Solaris does have a good cost/performance ratio. Especially if you buy their hardware (the OS is free most times). It's also quite good for what it's designed to do. But it certainly isn't very flexible, and it can be obtuse. Thankfully, it's very "open" and you can pretty much get any question answered about how any part of it works. Now, changing how it works is a different thing entirely. With linux, it's a non-issue. With Solaris, well, you better pick up some Sun publications and a copy of Forte.
However, they're still pretty small right now, and with not too large a customer base. This allows them prompt, responsive service. (It probably helps that most people that deal with them are as willing as they are to do some problem solving/sleuthing-type work).
This could change as the install base gets much larger, and more people start demanding more of them (with less critical feedback). Larger support staff means it's more difficult to prioritize fixes, means more staff costs, etc.
There's already a few of these sort of devices on the market. They work with anything that has a headphone output. Since the cost is so low, no one is going to try to integrate that into a player (and then have to endure the extra paperwork with the FCC and other worldwide agencies).
I know. My argument was against the thinking that the killer feature of an iPod (or other portables) was whether or not it would work with a music store / service.
I say: Apple's marketing made iPods must-have items. Before, such devices would be considered geeky, nerdy, unnecessary. But as soon Madison Avenue, I'm sorry, I meant Apple says it's "in", well, then by god, that's what you want for Christmas.
Because the majority of music that people have before they purchase an MP3 player (you would think they'd purchase it to listen to music they already have)... is pirated or copied from CDs anyway... durrr.
I don't think a lot of people would drop $200-$400 on a player to only turn around and go pay another $100 to fill it up with songs.
iPod wasn't the first company to market MP3 portables. HD-based or otherwise. Samsung, iRiver (i.e. SonicBlue, then Rio), Creative, Archos, Pine Tech.... they were on the market before the year 2000.
Sigh. I remember cruising the MP3 hardware sites, and getting all excited when new products would come out...
Then 2002 came around. Apple's marketing machine that suddenly made that sort of device a must-have item.
And then everyone started saying that everyone else was copying them... hah the nerve.
Probably not going to happen if: 1) uses setuid and/or treats/etc/passwd pre-shadow 2) wants to use largefiles 3) uses threads or waits on child processes. 4) tries to use libtermcap
...but actually Corrective mode is a lot more versatile and much easier to use especially when it comes to correcting perspective distortions.
You have no idea. This is (IMO) the one single, most useful feature of the GIMP. Arbitrary inverse linear transformations.
That and quick editing of masks/alpha channels. I love being able to "paste down" grayscale right into the mask layer, or an arbitrary channel. Mix that with the "compose images" feature...
Refocus-it can deconvolve blur due to motion or an approxmiately gaussian operator (i.e. a picture out of focus).
But it does not recover "hidden information". A blown up picture of text will look like blurry, sure. But when you go to use refocus-it, you'll get a HORRIBLE mess which will look like the sharpened form of the resampling artifacts. (cubic interpolation is like a very small-windowed convolution) And so you'll get delicious, useless ringing on top of nice graidents... no extra hidden lines or curves or edges.
... never mind that it's easier to just set up an isolated IRC server and make everone connect directly than it is trying to administrate / get one to participate in a public net.
Currently, the two big cases are: 1) Napster 2) Kazaa
Both were commercial entities. This draws fire from those who don't want them around.
But what can you do about bittorrent? Not much. You can attack the tracker websites that seem to not care what's being shared with them. And that's it.
Similarly, I don't see how adding a P2P client in GAIM is a problem.
I mean, you already have file send/receive in most IM clients. This is just a more flexible version of this.
Clearly someone needs to make a firefox extension wherein you can designate a tab/window as the new "default target". I can see how that would be very useful, especially when a page is poorly laid out.
a) however, has been supported forever. I just tried now in an old Mozilla: if I drag a link over my bookmarks, the folder opens for me and lets me place it where I want (or in a sub-folder inside, etc.). The menu contents are draggable as well. Also noting that the _link text_, not the TITLE of the page, becomes the bookmark name. Coolness.
But it provides a lot of other neat stuff that developers like, which should, in theory, provide a rich platform for weird and cool things.
The innovation is the platform API it's built on. NSPR, XUL, the package manager...
The Moz guys weren't saying... look at Opera, let's do that. It's the guys making extensions which eventually get rolled who are saying "we're missing X feature; look at Opera, how cool is that...". And so it's because of that environment you'll get a lot of copycat.
... that gecko-based browsers are very developer-happy. Opera is a closed-knit deal. Both are good for end-user use. Opera probably has more fit and finish. Moz/Fox will have more specialized features.
The moz/firefox guys didn't encourage this too much because I think the general feeling is that the browser should behave like the OS, or IE and Netscape w.r.t. prevailing navigation keys on each particular platform. So you have a platform-dependant configuration for each target.
Not many apps _period_ let you map keys outside of some system-wide configuration, for consistancies sake.
Although I think it's overlooked, because people are spending much more time using web-browser than other apps on their system.
If you want to be dangerous concerning gecko-browsers:
Open chrome/browser.jar (it's a zip file). Open browser.xul with a text editor.
You will find a list of HTML-like lines that map actions to keystrokes. It's done with strings that are fairly self-descriptive.
I would _love_ to see an extension that adds an input-config screen like in FPS-s where they have a list of commands down the side, arranged by category, and a place to assign your key/mouse stroke to it. Or maybe "gestures" if that's supported.
Does anyone know how to do this with IE??? Registry edit?
Slashdot Mirror
Solaris does have a good cost/performance ratio. Especially if you buy their hardware (the OS is free most times). It's also quite good for what it's designed to do.
But it certainly isn't very flexible, and it can be obtuse. Thankfully, it's very "open" and you can pretty much get any question answered about how any part of it works. Now, changing how it works is a different thing entirely. With linux, it's a non-issue. With Solaris, well, you better pick up some Sun publications and a copy of Forte.
However, they're still pretty small right now, and with not too large a customer base. This allows them prompt, responsive service. (It probably helps that most people that deal with them are as willing as they are to do some problem solving/sleuthing-type work).
This could change as the install base gets much larger, and more people start demanding more of them (with less critical feedback).
Larger support staff means it's more difficult to prioritize fixes, means more staff costs, etc.
I mean, NFS, NIS and PAM weren't GPL.
Then how they did they get into the Linux kernel?
The same way everything else does...
Oracle, MathWorks and ESRI can do it (simultaneous support of multiple distros in a binary release).
Why can't they?
Belkin TuneCast II
There's already a few of these sort of devices on the market. They work with anything that has a headphone output. Since the cost is so low, no one is going to try to integrate that into a player (and then have to endure the extra paperwork with the FCC and other worldwide agencies).
I know.
My argument was against the thinking that the killer feature of an iPod (or other portables) was whether or not it would work with a music store / service.
I say: Apple's marketing made iPods must-have items.
Before, such devices would be considered geeky, nerdy, unnecessary. But as soon Madison Avenue, I'm sorry, I meant Apple says it's "in", well, then by god, that's what you want for Christmas.
Because the majority of music that people have before they purchase an MP3 player (you would think they'd purchase it to listen to music they already have) ... is pirated or copied from CDs anyway... durrr.
I don't think a lot of people would drop $200-$400 on a player to only turn around and go pay another $100 to fill it up with songs.
iPod wasn't the first company to market MP3 portables. HD-based or otherwise. Samsung, iRiver (i.e. SonicBlue, then Rio), Creative, Archos, Pine Tech.... they were on the market before the year 2000.
Sigh. I remember cruising the MP3 hardware sites, and getting all excited when new products would come out...
Then 2002 came around. Apple's marketing machine that suddenly made that sort of device a must-have item.
And then everyone started saying that everyone else was copying them... hah the nerve.
Probably not going to happen if: /etc/passwd pre-shadow
1) uses setuid and/or treats
2) wants to use largefiles
3) uses threads or waits on child processes.
4) tries to use libtermcap
I can think of a couple other nasties...
how is that even possible?
...but actually Corrective mode is a lot more versatile and much easier to use especially when it comes to correcting perspective distortions.
You have no idea. This is (IMO) the one single, most useful feature of the GIMP.
Arbitrary inverse linear transformations.
That and quick editing of masks/alpha channels. I love being able to "paste down" grayscale right into the mask layer, or an arbitrary channel.
Mix that with the "compose images" feature...
ever.
If you've never seen a boob, and you're straight, you may have never known you had heterosexual thoughts.
Here:
This one has a lot of fancy features for video processing, but no audio switching.
This one switches audio as well but it lacks support for DVI, and it doesn't convert digital analog on the audio. OTH it has 7 inputs...
Refocus-it DOES NOT give you extra resolution
Refocus-it can deconvolve blur due to motion or an approxmiately gaussian operator (i.e. a picture out of focus).
But it does not recover "hidden information". A blown up picture of text will look like blurry, sure. But when you go to use refocus-it, you'll get a HORRIBLE mess which will look like the sharpened form of the resampling artifacts. (cubic interpolation is like a very small-windowed convolution) And so you'll get delicious, useless ringing on top of nice graidents... no extra hidden lines or curves or edges.
That's like your last ditch suggestion.
Hey, we wanna compress sonar data... but it can't affect any of the displays in post-processing. Yadda yadda.
Me: Hey, why not use a KLT instead of a filterbank?
Them: Hey yeah. Wait, we can't do this in realtime.
Me: Well, then get some more bandwidth. This isn't voodoo magic.
... never mind that it's easier to just set up an isolated IRC server and make everone connect directly than it is trying to administrate / get one to participate in a public net.
I assure you he is NOT an employee of Nullsoft. It wouldn't be fair to call it _his_ software.
Currently, the two big cases are:
:-D
1) Napster
2) Kazaa
Both were commercial entities. This draws fire from those who don't want them around.
But what can you do about bittorrent? Not much. You can attack the tracker websites that seem to not care what's being shared with them. And that's it.
Similarly, I don't see how adding a P2P client in GAIM is a problem.
I mean, you already have file send/receive in most IM clients. This is just a more flexible version of this.
Just say it's for sharing vCards!
If you don't like your IM client sticking out in windows...
Clearly someone needs to make a firefox extension wherein you can designate a tab/window as the new "default target".
I can see how that would be very useful, especially when a page is poorly laid out.
a) however, has been supported forever. I just tried now in an old Mozilla: if I drag a link over my bookmarks, the folder opens for me and lets me place it where I want (or in a sub-folder inside, etc.). The menu contents are draggable as well.
Also noting that the _link text_, not the TITLE of the page, becomes the bookmark name. Coolness.
But it provides a lot of other neat stuff that developers like, which should, in theory, provide a rich platform for weird and cool things.
The innovation is the platform API it's built on. NSPR, XUL, the package manager...
The Moz guys weren't saying... look at Opera, let's do that. It's the guys making extensions which eventually get rolled who are saying "we're missing X feature; look at Opera, how cool is that...". And so it's because of that environment you'll get a lot of copycat.
... that gecko-based browsers are very developer-happy. Opera is a closed-knit deal. Both are good for end-user use. Opera probably has more fit and finish. Moz/Fox will have more specialized features.
And I wouldn't use IE except for windowsupdate.
The moz/firefox guys didn't encourage this too much because I think the general feeling is that the browser should behave like the OS, or IE and Netscape w.r.t. prevailing navigation keys on each particular platform.
So you have a platform-dependant configuration for each target.
Not many apps _period_ let you map keys outside of some system-wide configuration, for consistancies sake.
Although I think it's overlooked, because people are spending much more time using web-browser than other apps on their system.
If you want to be dangerous concerning gecko-browsers:
Open chrome/browser.jar (it's a zip file).
Open browser.xul with a text editor.
You will find a list of HTML-like lines that map actions to keystrokes. It's done with strings that are fairly self-descriptive.
I would _love_ to see an extension that adds an input-config screen like in FPS-s where they have a list of commands down the side, arranged by category, and a place to assign your key/mouse stroke to it. Or maybe "gestures" if that's supported.
Does anyone know how to do this with IE??? Registry edit?