Do you find the Mundie debate remotely interesting?
Sure, since Mundie is failing to make a decent case against Open Source / Free Software.
Or, did you tire of this issue a long time ago realizing that debates are an irrelevant, waste of time and that people will do what is in their best interests regardless of what the academic and marketeers think?
The problem with your position is that you assume that people know what is in their best interests. That is often not the case. Debates like this are one of the educational tools that folks can use to make informed decisions. Let's hope that the software development community makes the right decisions to foster better, more reliable, and more secure software down the road ahead...and I don't think that means Microsoft!
Well, judging from Linux/Unix, it may be another 10 years or more before Java and Netscape finally reach maturity and become successful...;-)
In case you didn't know it, modern Java is getting pretty darned cool...just look at the Grand Canyon Demo (and note that its using open source Gl4Java).
Regardless of how wonderful or not AOL's service is, an upcoming version is supposed to be in Java. This means that every one of those AOL installs will be accompanied by an install of a recent, good Sun JVM. This would further the goals advocated in this Slashdot story.
Also, since the sticking point in Microsoft bundling AOL with XP was AOL's unwillingness to standardize on IE, AOL must be contemplating emphasizing Netscape over IE (or at least alongside it). That can only be good, since Gecko is coming along nicely, and Netscape 6 supports Java 2.:-)
Granted AOL is another giant megacorp, but at least there is some form of competition happening there, and anything that boosts Java on the client is a good thing IMO. More client software for Linux will be the end result (although I can't see too many Linux folk running AOL).
Tell me why an electronic datebook / addressbook / personal information unit needs a fast processor? Is it that important to display a datebook entry in.03 milliseconds rather than.1 milliseconds?
Well, an "electronic datebook / addressbook / personal information unit" might not need to be faster. On the other hand, a pocket _computer_ could certainly use all the horsepower you could throw at it. The first impetus for doing this is multimedia - MP3 and video playback. It will also provide power to play the same games as the WinCE devices (great name for an OS;). Later, as Palm progresses to wearable displays with decent resolution and voice control, we'll need all the compute we can get.
You'll know things are really moving along when Palm announces the first NVIDIA 3D GPU for its devices...;-)
I'm reading a lot of articles here today that question the value of Java on the desktop. The first versions of Java were slow and not that functional. Over the last several years, giant strides have been made in speed and other important areas like GUI functionality. Java really is ready for prime time across the board, and offers C like performance in most cases.
Plenty of vertical apps have been implemented using Java. Now its getting good enough for horizontal apps as well. It is also a nice and very productive programming language. I don't care too much about applets (this could change if Mozilla and NS 6 are truly stable) but Java applications are great! With JDK 1.4 (now in beta) things have progressed enough to make high performance 3D apps a reality - see the Grand Canyon Demo.
Java still promises freedom from Windows lockin - you can develop on Windows, Mac or Linux and deploy to any of them. These days, most things work fine cross-platform. I regularly test my Java app both on Windows and Linux (no Mac yet, but soon..;). So, do your part for freedom of choice - start programming in and advocating Java! Its a clean environment, and way ahead of.NYET.
Destroy, I doubt. Make irrelevant is more of a possibility.
I mean, who honestly thinks that Microsoft is on the way out?
About 2 billion in the Far East who'll no longer be able to pirate anything with Windows XP (assuming Microsoft can fix its broken product activation scheme - granted a big assumption).
Another group thats not too happy with Microsoft in general are the software developers (like myself) that're sick and tired of crappy design, engineering and market-tecture. As time goes on, that will take its toll on MS.
Linux (and to a lesser extent the Mac) should see quite a boost from the Windows XP introduction!:-)
P.S. Don't underestimate the effect of the antitrust case either...things are still moving right along there...;-)
A well designed OS will have well defined and open interfaces for all functionality, so that third party replacements can seamlessly plug in with no loss of function. An example of this that was available as early as the late eighties was NEXTSTEP/OPENSTEP. If the same functionality has been carried into MacOS X (essentially an updated OPENSTEP), that is yet another reason to prefer it over Microsoft offerings.
Microsoft, in fact, has not shown the kind of engineering expertise required to construct an OS in this manner. IMO, ultimately poor engineering will be what sinks MS.
I'm still hoping that MacOS X for Intel will ship once Microsoft is fully pinned to the wall by the DOJ and states...Linux needs some real competition;-)
Just install Java, and have (safe) fun! ActiveX is worthless by comparison...though it is quite a technical accomplishment to get it running at all...;-)
How is such scanning different from cops checking ID's of people who look like the 'wanted' posters the cops have seen ?
The difference is that cameras are cheap, and once installed operate 24 hours a day, until they break (usually years later). The cost of police services is one of the checks that keep America from turning into a police state. Also, cops have some sense of discretion and wariness of making a mistake that might hurt their career - automated systems do not. People here in the US should be very concerned about the potential for technology to turn our country into something that Hitler would have envied. Our freedoms erode a bit more every day...
What would the founding fathers of America have thought about systems that keep innocent citizens in public places under government surveillance 24 hours a day? I think I know. Land of the Free indeed...we are a good way down a very slippery slope.
I don't know if the legal/judicial system here can be "fixed", but the first step would be a revamped, sane legal code that can actually be enforced...and perhaps a provision that no new law can be made without striking an old one off the books.
On the other hand it may be that, as Brin suggests, we should just get used to being photographed every moment we're in public (by private parties as well as the government) and just live with the occasional wrongful arrest.
I listened to the entire webcast, and it was made
clear that this was a non-exclusive technology license for Intel. That means EV6, HyperTransport and other Compaq technologies currently being used by AMD will be unnaffected.
The one thing that AMD probably isn't too happy about is that this announcement made it clear that Compaq doesn't expect to be doing Sledgehammer (Athlon64) servers...and no doubt Intel will make "an offer they can't refuse" to keep it that way.
FYI, even the Mars rover (much closer and moving on the ground at a snails pace) was never controlled in realtime. These zepellins will be autonomous, with flight plan updates arriving as needed.
Yes, it'll be a terrible sacrifice using the faster, more cost effective CPUs from AMD rather than the crap that Intel is pushing out the door these days.;-)
I can't wait to get my hands on one of these babys! Let's hope Linux support comes soon!
70 hours a week, ~40 of which is spent at the work address...then if you subtract the ~30 hours that are spent on the Internet and e-mail, it probably comes out to about the standard amount spent on my actual job...software development.;-)
Build a man a fire, and you keep him warm for a night.
Set a man on fire, and you keep him warm for the rest of his life!
- T. Pratchett
Java does have some things going for it. It's a neat little platform for applets and set-top boxes. But it is vastly overused in settings for which it is painfully unsuited (like Web servers). And certain pathetic hacks to get around the confinements of Java (such as using "interfaces" to pretend for a second that Java can almost simulate multiple inheritance, but wretchedly) just cause more spaghetti code, pain, and suffering.
Java is pretty well suited to large scale programming. Lack of multiple inheritance is not a big deal in practice...heck Smalltalk (touted as the end-all OO language by its aficionados) doesn't even have interfaces, only straight single inheritance.
Current Java implementations are very competitive with (and often better) than C++ performance. See the "Binaries vs. Bytecodes" article at Ace's Hardware for one example. Yes, Java uses a lot of memory...but memory is CHEAP! Why do we really need 64 bit desktop chips?;-)
Also don't forget that gcc 3.0 will have a traditional (ahead of time) Java compiler for those memory-tight embedded applications.
In the meantime, my company is distributing several scientific Java apps, and supporting them on Windows, Linux and soon MacOS X. Sweeeeet!
Slashdot Mirror
Sure, since Mundie is failing to make a decent case against Open Source / Free Software.
Or, did you tire of this issue a long time ago realizing that debates are an irrelevant, waste of time and that people will do what is in their best interests regardless of what the academic and marketeers think?
The problem with your position is that you assume that people know what is in their best interests. That is often not the case. Debates like this are one of the educational tools that folks can use to make informed decisions. Let's hope that the software development community makes the right decisions to foster better, more reliable, and more secure software down the road ahead...and I don't think that means Microsoft!
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
Well, judging from Linux/Unix, it may be another 10 years or more before Java and Netscape finally reach maturity and become successful... ;-)
In case you didn't know it, modern Java is getting pretty darned cool...just look at the Grand Canyon Demo (and note that its using open source Gl4Java).
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
Also, since the sticking point in Microsoft bundling AOL with XP was AOL's unwillingness to standardize on IE, AOL must be contemplating emphasizing Netscape over IE (or at least alongside it). That can only be good, since Gecko is coming along nicely, and Netscape 6 supports Java 2. :-)
Granted AOL is another giant megacorp, but at least there is some form of competition happening there, and anything that boosts Java on the client is a good thing IMO. More client software for Linux will be the end result (although I can't see too many Linux folk running AOL).
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
Well, an "electronic datebook / addressbook / personal information unit" might not need to be faster. On the other hand, a pocket _computer_ could certainly use all the horsepower you could throw at it. The first impetus for doing this is multimedia - MP3 and video playback. It will also provide power to play the same games as the WinCE devices (great name for an OS;). Later, as Palm progresses to wearable displays with decent resolution and voice control, we'll need all the compute we can get.
You'll know things are really moving along when Palm announces the first NVIDIA 3D GPU for its devices... ;-)
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
Plenty of vertical apps have been implemented using Java. Now its getting good enough for horizontal apps as well. It is also a nice and very productive programming language. I don't care too much about applets (this could change if Mozilla and NS 6 are truly stable) but Java applications are great! With JDK 1.4 (now in beta) things have progressed enough to make high performance 3D apps a reality - see the Grand Canyon Demo.
Java still promises freedom from Windows lockin - you can develop on Windows, Mac or Linux and deploy to any of them. These days, most things work fine cross-platform. I regularly test my Java app both on Windows and Linux (no Mac yet, but soon..;). So, do your part for freedom of choice - start programming in and advocating Java! Its a clean environment, and way ahead of .NYET.
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
Destroy, I doubt. Make irrelevant is more of a possibility.
I mean, who honestly thinks that Microsoft is on the way out?
About 2 billion in the Far East who'll no longer be able to pirate anything with Windows XP (assuming Microsoft can fix its broken product activation scheme - granted a big assumption).
Another group thats not too happy with Microsoft in general are the software developers (like myself) that're sick and tired of crappy design, engineering and market-tecture. As time goes on, that will take its toll on MS.
Linux (and to a lesser extent the Mac) should see quite a boost from the Windows XP introduction! :-)
P.S. Don't underestimate the effect of the antitrust case either...things are still moving right along there... ;-)
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
Microsoft, in fact, has not shown the kind of engineering expertise required to construct an OS in this manner. IMO, ultimately poor engineering will be what sinks MS.
I'm still hoping that MacOS X for Intel will ship once Microsoft is fully pinned to the wall by the DOJ and states...Linux needs some real competition ;-)
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
Don't try to use it on LinuxPPC though! =)
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
The difference is that cameras are cheap, and once installed operate 24 hours a day, until they break (usually years later). The cost of police services is one of the checks that keep America from turning into a police state. Also, cops have some sense of discretion and wariness of making a mistake that might hurt their career - automated systems do not. People here in the US should be very concerned about the potential for technology to turn our country into something that Hitler would have envied. Our freedoms erode a bit more every day...
What would the founding fathers of America have thought about systems that keep innocent citizens in public places under government surveillance 24 hours a day? I think I know. Land of the Free indeed...we are a good way down a very slippery slope.
I don't know if the legal/judicial system here can be "fixed", but the first step would be a revamped, sane legal code that can actually be enforced...and perhaps a provision that no new law can be made without striking an old one off the books.
On the other hand it may be that, as Brin suggests, we should just get used to being photographed every moment we're in public (by private parties as well as the government) and just live with the occasional wrongful arrest.
To me, privacy seems like a desirable goal.
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
At least you could get it right: "Ada" not "ADA". Its named after Ada Lovelace, and is not an acronym (like FORTRAN or COBOL).
I don't know about "beautiful", but "useful" certainly comes to mind... ;-)
Perhaps it will see a resurgence with the arrival of jgnat.
Ada Resources
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
The one thing that AMD probably isn't too happy about is that this announcement made it clear that Compaq doesn't expect to be doing Sledgehammer (Athlon64) servers...and no doubt Intel will make "an offer they can't refuse" to keep it that way.
186,262 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
Oh yeah, I'm sure they'll try realtime remote control... :-P
FYI, even the Mars rover (much closer and moving on the ground at a snails pace) was never controlled in realtime. These zepellins will be autonomous, with flight plan updates arriving as needed.
Yes, it'll be a terrible sacrifice using the faster, more cost effective CPUs from AMD rather than the crap that Intel is pushing out the door these days. ;-)
I can't wait to get my hands on one of these babys! Let's hope Linux support comes soon!
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
Build a man a fire, and you keep him warm for a night.
Set a man on fire, and you keep him warm for the rest of his life! - Terry Pratchett
Build a man a fire, and you keep him warm for a night.
Set a man on fire, and you keep him warm for the rest of his life!
- T. Pratchett
Great, now where's the open sourced QuickTime client code?!? ;-)
186,282 mi/s...not just a good idea, its the law!
Java is pretty well suited to large scale programming. Lack of multiple inheritance is not a big deal in practice...heck Smalltalk (touted as the end-all OO language by its aficionados) doesn't even have interfaces, only straight single inheritance.
Current Java implementations are very competitive with (and often better) than C++ performance. See the "Binaries vs. Bytecodes" article at Ace's Hardware for one example. Yes, Java uses a lot of memory...but memory is CHEAP! Why do we really need 64 bit desktop chips? ;-)
Also don't forget that gcc 3.0 will have a traditional (ahead of time) Java compiler for those memory-tight embedded applications.
In the meantime, my company is distributing several scientific Java apps, and supporting them on Windows, Linux and soon MacOS X. Sweeeeet!
186,282 mi/h...not just a good idea, its the law!