Re:Once again, Slashdotters want to have it both w
on
Read the Fine Print
·
· Score: 2
There's a difference between stopping a service and disabling it. Check the Services console (Control Panel\Administrative Tools\Services). If the Startup Type on "Automatic Updates" is set to Automatic, it will restart every time you reboot. To stop it permanently, double-click it, and set Startup Type to Disabled.
But now when I'm driving around (I'm in a somewhat rural area), when I see a good pile of dirt by the side of the road, I feel a little tempted to floor it and see if I can complete a Unique Jump, preferably without landing upside down, so my car doesn't burst into flames and explode. Thank god there aren't any rocket launchers lying around on the side of the road.
This is why I stick to Gran Tursimo 3. No urge to blow things up, run over hookers, or recreate stunts from Smokey and the Bandit.
Since I just moved, my commute has become more interesting, though. The closest mile to my house is a gloriously twisty hill, and I spend every day trying to find the best line through that stretch. Problem is, there's no good upgrades for an Oldsmobile, so I have to save my credits for a used Skyline GT-R or Lancer Evo.:-)
The using keyword is a little syntax-sugar to explicitly control the lifetime of a resource. Anything declared at the top of a using block is immediately disposed of when the end of the block is reached. Otherwise, it would get GC'd like anything else.
using (CFoo foo = new CFoo()) {
foo.Song(Sizes.Little);
foo.Dance(Sizes.Little);
foo.Seltzer(Sizes.Little, this.Pants);
}// foo is disposed of right now.
We would like him to come to the free software community and explain himself to us about it.
RMS tends to say everything in grave, ominous tones. It's not really flying off the handle, but it wasn't very polite, either. He sounds like a congressman issuing a subpoena for an Enron executive.
The quick summary: Anything public must be CLS-compliant, and must derive from a CLS-compliant base. This page describes it best.
This rule allows Managed C++ to exist. A managed class can still use, for example, STL internally. The compiler will verify that the class doesn't derive from an STL base or expose any members or methods with STL types. You can still expose STL methods/members, but they must be marked with the attribute [CLSCompliantAttribute(false)], and a compliant, non-STL alternative must be provided.
I was repeatedly dissapointed on each and every repetitive page of prediction after prediction of what the XBox *WILL* be and what it *WILL* do, and how cool games *WILL* be.... There is precious little hard empirical truth to demonstrate any of the projections made in the pages. Here's what I mean. If these way-cool features are really available, where are the games that demonstrate them?
Patience, aphor-san.
Watch the console industry, and you'll see a pattern. When a console is first released, the launch titles are small evolutionary steps from the previous generation's titles. Some of those launch titles may have been started for the older system in the first place, so they were planned with fewer features in mind. So, they do a hasty port with as many eye-candy up-tweaks as the schedule permits. Other games may have been started for the new sytem, but with conservative estimates of how far the new system can be pushed. Developers haven't yet had time to grok all the features available to them, but they know enough to show some tangible improvement over ye olde system.
It's usually about one calendar year before the real envelope-pushing stuff appears. By that time, studios will have had time to see how far they can take the new system, and plan games around that. The coders will have had time to read all the specs and play around with the new toys. Then, you'll start seeing sky-high polygon counts, shaders out the wazoo, and hear it all in 5.1 digital surround.
This is NOT journalism, it's advertisement, and it's wrong to print it without the "Sponsored by Microsoft" disclaimer. I will never feel the same about Tomshardware again.
Go back and read Miguel's statements on Microsoft's security in context. He correctly distinguishes Microsoft's security design from its implementation.
On paper,.Net's secuity model is quite nice. Just as NT's model is well designed. Unfortunately for all of us, Microsoft has been choosing the wrong pair from [fast, cheap, right]. That was the point of the Trustable Computing Memo. It's time for Microsoft to start coding as well as they design.
Besides, this is a tremendous opportunity for Mono in particular, and Open Source in general. Here, we have a spec from Microsoft, rubber-stamped by ECMA, with both closed and Open implementations. Both sides have something to prove. Microsoft must prove that they can "turn the boat" again, as they did after the Internet Memo, and write secure code. Mono must prove that the tenets of Open Source (many eyes == shallow bugs, full disclosure, etc.) can bear fruit in an apples-to-apples comparison. This competition can only improve the breed. In the end, we'll be able to choose the greater good, instead of the lesser evil. <trollbait/>:-)
For some, blissful ignorance of Microsoft has been the best way to go. Who am I to argue with Linus Torvalds? But Miguel has chosen to take the fight to Microsoft, by competing on their.Net turf. More power to him!
So we've gone from Ludicrous Speed to just making the field at Indianapolis. Still faster than any car I'll ever own.:-/
Correction #2: Slashdot comes to you live from the bustling metropolis of Holland, Michigan, not California. Using MapQuest to hastily plan a route from Holland to San Jose, the driving distance is 2295 mi. Subtract that from your London-California distance, and we have 3077 mi.
No, Mac OS X is a new BMW 745i: A technological tour-de-force, but with style changes for the sake of change that have most people scratching their head and wondering "What were they thinking?"
BeOS is a DeLorean*: A product with plenty of promise, undone by the temptations of the man in charge.
*: With apologies to Neal Stephenson. It's not the Batmobile anymore, unless you mean the one Adam West drove.:-)
IIRC, Sony never sold a "Network" or "Memory Stick" Walkman that directly supported MP3 or non-DRM sticks. They all convert MP3s to ATRAC3 before uploading.
Interesting note: The Network Walkman is the only Memory Stick device that forces DRM. Clies will play MP3 or ATRAC3. VAIOs with built-in stick readers typically support MagicGate, but add-on readers (USB, PC Card, or floppy) don't. However, Memory Sticks are removable drives to the OS, so you just have to mount, navigate to PALM/PROGRAMS/MSAUDIO/, and tune in.
Sony is attempt to force me to accept digital rights/wrongs that I don't won't. When will the companies remember--"the customer is always right"?
You remind them every time you vote with your wallet. Instead of buying an NW-MS9, buy a Nomad. Or an Archos Jukebox. Or an iPod, if you're in that 5% of the market enclosed in the JRDF. Let them know that, given a choice, consumers will choose the path of most convenience. (See also: Circuit City DiVX vs. DVD) Maybe if everybody imposed DRM as vigorously as Sony, the Network Walkman would be competitive. As it stands now, their only customers are members of Hillary Rosen's immediate family.
We have a winner. Either that, or Slashdot need a new moderation option: Misinformed.
Right off the bat, Sluggie is quoting specs from the wrong model. He's looking at the N760, not the T615.
The T615 doesn't have a headphone jack at all. It uses an external MP3 decoder that connects to the hotsync port. The external decoder, and N700's built-in audio, use standard headphones.
bpowell423's points are correct. Sony's prices for cradles, AC adapters, etc. are comparable to others. And PalmOS is PalmOS.
Sluggie's right about expansion, though. For simple memory expansion, I don't think there's a practical difference between Memory Stick and MMC/SD. Step outside the handheld space, and support for either format is equally thin. But I really wish Sony would add Compact Flash support. There's a sled for the T-series in Japan, but it's not available in the States. (If you follow the link, it's the PEGA-CF60. Babelfish helps, but with Japanese, it's as, um, entertaining as it is useful.)
The license restriction probably applies to broadcasting DVDs. A Moxi connected to a neighborhood-area network becomes, essentially, a low-power TV station. "Hey everybody! My John Woo festival begins this evening at 6:00 on %IP_ADDRESS%." Imagine Jack Valenti's reaction to that! Assuming he doesn't spontaneously combust first.
How a Moxi would detect a wireless connection is beyond me. My somewhat realistic expectation: Two different versions, one wired, the other 802.11. The wireless version would be crippled in [soft|firm]ware. Meanwhile, they turn a blind eye to wired Moxen connected to a wireless AP.
By his argument, Evolution should sound Outlook's death knell*, just as Outlook drove under ECCO, Sidekick, et. al. But Brett forgot one thing: Microsoft is a monopolist. Outlook got ahead because OEM pre-loads and corporate standardization forced it on to every desktop. Outlook isn't ahead because it is "gratis". Nothing in Office is, regardless of the delta in price between versions. Microsoft's monopoly power allows it to set the price of Office to whatever it damn well pleases.
Even in a market with ideal competition, TANSTAAFL. It's that whole Total Cost of Ownership thing. If the commercial product is cheaper and easier to maintain, it will eventually win. If the freed legacy app comes with high training and migration costs, it's screwed.
Volkswagen officially called it the Coupe Study CJ. And I think that's the color Audi calls Nogaro Blue.
</karmawhore>
Re:Some REAL babble (was Re:Some REAL points)
on
GTK-- vs. QT
·
· Score: 2
What environment are you using? Some IDEs are much better than others at code generation.
RE: System Requirements: Netscape turned links purple when you moved the mouse over them, and now everything has a mouse-over state. Menus fade, unroll, and slide. Qt added themes to respond to GTK+ themes. Microsoft said "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" when WindowBlinds got hot. Mac OS X can't do a damn thing without some fancy whiz-bang animation.
Stuff I wrote in VB was snappy on a 486! Of course, that was when our apps were certified on Windows 3.1 and NT 3.51, which preferred efficiency over eye candy. My code hasn't changed a bit: I ask for a button, I get a button. If the OS needs more CPU power to draw alpha-blended borders and shadows over a textured background and throb every color of the rainbow when the mouse pointer is over it, well shame on the OS. All I asked for was a button.
Re:Some REAL babble (was Re:Some REAL points)
on
GTK-- vs. QT
·
· Score: 2
A text environment is not a restriction, it is directly oppossite of such. It is the only environment capable of being productive. (snip) I laugh when I hear people who think that pointing and clicking is faster then Vi commands and the power of the shell.
When did "the right tool for the job" go out of style?
I couldn't imagine laying out VB forms in code. It's perfectly natural to build visual user interfaces with a visual tool. Before Java IDEs hit the market, I tried some AWT forms, and I felt like I was working blindfolded, compiling and running every once in a while to see if I was hitting my targets. That may make for good Vaudeville, but it's a major PITA when you're trying to make a deadline. Code-compile-run cycles are no substitute for a proper UI builder.
Conversely, I'm glad Microsoft didn't follow the route of "wiring" UI components together in the builder. Every IDE that tried such techniques ended up fatally counter-intuitive. Builder for layouts, code for logic. Form follows function. There's a reason modern IDEs work this way.
If all you're doing is non-visual code, then more power to you. Long live %EDITOR_OF_CHOICE%. But you'll have a very hard time convincing me that clicking a toolbar button and dragging a rectangle on a form is slower than:
'Probably not right, but I'm trying to prove a point: You don't do VB this way!
Dim btnFoo As CommandButton
Set btnFoo = New CommandButton
With btnFoo
.Parent = frmBar
.Width = 1095
.Height = 375
.X = frmBar.Width - 90 -.Width
.Y = frmBar.Height - 90 -.Height
.Caption = "Long way 'round"
End With
Microsoft uses them all over Luna. (That's Windows XP's candy-coated UI redesign.) I've been hacking with it a little, and it looks like they're using the alpha channel for cheap anti-aliasing on frequently scaled bitmaps. Other places, they fall back on the traditional.bmp format with "magic pink" transparency masks.
Re:It's called HUMOR guys
on
XBox Released
·
· Score: 2
Consider the source.
If it was Taco or Hemos, I could take the joke. They're cool with the idea of peaceful coexistence, and they cover Microsoft fairly.
Michael, OTOH, has consistently gone out of his way to bash Microsoft at every opportunity, even when it has meant stooping to half-truths and distortions. He can't be trusted with news, and, for me, his opinion no longer matters. Therefore, he's off my front page.
Re:No more BSOD
on
XBox Released
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Um, why has an unqualified picture of an XBox Development Kit* message box been promoted to front page news? All we can glean from this is that the "oct" in the URL implies that it was posted to HardOCP in October. There's no evidence that this is from a unit sold to a consumer. Nor is there evidence that this is from a crashing in-store demo kiosk.**
Michael, this is neither funny nor professional. You're doing more to reinforce Slashdot's reputation as a childish, "M$ sux0rs linux 0wnz j00" site than any hundred Anonymous Cowards.
I've almost never agreed with Jon Katz's editorials. But I've always felt that squelching his opinion by banning him from my front page was wrong. You, Michael, have crossed that line. I'm banning you from my front page. I know that will cut my story count in half, but at least I can read the front page with the resonable expectation that I won't have my intelligence insulted.
*: That's the XDK in "XDK Launcher".
**: Sorry 'bout the annoying pop-unders, but that's the only crashing demo reference I could find through HardOCP on short notice.
I had to go wading through the transcript of a live forum to find more detailed configuration info. For those of you wondering, each machine had 256 MB of RAM.
And check out the sidebar. Scenario 3 has 5 apps hitting a SQL Server database, 5 apps hitting an Exchange Server, and 5 Windows Media clips playing, while running a simulated user script jumping between Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and IE, all at the same time.
Has anyone here felt compelled to run 5 media files at the same time, while doing actual work?
This benchmark is far too artificial. At the very least, the multimedia workload test is bogus. A better multimedia benchmark would be to increase the horsepower requirements for a single app. Say, MP3 playback, to DVD playback w/ software decoding, to Quake III Arena with the settings maxed out. Not that anyone would be doing that while jumping between Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and IE, either....
Grandma loves her Cobalt Qube. Web Server, NAT, multi-platform file server, firewall. AN instruction manual smaller and simpler than her new barbeque grill. and not a command line in sight.
Also remember: every happy TiVO user is a happy Linux user....
<pet-peeve>
Don't confuse the operating system with the user environment.
</pet-peeve>
The only happy TiVO users that are happy Linux users are the ones who know that Linux is the OS underneath it all. But even that doesn't ensure that they care. All they care about is that, when they hit the Pause button, live TV pauses.
It's easy to look at TiVO, or Qube, and say that Linux is easy to use. But each of those devices has a very specific task, with a user experience designed to make that task as easy as possible. TiVO works because it looks and behaves like a super-intelligent VCR. A desktop PC running Linux could do everything TiVO does, but you have to do all of the installation and configuration for the hardware, drivers, and software. There aren't too many grandmas that can pull that off.
To put it more simply: If the average user wanted to do it themselves, they'd already be running Linux. And Apple would be selling iMacs as kits.
SS2 was great for keeping the creepiness up throughout the game. The apparations were great, especially the one in the hall to the hangar bay control room.
The beginning of Half-Life is also good for a few shocks. By the end, however, it's back to the tried and true formula for FPS: Ever increasing odds, and the persistent need for a bigger gun. That, and a sudden detour into Super Mario Bros.:-) The midgame gets a bit slow when the military isn't around.
"Gee, I bet there's a headcrab behind that crate. Better switch to the crowbar." SKRAAAAAAKKK! Thump-thump-thump. Guurrrrggglllle...
"Next!"
...bordering on the moronic, and the media eats it up....Why doesn't Bill Gates know this?
You answered your own question. Gates is pulling CNN's strings like a master puppeteer. Microsoft has always thrived on the inexperience of the masses.
They outwardly bragged that they had done special modifications...
I believe the phrase you are looking for is truth in advertising.
If ATI had said upfront that the drivers were enhanced for Quake III, there wouldn't be nearly as much fuss (Except maybe us Unreal Tournament fans.:-) ) Unfortunately, there is no disclosure, before or after the sale, that the drivers degrade image quality in Quake III for the sake of a higher benchmark score. Even without the texture problems, it's dishonest. The lack of image quality just adds insult to injury.
Slashdot Mirror
There's a difference between stopping a service and disabling it. Check the Services console (Control Panel\Administrative Tools\Services). If the Startup Type on "Automatic Updates" is set to Automatic, it will restart every time you reboot. To stop it permanently, double-click it, and set Startup Type to Disabled.
This is why I stick to Gran Tursimo 3. No urge to blow things up, run over hookers, or recreate stunts from Smokey and the Bandit.
Since I just moved, my commute has become more interesting, though. The closest mile to my house is a gloriously twisty hill, and I spend every day trying to find the best line through that stretch. Problem is, there's no good upgrades for an Oldsmobile, so I have to save my credits for a used Skyline GT-R or Lancer Evo. :-)
The using keyword is a little syntax-sugar to explicitly control the lifetime of a resource. Anything declared at the top of a using block is immediately disposed of when the end of the block is reached. Otherwise, it would get GC'd like anything else.
using (CFoo foo = new CFoo()) { // foo is disposed of right now.
foo.Song(Sizes.Little);
foo.Dance(Sizes.Little);
foo.Seltzer(Sizes.Little, this.Pants);
}
Here's the page from the language spec.
RMS tends to say everything in grave, ominous tones. It's not really flying off the handle, but it wasn't very polite, either. He sounds like a congressman issuing a subpoena for an Enron executive.
The quick summary: Anything public must be CLS-compliant, and must derive from a CLS-compliant base. This page describes it best.
This rule allows Managed C++ to exist. A managed class can still use, for example, STL internally. The compiler will verify that the class doesn't derive from an STL base or expose any members or methods with STL types. You can still expose STL methods/members, but they must be marked with the attribute [CLSCompliantAttribute(false)], and a compliant, non-STL alternative must be provided.
Patience, aphor-san.
Watch the console industry, and you'll see a pattern. When a console is first released, the launch titles are small evolutionary steps from the previous generation's titles. Some of those launch titles may have been started for the older system in the first place, so they were planned with fewer features in mind. So, they do a hasty port with as many eye-candy up-tweaks as the schedule permits. Other games may have been started for the new sytem, but with conservative estimates of how far the new system can be pushed. Developers haven't yet had time to grok all the features available to them, but they know enough to show some tangible improvement over ye olde system.
It's usually about one calendar year before the real envelope-pushing stuff appears. By that time, studios will have had time to see how far they can take the new system, and plan games around that. The coders will have had time to read all the specs and play around with the new toys. Then, you'll start seeing sky-high polygon counts, shaders out the wazoo, and hear it all in 5.1 digital surround.
#include <std_slashdot_rhetoric/pro_microsoft_eq_shill.h >
Go back and read Miguel's statements on Microsoft's security in context. He correctly distinguishes Microsoft's security design from its implementation.
On paper, .Net's secuity model is quite nice. Just as NT's model is well designed. Unfortunately for all of us, Microsoft has been choosing the wrong pair from [fast, cheap, right]. That was the point of the Trustable Computing Memo. It's time for Microsoft to start coding as well as they design.
Besides, this is a tremendous opportunity for Mono in particular, and Open Source in general. Here, we have a spec from Microsoft, rubber-stamped by ECMA, with both closed and Open implementations. Both sides have something to prove. Microsoft must prove that they can "turn the boat" again, as they did after the Internet Memo, and write secure code. Mono must prove that the tenets of Open Source (many eyes == shallow bugs, full disclosure, etc.) can bear fruit in an apples-to-apples comparison. This competition can only improve the breed. In the end, we'll be able to choose the greater good, instead of the lesser evil. <trollbait /> :-)
For some, blissful ignorance of Microsoft has been the best way to go. Who am I to argue with Linus Torvalds? But Miguel has chosen to take the fight to Microsoft, by competing on their .Net turf. More power to him!
Correction #1: El Reg posted on 28 Jan. El Slash posted on 29 Jan. So add 1440 minutes.
5372 mi. / 1446 min. = 3.715 mi./min. * 60 min./hr. = 222.904 mph.
So we've gone from Ludicrous Speed to just making the field at Indianapolis. Still faster than any car I'll ever own. :-/
Correction #2: Slashdot comes to you live from the bustling metropolis of Holland, Michigan, not California. Using MapQuest to hastily plan a route from Holland to San Jose, the driving distance is 2295 mi. Subtract that from your London-California distance, and we have 3077 mi.
3077 mi. / 1446 min. = 2.127 mi./min. * 60 min./hr. = 127.676 mph.
The spedometer on my car goes up to 130.
So, it's not any kind of record, except for time wasted to get a (Score: 2; Funny). :-)
No, Mac OS X is a new BMW 745i: A technological tour-de-force, but with style changes for the sake of change that have most people scratching their head and wondering "What were they thinking?"
BeOS is a DeLorean*: A product with plenty of promise, undone by the temptations of the man in charge.
*: With apologies to Neal Stephenson. It's not the Batmobile anymore, unless you mean the one Adam West drove. :-)
IIRC, Sony never sold a "Network" or "Memory Stick" Walkman that directly supported MP3 or non-DRM sticks. They all convert MP3s to ATRAC3 before uploading.
Interesting note: The Network Walkman is the only Memory Stick device that forces DRM. Clies will play MP3 or ATRAC3. VAIOs with built-in stick readers typically support MagicGate, but add-on readers (USB, PC Card, or floppy) don't. However, Memory Sticks are removable drives to the OS, so you just have to mount, navigate to PALM/PROGRAMS/MSAUDIO/, and tune in.
You remind them every time you vote with your wallet. Instead of buying an NW-MS9, buy a Nomad. Or an Archos Jukebox. Or an iPod, if you're in that 5% of the market enclosed in the JRDF. Let them know that, given a choice, consumers will choose the path of most convenience. (See also: Circuit City DiVX vs. DVD) Maybe if everybody imposed DRM as vigorously as Sony, the Network Walkman would be competitive. As it stands now, their only customers are members of Hillary Rosen's immediate family.
We have a winner. Either that, or Slashdot need a new moderation option: Misinformed.
Right off the bat, Sluggie is quoting specs from the wrong model. He's looking at the N760, not the T615.
The T615 doesn't have a headphone jack at all. It uses an external MP3 decoder that connects to the hotsync port. The external decoder, and N700's built-in audio, use standard headphones.
bpowell423's points are correct. Sony's prices for cradles, AC adapters, etc. are comparable to others. And PalmOS is PalmOS.
Sluggie's right about expansion, though. For simple memory expansion, I don't think there's a practical difference between Memory Stick and MMC/SD. Step outside the handheld space, and support for either format is equally thin. But I really wish Sony would add Compact Flash support. There's a sled for the T-series in Japan, but it's not available in the States. (If you follow the link, it's the PEGA-CF60. Babelfish helps, but with Japanese, it's as, um, entertaining as it is useful.)
The license restriction probably applies to broadcasting DVDs. A Moxi connected to a neighborhood-area network becomes, essentially, a low-power TV station. "Hey everybody! My John Woo festival begins this evening at 6:00 on %IP_ADDRESS%." Imagine Jack Valenti's reaction to that! Assuming he doesn't spontaneously combust first.
How a Moxi would detect a wireless connection is beyond me. My somewhat realistic expectation: Two different versions, one wired, the other 802.11. The wireless version would be crippled in [soft|firm]ware. Meanwhile, they turn a blind eye to wired Moxen connected to a wireless AP.
Brett's example doesn't exactly help his case.
By his argument, Evolution should sound Outlook's death knell*, just as Outlook drove under ECCO, Sidekick, et. al. But Brett forgot one thing: Microsoft is a monopolist. Outlook got ahead because OEM pre-loads and corporate standardization forced it on to every desktop. Outlook isn't ahead because it is "gratis". Nothing in Office is, regardless of the delta in price between versions. Microsoft's monopoly power allows it to set the price of Office to whatever it damn well pleases.
Even in a market with ideal competition, TANSTAAFL. It's that whole Total Cost of Ownership thing. If the commercial product is cheaper and easier to maintain, it will eventually win. If the freed legacy app comes with high training and migration costs, it's screwed.
*: In a perfect world, Evolution would, but....
Volkswagen officially called it the Coupe Study CJ. And I think that's the color Audi calls Nogaro Blue.
</karmawhore>
What environment are you using? Some IDEs are much better than others at code generation.
RE: System Requirements: Netscape turned links purple when you moved the mouse over them, and now everything has a mouse-over state. Menus fade, unroll, and slide. Qt added themes to respond to GTK+ themes. Microsoft said "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" when WindowBlinds got hot. Mac OS X can't do a damn thing without some fancy whiz-bang animation.
Stuff I wrote in VB was snappy on a 486! Of course, that was when our apps were certified on Windows 3.1 and NT 3.51, which preferred efficiency over eye candy. My code hasn't changed a bit: I ask for a button, I get a button. If the OS needs more CPU power to draw alpha-blended borders and shadows over a textured background and throb every color of the rainbow when the mouse pointer is over it, well shame on the OS. All I asked for was a button.
When did "the right tool for the job" go out of style?
I couldn't imagine laying out VB forms in code. It's perfectly natural to build visual user interfaces with a visual tool. Before Java IDEs hit the market, I tried some AWT forms, and I felt like I was working blindfolded, compiling and running every once in a while to see if I was hitting my targets. That may make for good Vaudeville, but it's a major PITA when you're trying to make a deadline. Code-compile-run cycles are no substitute for a proper UI builder.
Conversely, I'm glad Microsoft didn't follow the route of "wiring" UI components together in the builder. Every IDE that tried such techniques ended up fatally counter-intuitive. Builder for layouts, code for logic. Form follows function. There's a reason modern IDEs work this way.
If all you're doing is non-visual code, then more power to you. Long live %EDITOR_OF_CHOICE%. But you'll have a very hard time convincing me that clicking a toolbar button and dragging a rectangle on a form is slower than:
'Probably not right, but I'm trying to prove a point: You don't do VB this way!
Dim btnFoo As CommandButton
Set btnFoo = New CommandButton
With btnFoo
End With
Microsoft uses them all over Luna. (That's Windows XP's candy-coated UI redesign.) I've been hacking with it a little, and it looks like they're using the alpha channel for cheap anti-aliasing on frequently scaled bitmaps. Other places, they fall back on the traditional .bmp format with "magic pink" transparency masks.
Consider the source.
If it was Taco or Hemos, I could take the joke. They're cool with the idea of peaceful coexistence, and they cover Microsoft fairly.
Michael, OTOH, has consistently gone out of his way to bash Microsoft at every opportunity, even when it has meant stooping to half-truths and distortions. He can't be trusted with news, and, for me, his opinion no longer matters. Therefore, he's off my front page.
Um, why has an unqualified picture of an XBox Development Kit* message box been promoted to front page news? All we can glean from this is that the "oct" in the URL implies that it was posted to HardOCP in October. There's no evidence that this is from a unit sold to a consumer. Nor is there evidence that this is from a crashing in-store demo kiosk.**
Michael, this is neither funny nor professional. You're doing more to reinforce Slashdot's reputation as a childish, "M$ sux0rs linux 0wnz j00" site than any hundred Anonymous Cowards.
I've almost never agreed with Jon Katz's editorials. But I've always felt that squelching his opinion by banning him from my front page was wrong. You, Michael, have crossed that line. I'm banning you from my front page. I know that will cut my story count in half, but at least I can read the front page with the resonable expectation that I won't have my intelligence insulted.
*: That's the XDK in "XDK Launcher".
**: Sorry 'bout the annoying pop-unders, but that's the only crashing demo reference I could find through HardOCP on short notice.
Can I take solace in the fact that my rejected submission on the exact same article got it right? Grrrrr.
I had to go wading through the transcript of a live forum to find more detailed configuration info. For those of you wondering, each machine had 256 MB of RAM.
And check out the sidebar. Scenario 3 has 5 apps hitting a SQL Server database, 5 apps hitting an Exchange Server, and 5 Windows Media clips playing, while running a simulated user script jumping between Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and IE, all at the same time.
Has anyone here felt compelled to run 5 media files at the same time, while doing actual work?
This benchmark is far too artificial. At the very least, the multimedia workload test is bogus. A better multimedia benchmark would be to increase the horsepower requirements for a single app. Say, MP3 playback, to DVD playback w/ software decoding, to Quake III Arena with the settings maxed out. Not that anyone would be doing that while jumping between Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and IE, either....
<pet-peeve>
Don't confuse the operating system with the user environment.
</pet-peeve>
The only happy TiVO users that are happy Linux users are the ones who know that Linux is the OS underneath it all. But even that doesn't ensure that they care. All they care about is that, when they hit the Pause button, live TV pauses.
It's easy to look at TiVO, or Qube, and say that Linux is easy to use. But each of those devices has a very specific task, with a user experience designed to make that task as easy as possible. TiVO works because it looks and behaves like a super-intelligent VCR. A desktop PC running Linux could do everything TiVO does, but you have to do all of the installation and configuration for the hardware, drivers, and software. There aren't too many grandmas that can pull that off.
To put it more simply: If the average user wanted to do it themselves, they'd already be running Linux. And Apple would be selling iMacs as kits.
SS2 was great for keeping the creepiness up throughout the game. The apparations were great, especially the one in the hall to the hangar bay control room.
:-) The midgame gets a bit slow when the military isn't around.
The beginning of Half-Life is also good for a few shocks. By the end, however, it's back to the tried and true formula for FPS: Ever increasing odds, and the persistent need for a bigger gun. That, and a sudden detour into Super Mario Bros.
"Gee, I bet there's a headcrab behind that crate. Better switch to the crowbar."
SKRAAAAAAKKK! Thump-thump-thump. Guurrrrggglllle...
"Next!"
You answered your own question. Gates is pulling CNN's strings like a master puppeteer. Microsoft has always thrived on the inexperience of the masses.
I believe the phrase you are looking for is truth in advertising.
If ATI had said upfront that the drivers were enhanced for Quake III, there wouldn't be nearly as much fuss (Except maybe us Unreal Tournament fans.