* I've got MBP 17" now. I like it. They are dropping that size.
No, they're not dropping it. It just getting a feature bump rather than a full redesign. My guess is a redesigned 17" will be out in a few months.
* I don't care if it's magnetic or a button to pop the lid.
Magnetic is definitely better. The lid on my Santa Rosa MBP will occasionally pop open if I reach in my bag and hit the button accidentally. Also, it will sometimes wake up in my bag, and I'll find it roasting with a dead battery. Haven't seen that happen on a MacBook with a magnetic latch.
* I do wish my MBP had heat sensors on the graphics system; the processor sensors are sometimes midrange while the graphics head is starting to exhibit heat-induced artifacts. When running clamshell I have to run it on top of a cooling tray device or crank the internal fans to 3000rpm.
I am so glad they're using the integrated graphics in addition to the discrete. Honestly I don't need stellar graphics, but Intel's are just too slow. This new solution is the way to go. Here's hoping the new ones don't have to run the fan just to waste time on Slashdot.
With all this preoccupation about flash and gloss in the hardware, there is a growing list of software problems. Return to the basics.
Sure they should fix there software, but that doesn't mean they should never release any new hardware unless the software is perfect. Think about that for a second.
[...] why can't, with 700mb of space available, one lousy kilobyte be reserved for metadata?
CD-Text allows you store up to 5KB of metadata in the "lead-in" area. Older CD players don't recognize it.
I rarely see CD-Text actually used, though. Most stereos don't display this info, although it would be trivial to do so. Since I'm not used to seeing it just pop up, I have to wonder how many CDs actually include this feature.
Would a FOSS version by a more credible member of the community generate more interest and enjoy some success?
Perhaps. I think you're pretty much answering your own question.
[...] handles commercial software sales as well as free software installation compatibly and rather efficiently [...]
Aha! Yes, that's exactly why I have no interest in CNR.
Example: I recently succumbed to temptation and got an iPhone. I love it despite it's shortcomings. One thing I don't love, however, is the slippery slope that is the App Store. I am only interested in the free (as in beer) apps (and would prefer if they were libre as well, of course). But Apple intentionally presents free apps the same way it does those that cost money. Each time I download a free app, I receive a "receipt" in my email, with a total of $0.00. There is no way to restrict access to only the free apps; it's all or nothing. They require an iTunes account to download even the free content. Their motivation is clear: to separate me and my money. This is their right, and I respect their desire to turn a profit, but I resent their closed nature. Thank geekdom for jailbreaks.
The free software movement has made tremendous progress toward their goal of producing a completely free stack. I have no interest in blurring the lines between what I can redistribute freely and what I can't.
You clearly do not understand distributed revision control.
Fostering decentralization in no way prevents you from enforcing a centralized workflow, if that's what you choose to do. Rather it provides you with capabilities that simply are not possible in a centralized system. You do not have to take advantage of them if you don't want to.
Of course, with a decentralized system everyone has a complete copy of the history by default, so if you lose the original or the "official" backups you're not screwed.
Of course, you are welcome to do what you like. You will simply miss out on all the advancements your competitors are taking advantage of.
I work for a company that sells used electronics on eBay. We'll occasionally buy cheap gear over eBay too, then resell it at a profit.
For many months now we've had a huge problem with counterfeit Cisco cards. It's amazing how detailed the counterfeiters are.
My boss wrote up a detailed guide on how to spot fakes. Google "counterfeit cisco wic".
Oy vey. Can we have a "good photo sharing site" thread now so I can find the alternatives?
A friend of mine did a comparison of all the online photo sites. Most of them offer a free trial period (with free prints!), so she gave them all a shot. She submitted the same photo to each site, ordered the prints, and compared the quality. The clear winner was Shutterfly. AFAIK they're the only major photo site that's still independent.
I don't have any of my photos online, so I'm not really qualified to make a recommendation. Just passing on what I heard.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm a developer and was wondering what kind of testing is done to verify the code.
Short answer: all kinds of testing.
Do they use unit testing? Regression testing?
Yes. See the Linux Test Project.
* I've got MBP 17" now. I like it. They are dropping that size.
No, they're not dropping it. It just getting a feature bump rather than a full redesign. My guess is a redesigned 17" will be out in a few months.
* I don't care if it's magnetic or a button to pop the lid.
Magnetic is definitely better. The lid on my Santa Rosa MBP will occasionally pop open if I reach in my bag and hit the button accidentally. Also, it will sometimes wake up in my bag, and I'll find it roasting with a dead battery. Haven't seen that happen on a MacBook with a magnetic latch.
* I do wish my MBP had heat sensors on the graphics system; the processor sensors are sometimes midrange while the graphics head is starting to exhibit heat-induced artifacts. When running clamshell I have to run it on top of a cooling tray device or crank the internal fans to 3000rpm.
I am so glad they're using the integrated graphics in addition to the discrete. Honestly I don't need stellar graphics, but Intel's are just too slow. This new solution is the way to go. Here's hoping the new ones don't have to run the fan just to waste time on Slashdot.
With all this preoccupation about flash and gloss in the hardware, there is a growing list of software problems. Return to the basics.
Sure they should fix there software, but that doesn't mean they should never release any new hardware unless the software is perfect. Think about that for a second.
[...] why can't, with 700mb of space available, one lousy kilobyte be reserved for metadata?
CD-Text allows you store up to 5KB of metadata in the "lead-in" area. Older CD players don't recognize it.
I rarely see CD-Text actually used, though. Most stereos don't display this info, although it would be trivial to do so. Since I'm not used to seeing it just pop up, I have to wonder how many CDs actually include this feature.
Would a FOSS version by a more credible member of the community generate more interest and enjoy some success?
Perhaps. I think you're pretty much answering your own question.
[...] handles commercial software sales as well as free software installation compatibly and rather efficiently [...]
Aha! Yes, that's exactly why I have no interest in CNR.
Example: I recently succumbed to temptation and got an iPhone. I love it despite it's shortcomings. One thing I don't love, however, is the slippery slope that is the App Store. I am only interested in the free (as in beer) apps (and would prefer if they were libre as well, of course). But Apple intentionally presents free apps the same way it does those that cost money. Each time I download a free app, I receive a "receipt" in my email, with a total of $0.00. There is no way to restrict access to only the free apps; it's all or nothing. They require an iTunes account to download even the free content. Their motivation is clear: to separate me and my money. This is their right, and I respect their desire to turn a profit, but I resent their closed nature. Thank geekdom for jailbreaks.
The free software movement has made tremendous progress toward their goal of producing a completely free stack. I have no interest in blurring the lines between what I can redistribute freely and what I can't.
You clearly do not understand distributed revision control.
Fostering decentralization in no way prevents you from enforcing a centralized workflow, if that's what you choose to do. Rather it provides you with capabilities that simply are not possible in a centralized system. You do not have to take advantage of them if you don't want to.
Of course, with a decentralized system everyone has a complete copy of the history by default, so if you lose the original or the "official" backups you're not screwed.
Of course, you are welcome to do what you like. You will simply miss out on all the advancements your competitors are taking advantage of.
I work for a company that sells used electronics on eBay. We'll occasionally buy cheap gear over eBay too, then resell it at a profit. For many months now we've had a huge problem with counterfeit Cisco cards. It's amazing how detailed the counterfeiters are. My boss wrote up a detailed guide on how to spot fakes. Google "counterfeit cisco wic".
How is this different from Google Sky?
A friend of mine did a comparison of all the online photo sites. Most of them offer a free trial period (with free prints!), so she gave them all a shot. She submitted the same photo to each site, ordered the prints, and compared the quality. The clear winner was Shutterfly. AFAIK they're the only major photo site that's still independent.
I don't have any of my photos online, so I'm not really qualified to make a recommendation. Just passing on what I heard.