Actually, I agree with the previous post, not yours.
"Perception IS reality" is a great way to look at the universe. This, of course, doesn't mean you can change the perceptions (eg, you can't suddenly decide the car isn't there). Or maybe you can, if you believe hard enough.
The world WAS FLAT until someone thought it might not be.
Actually, Schrodingers (sp?) Cat pretty much sums it up. It exists in an indeterminate state until observed.
It even jibes with christianity, that whole thing about moving mountains if you have enough faith. Actually, I think this also applies to the belief structures of Judea and Islam, if I remember correctly.
Rome seemed its most powerful right before the collapse. England seemed its most powerful before its collapse.
In short, all major empires in history have seemed their most powerful right before they collapsed. (I, of course, have no history facts to back this up. I remember reading about it in History class though).
I think the issue with Americans thinking their standard of living is so high is because a good portion of the country doesn't actually know about standards of living elsewhere.
Of course, there are a great number of countries that don't have as high a standard of living, but most western European countries, Canada, and a few others can claim to have it at least as good, if not better.
Americans constantly go on about how they can change things with a few votes, but all they seem to change is the name on the office door, not any of the policy.
GW Bush is anti-World and pro-American. Thats great for America (it seems), but it'll come back and bite the USA in the ass soon enough, IMO. Europe is shaping up to be a larger economic market than the US, and the US can't bomb that market into submission.
Sakhmet. (And yes, I think Canada should drop NAFTA and join the EU).
"Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great peace of mind."
That is my favorite quote from that book.
The only thing that gets capitalist pigs of their asses is money. Show them how it will make money, and they'll dance. Show them how its costing them money, and it will make them angry.
Money doesn't make the world go round, just America:)
I don't grasp whether or not you are agreeing with me.
The gov't of CA should obviously not have entered this agreement. But they did. Let them take responsibility, Not Oracle or Logicon. Maybe DOIT will be more careful in their next transaction.
Let the buyer beware. If they aren't they deserve to be fleeced. This is one of the fundamental tennets of capitalism, no?
As I've often said on this weblog-turned-"Open-Source-lovefest", Open-Source software will *Never* achieve the same level of usage as Commercial software does unless the quality and quantity of Open-Source software equals that of Commercial software.
I completely agree with this point. Well said, well thought out. And IMO, the truth.
Well, how is a graphic designer with minimal coding ability (does PHP really count?) to help? Mostly, I get laughed at when I offer to help. I've offered my services to several projects, only to be unilaterally dismissed as nothing but a pixel witch incapable of aiding a "real" software project. It's gone a great way toward turning me off the whole movement, but I hang in there in the hopes that someday I might be able to make more of a contribution than bug reporting.
Yup, you can kill a lot of the people a lot of the time, but you can't kill all the people all the time.
Reading these comments frightens me. Badly. Does anyone here even think that tactical thermonuclear devices are a good idea? Like, good enough to warrant having one in your backyard for your little sister to play on? Not me, and not my little sister.
And I don't think your tone was required or appreciated.
All I did was supply a list of features which people in my field would require to move to a less proprietary system.
I didn't say it was easy. Did I?
And frankly, I've offered to help, numerous times, and been cold-shouldered by hard-core techies that seem to feel that a unified, comprehensive UI scheme superior to anything else out there already exists in KDE and Gnome. It was pretty damned off-putting.
Interestingly, the "Brain Drain" has also been called a hoax. It seems lately that a lot of skilled American workers are moving up here to follow the companies that are moving up here. Especially since Ontario has been named the most cost-effective place in North America to do business.
And Canada is generally considered (I don't actually support this opinion) a "better" place to live than most other countries.
What KDE and Gnome need to do is approach some graphic designers (preferably those with any kind of user-interface experience) and get them on board.
Even the best of Linux desktops look cheap in comparison to OS X. Really really cheap.
The way I see it, for Linux to succeed and give the masses a viable option is this:
More USEFUL apps than windows, better UI than OS X, all on the stability of Linux.
Of course, those apps need to support the regular file formats (.doc,.xls, etc.). And lets face it, for those graphic designers, the GiMP just ain't gonna cut it. Clones of Photoshop, Ilustrator and Quark would end my reliance on proprietary OS's forever. Yes, clones, I don't need any other features. Just the ones those packages have, with the same ease of use.
I should think that a 99% destruction rate is awful! Kind of defeats the purpose of an "archive" doesn't it?
With digital documents, there's no real reason not to save all of it, even if much of it is "tripe".
Information is information, whether or not we find it useful. Some day, someone else might find our tripe is a goldmine of information, if only for anthropological study.
Sakhmet. (The REAL McCoy)
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Speak to your doctor, or someone in the know, and they will help you change your work habits to more conducive ones. As mentioned above, short frequent breaks are very important, not just for your wrists, but your eyes as well.
Sakhmet.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
There appears to be fewer female hacker/crackers out there because women generally require less attention to do what they do, and therefore are less prominent.
Male hackers/crackers (aren't crackers something I break into my soup?) are often engaged in these activities to garner some respect and esteem from the community at large, stroke their egos, so to speak. Female participants in the community are more likely to be doing it for their own self gratification, not a pat on the back.
There is also my still-standing opinion that many women in this industry don't have the self-presence to compete effectively in the industry, simply because they take things entirely too personally. Everything sounds like an insult or sexist comment to them. It's a sad symptom of women all over the world, and applies to a lesser degree to any minority.
That said, I'm female, and because I am here for my own personal enjoyment and growth, it doesn't matter what male hackers/crackers (soup? can't stop thinking about soup...) say or do.
stop taking life so seriously. It's not out to get you.
My opinion, abuse it as you wish.
Sakhmet.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
People who can't handle AOL, an iMac, or Winxx with MSWord/WordPerfect have no buisness using computers until they fix their attitudes.
Wasn't that one of the main points of the article? Users shouldn't have to adjust to use a computer, the computer needs to adjust to them.
A car is far more complicated (and requires real-time feedback from the user, unlike a computer), yet most people are comfortable with that technology... why? They have either grown up with it, so it doesn't seem strange, and they are willing to take a risk (ever driven on the NJ Turnpike? Far more dangerous than trying to get a dual NT/Linux set-up working).
You failed to mention that real-time feedback is something users (humans) are inherently good at, in fact, most life is. As a matter of fact, real-time feedback is how the real world operates, so why shouldn't a computer?
Danger aside, we are talking about a large population of people who are fairly intelligent, receptive and aggreable people. The fact of the matter is that they don't have the time, money or desire to change their computer habits when what they have works more or less well for their needs.
It doesn't matter that what they have doesn't work well for OUR needs. We've found alternatives that do.
Its not a holy war, its just a computer.
Can you imaging a war over which brand of hammer someone uses?
This may sound elitest, but hey - it's the truth.
Finally, yes, your statement was elitist, and it wasn't the truth. If you believe it is, you may have missed the entire purpose of computing for the masses. A tool. Remember?
My opinion, abuse it as you wish.
Sakhmet.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
I believe religion has no place in politics, education or technology.
Fact of the matter is, religion IS politics, education and technology.
Religion is as much a means to control people as politics.
Religion brought education to the masses, specifically in matters of lifestyle, health and literacy (Gutenberg, remember?).
Religion is about ideology, much like technology. This one believes in the PPC architecture, that one in Alpha, the other in Sparc. They then go out and defend their view violently. Sounds like the crusades to me.
Now, to my actual opinions:
I read everything by Jon. I also read every comment posted to one of his stories. They are hilarious, entertaining, insightful and intelligent (okay, not all at once, but you get the picture).
AC posting is a good thing. It gives people with low self-confidence a chance to speak loudly in a crowded room. Unfortunately some choose to abuse it. But isn't that true of anything?
I love/. more than you could imagine. Raw energy, people disagreeing, its such a GOOD thing. I read everything at a -1, because I don't want to miss anything. Like a good cup of coffee,/. is good to the last drop.
And I say all this, even though I am one of those female/.ers that Jon insists are being turned away because of the flaming, trolling and general hot-grittiness.
My opinion, abuse it as you wish. Sakhmet.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, I agree with the previous post, not yours.
"Perception IS reality" is a great way to look at the universe. This, of course, doesn't mean you can change the perceptions (eg, you can't suddenly decide the car isn't there). Or maybe you can, if you believe hard enough.
The world WAS FLAT until someone thought it might not be.
Actually, Schrodingers (sp?) Cat pretty much sums it up. It exists in an indeterminate state until observed.
It even jibes with christianity, that whole thing about moving mountains if you have enough faith. Actually, I think this also applies to the belief structures of Judea and Islam, if I remember correctly.
Sakhmet.
*click*c trl-p*
*drag*
*ctrl-c*
*alt-tab*
*ctrl-v*
*
*click*
*wait*
*read*
Why, exactly, is 2.6 chars per line considered too few? Is this the infamous lameness filter? The formatting was so much nicer the first time.
Sakhmet.
Socialisms very existance requires poverty. Keep 'em poor, keep 'em uneducated, and keep frightening them with some external threat.
Wow. I didn't know America was Socialist.
Sakhmet.
Rome seemed its most powerful right before the collapse. England seemed its most powerful before its collapse.
In short, all major empires in history have seemed their most powerful right before they collapsed. (I, of course, have no history facts to back this up. I remember reading about it in History class though).
I think the issue with Americans thinking their standard of living is so high is because a good portion of the country doesn't actually know about standards of living elsewhere.
Of course, there are a great number of countries that don't have as high a standard of living, but most western European countries, Canada, and a few others can claim to have it at least as good, if not better.
Americans constantly go on about how they can change things with a few votes, but all they seem to change is the name on the office door, not any of the policy.
GW Bush is anti-World and pro-American. Thats great for America (it seems), but it'll come back and bite the USA in the ass soon enough, IMO. Europe is shaping up to be a larger economic market than the US, and the US can't bomb that market into submission.
Sakhmet. (And yes, I think Canada should drop NAFTA and join the EU).
Does anyone else think thats pretty funny? Maybe I'm have an off day.
Sakhmet.
"Assembly of Japanese bicycle require great peace of mind."
:)
That is my favorite quote from that book.
The only thing that gets capitalist pigs of their asses is money. Show them how it will make money, and they'll dance. Show them how its costing them money, and it will make them angry.
Money doesn't make the world go round, just America
Sakhmet.
Eurocom has a 2.4 GHz laptop. And for your americans, it might be a really good value. Of course, I know nothing about them.
Sakhmet.
I don't grasp whether or not you are agreeing with me.
The gov't of CA should obviously not have entered this agreement. But they did. Let them take responsibility, Not Oracle or Logicon. Maybe DOIT will be more careful in their next transaction.
Let the buyer beware. If they aren't they deserve to be fleeced. This is one of the fundamental tennets of capitalism, no?
Sakhmet.
Caveat Emptor.
Sakhmet.
Help Slashdot end, stamp out, and eliminate redundancy! Your support is urgently required for this extremely worthy cause.
Sakhmet, increasing sarcasm levels since 1980.
As I've often said on this weblog-turned-"Open-Source-lovefest", Open-Source software will *Never* achieve the same level of usage as Commercial software does unless the quality and quantity of Open-Source software equals that of Commercial software.
I completely agree with this point. Well said, well thought out. And IMO, the truth.
Sakhmet.
Well, how is a graphic designer with minimal coding ability (does PHP really count?) to help? Mostly, I get laughed at when I offer to help. I've offered my services to several projects, only to be unilaterally dismissed as nothing but a pixel witch incapable of aiding a "real" software project. It's gone a great way toward turning me off the whole movement, but I hang in there in the hopes that someday I might be able to make more of a contribution than bug reporting.
Sakhmet.
Yup, you can kill a lot of the people a lot of the time, but you can't kill all the people all the time.
Reading these comments frightens me. Badly. Does anyone here even think that tactical thermonuclear devices are a good idea? Like, good enough to warrant having one in your backyard for your little sister to play on? Not me, and not my little sister.
Sakhmet.
All I have to say is:
More laws == more criminals.
Sakhmet.
yeah using linux can teach how to think...
I have been told that school is there to teach you WHAT to think, not HOW to think.
Yeah, I rolled my eyes too, but that comment came from an educator.
Sakhmet.
Thats "She" thank you very much.
And I don't think your tone was required or appreciated.
All I did was supply a list of features which people in my field would require to move to a less proprietary system.
I didn't say it was easy. Did I?
And frankly, I've offered to help, numerous times, and been cold-shouldered by hard-core techies that seem to feel that a unified, comprehensive UI scheme superior to anything else out there already exists in KDE and Gnome. It was pretty damned off-putting.
Sakhmet.
Interestingly, the "Brain Drain" has also been called a hoax. It seems lately that a lot of skilled American workers are moving up here to follow the companies that are moving up here. Especially since Ontario has been named the most cost-effective place in North America to do business.
And Canada is generally considered (I don't actually support this opinion) a "better" place to live than most other countries.
Sakhmet.
What KDE and Gnome need to do is approach some graphic designers (preferably those with any kind of user-interface experience) and get them on board.
.xls, etc.). And lets face it, for those graphic designers, the GiMP just ain't gonna cut it. Clones of Photoshop, Ilustrator and Quark would end my reliance on proprietary OS's forever. Yes, clones, I don't need any other features. Just the ones those packages have, with the same ease of use.
Even the best of Linux desktops look cheap in comparison to OS X. Really really cheap.
The way I see it, for Linux to succeed and give the masses a viable option is this:
More USEFUL apps than windows, better UI than OS X, all on the stability of Linux.
Of course, those apps need to support the regular file formats (.doc,
Sakhmet.
With digital documents, there's no real reason not to save all of it, even if much of it is "tripe".
Information is information, whether or not we find it useful. Some day, someone else might find our tripe is a goldmine of information, if only for anthropological study.
Sakhmet.
(The REAL McCoy)
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
10,000 is a good number. Coincidentally, I wrote my 100th published article today.
Congrats boys, you'ce made me laugh, made me cry, nearly petrified me once, and generally just kept me alive through some very nasty days.
Keep it up.
Sakhmet.
(The REAL McCoy)
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
The keyboard isn't the answer, work habits are.
Speak to your doctor, or someone in the know, and they will help you change your work habits to more conducive ones. As mentioned above, short frequent breaks are very important, not just for your wrists, but your eyes as well.
Sakhmet.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
I hope to get it fixed soon.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Hugs all,
Sakhmet.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Male hackers/crackers (aren't crackers something I break into my soup?) are often engaged in these activities to garner some respect and esteem from the community at large, stroke their egos, so to speak. Female participants in the community are more likely to be doing it for their own self gratification, not a pat on the back.
There is also my still-standing opinion that many women in this industry don't have the self-presence to compete effectively in the industry, simply because they take things entirely too personally. Everything sounds like an insult or sexist comment to them. It's a sad symptom of women all over the world, and applies to a lesser degree to any minority.
That said, I'm female, and because I am here for my own personal enjoyment and growth, it doesn't matter what male hackers/crackers (soup? can't stop thinking about soup...) say or do.
stop taking life so seriously. It's not out to get you.
My opinion, abuse it as you wish.
Sakhmet.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Wasn't that one of the main points of the article? Users shouldn't have to adjust to use a computer, the computer needs to adjust to them.
A car is far more complicated (and requires real-time feedback from the user, unlike a computer), yet most people are comfortable with that technology... why? They have either grown up with it, so it doesn't seem strange, and they are willing to take a risk (ever driven on the NJ Turnpike? Far more dangerous than trying to get a dual NT/Linux set-up working).
You failed to mention that real-time feedback is something users (humans) are inherently good at, in fact, most life is. As a matter of fact, real-time feedback is how the real world operates, so why shouldn't a computer?
Danger aside, we are talking about a large population of people who are fairly intelligent, receptive and aggreable people. The fact of the matter is that they don't have the time, money or desire to change their computer habits when what they have works more or less well for their needs.
It doesn't matter that what they have doesn't work well for OUR needs. We've found alternatives that do.
Its not a holy war, its just a computer.
Can you imaging a war over which brand of hammer someone uses?
This may sound elitest, but hey - it's the truth.
Finally, yes, your statement was elitist, and it wasn't the truth. If you believe it is, you may have missed the entire purpose of computing for the masses. A tool. Remember?
My opinion, abuse it as you wish.
Sakhmet.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Fact of the matter is, religion IS politics, education and technology.
Religion is as much a means to control people as politics.
Religion brought education to the masses, specifically in matters of lifestyle, health and literacy (Gutenberg, remember?).
Religion is about ideology, much like technology. This one believes in the PPC architecture, that one in Alpha, the other in Sparc. They then go out and defend their view violently. Sounds like the crusades to me.
Now, to my actual opinions:
I read everything by Jon. I also read every comment posted to one of his stories. They are hilarious, entertaining, insightful and intelligent (okay, not all at once, but you get the picture).
AC posting is a good thing. It gives people with low self-confidence a chance to speak loudly in a crowded room. Unfortunately some choose to abuse it. But isn't that true of anything?
I love /. more than you could imagine. Raw energy, people disagreeing, its such a GOOD thing. I read everything at a -1, because I don't want to miss anything. Like a good cup of coffee, /. is good to the last drop.
And I say all this, even though I am one of those female /.ers that Jon insists are being turned away because of the flaming, trolling and general hot-grittiness.
My opinion, abuse it as you wish. Sakhmet.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."