You're assuming that all potential problems are man made and can be avoided. Such things as meteor strikes, massive volcanic erruptions, solar erruptions, and probably some other things I'm forgetting have no ability to be controlled by man.
I think it would be well worth the effort to start looking to plant seeds of humanity off this planet.
I imagine an entry in the HGG stating how a planet of complacent beings were suddendly wiped from existence, since they never got off their butts and went anywhere.
--
Q
While the lights on computers on sci-fi shows may have been random. Lights on real computers were hardly random. I worked with mini-computers that had a bank of LED's on the front. These corresponded to the bits of the CPU registers and CPU flags. A knowledgeable person could potentially figure out the crash location and some of the state of the machine during a crash. So the sci-fi shows weren't all inaccurate. Though it's reason for being in the movies is much like the sound of space ships roaring by in outer space.
--
Q
Rather than deal with the source of the problem just uproot the entire system. Dealing with the source of the problem would require managers to actually expend some effort to figure out who is valuable and doing work and who is not.
This is just a typical least effort solution to a problem. Not suprising that Wall Street views this guy as a brain child as that group is quite content to view the world using simplistic numerical equations. This group is also driving most of corporate world to short term thinking and solutions that often lead to their demise or stunt the growth of the company.
Looks like one of those number sequences Compute magazine would publish for Commodore 64 programs and such. I remember typing in all those data statements and then having to double check all the numbers when something didn't work. Maybe those programs in Compute weren't really programs at all but contained secret communications that just happen to double as programs.
I guess everyone hasn't figured out what the Add/Remove Programs on the control panel is for.
As far as not knowing what it's doing. Do you really know what any software is really doing on your system?.
What about those Dell supplied drivers? They might be sharing all with the Dell Corporation. Never mind what the evil Microsoft Minions have crafted in their OS
Personally, after running some of Google's software under Purify and seeing instability in IE after installing Desktop I opted to remove it from my system. (Note: I haven't tried the latest version, hopefully it's better)
Bottom line, if you don't like it, remove it. I'm sure you're system will work just fine after it's gone.
--
Q
Actually there are probably four or five different allocations schemes within Mozilla. That's not so much of a problem as that there are several different object models all with various bridges. As new things come along the interactions can get quite complex. The memory leaks aren't due to this, but this situation makes tracking them more difficult.
To bring this back somewhat on topic. I wonder how, as time goes on, many of these open source projects will age. Mozilla code is more than 10 years old, I think. In the commercial sector you reach a point where you chuck must of the existing stuff and start from scratch. How many of these open source projects have the resources to rebuild from the ground up?
--
Q
That won't matter because advertisers only pay for the clicks.
I wasn't sure if they were paying for placement like in newspapers and magazines or paying on clicks.
So then it does look more like a classic type bubble where demand for the stock has put the market cap way above company value. Any little blip is likely to scare the herd and cause a stampede away from it. Much like we saw a while back.
In the end does the stock price really matter to Google?
--
Q
It's a different bubble, though. It's more of an advertising bubble not a tech bubble.
Has anyone really measured the value of a Google add? Are they effective? Maybe it's already been done. Just from my own experience I rarely notice the adds. So if the advertisers would suddenly decide such adds aren't that valuable and stop advertising you'd see Google either change create more intrusive adds or they're going to have to find a completely different source of income.
--
Q
I'm just for teaching kids to question anything. To realize that even the most respected theories and facts may be wrong.
For me evolution has too many holes. Does that prove there is a god no. Well for that matter the existence of evolution doesn't disprove a god either. The holes just means something is missing, and as time goes on we may be able to fill in more of those holes. The end result may be quite different than what is known and assumed today. Much like the blind men trying to figure out what the elephant is.
--
Q
your right to pathetic employment situations does not trump everyone elses
right to worship or to enjoy what they paid good money for.
How does my getting up and leaving the theater to hold a conversation outside the theater bother you any more than someone going to the bathroom or concession stand? I'm not trying to defend the idiots that hold converstations or don't switch to a non-audible mode.
--
Q
If you are a doctor on duty, you wouldn't go to the cinema, so the only excuse is that you might be a volunteer fireman.
That or someone providing 24/7 support. I used to work for a small company. I was on call 24x7x365. There wasn't anyone to cover for me. So should I have avoided theaters, churches, etc?
Cell Phones are just one issue. There are people who are just rude, by talking, beeping PDA's, beeping watches, leaving every 10 minutes to get a refill on pop. I don't think nano-tubes are going to fix those issues.
There was an older technology. It used to work really well. It was called "ushers". This technology would determine if a person was disturbing the theater and then remove them. It worked really well and adapted to a number of movie going annoyances. It's probably not as cheap as nano-tube paint, but does a lot better job.
Personally I'd probably avoid a theater that used such technology. I pay for my cell phone, I use it responsibly. I try and avoid places that assume I'm an inconsiderate jerk.
--
Q
If commercial software comes under fire from a patent violation the company that owns the commercial software takes on that liability and deals with the issue. It's likely to be different for open source created by many individuals. It's easier for the patent predators to go after the users which have more money for the patent violations.
Kids need to be taught to always question what they know
I couldn't agree more. And I'm always amazed at how defensive people get when evolution is questioned. I'm not sure what harm would be caused by exposing children to other potential theories, either.
In the end I'm sure we'd all be pretty amazed if we were exposed to the "full truth"
--
Q
When was the last time you heard of a production application being written in Ruby on Rails, or in D?
Well last time I heard of a company using leading edge technology they went out of business. Saw many of these in the dot com boom days. Companies latching on right and left to the buzz words of the day in order to get investment money. Sadly most of the time the employees had little experience in the technologies had few tools to deal with performances and stability issues. In the end they couldn't deliver.
I saw that played out a number of times. Most of these companies already had enough risk from the business side without taking such risks on the technical side. Almost like betting you can win the Pick 3 lottery 2 times in a row.
--
Q
If it's pretty loose then mine was a TI-55 programmable calculator. I quickly upgraded to the TI-58. My first computer with a traditional screen was the Timex Sinclair 1000. Learned Z80 assembler on that. Also learned how important making frequent backups are. Static would give the Sinclair a heart attack. I actually bought a flight simulator for it. Took a long time to load from tape.
Moved on to the C64 from there. Oddly enough my first calculator was a Commodore.
--
Q
Slashdot Mirror
You're assuming that all potential problems are man made and can be avoided. Such things as meteor strikes, massive volcanic erruptions, solar erruptions, and probably some other things I'm forgetting have no ability to be controlled by man.
I think it would be well worth the effort to start looking to plant seeds of humanity off this planet.
I imagine an entry in the HGG stating how a planet of complacent beings were suddendly wiped from existence, since they never got off their butts and went anywhere.
--
Q
While the lights on computers on sci-fi shows may have been random. Lights on real computers were hardly random. I worked with mini-computers that had a bank of LED's on the front. These corresponded to the bits of the CPU registers and CPU flags. A knowledgeable person could potentially figure out the crash location and some of the state of the machine during a crash. So the sci-fi shows weren't all inaccurate. Though it's reason for being in the movies is much like the sound of space ships roaring by in outer space.
--
Q
Rather than deal with the source of the problem just uproot the entire system. Dealing with the source of the problem would require managers to actually expend some effort to figure out who is valuable and doing work and who is not.
This is just a typical least effort solution to a problem. Not suprising that Wall Street views this guy as a brain child as that group is quite content to view the world using simplistic numerical equations. This group is also driving most of corporate world to short term thinking and solutions that often lead to their demise or stunt the growth of the company.
And no, I am not an HP employee.
--
Q
Looks like one of those number sequences Compute magazine would publish for Commodore 64 programs and such. I remember typing in all those data statements and then having to double check all the numbers when something didn't work. Maybe those programs in Compute weren't really programs at all but contained secret communications that just happen to double as programs.
--
Q
I'm glad you corrected him, I was just about to before I saw your reply. I can remember that, but I still leave for work without my lunch ;-)
--
Q
Good point, I guess Steve is more forward thinking than I am.
--
Q
Why would you call the police department if an elevator is stuck. Maybe the NYFD, but why not the company that built the elevator.
Maybe they'll call the NYFD when the Apple store gets robbed
--
Q
I guess everyone hasn't figured out what the Add/Remove Programs on the control panel is for.
As far as not knowing what it's doing. Do you really know what any software is really doing on your system?. What about those Dell supplied drivers? They might be sharing all with the Dell Corporation. Never mind what the evil Microsoft Minions have crafted in their OS
Personally, after running some of Google's software under Purify and seeing instability in IE after installing Desktop I opted to remove it from my system. (Note: I haven't tried the latest version, hopefully it's better)
Bottom line, if you don't like it, remove it. I'm sure you're system will work just fine after it's gone.
--
Q
WWII was the first thing I thought of when I saw that name.
In any case, add my vote to a bad name, not necessarily due to the WWII, but just in general
Is it pronounced with a long I or an ee sound? Maybe Nintendo will go wee wee all the way home after coming up with this name.
--
Q
Looks just like the "My Account" screen to me?
Guess they're probably still recovering from the Slashdot effect
--
Q
I knew all his passwords and stuff
;-)
So is this his slashdot account or yours?
--
Q
Ok, sorry couldn't resist, just had to post.
Actually there are probably four or five different allocations schemes within Mozilla. That's not so much of a problem as that there are several different object models all with various bridges. As new things come along the interactions can get quite complex. The memory leaks aren't due to this, but this situation makes tracking them more difficult.
To bring this back somewhat on topic. I wonder how, as time goes on, many of these open source projects will age. Mozilla code is more than 10 years old, I think. In the commercial sector you reach a point where you chuck must of the existing stuff and start from scratch. How many of these open source projects have the resources to rebuild from the ground up?
--
Q
That won't matter because advertisers only pay for the clicks.
I wasn't sure if they were paying for placement like in newspapers and magazines or paying on clicks.
So then it does look more like a classic type bubble where demand for the stock has put the market cap way above company value. Any little blip is likely to scare the herd and cause a stampede away from it. Much like we saw a while back.
In the end does the stock price really matter to Google?
--
Q
It's a different bubble, though. It's more of an advertising bubble not a tech bubble.
Has anyone really measured the value of a Google add? Are they effective? Maybe it's already been done. Just from my own experience I rarely notice the adds. So if the advertisers would suddenly decide such adds aren't that valuable and stop advertising you'd see Google either change create more intrusive adds or they're going to have to find a completely different source of income.
--
Q
Look a lot like my desk
--
Q
I'm just for teaching kids to question anything. To realize that even the most respected theories and facts may be wrong.
For me evolution has too many holes. Does that prove there is a god no. Well for that matter the existence of evolution doesn't disprove a god either. The holes just means something is missing, and as time goes on we may be able to fill in more of those holes. The end result may be quite different than what is known and assumed today. Much like the blind men trying to figure out what the elephant is.
--
Q
your right to pathetic employment situations does not trump everyone elses right to worship or to enjoy what they paid good money for.
How does my getting up and leaving the theater to hold a conversation outside the theater bother you any more than someone going to the bathroom or concession stand? I'm not trying to defend the idiots that hold converstations or don't switch to a non-audible mode.
--
Q
If you are a doctor on duty, you wouldn't go to the cinema, so the only excuse is that you might be a volunteer fireman.
That or someone providing 24/7 support. I used to work for a small company. I was on call 24x7x365. There wasn't anyone to cover for me. So should I have avoided theaters, churches, etc?
Cell Phones are just one issue. There are people who are just rude, by talking, beeping PDA's, beeping watches, leaving every 10 minutes to get a refill on pop. I don't think nano-tubes are going to fix those issues.
There was an older technology. It used to work really well. It was called "ushers". This technology would determine if a person was disturbing the theater and then remove them. It worked really well and adapted to a number of movie going annoyances. It's probably not as cheap as nano-tube paint, but does a lot better job.
Personally I'd probably avoid a theater that used such technology. I pay for my cell phone, I use it responsibly. I try and avoid places that assume I'm an inconsiderate jerk.
--
Q
If commercial software comes under fire from a patent violation the company that owns the commercial software takes on that liability and deals with the issue. It's likely to be different for open source created by many individuals. It's easier for the patent predators to go after the users which have more money for the patent violations.
--
Q
Kids need to be taught to always question what they know
I couldn't agree more. And I'm always amazed at how defensive people get when evolution is questioned. I'm not sure what harm would be caused by exposing children to other potential theories, either.
In the end I'm sure we'd all be pretty amazed if we were exposed to the "full truth"
--
Q
Couldn't they find a sponsor for the ball?
Maybe it's more than just a golf ball. Maybe it's some super secrete Russian spy satellite and not really a golf ball at all.
--
Q
I was just going to say that the mice are going to be very upset about this discovery.
--
Q
To dumb blondes or Zelda?
When was the last time you heard of a production application being written in Ruby on Rails, or in D?
Well last time I heard of a company using leading edge technology they went out of business. Saw many of these in the dot com boom days. Companies latching on right and left to the buzz words of the day in order to get investment money. Sadly most of the time the employees had little experience in the technologies had few tools to deal with performances and stability issues. In the end they couldn't deliver.
I saw that played out a number of times. Most of these companies already had enough risk from the business side without taking such risks on the technical side. Almost like betting you can win the Pick 3 lottery 2 times in a row.
--
Q
Depends on what your definition of a computer is.
If it's pretty loose then mine was a TI-55 programmable calculator. I quickly upgraded to the TI-58. My first computer with a traditional screen was the Timex Sinclair 1000. Learned Z80 assembler on that. Also learned how important making frequent backups are. Static would give the Sinclair a heart attack. I actually bought a flight simulator for it. Took a long time to load from tape.
Moved on to the C64 from there. Oddly enough my first calculator was a Commodore. --
Q