We want to get patch deployment down from days or weeks to hours."
Of course that'll solve all the problems! We patch a hole 1 hour after it's discovered (not like that ever happened) and then it takes three months (also overly optimistic estimate) for the average user to actually download a patch with the next service pack, if ever. The result? The end user is just as vulnerable as he has ever been. But we can now blame the end user for not patching their system in time, because the patch was available early on. The bottom line? The user feels like M$ software is as insecure as it's ever been, and rightfully so.
You can say whatever you want about the advantage of releasing patches fast. It's great to release them fast. In fact, a lot of open source developers take pride in being able to do just that, and this is something worthy of admiration. But quick patching process is no replacement for code that is secure to start with!!! And while M$ can speed up their patch development, they can do nothing about the fact that their existing software sometimes closely resembles swiss cheeze - it's already out there, and it breaks often.
This is really bad, since IE is an integral part of the Windows OS!
I think that's great. Bundling has never worked so well in our favor. If it's so integral, and they can't fix it, then instead of just changing the browser, you might be a bit more compelled to cahnge the whole OS and use something better.
Consider your car. If your alternator goes out, what do you do? You fix it. Your brakes go out? You fix them. Your windows (no pun intended) break? You replace them. What happens if your car has always been slow, unreliable, and now your transmission is beyond repair, engine is on its last legs leeking oil, shocks are shot, and, on top of that, a very expensive ignition-computer-thing dies for the twentieth time? Not to mention that you can't fix any of that yourself because the hood is weld shut. Of course, you dump the stupid thing! Enough is enough!
When desktop Linux was to Windows like a bicycle to a Ford Escort, nobody would ever consider switching. Now windows is better looking and immensely more complex, but just as unreliable. Kind of like a new Escort model. Desktop Linux, on the other hand, is more like a turbo-charged pinto with some after-market porshe parts. Some things still seriously suck (hence, the pinto analogy). Some rock. But overall it was finally good enough for me to switch to it permanently a couple of months ago.
The less fixable you make windows, the more you draw people to other alternatives, even if they are still pinto-looking. Making a buggy-as-@#$% IE an integral part of Windows only accelerates this process. Go, Micorsoft!
Oh, boy... and I used to complain that I couldn't use IE to connect to an FTP server that had '@' or ':' in either login or password... (e.g. try ftp://login@server.com:secret_password@ftp.server. com).
I was waiting for M$ to fix that problem with multiple '@' or ':' characters in some way. I guess, they just did. Radically. I guess, if you can't use '@' at all, you can't have a problem with having two of them in one URL, can you?
I must be missing something really obvious - what' the problem with this 'vulnerability'? It's all about faking an extension and making the browser execute it instead of the desired app (e.g. acrobat), isn't it? What do you expect your browser to do when you send it a mime header text/html? It can be called.pdf,.txt,.whatever-you-like, but if the mime type is text/html, I'd expect the browser to do its best in running it. I'd say that is expected behaviour.
If you do the same thing in, say, mozilla, you can get the same result - the.pdf extension and a file download dialog. The only good thing is it'll also inform you about what MIME type the file claims to be (which IE doesn't do), but then how many people even know what a MIME type is?
Funny thing - we owned one of those 'jewels'. Looked a bit different (probably a newer model - circa 1975 or thereabouts).
Aside from the obvious issues arising from an aircooled engine (overheating in stop-and-go traffic on a hot day, etc) it was one heck of a beast. Consider this:
- dirt cheap - plenty of spare parts, which were very scarce in the old Soviet Union - has off-road capabilities surpassing those of many SUVs. Exceptionally simple yet robust suspension plus an optional shield some owners install to protect the underbody make it a really nice off-road vehicle. I've seen what it's capable of firsthand. Add to that the fairly small weight and rigidity of construction, and you do not have to be afraid of ending up in a ditch once in a while. - did I mention that not having water cooling meant you could leave it overnight in a really freezing weather and not being afraid your radiator would crack? Most people would have to drain their cooling system each night (antifreeze was a luxury in Russia back then). - did I mention it still runs? Yes, it's had a few repairs over time. ZaZ cars are notorious for ensuring their owners don't loose mechanic skills:) But how many circa-1975 cars do you know that still drive? How many of those are not collectors items and are being used in extremely harsh conditions? - and my favorite feature is... a heater!. Since there's no hot antifreeze to heat the interior, the heater is actually gasoline powered! So, no waiting for your car to warm up to operating temperature before you can warm up the inside. Beat that!
So, how many backspaces do I need to type to fix that typo? I think 7. (pressing backspace 7 times and starting to type again before the chage has shown on the screen). Oh, cripes! That should've been 6! Now, how many backspaces do I need to type to fix that? It sure looks like 5 (typing 5 backspaces, which is correct; resume typing). Cripes, I forgot which letter I was on, and resumed typing from the wrong one! Arghhh!!! How many backspaces would that be again?
That the only guy on Slashdot with a 56k is the guy that started it:) In (not necessarily soviet) Russia we have a saying that can be roughly translated as 'The shoemaker is without shoes himself'. So very true indeed.
I've worked for an internet company for 4 years, building web pages, maintaining servers, etc, while refusing to get internet at home at all. Not even 56K! And I was happy. Why? - Because I stare at a computer sometimes 8, sometimes many more hours a day at work, and I wouldn't want to do the same at home at any cost. Sometimes I didn't turn on my own computer for weeks at a time.
Obviously, there were a few rather precarious moments, like when a server goes down and pages me, expecting me to ssh and fix it... I've had to go to a friends house and use his dialup for that a few times. Or even call my boss and use him as a proxy of sorts - he types what I say, and reads back to me what he sees. That was fun!
Not until I got unemployed did I feel the need for internet at home. Ended up ordering a free dialup trial from yahoo while my DSL was being installed. I just can't live without that daily dose SPAM,/., SCO madness and a few other things. The withdrawal was too much for me. That, and also the need to send out resumes...
a remote co-worker has it up in prince edward's island and it seems to work pretty well for her
For doing what? Last time I checked, due to its large (and inconsistent) latency, satellite connection was great only for things like web surfing, email and downloading stuff.
Guess what? - Not only games suffer from latency. Ever tried to ssh over a channel that has pings on the order of 300-ish? It hurts to think about that experience.
Can anyone on a satellite connection can ping a couple of well-connected servers, like www.kernel.org or yahoo and post numbers here? Thanks!
The wind would bite, the hours sucked, and if you've never had to emergency jack an SUV at 50 below at 3AM, you've never felt true cold before.
At least, you had an SUV to start with!:) If the poll was about freezing to death, I'd "top" this with - hiking in -60F - sleeping in a tent at around -35F. Several days in a row.
And we didn't even do it for pay - we just loved outdoors that much! I guess, for pay I am willing to sacrifice a lot less than for fun...:)
Oh, once you mentioned a corridor with no windows, I suddenly remembered my most-hated workplace. Exodus co-location facility.
Due to the layout of the rack, I had to mount keyboard at just below my shoulder level when I stand up. I used to keep a really high stool there, so I could sit up high, but somebody stole it (So much for the false sense of security, thanks, Exodus!). So, I had to stand on the floor, typing at my shoulder level in freezing temperatures (that was back when their air conditioning at the Seatac location was still working). Keeping my hands up makes blood drain from them, making them very fatigue and tired; the cold temperatures accelerate the process. Gloves are not an option, because they slow me down making me stand in that freezer box longer than I absolutely have to. My knees and feet (and back) get really sore from standing in the same position on the hard floor for hours. I can remember the horror as if it happened yesterday!... On a brighter side, these conditions "encouraged" me to do a good job, because when my servers worked well, I didn't have to be there!
Therefore, you can say nothing at all about it, other than the fact that they span less than 3600 different files.
Yeah, that's where specificity comes into play. I can say that you are infringing on my code in 3600 of your files, but that won't be very specfic. If you are showing line ranges, that's fine, but you still have to describe what exactly is wrong with those lines. That description is what should make the bulk of the document, not the line numbers themselves.
You can fit a lot of files and line numbers on 60 pages, so I wouldn't dismiss it just because of the "millions of lines of code".
Now my experience with legal documents suggests that it's hard to say much in 60 pages legalese periods...
Legalise or not, they are expected to provide a lot of data. The first 6 interrogatories ask for a lot of details for each alleged indident of trade secret misappropriation. One of the interrogatories also asks for names of all people who had access to the code in question, along with details about what exact access rights they had. Another one asks details about all of their licensees, what access they had and how SCO prevented them from misappropriating the code. I imagine SCO has a lot of licensees to list.
Just one of those questions is enough to fill 60 pages, and we are not even getting to any code yet.
I have a hard time believing they'll present any code at all. They know it won't stand scrutiny. This would be akin to voluntarily throwing most of your allegations out, and leaving only misappropriation of trade secrets by IBM. Also, it'd make you look like a total idiot, but that wouldn't be the first time, would it?
Even though their death warrant has already been signed, they aren't up for a suicide earlier than they have to. They'll drag it out as long as possible, and then some. They have nothing to lose and stock price to gain from dragging their feet as long as they can.
Why don't you just get a sales job at SCO and tell me, will ya? After all, if you are the IP sales guy, you are supposed to know exactly what IP you are selling, and what people are expected to license from you, right? Oh, and if you don't have enough response, please try faxing me and everyone else on slashdot with a sales pitch. We'd love to see SCO go the way of fax.com, assuming it'll survive long enough.
Maybe now we'll be able to explore the final frontier of our own planet.
Forget our planet! Explore Europa! I couldn't find many good links very easily, though I remember the discussion of such a sub that could be sent to Europa to explore its ocean. In addition to a lot of benefits, like simplicity, resistance to icing and mechanical failure of propellers, etc, such a sub has the benefit of making Europa's exploration virtually contamination-proof - you don't need the seals around propeller shafts, etc.
A quick google search came up with this, though there are probably better sources out there.
while I agree with the rest of what you say, this part: Too bad the use of cryptography (except for the government-approved algorithms) is not allowed in Russia.
sounds like total BS to me. To the best of my knowledge, it has never been outlawed (in fact, I believe cryptography hasn't beed specifically addressed in any laws), and, even if it were, it is most certainly not enforced. And, as we know, a non-enforceable law is as good as no law at all.
Interesting to see all the posts now. Question is: how will it be viewed in five years?
Given the recent track record for hollywood, this one will probably be regarded as one of the best movies. I mean, when the movie quality is going downhill for years with no end to that trend in sight...
It's kinda like the movie itself. Just when you think it can't get any worse... BOOM! it happens! it gets a LOT worse! Continuously. After a few shocks like that even the beginning of the movie, pathetic as it was, doesn't seem all that bad all of a sudden. Same seems to be true with Hollywood, pathetic as they were, older movies seem not so bad considering how bad the newest releases are.
Yes, there are notable exceptions, but the trend is clear.
Yes, in general running old hardware is a matter of geekiness (unless your employer has a mainframe that they need to keep running or something like that).
However, I find it more and more appealing to play old DOS games. Newer games seem to be all about higher FPS and texture quality, and come only in a few genres (1st person FPS, MMORPG, a few more). That seems to get old fast, and I find myself longing fo rthe old good titles.
Not only some games date back to mid-90s if not earlier (Golden Axe, Prince of Persia, and even ZX Spectrum's emulated Elite), but the hardware they sometimes require to run is pretty antiquated. I mostly keep old hardware around just to be able to play those games once in a while. How many of you still have an adlib sound card lying around just for that purpose?
For the record, the oldest part of hardware I have are a few old ISA soundcards that I keep around for salvaging components off them (heatsinks, capacitors, etc) and a floppy drive - all of them are circa 1993. The oldest hardware I regularly use is my Yamaha 2x CD writer. I've had a faster CD-ROM and 2 DVD drives (both cool slot-loading pioneer drives - is that bad luck or what?) die since then, but that one keeps on working.
The oldest software I have is probably Elite for ZX spectrum, while the oldest title I still often use is Total Annihilation.
Well, there was this thing called "Cairo", and it was gonna ship Real Soon Now, and it was going to be an all-object-oriented thingamabob that would shine your shoes and make your teeth whiter. The industry bought it, hook line and sinker, and after NT4 had trounced OS/2 and Netware soundly, Cairo evaporated into the same neverland that Apple's Copland project did. ... But wait, we've got this really cool technology just around the corner, it's called Longhorn and it'll get your whites whiter, you're gonna love it!
... and you seriously believe they can pull this off twice? Ok, they have pulled it off to some extent a few times by now, but, albeit slowly, people do learn the true value of vaporware, especially if there are alternatives (linux, apple , older windows - whatever) available that work NOW, and not in some distant future.
I think most IT people will consider that Longhorn might be the next big thing only once they see daikatana running on it, and not a minute sooner.
Nothing impacts people so little as the software that is never released. So, as long as longhorn is in the vaporware state, we are quite safe and all that hype and silliness about evil DRM, etc is just that - silliness.
With the current administration so adamant about not criticizing israeli actions...
In other words, if even US current administration goes as far as blacklist those guys, they must be really bad. Either that, or it feels it can censor whoever it wants at any time. Or both. Yes, probably both...
Insightful? You've gotta be kidding me! Shortsighted and dumb at best!
Let me ask you this: Since when did child pornography hurt any child? After all, I'm not raping the kid, so I'm not doing any harm, right?... NOT!
It appears we more and more think of wrongdoing and responsibility ONLY in terms of physical action. It goes like that: if I haven't lifted the knife, I am not guilty (nevermind the fact that I brainwashed the murderer into believing he was doing the right thing). I would argue that not only are you guilty of the crime, but you are even more guilty than him because the guy who actually committed murder was dumb as a rock to believe you, but you knew better!
I looked over those websites in question. I've never heard of any of those movements before, but just a cursory look shows calls to expel palestinians from the west bank and other places, prosecute them, equate them with Nazis, etc. Even if we din't know anything about israeli/palestinian conflict, we could easily observe lots of repulsive inflamatory ideas and calls for action, including calls for violence. Ok, they don't kill palestinians themselves (a lot of contributors seem to be in Brooklyn or other safe places rather than in Israel), but they sure do entice people in Israel to do just that!
I'm not going to get into all that media censorship / free speech debacle - it's a multi-faceted issue, and there is no single right answer to it. I do know this though: If you entice someone to commit a crime, you are at least as guilty as the one who commits that crime. Thus the whole "when did a website directly killed anyone" crap is shallow, perverse, and some of our/. moderators dumb as rocks.
Slashdot Mirror
We want to get patch deployment down from days or weeks to hours."
Of course that'll solve all the problems! We patch a hole 1 hour after it's discovered (not like that ever happened) and then it takes three months (also overly optimistic estimate) for the average user to actually download a patch with the next service pack, if ever. The result? The end user is just as vulnerable as he has ever been. But we can now blame the end user for not patching their system in time, because the patch was available early on. The bottom line? The user feels like M$ software is as insecure as it's ever been, and rightfully so.
You can say whatever you want about the advantage of releasing patches fast. It's great to release them fast. In fact, a lot of open source developers take pride in being able to do just that, and this is something worthy of admiration. But quick patching process is no replacement for code that is secure to start with!!! And while M$ can speed up their patch development, they can do nothing about the fact that their existing software sometimes closely resembles swiss cheeze - it's already out there, and it breaks often.
This is really bad, since IE is an integral part of the Windows OS!
I think that's great. Bundling has never worked so well in our favor. If it's so integral, and they can't fix it, then instead of just changing the browser, you might be a bit more compelled to cahnge the whole OS and use something better.
Consider your car. If your alternator goes out, what do you do? You fix it. Your brakes go out? You fix them. Your windows (no pun intended) break? You replace them. What happens if your car has always been slow, unreliable, and now your transmission is beyond repair, engine is on its last legs leeking oil, shocks are shot, and, on top of that, a very expensive ignition-computer-thing dies for the twentieth time? Not to mention that you can't fix any of that yourself because the hood is weld shut. Of course, you dump the stupid thing! Enough is enough!
When desktop Linux was to Windows like a bicycle to a Ford Escort, nobody would ever consider switching. Now windows is better looking and immensely more complex, but just as unreliable. Kind of like a new Escort model. Desktop Linux, on the other hand, is more like a turbo-charged pinto with some after-market porshe parts. Some things still seriously suck (hence, the pinto analogy). Some rock. But overall it was finally good enough for me to switch to it permanently a couple of months ago.
The less fixable you make windows, the more you draw people to other alternatives, even if they are still pinto-looking. Making a buggy-as-@#$% IE an integral part of Windows only accelerates this process. Go, Micorsoft!
Oh, boy... and I used to complain that I couldn't use IE to connect to an FTP server that had '@' or ':' in either login or password... (e.g. try ftp://login@server.com:secret_password@ftp.server. com).
I was waiting for M$ to fix that problem with multiple '@' or ':' characters in some way. I guess, they just did. Radically. I guess, if you can't use '@' at all, you can't have a problem with having two of them in one URL, can you?
... unless you are being paid to develop relatively complex webpages that have to run on IE flawlessly...
I must be missing something really obvious - what' the problem with this 'vulnerability'? It's all about faking an extension and making the browser execute it instead of the desired app (e.g. acrobat), isn't it? What do you expect your browser to do when you send it a mime header text/html? It can be called .pdf, .txt, .whatever-you-like, but if the mime type is text/html, I'd expect the browser to do its best in running it. I'd say that is expected behaviour.
.pdf extension and a file download dialog. The only good thing is it'll also inform you about what MIME type the file claims to be (which IE doesn't do), but then how many people even know what a MIME type is?
If you do the same thing in, say, mozilla, you can get the same result - the
Funny thing - we owned one of those 'jewels'. Looked a bit different (probably a newer model - circa 1975 or thereabouts).
:) But how many circa-1975 cars do you know that still drive? How many of those are not collectors items and are being used in extremely harsh conditions?
Aside from the obvious issues arising from an aircooled engine (overheating in stop-and-go traffic on a hot day, etc) it was one heck of a beast. Consider this:
- dirt cheap
- plenty of spare parts, which were very scarce in the old Soviet Union
- has off-road capabilities surpassing those of many SUVs. Exceptionally simple yet robust suspension plus an optional shield some owners install to protect the underbody make it a really nice off-road vehicle. I've seen what it's capable of firsthand. Add to that the fairly small weight and rigidity of construction, and you do not have to be afraid of ending up in a ditch once in a while.
- did I mention that not having water cooling meant you could leave it overnight in a really freezing weather and not being afraid your radiator would crack? Most people would have to drain their cooling system each night (antifreeze was a luxury in Russia back then).
- did I mention it still runs? Yes, it's had a few repairs over time. ZaZ cars are notorious for ensuring their owners don't loose mechanic skills
- and my favorite feature is... a heater!. Since there's no hot antifreeze to heat the interior, the heater is actually gasoline powered! So, no waiting for your car to warm up to operating temperature before you can warm up the inside. Beat that!
I know how that goes -
So, how many backspaces do I need to type to fix that typo? I think 7. (pressing backspace 7 times and starting to type again before the chage has shown on the screen). Oh, cripes! That should've been 6! Now, how many backspaces do I need to type to fix that? It sure looks like 5 (typing 5 backspaces, which is correct; resume typing). Cripes, I forgot which letter I was on, and resumed typing from the wrong one! Arghhh!!! How many backspaces would that be again?
That the only guy on Slashdot with a 56k is the guy that started it :) In (not necessarily soviet) Russia we have a saying that can be roughly translated as 'The shoemaker is without shoes himself'. So very true indeed.
/., SCO madness and a few other things. The withdrawal was too much for me. That, and also the need to send out resumes...
I've worked for an internet company for 4 years, building web pages, maintaining servers, etc, while refusing to get internet at home at all. Not even 56K! And I was happy. Why? - Because I stare at a computer sometimes 8, sometimes many more hours a day at work, and I wouldn't want to do the same at home at any cost. Sometimes I didn't turn on my own computer for weeks at a time.
Obviously, there were a few rather precarious moments, like when a server goes down and pages me, expecting me to ssh and fix it... I've had to go to a friends house and use his dialup for that a few times. Or even call my boss and use him as a proxy of sorts - he types what I say, and reads back to me what he sees. That was fun!
Not until I got unemployed did I feel the need for internet at home. Ended up ordering a free dialup trial from yahoo while my DSL was being installed. I just can't live without that daily dose SPAM,
a remote co-worker has it up in prince edward's island and it seems to work pretty well for her
For doing what? Last time I checked, due to its large (and inconsistent) latency, satellite connection was great only for things like web surfing, email and downloading stuff.
Guess what? - Not only games suffer from latency. Ever tried to ssh over a channel that has pings on the order of 300-ish? It hurts to think about that experience.
Can anyone on a satellite connection can ping a couple of well-connected servers, like www.kernel.org or yahoo and post numbers here? Thanks!
I find it much easier now that I am not employed anymore :)
I am in the bomb squad, you, insensitive clod! Tech support is my boot camp for a year.
The wind would bite, the hours sucked, and if you've never had to emergency jack an SUV at 50 below at 3AM, you've never felt true cold before.
:) If the poll was about freezing to death, I'd "top" this with
:)
At least, you had an SUV to start with!
- hiking in -60F
- sleeping in a tent at around -35F. Several days in a row.
And we didn't even do it for pay - we just loved outdoors that much! I guess, for pay I am willing to sacrifice a lot less than for fun...
Oh, once you mentioned a corridor with no windows, I suddenly remembered my most-hated workplace. Exodus co-location facility.
... On a brighter side, these conditions "encouraged" me to do a good job, because when my servers worked well, I didn't have to be there!
Due to the layout of the rack, I had to mount keyboard at just below my shoulder level when I stand up. I used to keep a really high stool there, so I could sit up high, but somebody stole it (So much for the false sense of security, thanks, Exodus!). So, I had to stand on the floor, typing at my shoulder level in freezing temperatures (that was back when their air conditioning at the Seatac location was still working). Keeping my hands up makes blood drain from them, making them very fatigue and tired; the cold temperatures accelerate the process. Gloves are not an option, because they slow me down making me stand in that freezer box longer than I absolutely have to. My knees and feet (and back) get really sore from standing in the same position on the hard floor for hours. I can remember the horror as if it happened yesterday!
Therefore, you can say nothing at all about it, other than the fact that they span less than 3600 different files.
Yeah, that's where specificity comes into play. I can say that you are infringing on my code in 3600 of your files, but that won't be very specfic. If you are showing line ranges, that's fine, but you still have to describe what exactly is wrong with those lines. That description is what should make the bulk of the document, not the line numbers themselves.
You can fit a lot of files and line numbers on 60 pages, so I wouldn't dismiss it just because of the "millions of lines of code".
Now my experience with legal documents suggests that it's hard to say much in 60 pages legalese periods...
Legalise or not, they are expected to provide a lot of data. The first 6 interrogatories ask for a lot of details for each alleged indident of trade secret misappropriation. One of the interrogatories also asks for names of all people who had access to the code in question, along with details about what exact access rights they had. Another one asks details about all of their licensees, what access they had and how SCO prevented them from misappropriating the code. I imagine SCO has a lot of licensees to list.
Just one of those questions is enough to fill 60 pages, and we are not even getting to any code yet.
I have a hard time believing they'll present any code at all. They know it won't stand scrutiny. This would be akin to voluntarily throwing most of your allegations out, and leaving only misappropriation of trade secrets by IBM. Also, it'd make you look like a total idiot, but that wouldn't be the first time, would it?
Even though their death warrant has already been signed, they aren't up for a suicide earlier than they have to. They'll drag it out as long as possible, and then some. They have nothing to lose and stock price to gain from dragging their feet as long as they can.
Why don't you just get a sales job at SCO and tell me, will ya? After all, if you are the IP sales guy, you are supposed to know exactly what IP you are selling, and what people are expected to license from you, right? Oh, and if you don't have enough response, please try faxing me and everyone else on slashdot with a sales pitch. We'd love to see SCO go the way of fax.com, assuming it'll survive long enough.
Maybe now we'll be able to explore the final frontier of our own planet.
Forget our planet! Explore Europa! I couldn't find many good links very easily, though I remember the discussion of such a sub that could be sent to Europa to explore its ocean. In addition to a lot of benefits, like simplicity, resistance to icing and mechanical failure of propellers, etc, such a sub has the benefit of making Europa's exploration virtually contamination-proof - you don't need the seals around propeller shafts, etc.
A quick google search came up with this, though there are probably better sources out there.
while I agree with the rest of what you say, this part:
Too bad the use of cryptography (except for the government-approved algorithms) is not allowed in Russia.
sounds like total BS to me. To the best of my knowledge, it has never been outlawed (in fact, I believe cryptography hasn't beed specifically addressed in any laws), and, even if it were, it is most certainly not enforced. And, as we know, a non-enforceable law is as good as no law at all.
Interesting to see all the posts now. Question is: how will it be viewed in five years?
Given the recent track record for hollywood, this one will probably be regarded as one of the best movies. I mean, when the movie quality is going downhill for years with no end to that trend in sight...
It's kinda like the movie itself. Just when you think it can't get any worse... BOOM! it happens! it gets a LOT worse! Continuously. After a few shocks like that even the beginning of the movie, pathetic as it was, doesn't seem all that bad all of a sudden. Same seems to be true with Hollywood, pathetic as they were, older movies seem not so bad considering how bad the newest releases are.
Yes, there are notable exceptions, but the trend is clear.
Amazon has this book for $3.50 cheaper than bn
I'm still boycotting amazon because of their 1-click garbage, you, insensitive clod...
Yes, in general running old hardware is a matter of geekiness (unless your employer has a mainframe that they need to keep running or something like that).
However, I find it more and more appealing to play old DOS games. Newer games seem to be all about higher FPS and texture quality, and come only in a few genres (1st person FPS, MMORPG, a few more). That seems to get old fast, and I find myself longing fo rthe old good titles.
Not only some games date back to mid-90s if not earlier (Golden Axe, Prince of Persia, and even ZX Spectrum's emulated Elite), but the hardware they sometimes require to run is pretty antiquated. I mostly keep old hardware around just to be able to play those games once in a while. How many of you still have an adlib sound card lying around just for that purpose?
For the record, the oldest part of hardware I have are a few old ISA soundcards that I keep around for salvaging components off them (heatsinks, capacitors, etc) and a floppy drive - all of them are circa 1993. The oldest hardware I regularly use is my Yamaha 2x CD writer. I've had a faster CD-ROM and 2 DVD drives (both cool slot-loading pioneer drives - is that bad luck or what?) die since then, but that one keeps on working.
The oldest software I have is probably Elite for ZX spectrum, while the oldest title I still often use is Total Annihilation.
Well, there was this thing called "Cairo", and it was gonna ship Real Soon Now, and it was going to be an all-object-oriented thingamabob that would shine your shoes and make your teeth whiter. The industry bought it, hook line and sinker, and after NT4 had trounced OS/2 and Netware soundly, Cairo evaporated into the same neverland that Apple's Copland project did.
...
... and you seriously believe they can pull this off twice? Ok, they have pulled it off to some extent a few times by now, but, albeit slowly, people do learn the true value of vaporware, especially if there are alternatives (linux, apple , older windows - whatever) available that work NOW, and not in some distant future.
But wait, we've got this really cool technology just around the corner, it's called Longhorn and it'll get your whites whiter, you're gonna love it!
I think most IT people will consider that Longhorn might be the next big thing only once they see daikatana running on it, and not a minute sooner.
Nothing impacts people so little as the software that is never released. So, as long as longhorn is in the vaporware state, we are quite safe and all that hype and silliness about evil DRM, etc is just that - silliness.
With the current administration so adamant about not criticizing israeli actions...
In other words, if even US current administration goes as far as blacklist those guys, they must be really bad. Either that, or it feels it can censor whoever it wants at any time. Or both. Yes, probably both...
Since when a website ever directly killed anyone?
/. moderators dumb as rocks.
Insightful? You've gotta be kidding me! Shortsighted and dumb at best!
Let me ask you this: Since when did child pornography hurt any child? After all, I'm not raping the kid, so I'm not doing any harm, right?... NOT!
It appears we more and more think of wrongdoing and responsibility ONLY in terms of physical action. It goes like that: if I haven't lifted the knife, I am not guilty (nevermind the fact that I brainwashed the murderer into believing he was doing the right thing). I would argue that not only are you guilty of the crime, but you are even more guilty than him because the guy who actually committed murder was dumb as a rock to believe you, but you knew better!
I looked over those websites in question. I've never heard of any of those movements before, but just a cursory look shows calls to expel palestinians from the west bank and other places, prosecute them, equate them with Nazis, etc. Even if we din't know anything about israeli/palestinian conflict, we could easily observe lots of repulsive inflamatory ideas and calls for action, including calls for violence. Ok, they don't kill palestinians themselves (a lot of contributors seem to be in Brooklyn or other safe places rather than in Israel), but they sure do entice people in Israel to do just that!
I'm not going to get into all that media censorship / free speech debacle - it's a multi-faceted issue, and there is no single right answer to it. I do know this though: If you entice someone to commit a crime, you are at least as guilty as the one who commits that crime. Thus the whole "when did a website directly killed anyone" crap is shallow, perverse, and some of our