I don't know what you're calling 'the standard narrative about punk', but I seem to recall that Azerrad's "Our Band Could Be Your Life" gave due props to the California scene.
That seems like a pretty misleading way to protest. You might want to consider being ashamed of yourself.
Considering... considering.... done! Nope, I'm not ashamed of myself.
Just out of curiosity, have you contacted the RIAA and suggested that they might want to be ashamed of themselves for randomly proposing settlement fees to people who haven't even violated DRM?
A file restore is as different from a full system restore as an engine bench test is different from a full rocket launch.
As an IT auditor, I do ding IT shops when they don't do full system restores (which has the dual benefits of verifying that the techs are capable, and verifying that the media is readable). I'm going to be printing out this story and showing it to people who don't do full system restores... I get along fine with BOFHs, and I can sympathize with them about the burden of SOX, but while I'm doing the audit, I don't let them slide on this.
Really? For what volume of data? For people with 100s of GB of transactional data, tape robots are pretty much the only option, or you'll be spending your whole day swapping DVDs. OTOH, it sounds like this was relatively static data (since it could be re-entered from paper), so maybe a DVD version would have been an appropriate measure as well. There's also a lesson here that you should frequently do test restores from backup tapes.
Actually, Office 2003 and XP can read the new Office 2007 file formats natively with a free add-in. In fact, 2003 will even go find the add-in when you try to load a docx for the first time. No converter necessary.
Noted, thanks for the correction. But it's yet another case of MS determining that I need to be online to use software that in itself doesn't require web access....-grumble-...
No matter how good OO gets, Office is THE standard.
Untrue, because there is no such product. Office 2003 may be 'the' standard, but lots of people even still use Office 2000. You'd have tough time proving that Office 2007 is 'the' standard as of 3/13/07.
The problem with OO right now is that, even though OO is a great substitute and can use Office files...it CANT use Office 2007 files.
The problem with Office 2003 right now is that, even though Office 2003 is a great substitute and can use Office files...it CANT use Office 2007 files.
There. Fixed that for you. You should be aware that OO and O2K3 are in pretty much the same boat. The fact that MS makes a 'converter' is besides the point; why should people go to the hassle of downloading, installing, and using the converter just to enable anti-social behavior by the small minority of Office 2007 users?
People are going to be saving files with.docx by default in 2007.
Only if they are a) smoking crack, b) don't care about their customers, c) don't care about efficient communication with their vendors, or d) all of the above.
This creates a huge compatibility void until someone creates an open source DTD for OO to open and render.docx files.
No, it creates a huge compatibility void for you if you insist on sending out.docx and.docm files to people who haven't upgraded yet. Please post transcripts of the sure-to-be-hilarious conversations you have with your customers still using Office 2003 when they complain that they can't read your docx's, and you explain to them that they are at fault because they are not using 'the' standard...
The vast majority of Office 2007 deployments will come about through scheduled hardware upgrades -- when people find out that the only MS office suite they can buy from their vendor is 2K7. Since most buyers are sitting on their hands, leery of Vista, the tipping point towards 2K7's format becoming 'the' standard will definitely not occur in 2007. It may not even occur in 2008. If you were signing off on the standard desktop build for Dell, would you want 2K7 defaulting to.docx files or to.doc files as of March 2007? Which do you think would lead to fewer support calls?
So I'd say the original analogy is correct. If the company in question simply doesn't sell what you want, buy from someone else. I really don't get the furor, it's not like Dell is the only computer manufacturer. And any Linux geek worth his/her salt is going to want to install their own thing anyway.
If Linux eventually takes over the desktop, it won't be because everyone becomes a Linux geek. Isn't the fact that a significant sampling of people a) want Dell hardware and b)can't or won't install Linux on it themselves a sign of increasing desktop penetration (or at least market demand for it) of Linux?
I agree, on XML, but your original post was that you 'keep seeeing' that quote, and was wondering what it meant. The original used regular expressions as the issue rather than XML. The phrase itself seems to have
become a meme.
Your original post implied (to me at least) that you were missing the point of the meme itself (if I'm misunderestimating you, apologies), especially since I've never seen it applied to XML before. (Agreed that the validity of the meme for both XML and regexps is at least debatable.) I understand it as saying that any problem complex enough to require mulling over before you even decide on a solution vector of regexps|XML|neural networks|genetic algorithms|laser-toting killbots is likely to have problems with the implementation of the solution as well...
XML means it is readable by humans. You don't even NEED any kind of a program to get the text.
... if it's printed out on paper, you mean. If you can suck text directly out of a CD, floppy, hard disk, or USB drive without some sort of power source, CPU, and and OS, then my hat's off to you... our new... robotic, data-crunching overlord? [ or something... ]
"And how did you find out about Zeppelin, exactly?
Why don't you just keep doing that?"
I heard them on the RADIO....
And guess what? Now with the intarweb, you still can, and you're no longer limited to the stations that are within physical broadcast range. I grew up on Long Island, where we had an embarassment of riches: WNEW from NYC, and our own WLIR. Oh,for the days...
If you're really willing to listen to the radio to discover new music, both WFUV and Philadelphia's WXPN are streaming online, with intelligent DJs that make it worth your while to listen with a high hits-vs-misses ratio. The quality is out there, even the filtering is out there -- and for me it's easier to find than ever before.
It's ok if you want to get off the find-new-music train, but don't blame it on the music. Blame it on your unwillingness to put a bit of effort in your search technique. One of those streaming recommendation services like http://pandora.com/ should be within the means of even a lazy old fart such as yourself....
And this is exactly why there needs to be more "research for the sake of research" regardless of whether there is any potential direct commercial value from it.
I disagree; "research for the sake of research" (aka pure research) is overrated as a source of progress. Look at all the Eureka stories we've been discussing, from TFA to the older ones -- most of them are cases of applied research leading to new uses, via error or serendipity. Even Archimedes (the original Eureka moment) was trying to detect fraud, not come up with a new law of hydrostatics.
What we NEED, I would argue, is more researchers who have in-the-trenches practical experience, even (preferably!) in fields other than their own, so they're prepared to recognize those new uses. A little more Heinlein, a little less Asimov. A failed result in one research program is a wild success in a completely different practical application.
The history of Post-Its is illustrative -- Spencer Silver invented a very poor adhesive for 3M in 1968; Arthur Fry figured out that it could be used for re-usable bookmarks in 1974. How much more money would 3M have made during those intervening years if Silver was a better lateral thinker?
A second part to the story, not shown in the Wikipedia article, claims that Fry initially ran into opposition from a marketing director, who didn't see any market for the semi-sticky notes. Fry, clearly a man who had what it takes, distributed pilot batches to the secretaries at 3M, with a note telling them to contact the marketing director for refills...
Silver was the guy doing 'research'. The concept of 'adhesive-on-paper-substrate' (e.g, masking tape) existed already for decades. The closest Fry came to innovation was the idea of using a poor, rather than a strong, adhesive (Silver's ) on a paper substrate -- but he had the practical experience both to see an application, and to get it to the light of day.
Modern CFLs are cheaper for the consumer, better for the environment, and indistinguishable from incandescents when placed in any enclosed fixture.
Help me out here, before I finish my Kool-Aid on this -- what exactly does 'modern' mean? I bought a few packs of 100W-equivalent CFLs about three years ago, and they had a _horrible_ burnout rate -- more than half of them burned out within two years. Not cheaper for the consumer, at the approx $4/bulb price I paid. Not a no-name brand, either; I believe they were Phillips.
And what's the fully-loaded environmental cost? Do they still contain mercury, like traditional fluorescent tubes? What happens when they get dumped in a landfill and broken open? How does their environmental cost of production compare to that of incandescents?
I'm willing to use CFLs, (and still do) but I haven't heard these questions answered anywhere. If CFLs really are such a great solution, we shouldn't be afraid of such questions...
Let's not forget that while Stallman can opine authoritatively on his intent when writing the GPLv2, his intent or his current interpretation thereof is not binding on a civil court. The GPLv2 exists independent of Stallman's interpretation, and anybody who holds copyright on software distributed by Novell would have standing to challenge them in court if that copyright holder feels that Novell infringed. Stallman's opinion would serve as a possible interpretation offered by the defense, nothing more.
The Bulletin of Evil Scientists has just advanced the hands on its clock two minutes closer to midnight, as the ultimate goal of Sharks With Fricking Laser Beams appears to be that much closer to realization...
Good idea! In addition to the fact that our home office is the only 'Internet Room' in the house, and my use of blocking, I'm telling my kids, "Guess what -- all your internet activity (browser and chat) is being logged. I can be monitoring it at any time." This may sound harsh, but it's the reality of the workplace. The sooner they adapt to self-policing, the more prepared they'll be for a working world in which they're monitored.
The fact that climate is now changing after billions of years of being exactly the same is proof positive that the rich countries must be punished and all their wealth transferred to third-world dictators.
Wow, who's proposing that solution? From what I was reading, the global-warming alarmists are all demanding that we immediately stop subsidizing the big oil oligopoly and their lobbyists, and immediately start subsidizing alternative fuels, wind power, hydrogen infrastructure, etc., so that these companies can succeed, grow exponentially, hire their own lobbyists, and become the next oligopoly. All of which will benefit... the rich countries where all these high-tech startups are located, not to mention the ancillary suppliers involved in converting the entire developed-world automotive fleet to a new fuel system.
I don't see many third-world dictators building the next practical fuel cell. From what I see, they're either using their oil holdings to extract short-term political leverage, or telling the Kyoto people to piss up a rope because they haven't finished industrializing yet and need to burn mass quantities of fossil fuels to catch up with us.
Wow, cool... so, since the theme of TFA seems to be 'sadly neglected tech guru', I was wondering -- how would you help him, if you could? Let's say sufficient money was available, what would you do (that he would accept), that would improve his situation, personally or professionally? (Does he want it improved in any way?)
I bet if there was a reasonable plan in place, you wouldn't be lacking in contributions from the/. crowd, among others... I'd put in some cash, myself.
Slashdot Mirror
"They call those the Salad Days
I don't know what you're calling 'the standard narrative about punk', but I seem to recall that Azerrad's "Our Band Could Be Your Life" gave due props to the California scene.
Considering
Just out of curiosity, have you contacted the RIAA and suggested that they might want to be ashamed of themselves for randomly proposing settlement fees to people who haven't even violated DRM?
A file restore is as different from a full system restore as an engine bench test is different from a full rocket launch.
As an IT auditor, I do ding IT shops when they don't do full system restores (which has the dual benefits of verifying that the techs are capable, and verifying that the media is readable). I'm going to be printing out this story and showing it to people who don't do full system restores... I get along fine with BOFHs, and I can sympathize with them about the burden of SOX, but while I'm doing the audit, I don't let them slide on this.
Really? For what volume of data? For people with 100s of GB of transactional data, tape robots are pretty much the only option, or you'll be spending your whole day swapping DVDs. OTOH, it sounds like this was relatively static data (since it could be re-entered from paper), so maybe a DVD version would have been an appropriate measure as well. There's also a lesson here that you should frequently do test restores from backup tapes.
There. Fixed that for you. You should be aware that OO and O2K3 are in pretty much the same boat. The fact that MS makes a 'converter' is besides the point; why should people go to the hassle of downloading, installing, and using the converter just to enable anti-social behavior by the small minority of Office 2007 users? Only if they are a) smoking crack, b) don't care about their customers, c) don't care about efficient communication with their vendors, or d) all of the above. No, it creates a huge compatibility void for you if you insist on sending out
The vast majority of Office 2007 deployments will come about through scheduled hardware upgrades -- when people find out that the only MS office suite they can buy from their vendor is 2K7. Since most buyers are sitting on their hands, leery of Vista, the tipping point towards 2K7's format becoming 'the' standard will definitely not occur in 2007. It may not even occur in 2008. If you were signing off on the standard desktop build for Dell, would you want 2K7 defaulting to
Uh-oh, don't tell DJB; he may throw a conniption fit at you for violating his license terms.
I agree, on XML, but your original post was that you 'keep seeeing' that quote, and was wondering what it meant. The original used regular expressions as the issue rather than XML. The phrase itself seems to have become a meme.
Your original post implied (to me at least) that you were missing the point of the meme itself (if I'm misunderestimating you, apologies), especially since I've never seen it applied to XML before. (Agreed that the validity of the meme for both XML and regexps is at least debatable.) I understand it as saying that any problem complex enough to require mulling over before you even decide on a solution vector of regexps|XML|neural networks|genetic algorithms|laser-toting killbots is likely to have problems with the implementation of the solution as well...
The joke whooshing over your head is that the two problems are : the N00b's original problem, plus the second new problem of having to deal with XML.
But wait! Vin Scelsa, such a mainstay of WNEW that the Ramones put him in a song, is still broadcasting free-form radio, both on WFUV and Sirius!
If you're really willing to listen to the radio to discover new music, both WFUV and Philadelphia's WXPN are streaming online, with intelligent DJs that make it worth your while to listen with a high hits-vs-misses ratio. The quality is out there, even the filtering is out there -- and for me it's easier to find than ever before.
And how did you find out about Zeppelin, exactly?
Why don't you just keep doing that?
It's ok if you want to get off the find-new-music train, but don't blame it on the music. Blame it on your unwillingness to put a bit of effort in your search technique. One of those streaming recommendation services like http://pandora.com/ should be within the means of even a lazy old fart such as yourself....
What we NEED, I would argue, is more researchers who have in-the-trenches practical experience, even (preferably!) in fields other than their own, so they're prepared to recognize those new uses. A little more Heinlein, a little less Asimov. A failed result in one research program is a wild success in a completely different practical application.
The history of Post-Its is illustrative -- Spencer Silver invented a very poor adhesive for 3M in 1968; Arthur Fry figured out that it could be used for re-usable bookmarks in 1974. How much more money would 3M have made during those intervening years if Silver was a better lateral thinker?
A second part to the story, not shown in the Wikipedia article, claims that Fry initially ran into opposition from a marketing director, who didn't see any market for the semi-sticky notes. Fry, clearly a man who had what it takes, distributed pilot batches to the secretaries at 3M, with a note telling them to contact the marketing director for refills...
Silver was the guy doing 'research'. The concept of 'adhesive-on-paper-substrate' (e.g, masking tape) existed already for decades. The closest Fry came to innovation was the idea of using a poor, rather than a strong, adhesive (Silver's ) on a paper substrate -- but he had the practical experience both to see an application, and to get it to the light of day.
And what's the fully-loaded environmental cost? Do they still contain mercury, like traditional fluorescent tubes? What happens when they get dumped in a landfill and broken open? How does their environmental cost of production compare to that of incandescents?
I'm willing to use CFLs, (and still do) but I haven't heard these questions answered anywhere. If CFLs really are such a great solution, we shouldn't be afraid of such questions...
Let's not forget that while Stallman can opine authoritatively on his intent when writing the GPLv2, his intent or his current interpretation thereof is not binding on a civil court. The GPLv2 exists independent of Stallman's interpretation, and anybody who holds copyright on software distributed by Novell would have standing to challenge them in court if that copyright holder feels that Novell infringed. Stallman's opinion would serve as a possible interpretation offered by the defense, nothing more.
Biophysics? Check.
Animal experimentation? Check.
Advanced optics research? Check.
The Bulletin of Evil Scientists has just advanced the hands on its clock two minutes closer to midnight, as the ultimate goal of Sharks With Fricking Laser Beams appears to be that much closer to realization
Good idea! In addition to the fact that our home office is the only 'Internet Room' in the house, and my use of blocking, I'm telling my kids, "Guess what -- all your internet activity (browser and chat) is being logged. I can be monitoring it at any time." This may sound harsh, but it's the reality of the workplace. The sooner they adapt to self-policing, the more prepared they'll be for a working world in which they're monitored.
I don't see many third-world dictators building the next practical fuel cell. From what I see, they're either using their oil holdings to extract short-term political leverage, or telling the Kyoto people to piss up a rope because they haven't finished industrializing yet and need to burn mass quantities of fossil fuels to catch up with us.
I bet if there was a reasonable plan in place, you wouldn't be lacking in contributions from the