It wouldn't have been fair to use a 2.3.x kernel -it is accepted, even by the Linux community that:
a) 2.3.x kernels are development kernels and may be unstable
b) 2.3.x kernels are essentially beta software releases and not mainstream releases - the equivalent competitor to 2.3.x is whatever alpha/beta software Microsoft happen to have got for NT5 whenever [if] it surfaces
As a Linux user I have to concede that it looks as though Mindcraft have made every effort to be fair in this test.
So the questions are, * What can or is being done to [safely] jack up the performance of Linux ? * Did the test identify any specific bottlenecks ?
IMHO, ANY tax can be avoided/limited if you have sufficiently good acccountants.
Sales taxes are progressive in that rich people spend more money and hence pay more tax. As the previous poster stated, they are an incentive to invest, but for everyone, not just the rich.
IANAL either - but I did pass an A level course on English law.:-)
Where you "are" doesn't matter - most contracts you make actually state under which jurisdiction the contract has been drafted and to which both parties agree to be bound.
To take your case - you have an English ISP and you agreed to their terms and conditions - disputes with them will probably be setlled under English law. If you have a separate agreement with a Californian company to get your email and you agreed to their terms and conditions then you'll be subject to Californian state law. If you offer something to sell on the internet, and you agree to sell it whilst you are standing in Germany, then you'll probably be subject to German contract law. Whose laws you are subject to vary with who you want to pick a fight with!:-).
[if anyone IS a lawyer feel free to correct me - I'm sure a professional lawyer can make it more complicated:-) ]
Sales taxes/VAT may have problems, but I don't think they'll disappear. Governments may make steps towards standardising such taxes [or at least getting them within a few percent of each other]. Remember any government has to get its revenue from SOMEWHERE, so if sales taxes disappear, local income taxes or some other form of tax will have to go up to compensate.
Actually, where a deal takes place is pretty well defined, as the law has had to deal with telex and fax for many years; a deal takes place and is subject to the law where acceptance is received. In English Law the classic example is the case Entores v Miles Far East Corporation - dates back to 1955!
I presume the same general principles of contract law applies to Internet transactions.
..and think about buying a country instead. After all Bills $60 odd billion is greater than the GDP of a number of countries, and Microsofts $500 billion odd share value must certainly provide enough purchasing power.
He should find a suitable sized island, move all the MS people there and declare himslf King Bill. Just think - no more DOJ judgements to worry about if you are head of the judiciary and the executive.
a) a large number of professors get round to writing books on the courses they teach b) in order to do this they either i) read other textbooks and decide how to organise their own i.e. make notes ii) refer to their own notes taken from lectures they attended and put them in their textbook.
If they do not write books, then they adopt a similar approach to deciding how to structure their own lectures and their own lecture notes may take from these sources.
If UCLA is correct about copyright on notes, which are a students own interpretation of a professors lectures, then breach of copyright would pertain in both the above cases too.
I believe UCLA is being extremely silly about this - the amount of money involved has got to be small - on the other hand if someone manages to sell 100,000+ copies of the notes then they should ask for a share of the royalties:-)
..is they probably make a nice entry point for illegal entry onto the system by people who aren't as nice as those wonderful NSA guys.
Besides, if I was organising drugs, firearms shipments or any other illegal activity by Internet I'd make damn sure I understood enough about encryption to make it hard for them.
The problem is that Cryptocards: a) can be lost/stolen. b) cost money.
if each patient is paying money for being on the scheme then that is no problem.
I suspect that the easy way out of this is to stick to standard user/password schemes and: a) make joining the web scheme optional
b) if a patient does consent to being online, require them to sign a disclaimer form which points out the risks.
c) Cover your ass by stating the risks to your employers IN WRITING [and keep a copy]. Then if someone sues, you might consider being an expert witness for a suitable fee.;-P
I think the last country to declare for Linux was Mexico. The minimal cost of Linux is a healthy inducement for take up in countries where per-capita income is low(er).
Personally I'm a little dubious about a country having an official operating system, even though this is probably going to be incredibly good for Linux user base. I think operating systems, as with everything else, should win by merit and not by decree from above.
There have been a lot of comments whether China will honour the GPL.. there is little reason why they shouldn't. Anyway, as far as COMMERCIAL agreements go, China is about as good or bad at keeping them as any other country. Secondly the GPL just effectively provides rights to give away software etc. In general it will be individuals rather than countries that (try to) break the GPL for their own ends.
As for government take up, *BSD and Linux systems offer some advantages that other products don't. For one thing, since they get the source code, they have a reasonable degree of confidence that no security agency has asked for [and got] a back door fitted. Linux and BSD may have the odd security hole, but these are accidental rather than national policy. Even if one was engineered into an Open Source OS, the governments own developers would have the source code available to plug the leak.
I'm happy to note the screen has a good resolution, and I'd love one as my desktop display to reclaim some of workspace back from my Iiyama "backbreaker" monitor.
I believe the next leap in LCD design should concentrate less in size and more on other factors such as: * power consumption * viewing angle * resolution/dot pitch
For a laptop I think about 15" is the limit, but I'd be much happier if that supported (say) 3840*3072 [including happily handling low resolutions] within that 15" and had a full 180 viewing angle.
1) I can see Microsoft putting up strong arguments against the release of source code to Windows etc. For one thing they could argue that their security model is different from Open Source operating systems such as Linux and that releasing the source would expose Windows to a huge number of virus attacks, which could have a negative impact on the US (and even the worlds economy). [whether the argument is true or not is another matter]
2) My personal view is that a breakup is much more likely, and that Bill and MS shareholders would actually profit from this event. All that assumes that Microsofts lawyers don't get their act together and appeal successfully. I suggest that Bills lawyers talk to those of tobacco companies about successful litigation:-).
3) IMHO, I don't see the possibility of damages/ Windows rebates either..at the speed of computer progress, a lot of the damage which it is claimed Microsoft has caused is "water under the bridge" and cannot really be remedied - the best hope would be to look to the future.
4) I doubt I can see the claim that Microsoft overcharged for its Operating system staying up - after all, lots of competitive operating systems cost a LOT more.
Sorry to sound pessimistic, but does this mean that every 10 mins, your player is going to be accessing your hard drive whilst you are jogging round the park ?
I can an ill timed footfall would fsck your hard drive! I can see it working as a car player though, where suspension is rather better, but for a personal player I'll stick to solid state devices.
One of the major plus points of MP3 players is that they have no moving parts and therefore are not subject to shock [well most types of shock anyway].
Doesn't putting a hard disk in here sortof spoil this ?
>> Employee protection.. is increasing.. less rapidly than some people feared. > Eh ?
UK Consultants have to set up their own companies to work - we also have to comply with employment legislation and fill in the forms the government requires of us - therefore consultants actually like less legislation [in most cases - not always].
My actual line of thought when I said "less than some people feared" was that I really had in mind major employers, to whom increased legislation == increased costs and therefore not desirable.
Red Hat shares have gone through the roof since their IPO, and therefore they have a lot of money sloshing around not working for them.
I'm speculating [not literally], but I suspect they'd probably buy Cygnus using RH shares - they wouldn't have to offer that many to buy them out at current rates;->
A significant number of UK geeks are self employed and hire themselves out on contracts of 3 months or more - this may be about to change as the government attempts to change the tax laws.
Banking & Finance related computing posts in London are probably the best paid, with contract rates of 3000UK+ pounds ($5000) per week being rumoured if you have 5 or more years experience. More typical rates are around 1000-2000UK pounds per week, again with about 5 years experience. The figures I've quoted are gross and do not take into account the fact that being self employed you do not get * holiday entitlements, * company pensions/ health insurance * cars * social club memberships * training etc unless you set them up yourself.
I can't comment on graduate salaries, but I suspect that a graduate geek will earn around 17-25,000UKP ($27-40,000) per annum. Higher salaries again may apply in the SE/London area, and lower the further away from London you get. My starting salary in 1985 was 7800UKP ($12000) as a graduate working for a major defence avionics company!:-)
Although the UK is small compared to the US, there's a huge regional range in salaries, especially London/SE England compared to the rest of the country.
Cost of living in England is quite high, according to most opinions, with petrol, motor cars, beer, tobacco and electronic equipment either attracting a lot of tax or being more highly priced than the rest of the EU. London itself can be a very expensive place to live. On the plus side we do have a reasonable National Health Service, although if you would like to be operated on within two years you are well advised to back that up with health insurance;->. Employee protection is better than that of America, and with a Labour government in power this is increasing, but less rapidly than some people feared.
Personally speaking I have no problem with people making copies of music for private use, but putting them on the web/ public network so everyone can rip off the artist is definitely not legal or honest, however much I agree about the cost of CDs.
Slashdot Mirror
Both RH 6.1 installs I've done have gone smoothly.
/dev/hdc1 ]
Only problem I had was making a boot disk for my second system [complicated 'cos it runs Linux on removeable hard drive
'How many "synergies" are there between the two companies ?'
'Oh, about 20,000. You can lose 10% through natural wastage but you'll have to sack the rest!'
[from a UK Daily Telegraph "Alex" cartoon]
> Nearly all movies at least break even at the box office, and most make a good profit. Then they make a mint in video rentals.
I've heard that this is not true - can anyone put any figures on this ?
There is a fairly lengthy list of movies that only JUST break even or fail to do so, even with the huge number of money making outlets available now.
In light of the Mindcraft results maybe this story should have had a different logo
A skinned Tux being eaten by Bill Gates perhaps ?
:-)
P.S. Do not regard this as Flamebait - I use Linux ! Honest !
It wouldn't have been fair to use a 2.3.x kernel -it is accepted, even by the Linux community that:
a) 2.3.x kernels are development kernels and may be unstable
b) 2.3.x kernels are essentially beta software releases and not mainstream releases - the equivalent competitor to 2.3.x is whatever alpha/beta software Microsoft happen to have got for NT5 whenever [if] it surfaces
As a Linux user I have to concede that it looks as though Mindcraft have made every effort to be fair in this test.
So the questions are,
* What can or is being done to [safely] jack up the performance of Linux ?
* Did the test identify any specific bottlenecks ?
IANAE (I am not an Economist!)
IMHO, ANY tax can be avoided/limited if you have sufficiently good acccountants.
Sales taxes are progressive in that rich people spend more money and hence pay more tax. As the previous poster stated, they are an incentive to invest, but for everyone, not just the rich.
Where you "are" doesn't matter - most contracts you make actually state under which jurisdiction the contract has been drafted and to which both parties agree to be bound.
To take your case - you have an English ISP and you agreed to their terms and conditions - disputes with them will probably be setlled under English law. If you have a separate agreement with a Californian company to get your email and you agreed to their terms and conditions then you'll be subject to Californian state law. If you offer something to sell on the internet, and you agree to sell it whilst you are standing in Germany, then you'll probably be subject to German contract law. Whose laws you are subject to vary with who you want to pick a fight with! :-).
[if anyone IS a lawyer feel free to correct me - I'm sure a professional lawyer can make it more complicated :-) ]
Sales taxes/VAT may have problems, but I don't think they'll disappear. Governments may make steps towards standardising such taxes [or at least getting them within a few percent of each other]. Remember any government has to get its revenue from SOMEWHERE, so if sales taxes disappear, local income taxes or some other form of tax will have to go up to compensate.
Actually, where a deal takes place is pretty well defined, as the law has had to deal with telex and fax for many years; a deal takes place and is subject to the law where acceptance is received. In English Law the classic example is the case Entores v Miles Far East Corporation - dates back to 1955!
I presume the same general principles of contract law applies to Internet transactions.
..and think about buying a country instead. After all Bills $60 odd billion is greater than the GDP of a number of countries, and Microsofts $500 billion odd share value must certainly provide enough purchasing power.
He should find a suitable sized island, move all the MS people there and declare himslf King Bill. Just think - no more DOJ judgements to worry about if you are head of the judiciary and the executive.
I only use about 5 passwords ever
;-P
a) two for my home machines (root/normal user)
b) one for work
c) a couple for web login accounts
As i change jobs I do change my work password. Only my web login passwords are likely to fail a standard dictionary attack.
I find about 5 words which have been garbled is about the limit my brain can store.
a) a large number of professors get round to writing books on the courses they teach
:-)
b) in order to do this they either
i) read other textbooks and decide how to organise their own i.e. make notes
ii) refer to their own notes taken from lectures they attended and put them in their textbook.
If they do not write books, then they adopt a similar approach to deciding how to structure their own lectures and their own lecture notes may take from these sources.
If UCLA is correct about copyright on notes, which are a students own interpretation of a professors lectures, then breach of copyright would pertain in both the above cases too.
I believe UCLA is being extremely silly about this
- the amount of money involved has got to be small
- on the other hand if someone manages to sell 100,000+ copies of the notes then they should ask for a share of the royalties
..is they probably make a nice entry point for illegal entry onto the system by people who aren't as nice as those wonderful NSA guys.
Besides, if I was organising drugs, firearms shipments or any other illegal activity by Internet I'd make damn sure I understood enough about encryption to make it hard for them.
The problem is that Cryptocards:
;-P
a) can be lost/stolen.
b) cost money.
if each patient is paying money for being on the scheme then that is no problem.
I suspect that the easy way out of this is to stick to standard user/password schemes and:
a) make joining the web scheme optional
b) if a patient does consent to being online, require them to sign a disclaimer form which points out the risks.
c) Cover your ass by stating the risks to your employers IN WRITING [and keep a copy]. Then if someone sues, you might consider being an expert witness for a suitable fee.
I think the last country to declare for Linux was Mexico. The minimal cost of Linux is a healthy inducement for take up in countries where per-capita income is low(er).
.. there is little reason why they shouldn't. Anyway, as far as COMMERCIAL agreements go, China is about as good or bad at keeping them as any other country. Secondly the GPL just effectively provides rights to give away software etc. In general it will be individuals rather than countries that (try to) break the GPL for their own ends.
Personally I'm a little dubious about a country having an official operating system, even though this is probably going to be incredibly good for Linux user base. I think operating systems, as with everything else, should win by merit and not by decree from above.
There have been a lot of comments whether China will honour the GPL
As for government take up, *BSD and Linux systems offer some advantages that other products don't. For one thing, since they get the source code, they have a reasonable degree of confidence that no security agency has asked for [and got] a back door fitted. Linux and BSD may have the odd security hole, but these are accidental rather than national policy. Even if one was engineered into an Open Source OS, the governments own developers would have the source code available to plug the leak.
I'm happy to note the screen has a good resolution, and I'd love one as my desktop display to reclaim some of workspace back from my Iiyama "backbreaker" monitor.
I believe the next leap in LCD design should concentrate less in size and more on other factors such as:
* power consumption
* viewing angle
* resolution/dot pitch
For a laptop I think about 15" is the limit, but I'd be much happier if that supported (say)
3840*3072 [including happily handling low resolutions] within that 15" and had a full 180 viewing angle.
or perhaps even a COMMUNAL OS.
Anyway even the idea of open source doesn't prevent people making bag loads of money from support, and becoming a wealthy capitalist.
'nuff said.
1) I can see Microsoft putting up strong arguments against the release of source code to Windows etc. For one thing they could argue that their security model is different from Open Source operating systems such as Linux and that releasing the source would expose Windows to a huge number of virus attacks, which could have a negative impact on the US (and even the worlds economy). [whether the argument is true or not is another matter]
:-).
2) My personal view is that a breakup is much more likely, and that Bill and MS shareholders would actually profit from this event. All that assumes that Microsofts lawyers don't get their act together and appeal successfully. I suggest that Bills lawyers talk to those of tobacco companies about successful litigation
3) IMHO, I don't see the possibility of damages/ Windows rebates either..at the speed of computer progress, a lot of the damage which it is claimed Microsoft has caused is "water under the bridge" and cannot really be remedied - the best hope would be to look to the future.
4) I doubt I can see the claim that Microsoft overcharged for its Operating system staying up - after all, lots of competitive operating systems cost a LOT more.
Sorry to sound pessimistic, but does this mean that every 10 mins, your player is going to be accessing your hard drive whilst you are jogging round the park ?
I can an ill timed footfall would fsck your hard drive! I can see it working as a car player though, where suspension is rather better, but for a personal player I'll stick to solid state devices.
One of the major plus points of MP3 players is that they have no moving parts and therefore are not subject to shock [well most types of shock anyway].
Doesn't putting a hard disk in here sortof spoil this ?
>> Employee protection .. is increasing .. less rapidly than some people feared.
> Eh ?
UK Consultants have to set up their own companies to work - we also have to comply with employment legislation and fill in the forms the government requires of us - therefore consultants actually like less legislation [in most cases - not always].
My actual line of thought when I said "less than some people feared" was that I really had in mind major employers, to whom increased legislation == increased costs and therefore not desirable.
Red Hat shares have gone through the roof since their IPO, and therefore they have a lot of money sloshing around not working for them.
;->
I'm speculating [not literally], but I suspect they'd probably buy Cygnus using RH shares - they wouldn't have to offer that many to buy them out at current rates
A significant number of UK geeks are self employed and hire themselves out on contracts of 3 months or more - this may be about to change as the government attempts to change the tax laws.
:-)
;->. Employee protection is better than that of America, and with a Labour government in power this is increasing, but less rapidly than some people feared.
Banking & Finance related computing posts in London are probably the best paid, with contract rates of 3000UK+ pounds ($5000) per week being rumoured if you have 5 or more years experience. More typical rates are around 1000-2000UK pounds per week, again with about 5 years experience. The figures I've quoted are gross and do not take into account the fact that being self employed you do not get
* holiday entitlements,
* company pensions/ health insurance
* cars
* social club memberships
* training etc
unless you set them up yourself.
I can't comment on graduate salaries, but I suspect that a graduate geek will earn around 17-25,000UKP ($27-40,000) per annum. Higher salaries again may apply in the SE/London area, and lower the further away from London you get. My starting salary in 1985 was 7800UKP ($12000) as a graduate working for a major defence avionics company!
Although the UK is small compared to the US, there's a huge regional range in salaries, especially London/SE England compared to the rest of the country.
Cost of living in England is quite high, according to most opinions, with petrol, motor cars, beer, tobacco and electronic equipment either attracting a lot of tax or being more highly priced than the rest of the EU. London itself can be a very expensive place to live. On the plus side we do have a reasonable National Health Service, although if you would like to be operated on within two years you are well advised to back that up with health insurance
If you are a developer, forget spamming and complaining - contribute to the Linux DVD project and wherever DeCSS/css-auth ends up.
Of course, publicly, you should repeat this mantra after me
I will have nothing to do with work on CSS. If there is any work that I may be considered to have ownership of, I give up all rights to that work.
;-P
Personally speaking I have no problem with people making copies of music for private use, but putting them on the web/ public network so everyone can rip off the artist is definitely not legal or honest, however much I agree about the cost of CDs.