Yes, and I've done exactly this. That doesn't ease the discomfort at losing an email address I've had for around 17 years, or change the fact that Google knows me best by that email address, as do many open source projects, mailing lists, and real live people.
I've been jimm@io.com since 1994 or so --- maybe a year or two earlier than that. You know what I'm worried about most? All those open source projects, emails, and other digital resources that point to jimm@io.com are going to be pointing nowhere in a month. It feels like my online identity is being stolen. Except it's not being stolen, of course --- merely recalled.
io.com was bought by prismnet.com years ago. PrismNet changed hands a few times. The last guy who sold it to the current owner (for $20) didn't sell the io.com domain. He kept it but let them use it---until July 1, 2011.
I've always wanted to try hooking up a MIDI keyboard and to write some software that would take notes or chords as input and output letters or phrases. Tie it to Emacs skeleton-mode, and you could create a whole function/method/subroutine with two chords and a scale!
So where do you turn when you want to edit a LaTeX file, or a SQL file, or Perl, or Ruby, or open a calendar and edit a diary of meetings, or use the shell, or dynamically expand abbreviations while typing, or understand more programming languages than Eclipse, or edit a personal Wiki, or edit remote files, or...or...
Pain to keep in tune, indeed. More than once, I would be playing in a small club on stage under the hot lights when somebody would open the door, letting in cold winter air. The tempature shift would whack half my gear horribly out of tune. My moog source was the worst (I still have it), but the memorymoog didn't fare much better. I don't have the memorymoog anymore. I miss it.
Some digital synths come close enough for me to the fat analog sound, though. I don't really miss analog too much, except for the KNOBS. LOTS AND LOTS OF BIG, ROUND, BLACK KNOBS. Direct physical control over each and every sound parameter. Yum. Yeah, I know there are some newer synths out there with lots of knobs. I can't afford 'em right now.
I use the touch-screen ticket machine to buy my tickets. It's quicker than waiting in line, and I don't have to deal with any surly humans.
A month or two ago, a new final screen---after I have swiped my card---asked for my ZIP code. WHAT??? I entered 99999 and continued.
A few weeks later, I tried to enter 99999 and it rejected my credit card. Luckily, I tried XXX99 where XXX are the first three digits of my ZIP code. It worked.
The ONLY reason they could possibly REQUIRE (not ask for, REQUIRE) my ZIP code to complete the transaction is so that they can uniquely identify me. (Apparently, when you use a credit card they don't know who you are, but CC info + ZIP code = unique identifier.)
If they reject XXX99 in the future, I'm going to have to start dealing with the surly people and long lines again.
I am a twenty-five year user of Emacs. I recognize, however, that my brain works differently than that of the average computer user. You write that "it's a machine to augment thought". Yes: your kind of thought, not the average users'. Average users don't use text-driven interfaces for two reasons: the command line is usually hidden ("What's a terminal window?") and---more importantly---the user does not think the same way we do. Average people don't (can't?) hold inside their heads the conceptual space that represents the current working directory and the file system tree structure. They don't think about tasks the way we do. It is difficult for most people to break any task down into the smaller steps that are necessary to take advantage of Unix commands. Some people can't/won't learn to program. (That's OK; I'm not saying that anybody is less of a person because they can't program.) The skills used in programming are precisely those needed to take advantage of the command line.
In the Pragmatic Programmers' books, code errors are the least likely problem. Every code snippet is taken from a real, runnable source file. Tags in the book text and the source code tell the build process what to extract, and even sometimes how to run the code to get the result that is then inserted into the text.
Now there's an example of DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) done right.
When you watch the "Trails in action" movie be aware that each time he does a redeploy, the ant task takes about 37 seconds. With Rails, it's about one second.
You are correct; I should not have assumed that the original poster writes code. However, my original point stands: one must be able to communicate well in order to perform almost any skilled job.
Oops. I just assumed the poster has a job and is skilled.
AAARRRGGGHHH! It's "fewer buttons to click", not "lesser buttons to click".
This is worth wasting karma over. If you can't communicate clearly, how do you expect others to take you seriously? How do you expect to be able to CODE well?
One user wanted me to modify the DataVision (written in Java) so it would run as an applet. He also suggested a few related smaller features. That work took two or three weeks real-time, working in my spare time. This was a feature I had not planned to add to DataVision.
Another user is paying me to add sub-reports, something that has been on the "major missing feature" list for quite a while. In this case, the money incouraged me to implement something that had been in the queue for along time. I expect it to take me four or five weeks of real-time, but that's because I'm working full time on a contract right now.
I have a similar project (DataVision, many hundreds of users, 7 languages, over 30 countries). Two different people have paid me $1K each to implement major features.
I just noticed something: in musical notation, the key signature for C# has the most number of sharps. F# is one fewer. A hundred bucks says the next.NET language is named B, then E, A, D, and G. The last language they release will be...wait for it...C! The key with no sharps!
It's "Camino (nee; Chimera)", not "Chimera (nee; Camino)". "nee" is French for "born as". (The second "e" should have an acute accent; I couldn't get it to display properly.)
</pedant-mode>
What I think would be great is a shell that's linked to a graphical file browser. If Konsole and Konqueror were linked, such that when I typed, "cd ~/Stuff" in Konsole, Konqueror would act like I'd clicked on "~/Stuff," then I would get the power of a terminal but the easy visualization of the graphical file browser. THAT would be killer.
OS X has that. Type Command-Shift-G and a small popup "sheet" lets you type in a path. It does tab completion, too.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, and I've done exactly this. That doesn't ease the discomfort at losing an email address I've had for around 17 years, or change the fact that Google knows me best by that email address, as do many open source projects, mailing lists, and real live people.
I've been jimm@io.com since 1994 or so --- maybe a year or two earlier than that. You know what I'm worried about most? All those open source projects, emails, and other digital resources that point to jimm@io.com are going to be pointing nowhere in a month. It feels like my online identity is being stolen. Except it's not being stolen, of course --- merely recalled.
io.com was bought by prismnet.com years ago. PrismNet changed hands a few times. The last guy who sold it to the current owner (for $20) didn't sell the io.com domain. He kept it but let them use it---until July 1, 2011.
This has to be a fake. The email address should end with @3.Sol.MilkyWay, not @MilkyWay.Sol.3.
I've always wanted to try hooking up a MIDI keyboard and to write some software that would take notes or chords as input and output letters or phrases. Tie it to Emacs skeleton-mode, and you could create a whole function/method/subroutine with two chords and a scale!
So where do you turn when you want to edit a LaTeX file, or a SQL file, or Perl, or Ruby, or open a calendar and edit a diary of meetings, or use the shell, or dynamically expand abbreviations while typing, or understand more programming languages than Eclipse, or edit a personal Wiki, or edit remote files, or...or...
Me? I turn to Emacs.
Pain to keep in tune, indeed. More than once, I would be playing in a small club on stage under the hot lights when somebody would open the door, letting in cold winter air. The tempature shift would whack half my gear horribly out of tune. My moog source was the worst (I still have it), but the memorymoog didn't fare much better. I don't have the memorymoog anymore. I miss it.
Some digital synths come close enough for me to the fat analog sound, though. I don't really miss analog too much, except for the KNOBS. LOTS AND LOTS OF BIG, ROUND, BLACK KNOBS. Direct physical control over each and every sound parameter. Yum. Yeah, I know there are some newer synths out there with lots of knobs. I can't afford 'em right now.
I use the touch-screen ticket machine to buy my tickets. It's quicker than waiting in line, and I don't have to deal with any surly humans.
A month or two ago, a new final screen---after I have swiped my card---asked for my ZIP code. WHAT??? I entered 99999 and continued.
A few weeks later, I tried to enter 99999 and it rejected my credit card. Luckily, I tried XXX99 where XXX are the first three digits of my ZIP code. It worked.
The ONLY reason they could possibly REQUIRE (not ask for, REQUIRE) my ZIP code to complete the transaction is so that they can uniquely identify me. (Apparently, when you use a credit card they don't know who you are, but CC info + ZIP code = unique identifier.)
If they reject XXX99 in the future, I'm going to have to start dealing with the surly people and long lines again.
I am a twenty-five year user of Emacs. I recognize, however, that my brain works differently than that of the average computer user. You write that "it's a machine to augment thought". Yes: your kind of thought, not the average users'. Average users don't use text-driven interfaces for two reasons: the command line is usually hidden ("What's a terminal window?") and---more importantly---the user does not think the same way we do. Average people don't (can't?) hold inside their heads the conceptual space that represents the current working directory and the file system tree structure. They don't think about tasks the way we do. It is difficult for most people to break any task down into the smaller steps that are necessary to take advantage of Unix commands. Some people can't/won't learn to program. (That's OK; I'm not saying that anybody is less of a person because they can't program.) The skills used in programming are precisely those needed to take advantage of the command line.
Gee, thanks for calling me "olde". No beard, though. Oh, well---my two small girls keep me feeling young. I've got them calling me a "computer geek".
In the Pragmatic Programmers' books, code errors are the least likely problem. Every code snippet is taken from a real, runnable source file. Tags in the book text and the source code tell the build process what to extract, and even sometimes how to run the code to get the result that is then inserted into the text.
Now there's an example of DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) done right.
Emacs, you insensitive clod :-)
Really, I've tried Eclipse. I've tried NetBeans. I'll stick with Emacs, thankyouverymuch.
Of course, I prefer Ruby or Smalltalk over Java, but that's a different Holy War.
When you watch the "Trails in action" movie be aware that each time he does a redeploy, the ant task takes about 37 seconds. With Rails, it's about one second.
That link again, without the extraneous space: http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-09-2003/jw-0 905-toolbox.html.
Quick, someone clothe the photographs. At least stuff them into an envelope or something.
You are correct; I should not have assumed that the original poster writes code. However, my original point stands: one must be able to communicate well in order to perform almost any skilled job.
Oops. I just assumed the poster has a job and is skilled.
AAARRRGGGHHH! It's "fewer buttons to click", not "lesser buttons to click".
This is worth wasting karma over. If you can't communicate clearly, how do you expect others to take you seriously? How do you expect to be able to CODE well?
One user wanted me to modify the DataVision (written in Java) so it would run as an applet. He also suggested a few related smaller features. That work took two or three weeks real-time, working in my spare time. This was a feature I had not planned to add to DataVision. Another user is paying me to add sub-reports, something that has been on the "major missing feature" list for quite a while. In this case, the money incouraged me to implement something that had been in the queue for along time. I expect it to take me four or five weeks of real-time, but that's because I'm working full time on a contract right now.
I have a similar project (DataVision, many hundreds of users, 7 languages, over 30 countries). Two different people have paid me $1K each to implement major features.
Offensive language is useful. It conveys strong emotion. It can be humorous (South Park). It shocks. It tittilates.
If ever "fuck" becomes non-offensive, then another word will take its place.
I just noticed something: in musical notation, the key signature for C# has the most number of sharps. F# is one fewer. A hundred bucks says the next .NET language is named B, then E, A, D, and G. The last language they release will be...wait for it...C! The key with no sharps!
It's "Camino (nee; Chimera)", not "Chimera (nee; Camino)". "nee" is French for "born as". (The second "e" should have an acute accent; I couldn't get it to display properly.)
</pedant-mode>
Yes they can if they license the patent.
Nah, they are trying to keep up with Apples OS X!
In the past year, I have only gotten one interview. That was in response to a Dice ad.
In general, though, I agree that simply responding to thoses posts is not worth as much as "networking" (to verb a noun).