It's a good thing the VM has been GPLed recently - I for one had never dared reading its code, just in case I later decided to contribute to some clean-room implementation.
No, you didn't. You paid for the right to use software - for some very specific rights, actually; not even all you'd wish/can think of/consider are entitled to.
...question is, are there enough like me to justify the market?:)
I got an Axim X51v as my first Pocket PC. Had been explicitly holding off for about four years because I do not need a gadget to remind me of appointments, phone numbers and the like. Instead, the things that got me wanting a PDA or similar were:
WiFi capability (to read the Saturday morning paper in bed:))
A relatively large, readable screen. Lets me read books when waiting for doctors and at many other times
Powerful processor to e.g. play movies on it
Really good handwriting recognition. I don't take notebooks to meetings anymore
Last, because it really doesn't matter to 99.99% of users, something I can program for. I certainly don't code as much anymore but still prefer to scratch my itches myself from time to time
Interestingly enough, I've found plenty more uses for it - talking through Skype, playing, etc.
Convergence? Connectivity? Convenience? More like compromise to me. Sure, there's the Treo 700, but it's a pared down version of Windows Mobile 5 and a skimpy screen. I'd rather have the choice to use my Motorola V265 to talk (though it certainly does a fair bit more), leaving the Pocket behind when I'm heading for the outdoors or doing home improvement at mom's. I certainly don't want to stick my Pocket to my face to make a phone call (yes, I could use a Bluetooth headset permanently. Oh wait, I have to recharge it). The cell phone has nine months and I've beaten the soul out of it; the Pocket wouldn't have withstood the usage, the places I take the phone, the conditions... And I don't need it to.
Just my two cents... And I honestly wonder if I'll find something similar to it a few years down the line. It seems others are willing to compromise for the sake of convenience.
Sorry, -ryan. I didn't mean to imply my MSc thesis gave me any kind of edge:) Just to bring the next sentence into context.
You are indeed right. I've been programming for seven years now, and the vast majority of what I know came from the trenches, not from any of my degrees.
Indeed, I found that I enjoyed my MSc a lot more because I had about four years of experience when I went into it. Otherwise I'm afraid it'd only be a lot of useless knowledge, instead of answers to questions I had naturally stumbled upon.
I thoroughly enjoyed your comment. My main beef with AndroMDA is trying to go straight from model to code. IMHO there should be an intermediate step (something that MDA, with PIM->PSM transformation, somehow contemplates). Then again UML within AndroMDA is mostly used as a detailed design language, not an architectural description language.
I'm all for model-driven development (MDD). My MSc thesis was about extending an Eclipse plug-in that supports an architectural description language (see http://www.aadl.info./ When I learned what the realtime industry (particularly avionics) were used to doing with MetaH, I instantly begun searching for ways to apply this on other domains. Two years later I feel I'm getting closer, but not quite there yet:)
This is not to say I fully agree with Microsoft's DSL and Software Factory concepts. I certainly see more debate is needed. In a sense, MDA is bad because I feel it will stall the debate, as vendors rush to implement their tools around a model some considered flawed, and a great many just plain hard to use in practice.
It didn't took long... After Taco himself slapped Mr. Piquepaille on the wrist for submitting stories that link back to his blog, a few posts came by which suprisingly had no blog link. Well, the post on ZDNet's Emerging Technologies is by our dear Roland, no less.
But hey, blame site operators for whining, then being fooled this easily.
Mind you, Google has not yet properly denied they're working on some sort of Web based Google Office. Though we all expect it to be AJAX-based, if they trim down OO enough not only may that help with memory footprint and startup times, it may also become a valuable asset to leverage other the Web.
Disclaimer: I am not American nor do I live in the US.
HP and no one else should fear Microsoft when it comes to offering choice to their consumers. That they cannot extend this offer to the US, assuming it has to do with MS, is above all in my humble opinion, an acknowledgment of the sad state of American justice and politics and its relationship with corporations.
You are looking at this from a purely technical point of view. The computational cost of doing it server-side, though also a technical consideration, has rather serious business implications. In order to counter the security flaw this design exhibits, they may rely on the legal system, which they've shown to know how to do rather well.
If I understand the GPL right, you can also sell your services to a particular customer and consider your works to be developed in-house, in which case there's no need to release your source.
However, you are right both in that if you sell software as such this is not possible and that there's plenty of stuff which is quite usable and not GPLed.
As other posters have observed, experience is valuable. I would advise you to specifically get experience in software engineering issues, most of which you were probably taught poorly at the university, not because of uni's quality but because some of it, IMHO, only becomes apparent after a few years of hands-on, "real" working experience.
Of course, you can also go for a degree proper. I did it (BSc CS, MSc SWE). Just don't expect it will automatically bring with it a bigger paycheck(*). If however you want to try something different and have something to moderate and really make the most out of your "hard" technical skills, while still remaining firmly on technical ground, I can't think of anything better.
(*) In fact don't expect this even if you go the MBA route many have suggested here. Degrees are not magic.
This can probably be done better with a used laptop from Ebay/relatives/oneself, but...
Imagine someone having several computers in their home. Maybe one of these laptops could be used as a relatively cheap file/backup/mail server. Throw in a PCMCIA card and you may even use it as a gateway or firewall.
The reason I say it's cheap, by the way, is the form factor. Naturally a desktop system with similar or better specs would be even cheaper. But this seems to me it's cheaper than other alternatives with comparable form factors. You could configure this laptop to run with the lid closed and that gives you a relatively sleek box which also draws little power.
Re:Consequences of destroying a comet
on
NASA's Deep Impact
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I mean, is it possible that important microorganisms or other important/rare/valuable occurences may be destroyed if this comment is blown up?
Nah... No offence intended but this is your run-of-the-mill, typical AC comment:)
Seriously though, you've got an interesting point. Even if no life is up there I wonder how smashing a comet affects things as a whole.
I hope the OSS community can follow up in the ensuing media war that MS may unleash. It will be relatively easy for them to say "see, we had a solution for this but those non-IPR respecting open source zealots boycott it". Especially if (God forbid!) the rest of the "big companies" do not line up with Apache.
Firm positions like this must be applauded and upheld, but once again we also need other professionals to help get the voice out about the truth. We shall not be fanatical, but I humbly believe it is clear Microsoft is not being transparent in this and that does not bode well for the Internet as we've come to know it.
Slashdot Mirror
It's a good thing the VM has been GPLed recently - I for one had never dared reading its code, just in case I later decided to contribute to some clean-room implementation.
No, you didn't. You paid for the right to use software - for some very specific rights, actually; not even all you'd wish/can think of/consider are entitled to.
Hey!! Stop posting my WEP key on Slashdot!
I got an Axim X51v as my first Pocket PC. Had been explicitly holding off for about four years because I do not need a gadget to remind me of appointments, phone numbers and the like. Instead, the things that got me wanting a PDA or similar were:
Interestingly enough, I've found plenty more uses for it - talking through Skype, playing, etc.
Convergence? Connectivity? Convenience? More like compromise to me. Sure, there's the Treo 700, but it's a pared down version of Windows Mobile 5 and a skimpy screen. I'd rather have the choice to use my Motorola V265 to talk (though it certainly does a fair bit more), leaving the Pocket behind when I'm heading for the outdoors or doing home improvement at mom's. I certainly don't want to stick my Pocket to my face to make a phone call (yes, I could use a Bluetooth headset permanently. Oh wait, I have to recharge it). The cell phone has nine months and I've beaten the soul out of it; the Pocket wouldn't have withstood the usage, the places I take the phone, the conditions... And I don't need it to.
Just my two cents... And I honestly wonder if I'll find something similar to it a few years down the line. It seems others are willing to compromise for the sake of convenience.
You are indeed right. I've been programming for seven years now, and the vast majority of what I know came from the trenches, not from any of my degrees.
Indeed, I found that I enjoyed my MSc a lot more because I had about four years of experience when I went into it. Otherwise I'm afraid it'd only be a lot of useless knowledge, instead of answers to questions I had naturally stumbled upon.
I thoroughly enjoyed your comment. My main beef with AndroMDA is trying to go straight from model to code. IMHO there should be an intermediate step (something that MDA, with PIM->PSM transformation, somehow contemplates). Then again UML within AndroMDA is mostly used as a detailed design language, not an architectural description language.
However, I really don't like OMG's MDA. There's an article on the Web by David Frankel that explains very well why UML isn't quite up to the task (see http://www.bptrends.com/publicationfiles/01-04%20C OL%20Dom%20Spec%20Modeling%20Frankel-Cook.pdf, and see also http://www.martinfowler.com/ieeeSoftware/mda-thoma s.pdf).
This is not to say I fully agree with Microsoft's DSL and Software Factory concepts. I certainly see more debate is needed. In a sense, MDA is bad because I feel it will stall the debate, as vendors rush to implement their tools around a model some considered flawed, and a great many just plain hard to use in practice.
But hey, blame site operators for whining, then being fooled this easily.
Kinda interesting anyway, Roland :)
Mind you, Google has not yet properly denied they're working on some sort of Web based Google Office. Though we all expect it to be AJAX-based, if they trim down OO enough not only may that help with memory footprint and startup times, it may also become a valuable asset to leverage other the Web.
Never thought I'd be yearning for more Google articles! Though in a sense I'm not - I guess I'm just feeling a bit constipated from so much Apple :)
HP and no one else should fear Microsoft when it comes to offering choice to their consumers. That they cannot extend this offer to the US, assuming it has to do with MS, is above all in my humble opinion, an acknowledgment of the sad state of American justice and politics and its relationship with corporations.
Just the perception of a third world geek :)
Not that it shows much clairvoyance on his behalf, as others has posted before, this was begging to be done.
If you haven't used one because you don't have one, see my signature. This one's no April fool, they are actually duplicating the storage.
This guy seems to be karmawhoring by pasting this post on every single (lame) April's Fool post today...
Gates says, "what does competing mean?"
Jobs says, "what do you mean, 'compare'?"
and the Slashdotter says, "Objectively?!?! You have to be new around here..."
(with apologies to Steve. Couldn't think of anything better)
You are looking at this from a purely technical point of view. The computational cost of doing it server-side, though also a technical consideration, has rather serious business implications. In order to counter the security flaw this design exhibits, they may rely on the legal system, which they've shown to know how to do rather well.
However, you are right both in that if you sell software as such this is not possible and that there's plenty of stuff which is quite usable and not GPLed.
"Mínimo" is Spanish for minimal.
Of course, you can also go for a degree proper. I did it (BSc CS, MSc SWE). Just don't expect it will automatically bring with it a bigger paycheck(*). If however you want to try something different and have something to moderate and really make the most out of your "hard" technical skills, while still remaining firmly on technical ground, I can't think of anything better.
(*) In fact don't expect this even if you go the MBA route many have suggested here. Degrees are not magic.
I was under the impression Rutan himself achieved this many moons ago. This one would the first jet-powered craft to do it, though.
I reckon many other places in the world are fairly windy, even if they are not a coastal city or some such.
Unless of course it uses the same license they released OpenSolaris and related patents under recently.
Imagine someone having several computers in their home. Maybe one of these laptops could be used as a relatively cheap file/backup/mail server. Throw in a PCMCIA card and you may even use it as a gateway or firewall.
The reason I say it's cheap, by the way, is the form factor. Naturally a desktop system with similar or better specs would be even cheaper. But this seems to me it's cheaper than other alternatives with comparable form factors. You could configure this laptop to run with the lid closed and that gives you a relatively sleek box which also draws little power.
Nah... No offence intended but this is your run-of-the-mill, typical AC comment :)
Seriously though, you've got an interesting point. Even if no life is up there I wonder how smashing a comet affects things as a whole.
It is part of the standard review header.
Firm positions like this must be applauded and upheld, but once again we also need other professionals to help get the voice out about the truth. We shall not be fanatical, but I humbly believe it is clear Microsoft is not being transparent in this and that does not bode well for the Internet as we've come to know it.