Technically the statement isn't true. What they're alluding to is the smaller the chip the more per wafer means more # of chips [same % of failures]. What they missed though is the more features [e.g. transistors] the more likely some are not aligned or otherwise created properly. That creates "worst case" chips which operate slower than they should.
For instance, if you double the transistors but simulaneously half the size you make a huge gain in yield but lower the # of high end models. To truly lower the cost you need smaller chips with less features [features as in edges on your photomask]. This is why [among other things] you see such a huge markup from a 1.8Ghz part to 2.0Ghz even though it's only 200Mhz [and the part was originally designed for 2Ghz].
Yeah surprisingly it doesn't take much from the AMD camp to beat the Yonah...
I still don't see the draw for it. As a desktop chip it's a slower chip than the X2, while it takes less power it isn't by much [say compared to a Xeon]. And I'm sure AMD will have even lower power X2s out next year meanwhile the P6 design is still underperforming. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they're moving away from NetBurst but I'd rather see them improve their core first before going dual.
In the world of OSS I don't see why they don't try this radical idea. Adopt a new core [with a new more appropriate ISA] then pay for some developers to get GCC to support it [and well] then get the Linux/BSD crowds documents on how to make it work. A lot of tools and desktop applications are portable in that they'll build on any *NIX platform with the appropriate build tools [e.g. libtool, gcc, gmake, etc].
Then you'd have a new processor without the baggage, be able to really crank out the MIPS/Watt and avoid the headache of complicated CISC decoding [which is where a lot of time/space is wasted].
Which are roundly criticized as being poorly designed and managed.
By people who leave late, drive erradically and can't plan.
I'm a Canadian yet I can still get from Ottawa to Long Island without getting lost and in record time. It's called planning. Something nobody [north or south of the border] does.
Sure some roads could use work but for the most part your traffic problems are from people who constantly switch lanes to get "one car ahead". Of course they slow down traffic in the lane they are merging into thus making the problem worse.
"Which still isn't very safe, and is also far more expensive and heavier than necessary, because of said government mandates."
Government didn't say you have to buy an SUV. In fact the government doesn't want you buying them [hence the luxury tax, gas taxes, etc]. If you bought a compact or midsize car you'd be far safer [cuz they're lighter means less energy] and have money in your pocket.
""your kids likely attend public school"
Yeah, this one's self explanatory."
Whatever. Read to your kids, encourage them to learn, stop buying them rewarding toys when they act up. The schools can't do everything.
Both my parents worked (one of them had shift work) when I was growing up and they still found the time to read to me, have me read to them, do math work and do the other things (scouts, cadets, etc).
Maybe you're just a lousy good for nothing lazy parent who can't be bothered to structure your kids life a bit so they're mature enough to sit down and learn something that isn't "Radical" or "funtastic!"
--- snip ---
You can't sit there and tell me that the private corporations that do all in their power to skirt government [and common sense] regulations all for the allmightly profit aren't to blame as well. These are the companies putting vending machines in the schools, serving slop on every corner [e.g. burger king], unfair competition, lobbying the government, bribes, outright lies, mis-marketting, etc, etc...
I'm not saying all government endeavours are perfect. I'm just saying it's a huge cop-out to say "government all bad, private sector all good" when clearly the private sector is just as evil.
"You're right, the government should do everything. Because government projects always work out so well. "
Usually when a government project screws up it's because the contractors bidding on the work are corrupt (either incapable or incompetent or both).
Look at Diebold as a prime example.
But why take my word for it. You drive on public highways, using your government mandated safety test passing vehicle, your kids likely attend public school and can get public emergency health care. You're subject to government standards for food and bio safety regulations (FDA, NIST and a dozen others...), etc...
There are a lot of things in your daily life that are controlled by the government. Know what's in your drinking water? The soil around your house? The very air you breath?
Who is fucking up the water, soil and air though? Is it the government or companies who process chemicals that spill into underground waterways, cars that pollute the air, etc, etc? I can make just as strong argument that private corporations are evil as you can that the government is.
BTW you can't get cheap heart medication because the same company is also trying to make new ways to get your penis [yeah I said it, penis] hard to pleasure your wife. And they go through hundreds of trials [costing millions of dollars] before they get the perfect penis pump pill.
Though I normally put one [exportable] function per.C file so standard references don't usually have to be numbered because there is only one standard being used [e.g. PKCS #5 or ANSI X9.63 EC-DH or whatever].
That's because when it comes right down to it they realize that real reform would mean hurting those in power.
Health care for all means you can't have the few [insurance providers] screwing over their customers. Access to education means private schools can't rape you into submission, etc, etc. It's easier to pick on the gays, foreigners or other "threats" because it doesn't require any talent beyond simple biggotry.
These new game laws [and trust me there will be more] are just a new way of showing off their ignorance. you think any of these "concerned peeople" have actually played the games in question? Fuck no. If they did they would realize how trivial the matter really is. It's easier to argue out a position of ignorance because you can just MAKE UP facts as you go along.
And frankly I'm tired of hearing from the religious nutbags from the USA. "christmas tree" not "holiday tree", gay marriage, etc, etc.
THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT.
Why they complain about "holiday tree" but not the total commercialization of the religious event is beyond me. Personally I think it's more twisted and perverted to cut down a perfectly healthy tree for no purpose other than to put decorations on it and commercial presents under it.
I guess that shows where the AFA and others have placed their priorities [e.g. making $$$ is christian but tolerating others is not...]
I hold a job where I draw a salary. I meant my contract work is few and far between. Mostly because I'm not cold calling everyone in the world. If I didn't have my job [which I got because my employer was impressed with the libraries and wanted to use them in their products] I'd probably sell my services harder.
As for the commodity, it's a sad fact of life. If I can give out for free what RSA or Certicom would charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for, what exactly is their value proposition? In their cases it isn't "quality software" it's the horde of developers and scientists they have [that I don't] that can help integrate, update and fix the software to suit the customers needs. Why do you think you don't see price tags on their websites? They're not really in the "selling software" market anymore.
On the flipside, being PD has helped me quite a bit. When I started writing the projects [I'm not mentioning their names to keep the trolls off my back] I wasn't super great at development and I made a lot of newbie mistakes. It was because the projects had potential that some groups decided to get involved and helped me along. Teaching me how to improve the build scripts, releases cycles, contributing code, etc. And because of their help I'm not in a position to do support work with my libraries.
Had I made the libraries commercial from the getgo nobody would have used them and I wouldn't have learned what I have. I think those lessons are far more valuable than a couple years of solid pay.
When asked why I wrote like that I asked why we had to put comments before trivial lines instead of blocks of code [which represent ideas more faithfully than individual lines]. After that point I was free to comment as I wanted and I passed [been out for a year now...]
Boom, you're fired. If you have to ask that you're clearly incompetent.
As to what a good comment is, it's something that gives context to a section of code. Comments aren't supposed to "explain" every step of an algorithm but rather explain why they're there...
e.g.
// for loop from 1 to 5 for (i = 0; i < 5; i++) // strcmp for "key" if (!strcmp(strings[i], "key")) dowork();
Could be written better as
// we are going to look for the string "key" in the array for (i = 0; i < 5; i++) if (!strcmp(strings[i], "keys")) dowork();
(better yet is to replace '5' with some constant or other label).
In cryptographic tasks I assume the reader has the RFC [or other spec] handy and I just explain what parts of the standard I'm fulfilling, e.g.
// step 3c, xor key with 0x5e for (i = 0; i < keylen; i++) key[i] ^= 0x5e
That way the reader can follow my code against the spec quicker.
If you're not capable of these sorts of comments it's because you don't think like a developer. You're slinging one line of code against another instead of properly breaking your task down into many smaller more modular tasks which can then be easily expressed on their own.
As an OSS author [though I don't use the GPL] I'd say there is a decent amount of money [as someone else pointed out] simply for being the author of the tool.
I every so often get support contracts which don't make me rich but do pay for a computer upgrade or rent here or there. My current job with SSC was all because I had the ability to develop software the way I do.
The problem many have is they don't realize the model has changed. You no longer sell commodity software [there are cases where software can be sold, e.g. speciality firmware for instance] like compilers, shells or even OS kernels.
What you can sell [e.g. what has value] is your experise in using it, maintaining it and supporting customer needs.
For instance, a customer may pay me to simply help them build one of my libraries (you'd be surprised how many software shops don't know how to use makefiles with MSVC...). Another may pay me to add a new feature to my library (which I eventually put in the public domain library). Others may pay me to debug their code. And once in a while I'll get people who just give me money because the libraries did exactly what they wanted and they feel like rewarding my work.
If I tried to sell my software I likely wouldn't get much for it. Mostly for marketing reasons mostly because I've been giving it away for free for the last four years:-) But that's ok because I realize it's commodity (there are many other libraries in the same genre as mine out there).
That said I've never really agreed to put the GPL on my software. I agree to use GPL software but only because it's accessible, non-intrusive and usually works well for the end user. For developers it's another story. If I want to give out my software for free I'll just slap a public domain notice on it and be done with. That's truly free.:-)
VoIP isn't fixed to a given location. Most people use it that way but if I were to go to another country for a while I might just bring my VoIP set and save on the long distance.
The point is VoIP is optional and if people want to get it without "super great" 911 [note that Vonage does [or plan to] have voluntary 911 basically you fill out a form and each time that voip phone calls 911 it just verbatim forwards the info] then it should be up to them.
This is all just pressure from the telcos who hate seeing VoIP eat into their monopoly driven charges which clearly aren't based in reality [hint: if you can use VoIP to do what you would otherwise do with a POTS then why is POTS so expensive?]
however... if I call 911 with my cell [which I have done a half dozen times] they don't have the first clue where I am despite the fact cell phones are provided by the big mean telcos [and they even charge a "911 access fee"] why are they allowed to continue?
Cell providers should be banned from having new customers.
Diebold wants to sell the government voting machines... for a democratic republic vote... in a "free" country... and as part of the deal the boxes have to be open to review and audit...
Now they don't want to have people reviewing the boxes (what are they hiding?) and as a result of a judicial ruling they won't sell them anymore?
To rephrase my understanding of it: They are threatening to stop selling something we don't want?
Am I the only one perplexed by this? Maybe they're using the threat of lost jobs to sway the government to use their half-ass voting boxes? I'd rather see a dozen people out of work then an entire nation subject to false democracy [well put aside the fact that there isn't any democracy anyways...].
Hey Diebold, why not sell the boxes up north? We could use all the help we can get getting rid of the Liberals here:-)
well not owning a mac I can't say but my Compaq laptop works just fine with a 4200. Sure I notice it chugs at huge program loads like openoffice or whatever, but that's just the first time.
I suppose you are right though. Getting both a decent HD and amount of ram doesn't hurt and makes sense. Specially if you're a mac user, you have money to spend:-)
Congrats you own a really expensive gameboy.:-)/me spent the last two days getting two 256Mbit carts loaded with Goomba and PocketNES [along with a huge collection of GB and NES games]. Retro-gamer!
To me it makes a bit more sense. It's easier to snap a gameboy out at an airport or on a plane, the batteries last longer and frankly nothing beats a good match of some mid-90s GB game with ridiculous plotlines and often hard to decipher graphics [that said I'm a FF2 addict:-)].
I have a Seagate 4200RPM drive in my laptop and while initial startup may be a bit slower than my desktop (by a matter of seconds) application performance is just fine.
Oh did I mention I have 768MB of ram in it and I'm not running Windows?
That's why when I look at buying a new laptop [to replace this thing when it eventually dies] I always look at the max ram. My next one will likely have 768 or 1GB initially [I originally upgraded this laptop from 256M to 768M].
Ram is cheaper on the power than a "really fast hard drive" and in practice is faster too. I start many shells for instance, each time it loads "xterm" [and the shared libraries] they're in cache [or the.so cache] which is a heck of a lot faster than from a 7200RPM disk.
Not saying a 7200RPM wouldn't be nice but if I had to make a choice between spending money on memory or a fast HD I'd rather the memory.
Why they use "versions" is beyond me. Install gentoo from stage3 off gentoo.org. Do an update to the world. Install services you require [and only the ones you need], configure it. Clone the fuck out of the box. Voila. A full "typical" Gnome desktop takes about 20 hours to build with Gentoo from stage1 on a 1.6Ghz Sempron [I know, I just did it last week]. It's a heck of a lot faster on a typical server box [e.g. dual-core +2Ghz].
The fact that they rely heavily on stagnating Linux distributions shows they don't really know what they are talking about. Heck, even a debian distro would be easier to customize. Plomp a knoppix CD in, copy to HD, do upgrade, install serivces, configure and clone. That's less flexible than Gentoo but a heck of a lot faster.
Of course Windows folk always "forget" to mention that little issue. In Linux [and BSD] you can just tarball the filesystem and untar it anywhere to get a clone. In Windows you can't do that [hidden or system files] and even if you could it'll bitch that you have to activate your copy. Costing more money...
Why is cloning important?
1. Quickly get multiple boxes up [untaring a base install takes all of a minute or two]
2. Lets you maintain a consistent deployment [e.g. no version mixups]
3. Lets you recover quickly. If your HD dies you can just buy a new one and be up in minutes.
But we all know the study(ies) was foobar from day one. If you need to hire a firm to prepare a report about how good your product is when your competition are hordes of IT peeps who just use what works... you've already lost.
Good summary though, I'm sure MSFT is taking notes:-)
Perhaps MSFT just doesn't want the mass piracy that is possible on the xbox to happen on the 360? Maybe it has NOTHING to do with the ability to use Linux?
You also can't use MacOS, WinXP or OpenBSD on the 360. What does that say about your theory?
God damn people, shut up, it's a TOY for crying out loud. Who cares if it runs Linux, all I care about is does it run xbox360 games, do I like 360 games and can I afford it?
I swear every time I hear "gods will" on a newscast from the USA I just shake my head. That people still make decisions affecting millions of people based on what a fairytale says is just sad.
I mean you can watch Star Trek where they visit a planet and they got a weird policy like the TNG where they kill all the people after 65 and go "OMG THATS TOTALLY FUNNY WHAT A SILLY POLICY!"
Then you look at the USA where they still have capital punishment, bans [on religious grounds] on stem cell harvesting, cloning, gay marriage and other issues, then the pledge is being held up as "under god" [even though the original didn't have that] and the 10 commandments are being installed everywhere...
Really how different is it? You have policies instituted on a whim from an interpretation from a child bedtime story book from 1500 years ago!!!
And I say this as someone who is about to visit the USA this week.:-)
One thing going for the states. What they do well they do really well. In San Diego [where I'm heading] the service industry is thriving and really positive [have yet to see a bad restaurant] and the place is clean and well kept. But what you guys do poorly you really suck at. Like carting off your constitutional rights as if they're a bad fad...
The problem though as with any democracy is that people only vote for the people they're socially pressured to like.
Last election I actually went to the four major parties HQs in my riding. I sat down and talked with them. I found out their selling points and made a conscience decision to vote for the party I chose.
How many [by percentage] do you think of the votes casted were from people who did the same thing? Maybe 1% probably 2% at most.
The rest are from people who do one the following
1. I voted for X last time and X this time [most likely] 2. My family supports X so I voted X [also likely] 3. I think their policies [based on advertisements] are worthy 4. I voted for X because I dislike the policies of Y [based on advertisements] 5. I voted for random because it doesn't matter
That isn't democracy that's a popularity contest. And of course, garbage in produces garbage out.
It's usually said as "ferme ta gueule" which is more insulting.
It means you're a lower class person, that you're an animal and you should shut your opening because I don't want to hear the noise that escapes your face. It implies a level of hatred and malice far beyond "STFU".
But you'd know that if you weren't some ignorant asshat trying to show off your vast superior habitant slang knowledge.
I used to spend my summers on the CFB with the air cadets. Where I had other cadets mock and insult me for being English. Where the "biligual" flight sections were French only [which was ok because I do speak enough French] and you'd be lucky if an official [e.g. officer or instructor] spoke English at all. Yes, I've spent time in Quebec.
Only a moron believes in a superior culture in a country like Canada. We're a mixed bag of cultures. What? You think McDonalds is French? How about that MTV [which is adored in France btw]? Seen any movies lately? Played any video games? Do you use a computer?
A moron thinks their way of life is superior while indulging themselves in the product of many different cultures. I don't dislike the French. I dislike the vocal Quebecois who are trying to ruin Canada because they can't play nice. They amount to no more than a bunch of squabling idiots who have nothing productive to do with their lives so they harass and fight with others.
As for Montreal... pave your damn roads already:-)
Slashdot Mirror
Technically the statement isn't true. What they're alluding to is the smaller the chip the more per wafer means more # of chips [same % of failures]. What they missed though is the more features [e.g. transistors] the more likely some are not aligned or otherwise created properly. That creates "worst case" chips which operate slower than they should.
For instance, if you double the transistors but simulaneously half the size you make a huge gain in yield but lower the # of high end models. To truly lower the cost you need smaller chips with less features [features as in edges on your photomask]. This is why [among other things] you see such a huge markup from a 1.8Ghz part to 2.0Ghz even though it's only 200Mhz [and the part was originally designed for 2Ghz].
Tom
Yeah surprisingly it doesn't take much from the AMD camp to beat the Yonah...
I still don't see the draw for it. As a desktop chip it's a slower chip than the X2, while it takes less power it isn't by much [say compared to a Xeon]. And I'm sure AMD will have even lower power X2s out next year meanwhile the P6 design is still underperforming. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they're moving away from NetBurst but I'd rather see them improve their core first before going dual.
In the world of OSS I don't see why they don't try this radical idea. Adopt a new core [with a new more appropriate ISA] then pay for some developers to get GCC to support it [and well] then get the Linux/BSD crowds documents on how to make it work. A lot of tools and desktop applications are portable in that they'll build on any *NIX platform with the appropriate build tools [e.g. libtool, gcc, gmake, etc].
Then you'd have a new processor without the baggage, be able to really crank out the MIPS/Watt and avoid the headache of complicated CISC decoding [which is where a lot of time/space is wasted].
Tom
Which are roundly criticized as being poorly designed and managed.
By people who leave late, drive erradically and can't plan.
I'm a Canadian yet I can still get from Ottawa to Long Island without getting lost and in record time. It's called planning. Something nobody [north or south of the border] does.
Sure some roads could use work but for the most part your traffic problems are from people who constantly switch lanes to get "one car ahead". Of course they slow down traffic in the lane they are merging into thus making the problem worse.
"Which still isn't very safe, and is also far more expensive and heavier than necessary, because of said government mandates."
Government didn't say you have to buy an SUV. In fact the government doesn't want you buying them [hence the luxury tax, gas taxes, etc]. If you bought a compact or midsize car you'd be far safer [cuz they're lighter means less energy] and have money in your pocket.
""your kids likely attend public school"
Yeah, this one's self explanatory."
Whatever. Read to your kids, encourage them to learn, stop buying them rewarding toys when they act up. The schools can't do everything.
Both my parents worked (one of them had shift work) when I was growing up and they still found the time to read to me, have me read to them, do math work and do the other things (scouts, cadets, etc).
Maybe you're just a lousy good for nothing lazy parent who can't be bothered to structure your kids life a bit so they're mature enough to sit down and learn something that isn't "Radical" or "funtastic!"
--- snip ---
You can't sit there and tell me that the private corporations that do all in their power to skirt government [and common sense] regulations all for the allmightly profit aren't to blame as well. These are the companies putting vending machines in the schools, serving slop on every corner [e.g. burger king], unfair competition, lobbying the government, bribes, outright lies, mis-marketting, etc, etc...
I'm not saying all government endeavours are perfect. I'm just saying it's a huge cop-out to say "government all bad, private sector all good" when clearly the private sector is just as evil.
Tom
"You're right, the government should do everything. Because government projects always work out so well. "
Usually when a government project screws up it's because the contractors bidding on the work are corrupt (either incapable or incompetent or both).
Look at Diebold as a prime example.
But why take my word for it. You drive on public highways, using your government mandated safety test passing vehicle, your kids likely attend public school and can get public emergency health care. You're subject to government standards for food and bio safety regulations (FDA, NIST and a dozen others...), etc...
There are a lot of things in your daily life that are controlled by the government. Know what's in your drinking water? The soil around your house? The very air you breath?
Who is fucking up the water, soil and air though? Is it the government or companies who process chemicals that spill into underground waterways, cars that pollute the air, etc, etc? I can make just as strong argument that private corporations are evil as you can that the government is.
BTW you can't get cheap heart medication because the same company is also trying to make new ways to get your penis [yeah I said it, penis] hard to pleasure your wife. And they go through hundreds of trials [costing millions of dollars] before they get the perfect penis pump pill.
Tom
That works too.
.C file so standard references don't usually have to be numbered because there is only one standard being used [e.g. PKCS #5 or ANSI X9.63 EC-DH or whatever].
Though I normally put one [exportable] function per
Tom
That's because when it comes right down to it they realize that real reform would mean hurting those in power.
Health care for all means you can't have the few [insurance providers] screwing over their customers. Access to education means private schools can't rape you into submission, etc, etc. It's easier to pick on the gays, foreigners or other "threats" because it doesn't require any talent beyond simple biggotry.
These new game laws [and trust me there will be more] are just a new way of showing off their ignorance. you think any of these "concerned peeople" have actually played the games in question? Fuck no. If they did they would realize how trivial the matter really is. It's easier to argue out a position of ignorance because you can just MAKE UP facts as you go along.
And frankly I'm tired of hearing from the religious nutbags from the USA. "christmas tree" not "holiday tree", gay marriage, etc, etc.
THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT.
Why they complain about "holiday tree" but not the total commercialization of the religious event is beyond me. Personally I think it's more twisted and perverted to cut down a perfectly healthy tree for no purpose other than to put decorations on it and commercial presents under it.
I guess that shows where the AFA and others have placed their priorities [e.g. making $$$ is christian but tolerating others is not...]
Tom
I hold a job where I draw a salary. I meant my contract work is few and far between. Mostly because I'm not cold calling everyone in the world. If I didn't have my job [which I got because my employer was impressed with the libraries and wanted to use them in their products] I'd probably sell my services harder.
As for the commodity, it's a sad fact of life. If I can give out for free what RSA or Certicom would charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for, what exactly is their value proposition? In their cases it isn't "quality software" it's the horde of developers and scientists they have [that I don't] that can help integrate, update and fix the software to suit the customers needs. Why do you think you don't see price tags on their websites? They're not really in the "selling software" market anymore.
On the flipside, being PD has helped me quite a bit. When I started writing the projects [I'm not mentioning their names to keep the trolls off my back] I wasn't super great at development and I made a lot of newbie mistakes. It was because the projects had potential that some groups decided to get involved and helped me along. Teaching me how to improve the build scripts, releases cycles, contributing code, etc. And because of their help I'm not in a position to do support work with my libraries.
Had I made the libraries commercial from the getgo nobody would have used them and I wouldn't have learned what I have. I think those lessons are far more valuable than a couple years of solid pay.
Tom
I agree. We had to do that as well. I started writing programs (in C) without the if statement, then I got bored of while and for loops.
:-)
// for i from 0 to 4 inclusive, print i
x = 0; top: ++x < 5 && printf("x == %d\n", x); switch (x) { case 5: break; default: goto top; }
for instance
Of course I'd have my comment
before it so they'd figure it out.
When asked why I wrote like that I asked why we had to put comments before trivial lines instead of blocks of code [which represent ideas more faithfully than individual lines]. After that point I was free to comment as I wanted and I passed [been out for a year now...]
Tom
Boom, you're fired. If you have to ask that you're clearly incompetent.
As to what a good comment is, it's something that gives context to a section of code. Comments aren't supposed to "explain" every step of an algorithm but rather explain why they're there...
e.g.
// for loop from 1 to 5
for (i = 0; i < 5; i++)
// strcmp for "key"
if (!strcmp(strings[i], "key")) dowork();
Could be written better as
// we are going to look for the string "key" in the array
for (i = 0; i < 5; i++)
if (!strcmp(strings[i], "keys")) dowork();
(better yet is to replace '5' with some constant or other label).
In cryptographic tasks I assume the reader has the RFC [or other spec] handy and I just explain what parts of the standard I'm fulfilling, e.g.
// step 3c, xor key with 0x5e
for (i = 0; i < keylen; i++) key[i] ^= 0x5e
That way the reader can follow my code against the spec quicker.
If you're not capable of these sorts of comments it's because you don't think like a developer. You're slinging one line of code against another instead of properly breaking your task down into many smaller more modular tasks which can then be easily expressed on their own.
Tom
As an OSS author [though I don't use the GPL] I'd say there is a decent amount of money [as someone else pointed out] simply for being the author of the tool.
:-) But that's ok because I realize it's commodity (there are many other libraries in the same genre as mine out there).
:-)
I every so often get support contracts which don't make me rich but do pay for a computer upgrade or rent here or there. My current job with SSC was all because I had the ability to develop software the way I do.
The problem many have is they don't realize the model has changed. You no longer sell commodity software [there are cases where software can be sold, e.g. speciality firmware for instance] like compilers, shells or even OS kernels.
What you can sell [e.g. what has value] is your experise in using it, maintaining it and supporting customer needs.
For instance, a customer may pay me to simply help them build one of my libraries (you'd be surprised how many software shops don't know how to use makefiles with MSVC...). Another may pay me to add a new feature to my library (which I eventually put in the public domain library). Others may pay me to debug their code. And once in a while I'll get people who just give me money because the libraries did exactly what they wanted and they feel like rewarding my work.
If I tried to sell my software I likely wouldn't get much for it. Mostly for marketing reasons mostly because I've been giving it away for free for the last four years
That said I've never really agreed to put the GPL on my software. I agree to use GPL software but only because it's accessible, non-intrusive and usually works well for the end user. For developers it's another story. If I want to give out my software for free I'll just slap a public domain notice on it and be done with. That's truly free.
Tom
VoIP isn't fixed to a given location. Most people use it that way but if I were to go to another country for a while I might just bring my VoIP set and save on the long distance.
The point is VoIP is optional and if people want to get it without "super great" 911 [note that Vonage does [or plan to] have voluntary 911 basically you fill out a form and each time that voip phone calls 911 it just verbatim forwards the info] then it should be up to them.
This is all just pressure from the telcos who hate seeing VoIP eat into their monopoly driven charges which clearly aren't based in reality [hint: if you can use VoIP to do what you would otherwise do with a POTS then why is POTS so expensive?]
however... if I call 911 with my cell [which I have done a half dozen times] they don't have the first clue where I am despite the fact cell phones are provided by the big mean telcos [and they even charge a "911 access fee"] why are they allowed to continue?
Cell providers should be banned from having new customers.
Tom
Diebold wants to sell the government voting machines ... for a democratic republic vote ... in a "free" country ... and as part of the deal the boxes have to be open to review and audit ...
:-)
Now they don't want to have people reviewing the boxes (what are they hiding?) and as a result of a judicial ruling they won't sell them anymore?
To rephrase my understanding of it: They are threatening to stop selling something we don't want?
Am I the only one perplexed by this? Maybe they're using the threat of lost jobs to sway the government to use their half-ass voting boxes? I'd rather see a dozen people out of work then an entire nation subject to false democracy [well put aside the fact that there isn't any democracy anyways...].
Hey Diebold, why not sell the boxes up north? We could use all the help we can get getting rid of the Liberals here
Tom
well not owning a mac I can't say but my Compaq laptop works just fine with a 4200. Sure I notice it chugs at huge program loads like openoffice or whatever, but that's just the first time.
:-)
I suppose you are right though. Getting both a decent HD and amount of ram doesn't hurt and makes sense. Specially if you're a mac user, you have money to spend
Tom
Congrats you own a really expensive gameboy. :-) /me spent the last two days getting two 256Mbit carts loaded with Goomba and PocketNES [along with a huge collection of GB and NES games]. Retro-gamer!
:-)].
To me it makes a bit more sense. It's easier to snap a gameboy out at an airport or on a plane, the batteries last longer and frankly nothing beats a good match of some mid-90s GB game with ridiculous plotlines and often hard to decipher graphics [that said I'm a FF2 addict
Tom
Two words. "Ram cache".
.so cache] which is a heck of a lot faster than from a 7200RPM disk.
I have a Seagate 4200RPM drive in my laptop and while initial startup may be a bit slower than my desktop (by a matter of seconds) application performance is just fine.
Oh did I mention I have 768MB of ram in it and I'm not running Windows?
That's why when I look at buying a new laptop [to replace this thing when it eventually dies] I always look at the max ram. My next one will likely have 768 or 1GB initially [I originally upgraded this laptop from 256M to 768M].
Ram is cheaper on the power than a "really fast hard drive" and in practice is faster too. I start many shells for instance, each time it loads "xterm" [and the shared libraries] they're in cache [or the
Not saying a 7200RPM wouldn't be nice but if I had to make a choice between spending money on memory or a fast HD I'd rather the memory.
Tom
Why they use "versions" is beyond me. Install gentoo from stage3 off gentoo.org. Do an update to the world. Install services you require [and only the ones you need], configure it. Clone the fuck out of the box. Voila. A full "typical" Gnome desktop takes about 20 hours to build with Gentoo from stage1 on a 1.6Ghz Sempron [I know, I just did it last week]. It's a heck of a lot faster on a typical server box [e.g. dual-core +2Ghz].
... you've already lost.
:-)
The fact that they rely heavily on stagnating Linux distributions shows they don't really know what they are talking about. Heck, even a debian distro would be easier to customize. Plomp a knoppix CD in, copy to HD, do upgrade, install serivces, configure and clone. That's less flexible than Gentoo but a heck of a lot faster.
Of course Windows folk always "forget" to mention that little issue. In Linux [and BSD] you can just tarball the filesystem and untar it anywhere to get a clone. In Windows you can't do that [hidden or system files] and even if you could it'll bitch that you have to activate your copy. Costing more money...
Why is cloning important?
1. Quickly get multiple boxes up [untaring a base install takes all of a minute or two]
2. Lets you maintain a consistent deployment [e.g. no version mixups]
3. Lets you recover quickly. If your HD dies you can just buy a new one and be up in minutes.
But we all know the study(ies) was foobar from day one. If you need to hire a firm to prepare a report about how good your product is when your competition are hordes of IT peeps who just use what works
Good summary though, I'm sure MSFT is taking notes
Tom
That's just it. Who cares if the 360 only run windows? It's an appliance.
... :-(].
If I have *work* to do I'll use my workstation which doesn't have to run windows [and sadly it does from time to time
Forcing the 360 to run Windows is *not* like forcing all desktops to run it.
Tom
Hmm ... buy a $500 computer which I have to hack to get to work, it burns more energy than an electric furnace and was designed by MSFT ...
....
or just custom build a desktop box for $700 that uses way less power and supports your local economy and works out of the box for what you want to do
hmmm
tough decision.
Tom
Parent is redundant and stupid.
Perhaps MSFT just doesn't want the mass piracy that is possible on the xbox to happen on the 360? Maybe it has NOTHING to do with the ability to use Linux?
You also can't use MacOS, WinXP or OpenBSD on the 360. What does that say about your theory?
God damn people, shut up, it's a TOY for crying out loud. Who cares if it runs Linux, all I care about is does it run xbox360 games, do I like 360 games and can I afford it?
Tom
Yet another slashvertisement ... tell me you are surprised.
It's really this simple: "If you have to say you're the best you're not."
Tom
Shhh you're letting the secret out.
:-)
I swear every time I hear "gods will" on a newscast from the USA I just shake my head. That people still make decisions affecting millions of people based on what a fairytale says is just sad.
I mean you can watch Star Trek where they visit a planet and they got a weird policy like the TNG where they kill all the people after 65 and go "OMG THATS TOTALLY FUNNY WHAT A SILLY POLICY!"
Then you look at the USA where they still have capital punishment, bans [on religious grounds] on stem cell harvesting, cloning, gay marriage and other issues, then the pledge is being held up as "under god" [even though the original didn't have that] and the 10 commandments are being installed everywhere...
Really how different is it? You have policies instituted on a whim from an interpretation from a child bedtime story book from 1500 years ago!!!
And I say this as someone who is about to visit the USA this week.
One thing going for the states. What they do well they do really well. In San Diego [where I'm heading] the service industry is thriving and really positive [have yet to see a bad restaurant] and the place is clean and well kept. But what you guys do poorly you really suck at. Like carting off your constitutional rights as if they're a bad fad...
Tom
The problem though as with any democracy is that people only vote for the people they're socially pressured to like.
Last election I actually went to the four major parties HQs in my riding. I sat down and talked with them. I found out their selling points and made a conscience decision to vote for the party I chose.
How many [by percentage] do you think of the votes casted were from people who did the same thing? Maybe 1% probably 2% at most.
The rest are from people who do one the following
1. I voted for X last time and X this time [most likely]
2. My family supports X so I voted X [also likely]
3. I think their policies [based on advertisements] are worthy
4. I voted for X because I dislike the policies of Y [based on advertisements]
5. I voted for random because it doesn't matter
That isn't democracy that's a popularity contest. And of course, garbage in produces garbage out.
Tom
No, actually that's not what it means.
It's usually said as "ferme ta gueule" which is more insulting.
It means you're a lower class person, that you're an animal and you should shut your opening because I don't want to hear the noise that escapes your face. It implies a level of hatred and malice far beyond "STFU".
But you'd know that if you weren't some ignorant asshat trying to show off your vast superior habitant slang knowledge.
Tom
I used to spend my summers on the CFB with the air cadets. Where I had other cadets mock and insult me for being English. Where the "biligual" flight sections were French only [which was ok because I do speak enough French] and you'd be lucky if an official [e.g. officer or instructor] spoke English at all. Yes, I've spent time in Quebec.
... pave your damn roads already :-)
Only a moron believes in a superior culture in a country like Canada. We're a mixed bag of cultures. What? You think McDonalds is French? How about that MTV [which is adored in France btw]? Seen any movies lately? Played any video games? Do you use a computer?
A moron thinks their way of life is superior while indulging themselves in the product of many different cultures. I don't dislike the French. I dislike the vocal Quebecois who are trying to ruin Canada because they can't play nice. They amount to no more than a bunch of squabling idiots who have nothing productive to do with their lives so they harass and fight with others.
As for Montreal
Tom
"Ferme ta criss de yeule,"
:-)
French: Close your beak [guelle] or mouth/snout [yeule]. Seems complicated, infers class system, etc, etc.
English: Go die in a car fire. Infers I want you to die the most horible way possible.
Which is more to the point?
And they say French is superior....
Tom