I second the motion, I go to BCIT and we have in-house developed stuff for almost everything, and they all suck the big one. Our email system blocks more teachers than actual spam, there is no POP3 let alone IMAP, the interface is horrendous and you can't even be sure that your email went through.
P.S. If the O.P. is talking about BCIT, please, please, please, switch to google apps. Pretty please?
So they take away your nail clippers so you can't stab the pilot, who incidentally is behind a locked steel door, but they will let you keep your plane-destroying bluetooth mouse?!?
Disclaimer: I don't believe a mouse/wireless etc should be able to bring down a plane, but if it can, that's an unbelievably bad engineering job.
While at first your idea does seem to have some merit, you are overlooking one VERY important detail. The damage us almost always done long before you even know someone has stolen your identity, let along prove them wrong.
By the time you realize someone has your SIN, they have already emptied your bank account, maxed your credit card and sold your house with you still in it!
Actually, if you draw an equilateral triangle, place a blackhole at each corner with a trajectory towards the center of said triangle, each black hole will encounter the same amount of force backwards upon impact as if it were colliding straight on with a single black hole. However, since there are 3 of said particles, you have increased your energy output by 50%.
Think of it in the opposite, 3 balls, each on the end of a 1 meter string with the other ends of the strings tied to each other, now make them spin. each string holds the same force with 3 as it would if you simply connected 2.
Maybe the LHC does work.
Maybe NASA knew about the asteroid months ago.
Maybe they took the LHC offline to AIM it at the asteroid.
Maybe they aimed it the wrong way (downwards).
I'm not sure about the notebooks in questions (didn't RTFA), but most computers that come pre-installed with linux already have everything set up. Flash, MP3, Mpeg, etc all work out of the box, just like their windows counterparts.
In fact, I recently got my grandmother using linux. She know absolutely NOTHING about computers, she couldn't tell the difference between Firefox and Google. After setting up the system (I did no more than any box-office store would do), the only things she has phoned me about fixing are forgetting her password and using the new office program (she was used to using deprecated office 95 tricks that even needed to be enabled in 2000), I even showed her in about 30 seconds, how to use her tax return program in a virtual machine (she is a professional income tax person, so she uses CanTax)
All in all, I think that linux IS ready for the desktop, as long as it is set up properly to start with (as any windows machine would be).
Could this broaden with time to include, non-security software or even Operating Systems? If so, Microsoft could find it's way out of a LOT of sales, not that most of the copies of Windows in China are legal...
(F) Platform Limitation- The licenses granted in sections 2(A) & 2(B) extend only to the software or derivative works that you create that run on a Microsoft Windows operating system product.
As far as I can tell, this means that any software you run, must run on "a Microsoft Windows operating system product." They did not however say "only", which means if you can write a program who's code will run on both windows and *nix/mac/etc then I don't see how this would cause any problems, as long as it runs on windows. They only problem I can see is that you probably won't be able to make a "windows" version and a "*nix" version, you would have to make the same version run under windows and another OS.
Example download list:
Windows
Windows / Linux
Windows / Unix
Windows / Mac
Windows / OS2
I can see how this would be a great inconvenience, but if you have the program auto-detect your platform, then run the appropriate function, sub program, etc, you should be able to do so.
Note: I am in no way condoning what Microsoft has done, I'm simply exposing a loop-hole that may allow us to fight back.
And what's wrong with that. If you know anything about true communism, you will understand that it is actually a very sound and well thought out idea. The only reason it has always failed so horrifically badly is because of the greedy ass-hat morons that always try to implement it!
As far as I can tell, whether you fail 1 count of 10 or 6 counts of 10, it is still invalid.
If you run a stop sign, drive over the speed limit and have a tail light out, the cops will pull you over. If you just run a stop sign, they will still pull you over. One may be technically worse, but they are still both wrong.
Slashdot Mirror
I second the motion, I go to BCIT and we have in-house developed stuff for almost everything, and they all suck the big one. Our email system blocks more teachers than actual spam, there is no POP3 let alone IMAP, the interface is horrendous and you can't even be sure that your email went through.
P.S. If the O.P. is talking about BCIT, please, please, please, switch to google apps. Pretty please?
...but then there are the awkward things like upgrading the kernel breaking driver compatibility with nv and all that stuff
Ah, but if you hadn't touched it, it would not have broken now would it?
So I guess it's a bad idea to bring a broken laptop across the border?
So they take away your nail clippers so you can't stab the pilot, who incidentally is behind a locked steel door, but they will let you keep your plane-destroying bluetooth mouse?!?
Disclaimer: I don't believe a mouse/wireless etc should be able to bring down a plane, but if it can, that's an unbelievably bad engineering job.
That depends on whether the plane doesn't explode before it hits the ground!
Actually, that is trivially easy to brute force. It's a simple combinatorial algorithm for each word, or even a simple dictionary character map.
Man, I would pay good money to see the monoliths that are Apple and Google go at it over a possible patent infringement!
Well I guess M$ has to re-program their magnifying glass so it won't go over the quick-launch menu...
While at first your idea does seem to have some merit, you are overlooking one VERY important detail. The damage us almost always done long before you even know someone has stolen your identity, let along prove them wrong.
By the time you realize someone has your SIN, they have already emptied your bank account, maxed your credit card and sold your house with you still in it!
But hey, I'm just paranoid...
Actually, if you draw an equilateral triangle, place a blackhole at each corner with a trajectory towards the center of said triangle, each black hole will encounter the same amount of force backwards upon impact as if it were colliding straight on with a single black hole. However, since there are 3 of said particles, you have increased your energy output by 50%.
Think of it in the opposite, 3 balls, each on the end of a 1 meter string with the other ends of the strings tied to each other, now make them spin. each string holds the same force with 3 as it would if you simply connected 2.
Maybe the LHC does work.
Maybe NASA knew about the asteroid months ago.
Maybe they took the LHC offline to AIM it at the asteroid.
Maybe they aimed it the wrong way (downwards).
Maybe we're screwed either way!
I don't like the sound of those odds...
Oh crap, the fate of the earth depends on the accuracy of a slashdot summary?!?
...the most violent collision imaginable: two black holes colliding head-on at nearly light-speed.
What about 3 black holes colliding head-on at nearly light-speed?
But that could rip the mothership in half!
Patient: Doctor, my pace maker needs a recharge.
Doctor: Ok, hold onto this for a moment would you? (hands patient a live eel)
And this is different from windows?!?
This list goes on my friend...
I'm not sure about the notebooks in questions (didn't RTFA), but most computers that come pre-installed with linux already have everything set up. Flash, MP3, Mpeg, etc all work out of the box, just like their windows counterparts.
In fact, I recently got my grandmother using linux. She know absolutely NOTHING about computers, she couldn't tell the difference between Firefox and Google. After setting up the system (I did no more than any box-office store would do), the only things she has phoned me about fixing are forgetting her password and using the new office program (she was used to using deprecated office 95 tricks that even needed to be enabled in 2000), I even showed her in about 30 seconds, how to use her tax return program in a virtual machine (she is a professional income tax person, so she uses CanTax)
All in all, I think that linux IS ready for the desktop, as long as it is set up properly to start with (as any windows machine would be).
Could this broaden with time to include, non-security software or even Operating Systems? If so, Microsoft could find it's way out of a LOT of sales, not that most of the copies of Windows in China are legal...
Don't forget the floor and to duct-tape the doors and windows.
No, no, no, it has to be red construction tape!
I think I've found a loophole:
(F) Platform Limitation- The licenses granted in sections 2(A) & 2(B) extend only to the software or derivative works that you create that run on a Microsoft Windows operating system product.
As far as I can tell, this means that any software you run, must run on "a Microsoft Windows operating system product." They did not however say "only", which means if you can write a program who's code will run on both windows and *nix/mac/etc then I don't see how this would cause any problems, as long as it runs on windows. They only problem I can see is that you probably won't be able to make a "windows" version and a "*nix" version, you would have to make the same version run under windows and another OS.
Example download list:
I can see how this would be a great inconvenience, but if you have the program auto-detect your platform, then run the appropriate function, sub program, etc, you should be able to do so.
Note: I am in no way condoning what Microsoft has done, I'm simply exposing a loop-hole that may allow us to fight back.
And what's wrong with that. If you know anything about true communism, you will understand that it is actually a very sound and well thought out idea. The only reason it has always failed so horrifically badly is because of the greedy ass-hat morons that always try to implement it!
As far as I can tell, whether you fail 1 count of 10 or 6 counts of 10, it is still invalid.
If you run a stop sign, drive over the speed limit and have a tail light out, the cops will pull you over. If you just run a stop sign, they will still pull you over. One may be technically worse, but they are still both wrong.
And yet another vote to make a "-1, bad mental image" mod...
No, if they bomb the DRM, it will just strengthen peoples' trust in DRM laden products.