I shouldn't feed this argument since it's pointless, but I'll offer one last response, then feel free to consign me to oblivion.
First, hyperbole is not mischaracterization.Exaggeration? Sure. I'll take that criticism.
For your examples of loss of freedom, you're right. Using Kindles, etc. changes the game of book ownership into rental. But your freedom is not diminished, since you can still buy and lend an actual book. If an author or creator of content wants to put their work out there under a restrictive licensing scheme, you and I will likely agree it's limiting and stupid, but it's theirs so they're free to make that choice, just as you and I are free to choose not to make use of their creation. We are also free to create and give away whatever we wish. The freedom is there.
Taking this back to the original post, let's say you're using the Chrome OS and only storing stuff in the cloud. You are still free, even with one of Google's laptops, to save your work in formats and on sites that are free. If you choose rights restricting formats and storage points, then the concern is valid, but you don't have to do that. Google isn't restricting you from using free methods, even if they want you to do everything in their cloud. For that matter, Google isn't taking away everyone's hardware and forcing the world to use their stuff. Just don't use it if it bugs you that much.
Getting back to my snarky chicken little comment, it can be taken two ways. One can take it as attacking someone for making false claims, or one can take it at the more abstract level of ignoring someone for so repeatedly saying something that you don't want to listen anymore. It is the latter sense in which I look at Mr. Stallman. That is not an attack on him or his character. It is a perception. Period. And from the converstaion in this thread, it appears to be a perception that is held by many. So in that sense, Stallman can be right in his statments 100% of the time, but if his way of delivery gets on people's nerves, they'll write him off. And in that sense, my qualification about the validity of his concerns is hardly meaningless, as it simply makes it plain that I have no animosity for the guy.
Still with me this far? If you still disagree, fine. We're all capable enough around here of offering our own interpretations and thoughts on the post.
My characterization of his concerns, right or wrong, is that if you don't keep every little thing you do, every tool you use, etc., all free all the time, then the universe will implode.
It hasn't happened. Free tools exist, and they're wonderful. Non-free tools exist. Some are fine, some are crap, and some I don't touch. But their existence hasn't hampered my access to my data or anything I've created one bit.
That's my reaction against him, and it isn't one with animosity. People who want to remind me how often he's been right seem to ignore what I said, "not that his concerns are never valid."
He's a great guy for digital freedom and free tools, but the nay-saying against non-free, AS VALID AS IT IS, has not been a problem for people who are careful with where they keep their own digital stuff. That's all.
Not at all. In theory changes are said to be about progress, but we all know some changes fail in practice. Others are more about making a buck than improving things. Others still are valuable. All of them are progressing from where we are to somewhere else.
IOW, we may make changes that look good now, and later we realize what an awful mess it was. Or, we may make changes now that turn out to be awesome.
Perhaps, but in this case the "progress" may simply represent a step from one place to another. In this case, local copies to cloud only, with a probable balance down the road. Where we're at isn't necessarily better, just forward from where we were. (i.e. progress doesn't necessarily mean superior)
We'll see where it shakes out when the gee whiz factor of it all goes away.:)
Like most other expressions of concern that come from brother Stallman, the geeks hear him, and keep merrily on with technological progress. Not that his concerns are never valid, but he has become the Chicken Little of geekdom.
I think this is one instance where Google's limited release method failed spectacularly. When they started to release Wave, I had a bunch of people in mind to collaborate with, but only one or two of us had it. By the time it was available to the majority of us, we had already gone back to using other means of communication, including Google's own docs. For all its potential, we ended up only having two active waves of substance. Hopefully they'll be able to incorporate some of the more interesting concepts into Gmail or Gtalk, and I think Docs already has some simultaneous editing features. So wave may live on, just not as wave.
I'm also in a smaller IT company (~140 ppl). We have a department of 6 and fall under the Operations area. When we were smaller, it was a wandering soul of a department, but now that we have an IT manager who really knows his stuff, it's great.
This may bust your budget, but there are many radio hosts at commercial radio stations who use ISDN lines back to the studio. The digital voice signal is good enough to make the remote broadcaster sound like they are in studio.
I'm sure there is a better, cheaper digital solution out there. Just make sure you have the bandwidth to handle it.
You still need to run internal software to be safe, but have you considered contracting with a mail scanning service like Message Labs? A significant percentage of the mail that comes to my employer's accounts contains spam or viruses, and this service has been great at filtering it out. Not only that, but whatever bandwidth it would have taken (granted, it's not that much) never comes to our network.
Again, and I can't stress this enough, you still need to run something internally to be as safe as possible, but these guys are inexpensive, and their service has been great. (No, I don't work there. I'm just happy with them)
Some of us in America would actually prefer news from the BBC. At least for world news coverage, the Beeb does a far better job than American news. Most of what I read in the US tends to be inane political posturing. If you're a leftie, read CNN. If you're a rightie, read Fox. If you have two working brain cells, you see that it's all crap.
On topic: I'll echo what other posters said about customization. Let me have the (not required) option of creating an account and customizing the homepage as I like it. Also, restrict the ads. Don't give me moving images. Don't give me pop-ups, pop-unders, hover ads, or anything like it. Just give me text or a static image.
All we need is for all the buildings in our cities to have models made. Then, we can impose those on Google maps. Combine that with in-car Internet, GPS, a direction finding divice, and a heads-up display. Then, you can get in your car and ask it how to get to a location, and the route with visual and audible directions will be on your windshield.
This should cut down on pizza delivery times, becasue we all know that hot fresh pizza is the real reason for any of this technology to exist.
Somebody get me a patent. It'll make billions! 8-)
At the company I work for, we switched over to an IP Office system a few months ago. We still use PRI for our connection to the outside, but internally, it's all digital. (Actually, we're using their digital phones, not the IP phones. You might find that you like that better. When I connect remotely to the network, I just run a software phone app through my PC. It's OK, but sounds like a cell-phone when you talk. Also, don't have the mic levels up too high, or you get a lot of echo with most crappy sound cards.)
The admin interface for Avaya's system is easy, so managing it in-house should not be a problem.
Before you move to IP for the signal, though, think long and hard about the kind of network you have. Can it handle the voice traffic without affecting other services ont he network? Will those services affect your voice traffic? Are your switches capable of managing this for you? In our case, we already had separate CAT-5 cabling for voice since our old system was digital. This makes traffic management practically a non-issue.
As others have mentioned, Asterisk could be a good solution, but be sure you know what you're doing and have time to learn the system.
Would you be interested in sharing the workaround for reactivation? We only have 2 installs of Quark where I work, and I don't know how much time I've had to waste reinstalling it for the designers and getting treated like a perp by Quark support.
Thanks for the correction on the date. I should have remembered that the show was older than I am. I just remember watching it as a kid in the early/mid 70s.
I agree that your rendition of the poem fits the voice, but I kept the first 2 lines as is to protect the necessary syllables of the haiku. Given some thought, I could probably rewrite the whole thing for "Boris," but that would be silly.
I just transferred all of my domains from Netsol over here. They are part of <A href="http://www.pair.com">pair.com</A>, who I also use to host my sites.
The transfer was painless, and I like the management interface.
They aren't the cheapest, but the company has been around a while and the support has always been great.
Oh, where are the mod points when I need them. Even when I have them, it is very rare that I come across a comment worth modding up.
You, sir, have one of the best perspectives on users that I have seen in a long time, even to the point of making me rethink my attitude toward the people I support on a dialy basis.
As much as I tire of answering the same stupid questions for what feels like the 10 millionth time, I have to agree that if it were not for all the "clueless newbs" out there, my own ability to buy cheap hardware and experiment would be severely limited.
Thanks.
As for Red Hat, freedesktop.org, and all of that, it amazes me that people see it as a bad thing when someone tries to create a consisten user interface in the Linux world. It's good for the people who just want to get work done and not worry about configuring every little thing. For the tweak happy among us, you are all still perfectly free to download and install any interface you like, even on Red Hat.
Slashdot Mirror
His sci-fi Gap series is pretty dark also.
I shouldn't feed this argument since it's pointless, but I'll offer one last response, then feel free to consign me to oblivion.
First, hyperbole is not mischaracterization.Exaggeration? Sure. I'll take that criticism.
For your examples of loss of freedom, you're right. Using Kindles, etc. changes the game of book ownership into rental. But your freedom is not diminished, since you can still buy and lend an actual book. If an author or creator of content wants to put their work out there under a restrictive licensing scheme, you and I will likely agree it's limiting and stupid, but it's theirs so they're free to make that choice, just as you and I are free to choose not to make use of their creation. We are also free to create and give away whatever we wish. The freedom is there.
Taking this back to the original post, let's say you're using the Chrome OS and only storing stuff in the cloud. You are still free, even with one of Google's laptops, to save your work in formats and on sites that are free. If you choose rights restricting formats and storage points, then the concern is valid, but you don't have to do that. Google isn't restricting you from using free methods, even if they want you to do everything in their cloud. For that matter, Google isn't taking away everyone's hardware and forcing the world to use their stuff. Just don't use it if it bugs you that much.
Getting back to my snarky chicken little comment, it can be taken two ways. One can take it as attacking someone for making false claims, or one can take it at the more abstract level of ignoring someone for so repeatedly saying something that you don't want to listen anymore. It is the latter sense in which I look at Mr. Stallman. That is not an attack on him or his character. It is a perception. Period. And from the converstaion in this thread, it appears to be a perception that is held by many. So in that sense, Stallman can be right in his statments 100% of the time, but if his way of delivery gets on people's nerves, they'll write him off. And in that sense, my qualification about the validity of his concerns is hardly meaningless, as it simply makes it plain that I have no animosity for the guy.
Still with me this far? If you still disagree, fine. We're all capable enough around here of offering our own interpretations and thoughts on the post.
My characterization of his concerns, right or wrong, is that if you don't keep every little thing you do, every tool you use, etc., all free all the time, then the universe will implode.
It hasn't happened. Free tools exist, and they're wonderful. Non-free tools exist. Some are fine, some are crap, and some I don't touch. But their existence hasn't hampered my access to my data or anything I've created one bit.
That's my reaction against him, and it isn't one with animosity. People who want to remind me how often he's been right seem to ignore what I said, "not that his concerns are never valid."
He's a great guy for digital freedom and free tools, but the nay-saying against non-free, AS VALID AS IT IS, has not been a problem for people who are careful with where they keep their own digital stuff. That's all.
Not at all. In theory changes are said to be about progress, but we all know some changes fail in practice. Others are more about making a buck than improving things. Others still are valuable. All of them are progressing from where we are to somewhere else.
IOW, we may make changes that look good now, and later we realize what an awful mess it was. Or, we may make changes now that turn out to be awesome.
That's why I put progress in scare quotes.
Perhaps, but in this case the "progress" may simply represent a step from one place to another. In this case, local copies to cloud only, with a probable balance down the road. Where we're at isn't necessarily better, just forward from where we were. (i.e. progress doesn't necessarily mean superior)
:)
We'll see where it shakes out when the gee whiz factor of it all goes away.
Like most other expressions of concern that come from brother Stallman, the geeks hear him, and keep merrily on with technological progress. Not that his concerns are never valid, but he has become the Chicken Little of geekdom.
R2. I see what they did there. The next one better be called D2.
they're going to become another historical footnote of computer industry stupidity if they follow this path
I think this is one instance where Google's limited release method failed spectacularly. When they started to release Wave, I had a bunch of people in mind to collaborate with, but only one or two of us had it. By the time it was available to the majority of us, we had already gone back to using other means of communication, including Google's own docs. For all its potential, we ended up only having two active waves of substance. Hopefully they'll be able to incorporate some of the more interesting concepts into Gmail or Gtalk, and I think Docs already has some simultaneous editing features. So wave may live on, just not as wave.
I'm also in a smaller IT company (~140 ppl). We have a department of 6 and fall under the Operations area. When we were smaller, it was a wandering soul of a department, but now that we have an IT manager who really knows his stuff, it's great.
This may bust your budget, but there are many radio hosts at commercial radio stations who use ISDN lines back to the studio. The digital voice signal is good enough to make the remote broadcaster sound like they are in studio.
I'm sure there is a better, cheaper digital solution out there. Just make sure you have the bandwidth to handle it.
You still need to run internal software to be safe, but have you considered contracting with a mail scanning service like Message Labs? A significant percentage of the mail that comes to my employer's accounts contains spam or viruses, and this service has been great at filtering it out. Not only that, but whatever bandwidth it would have taken (granted, it's not that much) never comes to our network. Again, and I can't stress this enough, you still need to run something internally to be as safe as possible, but these guys are inexpensive, and their service has been great. (No, I don't work there. I'm just happy with them)
From the post: "(or CNN's if you're in America)"
Some of us in America would actually prefer news from the BBC. At least for world news coverage, the Beeb does a far better job than American news. Most of what I read in the US tends to be inane political posturing. If you're a leftie, read CNN. If you're a rightie, read Fox. If you have two working brain cells, you see that it's all crap.
On topic: I'll echo what other posters said about customization. Let me have the (not required) option of creating an account and customizing the homepage as I like it. Also, restrict the ads. Don't give me moving images. Don't give me pop-ups, pop-unders, hover ads, or anything like it. Just give me text or a static image.
The ideas are endless. Paintball may be fun, but think of the meatspace possibilities for FPS gaming.
That was in the back of my mind somewhere, but it's been a while since I read that 8-)
All we need is for all the buildings in our cities to have models made. Then, we can impose those on Google maps. Combine that with in-car Internet, GPS, a direction finding divice, and a heads-up display. Then, you can get in your car and ask it how to get to a location, and the route with visual and audible directions will be on your windshield.
This should cut down on pizza delivery times, becasue we all know that hot fresh pizza is the real reason for any of this technology to exist.
Somebody get me a patent. It'll make billions! 8-)
At the company I work for, we switched over to an IP Office system a few months ago. We still use PRI for our connection to the outside, but internally, it's all digital. (Actually, we're using their digital phones, not the IP phones. You might find that you like that better. When I connect remotely to the network, I just run a software phone app through my PC. It's OK, but sounds like a cell-phone when you talk. Also, don't have the mic levels up too high, or you get a lot of echo with most crappy sound cards.)
The admin interface for Avaya's system is easy, so managing it in-house should not be a problem.
Before you move to IP for the signal, though, think long and hard about the kind of network you have. Can it handle the voice traffic without affecting other services ont he network? Will those services affect your voice traffic? Are your switches capable of managing this for you? In our case, we already had separate CAT-5 cabling for voice since our old system was digital. This makes traffic management practically a non-issue.
As others have mentioned, Asterisk could be a good solution, but be sure you know what you're doing and have time to learn the system.
"-- Who is the bigger fool? The fool or the fool who follows him? --"
You didn't get that from a movie called "Circle of Iron" by chance, did you? (And yes, I know the phrase comes from better sources than that.)
Would you be interested in sharing the workaround for reactivation? We only have 2 installs of Quark where I work, and I don't know how much time I've had to waste reinstalling it for the designers and getting treated like a perp by Quark support.
Just give the MAME developers enough time 8-)
I'm not plugging for referrals, I just like them. They have good service for cheap. Period.
I switched to them a few years ago. In that time, I've only had to contact them 2 or 3 times and always got a fast response.
Check them out.
Good luck.
Thanks for the correction on the date. I should have remembered that the show was older than I am. I just remember watching it as a kid in the early/mid 70s.
I agree that your rendition of the poem fits the voice, but I kept the first 2 lines as is to protect the necessary syllables of the haiku. Given some thought, I could probably rewrite the whole thing for "Boris," but that would be silly.
For what I am about to do, I humbly apologize, and beg your forgiveness. Now then...
Find a hurricane
Step outside during the storm
Scream like little girl
The last line should, of course, be spoken with a fake Russian accent, like the one from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons of the 1970s.
Only a couple others have mentioned pairNic .
I just transferred all of my domains from Netsol over here. They are part of <A href="http://www.pair.com">pair.com</A>, who I also use to host my sites.
The transfer was painless, and I like the management interface.
They aren't the cheapest, but the company has been around a while and the support has always been great.
Oh, where are the mod points when I need them. Even when I have them, it is very rare that I come across a comment worth modding up.
You, sir, have one of the best perspectives on users that I have seen in a long time, even to the point of making me rethink my attitude toward the people I support on a dialy basis.
As much as I tire of answering the same stupid questions for what feels like the 10 millionth time, I have to agree that if it were not for all the "clueless newbs" out there, my own ability to buy cheap hardware and experiment would be severely limited.
Thanks.
As for Red Hat, freedesktop.org, and all of that, it amazes me that people see it as a bad thing when someone tries to create a consisten user interface in the Linux world. It's good for the people who just want to get work done and not worry about configuring every little thing. For the tweak happy among us, you are all still perfectly free to download and install any interface you like, even on Red Hat.