Driver problems with new hardware are not exactly unheard of in Windows.
Based on observation of my friends behaviour I predict that a normal XP user confronted with a problem with Ubuntu would do exactly the same thing they do with a problem in XP (or Vista or even OSX).
Semi reliable(ish) sources assure me that historically Word saved by serializing the document to a file. To reliably restore the layout and formatting of the document you pretty much need the version of Word that was used to save the file. If you have a sufficiently complex document created with 3.1 era Word good luck opening it with the latest version of Word.
You're never going to run into this problem with TeX.
Unmetered downloads from my ISP's ftp mirror. They mirror dozens of GNU/Linux distros (including Ubuntu), a swag of BSDs, Open Office and a bunch of other Free goodies.
All the Ubongo I want and it doesn't eat into my precious pr0n bandwidths.
Seems unlikely but I'd better check.....fap fap fap fap fap...fap......faaaaaaap. No, the porn is still working.
... I knew the book could explain better than I.
on
Head First Rails
·
· Score: 0, Offtopic
The objective form of the first person singular pronoun is 'me' not 'I' hence, '... I knew the book could explain better than me'. Some might argue that a verb was implied, eg. '... I knew the book could explain better than I *could*'. I would rightly counter that Ruby is a sissy language and only sissies use it and Rails is for Ruby sissies and you can all go to hell, hell, HELL!!!!
An average home user probably wants email, web browser, word processor, spreadsheet maybe and a half way decent version of solitaire or minesweeper. You get all that with the shovel or the rake. The rake costs an extra $500 but it looks so cool you want to lick it. Your call.
Actually the question is quite clearly - does a machine from a given vendor cost appreciably more than an equivalent machine from an alternative vendor?
The term Apple Tax refers to the surcharge some people believe is paid not for a better machine but for the perceived prestige of the Apple logo on the lid.
I believe Steve Ballmer (who is an unrepentant chair throwing sweaty armpit monkey man) recently suggested the price of an Apple logo is about US$500.
I've been shot down for mentioning this before but it bears repeating.
A new version of OSX has been released at approximately 18 month intervals since 10.0 was released in 2001. Software updates are released for the current version and the previous version of OSX. When 10.6 is released, goodbye 10.4. To keep your aging Mac up-to-date you need to pay to upgrade the operating system periodically. If you intend to run the latest version of OSX (I know plenty of Mac users who do) the cost of OS upgrades over the life of the machine can add hundreds of dollars to the TCO.
By contrast Windows XP was released in 2001 and is still supported today. If you bought a full license in 2001 you could be running SP3 today today without any additional cost.
Sure you might think it's worth the money, you might prefer OSX to Windows. The discussion is TCO, not 'I want to lick the buttons'.
As for malware cleanup - I routinely fix virus and malware problems for friends. Invariably I find their machines loaded with dubious copies of commercial software that fell off the back of the interwebs while nobody was looking and their browser history is usually porn, porn, torrent sites, porn.
I've never had any problems with my cheap XP box. I pretty much only run Free software downloaded from known sources. I verify the packages as best I can (eg. checksum) and run a virus scan (Clam - it's Free too) before installing.
I think the only non Free software I run is the operating system and iTunes.
If you carelessly fill your Windows box with crap it will end up..... full of crap. Lift your game people, it's really not that difficult.
Macs are plain and simple more expensive. Some people thinks they're worth it. I'm not convinced.
Hey, does anybody remember that awesome time long ago when Apple first included Python with OSX? For awhile there the version installed was Python 2.3. Not 2.3.x like the versions that actually exist and everybody else uses. Just Python 2.3. It was like a special Apple only version of Python.
My favourite feature was that it didn't pass all the tests in the test suite, like it was so special that they just knew they didn't have to test their special Apple build of Python. In particular the pickle module was hosed which maybe didn't bother all that many people but if you happened to be working on something in Python on a Mac using that build of Python all those years ago then maybe, just briefly, you sensed the reality distortion field weakening and maybe you even uttered a few harsh words about Apple under your breath.
That was the best Python ever.
And now you can use special Apple Perl. Apple is just so awesome.
The most recent update available for Mac OS 9 via the Apple support page linked in your post is 9.2.2. It was released in December 2001. Support means more than hosting a very old update. There have been no bug fixes, improvements or changes of any kind to the OS 9 code since that release.
Service packs are just bug fixes? Service packs have included bug fixes, security updates, new applications, the introduction of the.NET framework, support for new hardware eg. USB 2.0 and SATA, support for IPv6, etc. Rather telling that the version number reported by Windows XP changes when a service pack is installed. Almost like you have upgraded. To a new version.
MS originally planned to stop retail sales of XP last year. EOL is not end of retail. It marks the date after which we can no longer expect support. The EOL date for the extended support period for XP is April 8th, 2014.
You know I'm posting these comments from a GNU/Linux box. I really couldn't give a shit, you're just annoying me.
The parent posts discuss the relative costs of keeping the operating system up to date for OS X and Windows, not the merits of upgrading nor the savings to be made by not upgrading.
To upgrade incrementally from 10.0 to 10.5 costs money every step of the way.
To upgrade XP incrementally from the original release to the latest service pack costs nothing.
And yes, you can buy a new Mac, install Vista at your own cost and then expect regular gratis updates for the next 7 or 8 years. Or you can buy a new Mac with and keep 10.5 installed. And then pay to upgrade to 10.6 and 10.7 and.......
If you choose to stick with an old version of OS X how long can you expect it to be supported? I can't find anything obvious about EOL for various versions of OS X on the Apple website.
I've heard, but can't confirm, that security updates are only made available for the current and previous major versions of OS X. If this is the case then updates for 10.4, released mid 2005, will cease with the release of 10.6. That's a service life of maybe 5 years.
Meanwhile XP, released in 2001, is *still* actively supported today.
Apple released 10.0 in 2001. Since then they have released five major versions (10.1 - 10.5) with the average time between releases being about 18 months. In Australia we pay about AU$150 a pop so if I had kept a single Mac up to date over than period of time my total cost for OSX upgrades not counting the cost of the version bundled with the machine would be about AU$750.
Of course the minimum hardware requirements for 10.5 exclude any hardware Apple was making in 2001. There are known hacks to get 10.5 running on unsupported hardware. I'm not paying money for software that requires known hacks.
Microsoft released Windows XP in 2001. I have a legit XP Home OEM installed on a HP box manufactured around that time. I have not had to pay for a single update or upgrade to XP in that time. The operating system while no longer available for retail is still supported and updates are installed regularly. So the total cost of upgrades so far is AU$0.
Of course the minimum hardware requirements for Vista exclude my old PC. Known hacks, etc.....
So if I feel inclined to run Vista or Windows 7 I'll probably buy a new box with the OS included and I'll run that box for 7 or 8 years and I probably won't have to pay for a single software update along the way.
The PC uses power, even when its asleep. I pay the bills and I have some concern for the environmental impact of my behaviour. Sure I leave the machine on when I stop for lunch, but I turn it off when I finish work.
Actually, here's a thought....we need to add the 10 seconds back to the boot time and use those 30-40 seconds of boot time everyday riding exercise bikes attached to generators connected to the grid. If enough geeks are willing to pedal 40 seconds a day we could reduce our dependence on fossil fuels without having to buy into any of this 'clean coal' nonsense.
Yeah, I considered that. But my morning ritual is turn on the kettle, turn on the computer, make the coffee, login. Since the kettle already takes longer to boil than the computer takes to boot there is no real benefit to reducing the boot time.
Also, I then waste at least 30 minutes reading Slashdot and drinking the coffee before I do any work. 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, every working week for the last I don't know how many years. Hmmmmm......
...who can only breathe under water and then you put him in a field of broccoli, refusing to return him to the salty depths until he has picked five times his own body weight. There are few things will motivate a Mexican Octo-man to work harder than such an immediate threat to his mortality. During my days in the Raj we were sure to keep a few brine filled baths of Mexican Octo-men handy come the spring. Harvesting time is upon us, fetch the Mexicans, eh what!
Slashdot Mirror
Driver problems with new hardware are not exactly unheard of in Windows.
Based on observation of my friends behaviour I predict that a normal XP user confronted with a problem with Ubuntu would do exactly the same thing they do with a problem in XP (or Vista or even OSX).
They'd ask me to fix it.
Semi reliable(ish) sources assure me that historically Word saved by serializing the document to a file. To reliably restore the layout and formatting of the document you pretty much need the version of Word that was used to save the file. If you have a sufficiently complex document created with 3.1 era Word good luck opening it with the latest version of Word.
You're never going to run into this problem with TeX.
Unmetered downloads from my ISP's ftp mirror. They mirror dozens of GNU/Linux distros (including Ubuntu), a swag of BSDs, Open Office and a bunch of other Free goodies.
All the Ubongo I want and it doesn't eat into my precious pr0n bandwidths.
Seems unlikely but I'd better check.....fap fap fap fap fap...fap......faaaaaaap.
No, the porn is still working.
The objective form of the first person singular pronoun is 'me' not 'I' hence, '... I knew the book could explain better than me'. Some might argue that a verb was implied, eg. '... I knew the book could explain better than I *could*'. I would rightly counter that Ruby is a sissy language and only sissies use it and Rails is for Ruby sissies and you can all go to hell, hell, HELL!!!!
An average home user probably wants email, web browser, word processor, spreadsheet maybe and a half way decent version of solitaire or minesweeper. You get all that with the shovel or the rake. The rake costs an extra $500 but it looks so cool you want to lick it. Your call.
...if he's really fat.
Actually the question is quite clearly - does a machine from a given vendor cost appreciably more than an equivalent machine from an alternative vendor?
The term Apple Tax refers to the surcharge some people believe is paid not for a better machine but for the perceived prestige of the Apple logo on the lid.
I believe Steve Ballmer (who is an unrepentant chair throwing sweaty armpit monkey man) recently suggested the price of an Apple logo is about US$500.
I've been shot down for mentioning this before but it bears repeating.
A new version of OSX has been released at approximately 18 month intervals since 10.0 was released in 2001. Software updates are released for the current version and the previous version of OSX. When 10.6 is released, goodbye 10.4. To keep your aging Mac up-to-date you need to pay to upgrade the operating system periodically. If you intend to run the latest version of OSX (I know plenty of Mac users who do) the cost of OS upgrades over the life of the machine can add hundreds of dollars to the TCO.
By contrast Windows XP was released in 2001 and is still supported today. If you bought a full license in 2001 you could be running SP3 today today without any additional cost.
Sure you might think it's worth the money, you might prefer OSX to Windows. The discussion is TCO, not 'I want to lick the buttons'.
As for malware cleanup - I routinely fix virus and malware problems for friends. Invariably I find their machines loaded with dubious copies of commercial software that fell off the back of the interwebs while nobody was looking and their browser history is usually porn, porn, torrent sites, porn.
I've never had any problems with my cheap XP box. I pretty much only run Free software downloaded from known sources. I verify the packages as best I can (eg. checksum) and run a virus scan (Clam - it's Free too) before installing.
I think the only non Free software I run is the operating system and iTunes.
If you carelessly fill your Windows box with crap it will end up ..... full of crap. Lift your game people, it's really not that difficult.
Macs are plain and simple more expensive. Some people thinks they're worth it. I'm not convinced.
That's what I always do when I want to feel manly.
Typing this on an original MNK, the crown prince of keyboards, accept no spurious imitations.
...foreign sounding artistic designer.
You know he doesn't just sound foreign, that guy's really not from around here. OMFG!
Hey, does anybody remember that awesome time long ago when Apple first included Python with OSX? For awhile there the version installed was Python 2.3. Not 2.3.x like the versions that actually exist and everybody else uses. Just Python 2.3. It was like a special Apple only version of Python.
My favourite feature was that it didn't pass all the tests in the test suite, like it was so special that they just knew they didn't have to test their special Apple build of Python. In particular the pickle module was hosed which maybe didn't bother all that many people but if you happened to be working on something in Python on a Mac using that build of Python all those years ago then maybe, just briefly, you sensed the reality distortion field weakening and maybe you even uttered a few harsh words about Apple under your breath.
That was the best Python ever.
And now you can use special Apple Perl. Apple is just so awesome.
The most recent update available for Mac OS 9 via the Apple support page linked in your post is 9.2.2. It was released in December 2001. Support means more than hosting a very old update. There have been no bug fixes, improvements or changes of any kind to the OS 9 code since that release.
Service packs are just bug fixes? Service packs have included bug fixes, security updates, new applications, the introduction of the .NET framework, support for new hardware eg. USB 2.0 and SATA, support for IPv6, etc. Rather telling that the version number reported by Windows XP changes when a service pack is installed. Almost like you have upgraded. To a new version.
MS originally planned to stop retail sales of XP last year. EOL is not end of retail. It marks the date after which we can no longer expect support. The EOL date for the extended support period for XP is April 8th, 2014.
You know I'm posting these comments from a GNU/Linux box. I really couldn't give a shit, you're just annoying me.
The parent posts discuss the relative costs of keeping the operating system up to date for OS X and Windows, not the merits of upgrading nor the savings to be made by not upgrading.
To upgrade incrementally from 10.0 to 10.5 costs money every step of the way.
To upgrade XP incrementally from the original release to the latest service pack costs nothing.
And yes, you can buy a new Mac, install Vista at your own cost and then expect regular gratis updates for the next 7 or 8 years. Or you can buy a new Mac with and keep 10.5 installed. And then pay to upgrade to 10.6 and 10.7 and .......
If you choose to stick with an old version of OS X how long can you expect it to be supported? I can't find anything obvious about EOL for various versions of OS X on the Apple website.
I've heard, but can't confirm, that security updates are only made available for the current and previous major versions of OS X. If this is the case then updates for 10.4, released mid 2005, will cease with the release of 10.6. That's a service life of maybe 5 years.
Meanwhile XP, released in 2001, is *still* actively supported today.
What version of Perl are you running?
Apple released 10.0 in 2001. Since then they have released five major versions (10.1 - 10.5) with the average time between releases being about 18 months. In Australia we pay about AU$150 a pop so if I had kept a single Mac up to date over than period of time my total cost for OSX upgrades not counting the cost of the version bundled with the machine would be about AU$750.
Of course the minimum hardware requirements for 10.5 exclude any hardware Apple was making in 2001. There are known hacks to get 10.5 running on unsupported hardware. I'm not paying money for software that requires known hacks.
Microsoft released Windows XP in 2001. I have a legit XP Home OEM installed on a HP box manufactured around that time. I have not had to pay for a single update or upgrade to XP in that time. The operating system while no longer available for retail is still supported and updates are installed regularly. So the total cost of upgrades so far is AU$0.
Of course the minimum hardware requirements for Vista exclude my old PC. Known hacks, etc.....
So if I feel inclined to run Vista or Windows 7 I'll probably buy a new box with the OS included and I'll run that box for 7 or 8 years and I probably won't have to pay for a single software update along the way.
A dolphin has a robotic penis?! No wonder they never stop smiling.
...the Mexicans. Duh.
I will meet you in the place with no vowels.
Manhood: the state of being a man; manly qualities.
Penis: the thing that was bitten off by a raccoon.
The PC uses power, even when its asleep. I pay the bills and I have some concern for the environmental impact of my behaviour. Sure I leave the machine on when I stop for lunch, but I turn it off when I finish work.
Actually, here's a thought....we need to add the 10 seconds back to the boot time and use those 30-40 seconds of boot time everyday riding exercise bikes attached to generators connected to the grid. If enough geeks are willing to pedal 40 seconds a day we could reduce our dependence on fossil fuels without having to buy into any of this 'clean coal' nonsense.
I believe!!!
Yeah, I considered that. But my morning ritual is turn on the kettle, turn on the computer, make the coffee, login. Since the kettle already takes longer to boil than the computer takes to boot there is no real benefit to reducing the boot time.
Also, I then waste at least 30 minutes reading Slashdot and drinking the coffee before I do any work. 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, every working week for the last I don't know how many years. Hmmmmm......
They've shaved 10 seconds off the boot time? In a typical working week that buys me 50 seconds more work time. I'll be so much more productive.
...who can only breathe under water and then you put him in a field of broccoli, refusing to return him to the salty depths until he has picked five times his own body weight. There are few things will motivate a Mexican Octo-man to work harder than such an immediate threat to his mortality. During my days in the Raj we were sure to keep a few brine filled baths of Mexican Octo-men handy come the spring. Harvesting time is upon us, fetch the Mexicans, eh what!