I swear, between O'Reilly's animals and Manning's depictions of people from different eras and cultures, I'd say a picture of a guy with a dead bird tucked in his belt is the most random choice for the cover of a programming book that I've ever seen.
Common knowledge only among a certain segment of Linux fans, not among the general public where Ubuntu ought to be focusing its efforts. When was the last time Ubuntu ran some ads targetting the folks at Bet Buy and Walmart?
They describe it on their website to help you determine which ISO to download. I don't know if Canonical has ever pushed advertisement through retail very hard, but it's my opinion that it would be disastrous if they push it too hard into the general populace.
Few members of the general public have any interest at all in Ubuntu's philosophy, no more interest than in their philosophy of the company that made their toaster. Virtuous thoughts do not compensate for software shortcomings, real or perceived.
If people aren't attracted to Ubuntu's philosophy of being user and hardware-friendly, or their ideas of being as community-involved as possible, then what's to stop a person from choosing a more technically-involved distro like Gentoo or Slackware instead? In which case, they either know what they're doing (and would understand Ubuntu's LTS concept), or are about to face a steeply-curved learning experience (which is how many people first get their hands wet with *nix).
And, sure, people ought to spend some time researching an OS, but that isn't going to happen. People don't understand tech specs or language about technical capabilities. They want an OS that runs the software and hardware they already own, looks better than their current OS, is subjectively fast, and doesn't crash.
That's an unfortunate truth. Most people who just want a computer to run some programs without all the gritty details are going to end up with a Windows PC at any rate. If they want a shinier OS then they'll upgrade to a newer version of Windows, because it's easy and because that's what they know. But note that these people will likely never know what Ubuntu (or Linux in general) is, thus rendering the whole dilemma moot.
My brother-in-law is one of the smartest people I know. Earned his PhD in optical physics and does some very high-level work with it. Way above the head of anybody he explains it to. He's written some pretty intense C++ programs to handle neural-network computations of extremely complicated mathematical problems.
But I can't count how many cellphones he's destroyed from accidental drops from his shirt pocket into the toilet. And a few times he lost his keys for a week because he left them hanging in the door lock.
He's a smart guy, but sometimes we wonder about him.
". Canonical is also interrested in stable, long term release versions, called LTS."
And why should anyone in the real world know this?
Because it's not uncommon knowledge, its extremely relevant to Ubuntu's philosophy, and because any responsible person who would spend fifteen minutes researching something as major as the operating system they plan to install on their computer would be aware of it.
Those who choose to be ignorant about the major components of their computers have no business altering them.
Whas [sic] has been your experience if you've moved to Karmic?
The Good:
PulseAudio was improved and is (finally) friendly and functional with my sound card.
The new Intel drivers have drastically improved the performance of my video hardware.
My machine boots up and enters/emerges-from hibernation faster than ever.
General performance in GNOME is faster and more responsive.
The Bad:
Notifications in GNOME were deliberately shoved downward and away from the top of the screen. Luckily there's an easy fix.
The Firefox icon disappeared. Had to spend a whole five seconds re-applying it.:D
A couple of packages disappeared since they were mistakenly marked as deprecated. A quick apt-get reinstalled them.
I would have to say that in my experience with Karmic, the pros greatly outweighed the cons. I'll live major increases in performance at the cost of minor fixable annoyances!
Of course, I did an upgrade from 9.04 so I haven't taken the plunge to GRUB 2 or EXT4. Those two things are still kinda young (and bold decisions for Canonical to commit to production) so perhaps they're contributing factors to the problems that most people are experiencing?
And in the same way, the "modern consoles" are far from being capable of the same things as the DS, so this argument is void.
Um, do you even know what I'm arguing?
Read the parent post to which I replied. "Handhelds are expected to be able to do the SAME thing as your console..." It argued that a portable system should be expected to the same thing as a console (exception being the super high-end games, of course). Technology aside, the DS is a glorified Flash/Palm-Pilot game system, mostly used for sudoku, puzzle games, etc. I'm not bashing the system, it does a great job with these things and it fills its niche nicely.
My point is that it's not really doing the same things as consoles ("in portable form"). And from the parent: "Take the same tech and shrink it, it will cost more."
Except that the DS is far from being capable of the same things as modern consoles. A laptop could be set up to run a 64-bit OS with 8 gigs of RAM, store a half terabyte of data and render DX11-level graphics smoothly at 1280x800 or higher, which is what many full-sized desktops are used for today. Expensive, yes.
The DS, on the other hand, is running substantially weaker hardware than current consoles, with graphical capabilities roughly on-par with the Nintendo 64. From a technical perspective, that falls pretty far short of the major consoles.
No, I don't think it would have made a difference when they released it. Canonical sticks to a strict release cycle every April and October and they won't alter their release date just to try and compete with other operating systems. They're appealing to a fairly different user base, anyway.
People who are weighing the option of Windows 7 vs Ubuntu 9.10 as their primary OS are going to make their choice regardless of which one came out a week earlier.
I hear ya. Every web browser I've used since '96 has automatically inserted the protocol when an address is typed into the URL field. (And probably IE and Netscape all the way back to their 1.x days; correct me if I'm wrong.) So I remain unphased by the number of slashes in the protocol.
Yes, they check and they also usually include a patch on the game disc so that non-networked PS3's can be updated to be compatible with said game. Other consoles do this as well.
Sony doesn't force the update on anyone. You have to download it and install it yourself, agreeing to a legal disclaimer in the process.
So technically, Sony didn't break it. You did.
I agreed to the legal disclaimer before explicitly installing an update, which Sony encourages.
I did not, however, choose nor agree to the ruin of my system. The disclaimer says absolutely nothing about rendering the system useless, nor does it issue any warning of the possibility. I simply follow Sony's protocol and now I'm stuck with exactly what was not advertised.
However, the money I spent for Microsoft Excel has been worth every penny. There's just simply no comparison, and I find it amazing that all of IBM would be willing to abandon it completely, regardless of cost.
If I play too much Tetris, it causes in my head what is called the "Tetris Effect" where everything I see that even resembles a grid of squares, I start trying to piece together in my mind as Tetris pieces. Probably a step backwards as far as my general thought processes are concerned.
And don't even get me started on the psychological issues that surface when I see bathroom floor tiles after a round of Tetris.
Slashdot Mirror
I swear, between O'Reilly's animals and Manning's depictions of people from different eras and cultures, I'd say a picture of a guy with a dead bird tucked in his belt is the most random choice for the cover of a programming book that I've ever seen.
And what does quad-core have to do with anything?
Probably nothing, though the 2 GHz difference is pretty substantial.
Seconded. I have used Password Safe for a couple of years and it has proven to be an indispensable tool. Easy and safe to back up, as well.
I live in Sedona, you insensitive clod!
You'll be hearing my attorney! ...Just as soon as I can find a reason to sue you!
Seriously, I wish it was possible to mod the whole Slashdot article as -1 Redundant.
Common knowledge only among a certain segment of Linux fans, not among the general public where Ubuntu ought to be focusing its efforts. When was the last time Ubuntu ran some ads targetting the folks at Bet Buy and Walmart?
They describe it on their website to help you determine which ISO to download. I don't know if Canonical has ever pushed advertisement through retail very hard, but it's my opinion that it would be disastrous if they push it too hard into the general populace.
Few members of the general public have any interest at all in Ubuntu's philosophy, no more interest than in their philosophy of the company that made their toaster. Virtuous thoughts do not compensate for software shortcomings, real or perceived.
If people aren't attracted to Ubuntu's philosophy of being user and hardware-friendly, or their ideas of being as community-involved as possible, then what's to stop a person from choosing a more technically-involved distro like Gentoo or Slackware instead? In which case, they either know what they're doing (and would understand Ubuntu's LTS concept), or are about to face a steeply-curved learning experience (which is how many people first get their hands wet with *nix).
And, sure, people ought to spend some time researching an OS, but that isn't going to happen. People don't understand tech specs or language about technical capabilities. They want an OS that runs the software and hardware they already own, looks better than their current OS, is subjectively fast, and doesn't crash.
That's an unfortunate truth. Most people who just want a computer to run some programs without all the gritty details are going to end up with a Windows PC at any rate. If they want a shinier OS then they'll upgrade to a newer version of Windows, because it's easy and because that's what they know. But note that these people will likely never know what Ubuntu (or Linux in general) is, thus rendering the whole dilemma moot.
My brother-in-law is one of the smartest people I know. Earned his PhD in optical physics and does some very high-level work with it. Way above the head of anybody he explains it to. He's written some pretty intense C++ programs to handle neural-network computations of extremely complicated mathematical problems.
But I can't count how many cellphones he's destroyed from accidental drops from his shirt pocket into the toilet. And a few times he lost his keys for a week because he left them hanging in the door lock.
He's a smart guy, but sometimes we wonder about him.
So... Linux is not ready for the real world?
I'm guessing that based on the way you've been using the phrase "real world", you're referring to people who are not computer literate.
In which case, the answer to your question is no.
". Canonical is also interrested in stable, long term release versions, called LTS."
And why should anyone in the real world know this?
Because it's not uncommon knowledge, its extremely relevant to Ubuntu's philosophy, and because any responsible person who would spend fifteen minutes researching something as major as the operating system they plan to install on their computer would be aware of it.
Those who choose to be ignorant about the major components of their computers have no business altering them.
Whas [sic] has been your experience if you've moved to Karmic?
The Good:
The Bad:
I would have to say that in my experience with Karmic, the pros greatly outweighed the cons. I'll live major increases in performance at the cost of minor fixable annoyances!
Of course, I did an upgrade from 9.04 so I haven't taken the plunge to GRUB 2 or EXT4. Those two things are still kinda young (and bold decisions for Canonical to commit to production) so perhaps they're contributing factors to the problems that most people are experiencing?
The auction will include rights to everything but the first two films.
Well then it's no good.
And in the same way, the "modern consoles" are far from being capable of the same things as the DS, so this argument is void.
Um, do you even know what I'm arguing?
Read the parent post to which I replied. "Handhelds are expected to be able to do the SAME thing as your console..." It argued that a portable system should be expected to the same thing as a console (exception being the super high-end games, of course). Technology aside, the DS is a glorified Flash/Palm-Pilot game system, mostly used for sudoku, puzzle games, etc. I'm not bashing the system, it does a great job with these things and it fills its niche nicely.
My point is that it's not really doing the same things as consoles ("in portable form"). And from the parent: "Take the same tech and shrink it, it will cost more."
It's not the same tech.
Except that the DS is far from being capable of the same things as modern consoles. A laptop could be set up to run a 64-bit OS with 8 gigs of RAM, store a half terabyte of data and render DX11-level graphics smoothly at 1280x800 or higher, which is what many full-sized desktops are used for today. Expensive, yes.
The DS, on the other hand, is running substantially weaker hardware than current consoles, with graphical capabilities roughly on-par with the Nintendo 64. From a technical perspective, that falls pretty far short of the major consoles.
Facebook to preserve accounts of the dead
Does it feel inappropriate that they announce this right before Halloween?
Nooo! We're talking about repackaged Debian. Stay on topic!
* Braces self for negative modpoints *
No, I don't think it would have made a difference when they released it. Canonical sticks to a strict release cycle every April and October and they won't alter their release date just to try and compete with other operating systems. They're appealing to a fairly different user base, anyway.
People who are weighing the option of Windows 7 vs Ubuntu 9.10 as their primary OS are going to make their choice regardless of which one came out a week earlier.
On the other hand: Who types http:/// anyway?
I hear ya. Every web browser I've used since '96 has automatically inserted the protocol when an address is typed into the URL field. (And probably IE and Netscape all the way back to their 1.x days; correct me if I'm wrong.) So I remain unphased by the number of slashes in the protocol.
Slashdot:
"Next Nintendo Handheld To Be Powered By NVIDIA's Tegra Chipset"
The Actual Article:
"NVIDIA Tegra rumored to be included in new Nintendo handheld"
RTFA and be a little less misleading, Slashdot.
You mean we'd have to go outside? That e-book's as good as useless.
Yes, they check and they also usually include a patch on the game disc so that non-networked PS3's can be updated to be compatible with said game. Other consoles do this as well.
Sony doesn't force the update on anyone. You have to download it and install it yourself, agreeing to a legal disclaimer in the process.
So technically, Sony didn't break it. You did.
I agreed to the legal disclaimer before explicitly installing an update, which Sony encourages.
I did not, however, choose nor agree to the ruin of my system. The disclaimer says absolutely nothing about rendering the system useless, nor does it issue any warning of the possibility. I simply follow Sony's protocol and now I'm stuck with exactly what was not advertised.
Sony broke it.
That thing could be painted to look like a gigantic hot dog in a bun. Mmmmm...
I can appreciate the drive to adopt open source.
However, the money I spent for Microsoft Excel has been worth every penny. There's just simply no comparison, and I find it amazing that all of IBM would be willing to abandon it completely, regardless of cost.
So then we end up with... Radioactive bacteria? =)
If I play too much Tetris, it causes in my head what is called the "Tetris Effect" where everything I see that even resembles a grid of squares, I start trying to piece together in my mind as Tetris pieces. Probably a step backwards as far as my general thought processes are concerned.
And don't even get me started on the psychological issues that surface when I see bathroom floor tiles after a round of Tetris.