Having tried them, both Unity and Gnome 3 leave me feeling cold and slightly ill for reasons that many others have stated clearly and eloquently.
Try Lubuntu. The LXDE interface is light, boots fast (~25 seconds on an old Pentium D 3Ghz, 2Gb RAM) and shutdown takes exactly 5 seconds. It looks Gnome 2.x-ish and even has has multi-desktop, which is important for me. My new work laptop dual-boots to Windows 7 (for work) and OpenSUSE 11.4 (for me) running their KDE implementation. I like it a *lot* which is eye-opening for me as I've found KDE wanting over the past few years. It's worth looking into now.
Just my $.02.
Crap. Ok - played with the beta versions of 11.04 in virtualization. I really don't like the interface. I have been using 10.1 and I *like* the Gnome 2.x interface. It's simple, I can add useful things to the bottom app bar, and I like the simple menu structure. Alternatively Gnome 3 is just...just...ick. Really not designed for the PC or for me and the way that I work, so no option there. I also like having current versions of apps installed and their updates automagically done as part of the daily update cycle. No getting rid of Open Office and replacing it with Libre Office unless I do a bunch of things - free time is not something that I have a lot of. Setting up Libre Office in 10.1 is a manual thing initially, but that also goes for many other apps too, unless I bump up to the 11 series. As always with Ubuntu, the first ".01" release breaks a bunch of things - video is usually the big bug for me. So what to do?
After trying a few (11 or so) distros in virtualization - Linux, BSD, open Solaris derivatives, I've settles on OpenSuse 11.4 with the KDE interface. I decided to give the "K" another try, and I find that I like it. I can customize it to my tastes, and that suits me just fine. This is the beauty of the Linux ecosystem: diversity = a healthy gene pool, and you can get the system that you want, not the system that's imposed from a centralized corporate self-interested behemoth. Sorry to part company with Ubuntu for now, but looking forward to a new thing. I'll be keeping an eye on what Canonical does and I'll be rooting for them. It's just that at the moment, what they're doing doesn't suit me.
Win 7 does allow you to move the menu bar anwhere around the sides of thescreen. On my work PC and gaming rig (both Win 7), I moved the menus to the top to be consistent with the Linux systems in my home.
I carry a smart phone with me daily and I rely on it for a myriad of things: several IM accounts, integration with my office Exchange server, integration with the office IP-based phone sytem, social networking, news, traffic updates, weather, white/yellow page lookup, routing etc etc. If it's not at my hip I get twitchy. The interface is great for me because it's designed properly for the device. I've also got my eye on a tablet. So, I may be mid 40-ish, but I get it, ok? My laptop, on the other hand, is a traditional computer. I do office-y things with it. I also aggregate my IM accounts onto one convenient app, I use Skype and TeamSpeak for voice comms. A simple and configurable interface works best - for me - because I like my workspace to be set up my way. Boxing me into a confining, however pretty, environment that I may or may not grow accustomed to does not appeal to me, especially if it interrupts my work flow. My set up rather nicely keeps up with our information laden times, TYVM. A patronizing tone does nothing to further your case for putting a tablet-like interface on a PC. Does Windows 7 work as a tablet OS? No? Then why would a tablet-like interface work on a PC? Just asking.
Really? Gnome 3 welcome? It's like having a smartphone OS interface on a large LCD screen. Choices have been removed, the interface is ugly and non-intuitive, and it just doesn't work intuitively. They should have named it something other than Gnome because it's not related to its ancestors. Gnome 2.x was/is great in that it's a clean, uncluttered interface that's customizable and just get's the hell out of the way. Either XFCE, LXDE, or Gnome 2.x will be my environment of choice. Gnome 3 is an abomination. Sorry.
Studying religion, to me, is a complete waste of time. I'll stick to Darwin, Dawkins, Dennett and Hitchens; Feynman, Weinberg, Greene and Shermer et al. Reality is soooo much more interesting and awe-inspiring than man-made edifices to superstition and ignorance.
Maher is funny and sometimes an idiot, but "Religulous" was entertaining more for the earnest idiots on parade than Maher's commentary.
The ark was actually found on top a mountain, albeit broken in half. We know that the Mediterranean basin cracked open and flooded the desert a while back, in the area where all that shit happened.
Really? REALLY??? If an "ark" was found on a mountain (almost zero likelihood) and shown to have belonged to some biblical character (even less likely), I will publicly eat my copy of Hitchens' "God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" and renounce Pastafarianism.
Oh...wait. That was a documentary? And all this time I thought it was an ironic parody of a real documentary! Next you're going to tel me that Bill Maher's "Religulous" wasn't an accurate picture of the religious loony-tunes in 'merica!
"Say what?! Say what you like about Sony, but don't claim that Apple doesn't want or already exercise a great degree of control"
At least Apple opens up their platform for apps, apps and more apps, as well as 3rd party accessories. Sony has closed theirs to apps despite the units being capable of running them. Again, see Linux on the PS3. The latest firmware patch - in response to the system being hacked - effectivley blocked a large number of 3rd party controllers, remotes etc from working with the PS3.
I can't see Sony merging with Android. They've invested in the PSP platform and with the PSP being hacked (earlier software revisions), they'll want to recoup as much of their investment as they can. I recall that in Europe there are/were/planned? Sony-Erikson phones that can play PSP games. Adverts are a pain, but again, at least the platform is open for anyone to develop for it.
That's a marriage that will never happen. Sony is all about control, and that focus on control precludes third parties and regard for what Sony's users want. See: removal of PS2 compatibility on the PS3, removal of "OtherOS" on the PS3, blocking of third-party controllers on the PS3 etc. ad nauseum. Sony wants absolute control of the eco system, but they don't get it like Apple and even Google/Android does in regards to applications and features. Hell, even Microsoft lets anyone write apps for the Windows platform. Until Sony 1.) merges the PSP into a smartphone platform; 2.) loosens their control or at least modifies it in regards to applications and monetizing their platform, and 3.) opens up to partnering with companies that understand how to work with user's needs and wants, they're dead in the water. I speak as a PS3 owner who uses his PS3 95% for streaming media to the entertainment centre, as an owner of a PSP 3000 who uses it primarily for watching movies and documentaries while traveling as well as running old console games in emulation, and I have a PSP Go that I won at a vendor event (a lucky colleague won a 32Gb iTouch AND an Xbox slim! I got the shitty end of that deal).
On my Win7 PC, I use MS Word and set it to full screen. The menus completely disappear and all I have is a blank page ready for me to start typing in, no mouse required. If I don't want any formatting, I set plain text as my default file type. As for loading time, It's ready to go about 6 seconds after I click the app's icon. Having a word count tool and a global replace option sitting in the background is handy in case I need them. To each their own.
Disclosure: My wife's laptop, my work laptop and my primary desktop are all dual-boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu. I prefer Ubuntu for everyday most-things computing. I'm a PC Gamer, hence Windows 7, my PS3 be damned (Darn $ony to heck for removing my beloved OtherOS). Windows 7 is also pretty darned good and mature too, particularly if you know how to configure it. Personally, I prefer Server 2008 configured as a desktop OS as my Windows machine, but cost etc etc.
Anywhoo, if you get a Hotmail/Windows live account, you get 25Gb free online storage for free. Just sayin'. It needs to be tweaked by M$ for easily uploading directories for those non-savvy users who haven't figured out 7Zip yet, but still, it's 25 free Gb's. My browser favourites, photos, documents are all encrypted and sent up there just in case the domicile burns to the ground. Micro$oft may be the Evil Empire, but fuck, 25Gb free that's relatively secure if you encrypt it...just sayin'...
Let me know if you want a Canadian mirror. I'm good to go. I also have a USA-based site that I'm willing to offer space on as well. As a pissed-off PS3 owner who used Linux on my PS3 and who uses my console for communication, I'm willing to stand and protect my rights as a property owner against a company who took away advertised features, from a durable good that I own, after I had paid for it. Fuck the fucking fuckers, says I.
Ironically, I won PSP Go this week. I'll be goddamned if I'll buy anything from the PSN. That PSP will be used for music, Skype and movies only, and maybe a game demo. $ony can kiss my ass if they think I'll give them one more red cent given their obvious contempt for their consumers.
How will Sony stop people now from playing emulators on the PS3
Oh come on, don't be absurd. This isn't about emulators, this is about piracy, pure and simple. You can try to sugarcoat it, but 99.9% of modded consoles never touch emulators / homebrew - they're only used to play commercial games without paying for them. Stop trying to act like you're the noble ones, here.
Data to support your position? Fuck you. Corporate shill.
Weirdly enough, Sony's "Media Go" software which lets you transfer music/video/games etc to your PSP and lets you access the Sony Store for the PS3/PSP, has an option to automatically rip CD's to.mp3's or AAC as soon as you put the disk in the drive. The option is even helpfully labeled "CD Ripping". You can go all the way up to 320 kbps quality if you like. Can you say "mixed messages"?
they already bin perfectly good high end CPU's down to lower end models for marketing purposes, if this system replaces that with an option to upgrade later it's just offering a stopgap later, rather than taking the time and money to replace your CPU drop the $50 and upgrade it and keep using for another year.
What I like about the current model is that, depending on your motherboard, you can get a significant increase in processor speed for nothing. I bumped my Core 2 Duo 3Ghz to a stable 3.6Ghz on air cooling alone. That took all of 15 minutes to do. 4Ghz was almost stable but the voltages need to be tweaked a bit. Intel's binning processors to a lower speed benefits those consumers who don't mind digging under the hood to get better performance. Locking/crippling functionality and charging for an unlock code to regain functionality is just plain wrong. If this actually hits the marketplace, I'll nuke a bag of popcorn and watch the hackers go to town on creating and releasing a free unlock. Hardware is not licensed like software is (and don't get me started on that...). I bought it, I own it, and I can do whatever the heck that I want to it.
Grrrr....I can feel the nerd rage building...must...punch....pillow...!!!
Seriously, this is pure nickle-and-diming of the consumer. Fuck the moron in Marketing that grunted out this steaming pile of idiocy, I prefer a nice black-and-white binning model with related price points to this micro-purchase crap. This is so asinine that I'm sorely tempted to take a serious second look at AMD. Note to Intel: WT-effing-F???
Acronis makes a perfect copy of the bootdisk. Not sure about the retail version, but the enterprise version has tools that will let you easily restore it perfectly on any PC, even if it has all non-identical components compared to the source PC. I've used it to restore several machines to 100% working order. An hour or so of reading a book while it works its magic beats the hell out of a day of swapping disks and being asked if I'm _really_ sure I want to run the installer.
The moon, particularly when it's NOT full, as there is more detail to see when it's not full. Someone mentioned Jupiter and it's moons. Observe them over several nights, have your students sketch what they see, discuss why the moons are in different positions each night/hour. Get a copy of "Skyways" from the Royal AStronomical Society of Canada - it's a resource for teachers (http://www.rasc.ca/publications/index.shtml).
The Pleiades star cluster is always beautiful. Saturn will be high in the south east and is always nice even in a small telescope. Mars will be high in Cancer next to the Bee-hive cluster. Both are wonderful small-scope objects and will be very close together. The three bright galaxies in Leo, "The Leo Triplet" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Triplet) will all fit in a field of view nicely.
Good luck!
I've been looking for buddies to team up with online, but practically everyone I've spoken with has picked up a console version of the game. What struck me was how many of them actually preferred using their thumbs. Some of them didn't even know there was a PC version in the first place.
At any rate, I'm with you. I'd be fine with the consoles if they'd just let me plug in my keyboard and mouse.
Take a look here: http://www.splitfish.com/ and look at the Frag FX and their newer products. I'm a PC gamer as is one of my buddies. We also own PS3's, though I use mine mostly for media streaming. We're big COD4/WAW players on the PC. He used a FragFX on his PS3 and was accused of cheating on his PS3 games because it was so natural to his PC gaming style. He was kicking serious backside. Like me, he hates the PS3 controller for FPS games. Once he told them he's a PC gamer and what he was using, the responses was "...oh.". It takes a bit of tweaking in setting it up to get it comfortable to your playing style, but once you do, it really makes the game fun. It's on my to-get list.
What does pulse audio have to do with this discussion? KDE uses aRTs for audio. Linux in general uses ALSA, unless you want to do something weird and unusual like play sound on another computer across a network.
Since when have MS Windows users been able to send their application's sound across the network without special software? Such software is probably expensive or has just as many problems as pulse audio anyway. How many regular people actually do something like that and why should anyone care?
First, my home network has 4 Linux PC's, 2 Windows 7 PC's and one running XP. I like Ubuntu and Windows 7 equally - they each have their role.
That out of the way, There are several remote desktop apps that will allow sound to be sent actoss the network, some free: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_remote_desktop_software . As you can guess by my handle, I'm an amateur astronomer, as are many of my friends. One in particular, a Ubuntu user, has to use Windows in his observatory PC as the software he uses has no equivalent in Linux. His observatory is some distance from his house, but it's connected by power and ethernet. He does astrophotography. When an exposure has been taken, the software gives an audio alarm. In his comfy warm study, his computer is connected via remote desktop software to the observatory PC. He absolutely needs to hear the alarm that an exposure has completed so he can check it and decide to either get the next exposure or re-do the one just completed. The beta of the next version of Logmein free allows for audio to be transferred and it seems to work. If it does work flawlessly in the final release, I'll replicate what he's done with my own observatory. Sure it's a unique use of this sort of thing, but there are many Windows users who actually do need this sort of thing. Home security/monitoring is another one that comes to mind. I don't care if you don't care, but I certainly care if my critical task doesn't get completed. I really don't care what OS is involved, so long as I can get done what I want done. The PC is just a tool, a means to an end.
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Having tried them, both Unity and Gnome 3 leave me feeling cold and slightly ill for reasons that many others have stated clearly and eloquently. Try Lubuntu. The LXDE interface is light, boots fast (~25 seconds on an old Pentium D 3Ghz, 2Gb RAM) and shutdown takes exactly 5 seconds. It looks Gnome 2.x-ish and even has has multi-desktop, which is important for me. My new work laptop dual-boots to Windows 7 (for work) and OpenSUSE 11.4 (for me) running their KDE implementation. I like it a *lot* which is eye-opening for me as I've found KDE wanting over the past few years. It's worth looking into now. Just my $.02.
Crap. Ok - played with the beta versions of 11.04 in virtualization. I really don't like the interface. I have been using 10.1 and I *like* the Gnome 2.x interface. It's simple, I can add useful things to the bottom app bar, and I like the simple menu structure. Alternatively Gnome 3 is just...just...ick. Really not designed for the PC or for me and the way that I work, so no option there. I also like having current versions of apps installed and their updates automagically done as part of the daily update cycle. No getting rid of Open Office and replacing it with Libre Office unless I do a bunch of things - free time is not something that I have a lot of. Setting up Libre Office in 10.1 is a manual thing initially, but that also goes for many other apps too, unless I bump up to the 11 series. As always with Ubuntu, the first ".01" release breaks a bunch of things - video is usually the big bug for me. So what to do? After trying a few (11 or so) distros in virtualization - Linux, BSD, open Solaris derivatives, I've settles on OpenSuse 11.4 with the KDE interface. I decided to give the "K" another try, and I find that I like it. I can customize it to my tastes, and that suits me just fine. This is the beauty of the Linux ecosystem: diversity = a healthy gene pool, and you can get the system that you want, not the system that's imposed from a centralized corporate self-interested behemoth. Sorry to part company with Ubuntu for now, but looking forward to a new thing. I'll be keeping an eye on what Canonical does and I'll be rooting for them. It's just that at the moment, what they're doing doesn't suit me.
Win 7 does allow you to move the menu bar anwhere around the sides of thescreen. On my work PC and gaming rig (both Win 7), I moved the menus to the top to be consistent with the Linux systems in my home.
I carry a smart phone with me daily and I rely on it for a myriad of things: several IM accounts, integration with my office Exchange server, integration with the office IP-based phone sytem, social networking, news, traffic updates, weather, white/yellow page lookup, routing etc etc. If it's not at my hip I get twitchy. The interface is great for me because it's designed properly for the device. I've also got my eye on a tablet. So, I may be mid 40-ish, but I get it, ok? My laptop, on the other hand, is a traditional computer. I do office-y things with it. I also aggregate my IM accounts onto one convenient app, I use Skype and TeamSpeak for voice comms. A simple and configurable interface works best - for me - because I like my workspace to be set up my way. Boxing me into a confining, however pretty, environment that I may or may not grow accustomed to does not appeal to me, especially if it interrupts my work flow. My set up rather nicely keeps up with our information laden times, TYVM. A patronizing tone does nothing to further your case for putting a tablet-like interface on a PC. Does Windows 7 work as a tablet OS? No? Then why would a tablet-like interface work on a PC? Just asking.
Really? Gnome 3 welcome? It's like having a smartphone OS interface on a large LCD screen. Choices have been removed, the interface is ugly and non-intuitive, and it just doesn't work intuitively. They should have named it something other than Gnome because it's not related to its ancestors. Gnome 2.x was/is great in that it's a clean, uncluttered interface that's customizable and just get's the hell out of the way. Either XFCE, LXDE, or Gnome 2.x will be my environment of choice. Gnome 3 is an abomination. Sorry.
When asked to clarify, Pope Benedict exclaimed "All your soul belong to us!"
Studying religion, to me, is a complete waste of time. I'll stick to Darwin, Dawkins, Dennett and Hitchens; Feynman, Weinberg, Greene and Shermer et al. Reality is soooo much more interesting and awe-inspiring than man-made edifices to superstition and ignorance. Maher is funny and sometimes an idiot, but "Religulous" was entertaining more for the earnest idiots on parade than Maher's commentary.
The ark was actually found on top a mountain, albeit broken in half. We know that the Mediterranean basin cracked open and flooded the desert a while back, in the area where all that shit happened.
Really? REALLY??? If an "ark" was found on a mountain (almost zero likelihood) and shown to have belonged to some biblical character (even less likely), I will publicly eat my copy of Hitchens' "God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" and renounce Pastafarianism.
Oh...wait. That was a documentary? And all this time I thought it was an ironic parody of a real documentary! Next you're going to tel me that Bill Maher's "Religulous" wasn't an accurate picture of the religious loony-tunes in 'merica!
"Say what?! Say what you like about Sony, but don't claim that Apple doesn't want or already exercise a great degree of control" At least Apple opens up their platform for apps, apps and more apps, as well as 3rd party accessories. Sony has closed theirs to apps despite the units being capable of running them. Again, see Linux on the PS3. The latest firmware patch - in response to the system being hacked - effectivley blocked a large number of 3rd party controllers, remotes etc from working with the PS3. I can't see Sony merging with Android. They've invested in the PSP platform and with the PSP being hacked (earlier software revisions), they'll want to recoup as much of their investment as they can. I recall that in Europe there are/were/planned? Sony-Erikson phones that can play PSP games. Adverts are a pain, but again, at least the platform is open for anyone to develop for it.
That's a marriage that will never happen. Sony is all about control, and that focus on control precludes third parties and regard for what Sony's users want. See: removal of PS2 compatibility on the PS3, removal of "OtherOS" on the PS3, blocking of third-party controllers on the PS3 etc. ad nauseum. Sony wants absolute control of the eco system, but they don't get it like Apple and even Google/Android does in regards to applications and features. Hell, even Microsoft lets anyone write apps for the Windows platform. Until Sony 1.) merges the PSP into a smartphone platform; 2.) loosens their control or at least modifies it in regards to applications and monetizing their platform, and 3.) opens up to partnering with companies that understand how to work with user's needs and wants, they're dead in the water. I speak as a PS3 owner who uses his PS3 95% for streaming media to the entertainment centre, as an owner of a PSP 3000 who uses it primarily for watching movies and documentaries while traveling as well as running old console games in emulation, and I have a PSP Go that I won at a vendor event (a lucky colleague won a 32Gb iTouch AND an Xbox slim! I got the shitty end of that deal).
On my Win7 PC, I use MS Word and set it to full screen. The menus completely disappear and all I have is a blank page ready for me to start typing in, no mouse required. If I don't want any formatting, I set plain text as my default file type. As for loading time, It's ready to go about 6 seconds after I click the app's icon. Having a word count tool and a global replace option sitting in the background is handy in case I need them. To each their own.
Disclosure: My wife's laptop, my work laptop and my primary desktop are all dual-boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu. I prefer Ubuntu for everyday most-things computing. I'm a PC Gamer, hence Windows 7, my PS3 be damned (Darn $ony to heck for removing my beloved OtherOS). Windows 7 is also pretty darned good and mature too, particularly if you know how to configure it. Personally, I prefer Server 2008 configured as a desktop OS as my Windows machine, but cost etc etc. Anywhoo, if you get a Hotmail/Windows live account, you get 25Gb free online storage for free. Just sayin'. It needs to be tweaked by M$ for easily uploading directories for those non-savvy users who haven't figured out 7Zip yet, but still, it's 25 free Gb's. My browser favourites, photos, documents are all encrypted and sent up there just in case the domicile burns to the ground. Micro$oft may be the Evil Empire, but fuck, 25Gb free that's relatively secure if you encrypt it...just sayin'...
Let me know if you want a Canadian mirror. I'm good to go. I also have a USA-based site that I'm willing to offer space on as well. As a pissed-off PS3 owner who used Linux on my PS3 and who uses my console for communication, I'm willing to stand and protect my rights as a property owner against a company who took away advertised features, from a durable good that I own, after I had paid for it. Fuck the fucking fuckers, says I. Ironically, I won PSP Go this week. I'll be goddamned if I'll buy anything from the PSN. That PSP will be used for music, Skype and movies only, and maybe a game demo. $ony can kiss my ass if they think I'll give them one more red cent given their obvious contempt for their consumers.
How will Sony stop people now from playing emulators on the PS3
Oh come on, don't be absurd. This isn't about emulators, this is about piracy, pure and simple. You can try to sugarcoat it, but 99.9% of modded consoles never touch emulators / homebrew - they're only used to play commercial games without paying for them. Stop trying to act like you're the noble ones, here.
Data to support your position? Fuck you. Corporate shill.
I wish that I had some mod points. You're dead-on.
Weirdly enough, Sony's "Media Go" software which lets you transfer music/video/games etc to your PSP and lets you access the Sony Store for the PS3/PSP, has an option to automatically rip CD's to .mp3's or AAC as soon as you put the disk in the drive. The option is even helpfully labeled "CD Ripping". You can go all the way up to 320 kbps quality if you like. Can you say "mixed messages"?
they already bin perfectly good high end CPU's down to lower end models for marketing purposes, if this system replaces that with an option to upgrade later it's just offering a stopgap later, rather than taking the time and money to replace your CPU drop the $50 and upgrade it and keep using for another year.
What I like about the current model is that, depending on your motherboard, you can get a significant increase in processor speed for nothing. I bumped my Core 2 Duo 3Ghz to a stable 3.6Ghz on air cooling alone. That took all of 15 minutes to do. 4Ghz was almost stable but the voltages need to be tweaked a bit. Intel's binning processors to a lower speed benefits those consumers who don't mind digging under the hood to get better performance. Locking/crippling functionality and charging for an unlock code to regain functionality is just plain wrong. If this actually hits the marketplace, I'll nuke a bag of popcorn and watch the hackers go to town on creating and releasing a free unlock. Hardware is not licensed like software is (and don't get me started on that...). I bought it, I own it, and I can do whatever the heck that I want to it.
Grrrr....I can feel the nerd rage building...must...punch....pillow...!!! Seriously, this is pure nickle-and-diming of the consumer. Fuck the moron in Marketing that grunted out this steaming pile of idiocy, I prefer a nice black-and-white binning model with related price points to this micro-purchase crap. This is so asinine that I'm sorely tempted to take a serious second look at AMD. Note to Intel: WT-effing-F???
Acronis makes a perfect copy of the bootdisk. Not sure about the retail version, but the enterprise version has tools that will let you easily restore it perfectly on any PC, even if it has all non-identical components compared to the source PC. I've used it to restore several machines to 100% working order. An hour or so of reading a book while it works its magic beats the hell out of a day of swapping disks and being asked if I'm _really_ sure I want to run the installer.
The moon, particularly when it's NOT full, as there is more detail to see when it's not full. Someone mentioned Jupiter and it's moons. Observe them over several nights, have your students sketch what they see, discuss why the moons are in different positions each night/hour. Get a copy of "Skyways" from the Royal AStronomical Society of Canada - it's a resource for teachers (http://www.rasc.ca/publications/index.shtml). The Pleiades star cluster is always beautiful. Saturn will be high in the south east and is always nice even in a small telescope. Mars will be high in Cancer next to the Bee-hive cluster. Both are wonderful small-scope objects and will be very close together. The three bright galaxies in Leo, "The Leo Triplet" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Triplet) will all fit in a field of view nicely. Good luck!
Just a minor correction: the "Gap..." series was authored by Stephen R. Donaldson. http://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/
I've been looking for buddies to team up with online, but practically everyone I've spoken with has picked up a console version of the game. What struck me was how many of them actually preferred using their thumbs. Some of them didn't even know there was a PC version in the first place.
At any rate, I'm with you. I'd be fine with the consoles if they'd just let me plug in my keyboard and mouse.
Take a look here: http://www.splitfish.com/ and look at the Frag FX and their newer products. I'm a PC gamer as is one of my buddies. We also own PS3's, though I use mine mostly for media streaming. We're big COD4/WAW players on the PC. He used a FragFX on his PS3 and was accused of cheating on his PS3 games because it was so natural to his PC gaming style. He was kicking serious backside. Like me, he hates the PS3 controller for FPS games. Once he told them he's a PC gamer and what he was using, the responses was "...oh.". It takes a bit of tweaking in setting it up to get it comfortable to your playing style, but once you do, it really makes the game fun. It's on my to-get list.
What does pulse audio have to do with this discussion? KDE uses aRTs for audio. Linux in general uses ALSA, unless you want to do something weird and unusual like play sound on another computer across a network.
Since when have MS Windows users been able to send their application's sound across the network without special software? Such software is probably expensive or has just as many problems as pulse audio anyway. How many regular people actually do something like that and why should anyone care?
First, my home network has 4 Linux PC's, 2 Windows 7 PC's and one running XP. I like Ubuntu and Windows 7 equally - they each have their role. That out of the way, There are several remote desktop apps that will allow sound to be sent actoss the network, some free: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_remote_desktop_software . As you can guess by my handle, I'm an amateur astronomer, as are many of my friends. One in particular, a Ubuntu user, has to use Windows in his observatory PC as the software he uses has no equivalent in Linux. His observatory is some distance from his house, but it's connected by power and ethernet. He does astrophotography. When an exposure has been taken, the software gives an audio alarm. In his comfy warm study, his computer is connected via remote desktop software to the observatory PC. He absolutely needs to hear the alarm that an exposure has completed so he can check it and decide to either get the next exposure or re-do the one just completed. The beta of the next version of Logmein free allows for audio to be transferred and it seems to work. If it does work flawlessly in the final release, I'll replicate what he's done with my own observatory. Sure it's a unique use of this sort of thing, but there are many Windows users who actually do need this sort of thing. Home security/monitoring is another one that comes to mind. I don't care if you don't care, but I certainly care if my critical task doesn't get completed. I really don't care what OS is involved, so long as I can get done what I want done. The PC is just a tool, a means to an end.
Thanks for the tip. I'll bring that up with my mechanic next time it's in for maintenance.