Expensive systems are on Oracle.
The largest collections of data might even be on the filesystem with no database.
The largest collection of data I saw in a single system was on Postgres. If that system went Oracle it would have cost them half a million in licence fees, that would have been more than the comany running the database had. Instead they just had a boat load of cheap intel gear running Linux.
An Oracle 7.1 on VMS database I once worked on simply could not handle the load of data we gave it. This data was a small fraction of what was handled by a time series data store system on the same hardware.
As Postgres and MySQL gain the trust of users it will kill the market for low, then middle, then high end databases. That is why Oracle needs to move into applications because their core DB is going to loose to open source and microsoft.
What makes you think that cable companies are not a bureaucratic institution?
If you had public *ownership* but private maintenance and operation you could potentially make the existing large bureacratic institution into a smaller one.
Brendan
I think that approach is an improvement but I don't think it is optimal. My prefered UI would be the same as for popup windows.
Just don't open the window.
Create a little icon/bar at the edge of the screen indicating that something was blocked. Then have a process to explain the situation and allow unblocking using that bar/icon.
People would have to actually go out of their way, not just acknowledge, to get something bad to happen.
If the tasks are unrelated and share no data then getting then you can get them to run in parallel with only a small decrease in reliability/increase in cost.
This is a typical case for a web application serving multiple independant clients (you are reading your mail, and I am reading mine).
Never give customers a stupid reason not to buy.
Don't get heavy on people with big decisions. Make it easy for them to say yes and give you money.
TiVo should offer:
* All up front (current with lifetime)
* A mix of up front and subscription (current model with monthly).
* All subscription (no up front cost at all)
Let customers try the low up front cost, then upgrade to all up front cost in a couple of months when they are hooked.
Brendan
You really miss Australia's point on this one.
Whether or not Australia itself complies with Kyoto is irrelevant.
Australia needs to protect it's coal exports by derailing the whole process and encouraging more CO2 emissions.
Look at the % of Australia exports which are coal.
Natural Gas is harder to ship and would is more likely be supplied by someone else.
The Australian short term economic interest to to stop other countries from signing on, not just refusing to comply.
On Children's education, those with reponsibilities include:
Parents
Teachers
Children
Government
Voters
Tax payers
Citizens
If voters elect politicians move the funding for education info tax cuts, then voters are responsible for issues in education.
A blanket statement like "Screwing things up" is too absolute and therefore wrong. For example I think my child is at this stage getting a good education from dedicated individuals.
Brendan
Java's big idea is secure execution of code delivered over a network from someone you don't trust.
Competitors are JavaScript and SQL.
Java is compiled, better standardarized, and more OO.
Java has lost in this area.
What toys are you looking at?
My toddler uses an Athelon 750 MHz as toy, for web surfing, drawing, baby einstien DVD's and music.
The key point to understand is that the latest Intel chip is NOT the latest important advance in IT.
Can most users tell you the optimal sound card for their needs?
Can they even tell you their current sound card?
To make things simple you need to go beyond an iMac.
Limiting the choice of UI is not enough. To truely make things simple you need a single Kernel, Single UI, Single Spreadsheet, Word Processor, single sound card, single laser printer, Single monitor.
OpenSource users don't just get to choose between Gnome, KDE and....
They also get to choose between BSD, perhaps HURD, Darwin, and Linux.
Choice is everywhere.
I think a few iOpenPC's will evolve. And they will kill Microsoft on the desktop. The Kernel may even be BSD based.
Brendan
What you want to learn is a language that is great demand at high prices.
The quality of the language is irrelevant except to the extent that it impacts usage by high paying customers.
A minor concern is a development environment that does not drive you crazy. For me, a slow compile/test cycle is far more of a pain than having to find a few type bugs. Finding those in a nice environment is good entertainment.
Slashdot Mirror
Expensive systems are on Oracle. The largest collections of data might even be on the filesystem with no database. The largest collection of data I saw in a single system was on Postgres. If that system went Oracle it would have cost them half a million in licence fees, that would have been more than the comany running the database had. Instead they just had a boat load of cheap intel gear running Linux. An Oracle 7.1 on VMS database I once worked on simply could not handle the load of data we gave it. This data was a small fraction of what was handled by a time series data store system on the same hardware. As Postgres and MySQL gain the trust of users it will kill the market for low, then middle, then high end databases. That is why Oracle needs to move into applications because their core DB is going to loose to open source and microsoft.
What makes you think that cable companies are not a bureaucratic institution? If you had public *ownership* but private maintenance and operation you could potentially make the existing large bureacratic institution into a smaller one. Brendan
Just don't open the window.
Create a little icon/bar at the edge of the screen indicating that something was blocked. Then have a process to explain the situation and allow unblocking using that bar/icon.
People would have to actually go out of their way, not just acknowledge, to get something bad to happen.
If the tasks are unrelated and share no data then getting then you can get them to run in parallel with only a small decrease in reliability/increase in cost. This is a typical case for a web application serving multiple independant clients (you are reading your mail, and I am reading mine).
Is it really that hard to compress further?
What if you took a leaf out of that *Compress JPEG for archiving idea* (could not find link).
For JPEG there is a lossy and lossless stage. You can undo the orginal and apply an improved lossless stage.
Is there a lossy and lossless stage to MP3 compression?
If yes it is unlikely the lossless stage can't be improved on given some nice custom hardware.
Never give customers a stupid reason not to buy. Don't get heavy on people with big decisions. Make it easy for them to say yes and give you money. TiVo should offer: * All up front (current with lifetime) * A mix of up front and subscription (current model with monthly). * All subscription (no up front cost at all) Let customers try the low up front cost, then upgrade to all up front cost in a couple of months when they are hooked. Brendan
You really miss Australia's point on this one. Whether or not Australia itself complies with Kyoto is irrelevant. Australia needs to protect it's coal exports by derailing the whole process and encouraging more CO2 emissions. Look at the % of Australia exports which are coal. Natural Gas is harder to ship and would is more likely be supplied by someone else. The Australian short term economic interest to to stop other countries from signing on, not just refusing to comply.
On Children's education, those with reponsibilities include: Parents Teachers Children Government Voters Tax payers Citizens If voters elect politicians move the funding for education info tax cuts, then voters are responsible for issues in education. A blanket statement like "Screwing things up" is too absolute and therefore wrong. For example I think my child is at this stage getting a good education from dedicated individuals. Brendan
He made a fine living. He is bummed that he is not rich.
The only thing worth fixing here, is the inconvenience to Sony and Philips this bunch created.
Sony and Philips would have created the CD with less hassle if this guy had never existed.
We live in a world of enourmous value, and the most valuable things are not anyone's property.
Perhaps we should give 5 cents on each CD in English to the creator of English.
Java's big idea is secure execution of code delivered over a network from someone you don't trust. Competitors are JavaScript and SQL. Java is compiled, better standardarized, and more OO. Java has lost in this area.
What toys are you looking at? My toddler uses an Athelon 750 MHz as toy, for web surfing, drawing, baby einstien DVD's and music. The key point to understand is that the latest Intel chip is NOT the latest important advance in IT.
Can most users tell you the optimal sound card for their needs? Can they even tell you their current sound card? To make things simple you need to go beyond an iMac. Limiting the choice of UI is not enough. To truely make things simple you need a single Kernel, Single UI, Single Spreadsheet, Word Processor, single sound card, single laser printer, Single monitor. OpenSource users don't just get to choose between Gnome, KDE and ....
They also get to choose between BSD, perhaps HURD, Darwin, and Linux.
Choice is everywhere.
I think a few iOpenPC's will evolve. And they will kill Microsoft on the desktop. The Kernel may even be BSD based.
Brendan
You can do what iContract, sqlj, and jsp did and invent one from scratch.
If you are Sun you can add to the language. Some kind of "for each" is being added to JDK 1.5.
The two views that I vacilate between are:
1. Java sux and should be dumped for Lisp, Python or Ruby
2. Java is widely used and macros will help it evolve
You focus is all wrong!!
What you want to learn is a language that is great demand at high prices.
The quality of the language is irrelevant except to the extent that it impacts usage by high paying customers.
A minor concern is a development environment that does not drive you crazy. For me, a slow compile/test cycle is far more of a pain than having to find a few type bugs. Finding those in a nice environment is good entertainment.