I find both email and IM far less of a distraction than the phone calls I'd have to deal with if even 1/4th of my emails/IMs resulted in a phone call. I can almost always deal with email and IMs without really breaking my train of thought of what I'm doing. Email/IM is just another window and when I'm done, I tab back to what I was doing. For some reason, picking up the phone and talking to someone (and running the risk of the guy rambling on about completely off-topic issues I have no interest in talking about) is far more distracting and it takes me far longer to get back "into the zone" when the call is done.
This isn't specifically directed at you (since I don't know your political position), but I find it amusing that the same Slashdot crowd that is basically made up of blind left-wing "progressives" that are all in favor of taxing the rich until they become poor are, at the same time, for some reason opposed to taxing Internet-based stuff. Why is that?
Doing so would put the onus of enforcement on the owners of the WiFi and would put them in the position of a) identifying the people "stealing" their bandwidth... b) going to even more trouble by first attempting to quantify their real damages
Good. If the offense is so trivial that it's not even worth identifying the people stealing the bandwidth, it's pretty clear it's not important enough to worry about to the owner--so why should law enforcement?
This is even more silly because the user wasn't circumventing security or illegally accessing a secured, for-pay access point. He was utilizing an intentionally open AP that was put there specifically for people to use for free. Granted, the idea is you come in for coffee, but if the coffee shop didn't even know it was illegal and apparently didn't notice or care, then why should law enforcement take any action?
If that's the best complaint you've got, I'd say Linux must be ready for the masses.
It's not.
I was a Windows user but was using Linux on my server (Linux is great for a server). When I had some problems with a laptop that I thought were attributable to XP, I installed Linux on the laptop. I was surprised it mostly worked, but there were always some limitations. No serious power saving modes, a complete inability of the OS to turn off the backlight of my laptop screen when it should've, and when I shut the laptop screen the screen would stay on so the laptop keyboard could get a good look at the screen while I stored it in my laptop carrying case.
When I had to get a new laptop last year, it came with XP pre-installed (obviously). I gave it a few days and I just got used to everything working the way it is supposed to. My computer would actually hibernate when I closed the screen, the screen backlight would actually turn off when it was supposed to, and there were easy-to-use power-saving options.
Now I suppose it's possible everything got resolved in the last year, but I kind of doubt it. And even if those particular options work, the reality is that I still need Windows applications for what I do (specific cross-platform compilers, in-circuit specialized USB-based tools, QuickBooks, etc.). No, I'm not interested in an "equivalent" and, no, GnuCash is not even remotely equivalent to QuickBooks. I need the Windows applications in question. And last time I tried Wine on my last fresh Linux OS install, it literally didn't work with any of my applications--it wouldn't even complete the install process.
So, no, Linux is not ready for most desktops and ready for very few laptop desktops. Sure, I don't doubt that some Linux geeks and OS tweakers can make everything above work, but the fact remains that Linux is not ready for the desktop until it doesn't take a geek/OS tweaker to make these basic things work.
I used Linux for 2-3 years as my entire laptop-based desktop, but I got tired of the limitations and the work-arounds and tired of spending time dicking around with the OS rather than getting real work done. So, for now, I'm back on Windows. I hope at some point Linux truly is ready for my desktop.
You actually got captioning? We got a new 46" Bravia LCD TV and I got an HDMI cable to connect between the cable converter box and the TV. We got no closed captioning at all. I did some Googling and apparently that's a common problem. I promptly returned the over-priced HDMI cable and we went back to the standard AV cables where the HD image looks fine to me and we get closed captioning.
A iPod is just a player, iTunes is a good piece of software that can be copied and without content the iTMS would be dead.
Just a player? I guesss. But I have never used iTunes to buy music and couldn't care less if that service evaporated tomorrow. If iTunes hadn't ever existed, I still would have bought the iPod Nano. I suppose some people buy iPods because of the iTMS, but I don't know any of them. The people I know that have iPods have bought them because we like hardware/form-factor/etc., not because we plan on getting our music through iTunes.
I got a new laptop when my old one died. I bought a new hard drive, installed it, and tried to install XP on it. XP recongized nothing... not the wired network card, not the Wifi network, not Bluetooth, not the sound card, and definitely not the right driver for the screen.
After hunting around, I gave up trying to install XP on it and just went back to Vista where all I had to find was one driver for a USB->Serial cable. I found the driver and Vista has been working fine since.
Anyway, just mentioning that because it was my intention to upgrade from Vista to XP, but in the case of my particular hardware it was actually easier to get a single missing driver for Vista than who knows how many missing drivers that would have been necessary for XP to work.
Grandparent is modded as flamebait and the parent is modded as Informative? Sheesh... the liberal pukes are definitely running the show here at Slashdot.
If you already have a cellphone with enough minutes and good signal at home, that takes care of 1-3. Broadband Internet that doesn't need a landline can be hard to find or it could cost as much as DSL + POTS combined.
My wife and I have cell phone service for our "home" phone. Then we have cable that provides us TV, Internet, and a fixed business line for my home office and fax. When we moved back to the U.S., we never even called Qwest.
Are you suggesting a Grease Monkey conspiracy? Seriously, it's ok to be suspicious of government and companies, etc. but when you're rhetorical question suggesting a conspiracy involving probably hundreds of thousands of auto mechanics, I have to draw the line.
Lets put it this way, the more you use your brakes, the more energy you're waisting. (which is the theory behind Hybrids, to turn the brake heat/energy back into car energy). Better braking habits will not only help save some gas but also extend the life of your breaks.
Can you please explain to me how "better braking habits" will save some gas? Braking doesn't consume any gas.
That said, I agree that easing off the gas when you anticipate braking in the near future will save a small amount of gas since you're not burning gas that's giving you speed that you're about to eliminate with the brake anyway. But that's really more of an acceleration habit than a braking habit. In other words, don't punch the gas when you don't have to.
But how does changing your braking habits make any difference on the gas? Unless, of course, you omit braking for a stoplight, get in an accident, and total your car. Then you will be saving on gas because your car is in the shop.
There is no "North American" government, though there are the three independent governments of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico (and a few others in Central America which are part of North America).
I also have a PJRC that currently has a 20 gig drive, because it gets unhappy with the 160 gig that I strapped on there, and the 80 I had on there died recently. That one gets by far the most comments.
Yeah, I can see where that'd be useful.
Seriously, it looks like a good and fun project. But even if I built it, I wouldn't actually take it with me anywhere. At best it'd for hooking up to the home stereo.
I agree with you that people are not willing to pay, but what I am wondering is, why? "It's like paying for radio." Yeah, but it's also like paying for television. It comes for free over the airwaves. Millions pay for cable, even though when you stop paying, the cable stops working.
I think the difference is that TV programs, most of the time, are something you probably only watch once. Sure, if you see an old movie on HBO you might tune in if there's nothing else to watch; and some TV programs might be worth buying the DVD later. But, for the most part, TV broadcasts are usually something that are usually consumed and then you're done. A few TV programs I really liked I did buy on DVD... only to only watch them one more time.
Music, on the other hand, I will listen to time and time again. I might go 10 or 15 years without listening to a given song, but when I want to hear it again, I don't want to have to be paying for some service to do it. Especially since most of the music I listen to is NOT new so there's no reason to pay for something that brings me new stuff I don't like. I'd rather have the stuff I want and not have to pay for it over and over.
Why anyone would leave their doors unlocked anywhere is beyond me. Is turning the key really that time-consuming that there's some compelling reason not to?
My thoughts exactly. If I had any faith in ICANN, I might support it being independent. But I don't think it has particularly shown that giving it more independence would be a good thing.
I am very weary of treaties that do much besides end wars or create alliances to avoid wars. Treaties that limit the rights of citizens of any country or reduce the sovereignty of any country--especially mine--are normally very suspicious to me.
I am satisfied with the U.S. Constitution in protecting me and my rights, and the rights of others in the U.S. When the Constitution is properly observed, applied, and executed, we don't need to sign some human rights treaty to protect and guarantee human rights to those in our country. I would not feel any more secure if the U.S. signed that treaty nor do I feel any less so because it didn't sign it. The U.S. should sign as a few treaties as possible. I do not approve of ceding our sovereignty to international organizations. I prefer to keep establishing the norms of our society as close to home as possible. When possible, that's at the city, county, and state level. In some cases, it's at the federal level. But at the international level? I don't want responsibility for our laws that far away from home and in a body in which I have no voting rights. No thanks.
I've never had a problem at Best Buy, either. To the contrary. Late last year I bought one of those iPod->Radio adapter things so my wife could listen to her iPod in her car. It was sketchy from the beginning but she wasn't too concerned. Eventually its little LCD screen (on the adapter) started going black and it just wasn't working. I always save boxes and receipts but that time my wife happened to throw away both. Anyway, one day--about a month later--we were close to the Best Buy where we bought it and my wife asked if I wouldn't go in and try to exchange it. I grinned and said I'd try, but I didn't have the receipt or the box, and wasn't even sure if it was still in the 30-day exchange period. So I walked in with this little adapter thing and went to the customer service desk and explained the situation. The guy looked it up in their computer and I was on day 34... but he said, no problem, go back and find another one. So I brought it up to the guy and he said I was good to go. I asked him if he wanted the box or anything since I hadn't given him one and he said, "Nope, no problem."
That was my most "amazing" experience with Best Buy, but I haven't had a single problem with Best Buy ever. I don't know why everyone says they're evil (but I'm sure people will tell me now).
Slashdot Mirror
I find both email and IM far less of a distraction than the phone calls I'd have to deal with if even 1/4th of my emails/IMs resulted in a phone call. I can almost always deal with email and IMs without really breaking my train of thought of what I'm doing. Email/IM is just another window and when I'm done, I tab back to what I was doing. For some reason, picking up the phone and talking to someone (and running the risk of the guy rambling on about completely off-topic issues I have no interest in talking about) is far more distracting and it takes me far longer to get back "into the zone" when the call is done.
"Is email dead?"
No.
This isn't specifically directed at you (since I don't know your political position), but I find it amusing that the same Slashdot crowd that is basically made up of blind left-wing "progressives" that are all in favor of taxing the rich until they become poor are, at the same time, for some reason opposed to taxing Internet-based stuff. Why is that?
Doing so would put the onus of enforcement on the owners of the WiFi and would put them in the position of a) identifying the people "stealing" their bandwidth... b) going to even more trouble by first attempting to quantify their real damages
Good. If the offense is so trivial that it's not even worth identifying the people stealing the bandwidth, it's pretty clear it's not important enough to worry about to the owner--so why should law enforcement?
This is even more silly because the user wasn't circumventing security or illegally accessing a secured, for-pay access point. He was utilizing an intentionally open AP that was put there specifically for people to use for free. Granted, the idea is you come in for coffee, but if the coffee shop didn't even know it was illegal and apparently didn't notice or care, then why should law enforcement take any action?
Well at least you addressed some of the issues I mentioned as to why Linux isn't ready for the desktop.
If that's the best complaint you've got, I'd say Linux must be ready for the masses.
It's not.
I was a Windows user but was using Linux on my server (Linux is great for a server). When I had some problems with a laptop that I thought were attributable to XP, I installed Linux on the laptop. I was surprised it mostly worked, but there were always some limitations. No serious power saving modes, a complete inability of the OS to turn off the backlight of my laptop screen when it should've, and when I shut the laptop screen the screen would stay on so the laptop keyboard could get a good look at the screen while I stored it in my laptop carrying case.
When I had to get a new laptop last year, it came with XP pre-installed (obviously). I gave it a few days and I just got used to everything working the way it is supposed to. My computer would actually hibernate when I closed the screen, the screen backlight would actually turn off when it was supposed to, and there were easy-to-use power-saving options.
Now I suppose it's possible everything got resolved in the last year, but I kind of doubt it. And even if those particular options work, the reality is that I still need Windows applications for what I do (specific cross-platform compilers, in-circuit specialized USB-based tools, QuickBooks, etc.). No, I'm not interested in an "equivalent" and, no, GnuCash is not even remotely equivalent to QuickBooks. I need the Windows applications in question. And last time I tried Wine on my last fresh Linux OS install, it literally didn't work with any of my applications--it wouldn't even complete the install process.
So, no, Linux is not ready for most desktops and ready for very few laptop desktops. Sure, I don't doubt that some Linux geeks and OS tweakers can make everything above work, but the fact remains that Linux is not ready for the desktop until it doesn't take a geek/OS tweaker to make these basic things work.
I used Linux for 2-3 years as my entire laptop-based desktop, but I got tired of the limitations and the work-arounds and tired of spending time dicking around with the OS rather than getting real work done. So, for now, I'm back on Windows. I hope at some point Linux truly is ready for my desktop.
You actually got captioning? We got a new 46" Bravia LCD TV and I got an HDMI cable to connect between the cable converter box and the TV. We got no closed captioning at all. I did some Googling and apparently that's a common problem. I promptly returned the over-priced HDMI cable and we went back to the standard AV cables where the HD image looks fine to me and we get closed captioning.
A iPod is just a player, iTunes is a good piece of software that can be copied and without content the iTMS would be dead.
Just a player? I guesss. But I have never used iTunes to buy music and couldn't care less if that service evaporated tomorrow. If iTunes hadn't ever existed, I still would have bought the iPod Nano. I suppose some people buy iPods because of the iTMS, but I don't know any of them. The people I know that have iPods have bought them because we like hardware/form-factor/etc., not because we plan on getting our music through iTunes.
I got a new laptop when my old one died. I bought a new hard drive, installed it, and tried to install XP on it. XP recongized nothing... not the wired network card, not the Wifi network, not Bluetooth, not the sound card, and definitely not the right driver for the screen.
After hunting around, I gave up trying to install XP on it and just went back to Vista where all I had to find was one driver for a USB->Serial cable. I found the driver and Vista has been working fine since.
Anyway, just mentioning that because it was my intention to upgrade from Vista to XP, but in the case of my particular hardware it was actually easier to get a single missing driver for Vista than who knows how many missing drivers that would have been necessary for XP to work.
Grandparent is modded as flamebait and the parent is modded as Informative? Sheesh... the liberal pukes are definitely running the show here at Slashdot.
If you already have a cellphone with enough minutes and good signal at home, that takes care of 1-3. Broadband Internet that doesn't need a landline can be hard to find or it could cost as much as DSL + POTS combined.
My wife and I have cell phone service for our "home" phone. Then we have cable that provides us TV, Internet, and a fixed business line for my home office and fax. When we moved back to the U.S., we never even called Qwest.
Are you suggesting a Grease Monkey conspiracy? Seriously, it's ok to be suspicious of government and companies, etc. but when you're rhetorical question suggesting a conspiracy involving probably hundreds of thousands of auto mechanics, I have to draw the line.
Lets put it this way, the more you use your brakes, the more energy you're waisting. (which is the theory behind Hybrids, to turn the brake heat/energy back into car energy). Better braking habits will not only help save some gas but also extend the life of your breaks.
Can you please explain to me how "better braking habits" will save some gas? Braking doesn't consume any gas.
That said, I agree that easing off the gas when you anticipate braking in the near future will save a small amount of gas since you're not burning gas that's giving you speed that you're about to eliminate with the brake anyway. But that's really more of an acceleration habit than a braking habit. In other words, don't punch the gas when you don't have to.
But how does changing your braking habits make any difference on the gas? Unless, of course, you omit braking for a stoplight, get in an accident, and total your car. Then you will be saving on gas because your car is in the shop.
There is no "North American" government, though there are the three independent governments of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico (and a few others in Central America which are part of North America).
Has anyone else noticed an increase in adoption of DVORAK lately?"
Nope. I've never known even a single person that used DVORAK.
The concept that 8 minutes is too long for a song is entirely created by the contemporary distrobution method.
I don't know about that. Heck, 3 minutes is too long for a lot of songs! Eight minutes could be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
I also have a PJRC that currently has a 20 gig drive, because it gets unhappy with the 160 gig that I strapped on there, and the 80 I had on there died recently. That one gets by far the most comments.
Yeah, I can see where that'd be useful.
Seriously, it looks like a good and fun project. But even if I built it, I wouldn't actually take it with me anywhere. At best it'd for hooking up to the home stereo.
I agree with you that people are not willing to pay, but what I am wondering is, why? "It's like paying for radio." Yeah, but it's also like paying for television. It comes for free over the airwaves. Millions pay for cable, even though when you stop paying, the cable stops working.
I think the difference is that TV programs, most of the time, are something you probably only watch once. Sure, if you see an old movie on HBO you might tune in if there's nothing else to watch; and some TV programs might be worth buying the DVD later. But, for the most part, TV broadcasts are usually something that are usually consumed and then you're done. A few TV programs I really liked I did buy on DVD... only to only watch them one more time.
Music, on the other hand, I will listen to time and time again. I might go 10 or 15 years without listening to a given song, but when I want to hear it again, I don't want to have to be paying for some service to do it. Especially since most of the music I listen to is NOT new so there's no reason to pay for something that brings me new stuff I don't like. I'd rather have the stuff I want and not have to pay for it over and over.
Yep. Saying that virtual desktops are better than real desktops is like saying virtual reality is better than reality. Whatever. :)
Why anyone would leave their doors unlocked anywhere is beyond me. Is turning the key really that time-consuming that there's some compelling reason not to?
Insightful? Hello, people, this is a troll!
My thoughts exactly. If I had any faith in ICANN, I might support it being independent. But I don't think it has particularly shown that giving it more independence would be a good thing.
I am very weary of treaties that do much besides end wars or create alliances to avoid wars. Treaties that limit the rights of citizens of any country or reduce the sovereignty of any country--especially mine--are normally very suspicious to me.
I am satisfied with the U.S. Constitution in protecting me and my rights, and the rights of others in the U.S. When the Constitution is properly observed, applied, and executed, we don't need to sign some human rights treaty to protect and guarantee human rights to those in our country. I would not feel any more secure if the U.S. signed that treaty nor do I feel any less so because it didn't sign it. The U.S. should sign as a few treaties as possible. I do not approve of ceding our sovereignty to international organizations. I prefer to keep establishing the norms of our society as close to home as possible. When possible, that's at the city, county, and state level. In some cases, it's at the federal level. But at the international level? I don't want responsibility for our laws that far away from home and in a body in which I have no voting rights. No thanks.
Montana.
I've never had a problem at Best Buy, either. To the contrary. Late last year I bought one of those iPod->Radio adapter things so my wife could listen to her iPod in her car. It was sketchy from the beginning but she wasn't too concerned. Eventually its little LCD screen (on the adapter) started going black and it just wasn't working. I always save boxes and receipts but that time my wife happened to throw away both. Anyway, one day--about a month later--we were close to the Best Buy where we bought it and my wife asked if I wouldn't go in and try to exchange it. I grinned and said I'd try, but I didn't have the receipt or the box, and wasn't even sure if it was still in the 30-day exchange period. So I walked in with this little adapter thing and went to the customer service desk and explained the situation. The guy looked it up in their computer and I was on day 34... but he said, no problem, go back and find another one. So I brought it up to the guy and he said I was good to go. I asked him if he wanted the box or anything since I hadn't given him one and he said, "Nope, no problem."
That was my most "amazing" experience with Best Buy, but I haven't had a single problem with Best Buy ever. I don't know why everyone says they're evil (but I'm sure people will tell me now).