I think this is a classic example of why software patents are evil. Maybe they are not in play in this instance. This is an example of one of the big boys getting a taste of their own medicine. Lets see if they get a patent for dashboard now heh!
For me, it had little to do with the politics and ethos of the open source movement.
I switched because I couldnt stand windows; I hated the Crashes, the BSOD's the constant hand holding, the "doing things without asking", and the god forsaken registry file, I could never figure out why you coudlnt do anything else while formatting a disk (this maybe different now; but this will only show how long i have avoided using windows!)
See I was an Amiga user for many die-hard years before giving in and getting a PC and windows. I hated it from day one, but I used it because I had no other choice. The Amiga always did many things better; mulitasking, formatting a disk; its shell and scripting capabilities. And many other things. Knowing AmigaOS had a certain heritage or design philosphy in Unix ; When the opportunity came to try Linux and be free of Windows I took it and within only a short period of time i'd dumped windows completely. Linux is more flexible, and configurable and understandable (from a technical/devloper perspective) than windows ever was for me; The only one thing that I could say the Amiga did better than both Windows and Linux is multitasking. That said Linux is still better than windows in this and other respects.
Linux; is actually just a kernel, the way you use the system can be any way you want it. There may be a general concensus that certain desktops take a few ideas from other desktops but in the end we are all pinching idea's of each other. Linux windowing managers have the advantage that they can be configured to look and behave like whichever desktop takes your fancy. Just look at the look'n'feel sites to see how many linux desktops are more like OSX than Windows. That is the degree of control that we have that Windows does not.
For me, its a non-issue; My linux box doesnt feel like a Microsoft monster; And the similarites are hardly evident to me. The moment Linux feels like a Microsoft operating system is the day that I format my hard drive and try something else... What though ? BSD and a window manager? Maybe when AROS is more mature... It is the unix underpinnings that make linux what it is; and it is that same reason that OSX has changed the image of Mac's into one of been accepted by geeks; OS9 and earlier had little cred amongst geeks.
I suppose that is all i have to say; Linux is just a kernel that bares little resemblance to windows; it is the tools that run atop it that make the difference.
Its pretty slow, the results are inconsistent, cant even cope with a slashdotting. One things for sure this will be a real test of Microsofts server platform; So far I aint impressed.
I think now that Sony has responded with a "Consumer" oriented Hard disk player branded as a "Walkman" in this way ; it beckons a new era in portable music players; Soon we will see the rest of the consumer electronics manufacturers following suit and the iPod will go down in the history books as an overly priced "design classic".
That depends on your definition of entertainment. For example a movie , that is both entertainment and a way of gleaning information. When I use the term Information I use it in the broader "IT/Computer" term (information == data with a context) as oppose to the "finding out stuff" meaning.
I also have the same problem with the mono project, however think about the positives... I think that the speed at which they have acheived version 1.0 is to be commended; What the mono project is acheiving that Microsoft in not, is a true crossplatform framework based on the.NET architecture; Many will tell you that.NET is not inherently a bad archictecture; But admittedly it is essentially just a rehash of the traditional JAVA / XML/SOAP Framework that has been around for much longer. The difference being Microsoft formalized the framework; and embraced and extended its components so that Java became C# and so forth.
Dont forget who copied who in the first place here. One could just as easily say that microsoft copied java and was therefore conceding that someone else other than them had a better platform.
By making Mono work with.NET on another platform they are to a certain extent fighting Microsofts "We Want It All And We Want It Now" attitude. You have to make the decision, do you concede to Microsoft or do you fight them. Microsoft have no intention of making their so-called "cross platform".NET work on Mac , Linux or whatever else. Enter the Mono Project.
While my ideals of not wanting anything to do with Microsoft get the better of me here; I think it would be short sighted to ignore the acheivements, benefits and political movements that Mono stands for.
To a certain extent I would agree with you. However while I agree with your comment about word files; PDF is probably the best choice for publishing "download - and - print" documents on the web at this current time; It is a well documented and well supported file format that practically everyone can read and print. I dont particularly like embedding pdf's into the browser; having a pdf that I can download and print at my convenience is far more preferable to most other downloadable file formats.
Purists would say the web was never meant for all these new-fangled plugins and fancy schmancy flash sites. While there are thousands of examples of how the internet should and shouldnt be used it always boils down to one thing. Information, and the ease at which it can be accessed. I personally dont know of a better more crossplatform solution in widespread use than PDF for "download-and-print", that retain the look and feel of the original document. There are some upgoming formats in the sideline SVG & XML et al; But i have more respect for a webmaster who takes the time to publish pdf's than one that sticks the word file on the web and hopes for the best, But that is not to say when the standards compliant formats come to fruition that we should not push and encourage their use.
This time it's absurd. It does a really poor job of punishing MS, and does nothing to stop them from further breaches. After all, what does MS have to fear? They'll have to give away some software which, btw, helps their marketshare?
Yeah, its like a drug dealer getting busted and as a punishment having to give some of his stash away for free.
I'd like to add to that, that the "because it is written in java" issue is also negated; its not a massive issue to port the Java to chosen language, eg C/C++ and having the source code available is going to make it considerably easier.
Microsoft do this kind of shit every day, im surprised that this is "Shock Horror" news anyway. Are we not used to the evil empire and their ways already ?.
That is awesome; see i was taken aback.. Shortly after Sun announced this Microsoft and Sun got in-bed together. I thought perhaps naively that Microsoft wanted the looking glass technology and this was their way of getting it. Now this has happened I can be little else but pleased!
"just because of my lack in trust of software coming from Real"
Now that you can look at the source-code and evaluate for yourself the trustworthiness of Real that comment is now largely irrelevant for you and many people. It is a fairly major turnaround although many WMV zealots would have you beleive otherwise. Having the source code open will enevitably lead to a better product and a more diverse range of tools. The Real format is out there and it is in widespread use. This can only be a beneficial move in the long run.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But hey guess what; With the new Open Source GPL version everyone who thinks that Real is crap can now take the source code and improve it; making it so its not crap anymore. If you think that real is crap and can suggest ways that it might be better you have an opportunity to go over to the helix developer site and make suggestions that if they are constructive and not overzealous (like your comment) could actually go into making real a better product.
I think that's rather amusing. Its almost as if they have given it a crap name so that people will go the extra mile and pay for the addition of the extra parts.
How long before nonvolatile memory becomes the solution to crash-prone software rather than better programming?
I dont understand how non-volatile memory would solve the problems of crash prone software. Okay so it might make the problem of recovering lost work after a crash that little bit easier. I fail to see how its going to solve the problem of crashing though.
Slashdot Mirror
Who says software patents are a good idea?
I think this is a classic example of why software patents are evil. Maybe they are not in play in this instance. This is an example of one of the big boys getting a taste of their own medicine. Lets see if they get a patent for dashboard now heh!
For me, it had little to do with the politics and ethos of the open source movement.
... What though ? BSD and a window manager? Maybe when AROS is more mature... It is the unix underpinnings that make linux what it is; and it is that same reason that OSX has changed the image of Mac's into one of been accepted by geeks; OS9 and earlier had little cred amongst geeks.
...
I switched because I couldnt stand windows; I hated the Crashes, the BSOD's the constant hand holding, the "doing things without asking", and the god forsaken registry file, I could never figure out why you coudlnt do anything else while formatting a disk (this maybe different now; but this will only show how long i have avoided using windows!)
See I was an Amiga user for many die-hard years before giving in and getting a PC and windows. I hated it from day one, but I used it because I had no other choice. The Amiga always did many things better; mulitasking, formatting a disk; its shell and scripting capabilities. And many other things. Knowing AmigaOS had a certain heritage or design philosphy in Unix ; When the opportunity came to try Linux and be free of Windows I took it and within only a short period of time i'd dumped windows completely. Linux is more flexible, and configurable and understandable (from a technical/devloper perspective) than windows ever was for me; The only one thing that I could say the Amiga did better than both Windows and Linux is multitasking. That said Linux is still better than windows in this and other respects.
Linux; is actually just a kernel, the way you use the system can be any way you want it. There may be a general concensus that certain desktops take a few ideas from other desktops but in the end we are all pinching idea's of each other. Linux windowing managers have the advantage that they can be configured to look and behave like whichever desktop takes your fancy. Just look at the look'n'feel sites to see how many linux desktops are more like OSX than Windows. That is the degree of control that we have that Windows does not.
For me, its a non-issue; My linux box doesnt feel like a Microsoft monster; And the similarites are hardly evident to me. The moment Linux feels like a Microsoft operating system is the day that I format my hard drive and try something else
I suppose that is all i have to say; Linux is just a kernel that bares little resemblance to windows; it is the tools that run atop it that make the difference.
Nick
Amusing Screenshot generator!
...
http://www.blackapology.com/downloads/irony.gif
Nick
Nothing more than that really.
Its pretty slow, the results are inconsistent, cant even cope with a slashdotting. One things for sure this will be a real test of Microsofts server platform; So far I aint impressed.
from their blurb ...
if you notice problems, please tell us what went wrong.
I think now that Sony has responded with a "Consumer" oriented Hard disk player branded as a "Walkman" in this way ; it beckons a new era in portable music players; Soon we will see the rest of the consumer electronics manufacturers following suit and the iPod will go down in the history books as an overly priced "design classic".
That depends on your definition of entertainment. For example a movie , that is both entertainment and a way of gleaning information. When I use the term Information I use it in the broader "IT/Computer" term (information == data with a context) as oppose to the "finding out stuff" meaning.
I also have the same problem with the mono project, however think about the positives... .NET architecture; Many will tell you that .NET is not inherently a bad archictecture; But admittedly it is essentially just a rehash of the traditional JAVA / XML /SOAP Framework that has been around for much longer. The difference being Microsoft formalized the framework; and embraced and extended its components so that Java became C# and so forth.
.NET on another platform they are to a certain extent fighting Microsofts "We Want It All And We Want It Now" attitude. You have to make the decision, do you concede to Microsoft or do you fight them. Microsoft have no intention of making their so-called "cross platform" .NET work on Mac , Linux or whatever else. Enter the Mono Project.
...
I think that the speed at which they have acheived version 1.0 is to be commended; What the mono project is acheiving that Microsoft in not, is a true crossplatform framework based on the
Dont forget who copied who in the first place here. One could just as easily say that microsoft copied java and was therefore conceding that someone else other than them had a better platform.
By making Mono work with
While my ideals of not wanting anything to do with Microsoft get the better of me here; I think it would be short sighted to ignore the acheivements, benefits and political movements that Mono stands for.
Nick
For a moment their I thought there was a new browser feature that bypasses all those annoying flash adverts... Unfortunately I read the title wrong.
"New Safety Feature Detects Flash"
Nick
Will they consider non-rectangular plugins?
Boy, i've never heard of such a concept; quick patent the idea and dontate it to an open-source project before one of the big boys gets it!
To a certain extent I would agree with you. However while I agree with your comment about word files; PDF is probably the best choice for publishing "download - and - print" documents on the web at this current time; It is a well documented and well supported file format that practically everyone can read and print. I dont particularly like embedding pdf's into the browser; having a pdf that I can download and print at my convenience is far more preferable to most other downloadable file formats.
Purists would say the web was never meant for all these new-fangled plugins and fancy schmancy flash sites. While there are thousands of examples of how the internet should and shouldnt be used it always boils down to one thing. Information, and the ease at which it can be accessed. I personally dont know of a better more crossplatform solution in widespread use than PDF for "download-and-print", that retain the look and feel of the original document. There are some upgoming formats in the sideline SVG & XML et al; But i have more respect for a webmaster who takes the time to publish pdf's than one that sticks the word file on the web and hopes for the best, But that is not to say when the standards compliant formats come to fruition that we should not push and encourage their use.
Additionally the diagnosis was made at an early stage in her life; rather than later when it could have been more dangerous.
iPod & iTunes: The Missing Linux Version ?
This time it's absurd. It does a really poor job of punishing MS, and does nothing to stop them from further breaches. After all, what does MS have to fear? They'll have to give away some software which, btw, helps their marketshare?
Yeah, its like a drug dealer getting busted and as a punishment having to give some of his stash away for free.
I'd like to add to that, that the "because it is written in java" issue is also negated; its not a massive issue to port the Java to chosen language, eg C/C++ and having the source code available is going to make it considerably easier.
From what I've gathered, the looking glass project will probably be not able to function under the "normal" xserver
...
Maybe not
But that really is not an issue when the GPL comes into play.
Microsoft do this kind of shit every day, im surprised that this is "Shock Horror" news anyway. Are we not used to the evil empire and their ways already ?.
That is awesome; see i was taken aback .. Shortly after Sun announced this Microsoft and Sun got in-bed together. I thought perhaps naively that Microsoft wanted the looking glass technology and this was their way of getting it. Now this has happened I can be little else but pleased!
"just because of my lack in trust of software coming from Real"
Now that you can look at the source-code and evaluate for yourself the trustworthiness of Real that comment is now largely irrelevant for you and many people. It is a fairly major turnaround although many WMV zealots would have you beleive otherwise. Having the source code open will enevitably lead to a better product and a more diverse range of tools. The Real format is out there and it is in widespread use. This can only be a beneficial move in the long run.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But hey guess what; With the new Open Source GPL version everyone who thinks that Real is crap can now take the source code and improve it; making it so its not crap anymore. If you think that real is crap and can suggest ways that it might be better you have an opportunity to go over to the helix developer site and make suggestions that if they are constructive and not overzealous (like your comment) could actually go into making real a better product.
I think that's rather amusing. Its almost as if they have given it a crap name so that people will go the extra mile and pay for the addition of the extra parts.
What about Windows XP Binner Edition ?
Man I dont the BBC could have chosen a more smug / nazi- dictator style picture If they tried; Big-Up Beeb !
, because a different-looking body would not make me play differently
So are you telling me that you've not played tomb raider enough to know all the best ways to get a good view of Lara Crofts tits ?
A spokesman for Lions Gate Films said the company debuted the movie in the two theaters to help build good word-of-mouth -- friend telling friend --
Are Americans really that stupid as to need an explanation for what the term "Word-of-Mouth" means?
How long before nonvolatile memory becomes the solution to crash-prone software rather than better programming?
I dont understand how non-volatile memory would solve the problems of crash prone software. Okay so it might make the problem of recovering lost work after a crash that little bit easier. I fail to see how its going to solve the problem of crashing though.