Switching to a different IM network would be kind of pointless unless you can convince your contacts to do the same. IM is pretty boring as a single player game.
And no, I'm not going to give my login data to a third party for some kind of a bridge service between the networks.
Perhaps sadly, where I live (Finland) the problem isn't really people insisting on ICQ but MSN. Someone pointed out earlier that in Russia there's no IM, there's just ICQ. Here it's just MSN.
And the point of software is the usage, not the creation. So dealing with issues during creation is the developer's problem. It needs to be usable by the client.
And it's the job of the creators of the software to design and write it so that it is usable by the user. Creation is quite critical for the usability of the software.
GPP suggests that there are also incompatibilities between various versions of C libraries (perhaps whether a standard library or any other random library that you're linking your C code to), and he's right. Sometimes applications haven't worked with a certain version of glibc until hacked to do so, for instance.
In fact, obscure incompatibilities aren't all that uncommon when dealing with complex systems, especially if you also use unsupported API or other weird tricks. It's uncomfortable but being able to deal with that is a part of software engineering.
The root of the problem may of course be in the imlementation of the library itself and not in the application code (which may just need a workaround or a different approach to the problem in order to not hit the library bug), but that's in no way specific to Java.
Gee, I wonder how separated people found each other before cell phones...
Yep, they got along just fine. They were used to planning and agreeing on meetings beforehand. Today many of us aren't.
It was actually a refreshing experience when I was on vacation in Japan for a couple of weeks with a few friends, and only one of us had a phone that worked there. We planned some things beforehand, and others just worked without any planning.
Often you just need a meeting point or something where you go if you haven't seen the others in a while. Or, if you can split into two groups without leaving anyone alone, that's also just fine. Just agree beforehand when you're planning to leave and arrange a meeting point for that.
You're right about that. However, while Adobe's interests in supporting Linux may vary, at least they don't have an automatic and obvious interest in fighting against it either. MS does.
You aren't going to hear MS say they can't support MS Office anymore because they got really busy at work, just got married, had a kid, had a rough semester at school, etc...
Maybe not, but you may hear that they can't support it anymore because they're out of money, or just don't want to do so anymore because they no longer see the product and its support as profitable enough.
Thinking that "the rules of economy" or something else like that automatically makes commercial software somehow more reliable is rather naive.
I wouldn't recommend that you suggest having sex with a girl just because you two happen to be part of a stable pairing, though, particularly if it's a female-pessimal pairing.
Of course, it's pretty frustrating for those of us who really do know what they're doing, but face it, we're a tiny minority.
Even in IT shops? I'd hope that, say, software engineers actually understood a thing or two about computers.
On the other hand, even among software engineering staff I've seen people have pretty much no idea about software licenses or even the thought that they should be given some attention. I have to agree that piracy may be a problem at times, although the way I see it, licensing is something that technical stuff should be aware of, and if they aren't, they should be educated.
For the record, I'm the admin of my own work computer, and it would certainly seem a pain to me to have it any other way. We're talking about IT shops here, and generally the programmers I know like to have their tools set up the way they see fit for their work. Especially for debugging you may sometimes need tools that an IT department might not have thought of, or which would be semi-useless without admin privileges on the local machine anyway. Think about packet sniffers, for instance, which may actually be helpful when debugging networking applications.
Maybe you still wouldn't want to allow everyone in the company to manage their own computers. Accountants probably don't need such a diverse set of tools as technical staff. Where to draw the line and how to give the rationale for that is another thing.
Exactly. If you're good enough or have strong enough connections, you don't need to bribe.
I think there may be several players in the field, both in the OOXML case and in general, who largely see supporting (or at least not opposing) MS as a viable political choice. The rationale may include special deals offered for Microsoft systems, or important companies deemed to be important for national economy that are close to Microsoft. Add good lobbying from MS and its partners, and shake well.
I of course tend to disagree with the notion that it would be a good idea to support MS because of apparent short-term benefits. After all, a monopoly isn't beneficial to anyone in the long run except for the monopoly itself even if the deal initially seems attractive. On the other hand, you also have to remember that even if the EU (where most of this seems to be happening) is supposed to be built on economical collaboration, each nation still pulls their own rope. If the decision-makers view something as a national advantage even though it sounds like a bad idea globally, many of them are likely to support it.
I understand why Apple doesn't support Flash on the iPhone: Because Flash sucks.
Not to mention that Flash makes it possible to create separate (web) applications in it. Yeah, they tend to suck, but they're still standalone applications (compared to normal web stuff) with code downloaded to the phone, which Apple doesn't like.
A little computer that isn't much of a computer due to the lock-down. Just a fancy-looking phone, perhaps with a couple more applications than in other non-smartphones.
And at least on Finland, Civil register includes a lots of other information too than just name, address, phonenumber, education, marriage status.
I don't think I've given my phone number to any government officials here so far. Is the information automatically given to them by telecom companies or some non-governmental authorities or something? If so, this is news to me.
The address etc. are registered, that's certainly true. I'm not familiar with any other contact information being there, though.
Slashdot Mirror
Switching to a different IM network would be kind of pointless unless you can convince your contacts to do the same. IM is pretty boring as a single player game.
And no, I'm not going to give my login data to a third party for some kind of a bridge service between the networks.
Perhaps sadly, where I live (Finland) the problem isn't really people insisting on ICQ but MSN. Someone pointed out earlier that in Russia there's no IM, there's just ICQ. Here it's just MSN.
Pretty damn fast recovery it's been making for the past few decades... quite a bit faster than for a while before that.
Slower than a 486? On a frist generation Pentium perhaps.
But then, that's about the right era for comments about Java being slow, too.
Yeah, but I've never seen any of her code, so it's kinda hard to judge.
And it's the job of the creators of the software to design and write it so that it is usable by the user. Creation is quite critical for the usability of the software.
GPP suggests that there are also incompatibilities between various versions of C libraries (perhaps whether a standard library or any other random library that you're linking your C code to), and he's right. Sometimes applications haven't worked with a certain version of glibc until hacked to do so, for instance.
In fact, obscure incompatibilities aren't all that uncommon when dealing with complex systems, especially if you also use unsupported API or other weird tricks. It's uncomfortable but being able to deal with that is a part of software engineering.
The root of the problem may of course be in the imlementation of the library itself and not in the application code (which may just need a workaround or a different approach to the problem in order to not hit the library bug), but that's in no way specific to Java.
Yep, they got along just fine. They were used to planning and agreeing on meetings beforehand. Today many of us aren't.
It was actually a refreshing experience when I was on vacation in Japan for a couple of weeks with a few friends, and only one of us had a phone that worked there. We planned some things beforehand, and others just worked without any planning.
Often you just need a meeting point or something where you go if you haven't seen the others in a while. Or, if you can split into two groups without leaving anyone alone, that's also just fine. Just agree beforehand when you're planning to leave and arrange a meeting point for that.
4. Just don't use it even if you have it with you.
You're right about that. However, while Adobe's interests in supporting Linux may vary, at least they don't have an automatic and obvious interest in fighting against it either. MS does.
Interesting. In Pidgin I saw it as disturbing for about five minutes, and after that it never seemed to be a problem.
Maybe not, but you may hear that they can't support it anymore because they're out of money, or just don't want to do so anymore because they no longer see the product and its support as profitable enough.
Thinking that "the rules of economy" or something else like that automatically makes commercial software somehow more reliable is rather naive.
You could also try solving the Stable Marriage Problem for all party-goers.
I wouldn't recommend that you suggest having sex with a girl just because you two happen to be part of a stable pairing, though, particularly if it's a female-pessimal pairing.
Well, I guess being a work in progress is better than being a work in regress.
Even in IT shops? I'd hope that, say, software engineers actually understood a thing or two about computers.
On the other hand, even among software engineering staff I've seen people have pretty much no idea about software licenses or even the thought that they should be given some attention. I have to agree that piracy may be a problem at times, although the way I see it, licensing is something that technical stuff should be aware of, and if they aren't, they should be educated.
For the record, I'm the admin of my own work computer, and it would certainly seem a pain to me to have it any other way. We're talking about IT shops here, and generally the programmers I know like to have their tools set up the way they see fit for their work. Especially for debugging you may sometimes need tools that an IT department might not have thought of, or which would be semi-useless without admin privileges on the local machine anyway. Think about packet sniffers, for instance, which may actually be helpful when debugging networking applications.
Maybe you still wouldn't want to allow everyone in the company to manage their own computers. Accountants probably don't need such a diverse set of tools as technical staff. Where to draw the line and how to give the rationale for that is another thing.
I thought that happened all the time at clubs.
(Not necessarily to me, but to members of the prettier gender.)
Exactly. If you're good enough or have strong enough connections, you don't need to bribe.
I think there may be several players in the field, both in the OOXML case and in general, who largely see supporting (or at least not opposing) MS as a viable political choice. The rationale may include special deals offered for Microsoft systems, or important companies deemed to be important for national economy that are close to Microsoft. Add good lobbying from MS and its partners, and shake well.
I of course tend to disagree with the notion that it would be a good idea to support MS because of apparent short-term benefits. After all, a monopoly isn't beneficial to anyone in the long run except for the monopoly itself even if the deal initially seems attractive. On the other hand, you also have to remember that even if the EU (where most of this seems to be happening) is supposed to be built on economical collaboration, each nation still pulls their own rope. If the decision-makers view something as a national advantage even though it sounds like a bad idea globally, many of them are likely to support it.
He might be sleeping at lectures. Isn't that a pretty normal way of going to college?
If you routinely check out each other's penises with your friends, chances are there's something strange about your relationship.
And at least your name has only one "Z".
Not to mention that Flash makes it possible to create separate (web) applications in it. Yeah, they tend to suck, but they're still standalone applications (compared to normal web stuff) with code downloaded to the phone, which Apple doesn't like.
Guess you haven't heard of Flashblock.
A little computer that isn't much of a computer due to the lock-down. Just a fancy-looking phone, perhaps with a couple more applications than in other non-smartphones.
Perhaps they won't get their money on the next round.
Or if it's a Windows Mobile phone, "About to display goatse. Cancel or allow?"
At least for once it would be for a good reason.
I don't think I've given my phone number to any government officials here so far. Is the information automatically given to them by telecom companies or some non-governmental authorities or something? If so, this is news to me.
The address etc. are registered, that's certainly true. I'm not familiar with any other contact information being there, though.