While Lycos is certainly not earning any customer service points (I wouldn't do business with them), my sympathy for anyone for losing email stored online is minimal. While many online services are very reliable have been around for years, there are no guarantees. Any data stored exclusively on a remote server is unimportant data, particularly if the service is free. The only way to ensure your data is not lost to you is to have direct control over it.
I think the crux of this matter is how insulting Lycos is to the user community (or at least one user). Perhaps it is a reminder of how spotty support can be for free services. Everything is often great, but occasionally support drops out completely, without the recourse (and support) that paid services usually offer. Enjoy things while you can, but don't expect them to stay the same forever.
there is little room left on the internet for legitimate advertising
There is room, but there are many advertisers that don't understand that they're acting like spammers or other undesirables. One other item not mentioned in the article is proper use of 'subject' and 'from' fields. Advertising well is difficult, and apparently beyond the capabilities of a large portion of those who want to advertise.
Capitalism needs marketing
Not at all. Certainly not advertising forced on unwilling recipients. Advertising is a means of redistributing the dollars that will be spent - specifically, the advertiser wants to recieve a larger allocation of consumer spending. Just because a consumer has money does not give the advertiser the automatic right to borrow eyeballs at any time they please - my eyes are mine to command. If I choose to not view ads in particular setting, and someone forces me to anyway, they really shouldn't be surprised if I get upset.
That said, many people are overly sensetive to any advertising. It's unfortunate for the legitimate advertisers, but I certainly don't blame the consumers.
WildTangent isn't really the hallmark of serious pc games. They sell minigames on software that comes pre-installed on new PCs. I uninstalled all of their drivers as soon as I got my new laptop, as they were unwanted gunk in the gears (and at first they looked like spyware).
What sounds like the real problem is that Microsoft has a crappy framework that you can try to squeeze games into, or you can put your game links somewhere else and have people not find them. I suspect WildTangent has a lot of content that relies on being easy to try out, because the user won't seek it out specifically.
I would guess that pc games will continue to succeed in spite of, rather than because of, "help" from Microsoft.
Have you played Rayman? It has a variety of fun uses for the controllers, and uses the aiming feature of the remote. It's a lot of fun for multiplayer parties.
Also, EA games announced a Wii-focussed spinoff so I think there will be enough attention (as long as the userbase seems large enough) to producing creative games.
You're forgetting that the first task most computer users will want to perform is likely to require a good amount of the resources of the computer - the graphics card, graphical windows, the pointing device, the file system, possibly network access. And I suspect that many users balk more at delays while starting programs than while starting the computer (get a cup of coffee and let everything start up).
The basis of windows xp isn't really that bad, but the fluffy services and other junk that are added on the top are very wasteful. My laptop from dell came with 60-70 processes running after boot. My desktop has 20-25 after a bit of work removing the services that do nothing but take up memory and boot time (laptop will take some more work).
I think the problem is not the philosophy of getting everything ready at once, the problem is that no one wants to create a lean machine. If startup was restricted to services that were actually needed by the user (not the malware authors, big business, or substandard programmers) then it would proceed much faster.
Lastly though... if you expect one second boot time from scratch, you don't understand hardware or operating systems well enough. If you want instant-on, don't use a general-purpose computer. Get a flashdisk-based embedded installation of xp (or Unix, like QNX). Faster options exist but users don't want the price, the complexity, or the restrictions on what they can do.
I bought the Wii for the same reason, I enjoy gaming with friends in the same room. It brought me back to console gaming, and probably spending more money and time than I intended on gaming.
At least 4 DS units were sold that day to the 28 people where I was waiting in line for opening-day sales of the Wii. So, sales of one can lead to sales of the other.
The only problem with last-gen consoles is that some people have updated expectations. Graphics that were breathtaking 5 years ago do not impress people who have seen far better in other places since then (even if not in their living rooms). Lots of kids these days would whine about the graphics in an NES or SNES, but I find the old games fun. Enjoyment of last-gen gaming systems do depend on what kind of gaming experience you're expecting.
Making a comment like that is confused at best... saying "all the world's video" doesn't reflect well on anyone's intelligence. Not to mention the fact that there's no way to get all of the video (unless you go into houses and digitize old home movies), and the never-ending stream of new material.
To be fair, it appears that the journalist made up that quote. The exec only said that ipods could hold "any video ever produced" (not every) and that it could hold every music file digitally released. He used less nebulous terms, and actually made a reasonable (but obvious) point that portable storage space will not be much of a limiting factor in the future.
Even if the original Wii controller is still too harsh on your arthritis, Nintendo has shown interest in the larger gaming market (such as the brain games on the DS). So... speak up, tell them what you need. I think Nintendo wants to keep more gamers gaming, and they're the most advanced today with alternative gaming avenues.
Mail programs now need the option to retrieve images through an anonymizer.
The problem is that the image name will allow the user to be traced, so requesting it anonymously still indicates who inititially got the email. The image name can be generated uniqe to each email sent.
I believe the submitter meant 'reckons' not 'recons', where 'recon' is short for reconaissance. The latter would mean the guy discovered the actual price, rather than making an estimate.
I was a little miffed that I got the first part on my Wednesday NPR podcast, but I don't get any show for Thursday - I never heard the counterpoint. The only way this point-counterpoint is valid is if they're presented back to back in the same show.
Just to clarify, it sounds like your personal information was stolen twice, not your identity. Identity theft refers to someone actually using that information to rip you off or cheat busineeses in your name.
While identity theft is rampant, theft of personal information occurs far more often (meaning not all stolen information is used for identity theft). I suspect that stolen information is used for other purposes besides just identity theft (such as data mining).
Ok, assuming the post isn't flamebait... This issue keeps coming up. A good programmer should understand that the language choice depends on the task at hand.
If you're making a pretty GUI, you may want to use an easy-to-use and portable language and may not care about performance as much. If you're creating a high-performance backend, or doing some realtime processing, an interpreted language is practially useless.
Before deciding which paradigm is superior, you must narrow down the question to a type of task. Since the variety of tasks we use software for does not seem to be shrinking, it seems that this issue will not be resolved decisively anytime soon.
Check BestCrypt. I've been using it for years, and like it (haven't tried 10Gb though). TrueCrypt looks like the same concept, so use the trial to speed test for comparison. It's not free, but it is available for windows and linux.
Also, be aware that your encryption choice will affect speed greatly. 448-bit is slower than 224 bit, etc. Also some algos are optimized - twofish is a pentium-optimized version of blowfish.
Before I graduated, I used to hate those F you form letters ("we'll keep your resume in the database for 6 months..."). Then I interviewed with some companies that didn't even bother with that - I never heard from them again. Even after I sent thank-you letters to the six interviewers. So a followup letter is the *minimum* you should strive for. A personalized letter would be even better.
Also, the less you treat employees like cattle the better. That might work on campuses where there are thousands of potentials, but it doesn't impress interviewees when the company is churning through candidates like an assembly line.
The touchscreen will get destroyed unless they come up with some new polymer that is stronger, or use a flip cover.
I just got a video iPod, and given the reviews stating that the screen is easier to scratch than earlier iPods, I refused to use it until the screen was safely behind a hard plastic cover (and it still had a tiny scratch before I even took off the new-product plastic cover). Kindof hard to put a protective cover over the screen when you need to touch it.
Hmm, I'm guessing you meant to reply to the grandparent, but in case you just misunderstood, I basically said 1) technology doesn't start wars, and 2) not everyone on slashdot likes to see political troll posts. We're nerds here.
You confuse the advance of technology with the use of technology. War will not stop occurring if technological advances don't occur. Often, newer technology can help reduce side casualties (carpet bombing vs smart bombs, etc).
If you feel strongly about war, create political pressure to stop it. Don't troll slashdot and whine about how some new technology can be misused.
Slashdot Mirror
While Lycos is certainly not earning any customer service points (I wouldn't do business with them), my sympathy for anyone for losing email stored online is minimal. While many online services are very reliable have been around for years, there are no guarantees. Any data stored exclusively on a remote server is unimportant data, particularly if the service is free. The only way to ensure your data is not lost to you is to have direct control over it.
I think the crux of this matter is how insulting Lycos is to the user community (or at least one user). Perhaps it is a reminder of how spotty support can be for free services. Everything is often great, but occasionally support drops out completely, without the recourse (and support) that paid services usually offer. Enjoy things while you can, but don't expect them to stay the same forever.
there is little room left on the internet for legitimate advertising
There is room, but there are many advertisers that don't understand that they're acting like spammers or other undesirables. One other item not mentioned in the article is proper use of 'subject' and 'from' fields. Advertising well is difficult, and apparently beyond the capabilities of a large portion of those who want to advertise.
Capitalism needs marketing
Not at all. Certainly not advertising forced on unwilling recipients. Advertising is a means of redistributing the dollars that will be spent - specifically, the advertiser wants to recieve a larger allocation of consumer spending. Just because a consumer has money does not give the advertiser the automatic right to borrow eyeballs at any time they please - my eyes are mine to command. If I choose to not view ads in particular setting, and someone forces me to anyway, they really shouldn't be surprised if I get upset.
That said, many people are overly sensetive to any advertising. It's unfortunate for the legitimate advertisers, but I certainly don't blame the consumers.
This story comes hot on the heels of this story about the prices dropping in Japan.
I'm pretty sure we've brought back satellites back to earth before, such as Skylab. Oh, they didn't mean cratering it? That's a little different.
WildTangent isn't really the hallmark of serious pc games. They sell minigames on software that comes pre-installed on new PCs. I uninstalled all of their drivers as soon as I got my new laptop, as they were unwanted gunk in the gears (and at first they looked like spyware).
What sounds like the real problem is that Microsoft has a crappy framework that you can try to squeeze games into, or you can put your game links somewhere else and have people not find them. I suspect WildTangent has a lot of content that relies on being easy to try out, because the user won't seek it out specifically.
I would guess that pc games will continue to succeed in spite of, rather than because of, "help" from Microsoft.
You are aware that Adobe bought Macromedia, right?
Have you played Rayman? It has a variety of fun uses for the controllers, and uses the aiming feature of the remote. It's a lot of fun for multiplayer parties.
Also, EA games announced a Wii-focussed spinoff so I think there will be enough attention (as long as the userbase seems large enough) to producing creative games.
You're forgetting that the first task most computer users will want to perform is likely to require a good amount of the resources of the computer - the graphics card, graphical windows, the pointing device, the file system, possibly network access. And I suspect that many users balk more at delays while starting programs than while starting the computer (get a cup of coffee and let everything start up).
The basis of windows xp isn't really that bad, but the fluffy services and other junk that are added on the top are very wasteful. My laptop from dell came with 60-70 processes running after boot. My desktop has 20-25 after a bit of work removing the services that do nothing but take up memory and boot time (laptop will take some more work).
I think the problem is not the philosophy of getting everything ready at once, the problem is that no one wants to create a lean machine. If startup was restricted to services that were actually needed by the user (not the malware authors, big business, or substandard programmers) then it would proceed much faster.
Lastly though... if you expect one second boot time from scratch, you don't understand hardware or operating systems well enough. If you want instant-on, don't use a general-purpose computer. Get a flashdisk-based embedded installation of xp (or Unix, like QNX). Faster options exist but users don't want the price, the complexity, or the restrictions on what they can do.
I bought the Wii for the same reason, I enjoy gaming with friends in the same room. It brought me back to console gaming, and probably spending more money and time than I intended on gaming.
At least 4 DS units were sold that day to the 28 people where I was waiting in line for opening-day sales of the Wii. So, sales of one can lead to sales of the other.
The only problem with last-gen consoles is that some people have updated expectations. Graphics that were breathtaking 5 years ago do not impress people who have seen far better in other places since then (even if not in their living rooms). Lots of kids these days would whine about the graphics in an NES or SNES, but I find the old games fun. Enjoyment of last-gen gaming systems do depend on what kind of gaming experience you're expecting.
Making a comment like that is confused at best... saying "all the world's video" doesn't reflect well on anyone's intelligence. Not to mention the fact that there's no way to get all of the video (unless you go into houses and digitize old home movies), and the never-ending stream of new material. To be fair, it appears that the journalist made up that quote. The exec only said that ipods could hold "any video ever produced" (not every) and that it could hold every music file digitally released. He used less nebulous terms, and actually made a reasonable (but obvious) point that portable storage space will not be much of a limiting factor in the future.
Even if the original Wii controller is still too harsh on your arthritis, Nintendo has shown interest in the larger gaming market (such as the brain games on the DS). So... speak up, tell them what you need. I think Nintendo wants to keep more gamers gaming, and they're the most advanced today with alternative gaming avenues.
Mail programs now need the option to retrieve images through an anonymizer.
The problem is that the image name will allow the user to be traced, so requesting it anonymously still indicates who inititially got the email. The image name can be generated uniqe to each email sent.
I believe the submitter meant 'reckons' not 'recons', where 'recon' is short for reconaissance. The latter would mean the guy discovered the actual price, rather than making an estimate.
I was a little miffed that I got the first part on my Wednesday NPR podcast, but I don't get any show for Thursday - I never heard the counterpoint. The only way this point-counterpoint is valid is if they're presented back to back in the same show.
Just to clarify, it sounds like your personal information was stolen twice, not your identity. Identity theft refers to someone actually using that information to rip you off or cheat busineeses in your name.
While identity theft is rampant, theft of personal information occurs far more often (meaning not all stolen information is used for identity theft). I suspect that stolen information is used for other purposes besides just identity theft (such as data mining).
Ok, assuming the post isn't flamebait... This issue keeps coming up. A good programmer should understand that the language choice depends on the task at hand.
If you're making a pretty GUI, you may want to use an easy-to-use and portable language and may not care about performance as much. If you're creating a high-performance backend, or doing some realtime processing, an interpreted language is practially useless.
Before deciding which paradigm is superior, you must narrow down the question to a type of task. Since the variety of tasks we use software for does not seem to be shrinking, it seems that this issue will not be resolved decisively anytime soon.
Check BestCrypt. I've been using it for years, and like it (haven't tried 10Gb though). TrueCrypt looks like the same concept, so use the trial to speed test for comparison. It's not free, but it is available for windows and linux.
Also, be aware that your encryption choice will affect speed greatly. 448-bit is slower than 224 bit, etc. Also some algos are optimized - twofish is a pentium-optimized version of blowfish.
...Maims Together.
don't you mean MAMEs together?
Before I graduated, I used to hate those F you form letters ("we'll keep your resume in the database for 6 months..."). Then I interviewed with some companies that didn't even bother with that - I never heard from them again. Even after I sent thank-you letters to the six interviewers. So a followup letter is the *minimum* you should strive for. A personalized letter would be even better.
Also, the less you treat employees like cattle the better. That might work on campuses where there are thousands of potentials, but it doesn't impress interviewees when the company is churning through candidates like an assembly line.
The touchscreen will get destroyed unless they come up with some new polymer that is stronger, or use a flip cover.
I just got a video iPod, and given the reviews stating that the screen is easier to scratch than earlier iPods, I refused to use it until the screen was safely behind a hard plastic cover (and it still had a tiny scratch before I even took off the new-product plastic cover). Kindof hard to put a protective cover over the screen when you need to touch it.
Hmm, I'm guessing you meant to reply to the grandparent, but in case you just misunderstood, I basically said 1) technology doesn't start wars, and 2) not everyone on slashdot likes to see political troll posts. We're nerds here.
You confuse the advance of technology with the use of technology. War will not stop occurring if technological advances don't occur. Often, newer technology can help reduce side casualties (carpet bombing vs smart bombs, etc).
If you feel strongly about war, create political pressure to stop it. Don't troll slashdot and whine about how some new technology can be misused.
D'oh. Mistyped the book title and used angle brackets. Should be "Effective C++/STL/~"