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Comment I'd bet Linus is fully right on this one. (Score 3, Insightful) 739

Seriously, the GCC is a prestige project just like the kernel. You have to have the basics of your particular software development field down, otherwise you have no business whatsoever lost in these projects. I don't know the details and I certainly can't judge them, but from the broad perspective it seems like somebody did something akin to not avalidating and filtering your input or pushing windows-1252 but presenting it as UTF-8 or something in webdevelopment and it passed all the way through evaluation, testing, merging, release management, etc. right into the final GCC release. Which does reflect on to the entire team and project.

Bottom line: When Linus has released rants like these in the past he usually was spot on and dead right. The GCC has gotten some flak for it's shittyness lately, and it looks like they haven't improved their process much yet.

Comment Errrm, No!?? (Score 1) 291

It's well known that cheap android phones have always been bad, and will always be bad.

Errrm, no!?

Just bought a Huawei Y530 for 113 Euros for my SO. It runs Android 4.2.x. The camera is sub-par for todays standards and even weaker than on my 3-year old HTC Desire HD, but with 5MP more than sufficient for taking shots of cats or the family on a trip. Or videos for that matter. That aside, the screen is awesome, the processing power is more than sufficient, Chrome works like a charm and so does hangouts, email and such. No problem with special apps so far. Video playback works as intended. The widgets look fine. The UI is dumbed down a little - installed Apps are automatically placed on the UI, there is no seperate "installed apps" drawer - but that simply makes things less complicated for normal users.

The battery is replaceable and the case looks cool (designed by the fin who did some Nokia cases and the case for the Jolla, IIRC).

Bottom line:
If you take your time searching, you can get cheap Android phones that have an amazing price/performance ratio and do their job just fine.

Comment To me it's pretty clear. (Score 3, Insightful) 503

Slavian Farmers Militia ("Seperatists") bored and trigger-happy and with easy access to Russian military hardware. To dumb to doulbe-check their targets or to dumb to care. Wether this is Ukranian seperatists or not is of no significance - there all just pawns in a Game. I think Putin has since this begun weighing the risks of supporting seperatists and making russia fell big again - whatever that is - and keeping a low(er) profile. This could shift sentiment considerably.
Either way, I don't trust the guy but I don't consider east-ukranian militia folks rational enough to be under any usefull control by russian. When push comes to shove, they'll do whatever they feel like doing, as long as they've got enough ammo and toys and enough dumbwits who support their cause - whatever that's supposed to be.

Comment Best Computer name ever (Score 2, Insightful) 52

I've never heard of this guy, but calling your Computer "Mailüfterl" in contrast to other ones named "Wirlwind" definitely gives him instant credit with me. Must have been a fun guy to be lectured by. ... Seriously, this may actually be the very first non-gigantomaniac humourous computer name in history.

Comment The watch I want doesn'st exist yet. (Score 1) 381

Smartwatch wishlist:
Shockproof
Waterproof (200 m)
Solar Powered
Flat but Sturdy - Think a combination of Casio G-Shock and Skagen
Pressure Sensor / Height Meter / Variometer
Temperature Sensor
Environment Sensor
Complete Biosensor Package
FOSS OS with every aspect configurable, especially blocking of corporate tracking (Google, Facebook, etc.)
Speed-charging mode
Assistance AI ('please' of course being optional :-) )
      --> Watch, when does the milonga in collogne start today?
      --> Watch, are the regional trains to collogne on schedule?
      --> Watch, please warn me if I cross the speed limit.
      --> Watch, please navigate me along the fastest route to school.
      --> Watch, I hear cheering from all the windows around me - who just scored a goal?
      --> Watch, guide me to the nearest DM that stocks dental care. (Watch knows that I'm on foot and guides me to the nearest Tramstation if required.)
      --> Watch, has the bike shop gotten back to us yet? (Watch checks voicebox and all message channels including mail)
      --> Watch, please tell me if todays schedule is still valid or if there are any unforseen changes.
      --> Watch, what was her name again? Just show, don't say.
      --> Watch, please record a tracklist of everything the DJ is playing tonight. Use any analytical software available, not just shazam. And establish what it would cost to buy that tracklist on the music platforms that we're registred on.
      --> Watch, please silence youself and all my devices in proximity until tomorrow 7:30 in the morning. Silence all priority notifications except the "Company Server Down" Alert. And go into "Push to show" mode for your clockface and turn of all screensavers and backlights. (Thinks to himself: I want to enjoy this evening/night with this tango-cutie here without any further disturbance. :-) ) ...

you get the picture.

Furhtermore:
Standardised wrist strap connections
Cheap and available spare wriststraps in variing colors and materials
Cheap and available spare and extra bumber cases in variing colors and materials
1st hand 3D printing files of wriststraps and variant bumper cases
Quick change from wriststrap to pocket'watch' / pocketdevice mode ...
And probably some other things I haven't thought of yet. ...Allthoug I couldn't say if such a watch would be good for me. With that type of AI my brain would probably start to rott from under-usage quite soon :-) .

My 2 cents.

Comment Aaaaahahaha ... gotta love it: (Score 4, Insightful) 136

"A multithreaded file system is only a performance hack. When there is only one job active, the normal case on a small PC, it buys you nothing and adds complexity to the code. On machines fast enough to support multiple users, you probably have enough buffer cache to insure a hit cache hit rate, in which case multithreading also buys you nothing." - Andy Tanenbaum on the "LINUX is obsolete" Thread from 30 Jan '92

Nice to see a so called "expert" so far off. Seriously, not the first CS Professor to be completely backwards. I've met a few of those too. :-)

Comment Dubai is a Disneyland. Only bigger. (Score 1) 265

Just like most of the Emirates, Dubai is a Disneyland. Only bigger.

Seriously, I don't know what crack these bedus are smoking, but there are more books translated into spanish each year than into any language of the emirates in the past 100 years. These people base huge chunks of their view of the world on an ancient facist monotheistic religion, live in societies that by social structure resemble the grimmest of dark ages, sharia law and all, and all they have is truckloads of money from selling their oil and no real idea what to do with it other than squander obscene amounts of resources to build a huge disneyland out in the desert. The amounts of water wasted alone are beyond imagination.

I'd have no problem with building a high-tech nation within a few years, if I'd actually be seeing some real progress, but I don't. I'm seriously sceptical of Dubai and its likes gaining critical mass and actually building sustainable societies

The prince of Dubai would be well advised to use all that money of his of building universities, implementing basic human rights and getting a modern society going and perhaps building a modern armed force to defend it. Since it doesn't look that way, I'm not placing my bets to high on this whole Dubai thing.

I wouldn't be suprised if this all collapses within 20 years and we have a bunch of impressive ruins but nothing more.

My 2 cents.

Comment Re:Wait for tha Apple zealots... (Score 1) 198

...they'll say something to the effect:
"I don't care, Retina Display is better."

I hate to break it to you and I'm certainly not and Apple Zeolot - my phone is an HTC Desire HD which I happen to be quite happy with - but the retina display actually *is* better, compared to the G3, if not perhaps in size. It has a wider viewing angle and a higher brightness range. Both only slightly, but noticable under certain conditions. How do I know? Just saw a detailed video review on the LG G3.

Given the choice between 400dpi and 538dpi with slightly less brighness and slightly tighter viewing angle I'd take the latter. I bet that goes for most people here.

My 2 cents.

Comment Facebook encourages posing. (Score 4, Interesting) 130

I see it in my self, on the rare occasions that I actually post, which is roughly 5-10 times a year and I see it with others whenever I go online to browse a little in the posts of the people I'm connected with ... called "Friends" (Fingerquotes!) on FB:

Facebook and other "social networks" encourage posing. No two ways about it.

If you get all worked up and batter your self esteem just because somebody posted himself in cool poses or on some event that you "missed out" on ... I get this a lot, since I'm only on FB for my tango dancing connections, a pastime where posing sometimes actually is part of the game. Actually knowing the person behind a neat facade on FB does put things into perspective.

Bottom line:
People shouldn't get more attached to these things than it is good for them. If this neat little stund by FB shows them that, then all the better.

My 2 cents.

Submission + - Is it feasible to revive an old Linux PC setup? 1

Qbertino writes: I’ve been rumaging around on old backups and cleaning out my stuff and have once again run into my expert-like paranoid backups and keepsakes from back in the days (2001). I’ve got, among other things, a full installset of Debian 3 CDs, an original StarOffice 6.0 CD including a huge manual in mint condition, Corel Draw 9 for Linux, the original box & CDs — yes it ran on a custome wine setup, but it ran well, I did professional design and print work with it.

I’ve got more of other stuff lying around, including the manuals to run it. Loki Softs Tribes 2, Kohan, Rune and the original Unreal Tournament for Linux have me itching too. :-)

I was wondering if it would be possible to do an old 2001ish setup of a linux workstation on some modern supercheap, supersmall PC (Rasberry Pi? Mini USB PC?), install all the stuff and give it a spin. What problems should I expect? Vesa and Soundblaster drivers I’d expect to work, but what’s with the IDE HDD drivers? How well does vintage Linux software from 2003 play with todays cheap system-on-board MicroPCs? What’s with the USB stuff? Wouldn’t the install expect the IO devices hooked on legacy ports? Have you tried running 10-15 year old Linux setups on devices like these and what are your experiences? What do you recommend?

Comment It was easy to see this coming. Seriously. (Score 1) 274

I predicted this sort of thing back in 2006. And let's be honest: It's not that suprising, is it? Globalisation is once around the globe by now. In the US, entire landscapes are out of jobs and glad for anything. In China more than a decades worth of 8%+ growth has started to saturate markets and upped the price for labor, shrinking the margins.

Next up will be robots. And they don't care where they stand, neither does the corp that owns them. They will be placed closest to the buyer to reduce transport costs. The avantgarde will start building modern factories in western countries now again. Like Tesla.

My 2 cents.

Comment Age discrimination exists, but it works both ways. (Score 5, Interesting) 370

I've had this issue myself here on /. a few times in the last 2-3 years.

Here's my current take on it:
People discriminate based on age, in any field or situation. That's simple psychology. You can tip the reactions in your favor, based on how you behave. I'm skinny, move a lot and wear a relatively up-to-date hipster / better-dressed nerd mix of clothing and my basic temper is sanguine, so people usually judge me roughly 6-8 years younger than I actually am. That does help me when trying to get a quick hire in the webshop next door, although that is getting more difficult in certain ways.
In the field you're easier in for a cheap quick hire if you appear young and nimble. Emphasis on cheap and quick. Easy in, easy out, no hurt feelings on either side. At a first glance, getting such a gig is definitely more difficult if you have a deer-gut, are approaching your 50ies and looking it too.

Then again, take that same deer gut 50ies body, dress it in a good suit and a well chosen shirt and tie combo, adjust your behavior and your speaking a little, perhaps take some training or stage classes, print some neat business cards with "Consultant" written on them and your salary instantly rises by 15K per year easily. Try that as a mid-twenties guy - it's going to be very difficult.
This only starts to work in your favor once you've got wrinkles and gray hair to show. I call it the 'gray-hair-bonus'. You need one guy from that camp for every contract worth 100k and up. They are indispensable, especially if they can talk and have the decades of experience to back it up. I'm turning into that sort of guy and helping the transition with some extra 'finally-grow-up' efforts. It does magic to my rates. And it's simply that I look the age that make 50% of all that possible. I just have to get used to letting that fat student kid do the setup of the next server, even if he makes tons of mistakes ... after all, I'm there to help him out if he's in a jam. But forcing yourself to keep your hands off is a bit of a challenge, I do admit. :-)

My 2 cents.

Comment JavaScript is the only right answer (Score 0) 466

If you're looking for the most relevant RAD Language today and the one that's the strongest upcoming, that would be JavaScript. No two ways about it. Python is definitely the more interesting, simply because its syntax is more modern - JS is basically a member of the C + Java line of languages and a prime objective of Python was to do away with the clutter.

But in terms of momentum, there's no single doubt about the rapidly increasing significance of JS. With Node.js it has gotten hold on the serverside again, as it used to have back when Netscape Webserver was the only webserver around, and since the dimishing importance of Flash and the parallel increase in importance of mobile web-centric devices it has become the got-to technology for client-side logic in the mobile space. It's cross-platform and there's an engine for it in every browser. It's that simple. The increasing fragmentation of end-user devices is driving battalions of developers to JS as we speak and with the second half of humanity to be connected to the intarweb via cheap mobile devices within the next few years I don't think JSs' momentum is going to dimish anytime soon.

Bottom line:
If you need or want to bet on a single RAD PL today, JavaScript it is. Frontend to backend. Strange but true.

Comment Captain Obvious Science Team strikes again! (Score 0) 166

NEWSFLASH! JUST IN!
Classic Eskimo diet only suitable for classic eskimo climate!

Brilliant new scientist team finds out that 10 bazillion calories-per-day and lets-eat-tons-of-raw-meat-because-we-have-no-other-source-of-micronutrient-iron-and-vitamin-c-out-here-in-a-countryside-made-of-pure-ice escimo diet suitable for an arctic climate with regular temperatures of -30 Celsius and lower actually isn't suitable or very healthy at temperatures around +15C and raises risk of CADs.

Gees, what an insight. How would've thunk? ...

Seriously, how do these guys get funding?

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