At some point I bought a new minivan and they billed me with $2800 for 6 months. Dumping Progressive immediately took me to $700 a year for the same coverage.
Conclusion: tic-tac -- 5% off dump Progressive -- 80% off
What a coincidence: I just installed mine. It was about $60 though. They have a more expensive model (over $100) but I couldn't figure out the difference.
The radio works fine all over my house (better range than the wireless). The Linux USB detects the box as a keyboard, so I added a "keybdev" into/etc/hotplug/blacklist and added the right lines to XF86Config.
Tha's pure urban legend.
In the same way I am under the impression Windows
always was some sort of joke (and I still feel that).
The linux desktop may look difficult to get to
since you actually have to install it and to
learn it while you were used with another paradigm.
The truth is that installing Linux is easier than installing Windows (on supported standard hardware), and learning how to use GNOME or KDE is in no way more difficult than learning the Windows GUI.
The fact that makes Windows easier is that it is already pre-installed by the vendor and most of the people were forced already into it.
The fact that makes Linux better is that in the long run you spend much less (money AND time) for the same or better results. Of course, unless you are purely after games. So probably the Redhat suit thought about game playing when he talked about "desktop".
Which is why seeing comments that say "Yay! Now I can dump Red Hat for a distribution like SuSE that doesn't do all of this evil stuff" is so bizarre.
Look, I'm forced to do exactly that: drop Redhat for SuSE. I was using Redhat from version 3.0.3 (Slackware before that).
There are two main reasons that force me to switch:
1. Security updates: SuSE is still providing updates for their 7.3 release, so I feel confident that in 2006 I'll still have updates for release 9. Well, I am not so confident any more after the Novel news...
2. Software packages: Redhat went strongly downhill with the packages included in their releases since 7.3. E.g. in redhat 9 there is no usable calendar application (well except evolution which is actually a little monster). Take a look at SuSE's list of packages. I found there most applications that I had to compile by hand for redhat 7.3 and all the applications that were removed from post-7.3 redhat.
So in my opinion these are the reasons why SuSE may be now the best alternative out there for
people making a living out of Linux.
Of course, as a hobby, Debian, Gentoo, and Mandrake are a joy to run.
Hey, Redhat, don't be too happy about makink money now.
Once 2004 will be here, updates to RH7.3 will be discontinued and redhat computers will be hacked as crazy. There is no other alternative than moving away. No "supported in 2004" version of Redhat is by far near the maturity flexibility and completness of 7.3, so there is no much of a choice in the Redhat world.
Actually there is enough public info to break your garage door code or any lock of your house. One just needs enough motivation and skills to use that against you.That info is so public that it is taught in low level classes for locksmiths and garage door technicians.
The fact that the info is public, is good. It motivates the lock manufactuers to develop better products and to sell them to you at a higher margin so you buy yourself also an enhaced feeling of (otherwise inexistent) security. Actually they are blackmailing you into paying them huge profits such that they cover for your hidden little fears. Blackmail! Blackmail! Go after them dude!
The percentage of copy-protected CD's is extremely low.
Could be. People don't want to take the risk. Since BMG announced they'll "protect" CDs I unsubscribed from their club and didn't buy one single CD. Maybe others did the same.
I do not use P2P or own any pirated music. Radio seems to be enough for the moment. "Protect" that.
Big blue supports it, Dell supports it, and now HP is supporting it.
That's bull man. Can you buy any PC pre-installed with Linux from any of those companies?
Do these companies make sure that all their i386 computers contain Linux-friendly hardware?
NO.
From words to commitment is a long way. IBM did some good contributions back to the community releasing as OSS software that didn't sell, no important help for Linux in particular though. The others are just riding the buzz. The thing is they cannot do anything even if they want because they sell crappy custom hardware to force you pay for the upgrades.
Matlab was good. Newer versions are worse and the backwards compatibility lacks. The so called compiler depends on system's libraries and works only on the exact software used by Mathworks when the version of Matlab was released. This is usually far behind the latest release (in 2001 the Matlab-to-C translator was relaying on libraries from Redhat 5.1, i.e. 4 years behind). The tendency in the Math Dept where I work is to drop Matlab in favor of octave and scilab.
I'll never buy such thing. It is either a scam or a scam. The image of Segway's boss on wheels posing as a lunatic inventor doesn't trick me and doesn't provide more trust.
My experience with Sony miniaturized equipment (e.g. those super-portable Vaios) is that tyey are very nice and well designed, but technically unusable.
Those things are only to make you look fancy. If you really need something to perform real work, go back to some uglier and bulkier equipment.
I have about 10 of those 600's floating around (3-4 years old). Statistically the battery lives are normal. There was one that had the battery dead in about one year. On the other end, several days ago I was working on another one that was up for about 2.5 hours on battery before complaining. The battery was changed only on 2 of them, but some of the original batteries are in pretty poor shape.
It doesn't seem to be any behaviour pattern consistent with the model number (600, 600X) or with the operating system (most of them are Linux only, several are dual boot).
However I agree that IBM should be more selective with the quality of the battery they install in their laptops. Even if the overall quality of their laptops is by far the best, crappy batteries and lack of built-in modems (no, that cannot be called modem) may be a serious concern.
Both companies are driven by some very good case designers plus some toaster-minded engineers.
Did you try a top-of-the-line VCR from Matushita/Panasonic? It has a lot of complicated/"advanced" features (that work poorly) but it lacks the most ellementary functions (e.g. simple fast forward to where YOU want not where it decides it is the end/start of the track). Sort like emacs in Redhat 7.3.
Did you ever try to use a Vayo notebook? I'm telling you, it is a nightmare. It looks great but it is practically unusable even with Windows. Unstable, most of the functions are software implemented and they work poorly, the BIOS is the greatest failure I've ever seen. Compared to an IBM it is like a bycicle compared to a Rols Royce.
So I doubt such companies (and others including JVC) will actually be able to understand anything about Linux. Even the toothbrush joke is a long shot. They are perfectly match for Microsoft. As a Microsoft marketer told me once about Windows 9x, all these crappy products are "consumer grade" and the consumer doesn't know how they should behave, so it is happy with what they get. Go buy Windows NT and see there professional product (ha, ha, ha).
I don't see many articles or reports anywhere proving it's a "practice-confirmed truth."
It works like this: X is your best (but not fanatic) Windows admin and services (reboots/reinstalls) 30 computers.
Go and tell the manager: lets give X 2 times more money and ask him to service 300 computers with Linux at the same level of quality.
Treat is as a pilot program such that "practice" and not stupid reports tell if this is viable or not.
Give X a year to make things work an if they don't come back to the previous state (30 computers and half the money).
It will work.
There aren't too many reports for a reason: you cannot compare apples to apples in this field, and whoever can doesn't have time to write reports.
Also you do not need lenghty reports to find out the following:
1. A Linux/Windows/whatever environment is as good/efficient/stable/secure/easy-to-use as the competence of the sysadmins.
2. The same person as Linux sysadmin will provide the same quality level of the computing environment for 8-12 times more machines compared with Windows environments. It will take only 2-3 times higher salary per sysadmin and about 50% cut of the infrastucture costs (mainly the price of crappy commercial consummer software licensing).
This practice-confirmed truth should convince any sysadmin/user/management to migrate.
best way to try and beat RH is to beat them in support
That's totaly true. However, a good Linux distribution pushed hard by 3 seriuos companies will force Redhat back to the track, so it will be good for all Linux users. I'm using Redhat from 3.0.3. The quality of the *.2 distributions had a sharp peak around 5.2 and went downhill ever since (I didn't try 7.3 though).
Redhat started to rush the distributions out the door to keep up with some sort of absurd schedule instead of paying attention to quality and detail. The release of 7.3 instead of 8.0 looks like a good singn I suppose.
The obvious solution is to minimize the probability that the driver will arrive on yellow. I.e. give
the right synchronization to the damn lights.
In the region where I commute, the first cars (and the entire pack altogether) systematically see yellow in the distance and catch red very near the next light, such that the waiting time is maximized. The lights are synchronized but the purpose is to make the traffic as bad as possible. The temptation to jump the lights and to get out of the vicious circle is so strong that usually the first several cars in the pack speed with more than 20 miles/hour over the limit and run the red lights. If you jump a light you are free to go for miles without stopping.
They should see which lights are typically jumped and worry about fixing the traffic instead of fining. This should bring much more benefit in the long run.
As long as the "stuff" is organized into well defined modules with well documented APIs and you replace a module or a set of modules keeping things consistent, there should be no problem with upgrades or the way the system works.
Slashdot Mirror
Progressive, he, he ...
At some point I bought a new minivan and they billed me with $2800 for 6 months. Dumping Progressive immediately took me to $700 a year for the same coverage.
Conclusion:
tic-tac -- 5% off
dump Progressive -- 80% off
What a coincidence: I just installed mine.
/etc/hotplug/blacklist and added the right lines to XF86Config.
It was about $60 though. They have a more expensive model (over $100) but I couldn't figure out the difference.
The radio works fine all over my house (better range than the wireless). The Linux USB detects the box as a keyboard, so I added a "keybdev" into
NIS, LDAP, Kerberos, even samba. Pick the one that suits your environment.
And a 2-button mouse? X-Windows anyone?
Tha's pure urban legend.
In the same way I am under the impression Windows always was some sort of joke (and I still feel that).
The linux desktop may look difficult to get to since you actually have to install it and to learn it while you were used with another paradigm.
The truth is that installing Linux is easier than installing Windows (on supported standard hardware), and learning how to use GNOME or KDE is in no way more difficult than learning the Windows GUI.
The fact that makes Windows easier is that it is already pre-installed by the vendor and most of the people were forced already into it. The fact that makes Linux better is that in the long run you spend much less (money AND time) for the same or better results. Of course, unless you are purely after games. So probably the Redhat suit thought about game playing when he talked about "desktop".
Look, I'm forced to do exactly that: drop Redhat for SuSE. I was using Redhat from version 3.0.3 (Slackware before that).
There are two main reasons that force me to switch:
1. Security updates: SuSE is still providing updates for their 7.3 release, so I feel confident that in 2006 I'll still have updates for release 9. Well, I am not so confident any more after the Novel news ...
2. Software packages: Redhat went strongly downhill with the packages included in their releases since 7.3. E.g. in redhat 9 there is no usable calendar application (well except evolution which is actually a little monster). Take a look at SuSE's list of packages. I found there most applications that I had to compile by hand for redhat 7.3 and all the applications that were removed from post-7.3 redhat.
So in my opinion these are the reasons why SuSE may be now the best alternative out there for people making a living out of Linux. Of course, as a hobby, Debian, Gentoo, and Mandrake are a joy to run.
Hey, Redhat, don't be too happy about makink money now.
Once 2004 will be here, updates to RH7.3 will be discontinued and redhat computers will be hacked as crazy. There is no other alternative than moving away. No "supported in 2004" version of Redhat is by far near the maturity flexibility and completness of 7.3, so there is no much of a choice in the Redhat world.
Go Redhat 2003, go SuSE 2004+.
If you care, there is a "Intel Support of Centrino Under Linux Petition" here:m l
http://www.petitiononline.com/xanthan/petition.ht
Please go sign it.
Actually there is enough public info to break your garage door code or any lock of your house.
One just needs enough motivation and skills to use that against you.That info is so public that it is taught in low level classes for locksmiths and garage door technicians.
The fact that the info is public, is good. It motivates the lock manufactuers to develop better products and to sell them to you at a higher margin so you buy yourself also an enhaced feeling of (otherwise inexistent) security. Actually they are blackmailing you into paying them huge profits such that they cover for your hidden little fears. Blackmail! Blackmail! Go after them dude!
Yeah? Like what?
Since I'm not on a budget I tested all the wireless gadgets I could get my hands on. Linksys equipment was by far the best and the most stable.
Could be. People don't want to take the risk.
Since BMG announced they'll "protect" CDs I unsubscribed from their club and didn't buy one single CD. Maybe others did the same.
I do not use P2P or own any pirated music.
Radio seems to be enough for the moment.
"Protect" that.
Isn't the entire point of an OS to interface the hardware (computer, other computers) to the user?
Without X there is no real purpose for the network. No, the main purpose of the network is not to browse the web and chat the rooms.
That's what people do not understand: X makes computers usable. No X means back to the stone (Windows) age.
That's bull man. Can you buy any PC pre-installed with Linux from any of those companies? Do these companies make sure that all their i386 computers contain Linux-friendly hardware? NO.
From words to commitment is a long way. IBM did some good contributions back to the community releasing as OSS software that didn't sell, no important help for Linux in particular though. The others are just riding the buzz. The thing is they cannot do anything even if they want because they sell crappy custom hardware to force you pay for the upgrades.
Matlab was good. Newer versions are worse and the
backwards compatibility lacks. The so called compiler depends on system's libraries and works only on the exact software used by Mathworks when the version of Matlab was released. This is usually far behind the latest release (in 2001 the Matlab-to-C translator was relaying on libraries from Redhat 5.1, i.e. 4 years behind).
The tendency in the Math Dept where I work is to drop Matlab in favor of octave and scilab.
I'll never buy such thing.
It is either a scam or a scam.
The image of Segway's boss on wheels posing as a lunatic inventor doesn't trick me and doesn't provide more trust.
My experience with Sony miniaturized equipment
(e.g. those super-portable Vaios) is that tyey are very nice and well designed, but technically unusable.
Those things are only to make you look fancy. If you really need something to perform real work, go back to some uglier and bulkier equipment.
I have about 10 of those 600's floating around (3-4 years old). Statistically the battery lives are normal. There was one that had the battery dead in about one year. On the other end, several days ago I was working on another one that was up for about 2.5 hours on battery before complaining. The battery was changed only on 2 of them, but some of the original batteries are in pretty poor shape.
It doesn't seem to be any behaviour pattern consistent with the model number (600, 600X) or with the operating system (most of them are Linux only, several are dual boot).
However I agree that IBM should be more selective with the quality of the battery they install in their laptops. Even if the overall quality of their laptops is by far the best, crappy batteries and lack of built-in modems (no, that cannot be called modem) may be a serious concern.
Both companies are driven by some very good case designers plus some toaster-minded engineers.
Did you try a top-of-the-line VCR from Matushita/Panasonic?
It has a lot of complicated/"advanced" features (that work poorly) but it lacks the most ellementary functions (e.g. simple fast forward to where YOU want not where it decides it is the end/start of the track). Sort like emacs in Redhat 7.3.
Did you ever try to use a Vayo notebook? I'm telling you, it is a nightmare. It looks great but it is practically unusable even with Windows. Unstable, most of the functions are software implemented and they work poorly, the BIOS is the greatest failure I've ever seen. Compared to an IBM it is like a bycicle compared to a Rols Royce.
So I doubt such companies (and others including JVC) will actually be able to understand anything about Linux. Even the toothbrush joke is a long shot. They are perfectly match for Microsoft. As a Microsoft marketer told me once about Windows 9x, all these crappy products are "consumer grade" and the consumer doesn't know how they should behave, so it is happy with what they get. Go buy Windows NT and see there professional product (ha, ha, ha).
It works like this: X is your best (but not fanatic) Windows admin and services (reboots/reinstalls) 30 computers.
Go and tell the manager: lets give X 2 times more money and ask him to service 300 computers with Linux at the same level of quality. Treat is as a pilot program such that "practice" and not stupid reports tell if this is viable or not. Give X a year to make things work an if they don't come back to the previous state (30 computers and half the money).
It will work.
There aren't too many reports for a reason: you cannot compare apples to apples in this field, and whoever can doesn't have time to write reports.
Also you do not need lenghty reports to find out the following:
1. A Linux/Windows/whatever environment is as good/efficient/stable/secure/easy-to-use as the competence of the sysadmins.
2. The same person as Linux sysadmin will provide the same quality level of the computing environment for 8-12 times more machines compared with Windows environments. It will take only 2-3 times higher salary per sysadmin and about 50% cut of the infrastucture costs (mainly the price of crappy commercial consummer software licensing).
This practice-confirmed truth should convince any sysadmin/user/management to migrate.
as opposed to one sysadmin every 200 computers needed for Linux systems.
That's totaly true. However, a good Linux distribution pushed hard by 3 seriuos companies will force Redhat back to the track, so it will be good for all Linux users. I'm using Redhat from 3.0.3. The quality of the *.2 distributions had a sharp peak around 5.2 and went downhill ever since (I didn't try 7.3 though). Redhat started to rush the distributions out the door to keep up with some sort of absurd schedule instead of paying attention to quality and detail. The release of 7.3 instead of 8.0 looks like a good singn I suppose.
Try "Page Setup" from the "File" menu.
The obvious solution is to minimize the probability that the driver will arrive on yellow. I.e. give the right synchronization to the damn lights.
In the region where I commute, the first cars (and the entire pack altogether) systematically see yellow in the distance and catch red very near the next light, such that the waiting time is maximized. The lights are synchronized but the purpose is to make the traffic as bad as possible. The temptation to jump the lights and to get out of the vicious circle is so strong that usually the first several cars in the pack speed with more than 20 miles/hour over the limit and run the red lights. If you jump a light you are free to go for miles without stopping.
They should see which lights are typically jumped and worry about fixing the traffic instead of fining. This should bring much more benefit in the long run.
As long as the "stuff" is organized into well defined modules with well documented APIs and you replace a module or a set of modules keeping things consistent, there should be no problem with upgrades or the way the system works.