It's just an effort to counter astro turfing. Firefox does not have public relations firms, firefox does not spend millions on advertising, firefox does not pay thinktanks to write articles about how evil proprietary software is, firefox does not pay people to hang out at internet sites and hype their product and denigrate the competition.
Firefox does have fans though and they are defending their project. Like all open source projects it's a community driven affair and the community hangs out here.
If you want constant, uncritical praise of MS and hate for everything open source, SUN, Java, sony etc I would reccomend you hang out at gotdotnet. At least here they don't delete posts.
There will never be another democratic president. I am serious about this. The elections will be rigged from now on. If a democrat looks like they are going to win the elections will be cancelled and martial law will be declared.
I am serious. I know it sounds paranoid but look around.
Although there would be some soldiers with a conscience it would not be many. Look at how the soldiers in Iraq are all too happy to kill civilians by the truckload for example. All you have to do is to convince the soldiers that the citizens they are shooting at are traitors/muslims/liberals and the soldiers will shoot and kill.
As for presuming your political affiliation that's a no brainer. Gun nuts vote republican. Period. Add to that the fact that you think your 30-6 will be able to repel the US army and it becomes even more certain.
You will march into the booth and vote for the republican like you have always done. When push comes to shove you don't have ideals you are (like 90% of all people who vote) an animal of habit. You could never get yourself to vote for a democrat even if jesus and budha were on the ticket. You won't stay home because you were taught to believe it's a sacred duty. You will vote for all the republicans on the ticket even though you know by now that republicans don't stand for a small govt, more freedom, free market economics or any of the dozens of other talking points they spew.
Actions speak louder then words. That applies for the republican party and it applies to you.
If this was a democratic president doing this the republican congress would howl. The fact that they don't tells us that they care more about their party then the country, the citizens, or the constitution.
On top of all that they are stupid because they don't seem to realize that one day, even after the voting machines have been rigged, even after the rolls have been wiped of blacks and young people the country might still elect a democrat president. Maybe they think no democrat would declare a martial law.
Look at lyons' other writings. He hates open source, he hates the FSF, he hates linux. He is an attack dog for MS, forbes and other entities who feel threatened by open source.
I agree that the world is full of problems and that there are pressing and important things going on all over. Nevertheless the election of a US president is the single most important event in the world. That may sound a bit over the top but I really think it's true.
The US has the biggest military and is willing to use it to pursue what it thinks is best for it. On top of that it is one of the largest economies in the world.
What happens in the US effects the rest of the world. Imagine if Gore had won the presidency. Would the world be different? You bet. Maybe under a Gore presidency 9/11 would never have happened.
Do you really pay lower taxes? By the time you add up federal, social security, unemployment, state and local taxes you are probably paying close to 50% if not more. Add to that things like health insurance, tolls, and thousands of fees that you pay for services that other countries provide for free and you may actually be worse off.
Oh I forgot to add the extra weeks of paid vacation to that mix too.
There is no such thing as race. Genetically there can be greater variation between one member or a race and another then a member of another race.
Race is a made up thing. A silly thing. Humans do not have a subspecies.
Also religion is not a race. Speaking a language does not make you a race. Worshiping a god does not make you another race. Living in a country does not make you a race.
There is no such thing as a race. Let's stop using this term. It's useless.
"That's hilarious. SWT is ok, Swing is awful. The license for Qt is insanely expensive, GTK looks like ass. Dunno about the rest."
What do you mean swing is aweful? Clearly you haven't used it in the past year. Look at the eclipse on swing project, it's a rewrite of eclipse using swing and it's just as fast as SWT. Swing has come a long way.
"not if you only target 1.1"
If you target java 1.4 or below you are pretty much guaranteed that all JVMs that came out in the last decade are compatible. Besides I just downloaded ifolders written in 1.1 and I had to download 1.1.xxx in order to make it work. There are incompatibilities in the point versions of.net.
"Through Java? I suppose you could. But why would you when you have a nicer, cleaner, easier language in which to do it?"
Yes you could. You still use java, you just instantiate activex objects, just like in VB or C#.
"There are? Find me these excellent open source java tools with which I may read and write excel 2k3 files. I've looked - all the tools I could find were either read-only or could only write older formats."
It may be that MS has changed the formats in order to prevent open source tools from reading and writing them. MS uses file formats as a weapon against competition both open source and proprietary. As I said you could always use COM because you are targeting windows only.
"I've been writing in Java since '97. I like it just fine. But it's not the solution for everything."
I never said it was. I was curious as to why somebody would choose C# and VS over java and eclipse/netbeans/idea when java does everything C# does and the IDEs are so much better then VS.
Both SWT and Swing have excellent performance on windows. Along with SWT you can also use wxwindows, fltk, fox, and even QT or GTK if you want. All native widgets, all with the same if not better performance then.NET.
"The ability to deploy apps without having my users jump through "do you have a supported JVM" hoops."
You will still need to deploy.NET 2.0 and soon 3.0 because most machines don't have 2.0 installed. Same difference. The JRE is smaller and does not require a reboot like.NET does.
"And currently, the ability to read & write excel files without bringing in Third Party Tools Of Dubious Quality."
You can use activex and COM. No worries there. If you wanted to use a pure java solution then there are excellent open source tools. I am sure they are less dubious then anything MS makes.
Standards don't mean shit unless MS implements them. SPF didn't go anywhere because MS REFUSED to implement it. That was despicable considering every other SMTP server implements it.
MS wants people to think they are pro standards but look at their implementation record. Not pretty.
You really are going to equate getting worked up about software with getting worked up about the spelling of Microsoft as Micro$oft?
"just because its a corporation doesnt mean it cant have people defend it of their own accord."
It can and it does. It spends millions every year on advertising, PR firms, astro turfers, think tanks, and shills of all sorts.
"they just *have* to be paid to have the opinion they put forward, theres no other explanation at all."
Yes. Ask yourself this. If somebody said to you "I think mazda sucks" or spelled Nissan as Ni$$an would you have a knipshin fit over it? Would you take the time to post on a public forum telling them they were idiots for thinking the mazda products sucked? I wouldn't. Would you?
"Next time you see football fans or baseball fans etc going wild over their team and defending their teams honour, remember that 9 times out of 10, that team is incorporated and just as much a business as Microsoft is."
I agree. If the MS fans want to equate themselves to football fans then so be it. It just makes them look even more stupid.
I would love it if they made IDEA work with ruby or python. They really need to support more languages. In the mean time there is always jpython and jruby.
You didn't buy the records, you bought the right to listen those recordings. Because you now have the right to listen to them the producer is obligated to transfer the recording to the media of your choice.
"I think if you actually read what he writes, you'll find that the only thing he cares about is that the sourcecode be 'free' as in speech. That's why TIVO doesn't bother him. It's a hardware issue. The sourcecode is 'free'."
He has an unreasonable trust in corporations. He trusts that Tivo has given back the code. He doesn't know that. He can't know that because the code has been DRMed.
Just like he trusted bitkeeper when they gave him a free license.
I think VS2005 sucks donkey balls. Sure they finally added some refactoring support (why the fuck did it take them two years??) and a half decent build system but it still doesn't hold a candle to eclipse. Idea is even better. Netbeans beta is also vastly superior.
VS is being leapfrogged again. It will stay the worst of the big four for the next two years when MS will make an half hearted effort to integrate some of the features of eclipse.
Slashdot Mirror
It's just an effort to counter astro turfing. Firefox does not have public relations firms, firefox does not spend millions on advertising, firefox does not pay thinktanks to write articles about how evil proprietary software is, firefox does not pay people to hang out at internet sites and hype their product and denigrate the competition.
Firefox does have fans though and they are defending their project. Like all open source projects it's a community driven affair and the community hangs out here.
If you want constant, uncritical praise of MS and hate for everything open source, SUN, Java, sony etc I would reccomend you hang out at gotdotnet. At least here they don't delete posts.
The answer is simple.
There will never be another democratic president. I am serious about this. The elections will be rigged from now on. If a democrat looks like they are going to win the elections will be cancelled and martial law will be declared.
I am serious. I know it sounds paranoid but look around.
Although there would be some soldiers with a conscience it would not be many. Look at how the soldiers in Iraq are all too happy to kill civilians by the truckload for example. All you have to do is to convince the soldiers that the citizens they are shooting at are traitors/muslims/liberals and the soldiers will shoot and kill.
As for presuming your political affiliation that's a no brainer. Gun nuts vote republican. Period. Add to that the fact that you think your 30-6 will be able to repel the US army and it becomes even more certain.
You will march into the booth and vote for the republican like you have always done. When push comes to shove you don't have ideals you are (like 90% of all people who vote) an animal of habit. You could never get yourself to vote for a democrat even if jesus and budha were on the ticket. You won't stay home because you were taught to believe it's a sacred duty. You will vote for all the republicans on the ticket even though you know by now that republicans don't stand for a small govt, more freedom, free market economics or any of the dozens of other talking points they spew.
Actions speak louder then words. That applies for the republican party and it applies to you.
If this was a democratic president doing this the republican congress would howl. The fact that they don't tells us that they care more about their party then the country, the citizens, or the constitution.
On top of all that they are stupid because they don't seem to realize that one day, even after the voting machines have been rigged, even after the rolls have been wiped of blacks and young people the country might still elect a democrat president. Maybe they think no democrat would declare a martial law.
There is a reply to that post from roblimo who says he has seen him clean, well dressed and charming.
Look at lyons' other writings. He hates open source, he hates the FSF, he hates linux. He is an attack dog for MS, forbes and other entities who feel threatened by open source.
Is a euro worth $1.20?
Is the sky blue?
Did columbus discover america?
Is jesus christ the son of god?
I agree that the world is full of problems and that there are pressing and important things going on all over. Nevertheless the election of a US president is the single most important event in the world. That may sound a bit over the top but I really think it's true.
The US has the biggest military and is willing to use it to pursue what it thinks is best for it. On top of that it is one of the largest economies in the world.
What happens in the US effects the rest of the world. Imagine if Gore had won the presidency. Would the world be different? You bet. Maybe under a Gore presidency 9/11 would never have happened.
I hear this alot. I have never met Stallman but could somebody who has met him confirm or deny that he does not shower on a regular basis and smells.
Thanks.
Which ones?
"Actually, some are owned by titanic media conglomerates with wealthy folks who have a liberal bent. Quite understandably."
Which ones would those be?
Do you really pay lower taxes? By the time you add up federal, social security, unemployment, state and local taxes you are probably paying close to 50% if not more. Add to that things like health insurance, tolls, and thousands of fees that you pay for services that other countries provide for free and you may actually be worse off.
Oh I forgot to add the extra weeks of paid vacation to that mix too.
There is no such thing as race. Genetically there can be greater variation between one member or a race and another then a member of another race.
Race is a made up thing. A silly thing. Humans do not have a subspecies.
Also religion is not a race. Speaking a language does not make you a race. Worshiping a god does not make you another race. Living in a country does not make you a race.
There is no such thing as a race. Let's stop using this term. It's useless.
"That's hilarious. SWT is ok, Swing is awful. The license for Qt is insanely expensive, GTK looks like ass. Dunno about the rest."
.net.
What do you mean swing is aweful? Clearly you haven't used it in the past year. Look at the eclipse on swing project, it's a rewrite of eclipse using swing and it's just as fast as SWT. Swing has come a long way.
"not if you only target 1.1"
If you target java 1.4 or below you are pretty much guaranteed that all JVMs that came out in the last decade are compatible. Besides I just downloaded ifolders written in 1.1 and I had to download 1.1.xxx in order to make it work. There are incompatibilities in the point versions of
"Through Java? I suppose you could. But why would you when you have a nicer, cleaner, easier language in which to do it?"
Yes you could. You still use java, you just instantiate activex objects, just like in VB or C#.
"There are? Find me these excellent open source java tools with which I may read and write excel 2k3 files. I've looked - all the tools I could find were either read-only or could only write older formats."
It may be that MS has changed the formats in order to prevent open source tools from reading and writing them. MS uses file formats as a weapon against competition both open source and proprietary. As I said you could always use COM because you are targeting windows only.
"I've been writing in Java since '97. I like it just fine. But it's not the solution for everything."
I never said it was. I was curious as to why somebody would choose C# and VS over java and eclipse/netbeans/idea when java does everything C# does and the IDEs are so much better then VS.
"Delegates."
.NET not so much in java.
.NET.
.NET 2.0 and soon 3.0 because most machines don't have 2.0 installed. Same difference. The JRE is smaller and does not require a reboot like .NET does.
YOu need them in C# and
"Decent GUI performance. "
Both SWT and Swing have excellent performance on windows. Along with SWT you can also use wxwindows, fltk, fox, and even QT or GTK if you want. All native widgets, all with the same if not better performance then
"The ability to deploy apps without having my users jump through "do you have a supported JVM" hoops."
You will still need to deploy
"And currently, the ability to read & write excel files without bringing in Third Party Tools Of Dubious Quality."
You can use activex and COM. No worries there. If you wanted to use a pure java solution then there are excellent open source tools. I am sure they are less dubious then anything MS makes.
Why bother with C# if you already have java? I mean that most sincerely. There is not that much difference between them. Why pick one over the other.
At least ruby and python give you other ways of working (monkey patching, multiple inheritance, mix-ins, continuations, etc.)
Standards don't mean shit unless MS implements them. SPF didn't go anywhere because MS REFUSED to implement it. That was despicable considering every other SMTP server implements it.
MS wants people to think they are pro standards but look at their implementation record. Not pretty.
"Who gets that worked up about software"
You really are going to equate getting worked up about software with getting worked up about the spelling of Microsoft as Micro$oft?
"just because its a corporation doesnt mean it cant have people defend it of their own accord."
It can and it does. It spends millions every year on advertising, PR firms, astro turfers, think tanks, and shills of all sorts.
"they just *have* to be paid to have the opinion they put forward, theres no other explanation at all."
Yes. Ask yourself this. If somebody said to you "I think mazda sucks" or spelled Nissan as Ni$$an would you have a knipshin fit over it? Would you take the time to post on a public forum telling them they were idiots for thinking the mazda products sucked? I wouldn't. Would you?
"Next time you see football fans or baseball fans etc going wild over their team and defending their teams honour, remember that 9 times out of 10, that team is incorporated and just as much a business as Microsoft is."
I agree. If the MS fans want to equate themselves to football fans then so be it. It just makes them look even more stupid.
I would love it if they made IDEA work with ruby or python. They really need to support more languages. In the mean time there is always jpython and jruby.
Even more sarcastic answer:
You didn't buy the records, you bought the right to listen those recordings. Because you now have the right to listen to them the producer is obligated to transfer the recording to the media of your choice.
"I think if you actually read what he writes, you'll find that the only thing he cares about is that the sourcecode be 'free' as in speech. That's why TIVO doesn't bother him. It's a hardware issue. The sourcecode is 'free'."
He has an unreasonable trust in corporations. He trusts that Tivo has given back the code. He doesn't know that. He can't know that because the code has been DRMed.
Just like he trusted bitkeeper when they gave him a free license.
Sure they can. But why would a rational, sane person get their panties in a twist because somebody critized a product or a corporation?
Unless you are in high school or a paid shill it doesn't make sense. Who gets that worked uo about a company?
I think VS2005 sucks donkey balls. Sure they finally added some refactoring support (why the fuck did it take them two years??) and a half decent build system but it still doesn't hold a candle to eclipse. Idea is even better. Netbeans beta is also vastly superior.
VS is being leapfrogged again. It will stay the worst of the big four for the next two years when MS will make an half hearted effort to integrate some of the features of eclipse.
Go read his past posts. He is violently anti GPL. Violently anti RMS. And violently pro M$. Most likely a shill either paid or unpaid.