Spitting is a dirty habit. I hope you've given *nix a try at least. No one likes a bigot.

I'm with you on people stubbornly refusing to use "non-free" software, like RMS, whom I don't really like that much. Eric Raymond, while by no means a fan of Microsoft, I think has it right (or close to right). He switched to Ubuntu because it has the right amount of non-free software (drivers, codecs). I think it's noble to support Free, Open source software, but being an ass about it isn't the way to go. People in both camps need to be more reasonable about the software they use. I also have no problem paying for software if it's damn good software. There's nothing wrong with making a living, just like the kernel devs and some of the KDE people do. I also don't mind the idea of charging for specialty programs (VMs, large business apps, and so on) and support, while maintaining a free version, somewhat like what Red Hat does. At the end of the day, it's all about choice, and I try to respect people's choices. Unless they like Emacs over vi. Then I call them heretics... :laugh:

The difference is that Linux doesn't cost the end user money, and is included in systems made to closely mimic Unix, which has proven to be a better OS than most. The mentality behind OSS is to let everyone share and have equal input. I remember trying to suggest features for Office 07 and Media player 11 (both of which I like a lot, don't get me wrong here), but never actually getting anywhere beyond "fill out form X, and maybe someone will listen." That's a typical corporate system, which is necessitated by the chain of command and such, which is fine. But when I have a suggestion for something in the OSS world, my ideas get listened to, often with feedback directly from the developers. It feels much better from the perspective of an end user to be able to provide feedback that's genuinely and speedily taken into account. Microsoft's closed system is vastly different -- if there's a bug I happen to notice somewhere, there's no chance for me to help fix it, and if I report it it gets filed somewhere until it gets assigned to be fixed. It's not that no one cares, but it can seem like that given the system that's used, as opposed to having one of the programmers directly tell you that they'll get right on that, or that if you'd like, you can help yourself. Not to mention, there's no EULA with Linux. Now I really don't want to start a holy war here, but I've found Linux OSes to be much superior since I switched (And I used to be very skeptical of Linux). Linux systems are not better in some earth-shatteringly huge way, but rather in a lot of little ways that just make you say, damn, why can Microsoft, or Mac or Sony or anyone for that matter, be a little more like that. I haven't turned into some irrational MS-hater, I still like Windows, and was in many ways impressed by Vista. I don't go around saying, "MS ripped off x feature" or whatever; that's childish. And in the end maybe some people who have money to spare have said, well, those people deserve to be paid for what they're doing, because they're helping us for free. Just because they're getting paid now doesn't tarnish their philosophy or make it any less noble. They need to eat, too.

Um.... The year is 2007 :rolleyes:

Programmer's notepad. It's small, has highlighting for everything, very customizable, can manage projects and use other console tools and capture their output with a cool "system call" editor (for lack of a better word) and plugins, although there aren't many yet. Yeah, so that was more than 30 words. I hope I don't get banned.. :~ Oh, by the way, I made a C++ text clips file for it, and submitted it. When it gets posted, and if you try the program, let me know what you think :->

Not easy at all. The only tip I ever got was to write down the whole 128 64 32 thing before the test actually starts to save time. Helps, I guess. Honestly though, no calculator? And who would do subnets by hand anyway?

200 sounds a little too hot.... I mean, the interiors of cars have lots of plastic. Last time I put plastic in the oven with my cookies it didn't fare too well. :laugh: Maybe they mean the foil and pans get up to 200?

Well, the US media people are prudes like that.... I don't doubt they wouldn't let it on the air...

Stuart Dootson wrote:

And I notice he didn't mention dynamic_cast

Noticed that too... forgot to put it in my reply...

I second that. The committee is probably smarter than most programmers out there, and these things aren't added on a whim. There are reasons for these things in C++. Besides that, why is this guy bitching? You like C-style casts? Then USE THEM!!! They aren't *gone*

Banned? It really isn't all that bad...

Sho_Asylumn wrote:

it's been patched for more than 50 years

:laugh: And here I was trying to be nice to the power companies! They're always so nice to us...:sigh:

Sho_Asylumn wrote:

barbed wire

Don't forget the chewing gum... that's been an important component, too.

Sho_Asylumn wrote:

When you have a power grid that was designed for a country that has 140+ million people to have power gradually increase to a power grid that has to supply power for 300+ million people who all use WAY more power than they did back in the 50s, you have a recipe for disaster.

Toronto isn't in the US, as has been pointed out, but you are absolutely right there, and more than just the US has this flaw in their power systems. I think that the more people can produce their own power the better... it really doesn't take much. My family and I are experimenting with wind and hydroelectric on a small scale, and you would be surprised what it can do. The thing is, back in the 50's, as you said, people used less power, so why should they have invested in equipment to make their own? However, these days, with prices, pollution, and a failing system, it makes a lot more sense.

The problem is that the majority of the power stystem is very old and it's just been patched over the past 30 years. The old infrastructure has just been added to and duct taped and now with increased demand as time goes on, it becomes susceptible to temperature because it is old and fragile and yet carrying heavier loads than ever before. The only way to fix it would be to shut it down and replace the whole thing, but it would be impossible to let people go without power long enough to do so... so the power system just keeps being patched and only marginally improved.

Heh... yeah this morning they had a "planned" shut down... to remove tension points from the wires? (I didn't know they moved that much) The funny thing is, for it being planned, no one was notified and it wasn't in the paper. Can't wait to be making my own power.

Money* grant=new Money(); Extinct::Animal* mammoth=reinterpret_cast < Extinct::Animal* > (grant); -- modified at 17:59 Tuesday 25th July, 2006... damn angle brackets

Oh, I realize that, I was analogizing.

You can't just go with one idea or style, or just listen to one source (even Stroustrup says that, mentioning that you should read more than just his or anyone's single book to get a good outlook) I look at it like this: C++ supports many paradigms, and you have to choose which one fits the problem best. Similarly, I think that it is important to have an adaptive style that can change depending on the problem at hand, readability issues, performance issues, etc. If programming has taught me one thing it is to be flexible and open-minded. So look at what the other people are saying objectively and decide for yourself if they have a good point, because they may very well have a damn good one. I hate clichés, but there's more than one way to skin a cat. On the other hand, their ideas may not be so good. There could also be platform issues or other factors that have influenced the way these people program. Just keeping an open mind is, IMHO, the best thing you can do.

except i couldn't remember what band it was once i woke up. That's juat the luck I'd have :laugh:. On an interesting note, though, that got me thinking about something: ever have a dream where you're doing something you've never done in real life (spoken a different language, etc.) and then not remebered the details when you woke up, even if you remember everything else clearly? I have, and I was thinking about how marvelous a contraption the human brain must be that while you're dreaming it can fool itself into experiencing things it knows nothing about....

Yeah, me too

While I have few CDs, I listen to some Johnny Cash despite hating country. I think Cash was more like Rock n' Roll, anyway. I listen to a WSOGMM including System of a Down, Static X, Audioslave, Dead Kennedys, The Vandals, and (I wonder how many others know this one) Mindless Self Indulgence. I must say, MSI are pretty scary people, but I love their music.