I built a site that was relatively heavy on calculations, dynamically showing stats on collected data. Fortunately I won't need to expect millions of users (because I'm not posting the link here:P )
Those stats are calculated periodically by a cron job now, so that table joins are no longer needed for serving the data itself. That alone turned the site a lot lighter.
Of course the cron job still needed to do table joins, but it too was refactored and runs in less than 80 seconds now instead of the former 40+ minutes-- possible due to the fact that the final functional specifications were now known, whilst they weren't at time of the initial build.
Of course much more can still be done to finetune the site- replacing graphics by text equivalents, pre-generating static versions of often-requested pages, and so on. When at some point it is needed, clustering is an option, but for now the server is idle most of the time.
>Did you contact the bank and inform them that their web app only works on IE?
My bank site didn't work on firefox because of a Javascript incompatibility. I figured it out and sent them a patch, which they installed. No complaints since:)
> God's own coding practices [...]
He definitely must not have been following best coding practices. That's why it seemed the world was created in seven days. Anyone knows "Code like hell" programming is a classic mistake... Result: That 40-day flooding really wasn't supposed to happen. Same goes for the various plagues. Truth is, He's still debugging...
Ok, I've looked at Kylix myself and hear everyone whining about kylix being first here, but it's not the same thing. Kylix has a native compiler which only compiles to 80x86 platform. Gambas surely goes beyond Kylix in terms of portability.
I'm probably going to be flamed for this, but I think it would be really if it would also allow making windows executables. Users consider a JVM hard to install, and writing true cross-platform C++ (something more than 'hello world') is still quite complex. Ability to make windows executables could make it the development platform of choice for many Windows 'developclickers' that wish to also develop for Linux.
two thirds of Americans are currently in favor of nuclear power... ... the cleanest, safest energy source there is. Except for solar, which is just a pipe dream.
> What part of that is 'freedom'?
Ah, yes, let me set that part straight. I am not a citizen of the country formerly known as "the land of the free". I'm just looking at a distance what it is turning into, and hoping that the same won't happen here in Europe.
This would be the main problem, because tracing people with or without RFID is still perfectly possible. What I'm saying is that choice is limited, regardless of RFID - yes, you can switch off your phone, but it won't be of much use then.
Ever travelled abroad with a passport (without RFID)? You better believe that it was registered when you passed the border. RFID doesn't change that.
As for the main problem, '*anyone* being able to scan you' rather than just the government, most likely the main result is getting more spam. 'Welcome back mr Yakamoto', Minority-report style. Otherwise, laws against stalking are already in place.
What bothers me more already happens anyway nowadays. Days after my phone connection was activated, I was called by three different newspapers for a subscription. I doubt that those newspapers found out by themselves, so my private information must have been given to them by the phone company. Where was my choice in that?
When you show your passport at the airport or as means of identification at a bank, for instance, the same privacy issues arise, RFID or not.
Sure, RFID can be read from a distance, but many of us seem sooooo worried about RFID and yet happily keep carrying a mobile phone, willingly pay by card or withdraw money from an ATM, and get in view of security cameras. No tinfoil hat is going to protect against that.
If there are privacy issues, it is because someone decides to abuse the technology, RFID or not.
If you want privacy, pay cash only, stay home, don't use phones, and don't do anything that requires identifying yourself.
Why do software projects fail?
- Hanging on to long-evolved, poor design instead of refactoring when needed. Sometimes starting over is the only solution, but it is nearly impossible to convince a company to rebuild, from scratch, an entire system that they had custom developed in a timespan of over 10 years.
- Attempting to build a super-system that 'does everything' instead of serveral smalls systems that just do their part. A small, modular system (even being part of a bigger whole) is easier to replace than a huge one. Results in the situation described above.
- People entering and leaving projects. When people leave a project, so does the knowledge that they built up and invested in the project. Documentation is harder to find than the tooth fairy.
- Managers pushing the wrong technical decisions, not being able to forsee their implications.
"The hacking army's mission is to break into South Korean, Japanese and American corporate networks to gather intelligence and steal trade secrets, according to reports."
So, if I understand correctly, Aussie businesses may be a softer target, but they aren't targeted.
So let me get this straight. First they'd let the astronauts go on an overcaloric diet so they'd gain weight. Once they're all nice and chubby, BAM! They're off to Mars, and they're not supposed to (a lot) because their fat is supposed to be the main part of their supplies. I guess they'd only be popping vitamins to stay healthy?
I for one wouldn't want to be an astronaut if I wouldn't be properly fed on my trip- I already get moody if my meal is a few hours late. Of course, to save weight, they *could* bring highly caloric foods (and not just tons of butter). Peanuts would be great- highly caloric and (almost?) no saturated fats. And yummy too:)
Still, it wouldn't harm for the astronauts to have some body fat for emergency situations. At least it would help them to get back alive, should the food get stolen by aliens.
> even at best they have to get a lawyer to say it's not us they should be suing it's our customer, that costs more money than that customers business is worth
Cost is not an issue. Actually when starting a business in Holland it is obligatory to have legal insurance, so the lawyer will be paid by the insurance company.
These cars have been driving around here for years now. It seems nice but it has a LOT of drawbacks. The trunk is tiny. It's economical enough, but the fuel tank doesn't hold more than about 15 liters (4 gallons) of fuel, so refueling is more frequent than a regular car. The engine isn't very well isolated, and it sounds like an oversized vacuum-cleaner.
Once in a while it decides it won't start- it took taking out the manual to figure out the 7-step ritual (something like turn key to 1. Hold the breaks, turn key to 0, push central lock button, push remote control button on keychain, start car) to get it going again. Now this one has semi-automatic gear- if you want to put it in reverse, you have to hold the break pedal while putting it into gear, otherwise it stays in neutral. It won't give me back the key unless it's in neutral-- Listen car, who's boss?? GIVE ME BACK MY KEY!! I'll put you in no-drive afterwards, I SWEAR! (bastard). No day counter, just general kilometers driven by the car. No small clock anywhere on the dashboard (which consists mostly of an LCD- come on, how much trouble/cost would it have been to add a little clock?), so if you want to know what time it is while driving, bad luck.
But I really think the worst part is that it's not user friendly. If the manual wouldn't have been in the car, I'd still have been stuck.
I'd trade the Smart for a HomerMobile any day of the week- if it were mine.
> This means that the boot loader can be signed to prevent you from running a non-Windows operating system,
Although I fear that as much as the next guy, actually I trust that having a windows-only boot loader would be such a clear sign of monopolistic behaviour that even Microsoft wouldn't get away with it in court.
When viruses were the big hype, didn't MS release 'their own' antivirus at some point, which was basically the same as Norton Antivirus? Now that the market is requiring so, once again they say what people want to hear: they'll release a spyware protection suite. How long will it be before this antispyware goes the same way as their antivirus?
Slashdot Mirror
I'm all for nagging, as long as it doesn't start making gossip phonecalls about my drinking if I choose to ignore the nagging.
... we will have to invent an "isnt" operator
Now I can have a flat screen, and still keep my radiation tan!
...I'll look out of the window. Sure takes less time than downloading the image!
I built a site that was relatively heavy on calculations, dynamically showing stats on collected data. Fortunately I won't need to expect millions of users (because I'm not posting the link here :P )
Those stats are calculated periodically by a cron job now, so that table joins are no longer needed for serving the data itself. That alone turned the site a lot lighter.
Of course the cron job still needed to do table joins, but it too was refactored and runs in less than 80 seconds now instead of the former 40+ minutes-- possible due to the fact that the final functional specifications were now known, whilst they weren't at time of the initial build.
Of course much more can still be done to finetune the site- replacing graphics by text equivalents, pre-generating static versions of often-requested pages, and so on. When at some point it is needed, clustering is an option, but for now the server is idle most of the time.
>Did you contact the bank and inform them that their web app only works on IE? My bank site didn't work on firefox because of a Javascript incompatibility. I figured it out and sent them a patch, which they installed. No complaints since :)
> God's own coding practices [...] He definitely must not have been following best coding practices. That's why it seemed the world was created in seven days. Anyone knows "Code like hell" programming is a classic mistake... Result: That 40-day flooding really wasn't supposed to happen. Same goes for the various plagues. Truth is, He's still debugging...
Ehrm... compiling windows at boottime?
Ok, I've looked at Kylix myself and hear everyone whining about kylix being first here, but it's not the same thing. Kylix has a native compiler which only compiles to 80x86 platform. Gambas surely goes beyond Kylix in terms of portability. I'm probably going to be flamed for this, but I think it would be really if it would also allow making windows executables. Users consider a JVM hard to install, and writing true cross-platform C++ (something more than 'hello world') is still quite complex. Ability to make windows executables could make it the development platform of choice for many Windows 'developclickers' that wish to also develop for Linux.
two thirds of Americans are currently in favor of nuclear power...
... the cleanest, safest energy source there is. Except for solar, which is just a pipe dream.
This is only the XT-3. I'll wait for the Pentium-3-4.
> What part of that is 'freedom'? Ah, yes, let me set that part straight. I am not a citizen of the country formerly known as "the land of the free". I'm just looking at a distance what it is turning into, and hoping that the same won't happen here in Europe.
> You CANNOT choose who scans for RFID tags
This would be the main problem, because tracing people with or without RFID is still perfectly possible. What I'm saying is that choice is limited, regardless of RFID - yes, you can switch off your phone, but it won't be of much use then.
Ever travelled abroad with a passport (without RFID)? You better believe that it was registered when you passed the border. RFID doesn't change that.
As for the main problem, '*anyone* being able to scan you' rather than just the government, most likely the main result is getting more spam. 'Welcome back mr Yakamoto', Minority-report style. Otherwise, laws against stalking are already in place.
What bothers me more already happens anyway nowadays. Days after my phone connection was activated, I was called by three different newspapers for a subscription. I doubt that those newspapers found out by themselves, so my private information must have been given to them by the phone company. Where was my choice in that?
We live in a grim world indeed.
When you show your passport at the airport or as means of identification at a bank, for instance, the same privacy issues arise, RFID or not.
Sure, RFID can be read from a distance, but many of us seem sooooo worried about RFID and yet happily keep carrying a mobile phone, willingly pay by card or withdraw money from an ATM, and get in view of security cameras. No tinfoil hat is going to protect against that.
If there are privacy issues, it is because someone decides to abuse the technology, RFID or not.
If you want privacy, pay cash only, stay home, don't use phones, and don't do anything that requires identifying yourself.
Why do software projects fail? - Hanging on to long-evolved, poor design instead of refactoring when needed. Sometimes starting over is the only solution, but it is nearly impossible to convince a company to rebuild, from scratch, an entire system that they had custom developed in a timespan of over 10 years. - Attempting to build a super-system that 'does everything' instead of serveral smalls systems that just do their part. A small, modular system (even being part of a bigger whole) is easier to replace than a huge one. Results in the situation described above. - People entering and leaving projects. When people leave a project, so does the knowledge that they built up and invested in the project. Documentation is harder to find than the tooth fairy. - Managers pushing the wrong technical decisions, not being able to forsee their implications.
Fourth, it's called a candidate, not a canidate. Unless my American English is worse than I have come to think it is.
"The hacking army's mission is to break into South Korean, Japanese and American corporate networks to gather intelligence and steal trade secrets, according to reports."
So, if I understand correctly, Aussie businesses may be a softer target, but they aren't targeted.
It's attack of the clones all over again!
So let me get this straight. First they'd let the astronauts go on an overcaloric diet so they'd gain weight. Once they're all nice and chubby, BAM! They're off to Mars, and they're not supposed to (a lot) because their fat is supposed to be the main part of their supplies. I guess they'd only be popping vitamins to stay healthy?
:)
I for one wouldn't want to be an astronaut if I wouldn't be properly fed on my trip- I already get moody if my meal is a few hours late. Of course, to save weight, they *could* bring highly caloric foods (and not just tons of butter). Peanuts would be great- highly caloric and (almost?) no saturated fats. And yummy too
Still, it wouldn't harm for the astronauts to have some body fat for emergency situations. At least it would help them to get back alive, should the food get stolen by aliens.
At that price I'll have one.
> even at best they have to get a lawyer to say it's not us they should be suing it's our customer, that costs more money than that customers business is worth
Cost is not an issue. Actually when starting a business in Holland it is obligatory to have legal insurance, so the lawyer will be paid by the insurance company.
"I understand his desire to search for intelligent life in outer space, because obviously he doesn't find it in the mirror in the morning,"
Then maybe they should fire the HR person that hired him?
These cars have been driving around here for years now. It seems nice but it has a LOT of drawbacks. The trunk is tiny. It's economical enough, but the fuel tank doesn't hold more than about 15 liters (4 gallons) of fuel, so refueling is more frequent than a regular car. The engine isn't very well isolated, and it sounds like an oversized vacuum-cleaner.
Once in a while it decides it won't start- it took taking out the manual to figure out the 7-step ritual (something like turn key to 1. Hold the breaks, turn key to 0, push central lock button, push remote control button on keychain, start car) to get it going again. Now this one has semi-automatic gear- if you want to put it in reverse, you have to hold the break pedal while putting it into gear, otherwise it stays in neutral. It won't give me back the key unless it's in neutral-- Listen car, who's boss?? GIVE ME BACK MY KEY!! I'll put you in no-drive afterwards, I SWEAR! (bastard). No day counter, just general kilometers driven by the car. No small clock anywhere on the dashboard (which consists mostly of an LCD- come on, how much trouble/cost would it have been to add a little clock?), so if you want to know what time it is while driving, bad luck.
But I really think the worst part is that it's not user friendly. If the manual wouldn't have been in the car, I'd still have been stuck.
I'd trade the Smart for a HomerMobile any day of the week- if it were mine.
> This means that the boot loader can be signed to prevent you from running a non-Windows operating system,
Although I fear that as much as the next guy, actually I trust that having a windows-only boot loader would be such a clear sign of monopolistic behaviour that even Microsoft wouldn't get away with it in court.
When viruses were the big hype, didn't MS release 'their own' antivirus at some point, which was basically the same as Norton Antivirus? Now that the market is requiring so, once again they say what people want to hear: they'll release a spyware protection suite. How long will it be before this antispyware goes the same way as their antivirus?