I am really interested to see how the election will play out if Giuliani wins the Republican nomination. Will the Religious Right vote for a baby killing homosexual lover?
It would be a great change of pace to American politics to have two pro-choice candidates.
I develop applications for Symbol, Intermec and HHP devices using the Compact Framework and I really like it. Congrats!:)
Yes it uses a lot of memory and it can be slow but when you know the limitations you can work around them. If you require optimal processor and memory usage, use C++ (but be aware that your development times might increase). C/C++ is not an option for my company.
Deploying applications is quick after the Compact Framework has been deployed on the first run. Deploying applications isn't "smart" when you have an app that dynamically loads modules. Maybe your app isn't as complicated as mine.
The debugger rarely freezes unless there is a connectivity issue. Disconnecting the debugger from a running application can cause the device to lock up (particularly if you are using some of the OEM libraries) but if you close the device application down properly, it is normally OK. This mainly happens with HHP devices for me. And although it doesn't happen often, it happens often enough.
I don't get constant out of memory errors. Try and make sure all the resource intensive objects are wrapped up in "using" statements so Dispose is called on them when you have finished with them. In particular every file and form should be in "using" block. Yea, I do that, I'm not a n00b.:)
It only takes about 30 seconds to rip out the hi-res aware code if you don't like it. Please tell me the compiler flag that disables the HI_RES_AWARE resource. I actually made a program that runs after compile that rips out that resource... and then it didn't fix it on all hi-res devices.
I try to avoid using SQL CE as I have found that it is too slow for my applications (most the products I work on have large amounts of static data so I find it quicker to generate lookup files on the server and copy them down to the devices and use my own lookup code). We need to keep copious amounts of encrypted data on the device. I guess I could roll my own database... My major problem, though, is that SQL CE isn't documented very well and a lot of things I had to learn through trial, error, and inference.
Yes, each vendor has a different scanning API. Spend a few days writing some library code so you only have one interface to deal with and forget about it. I did that, but why should I? I'd like to make a better wrapper even, but it's hard to justify to the superiors that it's "necessary" development. Not to mention, the differences between the APIs are astounding. I actually wrapped their C APIs so I wouldn't have to reference multiple vendor-specific assemblies.
The Microsoft mobile device tools aren't perfect and you do have to spend some time working around the various challenges they throw up but they are a lot better than most of the alternatives. If you get stuck, it is easy to write a C++ DLL to do the hard work. You do have to cope with differences between the devices but these are niche devices for niche applications. Actually, I can't just write a managed C++ assembly and plug it in, because CE doesn't support that yet. So I'd have to write a native DLL, and there are very few places in our application where writing a native DLL would be helpful to that much of an extent. It's quite a large and feature-full application, so there's no silver bullet.
Hello, fellow Windows Mobile barcode scanner developer. I hate my life.
I hate the compact framework. It's got limitations everywhere that drive me nuts. It's a memory hog. P/Invoke is virtually required. Generics make jitting 10x slower, and it's already pretty damn slow.
I hate taking 4 minutes to deploy a multi-dll app using Visual Studio.
I hate debugger freezes that require soft-resets.
I hate how every device behaves differently.
I hate constant out of memory errors since the compact framework is a memory hog and the devices are all under-equipped.
I hate how CF 2.0 apps are compiled to be "hi-res aware" because Microsoft assumes that all of your controls are going to scale properly.
I hate the input panel and it's flaky behavior.
I hate Microsoft SQL CE. Poor documentation. Vague errors. Slow.
I hate having to deal with 3 different barcode scanning APIs from 3 different vendors that won't give me devices or up-to-date documentation.
Basically, the only reason I'm still doing this is because the other teams at my company are using VB6. I think I'd rather die.
Couldn't they re-record the albums under a different title, and sell those? You are correct. However, Radiohead would make more money touring or making new songs than wasting their time recording their old songs.
Recording's a bitch. All musicians hate it. I've heard of very few instances where an artist re-recorded for a new label. It would probably take a great level of animosity and motivation.
Real life is much more subdued, and I really enjoyed that look from Halo 3. Bumpmapping in the right places, none where it isn't meant to be. The colors in real life cannot be accurately reproduced by current display technology anyway, so why would I want to look at a poor imitation "subdued"? Drab games really bum me out.
Not that I've played Halo 3... just sayin', realistic colors are unattainable (read up on color theory).
The best way to do that is to swamp our educational system with their own people, people who eventually return home with what they've learned leaving us with, well, not much. This may be true with many visitors, but my experience with them has been that once they're here they want to stay here.
It's quite possible to not like Microsoft but find one of their (many) solutions superior to other comparable products.
Also, I don't really hate hate them. They do what they do and I do what I do, and if our paths meet then that's great. It was a hyperbolic way of saying, "I'm not a huge MS fan, but their dev stuff is nice."
In Linux, I've been struggling along with GEdit, nano, and some shell scripts. That isn't really a replacement for an IDE, but it's been the best combination to suit my needs (yet still sufficiently lacking).
So far: Eclipse failed with a vague error message even after I installed a billion dependencies. I remember using it back in the day; it was nice but glitchy. Anjuta 1 and 2 appear to be loaded with instability and random dependencies. I also used it back in the day but its "GTK project template" was locked to some older version of GTK I didn't want to use. Code::Blocks isn't in my package repository, nor is XBlocks. I don't have the time for that - it's easier to keep using GEdit and complaining. I'm almost desperate enough to install KDevelop, but I'd prefer to avoid KDE and Qt.
I think the major problem is a lack of standards and too many choices. In a diverse and changing development environment such as Linux, it's hard to make a good IDE, and you're not going to please everybody. Also, open source developers work for themselves for the most part - and what developer really wants to work hard on an IDE when scraping by with an overloaded text-editor suffices? Microsoft has money to pour into their IDE, and by doing so they attract developers by being the path of least resistance.
Call me a pussy, but I'd rather use Visual Studio than any other IDE any day. In Linux, I don't even use an IDE... cause they all seem to blow. Except MonoDevelop, but that doesn't do C.
Also, all of those things you downloaded have samples, diagnostic tools, functions for unrelated things (not just video), and other goodies that you may or may not use in a million years.
I hate Microsoft just like anybody else. I use Linux at home. But one thing Microsoft does not do is treat developers poorly.
Will they destroy the PC gaming market? I thought part of the fun of PC gaming was seeing how much better your uber-new-hardware compared to your old stuff. Maybe that's just how I was. Maybe that's why I don't play PC games anymore.
There's no reason an applet is necessary to perform a binary upload. Facebook resizes the photos before uploading them.
1. They are saving a ton on storage and bandwidth by doing this. 2. They are saving a ton of Sally's bandwidth by doing so (since she has 800 pictures of her and her friends drunk on Facebook). 3. They are saving a ton of Sally's stalker's bandwidth (who would inevitably download all of her photos in hi-res). 3. UI: Users can easily browse to and check off which photos to upload, with thumbnail previews, which is much nicer than any other non-Java upload system out there.
They do, however, have a HTML form fall-back in case you don't want to use Java. But frankly, it is the most convenient, transparent, and well-designed Java applet I've ever run into. In fact, I'd hypothesize that Facebook's photo system is a success precisely because of the Java applet.
While this is true, I'd bet that the reason Excel is having problems is because it's doing all that weird stuff (like what's with that UI?) and possibly using newer/undocumented API calls.
It's inexcusable, but understandable, since the Office apps are most likely first-adopters of new API calls.
Life is like a dream. You never die in your dreams. You never die in your observed life. You just die in alternate universes. This carries on until you reach the next plane of intelligence (wake up) whereupon you realize that there was no mind-body problem to begin with.
Plus, if people know they're being listened to by party A (advertisers), then they're probably less likely to be wiretapped by party B (NSA) since what they're saying is probably useless information anyway if they already trust party A to listen.
Which coincidentally brings to mind many ideas about how to mess with this system- some sort of voice encryption algorithm, or even using it as a data modem (?).
If he's so serious about protecting rights, there's about 1000 other causes going on right now that actually have meaning that he could of helped out. Everybody helps out where they're able and interested. Not to mention, this opportunity followed him to his car and illegally detained him... it's not like he was window shopping for ways to protect rights.
See, that's why ala carte is stupid, while those channels might be popular with slashdot, they are massively unpopular with the public at large. There are far enough nerds to have political and economic sway in numbers, and there will be far more as technology advances. We no longer have to be a pathetic minority anymore. Just look how some companies are bending over backwards to support the open source movement to get "geek cred" - because they realize our power, but do we?
Since a lot of people who criticised him came from a site which bills itself as "News for nerds, stuff that matters", I hardly think it's out of line for him to refer to them as nerds.:) It's kinda like how black people can use some words that white people shouldn't.
Not to mention, if they condone the hackers then they are obligated to support the iPhone under such hacked circumstances, etc.
This is actually a great business strategy. 1. Release a locked device that's pretty cool, but not TOO flexible 2. People unlock it to do fun things 3. Consequentailly, their warranties are voided... boo hoo:'(
As I always tell people, what If I am emailing my doctor about Viagra. Then you should obviously spell it "v1agra" to avoid the filter, duh.
On a more serious note, doctors shouldn't communicate medical information via email since it's insecure and patient information is confidential. I think there are probably rules about that... I message my doctor (not about viagra) through my HMO's website, which coincidentally utilizes the electronic health record software my company makes.
Slashdot Mirror
I am really interested to see how the election will play out if Giuliani wins the Republican nomination. Will the Religious Right vote for a baby killing homosexual lover?
It would be a great change of pace to American politics to have two pro-choice candidates.
I never said Java was better. Maybe everything sucks. But we're a Microsoft shop and that's my opinion of mobile development so far.
Zomg was it a Symbol, Intermec, or HHP device? :)
Hello, fellow Windows Mobile barcode scanner developer. I hate my life.
I hate the compact framework. It's got limitations everywhere that drive me nuts. It's a memory hog. P/Invoke is virtually required. Generics make jitting 10x slower, and it's already pretty damn slow.
I hate taking 4 minutes to deploy a multi-dll app using Visual Studio.
I hate debugger freezes that require soft-resets.
I hate how every device behaves differently.
I hate constant out of memory errors since the compact framework is a memory hog and the devices are all under-equipped.
I hate how CF 2.0 apps are compiled to be "hi-res aware" because Microsoft assumes that all of your controls are going to scale properly.
I hate the input panel and it's flaky behavior.
I hate Microsoft SQL CE. Poor documentation. Vague errors. Slow.
I hate having to deal with 3 different barcode scanning APIs from 3 different vendors that won't give me devices or up-to-date documentation.
Basically, the only reason I'm still doing this is because the other teams at my company are using VB6. I think I'd rather die.
Recording's a bitch. All musicians hate it. I've heard of very few instances where an artist re-recorded for a new label. It would probably take a great level of animosity and motivation.
Not that I've played Halo 3... just sayin', realistic colors are unattainable (read up on color theory).
Maybe our government could declare spammers as "enemy combatants".
That's not to say that SBC didn't do evil.
It's quite possible to not like Microsoft but find one of their (many) solutions superior to other comparable products.
Also, I don't really hate hate them. They do what they do and I do what I do, and if our paths meet then that's great. It was a hyperbolic way of saying, "I'm not a huge MS fan, but their dev stuff is nice."
In Linux, I've been struggling along with GEdit, nano, and some shell scripts. That isn't really a replacement for an IDE, but it's been the best combination to suit my needs (yet still sufficiently lacking).
So far:
Eclipse failed with a vague error message even after I installed a billion dependencies. I remember using it back in the day; it was nice but glitchy.
Anjuta 1 and 2 appear to be loaded with instability and random dependencies. I also used it back in the day but its "GTK project template" was locked to some older version of GTK I didn't want to use.
Code::Blocks isn't in my package repository, nor is XBlocks. I don't have the time for that - it's easier to keep using GEdit and complaining.
I'm almost desperate enough to install KDevelop, but I'd prefer to avoid KDE and Qt.
I think the major problem is a lack of standards and too many choices. In a diverse and changing development environment such as Linux, it's hard to make a good IDE, and you're not going to please everybody. Also, open source developers work for themselves for the most part - and what developer really wants to work hard on an IDE when scraping by with an overloaded text-editor suffices? Microsoft has money to pour into their IDE, and by doing so they attract developers by being the path of least resistance.
And yet, Eclipse doesn't even start after installing a hundred MB of packages and the only error I get is "No application id has been found."
Call me a pussy, but I'd rather use Visual Studio than any other IDE any day. In Linux, I don't even use an IDE... cause they all seem to blow. Except MonoDevelop, but that doesn't do C.
Also, all of those things you downloaded have samples, diagnostic tools, functions for unrelated things (not just video), and other goodies that you may or may not use in a million years.
I hate Microsoft just like anybody else. I use Linux at home. But one thing Microsoft does not do is treat developers poorly.
Will they destroy the PC gaming market? I thought part of the fun of PC gaming was seeing how much better your uber-new-hardware compared to your old stuff. Maybe that's just how I was. Maybe that's why I don't play PC games anymore.
1. They are saving a ton on storage and bandwidth by doing this.
2. They are saving a ton of Sally's bandwidth by doing so (since she has 800 pictures of her and her friends drunk on Facebook).
3. They are saving a ton of Sally's stalker's bandwidth (who would inevitably download all of her photos in hi-res).
3. UI: Users can easily browse to and check off which photos to upload, with thumbnail previews, which is much nicer than any other non-Java upload system out there.
They do, however, have a HTML form fall-back in case you don't want to use Java. But frankly, it is the most convenient, transparent, and well-designed Java applet I've ever run into. In fact, I'd hypothesize that Facebook's photo system is a success precisely because of the Java applet.
While this is true, I'd bet that the reason Excel is having problems is because it's doing all that weird stuff (like what's with that UI?) and possibly using newer/undocumented API calls.
It's inexcusable, but understandable, since the Office apps are most likely first-adopters of new API calls.
Life is like a dream. You never die in your dreams. You never die in your observed life. You just die in alternate universes. This carries on until you reach the next plane of intelligence (wake up) whereupon you realize that there was no mind-body problem to begin with.
Fixed!
Plus, if people know they're being listened to by party A (advertisers), then they're probably less likely to be wiretapped by party B (NSA) since what they're saying is probably useless information anyway if they already trust party A to listen.
Which coincidentally brings to mind many ideas about how to mess with this system- some sort of voice encryption algorithm, or even using it as a data modem (?).
The founding fathers were highly anti-authoritarian. I'm sure if they were alive today, they'd disagree with you.
What? I have wireless rumbling controllers for last gen's consoles. Logitech has made them for some time, and the battery life is decent.
Not to mention, if they condone the hackers then they are obligated to support the iPhone under such hacked circumstances, etc.
:'(
This is actually a great business strategy.
1. Release a locked device that's pretty cool, but not TOO flexible
2. People unlock it to do fun things
3. Consequentailly, their warranties are voided... boo hoo
On a more serious note, doctors shouldn't communicate medical information via email since it's insecure and patient information is confidential. I think there are probably rules about that... I message my doctor (not about viagra) through my HMO's website, which coincidentally utilizes the electronic health record software my company makes.