As usual, the Slashdot opinions on patents leave something to be desired. From column 4 of the specification, the "information sources" (as used in claim 1 et seq.) are clearly defined to encompass remote sources of information, including web sites,
What about the push technologies from the 90s, like pointcast?
And don't tell me that putting it into tiles is the novel part.
Instead of attaching a sample compliance letter, why didn't the AG attach a sample privacy policy and open source
What is this fascination with "open sourcing things?" Are you afraid someone will take the "sample privacy policy" and copyright it? Or are you afraid people will distribute copies without distributing the source?
The government can't copyright things, so there is no need to "open source" the sample privacy policy.
While I look forward to seeing what Disney will do with the franchise. I agree, Lucas has been one of the more fan friendly producers, while Disney is just the opposite. We'll have to see how it plays out.
Are you saying every boat that goes out to sea is an idiot? They didn't go out to sea to get away from the storm, the were already out to sea. They were travelling from one side of the country to the other. Apparently they decided to go around the storm, when they had equipment malfunctions.
They didn't jump in their boat, and say "we'll be safer at sea"
Not too long ago. And it is WAY easier to debug it than in Python. I wish I had your exceptions that get thrown and tell you exactly what you did wrong, and not just tell you that the pointer you just access was NULL.
So you don't mind paying for games. But you do enjoy watching TV and Movies (you imply you download them) BUT you don't want to compensate the makers? Does that mean you hope that TV and Movies will stop being made? Or you think the creators should make it out of their goodness of their heart?
I don't do fancy things like programming or extensive photo editing, just normal every day uses like Facebook, Twitter and Netflix.
You don't use Facebook or Twitter either, unless you are using a normal browser (so not using the metroness
Surface gets some things right, and some things wrong.
Just like the iPad, gets some things right, and some things wrong.
Ballmer is right, iPad is not the tablet you want, but neither is the Surface.
And WTF is a guy with a commercially secret document/plad/prototype on his person doing hanging around in a drinking establishment? It should have been Office -> car -> home -> car -> office
Because you want to test it in a real world situation.
I've worked on one of these "super secret" devices. I was never told not to take it in public. Although for me, mine stay on my desk. But my boss took his home, and worked on it on the bus. I know the testers went to the local starbucks.
Devices such as these are designed to be in places other than the Office, car, and house. So you need to take them there.
The fact it had indentation changes didn't slow me down at all.
Good for you. But can you say the same about the junior programmers that come in behind you? Will they be able to process random code as fast as you?
Stlye isn't just about indentation either. It is about naming consistency, so you can easily tell what sort of object a variable is, without having to tract it. It is about passing arguments correctly to make code more resuable, and so on.
It is way more than about whether to use tabs or spaces, or 4 character indents versus 8.
Why? Because he bogs down code reviews. Rather than looking for serious maintenance or correctness problems, we focus on his half dozen style complaints. This wastes our time and causes people to hate code reviews, or take them less seriously.
The formal code review process is NOT where you focus on style issues, unless they are glaringly incorrect, or potential bug farms. The point of a code review is to find bugs, not fix the style.
That is your problem. Not the adherence or lack of to a style.
I do not see any point in coding styles whatsoever. All they do is slow down coding for all but the two guys that actually like the coding style as defined; for the rest it's needless busy-work to comply.
You don't maintain anyone else's code do you? One of the reasons to a consistent coding style is to make it easier to read someone else's code. If everyone uses a consistent style, it is much easier to read code, than if the style constantly changes.
For the most part, it shouldn't take too much time to pick up a new coding style. Yeah it might be frustrating, and a bit annoying for a while. But the short term pain for you to learn a new style, is far outweighed by the ease of code maintenance, by you and everyone else in the future.
So, since apparently most everybody uses tabs incorrectly, and there does not seem to be any point at all with using tabs instead of spaces, then why use tabs at all?
The reason I use tabs (you could argue this is a problem with Visual Studio) is it takes one keystroke to indent, but 4 to remove the indent. I use tabs for my personal project, and spaces at work. And it annoys me.
But yeah, tabs only at the beginning of the line. Spaces in the middle. Works just fine.
I think it's safe to say that it more likely than not that it contains more bugs than these already released and hammered on systems... In laymen's terms: Windows8 is less secure.
Can't you say the same thing about any new version of anything? Including the latest linux distros?
GNU and other free software are 'free' in more ways than one; whereas MS-ware is non-free in every sense.
Except the total cost of using any software is roughly the same. Considering the total cost of using the software is magnitudes greater than the actual cost of the software.
Never mind the fact that MS has some free as in beer software.
When I read the summary, I was expecting a real live gnu. Not sure why I expected that, but I did. I was wondering why an animal would be handing out software. But it turns out this creature, that apparently looked so much like a real live gnu, needed closer inspection. And on closer inspection, it turns out it wasn't a gnu after all. But a person with gnu like head on.
I would definitely wonder why a gnu as there, and be confused. But why some random person wearing a costume, holding a plastic pumpkin?
, but they'll probably say that it's not their job to decide whether the law is stupid or unjust.
Actually it is. You know "checks and balances"
The lawmakers make them, Executive branches authorizes, and the judicial branch says whether they are just or unjust.
More people play Angry Birds, but I highly doubt more gamers play Angry Birds. People like Angry Birds because it is simple yet sophisticated. You can play it within minutes, and (if not too addicted) put it down, and pick it up later. Angry Birds is actually better than a lot of the other mindless games out there. But the thing is, MOST people who play Angry Birds won't be buying a console. If it wasn't for Angry Birds (or other similar things) they wouldn't be playing games.
Will "console" games die? Perhaps, but not for some time, and only when entertainment centers and computers truly converge. And they won't be replaced by the iPad.
is that the woman doesn't understand they're doing this for her and other peoples safety.
What is SAD is that YOU believe this is being done for your safety. Are you so afraid of the bogey man that you don't go to the mall, the movie theatre, to work, to school? Do you just stay locked up in your safe room in your house?
No, you don't. You go about your life on a regular basis. With no fear, and no sense of the bogey man. UNTIL you get to the airport. What is so special and different about the airport? What makes you so afraid? Was it the planes that were hijacked 10 years ago? Is that what is scaring you? Yet you go to the movie theatre, despite recent movie theatre shootings. You go to work, despite the chance that a plane can be flown into your work.
The TSA only exists to assuage your illogical fear. And yet they don't manage to stop guns, bombs, or other dangerous things onto the plane. But thats ok, despite the fact you are no more safe without the TSA. Its ok because you FEEL safe. Safety be damned, freedom and privacy be damned. As long as you FEEL safe.
Slashdot Mirror
As usual, the Slashdot opinions on patents leave something to be desired. From column 4 of the specification, the "information sources" (as used in claim 1 et seq.) are clearly defined to encompass remote sources of information, including web sites,
What about the push technologies from the 90s, like pointcast?
And don't tell me that putting it into tiles is the novel part.
Instead of attaching a sample compliance letter, why didn't the AG attach a sample privacy policy and open source
What is this fascination with "open sourcing things?" Are you afraid someone will take the "sample privacy policy" and copyright it? Or are you afraid people will distribute copies without distributing the source?
The government can't copyright things, so there is no need to "open source" the sample privacy policy.
It is their civic duty, as they represent the only remaining hope that the TSA will either go away or become useful.
They can only become useful by going away.
While I look forward to seeing what Disney will do with the franchise. I agree, Lucas has been one of the more fan friendly producers, while Disney is just the opposite. We'll have to see how it plays out.
They were idiots for going out to sea.
Are you saying every boat that goes out to sea is an idiot? They didn't go out to sea to get away from the storm, the were already out to sea. They were travelling from one side of the country to the other. Apparently they decided to go around the storm, when they had equipment malfunctions.
They didn't jump in their boat, and say "we'll be safer at sea"
Slashdotters don't RTFA they barely RTFS... and you expect lay people to read more than a couple of lines?
Not too long ago. And it is WAY easier to debug it than in Python. I wish I had your exceptions that get thrown and tell you exactly what you did wrong, and not just tell you that the pointer you just access was NULL.
That is pretty hard core. Throw them in the deep end, AND take away their useful tools?
So you don't mind paying for games. But you do enjoy watching TV and Movies (you imply you download them) BUT you don't want to compensate the makers? Does that mean you hope that TV and Movies will stop being made? Or you think the creators should make it out of their goodness of their heart?
When you talk about sharing, I know for a fact you're talking about copying and giving someone that copy so they don't have to pay for it -
How is this explicitly saying its not ok to legally share open source content? You don't have to pay for most open source content.
I don't do fancy things like programming or extensive photo editing, just normal every day uses like Facebook, Twitter and Netflix.
You don't use Facebook or Twitter either, unless you are using a normal browser (so not using the metroness
Surface gets some things right, and some things wrong.
Just like the iPad, gets some things right, and some things wrong.
Ballmer is right, iPad is not the tablet you want, but neither is the Surface.
The truth is that NO ONE WANTS ANY COUNTRY TO CONTROL THE INTERNET. PERIOD.
I would hazard a guess that the truth is every politician wants his country to control the internet. Otherwise I agree, no one should control it.
And WTF is a guy with a commercially secret document/plad/prototype on his person doing hanging around in a drinking establishment? It should have been Office -> car -> home -> car -> office
Because you want to test it in a real world situation.
I've worked on one of these "super secret" devices. I was never told not to take it in public. Although for me, mine stay on my desk. But my boss took his home, and worked on it on the bus. I know the testers went to the local starbucks.
Devices such as these are designed to be in places other than the Office, car, and house. So you need to take them there.
The fact it had indentation changes didn't slow me down at all.
Good for you. But can you say the same about the junior programmers that come in behind you? Will they be able to process random code as fast as you?
Stlye isn't just about indentation either. It is about naming consistency, so you can easily tell what sort of object a variable is, without having to tract it. It is about passing arguments correctly to make code more resuable, and so on.
It is way more than about whether to use tabs or spaces, or 4 character indents versus 8.
Why? Because he bogs down code reviews. Rather than looking for serious maintenance or correctness problems, we focus on his half dozen style complaints. This wastes our time and causes people to hate code reviews, or take them less seriously.
The formal code review process is NOT where you focus on style issues, unless they are glaringly incorrect, or potential bug farms. The point of a code review is to find bugs, not fix the style.
That is your problem. Not the adherence or lack of to a style.
I do not see any point in coding styles whatsoever. All they do is slow down coding for all but the two guys that actually like the coding style as defined; for the rest it's needless busy-work to comply.
You don't maintain anyone else's code do you? One of the reasons to a consistent coding style is to make it easier to read someone else's code. If everyone uses a consistent style, it is much easier to read code, than if the style constantly changes.
For the most part, it shouldn't take too much time to pick up a new coding style. Yeah it might be frustrating, and a bit annoying for a while. But the short term pain for you to learn a new style, is far outweighed by the ease of code maintenance, by you and everyone else in the future.
So, since apparently most everybody uses tabs incorrectly, and there does not seem to be any point at all with using tabs instead of spaces, then why use tabs at all?
The reason I use tabs (you could argue this is a problem with Visual Studio) is it takes one keystroke to indent, but 4 to remove the indent. I use tabs for my personal project, and spaces at work. And it annoys me.
But yeah, tabs only at the beginning of the line. Spaces in the middle. Works just fine.
I think it's safe to say that it more likely than not that it contains more bugs than these already released and hammered on systems... In laymen's terms: Windows8 is less secure.
Can't you say the same thing about any new version of anything? Including the latest linux distros?
GNU and other free software are 'free' in more ways than one; whereas MS-ware is non-free in every sense.
Except the total cost of using any software is roughly the same. Considering the total cost of using the software is magnitudes greater than the actual cost of the software.
Never mind the fact that MS has some free as in beer software.
When I read the summary, I was expecting a real live gnu. Not sure why I expected that, but I did. I was wondering why an animal would be handing out software. But it turns out this creature, that apparently looked so much like a real live gnu, needed closer inspection. And on closer inspection, it turns out it wasn't a gnu after all. But a person with gnu like head on.
I would definitely wonder why a gnu as there, and be confused. But why some random person wearing a costume, holding a plastic pumpkin?
, but they'll probably say that it's not their job to decide whether the law is stupid or unjust.
Actually it is. You know "checks and balances"
The lawmakers make them, Executive branches authorizes, and the judicial branch says whether they are just or unjust.
More people play Angry Birds, but I highly doubt more gamers play Angry Birds. People like Angry Birds because it is simple yet sophisticated. You can play it within minutes, and (if not too addicted) put it down, and pick it up later. Angry Birds is actually better than a lot of the other mindless games out there. But the thing is, MOST people who play Angry Birds won't be buying a console. If it wasn't for Angry Birds (or other similar things) they wouldn't be playing games.
Will "console" games die? Perhaps, but not for some time, and only when entertainment centers and computers truly converge. And they won't be replaced by the iPad.
Wow, this has really gone too far! Our freedom of speech has been completely revoked! What is so wrong with saying that I own half of Facebook?
Nothing really. Except when you fabricate evidence, and then sue someone over it. And then of course, there is lieing under oath...
Except that there are two technologies that make pat down irrelevant!
There is one that makes pat down irrelevant. It is called abstinence. As in abolish the TSA and get rid of the farce the security is.
is that the woman doesn't understand they're doing this for her and other peoples safety.
What is SAD is that YOU believe this is being done for your safety. Are you so afraid of the bogey man that you don't go to the mall, the movie theatre, to work, to school? Do you just stay locked up in your safe room in your house?
No, you don't. You go about your life on a regular basis. With no fear, and no sense of the bogey man. UNTIL you get to the airport. What is so special and different about the airport? What makes you so afraid? Was it the planes that were hijacked 10 years ago? Is that what is scaring you? Yet you go to the movie theatre, despite recent movie theatre shootings. You go to work, despite the chance that a plane can be flown into your work.
The TSA only exists to assuage your illogical fear. And yet they don't manage to stop guns, bombs, or other dangerous things onto the plane. But thats ok, despite the fact you are no more safe without the TSA. Its ok because you FEEL safe. Safety be damned, freedom and privacy be damned. As long as you FEEL safe.