Good point made here. Another idea would be to approach a faculty member about doing a research project with him/her over the summer. Of course, choose an area you have interest in, and then choose a faculty member in that area. Not only will you be able to accomplish something you can be proud of, but this is a huge way to make yourself known in your department, furthering your meat-space networking.
Actually, it's not that hard to do assembly linkages in C using OpenGL with motion at joints... First, the math ins't complex at all, simply multiplying 4x4 matrices that are well defined (write a function to do it). Second, you can use the OpenGL matrix stack (which is quite fast, and commonly done in hardware on the graphics card) to manage this for you, calling rotate and translation functions for you.
then I'd let that Pentium II powerhouse go to waste.
I laughed.:)
Anyway, I think I've come up with a pretty decent manner to do these things. At any time, I only have three desktops and two laptops. Desktops: One acts as an SSH gateway/webserver with the "important" software, another is a play Linux box (for testing things out, general use, sits under my desk), and the third is the Windows machine for games (sits under my desk). These machines were made in chronological order; that is, the workhorse Linux machine is the oldest, the play linux box is the middle child, and the Windows box is the newest. When I buy a new box, it's the new Windows machine, and the other machines get bumped down, and the oldest machine goes to someone else who wants it.
The downside of that is my roommate always wants the oldest machine. Therefore, I'm not spending a dime less on electricity because he's running four machines in in his bedroom. But at least it cuts down on how much I have to manage personally.
Oh... And the laptops are around because it's' simply a shame to get rid of a laptop. But this is when you ask yourself, why have two laptops that run Windows? I've got the powerbook, but sometimes it's just handy to have some Windows that can move around.
I've considered building a cluster with a dozen nodes or so... I don't really know why I want this, because I have access to very powerful machines at work, but it seems like a neat idea.
After thinking about this discussion of "compensation", maybe I don't want twelve full cases sitting in my living room. People might start thinking things about... *ahem*
I realize, I realize. After due thought and attention, this is why I left it enabled. However, I believe everyone is in agreement that this should be disabled (for now, at least.:)
All software of sufficient size is going to have a showstopper in there somewhere. This may have been a pretty silly bug to have, but both Camino and Firefox have had their fair share of scares.
I disagree... I think that this vulnerability has everything to do with the browser.
If the browser had employed the same tactics as finder for determining filetype (i.e., metadata), it would not have assumed that the file is of a "safe" type. Therefore, it would not have automatically opened it. However, Safari is only looking at the extension of the file for these purposes, and is being mislead by specially crafted files.
I would care much less about a program messing around in/opt and/System than running an rm -rf on me. Only one of the two situations would be easily fixed, unless I had taken backups immediately prior.
But you're right, this should be common sense by now. Until we get (mathematically) proven applications, running on a (mathematically) proven OS, running on (mathematically) proven hardware, we can't prove safety.
It's just another choice you're free to make. I like Safari a lot more than Firefox, because it works the way you would expect a Mac app to work. I haven't tried Camino yet, though.
I remember quite distinctly the horror I felt when I first got my mac and discovered that it automatically opened safe files... At least around 10.4.2 or so, this was default behavior. And this option has carried on with me to 10.4.5, but is disabled today.
I'm also running 10.4.5 with Safari 2.0.3, and it happily executed. You may have, as others have already mentioned, automatic execution of safe files unchecked.
Re:How useful? / Machine Requirements
on
Cedega 5.1 Released
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· Score: 2, Insightful
So grab some source (don't know if Cedega's is available, but you can get Wine) and make it work.
Voting is not a bad thing... You want to cater to a general audience before the niche. It's not unreasonable to expect a low marketshare game to not get priority treatment. If your low-popularity game was going to get made, so would every game as popular or more popular... That's not reasonable.
> Why? It's/., not some happy m$ fanboy site where the release of some "power pack" passes as news...
I, personally, don't see this as a news item either... But, of course, we're both here discussing off-topic things tangentially related. However, I'm sure a significant percentage of Slashdot uses Windows, some exclusively. What I'm trying to say is that choice of OS does not determine intelligence, nor does intelligence determine OS. Your "reason" for calling Windows users idiots is not even a real argument.
> yeah, right. How about a economics 101 before we continue this threadlet?
There are lots of arguments one can give, e.g. buying a windows computer is generally going to cost the same as buying without windows. The minute someone can order one of the standard Dells or something from a big name manufacturer without windows for some significantly lesser amount, we'll talk more about it... probably in a front page story.
> You almost managed to pull off a level-headed, non-flame post. Too bad for this last two sentences. Want to talk about your issues with screensaver compilation?
Gosh, sorry about that. Not that your calling Windows using slashdotters not "sane" is any better. My point is that your more hands-on approach to system administration/management does not make you a superior animal to those who are not concerned about such things.
Oh... And I've never actually compiled a screensaver (except when installing Gentoo, I suppose). I don't imagine it would be that hard to do.
Stop shouting. I'm aware of the argument, "Microsoft tax", etc. However, Windows is also available for free (yes, free) from some legal sources, e.g. MSDN Academic Alliance. Also, some people have system needs that can be fulfilled by a system builder for less than what it would cost to build from scratch... These machines include Windows. This would be, arguably, like getting Windows free.
> If you want a discussion with people who see computers as tools, go some place else
Wow, you guys don't use computers to, like, compute? That's pretty amazing, and a huge waste.
Lots of people play with computers in more ways than one, i.e. userland programming. You don't have to have linux to do this, and you're still a "nerd".
> "Great Productivity Gain"
I don't think any of these software packages given by Google really do anything for productivity, but that wasn't what I was discussing. I was talking about how Linux users are always calling Windows users "morons", "Joe Blow", "Joe Sixpack", "the Average Idiot", etc. My point is that OS preference/usage does not determine idiocy, or vice versa. Please keep on the same page.
You want me to believe that you would actually stop reading slashdot over something like that? Also, don't imply that any slashdotter who uses Windows is not sane. Windows is often easily available at no cost because it's included with most computers. Lots of people already know Windows, and are productive in ways that you probably can't imagine.
Linux doesn't make you leet, or better, or smarter than anyone else. The computer's a tool... It's all in what you do with it, not how you set it up with your uber cool KDE screensaver that you compiled from scratch.
For solo-work, my most productive times involve just me, my machine, and a good cup of coffee. No Internet to let emails bug me, nor fun websites to distract me from what I should be doing.
On languages:
True, the younger the better. Spanish clicked better with me the first time (at 16-17) than it did the second time (22). Unfortunately, I didn't get the opportunity to use it after laying down the foundations in high school, so I lost the work I had put in. Now I at least listen to Spanish radio occasionally to keep my comprehension up (to its current, admittedly low level).
Most people (like me) already have a Windows license, and it tends to float from computer to computer. Take that old computer, put Linux on it, and reactivate the Windows on a new machine.
If you have to call MS about it, just explain the situation. They'll let you reactivate.
Maybe even set up Seamonkey or Thunderbird for her, just to show her that it can be done and how much better off it will make her.
The truth of the matter is, there is no real compelling reason for a lot of people to switch. Even if some features of Thunderbird or SeaMonkey were significantly better, it usually takes a long time (and lots and lots of emails) to discover just how good a feature is. I doubt that I use email myself enough to gain a benefit from any given client... I go months at a time using Pine, and my capabilities never suffer due to reduced usability, because I only receive 20-30 messages a day.
We're not in the old days where MS software crashes all the time... It has grown to be pretty stable. It would be hard to make an argument for whether any particular alternative will make any casual user "much better off".
Slashdot Mirror
Good point made here. Another idea would be to approach a faculty member about doing a research project with him/her over the summer. Of course, choose an area you have interest in, and then choose a faculty member in that area. Not only will you be able to accomplish something you can be proud of, but this is a huge way to make yourself known in your department, furthering your meat-space networking.
Actually, it's not that hard to do assembly linkages in C using OpenGL with motion at joints... First, the math ins't complex at all, simply multiplying 4x4 matrices that are well defined (write a function to do it). Second, you can use the OpenGL matrix stack (which is quite fast, and commonly done in hardware on the graphics card) to manage this for you, calling rotate and translation functions for you.
then I'd let that Pentium II powerhouse go to waste.
I laughed. :)
Anyway, I think I've come up with a pretty decent manner to do these things. At any time, I only have three desktops and two laptops. Desktops: One acts as an SSH gateway/webserver with the "important" software, another is a play Linux box (for testing things out, general use, sits under my desk), and the third is the Windows machine for games (sits under my desk). These machines were made in chronological order; that is, the workhorse Linux machine is the oldest, the play linux box is the middle child, and the Windows box is the newest. When I buy a new box, it's the new Windows machine, and the other machines get bumped down, and the oldest machine goes to someone else who wants it.
The downside of that is my roommate always wants the oldest machine. Therefore, I'm not spending a dime less on electricity because he's running four machines in in his bedroom. But at least it cuts down on how much I have to manage personally.
Oh... And the laptops are around because it's' simply a shame to get rid of a laptop. But this is when you ask yourself, why have two laptops that run Windows? I've got the powerbook, but sometimes it's just handy to have some Windows that can move around.
I've considered building a cluster with a dozen nodes or so... I don't really know why I want this, because I have access to very powerful machines at work, but it seems like a neat idea.
After thinking about this discussion of "compensation", maybe I don't want twelve full cases sitting in my living room. People might start thinking things about... *ahem*
I realize, I realize. After due thought and attention, this is why I left it enabled. However, I believe everyone is in agreement that this should be disabled (for now, at least. :)
If that were true, we wouldn't have all the wonderful theorems that we have today!
Progress is being made in automated theorem proving about programs, but many doubt that we could ever have large, arbitrary systems proven.
Wikipedia on Formal Methods
All software of sufficient size is going to have a showstopper in there somewhere. This may have been a pretty silly bug to have, but both Camino and Firefox have had their fair share of scares.
I disagree... I think that this vulnerability has everything to do with the browser.
If the browser had employed the same tactics as finder for determining filetype (i.e., metadata), it would not have assumed that the file is of a "safe" type. Therefore, it would not have automatically opened it. However, Safari is only looking at the extension of the file for these purposes, and is being mislead by specially crafted files.
I would care much less about a program messing around in /opt and /System than running an rm -rf on me. Only one of the two situations would be easily fixed, unless I had taken backups immediately prior.
*pats your head* You get a cookie. ;)
But you're right, this should be common sense by now. Until we get (mathematically) proven applications, running on a (mathematically) proven OS, running on (mathematically) proven hardware, we can't prove safety.
It's just another choice you're free to make. I like Safari a lot more than Firefox, because it works the way you would expect a Mac app to work. I haven't tried Camino yet, though.
I remember quite distinctly the horror I felt when I first got my mac and discovered that it automatically opened safe files... At least around 10.4.2 or so, this was default behavior. And this option has carried on with me to 10.4.5, but is disabled today.
I'm also running 10.4.5 with Safari 2.0.3, and it happily executed. You may have, as others have already mentioned, automatic execution of safe files unchecked.
So grab some source (don't know if Cedega's is available, but you can get Wine) and make it work. Voting is not a bad thing... You want to cater to a general audience before the niche. It's not unreasonable to expect a low marketshare game to not get priority treatment. If your low-popularity game was going to get made, so would every game as popular or more popular... That's not reasonable.
"The Cathedral and the Bazaar" is in the list of course material...
Is that unusual? I know of a CS course in a major public university that uses it as well.
> Why? It's /., not some happy m$ fanboy site where the release of some "power pack" passes as news...
I, personally, don't see this as a news item either... But, of course, we're both here discussing off-topic things tangentially related. However, I'm sure a significant percentage of Slashdot uses Windows, some exclusively. What I'm trying to say is that choice of OS does not determine intelligence, nor does intelligence determine OS. Your "reason" for calling Windows users idiots is not even a real argument.
> yeah, right. How about a economics 101 before we continue this threadlet?
There are lots of arguments one can give, e.g. buying a windows computer is generally going to cost the same as buying without windows. The minute someone can order one of the standard Dells or something from a big name manufacturer without windows for some significantly lesser amount, we'll talk more about it... probably in a front page story.
> You almost managed to pull off a level-headed, non-flame post. Too bad for this last two sentences. Want to talk about your issues with screensaver compilation?
Gosh, sorry about that. Not that your calling Windows using slashdotters not "sane" is any better. My point is that your more hands-on approach to system administration/management does not make you a superior animal to those who are not concerned about such things.
Oh... And I've never actually compiled a screensaver (except when installing Gentoo, I suppose). I don't imagine it would be that hard to do.
> WINDOWS IS NOT AVAILABLE AT NO COST
Stop shouting. I'm aware of the argument, "Microsoft tax", etc. However, Windows is also available for free (yes, free) from some legal sources, e.g. MSDN Academic Alliance. Also, some people have system needs that can be fulfilled by a system builder for less than what it would cost to build from scratch... These machines include Windows. This would be, arguably, like getting Windows free.
> If you want a discussion with people who see computers as tools, go some place else
Wow, you guys don't use computers to, like, compute? That's pretty amazing, and a huge waste.
Lots of people play with computers in more ways than one, i.e. userland programming. You don't have to have linux to do this, and you're still a "nerd".
> "Great Productivity Gain"
I don't think any of these software packages given by Google really do anything for productivity, but that wasn't what I was discussing. I was talking about how Linux users are always calling Windows users "morons", "Joe Blow", "Joe Sixpack", "the Average Idiot", etc. My point is that OS preference/usage does not determine idiocy, or vice versa. Please keep on the same page.
You want me to believe that you would actually stop reading slashdot over something like that? Also, don't imply that any slashdotter who uses Windows is not sane. Windows is often easily available at no cost because it's included with most computers. Lots of people already know Windows, and are productive in ways that you probably can't imagine.
Linux doesn't make you leet, or better, or smarter than anyone else. The computer's a tool... It's all in what you do with it, not how you set it up with your uber cool KDE screensaver that you compiled from scratch.
I've released more than that by myself this year!
I would also take then P4 1.5Ghz over the Celeron 2.5Ghz any day. Cache is king, and that P4 will be much more responsive, regardless of clock speed.
For solo-work, my most productive times involve just me, my machine, and a good cup of coffee. No Internet to let emails bug me, nor fun websites to distract me from what I should be doing.
On languages: True, the younger the better. Spanish clicked better with me the first time (at 16-17) than it did the second time (22). Unfortunately, I didn't get the opportunity to use it after laying down the foundations in high school, so I lost the work I had put in. Now I at least listen to Spanish radio occasionally to keep my comprehension up (to its current, admittedly low level).
Gauss was a child prodigy... As well as Erdos, Pascal, Euler, Neumann, Maclauren, etc.
Most people (like me) already have a Windows license, and it tends to float from computer to computer. Take that old computer, put Linux on it, and reactivate the Windows on a new machine.
If you have to call MS about it, just explain the situation. They'll let you reactivate.
Maybe even set up Seamonkey or Thunderbird for her, just to show her that it can be done and how much better off it will make her.
The truth of the matter is, there is no real compelling reason for a lot of people to switch. Even if some features of Thunderbird or SeaMonkey were significantly better, it usually takes a long time (and lots and lots of emails) to discover just how good a feature is. I doubt that I use email myself enough to gain a benefit from any given client... I go months at a time using Pine, and my capabilities never suffer due to reduced usability, because I only receive 20-30 messages a day.
We're not in the old days where MS software crashes all the time... It has grown to be pretty stable. It would be hard to make an argument for whether any particular alternative will make any casual user "much better off".