I did enjoy Visual C++ 6 a lot, and still have it somewhere.. though I never learned how to do GUIs with it (I used it for developing a Counter-Strike bot DLL back in the day - very good times staying up til 5AM coding and 'testing':) ). I use Delphi for any GUI work these days and it is also pretty nice to use, though the interface is a bit more cluttered than it needs to be
I wouldn't want to. And I have plenty of experience of Microsoft applications. Obviously there are sections of MS that have better developement teams (as NT wasn't that bad, and someone was smart enough to start using that as a basis for newer OSes), but the general ethos of Microsoft is such that they always release poor first attempts at their software, and then pretty much FORCE you to get that version - if you want a new version Office, it has to be 2007. And guess what? Office 2007 screws up Exchange mailboxes and you have to mess about with the permissions to get it all working again. That's just poor coding and testing.
And I'll reiterate that I love my job, working for a fairly small company doing a mix of IT support, software developing (for departmental use as well as for some of the products that we make, I'm currently doing the controller and HMI code for an underwater powerpack we're making..) and working with some great people. Being a tiny part of a massive poorly organised team of developers doesn't interest me. Plus I'm getting paid more than I need already, and I have a company car, so I don't even want a pay rise (but will probably get another towards the end of the year).
I'd never really seen the attractiveness of GTA on consoles rather than PC, as I didn't like the lack of mouse, and the graphics also just weren't as good (lower res), and you couldn't download extra content (admittedly I only downloaded extra cars for the original GTA III, not any of the add-ons). Personally after getting a PS3 I'd definitely say it's worth it, blu-ray is awesome; though most films probably aren't worth the extra expense, only the flashier ones - Ratatouille looks amazing in HD:) I thought Independence Day would be worth it but the quality is pretty grainy, probably because of the original film it was shot on.. anyway, I'm going to have a bash at installing Linux this week, and I'm going to see how it works for 'productivity' type stuff like viewing powerpoint presentations and checking email. I'm seriously considering getting one for our conference room (management likes flashier/pretty equipment in there, and with VNC installed then you could pretty much do anything on the PS3 anyway, tho always having to VNC into another machine defeats the purpose somewhat), and maybe even just for regular office use. The price/performance of a PS3 really is spectacular, and most of the in house coding I've done recently has been for web apps so it would be able to do everything that is needed:P Plus we then have networked PS3s for playing games at lunchtime.. mwahahahah:)
Point is that you are probably spending more overall upgrading your PC every so often than you would getting the PS3 - but with a PS3 you know you won't need to upgrade until the newer system comes out, and then you can just use it as a server or something..
I'm sure there was an article on/. last year that mentioned that PINs are stored on the card anyway - so if you get your card copied, they have your PIN too:/ pretty dumb if you ask me..
Wow, how did you manage to spell Napoleon right then start say Napolean? Unless you meant people from Napoli or whatever it's calle:P
Anyway thanks for giving me the proper term for it "Napoleon complex". My flatmate calls it "wee man's syndrome", hehe:) I'm 6'2" just in case you thought he was referring to me..
actually, my topic was first post:P though I did a post further down which did kind of mirror some of the points that people have made in reply. I have seen WoW in action, and while I can see how it would be fun becuase of the social aspects and the level of detail in the economics and such in the world, I don't want to get addicted and spend years playing it like one of my friends did:P For some reason I think that I would consider it if the world was GTA though, just because I think the GTA world is even more fun - it is getting to be more like an RPG but with good skill elements remaining, and I think Rockstar would be able to make an awesome MMO game with it. I don't understand why they put out crap games like Manhunt when they are capable of such quality gameplay..:) GTA is actually rather innovative, which is maybe why I'd choose it over WoW.
The article doesn't mention many specifics from WoW; it does talk about company values and such though, did you even read it?
Getting people addicted to a game is very impressive. If you've ever tried to design and develop a game you'd know that. Personally I don't want to be addicted to WoW so I'm not going to play it, I'd probably enjoy it, but I get more satisfaction out of more skill based/action games than repetitive RPGs... the social aspects of it are slightly attractive, though the social aspects of real life are preferable:P
In Vista's case it's much more like having a bunch of fat friends in the back seat rather than using a 'new fuel'. You have a nice shiny new car with lots more torque than your last, but it isn't going any faster than your old one did because your fat friends are along for the ride. Hopefully this type of explanation won't be needed in a few years, as Microsoft will have died. Though there are always bound to be some companies that think just because computers are faster that they can get away with writing poor inefficient code. Your OS is not there to suck up resources, it's there to MANAGE them and assign them to applications. Unless you're just using your computer to move your files around in explorer, you're going to be wanting to run some apps.
Wine Is Not an Emulator:) So when he's talking about running Natively, it depends whether he means native to the OS libraries, or native to the processor. I think he was talking about the libraries though.
I don't care if it's closed source, as long as it works well. If Windows was any good in the first place, people wouldn't need to modify it. I know that some people just like to tinker or enhance functionality, but there's lots of commercial software out there that works well the way it is. Microsoft software isn't crap because it's closed source - it's crap because that's how Microsoft roll, yo! I doubt that any amount of open sourcing is going to turn MS into a decent software provider. They were really heading in the right direction with XP, and I was starting to think that maybe they were turning into a decent software company (I like certain MS products - Exchange/Outlook, Windows Mobile is pretty good compared to the other proprietary phone solutions because it's quite flexible, and Visual C++ is a pretty good IDE, or it was when I used it at version 6). But now they've managed to screw everything up again. I'm really not going to miss them if they go though.
Microsoft are just too proud. Plus, they have no clue when it comes to writing good solid efficient code.. the sooner they die the better. Sadly a lot of companies still think of Windows as the shizzle and are probably going to keep rolling with Vista and Windows 7 rather than doing the decent thing and developing for Linux. Seriously, if they're going to be developing for a new OS anyway, they should really take Linux into consideration too. My dream is that people at work would discover a Linux CAD application that they consider a worthy replacement for Autodesk Inventor..
They have been considered, and basically nothing is better but security. Security is important, but as you say, other things are too. Speed is one of the most important because your efficiency is reduced and stress muchly increased if your system is performing like.. well like Vista. Vista is slower, so yes it must have some seriously poor coding in there. I read here recently that KDE 4 has more flashy interface options than Vista, but consumes comparatively little resources. Haven't tried it out yet as I'm happy with OS X for the moment..
Yep.. we have volume licenses for Windows Server and Exchange, but I think we'll have to get some for all our workstations as well if MS manage to pull this off.. I told people that there's no way in hell anyone's getting a Vista machine until MS sort it out, and it's largely worked out so far (one of the MDs bought a Vista machine, and one of our salespeople wangled one from my assistant because he needed a decent machine for presentations and the XPSs only came with Vista - the latitudes were having weird issues when you hooked them up to projectors..:/ )
Well, there are always idiots about who want the latest stuff, and it sounds like he has plenty of other machines in his lab. Not very unbelievable to me..
You mean office 2007 doesn't run under WINE? Well, it will eventually, though why you'd freakin want to use it over 2003 is beyond me. As for Visual Studio, if you're developing for Linux (MS truly ending XP sales will be enough to push me and other IT managers to start using Linux on all machines that don't *need* Windows-only apps - for general office uses Linux is fine, though as Autodesk don't do any CAD apps on linux then I'd have a real job switching over our engineering dept..) then why would you need visual studio anyway..? Current games tend to work okay on WINE, and as for next gen games.. well, consoles are getting pretty darn similar to PCs these days, so for people like me, I'm happy to game on my PS3. I'm hoping that GTA IV and other new games involving shooting support mouselooking - then I really wouldn't miss PC gaming at all, since the latest generation of consoles can also download extra content and updates just as PCs can. I know that the graphics capabilities of current PCs probably already outstrip a PS3 (though the CPUs definitely don't yet), though they also cost about twice as much - and now it looks like gamers will have to put up with Vista on their shiny new machines. Do you actually like Vista? You are happy with your OS needing 10GB HD space and 2GBs of RAM just to run the display manager properly? Yuck..
Hey, you forgot to mention stuff like Firefox to get your obviously unbiased view across.. I think there mus be a lot in a name. I propose we rename Vista to 'Blista'
I think the core of Amiga OS was written by one guy who locked himself in a dark room for a few days:P Can't remember the exact timeframe. Too many cooks spoil the broth and all that..
That would be awesome, but their death sentence. Can you imagine if all 'Vista compatible' apps were also almost 100% compatible with Linux? It's the stuff that wet dreams are made of.. uh.. I mean.. oh whatever..
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I did enjoy Visual C++ 6 a lot, and still have it somewhere.. though I never learned how to do GUIs with it (I used it for developing a Counter-Strike bot DLL back in the day - very good times staying up til 5AM coding and 'testing' :) ). I use Delphi for any GUI work these days and it is also pretty nice to use, though the interface is a bit more cluttered than it needs to be
I wouldn't want to. And I have plenty of experience of Microsoft applications. Obviously there are sections of MS that have better developement teams (as NT wasn't that bad, and someone was smart enough to start using that as a basis for newer OSes), but the general ethos of Microsoft is such that they always release poor first attempts at their software, and then pretty much FORCE you to get that version - if you want a new version Office, it has to be 2007. And guess what? Office 2007 screws up Exchange mailboxes and you have to mess about with the permissions to get it all working again. That's just poor coding and testing.
And I'll reiterate that I love my job, working for a fairly small company doing a mix of IT support, software developing (for departmental use as well as for some of the products that we make, I'm currently doing the controller and HMI code for an underwater powerpack we're making..) and working with some great people. Being a tiny part of a massive poorly organised team of developers doesn't interest me. Plus I'm getting paid more than I need already, and I have a company car, so I don't even want a pay rise (but will probably get another towards the end of the year).
I'd never really seen the attractiveness of GTA on consoles rather than PC, as I didn't like the lack of mouse, and the graphics also just weren't as good (lower res), and you couldn't download extra content (admittedly I only downloaded extra cars for the original GTA III, not any of the add-ons). Personally after getting a PS3 I'd definitely say it's worth it, blu-ray is awesome; though most films probably aren't worth the extra expense, only the flashier ones - Ratatouille looks amazing in HD :) I thought Independence Day would be worth it but the quality is pretty grainy, probably because of the original film it was shot on.. anyway, I'm going to have a bash at installing Linux this week, and I'm going to see how it works for 'productivity' type stuff like viewing powerpoint presentations and checking email. I'm seriously considering getting one for our conference room (management likes flashier/pretty equipment in there, and with VNC installed then you could pretty much do anything on the PS3 anyway, tho always having to VNC into another machine defeats the purpose somewhat), and maybe even just for regular office use. The price/performance of a PS3 really is spectacular, and most of the in house coding I've done recently has been for web apps so it would be able to do everything that is needed :P Plus we then have networked PS3s for playing games at lunchtime.. mwahahahah :)
Point is that you are probably spending more overall upgrading your PC every so often than you would getting the PS3 - but with a PS3 you know you won't need to upgrade until the newer system comes out, and then you can just use it as a server or something..
I'm sure there was an article on /. last year that mentioned that PINs are stored on the card anyway - so if you get your card copied, they have your PIN too :/ pretty dumb if you ask me..
No, it was a genuine question. Cool user ID (my name is Alistair) :D That could help you to steal my identity but meh
oh hai, I fxd your mister boot rekord 4 u
Wow, how did you manage to spell Napoleon right then start say Napolean? Unless you meant people from Napoli or whatever it's calle :P
:) I'm 6'2" just in case you thought he was referring to me..
Anyway thanks for giving me the proper term for it "Napoleon complex". My flatmate calls it "wee man's syndrome", hehe
I am immune to such things. As long as these researchers don't discover the truth about personal hygiene, we'll be fine.
Unless you're talking about being abducted by aliens, sounds pretty plausible to me :P
actually, my topic was first post :P though I did a post further down which did kind of mirror some of the points that people have made in reply. I have seen WoW in action, and while I can see how it would be fun becuase of the social aspects and the level of detail in the economics and such in the world, I don't want to get addicted and spend years playing it like one of my friends did :P For some reason I think that I would consider it if the world was GTA though, just because I think the GTA world is even more fun - it is getting to be more like an RPG but with good skill elements remaining, and I think Rockstar would be able to make an awesome MMO game with it. I don't understand why they put out crap games like Manhunt when they are capable of such quality gameplay.. :) GTA is actually rather innovative, which is maybe why I'd choose it over WoW.
The article doesn't mention many specifics from WoW; it does talk about company values and such though, did you even read it?
:P
Getting people addicted to a game is very impressive. If you've ever tried to design and develop a game you'd know that. Personally I don't want to be addicted to WoW so I'm not going to play it, I'd probably enjoy it, but I get more satisfaction out of more skill based/action games than repetitive RPGs... the social aspects of it are slightly attractive, though the social aspects of real life are preferable
not very innovative, but always fun
In Vista's case it's much more like having a bunch of fat friends in the back seat rather than using a 'new fuel'. You have a nice shiny new car with lots more torque than your last, but it isn't going any faster than your old one did because your fat friends are along for the ride. Hopefully this type of explanation won't be needed in a few years, as Microsoft will have died. Though there are always bound to be some companies that think just because computers are faster that they can get away with writing poor inefficient code. Your OS is not there to suck up resources, it's there to MANAGE them and assign them to applications. Unless you're just using your computer to move your files around in explorer, you're going to be wanting to run some apps.
Cocoa. Y'know. Like the main ingredient of chocolate.
Wine Is Not an Emulator :) So when he's talking about running Natively, it depends whether he means native to the OS libraries, or native to the processor. I think he was talking about the libraries though.
I don't care if it's closed source, as long as it works well. If Windows was any good in the first place, people wouldn't need to modify it. I know that some people just like to tinker or enhance functionality, but there's lots of commercial software out there that works well the way it is. Microsoft software isn't crap because it's closed source - it's crap because that's how Microsoft roll, yo! I doubt that any amount of open sourcing is going to turn MS into a decent software provider. They were really heading in the right direction with XP, and I was starting to think that maybe they were turning into a decent software company (I like certain MS products - Exchange/Outlook, Windows Mobile is pretty good compared to the other proprietary phone solutions because it's quite flexible, and Visual C++ is a pretty good IDE, or it was when I used it at version 6). But now they've managed to screw everything up again. I'm really not going to miss them if they go though.
Microsoft are just too proud. Plus, they have no clue when it comes to writing good solid efficient code.. the sooner they die the better. Sadly a lot of companies still think of Windows as the shizzle and are probably going to keep rolling with Vista and Windows 7 rather than doing the decent thing and developing for Linux. Seriously, if they're going to be developing for a new OS anyway, they should really take Linux into consideration too. My dream is that people at work would discover a Linux CAD application that they consider a worthy replacement for Autodesk Inventor..
They have been considered, and basically nothing is better but security. Security is important, but as you say, other things are too. Speed is one of the most important because your efficiency is reduced and stress muchly increased if your system is performing like.. well like Vista. Vista is slower, so yes it must have some seriously poor coding in there. I read here recently that KDE 4 has more flashy interface options than Vista, but consumes comparatively little resources. Haven't tried it out yet as I'm happy with OS X for the moment..
Yep.. we have volume licenses for Windows Server and Exchange, but I think we'll have to get some for all our workstations as well if MS manage to pull this off.. I told people that there's no way in hell anyone's getting a Vista machine until MS sort it out, and it's largely worked out so far (one of the MDs bought a Vista machine, and one of our salespeople wangled one from my assistant because he needed a decent machine for presentations and the XPSs only came with Vista - the latitudes were having weird issues when you hooked them up to projectors.. :/ )
Well, there are always idiots about who want the latest stuff, and it sounds like he has plenty of other machines in his lab. Not very unbelievable to me..
You mean office 2007 doesn't run under WINE? Well, it will eventually, though why you'd freakin want to use it over 2003 is beyond me. As for Visual Studio, if you're developing for Linux (MS truly ending XP sales will be enough to push me and other IT managers to start using Linux on all machines that don't *need* Windows-only apps - for general office uses Linux is fine, though as Autodesk don't do any CAD apps on linux then I'd have a real job switching over our engineering dept..) then why would you need visual studio anyway..? Current games tend to work okay on WINE, and as for next gen games.. well, consoles are getting pretty darn similar to PCs these days, so for people like me, I'm happy to game on my PS3. I'm hoping that GTA IV and other new games involving shooting support mouselooking - then I really wouldn't miss PC gaming at all, since the latest generation of consoles can also download extra content and updates just as PCs can. I know that the graphics capabilities of current PCs probably already outstrip a PS3 (though the CPUs definitely don't yet), though they also cost about twice as much - and now it looks like gamers will have to put up with Vista on their shiny new machines. Do you actually like Vista? You are happy with your OS needing 10GB HD space and 2GBs of RAM just to run the display manager properly? Yuck..
Hey, you forgot to mention stuff like Firefox to get your obviously unbiased view across.. I think there mus be a lot in a name. I propose we rename Vista to 'Blista'
I think the core of Amiga OS was written by one guy who locked himself in a dark room for a few days :P Can't remember the exact timeframe. Too many cooks spoil the broth and all that..
That would be awesome, but their death sentence. Can you imagine if all 'Vista compatible' apps were also almost 100% compatible with Linux? It's the stuff that wet dreams are made of.. uh.. I mean.. oh whatever ..
Sounds more like he's joined the Church of Scientology :P