Hate to be on the doom merchants side for once, but this survey doesn't really tell us much.
If a company with 200+ servers has one crufty 486 running Linux as a "pilot project" to keep a university trainee busy during the holidays they'll qualify on the side of the angels.
I want to see the survey that says 50% of all server sales are selecting Linux over NT [or any other OS]....and I hope the day comes soon!
I too felt this article was a bit shallow - OpenBSD requires a longer more in-depth look. I get the feeling that OpenBSD is not naturally a newbies first choice, although a smooth installation process would obviously be a major plus.
What I would like to see is an article by some SysAdmin on his long term experiences with it and whether it is a good secure system.
This is not meant to be Flamebait [hence I've not posted anonymously], but a serious question.
With the rapid advance of Linux over the last year or two, are the *BSDs "fading" into the background ? My impression is that even the niche markets which the various BSDs are directed (security/ network...) appear to be about to be taken over by Linux.
Interesting to know how they've phrased the patent for alternate frame rendering; after all, it has long been a technique to draw one framebuffer whilst the other is being displayed, and multiple CPU frame drawing has been around a long time [remember transputers ?].
I wonder how the processor load for Alternate Frame Rendering compares with the Scan Line Interleave technique used with multiple Voodoo cards ?
Ensuring a third of the world has access to knowledge is a pretty good ratio - in the past very few people (less than 1% at times) had access to books and knowledge.
However, disparity of technology access is of concern - how are developing nations goig to progress without access to technology and knowledge ?
There's an SF book on a similar theme by Bob Shaw - can't remember the title, where the hypothesisis is that mankind used to live a lot longer but a member of an alien race decided to use us as an experimental civilisation and shortened our lifespans in order to do it....
All distributions allow you to select which packages get installed, and RedHat is no exception. If you really hate linuxconf - don't install it.
Even if you've already installed linuxconf, you can still do things the old way - i.e edit the initialisation files for packages directly.
I dislike linuxconf too - I find the GUI is not very friendly - but I often use the GUI to get my setup nearly right before messing around with the initialisation files of the app for fine tuning.
Actually I've never had too much problem with any RedHat release [I did 4.0, 5.2 and 6.1, plus some extra packages and kernel updates in between], but it may be because I only leave my server powered for a maximum of a month or so before I find another toy I want to add to it.
In the UK there is intense competition between digital satellite (SKY) and digital terrestrial broadcasting, so much so that set top boxes for either system are free provided you subscribe for 12 months.
Hopefully competition wouild sort out the winners in the US too.
I think that one of the great benefits of new methods of meeting members of the opposite sex is that it overcomes some of the big hurdles for people who do not socialise well and understand all the rules.
i.e. if someone has put an advert, whether it be on the net, phone lines or even good old fashioned newspaper, it makes asking someone out for a date a whole lot easier since you know they are looking for a partner.
Also online, you can hopefully get your thoughts together before typing, and since you have time to compose replies even the most tongue tied can think of witty replies and conversation.
On another subject even if geeks of the opposite sex are hidden behind their computer screens, hopefully they've got an IRC channel open for communication to pass away the time whilst waiting for their latest Linux kernel compilation to complete.....
I rather suspect that our chances of "Living long" are some distance into the future.
I rather suspect that the human race is unlikely to see lifespans of 300 years plus, but I believe genetic knowledge will within 10-15 years increase the AVERAGE lifespan for the rest of us. This will possibly create more problems than it solves - there is already an increasing debate in the UK about the funding of pensions when retirement could last 30-40 years. Retirement ages will probably have to increase and hopefully we'll have a more active and healthier old age.
Another reason I suspect we're unlikely to live that long is that simple accidents polish off a surprising number of us, and having double the lifespan doubles the risk of us being run over by a passing bus. There are also a large number of diseases and fatal events that statistically are likely to finish you off before you reach your magic fifteen score years.
They'll have to edit it again, now it appears Linux has 2 or 3 to choose from. At the current rate of progress MS will have to edit it almost daily:-).
I don't mind how rich Bill is - I'm only concerned with how wealthy I'm not:-)
However, in my more cynical moments I sometimes think that this trial is sometimes a little of the politics of envy and bad losers.
I think Linux has been making huge strides over the last 12 months - I sometimes wonder if some of it has been because Microsoft has had to back off a little on their sharper business practices.
Not that I'm complaining, being a Linux supporter myself.
These points would help Linux, but are not remedies to companies like Netscape, which I believe the findings of fact stated that Microsoft used its position to compete unfairly.
So I think the answer lies in other solutions as well as or instead of RMSs Christmas wish list...
..Microsoft is seperated, he'd have shares in all the component pieces and even if required to sell them off would just have converted his theoretical value into real value. I'm not sure there's enough real money for this to be a good idea. Actually if Bill was forced to do this it'd be a good idea to look for companies Bill might be interested in buying into to replace his MS shares.
He would be hit temporarily in terms of his net worth if Microsoft were fined, as a result possibly of a blip in MS share values, but I'm sure they'd go back up again.
I understand that being declared a monopoly places some limitations on your trading practices - [Sherman Act ?]. Anyone care to explain the likely consequences?
DVD has been broken because it became a high profile target - a large number of people wanted to break the DVD security system [including people running Linux who want an Open Source player].
A few weeks ago I watched a program on car security, and the statement on that which caught my attention was that no car was invulnerable, but better security took longer to defeat.
A lot of crypto algorithms that were previously though to be invulnerable are falling due to either the advance of technology or new methods of breaking such algorithms.
I believe even if a new encryption method is introduced, the scrutiny will be so intense that it will be cracked within a couple of years.
3840x1024 is a strange aspect ratio, perhaps only good for ultra widescreen movies ?
If you could modify Quake/ other first person shooter games to drive it, so the width provides a wider angle of view then it would be an ideal present for the Quake player who has everything.....
Actually I can understand why the essay got a maximal mark - when asked to write a horror story, the kid wrote a horror story that shocked his target audience. I'd say he scored a bullseye!
Isn't that the dream of all writers - to reach out and stir emotions in your readers ?
If I were an English teacher, I would give it less than 100% because of its bad spelling, grammar and punctuation; however it can be argued that the imagination involved in the story overrides all the previously mentioned points.
I'm surprised the Beamons don't have some grounds for claiming compensation/damages. He wrote an essay to the theme set by the teacher, which had to include real people since the subject was about the write being home alone and hearing noises.
Any story can hardly be a threat [without corroborating evidence] - all authorities, from the school teacher to the judge appear to have totally overreacted.
In other posts, people claim the kid needs counselling - why? He just needs a good spellchecker!
I didn't know if this was being ironic as AFAIK Microsoft already has investments in NTL (a Cable company in the UK).
Microsoft and Bill have their fingers in a lot of interests apart from software. Don't they also have a big stake in NBC in the US. They have to do something with all that money they've earned!
Actually, I like both long term strategy games [like Stars!, Civilisation etc] and action games. I still even occasionally play text based adventure games.
I've no complaints about ID - Doom and Quake have long been available for Unix/Linux, and they have long been in this market - I just wish other games producers were equally supportive. By the time most games get round to being ported for Linux a lot of the "ooh!" factor has gone.
As I said in my earlier post, I am becoming more hopeful and I genuinely get the feeling the Linux snowball is getting bigger and more unstoppable with every day. I just long for games developers to take more note of the fact.
Yep, have to agree with this. Kernigan and Ritchies extortionately priced [in the UK anyway] paperback has been a staple of my programming life throughout its various editions.
Other good moments for Unix: Release of PERL Release dates of Doom and Quake for Unix
Slashdot Mirror
No, but I thought that if I wasn't careful how I phrased the question I might lose all my hard won karma points.... ;-P
Hate to be on the doom merchants side for once, but this survey doesn't really tell us much.
If a company with 200+ servers has one crufty 486 running Linux as a "pilot project" to keep a university trainee busy during the holidays they'll qualify on the side of the angels.
I want to see the survey that says 50% of all server sales are selecting Linux over NT [or any other OS]....and I hope the day comes soon!
I too felt this article was a bit shallow - OpenBSD requires a longer more in-depth look. I get the feeling that OpenBSD is not naturally a newbies first choice, although a smooth installation process would obviously be a major plus.
What I would like to see is an article by some SysAdmin on his long term experiences with it and whether it is a good secure system.
Anyone know any suitable URLs ?
This is not meant to be Flamebait [hence I've not posted anonymously], but a serious question.
...) appear to be about to be taken over by Linux.
With the rapid advance of Linux over the last year or two, are the *BSDs "fading" into the background ? My impression is that even the niche markets which the various BSDs are directed (security/ network
Maybe some *BSD expert can enlighten me...
Interesting to know how they've phrased the patent for alternate frame rendering; after all, it has long been a technique to draw one framebuffer whilst the other is being displayed, and multiple CPU frame drawing has been around a long time [remember transputers ?].
I wonder how the processor load for Alternate Frame Rendering compares with the Scan Line Interleave technique used with multiple Voodoo cards ?
Ensuring a third of the world has access to knowledge is a pretty good ratio - in the past very few people (less than 1% at times) had access to books and knowledge.
However, disparity of technology access is of concern - how are developing nations goig to progress without access to technology and knowledge ?
There's an SF book on a similar theme by Bob Shaw - can't remember the title, where the hypothesisis is that mankind used to live a lot longer but a member of an alien race decided to use us as an experimental civilisation and shortened our lifespans in order to do it....
All distributions allow you to select which packages get installed, and RedHat is no exception. If you really hate linuxconf - don't install it.
Even if you've already installed linuxconf, you can still do things the old way - i.e edit the initialisation files for packages directly.
I dislike linuxconf too - I find the GUI is not very friendly - but I often use the GUI to get my setup nearly right before messing around with the initialisation files of the app for fine tuning.
Actually I've never had too much problem with any RedHat release [I did 4.0, 5.2 and 6.1, plus some extra packages and kernel updates in between], but it may be because I only leave my server powered for a maximum of a month or so before I find another toy I want to add to it.
..a free lunch!
I don't think or expect every single application releeased on Linux to be GPL, especially major applications like this one.
There will probably remain a charge for two major areas on a Linux system
a) commercial apps like this one until a free equivalent
b) games
In the UK there is intense competition between digital satellite (SKY) and digital terrestrial broadcasting, so much so that set top boxes for either system are free provided you subscribe for 12 months.
Hopefully competition wouild sort out the winners in the US too.
..provided they can bring themselves to use it.
I think that one of the great benefits of new methods of meeting members of the opposite sex is that it overcomes some of the big hurdles for people who do not socialise well and understand all the rules.
i.e. if someone has put an advert, whether it be on the net, phone lines or even good old fashioned newspaper, it makes asking someone out for a date a whole lot easier since you know they are looking for a partner.
Also online, you can hopefully get your thoughts together before typing, and since you have time to compose replies even the most tongue tied can think of witty replies and conversation.
On another subject even if geeks of the opposite sex are hidden behind their computer screens, hopefully they've got an IRC channel open for communication to pass away the time whilst waiting for their latest Linux kernel compilation to complete.....
I rather suspect that our chances of "Living long" are some distance into the future.
I rather suspect that the human race is unlikely to see lifespans of 300 years plus, but I believe genetic knowledge will within 10-15 years increase the AVERAGE lifespan for the rest of us. This will possibly create more problems than it solves - there is already an increasing debate in the UK about the funding of pensions when retirement could last 30-40 years. Retirement ages will probably have to increase and hopefully we'll have a more active and healthier old age.
Another reason I suspect we're unlikely to live that long is that simple accidents polish off a surprising number of us, and having double the lifespan doubles the risk of us being run over by a passing bus. There are also a large number of diseases and fatal events that statistically are likely to finish you off before you reach your magic fifteen score years.
Journalling is mentioned as one of the reasons you should buy NT over Linux on the FUD page:
/ LinuxMyths.asp
:-).
http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/nts/news/msnw
They'll have to edit it again, now it appears Linux has 2 or 3 to choose from. At the current rate of progress MS will have to edit it almost daily
I don't mind how rich Bill is - I'm only concerned with how wealthy I'm not :-)
However, in my more cynical moments I sometimes think that this trial is sometimes a little of the politics of envy and bad losers.
I think Linux has been making huge strides over the last 12 months - I sometimes wonder if some of it has been because Microsoft has had to back off a little on their sharper business practices.
Not that I'm complaining, being a Linux supporter myself.
These points would help Linux, but are not remedies to companies like Netscape, which I believe the findings of fact stated that Microsoft used its position to compete unfairly.
So I think the answer lies in other solutions as well as or instead of RMSs Christmas wish list...
..Microsoft is seperated, he'd have shares in all the component pieces and even if required to sell them off would just have converted his theoretical value into real value. I'm not sure there's enough real money for this to be a good idea. Actually if Bill was forced to do this it'd be a good idea to look for companies Bill might be interested in buying into to replace his MS shares.
He would be hit temporarily in terms of his net worth if Microsoft were fined, as a result possibly of a blip in MS share values, but I'm sure they'd go back up again.
I understand that being declared a monopoly places some limitations on your trading practices - [Sherman Act ?]. Anyone care to explain the likely consequences?
You probably can't copyright a number, but you CAN make it a Trademark. Peugeot I understand own all 3 digit numbers with a zero in as tradmarkes
e.g.. 205,306, 406 etc
Porsche probably own 911 and some others
I'm still waiting for a remote which also acts as a mobile or semi-mobile phone for the ultimate in couch potato toys.
:-)
If it can read email and web pages too it'd make Star Trek tricorders look old fashioned
DVD has been broken because it became a high profile target - a large number of people wanted to break the DVD security system [including people running Linux who want an Open Source player].
A few weeks ago I watched a program on car security, and the statement on that which caught my attention was that no car was invulnerable, but better security took longer to defeat.
A lot of crypto algorithms that were previously though to be invulnerable are falling due to either the advance of technology or new methods of breaking such algorithms.
I believe even if a new encryption method is introduced, the scrutiny will be so intense that it will be cracked within a couple of years.
It used to be possible to use 3 computers to give left right & forward views in DOOM - I suppose with this panel you can have them all on one display
3840x1024 is a strange aspect ratio, perhaps only good for ultra widescreen movies ?
If you could modify Quake/ other first person shooter games to drive it, so the width provides a wider angle of view then it would be an ideal present for the Quake player who has everything.....
Actually I can understand why the essay got a maximal mark - when asked to write a horror story, the kid wrote a horror story that shocked his target audience. I'd say he scored a bullseye!
Isn't that the dream of all writers - to reach out and stir emotions in your readers ?
If I were an English teacher, I would give it less than 100% because of its bad spelling, grammar and punctuation; however it can be argued that the imagination involved in the story overrides all the previously mentioned points.
I'm surprised the Beamons don't have some grounds for claiming compensation/damages. He wrote an essay to the theme set by the teacher, which had to include real people since the subject was about the write being home alone and hearing noises.
Any story can hardly be a threat [without corroborating evidence] - all authorities, from the school teacher to the judge appear to have totally overreacted.
In other posts, people claim the kid needs counselling - why? He just needs a good spellchecker!
Think that's being a bit unfair on good ol'Bill.
I didn't know if this was being ironic as AFAIK Microsoft already has investments in NTL (a Cable company in the UK).
Microsoft and Bill have their fingers in a lot of interests apart from software. Don't they also have a big stake in NBC in the US. They have to do something with all that money they've earned!
[not normally a Microsoft supporter]
Actually, I like both long term strategy games [like Stars!, Civilisation etc] and action games. I still even occasionally play text based adventure games.
I've no complaints about ID - Doom and Quake have long been available for Unix/Linux, and they have long been in this market - I just wish other games producers were equally supportive. By the time most games get round to being ported for Linux a lot of the "ooh!" factor has gone.
As I said in my earlier post, I am becoming more hopeful and I genuinely get the feeling the Linux snowball is getting bigger and more unstoppable with every day. I just long for games developers to take more note of the fact.
Yep, have to agree with this.
Kernigan and Ritchies extortionately priced [in the UK anyway] paperback has been a staple of my programming life throughout its various editions.
Other good moments for Unix:
Release of PERL
Release dates of Doom and Quake for Unix