Maybe it's because they pound their chests and declare they're the most secure, cheapest, bestest, fastest, etc, etc, even when there's overwhelming evidence to the contrary. When someone gets big-headed it's only natural to poke fun at them, or in a more sinister way, to want to exploit holes & make a big noise about it. It's like throwing cream pies at famous people, to embarass them in public. (Disclaimer: I'm a programmer, not a cracker or virus writer. I've never chucked a cream pie at a Personage before, either.)
On the other hand, if their next marketing campaign had a slogan like 'This OS is almost as polished as OS/X' or 'Vista is almost as secure as Linux' I can see how it might impact sales. However, perhaps if they stopped making outlandish claims in marketing, cracking would be left to the crimanals trying to steal your ID, rather than script kiddies hurling virtual cream pies.
Truth vs marketing. I wonder which will come out on top?
It starts up quick enough, but I'm used to writing small apps for my needs. (Which then grow into big apps, which then go on my web page for others to use.)
I've got a big library of routines I put together over the past 4 years or so, which means I'm never starting from scratch. Anyway, when I'm not writing SF I actually enjoy writing freeware - it's a hobby, so I'm allowed to waste time on it for relaxation...
I gave up talking about code years back, and the other night I realised why. I spent two or three hours coding a little utility to take strips of 24-bit icons (14 per row, fixed width & height), slice them up and save them out to individually named ICO files in the relevant skins folder. I'd do it manually, but this way I can generate 20 skins with a click of the mouse.
I tried to explain, briefly, why I was happy it was all working, but it sounded so trivial in 25 words or less and the reaction was... three hours to cut up a bunch of pics?
I took the Sony DVD burner out of my PC two days ago and put it in an external case. (It's old, it's slow, and I've had a faster DVD burner in the machine alongside this one for the past six months... I just wanted to reduce the heat in the machine, because these things get warm.)
Anyway, Windows XP told me I'd made 'substantial changes' to my PC, and I had 3 days to reactivate it. This is the third time in two years - and what happens when they EOL it like Win98 and refuse to hand out unlock codes? I'm no pirate, but if that ever happens I'll be trawling the web for a piece of code to let me use my PC again.
e.g. "Is the tailor's dummy standing next to the robot in the shot to show how far we've come?"
"Looks like a ken & barbie match-up."
"Should have put the glasses on the human, so we could tell them apart."
"Is that a sonic screwdriver in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"
etc. Actually, the robot's fluttering eyelashes struck a chord with me, only in my novel they 'sound like mating cockroaches' (just in case the reader was getting attracted to a plastic girl...)
I was at an accounting software vendor's premises about ten years ago. This software had a $4000 price sticker, and they were showing me all the reasons why we should buy it. While I was there, front desk took a support call from a girl at some small business who was using this software. They got her to read out the license key, determined it was reg'd to someone else, and told her the company (ie. her boss) had a choice - put a $4000 cheque in the mail or face a lawsuit.
So, we decided to buy our accounts package from another vendor... Not that we had any intention to pirate anything, but any company which could make demands like that over the phone, without any on-site investigation, was not a company we wanted to have dealings with.
So, they *might* have gained $4k from the caller (assuming they didn't spend big on lawyers first), but they lost $4k from us.
Because even if they had paperwork on file with your signature declining E911 service, they have no guarantee that that paperwork won't get lost.
Even worse - they might have signed, sealed, valid paperwork on file, but the courts rule that because it wasn't in your best interests to sign it (or you didn't know what you were signing) it's not your fault anyway.
The world has changed. Now, it's always someone else's fault.
I've been writing in VB since 3.0, and before that in VB Dos and QuickBasic. I don't _want_.Net, not through fear of change but because it would mean a line-by-line rewrite of hundreds of thousands of lines of code. (Don't talk to me about the project conversion wizard. It's more like a druid.)
If you want me back on the upgrade treadmill, give me VB7. And I don't care if it's just a compatibility layer on top of VB.net.
I wrote yBook to display Gutenberg texts with proper paragraph formatting. You can read your ebooks in it, or you can load them and save them back out with the new 'unformatted formatting' for use on a PDA.
It's freeware, too: yBook home page (Windows only, no nags, adware, crapware, whateverware)
It also has a downloader for the entire Gutenberg catalogue.
Slashdot Mirror
crimanals??
Sure, I'm replying to my own non-proofed post, but that's one hole of a typo.
True, but the parent asked why people always attack Microsoft, and that's what I replied to.
Maybe it's because they pound their chests and declare they're the most secure, cheapest, bestest, fastest, etc, etc, even when there's overwhelming evidence to the contrary. When someone gets big-headed it's only natural to poke fun at them, or in a more sinister way, to want to exploit holes & make a big noise about it. It's like throwing cream pies at famous people, to embarass them in public. (Disclaimer: I'm a programmer, not a cracker or virus writer. I've never chucked a cream pie at a Personage before, either.)
On the other hand, if their next marketing campaign had a slogan like 'This OS is almost as polished as OS/X' or 'Vista is almost as secure as Linux' I can see how it might impact sales. However, perhaps if they stopped making outlandish claims in marketing, cracking would be left to the crimanals trying to steal your ID, rather than script kiddies hurling virtual cream pies.
Truth vs marketing. I wonder which will come out on top?
Sure, but this is Slashdot. Code is substitute for conversation here.
It starts up quick enough, but I'm used to writing small apps for my needs. (Which then grow into big apps, which then go on my web page for others to use.)
I've got a big library of routines I put together over the past 4 years or so, which means I'm never starting from scratch. Anyway, when I'm not writing SF I actually enjoy writing freeware - it's a hobby, so I'm allowed to waste time on it for relaxation...
Plus three hours to figure out the scripting ;-) (I'm an old dog... new tricks come hard these days.)
I'll certainly look into it though. I use the Gimp already, just haven't delved into the script language.
I gave up talking about code years back, and the other night I realised why. I spent two or three hours coding a little utility to take strips of 24-bit icons (14 per row, fixed width & height), slice them up and save them out to individually named ICO files in the relevant skins folder. I'd do it manually, but this way I can generate 20 skins with a click of the mouse.
I tried to explain, briefly, why I was happy it was all working, but it sounded so trivial in 25 words or less and the reaction was... three hours to cut up a bunch of pics?
I took the Sony DVD burner out of my PC two days ago and put it in an external case. (It's old, it's slow, and I've had a faster DVD burner in the machine alongside this one for the past six months... I just wanted to reduce the heat in the machine, because these things get warm.)
Anyway, Windows XP told me I'd made 'substantial changes' to my PC, and I had 3 days to reactivate it. This is the third time in two years - and what happens when they EOL it like Win98 and refuse to hand out unlock codes? I'm no pirate, but if that ever happens I'll be trawling the web for a piece of code to let me use my PC again.
1) Explore the galaxy
2) Get overwhelmed by it
3) Write a guide to it
4) Post a story to Slashdot publicising this amazing guide.
How can you publicise step 4, when you've yet to cover steps 1-3? Don't these people read Slashdot?
No, but it falls over quite often.
the majority of end-user features in Windows Vista will not be included until Beta 2
... But this one can flutter its eyelids, and its hands move a bit.
e.g. "Is the tailor's dummy standing next to the robot in the shot to show how far we've come?"
"Looks like a ken & barbie match-up."
"Should have put the glasses on the human, so we could tell them apart."
"Is that a sonic screwdriver in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"
etc. Actually, the robot's fluttering eyelashes struck a chord with me, only in my novel they 'sound like mating cockroaches' (just in case the reader was getting attracted to a plastic girl...)
Was. Now it's called Vista.
I was at an accounting software vendor's premises about ten years ago. This software had a $4000 price sticker, and they were showing me all the reasons why we should buy it. While I was there, front desk took a support call from a girl at some small business who was using this software. They got her to read out the license key, determined it was reg'd to someone else, and told her the company (ie. her boss) had a choice - put a $4000 cheque in the mail or face a lawsuit.
So, we decided to buy our accounts package from another vendor... Not that we had any intention to pirate anything, but any company which could make demands like that over the phone, without any on-site investigation, was not a company we wanted to have dealings with.
So, they *might* have gained $4k from the caller (assuming they didn't spend big on lawyers first), but they lost $4k from us.
Combining the two, when their web page goes down you can then shout... BFF is off the menu!
We can all yell 'EFF off!'
Because even if they had paperwork on file with your signature declining E911 service, they have no guarantee that that paperwork won't get lost.
Even worse - they might have signed, sealed, valid paperwork on file, but the courts rule that because it wasn't in your best interests to sign it (or you didn't know what you were signing) it's not your fault anyway.
The world has changed. Now, it's always someone else's fault.
I want to see what Mons Olympus looks like from the ground.
Coming next: Google Body, so you can see Mons Pubis from the ground. (And from the side. And the top. And...)
Absolutely... Because we're all keen to find the nearest Mars Bar.
I'd post a longer comment but my RSI is playing up.
You're right - Coke should start a 'Get the Facts' campaign. They always work.
I've been writing in VB since 3.0, and before that in VB Dos and QuickBasic. I don't _want_ .Net, not through fear of change but because it would mean a line-by-line rewrite of hundreds of thousands of lines of code. (Don't talk to me about the project conversion wizard. It's more like a druid.)
If you want me back on the upgrade treadmill, give me VB7. And I don't care if it's just a compatibility layer on top of VB.net.
I wrote yBook to display Gutenberg texts with proper paragraph formatting. You can read your ebooks in it, or you can load them and save them back out with the new 'unformatted formatting' for use on a PDA.
It's freeware, too: yBook home page (Windows only, no nags, adware, crapware, whateverware)
It also has a downloader for the entire Gutenberg catalogue.
I want a license plate made out of that stuff.
Windows only, freeware, and I wrote it myself: RMP