Okay, so exactly why do left-handed people reverse their mouse buttons?
They're the left and right buttons. Software responds to a left button click, not to "a click of the button that happens to be under your index finger". I use a mouse with either hand - without swapping buttons - and manage to click the button on the left side of the mouse without any confusion.
I can understand that some mice have an awkward shape, which is annoying to hold in the left hand. But who added the option to reverse the buttons, and why?
What the heck does it find? At least on Windows "Windows Explorer" gives you some hint as to what it does. Call it "Network Surfer", "Network Browser", whatever.
Yes, the Finder does have a "Find" menu choice, but so does most every app.
If you put out a game on schedule, everyone bitches that it's buggy.
If you delay the game until it's ready, everyone bitches that it's late.
If you split the difference, everyone bitches that it's buggy and late.
If you manage to stop adding features early enough so that you actually ship a game that's on time and pretty much bug free, everyone bitches that the gameplay is lame, and they should have added feature x from other game y.
And if you hire enough programmers to put out a massive killer game on time without bugs, but have the audacity to actually charge enough to pay all those people a decent wage, everyone bitches that it's too expensive.
Okay, rant over. Back to fixing bugs to please you people.
The Abekas A62 disk recorder could record one video stream, while playing back another. It was introduced in the mid 1980's, so any patents involved have likely run out by now. Abekas even won an Emmy award for it in 1986.
It was meant for professional studio use, cost about $150K, and only held 100 seconds of video - but hey, that was 20 years ago. I'm not sure how Tivo can claim to have invented the technology.
The Abekas A62 disk recorder could record one video stream, while playing back another. It was introduced in the mid 1980's, so any patents involved have likely run out by now. Abekas even won an Emmy award for it in 1986.
It was meant for professional studio use, cost about $150K, and only held 100 seconds of video - but hey, that was 20 years ago. I'm not sure how Tivo can claim to have invented the technology.
All collaborative software I've seen require all users to be there simultaneously - just like a real face-to-face meeting.
That's what most people are trying to avoid. An email chain allows users to reply as time permits - and even (gasp) to actually think about something for a while before replying.
If something is time critical, use the phone, or call a meeting. If something is not time critical, use an email chain. I don't see any hole in that logic that is filled by any sort of collaborative software.
Obviously if he'd ever played Grand Theft Auto, he'd be out scoring with hookers, not killing cops. Now, if he was on trial for killing a prostitute, then maybe he'd have a case.
Imagine [...] not having to pay also the cost of using an extensive cable network.
Broadband over power lines uses the power lines - the power grid - which is an extensive network of cables. It has a definate cost. In fact, the costs are higher than that of cable - since the power lines are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the power poles themselves, while the cable companies merely rent space on them.
So, Congress things that censorship of the Net is a bad thing.
This is the SAME congress that mandates filtering of the Net in all libraries.
So, basically, if other countries do it, it's evil, but if the USA does it, that's the right thing to do? Sounds a lot like Congress' policy on detaining and torturing prisoners.
If you really want it to be sustainable, use something where you have access to the source code. Even if you don't want to modify the sources, just having access can help you track down obscure bugs.
So of the two you've listed, clearly Linux would be your choice. Plus, don't forget that Microsoft's embedded OSes reinvent themselves every few years - just wait until they throw out CE and sell you Vista Embedded next year.
There are other choices based on the size/scale of your project - such as Nucleus, which gives you source access.
It's about time they stopped selling UMDs. After spending billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives on a wild search for UMDs in Iraq, you wouldn't want Sony just selling them in the shops, now would you?
Microsoft has been saying this for many years now (XP, Win2K at least). As each release date nears, and the number of signed drivers is pitifully small, they drop the requirement.
There will be some way of loading unsigned drivers. If not, it will be basically impossible to write a driver - since there will be no way of loading it for debug/test. (Unless you really want to go through the pain of signing every single debug build you make). My bet is there will be some "secret" registry key turned on by the DDK - which will stay secret for about an hour. After that, everyone will be able to load unsigned drivers.
Do you have your own PC at home, and if so, do you maintain it yourself, or have a company IT guy do it for you?
If you do it yourself, do you follow all Microsoft-approved policies (have the firewall enabled, have auto-updates on, etc etc)? How long did it take you to set the machine up, and how much time each week do you spend on machine administration?
Do you honestly believe that an operating system where a normal user account can update the kernel and change system settings by merely browsing to a web page can really be considered "secure"??
A decently packaged dual-processor laptop for Windows XP for $2000 doesn't sound like a bad deal to me.
Since I write Windows software during the day and play Windows-based games at night, OSX has zero appeal to me; but Apple's packaging is reasonably good, and the price is in the ballpark of high-end Dell and HP laptops. So, what's wrong with running the OS I want on the box I want?
IBM is a fundamentally a hardware company.
Microsoft is fundamentally a software company.
Where, exactly, is the competition? Heck, they used to have a very cosy business relationship, precisely because they didn't compete, they complemented each other.
And what's this nonsense about IBM working on the Xbox 360 CPU? I assure you that an IBM 360 processor will NOT fit inside an Xbox case - although the two do seem to generate similar amounts of heat.
First, since I've "been there done that", I'll echo other comments and say that the climate here for non-US citizens is getting steadily worse. I'm sure your girlfriend would very much enjoy a few years in Europe - at least until the US goes back to being a democracy.
But, if you want to move here and work, you'll need a H-1B or similar visa. These are very, very expensive - lots of lawyers and legal fees involved. We're talking a five-figure sum by the time you've got to a green card. Used to be that companies would willingly pay for this - but that's much less common these days.
One thing to investigate is a multinational company. You might be able to start working for them in Europe, and then swing a job transfer to the USA. This is much easier and cheaper to get past immigration. There is a time limit involved, although it is several years (but then, a H-1 visa has a time limit as well).
Before you do anything, though, be very, very sure to get things from the company in writing. Remember, the penalty if they screw things up isn't just the loss of a job - it is immediate deportation.
Suppose I drive a car that allows me to turn, swerve, and stop from 75 MPH equally well as you can in your car from 50 MPH. Should I be forced to drive at the same speed as you? If the speed limit was 50 MPH and we were both doing 60 MPH, who would be more of a hazard?
You have one valid point, though - speed limits are stupidly low. So, set them all at 100 MPH; then concentrate on ticketing those people who drive above their abilities. Grandma can drive down the road safely at 30 MPH max, so that's the speed she should go. I can do it at 75 and be equally safe (and if it wasn't for stray dogs and wandering children, I would). Instead I go 50, and I have a LARGER safety margin than Grandma does. So lock HER up, not me.
Ever notice how many accidents in the news say "xxx lost control of his/her vehicle". That's a nice euphemism for "drove above their abilities".
"suppliers place in escrow 'all software that is relevant to functionality, setup, configuration, and operation of the voting system'"
The code that Diebold wrote is clearly relevant. A standard off-the-shelf operating system, as well as the standard off-the-shelf supporting libraries, is clearly much less relevant.
If Diebold supplied their source code, a list of their programmers, and a list of exactly what libraries they used, and which versions of the libraries and operating system, I'm sure nobody would complain. What they are doing here is trying to avoid disclosing any of their code, by the argument "we can't show you 100%, so we obviously can't show you any at all".
In other words, Diebold are being idiots. No surprises here.
If I am paying for music, I want to get all the bits
Normal studio production is done at a 96 KHz or a 128 KHz sampling rate. A normal audio CD is 44.1 KHz. So even an "uncompressed" audio CD doesn't have all of the bits; for that you need the studio master tapes.
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Okay, so exactly why do left-handed people reverse their mouse buttons?
They're the left and right buttons. Software responds to a left button click, not to "a click of the button that happens to be under your index finger". I use a mouse with either hand - without swapping buttons - and manage to click the button on the left side of the mouse without any confusion.
I can understand that some mice have an awkward shape, which is annoying to hold in the left hand. But who added the option to reverse the buttons, and why?
How reliable is anything on a five-year-old American car?
No, Finder needs to be renamed .
What the heck does it find? At least on Windows "Windows Explorer" gives you some hint as to what it does. Call it "Network Surfer", "Network Browser", whatever.
Yes, the Finder does have a "Find" menu choice, but so does most every app.
If you delay the game until it's ready, everyone bitches that it's late.
If you split the difference, everyone bitches that it's buggy and late.
If you manage to stop adding features early enough so that you actually ship a game that's on time and pretty much bug free, everyone bitches that the gameplay is lame, and they should have added feature x from other game y.
And if you hire enough programmers to put out a massive killer game on time without bugs, but have the audacity to actually charge enough to pay all those people a decent wage, everyone bitches that it's too expensive.
Okay, rant over. Back to fixing bugs to please you people.
The Abekas A62 disk recorder could record one video stream, while playing back another. It was introduced in the mid 1980's, so any patents involved have likely run out by now. Abekas even won an Emmy award for it in 1986.
It was meant for professional studio use, cost about $150K, and only held 100 seconds of video - but hey, that was 20 years ago. I'm not sure how Tivo can claim to have invented the technology.
The Abekas A62 disk recorder could record one video stream, while playing back another. It was introduced in the mid 1980's, so any patents involved have likely run out by now. Abekas even won an Emmy award for it in 1986.
It was meant for professional studio use, cost about $150K, and only held 100 seconds of video - but hey, that was 20 years ago. I'm not sure how Tivo can claim to have invented the technology.
All collaborative software I've seen require all users to be there simultaneously - just like a real face-to-face meeting.
That's what most people are trying to avoid. An email chain allows users to reply as time permits - and even (gasp) to actually think about something for a while before replying.
If something is time critical, use the phone, or call a meeting. If something is not time critical, use an email chain. I don't see any hole in that logic that is filled by any sort of collaborative software.
This is an 18-year-old boy we're talking about.
Obviously if he'd ever played Grand Theft Auto, he'd be out scoring with hookers, not killing cops. Now, if he was on trial for killing a prostitute, then maybe he'd have a case.
Broadband over power lines uses the power lines - the power grid - which is an extensive network of cables. It has a definate cost. In fact, the costs are higher than that of cable - since the power lines are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the power poles themselves, while the cable companies merely rent space on them.
So, Congress things that censorship of the Net is a bad thing.
This is the SAME congress that mandates filtering of the Net in all libraries.
So, basically, if other countries do it, it's evil, but if the USA does it, that's the right thing to do? Sounds a lot like Congress' policy on detaining and torturing prisoners.
So of the two you've listed, clearly Linux would be your choice. Plus, don't forget that Microsoft's embedded OSes reinvent themselves every few years - just wait until they throw out CE and sell you Vista Embedded next year.
There are other choices based on the size/scale of your project - such as Nucleus, which gives you source access.
It's about time they stopped selling UMDs. After spending billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives on a wild search for UMDs in Iraq, you wouldn't want Sony just selling them in the shops, now would you?
BestBuy: good concept, bad execution.
There will be some way of loading unsigned drivers. If not, it will be basically impossible to write a driver - since there will be no way of loading it for debug/test. (Unless you really want to go through the pain of signing every single debug build you make). My bet is there will be some "secret" registry key turned on by the DDK - which will stay secret for about an hour. After that, everyone will be able to load unsigned drivers.
Do you have your own PC at home, and if so, do you maintain it yourself, or have a company IT guy do it for you?
If you do it yourself, do you follow all Microsoft-approved policies (have the firewall enabled, have auto-updates on, etc etc)? How long did it take you to set the machine up, and how much time each week do you spend on machine administration?
Do you honestly believe that an operating system where a normal user account can update the kernel and change system settings by merely browsing to a web page can really be considered "secure"??
Since I write Windows software during the day and play Windows-based games at night, OSX has zero appeal to me; but Apple's packaging is reasonably good, and the price is in the ballpark of high-end Dell and HP laptops. So, what's wrong with running the OS I want on the box I want?
It could be so that your average uneducated person does not form irrational beliefs
True. Getting average uneducated people to form irrational beliefs is called religion, and the government isn't supposed to promote it.
Microsoft is fundamentally a software company.
Where, exactly, is the competition? Heck, they used to have a very cosy business relationship, precisely because they didn't compete, they complemented each other.
And what's this nonsense about IBM working on the Xbox 360 CPU? I assure you that an IBM 360 processor will NOT fit inside an Xbox case - although the two do seem to generate similar amounts of heat.
The title is obviously spam. No need to read it, just delete.
But, if you want to move here and work, you'll need a H-1B or similar visa. These are very, very expensive - lots of lawyers and legal fees involved. We're talking a five-figure sum by the time you've got to a green card. Used to be that companies would willingly pay for this - but that's much less common these days.
One thing to investigate is a multinational company. You might be able to start working for them in Europe, and then swing a job transfer to the USA. This is much easier and cheaper to get past immigration. There is a time limit involved, although it is several years (but then, a H-1 visa has a time limit as well).
Before you do anything, though, be very, very sure to get things from the company in writing. Remember, the penalty if they screw things up isn't just the loss of a job - it is immediate deportation.
Bad news: I can't buy a copy of LC5.
Good news: According to another Slashdot story, I can download one for free from a French web site!!
If you don't believe me, ask at any McDonald's.
Suppose I drive a car that allows me to turn, swerve, and stop from 75 MPH equally well as you can in your car from 50 MPH. Should I be forced to drive at the same speed as you? If the speed limit was 50 MPH and we were both doing 60 MPH, who would be more of a hazard?
You have one valid point, though - speed limits are stupidly low. So, set them all at 100 MPH; then concentrate on ticketing those people who drive above their abilities. Grandma can drive down the road safely at 30 MPH max, so that's the speed she should go. I can do it at 75 and be equally safe (and if it wasn't for stray dogs and wandering children, I would). Instead I go 50, and I have a LARGER safety margin than Grandma does. So lock HER up, not me.
Ever notice how many accidents in the news say "xxx lost control of his/her vehicle". That's a nice euphemism for "drove above their abilities".
The code that Diebold wrote is clearly relevant. A standard off-the-shelf operating system, as well as the standard off-the-shelf supporting libraries, is clearly much less relevant.
If Diebold supplied their source code, a list of their programmers, and a list of exactly what libraries they used, and which versions of the libraries and operating system, I'm sure nobody would complain. What they are doing here is trying to avoid disclosing any of their code, by the argument "we can't show you 100%, so we obviously can't show you any at all".
In other words, Diebold are being idiots. No surprises here.
If I am paying for music, I want to get all the bits
Normal studio production is done at a 96 KHz or a 128 KHz sampling rate. A normal audio CD is 44.1 KHz. So even an "uncompressed" audio CD doesn't have all of the bits; for that you need the studio master tapes.