I like it. The downloadable version doesn't have enough goodies for my liking, but the various things that are included with it are pretty much the necessities, without duplicating a lot.
What a great concept! A lot of distributions pride themselves on being 500-ubergigabytes in size, but that doesn't necessarily mean better. (Case in point: Windows 98 vs. 95)... the problem is that you get so many different pieces of software, that unless you already know what you're doing, you'll have no clue as to where you should start.
Corel's KDE layout is good; it doesn't overwhelm... kinda like Windows 95's default desktop. That's important for people who are new to Linux.
Downside? The thing is slow on the test P-166 system I installed on. Looking up a help page took 15 seconds, mainly because it had to go through Netscape, which is a greivous error; KDE -has- a web-browser that accomplishes this quite nicely already. The content of the documentation itself is pretty decent, though.
The graphical LILO is a nice touch, too... even offers Windows users a seamless way back to their original system. Good call.
For those commenting that the graphical install might preclude people from using Corel Liunx, well... duhh. If your card can't handle 640x480x256 VGA, you may want to consider spending $25 on one that does. Corel Linux is centered around KDE; pick another distribution if you don't want graphics.
Overall, Corel Linux is a very welcome addition to the Linux community; and it's good that a known corporation is putting their support behind it; after all, that's who the newcomes to Linux are going to listen to... not Slashdot geek-zealots.;-)
Yeah, I'd noticed that. I know that programming comes first to most coders, and documenting second... but if we're expecting the greater computing community to join in the Free Software crusade, we need to live up to the documentation end as strongly as the software end.
But I digress... I'm sure xfree86.org will have an announcement up Real Soon Now.
It's great that Slashdot informs us of updates to "cornerstone" Linux products like XFree86, but may I offer a suggestion?
Instead of simply providing a link to an FTP site containing the updated files, how about offering a link to the homepage, or some sort of "announcement" or "new features" page on the web-site. That way we can, at a real-quick glance, see what's new and decide if it's worth it before starting a download. It'd also save some time hunting down the relevant information manually, or, -god forbid-, via another site like Freshmeat...;-)
(as for the previous poster's comment about a software-update posting being irrelevant on Slashdot, keep in mind that a large portion of the Linux community uses XFree86, plus it's bleeding-edge... so it's "News for Nerds" and "Stuff that Matters"...)
So I boot up the ole' Windows machine here... everything's working fine (10pm EST, dec.31st), until that "Critical Update Notification" message comes up. Okay, sure... coulda sworn this wasn't here the other day.
So I check in with Windows Update... and what's the critical update? It's a Y2K patch for Microsoft Outlook... one of the most often-used Microsoft applications in the business environment! I have to say, considering MS has been fairly good about getting Y2K updates out for their software (in some cases, multiple patches cause they didn't -quite- catch everything), I think releasing a patch just a couple of days before "the day" is horrific.
Perhaps I should be staying tuned, just in case they discover something 'at the last minute'. After all, you gotta consider that, even though nothing major in terms of computer failures have been reported thus far, that probably just indicates that computers of any real value to society aren't running Windows...;-) Daltorak
Rob Young, love him or hate him, has also made a notable contribution to the net this year, for it was his company, Red Hat, that first demonstrated to the larger world that you can build a successful company by pursuing your dreams. He's a good orator and promoter of Linux, and a lot of people bought into the belief that Linux really is the future of computing on the Internet. While some (many) disdain the fact that people refer to "Linux" and "Red Hat" interchangably, we should all be happy that they're here with us, supporting the Linux community.
Another name of my list, equally important in a different fashion, is David Bowie (whose website is here). No, he's not a tie-dyed Linux boy, but have you seen the extent of what this guy has done this year? He practically concocted the first major "aid" event that had its roots in the Internet community (that's NetAid). It's so important that, in today's high-paced, high-technology world, the people who need our help the most aren't the mindless goobers who live and breathe Microsoft products, it's the children and families who are destitute in so many areas around the world.
It's easy to forget, but suffering takes many forms in this world. It's highly commendable that people like him (and U2's Bono), who are in a position that they don't have to give a damn, are trying to make a difference. The net is a great way to communicate this message, since so many people (with money) are here, online.
Well, the framerates are poor, probably because they haven't ported DirectX over, so they're still using GDI function calls... oh yeah, and it's gotta run the task manager, scheduler, window manager, registry massager, and surely you cannot forget that it's gotta check for an upgrade to Internet Explorer every couple of minutes. God forbid you wouldn't want to be using an obsolete web browser on your Dreamcast while trying to play a good game of football...
Their constant ignorance of their child(ren)'s well-being, and lack of care in ensuring they have a healthy, loving home environment, creates far greater consequences than they could ever imagine. Kids who are ignored by their parents (that is to say, their parents give them less loving attention than other parents give their kids) will more than likely end up sitting in-front of the computer screen for hours and hours at a time, indulging themselves in one thing or another.
Ideally, they'd become Linux zealots, and become productive members of the community. That's not always the case, though. Depending on the acuteness of the home environment, especially at earlier ages, they may have the ingrained need to "act out", to "be seen", and to "get back at society" for what they perceive as its oppressive behaviour towards them. And thus are born your counterculture hackers, your obsessive Unreal Tournament players, your sexually depraved MUD-players, and so on. A lot of these kids end up becoming desensitized and disconnected from the reality around them, and suddenly walking through a high-school (the one they hate, the one that oppresses them) becomes a matter of fragging people on the other team.
The best way for society to avoid this sort of bullshit is for the parents to practice hands-on parenting from day one, and never, ever quitting. This means spending more time doing activities with the kids; going to sports events; ncluding them in family activities; encouraging open, honest dialogue; and, sure, playing FPS games infront of the computer... If you're a parent, and you're reading this, READ THAT AGAIN. Don't assume you're a great parent, just because you think you're the most damned amazing person to ever walk this earth. Don't be an ignorant fool -- love your children, and demonstrate that through positive words and positive actions, every day.
As for the games? Often enough, these things are developed by people who are themselves desensitized to violence and such. Perhaps John Carmack was neglected as a child, and this is his way of showing the world, "hey, I'm allright". But what does it matter... we shouldn't be spending our lives judging the artistic talents of others. We can simply choose not to buy (or download) the game.
Slashdot Mirror
Oh great, did they cover how to use external drives?
Step 1: Mount your removable media.
Step 2: Perform Input/Output... higher speeds are preferred.
Step 3: Unmount when I/O is finished and buffers have been flushed.
Let's not get into issues about how Linux can have many drives mounted at once... especially those "scuzzy" ones. Bleh.
Oh yeah... hopefully they didn't find those kinky man pages included with emacs...
Daltorak
I like it. The downloadable version doesn't have enough goodies for my liking, but the various things that are included with it are pretty much the necessities, without duplicating a lot.
;-)
What a great concept! A lot of distributions pride themselves on being 500-ubergigabytes in size, but that doesn't necessarily mean better. (Case in point: Windows 98 vs. 95)... the problem is that you get so many different pieces of software, that unless you already know what you're doing, you'll have no clue as to where you should start.
Corel's KDE layout is good; it doesn't overwhelm... kinda like Windows 95's default desktop. That's important for people who are new to Linux.
Downside? The thing is slow on the test P-166 system I installed on. Looking up a help page took 15 seconds, mainly because it had to go through Netscape, which is a greivous error; KDE -has- a web-browser that accomplishes this quite nicely already. The content of the documentation itself is pretty decent, though.
The graphical LILO is a nice touch, too... even offers Windows users a seamless way back to their original system. Good call.
For those commenting that the graphical install might preclude people from using Corel Liunx, well... duhh. If your card can't handle 640x480x256 VGA, you may want to consider spending $25 on one that does. Corel Linux is centered around KDE; pick another distribution if you don't want graphics.
Overall, Corel Linux is a very welcome addition to the Linux community; and it's good that a known corporation is putting their support behind it; after all, that's who the newcomes to Linux are going to listen to... not Slashdot geek-zealots.
Daltorak
Yeah, I'd noticed that. I know that programming comes first to most coders, and documenting second... but if we're expecting the greater computing community to join in the Free Software crusade, we need to live up to the documentation end as strongly as the software end.
But I digress... I'm sure xfree86.org will have an announcement up Real Soon Now.
Daltorak
It's great that Slashdot informs us of updates to "cornerstone" Linux products like XFree86, but may I offer a suggestion?
;-)
Instead of simply providing a link to an FTP site containing the updated files, how about offering a link to the homepage, or some sort of "announcement" or "new features" page on the web-site. That way we can, at a real-quick glance, see what's new and decide if it's worth it before starting a download. It'd also save some time hunting down the relevant information manually, or, -god forbid-, via another site like Freshmeat...
(as for the previous poster's comment about a software-update posting being irrelevant on Slashdot, keep in mind that a large portion of the Linux community uses XFree86, plus it's bleeding-edge... so it's "News for Nerds" and "Stuff that Matters"...)
Daltorak
So I boot up the ole' Windows machine here... everything's working fine (10pm EST, dec.31st), until that "Critical Update Notification" message comes up. Okay, sure... coulda sworn this wasn't here the other day.
;-) Daltorak
So I check in with Windows Update... and what's the critical update? It's a Y2K patch for Microsoft Outlook... one of the most often-used Microsoft applications in the business environment! I have to say, considering MS has been fairly good about getting Y2K updates out for their software (in some cases, multiple patches cause they didn't -quite- catch everything), I think releasing a patch just a couple of days before "the day" is horrific.
Perhaps I should be staying tuned, just in case they discover something 'at the last minute'. After all, you gotta consider that, even though nothing major in terms of computer failures have been reported thus far, that probably just indicates that computers of any real value to society aren't running Windows...
Rob Young, love him or hate him, has also made a notable contribution to the net this year, for it was his company, Red Hat, that first demonstrated to the larger world that you can build a successful company by pursuing your dreams. He's a good orator and promoter of Linux, and a lot of people bought into the belief that Linux really is the future of computing on the Internet. While some (many) disdain the fact that people refer to "Linux" and "Red Hat" interchangably, we should all be happy that they're here with us, supporting the Linux community.
Another name of my list, equally important in a different fashion, is David Bowie (whose website is here). No, he's not a tie-dyed Linux boy, but have you seen the extent of what this guy has done this year? He practically concocted the first major "aid" event that had its roots in the Internet community (that's NetAid). It's so important that, in today's high-paced, high-technology world, the people who need our help the most aren't the mindless goobers who live and breathe Microsoft products, it's the children and families who are destitute in so many areas around the world.
It's easy to forget, but suffering takes many forms in this world. It's highly commendable that people like him (and U2's Bono), who are in a position that they don't have to give a damn, are trying to make a difference. The net is a great way to communicate this message, since so many people (with money) are here, online.
Daltorak.
Well, the framerates are poor, probably because they haven't ported DirectX over, so they're still using GDI function calls... oh yeah, and it's gotta run the task manager, scheduler, window manager, registry massager, and surely you cannot forget that it's gotta check for an upgrade to Internet Explorer every couple of minutes. God forbid you wouldn't want to be using an obsolete web browser on your Dreamcast while trying to play a good game of football...
A lot of people don't deserve to be parents.
Their constant ignorance of their child(ren)'s well-being, and lack of care in ensuring they have a healthy, loving home environment, creates far greater consequences than they could ever imagine. Kids who are ignored by their parents (that is to say, their parents give them less loving attention than other parents give their kids) will more than likely end up sitting in-front of the computer screen for hours and hours at a time, indulging themselves in one thing or another.
Ideally, they'd become Linux zealots, and become productive members of the community. That's not always the case, though. Depending on the acuteness of the home environment, especially at earlier ages, they may have the ingrained need to "act out", to "be seen", and to "get back at society" for what they perceive as its oppressive behaviour towards them. And thus are born your counterculture hackers, your obsessive Unreal Tournament players, your sexually depraved MUD-players, and so on. A lot of these kids end up becoming desensitized and disconnected from the reality around them, and suddenly walking through a high-school (the one they hate, the one that oppresses them) becomes a matter of fragging people on the other team.
The best way for society to avoid this sort of bullshit is for the parents to practice hands-on parenting from day one, and never, ever quitting. This means spending more time doing activities with the kids; going to sports events; ncluding them in family activities; encouraging open, honest dialogue; and, sure, playing FPS games infront of the computer... If you're a parent, and you're reading this, READ THAT AGAIN. Don't assume you're a great parent, just because you think you're the most damned amazing person to ever walk this earth. Don't be an ignorant fool -- love your children, and demonstrate that through positive words and positive actions, every day.
As for the games? Often enough, these things are developed by people who are themselves desensitized to violence and such. Perhaps John Carmack was neglected as a child, and this is his way of showing the world, "hey, I'm allright". But what does it matter... we shouldn't be spending our lives judging the artistic talents of others. We can simply choose not to buy (or download) the game.
Daltorak.