And the Pixel is easy to root (thank you Chainfire!), and although that prevents OTA updates, it's still easy enough to get updates from the Google site.
You may be an AC but you are completely right. Linux is very friendly to lower spec computers, including those with limited storage. I bought an Asus Zenbook maybe 18 months back and worried that the 256GB SSD would be too small. But I took off Windows and put Mint on it, and I'm using about 20% of the drive space even with a ton of applications, data, music files, etc.
I won't claim updating Linux is "always without a problem." There are often some issues.
The big difference is that everything is completely under my control. If an update breaks something, I'm very confident that I'll be able to fix it, and 99 times out of 100 there is already a solution posted on-line. And I'm not forced to take updates if I don't want to.
Linux does require some patience and some learning. I and many others believe it's worth it. Over many years, Linux has been a positive productivity aid for me, providing far more working solutions for my needs than Windows ever could. YMMV. Do whatever works best for you.
I went from Verizon to T-Mobile to Google Fi, which suits me well as a very low-end mobile data user (typically 500MB per month mobile and 25GB wifi). It would be a terrible choice for heavy mobile data users, though, as data is strictly pay as you go (a cent per megabyte). And what I do like is that they don't pack in every conceivable fee like some of the others. $20 per month, about $5 for data, and $5 in taxes and fees.
Nice. Point proven right at the top. People are so focused on dumb petty political bullshit and are at each other's throats over it. In person, most don't talk about political shit non-stop since there are a million other things to talk about and do that don't bring up conflict between the person you're with.
You've hit it right on the head, and add to this that the level of politeness in on-line discourse is orders of magnitude less than it is in most in-person interaction. I still have some trouble with the incredible incivility on/. and many other on-line fora and social media sites. Almost none of the mean stuff that gets said on line would be said face to face, except by the worst sociopaths.
You see, computers are all about automation, and that means the ability to re-use your work. You can put it in a script so you don't have to type it again and share it with the world.
And this is an incredibly relevant point, thank you for making it. Reusable scripts for a large variety of common tasks create enormous work efficiency. It takes a little time to set up a script, perhaps, but then over the next thousands of times you use it you reap the benefits.
Just as an example --- the University of Hawai`i wifi requires a login pretty much every time you connect. I don't need to start up my web browser and click through things. I took an hour to make and debug an 'expect' script that automates the process. It saves me maybe a minute every time I use it, which is sometimes many times in a day. Payback? Enormous over time. And that's only one script for one use.
Who the fuck modded you up? Linux is a pain to configure, 90% of anything needs to be done via the command line, that is not "pleasant".
Well, at least you're not an AC. But if you read my post correctly, you'd see that I didn't describe Linux as necessarily pleasant. I did describe it as highly usable and an enabler for getting work done. I can't dispute your 90% figure either way, but there is little doubt that the command line is efficient, usable, and enables you to do a lot in a short time. Of course, you have to bother to learn to use it. I find that bother much more profitable a use of my time than trying to figure out where MS hid things with their ongoing UI changes. Charms bar, indeed.
It still doesn't offer a desktop environment that's as pleasant to use as Windows.../p>
I wouldn't characterize the Windows desktop environment as "pleasant to use" in any way, shape or form. I realize it's a matter of individual taste, but I've heard very few people (other than someone on the MS payroll) describe Windows as pleasant.
Now, I don't know that I'd describe the various Linux desktops as necesarily "pleasant" but I would describe many as highly usable and an enabler in getting work done. I wouldn't describe Windows in such a way, either.
Subnotebooks that "just work" with GNU/Linux used to be easy to find until the end of 2012. System76 and Dell currently don't have anything below 13 inches or below $700. Installing Linux on Bay Trail devices that shipped with Windows, such as the ASUS T100TA and X205TA, has left things like Bluetooth, built-in Wi-Fi, webcam, and suspend broken. And before you bust out "Android is Linux; try a tablet and a Bluetooth keyboard":
I have a subnotebook (Acer Aspire One) that "just works" with Linux and has for a long time, but it's predictably slow and the small display is an issue. I now use an Asus Zenbook which runs Linux perfectly. For the type of work I need to get done, I don't really want a subnotebook --- of any kind. That means a tablet is not an acceptable replacement, either. So I don't think it's much of an issue that small Windows devices aren't suitable for Linux.
And yes, "Android is Linux" but with all the modifications it's very far from an unfettered (and spyware free) productivity oriented Linux distribution.
Android phones and tablets have their place but not as work/productivity devices.
Correct, I can get where I'm trying to go, at a reasonable rate, without hassle, quickly.. this isn't anything like a regular bus service.
I rely a lot on bus service. Where I live (Honolulu) it can
1) Generally get me where I want to go, or at least fairly close, but in a smaller number of cases not close at all
2) With a hassle factor no less than medium and ranging up to tremendous
3) Quickly? Never. Typically three times as long as driving
4) But it's cheap. Extremely cheap compared to any other option, including driving, even on short trips if you consider the total cost per mile of driving and not the incremental cost
Uber claims to save you money, and while it's a little less expensive than taxis, it certainly isn't economical.
I put it on my grandmother's PC and she didn't even know the difference!
Well, that's wonderful news for the grandmothers of the world who don't need or want to know anything. Unfortunately, the rest of us need to get work done and don't feel like slogging through the retarded faggotry of Windows.
Linux switches its license to something a little more fair
I don't know why I'm feeding a troll and and AC besides, but the licensing for Linux is about as fair as it comes. You can use it for free, you can do anything legal with it you wish, and you can profit internally all you want, and you can't take away someone else's rights to do the same.
I suppose you think Microsoft or Apple's proprietary licenses are fair.
I continually ask why people put up with all this nonsense. Forced upgrades, can't modify the host file, spyware and adware baked in, Microsoft gets to decide if a rollback is allowed and for how long a period of time... you just about completely give over control of your computer and your data, and you have to fight a continual uphill battle to wrestle back your seemingly obvious right to do with your computer any legal thing you wish, keep your private data private, and so on.
Is Windows 10 so great that it's worth all of this? Yes, I know, I'm going to hear about how mission critical applications only run on Windows, the need to be compatible with others, and especially how my games will only work on Windows. I understand all that.
But you need to understand in turn (and many people do not) that when you run Windows 10, you're making a choice. If what you get is worth what you give up, fine. It's not for me to tell you what to do, and your use of Windows 10 doesn't change my life in any way that I can see.
the real nature of Go is that the opponent is almost irrelevant: it's a game that one plays where the main opponent is one's self.
That's a very Eastern way of looking at it, which I believe may contain much truth at the very highest levels of the game. At my infinitely more humble level, I get only the briefest glimpse into this, but it's clearly an evolving process.
The application to computer Go, though? The computer does not have personal foibles or blind spots. I don't think the computer has to be self-aware to master Go, and it looks like AlphaGo is very far along the path to mastery.
That sort of begs the question: Can self-awareness be achieved through deep and broad calculation at computer speeds? Is there a "brute force" means of becoming self-aware? Doubtful.
Given that in the consumer editions you can't refuse updates, I'm just waiting for them to push out the Windows 10 Subscription Edition. But I'm sure you'll get a 90 day grace period before everything shuts down, and I'm also sure they'll price it (initially) at an amount that you'll be sort of willing to pony up but will still make them even richer. If they ask you for $3 a month, will you grumble but pay up? Of course you will. And when it goes up to $5, will you say, it's only another two bucks?
The feminist movement has made it abundantly clear that women are competent and capable of success, and that they do not need men to provide for them or protect them.
I certainly believe that women are competent and able to take care of themselves. But once, when I posted something about men needing to stand up for what's right and not sit idly by, I was ripped up by a feminist who thought such a statement was sexist. Kind of leaves me not knowing what to do. Was I supposed to say: Oh, women are being abused and mistreated, but so what, they can handle it?
I guess the idea that we should all stand together for what's right was not acceptable.
Every good boss I have had (which is most of them) quickly figured out that I may be their employee, but they report to me:-)
There's a lot of truth to this. I've posted on/. before about having managed as many as 600 people in diverse groups. No way I could know all their jobs. The only option? Listen to the people who actually knew how to get the work done, understand the obstacles they faced, and get those obstacles out of the way so they could do what they do best.
You know what? It worked. I didn't need to pretend I knew it all or run around giving orders. Amazing what people can do if you make sure they have what they need and then stay out of the way until they need something else.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, as a writer, I can tell you that the AUTHOR sure isn't getting much of the revenue ... and Amazon especially exploits indie authors.
And the Pixel is easy to root (thank you Chainfire!), and although that prevents OTA updates, it's still easy enough to get updates from the Google site.
You may be an AC but you are completely right. Linux is very friendly to lower spec computers, including those with limited storage. I bought an Asus Zenbook maybe 18 months back and worried that the 256GB SSD would be too small. But I took off Windows and put Mint on it, and I'm using about 20% of the drive space even with a ton of applications, data, music files, etc.
I won't claim updating Linux is "always without a problem." There are often some issues.
The big difference is that everything is completely under my control. If an update breaks something, I'm very confident that I'll be able to fix it, and 99 times out of 100 there is already a solution posted on-line. And I'm not forced to take updates if I don't want to.
Linux does require some patience and some learning. I and many others believe it's worth it. Over many years, Linux has been a positive productivity aid for me, providing far more working solutions for my needs than Windows ever could. YMMV. Do whatever works best for you.
I went from Verizon to T-Mobile to Google Fi, which suits me well as a very low-end mobile data user (typically 500MB per month mobile and 25GB wifi). It would be a terrible choice for heavy mobile data users, though, as data is strictly pay as you go (a cent per megabyte). And what I do like is that they don't pack in every conceivable fee like some of the others. $20 per month, about $5 for data, and $5 in taxes and fees.
Nice. Point proven right at the top. People are so focused on dumb petty political bullshit and are at each other's throats over it. In person, most don't talk about political shit non-stop since there are a million other things to talk about and do that don't bring up conflict between the person you're with.
You've hit it right on the head, and add to this that the level of politeness in on-line discourse is orders of magnitude less than it is in most in-person interaction. I still have some trouble with the incredible incivility on /. and many other on-line fora and social media sites. Almost none of the mean stuff that gets said on line would be said face to face, except by the worst sociopaths.
You see, computers are all about automation, and that means the ability to re-use your work. You can put it in a script so you don't have to type it again and share it with the world.
And this is an incredibly relevant point, thank you for making it. Reusable scripts for a large variety of common tasks create enormous work efficiency. It takes a little time to set up a script, perhaps, but then over the next thousands of times you use it you reap the benefits.
Just as an example --- the University of Hawai`i wifi requires a login pretty much every time you connect. I don't need to start up my web browser and click through things. I took an hour to make and debug an 'expect' script that automates the process. It saves me maybe a minute every time I use it, which is sometimes many times in a day. Payback? Enormous over time. And that's only one script for one use.
Who the fuck modded you up? Linux is a pain to configure, 90% of anything needs to be done via the command line, that is not "pleasant".
Well, at least you're not an AC. But if you read my post correctly, you'd see that I didn't describe Linux as necessarily pleasant. I did describe it as highly usable and an enabler for getting work done. I can't dispute your 90% figure either way, but there is little doubt that the command line is efficient, usable, and enables you to do a lot in a short time. Of course, you have to bother to learn to use it. I find that bother much more profitable a use of my time than trying to figure out where MS hid things with their ongoing UI changes. Charms bar, indeed.
It still doesn't offer a desktop environment that's as pleasant to use as Windows .../p>
I wouldn't characterize the Windows desktop environment as "pleasant to use" in any way, shape or form. I realize it's a matter of individual taste, but I've heard very few people (other than someone on the MS payroll) describe Windows as pleasant.
Now, I don't know that I'd describe the various Linux desktops as necesarily "pleasant" but I would describe many as highly usable and an enabler in getting work done. I wouldn't describe Windows in such a way, either.
"For example, people who are awake have been shown to have more diverse neural activity using this scale than those who are asleep"
Absolutely brilliant. I wonder how much was spent on studies that prove this a-mazing conclusion.
Subnotebooks that "just work" with GNU/Linux used to be easy to find until the end of 2012. System76 and Dell currently don't have anything below 13 inches or below $700. Installing Linux on Bay Trail devices that shipped with Windows, such as the ASUS T100TA and X205TA, has left things like Bluetooth, built-in Wi-Fi, webcam, and suspend broken. And before you bust out "Android is Linux; try a tablet and a Bluetooth keyboard":
I have a subnotebook (Acer Aspire One) that "just works" with Linux and has for a long time, but it's predictably slow and the small display is an issue. I now use an Asus Zenbook which runs Linux perfectly. For the type of work I need to get done, I don't really want a subnotebook --- of any kind. That means a tablet is not an acceptable replacement, either. So I don't think it's much of an issue that small Windows devices aren't suitable for Linux.
And yes, "Android is Linux" but with all the modifications it's very far from an unfettered (and spyware free) productivity oriented Linux distribution.
Android phones and tablets have their place but not as work/productivity devices.
Correct, I can get where I'm trying to go, at a reasonable rate, without hassle, quickly.. this isn't anything like a regular bus service.
I rely a lot on bus service. Where I live (Honolulu) it can
1) Generally get me where I want to go, or at least fairly close, but in a smaller number of cases not close at all
2) With a hassle factor no less than medium and ranging up to tremendous
3) Quickly? Never. Typically three times as long as driving
4) But it's cheap. Extremely cheap compared to any other option, including driving, even on short trips if you consider the total cost per mile of driving and not the incremental cost
Uber claims to save you money, and while it's a little less expensive than taxis, it certainly isn't economical.
I put it on my grandmother's PC and she didn't even know the difference!
Well, that's wonderful news for the grandmothers of the world who don't need or want to know anything. Unfortunately, the rest of us need to get work done and don't feel like slogging through the retarded faggotry of Windows.
FTFY
Linux switches its license to something a little more fair
I don't know why I'm feeding a troll and and AC besides, but the licensing for Linux is about as fair as it comes. You can use it for free, you can do anything legal with it you wish, and you can profit internally all you want, and you can't take away someone else's rights to do the same.
I suppose you think Microsoft or Apple's proprietary licenses are fair.
One of the most insightful and wise /. posts ever.
Was there a writer's strike in 2009? I didn't notice. I won't notice this time.
Life is too full of great things to worry about television, as so brilliantly described above.
What the study REALLY missed is what you get in return for your taxes.
For instance, Scandanavian taxes are not exactly low, but there is quite a lot of service provided.
I'd put forth the proposition that on a value basis, U.S. taxes are high.
stand up, have a spine. don't use windows 10.
I continually ask why people put up with all this nonsense. Forced upgrades, can't modify the host file, spyware and adware baked in, Microsoft gets to decide if a rollback is allowed and for how long a period of time ... you just about completely give over control of your computer and your data, and you have to fight a continual uphill battle to wrestle back your seemingly obvious right to do with your computer any legal thing you wish, keep your private data private, and so on.
Is Windows 10 so great that it's worth all of this? Yes, I know, I'm going to hear about how mission critical applications only run on Windows, the need to be compatible with others, and especially how my games will only work on Windows. I understand all that.
But you need to understand in turn (and many people do not) that when you run Windows 10, you're making a choice. If what you get is worth what you give up, fine. It's not for me to tell you what to do, and your use of Windows 10 doesn't change my life in any way that I can see.
Just please excuse me if I don't join you.
In theory you are correct, it should be decided on the basis of safety.
But I still applaud the decision. Who needs more obnoxious cell phone users blabbing away at top volume during long flights?
the real nature of Go is that the opponent is almost irrelevant: it's a game that one plays where the main opponent is one's self.
That's a very Eastern way of looking at it, which I believe may contain much truth at the very highest levels of the game. At my infinitely more humble level, I get only the briefest glimpse into this, but it's clearly an evolving process.
The application to computer Go, though? The computer does not have personal foibles or blind spots. I don't think the computer has to be self-aware to master Go, and it looks like AlphaGo is very far along the path to mastery.
That sort of begs the question: Can self-awareness be achieved through deep and broad calculation at computer speeds? Is there a "brute force" means of becoming self-aware? Doubtful.
Something like the old saying, "The IQ of a mob is the average IQ of its members divided by the number of people in the mob."
Cheaper than Linux?
Given that in the consumer editions you can't refuse updates, I'm just waiting for them to push out the Windows 10 Subscription Edition. But I'm sure you'll get a 90 day grace period before everything shuts down, and I'm also sure they'll price it (initially) at an amount that you'll be sort of willing to pony up but will still make them even richer. If they ask you for $3 a month, will you grumble but pay up? Of course you will. And when it goes up to $5, will you say, it's only another two bucks?
Of course, I made this all up. But just watch.
The feminist movement has made it abundantly clear that women are competent and capable of success, and that they do not need men to provide for them or protect them.
I certainly believe that women are competent and able to take care of themselves. But once, when I posted something about men needing to stand up for what's right and not sit idly by, I was ripped up by a feminist who thought such a statement was sexist. Kind of leaves me not knowing what to do. Was I supposed to say: Oh, women are being abused and mistreated, but so what, they can handle it?
I guess the idea that we should all stand together for what's right was not acceptable.
Every good boss I have had (which is most of them) quickly figured out that I may be their employee, but they report to me :-)
There's a lot of truth to this. I've posted on /. before about having managed as many as 600 people in diverse groups. No way I could know all their jobs. The only option? Listen to the people who actually knew how to get the work done, understand the obstacles they faced, and get those obstacles out of the way so they could do what they do best.
You know what? It worked. I didn't need to pretend I knew it all or run around giving orders. Amazing what people can do if you make sure they have what they need and then stay out of the way until they need something else.
Now I'm about 75% convinced that you're a troll. There really is an objective reality and it matters.
If you want to think I'm a troll, I can't stop you. But you've perhaps inadvertently supported my point.
There certainly is an objective reality, but with the polarization of the media, etc., are we really getting to that objective reality?