I don't know who ever built the first car, but I'm glad as all hell you weren't around at the time, or we'd still be using this slow, not weather-proof and noisy piece of crap. It probably had real leather seats, though.
My feeling is the opposite: if you don't have to spend ages looking for prior art, and millions in preventive lawyers fee, you're freer to focus on actually coming up with and developing your ideas.
Of course, some will also be freer to spend their time looking for others' ideas to steal too... There's a balance to find, and I think right now, we've over-balanced.
The horrible thing is that, like IM and file formats, there's a strong network effect. There's a strong incentive for everyone to use the same site, pretty much regardless of specs, functionnality, reliability...
Hopefully someone will come up with some kind of Social Web standard and filters, that will let us import/export content and contacts between sites, maybe set up front-ends on several sites but point them back to our own site...
Indeed, installing XP is a pain, especially the tens of reboots. It goes better if you have drivers, either on manufacturer's CD or pre-downloaded or on a different HD partition. I always keep an "install" dir with loads of drivers/utils on my data partition. Tip: you don't HAVE to reboot after each and every driver + app install, you usually can just reboot once after having installed everything.
I've been more successful at it than at installing Linux, though.
I've given up yet again on my yearly "I'll try Linux" optimistic project. I did manage to get it running, screwed it up once I don't know how (no longer saw any kind of log-in screen, just a weird one with a bw lake background), reinstalled, worked around VLC showing a slideshow instead of movies, set up shares... but then couldn't get nx RDP nor rsynch NTFS to NTFS or ext to work right. There must be doc on how to do that on my version (ubuntu 9.04) somewhere... but where ?
Virtualization exists because OS companies have a hard time making resilient OSes. In an ideal world, it wouldn't be needed, and OSes would be reliable, load-balancing... natively.
To me, they do. When they point to data tampering, weeding out data that does not confirm to one's desires, caballas against dissenters, politicking...
These emails prove those guys are out to make a buck and a name for themselves, at the expense of anything else.
Because MS has been PROVEN and JUDGED GUILTY of using its OS monopoly to force other products (ie...IE) down OEMs' and users' throats.
Once upon a time, IE was even designed to be deeply intertwined with Windows and be un-removable. Don't know if that's still the case.
Since one browser is already too complicated for most people, OEMs don't want to pre-install, let alone make default, another one. And get on MS's bad side. They figure the 5% of people knowledgeable enough to want that can do it by themselves.
In the mobile phone market, where MS does not have a monopoly, and the actors are quite different, IE is fairly marginal, and other browsers do get a fair chance with users and OEMs.
Linux does not have 80+% marketshare, more like 1%: nobody cares about what they do. And they are not a convicted monopolist, so they can do whatever they want.
Starting heavy-handed supervision with the browser makes sense, since MS's prevalence was having a very clear negative impact in terms of security, standards compliance... and even features were not up to par.
I'm not against widening it after wards. Windows standard editor, media payer, image editing... are sorry pieces of crap. But, at least, they are not trying to (subvert) embrace and extend the Web.
I love Opera, which is my main browser and has been for a looong itme - mouse gestures, speed... FTW), but "people are too stupid for this browser? and its browsers fault?": YES.
If a piece of software targetting... everyone... is too hard / risky to use by the average user (or, rather, the general populace) then YES, it's its fault.
I personally don't think Opera's file sharing is very risky (Opera is NOT MS, they know their security), and it's a very handy feature. But, generally speaking, I disagree with your statement.
I'm OK with computers in general and Windows in particular. I'd deeply like to be able to competently install and run Linux, and recommend to friends & family, but so far I'm running into several issues:
1- Much documentation is required. Setup is less straightforward than Windows. Both because I know less, and because there are quite a few weird issues: VLC working badly until you configure video driver such and such, Wifi card support a bit iffy, some packages installing badly and screwing the whole system...
2- Documentation is hard to locate. Sometimes it's an official HOW-TO on Ubuntu's website, sometimes it's on the developper's site, sometimes it's a post in either forum, sometimes somechere else...
3- Documentation is not very up-to-date. Ubuntu releases every 6 months. Forum posts are usually not updated, Ubuntu, Dev's docs, and how-tos seem mostly 2 years old. You HAVE to do a Google search for docs since no single site is enough, and then there's much clicking and weeding out to do before finding, maybe, an answer for your question for your Linux version. Or you can try some older solution, which usually won't work, but might.
4- There's precious little documentation for the Linux newb. Or rather, there is for the absolute newb, but not for the Windows wiseman switching over to Linux. I'd like to quickly do in Linux what I'm doing in Windows, even though I barely understand Linux. Most somewhat-advanced packages' docs (the Remote Desktop Protocol thingy, rsync NTFS to ext3...) assume a good level of Linux knowledge. There's no "here's how you do that in linux" for the 10 most common tasks an advanced Windows user does (remote control, backups, moving data directories, setup mobile apps on usb dongles...).
5- The forums are not that great. I got a useful answer 50% of the time. Sometimes I got flamed because the question had already been answered (which I mostly missed because of not using the right search terms), or the post was "old" and I wasn't sure it still applied, or I didn't understand / couldn't implement the answer... In the end, I got ashamed and discouraged, and no longer dared ask my stupid questions.
In the end, it took me about an afternoon to get VLC working. I never managed to get the RDP server working, nor the rsynch backup from my main PC. My 'experimental' Ubuntu PC is right now booting mainly in Windows, and I'm not calling the experiment a success. Although it did install faultlessly, in the end I'm not confident enough to make it my main machine, nor to recommend it to friends and family knowing I'll end up having to do support for them. And it's mostly a Documentation problem, I'm sure Linux I could do everything I want.
I find it does not really matter the amount of money at play, more the %age increase. And it's certainly harder to add another billion to a billion than $100k on top of a first 100k.
If no technology was ever abandoned after several problems or fiascos, we'd still be flying around in exploding zepelins, using asbestos everywhere, programming in assembly....
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I don't know who ever built the first car, but I'm glad as all hell you weren't around at the time, or we'd still be using this slow, not weather-proof and noisy piece of crap. It probably had real leather seats, though.
I'm glad others copied his idea, and built on it.
PS: Take THAT PizzaAnalogyGuy. Cars >> Pizza !
My feeling is the opposite: if you don't have to spend ages looking for prior art, and millions in preventive lawyers fee, you're freer to focus on actually coming up with and developing your ideas.
Of course, some will also be freer to spend their time looking for others' ideas to steal too... There's a balance to find, and I think right now, we've over-balanced.
I think I'll never pronounce it, either ...
I'd actually like to have the option to have even simpler graphics, and higher frame rates / more responsive gameplay.
The horrible thing is that, like IM and file formats, there's a strong network effect. There's a strong incentive for everyone to use the same site, pretty much regardless of specs, functionnality, reliability...
Hopefully someone will come up with some kind of Social Web standard and filters, that will let us import/export content and contacts between sites, maybe set up front-ends on several sites but point them back to our own site...
My phone has 2 buttons on the left and right at the bottom of the screen, and contextual menus on the screen right above them.
Indeed, installing XP is a pain, especially the tens of reboots. It goes better if you have drivers, either on manufacturer's CD or pre-downloaded or on a different HD partition. I always keep an "install" dir with loads of drivers/utils on my data partition. Tip: you don't HAVE to reboot after each and every driver + app install, you usually can just reboot once after having installed everything.
I've been more successful at it than at installing Linux, though.
I've given up yet again on my yearly "I'll try Linux" optimistic project. I did manage to get it running, screwed it up once I don't know how (no longer saw any kind of log-in screen, just a weird one with a bw lake background), reinstalled, worked around VLC showing a slideshow instead of movies, set up shares... but then couldn't get nx RDP nor rsynch NTFS to NTFS or ext to work right. There must be doc on how to do that on my version (ubuntu 9.04) somewhere... but where ?
both actually, it's my understanding that the latest VMs do both, but I may be wrong ?
Virtualization exists because OS companies have a hard time making resilient OSes. In an ideal world, it wouldn't be needed, and OSes would be reliable, load-balancing... natively.
There was the Sidekick, but it's future is now ... clouded ...
the conversation ?
You can't be found guilty in a civil suit ? what can you be found then ?
lol ?
To me, they do. When they point to data tampering, weeding out data that does not confirm to one's desires, caballas against dissenters, politicking...
These emails prove those guys are out to make a buck and a name for themselves, at the expense of anything else.
They are supposed to take advantage of the data abundance to validate their guessing method. Whiwh obviously they carefully avoided doing.
Because MS has been PROVEN and JUDGED GUILTY of using its OS monopoly to force other products (ie...IE) down OEMs' and users' throats.
Once upon a time, IE was even designed to be deeply intertwined with Windows and be un-removable. Don't know if that's still the case.
Since one browser is already too complicated for most people, OEMs don't want to pre-install, let alone make default, another one. And get on MS's bad side. They figure the 5% of people knowledgeable enough to want that can do it by themselves.
In the mobile phone market, where MS does not have a monopoly, and the actors are quite different, IE is fairly marginal, and other browsers do get a fair chance with users and OEMs.
Linux does not have 80+% marketshare, more like 1%: nobody cares about what they do. And they are not a convicted monopolist, so they can do whatever they want.
Starting heavy-handed supervision with the browser makes sense, since MS's prevalence was having a very clear negative impact in terms of security, standards compliance... and even features were not up to par.
I'm not against widening it after wards. Windows standard editor, media payer, image editing... are sorry pieces of crap. But, at least, they are not trying to (subvert) embrace and extend the Web.
Yep. It's so easy to go talk to Dell about junking MS.
More winning ideas ?
it's not quite the same
in the mobile market, they had a chance to present their product, and argue their case with OEMs. Obviously, OEMs liked what they saw.
on the desktop, they got no such chance, and most people are too lazy / stupid to check them out.
In both cases, users are still free to change browsers. Except on the iPhone ^^
I love Opera, which is my main browser and has been for a looong itme - mouse gestures, speed... FTW), but "people are too stupid for this browser? and its browsers fault?": YES.
If a piece of software targetting ... everyone... is too hard / risky to use by the average user (or, rather, the general populace) then YES, it's its fault.
I personally don't think Opera's file sharing is very risky (Opera is NOT MS, they know their security), and it's a very handy feature. But, generally speaking, I disagree with your statement.
I'm OK with computers in general and Windows in particular. I'd deeply like to be able to competently install and run Linux, and recommend to friends & family, but so far I'm running into several issues:
1- Much documentation is required. Setup is less straightforward than Windows. Both because I know less, and because there are quite a few weird issues: VLC working badly until you configure video driver such and such, Wifi card support a bit iffy, some packages installing badly and screwing the whole system...
2- Documentation is hard to locate. Sometimes it's an official HOW-TO on Ubuntu's website, sometimes it's on the developper's site, sometimes it's a post in either forum, sometimes somechere else...
3- Documentation is not very up-to-date. Ubuntu releases every 6 months. Forum posts are usually not updated, Ubuntu, Dev's docs, and how-tos seem mostly 2 years old. You HAVE to do a Google search for docs since no single site is enough, and then there's much clicking and weeding out to do before finding, maybe, an answer for your question for your Linux version. Or you can try some older solution, which usually won't work, but might.
4- There's precious little documentation for the Linux newb. Or rather, there is for the absolute newb, but not for the Windows wiseman switching over to Linux. I'd like to quickly do in Linux what I'm doing in Windows, even though I barely understand Linux. Most somewhat-advanced packages' docs (the Remote Desktop Protocol thingy, rsync NTFS to ext3...) assume a good level of Linux knowledge. There's no "here's how you do that in linux" for the 10 most common tasks an advanced Windows user does (remote control, backups, moving data directories, setup mobile apps on usb dongles...).
5- The forums are not that great. I got a useful answer 50% of the time. Sometimes I got flamed because the question had already been answered (which I mostly missed because of not using the right search terms), or the post was "old" and I wasn't sure it still applied, or I didn't understand / couldn't implement the answer... In the end, I got ashamed and discouraged, and no longer dared ask my stupid questions.
In the end, it took me about an afternoon to get VLC working. I never managed to get the RDP server working, nor the rsynch backup from my main PC. My 'experimental' Ubuntu PC is right now booting mainly in Windows, and I'm not calling the experiment a success. Although it did install faultlessly, in the end I'm not confident enough to make it my main machine, nor to recommend it to friends and family knowing I'll end up having to do support for them. And it's mostly a Documentation problem, I'm sure Linux I could do everything I want.
Nope, they are improved if enough people are interested/scared enough.
Generations of snake oil peddlers, hysterical preachers... are proof that this works.
I find it does not really matter the amount of money at play, more the %age increase. And it's certainly harder to add another billion to a billion than $100k on top of a first 100k.
As opposed to climatologists, whose suddenly improved livelihood does depend on a big climate scare.
If no technology was ever abandoned after several problems or fiascos, we'd still be flying around in exploding zepelins, using asbestos everywhere, programming in assembly....