I can understand wanting some information about the machines running one's software, as it helps understand the market and improve upon current design.
True. They want the information. Maybe even for a reasonable purpose. So what's wrong with asking for it? I want 100 Billion Dollars. But if I just take it without asking, it makes people upset. I have a good reason: it would make me happy. It takes more than just a "want" to justify taking something, even for corporations.
But SOME of this information seems a bit excessive. Unless one plans to start banning specific pieces of hardware, but that's just evil.
I hadn't even thought of that angle. That is evil.
I'm a PHP/MySQL developer, and I get asked to sign those on a regular basis. I sign them, and then forget about them.
It is now standard practice in the US to claim Constitutional authority to disregard any law, regulation or agreement that you disagree with. It works at the highest levels, don't see why all citizens wouldn't claim to have decided that authority for themselves on the same basis.
Hey Slashdot, why are PC users such ugly dweebs in comparison to Mac users? Is it because nobody has the time or patience to put up with Windows/Linux except for friendless, sexless nerds like you?
Dammit! I'm too busy re-installing windows to get the damn hair plugs and laser-derm you insensitive clod!
And shouldn't they have? Immigration is Britains #1 problem.
You seem to be forgetting national dental care, the horrible rise of drug abuse, particularly among the working class and the minorities, the removal of troops from Northern Ireland, the parking situation in Benchley, and preventing Liam Gallagher from leaving Oasis.
Oh, how about a real web browser (e.g. Google Maps). How about running full Office? How about running Linux?
For personal use, you can get 2 out of 3 in a Zaurus 3X00. Maybe 2.5 if you're willing/able/free to use Open Office instead. And those are only about $600, so you can get a Nintendo DS with the leftover money for games. That might not have been what you meant, but I haven't really kept up with my gaming since Duke Nukem Forever was announced.
I agree that IE for PocketPC leaves much to be desired. My fiancee has a Dell PocketPC, and many, many, web sites just don't work on "pocket IE".
And I understand the desire to run "real" windows apps. Especially if you have a particular one in mind, like a piece of in-house software for your job. But at $2000 a crack, a company that was looking at these sub-notebooks should at least "run the numbers" on doing a PDA port. It might not sound ridiculous if they've got thousands of people to equip.
Do you normally code on a laptop? (Not wanting to be a troll or anything, just curious)
I've done it, but not by choice. I would much rather be coding on a desktop with a nice big monitor than a laptop, and much rather a laptop than a mini laptop-pda hybrid, and only on a PDA to actually save the planet. Granted, there are laptops with much nicer displays than mine, but for any given budget I'd prefer a development system to be a non-portable device. There are plenty of times a laptop is fine for me, but not doing development work. Maybe debugging a deployed embedded system . ..
Or maybe none of us is in the intended market segment for this thing: execs who want the latest expensive electronic toy to impress their buddies.
If you think the form factor is "lousy", then you're not looking for SMALL. The product is not for you, which is OK, except that you somehow generalize that no one is looking for small.
There are smaller devices out there for less money. WinCE/PocketPC PDAs, Zauruses (Zaurii?). Those are a lot more transportable than this 1.5" thick brick. You're right that small and good keyboard don't go together, but that's exactly what it looks like they tried to do.
So -- and this is a real question -- what sort of application would this device be suited for? When would this be an ideal device instead of a pocket-sized/palmtop computer or a small notebook?
One point on the keyboard though. Most people I know, many people who use computers every day, even some developers, can't type properly, and use the hunt and peck method. I don't see this device slowing most people down.
The screen would, though. When I'm coding, I want all the screen resolution I can get, and as big a display as possible to read it on.
So let me get this straight: They sell you a small brick for more than a notebook computer costs. You get a slow processor, small screen, small hard drive, worse battery life than the average PC or Mac laptop, a keyboard you can't type on, and you're supposed to believe that it's revolutionary? I'm not following.
I could live with the reduced performance for general purpose applications. Especially if you could pare down the OS a little so I didn't notice too much. But the real catch to me is the size. It's not so small that you could put it in a pocket, even in a coat or cargo pants, so it's not really any more convenient to transport than a laptop. Worse, really, since it would require a handbag to schlep it around. And women already have one handbag, and most men don't want one. So where does one put it?
I understand why they picked the size they did: the keyboard is around the lower limit of touch-typing form factor. But I'd prefer to carry either a laptop-size computer (and display) that only weighed 1.5 lbs or a pocket sized device with WiFi, depending on what I needed to do. They try for both, but it doesn't really sound like it would work.
Perhaps people need to read the licensing agreements they agree to before agreeing to them, instead of just clicking "yes, I agree" like a madman.
Ya, that would fix it. Maybe, just maybe, some of us don't have an army of lawyers at our disposal to determine if what we're clicking on really means what we think it means. It seems to me that it is unethical to have a consumer product license that is unreadable/unparsable to an average consumer. The "madman" here would be anyone who thought that such nonsense was an enforceable contract.
Could you back this up with something showing that gmail is routinely cracked?
Why? I see no reason not to take the word of an AC on faith and stop using gmail based only on his/her (unsigned) opinion. I'm sure the AC has no interest in any of Google's competitors.
The being said, whether you're behind the camera or not I think there are probably existing laws that deal with these situations. I know most countries have laws against aiding and abetting illegal acts (including illegal fights, etc)
I, too, am pretty sure France has plenty of laws already to prosecute perpetrators of "happy slapping" (a term I'd never heard of until today). I suspect that the new law is the result of a legislative body hearing the cries of the public to "do something" about the problem. Since they are lawmakers, "doing something" means they make a law. Now it's not only illegal to beat up people and to aid the assailant, it's double-secret extra special illegal.
If I punch a punching bag, the bag moves but I don't. That is because my fist has the energy which transfers to the bag. I don't go flying backwards as the article suggests.
Friction, dude. Try the experiment again on roller skates.
Can someone please explain to me why it has taken so long to get these patches out? From an OS level, isn't this simply a tzdata patch? (Not sure what the equivalent on Windows is).. This doesn't seem like such a huge issue to me. If the logic of the higher level programs is hard coded, then it's hardly the fault of the OS to deal with that.
Forget patches. I wonder why anyone is still building systems that have DST hard-coded into them. DST definitions vary by country and can be changed by government action. Even in the US, DST definitions were changed less than 20 years ago.
If I create 9 am meetings on march 9, march 13, march 29 and april 3, storing these values in UTC would give the wrong answer if the dates of DST change in the future.
That assumes a rather naive UTC/LocalTime conversion.
How many of you, after all, have told your State legislatures that this is stupid and it's time to opt out?
I like DST. I know how to set what clocks I have that still need to be changed. I enjoy the extra light at the end of the day. I am aware that I could just get up an hour early and try to convince everyone else that I have to deal with to do the same, but DST accomplishes that. Also, I live in a city that spans state lines, so having one state opt out would be a real hassle.
I would much rather lobby my legislature to allow wine to be shipped directly to my door. For crying out loud, I can get ammo delivered (and left on the doorstep) without even a signature, why can't I buy wine directly.
So, for all of those who dislike DST, try this: Just get up an hour later.
So your human power will cost in the range of 40 cents per kilowatt hour, or about 4 times the price of grid electrical power, presuming you can find teams of heroes willing to donate their time for free.
Presumably, if you've found a way to feed them the remains of their expired colleagues (see below), you've already solved your labor issues.
You may be able to reduce the number of people required slightly with a methane capture system:) You can probably increase efficiency by feeding the heros that die in the line of duty to the living heros, thereby recyling a hundred or 2 pounds of material.
I hadn't thought of that. That's why it pays to get these ideas out in the open. We might not be able to use the all recaptured methane outright, since it might be needed for cooking.
There's really no good way to bootstrap that process. If you're just starting out experimenting in electronics, you don't know enough to even make the shopping list. Just pick a kit that looks interesting, use it a little while, and use that experience to get your next one -- whether it be a bigger kit or a collection of parts.
A typical non-competition cyclist will produce between 125 and 250 watts of power during long term sustained cycling (1/6 to 1/3 HP). Around here, cost of generation is between 2.5 and 3 cents per kilowatt-hour. Even at 8 hours per day, you're looking a getting back about a nickel's worth of energy. If you discount the wear and tear on the machine, who's going to pay for the extra food these inmates are going to need?
I actually ran the numbers once. I was sitting there on an exercise bike in the basement in winter, and I was really bored. I thought, "I could be generating electricity now". I couldn't find a food source that would provide you the energy to convert into . . . energy . . . economically even if you were paying 25 cents/kWh for your electrical power. And I made some pretty generous estimates of human efficiency, too. At least that effort made my ride to nowhere go by a little faster that morning.
I kid you, not. I have a couple of Enlux LED floods in my kitchen. Unlike most LED light bulb replacements I've seen, these have an array of emitters in four different colors: red, green, blue and amber/orange -- yes, I did stare at it through a welder's glass, I'm a geek. Since I only replaced some of the lamps on the track light fixture with the Enlux lamps, I can compare for you. The appearance of food under the LEDs is vivid, particularly carrots, with reds and oranges really coming out. The results are far better than a CFL flood in the next socket over where most colors seem washed out by comparison. I also have some "natural" incandescents with the blue/violet dope in the glass. The LEDs "outshine" these lamps as well as far as the attractiveness of illuminated items. I have not compared them to halogen floods, since I don't have any. Everything I've said is subjective, but most of my friends and family (who aren't color-blind) have been impressed with the color.
I've got some of the more typical LED lamps, too, with the blue LED with yellow doping to produce a whitish light. They're fine for desk fixtures that get too hot with an incandescent lamp, but you're correct that the absorption and fluorescence process wouldn't be 100% efficient, and that the light is far from "full spectrum". I don't think that the Enlux lamps are subject to the same kind of efficiency loss, since the emitters are not filtered or doped with phosphors to create the white light.
As I mentioned before, though, initial cost is the issue. If I had to climb a scaffold to relamp, you can bet I'd switch all applicable lamps just for the longer maintenance interval.
. . . when the manufacturers won't even quote a color temp or CRI, you know it's going to look like crap.
Yeah. I've tried some of those. Wish they didn't last so long.
Do some research. They're not that more efficient that CFL, and they are not very bright. They work well for spot lights, but are terrible as general light bulbs that cast light in all directions.
Not just spotlight -- there are good LED floods available now. And you can get them plently brght, with very nice color. Only major drawback is excessive upfront cost for the good ones. In locations where floods are appropriate, like in track lighting, they are a decent alternative.
I agree that they don't replace the omni-directional Edison-type lamp, though. No good for chandeliers, table lamps, post lights, etc.
The only thing the hiring manager is going to be thinking about when considering the high turnover rate is what kind of negative impact it's going to have on the year end bonus if/when the hire leaves after 4 months.
Another good reason to avoid lowballing the new hires and regularly checking how the salaries compare to compensation elsewhere.
If a hiring manager doesn't see it that way, that's fine with me. It saves us both time.
Slashdot Mirror
True. They want the information. Maybe even for a reasonable purpose. So what's wrong with asking for it? I want 100 Billion Dollars. But if I just take it without asking, it makes people upset. I have a good reason: it would make me happy. It takes more than just a "want" to justify taking something, even for corporations.
I hadn't even thought of that angle. That is evil.Would it be more accurate to say he's a member of the Republic Party, then?
It is now standard practice in the US to claim Constitutional authority to disregard any law, regulation or agreement that you disagree with. It works at the highest levels, don't see why all citizens wouldn't claim to have decided that authority for themselves on the same basis.
Dammit! I'm too busy re-installing windows to get the damn hair plugs and laser-derm you insensitive clod!
You seem to be forgetting national dental care, the horrible rise of drug abuse, particularly among the working class and the minorities, the removal of troops from Northern Ireland, the parking situation in Benchley, and preventing Liam Gallagher from leaving Oasis.
For personal use, you can get 2 out of 3 in a Zaurus 3X00. Maybe 2.5 if you're willing/able/free to use Open Office instead. And those are only about $600, so you can get a Nintendo DS with the leftover money for games. That might not have been what you meant, but I haven't really kept up with my gaming since Duke Nukem Forever was announced.
I agree that IE for PocketPC leaves much to be desired. My fiancee has a Dell PocketPC, and many, many, web sites just don't work on "pocket IE".
And I understand the desire to run "real" windows apps. Especially if you have a particular one in mind, like a piece of in-house software for your job. But at $2000 a crack, a company that was looking at these sub-notebooks should at least "run the numbers" on doing a PDA port. It might not sound ridiculous if they've got thousands of people to equip.
I've done it, but not by choice. I would much rather be coding on a desktop with a nice big monitor than a laptop, and much rather a laptop than a mini laptop-pda hybrid, and only on a PDA to actually save the planet. Granted, there are laptops with much nicer displays than mine, but for any given budget I'd prefer a development system to be a non-portable device. There are plenty of times a laptop is fine for me, but not doing development work. Maybe debugging a deployed embedded system . . .
Or maybe none of us is in the intended market segment for this thing: execs who want the latest expensive electronic toy to impress their buddies.
There are smaller devices out there for less money. WinCE/PocketPC PDAs, Zauruses (Zaurii?). Those are a lot more transportable than this 1.5" thick brick. You're right that small and good keyboard don't go together, but that's exactly what it looks like they tried to do.
So -- and this is a real question -- what sort of application would this device be suited for? When would this be an ideal device instead of a pocket-sized/palmtop computer or a small notebook?
The screen would, though. When I'm coding, I want all the screen resolution I can get, and as big a display as possible to read it on.
I could live with the reduced performance for general purpose applications. Especially if you could pare down the OS a little so I didn't notice too much. But the real catch to me is the size. It's not so small that you could put it in a pocket, even in a coat or cargo pants, so it's not really any more convenient to transport than a laptop. Worse, really, since it would require a handbag to schlep it around. And women already have one handbag, and most men don't want one. So where does one put it?
I understand why they picked the size they did: the keyboard is around the lower limit of touch-typing form factor. But I'd prefer to carry either a laptop-size computer (and display) that only weighed 1.5 lbs or a pocket sized device with WiFi, depending on what I needed to do. They try for both, but it doesn't really sound like it would work.
Ya, that would fix it. Maybe, just maybe, some of us don't have an army of lawyers at our disposal to determine if what we're clicking on really means what we think it means. It seems to me that it is unethical to have a consumer product license that is unreadable/unparsable to an average consumer. The "madman" here would be anyone who thought that such nonsense was an enforceable contract.
Why? I see no reason not to take the word of an AC on faith and stop using gmail based only on his/her (unsigned) opinion. I'm sure the AC has no interest in any of Google's competitors.
I, too, am pretty sure France has plenty of laws already to prosecute perpetrators of "happy slapping" (a term I'd never heard of until today). I suspect that the new law is the result of a legislative body hearing the cries of the public to "do something" about the problem. Since they are lawmakers, "doing something" means they make a law. Now it's not only illegal to beat up people and to aid the assailant, it's double-secret extra special illegal.
Friction, dude. Try the experiment again on roller skates.
Forget patches. I wonder why anyone is still building systems that have DST hard-coded into them. DST definitions vary by country and can be changed by government action. Even in the US, DST definitions were changed less than 20 years ago.
That assumes a rather naive UTC/LocalTime conversion.
I like DST. I know how to set what clocks I have that still need to be changed. I enjoy the extra light at the end of the day. I am aware that I could just get up an hour early and try to convince everyone else that I have to deal with to do the same, but DST accomplishes that. Also, I live in a city that spans state lines, so having one state opt out would be a real hassle.
I would much rather lobby my legislature to allow wine to be shipped directly to my door. For crying out loud, I can get ammo delivered (and left on the doorstep) without even a signature, why can't I buy wine directly.
So, for all of those who dislike DST, try this: Just get up an hour later.
Presumably, if you've found a way to feed them the remains of their expired colleagues (see below), you've already solved your labor issues.
I hadn't thought of that. That's why it pays to get these ideas out in the open. We might not be able to use the all recaptured methane outright, since it might be needed for cooking.
There's really no good way to bootstrap that process. If you're just starting out experimenting in electronics, you don't know enough to even make the shopping list. Just pick a kit that looks interesting, use it a little while, and use that experience to get your next one -- whether it be a bigger kit or a collection of parts.
I actually ran the numbers once. I was sitting there on an exercise bike in the basement in winter, and I was really bored. I thought, "I could be generating electricity now". I couldn't find a food source that would provide you the energy to convert into . . . energy . . . economically even if you were paying 25 cents/kWh for your electrical power. And I made some pretty generous estimates of human efficiency, too. At least that effort made my ride to nowhere go by a little faster that morning.
I kid you, not. I have a couple of Enlux LED floods in my kitchen. Unlike most LED light bulb replacements I've seen, these have an array of emitters in four different colors: red, green, blue and amber/orange -- yes, I did stare at it through a welder's glass, I'm a geek. Since I only replaced some of the lamps on the track light fixture with the Enlux lamps, I can compare for you. The appearance of food under the LEDs is vivid, particularly carrots, with reds and oranges really coming out. The results are far better than a CFL flood in the next socket over where most colors seem washed out by comparison. I also have some "natural" incandescents with the blue/violet dope in the glass. The LEDs "outshine" these lamps as well as far as the attractiveness of illuminated items. I have not compared them to halogen floods, since I don't have any. Everything I've said is subjective, but most of my friends and family (who aren't color-blind) have been impressed with the color.
I've got some of the more typical LED lamps, too, with the blue LED with yellow doping to produce a whitish light. They're fine for desk fixtures that get too hot with an incandescent lamp, but you're correct that the absorption and fluorescence process wouldn't be 100% efficient, and that the light is far from "full spectrum". I don't think that the Enlux lamps are subject to the same kind of efficiency loss, since the emitters are not filtered or doped with phosphors to create the white light.
As I mentioned before, though, initial cost is the issue. If I had to climb a scaffold to relamp, you can bet I'd switch all applicable lamps just for the longer maintenance interval.
Yeah. I've tried some of those. Wish they didn't last so long.
Personality cult.
Not just spotlight -- there are good LED floods available now. And you can get them plently brght, with very nice color. Only major drawback is excessive upfront cost for the good ones. In locations where floods are appropriate, like in track lighting, they are a decent alternative.
I agree that they don't replace the omni-directional Edison-type lamp, though. No good for chandeliers, table lamps, post lights, etc.
Another good reason to avoid lowballing the new hires and regularly checking how the salaries compare to compensation elsewhere.
If a hiring manager doesn't see it that way, that's fine with me. It saves us both time.
What did you mean here?