"Linux" is a great name that follows all the rules. It communicates what it was intended to communicate, and nothing more.... The name couldn't be better.
Well, if designing a name that results in several common (incorrect) pronunciations is one of the rules, then yes. There are 2 common variations on the "i" and 3 on the "u" that I hear in this part of the world. Sure, many constructed names suffer from this problem, but it can be minimized in the name design process. For a little fiver-letter name, it's pronounced incorrectly an impressive amount, even by the old Unix crowd where you'd think it would be closest to its roots. Nice name, but room for improvement.
Something related about the name "Linux" that I notice... I commonly need to repeat and spell the name for people the first time they hear it. Now, this isn't critical in business and it probably won't break any deals. But having it written down incorrectly by receptionists, bankers, etc. is an annoyance. Again, nice name once you get to know it, but the first introduction is difficult.
My point here is simply to show that something doesn't have to follow any rules to be a great name. Linux is great. But not because it "follows all the rules" or "couldn't be better".
Windows was a carefully selected name. At the time Microsoft picked it, windowing was an advanced ability for a PC.
As you point out, it is a geeky name. At the time Microsoft picked it, no consumer would know about "windowing" (an advanced ability for a PC). They'd hear the name Windows and draw their own conclusion. Now, it's a catchy name, but consumers would have connotations of "fragile", "breakable", "something I look through", "something transparent", "something I open and close", "something that keeps things out", etc. It's a catchy name. With lots of bad connotations, admit it. Thank goodness not everyone follows the rules.
with the capacity to store over 3,000 songs - that's 150 hours of music
First, thank you for the story. But I'm going to plead to audio-device story submitters now: For god's sake, when posting the story to Slashdot, please talk to your fellow geeks in geek-speak, not copy-and-pasted condescending marketing terms. I can get that from CNET or MSN or my local news anchor. 3,000 songs? 150 hours? Based on what bitrate? How big is this compared to a PC hard drive? Will this store my existing collection that takes N gigs? Obviously, we can find the real specs if we hit the company's website, but do us a favor and give us the geeky bits when submitting the story.
FWIW, this Treo has a 10 gig drive, so I guess the 3,000 song figure is based on approx 3.3 megs per song. (Kind of low, really.) The 150 hour figure is apparently based on something between 128 and 160 kbps.
We just have to hope that they don't pass on the delivery cost to the consumer
Oh yes, heaven forbid that the user starts to pay for what they use. That would be horrible. I suggest that we increase taxes. Just don't let them pass the delivery cost along to the consumer. I mean, if that was to happen, all the poor users who don't use the specialty services might actually pay less. And that wouldn't be fair, either.
Re:Mod this dude UP^^^!
on
Dreamhack 2001
·
· Score: 3, Funny
Sweet Jesus! That proggie is amazing! Definitely the coolest 256 bytes on the net. Why can't viruses carry sweet little payloads like this?!
Doing a sample install and usage under close inspection is a good idea. But also consider that if they interleaved their loggings in, say, a swap file or other frequently-used temp files or something, it would be harder to detect. Registry entries would be more obvious.
Magic Lantern doesn't do the Feds any good if it doesn't phone home from time to time, so there would be some network traffic.
Not true. I think one of the earlier posts about ML indicated that one mode of its operation allowed it to simply record keystrokes locally (hidden away in an OS registry or a "special" file of some sort, if we're talking about a closed-source implementation) and those recordings could then be recovered physically upon serving a warrant on the user.
Of course, the paranoid among us would do their best to determine where those recordings get kept and utilities would no doubt be written to clear or obfuscate those recordings. But my point is that the feds don't necessarily need it to generate any network traffic for ML to be a useful tool.
Okay, so I read a "Mining On The Moon" headline and immediately, the C64 M.U.L.E. theme starts playing in my head. Just in case you're hearing the marching M.U.L.E. yourself... Here is one authentic-sounding remix, in its all its SID glory. (I'd mirror that link if I could -- sorry.)
I know everyone's needs are different. Me, I hate fan noise. I understand we're in the early days of watercooling, so maybe I'm dreaming, but I'd like to see someone make a case and powersupply that has NO fans. (I count 4 good-sized fans in the case and powersupply alone of the reviewed unit.)
Top-mounted, well-ventilated radiators and an external power brick, anyone?
The only way any kind of settlement with Microsoft will accomplish anything is if the people who make up Microsoft's leadership actually alter their behavior.
The goal of a settlement is generally NOT to alter behavior. That's why it's called a SETTLEment. You settle for something of agreed-upon value (cash or other terms) and then get on with life. Think of insurance settlements, divorce settlements, etc. If you don't think any settlement for cash and equivalents is fair in this case, then you probably wanted to see senior management at Microsoft thrown in prison. Jailing the richest people in the country simply isn't The American Way(tm).
Proposal: there should be a metadata standard allowing webmasters to manually decrease the relevance of their pages for specific search terms and phrases.
Okay, pretend I'm a webmaster. What's my incentive to have my page show up LESS in anyone's search results?!
If someone didn't want my site, why do I care if they get it? And if someone wants my site, I don't want to take any chance with an "anti-thesaurus" that might end up excluding my site!
Ever heard of a contract? Legally, they can do wonders for trust:)
I agree, but every contract I've seen had (at least) two sides that signed it. Or verbally agreed to it. Getting every potential developer to sign it before commencing development seems like a hassle.
Okay, now this is thoroughly tongue-in-cheek, so chill on the flames, but here are my predictions of what you'll find yourself saying if you choose to invest in Open-Source companies...
(Thanks to Merriam-Webster for the pronunciations.)
This is interesting stuff. Does anyone have links to software experiments in ternary computing? Obviously, running on binary hardware, such projects probably won't have storage or execution advantages, but are there application domains where ternary representation makes a more elegant software solution?
Slashdot Mirror
"Linux" is a great name that follows all the rules. It communicates what it was intended to communicate, and nothing more. ... The name couldn't be better.
Well, if designing a name that results in several common (incorrect) pronunciations is one of the rules, then yes. There are 2 common variations on the "i" and 3 on the "u" that I hear in this part of the world. Sure, many constructed names suffer from this problem, but it can be minimized in the name design process. For a little fiver-letter name, it's pronounced incorrectly an impressive amount, even by the old Unix crowd where you'd think it would be closest to its roots. Nice name, but room for improvement.
Something related about the name "Linux" that I notice... I commonly need to repeat and spell the name for people the first time they hear it. Now, this isn't critical in business and it probably won't break any deals. But having it written down incorrectly by receptionists, bankers, etc. is an annoyance. Again, nice name once you get to know it, but the first introduction is difficult.
My point here is simply to show that something doesn't have to follow any rules to be a great name. Linux is great. But not because it "follows all the rules" or "couldn't be better".
Windows was a carefully selected name. At the time Microsoft picked it, windowing was an advanced ability for a PC.
As you point out, it is a geeky name. At the time Microsoft picked it, no consumer would know about "windowing" (an advanced ability for a PC). They'd hear the name Windows and draw their own conclusion. Now, it's a catchy name, but consumers would have connotations of "fragile", "breakable", "something I look through", "something transparent", "something I open and close", "something that keeps things out", etc. It's a catchy name. With lots of bad connotations, admit it. Thank goodness not everyone follows the rules.
with the capacity to store over 3,000 songs - that's 150 hours of music
First, thank you for the story. But I'm going to plead to audio-device story submitters now: For god's sake, when posting the story to Slashdot, please talk to your fellow geeks in geek-speak, not copy-and-pasted condescending marketing terms. I can get that from CNET or MSN or my local news anchor. 3,000 songs? 150 hours? Based on what bitrate? How big is this compared to a PC hard drive? Will this store my existing collection that takes N gigs? Obviously, we can find the real specs if we hit the company's website, but do us a favor and give us the geeky bits when submitting the story.
FWIW, this Treo has a 10 gig drive, so I guess the 3,000 song figure is based on approx 3.3 megs per song. (Kind of low, really.) The 150 hour figure is apparently based on something between 128 and 160 kbps.
Okay, end of rant. Cool device.
A guy named Futurepower said:
It amazes me how often open source authors pick self-destructive names.
"Hello, kettle? This is the pot. You're black."
Um, yeah.
We just have to hope that they don't pass on the delivery cost to the consumer
Oh yes, heaven forbid that the user starts to pay for what they use. That would be horrible. I suggest that we increase taxes. Just don't let them pass the delivery cost along to the consumer. I mean, if that was to happen, all the poor users who don't use the specialty services might actually pay less. And that wouldn't be fair, either.
Sweet Jesus! That proggie is amazing! Definitely the coolest 256 bytes on the net. Why can't viruses carry sweet little payloads like this?!
Doing a sample install and usage under close inspection is a good idea. But also consider that if they interleaved their loggings in, say, a swap file or other frequently-used temp files or something, it would be harder to detect. Registry entries would be more obvious.
Magic Lantern doesn't do the Feds any good if it doesn't phone home from time to time, so there would be some network traffic.
Not true. I think one of the earlier posts about ML indicated that one mode of its operation allowed it to simply record keystrokes locally (hidden away in an OS registry or a "special" file of some sort, if we're talking about a closed-source implementation) and those recordings could then be recovered physically upon serving a warrant on the user.
Of course, the paranoid among us would do their best to determine where those recordings get kept and utilities would no doubt be written to clear or obfuscate those recordings. But my point is that the feds don't necessarily need it to generate any network traffic for ML to be a useful tool.
Okay, so I read a "Mining On The Moon" headline and immediately, the C64 M.U.L.E. theme starts playing in my head. Just in case you're hearing the marching M.U.L.E. yourself... Here is one authentic-sounding remix, in its all its SID glory. (I'd mirror that link if I could -- sorry.)
We need to bring back herbivores if we want tasty meat.
Ummm... Cows?
The novelty wears off pretty quickly believe me.
Exactly. My worst logo would amuse me longer than the best logo I've seen from a telco!
The watch has a bit updated look and feel.
Favorite response:
a) A "bit" updated look and feel? Pfeh! Go for at least a byte updated or preferably a word updated look and feel for less eyestrain.
b) Wait, doesn't Apple have an "updated look and feel" copyrighted?!
c) Cowboy Neal.
Teach the kids on Linux rather than Windows. It's a better OS, though the real world generally uses a crappier one.
Teach the kids Esperanto rather than English. It's a better language, though the real world generally uses a crappier one.
I know everyone's needs are different. Me, I hate fan noise. I understand we're in the early days of watercooling, so maybe I'm dreaming, but I'd like to see someone make a case and powersupply that has NO fans. (I count 4 good-sized fans in the case and powersupply alone of the reviewed unit.)
Top-mounted, well-ventilated radiators and an external power brick, anyone?
Ahhhh! The noise! The noise!
The only way any kind of settlement with Microsoft will accomplish anything is if the people who make up Microsoft's leadership actually alter their behavior.
The goal of a settlement is generally NOT to alter behavior. That's why it's called a SETTLEment. You settle for something of agreed-upon value (cash or other terms) and then get on with life. Think of insurance settlements, divorce settlements, etc. If you don't think any settlement for cash and equivalents is fair in this case, then you probably wanted to see senior management at Microsoft thrown in prison. Jailing the richest people in the country simply isn't The American Way(tm).
Proposal: there should be a metadata standard allowing webmasters to manually decrease the relevance of their pages for specific search terms and phrases.
Okay, pretend I'm a webmaster. What's my incentive to have my page show up LESS in anyone's search results?!
If someone didn't want my site, why do I care if they get it? And if someone wants my site, I don't want to take any chance with an "anti-thesaurus" that might end up excluding my site!
Ever heard of a contract? Legally, they can do wonders for trust :)
I agree, but every contract I've seen had (at least) two sides that signed it. Or verbally agreed to it. Getting every potential developer to sign it before commencing development seems like a hassle.
if MusicCity had a different name like FileShareCountry.
The obscure name approach didn't help "Napster" any.
Careful! Those vendor-supplied plastic bags are not toys.
Okay, now this is thoroughly tongue-in-cheek, so chill on the flames, but here are my predictions of what you'll find yourself saying if you choose to invest in Open-Source companies...
...when you see your portfolio statement...
...as above, if you're American...
...describing the outlook for profits...
...what you'll mutter to yourself constantly
...to your broker who recommended Open-Source companies...
...as above, if your broker is female...
...what you'll call the CEO...
...what you'll call the CEO if you're American...
...and don't forget the CFO...
(Thanks to Merriam-Webster for the pronunciations.)
This is interesting stuff. Does anyone have links to software experiments in ternary computing? Obviously, running on binary hardware, such projects probably won't have storage or execution advantages, but are there application domains where ternary representation makes a more elegant software solution?
Using The Geek Code Decoder Page, here are three of Wil's OS codes, decoded...
L+>++++
I've managed to get GNU/Linux installed and even used it a few times. It seems like it is just another OS...
UL
I use GNU/Linux exclusively. I have a unix account to do my stuff in...
w++++>----
I have Windows, Windows 95, Windows NT, and Windows NT Advanced Server all running on my SMP RISC machine...
Who comes up with the headline--the poster, or Hemos?
C) Cowboy Neal
I don't have time for a girlfriend.
But a talking frog?! Now that's COOL.
When's the soundtrack being released?