No, the "desktop" and "server" OS mentality is very much alive at Microsoft. Windows XP is for destops, Windows Server 2003 is for servers. Longhorn is the next desktop Windows, and there will be a separate future Windows release for servers.
Listening to the debates, I developed a slightly more accurate John Kerry algorithm.
if (BushHasAGoodSolutionToAProblem){ CLAIM=that's my idea, but I will increase funding! } else{ CLAIM=I have a plan to fix that problem! I can never explain it in 90 seconds, but trust me I do have a plan! }
>> So this is what the future holds - American wages fall a little, Indian wages rise a LOT.
You are absolutely right. As an American, I'm still pissed about the sitation though. It is our culture that is causing this. So many companies focus on growth. This years profits must be 10% higher than last years, or the new CEO doesn't get his bonus check, or his stock plummets. He will make certain that he receives that check, no matter what the cost to american society is.
And it's not just public companies. Even privately held companies outsource everything possible in order to free up additional take home pay for the stakeholders. These days, it is incredibly difficult to find a job in America where you are valued as a thinking, feeling HUMAN BEING and not a "human resource"
We don't have to live that way. There are some things more important than the growth of a made-up entity: a company. Screw the company, if the company always comes first. With these attitudes, I guess I don't belong in my own society.
Your problem is that you are being helpful -- big mistake. Instead, act like a good natured idiot. Listen to the problem very careful, with lots of "uh-huhs..." and "really?'s".
Next, repeat what the person has said over and over again out loud. Seem hung up over a few simple key points of the problem. Offer off-the-cuff, bad advice. Example: "So, you can receive e-mail but it blue screens when you send? Really? Have you tried changing your password? What happens if you disable your screensaver?"
To end the call, reiterate how important this problem has become to you. Promise an immediate investment of several hours. Make sure that your investment is not traceable. E.g. "This problem is unacceptable! I'll check the Microsoft knowledge base / call tech support tonight!"
Should your victim call you back, make sure to ask additional clarifying questions that the victim already answered in the original cry for help. "Which e-mail client are you using? There might be an issue with that. I'll look into it as soon as I can." Keep the victim chasing his tail. Eventually your victim will give up, flailing helplessly, and you can spend your time like I do: drinking in a bar.
The best part is, you can't be faulted, because "you tried to help." If you follow this process exactly, you can limit your "7:00 pm emergency" tech support incidents to one per victim.
The problem I have with flying cars is that it will require energy just to keep the car off the ground. The car would need to behave more like a helicopter than an airplane, and we know helicopters are not very efficient.
Flying cars are at odds with conservation.
It might ease traffic congestion (especially for early adopters) but it will trash the environment. How is this the wave of the future?
Agreed. The design philosophy of linux has always baffled me. The kernel is huge, and does much more than it should. It seems much more manageable if the kernel handles resource management, like allocating memory, disk operations, and scheduling. Everything else should be components built on top of the kernel. But with Linux I have to recompile the kernel to get sound card X to work, because my distro didn't have the right #define. It doesn't make sense. Many computers don't even have a sound card, so what does that have to do with the kernel?
Well, I was planning on living my life, mostly to see what happens. But now I'll just wait for the movie. I'm excited. My life could go a lot of ways. I might use a doomsday device. I might even get married.
I prefer hypershirking to hypertasking. That's where you know you have lots of work things to do, but you ignore them all in favor of more important personal tasks.
For example, shopping online and reading/. while making personal phone calls, listening to mp3s, and writing a poem for your girlfriend. Just remember to respond to work related voice-mail once a day so you don't get fired. Always complain about how much you have to do and try to look stressed. If you do that well, you can sometimes convince your coworkers to do your work. Since most spreadsheets don't have a "name" box, you get to take credit. Very effective.
I wonder if Microsoft's portable player will have a short-lived, non-replaceable battery? Otherwise, you'd never upgrade your player.
Relax, it's a joke.
Um, no moving parts does not translate to no wear. Your Pentium IV CPU will eventually let you down, even if you use it under ideal conditions. Granted, well-designed electronic components tend to be more reliable than mechanical components.
Agreed, the interface is flawed. Mead has developed a palmtop that addresses most of these issues. It has near 100% handwriting recognition, is very user-friendly, and can easily withstand a fall. Battery life is excellent. The primary flaw is that the graphite stylus is a wear item, and must be replaced periodically.
I drive a car with an air spring suspension (instead of traditional coil spring). Air suspension has a lot of advantages, like load leveling and the softest spring rate for a given load, which translates to a smooth ride. For these benefits, I pay increased maintanance costs. The air springs require periodic replacement, as do the mechanical and electronic components of the system. I recently payed $600 for a repair.
Electromagnetic suspension is a step forward for ride quality, but it will come at a price. You'll have to decide if the benefits are worth the increased costs. With the marketing genius of Bose, I predict this system will soon debut on flagship luxury cars.
Slashdot Mirror
No, the "desktop" and "server" OS mentality is very much alive at Microsoft. Windows XP is for destops, Windows Server 2003 is for servers. Longhorn is the next desktop Windows, and there will be a separate future Windows release for servers.
The pirates will still crack activation anyway. It's only the unscrupulous resellers of Windows that get hurt by this.
Imagine the havoc this star would cause if it passed through our solar system. It wouldn't even need to hit a planet.
> I don't see any reason why a straight gas car
> can't do over 100 MPG, given the right fuel.
Then I'll give you one: wind resistance.
Except that Microsoft exists. "God" is at best a concept, or a figment of imagination. Therefore Microsoft != God.
When cornered, I call myself non-religious. But most are lost on such a subtlety, so I give them the bumper sticker version: atheist.
I have yet to see any evidence of intelligent design. And I'm a software engineer!
As an atheist living in the south, I can definetely relate. Georgia embarrasses me too.
In Soviet Russia, the motherland outsources you!
Listening to the debates, I developed a slightly more accurate John Kerry algorithm.
if (BushHasAGoodSolutionToAProblem){
CLAIM=that's my idea, but I will increase funding!
}
else{
CLAIM=I have a plan to fix that problem! I can never explain it in 90 seconds, but trust me I do have a plan!
}
>> So this is what the future holds - American wages fall a little, Indian wages rise a LOT.
You are absolutely right. As an American, I'm still pissed about the sitation though. It is our culture that is causing this. So many companies focus on growth. This years profits must be 10% higher than last years, or the new CEO doesn't get his bonus check, or his stock plummets. He will make certain that he receives that check, no matter what the cost to american society is.
And it's not just public companies. Even privately held companies outsource everything possible in order to free up additional take home pay for the stakeholders. These days, it is incredibly difficult to find a job in America where you are valued as a thinking, feeling HUMAN BEING and not a "human resource"
We don't have to live that way. There are some things more important than the growth of a made-up entity: a company. Screw the company, if the company always comes first. With these attitudes, I guess I don't belong in my own society.
>Works from Montreal, Canada... Are we considered the 51st state? Can we vote? :)
Actually, due to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, you can vote!
Your problem is that you are being helpful -- big mistake. Instead, act like a good natured idiot. Listen to the problem very careful, with lots of "uh-huhs..." and "really?'s".
Next, repeat what the person has said over and over again out loud. Seem hung up over a few simple key points of the problem. Offer off-the-cuff, bad advice. Example: "So, you can receive e-mail but it blue screens when you send? Really? Have you tried changing your password? What happens if you disable your screensaver?"
To end the call, reiterate how important this problem has become to you. Promise an immediate investment of several hours. Make sure that your investment is not traceable. E.g. "This problem is unacceptable! I'll check the Microsoft knowledge base / call tech support tonight!"
Should your victim call you back, make sure to ask additional clarifying questions that the victim already answered in the original cry for help. "Which e-mail client are you using? There might be an issue with that. I'll look into it as soon as I can." Keep the victim chasing his tail. Eventually your victim will give up, flailing helplessly, and you can spend your time like I do: drinking in a bar.
The best part is, you can't be faulted, because "you tried to help." If you follow this process exactly, you can limit your "7:00 pm emergency" tech support incidents to one per victim.
The problem I have with flying cars is that it will require energy just to keep the car off the ground. The car would need to behave more like a helicopter than an airplane, and we know helicopters are not very efficient.
Flying cars are at odds with conservation. It might ease traffic congestion (especially for early adopters) but it will trash the environment. How is this the wave of the future?
Agreed. The design philosophy of linux has always baffled me. The kernel is huge, and does much more than it should. It seems much more manageable if the kernel handles resource management, like allocating memory, disk operations, and scheduling. Everything else should be components built on top of the kernel. But with Linux I have to recompile the kernel to get sound card X to work, because my distro didn't have the right #define. It doesn't make sense. Many computers don't even have a sound card, so what does that have to do with the kernel?
Well, I was planning on living my life, mostly to see what happens. But now I'll just wait for the movie. I'm excited. My life could go a lot of ways. I might use a doomsday device. I might even get married.
After all, it wasn't that long ago when they unplugged zeitgeist.
I prefer hypershirking to hypertasking. That's where you know you have lots of work things to do, but you ignore them all in favor of more important personal tasks.
/. while making personal phone calls, listening to mp3s, and writing a poem for your girlfriend. Just remember to respond to work related voice-mail once a day so you don't get fired. Always complain about how much you have to do and try to look stressed. If you do that well, you can sometimes convince your coworkers to do your work. Since most spreadsheets don't have a "name" box, you get to take credit. Very effective.
For example, shopping online and reading
This is Slashdot. We don't "rave." Nuclear LAN party anyone?
I wonder if Microsoft's portable player will have a short-lived, non-replaceable battery? Otherwise, you'd never upgrade your player. Relax, it's a joke.
Um, no moving parts does not translate to no wear. Your Pentium IV CPU will eventually let you down, even if you use it under ideal conditions. Granted, well-designed electronic components tend to be more reliable than mechanical components.
Mead Palmtop
I drive a car with an air spring suspension (instead of traditional coil spring). Air suspension has a lot of advantages, like load leveling and the softest spring rate for a given load, which translates to a smooth ride. For these benefits, I pay increased maintanance costs. The air springs require periodic replacement, as do the mechanical and electronic components of the system. I recently payed $600 for a repair.
Electromagnetic suspension is a step forward for ride quality, but it will come at a price. You'll have to decide if the benefits are worth the increased costs. With the marketing genius of Bose, I predict this system will soon debut on flagship luxury cars.