XDarwin runs rootless after you compile it, configure it, and clutter up your harddrive with the jumble of things fink dumps in the arbitrary/sw foldere. My suggestion would be to include XDarwin-rootless with a basic WM that at least didn't clash with the appearance of Aqua as a default part of the interface that people are able to play with when they want to. Orobourous sounds like a good option. Make it a pre-compiled application available with the OS, optimized slightly by Apple, to take advantage of all the X11 software base. Apple could very easily do something like this with a clear disclaimer ''This advanced use of your Macintosh cannot be officially supported by Apple due to logistical reasons, please contact your application creator for assistance.''.
The last time I messed with Fink, I was astounded at how completely badly it seemed to screw up my system. Permissions got hosed, I lost track of what came with my OS and what was lumped in by Fink and wound up reformatting (something I'd been considering anyhow, which is why I didn't just do a fix permissions reboot) Fink Commander is a nice tool, but it's got a pretty major flaw - it asks you to reply to a console message that it -hides- before prompting you. Rather large problem.
Apple may not be completely ready to open the API's, and that's entirely reasonable of them to do. The unfortunate problem is that they are deliberately breaking other people's applications instead of just saying ''Look, we can't support this yet but give us some time.''
Well, as was mentioned in another thread, it was demonstrated that Apple isn't actually a Microsoft competitor in the broadest sense. Microsoft offers an OS, Apple an entire platform on different hardware guts. Some people see Apple as a monopoly on Apple equipment, which is oddly logical.
And the way Apple's survival depends on the GUI isn't just with the API's. They could open several of the API's without any real fallout, if they put the effort into making them as secure as they could. But the real selling point to an Apple machine is that they Just Work, and work the same. When you get into system customization on the level of Windows, let alone something like *nix, you start seeing problems with interoperability among the same platform. A context-click doesn't work the same because of X mod (WinZip), or a new menu is available from the menu bar (nVidia tray icons) because of Y mod, or the file saving dialog (GetRight) is different because of Z mod. Once you begin doing things like those, it makes support more of a hassle for the guy on the other end of the help line, and it runs the risk of breaking other areas of the OS itself.
Apple's entire reputation is "It Just Works" these days, and any application that breaks that reputation is bad for Apple. My compromise solution would be a small section of the menu bar reserved for extensions. Allow people some of that flexibility, but keep it constrained within a specific area of the interface so it doesn't interfere with Apple-designed tools.
There's actually a pretty big difference between keeping it closed as in "No source code to Aqua at all." and keeping it restricted as in "No adding functionality through the use of API's."
People here have traditionally bitched about the source being closed, the API issue was only really mentioned here yesterday.
One day Apple is lauded for bringing unix to the masses.
The next they're hated for keeping Aqua closed.
A week later, they're lauded once again for making development tools free.
Then they're hated for pushing specific look and feel.
They're loved again for ignoring DRM pressure.
But only a day before, they're scoffed at for keeping people out of the GUI cusstomization business.
And to top it all off, they're even disliked for having a monopoly in their own segment.
Either Apple doesn't know what one hand is doing while the other isn't looking, or we're a bunch of really fickle damn people. With me, it's come down to a comparison between Apple, Microsoft and Linux on the areas of usability, who has whose best interests in mind, and price.
Apple is by far the most usable. Bar none. Linux may have more uses, and Microsoft owns the market. But neither Linux or Microsoft actually seem to develop intuitive interfaces and software that Just Works.
Apple is only slightly more expensive than a comparable PC. Your typical linux box is kludged together from parts and duct tape, or built significantly cheaper from new parts. Linux wins this hands down, but is it enough?
But the real key is the question of who has whose best interests in mind. There's no debating the fact that Bill Gates wants your first born. MS EULAs are so easy to find fault with that it's become a hobby here. Microsoft wants to control your computer and accepts no responsibility when things break. Linux is all about freedom, your software, your gear, your control. Great in theory, but things just -break- on Linux as soon as you start installing post-distribution software unless IT is your life. Great for professional IT guys, but Linux seems to continue failing to make mom and dad comfortable.
Steve Jobs on the other hand, is a very odd type. He wants things his way, but he's utterly convinced it's' because it's better for everyone else. And oddly enough, he's usually not too far off. Apple makes their entire reputation based on making the system something anyone can get into and take the reins of. With XServe, they're on track to some badly needed credibility in the IT segment. They might be a scary monopolistic bunch in some pretty noticable ways, but despite it, they've got the best system for anyone.
I wish I were of enough stature to suggest a truce. I'd suggest this. Apple should open up the interface for a bit more customization, expose the API's and maybe work in some kind of X11/Aqua hybrid feature so X11 applications can run on Aqua without extensive modification to the Aqua look and feel. In exchange for this, Open Source advocates can shut up about how Apple isn't entirely Open Source, and accept the fact that Apple's survival counts on them having the exclusive control of their own interface.
I grew up with condemned shows like the A-Team, and Airwolf. Shows that people said were too violent for kids. Were kids in the 80's as violent as ones now? Hell no, and it's because the kids growing up just after I did had crap like Captain Planet and other spoon-fed pablum created to make everyone love and respect eachother.
I've got -nothing- wrong with love and respect, great things to have. But those aren't taught by TV, they're taught be experience. When I watched action-oriented TV, I got the adrenaline rush -and- the easy comedown before the credits rolled. Great way to get rid of tension.
Hell, consider those old shows the violence version of masturbation. Probably fits.
Well, with 10.1.5 I would have probably agreed with you. I bought the iBook based on my desire to try OS X, and really had started to feel a significant amount of buyer's remorse. The video card in my model doesn't support Quartz Extreme, it only has 64M of RAM base (upgraded to 192 with a luckily compatible cheap stick of 128M) and it's the G3 500 Mhz model with none of the extras.
Prior to acquiring Jaguar, I was seriously considering selling the iBook. It just wasn't -fun- or even pleasant to use under a lot of circumstances. It was sluggish, and I knew it was a model at the end of a generation of hardware. Now that I have Jaguar installed, it has a whole new lease on life. The video responsiveness is much improved, in just about all circumstances. It's still no GeForce, but for an ATI Rage, it's clunking along decently.
However, Apple is perfectly within their rights not to open thier window manager. It sucks for you, but it keeps them in business. Aqua -is- Apple, in many ways.
For a while we tried the name "LiGNUx", which combines the words "GNU" and "Linux". The reaction was very bad. People accept "GNU/Linux" much better. The shortest legitimate name for this system is "GNU", but we call it "GNU/Linux" for the reasons given below.
Since Linux is a secondary contribution, would it be false to the facts to call the system simply "GNU"?
First you trash on people for calling it Linux because it cuts out the GNU contribution and then you call it secondary? Holy craptacular hypocrisy, Stallman!
But seriously, I think remarks like that just do harm to the GNU Project's image. Really. And according to the majority of people here, people agree with me. Let alone the fact the Linux was the lynchpin that brought the GNU project's efforts out into the world as a universally useful set of tools. Nevermind that the HURD is only a few steps above Duke Nukem Forever in the legendary vaporware category (I know it exists, unlike DNF, but it's still no closer to being useful on my desk), and that you felt you had to create a monster FAQ to pressure people into doing something so counter to the nature of the community.
I'll call it GNU/Linux in formal situations, sure. It's a compromise. But damn if this bit quoted above wasn't just over the top.
Aw, dammit, Bruce. Here we are all caught up in RMS's apparent megalomaniacism, and you whip out an actually halfway decent reason for calling it GNU/Linux.
I really never thought much about it, because I do think RMS's insistence can be rather... silly. Really silly. Had he made the GNU/Linux arrangement with Linus years ago, it wouldn't be a big deal, but now... Eh. My concern is that RMS won't think clearly until GNU/Linux becomes the accepted term. Perhaps it should be for marketers and software vendors, but continually appearing to harass people for referring to it as simply "Linux" in casual conversation just hurts his image, as well as the GNU Project.
I'll compromise. In "formal" conversation, I'll call it GNU/Linux, but casually, it's just plain old Linux.
Re:I personally only care about sub $100 market
on
New MP3 Portables
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· Score: 2
I'm poor.
I'm cheap.
But I'm also a geek that likes toys, so I agree with the statement that the Sub-100 market is a good point to focus on. However, stepping up $50, I was able to get probably the best deal on a gadget that I've seen in years. I picked up an iPaq 3135 for $150. Decent mp3/wma player, and works nicely with CF media. I wish there were more deals like that around.
So how would you go about it as a pirate? A lot of posts are just bitching about the FCC and saying "Get a lawyer." C'mon guys, be a little more counterculture than that. What's the -technical- way you'd do it?
"L33t" speak in all forms is lame, obnoxious, and childish unless used for sarcastic mocking of those who use it. I don't discuss things in depth with anyone who uses it as a primary pattern of writing, and usually consider those that use it to be unintelligent and foolish.
The Internet is the greatest form of human communication ever developed, to cheapen it by using poor language out of a willful choice is just sad.
If anyone talks like that to me offline, I will call them a fucking idiot. To their face.
I would build my $200,000,000 fortress of evil, nestled in the rockies. It would have a fake nuclear missile silo full of Apple Xserves running as a cluster to freely host worthy websites (and maybe some porn) over a dual T3 connection. I would carve a sheer rock wall out of the mountainside to project movies and television onto for my viewing pleasure, and that of any neighbor within fifty miles. I would encourage people to create a commune near my home where people would be encouraged to program OS X software by being provided with decent housing, three meals a day, and accesss to a Dual-G4 1.25Ghz tower. My sub... er, the programmers would be provided plenty of caffeinated beverages and weekend-long LAN parties for those who submit something credible to the CVS repository on site.
My evil would be wholly subjective, as I would dedicate $100 million to pushing back the Microsoft monopoly by donations to not just one or two, but a few dozen Open Source projects in key areas that Microsoft has yet to defeat. I'd drop ten million or so to the EFF, keeping plenty in reserve for ongoing expenses and the defense of my enclave against the BATF even though there wouldn't be many guns on site. (Unless ESR dropped by, then I'd be in trouble)
I would be a kind ruler, yet my iron fist would be felt across the globe. I wouldn't fight hunger, or disease, or educational flaws - other people with more of a conscience do that. My fleet of monochromatic black Suburbans would be well-known as they drove through cities and towns handing out black CD's loaded with the latest distribution of the Linux distribution dubbed "Overlord Linux" that I would have created in order to serve the desktop user with my "Obsidian" user interface (heavy on the black) and...
Okay, okay, okay, I'll take my damn ritalin. Shaddap already!
When you're looking at Apple purchases, try and keep the MacWorld schedules in mind. Usually MacWorld NY offers the 'big' updates and price shifts, but the other MacWorld events do too. It's a good idea to buy right after one, because prices aren't likely to change for a while.
Let me relay my first twenty minutes with UT2003. It was rather dissappointing.
Try and find a server - get one with a password, this isn't displayed in the server browser so I had to connect to find out.
After two attempts to get a server, hop on. Ping is roughly 100-150ms and people are warping (slightly) all over the place, myself included.
Suddenly find myself unable to fire any weapons, notice that everyone else has ceased to exist. Stumble upon the effect of a laser shot in midair. Walk around it a few times, disconnect.
Connect to another server for some CTF. Walk around, run out to get into combat... and fall through the ground. Through. The. Ground. Not off a cliff... Through.
That was last night. Now, this morning I hop on a server and spend an hour playing without any problems other than the relatively frequent three-foot-warp effect, and just not having a very good sense of... well, walking. It just -feels- wrong in some way. Even though I just "0wned" a server, 70+ points ahead of my next competition, I don't think I'll be getting this game unless a demo comes out that fixes these bugs. I might suck at BF1942, but at least it feels like a more honest experience.
Quite nice. I got a really good deal on mine, though. There's a local mini-chain of discount/salvage stores that occasionally gets a total mix of stuff in. Once, they had a bunch of Apple laptops, so I picked up my iBook. $789.
A few weeks later, I went back and spotted a printer. I thought to myself, there was no way in hell I could afford it, the price couldn't be very good, so ignored it. A few days later I went back and actually looked. $52.
It was a LaserJet 1200. After a really brief scan at home to make sure they weren't lemons, I ran back and bought the sucker. 30 day no questions asked warranty at the store, and full manufacturer warranty to boot. Still brings a grin to my face walking into Staples and seeing a printer barely different from mine (1220) going for $399.
Even if I barely use it, it might be nice for eBay someday.:)
First, I'd like to thank everyone for replying. This seemed to get a lot of answers for an article that my submission history says was rejected. I had no idea that it was being posted until a friend pointed it out today, long after anyone saw it. So, I figure my post now is pretty pointless but it'll at least make me feel better.
A couple of the caveats to this entire process that I didn't get to put in the intro are rather limiting. The first one is the fact I have absolutely no money, and neither do my family (an aunt and uncle in this case). They -will- be buying a new computer in a few months, but any investment over fifty bucks is probably out of the question. This is largely a temporary situation, unless I somehow get something on there that gives them no hassle at all. The next one is that they're totally and utterly religious. If they even get a hint that anything isn't legal software-wise, they'll tell me I'll burn in hell, because God knows I did something wrong.
Since I'm broke, and they're broke, I'm stuck with what I have. I'll try and address some of the ideas I saw posted to the thread, just to make things clear. Just in case.
1: I got the machine used, for free. No software, no nothing. So I'm limited to Win98:SE and anything I can download.
2: FreeDOS would be great. But I can't get WordPerfect. Bleah.
3: I have no problems with giving them a locked-down Linux. I'd probably set it up to be so limited they couldn't get any more than a solitaire game and a word processor. They're using it to replace an old, broken word processor, and not really expecting to get a computer out of it. Eventually they will get a new system, probably an eMachines.
4: The printer will very likely be replaced if I can find an OS that'll support the new one. QNX is so far the frontrunner, but if I can find BeOS that'd overtake.
Again, I just want to thank folks for replying. Sorry I didn't notice before.
You put out a lot of good reasons the Open Source community would want this, or could use it. But you're putting in no reason for Apple to want to do it.
Apple would die the quarter that OSX became an x86 commodity. On x86 hardware, they'd be dealing with all the vendors that make things for Microsoft as competition, and dealing with unhappy traditional Mac developers that just made the switch to OS X on PPC. They'd alienate the entire Apple infrastructure just to gain a few points on hardware speed that they wouldn't even be able to sell anymore. People won't pay Apple's -slightly- higher hardware prices when they can get the exact same thing (technically) for less.
Apple makes money by selling hardware, that's where the support base they have is, and that's where the company excels. The entire user experience as a whole is what drives Apple sales.
If we do see OS X on x86, we'll see it on the same Apple hardware we see today, just with a different chip in the mix. It'll all be Apple branded, no clones, no over the counter OS sales for plain-jane x86 machines.
This is the ONLY way that an x86 port of OS X makes sense to Apple.
Personally, I'm betting that it'll be the new.09 (Or is it.06?) micron fab IBM just built that'll produce the next generation of Apple chip.
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XDarwin runs rootless after you compile it, configure it, and clutter up your harddrive with the jumble of things fink dumps in the arbitrary /sw foldere. My suggestion would be to include XDarwin-rootless with a basic WM that at least didn't clash with the appearance of Aqua as a default part of the interface that people are able to play with when they want to. Orobourous sounds like a good option. Make it a pre-compiled application available with the OS, optimized slightly by Apple, to take advantage of all the X11 software base. Apple could very easily do something like this with a clear disclaimer ''This advanced use of your Macintosh cannot be officially supported by Apple due to logistical reasons, please contact your application creator for assistance.''.
The last time I messed with Fink, I was astounded at how completely badly it seemed to screw up my system. Permissions got hosed, I lost track of what came with my OS and what was lumped in by Fink and wound up reformatting (something I'd been considering anyhow, which is why I didn't just do a fix permissions reboot) Fink Commander is a nice tool, but it's got a pretty major flaw - it asks you to reply to a console message that it -hides- before prompting you. Rather large problem.
Apple may not be completely ready to open the API's, and that's entirely reasonable of them to do. The unfortunate problem is that they are deliberately breaking other people's applications instead of just saying ''Look, we can't support this yet but give us some time.''
Well, as was mentioned in another thread, it was demonstrated that Apple isn't actually a Microsoft competitor in the broadest sense. Microsoft offers an OS, Apple an entire platform on different hardware guts. Some people see Apple as a monopoly on Apple equipment, which is oddly logical.
And the way Apple's survival depends on the GUI isn't just with the API's. They could open several of the API's without any real fallout, if they put the effort into making them as secure as they could. But the real selling point to an Apple machine is that they Just Work, and work the same. When you get into system customization on the level of Windows, let alone something like *nix, you start seeing problems with interoperability among the same platform. A context-click doesn't work the same because of X mod (WinZip), or a new menu is available from the menu bar (nVidia tray icons) because of Y mod, or the file saving dialog (GetRight) is different because of Z mod. Once you begin doing things like those, it makes support more of a hassle for the guy on the other end of the help line, and it runs the risk of breaking other areas of the OS itself.
Apple's entire reputation is "It Just Works" these days, and any application that breaks that reputation is bad for Apple. My compromise solution would be a small section of the menu bar reserved for extensions. Allow people some of that flexibility, but keep it constrained within a specific area of the interface so it doesn't interfere with Apple-designed tools.
There's actually a pretty big difference between keeping it closed as in "No source code to Aqua at all." and keeping it restricted as in "No adding functionality through the use of API's."
People here have traditionally bitched about the source being closed, the API issue was only really mentioned here yesterday.
One day Apple is lauded for bringing unix to the masses.
The next they're hated for keeping Aqua closed.
A week later, they're lauded once again for making development tools free.
Then they're hated for pushing specific look and feel.
They're loved again for ignoring DRM pressure.
But only a day before, they're scoffed at for keeping people out of the GUI cusstomization business.
And to top it all off, they're even disliked for having a monopoly in their own segment.
Either Apple doesn't know what one hand is doing while the other isn't looking, or we're a bunch of really fickle damn people. With me, it's come down to a comparison between Apple, Microsoft and Linux on the areas of usability, who has whose best interests in mind, and price.
Apple is by far the most usable. Bar none. Linux may have more uses, and Microsoft owns the market. But neither Linux or Microsoft actually seem to develop intuitive interfaces and software that Just Works.
Apple is only slightly more expensive than a comparable PC. Your typical linux box is kludged together from parts and duct tape, or built significantly cheaper from new parts. Linux wins this hands down, but is it enough?
But the real key is the question of who has whose best interests in mind. There's no debating the fact that Bill Gates wants your first born. MS EULAs are so easy to find fault with that it's become a hobby here. Microsoft wants to control your computer and accepts no responsibility when things break. Linux is all about freedom, your software, your gear, your control. Great in theory, but things just -break- on Linux as soon as you start installing post-distribution software unless IT is your life. Great for professional IT guys, but Linux seems to continue failing to make mom and dad comfortable.
Steve Jobs on the other hand, is a very odd type. He wants things his way, but he's utterly convinced it's' because it's better for everyone else. And oddly enough, he's usually not too far off. Apple makes their entire reputation based on making the system something anyone can get into and take the reins of. With XServe, they're on track to some badly needed credibility in the IT segment. They might be a scary monopolistic bunch in some pretty noticable ways, but despite it, they've got the best system for anyone.
I wish I were of enough stature to suggest a truce. I'd suggest this. Apple should open up the interface for a bit more customization, expose the API's and maybe work in some kind of X11/Aqua hybrid feature so X11 applications can run on Aqua without extensive modification to the Aqua look and feel. In exchange for this, Open Source advocates can shut up about how Apple isn't entirely Open Source, and accept the fact that Apple's survival counts on them having the exclusive control of their own interface.
Sound fair?
Yeah. I've been trying to scrape up the cash for one, but it's been a little slow since I'm still looking for a job, whee. :)
Hey, I never said it wasn't crap. :) Fun crap, but crap. But stuff blew up, people got punched. A lot. And Face got shot once, really! ;)
I grew up with condemned shows like the A-Team, and Airwolf. Shows that people said were too violent for kids. Were kids in the 80's as violent as ones now? Hell no, and it's because the kids growing up just after I did had crap like Captain Planet and other spoon-fed pablum created to make everyone love and respect eachother.
I've got -nothing- wrong with love and respect, great things to have. But those aren't taught by TV, they're taught be experience. When I watched action-oriented TV, I got the adrenaline rush -and- the easy comedown before the credits rolled. Great way to get rid of tension.
Hell, consider those old shows the violence version of masturbation. Probably fits.
Well, with 10.1.5 I would have probably agreed with you. I bought the iBook based on my desire to try OS X, and really had started to feel a significant amount of buyer's remorse. The video card in my model doesn't support Quartz Extreme, it only has 64M of RAM base (upgraded to 192 with a luckily compatible cheap stick of 128M) and it's the G3 500 Mhz model with none of the extras.
Prior to acquiring Jaguar, I was seriously considering selling the iBook. It just wasn't -fun- or even pleasant to use under a lot of circumstances. It was sluggish, and I knew it was a model at the end of a generation of hardware. Now that I have Jaguar installed, it has a whole new lease on life. The video responsiveness is much improved, in just about all circumstances. It's still no GeForce, but for an ATI Rage, it's clunking along decently.
Where'd you learn your debate skills, Gene Ray?
Apple suing people for look and feel sucks, yes.
However, Apple is perfectly within their rights not to open thier window manager. It sucks for you, but it keeps them in business. Aqua -is- Apple, in many ways.
The shortest legitimate name for this system is "GNU", but we call it "GNU/Linux" for the reasons given below.
Since Linux is a secondary contribution, would it be false to the facts to call the system simply "GNU"?
First you trash on people for calling it Linux because it cuts out the GNU contribution and then you call it secondary? Holy craptacular hypocrisy, Stallman!
But seriously, I think remarks like that just do harm to the GNU Project's image. Really. And according to the majority of people here, people agree with me. Let alone the fact the Linux was the lynchpin that brought the GNU project's efforts out into the world as a universally useful set of tools. Nevermind that the HURD is only a few steps above Duke Nukem Forever in the legendary vaporware category (I know it exists, unlike DNF, but it's still no closer to being useful on my desk), and that you felt you had to create a monster FAQ to pressure people into doing something so counter to the nature of the community.
I'll call it GNU/Linux in formal situations, sure. It's a compromise. But damn if this bit quoted above wasn't just over the top.
I really never thought much about it, because I do think RMS's insistence can be rather... silly. Really silly. Had he made the GNU/Linux arrangement with Linus years ago, it wouldn't be a big deal, but now... Eh. My concern is that RMS won't think clearly until GNU/Linux becomes the accepted term. Perhaps it should be for marketers and software vendors, but continually appearing to harass people for referring to it as simply "Linux" in casual conversation just hurts his image, as well as the GNU Project.
I'll compromise. In "formal" conversation, I'll call it GNU/Linux, but casually, it's just plain old Linux.
I'm poor.
I'm cheap.
But I'm also a geek that likes toys, so I agree with the statement that the Sub-100 market is a good point to focus on. However, stepping up $50, I was able to get probably the best deal on a gadget that I've seen in years. I picked up an iPaq 3135 for $150. Decent mp3/wma player, and works nicely with CF media. I wish there were more deals like that around.
So how would you go about it as a pirate? A lot of posts are just bitching about the FCC and saying "Get a lawyer." C'mon guys, be a little more counterculture than that. What's the -technical- way you'd do it?
"L33t" speak in all forms is lame, obnoxious, and childish unless used for sarcastic mocking of those who use it. I don't discuss things in depth with anyone who uses it as a primary pattern of writing, and usually consider those that use it to be unintelligent and foolish.
The Internet is the greatest form of human communication ever developed, to cheapen it by using poor language out of a willful choice is just sad.
If anyone talks like that to me offline, I will call them a fucking idiot. To their face.
I would build my $200,000,000 fortress of evil, nestled in the rockies. It would have a fake nuclear missile silo full of Apple Xserves running as a cluster to freely host worthy websites (and maybe some porn) over a dual T3 connection. I would carve a sheer rock wall out of the mountainside to project movies and television onto for my viewing pleasure, and that of any neighbor within fifty miles. I would encourage people to create a commune near my home where people would be encouraged to program OS X software by being provided with decent housing, three meals a day, and accesss to a Dual-G4 1.25Ghz tower. My sub... er, the programmers would be provided plenty of caffeinated beverages and weekend-long LAN parties for those who submit something credible to the CVS repository on site.
My evil would be wholly subjective, as I would dedicate $100 million to pushing back the Microsoft monopoly by donations to not just one or two, but a few dozen Open Source projects in key areas that Microsoft has yet to defeat. I'd drop ten million or so to the EFF, keeping plenty in reserve for ongoing expenses and the defense of my enclave against the BATF even though there wouldn't be many guns on site. (Unless ESR dropped by, then I'd be in trouble)
I would be a kind ruler, yet my iron fist would be felt across the globe. I wouldn't fight hunger, or disease, or educational flaws - other people with more of a conscience do that. My fleet of monochromatic black Suburbans would be well-known as they drove through cities and towns handing out black CD's loaded with the latest distribution of the Linux distribution dubbed "Overlord Linux" that I would have created in order to serve the desktop user with my "Obsidian" user interface (heavy on the black) and...
Okay, okay, okay, I'll take my damn ritalin. Shaddap already!
When you realize that UT2003 is no big deal, feel free to send that unused machine my way. I'll take it off your hands. ;)
When you're looking at Apple purchases, try and keep the MacWorld schedules in mind. Usually MacWorld NY offers the 'big' updates and price shifts, but the other MacWorld events do too. It's a good idea to buy right after one, because prices aren't likely to change for a while.
Let me relay my first twenty minutes with UT2003. It was rather dissappointing.
Try and find a server - get one with a password, this isn't displayed in the server browser so I had to connect to find out.
After two attempts to get a server, hop on. Ping is roughly 100-150ms and people are warping (slightly) all over the place, myself included.
Suddenly find myself unable to fire any weapons, notice that everyone else has ceased to exist. Stumble upon the effect of a laser shot in midair. Walk around it a few times, disconnect.
Connect to another server for some CTF. Walk around, run out to get into combat... and fall through the ground. Through. The. Ground. Not off a cliff... Through.
That was last night. Now, this morning I hop on a server and spend an hour playing without any problems other than the relatively frequent three-foot-warp effect, and just not having a very good sense of... well, walking. It just -feels- wrong in some way. Even though I just "0wned" a server, 70+ points ahead of my next competition, I don't think I'll be getting this game unless a demo comes out that fixes these bugs. I might suck at BF1942, but at least it feels like a more honest experience.
Quite nice. I got a really good deal on mine, though. There's a local mini-chain of discount/salvage stores that occasionally gets a total mix of stuff in. Once, they had a bunch of Apple laptops, so I picked up my iBook. $789.
:)
A few weeks later, I went back and spotted a printer. I thought to myself, there was no way in hell I could afford it, the price couldn't be very good, so ignored it. A few days later I went back and actually looked. $52.
It was a LaserJet 1200. After a really brief scan at home to make sure they weren't lemons, I ran back and bought the sucker. 30 day no questions asked warranty at the store, and full manufacturer warranty to boot. Still brings a grin to my face walking into Staples and seeing a printer barely different from mine (1220) going for $399.
Even if I barely use it, it might be nice for eBay someday.
First, I'd like to thank everyone for replying. This seemed to get a lot of answers for an article that my submission history says was rejected. I had no idea that it was being posted until a friend pointed it out today, long after anyone saw it. So, I figure my post now is pretty pointless but it'll at least make me feel better.
A couple of the caveats to this entire process that I didn't get to put in the intro are rather limiting. The first one is the fact I have absolutely no money, and neither do my family (an aunt and uncle in this case). They -will- be buying a new computer in a few months, but any investment over fifty bucks is probably out of the question. This is largely a temporary situation, unless I somehow get something on there that gives them no hassle at all. The next one is that they're totally and utterly religious. If they even get a hint that anything isn't legal software-wise, they'll tell me I'll burn in hell, because God knows I did something wrong.
Since I'm broke, and they're broke, I'm stuck with what I have. I'll try and address some of the ideas I saw posted to the thread, just to make things clear. Just in case.
1: I got the machine used, for free. No software, no nothing. So I'm limited to Win98:SE and anything I can download.
2: FreeDOS would be great. But I can't get WordPerfect. Bleah.
3: I have no problems with giving them a locked-down Linux. I'd probably set it up to be so limited they couldn't get any more than a solitaire game and a word processor. They're using it to replace an old, broken word processor, and not really expecting to get a computer out of it. Eventually they will get a new system, probably an eMachines.
4: The printer will very likely be replaced if I can find an OS that'll support the new one. QNX is so far the frontrunner, but if I can find BeOS that'd overtake.
Again, I just want to thank folks for replying. Sorry I didn't notice before.
I always liked Tapster, the "peer to peer" website that let you download Spinal Tap songs!
o/~ We're back from the dead... o/~
I'm scared. I just laughed my ass off at a sentence with 'Bukkake' in it.
And how totally appropriate it is, too.
You put out a lot of good reasons the Open Source community would want this, or could use it. But you're putting in no reason for Apple to want to do it.
.09 (Or is it .06?) micron fab IBM just built that'll produce the next generation of Apple chip.
Apple would die the quarter that OSX became an x86 commodity. On x86 hardware, they'd be dealing with all the vendors that make things for Microsoft as competition, and dealing with unhappy traditional Mac developers that just made the switch to OS X on PPC. They'd alienate the entire Apple infrastructure just to gain a few points on hardware speed that they wouldn't even be able to sell anymore. People won't pay Apple's -slightly- higher hardware prices when they can get the exact same thing (technically) for less.
Apple makes money by selling hardware, that's where the support base they have is, and that's where the company excels. The entire user experience as a whole is what drives Apple sales.
If we do see OS X on x86, we'll see it on the same Apple hardware we see today, just with a different chip in the mix. It'll all be Apple branded, no clones, no over the counter OS sales for plain-jane x86 machines.
This is the ONLY way that an x86 port of OS X makes sense to Apple.
Personally, I'm betting that it'll be the new
Even if you're not on the same base station?
:)
Cool start.