Just FYI: the correct word is "disestablish" if they're trying to actually do away with the church. If they're just trying to help people get out of the church for other reasons, without actually destroying the church, then it would be "disenroll" or some variation.
At any rate, glad I live in a country where I don't actually have to pay to worship a deity. Some do, I don't.
Also why do corporations skirt all responsibility? Aren't corporations people too?
No - they are made up of people, and they have some of the same rights, but ultimately they are not people and you shouldn't go thinking they are.
Why should a corporation bear any responsibility beyond what is legally required? A corporation didn't have any say in whether you spawned or not - a corporation gains nothing by your child's existence unless it is a customer.
You really need better reasons for others accepting responsibility for your child and it's parenting than mere existence.
but think about future generation being able to go back and read the blogs of the past.
Future generations will soon learn that our generation was composed mostly of airheads, wankers, OMGPonies, and timecubists.
Our old blogs and emails are what OUR children will be reading when we die.
No, they'll be reading MySpace entries and bleaching their eyes when they discover that the hot chick flashing her hooters at Mardi Gras was their mom.
First is the question of judging standards for "popularity". More than likely, delivery of the payment is tied to the product reaching a certain level of popularity within a certain timeframe - if it doesn't meet this metric, then the developer doesn't get paid. And guess who sets the standard?
Next is the question of funds availability. Their legal wranglings have cost them dearly (not dearly enough, in my opinion) and there is no end in sight. Everyone needs to ask themselves if they're willing to gamble that SCO will pay up and not just take the code and declare bankruptcy.
The question of ethics is one everyone has to decide for themselves. While it might be a no-brainer here, elsewhere the line begins to blur and I'm pretty sure there are a lot of people who just don't give a damn either way because it just doesn't touch them.
RealNetworks deserves to be out of it's misery like a sick, dying animal. It only exists so that they can continue tilting at windmills.
Trumpet needs to go away, if only to finally kill off the old dead versions of Windows. The one advantage of something that old is that apparently, nobody bothers to try and virus them anymore.
As for Netscape? Cool name, but that's about it. Time to send it out to pasture.
These companies did not deserve a better fate. They weren't fast enough, smart enough, mean enough or have deep enough pockets to be real contenders in the market.
The one good thing that came out of all of that mess was Mozilla.
You're right - I haven't worked with LaTeX or TeX (well, very briefly back in the 80's). However, the problems you describe with Word are the types of problems that arise if you're as familiar with Word as I am with LaTeX/TeX. In other words, if you know the program, you can make it do rather a lot.
Ultimately, Word doesn't care about what type of document you're working on - that's your job. It provides the toolset (and yes, it's bloated and not always easy to use) and you are the one who has to learn to use it. Now, most users don't and so we get a lot of problems that really shouldn't exist.
AFAIK, LaTeX and TeX have a huge following in academia, esp. mathematics, but not so much anywhere else, exc. O'Reilly. Which is not to say they don't do their job well, but they aren't what people out here are used to or what they want or even really need.
Word processors were never supposed to be about writing books, that's just what they became. The original intent was to handle letters and various smaller things that would not be worth purchasing a frighteningly expensive typesetting system or a page-layout software package (originally, there weren't so many - come to think of it, there aren't that many now... ).
I don't exactly see where you think the software needs constant handholding though - that's more a case of user error in failing to establish a consistent convention for formatting (the tools are all there - nobody ever bothers to learn them). Which is something can happen with any system for text layout. I won't call all word processor users idiots, but they could do better.
And on the flip side, if the software writers would stick to writing basic software, rather than bloating packages up with everything under the sun, we'd be a lot better off.
However, this is the future and I have to go tell those damn CSS-junky kids to get off my lawn.
There is a large majority of programmers who never work on traditional application software and who do not work with compiled software. It doesn't make them any less of a programmer.
It's more about the ability to break a problem down into logical pieces ad infinitum.
The person who stands to gain the most is Misek and whomever he has been hired to shill for. I'm willing to bet there was a jump in stock prices for RIM when Misek gave his prophesy from whatever Olympus he bestrides. Which was the purpose of the announcement - to generate some action in an otherwise dull tech market.
When you get down to it, Apple doesn't need RIM - RIM needs Apple to help fight off whatever two-bit patent griefer decides to sue them next.
Nice article posting, but was it necessary to shill for Ubuntu as part of the post? Advocacy is one thing, but it's really starting to get out of hand around here.
Then there are the people like me who haven't been directly influenced (or indirectly, as near as I can tell) by a television ad since the internet became publicly available. My typical reaction is to leave the room, channel surf, or just plain ignore TV advertising.
At least some part of that is caused by TV advertising being so damn bland and uninteresting. Even the Superbowl ads are boring these days (and they're the only reason I ever watched it in the first place). If the advertisers and the agencies would show some sack and start producing worthwhile TV commercials, I might actually pay attention.
No guarantees on whether or not I'd buy something, though, so it might be a losing proposition.
we need to take a step back from the emotion of September eleventh (nearly 5 years later) and really look at what we want to see in the future.
We had that debate - it was held in secret and American citizens lost. It would be nice to think that electing a different party to control the government would settle the issue, or turn the clock back, or... anything, but the fact is, it won't.
This administration has mauled constitutional interpretation like a Dutch macacque and the next one only has to be a hair bit more ethical to look like a breath of fresh air. You know, 749 re-interpretations of signed law instead of 750...
After the next election, we'll talk about "healing" and "moving on", instead of starting impeachment proceedings and war tribunals to judge our own people. Instead of proving that the term "The Rule of Law" has meaning, even to us, we'll just toss the phrase around blithely and move on with our cozy little lives...
Slashdot Mirror
I'm waiting for the release called "Pete Puma"!
Yeeeeeeeeeeee.
You do realize that turning off the styling is as simple as selecting all the text, then changing to one standard font at one standard size?
... well, maybe a little. It would be nice to have bold and italic.
Not that I'm for it
Just FYI: the correct word is "disestablish" if they're trying to actually do away with the church. If they're just trying to help people get out of the church for other reasons, without actually destroying the church, then it would be "disenroll" or some variation.
At any rate, glad I live in a country where I don't actually have to pay to worship a deity. Some do, I don't.
Microsoft says, "Where do you want to go today?" Apple says, "Where do you want to go tomorrow?" FOSS says, "Are you coming, or what?"
The flipside to that is that at least the first two asked before they dragged you there.
Also why do corporations skirt all responsibility? Aren't corporations people too?
No - they are made up of people, and they have some of the same rights, but ultimately they are not people and you shouldn't go thinking they are.
Why should a corporation bear any responsibility beyond what is legally required? A corporation didn't have any say in whether you spawned or not - a corporation gains nothing by your child's existence unless it is a customer.
You really need better reasons for others accepting responsibility for your child and it's parenting than mere existence.
Maybe it's just me but, I don't get why futurama is popular.
Because it's not about you.
but think about future generation being able to go back and read the blogs of the past.
Future generations will soon learn that our generation was composed mostly of airheads, wankers, OMGPonies, and timecubists.
Our old blogs and emails are what OUR children will be reading when we die.
No, they'll be reading MySpace entries and bleaching their eyes when they discover that the hot chick flashing her hooters at Mardi Gras was their mom.
First is the question of judging standards for "popularity". More than likely, delivery of the payment is tied to the product reaching a certain level of popularity within a certain timeframe - if it doesn't meet this metric, then the developer doesn't get paid. And guess who sets the standard?
Next is the question of funds availability. Their legal wranglings have cost them dearly (not dearly enough, in my opinion) and there is no end in sight. Everyone needs to ask themselves if they're willing to gamble that SCO will pay up and not just take the code and declare bankruptcy.
The question of ethics is one everyone has to decide for themselves. While it might be a no-brainer here, elsewhere the line begins to blur and I'm pretty sure there are a lot of people who just don't give a damn either way because it just doesn't touch them.
RealNetworks deserves to be out of it's misery like a sick, dying animal. It only exists so that they can continue tilting at windmills.
Trumpet needs to go away, if only to finally kill off the old dead versions of Windows. The one advantage of something that old is that apparently, nobody bothers to try and virus them anymore.
As for Netscape? Cool name, but that's about it. Time to send it out to pasture.
These companies did not deserve a better fate. They weren't fast enough, smart enough, mean enough or have deep enough pockets to be real contenders in the market.
The one good thing that came out of all of that mess was Mozilla.
You're right - I haven't worked with LaTeX or TeX (well, very briefly back in the 80's). However, the problems you describe with Word are the types of problems that arise if you're as familiar with Word as I am with LaTeX/TeX. In other words, if you know the program, you can make it do rather a lot.
Ultimately, Word doesn't care about what type of document you're working on - that's your job. It provides the toolset (and yes, it's bloated and not always easy to use) and you are the one who has to learn to use it. Now, most users don't and so we get a lot of problems that really shouldn't exist.
AFAIK, LaTeX and TeX have a huge following in academia, esp. mathematics, but not so much anywhere else, exc. O'Reilly. Which is not to say they don't do their job well, but they aren't what people out here are used to or what they want or even really need.
Tis a pity we can't sue Creative and put them down like the old, sick cow that are.
Word processors were never supposed to be about writing books, that's just what they became. The original intent was to handle letters and various smaller things that would not be worth purchasing a frighteningly expensive typesetting system or a page-layout software package (originally, there weren't so many - come to think of it, there aren't that many now ... ).
I don't exactly see where you think the software needs constant handholding though - that's more a case of user error in failing to establish a consistent convention for formatting (the tools are all there - nobody ever bothers to learn them). Which is something can happen with any system for text layout. I won't call all word processor users idiots, but they could do better.
And on the flip side, if the software writers would stick to writing basic software, rather than bloating packages up with everything under the sun, we'd be a lot better off.
However, this is the future and I have to go tell those damn CSS-junky kids to get off my lawn.
I'm arguably a programmer.
There is a large majority of programmers who never work on traditional application software and who do not work with compiled software. It doesn't make them any less of a programmer.
It's more about the ability to break a problem down into logical pieces ad infinitum.
pr0n: it's what Opera is for.
The person who stands to gain the most is Misek and whomever he has been hired to shill for. I'm willing to bet there was a jump in stock prices for RIM when Misek gave his prophesy from whatever Olympus he bestrides. Which was the purpose of the announcement - to generate some action in an otherwise dull tech market.
When you get down to it, Apple doesn't need RIM - RIM needs Apple to help fight off whatever two-bit patent griefer decides to sue them next.
Good luck with that advertising campaign, Sandisk.
...
adjusts iPod earbuds for slightly more comfort. Goes back to happily munching grass
Nice article posting, but was it necessary to shill for Ubuntu as part of the post? Advocacy is one thing, but it's really starting to get out of hand around here.
Dammit! There goes my dream of hopping on the space elevator and punching the button for every floor ...
I vote for jailed. Fines are just a part of doing business, ...
I vote beating them on the bottom of their feet like a Singapore graffiti sprayer.
And that was the nicest thing I could think of.
Then there are the people like me who haven't been directly influenced (or indirectly, as near as I can tell) by a television ad since the internet became publicly available. My typical reaction is to leave the room, channel surf, or just plain ignore TV advertising.
At least some part of that is caused by TV advertising being so damn bland and uninteresting. Even the Superbowl ads are boring these days (and they're the only reason I ever watched it in the first place). If the advertisers and the agencies would show some sack and start producing worthwhile TV commercials, I might actually pay attention.
No guarantees on whether or not I'd buy something, though, so it might be a losing proposition.
The very fact that this discussion arises at all tells me that profitability is of more concern than quality in the commercial software world.
In the Free Software/Open Source world, that excuse doesn't exist, so what is it? Laziness? Hubris? Apathy?
good password sharing solution
WTF? Give them their own damn password.
Man, security at your place of work must be really lax.
we need to take a step back from the emotion of September eleventh (nearly 5 years later) and really look at what we want to see in the future.
... anything, but the fact is, it won't.
...
...
We had that debate - it was held in secret and American citizens lost. It would be nice to think that electing a different party to control the government would settle the issue, or turn the clock back, or
This administration has mauled constitutional interpretation like a Dutch macacque and the next one only has to be a hair bit more ethical to look like a breath of fresh air. You know, 749 re-interpretations of signed law instead of 750
After the next election, we'll talk about "healing" and "moving on", instead of starting impeachment proceedings and war tribunals to judge our own people. Instead of proving that the term "The Rule of Law" has meaning, even to us, we'll just toss the phrase around blithely and move on with our cozy little lives
All laptops with sensitive information should be equipped with a remote detonation device and 10 grams of C4.
...
Not to stop the criminals.
For the entertainment value
Well, maybe ...
...
How much is the contract worth? If I offshore the development from the start, I can probably clear 75% on this deal