phonetically, it would pronounced "em ay" which would mean the "an". You wouldn't say "a em ay". Notice the parentheses, thus implying a conversational message.
because they don't read or write to well either. The problems in our schools are many, but alot of the problem, I really believe is that teaching methodologies (btw, I have an MA in Education) specifically eschew content acquisition and analytically skills. The whole shift the last 10-20 years has been towards constructivism, authentic assessments, hands-on learning, etc. I'd go on with a long post, but suffice to say the type of teaching needed for scientific mastery is a far cry from what is being done. Don't get me wrong, you still absolutely need labs, but the difference is in overall teaching methods, especially in the lower levels. You want to address the problem, go to the teacher training colleges.
California's problem is its massive spending. Several years ago, flush with all the capital gains receipts from the stock bubble, the legislature passed massive spending bills and increased retirements dramatically. They didn't care that the spending was permanent, the revenue temporary. Then the energy crisis hit. Regardless who's to blame with that, we were unprepared as ourpopulation has been increasing considerably over the years while we have actually be closing power plants and not opening new ones. It was only a matter of time.
Revenue is never the problem, only spending. If they want to increase spending, then raise the revenue. I get upset when I hear people bring up the shibboleth of prop 13, as if we homeowners are somehow to blame. It seems to be the prevailing "wisdom" among my colleagues, who benefit from, yet feel slighted by, 13. When they talk about "money for education" they are speaking only of teachers' salaries, which prop 13 is only a small part. Already, the last few years California has lost thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of (high paying) jobs as high taxes and expensive regulations drive businesses out of state. Part of the problem is the high cost of housing for sure, which makes it hard to (re)locate businesses here (and attract workers), but here's something that people don't know: california lost several thousand millionaires (from either paper losses in the bubble or attrition as they moved away) over the last decade, whose combined tax receipts were about 8 billion dollars. Funny thing, that was the size of the defiict when Grey Davis was booted from office. Our tax code is heavily skewed towards the upper incomes, and thus is highly susceptible to any changes in their incomes, or their population. We lose high end jobs (such as Sanwa bank) and import low end jobs. Plus, low end workers demand greater social services which places greater demadn on state resources. It's a ponzi scheme. Attract voters with promises of gov't largesse, drive away your productive class, discourage commerce, and then plead poverty. Helluva way to govern.
But the federal government is doing the same thing. When I retire in 20-25 years, there will be trillions in promises to social security and medicare (as well as other promises) and a huge gap between the receipts and the mandatory outlays. Even though teachers have CalSTRS (a 403b not soc. sec.) it doesn't matter. The money has to come from somewhere.
Absolutely not. I'm a public school teacher and a homeowner. With 13, I can teach, without, I'd not be able to own a home. My house has more than doubled the last six years. So too would my property taxes. In fact, prop 13 was the very reason my wife and I bought what we did, when we did.
13 is neither perfect, fair, nor equitable. It is the result of the legislature kicking the ball for several years and hoping it would roll away. It didn't. But pre-13, people were taxed out of their homes. That's gov't run amok. It's sort of like the Kelo decision today. Don't believe the hype about 13. For all al the liberal politics of California, nobody would surive politically if they tried to overturn it.
for those of here in California, you might remember the sales tax history. it was capped at 6% forever, then when the earthquake hit northern california in 1989, they allowed a "temporary" sales tax increase to help pay for it. Well, it's going on 17 years now and Los Angeles is 8.25% and isn't going down anytime soon. The same is true of spending. It only gets larger and grows, which is the source of our current economic problems and even longer term nightmare. I understand alot of the political sympathies around here, many at odds with mine (mostly foriegn policy related) but at least there'd be enough sentiment for small governemnt. big brother is big brother, whether he's listening to your phone calls OR taking half your paycheck.
I do have ad blocking with firefox. but sites routinely farm out their content to other servers, and it's hard to block every ad and every server. firefox is good at blocking popups, et al., but alot of things still slow down a web page. there has to be some non-blockign way to load remote files while continuing to load the rest of the page. It just seems that too many sites have stuff coming from all over and one slowdown brings the loading to a standstill. maybe I'm just going to the wrong sites!!
one of the things that pisses me off more than anything, as someone who has a cable connection at 3Mbs, is that I'll get pages to load and hang as some remote server is loading up an ad or image or something. You sit there and look at a half loaded web page for seconds on end. Don't site admins and companies know this pisses off users?
perhaps it's in how you use php for templating. for example, after I design the layout using CSS2 (I never use tables anymore unless it's for data), I insert the applicable files: links.php, content.php, etc. You can do content and design separately in php, and in fact it works quite nicely. One just needs to use it well. That's all. it's the same in say java using a MVC design. In my AP comp sci class we wrote an address book (simple yes, but) we displayed the data singularly in a form (which could be navigated, edited, added, deleted, etc.), completely in a JList, printed out to html and displayed in a JTextPane, or even exported to.txt files. Four ways of viewing the same data. PHP can do the same, you just have to separate the two. I'm hardly a programmign guru, I just try to use good design practices, something which I admit took a long time to develop.
bad code is cad code, and bad design is bad design. my original point was that php (or any other) books teach the specific language, not programming. I've no doubt that the poor code you had to maintain would have been poor in any language. 300 lines of a single funciton means the guy never learned how to code well.
The first 21 chapters of the book solely concentrates on PHP where the author explains with the aid of examples how to write good programs in PHP.
this is a persistent problem with all of these programming in ____________ books. They teach the language and sometimes get around to dealing with good programming. Learning PHP, or java, or python, or whatever is still not learning to program. Learning to program effectively should be the first priority. All the OOP features in PHP5 are of no use to someone without good knowledge of OOP. Likewise, I'd gather that most of the insecurities in PHP are the result of poor design. PHP is great for its templating features, the ability to separate content from design, and its speed of development. But, that still doesn't make it secure or effective. How many times does a programmer get in trouble becasue they don't escape double quotes in a TEXT field in mysql, or account for malformed URL's, html, bad javascript, etc.?
No matter how good these books are, and I'm sure they do a good job of presenting all of PHP's features and strenghts, they still usually lack teaching how to design a web site/application, how to effectively use passwords, secure data queries, efficient programming, etc. That might be an altogether different beast, but there's a world of difference between using PHP in a web site and writing a good web app. I'd wish that the books would focus more on good programming techniques. I don't imagine everyone will buy the book otherwise, and not everyone will benefit the same, but I've not found too many books that put "programming" ahead of "programming in".
You sir are my hero!! Seriously though, I teach AP Comp Sci in high school, and they use Jedit. I thought it cruel to make them learn emacs/vi, although...
but, you're point touches on somethign else that I see. I teach history, gov't, and econ as well, and the lack of any discipline or effort in the students is amazing. It goes for my programming kids as well. I tell them all the time that they need to code at home and that it won't work. They need to figure out why. They are all stuck in the "right answer" mode, or the "I'm an AP student" mode, they think that if they can't get it to compile and run the first time, I didnt' teach them well enough. As for history, etc., again, when I assign more challenging reading than the textbook, they almost all won't do it. Why? It's too "hard". So, I imagine they probably had some classes in c++ but it wsa "too hard". or worse, "when am I ever going to use this...". So, since they all figured they're going to work at some big firm with and get to use visual studio, while actually learn how to program for real. It's sad.
while it is funny, a "laptop" is a misnomer. think portability, not location. in all honesty, I haven't used my G3 ibook, which runs very cool, on my lap in I think ever. the lap is just not a very useful computing position. (well, except for, um, nevermind) The taret market is students and traveling people who take it places, and will have a place to sit. even in coffe shops with hotspots, you're going to get a table to put the lap, er, note book on.
I think I made that clear. Sorry about the typo reagrding JNI. but no, I'm not overly familiar with it as I don't code in c/c++.
I've been working with java about 7-8 years
That's mostly been developing applets to small applications mostly used at my school, etc. For example, the librarian at my old school wanted a to keep track of all the old multimedia crap (tape players, slide viewers, crap like that) we had laying around, and didn't have any funds. So I wrote a quick app a few years ago. Since we didn't have a spare computer to install a database on (and even if we did, the district would never have allowed a linux install with mysql!!) jave seemed like a perfect choice. Easy to serialize the objects, write, update, save, print reports, etc., simple UI. Really nothing to write home about, but kept her from tons of paperwork and helped her out alot. As far as I know, she still uses it. Another teacher wanted a way to take her classes in the computer lab and show them slides and text for science type stuff, planets, cells, etc. Wrote a simple server and client, did one thing, only one thing, and it worked. Small footprint and a small.jar. Again, nothing fancy, nothing extravagant, but a solution. And for those, java worked perfectly. Was there a "better commercial" version? sure. I've done other small projects like that. Am I a "professional"? hardly. My original post was more a question, that I didn't know the answer to, regarding using JNI and java's libraries.
geez, admit you don't know something, and people take more offense. perhaps it can't be done, perhaps java would be impossible to migrate to. Maybe the specs are for cross-platform rather than windows specific. I heard somewhere that Apple is still making computers. Now, where'd I hear that rumor?
I've been workign with java for abotu 7-8 years, and I'm not knowledgable in c++, but wouldn't JINI work for alot of the libraries? Or, shouldn't much of the code be cross-compilable? GUI code will not be, but wouldn't alot of the algorithms still be useful? As for java, what I've found (from talking to c/c++ developers) is that java handles so much of the nuts and bolts internally. For example, creating a socket is simply
Socket s=new Socket(IP_ADDRESS, PORT);
File I/O is simply
FileInput(Output)Stream or FileReader(Writer)
c++ gives you alot more flexibility, while java basically hides the internals from you. Object Streams are just that. It is harder to write language neutral client/server applications in java, as it's alot easier to send a byte array as an Object stream rather than a Data stream. Plus, java offers the Buffered streams which again, take care of many problems.
If there is specific CPU instructions that are in the code, they'll have quite a bit of difficulty, but converting 10,000 lines of c++ will not create 10,000 lines of java. They could very well scrap alot of code and use the existing java libraries.
Could you buy one for me and I'll reimburse you??!! Just out of curiosity, states with no sales tax, what's the property tax structure like? I California, thankfully for Prop 13, we have some control over property taxes, but some states I've heard, like Washington, have very high prop taxes. Or maybe you just have a state government that doesn't spend like drunken sailors and isn't hemoraging 3-4 billion a year for ille, er, undocu, er, services to non-citizens who've, nevermind...
I think it's much deeper than that. It's not so much about giving up liberties, because if you look at society, there's few lacking of "freedom". It's something else I think far worse. It's not so much that we have lost freedom, but we've lost our spirit. We don't have the same drive, the acceptance of responsibility with opportunity. Once, we expected to work hard, now, we expect to get a high paying job, with little work, and climb the ladder immediately. We will not sully ourselves with manual labor or anything difficult. Our ethos is gone. That's what I fear most.
I own a G3 and a G4 ibook. the G3 was WAY BETTER in terms of quality. you could just feel it and even see it. my G4 has had trackpad problems a couple of times. apple will most likely keep it at $999 trying to hit the student market. the G3 was (once I added more memory and wifi) $1499 if I remember correctly. the G4 was $999 (well, $949 because I'm a teacher) w/o wifi which I had to add. Apple will keep the price low by skimping on other things, like a slower bus, hard drive, etc. not that that's a bad thing, it's just that there's far more to a computer than just processor speed, etc. also, the G3 case was far more solid, so expect more quality issues. apple will sell a bunch of them (maybe even to me!!), but will have to handle more problems. but then again, the people who buy cheaper computers will expect less, per se, than will a power user. and even at that, look at the MBP problems. if they go over $1000, they automatically price themselves out of their target audience.
What about Apple's right to make whatever they want?
apparently you don't keep pace with current events or popular culture. the notion of individualism and freedom are as outmoded as a 14.4 modem. face it, people want big government to provide for them. we've no love anymore for freedom and liberty. in fact, people will willingly trade the former for any semblance of security. look at a decision like Kelo. there is no such thing as privte property anymore.
like all religious zealots, open source purists just marginalize themselves and the overall community. look, java is a tool, and while hardly "open source", is overall a helluva lot better than any microsoft license. but that's not the point. java is a very good tool for certain things. it has strengths and weaknesses. the license should be one of the last things to worry about. refusing to use a tool simply based on a license is not wise. no tool is perfect. use what is best suited for the job.
no I can't, but...whose voice is heard loudest? Whose agenda is most at the forefront? Yes, it's true that in all debates, the extremists are the loudest. But, the problem, at least as I see it, is that a small minority in the environmentalist movement wields alot of power. I mentioned the lawsuits in my district as an example. The vast majority of people are hampered by a few. Is that really fair? While it might be unfair in threory to lump all environmentalists together, consider that no new oil pumps, refineries, or nuclear energy plants have been built in what, 30 years. Why? Is it the general consensus, or the result of a small group that plays the system?
look, environmentalism has nothing to do with the environment. it has everything to do with anti-capitalism and all sorts of far left extreme politics. it's neo-ludditism. lots of/.'ers might lean left, but it's usually libertarianism, and I doubt few around here hate capitalism, unless you wonder who's going to produce chips and technology to play with. environementalism is the front for a poltiical movement, nothing more. look, in my school district, we get sued every time we try to build a new school. it doesn't matter what the reason. it costs us millions more and delays building by years. do they care? not at all. I asked a former asst. principal who'd been in the district 20+ years, if any new school site had not been challenged. he said no, every one has. We finally got a couple new schools built, but I was at a school that was built for 900 and had over 1600 by the time I left. I hunt and fish, and I love the outdoors. but the environmentalists are not about the environment. they're extremists, pure and simple. the other day, the founder of Greenpeace came out in support of nuclear energy. It's clean, cheap, safe, and would free us from foreign oil. he pleaded with his enviro friends to join him. don't expect it.
dvorak is an idiot, but he knows how to get headlines. and here we are discussing his inane ramblings. he got what he wantaed. must be a slow news day.
Slashdot Mirror
phonetically, it would pronounced "em ay" which would mean the "an". You wouldn't say "a em ay". Notice the parentheses, thus implying a conversational message.
because they don't read or write to well either. The problems in our schools are many, but alot of the problem, I really believe is that teaching methodologies (btw, I have an MA in Education) specifically eschew content acquisition and analytically skills. The whole shift the last 10-20 years has been towards constructivism, authentic assessments, hands-on learning, etc. I'd go on with a long post, but suffice to say the type of teaching needed for scientific mastery is a far cry from what is being done. Don't get me wrong, you still absolutely need labs, but the difference is in overall teaching methods, especially in the lower levels. You want to address the problem, go to the teacher training colleges.
How about Absolutely not?
California's problem is its massive spending. Several years ago, flush with all the capital gains receipts from the stock bubble, the legislature passed massive spending bills and increased retirements dramatically. They didn't care that the spending was permanent, the revenue temporary. Then the energy crisis hit. Regardless who's to blame with that, we were unprepared as ourpopulation has been increasing considerably over the years while we have actually be closing power plants and not opening new ones. It was only a matter of time.
Revenue is never the problem, only spending. If they want to increase spending, then raise the revenue. I get upset when I hear people bring up the shibboleth of prop 13, as if we homeowners are somehow to blame. It seems to be the prevailing "wisdom" among my colleagues, who benefit from, yet feel slighted by, 13. When they talk about "money for education" they are speaking only of teachers' salaries, which prop 13 is only a small part. Already, the last few years California has lost thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of (high paying) jobs as high taxes and expensive regulations drive businesses out of state. Part of the problem is the high cost of housing for sure, which makes it hard to (re)locate businesses here (and attract workers), but here's something that people don't know: california lost several thousand millionaires (from either paper losses in the bubble or attrition as they moved away) over the last decade, whose combined tax receipts were about 8 billion dollars. Funny thing, that was the size of the defiict when Grey Davis was booted from office. Our tax code is heavily skewed towards the upper incomes, and thus is highly susceptible to any changes in their incomes, or their population. We lose high end jobs (such as Sanwa bank) and import low end jobs. Plus, low end workers demand greater social services which places greater demadn on state resources. It's a ponzi scheme. Attract voters with promises of gov't largesse, drive away your productive class, discourage commerce, and then plead poverty. Helluva way to govern.
But the federal government is doing the same thing. When I retire in 20-25 years, there will be trillions in promises to social security and medicare (as well as other promises) and a huge gap between the receipts and the mandatory outlays. Even though teachers have CalSTRS (a 403b not soc. sec.) it doesn't matter. The money has to come from somewhere.
Absolutely not. I'm a public school teacher and a homeowner. With 13, I can teach, without, I'd not be able to own a home. My house has more than doubled the last six years. So too would my property taxes. In fact, prop 13 was the very reason my wife and I bought what we did, when we did.
13 is neither perfect, fair, nor equitable. It is the result of the legislature kicking the ball for several years and hoping it would roll away. It didn't. But pre-13, people were taxed out of their homes. That's gov't run amok. It's sort of like the Kelo decision today. Don't believe the hype about 13. For all al the liberal politics of California, nobody would surive politically if they tried to overturn it.
for those of here in California, you might remember the sales tax history. it was capped at 6% forever, then when the earthquake hit northern california in 1989, they allowed a "temporary" sales tax increase to help pay for it. Well, it's going on 17 years now and Los Angeles is 8.25% and isn't going down anytime soon. The same is true of spending. It only gets larger and grows, which is the source of our current economic problems and even longer term nightmare. I understand alot of the political sympathies around here, many at odds with mine (mostly foriegn policy related) but at least there'd be enough sentiment for small governemnt. big brother is big brother, whether he's listening to your phone calls OR taking half your paycheck.
'labor' is the last thing I'd want to do in Nikes. That's what work boots are for.
aren't you barefoot during labor?
will have to give it a try.
I do have ad blocking with firefox. but sites routinely farm out their content to other servers, and it's hard to block every ad and every server. firefox is good at blocking popups, et al., but alot of things still slow down a web page. there has to be some non-blockign way to load remote files while continuing to load the rest of the page. It just seems that too many sites have stuff coming from all over and one slowdown brings the loading to a standstill. maybe I'm just going to the wrong sites!!
one of the things that pisses me off more than anything, as someone who has a cable connection at 3Mbs, is that I'll get pages to load and hang as some remote server is loading up an ad or image or something. You sit there and look at a half loaded web page for seconds on end. Don't site admins and companies know this pisses off users?
perhaps it's in how you use php for templating. for example, after I design the layout using CSS2 (I never use tables anymore unless it's for data), I insert the applicable files: links.php, content.php, etc. You can do content and design separately in php, and in fact it works quite nicely. One just needs to use it well. That's all. it's the same in say java using a MVC design. In my AP comp sci class we wrote an address book (simple yes, but) we displayed the data singularly in a form (which could be navigated, edited, added, deleted, etc.), completely in a JList, printed out to html and displayed in a JTextPane, or even exported to .txt files. Four ways of viewing the same data. PHP can do the same, you just have to separate the two. I'm hardly a programmign guru, I just try to use good design practices, something which I admit took a long time to develop.
bad code is cad code, and bad design is bad design. my original point was that php (or any other) books teach the specific language, not programming. I've no doubt that the poor code you had to maintain would have been poor in any language. 300 lines of a single funciton means the guy never learned how to code well.
The first 21 chapters of the book solely concentrates on PHP where the author explains with the aid of examples how to write good programs in PHP.
this is a persistent problem with all of these programming in ____________ books. They teach the language and sometimes get around to dealing with good programming. Learning PHP, or java, or python, or whatever is still not learning to program. Learning to program effectively should be the first priority. All the OOP features in PHP5 are of no use to someone without good knowledge of OOP. Likewise, I'd gather that most of the insecurities in PHP are the result of poor design. PHP is great for its templating features, the ability to separate content from design, and its speed of development. But, that still doesn't make it secure or effective. How many times does a programmer get in trouble becasue they don't escape double quotes in a TEXT field in mysql, or account for malformed URL's, html, bad javascript, etc.?
No matter how good these books are, and I'm sure they do a good job of presenting all of PHP's features and strenghts, they still usually lack teaching how to design a web site/application, how to effectively use passwords, secure data queries, efficient programming, etc. That might be an altogether different beast, but there's a world of difference between using PHP in a web site and writing a good web app. I'd wish that the books would focus more on good programming techniques. I don't imagine everyone will buy the book otherwise, and not everyone will benefit the same, but I've not found too many books that put "programming" ahead of "programming in".
this isn't too bad either.
You sir are my hero!! Seriously though, I teach AP Comp Sci in high school, and they use Jedit. I thought it cruel to make them learn emacs/vi, although...
but, you're point touches on somethign else that I see. I teach history, gov't, and econ as well, and the lack of any discipline or effort in the students is amazing. It goes for my programming kids as well. I tell them all the time that they need to code at home and that it won't work. They need to figure out why. They are all stuck in the "right answer" mode, or the "I'm an AP student" mode, they think that if they can't get it to compile and run the first time, I didnt' teach them well enough. As for history, etc., again, when I assign more challenging reading than the textbook, they almost all won't do it. Why? It's too "hard". So, I imagine they probably had some classes in c++ but it wsa "too hard". or worse, "when am I ever going to use this...". So, since they all figured they're going to work at some big firm with and get to use visual studio, while actually learn how to program for real. It's sad.
while it is funny, a "laptop" is a misnomer. think portability, not location. in all honesty, I haven't used my G3 ibook, which runs very cool, on my lap in I think ever. the lap is just not a very useful computing position. (well, except for, um, nevermind) The taret market is students and traveling people who take it places, and will have a place to sit. even in coffe shops with hotspots, you're going to get a table to put the lap, er, note book on.
I'm not knowledgable in c++
.jar. Again, nothing fancy, nothing extravagant, but a solution. And for those, java worked perfectly. Was there a "better commercial" version? sure. I've done other small projects like that. Am I a "professional"? hardly. My original post was more a question, that I didn't know the answer to, regarding using JNI and java's libraries.
I think I made that clear. Sorry about the typo reagrding JNI. but no, I'm not overly familiar with it as I don't code in c/c++.
I've been working with java about 7-8 years
That's mostly been developing applets to small applications mostly used at my school, etc. For example, the librarian at my old school wanted a to keep track of all the old multimedia crap (tape players, slide viewers, crap like that) we had laying around, and didn't have any funds. So I wrote a quick app a few years ago. Since we didn't have a spare computer to install a database on (and even if we did, the district would never have allowed a linux install with mysql!!) jave seemed like a perfect choice. Easy to serialize the objects, write, update, save, print reports, etc., simple UI. Really nothing to write home about, but kept her from tons of paperwork and helped her out alot. As far as I know, she still uses it. Another teacher wanted a way to take her classes in the computer lab and show them slides and text for science type stuff, planets, cells, etc. Wrote a simple server and client, did one thing, only one thing, and it worked. Small footprint and a small
geez, admit you don't know something, and people take more offense. perhaps it can't be done, perhaps java would be impossible to migrate to. Maybe the specs are for cross-platform rather than windows specific. I heard somewhere that Apple is still making computers. Now, where'd I hear that rumor?
I've been workign with java for abotu 7-8 years, and I'm not knowledgable in c++, but wouldn't JINI work for alot of the libraries? Or, shouldn't much of the code be cross-compilable? GUI code will not be, but wouldn't alot of the algorithms still be useful? As for java, what I've found (from talking to c/c++ developers) is that java handles so much of the nuts and bolts internally. For example, creating a socket is simply
Socket s=new Socket(IP_ADDRESS, PORT);
File I/O is simply
FileInput(Output)Stream or FileReader(Writer)
c++ gives you alot more flexibility, while java basically hides the internals from you. Object Streams are just that. It is harder to write language neutral client/server applications in java, as it's alot easier to send a byte array as an Object stream rather than a Data stream. Plus, java offers the Buffered streams which again, take care of many problems.
If there is specific CPU instructions that are in the code, they'll have quite a bit of difficulty, but converting 10,000 lines of c++ will not create 10,000 lines of java. They could very well scrap alot of code and use the existing java libraries.
Could you buy one for me and I'll reimburse you??!! Just out of curiosity, states with no sales tax, what's the property tax structure like? I California, thankfully for Prop 13, we have some control over property taxes, but some states I've heard, like Washington, have very high prop taxes. Or maybe you just have a state government that doesn't spend like drunken sailors and isn't hemoraging 3-4 billion a year for ille, er, undocu, er, services to non-citizens who've, nevermind...
I think it's much deeper than that. It's not so much about giving up liberties, because if you look at society, there's few lacking of "freedom". It's something else I think far worse. It's not so much that we have lost freedom, but we've lost our spirit. We don't have the same drive, the acceptance of responsibility with opportunity. Once, we expected to work hard, now, we expect to get a high paying job, with little work, and climb the ladder immediately. We will not sully ourselves with manual labor or anything difficult. Our ethos is gone. That's what I fear most.
I own a G3 and a G4 ibook. the G3 was WAY BETTER in terms of quality. you could just feel it and even see it. my G4 has had trackpad problems a couple of times. apple will most likely keep it at $999 trying to hit the student market. the G3 was (once I added more memory and wifi) $1499 if I remember correctly. the G4 was $999 (well, $949 because I'm a teacher) w/o wifi which I had to add. Apple will keep the price low by skimping on other things, like a slower bus, hard drive, etc. not that that's a bad thing, it's just that there's far more to a computer than just processor speed, etc. also, the G3 case was far more solid, so expect more quality issues. apple will sell a bunch of them (maybe even to me!!), but will have to handle more problems. but then again, the people who buy cheaper computers will expect less, per se, than will a power user. and even at that, look at the MBP problems. if they go over $1000, they automatically price themselves out of their target audience.
What about Apple's right to make whatever they want?
apparently you don't keep pace with current events or popular culture. the notion of individualism and freedom are as outmoded as a 14.4 modem. face it, people want big government to provide for them. we've no love anymore for freedom and liberty. in fact, people will willingly trade the former for any semblance of security. look at a decision like Kelo. there is no such thing as privte property anymore.
like all religious zealots, open source purists just marginalize themselves and the overall community. look, java is a tool, and while hardly "open source", is overall a helluva lot better than any microsoft license. but that's not the point. java is a very good tool for certain things. it has strengths and weaknesses. the license should be one of the last things to worry about. refusing to use a tool simply based on a license is not wise. no tool is perfect. use what is best suited for the job.
lower costs? more efficiency? my government? guess the world's ending tomorrow!!
no I can't, but...whose voice is heard loudest? Whose agenda is most at the forefront? Yes, it's true that in all debates, the extremists are the loudest. But, the problem, at least as I see it, is that a small minority in the environmentalist movement wields alot of power. I mentioned the lawsuits in my district as an example. The vast majority of people are hampered by a few. Is that really fair? While it might be unfair in threory to lump all environmentalists together, consider that no new oil pumps, refineries, or nuclear energy plants have been built in what, 30 years. Why? Is it the general consensus, or the result of a small group that plays the system?
look, environmentalism has nothing to do with the environment. it has everything to do with anti-capitalism and all sorts of far left extreme politics. it's neo-ludditism. lots of /.'ers might lean left, but it's usually libertarianism, and I doubt few around here hate capitalism, unless you wonder who's going to produce chips and technology to play with. environementalism is the front for a poltiical movement, nothing more. look, in my school district, we get sued every time we try to build a new school. it doesn't matter what the reason. it costs us millions more and delays building by years. do they care? not at all. I asked a former asst. principal who'd been in the district 20+ years, if any new school site had not been challenged. he said no, every one has. We finally got a couple new schools built, but I was at a school that was built for 900 and had over 1600 by the time I left. I hunt and fish, and I love the outdoors. but the environmentalists are not about the environment. they're extremists, pure and simple. the other day, the founder of Greenpeace came out in support of nuclear energy. It's clean, cheap, safe, and would free us from foreign oil. he pleaded with his enviro friends to join him. don't expect it.
dvorak is an idiot, but he knows how to get headlines. and here we are discussing his inane ramblings. he got what he wantaed. must be a slow news day.