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Name Marco von Ballmoos
Member since
Email [hidden]
Home page https://earthli.com/users/marco
Description

The (only) developer at earthli.com.

Contents

3209 Articles
111 Comments

#2 − No Longer Old-School here …

marco (updated by marco)
“…a lot of IT staff I know by default switches back to this old interface.”

Heh. I used to be one of those … but I stopped using the Windows Classic look when I found Opus OS 1.5 by Ross 'b0se' Harvey, Opusworks (Deviant Art). I still can’t use the default Windows XP blue theme for very long, but Vista looks pretty nice. I just don’t have the horsepower on my notebook to turn on all the pretty details …

(Attached to Article Spolsky’s Choices in Technology)

#2

marco

Wildcards are a way to provide partial support for propert generics, in which—if B inherits from A—List<B> also inherits from List<A>. In both Java and C#, this is not the case, which makes passing generic parameters all the more difficult.

The where keyword in C# corresponds to the extends keyword in Java. It indicates that the actual generic parameter must conform to the given base type (which can be a class or an interface). In your example, the implementation of the generic class may call any features defined in MYBASETYPE on MYTYPE.

(Attached to Article Wildcard Generics in Programming)

#1 − Flash Version available

marco

Interactive Map of Springfield is now available, with popup cels for many buildings to help you remember which ones are which.

(Attached to Article Map of Springfield (Simpsons) in Fun)

#2 − Just tested it!

marco

I just tried it out and am still very excited about it. Both PowerPoint and Word are worlds better than any previous versions.

“the “bad thing” is that microsoft once more did their own thing for the toolbar-system.”

Kind of … the toolbar is actually a whole area on which any controls can be laid. The “ribbon” really only works for applications with a lot of functionality and a lot of different workflows. It also only works once a lot of time has been put into researching how people want to use the program.

Many other applications—including those condsidering using the “cool new” toolbar from Microsoft—will have far less success than they expect. Even if they manage to replicate the look and feel, they won’t be able to replicate the usability with a simple copycat approach. That said, I do hope they at least make the toolkit available so that applications that do want to make the leap to using a “ribbon” can do so in a standard way.

 

(Attached to Article Office 2007 Innovations in Technology)

#1 − MNFTIU does it again

marco (updated by marco)

Check out the second pane for a well-written summary of the situation:

(Attached to Article Chatty Retirees in Public Policy & Politics)

#1 − Konami Pro Evolution Soccer 4

marco

Took this demo for several spins and it pretty much kicks ass! It has almost none of the problems mentioned above (although it’s kind of hard to shoot). I imagine the control issues are addressed in the manual … and it’s a steal at $20!

(Attached to Article PC Soccer Games in Video Games)

#1 − Followup…

marco

I even got a nice response. We agree to disagree … could have been worse.

“Marco,

“I am glad and surprized to hear that you are willing to agree to disagree. Let freedom ring:

““In vain would that man claim tribute to patriotism, who seeks to subvert these(religion & morality)greatest pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.”- George Washington

“Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful),

“Joseph Gomez”

(Attached to Article My first hate mail! in Miscellaneous)

#1 − More Opera startup packs

marco

When you start up Opera for the first time ever, it defaults to the Startup home page at Opera. From here, you have a link to Customize, which offers one-click downloads that adjust your browser to have the “IE/Firefox look and feel” or “Safari look and feel”.

They may not be open-source, but they seem to know how to get new users accustomed to their product.

Does Firefox have anything like this?

(Attached to Article Extensions and Plugins in Technology)

#2 − Hired Muscle

marco

That’s interesting because of their job description, that “many of them [are] tasked to protect US troops and personnel”. The Army can’t be so bad … they hire more troops to protect their troops.

“Often the foreign contract workers are highly paid former soldiers who are armed with automatic weapons, leading to Iraqis viewing all foreign workers as possible mercenaries or spies.”

That is a dastardly conclusion to which only a crazy Arab could come. Ahem.

#1 − Michael Moore’s response to the Bush press conference

marco

Try not to think of the credibility Michael Moore lost when he supported Wesley Clarke (as he was pioneering the ABB movement), consider the excellent points he makes in Personal Voices: Setting the Record Straight by Michael Moore (AlterNet) on their own merits. Here he talks about the coverage of Falluja and the rising Iraqi revolution:

“First, can we stop the Orwellian language and start using the proper names for things? Those are not “contractors” in Iraq. They are not there to fix a roof or to pour concrete in a driveway. They are MERCENARIES and SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE. They are there for the money, and the money is very good if you live long enough to spend it.”

To Bush’s babbling about terrorists and Baathist extremists, he responded: “You closed down a friggin’ weekly newspaper, you great giver of freedom and democracy!”

About reporting in Iraq, he reminds us that what we are seeing is not reporting in a news sense, but simply packaging of press releases:

“…it is now too dangerous for a single media person to go to that [Saddam statue] square in Baghdad … those brave blow-dried “embeds” can’t even leave the safety of the fort in downtown Baghdad. They never actually SEE what is taking place across Iraq (most of the pictures we see on TV are shot by Arab media and some Europeans). When you watch a report “from Iraq” what you are getting is the press release handed out by the U.S. occupation force and repeated to you as “news.””

Moore has his own cameramen in Iraq, and they tell him that:

“…when they fly into Baghdad, they don’t have to show a passport or go through immigration. Why not? Because they have not traveled from a foreign country &#8211; they’re coming from America TO America, a place that is ours, a new American territory called Iraq.”
(Attached to Article A War President in Public Policy & Politics)

#1 − Alex Cockburn (Counterpunch)

marco

Bush as Hitler? Let’s Be Fair by Alexander Cockburn (Counterpunch) quotes an article by contributor Dave Lindorff:

“It’s going a bit far to compare the Bush of 2003 to the Hitler of 1933. Bush simply is not the orator that Hitler was. But comparisons of the Bush Administration’s fear mongering tactics to those practiced so successfully and with such terrible results by HItler and Goebbels on the German people and their Weimar Republic are not at all out of line.”
(Attached to Article Moveon movies in Public Policy & Politics)

#1 − Operation Iraqi Freedom

marco (updated by marco)

Nice name for the war. Nothing like hitting folks over the head with a hammer to make sure they remember the real reason we’re fighting this war.

(Attached to Article Liberating Iraq in Public Policy & Politics)

#1 − In case you were thinking “I wonder who owns the duct-tape companies?”

marco (updated by marco)

The GOP Home Shopping Network on the Washington Post has some information about that. Turns out that “…nearly half — 46 percent to be precise — of the duct tape sold in this country is manufactured by a company … [owned by] … Jack Kahl” who gave “more than $100,000 … to the Republican National Committee and other GOP committees in the 2000 election cycle…”

Do I believe that we’ve sunk so far as to cheerlead a product in the name of terrorism in order to benefit a single campaign sponsor?

No. We’d certainly need more evidence first. But it’s an interesting coincidence.

#1 − Oh. By the way, Cheney’s off the hook…

marco (updated by marco)

Added as an update above

Millions For A BJ, But Nothing For Energy on Plastic notes that the GAO has dropped the “lawsuit against the White House to release the energy task force records.” Looks like Cheney managed to outlast them and we’ll never know the deals that were brokered among the elite to decide US energy needs and uses. They decided that:

“further pursuit of the … information would require investment of significant time and resources over several years”

It’s not the GAO’s fault though, since they are just the in charge of ensuring that Congress gets the information it wants and needs in order to function. Since “only seven senators and congressmen had expressed support for the efforts to get the information”, it seems we’re just very poorly represented.

It looks like the Republican plan to sully the name of independent counsels during the Clinton administration (which were used almost constantly during his eight years in office — Whitewater, Monica, etc.) is working out really well. There are no calls for an independent counsel into any of the shady dealing of the administration, from Harken <em>Energy to Halliburton (military <em>and energy). It seems they can just get away with anything and the media is far to cowed to hold them accountable.

#2 − Speaking of religion…

marco

As reported in Bush offers words of comfort in the Boston Globe, Bush’s response to the tragic loss of the space shuttle Columbia yesterday was that he:

“…quoted the Bible, his eyes growing misty as he recited a passage from Isaiah: ‘Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.’ … Bush continued: ‘The same creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth, yet we can pray that all are safely home.’”

Wow.

#1 − New first paragraph found

marco (updated by marco)

I was just reading the WhiteHouse.Org and found this much more appropriate starting paragraph for Bush’s speech in White House Office of Global Communications:

“The Bush Administration understands the importance of responding to the global explosion in anti-Americanism. Left unchecked, these irrational sentiments, harbored by billions of mentally inferior foreigners the world over, could contribute to an international consumer climate in which American corporations and products stand at a competitive disadvantage.”

If you think <em>my analysis wasn’t detailed enough, scurry on over to the WhiteHouse.Org site for a look at their Complete Transcript of the State of the Union. This guy had no qualms about completely re-interpreting Bush’s speech to more closely match his intentions.

#1 − More information

marco

U.S. Intervening Against Democracy in Venezuela on Alternet provides more details about US funding of the opposition: The “…U.S. National Endowment for Democracy stepped up its funding to opposition groups, including money funneled through the International Republican Institute.”

#1 − Beautiful

marco

Just looking through more back issues of the Wave and I found Keeping the Skies Stupid, an article about post 9-11 airline security:

“On September 11th, the terrorists took over the plane with box cutters. This is never going to work again. The next person who tries to take 200 hostages with anything less than a bazooka is going to end up stuffed in an airplane toilet with the American spirit’s boot buried in his ass. Airports are openly mocking us when they take away our combs, nail files or boomerangs. Here’s a good way to test the deadliness of an item: Imagine you’re holding it and a gorilla bursts into the room. Now decide whether to hold on to it or fight with your bare hands. If you have to think about it, it’s not deadly. Instead of taking away toiletries from innocent travelers, we ought to take every citizen in groups of 200 into gymnasiums. Then, while they’re trying to figure out what’s going on, we have a guy come in and try to take them all hostage with a fork. If they let him, those 200 people are no longer allowed to fly on planes.”
(Attached to Article Seanbaby Found! in Fun)

#1 − Cheney’s speech

marco

The White House.org has released a transcript of Cheney’s latest speech, which includes:

“Over the past several days, despicable un-American traitors, including members of the liberal media, along with Congressmen and Senators from both sides of the aisle, have taken conspicuous glee in publicly questioning the wisdom and motives of this administration in its desire to invade and conquer the Middle East − starting with Iraq. And so this morning, to put a stop to this dangerous, effeminate and unpatriotic climate of discussion and contemplation, I am going to … reveal sensitive intelligence about the six nefarious Iraqi plots which require that America waste no time starting to kick serious raghead ass. ”

After a list of truly bizarre and likely hallucinogenic-inspired plans, he finishes strong with:

“I trust that the release of these terrifying plans will make the populace amenable to our pre-ordained course of action − the wholesale seizure of the earth’s most oil-rich lands from the evil, Godless hordes which currently inhabit them − and shut the cake-holes of disloyal busybodies who question the White House.”

Which, to me, is a pretty accurate translation of what Cheney’s actually saying into English we can all understand.

(Attached to Article News Roundup in Public Policy & Politics)

#1 − FIFA appoints Europeans

marco (updated by marco)

FIFA heeds call and appoints Europeans on Eurosport reports that “…FIFA President Sepp Blatter has finally bowed to the weight of public opinion and appointed six European referees to take charge of the World Cup semi-finals.” The selection for the rest of the cup had been a “regional selection policy”, but, unfortunately, many of the regions selected simply don’t have officials capable of refereeing matches at that level.

(Attached to Article Refereeing at World Cup in Sports)

#1 − Morford on strike first policy

marco

Mark Morford of the SFGate also has Let Us Now Crush Everybody… which is a wonderful rant about the ridiculousness (ludicrosity?) of the U.S. strike-first policy recently announced.

“Crush through mostly violent means any sign of anti- Americanism, no matter the cause, no matter that we can’t actually pinpoint the source, no matter that we claim to be the most peaceful and progressive and intellectually advanced superpower on Earth. Be pre- emptive and destructive and bomb-happy, or be a tree-hugging traitorous liberal commie sympathizer. There is no in-between. ”

However, he misinterprets the true irony because he says the Bush administrations plans “…to turn America from a place of nonpanicky relatively calm defense…”, which, quite plainly, it hasn’t been for at least the last 100 years, if you’ve read any unbiased history. The true irony is not that the policy is going into effect, it’s that it’s been in effect, but it’s now finally safe to announce it because the American people, in their fear, will wholeheartedly embrace it.

He closes with a summation of our new policy:

“And as the saying goes, if you don’t like the way America drives, stay off the damn sidewalk.”

#1 − Insane Drug Laws

marco

The New York Newsday had a good letter today, in response to a drug warrior’s column recently. It’s from the letters page, but I’ll rerpoduce it here because it may dissappear:

“In “‘Harmless’ Marijuana? Don’t Bet Your Life on It” [Viewpoints, May 3], John P. Walters makes a mistake common to the drug-warriors. He compares the problems of the illegal recreational drug-user to those of his opposite − the abstainer − rather than to those of the legal recreational drug-user.”
“America’s alcohol-advertising tobacco-subsidizing society has declared war on adults using recreational drugs other than the two deadliest to kill the inconvenient pain and unhappiness in the sanctity of their bodies.”
“Our very criminal “justice system” is obviously afraid that non-alcohol/tobacco drugs aren’t harmful enough without the state multiplying their costs from pennies to twenties, from years wasted on Cloud Nine to years wasted in hate-filled TB-ridden prison cages with rapists and murderers, and from zero-to-five days’ withdrawal to lifelong ex-con status in a society that casually excuses its mayors’ and presidents’ “youthful indiscretions” as it drugs millions of schoolchildren daily with Ritalin and other legal prescriptions, then imprisons those youths for “corrupting America’s morals” when they graduate to non-prescribed mood elevators.”
“College students who form friendships and social groupings according to their drug of choice should not “grow up” to encage each other on such an insane basis as America’s drug-warrior policy.”
“- Haig Cedric Timourian Manhattan”
(Attached to Article Depressed? in Public Policy & Politics)

#1 − SatireWire Does Catch-22

marco

SatireWire published Closed Disinformation Agency Can’t Convince Staff It’s Closed, which does Joseph Heller proud with Rumsfeld playing the role of Major Major and a subordinate filling in for Milo.

““We got ya, sir, we’re ‘closed’,” said a winking Major Chad Brumley when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld found him at his desk again today. “There is no one here spreading misinformation now, and certainly there won’t be anyone here spreading misinformation daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sir.””
(Attached to Article I am lying in Public Policy & Politics)

#1 − Check Out “Chained Melodies” on Salon

marco

Salon.com has Chained Melodies, a four page article discussing copy-protection in the age of the Internet, the SSSCA and has interviews with Lawrence Lessig and Edward Felten.

“As a result, if the content companies continue to have their way, the once-freewheeling Net will be reduced to a glorified form of top-down broadcasting: “a digital multiplex and shopping mall,” in Litman’s words; “cable television on speed,” as Lawrence Lessig phrased it in “The Future of Ideas.””

It even offers a look at how the copy-protection is likely to be enforced:

“…everything will likely be encrypted. “For example, instead of sending analog signals to your speakers, you send an encrypted stream of digital data, and the decryption is done in a sealed module built right into the speaker,” he says. “Video is done the same way: Encryption is done in a sealed module built right into the monitor, so you can’t bypass the encryption by tapping into the monitor cables. Disk drive encryption is built into the drive itself, etc., etc.””

So, let me get this straight. I’m going to spend more on hardware to be smart enough to read digital content so that I can use the content I buy in fewer ways? Sounds wonderful. Regardless of the protection enabled here, it should always be possible to circumvent it. However, with the SSSCA and its precursor, the DMCA:

“… it’s the criminalization of the act of copying, and even worse, of the act of discussing copying, that critics find most alarming. Is it really in the public interest to continually increase the level of corporate ownership of ideas and expression? Who should Congress serve?”
(Attached to Article SSSCA Creeps Onward in Technology)

#1

marco

Some of this guy’s comments were a little uncalled for:

<q>Herb Brooks: Amazing to report, the old disciplinarian got a little lax here. Won it all with much lesser players the last time around. … Figure skating coaches: Judging from the evidence at the women’s competition, apparently you need them.</q>

You had to know that there would be those that would love to see Kwan fail precisely because she didn’t have a coach. I mean, who does she think she is? Does she think she’s so good she doesn’t need a coach? Yeah, she does and yeah, she is. But there’s always that subconscious need to make it look like she’s great because she has help. The individual, intelligent acheiver is never popular. Her bronze medal is a vindication for many, I bet. But not in a good way.

(Attached to Article A Toast to a Host With the Most in Sports)

#2

marco

Same problem for this album again (bad link, no extension). I’m just getting old, I guess.

#2

marco

Yeah, sorry about that. I just wrote them wrong (forget the file extension).

(Attached to Article Switzerland 2001 Album Opens in earthli.com)

#1

marco

Yay! I got past level 4. Then, the bonus round that comes after that launches about 30 kids at you. I didn’t get very far.

(Attached to Article Snowball fight in Fun)

#1

marco

CNN reports that Audio problems delay release of bin Laden tape.

*Hushed, Stunned Silence*

<q>Four nongovernmental translators worked on the tape Wednesday to try to provide a “thorough” and “accurate” translation despite the tape’s poor audio quality and instances of more than one person speaking at once, officials said. … U.S. officials said bin Laden’s actions in the tape make it clear he had advance knowledge of the planning and details of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.</q>

So let me get this straight. It’s in Arabic. There are a lot of other people talking. The audio is of “poor” quality. It even cuts out from time to time. It’s only being translated now. And our fearless leader, George Bush, has said that the tape is good enough proof for him?

I always thought that he didn’t speak English well. Now I realize it’s because it’s, at best, his second language, with fluent Arabic coming in first.

(Attached to Article Arabic is hard in Public Policy & Politics)

#1

marco (updated by marco)

CNN has a decent article as well at Critics of new terror measures undermine effort. To Ashcroft’s rhetoric:

<q>To those who pit Americans against immigrants, citizens against non-citizens, to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. … They give ammunition to America’s enemies and pause to America’s friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil.</q>

Senator Leahy responds:

<q>The need for congressional oversight is not — as some mistakenly describe it — to protect terrorists, … It is to protect Americans and protect our American freedoms that you and everyone in this room cherish so much. And every single American has a stake in protecting our freedoms.</q>

(Attached to Article King Ashcroft? in Public Policy & Politics)