A previous job of mine had a rather mediocre IT department. They weren't bad, but they didn't deserve any awards. I identified a virus that was going around the network...
The head of the network then jumped on the oppertunity to implement a web content filter and turned McAffee to paranoid mode. (He was *excited* that he could block EBay. He also tried to take some placeabo Viagra that we were working with.) My computer ran 3 times slower and about every two weeks I'd find that a result on google was blocked.
Whenever a web site that I needed was blocked, I'd just VNC (without any encryption) to my personal desktop to visit it. Every single case was a legitimate business need, except for some ocasional Ebay during time that I wasn't billing for. If they had a problem with it, I could either point to the legitimate business need or point to the fact that I wasn't billing for that time.
Fortunatly my current job has much better network management. The web filter sometimes is annoying, but the forced updates can be delayed until it's convenient to reboot. (I install them at the end of the day.)
I personally don't notice grammar and spelling errors on the front page often, but they do detract from the credibility of the site. Consider pasting the text of an article into a program like MS Word that will put squiggles under grammar and spelling mistakes.
With regard to hyperlinking; on entries where there are a lot of links it's hard to figure out which link is relevant, and which links are extra. It might be useful to hyperlink the word "article" in this case.
Dupes happen... more often then I'd like.
Slashdot has been my primary news source for almost five years. Please keep up the good work!
Keep in mind that Microsoft is fully supporting the ability to play WMV on Mac through Quicktime. This is actually an ideal situation. In the long run, it's bad for the customer if each video file has to played in its own proprietary player. (This is why Real is failing, no one likes using their player.) Looking towards the future, the computer user won't have to worry about what format the video is encoded in because it will "just work" in his or her player of choice.
Specifically, assuming that WMV's revenue comes from the purchase of the encoder, this is even better for Microsoft. They can advertise that, by encoding in WMV, the viewer won't have to download a special program to view the video.
Yeah, but can you record TV and support the new high-def DVDs on an XBOX? The HTPC will be able to replace every component except for older analoge ones like VHS, cassette, and records.
Actually, take a good look at the picture of the hand resting on the mouse when it's in use. There's a leg on the bottom of the mouse that folds in when it goes into the PC card slot.
Frankly, I think it's pretty cool to be able to pop out a mouse out of my laptop that "almost" feels like the mouse that I have at my desk.
Re:C# is pro like VB is pro
on
Pro C#
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· Score: 1
Okay,.NET and Java aren't as fast as C in the general case.
That's not true anymore, unless you are planning on optimizing your code to a specific CPU. Today, there are many different CPUs on the market from both AMD and Intel. With.Net, you can have the installer compile your program to be optimized to the specific CPU that it's installed on. You can also use the "ngen" utility to turn a.Net assembly into a native assembly. This is impossible with traditional compiled languages like C.
Personally, I think there's a little too much hoopla around Intel's logo change. The new logo is *SO SIMILAR* to the old logo that people who are accustomed to look for "Intel Inside" won't even know the difference. What motivated the change is that the CPU business is being quickly commoditized.
Assuming that the professor and assignments are the same no matter what language you choose...
From the viewpoint of padding your resume, I think C#/.Net is more likely to land you a job.
From the viewpoint of eligance, there are things that C# automates, such as events, iterators, and GUI programming. Choosing Java will allow you to get a better idea of how things work "under the hood".
From the viewpoint of a former student, get the broadest perspective possible. You should learn to be flexible in your choice of language. Because both languages are similar, choose the language that you're least likely to use in the long-term.
... Thus, unless you're trying to pad your resume, choose Java while you're learning programming and C# after you know more software engineering skills.
This article shows that Dvorak is blowing hot air.
Dvorak claims that IE doesn't support tabbed browsing, but he doesn't allude to the very well-known features that are being included in IE 7. IE 7 supports tabbed browsing and is available in a private beta. (I'm using it right now.) Microsoft also is creating a Phishing filter. (I don't know what kind of anti-phishing effort Opera is making.)
Personally, I see a browser as something like a car stereo. IE and Safari are "stock"; Opera and Firefox are "aftermarket". Creating a Mac version of IE is a considerable effort that won't bring any revenue to Microsoft. It will also hinder a browser-neutral web as web developers can just tell Mac users to "Download IE".
In addition, Dvorak's statement about Microsoft waiting for the x86 Mac to port IE shows that he really doesn't understand the difference between computer platforms today. Computer programs, especially GUI intensive ones like web browsers, are easily ported among many CPUs because they are written in high-level languages. They are difficult to port among different operating systems because the GUI APIs are very different.
Not only that, but why start from scratch when there is such an enourmous body of good source material? A better project would be to gather acknowledged experts, and get them to contribute to Wikipedia instead.
... For example, you could wrap Wikipedia with an ad-supported web site that proofreads edits to an article before displaying them. Wikipedia would always display the newest version of an article, and Ad-supported-pedia would display the newest proofread version of an article.
This article shows that engineers of competing products usually respect each other. All too often this is lost when passionate people discuss why they like/dislike a product.
I find it disgusting that people attribute charachterists to God so that they create a false God to suit their needs.
In the past, I've been able to help creationists accept evolution with a simple sentence: "If God is all powerful, and has an infinate amount of time, certainly he can create the laws of probability such that we will evolve to be exactly what he wants us to be."
Chipmaking isn't like sending a jpeg to cafe express and getting a t-shirt back. Retooling, test runs, ect cost a lot of money. A chip costs $5 / unit because its die size is so small that the volume allows costs to be recovered. Someone has to put this money upfront. Even then, there's no garuntee that you'll be able to get millions made in a timely manner.
I'm still skeptical of the $100 laptop. Granted, given that my sub $100 Zire was powerful enough for the 10 months that it worked, I have no doubt that a $100 laptop can be designed... What keeps me skeptical is listed below:
Manufacturing semiconductors is HARD. Manufacturing millions of semiconductors is even HARDER. Where are the chips for all of these going to be made? I doubt AMD can handle the load without dropping their high-profit chips. If we are to see millions of these units, the fabs to make the chips would have to be built very soon, and would cost billions of dollars.
How are these things going to get onto the internet? Granted, they will be fine machines without connectivity, but in order to reach the goal of free access to information, there will need to be a working communications infrastructure. This is not free.
My prediction is that if the design of the laptop actually works, it will be used in a limited distribution before it becomes obsolete and replaced by some kind of an Intel/AMD/Microsoft/Mac/Linux system.
I've been listening to DVD-A and SACD for years. The real advantage of both formats is music in surround sound. The problem with the formats is that they aren't consumer friendly, and really only appeal to people who like music in surround, like me.
Frankly, I'm willing to pay $18 for Dark Side of the Moon on SACD where all of the sound effects zoom around the room, and $20 for a recording of Beethoven's 9th that makes me feel like I'm in a concert hall. However, most recordings do not benefit from being released in higher fidelity format.
I do anticipate that many of the streaming services will offer ultra-high fidelity sound and content in surround sound within a few years. This will be the final nail in DVD-A and SACD's coffin.
I thought the article was supposed to be a well-thought out argument about how the DMCA isn't working. Instead it quickly degenerated into anti-Microsoft rambling that wasn't in any way related to the DMCA or DVD-playback.
I once worked with a senior independant contractor who would un-bashfully promote that he ran a very small contracting firm. Essentially, he knew so many people that when a position opened up, he could usually find someone he'd worked with in the past who was trustworthy.
Everything that people suggested in this forum, (either by adjusting some settings or dealing with MS Office conversion issues,) takes time. This requires the company to either pay a consultant or distracts their existing IT staff, and thus costs money. If the original poster is located in an inexpensive area, like India, then the 65k savings can support hiring at least another IT person! However, if he's in an area with a high cost of living, such as Boston or Silicon Valley, then the 65k savings are only justifyable if switching to Open Office doesn't require a significant effort from the IT department.
Consider biting the bullet and spending the money. $65k, depending on where you're located, could be much cheaper then the amount of money you'll have to spend on supporting Open Office. Microsoft Sharepoint allows people to easily move between computers, yet still have access to documents in a central repository.
I consider it a sense of pride that I can work for a fortune 500 company in jeans and sneakers, and when I walk to the bathroom there're people wearing shorts next to people wearing suits. 12 years of Catholic school taught me that anyone imposing fashion on the workplace will soon be trying to steal my red stapler and make me write TPS reports.
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The head of the network then jumped on the oppertunity to implement a web content filter and turned McAffee to paranoid mode. (He was *excited* that he could block EBay. He also tried to take some placeabo Viagra that we were working with.) My computer ran 3 times slower and about every two weeks I'd find that a result on google was blocked.
Whenever a web site that I needed was blocked, I'd just VNC (without any encryption) to my personal desktop to visit it. Every single case was a legitimate business need, except for some ocasional Ebay during time that I wasn't billing for. If they had a problem with it, I could either point to the legitimate business need or point to the fact that I wasn't billing for that time.
Fortunatly my current job has much better network management. The web filter sometimes is annoying, but the forced updates can be delayed until it's convenient to reboot. (I install them at the end of the day.)
Specifically, assuming that WMV's revenue comes from the purchase of the encoder, this is even better for Microsoft. They can advertise that, by encoding in WMV, the viewer won't have to download a special program to view the video.
Yeah, but can you record TV and support the new high-def DVDs on an XBOX? The HTPC will be able to replace every component except for older analoge ones like VHS, cassette, and records.
Frankly, I think it's pretty cool to be able to pop out a mouse out of my laptop that "almost" feels like the mouse that I have at my desk.
That's not true anymore, unless you are planning on optimizing your code to a specific CPU. Today, there are many different CPUs on the market from both AMD and Intel. With .Net, you can have the installer compile your program to be optimized to the specific CPU that it's installed on. You can also use the "ngen" utility to turn a .Net assembly into a native assembly. This is impossible with traditional compiled languages like C.
Personally, I think there's a little too much hoopla around Intel's logo change. The new logo is *SO SIMILAR* to the old logo that people who are accustomed to look for "Intel Inside" won't even know the difference. What motivated the change is that the CPU business is being quickly commoditized.
From the viewpoint of padding your resume, I think C#/.Net is more likely to land you a job.
From the viewpoint of eligance, there are things that C# automates, such as events, iterators, and GUI programming. Choosing Java will allow you to get a better idea of how things work "under the hood".
From the viewpoint of a former student, get the broadest perspective possible. You should learn to be flexible in your choice of language. Because both languages are similar, choose the language that you're least likely to use in the long-term.
Actually, that's the entire point. The ad revenue would (in theory) pay for professional reviewers.
Dvorak claims that IE doesn't support tabbed browsing, but he doesn't allude to the very well-known features that are being included in IE 7. IE 7 supports tabbed browsing and is available in a private beta. (I'm using it right now.) Microsoft also is creating a Phishing filter. (I don't know what kind of anti-phishing effort Opera is making.)
Personally, I see a browser as something like a car stereo. IE and Safari are "stock"; Opera and Firefox are "aftermarket". Creating a Mac version of IE is a considerable effort that won't bring any revenue to Microsoft. It will also hinder a browser-neutral web as web developers can just tell Mac users to "Download IE".
In addition, Dvorak's statement about Microsoft waiting for the x86 Mac to port IE shows that he really doesn't understand the difference between computer platforms today. Computer programs, especially GUI intensive ones like web browsers, are easily ported among many CPUs because they are written in high-level languages. They are difficult to port among different operating systems because the GUI APIs are very different.
This article shows that engineers of competing products usually respect each other. All too often this is lost when passionate people discuss why they like/dislike a product.
In the past, I've been able to help creationists accept evolution with a simple sentence: "If God is all powerful, and has an infinate amount of time, certainly he can create the laws of probability such that we will evolve to be exactly what he wants us to be."
Chipmaking isn't like sending a jpeg to cafe express and getting a t-shirt back. Retooling, test runs, ect cost a lot of money. A chip costs $5 / unit because its die size is so small that the volume allows costs to be recovered. Someone has to put this money upfront. Even then, there's no garuntee that you'll be able to get millions made in a timely manner.
-
Manufacturing semiconductors is HARD. Manufacturing millions of semiconductors is even HARDER. Where are the chips for all of these going to be made? I doubt AMD can handle the load without dropping their high-profit chips. If we are to see millions of these units, the fabs to make the chips would have to be built very soon, and would cost billions of dollars.
- How are these things going to get onto the internet? Granted, they will be fine machines without connectivity, but in order to reach the goal of free access to information, there will need to be a working communications infrastructure. This is not free.
My prediction is that if the design of the laptop actually works, it will be used in a limited distribution before it becomes obsolete and replaced by some kind of an Intel/AMD/Microsoft/Mac/Linux system.Frankly, I'm willing to pay $18 for Dark Side of the Moon on SACD where all of the sound effects zoom around the room, and $20 for a recording of Beethoven's 9th that makes me feel like I'm in a concert hall. However, most recordings do not benefit from being released in higher fidelity format.
I do anticipate that many of the streaming services will offer ultra-high fidelity sound and content in surround sound within a few years. This will be the final nail in DVD-A and SACD's coffin.
I thought the article was supposed to be a well-thought out argument about how the DMCA isn't working. Instead it quickly degenerated into anti-Microsoft rambling that wasn't in any way related to the DMCA or DVD-playback.
McAfee stopped the exploit dead in its tracks.
Well... It's 2 albums plus a bunch of videos. They could probably sell dual-disk and a plain CD for $20, and make a similar profit.
If it was a DVD I'd be able to play it on my TV... Besides, at 128 megs, the quality of 30 songs, videos, and pictures is going to be very poor!
I once worked with a senior independant contractor who would un-bashfully promote that he ran a very small contracting firm. Essentially, he knew so many people that when a position opened up, he could usually find someone he'd worked with in the past who was trustworthy.
Everything that people suggested in this forum, (either by adjusting some settings or dealing with MS Office conversion issues,) takes time. This requires the company to either pay a consultant or distracts their existing IT staff, and thus costs money. If the original poster is located in an inexpensive area, like India, then the 65k savings can support hiring at least another IT person! However, if he's in an area with a high cost of living, such as Boston or Silicon Valley, then the 65k savings are only justifyable if switching to Open Office doesn't require a significant effort from the IT department.
Consider biting the bullet and spending the money. $65k, depending on where you're located, could be much cheaper then the amount of money you'll have to spend on supporting Open Office. Microsoft Sharepoint allows people to easily move between computers, yet still have access to documents in a central repository.
I consider it a sense of pride that I can work for a fortune 500 company in jeans and sneakers, and when I walk to the bathroom there're people wearing shorts next to people wearing suits. 12 years of Catholic school taught me that anyone imposing fashion on the workplace will soon be trying to steal my red stapler and make me write TPS reports.