I finally bought a laptop at the start of this year and it came without an internal floppy drive. OK, I said, I don't really use one all that much. What could possibly go wrong?
I hit my first snag that evening when I was trying to use Partition Magic to generate my dual-boot partition (Linux). PM cannot repartition the drive opon which it is running, so I needed to create a floppy set for booting off of and partitioning from. With no ready method to do so, and no easy way (at that time) to generate a bootable CD, it was back to the BestFutureCircuitFry store to get a USB external floppy
I must admit that the floppy is almost never used, but it's nice to have it around when needed. I make use of it when working with paritions or ghosting drives. Without the external floppy, it would be difficult to do either.
It is my opinion that, unless an OS comes with the ability to create a bootable CD with the same ease that one could previously create a bootable diskette, then the diskette will not be devoid of value or usefulness. Until Bill has a "create emergency boot CD" option alongside (or in place of) the "create boot Diskette" option, then MS-Windows will still require the occasional use of a floppy drive.
I also know that it's possible to create a bootable USB key, but it's not easy enough yet (for the average user), and most people don't have a box of USB keys around like they would a box of diskettes or a spool of CD blanks.
Now, what to do with my cases of 5.25" floppies. And the two 8" Elelephant disks that I have, since the IMSA got donated.
I agree that using another entity's name to divert traffic for your own means is a violation, what about the use of derivations that show a defined antagonistic slant? For example, what if someone hosts www.fallwellsucks.com?
I've heard of companies going after people that host www.<entity>sucks.com sites, but I think that they most definitely be allowed since the name is clear in its differentiation from, and bias against, the entity.
While the Oliphant may be the mascot of PostgreSQL, there is no DBMS-specific topic Icons. So, my guess is that any discussion regarding Oracle, Sybase, PostgreSQL, mySQL, etc, would all be here.
Apologies in advance for upper-case, but seems fitting to type SQL commands in that manner.
Object Manipulation Changes [...]
Add ALTER COLUMN TYPE to change column's type (Rod) It is now possible to alter a column's datatype without dropping and re-adding the column.
Is altering a column type consistent with the SQL-99 spec? Although I can see how useful this might be, I'd be very concerned about modifying table columns on the fly like this. How are type mis-matches handled? If there is a type mis-match, with the command continue, or roll back?
Same with Drop Column. I recall "way back when", the effort to modify a column was much more involved.
Wasn't Windows 98 the first MS OS to use the "Windows Update" process? That's menu-based (well, you have a list of updates and you select from that list which items you want to update... sounds like a menu to me)
With all the neutrality I can muster, does this not count as 'Prior Art'? in favour of Microsoft?
I think that any such complaints would be unfounded.
The article makes it clear that Delta is looking into RFID as replacement technology for (or maybe companion technology to) Barcodes for Airline-supplied luggage tracking systems.
Every piece of luggage that leaves the check-in desk has a luggage tag on it supplied by the carrier / airport. This is not new. There is no increased erosion of privacy here.
I think it is safe to assume that such tags are as temporary as the current Paper ones that they attach to luggage or boxes.
Now (putting on his tinfoil hat) when the Government mandates that all luggage travelling on planes require special 'government-approved' Travel tags that are pre-verified by some government or police authority, then I'll start getting concerned!!
[in response to a passage about developers needing their own machine (singular), and that it is supported]
I just bet this is the root of all my problems -- I have not one but two machines all to myself at work. Do I have any systems programmers or operators? Not a one. It's a miracle I can accomplish anything at all, under the circumstances.
Ed is missing the point here. I think that such a comment by the original author was based on the time-share days, not the more modern workstation days. "Back then", you all worked on terminals and did batch work on a central frame. Nowadays, the central server is good for no more than saving your Pr0n
If one were to generalize, I think that it would be better to say that "Teams building core applications need a dedicated developent environment in which to work; a system that is up to the task, properly isolated, and properly supported"
Dutch researcher Jelmer [...] embarked on a detailed analysis of the link, which demonstrates an extremely sophisticated use of encrypted code.
Hmm... I hardly consider using the (unfortunatly) existing Script encoding feature in IE to be 'sophisticated'. Besides, for those who are not DMCA-encumbered, here is a program to Decode the Javascript contained in the "JScript.Encode" areas. (The author of the script has an interesting and informative article on what a piece of crap the JScript.Encode function is, and can be found here)
I'd like to sit and do my main development / nerding / hardcode gaming at my desktop
I'd like to sit on my couch and do surfing and lighter gaming / coding / nerding from my laptop. Also a good place to watch movies, since I can plunk the laptop on my belly and lie in bed
I'd like to be able to check email, have an up-to-date calendar and contact list, and browse them web only if I need to from the phone.
I have a Nokia 9290 Communicator, and I'm drooling over the up-and coming 9500, with a metric shitload of connectivity and usabiliity. I like the screen on it. I like the keyboard. Because of that, I don't mind the size (I keep a smaller, spare GSM phone for when I need it).
If I'm on the move, the small, mobile phone device provides me with the connectivity that I need at the footprint that i need at the time. Since I cannot lug my desktop machine with me everywhere, so times the phone (as a convergence tool) will be easier to use
I recall this quite from the startop of Crosstalk: "Easy to use" is easy to say
This is the same argument that people use to justify wholesale piracy of digital media. "It's not like I stole the [item | service]; they can still [sell | read | use] the [item | service] to others".
If you obtain (without paying for) something that is normally for sale, be it a phyisical item, a perfect copy of a digital 'asset', or data from a 'service provider', you are are stealing the equivilient value of the item/service were it to be sold to someone. You are depriving the service/item owner of that revenue.
I snagged this from some essay, but it seemed to meet my needs:
Social presence is defined as the ability of learners to project themselves socially and affectively into a community of inquiry.
While most everyone would agree that that there are good and bad points to working at home (working nekkid, or working at odd hours), it is also important to remember the good and bad points to being constrained to an in-office environment
There are distractions everywhere; your self-discipline will see you through them. However, at home, you lack the "social presence" that is found with the in-office environment.
If you work out of office, people may see the fruits of your labour, but they could mis-place their admiration of the person. Maybe the team leader will get more attention, since they are in the office, coordinating the work of both local and remote users.
Being in the office means that it's easier to 'toot your own horn' and stand up for your successes. It's not just what you do, but you must 'appear' to do it well. People need to >b>see you succeed (or see you being successful) in order for them to perceive you as a success.
So, remote-work or telecommuting should be balanced with working in the office. You could run the risk of sacrificing long-term job/career goals for the sake of short-term work/task goals.
"On some level I think it's sad that it went away," he said. "People went from being creators of software to consumers."
I must admit that I share his lament. The programmer-to-user ratio got considerably worse as the ubiquity of computers increased.
When I got my first computer (comment hoping skip the 'geek pissing match'), the majority of other people with computers were using them to write programs. As the PCs (now workstations) got adopted (then coopted) by 'business' for them to do their thing, the computer became a 'tool'. I never stopped programming, but all my non-geek friends started to get in on the computer-owning game. Most of them couldn't write a line of BASIC with a gun to their head, even though they have the capacity to do so, but gosh, they all thought they were just whizz-bang computer users! *sigh*
As a colleague of mine (and a really amazing programmer) once said: "Accessibility is the yellow brick road to mediocrity"
Since the pad draws power from a USB connection, it would be cool if the colours could be controlled via the USB port as well.
With a simple API, it should be easy to change the colours on the fly, going from blue to red (or whatever) depending on different 'threat' conditions.
GPL should not condone theft of other's work
on
VIA Pulls PadLockSL
·
· Score: 1
Please mod parent up.
If we as a community believe in the values of the GPL, and believe also that those who wish to develop proprietary software should be free to do so, then it is encumbent upon us to help keep GPL stuff separate from proprietary and keep proprietary code separate from GPL'ed stuff.
If we want respect for the GPL then we should offer respect for other legitimate development models.
if the system was such that you would be forced to acquire at least some understanding of what you were doing, eventually you would get similar number of users, only they would be a little bit more aware of what is going on.
While I've always found the 'technocracy' argument to a double-edged sword (as overworked as that phrase may be), there are some frightening repurcussions behind the idea that people can just step up to a computer and have it do all these whizbang things.
A friend of mine has a quote regarding this situation: "Accessibility is the yellow-brick road to mediocrity". While many of us nerds may have started the quest for Nerdvanna at a bright and early age, many more dove into the fray when technology became the "technology bandwagon".
How many people do you know are constant targets (and suppliers) of viruses to your (hopefully protected) systems?
How many of these people never adjusted that braindead Microslop convenience option to hide the extensions of known files?
How many people think that, because they can send email that they know how to use a computer?
How many people think that, because they can create a spreadsheet that they know how to program a computer?
However unlikely, it is the hope that some of these new users may generate an honest and constructive curiosity about how the machines work, and they will be the ones to join the rest of the enlightened technical folk, following (and banging their heads against) the shining light of technological advance.
If this is indeed the case, then let us also hope that the really dangerous/annoying ones get nailed by the technological "Bug Zappers" before they can do too much damage.
Although I can't pin the dates, I remember an ad campaign from many many moons ago (70's? 80's?) about how you should "be a Coffee Achiever!!", with similarly extoled virtues of coffee (cafine) to boost your day.
Years ago, I saw a much simpler, low tech solution on the BrainSucker. The footage was in B/W, so I assume it was an invention from the 50's or 60's.
A vehicle was equipped with a small(er) wheel in the back. When not in use, the wheel was raised up, recessed into the trunk area.
The driver need only drive into a parallel spot. When the 'parking wheel' was engaged, it would lower out of its recess, lifting the back wheels of the vehicle off of the ground. Power (electric?) would be applied to the wheel, rotating the back end of the car into the space. Voila!
To exit, reengage the wheel, rotate the rear end out, then reverse out of the spot.
It seemed quite simple to me. I don't know much if anything about hydrolics, etc, but I imagine the mechanism couldn't be that large. I would certainly be minimal tech
Slashdot Mirror
I finally bought a laptop at the start of this year and it came without an internal floppy drive. OK, I said, I don't really use one all that much. What could possibly go wrong?
I hit my first snag that evening when I was trying to use Partition Magic to generate my dual-boot partition (Linux). PM cannot repartition the drive opon which it is running, so I needed to create a floppy set for booting off of and partitioning from. With no ready method to do so, and no easy way (at that time) to generate a bootable CD, it was back to the BestFutureCircuitFry store to get a USB external floppy
I must admit that the floppy is almost never used, but it's nice to have it around when needed. I make use of it when working with paritions or ghosting drives. Without the external floppy, it would be difficult to do either.
It is my opinion that, unless an OS comes with the ability to create a bootable CD with the same ease that one could previously create a bootable diskette, then the diskette will not be devoid of value or usefulness. Until Bill has a "create emergency boot CD" option alongside (or in place of) the "create boot Diskette" option, then MS-Windows will still require the occasional use of a floppy drive.
I also know that it's possible to create a bootable USB key, but it's not easy enough yet (for the average user), and most people don't have a box of USB keys around like they would a box of diskettes or a spool of CD blanks.
Now, what to do with my cases of 5.25" floppies. And the two 8" Elelephant disks that I have, since the IMSA got donated.
Whoops. Thanks for pointing that out. Too bad I can't mod the parent down
(blah! I hate when perssing "return" posts the story automatically)
This story was posted quite a while ago here.
It's still a cool little gizmo, though. I'd love one for Christmas!
I agree that using another entity's name to divert traffic for your own means is a violation, what about the use of derivations that show a defined antagonistic slant? For example, what if someone hosts www.fallwellsucks.com?
I've heard of companies going after people that host www.<entity>sucks.com sites, but I think that they most definitely be allowed since the name is clear in its differentiation from, and bias against, the entity.
While the Oliphant may be the mascot of PostgreSQL, there is no DBMS-specific topic Icons. So, my guess is that any discussion regarding Oracle, Sybase, PostgreSQL, mySQL, etc, would all be here.
Just picture the Elephant in the wheelbarrow ;)
Apologies in advance for upper-case, but seems fitting to type SQL commands in that manner.
Is altering a column type consistent with the SQL-99 spec? Although I can see how useful this might be, I'd be very concerned about modifying table columns on the fly like this. How are type mis-matches handled? If there is a type mis-match, with the command continue, or roll back?
Same with Drop Column. I recall "way back when", the effort to modify a column was much more involved.
Wasn't Windows 98 the first MS OS to use the "Windows Update" process? That's menu-based (well, you have a list of updates and you select from that list which items you want to update... sounds like a menu to me)
With all the neutrality I can muster, does this not count as 'Prior Art'? in favour of Microsoft?
Sorry, I should have indicated that I was joking.
Since ./'ers like to post copies of the articles (and the subsequent karma slurpage), could someone please post the Word file here as well?
I think that any such complaints would be unfounded.
The article makes it clear that Delta is looking into RFID as replacement technology for (or maybe companion technology to) Barcodes for Airline-supplied luggage tracking systems. Every piece of luggage that leaves the check-in desk has a luggage tag on it supplied by the carrier / airport. This is not new. There is no increased erosion of privacy here.
I think it is safe to assume that such tags are as temporary as the current Paper ones that they attach to luggage or boxes.
Now (putting on his tinfoil hat) when the Government mandates that all luggage travelling on planes require special 'government-approved' Travel tags that are pre-verified by some government or police authority, then I'll start getting concerned!!
[in response to a passage about developers needing their own machine (singular), and that it is supported]
Ed is missing the point here. I think that such a comment by the original author was based on the time-share days, not the more modern workstation days. "Back then", you all worked on terminals and did batch work on a central frame. Nowadays, the central server is good for no more than saving your Pr0n
If one were to generalize, I think that it would be better to say that "Teams building core applications need a dedicated developent environment in which to work; a system that is up to the task, properly isolated, and properly supported"
Dutch researcher Jelmer [...] embarked on a detailed analysis of the link, which demonstrates an extremely sophisticated use of encrypted code.
Hmm... I hardly consider using the (unfortunatly) existing Script encoding feature in IE to be 'sophisticated'. Besides, for those who are not DMCA-encumbered, here is a program to Decode the Javascript contained in the "JScript.Encode" areas. (The author of the script has an interesting and informative article on what a piece of crap the JScript.Encode function is, and can be found here)
I have a Nokia 9290 Communicator, and I'm drooling over the up-and coming 9500, with a metric shitload of connectivity and usabiliity. I like the screen on it. I like the keyboard. Because of that, I don't mind the size (I keep a smaller, spare GSM phone for when I need it).
If I'm on the move, the small, mobile phone device provides me with the connectivity that I need at the footprint that i need at the time. Since I cannot lug my desktop machine with me everywhere, so times the phone (as a convergence tool) will be easier to use
I recall this quite from the startop of Crosstalk: "Easy to use" is easy to say
This is the same argument that people use to justify wholesale piracy of digital media. "It's not like I stole the [item | service]; they can still [sell | read | use] the [item | service] to others".
If you obtain (without paying for) something that is normally for sale, be it a phyisical item, a perfect copy of a digital 'asset', or data from a 'service provider', you are are stealing the equivilient value of the item/service were it to be sold to someone. You are depriving the service/item owner of that revenue.
What about PostgreSQL, Inc.? Check out their support services. And their current partners list shows a relationship with redhat.
While most everyone would agree that that there are good and bad points to working at home (working nekkid, or working at odd hours), it is also important to remember the good and bad points to being constrained to an in-office environment
There are distractions everywhere; your self-discipline will see you through them. However, at home, you lack the "social presence" that is found with the in-office environment. If you work out of office, people may see the fruits of your labour, but they could mis-place their admiration of the person. Maybe the team leader will get more attention, since they are in the office, coordinating the work of both local and remote users.
Being in the office means that it's easier to 'toot your own horn' and stand up for your successes. It's not just what you do, but you must 'appear' to do it well. People need to >b>see you succeed (or see you being successful) in order for them to perceive you as a success.
So, remote-work or telecommuting should be balanced with working in the office. You could run the risk of sacrificing long-term job/career goals for the sake of short-term work/task goals.
I must admit that I share his lament. The programmer-to-user ratio got considerably worse as the ubiquity of computers increased.
When I got my first computer (comment hoping skip the 'geek pissing match'), the majority of other people with computers were using them to write programs. As the PCs (now workstations) got adopted (then coopted) by 'business' for them to do their thing, the computer became a 'tool'. I never stopped programming, but all my non-geek friends started to get in on the computer-owning game. Most of them couldn't write a line of BASIC with a gun to their head, even though they have the capacity to do so, but gosh, they all thought they were just whizz-bang computer users! *sigh*
As a colleague of mine (and a really amazing programmer) once said: "Accessibility is the yellow brick road to mediocrity"
Since the pad draws power from a USB connection, it would be cool if the colours could be controlled via the USB port as well.
With a simple API, it should be easy to change the colours on the fly, going from blue to red (or whatever) depending on different 'threat' conditions.
Please mod parent up.
If we as a community believe in the values of the GPL, and believe also that those who wish to develop proprietary software should be free to do so, then it is encumbent upon us to help keep GPL stuff separate from proprietary and keep proprietary code separate from GPL'ed stuff.
If we want respect for the GPL then we should offer respect for other legitimate development models.
While I've always found the 'technocracy' argument to a double-edged sword (as overworked as that phrase may be), there are some frightening repurcussions behind the idea that people can just step up to a computer and have it do all these whizbang things.
A friend of mine has a quote regarding this situation: "Accessibility is the yellow-brick road to mediocrity". While many of us nerds may have started the quest for Nerdvanna at a bright and early age, many more dove into the fray when technology became the "technology bandwagon".
-
How many people do you know are constant targets (and suppliers) of viruses to your (hopefully protected) systems?
-
How many of these people never adjusted that braindead Microslop convenience option to hide the extensions of known files?
-
How many people think that, because they can send email that they know how to use a computer?
-
How many people think that, because they can create a spreadsheet that they know how to program a computer?
However unlikely, it is the hope that some of these new users may generate an honest and constructive curiosity about how the machines work, and they will be the ones to join the rest of the enlightened technical folk, following (and banging their heads against) the shining light of technological advance.If this is indeed the case, then let us also hope that the really dangerous/annoying ones get nailed by the technological "Bug Zappers" before they can do too much damage.
could it now be the time for an open source BIOS project?
Yes it could. As mentioned in a previous post, check out The Linux Bios Project
That's right, I'm a Coffee Achiever!!!
Although I can't pin the dates, I remember an ad campaign from many many moons ago (70's? 80's?) about how you should "be a Coffee Achiever!!", with similarly extoled virtues of coffee (cafine) to boost your day.
And we've come back to it. How quaint.
Inconcievable!
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Years ago, I saw a much simpler, low tech solution on the BrainSucker. The footage was in B/W, so I assume it was an invention from the 50's or 60's.
A vehicle was equipped with a small(er) wheel in the back. When not in use, the wheel was raised up, recessed into the trunk area.
The driver need only drive into a parallel spot. When the 'parking wheel' was engaged, it would lower out of its recess, lifting the back wheels of the vehicle off of the ground. Power (electric?) would be applied to the wheel, rotating the back end of the car into the space. Voila!
To exit, reengage the wheel, rotate the rear end out, then reverse out of the spot.
It seemed quite simple to me. I don't know much if anything about hydrolics, etc, but I imagine the mechanism couldn't be that large. I would certainly be minimal tech