Well, given all this SCO nonsense, it's funny that Debian may be the only Linux distribution *not* affected if a brain-damaged judge decides to rule that the 2.4.x series are illegal.
Holy crap. I've drunk more than 20 cups in a single day - 20% of the LD-50 according the above. I'm sure others here have as well. The funny thing is that on this particular occasion I ended up unnaturally *tired* toward the end, not wired as one might expect. I wonder if the waitress took pity on me and was secretly serving formaldehy^H^H^H^H decaf instead.
My solution to this problem, which I'm sure I've seen before but can't remember where, is "Divide by Three."
Take what you have to do and divide it into three parts. (The exact number can vary a bit, but three is what I shoot for. If it is most logical to divide a task 2 ways or 4 or 5 instead of 3, that's fine too.) Write these down.
Now divide each of these into roughly 3 sub-tasks. Repeat until the sub-tasks are small enough to be a no-brainer. Or as someone else mentioned - tasks that should take no more than 15 minutes to do.
You'll find that making this list has at least three positive effects. First, some of the hard work on a complex problem consists of breaking into smaller steps in the first place, and once you have this list, that part of the job is done! Second, you will be able to focus more easily on smaller tasks rather than larger ones. Last, and possibly most importantly, the huge, hulking nightmare in your mind is now no longer on your mind, but on paper (or a computer screen). It will seem a lot less intimidating there.
No offense to you, but I friggin' hate that term "gentleman's agreement" when used to describe this sort of thing. Anyone who conspires with others to lie, cheat, steal, and in effect murder their potential competitors does not deserve to be called a "gentleman."
What will the U.S. do when the time comes for a cost/benefit analysis and the result is that it is cheaper to leave the U.S. entirely?
It should be pretty clear to/. readers that this is already happening, not just because of the high and uncertain costs of paying IP-related bribes, but the high and uncertain costs of living and doing business in a more or less lawless society.
Not true. I've read plenty of stories and reports that *nix admins typically have a far better foundation in the fundamentals. My experience has been similar. *nix gurus tend to know what happens under the surface and can often do a much faster/better job of debugging and engineering
Yes and no. Yes, *nix people do tend to know a lot more about computers. On the other hand, they expect things to make sense and to behave deterministically, and on Windows, sometimes they don't.
I develop for and occasionally admin both 'Doze and Linux boxes. I find that maybe 80% of the time, the knowledge I've gained from *nix and *nix-friendly tools (most of which are available via Cygwin, thank God!) is a lifesaver. On the other hand, maybe 20% of the time, it screws me up. I don't want to just "Reboot, Reinstall, Reformat" because then next time I won't know what caused the problem, how I fixed it, or how to fix it again. But sometimes on Windows that is exactly what is necessary. It is sometimes the fastest way to solve a problem. It is sometimes the only way.
That's a good point, and it does help explain the paradox of why so many people and institutions routinely oppose free market solutions, even though almost everyone would be better off if such solutions were the rule rather than the exception.
Lasseiz-faire capitalists find any government definition of or intervention in markets appalling, but then they'd turn around and bitch if SBC were the only DSL provider in the area and charged $100 a month, too.
Actually it's very likely that if the "government" had not granted monopolies to Ma Bell way back when, wireless technologies would have developed decades sooner, and bandwidth would be a commodity.
I've yet to learn of any government-granted "monopoly" that ever did more good than harm.
Here we have a "government" (and one of the usually more enlightened ones at that) legislating how a piece of software - a Web site - must be designed.
Many of us just sit back and accept this, because Privacy is Good, Cookies can violate Privacy, hence Cookies are Bad, and, ergo, legislation against Cookies is Good.
I don't like or use cookies either, but the mere fact that we don't like something does not give government a legitimate power to ban it.
Here is the logical conclusion of the road you are allowing this government to travel. Computers can be used to violate Privacy. Privacy is Good, therefore Computers are Bad, and we should legislate against Computers.
Ridiculous? You bet.
But no different than what's happening now, except in degree.
Governments exist to protect Life, Liberty and Property. That is why they are created and that is their only legitimate purpose.
Governments that begin to violate these rights, even in a small way, tend to grow to violate them in bigger ways.
People who think there should be a Law against anything they don't like give government exactly the excuse they need to do so.
Please do not let a relatively minor issue, such as the abuse of cookies, justify your support of government coercion over software makers.
If you do, then don't be too surprised when eventually it starts to infringe your freedom as well.
At present, most would rate the U.S. as being more free and therefore less totalitarian than China.
However, anyone with even slight familiarity with both places would note that China is rapidly becoming more free, while the U.S. is rapidly becoming less free.
If these trends continue, it will not take a very long time before the Chinese are more free than we are in the U.S.
The hard part, as even Mark Twain observed, is not learning the Bible, but living it.
A lot of the "doctrinal" disputes actually result from people doing what they want and trying to find Biblical justification for it, instead of studying what the Bible actually says, and honestly evaluating whether their lives match.
Good point. Unjust, or unjustly applied, "IP" laws are the primary weapons Microsoft and other proprietary software companies use to limit competition and freedom. Take those away, and M$ would be forced to compete just like everyone else.
The Cloisters are wonderful, but if you have a couple hours to spare, *and* it isn't a hot day, then take the bus there at least one way. It will take 1-2 hours from midtown (!) but you will not forget the experience.:) (And no, it's not dangerous, but you will meet some very interesting people.)
Exactly. General-purpose software components are commodities, and, like air, while they may have substantial intrinsic value, they do not have economic value.
But there still is substantial and non-transferable economic value in being able to: (1) understand a business process as it currently exists, and (2) design a custom solution, specific to that process and probably that client, that can be implemented quickly and inexpensively by "gluing" together general-purpose (and most likely Free) components.
High real estate prices in the U.S. are a temporary problem. They will fall when interest rates rise, and even more when the baby-boomers begin to pass on, since at that point there will be far more housing available than people to live in them.
Weight training is important, even though by itself it does not burn an unusually large number of calories. Acquiring and maintaining muscle strength will increase your base metabolic rate and thus the number of calories you consume at rest. More importantly it will (if done properly, meaning in combination with aerobic exercise, stretching, proper diet, and adequate rest) greatly increase your ability to burn calories during periods of heavy activity.
There is a lot of synergy between the different form of exercises. All together are far more effective than any of them alone.
It's a little more complex than that. Simple carbs like sugars break down easily and quickly, causing blood sugar and insulin levels to surge and then fall rapidly, which is a Bad Thing. Complex carbohydrates such as whole grains break down more slowly (and as you note tend to have other nutritive values as well).
OpenBSD is about as secure as they come, and no, even it isn't perfect, but it does have not only a strong focus on security as its principal focus, but a very impressive track record.
As one of the flock of Linux desktop users I have always taken it for granted that Linux is inherently more secure than Microsoft Windows. The truth is, I've never really paid much attention to Linux security
Linux is more secure than Windows in many ways, but no operating system is inherently secure, especially if you don't pay much attention to security.
Picture this: you're on a private subnet, behind a firewall that allows only outbound connections, and NAT to boot. You run no services, so there's no way for a cracker to reach you. Right?
BZZT!!! Unbeknownst to you, someone found a hole in your IRC client. When you went online, they 0wned your box and quickly installed a rootkit that "phones home" when your router's dynamic IP address decides to change. Your machine now serves warez and kiddie porn, but you didn't know that. Of course, the FBI doesn't believe you, and sends you to federal "pound me in the ass" prison.
Sound far-fetched?
Every single one of those things has happened.
Using Linux just makes it a little harder for the crackers. Not impossible. And it can't make it impossible, because even if Linux itself were perfect, a single remote root exploit in any piece of network client software is all it takes.
If you own or use a computer that is at least sometimes connected to the Internet, or to a local network, security is your job.
Slashdot Mirror
Another issue I haven't seen discussed yet - which gcc version(s) should be used to compile the kernel?
Well, given all this SCO nonsense, it's funny that Debian may be the only Linux distribution *not* affected if a brain-damaged judge decides to rule that the 2.4.x series are illegal.
Holy crap. I've drunk more than 20 cups in a single day - 20% of the LD-50 according the above. I'm sure others here have as well. The funny thing is that on this particular occasion I ended up unnaturally *tired* toward the end, not wired as one might expect. I wonder if the waitress took pity on me and was secretly serving formaldehy^H^H^H^H decaf instead.
My solution to this problem, which I'm sure I've seen before but can't remember where, is "Divide by Three."
Take what you have to do and divide it into three parts. (The exact number can vary a bit, but three is what I shoot for. If it is most logical to divide a task 2 ways or 4 or 5 instead of 3, that's fine too.) Write these down.
Now divide each of these into roughly 3 sub-tasks. Repeat until the sub-tasks are small enough to be a no-brainer. Or as someone else mentioned - tasks that should take no more than 15 minutes to do.
You'll find that making this list has at least three positive effects. First, some of the hard work on a complex problem consists of breaking into smaller steps in the first place, and once you have this list, that part of the job is done! Second, you will be able to focus more easily on smaller tasks rather than larger ones. Last, and possibly most importantly, the huge, hulking nightmare in your mind is now no longer on your mind, but on paper (or a computer screen). It will seem a lot less intimidating there.
Good luck!
No offense to you, but I friggin' hate that term "gentleman's agreement" when used to describe this sort of thing. Anyone who conspires with others to lie, cheat, steal, and in effect murder their potential competitors does not deserve to be called a "gentleman."
What will the U.S. do when the time comes for a cost/benefit analysis and the result is that it is cheaper to leave the U.S. entirely?
It should be pretty clear to /. readers that this is already happening, not just because of the high and uncertain costs of paying IP-related bribes, but the high and uncertain costs of living and doing business in a more or less lawless society.
'Cuz ain' hardly nowun gots good grammer 'dese days, yo.
Not true. I've read plenty of stories and reports that *nix admins typically have a far better foundation in the fundamentals. My experience has been similar. *nix gurus tend to know what happens under the surface and can often do a much faster/better job of debugging and engineering
Yes and no. Yes, *nix people do tend to know a lot more about computers. On the other hand, they expect things to make sense and to behave deterministically, and on Windows, sometimes they don't.
I develop for and occasionally admin both 'Doze and Linux boxes. I find that maybe 80% of the time, the knowledge I've gained from *nix and *nix-friendly tools (most of which are available via Cygwin, thank God!) is a lifesaver. On the other hand, maybe 20% of the time, it screws me up. I don't want to just "Reboot, Reinstall, Reformat" because then next time I won't know what caused the problem, how I fixed it, or how to fix it again. But sometimes on Windows that is exactly what is necessary. It is sometimes the fastest way to solve a problem. It is sometimes the only way.
That's a good point, and it does help explain the paradox of why so many people and institutions routinely oppose free market solutions, even though almost everyone would be better off if such solutions were the rule rather than the exception.
Lasseiz-faire capitalists find any government definition of or intervention in markets appalling, but then they'd turn around and bitch if SBC were the only DSL provider in the area and charged $100 a month, too.
Actually it's very likely that if the "government" had not granted monopolies to Ma Bell way back when, wireless technologies would have developed decades sooner, and bandwidth would be a commodity.
I've yet to learn of any government-granted "monopoly" that ever did more good than harm.
Why can't people see the slippery slope here??
Here we have a "government" (and one of the usually more enlightened ones at that) legislating how a piece of software - a Web site - must be designed.
Many of us just sit back and accept this, because Privacy is Good, Cookies can violate Privacy, hence Cookies are Bad, and, ergo, legislation against Cookies is Good.
I don't like or use cookies either, but the mere fact that we don't like something does not give government a legitimate power to ban it.
Here is the logical conclusion of the road you are allowing this government to travel. Computers can be used to violate Privacy. Privacy is Good, therefore Computers are Bad, and we should legislate against Computers.
Ridiculous? You bet.
But no different than what's happening now, except in degree.
Governments exist to protect Life, Liberty and Property. That is why they are created and that is their only legitimate purpose.
Governments that begin to violate these rights, even in a small way, tend to grow to violate them in bigger ways.
People who think there should be a Law against anything they don't like give government exactly the excuse they need to do so.
Please do not let a relatively minor issue, such as the abuse of cookies, justify your support of government coercion over software makers.
If you do, then don't be too surprised when eventually it starts to infringe your freedom as well.
Unfortunately, no. The U.S. lags considerably behind Finland in terms of electronic banking and bill payment.
At present, most would rate the U.S. as being more free and therefore less totalitarian than China.
However, anyone with even slight familiarity with both places would note that China is rapidly becoming more free, while the U.S. is rapidly becoming less free.
If these trends continue, it will not take a very long time before the Chinese are more free than we are in the U.S.
Your nuns had beer in their refrigerator??
The hard part, as even Mark Twain observed, is not learning the Bible, but living it.
A lot of the "doctrinal" disputes actually result from people doing what they want and trying to find Biblical justification for it, instead of studying what the Bible actually says, and honestly evaluating whether their lives match.
Good point. Unjust, or unjustly applied, "IP" laws are the primary weapons Microsoft and other proprietary software companies use to limit competition and freedom. Take those away, and M$ would be forced to compete just like everyone else.
The Cloisters are wonderful, but if you have a couple hours to spare, *and* it isn't a hot day, then take the bus there at least one way. It will take 1-2 hours from midtown (!) but you will not forget the experience. :) (And no, it's not dangerous, but you will meet some very interesting people.)
Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and one of the best park systems in the world, is about an hour east of Cedar Point.
Have you looked into wxWindows?
Exactly. General-purpose software components are commodities, and, like air, while they may have substantial intrinsic value, they do not have economic value.
But there still is substantial and non-transferable economic value in being able to: (1) understand a business process as it currently exists, and (2) design a custom solution, specific to that process and probably that client, that can be implemented quickly and inexpensively by "gluing" together general-purpose (and most likely Free) components.
High real estate prices in the U.S. are a temporary problem. They will fall when interest rates rise, and even more when the baby-boomers begin to pass on, since at that point there will be far more housing available than people to live in them.
Weight training is important, even though by itself it does not burn an unusually large number of calories. Acquiring and maintaining muscle strength will increase your base metabolic rate and thus the number of calories you consume at rest. More importantly it will (if done properly, meaning in combination with aerobic exercise, stretching, proper diet, and adequate rest) greatly increase your ability to burn calories during periods of heavy activity.
There is a lot of synergy between the different form of exercises. All together are far more effective than any of them alone.
It's a little more complex than that. Simple carbs like sugars break down easily and quickly, causing blood sugar and insulin levels to surge and then fall rapidly, which is a Bad Thing. Complex carbohydrates such as whole grains break down more slowly (and as you note tend to have other nutritive values as well).
OpenBSD is about as secure as they come, and no, even it isn't perfect, but it does have not only a strong focus on security as its principal focus, but a very impressive track record.
As one of the flock of Linux desktop users I have always taken it for granted that Linux is inherently more secure than Microsoft Windows. The truth is, I've never really paid much attention to Linux security
Linux is more secure than Windows in many ways, but no operating system is inherently secure, especially if you don't pay much attention to security.
Picture this: you're on a private subnet, behind a firewall that allows only outbound connections, and NAT to boot. You run no services, so there's no way for a cracker to reach you. Right?
BZZT!!! Unbeknownst to you, someone found a hole in your IRC client. When you went online, they 0wned your box and quickly installed a rootkit that "phones home" when your router's dynamic IP address decides to change. Your machine now serves warez and kiddie porn, but you didn't know that. Of course, the FBI doesn't believe you, and sends you to federal "pound me in the ass" prison.
Sound far-fetched?
Every single one of those things has happened.
Using Linux just makes it a little harder for the crackers. Not impossible. And it can't make it impossible, because even if Linux itself were perfect, a single remote root exploit in any piece of network client software is all it takes.
If you own or use a computer that is at least sometimes connected to the Internet, or to a local network, security is your job.