In the mean time, companies have spent a lot of money supporting and implementing the technologies, buying training, books, etc. Then you re-start the cycle all over again. This is just the next in a long-line of technologies that Microsoft has swept under the rug and moved on. Then a whole new gravy train starts.
Well put. As an analytical scientist (microscopy and image analysis), I use VBA to automate data analysis and prepare reports and graphs because Excel is ubiquitous among my client community. I have a big investment in VBA. My employer has been reluctant to roll out new Microsoft versions because they offer little real benefit to our business.. Guess we'll continue to "just say no" to new versions. When that fails, there is Python.
As a user of Mandriva, I think six month releases are too frequent. I have found clean installs to have fewer problems than upgrades. Those take up a lot of time to be done every six months... I like the recent emphasis on backports. Wouldn't it be better to have more bullet-proof yearly releases with backports of the best of the upgraded features to the LTS version during development? Seems to be the best of both worlds...
I have had troubles with Ubuntu upgrades between one version to another. Just do a clean install. I have now switched to Mandriva. To be safe, I do clean installs when changing to a new release. I set up my system such that only the system partition gets reformatted. I dedicated a lot of time learning to use and customize both Ubuntu and Mandriva. Most Windows won't invest the effort - but they don't invest it in their Windows systems either. Like many here on/., I get frequent request to fix friends and co-workers computer problems.
Users need to make a critical decision - are they willing to learn to maintain their own systems and tweak them to best suit their needs or do they want to accept a vanilla system maintained by someone else.
Many moons ago I used Sun thin clients. We couldn't replace them fast enough. Any time the network went down, we were dead in the water. At a minimum, I insist on local copies of the applications that I use most frequently. Servers are great for data backup and to serve program updates.
I am quite satisfied with Mandriva 2008 x86_64 on my Dell XPS 410 box that came pre-loaded with Ubuntu. I sprung for the commercial "Powerpack" version because the proprietary Nvidia drivers, Virtual Box, LinDVD, and other 'non-free' applications just work.
I work for a well-known company in the analytical lab. My specialties are microscopy and image processing. I haven't found compelling reasons to switch from Windows XP to Vista. Indeed, my newest systems at work and home are running Linux. That said, I have too many Windows applications that control instrumentation to make a complete switch. As competition has forced us to cut our overhead to a minimum, the business case required to upgrade an OS requires a lot more than eye candy and DRM.
Guess you've never had an account hacked like this and had to deal with the consequences. Having been through it, I'd like the 60 years to be hard labor and all his assets distributed to his victims.
Maggots like this guy are a pestilence, a scourge on a free society where caring neighbors help one another.
The OVERWHELMING CONSENSUS among PhD-level climatologists (and I know a few personally) is the global warming is REAL, and is HUMAN CAUSED.
I agree with much of what you wrote concerning the difficulty of the problem. You seem to omit the observation that several prominent meteorologists with decades of research into the thermodynamics and fluid mechanics of tropical storm formation reject the conclusions of the climatologists that you cited. Sadly, too much in this debate is controlled by the push to get funding for research into fashionable theories and too little honest scrutiny of the conclusions.
It's not temporary as long as corporations want their employees to work 24x7, which means working from home, working while on "vacation", working while in the hospital, etc.
Good point. I do a lot of data analysis at home. I'd much rather do that than live at the lab...
I'm running Mandriva 2008 Linux on a Dell box that came preloaded with Ubuntu. I run Windows XP under VirtualBox for a few highly specialized programs where there are not Linux equivalents. This works well for me. I have invested time learning how my system works 'under the hood.' I think this has been time well spent. The biggest challenge I faced was figuring out how to apply Dell BIOS updates. Solved it - but the details are beyond the scope of this post.
The most important factor for success was a desire to learn, accompanied by a willingness to try things and to ask proper questions. This page by Eric Raymond was helpful...
Give me a break. There are several Linux distributions that one can test as live CDs to see if they work with your particular installation. I am writing this from one now (Mandriva 2008.) Will a home user possibly have problems on ANY system? Absolutely. And that user has two choices - become an educated consumer and take charge of the tools you use or pay someone else to do so. Computers are like business suits (or swimwear) - one size or style does not fit all.
I never understand why these folks insist on doing it themselves. There are many companies who will do payroll for them and habitually "get it right the first time." Here in Rochester, one of our fastest growing companies (Paychex) comes to mind.
And what happens if little Billy... spills his coke across the laptop keyboard? Oh I'm sure Gateway would LOVE to help you there (along with about a $1,200 bill for parts & labor).
Something like this happened to my son (not so little Tim...) Just before finals in his second year of law school, a few drops of Tim Horton's coffee hit the keyboard on his Dell laptop. The coffee hosed both the keyboard and the motherboard. When the Dell tech replaced the keyboard, the system came up and thought it was a Japanese system. Because the laptop was under the uber-extended warranty (and Dell didn't have the motherboard), they sent him a refurb laptop of better capability than he bought. Dell's response here and with my lab systems has made me a very satisfied repeat customer.
I have purchased extended warranties on the Dell systems that I use at work and those I bought at home, including the ones I bought for my kids in college. I have been VERY satisfied. They have been very helpful when things have gone wrong. The techs who have come to my lab and my kids' dorms have been exceptional. A real pleasure to deal with. My laptop just had problems after two years - Dell just replaced the MOBO, hard drive, and RAM (it had multiple problems.) The new hard drive did not have the recovery/diagnostic partition. Happily, I had the restore disks. Even the new XPS-410 that I ordered pre-installed with Ubuntu had both a restore partition and an install CD. Didn't need them because I reformatted the disk and installed Mandriva Linux....
Anyway, I think the extended warranties and the media are important and expect to pay for them. I have been happy with what I have received.
I'm not so happy to see companies like Dell supply systems without connectors for PS/2 mice and keyboards. I've had 'issues' with USB mice and keyboards on more than one system running Linux. What you call 'legacy,' I call an 'old standard that just works.' Kinda like me:)
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if you want docs in an ide, try eric. Not as polished as VS, but a good start for free. I do like the VC++ debugger better than gdb etc.
Sounds like a typical Colbert report spoof.
Well put! ROTFLOL.
if they want to attract and retain six-sigma hacker types, they better look at companies who do like Fog Creek.
Well put. As an analytical scientist (microscopy and image analysis), I use VBA to automate data analysis and prepare reports and graphs because Excel is ubiquitous among my client community. I have a big investment in VBA. My employer has been reluctant to roll out new Microsoft versions because they offer little real benefit to our business.. Guess we'll continue to "just say no" to new versions. When that fails, there is Python.
As a user of Mandriva, I think six month releases are too frequent. I have found clean installs to have fewer problems than upgrades. Those take up a lot of time to be done every six months... I like the recent emphasis on backports. Wouldn't it be better to have more bullet-proof yearly releases with backports of the best of the upgraded features to the LTS version during development? Seems to be the best of both worlds...
I have had troubles with Ubuntu upgrades between one version to another. Just do a clean install. I have now switched to Mandriva. To be safe, I do clean installs when changing to a new release. I set up my system such that only the system partition gets reformatted. I dedicated a lot of time learning to use and customize both Ubuntu and Mandriva. Most Windows won't invest the effort - but they don't invest it in their Windows systems either. Like many here on /., I get frequent request to fix friends and co-workers computer problems.
Users need to make a critical decision - are they willing to learn to maintain their own systems and tweak them to best suit their needs or do they want to accept a vanilla system maintained by someone else.
Discover has been good to us. They have caught fraud and notified us. No problem getting bad charges removed.
In addition to octave and maxima, there is sage. I have been impressed.
Many moons ago I used Sun thin clients. We couldn't replace them fast enough. Any time the network went down, we were dead in the water. At a minimum, I insist on local copies of the applications that I use most frequently. Servers are great for data backup and to serve program updates.
I am quite satisfied with Mandriva 2008 x86_64 on my Dell XPS 410 box that came pre-loaded with Ubuntu. I sprung for the commercial "Powerpack" version because the proprietary Nvidia drivers, Virtual Box, LinDVD, and other 'non-free' applications just work.
We're on the same page...
I work for a well-known company in the analytical lab. My specialties are microscopy and image processing. I haven't found compelling reasons to switch from Windows XP to Vista. Indeed, my newest systems at work and home are running Linux. That said, I have too many Windows applications that control instrumentation to make a complete switch. As competition has forced us to cut our overhead to a minimum, the business case required to upgrade an OS requires a lot more than eye candy and DRM.
Guess you've never had an account hacked like this and had to deal with the consequences. Having been through it, I'd like the 60 years to be hard labor and all his assets distributed to his victims. Maggots like this guy are a pestilence, a scourge on a free society where caring neighbors help one another.
I agree with much of what you wrote concerning the difficulty of the problem. You seem to omit the observation that several prominent meteorologists with decades of research into the thermodynamics and fluid mechanics of tropical storm formation reject the conclusions of the climatologists that you cited. Sadly, too much in this debate is controlled by the push to get funding for research into fashionable theories and too little honest scrutiny of the conclusions.
Good point. I do a lot of data analysis at home. I'd much rather do that than live at the lab...
Can anyone say "Man of the People"? is Robin Williams serving as Colbert's campaign chairman???
I'm running Mandriva 2008 Linux on a Dell box that came preloaded with Ubuntu. I run Windows XP under VirtualBox for a few highly specialized programs where there are not Linux equivalents. This works well for me. I have invested time learning how my system works 'under the hood.' I think this has been time well spent. The biggest challenge I faced was figuring out how to apply Dell BIOS updates. Solved it - but the details are beyond the scope of this post. The most important factor for success was a desire to learn, accompanied by a willingness to try things and to ask proper questions. This page by Eric Raymond was helpful...
Give me a break. There are several Linux distributions that one can test as live CDs to see if they work with your particular installation. I am writing this from one now (Mandriva 2008.) Will a home user possibly have problems on ANY system? Absolutely. And that user has two choices - become an educated consumer and take charge of the tools you use or pay someone else to do so. Computers are like business suits (or swimwear) - one size or style does not fit all.
I never understand why these folks insist on doing it themselves. There are many companies who will do payroll for them and habitually "get it right the first time." Here in Rochester, one of our fastest growing companies (Paychex) comes to mind.
After a 29 hr straight call, billing the client for a taxi ride home should be a legitimate expense
My experience as well. Dell replaced MOBOs on 2 of 5 Dells in my lab. Dell service, supplied by Unisys in our area, was superb.
So use chat. Most non native speakers read and write English better than they speak it. Worked for me.
Something like this happened to my son (not so little Tim...) Just before finals in his second year of law school, a few drops of Tim Horton's coffee hit the keyboard on his Dell laptop. The coffee hosed both the keyboard and the motherboard. When the Dell tech replaced the keyboard, the system came up and thought it was a Japanese system. Because the laptop was under the uber-extended warranty (and Dell didn't have the motherboard), they sent him a refurb laptop of better capability than he bought. Dell's response here and with my lab systems has made me a very satisfied repeat customer.
I have purchased extended warranties on the Dell systems that I use at work and those I bought at home, including the ones I bought for my kids in college. I have been VERY satisfied. They have been very helpful when things have gone wrong. The techs who have come to my lab and my kids' dorms have been exceptional. A real pleasure to deal with. My laptop just had problems after two years - Dell just replaced the MOBO, hard drive, and RAM (it had multiple problems.) The new hard drive did not have the recovery/diagnostic partition. Happily, I had the restore disks. Even the new XPS-410 that I ordered pre-installed with Ubuntu had both a restore partition and an install CD. Didn't need them because I reformatted the disk and installed Mandriva Linux.... Anyway, I think the extended warranties and the media are important and expect to pay for them. I have been happy with what I have received.
I'm not so happy to see companies like Dell supply systems without connectors for PS/2 mice and keyboards. I've had 'issues' with USB mice and keyboards on more than one system running Linux. What you call 'legacy,' I call an 'old standard that just works.' Kinda like me :)