Release Candidates are just for final bugfixing before the actual release, correct? Like the freezing process in Debian. So they'll just be stabilizing the code until they think it's ready. This is exciting because it means the 1.0 release can't be more than a few weeks away. It's a big deal because most people don't think of a project as actualized until it hits 1.0, which, let's face, many open source projects don't. If commercial product versions are any measure, Mozilla could probably somewhere above 4 or 5. It's nice to know that the developers have such a high standard for quality that even though it's been an excellent browser for several months now, they just now think it's 1.0 quality. Just think of how much better it can and will get from here. Props to all the Moz developers for such great work. Keep it up!
"...there will be no incentive for people to use it over IE."
What do you mean, use it over IE. It's used with IE. It takes control of popular existing browsers. The article says it's optional, but then says this (emphasis mine):
...they'll have the option never to be exposed to the technology again on certain Web sites.
Can you guess what certain other sites won't let you turn it off? That's right, the ones who pay United Virtualities a higher premium! Even if the stuff is optional, most users won't know how to turn if off anyway, so advertisers basically get to run amok anyway.
The idea is to enhance the user experience...
Nothing like someone else controlling your experience to give it that nice enhanced feeling.
To search Google from Opera, all I have to do is press F8 (or click in the address field), then type g my-search-keywords and press Enter. What could be simpler? Plus, MDI kicks ass for web browsing.
Number 3 is a bunch of shit. Think of it like this. When one purchases a computer, they (hopefully) buy it for a purpose. They have a need they are fulfilling.
Unfortunately, this isn't really true, in general. Many people *don't* have a purpose in mind when they go out computer shopping. Last summer at work I was talking to this guy about computer upgrades and he was talking about his new computer. The 1Ghz's had just come out and he was getting one right away, upgrading from like a 700mhz I think. Then he talked about the kinds of things he did on his computer; the most CPU intensive task was playing a flight sim:P People just want the latest-and-greatest, they don't care that they're wasting their money getting features they don't need and won't use. Oh well, I guess it's what keeps the industry alive.
If Macs were the equivalent of a high-level language, while PCs were the equivalent of assembly, why don't Macs have the equivalent market/mindshare that high-level languages enjoy over assembly? A better analogy might be that you can do everything with Cadillac that you can with a BMW. You can enjoy a nice, luxurious driving experience, while the BMW is basically just flashier and more expensive.
It's kind of scary when you read about things like this and you realize the extent to which Microsoft has woven themselves into this entire industry. And beyond that, the extent to which they'll use that power to keep themselves on top. Instead of just making a superior product and marketing it, they use strongarm tactics such as these to cripple anyone who annoys them. Even hardware vendors aren't safe, as Microsoft begins to grow paranoid about its marketshare, especially in places where they can't fool people into believing their products are good a choice, such as the embedded market. As they realize missed opportunities elsewhere, they'll start tightening their grip on current ventures just to let everyone know who's still in control. I think Microsoft's greed will ultimately be detrimental to the very control they're trying to exert, as companies in that grip will realize that the benefits no longer outweight the costs of being choked, and will find ways to break free.
Re:Would have been great in College
on
Speed Reading?
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· Score: 1
The thing about recreational reading is that the language is usually at a lower level than technical reading, and it usually doesn't involve very abstract concepts, like a computer science textbook would. The amount of interest is a big factor as well, however. If you're reading a story, say, and the characters are amusing and the plot is involving, you'll obviously read through it faster than a discussion on memory paging or task scheduling (unless you're really interested in those). I know some people that have trouble reading. The advice I would give is do "preliminary reading." Go through a chapter and read things like the section headers or bold faced words to get an idea of what it will be about. Then when you start to actually read, try to identify the main idea of a paragraph and then re-read it with that in mind. Just don't give up. Keep reading. It's worth it.
I'm getting kind of tired of this overused "argument". "It doesn't pass the mom test!" The reality is that if your mom can't even double click, she doesn't need a computer anyway. Just because you don't want your mom to be able to be "left behind" doesn't mean it's necessary or even a good idea. Not everyone needs to be able to use a computer to function.
Besides, Linux does pass the mom test. There are a few distros that have awfully nice user interfaces, especially when you factor in GNOME or KDE. "But it isn't as easy as Windows!" you whine. The reality is that Windows is no more intuitive or "easy" than anything else. Someone sitting down for the first time still has to learn how it works, as evident by your statement: "I can hardly get my mother to understand how to double click..." Just have them learn Linux instead of Windows. How hard is that? I used Windows for years, and I'm still called in to fix things when my or my fiance's family has problems with their Windows-based machines. Believe me, Windows can be very difficult.
I think the patent was actually on the compression scheme involved, not the file format. You can use uncompressed GIFs where the patent issue doesn't arise. Thus using the same format, but not the specific, and patented, LZW compression.
Yes, it should be further and not farther. Farther denotes distance, whereas further indicates degree. However, in order not to sound repetitve, it would be better written as "much, much further", so you don't have the repeating f_r sounds.
You're just thinking too short sighted. The technology today isn't the stuff that will be around in 10 years.
In 10 years you'll just have a pencil-thin, transparent band that sits on your ear and extends forward in front of one eye. It will project the image of whatever the GUI du jour is, directly onto your retina, which can make it seem as large or small as needed. It will be able to project stereographically, meaning it will look three dimensional, and it will track eye-movement to determine focus. The earpiece will have a small speaker to give you aural feedback, as well as a microphone for the speech recognition system for more-than-eyesight control. Optionally, you can use a hand driven tactile feedback interface that will really just be a comfortable and nearly-invisible glove, for those quiet places like church.
Ten years after that we'll all just have chips (although they won't be called that) embedded in our brains that can use all our senses, computing and memory capacity directly so we won't have to worry about any of that peripheral junk. The only real trouble will be making your brain secure so someone doesn't hack in and use it for their own devious purposes.
There are other measures of wealth and well-being besides how many stoplights you have to run to get to the next Star Bux.
There are also other measures of improvishment than wealth and well-being. In this case I was referring more to technological improvishment rather than strictly economic. This is the big obstacle that will prevent English from falling out as the main internet language, because the highest percentages of peoples that are not technologically improverished and are frequently using the internet speak English.
China is measured by a different set of rules than upstart North America.
No doubt in some areas. But not concerning the topic around which this discussion revolves, which is their future dominance of the internet, not the geo-political history of the heritage, nor the social and commercial infrastructure. Doubtless this dominance will happen eventually, as they become more technologically immersed, but not in the near future.
Your high doubt is founded on nothing more than your limited experience in the real world. Get out from behind that keyboard and find out how many other different cultures that are on this planet...then look back on your own, and still see if you think the world revolves around you.
Unfortunately, experience is all that exists on which to found opinions and beliefs. And I'll take mine any day over the lack of experience which is evident in your ineptness at following a conversation topic and its vocabulary in context; the need to see the world as black and white, where anything disagreeing with your closeminded white must be black; and the hypocrisy with which you tout such experience using the same vehicle for which you berate me.
I completely agree. While the Chinese have the obvious population advantage that appears to come to this result, they don't have anywhere near as many internet users, let alone posters. Most of China is impoverished. They're trying to get their next meal, not sitting around reading slashdot. Not only that, but how much of the population can even read? This would probably be a necessity for using the internet and posting content to it (although it seems some people here get by). I would think Hindi would have a better chance of becoming the next internet language. Really what you have to look at is not which languages have the most speakers, but which languages have the most speakers in technologically developed countries. These are the places that are actively using and creating new internet content, en masse. I highly doubt China will be making a strong showing in that category very soon.
I think one of the best parts of Linux's "PR" is that it really comes from its users. Other than IBM and, to some small extent RedHat, there isn't anyone really doing PR. Except the users. They are the ones going out to their bosses and saying, "Hey, I've used this for a long time and I know it can meet the needs." You can't get that kind of assurance from a commercial. Sure you might have PR reps from companies like Microsoft or HP coming around and giving you their salesman pitch, but who would trust more: a guy that shows up at your door and gets paid on commission, or the guy in your systems department that's been keeping everything going for five years? The Linux user base is really growing, and it's the kind of growth that feeds off itself, expanding more into new places. I think in time we'll see more people moving to Linux for enterprise partly because of this.
I'll admit that this is true, but it's not just Linux. It's more prevalent on Linux because the apps can be tweaked by anyone who wants to. People on Windows are just as obsessed with skins and themes, (think Winamp, Sonique, Neoplanet, not to mention Plus!) they just don't have as many apps that can do it.
Slashdot Mirror
Hurray for Python. It's come a long way, and the Python community is great. To find out what's new, see the release notes.
Release Candidates are just for final bugfixing before the actual release, correct? Like the freezing process in Debian. So they'll just be stabilizing the code until they think it's ready. This is exciting because it means the 1.0 release can't be more than a few weeks away. It's a big deal because most people don't think of a project as actualized until it hits 1.0, which, let's face, many open source projects don't. If commercial product versions are any measure, Mozilla could probably somewhere above 4 or 5. It's nice to know that the developers have such a high standard for quality that even though it's been an excellent browser for several months now, they just now think it's 1.0 quality. Just think of how much better it can and will get from here. Props to all the Moz developers for such great work. Keep it up!
I never had to take a business class, and I'm graduating with a CS degree in May. I'm just smart enough not to run my own company.
Perhaps true, but many many people who gamble do it on a regular basis, not just for one night.
To search Google from Opera, all I have to do is press F8 (or click in the address field), then type
g my-search-keywords
and press Enter. What could be simpler? Plus, MDI kicks ass for web browsing.
Number 3 is a bunch of shit. Think of it like this. When one purchases a computer, they (hopefully) buy it for a purpose. They have a need they are fulfilling.
Unfortunately, this isn't really true, in general. Many people *don't* have a purpose in mind when they go out computer shopping. Last summer at work I was talking to this guy about computer upgrades and he was talking about his new computer. The 1Ghz's had just come out and he was getting one right away, upgrading from like a 700mhz I think. Then he talked about the kinds of things he did on his computer; the most CPU intensive task was playing a flight sim:P People just want the latest-and-greatest, they don't care that they're wasting their money getting features they don't need and won't use. Oh well, I guess it's what keeps the industry alive.
If Macs were the equivalent of a high-level language, while PCs were the equivalent of assembly, why don't Macs have the equivalent market/mindshare that high-level languages enjoy over assembly? A better analogy might be that you can do everything with Cadillac that you can with a BMW. You can enjoy a nice, luxurious driving experience, while the BMW is basically just flashier and more expensive.
It's kind of scary when you read about things like this and you realize the extent to which Microsoft has woven themselves into this entire industry. And beyond that, the extent to which they'll use that power to keep themselves on top. Instead of just making a superior product and marketing it, they use strongarm tactics such as these to cripple anyone who annoys them. Even hardware vendors aren't safe, as Microsoft begins to grow paranoid about its marketshare, especially in places where they can't fool people into believing their products are good a choice, such as the embedded market. As they realize missed opportunities elsewhere, they'll start tightening their grip on current ventures just to let everyone know who's still in control. I think Microsoft's greed will ultimately be detrimental to the very control they're trying to exert, as companies in that grip will realize that the benefits no longer outweight the costs of being choked, and will find ways to break free.
The thing about recreational reading is that the language is usually at a lower level than technical reading, and it usually doesn't involve very abstract concepts, like a computer science textbook would. The amount of interest is a big factor as well, however. If you're reading a story, say, and the characters are amusing and the plot is involving, you'll obviously read through it faster than a discussion on memory paging or task scheduling (unless you're really interested in those). I know some people that have trouble reading. The advice I would give is do "preliminary reading." Go through a chapter and read things like the section headers or bold faced words to get an idea of what it will be about. Then when you start to actually read, try to identify the main idea of a paragraph and then re-read it with that in mind. Just don't give up. Keep reading. It's worth it.
The original has been slashdotted, and I couldn't find a mirror, but you can read it from the Google cache.
Just tie a little length of ribbon to the fan grill. When the fan's working, you'll be able to see it waving.
Actually what you're referring to is Finagle's Law.
Murphy's Law states:
If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it.
They produce more energy than they consume? I find this hard to believe. Last time I checked, the First Law of Thermodynamics ruled this impossible.
I'm getting kind of tired of this overused "argument". "It doesn't pass the mom test!" The reality is that if your mom can't even double click, she doesn't need a computer anyway. Just because you don't want your mom to be able to be "left behind" doesn't mean it's necessary or even a good idea. Not everyone needs to be able to use a computer to function.
Besides, Linux does pass the mom test. There are a few distros that have awfully nice user interfaces, especially when you factor in GNOME or KDE. "But it isn't as easy as Windows!" you whine. The reality is that Windows is no more intuitive or "easy" than anything else. Someone sitting down for the first time still has to learn how it works, as evident by your statement: "I can hardly get my mother to understand how to double click..." Just have them learn Linux instead of Windows. How hard is that? I used Windows for years, and I'm still called in to fix things when my or my fiance's family has problems with their Windows-based machines. Believe me, Windows can be very difficult.
I think the patent was actually on the compression scheme involved, not the file format. You can use uncompressed GIFs where the patent issue doesn't arise. Thus using the same format, but not the specific, and patented, LZW compression.
Yes, it should be further and not farther. Farther denotes distance, whereas further indicates degree. However, in order not to sound repetitve, it would be better written as "much, much further", so you don't have the repeating f_r sounds.
You're just thinking too short sighted. The technology today isn't the stuff that will be around in 10 years.
In 10 years you'll just have a pencil-thin, transparent band that sits on your ear and extends forward in front of one eye. It will project the image of whatever the GUI du jour is, directly onto your retina, which can make it seem as large or small as needed. It will be able to project stereographically, meaning it will look three dimensional, and it will track eye-movement to determine focus. The earpiece will have a small speaker to give you aural feedback, as well as a microphone for the speech recognition system for more-than-eyesight control. Optionally, you can use a hand driven tactile feedback interface that will really just be a comfortable and nearly-invisible glove, for those quiet places like church.
Ten years after that we'll all just have chips (although they won't be called that) embedded in our brains that can use all our senses, computing and memory capacity directly so we won't have to worry about any of that peripheral junk. The only real trouble will be making your brain secure so someone doesn't hack in and use it for their own devious purposes.
There are other measures of wealth and well-being besides how many stoplights you have to run to get to the next Star Bux.
There are also other measures of improvishment than wealth and well-being. In this case I was referring more to technological improvishment rather than strictly economic. This is the big obstacle that will prevent English from falling out as the main internet language, because the highest percentages of peoples that are not technologically improverished and are frequently using the internet speak English.
China is measured by a different set of rules than upstart North America.
No doubt in some areas. But not concerning the topic around which this discussion revolves, which is their future dominance of the internet, not the geo-political history of the heritage, nor the social and commercial infrastructure. Doubtless this dominance will happen eventually, as they become more technologically immersed, but not in the near future.
Your high doubt is founded on nothing more than your limited experience in the real world. Get out from behind that keyboard and find out how many other different cultures that are on this planet...then look back on your own, and still see if you think the world revolves around you.
Unfortunately, experience is all that exists on which to found opinions and beliefs. And I'll take mine any day over the lack of experience which is evident in your ineptness at following a conversation topic and its vocabulary in context; the need to see the world as black and white, where anything disagreeing with your closeminded white must be black; and the hypocrisy with which you tout such experience using the same vehicle for which you berate me.
I completely agree. While the Chinese have the obvious population advantage that appears to come to this result, they don't have anywhere near as many internet users, let alone posters. Most of China is impoverished. They're trying to get their next meal, not sitting around reading slashdot. Not only that, but how much of the population can even read? This would probably be a necessity for using the internet and posting content to it (although it seems some people here get by). I would think Hindi would have a better chance of becoming the next internet language. Really what you have to look at is not which languages have the most speakers, but which languages have the most speakers in technologically developed countries. These are the places that are actively using and creating new internet content, en masse. I highly doubt China will be making a strong showing in that category very soon.
You're thinking of the connotation of the word popular. I think he was talking more about the denotation.
I think one of the best parts of Linux's "PR" is that it really comes from its users. Other than IBM and, to some small extent RedHat, there isn't anyone really doing PR. Except the users. They are the ones going out to their bosses and saying, "Hey, I've used this for a long time and I know it can meet the needs." You can't get that kind of assurance from a commercial. Sure you might have PR reps from companies like Microsoft or HP coming around and giving you their salesman pitch, but who would trust more: a guy that shows up at your door and gets paid on commission, or the guy in your systems department that's been keeping everything going for five years? The Linux user base is really growing, and it's the kind of growth that feeds off itself, expanding more into new places. I think in time we'll see more people moving to Linux for enterprise partly because of this.
Conspicuously absent are [snip] and the all-important self destruct sequence.
shutdown -h +10 Self destruction in ten minutes.
I'll admit that this is true, but it's not just Linux. It's more prevalent on Linux because the apps can be tweaked by anyone who wants to. People on Windows are just as obsessed with skins and themes, (think Winamp, Sonique, Neoplanet, not to mention Plus!) they just don't have as many apps that can do it.
Or at least get into the movie business.