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No!

It's a good thing they caught this in beta, before it affects a large number of people!

date-based is good for continuous processes, which the development isn't and shouldn't be. From the user perspective, my primary concerns are comparisons - is this driver for my kernel version? Do I run the latest kernel version? Is this function available in my current version?

Numbers are easier to compare than dates. They are also international, while dates aren't. 07.01. means 1st of July in some countries and January 7th in others.

Major and minor numbers have their place, too. They tell me something about the amount of change. I'll update from 2.6.25 to 2.6.26 without a second thought, as I expect nothing important to have changed. I'll spend a few minutes on the Changelog when I go from 2.6 to 2.7 because I expect a couple of minor things to have changed. I know that going from 2 to 3 will be a major update and might result in all kinds of incompatabilities, so I'd better make sure all my apps are ready first.

That's why I hate MS year-based versioning system. "Word '97" tells me absolutely nothing about how it compares to '95, '96 or '98. A version number would at least tell me what the manufacturer thinks it's "worth" (even though with MS that was mostly a lie as well).

And if Linus thinks that "big" (26, yeah right) numbers are a problem for people, then dates will be as well. Quick, how many releases were between 2.6.20 and 2.6.24? Good. Now quick, how many days were between January 17 and March 11? And... how many releases?

Bill Gates has been bullied around by Steve Ballmer ever since Windows 1.0. The reason Gates' work is never realized is because he's never been in charge. He has done precisely what Steve has told him for years. And Steve ruined his entire image and turned Microsoft from a beloved entity into a corrupted and one of the most hated companies.

I would LOVE to see Ballmer on the way out instead of Bill. Most of what people really dislike about Microsoft is Ballmer's doing, Gates just didn't have the spine to stand up to him and reel him in.

Every religion is a cult, just a popular one. Scientology isn't popular in any definition of the world and as such "cult" is very appropriate.

ozzee writes "While the Web2.0/javascript interface that Google Maps gives is a fantastic step forward, Google has now released a version of the API for Flash developers. This should lead to some very cool and interactive maps applications. Google's blog post points to the announcement that includes a demo flash application. If only we could get that kind of interaction in a regular web browser so we didn't need closed source solutions!"

http://www.linux.com/feature/135387

Adobe releases a beta version of Flash Player 10, which promises better performance, improved text handling, custom photo effects filters and native 3D animations. But why will you really like it? Adobe tells wired.com that most of the new features were suggested by the development community crowd.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/290899102/flash-player-10.html

Adobe has rolled out a new beta version of its Flash player software.

http://rss.macworld.com/~r/macworld/feeds/main/~3/290930554/astro.html

Build your own pixels

The "first major" Flash Player update since Adobe Systems completed its 2005 acquisition of Macromedia is due to be made available today as a beta.

http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2008/05/15/flash_player_10_beta/

eweekhickins writes "Symbian CEO Nigel Clifford just introduced a new IP networking architecture in its OS called FreeWay, providing broadband speeds on pocket devices, including the capability for super-fast download speeds, high-quality audio/video streaming and crystal-clear VoIP calling. It also introduced a new graphics architecture that it said gives users big-screen effects in their pockets and helps stretch out battery life. Clifford called the new features "groundbreaking," but maybe the biggest news for developers is that Google has made available a free, native Symbian C++ version of Google Maps."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2200178,00.asp

LKM writes "When Apple chose Orange as their partner in France, they forgot to put a small detail into the press release: The iPhone will be available unlocked in France.

Apple said Tuesday that it had signed France Télécom's wireless unit, Orange, to be the U.S. company's exclusive seller of the iPhone in France, agreeing for the first time to sell a version of the device that consumers can use on any network.

The move, which ended a month of speculation, is a concession to a French law that forbids bundling the sale of a mobile phone and a mobile operator. Orange plans to sell both a version of the iPhone locked to its network in France for 399, or $560, and an unlocked version, which will cost more, an Orange spokeswoman, Béatrice Mandrine, said.

In other interesting iPhone news, Apple has announced a real SDK:

We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers' hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.

It will take until February to release an SDK because we're trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once — provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task.

Only one question remains: What will we complain about now?"
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/16/business/apple.php

Microsoft unveiled their new version of Virtual Earth, and it's major. The Google Earth Blog actually reported this story yesterday. My apologies to the blog's author. Here's the official Virtual Earth blog entry. SharpGIS offers a few interesting screenshots. Ogle Earth also has his own interesting report. Amongst the juicy improvements, there is GeoRSS support, GPS GPX support, and even Google's KML format support (this format in being standardized by the Open Geospatial Consortium, which Microsoft just rejoined), there's Bird's eye view in 3D and even a SketchUp competitor in for 3D modelling. A longer more detailed list can be found here in the Virtual Earth Developer Forum.

zerojoker writes "It has been speculated already , http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/06/2057247 , now the german newsticker heise.de reports http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.heise.de%2Fnewsticker%2Fmeldung%2F97537&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=de&safe=off&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools [Google Translation] that due to French consumer-laws the iPhone is going to be released in France without SIM-Lock. Apparently an agreement with Orange, one of France's largerst mobile telcos has been reached. What will this mean for the hacker-community? Going to France to buy an iPhone?"

Though Knight Rider, the movie, has remained stuck in neutral for the better part of the naughties, Knight Rider, the TV show, is revving into high gear.

The premise of the show will essentially remain the same as the original, which centered on a mulleted man righting wrongs with the help of a particularly chatty and souped-up automobile. No word yet on who will play the hero this time around, but the Peacock is looking for some new blood (and Hoff is busy with America's Got No Shame^W^WTalent).