> Probably they stuck with Sun because of support.
I can only speak from one experience, but at my previous job, the only reason we stuck with Sun? We had Sun hardware that still worked. When the support costs on two machines became too much, we reduced the support to just our primary server & installed Linux on the other. It wasn't because the support was available that we stuck to it, but we got the support because it was available. Granted, this was basically a consultant shop, so we had enough expertise to do without the support contracts.
One thing, though, was that the Sun contracts were more important in covering the hardware. Microsoft cannot support your hardware, so they can blame any problem on that. Once the hardware support is gone, I think people will start looking into compatibility. They don't want to have to rewrite everything and purchase Win versions of all the UNIX software they have, so they'll probably look to another *NIX first. That's not to say they will CHOOSE another *NIX, but it would be the logical first step for any competent business forced to switch.
> "I don't see how you could find joy in being some unseen being's pet." > Probably in the same way my dog is amazingly excited to see me whenever I come home....
Well, the first reason your post is wrong, he said "unseen pet." As long as your dog still has one working eye, it can see you. I can't (literally) see God.
The dog sees itself as a member of your pack (family). In many households that is more true than others. The dog does not know, though, that it is considered a piece of property.
Start treating your dog like a piece of property (not an actual suggestion), and most likely it will stop treating you like family. If you start hitting it & treating it poorly, most dogs will understand and start to become aggressive back.
Of course, there are some minor details to this analogy -- some breeds of canine take more kindly to people, may be less likely to fight back, and will instead tuck and run, but it is still a negative response. Hmm. Some people are more angry at God than others as well, since they may have been "treated badly" by God, or at least think they have. I'm one.
> Of course they all ignore that we're relative newcomers on a planet that's 5 billion years old,
If the lifespan of a planet is 1000 billion years (bear with me, I am pretty sure it's not), then we are pretty close to the first. If the planet was 100 years old and we came into being 1 year ago, you could make the same argument, since you are "looking from the inside."
Which is not to say you are wrong at all -- I don't think humans are particularly special -- just that this one piece of logic does not fly.
Still can't... it was a (bad) joke... IANAL, as in "I am not a lawyer." I'm not sure the name you were looking for, however. It may have been correct as-is.
> there are millions of people willing to worship a sadistic beast who they think will torture most of mankind for an infinitely long time?
Actually, it's more perverse than that. God does not do the torturing himself, he keeps a false veil of integrity by blaming his first-in-command, Lucifer, for doing the torturing. However, he is still responsible for suffering, as he's the one who condemns. That way he "gets away with" calling himself loving, since he doesn't hold the whip.
> If Hell is justice, my ass is an Italian Bistro.
Can I get reservations? Hmm, actually, I already have reservations about eating at your Ass-tro...
> What sickness is this you promote?
IMO, Cathoholics are almost the worst of the Christians, but it's still the people that get the stupid ideas, not the institution. The "leader," Das Pope, would probably say many such ideas are wrong. Few groups bother me more than Catholics, such as Jehova's Witnesses and Mormons.
Satanists don't bother me much, because they are mostly stupid and relatively harmless, given their small numbers. Many of them don't seem to realize that believing in Satan automatically means you must believe in God. What a bunch of loonies. All of them.
> Even today, a lot of people believe summer is warmer than winter because the earth is closer to the sun then,
What, it's not? I mean, at least "their half" of the Earth is, isn't it? The other half would be further away, thus the total movement (towards/away from the sun, at least -- not around it) of the Earth would be roughly zero, but in a local sense, they are right.
Or is my understanding completely wrong? It may have happened before, I'm unsure.
As much as people hate to admit it -- espcially if they fall under a correct stereotype -- many stereotypes exist because there is a basis in truth. Unfortunately, most of the rest simply arise out of fear.
> If knowledge is power... explain George W. Bush!
I'm pretty sure you don't care, but that's a logical fallacy. Just because "knowledge -> power," it does not mean that "underhanded dealings & family money DOESN'T -> power."
I'm not disagreeing with what you said, but Occam's Razor is used in determining which hypothesis is more probable -- it does not discount any possibilities or prove anything definitively, so it can't cut anything to shreds. Other than that, excellent post.
Hold on there, buckaroo. I didn't say it was user-friendly or easy, I just said "There already is a UNIX that anyone can use." Anyone can use it, it doesn't mean they don't have to learn to do it.
I agree with you. I've been using computers for a good 10 years (granted, 10 years is not that much time), and UNIX was one of the first OSes I used, but there are still things in Linux I scream about because they Just don't Work (!tm).
> the Highlander franchise [...] has its own unique approach to continuity issues.
What, you mean like ignoring them?:) "The second movie? What second movie? We never did a second, we went from one to three -- two didn't exist, dammit!"
> any sufficiently ignorant individual sees magic all around.
Mod parent up: So far, this is the most true statement of this type I have read in this topic. The problem is not with the advancement of that which is viewed, but with the lack of understanding on the part of the viewer. The concepts of the viewer have no impact on the reality of the object.
So, you tell people to "act like chimps." But they only give you 6 ways to express yourself. If your entire existence is reduced to 6 expressions, what are you supposed to learn?
These people are, IMO, WAAAAY off. For each "chimp expression" there, there are already human expressions to do it. The problem is that people are choosing not to express themselves emotionally. OF COURSE they are going to act differently when you only give them 6 options, all of which are emotional responses. OF COURSE they are going to be more expressive that way, because you then remove the chance not to.
If you are a part of this study and you are studying some papers closely: how does a chimp look when it is deep in thought. Perhaps it would look pretty close to a human deep in thought. In that sense (if true), we already practice chimp expression. Maybe we don't act like chimpanzees because we are not chimpanzees (I'm not talking about evolution or anything, just the way it is right now). We have evolved into (or been given) different ways of displaying these emotions.
Maybe what they should be focusing on instead is getting people to voice their ACTUAL opinion when they have it, like chimps do, instead of hiding them away and bottling it up. This should significanty reduce stress in our lives, since we aren't holding in ten year worth of frustration, just to explode one day at the zoo, by the chimp cages.
> The kind of changes taking place at Apple are nothing short of revolutionary... Unix that anyone can use
Umm... There already IS a UNIX that anyone can use. It's called Linux. I think what you mean to say is "a UNIX that any braindead hamster can use." Now THAT'S impressive.
> don't recall having *ever* asking them to sign a release
Okay, I was mostly mistaken. I found some answers A HREF="http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetc h-msg.tcl?msg_id=002TgW">Here, although some may only pertain to Vermont.
It seems you are fair game if you are in a public place, the photo is not used for any editorial/opinion purposes, and not used for advertising. Interesting.
> Since I was just engaging in a nonsensical daydream anyway, it can be whatever ya like
Oh, sweet. In that case, I want my IDS to be hot, 6-foot Amazon women who are always horny, but only for me. I don't care about the rest -- who gives a crap about computers when you have hot Amazon (not.com) women!!!
> since raccoons eat [...] aquatic life... it would make sense to hang out at the stream
Yes, I suppose it would:) They also eat fruit & stuff too, though. Some DO often dip their food in water, although evidently not to clean it, as they'll eat dirt-covered worms with no issue. There doesn't seem to be much reason to it.
> nobody respoended to you flamingly, so your post is obviously not flame bait.
Or perhaps they all recognized it as such and decided not to waste their time responding? Seriously, responses, or lack thereof, do not indicate anything about a post. Think of the words used: using your logic, there is no bait on a fishing hook unless a fish is caught. Obviously, the presence or nonpresence of a fish does not change the fact that there is bait on the hook.
Despite that, I agree that it was probably not flamebait in this case. I just think it's wrong -- it's not automatically "activism" of anything just because a bunch of people show up somewhere. It's just a planned phenomenon. I think the people show up "just because," not because they want to protest anything.
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> Probably they stuck with Sun because of support.
I can only speak from one experience, but at my previous job, the only reason we stuck with Sun? We had Sun hardware that still worked. When the support costs on two machines became too much, we reduced the support to just our primary server & installed Linux on the other. It wasn't because the support was available that we stuck to it, but we got the support because it was available.
Granted, this was basically a consultant shop, so we had enough expertise to do without the support contracts.
One thing, though, was that the Sun contracts were more important in covering the hardware. Microsoft cannot support your hardware, so they can blame any problem on that. Once the hardware support is gone, I think people will start looking into compatibility. They don't want to have to rewrite everything and purchase Win versions of all the UNIX software they have, so they'll probably look to another *NIX first. That's not to say they will CHOOSE another *NIX, but it would be the logical first step for any competent business forced to switch.
> "I don't see how you could find joy in being some unseen being's pet."
> Probably in the same way my dog is amazingly excited to see me whenever I come home....
Well, the first reason your post is wrong, he said "unseen pet." As long as your dog still has one working eye, it can see you. I can't (literally) see God.
The dog sees itself as a member of your pack (family). In many households that is more true than others. The dog does not know, though, that it is considered a piece of property.
Start treating your dog like a piece of property (not an actual suggestion), and most likely it will stop treating you like family. If you start hitting it & treating it poorly, most dogs will understand and start to become aggressive back.
Of course, there are some minor details to this analogy -- some breeds of canine take more kindly to people, may be less likely to fight back, and will instead tuck and run, but it is still a negative response. Hmm. Some people are more angry at God than others as well, since they may have been "treated badly" by God, or at least think they have. I'm one.
> Of course they all ignore that we're relative newcomers on a planet that's 5 billion years old,
If the lifespan of a planet is 1000 billion years (bear with me, I am pretty sure it's not), then we are pretty close to the first. If the planet was 100 years old and we came into being 1 year ago, you could make the same argument, since you are "looking from the inside."
Which is not to say you are wrong at all -- I don't think humans are particularly special -- just that this one piece of logic does not fly.
> I couldn't remember the name exactly
Still can't... it was a (bad) joke... IANAL, as in "I am not a lawyer." I'm not sure the name you were looking for, however. It may have been correct as-is.
> there are millions of people willing to worship a sadistic beast who they think will torture most of mankind for an infinitely long time?
Actually, it's more perverse than that. God does not do the torturing himself, he keeps a false veil of integrity by blaming his first-in-command, Lucifer, for doing the torturing. However, he is still responsible for suffering, as he's the one who condemns. That way he "gets away with" calling himself loving, since he doesn't hold the whip.
> If Hell is justice, my ass is an Italian Bistro.
Can I get reservations? Hmm, actually, I already have reservations about eating at your Ass-tro...
> What sickness is this you promote?
IMO, Cathoholics are almost the worst of the Christians, but it's still the people that get the stupid ideas, not the institution. The "leader," Das Pope, would probably say many such ideas are wrong. Few groups bother me more than Catholics, such as Jehova's Witnesses and Mormons.
Satanists don't bother me much, because they are mostly stupid and relatively harmless, given their small numbers. Many of them don't seem to realize that believing in Satan automatically means you must believe in God. What a bunch of loonies. All of them.
> Even today, a lot of people believe summer is warmer than winter because the earth is closer to the sun then,
What, it's not? I mean, at least "their half" of the Earth is, isn't it? The other half would be further away, thus the total movement (towards/away from the sun, at least -- not around it) of the Earth would be roughly zero, but in a local sense, they are right.
Or is my understanding completely wrong? It may have happened before, I'm unsure.
> pray to Iniaana to save us.
INIAANA? What's that? Anything like IANAL?
I'm No Idiot And Am Not Atheist?
> stereotypes are not always wrong as a rule
As much as people hate to admit it -- espcially if they fall under a correct stereotype -- many stereotypes exist because there is a basis in truth. Unfortunately, most of the rest simply arise out of fear.
> If knowledge is power... explain George W. Bush!
I'm pretty sure you don't care, but that's a logical fallacy.
Just because "knowledge -> power," it does not mean that "underhanded dealings & family money DOESN'T -> power."
> Occam's Razo[r] cuts it to shreds.
I'm not disagreeing with what you said, but Occam's Razor is used in determining which hypothesis is more probable -- it does not discount any possibilities or prove anything definitively, so it can't cut anything to shreds. Other than that, excellent post.
> You think Linux is user friendly.
Hold on there, buckaroo. I didn't say it was user-friendly or easy, I just said "There already is a UNIX that anyone can use." Anyone can use it, it doesn't mean they don't have to learn to do it.
I agree with you. I've been using computers for a good 10 years (granted, 10 years is not that much time), and UNIX was one of the first OSes I used, but there are still things in Linux I scream about because they Just don't Work (!tm).
> the Highlander franchise [...] has its own unique approach to continuity issues.
:) "The second movie? What second movie? We never did a second, we went from one to three -- two didn't exist, dammit!"
What, you mean like ignoring them?
> any sufficiently ignorant individual sees magic all around.
Mod parent up: So far, this is the most true statement of this type I have read in this topic. The problem is not with the advancement of that which is viewed, but with the lack of understanding on the part of the viewer. The concepts of the viewer have no impact on the reality of the object.
> Anybody noticed what passing trains do to old CRT monitors?
I've never lived near a railway. What happens?
This gives new meaning to the term "FireWire."
> it was obvious that these images had miraculously appeared in places where I had placed my (now) most holy feet.
Aha, you forgot that you had the soles of your shoes shaped into the image of jesus.
> this is totally retarded
As pointless as your post is, I agree.
So, you tell people to "act like chimps." But they only give you 6 ways to express yourself. If your entire existence is reduced to 6 expressions, what are you supposed to learn?
These people are, IMO, WAAAAY off. For each "chimp expression" there, there are already human expressions to do it. The problem is that people are choosing not to express themselves emotionally. OF COURSE they are going to act differently when you only give them 6 options, all of which are emotional responses. OF COURSE they are going to be more expressive that way, because you then remove the chance not to.
If you are a part of this study and you are studying some papers closely: how does a chimp look when it is deep in thought. Perhaps it would look pretty close to a human deep in thought. In that sense (if true), we already practice chimp expression. Maybe we don't act like chimpanzees because we are not chimpanzees (I'm not talking about evolution or anything, just the way it is right now). We have evolved into (or been given) different ways of displaying these emotions.
Maybe what they should be focusing on instead is getting people to voice their ACTUAL opinion when they have it, like chimps do, instead of hiding them away and bottling it up. This should significanty reduce stress in our lives, since we aren't holding in ten year worth of frustration, just to explode one day at the zoo, by the chimp cages.
> The kind of changes taking place at Apple are nothing short of revolutionary... Unix that anyone can use
Umm... There already IS a UNIX that anyone can use. It's called Linux. I think what you mean to say is "a UNIX that any braindead hamster can use." Now THAT'S impressive.
> You could even call the theL that would be kinda catchy.
Then I'll fork my own distro from it, and call it "Oh, Bloody 'L."
> tie into a series that ended by revealing it was all in the imagination of a single autistic child. Have fun tracing that down.
St. Elsewhere. It wasn't exactly fun tracing it down... I didn't have enough time for the fun to start.
Link. Stupid HTML... More like stupid me for not previewing.
> don't recall having *ever* asking them to sign a release
c h-msg.tcl?msg_id=002TgW">Here, although some may only pertain to Vermont.
Okay, I was mostly mistaken. I found some answers A HREF="http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fet
It seems you are fair game if you are in a public place, the photo is not used for any editorial/opinion purposes, and not used for advertising. Interesting.
> Since I was just engaging in a nonsensical daydream anyway, it can be whatever ya like
.com) women!!!
Oh, sweet. In that case, I want my IDS to be hot, 6-foot Amazon women who are always horny, but only for me. I don't care about the rest -- who gives a crap about computers when you have hot Amazon (not
> since raccoons eat [...] aquatic life... it would make sense to hang out at the stream
:) They also eat fruit & stuff too, though. Some DO often dip their food in water, although evidently not to clean it, as they'll eat dirt-covered worms with no issue. There doesn't seem to be much reason to it.
Yes, I suppose it would
> nobody respoended to you flamingly, so your post is obviously not flame bait.
Or perhaps they all recognized it as such and decided not to waste their time responding? Seriously, responses, or lack thereof, do not indicate anything about a post. Think of the words used: using your logic, there is no bait on a fishing hook unless a fish is caught. Obviously, the presence or nonpresence of a fish does not change the fact that there is bait on the hook.
Despite that, I agree that it was probably not flamebait in this case. I just think it's wrong -- it's not automatically "activism" of anything just because a bunch of people show up somewhere. It's just a planned phenomenon. I think the people show up "just because," not because they want to protest anything.