I've known people who write embedded code for weapongs guidance systems. It's fun to ask them if the guidance computer in a missle has software that guarantees an orderly shutdown of the system. Is the memory properly deallocated before detonation, etc.
Generally those are medical device applications where there are conditions that nobody observes in an 'IT' setting, and certainly not in the 'home' setting that many people have anecdotal experience in.
The hardware platform is a specific configuration. Nothing is added, nothing changes. The specific hardware combination that makes up the system is fixed, and has been rigorously tested as a system.
The software on the machine is a specific configuration. Nothing can be added by the operator, and the entire system has been rigorously tested and qualified.
Medical device manufacturers do embedd Windows NT/2000 into their products. And you can belive that before the systems get FDA approval it's all tested beyond what is believable.
It has little bearing at all on what we all experience day to day with Microsoft products, because it's highly integrated, unlike the hodge-podge systems we all end up with because we're free to tinker and add system components (hardware and software) at will.
That's one of the reasons I've gotten into FOSS - I want a big stick with which to beat Microsoft into submission with.
The historical experience with Microsoft is 'anything that doesn't kill them makes them stronger.'
A perfect example of this is Netscape. Marc Andreesen got up at the lectern and said 'We're going to take over the Desktop.' Microsoft up until that point had lackluster interest in the Web and Web Services. Where is Netscape today?
Linux doesn't force computer upgrades the way Microsoft software does. It isn't as demanding of the hardware, so you can keep using machines longer.
I used to belive that, and it's still true if you run a 'Classic' Linux desktop with an older Window Manager. If you step into the 'modern desktop' world of KDE or Gnome, that just isn't true anymore. I've had way too many people scoff at me for running a Freenix and an X desktop on Pentium Pro or older Pentium II boxes, as if I'm being an idiot. The old days of reusing boxes obsoleted by Windows aren't really over, but that's NOT the reality for slick new desktop Linux distros that are being sold these days as Windows replacements. Agreed, a 'current' box (say, 1 GHz Pentium IV) is fine now. It's not gonna be fine for next years Linux bloat desktop.
And it's a really sad state of affairs, not at all what some of us hoped for.
I find it hard to believe than Sun will continue backporting security updates on a Linux system for three to five years. That amounts to an administration nightmare, and they're just not gonna do it and remain profitable. Sun will end up supporting 15 different versions of Linux and the permutations of different package versions will be staggering.
Clearly there should also be some boilerplate text included about the distinction between the Linux Kernal and the GNU system that makes up the body of the operating system. Perhaps a prominent mention of Richard Stallman and a sidebar on the GNU philosophy.
Likely not. I am already pissed at how much health care costs are jacked up because clinics assume you've got an Insurance Company paying for the whole thing. Awhile ago when I was out of work I went to doctors who took this into consideration and would give out 'free sample' medication to keep costs down. In large bureaucratic setups it isn't easy to get that kind of consideration. The last thing we need in an era when it seems like corporate interests are encroaching on our freedom to choose our own level of medical care is to throw in the towel and just say a government monopoly is the 'fix.'
You've obviously not worked around many M.D.s. These guys are not the same little department secretary or staff engineer who you're used to pushing around with your 'I.T.' badge.
Remember, you're the guy who's supposed to assist them in doing their work. Nobody cares if there's a computer network at all if the Doctors aren't getting their job done.
X is network aware, but on many networks it's pretty difficult to port around X apps. If you're talking about a bunch of machines getting their IP from DHCP, for instance, it can be a problem. Also it can be a real hassle if there are multiple partitioned subnets around the building.
Agreed, though, that the amount of futzing around to get Citrix isn't more or less of a mess than X servers.
"How enthusiastic is the IT staff going to be for people to be 'flinging around bitmaps' on the network?" is another good question regarding remote X apps... A few dozen people running remote X Apps is gonna use considerable bandwidth.
Not very many people who 'write software' for a living are Software Engineers, however. Lots of code slingers for IT. That's radically different from product development involving software. If there's no rigorous design element, it ain't engineering. If it's just moving data around for 'IT' it's data processing, not engineering.
When I think 'software engineer' it's someone who writes the code for the TIVO or the firmware in the control panel of a Microwave oven or the firmware in a Medical device. Projects as far away from IT as it gets. The IT guys are just people who bumble in and screw up the development computers in such a setting.
Tons and tons of in-house code is a nightmare to maintain as well. Especially if it was written by surly old-timers who know how to establish 'job security' and keep management paying their salary.
Where I come from a 'programmer' is the expensive fixture from the uP vendor that's kept in the firmware lab. We plug OTP parts into it to burn the latest firmware before plugging them in the breadboard device for testing.
Liking mathematics, and dodging paper airplanes made out of today's homework sheet sailed by your pupils from the back row of the classroom are two different things. Make sure she knows she'll be lucky to have one pupil a year who shares her love of math before she chooses teaching math as a profession.
Most slashbots vigorously struggle against being anything but 'the little guys.' Every 'get a job' and 'why don't you start thinking about moving that subnet of 386sx boxes out of your mom's basement to your own place' is met with vigorous denial.
Which really isn't that big of an issue. Waiting until reaching the age of majority before moving out isn't a bad idea...
I looked, and what I've found is that 'Duck' tape is a registered trademark. And the people selling 'Duck' tape have this story they want to tell you about why you shouldn't use the non-trademarked name for it.
Does it take a couple of weeks to tear down an ultralight and inspect it? Agreed, these are bigger than an ultralight.
I live near a small county airport here and we get buzzed all the time in the weekends with weird little craft. I've seen someone up there with a helicopter that appears to be about the size of a garden tractor.
The private aircraft industry has already been crushed, almost completely decimated, by the trial lawyer industry. Maybe we should start calling them 'Big Trial Lawyers' since calling anything 'Big' automatically gets people riled up against them.
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I've known people who write embedded code for weapongs guidance systems. It's fun to ask them if the guidance computer in a missle has software that guarantees an orderly shutdown of the system. Is the memory properly deallocated before detonation, etc.
The hardware platform is a specific configuration. Nothing is added, nothing changes. The specific hardware combination that makes up the system is fixed, and has been rigorously tested as a system.
The software on the machine is a specific configuration. Nothing can be added by the operator, and the entire system has been rigorously tested and qualified.
Medical device manufacturers do embedd Windows NT/2000 into their products. And you can belive that before the systems get FDA approval it's all tested beyond what is believable.
It has little bearing at all on what we all experience day to day with Microsoft products, because it's highly integrated, unlike the hodge-podge systems we all end up with because we're free to tinker and add system components (hardware and software) at will.
That's one of the reasons I've gotten into FOSS - I want a big stick with which to beat Microsoft into submission with.
The historical experience with Microsoft is 'anything that doesn't kill them makes them stronger.'
A perfect example of this is Netscape. Marc Andreesen got up at the lectern and said 'We're going to take over the Desktop.' Microsoft up until that point had lackluster interest in the Web and Web Services. Where is Netscape today?
Linux doesn't force computer upgrades the way Microsoft software does. It isn't as demanding of the hardware, so you can keep using machines longer.
I used to belive that, and it's still true if you run a 'Classic' Linux desktop with an older Window Manager. If you step into the 'modern desktop' world of KDE or Gnome, that just isn't true anymore. I've had way too many people scoff at me for running a Freenix and an X desktop on Pentium Pro or older Pentium II boxes, as if I'm being an idiot. The old days of reusing boxes obsoleted by Windows aren't really over, but that's NOT the reality for slick new desktop Linux distros that are being sold these days as Windows replacements. Agreed, a 'current' box (say, 1 GHz Pentium IV) is fine now. It's not gonna be fine for next years Linux bloat desktop.
And it's a really sad state of affairs, not at all what some of us hoped for.
I find it hard to believe than Sun will continue backporting security updates on a Linux system for three to five years. That amounts to an administration nightmare, and they're just not gonna do it and remain profitable. Sun will end up supporting 15 different versions of Linux and the permutations of different package versions will be staggering.
Clearly there should also be some boilerplate text included about the distinction between the Linux Kernal and the GNU system that makes up the body of the operating system. Perhaps a prominent mention of Richard Stallman and a sidebar on the GNU philosophy.
I know what I'd spend my money on.
Ummm, no. It sounds like you know what you'd like to spend MY money on.
Likely not. I am already pissed at how much health care costs are jacked up because clinics assume you've got an Insurance Company paying for the whole thing. Awhile ago when I was out of work I went to doctors who took this into consideration and would give out 'free sample' medication to keep costs down. In large bureaucratic setups it isn't easy to get that kind of consideration. The last thing we need in an era when it seems like corporate interests are encroaching on our freedom to choose our own level of medical care is to throw in the towel and just say a government monopoly is the 'fix.'
You've obviously not worked around many M.D.s. These guys are not the same little department secretary or staff engineer who you're used to pushing around with your 'I.T.' badge.
Remember, you're the guy who's supposed to assist them in doing their work. Nobody cares if there's a computer network at all if the Doctors aren't getting their job done.
X is network aware, but on many networks it's pretty difficult to port around X apps. If you're talking about a bunch of machines getting their IP from DHCP, for instance, it can be a problem. Also it can be a real hassle if there are multiple partitioned subnets around the building.
Agreed, though, that the amount of futzing around to get Citrix isn't more or less of a mess than X servers.
"How enthusiastic is the IT staff going to be for people to be 'flinging around bitmaps' on the network?" is another good question regarding remote X apps... A few dozen people running remote X Apps is gonna use considerable bandwidth.
In so many places, the IT staffers make the 'Central Services' technicians in the movie 'Brazil' look professional.
It's just how things go in large bureacratic organizations.
Not very many people who 'write software' for a living are Software Engineers, however. Lots of code slingers for IT. That's radically different from product development involving software. If there's no rigorous design element, it ain't engineering. If it's just moving data around for 'IT' it's data processing, not engineering.
When I think 'software engineer' it's someone who writes the code for the TIVO or the firmware in the control panel of a Microwave oven or the firmware in a Medical device. Projects as far away from IT as it gets. The IT guys are just people who bumble in and screw up the development computers in such a setting.
Tons and tons of in-house code is a nightmare to maintain as well. Especially if it was written by surly old-timers who know how to establish 'job security' and keep management paying their salary.
A System 'Engineer' isn't even a real engineer.
I mounted tapes for a living back in the early 80's and I know what a computer operator is.
Where I come from a 'programmer' is the expensive fixture from the uP vendor that's kept in the firmware lab. We plug OTP parts into it to burn the latest firmware before plugging them in the breadboard device for testing.
Liking mathematics, and dodging paper airplanes made out of today's homework sheet sailed by your pupils from the back row of the classroom are two different things. Make sure she knows she'll be lucky to have one pupil a year who shares her love of math before she chooses teaching math as a profession.
Wow. Someone finally explained the goatse.cx man.
Yikes. You mean OOo on NetBSD/mvme68k will remain unsupported?
Why are the forums on a central single-source site? It could propagate more widely on Usenet.
Is someone trying to keep the 'open' forums close and under control?
Umm, you linked to a site that sells(?) trekkie toys.
Original comment about fictitious 'phaser' still stands.
Most slashbots vigorously struggle against being anything but 'the little guys.' Every 'get a job' and 'why don't you start thinking about moving that subnet of 386sx boxes out of your mom's basement to your own place' is met with vigorous denial.
Which really isn't that big of an issue. Waiting until reaching the age of majority before moving out isn't a bad idea...
I looked, and what I've found is that 'Duck' tape is a registered trademark. And the people selling 'Duck' tape have this story they want to tell you about why you shouldn't use the non-trademarked name for it.
Naw. Darwin is too busy cleaning up on bicycle enthusiasts and pedestrians. heh
Does it take a couple of weeks to tear down an ultralight and inspect it? Agreed, these are bigger than an ultralight.
I live near a small county airport here and we get buzzed all the time in the weekends with weird little craft. I've seen someone up there with a helicopter that appears to be about the size of a garden tractor.
The private aircraft industry has already been crushed, almost completely decimated, by the trial lawyer industry. Maybe we should start calling them 'Big Trial Lawyers' since calling anything 'Big' automatically gets people riled up against them.