Slashdot is a bad commercial for MySQL. Maybe it is the SlashCode, and not MySQL, but the Slashdot database regularly becomes confused, such as posting a comment to the wrong story.
Internet-initiated calls: It may be interesting to compare this to Internet-initiated calls using Bigzoo.com's BigTalk,
which cast 3.6 cents per minute to call the U.S. from New Zealand.
Free VOIP: Another option if both sides of a call have internet connections is Skype. At present it's free, and provides better quality
than normal telephone. Skype is a great way to try VOIP without paying
anything. Skype provides AES encryption of your calls, too. Skype can use port
80 for connections, so it can get past any firewall. (This shows the alarming
lack of security of firewalls, and the need for a software firewall like
ZoneAlarm
that alert you when a program tries to connect.) Skype is brought to you by the designers of the original KaZaa program.
3.5 cents per minute, but free to the U.S. caller: If you want someone with only a normal telephone to call you in New Zealand
without paying, you can put $10 into a BigZoo.com or OneSuite.com account, and give
them the PIN number. OneSuite only costs 3.5 cents per minute from the U.S. to
New Zealand, if the U.S. caller calls from a local number. With OneSuite.com or Bigzoo.com can have as many accounts as you have friends for whom you want to provide free calling.
Other ideas? Are there any options like this that aren't mentioned here?
In my opinion, C++ needs all of Perl's pattern matching and text
manipulation facilities. They should be part of the language. The String class
is not enough.
I'm happy that someone else decides which language will be the standard, and
will have all the capabilities brought into it. It's just that I don't like
trying to stay current with multiple languages.
If you look at the structure of French, it is a mess. For example, verbs are
irregular. There's no reason for it; it just grew that way. If you look at the
structure of English, it is a mess. Many, many words are pronounced
differently than they are spelled. Human languages weren't designed, they were
just thrown together.
We don't need to accept haphazard design in programming languages. We can do
better for ourselves.
An Interpreter/Compiler combination is far easier.
on
Perl is Sweet Sixteen
·
· Score: 1
It is far easier to develop with an Interpreter/Compiler combination, when they both have the same output binary. It saves a huge amount of time. Some interpreters are really incremental compilers. They compile on demand when they see the source code is newer than the compiled binary. Microsoft's FoxPro is an example of this.
However, the main point is: Why not put all the good stuff into one language?
I find it laborious and tiring remembering the syntax and quirks and compiler bugs of several different languages.
C++ needs Larry's expressiveness.
on
Perl is Sweet Sixteen
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
People have often told me that French is, in some ways, more expressive
than English. But, I think there is nothing about English that cannot be
fixed.
Similarly, why didn't Larry put his energetic and brilliant expressiveness
into C? C (and later C++) needs that expressiveness.
C and C++ Interpreters exist. For example, CINT C/C++ Interpreter.
I think it would be great if GCC had a
switch or an add-on that could turn it into an interpreter. GCC already as
most of the rest of the kitchen sink: "GCC is the GNU Compiler Collection,
which currently contains
front ends for C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran,
Java, and Ada, as well as libraries for these
languages (libstdc++, libgcj,...).
Further frontends are available."
An "ugly hack", as you say, it just a challenge waiting for a brilliant
programmer like Larry to make it beautiful.
I think I have part of the answer to my question. I think Larry could not see
into the future. I'm guessing he didn't realize that all languages either die
or become complete. I'm guessing he might not have made Perl if he had
realized that he would commit 16 years of his life to make a language that
would lose its quick-and-easy aspect and become as complicated as any other.
Why not interpreted C++, instead?
on
Perl is Sweet Sixteen
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Suppose Larry had used his considerable brainpower to make an interpreted version of C or C++, instead of making a completely new language?
I think that programming requires a lot of expertise. I'd like to find
someone else to do some programming for me, but I find that there are too many
decisions that affect the quality of the product each hour that I program. I
have not been able to find someone else capable and interested in making those
decisions.
In my whole life, I haven't seen even one perfectly designed program. I
haven't seen even one perfectly designed web site. For example, I was just
looking at the Creative Labs web site. There is no large photo available of the
products! Creative Labs says, "With over 200 million sound cards sold, Sound
Blaster is the world's most trusted PC audio brand." (Under the heading
"UPGRADE to Superior Stereo Audio Quality".) After all that business
experience, Creative Labs doesn't even provide useable photos of their
products.
What will be the result of the work of bored Indian programmers, who are bored
because they have to follow some poorly developed specifications, and have no
control over the design of the program, and no way to talk to the customer?
Eventually the code will be a tangled mess, and will be thrown away.
In the 70s, hiring PhDs was very popular. Then companies found the drawbacks.
PhDs were not willing to do the tedious work that exists in every project.
Hiring offshore programmers is popular now, but I think companies will slowly
begin to realize that good programming requires a high proportion of extensive
thought.
The title of the document is "Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2". The document is only about changes to functionality. There are many, many bug fixes that are not mentioned. This was true in Service Pack 1, also; there were many bug fixes that were not mentioned in the list of fixes.
Yes, but think further. Why did they seemingly shoot themselves in the foot? Maybe because they realize they won't be around much longer. Maybe they're trying to get as much money as they can before Linux takes over.
Maybe one piece of the puzzle of making Wake-on-LAN over VNC work would be to have a DSL modem, and some kind of always-on appliance that could be programmed to turn on the computer. The appliance must have an Internet address. This is the idea, but it is too expensive: Internet Power Switch. Maybe this would be better:
1-Port Serial Device Servers, but no price is listed.
You have a good basic idea. You don't want to leave the computer on all the time, but you would like to VNC the computer when you need it. Actually, I want that too.
All you need is a low-voltage switch with an Internet address. You can adjust the OS to turn on when the power switch is pressed and hibernate if the power switch is pressed, if the computer is already on. If you need a cold re-boot, you can run the shutdown command from VNC, using a time delay.
A switch with an Internet address need cost no more than $50. The question is, who sells such a switch?
For me, the new "spam is okay" law is very, very sad. I can remember when the U.S. government was not as corrupt as it is today. Now, everything in the government is for sale, including the laws.
Slashdot is the only society I've ever known in which, when someone does something that everyone in the community likes, they are attacked and called a "whore".
Spolsky -- In my experience, Spolsky sometimes overvalues his knowledge. He tries to be a
leader, rather than writing when he is especially knowledgeable about
something.
Mis-management of programmers -- The problem is not with different philosophies of how to do the job. The
problem is that Microsoft mis-manages their programmers. Microsoft allows each
programmer to do his own thing. That's why some dialog boxes in Windows accept
Control-A to Select All, and others don't. That's why some Microsoft programs
can be closed by Control-W, and some can't.
Releasing products before they are finished -- Another problem with Microsoft mis-management is assigning programmers to a
new task before they have finished the last one. Often Microsoft releases
programs that only barely work, and have numerous shortcomings that a
programmer would eliminate if given time to finish his work. Anyone remember
the first version of Microsoft Access? Remember the 63,000 bugs supposedly in Windows 2000? Did we see those bugs? I count 18 critical updates just in Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, and some of those are actually multiple updates. I don't know if there were 63,000 shortcomings, but I do know that some of those are still in Windows XP. For example, Windows XP often re-organizes the desktop icons without asking. Windows XP changes sometimes changes its settings without asking, for example, when doing updates, or when re-installing the OS.
Insufficient planning, standards, and cooperation. -- At Microsoft, my understanding is that there is little way to assure cooperation between teams. Everything is hurry up and finish, and there is too little planning, or writing of standards. Anyone remember the Windows 3.1 method of accessing a serial port from Windows? It was an interface of amazingly poor quality. There are many examples of sloppy design; that's just one that occurred to me.
Sloppy documentation -- Microsoft's documentation has the same poor quality. Information about a particular version of Windows is often scattered, jumps from article to article, is often in error, incomplete, and often refers to earlier version of Windows, sometimes seemingly in error.
Un-fixable problems? -- Microsoft's sloppy management has, over a period of many years, led to a situation in which, apparently, some problems cannot be fixed. That's apparently why there have been more than 60 serious security vulnerabilities found in Internet Explorer in the last two years, and only one or two in Mozilla. Apparently the IE code is a huge mess. Who was using those security vulnerabilities before they were made public? Who uses those security vulnerabilities after they are made public? There's no way to know, but the subject is extremely serious. Certainly if Microsoft were able to fix the security problems in IE, it would do so; the publicity about Microsoft security vulnerabilities is extremely negative and beginning to be known by the non-technical managers of Microsoft's customers.
What is the fundamental problem? -- Apparently, the fundamental problem is Microsoft's "Money now is everything" culture. Microsoft makes money because they had a monopoly, not because the company is managed well.
Harry Callahan's excellent comment -- This comment, to the duplicate Slashdot story, fits my experience better than Spolsky's analysis. Because the other, duplicate, story may be eliminated, or not read, I asked the writer to post his comment again in this, the original story, but I don't know if he will do so. So here is a link and a copy of the comment: The essential
difference... by HarryCallahan
Clinton's speech about the Vietnam war in Vietnam. Amazingly honest. Amazingly
perceptive. (Remember, the U.S. government killed more than 2,000,000
Vietnamese. None of them threatened the U.S.)
Clinton's handling of the abortion rights issue. There is no reason for a
person to get strongly involved in one side or the other; the president does
not decide abortion rights law. The issue is a moral one that cannot at
present be resolved; nature itself aborts 93% of conceptions.
Clinton did stupid things, also. Obviously, the Lewinsky affair was one of
them. Bombing Afghanistan and Sudan were two others.
The issue with President Bush's intelligence is that he has never shown any
ability to do analysis. Yes, there is analysis done by the 5,500 person White
House staff. But I have never seen George Bush come to an unusual conclusion
by thinking carefully. Clinton, however, often did.
The thinking of both is heavily affected by alcohol. Bush is a dry alcoholic.
Clinton is the child of alcoholics. Clinton's abuse of sexuality is common
among ACOAs, as they call themselves, Adult Children of Alcoholics.
But there is a big difference between Clinton and George W. Bush. Clinton is a
self-made man who has a huge intellectual interest in government policy.
Clinton has a demonstrated ability to analyze.
Bush showed very little interest in anything; now that he is president, his
handlers try to conceal that. Bush is the son of someone who pushed him to
pretend that he was succeeding.
Gore also is such a person. Gore has surprisingly little interest in or
understanding of politics. Gore is the son of a famous politician. His father
had a serious interest in government leadership, Gore the son did not.
All the comments I've seen missed the full story. Look at a GIF image of the original Boeing PowerPoint slide and analysis (GIF, 130 kB) to see why NASA did not understand the danger of high-velocity damage to the heat tiles. If the slide is Slashdotted, the text of the slide is shown at the bottom of this comment, imperfectly formatted.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board said, "... it is easy to understand how a senior manager might read this PowerPoint slide and not realize that it addresses a life-threatening situation."
Tufte suggested that a more appropriate title would be "Review of Test Data Indicates Irrelevance of Two Models."
Check out this humorous HTML page of a PowerPoint presentation of Tufte's book: PowerPoint Remix.
Text of Boeing PowerPoint Slide
The existing SOFI on tile test data used to create Crater was reviewed along with STS-107 Southwest Research data
Crater over-predicted penetration of tile coating significantly
Initial penetration to described by normal velocity
-- Varies with volume/mass of projectile(e.g., 200ft/sec for3cu. In)
Significant energy is required for the softer SOFI particle to penetrate the relatively hard tile coating
-- Test results do show that it is possible at sufficient mass and velocity
Conversely, once tile is penetrated SOFI can cause significant damage
-- Minor variations in total energy (above penetration level) can cause significant tile damage
Flight condition is significantly outside of test database
-- Volume of ramp is 1920cu in vs 3 cu in for test
It may have been clear to you, but it wasn't to me. Anyhow, I bought the corporate version, because it doesn't require activation. In the article you referenced, this question is very easy to miss:
"If I buy a notebook computer running Windows XP Home Edition for my child, will she be able to log onto her school's network/domain?
"No. If you want to be able to join a domain for which you have access, you will need to have Windows XP Professional on your laptop. Learn more about why Windows XP Professional is best for large networks."
Many people would stop reading at the word "child".
Note that some dishonest, sneaky marketing person is implying that Windows XP Home would only be bought for a child, when in fact it is sold with almost every laptop.
Many business applications did not run reliably under Windows NT, because the driver support was more primitive. Maybe Microsoft did try to sell people on the marketing fiction that Windows 98 should only be used for home use. If they did, that was dishonest, too.
Slashdot Mirror
Slashdot is a bad commercial for MySQL. Maybe it is the SlashCode, and not MySQL, but the Slashdot database regularly becomes confused, such as posting a comment to the wrong story.
Internet-initiated calls: It may be interesting to compare this to Internet-initiated calls using Bigzoo.com's BigTalk, which cast 3.6 cents per minute to call the U.S. from New Zealand.
Free VOIP: Another option if both sides of a call have internet connections is Skype. At present it's free, and provides better quality than normal telephone. Skype is a great way to try VOIP without paying anything. Skype provides AES encryption of your calls, too. Skype can use port 80 for connections, so it can get past any firewall. (This shows the alarming lack of security of firewalls, and the need for a software firewall like ZoneAlarm that alert you when a program tries to connect.) Skype is brought to you by the designers of the original KaZaa program.
3.5 cents per minute, but free to the U.S. caller: If you want someone with only a normal telephone to call you in New Zealand without paying, you can put $10 into a BigZoo.com or OneSuite.com account, and give them the PIN number. OneSuite only costs 3.5 cents per minute from the U.S. to New Zealand, if the U.S. caller calls from a local number. With OneSuite.com or Bigzoo.com can have as many accounts as you have friends for whom you want to provide free calling.
Other ideas? Are there any options like this that aren't mentioned here?
The Fast Company article is excellent! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Wal-Mart.
In my opinion, C++ needs all of Perl's pattern matching and text manipulation facilities. They should be part of the language. The String class is not enough.
I'm happy that someone else decides which language will be the standard, and will have all the capabilities brought into it. It's just that I don't like trying to stay current with multiple languages.
If you look at the structure of French, it is a mess. For example, verbs are irregular. There's no reason for it; it just grew that way. If you look at the structure of English, it is a mess. Many, many words are pronounced differently than they are spelled. Human languages weren't designed, they were just thrown together.
We don't need to accept haphazard design in programming languages. We can do better for ourselves.
It is far easier to develop with an Interpreter/Compiler combination, when they both have the same output binary. It saves a huge amount of time. Some interpreters are really incremental compilers. They compile on demand when they see the source code is newer than the compiled binary. Microsoft's FoxPro is an example of this.
However, the main point is: Why not put all the good stuff into one language?
I find it laborious and tiring remembering the syntax and quirks and compiler bugs of several different languages.
People have often told me that French is, in some ways, more expressive than English. But, I think there is nothing about English that cannot be fixed.
Similarly, why didn't Larry put his energetic and brilliant expressiveness into C? C (and later C++) needs that expressiveness.
C and C++ Interpreters exist. For example, CINT C/C++ Interpreter.
I think it would be great if GCC had a switch or an add-on that could turn it into an interpreter. GCC already as most of the rest of the kitchen sink: "GCC is the GNU Compiler Collection, which currently contains front ends for C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Java, and Ada, as well as libraries for these languages (libstdc++, libgcj,...). Further frontends are available."
An "ugly hack", as you say, it just a challenge waiting for a brilliant programmer like Larry to make it beautiful.
I think I have part of the answer to my question. I think Larry could not see into the future. I'm guessing he didn't realize that all languages either die or become complete. I'm guessing he might not have made Perl if he had realized that he would commit 16 years of his life to make a language that would lose its quick-and-easy aspect and become as complicated as any other.
Suppose Larry had used his considerable brainpower to make an interpreted version of C or C++, instead of making a completely new language?
There are NO large photos of their USB external sound cards, even though there are external controls and connectors that are not described.
Exactly right. Management of programming is usually exactly wrong.
I've talked with Indian programmers. They are even more detached from management, if that is possible, by distance and culture.
Hands-off, no-group-feeling management is not good management.
I think that programming requires a lot of expertise. I'd like to find someone else to do some programming for me, but I find that there are too many decisions that affect the quality of the product each hour that I program. I have not been able to find someone else capable and interested in making those decisions.
In my whole life, I haven't seen even one perfectly designed program. I haven't seen even one perfectly designed web site. For example, I was just looking at the Creative Labs web site. There is no large photo available of the products! Creative Labs says, "With over 200 million sound cards sold, Sound Blaster is the world's most trusted PC audio brand." (Under the heading "UPGRADE to Superior Stereo Audio Quality".) After all that business experience, Creative Labs doesn't even provide useable photos of their products.
What will be the result of the work of bored Indian programmers, who are bored because they have to follow some poorly developed specifications, and have no control over the design of the program, and no way to talk to the customer? Eventually the code will be a tangled mess, and will be thrown away.
In the 70s, hiring PhDs was very popular. Then companies found the drawbacks. PhDs were not willing to do the tedious work that exists in every project. Hiring offshore programmers is popular now, but I think companies will slowly begin to realize that good programming requires a high proportion of extensive thought.
The title of the document is "Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2". The document is only about changes to functionality. There are many, many bug fixes that are not mentioned. This was true in Service Pack 1, also; there were many bug fixes that were not mentioned in the list of fixes.
Encourage your children to be involved with reality, in which everyone is an administrator.
Yes, but think further. Why did they seemingly shoot themselves in the foot? Maybe because they realize they won't be around much longer. Maybe they're trying to get as much money as they can before Linux takes over.
Very interesting. I see your point.
The moderation system is largely disfunctional. It would be great to think of a better way.
Maybe one piece of the puzzle of making Wake-on-LAN over VNC work would be to have a DSL modem, and some kind of always-on appliance that could be programmed to turn on the computer. The appliance must have an Internet address. This is the idea, but it is too expensive: Internet Power Switch. Maybe this would be better: 1-Port Serial Device Servers, but no price is listed.
You have a good basic idea. You don't want to leave the computer on all the time, but you would like to VNC the computer when you need it. Actually, I want that too.
All you need is a low-voltage switch with an Internet address. You can adjust the OS to turn on when the power switch is pressed and hibernate if the power switch is pressed, if the computer is already on. If you need a cold re-boot, you can run the shutdown command from VNC, using a time delay.
A switch with an Internet address need cost no more than $50. The question is, who sells such a switch?
For me, the new "spam is okay" law is very, very sad. I can remember when the U.S. government was not as corrupt as it is today. Now, everything in the government is for sale, including the laws.
Slashdot is the only society I've ever known in which, when someone does something that everyone in the community likes, they are attacked and called a "whore".
Spolsky -- In my experience, Spolsky sometimes overvalues his knowledge. He tries to be a leader, rather than writing when he is especially knowledgeable about something.
Mis-management of programmers -- The problem is not with different philosophies of how to do the job. The problem is that Microsoft mis-manages their programmers. Microsoft allows each programmer to do his own thing. That's why some dialog boxes in Windows accept Control-A to Select All, and others don't. That's why some Microsoft programs can be closed by Control-W, and some can't.
Releasing products before they are finished -- Another problem with Microsoft mis-management is assigning programmers to a new task before they have finished the last one. Often Microsoft releases programs that only barely work, and have numerous shortcomings that a programmer would eliminate if given time to finish his work. Anyone remember the first version of Microsoft Access? Remember the 63,000 bugs supposedly in Windows 2000? Did we see those bugs? I count 18 critical updates just in Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, and some of those are actually multiple updates. I don't know if there were 63,000 shortcomings, but I do know that some of those are still in Windows XP. For example, Windows XP often re-organizes the desktop icons without asking. Windows XP changes sometimes changes its settings without asking, for example, when doing updates, or when re-installing the OS.
Insufficient planning, standards, and cooperation. -- At Microsoft, my understanding is that there is little way to assure cooperation between teams. Everything is hurry up and finish, and there is too little planning, or writing of standards. Anyone remember the Windows 3.1 method of accessing a serial port from Windows? It was an interface of amazingly poor quality. There are many examples of sloppy design; that's just one that occurred to me.
Sloppy documentation -- Microsoft's documentation has the same poor quality. Information about a particular version of Windows is often scattered, jumps from article to article, is often in error, incomplete, and often refers to earlier version of Windows, sometimes seemingly in error.
Un-fixable problems? -- Microsoft's sloppy management has, over a period of many years, led to a situation in which, apparently, some problems cannot be fixed. That's apparently why there have been more than 60 serious security vulnerabilities found in Internet Explorer in the last two years, and only one or two in Mozilla. Apparently the IE code is a huge mess. Who was using those security vulnerabilities before they were made public? Who uses those security vulnerabilities after they are made public? There's no way to know, but the subject is extremely serious. Certainly if Microsoft were able to fix the security problems in IE, it would do so; the publicity about Microsoft security vulnerabilities is extremely negative and beginning to be known by the non-technical managers of Microsoft's customers.
What is the fundamental problem? -- Apparently, the fundamental problem is Microsoft's "Money now is everything" culture. Microsoft makes money because they had a monopoly, not because the company is managed well.
Harry Callahan's excellent comment -- This comment, to the duplicate Slashdot story, fits my experience better than Spolsky's analysis. Because the other, duplicate, story may be eliminated, or not read, I asked the writer to post his comment again in this, the original story, but I don't know if he will do so. So here is a link and a copy of the comment: The essential difference... by HarryCallahan
[Beginning of Harry Callahan's comment.]
Is not about th
MOD PARENT UP!!!
This fits with my experience.
This Slashdot article is a duplicate. Please post the same comment in the original article.
Clinton's speech about the Vietnam war in Vietnam. Amazingly honest. Amazingly perceptive. (Remember, the U.S. government killed more than 2,000,000 Vietnamese. None of them threatened the U.S.)
Clinton's handling of the abortion rights issue. There is no reason for a person to get strongly involved in one side or the other; the president does not decide abortion rights law. The issue is a moral one that cannot at present be resolved; nature itself aborts 93% of conceptions.
Clinton did stupid things, also. Obviously, the Lewinsky affair was one of them. Bombing Afghanistan and Sudan were two others.
The issue with President Bush's intelligence is that he has never shown any ability to do analysis. Yes, there is analysis done by the 5,500 person White House staff. But I have never seen George Bush come to an unusual conclusion by thinking carefully. Clinton, however, often did.
The thinking of both is heavily affected by alcohol. Bush is a dry alcoholic. Clinton is the child of alcoholics. Clinton's abuse of sexuality is common among ACOAs, as they call themselves, Adult Children of Alcoholics.
But there is a big difference between Clinton and George W. Bush. Clinton is a self-made man who has a huge intellectual interest in government policy. Clinton has a demonstrated ability to analyze.
Bush showed very little interest in anything; now that he is president, his handlers try to conceal that. Bush is the son of someone who pushed him to pretend that he was succeeding.
Gore also is such a person. Gore has surprisingly little interest in or understanding of politics. Gore is the son of a famous politician. His father had a serious interest in government leadership, Gore the son did not.
All the comments I've seen missed the full story. Look at a GIF image of the original Boeing PowerPoint slide and analysis (GIF, 130 kB) to see why NASA did not understand the danger of high-velocity damage to the heat tiles. If the slide is Slashdotted, the text of the slide is shown at the bottom of this comment, imperfectly formatted.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board said, "... it is easy to understand how a senior manager might read this PowerPoint slide and not realize that it addresses a life-threatening situation."
The analysis of the Boeing slide was taken from Edward Tufte's pamphlet The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint which was excerpted on page 191 of the CAIB report (PDF, 10 MB) (or page 15 of Chapter 7 (PDF, 0.5 MB)).
Tufte suggested that a more appropriate title would be "Review of Test Data Indicates Irrelevance of Two Models."
Check out this humorous HTML page of a PowerPoint presentation of Tufte's book: PowerPoint Remix.
Text of Boeing PowerPoint Slide
The existing SOFI on tile test data used to create Crater was reviewed along with STS-107 Southwest Research data
-- Varies with volume/mass of projectile(e.g., 200ft/sec for3cu. In)
-- Test results do show that it is possible at sufficient mass and velocity
-- Minor variations in total energy (above penetration level) can cause significant tile damage
Flight condition is significantly outside of test database
-- Volume of ramp is 1920cu in vs 3 cu in for test
MOD PARENT UP.
It isn't Powerpoint that makes you dumb. It is management pretending that they actually know how to run a company that makes you dumb.
It may have been clear to you, but it wasn't to me. Anyhow, I bought the corporate version, because it doesn't require activation. In the article you referenced, this question is very easy to miss:
"If I buy a notebook computer running Windows XP Home Edition for my child, will she be able to log onto her school's network/domain?
"No. If you want to be able to join a domain for which you have access, you will need to have Windows XP Professional on your laptop. Learn more about why Windows XP Professional is best for large networks."
Many people would stop reading at the word "child". Note that some dishonest, sneaky marketing person is implying that Windows XP Home would only be bought for a child, when in fact it is sold with almost every laptop.
What is FXsamba? No hits for this on Google.
Many business applications did not run reliably under Windows NT, because the driver support was more primitive. Maybe Microsoft did try to sell people on the marketing fiction that Windows 98 should only be used for home use. If they did, that was dishonest, too.