i know people who know technology and own macs. in fact everyone i know with a mac is a geek. however, that won't stop the affluent people described in the article from buying them because "they look cool". and then there's the whole "macs don't get viruses attitude". i think they're a great target and i will not be surprised that they have a lot of virus and probably even spyware problems within the next 5 years.
you're not seeing the point. everyone connected to that torrent is distributing the file. the RIAA has every right to distribute it because they own it. the others connected to it do not have that right.
i never said it was good business practice, but it is not the same as giving people the CD and arresting them. someone else was giving away the file to begin with. the RIAA joined in so that they can put a stop to it.
technically (at least by their definition), it's their file. they can do what they want with it. if it helps them make another $20k in lawsuit settlements, i'm sure it's worth it to them.
i'm neither... i guess my real point is more for the OP (and to the guy who over-simplified everything).
the OP (the guy who asked the original question) did so because it seemed the question was asked because he cares about the money more than the actual love for what he does. i can become a programmer if i wanted and i'd put my heart and soul into it (which i do with whatever job i'm doing). it's not really something that interests me. i'd rather be the best IT support manager i can, which i'm doing and has shown by the changes i've made to our support model and how we do things since i started with my current employer. if he really loves programming and doesn't want to just be a monkey, he should go where his heart tells him to. but the majority of programmers, especially the jobs being outsourced are those monkey jobs. if that's what he wants to do, then he should worry. otherwise, there's nothing to worry about because plenty of jobs can be found in the US in that type of work.
with experience and maybe a couple classes, you can do that non-trivial programming. but it does not require a college degree.
i could be a supergenius who just prefers working with people rather than coding. i'm of the mentality that i'd rather enjoy my life and my job than do something that gives me a large paycheck.
computer science is not programming. computer science is theory. programming is something a monkey can do with training. there's a difference. you want real computer science, go get a higher degree and work in research, otherwise you're just a monkey.
IT isn't just fixing computers. in fact, there's a whole lot more to it than that. so until you know what you're talking about, i suggest you stop posting crap like that. by your definitions, programming is IT.
yes, i work in IT. yes, i do support. however, there's more to support than just telling users what to do to fix their problems, especially when you not only do support but also manage a staff. yes, i'm a manager who also knows what the hell i'm doing.
you know what? i think dell actually just switched their practices. it costs you extra to have them ship the OS disc with the computer now as opposed to giving you a restore disc or partition.
the operating cd that comes with dells is actually a legit operating system disc, not a restore disc. so you can actually use it on any computer. it might just come with some dell branding that can probably easily be removed.
i actually do like the way dell does this rather than give a restore cd that automatically reformats and reimages the computer. this is the way they all should be done.
their desktops might be good, and their business class laptops might be good, but their home user class laptops are pieces of crap and better used as doorstops. i have never seen so many come in with dead hard drives or other various parts that have died. it's really sad that they make so much money on these things.
dell's business support isn't the same as their general consumer support. generally dell colleges get a special number to call, that generally doesn't go to india. you get faster support times and a better overall experience. generally, you can even just tell them what's wrong. a lot of colleges also get their techs dell certified so that they can determine what's wrong and have it replaced by dell without dell having to determine the issue.
a regular consumer cannot get this sort of support from dell no matter what warranty you get. they do offer an "in-home" repair warranty, but it's very expensive and you still have to deal with 3 hours of being on hold with india. but once the problem is determined, they will send someone to your home or dorm room and have it fixed.
the typing can be a distraction to other students. the students with laptops can be distracted by playing games, using wireless to chat on AIM, etc. if i found a student the least bit distracted in my class by their computer, i'd throw them out immediately. better to just ban laptops from class period. the computers add too much chance for distraction in my opinion...
in ubuntu's defense, the people on their forums are awesome. i haven't tried that other distro, and honestly, i have no reason to or intention to. i like ubuntu and i would recommend it to newbies to linux.
i'm not completely new to linux, but i am by no means an expert. i haven't really used or installed linux in years. i thought i'd try ubuntu on my old computer (1ghz with a geforce 2 video card). the only problem i had was in getting better than 640x480 resolution. i finally figured it out myself after reading through the forums (where i did not see anyone berated for being a newbie). apparently ubuntu didn't automatically detect the refresh rates for my monitor and put those in my xorg.conf. so i did that manually and it worked fine. other than that, i have found ubuntu to be a great new-to-linux OS and it's pretty much well designed for it. it has all the software i would want on it with 2 exceptions... quicken and turbo tax. other than that, it's perfect for me. so i have it as a second box that i'll play with every now and then (or when my girlfriend is using my windows box). synaptic is a good front end to apt, although it can be confusing to navigate when just browsing around it (as opposed to searching for the program you want). better organization of the categories would be great there. the system preferences is easy to use. i like the lack of being root user, although it only requires that you enter your password to do administrative tasks. i think if it were to be a true multi-user box, it should ask for an administrative password for that, one that differs from the user's password.
besides those few things, i found it to be really easy to use and setup. i am not illiterate with computers, and i have used linux before, but i would still consider myself a linux newbie (although it was debian that i used previously, so i know my way around apt).
interesting... CD's will drop in price in the US, but not for years (basically when the band becomes a bunch of nobody's or if they change their style of music so taht the originals aren't that popular anymore). in fact, usually they're on sale for the first couple weeks and then the price goes up.
isn't that distribution method known as itunes? it does all that short of allowing you to burn it a limited number of times. it already limits the number of computers you can have the song on (which really sucks if you piss through computers).
piracy isn't the biggest problem. neither are legal downloads. and neither is the crappy music (people still buy it from legal download sites). the single biggest problem is the price of the CD. it has not dropped since they first started selling them. in fact, everywhere i've seen has them priced higher than they used to be. i remember buying a regular CD for about $14-16 in a chain record store back in the mid-90's. i go to the same record store (it happens to be strawberries here in southern new england) and the price for a regular CD (not some old discount one or one of the new releases that are on sale or the top 10 or 40 or whatever on sale) and it costs $16-18. the price jumped $2. can inflation be blamed for the jump in price of 15+ year old technology? the music isn't better. i'm not getting anything additional on the CD aside from the occasional cd-rom content or DRM. the liner notes aren't better. the CD doesn't last any longer than the ones i bought 10 years ago. how can they get away with this? it's easy to blame the record store, but i just don't think they're the issue here. they just want to stay in business and make a profit. i go to a local independent record store and i can get the same CD for about $13-15. it's not much better. those are teh same prices they had 10 years ago. i go to best buy or target or even walmart and buy a CD for anywhere from $13-17!
the fact remains that while the quality of the music has gone down, the price has gone up. the music industry is blowing millions on payola (even though they say they aren't). they're blowing millions on promoting one album from an artist who won't even sell much of their follow-up. they're blowing millions on boy band has beens (that fruit from nsync comes to mind, who cares if he slept with britney, who is another waste of money).
i won't buy music online. i don't listen to it on my computer, i don't own an mp3 player, and i have no intentions of ever doing so. i have a CD collection of over 300 albums. small to some, enormous to others. i will only buy CD's, no mp3's. i don't even pirate music anymore (did that in college). i have no reason to. hell, i don't even listen to the music i had pirated. i don't keep a computer hooked up to my stereo, too many wires across the floor and i don't want a computer fan in the background.
so no, the CD has not run its course. but the record companies need to realize that they aren't going to make any money off CD's unless they reduce their profit margins from them. the laws of supply and demand come to mind... there's a supply, but no demand... the price should be lower.
there's a free open source trouble ticket system that (i believe) your users can actually submit tickets to themselves. it's for windows (and GPL'd to please those of us here who need GPL software).
it's called liberum. we use it here (we have a larger IT department and support about 5000 faculty, staff, and students in addition to about 200+ public use machines) and love it. it's small and simple to use. we've got over 12,000 tickets logged since it was first implemented nearly 3 years ago and the database (an access database *gasp*) is only about 10MB in size.
it's all asp files running on a windows server. i've never had problems with it and it's really easy to configure. the forums on their website make a great resource as well.
quality that is not made by IBM... lenovo sent me an invite to a thinkpad university symposium at a nearby college (i work in another college). YOU HAVE TO PAY TO LISTEN TO THEM TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT LENOVO AND THINKPADS ARE! what's up with that? shouldn't lenovo be footing the bill for the event since it's just a marketing event? that's great that the college is going to talk about their laptop program, but it's lenovo inviting people to attend. i think that's the worst PR move they could possibly make.
he doesn't need office, open office runs on windows. that's not a huge issue. the issue is that he can't support the linux systems and he made it sound like he doesn't even really know that much about linux anyways. if that's the case, he should NOT be putting linux on these machines.
he never said that the mix of different versions of windows is a problem, he just doesn't think it's the best way to do things. but it could very well be working out perfectly fine for the school (students and their teachers). and that's what matters the most, not what a bunch of slashdotters think these kids should have.
i'd be willing to bet they have the educational software they need. they probably don't need support contracts, considering that you probably can't get them for 95 or 98 anymore anyways. there's free anti-virus software available for windows that works just as well as the subscription based and enterprise software that costs a lot.
i think you are overlooking the obvious just so you can make windows seem awful.
Slashdot Mirror
i know people who know technology and own macs. in fact everyone i know with a mac is a geek. however, that won't stop the affluent people described in the article from buying them because "they look cool". and then there's the whole "macs don't get viruses attitude". i think they're a great target and i will not be surprised that they have a lot of virus and probably even spyware problems within the next 5 years.
no computer is foolproof.
you're not seeing the point. everyone connected to that torrent is distributing the file. the RIAA has every right to distribute it because they own it. the others connected to it do not have that right.
i never said it was good business practice, but it is not the same as giving people the CD and arresting them. someone else was giving away the file to begin with. the RIAA joined in so that they can put a stop to it.
technically (at least by their definition), it's their file. they can do what they want with it. if it helps them make another $20k in lawsuit settlements, i'm sure it's worth it to them.
can't they connect to the tracker (by downloading the torrent) and see who else (ip address) is downloading/uploading parts of that file?
i'm neither... i guess my real point is more for the OP (and to the guy who over-simplified everything).
the OP (the guy who asked the original question) did so because it seemed the question was asked because he cares about the money more than the actual love for what he does. i can become a programmer if i wanted and i'd put my heart and soul into it (which i do with whatever job i'm doing). it's not really something that interests me. i'd rather be the best IT support manager i can, which i'm doing and has shown by the changes i've made to our support model and how we do things since i started with my current employer. if he really loves programming and doesn't want to just be a monkey, he should go where his heart tells him to. but the majority of programmers, especially the jobs being outsourced are those monkey jobs. if that's what he wants to do, then he should worry. otherwise, there's nothing to worry about because plenty of jobs can be found in the US in that type of work.
with experience and maybe a couple classes, you can do that non-trivial programming. but it does not require a college degree.
i could be a supergenius who just prefers working with people rather than coding. i'm of the mentality that i'd rather enjoy my life and my job than do something that gives me a large paycheck.
did i ever say i couldn't program?
last i checked, you didn't need 4 years of college to become a programmer.
computer science is not programming. computer science is theory. programming is something a monkey can do with training. there's a difference. you want real computer science, go get a higher degree and work in research, otherwise you're just a monkey.
IT isn't just fixing computers. in fact, there's a whole lot more to it than that. so until you know what you're talking about, i suggest you stop posting crap like that. by your definitions, programming is IT.
yes, i work in IT. yes, i do support. however, there's more to support than just telling users what to do to fix their problems, especially when you not only do support but also manage a staff. yes, i'm a manager who also knows what the hell i'm doing.
see my other post... it used to come with them. dell got cheap. even more reason for me to recommend against buying from them.
most video cards include drivers that you can setup multiple desktops with...
you know what? i think dell actually just switched their practices. it costs you extra to have them ship the OS disc with the computer now as opposed to giving you a restore disc or partition.
the operating cd that comes with dells is actually a legit operating system disc, not a restore disc. so you can actually use it on any computer. it might just come with some dell branding that can probably easily be removed.
i actually do like the way dell does this rather than give a restore cd that automatically reformats and reimages the computer. this is the way they all should be done.
their desktops might be good, and their business class laptops might be good, but their home user class laptops are pieces of crap and better used as doorstops. i have never seen so many come in with dead hard drives or other various parts that have died. it's really sad that they make so much money on these things.
dell's business support isn't the same as their general consumer support. generally dell colleges get a special number to call, that generally doesn't go to india. you get faster support times and a better overall experience. generally, you can even just tell them what's wrong. a lot of colleges also get their techs dell certified so that they can determine what's wrong and have it replaced by dell without dell having to determine the issue.
a regular consumer cannot get this sort of support from dell no matter what warranty you get. they do offer an "in-home" repair warranty, but it's very expensive and you still have to deal with 3 hours of being on hold with india. but once the problem is determined, they will send someone to your home or dorm room and have it fixed.
the typing can be a distraction to other students. the students with laptops can be distracted by playing games, using wireless to chat on AIM, etc. if i found a student the least bit distracted in my class by their computer, i'd throw them out immediately. better to just ban laptops from class period. the computers add too much chance for distraction in my opinion...
i'd like to see it interact with calendar sharing in exchange... i hate outlook, so this would be awesome if it did...
in ubuntu's defense, the people on their forums are awesome. i haven't tried that other distro, and honestly, i have no reason to or intention to. i like ubuntu and i would recommend it to newbies to linux.
i'm not completely new to linux, but i am by no means an expert. i haven't really used or installed linux in years. i thought i'd try ubuntu on my old computer (1ghz with a geforce 2 video card). the only problem i had was in getting better than 640x480 resolution. i finally figured it out myself after reading through the forums (where i did not see anyone berated for being a newbie). apparently ubuntu didn't automatically detect the refresh rates for my monitor and put those in my xorg.conf. so i did that manually and it worked fine. other than that, i have found ubuntu to be a great new-to-linux OS and it's pretty much well designed for it. it has all the software i would want on it with 2 exceptions... quicken and turbo tax. other than that, it's perfect for me. so i have it as a second box that i'll play with every now and then (or when my girlfriend is using my windows box). synaptic is a good front end to apt, although it can be confusing to navigate when just browsing around it (as opposed to searching for the program you want). better organization of the categories would be great there. the system preferences is easy to use. i like the lack of being root user, although it only requires that you enter your password to do administrative tasks. i think if it were to be a true multi-user box, it should ask for an administrative password for that, one that differs from the user's password.
besides those few things, i found it to be really easy to use and setup. i am not illiterate with computers, and i have used linux before, but i would still consider myself a linux newbie (although it was debian that i used previously, so i know my way around apt).
interesting... CD's will drop in price in the US, but not for years (basically when the band becomes a bunch of nobody's or if they change their style of music so taht the originals aren't that popular anymore). in fact, usually they're on sale for the first couple weeks and then the price goes up.
isn't that distribution method known as itunes? it does all that short of allowing you to burn it a limited number of times. it already limits the number of computers you can have the song on (which really sucks if you piss through computers).
piracy isn't the biggest problem. neither are legal downloads. and neither is the crappy music (people still buy it from legal download sites). the single biggest problem is the price of the CD. it has not dropped since they first started selling them. in fact, everywhere i've seen has them priced higher than they used to be. i remember buying a regular CD for about $14-16 in a chain record store back in the mid-90's. i go to the same record store (it happens to be strawberries here in southern new england) and the price for a regular CD (not some old discount one or one of the new releases that are on sale or the top 10 or 40 or whatever on sale) and it costs $16-18. the price jumped $2. can inflation be blamed for the jump in price of 15+ year old technology? the music isn't better. i'm not getting anything additional on the CD aside from the occasional cd-rom content or DRM. the liner notes aren't better. the CD doesn't last any longer than the ones i bought 10 years ago. how can they get away with this? it's easy to blame the record store, but i just don't think they're the issue here. they just want to stay in business and make a profit. i go to a local independent record store and i can get the same CD for about $13-15. it's not much better. those are teh same prices they had 10 years ago. i go to best buy or target or even walmart and buy a CD for anywhere from $13-17!
the fact remains that while the quality of the music has gone down, the price has gone up. the music industry is blowing millions on payola (even though they say they aren't). they're blowing millions on promoting one album from an artist who won't even sell much of their follow-up. they're blowing millions on boy band has beens (that fruit from nsync comes to mind, who cares if he slept with britney, who is another waste of money).
i won't buy music online. i don't listen to it on my computer, i don't own an mp3 player, and i have no intentions of ever doing so. i have a CD collection of over 300 albums. small to some, enormous to others. i will only buy CD's, no mp3's. i don't even pirate music anymore (did that in college). i have no reason to. hell, i don't even listen to the music i had pirated. i don't keep a computer hooked up to my stereo, too many wires across the floor and i don't want a computer fan in the background.
so no, the CD has not run its course. but the record companies need to realize that they aren't going to make any money off CD's unless they reduce their profit margins from them. the laws of supply and demand come to mind... there's a supply, but no demand... the price should be lower.
there's a free open source trouble ticket system that (i believe) your users can actually submit tickets to themselves. it's for windows (and GPL'd to please those of us here who need GPL software).
it's called liberum. we use it here (we have a larger IT department and support about 5000 faculty, staff, and students in addition to about 200+ public use machines) and love it. it's small and simple to use. we've got over 12,000 tickets logged since it was first implemented nearly 3 years ago and the database (an access database *gasp*) is only about 10MB in size.
it's all asp files running on a windows server. i've never had problems with it and it's really easy to configure. the forums on their website make a great resource as well.
Lastly, this guy is 16? Props!
i was shocked when i saw that. the site's been around for close to 2 years now. was he 14 when he started it?
it's a great site regardless...
quality that is not made by IBM... lenovo sent me an invite to a thinkpad university symposium at a nearby college (i work in another college). YOU HAVE TO PAY TO LISTEN TO THEM TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT LENOVO AND THINKPADS ARE! what's up with that? shouldn't lenovo be footing the bill for the event since it's just a marketing event? that's great that the college is going to talk about their laptop program, but it's lenovo inviting people to attend. i think that's the worst PR move they could possibly make.
for this reason alone, i will not buy a thinkpad.
he doesn't need office, open office runs on windows. that's not a huge issue. the issue is that he can't support the linux systems and he made it sound like he doesn't even really know that much about linux anyways. if that's the case, he should NOT be putting linux on these machines.
he never said that the mix of different versions of windows is a problem, he just doesn't think it's the best way to do things. but it could very well be working out perfectly fine for the school (students and their teachers). and that's what matters the most, not what a bunch of slashdotters think these kids should have.
i'd be willing to bet they have the educational software they need. they probably don't need support contracts, considering that you probably can't get them for 95 or 98 anymore anyways. there's free anti-virus software available for windows that works just as well as the subscription based and enterprise software that costs a lot.
i think you are overlooking the obvious just so you can make windows seem awful.