On their website it says.. "You can only play fast cash Friday with MSN Messenger 6.0."
My question is, can they tell which version you are using, (I assume yes) and if so, how do the other clients like trillian, jabber, gaim, etc., handle this?
What versions would they show up as to Microsoft?
More importantly, what about us Mac users who are actually using the official MSN client?! We're already behind on the features of the PC version (sometimes that's a good thing - e.g. they didn't add adverts until 3.5). It seems that the tone of the CNN article is that only MSN Messenger 6 will work for the competition...:(
It is also nice to be able to create documents and share them with those less fortunate (Windows people). There is no spreadsheet program that is near what Excel does.
Indeed. Excel vX for Mac is superior in some ways to the Windows version. Where I work at present I do not have access to any serious database and statistical analysis software, so I'm stuck using Excel to manage a list. The Mac version makes it is easy to use Excel like Access, since it includes a feature called "list manager" which allows you to filter data sets with ease. The Windows version lacks this feature completely...
The problem with any application providing support for MS Office formats is that the format changes from version to version, therefore it is difficult to preserve the content and formatting of documents perfectly. Anybody using OpenOffice.org will notice that formatting done on MS Word is modified slightly when opened in OpenOffice.org - for documents where layouts are more complicated and space matters (e.g. CVs), this causes problems.
If Apple can create a filter that preserves complex formatting, it should be on to a winner for home users. However, I somewhat doubt that Apple can do so, when Microsoft's own versions of Office can't even cope with changes in the file format...
Actually, no, I didn't forget about all that. All of those things are fixed costs. Those costs *do not* increase as more copies of the exact same product ship. In no way whatsoever did I imply that the cost of software is only the cost of the media, manuals, shipping, etc. The neat thing about those fixed costs is that as the number of copies of a software release approaches infinity, the per copy cost for development approaches $0. That is to say, the more copies you sell, the less the development cost per copy sold is.
It's a fantasy called economics. You should check it out sometime.
Well for somebody who claims to be using economics to justify their reasoning, your theory seems incredibly lacking. You seem to ignore the fact that Adobe is effectively an monopoly in the market for graphical production software, or at the very least a Stackelberg leader of an oligopoly. This means that Adobe maximises profit by setting prices at a level which is higher than its marginal cost, which you seem to be assuming in your example. Why is this the case? Well, as it decreases price nearer to marginal cost, it has an impact on the revenue it gains from all sales up to the point. So there will come a point where the decrease in revenue from existing sales is greater than the increase in revenue from new sales, and this indicates that the price is too low.
The world does not revolve around perfect competition - if you're going to use economic theory, at least try to know what you are talking about...
Whereas in the Apple world, each box is ugly as fuck, but in a different way. I look forward to the launch of each successive Apple product, as I like to laugh at the price, and marvel at what shade of tacky see-through plastic it's made out of this time.
Hah! The G5 might be a cheese-grater, but plastic it is not!;)
What the fuck is the point in tabbed browsing? That's something the window manager should be doing, not the application. You could replicate it anyway with gnomepanel or whatever.
You assume that everybody has a window manager that is efficient at doing so. Tabbed browsing seems a bit redundant/overkill on Mac OS X, for example, since one can switch between windows within one application by using cmd-` rather than cmd-tab. Windows can't do that, so tabbed browsing allows much easier access to browser windows.
There's a good reason why people don't use the Debian source installations: the benefits to most applications from optimizing for specific hardware is far outweighed by the opportunity cost of the time required to do so. Debian folks are in part so committed to their distro because it is so quick and easy to upgrade things - if they are to compile things from source all the time then it kinda makes it all a bit pointless.
If albums are such "works of art", there seems to be no reason why it cannot be considered as one piece of work by the artist. Why then do artists are record labels insist upon splitting their indivisible work into tracks? Surely the consistent thing to do would be to use just one track, if it is so important that people listen to the whole thing rather than bits of the album. That way, they could insist that the ITMS charges $10 for that track and prevent people from downloading individual songs.
However, chances are it will just be counter-productive and people just won't purchase the album at all...
3. Alternatives to Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP
Learn about the Microsoft alternatives and how to move to them from open source products.
www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/migration
VMWare Workstation. Great program. It can virtually boot up windows inside windows, linux inside windows, windows inside linux, linux inside linux, etc. It supports Windows XP -> 95. It supports FreeBSD, Linux, and several other opearting systems to my knowledge as well.
Ah, but can it boot up Windows inside Windows inside Windows inside Windows? And what about Linux inside Linux inside Linux inside Linux (e.g. Red Hat running VM Ware running Debian running VM Ware running SuSE runnind VM Ware running Mandrake running VM Ware running Slackware)?
Is it just me, or does this review amount to little more than "Ximian Desktop reorganised my menus nicely for me". It seems hardly worth posting on Slashdot at any rate.
It doesn't even have screenshots! I thought it was accepted here that reviews without screenshots are worthless?!
I would love to see a screenshot of Linux running Mac On Linux running Virtual PC running Windows XP, maybe with a few VNCs back to a Linux box for the hell of it.:)
I got one of these in my second term at university and it really is a lifesaver. My 12" iBook is small enough to fit into a standard satchel and is light enough to carry around everywhere I need to take it (especially when much of my time is spent in the central library, particularly with exams coming up).
My reasons for choosing the iBook over a PC laptop were various. There's the gorgeousness factor which is just hard to resist. More seriously though, Mac OS X is just a dream to run, and once you've got used to your iBook waking from sleep in about 2 seconds, you can't help but feel for those poor PC laptop owners. The 4 hour battery life is also very useful for studying out in the gardens.:)
Desktop PCs are a real PITA at university since you will inevitably end up taking handwritten notes, and if you're writing is anything like mine, they'll be redundant by the end of the year. They're also a great pain to carry up and down stairs (inevitable).
As for PDAs, I've certainly not felt the need for one since most of my contacts come in through e-mail and I'm near my laptop to check my calendar most of the time. That might just be the nature of our university network though...
Get yourself an iBook!
Re:Oh great it's a virus installer
on
Mozilla 1.4 RC1
·
· Score: 1
...Mozilla may fit into 22Mb, but to give those CDs to anyone would require mozilla source-code, which adds considerably more space.
Actually, you only need to allow people access to the source code on request. Since Mozilla's source code is decipherable, it doesn't seem to be a request too many people are going to make...
Here's a neat trick: Put that.png image in Opera 6.12, and press the "F11" key for fullscreen. On a 14" monitor, it will appear as if you are actually running fvwm, with this file, and you can say "Hey, I formatted your HDD, put Mandrake on it!" Only thing, none of the buttons work, so the joke comes to a quick end for the observant.
Presumably the fact that it says Tue 27 May might give it away too...:)
So are you saying that an American who has shot 20 people (or however many) with a sniper rifle in Virginia has the same right to life as an Iraqi who has had his leg blown off by a land mine?
You simply can't generalise like that.
As others have said, that doesn't allow you to escape the problem of only being able to listen to things that people want you to listen to.
However, I know for a fact in the UK that Virgin Megastore/V.Shop (or whatever it is called now), and HMV (as well as a Scottish chain called "Fopp") will allow me to return CDs if I decide that I don't like them. I have bought about a dozen CDs that I haven't liked and have promptly returned them for a full refund (usually within a reasonable time period though).
It simply doesn't make sense to say that P2P is the only way to sample music before you commit yourself to a purchase, since you can always return purchases that you regret.
> > However, OSX itself is a very unsecure OS. While it flaunts the power of UNIX, it is a crippled UNIX, with a few gaping holes in the security login.
> I'd like to hear just a few bits of evidence in support of such a strong statement...
I think he means that you login automatically as a "root" equivilant. Well, this behaviour suits most Mac users just fine, but if it's such a bother just untick the "Log in automatically as..." option in System Preferences --> Accounts.
Tabs allow you to easily have a running list of all open browser windows and to switch back and forth, something that the MacOS window cascade has difficulty with.
Do remember that in Mac OS X you can use command-~ to switch windows within an application. This should suit most people's needs quite readily (although tabs are a good optional extra).
Slashdot Mirror
On their website it says.. "You can only play fast cash Friday with MSN Messenger 6.0."
My question is, can they tell which version you are using, (I assume yes) and if so, how do the other clients like trillian, jabber, gaim, etc., handle this?
What versions would they show up as to Microsoft?
More importantly, what about us Mac users who are actually using the official MSN client?! We're already behind on the features of the PC version (sometimes that's a good thing - e.g. they didn't add adverts until 3.5). It seems that the tone of the CNN article is that only MSN Messenger 6 will work for the competition...It is also nice to be able to create documents and share them with those less fortunate (Windows people). There is no spreadsheet program that is near what Excel does.
Indeed. Excel vX for Mac is superior in some ways to the Windows version. Where I work at present I do not have access to any serious database and statistical analysis software, so I'm stuck using Excel to manage a list. The Mac version makes it is easy to use Excel like Access, since it includes a feature called "list manager" which allows you to filter data sets with ease. The Windows version lacks this feature completely...
The problem with any application providing support for MS Office formats is that the format changes from version to version, therefore it is difficult to preserve the content and formatting of documents perfectly. Anybody using OpenOffice.org will notice that formatting done on MS Word is modified slightly when opened in OpenOffice.org - for documents where layouts are more complicated and space matters (e.g. CVs), this causes problems.
If Apple can create a filter that preserves complex formatting, it should be on to a winner for home users. However, I somewhat doubt that Apple can do so, when Microsoft's own versions of Office can't even cope with changes in the file format...
Because when you use shift-cmd-3 (full-screen) or shift-cmd-4 (area) to take a screengrab, Mac OS X uses PDF for its output.
Actually, no, I didn't forget about all that. All of those things are fixed costs. Those costs *do not* increase as more copies of the exact same product ship. In no way whatsoever did I imply that the cost of software is only the cost of the media, manuals, shipping, etc. The neat thing about those fixed costs is that as the number of copies of a software release approaches infinity, the per copy cost for development approaches $0. That is to say, the more copies you sell, the less the development cost per copy sold is.
It's a fantasy called economics. You should check it out sometime.
Well for somebody who claims to be using economics to justify their reasoning, your theory seems incredibly lacking. You seem to ignore the fact that Adobe is effectively an monopoly in the market for graphical production software, or at the very least a Stackelberg leader of an oligopoly. This means that Adobe maximises profit by setting prices at a level which is higher than its marginal cost, which you seem to be assuming in your example. Why is this the case? Well, as it decreases price nearer to marginal cost, it has an impact on the revenue it gains from all sales up to the point. So there will come a point where the decrease in revenue from existing sales is greater than the increase in revenue from new sales, and this indicates that the price is too low.
The world does not revolve around perfect competition - if you're going to use economic theory, at least try to know what you are talking about...
Whereas in the Apple world, each box is ugly as fuck, but in a different way. I look forward to the launch of each successive Apple product, as I like to laugh at the price, and marvel at what shade of tacky see-through plastic it's made out of this time.
;)
Hah! The G5 might be a cheese-grater, but plastic it is not!
What the fuck is the point in tabbed browsing? That's something the window manager should be doing, not the application. You could replicate it anyway with gnomepanel or whatever.
You assume that everybody has a window manager that is efficient at doing so. Tabbed browsing seems a bit redundant/overkill on Mac OS X, for example, since one can switch between windows within one application by using cmd-` rather than cmd-tab. Windows can't do that, so tabbed browsing allows much easier access to browser windows.
There's a good reason why people don't use the Debian source installations: the benefits to most applications from optimizing for specific hardware is far outweighed by the opportunity cost of the time required to do so. Debian folks are in part so committed to their distro because it is so quick and easy to upgrade things - if they are to compile things from source all the time then it kinda makes it all a bit pointless.
If albums are such "works of art", there seems to be no reason why it cannot be considered as one piece of work by the artist. Why then do artists are record labels insist upon splitting their indivisible work into tracks? Surely the consistent thing to do would be to use just one track, if it is so important that people listen to the whole thing rather than bits of the album. That way, they could insist that the ITMS charges $10 for that track and prevent people from downloading individual songs.
However, chances are it will just be counter-productive and people just won't purchase the album at all...
Wow, it really looks like a lot of people are interested in what this guy has to say by the look of this thread. :p
I love that MSN Search for "linux":
;)
3. Alternatives to Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP
Learn about the Microsoft alternatives and how to move to them from open source products.
www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/migration
If that's not biased, I don't know what is...
VMWare Workstation. Great program. It can virtually boot up windows inside windows, linux inside windows, windows inside linux, linux inside linux, etc. It supports Windows XP -> 95. It supports FreeBSD, Linux, and several other opearting systems to my knowledge as well.
Ah, but can it boot up Windows inside Windows inside Windows inside Windows? And what about Linux inside Linux inside Linux inside Linux (e.g. Red Hat running VM Ware running Debian running VM Ware running SuSE runnind VM Ware running Mandrake running VM Ware running Slackware)?
This post is redundant.
Apparently it's caught on here too... :S
Is it just me, or does this review amount to little more than "Ximian Desktop reorganised my menus nicely for me". It seems hardly worth posting on Slashdot at any rate.
It doesn't even have screenshots! I thought it was accepted here that reviews without screenshots are worthless?!
Well you've obviously not done business with very many banks...
Try logging in at Royal Bank of Scotland with a non-IE browser (the only alternative is Netscape 4!)
I would love to see a screenshot of Linux running Mac On Linux running Virtual PC running Windows XP, maybe with a few VNCs back to a Linux box for the hell of it. :)
I got one of these in my second term at university and it really is a lifesaver. My 12" iBook is small enough to fit into a standard satchel and is light enough to carry around everywhere I need to take it (especially when much of my time is spent in the central library, particularly with exams coming up).
:)
My reasons for choosing the iBook over a PC laptop were various. There's the gorgeousness factor which is just hard to resist. More seriously though, Mac OS X is just a dream to run, and once you've got used to your iBook waking from sleep in about 2 seconds, you can't help but feel for those poor PC laptop owners. The 4 hour battery life is also very useful for studying out in the gardens.
Desktop PCs are a real PITA at university since you will inevitably end up taking handwritten notes, and if you're writing is anything like mine, they'll be redundant by the end of the year. They're also a great pain to carry up and down stairs (inevitable).
As for PDAs, I've certainly not felt the need for one since most of my contacts come in through e-mail and I'm near my laptop to check my calendar most of the time. That might just be the nature of our university network though...
Get yourself an iBook!
...Mozilla may fit into 22Mb, but to give those CDs to anyone would require mozilla source-code, which adds considerably more space.
Actually, you only need to allow people access to the source code on request. Since Mozilla's source code is decipherable, it doesn't seem to be a request too many people are going to make...
Here's a neat trick: Put that .png image in Opera 6.12, and press the "F11" key for fullscreen. On a 14" monitor, it will appear as if you are actually running fvwm, with this file, and you can say "Hey, I formatted your HDD, put Mandrake on it!" Only thing, none of the buttons work, so the joke comes to a quick end for the observant.
:)
Presumably the fact that it says Tue 27 May might give it away too...
...something Yahoo fails to accomplish.
See Contiki.
So are you saying that an American who has shot 20 people (or however many) with a sniper rifle in Virginia has the same right to life as an Iraqi who has had his leg blown off by a land mine? You simply can't generalise like that.
As others have said, that doesn't allow you to escape the problem of only being able to listen to things that people want you to listen to. However, I know for a fact in the UK that Virgin Megastore/V.Shop (or whatever it is called now), and HMV (as well as a Scottish chain called "Fopp") will allow me to return CDs if I decide that I don't like them. I have bought about a dozen CDs that I haven't liked and have promptly returned them for a full refund (usually within a reasonable time period though). It simply doesn't make sense to say that P2P is the only way to sample music before you commit yourself to a purchase, since you can always return purchases that you regret.
> > However, OSX itself is a very unsecure OS. While it flaunts the power of UNIX, it is a crippled UNIX, with a few gaping holes in the security login.
> I'd like to hear just a few bits of evidence in support of such a strong statement...
I think he means that you login automatically as a "root" equivilant. Well, this behaviour suits most Mac users just fine, but if it's such a bother just untick the "Log in automatically as..." option in System Preferences --> Accounts.
Sounds good in theory, but isn't 3G data access prohibitively expensive, and charged per megabyte of data?
Tabs allow you to easily have a running list of all open browser windows and to switch back and forth, something that the MacOS window cascade has difficulty with.
Do remember that in Mac OS X you can use command-~ to switch windows within an application. This should suit most people's needs quite readily (although tabs are a good optional extra).