As a partner in a computer training company I taught more than 10,000 (probably closer to 12,000) people how to use Windows and Macs.
As for the quote from the tech support person who claimed that having someone use the right mouse button caused the person to evermore ask "right or left" when asked to click: That's ridiculous. You just say, "If I, or someone else, or a book or manual instructs you to 'click' on something without telling you which button, you use the left button." You explain that the left button is the "default" button and then go into a brief explanation of what "default" means.
Here's how to explain "default."
The "default" is what's expected in the absence of any other instructions. The default hamburger in diners and other traditional restaurants is usually just meat between two buns (with perhaps some garnishes on the side). At McDonald's and other fast food chains the default includes ketchup, pickles, onions and sometimes more.
Once you understand the default configuration of burgers at the place you eat, you know what to expect.
I submitted pretty much the same story on THURSDAY
on
Mac mini in a Volkswagen
·
· Score: 0, Redundant
While this guy is slashdotted take a look at the original story in my journal.
"DrinkOrDie is one of the oldest and most sophisticated software pirate groups within the 'Warez' community, which is a loose, global network of Internet pirate gangs."
If these guys don't have eye patches and peg legs I am going to be SO disappointed.
Tax on free Linux distro: Zero dollars. Tax on books from Project Gutenberg: Zero dollars. Tax on freeware programs: Zero dollars. Tax on files downloaded from p2p networks: Zero dollars.
Telling the governor of Wisconsin to kiss my ass: Priceless.
The expenses really add up quickly. What's a scientist cost per year with benefits? Let's guess $150,000 (scientists everywhere are laughing and weeping at this number, probably). Hire five of them to do nothing but analyze the data. You're up to $750,000 a year. Add $250,000 a year for assistant's salaries and other overhead. You're now at $1 million.
Now build the scientists a state-of-the-art lab filled with the latest equipment that's used exclusively for this project. Figure $3 million and you've spent all of your money.
Oh, the other $200,000? That's for demolition of the lab at the end of the year so you can build a new one the next year.
How else can you manage to burn through $4.2 million a year listening to a couple of satellites?
I can't believe NASA has been pissing away our tax dollars on some unmanned satellites out in the boondocks of the soloar system. By killing the support for this program we will save enough money to launch one more shuttle flight (where the REAL science is done) in just 302 YEARS!
($4.2 million / 1.3 billion average shuttle flight cost.)
As I mentioned in a post yesterday, I love Microsoft because they "...will make the decision based on what is best for customers."
Let me add that I love NASA because they always base their budget priorities on how to get the most scientific knowledge for every dollar spent.
Oh, and they're immune to politics and mere PR crap.
When I was writing this I was going to comment that the writer probably meant "capitalization scheme," meaning the way some people capitalize Random Words in their Posts.
But then I figured maybe he was referring to what the site makers want in return for tearing down their sites (i.e., how they expect the enemy corporation to capitulate).
I don't have a cite (or a site) to show you but in the past Gates has said he occasionally (key word) uses a Mac, since MS Office is (was?) the biggest selling piece of software for the Mac.
Wow, this is exactly what I've been advocating for years. Five cents may be a bit high. For three cents a song I'd never bother buying (or copying) another recording again. But then I'm a light listener. I can see how people who habitually listen to dozens of songs a day might not agree that this is a good deal.
Now you could argue that a car review in Car and Driver doesn't bother explaining what a transmission does but RAID is several orders for magnitude more complex and esoteric.
There are so many different flavors of RAID it can be hard to keep them straight if you're not working with them every day.
Anyway there are good explanations of RAID here and here.
"They just sat back and watched free UNIX fail to become a credible threat because, well, frankly, it was in the hands of egotistical, detail-oriented amateurs.'
IIRC VOIP uses only 16kbps (someone will surely correct me if I'm wrong). So even if its packets get "priority" do VOIP calls really have that much impact? At least so far?
Slashdot Mirror
As a partner in a computer training company I taught more than 10,000 (probably closer to 12,000) people how to use Windows and Macs.
As for the quote from the tech support person who claimed that having someone use the right mouse button caused the person to evermore ask "right or left" when asked to click: That's ridiculous. You just say, "If I, or someone else, or a book or manual instructs you to 'click' on something without telling you which button, you use the left button." You explain that the left button is the "default" button and then go into a brief explanation of what "default" means.
Here's how to explain "default."
The "default" is what's expected in the absence of any other instructions. The default hamburger in diners and other traditional restaurants is usually just meat between two buns (with perhaps some garnishes on the side). At McDonald's and other fast food chains the default includes ketchup, pickles, onions and sometimes more.
Once you understand the default configuration of burgers at the place you eat, you know what to expect.
While this guy is slashdotted take a look at the original story in my journal.
I went to mutt.org.
First thing on the page:
Latest News
Note: The mutt-users list recently suffered catastrophic failure. Please resubscribe.
Hmmmmm.
According to the article the guy being extradited is 42 years old, unemployed and lives with his parents.
How did this guy ever come under suspicion of cracking software and posting it on the Net?
"DrinkOrDie is one of the oldest and most sophisticated software pirate groups within the 'Warez' community, which is a loose, global network of Internet pirate gangs."
If these guys don't have eye patches and peg legs I am going to be SO disappointed.
Aarrrrrrrr.
Bill Gates was spotted on the Microsoft campus in Redmond bent over, pants around his ankles, spanking himself vigorously.
Tax on free Linux distro: Zero dollars.
Tax on books from Project Gutenberg: Zero dollars.
Tax on freeware programs: Zero dollars.
Tax on files downloaded from p2p networks: Zero dollars.
Telling the governor of Wisconsin to kiss my ass: Priceless.
The expenses really add up quickly. What's a scientist cost per year with benefits? Let's guess $150,000 (scientists everywhere are laughing and weeping at this number, probably). Hire five of them to do nothing but analyze the data. You're up to $750,000 a year. Add $250,000 a year for assistant's salaries and other overhead. You're now at $1 million.
Now build the scientists a state-of-the-art lab filled with the latest equipment that's used exclusively for this project. Figure $3 million and you've spent all of your money.
Oh, the other $200,000? That's for demolition of the lab at the end of the year so you can build a new one the next year.
How else can you manage to burn through $4.2 million a year listening to a couple of satellites?
I can't believe NASA has been pissing away our tax dollars on some unmanned satellites out in the boondocks of the soloar system. By killing the support for this program we will save enough money to launch one more shuttle flight (where the REAL science is done) in just 302 YEARS!
($4.2 million / 1.3 billion average shuttle flight cost.)
As I mentioned in a post yesterday, I love Microsoft because they "...will make the decision based on what is best for customers."
Let me add that I love NASA because they always base their budget priorities on how to get the most scientific knowledge for every dollar spent.
Oh, and they're immune to politics and mere PR crap.
"...will make the decision based on what is best for customers."
That's why I love 'em. Always thinking of what's best for their customers.
Here's one take on the farther/further issue:
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/farther.html
Here's another:
http://www.cjr.org/tools/lc/farther.asp
(If you were using Firefox with the Linkification extension you'd be able to click on those links.)
When I was writing this I was going to comment that the writer probably meant "capitalization scheme," meaning the way some people capitalize Random Words in their Posts.
But then I figured maybe he was referring to what the site makers want in return for tearing down their sites (i.e., how they expect the enemy corporation to capitulate).
I left a ham sandwich on my desk today and forgot about it. When I got back three geeks were working to make it boot Linux.
Hmmm. A free Macintosh. A free Macintosh. Gee, I wonder how I could get a free Macintosh. That would be cool. A Macintosh for free. Hmmmmmm.
(Start modding me down... NOW!)
I don't have a cite (or a site) to show you but in the past Gates has said he occasionally (key word) uses a Mac, since MS Office is (was?) the biggest selling piece of software for the Mac.
So I guess the IDF must take those renaissance faire people and ride them out of their recruiting offices on a rail!
Wow, this is exactly what I've been advocating for years. Five cents may be a bit high. For three cents a song I'd never bother buying (or copying) another recording again. But then I'm a light listener. I can see how people who habitually listen to dozens of songs a day might not agree that this is a good deal.
Your conclusion is quite insane. Bait and switch is most definitely fraud. The restaurant is lying about its prices.
Now you could argue that a car review in Car and Driver doesn't bother explaining what a transmission does but RAID is several orders for magnitude more complex and esoteric.
There are so many different flavors of RAID it can be hard to keep them straight if you're not working with them every day.
Anyway there are good explanations of RAID here and here.
"They just sat back and watched free UNIX fail to become a credible threat because, well, frankly, it was in the hands of egotistical, detail-oriented amateurs.'
Amen, brother, amen.
Well since law firms are one of the last bastions of WordPefect users it actually almost makes sense for the DOJ to go with WP.
Because of course this couldn't have anything to do with MS's and DOJ's visceral antipithy for each other, would it?
CDs are magnetic!
Bits and bytes are what we SAY they are!
Disk reads YOU tovarisch!
IIRC VOIP uses only 16kbps (someone will surely correct me if I'm wrong). So even if its packets get "priority" do VOIP calls really have that much impact? At least so far?
1 1/ 70.htm
This (undated) article quoting Jupiter Research:
http://www.etmag.com/publication/magazine/2004-
says only "1% of U.S. broadband households (or 400,000 households)" currently use VOIP.
The research, however, also says that VOIP will jump to 17% will jump to 17% of broadband households over the next five years.
Then things will get pretty interesting.
Yeah, when did this "From the article" stuff start? Did Zonk start it? It seems new and unslashdotty but then maybe I haven't been paying attention.
For better or for worse this is FCC's bailiwick. The SEC is concerned only with securities: stocks and bonds.