I have an iPod touch, and it works just fine with the apple headphones that include a mic. I didn't want to shell out for another pair of headphones, so I use the ones that came free with my Blackberry (also includes a mic) and that works fine too. I believe the earlier generation iPod touch required an external mic attached to the dock connector but the current models can use any headphone/mic in a standard size jack.
If you're using PuTTY, you should check out PuTTY Connection Manager, it's free, it's PuTTY, and it's got tabs, connection profiles, etc. As soon as it supports PuTTYCyg connections I plan on switching to it for all my terminal needs on Windows.
Beta 3 has one new feature that I've been waiting years for - you can now type shortcuts in the location bar to reference installed search engines. For instance, if you've set up "g" as the shortcut for google, then type "g vegan restaurants" and you'll get the results immediately. Mozilla had this, but it never made it over to Firefox until now. Thanks to the dev who implemented this feature; I owe you a beer.
This was most definitely not added in Firefox 3...I'm not sure why this didn't work for you before, but I've been using this feature in Firefox for longer than I can remember, even as far back as the original Phoenix days. In fact, I use it on a daily basis to search wikipedia or IMDB or any of a number of other sites.
I know what you mean! My elderly parents have no problem navigating to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and tweaking a REG_SZ value, but ask them to open up Gedit...
You laugh, and my gut instinct is to laugh right along with you - except that I see this exact mindset every day. I work in technical support for a cross-platform (Windows/Linux/Solaris) product that was designed by people with a lot of UNIX background. Much of our configuration is simple XML files. For UNIX admins, this is no big deal, but you should see what happens every time we have Windows admins evaluate the product.
As soon as you open up notepad on their Windows box with an XML file in it and show them how to edit a configuration or definition file, the questions immediately start about why there's no GUI. After long experience with this, I've come to the conclusion that people (at least, Windows users) would honestly rather have a GUI editor like regedit than edit a plain text file. Heck, we have people who edit our XML configuration files with Internet Explorer just so it resembles some kind of GUI. It's like a security blanket that makes them feel less afraid of making a mistake or ruining everything.
The fact is, people are raised on Windows GUI apps and even if the concepts are exactly the same (e.g. "you need to set the foo option to 'false' to fix that"), if you ask someone to type out the option instead of clicking a checkbox, it's far and away more intimidating to them. As someone who prefers UNIX or Linux of any kind to using Windows, I find this stifling and silly, since I can get much more done at a command prompt, and that's why I prefer a UNIX style system.
However, I also realize that I'm in a relative minority, and I've just come to accept that UNIX will be there for those of us that want it, and the best we can hope for is to come to some kind of peace with those who abhor the thought of a command line. My ideal world is just one in which the important applications and support are there for Linux (actually, I'm not that picky, I'd be pretty happy with one of the BSDs or some other free UNIX-based system). Then instead of constantly being second-class citizens in the corporate world for our decision to use a more powerful OS, the choice would be there without necessitating constant sacrifices. I don't want Joe User running Linux, all I want is for vendors to have enough users on Linux that they can't ignore us anymore so that it's easier for me to run whatever system I choose, regardless of what Joe User decides makes him feel safe and comfortable.
Re:Fair??? Language, please...
on
SCO Loses
·
· Score: 1
It's called hyperbole - I very much doubt that the OP was actually suggesting that physical harm and murder was an appropriate response.
Yeah, and that way if my house gets flooded, I'll have lots of backups of my data on those external drives. Which are in my house. Underwater.
For what you're getting (highly redundant storage at a remote site), it's really not that expensive at all. For $20 bucks a year I can have my data safely warehoused at a remote location by a reliable provider. My hosting plan where I keep that data now costs $30 a *month* for 20G of storage and the accompanying bandwidth etc. If you add that up it's $360 a year I pay, versus $75 for Google's 25G offering. Granted, I get other things with my hosting package such as the ability to run servers and scripts, but it's not as if Google's pricing model is outrageous, put in perspective.
All I can say is I personally am intrigued at the prospect of using this as *another* way of backing up my most treasured data (code I've written, documents, etc) so that everything isn't backed up at one location in my house. The last thing I want to be doing if my house is on fire is worrying about grabbing my hard drive(s);)
Kind of surprised no one has mentioned SimpleOpt yet. It's public domain, lightweight, self-contained, and works great. I've been using it for quite a while in a C++ project and I've been very happy with it. It's also designed explicitly to be cross-platform and not depend on platform-specific features, whereas e.g. getopt would not necessarily be available on a given platform.
I actually understand your points, and agree with you. However, when I initially started shopping for MP3 players, I found out quickly why Apple does things the way they do.
First of all, I should point out that I'm not an Apple fanatic, and at the time I started shopping for a music player, I actually specifically wanted something that was NOT an iPod, because I was so sick of the hype. I looked at basically everything that was in the same league and price range, and ended up selecting the iPod anyway after a lot of deliberation, based on technical merits and usability.
One of my main points on my list was "must be able to work as a USB mass storage device". However, every time I read a review of other players that do allow transfer of music that way, I discovered that there were two really common complaints:
1. The player interface was SLOW (10-30 seconds to load a list of songs or artists, etc) unless you used the supplied software to transfer music instead of direct file copy 2. The supplied software absolutely sucked (buggy/crash-prone, slow, ugly, etc)
Based on the research I did, I'm fairly certain that the main benefits to iTunes are speed and elegance when it comes to the iPod. The reason the iPod can load lists of thousands of songs instantly is that it uses an internal database to store track information instead of needing to iterate through the folders/files on disk on the fly. This means that it can be blazing fast. Now, that's not to say they couldn't have come up with a way to let you transfer the files via mass storage and create a new database on the fly, but that would at a minimum require 'crunch time' on the iPod when you start it up the next time, etc.
Instead, iTunes takes care of that for you using the considerably higher CPU speed of the desktop machine you connect with. Most of the other players provide the same type of functionality with their own bundled transfer software. However, in every case I could find, their software doesn't compare with iTunes for elegance or functionality (IMO because they treat it as an also-ran add on to the player itself).
All of this is not to say I don't wish it were easier to access music via USB mass storage instead of requiring iTunes or third-party applications, etc. The point is just that I now understand why Apple bundles the iPod and iTunes together and why they make such a useful combination in regards to managing a music collection. It's not simply a matter of locking people in with proprietary software, or making you go through iTunes to access your music, though I'm sure those are also reasons Apple chose to go this route. In addition to those points, it does actually serve a useful purpose that contributes toward a better end-user experience.
I just wanted to say that this is one of the most insightful comments I've seen in a while on slashdot, and by far one of the more insightful remarks I've seen on this particular debate.
I got "personal attention" from a Google employee with suggestions on how to optimize my ad revenue too, and my site never made more than a few hundred dollars in a month from adsense (typically much less). My impression was that they hired some data entry workers to scan through adsense customer websites and suggest better ad placements. I somehow doubt they even cared or noticed what the content of the site was, they're just looking to make sure your ads are in the most prevalent and annoying locations. The fact that they had an employee "assigned" to optimize ad placement means absolutely nothing in this instance.
Just wanted to say thank you for writing Skype about this, and thank you in particular for writing a professional, courteous email instead of a ranting, raving diatribe. Professionalism and maturity are a huge boon to any cause.
I just ran software update and it was listed, then I installed it and restarted the macbook. If that doesn't work, I'd bring it back to Apple since it should still be under the warranty, and complain. No matter what they say, a laptop shouldn't ever be so damn hot you can't actually use it for its intended purpose.
I just got a macbook (my first Mac also) about two months ago, and mine was extremely hot too. I ran software update and installed all the patches, particularly the SMC firmware update. Took care of the heat problem and I'm sitting with it on my lap right now as I watch SNL. I'm not really sure how a firmware update fixes a heat issue, but it did for me.
(If you're not familiar with it, go to System Preferences -> Software Update to get OS updates)
Yeah, and why does it have to have those funny bumps on the keypad, too?
One thing I can think of is that blind ATM users would probably appreciate some sort of feedback to let them know the money is ready to be retrieved from the slot.
I run both Linux and OS X (I have also run Windows quite a bit), and I do a reasonable amount of web design. I'll add some thoughts here that may be helpful to you if you're considering switching.
OS X:
* Slickest interface, most friendly "automatic" daily experience, but nowhere near as configurable
* Photoshop, Microsoft Office and Macromedia Studio available (BUT not in native Intel mode, unfortunately, so there will be a performance penalty)
* Full set of UNIX tools and a shell to get things done that way if you're a UNIX user
* Lots of open source utilities from the Linux world also available here
Linux:
* Decent interface, can also be very slick (I'm a KDE user, so I'm referring to that specifically) - and you can customize to your hearts' content, unlike with OS X
* If you're willing to pony up about 40 dollars for Crossover Office, you can run Dreamweaver Studio MX, Photoshop 7, and Office 2003 quite well under Linux. I've tested them all and had very minor problems, if any. The Photoshop performance actually tested out at pretty near native speeds except for very complex rendering tasks, from what I remember of the original case studies.
* Open source tools like GIMP, several high quality text editors (try "Kate" under KDE, for instance), and so on
* For web design, also check out Quanta, Bluefish, and nvu. I've used all three, Quanta probably the most. I always ended up giving up on any sort of WYSIWYG tool because I'm insanely particular about the XHTML output of my sites, but all three seem reasonably solid tools, and NVU is cross platform as a bonus.
There are other benefits to each platform, but from a web development and designing point of view, these were a few I could think of offhand. Hope that helps.
Slashdot Mirror
I have an iPod touch, and it works just fine with the apple headphones that include a mic. I didn't want to shell out for another pair of headphones, so I use the ones that came free with my Blackberry (also includes a mic) and that works fine too. I believe the earlier generation iPod touch required an external mic attached to the dock connector but the current models can use any headphone/mic in a standard size jack.
*golf clap*
Nicely done.
If you're using PuTTY, you should check out PuTTY Connection Manager, it's free, it's PuTTY, and it's got tabs, connection profiles, etc. As soon as it supports PuTTYCyg connections I plan on switching to it for all my terminal needs on Windows.
Heh. You don't need a bionic hand for playing guitar.
Keith Xander has been doing it for years with one arm - and well, too!
Hell, there's even a guy who plays guitar with no arms! Granted, it's mostly Tom Petty songs, but still ;)
Leave it to a Remo Williams fan to think bodies are the simplest solution to a problem ;)
I see. And $30M - $1.9M is still $28.1 MILLION DOLLARS in profit. Yeah, that fine sure showed them the error of their ways.
This was most definitely not added in Firefox 3...I'm not sure why this didn't work for you before, but I've been using this feature in Firefox for longer than I can remember, even as far back as the original Phoenix days. In fact, I use it on a daily basis to search wikipedia or IMDB or any of a number of other sites.
I've had good success using Dexpot for multiple desktops on Windows. You might want to check it out if you're stuck on Windows for work reasons also ;)
You laugh, and my gut instinct is to laugh right along with you - except that I see this exact mindset every day. I work in technical support for a cross-platform (Windows/Linux/Solaris) product that was designed by people with a lot of UNIX background. Much of our configuration is simple XML files. For UNIX admins, this is no big deal, but you should see what happens every time we have Windows admins evaluate the product.
As soon as you open up notepad on their Windows box with an XML file in it and show them how to edit a configuration or definition file, the questions immediately start about why there's no GUI. After long experience with this, I've come to the conclusion that people (at least, Windows users) would honestly rather have a GUI editor like regedit than edit a plain text file. Heck, we have people who edit our XML configuration files with Internet Explorer just so it resembles some kind of GUI. It's like a security blanket that makes them feel less afraid of making a mistake or ruining everything.
The fact is, people are raised on Windows GUI apps and even if the concepts are exactly the same (e.g. "you need to set the foo option to 'false' to fix that"), if you ask someone to type out the option instead of clicking a checkbox, it's far and away more intimidating to them. As someone who prefers UNIX or Linux of any kind to using Windows, I find this stifling and silly, since I can get much more done at a command prompt, and that's why I prefer a UNIX style system.
However, I also realize that I'm in a relative minority, and I've just come to accept that UNIX will be there for those of us that want it, and the best we can hope for is to come to some kind of peace with those who abhor the thought of a command line. My ideal world is just one in which the important applications and support are there for Linux (actually, I'm not that picky, I'd be pretty happy with one of the BSDs or some other free UNIX-based system). Then instead of constantly being second-class citizens in the corporate world for our decision to use a more powerful OS, the choice would be there without necessitating constant sacrifices. I don't want Joe User running Linux, all I want is for vendors to have enough users on Linux that they can't ignore us anymore so that it's easier for me to run whatever system I choose, regardless of what Joe User decides makes him feel safe and comfortable.
It's called hyperbole - I very much doubt that the OP was actually suggesting that physical harm and murder was an appropriate response.
Yeah, and that way if my house gets flooded, I'll have lots of backups of my data on those external drives. Which are in my house. Underwater.
;)
For what you're getting (highly redundant storage at a remote site), it's really not that expensive at all. For $20 bucks a year I can have my data safely warehoused at a remote location by a reliable provider. My hosting plan where I keep that data now costs $30 a *month* for 20G of storage and the accompanying bandwidth etc. If you add that up it's $360 a year I pay, versus $75 for Google's 25G offering. Granted, I get other things with my hosting package such as the ability to run servers and scripts, but it's not as if Google's pricing model is outrageous, put in perspective.
All I can say is I personally am intrigued at the prospect of using this as *another* way of backing up my most treasured data (code I've written, documents, etc) so that everything isn't backed up at one location in my house. The last thing I want to be doing if my house is on fire is worrying about grabbing my hard drive(s)
Kind of surprised no one has mentioned SimpleOpt yet. It's public domain, lightweight, self-contained, and works great. I've been using it for quite a while in a C++ project and I've been very happy with it. It's also designed explicitly to be cross-platform and not depend on platform-specific features, whereas e.g. getopt would not necessarily be available on a given platform.
This is the dumbest fucking idea I've heard since I've been at Slashdot
I actually understand your points, and agree with you. However, when I initially started shopping for MP3 players, I found out quickly why Apple does things the way they do.
First of all, I should point out that I'm not an Apple fanatic, and at the time I started shopping for a music player, I actually specifically wanted something that was NOT an iPod, because I was so sick of the hype. I looked at basically everything that was in the same league and price range, and ended up selecting the iPod anyway after a lot of deliberation, based on technical merits and usability.
One of my main points on my list was "must be able to work as a USB mass storage device". However, every time I read a review of other players that do allow transfer of music that way, I discovered that there were two really common complaints:
1. The player interface was SLOW (10-30 seconds to load a list of songs or artists, etc) unless you used the supplied software to transfer music instead of direct file copy
2. The supplied software absolutely sucked (buggy/crash-prone, slow, ugly, etc)
Based on the research I did, I'm fairly certain that the main benefits to iTunes are speed and elegance when it comes to the iPod. The reason the iPod can load lists of thousands of songs instantly is that it uses an internal database to store track information instead of needing to iterate through the folders/files on disk on the fly. This means that it can be blazing fast. Now, that's not to say they couldn't have come up with a way to let you transfer the files via mass storage and create a new database on the fly, but that would at a minimum require 'crunch time' on the iPod when you start it up the next time, etc.
Instead, iTunes takes care of that for you using the considerably higher CPU speed of the desktop machine you connect with. Most of the other players provide the same type of functionality with their own bundled transfer software. However, in every case I could find, their software doesn't compare with iTunes for elegance or functionality (IMO because they treat it as an also-ran add on to the player itself).
All of this is not to say I don't wish it were easier to access music via USB mass storage instead of requiring iTunes or third-party applications, etc. The point is just that I now understand why Apple bundles the iPod and iTunes together and why they make such a useful combination in regards to managing a music collection. It's not simply a matter of locking people in with proprietary software, or making you go through iTunes to access your music, though I'm sure those are also reasons Apple chose to go this route. In addition to those points, it does actually serve a useful purpose that contributes toward a better end-user experience.
I just wanted to say that this is one of the most insightful comments I've seen in a while on slashdot, and by far one of the more insightful remarks I've seen on this particular debate.
I got "personal attention" from a Google employee with suggestions on how to optimize my ad revenue too, and my site never made more than a few hundred dollars in a month from adsense (typically much less). My impression was that they hired some data entry workers to scan through adsense customer websites and suggest better ad placements. I somehow doubt they even cared or noticed what the content of the site was, they're just looking to make sure your ads are in the most prevalent and annoying locations. The fact that they had an employee "assigned" to optimize ad placement means absolutely nothing in this instance.
Just wanted to say thank you for writing Skype about this, and thank you in particular for writing a professional, courteous email instead of a ranting, raving diatribe. Professionalism and maturity are a huge boon to any cause.
BOOM! Its a Sony.From now on, as far as I am concerned, that is the Sony corporate slogan. Hilarious.
I just ran software update and it was listed, then I installed it and restarted the macbook. If that doesn't work, I'd bring it back to Apple since it should still be under the warranty, and complain. No matter what they say, a laptop shouldn't ever be so damn hot you can't actually use it for its intended purpose.
I just got a macbook (my first Mac also) about two months ago, and mine was extremely hot too. I ran software update and installed all the patches, particularly the SMC firmware update. Took care of the heat problem and I'm sitting with it on my lap right now as I watch SNL. I'm not really sure how a firmware update fixes a heat issue, but it did for me.
(If you're not familiar with it, go to System Preferences -> Software Update to get OS updates)
Hope that helps,
-Jay
Microsoft Warns of PowerPoint Attack
We have these at work all the time. I call them "meetings"...
Yeah, and why does it have to have those funny bumps on the keypad, too?
One thing I can think of is that blind ATM users would probably appreciate some sort of feedback to let them know the money is ready to be retrieved from the slot.
I run both Linux and OS X (I have also run Windows quite a bit), and I do a reasonable amount of web design. I'll add some thoughts here that may be helpful to you if you're considering switching.
OS X:
* Slickest interface, most friendly "automatic" daily experience, but nowhere near as configurable
* Photoshop, Microsoft Office and Macromedia Studio available (BUT not in native Intel mode, unfortunately, so there will be a performance penalty)
* Full set of UNIX tools and a shell to get things done that way if you're a UNIX user
* Lots of open source utilities from the Linux world also available here
Linux:
* Decent interface, can also be very slick (I'm a KDE user, so I'm referring to that specifically) - and you can customize to your hearts' content, unlike with OS X
* If you're willing to pony up about 40 dollars for Crossover Office, you can run Dreamweaver Studio MX, Photoshop 7, and Office 2003 quite well under Linux. I've tested them all and had very minor problems, if any. The Photoshop performance actually tested out at pretty near native speeds except for very complex rendering tasks, from what I remember of the original case studies.
* Open source tools like GIMP, several high quality text editors (try "Kate" under KDE, for instance), and so on
* For web design, also check out Quanta, Bluefish, and nvu. I've used all three, Quanta probably the most. I always ended up giving up on any sort of WYSIWYG tool because I'm insanely particular about the XHTML output of my sites, but all three seem reasonably solid tools, and NVU is cross platform as a bonus.
There are other benefits to each platform, but from a web development and designing point of view, these were a few I could think of offhand. Hope that helps.
-Jay
It was marine sniper Carlos Hathcock that you're thinking of.