If Dvorak is so bored, which I suspect he is too, then maybe he should get off his ass and learn to do something productive and rewarding, like design software and/or write code. There's no more boring a place to be than the middle of the peanut gallery.
4) Industrial Design -- The shiny new cars that are manufactured by foreign companies use US design teams. Why do you think Daimler bought Chrysler?
This is true. Add to that, the design chiefs at BMW, VW/Audi, and most Japanese firms are all American. And most of those are graduates of Art Center College of Deisgn in Pasadena, CA.
The real problem with CA schools is bureaucratic inertia and waste. LA, for example, has approximately one administrator for each teacher on its payroll. And guess whose salary is higher?
What's with the teeny little fonts...
on
Mandrake News
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· Score: 2
...on the Mandrake site? My aging eyes can't deal...
While the cheaper IBM laptops may have the same computing spec for less money, there are real differnces from the more expensive ones. The most glaring difference is the lid is plastic with a cheap hinge instead of metal with a solid hinge. The lid on an R-Series becomes floppy and is prone to cracking. OTOH, my 3 year old T-Series is still as solid as new, despite being pounded on 12 hours a day. Second, and this is the biggest difference, is that the cheaper ones come with a 1 year warranty vs. 3 years. So if you really depend on your computer, the more expensive one is probably a better buy. Basically, what you're paying for is that IBM will "keep you in computer" for 3 years instead of one.
Seriously, this is a really big problem. Property managers are simply not the smartest, most forward thinking people you can deal with. Their motto seems to be: "why should I have to?"
Violence and sex is a sure hit worldwide...
on
New Mad Max Film
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· Score: 2
That's why so many violent action movies are being made. Basic themes of violence, revenge, and sex resonate with all people in all cultures. So these movies are a sure hit everywhere in the world no matter what -- language and other cultural factors don't matter. Everyone can understand them, from uptight Scandinavian PhD's to spearchucking bushmen. No matter how much they cost to make, they eventually make money. Add to that the potential for violent video games based on them, plus merchandising, and the profits can be truly enourmous. Not to mention the generations of college students who will rent them to "laugh at" how "bad" they are, pretending to have some higher-level sense of "irony"...
...or so I've heard. I read about it here on Slashdot, but I can't find the link. Some company in Canada is selling prepaid porn cards in convenience stores, for accessing porn websites. This could definately work for music.
As they say, the porn industry drives internet technology like nothing else!
You have to learn the CLI if you want to use Linux in any sort of reasonable fashion.
Not so. You can do everything with a Linux GUI that you can do with a Windows GUI, and more. You can point and click your way around just as well, and do everything that most users do by pointing and clicking. Web, email, word processing, image editing, printing, etc.
How could you possibly deal with, for instance, securing Linux without the CLI?
Well, with Mandrake, for example, you can first select the purpose of your machine when installing, by clicking on a button for Desktop, Server, Developer, etc. This will install only the software you need, so you don't have every service in the universe the installed and running. Then you can go to a nice control panel, just like Windows' Start/Settings/etc., and find a nice list of services that you can start/stop by checking/unchecking little boxes. Then, through another icon, you there's a neat wizard that sets up a very effective firewall, with really simple questions a third grader could understand. After all this, you'll have a system more secure than most Windows boxes run by professional admins. Windows offers nothing this simple or effective. And it's all point and click.
I'm generally not a big consumer of computer books because most of them suck, but when looking for a general Linux book I found Linux Cookbook to be pretty neat and useful. It's somewhat Debian-centric, but useful for anyone. Another good book in the same vein is Linux System Administration by Michel Gagne. Both these books are centered on doing typical things that people want to do with their (Linux) computers. I like them both, but I do like the Linux Cookbook better.
Knoppix is the easiest, coolest way for people to get their feet wet with Linux. Nothing is as simple or user friendly, plus it requires no committment at all -- no drive partitioning, installation, etc. All you do is pop the CD in and run it, and you're booted to a fully featured Linux machine in minutes. When you're done, just shutdown and remove the CD, and it's as if Linux never happened on your machine -- perfectly safe for kids messing with the family computer!
Demonstrage *the power* of the command line!
on
Getting Started In Linux
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· Score: 5, Insightful
While newbies shouldn't be forced to use the command line, it might be nice for them to see why it's a great thing. Show them something really neat that they can do with the command line, which is awkward to do with a GUI. Make it something useful, which even if they're not doing now, they might want to later.
I wonder whose advice the feds have been taking on this matter -- could it be from "experts" in the wireless industry, who are in the business of selling wireless, and want to ensure there's no competition?
I use Mozilla every day as my main browser on Windows. This is not to make a statement or because I feel sorrty for the Mozilla organization, but because it's a better browser, and I like it better. Just the popup control alone makes it worth switching. The only problems it ever has is when hitting pages designed exclusively for IE. I'll admit the Mail/News section isn't as elegant as OE, but it works fine, and even has some neat features that OE lacks (folder flexibility, Bayesian spam filtering). Unless you're a dedicated smut surfer, the News section works fine too. And the text editor in Mail/News actually works all the time, unlike OE's which is really buggy.
Works is great because it does exactly what most users need -- basic word processing, address book, database, etc., and it's all seamlessly integrated. The only problem is the proprietary file formats and being able to share data -- undoubtedly an obstacle created by Microsoft to get people to "upgrade" to Office.
BTW, Claris Works is pretty good too. GoBe Productive is the same kind of thing -- geeks only think it's cooler because of its 'nix origin. With no prior knowledge and no super-sophisticated needs, most people would be way more productive with any of these programs than with Office.
Home users who ask me for PC advice usually get this answer from me -- buy a Mac, or an XP machine with Works.
To me, there's a more important, significant use of PGP than privacy. One of the biggest obstacles to *really* doing business over the internet is being able to verify where messages come from. PGP provides this. A PGP signed message is as good as a signed piece of paper.
I never cease to be amazed at how this aspect of PGP is never discussed. I guess all the stupid, nose-picking, trainspotting geeks all over the world really can't see beyond the government prying into their porn collections.
Re:Trade 50 more MPG for your life?
on
239 MPG Car
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· Score: 3, Insightful
I admit up front, I have not even begun to examine the crash test data from any of these green-cars. I also realize that crash safety has come a long way in recent years.
Obviously. And I bet you haven't looked at crash test data for SUVs, either. Or actual accident records, which are even worse.
The "simple physics" you allude to isn't that simple, either. If it is, then how can a 1500 LB open wheel race car can hit a wall at 200 MPH, and its driver walk away?
...is that every new service they want to sell you comes from a "separate" company set up as an outside contractor, so to get that service you have to give them permission to share your information with "other companies."
It has more to do with what I buy and eat than any form of rebellion or boycott, but generally I don't shop at supermarkets. I cook mostly from scratch, so I shop at farmers' markets, health food stores, fish markets, etc. So it's quite a shock when I do go in a supermarket and see the double prices for not using a card. Just one more reason not to go there in the first place...
OTOH, you can beat the system by signing up using a false name. Of course, you blow your cover the first time you pay with a debit or credit card!
A couple of supermarket chains have started advertising "card-free" business -- Stater Bros. in southern CA comes to mind. And they're still cheaper than everyone else's "discount" prices.
What is it with government agencies and their damn PDFs? Is it so hard to take the text file used to create them, and make HTML pages instead? I'm all for PDF where stuff needs to be printed out, but I'd rather have people read stuff on screen, and save trees. Reading PDFs on screen is a pain.
I'm all for high speed rail in CA. They've been talking for years about linking Anaheim to Las Vegas, etc. And the Amtrak Metrolinks between LA and its suburbs have been extremely popular. They started up after the Northridge earthquake in '92 destroyed many of the freeways. Once people started using taking the train, they were hooked.
But looking at this plan, the obvious, important routes seem to be missing -- particularly LA/OC to the Bay Area. *A lot* of people make this trip every day by plane. High speed rail would do wonders for our airport congestion, and air quality (next to cars, planes going into and out of LAX are the biggest source of smog).
And who goes to Bakersfield, anyway? Sounds to me like a big land owner with some pull in Sacramento is behind this. Fresno would be the logical choice for service in that region -- after all, it's the next biggest metropolis behind the "big three," and probably the fastest growing.
Slashdot Mirror
If Dvorak is so bored, which I suspect he is too, then maybe he should get off his ass and learn to do something productive and rewarding, like design software and/or write code. There's no more boring a place to be than the middle of the peanut gallery.
This is true. Add to that, the design chiefs at BMW, VW/Audi, and most Japanese firms are all American. And most of those are graduates of Art Center College of Deisgn in Pasadena, CA.
Ah don' see whar it matters, 'cuz he jus' gonna work in the bodyshop wid his daddy!
The real problem with CA schools is bureaucratic inertia and waste. LA, for example, has approximately one administrator for each teacher on its payroll. And guess whose salary is higher?
...on the Mandrake site? My aging eyes can't deal...
While the cheaper IBM laptops may have the same computing spec for less money, there are real differnces from the more expensive ones. The most glaring difference is the lid is plastic with a cheap hinge instead of metal with a solid hinge. The lid on an R-Series becomes floppy and is prone to cracking. OTOH, my 3 year old T-Series is still as solid as new, despite being pounded on 12 hours a day. Second, and this is the biggest difference, is that the cheaper ones come with a 1 year warranty vs. 3 years. So if you really depend on your computer, the more expensive one is probably a better buy. Basically, what you're paying for is that IBM will "keep you in computer" for 3 years instead of one.
Seriously, this is a really big problem. Property managers are simply not the smartest, most forward thinking people you can deal with. Their motto seems to be: "why should I have to?"
That's why so many violent action movies are being made. Basic themes of violence, revenge, and sex resonate with all people in all cultures. So these movies are a sure hit everywhere in the world no matter what -- language and other cultural factors don't matter. Everyone can understand them, from uptight Scandinavian PhD's to spearchucking bushmen. No matter how much they cost to make, they eventually make money. Add to that the potential for violent video games based on them, plus merchandising, and the profits can be truly enourmous. Not to mention the generations of college students who will rent them to "laugh at" how "bad" they are, pretending to have some higher-level sense of "irony"...
Then they'd truly be open source thongs!
...or so I've heard. I read about it here on Slashdot, but I can't find the link. Some company in Canada is selling prepaid porn cards in convenience stores, for accessing porn websites. This could definately work for music.
As they say, the porn industry drives internet technology like nothing else!
Not so. You can do everything with a Linux GUI that you can do with a Windows GUI, and more. You can point and click your way around just as well, and do everything that most users do by pointing and clicking. Web, email, word processing, image editing, printing, etc.
Well, with Mandrake, for example, you can first select the purpose of your machine when installing, by clicking on a button for Desktop, Server, Developer, etc. This will install only the software you need, so you don't have every service in the universe the installed and running. Then you can go to a nice control panel, just like Windows' Start/Settings/etc., and find a nice list of services that you can start/stop by checking/unchecking little boxes. Then, through another icon, you there's a neat wizard that sets up a very effective firewall, with really simple questions a third grader could understand. After all this, you'll have a system more secure than most Windows boxes run by professional admins. Windows offers nothing this simple or effective. And it's all point and click.
I'm generally not a big consumer of computer books because most of them suck, but when looking for a general Linux book I found Linux Cookbook to be pretty neat and useful. It's somewhat Debian-centric, but useful for anyone. Another good book in the same vein is Linux System Administration by Michel Gagne. Both these books are centered on doing typical things that people want to do with their (Linux) computers. I like them both, but I do like the Linux Cookbook better.
Knoppix is the easiest, coolest way for people to get their feet wet with Linux. Nothing is as simple or user friendly, plus it requires no committment at all -- no drive partitioning, installation, etc. All you do is pop the CD in and run it, and you're booted to a fully featured Linux machine in minutes. When you're done, just shutdown and remove the CD, and it's as if Linux never happened on your machine -- perfectly safe for kids messing with the family computer!
While newbies shouldn't be forced to use the command line, it might be nice for them to see why it's a great thing. Show them something really neat that they can do with the command line, which is awkward to do with a GUI. Make it something useful, which even if they're not doing now, they might want to later.
I wonder whose advice the feds have been taking on this matter -- could it be from "experts" in the wireless industry, who are in the business of selling wireless, and want to ensure there's no competition?
I use Mozilla every day as my main browser on Windows. This is not to make a statement or because I feel sorrty for the Mozilla organization, but because it's a better browser, and I like it better. Just the popup control alone makes it worth switching. The only problems it ever has is when hitting pages designed exclusively for IE. I'll admit the Mail/News section isn't as elegant as OE, but it works fine, and even has some neat features that OE lacks (folder flexibility, Bayesian spam filtering). Unless you're a dedicated smut surfer, the News section works fine too. And the text editor in Mail/News actually works all the time, unlike OE's which is really buggy.
Damn that's a lot of typing!
Works is great because it does exactly what most users need -- basic word processing, address book, database, etc., and it's all seamlessly integrated. The only problem is the proprietary file formats and being able to share data -- undoubtedly an obstacle created by Microsoft to get people to "upgrade" to Office.
BTW, Claris Works is pretty good too. GoBe Productive is the same kind of thing -- geeks only think it's cooler because of its 'nix origin. With no prior knowledge and no super-sophisticated needs, most people would be way more productive with any of these programs than with Office.
Home users who ask me for PC advice usually get this answer from me -- buy a Mac, or an XP machine with Works.
At least PCs serve a useful purpose before they're scrapped, helping to conserve other resources. AOL disks are shameless pollution from the get-go.
To me, there's a more important, significant use of PGP than privacy. One of the biggest obstacles to *really* doing business over the internet is being able to verify where messages come from. PGP provides this. A PGP signed message is as good as a signed piece of paper.
I never cease to be amazed at how this aspect of PGP is never discussed. I guess all the stupid, nose-picking, trainspotting geeks all over the world really can't see beyond the government prying into their porn collections.
Obviously. And I bet you haven't looked at crash test data for SUVs, either. Or actual accident records, which are even worse.
The "simple physics" you allude to isn't that simple, either. If it is, then how can a 1500 LB open wheel race car can hit a wall at 200 MPH, and its driver walk away?
...is that every new service they want to sell you comes from a "separate" company set up as an outside contractor, so to get that service you have to give them permission to share your information with "other companies."
It has more to do with what I buy and eat than any form of rebellion or boycott, but generally I don't shop at supermarkets. I cook mostly from scratch, so I shop at farmers' markets, health food stores, fish markets, etc. So it's quite a shock when I do go in a supermarket and see the double prices for not using a card. Just one more reason not to go there in the first place...
OTOH, you can beat the system by signing up using a false name. Of course, you blow your cover the first time you pay with a debit or credit card!
A couple of supermarket chains have started advertising "card-free" business -- Stater Bros. in southern CA comes to mind. And they're still cheaper than everyone else's "discount" prices.
What is it with government agencies and their damn PDFs? Is it so hard to take the text file used to create them, and make HTML pages instead? I'm all for PDF where stuff needs to be printed out, but I'd rather have people read stuff on screen, and save trees. Reading PDFs on screen is a pain.
I'm all for high speed rail in CA. They've been talking for years about linking Anaheim to Las Vegas, etc. And the Amtrak Metrolinks between LA and its suburbs have been extremely popular. They started up after the Northridge earthquake in '92 destroyed many of the freeways. Once people started using taking the train, they were hooked.
But looking at this plan, the obvious, important routes seem to be missing -- particularly LA/OC to the Bay Area. *A lot* of people make this trip every day by plane. High speed rail would do wonders for our airport congestion, and air quality (next to cars, planes going into and out of LAX are the biggest source of smog).
And who goes to Bakersfield, anyway? Sounds to me like a big land owner with some pull in Sacramento is behind this. Fresno would be the logical choice for service in that region -- after all, it's the next biggest metropolis behind the "big three," and probably the fastest growing.