Part of what's necessary for Linux to grow is attracting end-users, not just server admins. One of the big barriers to this is usability and user interface. What is IBM doing to address this concern, and what can the Linux community do as a whole to increase the user-friendliness of Linux?
Mandrake is the only Linux vendor, in my opinion, that is seriously attempting to address the usability and interface problems in Linux. An IPO would give them much needed cash to hire interface designers, usability people, and documentation writers, as well as to market their soft. to a wider group of people.
As such, best of luck to them. It can only increase the usability of Linux.
I'm pretty sure the focus of this article isn't really broadband, but about using power outlet networking for a LAN application. i.e. it doesn't bring broadband to your house, it's for hooking your PC in the office to the laptop in the living room.
I don't see pricing anywhere in the article - but it would have to be damn good when you consider the convenience of 802.11b wireless and how pricing is falling in that arena...
This doesn't help you get broadband cable/dsl into your home, but for hooking up a LAN it seems great.
It can be really difficult to explain to a newbie what is needed to hookup a few PC's via ethernet - this would make it much easier - "just plug this USB device into a wall outlet".
I just spent the weekend stringing cable in the attic of a sweltering house, and this seems like a happy alternative. Any idea what speeds it's capable of?
As I said above, you WON'T find them in the Circuit City or Best Buy ad due to the influence of the DVD cartel. That doesn't mean they aren't available, and it doesn't make them illegal, either.
You are mistaken. There is no law that prevents the selling of region free players in the USA. They may not be in the Circuit City ad (due to the DVD cartel), but they are out there. And you certainly aren't commiting a crime by buying or selling one.
Let me just say that if you're going to be a real artist, you'd best learn to give a dump about what the critics say.
How cares what the local art snobs think about your work: either you will continue to do it regardless of whether you make money, or you will stop. The opinions of the critics have nothing to do with it.
That'll beat the TM laws to some degree, but then AOL won't like having a non-AOL IM tool on their network.
Look, I think AOL sucks, but it is their private computer network, right? They can control which clients connect to it.
When we talk about spam, we say "it's my private network, they are trespassing". Well, AOL owns the network - are you trespassing when you use a client they've TOLD you is not welcome?
Maybe it's time for an Open Source Instant Messaging protocol, client, and server combo to avoid the whole mess.
Let me just say that as a newbie, struggling to implement any of the distros I can obtain for "free" (RedHat, Mandrake) there is no way on God's earth I'd deploy Caldera unless it offered substantial benefits in usability.
Does it? I just thought it was "just another distribution".
I've never used AIM or GAIM, and as someone who isn't real up on the Instant Messaging scene, it DOES seem confusingly similar. If I had to guess, I would say it (GAIM) stands for "GNU AOL Instant Messenger".
I can easily see how people could confuse it with something created by AOL, Inc.
Why not just avoid the problem by calling your software something like "WhizBang - an AIM compatible client for Linux" or something like that?
3 months ago - all of Microsoft site's are brought down by some misconfigured hardware. Slashdotters just all over them, what a lame employee, how dumb to have a single point of failure, Windows sucks, etc.
Fast forward to today: "well, like our router melted... well, yes, all of our sites did depend on that one router, well, no, we didn't have a backup. But we're still better than Microsoft!"
Oh, if only I had mod points I'd spend them all on you.
I've been trying to make those points here on Slashdot over and over.
I know Microsoft is a monopoly, that their shit crashes alot, that it's expensive, etc. I HATE IT.
But Linux is not a viable alternative for me right now, primarily because of ease of use. That doesn't mean it's no good, just that your average Linux user probably likes to tinker with it a little, and I can't afford to do that.
I WANT Mandrake to be good enough for me to replace Windows with, but it isn't. (or I can't make it good enough, because I don't have the knowledge). So I implore you, instead of making Dungeons and Dragons type installers for Linux (see recent/. article), spend some time on ease of use. PLEASE because tons of us can't wait!
Yes, but when they put it into their Terms of Service, it will be "illegal" to run such services on ANY port. Then they can just cancel your service. Port hopping doesn't help.
They'll monitor packets and traffic. Is it so hard to imagine a utility that searches the Gnutella network, gathers IP addresses and cross-checks them against a known set of IP addresses? No, it is trivial and your ISP could do it today.
Isn't this the same Bob Young who skillfully avoided most of the hard questions and claimed to "not represent the actual opinion of RedHat" in a recent Ask Slashdot?
Ever since Napster got started, I've been saying that the way "they" (RIAA, MPAA) would win would be to cut off access to programs/protocols at the ISP level.
When there is only 1 or 2 broadband providers in a market, and you convince or threaten them into blocking Napster, Gnutella, etc., the game is over.
Sure you can go back to 56k dialup, but that pretty much eliminated movie sharing and makes MP3 unbearably slow.
Uh... Macs use "PC Standard" memory, mice, hard drives, USB devices, monitors, CD and DVD ROM drives, burners, FireWire devices... so how do you figure they are more expensive to upgrade? Oh that's right, you were just repeating something you heard before.
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Scott,
Part of what's necessary for Linux to grow is attracting end-users, not just server admins. One of the big barriers to this is usability and user interface. What is IBM doing to address this concern, and what can the Linux community do as a whole to increase the user-friendliness of Linux?
As such, best of luck to them. It can only increase the usability of Linux.
Jeez... I just want to know if it's a bug in the slashcode and if so, any workarounds?
I'm pretty sure the focus of this article isn't really broadband, but about using power outlet networking for a LAN application. i.e. it doesn't bring broadband to your house, it's for hooking your PC in the office to the laptop in the living room.
I don't see pricing anywhere in the article - but it would have to be damn good when you consider the convenience of 802.11b wireless and how pricing is falling in that arena...
It can be really difficult to explain to a newbie what is needed to hookup a few PC's via ethernet - this would make it much easier - "just plug this USB device into a wall outlet".
I just spent the weekend stringing cable in the attic of a sweltering house, and this seems like a happy alternative. Any idea what speeds it's capable of?
As I said above, you WON'T find them in the Circuit City or Best Buy ad due to the influence of the DVD cartel. That doesn't mean they aren't available, and it doesn't make them illegal, either.
You are mistaken. There is no law that prevents the selling of region free players in the USA. They may not be in the Circuit City ad (due to the DVD cartel), but they are out there. And you certainly aren't commiting a crime by buying or selling one.
How cares what the local art snobs think about your work: either you will continue to do it regardless of whether you make money, or you will stop. The opinions of the critics have nothing to do with it.
Look, I think AOL sucks, but it is their private computer network, right? They can control which clients connect to it.
When we talk about spam, we say "it's my private network, they are trespassing". Well, AOL owns the network - are you trespassing when you use a client they've TOLD you is not welcome?
Maybe it's time for an Open Source Instant Messaging protocol, client, and server combo to avoid the whole mess.
Does it? I just thought it was "just another distribution".
I can easily see how people could confuse it with something created by AOL, Inc.
Why not just avoid the problem by calling your software something like "WhizBang - an AIM compatible client for Linux" or something like that?
Fast forward to today: "well, like our router melted... well, yes, all of our sites did depend on that one router, well, no, we didn't have a backup. But we're still better than Microsoft!"
See? That's what you get with a closed source router.
Are you suggesting that it's illegal to buy a region free player in the United States? Sorry but you are wrong. Hard to get is not = illegal.
If "here" is the US, all region players are not illegal. Just hard to find.
Where are my mod points when I need them... did anyone catch how funny the parent post is?
I've been trying to make those points here on Slashdot over and over.
I know Microsoft is a monopoly, that their shit crashes alot, that it's expensive, etc. I HATE IT.
But Linux is not a viable alternative for me right now, primarily because of ease of use. That doesn't mean it's no good, just that your average Linux user probably likes to tinker with it a little, and I can't afford to do that.
I WANT Mandrake to be good enough for me to replace Windows with, but it isn't. (or I can't make it good enough, because I don't have the knowledge). So I implore you, instead of making Dungeons and Dragons type installers for Linux (see recent /. article), spend some time on ease of use. PLEASE because tons of us can't wait!
They'll monitor packets and traffic. Is it so hard to imagine a utility that searches the Gnutella network, gathers IP addresses and cross-checks them against a known set of IP addresses? No, it is trivial and your ISP could do it today.
Does he speak in an official capacity here?
But since you're AC, I figure you know your bullshit is not true.
If Apple is so irellevant, why did you bother to read and reply to this thread? Oops.
When there is only 1 or 2 broadband providers in a market, and you convince or threaten them into blocking Napster, Gnutella, etc., the game is over.
Sure you can go back to 56k dialup, but that pretty much eliminated movie sharing and makes MP3 unbearably slow.
Are there any ISP's that won't knuckle under?
Uh... Macs use "PC Standard" memory, mice, hard drives, USB devices, monitors, CD and DVD ROM drives, burners, FireWire devices... so how do you figure they are more expensive to upgrade? Oh that's right, you were just repeating something you heard before.
In other areas, they set the mark others aspire to.