Pippin: The orcs are very, very frightening me! Merry: Oh help my Gandalf! Sam: Oh help my Gandalf! Frodo: Oh help me Gandalf please, oh please, oh pleeeeeease! Gandalf: Oh my little Hobbits, short and stout, please do not worry, please do not shout! Gandalf: The orcs we will slay while the company's true! Aragorn: Oh Gimli, slay another orc, please do!
Teenage males that use the Internet regularly can identify pr0n actresses with 70% greater accuracy than teenage males that don't use the Internet regularly.
Some people will want a single unit that is a combination of a cell phone and a PDA, and that's fine with me. I'm sure those kinds of combo units will become increasingly available.
However, I don't want a combination unit. Why? My cell phone is small, stylish, and convenient. Adding a reasonably sized PDA screen to it would make it bulky and inconvenient, at least for me.
I know a lot of people who feel the same way. Therefore, I think that stand alone cell phones, stand alone PDA's, and combination units, will all exist and flourish in the marketplace.
Saying that the PDA is dying is just plain foolishness.
-Teckla
Slightly OT: Linking static libs w/GPL'd code?
on
What if SCO is Right?
·
· Score: 1
What happens if you're a software company that buys some closed source static libraries from another company and link them to your proprietary product and sell the result to customers and later discover the library company included GPL'd code without telling you?
For those of us without electron microscopes handy to read the tiny, tiny fonts on many web pages, Mozilla/Mozilla Firebird also allows text magnification that *always works*.
There are tons of web pages whose text can't be magnified in Internet Explorer without first turning on the accessibility options, and doing that is very annoying.
Sure, like any given piece of software, you may run into glitches and bugs at some point. But, overall, Windows Update has provided me with an extremely easy and painless way to keep my systems updated.
I'll voice an opinion that'll surely prove to be unpopular around these parts: I like Windows Update.
Sure, like any given piece of software, you may run into glitches and bugs at some point. But, overall, Windows Update has provided me with an extremely easy and painless way to keep my systems updated.
Even my Mom can use it, which says a lot. It's better than any alternatives I've seen which require too much geek knowledge to operate. (Admittedly I've never seen how MacOS X handles updates.)
* It makes the chances of writing an office suite that is compatible with MS Office 2003 almost impossible. I bet the DMCA will make it illegal to reverse engineer the crypto you'll find this new IRM technology uses.
* It boosts Windows Server sales, since this technology will require Windows Server. UNIX-based file servers need not apply; they aren't IRM-enabled (and not allowed to be, thanks to the DCMA).
* It'll force users to upgrade Office. Yes, Office 97 already does way more than you need already. Too bad. You'll need to keep your version compatible with all the IRM-laden.doc,.xls,.pps, etc. files that'll be flying around.
* The PHB's of the world will eat this technology up without realizing the consequences.
Microsoft is brilliant. Fucking brilliant. I thought they were starting to lose it, but they're not. They've found new and amazing ways to leverage their monopoly; except, this time, it's not their OS monopoly. It's their office suite monopoly. My hat is off to you, Microsoft.
The GPL license made Linux, possibly the greatest open source project ever, possible.
Linux is licensed under the GPL, so its success is due to the GPL? What a ridiculous conclusion. Perhaps you'd like to explain why the BSDs are successful despite not being GPL'd?
You appear to be saying that programmers should just stick to programming and forget about any laws or rights that might apply to their work? To give up any and all rights to a piece of work they put their hard time and effort into?
What I'm trying to say is programmers are overly concerned with protecting their source from the Big Bad Wolf.
That's the equivalent of me telling you to stop wasting time spending money and just give me access to your bank account.
No, it's not.
The GPL exists so that you can't take my work and claim it as your own. So that, at the very least, I will be given due credit for the work I've done, the code I've created.
Other licenses exist that help ensure you get credit for the work you've done.
It also keeps you from selling my work to make a profit.
There's that Big Bad Wolf again.
So what if a company takes your code, incorporates it into their product, and makes a profit? How does that hurt you?
How about, instead of developers playing amateur lawyers, and worrying about their precious "free-but-not-REALLY-free" code being stolen, you...
WRITE SOME CODE?
What a waste of time this is. What a waste of time the GPL is. I shudder to think of the wasted hours of development because someone decided to push a political agenda by writing this stupid license (the GPL) and brainwashing-- err, convincing everyone they had to GPL their code, because otherwise, The Big Bad Monster Under The Bed was going to steal it! (OMG! OMFG!)
-Teckla
P.S. Mod me as a troll if you want, but god damnit, rocket scientists don't pretend to be biologists, and architects don't pretend to be chemical engineers. Can all the armchair lawyers please go home? And take their stupid GPL with them? Thanks.
With 30+ employees (I'll assume 32.5 employees) and $4 million in revenue, that's $123,000 per employee.
Business owners know that your typical employee costs around 150% of their yearly salary. With that in mind, only $82,000 of your original $123,000 per employee is left.
But, wait! You haven't paid for their computers yet. Or the office space. Or the guy that empties the trash cans. Or electricity. Or the Internet connection (hey, browsing pr0n takes bandwidth, and bandwidth costs money!). And a million and one other things that we don't ever think about. Running a business COSTS MONEY.
I'll pull a number out of my and shave off another 25%. That leaves $61,500 per employee.
There's more! You damn well know the managers and executives are paying themselves a lot more than the slaves ^H^H^H^H^H^H developers.
At the end of the day, the developers are probably getting a well "below average" paycheck, and the company is probably barely getting by.
This is success? By some measures, YES.
BUT...forgive me if I'm NOT impressed. They probably won't be able to keep every employee busy 100% of the time (and you still have to pay idle employees -- at least, I assume they're salaried rather than hourly). If rough times hit this company, I'm willing to bet they don't have enough money in the bank to get by for long.
Bundling Java with Windows won't hurt, but it won't seriously help, either.
The web community has overwhelmingly chosen JavaScript for advanced web-based functionality. Java applets are a niche these days, and will most likely remain that way.
Java on the desktop is in sorry shape. You can choose AWT (which is too limited) and Swing (which is too big, slow, and some people think, ugly). It won't be able to compete with the nice native GUIs you get with.NET.
I can't think of very many developers who think writing their desktop applications in Java is a good idea. And I can't think of very many JavaScript developers who will switch to Java once Microsoft bundles Java with Windows.
Besides, we're talking about Microsoft. Who here DOESN'T think Microsoft won't taint Java in some way? Raise your hands. I've got a bridge to sell you.
Slashdot Mirror
At least you could use your wife's or girlfriend's old bras as a nice, inexpensive, effective dust cover for this.
Oh, wait, this is Slashdot...
-Teckla
Pippin: The orcs are very, very frightening me!
Merry: Oh help my Gandalf!
Sam: Oh help my Gandalf!
Frodo: Oh help me Gandalf please, oh please, oh pleeeeeease!
Gandalf: Oh my little Hobbits, short and stout, please do not worry, please do not shout!
Gandalf: The orcs we will slay while the company's true!
Aragorn: Oh Gimli, slay another orc, please do!
-Teckla
Teenage males that use the Internet regularly can identify pr0n actresses with 70% greater accuracy than teenage males that don't use the Internet regularly.
-Teckla
I think it's one human soul per Windows/Office seat, as well as your first born.
-Teckla
Some people will want a single unit that is a combination of a cell phone and a PDA, and that's fine with me. I'm sure those kinds of combo units will become increasingly available.
However, I don't want a combination unit. Why? My cell phone is small, stylish, and convenient. Adding a reasonably sized PDA screen to it would make it bulky and inconvenient, at least for me.
I know a lot of people who feel the same way. Therefore, I think that stand alone cell phones, stand alone PDA's, and combination units, will all exist and flourish in the marketplace.
Saying that the PDA is dying is just plain foolishness.
-Teckla
What happens if you're a software company that buys some closed source static libraries from another company and link them to your proprietary product and sell the result to customers and later discover the library company included GPL'd code without telling you?
The GPL seems like a nasty can of worms...
-Teckla
Enough said. :)
-Teckla
For those of us without electron microscopes handy to read the tiny, tiny fonts on many web pages, Mozilla/Mozilla Firebird also allows text magnification that *always works*.
There are tons of web pages whose text can't be magnified in Internet Explorer without first turning on the accessibility options, and doing that is very annoying.
-Teckla
You're missing the part where I said:
Sure, like any given piece of software, you may run into glitches and bugs at some point. But, overall, Windows Update has provided me with an extremely easy and painless way to keep my systems updated.
Do you need any further clarifications?
-Teckla
I'll voice an opinion that'll surely prove to be unpopular around these parts: I like Windows Update.
Sure, like any given piece of software, you may run into glitches and bugs at some point. But, overall, Windows Update has provided me with an extremely easy and painless way to keep my systems updated.
Even my Mom can use it, which says a lot. It's better than any alternatives I've seen which require too much geek knowledge to operate. (Admittedly I've never seen how MacOS X handles updates.)
-Teckla
I'm probably stating the obvious here, but now would be a great time for someone to post links to 100% free gaming systems!
-Teckla
Think about it:
* It makes the chances of writing an office suite that is compatible with MS Office 2003 almost impossible. I bet the DMCA will make it illegal to reverse engineer the crypto you'll find this new IRM technology uses.
* It boosts Windows Server sales, since this technology will require Windows Server. UNIX-based file servers need not apply; they aren't IRM-enabled (and not allowed to be, thanks to the DCMA).
* It'll force users to upgrade Office. Yes, Office 97 already does way more than you need already. Too bad. You'll need to keep your version compatible with all the IRM-laden .doc, .xls, .pps, etc. files that'll be flying around.
* The PHB's of the world will eat this technology up without realizing the consequences.
Microsoft is brilliant. Fucking brilliant. I thought they were starting to lose it, but they're not. They've found new and amazing ways to leverage their monopoly; except, this time, it's not their OS monopoly. It's their office suite monopoly. My hat is off to you, Microsoft.
Corrections welcome.
-Teckla
If you're a gamer, and you haven't played Deus Ex yet, do yourself a favor and GO BUY IT. RIGHT NOW.
I've seen it as cheap as $10 in the bargain bin (jewel case and CD only). The boxed version is only $20.
Deus Ex rocks. So much so, that I'm basing my next PC purchase on when Deus Ex: Invisible War is released.
-Teckla
The GPL license made Linux, possibly the greatest open source project ever, possible.
Linux is licensed under the GPL, so its success is due to the GPL? What a ridiculous conclusion. Perhaps you'd like to explain why the BSDs are successful despite not being GPL'd?
-Teckla
Please raise your hand if you thought Microsoft was going to allow .NET to be a reasonable and viable platform on non-Windows operating systems!
All of those raising your hands, please contact me. I have an exciting opportunity for you. I'm trying to get some money out of Nigeria.
-Teckla
You appear to be saying that programmers should just stick to programming and forget about any laws or rights that might apply to their work? To give up any and all rights to a piece of work they put their hard time and effort into?
What I'm trying to say is programmers are overly concerned with protecting their source from the Big Bad Wolf.
That's the equivalent of me telling you to stop wasting time spending money and just give me access to your bank account.
No, it's not.
The GPL exists so that you can't take my work and claim it as your own. So that, at the very least, I will be given due credit for the work I've done, the code I've created.
Other licenses exist that help ensure you get credit for the work you've done.
It also keeps you from selling my work to make a profit.
There's that Big Bad Wolf again.
So what if a company takes your code, incorporates it into their product, and makes a profit? How does that hurt you?
-Teckla
Come on, let it out... How do you really feel about GPL'd code?
I have nothing against GPL'd code. I do, however, think the GPL is a misguided license used by misguided developers.
Do you work for Microsoft or something??
No, I don't.
What a bunch of crap. The GPL is a stupid license?? As opposed to Microsoft's?
Oh, please. I don't like the GPL, so I must like Microsoft's licensing practices, right? You maroon.
Convince people the put their code under the GPL to prevent people from stealing it?? Your lips are moving buy you're not saying anything!
How can something that is supposedly free be stolen?
-Teckla
Is it *store* policy that opened software can't be returned? Or do the software makers (Microsoft, Symantec, etc.) insist on it? Or both?
Inquiring minds want to know.
-Teckla
I've got an idea.
How about, instead of developers playing amateur lawyers, and worrying about their precious "free-but-not-REALLY-free" code being stolen, you...
WRITE SOME CODE?
What a waste of time this is. What a waste of time the GPL is. I shudder to think of the wasted hours of development because someone decided to push a political agenda by writing this stupid license (the GPL) and brainwashing-- err, convincing everyone they had to GPL their code, because otherwise, The Big Bad Monster Under The Bed was going to steal it! (OMG! OMFG!)
-Teckla
P.S. Mod me as a troll if you want, but god damnit, rocket scientists don't pretend to be biologists, and architects don't pretend to be chemical engineers. Can all the armchair lawyers please go home? And take their stupid GPL with them? Thanks.
WARNING: WILD ASS GUESSES FOLLOW.
With 30+ employees (I'll assume 32.5 employees) and $4 million in revenue, that's $123,000 per employee.
Business owners know that your typical employee costs around 150% of their yearly salary. With that in mind, only $82,000 of your original $123,000 per employee is left.
But, wait! You haven't paid for their computers yet. Or the office space. Or the guy that empties the trash cans. Or electricity. Or the Internet connection (hey, browsing pr0n takes bandwidth, and bandwidth costs money!). And a million and one other things that we don't ever think about. Running a business COSTS MONEY.
I'll pull a number out of my and shave off another 25%. That leaves $61,500 per employee.
There's more! You damn well know the managers and executives are paying themselves a lot more than the slaves ^H^H^H^H^H^H developers.
At the end of the day, the developers are probably getting a well "below average" paycheck, and the company is probably barely getting by.
This is success? By some measures, YES.
BUT...forgive me if I'm NOT impressed. They probably won't be able to keep every employee busy 100% of the time (and you still have to pay idle employees -- at least, I assume they're salaried rather than hourly). If rough times hit this company, I'm willing to bet they don't have enough money in the bank to get by for long.
-Teckla
The first three books of the Annals of the Black Company series are very good. They're written by Glen Cook.
-Teckla
Bundling Java with Windows won't hurt, but it won't seriously help, either.
.NET.
The web community has overwhelmingly chosen JavaScript for advanced web-based functionality. Java applets are a niche these days, and will most likely remain that way.
Java on the desktop is in sorry shape. You can choose AWT (which is too limited) and Swing (which is too big, slow, and some people think, ugly). It won't be able to compete with the nice native GUIs you get with
I can't think of very many developers who think writing their desktop applications in Java is a good idea. And I can't think of very many JavaScript developers who will switch to Java once Microsoft bundles Java with Windows.
Besides, we're talking about Microsoft. Who here DOESN'T think Microsoft won't taint Java in some way? Raise your hands. I've got a bridge to sell you.
-Teckla
The funny thing (not in a "ha ha" way) is, he architected a fantastic failure of a merger, and will walk away a bajillionaire for having screwed up.
-Teckla
$/=\4;map{?OS/2?|$f&&$f++==2?$c-=2+vec($_,0,32)/4: ++$c||s/../\0\0/s;print}"
While examining this nugget of Perl wizardy, I suddenly have the urge to install OS/2!
COINCIDENCE?
-Teckla
In the old days, we had three 8 bit registers, and we felt lucky to have them!
-Teckla