"And BTW if Gandalf has those cool eagles that he used to rescue Frodo at the end, why did he not use those f&*%^ birds to bring Frodo on that damn mountain and save at least one hour of my life that I wasted watching that crap?"
I don't care, I've got the theatrical release of FOTR and TTT, and also the extended versions of both. It costs around $15 to go see ROTK in the cinema (done it once, will go again before it closes), and about $30-$35 for the DVD. The, the extended version will be about $79. (All AUD$)
Given that I've watched all the DVDs several times, and will continue to watch them until I've worn grooves in the disks, I have no problem handing over the cash.
I learnt programming writing code for my parents' business. After 5 years, it was a massive project which impacted every area of the business - from PCXTs in the shops with 1200 baud modems sending in orders, barcode scanning terminals in the factory, etc, etc. I didn't earn anything from it other than my wages for my 'official' position.
Now I write closed-source apps for Windows users. Of the 11 software programs on my web site, 10 are freeware. The other one supports my endeavours.
I use Linux a lot, and I can see that the kernel, the kde/gnome desktops and many other applications are ideally suited to having lots of hands and eyes working on them. However, I have no intention of open-sourcing my apps. Why?
1) I have a shared code folder, the source files are used in all my apps. Change one piece of code, it changes all the apps when they are recompiled. If someone modified or rewrote a piece of code, it has to perform in exactly the same way or all the programs have to be rewritten to deal with it.
2) If I did open-source one of my apps, including this shared code, and contributors submitted changes or patches, any changes to my shared code would end up in my one and only commercial app (since it shares the code.) It's one thing contributing to freeware, and quite another to contribute to an app which is being sold.
3) My commercial app is well regarded. I have no intention of sharing the internals with competing software. I can just imagine my email load if I also had to explain why functions were written 'like that', what the variable on line 386 does, etc.
4) I code part-time, and already have a full-time job. It's all I can do to provide (free) support and keep improving my software. I don't have time to manage a project with many contributors, to check contributions, check in code changes, etc.
5) I've always designed and written my own software, I know the code backwards and I am very good at keeping bugs out. Pasting in slabs of someone else's code would be like paying a mechanic to replace the engine in my car - unless I took the thing apart and examined every piece, how would I know it wasn't cobbled together from a wrecker's yard? (I'm not trying to say that contributions are inferior, or that I'm some kind of master programmer. What I'm saying is that without studying the code I won't know if it's worth adding into the program. And it's quicker for me to write the code from scratch than to read and check a contribution line by line, then add it to the program.)
In the past 3 years, only two people have asked me for source code, and both wanted to incorporate my code into their commercial software. In both cases the effort for me to cut out the pieces they wanted would have exceeded any financial reward.
I maintain 3 Gentoo servers (1 of them LTSP, the other two file/print/web) One of the servers has 4 gentoo desktop machines connected to it. I have a portage/distfiles NFS share, I use distcc and I find it really, really low maintenance.
My desktops have kde 3.2, publishing stuff, OO, while the servers have Apache, Qmail, etc. Very different installs, all managed the same way.
After 4-5 years of Redhat the/etc folder was still very mysterious to me. After 4-5 months of Gentoo everything began to make sense. I switched to Gentoo some time around Redhat 8.0 (can't remember exactly, but my machines were running 7.x when I swapped 'em). Never had a problem.
I maintain 2 web servers, and they're on Gentoo. I also maintain 7 Gentoo desktop PCs, with another 20+ LTSP terminals hanging off 2 more Gentoo servers. ('Maintain' is a silly word, they don't crash anyway.)
Gentoo is the bees knees as far as I'm concerned, and I used Red Hat for years. The biggest problem I had with Redhat was inter-related dependancies, their own version numbering and revisions (eg. does Redhat's Apache 1.3.15b dated 23/4/2001 include the latest fixes from 1.3.25 or not, etc), and the eventual need to upgrade one major version to the next, just to keep current.
Gentoo is organic, you feed it daily like a house plant and it keeps growing on your system. (Gigs and gigs of source code, usually!)
Leaving aside work environments and servers, I like my main PC to be completely up-to-date. 0-day versions, if you will. Gentoo gives me that with a simple emerge -U world (Or I use my own script called 'emergebeta' which lets me grab masked packages instead)
The gentoo forums provide all the help I need since many others are running new packages before I do, and they've already spotted and fixed the bugs.
So, I wouldn't call Gentoo a 100% geek thing. Yes, it's best on fast PCs, and if you play 3D games all day you don't want Gentoo compiling in the background all the time, so another distro would be in order. However, it suits me perfectly.
I downloaded the Gentoo 1.4 isos once, and so far I've set up 18 PCs with them (17 of which used to run windows 98) How do they count those?
I've got more Windows PCs in my sights (work, friends, family), but they'll never show up in official sales figures either.
To me, the whole 'market share' argument is as daft as TV ratings. Use what you want to use and move on. Software companies will realise what's happening when sales fall and their competition starts to outstrip them.
I'm not interested in revisionist work. Give me back my memories.
I'll just have to get some genetic work done and outlive ol' George by 75 years or so. Then I'll get hold of the REAL original trilogy. Unless the copyright extensions keep pace with Mickey(tm)(r) Mouse(tm)(r) indefinitely, the films will be public domain.BR>
I was getting Mydoom attachments in my inbox long before my AV software had a signature file for it. I don't use Outlook Express and I didn't open the attachments, but saying that an AV would have protected my PC is false.
My local paper reported that a nursing home in the area just installed an 'internet room' for the residents.
Ethel Carruthers, 93, was asked what she thought of the new technology: 'Oh, it's marvellous. I communicated with my children, conversed with my sister in the UK and then kicked arse in CounterStrike!'
You know the big improvement for me? I can now shove the mouse to the top right corner and click to close a window, without having to bring the pointer back inboard 3-4 pixels first. THAT'S a useability improvement.
Slashdot Mirror
"And BTW if Gandalf has those cool eagles that he used to rescue Frodo at the end, why did he not use those f&*%^ birds to bring Frodo on that damn mountain and save at least one hour of my life that I wasted watching that crap?"
Blame that one on Tolkien, not PJ.
I don't care, I've got the theatrical release of FOTR and TTT, and also the extended versions of both. It costs around $15 to go see ROTK in the cinema (done it once, will go again before it closes), and about $30-$35 for the DVD. The, the extended version will be about $79. (All AUD$)
Given that I've watched all the DVDs several times, and will continue to watch them until I've worn grooves in the disks, I have no problem handing over the cash.
Wasn't Bilbo in his 50's in The Hobbit? (Just a youngster in Hobbit years)
Gives a whole new meaning to 'blue screen of death'
Sure. Now they can get up in court and yell...
APRIL FOOLS!
Trouble is, they've been building the joke far too long, and whatever the punchline I doubt it's going to be all that funny.
They're not quite sure if it's genuine, but it looks like pretty strong evidence of an earlier civilisation
Further tests are under way to discover whether these artifacts are genuine, or whether they are merely crude attempts to revise history.
I learnt programming writing code for my parents' business. After 5 years, it was a massive project which impacted every area of the business - from PCXTs in the shops with 1200 baud modems sending in orders, barcode scanning terminals in the factory, etc, etc. I didn't earn anything from it other than my wages for my 'official' position.
Now I write closed-source apps for Windows users. Of the 11 software programs on my web site, 10 are freeware. The other one supports my endeavours.
I use Linux a lot, and I can see that the kernel, the kde/gnome desktops and many other applications are ideally suited to having lots of hands and eyes working on them. However, I have no intention of open-sourcing my apps. Why?
1) I have a shared code folder, the source files are used in all my apps. Change one piece of code, it changes all the apps when they are recompiled. If someone modified or rewrote a piece of code, it has to perform in exactly the same way or all the programs have to be rewritten to deal with it.
2) If I did open-source one of my apps, including this shared code, and contributors submitted changes or patches, any changes to my shared code would end up in my one and only commercial app (since it shares the code.) It's one thing contributing to freeware, and quite another to contribute to an app which is being sold.
3) My commercial app is well regarded. I have no intention of sharing the internals with competing software. I can just imagine my email load if I also had to explain why functions were written 'like that', what the variable on line 386 does, etc.
4) I code part-time, and already have a full-time job. It's all I can do to provide (free) support and keep improving my software. I don't have time to manage a project with many contributors, to check contributions, check in code changes, etc.
5) I've always designed and written my own software, I know the code backwards and I am very good at keeping bugs out. Pasting in slabs of someone else's code would be like paying a mechanic to replace the engine in my car - unless I took the thing apart and examined every piece, how would I know it wasn't cobbled together from a wrecker's yard? (I'm not trying to say that contributions are inferior, or that I'm some kind of master programmer. What I'm saying is that without studying the code I won't know if it's worth adding into the program. And it's quicker for me to write the code from scratch than to read and check a contribution line by line, then add it to the program.)
In the past 3 years, only two people have asked me for source code, and both wanted to incorporate my code into their commercial software. In both cases the effort for me to cut out the pieces they wanted would have exceeded any financial reward.
Many believe it was a chunk of rock crashing into Mars which bought the first life to Earth.
Specially with fixing those dang >hmtl
Must...preview
Someone else mentioned they may be having problems with quick 'n' dirty VB, Borland, etc apps (converting them).
I wonder if there's any way they could book the source for each app to a LUG, whose members might just be able to help convert it?
BR>
I maintain 3 Gentoo servers (1 of them LTSP, the other two file/print/web) One of the servers has 4 gentoo desktop machines connected to it. I have a portage/distfiles NFS share, I use distcc and I find it really, really low maintenance. My desktops have kde 3.2, publishing stuff, OO, while the servers have Apache, Qmail, etc. Very different installs, all managed the same way. After 4-5 years of Redhat the /etc folder was still very mysterious to me. After 4-5 months of Gentoo everything began to make sense. I switched to Gentoo some time around Redhat 8.0 (can't remember exactly, but my machines were running 7.x when I swapped 'em). Never had a problem.
Longhorn = 64bit like Windows 95 was fully 32 bit you mean?
I'd expect something like Win32s first, whatever the marketoids are saying right now.
Windows XP-ME!
I maintain 2 web servers, and they're on Gentoo. I also maintain 7 Gentoo desktop PCs, with another 20+ LTSP terminals hanging off 2 more Gentoo servers. ('Maintain' is a silly word, they don't crash anyway.)
Gentoo is the bees knees as far as I'm concerned, and I used Red Hat for years. The biggest problem I had with Redhat was inter-related dependancies, their own version numbering and revisions (eg. does Redhat's Apache 1.3.15b dated 23/4/2001 include the latest fixes from 1.3.25 or not, etc), and the eventual need to upgrade one major version to the next, just to keep current.
Gentoo is organic, you feed it daily like a house plant and it keeps growing on your system. (Gigs and gigs of source code, usually!)
Leaving aside work environments and servers, I like my main PC to be completely up-to-date. 0-day versions, if you will. Gentoo gives me that with a simple emerge -U world (Or I use my own script called 'emergebeta' which lets me grab masked packages instead)
The gentoo forums provide all the help I need since many others are running new packages before I do, and they've already spotted and fixed the bugs.
So, I wouldn't call Gentoo a 100% geek thing. Yes, it's best on fast PCs, and if you play 3D games all day you don't want Gentoo compiling in the background all the time, so another distro would be in order. However, it suits me perfectly.
So, what you're saying is that Debian Potato is a bad idea?
I wrote them about the 4 megs/gigs error the day their article came out. Must be real busy over there.
I downloaded the Gentoo 1.4 isos once, and so far I've set up 18 PCs with them (17 of which used to run windows 98) How do they count those?
I've got more Windows PCs in my sights (work, friends, family), but they'll never show up in official sales figures either.
To me, the whole 'market share' argument is as daft as TV ratings. Use what you want to use and move on. Software companies will realise what's happening when sales fall and their competition starts to outstrip them.
Hell of a product placement, that was.
By the way, my local deli now has coke in glass bottles again. (Western Australia).
I'm not interested in revisionist work. Give me back my memories.
I'll just have to get some genetic work done and outlive ol' George by 75 years or so. Then I'll get hold of the REAL original trilogy. Unless the copyright extensions keep pace with Mickey(tm)(r) Mouse(tm)(r) indefinitely, the films will be public domain.BR>
I was getting Mydoom attachments in my inbox long before my AV software had a signature file for it. I don't use Outlook Express and I didn't open the attachments, but saying that an AV would have protected my PC is false.
Hell, if you've got half a dozen names for the same product you might as well chuck in a handful of slogans, too ;-)
My local paper reported that a nursing home in the area just installed an 'internet room' for the residents.
Ethel Carruthers, 93, was asked what she thought of the new technology: 'Oh, it's marvellous. I communicated with my children, conversed with my sister in the UK and then kicked arse in CounterStrike!'
Hal Spacejock - Science fiction with Nuts
C++ GUI Programming with Qt 3 (Amazon.com Sales Rank: 184)
Is this the first recorded instance of slashdotting a product?
You know the big improvement for me? I can now shove the mouse to the top right corner and click to close a window, without having to bring the pointer back inboard 3-4 pixels first. THAT'S a useability improvement.
Oh, and Plastik is pure magic.
Simon
Simon