I suggest writing a comprehensive test suite first and making sure that the existing code either works or that the bugs are documented. Then run the test suite against the re-write as often as is reasonable. Use a good source control system. Have seperate development and test systems (it's amazing the number of people who try to test on development systems).
Actually, I have been an active Libertarian for about 20 years now. Just as there is a spectrum of views among the Republicans and Democrats, so is there among Libertarians. A few are anarchists, most are much nearer to the GOP or Dems.
Microsoft did threaten people with fiscal violence such as threatening sudden changes in pricing that were designed for no other purpose but to put the victim out of business if they chose to sell even one copy of a competing product. Threatening to put someone out of business is violence no matter what the weapon is.
Microsoft's biggest advantage over the open source community is that they have a plan. What the open source community needs is a meta-project to plan how Linux, Apache, PHP, PostgreSQL, and Mozilla (to name some representative products) can combine to form a complete end-to-end platform.
Microsoft can and does improve the interdependent functionality of it's corresponding products (XP, IIS, C#, SQL Server, and IE) to more closely tie users into a complete platform. As soon as a developer decides that one component (e.g., IE) is superior to its competition there is an overwhelming seductive pressure to adopt the other components.
You don't seem to understand libertarianism at all. From the Libertarian web site: Government's only role is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud. Libertarians can oppose Bill Gates on the same grounds that they might oppose Al Capone: the threat of force (fiscal or physical) is not acceptable. It has been show that Microsoft repeatedly threatened fiscal violence against OEMs: Play ball our way or you won't be able to get our product at all.
I have to point out that a large bank of car (lead-acid) batteries is actually a serious explosion hazard due to the hydrogen gas emitted during charging. Such batteries are not particularly friendly to the environment (lead and sulfuric acid). Also, the Airgen is powered by a fuel cell so there is no CO.
I used to live in Sarasota FL ("Peter Pan Kindernook" anyone?) and also Bartow FL (Floral Avenue Elementary anyone?) and it is true that central Florida is the lightning capital of the nation. The weather can be genuinely awe-inspiring.
The problem is not that this information is available. The problem is that you don't have to properly authenticate yourself to claim the information as yours.
What is needed is something like the use of a biometric to connect you with your data whenever it is used. Then your identity could not be stolen.
More "business as usual" from the "Peter Bonfield School" of incompetency. I worked for ICL (the epitomy of waffling incompetence) for eight years and I will never understand why anyone listens to anything Bonfield says, much less why he was knighted etc.
The overwhelming majority of non-technical computer users that I know (a couple of dozen people) keep asking "Why is my computer so hard to use? Why does it keep crashing? Isn't there something better? Can't you smart computer guys make a computer that just works?". They are really frustrated and would love to switch to something else.
The problem with suggesting Linux is that they always have a hard requirement of compatibility with Microsoft file formats. The other problem is that the notion of a multi-user system is pretty much beyond them ("So when should I be logged in as 'root'?").
The answer (IMHO) for the average user continues to be to make computing more like using a telephone. You don't manage your own telco switch, why should you manage your own computer?
For the average computer user they should be able to turn it on and have instant access and turn if off without a shutdown. While the computer is on they should have reliable access to their data and applications. They should only have to authenticate themselves once (probably with some sort of hardware dongle so they can use any computer anywhere). Upgrading should not be a concern.
Can you imagine having to wait for your telephone to boot and then having to shutdown before hanging up or having to decide when/how to upgrade the software at your local telco switch?
Microsoft also sees the problem and they are positioning themselves to uniquely exploit/solve the problem with.NET My Services (aka Hailstorm). Broadband will become ubiquitous in the upcoming decades and Microsoft (MSN.com)will be there. Success depends not on being technically better but instead on being in the right place at the right time to exploit the natural control points of the industry. The executives at Microsoft understand that and the corollary urgency of controlling those points better than anyone else.
Will it work any better? Somewhat. Will it definitely happen? Almost certainly. Will the competition screw up again and fail to demonstrate vision and committment? Also, almost certainly. Will it happen in the next couple of years? No, but it will happen in the next ten years (think about where computing was in 1991 compared to now). Where will that leave us nerds? Next to the ham radio, amateur television, and hot rod guys (i.e., people who find enjoyment more in the process than the end).
Btw: I am NOT a fan of Microsoft. It's just that most of this is pretty obviously inevitable.
Re:Well, half the population is less oppressed...
on
Message from Kabul
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· Score: 1
Actually, medicine was one of the few areas women were allowed to work in under the Taliban. Now where women doctors were supposed to come from when education for women was banned, I don't know.
Absolutely! There is no end to how far the idiocy of the DMCA can be carried.
What needs to be done is to show each group the appropriate short sighted aspect of the DMCA in order to enlist their support.
For example, the administration of institutions that teach programming should be advised that in providing such instruction in basic programming they open themselves up to liabilities under the DMCA.
Everything a person needs to know to circumvent access controls is in the operating system source code. Therefore, publishing source code to an OS is a violation of the DMCA.
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I suggest writing a comprehensive test suite first and making sure that the existing code either works or that the bugs are documented. Then run the test suite against the re-write as often as is reasonable. Use a good source control system. Have seperate development and test systems (it's amazing the number of people who try to test on development systems).
Actually, I have been an active Libertarian for about 20 years now. Just as there is a spectrum of views among the Republicans and Democrats, so is there among Libertarians. A few are anarchists, most are much nearer to the GOP or Dems.
Microsoft did threaten people with fiscal violence such as threatening sudden changes in pricing that were designed for no other purpose but to put the victim out of business if they chose to sell even one copy of a competing product. Threatening to put someone out of business is violence no matter what the weapon is.
Microsoft's biggest advantage over the open source community is that they have a plan. What the open source community needs is a meta-project to plan how Linux, Apache, PHP, PostgreSQL, and Mozilla (to name some representative products) can combine to form a complete end-to-end platform.
Microsoft can and does improve the interdependent functionality of it's corresponding products (XP, IIS, C#, SQL Server, and IE) to more closely tie users into a complete platform. As soon as a developer decides that one component (e.g., IE) is superior to its competition there is an overwhelming seductive pressure to adopt the other components.
You don't seem to understand libertarianism at all. From the Libertarian web site: Government's only role is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud. Libertarians can oppose Bill Gates on the same grounds that they might oppose Al Capone: the threat of force (fiscal or physical) is not acceptable. It has been show that Microsoft repeatedly threatened fiscal violence against OEMs: Play ball our way or you won't be able to get our product at all.
I have to point out that a large bank of car (lead-acid) batteries is actually a serious explosion hazard due to the hydrogen gas emitted during charging. Such batteries are not particularly friendly to the environment (lead and sulfuric acid). Also, the Airgen is powered by a fuel cell so there is no CO.
I used to live in Sarasota FL ("Peter Pan Kindernook" anyone?) and also Bartow FL (Floral Avenue Elementary anyone?) and it is true that central Florida is the lightning capital of the nation. The weather can be genuinely awe-inspiring.
You are right, property there is reasonably priced.
The problem is not that this information is available. The problem is that you don't have to properly authenticate yourself to claim the information as yours.
What is needed is something like the use of a biometric to connect you with your data whenever it is used. Then your identity could not be stolen.
More "business as usual" from the "Peter Bonfield School" of incompetency. I worked for ICL (the epitomy of waffling incompetence) for eight years and I will never understand why anyone listens to anything Bonfield says, much less why he was knighted etc.
The overwhelming majority of non-technical computer users that I know (a couple of dozen people) keep asking "Why is my computer so hard to use? Why does it keep crashing? Isn't there something better? Can't you smart computer guys make a computer that just works?". They are really frustrated and would love to switch to something else.
The problem with suggesting Linux is that they always have a hard requirement of compatibility with Microsoft file formats. The other problem is that the notion of a multi-user system is pretty much beyond them ("So when should I be logged in as 'root'?").
The answer (IMHO) for the average user continues to be to make computing more like using a telephone. You don't manage your own telco switch, why should you manage your own computer?
For the average computer user they should be able to turn it on and have instant access and turn if off without a shutdown. While the computer is on they should have reliable access to their data and applications. They should only have to authenticate themselves once (probably with some sort of hardware dongle so they can use any computer anywhere). Upgrading should not be a concern.
Can you imagine having to wait for your telephone to boot and then having to shutdown before hanging up or having to decide when/how to upgrade the software at your local telco switch?
Microsoft also sees the problem and they are positioning themselves to uniquely exploit/solve the problem with .NET My Services (aka Hailstorm). Broadband will become ubiquitous in the upcoming decades and Microsoft (MSN.com)will be there. Success depends not on being technically better but instead on being in the right place at the right time to exploit the natural control points of the industry. The executives at Microsoft understand that and the corollary urgency of controlling those points better than anyone else.
Will it work any better? Somewhat. Will it definitely happen? Almost certainly. Will the competition screw up again and fail to demonstrate vision and committment? Also, almost certainly. Will it happen in the next couple of years? No, but it will happen in the next ten years (think about where computing was in 1991 compared to now). Where will that leave us nerds? Next to the ham radio, amateur television, and hot rod guys (i.e., people who find enjoyment more in the process than the end).
Btw: I am NOT a fan of Microsoft. It's just that most of this is pretty obviously inevitable.
Actually, medicine was one of the few areas women were allowed to work in under the Taliban. Now where women doctors were supposed to come from when education for women was banned, I don't know.
Absolutely! There is no end to how far the idiocy of the DMCA can be carried.
What needs to be done is to show each group the appropriate short sighted aspect of the DMCA in order to enlist their support.
For example, the administration of institutions that teach programming should be advised that in providing such instruction in basic programming they open themselves up to liabilities under the DMCA.
Everything a person needs to know to circumvent access controls is in the operating system source code. Therefore, publishing source code to an OS is a violation of the DMCA.
As a Libertarian I oppose Microsoft and Bill Gates for the same reasons I oppose organized crime and "Al Capone".