Not that it was originally my point, but I'd say Hawaii, as long as we kept it as a territory for military operations. Just don't like the thought that we can't drive to them...
Anyway, back on topic, the state example was just that, an example. Another one I remember hearing was "You've been hired to redecorate Bill Gates' Bathroom. Of course, money is no object, but you can't talk to Bill himself. How would you decorate it?" Of course, the best/correct answer being "Ask his wife"
While you are seriously considering the two positions, consider this: working 40 hours a week in a cubicle, doing a boring job where today is the same as yesterday (think Office Space) because you didn't want to remove a state from the Union.
I hate to be mean here, but think seriously for a minute: Micro$oft, Norton, Bell Labs, etc. have all said that they use questions like this. Not because they want to see your team effort (as earlier suggested) but because they want to see your LOGIC skills (and isn't that what this is all about?)
/. is the "Check and Balance" against the RIAA doing anything, ever. RIAA sues someone else, it's on here. RIAA logs onto the internet, it's on here. RIAA takes a shit (usually on us!), it's on here! I can say that I'm quite well informed now on the RIAA, and knew nothing before I started reading/.
Actually, I don't think it would be that hard to build in auto battery detection. Have a meter on the side that shows the batteries charges. If the charge falls below a certain point (signalling failing batteries), set off an alarm (the same or a different one...) to signal that batteries need to be changed soon. They have a detection system like this in many digital battery devices: portable CD players (even cheap ones), handhelds, etc. etc. What do you think?
I think a really good idea would be a breathing monitor. Assuming she has control of her breathing (which it is possible she doesn't), she could speed her breath up rapidly to set it off, or hold her breath to set it off, or something like that.
Good luck! I hope your friend finds something to help!
Why has noone mentioned building/upgrading Mac systems? If Mac's are so much better, why can't I buy parts from multiple vendors? Why do I have to use parts only from Apple? Unfortunately, there was a time that this was supposed to be possible: Jobs was approached with an offer from Intel to start producing parts for the Mac: He turned them down, deciding that people could only use his parts. How's that for a monopoly?
I'd also like to mention something people always seem to forget: Bill Gates stole the windows idea from Apple, but Apple stole the idea from Xerox, who had developed a fully functioning GUI back in the 70's.
I knew there was a reason I was using OS/2 Warp.:)
Although I agree with your argument to a point, I can't let some of those statements by without comment.
You say that anyone willing to try something different than what the masses use... is smarter. However, this is not always true either. Non windows users typically fall into one of the following categories: 1. People who know nothing about computers, but don't want to do the "in" thing. By your argument, these people are smarter, but they aren't making an informed decision, they are making a prejudiced decision. 2. People whose business use non-windows, and who want their home computer to be the same as their work computer for ease. Again, biased decision. 3. People whose parents/friends used non-windows and who didn't want to be the different one. Now they are still doing the "in" thing, just on a different set of people. 4. People who actually know enough about computers to see how windows is flawed. These people, however, don't generally use mac, they use Linux, or soem other alternative.
I hope that I explained it in a way that it made sense to anyone who isn't in my sleep deprived brain! As you can see, most Macintosh users (that I have met) don't use them because they are smarter, they use them because they don't know any better.
Before I get any comments about being anti-mac, let me just add that in my home office, I have one system running Mac OS/X, one system running Windows XP, one system running SuSe 8.0, and one system running OS/2 Warp, so that I can test my programs cross-platform.
If Macintosh is so great, why do you need a PC emulator?
Anyway, the whole Windows vs. Mac is an argument that doesn't make sense. Both OS's have things they can do, and limitations as well. It really depends on what tasks you need your computer to do. If you want powerful video/audio use a mac, if you want powerful business apps use windows. If you want your computer to crash every five minutes use Windows 98.
not a flame:
This comment brings up a common misconception: Easter Egg development wastes time. Some of the better Easter Eggs are put in after the code has been approved, before it's released. This ensures that it gets in, and doesn't change the debug time at all. Also, as a programmer, Easter Eggs help me feel better about what I release: if I'm going to spend months to years on a project, I want at least a little bit of my personality to show up in it, even if it is in a hard to find place. Anyone else feel the same?
Hey, CmdrTaco: If I got a quarter for every piece of junk mail I get a day, I'd be able to eat at an expensive restaurant every night, buy a tech. comp. book every day, and still have enough left to cumulatively pay for my schooling for the next year.
The fact is, junk mail, for now at least, is a fact of life. If you don't like it, do something about it, but don't just whine about it. That won't accomplish anything. Go write a program to block it.
Here in Lincoln, NE, USA we have a similar set up. any number beginning in 3 or 4 is a Lincoln land line, anything else is either a cell phone, or not inside of Lincoln (730 is Sprint, 797 is the tiny town of Denton, 601 is Cricket). Maybe if more cities did this, we would have less problems.
Not all of us do: When I had a plan with Sprint, I had unlimited free incoming minutes, but a sucky plan after that, and it cost $200/month. No, I'm with a company called Cricket, and I have unlimited incoming & outgoing minutes for $30.00/month. While my coverage area might not be the best (only the 2 largest cities in Nebraska, USA, one of which I live in), the price is right, and the minutes finally fit perfectly.
invalid analogy: the window maker did not do anything that caused the window to be broken. it was not faulty workmanship that broke the window. if it was his fault, the grocer would probably ask for a refund or a free window replacement, and the windowmaker (to protect his good reputation) would do it.
if I or an outside source broke my computer, your analogy would be more likely.
I started on Linux because I wanted to get away from MS. I stuck with Linux because I liked it, and I learned to use Linux inside and out because I enjoyed it. I think alot of people follow this same progression, and elitist attitudes scare those people away. If I had read this post 5 years ago when I first thought about Linux, I never would have gotten away from MS.
I've found that as a programmer, modularizing my code, and testing each module before it is implemented, saves me from 99% of the errors encountered on large projects. For example: I coded an open file as part of my new word processor. If the open file has bugs in it, they will be found before I put the module in with the rest of the program.
In response to missing DLLs, there is an easy solution: include any vital DLLs in your distribution. NEVER assume that your user has the proper DLL files to begin with. At the very least, tell them what they are missing, and where they can download them from.
Didn't see this information on the site, but it is important to this line of research: the proposed solar sail, in it's current state, would never survive our solar system. If a hole the size of a quarter were punched in the sail by debris, the sail would collapse. Last I read, they were looking into using the NASA equivalant of tin foil (what is it with them and tin foil?).
~Hand still raised~ Why? Because I test code AS I write it. I create a base program, make sure it works, then begin adding code a little at a time, testing it as I go. This means that, while my program may have taken 1 hour more than yours to code, I've already saved a lot of time in testing. As I remember, we were taught that this was good programming practice.
As a programmer, I have to deal with piracy all the time. As a full-time student also, I don't have the money to shell out for programs.
The humor behind it all: I myself pirate software constantly. Why? For two reasons: 1)Software is too expensive, and 2)I can. $200 for a program that doesn't always work like it's supposed to? Why would anyone pay that, when they can get the same defective software free?
If for some reason I could not get a legal copy of the software I make, I would even pirate that!
$15 may not seem like too much for a CD (although it's about $10 overpriced, but that's a different article...), but when you start to figure that I have a few hundred albums in MP3 format from Gnutella, you can see how much this adds up. Do I feel bad that gigantic bands like Metallica didn't get a few more dollars from me? Absolutely not. Do I feel bad that the hard-to-find bands like Blue October didn't get a few more dollars from me? Absolutely not. I support these bands in other ways, such as T-Shirts and Concerts. If Metallica would come anywhere near Nebraska, I'd support them by paying $500 for a ticket (actually, I think that's a little low for their prices...)
Would I stop pirating software if I could afford it in a legal way? Absolutely. $50 for WinXP still seems overpriced for what it is, but I'd be much more willing to pay it than $200+.
How's this for an analogy: I have a magic CD that will automatically copy itself everytime it is picked up. I knowingly leave this jewel outside, and some hundred people cross into my property to pick it up, each time making their own copy of that CD that will also copy itself. Have I committed a crime? I think his analogy makes sense: I did not commit a crime by placing it somewhere it could be distributed. (Although, I committed many crimes to get it in the first place...)
Doesn't extinction by humans seem like another form of natural selection? If we bring back a species, even one that we drove to extinction, doesn't that invalidate natural selection entirely? Then again, if we bring back something that kills us all off, does that revalidate natural selection?
Actually, it depends on if it creates intentional confusion. If I create a softdrink called Windows, that would be legal, although stupid, but if I create a new OS called Pepsi, they could take me to court for T.I. and would probably win. Also interesting: if I create a softdrink called Windows 98, they could also sue me for T.I. (as could the consumer, as it would probably cause stomach crashes when consumed with other non-Windows 98 approved beverages and food.)
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Not that it was originally my point, but I'd say Hawaii, as long as we kept it as a territory for military operations. Just don't like the thought that we can't drive to them...
Anyway, back on topic, the state example was just that, an example. Another one I remember hearing was "You've been hired to redecorate Bill Gates' Bathroom. Of course, money is no object, but you can't talk to Bill himself. How would you decorate it?" Of course, the best/correct answer being "Ask his wife"
I hate to be mean here, but think seriously for a minute: Micro$oft, Norton, Bell Labs, etc. have all said that they use questions like this. Not because they want to see your team effort (as earlier suggested) but because they want to see your LOGIC skills (and isn't that what this is all about?)
/. is the "Check and Balance" against the RIAA doing anything, ever. RIAA sues someone else, it's on here. RIAA logs onto the internet, it's on here. RIAA takes a shit (usually on us!), it's on here! I can say that I'm quite well informed now on the RIAA, and knew nothing before I started reading /.
Currently there si no legal requirement to block any IP's, HOWEVER, this could be a precident setting case.
Actually, I don't think it would be that hard to build in auto battery detection. Have a meter on the side that shows the batteries charges. If the charge falls below a certain point (signalling failing batteries), set off an alarm (the same or a different one...) to signal that batteries need to be changed soon. They have a detection system like this in many digital battery devices: portable CD players (even cheap ones), handhelds, etc. etc. What do you think?
I think a really good idea would be a breathing monitor. Assuming she has control of her breathing (which it is possible she doesn't), she could speed her breath up rapidly to set it off, or hold her breath to set it off, or something like that.
Good luck! I hope your friend finds something to help!
Why has noone mentioned building/upgrading Mac systems? If Mac's are so much better, why can't I buy parts from multiple vendors? Why do I have to use parts only from Apple? Unfortunately, there was a time that this was supposed to be possible: Jobs was approached with an offer from Intel to start producing parts for the Mac: He turned them down, deciding that people could only use his parts. How's that for a monopoly?
I'd also like to mention something people always seem to forget: Bill Gates stole the windows idea from Apple, but Apple stole the idea from Xerox, who had developed a fully functioning GUI back in the 70's.
I knew there was a reason I was using OS/2 Warp. :)
... is smarter. However, this is not always true either. Non windows users typically fall into one of the following categories:
Although I agree with your argument to a point, I can't let some of those statements by without comment.
You say that anyone willing to try something different than what the masses use
1. People who know nothing about computers, but don't want to do the "in" thing. By your argument, these people are smarter, but they aren't making an informed decision, they are making a prejudiced decision.
2. People whose business use non-windows, and who want their home computer to be the same as their work computer for ease. Again, biased decision.
3. People whose parents/friends used non-windows and who didn't want to be the different one. Now they are still doing the "in" thing, just on a different set of people.
4. People who actually know enough about computers to see how windows is flawed. These people, however, don't generally use mac, they use Linux, or soem other alternative.
I hope that I explained it in a way that it made sense to anyone who isn't in my sleep deprived brain! As you can see, most Macintosh users (that I have met) don't use them because they are smarter, they use them because they don't know any better.
Before I get any comments about being anti-mac, let me just add that in my home office, I have one system running Mac OS/X, one system running Windows XP, one system running SuSe 8.0, and one system running OS/2 Warp, so that I can test my programs cross-platform.
If Macintosh is so great, why do you need a PC emulator?
Anyway, the whole Windows vs. Mac is an argument that doesn't make sense. Both OS's have things they can do, and limitations as well. It really depends on what tasks you need your computer to do. If you want powerful video/audio use a mac, if you want powerful business apps use windows. If you want your computer to crash every five minutes use Windows 98.
not a flame: This comment brings up a common misconception: Easter Egg development wastes time. Some of the better Easter Eggs are put in after the code has been approved, before it's released. This ensures that it gets in, and doesn't change the debug time at all. Also, as a programmer, Easter Eggs help me feel better about what I release: if I'm going to spend months to years on a project, I want at least a little bit of my personality to show up in it, even if it is in a hard to find place. Anyone else feel the same?
Hey, CmdrTaco: If I got a quarter for every piece of junk mail I get a day, I'd be able to eat at an expensive restaurant every night, buy a tech. comp. book every day, and still have enough left to cumulatively pay for my schooling for the next year.
The fact is, junk mail, for now at least, is a fact of life. If you don't like it, do something about it, but don't just whine about it. That won't accomplish anything. Go write a program to block it.
This was what I meant to say. Whenever I got a call that was out of a certain area, it showed up as unavailable, not blocked.
No, it doesn't work that easy with Sprint. Any number that isn't a local number, or a Sprint cell phone will show up as blocked.
Here in Lincoln, NE, USA we have a similar set up. any number beginning in 3 or 4 is a Lincoln land line, anything else is either a cell phone, or not inside of Lincoln (730 is Sprint, 797 is the tiny town of Denton, 601 is Cricket). Maybe if more cities did this, we would have less problems.
Not all of us do: When I had a plan with Sprint, I had unlimited free incoming minutes, but a sucky plan after that, and it cost $200/month. No, I'm with a company called Cricket, and I have unlimited incoming & outgoing minutes for $30.00/month. While my coverage area might not be the best (only the 2 largest cities in Nebraska, USA, one of which I live in), the price is right, and the minutes finally fit perfectly.
invalid analogy: the window maker did not do anything that caused the window to be broken. it was not faulty workmanship that broke the window. if it was his fault, the grocer would probably ask for a refund or a free window replacement, and the windowmaker (to protect his good reputation) would do it.
if I or an outside source broke my computer, your analogy would be more likely.
I started on Linux because I wanted to get away from MS. I stuck with Linux because I liked it, and I learned to use Linux inside and out because I enjoyed it. I think alot of people follow this same progression, and elitist attitudes scare those people away. If I had read this post 5 years ago when I first thought about Linux, I never would have gotten away from MS.
I've found that as a programmer, modularizing my code, and testing each module before it is implemented, saves me from 99% of the errors encountered on large projects. For example: I coded an open file as part of my new word processor. If the open file has bugs in it, they will be found before I put the module in with the rest of the program.
In response to missing DLLs, there is an easy solution: include any vital DLLs in your distribution. NEVER assume that your user has the proper DLL files to begin with. At the very least, tell them what they are missing, and where they can download them from.
Don't know if you caught it or not, but they HAVE dropped the hard disk division.
Didn't see this information on the site, but it is important to this line of research: the proposed solar sail, in it's current state, would never survive our solar system. If a hole the size of a quarter were punched in the sail by debris, the sail would collapse. Last I read, they were looking into using the NASA equivalant of tin foil (what is it with them and tin foil?).
~Hand still raised~ Why? Because I test code AS I write it. I create a base program, make sure it works, then begin adding code a little at a time, testing it as I go. This means that, while my program may have taken 1 hour more than yours to code, I've already saved a lot of time in testing. As I remember, we were taught that this was good programming practice.
As a programmer, I have to deal with piracy all the time. As a full-time student also, I don't have the money to shell out for programs.
The humor behind it all: I myself pirate software constantly. Why? For two reasons: 1)Software is too expensive, and 2)I can. $200 for a program that doesn't always work like it's supposed to? Why would anyone pay that, when they can get the same defective software free?
If for some reason I could not get a legal copy of the software I make, I would even pirate that!
$15 may not seem like too much for a CD (although it's about $10 overpriced, but that's a different article...), but when you start to figure that I have a few hundred albums in MP3 format from Gnutella, you can see how much this adds up. Do I feel bad that gigantic bands like Metallica didn't get a few more dollars from me? Absolutely not. Do I feel bad that the hard-to-find bands like Blue October didn't get a few more dollars from me? Absolutely not. I support these bands in other ways, such as T-Shirts and Concerts. If Metallica would come anywhere near Nebraska, I'd support them by paying $500 for a ticket (actually, I think that's a little low for their prices...)
Would I stop pirating software if I could afford it in a legal way? Absolutely. $50 for WinXP still seems overpriced for what it is, but I'd be much more willing to pay it than $200+.
How's this for an analogy: I have a magic CD that will automatically copy itself everytime it is picked up. I knowingly leave this jewel outside, and some hundred people cross into my property to pick it up, each time making their own copy of that CD that will also copy itself. Have I committed a crime? I think his analogy makes sense: I did not commit a crime by placing it somewhere it could be distributed. (Although, I committed many crimes to get it in the first place...)
Doesn't extinction by humans seem like another form of natural selection? If we bring back a species, even one that we drove to extinction, doesn't that invalidate natural selection entirely? Then again, if we bring back something that kills us all off, does that revalidate natural selection?
Actually, it depends on if it creates intentional confusion. If I create a softdrink called Windows, that would be legal, although stupid, but if I create a new OS called Pepsi, they could take me to court for T.I. and would probably win. Also interesting: if I create a softdrink called Windows 98, they could also sue me for T.I. (as could the consumer, as it would probably cause stomach crashes when consumed with other non-Windows 98 approved beverages and food.)