r3dux.org

I was going through some old files the other week trying to sort out the stuff I need to keep from the stuff that’s just cluttering up my NAS, and about 8 levels down in folders called things like “Misc”, “Random”, “Scour this dir for anything you want to keep” etc. I found a saved web page from Issue 45 of Linux Gazette – September 1999:

UNIX Airways

Everyone brings one piece of the plane along when they come to the airport. They all go out on the runway and put the plane together piece by piece, arguing non-stop about what kind of plane they are supposed to be building.

Air DOS

Everybody pushes the airplane until it glides, then they jump on and let the plane coast until it hits the ground again. Then they push again, jump on again, and so on …

Mac Airlines

All the stewards, captains, baggage handlers, and ticket agents look and act exactly the same. Every time you ask questions about details, you are gently but firmly told that you don’t need to know, don’t want to know, and everything will be done for you without your ever having to know, so just shut up.

Windows Air

The terminal is pretty and colorful, with friendly stewards, easy baggage check and boarding, and a smooth take-off. After about 10 minutes in the air, the plane explodes with no warning whatsoever.

Windows NT Air

Just like Windows Air, but costs more, uses much bigger planes, and takes out all the other aircraft within a 40-mile radius when it explodes.

Linux Air

Disgruntled employees of all the other OS airlines decide to start their own airline. They build the planes, ticket counters, and pave the runways themselves. They charge a small fee to cover the cost of printing the ticket, but you can also download and print the ticket yourself. When you board the plane, you are given a seat, four bolts, a wrench and a copy of the Seat-HOWTO.html. Once settled, the fully adjustable seat is very comfortable, the plane leaves and arrives on time without a single problem, the in-flight meal is wonderful. You try to tell customers of the other airlines about the great trip, but all they can say is, “You had to do what with the seat?”

Awesome =D

I got a comment about ActionScript 3 the other day which asked a simple and fair question (paraphrased as):

If you’re just using simple shapes like circles, is it faster to draw them to the stage with drawCircle, or to use MovieClips/Sprites to draw them?

Did I know the answer? Um, no… So I knocked up a quick bit of flash to find out. Before you’re given the answer, why not have a quick ponder about what you think will happen? I’ve got to admit, when I did this I got completely the wrong result! Ha! Shows what I know about anything…

Brief analysis plus source-code n’ file after the jump…

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