It all depends on your priorities. I am the Account Manager for the outsourced Data Center Ops for a big firm. The pay is good, and I love what I do and all. Still, I spend easy 50 hours a week doing the job because it is what it takes to get the job done.
Sometimes people don't have the luxury of cutting back their hours or god forbid they want to keep moving up the tech ladder Jr admin becomes the Sr Admin in charge etc and get off of doing all the crap user maintenance and log viewing and into other aspects of Admin work for just one example. Some people do want to get up in the world and people are sometimes to quick to criticize.
Anyway, if it is what makes you happy, go for it. Sometimes I feel people fuss too much when they really are doing jobs they love like the network admin that spends 60 hours a week but stays excited about it 55 of those hours and bitches the other five. Come on folks you aren't fooling anyone.
On the other side of the coin, I have not seen presented is a lot of people do not know how to manage their time at work. In my job, I could easily camp out spend 60+ hours a week on this position. I don't and I know how to maximize the downtime. Sure, I could spend the slow days with busy work but I admit that I muck about on the net when there are no projects on the table doing as little as possible to keep things going after a big project and leave early on top of that. Why? Because I could easily spend the next four days working from 7:30 am to midnight. I do this and people see I get projects in on time and they like my style, intense when needed, casual otherwise.
GNU/HURD is yet another Open Source project and that is all it has going for it in the eyes of many of the unknowing masses. There is no possible way (unless Linux stumbles hard and quick and GNU/HURD becomes solid even quicker) that the HURD crowd will capture the media attention Linux has as quick as it has. Why? Because it will always be in the shadow of that free Linux thingy that came first. This is the way business people think.
Anyway, the Linux Killer will be something completely different that we probably can't even imagine right now. I admit when I first moved to Windoze '95 at work back in the day I never had a clue that in '98 I would be working on 'nix variant built for the PC. It never even occurred to me. Maybe some of the true visionaries can clue me in on the next big move, but I don't see it being HURD.
Besides the fact I have been an old schooler since the days of getting online meant using your 2400 baud modem to connect to your local BBS, I have to say that you should probably know better sir.
Think about it. Do you really want to support vandalism of sites of Denial of service attacks to protest the commercialization of the 'net? It is like shooting yourself in the foot to fix a broken toe. My god, this be just another excuse for Big business and the gov to come in and tighten down on surviellance and eventually start censoring content. Don't give them an excuse!
Anyway, there a lot of good people with technical skills who are making money off the web (notice I did not equate the World Wide Wait with the Internet!) and why not? If the geeks of the world are connect humanity together via an electronic nervous system empowering people on a massive scale then by god some of us ought to have the common sense to profit off it.
If you don't like that way of thinking then you are living in the wrong society. We live in a capitalist world and I tried very hard to help my fellow man and be a teacher and all. What did it get me. Kids cursed me. Parents cursed me. Society only gave lip service and got the clue. Now, I am an Account Manager of Data Center Ops for a big old mean corporation selling sales force automation software to sales people. We don't hurt anybody or pollute the environment. We just make code and look after big servers. What is more I make the money that I need to live.
Being poor sucks. There was a silly song out not too long ago that said, "I hate the people who say money is the root of all that's bad. They never had the pleasure of a welfare Christmas" or some such. It is so true.
Alright, I love Loki. I bought MythII and Eric's Ultimate Solitaire (EUS was just for my wife I swear) from Electronic's Boutique. Anyway, the guys at the store thought Linux was a waste of shelf space for awhile at least until the base grew larger. I tried to explain but they were clueless.
Anyway, how much money is Loki making? Are they on sound footing? The article mentioned Blizzard only wanting in after so many boxes shipped from Loki. I would hate to see a good company with sound business and demo release policies:-> fall by the wayside. Nobody seems to be talking about in the era of the big IPOs about how well the big gamer company is doing in a tough market.
I am sorry I have to disagree. The cream is increasingly being washed away by all the sour milk. The trolls down to just deplete the message they pi** in it as well.
You say this is not so but look at most newsgroups.
Common end lusers do not bother using newsgroups not because a pretty interface could not be drawn around it through a slick GUI client or all the porn but because moderated www boards served their purposes of talking with other women going through a breast cancer experience without some complete b*st*rd jumping on and taunting them
with jokes about breasts cancer or both.
The whole idea of anonymous communication is a geek thing and the whole idea of the good stuff getting the exposure is not necessarily true. Search engines and portal sites are the only way to get around all the cruft and crud on the web and it becomes more and more annoying to list through the same 50 people saying exactly the same thing on Slashdot and getting modded up the exact same way instead of being listed as redundant.
I think that for all the article's faults that the person tends to have some decent opinions on UI. Both the Gnome and especially the KDE folks tend to worry too much about copying the formulas that have worked for the Windows and Mac interfaces. While not reinventing the wheel can be good, nobody seems to be thinking out of the box on how to take the interface to the next step. Even my beloved WindowMaker is a copy of the way old NextStep interface. I am not a UI expert at all.
That out of the way it seems like ideas of incorporating voice control to basic UI functions (Closing screens, Saving Files)and the idea of eliminating the archaic pointing device seem to be obvious. Other more mundane things like the positioning of screen elements and other things are important as well. Once again, I do not feel that any of the major UI players in the Linux environment are paying enough attention to breaking free or improving on the basic interface experience.
We can't just make an interface as good as Windoze or the Mac but we need to show we can do it better to get wider support for the GNU/Linux experience.
I am always amazed at the level of progression from one movie to another in terms of special effects. However, there are simply some things that are better handled in an animated as opposed to live action movie.
I know the reason why Hollywood does not do this. Nobody in the "normal" public takes animated movies seriously. The Japanese have the right idea. Certain movie themes especially fantasy themes are rarely done well on film. I cannot think of one since the original Conan and I barely include that since it was sword than sorcery.
The Record of Lodoss War was ten times better than a zillion annoying Willow style movies. It is sad to think that one of the best books of the 20th century like Lord of the Rings (or was the Hobbit coming up?) will be reduced to a special effects showcase for some hollywood hack. Why they want to mess up D&D as well is beyond me. Hire a good animation company and do this right.
Why is it necessary that your style be insulting? Couldn't you have just as easily sent Katz a message criticizing the fact that nobody in the world wants to read yet another Columbine analysis?
Do you think that he would take you more seriously?
Talisman it is unnecessary and pure hypocisy for me to bust you back for insulting Katz's technical ability. I think you have a valid mis-stated point about a person writing to the linux community without really being able to load the OS he is talking about. However, do you really need to turn it around into a brag about how installing the OS was so easy for you the first time?
Also, I do not understand why it matters how he quoted you since he did not include your nick when he did so? He was not attributing the comments to you so what did it matter?
Finally, I will say something that goes for most flamers since most have consistent targets they always love to go after. Caring so much about someone you hate is unhealthy. BTW, there is no need to deny this considering the fact you follow every article the man puts out including those annoying Columbine retreads AND you take the time to post such lengthy rebuttals. The hate as will not keep you warm at night but instead eat you alive.
I have to agree with a number of posters here. Since my first days of trolling about BBSs back home in rural Georgia I have seen the flame wars rage. From the first time I hit the Usenet I have seen and received a mulitude of flames.
I remember back in I think 1989 when I posted the wrong author for a book in a Usenet discussion. I was roasted alive with comments insulting my lineage, intelligence and questioning the very need for my existence. I am sorry to say that this is not a constructive way to hold a conversation or get along in a larger community.
Correcting a person is one thing, insulting them is senseless and stupid. This is one part of internet traditions I do not fathom to this day. I have participated in a flame war I did not start but meant to finish and it was a stupid mistake. It is better to ignore it than provoke it. I know now. I only hope that as the online community evolves that we might become more civil among ourselves. It probably will not happen but one can hope.
If you take the half second to be a hard core nerd and learn vi you can do things in seconds that it takes Emacs 10 minutes to do after coding in LISP.
The new kernel did not come out on time they whine. It does not support every odd piece of hardware I own they whine. One guy even whined that he did not like the way the kernel was designed in general.
Jeez, you give people a free kernel to base an OS on and they shit all over you.
It comes up everytime the/. trolls start the whine fest. What has any of these idiots done in terms of contributing code or getting involved at all? Nothing, they are probably sitting on an NT box just pumping flame bait for fun. Screw them.
If you don't like linux use BSD its good, solid and fun to screw around on, just a few less apps running native on the thing (great server decent workstation).
If you are running Windoze please just go and troll the Zdnet and Cnet comment sections instead.
Gosh, the guy thought he knew what he was talking about but did not. Give it a rest. Explain to someone why they are wrong but there is no need to go off on them. Your response is the kind of garbage that give linux/unix users a bad name.
How many times have I heard "Yeah the linux guy I work with knows everything but he is so rude I would not ask him a question to save my soul."
I have also heard "If the rude back and forth bickering I see on most linux newsgroups is what you guys call community you can have it."
First, SuSE in the past did not force X install but annoyed the hell out of you if you did not install X. Just ignore that crap and get everything non-X going before going through XF86Config or SAX.
Second never do a X login until after you get the X configuration correct. Personally, I go for the text mode login and an edited.profile that launches into startx as the last line. Newbies don't face the dreaded command line for long and it gives you less crap than the X login stuff. I have in the past had my X configuration perfect, my system worked just fine but after going for the graphical login nobody could get in. Annoying.
Maybe with the horde of Gnome and KDE converted folks moving into the world of linux this will become less of a ritual of passing.
However, I have a perfectly well running linux box and I have yet to recompile the kernel. I put the sucker together last week and it rocks. Eventually I will have to recompile the kernel though for APM support. I don't care to. I would rather the damn install have had a laptop choice so I did not have to be bothered with it. I give newbies the simple advice of if it ain't broke don't try and tweak it without reason.
I will code and I will add things but I do so with a purpose. If you have the time to completely change your system around twice a week then you need to go and find yourself something better to do.
It is only natural that in an environment where information is becoming more and more open that people would be concerned about privacy. However, I am afraid to say that another person posting is quite correct in saying that the battle is already lost. If you use credit cards, ATMs and internet connected computers as well as half a dozen other convience technologies you have effectively given away your privacy for the ease of living in a quick fix society. If you don't like that then please give up the technology and leave the building immediately.
Also, the president of the USofA can't get a blowjob in the oval office without it making its way all over the front pages of every paper in the universe and yet people believe the same government can turn around and keep its stuff together long enough to pull off all this conspiracy crap? That is bull. Does the US and other intelligence agencies come together to monitor transmissions especially from foreign powers they don't like or organizations that scare them? Sure. Are they some all powerful force running the world behind the scenes? Nah. People are giving governments and their agencies far too much credit.
I never said I was a programmer. You probably will not see this because I have been away for awhile but I use my Linux box as a server for my home network routing mail, acting as my portal out to the internet via IP Masquerading, and sharing files across with Samba.
Designing the distribution around the type of user that will be using the Linux box is only one part of a solution for Linux to hit the masses.
In my post, I was simply trying to point out the fact that if you make the OS generic enough to not drive the common user insane with choices you rob the same OS from much of what makes it strong.
Trying to make the OS a mass as opposed to a niche market you are simply liquidating a large portion of its power and grace. If done correctly a niche market product can have a much larger shelf life than a product that tries to be all things to all people. Novell had a nice networking system but tried to take on both Office apps and even Groupware products at the same time and it killed them in their core market as NT 4.0 slipped right past them. However, even if you despise Apple, they have played the niche card very well through some very depressing times.
In the end if you try to be a better Microsoft being everything to everyone (client, server, enterprise) even if you succeed you will end up at your goal look back and realize one thing. Being a better Microsoft means being Microsoft in the end, do we want to become our own worst enemy? Is that the real goal?
Sorry Midnight the person at the dentist's or dental department would just look at you and say, "I want the hurting in my tooth to go away!"
The dentist not expecting the guy to have a clue of why is tooth is hurting would go ahead and remove those two lateral incisorors as some as possible.
The problem with so many computer people (BTW, I run a Help Desk), is that we expect the people to have a clue when they should not have to. Putting this simply, if their job is to sell stuff but they are required to send their boss email updates, they do not and really should not give a flat damn about how it works. Their only concern is that their email works, period.
The person knows their product inside and out and can give a presentation like you would not believe. They pass the million mark in sales on a regular basis. Why the heck should they clutter their heads learning computer stuff? So we as computer people will have an easier time explaining why it took half a day to get the mail server back up? That is nonsense.
I know that I will get flamed back with a detailed bit about why everyone on the planet that uses a computer for their job should understand the tool to use it arguement. I want my fridge to work but I will not sit there and learn the ins and outs of appliance technology just so I can sound smarter to the repair man when the thing decides not to blow cold air over my Coca Cola. Sometimes it sounds like what we expect from the users.
Read the article again. First, I do not feel that I should be forced to work 80 hours a week even for high pay and overtime with the arguement that at least I am not lugging groceries for minimum wage. However, if you look closely at the article it has much more to do with the simple fact that the writer is completely hooked on his job to the point of ignoring everything else.
He volunteered to help out and felt guilty after working for as long as he did. This was a confessional more than a bust on his companies policies.
Not only that, but this is the rule for many sys admins. They get into their jobs because they LOVE computers, technology, networking and systems. Then they become obsessed with their jobs to the detriment of everything else. If you can't relate then you are not doing what you love. Sure, it is his own fault. The deal is that he is beginning to realize it is a problem. I am not sure if the quit bitching responses are really necessary. The been there done that get the life that is waiting for you responses are much more constructive.
I am sorry man but this guy does not make those kinds of decisions the Sys Admin that got fired after he left made the kinds of decisions that would have made this turn over easy to handle.
A lot of hot shot tech kids are busting this guy for not setting up the network to handle this kind of transfer. However this guy is a tech not a network architect or a Senior admin. He could have probably done it better but at this point all he could do is make the changes inside of the already established setup. You have to understand who makes the decisions on how the network is set up. I will bet you money that he was not the one setting this structure up.
Listen, I work for a smaller corporation that is a part of a much larger one. I hear these kinds of stories all the time. The 36 hour turn around for a complete backup, installing new HD and then repartitioning the thing and putting the files back where they need to go was the most recent one. It does not sound to bad until you realize how complex the file structure has to be for our object file transfer program we use to move files around to be applied to the database. Also over half that time is taken getting the files off in the first place.
Anyway, I want to get more technical and I have been thinking about getting out of being a Help Desk Manager looking over techs and being a tech again. The tough part is that I hear stories like this and wonder with a family, house and a good wife at my back is it really worth it even to chase down something I truly love? Gimme some thoughts people.
Linux is not a home OS for the mass public and should not be unless we want to pollute the very essence of what makes the OS such a wonderful thing. Tod is right in the sense that one interface and clean consistency in approach is what makes a great interface for the general public. The sad part is there is already an interface like that on the market. People who want the easiest cleanest interface should go out and buy a Mac and then shut the hell up.
The deal is that those are not the kind of people that use Linux and they are not the kind of people most Linux folks want to see using the OS. The kind of people that use Linux want choices and opportunities. They do not want the easiest way out but the most flexible and powerful way is the only way for them. Making the interface easier to deal with while still keeping choices available for the masochistic or the technically adept is what makes the Linux OS such fun for the little geek inside of us all. The whole community should back off the insanity of trying to create a mass appeal OS and focus on the server, network and programming side of the system that makes it such a powerful and joyous choice for the hardcore power users out there in the IT world.
In closing, do you really want your mom on your computer? I don't. I have enough trouble dragging my wife off the 95 box long enough for me to play a game. Instead she is chatting with other young moms talking about the last time their kids took a poop on their own. I want them all off so I can play the latest Windows games. After all, if it was not for the games it would be her machine to muck with as she pleases and I would have the Linux box to myself.
Why does it come with the territory? I mean it seems like people who love linux live in two horrid extremes. Either they are really nice and help you out constantly when you have a problem or they bash you as a newbie and an idiot if you don't phrase your question correctly or mis-use a term.
I have even seen really nice people turn vicious if I choose a wimpy Linux distribution that they felt was too easy and did not give you the freedom of Debian or Slackware. These usually helpful people would start being rude or smart ass once they saw you using RedHat or SuSE. The worst of all are the people who THINK they are being nice but answer your question in a way that talks to down to you to the point of making you feel like an idiot for asking!
I love Linux. The operating system is the best and I have met some genuine and nice people in the process. Still, the community has to reach beyond the anti-social geek stereotype or the people that want to pigeon hole the community as a bunch of silly radical geeks will have one.
Listen, sure the internet is not going to do ALL the things people think it will. It will also do a lot of things we did not expect. In addition, the open ended nature of the 'net has already caused it to become completely choked with silly grabage.
The internet will change society in a lot of ways. I am sure of this. However, it will not revolutionize mankind or take us to the next evolutionary plane of existence like some future speakers say. It is a very open medium of media that will enable common people to exchange knowledge in ways we have not been able to attempt before. It is not the wired in mode of transportation to nirvana or hell.
I am NOT being sarcastic but I damn glad you are running Linux. For a long time, I felt you were just another trendy Wired staff soul who wanted to cash in on something you don't understand (Linux obviously). This article really indicated that you were trying.
When you are ready for PPP or wanting to get the sound working let us know. Some of us are not so damn ready to flame newbies. Many of us do want to help.
I completely agree with you. For a long time I thought Katz was just another trendy Wired staff asshole trying to cash in on something he did not understand. Still, this episode touched me because we have all had hardware trouble (yes, I would have refused the shipment too) and we have all had bad experiences with Compusa.
I feel like the guy is at the very least trying to get into this. My big annoyance is he needs to dive straight in and stop talking for just a little while till he has lived with Linux at least one week.
We have the strangest duality in the Linux community. If you talk like a wire head then you will boat loads of help. If you talk like a newbie trying to see other side with no clue, then you get bitch slapped back into the hands of Microsoft and Apple. It is sad. Linux users have been alineating new users for awhile with this attitude. The message is that if you don't live and breath computers do not apply. That is sad.
Slashdot Mirror
It all depends on your priorities. I am the Account Manager for the outsourced Data Center Ops for a big firm. The pay is good, and I love what I do and all. Still, I spend easy 50 hours a week doing the job because it is what it takes to get the job done.
Sometimes people don't have the luxury of cutting back their hours or god forbid they want to keep moving up the tech ladder Jr admin becomes the Sr Admin in charge etc and get off of doing all the crap user maintenance and log viewing and into other aspects of Admin work for just one example. Some people do want to get up in the world and people are sometimes to quick to criticize.
Anyway, if it is what makes you happy, go for it. Sometimes I feel people fuss too much when they really are doing jobs they love like the network admin that spends 60 hours a week but stays excited about it 55 of those hours and bitches the other five. Come on folks you aren't fooling anyone.
On the other side of the coin, I have not seen presented is a lot of people do not know how to manage their time at work. In my job, I could easily camp out spend 60+ hours a week on this position. I don't and I know how to maximize the downtime. Sure, I could spend the slow days with busy work but I admit that I muck about on the net when there are no projects on the table doing as little as possible to keep things going after a big project and leave early on top of that. Why? Because I could easily spend the next four days working from 7:30 am to midnight. I do this and people see I get projects in on time and they like my style, intense when needed, casual otherwise.
It works more tech workers should try it.
No, No, No!
GNU/HURD is yet another Open Source project and that is all it has going for it in the eyes of many of the unknowing masses. There is no possible way (unless Linux stumbles hard and quick and GNU/HURD becomes solid even quicker) that the HURD crowd will capture the media attention Linux has as quick as it has. Why? Because it will always be in the shadow of that free Linux thingy that came first. This is the way business people think.
Anyway, the Linux Killer will be something completely different that we probably can't even imagine right now. I admit when I first moved to Windoze '95 at work back in the day I never had a clue that in '98 I would be working on 'nix variant built for the PC. It never even occurred to me. Maybe some of the true visionaries can clue me in on the next big move, but I don't see it being HURD.
Besides the fact I have been an old schooler since the days of getting online meant using your 2400 baud modem to connect to your local BBS, I have to say that you should probably know better sir.
Think about it. Do you really want to support vandalism of sites of Denial of service attacks to protest the commercialization of the 'net? It is like shooting yourself in the foot to fix a broken toe. My god, this be just another excuse for Big business and the gov to come in and tighten down on surviellance and eventually start censoring content. Don't give them an excuse!
Anyway, there a lot of good people with technical skills who are making money off the web (notice I did not equate the World Wide Wait with the Internet!) and why not? If the geeks of the world are connect humanity together via an electronic nervous system empowering people on a massive scale then by god some of us ought to have the common sense to profit off it.
If you don't like that way of thinking then you are living in the wrong society. We live in a capitalist world and I tried very hard to help my fellow man and be a teacher and all. What did it get me. Kids cursed me. Parents cursed me. Society only gave lip service and got the clue. Now, I am an Account Manager of Data Center Ops for a big old mean corporation selling sales force automation software to sales people. We don't hurt anybody or pollute the environment. We just make code and look after big servers. What is more I make the money that I need to live.
Being poor sucks. There was a silly song out not too long ago that said, "I hate the people who say money is the root of all that's bad. They never had the pleasure of a welfare Christmas" or some such. It is so true.
Alright, I love Loki. I bought MythII and Eric's Ultimate Solitaire (EUS was just for my wife I swear) from Electronic's Boutique. Anyway, the guys at the store thought Linux was a waste of shelf space for awhile at least until the base grew larger. I tried to explain but they were clueless.
:-> fall by the wayside. Nobody seems to be talking about in the era of the big IPOs about how well the big gamer company is doing in a tough market.
Anyway, how much money is Loki making? Are they on sound footing? The article mentioned Blizzard only wanting in after so many boxes shipped from Loki. I would hate to see a good company with sound business and demo release policies
I am sorry I have to disagree. The cream is increasingly being washed away by all the sour milk. The trolls down to just deplete the message they pi** in it as well.
You say this is not so but look at most newsgroups.
Common end lusers do not bother using newsgroups not because a pretty interface could not be drawn around it through a slick GUI client or all the porn but because moderated www boards served their purposes of talking with other women going through a breast cancer experience without some complete b*st*rd jumping on and taunting them
with jokes about breasts cancer or both.
The whole idea of anonymous communication is a geek thing and the whole idea of the good stuff getting the exposure is not necessarily true. Search engines and portal sites are the only way to get around all the cruft and crud on the web and it becomes more and more annoying to list through the same 50 people saying exactly the same thing on Slashdot and getting modded up the exact same way instead of being listed as redundant.
I think that for all the article's faults that the person tends to have some decent opinions on UI. Both the Gnome and especially the KDE folks tend to worry too much about copying the formulas that have worked for the Windows and Mac interfaces. While not reinventing the wheel can be good, nobody seems to be thinking out of the box on how to take the interface to the next step. Even my beloved WindowMaker is a copy of the way old NextStep interface. I am not a UI expert at all.
That out of the way it seems like ideas of incorporating voice control to basic UI functions (Closing screens, Saving Files)and the idea of eliminating the archaic pointing device seem to be obvious. Other more mundane things like the positioning of screen elements and other things are important as well. Once again, I do not feel that any of the major UI players in the Linux environment are paying enough attention to breaking free or improving on the basic interface experience.
We can't just make an interface as good as Windoze or the Mac but we need to show we can do it better to get wider support for the GNU/Linux experience.
I am always amazed at the level of progression from one movie to another in terms of special effects. However, there are simply some things that are better handled in an animated as opposed to live action movie.
I know the reason why Hollywood does not do this. Nobody in the "normal" public takes animated movies seriously. The Japanese have the right idea. Certain movie themes especially fantasy themes are rarely done well on film. I cannot think of one since the original Conan and I barely include that since it was sword than sorcery.
The Record of Lodoss War was ten times better than a zillion annoying Willow style movies. It is sad to think that one of the best books of the 20th century like Lord of the Rings (or was the Hobbit coming up?) will be reduced to a special effects showcase for some hollywood hack. Why they want to mess up D&D as well is beyond me. Hire a good animation company and do this right.
Why is it necessary that your style be insulting?
Couldn't you have just as easily sent Katz a message criticizing the fact that nobody in the world wants to read yet another Columbine analysis?
Do you think that he would take you more seriously?
Talisman it is unnecessary and pure hypocisy for me to bust you back for insulting Katz's technical ability. I think you have a valid mis-stated point about a person writing to the linux community without really being able to load the OS he is talking about. However, do you really need to turn it around into a brag about how installing the OS was so easy for you the first time?
Also, I do not understand why it matters how he quoted you since he did not include your nick when he did so? He was not attributing the comments to you so what did it matter?
Finally, I will say something that goes for most flamers since most have consistent targets they always love to go after. Caring so much about someone you hate is unhealthy. BTW, there is no need to deny this considering the fact you follow every article the man puts out including those annoying Columbine retreads AND you take the time to post such lengthy rebuttals. The hate as will not keep you warm at night but instead eat you alive.
I have to agree with a number of posters here. Since my first days of trolling about BBSs back home in rural Georgia I have seen the flame wars rage. From the first time I hit the Usenet I have seen and received a mulitude of flames.
I remember back in I think 1989 when I posted the wrong author for a book in a Usenet discussion. I was roasted alive with comments insulting my lineage, intelligence and questioning the very need for my existence. I am sorry to say that this is not a constructive way to hold a conversation or get along in a larger community.
Correcting a person is one thing, insulting them is senseless and stupid. This is one part of internet traditions I do not fathom to this day. I have participated in a flame war I did not start but meant to finish and it was a stupid mistake. It is better to ignore it than provoke it. I know now. I only hope that as the online community evolves that we might become more civil among ourselves. It probably will not happen but one can hope.
If you take the half second to be a hard core nerd and learn vi you can do things in seconds that it takes Emacs 10 minutes to do after coding in LISP.
The new kernel did not come out on time they whine. It does not support every odd piece of hardware I own they whine. One guy even whined that he did not like the way the kernel was designed in general.
/. trolls start the whine fest. What has any of these idiots done in terms of contributing code or getting involved at all? Nothing, they are probably sitting on an NT box just pumping flame bait for fun. Screw them.
Jeez, you give people a free kernel to base an OS on and they shit all over you.
It comes up everytime the
If you don't like linux use BSD its good, solid and fun to screw around on, just a few less apps running native on the thing (great server decent workstation).
If you are running Windoze please just go and troll the Zdnet and Cnet comment sections instead.
Gosh, the guy thought he knew what he was talking about but did not. Give it a rest. Explain to someone why they are wrong but there is no need to go off on them. Your response is the kind of garbage that give linux/unix users a bad name.
How many times have I heard "Yeah the linux guy I work with knows everything but he is so rude I would not ask him a question to save my soul."
I have also heard "If the rude back and forth bickering I see on most linux newsgroups is what you guys call community you can have it."
First, SuSE in the past did not force X install but annoyed the hell out of you if you did not install X. Just ignore that crap and get everything non-X going before going through XF86Config or SAX.
.profile that launches into startx as the last line. Newbies don't face the dreaded command line for long and it gives you less crap than the X login stuff. I have in the past had my X configuration perfect, my system worked just fine but after going for the graphical login nobody could get in. Annoying.
Second never do a X login until after you get the X configuration correct. Personally, I go for the text mode login and an edited
Maybe with the horde of Gnome and KDE converted folks moving into the world of linux this will become less of a ritual of passing.
However, I have a perfectly well running linux box and I have yet to recompile the kernel. I put the sucker together last week and it rocks. Eventually I will have to recompile the kernel though for APM support. I don't care to. I would rather the damn install have had a laptop choice so I did not have to be bothered with it. I give newbies the simple advice of if it ain't broke don't try and tweak it without reason.
I will code and I will add things but I do so with a purpose. If you have the time to completely change your system around twice a week then you need to go and find yourself something better to do.
It is only natural that in an environment where information is becoming more and more open that people would be concerned about privacy. However, I am afraid to say that another person posting is quite correct in saying that the battle is already lost. If you use credit cards, ATMs and internet connected computers as well as half a dozen other convience technologies you have effectively given away your privacy for the ease of living in a quick fix society. If you don't like that then please give up the technology and leave the building immediately.
Also, the president of the USofA can't get a blowjob in the oval office without it making its way all over the front pages of every paper in the universe and yet people believe the same government can turn around and keep its stuff together long enough to pull off all this conspiracy crap? That is bull. Does the US and other intelligence agencies come together to monitor transmissions especially from foreign powers they don't like or organizations that scare them? Sure. Are they some all powerful force running the world behind the scenes? Nah. People are giving governments and their agencies far too much credit.
I never said I was a programmer. You probably will not see this because I have been away for awhile but I use my Linux box as a server for my home network routing mail, acting as my portal out to the internet via IP Masquerading, and sharing files across with Samba.
Designing the distribution around the type of user that will be using the Linux box is only one part of a solution for Linux to hit the masses.
In my post, I was simply trying to point out the fact that if you make the OS generic enough to not drive the common user insane with choices you rob the same OS from much of what makes it strong.
Trying to make the OS a mass as opposed to a niche market you are simply liquidating a large portion of its power and grace. If done correctly a niche market product can have a much larger shelf life than a product that tries to be all things to all people. Novell had a nice networking system but tried to take on both Office apps and even Groupware products at the same time and it killed them in their core market as NT 4.0 slipped right past them. However, even if you despise Apple, they have played the niche card very well through some very depressing times.
In the end if you try to be a better Microsoft being everything to everyone (client, server, enterprise) even if you succeed you will end up at your goal look back and realize one thing. Being a better Microsoft means being Microsoft in the end, do we want to become our own worst enemy? Is that the real goal?
Sorry Midnight the person at the dentist's or dental department would just look at you and say, "I want the hurting in my tooth to go away!"
The dentist not expecting the guy to have a clue of why is tooth is hurting would go ahead and remove those two lateral incisorors as some as possible.
The problem with so many computer people (BTW, I run a Help Desk), is that we expect the people to have a clue when they should not have to. Putting this simply, if their job is to sell stuff but they are required to send their boss email updates, they do not and really should not give a flat damn about how it works. Their only concern is that their email works, period.
The person knows their product inside and out and can give a presentation like you would not believe. They pass the million mark in sales on a regular basis. Why the heck should they clutter their heads learning computer stuff? So we as computer people will have an easier time explaining why it took half a day to get the mail server back up? That is nonsense.
I know that I will get flamed back with a detailed bit about why everyone on the planet that uses a computer for their job should understand the tool to use it arguement. I want my fridge to work but I will not sit there and learn the ins and outs of appliance technology just so I can sound smarter to the repair man when the thing decides not to blow cold air over my Coca Cola. Sometimes it sounds like what we expect from the users.
Read the article again. First, I do not feel that I should be forced to work 80 hours a week even for high pay and overtime with the arguement that at least I am not lugging groceries for minimum wage. However, if you look closely at the article it has much more to do with the simple fact that the writer is completely hooked on his job to the point of ignoring everything else.
He volunteered to help out and felt guilty after working for as long as he did. This was a confessional more than a bust on his companies policies.
Not only that, but this is the rule for many sys admins. They get into their jobs because they LOVE computers, technology, networking and systems. Then they become obsessed with their jobs to the detriment of everything else. If you can't relate then you are not doing what you love. Sure, it is his own fault. The deal is that he is beginning to realize it is a problem. I am not sure if the quit bitching responses are really necessary. The been there done that get the life that is waiting for you responses are much more constructive.
I am sorry man but this guy does not make those kinds of decisions the Sys Admin that got fired after he left made the kinds of decisions that would have made this turn over easy to handle.
A lot of hot shot tech kids are busting this guy for not setting up the network to handle this kind of transfer. However this guy is a tech not a network architect or a Senior admin. He could have probably done it better but at this point all he could do is make the changes inside of the already established setup. You have to understand who makes the decisions on how the network is set up. I will bet you money that he was not the one setting this structure up.
Listen, I work for a smaller corporation that is a part of a much larger one. I hear these kinds of stories all the time. The 36 hour turn around for a complete backup, installing new HD and then repartitioning the thing and putting the files back where they need to go was the most recent one. It does not sound to bad until you realize how complex the file structure has to be for our object file transfer program we use to move files around to be applied to the database. Also over half that time is taken getting the files off in the first place.
Anyway, I want to get more technical and I have been thinking about getting out of being a Help Desk Manager looking over techs and being a tech again. The tough part is that I hear stories like this and wonder with a family, house and a good wife at my back is it really worth it even to chase down something I truly love? Gimme some thoughts people.
Linux is not a home OS for the mass public and should not be unless we want to pollute the very essence of what makes the OS such a wonderful thing. Tod is right in the sense that one interface and clean consistency in approach is what makes a great interface for the general public. The sad part is there is already an interface like that on the market. People who want the easiest cleanest interface should go out and buy a Mac and then shut the hell up.
The deal is that those are not the kind of people that use Linux and they are not the kind of people most Linux folks want to see using the OS. The kind of people that use Linux want choices and opportunities. They do not want the easiest way out but the most flexible and powerful way is the only way for them. Making the interface easier to deal with while still keeping choices available for the masochistic or the technically adept is what makes the Linux OS such fun for the little geek inside of us all. The whole community should back off the insanity of trying to create a mass appeal OS and focus on the server, network and programming side of the system that makes it such a powerful and joyous choice for the hardcore power users out there in the IT world.
In closing, do you really want your mom on your computer? I don't. I have enough trouble dragging my wife off the 95 box long enough for me to play a game. Instead she is chatting with other young moms talking about the last time their kids took a poop on their own. I want them all off so I can play the latest Windows games. After all, if it was not for the games it would be her machine to muck with as she pleases and I would have the Linux box to myself.
Why does it come with the territory? I mean it seems like people who love linux live in two horrid extremes. Either they are really nice and help you out constantly when you have a problem or they bash you as a newbie and an idiot if you don't phrase your question correctly or mis-use a term.
I have even seen really nice people turn vicious if I choose a wimpy Linux distribution that they felt was too easy and did not give you the freedom of Debian or Slackware. These usually helpful people would start being rude or smart ass once they saw you using RedHat or SuSE. The worst of all are the people who THINK they are being nice but answer your question in a way that talks to down to you to the point of making you feel like an idiot for asking!
I love Linux. The operating system is the best and I have met some genuine and nice people in the process. Still, the community has to reach beyond the anti-social geek stereotype or the people that want to pigeon hole the community as a bunch of silly radical geeks will have one.
Listen, sure the internet is not going to do ALL the things people think it will. It will also do a lot of things we did not expect. In addition, the open ended nature of the 'net has already caused it to become completely choked with silly grabage.
The internet will change society in a lot of ways. I am sure of this. However, it will not revolutionize mankind or take us to the next evolutionary plane of existence like some future speakers say. It is a very open medium of media that will enable common people to exchange knowledge in ways we have not been able to attempt before. It is not the wired in mode of transportation to nirvana or hell.
I am NOT being sarcastic but I damn glad you are running Linux. For a long time, I felt you were just another trendy Wired staff soul who wanted to cash in on something you don't understand (Linux obviously). This article really indicated that you were trying.
When you are ready for PPP or wanting to get the sound working let us know. Some of us are not so damn ready to flame newbies. Many of us do want to help.
I completely agree with you. For a long time I thought Katz was just another trendy Wired staff asshole trying to cash in on something he did not understand. Still, this episode touched me because we have all had hardware trouble (yes, I would have refused the shipment too) and we have all had bad experiences with Compusa.
I feel like the guy is at the very least trying to get into this. My big annoyance is he needs to dive straight in and stop talking for just a little while till he has lived with Linux at least one week.
We have the strangest duality in the Linux community. If you talk like a wire head then you will boat loads of help. If you talk like a newbie trying to see other side with no clue, then you get bitch slapped back into the hands of Microsoft and Apple. It is sad. Linux users have been alineating new users for awhile with this attitude. The message is that if you don't live and breath computers do not apply. That is sad.