I've said it before and I'll say it again: You can't beat FREE!
You can keep saying it if you want, but it will continue to be wrong.
You do realize that people use computers for a specific purpose, right? Free is not worth the price if the computer isn't doing what you want. Window's is worth the price because it runs the apps I want to use.
Free and useless is not better than non-free and useful.
For the first time, MS has made less money in a 3-month period than the previous 3-month period. Their growth has stalled, and the decline is starting. Because of their fun financial practices, the fall will be fast. Just wave goodbye as they go past.
The wishful thinking in this is awesome to behold.:)
Google is great for geeks, but geeks are still considerable outnumbered by non-geeks, and many non-geeks like Google too. Your proof sounds like "I found some shells on the beach, therefore the beach must be made of shells." Please read about writing proofs. (Your local college should have a course in algebra or symbolic logic that will cover the important concepts.) If you want statistics on what geeks use, get your statistics from a geek-only site like Slashdot.
And may I recommend a logic course for yourself? The WHOLE POINT of this exercise is what non-geeks use. No one cares what geeks use; they are a miniscule part of the market. My point about using Google as a reference is that it will have a disproportionately HIGHER percentage of Linux users. Versus, say, sites like AOL search. And if Linux usage is barely perceptible on a geek-friendly site like Google, then it must be microscopic in the "real" world.
Man, that article is a huge circle-jerk. Look, I like Linux. I use it every day -- for development. I use XP for my everyday apps, because it's a better tool for those.
Linux has almost no penetration desktop, non-server applications. Evidence? Coming right up. Note Google's usage breakdown.
Note that Linux ranks dead last, below Windows 95! Yes, we're talking about Google, which is the geek's best friend, which would have naturally higher numbers than many other sites.
Tipover point? XP ranks first at 42%! Yes, Microsoft's latest O/S (which the article seems to think is a dismal failure) accounts for almost half of all web access!
When you compare that to "adult" books with their smaller fonts and spacing, it's probably more like a 300-400 page book (I'm making these numbers up). It's really not that much to read.
What? OotP is 255,000 words. That is not going to fit in 300-400 pages.
In any case, it's true that the American edition has a slightly larger type, but the UK edition does not, and it's 768 pages.
Nope, you're not the only one. I managed to get through Cryptonomicon, but only barely. It would have been a great book if it was half the length.
The worst part of the whole book was the painful -- oh, so painful -- part about eating Captain Crunch cereal. What possessed the man to write that self-indulgent drivel? Sheesh, did he read some Ayn Rand the night before?
Don't worry about it -- screw people who don't like it just because it's popular. It's a great series of books. I'm with Stephen King when he says the series is "one for the ages" that will stand the test of time along with Tolkien, Wizard of Oz, or name your classic of literature.
RMS never claims the be the self-appointed leader of anyone
Wha...? Are you joking? Would this be the same RMS who insists on Gnu/Linux? I'll grant you that RMS does it in a different way than ESR, but RMS self appoints himself all the time into things. It's his way or the highway.
I expect the blatient misuse of hacker as a synonym for computer criminal in the mainstream press, but I woulda hoped that Slashdot would do better.
And once again it must be pointed out that the original sense of Hacker included the breaking into of computer systems. It was only in the late 80s and early 90s that certain people (like ESR, who unilaterally "deprecated" the original meaning in the Jargon File) decided to change the definition, and tried to introduce the ridiculous "cracker" word.
For once, the mainstream press has it right, and most younger engineers with no sense of history have it wrong.
One of the meanings of hacking is cracking security. Get over it.
So if the name was Coffee Desktop you would expect it was a liquid operating system?
No, because liquid is not technically capable of running an operating system (or desktop, to be more precise). On other hand, Java is a well-known technology that presumably could run a desktop, and Sun has been known before to try and force Java into places it shouldn't go.
Lets be real. Research the product first before you make assumptions.
Screw that! Maybe you have no life and salivate at the chance to figure out exactly what crap Sun is pushing, but personally I'm just not interested. If Sun wants to engage my interest, then they should make it EASY for me to find out. And shoving a misleading name down my throat is not the way to do it.
Only Sun (and apparently you) would think that putting Java on something is supposed to be the golden mark of quality that will make me look up and say, "Oooooh... Jaaaaavvvvaaaaa... it must be good! I shall, nay, I must spend my valuable time researching this technology! Of course, I know that Java is a mark of perfection, but perhaps this technology is something new and has nothing to do with the technology formerly known as Java! I must find out!"
Hey, MORON! Java Desktop is NOT powered by Java, but rather Gnome2 and Star Office. Jeez, where do they find these IT managers.
Fine, call me a moron, too because I made the same assumption. I wouldn't touch a desktop written in Java with a ten foot keyboard. Maybe -- *gasp* -- Sun shouldn't call it a Java desktop if it has NOTHING TO DO WITH JAVA???
BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Guess again. Nasa spends an ENORMOUS amount of money per year, like 15 billion dollars. A YEAR.
And don't tell me how much that is compared to other government programs. Tell me how much FIFTEEN BILLION DOLLARS is. It's freaking lot of money, and they waste it EVERY DAMN YEAR. 12 months. Fifteen billion. POOF!
"Manned spaceflight is going nowhere because there's nowhere to go." Seriously, who IS this genius?
Actually, the comment is much, much, much more sublime and sophisticated than you think. Stop reading science fiction, and actually think about space. Where are we going to go? The other planets are ROCKS. Sure, there are people who want to live on rocks. But not as many as you think. Asteroid mining? VERY unproven. Power generation in space? Also VERY unproven to be economical.
Sorry, but "because it's there" is not good enough.
I think we'll get there eventually, but there have to be solid economic reasons to get there. Remember, Columbus didn't go for the hell of it, he did it to find a new route to China. Exploration has almost never been done "because it's there".
On the other hand, isn't one of the ideas behind the orbital space plane program the fact that our current space program is getting more unsafe through the use of 20-year-old equipment?
On the third hand, our current space program is getting more unsafe because of the incompetence of NASA. Why give them more money to pour down the rathole? Apparently a lot of people think NASA hasn't tried to design anything since the Shuttle. They have. They failed. Multiple times. The OSP is just another link in a rotten chain.
...but unless the users see through this, MS might just gain the upper hand. Yes, yes, it's all FUD, we know, but do the users know?
"We" don't know jack, apparently. You may not like the messenger, but the message is absolutely true. Apple IS selling a mechanism that locks you into Apple. If you buy from the iTunes store, you are locked into Apple. That's been Apple's strategy from day 1, and is one of the reasons I detest Apple.
Give Microsoft some credit. They may try and lock you into the operating system, but your choices past that are rich and varied. Microsoft is smart enough to know that the reason they have a dominant O/S marketshare is because of the vast third party software market.
So why should any geek learn Esperanto? For all the above reasons, but most of all: Because we can.
The biggest reason NOT to learn Esperanto? Opportunity cost.
There is no payoff to learning it. It's a completely useless exercise. Why not spend that time learning something else that would be infinitely more interesting? Learn to play the piano. Learn to draw. Learn to fly an airplane. Hell, learn to read an ancient language such as Latin so you can read certain literature the way it was originally written.
In other words, learn something that helps you grow as a person.
There are endless things that can be learned. Why waste time with something like Esperanto? It's just mental masturbation. No growth takes place.
The aspect of this recall that I find most disgustingly unfair is the influence of money in politics. Californians should find it frightening that a wealthy Republican can buy himself another election.
I cannot believe the whining about this. They needed FREAKING EIGHT HUNDRED NINETY THOUSAND VALID SIGNATURES. And that means they need to get twice as many just to make sure.
People of both parties have been lining up for this recall election because of the amount of hatred for Gray Davis. The guy is an absolute idiot. I'll never forgive him for signing those absolutely stupid power contracts. My power bill was FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS last month.
To paint this as some sort of republican vendetta is absolutely idiotic, and if this guy doesn't understand that when he's actually running, then obviously he's too stupid to be governor.
Sorry for the rant, but I've heard this "buying a recall election" stupidity one too many times.
Who says that your style of conversation is _true_ and mine is _false_? The purpose of conversation to me is to exchange information and enhance both parties' pool of knowledge.
Ultimately all conversation is an exchange of information. There is certainly a place for an exchange of intellectual ideas, but the typical geek/introvert thinks it's the *only* type of information exchange worth having. To be frank, it's a symptom of broken social skills that you can't derive enjoyment from any other type of interaction.
Lacking the skills that would be developed over time by actually seeking out interactions, I suspect that it is one of the only ways us introverted geeks can see to contribute to a conversation.
I agree that there is a place for doing things like this as an "ice breaker". I play the piano, people come over the listen, and I use it as an opportunity to talk to them. But things like that usually don't annoy people. I admit it's a fine line between "having some fun" and "showing off for attention", and it's often hard for an introvert to understand the difference. But the original poster seemed to take pride in the fact that people get annoyed with him because he's "too extroverted", and IMO that's simply not how it generally works.
Unfortunately, it's also made me a lot of enemies out of people who think that geeks should not be so extroverted...
I don't mean the following to sound harsh, but this behavior is typical of introverts.
The reason it annoys people is because you're not being extroverted, you're just seeking attention. An extrovert enjoys making *social* connections to people. You're not connecting with people; you're just hoping they will notice you as a substitute for a true connection.
A similar thing that introverts due (and geeks are notorious for) is replacing true conversation with being a walking encyclopia. Someone talks about the weather, and the geek goes on to explain strato cumulous clouds. It's not a conversation, it's a plea for attention. "Aren't I clever that I understand clouds".
Slashdot Mirror
I've said it before and I'll say it again: You can't beat FREE!
You can keep saying it if you want, but it will continue to be wrong.
You do realize that people use computers for a specific purpose, right? Free is not worth the price if the computer isn't doing what you want. Window's is worth the price because it runs the apps I want to use.
Free and useless is not better than non-free and useful.
For the first time, MS has made less money in a 3-month period than the previous 3-month period. Their growth has stalled, and the decline is starting. Because of their fun financial practices, the fall will be fast. Just wave goodbye as they go past.
The wishful thinking in this is awesome to behold. :)
Google is great for geeks, but geeks are still considerable outnumbered by non-geeks, and many non-geeks like Google too. Your proof sounds like "I found some shells on the beach, therefore the beach must be made of shells." Please read about writing proofs. (Your local college should have a course in algebra or symbolic logic that will cover the important concepts.) If you want statistics on what geeks use, get your statistics from a geek-only site like Slashdot.
And may I recommend a logic course for yourself? The WHOLE POINT of this exercise is what non-geeks use. No one cares what geeks use; they are a miniscule part of the market. My point about using Google as a reference is that it will have a disproportionately HIGHER percentage of Linux users. Versus, say, sites like AOL search. And if Linux usage is barely perceptible on a geek-friendly site like Google, then it must be microscopic in the "real" world.
If you're pointing to the MSIE 6.0 statistics, that can include Windows 98, ME, 2000, AND XP.
No...
Where are you seeing statistics on Google's usage page that specifically denotes XP users?
Keep looking.
Man, that article is a huge circle-jerk. Look, I like Linux. I use it every day -- for development. I use XP for my everyday apps, because it's a better tool for those.
Linux has almost no penetration desktop, non-server applications. Evidence? Coming right up. Note Google's usage breakdown.
Note that Linux ranks dead last, below Windows 95! Yes, we're talking about Google, which is the geek's best friend, which would have naturally higher numbers than many other sites.
Tipover point? XP ranks first at 42%! Yes, Microsoft's latest O/S (which the article seems to think is a dismal failure) accounts for almost half of all web access!
When you compare that to "adult" books with their smaller fonts and spacing, it's probably more like a 300-400 page book (I'm making these numbers up). It's really not that much to read.
What? OotP is 255,000 words. That is not going to fit in 300-400 pages.
In any case, it's true that the American edition has a slightly larger type, but the UK edition does not, and it's 768 pages.
Nope, you're not the only one. I managed to get through Cryptonomicon, but only barely. It would have been a great book if it was half the length.
The worst part of the whole book was the painful -- oh, so painful -- part about eating Captain Crunch cereal. What possessed the man to write that self-indulgent drivel? Sheesh, did he read some Ayn Rand the night before?
Don't worry about it -- screw people who don't like it just because it's popular. It's a great series of books. I'm with Stephen King when he says the series is "one for the ages" that will stand the test of time along with Tolkien, Wizard of Oz, or name your classic of literature.
They are 15, not 16. And you only have to look at Slashdot to see what happens when 15 year olds get a little bit of power.
RMS never claims the be the self-appointed leader of anyone
Wha...? Are you joking? Would this be the same RMS who insists on Gnu/Linux? I'll grant you that RMS does it in a different way than ESR, but RMS self appoints himself all the time into things. It's his way or the highway.
I expect the blatient misuse of hacker as a synonym for computer criminal in the mainstream press, but I woulda hoped that Slashdot would do better.
And once again it must be pointed out that the original sense of Hacker included the breaking into of computer systems. It was only in the late 80s and early 90s that certain people (like ESR, who unilaterally "deprecated" the original meaning in the Jargon File) decided to change the definition, and tried to introduce the ridiculous "cracker" word.
For once, the mainstream press has it right, and most younger engineers with no sense of history have it wrong.
One of the meanings of hacking is cracking security. Get over it.
So if the name was Coffee Desktop you would expect it was a liquid operating system?
No, because liquid is not technically capable of running an operating system (or desktop, to be more precise). On other hand, Java is a well-known technology that presumably could run a desktop, and Sun has been known before to try and force Java into places it shouldn't go.
Lets be real. Research the product first before you make assumptions.
Screw that! Maybe you have no life and salivate at the chance to figure out exactly what crap Sun is pushing, but personally I'm just not interested. If Sun wants to engage my interest, then they should make it EASY for me to find out. And shoving a misleading name down my throat is not the way to do it.
Only Sun (and apparently you) would think that putting Java on something is supposed to be the golden mark of quality that will make me look up and say, "Oooooh... Jaaaaavvvvaaaaa... it must be good! I shall, nay, I must spend my valuable time researching this technology! Of course, I know that Java is a mark of perfection, but perhaps this technology is something new and has nothing to do with the technology formerly known as Java! I must find out!"
/RM101 snorts with laughter
Java is a brilliant piece of technology that is really starting to come into its own.
Yup, and always will be.
"In the next version, we promise we'll fix all the library crap! And the performance issues! And ..."
Hey, MORON! Java Desktop is NOT powered by Java, but rather Gnome2 and Star Office. Jeez, where do they find these IT managers.
Fine, call me a moron, too because I made the same assumption. I wouldn't touch a desktop written in Java with a ten foot keyboard. Maybe -- *gasp* -- Sun shouldn't call it a Java desktop if it has NOTHING TO DO WITH JAVA???
Nah, that would be silly.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Guess again. Nasa spends an ENORMOUS amount of money per year, like 15 billion dollars. A YEAR.
And don't tell me how much that is compared to other government programs. Tell me how much FIFTEEN BILLION DOLLARS is. It's freaking lot of money, and they waste it EVERY DAMN YEAR. 12 months. Fifteen billion. POOF!
"Manned spaceflight is going nowhere because there's nowhere to go." Seriously, who IS this genius?
Actually, the comment is much, much, much more sublime and sophisticated than you think. Stop reading science fiction, and actually think about space. Where are we going to go? The other planets are ROCKS. Sure, there are people who want to live on rocks. But not as many as you think. Asteroid mining? VERY unproven. Power generation in space? Also VERY unproven to be economical.
Sorry, but "because it's there" is not good enough.
I think we'll get there eventually, but there have to be solid economic reasons to get there. Remember, Columbus didn't go for the hell of it, he did it to find a new route to China. Exploration has almost never been done "because it's there".
On the other hand, isn't one of the ideas behind the orbital space plane program the fact that our current space program is getting more unsafe through the use of 20-year-old equipment?
On the third hand, our current space program is getting more unsafe because of the incompetence of NASA. Why give them more money to pour down the rathole? Apparently a lot of people think NASA hasn't tried to design anything since the Shuttle. They have. They failed. Multiple times. The OSP is just another link in a rotten chain.
"We" don't know jack, apparently. You may not like the messenger, but the message is absolutely true. Apple IS selling a mechanism that locks you into Apple. If you buy from the iTunes store, you are locked into Apple. That's been Apple's strategy from day 1, and is one of the reasons I detest Apple.
Give Microsoft some credit. They may try and lock you into the operating system, but your choices past that are rich and varied. Microsoft is smart enough to know that the reason they have a dominant O/S marketshare is because of the vast third party software market.
HP-41C circa 1980, and HP 16C circa 1982. :)
Still work perfectly. HP calculators rule.
So why should any geek learn Esperanto? For all the above reasons, but most of all: Because we can.
The biggest reason NOT to learn Esperanto? Opportunity cost.
There is no payoff to learning it. It's a completely useless exercise. Why not spend that time learning something else that would be infinitely more interesting? Learn to play the piano. Learn to draw. Learn to fly an airplane. Hell, learn to read an ancient language such as Latin so you can read certain literature the way it was originally written.
In other words, learn something that helps you grow as a person.
There are endless things that can be learned. Why waste time with something like Esperanto? It's just mental masturbation. No growth takes place.
User Friendly isn't fit to sniff Penny Arcade's shit.
That's like saying that crap isn't fit to sniff dung's shit.
Has either one EVER produced a comic that was remotely clever?
You can find them on Ebay. Every so often I see if the price has risen enough to make it worth trying sell mine off. :)
The aspect of this recall that I find most disgustingly unfair is the influence of money in politics. Californians should find it frightening that a wealthy Republican can buy himself another election.
I cannot believe the whining about this. They needed FREAKING EIGHT HUNDRED NINETY THOUSAND VALID SIGNATURES. And that means they need to get twice as many just to make sure.
People of both parties have been lining up for this recall election because of the amount of hatred for Gray Davis. The guy is an absolute idiot. I'll never forgive him for signing those absolutely stupid power contracts. My power bill was FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS last month.
To paint this as some sort of republican vendetta is absolutely idiotic, and if this guy doesn't understand that when he's actually running, then obviously he's too stupid to be governor.
Sorry for the rant, but I've heard this "buying a recall election" stupidity one too many times.
Who says that your style of conversation is _true_ and mine is _false_? The purpose of conversation to me is to exchange information and enhance both parties' pool of knowledge.
Ultimately all conversation is an exchange of information. There is certainly a place for an exchange of intellectual ideas, but the typical geek/introvert thinks it's the *only* type of information exchange worth having. To be frank, it's a symptom of broken social skills that you can't derive enjoyment from any other type of interaction.
Lacking the skills that would be developed over time by actually seeking out interactions, I suspect that it is one of the only ways us introverted geeks can see to contribute to a conversation.
I agree that there is a place for doing things like this as an "ice breaker". I play the piano, people come over the listen, and I use it as an opportunity to talk to them. But things like that usually don't annoy people. I admit it's a fine line between "having some fun" and "showing off for attention", and it's often hard for an introvert to understand the difference. But the original poster seemed to take pride in the fact that people get annoyed with him because he's "too extroverted", and IMO that's simply not how it generally works.
Unfortunately, it's also made me a lot of enemies out of people who think that geeks should not be so extroverted...
I don't mean the following to sound harsh, but this behavior is typical of introverts.
The reason it annoys people is because you're not being extroverted, you're just seeking attention. An extrovert enjoys making *social* connections to people. You're not connecting with people; you're just hoping they will notice you as a substitute for a true connection.
A similar thing that introverts due (and geeks are notorious for) is replacing true conversation with being a walking encyclopia. Someone talks about the weather, and the geek goes on to explain strato cumulous clouds. It's not a conversation, it's a plea for attention. "Aren't I clever that I understand clouds".