There's not enough room on the Earth to fit everyone if nobody dies. All things must end, and room and resources left to the next generation. I don't want to live forever.
Dude, I've been running strictly Linux and other open source, at home and at work, for over a decade. More like 15 years now. Now it's even company supported.:-)
The vast majority of input to a computer system is in the form of text, usually typed. Whether to produce documents, write an email, send a text message, or whatever it's almost exclusively written language that is being used. Once you learn to type, you can transfer information (or opinion) from your brain to the world much faster using a keyboard. Touchscreens can't touch that.;-) It call comes down to productivity and easy of use. There is still no better way to input text than a keyboard.
Touch screens are only useful to manipulate aggregate information that has already been produced, or manipulate visually oriented models. They can't really replace a keyboard.
My Macbok Pro with OSX switches automatically into multi-screen mode and back, when you plug and unplug an external monitor. Works great. I've used Macs since the 80's with dual screens. I use Linux at work now with a dual monitor setup, no problems.
It is only MS Windows that has problems with dual screens. So, you are not really being honest when you say you'll buy the "...OS/driver combinination that actually supports..." because they have existed for years, and you haven't bought it.
As for the ability to run Windows apps natively, the existence of Parallels and VMWare seem to imply otherwise. Neither of them are emulation, just virtualization, so it would seem to me that they offer native execution of Windows Apps.
You are right about the virtualization, however that only means that the hardware is virtualized. It doesn't offer native execution of windows apps only, but of the whole operating system. Therefore, you also need an operating system license from Microsoft, which doesn't really help you much.
In addition, those same small businesses don't have much IT staff or budget for licenses and "upgrades". The "cloud computing" paradigm saves their bacon in a lot of ways, and is "good enough" for most common office tasks.
Microsoft has never been customer focused. They only respond to, never lead, market trends.
Windows for Workgroups is a response to the Macintosh (another copy) of the Macintosh's built-in networking (appleshare). It was very easy to throw together a "workgroup" of Macs back then using cheap phone (cat 3) wiring. That was a niche MS was losing to, and they responded by copying it, as they always do.
Visual Basic grew out of BASIC, MS's very first actual product. Bill Gate's loves BASIC, and they stuck with it. But computer languages evolved and became better, but as usual MS hindered the adoption of better things.
Windows 3 is the biggest kludge in history. They only reason they could sell it is because "the masses" lack the technical knowledge to understand that, and MS exploits that naivete to the fullest. They also have their non-competive OEM deals. It's an unprotected, highly unstable system. Do customers really want that? I sure didn't, but there wasn't much choice...
Windows 95 was just more "evolution" of DOS/Windows, just enough to get more upgrade fees. It was also the only system that could do gaming at the time, since it really didn't have any operating system protections. That appealed to the mass market better. But it's hardly an enterprise OS. Why would anyone want that mess in their business? I sure didn't, but there wasn't much choice...
The interesting thing here is that Microsoft is not just fighting Google. Google is marshaling the whole world in a way that will make Microsoft irrelevant. That's what gives them nightmares. It's got them scared enough to even consider a worthless deal that can never work out. It is an act of desperation.
I agree that good reporting from a professional is worthwhile. But the rules have changed (a little). Newspapers have almost always been funded by their advertisers. Web sites can also be funded by advertisers. All you need is something to draw "eyeballs"... Well, the web is great leveler. You can make your own online newspaper without much startup cost. So, if you produce good reporting that people want to read, put up your own "webzine", but some (tasteful) ads on it, and you're in business. On the other hand, there's a lot of competition...
Yes! I believe the scammer that did this same thing to me was from GoDaddy as well (this was a year ago already, so I don't quite remember all the details).
I can vouch for this kind of thing. I registered a name in several TLDs, but when I went to get the.com one, it has mysteriously been registered just minutes before. Later, I get some spam asking me if I want to buy it.
This really pisses me off. The registrars really need to curb this kind of scamming.
Patents mean that someone can invent something with some assurances that they will actually benefit from their labors. It provides an incentive to invent, and invention drives economies, and creates jobs for you and me.
My reference to China has nothing to do with communism (well, a little), but the fact that they are much poorer than the west (esp. the US), and what they do "sell" is just cheap copies and bootleg stuff of things created in the west. They don't invent things themselves because there is no incentive for anyone to do so. There is no incentive because, here's the point, patents and copyrights are not enforced there.
I'm not sure what you mean by "roots" and "higher". I don't need to learn BASIC to understand the roots of, say, C++. I don't see how learning a modern derivative of Logo (which, along with BASIC, was a common teaching language in the 1980s) is any less conducive to learning the roots of other languages than learning BASIC.
I believe the main point of those math textbooks is to teach the algorithm, not any particular programming language or style. Even Knuth still uses his own MIX assembly language for that, because he wants to convey the algorithm. Please don't lose the main point in any "language war".
BASIC with line numbers is still pretty good for "snippets" of algorithm that you can just copy and paste into an interpreter and it will run. You can't do that with most modern languages because the have some "overhead" cruft you must have just to begin to run. Python is a good choice for its clean syntax, but alas the "copy and paste" may cause problems due to its strict indenting requirement. Perl is... well, perl. Don't even bother. Sheme might be a good choice, but it isn't "natural" for most people. Logo was made for teaching, but I don't think it's so good for methematical algorithms. Pascal might also work well for that. But, try finding a Pascal that will run on your modern PC.
While it can't really be argued that global warming is not happening, or that human activity is the cause of it, the question is then: what now? Not everyone believes that global warming is a bad thing, overall. But if you think so, the cure to global warming is really simple, in principle: stop consuming so much. It is industry, after all, that contributes much of the greenhouse gasses. However, how many in this crowd can stop buying and using technology items? And, if you did so, what would happen to the economy? It would likely collapse. Now consider that, as it is often said elsewhere, that poverty is actually the greatest destroyer of environment, and consider the entire worlds population living in that condition. Which is worse? Frankly, I think the evidence is strong that global warming is happening, and that human industrial activity and modern lifestyles contribute to it. But what is the alternative? If the US Government spent a billion dollars to "do something", would it really help? Would it even have dent on global production? Six billion people are bound to have an impact, no matter what you do, and no matter how much taxpayer money you want spend on it. Perhaps we will just have to learn to live with and adapt to it. After all, change is a normal part of the universe and we are part of it.
But then if there ever came a time when the government needed the land again it would be very difficult to reclaim it. Better would just be to lease it out, keeping the option to boot the tenents out if the national interests of the future require it. It seems that is exactly what they are doing with Google.
My comment has little to do with having a degree or not. Regular expressions ARE part of basic computer science theory. They define pattern matching machines, and the term is found in Sedgewick's classic "Algorithms in C". If a MSCS has no knowledge of REs then I can't understand how they got that degree.
I think it would be a bit hard to do a Google search when you are lost in the forest.;-) Still, it is always good to be prepared and study these things beforehand.
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There's not enough room on the Earth to fit everyone if nobody dies. All things must end, and room and resources left to the next generation. I don't want to live forever.
Just because someone had been in the military doesn't mean they thrived in it. Therefore...
Why wait? Do it anyway.
Dude, I've been running strictly Linux and other open source, at home and at work, for over a decade. More like 15 years now. Now it's even company supported. :-)
The vast majority of input to a computer system is in the form of text, usually typed. Whether to produce documents, write an email, send a text message, or whatever it's almost exclusively written language that is being used. Once you learn to type, you can transfer information (or opinion) from your brain to the world much faster using a keyboard. Touchscreens can't touch that. ;-) It call comes down to productivity and easy of use. There is still no better way to input text than a keyboard.
Touch screens are only useful to manipulate aggregate information that has already been produced, or manipulate visually oriented models. They can't really replace a keyboard.
My Macbok Pro with OSX switches automatically into multi-screen mode and back, when you plug and unplug an external monitor. Works great. I've used Macs since the 80's with dual screens. I use Linux at work now with a dual monitor setup, no problems.
It is only MS Windows that has problems with dual screens. So, you are not really being honest when you say you'll buy the "...OS/driver combinination that actually supports..." because they have existed for years, and you haven't bought it.
I was wishing MS would create a truly new, binary incompatible OS since 15 years ago. But now, it doesn't matter to me. ;-)
The sad thing is, millions of people will actually do this.
You are right about the virtualization, however that only means that the hardware is virtualized. It doesn't offer native execution of windows apps only, but of the whole operating system. Therefore, you also need an operating system license from Microsoft, which doesn't really help you much.
In addition, those same small businesses don't have much IT staff or budget for licenses and "upgrades". The "cloud computing" paradigm saves their bacon in a lot of ways, and is "good enough" for most common office tasks.
Microsoft has never been customer focused. They only respond to, never lead, market trends.
Windows for Workgroups is a response to the Macintosh (another copy) of the Macintosh's built-in networking (appleshare). It was very easy to throw together a "workgroup" of Macs back then using cheap phone (cat 3) wiring. That was a niche MS was losing to, and they responded by copying it, as they always do.
Visual Basic grew out of BASIC, MS's very first actual product. Bill Gate's loves BASIC, and they stuck with it. But computer languages evolved and became better, but as usual MS hindered the adoption of better things.
Windows 3 is the biggest kludge in history. They only reason they could sell it is because "the masses" lack the technical knowledge to understand that, and MS exploits that naivete to the fullest. They also have their non-competive OEM deals. It's an unprotected, highly unstable system. Do customers really want that? I sure didn't, but there wasn't much choice...
Windows 95 was just more "evolution" of DOS/Windows, just enough to get more upgrade fees. It was also the only system that could do gaming at the time, since it really didn't have any operating system protections. That appealed to the mass market better. But it's hardly an enterprise OS. Why would anyone want that mess in their business? I sure didn't, but there wasn't much choice...
Google doesn't have to do this themselves. See: http://www.thinkgos.com/ and http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9989 .
The interesting thing here is that Microsoft is not just fighting Google. Google is marshaling the whole world in a way that will make Microsoft irrelevant. That's what gives them nightmares. It's got them scared enough to even consider a worthless deal that can never work out. It is an act of desperation.
I agree that good reporting from a professional is worthwhile. But the rules have changed (a little). Newspapers have almost always been funded by their advertisers. Web sites can also be funded by advertisers. All you need is something to draw "eyeballs"... Well, the web is great leveler. You can make your own online newspaper without much startup cost. So, if you produce good reporting that people want to read, put up your own "webzine", but some (tasteful) ads on it, and you're in business. On the other hand, there's a lot of competition...
Yes! I believe the scammer that did this same thing to me was from GoDaddy as well (this was a year ago already, so I don't quite remember all the details).
I can vouch for this kind of thing. I registered a name in several TLDs, but when I went to get the .com one, it has mysteriously been registered just minutes before. Later, I get some spam asking me if I want to buy it.
This really pisses me off. The registrars really need to curb this kind of scamming.
It's not just you. There is at least one other.
Patents mean that someone can invent something with some assurances that they will actually benefit from their labors. It provides an incentive to invent, and invention drives economies, and creates jobs for you and me.
My reference to China has nothing to do with communism (well, a little), but the fact that they are much poorer than the west (esp. the US), and what they do "sell" is just cheap copies and bootleg stuff of things created in the west. They don't invent things themselves because there is no incentive for anyone to do so. There is no incentive because, here's the point, patents and copyrights are not enforced there.
If it were not for a patent system we would all be very much poorer right now. We would be more like they are in China right now...
The Octave interpreter actually looks most ideal for this. :-)
Ah, that's very cool. However, it's a compiler. To do the kinds of demonstrations the textbooks provide work best with an interpreter.
I believe the main point of those math textbooks is to teach the algorithm, not any particular programming language or style. Even Knuth still uses his own MIX assembly language for that, because he wants to convey the algorithm. Please don't lose the main point in any "language war".
BASIC with line numbers is still pretty good for "snippets" of algorithm that you can just copy and paste into an interpreter and it will run. You can't do that with most modern languages because the have some "overhead" cruft you must have just to begin to run. Python is a good choice for its clean syntax, but alas the "copy and paste" may cause problems due to its strict indenting requirement. Perl is... well, perl. Don't even bother. Sheme might be a good choice, but it isn't "natural" for most people. Logo was made for teaching, but I don't think it's so good for methematical algorithms. Pascal might also work well for that. But, try finding a Pascal that will run on your modern PC.
So, what's left?
While it can't really be argued that global warming is not happening, or that human activity is the cause of it, the question is then: what now? Not everyone believes that global warming is a bad thing, overall. But if you think so, the cure to global warming is really simple, in principle: stop consuming so much. It is industry, after all, that contributes much of the greenhouse gasses. However, how many in this crowd can stop buying and using technology items? And, if you did so, what would happen to the economy? It would likely collapse. Now consider that, as it is often said elsewhere, that poverty is actually the greatest destroyer of environment, and consider the entire worlds population living in that condition. Which is worse? Frankly, I think the evidence is strong that global warming is happening, and that human industrial activity and modern lifestyles contribute to it. But what is the alternative? If the US Government spent a billion dollars to "do something", would it really help? Would it even have dent on global production? Six billion people are bound to have an impact, no matter what you do, and no matter how much taxpayer money you want spend on it. Perhaps we will just have to learn to live with and adapt to it. After all, change is a normal part of the universe and we are part of it.
But then if there ever came a time when the government needed the land again it would be very difficult to reclaim it. Better would just be to lease it out, keeping the option to boot the tenents out if the national interests of the future require it. It seems that is exactly what they are doing with Google.
My comment has little to do with having a degree or not. Regular expressions ARE part of basic computer science theory. They define pattern matching machines, and the term is found in Sedgewick's classic "Algorithms in C". If a MSCS has no knowledge of REs then I can't understand how they got that degree.
I think it would be a bit hard to do a Google search when you are lost in the forest. ;-) Still, it is always good to be prepared and study these things beforehand.