What he's saying is that a company cannot afford to offer an extended warranty unless, statistically speaking, they will make money off of that warranty. That is, the number of times and cumulative cost of supporting that warranty is less than the profit earned from the warranty. If you're selling a 5 sheet paper shredder that you know will have to be replaced every 6 months, either you shouldn't sell the product (since the replacement costs to the merchandiser will outweigh the profit from the warranty), or you should inform the consumer (the whole truth in advertising legal thing).
On the other hand, if it is not a statistical certainty that the paper shredder will need to be replaced, then that warranty was a waste of money.
If you're willing to throw money away like that, then no wonder you have so many bills you can't pay.
My understanding is that the file ID points to the file, while the path name points to the logical filesystem location of the file. If the file moves, the file ID does not break, and still points to the file. A path name, however, still points to the old, no longer valid, logical filesystem location of the file. That is, the physical location of the file has not changed, but the path name breaks when the logical location changes.
Sunday's lineup will be devoted to comedies, with "The Oblongs" at 11 p.m., "Mission Hill" at 11:30 and "The Ripping Friends" at midnight. The 12:30 a.m. slot will
feature a rotation of Cartoon Network originals "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law," "The Brak Show" and "Sealab 2021."
Does this mean that we get Oblongs, etc every week, but the Aqua Teens only rotated in once every so often? I want my Meatwad! I want my Frylock! I want my Master Shake!
I'm confused. Your school seems to be offering courses on the tools of CS rather than the philosophies and theories of CS. Tools are skills to acquire in your spare time; theories are concepts to discuss and evolve, to apply through those tools.
Maybe you should consider returning to school, but reading a different subject: math, electrical engineering, physics, software engineering (if offered as distinct from the tools curriculum foisted upon you). This may not be a feasible option, depending on how focused your A-levels were. On the other hand, I went from Classical Civilization as an undergraduate to Computer Science as a graduate student, so anything is possible.
My suggestion, I guess, is follow your interests. The "useful" or productive part of university for me was less the classes and the books (although those were important), and more the discussions with my peers and professors. Through that, I learned how to learn, and how to approach complex problems. The tools just sort of arrived based on need.
I hate to say this, but I don't blame you for dropping out, based on your description of your course of study.
Good luck!
Russell
Re:They can Coast a long for quite a while...
on
Layoffs at WotC
·
· Score: 1
These rules are not just for CRPGs. In fact, they may be fairly difficult to adapt well for a computer, since a lot of the Epic Level Rules require a lot of creativity to use. Heck, they have the difficulty of walking on water and swimming up a waterfall.
In fact, 2nd edition had a decent manual for High Level Rules. I think that, creatively, it was named High Level Campaigns. It was part of the Player's/DM's Option series of manuals.
I've never actually played a character above 15th level (and that was just for a one-off), but both the 2nd edition High Level Campaigns and the 3rd edition Epic Level Rules have a lot of really interesting ideas when it comes to designing campaigns and situations that such a powerful character would even care about.
I was always told to turn the AirPort off due to some sort of interference with the nav system or cockpit radio. It was not really explicated, so I do not know the details.
I haven't had any problems with AppleWorks 6.1.2 reading.doc files. However,.xls files are a different story. If the.xls has a lot of macros or even uses multiple cheets, it often imports all funny like. Note that formulas are imported, it's just VB macros which don't work so well.
In my mind, the lack of multiple sheets in AppleWorks is a big deal.
That said, I haven't had trouble with the majority of Windows (or Mac) MS Office created files.
Heck, if I want to use my powermac as a glorified Apple ][gs (running bernie ][ the rescue!) I can do that too! I'm crazy!(plus it also lets me play NEUROMANCER)
What I found is that the Dell is a little cheaper. Then you add the "Windows 2000 Advanced Server with 25 Client Licenses [add $3295]", which made it a bunch higher. Of course, the Xserve has Mac OS X Server with unlimited clients, so the actual price for the Dell should be even higher, still.
Actually, for scripting, I think that AppleScript and AppleScript Studio are perfect for building quick GUI apps. In addition, the "do script" AppleScript command allows you to run any other arbitrary script file, including Perl.
As you pointed out, Interface Builder is wonderful; use Perl through AppleScript Studio.
I majored in Classical Civilization (specializing in Latin and Rome) for my BA with the intention of going into publishing. After a year at a major talent/literary agency, I realized that I was in the wrong industry. I had no official computer courses on my resume; I quit, took one, and got a job as a Software Engineer at a large Aerospace company. They paid for my MS in Comp Sci.
The point is that you should study what you love. Learning how to learn and how to synthesize disparate solutions into a single elegant answer or how to even approach a new problem is more valuable than learning a language or getting other easy-to-acquire technical skills. Save that for your spare time. If a company is convinced that you can intelligently solve problems, the fact that you have a Physics degree rather than a Comp Sci should not matter. Just remember that the important things to learn in Computer Science is the theory, which you can usually learn through books. Don't let anyone tell you that you have to learn specific languages or programs; those are tools, not skills.
That is, you are correct unless you dynamically create pipes of different kinds at runtime, perhaps using an abstract factory (for example, an interactive simulation which allows the engineer to manipulate the objects) or, at a more basic level, have need to send the same message to a collection of disparate pipes (for example, compare the simplicity of the design and code to send the same "calculateFlowrate" message to each object in an array in a polymorphic OO language versus a procedural language).
My point is that, perhaps the implementation of the calculation cannot easily be made OO, but access to that calculation can often benefit from an OO wrapper.
Just off the top of my head. At work, we are attempting to apply OO to requirements analysis, while still persisting in the "object-based" world of Ada development. (This means that I don't have any real world, OO engineering implementation examples).
The issue is not whether it is hard or not. The issue is whether Windows can tell the difference between WinAmp reading audio tracks and Excel reading a spreadsheet. Should it be able to? Of course. Does it? I don't know. Certainly doesn't seem to care.
As someone responded above, apparently OS X does that. I've been conditioned to not even try to eject a disk if I know that it is being used at that moment; apparently, at home, I can unlearn what I have learned.
Except if you are currently reading data from (or, with a writer, writing data to) the media -- be it a CD, DVD, ZIP disk, or whatever -- it is a Bad Idea to just remove the media. Windows NT seems to like erasing disks which are ejected that way. By not including a hardware eject button (although there is a paper-clip emergency media eject, and holding the mouse button down on startup at least used to eject floppies), the Mac guarantees that you cannot eject a disk while it is in use.
In fact, this IS a good thing. While I agree that I don't care about ejecting an audio CD or a video DVD while in use, do you expect the drive to be smart enough to distinguish between, for example, audio tracks being played and data being copied when it allows or disallows the eject button to work? Windows allows the eject button to be pressed at any time, even in the middle of copying data or executing programs from the disk; stereos, Discmen (Discmans?) and other devices that have CD drives, as you say, don't need to worry about anything other than audio tracks being read.
Other Mac ideas which have proved popular with my wife:
Just about any Freeverse game
Diablo II
Clan Lord
Heroes of Might and Magic II/III
Various MUDs (mostly RoninMUD)
We had very high hopes for Baldur's Gate multiplayer, but it was pretty slow, buggy and hard to coordinate, even on a 100 BaseT LAN. Hopefully Baldur's Gate II will be better. We just picked up Summoner, which has a multiplayer component.
If Battle Girl were multiplayer, we'd still be playing that. (Mmm... Battle Girl...)
I think that cooperative games are certainly a forgotten market. Surprisingly few Playstation games (and no Playstation RPGs, ignoring the few FFs which allow multiple people to control combat), and even fewer Mac games even have a nod to cooperative multiplayer.
Just a correction: the G4 has been shipping in quantities above 500 Mhz for quite some time. The slowest G4 you can get in a desktop is actually 733 Mhz, and the fastest is 867 Mhz (for one chip -- there is also a dual 800 Mhz). I haven't used a PC desktop faster than dual 233 (what we're stuck with at work), but the 800 Mhz laptop I used felt distinctly slower in all respected to my PowerBook G3 500 Mhz. I have no basis to judge the latest and greatest x86 desktop systems. (I made my purchase based on software more than hardware).
Except: a) DVD playback is not as critical as brakes (ignoring the ability to boot into 9.1 to play DVDs) and b) even if Joe consumer doesn't read the Mac sites, but yet still manages to buy Mac OS X and install it, the Software Update panel will upgrade his Mac OS X to allow DVD playback (and CD-R/W, and probably a host of new features) automatically, and probably without his knowledge.
Actually, for what it's worth, I have a Beige G3 233 desktop with 128 MB RAM, and it seems to run OS X (Release Candidate) fine. I can't speak to the other machines you mention, though I agree that they're not likely to work well.
$350 as an Apple Store option (which is not really $350, because the GeForce 3 would replace the default GeForce 2, thus can be thought of as $350 more than the GeForce 2).
Actually, it's not really the core of Mac OS X. It's a parallel project to the Mac OS X kernel. Every now and then, Apple releases a new version of Darwin. Also, outside groups are allowed to modify Darwin and make changes, as long as they give those changes back to Apple. So Apple can integrate the changes it wants into the Mac OS X kernel. Apple is of course, allowed to make changes to their official kernel and not release those changes to the public if they don't choose to.
This used to be the case, but is no longer since the APSL was updated to 1.2. Now, if someone desires to change Darwin and not share the modifications with the world or Apple, they are free to do so. In addition, while the full release is only periodically synchronized, you can get the latest version from Apple's CVS repository (Projects list here). Latest version, I believe, means live version that Apple engineers are working with and have checked in.
Not that this is really all that bad. I can see something happening where Apple needs to integrate some secret code into the OS X kernel that they can't release into Darwin. It will enable some feature that everyone will want or some people in the industry will demand (e.g., a digital rights management module that can't be tampered with). Of course, anyone who's running the Darwin open-source kernel will be out of luck.
Except the Darwin Kernel/foundation/layer IS underneath Mac OS X. Period, end of statement, no "Apple could do this". Unless Apple divorces Darwin from Mac OS X, which would have to be a public, deliberate act (and many would not put it past them), it will always be the case that, to update any package or component of Mac OS X that exists at the Darwin/BSD level, one only has to recompile the code from the CVS repository.
It could change, but with the APSL changing towards being less encumbering rather than more encumbring, with more projects added to Darwin, and with all the publicity so far, I find it hard to believe that it would change in the near future.
There is a compatibility environment called "Classic". Basically, it spawns Mac OS 9 (9.1 is not supported in the Public Beta) into a single Mac OS X process.
I have yet to find a productivity application that doesn't work well: CyberStudio, CodeWarrior (although version 6 is a Carbon app, and runs native in OS X), Word, Excel, even most games run well. The only apps which don't work are those that need direct hardware access.
You actually DO need to run a full OS 9, though, since there are many APIs which are not supported in Carbon/OS X. Those APIs are the main difference between Classic and Carbon apps.
You should note that there will be a new version of Mac OS X Server (based on the Mach 3.0 kernel and Mac OS X) coming out Real Soon Now (just after the March 24th Mac OS X introduction), so you might want to wait until then if you can. More information is at the Apple Mac OS X Sever site. Apple looks like they might have done some great things for servers here.
In addition, there is a new shareware app called "Space.app", which gives you 4 workspaces. Granted it's not built into the OS, it has a really groovy icon. And isn't that how everyone chooses what app to buy? Hmm? Look at the VersionTracker site for more info on Space.app.
Slashdot Mirror
That's not true. I used BeOS on my 604e200 Mac clone. And it was significantly faster than MacOS on the same Mac -- more stable too.
What he's saying is that a company cannot afford to offer an extended warranty unless, statistically speaking, they will make money off of that warranty. That is, the number of times and cumulative cost of supporting that warranty is less than the profit earned from the warranty. If you're selling a 5 sheet paper shredder that you know will have to be replaced every 6 months, either you shouldn't sell the product (since the replacement costs to the merchandiser will outweigh the profit from the warranty), or you should inform the consumer (the whole truth in advertising legal thing).
On the other hand, if it is not a statistical certainty that the paper shredder will need to be replaced, then that warranty was a waste of money.
If you're willing to throw money away like that, then no wonder you have so many bills you can't pay.
Russell
Russell
I'm confused. Your school seems to be offering courses on the tools of CS rather than the philosophies and theories of CS. Tools are skills to acquire in your spare time; theories are concepts to discuss and evolve, to apply through those tools.
Maybe you should consider returning to school, but reading a different subject: math, electrical engineering, physics, software engineering (if offered as distinct from the tools curriculum foisted upon you). This may not be a feasible option, depending on how focused your A-levels were. On the other hand, I went from Classical Civilization as an undergraduate to Computer Science as a graduate student, so anything is possible.
My suggestion, I guess, is follow your interests. The "useful" or productive part of university for me was less the classes and the books (although those were important), and more the discussions with my peers and professors. Through that, I learned how to learn, and how to approach complex problems. The tools just sort of arrived based on need.
I hate to say this, but I don't blame you for dropping out, based on your description of your course of study.
Good luck!
Russell
These rules are not just for CRPGs. In fact, they may be fairly difficult to adapt well for a computer, since a lot of the Epic Level Rules require a lot of creativity to use. Heck, they have the difficulty of walking on water and swimming up a waterfall.
In fact, 2nd edition had a decent manual for High Level Rules. I think that, creatively, it was named High Level Campaigns. It was part of the Player's/DM's Option series of manuals.
I've never actually played a character above 15th level (and that was just for a one-off), but both the 2nd edition High Level Campaigns and the 3rd edition Epic Level Rules have a lot of really interesting ideas when it comes to designing campaigns and situations that such a powerful character would even care about.
I was always told to turn the AirPort off due to some sort of interference with the nav system or cockpit radio. It was not really explicated, so I do not know the details.
Is this no longer the case?
Russell
I haven't had any problems with AppleWorks 6.1.2 reading .doc files. However, .xls files are a different story. If the .xls has a lot of macros or even uses multiple cheets, it often imports all funny like. Note that formulas are imported, it's just VB macros which don't work so well.
In my mind, the lack of multiple sheets in AppleWorks is a big deal.
That said, I haven't had trouble with the majority of Windows (or Mac) MS Office created files.
Russell
Russell
Russell
Actually, for scripting, I think that AppleScript and AppleScript Studio are perfect for building quick GUI apps. In addition, the "do script" AppleScript command allows you to run any other arbitrary script file, including Perl.
As you pointed out, Interface Builder is wonderful; use Perl through AppleScript Studio.
Russell Ahrens
Despite the acronym, it's a great productivity tool.
Apple's AppleScript Studio Site
Russell Ahrens
I majored in Classical Civilization (specializing in Latin and Rome) for my BA with the intention of going into publishing. After a year at a major talent/literary agency, I realized that I was in the wrong industry. I had no official computer courses on my resume; I quit, took one, and got a job as a Software Engineer at a large Aerospace company. They paid for my MS in Comp Sci.
The point is that you should study what you love. Learning how to learn and how to synthesize disparate solutions into a single elegant answer or how to even approach a new problem is more valuable than learning a language or getting other easy-to-acquire technical skills. Save that for your spare time. If a company is convinced that you can intelligently solve problems, the fact that you have a Physics degree rather than a Comp Sci should not matter. Just remember that the important things to learn in Computer Science is the theory, which you can usually learn through books. Don't let anyone tell you that you have to learn specific languages or programs; those are tools, not skills.
Russell Ahrens
FYI, Apple continues to sell 2 models of the CRT iMac: a $799 500 MHz G3 one and a $999 600 MHz G3 one.
Russell
PipeType * theTypeOfPipeAsParameter;
FlowRateParams * flowrateparams;
Pipe * thePipe;
[[thePipe alloc] initPipeWithType:theTypeOfPipeAsParameter];
flowrate = [thePipe calculateFlowrate:flowrateparams];
That is, you are correct unless you dynamically create pipes of different kinds at runtime, perhaps using an abstract factory (for example, an interactive simulation which allows the engineer to manipulate the objects) or, at a more basic level, have need to send the same message to a collection of disparate pipes (for example, compare the simplicity of the design and code to send the same "calculateFlowrate" message to each object in an array in a polymorphic OO language versus a procedural language).
My point is that, perhaps the implementation of the calculation cannot easily be made OO, but access to that calculation can often benefit from an OO wrapper.
Just off the top of my head. At work, we are attempting to apply OO to requirements analysis, while still persisting in the "object-based" world of Ada development. (This means that I don't have any real world, OO engineering implementation examples).
Russell Ahrens
The issue is not whether it is hard or not. The issue is whether Windows can tell the difference between WinAmp reading audio tracks and Excel reading a spreadsheet. Should it be able to? Of course. Does it? I don't know. Certainly doesn't seem to care.
As someone responded above, apparently OS X does that. I've been conditioned to not even try to eject a disk if I know that it is being used at that moment; apparently, at home, I can unlearn what I have learned.
Russell Ahrens
Except if you are currently reading data from (or, with a writer, writing data to) the media -- be it a CD, DVD, ZIP disk, or whatever -- it is a Bad Idea to just remove the media. Windows NT seems to like erasing disks which are ejected that way. By not including a hardware eject button (although there is a paper-clip emergency media eject, and holding the mouse button down on startup at least used to eject floppies), the Mac guarantees that you cannot eject a disk while it is in use.
In fact, this IS a good thing. While I agree that I don't care about ejecting an audio CD or a video DVD while in use, do you expect the drive to be smart enough to distinguish between, for example, audio tracks being played and data being copied when it allows or disallows the eject button to work? Windows allows the eject button to be pressed at any time, even in the middle of copying data or executing programs from the disk; stereos, Discmen (Discmans?) and other devices that have CD drives, as you say, don't need to worry about anything other than audio tracks being read.
Russell Ahrens
Other Mac ideas which have proved popular with my wife:
Just about any Freeverse game
Diablo II
Clan Lord
Heroes of Might and Magic II/III
Various MUDs (mostly RoninMUD)
We had very high hopes for Baldur's Gate multiplayer, but it was pretty slow, buggy and hard to coordinate, even on a 100 BaseT LAN. Hopefully Baldur's Gate II will be better. We just picked up Summoner, which has a multiplayer component.
If Battle Girl were multiplayer, we'd still be playing that. (Mmm... Battle Girl...)
I think that cooperative games are certainly a forgotten market. Surprisingly few Playstation games (and no Playstation RPGs, ignoring the few FFs which allow multiple people to control combat), and even fewer Mac games even have a nod to cooperative multiplayer.
Russell Ahrens
Just a correction: the G4 has been shipping in quantities above 500 Mhz for quite some time. The slowest G4 you can get in a desktop is actually 733 Mhz, and the fastest is 867 Mhz (for one chip -- there is also a dual 800 Mhz). I haven't used a PC desktop faster than dual 233 (what we're stuck with at work), but the 800 Mhz laptop I used felt distinctly slower in all respected to my PowerBook G3 500 Mhz. I have no basis to judge the latest and greatest x86 desktop systems. (I made my purchase based on software more than hardware).
Russell Ahrens
Russell
Russell Ahrens
$600 as a separate aftermarket card.
At least that's what was announced.
Russell
It could change, but with the APSL changing towards being less encumbering rather than more encumbring, with more projects added to Darwin, and with all the publicity so far, I find it hard to believe that it would change in the near future.
Russell Ahrens
I have yet to find a productivity application that doesn't work well: CyberStudio, CodeWarrior (although version 6 is a Carbon app, and runs native in OS X), Word, Excel, even most games run well. The only apps which don't work are those that need direct hardware access.
You actually DO need to run a full OS 9, though, since there are many APIs which are not supported in Carbon/OS X. Those APIs are the main difference between Classic and Carbon apps.
Russell
In addition, there is a new shareware app called "Space.app", which gives you 4 workspaces. Granted it's not built into the OS, it has a really groovy icon. And isn't that how everyone chooses what app to buy? Hmm? Look at the VersionTracker site for more info on Space.app.
Russell Ahrens