You don't need their coding standards to GPL something, but if they are to take "responsibility" for it and maintain it, then they want you to follow their coding guidelines.
Which is butt ugly (at least with the braces), but apparently works for them.:)
In my experience, that is how bosses make buying descisions...
As well as the average Joe, just today, after recommening an acquintance several Linux distros (he is looking to try it, out of interest), he asked: "What about Lindows? Look how good this looks!" and gave this link to a *really* silly flash commercial: http://images.lindows.com/closed/LindowsRock.html.
Look and learn folks! This is apparently how you get users... sigh.
There is this really funny story from about 10 years ago or so (I think), when this.... well, very american (the stereotype type) American was negotiating some contracts with them, and asked them a bit condescendingly if they could handle such an order, and were they sure the company wouldn't go belly up. They just told him when the company was founded, and how long that was before the US was founded.:)
Try telling that to a manager. Just try it. Or, if you wish, I can tell you what the response will be - in the absolute best case scenario, perfect world utopia, you will get a blank stare. From there it is all downhill.
Notice that a *lot* of sites out there that are made by professionals for themselves or for open projects follow your guidelines. It is the commercial sites that don't (and the kiddie sites, of course, where you can't see the site for all the flash animations and counters).
Sad thing is that there aren't any commercial sites, with a few exceptions like google, that have a simple but great site, so it is hard to vote with the wallet on this one. I also am afraid that what that the general customer wants is lots of flashing things and shiny buttons, so I do think the managers are doing the right thing froma business perspective.
So what is your point? Did MS write the application, or are you somehow saying that the people that wrote the crashing application would magically become good programmers if they used some other OS?
Crappy and crashing software exists for all platforms. There are lots of other, real arguments to use if you want to convince people to switch. Saying something that they don't recognize, for instance telling people that Windows crashes a lot when it never does that for them will only convince them you are making the rest of your "facts" up as well.
Stick to facts, point out real things (say virus trouble), and you might win. Make things up or twist the truth, and you'll almost certainly lose.
A couple of colleagues have wondered about GIMP and I've helped them to install it. They then sit down, go "doh...!?" for about ten minutes, click half-heartedly a few times and proclaim it an abject failure because it doesn't have precisely the same user interface as PS6.
Just because you can't figure out how to use a piece of software doesn't mean that no-one can.
I kinda agree with you on your last point there - I've seen some great stuff done with the GIMP, so I'm convinced there are people who indeed can learn to use it. I've tried it several times myself, more out of philosophical reasons than anything else, support the free stuff and so on - the problem to me is not that it doesn't have the same interface as PS6 though - I've hardly used that either.
The problem is that the GIMP doesn't have the same interface (even remotely) as any other application I've ever touched. That makes the entry-level very high, since I have to look really hard and try lots of possible alternatives until the application (maybe) does what I want.
Maybe this interface is totally superior (script-fu certainly seems powerful as well), but as long as it is so bloody hard to figure out, it will not be popular.
If you disagree and think it should be obvious, or have some way of looking at it that makes sense (and is possible to explain), then please, please write it down and make it a publically available tutorial. I'm pretty sure there are lots of people like me that would like to use it, but just can't figure it out - in a reasonable time span. I'm sure just about everyone can figure it out. Just not soon enough.
I really mean it - if you have a good way, share it. The docs I've seen make little to no sense to me.
It is a great series, one of the best I've ever read together with the works of Stephen Donaldson (Gap series, Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, etc). But it was quite a while since I read the last book, and still no sign of the rest of the books... I don't remember how many was planned, but I think it was something like 8 or 12 books... which is good, if they ever hit the market, and bad as it is now while waiting.
Now that would be great to have a word really jumbled in an image, then providing the same word in cleartext in the ALT attribute so the visually challenged can get it read for them!
Actually, with some creative hacking, you could get it to display 43 different colors by blending existing colors. No, not 64, because you could only blend those of the same brightness. And it never really looked that good, but in the C=64 days, hacking was *only* about making the computer do what it really shouldn't be able to.
Like displaying dozens of sprites on the screen, removing the borders, introducing Amiga-like blobs, playing drum sounds even though all sound channels were in use and so forth.
Really surprising that there wasn't a thick cloud of magic smoke hanging in more places.:)
I've been working like that, and I did see several problems. For one thing, I do like to able to take vacations like anybody else. I don't want to go to work when I am really, really ill. I don't like people calling me with job stuff when I am not working. And so on.
Sure, when I was there, while I was there, there was no problems I couldn't solve via the same procedures as you.
The windows systems were supported one way or the other, but the linux ones were not, in any other way than by me. Though I documented heavily and showed the other guys how it worked as much as I could. Them being windows guys, they were not very interested though. So I'm not having such a bad conscience about it.:) But now there are a couple of machines used by lots and lots of people that just mustn't break down, or they are up shit creek.
Sure, they could call me (if they pay good), and of course any specialist probably can be called in and fix it, though it will be expensive.
I guess this company, like so many others, likes to gamble, because it costs less as long as red keeps coming up.The problem with this kind of gamble is that you just get to keep your money every time you win, while you lose all your bets up till then when you lose.
I have philosophical issues with using firewalls to protect myself from the programs running on my computer, as opposed to protecting myself from outside threats, though.
And what, sir, is the difference? I've never heard of an outside threat that doesn't also include some software or the other on your computer, whether it be someone causing a buffer overflow in finger, or issuing delete commands via some weird microsoft built-in.
As for "philosophical issues"... everyone with a right mind or at least some experience *knows* that a good firewall will block *everything* you haven't said personally is OK, whether from outside *or* inside. I sure hope you are not one of those that blocks everything from the outside, and then let everything from the inside pass unchecked. That is a disaster just waiting to happen.
OTOH, it could also be an ultimatum if he wants to change things: "Either you start releasing stuff on monday morning, and right away so we can fix stuff, or I'll release it on friday night so everyone is toast."
I have no idea if that is it, I had the same reaction as you. But if someone wants to put some pressure...:)
Since the subject of releasing music for free cam up, I couldn't resist mentioning a band and site I just happened to stumble upon that has quite a few really good tunes available for download in MP3 *and* OGG format: http://machinaesupremacy.com/.
Their take on "Giana Sisters" as well as their "Sidology" tunes are great nostalgia as well as great modern versions of the old C=64 classics. There are quite a few other good songs as well. Check them out!
Slashdot Mirror
You don't need their coding standards to GPL something, but if they are to take "responsibility" for it and maintain it, then they want you to follow their coding guidelines.
:)
Which is butt ugly (at least with the braces), but apparently works for them.
"ohhh pretty colors, we'll buy it!!"
.
In my experience, that is how bosses make buying descisions...
As well as the average Joe, just today, after recommening an acquintance several Linux distros (he is looking to try it, out of interest), he asked: "What about Lindows? Look how good this looks!" and gave this link to a *really* silly flash commercial: http://images.lindows.com/closed/LindowsRock.html
Look and learn folks! This is apparently how you get users... sigh.
soaring spam (with half the sites they advertise not working
;-)
But the other half of 'em does? How big's your dick now?
STORA's history
:)
There is this really funny story from about 10 years ago or so (I think), when this.... well, very american (the stereotype type) American was negotiating some contracts with them, and asked them a bit condescendingly if they could handle such an order, and were they sure the company wouldn't go belly up. They just told him when the company was founded, and how long that was before the US was founded.
Now we only need to get rid of the poor and the women. And the blacks. And the...
Wasn't it "a night in the White House got you $100,000"?
In either case, just distribute new versions in a jar with the same name, and keep the interface backwards compatible. Everyone is happy. :)
Try telling that to a manager. Just try it. Or, if you wish, I can tell you what the response will be - in the absolute best case scenario, perfect world utopia, you will get a blank stare. From there it is all downhill.
Notice that a *lot* of sites out there that are made by professionals for themselves or for open projects follow your guidelines. It is the commercial sites that don't (and the kiddie sites, of course, where you can't see the site for all the flash animations and counters).
Sad thing is that there aren't any commercial sites, with a few exceptions like google, that have a simple but great site, so it is hard to vote with the wallet on this one. I also am afraid that what that the general customer wants is lots of flashing things and shiny buttons, so I do think the managers are doing the right thing froma business perspective.
All that says is that Lavasoft hasn't found anything yet in a product not many are using.
Have they even looked?
So what is your point? Did MS write the application, or are you somehow saying that the people that wrote the crashing application would magically become good programmers if they used some other OS?
Crappy and crashing software exists for all platforms. There are lots of other, real arguments to use if you want to convince people to switch. Saying something that they don't recognize, for instance telling people that Windows crashes a lot when it never does that for them will only convince them you are making the rest of your "facts" up as well.
Stick to facts, point out real things (say virus trouble), and you might win. Make things up or twist the truth, and you'll almost certainly lose.
A couple of colleagues have wondered about GIMP and I've helped them to install it. They then sit down, go "doh...!?" for about ten minutes, click half-heartedly a few times and proclaim it an abject failure because it doesn't have precisely the same user interface as PS6.
Just because you can't figure out how to use a piece of software doesn't mean that no-one can.
I kinda agree with you on your last point there - I've seen some great stuff done with the GIMP, so I'm convinced there are people who indeed can learn to use it. I've tried it several times myself, more out of philosophical reasons than anything else, support the free stuff and so on - the problem to me is not that it doesn't have the same interface as PS6 though - I've hardly used that either.
The problem is that the GIMP doesn't have the same interface (even remotely) as any other application I've ever touched. That makes the entry-level very high, since I have to look really hard and try lots of possible alternatives until the application (maybe) does what I want.
Maybe this interface is totally superior (script-fu certainly seems powerful as well), but as long as it is so bloody hard to figure out, it will not be popular.
If you disagree and think it should be obvious, or have some way of looking at it that makes sense (and is possible to explain), then please, please write it down and make it a publically available tutorial. I'm pretty sure there are lots of people like me that would like to use it, but just can't figure it out - in a reasonable time span. I'm sure just about everyone can figure it out. Just not soon enough.
I really mean it - if you have a good way, share it. The docs I've seen make little to no sense to me.
http://www.georgerrmartin.com/ - the authors web site, with information about the status of the series.
It is a great series, one of the best I've ever read together with the works of Stephen Donaldson (Gap series, Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, etc). But it was quite a while since I read the last book, and still no sign of the rest of the books... I don't remember how many was planned, but I think it was something like 8 or 12 books... which is good, if they ever hit the market, and bad as it is now while waiting.
Where do you want to be dragged by the balls today?
I read that as a part of the rest of the post at first, and wondered if that was how those roads worked...
Now that would be great to have a word really jumbled in an image, then providing the same word in cleartext in the ALT attribute so the visually challenged can get it read for them!
Actually, with some creative hacking, you could get it to display 43 different colors by blending existing colors. No, not 64, because you could only blend those of the same brightness. And it never really looked that good, but in the C=64 days, hacking was *only* about making the computer do what it really shouldn't be able to.
:)
Like displaying dozens of sprites on the screen, removing the borders, introducing Amiga-like blobs, playing drum sounds even though all sound channels were in use and so forth.
Really surprising that there wasn't a thick cloud of magic smoke hanging in more places.
I've been working like that, and I did see several problems. For one thing, I do like to able to take vacations like anybody else. I don't want to go to work when I am really, really ill. I don't like people calling me with job stuff when I am not working. And so on.
:) But now there are a couple of machines used by lots and lots of people that just mustn't break down, or they are up shit creek.
Sure, when I was there, while I was there, there was no problems I couldn't solve via the same procedures as you.
The windows systems were supported one way or the other, but the linux ones were not, in any other way than by me. Though I documented heavily and showed the other guys how it worked as much as I could. Them being windows guys, they were not very interested though. So I'm not having such a bad conscience about it.
Sure, they could call me (if they pay good), and of course any specialist probably can be called in and fix it, though it will be expensive.
I guess this company, like so many others, likes to gamble, because it costs less as long as red keeps coming up.The problem with this kind of gamble is that you just get to keep your money every time you win, while you lose all your bets up till then when you lose.
Even more likely for it to be written in Malbolge. ;-)
Namely, this one. :)
This was posted with Mozilla, clearly beating all the IE posts. Take that! ;)
I have philosophical issues with using firewalls to protect myself from the programs running on my computer, as opposed to protecting myself from outside threats, though.
And what, sir, is the difference? I've never heard of an outside threat that doesn't also include some software or the other on your computer, whether it be someone causing a buffer overflow in finger, or issuing delete commands via some weird microsoft built-in.
As for "philosophical issues"... everyone with a right mind or at least some experience *knows* that a good firewall will block *everything* you haven't said personally is OK, whether from outside *or* inside. I sure hope you are not one of those that blocks everything from the outside, and then let everything from the inside pass unchecked. That is a disaster just waiting to happen.
you can find There here
;)
Funny thing, when you get there, it is suddenly here, and the here you started from is there. And never shall the two meet.
And with the dupes we can keep it down for weeks! :)
OTOH, it could also be an ultimatum if he wants to change things: "Either you start releasing stuff on monday morning, and right away so we can fix stuff, or I'll release it on friday night so everyone is toast."
:)
I have no idea if that is it, I had the same reaction as you. But if someone wants to put some pressure...
Since the subject of releasing music for free cam up, I couldn't resist mentioning a band and site I just happened to stumble upon that has quite a few really good tunes available for download in MP3 *and* OGG format: http://machinaesupremacy.com/.
Their take on "Giana Sisters" as well as their "Sidology" tunes are great nostalgia as well as great modern versions of the old C=64 classics. There are quite a few other good songs as well. Check them out!
That would depend on your definition of "Practice act". For one, does it take two to practice?
:)
Given the one-handed surfing some of these guys do, even a few actual children conceived should bring in a nice sum.