Nice idea, so far not so great
on
A Tale in the Desert
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Okay, so I read up on it on both sites, got fairly interested for me and my fiancee.
I download the client, and run it. First choice: Official server or builder server. I guess official server. I create a player, and connect. Once I do, I get "This server is for builders, GM's, and Expert mentors". Hmm. Thought thats what the builder server would be for.
Okay, fine, so I do the dance for the builder server.
This time it says its only open to Builders. Ooooooookay.. back to the official server. By this point its 11:10pm EST (2/14/02).
This time I actually get in! Yay! I see the landscape, the players, and it looks pretty cool. I ask for a mentor, and I get one: "Bellah". WooHOO!
But wait. Bellah informs me that there isnt any mentoring that night, and that the server is going down. (huh?!) She says to try again tommorow. I look around, try out the interface for a few minutes, and then, just as she said, the server goes down, and no further connection can be made.
So I sleep, and this morning I attempt to login again. I get the same "only open for Builder's, GM's, and expert mentors", only this time, its totally consistent.
This, according to their website is their launch date. Great concept, but honestly, how the hell do they expect to get, gain, and keep players when the first 12 hours after a slashdot posting you cant even SEE the game?!!?
The fact that no one from the making of "The Breakfast Club" has *ever* provided the punchline for this joke despite numerous interviews asking specifically that is in and of itself one of the best, and most cruel punchlines around.
The GPL currently has a "hole" in its wording that allows GPL'd web-based programs to in effect be used/hosted/run without being under the enforcement of the GPL (requiring the changes to be released to the public).
I know because I am the lead developer on a web-based GPL'd game, and we were advised of such by the GNU folks (many thanks for them answering our concerns). They suggested waiting for GPL3 (please PLEASE hurry!), or using the Affero GPL, which we cant, since it isnt compatible with the GPL, and portions of our code are from another project that is GPL'd.
What isn't clear (and what I hope you can answer) is what the law would say about a company that took a GPL'd web project (like mine), modified it, hosted it, and provided that service to the general public without providing the source to those modifications.
Is there any legal recourse to developers in that situation, because it has actually occured, and until now, we were under the impression that we were basically powerless until GPL3.0 comes out..
There is a tree line there just BEGGING for geeks in black suits to sneak up thru carrying the worlds worst paintball guns and waterballoon launchers (waterballoons filled with permanent red paint of course).
The waterline is a river you can canal-boat thru, giving you a stealthy getaway, and quiet access.
I cant imagine a much easier target for a full-on paint demolition.
How in the name of geekdom could you leave Skully out of that?
Re:Please, AOLTW, switch to NS from IE for AOL..
on
Netscape 7.0 is Out
·
· Score: 2
Well, I dont see Mozilla's mail as a replacement for Outlook in alot of ways, starting with usability and ending with imap bugginess.
However, the browser and the basic mail client is solid enough to go up against IE/Outlook Express.
But yes, I agree, a standardized calendar solution would be really nice.
Please, AOLTW, switch to NS from IE for AOL..
on
Netscape 7.0 is Out
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Please,
As a webdesigner, a web game developer, and as an internet user, please for the love of God, start the browser war back up.
When we have competition, at a scale over 20% for the browser, we will FINALLY see standards begin to matter!
AOL needs to:
- Aggressively work with computer makers to ship NS as the default browser in place of IE. More power to them if they also get AOL on it.
- Aggressively work to woo corporations to using Netscape again. Thats where Netscape was immensely powerful before, and where they can be again!
- Replace AOL's IE rendering engine with NS. They began with a closed beta, continued to Compuserve, moved it to AOL 4 Macs, now they need to do it on ALL of AOL.
With that, we may see a reverse in the tides. ANYTHING short of all of that, and it will be just a ripple.
1. No lock-in. Make it easy to switch between tools from rivals, to prove that you care about the developer and want them to try it.
2. Non-crippled evaluation - No time limits, no nags, none of that. If someone sends me software thats crippled, I let them know thats what I think of their software! (Its crippled).
3. Downloadable, or overnight shipping - Dont put artificial limits between me liking the idea of trying it and getting to try it.
4. Unbiased, widespread public reviews of the software. Dont buy reviews. Just hand it out, let em try it and write about it. Stand on the value of the product.
5. Open-source. I prefer open-source software. I *DEEPLY* prefer free(dom) software, but I know thats rare in the commercial sector. At least let me know that the source is well formatted, well designed, and open to contributions from outside your company by opening the source.
6. Standards-compliant. I dont care WHAT the product is, there are standards it should follow. Html editor? You betcha. Perl IDE? Absolutely. Follow standards, and shout about it!
7. Price - Make the price compatible with a developer budget. In other words, super cheap to use at home, and fairly pricey for commercial use. Get me hooked on a product at home, I *will* tell my boss I have to do it to get work done.
8. Freebies - shameful but true, companies that send me cool freebies do get a little bit extra attention, or at least get a look. I'm NOT talking about magazines. Think toys. Think polo (business) shirts. Think posters.
9. "The spokesman effect" - Ensure that your company has good spokesmen. Whether in sales, in service, on the phone, or even corporate spokemen.
Who chose to have a meetup for Columbus in Easton? Yes, by postal code Easton is technically in Columbus, but sheesh.
Im in the same postal code, but over 30 minutes away..
And what are you going to do in a RECORD STORE? At least pick a restaurant, bar, or book store where people can talk casually without weird looks by the owner.
Some planning intelligence would have been nice.:)
As someone who has named both of his cats, all seven of his computers, and one of his cars after characters from Incarnations of Immortality, I would like to know why you haven't chosen to return to their mythos.
Consider the fact you have done so with many of your other mythos'! (Bio of a space tyrant, Apprentice Adept, etc.)
Further, with Incarnations, there are a world of possibilities left. Chance, hate, love, hope, all the minor incarnations you mentioned in books previously (I would really like to see hope)..
Your writing weaves a world that one can live in, and while Xanth is nice, I deeply prefer a world where death is kind, and evil is human and flawed.
It helped me through the pain of losing my mother to serious illness, and has been my favorite fantasy world since.
I read in one of your author's note that the story of the original characters from IoI was "complete" and that you didnt see a need to continue their stories, and I can agree with that.
That doesn't stop new characters in the same mythos from being created. Whether set before, during or after the events of IoI, there is definitely room to weave plenty of stories.
It is only correct if you call BSD's GNU/BSD when they use a majority of GNu tools. Stallman has said on numerous occasions that he ONLY wants it used on Linux.
Why?
My guess is because he would never get ANY traction in bsd-land, while in Linux-land, its so popular that ANY traction is worthwhile.
As someone in the Information Security field, I am constantly working to improve the security of Linux machines.
One of the low points of Linux administration is that very few daemons are chroot'd, and the few that are, dont have much protection because of the Linux kernel's very weak chroot protection.
Projects like OpenWall, GRSecurity, and SELinux (from the NSA), all attempt different solutions to this problem.
Of course, they are all incompatible with each other, but the problem remains that the Linux kernel, as shipped by RedHat is insecure when it comes to chroot protection.
Will this ever change, does RedHat care, and if so, which of these projects do you personally feel is most appropriate to lead the way in the future?
The global answer for open source projects is always "when it is ready", but even developers have rough ideas around timeframes whether they are a decade, a year, a month, or a day.
So, I would love to know, "When will we see OpenOffice and Mozilla integrated into Gnome more effectively?"
>Do you *really* want a manufacturer's installation of Linux on your box??? Is there ONE SINGLE Linux user that wouldn't much prefer to FDISK and install it clean? Yes. There is.
Prime example:
My Father recently had to buy a new PC. Being several states away from him, I couldn't go with him. He did take my recommendations with him, which included "Absolutely, definitely, no XP."
You see, his Fiancee does work on the computer, and is a financial planner. Due to the huge list of privacy concerns, passport tie-ins, and licensing restrictions, I didnt feel it was appropriate to keep customer data on a PC running XP.
Upon his triumphant return with a PC with XP installed, he asked for help, which I refused.
I am not, nor will I ever become familiar with XP, and it is really a bad idea to store customer data on it.
What does this have to do with Linux pre-installed?
Well, glad you asked.
If he had had the option of using the linux partition instead, he could have. He has a video camera that sync's with the machine, a web-based email system, and a few other non-windows-requiring activities.
For those, I could happily ssh in and help him with whatever he needed fixed.
I could even access the windows partition, to read certain files!
Alas, since MS strong-arms every manufacturer to not install older software, nor alternative software, there is no option for my Father.
"but (a) computer RPG will not reach my expectations before they actually provide an option of having a live Dungeon Master (Gamemaster or whatever) in the session.. "
Done. Neverwinter is designed specifically to allow this. With a set of rich and robust powerful tools allowing the DM to change the entire adventure while you are in it.
Slashdot Mirror
Okay, so I read up on it on both sites, got fairly interested for me and my fiancee.
I download the client, and run it. First choice: Official server or builder server. I guess official server. I create a player, and connect. Once I do, I get "This server is for builders, GM's, and Expert mentors". Hmm. Thought thats what the builder server would be for.
Okay, fine, so I do the dance for the builder server.
This time it says its only open to Builders. Ooooooookay.. back to the official server. By this point its 11:10pm EST (2/14/02).
This time I actually get in! Yay! I see the landscape, the players, and it looks pretty cool. I ask for a mentor, and I get one: "Bellah". WooHOO!
But wait. Bellah informs me that there isnt any mentoring that night, and that the server is going down. (huh?!) She says to try again tommorow. I look around, try out the interface for a few minutes, and then, just as she said, the server goes down, and no further connection can be made.
So I sleep, and this morning I attempt to login again. I get the same "only open for Builder's, GM's, and expert mentors", only this time, its totally consistent.
This, according to their website is their launch date. Great concept, but honestly, how the hell do they expect to get, gain, and keep players when the first 12 hours after a slashdot posting you cant even SEE the game?!!?
I'd love to play it..
The fact that no one from the making of "The Breakfast Club" has *ever* provided the punchline for this joke despite numerous interviews asking specifically that is in and of itself one of the best, and most cruel punchlines around.
The GPL currently has a "hole" in its wording that allows GPL'd web-based programs to in effect be used/hosted/run without being under the enforcement of the GPL (requiring the changes to be released to the public).
I know because I am the lead developer on a web-based GPL'd game, and we were advised of such by the GNU folks (many thanks for them answering our concerns). They suggested waiting for GPL3 (please PLEASE hurry!), or using the Affero GPL, which we cant, since it isnt compatible with the GPL, and portions of our code are from another project that is GPL'd.
What isn't clear (and what I hope you can answer) is what the law would say about a company that took a GPL'd web project (like mine), modified it, hosted it, and provided that service to the general public without providing the source to those modifications.
Is there any legal recourse to developers in that situation, because it has actually occured, and until now, we were under the impression that we were basically powerless until GPL3.0 comes out..
Thats not true any longer. Opera 7 fully supports innerHTML. I should know, my web-based game supports it now. :)
There is a tree line there just BEGGING for geeks in black suits to sneak up thru carrying the worlds worst paintball guns and waterballoon launchers (waterballoons filled with permanent red paint of course).
The waterline is a river you can canal-boat thru, giving you a stealthy getaway, and quiet access.
I cant imagine a much easier target for a full-on paint demolition.
Should do wonders for her house value.
Okay, its not clear from the site, what file formats remain unsupported/unplayable?
I took latin in High School, and it easily boosted my SAT's by a good hundred points.
While I have a strong vocabulary, it never hurts to improve it, and learning latin made learning new words much easier!
It has helped in more ways than I can possibly express.
Definitely worthwhile.
As the man responsible for writing multiple network card drivers, you are in a unique position to answer this..
What (FastEthernet/100mb) Network gear manufacturer do you prefer and recommend to others?
Whether its servers, or home use, its an important question, as some are as buggy as all get out, and others are to die for.
And if its a different answer, which manufacturer do YOU use?
How in the name of geekdom could you leave Skully out of that?
Well, I dont see Mozilla's mail as a replacement for Outlook in alot of ways, starting with usability and ending with imap bugginess.
However, the browser and the basic mail client is solid enough to go up against IE/Outlook Express.
But yes, I agree, a standardized calendar solution would be really nice.
Please,
As a webdesigner, a web game developer, and as an internet user, please for the love of God, start the browser war back up.
When we have competition, at a scale over 20% for the browser, we will FINALLY see standards begin to matter!
AOL needs to:
- Aggressively work with computer makers to ship NS as the default browser in place of IE. More power to them if they also get AOL on it.
- Aggressively work to woo corporations to using Netscape again. Thats where Netscape was immensely powerful before, and where they can be again!
- Replace AOL's IE rendering engine with NS. They began with a closed beta, continued to Compuserve, moved it to AOL 4 Macs, now they need to do it on ALL of AOL.
With that, we may see a reverse in the tides. ANYTHING short of all of that, and it will be just a ripple.
PLEEEEEASE AOL, NS7 *IS READY*!
1. No lock-in. Make it easy to switch between tools from rivals, to prove that you care about the developer and want them to try it.
2. Non-crippled evaluation - No time limits, no nags, none of that. If someone sends me software thats crippled, I let them know thats what I think of their software! (Its crippled).
3. Downloadable, or overnight shipping - Dont put artificial limits between me liking the idea of trying it and getting to try it.
4. Unbiased, widespread public reviews of the software. Dont buy reviews. Just hand it out, let em try it and write about it. Stand on the value of the product.
5. Open-source. I prefer open-source software. I *DEEPLY* prefer free(dom) software, but I know thats rare in the commercial sector. At least let me know that the source is well formatted, well designed, and open to contributions from outside your company by opening the source.
6. Standards-compliant. I dont care WHAT the product is, there are standards it should follow. Html editor? You betcha. Perl IDE? Absolutely. Follow standards, and shout about it!
7. Price - Make the price compatible with a developer budget. In other words, super cheap to use at home, and fairly pricey for commercial use. Get me hooked on a product at home, I *will* tell my boss I have to do it to get work done.
8. Freebies - shameful but true, companies that send me cool freebies do get a little bit extra attention, or at least get a look. I'm NOT talking about magazines. Think toys. Think polo (business) shirts. Think posters.
9. "The spokesman effect" - Ensure that your company has good spokesmen. Whether in sales, in service, on the phone, or even corporate spokemen.
10. BABES - I love booth babes.
For the quickfixes listed on the url, there is no EULA to install them.
No, Verisigns lawyers TRIED to convince the judge. His ruling has not come back yet.
RTFA.
Its a bit too dreamy, but definitely highlights some brilliant ideas. Ecotopia is a VERY nice vision of the future.
Who chose to have a meetup for Columbus in Easton? Yes, by postal code Easton is technically in Columbus, but sheesh.
:)
Im in the same postal code, but over 30 minutes away..
And what are you going to do in a RECORD STORE? At least pick a restaurant, bar, or book store where people can talk casually without weird looks by the owner.
Some planning intelligence would have been nice.
Mr. Anthony,
As someone who has named both of his cats, all seven of his computers, and one of his cars after characters from Incarnations of Immortality, I would like to know why you haven't chosen to return to their mythos.
Consider the fact you have done so with many of your other mythos'! (Bio of a space tyrant, Apprentice Adept, etc.)
Further, with Incarnations, there are a world of possibilities left. Chance, hate, love, hope, all the minor incarnations you mentioned in books previously (I would really like to see hope)..
Your writing weaves a world that one can live in, and while Xanth is nice, I deeply prefer a world where death is kind, and evil is human and flawed.
It helped me through the pain of losing my mother to serious illness, and has been my favorite fantasy world since.
I read in one of your author's note that the story of the original characters from IoI was "complete" and that you didnt see a need to continue their stories, and I can agree with that.
That doesn't stop new characters in the same mythos from being created. Whether set before, during or after the events of IoI, there is definitely room to weave plenty of stories.
Any chance of seeing some more of them?
Thats Verizon Communications, a distinctly different business unit.
Multiple times Verizon Wireless has filed for an IPO, but so far has not done so.
As to spending your money on projects that turn a profit, broadband is considerably lower profits than Wireless.
Verizon Wireless has consistently been the highest profit margin business unit in Verizon Communications.
It is only correct if you call BSD's GNU/BSD when they use a majority of GNu tools. Stallman has said on numerous occasions that he ONLY wants it used on Linux.
Why?
My guess is because he would never get ANY traction in bsd-land, while in Linux-land, its so popular that ANY traction is worthwhile.
As someone in the Information Security field, I am constantly working to improve the security of Linux machines.
One of the low points of Linux administration is that very few daemons are chroot'd, and the few that are, dont have much protection because of the Linux kernel's very weak chroot protection.
Projects like OpenWall, GRSecurity, and SELinux (from the NSA), all attempt different solutions to this problem.
Of course, they are all incompatible with each other, but the problem remains that the Linux kernel, as shipped by RedHat is insecure when it comes to chroot protection.
Will this ever change, does RedHat care, and if so, which of these projects do you personally feel is most appropriate to lead the way in the future?
The global answer for open source projects is always "when it is ready", but even developers have rough ideas around timeframes whether they are a decade, a year, a month, or a day.
So, I would love to know, "When will we see OpenOffice and Mozilla integrated into Gnome more effectively?"
And if that doesnt work, ban him from ever voting again just for commenting in a fashion other than what you expected.
>Do you *really* want a manufacturer's installation of Linux on your box??? Is there ONE SINGLE Linux user that wouldn't much prefer to FDISK and install it clean?
Yes. There is.
Prime example:
My Father recently had to buy a new PC. Being several states away from him, I couldn't go with him. He did take my recommendations with him, which included "Absolutely, definitely, no XP."
You see, his Fiancee does work on the computer, and is a financial planner. Due to the huge list of privacy concerns, passport tie-ins, and licensing restrictions, I didnt feel it was appropriate to keep customer data on a PC running XP.
Upon his triumphant return with a PC with XP installed, he asked for help, which I refused.
I am not, nor will I ever become familiar with XP, and it is really a bad idea to store customer data on it.
What does this have to do with Linux pre-installed?
Well, glad you asked.
If he had had the option of using the linux partition instead, he could have. He has a video camera that sync's with the machine, a web-based email system, and a few other non-windows-requiring activities.
For those, I could happily ssh in and help him with whatever he needed fixed.
I could even access the windows partition, to read certain files!
Alas, since MS strong-arms every manufacturer to not install older software, nor alternative software, there is no option for my Father.
None.
1 Microsoft Way. Not just an address..
"but (a) computer RPG will not reach my expectations before they actually provide an option of having a live Dungeon Master (Gamemaster or whatever) in the session.. "
Done. Neverwinter is designed specifically to allow this. With a set of rich and robust powerful tools allowing the DM to change the entire adventure while you are in it.
In a CVS entry, they tagged it with "gcc3 compat fixes", followed by a mailing list posting discussing that it was now gcc3 compat.
I dont know whether rc3 has that cvs patch in, but I would definitely assume so.