I've never had a problem w/ Sawmill being slow: the only time I would call it that is middle-button responsiveness can SOMETIMES be noticeably painful (ie, Click - one - two - three - oh, there it is). There is also a slight delay in alt-tabbing through windows. However, the places to me that it counts - moving, resizing, flipping between virtual desktops - its never been slow for me at all.
GTK is GPL (not LGPL) right? So that means thay can't use that. I guess they could go Motif but most Linux users these days wouldn't fall for it. What they should use is Qt, probably, as it has a favorable license for them and is already installed on a decent base of computers.
What was the Solaris IE port written in? Did they rewrite the entire GUI widget set?
I have enjoyed mine since I got it for Xmas. Its got a decent feel, and its _small_. I move my fingers less to get the same amount of text onto the screen than with a traditional keyboard. Plus, no windows key, no caps lock, control key is in the right place, and most chords (alt-whatever, Fn-whatever) are no problem.
I have heard some people who say that they didn't help, or in fact caused more problems. I think the trick with the HH is to adjust it right: just plopping it down doesn't help much. Ya gotta play attention to all the stuff about positioning, and sadly, this means you'll prolly have to "hack" up a solution to get the height of the thing correct (the little feet aren't of much use).
I love mine, and I am buying a few more, so I can use them with every machine.
(I don't work for them, BTW, I'm just one of those annoying satisfied customers)
we call it "Evercrack". I fight almost broke out when Evercrack player A was attached to his computer for something like 48 hours straight. He moved a microwave down under his desk so he could zap food. Someone, trying to look out for his soul, almost unplugged his machine from the LAN. Luckily I used to be a bouncer and stepped in to avert the situation...
David Letterman used to really rip on General Electric when they bought NBC. He would call them pinheads, and quite a few Top 10 lists bashed GE, albeit in a somewhat humourous way ("They new guy invented a longer lasting lightbulb - lets kill him"). Perhaps this will be the same situation.
I for one would like to see a lot of older stuff ported. Some people have mentioned the Wizardry series, for instance, and Starcraft. I think if a game is fun, its worth having (and given the price of HD space these days, no big deal keeping an extra 20gig around for games and junk).
Especially for games with a lot of depth (Ultima for instance). I've forgotten enough of it to make me want to replay it - without screwing with emulators and such. Seems like a huge untapped market to me: release a CD of older games, ported and possibly "prettied up". I am sure some people would buy them for nostalga alone (I would).
Of course, as someone said, the possibility of games is bad - I saw my productivity go WAY up when I moved to Linux, since there were no games. Now I can just stop what I am doing and play some UT or HOMM3, rather than solve those pesky problems.
One of the most common anti-Linux things I hear is that "while you're typing away, I'm getting work done", implying that point-and-click GUI applications are the only way to do useful work.
Once again, I think its about mindshare, not technology per se. People equate typing to bearskins and stone axes. People also have developed a large amount of "muscle memory" when it comes to using a UI. I can't live without alt-tab, I have yet to retrain my fingers for any of the different "superior" keybindings, for instance. And may people now refuse to take their hand off the mouse, even if it provides an "easier" way of doing things.
Themes are nice, but usability is more than themable checkboxes and xmms skins: its a consistent metaphor across the entire UI, which imo is against what X stands for: why force anything? But until a certain level of rigidity is enforced, it won't ever be set for Aunt Millie.
From the article: These include deleting and reinstalling software, and sometimes tinkering with arcane technical settings. I thought only those Unix clones had arcane technical stuff. Are you saying that Windows can be difficult to understand? (not a troll but a lame attempt at sarcasm)
``The Alliance views security as a critical component to the global e- commerce market,'' said Mark Tolliver, president and general manager for the Sun-Netscape Alliance.
"After all, " he continued, "when you're striking from hidden bases against the evil Empire, you need all the security you can get."
Seriously, a great piece of news, but this Alliance stuff is starting to drive me bonkers.
They should have, IMHO, tracked how bugs fixed made it into production environments. The chief complaint I hear now is "I have to depend on some kid in Nebraska to fix his software, or at least get the patch happening and released?" (no offense to anyone from Nebraska). I had this very conversation at a meeting where I was in a kind of cheerleader/salesman mode for Linux/OSS.
I think that ANY commercial Linux distributor should, as point one of the business model, establish a means to rapidly and loudly manage bug fixes and updates. Hell, call 'em "Service Packs" so the PHB's will understand what you're talking about. Coordinate with the developers. Try to create a "path of least resistance" for people, esp. those that don't care about technology, just that they can have it fixed. Hire a couple of people to deal directly with developers and customers.
please inform script owners or something, so they can prepare (or beg to not be mentioned). the wuname thing is dead (as mentioned above). If the owner would allow mirroring, it would be no problem and we all get in the fun...
If MS open-sourced Win2k - and provided a license that wasn't completely obnoxious - would you use it? When the first group scrapped the UI, ported X/[WM of choice], and posted the tarball, would you run to download it? Would you volunteer to fix the problems in the Registry, or ACLs, or the DCOM subsystems? How about dumping that eMac WM/GTK theme, and just running OS X, with the latest set of patches from [mythical OS X guru]? Would you give up your spare time to help with the ports to OS X? Or will you instead write another CD player for Linux?
OK, I'll say it: I don't like "America's Funniest Videos". I don't necessarily like people making asses of themselves. I like it a lot on "Who's Line Is It, Anyway?" because, well, they're professionals I guess.
But I do agree with your original assertion: there is a difference. Where the difference is, is somewhat of a point of contention (like art and porn, everything's relative to the viewer).
I also agree with your last assertion: if you don't like UF, don't worry about it, and certainly don't publicize it. You're increasing its readership, and that would seem antithetical to your cause.
Part of Scott Adams point is that everyone is dumb at some point or another. He relates a story of the time he took his pager in to have it fixed, after he was SURE it was broken. All that was wrong with it was he put the battery in backwards. I just spent an hour looking at code that had a single typo, and it was holding me up. Point being, we're all stupid at some point or another. Don't be thin-skinned. I for one have never read UF and thought to myself, "Yeah, those (l)users are so clueless".
Has anyone noticed that of the general body of computer pundits, they all seem to have abandoned that "wait and see" stance from about a year ago, and now they are all taking a stance on Linux? I have wondered why the pro-Win2k guys have started their FUD (it was released to manufacturing - I guess that means it stable and full-featured, real world results be damned) and others (Berst, et al) have now decided that Linux is OK.
Conspiracy theory: Since we all know ZDNet is owned by MS anyway, BillG has ordered that they take a positive stance on Linux, so as to show that MS has plenty of competition. Business Case Theory: With the billion-dollar market cap of Red Hat and VA Linux, they want advertising dollars, and they know both companies want more space in mainstream market publications (I mean, really, did you buy a VA Linux server because of the ad in Linux Journal? No, you already knkew who they were, but Joe Sixpack doesn't). The corollary is that the "Linux will be crushed" guys are doing it because if Win2k tanks, they won't be able to refocus their business (maybe). Misanthrope Theory: People are morons.
The thing about this place is that there's nothing sexy in terms of CS here. Its all just boring work, and everyone I know dreams of moving to SIlicon Valley to do "interesting" things. Its all databases and old COBOL here, and web pages to support the multitude of special-interest groups. Yet, IMHO, the same thing happens to everyone; they leave DC with dreams intact, and come back here about 3-5 years later, and refuse to talk about it, as they plod back to work at BigGovCo, working on the acre of Oracle boxen in the back room. "Yeah, I lived out in Silicon Valley" is all you ever get out of them.
This place isn't so bad. We never are never hurting for work, there's enough variety to keep it at least tolerable (though rarely is it truly interesting), broadband is pretty common (but sometimes not in obvious places like Reston, yuppie central). There's enough cultural diversity to let just about anyone not feel "alone". You're about equidistant from mountains or beach, cost of living is heinous but far from oppressive (you can go a month or so without working, if you've got some money in the bank, and I don't mean Large Money). All in all, I ditched my Silicon Valley Wet Dream and decided to punt; my GF is here, so I am staying, anyway...
I seem to remember that at some point MS was using Xenix as its internet presence, but this article basically says that it began with NT (which I am sure in the greater sense they would have you believe). Am I totally off my rocker here or is that the way it really was?
I've been playing it fine for the past few weeks (first the demo, then the retail w/ downloaded binaries). What I want to see fixed is the damn "doesn't work under E" bug, though I grow more fond of Sawmill as the days go on (sorry to go offtopic there)
Point being, I think that baby-steps are important. You're dealing with a company that isn't about to just leap from one paradigm to another.
I ordered from a few places, and it arrived faster than I had anticipated. Another place sent it very, very late - then the next day, I recieved the exact same shipment (checked the invoice, only ordered one thing). Same deal happened to my roommate, and a buddy of mine who works at Borders said that their shipments have been totally screwed up...
I don't know where you could get them; we got them from our client.
The code has to be reviewed, as well. The guidelines state that each source file must contain a certain level of information about the file. The end result is, you end up with comments that look like
I am presently involved in working on a project that involves voting machines. The devices themselves are basically huge Palm Pilots - greyscale touch screens encased in an over-grown Etch-a-sketch case (sans knobs). I can tell you that 1, the federal guidelines are quite rigid; his "paper computer" would have to survive all sorts of damage, and is required to have triple-redundant memory, "just in case". There are standards of usability, as well, that are complex. Luckily, we're just writing the interface and ballot creation stuff, not doing the actual hardware, but I have learned a lot about the process. I wish him luck, but he's in for a LONG, HARD fight if he even wants to get it certified, and then getting the localities to adopt it, well, thats another story. They fear change - elections are the ultimate hard deadline, and if you don't pull it off, you can't re-do it, and your name goes down in history.
Side note: our software runs on Windows via IIS but some large, knowledgeable clients have requested a version for Linux. The reasons: stability of NT, which they don't trust for the above reasons. We're a mostly Linux shop so getting away from the IIS crap is our goal.
I have one of these on my Xmas list, and I am certain i am going to get it. Has anyone had an experiences with it? Wrist pain go up, down, left, whatever?
THINK! apparently is becoming fashionable at IBM again.
I like what IBM is doing; they seem to be making the fewest mistakes of all the people jumping on the bandwagon, and sadly I think they are going somewhat unnoticed for it.
In the end, though, I think IBM sees Linux and Open Source as a way to win against Microsoft. They lost in the OS/2 battle, when they played by Microsoft's rules. Now they get a chance to turn the tables, change the rules, and score big. They follow the "widget frosting" model of open-source: they make Big Iron, and as long as they have a full-featured OS, they sell boxes. By unifying their offerings from desktop, to small server, to big iron, they present a unified front, something MS and their 42 software offerings can't match. They develop loyalty in the community, so people start using their development tools, buying their hardware, and killing MS market share. They get tons of free advertising from Linux partisans, so their sales force can be more effectively utilized. Its a win on all fronts. All they have to do in return (to keep this win-win situation going) is behave. Open the tools, don't piss people off, and don't hoard.
Slashdot Mirror
I've never had a problem w/ Sawmill being slow: the only time I would call it that is middle-button responsiveness can SOMETIMES be noticeably painful (ie, Click - one - two - three - oh, there it is). There is also a slight delay in alt-tabbing through windows. However, the places to me that it counts - moving, resizing, flipping between virtual desktops - its never been slow for me at all.
GTK is GPL (not LGPL) right? So that means thay can't use that. I guess they could go Motif but most Linux users these days wouldn't fall for it. What they should use is Qt, probably, as it has a favorable license for them and is already installed on a decent base of computers.
What was the Solaris IE port written in? Did they rewrite the entire GUI widget set?
my 2 cents.
I have enjoyed mine since I got it for Xmas. Its got a decent feel, and its _small_. I move my fingers less to get the same amount of text onto the screen than with a traditional keyboard. Plus, no windows key, no caps lock, control key is in the right place, and most chords (alt-whatever, Fn-whatever) are no problem.
I have heard some people who say that they didn't help, or in fact caused more problems. I think the trick with the HH is to adjust it right: just plopping it down doesn't help much. Ya gotta play attention to all the stuff about positioning, and sadly, this means you'll prolly have to "hack" up a solution to get the height of the thing correct (the little feet aren't of much use).
I love mine, and I am buying a few more, so I can use them with every machine.
(I don't work for them, BTW, I'm just one of those annoying satisfied customers)
we call it "Evercrack". I fight almost broke out when Evercrack player A was attached to his computer for something like 48 hours straight. He moved a microwave down under his desk so he could zap food. Someone, trying to look out for his soul, almost unplugged his machine from the LAN. Luckily I used to be a bouncer and stepped in to avert the situation...
Just so no to MMOLRPG's...
Marriage counseling will be provided by Eliza.
David Letterman used to really rip on General Electric when they bought NBC. He would call them pinheads, and quite a few Top 10 lists bashed GE, albeit in a somewhat humourous way ("They new guy invented a longer lasting lightbulb - lets kill him"). Perhaps this will be the same situation.
There is a poll up to have Shadowbane ported to Linux - everyone check it out and vote!
(it looks like its going to be a great game)
Here is the poll
I for one would like to see a lot of older stuff ported. Some people have mentioned the Wizardry series, for instance, and Starcraft. I think if a game is fun, its worth having (and given the price of HD space these days, no big deal keeping an extra 20gig around for games and junk).
Especially for games with a lot of depth (Ultima for instance). I've forgotten enough of it to make me want to replay it - without screwing with emulators and such. Seems like a huge untapped market to me: release a CD of older games, ported and possibly "prettied up". I am sure some people would buy them for nostalga alone (I would).
Of course, as someone said, the possibility of games is bad - I saw my productivity go WAY up when I moved to Linux, since there were no games. Now I can just stop what I am doing and play some UT or HOMM3, rather than solve those pesky problems.
One of the most common anti-Linux things I hear is that "while you're typing away, I'm getting work done", implying that point-and-click GUI applications are the only way to do useful work.
Once again, I think its about mindshare, not technology per se. People equate typing to bearskins and stone axes. People also have developed a large amount of "muscle memory" when it comes to using a UI. I can't live without alt-tab, I have yet to retrain my fingers for any of the different "superior" keybindings, for instance. And may people now refuse to take their hand off the mouse, even if it provides an "easier" way of doing things.
Themes are nice, but usability is more than themable checkboxes and xmms skins: its a consistent metaphor across the entire UI, which imo is against what X stands for: why force anything? But until a certain level of rigidity is enforced, it won't ever be set for Aunt Millie.
From the article:
These include deleting and reinstalling software, and sometimes tinkering with arcane technical settings.
I thought only those Unix clones had arcane technical stuff. Are you saying that Windows can be difficult to understand?
(not a troll but a lame attempt at sarcasm)
``The Alliance views security as a critical component to the global e- commerce market,'' said Mark Tolliver, president and general manager for the Sun-Netscape Alliance.
"After all, " he continued, "when you're striking from hidden bases against the evil Empire, you need all the security you can get."
Seriously, a great piece of news, but this Alliance stuff is starting to drive me bonkers.
They should have, IMHO, tracked how bugs fixed made it into production environments. The chief complaint I hear now is "I have to depend on some kid in Nebraska to fix his software, or at least get the patch happening and released?" (no offense to anyone from Nebraska). I had this very conversation at a meeting where I was in a kind of cheerleader/salesman mode for Linux/OSS.
I think that ANY commercial Linux distributor should, as point one of the business model, establish a means to rapidly and loudly manage bug fixes and updates. Hell, call 'em "Service Packs" so the PHB's will understand what you're talking about. Coordinate with the developers. Try to create a "path of least resistance" for people, esp. those that don't care about technology, just that they can have it fixed. Hire a couple of people to deal directly with developers and customers.
please inform script owners or something, so they can prepare (or beg to not be mentioned). the wuname thing is dead (as mentioned above). If the owner would allow mirroring, it would be no problem and we all get in the fun...
If MS open-sourced Win2k - and provided a license that wasn't completely obnoxious - would you use it? When the first group scrapped the UI, ported X/[WM of choice], and posted the tarball, would you run to download it? Would you volunteer to fix the problems in the Registry, or ACLs, or the DCOM subsystems? How about dumping that eMac WM/GTK theme, and just running OS X, with the latest set of patches from [mythical OS X guru]? Would you give up your spare time to help with the ports to OS X? Or will you instead write another CD player for Linux?
OK, I'll say it: I don't like "America's Funniest Videos". I don't necessarily like people making asses of themselves. I like it a lot on "Who's Line Is It, Anyway?" because, well, they're professionals I guess.
But I do agree with your original assertion: there is a difference. Where the difference is, is somewhat of a point of contention (like art and porn, everything's relative to the viewer).
I also agree with your last assertion: if you don't like UF, don't worry about it, and certainly don't publicize it. You're increasing its readership, and that would seem antithetical to your cause.
Part of Scott Adams point is that everyone is dumb at some point or another. He relates a story of the time he took his pager in to have it fixed, after he was SURE it was broken. All that was wrong with it was he put the battery in backwards. I just spent an hour looking at code that had a single typo, and it was holding me up. Point being, we're all stupid at some point or another. Don't be thin-skinned. I for one have never read UF and thought to myself, "Yeah, those (l)users are so clueless".
Has anyone noticed that of the general body of computer pundits, they all seem to have abandoned that "wait and see" stance from about a year ago, and now they are all taking a stance on Linux? I have wondered why the pro-Win2k guys have started their FUD (it was released to manufacturing - I guess that means it stable and full-featured, real world results be damned) and others (Berst, et al) have now decided that Linux is OK.
Conspiracy theory: Since we all know ZDNet is owned by MS anyway, BillG has ordered that they take a positive stance on Linux, so as to show that MS has plenty of competition.
Business Case Theory: With the billion-dollar market cap of Red Hat and VA Linux, they want advertising dollars, and they know both companies want more space in mainstream market publications (I mean, really, did you buy a VA Linux server because of the ad in Linux Journal? No, you already knkew who they were, but Joe Sixpack doesn't). The corollary is that the "Linux will be crushed" guys are doing it because if Win2k tanks, they won't be able to refocus their business (maybe).
Misanthrope Theory: People are morons.
The thing about this place is that there's nothing sexy in terms of CS here. Its all just boring work, and everyone I know dreams of moving to SIlicon Valley to do "interesting" things. Its all databases and old COBOL here, and web pages to support the multitude of special-interest groups. Yet, IMHO, the same thing happens to everyone; they leave DC with dreams intact, and come back here about 3-5 years later, and refuse to talk about it, as they plod back to work at BigGovCo, working on the acre of Oracle boxen in the back room. "Yeah, I lived out in Silicon Valley" is all you ever get out of them.
This place isn't so bad. We never are never hurting for work, there's enough variety to keep it at least tolerable (though rarely is it truly interesting), broadband is pretty common (but sometimes not in obvious places like Reston, yuppie central). There's enough cultural diversity to let just about anyone not feel "alone". You're about equidistant from mountains or beach, cost of living is heinous but far from oppressive (you can go a month or so without working, if you've got some money in the bank, and I don't mean Large Money). All in all, I ditched my Silicon Valley Wet Dream and decided to punt; my GF is here, so I am staying, anyway...
I seem to remember that at some point MS was using Xenix as its internet presence, but this article basically says that it began with NT (which I am sure in the greater sense they would have you believe). Am I totally off my rocker here or is that the way it really was?
I've been playing it fine for the past few weeks (first the demo, then the retail w/ downloaded binaries). What I want to see fixed is the damn "doesn't work under E" bug, though I grow more fond of Sawmill as the days go on (sorry to go offtopic there)
Point being, I think that baby-steps are important. You're dealing with a company that isn't about to just leap from one paradigm to another.
I ordered from a few places, and it arrived faster than I had anticipated. Another place sent it very, very late - then the next day, I recieved the exact same shipment (checked the invoice, only ordered one thing). Same deal happened to my roommate, and a buddy of mine who works at Borders said that their shipments have been totally screwed up...
I don't know where you could get them; we got them from our client.
// this is a counter
The code has to be reviewed, as well. The guidelines state that each source file must contain a certain level of information about the file. The end result is, you end up with comments that look like
int counter;
which is making everyone where freak out.
I am presently involved in working on a project that involves voting machines. The devices themselves are basically huge Palm Pilots - greyscale touch screens encased in an over-grown Etch-a-sketch case (sans knobs). I can tell you that 1, the federal guidelines are quite rigid; his "paper computer" would have to survive all sorts of damage, and is required to have triple-redundant memory, "just in case". There are standards of usability, as well, that are complex. Luckily, we're just writing the interface and ballot creation stuff, not doing the actual hardware, but I have learned a lot about the process. I wish him luck, but he's in for a LONG, HARD fight if he even wants to get it certified, and then getting the localities to adopt it, well, thats another story. They fear change - elections are the ultimate hard deadline, and if you don't pull it off, you can't re-do it, and your name goes down in history.
Side note: our software runs on Windows via IIS but some large, knowledgeable clients have requested a version for Linux. The reasons: stability of NT, which they don't trust for the above reasons. We're a mostly Linux shop so getting away from the IIS crap is our goal.
I have one of these on my Xmas list, and I am certain i am going to get it. Has anyone had an experiences with it? Wrist pain go up, down, left, whatever?
THINK! apparently is becoming fashionable at IBM again.
I like what IBM is doing; they seem to be making the fewest mistakes of all the people jumping on the bandwagon, and sadly I think they are going somewhat unnoticed for it.
In the end, though, I think IBM sees Linux and Open Source as a way to win against Microsoft. They lost in the OS/2 battle, when they played by Microsoft's rules. Now they get a chance to turn the tables, change the rules, and score big. They follow the "widget frosting" model of open-source: they make Big Iron, and as long as they have a full-featured OS, they sell boxes. By unifying their offerings from desktop, to small server, to big iron, they present a unified front, something MS and their 42 software offerings can't match. They develop loyalty in the community, so people start using their development tools, buying their hardware, and killing MS market share. They get tons of free advertising from Linux partisans, so their sales force can be more effectively utilized. Its a win on all fronts. All they have to do in return (to keep this win-win situation going) is behave. Open the tools, don't piss people off, and don't hoard.