. Remember the big push a while ago for "OLE" and "Objectification"-style ideas, where everything turned into an object? Note where they are today - nowhere...
It's called COM/DCOM/COM+ now, and it is very much alive...
And there's currently no way to create such a document-centered beast out of modern computer technology
Just because you can't understand change doesn't make it impossible.
..folders, names, alphabetical orderings, etc. are a perfect metaphor for programming. He states that the current idea is great for programmers - well, that's because the programs they write need to interact with a system - and through our carefully-designed structure, they do it.
But you miss his point - while the model is good for programming, it is not good for the user. Another layer of abstraction is needed. And please don't go off about how more extraction is unnecessary. If that was the case, we would all be programming in ML (Assembler would be too much 'abstraction'!)
It may have abstraction layers hiding the functionality, but it will still function in the same way.
And here, I think you are finally getting the point. Who, besides the programmer, should have to care about implementation details? Implementation should be transparent to the end-user.
Where do I put Quake III in the document-centered model?
You as a programmer? You'll still place it in some sort of structured filesystem.
You as an end-user? The application would be just another 'document'
It's fine for one application, but what about when I've got fifty, all with their own data files?
Again, as you are obviously a 'power user', and probably a programmer, you are looking at this from a sysadmin point of view. Don't, because then you will miss the point.
In Quake, how often do you access data files outside of the UI? Probably never. So, all you are interested in is the UI. Who cares where the data files are physically located, as long as you can locate any data that you need to interface with?
I get more offers than I know what to do with, and I'm not a particularly talented programmer
I currently work for a.com company in the southeast area, and I am compensated _very_ well...
I generally get several genuine, (but unsolicited) offers a month (not from recruiters).
I have no real degree, and I am not a C++ guru.
How does this happen?
I work with Microsoft Products!
Instead of being fanatical about what products or platforms I work with, I select a skill set that is in demand, and I identify a particular area that is critical, but not generally well known, then strive to become a 'guru' in that area. Hit the newsgroups, and help others. Make your name known on the pertinent mailing lists. Name recognition is everything in business, and YOU are your own business!
MS products have not always been my mealticket, and will not always be so. (Sybase helped line my pockets for awhile, and InstallShield is currently helping, as well).
"...network security companies working to stop file sharing over the Internet and private networks."
Please... This line is pure sensationalism
While network security companies may work to stop file sharing on public networks, the very roots of the Internet is based in the idea of file sharing, and of idea sharing. It would be almost impossible to re-architect this.
Think about it..What is a web page? It is a text file with some markup language inserted.
I believe we will see a big push towards the ability to trace online interaction, however. Accountability, and not active content blocking, will be the wave of the future.
That having been said, I am a full supporter of anonymous browsing (and posting).
Is Rob providing you with your very own forum out of the kindness of his heart?
While slashdot may have started with 'kindness of heart', it is now motivated by Money__. Why do you think that stories are released on a schedule? Rob has done studies to see when the optimal 'release' times are, to maximize page hits, eyeballs, and ad revenue.
Pardon me if this sounds to [sic] blunt, but you're ungratefull and rude. You piss on...[snip]
Is name calling necessary? I've often found that when one is having a problem articulating on the losing end of an argument, casting disparaging remarks works wonderfully...
I still fail to see how anyone is interfering or sensoring [sic] your comments.
Actually, my comments have never been censored. Others have, however.
censor:
1. A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.
By the way, I've no objection to the moderation system - I browse at -1 because I believe that I am intelligent enough to decide for myself what I should and shouldn't read. I don't need a team of people telling me what is insightful. I can figure that out on my own.
Still, for the time-impaired, moderation is useful. My only objection is to "console-moderation", and its potential for abuse.
In the recent "Our Attorney's Response To Microsoft" article, the Andover attorney stated that "as a general matter, it is the policy of Slashdot not to interfere with or censor the communications of its users." This is a blatant lie. "Bitchslapping," and "lameness filtering" ARE interfering with the communications of Slashdot's users.
FYI, IAAL, and a very successful one who has built a strong practice defending the rights of software developers
Thank you.
Also, since I enjoy reading informed positions, I'd be interested in listening to some of your thoughts in these forums. Most everyone here on/. is a sysadmin, programmer, or HotGrits (tm) dood...
It's truly interesting to hear diverse points of view - especially from someone who is a subject matter expert in a field that matters a lot to many of us (whether we like it or not).
In a press release on Feb 17, 2000, Microsoft already anounced that they had released The IA-64 SDK for 64-bit Windows.
It includes a 64-bit server version of Windows 2000, a Microsoft C/C++ compiler and linker for IA-64, Intel C++ and FORTRAN 90 compilers for 64-bit Windows and 64-bit Windows 2000 libraries, header files and run-time libraries.
I supposed that I will be marked down as trolling. I'm not. I'm merely pointing out that this story was not properly researched before posting.
Linux is not the first to release a 64-bit Alpha release for the Itanium. The biggest difference here is that the Linux Alpha is available to the general public, while the Win64 version is only available to OEMs and key ISVs.
How do we know they have any motivations at all?.... how do we talk with them and realize something, anything, motivates them?
One major difference between me as the subject in an IQ test and a robot is that the robot has a clear record of its algorithms in memory and I do not. "Algorithms are the methods, the step-by-step procedures, the plans that people and computers think with. Algorithms are the recipes and the lists of instructions that we all follow. For computers, algorithms are the programs that allow them to compute." (May, 1996, p. 83). It is almost laughable that "homo sapiens" does not know his own algorithms for intelligence and yet prides himself on his higher intelligence. A human can respond with little when asked, "Tell me about yourself with a particular emphasis on how your intelligence works." whereas a teaching robot (Chapter 14) could tell you about itself in great detail including giving full details on the algorithms it uses in doing AI. Homo sapiens, indeed. The robot has greater self-awareness by this standard!
According to Dr Poley, you should just 'ask it'... In fact, the AI 'being' may have a better understanding of what makes itself tick than you do.
More Stable and less likely to corrupt data? -- Through personal experience, no.
Again, this is _my_ experience - and it is important for people to evaluate products themselves - use the one that is most appropriate to the task at hand.
Should you leave the company, your replacement will find it MUCH easier to work with the source if both their version and the "current" version are similar.
The company will be in a better place to take advantage of any other modifications and enhancements to the code. Once the code 'forks' significantly, it becomes that much harder to 'resynch' them. Time == Money.
The company can 'jump on the bandwagon', honestly claiming that they are helping to support and promote open source software (while actually just doing what they were going to do all along). An excellent PR opportunity...
Cons:
They won't 'own' the code (But then, they don't own it now, do they?)
It is a decision 'outside of the box'. Many managers either only have the authority, or the mindset to make small decisions 'inside the box', and will never stray from the well-trodden path. These are the same guys that buy MS-SQL over Sybase ASE - they drive a company straight to mediocrity.
I think that your most significant problem would be number 2 - it all depends on your management...
If the decision does go in your favor, get it in writing!
All technical products have a product lifecyle - in the computer industry, this lifecyle is usually quicker, as a business shifts internal resources from an older, 'mature' product, into the developement of new, 'innovative' technologies.
The lifecycle of an at-market product is recognizable by four distinct phases:
General Availability: Selling is unrestricted in target markets. Carrier for new technology introductions. Marketing efforts to actively promote product. Resources allocated to enhancing and maintaining existing product.
Functional Stability: Product not targeted for new sales. Available to existing customers only, and resources allocated only to fixing major 'bugs'.
Maturity: This phase is often combined with Functional Stability. Sales are suspended, and existing fixes are made available, but no resources allocated to fixes. Limited support provided.
Retirement: Product is discontinued. Support, if available, is not dedicated, and often comes with surcharge.
Companies rely upon the product lifecycle to ensure that their Generally Available products are successfull. By extending the usefullness of products in the Retirement phase, GA products will be adversely impacted.
It is therefore not in the best interest of most companies to open spec hardware in the Retirement phase, nor is it benificial for a software company to open source Retired software products.
There may, however, be advantages to open spec or open source earlier in the product lifecycle.
Slashdot Mirror
It's called COM/DCOM/COM+ now, and it is very much alive...
And there's currently no way to create such a document-centered beast out of modern computer technology
Just because you can't understand change doesn't make it impossible.
But you miss his point - while the model is good for programming, it is not good for the user. Another layer of abstraction is needed. And please don't go off about how more extraction is unnecessary. If that was the case, we would all be programming in ML (Assembler would be too much 'abstraction'!)
It may have abstraction layers hiding the functionality, but it will still function in the same way.
And here, I think you are finally getting the point. Who, besides the programmer, should have to care about implementation details? Implementation should be transparent to the end-user.
Where do I put Quake III in the document-centered model?
You as a programmer? You'll still place it in some sort of structured filesystem.
You as an end-user? The application would be just another 'document'
It's fine for one application, but what about when I've got fifty, all with their own data files?
Again, as you are obviously a 'power user', and probably a programmer, you are looking at this from a sysadmin point of view. Don't, because then you will miss the point.
In Quake, how often do you access data files outside of the UI? Probably never. So, all you are interested in is the UI. Who cares where the data files are physically located, as long as you can locate any data that you need to interface with?
-jerdenn
I get more offers than I know what to do with, and I'm not a particularly talented programmer
I currently work for a .com company in the southeast area, and I am compensated _very_ well...
I generally get several genuine, (but unsolicited) offers a month (not from recruiters).
I have no real degree, and I am not a C++ guru.
How does this happen?
I work with Microsoft Products!
Instead of being fanatical about what products or platforms I work with, I select a skill set that is in demand, and I identify a particular area that is critical, but not generally well known, then strive to become a 'guru' in that area. Hit the newsgroups, and help others. Make your name known on the pertinent mailing lists. Name recognition is everything in business, and YOU are your own business!
MS products have not always been my mealticket, and will not always be so. (Sybase helped line my pockets for awhile, and InstallShield is currently helping, as well).
Go where the money is..
-jerdenn
"...network security companies working to stop file sharing over the Internet and private networks."
Please... This line is pure sensationalism
While network security companies may work to stop file sharing on public networks, the very roots of the Internet is based in the idea of file sharing, and of idea sharing. It would be almost impossible to re-architect this.
Think about it..What is a web page? It is a text file with some markup language inserted.
I believe we will see a big push towards the ability to trace online interaction, however. Accountability, and not active content blocking, will be the wave of the future.
That having been said, I am a full supporter of anonymous browsing (and posting).
-jerdenn
You appear to be correct - A search on the Microsoft MSDN "dll help database" for MPR.exe reveals a file description of "Eicon MPR Utility"
Further searches on the MS website reveal references to a company called Eicon Technology
A search on Eicon's website shows several references to MultiProtocol Routing - looks like MS must license this technology from them.
About the only interesting thing is that the MS dll database does not list that this product is included in any of the 9x, lines just the NT line..
-jerdenn
While slashdot may have started with 'kindness of heart', it is now motivated by Money__. Why do you think that stories are released on a schedule? Rob has done studies to see when the optimal 'release' times are, to maximize page hits, eyeballs, and ad revenue.
Pardon me if this sounds to [sic] blunt, but you're ungratefull and rude. You piss on...[snip]
Is name calling necessary? I've often found that when one is having a problem articulating on the losing end of an argument, casting disparaging remarks works wonderfully...
I still fail to see how anyone is interfering or sensoring [sic] your comments.
Actually, my comments have never been censored. Others have, however.
censor:
1. A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.
By the way, I've no objection to the moderation system - I browse at -1 because I believe that I am intelligent enough to decide for myself what I should and shouldn't read. I don't need a team of people telling me what is insightful. I can figure that out on my own.
Still, for the time-impaired, moderation is useful. My only objection is to "console-moderation", and its potential for abuse.
-jerdenn
-jerdenn
Couldn't agree more...
I made this same point in the orig inal story.
-jerdenn
Thank you.
Also, since I enjoy reading informed positions, I'd be interested in listening to some of your thoughts in these forums. Most everyone here on /. is a sysadmin, programmer, or HotGrits (tm) dood...
It's truly interesting to hear diverse points of view - especially from someone who is a subject matter expert in a field that matters a lot to many of us (whether we like it or not).
-jerdenn
Try visiting http://slashdot.org/metamod.pl
-jerdenn
Simply ask if it is acceptable to engage in a hobby on your sabbath.
-jerdenn
Think back to Win 3.1 and DR-DOS.
Microsoft has been at this for a long, long time...
-jerdenn
Well spoken!
-jerdenn
Why, I'll bet I could handle three of those MPAA pencilnecks at a time. Would make for some mighty fine late-night programmes as well!
Yes, too bad instead of hiring lawyers, they would hire thugs.
-jerdenn
Not exactly true... CmdrTaco"bitchslaps" on occasion. Just read sid=moderation
I wonder if this threatens slashdot's 'carrier status'?
-jerdenn
-jerdenn
It includes a 64-bit server version of Windows 2000, a Microsoft C/C++ compiler and linker for IA-64, Intel C++ and FORTRAN 90 compilers for 64-bit Windows and 64-bit Windows 2000 libraries, header files and run-time libraries.
I supposed that I will be marked down as trolling. I'm not. I'm merely pointing out that this story was not properly researched before posting.
Linux is not the first to release a 64-bit Alpha release for the Itanium. The biggest difference here is that the Linux Alpha is available to the general public, while the Win64 version is only available to OEMs and key ISVs.
-jerdenn
According to Dr Poley, you should just 'ask it'... In fact, the AI 'being' may have a better understanding of what makes itself tick than you do.
-jerdenn
The Technical Program is interesting...
-jerdenn
I agree...
Intelligent trolling can lead to interesting discussion. I'd rather read a good troll than a mindless flame...
-jerdenn
-jerdenn
You are repeating yourself, posting the same thing you did in the original article?!
sheesh! cut and paste is hardly worth giving yourself the +1 bonus.
-jerdenn
More Stable and less likely to corrupt data? -- Through personal experience, no.
Again, this is _my_ experience - and it is important for people to evaluate products themselves - use the one that is most appropriate to the task at hand.
Kudos to you for pointing that out!
-jerdenn
Advantages to keeping the work Open Source:
They benefited from the work in the first place.
Should you leave the company, your replacement will find it MUCH easier to work with the source if both their version and the "current" version are similar.
The company will be in a better place to take advantage of any other modifications and enhancements to the code. Once the code 'forks' significantly, it becomes that much harder to 'resynch' them. Time == Money.
The company can 'jump on the bandwagon', honestly claiming that they are helping to support and promote open source software (while actually just doing what they were going to do all along). An excellent PR opportunity...
Cons:
They won't 'own' the code (But then, they don't own it now, do they?)
It is a decision 'outside of the box'. Many managers either only have the authority, or the mindset to make small decisions 'inside the box', and will never stray from the well-trodden path. These are the same guys that buy MS-SQL over Sybase ASE - they drive a company straight to mediocrity.
I think that your most significant problem would be number 2 - it all depends on your management...
If the decision does go in your favor, get it in writing!
-jerdenn
The lifecycle of an at-market product is recognizable by four distinct phases:
General Availability: Selling is unrestricted in target markets. Carrier for new technology introductions. Marketing efforts to actively promote product. Resources allocated to enhancing and maintaining existing product.
Functional Stability: Product not targeted for new sales. Available to existing customers only, and resources allocated only to fixing major 'bugs'.
Maturity: This phase is often combined with Functional Stability. Sales are suspended, and existing fixes are made available, but no resources allocated to fixes. Limited support provided.
Retirement: Product is discontinued. Support, if available, is not dedicated, and often comes with surcharge.
Companies rely upon the product lifecycle to ensure that their Generally Available products are successfull. By extending the usefullness of products in the Retirement phase, GA products will be adversely impacted.
It is therefore not in the best interest of most companies to open spec hardware in the Retirement phase, nor is it benificial for a software company to open source Retired software products.
There may, however, be advantages to open spec or open source earlier in the product lifecycle.
-jerdenn
Hey!!! That's my psuedonym! Give it back!