About the _wisdom_ of these people? Nothing.
These people use the services not because it's some grand choice, but because _others_ have adopted it and the popularity is overwhelming.
Free alternatives exist, but might not be known to many people. It's about popularity. I love free software too, but you have to admit "wisdom" has very little to do with it.
First-world jerkoffs sitting in thier ivory tower commenting on the "wisdom" of these people leaves me pretty speechless.
This has to be one of the worst headlines in recent memory.
The MPAA and RIAA have been using their legal team to "educate" the same way that loan sharks use hired thugs to "educate" people about their outstanding debts.
Both the loan sharks and the **AA want their tactics and motives hidden. The message is intimidation.
Taking into account that we tested it against another 3G phone with a T-Mobile SIM in it, we believe that it's not a network factor, it's the G1's browser and processor being able to render pages much faster.
{/article snip}
I love my G1. It feels very fast. When 3g is up, it's almost as fast as a fat client on broadband. I'm glad someone did some tests.
T-Mobile's 3g network is still in the rollout phase, I've heard that most of it will be up (at least here in Cali) by the beginning of the year. That was from T-Mobile salesman, so some salt should be taken with that information.
The phone is really why I bought it, but I must give props to T-Mobile for not making people pay through the nose for the service. AT&T seems to want to fleece the iPhone buyers. Thanks to T-Mobile for at least trying to sell their service at a more decent price.
Python has been suggested. I also fall in the camp that say that python is probably the best learner language. Interpreter is freely available for all popular platforms. Python has enough of the niceties of VB (no strong types, easy array/dictionary construction, etc) while having enough features of a "real" programming language (shared memory, forking, etc) to teach about the concepts.
Developing in an IDE like VS obfuscates and distances the programmer from the code. It's a necessary evil for developing some things. But throwing a learning user at the bubbly GUI to figure out the wizards for him/herself is akin to putting a new pilot in the seat of a 747. There is just too much there that would seem confusing.
For these three reasons I would suggest python:
1. All you need is a free (as in speech) interpreter and your favorite text editor.
2. Documentation, howtos, sample code is easily available (there are plenty of good VB help sites out there, but I have found many many many fantastic samples of python).
3. The syntax of VB and python would seem similar enough to a beginner.
Oh yea, and you'll probably need to sink at least $500 into your old POS to get Vista installed on it. Or just give up and schlep out another grand and a half for a new system.
For what? Windows Media Player 11? New window dressing on old trash? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of my wallet bleeding.
Has anyone seen the Chappelle show where Dave talks about if the internet was a place that you could go to?
I have the following analogy for Claria:
Claria comes to your house, and unannounced bashes through your front door, rifles through your refrigerator, cabinets, and personal belongings, taking notes of what it's found. It then blocks your driveway as it camps out on your lawn, and uses the rest of your front yard to place huge billboards. Basically, it uses all your resources for shit you didn't want anyway.
If you did in IRL what Claria does to your computer, you'd be a multiple felon. I regard their company and their products as the SCUM OF THE EARTH, and what they do RUINS THE INTERNET FOR EVERYONE (how many times have I tried to ressurect my wife's/mother's/best friend's scumware-laden heap? Too many, that's how many).
Trespass and theft (of personal information) is trespass and theft, no matter what medium you do it in. If only the USDOJ recognized this.
My mom decided to buy a Tandy 1000 with a lightning fast 8086 processor and 128kb of ram. It was to run her business from home, but when she wasn't using it, I would fire it up to play games and learn BASIC.
This was really my first delving into computing. When my classroom got 20 TRS-80's, I was on the top of the heap (bad pun intended).
Computers and educational software are by far superior to prepackaged consoles. I learned infinitely more from the Tandy 1000 and the TSR-80 than I ever did from the NES (and I played all of them for HOURS on end).
Kids can be really sharp. I was always so thankful that my mom had the foresight to let me loose on her machine.
With all that said, I haven't seen either the VSmile or the LeapPad, but I would go with the suggestions to just go out and put together an older system. It's what I will do when my kids are old enough.
Really, I sleep better at night now. Not having to worry about script kiddies, viruses, or hotfixes mucking stuff up.
When we were running our NT domain, things were constantly at the brink of total meltdown. I didn't sleep well at all.
I still get the occasional twinge (paranoia does that to you), but uptime of 400+ days (with patches, too!) really helps my 40 winks.
The ideological stuff is fine and good, but at the end of the day, I just want to go to sleep knowing that when I return the next day, things will be pretty much as I left them.
*BSD and commercial Unix would do this, but when I deploy Linux, I don't have to ask my boss for $$$, or feel like I'm ripping off someone. They all have their respective strenghts and weaknesses, but after a few years, linux is very comfortable for me.
I see the language as just a medium. And when I say medium, I mean it in the sense that the painter uses canvas as his medium. The programmer uses a languages like a medium. Don't get hung up on which to use; the "best" one is entirely your opinion.
So if you wish to learn programming, the medium isn't as important as the problem you're trying to solve. If I were in your shoes, I would try approaching a classic computing problem (eg generating Fibonacci sequence) using several of the languages that appeal to you. I use Python and C/C++, but that is simply my preference. But seeing a similar problem solved by different languages (and if _you_ do all the coding), then you would get a much better sense as to why to use one language or set of methods for a solution to a problem. I solve the same problem over and over to learn new languages and to get a better sense of new features of a language.
And as far as other suggestions I have seen here:
* Don't use IDE's. They're fine once you understand (fully) what they're doing, but when you're learning the window dressing can be confusing, and can become a crutch that many cannot do without. I'm not saying that we should go back to punchcards, but if you want to learn, begin from the beginning.
* Get used to using a good text editor. Vi is my choice, but I have seen alot of Emacs stuff that is also very handy. I recommend Vi.
* Steer clear of M$ Dev stuff. Perl, python, and gcc (and just about every other language) are all available for win32, so use those unless you're getting paid to develop with Vis Studio.
* Use interpreters *AND* compilers. Learning when to use one and not another helps with the "everything looks like a nail when holding a hammer".
In conclusion, at University, classes showed how to solve many problems with one language, but I found myself learning more when I solved one problem with several languages. It gave me insight as to how to structure things, and the inner workings of each language.
The problem with the MPAA busting j0e-schm0e pirate for making a crappy rip of a movie is that they don't really ever tell anyone how much money they lose due to this (very poor attempt at) piracy.
My $0.02:
When the members of the MPAA start making movies that are good for a reasonable price (SW, A New Hope had a budget of 40-50 million [depending on how you calculate inflation from '76-'77]), instead of crappy movies for wads of cash (Waterworld for +400mil), then they might have a point.
I think the point the Motion Picture Ass Head should be taking from this is that when they make movies that are worth paying for, people will always pay. When they make crap that people would rather pirate, then they will most likely do that. Make a good movie, the money will always follow.
Nobody says anything about the poor bits of schlock that stink up theaters every year, or how much money a studio will pay for a real piece of crap. Personally, I feel ripped off by the MPAA for kitchy pieces of celluloid that pollute the screens of theaters, but I know the score:
"You're not Motion Picture Ass Head, you're little people."
The sad fact surrounding this post is that MS is not trying to reach folks, it's probably a site devoted to try to pull the linux on desktop people back to windows. See the fancy Wiki? See the link to developers? A clever impersonation of the open development model, when in fact it's the same bottom line.
The funny part about channel9.msdn.com is that it outlines why security will never be M$'s forte. The development cycle (which they partially outline) doesn't give enough freedom for fixing of bugs and complete testing before release, which is why security holes will continue to haunt M$ like a raging case of herpes. No OS is free from security holes, but when live systems are at risk for months with no patches, the opportunity cost of loss becomes a real factor.
Which comes back to the 'technical evangelists.' The site is aimed at providing 'customer satisfaction,' obviously. Their hoping that pissed customers will watch some movies and forget that the latest virus/worm/trojan/malware is crippling their network. So M$ has hired some evangilists to talk people down (after reinstall after reinstall) and convince everyone that M$ has a real commitment to making good software. Ha ha.
Slashdot Mirror
Some metrics to consider:
If you are good, then the last one will justify your existence.
* = Might also prove cluelessness of user base
About the _wisdom_ of these people? Nothing.
These people use the services not because it's some grand choice, but because _others_ have adopted it and the popularity is overwhelming.
Free alternatives exist, but might not be known to many people. It's about popularity. I love free software too, but you have to admit "wisdom" has very little to do with it.
First-world jerkoffs sitting in thier ivory tower commenting on the "wisdom" of these people leaves me pretty speechless.
This has to be one of the worst headlines in recent memory.
The MPAA and RIAA have been using their legal team to "educate" the same way that loan sharks use hired thugs to "educate" people about their outstanding debts.
Both the loan sharks and the **AA want their tactics and motives hidden. The message is intimidation.
{article snip}
Taking into account that we tested it against another 3G phone with a T-Mobile SIM in it, we believe that it's not a network factor, it's the G1's browser and processor being able to render pages much faster.
{/article snip}
I love my G1. It feels very fast. When 3g is up, it's almost as fast as a fat client on broadband. I'm glad someone did some tests.
T-Mobile's 3g network is still in the rollout phase, I've heard that most of it will be up (at least here in Cali) by the beginning of the year. That was from T-Mobile salesman, so some salt should be taken with that information.
The phone is really why I bought it, but I must give props to T-Mobile for not making people pay through the nose for the service. AT&T seems to want to fleece the iPhone buyers. Thanks to T-Mobile for at least trying to sell their service at a more decent price.
Python has been suggested. I also fall in the camp that say that python is probably the best learner language. Interpreter is freely available for all popular platforms. Python has enough of the niceties of VB (no strong types, easy array/dictionary construction, etc) while having enough features of a "real" programming language (shared memory, forking, etc) to teach about the concepts.
Developing in an IDE like VS obfuscates and distances the programmer from the code. It's a necessary evil for developing some things. But throwing a learning user at the bubbly GUI to figure out the wizards for him/herself is akin to putting a new pilot in the seat of a 747. There is just too much there that would seem confusing.
For these three reasons I would suggest python:
1. All you need is a free (as in speech) interpreter and your favorite text editor.
2. Documentation, howtos, sample code is easily available (there are plenty of good VB help sites out there, but I have found many many many fantastic samples of python).
3. The syntax of VB and python would seem similar enough to a beginner.
About 200 bones from your wallet.
Oh yea, and you'll probably need to sink at least $500 into your old POS to get Vista installed on it. Or just give up and schlep out another grand and a half for a new system.
For what? Windows Media Player 11? New window dressing on old trash? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of my wallet bleeding.
Has anyone seen the Chappelle show where Dave talks about if the internet was a place that you could go to?
I have the following analogy for Claria:
Claria comes to your house, and unannounced bashes through your front door, rifles through your refrigerator, cabinets, and personal belongings, taking notes of what it's found. It then blocks your driveway as it camps out on your lawn, and uses the rest of your front yard to place huge billboards. Basically, it uses all your resources for shit you didn't want anyway.
If you did in IRL what Claria does to your computer, you'd be a multiple felon. I regard their company and their products as the SCUM OF THE EARTH, and what they do RUINS THE INTERNET FOR EVERYONE (how many times have I tried to ressurect my wife's/mother's/best friend's scumware-laden heap? Too many, that's how many).
Trespass and theft (of personal information) is trespass and theft, no matter what medium you do it in. If only the USDOJ recognized this.
My mom decided to buy a Tandy 1000 with a lightning fast 8086 processor and 128kb of ram. It was to run her business from home, but when she wasn't using it, I would fire it up to play games and learn BASIC.
This was really my first delving into computing. When my classroom got 20 TRS-80's, I was on the top of the heap (bad pun intended).
Computers and educational software are by far superior to prepackaged consoles. I learned infinitely more from the Tandy 1000 and the TSR-80 than I ever did from the NES (and I played all of them for HOURS on end).
Kids can be really sharp. I was always so thankful that my mom had the foresight to let me loose on her machine.
With all that said, I haven't seen either the VSmile or the LeapPad, but I would go with the suggestions to just go out and put together an older system. It's what I will do when my kids are old enough.
Really, I sleep better at night now. Not having to worry about script kiddies, viruses, or hotfixes mucking stuff up.
When we were running our NT domain, things were constantly at the brink of total meltdown. I didn't sleep well at all.
I still get the occasional twinge (paranoia does that to you), but uptime of 400+ days (with patches, too!) really helps my 40 winks.
The ideological stuff is fine and good, but at the end of the day, I just want to go to sleep knowing that when I return the next day, things will be pretty much as I left them.
*BSD and commercial Unix would do this, but when I deploy Linux, I don't have to ask my boss for $$$, or feel like I'm ripping off someone. They all have their respective strenghts and weaknesses, but after a few years, linux is very comfortable for me.
Free is nice, sleep is priceless.
I see the language as just a medium. And when I say medium, I mean it in the sense that the painter uses canvas as his medium. The programmer uses a languages like a medium. Don't get hung up on which to use; the "best" one is entirely your opinion.
So if you wish to learn programming, the medium isn't as important as the problem you're trying to solve. If I were in your shoes, I would try approaching a classic computing problem (eg generating Fibonacci sequence) using several of the languages that appeal to you. I use Python and C/C++, but that is simply my preference. But seeing a similar problem solved by different languages (and if _you_ do all the coding), then you would get a much better sense as to why to use one language or set of methods for a solution to a problem. I solve the same problem over and over to learn new languages and to get a better sense of new features of a language.
And as far as other suggestions I have seen here:
* Don't use IDE's. They're fine once you understand (fully) what they're doing, but when you're learning the window dressing can be confusing, and can become a crutch that many cannot do without. I'm not saying that we should go back to punchcards, but if you want to learn, begin from the beginning.
* Get used to using a good text editor. Vi is my choice, but I have seen alot of Emacs stuff that is also very handy. I recommend Vi.
* Steer clear of M$ Dev stuff. Perl, python, and gcc (and just about every other language) are all available for win32, so use those unless you're getting paid to develop with Vis Studio.
* Use interpreters *AND* compilers. Learning when to use one and not another helps with the "everything looks like a nail when holding a hammer".
In conclusion, at University, classes showed how to solve many problems with one language, but I found myself learning more when I solved one problem with several languages. It gave me insight as to how to structure things, and the inner workings of each language.
The problem with the MPAA busting j0e-schm0e pirate for making a crappy rip of a movie is that they don't really ever tell anyone how much money they lose due to this (very poor attempt at) piracy.
My $0.02:
When the members of the MPAA start making movies that are good for a reasonable price (SW, A New Hope had a budget of 40-50 million [depending on how you calculate inflation from '76-'77]), instead of crappy movies for wads of cash (Waterworld for +400mil), then they might have a point.
I think the point the Motion Picture Ass Head should be taking from this is that when they make movies that are worth paying for, people will always pay. When they make crap that people would rather pirate, then they will most likely do that. Make a good movie, the money will always follow.
Nobody says anything about the poor bits of schlock that stink up theaters every year, or how much money a studio will pay for a real piece of crap. Personally, I feel ripped off by the MPAA for kitchy pieces of celluloid that pollute the screens of theaters, but I know the score:
"You're not Motion Picture Ass Head, you're little people."
The sad fact surrounding this post is that MS is not trying to reach folks, it's probably a site devoted to try to pull the linux on desktop people back to windows. See the fancy Wiki? See the link to developers? A clever impersonation of the open development model, when in fact it's the same bottom line.
The funny part about channel9.msdn.com is that it outlines why security will never be M$'s forte. The development cycle (which they partially outline) doesn't give enough freedom for fixing of bugs and complete testing before release, which is why security holes will continue to haunt M$ like a raging case of herpes. No OS is free from security holes, but when live systems are at risk for months with no patches, the opportunity cost of loss becomes a real factor.
Which comes back to the 'technical evangelists.' The site is aimed at providing 'customer satisfaction,' obviously. Their hoping that pissed customers will watch some movies and forget that the latest virus/worm/trojan/malware is crippling their network. So M$ has hired some evangilists to talk people down (after reinstall after reinstall) and convince everyone that M$ has a real commitment to making good software. Ha ha.