Though, you are forgetting Python. While Java is similar-ish to Python, Python fills a niche that is needed. A language that is easy to write, understand and is cross-platform something like a better VB.... Well if VB was easy to understand.
Try setting up a printer...even that supported by Linux. You get into issues like CUPS as if you are supposed to know what the OS is gonna use to get the printer setup.
The only issue I have had with a Linux-supported printer was that I turned off the CUPS service, after I turned that back on it worked 100% perfectly. And about the only printers that don't work the greatest with Linux are Lexmark printers and they don't work well on Windows either.
Let me remind the author of that line that we Linux users have still not made a dent on the desktop market. I can say, we are economically insignificant.
Oh yes, because no one ever goes to Google, or any other of the millions of sites that are served using Linux and most would not be there if we had to run things on either commercial Unix distros or Windows because it would be too expensive. Not to mention how no one ever uses a TiVo, a Linux-based phone, a GP2X, a gPC, or an EEE. And isn't it odd that our "economically insignificant" community made Dell which is one of the largest computer manufacturers put Linux on some computers? Oh and don't forget how Canonical, Red Hat, and Novell are surely out of business because we are so "economically insignificant".
If Linux is so "economically insignificant" then Apple, Sun, Red Hat, Novell, Canonical, Mandriva and any other company that doesn't use Windows are "economically insignificant" too because they don't use Windows and then less then a monopoly.
We need more bosses putting themselves on the end user shoes.
Well Gates is leaving MS... So he isn't the boss. Now, he will have influence, but as for making Windows 7 suddenly an easy to use OS... It isn't happening. Instead we are stuck with the cursing, chair-throwing ballmer.
Three words. User account control. MS is killing off legacy software at an alarming rate using both UAC, new APIs and who knows how incompatible Windows 7 will be if Vista can't run some software designed for older versions of Windows as Windows 7 promises to have a redesigned kernel, etc.
Well, the flexibility niche has more then just Gentoo, Arch Linux for instance lets you do the same thing as Gentoo without compiling from source but Gentoo is nearly one-of-a-kind when it comes to compiling all packages (yes there are Lunar Linux, and Source Mage but they aren't as well known.)
Linux has the same problem (how many times has your wireless adapter or printer malfunctioned under Linux?)
0. On my 3 different PCs that use wireless that are all running Linux (Desktop, laptop and EEE) neither my HP printer nor my various wireless drivers have had any issues. Now granted, if I want the one on my desktop to work out-of-the-box I have to use a *gasp* Ubuntu distro, or for the EEE a customized disto, but my laptop has an Intel wireless card that works perfectly with just about every distro made in '07 and some in '06. And after getting my HP printer set up, it never malfunctioned any more then it did when I ran Windows. And I disagree, Linux has various distros which give more flexibility with appealing to niche audiences (want speed, get Gentoo, want stability, try Debian, want something really easy-to-use try Ubuntu, etc).
I heard Mac OS X 10.6 is supposed to come out next year. Who, if they have not already, would install 10.5 now?
Fanboys. Those that buy Macs. Windows is mainly dominated by those who don't care about computers, who see them only as tools to get things done, or as a chore. Mac users on the other hand think of computers as fun and user-friendly, they also want to have the latest-and-greatest and so they buy the $1000 computers and buy the $100 service pack upgrades. They already have an iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, etc. MS doesn't work that way, people grumble, they complain, each new version to them is a new headache. MS users aren't fanboys, they don't see the need to upgrade as each new "upgrade" is worse for them. Mac users see each new upgrade as an opportunity.
keep shipping the old version. No big revenue stream loss, particularly since people & businesses still need to replace old machines with new.
But when the Mac brand is more desirable then Windows, and those who don't feel like spending a fortune on a new computer are looking at Linux... MS is in for a shock. If the $200 gPC has reviews that it is "more responsive then Vista even on higher-end hardware", MS is losing. Perhaps MS won't suddenly go broke, but slowly the monopoly they had is eroding, and every shot to the foot is increasing it. Just wait, if Windows 7 is anything like Vista, MS is dead.
But we can expect to have European sized cars and European sized houses at the european $3000 per sq ft not the US $125 per sq ft.
I highly, highly doubt that. With the mortgage crisis here in the US home prices are falling not increasing. And I doubt that that will stop anytime soon. Another thing is, North America has only been explored within the last 500 years, it lacks the shortage of land which is part of why Europe has such high prices for houses, mix that with the fact that home prices are falling and people with a lot of land are cashing it in to get some cashflow... You get the picture. While this may make large buildings such as new arenas and skyscrapers more pricey, for the average person home prices will only keep falling.
and realize that gas won't last forever and get them interested in alternative fuel sources.
Sure gas won't last forever... As shown in history nothing lasts forever. However we have untapped oil deposits we could use to boost the economy and lower prices now . Alternative fuel sources that we have right now are a downright joke. Ethanol can't survive without taxpayer money, and our demand outweighs the supply by far more then oil ever would. Hydrogen looks promising but right now the costs are too expensive. As for electric cars, I would rather get a cheap car now and pay $5 per gallon in gas then get an over-priced electric car and wait for it to charge. Basically, oil won't last forever, but nothing does. To say that we are running out of oil is far, far, far from reality .
But will you admit that something has to be done in the way of DRM, or the software house will surely be out of business pretty soon? Just as we expect and tolerate certain measures by brick and mortar stores to prevent thievery, we should expect some DRM; at least a little something that keeps the honest people honest without really annoying them.
Yes, and as you stated serial keys are a way of making it work. However they still have flaws, when I bought a new game (guild wars to be exact), I installed the game and put in the serial code. It said the code was in use, so 5 days e-mailing with tech support later I returned the game to get one with a good serial number, the bad part is, the software will certainly be resealed and put on the shelfs again.
And it isn't piracy that is killing software businesses it is the internet, low hardware costs, and poorly written software. Think about it, why should I go out and buy a $300 word processor when I can download Open Office which has just about 99.99% of the features I need and is open source and cross platform? Why should I pay $100 for an OS when I can just burn a copy of Linux or BSD and get all the features I need for free? What is the reason for me paying for a $50 copy of Windows when hardware costs are so low the computer itself only costs $200, making the OS to be 25% of the cost of the computer!!! Why should I put up with all the bugs, segfaults and etc. of a proprietary product when I can download an open source program that has at least most of the features I need for free? The proprietary software business is dying, and it isn't piracy that is killing it, software written in Visual Basic in the 90s because it was easy is now being a pain to maintain leading to higher prices, and lower quality.
Straw man. This is an entirely different situation - you don't have a Duplicomatic 3000 in your basement that can make infinite copies of the stuff you buy at the store for free. If you did, stores may in fact be inclined to follow you home...
No, but I still have a copier in my basement that can copy any book I feel like, yet publishers aren't making me verify my books. I even have a scanner and therefore could put an entire book on Limewire. As for the Duplicomatic 3000, if we had that there would be no need for work now would there be, so no stores, no money, no government. Nothing.
Nor does copy protection. Last I checked I've never had the cops show up, or my computer blare sirens, for failing a copy protection check. All I've seen is a fairly benign error, and in the vast majority of cases customer service has always been accommodating and helpful. Wait, that's exactly like the store experience. Whoops. You also might not know this, but when that alarm at the store goes off, you are automatically presumed to be a thief until proven otherwise - next time try walking away from that alarm and see what happens.
Oh sure, for now it is just a minor inconvenience, but still if this moves beyond games, think of how hard it would be to run a business if you depended on software with this level of copy protection. Or think of the Windows WGA when the servers were down. This is exactly why we need 0 DRM.
Lets see... If I go and buy something from a store, do they follow me home? Look at what I am using it for? Try to make sure that I am not in violation of any of the warnings? No, once I have bought it, I can go home and do whatever I want with it, something that this doesn't let you do.
I also have had one of the tags go off that the cashier didn't remove for some reason, they didn't say over the loudspeaker stop thief nor did they handcuff me and call out the police. No. They admitted it was the store's fault, took off the tag and I was on my way. DRM is like whenever a tag goes off you handcuff the person and call the police until they give proof they didn't steal anything.
Ummm... How is the GPL restrictive? You can put DRM in a GPL'd application, you can't complain when they take it out though, you can't make a proprietary product from the source, making Nokia immune to other proprietary phone makers copying the source... The GPL offers the most freedom to the user, and really, that is what counts.
By the way, most of he big MS critics are just altra rich folks who are suffering from sour grapes: Mcnealy and Ellison, I'm talking to you!
Ummm... No. Most of the big MS critics are tech people who have used an OS other then Windows (Linux, BSD, Mac, UNIX, etc) and see that Windows is worse then other OSes and don't want to pay money for an OS they will never use on a new computer. Basically, business practices can make MS illegal, but the code they use creates the most critics.
Because you have at least *some* choice in ISPs. Though most all are the same, at least if Comcast sends the info out you could jump to Time-Warner which won't be better, but Comcast may find that a reason not to give out the info.
Vote with your wallet! Truer words were never spoken or typed.
Ok, now tell me of an ISP that doesn't either packet-shape, throttle or anything else for a cheap connection, that is fast. Oh and it needs to be in rural areas where right now only AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner are now. If you find one, then I will switch. Until then, the ISPs have a virtual monopoly where I live.
No matter how much change Obama says he belives in, no matter what change he does believe in, there won't be change for one reason. Money. If Obama wants to get the money and support of the democrat party he needs to vote with the democrats, he needs to be like Hillery if he hopes to be elected. The Democrat party is divided, Obama needs to bridge that gap if he hopes to be president. Meaning, he can't create change. Just yet another failed government promise...
On CDs, the rot becomes visually noticeable in two ways:
1. When the CD is held up to a strong light, light shines through several pin-prick sized holes.[1]
2. Discoloration of the disc, which looks like a coffee stain on the disc (see also CD bronzing).[1]
In audio CDs, the rot leads to decreased audio quality, chatter, scrambled audio, and static.
A Philips press officer has declared CD rot to be an isolated problem affecting only an "absolute minority" of cases. PDO has offered to replace any discs affected by CD bronzing if supplied with the defective disk and proof of purchase. However, according to the website of one of the affected record companies, Hyperion, PDO's helpline was discontinued in 2006 after a change of ownership, and defective CDs are now no longer replaced by the manufacturer, even though some of the affected record labels continue to offer replacements.[2]
CD bronzing is a specific variant of CD rot, a type of corrosion that affects the reflective layer of audio CDs and renders them unreadable over time. The phenomenon was first reported by John McKelvey in the September/October 1994 issue of American Record Guide.[1][2]
Affected discs will show a uneven brownish discoloring that usually starts at the edge of the disc and slowly works its way towards the center. The top layer is affected before the bottom layer. The disc will become progressively darker over time; tracks at the end of the disc will show an increasing number of audio problems due to disc read errors before becoming unplayable.
CD bronzing seems to occur mostly with audio CDs manufactured by Philips and Dupont Optical (PDO) at their plant in Blackburn, Lancashire, UK, between the years 1988 and 1993. Most, but not all of these discs have "Made in U.K. by PDO" etched into them (see image). Discs manufactured by PDO in other countries do not seem to be affected. A similar, if considerably less widespread problem occurred with discs manufactured by Optical Media Storage (Opti.Me.S) in Italy.
PDO acknowledged that the problem was due to a manufacturing error on its part, but gave different explanations for the problem. The most widely acknowledged explanation is that the lacquer used to coat the discs was not resistant to the sulphur content of the paper in the booklets, which led to the corrosion of the aluminium layer of the disc, even though PDO later said it was because "a silver coating had been used on its discs instead of the standard gold."[3] Peter Copeland of the British Library Sound Archive confirms that silver instead of aluminium in the reflective layer of the CD would react with sulpheriferous sleeves, forming silver sulphate, which has a bronze colour.[4] A combination of the two factors seems likely because, as Barbara Hirsch of the University of California points out, the oxidation could only have occurred if the protective lacquer did not seal the metal film and substrate well enough.[2]
Those were from Wikipedia, fact is, though CD rot can be a problem, it isn't as bad as people make it out to be.
I normally don't respond to ACs, but this comment is dead on target.
The thing though is, Apple doesn't have to do anything about them and they will still have a more secure system then MS. The first reason is that unless Apple gives users root access by default, they can't screw up most of Unix. The second part is, Apple has been and always will be the underdog, giving MS the majority of the targets. The third part is, an open source core, so if people complain about security holes, Apple can give them the source and tell them to fix it yourself. Basically, it doesn't matter what Apple does, OS X will always be more secure then Windows in the number of exploited flaws. Because if they aren't exploited, then they don't really matter.
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But don't forget that Europe and the US come in Bronze and Silver medals.
Neither have you. The proper statement would be "you must be new here".
Though, you are forgetting Python. While Java is similar-ish to Python, Python fills a niche that is needed. A language that is easy to write, understand and is cross-platform something like a better VB.... Well if VB was easy to understand.
The only issue I have had with a Linux-supported printer was that I turned off the CUPS service, after I turned that back on it worked 100% perfectly. And about the only printers that don't work the greatest with Linux are Lexmark printers and they don't work well on Windows either.
Let me remind the author of that line that we Linux users have still not made a dent on the desktop market. I can say, we are economically insignificant.
Oh yes, because no one ever goes to Google, or any other of the millions of sites that are served using Linux and most would not be there if we had to run things on either commercial Unix distros or Windows because it would be too expensive. Not to mention how no one ever uses a TiVo, a Linux-based phone, a GP2X, a gPC, or an EEE. And isn't it odd that our "economically insignificant" community made Dell which is one of the largest computer manufacturers put Linux on some computers? Oh and don't forget how Canonical, Red Hat, and Novell are surely out of business because we are so "economically insignificant".
If Linux is so "economically insignificant" then Apple, Sun, Red Hat, Novell, Canonical, Mandriva and any other company that doesn't use Windows are "economically insignificant" too because they don't use Windows and then less then a monopoly.
Well Gates is leaving MS... So he isn't the boss. Now, he will have influence, but as for making Windows 7 suddenly an easy to use OS... It isn't happening. Instead we are stuck with the cursing, chair-throwing ballmer.
Three words. User account control. MS is killing off legacy software at an alarming rate using both UAC, new APIs and who knows how incompatible Windows 7 will be if Vista can't run some software designed for older versions of Windows as Windows 7 promises to have a redesigned kernel, etc.
Well, the flexibility niche has more then just Gentoo, Arch Linux for instance lets you do the same thing as Gentoo without compiling from source but Gentoo is nearly one-of-a-kind when it comes to compiling all packages (yes there are Lunar Linux, and Source Mage but they aren't as well known.)
0. On my 3 different PCs that use wireless that are all running Linux (Desktop, laptop and EEE) neither my HP printer nor my various wireless drivers have had any issues. Now granted, if I want the one on my desktop to work out-of-the-box I have to use a *gasp* Ubuntu distro, or for the EEE a customized disto, but my laptop has an Intel wireless card that works perfectly with just about every distro made in '07 and some in '06. And after getting my HP printer set up, it never malfunctioned any more then it did when I ran Windows. And I disagree, Linux has various distros which give more flexibility with appealing to niche audiences (want speed, get Gentoo, want stability, try Debian, want something really easy-to-use try Ubuntu, etc).
Fanboys. Those that buy Macs. Windows is mainly dominated by those who don't care about computers, who see them only as tools to get things done, or as a chore. Mac users on the other hand think of computers as fun and user-friendly, they also want to have the latest-and-greatest and so they buy the $1000 computers and buy the $100 service pack upgrades. They already have an iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, etc. MS doesn't work that way, people grumble, they complain, each new version to them is a new headache. MS users aren't fanboys, they don't see the need to upgrade as each new "upgrade" is worse for them. Mac users see each new upgrade as an opportunity.
But when the Mac brand is more desirable then Windows, and those who don't feel like spending a fortune on a new computer are looking at Linux... MS is in for a shock. If the $200 gPC has reviews that it is "more responsive then Vista even on higher-end hardware", MS is losing. Perhaps MS won't suddenly go broke, but slowly the monopoly they had is eroding, and every shot to the foot is increasing it. Just wait, if Windows 7 is anything like Vista, MS is dead.
I highly, highly doubt that. With the mortgage crisis here in the US home prices are falling not increasing. And I doubt that that will stop anytime soon. Another thing is, North America has only been explored within the last 500 years, it lacks the shortage of land which is part of why Europe has such high prices for houses, mix that with the fact that home prices are falling and people with a lot of land are cashing it in to get some cashflow... You get the picture. While this may make large buildings such as new arenas and skyscrapers more pricey, for the average person home prices will only keep falling.
Sure gas won't last forever... As shown in history nothing lasts forever. However we have untapped oil deposits we could use to boost the economy and lower prices now . Alternative fuel sources that we have right now are a downright joke. Ethanol can't survive without taxpayer money, and our demand outweighs the supply by far more then oil ever would. Hydrogen looks promising but right now the costs are too expensive. As for electric cars, I would rather get a cheap car now and pay $5 per gallon in gas then get an over-priced electric car and wait for it to charge. Basically, oil won't last forever, but nothing does. To say that we are running out of oil is far, far, far from reality .
Yes, and as you stated serial keys are a way of making it work. However they still have flaws, when I bought a new game (guild wars to be exact), I installed the game and put in the serial code. It said the code was in use, so 5 days e-mailing with tech support later I returned the game to get one with a good serial number, the bad part is, the software will certainly be resealed and put on the shelfs again.
And it isn't piracy that is killing software businesses it is the internet, low hardware costs, and poorly written software. Think about it, why should I go out and buy a $300 word processor when I can download Open Office which has just about 99.99% of the features I need and is open source and cross platform? Why should I pay $100 for an OS when I can just burn a copy of Linux or BSD and get all the features I need for free? What is the reason for me paying for a $50 copy of Windows when hardware costs are so low the computer itself only costs $200, making the OS to be 25% of the cost of the computer!!! Why should I put up with all the bugs, segfaults and etc. of a proprietary product when I can download an open source program that has at least most of the features I need for free? The proprietary software business is dying, and it isn't piracy that is killing it, software written in Visual Basic in the 90s because it was easy is now being a pain to maintain leading to higher prices, and lower quality.
No, but I still have a copier in my basement that can copy any book I feel like, yet publishers aren't making me verify my books. I even have a scanner and therefore could put an entire book on Limewire. As for the Duplicomatic 3000, if we had that there would be no need for work now would there be, so no stores, no money, no government. Nothing.
Nor does copy protection. Last I checked I've never had the cops show up, or my computer blare sirens, for failing a copy protection check. All I've seen is a fairly benign error, and in the vast majority of cases customer service has always been accommodating and helpful. Wait, that's exactly like the store experience. Whoops. You also might not know this, but when that alarm at the store goes off, you are automatically presumed to be a thief until proven otherwise - next time try walking away from that alarm and see what happens.
Oh sure, for now it is just a minor inconvenience, but still if this moves beyond games, think of how hard it would be to run a business if you depended on software with this level of copy protection. Or think of the Windows WGA when the servers were down. This is exactly why we need 0 DRM.
Lets see... If I go and buy something from a store, do they follow me home? Look at what I am using it for? Try to make sure that I am not in violation of any of the warnings? No, once I have bought it, I can go home and do whatever I want with it, something that this doesn't let you do.
I also have had one of the tags go off that the cashier didn't remove for some reason, they didn't say over the loudspeaker stop thief nor did they handcuff me and call out the police. No. They admitted it was the store's fault, took off the tag and I was on my way. DRM is like whenever a tag goes off you handcuff the person and call the police until they give proof they didn't steal anything.
Ummm... How is the GPL restrictive? You can put DRM in a GPL'd application, you can't complain when they take it out though, you can't make a proprietary product from the source, making Nokia immune to other proprietary phone makers copying the source... The GPL offers the most freedom to the user, and really, that is what counts.
Yes, the answer was to get into US jurisdiction so his trial would take longer then his prison sentence.
Ummm... No. Most of the big MS critics are tech people who have used an OS other then Windows (Linux, BSD, Mac, UNIX, etc) and see that Windows is worse then other OSes and don't want to pay money for an OS they will never use on a new computer. Basically, business practices can make MS illegal, but the code they use creates the most critics.
Because you have at least *some* choice in ISPs. Though most all are the same, at least if Comcast sends the info out you could jump to Time-Warner which won't be better, but Comcast may find that a reason not to give out the info.
Don't worry.... Windows has never added in any GNU code... That is why it is so slow and crashes all the time.
Ok, now tell me of an ISP that doesn't either packet-shape, throttle or anything else for a cheap connection, that is fast. Oh and it needs to be in rural areas where right now only AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner are now. If you find one, then I will switch. Until then, the ISPs have a virtual monopoly where I live.
No matter how much change Obama says he belives in, no matter what change he does believe in, there won't be change for one reason. Money. If Obama wants to get the money and support of the democrat party he needs to vote with the democrats, he needs to be like Hillery if he hopes to be elected. The Democrat party is divided, Obama needs to bridge that gap if he hopes to be president. Meaning, he can't create change. Just yet another failed government promise...
Yes, but that isn't CD rot. I'm not saying that CDs last forever but it isn't CD rot that kills them.
CD bronzing is a specific variant of CD rot, a type of corrosion that affects the reflective layer of audio CDs and renders them unreadable over time. The phenomenon was first reported by John McKelvey in the September/October 1994 issue of American Record Guide.[1][2] Affected discs will show a uneven brownish discoloring that usually starts at the edge of the disc and slowly works its way towards the center. The top layer is affected before the bottom layer. The disc will become progressively darker over time; tracks at the end of the disc will show an increasing number of audio problems due to disc read errors before becoming unplayable. CD bronzing seems to occur mostly with audio CDs manufactured by Philips and Dupont Optical (PDO) at their plant in Blackburn, Lancashire, UK, between the years 1988 and 1993. Most, but not all of these discs have "Made in U.K. by PDO" etched into them (see image). Discs manufactured by PDO in other countries do not seem to be affected. A similar, if considerably less widespread problem occurred with discs manufactured by Optical Media Storage (Opti.Me.S) in Italy. PDO acknowledged that the problem was due to a manufacturing error on its part, but gave different explanations for the problem. The most widely acknowledged explanation is that the lacquer used to coat the discs was not resistant to the sulphur content of the paper in the booklets, which led to the corrosion of the aluminium layer of the disc, even though PDO later said it was because "a silver coating had been used on its discs instead of the standard gold."[3] Peter Copeland of the British Library Sound Archive confirms that silver instead of aluminium in the reflective layer of the CD would react with sulpheriferous sleeves, forming silver sulphate, which has a bronze colour.[4] A combination of the two factors seems likely because, as Barbara Hirsch of the University of California points out, the oxidation could only have occurred if the protective lacquer did not seal the metal film and substrate well enough.[2]
Those were from Wikipedia, fact is, though CD rot can be a problem, it isn't as bad as people make it out to be.
The thing though is, Apple doesn't have to do anything about them and they will still have a more secure system then MS. The first reason is that unless Apple gives users root access by default, they can't screw up most of Unix. The second part is, Apple has been and always will be the underdog, giving MS the majority of the targets. The third part is, an open source core, so if people complain about security holes, Apple can give them the source and tell them to fix it yourself. Basically, it doesn't matter what Apple does, OS X will always be more secure then Windows in the number of exploited flaws. Because if they aren't exploited, then they don't really matter.