You're horribly out of touch with current pricing for computers. Dell routinely sells decent low-end systems for $300-$400, WITH monitors. I don't see the Mac Mini coming with a monitor.
True. The "pirates" are very reliable in releasing periodic updates and fixes to their own work if necessary. Many of them work hard to protect their integrity in "the scene" by making sure they only release quality, virus-free software so that their name is trusted.
If MS breaks the updates for people with pirated copies, an alternate system will emerge. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if a new type of distributed secure patching system would be created. BitTorrent + modified version of Windows Update.
At the very least, a patch would be released that would prevent your PC from communicating its identify to MS, even if it breaks your automated updates.
I think MS will be very unpleasantly surprised if they force the issue.
I've tried a lot of different Linux distros, and I can say honestly that they are getting slowly better.
I can install a Linux distro after burning the ISO's to CD, run the install process, and boot to a GUI. A simple GUI network setup utility is all that is needed to get people online and productive, if a browser and office-type software are included.
4 requirements for making Linux mainstream
- Easy install (create a Windows-based installer that will download and burn your CDs/DVD for you, perhaps using BitTorrent, or perhaps FTP with automatic md5 checking). No complicated questions during Install process unless user chooses Advanced setup.
- Easy network setup. Automatically check for a DHCP server, and put up a big "Do you want me to use this automatically obtained IP address? (Default, YES). Otherwise, Skip Network Setup, or Advanced network setup.
- Default to a GUI login with a simple username creation process, or default to a no-password GUI console only login. Do not enable any externally reachable services by default, such as SSH, FTP, Apache, etc. Anyone who knows how to use SSH would choose Advanced setup anyway.
- Basic word processing and other office-type software, GIMP, etc., a couple games, all clearly labeled and available from a simple menu, with all system setup/advanced options available from an Advanced menu.
World-dominating option...
- AOL client. Is there an AOL client for Linux? That'd be a killer app. Imagine an AOL subsidized Linux machine that's free with your subscription to AOL. If you sub for a year, you get to keep the machine.
I used to work for an ISP, and via airline is how we used to ship replacement parts (routers, switches, cards) to techs in remote POPs in emergency situations.
I'm not sure what the cost is for something like that, though. I imagine transcontinental flight space is more expensive, though.
Nah, the print/paper industries will just do what the auto industries have done to all those miracle engines that get 100mpg. They'll steal all proof that the technology existed and kill the inventor(s). Or buy the patents and let no one use them.
I've been touch-typing since my C64 as well, but keyboards have changed over the years. I've been using "ergonomic" (split) keyboards for years.
Anyway, every keyboard is a little different from the next, so it's very common for me to have a long adapt period where I hit some keys that I didn't mean to. The size and shape of the enter, alt, shift, control, space, tab, caps lock, esc, fkeys, backspace, cursor keys, home/end/insert/pgup/pgdn/del can ALL vary by keyboard manufacturer and model.
Finding ergonomic keyboards is hard. Finding them without F-lock, and built well enough to last more than a couple months before keys start sticking (Microsoft keyboards are really bad about strike angle - I can take a MS keyboard out of the box and have problems with keys not working properly because of the angle at which I type), is difficult.
This is the latest in a long line of "Beowulf cluster of Natalie Portman-style grits, you insensitive clod" taglines.
I've seen it in a lot of articles lately. So why am I not surprised it was modded interesting? Obviously the bots have taken over. Moderation must be done via genetically-engineered parakeet.
You mean *publicly* atheist. There are lots of intelligent people out there in Washington. I mean, who would turn down a job where you can vote in your own salary increases, and be above the laws of the plebs?
They lie about everything else, why not lie about their religion, too?
So innocent bystanders, children, etc killed during so-called holy wars are unfit to reproduce because they happened to be in the way of hundreds or thousands of morons using their religion as an excuse to pillage and rape?
I hope you're just trolling, because otherwise I'd have to feel true pity for you because your brain must be hung like a gnat.
I've NEVER SEEN ANY PROOF OF A RELIGION. I *have* seen lots of good software, and lots of bad software.
Countries do in fact exist, and there is lots of proof of them. Edible food that doesn't kill you does in fact exist because we're here to fucking read your asinine words.
I have mod points, but I've got to respond to this troll or poor deluded soul.. I'm not sure which.
What's sad is seeing people who still believe in hokey old religions that don't make any sense, and they do it without proof.
Heck, if god came down in a burning chariot, and said Follow Me, well, I'd know which side I'd put my money on THEN.
Oh, but religion is worthless without faith, you say. Bull. Why should WE believe, when the people that were THERE had to be shown miracles and such in order to believe? That's not belief, that's just being proven there's someone that can do extraordinary things, or is a real slick huckster.
Well, you just send me every cent you have. No? Why don't you have faith that I will pay back all of your money if you send it to me? I can get AT LEAST 12 people to tell you how trustworthy I am.
You know, people used to worship the sun and moon, ancestors, the spirits of animals and ideas. Would you just call them superstitious primitives? They had just as ardent a belief as you do. The ones who worshipped the sun, the moon, the wind, and their ancestors at least had something concrete to worship, whereas you just have the word of people who existed a couple thousand years ago and wrote letters and ran a despised religion out of basements and catacombs.
Intellectual children, the superstitious, the desperate, or the confused. Those are the kinds of people that believe in a god.
Well, assuming that this technology is perfected, and no risk, you still end up with the issues of everyone you knew is (older|dead), and you are out of touch with technology and current events.
I don't think this kind of medical procedure would ever be without risk.
But yeah, sounds great. I'd love to put my 5-figure savings in the bank and take a 60-year nap and be a millionaire when I wake up.
Playable versions of the original "MUD" were available as early as 1979, mainframes only. Multiplayer mainframe Zork was created even earlier. I remember playing multiplayer Zork on a Dartmouth university mainframe back in the early 80's.
In 1980, MUD1 was online on the internet.
Compuserve was first able to put Islands of Kesmai up as a commercial offering in 1984.
In 1985, Galacticomm's MajorBBS and Compuserve's British Legends were both available.
The BBS software that Galacticomm wrote was called MajorBBS, and I used to help run a BBS, and customize some of the programming and configuration for it. (Borland C with DOS Extender on a 286!)
What made Galacticomm unique was their invention the Galactibox, which was a large computer case with 16 ISA slots that connected to a PC via an interface card -- of which you could have multiple. This allowed BBS operators to put together the hardware to run 16-64 modem lines much cheaper than, say, Compuserve.
I used to help run a MajorBBS in Michigan called SOLARIS until the con-man that owned it skipped town and left all of the hardware, so my then girlfriend and I decided to run it out of our home. We were always in the red over the phone bill, so we eventually closed it down.
In one of the Dangerous Visions series in the 70's I believe, there was a short story about clones being used as backup bodies when you die, and your memories get uploaded into it.
The thing that made the story interesting was that certain illegals were letting the clones loose with slightly outdated memory modules, and one with an XX instead of an XY. The clones inevitably tried to kill the original, but the XX ended up having sex with the original, and he said it was the best he ever had. That would be pretty creepy.
Anyway, my point is, there has been "clone" fiction around for a long, long time. The idea of growing them for backup organs, complete backup bodies to house our brains or memories, just to sell on the black market, etc., has been around for decades. Hell, even Lucas mentioned the Clone Wars back in '77 didn't he?
When you say you "MSN" someone, are you talking about instant messaging them via Microsoft Messenger?
I've never seen or heard anyone saying that they "MSN'd" someone. IM is a generic term, as it should be. I use Trillian as my IM app because I have MSN, Yahoo, AIM, and ICQ accounts -- all because there are a few holdouts on each one that I want to keep in touch with.
If MSN went away, those friends of mine who use MSN exclusively would just have to pick something else to use.
If Google went away I'd be pissed. I'd be forlorn. I'd be using search engines I don't really care for that don't do what I want.
Slashdot Mirror
You're horribly out of touch with current pricing for computers. Dell routinely sells decent low-end systems for $300-$400, WITH monitors. I don't see the Mac Mini coming with a monitor.
True. The "pirates" are very reliable in releasing periodic updates and fixes to their own work if necessary. Many of them work hard to protect their integrity in "the scene" by making sure they only release quality, virus-free software so that their name is trusted.
If MS breaks the updates for people with pirated copies, an alternate system will emerge. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if a new type of distributed secure patching system would be created. BitTorrent + modified version of Windows Update.
At the very least, a patch would be released that would prevent your PC from communicating its identify to MS, even if it breaks your automated updates.
I think MS will be very unpleasantly surprised if they force the issue.
I've tried a lot of different Linux distros, and I can say honestly that they are getting slowly better.
I can install a Linux distro after burning the ISO's to CD, run the install process, and boot to a GUI. A simple GUI network setup utility is all that is needed to get people online and productive, if a browser and office-type software are included.
4 requirements for making Linux mainstream
- Easy install (create a Windows-based installer that will download and burn your CDs/DVD for you, perhaps using BitTorrent, or perhaps FTP with automatic md5 checking). No complicated questions during Install process unless user chooses Advanced setup.
- Easy network setup. Automatically check for a DHCP server, and put up a big "Do you want me to use this automatically obtained IP address? (Default, YES). Otherwise, Skip Network Setup, or Advanced network setup.
- Default to a GUI login with a simple username creation process, or default to a no-password GUI console only login. Do not enable any externally reachable services by default, such as SSH, FTP, Apache, etc. Anyone who knows how to use SSH would choose Advanced setup anyway.
- Basic word processing and other office-type software, GIMP, etc., a couple games, all clearly labeled and available from a simple menu, with all system setup/advanced options available from an Advanced menu.
World-dominating option...
- AOL client. Is there an AOL client for Linux? That'd be a killer app. Imagine an AOL subsidized Linux machine that's free with your subscription to AOL. If you sub for a year, you get to keep the machine.
I used to work for an ISP, and via airline is how we used to ship replacement parts (routers, switches, cards) to techs in remote POPs in emergency situations.
I'm not sure what the cost is for something like that, though. I imagine transcontinental flight space is more expensive, though.
If someone were to make these in the US, I'm sure they could sell as many as they could make for $500 a pop.
I'd buy one for $150, but it's worth more than that just for the labor.
Star Wars, yet useful. Not something you see very often.
Using my amazing psychic powers, I predict that you WILL be able to resist the urge to buy, until at LEAST 2006.
Nah, the print/paper industries will just do what the auto industries have done to all those miracle engines that get 100mpg. They'll steal all proof that the technology existed and kill the inventor(s). Or buy the patents and let no one use them.
I've been touch-typing since my C64 as well, but keyboards have changed over the years. I've been using "ergonomic" (split) keyboards for years.
Anyway, every keyboard is a little different from the next, so it's very common for me to have a long adapt period where I hit some keys that I didn't mean to. The size and shape of the enter, alt, shift, control, space, tab, caps lock, esc, fkeys, backspace, cursor keys, home/end/insert/pgup/pgdn/del can ALL vary by keyboard manufacturer and model.
Finding ergonomic keyboards is hard. Finding them without F-lock, and built well enough to last more than a couple months before keys start sticking (Microsoft keyboards are really bad about strike angle - I can take a MS keyboard out of the box and have problems with keys not working properly because of the angle at which I type), is difficult.
This is the latest in a long line of "Beowulf cluster of Natalie Portman-style grits, you insensitive clod" taglines.
I've seen it in a lot of articles lately. So why am I not surprised it was modded interesting? Obviously the bots have taken over. Moderation must be done via genetically-engineered parakeet.
And this is why Jimmy Hoffa is the new Messiah. They couldn't find that body either.
You mean *publicly* atheist. There are lots of intelligent people out there in Washington. I mean, who would turn down a job where you can vote in your own salary increases, and be above the laws of the plebs?
They lie about everything else, why not lie about their religion, too?
So innocent bystanders, children, etc killed during so-called holy wars are unfit to reproduce because they happened to be in the way of hundreds or thousands of morons using their religion as an excuse to pillage and rape?
I see a flaw in your logic...
I hope you're just trolling, because otherwise I'd have to feel true pity for you because your brain must be hung like a gnat.
I've NEVER SEEN ANY PROOF OF A RELIGION. I *have* seen lots of good software, and lots of bad software.
Countries do in fact exist, and there is lots of proof of them. Edible food that doesn't kill you does in fact exist because we're here to fucking read your asinine words.
Your analogy sucks Jesus-riding donkey dick.
I have mod points, but I've got to respond to this troll or poor deluded soul.. I'm not sure which.
What's sad is seeing people who still believe in hokey old religions that don't make any sense, and they do it without proof.
Heck, if god came down in a burning chariot, and said Follow Me, well, I'd know which side I'd put my money on THEN.
Oh, but religion is worthless without faith, you say. Bull. Why should WE believe, when the people that were THERE had to be shown miracles and such in order to believe? That's not belief, that's just being proven there's someone that can do extraordinary things, or is a real slick huckster.
Well, you just send me every cent you have. No? Why don't you have faith that I will pay back all of your money if you send it to me? I can get AT LEAST 12 people to tell you how trustworthy I am.
You know, people used to worship the sun and moon, ancestors, the spirits of animals and ideas. Would you just call them superstitious primitives? They had just as ardent a belief as you do. The ones who worshipped the sun, the moon, the wind, and their ancestors at least had something concrete to worship, whereas you just have the word of people who existed a couple thousand years ago and wrote letters and ran a despised religion out of basements and catacombs.
Intellectual children, the superstitious, the desperate, or the confused. Those are the kinds of people that believe in a god.
I'm sniffing a hint of troll here.
There are a lot of people out there with working DVD burners, including myself and every geek I know who has a DVD burner.
I used to have problems with my ancient CD burners, but I think that was becase of immature technology and software, as well as supercheap media.
Decent media + decent burner = lots of joy.
Well, assuming that this technology is perfected, and no risk, you still end up with the issues of everyone you knew is (older|dead), and you are out of touch with technology and current events.
I don't think this kind of medical procedure would ever be without risk.
But yeah, sounds great. I'd love to put my 5-figure savings in the bank and take a 60-year nap and be a millionaire when I wake up.
Since monkeys are much more intelligent and similar to humans, wouldn't it make sense to move to monkey testing before humans?
"AMY GOOD GIRL."
"AMY LIKE BRAINS!"
The AC is right. There's only one SOLar system. Another system would be the (Name of primary star)-(proper linguistic ending) System.
Like, the star Regulus would be in the "Regulan System" or whatever.
Bonus points just for mentioning pogs. It's so easy, and desirable, to forget they ever existed as a fad.
The thing is, this joke is actually relevant this time.
I've been around here a long time but I still sometimes get a chuckle out of the old jokes, if someone phrases it right.
Most people know that there is nothing new in this world, just infinite combinations of the old.
Playable versions of the original "MUD" were available as early as 1979, mainframes only. Multiplayer mainframe Zork was created even earlier. I remember playing multiplayer Zork on a Dartmouth university mainframe back in the early 80's.
h tml
In 1980, MUD1 was online on the internet.
Compuserve was first able to put Islands of Kesmai up as a commercial offering in 1984.
In 1985, Galacticomm's MajorBBS and Compuserve's British Legends were both available.
The BBS software that Galacticomm wrote was called MajorBBS, and I used to help run a BBS, and customize some of the programming and configuration for it. (Borland C with DOS Extender on a 286!)
What made Galacticomm unique was their invention the Galactibox, which was a large computer case with 16 ISA slots that connected to a PC via an interface card -- of which you could have multiple. This allowed BBS operators to put together the hardware to run 16-64 modem lines much cheaper than, say, Compuserve.
I used to help run a MajorBBS in Michigan called SOLARIS until the con-man that owned it skipped town and left all of the hardware, so my then girlfriend and I decided to run it out of our home. We were always in the red over the phone bill, so we eventually closed it down.
Here's an interesting timeline to check out if you're interested: http://www.legendmud.org/raph/gaming/mudtimeline.
I don't *have* any friends, you insensitive clod!
Obviously your username is not very accurate ;)
In one of the Dangerous Visions series in the 70's I believe, there was a short story about clones being used as backup bodies when you die, and your memories get uploaded into it.
The thing that made the story interesting was that certain illegals were letting the clones loose with slightly outdated memory modules, and one with an XX instead of an XY. The clones inevitably tried to kill the original, but the XX ended up having sex with the original, and he said it was the best he ever had. That would be pretty creepy.
Anyway, my point is, there has been "clone" fiction around for a long, long time. The idea of growing them for backup organs, complete backup bodies to house our brains or memories, just to sell on the black market, etc., has been around for decades. Hell, even Lucas mentioned the Clone Wars back in '77 didn't he?
When you say you "MSN" someone, are you talking about instant messaging them via Microsoft Messenger?
I've never seen or heard anyone saying that they "MSN'd" someone. IM is a generic term, as it should be. I use Trillian as my IM app because I have MSN, Yahoo, AIM, and ICQ accounts -- all because there are a few holdouts on each one that I want to keep in touch with.
If MSN went away, those friends of mine who use MSN exclusively would just have to pick something else to use.
If Google went away I'd be pissed. I'd be forlorn. I'd be using search engines I don't really care for that don't do what I want.
See the difference?