The place I just started working at decomissioned their old point-of-sale software only a couple months ago. They still have to use it for reporting and I was asked to troubleshoot their printer the other day, so I had them start up the software and print something, and there was the unmistakable look-and-feel of a Win3.1 app. <shudder> Well now I know why they had to decommision it! (It was running under Win95 though.)
My browser width meant the first line happened to break after "Africa's first post-", leading me ever-so-briefly to ponder "What's so special about African first posts?"
Only on Slashdot could this be rated as "3, Informative". On any other nerdy site it would be "3, Funny". And of course if it were an ordinary site it would be "-50, Baffling".
I believe that the ultimate "killer app" for Linux would be native support for Windows applications
No, this is exactly what Linux doesn't need, at least not if you want it to be successful on the desktop.
STOP TRYING TO MAKE LINUX BE WINDOWS!!! People already have Windows, they don't need a replacement. That's why they don't switch. The "replacement Windows" idea was already tried: it was called OS/2 Warp for Windows, and we know what happened there. (Never heard of it? Bingo.)
Look at where Linux's successes are: Servers and mobile devices - places where Linux doesn't try to emulate Windows. Places where developers actually innovated instead of just copying. The robustness, versatility, and stability of a Linux server - that's the killer app for servers. The portability and the ability to do unique interfaces like those on the XO or the Eee - that's the killer app for devices.
It doesn't just work for Linux. Apple too sees the most success where it has tried to take the lead: the iPod, iPhone, MacBook, etc. In this case it's the simplicity and/or distinct function-meets-form interfaces that provide the edge. If they made the iPod be like every other MP3 player, and the MacBook like every other laptop, Apple might not even exist now.
Don't try to beat Microsoft at its own game. You can't. The way to beat them is to change the game entirely. I've been saying this for years, but sadly developers still waste tons of time and effort trying to make Linux be Windows. If only they instead put this into making the next big breakthrough in user interface or computer design using Linux as the platform. Something that 15 years for now will make us say "I can't believe we used to use a desktop window interface" in much the same way we now talk about dumb terminals and typewriters. It's gonna happen anyhow, so why not do it on Linux?
I don't know what this something is yet but I do know nobody's going to find it if all they are looking at is Windows.
There are some great UI design tips in the Palm OS manuals. The gist is that because (older) Palm devices have screen and graphical capabitilities that are much more limited than the PC, you really have to think about how you are going to present your UI. The tips there provide a guide for what to focus on, and the concepts extend well into the PC realm.
Can't remember the exact book title but you can find it here (NOTE: free signup may be required).
One of two things. Either a load of designers would switch to the GIMP, or they would all but Macs. One of these things is likely, the other is not.
A third possibility is it will push them down the Microsoft Expression path. If you are a PC web shop and Adobe stuff goes bye-bye and you don't want to fork out money for Mac hardware and training and don't want to go with an OSS product (as many businesses don't, like it or not), this would be a logical choice. Especially since you probably already have a relationship with MS.
I'm a developer, not a web designer, but I've tried Expression (got a free copy from an MS gig) and it seems to me like it could evolve into a serious contender. IMO it isn't there yet - mainly because there is indeed no PS/GIMP equivalent, but also because the Illustrator-type app and other designers are still somewhat rudimentary - but it could be a threat in a version or two, especially if nothing else emerges as a clear winner.
They took 1078 combinations and used them to look for patterns in something with over 175 million combinations. It's been a while since I took statistics, but isn't that sample size way way WAY too small?
Nowadays with offshoring and different vendors to coordinate with, you need a pinball machine or pool table to pass the time waiting. Waiting to get through on the phone, waiting for stuff to get done, etc. And after you've gone through the painful process required to actually have them do work to begin with, you'll deserve (and need) a break.
Sorry if this is a bit of a rant...I just spent 45 minutes, most of that on hold, waiting to get some pre-arranged work done. It's something I could have easily done myself in 1 minute - I even still have access to do it - except that it's not corporate procedure for me to do it.
I work with IBM GS on pretty much a daily basis and would not at all be surprised to learn they are in trouble. There is so much red tape and bureaucracy and lack of communication (both internal and external) that nobody can get anything done. It takes them 15 minutes to do something I could do myself in 15 seconds, and that's only after I get through. Sooner or later clients are going to notice things aren't happening the way they should be...
The scary thing is that a bunch of us will find out next week whether or not we get, um, "traded" to IBM GS, who at last word were quite willing to take us if my company (who obviously hasn't clued in yet) decides to expand the scope of their agreement with IBM. I'm desperately hoping for a severance package, especially after learning this news...
You are very likely not in Windows' target market. I doubt anybody who reads Slashdot is. Their target market is ordinary users who want their computers to do what they need to do with minimal effort on their part. Microsoft understands this is the majority of computer users, and they target them accordingly. (Sadly, they also understand most users and businesses want support, so they gradually force upgrades by dropping support for old products. My workplace is going from Win2K to Win2003/XP for this reason alone.) I'm no fan of Microsoft's by any means, but I give them credit for understanding how most people use computers.
Also, I can't stand how the Linux crowd trots the "it doesn't do anything new" argument out every time a new version of Windows comes out, yet they want Windows users to switch to Linux because it does "more than Windows". Well I hate to break it to you, but for the vast majority of users Linux doesn't do anything new either. Most of what it does is too technical to understand or requires too much work for the average user, and that's why people won't switch. Honestly, I believe Linux has no chance in the desktop market until it stop trying to copy what Windows is doing and tries to do something totally new that is targeted at the average user and not at geeks. Linux does well in the server market because it does this, minus the non-geek requirement which isn't an issue for servers. But as far as desktop users are concerned, Linux is just a Windows clone that's harder to install and support, and has way fewer apps to run.
I've found 3D-flip useful for development sessions where I got lots of windows open. It's easier for me to see what I need in the shifted near-full-size 3D-flip perspective than it is to find it in the task switcher using the thumbnails and reading the long titles.
I agree though, there's a lot more that could have been done, but I guess they gotta get it out the door at some point.
Extrapolating from the replies to this story, the best you can hope for is to stay alive for 3 years, and if you're lucky you'll even be making money by then, in which case your only hope is to sell and get out of such a volatile market.
What do you do when presented with business opportunities like that? Run. Run away screaming and get as much distance as possible between you and the presentor.
Translation: The games we make now suck. Please stop playing the good old games so ours will look better by comparison.
Truly good, new(er) games (even new incarnations of old games) will take their place as classics if they deserve to. In 10 years we'll look at The Sims, World of Warcraft, Civ 4, etc. as classics and yearn to play them as much as the games we call classics today.
eBay provides a number of non-paypal alternatives and it's not about monopolistic practices. They have a list of accepted vendors on their website which includes Allpay.net, Bidpay, Canadian Tire Money, cash2india, CertaPay, Checkfree.com, hyperwallet,com, Moneybookers.com, Ozpay.biz, Payko.com, Paymate.com.au, Propay.com, and XOOM. In addition, any merchant-type VISA/Mastercard/etc account is valid, as is a direct exchange of checks, wire transfers (bank to bank), etc.
I had to check for myself after reading the above to verify that the inclusion of Canadian Tire Money in that list wasn't a joke. It really is there!
Few Canadians would accept CT$ as a form of payment. Many would consider an attempt to do so to be a goofy joke, or worse. Yet eBay won't accept GooglePay, or even more established providers like Neteller. Hmmm...
(Note for those who don't know: Canadian Tire is a chain of hardware-turned-department stores whose gimmick is that they provide currency-like coupons as cashback on purchases.)
A ZDNet article praising a Microsoft product is like a pro-military speech from George Bush. I've been dealing with ZD's pro-MS propaganda every since my OS/2 days.
I'm not saying Vista beta 2 is as bad as the other story said, just that we shouldn't be trusting this particular source when they said it isn't.
See the title and think "Who is Henry Python and what does he know about programing"?
Henry Python is actually the name of the star character of J.K. Rowling's next series of books. I think the first title is going to be "Henry Python and the Looney List Comprehension".
So where are you young mainframe people learning how to use mainframes?
From the "old farts", as you put it.
We've got a large mainframe contingent where I work - there are lots of critical legacy apps that nobody wants to pay to build replacements to - and I doubt any of them are under 40. But man, they all know their stuff. You could easily bring in one of them to train people if you needed to.
I'm do not belong to the set of "mainframe people" per se however I do sometimes have to use the mainframe on my job. When I need to do something new on the mainframe I first look for docs past team members might have written to tell me how, and if I find them then I don't need to bother anyone. However if there's nothing there, I go talk to someone, and they'll usually be able to tell me just what I need to do.
Probably the biggest problem they'll face when teaching is that the environment is totally different. I've been around desktop computers since I was 7 but even I get lost in the mainframe world. I still hesitate when told to "hit PF5" to do something. And I can't tell you the number of times that, by force of habit, I've hit Esc to get out of something on the mainframe and completely fucked up my terminal display. But like anything else, it gets easier with time.
So long as companies continue to look at IT systems like they would look at a piece of heavy machinery, they'll continue to pay to support legacy systems instead of paying to replace them. They'd rather pay a little over a long period of time, rather than pay a lot now and much less later. IBM, if they're serious, is just trying to cater to this mindset. After all, demand drives supply.
Slashdot Mirror
The place I just started working at decomissioned their old point-of-sale software only a couple months ago. They still have to use it for reporting and I was asked to troubleshoot their printer the other day, so I had them start up the software and print something, and there was the unmistakable look-and-feel of a Win3.1 app. <shudder> Well now I know why they had to decommision it! (It was running under Win95 though.)
That sounds like a front organization for Aperture Science.
Maybe it is, and he is secretly going there to develop a Portal Gun. If anyone could pull it off it'd be him...
My browser width meant the first line happened to break after "Africa's first post-", leading me ever-so-briefly to ponder "What's so special about African first posts?"
Only on Slashdot could this be rated as "3, Informative". On any other nerdy site it would be "3, Funny". And of course if it were an ordinary site it would be "-50, Baffling".
I believe that the ultimate "killer app" for Linux would be native support for Windows applications
No, this is exactly what Linux doesn't need, at least not if you want it to be successful on the desktop.
STOP TRYING TO MAKE LINUX BE WINDOWS!!! People already have Windows, they don't need a replacement. That's why they don't switch. The "replacement Windows" idea was already tried: it was called OS/2 Warp for Windows, and we know what happened there. (Never heard of it? Bingo.)
Look at where Linux's successes are: Servers and mobile devices - places where Linux doesn't try to emulate Windows. Places where developers actually innovated instead of just copying. The robustness, versatility, and stability of a Linux server - that's the killer app for servers. The portability and the ability to do unique interfaces like those on the XO or the Eee - that's the killer app for devices.
It doesn't just work for Linux. Apple too sees the most success where it has tried to take the lead: the iPod, iPhone, MacBook, etc. In this case it's the simplicity and/or distinct function-meets-form interfaces that provide the edge. If they made the iPod be like every other MP3 player, and the MacBook like every other laptop, Apple might not even exist now.
Don't try to beat Microsoft at its own game. You can't. The way to beat them is to change the game entirely. I've been saying this for years, but sadly developers still waste tons of time and effort trying to make Linux be Windows. If only they instead put this into making the next big breakthrough in user interface or computer design using Linux as the platform. Something that 15 years for now will make us say "I can't believe we used to use a desktop window interface" in much the same way we now talk about dumb terminals and typewriters. It's gonna happen anyhow, so why not do it on Linux?
I don't know what this something is yet but I do know nobody's going to find it if all they are looking at is Windows.
There are some great UI design tips in the Palm OS manuals. The gist is that because (older) Palm devices have screen and graphical capabitilities that are much more limited than the PC, you really have to think about how you are going to present your UI. The tips there provide a guide for what to focus on, and the concepts extend well into the PC realm.
Can't remember the exact book title but you can find it here (NOTE: free signup may be required).
One of two things. Either a load of designers would switch to the GIMP, or they would all but Macs. One of these things is likely, the other is not.
A third possibility is it will push them down the Microsoft Expression path. If you are a PC web shop and Adobe stuff goes bye-bye and you don't want to fork out money for Mac hardware and training and don't want to go with an OSS product (as many businesses don't, like it or not), this would be a logical choice. Especially since you probably already have a relationship with MS.
I'm a developer, not a web designer, but I've tried Expression (got a free copy from an MS gig) and it seems to me like it could evolve into a serious contender. IMO it isn't there yet - mainly because there is indeed no PS/GIMP equivalent, but also because the Illustrator-type app and other designers are still somewhat rudimentary - but it could be a threat in a version or two, especially if nothing else emerges as a clear winner.
They took 1078 combinations and used them to look for patterns in something with over 175 million combinations. It's been a while since I took statistics, but isn't that sample size way way WAY too small?
Microsoft recently powered on their 100,000th /production/ /server/. Let alone test environments, and desktops.
Right, so if you add in the test servers that makes 100004 servers total. Oh wait, it's Microsoft...100002 then.
If you want consistently "hot" women then try watching porn, that's what it's for.
And if for some reason you want hot women on the same show as David Duchovny, then watch the Red Shoe Diaries TV series.
Nowadays with offshoring and different vendors to coordinate with, you need a pinball machine or pool table to pass the time waiting. Waiting to get through on the phone, waiting for stuff to get done, etc. And after you've gone through the painful process required to actually have them do work to begin with, you'll deserve (and need) a break.
Sorry if this is a bit of a rant...I just spent 45 minutes, most of that on hold, waiting to get some pre-arranged work done. It's something I could have easily done myself in 1 minute - I even still have access to do it - except that it's not corporate procedure for me to do it.
And I'll be there with the "HA HA" when you get busted.
Yeah but it's just a $50 fine now...
I work with IBM GS on pretty much a daily basis and would not at all be surprised to learn they are in trouble. There is so much red tape and bureaucracy and lack of communication (both internal and external) that nobody can get anything done. It takes them 15 minutes to do something I could do myself in 15 seconds, and that's only after I get through. Sooner or later clients are going to notice things aren't happening the way they should be...
The scary thing is that a bunch of us will find out next week whether or not we get, um, "traded" to IBM GS, who at last word were quite willing to take us if my company (who obviously hasn't clued in yet) decides to expand the scope of their agreement with IBM. I'm desperately hoping for a severance package, especially after learning this news...
You are very likely not in Windows' target market. I doubt anybody who reads Slashdot is. Their target market is ordinary users who want their computers to do what they need to do with minimal effort on their part. Microsoft understands this is the majority of computer users, and they target them accordingly. (Sadly, they also understand most users and businesses want support, so they gradually force upgrades by dropping support for old products. My workplace is going from Win2K to Win2003/XP for this reason alone.) I'm no fan of Microsoft's by any means, but I give them credit for understanding how most people use computers.
Also, I can't stand how the Linux crowd trots the "it doesn't do anything new" argument out every time a new version of Windows comes out, yet they want Windows users to switch to Linux because it does "more than Windows". Well I hate to break it to you, but for the vast majority of users Linux doesn't do anything new either. Most of what it does is too technical to understand or requires too much work for the average user, and that's why people won't switch. Honestly, I believe Linux has no chance in the desktop market until it stop trying to copy what Windows is doing and tries to do something totally new that is targeted at the average user and not at geeks. Linux does well in the server market because it does this, minus the non-geek requirement which isn't an issue for servers. But as far as desktop users are concerned, Linux is just a Windows clone that's harder to install and support, and has way fewer apps to run.
(Flame away.)
I've found 3D-flip useful for development sessions where I got lots of windows open. It's easier for me to see what I need in the shifted near-full-size 3D-flip perspective than it is to find it in the task switcher using the thumbnails and reading the long titles.
I agree though, there's a lot more that could have been done, but I guess they gotta get it out the door at some point.
Whores are less expensive, and less prone to viruses than Vista.
Whore off!
Extrapolating from the replies to this story, the best you can hope for is to stay alive for 3 years, and if you're lucky you'll even be making money by then, in which case your only hope is to sell and get out of such a volatile market.
What do you do when presented with business opportunities like that? Run. Run away screaming and get as much distance as possible between you and the presentor.
Disclaimer: IANABP (Business Person)
Translation: The games we make now suck. Please stop playing the good old games so ours will look better by comparison.
Truly good, new(er) games (even new incarnations of old games) will take their place as classics if they deserve to. In 10 years we'll look at The Sims, World of Warcraft, Civ 4, etc. as classics and yearn to play them as much as the games we call classics today.
eBay provides a number of non-paypal alternatives and it's not about monopolistic practices. They have a list of accepted vendors on their website which includes Allpay.net, Bidpay, Canadian Tire Money, cash2india, CertaPay, Checkfree.com, hyperwallet,com, Moneybookers.com, Ozpay.biz, Payko.com, Paymate.com.au, Propay.com, and XOOM. In addition, any merchant-type VISA/Mastercard/etc account is valid, as is a direct exchange of checks, wire transfers (bank to bank), etc.
I had to check for myself after reading the above to verify that the inclusion of Canadian Tire Money in that list wasn't a joke. It really is there!
Few Canadians would accept CT$ as a form of payment. Many would consider an attempt to do so to be a goofy joke, or worse. Yet eBay won't accept GooglePay, or even more established providers like Neteller. Hmmm...
(Note for those who don't know: Canadian Tire is a chain of hardware-turned-department stores whose gimmick is that they provide currency-like coupons as cashback on purchases.)
A ZDNet article praising a Microsoft product is like a pro-military speech from George Bush. I've been dealing with ZD's pro-MS propaganda every since my OS/2 days.
I'm not saying Vista beta 2 is as bad as the other story said, just that we shouldn't be trusting this particular source when they said it isn't.
See the title and think "Who is Henry Python and what does he know about programing"?
Henry Python is actually the name of the star character of J.K. Rowling's next series of books. I think the first title is going to be "Henry Python and the Looney List Comprehension".
So where are you young mainframe people learning how to use mainframes?
From the "old farts", as you put it.
We've got a large mainframe contingent where I work - there are lots of critical legacy apps that nobody wants to pay to build replacements to - and I doubt any of them are under 40. But man, they all know their stuff. You could easily bring in one of them to train people if you needed to.
I'm do not belong to the set of "mainframe people" per se however I do sometimes have to use the mainframe on my job. When I need to do something new on the mainframe I first look for docs past team members might have written to tell me how, and if I find them then I don't need to bother anyone. However if there's nothing there, I go talk to someone, and they'll usually be able to tell me just what I need to do.
Probably the biggest problem they'll face when teaching is that the environment is totally different. I've been around desktop computers since I was 7 but even I get lost in the mainframe world. I still hesitate when told to "hit PF5" to do something. And I can't tell you the number of times that, by force of habit, I've hit Esc to get out of something on the mainframe and completely fucked up my terminal display. But like anything else, it gets easier with time.
So long as companies continue to look at IT systems like they would look at a piece of heavy machinery, they'll continue to pay to support legacy systems instead of paying to replace them. They'd rather pay a little over a long period of time, rather than pay a lot now and much less later. IBM, if they're serious, is just trying to cater to this mindset. After all, demand drives supply.
I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see one! And there's Magnetbox, and Sorny.
Secondly document it like you never want to touch the code again
So, you mean no documentation?
...I find I'm losing the big stories in amongst all the little ones.
How about an option to move all the little items to the bottom of the main page? That'd still keep them visible, yet not in the way.