Once again, Slashdot has reacted in its typical reactionary manner.
For good reason. The internet is in it's infancy still -- hell, it's not even out of the womb. We're all just scared as heck that someone will come in and abort the fetus.
Congress doesn't give a fuck -- hell, they're probably happy as hell. This internet thing has been opening up all sorts of new sticky thought-provoking issues. The politians can't figure out what the public wants. By having a separate 'working group' making the laws, they aren't responsible. Then they can stick to the classic issues (abortion, prayer in school, medicaid, etc..)
I'd love to see a GUI (stress on the User Interface part) as soon as possible in the Linux boot process. I mean as soon as vmlinuz uncompresses, the graphics subsystem (VGA, GGI, or whatever) is started and the boot process continues, but represented graphically using icons and such. That would be a serious step in the acceptance of linux as an alternative to Windows with the average technically-challenged home user. I think boot messages (especially the kind that any unix generates) scare people. And then you have the issue of actually understanding and interacting with the boot messages. You and I can use chkdsk without any problems, but in a window's world, we're the exception.
So, maybe we should be focusing on putting a GUI on the parts that make up Linux, like modules and devices and filesystems. But even before that, devise a nice series of metaphores that could be used in visual representations of system components. (A simple example would be the puzzle-shaped init icons are when a Mac is booting). Then we can work on integrating those concepts into the front-end (X, Berlin, GGI, whatever) and the back-end (vmlinuz,/sbin/*,/proc/*, etc...). Of course the standard console boot process would be available for the rest of us...
The same could be said about alot of industries that get away with it. I often find myself ranting "Do I pay $50/month to my phone company to have them send me junk mail and sell my name to mailing lists?" "Do I pay $60/month to my cable company who then sells advertising on those channels?" etc...
What about us dual-tasking TV/Net users? I think I watch *more* TV because I need to have it on as background noise. My computer usually receives 90%, while TV receives 10%.
Perhaps the survey needs to measure the attention percentages between both mediums..
Let this be serve as a warning to you work-at-home people. Don't play your radio too loud. This also goes for drug dealers playing loud music in their cars with the windows open
"when they kick at your front door, how you gonna come? with your hands on your head or on the trigger of your gun" -the clash, "guns of brixton" (oops, did I just tempt fate?)
I saw AOL is just spooked by the recent lawsuit by their volunteer channel moderators. They're afraid the open source contributors will rise up and sue them too.:)
I remember reading about hybrid magnetic & optic storage a few years ago. As I remember it, bits were stored as normal on the magnetic tracks, while a read-only optical track provided sync bits. This allowed the magnetic 1's and 0's to be much smaller and denser. I believe it's what eventually lead to products like SuperDisk.
Anyway, I was always wondering why they didn't apply this optical sync track to a standard harddrive? The paranoia side of my brain says "companies regulate technology advances so that older technology becomes obsolete at a steady rate." In other words, if Maxtor came out with a 1 terabyte drive tomarrow for $500, they'd be left with a warehouse full of worthless 18 gig drives... sad.
And even more to the point, who's going to take legal action.
Imagine MS hires someone to crack into Be's R&D systems and steal their kernal source. If they're caught, no problem. Be sues MS...
But, if MS grabs the latest linux kernel and compiles it as an NT subsystem (like the os/2 or posix subsystems that still come with NT today), then releases "WINDOWS 2001 With WINUX" without source.. Again, IF they're caught (pretty tough since MS doesn't supply source), will Linus put down the bong for a few minutes and sue MS?
Can't you just see it, 10 years from now, the justice department has Sun/AOL/Netscape on trial for being a monopoly, and crap like this will be brought up...
Hah. From one of those ex-fry-flippers I would've expected "Uh, like buy a new computer that doesn't have a virus on it, and turn it on after Michelangelo day"
Slashdot Mirror
Once again, Slashdot has reacted in its typical reactionary manner.
For good reason. The internet is in it's infancy still -- hell, it's not even out of the womb. We're all just scared as heck that someone will come in and abort the fetus.
Congress doesn't give a fuck -- hell, they're probably happy as hell. This internet thing has been opening up all sorts of new sticky thought-provoking issues. The politians can't figure out what the public wants. By having a separate 'working group' making the laws, they aren't responsible. Then they can stick to the classic issues (abortion, prayer in school, medicaid, etc..)
Soon they'll make it illegal for americans to link to sites outside the country without import clearence from the justice department. Mark my words.
Who was it who said SDMI will go the way of DIVX?
I'd love to see a GUI (stress on the User Interface part) as soon as possible in the Linux boot process. I mean as soon as vmlinuz uncompresses, the graphics subsystem (VGA, GGI, or whatever) is started and the boot process continues, but represented graphically using icons and such. That would be a serious step in the acceptance of linux as an alternative to Windows with the average technically-challenged home user. I think boot messages (especially the kind that any unix generates) scare people. And then you have the issue of actually understanding and interacting with the boot messages. You and I can use chkdsk without any problems, but in a window's world, we're the exception.
/sbin/*, /proc/*, etc...). Of course the standard console boot process would be available for the rest of us...
So, maybe we should be focusing on putting a GUI on the parts that make up Linux, like modules and devices and filesystems. But even before that, devise a nice series of metaphores that could be used in visual representations of system components. (A simple example would be the puzzle-shaped init icons are when a Mac is booting). Then we can work on integrating those concepts into the front-end (X, Berlin, GGI, whatever) and the back-end (vmlinuz,
Feel free to contact me to carry on this discussion. Maybe it can turn into a project.
"I think that [in the future], a hardware modem will be a high-end, luxury item."
Sounds like something from SegFault.
"Soon every household will have at least 512k SVGA Cards!"
The same could be said about alot of industries that get away with it. I often find myself ranting "Do I pay $50/month to my phone company to have them send me junk mail and sell my name to mailing lists?" "Do I pay $60/month to my cable company who then sells advertising on those channels?" etc...
I think we need an Investing Linux HOWTO.
(If anyone takes this seriously, email me -- I want to read it since I know nothing about Investing..)
Thanks for the warning -- I only have a few years to cash in my stock options and start my own overvalued .com firm before I'm obsolete!
What about us dual-tasking TV/Net users? I think I watch *more* TV because I need to have it on as background noise. My computer usually receives 90%, while TV receives 10%.
Perhaps the survey needs to measure the attention percentages between both mediums..
Ok, so how many people think that Linus was stoned out of his gourd and actually sent the email?
I can just see it now. He goes to Phantom Menace, gets all psyched up on finding aliens, goes home....
I'm surprised the telco's don't have a similar message when you dial 411...
ASCAP artists shouldn't care if their song is being played in a store for free -- it's free advertising.
Let this be serve as a warning to you work-at-home people. Don't play your radio too loud. This also goes for drug dealers playing loud music in their cars with the windows open
"when they kick at your front door, how you gonna come? with your hands on your head or on the trigger of your gun"
-the clash, "guns of brixton" (oops, did I just tempt fate?)
I wonder.. Will VW sue Apple for ripping off the TV commercial style.
I've had an unopened bottle of that stuff on my desk for months now. I'm too scared to drink it because the bottle looks like a big nubby dildo.
I saw AOL is just spooked by the recent lawsuit by their volunteer channel moderators. They're afraid the open source contributors will rise up and sue them too. :)
I remember reading about hybrid magnetic & optic storage a few years ago. As I remember it, bits were stored as normal on the magnetic tracks, while a read-only optical track provided sync bits. This allowed the magnetic 1's and 0's to be much smaller and denser. I believe it's what eventually lead to products like SuperDisk.
Anyway, I was always wondering why they didn't apply this optical sync track to a standard harddrive? The paranoia side of my brain says "companies regulate technology advances so that older technology becomes obsolete at a steady rate." In other words, if Maxtor came out with a 1 terabyte drive tomarrow for $500, they'd be left with a warehouse full of worthless 18 gig drives... sad.
"Help me obiwan kenobi... you're my only hope!"
And even more to the point, who's going to take legal action.
Imagine MS hires someone to crack into Be's R&D systems and steal their kernal source. If they're caught, no problem. Be sues MS...
But, if MS grabs the latest linux kernel and compiles it as an NT subsystem (like the os/2 or posix subsystems that still come with NT today), then releases "WINDOWS 2001 With WINUX" without source.. Again, IF they're caught (pretty tough since MS doesn't supply source), will Linus put down the bong for a few minutes and sue MS?
Agreed.. I was like 13-14 when it came out, back when everything was cheezy, but come-on, Ghostbusters is too cheezy even for a retro 80's thing...
Now Purple Rain. That's one I'd like to see on DVD. Mmmm... Apollonia.
Can't you just see it, 10 years from now, the justice department has Sun/AOL/Netscape on trial for being a monopoly, and crap like this will be brought up...
What about Al Gore?
Like the subject says... If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Hah. From one of those ex-fry-flippers I would've expected "Uh, like buy a new computer that doesn't have a virus on it, and turn it on after Michelangelo day"