If you can do the work, and put in the time, you can easily make it for far less than $250, and far less than $150, as well, with basically any features you want.
I have to disagree here. My quest last week was to find a decent media player, on any platform, and I failed. The only requirement for "decent" was that it supports my needs, mainly a 100gig+ mp3 collection....
But all you're saying is that you couldn't find one you like. The fact remains that there are lots out there. I don't use MusicMatch and from what I've seen I wouldn't either. I use WinAMP but I would be quite happy with a commandline tool that played a directory of MP3 files because all I ever do is play from my nicely organised directories anyhow. Each to his own...which is why you found so many competing products available and none to your liking;-)
I wish the community had a simple mechanism for finding out what projects are already out there, and avoiding duplication of effort without meaningful contribution. I thought it was freshmeat, but apparently that doesn't work for everyone... Ironic that all the entries I read about on freshmeat hadn't seemed to do a search of freshmeat before starting their own projects...
Perhaps it's down to you to start such a project - if you can't code then that's fine because every project needs management and someone with a crystal clear vision with the drive to see it through.
Why not contact all of the people working on these different projects in an effort to find a way to work together.
For playing media there are already many solutions for all intersting platforms, and the only reason for using WMP would be for the DRM stuff...which no-one honestly likes.
I think it's a Good Thing regardless of whether people use WMP simply because it demonstrates MSFT's acceptance of a widening world where they are currently looked down on.
I use Intervideo's stuff mostly and only use alternatives eitehr by accidental association or when I'm forced into it.
Personally, I'd avoid anything that restricted my use of media I own. I don't care who produces it.
Now that approach I can understand, and in fact I also live with;-)
I guess the biggest issue (assuming there is no damage done by the MS approach here/now, and I haven't read about any) is that it *might* preclude some development later...say if something else goes into the standard and breaks the MS functionality. That would be bad for *everyone* but only time will tell if it's the case. Mostly it would be bad for MS because it would be a glaring black mark against their lack of adherence to standards.
I wasn't trolling (honest), I was expressing my POV - which I think is a perfectly reasonable one and one which ultimately a very large portion of the 'net users would agree with simply because they neither know of or care about the standards. I mean, 30 million people don't even know they use the 'net at all because they use AOL!!
Hey, I've just noticed my "troll" status has changed to "interesting" - hehe.
"Your perspective assumes that it doesn't matter because it may not affect YOU personally. But does that mean it doesn't matter to others? It is these selfish and shortsighted attitudes that ruin a lot of things for everyone else."
I read a fair bit of this topic and from what I read there is no harm done. If there were problems with connections remaining in limbo then we'd have heard about it long ago simply because some geek with a packet sniffer would have balked about IE holding too much net resource.
Personally I think this is about envy and not about standards. Perhaps it's also a bit of "not invented hear" syndrome...who knows or cares.
Suffice to say; My browser is faster than yours;-)
Using your analogy then if you want a fast/efficient/cheaper (whatever is on your tick-list) car and it means buying one without a catalytic converter then who cares, and who cares if you mod you car by removing yours.
IE is faster because of this deviation and I for one am greatful for it. If you don't like it then get a decent browser or hack yours to be fast too.
It's just sour grapes because the OSS community didn't think to add it first. They could have done but didn't - for whatever reason. Too bad.
Quite honestly I don't care a hoot about the standards, TCP or any of that techno-babble. If IE is faster then for everyday people that's a Good Thing.
Boo-hoo, waaahh, my 'zilla is slower - shame an army of developers didn't figure this out and hack it into the appropriate sources first, if they had then it would be; Yay for OSS!
So, WHY should they need to keep trying to get more... and more... and MORE? What is the end goal OTHER than a monopoly?
The goal of any business is to make money, normally they'll become the dominant player in the market either by accident (they're good) or by other means (MS being convicted of monopolistic behaviour). Either way their goal is simple; Make money.
If you believe that a general business exists for any other purpose then please wake up and smell the coffee.
Sure, some people get into business to change the world but that's a side issue because if you want to change the world then you must dominate, and if you wish to sustain the business then you'll need money.
Some people have the dream of Linux dominating the market. One could ask why MORE, why must Linux have MORE, MORE, MORE market share. I would have thought that the benevolent authors of the seriously great OS software out-in-the-world wouldn't (or shouldn't) give a damn how many people are using their product - *their* goal is to simply share with anyone passing by. So why MORE market share and why attack others that don't comply with the wacky world of ESR?
Personally, money is a lot like toilets. Good to have when you need it. Otherwise it's a nuisance and really is not a true indicator of personal success. To really be successful at life, you have to be able to see WAYYY beyond your wallet. I think it's a development issue. Kind of how some people get stuck in the oral and anal stages of development. It think some people get stuck with some kind of insecurity that puts a little voice in their head that says, "More! MORE!!! MUAST HAVE MORE IF I AM GOING TO BE A WINNER!!!!!". If this is you, please get help. Your insecurities are holding back your personal development.
That's quite an amusing view on things but thankfully most people over the age of around 15 have ditched that view;-)
I seek more money because I wish to ensure that my old age won't be difficult and to buy the things I want after I have bought the things I need. So I work hard writing code that serves my customers needs. If you scale that view up within any business you see how the workerbees enhance the entire business with everyone towing the coporate line in an affort to ensure their own personal fincancial (and personal) goals - in a big company the numbers that everyone works towards are obviously larger.
I'm lucky because I enjoy what I do and that helps me to work harder, and hopefully creep closer to my goal of long term financial security.
Gah, I'm starting to feel like I'm ranting now;-)
{Translation: We can expect a lot more OSS adoption announcements. This deer-caught-in-the-headlights paralysis thing has got to stop!} Translation-translation: We should gear up our FUD machine to counter Microsofts taking their business seriously. Perhaps our fanaticism should be wound down a tad.
{Translation: The peasantry is getting restless. Not only must we be prepared to deploy massive armadas of marketing suits to squelch "real" unrest, we must begin jumping at "expected" shadows.} Translation-translation: Microsoft is doing what I'd do if I had a business to protect. I don't have a business to protect so I'll just wind my neck out and rant some more.
{Translation: we have a high-level damage-control group knit together with an "OSSI" mailing list that everybody in the To line knows enough about that we don't have to give its full name.} Translation-translation: I don't know what OSSI is but it scares me into guessing that it's something it's probably not - but even if it is then no-one will take me seriously due to my past ranting.
{Translation: They could be moving because our software's security sucks dead maggots through a straw, or because our licensing terms are highway robbery and feloniously illegal in some jurisdictions, or because some politician got a nationalistic bug up his ass. Better pray it's the last, because if it's either of the first two we are completely screwed.} Translation-translation: If I hit them with security them something has to stick. This is despite the fact that if Linux security issues scaled up to 95% of installed desktops then Linux would have 10 times as many security flaws as Windows XP. Note to self; Better not mention that.
{Translation: Who can we suborn?} Translation-translation: Who did I suborn into getting me this confidential memo. Are internal memos open source?
{Translation: Who are our paid shills and astroturfers this week?} Translation-translation: Of course Microsoft has paid shills - open source shills go unpaid at least until they write a book about open source and then they get to keep their money. Note to self; Hide money.
{Translation: Find out if we can shoot the messenger, dammit!} Translation-translation: Microsoft do proper research. I have no need for this when I can sensationalise and rant...if only someone were listening.
{WW probably equals "World Wide" here. "subs" = "subsidiaries"} Translation-translation: Sky is blue, grass is green...oh yes they are - ask any 3yr old.
{Translation: we don't expect the stuff we gave you on the first business day to have actually helped.} Translation-translation: We don't expect you to have been able to absorb our first encounter so we'll follow up. This is standard business practice...but not having a business ESR wouldn't know this. If you ever get a call from ESR the next day after a meeting he obviously has not given you anything useful on the first day *and* be sure to fcuking telling him so!
{We'll start by learning how to type the word "become" correctly. We promise.} Translation-translation: Arrgh, now ESR thinks he's in usenet flaming someone for using correct grammar. Please, this guy needs some damage control.
{Translation: We don't think enough of our big customers know that we consider Linux a major competitive threat, so we're going to send Mike Nash on a press tour to introduce it to them.} Translation-translation: I couldn't think of anything witty or snide to say so I invented something I took from an open source attack on a grapefruit. I had to hack the grapefruit using spoon 0.09b - it's the latest version, buggy as hell and it will never make it to 0.1 but it represents what an entire army of developers and testers can achieve.
I have nothing against linux or OSS. In fact I marvel at some of the wonderful technical feats achieved by the OSS community as a whole BUT this guy needs gagging. He is ONLY damaging. His article reads like a usenet post by a 12yr old "hacker" pissed off at someone for pinging his home PC.
Oh come on. You must have seen the docs for open source software. It's all written from the standpoint of someone that is fully conversant with the system in question. A technical author does a much better job - hell, someone doing support fulltime could do a better job (no disrespect meant).
Designing == fun. Writing == fun. Test/debug == yup, even that is fun. Writing docs == ZzZzZzZzZz.
What incentive does an OSS developer have to write docs? None of course. She gets nothing from it and it's only a PITA job.
Writing documentation is not a fundamental part of development. It *can* be, sometimes it *should* be, but generally it isn't. We hire someone competent at writing documentation when the quality of the documentation is important to us.
And if we want someone to be efficient at it then we hire an expert. We don't expect our developers to have the same kind of empathy towards the reader, and the same skills as a professional technical author.
"Empathy towards the user" - as I was writing that it struck me that we should have this expectation. It would probably make for much better software that worked the way the user expected rather than the way us developers expect.
This reads like a rant written by someone that has just realised they have watsed 100's or 1,000's ona useless waste of their time - when they could instead have been inventing something cool or more likely just veg'ing in front of the TV.
So Sony are in it for the cash and the customer service sucks. That's not a breakthough, it's reality...which I guess is something you've been missing out on while playing a mind bogglingly dull online game. You paid, others will continue to pay, they are happy and so are Sony.
"THEN they call support, and by that time we feel that the charge is worth it, because we're "wasting" another persons time with a problem we can't resolve ourselves."
So you expect others to "waste" their time designing the system, writing the code *and* writing docs AND then get nothing for it.
I love your world, really I do, but I wouldn't want to be self employed in it.
And the final counter to this, thus the store wins, is to say "We are not responsible for the labeling, packaging, and so forth. We only sell them. If you wish to pursue this, here is the number of our distributor (or whatever number they decide to provide). You should take it up with them. If they will give us a refund, we'll gladly extend it to you."
Here in the UK that won't fly. When you buy from a store you are making a transaction with the store, not the store's suppliers.
Where they get them from is not relevant. The contract is between you and the store. They should stop whining about their crummy suppliers and give a refund.
If they do start this approach and seem unmovable on it then I'd suggest quietly telling them you are going to get very loud and angry if you don't get your own way - there's isn't a store in the land that wants a noisy and angry ex-customer in-store, They'll soon pay the refund and have you on your way;-)
Remember, when you buy stuff the contract is between you and the store - not you and the entire supply chain of the store.
Farscape season 1 on DVD.
Okay, so my head if pounding and for the first time I have escaped *to* the computer to avoid watching ny more Farscape bu I'll be back tomorrow;-)
So tivo costs a little and has ongoing costs, and there's the danger of the company folding...but man is this an ugly solution. I wouldn't want that plugged into my home entertainment system.
BTW - DigiGuide Can drive a PVR on your PC so you can get listings for as little as $12 per year. Get your PVR software sorted (Snapstream or showshifter) and you are sorted. DigiGuide supports well over 5,000 channels including USA, UK and Ireland channels.
And for the linux freaks (you know who you are and I'm confident you're reading this) DigiGuide now apparently works a treat under wine.
I don't agree that MS are 'evil', they are just a money grabbing megacorp just like [insert company name here]. OSS based corporations are just megacorp wannabes - give them a chance and they'd do the same coz it's all about money.
"As a result of Microsoft's acts of destruction, PC technology is ten years behind where it should be."
I feel compelled to agree with this though. Had standards bickering been pushed aside we may well have hover cars, cold fusion and AI spacecraft searching the galaxy on our behalf by now;-)
It sounds obvious but when you are the lead and/or you have juniors you *must* keep in touch with them, you must show an active interest.
Daily meetings: Walk up to them, ask them how they are doing, ask if they have anything to demo, ask to see the code/design, ask if everything is okay, if they have problems etc. This should take no more than ten minutes each person - time yourself to ensure you don't squander massive amounts of time discussing time travel or quake strategies (is there such a thing?)
Show them the way: Periodically (every few days) drag one of them from their cube so you can share some brilliant insight into how things get done. Explain the problem you had and the magical solution you figured out. Ask them how they would have solved it. Get *them* involved in your bit so they understand the one true way.
Code reviews: Review one of the other developers code *really* harshly and then have him review someone elses etc. Reviews work wonders especially when they are *very* harsh and if you set the bar really high they will try much harder - possibly exceeding your quality/quantity level. Do this periodically and also force them to review your code.
When they are slow/late/buggy: Make sure they know it. Have a post mortem at every event. If they are early figure out how come they worked so fast so it can be reproduced. Make sure everyone, including you, learns from each event.
Encouragement: Doesn't matter how small their achievement make it BIG. Everyone loves to hear "That's great, well done" so make sure they hear it from you. Also, encourage them to read more books, buy the books and hand them out (after you have read them)...then ask for opinions on the books and discuss them briefly.
Do less coding: Sadly, when you have a team to run there is less time to do the fun stuff. It's a fact.
Over the years I've noticed that there are more 'career developers' than those that do it for fun. I find these are the ones that need the most attention, the most encouragement (and also produce the crappiest product).
I read a really great book called "The design of everyday things". A lot of the content has nothing directly relating to computers (like how to mess up design of a *door*) but the lessons learnt throughout the book work just great in computing.
Things like; 1) There is world knowledge and learned knowledge. World knowledge being clues in the world (buttons are for pushing, knobs are for turning) about what we must do with an object. We use both to find our way. Make more "world knowledge" in your apps and they should work more as expected. Designers like to call this "metaphor" and they go over the top and cripple an application with a crappy metaphor that limits the functionality.
2) People form their own view of what happens in a 'black box'. A great example of this is; How does a thermostat work? Many people assume that cranking the thermastat right up will somehow speed the heating process. Make your software behave the way people expect and they won't be disappointed.
(I've greatly simplified both of the above)
It's a great book, easy to read and fairly entertaining. I recommend it to anyone designing/writing software of any kind - even library authors have 'users' and the interfaces also need these little touches to make them nice to use.
Slashdot Mirror
If your time has no value of course ;-)
I have to disagree here. My quest last week was to find a decent media player, on any platform, and I failed. The only requirement for "decent" was that it supports my needs, mainly a 100gig+ mp3 collection. ...
;-)
But all you're saying is that you couldn't find one you like. The fact remains that there are lots out there. I don't use MusicMatch and from what I've seen I wouldn't either. I use WinAMP but I would be quite happy with a commandline tool that played a directory of MP3 files because all I ever do is play from my nicely organised directories anyhow. Each to his own...which is why you found so many competing products available and none to your liking
I wish the community had a simple mechanism for finding out what projects are already out there, and avoiding duplication of effort without meaningful contribution. I thought it was freshmeat, but apparently that doesn't work for everyone... Ironic that all the entries I read about on freshmeat hadn't seemed to do a search of freshmeat before starting their own projects...
Perhaps it's down to you to start such a project - if you can't code then that's fine because every project needs management and someone with a crystal clear vision with the drive to see it through.
Why not contact all of the people working on these different projects in an effort to find a way to work together.
For playing media there are already many solutions for all intersting platforms, and the only reason for using WMP would be for the DRM stuff...which no-one honestly likes.
I think it's a Good Thing regardless of whether people use WMP simply because it demonstrates MSFT's acceptance of a widening world where they are currently looked down on.
I use Intervideo's stuff mostly and only use alternatives eitehr by accidental association or when I'm forced into it.
Personally, I'd avoid anything that restricted my use of media I own. I don't care who produces it.
Now that approach I can understand, and in fact I also live with ;-)
I guess the biggest issue (assuming there is no damage done by the MS approach here/now, and I haven't read about any) is that it *might* preclude some development later...say if something else goes into the standard and breaks the MS functionality. That would be bad for *everyone* but only time will tell if it's the case. Mostly it would be bad for MS because it would be a glaring black mark against their lack of adherence to standards.
I wasn't trolling (honest), I was expressing my POV - which I think is a perfectly reasonable one and one which ultimately a very large portion of the 'net users would agree with simply because they neither know of or care about the standards. I mean, 30 million people don't even know they use the 'net at all because they use AOL!!
Hey, I've just noticed my "troll" status has changed to "interesting" - hehe.
"Your perspective assumes that it doesn't matter because it may not affect YOU personally. But does that mean it doesn't matter to others? It is these selfish and shortsighted attitudes that ruin a lot of things for everyone else."
;-)
I read a fair bit of this topic and from what I read there is no harm done. If there were problems with connections remaining in limbo then we'd have heard about it long ago simply because some geek with a packet sniffer would have balked about IE holding too much net resource.
Personally I think this is about envy and not about standards. Perhaps it's also a bit of "not invented hear" syndrome...who knows or cares.
Suffice to say; My browser is faster than yours
Using your analogy then if you want a fast/efficient/cheaper (whatever is on your tick-list) car and it means buying one without a catalytic converter then who cares, and who cares if you mod you car by removing yours.
IE is faster because of this deviation and I for one am greatful for it. If you don't like it then get a decent browser or hack yours to be fast too.
It's just sour grapes because the OSS community didn't think to add it first. They could have done but didn't - for whatever reason. Too bad.
So MS works things so their stuff is quicker -
Quite honestly I don't care a hoot about the standards, TCP or any of that techno-babble. If IE is faster then for everyday people that's a Good Thing.
Boo-hoo, waaahh, my 'zilla is slower - shame an army of developers didn't figure this out and hack it into the appropriate sources first, if they had then it would be; Yay for OSS!
Yeah, but you *do* know that was Gun Boy ESR's interpretation right?
The goal of any business is to make money, normally they'll become the dominant player in the market either by accident (they're good) or by other means (MS being convicted of monopolistic behaviour). Either way their goal is simple; Make money.
If you believe that a general business exists for any other purpose then please wake up and smell the coffee.
Sure, some people get into business to change the world but that's a side issue because if you want to change the world then you must dominate, and if you wish to sustain the business then you'll need money.
Some people have the dream of Linux dominating the market. One could ask why MORE, why must Linux have MORE, MORE, MORE market share. I would have thought that the benevolent authors of the seriously great OS software out-in-the-world wouldn't (or shouldn't) give a damn how many people are using their product - *their* goal is to simply share with anyone passing by. So why MORE market share and why attack others that don't comply with the wacky world of ESR?
Personally, money is a lot like toilets. Good to have when you need it. Otherwise it's a nuisance and really is not a true indicator of personal success. To really be successful at life, you have to be able to see WAYYY beyond your wallet. I think it's a development issue. Kind of how some people get stuck in the oral and anal stages of development. It think some people get stuck with some kind of insecurity that puts a little voice in their head that says, "More! MORE!!! MUAST HAVE MORE IF I AM GOING TO BE A WINNER!!!!!". If this is you, please get help. Your insecurities are holding back your personal development.
That's quite an amusing view on things but thankfully most people over the age of around 15 have ditched that view ;-)
I seek more money because I wish to ensure that my old age won't be difficult and to buy the things I want after I have bought the things I need. So I work hard writing code that serves my customers needs. If you scale that view up within any business you see how the workerbees enhance the entire business with everyone towing the coporate line in an affort to ensure their own personal fincancial (and personal) goals - in a big company the numbers that everyone works towards are obviously larger.
I'm lucky because I enjoy what I do and that helps me to work harder, and hopefully creep closer to my goal of long term financial security. Gah, I'm starting to feel like I'm ranting now ;-)
{Translation: We can expect a lot more OSS adoption announcements. This deer-caught-in-the-headlights paralysis thing has got to stop!}
Translation-translation: We should gear up our FUD machine to counter Microsofts taking their business seriously. Perhaps our fanaticism should be wound down a tad.
{Translation: The peasantry is getting restless. Not only must we be prepared to deploy massive armadas of marketing suits to squelch "real" unrest, we must begin jumping at "expected" shadows.}
Translation-translation: Microsoft is doing what I'd do if I had a business to protect. I don't have a business to protect so I'll just wind my neck out and rant some more.
{Translation: we have a high-level damage-control group knit together with an "OSSI" mailing list that everybody in the To line knows enough about that we don't have to give its full name.}
Translation-translation: I don't know what OSSI is but it scares me into guessing that it's something it's probably not - but even if it is then no-one will take me seriously due to my past ranting.
{Translation: They could be moving because our software's security sucks dead maggots through a straw, or because our licensing terms are highway robbery and feloniously illegal in some jurisdictions, or because some politician got a nationalistic bug up his ass. Better pray it's the last, because if it's either of the first two we are completely screwed.}
Translation-translation: If I hit them with security them something has to stick. This is despite the fact that if Linux security issues scaled up to 95% of installed desktops then Linux would have 10 times as many security flaws as Windows XP. Note to self; Better not mention that.
{Translation: Who can we suborn?}
Translation-translation: Who did I suborn into getting me this confidential memo. Are internal memos open source?
{Translation: Who are our paid shills and astroturfers this week?}
Translation-translation: Of course Microsoft has paid shills - open source shills go unpaid at least until they write a book about open source and then they get to keep their money. Note to self; Hide money.
{Translation: Find out if we can shoot the messenger, dammit!}
Translation-translation: Microsoft do proper research. I have no need for this when I can sensationalise and rant...if only someone were listening.
{WW probably equals "World Wide" here. "subs" = "subsidiaries"}
Translation-translation: Sky is blue, grass is green...oh yes they are - ask any 3yr old.
{Translation: we don't expect the stuff we gave you on the first business day to have actually helped.}
Translation-translation: We don't expect you to have been able to absorb our first encounter so we'll follow up. This is standard business practice...but not having a business ESR wouldn't know this. If you ever get a call from ESR the next day after a meeting he obviously has not given you anything useful on the first day *and* be sure to fcuking telling him so!
{We'll start by learning how to type the word "become" correctly. We promise.}
Translation-translation: Arrgh, now ESR thinks he's in usenet flaming someone for using correct grammar. Please, this guy needs some damage control.
{Translation: We don't think enough of our big customers know that we consider Linux a major competitive threat, so we're going to send Mike Nash on a press tour to introduce it to them.}
Translation-translation: I couldn't think of anything witty or snide to say so I invented something I took from an open source attack on a grapefruit. I had to hack the grapefruit using spoon 0.09b - it's the latest version, buggy as hell and it will never make it to 0.1 but it represents what an entire army of developers and testers can achieve.
I have nothing against linux or OSS. In fact I marvel at some of the wonderful technical feats achieved by the OSS community as a whole BUT this guy needs gagging. He is ONLY damaging. His article reads like a usenet post by a 12yr old "hacker" pissed off at someone for pinging his home PC.
Rein him in or cut him loose.
Oh come on. You must have seen the docs for open source software. It's all written from the standpoint of someone that is fully conversant with the system in question. A technical author does a much better job - hell, someone doing support fulltime could do a better job (no disrespect meant).
Designing == fun.
Writing == fun.
Test/debug == yup, even that is fun.
Writing docs == ZzZzZzZzZz.
What incentive does an OSS developer have to write docs? None of course. She gets nothing from it and it's only a PITA job.
Writing documentation is not a fundamental part of development. It *can* be, sometimes it *should* be, but generally it isn't. We hire someone competent at writing documentation when the quality of the documentation is important to us.
And if we want someone to be efficient at it then we hire an expert. We don't expect our developers to have the same kind of empathy towards the reader, and the same skills as a professional technical author.
"Empathy towards the user" - as I was writing that it struck me that we should have this expectation. It would probably make for much better software that worked the way the user expected rather than the way us developers expect.
I think you mean "Thse r! teh Dr0ids ur lukn 4"
;-)
It's subtle but the difference can mean life or death
This reads like a rant written by someone that has just realised they have watsed 100's or 1,000's ona useless waste of their time - when they could instead have been inventing something cool or more likely just veg'ing in front of the TV.
So Sony are in it for the cash and the customer service sucks. That's not a breakthough, it's reality...which I guess is something you've been missing out on while playing a mind bogglingly dull online game. You paid, others will continue to pay, they are happy and so are Sony.
"Theres nothing I hate more than a lack of documentation with software."
So you'd prefer to have good documentation rather than have free software...in which case there's plenty of companies that service your needs
"THEN they call support, and by that time we feel that the charge is worth it, because we're "wasting" another persons time with a problem we can't resolve ourselves."
So you expect others to "waste" their time designing the system, writing the code *and* writing docs AND then get nothing for it.
I love your world, really I do, but I wouldn't want to be self employed in it.
And the final counter to this, thus the store wins, is to say "We are not responsible for the labeling, packaging, and so forth. We only sell them. If you wish to pursue this, here is the number of our distributor (or whatever number they decide to provide). You should take it up with them. If they will give us a refund, we'll gladly extend it to you."
Here in the UK that won't fly. When you buy from a store you are making a transaction with the store, not the store's suppliers.
Where they get them from is not relevant. The contract is between you and the store. They should stop whining about their crummy suppliers and give a refund.
If they do start this approach and seem unmovable on it then I'd suggest quietly telling them you are going to get very loud and angry if you don't get your own way - there's isn't a store in the land that wants a noisy and angry ex-customer in-store, They'll soon pay the refund and have you on your way ;-)
Remember, when you buy stuff the contract is between you and the store - not you and the entire supply chain of the store.
Farscape season 1 on DVD. Okay, so my head if pounding and for the first time I have escaped *to* the computer to avoid watching ny more Farscape bu I'll be back tomorrow ;-)
I Soviet Russia his girlfriend would do half that stuff.
So tivo costs a little and has ongoing costs, and there's the danger of the company folding...but man is this an ugly solution. I wouldn't want that plugged into my home entertainment system.
BTW - DigiGuide Can drive a PVR on your PC so you can get listings for as little as $12 per year. Get your PVR software sorted (Snapstream or showshifter) and you are sorted. DigiGuide supports well over 5,000 channels including USA, UK and Ireland channels.
And for the linux freaks (you know who you are and I'm confident you're reading this) DigiGuide now apparently works a treat under wine.
I don't agree that MS are 'evil', they are just a money grabbing megacorp just like [insert company name here]. OSS based corporations are just megacorp wannabes - give them a chance and they'd do the same coz it's all about money.
;-)
"As a result of Microsoft's acts of destruction, PC technology is ten years behind where it should be."
I feel compelled to agree with this though. Had standards bickering been pushed aside we may well have hover cars, cold fusion and AI spacecraft searching the galaxy on our behalf by now
It sounds obvious but when you are the lead and/or you have juniors you *must* keep in touch with them, you must show an active interest.
Daily meetings: Walk up to them, ask them how they are doing, ask if they have anything to demo, ask to see the code/design, ask if everything is okay, if they have problems etc. This should take no more than ten minutes each person - time yourself to ensure you don't squander massive amounts of time discussing time travel or quake strategies (is there such a thing?)
Show them the way: Periodically (every few days) drag one of them from their cube so you can share some brilliant insight into how things get done. Explain the problem you had and the magical solution you figured out. Ask them how they would have solved it. Get *them* involved in your bit so they understand the one true way.
Code reviews: Review one of the other developers code *really* harshly and then have him review someone elses etc. Reviews work wonders especially when they are *very* harsh and if you set the bar really high they will try much harder - possibly exceeding your quality/quantity level. Do this periodically and also force them to review your code.
When they are slow/late/buggy: Make sure they know it. Have a post mortem at every event. If they are early figure out how come they worked so fast so it can be reproduced. Make sure everyone, including you, learns from each event.
Encouragement: Doesn't matter how small their achievement make it BIG. Everyone loves to hear "That's great, well done" so make sure they hear it from you. Also, encourage them to read more books, buy the books and hand them out (after you have read them)...then ask for opinions on the books and discuss them briefly.
Do less coding: Sadly, when you have a team to run there is less time to do the fun stuff. It's a fact.
Over the years I've noticed that there are more 'career developers' than those that do it for fun. I find these are the ones that need the most attention, the most encouragement (and also produce the crappiest product).
I read a really great book called "The design of everyday things". A lot of the content has nothing directly relating to computers (like how to mess up design of a *door*) but the lessons learnt throughout the book work just great in computing.
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Things like;
1) There is world knowledge and learned knowledge. World knowledge being clues in the world (buttons are for pushing, knobs are for turning) about what we must do with an object. We use both to find our way. Make more "world knowledge" in your apps and they should work more as expected. Designers like to call this "metaphor" and they go over the top and cripple an application with a crappy metaphor that limits the functionality
2) People form their own view of what happens in a 'black box'. A great example of this is; How does a thermostat work? Many people assume that cranking the thermastat right up will somehow speed the heating process. Make your software behave the way people expect and they won't be disappointed.
(I've greatly simplified both of the above)
It's a great book, easy to read and fairly entertaining. I recommend it to anyone designing/writing software of any kind - even library authors have 'users' and the interfaces also need these little touches to make them nice to use.
The data is available for download already - of course you'll have to index it yourself.
Duh. He uses C++ just like the rest of us 'Gods' ;-)
You either have kids and feel bitter, or don't have kids and are just repeating what you heard.
/.)
I have kids, my own business and still find time to do all of the things I want (which strangely includes
I guess I'm just lucky.