When General Hammond says "I'm the boss, make that thing spin!", you take that thing and make it spin! Don't tell him that it doesn't actually spin, you'll be outsmarting him and PHBs don't like that.
So, so true. I was a consultant for several years, then shit happened that was really all I needed for an out. I still love computers but there's no fucking way I'm going back into the industry,
there is, but I think Seamonkey is doing a better job of things generally, Firefox went tits up on me several months ago on Windows and on Linux so I've stopped using that. I still use Seamonkey on Linux occasionally, though I prefer Konqueror because of its tight integration and wicked fast ftp-ability.
You are incorrect when you imply that B is not usable. B can be used to mount to a network drive. You would know this "if you knew what you were talking about".
I made no such implication. YOU did. Anyway, mapping to B: is a hack, it is not normal operation, and can royally fuck things up particularly if you have a floppy drive and even occasionally copy diskettes (as I do when making custom FRED diskettes).
microsoft-bashing lies and exaggeration. If it took two hours to install SP3 then you have problems. Like you're using the wrong processor (I believe the minimum requirement for xp is a Pentium class processor and an ACPI BIOS), or you're trying to install on a Winchester.
just on your point #5: you can mount NTFS volumes in folders instead of drive letters, much like you can with logical volumes in Linux. Why would you need *24* drive letters anyway? (if you knew what you were talking about, you'd know that A and B are legacy references to floppy drives).
sort of agree, but I'd go one step further and say "Because Apple are under no obligation to cater for cook-your-own-Mac, much like Ford are under no obligation to provide engine blocks for Mercedes."
still got my Stylistic 3500. Pretty pissed that the hard drive failed yesterday. Need to find that ONE 15GB spare I know I squirreled away somewhere all those years ago!:x
um... me? I only have two cores on this laptop and 6GB of RAM (I think it maxes at 8). I use it mainly for encoding video, at which it runs about 1.2-2x realtime (depending on wind direction I think). Not too shabby.:)
get the TN-6600 toner cartridge for that thing, I've had one in my HL-1030 for about the last three years and it's still going after well over 18,000 pages.
Off the top of my head: 1. Windows has a terrible interface, both Windows 7 and 8 have ugly, inflexible displays.
I wouldn't say that, you can do a lot with the Windows desktop - with the advent of Aero, more than ever.
2. Windows still doesn't have proper package management. Which leads to...
"Add/Remove Programs"? "Programs And Features"? What's that then, Scotch mist?
3. With Windows every app has its own update process that takes up resources and nag the user.
So is it Microsoft's job as a commercial vendor to make sure every app that runs on the platform-du-jour updates at the same time? Not even GNU/Linux does that. You can set applications in both systems to update on certain days/times, or you can write a script. GNU/Linux happens to have a generally centralised repository for each distribution which is specific to that distribution, which for most people (particularly admins) makes life easier.
4. Malware and adware is thick on Windows.
It's thick on GNU/Linux as well, you just don't hear about it so much because the userbase is so much lower.
5. Windows doesn't come bundled with common tools I use, such as a compiler, OpenSSH, productivity suite, etc.
I'm hearing "Windows doesn't come with $esoteric_nobody_ever_heard_of_but_I_need_it_to_analyse_shit_software". Roll your own. Torvalds didn't write the GNU/Linux kernel then bundle anything with it, he wrote the kernel and said "ROLL YOUR OWN!". Which is exactly what the community did. Which is exactly what I did with a basic productivity bundle for Windows machines back when I was building them. Firefox, Office, Thunderbird, The GIMP and AV. Job done.
6. Windows seems to need to reboot almost constantly and takes a long time to apply updates.
Has not been true since xp Service Pack 1.
7. Windows is expensive compared to most other operating systems.
By what measure? Bundled PCs are heavily subsidised by Microsoft. OEM Windows licences run about £5 each. Retail boxed Windows licences run anything from about £70 (I think). OSX runs £180 last time I looked. A basic commercial support package for GNU/Linux (eg Redhat) can run to thousands per year.
8. Release/upgrade cycles are not at fixed/predictable times.
Yes, they are. Release dates are announced well ahead of time. The timetable from closed Alpha to RTM is about three years on operating systems.
9. Windows lacks containers/jails.
Totally wrong. You have UAC Virtualisation which sandboxes the application process so if it crashes it doesn't take the kernel with it. This is enabled by default on Windows 7 systems.
10. Windows lacks a good, advanced file system like ZFS. 11. Windows has poor driver support, requiring hardware be bundled with driver discs that take a long time to load and include apps that nag the user.
I don't quite understand this. You claim one thing then blow it out of the water with your very next statement. Poor hardware support would be a lack of driver discs and people complaining that they can't get their serialised device to "talk" to their computer. Winmodems and Winprinters have been around for years. They work because they are designed to run on very generic serial drivers. That to me is good hardware support on hardware that is designed to run on the platform. The problem with GNU/Linux is that because it is written to a very different set of rules, if you like, it requires a bit of coaxing to communicate with these essentially dumb devices. Linux does well with devices that have their own controllers and their own firmware that deals with raw data so it can spit out raw data over the line and leave the device to deal with it.
...I hear they are frustrated there is no show desktop function (even though there is) and how you can't cut and paste code in the addressbar in Windows Explorer.
There is, to the right of the clock. I spotted it right away when I got my laptop. Dunno about the pasting code bit, never found myself with the urge to try it.
The one thing that I love about 7 is the merging of the quicklaunch/taskbar. I have every program I use right there in three rows. I can't remember the last time I hit the "start" button. When I drop the lid on my laptop it hibernates, when I tap the power button it does a soft shutdown. Any new programs that drop something onto the desktop (as most of them seem to want to), those icons get pinned to the taskbar ready for use. I've dropped Aero, it's a waste of resources and I HATE whitespace on my screen, particularly when I need real estate to work. The Windows Classic interface does me just fine.
I did read somewhere that the XBox One will have a mandated phone-home function for the software run on it......which kinda sucks for those without a landline....or cable/DSL....or MiFi.
This goes much further into explaining some of the variance, both seasonal and longish-term (only goes back to the Fifties), of water table levels in the entire Chad basin - a system that covers a tenth of the entire African continent, not just a relatively small body of surface water. The human impact, according to that paper, accounts for about one twentieth of the total variance in the system but as much as 40% of the surface area of the lake itself (and up to half the volume), with most of that variance originating upstream in tributary river systems. AGW is barely even considered (or even mentioned, going by a quick scan down the paper), since the effects of AGW, if it even exists, have not been or cannot currently be measured because until it is properly defined, nobody even knows what to look for. It does deal with precipitation, which has had a bit of a lull over recent decades (1985-1994 being particularly dry years), but again this deals with the entire system not just the lake.
as many cores as I can cram in - as much RAM as I can cram in - as much SSD storage as I can cram in -
- to a walkman sized box
a couple USB ports, one commodity, easily replaced DC power port
(stay with me here)
an LED-based projector unit built-in, maybe an HDMI port to help things along should I feel the crushing need to plug in a TV or monitor (or I can't find sixty diagonal inches of blank wall, and really where does that happen??)
EITHER a USB or wireless mini keyboard OR a sideways-projecting laser "surface" keyboard built in.
The whole thing including wall wart could weigh the same if not less than a netbook - hell, it could be a project...
I use Dragon 10 (same era?), and am continually amazed by how accurately it transcribes my voice (Midlands English, of all dialects!). I use it on a regular basis to dictate documents and to voice-write* recorded audio.
*also known as "parroting", this is simply using DNS or other speech recognition software trained to your voice, a decent mike for recording (the best ones are the headset ones that settle the microphone close to the mouth) and headphones so you can hear the original audio. You repeat the audio as it comes (you can set the speed to whatever you like, slow it down for fast speakers, speed it up for slow speakers, jog back, whatever) and the software transcribes what you say without you having to retrain it using a limited sample of someone else's voice.
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When General Hammond says "I'm the boss, make that thing spin!", you take that thing and make it spin! Don't tell him that it doesn't actually spin, you'll be outsmarting him and PHBs don't like that.
it's like going into business with your best friend: bad fucking news.
So, so true. I was a consultant for several years, then shit happened that was really all I needed for an out. I still love computers but there's no fucking way I'm going back into the industry,
there is, but I think Seamonkey is doing a better job of things generally, Firefox went tits up on me several months ago on Windows and on Linux so I've stopped using that. I still use Seamonkey on Linux occasionally, though I prefer Konqueror because of its tight integration and wicked fast ftp-ability.
You are incorrect when you imply that B is not usable. B can be used to mount to a network drive. You would know this "if you knew what you were talking about".
I made no such implication. YOU did.
Anyway, mapping to B: is a hack, it is not normal operation, and can royally fuck things up particularly if you have a floppy drive and even occasionally copy diskettes (as I do when making custom FRED diskettes).
microsoft-bashing lies and exaggeration. If it took two hours to install SP3 then you have problems. Like you're using the wrong processor (I believe the minimum requirement for xp is a Pentium class processor and an ACPI BIOS), or you're trying to install on a Winchester.
nice idea, I've got a dual CFIDE but the problem is it plugs straight onto the board - it's the wrong gender!
Actually, Silverlight runs on Android and iOS as well.
just on your point #5: you can mount NTFS volumes in folders instead of drive letters, much like you can with logical volumes in Linux. Why would you need *24* drive letters anyway? (if you knew what you were talking about, you'd know that A and B are legacy references to floppy drives).
sort of agree, but I'd go one step further and say "Because Apple are under no obligation to cater for cook-your-own-Mac, much like Ford are under no obligation to provide engine blocks for Mercedes."
still got my Stylistic 3500. Pretty pissed that the hard drive failed yesterday. Need to find that ONE 15GB spare I know I squirreled away somewhere all those years ago! :x
um... me? I only have two cores on this laptop and 6GB of RAM (I think it maxes at 8). I use it mainly for encoding video, at which it runs about 1.2-2x realtime (depending on wind direction I think). Not too shabby. :)
get the TN-6600 toner cartridge for that thing, I've had one in my HL-1030 for about the last three years and it's still going after well over 18,000 pages.
Off the top of my head:
1. Windows has a terrible interface, both Windows 7 and 8 have ugly, inflexible displays.
I wouldn't say that, you can do a lot with the Windows desktop - with the advent of Aero, more than ever.
2. Windows still doesn't have proper package management. Which leads to...
"Add/Remove Programs"? "Programs And Features"? What's that then, Scotch mist?
3. With Windows every app has its own update process that takes up resources and nag the user.
So is it Microsoft's job as a commercial vendor to make sure every app that runs on the platform-du-jour updates at the same time? Not even GNU/Linux does that. You can set applications in both systems to update on certain days/times, or you can write a script. GNU/Linux happens to have a generally centralised repository for each distribution which is specific to that distribution, which for most people (particularly admins) makes life easier.
4. Malware and adware is thick on Windows.
It's thick on GNU/Linux as well, you just don't hear about it so much because the userbase is so much lower.
5. Windows doesn't come bundled with common tools I use, such as a compiler, OpenSSH, productivity suite, etc.
I'm hearing "Windows doesn't come with $esoteric_nobody_ever_heard_of_but_I_need_it_to_analyse_shit_software". Roll your own. Torvalds didn't write the GNU/Linux kernel then bundle anything with it, he wrote the kernel and said "ROLL YOUR OWN!". Which is exactly what the community did. Which is exactly what I did with a basic productivity bundle for Windows machines back when I was building them. Firefox, Office, Thunderbird, The GIMP and AV. Job done.
6. Windows seems to need to reboot almost constantly and takes a long time to apply updates.
Has not been true since xp Service Pack 1.
7. Windows is expensive compared to most other operating systems.
By what measure? Bundled PCs are heavily subsidised by Microsoft. OEM Windows licences run about £5 each. Retail boxed Windows licences run anything from about £70 (I think). OSX runs £180 last time I looked. A basic commercial support package for GNU/Linux (eg Redhat) can run to thousands per year.
8. Release/upgrade cycles are not at fixed/predictable times.
Yes, they are. Release dates are announced well ahead of time. The timetable from closed Alpha to RTM is about three years on operating systems.
9. Windows lacks containers/jails.
Totally wrong. You have UAC Virtualisation which sandboxes the application process so if it crashes it doesn't take the kernel with it. This is enabled by default on Windows 7 systems.
10. Windows lacks a good, advanced file system like ZFS.
11. Windows has poor driver support, requiring hardware be bundled with driver discs that take a long time to load and include apps that nag the user.
I don't quite understand this. You claim one thing then blow it out of the water with your very next statement. Poor hardware support would be a lack of driver discs and people complaining that they can't get their serialised device to "talk" to their computer. Winmodems and Winprinters have been around for years. They work because they are designed to run on very generic serial drivers. That to me is good hardware support on hardware that is designed to run on the platform. The problem with GNU/Linux is that because it is written to a very different set of rules, if you like, it requires a bit of coaxing to communicate with these essentially dumb devices. Linux does well with devices that have their own controllers and their own firmware that deals with raw data so it can spit out raw data over the line and leave the device to deal with it.
12. I can't hack on the Windows source code.
...And you'd want to, why?
I have legacy apps that don't run on 7. That's why I have an xp appliance in Virtualbox. They all run on that.
why would you run Firefox in WINE when there's a perfectly good fork (Seamonkey) native on GNU/Linux?
...I hear they are frustrated there is no show desktop function (even though there is) and how you can't cut and paste code in the addressbar in Windows Explorer.
There is, to the right of the clock. I spotted it right away when I got my laptop. Dunno about the pasting code bit, never found myself with the urge to try it.
The one thing that I love about 7 is the merging of the quicklaunch/taskbar. I have every program I use right there in three rows. I can't remember the last time I hit the "start" button. When I drop the lid on my laptop it hibernates, when I tap the power button it does a soft shutdown. Any new programs that drop something onto the desktop (as most of them seem to want to), those icons get pinned to the taskbar ready for use. I've dropped Aero, it's a waste of resources and I HATE whitespace on my screen, particularly when I need real estate to work. The Windows Classic interface does me just fine.
I did read somewhere that the XBox One will have a mandated phone-home function for the software run on it... ...which kinda sucks for those without a landline. ...or cable/DSL. ...or MiFi.
This goes much further into explaining some of the variance, both seasonal and longish-term (only goes back to the Fifties), of water table levels in the entire Chad basin - a system that covers a tenth of the entire African continent, not just a relatively small body of surface water. The human impact, according to that paper, accounts for about one twentieth of the total variance in the system but as much as 40% of the surface area of the lake itself (and up to half the volume), with most of that variance originating upstream in tributary river systems. AGW is barely even considered (or even mentioned, going by a quick scan down the paper), since the effects of AGW, if it even exists, have not been or cannot currently be measured because until it is properly defined, nobody even knows what to look for. It does deal with precipitation, which has had a bit of a lull over recent decades (1985-1994 being particularly dry years), but again this deals with the entire system not just the lake.
my ideal computer:
as many cores as I can cram in -
as much RAM as I can cram in -
as much SSD storage as I can cram in -
- to a walkman sized box
a couple USB ports, one commodity, easily replaced DC power port
(stay with me here)
an LED-based projector unit built-in, maybe an HDMI port to help things along should I feel the crushing need to plug in a TV or monitor (or I can't find sixty diagonal inches of blank wall, and really where does that happen??)
EITHER a USB or wireless mini keyboard OR a sideways-projecting laser "surface" keyboard built in.
The whole thing including wall wart could weigh the same if not less than a netbook - hell, it could be a project...
...Line from "Hackers", repeated several times:
"Hack the planet!"
if only they didn't have that rule in place about moderating in a discussion you're involved in...
I use Dragon 10 (same era?), and am continually amazed by how accurately it transcribes my voice (Midlands English, of all dialects!). I use it on a regular basis to dictate documents and to voice-write* recorded audio.
*also known as "parroting", this is simply using DNS or other speech recognition software trained to your voice, a decent mike for recording (the best ones are the headset ones that settle the microphone close to the mouth) and headphones so you can hear the original audio. You repeat the audio as it comes (you can set the speed to whatever you like, slow it down for fast speakers, speed it up for slow speakers, jog back, whatever) and the software transcribes what you say without you having to retrain it using a limited sample of someone else's voice.
Siri, is that you?
actually, I didn't need to, I've dealt with several cases involving computer crime. Such activity as the OP describes *may* fall under Section 3.