Broadvoice looked great, and my roommate uses it. Here's his setup.
His mother lives in another country. He had a brother studying in the US, but he decided to put his PhD on hiatus and returned to his mother. Signed up for Broadvoice before doing so, and so he got a phone number in the US.
He went to his home country, got broadband, and hooked up his phone adapter. Now, when my roommate wants to talk to his brother or mother, he just picks up the phone and dials a US number. Similarly, when they want to call him, they just pick up the phone (in the other country), and dial his number.
Clearly, my roommate loves the setup.
Me? Unfortunately, Broadvoice does not have my area code. So I settled for Broadvox Direct (http://www.broadvoxdirect.com), perhaps the next best after Broadvoice featurewise. I just got it set up yesterday, and have a 14 day money back guarantee. Great quality so far. $20/mo gives you unlimited calls to US or Canada.
"When code is not portable, it's often because it's been written badly. Not saying that's the case here, but in general it's true."
Just because they teach that in basic CS design courses doesn't make it true. Good code is context dependent, and one has to look at what it will be used for.
Software that's written without portability in mind, if written well, can often be far more efficient than portable code. In fact, it's quite common to find cross-platform software that's bloated - and the reason usually is that it's cross platform.
(Of course, one can always write bloated code for single platforms...)
If I write a small program intended only for my personal use, and can write it in 100 lines, whereas a portable version would take 125 lines, then I don't care what anyone says, my code is better.
"Slashdot is news for nerds, and these days most nerds are Linux users. "
Nonsense - unless you subscribe to the definition of a nerd being a Linux user. Forget online nerds and look at the ones around you. The majority prefer to use Windows. Some people would say that precludes them from being a nerd. I would say they don't know what a nerd means.
" There is nothing wrong with closed source
Some of us disagree with that."
Linux would be in a poor state had it not been for closed source, as perhaps over 90% of apps on Linux are copies of closed source software. Face it, it's only recently that the open source community has shown any inclination to innovating on their own to set them apart from the closed source apps.
Open source equivalents frequently are much better than their closed source forms, but I contend that most open source apps would not have come to be had the closed source versions not existed.
And how is that an indication on how good the program is?
Seriously, what do you guys have against something that only works on Windows? Not every Windows developer is an MS clone.
And do you want me to start listing the number of Linux only projects that keep being featured on Slashdot?
"Not open source and probably never will be."
There is nothing wrong with closed source.
"Its pro version isn't free."
Oh, my! Paying for a product?! How blasphemous!
I love open source and free stuff. I use Linux both in the office and at home, and everything I run on it is free. But you'll never convince me that there is anything wrong with selling software for money, and keeping tight controls on the software (i.e. the license).
Most of the open source stuff on Linux is a copy of closed source stuff. Usually all that happens is that the open source free version just adds a few extra features to make it better. There are only a few freeware products out there that actually took the initiative and were innovative enough to take the lead.
My point is that we've had very detailed reviews of Open Office in the past. Just not too long ago (less than a month?), Slashdot had a story on comparisons between the various Office suites, with Open Office being the winner.
This article added nothing to that one, and the comparison article was far more detailed, and much more likely to convince someone.
(Now if I could only find that article and post the link here...)
I mean, really. The article is very terse, and says nothing that hasn't been beaten to death on Slashdot every month or so.
Heck, if the article had even been somewhat comprehensive, I wouldn't have minded. But it appears to me that this article was approved simply to get Open Office more exposure (with nothing new promised).
I'm now 25 years old, and have grown up with computers all my life. Can't remember not having one.
I'm against denying any child a computer altogether. It's overreacting. However, I do believe that a "runaway" computer (i.e. one that takes up too much of the child's time) is worse than not having one at all.
People need many skills, and computers provide only a small number of them. It is incredibly important that they attain the basics of all those skills while young, preferably before they even hit the teen years.
There are creativity skills (writing, drawing), spatially related skills (geometry, mechanics, tinkering with objects), logical skills (philosophy, math, etc), physical skills (sports, health, muscles), social skills (no explanation necessary).
God knows I played video games throughout my life until I was about 19. Played so many, and loved them. I don't regret them too much, because unlike TV, I can still look back at those days and enjoy those memories.
And I did gain from it, no doubt. I learned all about computers, and became somewhat of a guru on them.
Now that I'm older, and have seen more of the world and it's people, I can tell you I know what skills I missed out on.
Yes, I'm a computer guru. But you know what? The guys I know who balanced out their skills when young, those who know only a little about computers, could, if they wanted, learn all about computers and surpass me in a few years. Easily.
Those skills they learned young act as templates. Once you have those templates, all that's left is adding material into their brain and it will know what to do with it in the most efficient manner possible. I only have a few of those templates. They have many. So while they grew up not being "experts" in any area, over time, they can surpass me in virtually everything. Without my templates, I can never become an expert in certain areas.
Now of course, this is true for any activity. However, computers (and TV's) are notorious for the "runaway" effect, and much more care is needed with those items.
UPDATE: I take some of it back, but am left with even more troubling conclusions.
Apparently, it does search the email fields if I just do a regular search (such as typing in the userid in the search field). I found a thread where the guy had made a post, and his userid showed up only in his From: field, and not in his sig o in subsequent replies. So it seems that Google Groups Beta is searching those as well.
However, a search for that userid, which the particular individual has used (albeit with different domains) for years gives over 500 hits in the old Google Groups, but less than half that in Google Groups Beta.
Actually, I tried that and it doesn't work very effectively.
Some examples:
I know someone who's had a number of addresses over the years, however, all the addresses had the same userid (say jkdoe@...). He frequently looks for old posts he's written, and so all he did was search for "jkdoe" and he'd get all his posts from all his addresses.
Now that doesn't work, even if he types that in the Author search field.
In fact, I compared with the old Google Groups (at UK) and even used a specific email address in the Author field. Or in the search field. I tried a whole bunch of permutations - the old Google Groups always gave more results.
Heck - I just tried inputting his full name in both - forget the address search. 191 using Beta, 271 using the old Google groups. For whatever reason, the Beta search is not getting all the results it should.
I have nothing against their not displaying email addresses.
However, I should still be able to search for them. Very often I want to search for a post written by someone with a very common name, and do so because his/her email address is unique and not even near being common.
They should allow us to search for the email address and return the all the results, even if not displaying the actual addresses.
They can emerge apps and stuff, sure, and they feel all leet because they're compiling stuff. In actuality though, if Portage ever broke (or some dependency got fucked up) the vast majority of Gentoo users would be stuck.
The information is all on the disk. Frequently the source code is already there. All one needs to do is go to the source code, and do it manually should the need arise.
I'm sorry, but who on the Gentoo development team said that the goal of Gentoo was to be hacker friendly. They may have listed it on the side, but AFAIK, it's not the goal.
What attracted me was the fact that it resolved dependencies in a way Mandrake, Red Hat, etc couldn't. And the fact that virtually nothing is preconfigured made it easy to personalize. It's not meant for learning about how Linux works - just for getting a desktop OS where everything works (I can't say that for Mandrake or Red Hat).
Slackware is the distro you use if you want to really understand how Linux is put together but don't have time to do LFS.
No arguments there. But I doubt I'd be wrong when I say that most Gentoo users didn't install it because it was an automated LFS. They did it to get something that worked, and that wouldn't be a hassle to maintain.
but I also mean invariant for more than six months.
Invariant? At the very least, you'll want to update packages when security issues are raised (frequent enough to warrant updates aplenty within 6 months)
Yes, but the strength of Gentoo is its package management. With Gentoo, it automatically figures out dependencies, and installs packages in the corresponding order. Upgrading to newer versions (vital as some packages have frequent security updates) is a single command away. Uninstalling is too.
In Slackware, how are packages managed? I ask mostly out of ignorance, as I've only heard from people who used Slackware years ago and aren't up to date on it.
I'm not saying that they're right or wrong, just that Engineers are held in much higher esteem there then over here.
They don't.
1) Engineers, although not necessarily rich, don't starve.
2) Many firms from the US and abroad are hiring them to do their work while still there (and not just as tech support - research work). While not much by US standards, their salaries are almost twice what local companies offer.
Nations need engineers. However, a nation of engineers won't go anywhere without philosophers, sociologists, writers and economists.
I'm not from India, but from a neighboring country where everyone wants their child to become an engineer, doctor, or businessman. If they keep it up, the country will vanish soon enough.
There were two separate cases against him (although they're related).
The federal case (the recent one - 14 counts - 3 for terrorism, 4 for lying to officials, 7 for visa fraud), and the immigration case.
The immigration "trial" occured about a year ago behind closed doors. He was found deportable, which is the only reason he was in prison all this time. (In March 2003, a federal judge ordered that he be released without bail for the federal charges, as he did not pose a flight risk).
He immediately appealed the deportation order last year, and is still on appeal. Which is why he may still be deported, and why he is still in custody.
Slashdot Mirror
Broadvoice looked great, and my roommate uses it. Here's his setup.
His mother lives in another country. He had a brother studying in the US, but he decided to put his PhD on hiatus and returned to his mother. Signed up for Broadvoice before doing so, and so he got a phone number in the US.
He went to his home country, got broadband, and hooked up his phone adapter. Now, when my roommate wants to talk to his brother or mother, he just picks up the phone and dials a US number. Similarly, when they want to call him, they just pick up the phone (in the other country), and dial his number.
Clearly, my roommate loves the setup.
Me? Unfortunately, Broadvoice does not have my area code. So I settled for Broadvox Direct (http://www.broadvoxdirect.com), perhaps the next best after Broadvoice featurewise. I just got it set up yesterday, and have a 14 day money back guarantee. Great quality so far. $20/mo gives you unlimited calls to US or Canada.
Apologies, browser put in an extra space:
Alternative link
http://news.com.com/On+the+Internet,+a+web+of+dark +alleys/2100-1028_3-5497820.html
I think we should make some sort of recommendation to all people who post stories with links that have mandatory registration.
Quite frequently, a search on http://news.google.com will provide an alternative source with the same article without the silly login.
The link to the Unofficial closure FAQ is really f**ked up. Has it been hacked? It has plenty of offensive material on it.
I really strongly suggest someone fix this (at least don't display the link on the main story).
Thanks,
"When code is not portable, it's often because it's been written badly. Not saying that's the case here, but in general it's true."
Just because they teach that in basic CS design courses doesn't make it true. Good code is context dependent, and one has to look at what it will be used for.
Software that's written without portability in mind, if written well, can often be far more efficient than portable code. In fact, it's quite common to find cross-platform software that's bloated - and the reason usually is that it's cross platform.
(Of course, one can always write bloated code for single platforms...)
If I write a small program intended only for my personal use, and can write it in 100 lines, whereas a portable version would take 125 lines, then I don't care what anyone says, my code is better.
"Slashdot is news for nerds, and these days most nerds are Linux users. "
Nonsense - unless you subscribe to the definition of a nerd being a Linux user. Forget online nerds and look at the ones around you. The majority prefer to use Windows. Some people would say that precludes them from being a nerd. I would say they don't know what a nerd means.
" There is nothing wrong with closed source
Some of us disagree with that."
Linux would be in a poor state had it not been for closed source, as perhaps over 90% of apps on Linux are copies of closed source software. Face it, it's only recently that the open source community has shown any inclination to innovating on their own to set them apart from the closed source apps.
Open source equivalents frequently are much better than their closed source forms, but I contend that most open source apps would not have come to be had the closed source versions not existed.
"Windows only"
And how is that an indication on how good the program is?
Seriously, what do you guys have against something that only works on Windows? Not every Windows developer is an MS clone.
And do you want me to start listing the number of Linux only projects that keep being featured on Slashdot?
"Not open source and probably never will be."
There is nothing wrong with closed source.
"Its pro version isn't free."
Oh, my! Paying for a product?! How blasphemous!
I love open source and free stuff. I use Linux both in the office and at home, and everything I run on it is free. But you'll never convince me that there is anything wrong with selling software for money, and keeping tight controls on the software (i.e. the license).
Most of the open source stuff on Linux is a copy of closed source stuff. Usually all that happens is that the open source free version just adds a few extra features to make it better. There are only a few freeware products out there that actually took the initiative and were innovative enough to take the lead.
Good luck in your goal.
My point is that we've had very detailed reviews of Open Office in the past. Just not too long ago (less than a month?), Slashdot had a story on comparisons between the various Office suites, with Open Office being the winner.
This article added nothing to that one, and the comparison article was far more detailed, and much more likely to convince someone.
(Now if I could only find that article and post the link here...)
I mean, really. The article is very terse, and says nothing that hasn't been beaten to death on Slashdot every month or so.
Heck, if the article had even been somewhat comprehensive, I wouldn't have minded. But it appears to me that this article was approved simply to get Open Office more exposure (with nothing new promised).
I'm now 25 years old, and have grown up with computers all my life. Can't remember not having one.
I'm against denying any child a computer altogether. It's overreacting. However, I do believe that a "runaway" computer (i.e. one that takes up too much of the child's time) is worse than not having one at all.
People need many skills, and computers provide only a small number of them. It is incredibly important that they attain the basics of all those skills while young, preferably before they even hit the teen years.
There are creativity skills (writing, drawing), spatially related skills (geometry, mechanics, tinkering with objects), logical skills (philosophy, math, etc), physical skills (sports, health, muscles), social skills (no explanation necessary).
God knows I played video games throughout my life until I was about 19. Played so many, and loved them. I don't regret them too much, because unlike TV, I can still look back at those days and enjoy those memories.
And I did gain from it, no doubt. I learned all about computers, and became somewhat of a guru on them.
Now that I'm older, and have seen more of the world and it's people, I can tell you I know what skills I missed out on.
Yes, I'm a computer guru. But you know what? The guys I know who balanced out their skills when young, those who know only a little about computers, could, if they wanted, learn all about computers and surpass me in a few years. Easily.
Those skills they learned young act as templates. Once you have those templates, all that's left is adding material into their brain and it will know what to do with it in the most efficient manner possible. I only have a few of those templates. They have many. So while they grew up not being "experts" in any area, over time, they can surpass me in virtually everything. Without my templates, I can never become an expert in certain areas.
Now of course, this is true for any activity. However, computers (and TV's) are notorious for the "runaway" effect, and much more care is needed with those items.
UPDATE: I take some of it back, but am left with even more troubling conclusions.
Apparently, it does search the email fields if I just do a regular search (such as typing in the userid in the search field). I found a thread where the guy had made a post, and his userid showed up only in his From: field, and not in his sig o in subsequent replies. So it seems that Google Groups Beta is searching those as well.
However, a search for that userid, which the particular individual has used (albeit with different domains) for years gives over 500 hits in the old Google Groups, but less than half that in Google Groups Beta.
Is the search engine just plain bad?
Actually, I tried that and it doesn't work very effectively.
Some examples:
I know someone who's had a number of addresses over the years, however, all the addresses had the same userid (say jkdoe@...). He frequently looks for old posts he's written, and so all he did was search for "jkdoe" and he'd get all his posts from all his addresses.
Now that doesn't work, even if he types that in the Author search field.
In fact, I compared with the old Google Groups (at UK) and even used a specific email address in the Author field. Or in the search field. I tried a whole bunch of permutations - the old Google Groups always gave more results.
Heck - I just tried inputting his full name in both - forget the address search. 191 using Beta, 271 using the old Google groups. For whatever reason, the Beta search is not getting all the results it should.
I have nothing against their not displaying email addresses.
However, I should still be able to search for them. Very often I want to search for a post written by someone with a very common name, and do so because his/her email address is unique and not even near being common.
They should allow us to search for the email address and return the all the results, even if not displaying the actual addresses.
Lycos is claiming it was a hoax.
I never tried spoofing Hotmail so that Firefox will look like IE.
I can't actually talk about Firefox, anyway, as it's been ages since I went to Hotmail with it. Seemed contradictory somehow...
I did, however, use Hotmail occasionally with Konqueror, and I got that message every time.
Go to http://texturizer.net/firefox/tips.html#beh_locati onbar
Won't do what you want, but it will tell you when the link you're hovering above is a Javascript one (among other things).
Y'all have been spoiled by printed books.
In the good old days, we used papyrus, that actually lasted centuries, as opposed to the measly 150 years or so for modern paper.
There's much to say about text browsers like Links and Lynx. For text purposes, IMPOV, they're superior browsers.
But then again, I'd NEVER recommend those browsers for ANY Web based email service.
The owner of the Web site posted in an earlier thread. He hopes to have Bittorrent files ready by the end of the week.
They can emerge apps and stuff, sure, and they feel all leet because they're compiling stuff. In actuality though, if Portage ever broke (or some dependency got fucked up) the vast majority of Gentoo users would be stuck.
The information is all on the disk. Frequently the source code is already there. All one needs to do is go to the source code, and do it manually should the need arise.
I'm sorry, but who on the Gentoo development team said that the goal of Gentoo was to be hacker friendly. They may have listed it on the side, but AFAIK, it's not the goal.
What attracted me was the fact that it resolved dependencies in a way Mandrake, Red Hat, etc couldn't. And the fact that virtually nothing is preconfigured made it easy to personalize. It's not meant for learning about how Linux works - just for getting a desktop OS where everything works (I can't say that for Mandrake or Red Hat).
Slackware is the distro you use if you want to really understand how Linux is put together but don't have time to do LFS.
No arguments there. But I doubt I'd be wrong when I say that most Gentoo users didn't install it because it was an automated LFS. They did it to get something that worked, and that wouldn't be a hassle to maintain.
I do not doubt its superiority over rpms, but how is it better than the package system used (portage) in Gentoo?
Specifically, what does Gentoo lack that Slackware has?
but I also mean invariant for more than six months.
Invariant? At the very least, you'll want to update packages when security issues are raised (frequent enough to warrant updates aplenty within 6 months)
Yes, but the strength of Gentoo is its package management. With Gentoo, it automatically figures out dependencies, and installs packages in the corresponding order. Upgrading to newer versions (vital as some packages have frequent security updates) is a single command away. Uninstalling is too.
In Slackware, how are packages managed? I ask mostly out of ignorance, as I've only heard from people who used Slackware years ago and aren't up to date on it.
I used to use something similar, but now, there's a partial solution. For sites that require registration, I use BugMeNot.
No longer need to register.
In fact, Firefox even has an extension for it. So I simply just right click, choose BugMeNot, and get a username and password for that site.
Enjoy,
I'm not saying that they're right or wrong, just that Engineers are held in much higher esteem there then over here.
They don't.
1) Engineers, although not necessarily rich, don't starve.
2) Many firms from the US and abroad are hiring them to do their work while still there (and not just as tech support - research work). While not much by US standards, their salaries are almost twice what local companies offer.
Nations need engineers. However, a nation of engineers won't go anywhere without philosophers, sociologists, writers and economists.
I'm not from India, but from a neighboring country where everyone wants their child to become an engineer, doctor, or businessman. If they keep it up, the country will vanish soon enough.
There were two separate cases against him (although they're related).
The federal case (the recent one - 14 counts - 3 for terrorism, 4 for lying to officials, 7 for visa fraud), and the immigration case.
The immigration "trial" occured about a year ago behind closed doors. He was found deportable, which is the only reason he was in prison all this time. (In March 2003, a federal judge ordered that he be released without bail for the federal charges, as he did not pose a flight risk).
He immediately appealed the deportation order last year, and is still on appeal. Which is why he may still be deported, and why he is still in custody.