I vote we send a boatload of pointy-haired bosses!
Too much of a monoculture, you'd need to add hairdressers, tired TV producers, insurance salesmen, personnel officers, security guards, management consultants, telephone sanitizers and the like to make it viable.
The BBC coverage of all this has been a major surprise to me. Throughout the 70s and 80s they were so pro-Israeli it was almost a joke (subject matter notwithstanding) - in the last 20 years they have been almost painfully neutral and even-handed, although some of the coverage of the 2006 Lebanon 'situation' seemed somewhat forced and uncomfortable, especially interviews with Israeli officials.
This latest episode leaves no doubt whose 'side' the Beeb are on; anybody defending Israel gets the full 'Paxman' treatment, no evasive answer is left to slide as it has been in the past.
Usually when this shit happens, I try and watch a bit of Al Jazeera to get some balance - there has been no point over the last week, as you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
On the Obama silence issue, that 'One President at a Time' answer is the only honourable one to give (not that that is necessarily his motivation) - He has to respect the Office, even if he despises the incumbent, and undermining that in any way is just not an option. It does raise the question of the timing of Israel's action, though, and you can bet that whatever plan they have requires completion before noon on January 20th.
Re:So much for free!
on
Ubuntu Kung Fu
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Yeah, I know - my post was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. I've only been using linux about 3 years myself, but have never really suffered the 'hardware hell' problems so many seem to.
The one occasion was when I needed hard copy for something, so bought a ridiculously cheap Epson D78. Couldn't get the bugger to work on Slack 10.2 (or 11; can't remember now). Spent a good few hours on it including a bit of '.configure/make/make install' malarkey with no luck, so slung it on top of the aforementioned wardrobe and blagged a C44 from a mate.
My nephew came round this morning wanting something printing out, but the C44 was out of ink. I plugged the D78 in (ubuntu 8.10) and it worked straight away - none of that 'Found new Hardware' crap, just appeared in the list of available printers and off she went. I had a quick browse of/. while the stuff was printing and the experience seemed relevant to the discussion (at least it did at the time).
Incidentally, my nephew had to come round because his printer (Lexmark all-in-one thingy) 'wasn't working'. His dad belongs to that 'class of users' you were talking about; when he bought the printer it wouldn't work (required XP, he was still on W98 - 'Why didn't they tell me that in the shop'). The current problem is probably trivial, but it won't get fixed till I go round there. Point being, the 'class of user' you are talking about will have problems with Windows stuff just as much as linux stuff.
Re:So much for free!
on
Ubuntu Kung Fu
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
There are two easy ways to get hardware working on linux
Buy supported stuff in the first place, takes about 5 minutes of 'research' on google.
Buy cheap unsupported crap, stick it on top of the wardrobe, wait six months then plug it in - voila, works perfectly. As soon as you do this, buy another cheapo $DEVICE to fill the empty space on the wardrobe - usually the first one will go tits up just as drivers are out for the second.
I'm guessing that you haven't talked to a girl aged 12-25 lately.
I have six nieces in that age range, all with scarily mainstream tastes. Younger ones into Jonas Brothers / Zac Efron, older ones into Di Caprio / Slater / whoever. I don't doubt some girls are into quirky looks now, just like some were into Bowie rather than David Essex when I was in school, but it is always going to be the minority.
I'll take a straw poll next week and pluralize the anecdotes into data, but I'd be surprised if I got more than one "Oooft, I would".
I hope its not just so doctor who can become yet another 'only beautiful people allowed' show.
I'm guessing you haven't seen a photo of him - striking features, perhaps even with a touch of 'alien', but definitely not 'beautiful people' material
I will be sorry to see Tennant go, but then I thought Eccleston would be hard to follow. The only thing I've seen Matt Smith in is the BBC adaption of Philip Pullman's 'Ruby in the Smoke' - Nothing in that performance looked very 'Doctory', but neither did Tennant in Casanova, so we'll just have to wait and see...
It's unthinkable the way physically bombing a hospital is unthinkable. It doesn't mean somebody might not think to do it, just that you have to question the perpetrator's humanity if they were to actually go through with it.
Hmm... When losing grip in a corner, how do they know whether to apply more or less gas to get the car straight if they don't know which wheels are driving?
If you aren't a car nut, you never lose grip in a corner - flippant answer, but reasonably true nonetheless.
In the last 2 houses Ive lived in, we could easily cook with no power.
It was propane in the last house, and NG in our new house.
Nice try, but I haven't seen an LPG/NG cooker produced in the last ten years that doesn't have a Main Gas Valve operated by mains electricity. Maybe you get them in the US, but not in the UK. (Probably something to do with EU safety regulations).
This means that many people replacing their gas cooker either have to trail a lead across the kitchen or pay to have a new socket / fused spur installed. (Can't do that themselves now - more regulations)
6) Complain the network admin/ISP help desk that they can't get to a website [when they can get to other websites, so obviously the network isn't the problem]
I don't think you can infer that "obviously the network isn't the problem". Of course this could just mean that a site is down, but there are any number of genuine routing/DNS faults that would exhibit the same symptoms. I had exactly this happen when I switched from a dynamic to a static IP a couple of years ago - most UK/European sites were fine, no US sites would respond. I never got an exact diagnosis of the fault, but after a week or so of calls they sorted it out. The main problem was getting through the first level of script-reading tech support to someone who realised that the problem was actually at their end.
Doesn't everybody know ctrl-c and ctrl-v anymore??
I never got round to changing from <CTRL>+<INS> and <SHIFT>+<INS> myself, which I think was in Turbo Pascal for DOS's editor and then early Windows. Dunno if these still work on Vista, but they were fine up to XP, even though largely undocumented. They have the added advantage of working in terminals under Gnome, when <CTRL>+C can do exactly the wrong thing.
That is something I have often wondered about regarding DNA evidence - given how easy it is to obtain just about anyone's DNA without their knowledge or consent, and then grow as much of it as you want, should it ever be used as evidence in court?
What is to stop criminals lacing a crime scene with an innocent person's DNA, or that of hundreds of innocent people? How about if police and judiciary were implicated in all major crimes?
I'm sure there is a good reason why this wouldn't be feasible, but the presumption that DNA implies physical presence has always seemed a bit weak to me.
Nope - It's a well-known fact that Geddy Lee had a time-machine that allowed him to travel forward to 2112 - he just nicked all his lyrics from a hundred-odd years worth of/. sig files, as he realized they contained all the wisdom of the ages.
Either you don't know any mechanics personally, or the mechanics you deal with are shitty ones. Ive seen engines so spotless that you can eat off them, with brand new bolts everywhere.
That may be true when they start out - beautifully prepared and maintained, usually quite highly tuned, always immaculate; by the time they get to their mid-forties and are running their own business, working long hours to make ends meet, their own cars get just enough attention to keep running.
My brother's first car was a beaut - Austin A35 with an MG Midget engine and a Marina back axle - hundreds of hours of work just for the joy of it. That was followed by a stream of Escort Mexicos and RS200s. As the years have passed, his own cars have become just a means of transport - minimal maintenance to keep them running then scrap 'em. Maybe he's a shitty mechanic, but since he used to service crew for WRC teams, maybe not - perhaps he's just a family man who would rather spend his spanner time putting food on the table.
We have the same phrase in South Wales - just the bare "Cobbler's Children", with the implication that they are poorly shod left unstated. The similarity is so striking I assume they come from the same source.
I'm not sure thicker is better. I remember hearing that churches in northern England replaced their super-thick oak doors with thinner planks riveted together in a cross-ply design, as this provided better protection against the axes of marauding Vikings.
Of course, Ninjas are a different proposition, and five minutes googling gives me no citation for the monastic plywood theory, so perhaps direct experiment is the only way to settle this one - just make sure you have plenty of emergency Pirates on hand for back-up and it should be safe enough.
The Irish changed all their signs and speed limits to km and km/h from miles and mph a couple of years ago - a big project, granted, but certainly not 'crazily hard' - it should have been done in the seventies
I'm in my late forties and constantly pull much younger people up for using imperial units - what is the problem? Is it just some strange Al Murray / Pub Landlord sense of 'We're British, so f**k you!'? Spirits are sold in ml, bottled beers are sold in ml and yet it's vitally important not to lose the sacrosanct pint for draught beer - utter bullshit.
The UK needs people who care about a consistent system of measurement to start making as much noise as the Little Englanders
Slashdot Mirror
Of course - they would be crazy to use Windows for their operational systems, right?
My Perl IDE is called XEmacs. Perhaps you've heard of it?
I agree that emacs is still the sensible choice; either that or setting the universal constants, which I understand works well for some people.
I vote we send a boatload of pointy-haired bosses!
Too much of a monoculture, you'd need to add hairdressers, tired TV producers, insurance salesmen, personnel officers, security guards, management consultants, telephone sanitizers and the like to make it viable.
Chess against an Israeli? That's totally bogus, dude. I pick Battleship, Clue, Electric Football or Twister.
The BBC coverage of all this has been a major surprise to me. Throughout the 70s and 80s they were so pro-Israeli it was almost a joke (subject matter notwithstanding) - in the last 20 years they have been almost painfully neutral and even-handed, although some of the coverage of the 2006 Lebanon 'situation' seemed somewhat forced and uncomfortable, especially interviews with Israeli officials.
This latest episode leaves no doubt whose 'side' the Beeb are on; anybody defending Israel gets the full 'Paxman' treatment, no evasive answer is left to slide as it has been in the past.
Usually when this shit happens, I try and watch a bit of Al Jazeera to get some balance - there has been no point over the last week, as you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
On the Obama silence issue, that 'One President at a Time' answer is the only honourable one to give (not that that is necessarily his motivation) - He has to respect the Office, even if he despises the incumbent, and undermining that in any way is just not an option. It does raise the question of the timing of Israel's action, though, and you can bet that whatever plan they have requires completion before noon on January 20th.
Yeah, I know - my post was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. I've only been using linux about 3 years myself, but have never really suffered the 'hardware hell' problems so many seem to.
The one occasion was when I needed hard copy for something, so bought a ridiculously cheap Epson D78. Couldn't get the bugger to work on Slack 10.2 (or 11; can't remember now). Spent a good few hours on it including a bit of '.configure/make/make install' malarkey with no luck, so slung it on top of the aforementioned wardrobe and blagged a C44 from a mate.
My nephew came round this morning wanting something printing out, but the C44 was out of ink. I plugged the D78 in (ubuntu 8.10) and it worked straight away - none of that 'Found new Hardware' crap, just appeared in the list of available printers and off she went. I had a quick browse of /. while the stuff was printing and the experience seemed relevant to the discussion (at least it did at the time).
Incidentally, my nephew had to come round because his printer (Lexmark all-in-one thingy) 'wasn't working'. His dad belongs to that 'class of users' you were talking about; when he bought the printer it wouldn't work (required XP, he was still on W98 - 'Why didn't they tell me that in the shop'). The current problem is probably trivial, but it won't get fixed till I go round there. Point being, the 'class of user' you are talking about will have problems with Windows stuff just as much as linux stuff.
There are two easy ways to get hardware working on linux
I'm guessing that you haven't talked to a girl aged 12-25 lately.
I have six nieces in that age range, all with scarily mainstream tastes. Younger ones into Jonas Brothers / Zac Efron, older ones into Di Caprio / Slater / whoever. I don't doubt some girls are into quirky looks now, just like some were into Bowie rather than David Essex when I was in school, but it is always going to be the minority.
I'll take a straw poll next week and pluralize the anecdotes into data, but I'd be surprised if I got more than one "Oooft, I would".
I hope its not just so doctor who can become yet another 'only beautiful people allowed' show.
I'm guessing you haven't seen a photo of him - striking features, perhaps even with a touch of 'alien', but definitely not 'beautiful people' material
I will be sorry to see Tennant go, but then I thought Eccleston would be hard to follow. The only thing I've seen Matt Smith in is the BBC adaption of Philip Pullman's 'Ruby in the Smoke' - Nothing in that performance looked very 'Doctory', but neither did Tennant in Casanova, so we'll just have to wait and see...
I was flying in my ACU uniform.
What does the 'U' in 'ACU' stand for? Is it like the 'N' in PIN number?
They booked their tickets online.
.. armband with "beat me, I am a potential terrorist".
Nah, that would take too long to read. I'm sure a system of coloured stars and triangles sewn onto clothing would work much better.
It's unthinkable the way physically bombing a hospital is unthinkable. It doesn't mean somebody might not think to do it, just that you have to question the perpetrator's humanity if they were to actually go through with it.
How right you are.
Hmm... When losing grip in a corner, how do they know whether to apply more or less gas to get the car straight if they don't know which wheels are driving?
If you aren't a car nut, you never lose grip in a corner - flippant answer, but reasonably true nonetheless.
In the last 2 houses Ive lived in, we could easily cook with no power.
It was propane in the last house, and NG in our new house.
Nice try, but I haven't seen an LPG/NG cooker produced in the last ten years that doesn't have a Main Gas Valve operated by mains electricity. Maybe you get them in the US, but not in the UK. (Probably something to do with EU safety regulations).
This means that many people replacing their gas cooker either have to trail a lead across the kitchen or pay to have a new socket / fused spur installed. (Can't do that themselves now - more regulations)
I wish I was making this shit up, I really do....
6) Complain the network admin/ISP help desk that they can't get to a website [when they can get to other websites, so obviously the network isn't the problem]
I don't think you can infer that "obviously the network isn't the problem". Of course this could just mean that a site is down, but there are any number of genuine routing/DNS faults that would exhibit the same symptoms. I had exactly this happen when I switched from a dynamic to a static IP a couple of years ago - most UK/European sites were fine, no US sites would respond. I never got an exact diagnosis of the fault, but after a week or so of calls they sorted it out. The main problem was getting through the first level of script-reading tech support to someone who realised that the problem was actually at their end.
A lot of people (OK, a few, mainly slashdotters) will plug their trusty old Model M into brand new systems, so it's not entirely hypothetical.
I don't know if it still works on Vista, but I used to use <CTRL>+<ESC> as a replacement for the Windows key.
Doesn't everybody know ctrl-c and ctrl-v anymore??
I never got round to changing from <CTRL>+<INS> and <SHIFT>+<INS> myself, which I think was in Turbo Pascal for DOS's editor and then early Windows. Dunno if these still work on Vista, but they were fine up to XP, even though largely undocumented. They have the added advantage of working in terminals under Gnome, when <CTRL>+C can do exactly the wrong thing.
That is something I have often wondered about regarding DNA evidence - given how easy it is to obtain just about anyone's DNA without their knowledge or consent, and then grow as much of it as you want, should it ever be used as evidence in court?
What is to stop criminals lacing a crime scene with an innocent person's DNA, or that of hundreds of innocent people? How about if police and judiciary were implicated in all major crimes?
I'm sure there is a good reason why this wouldn't be feasible, but the presumption that DNA implies physical presence has always seemed a bit weak to me.
Nope - It's a well-known fact that Geddy Lee had a time-machine that allowed him to travel forward to 2112 - he just nicked all his lyrics from a hundred-odd years worth of /. sig files, as he realized they contained all the wisdom of the ages.
Either you don't know any mechanics personally, or the mechanics you deal with are shitty ones. Ive seen engines so spotless that you can eat off them, with brand new bolts everywhere.
That may be true when they start out - beautifully prepared and maintained, usually quite highly tuned, always immaculate; by the time they get to their mid-forties and are running their own business, working long hours to make ends meet, their own cars get just enough attention to keep running.
My brother's first car was a beaut - Austin A35 with an MG Midget engine and a Marina back axle - hundreds of hours of work just for the joy of it. That was followed by a stream of Escort Mexicos and RS200s. As the years have passed, his own cars have become just a means of transport - minimal maintenance to keep them running then scrap 'em. Maybe he's a shitty mechanic, but since he used to service crew for WRC teams, maybe not - perhaps he's just a family man who would rather spend his spanner time putting food on the table.
We have the same phrase in South Wales - just the bare "Cobbler's Children", with the implication that they are poorly shod left unstated. The similarity is so striking I assume they come from the same source.
I'm not sure thicker is better. I remember hearing that churches in northern England replaced their super-thick oak doors with thinner planks riveted together in a cross-ply design, as this provided better protection against the axes of marauding Vikings.
Of course, Ninjas are a different proposition, and five minutes googling gives me no citation for the monastic plywood theory, so perhaps direct experiment is the only way to settle this one - just make sure you have plenty of emergency Pirates on hand for back-up and it should be safe enough.
The Irish changed all their signs and speed limits to km and km/h from miles and mph a couple of years ago - a big project, granted, but certainly not 'crazily hard' - it should have been done in the seventies
I'm in my late forties and constantly pull much younger people up for using imperial units - what is the problem? Is it just some strange Al Murray / Pub Landlord sense of 'We're British, so f**k you!'? Spirits are sold in ml, bottled beers are sold in ml and yet it's vitally important not to lose the sacrosanct pint for draught beer - utter bullshit.
The UK needs people who care about a consistent system of measurement to start making as much noise as the Little Englanders
Of course Amazon will always be there, just like Ford and GM....