Well, I suppose that was a possibility in my house. My parents didn't actually push too much to stop me from staying up all night coding. They just rolled my ass out of bed early, sometimes with a particularly nasty chore (cleaning hog pens comes to mind).
Also, the chores were optional. I always had the option to live somewhere else.
Yeah, I agree. In many respects, it's better than Sony's pathetic attempt at iTunes.
The thing I'm mostly peeved about with the Sony store app is that it's Windows only. I can't really see a need to go through the effort of rolling a Windows app when they could just let you download the DRMd files with a browser and install them yourself. It's not as if their sync works right anyway. As long as they can sign them on their end and you can register your PRS with them before download, it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
I suppose I need to dust off my aborted start on a Sony store App for the Mac. It wouldn't be that hard to OSS it and add Linux compatibility to it. And then there wouldn't be a glaring target for Sony to launch attorneys at. I'll probably get on that right after I get my Abel prize.;)
I realize that the Kindle supports other formats. I don't like the Kindle, nor is it the best option for everyone in my family (Sprint's pathetic network coverage).
The problem with Amazon is that they have a huge selection of eBooks that requires you to own a Kindle just for the privilege of buying them. I can't even buy them for use on my laptop. The Sony store, while also DRMd, lets you download to your local storage without requiring a Sony Reader and lets you read them locally. Unfortunately, not only are they Windows-only, they don't have nearly the selection that Amazon has. Prior to the Kindle being released, Amazon had real eBook options. Therein lies my gripe. I wouldn't even mind having to have a DRM converter to get Amazon ebooks onto something else. But they explicitly lock you out of that option unless you pony up for the Kindle.
On the bright side, the used market for the first Kindle will probably be saturated in a few months. If they drop below $50, I might buy one purely as a pathway to buy ebooks from Amazon.
Sony Reader (lrf). Not everything is available that way, unfortunately. But you can filter your searches for LRF only content. My main purchases are SciFi, so that hasn't been as big a limitation as it might be for others. Particularly for older works and my Azimov's subscription.
You might want to check out libprs500. It has some format conversion routines in it...
All Macs ship with the current version. To get a new version (think XP to Vista, e.g.), under that model I'd have to buy a new computer.
This way, I can buy a PPC iMac that has 10.3 on it and update it with 10.5.
Additionally, OS X client version doesn't have a licensing key system, so I can actually buy one copy and put it on all of my machines. However, they have a family pack version that you're allowed (under the honor system) to put on up to 5 machines. It's an additional $60 for 4 more "licenses". I don't mind buying that version specifically because a) I'm not forced to and b) it's a reasonable price.
It's the primary competitor because the Kindle is a Sony eReader with the cell and keyboard buttons added on. The Sony is also a touch screen, hence the missing keyboard.
I still have a couple of problems with the Kindle:
1. It's still bulky. The Sony PRS-505 was a much better form factor than the Kindle. And the Sony PRS-700 (the touchscreen version of the PRS-505) remains a much better form factor than the Kindle 2.
2. Requires Sprint coverage. However, since the release of the Kindle the coverage map has increased substantially. But, more to the point, Amazon requires that you have a Kindle registered with your account just to purchase an eBook. For all of the shrill screeching about DRM and the iTMS, at least Apple lets you physically download their offerings to your local storage. According to the Kindle 2 specs you'll supposedly be able to download to your system and then push via USB if you want, but for the moment their store still requires that you have a registered Kindle. I have no idea if that will remain in effect.
The only complaint I have about the Sony Reader is that their store application is Windows only, but it's easy enough to put my Fictionwise purchases on it, so it's not a show stopper for me.
To an extent I would agree. Where I don't agree is whether they would run or not. I don't think they've bloated nearly to the extent that my tolerance for latency has decreased.
I ran a slackware dist with kernel 0.96.14 (iirc), X11, the full dev set, etc. on a 486DX2, 8MB RAM, ummm... 40MB HD? (don't recall), Ultrasound GUS, and a forgotten video card. It just barely ran with X11 up & running. And it was really slow by today's standards.
I'm sure that if I were to go back to that exact system with the same distro I would be extremely unhappy with the performance. Given that the only reasonable alternative was Win 3.x running as an app under DOS (OS/2 if I could have gotten it to install), I was ecstatic with it at the time.
BTW - I like your current sig. I'm going to use that at the first appropriate opportunity and not credit you. In direct violation of the ownership notice at the bottom. I'm such a bad boy.
I don't see the multitude of distros as being the source of the marketshare issues. It seems to me the interface is really still the problem. It has come leaps & bounds since the 0.9x days, but it's still really lacking.
The apps seems to be coming along and so forth, but it still lacks the polish of a modern GUI. And trying to emulate Windows layouts isn't an improvement. There really needs to be a group of HMI people working on a well thought out GUI standard for it. Realistically, since there are still so many UI options, it's not too late to completely rethink the UI.
That's the killer app I'd like to see on Linux. A really cutting edge interface with a superior set of tools to target it.
That and the installs can still be a pain... I found Debian to be relatively painful from an 'understanding what to do' standpoint. At least as a netboot. I never did manage to install an archived version via internet install. Almost made me wish for my 11-floppy slackware install from back in the day.
I'm pretty sure you can probably get those two to bind together with some work. What I'd like to know is if you could get two of them to stick to an oxygen atom and sort of share their electrons amongst them. Honestly - is that bond even possible? Well, I suppose by now someone has managed it.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day.
So, according to Genesis, the earth was created prior to the first day. Therefore, I don't see how it's possible to assign an age to the earth based upon scriptural time keeping.
And yes, the lowercase 'h' on 'he' in verse 5 was how it appeared at the source listed.
Hopefully someone (maybe even "The Steve") will take note of the growing frustration with their display issues and actually do something about it. I wouldn't mind upgrading my MPB at some point, but I certainly don't want to do it now. Not that I'd jump on the early adopter curve anyway, but at this point I'm not considering the June '09 release either.
Wow - responding to your ignorant remark by pointing out that it was wrong is "flaming". Overreact much?
So - how many login screens have you seen on, oh let's say, the intertubes that don't have both a username input line and a password input line?
My point above was that as long as people react to HMI issues with Linux by acting like the user is the problem and should be CLI savvy, Linux just isn't gonna make it mainstream.
Your response to my complaint about the faulty login prompt was to jump to the erroneous conclusion that I suffered from reading comprehension, etc. Thus, reinforcing my point.
I'm willing to bet that I can out script fu you from the command line any day (possibly due to 20+ years of experience using Unix as my primary dev platform).
Doesn't change the fact that the login widget and the screenlock widget look remarkably similar. I also happened to be ssh'd into the Debian box from my laptop with the monitor for the Debian system sitting on the coffetable with a keyboard stretched across to me, so it wasn't right in front of my face. Doing some cross devel for an embedded Linux system and still not comfortable enough with avahi-autoipd to tuck the Debian box back off into a corner.
But hey - go ahead- be a pompous ass. Nothing personal, just pointing out that you're apparently better at being an ass than you are at accurately guessing people's skill sets.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, I suppose that was a possibility in my house. My parents didn't actually push too much to stop me from staying up all night coding. They just rolled my ass out of bed early, sometimes with a particularly nasty chore (cleaning hog pens comes to mind).
Also, the chores were optional. I always had the option to live somewhere else.
Yeah, I agree. In many respects, it's better than Sony's pathetic attempt at iTunes.
The thing I'm mostly peeved about with the Sony store app is that it's Windows only. I can't really see a need to go through the effort of rolling a Windows app when they could just let you download the DRMd files with a browser and install them yourself. It's not as if their sync works right anyway. As long as they can sign them on their end and you can register your PRS with them before download, it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
I suppose I need to dust off my aborted start on a Sony store App for the Mac. It wouldn't be that hard to OSS it and add Linux compatibility to it. And then there wouldn't be a glaring target for Sony to launch attorneys at. I'll probably get on that right after I get my Abel prize. ;)
I realize that the Kindle supports other formats. I don't like the Kindle, nor is it the best option for everyone in my family (Sprint's pathetic network coverage).
The problem with Amazon is that they have a huge selection of eBooks that requires you to own a Kindle just for the privilege of buying them. I can't even buy them for use on my laptop. The Sony store, while also DRMd, lets you download to your local storage without requiring a Sony Reader and lets you read them locally. Unfortunately, not only are they Windows-only, they don't have nearly the selection that Amazon has. Prior to the Kindle being released, Amazon had real eBook options. Therein lies my gripe. I wouldn't even mind having to have a DRM converter to get Amazon ebooks onto something else. But they explicitly lock you out of that option unless you pony up for the Kindle.
On the bright side, the used market for the first Kindle will probably be saturated in a few months. If they drop below $50, I might buy one purely as a pathway to buy ebooks from Amazon.
Sony Reader (lrf). Not everything is available that way, unfortunately. But you can filter your searches for LRF only content. My main purchases are SciFi, so that hasn't been as big a limitation as it might be for others. Particularly for older works and my Azimov's subscription.
You might want to check out libprs500. It has some format conversion routines in it...
All Macs ship with the current version. To get a new version (think XP to Vista, e.g.), under that model I'd have to buy a new computer.
This way, I can buy a PPC iMac that has 10.3 on it and update it with 10.5.
Additionally, OS X client version doesn't have a licensing key system, so I can actually buy one copy and put it on all of my machines. However, they have a family pack version that you're allowed (under the honor system) to put on up to 5 machines. It's an additional $60 for 4 more "licenses". I don't mind buying that version specifically because a) I'm not forced to and b) it's a reasonable price.
Oops - I'm wrong about that. The Kindle hardware was developed independently by a team led by Greg Zehr.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Zehr
It's the primary competitor because the Kindle is a Sony eReader with the cell and keyboard buttons added on. The Sony is also a touch screen, hence the missing keyboard.
I still have a couple of problems with the Kindle:
1. It's still bulky. The Sony PRS-505 was a much better form factor than the Kindle. And the Sony PRS-700 (the touchscreen version of the PRS-505) remains a much better form factor than the Kindle 2.
2. Requires Sprint coverage. However, since the release of the Kindle the coverage map has increased substantially. But, more to the point, Amazon requires that you have a Kindle registered with your account just to purchase an eBook. For all of the shrill screeching about DRM and the iTMS, at least Apple lets you physically download their offerings to your local storage. According to the Kindle 2 specs you'll supposedly be able to download to your system and then push via USB if you want, but for the moment their store still requires that you have a registered Kindle. I have no idea if that will remain in effect.
The only complaint I have about the Sony Reader is that their store application is Windows only, but it's easy enough to put my Fictionwise purchases on it, so it's not a show stopper for me.
Not that anyone will bother reading the above since it's more than 2 hours past the publish time of the article... but - it was a 386, not a 486.
To an extent I would agree. Where I don't agree is whether they would run or not. I don't think they've bloated nearly to the extent that my tolerance for latency has decreased.
I ran a slackware dist with kernel 0.96.14 (iirc), X11, the full dev set, etc. on a 486DX2, 8MB RAM, ummm... 40MB HD? (don't recall), Ultrasound GUS, and a forgotten video card. It just barely ran with X11 up & running. And it was really slow by today's standards.
I'm sure that if I were to go back to that exact system with the same distro I would be extremely unhappy with the performance. Given that the only reasonable alternative was Win 3.x running as an app under DOS (OS/2 if I could have gotten it to install), I was ecstatic with it at the time.
CNET?
BTW - I like your current sig. I'm going to use that at the first appropriate opportunity and not credit you. In direct violation of the ownership notice at the bottom. I'm such a bad boy.
Well, thanks for the well thought out response. It's a shame that my post was purely a sarcastic reply to its parent.
I don't see the multitude of distros as being the source of the marketshare issues. It seems to me the interface is really still the problem. It has come leaps & bounds since the 0.9x days, but it's still really lacking.
The apps seems to be coming along and so forth, but it still lacks the polish of a modern GUI. And trying to emulate Windows layouts isn't an improvement. There really needs to be a group of HMI people working on a well thought out GUI standard for it. Realistically, since there are still so many UI options, it's not too late to completely rethink the UI.
That's the killer app I'd like to see on Linux. A really cutting edge interface with a superior set of tools to target it.
That and the installs can still be a pain... I found Debian to be relatively painful from an 'understanding what to do' standpoint. At least as a netboot. I never did manage to install an archived version via internet install. Almost made me wish for my 11-floppy slackware install from back in the day.
It's a shame I can't mod this post redundant. It would have been funny.
I'm thinking Spider Robinson probably isn't fearing for his job right now.
Oh crud. I have mod points and already posted to this thread. Hopefully someone gives you some +funnies.
I'm pretty sure you can probably get those two to bind together with some work. What I'd like to know is if you could get two of them to stick to an oxygen atom and sort of share their electrons amongst them. Honestly - is that bond even possible? Well, I suppose by now someone has managed it.
Not if you copy the link and then paste into your browser's address field. That way there's no referrer.
I really was just going to breeze by this discussion, but it seems to have actually become a viable thread, so here goes.
From the NIV (New International Version) translation of the Torah, Genesis 1:1-5
http://www.ibsstl.org/bible/verse/index.php?q=Genesis%201&niv=yes
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day.
So, according to Genesis, the earth was created prior to the first day. Therefore, I don't see how it's possible to assign an age to the earth based upon scriptural time keeping.
And yes, the lowercase 'h' on 'he' in verse 5 was how it appeared at the source listed.
Hopefully someone (maybe even "The Steve") will take note of the growing frustration with their display issues and actually do something about it. I wouldn't mind upgrading my MPB at some point, but I certainly don't want to do it now. Not that I'd jump on the early adopter curve anyway, but at this point I'm not considering the June '09 release either.
The US Constitution is only 17 pages (18 if you count the title page). But it was obviously mulled over, debated, and word smithed extensively.
An 800 page bill is nothing more than laziness. Like an author in dire need of an editor.
Wow - responding to your ignorant remark by pointing out that it was wrong is "flaming". Overreact much?
So - how many login screens have you seen on, oh let's say, the intertubes that don't have both a username input line and a password input line?
My point above was that as long as people react to HMI issues with Linux by acting like the user is the problem and should be CLI savvy, Linux just isn't gonna make it mainstream.
Your response to my complaint about the faulty login prompt was to jump to the erroneous conclusion that I suffered from reading comprehension, etc. Thus, reinforcing my point.
Nice. How did that bait taste? Hope the hook wasn't too sharp for you.
Gosh, I was so irritated but your ignorant remark that I completely forgot to thank you for reinforcing my point for me.
Thanks!
I'm willing to bet that I can out script fu you from the command line any day (possibly due to 20+ years of experience using Unix as my primary dev platform).
Doesn't change the fact that the login widget and the screenlock widget look remarkably similar. I also happened to be ssh'd into the Debian box from my laptop with the monitor for the Debian system sitting on the coffetable with a keyboard stretched across to me, so it wasn't right in front of my face. Doing some cross devel for an embedded Linux system and still not comfortable enough with avahi-autoipd to tuck the Debian box back off into a corner.
But hey - go ahead- be a pompous ass. Nothing personal, just pointing out that you're apparently better at being an ass than you are at accurately guessing people's skill sets.