mid 1980's - Mainframes are dying
mid 1990's - NT will replace Unix
late 1990's - Linux will replace Windows
2000's - Linux will replace proprietary Unix
None of these have happened yet. I doubt that the last will ever happen.
oops missed one:
late 1980's to current day - Apple is dying
Pls mod down parent as overrated - it's an opinion based on an emotional response rather than reason.
I doubt they'll put more than two controller ports though. They're moronic like that (and if the PS3 doesn't have >2, I for one will probably give it a miss)
They won't put more than two controller ports on it for two reasons.
Not many games make use of the extra controller ports. If you look on systems that have four ports there aren't many games that make use of them.
I just wish some browser maker would do better caching. I'm so tired on clicking "Back" and the browsers sits and spins for a long time. It's in the freaking cache, you dimwit pile of crap! It's only one page back! I've seen this stupid behavior in every browser on Macs, PCs and Suns regardless of user settings.
IIRC OmniWeb used to cache the rendered page when moving down through a web site. This gave it lightning fast drawing when moving back. However it did use a shed load of memory and could be problematic when going back in a dynamic site.
Although I used OmniWeb as my default browser for the first year of OS X I switched to Chimera when it came out and now use Safari for most things.
The difference between a consultant and a contractor is just exactly that which you mention.
Yeah, a consultant will do what is being paid for and lies within the project scope a contractor will provide the necessary information to get the job done. Oh you meant it the other way around:).
I primarly work as a contractor doing Unix System Admin. However I've always been an opinionated SOB so if I see something being done that I think is wrong/stupid/going to cost in the long term I'll tell people. This is regardless of how much I'm being paid.
The reaction I usually get to the above approach is positive and leads to contract extensions, rate rises and future work (I'm currently doing some consultancy for a company that I was originally employed on a two week contract for and stayed for 10 months). The point being that if it's an opinion it's not going to do you any harm to mention that you think that a mistake is being made and why you think that. If they take no notice or tell you that it's not your problem that's their lookout. If however they take notice and what you tell them provides real benefit you already have a step up for future work. Imagine if they implement something and then they get to know that you could have told them they were doing it wrong. Chance of future business - 0.
BTW. I've never accepted an extension from company that told me to keep my opinions to myself. They have been offered though.
The RIAA are pushing forward with a number of highly publicized actions in order to draw attention to the problem (as they see it) and try to scare people off. There is nothing to be gained by them dealing with people through the sort of process described Mr Thompkin's letter.
5.6 The Customer warrants that:-
5.6.1 it shall not transmit or receive live audio or video across the Supplier's Network or use the Services for any application which in the Supplier's opinion results in an unreasonable demand on the bandwidth;
Basically, perhaps the best idea for a media player, is to work-out a robust, system-independant, plugin mechanism. That way, everything else (audio/video output, interface, etc) can be done seperately from the decoding/encoding. A media player is much more useful if you don't have to recompile it to add support for one more format. Windows Media Player, Real Player, and Quicktime all have the ability to download plugins, the only problem is that they are very-much system specific. If there was a system-independent plugin mechanism, there wouldn't be so much redundant work, with everyone doing the same things from scratch, for each player, and on each platform.
Then we would be pretty much dependent on the speed of the CPU rather than any nice tricks that the different systems are capable of. Examples:
Apple makes uses of Altivec instructions in the G4 to get improved performance on the sort of ops that these plugins do.
SGI IRIX based systems make heavy use of the graphics subsystem (which is why they still command big bucks) for this sort of operation.
What you suggest wouldn't gain much approval from users as it wouldn't allow them to use the full power of the machines. Imagine having a system with a new graphics card and getting poor frame rates because the plugin didn't take advantage of the features of the card.
But any human being would prove horrible at such a task... In fact, if you ask a human being for 3 random numbers, odds are very good that they will give you at least two sequential ones...such as 7 6 2...or 5 9 8...
With a true random number generator then the pool of numbers is not altered by a pick. Consequently every possible number within the indicated range should have an equal chance of selection at each request for a new number. Under these rules a sequential number, or indeed the same number again, is equally as likely for the second request for a number. You are placing non-random constraints on the generator.
Except that what people want out of a console is not an expensive computer that can surf the web, but a highly specialized and highly fun gaming machine.
That's what is wanted now. If MS/Sony come along and says "our next gen console not only provides you with the best gaming experience available but acts as a home hub providing email/web access, programme recording/playback as well, all for no extra cost" who is going to complain?
People will buy what they are sold. As a sheep you should know this:)
This is how the market works. During a skills shortage people can make a lot of money (usually it's the people that are good at their job that make the money) at the moment things are slack so people make less money. What is worse is those people that bluffed their way into permanent positions at inflated salaries during the boom and cannot be removed.
For the record, yes I earned lots of money in 2001 and less in 2002. I accept that. What I dislike is having to work with buffoons whose only qualification is that they could spell Unix or Linux (the clever ones can do both). These people cannot be removed because of job legislation and will not leave because they couldn't command anywhere near the salary they are currently on.
Seriously I think that even MS sees that the need for a univeral mass market desktop operating system has a finite lifespan. We are already seeing the emergence of consumer focussed appliances that deliver what the majority of people use a computer for. MS can't miss this market if they want to keep in business for a long time so the XBox. An appliance computer with a specific function that can serve as the basis for future devices to deliver computing power to the average home. This will be the 'network computer' that Ellison tried to establish in the late 90's.
MS wants to get people used to having a MS badged device in their home. One that just works, doesn't bluescreen etc, so that people are comfortable with it. They can then lever other services onto the platform; TiVo like capabilites, email, web browsing etc. This XBox follow up will be the hub of a home network.
Sony are aiming for a similar thing with the Playstation line. So far they have a head start on consumer trust.
As a contract Sys Admin I was in the position of being able to take time off in 2001 but was without work for periods in 2002. The survey asks the number of days worked during each year so presumably they will be able to produce a rate comparison as well as a total salary comparison.
It was frightening to see how much I was down from 2001 to 2002:(
Given that they only started collecting the data at the end of last week I doubt the results are going to be in yet.
Meta data may be coming
on
A Better Finder?
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
In order to support some aspects of this finder filesystem meta data must be supported in a more complete way than it is at the moment. You don't want the system to have to trawl through the tags in every MP3 file everytime it lists the folder contents (that would make it even slower:).
The filesystems used by OS X are the same ones that have been used by OS 9 for years, with the recent addition of journalling. Apple have employed the designer of the BeOS filesysem (which is widely held up as the best example of a desktop filesystem) and is keeping everything under wraps for Panther. I would expect some developments in this area to be revealed in July.
Once the meta data is in place, and people have moved over to the new filesystem, look for a more intelligent finder.
It would appear that Adobe has been less than happy about Apple's move into the application market. FCP and iMovie have taken business away from Adobe. Premier used to be the package for editing on the Mac. Rarely spoken about now. There was also apparently a lot of feedback from Adobe about the image retouching elements of iPhoto which led to them being watered down for version 1.
That said Quark's inability to move Xpress to OS X in a timely manner has given Adobe a market in the DTP arena with In Design.
I keep my iPod up to date but it's running 1.2.1 what happened to the missing versions? I know that there was a 1.2.2 to stop deafening the French but what about the others?
In fact, this is sort of a generic question: Why do current LCDs have a bezel, and can OLED technology remove the need for a bezel totally? I thought that the bezel was somehow related to the backlighting, and since OLEDs didn't have backlighting, they could be nearly frameless. But I might have just imagined that. Somebody's got to know.
On the larger screens here are three possible reasons:
Rigidity. By placing the screen into a large plastic frame the LCD doesn't form part of the physical structure of the display. So if you move it you aren't placing any stress on the TFT matrix.
Damage resistance. Say you've just bought a nice big 23" LCD display with a thin frame around it. You position it on your desk and and a sitting admiring it whilst consuming your favorite beverage. The door opens, you turn forgetting the beaker in your hand and hit it against the edge of the display. Crack it's gone. If only you'd had a larger frame around the display.
Apple started putting large displays around their LCD displays. Everyone else just had to copy:)
It is interesting considering the lack of a frame around the display on my Ti PowerBook.
Yeah, 'cause as we all know, before DRM was invented in the last few years, no content existed. All those movies, music, works of art, books, and software created before the existence of DRM are just a big collective hallucination
Typical/. rant. Until now copying things has been relatively difficult or produced poor quality. Both of these things create a similar effect to DRM. Sure it's possible to make copies of VHS tapes but the quality is poor. Yes it gets done but if you want a good copy then you go an buy the original. If you can make a perfect copy for free why bother buying an original? Don't give me some cock and bull story (UK expression) about buying it if it's good, that doesn't happen in the majority of cases.
DRM in itself is not a bad thing. It's the way that it's applied that can be bad. Say you were to develop a Java app for a phone that was cool and everyone wanted. Would you be happy if one person bought it then sent it to 10 people, they then send it to another 5-10 people each etc. etc.? Answer truthfully.
As long as there is a way to get none-DRM controlled stuff on and off the phone where is the problem?
Slashdot Mirror
mid 1990's - NT will replace Unix
late 1990's - Linux will replace Windows
2000's - Linux will replace proprietary Unix
None of these have happened yet. I doubt that the last will ever happen.
oops missed one:
late 1980's to current day - Apple is dying
Pls mod down parent as overrated - it's an opinion based on an emotional response rather than reason.
They won't put more than two controller ports on it for two reasons.
IIRC OmniWeb used to cache the rendered page when moving down through a web site. This gave it lightning fast drawing when moving back. However it did use a shed load of memory and could be problematic when going back in a dynamic site.
Although I used OmniWeb as my default browser for the first year of OS X I switched to Chimera when it came out and now use Safari for most things.
I think it fits well into the Digital Hub. Apple would be ensuring that they aren't excluded from a future digital world dominated by MS formats.
May this would finally put an end to the yearly analyst stories about Apple's demise.
This would help the push towards a standardised MPEG-4 world rather than one dominated by Windows Media.
Yeah, a consultant will do what is being paid for and lies within the project scope a contractor will provide the necessary information to get the job done. Oh you meant it the other way around :).
I primarly work as a contractor doing Unix System Admin. However I've always been an opinionated SOB so if I see something being done that I think is wrong/stupid/going to cost in the long term I'll tell people. This is regardless of how much I'm being paid.
The reaction I usually get to the above approach is positive and leads to contract extensions, rate rises and future work (I'm currently doing some consultancy for a company that I was originally employed on a two week contract for and stayed for 10 months). The point being that if it's an opinion it's not going to do you any harm to mention that you think that a mistake is being made and why you think that. If they take no notice or tell you that it's not your problem that's their lookout. If however they take notice and what you tell them provides real benefit you already have a step up for future work. Imagine if they implement something and then they get to know that you could have told them they were doing it wrong. Chance of future business - 0.
BTW. I've never accepted an extension from company that told me to keep my opinions to myself. They have been offered though.
The RIAA are pushing forward with a number of highly publicized actions in order to draw attention to the problem (as they see it) and try to scare people off. There is nothing to be gained by them dealing with people through the sort of process described Mr Thompkin's letter.
5.6 The Customer warrants that:- 5.6.1 it shall not transmit or receive live audio or video across the Supplier's Network or use the Services for any application which in the Supplier's opinion results in an unreasonable demand on the bandwidth;
I break these most weekends :(
Then we would be pretty much dependent on the speed of the CPU rather than any nice tricks that the different systems are capable of. Examples:
Apple makes uses of Altivec instructions in the G4 to get improved performance on the sort of ops that these plugins do.
SGI IRIX based systems make heavy use of the graphics subsystem (which is why they still command big bucks) for this sort of operation.
What you suggest wouldn't gain much approval from users as it wouldn't allow them to use the full power of the machines. Imagine having a system with a new graphics card and getting poor frame rates because the plugin didn't take advantage of the features of the card.
With a true random number generator then the pool of numbers is not altered by a pick. Consequently every possible number within the indicated range should have an equal chance of selection at each request for a new number. Under these rules a sequential number, or indeed the same number again, is equally as likely for the second request for a number. You are placing non-random constraints on the generator.
why does it look so ugly? I mean it has styling that reminds me of 1979's VCRs *yeuck*
That's what is wanted now. If MS/Sony come along and says "our next gen console not only provides you with the best gaming experience available but acts as a home hub providing email/web access, programme recording/playback as well, all for no extra cost" who is going to complain?
People will buy what they are sold. As a sheep you should know this :)
And this looks like petty jealousy to me.
This is how the market works. During a skills shortage people can make a lot of money (usually it's the people that are good at their job that make the money) at the moment things are slack so people make less money. What is worse is those people that bluffed their way into permanent positions at inflated salaries during the boom and cannot be removed.
For the record, yes I earned lots of money in 2001 and less in 2002. I accept that. What I dislike is having to work with buffoons whose only qualification is that they could spell Unix or Linux (the clever ones can do both). These people cannot be removed because of job legislation and will not leave because they couldn't command anywhere near the salary they are currently on.
MS wants to get people used to having a MS badged device in their home. One that just works, doesn't bluescreen etc, so that people are comfortable with it. They can then lever other services onto the platform; TiVo like capabilites, email, web browsing etc. This XBox follow up will be the hub of a home network.
Sony are aiming for a similar thing with the Playstation line. So far they have a head start on consumer trust.
It was frightening to see how much I was down from 2001 to 2002 :(
Given that they only started collecting the data at the end of last week I doubt the results are going to be in yet.
The filesystems used by OS X are the same ones that have been used by OS 9 for years, with the recent addition of journalling. Apple have employed the designer of the BeOS filesysem (which is widely held up as the best example of a desktop filesystem) and is keeping everything under wraps for Panther. I would expect some developments in this area to be revealed in July.
Once the meta data is in place, and people have moved over to the new filesystem, look for a more intelligent finder.
Also isn't it strange that the Geneva convention would band weapons that cause permanent blindness yet allow ones that kill people?
"He's dead Jim, but look on the bright side he didn't lose his sight"
This is why Adobe failed to make a dent into the business graphic market.
That said Quark's inability to move Xpress to OS X in a timely manner has given Adobe a market in the DTP arena with In Design.
I keep my iPod up to date but it's running 1.2.1 what happened to the missing versions? I know that there was a 1.2.2 to stop deafening the French but what about the others?
On the larger screens here are three possible reasons:
- Rigidity. By placing the screen into a large plastic frame the LCD doesn't form part of the physical structure of the display. So if you move it you aren't placing any stress on the TFT matrix.
- Damage resistance. Say you've just bought a nice big 23" LCD display with a thin frame around it. You position it on your desk and and a sitting admiring it whilst consuming your favorite beverage. The door opens, you turn forgetting the beaker in your hand and hit it against the edge of the display. Crack it's gone. If only you'd had a larger frame around the display.
- Apple started putting large displays around their LCD displays. Everyone else just had to copy
:)
It is interesting considering the lack of a frame around the display on my Ti PowerBook.Apple - been happily going out of business since 1985
Typical /. rant. Until now copying things has been relatively difficult or produced poor quality. Both of these things create a similar effect to DRM. Sure it's possible to make copies of VHS tapes but the quality is poor. Yes it gets done but if you want a good copy then you go an buy the original. If you can make a perfect copy for free why bother buying an original? Don't give me some cock and bull story (UK expression) about buying it if it's good, that doesn't happen in the majority of cases.
DRM in itself is not a bad thing. It's the way that it's applied that can be bad. Say you were to develop a Java app for a phone that was cool and everyone wanted. Would you be happy if one person bought it then sent it to 10 people, they then send it to another 5-10 people each etc. etc.? Answer truthfully.
As long as there is a way to get none-DRM controlled stuff on and off the phone where is the problem?