They've already spoken out against the DMCA, DRM and private policing of P2P networks, eh? I guess that shows how little their opinion matters then, doesn't it.
I'm far more interested in what the EFF's official stance is, considering they're the ones with the real legal and lobbying power (miniscule as it may be when compared to the twin bohemoths of the MPAA and RIAA)
A summary of the 7 patents that are supposedly being infringed upon:
#1 - Method of writing 1s to drive
#2 - Method of writing 0s to drive
#3 - Method of reading 1s from drive
#4 - Method of reading 0s from drive
#5 - Means of assembling drive (screws)
#6 - Means of rotating circular data disk (motor)
#7 - Method of powering drive (electricity)
Plus they are planning to utilize two of seagate's pending patents (not yet enacted); "method of writing 2s to drive" and "method of reading 2s from drive"
Any developer tackling a serious project will soon realize the same "problems" with maintainability you have, but fortunately, there are solutions to all of them. First and foremost, is the Smarty templating engine. Then there are the PEAR classes, PECL extensions and if you want to get all CS-ey, there are the OO features of PHP which are expanded and refined in PHP5 (and unlike Perl 6, PHP5 will actually be the release version in the very near future).
If PHP were as unmaintainable as it seems to all of you people that are unfamiliar with it then people wouldn't use it, but thousands of professional websites (Yahoo, Friendster, etc.) DO use it, and that alone speaks volumes about how competitive it is with Java, Perl, Python, etc.
This is just me being a grammar nazi, but you use the word "subjectable" in the first sentence of your post, that's not a word. You're thinking of the word "subjective".
My computer is setup to use both IPv4 and IPv6, that makes IPv10! One bigger than IPv9! Eat that, China!
Re:Scalability and Maintainability go hand in hand
on
On PHP and Scaling
·
· Score: 4, Informative
You sound like somebody who didn't use PHP long enough. Large PHP projects become plenty maintainable once you start using handy stuff like the Smarty templating engine (which IIRC is included by default now). There are also a myriad of great PEAR classes and PECL extensions. As for a module architechture that doesn't require you to recompile, that would be nice, however, I would bet that most PHP programmers have never recompiled their installation or needed to do so. You're right though, it would be nice.
For the most part though, I would say that PHP is slightly better equipped for web development, just like Perl is better equipped for general scripting tasks... I'm a python man myself though;-)
Actually, Invader's site for the project sells its own stickers, those Think Geek stickers are a rip off (I think...). The guy also sells "Invasion Kits" which are bags of the appropriate number of ceramic tiles required to create one of the invaders, along with instructions (no glue though).
There are also some less interesting (but still cool, I guess) things like T-shirts for the project, sneakers for the project (!!), a 45RPM 7" record single containing a song for the project, etc.
Well, there probably was no agreement between Infogames/Atari for the band to be able to use the name, but that's immaterial because they don't NEED one anyways. Two companies can have the same name as long as they operate in different industries (and/or in different geographic areas). It's just like how Apple was allowed by the Apple record label (home of the Beatles) to call themselves Apple as long as they stayed clear of the recording industry (and then were sued when iTunes came out). There's a multitude of other examples. If you were to flip through the yellow pages for a couple different states you'd find hundreds of companies with the same names that have no legal ground to sue each other.
On a related note, I remember my brother talking about how in Czech Rupublic there is a beer named "Budweiser" seperate from the American beer company. They won the right to the name because their use predated it in the Czech Republic. Budweiser (american Budweiser), I believe is still sold under a different name though.
Never. They don't need to for a couple of reasons.
First of all, cable companies have a monopoly similar to Bell's monopoly over the phone system before they were split up. True, there isn't just _one_ cable provider nationwide (although things are moving that way!) but locally, you can only use whoever owns the cable in your area and if you don't want to use them, you're SOL for cable.
Beyond their monopoly though, they still won't need to drop prices. Keeping prices as they are today, broadband will continue to grow as more and more dialup users feel the need for broadband. Dialup users will dwindle. Dialup probably won't disappear for a while though because it still has some applications (i.e. people traveling on business can use it in their hotel, and not every hotel has broadband yet). With the drop in users, dialup prices may even go up!
I suspect broadband prices will stay around where they are now for the next few years (raising marginally) but after that, there will be a number of price hikes (far beating inflation) and at some point (maybe I'm being hopeful here) people will realize the danger of the cable monopolies and the laws will be changed.
I, like many people, made fun of Sun at first for calling it the Java Desktop when the majority of the code (and pretty much all of the core code) is written in C or C++. I've realized now though, that the case is the same with Java itself, so really the name fits perfectly.
Think about this realistically, I would bet that well less than 5% of these people who are satisfied with 56k would know how to use their modem as a fax machine.
That said, it's a good point, and it's definitely a good reason to have a modem even if you move to broadband (I have a few now that I think about it, but I rarely need to fax).
Hmm... I think that maybe in the opening sequence it folds down into a briefcase, but when he would go home he would park it in a garage-type area below his house/apartment.
I never really thought about it before, but that just doesn't make sense. Fucking cartoons.
Ha! I suspect that has changed now considering the close ties Waterloo has with MS now. The introductory programming course required of all CS majors (as well as most Engineering degrees) is taught in C#.
How much are you paid by Sun to astroturf on Slashdot?
Sun's Java Desktop offers diddly over a regular linux distro besides a big brand name. If you want support Redhat or Mandrake will do you just fine and for less.
Plus, more peripherally, there's the horrible marketing department produced name of "Java Desktop". ALMOST THE WHOLE THING WAS WRITTEN IN C AND C++!!!!
For anybody on here thinking about broadening their CS horizons, I would recommend not learning x86, at least not first. A simpler, RISC(-ish) instruction set is really the way to go. It's a lot more enjoyable to program in. Some good choices are maybe z80 or 68k (program your TI calculator maybe?) or Microchip's PICMicro microcontrollers (most models have under 35 instructions to learn).
Learning x86 isn't a bad idea, and for most nerds programming assembly that's probably where it will be most useful, but I just think it's a better idea to start off programming ASM on something a little more enjoyable so that you can really learn to appreciate it before diving in with x86.
Using Flash ROM as RAM is a baaaaaad idea. There actually is a limit to how many times it can be rewritten, you'd just never get to it with any normal use of Flash (i.e. as storage space), but it's definitely within reach when you use it as RAM (or as swap space). In fact, you'll wear it out pretty quickly (depends on the system design and activity and such, but I would guess maybe a few weeks for this one).
Actually, if anyone is interested in learning Python and doesn't mind reading a book on their computer, there's a bunch of free ebooks available on the Python Documentation page (as well as a comprehensive list of books that are only printed). I've read a few of them, most of them are pretty good, in particular "How to think like a Computer Scientist" is a very good text for a less experienced programmer and Bruce Eckel's "Thinking in Python" is a nicely comprehensive coverage of Python (not unlike his "Thinking in Java" and "Thinking in C++" books).
Even if you do mind reading books on your computer screen, most of these books (actually I think all of them) are also available as physical printed books as well.
Slashdot Mirror
I think I speak for the majority of sane-minded people when I say this:
Seriously? In cellphones? WTF?
They've already spoken out against the DMCA, DRM and private policing of P2P networks, eh? I guess that shows how little their opinion matters then, doesn't it.
I'm far more interested in what the EFF's official stance is, considering they're the ones with the real legal and lobbying power (miniscule as it may be when compared to the twin bohemoths of the MPAA and RIAA)
A summary of the 7 patents that are supposedly being infringed upon: #1 - Method of writing 1s to drive #2 - Method of writing 0s to drive #3 - Method of reading 1s from drive #4 - Method of reading 0s from drive #5 - Means of assembling drive (screws) #6 - Means of rotating circular data disk (motor) #7 - Method of powering drive (electricity) Plus they are planning to utilize two of seagate's pending patents (not yet enacted); "method of writing 2s to drive" and "method of reading 2s from drive"
Any developer tackling a serious project will soon realize the same "problems" with maintainability you have, but fortunately, there are solutions to all of them. First and foremost, is the Smarty templating engine. Then there are the PEAR classes, PECL extensions and if you want to get all CS-ey, there are the OO features of PHP which are expanded and refined in PHP5 (and unlike Perl 6, PHP5 will actually be the release version in the very near future).
If PHP were as unmaintainable as it seems to all of you people that are unfamiliar with it then people wouldn't use it, but thousands of professional websites (Yahoo, Friendster, etc.) DO use it, and that alone speaks volumes about how competitive it is with Java, Perl, Python, etc.
This is just me being a grammar nazi, but you use the word "subjectable" in the first sentence of your post, that's not a word. You're thinking of the word "subjective".
My computer is setup to use both IPv4 and IPv6, that makes IPv10! One bigger than IPv9! Eat that, China!
You sound like somebody who didn't use PHP long enough. Large PHP projects become plenty maintainable once you start using handy stuff like the Smarty templating engine (which IIRC is included by default now). There are also a myriad of great PEAR classes and PECL extensions. As for a module architechture that doesn't require you to recompile, that would be nice, however, I would bet that most PHP programmers have never recompiled their installation or needed to do so. You're right though, it would be nice.
;-)
For the most part though, I would say that PHP is slightly better equipped for web development, just like Perl is better equipped for general scripting tasks... I'm a python man myself though
Actually, Invader's site for the project sells its own stickers, those Think Geek stickers are a rip off (I think...). The guy also sells "Invasion Kits" which are bags of the appropriate number of ceramic tiles required to create one of the invaders, along with instructions (no glue though).
There are also some less interesting (but still cool, I guess) things like T-shirts for the project, sneakers for the project (!!), a 45RPM 7" record single containing a song for the project, etc.
Well, there probably was no agreement between Infogames/Atari for the band to be able to use the name, but that's immaterial because they don't NEED one anyways. Two companies can have the same name as long as they operate in different industries (and/or in different geographic areas). It's just like how Apple was allowed by the Apple record label (home of the Beatles) to call themselves Apple as long as they stayed clear of the recording industry (and then were sued when iTunes came out). There's a multitude of other examples. If you were to flip through the yellow pages for a couple different states you'd find hundreds of companies with the same names that have no legal ground to sue each other.
On a related note, I remember my brother talking about how in Czech Rupublic there is a beer named "Budweiser" seperate from the American beer company. They won the right to the name because their use predated it in the Czech Republic. Budweiser (american Budweiser), I believe is still sold under a different name though.
Never. They don't need to for a couple of reasons. First of all, cable companies have a monopoly similar to Bell's monopoly over the phone system before they were split up. True, there isn't just _one_ cable provider nationwide (although things are moving that way!) but locally, you can only use whoever owns the cable in your area and if you don't want to use them, you're SOL for cable. Beyond their monopoly though, they still won't need to drop prices. Keeping prices as they are today, broadband will continue to grow as more and more dialup users feel the need for broadband. Dialup users will dwindle. Dialup probably won't disappear for a while though because it still has some applications (i.e. people traveling on business can use it in their hotel, and not every hotel has broadband yet). With the drop in users, dialup prices may even go up! I suspect broadband prices will stay around where they are now for the next few years (raising marginally) but after that, there will be a number of price hikes (far beating inflation) and at some point (maybe I'm being hopeful here) people will realize the danger of the cable monopolies and the laws will be changed.
I, like many people, made fun of Sun at first for calling it the Java Desktop when the majority of the code (and pretty much all of the core code) is written in C or C++. I've realized now though, that the case is the same with Java itself, so really the name fits perfectly.
Nintendo Powerglove. Yes, it does work under linux (link)
...is anyone surprised?
Bring on the 3d porn sites. This can only be a good thing.
Think about this realistically, I would bet that well less than 5% of these people who are satisfied with 56k would know how to use their modem as a fax machine.
That said, it's a good point, and it's definitely a good reason to have a modem even if you move to broadband (I have a few now that I think about it, but I rarely need to fax).
Sorry, but an FTP server at home is not a common solution, even for the nerdier section of the population.
USB pen drives however are gaining more and more ground. Still behind floppy disks though!
Hmm... I think that maybe in the opening sequence it folds down into a briefcase, but when he would go home he would park it in a garage-type area below his house/apartment.
I never really thought about it before, but that just doesn't make sense. Fucking cartoons.
Ha! I suspect that has changed now considering the close ties Waterloo has with MS now. The introductory programming course required of all CS majors (as well as most Engineering degrees) is taught in C#.
How much are you paid by Sun to astroturf on Slashdot?
Sun's Java Desktop offers diddly over a regular linux distro besides a big brand name. If you want support Redhat or Mandrake will do you just fine and for less.
Plus, more peripherally, there's the horrible marketing department produced name of "Java Desktop". ALMOST THE WHOLE THING WAS WRITTEN IN C AND C++!!!!
Just xerox it!
50MB email attachments don't work so well.
For anybody on here thinking about broadening their CS horizons, I would recommend not learning x86, at least not first. A simpler, RISC(-ish) instruction set is really the way to go. It's a lot more enjoyable to program in. Some good choices are maybe z80 or 68k (program your TI calculator maybe?) or Microchip's PICMicro microcontrollers (most models have under 35 instructions to learn).
Learning x86 isn't a bad idea, and for most nerds programming assembly that's probably where it will be most useful, but I just think it's a better idea to start off programming ASM on something a little more enjoyable so that you can really learn to appreciate it before diving in with x86.
Who the hell's gonna use before they port it from Alpha to PowerPC?
Using Flash ROM as RAM is a baaaaaad idea. There actually is a limit to how many times it can be rewritten, you'd just never get to it with any normal use of Flash (i.e. as storage space), but it's definitely within reach when you use it as RAM (or as swap space). In fact, you'll wear it out pretty quickly (depends on the system design and activity and such, but I would guess maybe a few weeks for this one).
Actually, if anyone is interested in learning Python and doesn't mind reading a book on their computer, there's a bunch of free ebooks available on the Python Documentation page (as well as a comprehensive list of books that are only printed). I've read a few of them, most of them are pretty good, in particular "How to think like a Computer Scientist" is a very good text for a less experienced programmer and Bruce Eckel's "Thinking in Python" is a nicely comprehensive coverage of Python (not unlike his "Thinking in Java" and "Thinking in C++" books).
Even if you do mind reading books on your computer screen, most of these books (actually I think all of them) are also available as physical printed books as well.
Thinking In Python by Bruce Eckel
An Introduction to Python by Guido van Rossum, and Fred L. Drake, Jr. (Editor)
How To Think Like a Computer Scientist: Learning with Python by Allen Downey, Jeff Elkner and Chris Meyers
Dive Into Python: Python for Experienced Programmers by Mark Pilgrim
Text Processing In Python by David Mertz
Python Language Reference Manual by Guido van Rossum
The first five sections (especially the first to) are more than adequate in teaching how to program in PHP.