As we all know, Germany, in the Hitler era, did a lot more that just innovate jet and rocket technology.
It's kind of hard to look at the Microsoft corporations' record and say they've innovated much of anything...certainly nothing on the par of Germany's rockets, uboats and jets (although the jets were not effective in the war or really even used).
The standards they do participate in generally lead, at some time down the road, to a "embrace and extend" scenario that tends to push other companies out, and increase their market share.
It's hard to review the facts and not conclude that Microsoft is, in general, a criminal organization that no longer (and perhaps never has) served the customer or the consumer.
Given all of the above, any "technology" or "standard" Microsoft is involved with should be viewed with suspicion, and alternative choices created, examined and supported as applicable.
I suppose you would loan Charles Manson your car, if he had a good driving record? (assuming CM were to be paroled some day)
To just blindly accept statements from a known liar, or technology from a murderous regime, or standards from a standards violator...without consideration of the consequences...it seems like the path of an ignorant.
...I hope more thought is given to making Linux easier to use and install.
Linux has made improvements, but there is still a "hacker ethos" in the Linux hierarchy that argues "if you don't know what you're doing, get out or RTFM".
Several years ago, I was suprised to see a friend, a female english teacher, set up a network of macs in her classroom with something like two pages of easily read documents...the server on her desk, the clients on the students' desks, the printers in the back of the room. It all just "set itself up" -- she did almost nothing except take the machines out of the boxes and hook them up.
Linux (and to a lesser extent) M$HAFT can't do this...Linux didn't exist back then, and there was no DHCP yet. Apple really deserves credit for some of the cool "empowering" things they've done.
Some things that would help linux :
1) Automagic install. Just do it.
2) Am I a server/admin or a client/user? If server, handle modem, printer and net details. If client, handle net details. Everything should just work.
3) Security console. Small GUI that shows who is doing what, where. Big button to shut off and/or turn on all connections/services.
A lot of people in Linux don't like to think about "automagic" installs and networking. "RTFM" is their battle cry.
Please, let's make things "mo betta". 5% of the global population should not have to studie sysadmin-ing.
I remain suprised that I am in a minority that view this election as somewhat crucial to both humanity and freedom as we move into the future.
It was the ability to control media (Radio and TV) that allowed Hitler's unhindered rise to power.
To allow Microsoft continued dominance of PC software opens the door to that very same threat.
Bush will fight to stop restrictions on Microsoft.
Gore is the only opponent who can beat Bush.
This election is a no-brainer, if you value things like the Constitution, civil rights, and keeping the lines of national/international communication free.
I can't help but wonder about all the specs being thrown about on the various gaming consoles.
I mean, PS2 is often compared to a "typical gaming PC".
PS2 is often said to have a polygon rate of something like 12 MP/Sec., yet this article says 66, and also states the Xbox will have 150.
It's kinda frustating to see all the numbers and wonder what's going to happen to this software-driven industry.
There is a lot of focus on controlling the market with the switch to consoles. I have heard Sony will be forcing developers to sign many NDAs, buy $15K in software/hardware, etc.
I'm sure that, when all is said and done, M$OFT will do the same thing.
From that point of view alone, it would be a good thing to see indrema become a "one stop" source for open gaming needs. It could be a niche that pays off big.
But they will be demonstable hardware that can come within maybe 10% of the competitor to really make a big splash.
That may be tough to do, with MS and Nvidia in such a loving embrace.
The courts say that political contributions are a form of free speech, thus equalization schemes (no candidate can spend more than another) are illegal.
I've always thought this violates one man, one vote...when the corporatists can flood two candidates with money, and as others have pointed out, they are both the same party.
Once again, the masses are asses, we choose between dumb and dumber, or tastes great/less filling.
Thus, just as thousands of Microserfs will vote for Bush, in an attempt to derail justice, I am placed in the uncomfortable position of being "Pro Gore" -- that is, I have to serve my own interests, ahead of what would be morally correct, which for be would be Nader, since he is anti-corporatist, but can't win.
In the USA, land of the free, home of the brave, the constitution, etc...employers have the right to scan all the transmissions on the wire, read your emails, whatever.
Just thought you'd like to know.
The last place I worked didn't delete ex-employees mail accounts, preferring to harvest and read what people sent them months/years after the employee left.
Bit of a historical rewrite there...actually, Bush kept claiming there was "no recession", while tech companies were closing througout the USA. At least Carter acknowledged the problem, but I don't want to get into the Carter thing.
I'm not saying that the gov't or president controls the economy, but just like in the armed forces (or many companies, for that matter) if the sh*t hits the fan on your watch, regardless of fault, you are probably going to have to take responsibility for it.
Taking responsibility means acknowedging the problem, and dealing with it...something the former Pres. Bush did not do.
Actually, I didn't want to vote for Clinton. I thought he was a slimeball. In many ways, he is...but he is also quite intelligent and has surrounded himself with a quality staff. I absolutely voted my pocketbook...the jobs just disappeared from the papers under Bush's watch...and I held him responsible.
I wouldn't hesitate to vote against another President given the same circumstances...they have an obligation to strengthen and monitor the US economy, whether they choose to accept it or not.
"Mild recession" is fairly subjective...a lot of companies in Southern California were absolutely devasted by Bush policies and (in)action. Members of my family lost almost everything...so it was not mild to us, compared to the carter years.
There are no viable third candidates in this election.
Voting third party makes a small statement, but given they weren't even in the debates, there is no way any one of them will get in the seat, short of divine intervention.
Dude, go back and look at the beginning of the posts...I clearly stated "...for those concerned with open computing..." -- thus stating the focus of the post.
I also made statements about the Supreme Court, transition concerns, and general technology.
Not a fair shot, Dude!
Vote for your choice, and I'll vote for mine. I wish there was a smarter, more qualified, more idependent *viable* candidate to vote for, but I'm reduced to these two.
I think this could be a critical election on a number of fronts, and having "survived" the previous Bush presidency, when the economy went to hell while he's on TV wondering over the miracle of supermarket scanners, and the whole Industrial park I was working in became a ghost town, all I can say is "No More Bush!"
But I don't begrudge anyone there vote or their opinion.
The title says it; I'm uncomfortable with gov't involvement in anything, but in this case I think it has become a necessary evil to be endured until sanity is restored.
What we have now really isn't a market, it's control by one monolithic corporate entity.
A "market" brings up images of a bazaar, with vendors hawking their wares, all trying to out do each other for your business.
Personal computing has become a road in the middle of nowhere. You're out of gas, and you pull into a station where a toothless Bill Gates says "Fill'er up?"
You ask "How much?" and he stretches his lips and whispers quietly "How much you got?" and laughs...well, maybe it's not there yet, but they are obviously trying.
Apologies to the Nader camp, but for geeks into free/open computing based on standards, there is only one choice -- and that's Gore.
I don't like this election. Neither of the viable candidates has a impressive track record. Both are from "Political Families" -- once again, the ugly head of nepotism raises its ugly head.
But, one of these two candidates has spoken strongly in favor of the government leaving Microsoft alone -- that candidate is Bush.
Clinton has been an adequate president and is intelligent. He will be there to help Gore in the coming years. He also has a quality cabinet that will help Gore.
Bush? He can go ask his Dad how to ruin the economy, or at least how not to do anything while the economy tanks. Or maybe he can go ask Reagan for advice on filling his staff with thieving scam artists who will fleece the public with schemes involving the S&L or insurance industry.
There are at least two seats coming up for vacancy in the Supreme Court. It's pretty evenly divided right now, maybe leaning a bit to the right. Who will Bush put in?
Gore is behind in the polls. He's stiff as a board on TV, and Bush does much better working the crowds.
I don't like either candidate, but if you care at all about technology, or open computing, Gore is the only choice. Voting third party or failing to vote really works for Bush.
First off, RMS is RMS. Everyone in Open Source likes to refer to him as "the crazy uncle we keep in the basement."
It really doesn't matter what anyones personal opinion is of RMS; he simply "is", and he has a strong, unwavering belief in "Free Software". If you don't know that, you have never been to the fsf site or read any of his writings.
Really, if the developer had done *any* (five minutes?) of research on the difference between "Open Source" and "Free Software", about 1/2 of those emails never would have happened.
Clearly, there is NO WAY this person was going to get RMS to say "Yeah, distribute NDA protected binaries with Free Software you developed under my license. Thas' cool. Shit, sent me a copy."
Please. Amyone who has every read anything on the fsf site knows he would say "Dump the PS2".
This developer has benefited greatly from both closed and open source. Glide, DX, OpenGL, all published interfaces that allowed him to grow as a programmer. For the most part, it's people like RMS that gave us *some* freedom in computing.
Is it really so wrong to just say "the PS2 is lame because it uses undocumented, NDA protected APIs. Don't use it?"
My sysadmin got a call from a higher level manager recently.
Manager: "This new server -- why are you ordering it with Linux?"
Admin : "We use linux increasingly for all our servers, and a few programmers are using it as well."
Manager: "Shouldn't we just use NT?"
Admin: "Nope. My calcs show about $10,000 in software licensing if we use NT, but only about $500 if we use Linux."
Manager: "Okay."
[Actually, the fact that she let us do it was a ray of light in an increasingly gloomy workplace]
PS: We need permission to install Linux -- I got some heat awhile ago when I put a linux box on our net without approval. After I explained why, they left it up.
A lot of film people are very uncomfortable with the quality of mpegs.
It would be a shame to see the quality of film sacrificed for the sake of easy access.
The other side of the coin, though...film degrades over time, while digital appears to be forever.
I say "forver", cuz people used to say CDs would last "hundreds" of years, but many think the metallic substrates will decay enough to be unrecoverable after only 20 years or so.
Well, I'm no video archiving guru, so if someone wants to comment on mpeg quality or long term data stability, I'd like to hear it.
I'm shaking in fear...all those people I dissed in the newsgroups will be able to trace me back to...the pool of dynamic ip addresses my isp doles out to their 6000 customers.
I thik microsoft is the current leader in mutated software.
How many OS products do they currently sell? At what prices? How many licences with each? How many optional software products to buy before you can actually do dome work? Pro or non-pro versions?
You'd have to look through several pages of a software catalog to sort it all out.
Linux is more like natural selection than mutation -- the way a free/choice driven market should be.
Microsoft is more like a pit bull that terrified everyone in the neighborhood in it's youth -- bullying innocent children with its wiry muscles and snapping jaws -- but in its later stages, it's getting mangy, smelly and weak; with a variety of lumpy growths throughout its carcass.
Microsoft: The kids are growing up, they're swinging open source clubs, and it's payback time.
Slashdot Mirror
He invented the internet, and if elected, will make it faster.
(no arrest record, either)
I disagree.
As we all know, Germany, in the Hitler era, did a lot more that just innovate jet and rocket technology.
It's kind of hard to look at the Microsoft corporations' record and say they've innovated much of anything...certainly nothing on the par of Germany's rockets, uboats and jets (although the jets were not effective in the war or really even used).
The standards they do participate in generally lead, at some time down the road, to a "embrace and extend" scenario that tends to push other companies out, and increase their market share.
It's hard to review the facts and not conclude that Microsoft is, in general, a criminal organization that no longer (and perhaps never has) served the customer or the consumer.
Given all of the above, any "technology" or "standard" Microsoft is involved with should be viewed with suspicion, and alternative choices created, examined and supported as applicable.
I suppose you would loan Charles Manson your car, if he had a good driving record? (assuming CM were to be paroled some day)
To just blindly accept statements from a known liar, or technology from a murderous regime, or standards from a standards violator...without consideration of the consequences...it seems like the path of an ignorant.
So? I submitted it two days ago and Taco hisself came to my apt. and kicked me in the yarbles -- and, believe me, there ain't much protecting them.
...I hope more thought is given to making Linux easier to use and install.
Linux has made improvements, but there is still a "hacker ethos" in the Linux hierarchy that argues "if you don't know what you're doing, get out or RTFM".
Several years ago, I was suprised to see a friend, a female english teacher, set up a network of macs in her classroom with something like two pages of easily read documents...the server on her desk, the clients on the students' desks, the printers in the back of the room. It all just "set itself up" -- she did almost nothing except take the machines out of the boxes and hook them up.
Linux (and to a lesser extent) M$HAFT can't do this...Linux didn't exist back then, and there was no DHCP yet. Apple really deserves credit for some of the cool "empowering" things they've done.
Some things that would help linux :
1) Automagic install. Just do it.
2) Am I a server/admin or a client/user? If server, handle modem, printer and net details. If client, handle net details. Everything should just work.
3) Security console. Small GUI that shows who is doing what, where. Big button to shut off and/or turn on all connections/services.
A lot of people in Linux don't like to think about "automagic" installs and networking. "RTFM" is their battle cry.
Please, let's make things "mo betta". 5% of the global population should not have to studie sysadmin-ing.
I remain suprised that I am in a minority that view this election as somewhat crucial to both humanity and freedom as we move into the future.
It was the ability to control media (Radio and TV) that allowed Hitler's unhindered rise to power.
To allow Microsoft continued dominance of PC software opens the door to that very same threat.
Bush will fight to stop restrictions on Microsoft.
Gore is the only opponent who can beat Bush.
This election is a no-brainer, if you value things like the Constitution, civil rights, and keeping the lines of national/international communication free.
...aim for their heads?
I can't help but wonder about all the specs being thrown about on the various gaming consoles.
I mean, PS2 is often compared to a "typical gaming PC".
PS2 is often said to have a polygon rate of something like 12 MP/Sec., yet this article says 66, and also states the Xbox will have 150.
It's kinda frustating to see all the numbers and wonder what's going to happen to this software-driven industry.
There is a lot of focus on controlling the market with the switch to consoles. I have heard Sony will be forcing developers to sign many NDAs, buy $15K in software/hardware, etc.
I'm sure that, when all is said and done, M$OFT will do the same thing.
From that point of view alone, it would be a good thing to see indrema become a "one stop" source for open gaming needs. It could be a niche that pays off big.
But they will be demonstable hardware that can come within maybe 10% of the competitor to really make a big splash.
That may be tough to do, with MS and Nvidia in such a loving embrace.
...the single most frightening story I've ever read on slashdot.
These are two of the most historically ignorant people I have ever seen quoted in print.
I no longer feel guilty about voting for Gore or Bush. Either choice is a genius compared to these loons.
Isn't there still a body on that thing?
I thought some rich dude, who was funding Carl Sagan's sisters' SETI research, died up there or something.
PSX eh?
At least this is a step on the road to burying the xbox.
The courts say that political contributions are a form of free speech, thus equalization schemes (no candidate can spend more than another) are illegal.
I've always thought this violates one man, one vote...when the corporatists can flood two candidates with money, and as others have pointed out, they are both the same party.
Once again, the masses are asses, we choose between dumb and dumber, or tastes great/less filling.
Thus, just as thousands of Microserfs will vote for Bush, in an attempt to derail justice, I am placed in the uncomfortable position of being "Pro Gore" -- that is, I have to serve my own interests, ahead of what would be morally correct, which for be would be Nader, since he is anti-corporatist, but can't win.
One of the libertarian parties' goals is to sell the national parks.
They say that "the buyer would own something so beautiful and pristine, that they would have no incentive to damage/ruin/commercialize it".
That brilliant analysis, in a nutshell, is the reason no person should ever vote for a libertarian.
In the USA, land of the free, home of the brave, the constitution, etc...employers have the right to scan all the transmissions on the wire, read your emails, whatever.
Just thought you'd like to know.
The last place I worked didn't delete ex-employees mail accounts, preferring to harvest and read what people sent them months/years after the employee left.
Bit of a historical rewrite there...actually, Bush kept claiming there was "no recession", while tech companies were closing througout the USA. At least Carter acknowledged the problem, but I don't want to get into the Carter thing.
I'm not saying that the gov't or president controls the economy, but just like in the armed forces (or many companies, for that matter) if the sh*t hits the fan on your watch, regardless of fault, you are probably going to have to take responsibility for it.
Taking responsibility means acknowedging the problem, and dealing with it...something the former Pres. Bush did not do.
Actually, I didn't want to vote for Clinton. I thought he was a slimeball. In many ways, he is...but he is also quite intelligent and has surrounded himself with a quality staff. I absolutely voted my pocketbook...the jobs just disappeared from the papers under Bush's watch...and I held him responsible.
I wouldn't hesitate to vote against another President given the same circumstances...they have an obligation to strengthen and monitor the US economy, whether they choose to accept it or not.
"Mild recession" is fairly subjective...a lot of companies in Southern California were absolutely devasted by Bush policies and (in)action. Members of my family lost almost everything...so it was not mild to us, compared to the carter years.
Get real, Troll :-)
There are no viable third candidates in this election.
Voting third party makes a small statement, but given they weren't even in the debates, there is no way any one of them will get in the seat, short of divine intervention.
Dude, go back and look at the beginning of the posts...I clearly stated "...for those concerned with open computing..." -- thus stating the focus of the post.
I also made statements about the Supreme Court, transition concerns, and general technology.
Not a fair shot, Dude!
Vote for your choice, and I'll vote for mine. I wish there was a smarter, more qualified, more idependent *viable* candidate to vote for, but I'm reduced to these two.
I think this could be a critical election on a number of fronts, and having "survived" the previous Bush presidency, when the economy went to hell while he's on TV wondering over the miracle of supermarket scanners, and the whole Industrial park I was working in became a ghost town, all I can say is "No More Bush!"
But I don't begrudge anyone there vote or their opinion.
The title says it; I'm uncomfortable with gov't involvement in anything, but in this case I think it has become a necessary evil to be endured until sanity is restored.
What we have now really isn't a market, it's control by one monolithic corporate entity.
A "market" brings up images of a bazaar, with vendors hawking their wares, all trying to out do each other for your business.
Personal computing has become a road in the middle of nowhere. You're out of gas, and you pull into a station where a toothless Bill Gates says "Fill'er up?"
You ask "How much?" and he stretches his lips and whispers quietly "How much you got?" and laughs...well, maybe it's not there yet, but they are obviously trying.
...I'll start suspecting an Amiga involvement.
Apologies to the Nader camp, but for geeks into free/open computing based on standards, there is only one choice -- and that's Gore. I don't like this election. Neither of the viable candidates has a impressive track record. Both are from "Political Families" -- once again, the ugly head of nepotism raises its ugly head. But, one of these two candidates has spoken strongly in favor of the government leaving Microsoft alone -- that candidate is Bush. Clinton has been an adequate president and is intelligent. He will be there to help Gore in the coming years. He also has a quality cabinet that will help Gore. Bush? He can go ask his Dad how to ruin the economy, or at least how not to do anything while the economy tanks. Or maybe he can go ask Reagan for advice on filling his staff with thieving scam artists who will fleece the public with schemes involving the S&L or insurance industry. There are at least two seats coming up for vacancy in the Supreme Court. It's pretty evenly divided right now, maybe leaning a bit to the right. Who will Bush put in? Gore is behind in the polls. He's stiff as a board on TV, and Bush does much better working the crowds. I don't like either candidate, but if you care at all about technology, or open computing, Gore is the only choice. Voting third party or failing to vote really works for Bush.
First off, RMS is RMS. Everyone in Open Source likes to refer to him as "the crazy uncle we keep in the basement."
It really doesn't matter what anyones personal opinion is of RMS; he simply "is", and he has a strong, unwavering belief in "Free Software". If you don't know that, you have never been to the fsf site or read any of his writings.
Really, if the developer had done *any* (five minutes?) of research on the difference between "Open Source" and "Free Software", about 1/2 of those emails never would have happened.
Clearly, there is NO WAY this person was going to get RMS to say "Yeah, distribute NDA protected binaries with Free Software you developed under my license. Thas' cool. Shit, sent me a copy."
Please. Amyone who has every read anything on the fsf site knows he would say "Dump the PS2".
This developer has benefited greatly from both closed and open source. Glide, DX, OpenGL, all published interfaces that allowed him to grow as a programmer. For the most part, it's people like RMS that gave us *some* freedom in computing.
Is it really so wrong to just say "the PS2 is lame because it uses undocumented, NDA protected APIs. Don't use it?"
My sysadmin got a call from a higher level manager recently.
Manager: "This new server -- why are you ordering it with Linux?"
Admin : "We use linux increasingly for all our servers, and a few programmers are using it as well."
Manager: "Shouldn't we just use NT?"
Admin: "Nope. My calcs show about $10,000 in software licensing if we use NT, but only about $500 if we use Linux."
Manager: "Okay."
[Actually, the fact that she let us do it was a ray of light in an increasingly gloomy workplace]
PS: We need permission to install Linux -- I got some heat awhile ago when I put a linux box on our net without approval. After I explained why, they left it up.
A lot of film people are very uncomfortable with the quality of mpegs.
It would be a shame to see the quality of film sacrificed for the sake of easy access.
The other side of the coin, though...film degrades over time, while digital appears to be forever.
I say "forver", cuz people used to say CDs would last "hundreds" of years, but many think the metallic substrates will decay enough to be unrecoverable after only 20 years or so.
Well, I'm no video archiving guru, so if someone wants to comment on mpeg quality or long term data stability, I'd like to hear it.
I'm shaking in fear...all those people I dissed in the newsgroups will be able to trace me back to...the pool of dynamic ip addresses my isp doles out to their 6000 customers.
Eeek!
I do believe my PC clone is already an "Amiga One/AmigaDE" compliant platform, 'cept for the matrox and EMU sound chips.
Both of those should be abstracted by the DE anyway, right? After all, it's a "platform independent SDK", yes?
1) One AmigaDE friendly host processor (PPC, x86, Arm, SH4, MIPS)
2) 64MB+ memory
3) Next Generation Matrox graphics card
4) Creative EMU10K1 based audio card
5) 10 GB+ HD
6) CD/DVD
7) USB 1.0
8) Firewire
9) 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
10) 56k modem
11) Spare PCI slots for expandibility
I thik microsoft is the current leader in mutated software.
How many OS products do they currently sell? At what prices? How many licences with each? How many optional software products to buy before you can actually do dome work? Pro or non-pro versions?
You'd have to look through several pages of a software catalog to sort it all out.
Linux is more like natural selection than mutation -- the way a free/choice driven market should be.
Microsoft is more like a pit bull that terrified everyone in the neighborhood in it's youth -- bullying innocent children with its wiry muscles and snapping jaws -- but in its later stages, it's getting mangy, smelly and weak; with a variety of lumpy growths throughout its carcass.
Microsoft: The kids are growing up, they're swinging open source clubs, and it's payback time.