And if you ever want to visit griefer central, try out EVE sometime (also with a monthly charge).
EVE is a game that revolves around griefing. Griefers camp strategic points in space. Anti-griefers hunt the griefers. Industrialists supply both sides with new ships and supplies. Occasionally there are large scale lagfests where groups of people destroy lots and lots of each other's ships to compete for griefing rights in a certain area of space.
The reason why this is so successful is because, as a post a few up from here notes, what is there left to do? It's just not worthwhile for a company to write that much content for people paying only $15 a month. And in a virtual world like that of EVE, PvP tends to evolve into griefing instead of even matchups or other formal PvP.
There's no penalty only if your time is worthless. Say you were on your way somewhere and then BAM you're a ghost 10 minutes from your corpse. Run back to your corpse and BAM you're a ghost for 10 more minutes. You get the idea.
There are still conversations on Usenet.
There is still pr0n.
There is still a boatload of warez.
There is still a ton of spam.
There are still many, many groups and messages.
There are still plenty of Usenet access providers and willing customers.
There is still plenty of software to access Usenet.
ISPs are still reducing services while raising prices.
You are into (or do it professionally) IT, so this sort of thing is important to YOU.
Yes, it is important to me. That's why I comment on it. I'm sure it's pretty important to most of the other people on/. otherwise we wouldn't have TFA posted here to comment on.
I did a little experiment. I loaded up IE, hit the search button, typed something in, and ran the search. Whaddayaknow, Bing comes up with the search results. So every idiot that has the same Windows installed as the day they brought it home from Walmart with IE as the default browser and the little search button as their only gateway to the world is going to use Bing whether they know it or not. Apparently there are quite a few such idiots. Are we surprised?
Meh. China doesn't sponsor US politicians. Corporations do. China doesn't legitimize their positions. US citizens do. So how would China influence US policy? They wouldn't. And besides there are worse influences here at home to worry about.
Having both says to me that they are just waiting for the costs to come down such that performance and storage are available on a single drive again
I doubt it. You can have a cheap, fast, or reliable drive or storage array. Pick two of the three qualities. As technology advances we redefine all three so that it's still just as difficult to have a cheap, fast, reliable drive. I'm sure somebody's coined a 'law' describing this.
The problem isn't storage its speed. Really with 1TB of HD space there isn't anything you can't have a lot of. On the other hand I/O, especially magnetic I/O is the main bottleneck. Storage isn't a problem.
Are you saying that 1TB of space should be enough for anyone?
Bring up an emotionally charged topic like children's protection and you can enact any half-baked political action. They killed Socrates this way, they can sure as hell ratchet down internet rights this way.
Yes, but if it's not on there by default or if a wizard doesn't pop up to guide them through in five clicks or less, preferably with happy images and music, the average user won't install it.
Does Android have games? Not Flash games and Solitaire, but WoW and the latest closed source FPS released for Windows. Does Android have photography workflow software? CAD? Anything that's not an internet product, office product, or a widget?
Hrm... I see. Well, if I want an OS that lets me chat, email, and surf the net then I'll install Ubuntu.
It's just human nature, nothing to get upset about. The idea is basically this: is it more trouble to learn how to use a computer properly or to get it fixed when, on occasion, it stops doing what you need it to do?
I'd say it's much worse that people treat their vehicles the same way, but the same line of reasoning applies. It's more trouble to be a safe driver and maintain your vehicle in proper working order than it is to deal with the occasional hassle of a fender bender or possibly death. And if the possibility of dying isn't enough to get people to change their actions then I really don't think lecturing them about malware is going to do the trick.
I'm glad to see that we have so many software options for even the most basic computer functions that Average Joe User needs to hire a personal assistant to make intelligent decisions about what software packages to install.
Oh, but Average Joe User doesn't use Linux so we don't need to worry about that. Correct, and this is one big reason why.
It's the new game development schedule. Everyone's doing it. You spend forever building hype about a game, have a lengthy family and friends alpha stage where seemingly nothing gets accomplished, do a one month public beta that's really just a demo for the fanbois since discs are already being burned and nobody is taking feedback seriously at this point, and finally distribute those discs madly before the hype wears off and anyone realizes how awful the game really is. If you're really good you'll have suckered a few of the fanbois into buying lifetime subscriptions. Tabula Rasa did it and so did Hellgate:London, so it must be a good thing! Oh.. wait...
1. Sit in the last row.
2. Get out homework, TI calculator loaded with games, or a thin book.
3. Enjoy 50 minutes of quiet time before moving to a new room.
4. Realize that eventually you'll have to learn something to get by in the world and you'll be completely unprepared for it.
You obviously don't work for the government. Transferring ownership of a paperclip from one department to another requires a ream of paperwork and at least two months of weekly meetings. Transferring ISS components to another country? It would take fewer resources to just rebuild the damn things.
1) Who needs Microsoft Office? The answer is: unless you're in a corporate environment, almost no one. OpenOffice.org works just fine for Aunt Tillie who needs to write letters and keep her recipes on the computer. And even those in a corporate environment have gotten by with out it.
2) Photoshop is not needed by nearly as many people as you might think. Unless you're a professional photographer or a serious amateur, Photoshop is simply overkill. Krita and GIMP will meet the needs of 99% of anybody who needs photo editing, including a lot of those professionals and prosumers.
3) iTunes is reported to run under Wine.
4) I don't stream Netflix, but have heard that you can do it under Linux.
5) Playing what games? There are plenty of native Linux games. Oh, you mean playing the latest-and-greatest RTS/MMORPG/FPS/etc.? Well, if that's your bag, then you need Windows. BTW--you're still in the minority of computer users.
6) There are ways of playing Blu-Rays on Linux....
Before you decide that I've bolded completely random sections of the parent post, consider this: Linux is great at almost doing most things for a lot of people if you have a bit of time to fiddle with it and ask around for help. I don't really know how to make most of this stuff work right in Linux, but somebody probably does. Maybe the guy that wrote the software? Well, if he's not helpful, there's this other software package you can try...
Free as in worthless is a good way to put it, but it's not all a lack of hardware support. You forgot to mention the complete lack of software support.
With Linux you can get a half-assed version of every piece of software you'd ever need, usually for free. With MacOS you can get a bit of ridiculously priced software that works really well. With Windows you can find all the software you'll ever need for free and it works fine as soon as you overwrite the executable with the one from the crack directory. Seriously, no competition.
Slashdot Mirror
And if you ever want to visit griefer central, try out EVE sometime (also with a monthly charge).
EVE is a game that revolves around griefing. Griefers camp strategic points in space. Anti-griefers hunt the griefers. Industrialists supply both sides with new ships and supplies. Occasionally there are large scale lagfests where groups of people destroy lots and lots of each other's ships to compete for griefing rights in a certain area of space.
The reason why this is so successful is because, as a post a few up from here notes, what is there left to do? It's just not worthwhile for a company to write that much content for people paying only $15 a month. And in a virtual world like that of EVE, PvP tends to evolve into griefing instead of even matchups or other formal PvP.
Death in wow has zero penalties...
There's no penalty only if your time is worthless. Say you were on your way somewhere and then BAM you're a ghost 10 minutes from your corpse. Run back to your corpse and BAM you're a ghost for 10 more minutes. You get the idea.
There are still conversations on Usenet.
There is still pr0n.
There is still a boatload of warez.
There is still a ton of spam.
There are still many, many groups and messages.
There are still plenty of Usenet access providers and willing customers.
There is still plenty of software to access Usenet.
ISPs are still reducing services while raising prices.
So what's new and why is Usenet apparently dead?
Too much investment to satisfy too small a group - who cares if it's world heritage.
Governments will listen to any small group that pays well.
1. Google textbook name + torrent. 2. Follow link. 3. Download.
You are into (or do it professionally) IT, so this sort of thing is important to YOU.
Yes, it is important to me. That's why I comment on it. I'm sure it's pretty important to most of the other people on /. otherwise we wouldn't have TFA posted here to comment on.
I did a little experiment. I loaded up IE, hit the search button, typed something in, and ran the search. Whaddayaknow, Bing comes up with the search results. So every idiot that has the same Windows installed as the day they brought it home from Walmart with IE as the default browser and the little search button as their only gateway to the world is going to use Bing whether they know it or not. Apparently there are quite a few such idiots. Are we surprised?
Meh. China doesn't sponsor US politicians. Corporations do. China doesn't legitimize their positions. US citizens do. So how would China influence US policy? They wouldn't. And besides there are worse influences here at home to worry about.
Having both says to me that they are just waiting for the costs to come down such that performance and storage are available on a single drive again
I doubt it. You can have a cheap, fast, or reliable drive or storage array. Pick two of the three qualities. As technology advances we redefine all three so that it's still just as difficult to have a cheap, fast, reliable drive. I'm sure somebody's coined a 'law' describing this.
The problem isn't storage its speed. Really with 1TB of HD space there isn't anything you can't have a lot of. On the other hand I/O, especially magnetic I/O is the main bottleneck. Storage isn't a problem.
Are you saying that 1TB of space should be enough for anyone?
Bring up an emotionally charged topic like children's protection and you can enact any half-baked political action. They killed Socrates this way, they can sure as hell ratchet down internet rights this way.
From the summary:
Isn't that particular stuff still considered legal?
Depends who you ask. Oh, did you say illegal? I thought you meant immoral. I forget sometimes what we're persecuting these days.
But what makes it different than any other ISP?
This one wasn't paying its dues to the local politicians?
Yes, but if it's not on there by default or if a wizard doesn't pop up to guide them through in five clicks or less, preferably with happy images and music, the average user won't install it.
Does Android have games? Not Flash games and Solitaire, but WoW and the latest closed source FPS released for Windows. Does Android have photography workflow software? CAD? Anything that's not an internet product, office product, or a widget?
Hrm... I see. Well, if I want an OS that lets me chat, email, and surf the net then I'll install Ubuntu.
It's just human nature, nothing to get upset about. The idea is basically this: is it more trouble to learn how to use a computer properly or to get it fixed when, on occasion, it stops doing what you need it to do?
I'd say it's much worse that people treat their vehicles the same way, but the same line of reasoning applies. It's more trouble to be a safe driver and maintain your vehicle in proper working order than it is to deal with the occasional hassle of a fender bender or possibly death. And if the possibility of dying isn't enough to get people to change their actions then I really don't think lecturing them about malware is going to do the trick.
Why think when you can follow protocol?
I'm glad to see that we have so many software options for even the most basic computer functions that Average Joe User needs to hire a personal assistant to make intelligent decisions about what software packages to install. Oh, but Average Joe User doesn't use Linux so we don't need to worry about that. Correct, and this is one big reason why.
...is one of those early 90s construction signs.
It's the new game development schedule. Everyone's doing it. You spend forever building hype about a game, have a lengthy family and friends alpha stage where seemingly nothing gets accomplished, do a one month public beta that's really just a demo for the fanbois since discs are already being burned and nobody is taking feedback seriously at this point, and finally distribute those discs madly before the hype wears off and anyone realizes how awful the game really is. If you're really good you'll have suckered a few of the fanbois into buying lifetime subscriptions. Tabula Rasa did it and so did Hellgate:London, so it must be a good thing! Oh.. wait...
1. Sit in the last row.
2. Get out homework, TI calculator loaded with games, or a thin book.
3. Enjoy 50 minutes of quiet time before moving to a new room.
4. Realize that eventually you'll have to learn something to get by in the world and you'll be completely unprepared for it.
You obviously don't work for the government. Transferring ownership of a paperclip from one department to another requires a ream of paperwork and at least two months of weekly meetings. Transferring ISS components to another country? It would take fewer resources to just rebuild the damn things.
Committed fans are (I believe) happy to spend more money if they know that a significant percentage is going to the artist.
Committed fans pay for live music and share the other stuff.
1) Who needs Microsoft Office? The answer is: unless you're in a corporate environment, almost no one. OpenOffice.org works just fine for Aunt Tillie who needs to write letters and keep her recipes on the computer. And even those in a corporate environment have gotten by with out it.
2) Photoshop is not needed by nearly as many people as you might think. Unless you're a professional photographer or a serious amateur, Photoshop is simply overkill. Krita and GIMP will meet the needs of 99% of anybody who needs photo editing, including a lot of those professionals and prosumers.
3) iTunes is reported to run under Wine.
4) I don't stream Netflix, but have heard that you can do it under Linux.
5) Playing what games? There are plenty of native Linux games. Oh, you mean playing the latest-and-greatest RTS/MMORPG/FPS/etc.? Well, if that's your bag, then you need Windows. BTW--you're still in the minority of computer users.
6) There are ways of playing Blu-Rays on Linux....
Before you decide that I've bolded completely random sections of the parent post, consider this: Linux is great at almost doing most things for a lot of people if you have a bit of time to fiddle with it and ask around for help. I don't really know how to make most of this stuff work right in Linux, but somebody probably does. Maybe the guy that wrote the software? Well, if he's not helpful, there's this other software package you can try...
Free as in worthless is a good way to put it, but it's not all a lack of hardware support. You forgot to mention the complete lack of software support.
With Linux you can get a half-assed version of every piece of software you'd ever need, usually for free. With MacOS you can get a bit of ridiculously priced software that works really well. With Windows you can find all the software you'll ever need for free and it works fine as soon as you overwrite the executable with the one from the crack directory. Seriously, no competition.