Isn't the concept of open source designed so that it can be a viable financial strategy while retaining the consumer's rights? Right now OSS is almost synonymous with "free software," but I don't recall there being any rules about OSS not being able to generate revenue.
Besides, if Cohen and his company can actually pull this off, it might be really good news for the open source movement. I know you don't like it - I don't really, either - but the world pretty much revolves around money. Open source software isn't going to gain much ground with corporations until it can be proven to be financially viable. However, if someone can show that open source really can work in a business environment, who knows where things will go? Perhaps more and more businesses will start adopting the open source philosophy and it will lead to the open source utopia that so many Slashdotters dream of.
Sorry, but how is it his fault that your ISP can't handle the amount of data that its customers are trying to access? I'm trying not to have an "IGMSFY" attitude, but honestly, I don't see the logic in your statement.
What are you talking about? Advent Children was released on DVD as well. In fact, I just got back from Japan a week ago, and I've got the DVD right here in my hand.
I just came back from Japan, and I was planning to buy an awesome cell phone (they're much cheaper over there, you might pay half as much for a phone with the same features), but apparently it's not possible...
Hm, I didn't know that. Thanks for the information.
You know, what I'd really like to know is how expensive airtime is to service providers. How much of the cost of cellular phones to the consumer is necessary due to the technology involved, and how much goes to the service providers as profit? If anyone has any idea about this, I'd be very interested to hear it...
I was just in Japan for two weeks, and everyone there over the age of 5 has a really awesome cell phone. Being a techie, I got a bit jealous, so I decided I'd buy a new one when I got back. I needed to switch providers anyway as my old provider was really ripping me off.
So, I get back, read up on providers and such. I eventually decided that Virgin Mobile worked best for me, since I don't use my cell phone a whole lot but do find it a useful gadget. Their rates are pretty good for people who don't need to use their cell phones every day.
Now, here's where I screwed up: I did a Google for "Virgin Mobile" to see what kind of features the plan offered. This of course brought up the Virgin Mobile USA website. I live in Canada. There's no obvious indication on the site that it's the Virgin Mobile USA site, so I figured it was just a general Virgin Mobile site. These days most corporate sites redirect you to the appropriate page based on where your IP is located anyway, right?
So I'm looking at the features and I see that they have internet access and instant messenger support, among other things. So I go out and buy a phone (Audiovox CDM8910). Not a top of the line model, but it's got a camera, superphonic ringtones, and all that. Pretty nice, I think.
Of course, to my horror, when I open the package there is no data cable. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Instead, I discover, Virgin wants me to pay 50 cents per picture to get my pictures off of the phone, up to $4 per ringtone to download new ringtones (normally I wouldn't mind, but the phone's default selection is pathetic - none of them are suitable for anything, really), and up to $2 per picture to download new "wallpapers." Yeah right!
It is possible to purchase a data cable for this phone, and I've done so. The problem is that there's no software that really supports the phone, and of course the phone's firmware is completely undocumented... so I CAN get my pictures and upload new ringtones without paying Virgin's outrageous fees, but because of the shoddy, undocumented firmware, there's a good chance I could completely wreck my phone in the process. I doubt I'd have an easy time of getting a replacement, either...
Honestly, the cell phone market in North America is absolutely pathetic. I'm sick of being locked in by providers and being promised features that I don't receive. To be fair, I should have been more careful about my research in this case, but I'm sure several Slashdotters have experienced similar letdowns with cell phones. A lot of people seemed to think that the "Cell Phone User's Bill of Rights" was ridiculous. Maybe it was. But we all know that when North American cell phone providers aren't outright lying to their customers, they're crippling the phones they provide so that the only way to make use of all of the technology in the phone you buy is to pay outrageous fees.
...is the most annoying acronym ever. I know this is off topic. I'm sorry. But "AJAX" is just a really, really annoying acronym. It sounds like a breakfast cereal or something.
So, do you think he actually wrote a regular expression off the top of his head, or do you think he had it memorized or written down somewhere? I didn't think any human being could write regular expressions that quickly. =P
Do you actually believe that Rome: Total War (a game) is as complicated as Windows XP Pro (an operating system), or is that one huge-ass typo? I mean, I know there aren't many Windows fans here at Slashdot, but try to be reasonable...
...Oh. Well, it's not available built in, but there is an extension called (I believe) Linkification, which will automatically make a regular hyperlink out of any plain-text links on the page. I'd link you to it, but I'm posting this from my PocketPC, so that would be a bit of a PITA. Google will lead you to it...
I can't access the site or I would RTFA, but I'm going to have to agree... PHP is really easy. I've coded things that are probably bigger and more complex than this by myself. Obviously they weren't perfect, but according to other commenters, neither is this... it would seem that the security might not be very good, and that the error handling is particularly bad.
Good, maybe they'll finally change it now. Palm OS is becoming incredibly outdated, even as they add new features. I don't have much time to rant on about it, but I will say that the lack of a user-accessible filesystem is ridiculous. No, drive mode doesn't count.
PalmOS's database/object model (wherein everything has to be either a database or an object) was an excellent idea back when PDAs had
I'd really like to write more about this, but I've got to go to work. Anyway, hopefully this means they'll modernize PalmOS a bit.
"...and is packed with plenty of audio power. Plugged into my car speakers, it was able to belt out the new Fountains of Wayne rocker, "Maureen," loudly enough to be heard perfectly, even though I was going 70 mph in a convertible with the top down."
Clearly he believes that the Nano is outputting music loud enough that it can be heard under said conditions, in ignorance of the fact that the car stereo is amplifying the sound.
If every open source app could be as organized and professional as Firefox, we'd be in utopia. Don't get me wrong, I love open source... but the organization is usually shit, and half the time the apps look like they're banged together with no consideration for usability or appearance. That, I think, is what's keeping away "the average user."
Slashdot Mirror
Isn't the concept of open source designed so that it can be a viable financial strategy while retaining the consumer's rights? Right now OSS is almost synonymous with "free software," but I don't recall there being any rules about OSS not being able to generate revenue.
Besides, if Cohen and his company can actually pull this off, it might be really good news for the open source movement. I know you don't like it - I don't really, either - but the world pretty much revolves around money. Open source software isn't going to gain much ground with corporations until it can be proven to be financially viable. However, if someone can show that open source really can work in a business environment, who knows where things will go? Perhaps more and more businesses will start adopting the open source philosophy and it will lead to the open source utopia that so many Slashdotters dream of.
Sorry, but how is it his fault that your ISP can't handle the amount of data that its customers are trying to access? I'm trying not to have an "IGMSFY" attitude, but honestly, I don't see the logic in your statement.
I could give you some tips, but I don't imagine you want to know about that, now do you? ;)
What are you talking about? Advent Children was released on DVD as well. In fact, I just got back from Japan a week ago, and I've got the DVD right here in my hand.
I just came back from Japan, and I was planning to buy an awesome cell phone (they're much cheaper over there, you might pay half as much for a phone with the same features), but apparently it's not possible...
http://euc.jp/misc/cellphones.en.html
I did hear of one person buying a Japanese cellphone and using it back home (Canada), but the person I heard it from is a liar, so...
Hm, I didn't know that. Thanks for the information.
You know, what I'd really like to know is how expensive airtime is to service providers. How much of the cost of cellular phones to the consumer is necessary due to the technology involved, and how much goes to the service providers as profit? If anyone has any idea about this, I'd be very interested to hear it...
I was just in Japan for two weeks, and everyone there over the age of 5 has a really awesome cell phone. Being a techie, I got a bit jealous, so I decided I'd buy a new one when I got back. I needed to switch providers anyway as my old provider was really ripping me off.
So, I get back, read up on providers and such. I eventually decided that Virgin Mobile worked best for me, since I don't use my cell phone a whole lot but do find it a useful gadget. Their rates are pretty good for people who don't need to use their cell phones every day.
Now, here's where I screwed up: I did a Google for "Virgin Mobile" to see what kind of features the plan offered. This of course brought up the Virgin Mobile USA website. I live in Canada. There's no obvious indication on the site that it's the Virgin Mobile USA site, so I figured it was just a general Virgin Mobile site. These days most corporate sites redirect you to the appropriate page based on where your IP is located anyway, right?
So I'm looking at the features and I see that they have internet access and instant messenger support, among other things. So I go out and buy a phone (Audiovox CDM8910). Not a top of the line model, but it's got a camera, superphonic ringtones, and all that. Pretty nice, I think.
Of course, to my horror, when I open the package there is no data cable. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Instead, I discover, Virgin wants me to pay 50 cents per picture to get my pictures off of the phone, up to $4 per ringtone to download new ringtones (normally I wouldn't mind, but the phone's default selection is pathetic - none of them are suitable for anything, really), and up to $2 per picture to download new "wallpapers." Yeah right!
It is possible to purchase a data cable for this phone, and I've done so. The problem is that there's no software that really supports the phone, and of course the phone's firmware is completely undocumented... so I CAN get my pictures and upload new ringtones without paying Virgin's outrageous fees, but because of the shoddy, undocumented firmware, there's a good chance I could completely wreck my phone in the process. I doubt I'd have an easy time of getting a replacement, either...
Honestly, the cell phone market in North America is absolutely pathetic. I'm sick of being locked in by providers and being promised features that I don't receive. To be fair, I should have been more careful about my research in this case, but I'm sure several Slashdotters have experienced similar letdowns with cell phones. A lot of people seemed to think that the "Cell Phone User's Bill of Rights" was ridiculous. Maybe it was. But we all know that when North American cell phone providers aren't outright lying to their customers, they're crippling the phones they provide so that the only way to make use of all of the technology in the phone you buy is to pay outrageous fees.
...is the most annoying acronym ever. I know this is off topic. I'm sorry. But "AJAX" is just a really, really annoying acronym. It sounds like a breakfast cereal or something.
What most OSS teams need is a lesson on GUI design, documentation, and why the two of them are important.
So, do you think he actually wrote a regular expression off the top of his head, or do you think he had it memorized or written down somewhere? I didn't think any human being could write regular expressions that quickly. =P
I'm going to assume that's a joke... but for anyone who's wondering, yen are closer to cents than dollars.
Do you actually believe that Rome: Total War (a game) is as complicated as Windows XP Pro (an operating system), or is that one huge-ass typo? I mean, I know there aren't many Windows fans here at Slashdot, but try to be reasonable...
...Oh. Well, it's not available built in, but there is an extension called (I believe) Linkification, which will automatically make a regular hyperlink out of any plain-text links on the page. I'd link you to it, but I'm posting this from my PocketPC, so that would be a bit of a PITA. Google will lead you to it...
Dude, what? Hasn't this been in Firefox for... a long, long time? It's definitely in 1.5, but I'm 90% sure it's been there much longer than that...
I can't access the site or I would RTFA, but I'm going to have to agree... PHP is really easy. I've coded things that are probably bigger and more complex than this by myself. Obviously they weren't perfect, but according to other commenters, neither is this... it would seem that the security might not be very good, and that the error handling is particularly bad.
Huh? Who says you can't go jogging with a regular iPod? I do it with mine all the time.
Supporting Linux is really easy... you just don't offer any support! They're Linux users, they'll figure it out.
I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, but don't all current major game systems (XBox, Gamecube, PS2) require license fees?
Nah, puns are definitely lower than sarcasm.
Mod me as a troll, I don't care... I have to say it.
Those stupid motherfuckers.
"Classes on how to use MWS Word for English magers?"
;)
You must be thinking of business majors.
Please disregard this comment, Slashdot managed to cut all of my argument out of it somehow.
Good, maybe they'll finally change it now. Palm OS is becoming incredibly outdated, even as they add new features. I don't have much time to rant on about it, but I will say that the lack of a user-accessible filesystem is ridiculous. No, drive mode doesn't count.
PalmOS's database/object model (wherein everything has to be either a database or an object) was an excellent idea back when PDAs had
I'd really like to write more about this, but I've got to go to work. Anyway, hopefully this means they'll modernize PalmOS a bit.
Er, no. Quote:
"...and is packed with plenty of audio power. Plugged into my car speakers, it was able to belt out the new Fountains of Wayne rocker, "Maureen," loudly enough to be heard perfectly, even though I was going 70 mph in a convertible with the top down." Clearly he believes that the Nano is outputting music loud enough that it can be heard under said conditions, in ignorance of the fact that the car stereo is amplifying the sound.
If every open source app could be as organized and professional as Firefox, we'd be in utopia. Don't get me wrong, I love open source... but the organization is usually shit, and half the time the apps look like they're banged together with no consideration for usability or appearance. That, I think, is what's keeping away "the average user."