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User: ncaustin

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  1. Re:Auction site? on Dot-com Liquidator · · Score: 1

    The dot-com fire sale 'pennies on the dollar' is a falacy. Most of the equipment for auction is old and prices are higher than you would pay for ebay. I tried to add some equipment to our office, guess what there is even a shortage of good used furniture!

  2. Re:GJC! GJC! on GCC 3.0 Released · · Score: 1

    " I've written in clean, attractive Java code (to do stuff like rename files"

    er you wrote a Java program to rename files?
    The best think about Java for Linux developers
    is that we can get access to programs that
    previously would have been only been Windows binaries.

    GJC does not help that at all. I for one won't
    be using it, the JDKs are faster enough for me
    and I do more than rename files!

  3. Re:Java is fine for OO on Java as a CS Introductory Language? · · Score: 1

    Lets face in the world of software we have still only mastered the basics of what machines can do.

    We don't have the time to write assembler and so high level languages are a step to solve the more complex computational problems.

    An example? Lets take email, when you look at what most email readers do they are so primitive compared to how humans deal with handling information (prioritizing , remembering context etc)

    We are also still behind in machine vision/pattern recognition, neural networks etc etc

    Tools like Java are good, I wish I learn't that
    instead of pascal, boy did I get some funny looks at my resume, who uses pascal in the real world.

  4. Re:More or less irrelevant? on Alliance for Linux Set Top Boxes · · Score: 1

    So tell me who made your digital cable box? General Instrument perhaps?

    Who owns General Instrument? Yes its Motorola isn't it.

    So one of the largest set top box companies in the USA won't stand to gain from this at all? ie new cable boxes that don't use Windows CE

    You can slap yourself, I can't reach from here

  5. Re:What non-Canadians should know about the articl on Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome A Hoax? · · Score: 1

    I always ask myself, why did someone write an article (being an ex-journo myself).

    Something like this was submitted either by
    the university in question or an interested party.

    The lack of any data to back up most of the claims, (canadian offices don't have RSI)
    brings me to think it was the latter.

  6. Re:Sheesh, not every startup is a DotCom on How Employees Value Their Stock Options · · Score: 1

    "The same thing is true that has been for all of time: the only safe long term investment is land."

    Nope, what about ghost towns, cities that lose
    their trade like steel or coal or even shipping.

    Those places had inflated values when there was demand, not so when there wasn't.

  7. motif was too little quality ..too late on The Superior Motif? · · Score: 1

    No disrepect to the author of the reference manual which I seem to remember was a nice book along with the rest of the X set. But I would argue that motif is not "the native toolkit for the X Window System" It did later become the toolkit of the Common desktop environment. Thats another story

    Motif came to zenith as a windows look and feel, early 1.x implementations were extremely poor quality and the SDK was expensive but did promise faster gui development. Just around the time it became more stable up comes the browser and the
    rest was history. Well consigning motif to history at least. If openmotif was done earlier maybe things would be different but this product is from a bygone age of consortiums with the big cheeses like IBM, HWP, Sun. The closest I get to motif is Java and netscape, thats close enough for me

  8. Kudos to SGI, IBM where are you on Linux Grabs World Record For TPC-H Benchmark · · Score: 1

    No matter how SGI got there score, where is
    the so called Linux company IBM?

    I mean come on, they were even using IBMs DB2
    database, are you telling me that IBM doesn't know how to use their database in a cluster of machines but SGI (RIP) does?

    I think IBM *does not* want to post a linux score while they can still sell their proprietry machines like as400 and the like. Look at
    the OS they have submitted, AIX, dynix?!? and win2000. Is dynix more important to them than
    Linux, it looks like it to me.

  9. Re:Copyright time on Bob Young Responds Personally, Not Officially · · Score: 2

    What Bob neglects to mention is the company that lobbied for the extension to copyrights was none other than the Disney corp.

    Patents are different to copyright, I think Bob subconsciously blurred the answer here. The question is should we have been allowed to copy Mickey mouse in 1966, or wait 1986 or now 2034. I think Disney thinks the answer should be never.

  10. Re:KDE/Gnome answer on Bob Young Responds Personally, Not Officially · · Score: 1

    one answer is, what are Microsoft toolkits often too good at? Integration. KDE and GNOME have incompatible integration glue, for example only gnome has bonobo

    If I write an X program it should work on all X clients but it won't be integrated. I could write a KDE app but then that won't be integrated with bonobo etc

  11. Re:MegaDittos! MetaDittos! Wah wah wah! on TiVo Usage Info Collected For Sale · · Score: 1
    The person behind privacy foundation is the previous head of QVC, thats quality for sure. He also worked for TCI hence the brief on privacy foundation to track set top boxes.

    peter barton: A Private Man's Privacy Campaign

    The article brings up some interesting points but I believe privacy foundation has *failed* in meeting Peters goals which was to stop data mining abuse of minors, and instead he has a couple of hackers finding abuses where there are none.

    Sorry guys but you get a c+ for effort. I could have written that report in a couple of hours

  12. Re:So, uh. on Red Hat Breaks Even, Beats Street Estimate · · Score: 1

    > When can I look forward to seeing MSFT's
    > earnings report with a tip of the hat to them?

    Last time I looked Microsoft were convicted
    of breaking the laws of America. So unless you
    are into cheering other criminals then it shouldn't interest you.

    I am afraid for Redhat, I think IBM cosy relationship as a "partner" could turn ugly with
    the gorillas need for service revenue too

  13. Re:evolution on New Human Ancestor? · · Score: 1

    hmm I found it funny! Got mod'd down for some
    reason.

    > Yeah, He hath created him in His own image,
    > little did early scholars realise that the magic
    > man was a baboon eats nuts in Africa.

  14. Re:did they have a team of monkeys working on this on NCR Claims Palm Infringes As "Personal Terminal" · · Score: 1

    My interpretation....

    I would guess what has changed is that Palm
    have been demonstrating using the device to
    beam payments via infra-red. This has been a high profile PR exercise by Palm and Visa to work
    with Point of Sale terminals.

    NCR (national cash registers) are all about POS
    they already thought of this 'idea' but obviously
    didn't succeed back then.

  15. Re:The power of doodling and play... on Georgia Teen Stumbles On New Theorem · · Score: 1

    Its a tried and tested technique

    Consider pythagorus and other early scholars
    who sat around playing with geometry and came
    up with all sorts of theorems and the like.

  16. Re:Sounds pretty easy: on FBI: Massive MS Exploits Over Last Year · · Score: 1

    Except that the admins have to work out that in 1) Microsofts techno-bable means that they have a serious problem with their machine.

    They have to then fight Service pack hell, and finally get plan down time on a system. thats supposed to be available for the 5 9's and reboot away.

    Finally all the security announcements are written in legalise for one and only one purpose only. Admonish MS from "due negligence" and cover themselves

  17. Re:Support on Are Expensive RDBM Systems Worth The Money? · · Score: 1

    Exactly.

    The big guys are not really selling support but more of an insurance policy against failure. (whether they live up to that is another story).

    one analogy, if your car stalls at home, sure you may be able to fix it, or your neighbor might help you out. But a large number of people buy AAA or some breakdown service, for when they can't fix it themselves or the neighbor isn't around. Its called peace of mind.

    Oracle are the GM breakdown service, your neighbor who works at the local service station is your open source guy.

  18. Re:You wanna know what make the MS ass clench? on Microsoft Clarifies Jim Allchin's Statements · · Score: 1
    Don't forget someone did legally blow the whistle on MS for accounting procedures (cookie jar)

    From what I remember he should have been protected by the whistle blowers act but MS disregarded that too and they eventually settled

    Microsoft defends cookie jar

  19. Re:Enemy Nations on Science Fair Exhibits: Fair Game For Censorship · · Score: 1

    maybe the beef is that the guy is after some publicity even if it means dragging his daughter through the mud

  20. Re:MORE MONTHS? on 13 Month Calendar? · · Score: 1
    Metrification can be a pain for units less than 10, for example with 10 months.

    1/2 year =5 months 1/4 year = 2.5 months 1/3 year =3.3333 months

    where we currently have the babylonian base 60 system units

    1/2=6 months 1/4=3 months 1/3=4 months

  21. Re:News Flash from Russia! on Microsoft Cracked · · Score: 1

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  22. Re:Did MS change their Windows[tm] requirement? on Wine Runs Word 2000 And Excel 2000 · · Score: 1

    Yes but the Dos ain't done 'til Lotus won't run
    story has some truth Although Steve Ballmer claimed it was out of context.

    http://www.cmpnet.com/voices/archive/090298langa .html

  23. Re:He should play up the comparisons to Microsoft on An Open Letter From Bob Young · · Score: 1

    Redhat marketing are definitely emulating Microsoft misleading information department. I asked the redhat booth at linuxworld frankfurt how long would it take after the 2.4 kernel is released before redhat would release a version.

    The answer: We already ship the 2.4 kernel.

    me: No sorry you are 2.4 ready, you do not ship the 2.4 kernel

    redhat bot: Oh yes we do

    me: show me on the box then

    redhat bot; Its not there, you need to talk to someone else

    At least Caldera stick "Technology preview" on a beta product

  24. Re:Anyone starting to feel sorry for MS? on Judge Tells Microsoft To Pay Up In Bristol Case · · Score: 1

    I feel sorry for those who lost their jobs
    due to unfair competition. I don't feel
    sorry for a company that had previously received
    a warning about its business practices and
    then continued as business as usual.

  25. Re:why linux? on NYTimes on IBM and Linux · · Score: 1
    One minute they are embracing Windows 2000, next week it is monterey, Linux.

    The truth is IBM embracing everything and are so huge they can afford to.