How can your certification expire? Do they actually implant some type of non-upgradable chip in your head, that has a date expiration built in, when you take the test?
"I'm sorry, as of 12:01AM you know longer know anything about the OS you've been maintaining 24/7 for the last 3 years."
I understand the certifications are for MS products in general but the tests are geared towards specific product releases. Once you are certified to operate/maintain a specific release that certification should never expire (unless, for some reason they release a new version but still call it by the old name).
Another interesting thing I noticed, is that many of the posts added to the open letter advocate moving to Linux - I like it! =)
Damn, I don't have time to hunt down the links right now, but maybe somebody will read this and add them. But there are at least 2 companies in the US that are working on proto-types for a commercial vehicle that would fit the description of many sci-fi 'flying cars'. From what I have seen, the technology (and cost) is not the big roadblock, it's the regulation of who will be able to own/operate one and where.
We can start be removing genetic diseases. That's something pretty straightforward and few would object. But "won't get sick" isn't quite "superhuman".
I, for one, would (and do) object to the removal of genetic diseases. How can you say that not getting sick is not 'superhuman'? How many people have you known in your lifetime that never got sick? Probably zero.
Sorry folks, but when it comes down to it, all living things on this planet (and any others) are part of the food-chain somewhere - we are all meant to die, some of us earlier than others. When will we realize that death is part of the process of life and by prolonging life we are really doing more harm to ourselves as a species, than good? My fear is we won't until it's too late =(
Natural selection would have us breeding until the natural balance of things was too far out of wack and then 'Nature' would create something to either wipe out a large portion of our population (like the plague) or decrease the amount of our breeding. It has been only the last 150-200 years that (since the advent of modern medicine, and when man decided he could [and should?] fix all the ills of the world) that human over-population has ever been an issue.
Personally I don't use it (we write apps strictly in C as it more reliable than C++ for creating apps that run on all UNIX platforms), but most of the many Windows programers do. The inclusion of MFC was a big deal during the early days of windows C++ compilers, and it's only been the last 4 or 5 years that M$ has let the compiler companies include MFC with their compilers. Since I don't use MFC I'm not sure which version they are on now but it has to be updated or it wouldn't include stuff for the new windows controls. I am not advocating the use of MFC, like I said, I don't use it, and from what I have seen of it, it looks overly complicated. It just seems like many of the Windows programs that I know use/require it in some way in their development process and having the latest version of the MFC is a big deal to them.
I guess it really depends on your needs. I agree I shouldn't have phrased it the way I did, as it's really not Open Source but for my needs it gives all the benefits of a true piece of Open Source. The company I work for creates software in a very competetive market (UNIX based Enterprise wide accounting and mfg tracking) that doesn't create Open Source applications (though the application I work on we ship souce instead of binaries, but the customer isn't allowed to re-distribute it). The most important thing for us is that our applications work the way they are supposed to. Having the source code allows us to fix anything that may not work (or improve on it), allowing our application to meet this goal. This and education are the biggest benefits I really get from anybody's source - be it true Open Source or just providing the source code as Borland has.
Yes, Borland (and other compilers) come with the MFC, but as I stated in the first post, you always get the most up-to-date version when you buy a M$ product - that is usually not the case when you buy somebody elses product.
Just because the compiler isn't open source doesn't mean you can't create open source applications with it. I don't know about you, but I consider somebody giving me free tools to do my development 'helping me out'.
Like most M$ products, MSVC++ is not the BEST compiler, it is just the most widely used (mainly because it always has the latest version of the MFC included with it).
Ahh, but the plan is to let you choose which compiler you want to use when you use C++ Builder (which is what you will probably use to create production apps anyways).
The press release that is dated 4 days ago is the official announcement but they have been publically talking about doing this for a few weeks now. They did the same thing about the announcement for releasing Interbase as Open Source - they publically announced it almost a month ago but the press release was only made last week.
History has shown that this marketing tactic works. How do you think Apple got so popular in the 80's? Give the schools free hardware and the kids go home and say 'Mom, Dad - I need an Apple'. Inprise is just reverting back to what helped make them to begin with (how many of you ever purchased their $50 TurboPascal compiler? - when everybody else was charging hundreds to thousands of dollars for their development tools?). By giving away the basic compiler people will purchase the real tools (C++ Builder, Delphi, JBuilder). And if you buy the Professional versions, you get full source to their VCL - which is the piece you really want the source code to, not the compiler.
It was just a marketing move so the big guys won't think of them as just a maker of application development tools, but a supplier of full enterprise solutions.
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How can your certification expire? Do they actually implant some type of non-upgradable chip in your head, that has a date expiration built in, when you take the test?
"I'm sorry, as of 12:01AM you know longer know anything about the OS you've been maintaining 24/7 for the last 3 years."
I understand the certifications are for MS products in general but the tests are geared towards specific product releases. Once you are certified to operate/maintain a specific release that certification should never expire (unless, for some reason they release a new version but still call it by the old name).
Another interesting thing I noticed, is that many of the posts added to the open letter advocate moving to Linux - I like it! =)
What is the worst possible outcome of a technology and what are the best possible results attainable?
Well, is the possible annihilation of mankind as we know it, a bad thing?
Damn, I don't have time to hunt down the links right now, but maybe somebody will read this and add them. But there are at least 2 companies in the US that are working on proto-types for a commercial vehicle that would fit the description of many sci-fi 'flying cars'. From what I have seen, the technology (and cost) is not the big roadblock, it's the regulation of who will be able to own/operate one and where.
Ever think this is Natual Selection telling us we've gotten too smart for our own good?
We can start be removing genetic diseases. That's something pretty straightforward and few would object. But "won't get sick" isn't quite "superhuman".
I, for one, would (and do) object to the removal of genetic diseases. How can you say that not getting sick is not 'superhuman'? How many people have you known in your lifetime that never got sick? Probably zero.
Sorry folks, but when it comes down to it, all living things on this planet (and any others) are part of the food-chain somewhere - we are all meant to die, some of us earlier than others. When will we realize that death is part of the process of life and by prolonging life we are really doing more harm to ourselves as a species, than good? My fear is we won't until it's too late =(
Natural selection would have us breeding until the natural balance of things was too far out of wack and then 'Nature' would create something to either wipe out a large portion of our population (like the plague) or decrease the amount of our breeding. It has been only the last 150-200 years that (since the advent of modern medicine, and when man decided he could [and should?] fix all the ills of the world) that human over-population has ever been an issue.
He was in the server - that is why they could still see his stats on the server console.
No, actually many local news casting networks were still using them also. They were used primarly for weather and sports broadcasts.
Personally I don't use it (we write apps strictly in C as it more reliable than C++ for creating apps that run on all UNIX platforms), but most of the many Windows programers do. The inclusion of MFC was a big deal during the early days of windows C++ compilers, and it's only been the last 4 or 5 years that M$ has let the compiler companies include MFC with their compilers. Since I don't use MFC I'm not sure which version they are on now but it has to be updated or it wouldn't include stuff for the new windows controls. I am not advocating the use of MFC, like I said, I don't use it, and from what I have seen of it, it looks overly complicated. It just seems like many of the Windows programs that I know use/require it in some way in their development process and having the latest version of the MFC is a big deal to them.
I guess it really depends on your needs. I agree I shouldn't have phrased it the way I did, as it's really not Open Source but for my needs it gives all the benefits of a true piece of Open Source. The company I work for creates software in a very competetive market (UNIX based Enterprise wide accounting and mfg tracking) that doesn't create Open Source applications (though the application I work on we ship souce instead of binaries, but the customer isn't allowed to re-distribute it). The most important thing for us is that our applications work the way they are supposed to. Having the source code allows us to fix anything that may not work (or improve on it), allowing our application to meet this goal. This and education are the biggest benefits I really get from anybody's source - be it true Open Source or just providing the source code as Borland has.
I just know that work on the Linux version is well under way. They even did a demo of it at one of the recent Linux shows.
Yes, Borland (and other compilers) come with the MFC, but as I stated in the first post, you always get the most up-to-date version when you buy a M$ product - that is usually not the case when you buy somebody elses product.
Both the C64 and the Amiga were better platforms than Apple. Hell, Amiga's were still being used by TV stations to do special effects in the 90's.
They now also provide consulting services.
Just because the compiler isn't open source doesn't mean you can't create open source applications with it. I don't know about you, but I consider somebody giving me free tools to do my development 'helping me out'.
It helps because now you will have a choice and isn't that half the reason we all hate M$?
Like most M$ products, MSVC++ is not the BEST compiler, it is just the most widely used (mainly because it always has the latest version of the MFC included with it).
The equivalent package will also be free for Linux - they won't charge you until you buy Builder.
Not yet, but the Linux version should be available soon =)
oh, gee - that took a whole 2 minutes.
They may not release the VCL under GPL but it is already Open Source if you buy the Profession/Enterprise versions of their software.
Ahh, but the plan is to let you choose which compiler you want to use when you use C++ Builder (which is what you will probably use to create production apps anyways).
The press release that is dated 4 days ago is the official announcement but they have been publically talking about doing this for a few weeks now. They did the same thing about the announcement for releasing Interbase as Open Source - they publically announced it almost a month ago but the press release was only made last week.
History has shown that this marketing tactic works. How do you think Apple got so popular in the 80's? Give the schools free hardware and the kids go home and say 'Mom, Dad - I need an Apple'. Inprise is just reverting back to what helped make them to begin with (how many of you ever purchased their $50 TurboPascal compiler? - when everybody else was charging hundreds to thousands of dollars for their development tools?). By giving away the basic compiler people will purchase the real tools (C++ Builder, Delphi, JBuilder). And if you buy the Professional versions, you get full source to their VCL - which is the piece you really want the source code to, not the compiler.
It was just a marketing move so the big guys won't think of them as just a maker of application development tools, but a supplier of full enterprise solutions.