A software developer has a finite amount of service she can provide. Not to mention, you can't walk up and take it from her, short of committing theft or something.
See the analogy? Providing software is more analoguous to providing service than to providing Ferraris.
Redhat sells services. Period. They just give away the part that needs service - this is really no different from Microsoft, who first sell you the software and THEN sell you also support services.
According to this logic, it would be pointless to pay for any kind of service. Going to the hairdressers won't take away any "hairdressing units", and neither will going to the movies mean that there is now "one less movie to be seen by other people".
Software industry is much more like service industry in the sense that its products are indefinitely replicable. The supply-demand cycle works a bit differently here, since there is no scarcity involved - once a software has been written, providing it is a service.
And to say that one should not pay for services is just dumb.
Yet Another Star Trek Moment
on
Hack in Space
·
· Score: 3, Funny
Quote from the press release:
To make up for the missing reaction wheels, scientists and engineers developed new sets of procedures and software that let them use equipment known as magnetic torquer bars in a new way. Controllers can generate local magnetic fields by running electric current through FUSE's three torquer bars, and can flip the polarity of these fields by changing the direction of current flow.
Well, it's better that you learn UN*X stuff at uni, since you're going to meet with Windows stuff later on. Windows software has been designed to be easy to learn (I'm not saying they're succeeding, but it's been designed that way =), so it is easier to go from UN*X to Windows than the other way round. You learn your basic Windows skills tuning your system for gaming:-).
Also, this way you get good experience in both systems: a CS major should be well versed in most major systems, if for no other reason than to be able to judge for themselves what to use.
At some point you're gonna be asked for recommendations for a systems architecture if you're any good. If you at that point cannot weigh the different merits and cons of Linux, BSD, Solaris, Win2k, and other systems, you're doing a disservice to your employer.
(Besides, the best place to learn to value multi-user systems is at the uni, where you can see the value of having multiple interchangeable computers to which you can log in remotely to do whatever you want.)
The Dry Valleys are off-limits to everything but the minimal required research.
The eco-system is so fragile that it cannot handle anyone trampling around the area. The only living creatures over there live for centuries and you can destroy a hundred years worth of growth just by stepping off the path.
I use the "butt factor". If a co-worker wants to ask me something, I won't answer unless he gets up from his butt and comes to ask me personally.
The theory is that if the question is not worth getting out of the chair for him, it is not worth answering for me.
This sounds perhaps a bit rude, but frankly, when someone just shouts from the other side of the room, asking a question he knows he can get easier from you than from a simple look at the manual, he not only interrupts my work, he also interrupts everyone else's work. And that's just plain lazy and selfish.
Of course, it works for me too: If I really need to know something, I always consider whether it's worth for me to get up and go ask someone who knows as opposed to just trying to search the manual.
Because it's in many cases more convinient. Think about it: in the US it's common to have answering machines for sending short messages to people. Some people even get annoyed when you answer the phone, and ask you to hang up "so that they can just leave a message on the machine". You don't always want to talk to people.
Even though you can only cram 160 characters into an SMS message using 12 buttons of your tiny keyboard on a 3x10 character screen, SMS basically fulfils the role of mobile email. It may be expensive, but it's still very usable.
SMSs are also very non-intrusive. You can check your messages in the middle of a movie, or a meeting, or at midnight, and nobody would get annoyed by you talking on the phone at that time. If you suddenly remember something you needed to tell someone, you can just drop a small SMS to him. Some people send grocery shopping lists to their SOs - much better than reading one out loud, since you can always store the message and check it out when you're in a store. I personally use the text writing ability to store reminders for myself when my PDA is in my bag, or I forgot it somewhere.
In Finland, TV channels now run SMS -based chat shows when they have no scheduled programming. You can send your message to be viewed by everyone with a TV by paying only $1 USD! Sounds like a bad deal? Probably, but that does not stop people
sending hundreds of messages an hour to these moderated chat shows.
It's true what they say: in every new technology, e-mail is the killer application.
This may be hard to believe when you haven't seen it in action, but I think it's just a matter of time when the US also joins the SMS craze.
I would give my left foot for a vim-like mode in mozilla.
Okay. You send me your left foot and I'll make Mozilla support a vim-like mode. Sounds like a fair deal, though I am more used to accepting souls in return.
But a foot is a good start.
They can't outspend Microsoft?
on
P2P Goes To War
·
· Score: 2
Microsoft will spend 2 billion dollars on the XBox... The entire Army budget for research and development this year is $1.6 billion. So Microsoft is spending more money on a game console than the Army is spending on basic and applied research. So we're in a dilemma here. We can't outspend Microsoft.
To quote the document which the Slashdot reference refers to:
To support a potential, future sprint to the planet Pluto before 2020, additional funds will be directed to key propulsion technology investments.
I think this is an excellent idea: The Deep Space 1 probe has already pretty much proven that ion drive works, and more interesting propulsion technologies exist on the drawing board. Not only the Pluto-Kuiper program will benefit from this (the Kuiper belt will still be there) but other probe programs as well (except maybe Moon probes, but they ain't that interesting anyway).
The whole budget thing seems to me like GWB is shaking a stick at NASA, saying that they must start to think about the commercialization of space, and to build more reliable stuff.
Hm. Does Google own the database of Usenet postings? You see, since every person ever write to the Usenet still retains copyright to their postings, isn't it in the slightest bit illegal to actually *sell* the database? Or at least immoral?
At least I am giving no permission whatsoever for someone to sell my posts...
Someone could argue, though, that by posting to the Usenet you have implicitly maken your work public domain, but I doubt that you can get rid of your copyright that easily. Books still have copyright, and you even paid money for them, so shouldn't you be getting more?:-)
I think the major problem with the record companies enforcing content control over us all is simply money. Think about it: in order for an content control system to become effective, you MUST phase out CDs, thus killing MP3rippers at source. However, doing this instantly would cost a huge amount of money, and in the best case, it will take years.
Now, if you have a choice between using your normal, average computer (which you already have), with your CD player (which you already have), with new CDs coming out constantly (which they will be doing) to get your MP3s, and buying new, expensive, proprietary technology (disk may be cheap, but that does not mean that players will be), that will take away all your fair use rights, which one do you go for?
What's stopping you from simply taking your existing equipment, putting the MP3s on that new 1Gig IBM Microdrive player you got, and whistling on?
In order to sell something like this, the record companies would have to sell the music really cheap so that the consumer would want to buy them instead of the CD. I suspect you can't do it really cheap, because a) the artists still want their cut and if they get less than from CD sales, they will be unhappy; b) The record company still wants to make money; c) Somebody is going to want money from licenses for the new, proprietary technology.
And you would still have privacy from people who are technically savvy enough. Taking the analog output from really good equipment and recoding it back to MP3s is entirely possible, and probably most people just wouldn't care about the loss of quality. Come on, people buy bootlegs =).
It is possible that the record companies stand to lose some serious money if they insist on pursuing on this trail. The cat's out of the bag...
(Question: Isn't it the major reason why new bands sign on with big companies that that way they get access to their major publicity machine? Well, you've got the internet now... Why don't bands... band together and establish their own distribution channels over the web? Without the record company taking most of the money they could sell their stuff cheaper on the internet... Maybe the content control systems will be the downfall of RIAA and major recording corporations, since they allow the small-time companies compete on a more even playground? Who knows...)
It is rare that a Slashdot summary of a website is more informative than the actual website. Let us savour this moment, and hope that this has begun the era of the new, better Slashdot.
Judging from the comments that have surfaced, I seem to be an oddity:
Okay, I have a pretty hefty machine (PIII/256M), but for me NS6 works perfectly: it is far more stable than NS4.7x, layouts pages faster, is able to handle fonts correctly - now I can actually SEE some pages, supports SSL without a hitch... I really only use NS4 to run some Java applets that seem to hang the NS6. As a browser, NS6 is FOR ME far better than NS4.
I might use Mozilla, but I am too busy to keep up with the nightly builds... I only use the Milestone builds, and NS6 offers more functionality than the M18.
One other thing which I like about NS6 is the fact that I can - if I want to - to run NS4 at the same time. Very nice!
Yes, it does support SSL. And 128-bit encryption, too. (You should see my 6210 - it contains all sorts of interesting warnings about how it contains encryption technology which may not be imported into certain countries, yadda yadda.)
Direct quote from http://www.nokia.com/phones/9210/apps_internet.htm l:
The Nokia 9210 Communicator supports frames and Java, so you can view Web pages in their original form and in color. It also supports SSL, the security protocol.
You don't get to choose a password. You are assigned a customer ID code and a sheet of one-time PIN numbers. Upon logging into the system, you must give both the customer ID code and the next PIN number in sequence, after which that particular PIN ceases to be valid and you must use the next number on the sheet. This way, even though someone listened in on your keyboard, they can not benefit from knowing your PIN code, since it is never the same.
The same applies when making transfers: on the same sheet with your PIN numbers are a bunch of other PIN numbers which are used for validation. When you tell the system to proceed with your transfer, the computer will query you for a particular PIN number ("please give PIN F") to which you must answer correctly. When you finally run out of PINs, they'll send you a new sheet.
Of course, this whole thing requires that you keep your Customer ID code and your PIN sheet totally separate - and that you keep the PINs secure. But then again, that is what you have to do with your credit card, anyway =).
Of course, the site is protected by 128 bit SSL and the works - so I feel pretty confident about the whole online banking idea.
Compare that to WestPac in Australia, which I've had had the privilege to be acquainted with during the past weeks: single password, which is 6 CHARACTERS AT MAXIMUM and may NOT contain any punctuation marks... And if someone grabs your connection, they can do whatever you want with your account... Eww.
Disclaimer: I am just a customer to these two banks, nothing more.
If they become as cheap as they claim in the article, you could have ten copies of your library. It wouldn't matter then if one was stolen.
I am more interested in how small and cheap they can make these things: with IPv6 providing enough address space for every piece of clothing you will ever own, having a gig of storage in your tennis shoes might be rather interesting... You wouldn't really have to worry taking your PDA with you anymore, if your clothes would automatically talk to each other and keep all your data handy regardless of what you wear. And those into nudism could still wear jewellery... =)
Since they are nanotechnology, would it be possible to inject them into your bloodstream? Then you would never lose your information - and you could exchange information with other people by exchanging bodily fluids. "File sharing" just wouldn't be the same anymore... ("Hi, can you get me the Smith file?" "Yeah, just lift up your skirt, will ya?")
On a serious side, naturally having strong encryption becomes even more important when you have that much storage density.
But, will Windows 2005 occupy five of these? *grin*
Exactly as you said: high-power. There are a few key things that attract people, power being the most important one. Wealth is okay, and so is security, but in our primitive minds men with power are desirable. This applies to both men and women equally, methinks.
This explains why physically strong men, soldiers, lawyers and doctors usually have no trouble getting themselves a date. They all have control over other peoples lives.
Wealth can buy you power, too, but since wealth is just a means to acquire power, you can just cut the middle bit and go directly to the power. Women are smart that way;-)
Us geeks are not powerful. Who cares if we have the power to turn the TV off automatically from our Linux boxes, or that we can hack perl faster than any other living being in the galaxy? It's not a direct manifestation of power... However, if you go and hack into a NASA mainframe and make a shuttle crash, you'd probably have a number of (dubious) girls queuing at your door (along with FBI, of course).
Long answer: Look at what is already happening: you wouldn't believe the amount of teens in Finland who use a ridiculously expensive method of communication by sending SMS messages at 15 cents a piece, tens each day, when they have access to free email.
Look also what is happening in the games market: the high-end PCs are sold almost exclusively for gaming purposes, and people are paying insane amounts of money so that they are able to play Q3 at high frame rates.
So, building games for a 100x96 monochrome display sounds stupid. But as you point out, you can't exclude other issues - and considering the current trend in places where mobile phone utilization is at its highest, there will be a sizable market for mobile phone gaming. Your kids are gonna love it.
(For your comments about cell phones associated with work and business: not any longer. Here in Finland they already are a part of your everyday life, like your wrist watch. The US will follow in a year or two.)
Doesn't work. Any random data on your hard drive could be considered scrambled data - and unless you give them your key, you're screwed. Of course, the fact that you can't produce a proper key because there is no key, can be safely ignored in the interest of public safety.
Slashdot Mirror
A software developer has a finite amount of service she can provide. Not to mention, you can't walk up and take it from her, short of committing theft or something.
See the analogy? Providing software is more analoguous to providing service than to providing Ferraris.
Redhat sells services. Period. They just give away the part that needs service - this is really no different from Microsoft, who first sell you the software and THEN sell you also support services.
According to this logic, it would be pointless to pay for any kind of service. Going to the hairdressers won't take away any "hairdressing units", and neither will going to the movies mean that there is now "one less movie to be seen by other people".
Software industry is much more like service industry in the sense that its products are indefinitely replicable. The supply-demand cycle works a bit differently here, since there is no scarcity involved - once a software has been written, providing it is a service.
And to say that one should not pay for services is just dumb.
So, reversing the polarity really DOES work!
Well, it's better that you learn UN*X stuff at uni, since you're going to meet with Windows stuff later on. Windows software has been designed to be easy to learn (I'm not saying they're succeeding, but it's been designed that way =), so it is easier to go from UN*X to Windows than the other way round. You learn your basic Windows skills tuning your system for gaming :-).
Also, this way you get good experience in both systems: a CS major should be well versed in most major systems, if for no other reason than to be able to judge for themselves what to use.
At some point you're gonna be asked for recommendations for a systems architecture if you're any good. If you at that point cannot weigh the different merits and cons of Linux, BSD, Solaris, Win2k, and other systems, you're doing a disservice to your employer.
(Besides, the best place to learn to value multi-user systems is at the uni, where you can see the value of having multiple interchangeable computers to which you can log in remotely to do whatever you want.)
Wow. Congrats to both of you.
:-)
And let's make this the most commented story ever. A gift from the Slashdot community.
The Dry Valleys are off-limits to everything but the minimal required research.
The eco-system is so fragile that it cannot handle anyone trampling around the area. The only living creatures over there live for centuries and you can destroy a hundred years worth of growth just by stepping off the path.
I use the "butt factor". If a co-worker wants to ask me something, I won't answer unless he gets up from his butt and comes to ask me personally.
The theory is that if the question is not worth getting out of the chair for him, it is not worth answering for me.
This sounds perhaps a bit rude, but frankly, when someone just shouts from the other side of the room, asking a question he knows he can get easier from you than from a simple look at the manual, he not only interrupts my work, he also interrupts everyone else's work. And that's just plain lazy and selfish.
Of course, it works for me too: If I really need to know something, I always consider whether it's worth for me to get up and go ask someone who knows as opposed to just trying to search the manual.
For a moment I thought this was interesting: A 40 gram MP3 player. But then I realized someone had gotten their units mixed up again.
Seems to happen a lot in the US. *evil grin*
(G = Giga = 10^12, g = gram = 1/1000 of kilogram.)
Today, I bought a bus ticket.
The expiry date is 01.11.01 11.10.
Of course, the purchase date was 01.11.01 10.10.
I found this totally hilarious. Perhaps I should get out more often.
Because it's in many cases more convinient. Think about it: in the US it's common to have answering machines for sending short messages to people. Some people even get annoyed when you answer the phone, and ask you to hang up "so that they can just leave a message on the machine". You don't always want to talk to people.
Even though you can only cram 160 characters into an SMS message using 12 buttons of your tiny keyboard on a 3x10 character screen, SMS basically fulfils the role of mobile email. It may be expensive, but it's still very usable.
SMSs are also very non-intrusive. You can check your messages in the middle of a movie, or a meeting, or at midnight, and nobody would get annoyed by you talking on the phone at that time. If you suddenly remember something you needed to tell someone, you can just drop a small SMS to him. Some people send grocery shopping lists to their SOs - much better than reading one out loud, since you can always store the message and check it out when you're in a store. I personally use the text writing ability to store reminders for myself when my PDA is in my bag, or I forgot it somewhere.
In Finland, TV channels now run SMS -based chat shows when they have no scheduled programming. You can send your message to be viewed by everyone with a TV by paying only $1 USD! Sounds like a bad deal? Probably, but that does not stop people
sending hundreds of messages an hour to these moderated chat shows.
It's true what they say: in every new technology, e-mail is the killer application.
This may be hard to believe when you haven't seen it in action, but I think it's just a matter of time when the US also joins the SMS craze.
I would give my left foot for a vim-like mode in mozilla.
Okay. You send me your left foot and I'll make Mozilla support a vim-like mode. Sounds like a fair deal, though I am more used to accepting souls in return.
But a foot is a good start.
Microsoft will spend 2 billion dollars on the XBox... The entire Army budget for research and development this year is $1.6 billion. So Microsoft is spending more money on a game console than the Army is spending on basic and applied research. So we're in a dilemma here. We can't outspend Microsoft.
Doesn't anyone else think this is scary?
Actually, the name of the country is Kanada. If you speak Finnish, that is.
(So yeah, we spell a few things differently. So what? =)
To quote the document which the Slashdot reference refers to:
To support a potential, future sprint to the planet Pluto before 2020, additional funds will be directed to key propulsion technology investments.
I think this is an excellent idea: The Deep Space 1 probe has already pretty much proven that ion drive works, and more interesting propulsion technologies exist on the drawing board. Not only the Pluto-Kuiper program will benefit from this (the Kuiper belt will still be there) but other probe programs as well (except maybe Moon probes, but they ain't that interesting anyway).
The whole budget thing seems to me like GWB is shaking a stick at NASA, saying that they must start to think about the commercialization of space, and to build more reliable stuff.
It isn't all bad, IMHO. It could be a lot worse.
Umm... What you say?
Hm. Does Google own the database of Usenet postings? You see, since every person ever write to the Usenet still retains copyright to their postings, isn't it in the slightest bit illegal to actually *sell* the database? Or at least immoral?
:-)
At least I am giving no permission whatsoever for someone to sell my posts...
Someone could argue, though, that by posting to the Usenet you have implicitly maken your work public domain, but I doubt that you can get rid of your copyright that easily. Books still have copyright, and you even paid money for them, so shouldn't you be getting more?
I think the major problem with the record companies enforcing content control over us all is simply money. Think about it: in order for an content control system to become effective, you MUST phase out CDs, thus killing MP3rippers at source. However, doing this instantly would cost a huge amount of money, and in the best case, it will take years.
... band together and establish their own distribution channels over the web? Without the record company taking most of the money they could sell their stuff cheaper on the internet... Maybe the content control systems will be the downfall of RIAA and major recording corporations, since they allow the small-time companies compete on a more even playground? Who knows...)
Now, if you have a choice between using your normal, average computer (which you already have), with your CD player (which you already have), with new CDs coming out constantly (which they will be doing) to get your MP3s, and buying new, expensive, proprietary technology (disk may be cheap, but that does not mean that players will be), that will take away all your fair use rights, which one do you go for?
What's stopping you from simply taking your existing equipment, putting the MP3s on that new 1Gig IBM Microdrive player you got, and whistling on?
In order to sell something like this, the record companies would have to sell the music really cheap so that the consumer would want to buy them instead of the CD. I suspect you can't do it really cheap, because a) the artists still want their cut and if they get less than from CD sales, they will be unhappy; b) The record company still wants to make money; c) Somebody is going to want money from licenses for the new, proprietary technology.
And you would still have privacy from people who are technically savvy enough. Taking the analog output from really good equipment and recoding it back to MP3s is entirely possible, and probably most people just wouldn't care about the loss of quality. Come on, people buy bootlegs =).
It is possible that the record companies stand to lose some serious money if they insist on pursuing on this trail. The cat's out of the bag...
(Question: Isn't it the major reason why new bands sign on with big companies that that way they get access to their major publicity machine? Well, you've got the internet now... Why don't bands
It is rare that a Slashdot summary of a website is more informative than the actual website. Let us savour this moment, and hope that this has begun the era of the new, better Slashdot.
=)
Judging from the comments that have surfaced, I seem to be an oddity:
Okay, I have a pretty hefty machine (PIII/256M), but for me NS6 works perfectly: it is far more stable than NS4.7x, layouts pages faster, is able to handle fonts correctly - now I can actually SEE some pages, supports SSL without a hitch... I really only use NS4 to run some Java applets that seem to hang the NS6. As a browser, NS6 is FOR ME far better than NS4.
I might use Mozilla, but I am too busy to keep up with the nightly builds... I only use the Milestone builds, and NS6 offers more functionality than the M18.
One other thing which I like about NS6 is the fact that I can - if I want to - to run NS4 at the same time. Very nice!
Yes, it does support SSL. And 128-bit encryption, too. (You should see my 6210 - it contains all sorts of interesting warnings about how it contains encryption technology which may not be imported into certain countries, yadda yadda.)
m l:
Direct quote from http://www.nokia.com/phones/9210/apps_internet.ht
The Nokia 9210 Communicator supports frames and Java, so you can view Web pages in their original form and in color. It also supports SSL, the security protocol.
Here's how at least one bank in Finland does it.
You don't get to choose a password. You are assigned a customer ID code and a sheet of one-time PIN numbers. Upon logging into the system, you must give both the customer ID code and the next PIN number in sequence, after which that particular PIN ceases to be valid and you must use the next number on the sheet. This way, even though someone listened in on your keyboard, they can not benefit from knowing your PIN code, since it is never the same.
The same applies when making transfers: on the same sheet with your PIN numbers are a bunch of other PIN numbers which are used for validation. When you tell the system to proceed with your transfer, the computer will query you for a particular PIN number ("please give PIN F") to which you must answer correctly. When you finally run out of PINs, they'll send you a new sheet.
Of course, this whole thing requires that you keep your Customer ID code and your PIN sheet totally separate - and that you keep the PINs secure. But then again, that is what you have to do with your credit card, anyway =).
Of course, the site is protected by 128 bit SSL and the works - so I feel pretty confident about the whole online banking idea.
Compare that to WestPac in Australia, which I've had had the privilege to be acquainted with during the past weeks: single password, which is 6 CHARACTERS AT MAXIMUM and may NOT contain any punctuation marks... And if someone grabs your connection, they can do whatever you want with your account... Eww.
Disclaimer: I am just a customer to these two banks, nothing more.
If they become as cheap as they claim in the article, you could have ten copies of your library. It wouldn't matter then if one was stolen.
I am more interested in how small and cheap they can make these things: with IPv6 providing enough address space for every piece of clothing you will ever own, having a gig of storage in your tennis shoes might be rather interesting... You wouldn't really have to worry taking your PDA with you anymore, if your clothes would automatically talk to each other and keep all your data handy regardless of what you wear. And those into nudism could still wear jewellery... =)
Since they are nanotechnology, would it be possible to inject them into your bloodstream? Then you would never lose your information - and you could exchange information with other people by exchanging bodily fluids. "File sharing" just wouldn't be the same anymore... ("Hi, can you get me the Smith file?" "Yeah, just lift up your skirt, will ya?")
On a serious side, naturally having strong encryption becomes even more important when you have that much storage density.
But, will Windows 2005 occupy five of these? *grin*
Exactly as you said: high-power. There are a few key things that attract people, power being the most important one. Wealth is okay, and so is security, but in our primitive minds men with power are desirable. This applies to both men and women equally, methinks.
;-)
This explains why physically strong men, soldiers, lawyers and doctors usually have no trouble getting themselves a date. They all have control over other peoples lives.
Wealth can buy you power, too, but since wealth is just a means to acquire power, you can just cut the middle bit and go directly to the power. Women are smart that way
Us geeks are not powerful. Who cares if we have the power to turn the TV off automatically from our Linux boxes, or that we can hack perl faster than any other living being in the galaxy? It's not a direct manifestation of power... However, if you go and hack into a NASA mainframe and make a shuttle crash, you'd probably have a number of (dubious) girls queuing at your door (along with FBI, of course).
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: Look at what is already happening: you wouldn't believe the amount of teens in Finland who use a ridiculously expensive method of communication by sending SMS messages at 15 cents a piece, tens each day, when they have access to free email.
Look also what is happening in the games market: the high-end PCs are sold almost exclusively for gaming purposes, and people are paying insane amounts of money so that they are able to play Q3 at high frame rates.
So, building games for a 100x96 monochrome display sounds stupid. But as you point out, you can't exclude other issues - and considering the current trend in places where mobile phone utilization is at its highest, there will be a sizable market for mobile phone gaming. Your kids are gonna love it.
(For your comments about cell phones associated with work and business: not any longer. Here in Finland they already are a part of your everyday life, like your wrist watch. The US will follow in a year or two.)
Doesn't work. Any random data on your hard drive could be considered scrambled data - and unless you give them your key, you're screwed. Of course, the fact that you can't produce a proper key because there is no key, can be safely ignored in the interest of public safety.
/me shudders.