Users of the iCab browser will find that it can filter cookies (and images too) based on domain (and a few other rules).
It's a Mac only browser, and is still in pre-release. It's lacking Javascript, but has a remarkably small memory and disk footprint, it's also about half again as fast as IE or Netscape on a Mac.
Well, I'll be shuffling my portfolio around so I can start making shareholder claims against these folks. First to track down which of the companies involved is having the first stockholder's meeting. Second, buy stock. Third, show up at the meeting and raise Cain.
Put me down for Retrospect from Dantz. originally a Mac-only solution, they've got WIndows servers now. It's impressively fast on searching for files to restore, and is a dream to administer. To quote their marketing slogan, it's not backup software it's restore software. And they pull it off.
I wouldn't expect Linux versions anytime soon, but if you've got PC/Mac clients and a server that'll run the software, then go for it.
ObDisclaimer: I work for a large Bay Area university doing helpdesk for our dialup connections. We (all three of us) specifically do not provide desktop support (especially for Windows ).
Friday I took a call from someone who's computer had been taken over by AOL. Nothing worked, and everytime she started an Internet program the AOL dialup screen came up. I figured she was a) boned, and b) AOL's problem, not ours.
Here's the kicker: her kids installed AOL.
Now that I hear about this, I'm starting to think she may have a legal case against AOL. A minor can't agree to a contract after all. This point is a little thin, but if there's any sign of negligence on the part of AOL developers such that they should have put in stronger warnings and more detailed information, then they could be liable of a lot of money. It probably wouldn't be worth the effort on her own, but there's a good possibility of a class-action suit.
And this is a lawsuit I can support. There's an enormous difference (especially on WinXX) between becoming the default app for email and web use and deleting existing network drivers. In the first case, it can easily be undone. In the later case, some actual damage may be done to the system, requiring expert (and expensive) repairs. I sincerely hope they've got enough tech support people to handle this, but I doubt it. Another sign of negligence ?
This is irresponsible on AOL's part. Poor luser installs a free trial copy of AOL, and they're stuck with it (or rebuilding their system). Note specifcally that there is no FM to R in this case. No warnings, and (I'll bet) no install log to help an expert in solving the problem.
There are far too many naive users out there who, if they even know that they could have to reinstall ("what's that mean ?, I don't know where my CD is !"), are adamant that they shouldn't have to.
They've got a point, anyone who pretends that Windows is an Internet Appliance that never needs user maintenance is guilty of gross misrepresentation. If they do it in advertising, then it's likely illegal. That's just not the reality of consumer desktop systems. I don't tell the Windows lusers out there that they shoulda bought a Mac, because the reality is that even the newer Macs can screw themselves up (and what do I tell them ?). Remember, too many people out there are Unclear on the Concept of moving/copying files and making shortcuts/aliases.
[an AOL ad just came on the TV... spooky]
Here's an opportunity for anyone thinking of putting together a new Linux distro: an appliance. It installs on (almost anything) and the user never really has to touch anything but an occaisonal GUI config tool. And programs can't break the system.
I just checked Yahoo, and they do have links to DeCSS and LiViD info. It seems the MPAA folks are steering clear of websites that can afford Big Money Lawyers.
Pity that this isn't like a trademark case, where they have to go after everyone infringing or lose the mark.
from George O. Smith's The Complete Venus Equilateral, a retro Hugo nominee for 1945.
The story revolves around the social consequences of the introduction of a duplicator. As predicted, the existing economy collapses. A new economy arises around 'handcrafted' originals and duplicator disks.
I recommend Venus Equilateral very highly; it's about telecom hackers (working with big ol' vacuum tubes)on an interplanetary relay station. Find a used copy.
It is illegal to prevent free speech over publicly funded mediums
pretty much true, minus some legal mumbo-jumbo
The internet is a tool for everyone.
Also pretty much true.
The Internet is not publicly funded. USENET Spam wastes bandwidth and server capacity that other people are paying for. In a UDP, they've decided to stop the waste. If they could filter out just the spam, they would. They can't, so they have to refuse all traffic from @Home onto, and this is they key part, onto their privately owned servers (and network connections).
The Themese that were "supposed" to be in the OS did get killed. I've seen bootleg copies of the theme files. I've tried 'em all actually. They're pretty, but less useful than the now-classic Platinum appearance. The problem with them is that they all provide less visual feedback than the Platinum appearance. The Apple themes (HiTech and Gizmo) were pretty, but way too busy for practical use. Most of the 3rd-party themes I've seen have come up lacking with respect to the Platinum theme. YMMV.
I did a quick websearch (google) and came up with a few links:
I'll leave aside the question of whether the joke in #15 was funny or not. My problem with the joke is that it isn't clear (to me anyway) what the funny part was. Given the question about steel siding, I presumed that it meant that the user was pounding on the keyboard with the box.
If two readers can't agree on what the joke was supposed to be, than that in and of itself is a fairly serious comment of the skills of the cartoonist.
I've been occasonally pointing people towards the User Interface Hall of Shame in the hopes of reassuring them that they aren't necessarily idiots, but rather that the people who designed the system that they're trying to use probably are.
OnTopic: I just had a call (I'm doing helpdesk work as we speak, for a major research university, at an hourly rate that can only be described as "crazy money") wherein the user was having trouble connecting to our Ph server. The solution I eventually entered into the db was: "enter the hostname exactly as the tech read it to you". 10 minutes on the call just to find out that she really was having trouble with Ph. Which is what I asked her first. Then another 5 minutes of testing and talking her through checking her Eudora settings. Then she reads out the (incorrect) hostname she has in the prefs, as opposed to the correct one I've already given her.
I'm diagnosing this one as a case of hearing what you expect to hear (she had our ph server as a 4th level hostname rather than the third-level that it actually is. *sigh*
funnny, I was watching that game on KGO-TV in San Francisco. They lost their video feed but not the audio. We got a test pattern onscreen for a few seconds with the audio behind it. There was a few seconds with neither, just the station logo, then the normal signal resumed.
funnny, I was watching that game on KGO-TV in San Francisco. They lost their video feed but not the audio. We got a test pattern onscrren for a few seconds with the audio behind it. There was a few seconds with neither, just the station logo, then the normal signal resumed.
Alfred Bester, the PsiCop. Eponymous for the writer. Read His Books.
Note that the PsiCorps trilogy recently published is pretty good. The first two books are, respectively, a history lesson on the Corps and a bio of Bester's early years. The third book is a very nice novel covering the last years of Bester's flight from justice. Tne first two are skippable, unless you're a B5 nut, but the third is going to be overlooked by a lot of people because its a licensed novel. And that's a shame.
This page is etoys.com's feedback page. I just typed in a short note and sent it in. The usual stiff note to a company I'll boycott. My theory is short, blunt, but polite.
It's a nice mouse, if you can keep it oriented. I used the base of the cord as a finger rest (until I bought a 3-button mouse from CountourDesign, 4.75 stars, good mouse but YMMV, the salesrep made me try it before he'd sell me one, then I almost wanted two:-). Apple has since added a dimple to the button that makes orienting the mouse a no-brainer. That makes it a very nice mouse.
I'm much less happy with the keyboard. They keys are too small for me, and I'm not at all pleased by the key arrangements over by the numeric pad. I'd had my G3 powered up for about half an hour before I shut it down and grabbed an old ADB keyboard. I've since replaced it with a USB keyboard tho, some messy business about a soda and a bumped arm.
There was obviosuly some design choices made to optimize mouse and keyboard for people with smaller hands. An awful lot of Macs went into homes, and each of those is available for the family kids. To say nothing of schools. For the intended audience they're very nice input devices. For the rest of the us (wait a sec...), USB devices are now cheap, plentiful, and polychromatic. (oh, right. It's the computer for the rest of us, but the keyboard is for our (their) kids).
There is one advantage to having the menu bar be docked to the top of the monitor: You can't overshoot the menubar with the mouse. Watch a longtime Mac user go for the menus sometime; I habitually just fling the pointer upwards (*crash* !) and then adjust the horizontal to the item I'm looking for. It's just a tad faster to mouse around menus when there's one direction you can bias towards without wandering away from the menubar. It's sort of like having a wall to lean on while drunk.
Slashdot Mirror
Users of the iCab browser will find that it can filter cookies (and images too) based on domain (and a few other rules).
It's a Mac only browser, and is still in pre-release. It's lacking Javascript, but has a remarkably small memory and disk footprint, it's also about half again as fast as IE or Netscape on a Mac.
Well, I'll be shuffling my portfolio around so I can start making shareholder claims against these folks. First to track down which of the companies involved is having the first stockholder's meeting. Second, buy stock. Third, show up at the meeting and raise Cain.
I wouldn't expect Linux versions anytime soon, but if you've got PC/Mac clients and a server that'll run the software, then go for it.
Hmmm, existing installers break, and poorly-designed software gets updated to still cause problems. Great.
I'll second this ! Especially if your office has a network that can handle Ghost from a network boot floppy.
Friday I took a call from someone who's computer had been taken over by AOL. Nothing worked, and everytime she started an Internet program the AOL dialup screen came up. I figured she was a) boned, and b) AOL's problem, not ours.
Here's the kicker: her kids installed AOL.
Now that I hear about this, I'm starting to think she may have a legal case against AOL. A minor can't agree to a contract after all. This point is a little thin, but if there's any sign of negligence on the part of AOL developers such that they should have put in stronger warnings and more detailed information, then they could be liable of a lot of money. It probably wouldn't be worth the effort on her own, but there's a good possibility of a class-action suit.
And this is a lawsuit I can support. There's an enormous difference (especially on WinXX) between becoming the default app for email and web use and deleting existing network drivers. In the first case, it can easily be undone. In the later case, some actual damage may be done to the system, requiring expert (and expensive) repairs. I sincerely hope they've got enough tech support people to handle this, but I doubt it. Another sign of negligence ?
This is irresponsible on AOL's part. Poor luser installs a free trial copy of AOL, and they're stuck with it (or rebuilding their system). Note specifcally that there is no FM to R in this case. No warnings, and (I'll bet) no install log to help an expert in solving the problem.
There are far too many naive users out there who, if they even know that they could have to reinstall ("what's that mean ?, I don't know where my CD is !"), are adamant that they shouldn't have to.
They've got a point, anyone who pretends that Windows is an Internet Appliance that never needs user maintenance is guilty of gross misrepresentation. If they do it in advertising, then it's likely illegal. That's just not the reality of consumer desktop systems. I don't tell the Windows lusers out there that they shoulda bought a Mac, because the reality is that even the newer Macs can screw themselves up (and what do I tell them ?). Remember, too many people out there are Unclear on the Concept of moving/copying files and making shortcuts/aliases.
[an AOL ad just came on the TV... spooky]
Here's an opportunity for anyone thinking of putting together a new Linux distro: an appliance. It installs on (almost anything) and the user never really has to touch anything but an occaisonal GUI config tool. And programs can't break the system.
Get hacking guys !
Pity that this isn't like a trademark case, where they have to go after everyone infringing or lose the mark.
Pandora's Millions
from George O. Smith's The Complete Venus Equilateral, a retro Hugo nominee for 1945.
The story revolves around the social consequences of the introduction of a duplicator. As predicted, the existing economy collapses. A new economy arises around 'handcrafted' originals and duplicator disks.
I recommend Venus Equilateral very highly; it's about telecom hackers (working with big ol' vacuum tubes)on an interplanetary relay station. Find a used copy.
You're thinking of a compiler and login
pretty much true, minus some legal mumbo-jumbo
The internet is a tool for everyone.
Also pretty much true.
The Internet is not publicly funded. USENET Spam wastes bandwidth and server capacity that other people are paying for. In a UDP, they've decided to stop the waste. If they could filter out just the spam, they would. They can't, so they have to refuse all traffic from @Home onto, and this is they key part, onto their privately owned servers (and network connections).
King Solomon, white courtesy telephone; King Solomon, white courtesy telephone.
... later.
and given my weird sense of humor and, er, alternative take on semantics I can't be surprised that I misread the joke.
The Themese that were "supposed" to be in the OS did get killed. I've seen bootleg copies of the theme files. I've tried 'em all actually. They're pretty, but less useful than the now-classic Platinum appearance. The problem with them is that they all provide less visual feedback than the Platinum appearance. The Apple themes (HiTech and Gizmo) were pretty, but way too busy for practical use. Most of the 3rd-party themes I've seen have come up lacking with respect to the Platinum theme. YMMV.
I did a quick websearch (google) and came up with a few links:
DSG Theme
the Allegro Themes Project
The last link has several themes to try out, and a few links to other sites with themes.
On the plus side, the /. community needed another excuse to vent a little TechSupport related frustration. So it's not a wasted article by any means.
And I've also been collecting URL's to other online cartoons.
I think that guy's working for my University now.
If two readers can't agree on what the joke was supposed to be, than that in and of itself is a fairly serious comment of the skills of the cartoonist.
OnTopic: I just had a call (I'm doing helpdesk work as we speak, for a major research university, at an hourly rate that can only be described as "crazy money") wherein the user was having trouble connecting to our Ph server. The solution I eventually entered into the db was: "enter the hostname exactly as the tech read it to you". 10 minutes on the call just to find out that she really was having trouble with Ph. Which is what I asked her first. Then another 5 minutes of testing and talking her through checking her Eudora settings. Then she reads out the (incorrect) hostname she has in the prefs, as opposed to the correct one I've already given her.
I'm diagnosing this one as a case of hearing what you expect to hear (she had our ph server as a 4th level hostname rather than the third-level that it actually is. *sigh*
funnny, I was watching that game on KGO-TV in San Francisco. They lost their video feed but not the audio. We got a test pattern onscreen for a few seconds with the audio behind it. There was a few seconds with neither, just the station logo, then the normal signal resumed.
funnny, I was watching that game on KGO-TV in San Francisco. They lost their video feed but not the audio. We got a test pattern onscrren for a few seconds with the audio behind it. There was a few seconds with neither, just the station logo, then the normal signal resumed.
and to think I wasted my moderator points on 'thoughtful' and 'informative' posts yesterday :-(
Note that the PsiCorps trilogy recently published is pretty good. The first two books are, respectively, a history lesson on the Corps and a bio of Bester's early years. The third book is a very nice novel covering the last years of Bester's flight from justice. Tne first two are skippable, unless you're a B5 nut, but the third is going to be overlooked by a lot of people because its a licensed novel. And that's a shame.
This page is etoys.com's feedback page. I just typed in a short note and sent it in. The usual stiff note to a company I'll boycott. My theory is short, blunt, but polite.
I'm much less happy with the keyboard. They keys are too small for me, and I'm not at all pleased by the key arrangements over by the numeric pad. I'd had my G3 powered up for about half an hour before I shut it down and grabbed an old ADB keyboard. I've since replaced it with a USB keyboard tho, some messy business about a soda and a bumped arm.
There was obviosuly some design choices made to optimize mouse and keyboard for people with smaller hands. An awful lot of Macs went into homes, and each of those is available for the family kids. To say nothing of schools. For the intended audience they're very nice input devices. For the rest of the us (wait a sec...), USB devices are now cheap, plentiful, and polychromatic. (oh, right. It's the computer for the rest of us, but the keyboard is for our (their) kids).
There is one advantage to having the menu bar be docked to the top of the monitor: You can't overshoot the menubar with the mouse. Watch a longtime Mac user go for the menus sometime; I habitually just fling the pointer upwards (*crash* !) and then adjust the horizontal to the item I'm looking for. It's just a tad faster to mouse around menus when there's one direction you can bias towards without wandering away from the menubar. It's sort of like having a wall to lean on while drunk.