I have never understood the connection between "open source" and "free" (as in beer). What if all Microsoft products DID come with source code? There would still be no reason for pirates to distribute the source code, then have each user compile it separately. No, they'd just distribute the binaries, just like how they already do.
I've been bitten by scenario 2, with CORBA. There was some vendor-dependent code in our stuff, but it's a good product so who cares, right? Well, one year they assigned us a new sales rep and he decided we hadn't been paying nearly enough, or maybe he just wanted a bigger comission and thought we couldn't migrate, who knows. So they tried to quadruple the price.
We ended up porting to TAO. It wasn't THAT bad, but we did end up writing some stuff twice - first vendor dependent, then vendor neutral. Not money well spent.
On another but related topic, since TAO was free, the management couldn't believe it would be any good, so we had to give the impression we were just using it for a while until we found something more expensive. Of course, TAO was more standards compliant, open source (fabulous for debugging), and the developers would respond to questions on the same day (much better service than from our very costly support contract with the "other guys.") It made a great impression on me and everybody else for open source, and I gather JBoss is just that sort of project too.
At first I thought this was an HDTV capture device, which certainly would be useful. But reading the web page, I can't tell. It seems there may be no way to get the video stream into the computer itself, which make is sort of like a KVM switch without K or M.
Do we have any reason to believe that a pair of 1.33GHz PowerPC G4 processors are as fast as a *single* 3GHz Xeon?
Well, do we?
Factors in favor of the Mac:
1) Fewer cycles per instruction
Factors in favor of the Xeon:
1) More total Hz
2) Speed scales sub-linearly with # processors (don't expect 2 processors to be 2x as fast)
3) Xeon has hyperthreading, which is supposedly like having part of a second processor.
I'm not saying the Xeon IS faster than dual PowerPCs, but I wouldn't take it for granted either way. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of benchmarks.
What irritates me is people who insist that Arizona and Washington state have different climates. The fact is, they both have sunny days and rainy days.
Okay, you can keep the market for gallery sized prints.
3 MP is overkill for the Internet. A 640x480 image has right about 0.3 MP.
Re:This is going to be a joyous thing
on
BusinessWeek on Wi-Fi
·
· Score: 2, Informative
What is this, an ad for Centrino?
Anyways for what it's worth, a LOT of conferences nowadays set up wireless access and it is very popular. Just walk around at lunchtime and you'll see many people checking email (or just surfing the web or whatever). As for videoconferencing, that's not even popular over wired connections.
What about the security? The good ole' wired Internet doesn't provide confidentiality or integrity anyways. That's why we have ssl. And supressing WiFi isn't going to increase availability of anything.
Treat a WiFi adapter just like a connection to the Internet, and you can't go far wrong.
Exactly. I interpret "mild back discomfort" as: "Now that I'm a bigshot I'd prefer to make serious movies, so if you want me you'll have to pay through the nose."
Lots of managers (including two CIOs I know) argue that management is a discpline unto itself and knowing how to manage is enough; technical knowledge enough to make decisions is learned or imparted through employees or consultants.
And yet we're constantly reminded that engineers must have more than technical knowledge - that to be competent, they must understand the business, communicate effectively, and "see the big picture." Confirming this are the engineers who happily labor away in the basement year after year for that annual 3% raise.
So kids, if you're going to be a one-trick pony, make sure it's golf.
Re:Had to say it..
on
RMS Turns 50
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Yet for better or worse he will always be the guy who really got the free software movement rolling. BSD continues to plod along while Linux steals the show. You can hardly attribute that to technical differences. I attribute it to Stallman's GPL - a license only a fanatic would have dreamed up.
If a DB was integrated into the OS as the preferred method of storing data, with the overhead paid for across many apps in increased convenience, it'd be worth it. But why the hell should I need to install MySQL just to maintain a list of todos and contacts? Look on Freshmeat- there is a torrent of applications using MySQL for managing small amoutns of data, both web and desktop apps.
I don't understand; it seems that you are getting your wish of pervasive database usage, but are unhappy about it. Doesn't the torrent of apps mean it's becoming the preferred method?
That's why any such policy would allow paying for software when necessary.
But what about IIS? Haven't you wondered WHY people are using it when Apache is the market leader, free, and has a better security record? I think sometimes in govt. there's no incentive to avoid wasting money unless there's a rule that says you should.
I think you could make a case for a policy along the lines of "open source software should be used unless there is a compelling need for commercial software."
This is little different than requiring employees to purchase the cheapest availble airfare, or limit them to midsize car rental while traveling. The low-cost option should be the default option, unless the need to spend more is demonstrated.
Is that anticompetitive? I'm sure MS would say it is, but then the Four Seasons could balk at govt. employees not being allowed to chose a luxury suite on business travel. Ferrari could complain about discrimination in cop car purchases. It's not like "open source" is a particular company that will unfairly benefit; open source is itself a more level playing field for service contracts, custom application development, etc.
Sure, for the forseeable future there *will* be a compelling need for lots of different commercial packages. But let's at least justify the extra expense.
changing over from a commercial vendor to open-source always carries with it a good deal of costs in converting user data, systems, admin training, etc.
I think often the question is how to migrate away from some antiquated homebrew DEC or mainframe setup. In that scenario, the transition to Oracle isn't real cheap either.
And if you're going to invest in training, it's better to invest in something that's always available, rather than something you might not have the money to own next year, or which might be taken away through forced upgrades or discontinued support.
Most jobs are that way. 95% of being a doctor is just matching symptoms to drugs.
But it's not just about skill level, it's about the mobility of information. Any type of "knowledge worker" is at risk, because any type of technical knowhow can be learned from a book.
Notice how the new Pentium-M (the first Intel CPU ever delivered under a week late) was designed in Israel?
An Indian making 30% of what I make could have a personal maid, chef, and cheuffer, and never wear the same clothes twice. It doesn't cost a couple grand USD per month to be a homeowner there.
Are most people really calling for protectionism? Or just waking up to a bad thing?
The fact is, "knowledge workers" NOT in the same boat as other Americans. There would be no shortage of nurses if people from anywhere could live at home and get $15K USD/yr telecommuting.
Slashdot Mirror
March 2003, Texas Jeff Bezos injured in helicopter crash
March 2003, Fort Drum, New York11 army soldiers killed in Blackhawk training accident
March, 2003, Jakarta 3 killed when helicopter crashes into hotel swimming pool
January, 2003, Afghanistan4 killed in Army helicopter crash
January 2003, Mexican/Texas border4 Marines killed in helicopter crash
Dec 2002, Kabul5 German peacekeepers killed in helicopter crash
December, 2002, HondurasFive die in army helicopter crash
Nov, 2002, ArizonaTV crew for the show "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" crash while trying to film the bounce of the world's largest rubber band ball
August 2002, Fort Polk, Louisiana2 Army soldiers die in Kiowa Warrior crash
August 2002, Grozny 114 Russian servicemen killed in a single helicopter crash (they were shot down by the Chechens).
I have never understood the connection between "open source" and "free" (as in beer). What if all Microsoft products DID come with source code? There would still be no reason for pirates to distribute the source code, then have each user compile it separately. No, they'd just distribute the binaries, just like how they already do.
How about combining the xserver and xlib, bypassing the x protocol completely? Or is that what the shared memory extension already does?
Dang, good writing stands out like a sore thumb on slashdot. Here's the ref
I thought the real cool graphics designers used colorimeters on test prints instead of eyeballing it on their monitors.
We ended up porting to TAO. It wasn't THAT bad, but we did end up writing some stuff twice - first vendor dependent, then vendor neutral. Not money well spent.
On another but related topic, since TAO was free, the management couldn't believe it would be any good, so we had to give the impression we were just using it for a while until we found something more expensive. Of course, TAO was more standards compliant, open source (fabulous for debugging), and the developers would respond to questions on the same day (much better service than from our very costly support contract with the "other guys.") It made a great impression on me and everybody else for open source, and I gather JBoss is just that sort of project too.
At first I thought this was an HDTV capture device, which certainly would be useful. But reading the web page, I can't tell. It seems there may be no way to get the video stream into the computer itself, which make is sort of like a KVM switch without K or M.
Factors in favor of the Mac:
1) Fewer cycles per instruction
Factors in favor of the Xeon:
1) More total Hz
2) Speed scales sub-linearly with # processors (don't expect 2 processors to be 2x as fast)
3) Xeon has hyperthreading, which is supposedly like having part of a second processor.
I'm not saying the Xeon IS faster than dual PowerPCs, but I wouldn't take it for granted either way. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of benchmarks.
Do we have any reason to believe that a pair of 1.33GHz PowerPC G4 processors are as fast as a *single* 3GHz Xeon?
What irritates me is people who insist that Arizona and Washington state have different climates. The fact is, they both have sunny days and rainy days.
3 MP is overkill for the Internet. A 640x480 image has right about 0.3 MP.
Anyways for what it's worth, a LOT of conferences nowadays set up wireless access and it is very popular. Just walk around at lunchtime and you'll see many people checking email (or just surfing the web or whatever). As for videoconferencing, that's not even popular over wired connections.
Treat a WiFi adapter just like a connection to the Internet, and you can't go far wrong.
Exactly. I interpret "mild back discomfort" as: "Now that I'm a bigshot I'd prefer to make serious movies, so if you want me you'll have to pay through the nose."
So kids, if you're going to be a one-trick pony, make sure it's golf.
Yet for better or worse he will always be the guy who really got the free software movement rolling. BSD continues to plod along while Linux steals the show. You can hardly attribute that to technical differences. I attribute it to Stallman's GPL - a license only a fanatic would have dreamed up.
But what about IIS? Haven't you wondered WHY people are using it when Apache is the market leader, free, and has a better security record? I think sometimes in govt. there's no incentive to avoid wasting money unless there's a rule that says you should.
This is little different than requiring employees to purchase the cheapest availble airfare, or limit them to midsize car rental while traveling. The low-cost option should be the default option, unless the need to spend more is demonstrated.
Is that anticompetitive? I'm sure MS would say it is, but then the Four Seasons could balk at govt. employees not being allowed to chose a luxury suite on business travel. Ferrari could complain about discrimination in cop car purchases. It's not like "open source" is a particular company that will unfairly benefit; open source is itself a more level playing field for service contracts, custom application development, etc.
Sure, for the forseeable future there *will* be a compelling need for lots of different commercial packages. But let's at least justify the extra expense.
And if you're going to invest in training, it's better to invest in something that's always available, rather than something you might not have the money to own next year, or which might be taken away through forced upgrades or discontinued support.
But it's not just about skill level, it's about the mobility of information. Any type of "knowledge worker" is at risk, because any type of technical knowhow can be learned from a book.
Notice how the new Pentium-M (the first Intel CPU ever delivered under a week late) was designed in Israel?
Are most people really calling for protectionism? Or just waking up to a bad thing?
The fact is, "knowledge workers" NOT in the same boat as other Americans. There would be no shortage of nurses if people from anywhere could live at home and get $15K USD/yr telecommuting.