Why do we have to re-educate users on a whole new OS and interface? Perhaps because you refuse to educate yourself?
at the moment we have too many critical applications that won't work without IE or cannot be adapted to a Citrix environment. Adaptation? What adaptation? I find myself repeating, like a broken record...
I installed IE6 on my Ubuntu machine in six clicks... two to bounce down through the applications menu to wine-doors, one to select "Internet Explorer 6", one to click "install", one to click "apply"... and another to watch the progress of the install (I've got this thing for progress bars and messages).
Stop whining about not being able to use Win32 apps on your linux box, and look into this nifty-neato-keen new project, called wine. Oh, wait... it's not new, it has been around for 14 years. Get with the program.
Yes, there are some configuration steps that need taken. Yes, this is all "beta" software. On the other hand, we're not paying for the privilege of testing it, and it's marked as a beta, not being marketed as a finished product. I'd like to add that most GPL'd "betas" I've seen for *nix operating systems work better than a lot of the Win32 programs I've seen touted as finished product... nevermind that wine has been in "beta" for over a decade (see above).
WoW plays nicely, running at approximately 1-2 fps less on my Ubuntu box than the same machine with XP(tm) installed on it. It's installable with wine-doors. No, it's not perfect, but it's completely playable, and all my mods work as well as they do under Windows(tm). This is my answer to those who say "but what about my games?!?"
For those who prefer a more fruity (and expensive) operating system (yes, I'm talking about Apple, here), you should look into Parallels. I hear it's quite good, but have not touched an apple product since the old//e in grade school, so cannot give an unbiased (or even knowledgeable) opinion. This was not due to my personal preference, but more to the availability when/where I grew up. x86 was the architecture of choice, and DOS/Windows was the only game in town. Now I dual-boot Ubuntu, and am thrilled to have an alternative OS I can finally feel comfortable handing to my mother (no, she doesn't live with me).
To summarize, perhaps you should look at some of the accepted alternatives to running "native" software before you decide to follow the herd.
Yeah, I know that statement doesn't really seem to make sense, if you think about it, but hey, this is Slashdot. Gotta give the grammar nazis *something* to feed on... -- Disclaimer: I am a Windows(tm) technician, and I work in a Microsoft-only shop.
My point exactly. To further illustrate my point, I would like to point out that those who are "marginally overweight" according to the BMI (which, as has been pointed out, is completely broken) are much more likely to have their "mass arranged attractively", possibly due to actually having some.
I, for one, am more attracted to curves than to sharp bony bits. Besides, the ones that are in the "right" place on the BMI tend to scare me - I'm always afraid I'll break them if I give them a good hug.
First off, STFU, you poor broken excuse for a grammar nazi.
Secondly, from dictionary.reference.com:
et al -noun
1. and elsewhere. Origin: et alibi
2. and others. Origin: et ali (masc. pl.), et alia (neut. pl.)
Nowhere in there does it say anything about usage. Looks to me like it was used correctly. When you bitch about how someone uses the language, it helps to be correct.
Of course it's frustrating being "taught" by someone who doesn't understand the subject... how the hell can you claim to be teaching someone something if you don't understand it yourself?!?
Imagine you are a student, forced to listen to some dillhole who can't tell the difference between a past participle and a potato... and this is your English teacher. Imagine being taught Geography by someone who thinks the UK is east of Egypt.
Now, let's take it a step further... if "just anyone" can teach, why not have "just anyone" do other things they're not qualified for? Fire fighting, policing, ambulance drivers, EMTs... I know, let's have Joe Sixpack do your next abdominal surgery!
This behavior is abhorrent, and should result in school administrators being caned until they can't walk, and then fired. Anyone who thinks the school administration is not to blame should be slung up next to them to receive the same.
Sorry, but I get offended by people telling me that advanced algebra can be taught by someone who can't add 3-digit numbers correctly without resorting to a calculator.
And if you accept a position you're not qualified for, you deserve every bit of the resulting ridicule.
Oddly enough, I run IE6 on my Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon install. It magically appeared in about 6 clicks, using WineDoors, a program that makes installation of a small number of Windows apps ridiculously simple. It's still in a 0.1 version, or some such, thus the "small number of apps".
If you're running Ubuntu, or another debian-based distro, the.deb is here.
IE isn't the only thing it sets up for you; WoW, Steam, EVE are also minimally intrusive installs... People love to say that gaming is the reason they stick to Windows... this is my way of calling BS.
Besides, I love seeing the looks on friends' faces when they realize that I'm not running Windows, when they just borrowed my Internet Explorer to check their email >:)
The rulers take for granted that we are isolated enough to never stand together.
There's a reason they take it for granted... We *are* isolated from one another, and we *don't* stand together.
"We" spend too much time arguing over pointless things; which OS/distro is the best, what hardware is the best bang for the buck, who's going to win the world series... It all comes down to a basic apathy about things that "don't impact us personally". The general populace is willing to let someone drive us to extinction, because we don't care enough about our fellow humans. (I added quotes to the term "we", as "we" wouldn't recognize each other if we bumped into each other in the parking lot.)
We're willing to spend hours arguing over the best way to secure our networks, days griping at each other in distro flamewars, weeks obsessing over the latest pc game... but none of us spends even minutes doing anything about the political situation. We don't even leave our houses (and soon, we may not be *able* to leave our houses... do a web search for "microwave crowd control" and "puke ray"). Why would they think we would even *consider* standing together?
Apathy towards others destroys more freedoms than terrorists, the "Bush League", or anything else that we bitch about.
Can someone clarify when someone talking on their cell phone is obnoxious?
There are many, and I'm sure I'll miss some, but here's my short list:
While standing in line and/or checking out at any retail establishment.
Remember how cheesed off you got when the checker didn't greet you when you finally made it to the register? Yeah, so don't be a jerk and do the same thing.
While being the checker at any retail establishment.
Know how you feel when a customer is yammering to their sister-in-law about this week's juicy gossip? Grow a brain, the customers will not appreciate you doing the same.
While at the drive-through of any food service establishment.
Please, just get a clue. Never mind the "wa-wa" effect of those godawful speakers they insist on putting in the drive-through, you're wasting *my* time when I'm behind you and you insist on ordering while telling your brother all about your ski trip, resulting in having to repeat the order 4 times, and *still* getting the wrong food. Maybe the person taking your order couldn't tell what you were saying because you kept interrupting your cheeseburger order with a description of the mountain peaks and the totally gnarly powder, you ignorant clod.
While functioning as an employee of a food service establishment.
If you have time to take a call while in a fast-food position, then you're not doing your job, and you deserve to be fired.
While in a theater of any kind.
This goes without saying. I don't care *who* you are, if you consider yourself to be so bloody important that you have to interrupt my $50 date (2 tickets, 2 drinks, bucket of popcorn), don't be surprised when I consider you to be important enough to follow you into the parking lot and beat you to a pulp while you fumble for your keys with the cellphone glued to your ear. If I'm lucky, you'll be so busy gabbing that you won't notice you're being followed until the tire iron impacts your skull.
While in a library or other "provided-by-and-for-the-public" place, such as museums, etc.
This should go without saying. It irritates me to no end when some knuckle-dragging mouth-breathing numbskull's cell phone goes off with his custom ringtone he got by texting "yo mama" to 63568, filling the library with the blissful tones of "I fsck'd your granny while she was stealing my TV".
While operating heavy machinery or large mobile weapons.
If you need help understanding this, I'm referring to those who operate an 800+ pound conveyance, capable of achieving enough momentum in a few seconds to easily shove through a brick wall (not to mention a person), also known as driving a car). If you are paying attention to that little device on your ear, you are playing with someone's life. Unfortunately, due to today's safety standards, it's usually not your own. On this same subject, I think that airbags should be replaced with claymores. Darwin would rapidly sort out those who *need* airbags from those that can pay attention to what they are doing, and are not a danger to themselves and others.
Any place that specifically requests it (with, for example, a sign at the entrance).
This is one of the biggest annoyances about my library example, above. Not only am I treated to a barely-intelligible vocabulary lesson in the many uses of profanity from some idiot named "Pimp with a Gat", or some such similar nonsense, but this is after the illiterate waste of neural tissue carrying the electronic device in question stumbled past the sign stating "Please turn off or silence all cellphones and pagers," into a place that anyone with any education whatsoever knows should be silent as a tomb. If you haven't the mental competence to realize what an ignorant fool you appear to be when you "forget" to silence your phone in the library, you don't deserve to own a cell phone, as modern technology is apparently beyond your meager mental means. Come to think of i
"Live preview"... sounds a little less than browser agnostic, to me.
What about the hardcore elite, who use text-only browsers? It's bad enough I have these cookies leaving crumbs everywhere, now you want me to run javascript or some such?
-- The only problem with making things foolproof is that if you think you have, you're the fool.
I already assume my communications are monitored, thank you. I am aware that I live in a police state, and I am aware that I am powerless to do anything about it. The best I can hope for is to be unnoticed... although, as you say, I have now been noticed. Let's hope that pointing at public documents and decrying their obvious ramifications is only a small offense, and I end up somewhere on the opposite end of the "bad guys" list from the Al-Queda. I am not fearful, but I won't be surprised, either. C'est la vie.
With the new laws in place, if I am a big enough fish for them to bother netting, they don't have to try very hard to come up with a reason to snatch me up and take me away... we have so many ludicrous laws, I am bound to break one sooner or later... and when I do, I can be labelled a terrorist. As can any other citizen, should the forces of law take an interest in their activities. I will politely refrain from pointing out who holds the government's (purse) strings, and similarly, I will decline to opine about who has been purchased by whom, and for what purposes.
United States citizens live in a broken nation, like citizens in many other nations. It has occurred to me that the entire idea of nations is a bit outdated, in today's world of nearly instantaneous communications (unless someone jams you for being a jerk on a cellphone in the movie theatre, haha). In addition, the ubiquity of speedy travel has increased the transparency of physical distance in business and interpersonal relations. It's only a matter of time before we have a drastic and global shift in governmental systems, the only question is whether it will be for better or ill, and for how many. There's a reason the peasants revolted against the nobles, and it had very little to do with cake.
-- America will not fall as did Rome. Rome was an empire, and a great cultural hub.
Unless someone accuses you of being a "terrorist". Then ALL bets are off.
Not reading the important stuff, eh?
Anyone who breaks any law is a terrorist, according to the PATRIOT acts (yes, acts. plural. go read).
If you are a suspected litterer, loiterer, or conspirator, you are a terrorist. Yes, conspiracy to commit conspiracy is a felony (This is *not* intended to be funny, this is a wake-up call... watch out who you say "talk to you later" to).
Because you're supposed to use the preview button, duh. If you're going to go out in front of millions of viewers and make an ass of yourself, at least have the decency and respect to check and make sure your links work, check your spelling, etc.
At least that way, the grammar nazis don't bug you as often.
Oh, and from the comment submission page:
Use the Preview Button! Check those URLs!
In other words, don't whine about your failing to follow instructions.
Today most of the revenue on the Internet is from advertising, not subscriptions or sales.
A couple items you may have missed in your frantic rush to the keyboard to post your (incorrect) statements:
World of Warcraft. iTunes. The New York Times. Countless other services that require small payments in order to enjoy them.
WoW(tm) has over 7 million subscribers, each of them paying at least $13 per month. That's 91 million dollars a month. That's just a few million shy of 1.1 billion dollars a year.
I seem to remember something a couple days ago about Gutenberg picking up the unprotected works. I could be misremembering, or dreaming, or something, but I do seem to recall reading that.
As an aside, I hadn't even thought about the country that the files reside in having anything to do with it... despite the copyright lengths being different in the US than in Canada, which is half the issue at stake here. Color me embarassed, and allow me to freely state here, for the record... "Whoops"
-- There are 2 kinds of people in this world. There's the one kind, and then there's the other.
Am I reading this correctly? Drive is returned, new drive is purchased, manager takes drive, Best Buy Corporate stands behind manager's decision? That would seem to make Best Buy Corp culpable for conspiracy to commit robbery... which is a felony.
So, are you *sure* that corporate stood behind this manager's decision? Sounds to me like the police should be picking him up... maybe they should stop by the corporate office, while they're at it.
The employees, at least, get paid straight time. No commission, and really no incentives.
I happen to have worked at a Best Buy in the past (briefly, mind you... my manager and I had a disagrement about the best way to serve the customers' needs - I wanted to explain things to them so they could make an informed decision, he wanted them to buy things based on purchase price).
I have no idea what management gets paid, or what their incentive plans might include. I do know that the blue-vested people you see wandering around in the aisles ignoring customers are paid not much more than minimum wage, regardless of the speed at which inventory fails to fly off the shelves.
I have machines that are 10-15 years old serving webpages, running databases... and so do many of my employer's customers. Windows98 is not a shock to see on a machine in a production environment. Win95 is much more rare, but still running in the wild. Just a few years ago, I worked on someone's Win3.11 machine, cheerfully doing all that its owner asked it to, on hardware that was at least as old as the OS.
Personally, I like stuff to last long enough to give it to someone else while it still works.
Thanks for sharing your elitist opinion with us. Now have the decency to listen to my view, if you would. Then, have the decency to realize that you're just showing how backwards and non-productive you can be when you promote distro wars, or any of that other kids' stuff that most of us grew out of a long time ago.
I happen to *like* Ubuntu. It's Q&E to install, and tends to work without much, if any, "fiddling" or "console work". "Fisher-price Linux system" or not, it's my opinion that Ubuntu is the best distro out there for Linux newbies. If every distro is ridiculously complex, requires 15 hours of console time to configure properly, and won't run without at least 4 hours of install and 6 hours of tweaking, then we fail to conquer the desktop. Ubuntu takes 20 minutes to install, typically with a minimum of user intervention required.
The general public wants a cheap media center/email/web browser machine, no hassle, no fight.
Ubuntu delivers that, and brings the DVD fight to the front lines, as well. Joe Sixpack pops in a DVD he picked up at Blockbuster, and his machine says "You might be doing something illegal, but if you want me to, I'll go get the stuff for you to play this DVD." Think Joe Sixpack gives a rat's posterior about laws? He wants to watch the movie he just paid for. Get enough of them doing that, and we win the DVD fight through sheer ubiquity.
Now, if only we could get wine/winedoors/gaming perfected, we'd take over so fast it would make Microsoft's head spin. "Lessee... it does everything that the $400 OS does, without costing $400... which means I can get the LightScribe DVDRW, the big-bad video card, and 3 games with my new computer, and still spend less money overall than on that Vista crap that all my techie friends are saying is garbage?" Hmm. Which would *you* choose?
I agree with the Anonymous Coward... too bad he didn't have a login, or I'd be chanting "Mod Parent UP" like a mad dog.
If you create a de facto industry standard, it's not ethical to lock down control to a single entity. It's kinda like BetaMax vs. VHS, but backwards. BetaMax went bonkers over anyone "stealing their technology" to release a competing product. VHS didn't. When's the last time you saw a BetaMax machine? (Come to think of it, how many of us own VCR's?)
The MP3 standard is public domain, regardless of any legal mumbo-jumbo. Everyone who wants to can download, install, and use an mp3 ripper/player/converter, for FREE, from any number of sources online. When a 7-year-old can copy her favorite song onto a thumb drive so she can share it with her best friend, the technology is ubiquitous, and copyrights/patents become moot.
Sure it does. If it's natural behavior, morality has nothing to do with it.
Murder isn't natural, it's something we made up to describe killing someone when it's not justified. We have several degrees of it, ranging from accidental through spur-of-the-moment/temporary-insanity to planned and calculated. Killing other lifeforms, human or not, is *completely* natural.
To murder, on the other hand, requires a legal system.
Or were you trying to say that ingesting and excreting are immoral acts?
... you forgot to mention that with web-based apps, this really could actually be the desired mode of operation. Work for 30 minutes, take a break while your machine reboots... come to think of it, why bother with activation in the first place?
Slashdot Mirror
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/19/1928226
--
Nuf Sed.
Your search - "Ubuntu destroys laptops" - did not match any documents.
--
"Maybe... Maybe... I have yet to see someone outsmart bullet."
I installed IE6 on my Ubuntu machine in six clicks... two to bounce down through the applications menu to wine-doors, one to select "Internet Explorer 6", one to click "install", one to click "apply"... and another to watch the progress of the install (I've got this thing for progress bars and messages).
Stop whining about not being able to use Win32 apps on your linux box, and look into this nifty-neato-keen new project, called wine . Oh, wait... it's not new, it has been around for 14 years. Get with the program.
Yes, there are some configuration steps that need taken. Yes, this is all "beta" software. On the other hand, we're not paying for the privilege of testing it, and it's marked as a beta, not being marketed as a finished product. I'd like to add that most GPL'd "betas" I've seen for *nix operating systems work better than a lot of the Win32 programs I've seen touted as finished product... nevermind that wine has been in "beta" for over a decade (see above).
WoW plays nicely, running at approximately 1-2 fps less on my Ubuntu box than the same machine with XP(tm) installed on it. It's installable with wine-doors. No, it's not perfect, but it's completely playable, and all my mods work as well as they do under Windows(tm). This is my answer to those who say "but what about my games?!?"
For those who prefer a more fruity (and expensive) operating system (yes, I'm talking about Apple, here), you should look into Parallels. I hear it's quite good, but have not touched an apple product since the old
To summarize, perhaps you should look at some of the accepted alternatives to running "native" software before you decide to follow the herd.
Yeah, I know that statement doesn't really seem to make sense, if you think about it, but hey, this is Slashdot. Gotta give the grammar nazis *something* to feed on...
--
Disclaimer: I am a Windows(tm) technician, and I work in a Microsoft-only shop.
My point exactly. To further illustrate my point, I would like to point out that those who are "marginally overweight" according to the BMI (which, as has been pointed out, is completely broken) are much more likely to have their "mass arranged attractively", possibly due to actually having some.
I, for one, am more attracted to curves than to sharp bony bits. Besides, the ones that are in the "right" place on the BMI tend to scare me - I'm always afraid I'll break them if I give them a good hug.
Secondly, from dictionary.reference.com
Nowhere in there does it say anything about usage. Looks to me like it was used correctly. When you bitch about how someone uses the language, it helps to be correct.
At being a grammar nazi, you fail.
You're insane.
5'2" @ 165-185 pounds is my ideal mate. Admittedly, I like my women soft, but still. You need to take a look at the weight chart available at http://www.cockeyed.com/photos/bodies/heightweight.shtml
So tell me, what's wrong with Dennis Kucinich?
What are you, stupid?
Of course it's frustrating being "taught" by someone who doesn't understand the subject... how the hell can you claim to be teaching someone something if you don't understand it yourself?!?
Imagine you are a student, forced to listen to some dillhole who can't tell the difference between a past participle and a potato... and this is your English teacher. Imagine being taught Geography by someone who thinks the UK is east of Egypt.
Now, let's take it a step further... if "just anyone" can teach, why not have "just anyone" do other things they're not qualified for? Fire fighting, policing, ambulance drivers, EMTs... I know, let's have Joe Sixpack do your next abdominal surgery!
This behavior is abhorrent, and should result in school administrators being caned until they can't walk, and then fired.
Anyone who thinks the school administration is not to blame should be slung up next to them to receive the same.
Sorry, but I get offended by people telling me that advanced algebra can be taught by someone who can't add 3-digit numbers correctly without resorting to a calculator.
And if you accept a position you're not qualified for, you deserve every bit of the resulting ridicule.
--
</rant>
IE isn't the only thing it sets up for you; WoW, Steam, EVE are also minimally intrusive installs... People love to say that gaming is the reason they stick to Windows... this is my way of calling BS.
Besides, I love seeing the looks on friends' faces when they realize that I'm not running Windows, when they just borrowed my Internet Explorer to check their email >:)
There's a reason they take it for granted... We *are* isolated from one another, and we *don't* stand together.
"We" spend too much time arguing over pointless things; which OS/distro is the best, what hardware is the best bang for the buck, who's going to win the world series... It all comes down to a basic apathy about things that "don't impact us personally". The general populace is willing to let someone drive us to extinction, because we don't care enough about our fellow humans. (I added quotes to the term "we", as "we" wouldn't recognize each other if we bumped into each other in the parking lot.)
We're willing to spend hours arguing over the best way to secure our networks, days griping at each other in distro flamewars, weeks obsessing over the latest pc game... but none of us spends even minutes doing anything about the political situation. We don't even leave our houses (and soon, we may not be *able* to leave our houses... do a web search for "microwave crowd control" and "puke ray"). Why would they think we would even *consider* standing together?
Apathy towards others destroys more freedoms than terrorists, the "Bush League", or anything else that we bitch about.
--
"First, they came for the..."
There are many, and I'm sure I'll miss some, but here's my short list:
"Live preview"... sounds a little less than browser agnostic, to me.
What about the hardcore elite, who use text-only browsers?
It's bad enough I have these cookies leaving crumbs everywhere, now you want me to run javascript or some such?
--
The only problem with making things foolproof is that if you think you have, you're the fool.
I already assume my communications are monitored, thank you. I am aware that I live in a police state, and I am aware that I am powerless to do anything about it. The best I can hope for is to be unnoticed... although, as you say, I have now been noticed. Let's hope that pointing at public documents and decrying their obvious ramifications is only a small offense, and I end up somewhere on the opposite end of the "bad guys" list from the Al-Queda. I am not fearful, but I won't be surprised, either. C'est la vie.
With the new laws in place, if I am a big enough fish for them to bother netting, they don't have to try very hard to come up with a reason to snatch me up and take me away... we have so many ludicrous laws, I am bound to break one sooner or later... and when I do, I can be labelled a terrorist. As can any other citizen, should the forces of law take an interest in their activities. I will politely refrain from pointing out who holds the government's (purse) strings, and similarly, I will decline to opine about who has been purchased by whom, and for what purposes.
United States citizens live in a broken nation, like citizens in many other nations. It has occurred to me that the entire idea of nations is a bit outdated, in today's world of nearly instantaneous communications (unless someone jams you for being a jerk on a cellphone in the movie theatre, haha). In addition, the ubiquity of speedy travel has increased the transparency of physical distance in business and interpersonal relations. It's only a matter of time before we have a drastic and global shift in governmental systems, the only question is whether it will be for better or ill, and for how many. There's a reason the peasants revolted against the nobles, and it had very little to do with cake.
--
America will not fall as did Rome.
Rome was an empire, and a great cultural hub.
At least that way, the grammar nazis don't bug you as often.
Oh, and from the comment submission page:
In other words, don't whine about your failing to follow instructions.
A couple items you may have missed in your frantic rush to the keyboard to post your (incorrect) statements:
World of Warcraft. iTunes. The New York Times. Countless other services that require small payments in order to enjoy them.
WoW(tm) has over 7 million subscribers, each of them paying at least $13 per month.
That's 91 million dollars a month. That's just a few million shy of 1.1 billion dollars a year.
--
I'm sorry, but your argument is made of fail.
I seem to remember something a couple days ago about Gutenberg picking up the unprotected works. I could be misremembering, or dreaming, or something, but I do seem to recall reading that.
As an aside, I hadn't even thought about the country that the files reside in having anything to do with it... despite the copyright lengths being different in the US than in Canada, which is half the issue at stake here. Color me embarassed, and allow me to freely state here, for the record... "Whoops"
--
There are 2 kinds of people in this world. There's the one kind, and then there's the other.
Am I reading this correctly? Drive is returned, new drive is purchased, manager takes drive, Best Buy Corporate stands behind manager's decision? That would seem to make Best Buy Corp culpable for conspiracy to commit robbery... which is a felony.
So, are you *sure* that corporate stood behind this manager's decision? Sounds to me like the police should be picking him up... maybe they should stop by the corporate office, while they're at it.
The employees, at least, get paid straight time. No commission, and really no incentives.
I happen to have worked at a Best Buy in the past (briefly, mind you... my manager and I had a disagrement about the best way to serve the customers' needs - I wanted to explain things to them so they could make an informed decision, he wanted them to buy things based on purchase price).
I have no idea what management gets paid, or what their incentive plans might include. I do know that the blue-vested people you see wandering around in the aisles ignoring customers are paid not much more than minimum wage, regardless of the speed at which inventory fails to fly off the shelves.
I have machines that are 10-15 years old serving webpages, running databases... and so do many of my employer's customers. Windows98 is not a shock to see on a machine in a production environment. Win95 is much more rare, but still running in the wild. Just a few years ago, I worked on someone's Win3.11 machine, cheerfully doing all that its owner asked it to, on hardware that was at least as old as the OS.
Personally, I like stuff to last long enough to give it to someone else while it still works.
Thanks for sharing your elitist opinion with us. Now have the decency to listen to my view, if you would. Then, have the decency to realize that you're just showing how backwards and non-productive you can be when you promote distro wars, or any of that other kids' stuff that most of us grew out of a long time ago.
I happen to *like* Ubuntu. It's Q&E to install, and tends to work without much, if any, "fiddling" or "console work". "Fisher-price Linux system" or not, it's my opinion that Ubuntu is the best distro out there for Linux newbies. If every distro is ridiculously complex, requires 15 hours of console time to configure properly, and won't run without at least 4 hours of install and 6 hours of tweaking, then we fail to conquer the desktop. Ubuntu takes 20 minutes to install, typically with a minimum of user intervention required.
The general public wants a cheap media center/email/web browser machine, no hassle, no fight.
Ubuntu delivers that, and brings the DVD fight to the front lines, as well. Joe Sixpack pops in a DVD he picked up at Blockbuster, and his machine says "You might be doing something illegal, but if you want me to, I'll go get the stuff for you to play this DVD." Think Joe Sixpack gives a rat's posterior about laws? He wants to watch the movie he just paid for. Get enough of them doing that, and we win the DVD fight through sheer ubiquity.
Now, if only we could get wine/winedoors/gaming perfected, we'd take over so fast it would make Microsoft's head spin.
"Lessee... it does everything that the $400 OS does, without costing $400... which means I can get the LightScribe DVDRW, the big-bad video card, and 3 games with my new computer, and still spend less money overall than on that Vista crap that all my techie friends are saying is garbage?"
Hmm. Which would *you* choose?
I agree with the Anonymous Coward... too bad he didn't have a login, or I'd be chanting "Mod Parent UP" like a mad dog.
If you create a de facto industry standard, it's not ethical to lock down control to a single entity. It's kinda like BetaMax vs. VHS, but backwards. BetaMax went bonkers over anyone "stealing their technology" to release a competing product. VHS didn't. When's the last time you saw a BetaMax machine? (Come to think of it, how many of us own VCR's?)
The MP3 standard is public domain, regardless of any legal mumbo-jumbo. Everyone who wants to can download, install, and use an mp3 ripper/player/converter, for FREE, from any number of sources online. When a 7-year-old can copy her favorite song onto a thumb drive so she can share it with her best friend, the technology is ubiquitous, and copyrights/patents become moot.
Sorry, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft et al.
Sure it does. If it's natural behavior, morality has nothing to do with it.
Murder isn't natural, it's something we made up to describe killing someone when it's not justified. We have several degrees of it, ranging from accidental through spur-of-the-moment/temporary-insanity to planned and calculated. Killing other lifeforms, human or not, is *completely* natural.
To murder, on the other hand, requires a legal system.
Or were you trying to say that ingesting and excreting are immoral acts?
... you forgot to mention that with web-based apps, this really could actually be the desired mode of operation. Work for 30 minutes, take a break while your machine reboots... come to think of it, why bother with activation in the first place?