Recent Posts
I think it will happen much much earlier. Next AOL Time Warner et al. will enter the "market".-housetier (July 04, 2006, 05:36 AM)
Yeah, but it should keep track of the focused window (the work window).
Eg: when visual c++ is focused, the alarm counter doesn't count, but it starts counting down as soon as the window goes out of focus.
You'd have to be able to define the 'work' window. Otherwise the alarm would go off while working.-Gothi[c] (July 03, 2006, 01:47 PM)
This week I learned about a "trick" that you can do in Windows which, as far as I am concerned, is a serious security risk.
In an article written by Infoworld's Roger Grimes, he describes a "feature" in Windows that allowed me to run an executable file by simply typing a Web address into Internet Explorer.
Test it yourself:
* Right click on the Desktop and create a new Shortcut
* Point the shortcut to an executable -- such as c:windowssystem32calc.exe
* Call the shortcut www.microsoft.com
* Start Internet Explorer and type "www.microsoft.com" into the address bar
For the past few years, banks have been advising their customers to type their online banking URL into the browser -- instead of clicking on a link that may be a phishing scam.
If a piece of malware created this kind of shortcut, called it your online bank's name and then pointed the shortcut to a malicious file, the next time someone used that computer and, using the banks advice, tried to log on to their online bank, they would execute the malicious file.
We were amazed to discover that the site was instantly linked with terrorism, simply for the fact that it seems mysterious. Evil was the number one first impression people had of the site, in spite of the fact that there are no threats on the site. The only thing Eon 8 says is "We don't want you here". Nothing else.
Other less disappointing opinions were social experimentation (which was correct), James Bond movie viral marketing, and promotions for video games.
For many people, being faced with a countdown timer was an instant reason to try to shut down or hack the site. This is a worrying reaction, that if someone doesn't understand something they must destroy it. As a result, the servers have been hit quite hard these last few days, but luckily 99% of the 'hackers' could easily be described as 'l4me n00bs'.
Another worrying example of paranoia was how quickly people would jump to conclusions, such as telephoning the registered owner of a dog seen in a photograph on a server that hosts a page that links to eon8.
Personally I think you should invite the guy over here to teach a Ruby class ...-Carol Haynes (June 25, 2006, 02:45 PM)
I want to reiterate my position:
It's important for us all to support authors+companies financially for their work. If people simply take what they can, and only pay/contribute when they are forced to - i do believe that we will get what we deserve, which is that only the most agressive, restrictive and paranoid companies will profit. if we instead endeavor to act morally, and support authors who do good work, both in commercial and free software, we will ensure that they thrive and continue to do good work. it's important that when we see someone doing good work, we stand up and support them, as best we can.-mouser (June 25, 2006, 10:43 AM)
An Open Letter to Hobbyists
William "Bill" Henry Gates III - 3 Feb 1976
To me, the most critical thing in the hobby market right now is the lack of good software courses, books and software itself.
Without good software and an owner who understands programming, a hobby computer is wasted. Will quality software be
written for the hobby market?
Almost a year ago, Paul Allen and myself, expecting the hobby market to expand, hired Monte Davidoff and developed Altair
BASIC. Though the initial work took only two months, the three of us have spent most of the last year documenting, improving
and adding features to BASIC. Now we have 4K, 8K, EXTENDED, ROM and DISK BASIC. The value of the computer time we
have used exceeds $40,000.
The feedback we have gotten from the hundreds of people who say they are using BASIC has all been positive. Two surprising
things are apparent, however, 1) Most of these "users" never bought BASIC (less than 10% of all Altair owners have bought BASIC),
and 2) The amount of royalties we have received from sales to hobbyists makes the time spent on Altair BASIC worth less than $2
an hour.
Why is this? As the majority of hobbyists must be aware, most of you steal your software. Hardware must be paid for, but software
is something to share. Who cares if the people who worked on it get paid?
Is this fair? One thing you don't do by stealing software is get back at MITS for some problem you may have had. MITS doesn't make
money selling software. The royalty paid to us, the manual, the tape and the overhead make it a break-even operation. One thing you
do do is prevent good software from being written. Who can afford to do professional work for nothing? What hobbyist can put 3-man
years into programming, finding all bugs, documenting his product and distribute for free? The fact is, no one besides us has invested
a lot of money in hobby software. We have written 6800 BASIC, and are writing 8080 APL and 6800 APL, but there is very little incentive
to make this software available to hobbyists. Most directly, the thing you do is theft.
What about the guys who re-sell Altair BASIC, aren't they making money on hobby software? Yes, but those who have been reported
to us may lose in the end. They are the ones who give hobbyists a bad name, and should be kicked out of any club meeting they show
up at.
I would appreciate letters from any one who wants to pay up, or has a suggestion or comment. Just write to me at 1180 Alvarado SE,
#114, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87108. Nothing would please me more than being able to hire ten programmers and deluge the hobby
market with good software.
Bill Gates
General Partner, Micro-Soft
)
minimize to system tray should do it.
try Minimizer-XP or your other favorite Minimize to Tray freeware/applications, once minimize to tray all of them will stop flashing.
edit: 4t Tray Minimizer Free/Pro 4.27 free! is also very nice, lighter than Minimizer-XP.-kimmchii (June 24, 2006, 01:27 AM)