I am going to get on my Amiga 2000 and play Giana Sisters. That is all.
Giana Sisters... nice...
You know, though, I've listened to a lot of SID music and recently decided to check out some Amiga Music for the first time... I found the Amiga version of the Giana Sisters tune surprisingly dull compared to the C64 version. What is up with that?
For a number of years I've wanted a slashdot greasemonkey extension called something like "slashback" which would restrict all comments to people with UID lower than your own, thus returning slashdot to the same user community that got you to sign up in the first place.
I have another, somewhat related greasemonkey extension installed: it remaps the Slashdot UID space any time I view a Slashdot page, giving some users significantly lower UIDs, and others higher UIDs.
Honestly I can't remember why I installed it, though. I mean, it's not like I think any less of watanabe because he has an 8-digit UID, and I feel no need to replace my own, 3-digit UID with a shorter one...
How can I not like everything with an ounce of brass in it being fake-antiqued and turned into some kind of goofy prop? How can I not like sheet metal with bent edges from being cut with tin snips? How can I not like cheap imitations of the kind of real craftsmanship seen in antiques? Or people latching on to every obscure facet of the Victorian era they can find?
I guess it's not really a matter of steampunk itself being a bad thing, I'm just so tired of it, particularly when done badly.
But I would say, if you want to change how people see this computer, paint it. Come up with some color scheme you like, and change the color of the machine. There's no aspect of your own computer that you cannot change.
Well, no - but maybe it means you tell people you don't think it's worth
being in the orange juice business...
Yeah, but that misses the point that the "Linux Desktop" is not a business, and doesn't follow business rules in the first place.
It is a business, if that's the business you're in. I think it's perfectly sensible for someone who's in the business of selling a Linux distribution to say, you know, it's great people are excited about having Linux on their desktop, but I really don't see it as a viable business plan.
He's a businessman. He has to think in terms of what can make a profit and what's not worth the time. From that perspective I think that decision is correct - as a business model Linux on the desktop probably isn't a great idea.
Now me, on the other hand, I'm not a businessman. Probably I'd be better off if I were more savvy in that regard but really, it's not a game I've ever had any interest in playing. I'm all about the technology, so I like to run Linux on my own desktop (and laptop, for that matter) and when I think about how I want to develop that software further, I'm not limited to what I think will be marketable - I can focus instead on things I think I will like. It's a good position to be in, I think.
Knowing the humor that Linus has, it could be himself.
That was my first thought:
"OK, he just said that whoever came up with that idea is a real idiot... So the punchline must be that it's him."
But I don't actually know if it was him. It'd be nice to know, so I know whether he's being funny and kind of self-deprecating, or if he's being a bit of a jerk.:)
This makes me think that... if I don't know how to make money from orange juice, should I tell people that drinking it is stupid?
Well, no - but maybe it means you tell people you don't think it's worth being in the orange juice business...
As for preferring Macs over Linux - I've been down that road and I came back. In the end OS X just didn't make me happy. Replacing my Mac laptop with a Linux one has been delightful. It just feels right.
You actually can boot straight to a Linux kernel without a bootloader... Just stick it in the MBR or on a bootable disk and it'll load. It's just more convenient to use a bootloader since that makes it easier to set options, boot alternate kernels or other OSes, etc...
In the strictest sense, the kernel is the operating system. If you expand the definition to include standard applications, then GNU's contributions is relatively small.
It really depends on how you use it, I'd say.
These days I think a lot of Linux systems would be more accurately described as Gnome or KDE systems - as so much of the functionality users are relying upon is tied up in those packages... For instance, Gnome handles wireless connections on my laptop - there isn't really coherent management for that functionality at the command line. The situation would be similar with a KDE environment - so much of what people actually use is in the KDE layer that without it, the machine is no longer complete.
I'd say GNU has a strong case, though - large portions of the machine's actual functionality come from GNU - and everything else (pretty much) at least goes through a GNU compiler or links a GNU library.
The question of what constitutes the OS and what doesn't is a bit more subtle than you acknowledge, I'd say: You could think of the OS as being just the kernel - but then you're ignoring large portions of the software's actual operational infrastructure. LibC, for instance, is critically important. It's not provided by the kernel itself but it's so central to everything that the OS is nearly useless without it. I think GNU definitely deserves a lot of credit for the system we commonly call "Linux" - just as BSD would be entitled to such credit if a Linux system were built on a collection of BSD tools instead of GNU.
That said, I don't personally like the whole "GNU/Linux" thing. When they started it, the naming felt to me like they were saying, "GNU still hasn't come up with a useful kernel of its own, so we'd like everyone to acknowledge Linux as a GNU system to cover for our failure to follow-through on our project goals." I don't like the idea of trying to change the common lexicon to serve someone's agenda. I do support the agenda (recognizing the important contributions made by the GNU project, etc.) - just not the method, switching to a more awkward name for my favorite OS and encouraging others to do the same...
Slashdot Mirror
Wow, this is the unfunniest April Fools joke so far today...
I am going to get on my Amiga 2000 and play Giana Sisters. That is all.
Giana Sisters... nice...
You know, though, I've listened to a lot of SID music and recently decided to check out some Amiga Music for the first time... I found the Amiga version of the Giana Sisters tune surprisingly dull compared to the C64 version. What is up with that?
For a number of years I've wanted a slashdot greasemonkey extension called something like "slashback" which would restrict all comments to people with UID lower than your own, thus returning slashdot to the same user community that got you to sign up in the first place.
I have another, somewhat related greasemonkey extension installed: it remaps the Slashdot UID space any time I view a Slashdot page, giving some users significantly lower UIDs, and others higher UIDs.
Honestly I can't remember why I installed it, though. I mean, it's not like I think any less of watanabe because he has an 8-digit UID, and I feel no need to replace my own, 3-digit UID with a shorter one...
Don't mind me... on my way to achievement whoring.
H4H
1-5 digit club, but no 6? bummer.
Missed it by that much...
All we need is an AJAX box that blips and says "Achievement Unlocked - 5G The Comedian" and the transformation will be complete ...
Is that the one you get for getting pushed out a window?
I thought it was going to be over 9000 :(.
Or 8000 in the original Japanese...
There's going to be an expansion out soon, upping that to level 60.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen - not only is "up" a verb, but it's transitive! :D
'Course you do!
Here's to us! Ain't many like us, and most of them are dead!
Can I start drawing up business plans for my designer blood company? Green, maybe blue? What ever color you want it's up to you!
Maybe a nice neon pink?
You'd have a whole bunch of Klingon Language Camp types waiting in line for that one...
How can I not like everything with an ounce of brass in it being fake-antiqued and turned into some kind of goofy prop? How can I not like sheet metal with bent edges from being cut with tin snips? How can I not like cheap imitations of the kind of real craftsmanship seen in antiques? Or people latching on to every obscure facet of the Victorian era they can find?
I guess it's not really a matter of steampunk itself being a bad thing, I'm just so tired of it, particularly when done badly.
Take the Homer Simpson approach - add speed holes with a pickaxe
This joke gets funnier every time I see it.
If your that insecure
Parser error, line 1, near "that"
I really wish the whole steampunk fad would just die...
...I have a hard and fast rule that says I can't have a screen that measures bigger than my penis
"But that screen isn't very thick at all!"
I see people hang a pair of plastic testicles from the back of their trucks.
That might man your netbook up a bit.
Oh, they sell plastic ones now? I thought those things came from livestock...
Your first mistake was buying a white computer. :D
But I would say, if you want to change how people see this computer, paint it. Come up with some color scheme you like, and change the color of the machine. There's no aspect of your own computer that you cannot change.
sudo torch! sudo torch!
dammit, it's not worki
You have been eaten by a grue. Game over.
Bah. Should have taken the time to learn "frotz".
Yeah, but that misses the point that the "Linux Desktop" is not a business, and doesn't follow business rules in the first place.
It is a business, if that's the business you're in. I think it's perfectly sensible for someone who's in the business of selling a Linux distribution to say, you know, it's great people are excited about having Linux on their desktop, but I really don't see it as a viable business plan.
He's a businessman. He has to think in terms of what can make a profit and what's not worth the time. From that perspective I think that decision is correct - as a business model Linux on the desktop probably isn't a great idea.
Now me, on the other hand, I'm not a businessman. Probably I'd be better off if I were more savvy in that regard but really, it's not a game I've ever had any interest in playing. I'm all about the technology, so I like to run Linux on my own desktop (and laptop, for that matter) and when I think about how I want to develop that software further, I'm not limited to what I think will be marketable - I can focus instead on things I think I will like. It's a good position to be in, I think.
Knowing the humor that Linus has, it could be himself.
That was my first thought:
"OK, he just said that whoever came up with that idea is a real idiot... So the punchline must be that it's him."
But I don't actually know if it was him. It'd be nice to know, so I know whether he's being funny and kind of self-deprecating, or if he's being a bit of a jerk. :)
Just in case anybody takes the previous AC seriously: That's funny, but not actually true, and probably not trolling in any case.
Thank you for telling me what to think. I have trouble with that sometimes.
This makes me think that... if I don't know how to make money from orange juice, should I tell people that drinking it is stupid?
Well, no - but maybe it means you tell people you don't think it's worth being in the orange juice business...
As for preferring Macs over Linux - I've been down that road and I came back. In the end OS X just didn't make me happy. Replacing my Mac laptop with a Linux one has been delightful. It just feels right.
Pardon? Linux can't even load itself does it?
You actually can boot straight to a Linux kernel without a bootloader... Just stick it in the MBR or on a bootable disk and it'll load. It's just more convenient to use a bootloader since that makes it easier to set options, boot alternate kernels or other OSes, etc...
In the strictest sense, the kernel is the operating system. If you expand the definition to include standard applications, then GNU's contributions is relatively small.
It really depends on how you use it, I'd say.
These days I think a lot of Linux systems would be more accurately described as Gnome or KDE systems - as so much of the functionality users are relying upon is tied up in those packages... For instance, Gnome handles wireless connections on my laptop - there isn't really coherent management for that functionality at the command line. The situation would be similar with a KDE environment - so much of what people actually use is in the KDE layer that without it, the machine is no longer complete.
I'd say GNU has a strong case, though - large portions of the machine's actual functionality come from GNU - and everything else (pretty much) at least goes through a GNU compiler or links a GNU library.
The question of what constitutes the OS and what doesn't is a bit more subtle than you acknowledge, I'd say: You could think of the OS as being just the kernel - but then you're ignoring large portions of the software's actual operational infrastructure. LibC, for instance, is critically important. It's not provided by the kernel itself but it's so central to everything that the OS is nearly useless without it. I think GNU definitely deserves a lot of credit for the system we commonly call "Linux" - just as BSD would be entitled to such credit if a Linux system were built on a collection of BSD tools instead of GNU.
That said, I don't personally like the whole "GNU/Linux" thing. When they started it, the naming felt to me like they were saying, "GNU still hasn't come up with a useful kernel of its own, so we'd like everyone to acknowledge Linux as a GNU system to cover for our failure to follow-through on our project goals." I don't like the idea of trying to change the common lexicon to serve someone's agenda. I do support the agenda (recognizing the important contributions made by the GNU project, etc.) - just not the method, switching to a more awkward name for my favorite OS and encouraging others to do the same...
GNU/Stallman surely?
How about just GNU/Shirley?