software conflicts can exist, and being able to supply needed libraries doesn't solve the problem of conflicts. A challenge then. If thats your experience please give me and everyone on slashdot a sample of how your Redhat 5 or SuSE 6 software purchases doesn't work under any of the latest Linux distributions.
Back in the 80s and early 90s, the Apple II, C64/C128, Amiga, and Atari, at various points in that period, had a lot more of the market of personal computers used by prime gaming demographics than Linux has now. My snide (sorry) argument was that game publishers didn't need to release games for the XT/AT/x86 platform because of the market share of the Amiga/Apple/Atari/Commodore, but they did. What is the demographics for Linux users? Nobody else knows but you do?
Another reason to want a homogenous environment is to manage consumer expectations: How does Microsoft manage the consumer expectations from 9x/NT/XP/Vista? Your already aware of DLL Hell.
a homogenous environment means that on a system on which the game runs at all, it will run with a predictable quality. Some of my $40/$50 Windows 98 games don't run on XP/Vista at all without some tweaks. What is your argument?
That's an advantage that consoles have over Windows PCs, and one that Windows PCs have over Linux systems. I somewhat agree but you need to inform the original Xbox owners.
The first of those (that one company finds it profitable) doesn't say much (a niche that supports a small number of companies may not support more); ID is not a major game company? Niche? Neither you or I or any pundit can tell what the Linux market is. Dell says 40k, Asus says 300k, and Everex says 600k within just one quarter. How many Linux downloads? I found two installs so far this year from non-computer professionals who managed to put Linux on their computers without any help from us.
Microsoft DOS didn't win over OS/2, Amiga, Apple, etc. because it was better. It was cheaper, so was Windows at one point. Linux might win in the end because its both cheaper and faster. Google dominance came by word of mouth (email/chat etc.) there is no reason to think that Linux won't do the same. I reserve the right to be wrong.
Kernels change dramatically. New drivers won't run on old kernels, old drivers won't run on new kernels. Software which depends on kernels is exactly the same way. Without getting to technical,
I think your having problems distinguishing between user and kernel space. Applications (games) run in user space. They call libraries that wrap the calls to the kernel so thats its transparent to the programs. Guess what? That Linux 2.2.x kernel that provided an application access to/dev/dsp for sound back in 1999? The newer 2.6.x kernels still provide access to/dev/dsp. Only the underlying implementation has changed.
Thats also how your Windows 3.x games still work in Windows 9.x Its also how (most) of your windows 9x games/programs work under NT (2000/XP etc).
Well, first, they want a homogenous platform. They tolerate the world of Windows PCs, because its a huge market, but they aren't too happy with the unpredictable nature of that environment compared to consoles. Linux environments are less predictable in terms of hardware and software than Windows environments.
Yes, all the game shops back in the 80/90s only coded for XT/AT/x86 because that platform was the market leader. There was no market for Apple ][, C64/128, Amiga or Atari Games.
Your Linux environment point is moot. Game distributors can include the libraries the software needs right on the CD (a GPL/LGPL license ability). At best they need to include a a kernel version (2.6.x or better etc) requirement. How is that any different/worse than games that require 98/2000/XP/Vista?
Second, they want a market that is large enough to justify the development expense. I'm guessing that ID did pretty well. They are still releasing Linux native games, I bought two so far. All the Loki games I've purchased (4) back in 2001 still work fine under my latest and greatest release from Ubuntu. I can't say that for the buttload of Windows games I've purchased over the years (Granted, most of the issues from older Windows games are Quicktime related).
Microsoft hashed the release of Vista, but the Linux community of all people has no right to talk about new releases making drivers incompatible. Backwards compatibility doesn't exist in the linux world.
Examples please. All my devices work the same or better under SuSE or Ubuntu. All my purchased Linux (Loki) games still work.
I can't say that for my $300 Microsoft Office 6.0 purchase under Windows. I can't say that either for the Windows games I've purchased over the years.
Ok, I just got off Wiicade (with our Wii). My thirteen year old said it was OK. He wasn't impressed by the games.
I thought the Games/Gameplay was alright but the videos seem a little slow (compared to youtube under Verizon Fios). Can the site handle the load if it becomes popular?
I added your website to our Wii Favorites.
I'm still waiting for Java support in Wii Opera. My younger son wants to play Runescape and I'd like it so I can view/animate the local NOAA weather radar.
The PS3 has been running Linux on its Cell CPU's PPC core [psubuntu.com] for several releases now
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Sony partner with Yellowdog to get Linux working on the PS3? Thats not a hack and like you said, you can't access the graphics chip (as of yet).
The Wii Zelda Hack allows us to control the machine in ways Nintendo doesn't approve of.
Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have a PS3. I just can't justify the expense with the wife right now.
I submitted this story last weekend. One of the many juicy excerpts....
I have mentioned before the "stacked panel". Panel discussions naturally favor alliances of relatively weak partners - our usual opposition. For example, an "unbiased" panel on OLE vs. OpenDoc would contain representatives of the backers of OLE (Microsoft) and the backers of OpenDoc (Apple, IBM, Novell, WordPerfect, OMG, etc.). Thus we find ourselves outnumbered in almost every "naturally occurring" panel debate. A stacked panel, on the other hand, is like a stacked deck: it is packed with people who, on the face of things, should be neutral, but who are in fact strong supporters of our technology. The key to stacking a panel is being able to choose the moderator. Most conference organizers allow the moderator to select the panel, so if you can pick the moderator, you win. Since you can't expect representatives of our competitors to speak on your behalf, you have to get the moderator to agree to having only "independent ISVs" on the panel. No one from Microsoft or any other formal backer of the competing technologies would be allowed - just ISVs who have to use this stuff in the "real world." Sounds marvelously independent doesn't it? In fact, it allows us to stack the panel with ISVs that back our cause. Thus, the "independent" panel ends up telling the audience that our technology beats the others hands down. Get the press to cover this panel, and you've got a major win on your hands.
If you can't win by technical merit, stack the panel and buy the moderator. OpenDoc was superior and I find it interesting that were there again after 10+ years with the OOXML vs ODF battle.
I think Microsoft just killed my subscription(s) to every Pro-Windows magazine I subscribe too (DrDobbs, MSDN, etc). Now every favorable opinion I've read about Microsoft will be biased with a "Did Microsoft purchase that expert opinion?". If you compete against Microsoft you will loose because they control the Pundits/Press, and Moderators. Its all about the marketing, not the technical advantages of your product.
My opinion and I reserve the right to be wrong. Enjoy,
When Excel started importing 1-2-3 documents, the right way to do that would be to create an importer to your own native format. Not to munge a new slightly different format into your existing structures.
Remember, these were the XT/AT/x386 days. It was easier to munge than waste CPU cycles and memory doing conversions.
I demand a front row seat. I helped pay for the satellite and the missile to kill it. At least they could offer to sit me on my lawn chair with my cooler full of beer to watch it.
No?
OK fine. I would pay extra to put my lawn chair and cooler full of beer on the cruiser. I wanna big screen display hanging off the bridge with a feed from the ISS.
No! What? Regulations my Ass!
Fucking US government can't even generate revenue from what should be a spectacular PPV event.
IBM owns the bank check processing business (I did check payment programming for four years and have a 3lb MICR reader decorating my metallic file cabinet to prove it). I'm pretty sure IBM has a patent that covers this. If an IBM patent won't cover it then check with NCR (Bought by AT&T then released into the wild again as NCR).
That being said,
I believe what has been patented here is the method to process checks directly just like a debit card (Those little merchant machines that scan and process your check directly and/or the debit payment inserted into the network from a check by phone payment). Unlike a check which travels through the FED/ACH system, this transaction goes through the debit network (STAR, PULSE, HONOR) etc. There is no FLOAT time for the purchaser.
This claim isn't exactly a software patent, and its sort of unique. Its not revolutionary (more like evolutionary) the banking industry shouldn't pay a dime for it (neither should congress).
If I could find my notebook from 1995/1996 I could show prior art from designing a system to accept payments via users check routing/account info directly into the debit network via a web browser. And no, my design wasn't secure. Note that with this claim (I have no proof without the notebook) and a dime will still equal a dime.
Kids want to share with their friends what they deem cool. When I was a kid, we shared electronics, books, tapes (copies), records (copies) and knowledge.
The survey link results from the information week article is broken. The URL leads to: We're sorry, but we were unable to service your request. You may wish to choose from the links below for information about Microsoft products and services. So we don't even get to read the sampling/demographics on the kids they surveyed.
Nevertheless, Microsoft wants to correct teens' woeful ignorance. To do so, it has turned to Topics Education, a developer of custom curricula, to create a curriculum called "Intellectual Property Rights Education" for middle school and high school teachers. The Microsoft-sponsored curriculum consists of Web-based resources and case-study driven lesson plans that aim to engage students about intellectual property issues.
I will sue my local school district and Microsoft if they don't offer a counter curriculum called "Fair Use" and "Public domain". This course needs to teach kids about past copying abuses by Microsoft and how they used their Monopoly money to pay for the court sealed settlements that people are not allowed to read.
To support its teachings, Microsoft has launched MyBytes, a Web site where students can create custom ringtones, share content -- "their own content," as Microsoft makes clear -- and learn more about intellectual property rights. To support my teachings to my kids on property rights, I've installed x/k/Ubuntu on all the computers in the house. They can create, share, sell, and distribute anything they what. They can even pass out Linux CDs to all their friends (they have). I teach my kids its OK to grab an MP3 off the main home server and play it on your MP3 player. Its not OK for them to give that MP3 away to their friends. I teach my kids the difference between ownership and free speech/ownership restrictive EULAs.
In August 2006, the site was shuttered and this explanation was subsequently posted: "Despite the significant progress we made on addressing the concerns raised about the original Captain Copyright initiative, as well as the positive feedback and requests for literally hundreds of lesson kits from teachers and librarians, we have come to the conclusion that the current climate around copyright issues will not allow a project like this one to be successful."
Here we go again, Microsofts favorite defender Captain Copyright. I forget what Captain Copyright said about Kerberos authentication. I also forget about what Captain Copyright did to the evil villains who were pillaging STAC. The DrDOS People counted on Captain Copyright but he didn't show up to defend them. What did Captain Copyright say again to the people who built their own computers without Windows? Oh Yeah, were thief's for not installing Windows.
If Microsoft would just worry about writing good programs for computers (Apple/Linux/ARM/Palm/Whatever) and stop trying to be the cyber police I might look at their products again (!Not. BSD/Linux is much faster and less maintenance). Until then Microsoft is still just a marketing company which happens to make an O/S for PCs.
My opinion (my animosity towards Microsoft does not equate to animosity for people who use Microsoft products), Enjoy.
I was all set to make a snide comment about the esteemed Mr. Taco's spelling and/or typing abilities, perhaps combined with a Billy Gates Harvard dropout reference, but then I Googled "eduction":
Then you should be making snide comments about Mr/Mrs Vooch. Yes Taco posted the story, but the submitter wrote the title, introduction, and beginning comments.
My wife's old Lexmark X73 multifunction printer has no formal Linux driver, The only piece of hardware in the house that doesn't work with Ubuntu is my wifes multi-function Lexmark. I could care less about the printer (Both the Cannon and the HP Photo printers work great) but I would love to have the scanner working.
So every year or two I'll try out the latest version of some Linux distro to see how long it would take to get used to it. In 2005, full of optimism, I cheerfully booted up the latest version of Shrike, then tried to find a directory and discovered I could not right-click on the hard drive root dir and specify the name of a directory I wanted to search for (that only worked for files, not directories).
I did a Google on Shrike Linux. Its RedHat Linux 9, released back in 2003, since discontinued. I think Bennett Haselton needs to try out a newer Linux ISO ([K|U|X]buntu/SuSE,Mandrake) before complaining about man find.
what can you do with Linux that you can't do with Windows, to make it worth switching over to? Under Linux IPV6 socket timeouts default back to using IPV4 automatically. Other than drivers for Lexmark and a few wireless chipsets I haven't had any problems. Under Linux I do miss not having to defrag, resolve MDAC/.Net conflicts with the HP pinter drivers, remove arcane spyware/registry entries from Explorer. I miss not having to call Microsoft every time I do a new installation. I miss the comfort that the Windows Genuine Advantage gave me.
Back in the mid-80's when I was a BOFH we used to play snipes on Netware 2.11.
Snipes (diminutive for Snipers) is a text-mode networked computer game that was created in 1983 by SuperSet software. Snipes is officially credited as being the original inspiration for Novell NetWare. [2]
Also from the article: The software maker could do more than borrow to expedite the takeover. Microsoft may seek to oust Yahoo's directors should they reject the bid and offer its own slate of nominees, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.
Allowing illegals free access (LA Raza) to cross the Mexican border into the USA while frisking old people since 12/2001 is wrong.
Its a sore subject with me. Watching at two separate airports homeland security frisking elderly white and black couples for no reason. Meanwhile I get through security with my zippo and screwdrivers. "Yes, I do have a knife, its packed in my bags". Oh.. Ok, your cleared.
- AQ is not going strike on airlines anymore, they know that they would fail (Flight 93, Some Americans still have Balls). - If the Bush doctrine was correct, we pretty much "Fucked" AQ worldwide so how many are still here in the USA? How many worldwide? - Were still killing AQ cells in Iraq. I'm all for it. I wish I were younger and could take my gun. - Our kids and grandkids will never have to deal with a Nuclear weapons program from Libya.
The US government could be a little more straightforward with us. During the State of the Union, Bush did not once say if we were winning or loosing the War on Terror. When does the frisking of seniors end? At this time, Iraq is just an occupation waiting for the natives to take over (And no, it was never about the oil). When and where can we kill more AQ cells next?
Homeland security is an extra layer of government incompetence that needs to stop. When do we win the War on Terror?
In September 2001, Microsoft and the DoJ were still battling it out under the auspices of US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who took over from Jackson after the Court of Appeals ruling. Ever since Bush came to power Microsoft's chances had been looking better, and the events of 11 September are thought to have made the DoJ mode amenable to a quick settlement, the Bush administration being keen to avoid an outcome that would put further pressure on the US economy.
- Judge Jackson was a conservative Republican Judge. August 24, 2001. Two months ago, the federal appeals court here removed Judge Jackson and chastised him for discussing the case with reporters. The appeals court unanimously upheld many of his most important findings that Microsoft had repeatedly violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, but it ordered the case to be returned to a new district judge to reconsider his order to split the company in two.
- Judge Kollar-Kotelly, a seasoned trial court judge and Clinton appointee to the Federal bench, to determine how to penalize the company for abusing its monopoly power in the software business.
- The appeals court replaced Judge Jackson, not Bush or the DoJ.
two Oxford University sociologists, who found that graduates in science, engineering, and medicine are strongly overrepresented among Islamist movements.
Whats the terrorist to engineer ratio for cultures that don't worship Islam? I understand that the Buddha, Baptist and Quaker engineer warriors can be quite violent.
He needs to get hit over the head with the internet Clue stick.
Now consumers are getting their wish, and the music industry will continue to crumble. The sales/downloads of Guitar Hero tracks is making Activision rich. http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/guitar-hero-franchise-passes-the-1b-mark/ Notice that the top downloads do not include todays Pop or Urban Crap (oops) Rap artists.
The RIAA/Studio over priced music model will decline. CD sales suck, not because of the DRM (that sucks too), but because the product (Music) stinks. I want to buy Lordi's CD but can't find a US seller anywhere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6VzdtmrP6Y
When can Lordi sell me their tracks though Nintendo/Microsoft/Sony? The future will be Music tracks from Band to Fan (Me).
Not the current model of Band, Expensive Studio, Distribution Conglomerate, Store to Fan tracks.
We put the question to Brian Hall, general manager for Windows Live. "We want the user to be in control of their stuff," he told me. "We believe strongly that it's the user's data, it's the user's choice."
Oh really? What about Secure Audio Path and the other draconian DRM measures in Windows.
Microsoft must be running for public office. Say one thing, do another.
It will create a ~\HTML folder with all the function/variables cross-referenced. Open the file index.html or mains.html in your browser. If your not running Linux, I think these utilities are included in cygwin http://www.cygwin.com/
Seriously people, I'm all for civil liberties, but theres nothing wrong with have a solid method of making sure people are who they say they are and verifying they are allowed to get the identification they are allowed to get.
There are several things wrong with this,
- Adds another layer of unnecessary bureaucracy to the monstrosity that is the US federal government. - 10 years down the road the Federal government (needing health care funds) will sell/lease the database to the highest bidder. - The database is subject to abuse by Federal employees. - The war on the Islamic radicals is supposed to be temporary. Why restrict what your citizens can do permanently? - The Government workers will somehow screw up the identities of John Smith in Oregon and John Smith in Georgia. And neither John Smith will be able to clear his name.
I was born here, I pay taxes (property, sales, federal), I own a home, I have kids. I think thats proof enough that I'm not a radical bent on destroying the United States. I should be able to go/do what I God dammed like without further proof. The Feds can kiss my Ass.
Typically the White House has paper-bombed congress and anyone else who wanted to read the budget with a tome which can reach 3,000 pages and weighed multiple pounds each."
Googling from 1988 to the present the office of the President has never submitted a 3000 page budget request. coondoggie is pulling that number out of his/her butt (or I'm using the wrong search terms). Congress re-submitted a 2000+ page document to GWB in 2007.
The budget is a request for funds, granted by the constitution to the President of the United States. The Budget of the United States Government is a federal document that the President submits to the U.S. Congress. The President's budget submission outlines funding recommendations for the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1st.
The funding Bill Congress returns to the President with riders and pork projects is a different matter. The president can refuse to sign it (Both Reagan and Clinton) and shut down government services. Its then up to congress to revise and re-submit the bill to the President. The US constitution is a system of checks and balances. It doesn't stipulate how many pages of budgets or bills you can submit (sorta like slashdot).
Whats not discussed rationally between different parties (viewpoints) is whether or not the line item veto is constitutional (IANAL)? Can a president sign a budget bill and scratch off the bridge to no-where in Alaska? Can a President scratch out the museum of WoodStock off of a budget bill?
Food for thought for the USA slashdot posters. Enjoy,
'We stated that it was the file formats that were insecure, but this is actually not correct. A file format isn't insecure -- it's the code that reads the format that's more or less secure.'
Admitting FUD is uncharacteristic of Microsoft. Speaking the plain truth means Hell just froze over.
Slashdot Mirror
software conflicts can exist, and being able to supply needed libraries doesn't solve the problem of conflicts.
A challenge then. If thats your experience please give me and everyone on slashdot a sample of how your Redhat 5 or SuSE 6 software purchases doesn't work under any of the latest Linux distributions.
Back in the 80s and early 90s, the Apple II, C64/C128, Amiga, and Atari, at various points in that period, had a lot more of the market of personal computers used by prime gaming demographics than Linux has now.
My snide (sorry) argument was that game publishers didn't need to release games for the XT/AT/x86 platform because of the market share of the Amiga/Apple/Atari/Commodore, but they did. What is the demographics for Linux users? Nobody else knows but you do?
Another reason to want a homogenous environment is to manage consumer expectations:
How does Microsoft manage the consumer expectations from 9x/NT/XP/Vista? Your already aware of DLL Hell.
a homogenous environment means that on a system on which the game runs at all, it will run with a predictable quality.
Some of my $40/$50 Windows 98 games don't run on XP/Vista at all without some tweaks. What is your argument?
That's an advantage that consoles have over Windows PCs, and one that Windows PCs have over Linux systems.
I somewhat agree but you need to inform the original Xbox owners.
The first of those (that one company finds it profitable) doesn't say much (a niche that supports a small number of companies may not support more);
ID is not a major game company? Niche? Neither you or I or any pundit can tell what the Linux market is. Dell says 40k, Asus says 300k, and Everex says 600k within just one quarter. How many Linux downloads? I found two installs so far this year from non-computer professionals who managed to put Linux on their computers without any help from us.
Microsoft DOS didn't win over OS/2, Amiga, Apple, etc. because it was better. It was cheaper, so was Windows at one point. Linux might win in the end because its both cheaper and faster. Google dominance came by word of mouth (email/chat etc.) there is no reason to think that Linux won't do the same. I reserve the right to be wrong.
Enjoy,
Kernels change dramatically. New drivers won't run on old kernels, old drivers won't run on new kernels. Software which depends on kernels is exactly the same way.
/dev/dsp for sound back in 1999? The newer 2.6.x kernels still provide access to /dev/dsp. Only the underlying implementation has changed.
Without getting to technical,
I think your having problems distinguishing between user and kernel space. Applications (games) run in user space. They call libraries that wrap the calls to the kernel so thats its transparent to the programs. Guess what? That Linux 2.2.x kernel that provided an application access to
Thats also how your Windows 3.x games still work in Windows 9.x Its also how (most) of your windows 9x games/programs work under NT (2000/XP etc).
Enjoy,
Well, first, they want a homogenous platform. They tolerate the world of Windows PCs, because its a huge market, but they aren't too happy with the unpredictable nature of that environment compared to consoles. Linux environments are less predictable in terms of hardware and software than Windows environments.
Yes, all the game shops back in the 80/90s only coded for XT/AT/x86 because that platform was the market leader. There was no market for Apple ][, C64/128, Amiga or Atari Games.
Your Linux environment point is moot. Game distributors can include the libraries the software needs right on the CD (a GPL/LGPL license ability). At best they need to include a a kernel version (2.6.x or better etc) requirement. How is that any different/worse than games that require 98/2000/XP/Vista?
Second, they want a market that is large enough to justify the development expense.
I'm guessing that ID did pretty well. They are still releasing Linux native games, I bought two so far. All the Loki games I've purchased (4) back in 2001 still work fine under my latest and greatest release from Ubuntu. I can't say that for the buttload of Windows games I've purchased over the years (Granted, most of the issues from older Windows games are Quicktime related).
Enjoy,
Microsoft hashed the release of Vista, but the Linux community of all people has no right to talk about new releases making drivers incompatible. Backwards compatibility doesn't exist in the linux world.
Examples please. All my devices work the same or better under SuSE or Ubuntu.
All my purchased Linux (Loki) games still work.
I can't say that for my $300 Microsoft Office 6.0 purchase under Windows. I can't say that either for the Windows games I've purchased over the years.
Enjoy,
Ok, I just got off Wiicade (with our Wii). My thirteen year old said it was OK. He wasn't impressed by the games.
I thought the Games/Gameplay was alright but the videos seem a little slow (compared to youtube under Verizon Fios). Can the site handle the load if it becomes popular?
I added your website to our Wii Favorites.
I'm still waiting for Java support in Wii Opera. My younger son wants to play Runescape and I'd like it so I can view/animate the local NOAA weather radar.
Keep up the good work.
Enjoy.
The PS3 has been running Linux on its Cell CPU's PPC core [psubuntu.com] for several releases now
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Sony partner with Yellowdog to get Linux working on the PS3? Thats not a hack and like you said, you can't access the graphics chip (as of yet).
The Wii Zelda Hack allows us to control the machine in ways Nintendo doesn't approve of.
Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have a PS3. I just can't justify the expense with the wife right now.
Enjoy,
The real story from Groklaw, How to Get Your Platform Accepted as a Standard - Microsoft Style http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071023002351958
I submitted this story last weekend. One of the many juicy excerpts....
I have mentioned before the "stacked panel". Panel discussions naturally favor alliances of relatively weak partners - our usual opposition. For example, an "unbiased" panel on OLE vs. OpenDoc would contain representatives of the backers of OLE (Microsoft) and the backers of OpenDoc (Apple, IBM, Novell, WordPerfect, OMG, etc.). Thus we find ourselves outnumbered in almost every "naturally occurring" panel debate.
A stacked panel, on the other hand, is like a stacked deck: it is packed with people who, on the face of things, should be neutral, but who are in fact strong supporters of our technology. The key to stacking a panel is being able to choose the moderator. Most conference organizers allow the moderator to select the panel, so if you can pick the moderator, you win. Since you can't expect representatives of our competitors to speak on your behalf, you have to get the moderator to agree to having only "independent ISVs" on the panel. No one from Microsoft or any other formal backer of the competing technologies would be allowed - just ISVs who have to use this stuff in the "real world." Sounds marvelously independent doesn't it? In fact, it allows us to stack the panel with ISVs that back our cause. Thus, the "independent" panel ends up telling the audience that our technology beats the others hands down. Get the press to cover this panel, and you've got a major win on your hands.
If you can't win by technical merit, stack the panel and buy the moderator. OpenDoc was superior and I find it interesting that were there again after 10+ years with the OOXML vs ODF battle.
I think Microsoft just killed my subscription(s) to every Pro-Windows magazine I subscribe too (DrDobbs, MSDN, etc). Now every favorable opinion I've read about Microsoft will be biased with a "Did Microsoft purchase that expert opinion?". If you compete against Microsoft you will loose because they control the Pundits/Press, and Moderators. Its all about the marketing, not the technical advantages of your product.
My opinion and I reserve the right to be wrong.
Enjoy,
When Excel started importing 1-2-3 documents, the right way to do that would be to create an importer to your own native format. Not to munge a new slightly different format into your existing structures.
Remember, these were the XT/AT/x386 days. It was easier to munge than waste CPU cycles and memory doing conversions.
Enjoy,
I demand a front row seat. I helped pay for the satellite and the missile to kill it. At least they could offer to sit me on my lawn chair with my cooler full of beer to watch it.
No?
OK fine. I would pay extra to put my lawn chair and cooler full of beer on the cruiser. I wanna big screen display hanging off the bridge with a feed from the ISS.
No! What? Regulations my Ass!
Fucking US government can't even generate revenue from what should be a spectacular PPV event.
Enjoy,
IBM owns the bank check processing business (I did check payment programming for four years and have a 3lb MICR reader decorating my metallic file cabinet to prove it). I'm pretty sure IBM has a patent that covers this. If an IBM patent won't cover it then check with NCR (Bought by AT&T then released into the wild again as NCR).
That being said,
I believe what has been patented here is the method to process checks directly just like a debit card (Those little merchant machines that scan and process your check directly and/or the debit payment inserted into the network from a check by phone payment). Unlike a check which travels through the FED/ACH system, this transaction goes through the debit network (STAR, PULSE, HONOR) etc. There is no FLOAT time for the purchaser.
This claim isn't exactly a software patent, and its sort of unique. Its not revolutionary (more like evolutionary) the banking industry shouldn't pay a dime for it (neither should congress).
If I could find my notebook from 1995/1996 I could show prior art from designing a system to accept payments via users check routing/account info directly into the debit network via a web browser. And no, my design wasn't secure. Note that with this claim (I have no proof without the notebook) and a dime will still equal a dime.
My two cents,
Enjoy.
Kids want to share with their friends what they deem cool. When I was a kid, we shared electronics, books, tapes (copies), records (copies) and knowledge.
The survey link results from the information week article is broken. The URL leads to:
We're sorry, but we were unable to service your request. You may wish to choose from the links below for information about Microsoft products and services.
So we don't even get to read the sampling/demographics on the kids they surveyed.
Nevertheless, Microsoft wants to correct teens' woeful ignorance. To do so, it has turned to Topics Education, a developer of custom curricula, to create a curriculum called "Intellectual Property Rights Education" for middle school and high school teachers. The Microsoft-sponsored curriculum consists of Web-based resources and case-study driven lesson plans that aim to engage students about intellectual property issues.
I will sue my local school district and Microsoft if they don't offer a counter curriculum called "Fair Use" and "Public domain". This course needs to teach kids about past copying abuses by Microsoft and how they used their Monopoly money to pay for the court sealed settlements that people are not allowed to read.
To support its teachings, Microsoft has launched MyBytes, a Web site where students can create custom ringtones, share content -- "their own content," as Microsoft makes clear -- and learn more about intellectual property rights.
To support my teachings to my kids on property rights, I've installed x/k/Ubuntu on all the computers in the house. They can create, share, sell, and distribute anything they what. They can even pass out Linux CDs to all their friends (they have). I teach my kids its OK to grab an MP3 off the main home server and play it on your MP3 player. Its not OK for them to give that MP3 away to their friends. I teach my kids the difference between ownership and free speech/ownership restrictive EULAs.
In August 2006, the site was shuttered and this explanation was subsequently posted: "Despite the significant progress we made on addressing the concerns raised about the original Captain Copyright initiative, as well as the positive feedback and requests for literally hundreds of lesson kits from teachers and librarians, we have come to the conclusion that the current climate around copyright issues will not allow a project like this one to be successful."
Here we go again, Microsofts favorite defender Captain Copyright. I forget what Captain Copyright said about Kerberos authentication. I also forget about what Captain Copyright did to the evil villains who were pillaging STAC. The DrDOS People counted on Captain Copyright but he didn't show up to defend them. What did Captain Copyright say again to the people who built their own computers without Windows? Oh Yeah, were thief's for not installing Windows.
If Microsoft would just worry about writing good programs for computers (Apple/Linux/ARM/Palm/Whatever) and stop trying to be the cyber police I might look at their products again (!Not. BSD/Linux is much faster and less maintenance). Until then Microsoft is still just a marketing company which happens to make an O/S for PCs.
My opinion (my animosity towards Microsoft does not equate to animosity for people who use Microsoft products),
Enjoy.
I was all set to make a snide comment about the esteemed Mr. Taco's spelling and/or typing abilities, perhaps combined with a Billy Gates Harvard dropout reference, but then I Googled "eduction":
Then you should be making snide comments about Mr/Mrs Vooch. Yes Taco posted the story, but the submitter wrote the title, introduction, and beginning comments.
Enjoy,
My wife's old Lexmark X73 multifunction printer has no formal Linux driver,
The only piece of hardware in the house that doesn't work with Ubuntu is my wifes multi-function Lexmark. I could care less about the printer (Both the Cannon and the HP Photo printers work great) but I would love to have the scanner working.
Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.
Enjoy,
So every year or two I'll try out the latest version of some Linux distro to see how long it would take to get used to it. In 2005, full of optimism, I cheerfully booted up the latest version of Shrike, then tried to find a directory and discovered I could not right-click on the hard drive root dir and specify the name of a directory I wanted to search for (that only worked for files, not directories).
I did a Google on Shrike Linux. Its RedHat Linux 9, released back in 2003, since discontinued.
I think Bennett Haselton needs to try out a newer Linux ISO ([K|U|X]buntu/SuSE,Mandrake) before complaining about man find.
what can you do with Linux that you can't do with Windows, to make it worth switching over to?
Under Linux IPV6 socket timeouts default back to using IPV4 automatically.
Other than drivers for Lexmark and a few wireless chipsets I haven't had any problems.
Under Linux I do miss not having to defrag, resolve MDAC/.Net conflicts with the HP pinter drivers, remove arcane spyware/registry entries from Explorer. I miss not having to call Microsoft every time I do a new installation. I miss the comfort that the Windows Genuine Advantage gave me.
Enjoy,
Back in the mid-80's when I was a BOFH we used to play snipes on Netware 2.11.
Snipes (diminutive for Snipers) is a text-mode networked computer game that was created in 1983 by SuperSet software. Snipes is officially credited as being the original inspiration for Novell NetWare. [2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipes
Enjoy,
Per this Bloomberg update http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=anDGP.twSjqw&refer=home Microsoft will have to borrow money to pay for this.
Also from the article:
The software maker could do more than borrow to expedite the takeover. Microsoft may seek to oust Yahoo's directors should they reject the bid and offer its own slate of nominees, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.
Talk about hostile takeover.
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Allowing illegals free access (LA Raza) to cross the Mexican border into the USA while frisking old people since 12/2001 is wrong.
Its a sore subject with me. Watching at two separate airports homeland security frisking elderly white and black couples for no reason. Meanwhile I get through security with my zippo and screwdrivers. "Yes, I do have a knife, its packed in my bags". Oh.. Ok, your cleared.
- AQ is not going strike on airlines anymore, they know that they would fail (Flight 93, Some Americans still have Balls).
- If the Bush doctrine was correct, we pretty much "Fucked" AQ worldwide so how many are still here in the USA? How many worldwide?
- Were still killing AQ cells in Iraq. I'm all for it. I wish I were younger and could take my gun.
- Our kids and grandkids will never have to deal with a Nuclear weapons program from Libya.
The US government could be a little more straightforward with us. During the State of the Union, Bush did not once say if we were winning or loosing the War on Terror. When does the frisking of seniors end?
At this time, Iraq is just an occupation waiting for the natives to take over (And no, it was never about the oil). When and where can we kill more AQ cells next?
Homeland security is an extra layer of government incompetence that needs to stop. When do we win the War on Terror?
My pissed off opinion
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** Sigh **
Your reality field needs adjusting.
In September 2001, Microsoft and the DoJ were still battling it out under the auspices of US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who took over from Jackson after the Court of Appeals ruling. Ever since Bush came to power Microsoft's chances had been looking better, and the events of 11 September are thought to have made the DoJ mode amenable to a quick settlement, the Bush administration being keen to avoid an outcome that would put further pressure on the US economy.
- Judge Jackson was a conservative Republican Judge.
August 24, 2001. Two months ago, the federal appeals court here
removed Judge Jackson and chastised him for
discussing the case with reporters. The appeals court
unanimously upheld many of his most important
findings that Microsoft had repeatedly violated the
Sherman Antitrust Act, but it ordered the case to be returned to a new district
judge to reconsider his order to split the company in two.
- Judge Kollar-Kotelly, a seasoned trial court
judge and Clinton appointee to the Federal bench, to
determine how to penalize the company for abusing
its monopoly power in the software business.
- The appeals court replaced Judge Jackson, not Bush or the DoJ.
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/tsearch/judge+thomas+penfield+jackson.htm
http://www.luga.at/mailing-lists/rr/2001/08/msg00012.html
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two Oxford University sociologists, who found that graduates in science, engineering, and medicine are strongly overrepresented among Islamist movements.
Whats the terrorist to engineer ratio for cultures that don't worship Islam? I understand that the Buddha, Baptist and Quaker engineer warriors can be quite violent.
Enjoy,
He needs to get hit over the head with the internet Clue stick.
Now consumers are getting their wish, and the music industry will continue to crumble.
The sales/downloads of Guitar Hero tracks is making Activision rich. http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/guitar-hero-franchise-passes-the-1b-mark/
Notice that the top downloads do not include todays Pop or Urban Crap (oops) Rap artists.
The RIAA/Studio over priced music model will decline. CD sales suck, not because of the DRM (that sucks too), but because the product (Music) stinks. I want to buy Lordi's CD but can't find a US seller anywhere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6VzdtmrP6Y
When can Lordi sell me their tracks though Nintendo/Microsoft/Sony? The future will be Music tracks from Band to Fan (Me).
Not the current model of Band, Expensive Studio, Distribution Conglomerate, Store to Fan tracks.
Enjoy,
We put the question to Brian Hall, general manager for Windows Live. "We want the user to be in control of their stuff," he told me. "We believe strongly that it's the user's data, it's the user's choice."
Oh really? What about Secure Audio Path and the other draconian DRM measures in Windows.
Microsoft must be running for public office. Say one thing, do another.
Enjoy,
Run these commands (or put them in a script):
ctags *
gtags
htags -Fan
It will create a ~\HTML folder with all the function/variables cross-referenced. Open the file index.html or mains.html in your browser. If your not running Linux, I think these utilities are included in cygwin http://www.cygwin.com/
Enjoy,
Seriously people, I'm all for civil liberties, but theres nothing wrong with have a solid method of making sure people are who they say they are and verifying they are allowed to get the identification they are allowed to get.
There are several things wrong with this,
- Adds another layer of unnecessary bureaucracy to the monstrosity that is the US federal government.
- 10 years down the road the Federal government (needing health care funds) will sell/lease the database to the highest bidder.
- The database is subject to abuse by Federal employees.
- The war on the Islamic radicals is supposed to be temporary. Why restrict what your citizens can do permanently?
- The Government workers will somehow screw up the identities of John Smith in Oregon and John Smith in Georgia. And neither John Smith will be able to clear his name.
I was born here, I pay taxes (property, sales, federal), I own a home, I have kids. I think thats proof enough that I'm not a radical bent on destroying the United States. I should be able to go/do what I God dammed like without further proof. The Feds can kiss my Ass.
Enjoy,
Typically the White House has paper-bombed congress and anyone else who wanted to read the budget with a tome which can reach 3,000 pages and weighed multiple pounds each."
Googling from 1988 to the present the office of the President has never submitted a 3000 page budget request. coondoggie is pulling that number out of his/her butt (or I'm using the wrong search terms).
Congress re-submitted a 2000+ page document to GWB in 2007.
The budget is a request for funds, granted by the constitution to the President of the United States.
The Budget of the United States Government is a federal document that the President submits to the U.S. Congress. The President's budget submission outlines funding recommendations for the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1st.
The funding Bill Congress returns to the President with riders and pork projects is a different matter.
The president can refuse to sign it (Both Reagan and Clinton) and shut down government services. Its then up to congress to revise and re-submit the bill to the President. The US constitution is a system of checks and balances. It doesn't stipulate how many pages of budgets or bills you can submit (sorta like slashdot).
Whats not discussed rationally between different parties (viewpoints) is whether or not the line item veto is constitutional (IANAL)? Can a president sign a budget bill and scratch off the bridge to no-where in Alaska? Can a President scratch out the museum of WoodStock off of a budget bill?
Food for thought for the USA slashdot posters.
Enjoy,
'We stated that it was the file formats that were insecure, but this is actually not correct. A file format isn't insecure -- it's the code that reads the format that's more or less secure.'
Admitting FUD is uncharacteristic of Microsoft. Speaking the plain truth means Hell just froze over.
I'm at a loss for words....
Enjoy,