He was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on the BBC a few years back, probably at about the same time as this interview. Paxman asked him something like "Why is your software so unreliable?" and he answered, "Maybe you aren't using it correctly". So this interview is spot on about Bill's attitude to bugs back then.
AIUI, the X-Box is hard-wired to reboot when you open the CD tray. How are you going to load that software? Online? Do enough of the target audience have broadband to justify the investment in that distro channel?
I googled, and found this and this, both of which rate Sony as the biggest, one of which specifically includes GameBoy. They're both admittedly a little out of date.
Ms. Carroll (group manager of Microsoft's trusted-platform-technologies group)... says "the terms of the license for an application are strictly an issue between the vendor and the university."
No, it isn't, it's an issue between the vendor, the university, and the laws that regulate what is legal in a contract and what is not, and the what rights a rightsholder has under copyright law.
Yes, I was mainly referring to end-user software functionality. The protocols and formats that the OS and FS community come up with are generally rather spiffy, it's just that the software itself is all very derivative.
So when does it just stop being the sincerest form of flattery and just become utter, pathetic laziness?
You could say the same about Linux GUI design, in fact, just about any Linux software design. I don't usually complain about MS bashing, in fact I usually join in, but this is just pathetic.
Also anyone that uses Outlook and Mozilla will show up as using IE and Mozilla, if they open any HTML emails. When I occasionally ran Mandrake at home, I browsed some pages with Konqueror and some with Netscape.
So what are people supposed to do, if they have 2 home PCs and want broadband? Do they have to get 2 broadband connections? I have friends that play Diablo 2 online, on 2 PCs. Is that so wrong?
This doesn't need a genetic explanation. Maybe if an earlier birth is advantageous, then any mutations that help with this would become the norm. However, they may just be adaptive to the conditions. The fact that I have white skin is genetic, but the fact that I get up early on a Monday to put the garbage out isn't.
It's not like anyone's going to get locked up or executed for this, it's a company on trial, not a person. The judicial safeguards therefore don't have to be as rigorous, IMO. Having said that, the economic impact of MicroSoft being severely slapped shouldn't be underestimated. There are a lot of pension funds heavily tied up in MicroSoft stock.
The point is that 3rd party manufacturers can't install Mozilla as the default browser on PCs that they sell. Microsoft won't let them, it's in their contract.
I'm typing this on Windows 2000 (work PC), but I installed Mozilla 1.2.1. I still have to use IE for a few things, like intranet applications, and I haven't installed Flash on Mozilla yet, so I use IE for that.
The freedom of the software is enforced by my copyright. I own it, and keep it free. Software has no rights of it's own, so would have no protection under law unless it has a copyright owner. In other words, yes, the "freedom" analogy is a little bit broken.
Socialism is sometimes used to mean "socially conscious", but the technical definition is "state ownership of the means of production" (as against communism, "workers' ownership of the means of production"). It's a politically loaded term and should be avoided, really.
I thought this was a little odd when I first came across it, but you aren't actually adding any identifiers to the namespace. You're just providing an additional overload for an existing function (the standalone operator). Given that the standalone operator is in namespace std, it makes sense to put overloads in it. Name resolution would be much more complex and unpredictable otherwise.
As soon as RMS writes a license that allows for true "freedom" (ie, I can do whatever the hell I want with the licensed software, including releasing it under a non-GPL license), I will take his views on "freedom" seriously.
The GNU philosophy is intended to keep the software free - I don't care about your freedom to enslave my software.
The Match-Head Surprise Potato Cannon
on
Potato Bazookas
·
· Score: 4, Funny
I spent more than one evening on the run-up to Guy Fawkes Night (Nov 5th) sitting in an attic, crushing match-heads between two 10p pieces (a bit larger than a quarter, I think), nerves stretched by the imminent possibility of a flare-up. Between four of five of us, we collected the crushed heads of about 4,000 matches.
On the big night, we rammed a 6 foot steel pipe about two feet into the ground, rammed paper into it until the paper reached ground level, then poured in the match-heads, jammed a potato in the top of the pipe, and lit a fire around the base.
Then we just got on with the business of lighting a proper bonfire, making punch, roasting potatoes, setting off fireworks, and drinking. Every time anyone walked past the pipe, they would glance nervously at it. A couple of hours later, there was a tremendous thundering BOOM, and the potato went up into the stratosphere.
We can all be journalists
on
Using the FOIA
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Anyone that posts to Slashdot is a journalist. Slashdot is a journal, and is a record of the thoughts and feelings of more than one generation of nerds. The idea that only someone that works for a commercial newspaper or magazine can wear the journalist hat needs to be fought at every opportunity.
Slashdot Mirror
More for my benefit than yours as this is the quickest method I have for creating a clickable link (yes, including all this typing)
He was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on the BBC a few years back, probably at about the same time as this interview. Paxman asked him something like "Why is your software so unreliable?" and he answered, "Maybe you aren't using it correctly". So this interview is spot on about Bill's attitude to bugs back then.
AIUI, the X-Box is hard-wired to reboot when you open the CD tray. How are you going to load that software? Online? Do enough of the target audience have broadband to justify the investment in that distro channel?
I googled, and found this and this, both of which rate Sony as the biggest, one of which specifically includes GameBoy. They're both admittedly a little out of date.
- What is "satellite cable", and
- how does reveiving a satellite signal cost them money?
Note that I don't entirely disagree with your general opinion that signal hacking is illegal, but neither do I agree with your reasoning.Yes, I was mainly referring to end-user software functionality. The protocols and formats that the OS and FS community come up with are generally rather spiffy, it's just that the software itself is all very derivative.
Also anyone that uses Outlook and Mozilla will show up as using IE and Mozilla, if they open any HTML emails. When I occasionally ran Mandrake at home, I browsed some pages with Konqueror and some with Netscape.
So what are people supposed to do, if they have 2 home PCs and want broadband? Do they have to get 2 broadband connections? I have friends that play Diablo 2 online, on 2 PCs. Is that so wrong?
This doesn't need a genetic explanation. Maybe if an earlier birth is advantageous, then any mutations that help with this would become the norm. However, they may just be adaptive to the conditions. The fact that I have white skin is genetic, but the fact that I get up early on a Monday to put the garbage out isn't.
It's not like anyone's going to get locked up or executed for this, it's a company on trial, not a person. The judicial safeguards therefore don't have to be as rigorous, IMO. Having said that, the economic impact of MicroSoft being severely slapped shouldn't be underestimated. There are a lot of pension funds heavily tied up in MicroSoft stock.
The point is that 3rd party manufacturers can't install Mozilla as the default browser on PCs that they sell. Microsoft won't let them, it's in their contract.
The whole point is, that monopoly == no choice!
I'm typing this on Windows 2000 (work PC), but I installed Mozilla 1.2.1. I still have to use IE for a few things, like intranet applications, and I haven't installed Flash on Mozilla yet, so I use IE for that.
Solipsism?
The freedom of the software is enforced by my copyright. I own it, and keep it free. Software has no rights of it's own, so would have no protection under law unless it has a copyright owner. In other words, yes, the "freedom" analogy is a little bit broken.
Socialism is sometimes used to mean "socially conscious", but the technical definition is "state ownership of the means of production" (as against communism, "workers' ownership of the means of production"). It's a politically loaded term and should be avoided, really.
Arse, I meant "standalone << operator".
There's a better link from ruts to rails - mine shafts. Rails were laid into the cart ruts.
Yes, it's true, but it's also funny.
I spent more than one evening on the run-up to Guy Fawkes Night (Nov 5th) sitting in an attic, crushing match-heads between two 10p pieces (a bit larger than a quarter, I think), nerves stretched by the imminent possibility of a flare-up. Between four of five of us, we collected the crushed heads of about 4,000 matches.
On the big night, we rammed a 6 foot steel pipe about two feet into the ground, rammed paper into it until the paper reached ground level, then poured in the match-heads, jammed a potato in the top of the pipe, and lit a fire around the base.
Then we just got on with the business of lighting a proper bonfire, making punch, roasting potatoes, setting off fireworks, and drinking. Every time anyone walked past the pipe, they would glance nervously at it. A couple of hours later, there was a tremendous thundering BOOM, and the potato went up into the stratosphere.
Anyone that posts to Slashdot is a journalist. Slashdot is a journal, and is a record of the thoughts and feelings of more than one generation of nerds. The idea that only someone that works for a commercial newspaper or magazine can wear the journalist hat needs to be fought at every opportunity.