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rbanffy
194,608karma·63,760submissions·March 12, 2008
about
Seasoned software developer, proficient in Python, Java. Less proficient in Ruby and Lisp. A bit rusty in C and C++. Learning Erlang very slowly. Also a computer collector and restorer, lover of 8-bit computers, mainframes and interesting Unix workstations.
email: username at that google mail thing
http://about.me/rbanffy
https://linkedin.com/in/ricardobanffy
[ my public key: https://keybase.io/rbanffy; my proof: https://keybase.io/rbanffy/sigs/HtF1uAf_RNpwIkNP1-YGWP_-3doWV6S5Cc1KywXeLYo ]
recent activity (63,760 total)
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Well... I see making people smarter _is_ both a contraceptive _and_ reduces the number of religious nuts. That messes with a lot of interests...
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They are not the same thing. Threads share address space and processes don't and that's a crucial difference.
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With Python, which has the easy_install utility for installing its own packages, I use the virtualenv mechanism to create a "shadow" environment connected to the machine's main Python but with its own…
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I know. The library is available to 2.5 as "processing", but starting OS processes when all you wanted were threads is somewhat ugly. I agree it's not possible to do it properly with the GIL in place …
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I loved it, but I still want better threading and multi-core support in CPython... Most desktops now have two cores and it doesn't seem likely that number will fall anytime soon...
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You don't need to understand much of what goes under the hood of your car to draw simple conclusions like "exerting pressure on the brakes slows it down". You do need considerable understanding of how…
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Microsoft did not bring the personal computer into every home for a reasonable price. Apple didn't either: the II was quite expensive when compared to the Commodores and Ataris and was more a "low-end…
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Well... If we had the means to stop a supernova, we would probably have the means to stop global warming. Or turn it on during winter. ;-)
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If you are swimming and one person says "nice tan" and the other screams "shark!", I would strongly advise you to pay attention to the second one.
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Climate engineering is a very interesting idea, but since we don't understand the climate very well, I would start with small steps and leave setting off volcanoes or dumping iron into the seas for a …
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Well... The measurements are recent ;-)
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It's also kind of ad hominem. Al Gore doesn't live a life of saint renunciation, therefore, global warming is a hoax. I really see no connection.
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I agree. Biased, poorly written. "the idea of handing complete responsibility for "View" generation and near-complete responsibility for Model "business rules" validation to the Web Browser would make…
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I think the DRY motto came from the Rails folks.
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Let me guess: You don't own an iPod. iPods play MP3 files just fine. Most iPods also play nice with non-Apple tools (I used one with Linux for a long time). It's incorrect to say they play only propri…
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At that time, you could look at the motherboard and figure out (or follow the traces on both sides) how everything worked. I kind of did that with my first Apple II.
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What he may be trying to say is that Apple is every bit as evil as Microsoft, except the monopoly part. They employ many of the same techniques to bind their users to their hardware and software in wa…
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I must disagree with you on one part (a minor one, true). The 70s were not the dark ages: the late 70s and early 80s were the golden age of the personal computer. As pointed out by other of the commen…
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I would guess their major problem is lack of mindshare. All other problems more or less come from that, including what appears to be a lack of focus. They need to borrow a page from Apple's book and b…
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I refuse to believe in anything written by someone who is mostly vacuum.
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"people are always going to pick holes in whatever words you use" That's precisely why you should have the boilerplate prepared by PR and law professionals.
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I use Python most of the time I have to program. For the past months, my working tools have been Outlook, Project, Word and Excel, so, my impact on the art of programming is negligible. On occasion, I…
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It's somewhat hard not to stereotype them when the loudest among them behave like ill-behaved 8 year-old children. I know there is a lot of very serious people using Ruby (and Rails), but the communit…
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Nobody can. But then, C# isn't easy to start with. "The least painful" is what I would say.
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If those were my only choices, I would consider changing my career. Maybe learn to cook and open a gourmet restaurant. Now, seriously, I would go for Java because, at least, it can run cross-platform …
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I have a very interesting story about exactly this situation, but I am forbidden by regulations to share it here. ;-) But the reply alongside mine nails it quite well - the HR staff has no authority t…
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Let me rephrase your question: "What's wrong with, say, Psychology, that makes so few men enroll?" or "Why there are so few men graduating from fashion schools?" I agree that looking at the whole pict…
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That's the problem: You shouldn't care about how well a SPARC desktop runs Firefox. You should use such a box to develop software that run on a 32 or 64-thread machine. We must be prepared to deliver …
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You know what I love the most about Django? It's as easy to use as Rails, plus has no such toxic people hanging around it.