__/ [ Mark Kent ] on Sunday 07 May 2006 21:55 \__
> begin oe_protect.scr
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> __/ [ nick ] on Sunday 07 May 2006 02:02 \__
>>
>>> Mark Kent wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I like kstars, particularly the links to databases as Nick mentioned
>>>> above, it's definitely for the serious telescope gazer. It's got a
>>>> good night-mode, too. Stella is the best for planetarium-type displays,
>>>> though, I think?
>>>>
>>>
>>> I agree - I think Stellarium is a better planetarium program. This is
>>> the first app I open when I want to get a quick glance at the current
>>> night sky. I use KStars when I haul out my telescope(s) for more serious
>>> observing. Stellarium, by design, provides a 'realistic' depiction of
>>> the night sky for the visual observer. KStars provides a 'star chart'
>>> type depiction of the night sky along with additional functionality
>>> useful to amateur astronomers. They are both great programs and I use
>>> each one in turn depending on my needs. Despite EF's rantings, choice is
>>> a _good_ thing.
>>
>> Who would ever argue against choice?
>
> Actually, you'd be amazed to see the number of people who've been
> through these parts making exactly that argument. Even some folks who
> would be, in general, very pro open-source. Personally, I find that
> choice is, overall, a very good thing indeed. Being faced with a
> mountain of choices can be somewhat overwhelming at first, but once the
> first steps have been taken, the advantage of having several ways over
> that mountain soon become clear.
>
>> Sure, the mix-and-match approach
>> tends to overload the brain. Take the folks in news.software.readers, for
>> example. Do you really think they remember all keyboard accelerators in a
>> dozen or so newsreaders and never get confused/disorientated? Yes, being
>> too whory when it comes to software leads to inefficiencies, but the
>> ability to easily 'dance' from one application to another (assuming data
>> is portable, e.g. thorough importers and exporters relying on stand
>> formats), is a positive think. Sometimes, application X can achieve
>> something that Y cannot, and vice versa. Most you double the expense by
>> acquiring a licence for both X and Y? Of course not. That's where Free
>> Open Source Software comes into play. You have many flexible application
>> rather than one bloated toy that promises the world to you, but often
>> fails.
>
> Have you made some change to your newsreader settings? I've not seen
> even justification using non-proportionate fonts since, well, the 1980s
> :-)
It's a Perl script. Owing to several suggestions (due to complains
rather), I disabled hyphenation recently. The Perl script is based on some
LaTeX modules.
I haven't modified KNode at source level. There are very few desktop
applications that I bother to alter. The exception is Web-based software,
which faces an audience and needs to appear unique once it become
ubiquitous.
>> And forget about wishlist bug report being accounted for, or having
>> your engineers tailor an extension for you...
>>
>
> Just wait. And wait. And wait...
Better wait than be ignored by an arrogant software vendors that will
never accommodate your needs or release the source code for you to
bastardise. See the recent thread on extending Office for the blind. The
OP did not even get an answer to his letters, wherein he requested a few
simple hooks.
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | Previous signature has been conceded
http://Schestowitz.com | SuSE GNU/Linux ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
5:45am up 10 days 12:42, 7 users, load average: 0.04, 0.19, 0.40
http://iuron.com - help build a non-profit search engine
|
|
