That xp notification is really annoying. You end up reboot just to stop the damn messages appearing.
That's the point. So Joe-Don't-Know-Computers will restart so the patch takes effect sooner rather than later. If you don't like the dialog, turn off auto-update.
I'm actually impressed with XP's ability to upgrade seemingly reboot-worthy drivers without even choking. I recently put a Soundblaster into a PC that had no sound card before. Booted it up, and typed in my username and password... about halfway through the startup chime, I start hearing sound from the card.
Is that something I'd expect in Linux now also? Last time I used Linux, it was RedHat 6.2, which didn't support my Soundblaster 512 at *all* (despite claiming in the docs that it was supported.)
The only other OS I've been impressed as much with in regards to drivers is BeOS.
It needs to reboot for security updates because one of the vunerable DLLs it patched could still be loaded into memory... and in that case, the patch wouldn't be effective until you flushed that memory and re-loaded the DLL. Most of the time, this means restarting.
That's the main reason I've always been a Mac user. Mac Classic (yes, I know, everyone has to tell me it sucks for just mentioning it) NEVER would steal your focus to shove some dialog at you. In a decade of using it, that didn't happen to me once.
It happens in OS X, but not as frequently as in Windows. (Although still a ton more than it SHOULD.)
The most annoying example is Apple's own DVD Player which steals focus one when it draws the player controls, then AGAIN when it actually starts playing the disk.
Back when Apple gave a shit about UI design, that would never have passed their QA process.
The sadder part than him missing the joke is the thought that because something (idiots telling people to RTFM) exists in Windows, it's OK to exist in Linux.
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't most of the coders on this site working to make Linux *better* than Windows? How could you possibly reach that goal if you just declare "well, Windows has the same problem, so let's not bother fixing it for Linux."
As far as I know, every current Gmail user has 50 invites to give out... so, yeah, there are millions of invites. I ran out of people to send them to, so now to amuse myself, I sometimes send invites to "do_not_reply@organization.com" and fill in funny names.
I think 2 GB Iomega Jaz drives hit that sweet spot for about 3 months. Their new Rev drives, while a very good backup solution, are unfortunately only 90 GB.
Right now the best solution is just USB2/Firewire external drives. Alas.
they're very little about advancing technology, and very much about advancing Microsoft.... admittedly their jobs, I just think they're incredibly disingenuous in their approach.
What does a perfectly reasonable quote from Bill Gates about speech recognition have to do with this? I guess I don't see what your example has anything to do with your point. Especially since the quote has to do with Bill Gates talking about advancing technology.
Pirating software is pirating software, it's copyright infringement, and it's against the law, no matter how many justifications you come up with. "I wouldn't pay for it anyway" is *not* a legally defensible position, period. If you want to change copyright law, then fight to change copyright law. But breaking the law as it stands is not a good way to effect change-- organizations like the BSA wouldn't exist if piracy weren't criminal.
And don't give me that "making a political stand" by pirating bullshit. Making a political stand involves *sacrifice.* That's like saying, "I'm making a stand about polluting SUVs by stealing this Escalade and driving it to work every day."
Xbox "domination" is actually going exactly the way Microsoft planned. They knew, as everybody did, that beating the PS2 in the first generation (and probably the PS3 in the second generation) is hopeless, and nobody realistically expected that to happen. Maybe in another 4-5 years, Xbox will be ahead.
(As I recall, the goals were more-or-less: First generation: Grab a non-trivial amount of the market. Second generation: Beat Nintendo. Third generation: Beat Sony.)
Gates at a keynote speech said within a couple of years, everyone would be communicating with their computers via speech. And, unless you count shouting "@(*$&#@(*&$" at a recalcitrant PC as communicating via speech, he was dead wrong.
IBM ViaVoice and Dragon Naturally Speaking (and perhaps some other products) allow anybody who's interested to dictate and control their computer via speech right now. It's affordable and easy to set up... so anybody who *wants* to speak to their computer can easily do so right now. (Except, perhaps, if they run Linux... are there any dictation products for Linux?)
He may have been wrong saying that "everyone" will be using it, but he's not "dead wrong" by any stretch of the imagination. I dictate to my MacOS X computer all the time. You could go to Fry's tomorrow and, for $30, pick up ViaVoice and do the same to your PC.
Of course, this is Slashdot, so naturally you have to spread FUD about Bill Gates.
Legal documents always define their terms. The term used in the document is as defined in the document, not what the word means in general usage. It probably also has a section defining "user," "document," or perhaps other terms.
In other words, this isn't anything to worry about. Maybe there's something to worry about further down in the document, but the definition of the term 'browser' isn't.
Since you're so persuaded by anecdotes, I have a buddy with an Xbox he's played daily since the console's launch and it still works fine 99% of the time. (The 1% is 'disk read errors' as the DVD drive in it slowly craps out.)
I could ask for a MSI installer, correct cache behavior on a Active Directory network. It would be nice if the OS X version used *native* widgets instead of those hackish cross-platform widgets which all behave like Windows widgets. (And yes, MacOS X textfields behave differently from Windows ones. I get asked that stupid question every time...)
I look at it this way: If the original developer had DONE IT RIGHT in the first place, nobody would have to go through and re-write it now. If there's a configuration file that tells which keys are mapped to which functions (going by previous posts on this thread), then why isn't it used consistantly by EVERY screen?
It's great that OSS lets people fix things like this, but it should also let people slap bad programmers in the face. "You put in this menu and didn't use the right key binding, slap! No cookie."
What's interesting is that the MacOS X version installs really smooth without leaving crap all over. I wonder if that's because OS X users complain more than Windows users, or just because AOL's given up targetting ads to Mac users...
It also has nice features that no other IM clients have, like text-to-speech. (iChat can speak the name of the sender, but AIM can speak the name, message, or both. Very handy.)
Apple does the same thing with their "switch" campaign. Why "switch?" Why not "use both for a few months and see how you feel about it." It's not like your Windows PC will vaporize if you have a Mac, and it's not like your Xbox 360 will cause your PS3 to explode into flames.
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That xp notification is really annoying. You end up reboot just to stop the damn messages appearing.
That's the point. So Joe-Don't-Know-Computers will restart so the patch takes effect sooner rather than later. If you don't like the dialog, turn off auto-update.
I'm actually impressed with XP's ability to upgrade seemingly reboot-worthy drivers without even choking. I recently put a Soundblaster into a PC that had no sound card before. Booted it up, and typed in my username and password... about halfway through the startup chime, I start hearing sound from the card.
Is that something I'd expect in Linux now also? Last time I used Linux, it was RedHat 6.2, which didn't support my Soundblaster 512 at *all* (despite claiming in the docs that it was supported.)
The only other OS I've been impressed as much with in regards to drivers is BeOS.
It needs to reboot for security updates because one of the vunerable DLLs it patched could still be loaded into memory... and in that case, the patch wouldn't be effective until you flushed that memory and re-loaded the DLL. Most of the time, this means restarting.
That's the main reason I've always been a Mac user. Mac Classic (yes, I know, everyone has to tell me it sucks for just mentioning it) NEVER would steal your focus to shove some dialog at you. In a decade of using it, that didn't happen to me once.
It happens in OS X, but not as frequently as in Windows. (Although still a ton more than it SHOULD.)
The most annoying example is Apple's own DVD Player which steals focus one when it draws the player controls, then AGAIN when it actually starts playing the disk.
Back when Apple gave a shit about UI design, that would never have passed their QA process.
I can verify that on a fresh Windows XP install, none of those radio buttons are disabled when logged on as administrator.
He's obviously purposely being dense. Any moron would know to look for a systemwide setting like that in the Control Panel-- DUH!
The sadder part than him missing the joke is the thought that because something (idiots telling people to RTFM) exists in Windows, it's OK to exist in Linux.
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't most of the coders on this site working to make Linux *better* than Windows? How could you possibly reach that goal if you just declare "well, Windows has the same problem, so let's not bother fixing it for Linux."
I see this attitude all the time on Slashdot.
As far as I know, every current Gmail user has 50 invites to give out... so, yeah, there are millions of invites. I ran out of people to send them to, so now to amuse myself, I sometimes send invites to "do_not_reply@organization.com" and fill in funny names.
Why suggest it here? Put it in as feedback to Google. They act on feedback, you know.
Don't forget the NEA, National Education Association... man, talk about a corrupt union.
I agree, unions are not the answer. From my experience, unions have always done more bad than good.
I think 2 GB Iomega Jaz drives hit that sweet spot for about 3 months. Their new Rev drives, while a very good backup solution, are unfortunately only 90 GB.
Right now the best solution is just USB2/Firewire external drives. Alas.
they're very little about advancing technology, and very much about advancing Microsoft.... admittedly their jobs, I just think they're incredibly disingenuous in their approach.
What does a perfectly reasonable quote from Bill Gates about speech recognition have to do with this? I guess I don't see what your example has anything to do with your point. Especially since the quote has to do with Bill Gates talking about advancing technology.
Pirating software is pirating software, it's copyright infringement, and it's against the law, no matter how many justifications you come up with. "I wouldn't pay for it anyway" is *not* a legally defensible position, period. If you want to change copyright law, then fight to change copyright law. But breaking the law as it stands is not a good way to effect change-- organizations like the BSA wouldn't exist if piracy weren't criminal.
And don't give me that "making a political stand" by pirating bullshit. Making a political stand involves *sacrifice.* That's like saying, "I'm making a stand about polluting SUVs by stealing this Escalade and driving it to work every day."
Xbox "domination" is actually going exactly the way Microsoft planned. They knew, as everybody did, that beating the PS2 in the first generation (and probably the PS3 in the second generation) is hopeless, and nobody realistically expected that to happen. Maybe in another 4-5 years, Xbox will be ahead.
(As I recall, the goals were more-or-less:
First generation: Grab a non-trivial amount of the market.
Second generation: Beat Nintendo.
Third generation: Beat Sony.)
To be fair,
Gates at a keynote speech said within a couple of years, everyone would be communicating with their computers via speech. And, unless you count shouting "@(*$&#@(*&$" at a recalcitrant PC as communicating via speech, he was dead wrong.
IBM ViaVoice and Dragon Naturally Speaking (and perhaps some other products) allow anybody who's interested to dictate and control their computer via speech right now. It's affordable and easy to set up... so anybody who *wants* to speak to their computer can easily do so right now. (Except, perhaps, if they run Linux... are there any dictation products for Linux?)
He may have been wrong saying that "everyone" will be using it, but he's not "dead wrong" by any stretch of the imagination. I dictate to my MacOS X computer all the time. You could go to Fry's tomorrow and, for $30, pick up ViaVoice and do the same to your PC.
Of course, this is Slashdot, so naturally you have to spread FUD about Bill Gates.
Legal documents always define their terms. The term used in the document is as defined in the document, not what the word means in general usage. It probably also has a section defining "user," "document," or perhaps other terms.
In other words, this isn't anything to worry about. Maybe there's something to worry about further down in the document, but the definition of the term 'browser' isn't.
Since you're so persuaded by anecdotes, I have a buddy with an Xbox he's played daily since the console's launch and it still works fine 99% of the time. (The 1% is 'disk read errors' as the DVD drive in it slowly craps out.)
... ok. How does that contribute to the discussion? You're not referring to the article, you're not offering an opinion... I don't get it.
I could ask for a MSI installer, correct cache behavior on a Active Directory network. It would be nice if the OS X version used *native* widgets instead of those hackish cross-platform widgets which all behave like Windows widgets. (And yes, MacOS X textfields behave differently from Windows ones. I get asked that stupid question every time...)
I look at it this way: If the original developer had DONE IT RIGHT in the first place, nobody would have to go through and re-write it now. If there's a configuration file that tells which keys are mapped to which functions (going by previous posts on this thread), then why isn't it used consistantly by EVERY screen?
It's great that OSS lets people fix things like this, but it should also let people slap bad programmers in the face. "You put in this menu and didn't use the right key binding, slap! No cookie."
What's interesting is that the MacOS X version installs really smooth without leaving crap all over. I wonder if that's because OS X users complain more than Windows users, or just because AOL's given up targetting ads to Mac users...
It also has nice features that no other IM clients have, like text-to-speech. (iChat can speak the name of the sender, but AIM can speak the name, message, or both. Very handy.)
And the two others are Syberia and Enter the Matrix.
Strikes me as really really odd selection to support 1080i...
But the hardware is definately capable; Syberia looks spectacular in 1080i.
Apple does the same thing with their "switch" campaign. Why "switch?" Why not "use both for a few months and see how you feel about it." It's not like your Windows PC will vaporize if you have a Mac, and it's not like your Xbox 360 will cause your PS3 to explode into flames.
Haha, *one* thing MacOS Classic did better than MacOS X!
But yeah, I agree, it's extremely irritating when I see this in OS X. A bug Apple *introduced* that hadn't existed in MacOS before.
Palm already has those. Their low-end is like $150. You can't beat that.