Slashdot Mirror


User: richpulp

richpulp's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
31
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 31

  1. Price Fixing on DRAM Makers Accused of Price Fixing · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Instead of fining these companies, they should force them to provide double the amount of memory for the same price for say 90 days, e.g. 256mb chip for the same price as 128mb chip: that way the consumer benefits instead of the government.

  2. My Dell Experience on Dell Chastized Over Customer Service · · Score: 1

    My first computer was a Dell. I ordered it with a 14400 fax / 28800 data modem, a US Robotics Sportster (internal). What I didn't know, because at the time I was a newbie to Pcs and hardware, was that Dell had fitted a 14400 fax and data modem, not a 28800. By the time it dawned on me that I had been done like a kipper I had retired the PC from daily use because it was too slow.

  3. IE7 and Office 2007 Preview Site on Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3 Reviewed · · Score: 1

    I had the misfortune to want to try and register online for my Office 2007 beta content, using IE7 Beta3. Naturally it didn't work, and had I been an ordinary user I would have given up, uninstalled IE7 and gone back to using IE6. As it happens, I had to add the Office preview site to my Trusted sites in order to get it to work. Some comfort then that the ootb experience makes the default security level in IE7 a lot higher.

    Disrelated: Adobe seem to have released Flash player 9

  4. WGA - Web Browsers on WGA Turning Off PCs in the Fall? · · Score: 1

    I was under the impression that WGA was required only when the browser didn't support the windows update process. If you have IE6 then an activex control will validate your system, but if you use Netscape you have to install WGA. This discriminates against other browsers which is wrong.

  5. Re:Why not? on Firefox to Drop Pre-Windows 2000 Support · · Score: 1

    quote ----
    What is it with Windows and legacy support, anyway? Only in the Windows world (it seems) do you get a significant number of people who stubornly refuse to give up their applications and OS from 1995. Well, I guess there might still be some Amiga users out there... ;-) IF they're happy with an OS from before 2000, they should be happy with a browser from 2006. Can they really expect developers to continue to support them? --- end quote

    Many small businesses run legacy apps, such as old database software and so on. These small businesses may be stuck in a trap of a proprietary legacy app that won't run on anything other than Win98 (maybe because it uses DOS) and therefore they cannot upgrade their operating system. Microsoft dropped DOS support in ME and since then the only way to run DOS is in emulation using products such as vmware, msvpc or qemu.

    It may be convenient to drop support for Win98 from a development standpoint, but more over users in developing countries using old win98 boxes are going to be pissed.

  6. Adobe on MS Four Points of Interoperability and Adobe · · Score: 1

    When I first read this I thought Adobe were worried that nobody would buy their overpriced software. Then I realized that it was more market share concerns. Microsoft are just including an export filter, the same way as OpenOffice, StarOffice do. It is not in Microsoft's interest to mess about with the format as users would expect Microsoft PDF to be 100% compatible with Adobe PDF, else they won't use it. I wonder if now Microsoft will pull all copies of Office 2007 Beta 2 that have the PDF function to release a new version without the pdf filter.

  7. Religion on A DNA Database For All U.S. Workers? · · Score: 1

    If a "legal U.S. worker" refuses to be DNA tested on religious grounds, can they force that worker to be so tested?

  8. And when Windows crashes on Microsoft Introduces Pay-as-You-Go Computing · · Score: 1

    So.. our hapless user has just bought five hours time on his pc, and after opening a couple of programs, the system crashes. Do they get a credit for the time that the PC is down as well?

  9. Re:Why bother? on Should Students Be Taught With or Without an IDE? · · Score: 1

    My thoughts exactly. One of the first steps I was taught in coding was to plan out the program on paper. My instructor was most insistent on this: he said this allowed me to get an idea of how the program would work, the various sub-routines would suggest themselves as a result of the flowchart sketched out on paper. If you are teaching on Linux, and if you are using XWindows, it seems a bit pointless to use something like vi, I would go with gedit or a similar equivalent. If you are not using XWindows, then select an editor that you feel best works. Obviously, using vi requires an extra step in teaching them the commands. If your students are coming from a windows or mac based background, you may need to transition them into using the command console. I imagine that the students would already have been inducted into using Linux as an operating system.

  10. Re: Slashdot Re-Design on Slashdot CSS Redesign Contest Update · · Score: 1

    I looked at each site in Netscape 7.2. Of the three I would rate Jason's the highest. Michael's design included a huge sidebar advert, I am not sure if this is part of the design or a limitation of the host he uses. I also liked Peter's design. All three capture the "house" flavor, the green accents and so on. I haven't tested the sites in other browsers as yet. Looking forward to seeing who wins.

  11. Re:Dumbed down = minimal install? on Interview With the PC-BSD Team · · Score: 1

    You mean you never had the joy of actually getting Red Hat 5 to boot and configure X from the command line without blowing your montior up?

  12. PC-BSD 1.0 on Interview With the PC-BSD Team · · Score: 1

    I had an opportunity to try this new release out today. Ok, I am running it in a vmware emulation so if it goes dramatically wrong I can delete the hard file and start again, quite easily.

    I guess my main concern is that if the app isn't a PBI then you have to track thru the freebsd ports and it appears that to compile/make/install Open Office 2.0 requires 9GB which is taking the piss.

    I'll wait for the PBI builds to reappear -- they are offline at present.

    Tell me why all the angst? If a windows user switches to pcbsd isn't that a good thing?

  13. Re:Adobe Reader was -- How desparate is yahoo. on Microsoft/Yahoo Merger to Take on Google? · · Score: 1

    When you get to the click me for download stage, there is an option to uncheck install the toolbar as well. Alternatively you can choose reader for os version and then you dont have to install AUM either. Toolbars are a menace to society and should be banned. The number of users that have fsck'd their screen real estate with shitty toolbars is truly breathtaking.

  14. Network? on The Future of the Internet · · Score: 1

    AOL recently releaseda product model that discriminates against users without credit cards. Presently a user with a credit card can get a month's access to AOL and the web for free, provided they have a credit card. This is like 30 x 24 x 60 minutes. AOL brought out a product that is a "pre-paid" subscription, costing $10 and providing 400 minutes, or roughly 6 and a half hours. This seems to be a very cheapskate deal given that they offer credit card holders somehting like 180 hours for free before charging them anything.

    Why isn't friaco available in the USA? thats what i want to know.

  15. Re:Argh. on Mass Microsoft Defections to Apple Possible · · Score: 1

    If Windows Vista is set to retail at $300, and Dell will move to providing Vista for their computers once Vista is RTM, does this mean that in effect you will be buying a Dell computer (low end for $299) for $1?

  16. 2D but 3d acceleration on Aero To Be Unavailable To Pirates · · Score: 1

    Waded thru the thread to find that Aero is a 2d desktop using 3d acceleration. Does this mean at last that OEMs will stop using part of the system ram to provide ram for the graphics card and put a dedicated graphics card in the machines they sell? =D

  17. Windows Applications on Useful Apps for First-Time Windows Users? · · Score: 1

    OpenOffice.org - Open Office 2.02 Word/Excel/Powerpoint Viewer (or you can use Office 2003 Standard Trial for 60 days and then run it in reduced functionality mode) I have access to Windows, Mac and Unix systems. I am happy with all of them, I use them for different tasks/projects. I agree that it would be great to specify what OS you would like instead of accepting the version provided by the OEM be it Linux/MacOSX or XP.

  18. Additional on UK Government to Shut Down GSM Networks · · Score: 1

    This story is a somewhat less worrying than the Government's compulsory weighing and enforced fitness regime that is under discussion. Seems that many kids of an age to be called up are too fat and wouldn't be able to handle the assault course at boot camp. Each school / college is to provide a list of overweight students on request.

  19. Re:I applaud new products, but... on Microsoft Origami Unfolds · · Score: 1

    The form is like a chunkier HPC 2000. That ran at 800 x 600 rather than the 800 x 400 the Origami UMPC runs at. It does remind of the old HPC 320 LX as well, except that had a dinky keyboard and a clam shell design.

  20. Re:Invite on Boxxet, a Tool for Automatic Webpage Generation · · Score: 1

    If you supply your email address, a password and choose a nickname they will get back to you. I just registered, have to see what happens.

  21. Re: VB6 over VB2005 on Visual Basic 2005 Jumpstart · · Score: 1

    I have a nightmare. I have this idea that unless I can learn VB2005 I will not be much use as a programmer. I like VB6, I have written meaty apps in it, but I'm over 40, maybe over the hill, and I guess I have to really sit down and figure out whether or not to make the leap. Just a personal opinion.

  22. re: Learning VB on Is Visual Basic a Good Beginner's Language? · · Score: 1

    I am self taught in Visual Basic 6. I used Mike Halvorsen's Visual Basic Step By Step book. Answering the question: up to version 6.0, I would answer yes, VB was a good beginner's language. It was event driven, used an easy to understand natural language and the forms and routines were relatively easy to write and debug. Then MS introduced .Net -- maybe they thought that for too long VB had been looked down upon by C++/etc programmers -- maybe they wanted to make VB more like C++/etc. I was in the beta test for .Net and I didn't like it. I have tried .net 2003 and 2005, and I still don't like it. OK, my reasons are simple -- change the way VB works, and then compare it to languages such as VC++ or VC#, it's more or less the same, except VC++ likes to have thousands of little .h files and so on. I guess the correct answer is not what language is simplest to learn, but language do you _need_ to learn? btw I think the best test of a programming language is how quickly you can grasp its fundamentals and begin flowcharting an application. Anyone who dives straight into coding needs their head tested. PADDIM =D

  23. Re: ID Cards and Passports on UK MPs Approve Compulsory ID Cards · · Score: 1

    For non-residents (read ex pats) visiting the country and deciding they might like to stay a while, will they need an id card? Will a passport still be considered sufficient? OT If I acquire American citizenship do I need an ID card to visit?

  24. Windows Eyesight on Computers, Long Hours and Vision Problems? · · Score: 1

    I have been using computers since December 1992, when my eyesight was short sighted but nowhere near as bad as it gotten a few years back, more recently though it has improved. I ascribe this to the use of LCD type screens as opposed to CRT type monitors.

    I have been told by the company I used to work for that seating is also crucial to my well being.

  25. Re:We're definitely getting Intel Macs. on The Odds at Macworld · · Score: 1

    I read that Apple are keen to use x86 platform for their OS. They will however, IMHO, not allow the likes of Dell nor HP to "clone" the system, and thus allow users to buy a "Mac" for $299 after mail-in rebate. I have used the Mac Mini in it's $699 configuration, and it reminds me of a headless laptop.