Now this is personal opinion, and I am sure I am inviting plenty of flames, so... here goes.
I don't think anyone should feel ashamed for not using linux as their desktop. Fact of the matter is, any OS claiming to be linux is just a mess of free software utilities and applications, on a unixy type setup.
While there have been a few noble attempts at actually building an OS from the linux kernel, it ends up being no more then repackaging the same crap in a more "shiny" way.
The linux kernel is a good base for an OS. Until something other then a Unix clone is made from it, I will stand tall to the fact that I wont use it for my desktop.
Ive got my own theory about this whole Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and Egonomic typing.
I have been typing for just about my whole life. In spans of actual years, lets say 20. I do not have any problem with my wrists or fingers. Now you might just say "You're a lucky one". But the fact of the matter is, as I have observed, most computer geeks I associate with are in the same boat. The people that DO have issues, are the ones that type "properly", and can type rediculous amounts of words a second. I don't think Carpal Tunnel is a symptom of just typing, but of exceeding the "Safe Typing Speed". Like with any machine, there is a limit in which you can push it, before it starts to fail. I feel that is what is going on, and while I havent conducted a funded, hardcore experiment, what I have observed is proof enough for me.
Anyway, about the article, Laptops usually yield a smaller keyboard. Just like retarded motorists slow down when entering a tunnel for no good reason, I think people suffer "Keyboard Clostraphobia". They keyboard is smaller, and while you may be able to type on it fine, subconciously, we worry about the "fat finger", so we slow down.
I was starting to get a bit worried with all of these talks of console sequals. I was, and still am a bit worried that the whole lifetime of a console will spin completely out of control. My NES was good for at LEAST 5 years before a "new, better thing" came out. And I feel that was just barely long enough for that console to be completely exausted of potential.
There is no suprise that this movie gets this kind of attention. I know I dreaded seeing it, just because I didn't find the other two movies very facinating. But in the end, I walked out of that theater with a smile on my face, happy with the fact, I didnt feel ripped off.
I know I am not the only person that got caught up in the same kind of situation. It was just good.
The idea is that it is "Free", and probably doesn't violate some obscure Agreement Microsoft made Dell agree to, to not sell Linux or such, to be able to sell Windows at all.
Anytime I am faced with an X environment, I tend to use WindowMaker. I like the way Icons on the side dock and reside, but by itself, it isn't perfect.
A while back I tried an alternative to the standard windows shell, called Aston. While it also had its issues, one of the "themes" I tried had an interesting concept. There was a self-hiding dock bar very similar to how the taskbar worked. Except it consisted of x square icons just like WindowMaker. Except, each of these squares didnt launch an application (unless you wanted it to), but rather acted like a "drawer", that expanded outward when you clicked it.
So something like WindowMakers dockicons, but expandable in the drawer type way would be most fantastic in my opinion. The problem is, Ive yet to see it cleanly implemented.
I think you misunderstand the whole scope of what a patent is. What I am referring to is called a Utility Patent. They last for less then 20 years (17 years I think) and it must be a NEW invention, layed out in DETAIL, and be NOT Obvious to a skilled person.
A good example is the Xerox machine. The method of which it was patented, you could NOT USE THE PROCESS in which this machine made copies. Another is Poloroid's Instant Developing Film. These companies made lots of money, and rightfully so, by innovation of a process.
I see this AS a PROPER use of patents. Granted what they are doing is something quite common, but I would bet that the way they do it is unique, In which case it would be patenting of a business method. Since when has this been evil?
Open up the platform. Sell programming hardware and tools. I, for one, would line up to purchase such a thing. Then they could even still charge for publishing licenses, but here, small groups of hobbiest programmers could come up with an entire game, and use it to get finacial backing to purchase a publishing license.
And I don't see why something like this couldn't be done more often, even as a test platform. All that needs to happen is the core of the kernel be an interface to the underlying OS's kernel (or possibly a vitrual machine. Think Java or.NET), and a little bit of magic to get the OTHER OS's binary's to link into the layered kernel properly, and you've got something invaluable in so many respects.
I am glad to see it not only implemented, but doing rather well. While it may not have a million and one reasons right now, a promising factor is accurate development/debugging on one platform for another... much like the QNX/Windows dev package, only not as horribly complex.
How do YOU know the difference between two tracks? You talk like there HAS to be SOMETHING that identifies track seperation, but this simply is not true. I bet if you pop in Pink Floyd's: Dark side of the moon, you can't tell when it is the next track, without looking at the track indicator. This is because you look for a pause... an inconsistancy in the flow of sound, or perhaps a seperation of audio by silence. Eliminate these, and you have nothing to work with, but again, you can't count on these.
There is a good reason that these companies frown upon trading of virtual goods. First and foremost, they can become both directly and indirectly liable for these goods... they technically are the manufacturer, and retailer of these goods, so in many countries, they would be bound to consumer protection laws. If they eliminate these virtual goods from actually being identified as transferable propertly, then there will be a lot less to worry about.
... but while "invitation only" to begin with, doesn't necessarily ensure the quality of the network in the future. All of us have some "good" friends, as well as "bad" friends. The people with more questionable ethics could even go as far as auctioning an invitiation on ebay or something similar.
All forms of socialization over the internet seem to start out with loads of potential, but in the end, they all suffer from the scum that tends to surface.
How many times do we see the headlines "Scientists Discovered Water on [Insert Random Celestial Body Here]", only to hear that upon further investigation , it was a miscalculation or some rediculousness.
Until they scoop some water up, and examine it directly, I will continue to be skeptical.
The issue is that the philosophy of X (at least from what I see), is that is plays the role of a graphic server. Nothing more. "If you want copy and paste, write a deamon to manage it" type philosophy.
This is the one case where I say I like the Windows way better then the Unix way.
COBOL forces you to place certain statements in specific columns. To no degree does this "instill good coding practices". The same goes for case sensitivity... what about forcing you to keep everything cased the same way, teach you about the fundamentals of programming? It doesn't.
You give me no basis for your point of view, other then it is "fundamentals of writing code in any language".
My concern with all of this crap, is the fact that someone hasn't forced SCO to shut the hell up.
It reminds me of the Bully in grade school. He would consistantly beat up on kids every day. Some even to the point of actual damage, and he was NEVER suspended. Never. Ever.
I think that is what needs to be really focused on. Not so much as "When will all of this madness end?", but rather "How can we prevent this from ever getting this far, if history repeats itself?"
I see SO MANY comments along the lines of:
"A real programming language is case sensitive"
or
"A real programmer uses case properly"
Well you know what? Im a real programmer, and I think case sensitivity is retarded. How ambiguous is it if you use a couple of variables, MyName and MYNAME? Quite.
Today's geeks seem to be more inclined to jam something into 1 line of perl instead of making their code readable and maintainable, and the ignorant comments on here prove just that.
Plain and simple, it is BAD practice to have any variables named the same, even with varying case. It's a different variable, it has got a different purpose, therefore its declaration should be unique. Having to deal with common typing case mistakes is one thing that reduces productivity.
If you ABSOLUTELY NEED to have variables of the same name, use namespaces. Thats what they are there for.
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Now this is personal opinion, and I am sure I am inviting plenty of flames, so... here goes.
I don't think anyone should feel ashamed for not using linux as their desktop. Fact of the matter is, any OS claiming to be linux is just a mess of free software utilities and applications, on a unixy type setup.
While there have been a few noble attempts at actually building an OS from the linux kernel, it ends up being no more then repackaging the same crap in a more "shiny" way.
The linux kernel is a good base for an OS. Until something other then a Unix clone is made from it, I will stand tall to the fact that I wont use it for my desktop.
Ive got my own theory about this whole Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and Egonomic typing.
I have been typing for just about my whole life. In spans of actual years, lets say 20. I do not have any problem with my wrists or fingers. Now you might just say "You're a lucky one". But the fact of the matter is, as I have observed, most computer geeks I associate with are in the same boat. The people that DO have issues, are the ones that type "properly", and can type rediculous amounts of words a second. I don't think Carpal Tunnel is a symptom of just typing, but of exceeding the "Safe Typing Speed". Like with any machine, there is a limit in which you can push it, before it starts to fail. I feel that is what is going on, and while I havent conducted a funded, hardcore experiment, what I have observed is proof enough for me.
Anyway, about the article, Laptops usually yield a smaller keyboard. Just like retarded motorists slow down when entering a tunnel for no good reason, I think people suffer "Keyboard Clostraphobia". They keyboard is smaller, and while you may be able to type on it fine, subconciously, we worry about the "fat finger", so we slow down.
I was starting to get a bit worried with all of these talks of console sequals. I was, and still am a bit worried that the whole lifetime of a console will spin completely out of control. My NES was good for at LEAST 5 years before a "new, better thing" came out. And I feel that was just barely long enough for that console to be completely exausted of potential.
There is no suprise that this movie gets this kind of attention. I know I dreaded seeing it, just because I didn't find the other two movies very facinating. But in the end, I walked out of that theater with a smile on my face, happy with the fact, I didnt feel ripped off.
I know I am not the only person that got caught up in the same kind of situation. It was just good.
The idea is that it is "Free", and probably doesn't violate some obscure Agreement Microsoft made Dell agree to, to not sell Linux or such, to be able to sell Windows at all.
Anytime I am faced with an X environment, I tend to use WindowMaker. I like the way Icons on the side dock and reside, but by itself, it isn't perfect.
A while back I tried an alternative to the standard windows shell, called Aston. While it also had its issues, one of the "themes" I tried had an interesting concept. There was a self-hiding dock bar very similar to how the taskbar worked. Except it consisted of x square icons just like WindowMaker. Except, each of these squares didnt launch an application (unless you wanted it to), but rather acted like a "drawer", that expanded outward when you clicked it.
So something like WindowMakers dockicons, but expandable in the drawer type way would be most fantastic in my opinion. The problem is, Ive yet to see it cleanly implemented.
I think you misunderstand the whole scope of what a patent is. What I am referring to is called a Utility Patent. They last for less then 20 years (17 years I think) and it must be a NEW invention, layed out in DETAIL, and be NOT Obvious to a skilled person.
A good example is the Xerox machine. The method of which it was patented, you could NOT USE THE PROCESS in which this machine made copies. Another is Poloroid's Instant Developing Film. These companies made lots of money, and rightfully so, by innovation of a process.
I see this AS a PROPER use of patents. Granted what they are doing is something quite common, but I would bet that the way they do it is unique, In which case it would be patenting of a business method. Since when has this been evil?
Proble's that is
Open up the platform. Sell programming hardware and tools. I, for one, would line up to purchase such a thing. Then they could even still charge for publishing licenses, but here, small groups of hobbiest programmers could come up with an entire game, and use it to get finacial backing to purchase a publishing license.
It would have more potential then the Amiga
Darl.
And I don't see why something like this couldn't be done more often, even as a test platform. All that needs to happen is the core of the kernel be an interface to the underlying OS's kernel (or possibly a vitrual machine. Think Java or .NET), and a little bit of magic to get the OTHER OS's binary's to link into the layered kernel properly, and you've got something invaluable in so many respects.
I am glad to see it not only implemented, but doing rather well. While it may not have a million and one reasons right now, a promising factor is accurate development/debugging on one platform for another... much like the QNX/Windows dev package, only not as horribly complex.
How do YOU know the difference between two tracks? You talk like there HAS to be SOMETHING that identifies track seperation, but this simply is not true. I bet if you pop in Pink Floyd's: Dark side of the moon, you can't tell when it is the next track, without looking at the track indicator. This is because you look for a pause... an inconsistancy in the flow of sound, or perhaps a seperation of audio by silence. Eliminate these, and you have nothing to work with, but again, you can't count on these.
There is a good reason that these companies frown upon trading of virtual goods. First and foremost, they can become both directly and indirectly liable for these goods... they technically are the manufacturer, and retailer of these goods, so in many countries, they would be bound to consumer protection laws. If they eliminate these virtual goods from actually being identified as transferable propertly, then there will be a lot less to worry about.
... but while "invitation only" to begin with, doesn't necessarily ensure the quality of the network in the future. All of us have some "good" friends, as well as "bad" friends. The people with more questionable ethics could even go as far as auctioning an invitiation on ebay or something similar.
All forms of socialization over the internet seem to start out with loads of potential, but in the end, they all suffer from the scum that tends to surface.
How many times do we see the headlines "Scientists Discovered Water on [Insert Random Celestial Body Here]", only to hear that upon further investigation , it was a miscalculation or some rediculousness. Until they scoop some water up, and examine it directly, I will continue to be skeptical.
The issue is that the philosophy of X (at least from what I see), is that is plays the role of a graphic server. Nothing more. "If you want copy and paste, write a deamon to manage it" type philosophy.
This is the one case where I say I like the Windows way better then the Unix way.
COBOL forces you to place certain statements in specific columns. To no degree does this "instill good coding practices". The same goes for case sensitivity... what about forcing you to keep everything cased the same way, teach you about the fundamentals of programming? It doesn't.
You give me no basis for your point of view, other then it is "fundamentals of writing code in any language".
Sorry to disappoint you. I was smarter then that. I was the bully's best friend.
My concern with all of this crap, is the fact that someone hasn't forced SCO to shut the hell up. It reminds me of the Bully in grade school. He would consistantly beat up on kids every day. Some even to the point of actual damage, and he was NEVER suspended. Never. Ever. I think that is what needs to be really focused on. Not so much as "When will all of this madness end?", but rather "How can we prevent this from ever getting this far, if history repeats itself?"
I see SO MANY comments along the lines of: "A real programming language is case sensitive" or "A real programmer uses case properly" Well you know what? Im a real programmer, and I think case sensitivity is retarded. How ambiguous is it if you use a couple of variables, MyName and MYNAME? Quite. Today's geeks seem to be more inclined to jam something into 1 line of perl instead of making their code readable and maintainable, and the ignorant comments on here prove just that. Plain and simple, it is BAD practice to have any variables named the same, even with varying case. It's a different variable, it has got a different purpose, therefore its declaration should be unique. Having to deal with common typing case mistakes is one thing that reduces productivity. If you ABSOLUTELY NEED to have variables of the same name, use namespaces. Thats what they are there for.