Graphical all-in-1 configuration tool is a great idea - but it is ahead of its time. Here's why:
First, configuration file formats changes from one version of the same software to the next. It is unlikely that the team who writes the config utilities catch up soon enough with the team who makes the programs to be configured.
Second, different programs have different configuration files. It makes it hard for a single configuration utility to recognize them all.
Third, the existing tools seem to be too tree-structured, taking away the simplicity advantage they first try to provide. (anyone besides me who hates linuxconf?)
INI files is one of the few things about Windows that I like. I'd love to know if anyone has started to unify the format of all the configuration files into, say, XML?
Another possibility is to have the author of each program write its own configuration cgi script, Then some project can be started to make a configuration server to gobble them all up at an HTTP port (ala SWAT)
As of now, the closest thing I can get is to have a text editor that support projects. Put a bunch of config files into a project....I prefer this to linuxconf. You get the idea.
To hell with the current attitude of "Sue anyone for anything, anytime you want" and "Submit any stupid patent and hope you'll meet a lazy patent clerk".
The problem is, when people start having the idea of "just do it, we have nothing to lose", what they intend to do becomes a gamble. And any stupid gambler will carry on if it is known that "I cannot lose".
Yeah, they cannot lose - because the taxpayers of America lose for them. Go figure...how much taxpayer money is wasted on thrown-out lawsuits? On stupid patent claims?
I've been always wondering if there is any punishment system to, say, fine the patent/lawsuit filer if the patent/suit is plain invalid. Save taxpayer's money and make the lawsuit-hungry companies think twice before doing anything retarded.
Open some GotoWorld, AllAdvantage accounts and the like for your project.
The only thing remaining is about trust...just lets everyone take a look at the cheques you receive.
It always sound possible to me and I've suggested using it to fund the EFF. But now we're talking OSS projects, which we don't have to make a suggestion that adhere to anybody's (e.g. EFF's) policies...
Why don't we do it? Oops...I forgot those bar stuffs are for Windows only...do it at work maybe...
Well, it will be childish to some of the audience. But the rest of the audience will find Linux somewhat interesting and they may even be bold enough to try it themselves.
> Hey, if win2k is not important for you, then > this date also isn't.
Let's face it - despite the recent popularity of Linux, a Windows launching PR event still has more attendents than, say, LinuxWorld - and it is MS's incredible people-drawing ability we can hack into and make use of. Otherwise we might miss a lot of potential users.
> If we were in business...
You are right. We are NOT in business. It further dilutes the "childish" image.
> I keep saying that OSS is a great alternative > to M$ bullpoop, but that we must offer it as > a free choice, not as "you're either with us or > against us.
Exactly. What is the point of having an alternative if some people still don't know about it (or know about it but not how to get started)?
We are there to remind everyone that M$ is not the only thing out there. It is what an "alternative" is for. We're to make the mainstreams less mainstream and the alternatives less alternatives.
> Wouldn't we cry foul if MS decided to hold a > W2K media-fest the day 2.4 came out?
How do you know they haven't decided so? I guess it is more likely than not they'll do it. So why don't we? It is just an often-used marketing strategy called "planned coincidence";)
Let's get someone at EFF to officially open an account at AllAdvantage, GoToWorld, and all of those pay-while-you-surf thingies (last I count there were at least 5 of them).
Then we'll start a slashdot hiercachy with EFF on top, and donate all our surf-income to EFF.
If it works it will be the best donation we can make...
If the defendants lose, let's FUD DVD until it dies the way DIVX did.
You can:
1. Give away or sell at a very low price your DVD players on those forsale newsgroups.
2. Set up web sites that describes the many disadvantages of DVD (and not mentiong any advantage), using words as negative as possible while making it sound unbiased.
3. Tell everyone you know that DVD is not the way to go, and it is like DIVX in a lot of ways, and how VHS is superior to it.
And you know what, I don't really care how many chips it uses if the overall performance is good. While the single chip is pretty average, the integration of two chips using AFR is a state-of-the-art move and can be counted as "1 generation".
Matrox could put 2 G400 chips. Trident can put together 10 8900 chips. You must be thinking that integrating 2 chips are technologically nothing. Go back and smoke some more crack.
So let's guess the next version of Windows. Surely it won't be called 2001 or 2005 because 1 or 5 parts per thousand is simply too small to be of any significant marketing value.
Windows 2000 Turbo Plus Platinum Extra Ultra Orchestra maybe?
It will just discourage people from posting, or increase the number of AC's...but again this kind of dumb comments are often already from AC's. Yeah, go for it then!
(the followings are just random thought, and may not be backed by any scientific evidence at all)
Simple things are difficult to destroy. Hm...I wonder what if this simplest bacteria becomes the most annoying enemy of us.
We kill bacteria by exploiting their weeknesses. The simpler an organism is, the less weeknesses we can find. They are much like security holes - the simpler a system is, the less likely you'll find a security hole in it.
So, is it necessary that we create some weaknesses in this "M. Artificilium" so that we can kill it effectively? Would it adds to the difficulty of designing it?
Anyone knowledgeable in pathology please shed some light on this.
I don't mind game CDs that don't boot. What I mind is games that actually gobble tens or even hundreds of your hard drive space.
In my opinion, what games should store on your hard drive are:
1. Configurations, if they can't be probed everytime the program is started.
2. Save-game information.
Shouldn't take anything more than 64KB, should it? I mean, even consoles can do that. They don't have any harddrives!! Plus, today's PCs have enough RAM to store everything you'd like to put on a hard disk for a game.
Frankly, I don't mind waiting for a few seconds for the CD to load everytime, given the current CD drive speeds. What I mind is the 200MB hard drive space that is storing crap.
These values are also exact. 1024 is used because CPUs always address a power of 2 number of addresses no matter how many address lines it has. So it is a mathematical convenience to use 1024 = 2^10 here.
No such advantage when dealing with Hz. Thus, 1 GHz, which is a physical unit, stays at 1,000,000,000 Hz.
If the BIOS is identifying the CPU as a K6-III, you still can't tell it "more than likely is".
While changing the cpuid is difficult, modifying the BIOS to display whatever CPU you want on bootup can be done very easily.
The best way to identify the CPU is thru the cpuid code, that resides on the newest-flashed BIOS, the fleshly-installed OS and the just-compiled open-source cpu probing programs.
Motif: you can only trust yourself when it comes to hardware purchase. Always reflash your motherboard BIOS at least once.
From today's observable trends, it is likely that we'll have 600Mhz as the lowest end in Q1 '00. By then the current generation of T&L chips will become less useful - but T&L-enabled games still won't be many by extrapolation. I think this is a waste - i.e. current T&L chips will become craps before enough T&L games are out.
In a sense, 3dfx and Ati are "utilizing" Nvidia and S3 to stimulate more T&L-enabled game developments. THEN they'll introduce their T&L parts that will be more powerful than our future CPU's, while this generation's T&L parts will be eclipsed by the future CPU's.
It is all about timing, and releasing a T&L part today is a waste.
I wonder - however "legacy free" the pc's are, there must be a serial (control for a lot of external devices, mostly industrial) and parallel port (dongles anyone?)
Slashdot Mirror
Graphical all-in-1 configuration tool is a great idea - but it is ahead of its time. Here's why:
First, configuration file formats changes from one version of the same software to the next. It is unlikely that the team who writes the config utilities catch up soon enough with the team who makes the programs to be configured.
Second, different programs have different configuration files. It makes it hard for a single configuration utility to recognize them all.
Third, the existing tools seem to be too tree-structured, taking away the simplicity advantage they first try to provide. (anyone besides me who hates linuxconf?)
INI files is one of the few things about Windows that I like. I'd love to know if anyone has started to unify the format of all the configuration files into, say, XML?
Another possibility is to have the author of each program write its own configuration cgi script,
Then some project can be started to make a configuration server to gobble them all up at an HTTP port (ala SWAT)
As of now, the closest thing I can get is to have a text editor that support projects. Put a bunch of config files into a project....I prefer this to linuxconf. You get the idea.
To hell with the current attitude of "Sue anyone for anything, anytime you want" and "Submit any stupid patent and hope you'll meet a lazy patent clerk".
The problem is, when people start having the idea of "just do it, we have nothing to lose", what they intend to do becomes a gamble. And any stupid gambler will carry on if it is known that "I cannot lose".
Yeah, they cannot lose - because the taxpayers of America lose for them. Go figure...how much taxpayer money is wasted on thrown-out lawsuits? On stupid patent claims?
I've been always wondering if there is any punishment system to, say, fine the patent/lawsuit filer if the patent/suit is plain invalid. Save taxpayer's money and make the lawsuit-hungry companies think twice before doing anything retarded.
Next time you need a petrol bomb you can just go to a phone store...
Open some GotoWorld, AllAdvantage accounts and the like for your project.
The only thing remaining is about trust...just lets everyone take a look at the cheques you receive.
It always sound possible to me and I've suggested using it to fund the EFF. But now we're talking OSS projects, which we don't have to make a suggestion that adhere to anybody's (e.g. EFF's) policies...
Why don't we do it? Oops...I forgot those bar stuffs are for Windows only...do it at work maybe...
> It appears to be childish...
Well, it will be childish to some of the audience. But the rest of the audience will find Linux somewhat interesting and they may even be bold enough to try it themselves.
> Hey, if win2k is not important for you, then
> this date also isn't.
Let's face it - despite the recent popularity of Linux, a Windows launching PR event still has more attendents than, say, LinuxWorld - and it is MS's incredible people-drawing ability we can hack into and make use of. Otherwise we might miss a lot of potential users.
> If we were in business...
You are right. We are NOT in business. It further dilutes the "childish" image.
> I keep saying that OSS is a great alternative
> to M$ bullpoop, but that we must offer it as
> a free choice, not as "you're either with us or
> against us.
Exactly. What is the point of having an alternative if some people still don't know about it (or know about it but not how to get started)?
We are there to remind everyone that M$ is not the only thing out there. It is what an "alternative" is for. We're to make the mainstreams less mainstream and the alternatives less alternatives.
> Wouldn't we cry foul if MS decided to hold a
;)
> W2K media-fest the day 2.4 came out?
How do you know they haven't decided so? I guess it is more likely than not they'll do it. So why don't we? It is just an often-used marketing strategy called "planned coincidence"
Let's get someone at EFF to officially open an account at AllAdvantage, GoToWorld, and all of those pay-while-you-surf thingies (last I count there were at least 5 of them).
Then we'll start a slashdot hiercachy with EFF on top, and donate all our surf-income to EFF.
If it works it will be the best donation we can make...
If the defendants lose, let's FUD DVD until it dies the way DIVX did.
You can:
1. Give away or sell at a very low price your DVD players on those forsale newsgroups.
2. Set up web sites that describes the many disadvantages of DVD (and not mentiong any advantage), using words as negative as possible while making it sound unbiased.
3. Tell everyone you know that DVD is not the way to go, and it is like DIVX in a lot of ways, and how VHS is superior to it.
Geez. Have we ever got a topic with this many karmas awarded?
And you know what, I don't really care how many chips it uses if the overall performance is good. While the single chip is pretty average, the integration of two chips using AFR is a state-of-the-art move and can be counted as "1 generation".
Matrox could put 2 G400 chips. Trident can put together 10 8900 chips. You must be thinking that integrating 2 chips are technologically nothing. Go back and smoke some more crack.
So let's guess the next version of Windows. Surely it won't be called 2001 or 2005 because 1 or 5 parts per thousand is simply too small to be of any significant marketing value.
Windows 2000 Turbo Plus Platinum Extra Ultra Orchestra maybe?
It will just discourage people from posting, or increase the number of AC's...but again this kind of dumb comments are often already from AC's. Yeah, go for it then!
This Anonymous Comment is brilliant, funny and smile-provoking. Please moderate this guy up.
LISP is superior in the same way that Scheme is superior, Forth is superior (for anyone who knows it).
C++ is superior in the same way that Java is superior, Eiffel is supierior.
Make your own choice.
Get R100 as well. Nice stuffs that would happen:
1. They'll duke it out
2. They'll recognize each other and become friends
3. They'll do #2 and then conspire against you
The possibilities are endless...use your imagination here...
Search for:
(the followings are just random thought, and may not be backed by any scientific evidence at all)
Simple things are difficult to destroy. Hm...I wonder what if this simplest bacteria becomes the most annoying enemy of us.
We kill bacteria by exploiting their weeknesses. The simpler an organism is, the less weeknesses we can find. They are much like security holes - the simpler a system is, the less likely you'll find a security hole in it.
So, is it necessary that we create some weaknesses in this "M. Artificilium" so that we can kill it effectively? Would it adds to the difficulty of designing it?
Anyone knowledgeable in pathology please shed some light on this.
Any chance that an FPS is made with all the variety of weapons available in, say, Worms Armageddon?
Mines, cluster bombs, homing missiles, ninja ropes, blowtorches, dynamites, gasoline bombs, poison skunks, firethrowers...wouldn't it be fun?
I don't mind game CDs that don't boot. What I mind is games that actually gobble tens or even hundreds of your hard drive space.
In my opinion, what games should store on your hard drive are:
1. Configurations, if they can't be probed everytime the program is started.
2. Save-game information.
Shouldn't take anything more than 64KB, should it?
I mean, even consoles can do that. They don't have any harddrives!! Plus, today's PCs have enough RAM to store everything you'd like to put on a hard disk for a game.
Frankly, I don't mind waiting for a few seconds for the CD to load everytime, given the current CD drive speeds. What I mind is the 200MB hard drive space that is storing crap.
750 MHz is 0.750 Ghz.
1 GHz = 1000 MHz
1 MHz = 1000 kHz
1 kHz = 1000 Hz
The above figures are exact.
1 kb = 1024 bytes
1 Mb = 1024 kb
1 Gb = 1024 Mb.
These values are also exact. 1024 is used because CPUs always address a power of 2 number of addresses no matter how many address lines it has. So it is a mathematical convenience to use 1024 = 2^10 here.
No such advantage when dealing with Hz.
Thus, 1 GHz, which is a physical unit, stays at 1,000,000,000 Hz.
If this profile is anywhere near credible, then the FBI is nothing but a bunch of criminals.
Now you know why people get raid for no reasons.
If the BIOS is identifying the CPU as a K6-III, you still can't tell it "more than likely is".
While changing the cpuid is difficult, modifying the BIOS to display whatever CPU you want on bootup can be done very easily.
The best way to identify the CPU is thru the cpuid code, that resides on the newest-flashed BIOS, the fleshly-installed OS and the just-compiled open-source cpu probing programs.
Motif: you can only trust yourself when it comes to hardware purchase. Always reflash your motherboard BIOS at least once.
From today's observable trends, it is likely that we'll have 600Mhz as the lowest end in Q1 '00. By then the current generation of T&L chips
will become less useful - but T&L-enabled games still won't be many by extrapolation. I think this is a waste - i.e. current T&L chips will become craps before enough T&L games are out.
In a sense, 3dfx and Ati are "utilizing" Nvidia and S3 to stimulate more T&L-enabled game developments. THEN they'll introduce their T&L parts that will be more powerful than our future CPU's, while this generation's T&L parts will
be eclipsed by the future CPU's.
It is all about timing, and releasing a T&L part today is a waste.
As observable in history, anything declared "official" by the PRC government WILL be used by most PRC citizen. Linux won't be an exception.
Eventually, PRC citizens will become more technically savvy than the free world citizens given that we're constantly being dumbed down by a dumb OS.
I'm not saying this is bad...but just in case, just in case a cyberwar breaks...
I wonder - however "legacy free" the pc's are, there must be a serial (control for a lot of external devices, mostly industrial) and parallel port (dongles anyone?)
Grab an external serial modem and you'll be fine.