Why is google still doing business in France anyway? With the recent lawsuits the most reasonable option seems to be to blacklist the entire country. Let them use msn and suffer.
But I do that I saw somewhere in a text file on a Windows NT installation that stated that IDE was not supported.
Blah. You're totally wrong. I used plenty of IDE drives in NT 4.0 with no problems. Hardware compatibility is something MS is fairly good at.
The maximum size of a FAT16 parition for DOS was 2GB. Even if you selected NTFS as the file system, selecting a partition bigger than 2GB would result in an error from setup saying that it would not be able to boot that partition because of DOS.
There was a problem similar to what you describe in the installer, but the size limit in question is 4GB. (32bit FAT vs 16bit FAT, I guess) You could format the drive in another machine before you ran setup for a system volume size of 8GB. Since the system volume didn't need to be exactly huge, and other volumes could be as large as you want, this wasn't a major limitation for anyone except those who freak out when everything isn't on one big partition.
Even if I am wrong about slipstreaming in NT, what's to stop a program from overwriting system files that correspond the the installed service pack?
NT relied on the same mechanism that any decent OS can rely on: file permissions. A lot of people who used FAT32 with NT so they could dual-boot with 95 or 98 or whatever probably missed out on that.
I had to work on an NT box for a while at work, and it blue screened an average of six times a day because of a glitch in the video drivers.
That is hardly an indictment of the operating system. It could be an indictment of the WHQL driver verification process, but somehow I doubt it was a certified driver...
When software stops changing and improving it is most likely dead.
I can see how a language like C can be solid for a very long time. But the only time things don't change is when people stop using them.
Come on, that is obviously not always true. Sometimes things don't change because the users are happy with the version they have and refuse to upgrade to the newfangled version which does not add anything they need.
To put it another way, "change" and "improvement" are not always synonymous in software development, although they are often meant to be.
Am I the only one who reads the reactions of the fanboy multitudes to this and thinks about running out to buy a gun and join the Libertarian party or something?
If you don't like it, you need to literally put your money where your mouth is.
That is a pretty good idea. The problem: in general projects like GNOME don't give users a convenient way to pool their funds toward a single feature or feature set they are commonly interested in. The answer to the dilemma might be nothing more than a well-designed donation web page which allows users to both vote on features and pay for them.
I'm sure implementing a superboring but relatively simple feature becomes a lot more interesting when 20 or 30 or 100 people pledge a few bucks each towards making it happen. Hard to say how the numbers would truly play out, however, and there are a lot of different approaches you could take to the voting.
Anyway, it's rather hard to backup something like 1 TB of data using cheap storage solutions
It's not really, anymore - or at least, it shouldn't be.
For what I used to pay for a single DLT tape a few years ago I can get an external USB drive of greater size. The problem, and it is a big one, is that most backup software doesn't have any idea how to properly take advantage of something as advanced as hot-swappable, external, fast USB mass-storage.
Now you could argue that a car review in Car and Driver doesn't bother explaining what a transmission does but RAID is several orders for magnitude more complex and esoteric.
Are you kidding?
RAID 5 can be explained in a few pages - the math, the implementation, the whole bit. Have you ever seen a technical drawing of a transmission? Modern slushboxes are about the most advanced mechanical engineering application that the average person ever comes in contact with (when they aren't at the airport).
You won't find an article that does most of the issues involved in designing and implementing a transmission justice. I know you just meant it as an example, but still.:)
Seriously, despite the certain risk of being modded down, Ohio has EVERY right to do this. If you open up a business in Ohio, it has a right to license you.
Those businesses are, by definition, already licensed. They aren't a business if they are not licensed.
Redundant laws that make illegal acts more illegal, that regulate things which are already adequately regulated, or are just plain unnecessary, are pure overhead and make government more intrusive and less effective.
Why license auctioneers in the first place? Well it's all about trust. The auctioneer markets himself as a liasion betweeen buyer and seller -- he doesn't buy your property from you and then sell it as his property. He represents you as an agent while the property is still yours. This is a legal relationship and it's important for auctioneers to understand their legal responsibilities to buyer and seller. I could understand unscrupulous people seeking to take advantage of that position of trust getting around licensing and bonding laws by conducting business only online.
The really wonderful, ironic thing is that eBay has developed a workable system system for dealing with the trust issues and yet the Ohio state government has decided to put their stupid ideas on the subject into law anyway.
It is great the way the Republican state government here in Ohio seems to actualize all the stupid cliche ideas about liberal big government... except with guns! We will end up being poor compared to the rest of the country, but well armed. That is what REALLY matters.
I'm a minimalist w/ my cellphone for reasons other than radiation... but seems to me we need something better than "50% of studies say it's an issue."
Why? The step to take to avoid the danger, a danger we can readily concede has not been proven to be real, is simple. Use a headset with the phone. A ten dollar expense to avoid a potential risk of brain damage. (and free up your hands while you use the phone, I guess)
The poster implies we should all worry because half of the studies say it's a health risk...
But by that same logic none of us should worry because half of the studies say there is no damage.
For those of you that make it to the 4th page of the UW Columns article, Lai has left the research field (moved to Colorado) and doesn't use a cell phone, plus requires his family members to use headsets - maybe he's on to something?
I have an oncologist in my family who uses her cell phone this way. I don't think she would claim that the evidence regarding harmfulness of cell phone radiation is conclusive. I think she would just point out that taking the necessary step to protect yourself (buying and using a headset with the phone) is not difficult or expensive, and the potential risk you are weighing against the cost of the headset (brain damage) is pretty high.
Cnet maintains a chart comparing radiation levels of many of the various phones on the market here: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6602_7-5020355 -1.html
If you have a phone you like, it doesn't show well on that chart, and you are concerned about radiation, you don't have to throw the thing away. Get a headset for it and keep the phone on your belt. It will not have an effect on your brain tissue from down there, inverse square law and all.
I have an oncologist in my family who insists on using her phone this way, due to her assessment of the studies regarding cell phone safety.
Slashdot Mirror
They are French lawyers. They smell cheese.
It's adherence to some bad design decisions.
Why is google still doing business in France anyway? With the recent lawsuits the most reasonable option seems to be to blacklist the entire country. Let them use msn and suffer.
Blah. You're totally wrong. I used plenty of IDE drives in NT 4.0 with no problems. Hardware compatibility is something MS is fairly good at.
There was a problem similar to what you describe in the installer, but the size limit in question is 4GB. (32bit FAT vs 16bit FAT, I guess) You could format the drive in another machine before you ran setup for a system volume size of 8GB. Since the system volume didn't need to be exactly huge, and other volumes could be as large as you want, this wasn't a major limitation for anyone except those who freak out when everything isn't on one big partition.
NT relied on the same mechanism that any decent OS can rely on: file permissions. A lot of people who used FAT32 with NT so they could dual-boot with 95 or 98 or whatever probably missed out on that.
That is hardly an indictment of the operating system. It could be an indictment of the WHQL driver verification process, but somehow I doubt it was a certified driver...
Come on, that is obviously not always true. Sometimes things don't change because the users are happy with the version they have and refuse to upgrade to the newfangled version which does not add anything they need.
To put it another way, "change" and "improvement" are not always synonymous in software development, although they are often meant to be.
With that feature, maybe I could read the interview, rather than (not) listening to it at work...
That will inevitably change.
Am I the only one who reads the reactions of the fanboy multitudes to this and thinks about running out to buy a gun and join the Libertarian party or something?
That is a pretty good idea. The problem: in general projects like GNOME don't give users a convenient way to pool their funds toward a single feature or feature set they are commonly interested in. The answer to the dilemma might be nothing more than a well-designed donation web page which allows users to both vote on features and pay for them.
I'm sure implementing a superboring but relatively simple feature becomes a lot more interesting when 20 or 30 or 100 people pledge a few bucks each towards making it happen. Hard to say how the numbers would truly play out, however, and there are a lot of different approaches you could take to the voting.
If they were working in tents and using abacuses.
In other words, in the open source world it is a lot more profitable to be a salesman or support flack than it is to be a programmer.
Joy.
I see them as cheap as that all the time on slickdeals and some of the other sites. Usually a price that low involves a rebate, but still.
I wouldn't hold my breath on that. They sure didn't flock to the Transmeta systems...
Particularly the ones like Linus who get it for free.
It's not really, anymore - or at least, it shouldn't be.
For what I used to pay for a single DLT tape a few years ago I can get an external USB drive of greater size. The problem, and it is a big one, is that most backup software doesn't have any idea how to properly take advantage of something as advanced as hot-swappable, external, fast USB mass-storage.
If you are dumb enough to use RAID as a substitute for backing up, that is.
Are you kidding?
RAID 5 can be explained in a few pages - the math, the implementation, the whole bit. Have you ever seen a technical drawing of a transmission? Modern slushboxes are about the most advanced mechanical engineering application that the average person ever comes in contact with (when they aren't at the airport).
You won't find an article that does most of the issues involved in designing and implementing a transmission justice. I know you just meant it as an example, but still.
Those businesses are, by definition, already licensed. They aren't a business if they are not licensed.
Redundant laws that make illegal acts more illegal, that regulate things which are already adequately regulated, or are just plain unnecessary, are pure overhead and make government more intrusive and less effective.
The really wonderful, ironic thing is that eBay has developed a workable system system for dealing with the trust issues and yet the Ohio state government has decided to put their stupid ideas on the subject into law anyway.
It is great the way the Republican state government here in Ohio seems to actualize all the stupid cliche ideas about liberal big government... except with guns! We will end up being poor compared to the rest of the country, but well armed. That is what REALLY matters.
A little redundant, then, no?
Why? The step to take to avoid the danger, a danger we can readily concede has not been proven to be real, is simple. Use a headset with the phone. A ten dollar expense to avoid a potential risk of brain damage. (and free up your hands while you use the phone, I guess)
That does not make a bit of sense.
I have an oncologist in my family who uses her cell phone this way. I don't think she would claim that the evidence regarding harmfulness of cell phone radiation is conclusive. I think she would just point out that taking the necessary step to protect yourself (buying and using a headset with the phone) is not difficult or expensive, and the potential risk you are weighing against the cost of the headset (brain damage) is pretty high.
Cnet maintains a chart comparing radiation levels of many of the various phones on the market here:5 -1.html
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6602_7-502035
If you have a phone you like, it doesn't show well on that chart, and you are concerned about radiation, you don't have to throw the thing away. Get a headset for it and keep the phone on your belt. It will not have an effect on your brain tissue from down there, inverse square law and all.
I have an oncologist in my family who insists on using her phone this way, due to her assessment of the studies regarding cell phone safety.
When the best RAD environment available is an abortion like Boa Constructor, you are suffering from more than "quirks."