I actually received one of these and gave it to my parents. They didn't seem to mind the ads although they didn't use it that often. After the company went under they ended up letting everyone keep the computers.
If I remember right, it was a compaq badged machine with horrible internals (these things couldn't have cost much to begin with) -- cyrix CPUs, onboard everything, etc. But hey, free computer and dialup access.
The mechnanical voting machines where I live do not leave a verifiable paper trail, true. However, they are open to scruitiny and it's (relatively) easy to examine how they work. They're also tested before every election with multiple people watching the little counters on the back.
Would IT technicians come back on weekends to fix their systems?
A good IT technician would do what it takes to keep their systems secure. Coming in on a weekend isn't asking too much. Too bad good IT technicians are tough to find.
Absolutely...computers should be there, but they shouldn't be strewn all over a school. I learned a lot about DOS/Netware trying to hide installations of Warcraft II on my school's network, so I can definitely identify.
The problem is that computers and technology are seen as the answer to everything in a school -- class underperforming? Put some computers in there. Weak teacher? Have him do his lessons "digitally" (powerpoint). Students not paying attention? Add multimedia (sound effects to the powerpoint).
If people would step back for a second and look at how these resources are actually being used (and think about how they could realistically be used in the future), so much money/time/effort could be saved. It's a shame, really.
Perhaps you missed the idea of having labs. Besides, maybe kids should be doing more by hand -- libraries are still extremely useful tools that get used less and less because of the Internet. Don't you think a kid should have that skill?
My handwriting is horrible, so I'm not going to attempt to argue that it would be better off if kids wrote more rather than typed -- I put teachers through enough making them read my longhand, I wouldn't want to inflict more torture on them.
Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but this would be a tremendous move for schools. Having computers in the classroom is an enormous waste of resources -- teachers rarely know how to use them, students don't use them productively, they're a hassle to maintain (especially if you allow web browsing on them, regardless of the browser you use -- kids will be kids), they're a waste.
Computers belong in labs and specialized situations in schools (we had a pretty successful mac lab for a media production class at my high school, for instance), and rarely anywhere else. If it makes sense to use a computer for a lesson (typing up a paper, a research day, etc), the teacher can sign up for the lab (that is easily maintained, and can often be staffed by students).
I'll admit that the zaurus is big, but the display on these things is amazing. I have a 6000 -- 640x480 resolution and things are bright and very readable. As for usability...well, it's acceptable.
it's pretty delightful to only have to make sure your apt sources are good and include the security patches
Yeah, because it's so difficult to have security.debian.org in your sources list, and it's not like it gets put in there for you when you install...oh wait...it does that? Imagine that.
There's no need to apt-get update/upgrade "every night" if you're on the security mailing list...which any competent Debian admin would be anyway
Everyone seems to put all this faith into SP2...but let's face it: a significant portion of the population doesn't install patches to begin with. What makes anyone think they're going to sit through a download 10x bigger...and that's assuming they even know about it.
SP2 will be popular in corporations (hopefully), but as far as the end users who are causing all the problems to begin with, I don't see much of a change coming.
Although I do agree with your basic points, people have to remember that a distribution of linux is not just the kernel -- it includes an office suite (or several), graphics programs, programming environments, cd burning software, etc, etc, most of which people pay extra for in the Windows world.
I do agree that many distros are overpriced and that lowering prices would likely help, but, it's not an apples to apples comparison.
That's just the point though...they don't want your Zelda 2 catridge to last forever, they want it to last long enough for you to pay a fee monthly to access it, until you get tired of it.
It's not about what's good/convenient for you, it's about what's convenient for them (i.e. makes them the most money)
I'm as much for Windows bashing as the next slashdotter, but, this is a lousy argument. Yes, there have been RPC problems, and there have also been patches. If I'm dedicated about installing the patches on my system, what does a firewall do for me, exactly (besides take up resources)?
I absolutely agree, tablets do have their place. Using my imagination, I would also suspect they would be great to use in a hospital environment (especially if they can translate a doctor's handwriting), etc.
However, I still don't understand why someone technical would use it.
Slashdot Mirror
I hope not -- I've been playing under linux for a few months now and haven't had any problems.
-Gabe
I actually received one of these and gave it to my parents. They didn't seem to mind the ads although they didn't use it that often. After the company went under they ended up letting everyone keep the computers.
If I remember right, it was a compaq badged machine with horrible internals (these things couldn't have cost much to begin with) -- cyrix CPUs, onboard everything, etc. But hey, free computer and dialup access.
It would be cool, but no:
Can I run MythTV on my TiVo?
The mechnanical voting machines where I live do not leave a verifiable paper trail, true. However, they are open to scruitiny and it's (relatively) easy to examine how they work. They're also tested before every election with multiple people watching the little counters on the back.
Would IT technicians come back on weekends to fix their systems?
A good IT technician would do what it takes to keep their systems secure. Coming in on a weekend isn't asking too much. Too bad good IT technicians are tough to find.
Absolutely...computers should be there, but they shouldn't be strewn all over a school. I learned a lot about DOS/Netware trying to hide installations of Warcraft II on my school's network, so I can definitely identify.
The problem is that computers and technology are seen as the answer to everything in a school -- class underperforming? Put some computers in there. Weak teacher? Have him do his lessons "digitally" (powerpoint). Students not paying attention? Add multimedia (sound effects to the powerpoint).
If people would step back for a second and look at how these resources are actually being used (and think about how they could realistically be used in the future), so much money/time/effort could be saved. It's a shame, really.
Perhaps you missed the idea of having labs. Besides, maybe kids should be doing more by hand -- libraries are still extremely useful tools that get used less and less because of the Internet. Don't you think a kid should have that skill?
My handwriting is horrible, so I'm not going to attempt to argue that it would be better off if kids wrote more rather than typed -- I put teachers through enough making them read my longhand, I wouldn't want to inflict more torture on them.
Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but this would be a tremendous move for schools. Having computers in the classroom is an enormous waste of resources -- teachers rarely know how to use them, students don't use them productively, they're a hassle to maintain (especially if you allow web browsing on them, regardless of the browser you use -- kids will be kids), they're a waste.
Computers belong in labs and specialized situations in schools (we had a pretty successful mac lab for a media production class at my high school, for instance), and rarely anywhere else. If it makes sense to use a computer for a lesson (typing up a paper, a research day, etc), the teacher can sign up for the lab (that is easily maintained, and can often be staffed by students).
I'll admit that the zaurus is big, but the display on these things is amazing. I have a 6000 -- 640x480 resolution and things are bright and very readable. As for usability...well, it's acceptable.
it's pretty delightful to only have to make sure your apt sources are good and include the security patches
Yeah, because it's so difficult to have security.debian.org in your sources list, and it's not like it gets put in there for you when you install...oh wait...it does that? Imagine that.
There's no need to apt-get update/upgrade "every night" if you're on the security mailing list...which any competent Debian admin would be anyway
Everyone seems to put all this faith into SP2...but let's face it: a significant portion of the population doesn't install patches to begin with. What makes anyone think they're going to sit through a download 10x bigger...and that's assuming they even know about it.
SP2 will be popular in corporations (hopefully), but as far as the end users who are causing all the problems to begin with, I don't see much of a change coming.
For a more developer oriented version of this database, check out http://www.baseball-databank.org/
No, that's not what we want, because there's no control/monitoring over who is considered "suspicious" and the false positive rate is FAR too high.
A false positive for these people would mean that they can't leave their own town...that's a serious problem.
Because the last version of Debian came out, what, two years ago?
Although I do agree with your basic points, people have to remember that a distribution of linux is not just the kernel -- it includes an office suite (or several), graphics programs, programming environments, cd burning software, etc, etc, most of which people pay extra for in the Windows world.
I do agree that many distros are overpriced and that lowering prices would likely help, but, it's not an apples to apples comparison.
So, what're you're saying is that there's multiple viewpoints on slashdot? Perhaps even, gasp, multiple people posting? Fascinating insight there...
Yes, that's why he said JavaScript....
Reading comprehension...it's a good thing.
Yes Billy, you can. For instance, assuming you have a stable and an unstable source for your packages, you could do:
apt-get install ssh/unstable
and it'll get the version from unstable.
That's just the point though...they don't want your Zelda 2 catridge to last forever, they want it to last long enough for you to pay a fee monthly to access it, until you get tired of it.
It's not about what's good/convenient for you, it's about what's convenient for them (i.e. makes them the most money)
I'm as much for Windows bashing as the next slashdotter, but, this is a lousy argument. Yes, there have been RPC problems, and there have also been patches. If I'm dedicated about installing the patches on my system, what does a firewall do for me, exactly (besides take up resources)?
There's no good reason your mailserver or each machine in your SQL Server farm needs a GUI.
No kidding...that's why we don't use Windows.
I think you're looking for:
Maggie: [holds up an `Aztec' flashcard]
Lisa: No, Maggie. Not Aztec, Olmec. [slowly] Ol-mec.
Maggie: [falls down]
(episode 7F22, "Blood Feud", quote courtesy of snpp.com)
Gee, what are those little icons in my system notifications area?
Oh yeah, it's the quickstarters for Mozilla and OpenOffice.
Yes, and you CHOSE to put them there. You don't get a choice with IE/Office...
I absolutely agree, tablets do have their place. Using my imagination, I would also suspect they would be great to use in a hospital environment (especially if they can translate a doctor's handwriting), etc.
However, I still don't understand why someone technical would use it.
Why don't I just skip the whole tablet route and get a nice light laptop?