My Grandma is happily uses Linux. All she cares about it being able to get to email. My Parents actually asked me to switch them back to Linux because they kept having troubles with Windows 7. My Uncle uses a Chromebook, because they are really hard to screw up and easy to repair.
Encouraging the people I know to switch to Linux has dramatically cut down the number of times I get asked to fix something. Something like Linux Mint just works and tends to be more responsive. It also doesn't have Windows' bad tendency to demand that you restart because it just installed updates.
On the flip side, there are plenty of people I would recommend Windows or OSX to. Normally it's because they need/want to use an application that just isn't available under Linux. I feel like the learning curve for casual use for someone going from Windows 7 to Windows 10 might actually be worse than going from Windows 7 to Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or OSX though.
Ubuntu gives you an option to do an in-place upgrade through their upgrade gui, and it's worked just fine for me the several times I've used it.
Under Linux Mint it's been a bit trickier, but not really that bad. I wish they handled the in-place upgrade stuff a bit better, but on the flip side the rest of the OS works really well for me and has many of the tweaks I'd normally apply to Ubuntu already done. With Mint 17 you actually can upgrade in-place to the point releases which seem to be tracking some upstream changes.
While I find the short support times annoying, I find it acceptable that a short term release becomes unsupported quickly. The LTS releases from Ubuntu get security patches for 5 years, and you don't have to pay them any money for the service.
Also whining about having to use the command line is like whining about having to drive stick instead of automatic. Automatic is pretty easy, but once you learn it, driving stick is not much more difficult and many people actually enjoy driving that way.
That particular link doesn't work for me, but the point does stand. Velcro ties are the way to go. I've got these Velcro cable ties from Home Depot. 50 8 inch Velcro Ties Though at $5.27 each you can definitely find better deals. But being able to just walk in and buy them without waiting for shipping is worth it for small jobs.
If you want to be really fancy then I would also get some kind of way to label or at least mark your cables on both ends. It really does pay off when you have to move, or fix something. My wife went through our entertainment center and labelled all the cables with some blue painters tape and a sharpie. I'm glad for that every time I have to go back there and mess with something.
The only downside is that I don't know how long it'll be from when you put in your order to when you get it. The upside is that if you spring for it, you get a device that can be a pocket computer, a tablet, and a laptop.
I actually own a Pandora. Besides the one usb port on it being a little strange, it's worked wonderfully for me. I had preordered it, but ended up just paying the extra money to get it shipped sooner. I have yet to regret it. I would advise getting at least one fast 16GB SD card for it, so you can have plenty of programs, but the Pandora is able to emulate psx games. I've also watched videos on it without any problems. (PanPlayer works the best).
The keyboard is a little strange, but the screen and battery life is amazing. Wifi works pretty well, especially if you run 'sudo iwconfig wlan0 power off' to turn off power management of the wifi. (The power management thing is a problem I've had with many wireless cards under linux. In this case the wireless works fine without the command, but if you're transferring a bunch of data over wireless, you'll want to turn off the wireless power management.)
And yes, it does fit in your pocket. It's a bit bigger than an original GBA.
If you're willing to pay around $500 for a pocket computer that gets 10-15 hours of battery life, I would say the Pandora is worth it. I personally do wish that the Pandora team was more transparent, but from what I understand, they've been spending all their time working, and building pandoras, instead of soothing the community. I hope they can get enough support to keep the project going, but I imagine it's pretty difficult to make something like the open pandora when you don't have a boatload of starting capital.
One of my college professors told me this: "I left windows years ago, and ever since that day I've just found more reasons not to go back."
I switched to linux a few years back, and I feel much the same. I still boot up into windows just to play some games, but more and more I find myself playing less games and spending less money on them. I know that's not the ideal for some, but I'm pretty happy.
> Looks like you Mac folks will probably get Starcraft 2, I'm a bit jealous.
Yes, it is. The trouble is that not going to the polls isn't exactly counted as a vote, is it?
Exactly.
The other trouble is the sheer amount of non-technical users who don't know better. Not to mention trying to buy a pre-built computer without windows on it. Just because you or I can build a computer from scratch doesn't mean everyone can. (DIY laptops are out there, but still not common)
I remember seeing netbooks that came in windows and linux versions. And the damnedest thing was they were two separate products (probably to hide the cost of windows) and that the windows version had better options. The hp mini mi? Anyone get a chance to look at those? You could opt for a higher resolution screen, but only on the windows model.
Does making your own machine even count as a vote?
Motion controllers won't be that great until we have some good feedback in the system.
I've thought it would be cool to have an fps where you have something like the wiimote except you can point off screen. If your point comes over an enemy the controller could vibrate and you could shoot. Feeling like a badass for shooting without looking.
I wonder how much of their bandwidth will be taken up by lol cats and tweens nabbing the latest $CurrentPopArtist Album?
Money down McDonald's will never get nailed by the *IAA's for people downloading content on their networks. If I left my wifi at home open to everyone and someone nabbed a movie or something off of it, you'd bet it'd be my ass that'd get in trouble.
My city had the opportunity to have free city wide wifi (probably just for a year) because a local company was trying to start up and wanted to show off their service (and test their equipment). The city council decided the city's citizens were not interested in such a thing as wireless internet.
One of our neighboring cities now enjoys said city wide wireless.
Course my city decided that using a point to point wireless system using radio (maybe micro wave) was a great idea for their internal infrastructure.
Slashdot Mirror
The next model will take their design in a new bold direction, and actually function as a trash can.
Of course it'll require proprietary trash liners and will require an adapter to deal with various forms of trash.
My Grandma is happily uses Linux. All she cares about it being able to get to email.
My Parents actually asked me to switch them back to Linux because they kept having troubles with Windows 7.
My Uncle uses a Chromebook, because they are really hard to screw up and easy to repair.
Encouraging the people I know to switch to Linux has dramatically cut down the number of times I get asked to fix something. Something like Linux Mint just works and tends to be more responsive. It also doesn't have Windows' bad tendency to demand that you restart because it just installed updates.
On the flip side, there are plenty of people I would recommend Windows or OSX to. Normally it's because they need/want to use an application that just isn't available under Linux. I feel like the learning curve for casual use for someone going from Windows 7 to Windows 10 might actually be worse than going from Windows 7 to Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or OSX though.
Ubuntu gives you an option to do an in-place upgrade through their upgrade gui, and it's worked just fine for me the several times I've used it.
Under Linux Mint it's been a bit trickier, but not really that bad. I wish they handled the in-place upgrade stuff a bit better, but on the flip side the rest of the OS works really well for me and has many of the tweaks I'd normally apply to Ubuntu already done. With Mint 17 you actually can upgrade in-place to the point releases which seem to be tracking some upstream changes.
While I find the short support times annoying, I find it acceptable that a short term release becomes unsupported quickly. The LTS releases from Ubuntu get security patches for 5 years, and you don't have to pay them any money for the service.
Also whining about having to use the command line is like whining about having to drive stick instead of automatic. Automatic is pretty easy, but once you learn it, driving stick is not much more difficult and many people actually enjoy driving that way.
That particular link doesn't work for me, but the point does stand. Velcro ties are the way to go.
I've got these Velcro cable ties from Home Depot. 50 8 inch Velcro Ties Though at $5.27 each you can definitely find better deals. But being able to just walk in and buy them without waiting for shipping is worth it for small jobs.
If you want to be really fancy then I would also get some kind of way to label or at least mark your cables on both ends. It really does pay off when you have to move, or fix something. My wife went through our entertainment center and labelled all the cables with some blue painters tape and a sharpie. I'm glad for that every time I have to go back there and mess with something.
What about the Always Innovating Smartbook? It's 8.9 inches, but it comes with root access by default, and it runs both ubuntu and android.
http://alwaysinnovating.com/products/smartbook.htm
The only downside is that I don't know how long it'll be from when you put in your order to when you get it. The upside is that if you spring for it, you get a device that can be a pocket computer, a tablet, and a laptop.
I actually own a Pandora.
Besides the one usb port on it being a little strange, it's worked wonderfully for me. I had preordered it, but ended up just paying the extra money to get it shipped sooner. I have yet to regret it. I would advise getting at least one fast 16GB SD card for it, so you can have plenty of programs, but the Pandora is able to emulate psx games. I've also watched videos on it without any problems. (PanPlayer works the best).
The keyboard is a little strange, but the screen and battery life is amazing. Wifi works pretty well, especially if you run 'sudo iwconfig wlan0 power off' to turn off power management of the wifi. (The power management thing is a problem I've had with many wireless cards under linux. In this case the wireless works fine without the command, but if you're transferring a bunch of data over wireless, you'll want to turn off the wireless power management.)
And yes, it does fit in your pocket. It's a bit bigger than an original GBA.
If you're willing to pay around $500 for a pocket computer that gets 10-15 hours of battery life, I would say the Pandora is worth it.
I personally do wish that the Pandora team was more transparent, but from what I understand, they've been spending all their time working, and building pandoras, instead of soothing the community. I hope they can get enough support to keep the project going, but I imagine it's pretty difficult to make something like the open pandora when you don't have a boatload of starting capital.
YMMV.
One of my college professors told me this:
"I left windows years ago, and ever since that day I've just found more reasons not to go back."
I switched to linux a few years back, and I feel much the same. I still boot up into windows just to play some games, but more and more I find myself playing less games and spending less money on them. I know that's not the ideal for some, but I'm pretty happy.
>
Looks like you Mac folks will probably get Starcraft 2, I'm a bit jealous.
Yes, it is. The trouble is that not going to the polls isn't exactly counted as a vote, is it?
Exactly.
The other trouble is the sheer amount of non-technical users who don't know better. Not to mention trying to buy a pre-built computer without windows on it. Just because you or I can build a computer from scratch doesn't mean everyone can. (DIY laptops are out there, but still not common)
I remember seeing netbooks that came in windows and linux versions. And the damnedest thing was they were two separate products (probably to hide the cost of windows) and that the windows version had better options. The hp mini mi? Anyone get a chance to look at those? You could opt for a higher resolution screen, but only on the windows model.
Does making your own machine even count as a vote?
Motion controllers won't be that great until we have some good feedback in the system.
I've thought it would be cool to have an fps where you have something like the wiimote except you can point off screen. If your point comes over an enemy the controller could vibrate and you could shoot. Feeling like a badass for shooting without looking.
The more I hear about project Natal the less I want to see the actual product. It could just be that I've reached my hype threshold.
Should have gone with the WTFPL.
(Actually I am curious as to what a large project under WTFPL would look like.)
I wonder how much of their bandwidth will be taken up by lol cats and tweens nabbing the latest $CurrentPopArtist Album?
Money down McDonald's will never get nailed by the *IAA's for people downloading content on their networks. If I left my wifi at home open to everyone and someone nabbed a movie or something off of it, you'd bet it'd be my ass that'd get in trouble.
My city had the opportunity to have free city wide wifi (probably just for a year) because a local company was trying to start up and wanted to show off their service (and test their equipment). The city council decided the city's citizens were not interested in such a thing as wireless internet.
One of our neighboring cities now enjoys said city wide wireless.
Course my city decided that using a point to point wireless system using radio (maybe micro wave) was a great idea for their internal infrastructure.