Dead right. All those C dialects just add features that you mostly don't need. Ok, the C++ object syntax (
foo = 5;
instead of
obj->foo = 5;
in C) is nice.
Still, the real shortcomings of C aren't fixed, such as braindead syntax, only a single return value for functions (but a function can have 5 parameters; why?), lack of tailcall optimization, braindead calling conventions...
You might even say that
public static final synchronized Bla
makes the syntax even more braindead.
I don't really know Ruby, but at least it does OO righter than Java&Co (like Smalltalk, too). My language of choice these days is Common Lisp.
I think many more women (and therefore a growing number of some good-looking ones in CS classes) would be a major factor in getting the male students to actually useful things.
If there's a hot chick in your CS-3something class, you'll probably spend more time on being smart and making your presentation look good instead of just hanging out there and talking about $MMORPG with you friends.
I noticed that, as I went from Germany to Wisconsin for a year, my work morale increased drastically. Part of it might be that in Germany laziness is a virtue and work is something negative. The other part is that Wisconsin (La Crosse) has about 70% women on campus, and a lot of them really good-looking. When surrounded with nice girls, you suddenly have something to live (and work) for (and not just kill you freetime with computer games)...
It's not clicking, it's sending HTTP requests to google.
Even if someone pays somebody else to click on advertisements, what's the problem? It just raises the miss rate of advertising a bit. Instead of having maybe 10% of click-on-your-ad users buying something, you have 2% of request-your-website users buying something. It's just a cost to be reckoned with and basically increases the numbers of click-through ads you have to buy.
In the future? See zombie mobs of hacked Windows PCs accessing advertising links:D
Unlike RMS, I'm a firm proponent of the existence commercial software, as long as data and exchange formats are open. GForth, like many (older) GPL projects, however, is a community project, created by some Forthers, so everyone (including themselves) can use a free, portable Forth. As such, it's very good and I'm very happy that it exists.
You're free to create your own competing program and sell it. So, not everybody who uses the GPL is Communist.
$ gforth Gforth 0.6.2, Copyright (C) 1995-2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Gforth comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details type `license' Type `bye' to exit
Right. Even in my Windows years (1 year 98, one year XP overall, even though I used BSD most of the more recent time, and XP merely for Windows-only stuff and games) have I never had any viruses, only the Blaster Worm once. However, I know LOTS of people who constantly need to get someone to clean up their machines. I don't know with whom they practice unsafe Software EXchange, but it shows.
BTW I'm not a Linux fanboy, but used (and like) Linux, the BSDs, BeOS, Mac OS X, Solaris, just now Windows;)
and how often do they have to check every single file on your hard disk??
First of all: there are systems out there that don't even suffer from viruses, as many other posters mentioned.
Secondly: if running a whatever tool in the background on your OS slows down the whole system, you know that your OS's scheduler sucks (especially if your system is 2+ GHz).
Thirdly: isn't it enough to check a file once and be done with it? If every file is checked as it is created or modified (like spotlight-indexing on Mac OS Tiger), then it shouldn't eat much CPU at all.
But you don't *have* to use 64bit values, do you? Even if the CPU does 64bit (like the G5), you can still use "lwz" (load word and zero) instructions, which basically just ignore the upper 32bits of each register. If you want to store these into memory in a 32bit value (because you don't use the upper 32bits anyway), again, "stw" (store word).
Only the part of the application that used 64bit values has to use double word instructions.
Now to pointers: even if part of your application uses 64bit arithmetic and maybe a huge 64bit address space, what prevents the GUI part to reside in the low 4GB of RAM? In my opinion, nothing, except that the malloc used in the program is too stupid. Well, just offer a special hi_malloc for high memory to use in the huge-address-space part, let Cocoa use the low 4GB. That way pointers can be stored in 32bits as well, since their upper 32bits are zero.
Most patents seem to cover the idea of a process (algorithm). If you want to protect the actual (implemented) process, you don't need to patent it, as copyright already protects it!
Most patents (like one click or the isNot operator) seem awfully idea-like to me, even if they cover "processes" (like buying stuff on the web, or checking for inequality).
IMHO it should just not be legal to patent ideas. All those ideas *will* end up in any non-trivial piece of software, or will be discovered by any clever human being (of which there are many billions!).
There's nothing that justifies one human being (or even corporation) to gain a monopoly on an *idea*.
If a company thinks they have the coolest technology ever, they should develop a codec and sell (license) it to others, not patent it!
If everyone just hoards ideas, we can forget innovation and progress. The world needs actual products and services (gasp!) to be a better place for people to live in.
The USA already have software patents, Europe will "only" get them.
If this indeed hinders unrestricted programming, I might go to South America. Those countries will be happy to get some more taxes from software sold to the USA and the EU via the internet.;)
That's exactly the problem with patents on software.
The ideas don't really cover rocket science, but just common engineering sense. When you develop *any* non-trivial application, you are sure to violate at least ten patents, as *all* patents are in a way trivial and so end up in one or another application.
Ideas should not belong to anybody.
Die Gedanken sind frei! (German: thoughts are free/libre)
Making free (beer) software non-free to pay for some people monopolizing on ideas isn't the solution to this problem.
In october I always went to school in the dark, and only around 9 did the sun come up. Totally unhealthy if you ask me.
Generally in winter (even when DST was "off") it always turned daylight only around 9 or 10, so we should IMHO work later than in the summer (and a little less).
In summer, even with DST the sun comes up around 6 or 7 sometimes, so that would mean I should get to bed earlier (but can't because of group/society pressure) and wake up earlier. We're all messed up, it seems.
DRM was definitely *not* created to keep people from copying and distributing content, since DRM (like CSS or iTunes FairPlay) doesn't prevent that.
I can crack an iTunes AAC and put in on Kazaa; I can *copy* or rip a DVD without touching the encryption. Only to *play* the movie do I need to touch and decrypt the data!
That's why I don't like the term copy protection. It's more of a play protection to me, just like region codes. I'm in the US right now, but can't rent or buy US DVDs, since then I couldn't watch my German DVDs anymore. Sucks, doesn't it?
Actually, you can't prevent copying and mass distribution at all, and you don't need to. You also can't prevent people from stabbing each other with a kitchen knife. But the MI could compete, meaning that it started offering a decent product (unencumbered downloads in multiple formats and bitrates; backup included in case you fry your hard drive; fair price, 99c is ok to me) instead of refusing to acknowledge that we live in the 21st century now.
At $15 I hardly buy any CDs at all -- only the best of the best. At $8-$12 I buy lots of CDs. A slight modification in price can vastly change the profits made on music, but the MI doesn't even understand (or refuses to) basic business and pricing decisions.
I can control them via not purchasing them. If enough of us had the self control/will power to do the same, things WILL change.
Unfortunately, no. While I boycott buying DVDs (I will rent them once in a while, though), most people out there don't even know what DRM is or what's up with the CSS stuff.
Even if we all stop buying DVDs, the industry will give a shit.
The only possibility is to fight for fair use on the legal front and to actively circumvent DRM and advertise that (and to advertise that circumventing "protection" doesn't mean you copy/steal content).
Slashdot Mirror
All those C dialects just add features that you mostly don't need. Ok, the C++ object syntax ( instead of in C) is nice.
Still, the real shortcomings of C aren't fixed, such as braindead syntax, only a single return value for functions (but a function can have 5 parameters; why?), lack of tailcall optimization, braindead calling conventions...
You might even say that makes the syntax even more braindead.
I don't really know Ruby, but at least it does OO righter than Java&Co (like Smalltalk, too). My language of choice these days is Common Lisp.
I think many more women (and therefore a growing number of some good-looking ones in CS classes) would be a major factor in getting the male students to actually useful things.
If there's a hot chick in your CS-3something class, you'll probably spend more time on being smart and making your presentation look good instead of just hanging out there and talking about $MMORPG with you friends.
I noticed that, as I went from Germany to Wisconsin for a year, my work morale increased drastically. Part of it might be that in Germany laziness is a virtue and work is something negative. The other part is that Wisconsin (La Crosse) has about 70% women on campus, and a lot of them really good-looking. When surrounded with nice girls, you suddenly have something to live (and work) for (and not just kill you freetime with computer games)...
What are they expecting? It's based on voluntary work.
If anybody needs some guaranteed service, or commercial-grade testing, maybe they should hire some programmers to do it?
It's not clicking, it's sending HTTP requests to google.
:D
Even if someone pays somebody else to click on advertisements, what's the problem? It just raises the miss rate of advertising a bit. Instead of having maybe 10% of click-on-your-ad users buying something, you have 2% of request-your-website users buying something. It's just a cost to be reckoned with and basically increases the numbers of click-through ads you have to buy.
In the future? See zombie mobs of hacked Windows PCs accessing advertising links
You're preaching to the wrong choir here ;)
Unlike RMS, I'm a firm proponent of the existence commercial software, as long as data and exchange formats are open. GForth, like many (older) GPL projects, however, is a community project, created by some Forthers, so everyone (including themselves) can use a free, portable Forth. As such, it's very good and I'm very happy that it exists.
You're free to create your own competing program and sell it. So, not everybody who uses the GPL is Communist.
If you don't want to boot the useless graphical MacOS, yes ;)
Right. Even in my Windows years (1 year 98, one year XP overall, even though I used BSD most of the more recent time, and XP merely for Windows-only stuff and games) have I never had any viruses, only the Blaster Worm once. However, I know LOTS of people who constantly need to get someone to clean up their machines. I don't know with whom they practice unsafe Software EXchange, but it shows.
;)
BTW I'm not a Linux fanboy, but used (and like) Linux, the BSDs, BeOS, Mac OS X, Solaris, just now Windows
and how often do they have to check every single file on your hard disk??
First of all: there are systems out there that don't even suffer from viruses, as many other posters mentioned.
Secondly: if running a whatever tool in the background on your OS slows down the whole system, you know that your OS's scheduler sucks (especially if your system is 2+ GHz).
Thirdly: isn't it enough to check a file once and be done with it? If every file is checked as it is created or modified (like spotlight-indexing on Mac OS Tiger), then it shouldn't eat much CPU at all.
Give me a break. I direct my browser to an HTML page and that page is loaded with keylogging software or viral code???
.exe file wants to install on Windows, just like in the 0900 dialer days...
How is that supposed to work? Is the viral code a Javascript application?
Maybe they just should have written that some
Every time your Java program fires an ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException, you are shot at by a laser.
Wouldn't this greatly reduce programming errors?
But you don't *have* to use 64bit values, do you? Even if the CPU does 64bit (like the G5), you can still use "lwz" (load word and zero) instructions, which basically just ignore the upper 32bits of each register. If you want to store these into memory in a 32bit value (because you don't use the upper 32bits anyway), again, "stw" (store word).
Only the part of the application that used 64bit values has to use double word instructions.
Now to pointers: even if part of your application uses 64bit arithmetic and maybe a huge 64bit address space, what prevents the GUI part to reside in the low 4GB of RAM? In my opinion, nothing, except that the malloc used in the program is too stupid. Well, just offer a special hi_malloc for high memory to use in the huge-address-space part, let Cocoa use the low 4GB. That way pointers can be stored in 32bits as well, since their upper 32bits are zero.
"Method and apparatus for monitoring audio-visual materials presented to a subscriber."
Like looking into your apache or ftp log to see who downloaded what?
Most patents seem to cover the idea of a process (algorithm). If you want to protect the actual (implemented) process, you don't need to patent it, as copyright already protects it!
Most patents (like one click or the isNot operator) seem awfully idea-like to me, even if they cover "processes" (like buying stuff on the web, or checking for inequality).
IMHO it should just not be legal to patent ideas. All those ideas *will* end up in any non-trivial piece of software, or will be discovered by any clever human being (of which there are many billions!).
There's nothing that justifies one human being (or even corporation) to gain a monopoly on an *idea*.
If a company thinks they have the coolest technology ever, they should develop a codec and sell (license) it to others, not patent it!
If everyone just hoards ideas, we can forget innovation and progress. The world needs actual products and services (gasp!) to be a better place for people to live in.
The USA already have software patents, Europe will "only" get them.
;)
If this indeed hinders unrestricted programming, I might go to South America. Those countries will be happy to get some more taxes from software sold to the USA and the EU via the internet.
That's exactly the problem with patents on software.
The ideas don't really cover rocket science, but just common engineering sense.
When you develop *any* non-trivial application, you are sure to violate at least ten patents, as *all* patents are in a way trivial and so end up in one or another application.
Ideas should not belong to anybody.
Die Gedanken sind frei! (German: thoughts are free/libre)
Making free (beer) software non-free to pay for some people monopolizing on ideas isn't the solution to this problem.
Then why will some movies only show at half speed or with broken sound on WMP??
WinAMP or VLC just work, the latter one even on the Mac. Tell me where I can get WMP for the Mac, please.
Um, what is it you're trying to say?
Your website says you live in Hamburg. Don't like it there?
At least European DST ends too late, though.
In october I always went to school in the dark, and only around 9 did the sun come up. Totally unhealthy if you ask me.
Generally in winter (even when DST was "off") it always turned daylight only around 9 or 10, so we should IMHO work later than in the summer (and a little less).
In summer, even with DST the sun comes up around 6 or 7 sometimes, so that would mean I should get to bed earlier (but can't because of group/society pressure) and wake up earlier. We're all messed up, it seems.
I personally think the most importing things to do as a hacker are:
* get your sleep, plenty
* eat healthy
* work out
This helps me focus much better on actual work when I have to or want to.
No, lack of talent causes outsourcing.
Europe and the USA did abysmal, and honestly I didn't expect anything different.
How can I get a Significant Other with nothing but a hundred bucks and a brain on my side?
If I may join the discussion...
DRM was definitely *not* created to keep people from copying and distributing content, since DRM (like CSS or iTunes FairPlay) doesn't prevent that.
I can crack an iTunes AAC and put in on Kazaa; I can *copy* or rip a DVD without touching the encryption. Only to *play* the movie do I need to touch and decrypt the data!
That's why I don't like the term copy protection. It's more of a play protection to me, just like region codes. I'm in the US right now, but can't rent or buy US DVDs, since then I couldn't watch my German DVDs anymore. Sucks, doesn't it?
Actually, you can't prevent copying and mass distribution at all, and you don't need to. You also can't prevent people from stabbing each other with a kitchen knife. But the MI could compete, meaning that it started offering a decent product (unencumbered downloads in multiple formats and bitrates; backup included in case you fry your hard drive; fair price, 99c is ok to me) instead of refusing to acknowledge that we live in the 21st century now.
At $15 I hardly buy any CDs at all -- only the best of the best. At $8-$12 I buy lots of CDs. A slight modification in price can vastly change the profits made on music, but the MI doesn't even understand (or refuses to) basic business and pricing decisions.
I can control them via not purchasing them. If enough of us had the self control/will power to do the same, things WILL change.
Unfortunately, no. While I boycott buying DVDs (I will rent them once in a while, though), most people out there don't even know what DRM is or what's up with the CSS stuff.
Even if we all stop buying DVDs, the industry will give a shit.
The only possibility is to fight for fair use on the legal front and to actively circumvent DRM and advertise that (and to advertise that circumventing "protection" doesn't mean you copy/steal content).