High-end and mid-range Macs are comparable in price to high-end and mid-range PCs from major OEMs. The reason for the perceived "Mac tax" is that Apple doesn't sell low-end Macs.
They don't sell a low-end notebook; they're offering last year's model for $999, and the new aluminum unibody Macbook starts at $1299. If you don't want a built-in webcam, or I/R port, or Bluetooth, or DVD burner, or gigabit Ethernet, or optical audio in and out, that's just too bad.
They don't sell a low-end desktop. The cheapest Mac you can buy is the $599 Mac mini, which is specially engineered to fit into a 6.5"x6.5"x2" package. The next model is the $1199 iMac, which has a built-in 20" LCD display. Both of these include 802.11n wifi, Bluetooth, FireWire 800, dual-head video, optical audio in/out, an I/R port and a DVD burner; the iMac also includes a webcam, microphone and speakers.
That's exactly why the politicians don't take it seriously - the average Joe doesn't realize how vast (and expensive) a problem it is.
For awhile, my tiny little home server, only used by me and a few friends and family members, with just one domain name, was rejecting approximately one spam attempt every 45 seconds, on average. I don't know what the recent numbers are - after the McColo shutdown, there was a huge drop, and I haven't bothered to figure out the statistics recently.
But that's once every 45 seconds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. On a tiny little home server. Now imagine how much money it costs Google to deal with spam on GMail....
Really? I heard the term used in a British context (listening to BBC news, reading British web sites) before I ever heard Americans call it "texting". I live in the US.
Well, my example was pretty simplistic; of course =~ is something every Perl n00b should be familiar with. There are other syntactic constructs, though, that a lot of beginners just never bother learning (because they can get by without them).
I think people are just being lazy and not bothering to learn even the most basic parts of the language before trying to read stuff written in it,
That pretty much sums it up, I think. Note that PHP is easier for lazy people to read - the syntax is simpler and there are fewer operators, so if you encounter something unfamiliar it's probably a function that you can easily look up on php.net. This does NOT mean PHP is better than Perl - quite the opposite - but lazy n00bs can figure out PHP more easily than Perl.
It'll be interesting to see how VMs change that game: assignment handout is a Linux VM that runs on any host OS, an has all the necessary apps and libraries installed. Students hand in a modified VM for the instructor and TAs to run on whatever host platform they use. Not quite feasible yet, I think, but maybe in a few years?
Why hand in the whole VM? Just hand in the program itself, the same way you do now, but because it was developed in a controlled environment (a VM provided by the instructor with known software installed), there should be no issues running the same app on the instructor's or TAs' VMs.
It's not a downgrade, idiot. I love Slashbots' biased hyperbole to describe things that screw with their piracy. Let me guess, this is "evil?"
You're absolutely right, calling it a "downgrade" is hyperbole... but the Homebrew channel has nothing to do with piracy. I suppose maybe there's a way it could be used for that purpose, but I've never even heard of it being used that way.
I heard a representative of the concrete industry on NPR a couple months ago (and double-checked here) saying that the city of Atlanta reduced its average temperature by six degrees, just by switching to lighter-colored concrete instead of darker-colored asphalt. That will affect the cooling requirements of buildings, even without any change to the buildings themselves.
The Mac port was done by MacPlay, and also included what I believe was original music (since I don't recall the PC version having music - most PC hardware at the time wasn't really capable of it).
Looks like all that supposed security you hear about in Mac OS X is really just a huge joke.
A lot of it is, yes. And, some of that supposed security in Windows Vista... really is improved security, not a joke.
From the average user's perspective, Macs are more secure right now, because they're not targeted. I don't run any antivirus software on my Mac, because I'm confident that I won't encounter a Mac virus. In general, the people writing viruses don't know how to write for Macs, and the people writing for Macs don't want to write viruses. There used to be a handful of Mac viruses back in the 90s, but those have all gone away. Every once in awhile we hear about a new proof of concept, but nothing ever really comes of it.
But there's nothing inherent about the way Mac OS X works that guarantees this situation to remain true. As Macs gain marketshare, they'll gain mindshare among malware authors. As buying a Mac becomes a more attractive option to regular people, it will become a more attractive option to malware authors, and once they have a Mac to play with, they'll start writing malware for it.
Meanwhile, everybody says Vista is a joke; they'll upgrade when you pry XP from their cold dead fingers. People who have never even tried Vista bitch about "Cancel / Allow" dialogs. They say Microsoft completely dropped the ball by breaking compatibility with older software. While I'll be the first to agree that UAC's UI leaves much to be desired, I do leave it turned on*, and I generally know when to expect a prompt. For the thing in the system tray that needs Administrator privileges, I went to the trouble of working around UAC by adding it as a scheduled task that runs on login - this is far too complicated for normal users, and obviously either the software that needs this needs to be updated, or UAC needs an "always allow" option.
Microsoft broke compatibility because they had to in order to improve security. Every once in awhile an argument breaks out on Slashdot that goes something like this:
1) Windows sucks, because normal user accounts have Administrator privileges, which is just like running as root on Linux, which nobody ever does. 2) That's because if you don't have Administrator privileges, half your applications won't run. 3) Windows sucks, because Linux apps run just fine without needing root privileges. 4) It's not Microsoft's fault, it's the application developers' fault for designing their app with the expectation that it will always have Administrator privileges. 5) It is Microsoft's fault, because those app devs designed their app to work on Win98, which had no concept of per-user security, so apps could reliably expect to have unfettered write access to C:\Program Files. Microsoft shouldn't have allowed this. 6) Macs are awesome! 7) It's the year of Linux on the desktop! 8) Shut up, both of you.
Microsoft knew the status quo was broken, and that brokenness isn't sustainable. Their only long-term choice was to break compatibility by forcing applications to conform to new security standards. They've done that, and everyone bitched, but the apps have been fixed. Nobody realizes the apps have been fixed, because everybody switched back to (or stayed with) XP, but Windows 7 will be hugely popular (Microsoft is also fixing some of the real problems with Vista).
Assuming they have the source code, in the example given, how WERE they supposed to do it? The only thing I can think of is "When they make a query, run a procedure on a database that takes the IP, stores it, and Increments a value ("wins per day")"
Excellent question.
Unfortunately, IP addresses aren't reliable for this purpose. However, in order to win you have to provide your e-mail address, and the coupon is e-mailed to you. The simplest solution would be to store e-mail addresses in the database and (as you suggest) limit the wins per day for each e-mail address. Another idea is to generate a unique ID for each visitor to the site (using cookies), and make sure one user doesn't submit requests with multiple e-mail addresses.
Of course, what's not mentioned in the video is an even bigger potential security hole: if the coupon is supposed to be printed out, and then redeemed for a cheeseburger, there's nothing to stop someone from printing multiple copies of the same e-mail. Unless, of course, each coupon has a unique ID that must be verified against a central database. Most places solve this problem by printing "Limit one per customer" on the coupon, which would apply equally to multiple coupons received from multiple wins of the game.
He didn't make it very clear in the video, but a decompiler doesn't really give you the original source code to the program. It gives you source code that works the same way and, when compiled, would result in the same binary. However, comments are not included, and it's possible that variable and function names might not be preserved (depending on the language and how the program was compiled). Also, the compiler might have performed various optimizations, and upon decompiling you'd get the source code for the optimized version - for example, the compiler might simplify "x=x+1;" as "x++;" and "y=x**2;" as "y=x*x;".
These are basic concepts for decompilers in general; I know nothing about Flash.
In order to obtain the binary file, you have to make a copy of it (during the process of downloading it to your computer). If you're legally authorized to make that copy, you're authorized to make more copies. You're not authorized to distribute these copies without explicit permission, but HP isn't talking about doing that.
Right, much like using Firefox to access a web site on an ISS server, generated by proprietary ASP.Net code. The client is open source, and the communication protocol is well documented, but the server software is all proprietary.
Tell me. What does OSX have that Linux or Windows on a PC doesn't?
iTunes: organize and play just about any media files with playlists and "smart playlists", play "radio" streams from the included directory (or add your own if you have a URL), subscribe to and play Podcasts (audio and video, with included directory), rip audio CDs to MP3/AAC, burn audio CDs, stream media over the LAN to/from other clients, stream to remote speakers via AirPort Express, a couple of included visualizers (and more available for download), syncing to iPod and iPhone including auto-populate features (fill the device with a random selection of music, if you'd rather not choose), and the new iTunes DJ feature (formerly "Party Shuffle") which takes requests from an iPhone.
On top of that, there's the iTunes Store, offering music, movies (now in HD), TV shows, and audiobooks. Much of the music is DRM-free, for the same price. The "Genius" feature can compare your music library with the iTunes Store, and recommend new music that's similar to what you already have. All of this with a fixed pricing structure that really pisses off the RIAA.
And all of that is in one single application.
iCal is a fantastic calendaring application; it handles multiple calendars (so you can keep work and personal events separate), automatically pulls birthdays from the Address Book, can subscribe to iCal feeds (including several that Apple provides), and has no trouble with recurring events with weird schedules like "second Tuesday of the month". I sync mine to my cell phone, so I get reminder alarms on my phone and laptop simultaneously.
Then there's the iLife suite, which includes iPhoto (organize photos the same way you organize MP3s in iTunes, using albums instead of playlists), iMovie (edit home movies), GarageBand (I don't know it well enough to describe all the features), iWeb (nice WYSIWYG editor with lots of templates), and iDVD (burn a DVD from your videos or photos, including menu navigation, and all the format conversion is done automatically).
Let's not forget Time Machine: plug in an external hard drive, and you've got automatic incremental backups with no fuss.
And of course, like Linux, you get a *nix terminal, X11, a dozen languages (C, C++, ObjC, Java, Perl, Python, Ruby, PHP, TCL, AppleScript, bash/tcsh/ksh), and a developer IDE with complete documentation and examples. In addition to Apache, there are SMB, FTP, CUPS, SSH and VNC servers.
And that's just what comes with it, out of the box. There are also Mac-only freeware apps like TextWrangler, shareware apps like GraphicConverter, and commercial apps like the iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, Keynote).
For most of this functionality, there are equivalents available on other platforms, but it's not as easy to get it set up and working.
As far as babies and kids are concerned, it is fairly clear that everyone starts out written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
I don't believe this is true. Can you find any basis for it in Scripture? If so, where?
While Christ was in the grave, He went to paradise, identified Himself as the expected one due to Jewish prophecy, and took all the people there to heaven with Him.
I've heard this too, but I haven't been able to find any mention of it in the Bible. Did I miss something?
Isn't it traditional for editors to use the full name once before using the uncommon acronym?
Not if that editor enjoys being pretentious and deluded with the notion that using obscure, unexplained acronyms makes one intelligent and the reader shamefully ignorant.
I think you presume too much about our esteemed editors. I find it unlikely that ScuttleMonkey made a conscious choice to use obscure and unexplained acronyms to shame us - it's far more likely that he just wasn't paying attention, and didn't think about it.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of over 200 people, a highly committed group of professionals who have decades of specialized experience in trade issues and regions of the world. They negotiate directly with foreign governments to create trade agreements, resolve disputes and participate in global trade policy organizations. They also meet with governments, business groups, legislators and public interest groups to gather input on trade issues and explain the president's trade policy positions. The agency was founded in 1962 and has offices in Washington, Geneva and Brussels.
Slashdot Mirror
High-end and mid-range Macs are comparable in price to high-end and mid-range PCs from major OEMs. The reason for the perceived "Mac tax" is that Apple doesn't sell low-end Macs.
They don't sell a low-end notebook; they're offering last year's model for $999, and the new aluminum unibody Macbook starts at $1299. If you don't want a built-in webcam, or I/R port, or Bluetooth, or DVD burner, or gigabit Ethernet, or optical audio in and out, that's just too bad.
They don't sell a low-end desktop. The cheapest Mac you can buy is the $599 Mac mini, which is specially engineered to fit into a 6.5"x6.5"x2" package. The next model is the $1199 iMac, which has a built-in 20" LCD display. Both of these include 802.11n wifi, Bluetooth, FireWire 800, dual-head video, optical audio in/out, an I/R port and a DVD burner; the iMac also includes a webcam, microphone and speakers.
That's exactly why the politicians don't take it seriously - the average Joe doesn't realize how vast (and expensive) a problem it is.
For awhile, my tiny little home server, only used by me and a few friends and family members, with just one domain name, was rejecting approximately one spam attempt every 45 seconds, on average. I don't know what the recent numbers are - after the McColo shutdown, there was a huge drop, and I haven't bothered to figure out the statistics recently.
But that's once every 45 seconds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. On a tiny little home server. Now imagine how much money it costs Google to deal with spam on GMail....
Wifi routers have to be plugged into something.
This is /. , I'm probably wrong, most likely even :)
Yes, but so am I.
Really? I heard the term used in a British context (listening to BBC news, reading British web sites) before I ever heard Americans call it "texting". I live in the US.
Well, my example was pretty simplistic; of course =~ is something every Perl n00b should be familiar with. There are other syntactic constructs, though, that a lot of beginners just never bother learning (because they can get by without them).
I think people are just being lazy and not bothering to learn even the most basic parts of the language before trying to read stuff written in it,
That pretty much sums it up, I think. Note that PHP is easier for lazy people to read - the syntax is simpler and there are fewer operators, so if you encounter something unfamiliar it's probably a function that you can easily look up on php.net. This does NOT mean PHP is better than Perl - quite the opposite - but lazy n00bs can figure out PHP more easily than Perl.
It'll be interesting to see how VMs change that game: assignment handout is a Linux VM that runs on any host OS, an has all the necessary apps and libraries installed. Students hand in a modified VM for the instructor and TAs to run on whatever host platform they use. Not quite feasible yet, I think, but maybe in a few years?
Why hand in the whole VM? Just hand in the program itself, the same way you do now, but because it was developed in a controlled environment (a VM provided by the instructor with known software installed), there should be no issues running the same app on the instructor's or TAs' VMs.
It's not a downgrade, idiot. I love Slashbots' biased hyperbole to describe things that screw with their piracy. Let me guess, this is "evil?"
You're absolutely right, calling it a "downgrade" is hyperbole... but the Homebrew channel has nothing to do with piracy. I suppose maybe there's a way it could be used for that purpose, but I've never even heard of it being used that way.
Save a copy of the CD key in an electronic form, the same way you keep track of other important bits of data.
Totally ignoring the carbon emissions of making concrete in the first place...
Compare to making asphalt.
I heard a representative of the concrete industry on NPR a couple months ago (and double-checked here) saying that the city of Atlanta reduced its average temperature by six degrees, just by switching to lighter-colored concrete instead of darker-colored asphalt. That will affect the cooling requirements of buildings, even without any change to the buildings themselves.
The Mac port was done by MacPlay, and also included what I believe was original music (since I don't recall the PC version having music - most PC hardware at the time wasn't really capable of it).
Looks like all that supposed security you hear about in Mac OS X is really just a huge joke.
A lot of it is, yes. And, some of that supposed security in Windows Vista... really is improved security, not a joke.
From the average user's perspective, Macs are more secure right now, because they're not targeted. I don't run any antivirus software on my Mac, because I'm confident that I won't encounter a Mac virus. In general, the people writing viruses don't know how to write for Macs, and the people writing for Macs don't want to write viruses. There used to be a handful of Mac viruses back in the 90s, but those have all gone away. Every once in awhile we hear about a new proof of concept, but nothing ever really comes of it.
But there's nothing inherent about the way Mac OS X works that guarantees this situation to remain true. As Macs gain marketshare, they'll gain mindshare among malware authors. As buying a Mac becomes a more attractive option to regular people, it will become a more attractive option to malware authors, and once they have a Mac to play with, they'll start writing malware for it.
Meanwhile, everybody says Vista is a joke; they'll upgrade when you pry XP from their cold dead fingers. People who have never even tried Vista bitch about "Cancel / Allow" dialogs. They say Microsoft completely dropped the ball by breaking compatibility with older software. While I'll be the first to agree that UAC's UI leaves much to be desired, I do leave it turned on*, and I generally know when to expect a prompt. For the thing in the system tray that needs Administrator privileges, I went to the trouble of working around UAC by adding it as a scheduled task that runs on login - this is far too complicated for normal users, and obviously either the software that needs this needs to be updated, or UAC needs an "always allow" option.
Microsoft broke compatibility because they had to in order to improve security. Every once in awhile an argument breaks out on Slashdot that goes something like this:
1) Windows sucks, because normal user accounts have Administrator privileges, which is just like running as root on Linux, which nobody ever does.
2) That's because if you don't have Administrator privileges, half your applications won't run.
3) Windows sucks, because Linux apps run just fine without needing root privileges.
4) It's not Microsoft's fault, it's the application developers' fault for designing their app with the expectation that it will always have Administrator privileges.
5) It is Microsoft's fault, because those app devs designed their app to work on Win98, which had no concept of per-user security, so apps could reliably expect to have unfettered write access to C:\Program Files. Microsoft shouldn't have allowed this.
6) Macs are awesome!
7) It's the year of Linux on the desktop!
8) Shut up, both of you.
Microsoft knew the status quo was broken, and that brokenness isn't sustainable. Their only long-term choice was to break compatibility by forcing applications to conform to new security standards. They've done that, and everyone bitched, but the apps have been fixed. Nobody realizes the apps have been fixed, because everybody switched back to (or stayed with) XP, but Windows 7 will be hugely popular (Microsoft is also fixing some of the real problems with Vista).
> If you're legally authorized to make that copy, you're authorized to make more copies.
That does not follow at all.
What authorizes you to make the first copy?
Assuming they have the source code, in the example given, how WERE they supposed to do it? The only thing I can think of is "When they make a query, run a procedure on a database that takes the IP, stores it, and Increments a value ("wins per day")"
Excellent question.
Unfortunately, IP addresses aren't reliable for this purpose. However, in order to win you have to provide your e-mail address, and the coupon is e-mailed to you. The simplest solution would be to store e-mail addresses in the database and (as you suggest) limit the wins per day for each e-mail address. Another idea is to generate a unique ID for each visitor to the site (using cookies), and make sure one user doesn't submit requests with multiple e-mail addresses.
Of course, what's not mentioned in the video is an even bigger potential security hole: if the coupon is supposed to be printed out, and then redeemed for a cheeseburger, there's nothing to stop someone from printing multiple copies of the same e-mail. Unless, of course, each coupon has a unique ID that must be verified against a central database. Most places solve this problem by printing "Limit one per customer" on the coupon, which would apply equally to multiple coupons received from multiple wins of the game.
Now I want a cheeseburger. Excuse me.
He didn't make it very clear in the video, but a decompiler doesn't really give you the original source code to the program. It gives you source code that works the same way and, when compiled, would result in the same binary. However, comments are not included, and it's possible that variable and function names might not be preserved (depending on the language and how the program was compiled). Also, the compiler might have performed various optimizations, and upon decompiling you'd get the source code for the optimized version - for example, the compiler might simplify "x=x+1;" as "x++;" and "y=x**2;" as "y=x*x;".
These are basic concepts for decompilers in general; I know nothing about Flash.
In order to obtain the binary file, you have to make a copy of it (during the process of downloading it to your computer). If you're legally authorized to make that copy, you're authorized to make more copies. You're not authorized to distribute these copies without explicit permission, but HP isn't talking about doing that.
Where do you see a potential copyright issue?
Right, much like using Firefox to access a web site on an ISS server, generated by proprietary ASP.Net code. The client is open source, and the communication protocol is well documented, but the server software is all proprietary.
Perhaps it's a distribution, like Slackware Linux or Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Yes, that was exactly my complaint too.
Tell me. What does OSX have that Linux or Windows on a PC doesn't?
iTunes: organize and play just about any media files with playlists and "smart playlists", play "radio" streams from the included directory (or add your own if you have a URL), subscribe to and play Podcasts (audio and video, with included directory), rip audio CDs to MP3/AAC, burn audio CDs, stream media over the LAN to/from other clients, stream to remote speakers via AirPort Express, a couple of included visualizers (and more available for download), syncing to iPod and iPhone including auto-populate features (fill the device with a random selection of music, if you'd rather not choose), and the new iTunes DJ feature (formerly "Party Shuffle") which takes requests from an iPhone.
On top of that, there's the iTunes Store, offering music, movies (now in HD), TV shows, and audiobooks. Much of the music is DRM-free, for the same price. The "Genius" feature can compare your music library with the iTunes Store, and recommend new music that's similar to what you already have. All of this with a fixed pricing structure that really pisses off the RIAA.
And all of that is in one single application.
iCal is a fantastic calendaring application; it handles multiple calendars (so you can keep work and personal events separate), automatically pulls birthdays from the Address Book, can subscribe to iCal feeds (including several that Apple provides), and has no trouble with recurring events with weird schedules like "second Tuesday of the month". I sync mine to my cell phone, so I get reminder alarms on my phone and laptop simultaneously.
Then there's the iLife suite, which includes iPhoto (organize photos the same way you organize MP3s in iTunes, using albums instead of playlists), iMovie (edit home movies), GarageBand (I don't know it well enough to describe all the features), iWeb (nice WYSIWYG editor with lots of templates), and iDVD (burn a DVD from your videos or photos, including menu navigation, and all the format conversion is done automatically).
Let's not forget Time Machine: plug in an external hard drive, and you've got automatic incremental backups with no fuss.
And of course, like Linux, you get a *nix terminal, X11, a dozen languages (C, C++, ObjC, Java, Perl, Python, Ruby, PHP, TCL, AppleScript, bash/tcsh/ksh), and a developer IDE with complete documentation and examples. In addition to Apache, there are SMB, FTP, CUPS, SSH and VNC servers.
And that's just what comes with it, out of the box. There are also Mac-only freeware apps like TextWrangler, shareware apps like GraphicConverter, and commercial apps like the iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, Keynote).
For most of this functionality, there are equivalents available on other platforms, but it's not as easy to get it set up and working.
As far as babies and kids are concerned, it is fairly clear that everyone starts out written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
I don't believe this is true. Can you find any basis for it in Scripture? If so, where?
While Christ was in the grave, He went to paradise, identified Himself as the expected one due to Jewish prophecy, and took all the people there to heaven with Him.
I've heard this too, but I haven't been able to find any mention of it in the Bible. Did I miss something?
Not if that editor enjoys being pretentious and deluded with the notion that using obscure, unexplained acronyms makes one intelligent and the reader shamefully ignorant.
I think you presume too much about our esteemed editors. I find it unlikely that ScuttleMonkey made a conscious choice to use obscure and unexplained acronyms to shame us - it's far more likely that he just wasn't paying attention, and didn't think about it.
As you can see from my UID, I'm not new here.
What I don't understand is why they're called "bonuses". In my mind, if it's part of your contract, then it's not a bonus, it's a salary.
From ustr.gov:
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of over 200 people, a highly committed group of professionals who have decades of specialized experience in trade issues and regions of the world. They negotiate directly with foreign governments to create trade agreements, resolve disputes and participate in global trade policy organizations. They also meet with governments, business groups, legislators and public interest groups to gather input on trade issues and explain the president's trade policy positions. The agency was founded in 1962 and has offices in Washington, Geneva and Brussels.