Re:Webster's dictionary anyone?
on
0wnz0red
·
· Score: 1
Even if one cares to find fault with the author's style, I think the issues raised in the story are certainly capable of provoking thought. If we take things farther and agree that some people might not enjoy the story, then I think you should give some credit and admit that others might.
I can't stand Stephen King (don't much care for horror - period). But the reality is that even if King is generally considered a hack writer, he DOES have the occasional interesting thought.
I think what they're offering is not just a certification but also that they'll steer work to you through their consulting group.
In which case they're charging you to be a broker. If you think you'll get enough work, that might be an ok deal. But usually a broker takes a cut of the take, not an upfront payment in case they might find you work.
Hey, if they can get the money, more power to them. But I have a hard time seeing how people who need this level of help are being served - and the folks who can afford to pay because of the writeoff generally aren't going to need this anyway.
OK, I can understand using certification as a business model and to help develop a stable of knowledgable consultants for projects. But having a per year fee on top of the certification seems like you're paying for them to help market you. So why not call it what it is?
Personally I think having to pay on top of the certification starts to be a bit much. If I pay the 5K and don't get any work out of it, what have they really done for me?
I'm glad to see such progress being made, and for the hard-core hacker this definately is an achievement. For those of us who aren't trusted around a soldering iron, I will be more interested to find when they can come up with a CD/DVD version that can be booted without the hardware mods.
At least the same site does offer some modded XBoxes for sale - which is a reasonable measure to get the solution out to more folks.
Well, I have to say that the "land rush" for IP is proven to be alive and well with this case. The question becomes just how aggregious these sorts of cases will need to become before things are fixed. Assuming that anyone in a position to fix things will be willing to actually do so...
A couple weeks ago I was trying to make the case about us needing to bring in Linux for evaluation in-house, and had an older HP Kayak that I did something similar on. I chose the Debian Floppy Boot and Network install option, and it seemed to go smoother than any Windows install I'd ever performed... until I got to the video.
Folks, I've often been bothered by Windows requiring me to go from 640x480x256 default to something usable. But after the gyrations I had to go through to get an X server up and running, I have a lot more appreciation for Windows.
Now, does this kind of test really matter? No! Because if there's decent documentation (something I think the Linux community does need to work on) then you do this once, and the real question becomes usability and reliability.
Ahem... while I have a hard time coming up with any discovery that is likely in nature to require such safeguards, I would point out that a rather sensible way of ensuring the secret does exist.
Many of you are probably aware of the Voyager spacecrafts, and the laserdisks of information that were burned and then attached to them. Put your information on a CD (preferably more than one to reduce the risk of media failure), and attach to a probe that you send to an outer planet with a return orbit.
Basically the cost is in the CD (minimal) and the alteration to a ship that was going to go one way to be captured in a slingshot manuever and come back around in the appropriate timeframe.
I've noticed several folks who seem to think this is silly, dumb, etc. I don't think it is. Think back to the days (if you're old enough) of monochrome displays. Even the addition of a few colors made it easier to process information by taking advantage of human sensitivity to color in our environment. To say that music, or at least sound, could be incorporated makes sense to me.
Particularly in applications where you're trying to track status over time, having some background that varies with changes can be very helpful (I seem to recall the game Populous using this to good effect to help you get a quick idea of how you were doing overall). In the context of a debugger, having clashing noises that become more melodious as the program gets closer to completion and perhaps also asit comes closer to defined standards seems to bea good motivator.
Just my.0001 share of Berkshire Hathaway's Class B worth...
Having checked the two main Linux alternates mentioned by other commentors, it appears that there isn't a native alternate that supports the two main things "I" do with QuickBooks: 1) Online Bank Account DL from WellsFargo (though Kapital seems to be working on this) 2) Create an accountant's review copy in a format that my accountant (who isn't going to Linux any time soon) can use.
Until then, I have to agree that having some support in Linux for QuickBooks is a BIG deal, and that I'm glad that the Slashdot editors decided to make it known.
I think David Brin in his novel Earth got to the same idea with his concept that in the future it would be total openness that would keep the bad guys at bay. IOW, Orwell's "magic mirror" turned the other way around.
Just my.02 worth...
As someone who has been through the various permutations of the "Broadband" market, I would point out that the Bells may control DSL, but that will only result in DSL dying on the vine.
Part of the reason I just picked up Starband service (and it's working very well, thank you) is because neither the local Bell (QWest) or the local Cable company (AT&T Broadband) could offer us a reasonable solution. I had a cable modem for about a year, but this was one of the wonderful one-way setups where the uplink ties up a phone line, and you have to reconnect on a daily basis. DSL to us would have only been 128K, and $80/month to boot. I looked into a fractional T1, but that seemed a little excessive.
I think that the slowed-down roll-out of DSL and Cable that the current market conditions have created, as well as the large areas that are likely to never see either technology, will result in increased adoption of wireless (fixed and mobile) and satellite Broadband. Which probably explains MS's investments in these areas.
FWIW,
Ewan
Slashdot Mirror
Even if one cares to find fault with the author's style, I think the issues raised in the story are certainly capable of provoking thought. If we take things farther and agree that some people might not enjoy the story, then I think you should give some credit and admit that others might.
.02 worth...
I can't stand Stephen King (don't much care for horror - period). But the reality is that even if King is generally considered a hack writer, he DOES have the occasional interesting thought.
My
I think what they're offering is not just a certification but also that they'll steer work to you through their consulting group.
.02 worth...
In which case they're charging you to be a broker. If you think you'll get enough work, that might be an ok deal. But usually a broker takes a cut of the take, not an upfront payment in case they might find you work.
Hey, if they can get the money, more power to them. But I have a hard time seeing how people who need this level of help are being served - and the folks who can afford to pay because of the writeoff generally aren't going to need this anyway.
Just my
OK, I can understand using certification as a business model and to help develop a stable of knowledgable consultants for projects. But having a per year fee on top of the certification seems like you're paying for them to help market you. So why not call it what it is?
Personally I think having to pay on top of the certification starts to be a bit much. If I pay the 5K and don't get any work out of it, what have they really done for me?
I'm glad to see such progress being made, and for the hard-core hacker this definately is an achievement. For those of us who aren't trusted around a soldering iron, I will be more interested to find when they can come up with a CD/DVD version that can be booted without the hardware mods.
At least the same site does offer some modded XBoxes for sale - which is a reasonable measure to get the solution out to more folks.
Well, I have to say that the "land rush" for IP is proven to be alive and well with this case. The question becomes just how aggregious these sorts of cases will need to become before things are fixed. Assuming that anyone in a position to fix things will be willing to actually do so...
A couple weeks ago I was trying to make the case about us needing to bring in Linux for evaluation in-house, and had an older HP Kayak that I did something similar on. I chose the Debian Floppy Boot and Network install option, and it seemed to go smoother than any Windows install I'd ever performed... until I got to the video.
.02 worth,
Folks, I've often been bothered by Windows requiring me to go from 640x480x256 default to something usable. But after the gyrations I had to go through to get an X server up and running, I have a lot more appreciation for Windows.
Now, does this kind of test really matter? No! Because if there's decent documentation (something I think the Linux community does need to work on) then you do this once, and the real question becomes usability and reliability.
Just my
Ewan
Ahem... while I have a hard time coming up with any discovery that is likely in nature to require such safeguards, I would point out that a rather sensible way of ensuring the secret does exist.
Many of you are probably aware of the Voyager spacecrafts, and the laserdisks of information that were burned and then attached to them. Put your information on a CD (preferably more than one to reduce the risk of media failure), and attach to a probe that you send to an outer planet with a return orbit.
Basically the cost is in the CD (minimal) and the alteration to a ship that was going to go one way to be captured in a slingshot manuever and come back around in the appropriate timeframe.
I've noticed several folks who seem to think this is silly, dumb, etc. I don't think it is. Think back to the days (if you're old enough) of monochrome displays. Even the addition of a few colors made it easier to process information by taking advantage of human sensitivity to color in our environment. To say that music, or at least sound, could be incorporated makes sense to me.
.0001 share of Berkshire Hathaway's Class B worth...
Particularly in applications where you're trying to track status over time, having some background that varies with changes can be very helpful (I seem to recall the game Populous using this to good effect to help you get a quick idea of how you were doing overall). In the context of a debugger, having clashing noises that become more melodious as the program gets closer to completion and perhaps also asit comes closer to defined standards seems to bea good motivator.
Just my
Having checked the two main Linux alternates mentioned by other commentors, it appears that there isn't a native alternate that supports the two main things "I" do with QuickBooks:
1) Online Bank Account DL from WellsFargo (though Kapital seems to be working on this)
2) Create an accountant's review copy in a format that my accountant (who isn't going to Linux any time soon) can use.
Until then, I have to agree that having some support in Linux for QuickBooks is a BIG deal, and that I'm glad that the Slashdot editors decided to make it known.
I think David Brin in his novel Earth got to the same idea with his concept that in the future it would be total openness that would keep the bad guys at bay. IOW, Orwell's "magic mirror" turned the other way around. Just my .02 worth...
As someone who has been through the various permutations of the "Broadband" market, I would point out that the Bells may control DSL, but that will only result in DSL dying on the vine. Part of the reason I just picked up Starband service (and it's working very well, thank you) is because neither the local Bell (QWest) or the local Cable company (AT&T Broadband) could offer us a reasonable solution. I had a cable modem for about a year, but this was one of the wonderful one-way setups where the uplink ties up a phone line, and you have to reconnect on a daily basis. DSL to us would have only been 128K, and $80/month to boot. I looked into a fractional T1, but that seemed a little excessive. I think that the slowed-down roll-out of DSL and Cable that the current market conditions have created, as well as the large areas that are likely to never see either technology, will result in increased adoption of wireless (fixed and mobile) and satellite Broadband. Which probably explains MS's investments in these areas. FWIW, Ewan