I don't currently play any MMORPG, but I was an everquest subscriber for nearly 2 years. I will tell you this:
Most people are willing to pay a monthly fee for lag-free gameplay and good customer service.
Everquest not only gives you the regular play servers, but also themed servers like PvP etc. If anything ever glitched in the game you could contact a customer service guide who would help you out (not immediately usually, but hey, at least they made an effort).
They also patched and added small content on a regular basis, yeah the big expansion content costs you another $20 which kind of sucked, I would prefer just to be charged for the cost of the media/handling but whatever, you spend $20 taking your girl to a 2 hour movie and those expansion packs give hundreds of hours of play time. Not a bad trade-off.
It's too fragmented, there are too many flavors! Speed/performance be damned, hell we can all just buy more ram and faster processors right? That seems to be the mantra of many posters.
Fragmentation is why Java and Linux, though worthy concepts and definately have a place in the world, will never topple microsoft.
Microsoft has a plan, they have total control over their specifications. When I compile a.NET application, I know for a fact that any machine with the.NET framework will run, I don't have to worry about which java vm/linux distro they're running, nor do I have to pick and choose between a crapload of library add-ons just to get basic gui functionality..NET also easily interops with all the other popular microsoft products, exchange, office, etc right out of the box which allows me as a developer to do some cool stuff without much effort. This is important because selling an application is always easier if it adds value to applications already in use.
What.NET gives you is a fast, stable, secure (I don't know wtf a previous poster was saying when he said.NET isn't secure, that's an ignorant lie if there ever was one, I can't even recall hearing about a framework exploit yet), and consistant development environment. It is astounding how fast you can put together an enterprise application in.NET. Plus with Mono 1.1 you can now run these apps on OSX and Linux, so don't cry about being tied to the windows platform.
The best way to grow a language is to make it attractive to new developers. That means a lower learning curve and better tools. The learning curve in python, php, and.NET is way lower than java, and Microsoft Visual Studio is the best RAD tool on the planet, hands down. THAT is why Java is going to lose ground. It has enough followers to be saved, but can they pull together enough to compete with.NET etc? I don't think so, but they could surprise me.
Er... not that great of price.
on
You've Got PC
·
· Score: 1
DellSB - Dimension 2400 with P4 2.8GHz,128MB RAM, 80GB HD, and 48x CD-RW for Only $320 after Rebate with free Shipping.
It also comes with a 10/100 NIC, 56K modem, stereo speakers, Windows XP Home, and a 2 year in-home warranty (worth $113)
Note that you can upgrade to Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 48x CD-RW Drive [add $19]
Then just go to newegg or wherever and buy a cheap 512mb stick of ram and you're all set. Under $450 and way way way more power.
I hope for Linux's sake that the community gives Munich some special attention/aid if they decide to migrate and that whoever they have doing the migration knows what they're doing.
Imagine the field day Microsoft will have if the project goes over budget or outright fails!
I still say you have to throw the cost argument right out the window though. In the end, organizations will pay a premium for quality support/service and applications that play nice together easily. That is the biggest challenge Linux has to overcome before it can truly stand toe to toe with Microsoft.
In New York (I had a situation somewhat similar to this) such contracts are based on the consideration of continued employment. Generally Non-Compete isn't enforcable here, but interestingly enough if you are FIRED the contract is definately voided.
#2 use fingerprint + SSN to log into the system (double bonus, you'd get a better database of fingerprints for law enforcement)
#3 Report your vote to a watchdog group after leaving the booth, whether they're private industry or media.
If the watchdog groups projected talleys are within an error % of the actual vote totals, then you can feel secure that the e-vote wasn't tampered with anymore than paper ballots probably are.
Why we even need peer to peer as consumers. "Legal" distribution online isn't really all that challenging through corporate servers and mirrors. It carries a higher cost to the provider in bandwidth but other than that there's not really much of a downside. In the p2p world they're passing the burden of the bandwidth costs to the consumer.
Most people I know using p2p have used it to download copyrighted material and porn so I guess until someone can prove that there is a really urgent NEED for p2p I'm gonna have to side with the govt on it. It does make breaking the law easier than the other methods mentioned.
Not that I think killing p2p will really do much to stop illegal activity, people will just find another way. *shrug*
People will pay for a positive user experience. Linux applications for the most part do not live up to their windows counterparts in that aspect.
Most linux and software solutions are free, who cares? People will pay a premium for convenience. If you think for a minute you can think of dozens of products/services that make a profit just because they are convenient (pizza delivery, TIVO, Verizon's all-in-one cellphone/dsl/home phone plan, Windows, MS-Office, SUVs, etc etc etc)
I've said it before, and I'll say it again a thousand times if necessary: Focus on the user experience if you want to make a real dent in windows. Not only would people switch, but they'd be likely to pay for it too.
That's why I dropped CSE and went into information systems. IS was in the college of business so I had coursework in finance, accounting, etc. If IT ever fails me, I can easily switch to a different aspect of business.
Learning low level system stuff really isn't a necessity in most business programming jobs. Business programming usually just involves getting data from a datastore, manipulating/displaying it and putting it back in the store.
I've made a great wage programming such apps for years, and I've never had to use any math more challenging than your basic accounting and finance formulas.
"True" computer science majors belong working for enterprise providers, the microsofts, the SAPs, Oracle, etc. A business programmer simply doesn't need alot of the crap that CS degrees shove down their throats. If I'm hiring a business developer I want them to know the microsoft toolset, have a relational database class, a few high level languages (C#, VB, Java), some web experience (PHP, ASP.NET), and SQL. If they can be even semi-competant in those things they'll have success learning the rest on the job. I think that deep OO / System Archetecture is kind of wasteful since no company lets a new grad do that kind of work anyway. You'll typically be coding from specs not written by you for at least 3-5 years. That's plenty of time to learn architecture from the people who do it every day, much preferable to some guy in acedemia.
Another observation I've had about 4 year degrees (having one myself and working with younger coders who do) is that most college level courses just don't touch the depth that is necessary to be a successful coder immediately in the field. A programming course usually goes like this:
Hello World
Variable declarations
Loops and conditional logic
File IO
Database access / oo concepts (depends on the language and instructor)
Hell, I mentored a new grad who claimed to have gotten an A in c++ but didn't know what an object was. Talk about wanting to break down and cry.
If the previous posts are correct and the blu-ray discs are read/write, I'll wager that the 25GB would in fact be used to add game expansions/patches etc ala X-Box Hard drive, just now you wouldn't need the hard drive, everything pertaining to the game itself could be written to the game disc.
That would be interesting as a concept especially for Everquest style games.
The only protection any software needs is a copyright. A copyright protects the owner's right to the expression (code). You can't copyright an idea (As shown in that texas case posted earlier, having thoughts of a program grants no rights, only writing the code implies copyright. This may have been part of the grounds for the ruling.)
When you really think about it, that is what software is, it's the expression of whatever you're coding (a tab, a purchase order, an email sorter).
So what needs to be decided is this: Is software an artistic expression of a concept (copyright) or is software an invention (patent)?
I tend to think of my software as an art form, expression of a concept (copyright). No one can copy my code, but anyone can see a program and say "hey that's a good idea, let's do something like that". This is how ideas evolve, ultimately benefitting society.
Imagine if some music artist patented the C chord, how much would music suffer if no other artist could use that sound? However, the sequence of sounds (like software code) is rightfully protected by copyright.
You realize that since software doesn't really have much of a fabrication cost (media is cheap and most MS software is distributed over the network from a central source anyway) that once microsoft breaks even on a product like Exchange they can sell it for peanuts and they're still making money.
That's one of the luxeries of the software business model.
Sure, sounds great, let's banish copyright law. So after that first sale I know that my software can be distributed for free by the person that bought my code.
In other news, the next version of my software will carry a price tag of $10 million since I can only reasonably expect to make one sale.
Exactly, this is the theory behind Microsoft's new visual studio "express" lineup. It's not as slick as visual studio, but if the hobbyist/student can learn.net languages/sql server for free then in the long run it _should_ help MS.
If you know anything about.NET you'd know that C#, VB.NET, etc are all compiled into the same intermediate language. Therefore no.NET language is more "Real" than any other, it's a matter of preference.
C# tends to be less verbose and more comfy for java developers. VB.NET kills C# as far as productivity when interacting with office etc.
I'd really like to see c/java coders get off their high horse about how "vb isn't a real language". It's just not true anymore.
**note anymore, yeah vb used to miss alot of things like true inheritance... that is all gone in.net
My uncle works for a US Navy contractor. The warships he has worked on do run a version of Windows NT. However it has little in common with the NT you see in the business marketplace.
My company has a.NET shop for development with many of our internal applications going to ASP.NET. We're actually exploring only using windows machines for developers and managers/executives and turning all of the lower level end user machines to linux clients since all they really need is a browser.
Not sure how it will work out, but it seems to me a good way to leverage the power and ease of the.NET environment with the cost savings of linux.
How about just "rich enough", "easy enough", and cheaper
Aiming for the bare minimum is not going to turn the tide against Microsoft, or any other market dominating product. Once joe average gets used to something it is very very hard to pull them away from it. Look at the outcry when windows 98 was getting its support cut by MS! Rich experience I could see lagging behind a little and being successful. Ease of use/choice is probably the best sell for getting joe average to switch.
Remember, Joe Average is the majority of the market. Joe doesn't care about DRM, spyware, or anything like that. He wants something that installs easy, isn't gonna give him any compatibility issues, and feels familiar to what he has used before. Until linux/open source gets to that point, MS will continue dominance. Open source has come a long way, but it still has a long way to go.
The other advantage MS has over the community is that they can pick a standard and throw tons of different products at said standard. There are many different "flavors" of open source software out there... how is Joe Average, who doesn't care enough to research, ever going to see open source as a viable alternative when microsoft is dangling a suite of tightly integrated products in front of them?
So if someone spends their valuable time creating a work of art, a musical composition, or a software application, and then gives it away, it suddenly means their time has no value.
Exactly. There are people out there who are idealists and believe x, y, and z should be free for all. Let's look at this from a business manager's perspective though:
"My company needs software that does X. Now, I can buy X out of the box and pay alot of money up front for software, support, and said software might not match our business model exactly. We'd rather not change our business model so we should create the software internally."
"Oh look, there's an open source solution, it's free. That would save us alot of money. If people are willing to make things for free, then we should seek programmers who work as close to free as possible, because obviously this type of work isn't 'valued'. Let's not pay $30+/hr for an american programmer, instead let's get one for $10/hr."
Generalization yes, but a non-tech manager really does think that way. These are people who create and manage value, and value is very closely knitted to price in their minds.
has nothing to do with taking advantage of operating system specific features. Joe Blow end user wants the richest, easiest experience they can get their hands on.
If you free software/open source evangelists want to really stick it to MS like you say you do then you had best start providing packages that are richer and ESPECIALLY easier than the MS ones.
I'm also perplexed at how many people on slashdot worship open source/free software but hate outsourcing... when you do work and generate value then give it away for free how can you turn around and argue that your time is worth more $$$ than some indian developer?
Slashdot Mirror
I don't currently play any MMORPG, but I was an everquest subscriber for nearly 2 years. I will tell you this:
Most people are willing to pay a monthly fee for lag-free gameplay and good customer service.
Everquest not only gives you the regular play servers, but also themed servers like PvP etc. If anything ever glitched in the game you could contact a customer service guide who would help you out (not immediately usually, but hey, at least they made an effort).
They also patched and added small content on a regular basis, yeah the big expansion content costs you another $20 which kind of sucked, I would prefer just to be charged for the cost of the media/handling but whatever, you spend $20 taking your girl to a 2 hour movie and those expansion packs give hundreds of hours of play time. Not a bad trade-off.
It's too fragmented, there are too many flavors! Speed/performance be damned, hell we can all just buy more ram and faster processors right? That seems to be the mantra of many posters.
.NET application, I know for a fact that any machine with the .NET framework will run, I don't have to worry about which java vm/linux distro they're running, nor do I have to pick and choose between a crapload of library add-ons just to get basic gui functionality. .NET also easily interops with all the other popular microsoft products, exchange, office, etc right out of the box which allows me as a developer to do some cool stuff without much effort. This is important because selling an application is always easier if it adds value to applications already in use.
.NET gives you is a fast, stable, secure (I don't know wtf a previous poster was saying when he said .NET isn't secure, that's an ignorant lie if there ever was one, I can't even recall hearing about a framework exploit yet), and consistant development environment. It is astounding how fast you can put together an enterprise application in .NET. Plus with Mono 1.1 you can now run these apps on OSX and Linux, so don't cry about being tied to the windows platform.
.NET is way lower than java, and Microsoft Visual Studio is the best RAD tool on the planet, hands down. THAT is why Java is going to lose ground. It has enough followers to be saved, but can they pull together enough to compete with .NET etc? I don't think so, but they could surprise me.
Fragmentation is why Java and Linux, though worthy concepts and definately have a place in the world, will never topple microsoft.
Microsoft has a plan, they have total control over their specifications. When I compile a
What
The best way to grow a language is to make it attractive to new developers. That means a lower learning curve and better tools. The learning curve in python, php, and
DellSB - Dimension 2400 with P4 2.8GHz,128MB RAM, 80GB HD, and 48x CD-RW for Only $320 after Rebate with free Shipping.
It also comes with a 10/100 NIC, 56K modem, stereo speakers, Windows XP Home, and a 2 year in-home warranty (worth $113)
Note that you can upgrade to Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 48x CD-RW Drive [add $19]
Then just go to newegg or wherever and buy a cheap 512mb stick of ram and you're all set. Under $450 and way way way more power.
I hope for Linux's sake that the community gives Munich some special attention/aid if they decide to migrate and that whoever they have doing the migration knows what they're doing.
Imagine the field day Microsoft will have if the project goes over budget or outright fails!
I still say you have to throw the cost argument right out the window though. In the end, organizations will pay a premium for quality support/service and applications that play nice together easily. That is the biggest challenge Linux has to overcome before it can truly stand toe to toe with Microsoft.
This reminded me of it, of course that never went to trial...
In New York (I had a situation somewhat similar to this) such contracts are based on the consideration of continued employment. Generally Non-Compete isn't enforcable here, but interestingly enough if you are FIRED the contract is definately voided.
#1 Don't expose voting machines to the internet.
#2 use fingerprint + SSN to log into the system (double bonus, you'd get a better database of fingerprints for law enforcement)
#3 Report your vote to a watchdog group after leaving the booth, whether they're private industry or media.
If the watchdog groups projected talleys are within an error % of the actual vote totals, then you can feel secure that the e-vote wasn't tampered with anymore than paper ballots probably are.
Why we even need peer to peer as consumers. "Legal" distribution online isn't really all that challenging through corporate servers and mirrors. It carries a higher cost to the provider in bandwidth but other than that there's not really much of a downside. In the p2p world they're passing the burden of the bandwidth costs to the consumer.
Most people I know using p2p have used it to download copyrighted material and porn so I guess until someone can prove that there is a really urgent NEED for p2p I'm gonna have to side with the govt on it. It does make breaking the law easier than the other methods mentioned.
Not that I think killing p2p will really do much to stop illegal activity, people will just find another way. *shrug*
People will pay for a positive user experience. Linux applications for the most part do not live up to their windows counterparts in that aspect.
Most linux and software solutions are free, who cares? People will pay a premium for convenience. If you think for a minute you can think of dozens of products/services that make a profit just because they are convenient (pizza delivery, TIVO, Verizon's all-in-one cellphone/dsl/home phone plan, Windows, MS-Office, SUVs, etc etc etc)
I've said it before, and I'll say it again a thousand times if necessary: Focus on the user experience if you want to make a real dent in windows. Not only would people switch, but they'd be likely to pay for it too.
That's why I dropped CSE and went into information systems. IS was in the college of business so I had coursework in finance, accounting, etc. If IT ever fails me, I can easily switch to a different aspect of business.
I've made a great wage programming such apps for years, and I've never had to use any math more challenging than your basic accounting and finance formulas.
"True" computer science majors belong working for enterprise providers, the microsofts, the SAPs, Oracle, etc. A business programmer simply doesn't need alot of the crap that CS degrees shove down their throats. If I'm hiring a business developer I want them to know the microsoft toolset, have a relational database class, a few high level languages (C#, VB, Java), some web experience (PHP, ASP
Another observation I've had about 4 year degrees (having one myself and working with younger coders who do) is that most college level courses just don't touch the depth that is necessary to be a successful coder immediately in the field. A programming course usually goes like this:
Hello World
Variable declarations
Loops and conditional logic
File IO
Database access / oo concepts (depends on the language and instructor)
Hell, I mentored a new grad who claimed to have gotten an A in c++ but didn't know what an object was. Talk about wanting to break down and cry.
If the previous posts are correct and the blu-ray discs are read/write, I'll wager that the 25GB would in fact be used to add game expansions/patches etc ala X-Box Hard drive, just now you wouldn't need the hard drive, everything pertaining to the game itself could be written to the game disc.
That would be interesting as a concept especially for Everquest style games.
Will be known as "Sting Ray".
The only protection any software needs is a copyright. A copyright protects the owner's right to the expression (code). You can't copyright an idea (As shown in that texas case posted earlier, having thoughts of a program grants no rights, only writing the code implies copyright. This may have been part of the grounds for the ruling.)
When you really think about it, that is what software is, it's the expression of whatever you're coding (a tab, a purchase order, an email sorter).
So what needs to be decided is this: Is software an artistic expression of a concept (copyright) or is software an invention (patent)?
I tend to think of my software as an art form, expression of a concept (copyright). No one can copy my code, but anyone can see a program and say "hey that's a good idea, let's do something like that". This is how ideas evolve, ultimately benefitting society.
Imagine if some music artist patented the C chord, how much would music suffer if no other artist could use that sound? However, the sequence of sounds (like software code) is rightfully protected by copyright.
You realize that since software doesn't really have much of a fabrication cost (media is cheap and most MS software is distributed over the network from a central source anyway) that once microsoft breaks even on a product like Exchange they can sell it for peanuts and they're still making money.
That's one of the luxeries of the software business model.
Sure, sounds great, let's banish copyright law. So after that first sale I know that my software can be distributed for free by the person that bought my code.
In other news, the next version of my software will carry a price tag of $10 million since I can only reasonably expect to make one sale.
Anytime the subject has the urge to type 'lol' they wet their pants and forget who they are for half an hour.
Exactly, this is the theory behind Microsoft's new visual studio "express" lineup. It's not as slick as visual studio, but if the hobbyist/student can learn .net languages/sql server for free then in the long run it _should_ help MS.
Um... "Real system development"?
.NET you'd know that C#, VB .NET, etc are all compiled into the same intermediate language. Therefore no .NET language is more "Real" than any other, it's a matter of preference.
.NET kills C# as far as productivity when interacting with office etc.
.net
If you know anything about
C# tends to be less verbose and more comfy for java developers. VB
I'd really like to see c/java coders get off their high horse about how "vb isn't a real language". It's just not true anymore.
**note anymore, yeah vb used to miss alot of things like true inheritance... that is all gone in
My uncle works for a US Navy contractor. The warships he has worked on do run a version of Windows NT. However it has little in common with the NT you see in the business marketplace.
Returning as Sam Fisher, you infiltrate the theaters of the UK...
My company has a .NET shop for development with many of our internal applications going to ASP .NET. We're actually exploring only using windows machines for developers and managers/executives and turning all of the lower level end user machines to linux clients since all they really need is a browser.
.NET environment with the cost savings of linux.
Not sure how it will work out, but it seems to me a good way to leverage the power and ease of the
How about just "rich enough", "easy enough", and cheaper
Aiming for the bare minimum is not going to turn the tide against Microsoft, or any other market dominating product. Once joe average gets used to something it is very very hard to pull them away from it. Look at the outcry when windows 98 was getting its support cut by MS! Rich experience I could see lagging behind a little and being successful. Ease of use/choice is probably the best sell for getting joe average to switch.
Remember, Joe Average is the majority of the market. Joe doesn't care about DRM, spyware, or anything like that. He wants something that installs easy, isn't gonna give him any compatibility issues, and feels familiar to what he has used before. Until linux/open source gets to that point, MS will continue dominance. Open source has come a long way, but it still has a long way to go.
The other advantage MS has over the community is that they can pick a standard and throw tons of different products at said standard. There are many different "flavors" of open source software out there... how is Joe Average, who doesn't care enough to research, ever going to see open source as a viable alternative when microsoft is dangling a suite of tightly integrated products in front of them?
So if someone spends their valuable time creating a work of art, a musical composition, or a software application, and then gives it away, it suddenly means their time has no value.
Exactly. There are people out there who are idealists and believe x, y, and z should be free for all. Let's look at this from a business manager's perspective though:
"My company needs software that does X. Now, I can buy X out of the box and pay alot of money up front for software, support, and said software might not match our business model exactly. We'd rather not change our business model so we should create the software internally."
"Oh look, there's an open source solution, it's free. That would save us alot of money. If people are willing to make things for free, then we should seek programmers who work as close to free as possible, because obviously this type of work isn't 'valued'. Let's not pay $30+/hr for an american programmer, instead let's get one for $10/hr."
Generalization yes, but a non-tech manager really does think that way. These are people who create and manage value, and value is very closely knitted to price in their minds.
has nothing to do with taking advantage of operating system specific features. Joe Blow end user wants the richest, easiest experience they can get their hands on.
If you free software/open source evangelists want to really stick it to MS like you say you do then you had best start providing packages that are richer and ESPECIALLY easier than the MS ones.
I'm also perplexed at how many people on slashdot worship open source/free software but hate outsourcing... when you do work and generate value then give it away for free how can you turn around and argue that your time is worth more $$$ than some indian developer?
Um, I would wager that very very few coders would look at code they wrote 5 years ago and not be wierded out by it.
"Good judgement comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgement."
It's a learning process, and yeah, I'm pretty sickened by some code I wrote in my earlier days.