Administering Windows PCs sucks. There are a host of problems that just can't be solved by reading the frickin' manual or searching the web. It's closed source--no one knows how it works. So it's just back-up, reinstall; back-up, reinstall.
Reinstall Windows, reinstall Internet Explorer, reinstall the service pack again after you install software XYZ. I probably spend half my time at work staring at an InstallShield wizard (or reading a book while it's sliding along.)
With Linux, there are people out there who know why you are getting the problem you are getting and can tell you how to fix it without reinstalling the entire damn machine. I'm very new to Linux, but I find the whole process of debugging and fixing problems much more rewarding. With Windows, maintenance is more witchcraft than anything else.
You can't change that. It is showing no signs of slowing down.
What's even better is that Linux is magically insulated from market forces. In a bear market lots of unemployed developers have more time to improve Linux. In a bull market, more Linux-supporting companies can thrive. Basically, "The Linux Movement" is the most stable software development institution around.
Face it. OS X is by far, and i'm carefuly measuring my words here, the absolute best operating system [for everyone].
I apologize if the paraphrase above is way off base, but I have to point out there are still some groups of people for which Linux is the best on the desktop:
Hackers who want to customize their operating environment (i.e. subtle modification of the panel or desktop UIs)
Tinkerers who like an OS that improves their understanding of their system by forcing them to figure out hard problems from time to time
User interface researchers who need a large body of easily modifiable and real-world relevant software that they can hack up for testing new theories.
As much as I agree that (ignoring cost) Mac OS X is the best thing out there for Just About Everyone, there are plenty for whom it's just not suitable.
1) You can switch windows managers in Applications -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Window Manager
2) The alternative clock applets were not ported to GNOME 2 because it was decided that there should be only one clock applet that is flexible. Having many clock applets was a significant source of confusion for users in Sun's usability test.
3) Where responsibility for saving windows states lies is still a topic of debate. There is a discussion of this that began this weekend on the desktop-devel-list. There was also a more technical discussion of this last month on the wm-spec-list.
I think that person would be ill-advised to acquire and Xbox for $200, spend however much on a modchip, in the process voiding their warrenty, in order that they play MAME, when a console that can be picked up for $50 and under can do the same thing.
XBox console: $200 Modchip: $100 MAME download: $0
Forcing Microsoft eat a $150 loss for every XBox you buy: priceless
In this day and age, taking down a large corporation's mail server could probably put you in a hotter pot of water then a hit-and-run could
This is ridiculous. First, anyone who can drive a car can assault and kill another person with that car very easily. Taking down the mail server of a corporation big enough that the damages you would do would outstrip murder or manslaughter is something that requires significant knowledge.
Secondly, in no way shape or form do monetary damages to a corporation compare to maiming or killing an innocent person. It doesn't matter how much money is involved, any resonable person can see that murder is a far serious offence than what amounts to corporate vandalism.
Macintosh hardware is priced so that it can cover the cost of R&D in software development as well as hardware development. They offer the software for free as an incentive to buy the hardware.
how long will it be before computers start getting treated like cars?
As soon as using your computer recklessly can kill someone.
-Erik
Re:screenshots
on
Gnome 2.0 RC1
·
· Score: 5, Informative
The following was posted on desktop-devel-list@gnome.org:
From: Rui Miguel Silva Seabra To: GNOME Desktop Hackers Subject: Re: GNOME 2.0.0 Desktop Release Notes Contributions Date: 14 Jun 2002 12:37:21 +0100
A sawfish known issue that people might pointout: viewports are ''gone''. Suggest adding the following to ~/.sawfishrc ;; Get viewports back (setq customize-command-classes '(default viewport))
Not only do GNOME developers know this is an issue, there are GNOME developers who want the functionality viewports offer to be a part of GNOME. I wouldn't be surprised to see there be a GConf key that enables viewports in 2.0.1, BUT...
GNOME 2 developers can't listen to GNOME 2 users unless the users speak directly to them. File a bug in bugzilla.gnome.org. That's the best way to put this request on the developers' plate. And don't just say "RE-ENABLE VIEWPORTS," explain exactly what it is about viewports that you miss... is it that windows can straddle viewports? Is it navigation?
It's my understanding (after lurking on the gnome lists for a while) that the intention is not to leave viewport users in the dust, but to try to allow viewport users to use workspaces in the same way they used to used viewports. I.e. put a checkbox somewhere that says "allow windows to straddle workspaces" etc.
But this functionality won't be implemented unless the GNOME developers know people want it. So file a bug. File several bugs, one for each bit of functionality you miss that viewports had.
To be perfectly honest, any DIVX movie you are going to fit on a CD is trash. I've come across a couple of ~800MB DIVX movies where the quality was tolerable for casual viewing of movies without much in the way of visuals, but if I want to watch a movie with interesting visuals or invite friends over there's no sense in using a DIVX CD.
The quality of a 700 meg DIVX is just utter crap when compared to DVD or even VHS. This is especially compounded when it's of the filmed-with-a-camcorder-in-the-theater variety.
A) If the movie isn't in the theaters yet, I don't want to waste my first viewing on a crappy DIVX.
B) If the movie isn't on DVD yet, but I saw it in theaters, I probably won't be itching to watch it again since I saw it recently.
C) If the movie isn't worth seeing in theaters, I can wait for the DVD.
D) If the movie is out on DVD the only reason to use DIVX is if you are socially corrupt and don't feel like paying. Note that if you can afford an XBox and a CD burner, you can affor a DVD player.
I have a feeling that the market for this "technology" is for people who A) want to show their friends how l33t they are because they saw Spiderman before it came out in the theaters and D) people who don't think they need to compensate members of their community before they take advantage of their work. That's a few percent of adolescent males, a tiny sliver of the XBox's total market.
If you ever want to give GNOME another try, make sure you check out this and this.
I'm not sure if they will address all of your concerns, but they'll address some at least. GNOME is young, but it's changing and improving very quickly.
People don't have to lie or be stupid to both hate Microsoft and run XP.
I don't think anyone who runs XP exclusively truly hates Microsoft. If you hate MS, you'll try to find another way when you can. Maybe you will need Windows for some things, but you'll do your damnedest to find alternatives.
What people who profess to hate MS and run their software really mean is "MS are jerks, I wish they didn't have as much power." But they don't really mean it. They are dependent on MS and therefore part of them really doesn't want them to go away. And that's not hate. It's conflicted dislike.
Granted, I'm typing this on MSIE right now. I haven't figured out how to burn CDs in Linux yet, so I booted to windows this evening. I just got back and now I'm going to bed so I didn't bother booting to Linux (though I do hate to send that IE header to slashdot. I'd feel much better sending a Mozilla one.)
But do I hate MS? No, I think they're bad for the industry, they're slowing things down. I've been trying my best to migrate to other platforms over the past year or so, but I have other goals--like school--that take precedence.
The thing is, I don't claim to hate microsoft. I just want them out.
Either you are lying on one of these counts or you are too stupid to recognize that running Windows XP on your desktop is in direct support of Microsoft being bastards whether you paid for it or not.
People continually say "not every student needs to know programming" and we all nod our heads and say to ourselves "no, I suppose not."
The computer is THE single most powerful tool that man has ever created. Not since the fence--which allowed the human race to change from wandering predatory animals to stable civilizations--has a tool ever had the potential to change things the way computer have. Sure we (the human race) only use them for email and spreadsheets at the moment. But the computer is the first tool that has ever been able to manipulate pure information in nearly limitless and arbitrary ways.
And programming is the key to realizing the potential of computers. We need programmers in all industries, all walks of life. Any task which requires information processing can benefit from programming skills, which lead directly to automation, which leads directly to increased efficiency and thus quality of life. The better I become at building software, the more I am convinced that the usefulness of this skill is boundless.
So fuck Word, teach kids LISP. Or MindStorms, or whatever it takes. That's what will be truly useful in any world view broader than the utterly narrow "but I need it on my resume so company X will hire me" view.
2D projections of 3D are a poor substitute for actual 3D objects
Tell that to the animation world. Motion and other cues give us a lot of information about an object. Stereo vision is *not* the only way we perceive depth.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you talk about Quake though. I doubt any worthwhile 2d-projection 3d interface is going to have a fast moving camera (or a moving camera at all). It is indeed disorienting and often nausiating. Of course, this falls under the category of poor implemetation. There are many other ways to tackle the problem of movement besides free 1st person movement. Guided navigation seems like a good idea to me.
The human brain is built to analze 3d information. By presenting things in 2d, we are wasting this marvelous ability.
The fact is, most 3d interfaces in existance just plain suck. The problems are with implementation and design details, though... It's very hard to take advantage of spatial 3d information display without forcing awkward interfaces that are easy to get lost in and difficult to understand. That doesn't mean that the theory I've stated above isn't worth pursuing, though... just that making use of the theory in a workable way is VERY HARD. This is why we study it.
There is progress being made. I got the chance to paint in 3d with a very simple 3d interface at the CAVE at Brown university (it was a paintbrush with a button on it and some virtual pots I could dip it into). It was simple and usable and trust me, it's much easier to paint a 3d object with a 3d cursor than a 2d cursor.
I bet Steve Jobs has a smile on his face from ear to ear right now. Now, when Apple goes to a school and they say "well, Bob So-and-so from Microsoft offered us the same package for 20% less," they can pull out an article and say, "yes, but when one of your students installs a warez version of Visual Studio on a machine, we won't come in and ram it down your throat and steal your wallet."
I think it's great that the climate of mistrust for Microsoft grows every day. Little by little people are realizing Microsoft is the mafia of the Tech industry. They do their song and dance and you think they'll give you the world. But before you know it you realize they're squeezing the lifeblood out of your enterprise and forcing you to change the way you do business and eventually you've got a bullet in your back.
It doesn't matter if you hear it out loud, people are getting the message.
Studio360: So you did that phantom edit thing? PhantomEditor: Yeah. S360: How come? PE: TPM was lame. Lucas is a capitalist dog. I made it seem like Anakin is more badass and less of a tool and I took out all of the Jar-Jar CG bullshit. S360: How did it get so big? PE: Internet. S360: Has George Lucas seen it? PE: He wanted to, but his legaltroids made him say he wouldn't. He should tho, cuz it's 31337.
Slashdot Mirror
You're forgetting administration.
Administering Windows PCs sucks. There are a host of problems that just can't be solved by reading the frickin' manual or searching the web. It's closed source--no one knows how it works. So it's just back-up, reinstall; back-up, reinstall.
Reinstall Windows, reinstall Internet Explorer, reinstall the service pack again after you install software XYZ. I probably spend half my time at work staring at an InstallShield wizard (or reading a book while it's sliding along.)
With Linux, there are people out there who know why you are getting the problem you are getting and can tell you how to fix it without reinstalling the entire damn machine. I'm very new to Linux, but I find the whole process of debugging and fixing problems much more rewarding. With Windows, maintenance is more witchcraft than anything else.
Erik
The quality of the resulting screen image is comparable to movie-quality 3D graphics in real time.
Sony's graphics are definately comparable to hollywood's:
Compared to movies, PS2 graphics are crap.
Erik
You can't change that. It is showing no signs of slowing down.
What's even better is that Linux is magically insulated from market forces. In a bear market lots of unemployed developers have more time to improve Linux. In a bull market, more Linux-supporting companies can thrive. Basically, "The Linux Movement" is the most stable software development institution around.
Erik
I take your tongue-in-cheek sarcastic point, but you're not quite correct about the BSD license.
Sarcasm usually involves things that aren't quite correct.
Erik
I apologize if the paraphrase above is way off base, but I have to point out there are still some groups of people for which Linux is the best on the desktop:
- Hackers who want to customize their operating environment (i.e. subtle modification of the panel or desktop UIs)
- Tinkerers who like an OS that improves their understanding of their system by forcing them to figure out hard problems from time to time
- User interface researchers who need a large body of easily modifiable and real-world relevant software that they can hack up for testing new theories.
As much as I agree that (ignoring cost) Mac OS X is the best thing out there for Just About Everyone, there are plenty for whom it's just not suitable.-Erik
Off the top of my head:
1) You can switch windows managers in Applications -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Window Manager
2) The alternative clock applets were not ported to GNOME 2 because it was decided that there should be only one clock applet that is flexible. Having many clock applets was a significant source of confusion for users in Sun's usability test.
3) Where responsibility for saving windows states lies is still a topic of debate. There is a discussion of this that began this weekend on the desktop-devel-list. There was also a more technical discussion of this last month on the wm-spec-list.
Erik
I think that person would be ill-advised to acquire and Xbox for $200, spend however much on a modchip, in the process voiding their warrenty, in order that they play MAME, when a console that can be picked up for $50 and under can do the same thing.
XBox console: $200
Modchip: $100
MAME download: $0
Forcing Microsoft eat a $150 loss for every XBox you buy: priceless
-Erik
In this day and age, taking down a large corporation's mail server could probably put you in a hotter pot of water then a hit-and-run could
This is ridiculous. First, anyone who can drive a car can assault and kill another person with that car very easily. Taking down the mail server of a corporation big enough that the damages you would do would outstrip murder or manslaughter is something that requires significant knowledge.
Secondly, in no way shape or form do monetary damages to a corporation compare to maiming or killing an innocent person. It doesn't matter how much money is involved, any resonable person can see that murder is a far serious offence than what amounts to corporate vandalism.
-Erik
Macintosh hardware is priced so that it can cover the cost of R&D in software development as well as hardware development. They offer the software for free as an incentive to buy the hardware.
-Erik
how long will it be before computers start getting treated like cars?
As soon as using your computer recklessly can kill someone.
-Erik
GNOME 2 developers can't listen to GNOME 2 users unless the users speak directly to them. File a bug in bugzilla.gnome.org. That's the best way to put this request on the developers' plate. And don't just say "RE-ENABLE VIEWPORTS," explain exactly what it is about viewports that you miss... is it that windows can straddle viewports? Is it navigation?
It's my understanding (after lurking on the gnome lists for a while) that the intention is not to leave viewport users in the dust, but to try to allow viewport users to use workspaces in the same way they used to used viewports. I.e. put a checkbox somewhere that says "allow windows to straddle workspaces" etc.
But this functionality won't be implemented unless the GNOME developers know people want it. So file a bug. File several bugs, one for each bit of functionality you miss that viewports had.
-Erik
To be perfectly honest, any DIVX movie you are going to fit on a CD is trash. I've come across a couple of ~800MB DIVX movies where the quality was tolerable for casual viewing of movies without much in the way of visuals, but if I want to watch a movie with interesting visuals or invite friends over there's no sense in using a DIVX CD.
The quality of a 700 meg DIVX is just utter crap when compared to DVD or even VHS. This is especially compounded when it's of the filmed-with-a-camcorder-in-the-theater variety.
A) If the movie isn't in the theaters yet, I don't want to waste my first viewing on a crappy DIVX.
B) If the movie isn't on DVD yet, but I saw it in theaters, I probably won't be itching to watch it again since I saw it recently.
C) If the movie isn't worth seeing in theaters, I can wait for the DVD.
D) If the movie is out on DVD the only reason to use DIVX is if you are socially corrupt and don't feel like paying. Note that if you can afford an XBox and a CD burner, you can affor a DVD player.
I have a feeling that the market for this "technology" is for people who A) want to show their friends how l33t they are because they saw Spiderman before it came out in the theaters and D) people who don't think they need to compensate members of their community before they take advantage of their work. That's a few percent of adolescent males, a tiny sliver of the XBox's total market.
-Erik
If you ever want to give GNOME another try, make sure you check out this and this.
I'm not sure if they will address all of your concerns, but they'll address some at least. GNOME is young, but it's changing and improving very quickly.
-Erik
People don't have to lie or be stupid to both hate Microsoft and run XP.
I don't think anyone who runs XP exclusively truly hates Microsoft. If you hate MS, you'll try to find another way when you can. Maybe you will need Windows for some things, but you'll do your damnedest to find alternatives.
What people who profess to hate MS and run their software really mean is "MS are jerks, I wish they didn't have as much power." But they don't really mean it. They are dependent on MS and therefore part of them really doesn't want them to go away. And that's not hate. It's conflicted dislike.
Granted, I'm typing this on MSIE right now. I haven't figured out how to burn CDs in Linux yet, so I booted to windows this evening. I just got back and now I'm going to bed so I didn't bother booting to Linux (though I do hate to send that IE header to slashdot. I'd feel much better sending a Mozilla one.)
But do I hate MS? No, I think they're bad for the industry, they're slowing things down. I've been trying my best to migrate to other platforms over the past year or so, but I have other goals--like school--that take precedence.
The thing is, I don't claim to hate microsoft. I just want them out.
-Erik
- I hate Microsoft. They're bastards.
- I have Windows XP on my desktop.
Either you are lying on one of these counts or you are too stupid to recognize that running Windows XP on your desktop is in direct support of Microsoft being bastards whether you paid for it or not.-Erik
Keith Teare wants us to email 'zig'? For great justice?
What you say!! Someone set him up the bomb!
-Erik
Whether computers are powerful or not, not everyone wants to be a computer programmer.
I'm not suggesting that everyone become a career programmer--just that all kinds of people can benefit from knowing how to program.
-Erik
People continually say "not every student needs to know programming" and we all nod our heads and say to ourselves "no, I suppose not."
The computer is THE single most powerful tool that man has ever created. Not since the fence--which allowed the human race to change from wandering predatory animals to stable civilizations--has a tool ever had the potential to change things the way computer have. Sure we (the human race) only use them for email and spreadsheets at the moment. But the computer is the first tool that has ever been able to manipulate pure information in nearly limitless and arbitrary ways.
And programming is the key to realizing the potential of computers. We need programmers in all industries, all walks of life. Any task which requires information processing can benefit from programming skills, which lead directly to automation, which leads directly to increased efficiency and thus quality of life. The better I become at building software, the more I am convinced that the usefulness of this skill is boundless.
So fuck Word, teach kids LISP. Or MindStorms, or whatever it takes. That's what will be truly useful in any world view broader than the utterly narrow "but I need it on my resume so company X will hire me" view.
-Erik
The whooshing sound going over their head was so loud it almost broke the sound barrier.
You mean the sound almost reached the speed of sound? Wow, he/she really was stupid.
-Erik
They just need to add a disgustingly excessive drop shadow in the GIMP, and it'll be ready for slashdot!
-Erik
Connector is not part of Ximian Desktop, which is what he is talking about bundling.
Desktop is ~$30 I think, and would be discounted as part of the bundle.
-Erik
2D projections of 3D are a poor substitute for actual 3D objects
Tell that to the animation world. Motion and other cues give us a lot of information about an object. Stereo vision is *not* the only way we perceive depth.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you talk about Quake though. I doubt any worthwhile 2d-projection 3d interface is going to have a fast moving camera (or a moving camera at all). It is indeed disorienting and often nausiating. Of course, this falls under the category of poor implemetation. There are many other ways to tackle the problem of movement besides free 1st person movement. Guided navigation seems like a good idea to me.
-Erik
The human brain is built to analze 3d information. By presenting things in 2d, we are wasting this marvelous ability.
The fact is, most 3d interfaces in existance just plain suck. The problems are with implementation and design details, though... It's very hard to take advantage of spatial 3d information display without forcing awkward interfaces that are easy to get lost in and difficult to understand. That doesn't mean that the theory I've stated above isn't worth pursuing, though... just that making use of the theory in a workable way is VERY HARD. This is why we study it.
There is progress being made. I got the chance to paint in 3d with a very simple 3d interface at the CAVE at Brown university (it was a paintbrush with a button on it and some virtual pots I could dip it into). It was simple and usable and trust me, it's much easier to paint a 3d object with a 3d cursor than a 2d cursor.
-Erik
I bet Steve Jobs has a smile on his face from ear to ear right now. Now, when Apple goes to a school and they say "well, Bob So-and-so from Microsoft offered us the same package for 20% less," they can pull out an article and say, "yes, but when one of your students installs a warez version of Visual Studio on a machine, we won't come in and ram it down your throat and steal your wallet."
I think it's great that the climate of mistrust for Microsoft grows every day. Little by little people are realizing Microsoft is the mafia of the Tech industry. They do their song and dance and you think they'll give you the world. But before you know it you realize they're squeezing the lifeblood out of your enterprise and forcing you to change the way you do business and eventually you've got a bullet in your back.
It doesn't matter if you hear it out loud, people are getting the message.
-Erik
Yeah, here's the transcription:
Studio360: So you did that phantom edit thing?
PhantomEditor: Yeah.
S360: How come?
PE: TPM was lame. Lucas is a capitalist dog. I made it seem like Anakin is more badass and less of a tool and I took out all of the Jar-Jar CG bullshit.
S360: How did it get so big?
PE: Internet.
S360: Has George Lucas seen it?
PE: He wanted to, but his legaltroids made him say he wouldn't. He should tho, cuz it's 31337.