Wow, that's tremendous! My bad for the misinformation. Let me re-state: In all the library systems by whom I have been employed, the people who have more authority over the Gates PCs than I do have the mistaken belief that they come with strings attached. Actually, not that I know this, I'm kind of furious with them. Dicks.
The trouble with the idea of putting Linux on the public PCs is that most libraries that have them got them from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with the stipulation that they will not put (much) 3rd party software on them. On the one hand, it really sucks, but on the other hand, nobody else was lining up to give libraries free, new computers.
Does the populace value good treatment of employees or lower prices more?
Why don't you ask Wal-Mart? Or, as the parent suggested, familiarize yourself with 19th century American history?
Whatever the outcome, no matter if its good or bad, it is the true will of the populace being expressed. What is wrong with that?
The problem is that the populace has a long history of being a bunch of dicks. The avoidance of the tyrrany of the majority is one of the great difficulties facing democracies, and has been since day 1. There's a reason we left that laissez-faire shit behind; you can find it in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.
The library at my university is better than the main branch of the public library in San Francisco, where I grew up.
Better at what? Oh, you mean, better at very specific, academic things that interest you? Or better at providing a vast range of services to a vast range (read: everyone who comes in, without exception) of people with a vast range of interests? In fairness, I've never been to SF, so maybe their library really does suck, but I doubt it. I suspect that, as is usually the case, the academic library*, in not being obliged to make the attempt to be all things to all people, has the luxury of doing an exceptional job at being a few things to a few people. Which really gets to the heart of the question of why there both kinds of libraries exist. phatty 2x4
* Especially with the kinds of resources a large university has; if you're talking about a state U with more than about 25,000 students, I wouldn't bet money on your suspicion that they don't have a major urban public library's resources. Never underestimate the cheapness of municipal authorities, even in the People's Republic of San Francisco.
Actually, why not post this on FreeRepublic? Once those psychos get ahold of this, it'll only be a matter of time before Limbaugh mobilizes his army to shut down the possible takeover of the government by liberal hackers...
I usually hesitate to ask stupid questions, but I'm going nuts trying to find the Apple Store for non-education state and local govt. employees. Where is it?
Agreed. But why isn't this on the news? I don't understand why there isn't one shred of significantly mainstream media coverage. Wired is the most mainstream outlet I've seen any coverage of this issue on; I'd have figured John Ashcroft would have been on the O'Reilly factor by now, talking about how only terrorists care if their voting machines are accurate and verifiable, but there is just no coverage.
It bugs me because I keep getting the Conspiracy Theorist Eyeroll from my family, friends, and fiancee whenever I mention it; they seem to think that if it mattered, Wolf Blitzer and Tom Brokaw would have told them about it by now.
Where is the mainstream media coverage? And if it's as absent as it appears to me to be, why? Is there a good reason?
That spam campaign is easily the bitchiest, most petulant single act of any open source project that hasn't yet burst under the weight of its own self-importance. Christ. Get the fuck over yourselves. The 15 people who care about your database project aren't going to confuse it with a browser.
Incidentally
on
Half Mast
·
· Score: 4, Informative
If you like this book, you might check out The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci. It also paints a pretty realistic portrait of high school life within the context of a murder/suspense story (a pretty good device for for forcing characters into the sort of stress and introspection that really sets young good young adult fiction apart, if you ask me). As a librarian, I especially recommend it to those of you who are (or have little brothers/sisters/nieces/nephews/children) in high school.
-phatty 2x4
P.S. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger are also superb YA novels, just in case you find yourself liking that sort of thing.
Well, the good news is that DC 37 (which the library employees of NYC will recognize as our union) is finally gathering up the sack to lobby for a 'no layoffs' guarantee from the city.
They're still not addressing the fact that we live in one of the two most expensive metro areas in the country, yet starting with salaries roughly $6k less than the New Jersey (that'd be the next state over) Library Association's recommended minimum, but you can't have everything.
But I digress. My real concern is this talk of tenure. Feel free to enlighten me if I've missed something, but in my 2+ years as a public librarian in NYC, I have heard exactly zilch about tenure, so I would recommend not getting your hopes up on that score.
Also, 20k in New York? Do you live in Bed-Stuy? Geez. I thought 30k was rough to live on.
Not really. This is what incorporation is all about. The entrepreneur incorporates, then risks seeing the corporation go bankrupt. His or her personal finances are unaffected by the corporation's bankruptcy status.
Slashdot Mirror
Whoa, defensive much?
Wow, that's tremendous! My bad for the misinformation. Let me re-state: In all the library systems by whom I have been employed, the people who have more authority over the Gates PCs than I do have the mistaken belief that they come with strings attached. Actually, not that I know this, I'm kind of furious with them. Dicks.
The trouble with the idea of putting Linux on the public PCs is that most libraries that have them got them from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with the stipulation that they will not put (much) 3rd party software on them. On the one hand, it really sucks, but on the other hand, nobody else was lining up to give libraries free, new computers.
Does the populace value good treatment of employees or lower prices more?
Why don't you ask Wal-Mart? Or, as the parent suggested, familiarize yourself with 19th century American history?
Whatever the outcome, no matter if its good or bad, it is the true will of the populace being expressed. What is wrong with that?
The problem is that the populace has a long history of being a bunch of dicks. The avoidance of the tyrrany of the majority is one of the great difficulties facing democracies, and has been since day 1. There's a reason we left that laissez-faire shit behind; you can find it in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.
When this is actually fixed, maybe I'll be less cynical. Maybe.
Oh, it's fixed alright. It's been fixed from the start.
If historical precedent is any indication, the score from the Diebold machines should come out:
Geeks: 0
Diebold: 18181
I would imagine it's full of bugs...
Better at what? Oh, you mean, better at very specific, academic things that interest you? Or better at providing a vast range of services to a vast range (read: everyone who comes in, without exception) of people with a vast range of interests?
In fairness, I've never been to SF, so maybe their library really does suck, but I doubt it. I suspect that, as is usually the case, the academic library*, in not being obliged to make the attempt to be all things to all people, has the luxury of doing an exceptional job at being a few things to a few people. Which really gets to the heart of the question of why there both kinds of libraries exist.
phatty 2x4
* Especially with the kinds of resources a large university has; if you're talking about a state U with more than about 25,000 students, I wouldn't bet money on your suspicion that they don't have a major urban public library's resources. Never underestimate the cheapness of municipal authorities, even in the People's Republic of San Francisco.
I think what he forgot to say is that he uses a mac.
Actually, why not post this on FreeRepublic? Once those psychos get ahold of this, it'll only be a matter of time before Limbaugh mobilizes his army to shut down the possible takeover of the government by liberal hackers...
I usually hesitate to ask stupid questions, but I'm going nuts trying to find the Apple Store for non-education state and local govt. employees. Where is it?
It bugs me because I keep getting the Conspiracy Theorist Eyeroll from my family, friends, and fiancee whenever I mention it; they seem to think that if it mattered, Wolf Blitzer and Tom Brokaw would have told them about it by now.
Where is the mainstream media coverage? And if it's as absent as it appears to me to be, why? Is there a good reason?
-- Phatty 2x4
s/could not/didn't fucking want to, you arrogant prick/
What I find most amusing at my library is that the most frequently stolen items are the test prep books for the police exam.
Right, because 20% is by no means a substantial portion.
See, that's the point. There aren't any poor people in his neighborhood.
Holy shit, they have fifteen foot powerbooks now?
That spam campaign is easily the bitchiest, most petulant single act of any open source project that hasn't yet burst under the weight of its own self-importance.
Christ. Get the fuck over yourselves. The 15 people who care about your database project aren't going to confuse it with a browser.
Dude. Settle down. It was obviously a joke. And he didn't compare anyone to the US.
"Because I can't post it on the FrontPage."
If you like this book, you might check out The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci. It also paints a pretty realistic portrait of high school life within the context of a murder/suspense story (a pretty good device for for forcing characters into the sort of stress and introspection that really sets young good young adult fiction apart, if you ask me).
As a librarian, I especially recommend it to those of you who are (or have little brothers/sisters/nieces/nephews/children) in high school.
-phatty 2x4
P.S. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger are also superb YA novels, just in case you find yourself liking that sort of thing.
Speaking of tool, do you have any idea how much of a corporate tool you are?
Says the porno maven.
Well, the good news is that DC 37 (which the library employees of NYC will recognize as our union) is finally gathering up the sack to lobby for a 'no layoffs' guarantee from the city.
They're still not addressing the fact that we live in one of the two most expensive metro areas in the country, yet starting with salaries roughly $6k less than the New Jersey (that'd be the next state over) Library Association's recommended minimum, but you can't have everything.
But I digress. My real concern is this talk of tenure. Feel free to enlighten me if I've missed something, but in my 2+ years as a public librarian in NYC, I have heard exactly zilch about tenure, so I would recommend not getting your hopes up on that score.
Also, 20k in New York? Do you live in Bed-Stuy? Geez. I thought 30k was rough to live on.
-phatty 2x4
The entrpreneur risks bankruptcy. . .
Not really. This is what incorporation is all about. The entrepreneur incorporates, then risks seeing the corporation go bankrupt. His or her personal finances are unaffected by the corporation's bankruptcy status.
Got all excited and then figured out you didn't mean Bob Dobbs.