Humans think internally about the world outside using language (hence multi-lingual people being faster thinkers as they have more paths to persue at once). Ask a psychologist.
We do not think using a poor graphical representation of the Real World. Given this, text is the best way of representing stuff on a computer (except were graphics are explictally necessary).
Now, when we get realistic VR systems that actually feel like RL, this may be a different matter (although source code would have to be represented as text at some level as both computers and humans think one-dimensionally with strings of text or numbers).
At the moment all we have is slow 2D graphics on flickery, bright, flat screens. We have far too go.
Hmm..Microsoft are just taking the piss out of the high court of the largest supranational organisation in the world (European Court of Justice) which is probably a Baaad idea.
They will not be taking the piss when they get told by the court to cease trading in the EU (which accounts for a massive proportion of their sales).
The thing is that if you have copyright and patents in the same field (thanks to extending patents to non-inventions) it causes absolute legal mahem as the people with the copyright sue the patent holders and vice versa....uhhh...actually...which may destroy the industry but it makes loads of money for lawyers..and we all know most senators are lawyers....hmmm...yes...
Sort of like some country having a law that anyone who never sets foot in that country or has any sort of dealings with it, does not have to adhere to that countries laws
Unlike US law which states the exact opposite: if you have never set foot in the US and have no dealings with it, you are still accountable to US law (so you can be extradited there for `crimes' that are not actually crimes in the country you committed them in) but (as you are not a US citizen) you do not have the rights of the US constitution to contest those laws which villate your natural rights such as freedom of expression.
Actually, No. The EC are not doing this because Microsoft are a monopoly or even a near monopoly (which is more accurate), but because they have gained their monopoly by criminal means and are using it to illegally extend their monopoly to other markets.
There is nothing wrong with monopolies, per se; it just means you have make a product which everyone thinks is better than the competitions (think BIND, Apache) unless you have got the monopoly through clandestine criminality, a la Microsoft, as opposed to free market forces.
Not if he removes copyright law and replaces it entirely with patents on plot and method in works of literature...Muheheeehhhhaaaawww!
The government can then sell the right to stop others from using a boy-meets-girl plot to the highest bidder and make loads of dosh. It has already happened in the US to software and algorithms. What makes you think they won't extend it to other literary works and then remove copyright law entirely?
Because users want to get to this `k00l pr0n' so they install browser plugins (e.g.: JRE) that allow the execution of arbitrary code on their machines and then click yes to lots of boxes saying "Warning: You are allowing this program to screw around with your machine in any way it likes" or similar.
To commit a crime you only have to intend to or attempt to do it. Why can't they prosecute them for attempted fraud without waiting until someone gets scammed? Surely, there is enough evidence with most of phishing attempts that they are actually scams?
Google do host the startpage in about every language on the planet, and MF do set a different language version of the page in their localised builds.
Notice the use of a query, &rls=:xx-YY:official (where xx & YY are the language and country codes, respectively, of your (official) build) at the end of the URI reference for the default homepage in Firefox's general options.
Strangely, currently, if I don't explicitly specify the language using that query, but instead just enter the URI itself (http://start.mozilla.org/ or http://google.com/firefox), I don't seem to be getting a localised copy of the page (based on my HTTP-request language-code) but get an English page regardless. The same think seems to be happening on http://google.com/ so I assume either the nightly build of Firefox I'm using is not sending HTTP requests correctly or there is a temporary glitch on Google's servers. Maybe it assumes I'm English because my client machine has a uk. domain name or because my UA product token says I have an English build of Firefox, but I'm sure it never did that before (and it is incorrect behaviour per HTTP). I've got to go AFK...I'll investigate it later.
creates a new consumer who can pay to see/hear/read...
That's right. You have to pay to receive sensory input. Not being sensorily deprived is a privilege given to the human minions by your corporate overlords.
...and have thoughts.
No; in our Brave New World order, only companies can have thoughts. Individual thinking is a crime: you will be reported to your corporate overlord immediately for swift punishment.
Remember: When free speech is outlawed, only criminals complain.
(I was going to say something about this being a joke, but then I thought you could be a USan.)
I really should point out that the €C are not politicians in the normal sense; they're really civil servants who are supposed to do what the governments and parliament tell them...and are trying to pass a law despite the people, governments, parliament and companies of Europe being against it...Bush...{cough}...Gates...{cough}.
Yes that is correct AFAICC, except "linking in GPL libraries would be enough to force you to the GPL" is usually wrong as it would only be so if your software only worked with those libraries--if you conceivably could write your own libraries to do the same thing it isn't a work based on the libraries.
If I want to use both the email client and the browser, would I be better off installing FireFox+ThunderBird or the full Mozilla suite?
Well they are basically the same thing (esp. now Aviary is being abolished). It depends on whether you usually use your email client and browser at the same time or seperately, and whether you prefer the UI of Fx/Tb or Moz App Suite. I prefer the smaller footprint of Fx so I've used it as my main browser since Fx 0.1. You could also consider the real possibility of just using Fx, webmail and the webmail extension (works with most webmail systems).
Can the suite use the FF/TB plugins?
It depends whether the authors have ported them to MAS. In theory, most plugins from one Mozilla program should port to another with little or no work as they all use same XPI system and sometimes you might just be able to install a Fx plugin (that hasn't been ported) into the Suite--YMMV--obviously, it all depends on whether they rely on stuff that is different in Fx from MAS.
Check whether your fav plugins have been ported on update.mozilla.org.
OK I accept your points. These are reasons for still having to use MSW under certain circmustances as opposed to reasons against using GNU/Linux for most everyday stuff.
I feel this is increasingly becoming less and less true ATM (with the increase in MSW-like GNU distros).
You are right. The more cheapo companies probably often don't support Linux with their hardware out of the box. Have you asked them if they will support it, though? Have you explained to them how its a problem for you? Have you ensured said companies are making it clear that their products don't support Linux when they sell them? Have you asked them to at least make the protocol info availabel to third-party developers? I must say though that (except having to sometimes get sound drivers online with some distros), I have not had driver problems on various PCs. In fact, I had a software modem that worked with MSW 9x and Linux but not MSW NT/2000/XP, so it can work the other way.
Using MSW drivers is pretty much impossible with Linux (and would defeat the object). Most MSW application software packages run under WINE or proprietary emulators like Cedega now, so that is a real possibility (although goes against the point of free software somewhat). Then there is ReactOS which I haven't used.
I've noticed that linux disties need about double the hardware to run at the same speed as the concurrent Windows version, and there's no reason to expect this to change much.
Clearly it depends what hardware (RAM, CPU, perpherals?) you are talking about, but I find it generally is about the other way round (i.e.: with most hardware, it takes at least half the time to do the same thing on GNU/Linux as it would under MSW) because of the more efficient coding and stopping memory leaks, &c.
The whole point of 98lite AFAICC is to make MSW somewhat more like GNU 9by giving the user control), so I'm not sure what your trying to say here.
Actually, the problem is mainly a wetware bug (and maybe a font bug) caused by the lack of support in wetware for the entire Unicode character set. Computers have no problem knowing the whole of Unicode; people do.
It is suggested in the RFC (and is IMO common sense) that UAs should alert users (e.g.: by coluring characters by script and a dialog in suspicios cases) when there are characters in a URI from scripts they wouldn't normally use, or a strange mixture of scripts (esp. where characters that are similar to other characters are included).
Also, in my opinion the user should be able to access both the puny code and the unicode for all URIs displayed in UA GUIs (maybe with a switch if there isn't enough room). IMO, the status bar should default to punycode for now.
Another thing that would help (wrt to font problems) would be, where there are multiple fonts for a given character that the UA needs to display, for the UA to choose a font which uses distinct characters (either via an ordered list of chacters or AI grapheme comparison). A long-term solution to this might be for the Unicode/UCS standards to include descriptions of conformant graphemes (e.g.: "a Z should have only 3 straight lines with no curly lines (so it doesn't look like a 2)").
Except that they haven't fixed the slashdot rendering bug yet
This was fixed in Gecko in May 2004 on the trunk which is used by the latest stable version of Mozilla Suite (but not on the aviary branch which 1.0.1 is still based on. Aviary is now being exhumed back into the trunk, so hopefully, future builds (including releases) will all be based off the trunk (so Gecko fixes will propogate to Firefox).
To fix it in Firefox:
get a recent nightly build--I find them just as stable
BTW the bug only occured sometimes if your machine was fast and it was rendering/. too quickly--you could try reloading--it was a genuine bug as it occured intermittently, but the awful, hoggy, invalid slashcode HTML doesn't help (esp. their use of evil many-nested tables for layout--see the funny and informative Why tables for layout is stupid).
Honestly. It is the original of those two meanings (dating back to the start of English whereas the other definition derived from `free of charge' comes from the C16). Although the word has a very long etymology (orginally meant `friend(ship)' and `love').
Com. Teut.: OE. fréo, frío, fri{asg} corresponds to OFris. frî, OS. frî (recorded only as n. and in the compound frî-lîk; Du. vrij), OHG. frî (MHG. vrî, mod.Ger. frei), ON. *frí-r (lost exc. in the compound friáls:{em}*frî-hals 'free-necked', free; the mod.Icel. frí, Sw., Da. fri are adopted from Ger.), Goth. frei-s:{em}OTeut. *frijo- free:{em}OAryan *priyo-, represented by Skr. priyá dear, Welsh rh{ycirc}dd free, f. root *pri to love (Skr. prî to delight, endear; OSl. prijatel{ibreve} friend, Goth. frijôn, OE. fréon to love, whence FRIEND).
Slashdot Mirror
We do not think using a poor graphical representation of the Real World. Given this, text is the best way of representing stuff on a computer (except were graphics are explictally necessary).
Now, when we get realistic VR systems that actually feel like RL, this may be a different matter (although source code would have to be represented as text at some level as both computers and humans think one-dimensionally with strings of text or numbers).
At the moment all we have is slow 2D graphics on flickery, bright, flat screens. We have far too go.
They will not be taking the piss when they get told by the court to cease trading in the EU (which accounts for a massive proportion of their sales).
The thing is that if you have copyright and patents in the same field (thanks to extending patents to non-inventions) it causes absolute legal mahem as the people with the copyright sue the patent holders and vice versa....uhhh...actually...which may destroy the industry but it makes loads of money for lawyers..and we all know most senators are lawyers....hmmm...yes...
Microsoft have one of those: a feature set. I actually disagree with the grandparent, but seriously now SMB isn't really the best designed protocol.
You gotta love the US of A.
There is nothing wrong with monopolies, per se; it just means you have make a product which everyone thinks is better than the competitions (think BIND, Apache) unless you have got the monopoly through clandestine criminality, a la Microsoft, as opposed to free market forces.
The government can then sell the right to stop others from using a boy-meets-girl plot to the highest bidder and make loads of dosh. It has already happened in the US to software and algorithms. What makes you think they won't extend it to other literary works and then remove copyright law entirely?
In summary, it is a wetware bug.
How about buttons that keep moving around the dialog box randomly (like the "Do you want to vote for Bush" sort of joke programs)?
- Are you sure that you do NOT want to install this potentially dangerous software? [Yes] | [No]
- Is it false that you still don't want to install this software despite it's dangers? [Agree] | [Disagree]
- &c
- Oh...and don't forget the randomly inserted "Are you sure you want to receive an electric shock?"
Or maybe the lusers will just click anything then; there's no hope for some of them.To commit a crime you only have to intend to or attempt to do it. Why can't they prosecute them for attempted fraud without waiting until someone gets scammed? Surely, there is enough evidence with most of phishing attempts that they are actually scams?
Google do host the startpage in about every language on the planet, and MF do set a different language version of the page in their localised builds.
Notice the use of a query, &rls=:xx-YY:official (where xx & YY are the language and country codes, respectively, of your (official) build) at the end of the URI reference for the default homepage in Firefox's general options.
Strangely, currently, if I don't explicitly specify the language using that query, but instead just enter the URI itself (http://start.mozilla.org/ or http://google.com/firefox), I don't seem to be getting a localised copy of the page (based on my HTTP-request language-code) but get an English page regardless. The same think seems to be happening on http://google.com/ so I assume either the nightly build of Firefox I'm using is not sending HTTP requests correctly or there is a temporary glitch on Google's servers. Maybe it assumes I'm English because my client machine has a uk. domain name or because my UA product token says I have an English build of Firefox, but I'm sure it never did that before (and it is incorrect behaviour per HTTP). I've got to go AFK...I'll investigate it later.
Remember: When free speech is outlawed, only criminals complain.
(I was going to say something about this being a joke, but then I thought you could be a USan.)
Let us hope they get sacked (again).
That's how it is in XHTML 2.0 anyway, so he's got his way now.
The first WWW browser, called WorldWideWeb, was graphical.
Yes that is correct AFAICC, except "linking in GPL libraries would be enough to force you to the GPL" is usually wrong as it would only be so if your software only worked with those libraries--if you conceivably could write your own libraries to do the same thing it isn't a work based on the libraries.
Check whether your fav plugins have been ported on update.mozilla.org.
Using MSW drivers is pretty much impossible with Linux (and would defeat the object). Most MSW application software packages run under WINE or proprietary emulators like Cedega now, so that is a real possibility (although goes against the point of free software somewhat). Then there is ReactOS which I haven't used.
Clearly it depends what hardware (RAM, CPU, perpherals?) you are talking about, but I find it generally is about the other way round (i.e.: with most hardware, it takes at least half the time to do the same thing on GNU/Linux as it would under MSW) because of the more efficient coding and stopping memory leaks, &c.The whole point of 98lite AFAICC is to make MSW somewhat more like GNU 9by giving the user control), so I'm not sure what your trying to say here.
Sorry; slashfix link was wrong. Try the Slashfix extension WWW site.
The RFC says that UAs should do that, but they didn't. Grrrr...
Actually, the problem is mainly a wetware bug (and maybe a font bug) caused by the lack of support in wetware for the entire Unicode character set. Computers have no problem knowing the whole of Unicode; people do.
It is suggested in the RFC (and is IMO common sense) that UAs should alert users (e.g.: by coluring characters by script and a dialog in suspicios cases) when there are characters in a URI from scripts they wouldn't normally use, or a strange mixture of scripts (esp. where characters that are similar to other characters are included).
Also, in my opinion the user should be able to access both the puny code and the unicode for all URIs displayed in UA GUIs (maybe with a switch if there isn't enough room). IMO, the status bar should default to punycode for now.
Another thing that would help (wrt to font problems) would be, where there are multiple fonts for a given character that the UA needs to display, for the UA to choose a font which uses distinct characters (either via an ordered list of chacters or AI grapheme comparison). A long-term solution to this might be for the Unicode/UCS standards to include descriptions of conformant graphemes (e.g.: "a Z should have only 3 straight lines with no curly lines (so it doesn't look like a 2)").
This was fixed in Gecko in May 2004 on the trunk which is used by the latest stable version of Mozilla Suite (but not on the aviary branch which 1.0.1 is still based on. Aviary is now being exhumed back into the trunk, so hopefully, future builds (including releases) will all be based off the trunk (so Gecko fixes will propogate to Firefox).
To fix it in Firefox:
get a recent nightly build--I find them just as stable
just install the Slashfix extension.
BTW the bug only occured sometimes if your machine was fast and it was rendering /. too quickly--you could try reloading--it was a genuine bug as it occured intermittently, but the awful, hoggy, invalid slashcode HTML doesn't help (esp. their use of evil many-nested tables for layout--see the funny and informative Why tables for layout is stupid).
"Free software"=software that has freedom (not that is free of charge).
Etymology from OED (© OUP obviously):