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User: RoLi

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  1. Re:It looks nice on Preview of KDE 3.5 · · Score: 1
    In addition the most common action should be on the far right where it is much more visible and obvious, thus: Argh. The GNOME-Trolls are already coming...

    First there simply is no "most common action". For example in the control center I prefer to use "apply" and then close while I've seen others use "OK".

    There are several actions, but there is only ONE non-action: Cancel. That's why cancel gets the special place and that's good so.

  2. Why this is important on New PSP Firmware with Built-In Web Browser · · Score: 2, Interesting
    This is actually very important because millions of Playstation 3 are going to get sold and they will probably use the same (or a very similar) browser for it too.

  3. Re:Top Embedded OS on Nokia Could Make Linux Top Embedded OS · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Linux already dominates displayless embedded systems (= pretty much everything minus PDAs and cellphones), so indeed Linux would become the leading embedded OS (actually some say that it already is) - especially because PDAs are getting replaced by cellphones anyway.

  4. Re:And the top post on the linked blog? on Nokia Could Make Linux Top Embedded OS · · Score: 1
    As a result the Symbian OS is structured is some fundamentally different ways to other OSs.

    In which ways is it different?

  5. Re:Whoops on Why I Hate the Apache Web Server · · Score: 1
    Actually KDE's Konqueror can load it in the background without any lock ups just fine.

    Probably because Konqueror and kpdf are both integrated into KDE.

  6. Wikipedia on Google's Share of Searches Falling? Or Increasing? · · Score: 1

    Actually, I think Wikipedia is getting quite a share of searches. A year ago, when I was looking for "standard information" - like the atom-weigth of an element or the capital of a country - I used Google, but now I use Wikipedia. Of course I still use a search engine for a lot of other things and will probably continue to do so. However Yahoo has become a lot better lately, so who knows what will be in 10 years?

  7. Re:I love Firefox but... on Firefox Gains on IE Again in June · · Score: 1
    As a MSFT shareholder I am pleased.

    You have a strange sense of pleasure...

  8. Simplicity is overrated: see MS Word on Asa Dotzler on Why Linux Isn't Ready for the Desktop · · Score: 1

    Regarding your 4 points:

    1) Migration: I agree fully on that
    2) Stability: Also full agreement
    3) Simplicity: Here I disagree. You take Notepad as an example, but Notepad is not used by a lot of people. Those people who really *use* an editor use another one. Let's take an application that is really used by a lot of people:

    Microsoft Word.

    Does MS Word has few settings? No.
    Did MS Word drop any features with releases? None that I am aware of.
    Does MS Word include a setting for every little detail, most of which are irrelevant for most users? YES IT DOES.

    The fact is different people use different features and while most features are used by a small minority, you can't drop them because every feature may be used by a small minority, but these small minorites add up to a lot of people.

    Actually I think Firefox is successful because of marketing (Mozilla was never marketed in any way like that) and as you said migration tools. But as I see my father complain about Firefox just saving stuff without asking where, I think Firefox is over-simplified.

    As long as you have good default settings, you can include as many settings as you want because novice users will go with the defaults anyway and advanced users will be happy to have those settings.

    And your last point:

    4) Comfort: When you say "Linux must feel comfortable to Windows users." it's really just point 1) repeated.

  9. Simplicity is overrated - see MS Word on Asa Dotzler on Why Linux Isn't Ready for the Desktop · · Score: 1

    Regarding your 4 points: 1) Migration: I agree fully on that 2) Stability: Also full agreement 3) Simplicity: Here I disagree. You take Notepad as an example, but Notepad is not used by a lot of people. Those people who really *use* an editor use another one. Let's take an application that is really used by a lot of people: Microsoft Word. Does MS Word has few settings? No. Did MS Word drop any features with releases? None that I am aware of. Does MS Word include a setting for every little detail, most of which are irrelevant for most users? YES IT DOES. The fact is different people use different features and while most features are used by a small minority, you can't drop them because every feature may be used by a small minority, but these small minorites add up to a lot of people. Actually I think Firefox is successful because of marketing (Mozilla was never marketed in any way like that) and as you said migration tools. But as I see my father complain about Firefox just saving stuff without asking where, I think Firefox is over-simplified. As long as you have good default settings, you can include as many settings as you want because novice users will go with the defaults anyway and advanced users will be happy to have those settings. And your last point: 4) Comfort: When you say "Linux must feel comfortable to Windows users." it's really just point 1) repeated.

  10. Re:A disease on capitalism? on BBC In Trouble Over Free Music · · Score: 1
    Sorry, but that's just nonsense.

    There are just areas where socialism works best (like the public road-net, the police force, the military, etc.) and there are areas where capitalism works best (like most physical goods for example)

    Some areas are handled differently by various governments, for example the health-care system is socialistic in most countries but private in the USA and of course the communists tried to make everything socialist.

    I fully agree that socialism is not only fairer but also more efficient for "intellectual property". Currently we are sending billions of plastic-CDs around the world - what nonsense is that?

    However it's not in any way a sign of "a disease of capitalism".

    Just like the Soviets needed opression to keep things public that "want to be private", we are using opression to keep intellectual property private, which "wants to be free".

  11. Re:No it's not, because the US Postal Service isn' on BBC In Trouble Over Free Music · · Score: 1
    Dear anonymous coward:

    That was just one example. Another one was the Police (which in fact is operated solely by tax funds) and the military also falls into that category.

    Another, even more beautiful example is the road-net. Isn't that unfair competition to private toll-roads?

  12. Re:International Space Station? on China Plans Deep Impact Mission · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Well it's because competition actually breeds innovation and causes people to get off their lazy asses.

    The ISS-monopoly on the other hand is cementing the status-quo. Just look at the ISS: A giant monstrosity which seems to be more concerned with luxury for astronauts than anything else.

    We need a new space race, otherwise we will never be able to get off this planet.

    And the pioneers won't be using giant ships with enormous free space like in Star-Trek (or on the ISS). They will be travelling in tiny and efficient capsules and the trip won't be comfortable at all, it will be dangerous and dirty. (Like Apollo was) And there will be casualties.

    Actually the Chinese are currently in a much better position to actually make things happen than the Americans and Europeans combined. Maybe after the Chinese have landed on Moon, the others will get off their chairs. Let's hope so.

  13. Re:Good luck trying to have changed incorporated on Why New OSes Don't Catch On · · Score: 1

    In that bug the problem was only solved partly, but no patch was denied and nobody said that they won't fix the problem.

  14. Re:Step by step on Why New OSes Don't Catch On · · Score: 1
    Actually I agree with you.

    As I said, it's going to be step by step and the replacement of the MS Office domination by the OASIS-format is an important step, but of course not the only one.

  15. Re:Ambitious targets on City of Vienna Chooses Linux · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Amazing how quickly Microsoft feels threatened when even a small minority of people just talk about not using Windows.

  16. Re:Good luck trying to have changed incorporated on Why New OSes Don't Catch On · · Score: 1
    The thing is, that just like in the commercial world, projects are lead in very different styles.

    Another project that fits your description well is Mozilla, which also has a long list of ignored patches.

    But a completely different project is KDE which is very open to patches and suggestions.

  17. Step by step on Why New OSes Don't Catch On · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I figure for any sort of mass exodus to another OS, we'd need to get the functionality to within 95% and the familarity near 80%. That's a long way to go, towards a moving target. I have my doubts we'll ever do that.

    It will take some time, but in small steps it is coming along.

    The most important thing for the next 10 years is the adoption of the OASIS-format, which offers these advantages over .doc:

    • It's used by an office suite that is free as in beer, yet there is also a commercial variant available
    • It's used as default format by different office suites (OO and KOffice, hopefully Abiword will join in a couple of years)
    • It's an ISO-standard (= great for government contracts)
    • It's also a standard that will not change with every version. That's the biggest advantage.
    • It's available everywhere, not just on the latest versions of Windows. It's also available on older versions of Windows, Linux, MacOSX and Solaris
    • It's used by OO which is pretty good backwards-compatible to MSO

    Let's not forget that Microsoft cannot bundle MSOffice with Windows because almost half of their revenue is generated by it and doing so would put them deeply into the red. They also can't lower the price too much for the same reasons.

    So, yes it will take quite long (I'd say about 10 years) but OASIS will become the standard.

    Removing the Windows desktop domination will be the next step.

  18. Re:Transclucent UI in windows on Longhorn Preview · · Score: 2, Funny
    alpha blending has been around natively in windows since W2K

    Oh no, if Bill Gates reads this, somebody will get fired ;-)

  19. Re:It may run Linux... on Linux Finds Its Way to More Handheld Devices · · Score: 1
    Get mplayer, the codec collection and the plugin for mozilla/firefox.

    Links please.

    Not everybody knows where "the" codec collection and "the" plugin is.

  20. Re:Mod parent down on 83,431 Recited Digits of Pi · · Score: 1
    Actually most extreme sports are quite bad for your health and I think running won't be an exception.

    Of course I'm talking about extreme sports and not sunday afternoon jogging.

  21. Re:Microsoft is now irrelevent on Ballmer: 'We'll catch Google' · · Score: 1
    but if you look around at Netcraft, you'll see that 30-40% of sites use IIS

    That was a couple of years ago. Now it's about 20%.

  22. Please stop it on Ballmer: 'We'll catch Google' · · Score: 1
    MS NEEDS to look like they are losing

    Can you please stop modding such nonsense as insightful?

    MS doesn't need to look like they are losing. The whole DOJ thing was a big joke that didn't even scratch their earnings. So why should they need to look like they are losing? Because the DOJ might not punish them again?

  23. Re:Too Bad pn Junctions cost more than magnets on Flash Drives in Future Apple Laptops? · · Score: 1

    You are right, there are really 400GB drives available. However going from 300 to 400 isn't really a big step in 2 years.

  24. Re:Too Bad pn Junctions cost more than magnets on Flash Drives in Future Apple Laptops? · · Score: 1
    The only problem is that hard drive sizes hasn't been increasing a lot in the last years. I bought a 300GB hard drive IIRC 2 years ago and that's still the biggest size available.

    On the other hand Flash capacities increase at an enormous pace and 10GB would be enough for a lot of uses.

    Maybe hard drives have reached maturity and won't get a lot better and bigger in the future?

  25. Maybe because it isn't theft? on Software Piracy Seen as Normal · · Score: 0, Redundant

    It's copyright infringement and that's neither theft (the act of taking some property away from someone) nor piracy (the act of robbing ships at sea).