Code exists as a way for humans to talk with the computer in a way in which the computer understands what actions to take in what circumstances. Each generation away makes code easier for humans to read and use and (generally) more expensive and specific to implement. Adding a visual layer on top of this is another expense.
It has been done. It will be done again. Most likely very specifically and probably quite badly. A lot of programs can be introduced when putting another layer between the programmer and the machine. webMethods is a good example of what not to do. CA Workflow is another.
Coding with a 2GL or 3GL or 4GL directly in text is currently the most efficient method for achieving the desired results. Existing systems do the job well enough. New systems are expensive.
In many cases it is a 'build it and they will come'. Quite a few attempts have been made to make GUI programming language interfaces; in particular for workflow applications. It gets messy quite quickly. Take a program which has 900 lines of actual code (disregard comments, headings, etc, just the raw code). Translate that into a diagram and then try to debug it. Print out out? On what? an A0 printer?
Visualise a program with 100 calls in the main. How would this be represented on the screen? Would each call open up in its own screen? Would you spend your time scrolling around looking for bits and pieces?
If you want a practical idea of why it is not feasible then have a look at some of the existing examples of visual front end for code generation.
I have used a CASE tool to create a system for a project. The first month was not too bad. After a while traversing through the screens can really get to you. I found that many people had printed copies of what the program had so they did not lose track of where they were. Humans can only hold so much in their mind at any one time. At the end of the project the system would not 'balance' and finding the 'bugs' was an absolute nightmare, one which involved using the existing solution as a basis and redoing the whole thing from scratch from the bottom up. If this happened in the corporate world the tool would be out the window very shortly.
As another example, I have used a Workflow tool which had a graphical interface to define the rules for the workflow engine. Great. Except when it didn't work. Or did something in the output which did not match the graphical interface. Or where it just plain did not match up. In the end I ran SQL queries on the database to the rules table to write the rules I needed.
Another example of using a graphical method for programming instead of text is Atlassian who removed wiki markup from their flagship product Confluence. This resulted in a huge backlash in the corporate wiki arena with many still bitter over the loss of the ability to write code in text. Atlassian have since somewhat recanted and users can now enter code as xml markup. It is a good case showing that the flexibility of code can not be easily replaced by a gui.
yet think twice before spending $1.99 or some app.
What is stopping me is that I will not hand over my credit card information beyond the basic details needed for the purchase, my home address or other personal information to buy a $1.99 app.
It is a serious roadblock for the app market that paying for apps is a hurdle many users just do not want to jump.
In relation, I do not want to give Google my credit card details, personal details, home address, etc. Perhaps if everyone switched to paypal or bitcoin...
Time to support the open router project! If we want to change the world we will need to rebuilt the internet from the ground up.. starting with the devices in our homes.
A trustworthy, open-source software & hardware router
ORP1 is a high performance networking router that allows you to run a firewall, IPSec VPN (virtual private network), and a TOR server for your home network. Its easy-to-use web interface will make encrypted and anonymised communications for your entire network easier to set up and manage. Now you don’t need to be a geek to be able to ensure that every device you use at home uses the internet with privacy, whether it’s your home PC, smartphone or tablet.
Some banks issue a key fob for which generates a 6 digit number when the button is pressed. To logon to the bank's website you need your username, your password and a six digit number. This provides two factor identification - that which you know (username and password) and that which you have (keyfob to generate the one time password).
This system works very well. You can't logon to the bank's internet banking website without both whatyouknow and whatyouhave and once you are logged in you can not use major functions without generating a key using the fob which prevents someone taking over the session. This security provides solid protection from most types of automated and associated attacks including some MITM. I was very impressed with this system and heartily endorse it.
Other banks have two factor authentication using SMS or other side channels. Another bank I have an account with uses SMS as a side channel to confirm that the user at the computer is the user who owns the phone registered with the bank. This is similar to the key fob in that you need to be able to receive the SMS to make changes to the account using the bank's internet banking website or major functions like large money transfers or adding a new account to transfer money to. Again, this works quite well.
In both cases this is not about perfect security it is about increasing the cost and effort involved for an attacker to compromise the system.
I will never willingly give my fingerprints or any other biometric data. Yes, I know, someone could go all CSI on me and take my prints off of my glass when I put it down at the pub.
This idea of biometric identification needs to be shot down and buried. Perhaps in a future time we will have the infrastructure to support this and it may well be feasible but for now we have two factors systems which are in the field and work well.
Oh come on Think of the PORN millions of xboxes could produce... for free!
We'll have a whole new category for porn now and you too can access is for $10 a month on xboxkinection.com
For a reasonable fee of $50 per year AND $5 per message Micro-One-Dating will also put you in touch with single attractive dating prospects! Ignore the SQUICK we cut to the QUICK! Why stalk the girl of your dreams and get arrested peeping through her window when we can provide you with high resolution full colour video - and NOW we feature On Demand for just a little extra $$!
Join the ratemyxboxoneperformance.com site as we now are accepting public submissions in addition to those provided by the professional critics at MicroSoft headquarters!
That certainly worked in my case. I loved Diablo and Diablo 2. I would most certainly buy Diablo 3. However, I can't. The always on DRM is a step too far for me. So, I did not purchase Diablo 3. I will never buy it. Their scheme has worked perfectly in my case. No piracy here folks. No game sale either. Oh well.
Okay, don't coke machines have sensors to determine how full they are, and they can phone home to alert a technician that the machine needs to be emptied of money and refilled?
In this case, knowing the precise location of a machine could be very useful.
So can we expect to see a granular permissive permission system where if an Application asks for Full Internet Access the user has option to install and use the Application and disallow access to the Internet?
For clarification, by 'many people' I mean that I have spoken to quote a few people around the place and heard of other people's opinions about this in these discussions and overall the opinion is that yes, they can do it, and yes, you can go elsewhere.
Most just blame the government for changing the law allowing it. People seem to understand that the bigger stores which don't charge the extra for using credit mop it up in higher prices, but don't care. Probably because they don't see it, therefor don't think about it.
When this actually happens to you, come back and let us know if that actually happens. When you shop at Aldi stores here the machine throws a message saying that there will be a surcharge for credit card use (there is also a sign, and the clerk tends to tell you if they notice you pull out a credit card) and you have to click OK to continue. It gives you a chance to pay by another option, or leave.
In other stores they tend to tell you up front if they haven't said before.
I've never seen anyone just walk out. Not for ~50 cents.
However, many people don't go back. I avoid large purchases at places which have these types of fees, or make sure I have cash.
I refuse to buy PC games or programs that use online activation
I saw Angry Birds PC game yesterday while wandering around the local shops. I would have loved to have this game a couple of years ago when Angry Birds was all the rage. Today I'll buy it if it is cheap. It was cheap. I didn't buy it. On the back it clearly states that internet activation is required.
Shame. I really would like to play Angry Birds on the PC. Spent hours, no days, no weeks, playing it on my phone. Oh well.
1) The marketing people generally will have a 'final say' as they are 'closest to the customer'. Depends. All it takes is for any person who is deemed to be higher in the food chain to trump those lower down and chaos can ensue.
People like marketing generally don't get on the ground floor because there is nothing to see. No product. Nothing to toss around, perhaps there might be mock ups or diagrams.
What *should* happen is that the UI should be mocked up and flagged with any group with an interest. Problem there is that sometimes the UI doesn't exist until the software is half written because the functional requirements determine what is on the UI and the functional requirements were not completed until the coding was 1/4 done.
Google why the Waterfall Model is no longer in use outside big business. You need the whole spec up front, business spec, tech spec, functional spec, you get the idea. This costs MONEY. It is expensive to do and expensive to change. In the real world you need code up running and out the door as fast as possible.
I lost count of how much code I've seen in Production with no specs at all.
2) Mostly because there is nothing to see Unless you are designing the next Photoshop, the UI is not the first thing to be designed, and can change. Also, these people tend to be visual and don't always respond without images or a good specification in front of them.
Now imaging this and comment on it... oh no, it's not build yet, and there is no prototype.. just imagine it.
As it happens, I've seen a board put together to stop this sort of problem from happening. What happens then is that programmers, business people, project managers, test managers and anyone else with a stake on getting this code into production yesterday complains about the extra layer of red tape needed to release code.
Sigh.
See also: Money
Lack of organisation, lack of coordination, lack of methodology, not adhering to the agreed methodology, bad management, good management, bad programmers, good programmers, coding in the real world can be "very interesting" in the manner of 'may you live in interesting times'.
I've ranted it before.. so won't go again.. but.. all I want is to but something once, be able to download it whenever I need to, and be able to play it whenever I want to.
One day it will be like that. Quite possibly first in the illegal realm, then later in the legal realm. Until then we just have to do what we can with what we have where we are.
$1000 Cdn? Geez. And I thought excess data charges were terrible
Do check out her 'misogynist' speech. I've never seen a politician go so low.. just when you thought that Pauline Hanson had set the bar low she manages to dig a little deeper. Which is such a pity as Gillard had the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that a female can lead this country just as well as any man but has ended up only in proving that anyone can get to the top of the public service using the same method upon which the rest of the public service is infamous for.
There are comments around slashdot that Assange won't really have much effect on Gillard. It's that 'much' which is the kicker. Have fun reading. Be thankful you're not in the middle of it:P
I'd say that at some point the Greens will be forced to make a decision - for him or against him. Now that the Slipper case is settled and he isn't getting his job back you'd think things were brightening up for the ALP.
I'll wait and see if the Libs or Greens throw the 'Assange' stone at Labour. Meanwhile, will be very amusing and interesting if 1) his party gets the 500 members required and 2) he gets in
Grab some popcorn, sit back and watch the fireworks. 2013 politics may very well be more interesting than the sport.
The short version then. Australian politics is currently divided between ALP (Labour party) and The Coalition (Liberals, Democrats) with a third party, the Greens, in the middle. Scatter in some independents and other minor parties.
The next election is going to be a decision between ALP / Gillard, who is seen by many to be a back stabbing liar (google it if you are interested - especially on the Carbon Tax and deposing of Kevin Rudd) and Liberals (coalition) / Tony Abbot who tends to rub people the wrong way. The Greens put their foot in it when they refused to take action on the boat people problem and are now in bad odour.
So, yes, there is opportunity here. Gillard has publicly embarrassed herself in regards to Wikileaks and Assange and Abbot or the Greens could well score some political points out of this.
While it is true that "Enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy, no more, no less" Gillards opponents could well use the situation with Assange to make yet another dent in Gillard's credibility - something she is running out of.
Unless something changes, the Libs, and perhaps the greens, are going to tear Gillard to ribbons for all of the things done and not done in the last term, starting with te backstab of Rudd. Every stone in the arsenal helps.
Okay, correct me if I am wrong here, but from what I understand Assange doesn't want to enter Sweden because the next step, regardless of the outcome in Sweden, is extradition to the US.
So, yes, he is fleeing the US courts and I don't blame him.
It's free, replaces the windows default copy/paste, allows you to retry copying anything which failed to copy the first time (useful when a virus scanner product blocks a single file copy in the middle of 5000 files being copied), and Just Works.
How else do you copy thousands of files, or very large files, on Windows?
I used to wonder why Microsoft doesn't just buy them out and incorporate their product. Now I no longer care.
Perhaps someone who knows can advise if Windows 8 finally can copy files in a decent manner.
.. and I am sure he will sell Mars for Billions, or Trillions if he can find a serious buyer, once it is all set up and running.. just like Virgin Mobile..
Slashdot Mirror
A Bitcoin is worth its weight in gold.
The answer to your question is: money
Code exists as a way for humans to talk with the computer in a way in which the computer understands what actions to take in what circumstances. Each generation away makes code easier for humans to read and use and (generally) more expensive and specific to implement. Adding a visual layer on top of this is another expense.
It has been done. It will be done again. Most likely very specifically and probably quite badly. A lot of programs can be introduced when putting another layer between the programmer and the machine. webMethods is a good example of what not to do. CA Workflow is another.
Coding with a 2GL or 3GL or 4GL directly in text is currently the most efficient method for achieving the desired results. Existing systems do the job well enough. New systems are expensive.
In many cases it is a 'build it and they will come'. Quite a few attempts have been made to make GUI programming language interfaces; in particular for workflow applications. It gets messy quite quickly. Take a program which has 900 lines of actual code (disregard comments, headings, etc, just the raw code). Translate that into a diagram and then try to debug it. Print out out? On what? an A0 printer?
Visualise a program with 100 calls in the main. How would this be represented on the screen? Would each call open up in its own screen? Would you spend your time scrolling around looking for bits and pieces?
Have a read of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
If you want a practical idea of why it is not feasible then have a look at some of the existing examples of visual front end for code generation.
I have used a CASE tool to create a system for a project. The first month was not too bad. After a while traversing through the screens can really get to you. I found that many people had printed copies of what the program had so they did not lose track of where they were. Humans can only hold so much in their mind at any one time. At the end of the project the system would not 'balance' and finding the 'bugs' was an absolute nightmare, one which involved using the existing solution as a basis and redoing the whole thing from scratch from the bottom up. If this happened in the corporate world the tool would be out the window very shortly.
As another example, I have used a Workflow tool which had a graphical interface to define the rules for the workflow engine. Great. Except when it didn't work. Or did something in the output which did not match the graphical interface. Or where it just plain did not match up. In the end I ran SQL queries on the database to the rules table to write the rules I needed.
Another example of using a graphical method for programming instead of text is Atlassian who removed wiki markup from their flagship product Confluence. This resulted in a huge backlash in the corporate wiki arena with many still bitter over the loss of the ability to write code in text. Atlassian have since somewhat recanted and users can now enter code as xml markup. It is a good case showing that the flexibility of code can not be easily replaced by a gui.
What is stopping me is that I will not hand over my credit card information beyond the basic details needed for the purchase, my home address or other personal information to buy a $1.99 app.
It is a serious roadblock for the app market that paying for apps is a hurdle many users just do not want to jump.
In relation, I do not want to give Google my credit card details, personal details, home address, etc. Perhaps if everyone switched to paypal or bitcoin...
Time to support the open router project! If we want to change the world we will need to rebuilt the internet from the ground up.. starting with the devices in our homes.
http://orp1.com/
A trustworthy, open-source software & hardware router
ORP1 is a high performance networking router that allows you to run a firewall, IPSec VPN (virtual private network), and a TOR server for your home network. Its easy-to-use web interface will make encrypted and anonymised communications for your entire network easier to set up and manage. Now you don’t need to be a geek to be able to ensure that every device you use at home uses the internet with privacy, whether it’s your home PC, smartphone or tablet.
Some banks issue a key fob for which generates a 6 digit number when the button is pressed. To logon to the bank's website you need your username, your password and a six digit number. This provides two factor identification - that which you know (username and password) and that which you have (keyfob to generate the one time password).
This system works very well. You can't logon to the bank's internet banking website without both whatyouknow and whatyouhave and once you are logged in you can not use major functions without generating a key using the fob which prevents someone taking over the session. This security provides solid protection from most types of automated and associated attacks including some MITM. I was very impressed with this system and heartily endorse it.
Other banks have two factor authentication using SMS or other side channels. Another bank I have an account with uses SMS as a side channel to confirm that the user at the computer is the user who owns the phone registered with the bank. This is similar to the key fob in that you need to be able to receive the SMS to make changes to the account using the bank's internet banking website or major functions like large money transfers or adding a new account to transfer money to. Again, this works quite well.
In both cases this is not about perfect security it is about increasing the cost and effort involved for an attacker to compromise the system.
I will never willingly give my fingerprints or any other biometric data. Yes, I know, someone could go all CSI on me and take my prints off of my glass when I put it down at the pub.
This idea of biometric identification needs to be shot down and buried. Perhaps in a future time we will have the infrastructure to support this and it may well be feasible but for now we have two factors systems which are in the field and work well.
Oh come on
Think of the PORN millions of xboxes could produce... for free!
We'll have a whole new category for porn now and you too can access is for $10 a month on xboxkinection.com
For a reasonable fee of $50 per year AND $5 per message Micro-One-Dating will also put you in touch with single attractive dating prospects!
Ignore the SQUICK we cut to the QUICK! Why stalk the girl of your dreams and get arrested peeping through her window when we can provide you with high resolution full colour video - and NOW we feature On Demand for just a little extra $$!
Join the ratemyxboxoneperformance.com site as we now are accepting public submissions in addition to those provided by the professional critics at MicroSoft headquarters!
Hey, don't knock the Street Fighter knockoffs.. I loved World Heroes
That certainly worked in my case. I loved Diablo and Diablo 2. I would most certainly buy Diablo 3. However, I can't. The always on DRM is a step too far for me. So, I did not purchase Diablo 3. I will never buy it. Their scheme has worked perfectly in my case. No piracy here folks. No game sale either. Oh well.
Okay, don't coke machines have sensors to determine how full they are, and they can phone home to alert a technician that the machine needs to be emptied of money and refilled?
In this case, knowing the precise location of a machine could be very useful.
Also quite useful if someone moves the machine.
So can we expect to see a granular permissive permission system where if an Application asks for Full Internet Access the user has option to install and use the Application and disallow access to the Internet?
For clarification, by 'many people' I mean that I have spoken to quote a few people around the place and heard of other people's opinions about this in these discussions and overall the opinion is that yes, they can do it, and yes, you can go elsewhere.
Most just blame the government for changing the law allowing it. People seem to understand that the bigger stores which don't charge the extra for using credit mop it up in higher prices, but don't care. Probably because they don't see it, therefor don't think about it.
When this actually happens to you, come back and let us know if that actually happens. When you shop at Aldi stores here the machine throws a message saying that there will be a surcharge for credit card use (there is also a sign, and the clerk tends to tell you if they notice you pull out a credit card) and you have to click OK to continue. It gives you a chance to pay by another option, or leave.
In other stores they tend to tell you up front if they haven't said before.
I've never seen anyone just walk out. Not for ~50 cents.
However, many people don't go back. I avoid large purchases at places which have these types of fees, or make sure I have cash.
I saw Angry Birds PC game yesterday while wandering around the local shops. I would have loved to have this game a couple of years ago when Angry Birds was all the rage. Today I'll buy it if it is cheap. It was cheap. I didn't buy it. On the back it clearly states that internet activation is required.
Shame. I really would like to play Angry Birds on the PC. Spent hours, no days, no weeks, playing it on my phone. Oh well.
This year I went online, found things the people who live in other states will probably like, and put their name in the shipping information.
One has worked out quite well, except that she didn't exactly know it was from me. Email fixed that.
Still waiting to see if the others got their parcels..
You ask good questions. Here is the answer: Money
Most likely you'd like a longer answer.
1) The marketing people generally will have a 'final say' as they are 'closest to the customer'. Depends. All it takes is for any person who is deemed to be higher in the food chain to trump those lower down and chaos can ensue.
People like marketing generally don't get on the ground floor because there is nothing to see. No product. Nothing to toss around, perhaps there might be mock ups or diagrams.
What *should* happen is that the UI should be mocked up and flagged with any group with an interest. Problem there is that sometimes the UI doesn't exist until the software is half written because the functional requirements determine what is on the UI and the functional requirements were not completed until the coding was 1/4 done.
Google why the Waterfall Model is no longer in use outside big business. You need the whole spec up front, business spec, tech spec, functional spec, you get the idea. This costs MONEY. It is expensive to do and expensive to change. In the real world you need code up running and out the door as fast as possible.
I lost count of how much code I've seen in Production with no specs at all.
2) Mostly because there is nothing to see
Unless you are designing the next Photoshop, the UI is not the first thing to be designed, and can change. Also, these people tend to be visual and don't always respond without images or a good specification in front of them.
Now imaging this and comment on it... oh no, it's not build yet, and there is no prototype.. just imagine it.
As it happens, I've seen a board put together to stop this sort of problem from happening. What happens then is that programmers, business people, project managers, test managers and anyone else with a stake on getting this code into production yesterday complains about the extra layer of red tape needed to release code.
Sigh.
See also: Money
Lack of organisation, lack of coordination, lack of methodology, not adhering to the agreed methodology, bad management, good management, bad programmers, good programmers, coding in the real world can be "very interesting" in the manner of 'may you live in interesting times'.
I've ranted it before.. so won't go again.. but.. all I want is to but something once, be able to download it whenever I need to, and be able to play it whenever I want to.
One day it will be like that. Quite possibly first in the illegal realm, then later in the legal realm. Until then we just have to do what we can with what we have where we are.
$1000 Cdn? Geez. And I thought excess data charges were terrible
Americans have a similar situation.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones
If you know nothing of Gillard and what she has done there is some hilarious reading in store. Backstabbing, scandals, lies, There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead.
Do check out her 'misogynist' speech. I've never seen a politician go so low.. just when you thought that Pauline Hanson had set the bar low she manages to dig a little deeper. Which is such a pity as Gillard had the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that a female can lead this country just as well as any man but has ended up only in proving that anyone can get to the top of the public service using the same method upon which the rest of the public service is infamous for.
Here's a recent one: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-may-be-forced-to-pull-the-teaparty-tony-lever/
There are comments around slashdot that Assange won't really have much effect on Gillard. It's that 'much' which is the kicker. Have fun reading. Be thankful you're not in the middle of it :P
Ack. My bad, thanks for pointing it out.
Actually, I just lump them all together into the Liberals and everyone else 'not Labour, not greens, not independent' :P
So, yes, not a slip a mind but more of care factor of zero :-)
Thank you, no I'd completely forgotten about Turnbull. Like the idea of the bargaining chip. As it is Gillard appears to be losing ground - http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-may-be-forced-to-pull-the-teaparty-tony-lever/
I'd say that at some point the Greens will be forced to make a decision - for him or against him. Now that the Slipper case is settled and he isn't getting his job back you'd think things were brightening up for the ALP.
I'll wait and see if the Libs or Greens throw the 'Assange' stone at Labour. Meanwhile, will be very amusing and interesting if 1) his party gets the 500 members required and 2) he gets in
Grab some popcorn, sit back and watch the fireworks. 2013 politics may very well be more interesting than the sport.
The short version then.
Australian politics is currently divided between ALP (Labour party) and The Coalition (Liberals, Democrats) with a third party, the Greens, in the middle. Scatter in some independents and other minor parties.
The next election is going to be a decision between ALP / Gillard, who is seen by many to be a back stabbing liar (google it if you are interested - especially on the Carbon Tax and deposing of Kevin Rudd) and Liberals (coalition) / Tony Abbot who tends to rub people the wrong way. The Greens put their foot in it when they refused to take action on the boat people problem and are now in bad odour.
So, yes, there is opportunity here. Gillard has publicly embarrassed herself in regards to Wikileaks and Assange and Abbot or the Greens could well score some political points out of this.
While it is true that "Enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy, no more, no less" Gillards opponents could well use the situation with Assange to make yet another dent in Gillard's credibility - something she is running out of.
Unless something changes, the Libs, and perhaps the greens, are going to tear Gillard to ribbons for all of the things done and not done in the last term, starting with te backstab of Rudd. Every stone in the arsenal helps.
Okay, correct me if I am wrong here, but from what I understand Assange doesn't want to enter Sweden because the next step, regardless of the outcome in Sweden, is extradition to the US.
So, yes, he is fleeing the US courts and I don't blame him.
It really doesn't help your case when the leader of your own country has named your actions as criminal before your day in court. However, if that does happen you can always sue for defamation.
Assange's best bet right now is for Gillard to be dumped by the ALP or voted out in 2013.
.. you just need Teracopy
http://www.teracopy.com/
It's free, replaces the windows default copy/paste, allows you to retry copying anything which failed to copy the first time (useful when a virus scanner product blocks a single file copy in the middle of 5000 files being copied), and Just Works.
How else do you copy thousands of files, or very large files, on Windows?
I used to wonder why Microsoft doesn't just buy them out and incorporate their product. Now I no longer care.
Perhaps someone who knows can advise if Windows 8 finally can copy files in a decent manner.
.. and I am sure he will sell Mars for Billions, or Trillions if he can find a serious buyer, once it is all set up and running.. just like Virgin Mobile..