Clicking "overrated" is not how you disagree with a post. You don't PUNISH people in that fashion and ruin their karma. Clicking reply and saying, "I disagree" is how you disagree with a post.
>>>E-mail's going away because broadcast messages are better served over RSS, quick person-to-person notes cam travel over IM, SMS, or Twitter, and business documents can be transferred over secured web sites. Whole lot of new ways of doing things... >>>
I'm an electrical engineer and have to idea what you're talking about. And if I don't know what you're talking about, neither does your average secretary or business manager.
>>>You're also richer than most Americans will ever be, so you can afford not to have insurance.
No I'm not. Strawman argument. Besides what do you need to insure a cellphone or other electronic gadget for? In the *unlikely* event it died, you can just buy a new one for less money than the various insurance policies cost.
And for those of us who don't like in Utopia (no place)......
The money spent by government is FAR more than the money spent by competing businesses, because competition forces businesses to cut costs (or die). Example: Computers cost over $3000 when I first bought one (in 2008 dollars) which included the computer plus drive. Now I just bought a computer for $300. That's the free market in action - the minimum entry cost dropped to 1/10th what it used to be.
In contrast government's natural inclination is to become LESS efficient (politicians buy votes by handing-out free jobs and/or saving worthless jobs). If government ran the computer industry, we'd still all be using VAXs with lots of little worker bees serving the needs of the machine. In fact, last I heard, Washington DC's Census Bureau still uses one of these monstrosities.
It's not in a politician's interest to phase-out the VAX and lay-off its workers, because he wants to get re-elected. Government promotes inefficiency.
>>>2 competing natural monopolies: phone and cable TV
Not "natural". There is no practical limit to how many fiber optic cables can be run underground. You can bundle 100 fibers (100 companies) into the space of a single water pipe. The monopoly is not natural, but instead government imposed (via licensing to one cable company).
Natural gas pipes, or water pipes, or road are natural monopolies because they take up a lot of space (only room for one of each), but that's not true of fiber optics for internet.
>>>We sell insurance at rates that would allow us to replace 1/2 of the customers' phones even though the actuarial tables say only 1/20 should actually have the need. >>>
This is why I don't have insurance. I end-up paying for other people's clumsy mistakes (or outright fraud) and buying THEM new phones. Or cars. Or whatever.
Do corporations access the treasury to get free taxpayer dollars? Yes. Let's see... 1500 billion in corporate bailouts divided by 100 million U.S. homes == $15,000 removed from my household.
Do I give a frak if a corporation loses money? No.
>>>over the years it has received extra RAM, new graphics, and so forth, so it now boasts 384MB RAM and an ATI Rage Pro, as well as a 20GB disk. >>>
That sounds like my laptop. I replaced the Win98 with an Ubuntu Linux install (actually kubuntu), and it runs very nice now. I can run all the latest software.
My *current* computer is a Pentium 4 at 3000 megahertz.
It has Windows XP-SP2 and has worked great for 7+ years, and I don't see any reason to go faster. My brother had one of those new dual-processor AMD X2's and yes it's faster (about 2.5 times), but it's weighed down by Windows/Vista 7 so it ends up running no faster than my machine!
For one, I'd have to tell you to get a better ISP. Hell, that's not even Linux advice, that's common sense.
I have high-speed internet at home called Verizon DSL. Tell me - if I'm on a business trip and staying in a Knights Inn (for example), how do I run my DSL all the way from my home to my hotel room, and plug it into my laptop?
Oh that's right! I cannot.
Dipshit AC. - And don't say "get wireless" or cellular internet, because I can't afford a $1000/year bill. But the $80/year Netscape dialup I can deal with and will work anywhere the hotel provides a phoneline.
You missed the point. The saying about college grads not knowing how to do common things is meant to indicate the college persons lack practical knowledge. - Like how to make the Userspace "escapable" even if the user gets himself in a jam. If you put yourself in a 640x480 mode where the desktop properties windows does not fit, and the "OK" button is not accessible:
- Windows provides an escape (press enter to autoselect OK). - So too does Mac (press enter to autoselect OK). - Linux leaves the user scratching his head, with no clue what to do (except possibly reach for his Restore CD and reinstall windows or OS X).
>>>I'm sure your used to just pressing enter, but what if you needed to change more than one setting
Switch from 640z480 mode to 1280x1024 FIRST (using the Windows enter/okay key), and then fiddle with the other settings later, after you are in a "safe" state that lets you see the entire Desktop Properties window.
And as I mentioned before, having a Linux ALT button doesn't do much good if the user has no idea that button exists. I have nearly 30 years desktop experience and never guessed the ALT key might be used to move a window. In all my experience with Commodore GEOS, Amiga OS, Mac OS, Sun OS, and Windows OS, I never encountered such a design where the ALT button functions as a window-moving command.
If I did not guess it, how do you expect your average user to guess it??? They never will. Which means Linux is NOT ready for mass distribution - you'd have customers tearing their hair out.
I just opened the Desktop Properties and changed my resolution to 640x480, and then tried to change it back. When I press "enter" it autoselects the OK button, which means if I'm stuck in a lo-res mode where the window does not fit, and I can not access the OK button with my mouse, I could still do it with my Enter key. Windows has that backup. (Ditto Mac.) Linux does not. Linux leaves you stuck and frustrated.
And the Linux "ALT" key nonsense is just a prime example of non-user-friendliness. How the hell is a user supposed to guess that ALT is the magic button used to drag windows around??? I've been using computers since 1982 and never guessed that. If I can't figure it out with my almost thirty years of desktop experience, how on earth is your average factory worker/user supposed to know it???
>>>what he considers problematic is hopelessly outdated, even in Windows. RealPlayer? Nesticle? Does Netscape even run a dial-up ISP anymore? Gaming in 640x480? >>>
NESticle == NES emulator. Surely I'm not the only one into classic gaming. 640x480 == Again, classic gaming. RealPlayer == Needed to view various videos at tvpc.com Dialup == Needed for use in hotels without highspeed connections. And so on. These aren't outdated problems, but things I've encountered in just the past month.
>>>You didn't explain how bandwidth caps are "not really" outside the purview of network neutrality.
Yes I did.
>>>once you reach X Gb of transfer for the month, they can block any and all of your traffic under the poorly defined category of "reasonable network management". >>>
True but Comcast could also say, "You have reached your cap, but can still access all comcast.com sites for free." That would violate net neutrality because it gives these comcast.com sites an unfair advantage over Itunes.com or MGM.com or other sites that are limited to ~250 gig or less.
Apple also lets you press "enter" and will auto-select the okay button, so you can escape from 640x480 back to your original larger size.
Windows too. Why Ubuntu does't do the same solution indicates to me that the programmers behind the thing are the true idiots. They overlook the obvious that any common person would immediately think to do.
What is it my coworkers used to say at my old retail job? "College people have all kinds of degrees, but don't know how to change a tire, fill-up the oil, or any other thing the common idiot knows how to do."
>>>Not sure why the hell you need to go down to 640x480 but holding the Alt key allows you to move the window. You'll find this sort of problem on any OS. >>>
No. You don't. On Windows the desktop properties usually fits, and in those *rare* times it does not fit, you do not need to move the window because pressing "enter" will auto-select the okay button and thereby switch back to 1280x1024.
Oh and I already tried the fixes on ubuntu's forums. Did not work.
Yeah! That's the attitude we need to make Linux user friendly!
Nice sarcasm, but you hit the nail on the head. The people who program for Linux have an elitist attitude, such that when a customer encounters a problem, rather than admit the problem exists, they blame the customer as an "idiot".
It's the same business acumen that made Circuit City so successful.
There's a guy right here on Slashdot who was kicked-off by Comcast ISP for using too much bandwidth. No warning - just banned for a year.
Guess what? He had no other place to go since Salt Lake City doesn't offer many options. You get Comcast or nothing, therefore the monopoly (or even duopoly) must be regulated by the state government. If they don't comply, revoke the government-granted license and give it to someone else (like AppleTV).
Even if the cable/isp companies did not receive one single dolar, the fact they were given a government-granted monopoly also means they have to obey the government's rules. Else said government will kick-out Comcast and put someone else there - like Google ISP
>>>Bandwidth caps are outside of the purview of NN as it's traditionally defined.
Not really. Net neutrality bsically ays all pipes will be treated the same, so whether I watch my videos at MGM.com r comcastrentals.com,I should be treated the same (~10 cents per gigabyte transferred).
My MAIN concern is that Comcast/Cox/whoever doesn't block access, such as to sites like FOXnews.com or infowars.org.
Slashdot Mirror
>>>-1 Overrated.
Dear moderators:
Clicking "overrated" is not how you disagree with a post. You don't PUNISH people in that fashion and ruin their karma. Clicking reply and saying, "I disagree" is how you disagree with a post.
Thanks.
>>>E-mail's going away because broadcast messages are better served over RSS, quick person-to-person notes cam travel over IM, SMS, or Twitter, and business documents can be transferred over secured web sites. Whole lot of new ways of doing things...
>>>
I'm an electrical engineer and have to idea what you're talking about.
And if I don't know what you're talking about,
neither does your average secretary or business manager.
>>>You're also richer than most Americans will ever be, so you can afford not to have insurance.
No I'm not. Strawman argument. Besides what do you need to insure a cellphone or other electronic gadget for? In the *unlikely* event it died, you can just buy a new one for less money than the various insurance policies cost.
And for those of us who don't like in Utopia (no place)......
The money spent by government is FAR more than the money spent by competing businesses, because competition forces businesses to cut costs (or die). Example: Computers cost over $3000 when I first bought one (in 2008 dollars) which included the computer plus drive. Now I just bought a computer for $300. That's the free market in action - the minimum entry cost dropped to 1/10th what it used to be.
In contrast government's natural inclination is to become LESS efficient (politicians buy votes by handing-out free jobs and/or saving worthless jobs). If government ran the computer industry, we'd still all be using VAXs with lots of little worker bees serving the needs of the machine. In fact, last I heard, Washington DC's Census Bureau still uses one of these monstrosities.
It's not in a politician's interest to phase-out the VAX and lay-off its workers, because he wants to get re-elected. Government promotes inefficiency.
>>>2 competing natural monopolies: phone and cable TV
Not "natural". There is no practical limit to how many fiber optic cables can be run underground. You can bundle 100 fibers (100 companies) into the space of a single water pipe. The monopoly is not natural, but instead government imposed (via licensing to one cable company).
Natural gas pipes, or water pipes, or road are natural monopolies because they take up a lot of space (only room for one of each), but that's not true of fiber optics for internet.
>>>We sell insurance at rates that would allow us to replace 1/2 of the customers' phones even though the actuarial tables say only 1/20 should actually have the need.
>>>
This is why I don't have insurance. I end-up paying for other people's clumsy mistakes (or outright fraud) and buying THEM new phones. Or cars. Or whatever.
Do corporations access the treasury to get free taxpayer dollars? Yes. Let's see... 1500 billion in corporate bailouts divided by 100 million U.S. homes == $15,000 removed from my household.
Do I give a frak if a corporation loses money? No.
>>>over the years it has received extra RAM, new graphics, and so forth, so it now boasts 384MB RAM and an ATI Rage Pro, as well as a 20GB disk.
>>>
That sounds like my laptop. I replaced the Win98 with an Ubuntu Linux install (actually kubuntu), and it runs very nice now. I can run all the latest software.
My *current* computer is a Pentium 4 at 3000 megahertz.
It has Windows XP-SP2 and has worked great for 7+ years, and I don't see any reason to go faster. My brother had one of those new dual-processor AMD X2's and yes it's faster (about 2.5 times), but it's weighed down by Windows/Vista 7 so it ends up running no faster than my machine!
Anonymous Coward wrote:
For one, I'd have to tell you to get a better ISP. Hell, that's not even Linux advice, that's common sense.
I have high-speed internet at home called Verizon DSL. Tell me - if I'm on a business trip and staying in a Knights Inn (for example), how do I run my DSL all the way from my home to my hotel room, and plug it into my laptop?
Oh that's right! I cannot.
Dipshit AC. - And don't say "get wireless" or cellular internet, because I can't afford a $1000/year bill. But the $80/year Netscape dialup I can deal with and will work anywhere the hotel provides a phoneline.
You missed the point. The saying about college grads not knowing how to do common things is meant to indicate the college persons lack practical knowledge. - Like how to make the Userspace "escapable" even if the user gets himself in a jam. If you put yourself in a 640x480 mode where the desktop properties windows does not fit, and the "OK" button is not accessible:
- Windows provides an escape (press enter to autoselect OK).
- So too does Mac (press enter to autoselect OK).
- Linux leaves the user scratching his head, with no clue what to do (except possibly reach for his Restore CD and reinstall windows or OS X).
>>>I'm sure your used to just pressing enter, but what if you needed to change more than one setting
Switch from 640z480 mode to 1280x1024 FIRST (using the Windows enter/okay key), and then fiddle with the other settings later, after you are in a "safe" state that lets you see the entire Desktop Properties window.
And as I mentioned before, having a Linux ALT button doesn't do much good if the user has no idea that button exists. I have nearly 30 years desktop experience and never guessed the ALT key might be used to move a window. In all my experience with Commodore GEOS, Amiga OS, Mac OS, Sun OS, and Windows OS, I never encountered such a design where the ALT button functions as a window-moving command.
If I did not guess it, how do you expect your average user to guess it??? They never will. Which means Linux is NOT ready for mass distribution - you'd have customers tearing their hair out.
WRONG.
I just opened the Desktop Properties and changed my resolution to 640x480, and then tried to change it back. When I press "enter" it autoselects the OK button, which means if I'm stuck in a lo-res mode where the window does not fit, and I can not access the OK button with my mouse, I could still do it with my Enter key. Windows has that backup. (Ditto Mac.) Linux does not. Linux leaves you stuck and frustrated.
And the Linux "ALT" key nonsense is just a prime example of non-user-friendliness. How the hell is a user supposed to guess that ALT is the magic button used to drag windows around??? I've been using computers since 1982 and never guessed that. If I can't figure it out with my almost thirty years of desktop experience, how on earth is your average factory worker/user supposed to know it???
Answer: They wouldn't. Linux is non-friendly.
>>>what he considers problematic is hopelessly outdated, even in Windows. RealPlayer? Nesticle? Does Netscape even run a dial-up ISP anymore? Gaming in 640x480?
>>>
NESticle == NES emulator. Surely I'm not the only one into classic gaming.
640x480 == Again, classic gaming.
RealPlayer == Needed to view various videos at tvpc.com
Dialup == Needed for use in hotels without highspeed connections. And so on. These aren't outdated problems, but things I've encountered in just the past month.
A couple days of time wasted trying to fix bothersome problems.
(Where I come from, time is more valuable than dollars.)
>>>You didn't explain how bandwidth caps are "not really" outside the purview of network neutrality.
Yes I did.
>>>once you reach X Gb of transfer for the month, they can block any and all of your traffic under the poorly defined category of "reasonable network management".
>>>
True but Comcast could also say, "You have reached your cap, but can still access all comcast.com sites for free." That would violate net neutrality because it gives these comcast.com sites an unfair advantage over Itunes.com or MGM.com or other sites that are limited to ~250 gig or less.
Apple also lets you press "enter" and will auto-select the okay button, so you can escape from 640x480 back to your original larger size.
Windows too. Why Ubuntu does't do the same solution indicates to me that the programmers behind the thing are the true idiots. They overlook the obvious that any common person would immediately think to do.
What is it my coworkers used to say at my old retail job? "College people have all kinds of degrees, but don't know how to change a tire, fill-up the oil, or any other thing the common idiot knows how to do."
>>>Not sure why the hell you need to go down to 640x480 but holding the Alt key allows you to move the window. You'll find this sort of problem on any OS.
>>>
No. You don't. On Windows the desktop properties usually fits, and in those *rare* times it does not fit, you do not need to move the window because pressing "enter" will auto-select the okay button and thereby switch back to 1280x1024.
Oh and I already tried the fixes on ubuntu's forums. Did not work.
Then I was told I was stupid.
See?
Anonymous Coward wrote:
because your an idiot.
Yeah! That's the attitude we need to make Linux user friendly!
Nice sarcasm, but you hit the nail on the head. The people who program for Linux have an elitist attitude, such that when a customer encounters a problem, rather than admit the problem exists, they blame the customer as an "idiot".
It's the same business acumen that made Circuit City so successful.
Oh. Wait.
I like Puppy.
It runs on my old Win98 laptop with only 0.03 gigabytes.
There's a guy right here on Slashdot who was kicked-off by Comcast ISP for using too much bandwidth. No warning - just banned for a year.
Guess what? He had no other place to go since Salt Lake City doesn't offer many options. You get Comcast or nothing, therefore the monopoly (or even duopoly) must be regulated by the state government. If they don't comply, revoke the government-granted license and give it to someone else (like AppleTV).
Even if the cable/isp companies did not receive one single dolar, the fact they were given a government-granted monopoly also means they have to obey the government's rules. Else said government will kick-out Comcast and put someone else there - like Google ISP
And since Comcast is a monopoly (or duopoly in some cases), they should be regulated by the State commission.
>>>Bandwidth caps are outside of the purview of NN as it's traditionally defined.
Not really. Net neutrality bsically ays all pipes will be treated the same, so whether I watch my videos at MGM.com r comcastrentals.com,I should be treated the same (~10 cents per gigabyte transferred).
My MAIN concern is that Comcast/Cox/whoever doesn't block access, such as to sites like FOXnews.com or infowars.org.
How come NESticle and Stella (emulators) work flawlessly on Windoze but only play one-quarter of the roms on Ubuntu?
How come I can't connect to my Netscape dialup ISP?
Why can't I find a simple way to look-up my computer's RAM space, or how many tasks are running, or to kill a misbehaving process?
Why when I switch to 640x480 mode (gaming), why doesn't the desktop properties window fit (thereby leaving me stuck)?
Why, when I tried to upgrade from 8.10 to 9.04, was I told that I don't have permission to change the folders on my laptop?
Why can't I get Opera Browser installed?
Why. Is. Ubuntu Linux. So. Damn. Unfriendly? Hell my ancient Amiga 500 or Quadra Macs are easier to use.
And no this is not a troll. :-)
It's an opinion.
Learn the difference mod.