I've lost hours of my life trying to get Tux to hit 210kph and fly really really high up in the air. I think I've wasted as much time on Tuxracer aimlessly as I have wasted on Alpha Centauri purposefully.:)
Does this look like an MSFT desktop? That's KDE 2.2.2 using the QNiX KWin client, using also the QNiX style for internal window parts, and the icons are from the Slick iconset. All of this can be found at www.kde-look.org. I can see your concern that it has a menu, and a taskbar, and windows, and icons and stuff, but I think even GNOME has that.;)
Btw, you can run KDE without kicker, and you would have a pretty non-"MSFT" desktop. Kicker isn't required, you can get a window list from a middle click. With Alt-F2 you can load any software you need (including KControl). It by *default* looks like what's commonly refered to as a Desktop Environment, but so does GNOME by default. Anyhow, KDE is great anyway.
The sales of the PS2 should probably thank Squaresoft for Final Fantasy X. There are video games I play, and those that I follow. Anything Final Fantasy is played by me, within 3 weeks of it's release. I will buy a console if it has Squaresoft making FF games for it.
There's also The Legend of Zelda. Most people probably don't follow this as much as I do, but I bought the N64 for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I'm thankful they released a second one for the system (even though the sounds the villagers make in the game are horrible) so it was more than worth my money. The only other game I own for it is Episode I Racer which came with the console.
Why are they selling so many? Final Fantasy owns you that's why.:)
Again, I would reiterate from a previous post the auto-fetching-dependancy tools are only as good as the packages available. I'm a KDE user, and after using KDE on Mandrake for the last two days (tried to escape RH) I've realized that I can't play mp3s with Noatun, can't play.mpgs either for that matter, because it was packaged or compiled badly. I think distros should talk to the people who write their software for hints on optimization, then we'd see some good stuff.
I seem to have noticed that they didn't include the Nintendo 8-bit console on the list, the Nintendo Entertainment System. You know, the one that had The Legend of Zelda, Bionic Commando, Final Fantasy, Contra, Super Mario Bros I, II and III? Ya, it was missing on the list when I looked at it, 1:36pm EST. One would kinda think they would at least mention the console that for so long was the thing to buy to play games. There had to have been at least 500 titles released for it. Feh to them I say!
Re:Bad screenshots for showing anti-aliasing
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KDE 3.0 Screenshots
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Actually, KDE2 does anti-aliasing. Or rather, Qt does anti-aliasing, and KDE piggy-backs. The big difference between KDE2 and KDE3 is Qt3. That and they're going to add a few apps to the mainstream KDE distribution (such as Quanta+). I have a fully anti-aliased KDE 2.2.1 desktop.
I'm pretty sure the first time I boot up GNOME all the widgets are gray. And one thing that you're confusing is window managers and desktop environments. You have to remember that all Afterstep does for you is provide a way to organize the applications you have running. KDE is much more than that. KDE has a panel that allows you to launch applications, but you are more than free not to use it. KDE is bundled with several advanced applications such as KDevelop, Konqueror, KMail, KWord, KOrganizer, Noatun and in KDE3 Quanta+ will be included. When you use Afterstep you get some menus and a dock. That's great if you're just going to IRC or GIMP about or maybe do a bit of coding. But if you "happen" to want to read HTML encoded email, or you want to browse the web with a fast browser whose libs are already in memory, or if you want to use applications that are capable of interprocess communication via dcop, or even if you just want to IRC and GIMP KDE provides it all to you.
It always bugs the hell out of me when people compare window managers to desktop environments. Then next thing you'll be doing is telling me that your boat is better than my car.
Ever notice that everyone you talk to is going into computer sciences? Everyone's going to community college to learn Java and C++, there are hordes of unruly individuals who want to become "webmasters", whatever that means now. In 1997 and 1998 going into computer sciences seemed liked a good idea because everyone figured it was such a hot career choice and the industry was still picking up. But now that investors have realized that the company they invested in really did have fifteen competitors just like theirs they've learned their lessons.
We're now left with dot-coms that are holding on for dear life trying to "maybe make that profit thing we were talking about" and software companies trying to convince anyone that their software is the "solution". It's like every software company in the world about four years ago said "we're going to make software to solve problems no one has yet, but they'll buy it" and no one was game.
So take a look at the situation. There are the big companies who were never really affected by the problem, because they've always had a following. These companies would be Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Cisco, International Business MAchines, Apple, etc. They didn't have to try to tackle a huge market, mostly they created it. So to get into the high tech industry means you're going to have to find a company that existed before the dot-com bang, start your own company either related to high tech if you can find a use for yourself, or not, or you can work in the public sector. It's sad to say but going to school and getting an education so you can get a job is old advice and isn't realistic anymore. People should be taught to start their own businesses which is why we all came to America in the first place. If you are fearful of not being able to get a decent job after college and you maybe want some options send me some mail and I can give you some insight. Seriously.
Ok, now I've thought about this rationally and here is a list of differences between Linux and MS Windows based products.
Linux: Doesn't actually compete with Microsoft, as it's not a company. Linux vendors compete with Microsoft. So wiping them out is fine, we'll still have Linux and MS can compete all it wants against people freely doing what they want to do. Microsoft: Competes with the Linux world shouting at the top of it's lungs that the pursuit of free software is not conducive of the American Way, it's not Republican enough because no one makes money. True enough, but MS doesn't say Linux is bad, it wouldn't dare.
Linux: Has no real advocates who are clear and defined. Has two readily available Desktop Environments, both of which are still in development which can give people a bad impression of Linux (which is still a kernel btw). No one is educating the commoners about Linux. Microsoft: Has more money than God. Could advocate Windows to the end of time without having to catch a breath. This is the major problem. The Linux market can't compete with the Microsoft-giant's ability to spread propoganda to the common people. People buy a computer with Windows installed on it because people don't know any different. "What's Linux?". Exactly.
Linux: Stable. Highly useful as server and desktop (it's true, seriously don't argue with me). KDE2.x series has produced one of the nicest computing experiences I've ever had. Anti-aliased fonts, KWord that does everything I need it to, Quanta+ so I can do PHP development, KDevelop so I can write my own custom KDE software should I want to, Konqueror so I can browse the web as I want to. Linux has what it takes it all departments except that it's basic interface (without X) is much too cryptic, and perhaps would be too hard for an end-user to setup out of the box. Windows: Has all that, and more. Any end user could plug in the machine, put the CD in the drive, and install the OS without any real trouble.
Linux (for a developer): Has everything you need to quickly write and manage a large project out of the box. The GNU GCC suite, plus automake, make, autoconf, etc. will allow anyone to quickly develop applications. Now his article said that Linux was lacking a visual debugger, which KDevelop and KDE Studio Gold provide. It's questionable if he's ever used beyond playing Majhong. And RedHat being GNOME advocates he's probably never really ventured into the KDE realm, so he wouldn't have experience with the KDE world. It's sad. Windows: Windows has Visual Studio. If you're going to start writing software yourself for your own project at home you have to get a second mortgage on your house to buy the full version due to it's cost, but it's a nice suite. MS gained a lot of ground by creating Visual Basic, allowing users to quickly develop applications for their platform without much worry about performance. There are projects however to create the same kind of language that will compile to machine code so someone can quickly write KDE applications as well.
All in all I would say that MS right now has the upperhand on the desktop, the underhand on the server. Will it stay that way because someone rights an article who's never used half of the good software for Linux? No. For those who have just gotten into Linux who have read this, I would say don't worry. Yes we have a lot of bad reputation because of people who can't be eloquent and respectful, yes we have a lot of bad reputation because of people trying to make their desktop prettier than it is useful, but Linux will prevail because it's free. If someone wanted to cell me a Mercedez for $100K, and you said I could just take your Toyota instead, and I wouldn't have to pay any money for it, I'd take your car.
Now, what I think the real problem is with the OSS model, is probably a lot of companies do want to use Linux but don't because they don't think it'll be around. You have a bunch of penguins sitting in one corner saying "Hey, come join us if you want", and in another corner you have a MS Drone with a Tetryon Pulse Disruptor pointed at your head saying "Join the collective or die." What do you choose as a company? Do you do the safe thing for the short run and join MS? Or do you do the smart thing, and the risky thing in the short run for your fiances, and become a Linux company, who will continue to support their old MS software? If the companies who are advocating Windows right now don't move soon, or at least don't begin to support the Linux world soon, they are in danger of being replaced by the up-and-comers who don't care about their finances.
I would suggest not using Netscape 6.1 just as a side note to what you were saying. To easily migrate Windows users to Linux, KDE is definately in order. It's probably the most Redmond Windows window manager you can get on a Unix/Linux desktop. So, to have your Windows users begin using Linux, I would give them Konqueror. It shocked me how nicely an open source group could write a web browser. It's HTML4.0/CSS1/CSS2(almost) compliant and makes a great file manager. If you haven't already, take a look at KDE for your conversion. It's my favourite OSS project.
The problem with Bell's HSE is that their network tends to be slow. A bill was passed about two years ago stating that local ISPs can use the phone networks in Canada to provide DSL to their customers. I have a DSL connection from Magma Communications and their service has never gone down, has never been interrupted even in the slightest without a mailing from the sales office, and even then it's in the wee hours of the morning.
Broadband internet in Ottawa is actually the norm. I think I can name two people I know who have a dialup account (and everyone I can think of who I know right now has online access) in the area. Rogers Cablesystems provides Rogers@Home service to the area (which will change in the next little while I would imagine) and provided Rogers Wave before that. With Bell's HSE and local ISPs like Magma, Trytel, and TravelNet all providing DSL at a low cost, dialup as a connection type is silly.
I would like to mention that one of the reasons why @Home is probably dying is because of the amount of money they have to pour into support due to their horrible service. I have several friends who work for or have worked for Taima in Ottawa, a company that Rogers@Home uses to outsource support to (one of many) and apparently they have a lack of employees.
I wouldn't say Broadband is dead, just fairly mismanaged.:)
...it's due to the authors not feeling it's worth it to try to keep up with KDE. The K Desktop Environment has new developments all the time, usually only three months apart (and the CVS versions are usually pretty stable).
I would also think with the way the economy has been most authors are scrambling to feed themselves, so their projects are a little on the side. How has Rasterman and Mandrake been with E since VA started getting hit? I remember the fast updates of E as well, but those are the good ol' days. If you tossed a chunk of cash at them I bet you they'd respond.:)
I'm not entirely sure why they had a Rod Stewart song for the theme, but I thought the show was pretty good. And I wouldn't trash character development so early in the story, things haven't even slightly evolved yet. It's the first episode.:)
I bet if you ever met a Vulcan, you'd keep questioning their decisions and trying to figure out how to work with an emotionless being too.:P
CityTV in Toronto is airing the premiere tonight from 8:00PM - 10:00PM. Space: The Imagination Station is doing their Premiere on the 30th. Guess it pays to have basic cable in Canada.:)
I'm not in some unknown country either, I'm in Canada. We have Province sponsered Health Care here (which might as well not be with the taxes we pay for it), and ya, the government of either country takes about half in other expenses.
However, I would like to add that I didn't say Self-Employment, that's worse than employment because you have more responsibility. What one should do is find a smart way to make money and go into the other cash flow quadrants (see Robert Kiyosaki) being Business Owner and Investor. If you really care to know the difference I would buy Robert's book entitled Cash Flow Quadrant. It's a good read for anyone hoping to become a serious investor (which I think everyone should do because the alternative is working for someone or yourself til your 60). Give it some thought.
You have a point, obviously. But I would ask you to think about why the situation in the workplace is changing. There have been several books written on the subject, most of which the average do not read, that will tell you exactly why a job hasn't been secure since the 1960s, and probably even before then.
Think about it. When you were younger, your parents probably told you to "...go to school, go to college so you can get a good, secure job and work for a company that will give you benefits and you'll be set." So in fact, you would do this. But the only reason why they would tell you this is because that's the only advice they ever recieved. They grew up in the 60s where their parents knew that if you got a good job with a good company after getting a good education you'd be set for life. And that was true from the 1940s through to the 1960s, but things have changed.
The industrial revolution brought about a hoard of jobs, because we needed people to run the machines, and men with minds to run the people. And more and more products were invented and put on the assembly line because that was what people did in the industrial revolution. Everyone could get a job because you needed a ton of people to make one car. But the industrial revolution is long since over and we have machines running the machines. Men get laid off and they wonder what happened to the good ol' days, but they don't look back far enough.
Before the turn of the century you would find that most invividuals worked for themselves, or parterned with someone else for a mutually beneficial reason. You didn't have one corporation employing thousands, you had several small businesses employing their families. Now the economy will shift back to that model. You know you won't work for the same person for more than 1.4 years on average. So if you want security you have to create it on your own, you can't rely on John Smith Inc. to employ you, because John Smith Inc. cares about John Smith and not you. The distance between worker and owner has grown so great that only profit can be seen in the worker. If the worker doesn't stand for profit, he doesn't get his bi-weekly trickle of a pay cheque. Everyone might think "this sucks" but really, it was going to happen whether or not you like it. Don't be employed, start a business. There are plenty of oppurtunities out there. You just have to be in the looking zone.
I think the complications with such would be as follows:
It would have to be an international lobby group, as many Slashdotters are from other parts of the Americas other than the United States and from around the world.
Most of us here don't ever fully agree with each other, how could we agree towards a certain political goal?
I don't think the world is yet ready for an online lobby group. We'd have as much political weight as the United States GDC.
I applaud the intention, but I think another way weould need to be found to achieve the overall goal.
My wife and I were in bed, barely aware of the world this morning at about 10:00AM. They started testing the fire alarm system in our building yesterday morning so it didn't surprise us at 10:00AM when the alarm went off. We heard the reassuring voice of a loud speaker as fire official told everyone that testing was beginning for the day. They then proceeded to test the speaker system for messages so they piped Magic 100 (Ottawa light listening radio station) over the PA and we listened to the last half of "If I Had A Million Dollars". We sort of chuckled at that, figured we should get out of bed when we heard the news flash that the World Trade Center in New York City had been hit by an airliner, as well as the Pentagon. The voice of the newscaster was that morning show "I'm just kidding voice" so we kinda shrugged and just sort of thought Magic 100 was sick for this little morning prank. But then the news flash ended with "This was Magic 100 news" and went on to talk about the weather.
Nervously I got up out of bed, put on my glasses, went into my living room and turned on CNN. Sure enough, the United States was under terrorist attack. Shortly afterwards a friend of mine down the hall called me and briefed me on the events so far that morning. He was home due to a civil service strike here in Ottawa, and figured the picket line wasn't going to get any coverage since this was happening.
My wife is an American, originally from the Columbus area in Ohio, and she's been in a sort of vacant state since the beginning of this earlier this morning. Her brother, a Carnegie-Mellon student, called her at about 10:30AM to let her know he was OK, and he was inside Pittsburgh when the plane went down south of the city. All in all, I would have to say that I've never experienced anything like this in my life. From 10:00AM to 8:45PM the only time I left my couch and was away from the TV was to shower, go to the washroom, and to get something to eat or drink (or to answer the phone). I would like to extend all my best wishes to the families in the United States who have suffered a loss due to this tragedy. I know that the Canadian government will do everything in it's power to give aid to those who have suffered, and to those who will continue to suffer.
In Ottawa, blood banks are open extended hours this week as all are urged to give plasma for the New York and Washington needs. The shut down Parliament, and many businesses in the downtown area were shutdown as a result of some suspicious packages arriving at the East Bloc. I know that Ontario has made it's hospitals available to the State of New York. CBC has been doing all sorts of pieces all day on the ramifications of this incident in Ontario, and across Canada. I'm not sure what to say, I'm still sort of stunned trying to figure out how this is going to impact North America and NATO in the next weeks. I really am deeply sorry for all those who have lost. I will be going to a blood bank tomorrow with my wife to make a contribution to the Americans who need our aid.
Lastly, I'd like to add Long Live Canada, and God Bless America!
A lot of you folks following up to this post today have been bashing KOffice (mostly KWord) for not having all of the features a professional word processor needs, for not having all the features you want and for not being able to properly import MS Word documents.
It's pretty easy to trash someone's software while it's still in development, and it's easy to point out the faults of someone's software because hey, we're used to finding fault in everything.
I'd like everyone to take a moment and find what's good about KOffice. I know the authors put in a lot of time and a lot of energy since 1.0 into squashing bugs, adding better support for MS filetypes, making it all around more stable, etc. Instead of bashing it, ask yourself if you've ever written a word processor. If you haven't, then don't comment. Have you ever written a spreadsheet editor? Thing is, you can find fault with someone else's software and yell and scream about it. But if you don't like it, fix it. If you can't do that, use Word or Excel and shut up.:)
...from doing that. My wife and I drove out to Farmers Rd. in Russel-Prescott County (Ontario, CA), parked the car on the shoulder, put a blanket on the hood and watched them fall. They were coming down one every three or four minutes. We had a decent amount of light polution from Ottawa to the West and from the moon from the East, but we were able to see a few really big ones with tails miles long at least. I can't wait for November.:)
David Sweet, author of KDE 2.0 Development published the entire GNU GPL in the book as well, which I think is just a way to publish a thicker book. My question is why would an editor actually publish a book that includes a license that is free available when they download KDE 2.0 in the first place. What's worse is the book wasn't very thorough (in my humble opinion) and gave only a few insights on how to work with the KDE 2.0 API. It's funny but I think the best technical manual I've ever read was the PHP manual. It's so straight forward it's amusing. I think the quality of technical books has gone downhill. I've had a hard time finding a good one on quite a few topics (C++, C, Python) in the last while. It's just sad, that's all.
Those suitcase nukes are actually pretty economical these days. I picked a couple up at Canadian Tire just last week for a party I'm going to this weekend.
Another good thing about them is if they don't quite satisfy you in the way you were hoping there's a full money back guarantee.
I think they retail for about $26000.99. Great thing is when you buy one you get a whole ton of Canadian Tire money! I think the price is going down at Christmas though. Give like Santa, save like Scrooge.;)
I would have to say that I agree. Let's say that environmentalists have been observing the conditions our industries produce in the atmosphere, the emissions produced by mass manufacturing, etc. for about fifty years. And let's also say that in the last fifty years we have noticed the temperature of the planet rise and fall, rise and fall, etc. Given the lifespan of the planet due to the studyspan of environmentalists you can hardly say that you "know" anything about what we're doing to the planet.
Global Warming is an incredibly serious issue indeed, if such a thing were likely to happen (which they have not been able to prove with such a small amount of evidence). It's like saying that I know my friend's husband is abusive because he's yelled at her a few times in my presence. Given the amount of time I spend with them I cannot say for sure that he's abusive given my small amount of time available to study their interactions.
Now, in the environmentalists defence we could and should cut most of the fossil fuel emissions that are being produced worldwide. We can research electric vehicles (and I believe they are available now and economic), do away with oil tankers spilling and killing off chunks of the ecosystem. We can reduce the amount of smog and pollution in our cities if we were to simply do away with the production of petroleum as a source for fuel.
A lot of people I talk to about this subject say we have no other viable source, but of what I know about us humans is we are incredible in our ability to create alternatives to anything. But I think Oil companies pay too much attention to their pockets, and politicians pay too much attention to their electoral success.
Global warming may or may not be a real threat I will face before I die, but I've never seen conclusive evidence. But I do know that I hate walking along a road and having to breathe in an untuned car's carbon monoxide.
Think about it, it's time to be a rational civilization.
Agreed. Mexico City is the most polluted city in the world. I don't mean to dump Mexico into third world country status, but they're not exactly par with the Western World or the European powers.
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I've lost hours of my life trying to get Tux to hit 210kph and fly really really high up in the air. I think I've wasted as much time on Tuxracer aimlessly as I have wasted on Alpha Centauri purposefully. :)
Btw, you can run KDE without kicker, and you would have a pretty non-"MSFT" desktop. Kicker isn't required, you can get a window list from a middle click. With Alt-F2 you can load any software you need (including KControl). It by *default* looks like what's commonly refered to as a Desktop Environment, but so does GNOME by default. Anyhow, KDE is great anyway.
There's also The Legend of Zelda. Most people probably don't follow this as much as I do, but I bought the N64 for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I'm thankful they released a second one for the system (even though the sounds the villagers make in the game are horrible) so it was more than worth my money. The only other game I own for it is Episode I Racer which came with the console.
Why are they selling so many? Final Fantasy owns you that's why. :)
Oh, and they also left out the 3D0.
I seem to have noticed that they didn't include the Nintendo 8-bit console on the list, the Nintendo Entertainment System. You know, the one that had The Legend of Zelda, Bionic Commando, Final Fantasy, Contra, Super Mario Bros I, II and III? Ya, it was missing on the list when I looked at it, 1:36pm EST. One would kinda think they would at least mention the console that for so long was the thing to buy to play games. There had to have been at least 500 titles released for it. Feh to them I say!
It always bugs the hell out of me when people compare window managers to desktop environments. Then next thing you'll be doing is telling me that your boat is better than my car.
We're now left with dot-coms that are holding on for dear life trying to "maybe make that profit thing we were talking about" and software companies trying to convince anyone that their software is the "solution". It's like every software company in the world about four years ago said "we're going to make software to solve problems no one has yet, but they'll buy it" and no one was game.
So take a look at the situation. There are the big companies who were never really affected by the problem, because they've always had a following. These companies would be Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Cisco, International Business MAchines, Apple, etc. They didn't have to try to tackle a huge market, mostly they created it. So to get into the high tech industry means you're going to have to find a company that existed before the dot-com bang, start your own company either related to high tech if you can find a use for yourself, or not, or you can work in the public sector. It's sad to say but going to school and getting an education so you can get a job is old advice and isn't realistic anymore. People should be taught to start their own businesses which is why we all came to America in the first place. If you are fearful of not being able to get a decent job after college and you maybe want some options send me some mail and I can give you some insight. Seriously.
Linux: Doesn't actually compete with Microsoft, as it's not a company. Linux vendors compete with Microsoft. So wiping them out is fine, we'll still have Linux and MS can compete all it wants against people freely doing what they want to do.
Microsoft: Competes with the Linux world shouting at the top of it's lungs that the pursuit of free software is not conducive of the American Way, it's not Republican enough because no one makes money. True enough, but MS doesn't say Linux is bad, it wouldn't dare.
Linux: Has no real advocates who are clear and defined. Has two readily available Desktop Environments, both of which are still in development which can give people a bad impression of Linux (which is still a kernel btw). No one is educating the commoners about Linux.
Microsoft: Has more money than God. Could advocate Windows to the end of time without having to catch a breath. This is the major problem. The Linux market can't compete with the Microsoft-giant's ability to spread propoganda to the common people. People buy a computer with Windows installed on it because people don't know any different. "What's Linux?". Exactly.
Linux: Stable. Highly useful as server and desktop (it's true, seriously don't argue with me). KDE2.x series has produced one of the nicest computing experiences I've ever had. Anti-aliased fonts, KWord that does everything I need it to, Quanta+ so I can do PHP development, KDevelop so I can write my own custom KDE software should I want to, Konqueror so I can browse the web as I want to. Linux has what it takes it all departments except that it's basic interface (without X) is much too cryptic, and perhaps would be too hard for an end-user to setup out of the box.
Windows: Has all that, and more. Any end user could plug in the machine, put the CD in the drive, and install the OS without any real trouble.
Linux (for a developer): Has everything you need to quickly write and manage a large project out of the box. The GNU GCC suite, plus automake, make, autoconf, etc. will allow anyone to quickly develop applications. Now his article said that Linux was lacking a visual debugger, which KDevelop and KDE Studio Gold provide. It's questionable if he's ever used beyond playing Majhong. And RedHat being GNOME advocates he's probably never really ventured into the KDE realm, so he wouldn't have experience with the KDE world. It's sad.
Windows: Windows has Visual Studio. If you're going to start writing software yourself for your own project at home you have to get a second mortgage on your house to buy the full version due to it's cost, but it's a nice suite. MS gained a lot of ground by creating Visual Basic, allowing users to quickly develop applications for their platform without much worry about performance. There are projects however to create the same kind of language that will compile to machine code so someone can quickly write KDE applications as well.
All in all I would say that MS right now has the upperhand on the desktop, the underhand on the server. Will it stay that way because someone rights an article who's never used half of the good software for Linux? No. For those who have just gotten into Linux who have read this, I would say don't worry. Yes we have a lot of bad reputation because of people who can't be eloquent and respectful, yes we have a lot of bad reputation because of people trying to make their desktop prettier than it is useful, but Linux will prevail because it's free. If someone wanted to cell me a Mercedez for $100K, and you said I could just take your Toyota instead, and I wouldn't have to pay any money for it, I'd take your car.
Now, what I think the real problem is with the OSS model, is probably a lot of companies do want to use Linux but don't because they don't think it'll be around. You have a bunch of penguins sitting in one corner saying "Hey, come join us if you want", and in another corner you have a MS Drone with a Tetryon Pulse Disruptor pointed at your head saying "Join the collective or die." What do you choose as a company? Do you do the safe thing for the short run and join MS? Or do you do the smart thing, and the risky thing in the short run for your fiances, and become a Linux company, who will continue to support their old MS software? If the companies who are advocating Windows right now don't move soon, or at least don't begin to support the Linux world soon, they are in danger of being replaced by the up-and-comers who don't care about their finances.
That's my peace.
Broadband internet in Ottawa is actually the norm. I think I can name two people I know who have a dialup account (and everyone I can think of who I know right now has online access) in the area. Rogers Cablesystems provides Rogers@Home service to the area (which will change in the next little while I would imagine) and provided Rogers Wave before that. With Bell's HSE and local ISPs like Magma, Trytel, and TravelNet all providing DSL at a low cost, dialup as a connection type is silly.
I would like to mention that one of the reasons why @Home is probably dying is because of the amount of money they have to pour into support due to their horrible service. I have several friends who work for or have worked for Taima in Ottawa, a company that Rogers@Home uses to outsource support to (one of many) and apparently they have a lack of employees.
I wouldn't say Broadband is dead, just fairly mismanaged. :)
I would also think with the way the economy has been most authors are scrambling to feed themselves, so their projects are a little on the side. How has Rasterman and Mandrake been with E since VA started getting hit? I remember the fast updates of E as well, but those are the good ol' days. If you tossed a chunk of cash at them I bet you they'd respond. :)
I bet if you ever met a Vulcan, you'd keep questioning their decisions and trying to figure out how to work with an emotionless being too. :P
CityTV in Toronto is airing the premiere tonight from 8:00PM - 10:00PM. Space: The Imagination Station is doing their Premiere on the 30th. Guess it pays to have basic cable in Canada. :)
However, I would like to add that I didn't say Self-Employment, that's worse than employment because you have more responsibility. What one should do is find a smart way to make money and go into the other cash flow quadrants (see Robert Kiyosaki) being Business Owner and Investor. If you really care to know the difference I would buy Robert's book entitled Cash Flow Quadrant. It's a good read for anyone hoping to become a serious investor (which I think everyone should do because the alternative is working for someone or yourself til your 60). Give it some thought.
Think about it. When you were younger, your parents probably told you to "...go to school, go to college so you can get a good, secure job and work for a company that will give you benefits and you'll be set." So in fact, you would do this. But the only reason why they would tell you this is because that's the only advice they ever recieved. They grew up in the 60s where their parents knew that if you got a good job with a good company after getting a good education you'd be set for life. And that was true from the 1940s through to the 1960s, but things have changed.
The industrial revolution brought about a hoard of jobs, because we needed people to run the machines, and men with minds to run the people. And more and more products were invented and put on the assembly line because that was what people did in the industrial revolution. Everyone could get a job because you needed a ton of people to make one car. But the industrial revolution is long since over and we have machines running the machines. Men get laid off and they wonder what happened to the good ol' days, but they don't look back far enough.
Before the turn of the century you would find that most invividuals worked for themselves, or parterned with someone else for a mutually beneficial reason. You didn't have one corporation employing thousands, you had several small businesses employing their families. Now the economy will shift back to that model. You know you won't work for the same person for more than 1.4 years on average. So if you want security you have to create it on your own, you can't rely on John Smith Inc. to employ you, because John Smith Inc. cares about John Smith and not you. The distance between worker and owner has grown so great that only profit can be seen in the worker. If the worker doesn't stand for profit, he doesn't get his bi-weekly trickle of a pay cheque. Everyone might think "this sucks" but really, it was going to happen whether or not you like it. Don't be employed, start a business. There are plenty of oppurtunities out there. You just have to be in the looking zone.
I applaud the intention, but I think another way weould need to be found to achieve the overall goal.
Nervously I got up out of bed, put on my glasses, went into my living room and turned on CNN. Sure enough, the United States was under terrorist attack. Shortly afterwards a friend of mine down the hall called me and briefed me on the events so far that morning. He was home due to a civil service strike here in Ottawa, and figured the picket line wasn't going to get any coverage since this was happening.
My wife is an American, originally from the Columbus area in Ohio, and she's been in a sort of vacant state since the beginning of this earlier this morning. Her brother, a Carnegie-Mellon student, called her at about 10:30AM to let her know he was OK, and he was inside Pittsburgh when the plane went down south of the city. All in all, I would have to say that I've never experienced anything like this in my life. From 10:00AM to 8:45PM the only time I left my couch and was away from the TV was to shower, go to the washroom, and to get something to eat or drink (or to answer the phone). I would like to extend all my best wishes to the families in the United States who have suffered a loss due to this tragedy. I know that the Canadian government will do everything in it's power to give aid to those who have suffered, and to those who will continue to suffer.
In Ottawa, blood banks are open extended hours this week as all are urged to give plasma for the New York and Washington needs. The shut down Parliament, and many businesses in the downtown area were shutdown as a result of some suspicious packages arriving at the East Bloc. I know that Ontario has made it's hospitals available to the State of New York. CBC has been doing all sorts of pieces all day on the ramifications of this incident in Ontario, and across Canada. I'm not sure what to say, I'm still sort of stunned trying to figure out how this is going to impact North America and NATO in the next weeks. I really am deeply sorry for all those who have lost. I will be going to a blood bank tomorrow with my wife to make a contribution to the Americans who need our aid.
Lastly, I'd like to add Long Live Canada, and God Bless America!
It's pretty easy to trash someone's software while it's still in development, and it's easy to point out the faults of someone's software because hey, we're used to finding fault in everything.
I'd like everyone to take a moment and find what's good about KOffice. I know the authors put in a lot of time and a lot of energy since 1.0 into squashing bugs, adding better support for MS filetypes, making it all around more stable, etc. Instead of bashing it, ask yourself if you've ever written a word processor. If you haven't, then don't comment. Have you ever written a spreadsheet editor? Thing is, you can find fault with someone else's software and yell and scream about it. But if you don't like it, fix it. If you can't do that, use Word or Excel and shut up. :)
...from doing that. My wife and I drove out to Farmers Rd. in Russel-Prescott County (Ontario, CA), parked the car on the shoulder, put a blanket on the hood and watched them fall. They were coming down one every three or four minutes. We had a decent amount of light polution from Ottawa to the West and from the moon from the East, but we were able to see a few really big ones with tails miles long at least. I can't wait for November. :)
Another good thing about them is if they don't quite satisfy you in the way you were hoping there's a full money back guarantee.
I think they retail for about $26000.99. Great thing is when you buy one you get a whole ton of Canadian Tire money! I think the price is going down at Christmas though. Give like Santa, save like Scrooge. ;)
Global Warming is an incredibly serious issue indeed, if such a thing were likely to happen (which they have not been able to prove with such a small amount of evidence). It's like saying that I know my friend's husband is abusive because he's yelled at her a few times in my presence. Given the amount of time I spend with them I cannot say for sure that he's abusive given my small amount of time available to study their interactions.
Now, in the environmentalists defence we could and should cut most of the fossil fuel emissions that are being produced worldwide. We can research electric vehicles (and I believe they are available now and economic), do away with oil tankers spilling and killing off chunks of the ecosystem. We can reduce the amount of smog and pollution in our cities if we were to simply do away with the production of petroleum as a source for fuel.
A lot of people I talk to about this subject say we have no other viable source, but of what I know about us humans is we are incredible in our ability to create alternatives to anything. But I think Oil companies pay too much attention to their pockets, and politicians pay too much attention to their electoral success.
Global warming may or may not be a real threat I will face before I die, but I've never seen conclusive evidence. But I do know that I hate walking along a road and having to breathe in an untuned car's carbon monoxide.
Think about it, it's time to be a rational civilization.