The major stumbling block I see in free desktop software is it's inability to innovate much further than win32 or MacOs, but there's a reason for that.
It's called familiarity - to innovate too far, would be to alienate users, so it has to be a gradual process.
KDE and Gnome have improved enormously, but they are still lacking the cohesive feel that win32 and MacOS desktops have. IOW, things like keyboard shortcuts, copy and pasting text between applications etc. are virtually universal between all different applications.
The question should be asked, are features like transparent window borders, animated icons, slide-out-menus really neccessary for a productive desktop ?
Shouldn't more development time be put into creating an efficient, robust and stable work-horse desktop and less time on the fancy bits ?
There's another aspect to this - the UI 'hobbyist' or 'tinkerer' - the very people who support and participate in the development of free UI's sometimes seem to loose the most important idea behind a good UI - the end user. Much time is spent on the idea that 'total customisation' should be the end goal - is this flawed thinking ?
How many people really want to customise thier UI to the 9th degree ? - surely the majority of people simply want a plain and effective UI that helps there productivity ?
More customisation = more code = more bugs = slower UI
Ok, I've downloaded this funny kazaa-lite thing, what I want to know, is how do I get rid of this trojan that's been running on my i386 for a while - it's commonly known as "The microsoft XP Trojan ?"
Oh yeah - I remember now, format my HD and install Linux !
How silly of me:)
For those of you still getting unwanted pop-ups on websites - er, have you been living in a cave or something ? - time to switch to a new browser... - one with a back button that does what it's meant to do... go back
The debate over who Thomas Crapper was - or even if there was a Thomas Crapper at all - continues. His contributions to the plumbing industry are even more suspect. But with this article we intend to replace myth with fact, for we have found a cadre of Thomas Crapper scholars who have made it their life's work to prove that Crapper is more than just a slang term brought home by the World War I doughboys.
For this article we interviewed Dr. Andy Gibbons, historian of the International Thomas Crapper Society, and Ken Grabowski, a researcher and author who is writing a book on Crapper's life.
Myth: Thomas Crapper as a person never existed.
Fact: Though we do not know his actual date of birth, we can now say the man Thomas Crapper probably was born in September 1836, since he was baptized the 28th of that month. Crapper did have a successful career in the plumbing industry in England from 1861 to 1904.
The date of Crapper's death has also been a source of confusion for many years. For example, Chase's Annual Events, the authoritative book for listing special days and dates, has listed January 17 as Thomas Crapper Day and January 17, 1910 as the date of his death.
After all his research, Gibbons was certain that Chase's was 10 days off. The actual date of Thomas Crapper's death was January 27, 1910. The error probably resulted from an honest typo in "Flushed With Pride," by Wallace Reyburn, says Gibbons, "but I waged a 10-year battle with Chase's to get them to change the date." He finally won his battle this year after supplying them with a photo of Thomas Crapper's tombstone, notes from a living descendent, and a copy of the man's official death certificate.
Myth: Thomas Crapper invented the toilet.
Fact: No one in the know about Thomas Crapper would ever make this statement. In his research, Grabowski has created a detailed history of Crapper's business life. The man holds nine patents, four for improvements to drains, three for water closets, one for manhole covers and the last for pipe joints. Every patent application for plumbing related products filed by Crapper made it through the process, and actual patents were granted.
The most famous product attributed to Thomas Crapper wasn't invented by him at all. The "Silent Valveless Water Waste Preventer" (No. 814) was a symphonic discharge system that allowed a toilet to flush effectively when the cistern was only half full. British Patent 4990 for 1898 was issued to a Mr. Albert Giblin for this product.
There are a couple of theories on how Thomas Crapper came to be associated with this device. First, is that Giblin worked for Crapper as an employee and authorized his use of the product. The second, and more likely scenario, says Grabowski, is that Crapper bought the patent rights from Giblin and marketed the device himself.
Myth: Thomas Crapper never was a plumber.
Fact. Oh yes he was. He operated two of the three Crapper plumbing shops in his lifetime, but left the business three years before the final and most famous facility on Kings Road in London. When Crapper retired from active business in 1904, he sold his shop to two partners who, with help from others, operated the company under the Crapper name until its closing in 1966.
Several of London's current plumbing companies trace their trade roots to Thomas Crapper. One, Mr. Geoffrey Pidgeon of Original Bathrooms (Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, Great Britain), continues the trade of his great uncle and grandfather, both of whom apprenticed under Thomas Crapper.
Thomas Crapper did serve as the royal sanitary engineer for many members England's royalty, but contrary to popular myth, he was never knighted, and thus isn't entitled to use the term "Sir" before his name.
Myth: The word "crap" is derived from Thomas Crapper's name.
Fact. The origin of crap is still being debated. Possible sources include the Dutch Krappe; Low German krape meaning a vile and inedible fish; Middle English crappy, and Thomas Crapper. Where crap is derived from Crapper, it is by a process know as, pardon the pun, a back formation.
The World War I doughboys passing through England brought together Crapper's name and the toilet. They saw the words T. Crapper-Chelsea printed on the tanks and coined the slang "crapper" meaning toilet. The legend of Thomas Crapper takes its flavor from the real man's life. While Crapper may not be the inventor of the product he is most often associated with, his contribution to England's plumbing history is significant. And the man's legend, well, it lives on despite all proof to contrary
The first one sucked therefore I have no yearning to see the second one.
I saw the first on video about 6 months after it came out and it was most likely the worst film I'd seen that year - in fact, I couldn't even watch the whole thing it was so bad.
Don't fool yourselves - there's nothing special about this latest re-incarnation of Star Wars, it's simply a cash-cow for lucas films.
yes, america is so civilised that a lot of people would think that:-
America classrooms are full of kids shooting each other
All the streets are awash with drugs
Cops are corrupt and kill innocents on a regular basis
High speed car chases occur all the time
Racism exists at high levels
Serial killers are everywhere
You can buy a gun without a license
To name but a few examples...
It's easy to point out the bad side of any country - there's evil everywhere...
We're talking about people who have no education, next to no food, no electricity, no clean drinking water etc. and your trying to tell me computers are essential to them ?
I can tell you right now, if I was in thier predicament and someone gave me a computer, I'd sell it as soon as possible to buy food for my family.
I mean, get real - put yourself in the shoes (or lack thereof) of an impovrished african living in a war zone or a refugee camp !
What I'm trying to say is that the computers need to be used to assist these countries in attempting to sort out the mess they are in by giving them a faster alternative to problem solving than pen and paper.
I guess, though, judging by the state of most of the african governments, pretty much any funding given to them for open source computer systems will be embezzeled right into the tin-pot dictators back pocket - a sad state of affairs...
In your first post you basically said that SA is heading in the same direction as the rest of Africa.
This is clearly not the case and is why I answered "Bullshit"
Do you live here ? - eh ?
Here I sit in an airconditioned office in South Africa, surrounded by computers and all the trappings of a modern office and you tell me we're going down the shithole ?
Your knowledge about this country is sadly lacking - you neglect to mention the population breakdown of indians, whites, coloureds and blacks which makes this country so unique.
You neglect to mention that large investment in South Africa is finally taking place.
Your negativity is sad - really sad and is typical of the "we're better than they'll ever be" European mindset.
Yes, South Africa has loads of really serious problems - Aids, Crime etc. - but name a country without problems - look at Argentina for christs sake, or the Balkans ?
We've got a lot more problems to face, but I remain positive that because of our unique country, we'll make it through them.
"Don't kid yourself.
You are talking about Europeans in Africa for it was them who managed to create by far the most prosperous nation in Africa. It really worries my when I see current establishment drifting more and more towards far left socialist. "
I like to remain positive about South Africa - there's no reason for it to fail if we all pull together. What will make it fail is attitudes like yours - if there's too many people thinking the same way, then we've got a problem.
Sure, Europeans created a prosperous country, on the backs of black people - now it's time for those black people to take over and try to keep it going. The majority of Africa has failed in this - dismally, but so far, South Africa is doing relatively ok considering the challenges it faces.
We're in a unique postion in that we have a very different population grouping to most countries in Africa - whites, indians, coloureds and blacks.
This is possibly one of the reasons why South Africa remains fairly prosperous and may just make it through the tough times ahead, it's going to be a close call is my guess, but...
Sure, parts of South Africa have been run down to a degree, but it's nowhere near as bad as you make out.
The truth of the matter is that it was a country whose infrastructure only ever really had to cope with 7 to 8 million priviledged whites - the rest of the nation lived in poor conditions.
Now that infrastructure has to cope with 40 million people to provide what they have never had before.
Catch a wake up - if you live in South Africa like me, either lend a hand to build the economy or piss of to Australia or somewhere
South Africa finds itself in the unenvieable position of being one of the most stable and prosperous nations in Africa, with a democracy that works.
It's unenvieable because we have to take the responsibility for the rest of Africa and try to somehow clean up the mess it's in, but at the same time, not be seen in the same light as a country like Zimbabwe, our next door neighbour - unfortunately, this is happening anyway !
Open source is a good place to start in Africa, but it's not much use in many countries in Africa if there's no computers, or power !
Lets face it, computers for the population of poorer nations is not really as important as a stable economy and jobs - you can't eat computers !
What is important is getting the government and government departments of those poor nations on track regarding the use of computers to try to make things more efficient - South Africa, which is fairly technologically adept - is in a good position to make this happen. IOW, a smaller undertaking to try to help the infrastructure of poorer countries cope.
Yes, we do have the latest computer hardware and software over here in South Afica and techies who know how to use them:)
So, South Africa should take a leading role in providing cheap computer solutions to poorer nations - good for us ! - it's nice to read something positive about Africa for a change:)
Re:I love win2k, I love Linux ! - Why use Lindows?
on
Lindows Reviewed
·
· Score: 1
We have a few Macs at our offices and I'm frequently envious of the stable hardware:)
However, PC/win32 has reached the mainstream from a multimedia perspective, if not quite yet from a print/professional video editing one.
I think print and video will be a mainstay of Mac for quite some time.
The average user knows nothing of Linux and nor do they care.
So long as they have a computer with an OS that does the job they need, they wouldn't really give a damn what OS the computer was running.
Unfortunately, this is where Microsoft has the upper hand - marketing - everyone knows windows, very few people have a clue what Linux is.
Our marketing guy frequently expouses to clients:-
"It's amazing what these machines can do"
I'm never quite sure whether he's referring to us as machines, or the computers - he fails to acknowledge the skills it requires to operate a PC to create this 'amazing' work.
Therein lies the problem - 95% of computer users are clueless and this will never change.
For Linux to succeed on the Desktop, it has to catch the eye of resource management and financial departments at large coporations - not an easy task if those large coporations are tied into a microsoft licensing deal:)
Re:I love win2k, I love Linux ! - Why use Lindows?
on
Lindows Reviewed
·
· Score: 1
The mentality comes from the fact that not everyone using a computer does so for programming or word processing purposes.
I use my computer for high-end graphical and sound work, none of which are heavily supported by Linux yet - nothing comparable to photoshop,fireworks,dreamweaver,flash,3dsmax,cubas e,cool edit etc. etc. - the list goes on.
Also, in my opinion, win2k is still a better desktop environment than anything Linux has to offer at present - not by much, I admit, but just enough to make it worthwhile.
I'm hoping this will change - don't get me wrong, I want Linux to be more successful as a Desktop OS - but for me, right now (and for many many others) it just doesn't 'cut it'
It's an opinion thing - sure, I generalized in my original post, but what the heck, I'm allowed to:D
(I do agree that WinXP is just, well, going to far...)
I love win2k, I love Linux ! - Why use Lindows?
on
Lindows Reviewed
·
· Score: 1
I'm posting this from win2k, I love win2k.
I have a dual boot with Mandrake as a second choice.
I occassionally boot into Mandrake to fiddle around and get frustrated at how useless Linux on the desktop is to me, a graphics guy.
I love Linux as a server - it's stunning - a work of art, I ssh into a terminal and feel like a king at the controls as I bash and vi my way through the wonderful world of the Linux server.
I occassionally boot my NT box across the room to see it crash into a wall. It spends most of it's time crashing anyway, so I don't mind much - although my foot really hurts most the time.
Linux for the Server
Windows for the Desktop
Lindows ?
Bleh, savvy Linux users don't want it, savvy Windows use wouldn't use it and the other 99% of the computing population would probably think it's some kind of dairy product.
What a waste of time.
Why not follow the MacOS route and forget about trying to emulate windows on the desktop for Linux - how about spending time developing a Linux OS that can run native MacOS applications ?
Surely it's a tad easier, considering what MacOS X is based on ?
Having resisted buying one until only 2 years ago, in a country where cell-phone mania is an intense occupation(africa), I find myself wondering exactly how much I really need one.
Don't get me wrong - I love gadgets, or rather, I often covert (as in thy neighbours ass) gadgets, but once I get them, it's usually a let-down.
What do I use my cellphone for ? - A limited 'email' tool(sms), or occasionally (if I have the bucks) to phone someone.
Do we really need them ?
Well, we didn't before, but now they've reached critical mass, your a sucker if you don't have one.
Christ sake, there's beggars here in Africa who have bloody cell phones !
So now we'll all be getting video soon - the next big thing - I can see it being big bucks in the Pron industry, but for everyone else ? - A novelty that'll chew your cell-phone battery life.
:D
I mean cmon, in this 'new age' of communication, surely we should all be 'p2p' without any corporate intervention, via radio-waves ?
Loverly thought...:D - Internet access as free as radio !
There are many different Americas, just as there's actually ANOTHER world out there, that you as a 'controversial' American seem to conviently forget about.
Haven't recent World Events informed you of anything ?
Anyway, that's off subject, you were on the right track until you threw in the useless controvesy.
Am I supposed to know who Jon Katz is ?
I don't and thus many of the ideas he proports are thus true.
Perhaps Jon imagined himself as one day being a latter-day Thomas Paine ?
Never-the-less, it's a very interesting viewpiont in these trying times; the analogy between the 'birth?' of free media and the birth of the internet.
Then again, we all know what happened to the media...
Slashdot Mirror
Interesting article, or set of opinions.
The major stumbling block I see in free desktop software is it's inability to innovate much further than win32 or MacOs, but there's a reason for that.
It's called familiarity - to innovate too far, would be to alienate users, so it has to be a gradual process.
KDE and Gnome have improved enormously, but they are still lacking the cohesive feel that win32 and MacOS desktops have. IOW, things like keyboard shortcuts, copy and pasting text between applications etc. are virtually universal between all different applications.
The question should be asked, are features like transparent window borders, animated icons, slide-out-menus really neccessary for a productive desktop ?
Shouldn't more development time be put into creating an efficient, robust and stable work-horse desktop and less time on the fancy bits ?
There's another aspect to this - the UI 'hobbyist' or 'tinkerer' - the very people who support and participate in the development of free UI's sometimes seem to loose the most important idea behind a good UI - the end user. Much time is spent on the idea that 'total customisation' should be the end goal - is this flawed thinking ?
How many people really want to customise thier UI to the 9th degree ? - surely the majority of people simply want a plain and effective UI that helps there productivity ?
More customisation = more code = more bugs = slower UI
Ok, I've downloaded this funny kazaa-lite thing, what I want to know, is how do I get rid of this trojan that's been running on my i386 for a while - it's commonly known as "The microsoft XP Trojan ?"
:)
... - one with a back button that does what it's meant to do ... go back
Oh yeah - I remember now, format my HD and install Linux !
How silly of me
For those of you still getting unwanted pop-ups on websites - er, have you been living in a cave or something ? - time to switch to a new browser
For those of you complaining about not wanting flash on the web - for christ sake, you are so damn short sighted it's frightening.
Hey - maybe you'd prefer a black and white TV set ?
Or perhaps ditch all your CD's and go back to vinyl ?
If you had your way, nobody would ever leave a bloody command prompt.
I don't lay into coders about how they should conduct thier business and what they should and shouldn't do.
SO LAY OFF THE MULTIMEDIA !!
There are plenty of people who enjoy a media-rich web, so you don't ? - well stick to your text browser and stop whining !
Flash and multimedia are here to stay and will only get better over time.
I can only thank god that you are by far the minority.
LUDDITES !
Yum - easter
april 1
roasting the bunnies
with chocolate bums
Fire up the coal stove,
throw the bunnies in,
pickle the furry critters
in vinegar and Gin.
Eat um for dinner,
eat um for tea,
but whatever you do,
leave a bunny for me.
Thomas Crapper: Myth & Reality
The debate over who Thomas Crapper was - or even if there was a Thomas Crapper at all - continues. His contributions to the plumbing industry are even more suspect. But with this article we intend to replace myth with fact, for we have found a cadre of Thomas Crapper scholars who have made it their life's work to prove that Crapper is more than just a slang term brought home by the World War I doughboys.
For this article we interviewed Dr. Andy Gibbons, historian of the International Thomas Crapper Society, and Ken Grabowski, a researcher and author who is writing a book on Crapper's life.
Myth: Thomas Crapper as a person never existed.
Fact: Though we do not know his actual date of birth, we can now say the man Thomas Crapper probably was born in September 1836, since he was baptized the 28th of that month. Crapper did have a successful career in the plumbing industry in England from 1861 to 1904.
The date of Crapper's death has also been a source of confusion for many years. For example, Chase's Annual Events, the authoritative book for listing special days and dates, has listed January 17 as Thomas Crapper Day and January 17, 1910 as the date of his death.
After all his research, Gibbons was certain that Chase's was 10 days off. The actual date of Thomas Crapper's death was January 27, 1910. The error probably resulted from an honest typo in "Flushed With Pride," by Wallace Reyburn, says Gibbons, "but I waged a 10-year battle with Chase's to get them to change the date." He finally won his battle this year after supplying them with a photo of Thomas Crapper's tombstone, notes from a living descendent, and a copy of the man's official death certificate.
Myth: Thomas Crapper invented the toilet.
Fact: No one in the know about Thomas Crapper would ever make this statement. In his research, Grabowski has created a detailed history of Crapper's business life. The man holds nine patents, four for improvements to drains, three for water closets, one for manhole covers and the last for pipe joints. Every patent application for plumbing related products filed by Crapper made it through the process, and actual patents were granted.
The most famous product attributed to Thomas Crapper wasn't invented by him at all. The "Silent Valveless Water Waste Preventer" (No. 814) was a symphonic discharge system that allowed a toilet to flush effectively when the cistern was only half full. British Patent 4990 for 1898 was issued to a Mr. Albert Giblin for this product.
There are a couple of theories on how Thomas Crapper came to be associated with this device. First, is that Giblin worked for Crapper as an employee and authorized his use of the product. The second, and more likely scenario, says Grabowski, is that Crapper bought the patent rights from Giblin and marketed the device himself.
Myth: Thomas Crapper never was a plumber.
Fact. Oh yes he was. He operated two of the three Crapper plumbing shops in his lifetime, but left the business three years before the final and most famous facility on Kings Road in London. When Crapper retired from active business in 1904, he sold his shop to two partners who, with help from others, operated the company under the Crapper name until its closing in 1966.
Several of London's current plumbing companies trace their trade roots to Thomas Crapper. One, Mr. Geoffrey Pidgeon of Original Bathrooms (Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, Great Britain), continues the trade of his great uncle and grandfather, both of whom apprenticed under Thomas Crapper.
Thomas Crapper did serve as the royal sanitary engineer for many members England's royalty, but contrary to popular myth, he was never knighted, and thus isn't entitled to use the term "Sir" before his name.
Myth: The word "crap" is derived from Thomas Crapper's name.
Fact. The origin of crap is still being debated. Possible sources include the Dutch Krappe; Low German krape meaning a vile and inedible fish; Middle English crappy, and Thomas Crapper. Where crap is derived from Crapper, it is by a process know as, pardon the pun, a back formation.
The World War I doughboys passing through England brought together Crapper's name and the toilet. They saw the words T. Crapper-Chelsea printed on the tanks and coined the slang "crapper" meaning toilet.
The legend of Thomas Crapper takes its flavor from the real man's life. While Crapper may not be the inventor of the product he is most often associated with, his contribution to England's plumbing history is significant. And the man's legend, well, it lives on despite all proof to contrary
The first one sucked therefore I have no yearning to see the second one.
I saw the first on video about 6 months after it came out and it was most likely the worst film I'd seen that year - in fact, I couldn't even watch the whole thing it was so bad.
Don't fool yourselves - there's nothing special about this latest re-incarnation of Star Wars, it's simply a cash-cow for lucas films.
CGI - bleh - big deal.
yes, america is so civilised that a lot of people would think that :-
America classrooms are full of kids shooting each other
All the streets are awash with drugs
Cops are corrupt and kill innocents on a regular basis
High speed car chases occur all the time
Racism exists at high levels
Serial killers are everywhere
You can buy a gun without a license
To name but a few examples...
It's easy to point out the bad side of any country - there's evil everywhere...
We're talking about people who have no education, next to no food, no electricity, no clean drinking water etc. and your trying to tell me computers are essential to them ?
I can tell you right now, if I was in thier predicament and someone gave me a computer, I'd sell it as soon as possible to buy food for my family.
I mean, get real - put yourself in the shoes (or lack thereof) of an impovrished african living in a war zone or a refugee camp !
What I'm trying to say is that the computers need to be used to assist these countries in attempting to sort out the mess they are in by giving them a faster alternative to problem solving than pen and paper.
I guess, though, judging by the state of most of the african governments, pretty much any funding given to them for open source computer systems will be embezzeled right into the tin-pot dictators back pocket - a sad state of affairs...
Excuse me ?
In your first post you basically said that SA is heading in the same direction as the rest of Africa.
This is clearly not the case and is why I answered "Bullshit"
Do you live here ? - eh ?
Here I sit in an airconditioned office in South Africa, surrounded by computers and all the trappings of a modern office and you tell me we're going down the shithole ?
Your knowledge about this country is sadly lacking - you neglect to mention the population breakdown of indians, whites, coloureds and blacks which makes this country so unique.
You neglect to mention that large investment in South Africa is finally taking place.
Your negativity is sad - really sad and is typical of the "we're better than they'll ever be" European mindset.
Yes, South Africa has loads of really serious problems - Aids, Crime etc. - but name a country without problems - look at Argentina for christs sake, or the Balkans ?
We've got a lot more problems to face, but I remain positive that because of our unique country, we'll make it through them.
"Don't kid yourself.
You are talking about Europeans in Africa for it was them who managed to create by far the most prosperous nation in Africa. It really worries my when I see current establishment drifting more and more towards far left socialist. "
I like to remain positive about South Africa - there's no reason for it to fail if we all pull together. What will make it fail is attitudes like yours - if there's too many people thinking the same way, then we've got a problem.
Sure, Europeans created a prosperous country, on the backs of black people - now it's time for those black people to take over and try to keep it going. The majority of Africa has failed in this - dismally, but so far, South Africa is doing relatively ok considering the challenges it faces.
We're in a unique postion in that we have a very different population grouping to most countries in Africa - whites, indians, coloureds and blacks.
This is possibly one of the reasons why South Africa remains fairly prosperous and may just make it through the tough times ahead, it's going to be a close call is my guess, but...
Gotta be positive !
You speak total crap.
Sure, parts of South Africa have been run down to a degree, but it's nowhere near as bad as you make out.
The truth of the matter is that it was a country whose infrastructure only ever really had to cope with 7 to 8 million priviledged whites - the rest of the nation lived in poor conditions.
Now that infrastructure has to cope with 40 million people to provide what they have never had before.
Catch a wake up - if you live in South Africa like me, either lend a hand to build the economy or piss of to Australia or somewhere
jerk
South Africa finds itself in the unenvieable position of being one of the most stable and prosperous nations in Africa, with a democracy that works.
:)
:)
It's unenvieable because we have to take the responsibility for the rest of Africa and try to somehow clean up the mess it's in, but at the same time, not be seen in the same light as a country like Zimbabwe, our next door neighbour - unfortunately, this is happening anyway !
Open source is a good place to start in Africa, but it's not much use in many countries in Africa if there's no computers, or power !
Lets face it, computers for the population of poorer nations is not really as important as a stable economy and jobs - you can't eat computers !
What is important is getting the government and government departments of those poor nations on track regarding the use of computers to try to make things more efficient - South Africa, which is fairly technologically adept - is in a good position to make this happen. IOW, a smaller undertaking to try to help the infrastructure of poorer countries cope.
Yes, we do have the latest computer hardware and software over here in South Afica and techies who know how to use them
So, South Africa should take a leading role in providing cheap computer solutions to poorer nations - good for us ! - it's nice to read something positive about Africa for a change
We have a few Macs at our offices and I'm frequently envious of the stable hardware :)
:-
:)
However, PC/win32 has reached the mainstream from a multimedia perspective, if not quite yet from a print/professional video editing one.
I think print and video will be a mainstay of Mac for quite some time.
The average user knows nothing of Linux and nor do they care.
So long as they have a computer with an OS that does the job they need, they wouldn't really give a damn what OS the computer was running.
Unfortunately, this is where Microsoft has the upper hand - marketing - everyone knows windows, very few people have a clue what Linux is.
Our marketing guy frequently expouses to clients
"It's amazing what these machines can do"
I'm never quite sure whether he's referring to us as machines, or the computers - he fails to acknowledge the skills it requires to operate a PC to create this 'amazing' work.
Therein lies the problem - 95% of computer users are clueless and this will never change.
For Linux to succeed on the Desktop, it has to catch the eye of resource management and financial departments at large coporations - not an easy task if those large coporations are tied into a microsoft licensing deal
The mentality comes from the fact that not everyone using a computer does so for programming or word processing purposes.
s e,cool edit etc. etc. - the list goes on.
:D
I use my computer for high-end graphical and sound work, none of which are heavily supported by Linux yet - nothing comparable to photoshop,fireworks,dreamweaver,flash,3dsmax,cuba
Also, in my opinion, win2k is still a better desktop environment than anything Linux has to offer at present - not by much, I admit, but just enough to make it worthwhile.
I'm hoping this will change - don't get me wrong, I want Linux to be more successful as a Desktop OS - but for me, right now (and for many many others) it just doesn't 'cut it'
It's an opinion thing - sure, I generalized in my original post, but what the heck, I'm allowed to
(I do agree that WinXP is just, well, going to far...)
I'm posting this from win2k, I love win2k.
I have a dual boot with Mandrake as a second choice.
I occassionally boot into Mandrake to fiddle around and get frustrated at how useless Linux on the desktop is to me, a graphics guy.
I love Linux as a server - it's stunning - a work of art, I ssh into a terminal and feel like a king at the controls as I bash and vi my way through the wonderful world of the Linux server.
I occassionally boot my NT box across the room to see it crash into a wall. It spends most of it's time crashing anyway, so I don't mind much - although my foot really hurts most the time.
Linux for the Server
Windows for the Desktop
Lindows ?
Bleh, savvy Linux users don't want it, savvy Windows use wouldn't use it and the other 99% of the computing population would probably think it's some kind of dairy product.
What a waste of time.
Why not follow the MacOS route and forget about trying to emulate windows on the desktop for Linux - how about spending time developing a Linux OS that can run native MacOS applications ?
Surely it's a tad easier, considering what MacOS X is based on ?
In fact, it's a total no-brainer.
I wouldn't even stand in line for 3 minutes to see this.
If episode I was anything to go by, episode II will be a pile of steaming dingos turd !
Someone do us all and mankind a favour and get those guys eliminated from the face of the planet !
May the fart be with you
4 Bags of assorted curry spices (you know the type - right ?)
:D
Radiohead - Amnesiac - I'm not sure about this one - Kid A was ok computer, but I got the bends ?
A red shirt with long sleeves - a wine red shirt, dark and forboding like blood - almost purple
4 pottery lessons
A bag of assorted nuts !
I like that - assorted nuts !
The pottery lessons sound awesome !
Merry wobblingbumtummy sickasadogism xmas!
And a happy new vomitingthroughthenosewhilepuking year !
Up yours Santa,
you dirty old pratt,
I spent a fortune on presies,
and god sod all back !
I max-d out my credit card,
I traded in my soul,
but Santa's littl' 'elpers
went and put me in the hole !
yeah, well, the radio production is total and utter crap - a couple of 'thespian' sounding pratts. No balls at all.
The photo seems to depict three 'thespian' types.
They have names I have never heard of b4 ? - Am I supposed to know who they are ?
Cash in baby baby-ho !
Oh, sha lala - do the funky dwarf dance grandad !
We three hobbits of e-commerce are !
Cough, erm, getting back to things - I think it's Xmas !
Happy Xmas everyone, and a Most Prosperous New Year !
:-}
Do we even need cellphones ?
:)
:D - Internet access as free as radio !
That's the question
Having resisted buying one until only 2 years ago, in a country where cell-phone mania is an intense occupation(africa), I find myself wondering exactly how much I really need one.
Don't get me wrong - I love gadgets, or rather, I often covert (as in thy neighbours ass) gadgets, but once I get them, it's usually a let-down.
What do I use my cellphone for ? - A limited 'email' tool(sms), or occasionally (if I have the bucks) to phone someone.
Do we really need them ?
Well, we didn't before, but now they've reached critical mass, your a sucker if you don't have one.
Christ sake, there's beggars here in Africa who have bloody cell phones !
So now we'll all be getting video soon - the next big thing - I can see it being big bucks in the Pron industry, but for everyone else ? - A novelty that'll chew your cell-phone battery life.
:D
I mean cmon, in this 'new age' of communication, surely we should all be 'p2p' without any corporate intervention, via radio-waves ?
Loverly thought...
No big deal, but I was charged three times in a Paypal screw up when I joined.
$3 is surely a laughable amount, but if a screw-up like that can happen, then surely bigger ones can and do happen.
My advise is only use it if there are absolutely no other channels that you can send money through.
And what exactly might they be ?
There are many different Americas, just as there's actually ANOTHER world out there, that you as a 'controversial' American seem to conviently forget about.
Haven't recent World Events informed you of anything ?
Anyway, that's off subject, you were on the right track until you threw in the useless controvesy.
I have a client who still sends me faxes with corrections... Should I be worried ? Yes, possibly ...
"Timber ! ............"
Am I supposed to know who Jon Katz is ? I don't and thus many of the ideas he proports are thus true. Perhaps Jon imagined himself as one day being a latter-day Thomas Paine ? Never-the-less, it's a very interesting viewpiont in these trying times; the analogy between the 'birth?' of free media and the birth of the internet. Then again, we all know what happened to the media...