On the other hand, I don't exactly know what obligation I have to do anything for the earth if there is no God and I'm a product of evolution.
The earth will be fine. Life will go on, probably with a small loss of diversity (probably won't even register compared to some of the mass extinctions in the past). The motivation is that our actions on this matter may have drastic effects on the living conditions of our children and grandchildren.
It's marked as a troll because it's a regurgitated line brought out whenever there is a discussion of a Microsoft vulnerability and adds nothing new to the conversation. It's used to discredit anyone pointing out a software alternative developed in a more security conscious way (a germane comment in a thread on security).
While its true that people will target software as a function of it's install base, there is such things as more secure software. For instance, Windows ME is less secure than XP. And an un-patched XP machine is less secure than a patched one. It's also quite likely that an XP machine is less secure than an average Linux machine, regardless of the install base.
Of course, there are several pointless jabs at Microsoft in this thread that should be marked troll under the same rules.
Ever hear the term "false dichotomy?" Current copyright laws are draconian, they could easily be made weak, and short-term.
If that was the case, Free Software would probably fall out of favor because everything would be nearly Free. There would still be a distinction between Open and closed source, but that would entirely be a pragmatic issue. RS would retire, and Linus would continue posting source code. That, and everyone on/. would hold hands and sing a love song for Bill Gates.
The $1 candy bar has a significant raw-materials, manufacturing, distributing, and shelf real-estate costs. I'd bet that less than half the $1 goes to the "designers" and for corporate profit. The per-item costs on an iTunes song is probably closer to a fraction of a cent.
You may be able to "copy" your song to your sound device a few hundred times, but the record company can copy it billions of times and sell them individually. I bet the candy bar companies wish they could do that.
The only thing that's going to motivate people like you not to pirate OSes is if the odds of being caught and punished were significantly raised.
A change in attitudes would need to predate any change in behavior, or enforcement (to justify the change). Education can change attitudes, but it's very slow, and easily resisted (as in the RIAA and MPAA's efforts).
I think the lack of options, as much as anything, fuels current attitudes. When someone thinks a computer *requires* Windows and Office, they can either pay-up, or resist and pirate it. I doubt attitudes are going to change until this dilemma is replaced by an environment with several visible, workable options.
I wouldn't be surprised to see tractor-trailers going hybrid soon. Fuel economy is a HUGE factor for trucking, and they require large engines to maintain speed up large inclines. Additionally, all that weight is very hard to slow down on declines -producing a lot of wear on brakes and power-train (engine breaks). Trains already do it, trucks are next.
I have a feeling that if you actually surveyed people who live off of email, and people who don't know, or don't really care about email, you would find the latter group using web interfaces more often.
From the sounds of it, you don't use email much -so it's really a moot point, but, while Gmail is pretty good, Gmail+imap gives you everything you just mentioned, plus a mail client.
Clients are much more flexible, have many more features, are usable offline, and are much faster. There is a reason that people resist ditching outlook - because once configured, a mail client fit's into a work-flow better than a web interface ever will.
I wonder if netbooks are actually going to help desktop popularity. I do most of my work on a desktop as well, and a netbook gives me the extra flexibility that my colleagues have with their laptops.
They may have the convenience of only needing one computer, but I have all the horsepower/storage/comfort of a desktop to work on, *and* a lighter box to carry around to talks and such. I also have almost ubiquitous wireless Internet, so my workstation is easily available with SSH+Screen or NX.
Interesting article. I find it humorous that they quote "would-be recipients" complaining that the 6B they are getting have too many "strings attached", but the article never mentions what happened last time they received money for upgrades.
Stricter admission restrictions would generally fix that -except for the corner case of someone studying something they are really good at, but don't like -and if they want to do it anyway, I figure just let them. Given the choice between someone who loves X but sucks at it, and a prodigy who dislikes X, but wants to study it because there is good money in it, choose the second.
Your second point is entirely true. I spent plenty of time in computer labs because I had a desktop at home and didn't work productively on it. There is big variation in quality of labs though. Some are really nice, but in some, you have to search for a machine that has both mouse buttons and a non-burned-in CRT monitor.
When I was in Undergrad, there were times when $150 would "break the bank." Considering that to do my science degree on all proprietary software, I would have needed licenses for more than just office software -it all adds up pretty fast.
Too many people are going to college when they can't afford it or shouldn't be going there
I would prefer *not* going back to a system where only the rich get educated. If anything, it should go the other way: more stringent admittance policies and lower tuition.
Any commercial use of the software, and any resale or further distribution of the software, other than as expressly authorized by this agreement, constitutes a material breach of this agreement and may violate applicable copyright laws.
Looks like you were advocating copyright infringement. Clamwin is the only Free Software virus scanner I know of.
Why would you carry a power supply capable of 500km around with you every day? How often do you drive that far? It just seems pointless to carry that extra weight. Unless battery energy density gets so high that it doesn't matter, I'd prefer a lighter system with some way to compensate for the range (battery exchange stations, rapid charge stations, charging rail on highways, plug-in hybrid, detachable auxiliary battery, just take the train, etc...)
Cut in a few pieces, it might just fit in the cargo fuselage of the Space Shuttle.
Of course, it would be far too much mass to land, and it's way, way outside the Shuttle's range, but it makes the idea of "landing" more like "docking" or "recovering."
Slashdot Mirror
On the other hand, I don't exactly know what obligation I have to do anything for the earth if there is no God and I'm a product of evolution.
The earth will be fine. Life will go on, probably with a small loss of diversity (probably won't even register compared to some of the mass extinctions in the past). The motivation is that our actions on this matter may have drastic effects on the living conditions of our children and grandchildren.
stay away from kernel.org then.
I think the only good workaround would be for Microsoft to change their user/agent string so it reports itself as Firefox :)
Better yet, they could just start it off with:
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible...
It happens when $BIG_PLAYER tells you to screw $SMALL_PLAYER or face the consequences.
It's marked as a troll because it's a regurgitated line brought out whenever there is a discussion of a Microsoft vulnerability and adds nothing new to the conversation. It's used to discredit anyone pointing out a software alternative developed in a more security conscious way (a germane comment in a thread on security).
While its true that people will target software as a function of it's install base, there is such things as more secure software. For instance, Windows ME is less secure than XP. And an un-patched XP machine is less secure than a patched one. It's also quite likely that an XP machine is less secure than an average Linux machine, regardless of the install base.
Of course, there are several pointless jabs at Microsoft in this thread that should be marked troll under the same rules.
Of course, you can always execute unsigned, untrusted code by downloading Firefox extensions on the Mozilla site.
If it's about "supply and demand" (aka. free market), why does it require market manipulations (copyright)?
Why should the government decide who is "replaceable" and who is not?
Ever hear the term "false dichotomy?" Current copyright laws are draconian, they could easily be made weak, and short-term.
If that was the case, Free Software would probably fall out of favor because everything would be nearly Free. There would still be a distinction between Open and closed source, but that would entirely be a pragmatic issue. RS would retire, and Linus would continue posting source code. That, and everyone on /. would hold hands and sing a love song for Bill Gates.
The $1 candy bar has a significant raw-materials, manufacturing, distributing, and shelf real-estate costs. I'd bet that less than half the $1 goes to the "designers" and for corporate profit. The per-item costs on an iTunes song is probably closer to a fraction of a cent.
You may be able to "copy" your song to your sound device a few hundred times, but the record company can copy it billions of times and sell them individually. I bet the candy bar companies wish they could do that.
The only thing that's going to motivate people like you not to pirate OSes is if the odds of being caught and punished were significantly raised.
A change in attitudes would need to predate any change in behavior, or enforcement (to justify the change). Education can change attitudes, but it's very slow, and easily resisted (as in the RIAA and MPAA's efforts).
I think the lack of options, as much as anything, fuels current attitudes. When someone thinks a computer *requires* Windows and Office, they can either pay-up, or resist and pirate it. I doubt attitudes are going to change until this dilemma is replaced by an environment with several visible, workable options.
But, you see, they want to dictate how *other people's* kids are raised.
I wouldn't be surprised to see tractor-trailers going hybrid soon. Fuel economy is a HUGE factor for trucking, and they require large engines to maintain speed up large inclines. Additionally, all that weight is very hard to slow down on declines -producing a lot of wear on brakes and power-train (engine breaks). Trains already do it, trucks are next.
I have a feeling that if you actually surveyed people who live off of email, and people who don't know, or don't really care about email, you would find the latter group using web interfaces more often.
From the sounds of it, you don't use email much -so it's really a moot point, but, while Gmail is pretty good, Gmail+imap gives you everything you just mentioned, plus a mail client.
Clients are much more flexible, have many more features, are usable offline, and are much faster. There is a reason that people resist ditching outlook - because once configured, a mail client fit's into a work-flow better than a web interface ever will.
Although most users use webmail, many still use POP and IMAP mail because they don't know better.
Is that a typo? I think people generally use *webmail* because they "don't know any better." That, or they don't use email much.
You are talking about the countdown to a "cool" number in UNIX time, and you don't want to use the command line???
I wonder if netbooks are actually going to help desktop popularity. I do most of my work on a desktop as well, and a netbook gives me the extra flexibility that my colleagues have with their laptops.
They may have the convenience of only needing one computer, but I have all the horsepower/storage/comfort of a desktop to work on, *and* a lighter box to carry around to talks and such. I also have almost ubiquitous wireless Internet, so my workstation is easily available with SSH+Screen or NX.
Interesting article. I find it humorous that they quote "would-be recipients" complaining that the 6B they are getting have too many "strings attached", but the article never mentions what happened last time they received money for upgrades.
Stricter admission restrictions would generally fix that -except for the corner case of someone studying something they are really good at, but don't like -and if they want to do it anyway, I figure just let them. Given the choice between someone who loves X but sucks at it, and a prodigy who dislikes X, but wants to study it because there is good money in it, choose the second.
Your second point is entirely true. I spent plenty of time in computer labs because I had a desktop at home and didn't work productively on it. There is big variation in quality of labs though. Some are really nice, but in some, you have to search for a machine that has both mouse buttons and a non-burned-in CRT monitor.
Too many people are going to college when they can't afford it or shouldn't be going there
I would prefer *not* going back to a system where only the rich get educated. If anything, it should go the other way: more stringent admittance policies and lower tuition.
Are teachers, as a whole, any less informed about Open Source than the general public? I don't think so.
Not that it's the teacher's fault, but if FLOSS advocates want to change anything, Teachers should be more informed than the general public.
Any commercial use of the software, and any resale or further distribution of the software, other than as expressly authorized by this agreement, constitutes a material breach of this agreement and may violate applicable copyright laws.
Looks like you were advocating copyright infringement. Clamwin is the only Free Software virus scanner I know of.
Why would you carry a power supply capable of 500km around with you every day? How often do you drive that far? It just seems pointless to carry that extra weight. Unless battery energy density gets so high that it doesn't matter, I'd prefer a lighter system with some way to compensate for the range (battery exchange stations, rapid charge stations, charging rail on highways, plug-in hybrid, detachable auxiliary battery, just take the train, etc...)
they respond with something along the lines of "I hate Firefox! I can never get my layouts to look nice."
I mean really, every time I create a web page with Microsoft Word, Firefox screws everything up!
Cut in a few pieces, it might just fit in the cargo fuselage of the Space Shuttle.
Of course, it would be far too much mass to land, and it's way, way outside the Shuttle's range, but it makes the idea of "landing" more like "docking" or "recovering."
It sure does, and so well that it can do an infinite loop a second faster than Linux!