Primarily because OSS4 is "new". OSS prior to version 4 was proprietary, and closed source. Only now is OSS open sourced, and it's going to take time before the distros pick it up. It's going to take even more time before any distros make OSS4 the default. But, unless Alsa and Pulse really streamline in the near future, I anticipate OSS becoming default in a lot of distros. Installing OSS was something of a headache - I'm not a guru by any means, and I had to study the how-to's to get it done. Forgot to purge one package related to Alsa, so it didn't work the first time around, stuff like that. But, once completed, everything just works the way I want it to. Sound from multiple apps within virtual machines are piped to the soundcard right along with sound from the host machine, all adjustable to my liking. It's just sweet.
I'm not sure I'd call it "crap". I agree, though, that I don't like much of what I've seen in KDE recently. Eye candy is just unimportant at best, and distracting at worst. Don't need it, don't want it. Yeah, I played with Koraara when it was new, and I've played with Compiz. They were amusing for awhile, but it's not what I want on a working desktop. At present, Gnome's desktop is pretty decent, but I'll probably move to Enlightenment eventually. It's pretty as hell, offers features to compare with any eye candy desktop, but remains unobtrusive. Just a sweet, simple dropdown menu.
Ehhh. The more Linux moves into the mainstream, the more some of us will have to search for what WE like. Kinda sucks that competing with Windows seems to mean becoming Windows-like.
"You assume everyone should live the way you want them to, and expect them to realign their lives to fit in with your ideas. "
That is kind of a typical American attitude. Your point. But, all the same, let's look at the bigger picture. I graduated high school in 1974. Even before that, it was common knowledge that we couldn't continue to consume 1/4 of the world's energy production indefinitely. The oil embargo woke a few people up to the facts of life, but we, arrogant Americans, chose to ignore those facts of life, en masse.
Today, it is being made obvious again that we cannot continue to use more and more energy. Energy is finite, and people keep reproducing. Your share of the world's energy decreases every day. My share of the world's energy output decreases every day. Gasoline WILL hit $5.00/gallon here in the states one day, and keep on rising. It almost got that high last year, due to some outragous speculative trade on Wall Street - but natural supply and demand will bring us to that point again one day. And, there will be no going back, when that happens.
The choices we face today, are, do we begin changing our habits and start conserving now, while we search for better energy supplies? Or, do we continue to waste energy, and let the next generation worry about it?
The price of energy is not yet prohibitively high, for me. All the same, I turn off air conditioners, lights, fans, and electronics that are not in use. I see a small benefit on the monthly bill, and it's almost not worth it. But, in the long run, if I've saved two or three gallons of crude oil each month, it helps to keep the cost of energy down for a little while longer.
Your Mustang with the V-4 (? sure it's not a V-6?) saves a lot of gas, compared with a 25 year old Lincoln Continental, but it can't compare to an electric car, or a hybrid. And, it probably doesn't even compare well with a Mazda or several other Japanese imports. (I drive a 1990 Mazda with a 4 cyl and a 5-speed to work, getting 29.9 mpg. It's an ugly little uncomfortable car, IMHO, but I LOVE that gas mileage!)
I live in backwoods Arkansas, it's 25 miles to any of the nearest 3 town, and 40 miles to Texarkana. The electric car in the article would be sufficient for more than 90% of my travels. On the occasion that I have to go to Texarkana on multiple errands, it might not get me home again. In which case, I could make other arrangements.
Oddly, I haven't heard anyone mention the newer higher efficiency solar panels. The newest ones, being marketed in Europe, have about 10 times the output of those we are accustomed to. Higher efficiency designs are being engineered now. It is conceivable that in five years time, I could do all of my day-to-day driving all summer long without ever plugging the car in. Rainy season will be another story, of course.
I'm finished blathering - just think before you dismiss these vehicles. They are getting closer and closer to being "the solution".
theydidnthavemyname put up an interesting link. I actually thought you were correct, when I read your reply. Hmmm. Let's just say that I don't know, nor do I really care to study, the exact differences between male and female on the microcosmic level. Up here in the macrocosm, I know what appeals to me, and I'm happy that there ARE differences.;-)
Alright - good point, maybe. Except, I personally don't believe that Saddam Hussein ever built one single bunker for the safety of his people. Anything built by Hussein was for his personal protection, his family's protection, or the military's use.
Now, I'd like you to consider that particular story. A couple stealth bombers delivered the bombs used in that hit. Stealth. Iraq didn't know they were coming, and even if they did somehow spot them, there wasn't time to pack hundreds of civilians into the shelter.
Conclusion? If there were hundreds of people inside of the bunker, they were military, and they were going about some military business. I'll put my money on the US' claim that it was a command center. This particular strike is quite different from other incidents in which civilian warehouses and apartment buildings were struck. Remember the powdered milk warehouse, for example? That one was ultra stupidity, on our part. Criminally stupid, actually.
Air raid shelter != bunker. The vast majority of air raid shelters amount to a basement, under a building, which is considered to be safer than wandering about the streets while bombs are exploding. Unless, of course, the building you are sheltering under happens to take a direct hit.
A BUNKER, on the other hand, was constructed with a military purpose in mind. At the least, it provides good shelter from small explosives and small arms fire, and probably machine gun fire. A hardened bunker will shrug off most bombs, which is the reason penetrators were created.
Great post. Mod parent up about +20 for "Has a clue".
Just because North Korea has a few thousand crazy bastids who rule by the sword (along with bullets, of course) doesn't mean the people are all nucking phutts.
I'd much rather see a few dozen of those crazy bastids assasinated, than to see hundreds of thousands of North and South Koreans killed in some stupid war. Did I say "much rather"? Actually, it isn't even something a sane person should have to think about.
Just what is a "civilian bunker"? Does someone sell tickets to wars and battles now, and the civilian bunkers are where all the spectators sit? I see two possibilities here. Either, A: you have no idea what you are talking about, or B: you didn't say what you meant to say. Please, if there is a third possibility, educate me.
This kind of bomb is pure stupidity. Remember the MOAB? Pure stupid. This is macho jock thinking, military style. "Mine's bigger than yours!" Pure political bullshit.
We already have bombs big enough to destroy almost anything above ground. As for underground targets - well, I've been convinced by a number of people that even a nuke may not take out a hardened underground bunker if it's buried 100 feet or more. Both Korea and Iran have terrain in which a bunker might be much deeper than 500 feet.
Follow the link, and read the first sentence: "the Pentagon is rattling swords". That one phrase in the first sentence sums it all up.
Well, I guess they have to make up for other inadequacies in some way.
"How about this as a compromise: the cable companies have to guarantee a certain "net neutral" bandwidth. Then, this is the bandwidth that they are allowed to advertise."
Good idea. And, how about the electric company gets a similar deal. They can channel all the voltage and Kw that they want to your house, but you only get to use x amount for electronics. They find a method to "tag" electrons for refrigeration, for heating, for cooking, and set limits on the usage. Usage for entertainment is completely unnecessary, so they get to charge double for that.
Yeah, I can see people jumping on this.
The cable, telephone line, or whatever, that supplies digital access to the outside world should be exactly that - digital access. The same electrons flow through the same wires, the customer should have the right to decide how he is going to use those electrons. (or photons, in the case of optical fiber)
Screw these sweetheart deals based on ancient technology.
Realizing that 50% of consumers lack the genes necessary to "grow a set", I stand by, ready to offer the use of my set. For a small recompense, of course. The wife wouldn't like me to be giving it away for free. (She is so mercenary!)
Racist, my ass. I've never seen or heard the name Goncalves used anywhere except in reference to this one guy. Surely the name isn't unique - it came from somewhere. GP posted, apparently wondering where it DID come from. Your post satisfied my curiosity about the origin of the name. Thank you for that.
Beyond the origin of a name, there ARE TIMES when it helps to know an ethnic background. People all the time make reference to the fact that this an Ameri-centric board. Knowing ethnic background can tell as much about a person as knowing his nationality. If questioning Goncales' name is racist, then every bastid who identifies himself as American, or European, or Asian is a racist as well. Posters sometimes identify themselves as Protestant, Catholic, or Wiccan to help make a point, or to help understand a point. They must all be bigots of one type or another as well.
Again - thanks for the info, but try not to judge the question. GP might be racist, but the question is neutral.
The real news is that Conficker has evolved, intellectually, beyond the intellect of it's creators. Singularity/Cornfucker has arrived, disguised as a botnet!
"Millions of people put together short to medium length documents on Word all the time, they didn't die from it. And they didn't find it so difficult that they had to search for a better way."
Millions of people contract HIV/AIDS all the time, and don't die from it. And, they didn't find it so difficult that they had to search for a better way.
Somehow, the terms "hypothesis" and "scooter", used in the same sentence seems a bit presumptuous. A scooter is a toy. Even motorcycles are basically toys. (At least in the states) Don't get me wrong, I love motorcycles. But, scooters are a step downward in maturity, dignity, and/or machismo. While, the term "hypothesis" implies at least two of those qualities.
If we are going to hypothesize, let's talk about motorcycles, alright?
There are already motorcycles on the road which get 80+ mpg. These bikes (Honda 250cc) are reasonably powerful, for most people's needs. They are moderately comfortable. Of course, bigger bikes are more powerful, and more comfortable, especially for larger people. But, the average individual will find that a 250 has more than enough power to glide down the highway, as well as zipping through congested city streets. All of that, reasonably comfortably.
So, why aren't more people relying on motorcycles for their morning commute?
Well, my hypothesis is, most people can't walk and chew bubble gum at the same time, so they are rightfully concerned that they can't stay upright on the damned things.
A visual just flashed through my mind: Los Angeles, in early morning fog. The news helicopter is sending video from I-10 (not "the ten", you fucking idiot Californians, it's Interstate 10) showing 25,000 motorcycles involved in a chain reaction pileup.
Hmmmm. Not a bad idea. Darwin's work is never done.
*sarcasm* Hell, I think that I like all these laws. I mean, why should I be bullied if I post something that a lot of slashdotters don't like? What give them the right to mod me down? Just a few minutes ago, a fellow slashdotter responded to me, and used the word "fuck" in his reply! Disgraceful!! Just who the fuck is he, anyway, to be fucking at me?
I welcome our new German censorship overlords. And, I hope the Ozzies, the Brits, and the Canucks all join with the United States, and follow Germany's example!! *end sarcasm*
Fucking nazis. They're everywhere - even in the outback of down under. Eventually, they'll piss me off, and I'll become another crazy ass anarchist.
Put some thought into my rebuttals? Take your own advice. You said something about an accident on a bridge? If the road is blocked, there isn't a lot of "stop and go". If traffic is stopped, yes, step out of the car for some fresh air, if the car is hot. If traffic is moving - wait - I hear Darwin speaking - What's that Charlie? Alright, then.
Mr. Darwin says that yes, you may step out of the car in stop and go traffic. Especially the go part. Darwin says that it is your right to do so, and that no one should interfere if you choose to exercise your rights. Enjoy!!
"2)When there's an accident on a bridge, I can take 2 hours to drive home. I wouldn't trust it to keep a charge for that long idling."
An all-electric vehicle won't "idle" at all. Either it is turned on, or it is turned off. Let me assume that you are concerned about the AC and/or the heater. If you expect to be sitting in traffic for awhile, and you are worried about the state of your batteries, just turn off the heat/AC. You may grow uncomfortably hot or cold after awhile, in which case, you might exit the vehicle, or run the heat/AC long enough to get more comfortable, and turn it off again.
That old 4-60 air conditioner may be getting a workout, when people realize how much the AC impacts on the range of these cars. Roll all 4 windows down, and drive 60mph, so the wind blows the heat out of the car!!
Well - part of the efficiency is derived from the vehicles low gross weight. Start adding things like a generator, the efficiency goes down. The smaller and lighter a vehicle is, the more even a small amount of weight affects it. So - adding your own generator on a bumper hitch may be alright if you plan on making a trip, and don't expect to find anyplace to recharge. But, for day to day commuting and running around, it would probably suck.
Actually, I think they made money when they played. Which worked out all right, because they didn't have to support a boatload of parasites who owned contracts.
Let's do Like Hank did, alright?
It's not like it's NECESSARY that every man, woman, and child in the world is listening to the same vacuous big busted bitch whining into a microphone. There are vacuous big busted bitches in my own county who can whine into local mikes, and all the local people will toss her a few dollars.
"1) does it force the use of RPM? Some prefer DEB, or even ebuilds."
It doesn't force anything. No one with a shotgun tells you that you must visit the website, or that you must create your own custom distro, or that you must use RPM. It's all voluntary. If there is any small part of the thing that you do not like, you can leave any time. That is one of the wonderful things about OSS, after all. There is no warning, "By entering this site, you agree to forfeit your soul, along with your first born child, subject to interpretations of law by myriad demans living below Redmond."
Take it for a test drive, and see how you like it. If you walk all the way through it, download the disk image, and burn it, THEN decide that you still don't like it, well, no big deal. Just flip the CD/DVD image into the trash, and go back to Debian.
No, that isn't true. I wouldn't hand a LiveCD to a complete novice, and expect him to install successfully. But, an intermediate user can certainly do so. A novice could get through it, if he were willing to learn as he goes. Of course, learning is a benefit, in and of itself. Once that novice has managed to get his Linux set up, he is no longer a novice, and no longer dependent on the local computer shop that charges a hundred bucks to clean up a virus, or reconfigure the internet connection when it's been buggered up.
I'm afraid that you are either behind the times, or you are helping to spread FUD.
Of course, Linux is NOT for people whose IQ's are smaller than their shoe (or bra) size. I don't think it ever will be. Of course, to be fair, neither is Windows.
Slashdot Mirror
Primarily because OSS4 is "new". OSS prior to version 4 was proprietary, and closed source. Only now is OSS open sourced, and it's going to take time before the distros pick it up. It's going to take even more time before any distros make OSS4 the default. But, unless Alsa and Pulse really streamline in the near future, I anticipate OSS becoming default in a lot of distros. Installing OSS was something of a headache - I'm not a guru by any means, and I had to study the how-to's to get it done. Forgot to purge one package related to Alsa, so it didn't work the first time around, stuff like that. But, once completed, everything just works the way I want it to. Sound from multiple apps within virtual machines are piped to the soundcard right along with sound from the host machine, all adjustable to my liking. It's just sweet.
http://www.4front-tech.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=12200#12200
It fixed all my problems with sound, anyway.
I'm not sure I'd call it "crap". I agree, though, that I don't like much of what I've seen in KDE recently. Eye candy is just unimportant at best, and distracting at worst. Don't need it, don't want it. Yeah, I played with Koraara when it was new, and I've played with Compiz. They were amusing for awhile, but it's not what I want on a working desktop. At present, Gnome's desktop is pretty decent, but I'll probably move to Enlightenment eventually. It's pretty as hell, offers features to compare with any eye candy desktop, but remains unobtrusive. Just a sweet, simple dropdown menu.
Ehhh. The more Linux moves into the mainstream, the more some of us will have to search for what WE like. Kinda sucks that competing with Windows seems to mean becoming Windows-like.
"You assume everyone should live the way you want them to, and expect them to realign their lives to fit in with your ideas. "
That is kind of a typical American attitude. Your point. But, all the same, let's look at the bigger picture. I graduated high school in 1974. Even before that, it was common knowledge that we couldn't continue to consume 1/4 of the world's energy production indefinitely. The oil embargo woke a few people up to the facts of life, but we, arrogant Americans, chose to ignore those facts of life, en masse.
Today, it is being made obvious again that we cannot continue to use more and more energy. Energy is finite, and people keep reproducing. Your share of the world's energy decreases every day. My share of the world's energy output decreases every day. Gasoline WILL hit $5.00/gallon here in the states one day, and keep on rising. It almost got that high last year, due to some outragous speculative trade on Wall Street - but natural supply and demand will bring us to that point again one day. And, there will be no going back, when that happens.
The choices we face today, are, do we begin changing our habits and start conserving now, while we search for better energy supplies? Or, do we continue to waste energy, and let the next generation worry about it?
The price of energy is not yet prohibitively high, for me. All the same, I turn off air conditioners, lights, fans, and electronics that are not in use. I see a small benefit on the monthly bill, and it's almost not worth it. But, in the long run, if I've saved two or three gallons of crude oil each month, it helps to keep the cost of energy down for a little while longer.
Your Mustang with the V-4 (? sure it's not a V-6?) saves a lot of gas, compared with a 25 year old Lincoln Continental, but it can't compare to an electric car, or a hybrid. And, it probably doesn't even compare well with a Mazda or several other Japanese imports. (I drive a 1990 Mazda with a 4 cyl and a 5-speed to work, getting 29.9 mpg. It's an ugly little uncomfortable car, IMHO, but I LOVE that gas mileage!)
I live in backwoods Arkansas, it's 25 miles to any of the nearest 3 town, and 40 miles to Texarkana. The electric car in the article would be sufficient for more than 90% of my travels. On the occasion that I have to go to Texarkana on multiple errands, it might not get me home again. In which case, I could make other arrangements.
Oddly, I haven't heard anyone mention the newer higher efficiency solar panels. The newest ones, being marketed in Europe, have about 10 times the output of those we are accustomed to. Higher efficiency designs are being engineered now. It is conceivable that in five years time, I could do all of my day-to-day driving all summer long without ever plugging the car in. Rainy season will be another story, of course.
I'm finished blathering - just think before you dismiss these vehicles. They are getting closer and closer to being "the solution".
"Philips Develops Roadside Drug-Testing Device" might be better phrased as, "Anal retentives find new means to invade privacy"
theydidnthavemyname put up an interesting link. I actually thought you were correct, when I read your reply. Hmmm. Let's just say that I don't know, nor do I really care to study, the exact differences between male and female on the microcosmic level. Up here in the macrocosm, I know what appeals to me, and I'm happy that there ARE differences. ;-)
Alright - good point, maybe. Except, I personally don't believe that Saddam Hussein ever built one single bunker for the safety of his people. Anything built by Hussein was for his personal protection, his family's protection, or the military's use.
Now, I'd like you to consider that particular story. A couple stealth bombers delivered the bombs used in that hit. Stealth. Iraq didn't know they were coming, and even if they did somehow spot them, there wasn't time to pack hundreds of civilians into the shelter.
Conclusion? If there were hundreds of people inside of the bunker, they were military, and they were going about some military business. I'll put my money on the US' claim that it was a command center. This particular strike is quite different from other incidents in which civilian warehouses and apartment buildings were struck. Remember the powdered milk warehouse, for example? That one was ultra stupidity, on our part. Criminally stupid, actually.
Air raid shelter != bunker. The vast majority of air raid shelters amount to a basement, under a building, which is considered to be safer than wandering about the streets while bombs are exploding. Unless, of course, the building you are sheltering under happens to take a direct hit.
A BUNKER, on the other hand, was constructed with a military purpose in mind. At the least, it provides good shelter from small explosives and small arms fire, and probably machine gun fire. A hardened bunker will shrug off most bombs, which is the reason penetrators were created.
Great post. Mod parent up about +20 for "Has a clue".
Just because North Korea has a few thousand crazy bastids who rule by the sword (along with bullets, of course) doesn't mean the people are all nucking phutts.
I'd much rather see a few dozen of those crazy bastids assasinated, than to see hundreds of thousands of North and South Koreans killed in some stupid war. Did I say "much rather"? Actually, it isn't even something a sane person should have to think about.
Just what is a "civilian bunker"? Does someone sell tickets to wars and battles now, and the civilian bunkers are where all the spectators sit? I see two possibilities here. Either, A: you have no idea what you are talking about, or B: you didn't say what you meant to say. Please, if there is a third possibility, educate me.
This kind of bomb is pure stupidity. Remember the MOAB? Pure stupid. This is macho jock thinking, military style. "Mine's bigger than yours!" Pure political bullshit.
We already have bombs big enough to destroy almost anything above ground. As for underground targets - well, I've been convinced by a number of people that even a nuke may not take out a hardened underground bunker if it's buried 100 feet or more. Both Korea and Iran have terrain in which a bunker might be much deeper than 500 feet.
Follow the link, and read the first sentence: "the Pentagon is rattling swords". That one phrase in the first sentence sums it all up.
Well, I guess they have to make up for other inadequacies in some way.
"How about this as a compromise: the cable companies have to guarantee a certain "net neutral" bandwidth. Then, this is the bandwidth that they are allowed to advertise."
Good idea. And, how about the electric company gets a similar deal. They can channel all the voltage and Kw that they want to your house, but you only get to use x amount for electronics. They find a method to "tag" electrons for refrigeration, for heating, for cooking, and set limits on the usage. Usage for entertainment is completely unnecessary, so they get to charge double for that.
Yeah, I can see people jumping on this.
The cable, telephone line, or whatever, that supplies digital access to the outside world should be exactly that - digital access. The same electrons flow through the same wires, the customer should have the right to decide how he is going to use those electrons. (or photons, in the case of optical fiber)
Screw these sweetheart deals based on ancient technology.
Realizing that 50% of consumers lack the genes necessary to "grow a set", I stand by, ready to offer the use of my set. For a small recompense, of course. The wife wouldn't like me to be giving it away for free. (She is so mercenary!)
Cybersquatter.
Cyber is computer related, I got that.
Squat is what females do to releive bladder pressure.
Cybersquatter. Hmm. Computers now come in genders? This gives a whole new meaning to "next gen"! I can breed my own computers!!
Racist, my ass. I've never seen or heard the name Goncalves used anywhere except in reference to this one guy. Surely the name isn't unique - it came from somewhere. GP posted, apparently wondering where it DID come from. Your post satisfied my curiosity about the origin of the name. Thank you for that.
Beyond the origin of a name, there ARE TIMES when it helps to know an ethnic background. People all the time make reference to the fact that this an Ameri-centric board. Knowing ethnic background can tell as much about a person as knowing his nationality. If questioning Goncales' name is racist, then every bastid who identifies himself as American, or European, or Asian is a racist as well. Posters sometimes identify themselves as Protestant, Catholic, or Wiccan to help make a point, or to help understand a point. They must all be bigots of one type or another as well.
Again - thanks for the info, but try not to judge the question. GP might be racist, but the question is neutral.
The real news is that Conficker has evolved, intellectually, beyond the intellect of it's creators. Singularity/Cornfucker has arrived, disguised as a botnet!
"Millions of people put together short to medium length documents on Word all the time, they didn't die from it. And they didn't find it so difficult that they had to search for a better way."
Millions of people contract HIV/AIDS all the time, and don't die from it. And, they didn't find it so difficult that they had to search for a better way.
All the same, I'll avoid AIDS, thank you.
Somehow, the terms "hypothesis" and "scooter", used in the same sentence seems a bit presumptuous. A scooter is a toy. Even motorcycles are basically toys. (At least in the states) Don't get me wrong, I love motorcycles. But, scooters are a step downward in maturity, dignity, and/or machismo. While, the term "hypothesis" implies at least two of those qualities.
If we are going to hypothesize, let's talk about motorcycles, alright?
There are already motorcycles on the road which get 80+ mpg. These bikes (Honda 250cc) are reasonably powerful, for most people's needs. They are moderately comfortable. Of course, bigger bikes are more powerful, and more comfortable, especially for larger people. But, the average individual will find that a 250 has more than enough power to glide down the highway, as well as zipping through congested city streets. All of that, reasonably comfortably.
So, why aren't more people relying on motorcycles for their morning commute?
Well, my hypothesis is, most people can't walk and chew bubble gum at the same time, so they are rightfully concerned that they can't stay upright on the damned things.
A visual just flashed through my mind: Los Angeles, in early morning fog. The news helicopter is sending video from I-10 (not "the ten", you fucking idiot Californians, it's Interstate 10) showing 25,000 motorcycles involved in a chain reaction pileup.
Hmmmm. Not a bad idea. Darwin's work is never done.
*sarcasm* Hell, I think that I like all these laws. I mean, why should I be bullied if I post something that a lot of slashdotters don't like? What give them the right to mod me down? Just a few minutes ago, a fellow slashdotter responded to me, and used the word "fuck" in his reply! Disgraceful!! Just who the fuck is he, anyway, to be fucking at me?
I welcome our new German censorship overlords. And, I hope the Ozzies, the Brits, and the Canucks all join with the United States, and follow Germany's example!! *end sarcasm*
Fucking nazis. They're everywhere - even in the outback of down under. Eventually, they'll piss me off, and I'll become another crazy ass anarchist.
Put some thought into my rebuttals? Take your own advice. You said something about an accident on a bridge? If the road is blocked, there isn't a lot of "stop and go". If traffic is stopped, yes, step out of the car for some fresh air, if the car is hot. If traffic is moving - wait - I hear Darwin speaking - What's that Charlie? Alright, then.
Mr. Darwin says that yes, you may step out of the car in stop and go traffic. Especially the go part. Darwin says that it is your right to do so, and that no one should interfere if you choose to exercise your rights. Enjoy!!
"2)When there's an accident on a bridge, I can take 2 hours to drive home. I wouldn't trust it to keep a charge for that long idling."
An all-electric vehicle won't "idle" at all. Either it is turned on, or it is turned off. Let me assume that you are concerned about the AC and/or the heater. If you expect to be sitting in traffic for awhile, and you are worried about the state of your batteries, just turn off the heat/AC. You may grow uncomfortably hot or cold after awhile, in which case, you might exit the vehicle, or run the heat/AC long enough to get more comfortable, and turn it off again.
That old 4-60 air conditioner may be getting a workout, when people realize how much the AC impacts on the range of these cars. Roll all 4 windows down, and drive 60mph, so the wind blows the heat out of the car!!
Well - part of the efficiency is derived from the vehicles low gross weight. Start adding things like a generator, the efficiency goes down. The smaller and lighter a vehicle is, the more even a small amount of weight affects it. So - adding your own generator on a bumper hitch may be alright if you plan on making a trip, and don't expect to find anyplace to recharge. But, for day to day commuting and running around, it would probably suck.
Did Hank do it thisaway? Tennessee Ernie?
Actually, I think they made money when they played. Which worked out all right, because they didn't have to support a boatload of parasites who owned contracts.
Let's do Like Hank did, alright?
It's not like it's NECESSARY that every man, woman, and child in the world is listening to the same vacuous big busted bitch whining into a microphone. There are vacuous big busted bitches in my own county who can whine into local mikes, and all the local people will toss her a few dollars.
As the GP said, let it die.
"1) does it force the use of RPM? Some prefer DEB, or even ebuilds."
It doesn't force anything. No one with a shotgun tells you that you must visit the website, or that you must create your own custom distro, or that you must use RPM. It's all voluntary. If there is any small part of the thing that you do not like, you can leave any time. That is one of the wonderful things about OSS, after all. There is no warning, "By entering this site, you agree to forfeit your soul, along with your first born child, subject to interpretations of law by myriad demans living below Redmond."
Take it for a test drive, and see how you like it. If you walk all the way through it, download the disk image, and burn it, THEN decide that you still don't like it, well, no big deal. Just flip the CD/DVD image into the trash, and go back to Debian.
No, that isn't true. I wouldn't hand a LiveCD to a complete novice, and expect him to install successfully. But, an intermediate user can certainly do so. A novice could get through it, if he were willing to learn as he goes. Of course, learning is a benefit, in and of itself. Once that novice has managed to get his Linux set up, he is no longer a novice, and no longer dependent on the local computer shop that charges a hundred bucks to clean up a virus, or reconfigure the internet connection when it's been buggered up.
I'm afraid that you are either behind the times, or you are helping to spread FUD.
Of course, Linux is NOT for people whose IQ's are smaller than their shoe (or bra) size. I don't think it ever will be. Of course, to be fair, neither is Windows.