized-- every pixel is accounted for in the specifications-- but it is rigid and hardly configurable by the user. Developers can either accept Apple's standard or reject it entirely.
Windows is hardly standardized, but user-configurable and completely flexible for developers.
This is similar to the differences between QT and GTK (respectively), but with more contrast. In the end, the MacOS solution works out much better for the user; complete standardization makes the learning curve less steep and applications more predictable.
1.) The games function uses Java, and has to load JVM every time the Games button is pressed. 2.) The portion of the Buddy List window reserved for Games is huge and uses unnecessary horizontal and vertical space. Yeah, okay, you can turn it off, but what if you actually want to use them once in a while without being completely invaded? 3.) There is no 3, I already downgraded.
1.) Buy Virtual PC from Connectix. 2.) Release upgrade, simply changing the logo and telephone numbers. 3.) Wait 6 months for it to become obsolete, and don't bother patching it.
Embrace, Extend, Eliminate -- only not so much the first, and a little lax on the second.
>treat them like a mushroom and keep them in the dark.
RTFA. That's what they did; they kept them in a closed cabinet for two years in their original packaging. Some brands were toast after two years.
The fact that your CD-R discs appear to be readable after 4-5 years isn't a useful data point. These guys used CD analyzer hardware (CDA-3000) to check the quality of the discs. CD's have error checking and the damage may not yet be noticeable to the end user until later.
I bought a PowerBook G3 1999 when it first came out, with 3 years of AppleCare. I have to tell you-- it is worth every penny.
1.) I sent in my PBG3 after an electrical storm which fried the ethernet. The entire logic board was replaced. $0. 2.) A while later, the CDROM drive wasn't working properly. I sent in the PBG3, got a new CD drive, and a new 10gig hard drive (it came with 4gig). $0. 3.) I broke off the little door in the back which protects the ports. They replaced the entire bottom enclosure and the door. $0.
Seriously consider investing in a 3+ year AppleCare warranty. You won't be disappointed. The longer the better-- all laptop batteries will go dead eventually.
Of course, for browsing the web, you don't need to memorize IP addresses-- that's what DNS is for. But most people don't have DNS on their home computers. If I need to connect to a friend's computer, IP address is the way to go.
Also, when configuring servers and firewalls, IP addresses are necessary; how wpuld you specify a netblock without using IP addresses? Or a DNS server address?
I'm not an expert on IPv6 (nor IPv4 for that matter), but there is some practicality in question here.
Can you memorize 204.172.4.36? Maybe not at first glance, but after you type it in a few times, you probably will.
Can you memorize FEDC:BA98:7654:3210:FEDC:BA98:7654:3210? Definitely not at first glance, and very unlikely unless it is something which you must type every day.
Some people's jobs depend on entering IP addresses, and IPv6 addresses are just so unnecessarily long that typing them is a total drag.
---
Here's my RFC. 40-bit addresses. That gives you roughly a trillion addresses (a bit more actually), which is more than we should ever need. And you can write them in dotted-decimal format. Can you memorize 430.168.957.249? Probably.
Considering that most BT trackers are hosted on the same connections as the web server hosting the Torrent files, there wouldn't be a significant difference. But, if that's not the case, then there could be separate "query" and "tracker" services, hosted on different boxes.
That wouldn't be even close to creating "another hotline" because it would still be peer-to-peer (for the transfers at least) and wouldn't require any dedicated hosts aside from the tracker and the provider of the file.
People, this is very simple. Remember the old days of warez on the web? People would post.zip and.iso files on freely hosted websites. These sites would quickly be taken down because of copyright infringement requests.
Torrent files for illegal files are illegal! There's no way you could win a court case--in this day and age--by attempting to prove that you are just providing a "link".
Web hosting providers view Torrent files the same as a simple.zip/.iso/.sit file containing the copyrighted software, and rightfully so.
BT Developer(s) should:
1.) Find a way to handle Torrent data embedded in HTML, such that someone can copy and paste the Torrent file information from their web browser to their Torrent client Of course, this is equally illegal, but it is viewed completely differently by ISP's and the casual observer.
2.) Create a mechanism for people to "browse" BitTorrent trackers and submit file information to them for distribution. This would remove the web-centric part of BitTorrent, at least for illegal files, and make running a tracker "almost legal". See Hotline trackers for a good example of this.
Okay, sure, one option would be to design a proprietary voting system, intended to be secure against all current and future viruses and worms. This would be incredibly tedious and probably fail because it isn't very practical to assume that everyone's workstation is secure, or to attempt to make it secure. Even if this is possible on a single platform (Windows), it would be impossible to achieve with a cross-platform solution.
Here's another option. Make a boot floppy with a scaled-down operating system on it (Linux would work) and drivers for most ethernet boards, modems, and keyboards. Granted, this might take a couple floppies, or a boot floppy with a driver CD. But this would be much more secure--and compatible-- than other solutions. The software could easily be ported from x86 to alpha, ppc, sparc, etc. without much hassle (except bootloaders).
I'd like to hear some criticism of this implementation.
Do these guys have brains larger than dogs? Obviously there is less of a demand for female avatars because there are more male users. Thus, there are fewer bids, and the avatar sells for less.
"Although the vast majority of EverQuest players are male, around 20 per cent of players choose a female avatar to represent them online."
Translation: There is a 60% lower demand for female avatars than male avatars. Hmm.....
Hahaha this is a great feature. Check out the type of domains that are already being taken.
TRASH: 16 (including porn, hair-transplant, breast/penis enlargement, lasik surgery, and other spam) CORPORATE: 37 (companies such as FOX trying to reserve their trademarks under every TLD possible) DICTIONARY/GENERIC: 28 (dictionary words and other obvious domain name real estate such as "1.la") OTHER: 137 (names that I didn't recognize or didn't fit into these categories)
Whoa, what's going on here? Seriously, this is some fishy stuff.
Microsoft is doing one of the following:
1.) Trying to profit from Windows emulation on MacOS by buying the most popular product, then eliminating the competition. I suppose this is a good idea, as it sells Windows licenses.
2.) Trying to eliminate Windows emulation entirely because it's a threat. After all, it's a good reason for people to use Macs-- running Windows software means no inhibitions about switching. Microsoft could eliminate Windows emulation by acquiring the most popular software product (VirtualPC), suing other emulation software companies for infringing on Windows copyrights, and then discontinuing the most popular product.
As to which is the case, I haven't a clue. Perhaps other Slashdotters will have opinions in this regard.
I thought that Microsoft was producing Xbox goods in Mexico. When the Xbox was first released, there was a big commotion about how Microsoft saves money by having the hardware produced in Mexico (or some other nearby country).
Did Microsoft shift production from Mexico to Hungary? If so, why?
Developed by ClearCode Enterprises, a development firm based entirely in Clearwater, Florida, the Wild Divine allows users to explore their "reactive minds" in search of evil space aliens named Xenu. It is equipped with a pulse reader and polygraph machine, designed to ensure the most truthful exploration of one's soul.
In other news, Scientology acquires Sierra Entertainment.
I'd like to remind everyone, before making flash judgements:
This is a good thing. Whether or not RealNetworks can pull it off (and they might, being the first comparable option in the Windows market), competition will help. Perhaps this will lower Apple's per-song fee.
Imagine having to take it to a LAN party. I mean, after received the mandatory wedgies for having a "sea monkey" computer case, you'll have to feed your brine shrimp in the middle of a CS tournament.
Re:Well...
on
Ant Farm PC
·
· Score: 1, Insightful
Wow. I had my threshold up really high. Had it been lower, I would have discovered a repository of terrible "computer bug" puns that preceded this.
Exactly. I use WinXP Pro, and these security updates are SCARY. The security holes which Apple patches are usually innocuous, minor bugs which would require significant effort to exploit. On the other hand, 75% of Microsoft's WinXP patches are described as "... allows attacker to gain control of computer, access to an administration account..."
A few years ago, I did some experimentation (completely unguided, amateur fun) with radio ad filtering. The software made a number of simple measurements based on the audio input, including volume range, average volume, and average frequency. From this data, I formed "fingerprints" for talk, ads, and music. Surprisingly, based on these fingerprints, the software was able to detect the type of content with moderate accuracy.
I'd like to see some technology like this incorporated into a PVR-type device for radio.
Not being talented enough to write anything useful, I discontinued the project. But I'm sure someone else could do it.
Slashdot Mirror
You can't have it both ways. Look at MacOS and Windows.
MacOS is very standardized-- every pixel is accounted for in the specifications-- but it is rigid and hardly configurable by the user. Developers can either accept Apple's standard or reject it entirely.
Windows is hardly standardized, but user-configurable and completely flexible for developers.
This is similar to the differences between QT and GTK (respectively), but with more contrast. In the end, the MacOS solution works out much better for the user; complete standardization makes the learning curve less steep and applications more predictable.
Of course, you can't get everyone to conform.
Ugh, I can't believe how awful the new beta is.
1.) The games function uses Java, and has to load JVM every time the Games button is pressed.
2.) The portion of the Buddy List window reserved for Games is huge and uses unnecessary horizontal and vertical space. Yeah, okay, you can turn it off, but what if you actually want to use them once in a while without being completely invaded?
3.) There is no 3, I already downgraded.
The Mayans predicted the apocalypse would be year 2012 CE, for astronomical reasons. Coincidence? Probably.
--
1.) Buy Virtual PC from Connectix.
2.) Release upgrade, simply changing the logo and telephone numbers.
3.) Wait 6 months for it to become obsolete, and don't bother patching it.
Embrace, Extend, Eliminate -- only not so much the first, and a little lax on the second.
>treat them like a mushroom and keep them in the dark.
RTFA. That's what they did; they kept them in a closed cabinet for two years in their original packaging. Some brands were toast after two years.
The fact that your CD-R discs appear to be readable after 4-5 years isn't a useful data point. These guys used CD analyzer hardware (CDA-3000) to check the quality of the discs. CD's have error checking and the damage may not yet be noticeable to the end user until later.
You choose a different nickname from "school-hacker" :-)
I bought a PowerBook G3 1999 when it first came out, with 3 years of AppleCare. I have to tell you-- it is worth every penny.
1.) I sent in my PBG3 after an electrical storm which fried the ethernet. The entire logic board was replaced. $0.
2.) A while later, the CDROM drive wasn't working properly. I sent in the PBG3, got a new CD drive, and a new 10gig hard drive (it came with 4gig). $0.
3.) I broke off the little door in the back which protects the ports. They replaced the entire bottom enclosure and the door. $0.
Seriously consider investing in a 3+ year AppleCare warranty. You won't be disappointed. The longer the better-- all laptop batteries will go dead eventually.
Of course, for browsing the web, you don't need to memorize IP addresses-- that's what DNS is for. But most people don't have DNS on their home computers. If I need to connect to a friend's computer, IP address is the way to go.
Also, when configuring servers and firewalls, IP addresses are necessary; how wpuld you specify a netblock without using IP addresses? Or a DNS server address?
I'm not an expert on IPv6 (nor IPv4 for that matter), but there is some practicality in question here.
Can you memorize 204.172.4.36? Maybe not at first glance, but after you type it in a few times, you probably will.
Can you memorize FEDC:BA98:7654:3210:FEDC:BA98:7654:3210? Definitely not at first glance, and very unlikely unless it is something which you must type every day.
Some people's jobs depend on entering IP addresses, and IPv6 addresses are just so unnecessarily long that typing them is a total drag.
---
Here's my RFC. 40-bit addresses. That gives you roughly a trillion addresses (a bit more actually), which is more than we should ever need. And you can write them in dotted-decimal format.
Can you memorize 430.168.957.249? Probably.
Considering that most BT trackers are hosted on the same connections as the web server hosting the Torrent files, there wouldn't be a significant difference. But, if that's not the case, then there could be separate "query" and "tracker" services, hosted on different boxes.
That wouldn't be even close to creating "another hotline" because it would still be peer-to-peer (for the transfers at least) and wouldn't require any dedicated hosts aside from the tracker and the provider of the file.
People, this is very simple. Remember the old days of warez on the web? People would post .zip and .iso files on freely hosted websites. These sites would quickly be taken down because of copyright infringement requests.
.zip/.iso/.sit file containing the copyrighted software, and rightfully so.
Torrent files for illegal files are illegal! There's no way you could win a court case--in this day and age--by attempting to prove that you are just providing a "link".
Web hosting providers view Torrent files the same as a simple
BT Developer(s) should:
1.) Find a way to handle Torrent data embedded in HTML, such that someone can copy and paste the Torrent file information from their web browser to their Torrent client
Of course, this is equally illegal, but it is viewed completely differently by ISP's and the casual observer.
2.) Create a mechanism for people to "browse" BitTorrent trackers and submit file information to them for distribution.
This would remove the web-centric part of BitTorrent, at least for illegal files, and make running a tracker "almost legal". See Hotline trackers for a good example of this.
Feedback is good.
Okay, sure, one option would be to design a proprietary voting system, intended to be secure against all current and future viruses and worms. This would be incredibly tedious and probably fail because it isn't very practical to assume that everyone's workstation is secure, or to attempt to make it secure. Even if this is possible on a single platform (Windows), it would be impossible to achieve with a cross-platform solution.
Here's another option. Make a boot floppy with a scaled-down operating system on it (Linux would work) and drivers for most ethernet boards, modems, and keyboards. Granted, this might take a couple floppies, or a boot floppy with a driver CD. But this would be much more secure--and compatible-- than other solutions. The software could easily be ported from x86 to alpha, ppc, sparc, etc. without much hassle (except bootloaders).
I'd like to hear some criticism of this implementation.
Why is this in games?
Do these guys have brains larger than dogs? Obviously there is less of a demand for female avatars because there are more male users. Thus, there are fewer bids, and the avatar sells for less.
"Although the vast majority of EverQuest players are male, around 20 per cent of players choose a female avatar to represent them online."
Translation: There is a 60% lower demand for female avatars than male avatars. Hmm.....
Hahaha this is a great feature. Check out the type of domains that are already being taken.
TRASH: 16
(including porn, hair-transplant, breast/penis enlargement, lasik surgery, and other spam)
CORPORATE: 37
(companies such as FOX trying to reserve their trademarks under every TLD possible)
DICTIONARY/GENERIC: 28
(dictionary words and other obvious domain name real estate such as "1.la")
OTHER: 137
(names that I didn't recognize or didn't fit into these categories)
Wow, I have too much time on my hands.
Whoa, what's going on here? Seriously, this is some fishy stuff.
Microsoft is doing one of the following:
1.) Trying to profit from Windows emulation on MacOS by buying the most popular product, then eliminating the competition. I suppose this is a good idea, as it sells Windows licenses.
2.) Trying to eliminate Windows emulation entirely because it's a threat. After all, it's a good reason for people to use Macs-- running Windows software means no inhibitions about switching. Microsoft could eliminate Windows emulation by acquiring the most popular software product (VirtualPC), suing other emulation software companies for infringing on Windows copyrights, and then discontinuing the most popular product.
As to which is the case, I haven't a clue. Perhaps other Slashdotters will have opinions in this regard.
I thought that Microsoft was producing Xbox goods in Mexico. When the Xbox was first released, there was a big commotion about how Microsoft saves money by having the hardware produced in Mexico (or some other nearby country).
Did Microsoft shift production from Mexico to Hungary? If so, why?
Developed by ClearCode Enterprises, a development firm based entirely in Clearwater, Florida, the Wild Divine allows users to explore their "reactive minds" in search of evil space aliens named Xenu. It is equipped with a pulse reader and polygraph machine, designed to ensure the most truthful exploration of one's soul.
In other news, Scientology acquires Sierra Entertainment.
YES!
I second your recommendation!
That is the single most undervalued book of Orwell's. One of the best first person narratives I've ever read.
I'd like to remind everyone, before making flash judgements:
This is a good thing. Whether or not RealNetworks can pull it off (and they might, being the first comparable option in the Windows market), competition will help. Perhaps this will lower Apple's per-song fee.
Bravo for taking a risk.
Imagine having to take it to a LAN party. I mean, after received the mandatory wedgies for having a "sea monkey" computer case, you'll have to feed your brine shrimp in the middle of a CS tournament.
Wow. I had my threshold up really high. Had it been lower, I would have discovered a repository of terrible "computer bug" puns that preceded this.
Man, we're so uncreative.
... it's a cool idea, but I think I'll wait for the final. It looks a bit buggy.
::ducks::
Exactly. I use WinXP Pro, and these security updates are SCARY. The security holes which Apple patches are usually innocuous, minor bugs which would require significant effort to exploit. On the other hand, 75% of Microsoft's WinXP patches are described as "... allows attacker to gain control of computer, access to an administration account..."
A few years ago, I did some experimentation (completely unguided, amateur fun) with radio ad filtering. The software made a number of simple measurements based on the audio input, including volume range, average volume, and average frequency. From this data, I formed "fingerprints" for talk, ads, and music.
Surprisingly, based on these fingerprints, the software was able to detect the type of content with moderate accuracy.
I'd like to see some technology like this incorporated into a PVR-type device for radio.
Not being talented enough to write anything useful, I discontinued the project. But I'm sure someone else could do it.