DaimlerChrysler is one of the world's leading automotive companies. Its passenger car brands include Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Jeep(R), Dodge and smart. Commercial vehicle brands include Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star and Setra.
Sounds like a good reason to dump all my SCO products all together. If you are going to sue me because I won't tell you what other products I am using...
I hope that because of this, when SCO looses (we all know it's inevitable) all the companies once using SCO products now switch to Linux. buahahahahahahaha
When is this going to stop? I mean, I do find it a little entertaining but it must be hurting these companies at least a little bit. I mean, these companies probably won't be able to recover their legal fee's because SCO will go bankrupt.
hehe... especially because if instead of payin $120/year you bought those 4-5 cd's off of something like iTunes ($10/album) you'd only pay about $50. Therefore not only would you own the songs (and be able to burn them to disc) you'd save yourself about $70, enough to buy 7 more albums. (or 70 individual songs).
I never really got why anyone bought napster... the whole reason it was popular was because the songs were FREE. Illeagal but free... now you have the stigma of illegal music attached with the name napster and anyone who would be interested in that isn't going to pay you $10 a month.
And then when Napster goes belly up you have no songs that you can listen to, while with Apple, you'd still have those 360 songs.
Or when you decide that you've been spending way too much money on a service you don't really use any more and decide to cancel your subscription you are back to 0 songs. whoops, should have bought the cd or bought them from iTunes huh? At least then you'd still have music to listen to.
Let's see... how often do you refer to an encyclopedia? How often do you listen to music? If the answer to both those questions is almost never then you've earned the right to STFU (Shut the fine up for the acronym impared)
I bet you are also likely to pay a monthly subscription to access an encyclopedia aren't you? How are the two related? It boggles my mind to think that you said I don't want to own music just like I don't want to own an encyclopedia.
I mean sure, when cd's first came out, everyone had an encyclopedia on a disc that seemed to come with a cd drive and it was cool but did you ever really use it? No because unless you are in school doing research you don't need to use one. Now we have the great wikipedia which is free so I doubt I'd be spending any money (aside from a donation to them) on an encyclopedia.
I have a bunch of cds... I ripped them all to mp3. Why would I pay someone money to listen to those or similar songs? In fact I haven't bought a cd for about 3 years now. ($10/month * 12 months = $120 * 3 = $360) So in my situation I would have wasted about $360 in the past three years. Now say I decided I really like John Mayer's new album and I want to buy it. I go to iTunes and spend $10 and I can now listen to that album whenever and wherever I want. I don't have to continue to pay someone to listen to it.
So if you pay more than $10/month on cd's and expect to continue to do so for the rest of your life and you don't think napster is going to collapse I'd say it's a deal. However, if you are like me and probably paid a few hundred dollars on a bunch of cd's over the years but only force buying a new cd every year or so then it's really not worth it. On demand works for some things, not for others. I definately don't think it works for music.
(BTW, I haven't bought a cd in about 3 years because I am boycotting RIAA. I probably won't buy anything off iTunes either but there are a few songs that I've been considering. I really wish more authors would put out their own songs)
If SCO should win (ok, stop laughing... hypothetically) Linux kernel development would stop. You cannot place the kind of restrictions on the kernel that says SCO get any money per license. Linux would cease to be... does anyone not get that? What would your license be worth then?
I imagine that they would go back and remove the infringing code and start over with whatever is left but then we now have the new Linux and SCO's "linux." Which are you going to use?
Ok, that's the worst case senario. What's most likely to happen even if infringing code is found? The kernel developers will probably be ordered to take out the code and remove kernel versions with infringing code from places like kernel.org.
What I think will happen, the judge will tell SCO that there is no basis to their claims. IBM will countersue and if there is anything left I would hope some open source people (like linux himself) sue SCO to finish them off.
There is absolutely NO way that paying sco's "fee" is beneficial unless you really want to get rid of some money... if that's the case, I have a bridge to sell you...
Companies that pay SCO's extortion fees do not have faith in the GPL, do not have faith in the linux developers and really only care about news and sensationalism. Just like SCO. I for one will never use EV1 after this fiasco. It's a shame too because I'm in the market for some web space right now.
I too wonder where the paychecks come from however, I have also benefitted from using open source software (linux and other GNU software). Where would I be without it? I wouldn't want to think about that. I'd probably still be using windows and Microsoft really wouldn't care too much about improving it's code because your pretty much stuck with a crappy OS that wouldn't even be where it is today.
I also think open source software saved the Mac. I think the old OS was definately on it's way out and taking and open sourced UNIX and putting a nice GUI on it was one of the best decisions apple has ever made. While not all their code is open sourced, I'm ok with that because they still give back to the open source community. A community you are a part of if you use any open sourced program.
We'll take apache, one of the biggest and most widely used web servers. Suddenly you have a job market for web admins that are familiar with apache. What if you are one of the developers... Imagine what that would do to your resume? Then you have companies like IBM who are embracing open source to help them get rid of the shackles of microsoft. It's free and they can do pretty much whatever they want with it. So they hire some programmers to write code and give it back.
If you are a company who uses open source software, I feel you should give back to the community that gave you a free OS. I think there is a certain mix of free software and paid software that you can reach.
I have benefitted from open source and because of that I will give back in whatever way I can. I think a lot of people feel the same way. That's not to say I won't take a job writing a closed source application that fills a need as well. Companies will always need specific programs written just for them.
I think open source has been created to fill the need for better software.
Well that works to some degree except what happens when all the work is done in another country? Who is left to buy the cheaper goods?
If I had known what I know now, I would have gone to a trade school instead of college because I could easily find a job doing blue-collar work because you can't outsource most of those jobs. Try and find a plumber in India to fix your leaky toilet... not gonna happen. However, who aspires to be a plumber?
Fortunately I have an interview in a couple weeks for a potential job but it's not what I really want to do. I have less choices because the market is flooded with IT people and companies are finding it's cheaper to hire a programmer in India.
Ok, so now a lot of programmers have to find other jobs. Not a big deal because they can get their house cheaper because the construction company uses a digger. How does that help them when they have no job? So they get a job at McDonalds to help pay off their student loans and do some open source programming on the side.
Fortunately the US still has managers and CEOs to buy the supervalue meals so that the programmer can feed his/her family.
I think outsourcing is only going to cause the rich to get richer and the poor to stay at the same level. Of course poor is a relative term... when the poor are driving Explorers while talking on their cell-phone it's hard to feel sorry for them. However, how is their debt going to hurt us in the long run? I don't know but it will certainly be interesting to see.
So what you are suggesting is that your computer constantly ping the network looking for printers?
I have to say... my experience has been the opposite in dealing with CUPS... First I made sure it was installed, which was easy because I'm using Debian:-), then I had to try and remember what the port number it was to get to the webadmin... 631 (I think) so I goto http://localhost:631/ and viola! I am presented with a web interface to do all my cups needs. So I click on printers and then Add Printer... guess what that does.
Now comes the hard part, I have to think of a name, location and Description for my printer, ok did that now I need to set it up. It does a pretty good job, in my case I select "USB printer #1" then choose the HP900 series driver and it added the printer. Oh and it works.
Now getting it working with samba was a little tricky... In case anyone is interested, add the following to your smb.conf:
load printers = yes
printcap name = cups
printing = cups and then down with the shares: [printers]
comment = All Printers
browseable = yes
path =/tmp
printable = yes
public = yes
writable = no
create mode = 0700 I was then able to easily add it to my PowerBook (which also uses CUPS) though I used apple's little interface rather than the web one.
Personally I think CUPS is a godsend from the days pre-CUPS... I never want to go back to then... it was such a pain to get anything but plain text to print. Kudos to the CUPS developers. Of course I haven't tried their GUI but that's because I like the web interface.
Debian's biggest hurdle is getting it installed. Once it's installed you can either use the command line or dselect. type dselect (or use one of the GUI versions of dselect) and select update... information on the new updates and any new software is downloaded. Then select install and viola! it downloads and installs any updates. You can also choose select and choose new packages or delete old ones.
If you have standard hardware the install is fairly easy (just not as easy as redhats or debians). Give it a try, the only question is stable, unstable or testing?
I use remote displays all the time... why would I want to use a memory intensive VNC to do a few things on a server.
Ok, actually I usually just use ssh as I prefer the command prompt a lot but when I need a GUI, I use "ssh -X" it's quick, it's easy and thanks to apple for releasing their X server, I can run anything from my linux server on my powerbook.
That all depends on what you are doing... if you are doing it for fun then yes, I agree with you... however, if you are a programmer who picked up learn c++ in 24 hours, and now call yourself a coder, you have a lot to learn, and x86 asm might be the place to start.
But seriously, I had to take a class that delt with assembly language. Unfortunately it wasn't x86 asm but rather MIPS. It was a good course, taught me a greater apreciation for the higher level languages. (That and to run away from any job with assembly in the job description)
It's cool to learn and to help in debugging but I wouldn't want to write code in just assembly.
Well yes but once you hook your cable modem (or even dsl modem) to a router (which handles all the... routing) it's just a network. However, this new technology requires a pcmcia card which is most likely proprietary... not like a regular network on cat5 cable. So someone needs to find a way of loading the drivers for said pcmcia card on a linux or mac or whatever OS.
If they wanted to track bandwidth etc, they are better off tracking it on their side. I'm sure every time you make a request you transmit your MAC address or something equally unique.
I would bet they are doing it on windows only because 1) They don't want to train their support group on anything but windows or 2) there aren't drivers for anything but windows. Either way, it will be a while before we see this on anything but windows.
The real problem is that people don't want to pay a lot of money. Therefore, someone makes a crap phone but it's cheaper than that more expensive phone over there. The company making the (crap) phone really doesn't care about it's customers being happy, all they care is that they sold a (crap) phone.
Pretty soon, the makers of the good phones see that the crap phones are flying off the shelves (because so many people have to buy replacement phones) so they decide to market a cheaper (crappy) phone. Since they are cheaper, they sell better and as a result they decide to stop making the good phones. (Or they make one or two that are almost impossible to find and are really expensive because they are making less of them)
Now let's say bluetooth get's big and I really want it in my phone. I have a good phone, got it back when they still made good phones. So I go back to the company that made my original phone (because I had a good experience) and get a new phone with bluetooth. The only problem is now it also has an mp3 player, camera, games, color screen... all the things I don't really want but I really want the bluetooth so I buy it. However, it lasts just as long as the waranty because now it's a crap phone. So I buy another one convincing myself that it was a defect or something and the next one will be better. This goes on until I get upset about it and spend the rest of my life trying to find a better phone. I then find a good phone but the service I have is a 5 year contract and they are raping me in "service" fees. However everyone is doing it so I don't really have a choice in the matter.
This is happening everywhere. Companies are realizing that they will sell more stuff if it breaks easier because few companies are making quality stuff. But I digress...
Consumers neet to stop impulse buying! And they need to stop shopping at walmart! Walmart is the biggest hinderence in this area because they say "We won't sell your X unless you sell it to us for Y" Therefore the company has to find some way of selling it for Y which usually involves making it with cheaper (and less durable) components and usually in a foreign country. So remember, next time you are shopping at Walmart "because it's cheaper" you are helping to make crappy things.
I've been reading the third volume and it has some interesting articles that you will be able to understand, I wouldn't try and learn from them. I would start with either Learning Perl or Programming perl (The Camel book) (or both). Once you start programming in perl, then I'd recommend getting the other books.
Haven't looked at much perl code have you? Sure perl is known for it's obfuscated code contests and it's Haiku poetry. But I think this misconception arises from it's flexibility. I think it also comes from regular expressions which can get quite cryptic quite fast, especially if you don't know what it means.
However, as someone who just started learning perl, I think it's a great language. Learn a little about the language and then say it's hard to read. Heck, I could put all my c code on one line, does that mean it's a hard to read language?
The company now plans to stop making the electronics and movie tie-in products and return to its core mission: producing colored plastic building blocks for children.
I think mindstorms fall into the electronics part, so it does strongly suggest they are stoping production on mindstorms.
considering the fact that driving is a rather simple mental process
WTF?!?!? since when is navigating a few thousand pound vehicle at high speeds a simple mental process?
There are so many things that can happen when you are driving a car.... a kid could run out into the street, a car could run a red light, a car could swerve into your lane. I could go on and on but I won't. The simple act of pressing the gas pedal and turning the wheel may be a simple mental process but actually being aware of what is going on around you at the time isn't.
I see it all the time... I'm following someone on the highway and they pick up the phone to either recieve a call or make a call and from that moment on they drive like an idiot. Then when they hang up the phone driving resumes as normal. I'm certainly not up for someone using a computer and driving at the same time except MAYBE for the occasional brief glimps at directions but I think not allowing a passenger to operate a computer is rediculous.
It really depends on where you go, some police forces are trained to drive (though not much) and other places aren't. I don't know how it is in California though.
However, I know some cops and I don't trust them to operate a computer while driving. It also seems like a double standard... oh you can't use a computer because we say so but emergency vehicles can. WTF?
I know more and more utility companies over here on the east coast are using computers and GPS to find there way around and this wouldn't allow for that. I also think it's reduculous because if in an accident the most dangerous place for a laptop to be would be in the back seat because it would fly forard.
Stupid laws, stupid laws and more stupid laws. That and the high prices are 2 reasons I will never move to california. (Though it is beautiful)
book itself is pretty lame
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Linux Toys
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I got this book hoping for a but more information than what the author gives but the scripts are useful.
My biggest gripe is they are only available in rpm format. I ended up using alien to convert them to debs but they still require some tweaking.
The book goes over a little (mostly stuff I already knew like init scripts and stuff) but I was looking for something a little more. (information wise) I don't want to just install some scripts and voila! I want to know what's going on and the book does little to help with that.
I've thought it would be a great idea to start looking at an open source project and learn to code that way. Unfortunately it's been a hair pulling experience. I know the basics (like loops, variables, functions etc...) and I can write small little programs but I never quite know how to help a large project. I've looked at the kernel... voom, right over my head.
My biggest luck has recently been with perl. I've found it very useful in even writing small useful programs. Since it is one of the higher level languages, there is usually less code and can sometimes be quite readable. (though sometimes not) Howevever the desire is still there to help on larger projects in c or c++.... I just don't know where to start. Can anyone recommend a smallish well documented program that a beginner can look at and possibly help with? -Chris
Can you say "Oh Cr@*, I read my e-mail and now I have a virus" oh yeah... "and now everyone in my address book is going to get it to."
or "Oh Cr@*, I opened a word document and now I have a virus"
or "Oh no, I was browsing the web with IE and now I have a virus"
No system is 100% safe... even if you disconnect it from the internet and put it in a safe, someone will still be able to get it... it just a matter of how easy it is to get to.
Slashdot Mirror
Sounds like a good reason to dump all my SCO products all together. If you are going to sue me because I won't tell you what other products I am using...
I hope that because of this, when SCO looses (we all know it's inevitable) all the companies once using SCO products now switch to Linux. buahahahahahahaha
When is this going to stop? I mean, I do find it a little entertaining but it must be hurting these companies at least a little bit. I mean, these companies probably won't be able to recover their legal fee's because SCO will go bankrupt.
hehe... especially because if instead of payin $120/year you bought those 4-5 cd's off of something like iTunes ($10/album) you'd only pay about $50. Therefore not only would you own the songs (and be able to burn them to disc) you'd save yourself about $70, enough to buy 7 more albums. (or 70 individual songs).
I never really got why anyone bought napster... the whole reason it was popular was because the songs were FREE. Illeagal but free... now you have the stigma of illegal music attached with the name napster and anyone who would be interested in that isn't going to pay you $10 a month.
And then when Napster goes belly up you have no songs that you can listen to, while with Apple, you'd still have those 360 songs.
Or when you decide that you've been spending way too much money on a service you don't really use any more and decide to cancel your subscription you are back to 0 songs. whoops, should have bought the cd or bought them from iTunes huh? At least then you'd still have music to listen to.
Let's see... how often do you refer to an encyclopedia? How often do you listen to music? If the answer to both those questions is almost never then you've earned the right to STFU (Shut the fine up for the acronym impared)
I bet you are also likely to pay a monthly subscription to access an encyclopedia aren't you? How are the two related? It boggles my mind to think that you said I don't want to own music just like I don't want to own an encyclopedia.
I mean sure, when cd's first came out, everyone had an encyclopedia on a disc that seemed to come with a cd drive and it was cool but did you ever really use it? No because unless you are in school doing research you don't need to use one. Now we have the great wikipedia which is free so I doubt I'd be spending any money (aside from a donation to them) on an encyclopedia.
I have a bunch of cds... I ripped them all to mp3. Why would I pay someone money to listen to those or similar songs? In fact I haven't bought a cd for about 3 years now. ($10/month * 12 months = $120 * 3 = $360) So in my situation I would have wasted about $360 in the past three years. Now say I decided I really like John Mayer's new album and I want to buy it. I go to iTunes and spend $10 and I can now listen to that album whenever and wherever I want. I don't have to continue to pay someone to listen to it.
So if you pay more than $10/month on cd's and expect to continue to do so for the rest of your life and you don't think napster is going to collapse I'd say it's a deal. However, if you are like me and probably paid a few hundred dollars on a bunch of cd's over the years but only force buying a new cd every year or so then it's really not worth it. On demand works for some things, not for others. I definately don't think it works for music.
(BTW, I haven't bought a cd in about 3 years because I am boycotting RIAA. I probably won't buy anything off iTunes either but there are a few songs that I've been considering. I really wish more authors would put out their own songs)
They basically just spit on the GPL...
If SCO should win (ok, stop laughing... hypothetically) Linux kernel development would stop. You cannot place the kind of restrictions on the kernel that says SCO get any money per license. Linux would cease to be... does anyone not get that? What would your license be worth then?
I imagine that they would go back and remove the infringing code and start over with whatever is left but then we now have the new Linux and SCO's "linux." Which are you going to use?
Ok, that's the worst case senario. What's most likely to happen even if infringing code is found? The kernel developers will probably be ordered to take out the code and remove kernel versions with infringing code from places like kernel.org.
What I think will happen, the judge will tell SCO that there is no basis to their claims. IBM will countersue and if there is anything left I would hope some open source people (like linux himself) sue SCO to finish them off.
There is absolutely NO way that paying sco's "fee" is beneficial unless you really want to get rid of some money... if that's the case, I have a bridge to sell you...
Companies that pay SCO's extortion fees do not have faith in the GPL, do not have faith in the linux developers and really only care about news and sensationalism. Just like SCO. I for one will never use EV1 after this fiasco. It's a shame too because I'm in the market for some web space right now.
I too wonder where the paychecks come from however, I have also benefitted from using open source software (linux and other GNU software). Where would I be without it? I wouldn't want to think about that. I'd probably still be using windows and Microsoft really wouldn't care too much about improving it's code because your pretty much stuck with a crappy OS that wouldn't even be where it is today.
I also think open source software saved the Mac. I think the old OS was definately on it's way out and taking and open sourced UNIX and putting a nice GUI on it was one of the best decisions apple has ever made. While not all their code is open sourced, I'm ok with that because they still give back to the open source community. A community you are a part of if you use any open sourced program.
We'll take apache, one of the biggest and most widely used web servers. Suddenly you have a job market for web admins that are familiar with apache. What if you are one of the developers... Imagine what that would do to your resume? Then you have companies like IBM who are embracing open source to help them get rid of the shackles of microsoft. It's free and they can do pretty much whatever they want with it. So they hire some programmers to write code and give it back.
If you are a company who uses open source software, I feel you should give back to the community that gave you a free OS. I think there is a certain mix of free software and paid software that you can reach.
I have benefitted from open source and because of that I will give back in whatever way I can. I think a lot of people feel the same way. That's not to say I won't take a job writing a closed source application that fills a need as well. Companies will always need specific programs written just for them.
I think open source has been created to fill the need for better software.
Well that works to some degree except what happens when all the work is done in another country? Who is left to buy the cheaper goods?
If I had known what I know now, I would have gone to a trade school instead of college because I could easily find a job doing blue-collar work because you can't outsource most of those jobs. Try and find a plumber in India to fix your leaky toilet... not gonna happen. However, who aspires to be a plumber?
Fortunately I have an interview in a couple weeks for a potential job but it's not what I really want to do. I have less choices because the market is flooded with IT people and companies are finding it's cheaper to hire a programmer in India.
Ok, so now a lot of programmers have to find other jobs. Not a big deal because they can get their house cheaper because the construction company uses a digger. How does that help them when they have no job? So they get a job at McDonalds to help pay off their student loans and do some open source programming on the side.
Fortunately the US still has managers and CEOs to buy the supervalue meals so that the programmer can feed his/her family.
I think outsourcing is only going to cause the rich to get richer and the poor to stay at the same level. Of course poor is a relative term... when the poor are driving Explorers while talking on their cell-phone it's hard to feel sorry for them. However, how is their debt going to hurt us in the long run? I don't know but it will certainly be interesting to see.
I'd rather use a plasma cutter... it's more fun :-]
So what you are suggesting is that your computer constantly ping the network looking for printers?
:-), then I had to try and remember what the port number it was to get to the webadmin... 631 (I think) so I goto http://localhost:631/ and viola! I am presented with a web interface to do all my cups needs. So I click on printers and then Add Printer... guess what that does.
/tmp
I have to say... my experience has been the opposite in dealing with CUPS... First I made sure it was installed, which was easy because I'm using Debian
Now comes the hard part, I have to think of a name, location and Description for my printer, ok did that now I need to set it up. It does a pretty good job, in my case I select "USB printer #1" then choose the HP900 series driver and it added the printer. Oh and it works.
Now getting it working with samba was a little tricky... In case anyone is interested, add the following to your smb.conf:
load printers = yes
printcap name = cups
printing = cups
and then down with the shares:
[printers]
comment = All Printers
browseable = yes
path =
printable = yes
public = yes
writable = no
create mode = 0700
I was then able to easily add it to my PowerBook (which also uses CUPS) though I used apple's little interface rather than the web one.
Personally I think CUPS is a godsend from the days pre-CUPS... I never want to go back to then... it was such a pain to get anything but plain text to print. Kudos to the CUPS developers. Of course I haven't tried their GUI but that's because I like the web interface.
Wait... April comes after March... this is way too early for an April fools joke.
If I was a windows user, I'd seriously consider suing M$ for false advertising.
Debian's biggest hurdle is getting it installed. Once it's installed you can either use the command line or dselect. type dselect (or use one of the GUI versions of dselect) and select update... information on the new updates and any new software is downloaded. Then select install and viola! it downloads and installs any updates. You can also choose select and choose new packages or delete old ones.
If you have standard hardware the install is fairly easy (just not as easy as redhats or debians). Give it a try, the only question is stable, unstable or testing?
I use remote displays all the time... why would I want to use a memory intensive VNC to do a few things on a server.
Ok, actually I usually just use ssh as I prefer the command prompt a lot but when I need a GUI, I use "ssh -X" it's quick, it's easy and thanks to apple for releasing their X server, I can run anything from my linux server on my powerbook.
That all depends on what you are doing... if you are doing it for fun then yes, I agree with you... however, if you are a programmer who picked up learn c++ in 24 hours, and now call yourself a coder, you have a lot to learn, and x86 asm might be the place to start.
Hasn't assembly been around for a while?
But seriously, I had to take a class that delt with assembly language. Unfortunately it wasn't x86 asm but rather MIPS. It was a good course, taught me a greater apreciation for the higher level languages. (That and to run away from any job with assembly in the job description)
It's cool to learn and to help in debugging but I wouldn't want to write code in just assembly.
Well yes but once you hook your cable modem (or even dsl modem) to a router (which handles all the ... routing) it's just a network. However, this new technology requires a pcmcia card which is most likely proprietary... not like a regular network on cat5 cable. So someone needs to find a way of loading the drivers for said pcmcia card on a linux or mac or whatever OS.
If they wanted to track bandwidth etc, they are better off tracking it on their side. I'm sure every time you make a request you transmit your MAC address or something equally unique.
I would bet they are doing it on windows only because 1) They don't want to train their support group on anything but windows or 2) there aren't drivers for anything but windows. Either way, it will be a while before we see this on anything but windows.
The real problem is that people don't want to pay a lot of money. Therefore, someone makes a crap phone but it's cheaper than that more expensive phone over there. The company making the (crap) phone really doesn't care about it's customers being happy, all they care is that they sold a (crap) phone.
Pretty soon, the makers of the good phones see that the crap phones are flying off the shelves (because so many people have to buy replacement phones) so they decide to market a cheaper (crappy) phone. Since they are cheaper, they sell better and as a result they decide to stop making the good phones. (Or they make one or two that are almost impossible to find and are really expensive because they are making less of them)
Now let's say bluetooth get's big and I really want it in my phone. I have a good phone, got it back when they still made good phones. So I go back to the company that made my original phone (because I had a good experience) and get a new phone with bluetooth. The only problem is now it also has an mp3 player, camera, games, color screen... all the things I don't really want but I really want the bluetooth so I buy it. However, it lasts just as long as the waranty because now it's a crap phone. So I buy another one convincing myself that it was a defect or something and the next one will be better. This goes on until I get upset about it and spend the rest of my life trying to find a better phone. I then find a good phone but the service I have is a 5 year contract and they are raping me in "service" fees. However everyone is doing it so I don't really have a choice in the matter.
This is happening everywhere. Companies are realizing that they will sell more stuff if it breaks easier because few companies are making quality stuff. But I digress...
Consumers neet to stop impulse buying! And they need to stop shopping at walmart! Walmart is the biggest hinderence in this area because they say "We won't sell your X unless you sell it to us for Y" Therefore the company has to find some way of selling it for Y which usually involves making it with cheaper (and less durable) components and usually in a foreign country. So remember, next time you are shopping at Walmart "because it's cheaper" you are helping to make crappy things.
I've been reading the third volume and it has some interesting articles that you will be able to understand, I wouldn't try and learn from them. I would start with either Learning Perl or Programming perl (The Camel book) (or both). Once you start programming in perl, then I'd recommend getting the other books.
Haven't looked at much perl code have you? Sure perl is known for it's obfuscated code contests and it's Haiku poetry. But I think this misconception arises from it's flexibility. I think it also comes from regular expressions which can get quite cryptic quite fast, especially if you don't know what it means.
However, as someone who just started learning perl, I think it's a great language. Learn a little about the language and then say it's hard to read. Heck, I could put all my c code on one line, does that mean it's a hard to read language?
The company now plans to stop making the electronics and movie tie-in products and return to its core mission: producing colored plastic building blocks for children.
I think mindstorms fall into the electronics part, so it does strongly suggest they are stoping production on mindstorms.
considering the fact that driving is a rather simple mental process
WTF?!?!? since when is navigating a few thousand pound vehicle at high speeds a simple mental process?
There are so many things that can happen when you are driving a car.... a kid could run out into the street, a car could run a red light, a car could swerve into your lane. I could go on and on but I won't. The simple act of pressing the gas pedal and turning the wheel may be a simple mental process but actually being aware of what is going on around you at the time isn't.
I see it all the time... I'm following someone on the highway and they pick up the phone to either recieve a call or make a call and from that moment on they drive like an idiot. Then when they hang up the phone driving resumes as normal. I'm certainly not up for someone using a computer and driving at the same time except MAYBE for the occasional brief glimps at directions but I think not allowing a passenger to operate a computer is rediculous.
It really depends on where you go, some police forces are trained to drive (though not much) and other places aren't. I don't know how it is in California though.
However, I know some cops and I don't trust them to operate a computer while driving. It also seems like a double standard... oh you can't use a computer because we say so but emergency vehicles can. WTF?
I know more and more utility companies over here on the east coast are using computers and GPS to find there way around and this wouldn't allow for that. I also think it's reduculous because if in an accident the most dangerous place for a laptop to be would be in the back seat because it would fly forard.
Stupid laws, stupid laws and more stupid laws. That and the high prices are 2 reasons I will never move to california. (Though it is beautiful)
I got this book hoping for a but more information than what the author gives but the scripts are useful.
My biggest gripe is they are only available in rpm format. I ended up using alien to convert them to debs but they still require some tweaking.
The book goes over a little (mostly stuff I already knew like init scripts and stuff) but I was looking for something a little more. (information wise) I don't want to just install some scripts and voila! I want to know what's going on and the book does little to help with that.
I've thought it would be a great idea to start looking at an open source project and learn to code that way. Unfortunately it's been a hair pulling experience. I know the basics (like loops, variables, functions etc...) and I can write small little programs but I never quite know how to help a large project. I've looked at the kernel... voom, right over my head.
My biggest luck has recently been with perl. I've found it very useful in even writing small useful programs. Since it is one of the higher level languages, there is usually less code and can sometimes be quite readable. (though sometimes not) Howevever the desire is still there to help on larger projects in c or c++.... I just don't know where to start. Can anyone recommend a smallish well documented program that a beginner can look at and possibly help with?
-Chris
Can you say "Oh Cr@*, I read my e-mail and now I have a virus" oh yeah... "and now everyone in my address book is going to get it to."
or "Oh Cr@*, I opened a word document and now I have a virus"
or "Oh no, I was browsing the web with IE and now I have a virus"
No system is 100% safe... even if you disconnect it from the internet and put it in a safe, someone will still be able to get it... it just a matter of how easy it is to get to.