Not to beat a dead horse but since WINE and winelib use assumptions of x86 endianess extensively, they're not portable to non-x86 architectures like SDL and OpenGL are. I respect what Transgaming does (I'm a subscriber too) but that's not a porting kit any more than MAME is a porting kit. Granted, it allows you to run binaries on an emulation layer but there's no way you'd ever consider those binaries to be native ports. All that aside, I'm still disappointed that the OpenGL group didn't put together a gaming API. Regardless of whether they should have or not, the lack of that API is the primary reason why DirectX came to be. Right now it would be very difficult to argue that DirectX has not pushed OpenGL to the point of obsolesence on Windows as a result.
You obviously don't use Sun products. We buy Sun hardware and support because their hardware is bulletproof and their support is unbelievable, you can get usually get somebody onsite in under an hour. We really could give less of a sh*t what software is on there so long as it's UNIX flavored. In fact, we've even put Linux on one of our older Sun boxes. If software was their main motivator, they'd be running on Intel procs with standard components. Believe me, they make their money because of the bad ass hardware they use and not because of Solaris.
There's no counter, all your points are valid. However, I have walked into Wal-Mart (ok so it was Target) and bought Linux games, namely RTCW, UT2K, NWN, and NWN-SOU -but- there's not a single mention of Linux on the box (that's another point altogether) even though Linux runtimes exist for all three. As for Windows having more games available for it, you bet, it's a market share thing and all we can do is hope Linux reaches enough of a critical mass that game publishers see $$$ in porting more games to Linux. I can only guess at what the magic number will be but I think 20% (1 in 5) market share is a number PHBs could relate to.
Slow down there, what Transgaming has done is not DirectX for Linux. What they have done is DirectX enabled WINE. The closest thing to DirectX for Linux is SDL but even then it's not an easy port from a Windows app. What would be "fricken sweet" is a DirectX porting kit for Linux that would implement the DirectX API using SDL and/or OpenGL. Then porting a game to Linux would be a simple recompile and we might finally see more Linux ports. It's disappointing that the OpenGL group never expanded OpenGL into a full game development environment in the first place.
True, one big problem that I often encounter is that people are scared of change. You can explain to somebody that OpenOffice offers the same features as MS Word but the fact the the menus and shortcuts are different scares the crap out of people. The more people I convert to Linux, the more I see a need to emulate the Windows "workflow". This is especially true for older computer users who have an aversion to computers to begin with. Personally, I don't want a windows "look alike" desktop but if the goal is really to extend the Linux desktop beyond the hardcore techies, it's going to have to be done that way. In fact, this is the route Xandros is taking if I'm not mistaken.
I have to raise an issue on the ease of portability of C code. You certainly can write a portable application in C but it's not inherently easy to do (been there, done that). The difficulties exist even if you stay on the same OS but switch architectures since pointer and casting assumptions change. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of C (although admittedly I prefer C++ over C) and think it's second only to assembler (basically unportable) where resource footprints and speed are top priorities. Regardless, you're bang on that Java is not the ONLY solution.
I don't know about ANSI but I do know that ISO requires RAND terms for standards containing patents. They certainly do not have a no patent policy.
Re:When will someone countersue SCO?
on
USL vs BSDI Documents
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I think it would have to be launched by the copyright owner of the code in question. The only problem is that we don't have the SCO code to examine and determine who the copyright owner is. To get the SCO code, it would most likely have to be subpoenaed and then the examiners would be faced with the NDA vs. tainting conundrum.
Welcome to the wonderful world of FrontPage, the premiere tool for massacring HTML. The problem is that their TABLE and TD widths don't add up. They define the table as 720 wide, and then define 3 columns, including 2 with widths of 720, exluding the middle one where the text is embedded. Konqueror is a little more forgiving of this and renders it fine.
Wrong, they knew about the code in March, they continued to distribute the software until May. Therefore, as per section 4 of the GPL:
4. You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Program except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Program is void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License. However, parties who have received copies, or rights, from you under this License will not have their licenses terminated so long as such parties remain in full compliance.
I quote Mr. Sontag, SCO will continue to support SCO Linux users and "hold them harmless from any SCO intellectual property issues regarding SCO Linux and Caldera OpenLinux products,". Long story short, they cannot only indemnify Caldera Linux users under the GPL, so they've effectively absolved all Linux users by absolving Caldera Linux users and freed the infringing code to the GPL in the process. Sontag should have kept his mouth shut because beyond the IBM suit, this case now has a 0% chance of succeeding, even if code was copied verbatim, barring having the GPL itself completely discredited.
You're obviously confused over the meaning of the word communism. If we were "whiny little communists" we wouldn't have money and neither would the other guy. In fact, the state would have everything and would distribute goods to people as they needed them. Reality is that there has never been a communist government, rather they were all Marxist governments with no intention of ever progressing into communism. The unattainable goal of a "communistic society" was just a carrot used to make totalitarian rule more palatable to those they were oppressing. Marx and Engles were social idiots who probably drank way too much absinthe while in Paris to even realize that their crappy papers were based on anything but reality. Back to the subject...
Under capitalism, the goal of the state is to promote open competition. You can reconcile this with anti-trust law since it's goal is to restore open competition. However, patent law prevents open competition. It creates state controlled monopolies whose sole purpose is to prevent free market competition. State granted monopolies are a facet of fascism, not capitalism. I don't see how you can call yourself a free market capitalist but still believe in patents.
I wouldn't say it's more advanced, rather I'd say it includes more built-in features in the sense that VB provides more built-in features than C++. JSP is only one facet of using servlets and java for web based interfaces so it's impossible to directly compare the two. One thing we can say is that JSP allows for a much cleaner MVC implementations. ASP suffers from the same lack of separation from the user interface that VB does. Not to say that it's not possible to separate the UI from the business logic but it's definitely designed with RAD and not code reuse in mind.
Also, Netbeans is a fantastic tool for it's target market. Sure it's not as feature filled but then you're comparing a free product with a $1000+ product. If you want an apples to apples comparison, compare VS.Net to Borland JBuilder. Otherwise, you might as well be comparing MS WordPad to Corel WordPerfect.
that way people wouldn't be forced to upgrade, at least
That's not 100% true. MS has a vested interest in getting you to shell out $$$ when they need it. Once a product version is desupported, all they would need to do is break backwards compatibility and you'd be left with soon to be useless code.
Also, the antitrust trial was based on illegal business practices, namely bundling (dumping). The DOJ would never have seeked a penalty to force MS to open up their code since it didn't address the original complaint directly. If the antitrust settlement had teeth, MS would be forced to stop all bundling of non-core software (ie. browser, media player, system utilities, editors, etc) with the OS -and- also bundling in the form of preinstallations with OEMs. To take it one theoretical step further, imagine if OEMs decided to image Linux on all systems and if people wanted windows, they'd have to purchase it separately at $200 a pop. You'd have a market flooded with Linux PCs and a rapidly declining Windows PC base as systems broke or were retired. Of course, since most users have a "good enough" mentality, few would choose to spend the extra $$$ and it would decimate MSs business, so there's no way in hell MS was ever going to let that happen.
Right, I really should expand on my post, see I pull the blades out of the head, make a slit under my finger nails, embed the blade in the cut, then shave dry, and against the grain. Yeah, that's it! The running blood serves great as a dual purpose moisturizer and lubricant. The best part is that I save the $2 on those useless teflon strips. Otherwise, if you're not in a hurry, I agree, a good serrated concrete nail works well for pushing the hair (and follical) through your cheek and then you can chew it off at your leisure!
It's always worked fine for me. I'm sitting at around 8,000 messages spread across 5 email accounts. I've never had a major problem or lost email. The 1.3 series had some filter issues (ie. they wouldn't filter at all) but these appear to be stabilized in 1.4. As for the news reader app, haven't used it much so I can't vouch for it. I will admit that the IRC app leaves a lot to be desired though.
Good point, I just paid $8 for 4 razor blades 2 days ago and they're pushing the "extra lube strip" model for almost $10 for 4. Now back to the topic...
I think of the printer biz like the video game console biz. There's zero margin on the printers and fat margins on the ink. They could chose to make $20 on the printer sale and not play the ink game -or- make $0 on the printer and $20 every 3 months on ink sales. The ink biz is where it's at, and if they can ensure a monopoly on ink for their hardware using the DMCA, it's not surprising that they would want to. My problem is not with the "sell the ink" approach, it's in trying to impose a monopoly on hardware you and I paid for and own.
My take is that it depends on the app and your goals. C/C++ is generally faster and you get access to more in-depth APIs, at least with Oracle. Java through JDBC is easier to port to different databases and and platforms. JDBC has what I consider to be an advantage in that a lot of database drivers have "thin-client" implementations which means no additional client-side installs. However, almost all the work I've done with JDBC was for server side apps, typically accessing data through app server connection pools. So, if you want features features, features, the edge goes to C++, if you want portability, database and platform, the edge goes to JDBC.
I'd add that tech savvy Windows users are just as fanatical. This doesn't mean Aunt May, but the tech minded Windows users like those that read/.. Reality is that each OS has it's strong points and weak points and some people have very strong opinions on those points. Unfortunately, there are rarely, if any, reasonable discussions between the "factions" here that don't require a fire extinguisher to read.
I totally agree, the hardware interfaces in Linux are fantastic. He does have a point about getting hardware working. Some of it "just works", most notably hardware that is included in the mainline kernel. More exotic hardware takes a little experience to setup. Digital cameras and MP3 players in particular have been my worst experiences. That said, the ONLY piece of hardware I have run into (there may be others, I just having run into them) that I wound up putting a boot through was an old parallel port scanner, a UMAX 610P, I still have nightmares about that thing. That said, I'd rather have drivers that take some skill to setup but that I have the source to than binary drivers that configure themselves but are a black box.
It's been a while since I took a chem class but it's methanol (CH3OH) and not methane (CH4). Menthanol is much much harder to ignite. The problem I'm curious about is the emissions, methanol results in formaldehyde (CH2O) when combusted. I'm not sure what the fuel cell results in but I'm thinking it's the same. So, where does the waste go???
Slashdot Mirror
Not to beat a dead horse but since WINE and winelib use assumptions of x86 endianess extensively, they're not portable to non-x86 architectures like SDL and OpenGL are. I respect what Transgaming does (I'm a subscriber too) but that's not a porting kit any more than MAME is a porting kit. Granted, it allows you to run binaries on an emulation layer but there's no way you'd ever consider those binaries to be native ports. All that aside, I'm still disappointed that the OpenGL group didn't put together a gaming API. Regardless of whether they should have or not, the lack of that API is the primary reason why DirectX came to be. Right now it would be very difficult to argue that DirectX has not pushed OpenGL to the point of obsolesence on Windows as a result.
You obviously don't use Sun products. We buy Sun hardware and support because their hardware is bulletproof and their support is unbelievable, you can get usually get somebody onsite in under an hour. We really could give less of a sh*t what software is on there so long as it's UNIX flavored. In fact, we've even put Linux on one of our older Sun boxes. If software was their main motivator, they'd be running on Intel procs with standard components. Believe me, they make their money because of the bad ass hardware they use and not because of Solaris.
They probably use MS to generate their forcasts.
Nope, the NOAA is smarter than that, they use Linux
s/three/four/gi
There's no counter, all your points are valid. However, I have walked into Wal-Mart (ok so it was Target) and bought Linux games, namely RTCW, UT2K, NWN, and NWN-SOU -but- there's not a single mention of Linux on the box (that's another point altogether) even though Linux runtimes exist for all three. As for Windows having more games available for it, you bet, it's a market share thing and all we can do is hope Linux reaches enough of a critical mass that game publishers see $$$ in porting more games to Linux. I can only guess at what the magic number will be but I think 20% (1 in 5) market share is a number PHBs could relate to.
Slow down there, what Transgaming has done is not DirectX for Linux. What they have done is DirectX enabled WINE. The closest thing to DirectX for Linux is SDL but even then it's not an easy port from a Windows app. What would be "fricken sweet" is a DirectX porting kit for Linux that would implement the DirectX API using SDL and/or OpenGL. Then porting a game to Linux would be a simple recompile and we might finally see more Linux ports. It's disappointing that the OpenGL group never expanded OpenGL into a full game development environment in the first place.
True, one big problem that I often encounter is that people are scared of change. You can explain to somebody that OpenOffice offers the same features as MS Word but the fact the the menus and shortcuts are different scares the crap out of people. The more people I convert to Linux, the more I see a need to emulate the Windows "workflow". This is especially true for older computer users who have an aversion to computers to begin with. Personally, I don't want a windows "look alike" desktop but if the goal is really to extend the Linux desktop beyond the hardcore techies, it's going to have to be done that way. In fact, this is the route Xandros is taking if I'm not mistaken.
I have to raise an issue on the ease of portability of C code. You certainly can write a portable application in C but it's not inherently easy to do (been there, done that). The difficulties exist even if you stay on the same OS but switch architectures since pointer and casting assumptions change. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of C (although admittedly I prefer C++ over C) and think it's second only to assembler (basically unportable) where resource footprints and speed are top priorities. Regardless, you're bang on that Java is not the ONLY solution.
The way I read it, both.
I don't know about ANSI but I do know that ISO requires RAND terms for standards containing patents. They certainly do not have a no patent policy.
I think it would have to be launched by the copyright owner of the code in question. The only problem is that we don't have the SCO code to examine and determine who the copyright owner is. To get the SCO code, it would most likely have to be subpoenaed and then the examiners would be faced with the NDA vs. tainting conundrum.
Welcome to the wonderful world of FrontPage, the premiere tool for massacring HTML. The problem is that their TABLE and TD widths don't add up. They define the table as 720 wide, and then define 3 columns, including 2 with widths of 720, exluding the middle one where the text is embedded. Konqueror is a little more forgiving of this and renders it fine.
Wrong, they knew about the code in March, they continued to distribute the software until May. Therefore, as per section 4 of the GPL:
4. You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Program except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Program is void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License. However, parties who have received copies, or rights, from you under this License will not have their licenses terminated so long as such parties remain in full compliance.
I quote Mr. Sontag, SCO will continue to support SCO Linux users and "hold them harmless from any SCO intellectual property issues regarding SCO Linux and Caldera OpenLinux products,". Long story short, they cannot only indemnify Caldera Linux users under the GPL, so they've effectively absolved all Linux users by absolving Caldera Linux users and freed the infringing code to the GPL in the process. Sontag should have kept his mouth shut because beyond the IBM suit, this case now has a 0% chance of succeeding, even if code was copied verbatim, barring having the GPL itself completely discredited.
You're obviously confused over the meaning of the word communism. If we were "whiny little communists" we wouldn't have money and neither would the other guy. In fact, the state would have everything and would distribute goods to people as they needed them. Reality is that there has never been a communist government, rather they were all Marxist governments with no intention of ever progressing into communism. The unattainable goal of a "communistic society" was just a carrot used to make totalitarian rule more palatable to those they were oppressing. Marx and Engles were social idiots who probably drank way too much absinthe while in Paris to even realize that their crappy papers were based on anything but reality. Back to the subject ...
Under capitalism, the goal of the state is to promote open competition. You can reconcile this with anti-trust law since it's goal is to restore open competition. However, patent law prevents open competition. It creates state controlled monopolies whose sole purpose is to prevent free market competition. State granted monopolies are a facet of fascism, not capitalism. I don't see how you can call yourself a free market capitalist but still believe in patents.
I wouldn't say it's more advanced, rather I'd say it includes more built-in features in the sense that VB provides more built-in features than C++. JSP is only one facet of using servlets and java for web based interfaces so it's impossible to directly compare the two. One thing we can say is that JSP allows for a much cleaner MVC implementations. ASP suffers from the same lack of separation from the user interface that VB does. Not to say that it's not possible to separate the UI from the business logic but it's definitely designed with RAD and not code reuse in mind.
Also, Netbeans is a fantastic tool for it's target market. Sure it's not as feature filled but then you're comparing a free product with a $1000+ product. If you want an apples to apples comparison, compare VS.Net to Borland JBuilder. Otherwise, you might as well be comparing MS WordPad to Corel WordPerfect.
that way people wouldn't be forced to upgrade, at least
That's not 100% true. MS has a vested interest in getting you to shell out $$$ when they need it. Once a product version is desupported, all they would need to do is break backwards compatibility and you'd be left with soon to be useless code.
Also, the antitrust trial was based on illegal business practices, namely bundling (dumping). The DOJ would never have seeked a penalty to force MS to open up their code since it didn't address the original complaint directly. If the antitrust settlement had teeth, MS would be forced to stop all bundling of non-core software (ie. browser, media player, system utilities, editors, etc) with the OS -and- also bundling in the form of preinstallations with OEMs. To take it one theoretical step further, imagine if OEMs decided to image Linux on all systems and if people wanted windows, they'd have to purchase it separately at $200 a pop. You'd have a market flooded with Linux PCs and a rapidly declining Windows PC base as systems broke or were retired. Of course, since most users have a "good enough" mentality, few would choose to spend the extra $$$ and it would decimate MSs business, so there's no way in hell MS was ever going to let that happen.
Right, I really should expand on my post, see I pull the blades out of the head, make a slit under my finger nails, embed the blade in the cut, then shave dry, and against the grain. Yeah, that's it! The running blood serves great as a dual purpose moisturizer and lubricant. The best part is that I save the $2 on those useless teflon strips. Otherwise, if you're not in a hurry, I agree, a good serrated concrete nail works well for pushing the hair (and follical) through your cheek and then you can chew it off at your leisure!
It's always worked fine for me. I'm sitting at around 8,000 messages spread across 5 email accounts. I've never had a major problem or lost email. The 1.3 series had some filter issues (ie. they wouldn't filter at all) but these appear to be stabilized in 1.4. As for the news reader app, haven't used it much so I can't vouch for it. I will admit that the IRC app leaves a lot to be desired though.
institute the Gillete sales model
...
Good point, I just paid $8 for 4 razor blades 2 days ago and they're pushing the "extra lube strip" model for almost $10 for 4. Now back to the topic
I think of the printer biz like the video game console biz. There's zero margin on the printers and fat margins on the ink. They could chose to make $20 on the printer sale and not play the ink game -or- make $0 on the printer and $20 every 3 months on ink sales. The ink biz is where it's at, and if they can ensure a monopoly on ink for their hardware using the DMCA, it's not surprising that they would want to. My problem is not with the "sell the ink" approach, it's in trying to impose a monopoly on hardware you and I paid for and own.
My take is that it depends on the app and your goals. C/C++ is generally faster and you get access to more in-depth APIs, at least with Oracle. Java through JDBC is easier to port to different databases and and platforms. JDBC has what I consider to be an advantage in that a lot of database drivers have "thin-client" implementations which means no additional client-side installs. However, almost all the work I've done with JDBC was for server side apps, typically accessing data through app server connection pools. So, if you want features features, features, the edge goes to C++, if you want portability, database and platform, the edge goes to JDBC.
I like what you started with the /. picture thing in your sig, they really should consider adding that to /. as a profile option.
Now, to avoid a -1 Offtopic, I agree with you about the article, it's just smack talking. Wars are won by deeds, not words.
I'd add that tech savvy Windows users are just as fanatical. This doesn't mean Aunt May, but the tech minded Windows users like those that read /.. Reality is that each OS has it's strong points and weak points and some people have very strong opinions on those points. Unfortunately, there are rarely, if any, reasonable discussions between the "factions" here that don't require a fire extinguisher to read.
Well, at least you're gracious in defeat. Hope I get to run into you in a dark alley some day kid.
I totally agree, the hardware interfaces in Linux are fantastic. He does have a point about getting hardware working. Some of it "just works", most notably hardware that is included in the mainline kernel. More exotic hardware takes a little experience to setup. Digital cameras and MP3 players in particular have been my worst experiences. That said, the ONLY piece of hardware I have run into (there may be others, I just having run into them) that I wound up putting a boot through was an old parallel port scanner, a UMAX 610P, I still have nightmares about that thing. That said, I'd rather have drivers that take some skill to setup but that I have the source to than binary drivers that configure themselves but are a black box.
It's been a while since I took a chem class but it's methanol (CH3OH) and not methane (CH4). Menthanol is much much harder to ignite. The problem I'm curious about is the emissions, methanol results in formaldehyde (CH2O) when combusted. I'm not sure what the fuel cell results in but I'm thinking it's the same. So, where does the waste go???