Running Debian unstable. SystemD comes along, and suddenly, machine won't turn off. Oh, silly me, I should be running "poweroff," instead of "halt" -- nevermind that "halt" had worked flawlessly for me on all my machines in the past.
Another time, I reboot my server, and bam, nothing. So I hook up a monitor, and the USB disk -- which had an fstab entry which never gave me any problem -- caused the machine to not boot up because the disk wasn't connected. Maybe I had been getting error messages about the disk not being there, but previously, if the disk wasn't there it still booted (unless, you know, it was/).
Anecdotal, yes, and arguably my fault...but c'mon, I don't want an entirely functional system just breaking. Does not inspire confidence.
At least where I live, the local Fry's has a fair selection of electronic components. But it's a very large store, with the vast majority devoted to its more Best Buy-esque inventory.
And even this is -- in my experience -- terrible on systemd. My admittedly-"old" (2009-era i7 laptop), with systemd, will sit at a (text-only) login screen for 10 seconds or so before it's responsive (type username, hit enter, password displays in cleartext because the "password:" prompt hasn't even shown up). Meanwhile, the disk is whirring away trying to start Postgres, etc. So yeah, you technically got me my login prompt nice and fast, but it's completely useless.
And, like you said, I don't reboot my laptop much (that's what suspend-to-RAM is for...), and my desktop/server just stays on all the time.
3) I like a nice big clear monitor to work on, no tablet comes close
Yeah, I find it very annoying though that high resolution monitors are still very expensive -- my tablet has a 2560x1600 display, and the entire tablet cost the same as the cheapest 2560x1600 display from newegg. I know pixel count isn't the only thing that contributes to monitor cost, but seriously, if I can buy a 2560x1600 touchscreen display + ARM SoC + 2GB RAM + stereo speakers + wifi + bluetooth +... etc., it would be nice if I could *just* buy the screen (albeit it a little larger form-factor) for, you know...less. But perhaps I'm just being picky =)
I actually haven't played around with too many tiling wms -- I used dwm for awhile, but that is somewhat limited. I switched to i3 and it just does everything I need it to do -- very simple, great multi-monitor support, and I can tile/arrange things pretty much exactly the way I want. That said, I'm sure there are other great tiling wms that would do exactly what I want, too =)
Sustained, sure -- but if I'm sending a large file, backing up remotely, etc., then unless it's faster than my disk, it can be improved.
At my university we have (legitimate) 100Mbps connections -- for surfing the web, sure, it doesn't much matter. But for reasonably large files (disk images, backups, etc.), it's still a bottleneck.
True. But 1) isn't a big issue for some people (always connected / commute always has service, etc.) -- not to mention the DRM aspect of downloading + local storage (which can sometimes render your files less-than-convenient). Regarding 2), yes, if you listen to the same songs. If your $10 monthly Google Play subscription means you listen to just 10 or so new songs a month, then it might be worth it to some. And I suspect that for many people, songs have a "shelf life" -- popular songs become un-popular, and the need for them is greatly reduced.
Additionally -- and maybe this is just me -- I find the subscription model that Netflix uses very nice. There are certainly movies I've started on Netflix that I would never rent or pay for, but because there's no incremental cost in viewing another flick/starting a new TV show, why not give it a shot?
Hah, nice. I had a neighbor who had a GORGEOUS old (late 50s, early 60s?) Porsche Carrera 4 cam. He did all the work on it himself. He also had a new BMW station wagon. As he put it, "I can't even change the spark plugs on that thing."
It's not all bad of course -- things are pretty reliable these days. But, it seems to me that something's lost.
Completely agree; more reliability & cheaper = I'm not going to spend my time on a newish broken piece of equipment if I can just buy something else. But if my old tube amp breaks, you can be sure I'll be taking a voltmeter to it =)
I guess what I would find interesting is to see if this is actually having an impact on, say, STEM degree seekers. Are first-year EE students less prepared than their predecessors who were born and raised changing vacuum tubes on their radio and consulting schematics?
Sorry, I should have been more explicit -- I was referring to ignition timing, not cam timing. As far as I know, ignition timing is now handled by computers, whereas it was a simple mechanical setup on older cars.
If you assume that this is Slashdot and everyone's an idiot, then you'll probably see idiots everywhere.
Part of the problem could be that so many things are integrated now.
Entry-level audio gear, for instance, tends to use integrated amplifiers -- no longer can you fix easily fix a blown power transistor, as you could with older gear. Same thing with cars -- adjusting the timing on a car was sort of a rite of passage for many, but it's hardly feasible on a new car with computer-controlled everything.
Yeah, their strategy seems pretty lousy. Basically everyone I know is totally fine paying reasonable fees for convenient access to content -- but will of course pirate material if it's not available.
I could be wrong, but I suspect Netflix is completely fine with you VPN'ing your way to more content -- it's the movie studios that aren't ok with it. More paying customers is a Good Thing for Netflix.
I won't argue about technical superiority of Windows vs. Linux, but for me, I actually love the Linux "desktop": I use a tabbed window manager, and I love the fact that it's decoupled from the kernel. That is, I know that the user interface I want is orthogonal to the kernel I'm running, and one can be updated without the other. Want to run the Windows 8 kernel, but dig the XP interface? You're entirely at the mercy of Microsoft. Want to run the Windows 8 user interface but the Windows 10 kernel? Well...good luck.
This is clearly my personal experience and preference, but it's very important to me. And, although it's clearly just my experience, Linux runs perfectly on my newish (built last year) desktop, without any tweaking. Different strokes.
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With his mastery over dark magic, I think the answer is a resounding "yes."
evil false religion (source cited: the Quran)
Out of curiosity, what would you consider a "true" (not false) religion?
And by not giving "a fuck about religious freedom," what exactly are you advocating? The thought police?
Running Debian unstable. SystemD comes along, and suddenly, machine won't turn off. Oh, silly me, I should be running "poweroff," instead of "halt" -- nevermind that "halt" had worked flawlessly for me on all my machines in the past.
/).
Another time, I reboot my server, and bam, nothing. So I hook up a monitor, and the USB disk -- which had an fstab entry which never gave me any problem -- caused the machine to not boot up because the disk wasn't connected. Maybe I had been getting error messages about the disk not being there, but previously, if the disk wasn't there it still booted (unless, you know, it was
Anecdotal, yes, and arguably my fault...but c'mon, I don't want an entirely functional system just breaking. Does not inspire confidence.
At least where I live, the local Fry's has a fair selection of electronic components. But it's a very large store, with the vast majority devoted to its more Best Buy-esque inventory.
Parallel startup?
And even this is -- in my experience -- terrible on systemd. My admittedly-"old" (2009-era i7 laptop), with systemd, will sit at a (text-only) login screen for 10 seconds or so before it's responsive (type username, hit enter, password displays in cleartext because the "password:" prompt hasn't even shown up). Meanwhile, the disk is whirring away trying to start Postgres, etc. So yeah, you technically got me my login prompt nice and fast, but it's completely useless.
And, like you said, I don't reboot my laptop much (that's what suspend-to-RAM is for...), and my desktop/server just stays on all the time.
I'm assuming they kept "iPhone" and "Android," and just removed "Blackberries"...
3) I like a nice big clear monitor to work on, no tablet comes close
Yeah, I find it very annoying though that high resolution monitors are still very expensive -- my tablet has a 2560x1600 display, and the entire tablet cost the same as the cheapest 2560x1600 display from newegg. I know pixel count isn't the only thing that contributes to monitor cost, but seriously, if I can buy a 2560x1600 touchscreen display + ARM SoC + 2GB RAM + stereo speakers + wifi + bluetooth + ... etc., it would be nice if I could *just* buy the screen (albeit it a little larger form-factor) for, you know...less. But perhaps I'm just being picky =)
Yeah, looks like a PID controller would be more appropriate.
I actually haven't played around with too many tiling wms -- I used dwm for awhile, but that is somewhat limited. I switched to i3 and it just does everything I need it to do -- very simple, great multi-monitor support, and I can tile/arrange things pretty much exactly the way I want. That said, I'm sure there are other great tiling wms that would do exactly what I want, too =)
Wait...is that the same Frederick County Councilman Kirby Delauter as this Kirby Delauter?
I think we should just do the opposite of everything in the article, and then start scp'ing that He-Man video back and forth.
How much do you pay for your electricity? Surely the IRS is getting their grubby hands on every joule there as well? Is it exorbitantly expensive?
Chances are it's about the same price you pay for gasoline, per unit usable energy.
Sustained, sure -- but if I'm sending a large file, backing up remotely, etc., then unless it's faster than my disk, it can be improved.
At my university we have (legitimate) 100Mbps connections -- for surfing the web, sure, it doesn't much matter. But for reasonably large files (disk images, backups, etc.), it's still a bottleneck.
Fluxbox on an old Slackware laptop got me through college. Good stuff, though I have since moved on to i3wm.
Crap, you forgot to check the "orbital" checkbox for your flight, too?
True. But 1) isn't a big issue for some people (always connected / commute always has service, etc.) -- not to mention the DRM aspect of downloading + local storage (which can sometimes render your files less-than-convenient). Regarding 2), yes, if you listen to the same songs. If your $10 monthly Google Play subscription means you listen to just 10 or so new songs a month, then it might be worth it to some. And I suspect that for many people, songs have a "shelf life" -- popular songs become un-popular, and the need for them is greatly reduced.
Additionally -- and maybe this is just me -- I find the subscription model that Netflix uses very nice. There are certainly movies I've started on Netflix that I would never rent or pay for, but because there's no incremental cost in viewing another flick/starting a new TV show, why not give it a shot?
Easy there, my daily-driver is a Dynaco ST-70 tube amp =) Had to replace a filter cap but it's been a real workhorse other than that.
Indeed, reliability on modern electronics is pretty amazing; it's certainly not a "worse" situation than before, just...different.
Hah, nice. I had a neighbor who had a GORGEOUS old (late 50s, early 60s?) Porsche Carrera 4 cam. He did all the work on it himself. He also had a new BMW station wagon. As he put it, "I can't even change the spark plugs on that thing."
It's not all bad of course -- things are pretty reliable these days. But, it seems to me that something's lost.
Completely agree; more reliability & cheaper = I'm not going to spend my time on a newish broken piece of equipment if I can just buy something else. But if my old tube amp breaks, you can be sure I'll be taking a voltmeter to it =)
I guess what I would find interesting is to see if this is actually having an impact on, say, STEM degree seekers. Are first-year EE students less prepared than their predecessors who were born and raised changing vacuum tubes on their radio and consulting schematics?
Sorry, I should have been more explicit -- I was referring to ignition timing, not cam timing. As far as I know, ignition timing is now handled by computers, whereas it was a simple mechanical setup on older cars.
If you assume that this is Slashdot and everyone's an idiot, then you'll probably see idiots everywhere.
Part of the problem could be that so many things are integrated now.
Entry-level audio gear, for instance, tends to use integrated amplifiers -- no longer can you fix easily fix a blown power transistor, as you could with older gear. Same thing with cars -- adjusting the timing on a car was sort of a rite of passage for many, but it's hardly feasible on a new car with computer-controlled everything.
Yeah, their strategy seems pretty lousy. Basically everyone I know is totally fine paying reasonable fees for convenient access to content -- but will of course pirate material if it's not available.
I could be wrong, but I suspect Netflix is completely fine with you VPN'ing your way to more content -- it's the movie studios that aren't ok with it. More paying customers is a Good Thing for Netflix.
I won't argue about technical superiority of Windows vs. Linux, but for me, I actually love the Linux "desktop": I use a tabbed window manager, and I love the fact that it's decoupled from the kernel. That is, I know that the user interface I want is orthogonal to the kernel I'm running, and one can be updated without the other. Want to run the Windows 8 kernel, but dig the XP interface? You're entirely at the mercy of Microsoft. Want to run the Windows 8 user interface but the Windows 10 kernel? Well...good luck.
This is clearly my personal experience and preference, but it's very important to me. And, although it's clearly just my experience, Linux runs perfectly on my newish (built last year) desktop, without any tweaking. Different strokes.
Unless you want to take a week to describe a single program, it really helps to anthropomorphise it.
Especially when it's that cute little Clippy!