I dont know of any good social network site technically. A lot of/.ers like to criticise the status quo as much as possible so myspace is a frequent target.
/. is a good enough social network site. Anyone can even have a journal here, and a post on the front page eventually:)
I use both Picasaweb and Flickr, and my private web gallery in addition, and find that all these work best for different tasks.
Flickr: the majour feature I like is ability to communicate with other photographers, share opinions and expertise; I may see the photos I like and show my photos to people who enjoy them. So, social interaction is essential feature for my usage of Flickr.
Picasaweb: I find it easier to just share a new bunch of photos quickly, just with a couple of clicks in Picasa. Ability to make those albums hidden is very nice to share family photos. I am not going to pay $25 for Picasaweb, the free version is sufficient to share an album or two.
Private web gallery: I pay for hosting and set up it as I like, it is nice to be able to decide about storage limits and access control. So this photo archive is the largest, but for the smallest audience.
Most photos from Picasaweb find their way to the private gallery, as I have time to `process' them properly. And the best photos from the private gallery find their way to Flickr. Each service has its own niche. And for me Flickr and Picasaweb are complementary services rather than competitive.
The author is an inventor or a designer. To become an engineer he needs to take into account all the practical aspects of the implementation. Not only technical questions. Cost, producibility and serviceability should also be addressed in engineering. Once we see working implementations used in production we may call him an engineer.
However, his invention is really interesting. And I really hope to see it in production.
According to Wikipedia:
The crucial and unique task of the engineer is to identify, understand, and interpret the constraints on a design in order to produce a successful result. It is usually not enough to build a technically successful product; it must also meet further requirements. Constraints may include available resources, physical or technical limitations, flexibility for future modifications and additions, and other factors, such as requirements for cost, marketability, producibility, and serviceability. By understanding the constraints, engineers derive specifications for the limits within which a viable object or system may be produced and operated.
GS: What made you leave games, and what made you come back?
DK: Well, I left to go chase dot com millions. But that never came to fruition. My 100,000 shares turned into about $33 (laughs). So that wasn't brilliant. I left to go launch Kmart's e-commerce site, is what it was, which was a joint venture between Kmart, Softbank and Martha Stewart. And that obviously went belly-up, so I worked for Kmart for a bit, then left Kmart when the bankruptcy happened, and then Martha Stewart, but I was there during the Martha Stewart...problem.
It seems I know that kind of managers... They come to take over the project in the end.
I think Gmail will not offer IMAP in the near future (gratis). This will make the web interface, we all like so much, less attractive. Who will read ads after that?
Though offering at least POP access is very important. This is the way I may make offline backup of my mail archive. And prefer using web interface:)
Finally 'web'n'walk' is web only - it's not all ports and protocols (although they tried to tell me in the shop that it was 'full internet access'), however they have been threatening to cancel the contracts of users running Skype.
I am using EDGE access on TIM in Italy, and have flat plan with 9 Giga for 25 euro/month in evenings and at weekends. I must say, that the quality of the service is very unreliable. Sometimes I may see a download at 200 kbps, but sometimes I can hardly browse the web.
While I was not warned about any limitations on VoIP usage, I still observe frequent* loss of EDGE connection if I happen to use Gtalk or Skype. BTW, since not so long ago the same also applies to torrents. I believe this is done on purpose, because even with very heavy network usage but without Gtalk/Skype/Torrent there are no disconnects.
In addition to implicit prohibitive policy on VoIP and torrents, there quality of the connection varies greately depending on the week day. Say the sunday evenings are the worst.
As far as I may judge from the quality of EDGE service, UMTS or whatever next does not worth upgrading. Even with EDGE mobile operators do not use all the potential of the technology, applying draconian limitations instead. Only when EDGE works at 200 kbps all the time without those artificial limitations I am going to invest into better phone/data card. I do not believe that UMTS service is bettter.
* frequent loss of connection == connection is being interrupted every 5-30 minutes if I happen to use VoIP or torrent.
I tried it too (1.5 though, I am not going to pull kde libs from Debian unstable). It feels so slow and non-responsive! Set of tools on the toolbar seems "mspaint-ish" (rectangle, star, zigzag...). In addition, layer blending is not working for me.
So, GIMP stays for most of the tasks, for 16+ bit and HDR color I use Cinepaint.
P.S. I don't like some of the GIMP UI features, e.g. huge crop dialog, which closes significant part of my laptop screen and stays on top of the image. New window placement is not very convenient. New windows often open just over the toolbar (I think GIMP should suggest WM where to open windows). Toolbars do not "pop-up" as I switch to image window. However, GIMP seems to be more capable and polished than Krita at this moment.
BTW, I am already boycotting Sony since the rootkit story on/.
I have to tell that my life without rootkits and Spiderman movies has greately improved. SonyEricsson was the hardest to boycott. I had to become a Nokia fan^H^H^Hcustomer instead:)
On opposite: I find Opera's behaviour counter-intuitive and difficult to learn. Those mouse-gestures alone are a nightmare for me, touchpad user. So it is just for web testing only. Cannot get used to it.
The number of site an average IE user visits and the number of sites an average FF(IceWeasel) user visits might be very different. This may affect statistics greately. It may happen that 10% of users do 90% of web page hits.
Let's say there are 10 web users. 1 is FF user and views 100 pages per day. 9 are IE users, with average 10 page views per day. Then there are 100 FF page views and 90 IE page views. Does it mean FF is over 50%? No.
This means should also take into account also how active are different web users.
Windows is multilingual, but with a limited ability to choose language.
Windows is, for all for practical purposes, multiligual. Introduction to MUI (Multilingual User Interface)
I used to think the same way. Until I discovered that MUI does not work for `XP Home Edition'. M$ forcefully makes Windows monolingual (yet available in various flavours).
The specs are more similar to PDA devices with GSM support (like those by Qtec). Yet, it will be Linux-powered and flashable. That's a nice toy for geeks. It may even give rise to some kind of subculture.
Just one question. It is announced as GSM/GPRS+WiFi device, but it seems that for this price today it should be GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS + WiFi device. This is a must for a smartphone/GSM-PDA.
Slashdot Mirror
Most of Microsoft software is not crossplatform, and this makes it a _bad_ choice.
I thought it was about selling the friends after all.
There is always at least one legal workaround for any legal obstacle.
It would be also really interesting to know if 9/11 attackers had valid of forged ID documents.
I use both Picasaweb and Flickr, and my private web gallery in addition, and find that all these work best for different tasks.
Flickr: the majour feature I like is ability to communicate with other photographers, share opinions and expertise; I may see the photos I like and show my photos to people who enjoy them. So, social interaction is essential feature for my usage of Flickr.
Picasaweb: I find it easier to just share a new bunch of photos quickly, just with a couple of clicks in Picasa. Ability to make those albums hidden is very nice to share family photos. I am not going to pay $25 for Picasaweb, the free version is sufficient to share an album or two.
Private web gallery: I pay for hosting and set up it as I like, it is nice to be able to decide about storage limits and access control. So this photo archive is the largest, but for the smallest audience.
Most photos from Picasaweb find their way to the private gallery, as I have time to `process' them properly. And the best photos from the private gallery find their way to Flickr. Each service has its own niche. And for me Flickr and Picasaweb are complementary services rather than competitive.
Citing: Engineering
However, his invention is really interesting. And I really hope to see it in production.
According to Wikipedia:
It seems I know that kind of managers... They come to take over the project in the end.
Sorry for wrong subject: it should be read as "IMAP == no ads". I forgot to proof-read the title.
Though offering at least POP access is very important. This is the way I may make offline backup of my mail archive. And prefer using web interface :)
I am using EDGE access on TIM in Italy, and have flat plan with 9 Giga for 25 euro/month in evenings and at weekends. I must say, that the quality of the service is very unreliable. Sometimes I may see a download at 200 kbps, but sometimes I can hardly browse the web.
While I was not warned about any limitations on VoIP usage, I still observe frequent* loss of EDGE connection if I happen to use Gtalk or Skype. BTW, since not so long ago the same also applies to torrents. I believe this is done on purpose, because even with very heavy network usage but without Gtalk/Skype/Torrent there are no disconnects.
In addition to implicit prohibitive policy on VoIP and torrents, there quality of the connection varies greately depending on the week day. Say the sunday evenings are the worst.
As far as I may judge from the quality of EDGE service, UMTS or whatever next does not worth upgrading. Even with EDGE mobile operators do not use all the potential of the technology, applying draconian limitations instead. Only when EDGE works at 200 kbps all the time without those artificial limitations I am going to invest into better phone/data card. I do not believe that UMTS service is bettter.
* frequent loss of connection == connection is being interrupted every 5-30 minutes if I happen to use VoIP or torrent.
I tried it too (1.5 though, I am not going to pull kde libs from Debian unstable). It feels so slow and non-responsive! Set of tools on the toolbar seems "mspaint-ish" (rectangle, star, zigzag...). In addition, layer blending is not working for me.
So, GIMP stays for most of the tasks, for 16+ bit and HDR color I use Cinepaint.
P.S. I don't like some of the GIMP UI features, e.g. huge crop dialog, which closes significant part of my laptop screen and stays on top of the image. New window placement is not very convenient. New windows often open just over the toolbar (I think GIMP should suggest WM where to open windows). Toolbars do not "pop-up" as I switch to image window. However, GIMP seems to be more capable and polished than Krita at this moment.
I have to tell that my life without rootkits and Spiderman movies has greately improved. SonyEricsson was the hardest to boycott. I had to become a Nokia fan^H^H^Hcustomer instead :)
You forgot Sony Ericsson. Let's boycott it too!
On opposite: I find Opera's behaviour counter-intuitive and difficult to learn. Those mouse-gestures alone are a nightmare for me, touchpad user. So it is just for web testing only. Cannot get used to it.
Let's say there are 10 web users. 1 is FF user and views 100 pages per day. 9 are IE users, with average 10 page views per day. Then there are 100 FF page views and 90 IE page views. Does it mean FF is over 50%? No.
This means should also take into account also how active are different web users.
It is different enough to make Mozilla happy and similar enough to confuse users ;) Also it connotates with the better firefox than the old one.
Yes, I would like to see it online forever. It's a pity they will try to profit from this archive again.
Current nuclear powerplants (C) use nuclear fission process.
It would be really nice if Wii would be able to connect to a computer monitor. Wii'll sii.
I should probably sell my laptop and finally buy a TV and Wii as it appears.
Chess, backgammon, checkers... You know, this kind of games :)
The specs are more similar to PDA devices with GSM support (like those by Qtec). Yet, it will be Linux-powered and flashable. That's a nice toy for geeks. It may even give rise to some kind of subculture.
Just one question. It is announced as GSM/GPRS+WiFi device, but it seems that for this price today it should be GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS + WiFi device. This is a must for a smartphone/GSM-PDA.