I have this 14-letter (yes, it was originally for NT) password which is entirely random, including the amount of punctuation stuffed into it.
Now, this isn't the case anymore, but when I finally burned the piece of paper it was written on, I had the exact keystrokes tucked away somewhere in my head, but the actual password itself wasn't there. I could think "type the password" and quickly spin it off but I could not remember the password.
I've had to tell a few other people, and I always had to type it out into Notepad just to remember it, but I have it completely memorized now (along with 6 or 7 other 8-letter passwords).
To say that China should not have the right to use Linux/*BSD is to limit their freedom to use it. That is like saying the criminal elements should not use it. If we're supposed to be free, then we're supposed to be setting an example, right?
(Next thing I know, Microsoft'll be adopting a new clause in their licenses to the effect of "this software may not be used to do anything illegal".)
Those of you who were around here for that will deeply remember that (and the ensuing outcry). Those of you who don't, the gist of it was that Rogers had come out with some new cable TV channels and that you would be automatically subscribed if you did not explicitly say you didn't want them. (And, yes, they did add to your cable bill.)
So, I can see it now... Windows 2000 upgrades up the wazoo, and the "No, I do not want to upgrade" checkbox is hidden deep within www.microsoft.rogers.com. Another reason I'm glad I'm stuck in the flat bits with Shaw. (and my 60kb/sec upstream)
Speaking of which, digital cable is available here, but I don't have it (I don't have cable TV, period... just cable Internet). One of my friends does, though, and I have to go over and check it out sometime...
I think we're all in agreement here that it would take a climactic event to totally halt the development of Linux. It evolved nicely back in 1994 and 1995, and it certainly wasn't in the limelight then. So who cares if all the cash and investment disappears? Sure, we'll get support for that brand-spanking-new Gigabit Token Ring card a bit after Windows gets it, but the point is that we'll get it.
The thing I find funny is that Microsoft loves to argue about total cost of ownership. Let's see: you would probably need to hire a guy to administrate your Linux box, but then again, you'd probably need to hire another guy (and, if your management is at par, an MCSE) to administrate your NT box. Then there's the cost of the OS itself, plus the additional hardware to get NT off the ground. (At a startup company where one of my friends works, they have a number of high-powered machines sitting around, but the machine holding up the whole enterprise is the Linux server on the Pentium 233 with 48MB of RAM.) Of course, the average IT professional can read better than he can think...
When I signed up with my ISP (Shaw) my contract stated "no WWW servers". That was it. So the first thing I did after the technician left my house was to hose Windows on the Pentium, stick up Linux, and set up shell accounts for my friends.
I'm sure their contract is more harsh now, but they don't seem to be enforcing it. My WWW server has been running on port 80 for months. The worst they've done is to limit me to about 6 or 7 channels of cable (which, considering I'm not a cable TV subscriber, is pretty good):) luckily, one of those channels is TSN...
Cheap hardware? Affordable, ubiquitous computing? Hyper-competition? Hello, the declining hardware costs are NOT our problem. It's called "economics", man. The fact that there are 80 computer builders advertising in PC Mag UK is sufficient evidence, in my mind, that either there are a lot of really stupid people out there, or that the PC industry, while low on profit margins, is high enough in volume that it balances out.
And he forgot the converse of the whole thing, too. Suppose you've just started a new software project and you're hunting around for tools to use. Suppose further that you're fresh out of college, with little cash, and the parents aren't giving you that interest-free loan. What do you do? Take out a loan at a bank and buy a Microsoft compiler suite, or first try and figure out Cygwin32?
Sure, I could buy Codewarrior and code for Linux. Find me someone who did (and isn't coding for any other platform).
We don't have MS Office? Great. Less bloatware. Ever looked at MS Office for Mac? Wow, great software, with a huge translation layer for Win32 calls. I shudder to think what their port to X would look like.
The longer we stay on the outside, the better, IMHO. The day I have to start fielding calls from floormates and flatmates about "what's root" and "how do you copy files" is the day I'm going to explode.
I've often heard people talk about open-source software "maturing"; that is, people are starting to consider it an alternative to commercial software. Of course, we have been doing that for a long time, but we only form a small percentage of the total computer user base.
However, as it is with Linux, most people equate this sudden mainstream focus on open-source as a good thing. I don't necessarily think so.
I'm personally happy with Linux the way it is: a fringe OS that only hackers use. I could care less if Windows NT becomes the only OS you ever find in mission-critical settings. Just because we don't have the market penetration and the mainstream awareness doesn't mean we're any worse off. Look at all the progress that has been made in the last 8 years with little or no press coverage. Look at the GNU system utilities, which are 15 years old in concept and still going strong despite the lack of press coverage for much of their lives.
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I have this 14-letter (yes, it was originally for NT) password which is entirely random, including the amount of punctuation stuffed into it.
Now, this isn't the case anymore, but when I finally burned the piece of paper it was written on, I had the exact keystrokes tucked away somewhere in my head, but the actual password itself wasn't there. I could think "type the password" and quickly spin it off but I could not remember the password.
I've had to tell a few other people, and I always had to type it out into Notepad just to remember it, but I have it completely memorized now (along with 6 or 7 other 8-letter passwords).
To say that China should not have the right to use Linux/*BSD is to limit their freedom to use it. That is like saying the criminal elements should not use it. If we're supposed to be free, then we're supposed to be setting an example, right?
(Next thing I know, Microsoft'll be adopting a new clause in their licenses to the effect of "this software may not be used to do anything illegal".)
They didn't protect it when Winamp came out, and they didn't protect it when the Rio came out, so on what legal basis can they demand royalties now?
Those of you who were around here for that will deeply remember that (and the ensuing outcry). Those of you who don't, the gist of it was that Rogers had come out with some new cable TV channels and that you would be automatically subscribed if you did not explicitly say you didn't want them. (And, yes, they did add to your cable bill.)
So, I can see it now... Windows 2000 upgrades up the wazoo, and the "No, I do not want to upgrade" checkbox is hidden deep within www.microsoft.rogers.com. Another reason I'm glad I'm stuck in the flat bits with Shaw. (and my 60kb/sec upstream)
Speaking of which, digital cable is available here, but I don't have it (I don't have cable TV, period... just cable Internet). One of my friends does, though, and I have to go over and check it out sometime...
I think we're all in agreement here that it would take a climactic event to totally halt the development of Linux. It evolved nicely back in 1994 and 1995, and it certainly wasn't in the limelight then. So who cares if all the cash and investment disappears? Sure, we'll get support for that brand-spanking-new Gigabit Token Ring card a bit after Windows gets it, but the point is that we'll get it.
The thing I find funny is that Microsoft loves to argue about total cost of ownership. Let's see: you would probably need to hire a guy to administrate your Linux box, but then again, you'd probably need to hire another guy (and, if your management is at par, an MCSE) to administrate your NT box. Then there's the cost of the OS itself, plus the additional hardware to get NT off the ground. (At a startup company where one of my friends works, they have a number of high-powered machines sitting around, but the machine holding up the whole enterprise is the Linux server on the Pentium 233 with 48MB of RAM.) Of course, the average IT professional can read better than he can think...
When I signed up with my ISP (Shaw) my contract stated "no WWW servers". That was it. So the first thing I did after the technician left my house was to hose Windows on the Pentium, stick up Linux, and set up shell accounts for my friends.
:) luckily, one of those channels is TSN...
I'm sure their contract is more harsh now, but they don't seem to be enforcing it. My WWW server has been running on port 80 for months. The worst they've done is to limit me to about 6 or 7 channels of cable (which, considering I'm not a cable TV subscriber, is pretty good)
Cheap hardware? Affordable, ubiquitous computing? Hyper-competition? Hello, the declining hardware costs are NOT our problem. It's called "economics", man. The fact that there are 80 computer builders advertising in PC Mag UK is sufficient evidence, in my mind, that either there are a lot of really stupid people out there, or that the PC industry, while low on profit margins, is high enough in volume that it balances out.
And he forgot the converse of the whole thing, too. Suppose you've just started a new software project and you're hunting around for tools to use. Suppose further that you're fresh out of college, with little cash, and the parents aren't giving you that interest-free loan. What do you do? Take out a loan at a bank and buy a Microsoft compiler suite, or first try and figure out Cygwin32?
Sure, I could buy Codewarrior and code for Linux. Find me someone who did (and isn't coding for any other platform).
nt
We don't have MS Office? Great. Less bloatware. Ever looked at MS Office for Mac? Wow, great software, with a huge translation layer for Win32 calls. I shudder to think what their port to X would look like.
The longer we stay on the outside, the better, IMHO. The day I have to start fielding calls from floormates and flatmates about "what's root" and "how do you copy files" is the day I'm going to explode.
I've often heard people talk about open-source software "maturing"; that is, people are starting to consider it an alternative to commercial software. Of course, we have been doing that for a long time, but we only form a small percentage of the total computer user base.
However, as it is with Linux, most people equate this sudden mainstream focus on open-source as a good thing. I don't necessarily think so.
I'm personally happy with Linux the way it is: a fringe OS that only hackers use. I could care less if Windows NT becomes the only OS you ever find in mission-critical settings. Just because we don't have the market penetration and the mainstream awareness doesn't mean we're any worse off. Look at all the progress that has been made in the last 8 years with little or no press coverage. Look at the GNU system utilities, which are 15 years old in concept and still going strong despite the lack of press coverage for much of their lives.
Let's see his innovations:
...
DOS, Windows, Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Office, TrueType, the Internet, the Sidewalk, SoftImage, AVI,
Mwaaahahahaha, I nearly sh*t my pants reading that. You make HORRIBLE jokes.