It sounds scarier than that. It sounds like the boss has just put every possible language "buzz word" into a list.
In fact, by specifying a "simple GUI" and "operator overloading" he is asking for a car that is suitable for a learner, that can go 400 mph and has a steering wheel that may come off if you turn it the wrong way.
I have a.com domain that is the same as.co.uk domain. I get large amounts of email for people at the company in the UK. Not only from people outside the organisation (who have typed.com without thinking) but also from people inside the organisation that have registered at web sites with.com instead of.co.uk.
These people don't even know their own email address!
Fair comment. The amount was just a number I typed off the top of my head. I think it would probably be a good idea to require the new org.au service to provide a free service level.
One of the major problems with Mr Elz was the extreme variation in service levels. I can appreciate that he was carrying out this work as a volunteer but as many other posters have pointed out the Internet has moved on from a situation where "it will happen sometime" is good enough.
The company I work for provides free support to a.org.au. Recently they had to switch ISPs in a hurry because their old ISP went belly up (the 0% telephone company). In defence of Robert Elz, the redelegation was done quickly (completed in about 1 day) however we didn't know if it would take a day, a week or a month. I think all concerned would have rather paid say $200 per year and had a guaranteed level of service rather than the uncertainty.
I have been a fan of Psion for many years and have owned four from the 3a throught to my current 5mx.
I have played with the Newton, the palm and various CE handhelds. I don't see how you can seriously use these things without a keyboard. Data entry is just too slow by stylus.
When you look at the OS inside the Palm platform you realise that people don't really care how well engineered the platform is, just how cool it looks.
The Palm V is slim and silver and sexy. The Psion 5mx is a bit big and bulky but can do so much more. However, when most people use their PDAs as simple diary/address books I guess that looks are more important than advanced functionality.
I still hope that the Symbian partnership can provide a viable alternative to M$ for embedded devices (Embedded Linux is also helping here).
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In fact, by specifying a "simple GUI" and "operator overloading" he is asking for a car that is suitable for a learner, that can go 400 mph and has a steering wheel that may come off if you turn it the wrong way.
I have a .com domain that is the same as .co.uk domain. I get large amounts of email for people at the company in the UK. Not only from people outside the organisation (who have typed .com without thinking) but also from people inside the organisation that have registered at web sites with .com instead of .co.uk.
These people don't even know their own email address!
One of the major problems with Mr Elz was the extreme variation in service levels. I can appreciate that he was carrying out this work as a volunteer but as many other posters have pointed out the Internet has moved on from a situation where "it will happen sometime" is good enough.
You get what you pay for.
When you look at the OS inside the Palm platform you realise that people don't really care how well engineered the platform is, just how cool it looks.
The Palm V is slim and silver and sexy. The Psion 5mx is a bit big and bulky but can do so much more. However, when most people use their PDAs as simple diary/address books I guess that looks are more important than advanced functionality.
I still hope that the Symbian partnership can provide a viable alternative to M$ for embedded devices (Embedded Linux is also helping here).
Well, you can get PERL and a Shell
Jaycar has been selling these in Australia for a while.