I'm glad so many people decided to reply to my post! I haven't used slashdot in almost 4 years on even a semi-regular basis, yet my fucking inbox is full of little shitheads like you claiming I'm self-important for seeing a thread of interest and making a joke.
I agree with you for the most part, but there's really two things going on here:
1. He is taking money to temporarily sign over the rights to his brain to this company.
2. He is effectively abandoning every other user of his software in the process.
As someone who maintains a product that a lot of people depend on (and is also BSD licensed), I know how hard #2 can be to deal with.
Often enough while working on my open source software I want to throw my hands up in the air and say "fuck it", for a variety of reasons (sometimes spiteful, sometimes due to spending time on it you'd rather spend doing other things, etc). But you aren't just abandoning the software, you're abandoning the users too. That can be a really hard thing for some people to deal with, even if the grass gets much greener after doing it.
An additional problem occurs when I have an idea that's general enough to not be used at work, but I need to design it for work: my contract (a fairly standard one for someone in my position) ensures that anything I create at work can't be used outside of work. If I want to make the library/application open source, I have to invest all my free time into writing it... and I have to do it before it ever gets near the workplace. When you're working 8-10 hours a day, it's more than tempting to just do it at work and never expect to do anything more public with it. Ironically, the result of this is that I've done several variations on a couple of key things for multiple companies.... But I think the point is clear that the personal time investment is hard to justify when you know you can not only get paid for it, but reserve your free time (which only gets more precious as you get older, no matter how much of it you have) to do things which you wouldn't get paid for anyways.
Anyways, from my seat here it seems like this is a good analysis of the dilemma, and maybe it'll help people who aren't in this position understand what's going on.
M: Oh look, this isn't an argument. A: Yes it is. M: No it isn't. It's just contradiction. A: No it isn't. M: It is! A: It is not. M: Look, you just contradicted me. A: I did not. M: Oh you did!! A: No, no, no. M: You did just then. A: Nonsense! M: Oh, this is futile! A: No it isn't. M: I came here for a good argument. A: No you didn't; no, you came here for an argument. M: An argument isn't just contradiction. A: It can be. M: No it can't. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition. A: No it isn't. M: Yes it is! It's not just contradiction. A: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position. M: Yes, but that's not just saying 'No it isn't.' A: Yes it is! M: No it isn't!
As long as you have shelled out copious amounts of cash for UnixODBC or all your applications support SQL-network-protocol-flavor-of-the-month. Please read posts before replying.
Actually, I don't. That's what a "bridge" is for, although commonly I'll just use an application that is more robust.
Of course, if you prefer to use clients that use a proprietary communication protocol as opposed to something that's well documented and fairly standardized, just make sure the gun is loaded when you aim down and fire.
Yeah, I'd love having to spend hours upon hours having those conversations with people with the limited time I have available to play games... I already get enough disdain because I can't bring a character to 60 in a month like a lot of the WoW players out there...
The one thing that WoW really needs is a damn group finder. CTA works, but only when people use it, and it's a mod. Those meeting stones are utter crap. In CoH, I could find a group in just a few minutes when there were a few players, either by examining the teams that had room or posting a group request myself.
Sure, when you're 14 and your social highlights involve going to the corner store to play the latest version of golden axe, sure, you have time to do BS like this.
My problem, despite good times or bad, has always been about routines.. (I've been trying for several years now) It's almost never about the nicotine cravings, which probably sounds like B.S., but it isn't.
After 10 years or so, you get used to smoking in certain situations - after eating, taking a break from something to think, in the car, around others who are smoking... Those are the times when it's the hardest, and has always been when I've faltered, even with the gum, patch, lozenges, and even snuff (the nasal kind).
Smoking is pretty evil... I've been doing it for years and want to quit. It's not easy.
There are a few things with your argument, though, that you might want to be aware of.
The mere suggestion that smoking is a significant bringer of pollution is not only idiotic, it's turning a blind eye to all the things that everyone relies on that make a much larger impact pollution-wise for the sake of hyping the problems with cigarettes. If we're going to tax cigarettes based on their ability to pollute, let's use it to build a mass-transit system that doesn't require the use of automobiles, as they cause significantly more pollution. Or perhaps, we should shutdown factories that make the materials used in things like... computers. Or paper.
On one hand you argue that smoking is "their problem", yet on the other hand you propose that smokers be cast out with no ability to socialize as they smoke. I still live in one the states where you can actually find a bar to smoke in, and there are plenty of options for smokers and non-smokers alike. If non-smoker Joe wants to come into a smoking bar and then complain about the second hand smoke, someone really needs to educate the man on what things like "freedom of choice" and "free market economics" are. If there's a market for non-smoking bars and restaurants (there is), there are going to be non-smoking bars and restaurants.
Likewise, if you're working in a smoking establishment, that's the risk you take. In fact, the state I live in has a policy that doesn't allow smoking in any establishment *except* these environments. If you can't find another job at equivalent pay to the average bartender or waiter, that shouldn't be my burden as a smoker to bear. After all, strippers aren't complaining that they have to work in bars where they take their clothes off, and have no other options.
I really don't enjoy smoking, at all. However, it is certainly not my job in life to tell others what they can do in their personal time, with like-minded folks, with all the harms laid out on the table. I'd love to see more effort put into educating people (not this "the truth" shock bullshit, real education, with all the facts, good and bad, laid out. Did you know that people who use nicotine are on average higher-functioning than their non-smoker counterparts?) than the government equivalent of a nun smacking the populace on the hand with a ruler.
So, if a scientific expert or, say, the pope says that ID is a-ok, it's ok?
Here, let's spin this in another direction, just for allegorical purposes:
Which is better at serving web pages, Unix Derivatives or Windows?
Emacs or Vi?
My point is (and I think AJ's point is as well) that "experts" disagree with each other just as often as non-experts do, and usually on grounds that are harder to disassociate and argue for the favor of one or another.
Now, it's highly possible that the judge is well-schooled in the sciences, but a couple of weeks in court isn't the way to solve any educational debate on curriculum - this might be something that's a bit easier to decide on, but IMO it sets a nasty precedent for how our educational system is modeled.
While this would hardly slip under the radar, it seems that a judge has the power to say, "Modern Calculus cannot be taught anymore in High School" with a similar argument from "experts". Now while both of these topics are pretty high-profile and would be challenged, what about a more obscure, but important topic?
Really, if anyone should be doing anything about this, it should be the Department of Education. My wife is getting her masters in education currently, and it baffles me how many things she can't even MENTION because of parents who think lawyers are the only way that they can shape their child's development.
I really think there's room for both on the application front... Not everyone needs a well-performing application, but sometimes people need something simple to modify (where learning the language isn't as much of an issue) and allows applications to be developed in a timely fashion with little programming.
From an engineering perspective, that makes my stomach turn, but a lot of people can relate to how perl or shell can be a boon when you need to write something quick and dirty. I see no difference in the world of GUI applications.
However, Apple already has something in that vein and I don't think people have really given it the consideration it deserves, mainly because it's a commercial third-party offering: RealBasic.
Sure, you can write java apps on the Mac, and even get the OS X feel with your application.
Good luck getting at webkit, or the input manager system, or heck, even native SSL support. It ain't gonna happen (without extra non-portable glue that isn't provided by apple).
While java is nice to get at some highly-portable apps and for some developers is an option to target an OS X feel when there's a java edition being written of the software, it's not anywhere near what.NET is to Windows.
That said, none of his questions seemed to bite from that angle, which implies that he wasn't familiar with the java layer.
Nielsen ratings determine which pilots end up succeeding (or so I'm told), so...
Have a channel (or several) that provides pilots for free. Accept pre-orders for the show while the pilot is running.
Now, you have a much more reliable alternative to the nielsen system. Not only are you getting good demographics about people who are interested in the show, you're getting a direct response from those that want to see the show.
Not enough to make a buck? Refund the pre-orders. Obviously a simple credits system would work well here (see: pre-paid cell phones).
The potential for such a thing has great advantages. Not only could you serve more traditional advertisements on the pilot channels (which gives big advertisers a much smaller set of time slots to fight over, which only equals more $$$), but the shows could be arranged in a way that allows for cliff-hangers or other enticing future content at the end of the pilot, drawing more curious viewers.
I think it's fair to say that because I'm posting this on/. that I have no bearing on the situation (and I think it goes without saying that there are parameters that I have missed), but it seems like a business model that could be eased into, and could either complement or replace traditional programming. I wouldn't be surprised if the iTunes video store is already doing stuff like this, since it has all the technological issues solved and a good portion of the marketing ability in place.
Mach is nothing like the BSD kernel - they aren't even the same architecture!
The "BSD subsystem" in OS X is not only a portion of the system, it's an *optional* portion. Try going to the custom installation options the next time you install OS X.
I find it very interesting that a large population of the world views US as "world police" in a negative light, but if americans want to move to a country which doesn't have government that's like that, suddenly it's their problem, too.
Here's my proposal:
If you care about what the US is doing so much, move YOUR ass here, get your citizenship, and vote.:)
I've been living in oregon for 27 years now, in Salem, Portland, Medford, and Ashland, and I have no fucking clue what you're talking about.
I'll save the vitriol-laced rant for another time, but really, "metro areas"? Are you referring to the 50-60 blocks in Portland that 405 runs through? That's about it for the whole of the state... And it's very "old town". It really must have changed *drastically* since I was there last year. For some reason, I doubt that.
If crappy roads, dated building techniques (it's called stucco), schools that have to scrap all extra-curricular programs so you can have a cheaper property tax, and a labor policy that makes Virginia seem corporate-unfriendly are your idea of "regional culture", by all means, go find a hippie commune in astoria and disconnect. Try to keep from voting, too, for those of us who like the weather but hate the back-asswards idea of "Progressive" in this state.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm glad so many people decided to reply to my post! I haven't used slashdot in almost 4 years on even a semi-regular basis, yet my fucking inbox is full of little shitheads like you claiming I'm self-important for seeing a thread of interest and making a joke.
Have a nice day.
I know, right?
I agree with you for the most part, but there's really two things going on here:
1. He is taking money to temporarily sign over the rights to his brain to this company.
2. He is effectively abandoning every other user of his software in the process.
As someone who maintains a product that a lot of people depend on (and is also BSD licensed), I know how hard #2 can be to deal with.
Often enough while working on my open source software I want to throw my hands up in the air and say "fuck it", for a variety of reasons (sometimes spiteful, sometimes due to spending time on it you'd rather spend doing other things, etc). But you aren't just abandoning the software, you're abandoning the users too. That can be a really hard thing for some people to deal with, even if the grass gets much greener after doing it.
An additional problem occurs when I have an idea that's general enough to not be used at work, but I need to design it for work: my contract (a fairly standard one for someone in my position) ensures that anything I create at work can't be used outside of work. If I want to make the library/application open source, I have to invest all my free time into writing it... and I have to do it before it ever gets near the workplace. When you're working 8-10 hours a day, it's more than tempting to just do it at work and never expect to do anything more public with it. Ironically, the result of this is that I've done several variations on a couple of key things for multiple companies.... But I think the point is clear that the personal time investment is hard to justify when you know you can not only get paid for it, but reserve your free time (which only gets more precious as you get older, no matter how much of it you have) to do things which you wouldn't get paid for anyways.
Anyways, from my seat here it seems like this is a good analysis of the dilemma, and maybe it'll help people who aren't in this position understand what's going on.
-Erik
I always thought it was the bad acting. Who can forget Roger Corman?
M: Oh look, this isn't an argument.
A: Yes it is.
M: No it isn't. It's just contradiction.
A: No it isn't.
M: It is!
A: It is not.
M: Look, you just contradicted me.
A: I did not.
M: Oh you did!!
A: No, no, no.
M: You did just then.
A: Nonsense!
M: Oh, this is futile!
A: No it isn't.
M: I came here for a good argument.
A: No you didn't; no, you came here for an argument.
M: An argument isn't just contradiction.
A: It can be.
M: No it can't. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition.
A: No it isn't.
M: Yes it is! It's not just contradiction.
A: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position.
M: Yes, but that's not just saying 'No it isn't.'
A: Yes it is!
M: No it isn't!
As long as you have shelled out copious amounts of cash for UnixODBC or all your applications support SQL-network-protocol-flavor-of-the-month. Please read posts before replying.
Actually, I don't. That's what a "bridge" is for, although commonly I'll just use an application that is more robust.
Of course, if you prefer to use clients that use a proprietary communication protocol as opposed to something that's well documented and fairly standardized, just make sure the gun is loaded when you aim down and fire.
If you don't understand why a unified interface to something like a network-available user database is useful, refrain from commenting on it.
The word 'blog' has just officially been over-used.
Seriously, reporting metrics is now 'blogging'?
(Yes, I have one. No, it's not special, but it at least sticks to the general format.)
Yeah, I'd love having to spend hours upon hours having those conversations with people with the limited time I have available to play games... I already get enough disdain because I can't bring a character to 60 in a month like a lot of the WoW players out there...
The one thing that WoW really needs is a damn group finder. CTA works, but only when people use it, and it's a mod. Those meeting stones are utter crap. In CoH, I could find a group in just a few minutes when there were a few players, either by examining the teams that had room or posting a group request myself.
Sure, when you're 14 and your social highlights involve going to the corner store to play the latest version of golden axe, sure, you have time to do BS like this.
Hmm... I guess that dates me pretty well.
Hi.
This is your friendly reality check.
Give up, it's not going to happen as long as they turn a profit.
"Vote with your wallet"
My problem, despite good times or bad, has always been about routines.. (I've been trying for several years now) It's almost never about the nicotine cravings, which probably sounds like B.S., but it isn't.
After 10 years or so, you get used to smoking in certain situations - after eating, taking a break from something to think, in the car, around others who are smoking... Those are the times when it's the hardest, and has always been when I've faltered, even with the gum, patch, lozenges, and even snuff (the nasal kind).
Smoking is pretty evil... I've been doing it for years and want to quit. It's not easy.
There are a few things with your argument, though, that you might want to be aware of.
The mere suggestion that smoking is a significant bringer of pollution is not only idiotic, it's turning a blind eye to all the things that everyone relies on that make a much larger impact pollution-wise for the sake of hyping the problems with cigarettes. If we're going to tax cigarettes based on their ability to pollute, let's use it to build a mass-transit system that doesn't require the use of automobiles, as they cause significantly more pollution. Or perhaps, we should shutdown factories that make the materials used in things like... computers. Or paper.
On one hand you argue that smoking is "their problem", yet on the other hand you propose that smokers be cast out with no ability to socialize as they smoke. I still live in one the states where you can actually find a bar to smoke in, and there are plenty of options for smokers and non-smokers alike. If non-smoker Joe wants to come into a smoking bar and then complain about the second hand smoke, someone really needs to educate the man on what things like "freedom of choice" and "free market economics" are. If there's a market for non-smoking bars and restaurants (there is), there are going to be non-smoking bars and restaurants.
Likewise, if you're working in a smoking establishment, that's the risk you take. In fact, the state I live in has a policy that doesn't allow smoking in any establishment *except* these environments. If you can't find another job at equivalent pay to the average bartender or waiter, that shouldn't be my burden as a smoker to bear. After all, strippers aren't complaining that they have to work in bars where they take their clothes off, and have no other options.
I really don't enjoy smoking, at all. However, it is certainly not my job in life to tell others what they can do in their personal time, with like-minded folks, with all the harms laid out on the table. I'd love to see more effort put into educating people (not this "the truth" shock bullshit, real education, with all the facts, good and bad, laid out. Did you know that people who use nicotine are on average higher-functioning than their non-smoker counterparts?) than the government equivalent of a nun smacking the populace on the hand with a ruler.
All this seems to be missing is your current machine specs and a little l33t5p34k.
So, if a scientific expert or, say, the pope says that ID is a-ok, it's ok?
Here, let's spin this in another direction, just for allegorical purposes:
Which is better at serving web pages, Unix Derivatives or Windows?
Emacs or Vi?
My point is (and I think AJ's point is as well) that "experts" disagree with each other just as often as non-experts do, and usually on grounds that are harder to disassociate and argue for the favor of one or another.
Now, it's highly possible that the judge is well-schooled in the sciences, but a couple of weeks in court isn't the way to solve any educational debate on curriculum - this might be something that's a bit easier to decide on, but IMO it sets a nasty precedent for how our educational system is modeled.
While this would hardly slip under the radar, it seems that a judge has the power to say, "Modern Calculus cannot be taught anymore in High School" with a similar argument from "experts". Now while both of these topics are pretty high-profile and would be challenged, what about a more obscure, but important topic?
Really, if anyone should be doing anything about this, it should be the Department of Education. My wife is getting her masters in education currently, and it baffles me how many things she can't even MENTION because of parents who think lawyers are the only way that they can shape their child's development.
I really think there's room for both on the application front... Not everyone needs a well-performing application, but sometimes people need something simple to modify (where learning the language isn't as much of an issue) and allows applications to be developed in a timely fashion with little programming.
From an engineering perspective, that makes my stomach turn, but a lot of people can relate to how perl or shell can be a boon when you need to write something quick and dirty. I see no difference in the world of GUI applications.
However, Apple already has something in that vein and I don't think people have really given it the consideration it deserves, mainly because it's a commercial third-party offering: RealBasic.
Sure, you can write java apps on the Mac, and even get the OS X feel with your application.
.NET is to Windows.
Good luck getting at webkit, or the input manager system, or heck, even native SSL support. It ain't gonna happen (without extra non-portable glue that isn't provided by apple).
While java is nice to get at some highly-portable apps and for some developers is an option to target an OS X feel when there's a java edition being written of the software, it's not anywhere near what
That said, none of his questions seemed to bite from that angle, which implies that he wasn't familiar with the java layer.
The answer to this is fairly simple, really.
/. that I have no bearing on the situation (and I think it goes without saying that there are parameters that I have missed), but it seems like a business model that could be eased into, and could either complement or replace traditional programming. I wouldn't be surprised if the iTunes video store is already doing stuff like this, since it has all the technological issues solved and a good portion of the marketing ability in place.
Nielsen ratings determine which pilots end up succeeding (or so I'm told), so...
Have a channel (or several) that provides pilots for free. Accept pre-orders for the show while the pilot is running.
Now, you have a much more reliable alternative to the nielsen system. Not only are you getting good demographics about people who are interested in the show, you're getting a direct response from those that want to see the show.
Not enough to make a buck? Refund the pre-orders. Obviously a simple credits system would work well here (see: pre-paid cell phones).
The potential for such a thing has great advantages. Not only could you serve more traditional advertisements on the pilot channels (which gives big advertisers a much smaller set of time slots to fight over, which only equals more $$$), but the shows could be arranged in a way that allows for cliff-hangers or other enticing future content at the end of the pilot, drawing more curious viewers.
I think it's fair to say that because I'm posting this on
I wish I had a cite for this, but a survey was run a few weeks ago and found the the average gamer these days is *30*. I shit you not.
It's all a conspiracy.
No no, seriously.
Arggggg......
Mach is nothing like the BSD kernel - they aren't even the same architecture!
The "BSD subsystem" in OS X is not only a portion of the system, it's an *optional* portion. Try going to the custom installation options the next time you install OS X.
I can't believe you just tried to justify that.
Starving artist joe needs to get a fucking job and be hobby artist joe until he starts getting paid to be an artist.
I find it very interesting that a large population of the world views US as "world police" in a negative light, but if americans want to move to a country which doesn't have government that's like that, suddenly it's their problem, too.
:)
Here's my proposal:
If you care about what the US is doing so much, move YOUR ass here, get your citizenship, and vote.
Oh, give me a break.
I've been living in oregon for 27 years now, in Salem, Portland, Medford, and Ashland, and I have no fucking clue what you're talking about.
I'll save the vitriol-laced rant for another time, but really, "metro areas"? Are you referring to the 50-60 blocks in Portland that 405 runs through? That's about it for the whole of the state... And it's very "old town". It really must have changed *drastically* since I was there last year. For some reason, I doubt that.
If crappy roads, dated building techniques (it's called stucco), schools that have to scrap all extra-curricular programs so you can have a cheaper property tax, and a labor policy that makes Virginia seem corporate-unfriendly are your idea of "regional culture", by all means, go find a hippie commune in astoria and disconnect. Try to keep from voting, too, for those of us who like the weather but hate the back-asswards idea of "Progressive" in this state.