Well, we have to all start somewhere. And maybe for a few months there's a bunch of folks out there running with mediocre compiler flags.. and they're kernel isnt tweaked.. and so on. As time goes on, folks generally want to try optimizing and run a few benchmarks and observe results.. progress! Accomplishment!
For myself, I'd never claim my system is running optimally: there are constant updates (features and fixes) that make it almost impossible to keep up with it all... and that's great.
In the end, Gentoo makes better troubleshooters.. generally folks develop good habits: don't change a lot of things at once.. run benchmarks, measure differences.. UNDERSTAND what different kernel options do and how they impact the system overall.
It's folks that grab a LiveCD that have never run a source based distro - and write articles comparing Gentoo (or anything else) against a distro they have run for years that makes me chuckle. Reminds me of 'the windows guy' writing a RedHat review on NewsForge a few months ago. Pretty funny. And totally missed the point.
I'd like to see 3 systems side by side each built by seasoned users of each distro. I'd bet the Gentoo user would be able to give the other two a few tips to optimize their systems. The gentoo user is pretty savy about versions and releases. Afterall, if they run a package, they can receive and run every update.
Another thing that's interesting.. it's really discouraged to overclock a Gentoo System. Long compiles will segfault. It turns out to be more fun actually experimenting with software configurations... learn something new that way...
I moved to Gentoo after my Redhat 7.3 system borked and wouldn't apply the latest errata via up2date. I moved because I really didnt want to download all those isos and really I outgrew RedHat.. I wanted the lastest versions of applications.. and I probably did shoot myself in the foot installing 'unofficial RPMs' messing up dependencies. Funny, these days I know how to go about fixing such problems.
The one thing I noticed about gentoo was the community.. on irc.. forums.. bugzilla.. the developers are always accessable and anxious to fix or provide help. The user base is top notch and ALWAYS willing to help out a newbie. I think you would be hard pressed to see a 'RTFM' response to a frustrated user's question.
Why is this? Because almost all Gentoo users realize they have learned more about Linux and the culture of Linux with this distro than any other they have tried.
It's not easy coming from RedHat.. it's probably easier coming from slackware but after your system is built - there's a feeling of empowerment and accomplishment. And for all the folks that helped answer your questions, it's pretty easy to jump in and answer help out the next guy..
I like the fact I run the latest versions available. That's the funny part about Gentoo - the Live CD is versioned but after you install, that version becomes meaningless. The interesting part then becomes your favorite desktop environment, version of apache, flavor of kernel, etc etc, etc and isn't that really what's cool about Linux? Try the development kernel.. beta xfree.. development tree of your favorite app. It's okay.. it's in portage.
I believe Gentoo is a wonderful community-based distro that allows folks to learn and grow with Linux. Bugs happen but these get worked through and it usually turns out you dig into an area of the system that you have never worked with before and come away with a few more tidbits.
It was pretty amazing when I first installed.. I had my choice of filesystems, system loggers, cron, and kernels.. mind boggling.
Bottom Line: if I'm hiring for Unix/Linux support and have 2 candidates.. one with a RHCE and another that runs Gentoo at home, who is probably going to have more depth? Who probably has the Microsoft mindset of calling on tech support for everything. Who probably is willing to dig into and understand a problem an offer their own solutions.
Call me a zealot.. piss and moan about compile times.. benchmark apples and oranges.. say it will never make it to the DataCenter.. all that doesn't matter.. Gentoo is fun. Stop by!
(I'm not here to flame anyone's favorite distro.. just pass on my experience).
sounds about right.. Sun paid off the extorionist/shakedown artist SCO and is using their investment to their advantage.
What they don't realize: 'spooked technology buyers' are actually spooked by proprietary software and these for-profit games. This nonsense will backfire.
Using OSS tools (Perl, php, gcc) and running on a OSS platform (Linux, Apache, mySQL, pg) is a decoupling from vendor centric solutions to one that's portable across a full range of hardware today and probably well into the future. The same source that runs on a z Series mainframe can run on the smallest devices available - phones and handhelds - and everything in between. Portable code.
I see just the opposite for the 'lack of standards' argument. Built with XML/SOAP, data is portable.
If I have to rewrite it's because of a better *idea* - a new way of doing things.. not because some bean counter can get a better *deal* from another vendor.
A MDSN Universal subscription for 1 year is over $2,500 - locked into ia32 architecture and a propritary os, etc. Right where they want you.
Gentoo uses bash scripts for it's ebuilds - there is no 'packaging' to do: the version number is pulled from the file name - corresponding versioned tarball source downloaded and built. Gentoo has had the xfree 4.2.99 pre-release available for quite some time - copying the build script to a new name isnt that difficult.
I'd like to have a silent PC. If I buy a new cpu, the retail version should include a heatsink - NO fan. If someone wants to overclock, great - get a fan.
When I got my Athlon around the time of the tom's hardware thermal scare, I bought the fastest fan I could - it drove me batty! Sounded like a DataCenter. I had to do the 7V trick just to be in the same room.
I don't understand why AMD and Intel take a breather on the speed race and work on a decent CPU package that can dissapate heat without any active cooler. That would sell. That's TNG... oh wait... Macs have been that way forever... maybe it's patented...:/
It seems M$ has done their best over the years to protect their file formats... The implication now is Ballmer's enemy #1 (open office, ximian, koffice, star office, joe's office, etc) will be able to interchange documents seamlessly with M$ Office.
I don't know about anyone else, but the reason companies hold onto M$ (like grim death) is they receive documents via email in M$ format - defacto proprietary format.
There has to be an angle here. This can't be construed as a tactic to hold market share.
ViewSonic Flat Panel VG191b. My KDS 19" died and I really needed something I could read easily - I was getting headaches from blurriness. It wasn't as cheap as even a 22" but for me, it's perfect. I have a DVI connector on my nVidia card, my 'work' PC is on the analog connection. I upgraded to XFee86 4.2.1 and Gnome 2 (gentoo) (Xft/AA fonts) and in all seriousness, I'm about to finally scrap my Windows partition. It just looks great.
RTCW looks great - response time is 25ms so no artifacts that I can see and with the 600:1 contrast, it looks so much better than my wife's 21" ViewSonic. I'm really looking forward to the X updates that will handle pivoting the screen.
It uses less energy than a CRT and I think it's easier on the environment when it's disposed of. Speaking of disposal, that is one down side... the 3 year warranty will probably just cover the life of the backlight. That's typically the first thing to go.
In the past several years, M$ has attempted to alienate their user base in every way possible. From their increasingly restrictive licensing which assumes every customer is a crook to the outright slop they promote as 'software', users - especially corporate - are looking for alternatives.
Of course, for the press they paint the picture that users are misguided (read: ignorant) and are turning to open source. Further alienation.
The M$ business model requires selling upgrades early and often. From here, it doesn't look like they're actually producing anything 'ya gotta have' but people are buying it 'because they have to'.
.NET? Why? My impression is most seasoned IT folk see it as a marketing gimmick. Re-invent. New release. Have to upgrade because the previous release doesn't do whatever. More stable. Repeat repeat repeat.
Sooner or later, this becomes obvious to anyone that has to shell out real money to play this game.
The funny part is they could have probably pulled it off but now it's a trust and credibility issue. Thanks, Judge Jackson.
I don't think anyone has posted that they would be taking a look at gentoo 1.4 - seems like it's it just sucks or it's great.
I'm running RH 7.2 on an Athlon 1600XP.. Looking at RH8 - it's now on 5 CDs with sources... which seems excessive. RH does seem to be taking the turn away from where my interests are as a hobbiest...
I first started on Slackware in 1993 on a 486. Brutally fun:) I later started using packaged distros but have been thinking recently a custom install would be beneficial for me since I've moved to AMD and most binary distros target Intel.
Connection speed for the install is not a problem: I have cable... I'll probably use my shared 10GB win/linux partition for the gentoo install.. If Imess it up, I'll at least have a working system.
I'm using grub under RH, so adding gentoo to the boot menu shouldn't be rocket science.
Has anyone considered using ghost (or whatever equivelent) to backup a gentoo install?
Anyway, question is to go with the 1.4 RC1 or wait for the release...
The hole I see in the bombardier beetle 'theory' is that it evolved beginning with present concentrations or quanties of the chemicals. The way I envision it, the beetle had low concentrations/quantities at first which were somewhat effective and developed from there.
Worker bees die after they sting... perhaps the bombardier beetle lived in colonies as a 'soldier' before they could survive after using the 'weapon'.
Ok, so the US gets all this restrictive legislation passed - the cabal has their way and implements hardware DRM to enforce it while the rest of the world has a good belly laugh. The arrogance to think that there won't be alternative hardware available from Asia - or anywhere else for that matter - is stupifying.
The emerging markets for new technology is not the US but the parts of the world that don't have it now. If MS, Intel, etc are only selling locked down software on 4GHZ chips, why wouldn't a consumer in say China choose Linux/BSD/etc on a say a VIA processor and chipset that doesn't implement DRM?
This is all such a waste... and economic suicide for US technology companies. To think they can impose their self interests outside their borders - after they thumb their nose at organizations such as the world court - is inexplicable.
This nonsense can't be enforced and in the end the 'bootleg' companies will win.
Prohabition, speakeasys and organized crime - funny how history repeats itself.
Verizon and others are offering the Sierra pcmcia card... I have one. It has a jack for a standard handsfree or headset. In my opinion, the phone is a novelty - it can't answer unless the PDA or laptop is powered up and ready (read:burning battery). Here, 1X service pretty much sucks speed-wise - web browsing is painful.. email is bad too... VPN during rush hour is next to useless.
I have used it for telnet and it seems okay. In a pinch, it's handy, but I can't justify the expense.
I'd rather have a 1X data capable phone and a blackberry.
What if the US Government gave itself a mandate to create a modern Tennessee Valley Authority to deliver broadband internet to rural America? It could be delivered via power lines. WPA project!
I doubt it would ever happen because the demand isn't there.
Looking at what is being deployed and where the competition is among the telcos is wireless technology. They (Verizon at least) has the technology to distribute hardened DSLAMS out to neighborhoods, eliminating the distance limitations of DSL from the CO... Marconi has developed and demonstrated fiber from the curb - 5Mb/sec connections + phone and TV. The cable companies had an infrastructure in place and tried to deliver service on the cheap but that business model failed miserably (@Home) - AT&T bi continues to lose money. Comcast, Cox, Rogers and others raised rates and seem viable.
My impression is the telcos are focusing on where the demand is - wireless. The speed of 3x technologies looks good on paper - it remains to be seen how fast it actually is (1x around here is pretty poor). Blackberry technology is pretty cool - and it probably satisfies what most consumers are looking for.
If a hard internet connection to the residence is 'vital to the national interest', let it be delivered as a utility like (or with) power.I believe the culture is demanding mobile solutions... and the competition is there to provide them.
Tecnology - Corporate R&D vs. Proprietary
on
Why VHS Was Better
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
I never owned a Betamax but was involved up close and personal with similar technology model: IBM's Microchannel (introduced mid 80s - same timeframe as Betamax). Superior technology or so they said. IBM sold the PS/2 line with no ISA slots - only MCA. Ethernet was expensive - token ring was cheap (an IBM technology)... once IBM 'had' you, you were at their mercy. Few 3rd party companies would pay the IBM licensing fees for MCA cards except for the server market. Non-IBM token ring cards were like hen's teeth (Madge was one) so moving away without rewring the network was a tough call. EISA and PCI finally put an end to all that nonsense. After that, I never again heard 'no one was ever fired for recommending IBM'.
After that, I rarely got into RWARs over a vendor's technology. I try to keep my loyalities to myself and my company
As for Sonys' Betamax, the consumer market is similar in some respects and the network can be an analogy to tapes: If you own 100 beatamax tapes, what are the implications of switching to VHS? VHS is substandard! (I'm thinking about the IBM rep saying ethernet is collision detect - collisions! oh my!)
I own quite a bit of Sony A/V equipment, including a tv, receiver/amp, minidisk, dvd, camcorder and even a DAT recorder (nice white elephant, that). I went that way because of their single remote technology and s-link. None are propietary formats (despite other posts here, sharp, jvc, kenwood and others manufacture MD). In retrospect, I would have probably been better off with a portable MP3 player.
Only question is why did they carry BetaMax for so many years? For those with a tape investment, I really think Sony did them a big favor. Not many companies will support their loyalists like that.
An episode of the old Fox series 'Married with Children' had Al Bundy installing his own bathroon in the basement so he wouldn't have to share with the rest of the family. After going through a quest to find the right crapper, one with the most 'satisfying flush', he proudly mounted 4 TP dispensers on the wall so he would never be without.
I have to admit: I've come up with some pretty decent ideas in the bathroom and to have my thought process jarred by a missing roll of TP would be frustrating.
If a smaller system could be simulated, say our solar system, could the next asteroid that will smack into earth be predicted? Heck, I'd settle for a decent weather forcast.
My copy of A New Kind of Science should arrive this afternoon. I'll have my work cut out...
IBM Services is a huge outsourcing organization. They can pull it off. I'd even go further to say if it wasn't for IBM saying 'we will make it happen' as they did for Sherwin Williams and others, I doubt that a large organization would consider Linux let alone trust a SuSE or RedHat with real money - especially taxpayer's money.
I see IBM as the great liberator. They can show Linux is a viable alternative and from there eventually smaller companies can partner or bid themselves.
Re:What's needed on new PDAs and Not Yet Available
on
Toshiba e740 Pocket PC
·
· Score: 1
The iPaq has an expansion pack that accepts 1 or 2 pc cards and carries an integrated screen protector and battery. I use my 802.11 card with my 3870 (bluetooth enabled) and my laptop. Also, Verizon's 1X express network card works with it. My only beef is the iPaq won't wake up when a call is being received on the Sierra Aircard.
Indeed. The only way M$ will realize any changes in business practices is if they are seeing real income being lost to Open Source. As things stand now with the licensing hassles and generally grabbing every dollar they can by harassing their business customers a savvy IT person just has to propose and implement Open Source solutions to become a asset and increase their value. Companies are looking hard at their bottom lines and Open Source addresses that question. Line managers at my shop now look at freshmeat for answers - they are smarter which in turn cripples the M$ FUD machine.
Sadly, M$ only wants to sell as much as they can and their greed is showing all the way to CIOs. Maybe they will get it or maybe they won't... I couldn't care less. Either way, I'm implementing what's best for my company and it's usually Open Source these days
Umm... all of these games involve looking at the screen on the phone with the antenna directed away from you. I can't see how they would be played by holding the phone to ones ear:)
Perhaps you could champion the ergonomic issues of repetetive thumb motion on the keyboard...
Slashdot Mirror
prelinking in gentoo
Well, we have to all start somewhere. And maybe for a few months there's a bunch of folks out there running with mediocre compiler flags.. and they're kernel isnt tweaked .. and so on. As time goes on, folks generally want to try optimizing and run a few benchmarks and observe results.. progress! Accomplishment!
... learn something new that way...
For myself, I'd never claim my system is running optimally: there are constant updates (features and fixes) that make it almost impossible to keep up with it all... and that's great.
In the end, Gentoo makes better troubleshooters.. generally folks develop good habits: don't change a lot of things at once.. run benchmarks, measure differences.. UNDERSTAND what different kernel options do and how they impact the system overall.
It's folks that grab a LiveCD that have never run a source based distro - and write articles comparing Gentoo (or anything else) against a distro they have run for years that makes me chuckle. Reminds me of 'the windows guy' writing a RedHat review on NewsForge a few months ago. Pretty funny. And totally missed the point.
I'd like to see 3 systems side by side each built by seasoned users of each distro. I'd bet the Gentoo user would be able to give the other two a few tips to optimize their systems. The gentoo user is pretty savy about versions and releases. Afterall, if they run a package, they can receive and run every update.
Another thing that's interesting.. it's really discouraged to overclock a Gentoo System. Long compiles will segfault. It turns out to be more fun actually experimenting with software configurations
O9 with gcc 3.x?
I moved to Gentoo after my Redhat 7.3 system borked and wouldn't apply the latest errata via up2date. I moved because I really didnt want to download all those isos and really I outgrew RedHat.. I wanted the lastest versions of applications.. and I probably did shoot myself in the foot installing 'unofficial RPMs' messing up dependencies. Funny, these days I know how to go about fixing such problems.
The one thing I noticed about gentoo was the community.. on irc.. forums.. bugzilla.. the developers are always accessable and anxious to fix or provide help. The user base is top notch and ALWAYS willing to help out a newbie. I think you would be hard pressed to see a 'RTFM' response to a frustrated user's question.
Why is this? Because almost all Gentoo users realize they have learned more about Linux and the culture of Linux with this distro than any other they have tried.
It's not easy coming from RedHat.. it's probably easier coming from slackware but after your system is built - there's a feeling of empowerment and accomplishment. And for all the folks that helped answer your questions, it's pretty easy to jump in and answer help out the next guy..
I like the fact I run the latest versions available. That's the funny part about Gentoo - the Live CD is versioned but after you install, that version becomes meaningless. The interesting part then becomes your favorite desktop environment, version of apache, flavor of kernel, etc etc, etc and isn't that really what's cool about Linux? Try the development kernel.. beta xfree.. development tree of your favorite app. It's okay.. it's in portage.
I believe Gentoo is a wonderful community-based distro that allows folks to learn and grow with Linux. Bugs happen but these get worked through and it usually turns out you dig into an area of the system that you have never worked with before and come away with a few more tidbits.
It was pretty amazing when I first installed.. I had my choice of filesystems, system loggers, cron, and kernels.. mind boggling.
Bottom Line: if I'm hiring for Unix/Linux support and have 2 candidates.. one with a RHCE and another that runs Gentoo at home, who is probably going to have more depth? Who probably has the Microsoft mindset of calling on tech support for everything. Who probably is willing to dig into and understand a problem an offer their own solutions.
Call me a zealot.. piss and moan about compile times.. benchmark apples and oranges.. say it will never make it to the DataCenter.. all that doesn't matter.. Gentoo is fun. Stop by!
(I'm not here to flame anyone's favorite distro.. just pass on my experience).
sounds about right.. Sun paid off the extorionist/shakedown artist SCO and is using their investment to their advantage.
What they don't realize: 'spooked technology buyers' are actually spooked by proprietary software and these for-profit games. This nonsense will backfire.
Using OSS tools (Perl, php, gcc) and running on a OSS platform (Linux, Apache, mySQL, pg) is a decoupling from vendor centric solutions to one that's portable across a full range of hardware today and probably well into the future. The same source that runs on a z Series mainframe can run on the smallest devices available - phones and handhelds - and everything in between. Portable code.
I see just the opposite for the 'lack of standards' argument. Built with XML/SOAP, data is portable.
If I have to rewrite it's because of a better *idea* - a new way of doing things.. not because some bean counter can get a better *deal* from another vendor.
A MDSN Universal subscription for 1 year is over $2,500 - locked into ia32 architecture and a propritary os, etc. Right where they want you.
Gentoo uses bash scripts for it's ebuilds - there is no 'packaging' to do: the version number is pulled from the file name - corresponding versioned tarball source downloaded and built. Gentoo has had the xfree 4.2.99 pre-release available for quite some time - copying the build script to a new name isnt that difficult.
emerge clue
I'd like to have a silent PC. If I buy a new cpu, the retail version should include a heatsink - NO fan. If someone wants to overclock, great - get a fan.
When I got my Athlon around the time of the tom's hardware thermal scare, I bought the fastest fan I could - it drove me batty! Sounded like a DataCenter. I had to do the 7V trick just to be in the same room.
I don't understand why AMD and Intel take a breather on the speed race and work on a decent CPU package that can dissapate heat without any active cooler. That would sell. That's TNG... oh wait... Macs have been that way forever... maybe it's patented... :/
my bad: redundant
It seems M$ has done their best over the years to protect their file formats... The implication now is Ballmer's enemy #1 (open office, ximian, koffice, star office, joe's office, etc) will be able to interchange documents seamlessly with M$ Office.
I don't know about anyone else, but the reason companies hold onto M$ (like grim death) is they receive documents via email in M$ format - defacto proprietary format.
There has to be an angle here. This can't be construed as a tactic to hold market share.
RTCW looks great - response time is 25ms so no artifacts that I can see and with the 600:1 contrast, it looks so much better than my wife's 21" ViewSonic. I'm really looking forward to the X updates that will handle pivoting the screen.
It uses less energy than a CRT and I think it's easier on the environment when it's disposed of. Speaking of disposal, that is one down side... the 3 year warranty will probably just cover the life of the backlight. That's typically the first thing to go.
An 18" flat panel is now on order at work...
In the past several years, M$ has attempted to alienate their user base in every way possible. From their increasingly restrictive licensing which assumes every customer is a crook to the outright slop they promote as 'software', users - especially corporate - are looking for alternatives.
Of course, for the press they paint the picture that users are misguided (read: ignorant) and are turning to open source. Further alienation.
The M$ business model requires selling upgrades early and often. From here, it doesn't look like they're actually producing anything 'ya gotta have' but people are buying it 'because they have to'.
.NET? Why? My impression is most seasoned IT folk see it as a marketing gimmick. Re-invent. New release. Have to upgrade because the previous release doesn't do whatever. More stable. Repeat repeat repeat.
Sooner or later, this becomes obvious to anyone that has to shell out real money to play this game.
The funny part is they could have probably pulled it off but now it's a trust and credibility issue. Thanks, Judge Jackson.
I don't think anyone has posted that they would be taking a look at gentoo 1.4 - seems like it's it just sucks or it's great.
I'm running RH 7.2 on an Athlon 1600XP.. Looking at RH8 - it's now on 5 CDs with sources... which seems excessive. RH does seem to be taking the turn away from where my interests are as a hobbiest...
I first started on Slackware in 1993 on a 486. Brutally fun :) I later started using packaged distros but have been thinking recently a custom install would be beneficial for me since I've moved to AMD and most binary distros target Intel.
Connection speed for the install is not a problem: I have cable... I'll probably use my shared 10GB win/linux partition for the gentoo install.. If Imess it up, I'll at least have a working system.
I'm using grub under RH, so adding gentoo to the boot menu shouldn't be rocket science.
Has anyone considered using ghost (or whatever equivelent) to backup a gentoo install?
Anyway, question is to go with the 1.4 RC1 or wait for the release...
Worker bees die after they sting... perhaps the bombardier beetle lived in colonies as a 'soldier' before they could survive after using the 'weapon'.
Ok, so the US gets all this restrictive legislation passed - the cabal has their way and implements hardware DRM to enforce it while the rest of the world has a good belly laugh. The arrogance to think that there won't be alternative hardware available from Asia - or anywhere else for that matter - is stupifying.
The emerging markets for new technology is not the US but the parts of the world that don't have it now. If MS, Intel, etc are only selling locked down software on 4GHZ chips, why wouldn't a consumer in say China choose Linux/BSD/etc on a say a VIA processor and chipset that doesn't implement DRM?
This is all such a waste... and economic suicide for US technology companies. To think they can impose their self interests outside their borders - after they thumb their nose at organizations such as the world court - is inexplicable.
This nonsense can't be enforced and in the end the 'bootleg' companies will win.
Prohabition, speakeasys and organized crime - funny how history repeats itself.
Verizon and others are offering the Sierra pcmcia card... I have one. It has a jack for a standard handsfree or headset. In my opinion, the phone is a novelty - it can't answer unless the PDA or laptop is powered up and ready (read:burning battery). Here, 1X service pretty much sucks speed-wise - web browsing is painful.. email is bad too... VPN during rush hour is next to useless.
I have used it for telnet and it seems okay. In a pinch, it's handy, but I can't justify the expense.
I'd rather have a 1X data capable phone and a blackberry.
YMMV
What if the US Government gave itself a mandate to create a modern Tennessee Valley Authority to deliver broadband internet to rural America? It could be delivered via power lines. WPA project!
I doubt it would ever happen because the demand isn't there.Looking at what is being deployed and where the competition is among the telcos is wireless technology. They (Verizon at least) has the technology to distribute hardened DSLAMS out to neighborhoods, eliminating the distance limitations of DSL from the CO... Marconi has developed and demonstrated fiber from the curb - 5Mb/sec connections + phone and TV. The cable companies had an infrastructure in place and tried to deliver service on the cheap but that business model failed miserably (@Home) - AT&T bi continues to lose money. Comcast, Cox, Rogers and others raised rates and seem viable.
My impression is the telcos are focusing on where the demand is - wireless. The speed of 3x technologies looks good on paper - it remains to be seen how fast it actually is (1x around here is pretty poor). Blackberry technology is pretty cool - and it probably satisfies what most consumers are looking for.
If a hard internet connection to the residence is 'vital to the national interest', let it be delivered as a utility like (or with) power.I believe the culture is demanding mobile solutions... and the competition is there to provide them.
I never owned a Betamax but was involved up close and personal with similar technology model: IBM's Microchannel (introduced mid 80s - same timeframe as Betamax). Superior technology or so they said. IBM sold the PS/2 line with no ISA slots - only MCA. Ethernet was expensive - token ring was cheap (an IBM technology)... once IBM 'had' you, you were at their mercy. Few 3rd party companies would pay the IBM licensing fees for MCA cards except for the server market. Non-IBM token ring cards were like hen's teeth (Madge was one) so moving away without rewring the network was a tough call. EISA and PCI finally put an end to all that nonsense. After that, I never again heard 'no one was ever fired for recommending IBM'.
After that, I rarely got into RWARs over a vendor's technology. I try to keep my loyalities to myself and my company
As for Sonys' Betamax, the consumer market is similar in some respects and the network can be an analogy to tapes: If you own 100 beatamax tapes, what are the implications of switching to VHS? VHS is substandard! (I'm thinking about the IBM rep saying ethernet is collision detect - collisions! oh my!)
I own quite a bit of Sony A/V equipment, including a tv, receiver/amp, minidisk, dvd, camcorder and even a DAT recorder (nice white elephant, that). I went that way because of their single remote technology and s-link. None are propietary formats (despite other posts here, sharp, jvc, kenwood and others manufacture MD). In retrospect, I would have probably been better off with a portable MP3 player.
Only question is why did they carry BetaMax for so many years? For those with a tape investment, I really think Sony did them a big favor. Not many companies will support their loyalists like that.
An episode of the old Fox series 'Married with Children' had Al Bundy installing his own bathroon in the basement so he wouldn't have to share with the rest of the family. After going through a quest to find the right crapper, one with the most 'satisfying flush', he proudly mounted 4 TP dispensers on the wall so he would never be without.
I have to admit: I've come up with some pretty decent ideas in the bathroom and to have my thought process jarred by a missing roll of TP would be frustrating.
If a smaller system could be simulated, say our solar system, could the next asteroid that will smack into earth be predicted? Heck, I'd settle for a decent weather forcast.
My copy of A New Kind of Science should arrive this afternoon. I'll have my work cut out...
IBM Services is a huge outsourcing organization. They can pull it off. I'd even go further to say if it wasn't for IBM saying 'we will make it happen' as they did for Sherwin Williams and others, I doubt that a large organization would consider Linux let alone trust a SuSE or RedHat with real money - especially taxpayer's money.
I see IBM as the great liberator. They can show Linux is a viable alternative and from there eventually smaller companies can partner or bid themselves.
The iPaq has an expansion pack that accepts 1 or 2 pc cards and carries an integrated screen protector and battery. I use my 802.11 card with my 3870 (bluetooth enabled) and my laptop. Also, Verizon's 1X express network card works with it. My only beef is the iPaq won't wake up when a call is being received on the Sierra Aircard.
Indeed. The only way M$ will realize any changes in business practices is if they are seeing real income being lost to Open Source. As things stand now with the licensing hassles and generally grabbing every dollar they can by harassing their business customers a savvy IT person just has to propose and implement Open Source solutions to become a asset and increase their value. Companies are looking hard at their bottom lines and Open Source addresses that question. Line managers at my shop now look at freshmeat for answers - they are smarter which in turn cripples the M$ FUD machine.
Sadly, M$ only wants to sell as much as they can and their greed is showing all the way to CIOs. Maybe they will get it or maybe they won't... I couldn't care less. Either way, I'm implementing what's best for my company and it's usually Open Source these days
Umm... all of these games involve looking at the screen on the phone with the antenna directed away from you. I can't see how they would be played by holding the phone to ones ear :)
Perhaps you could champion the ergonomic issues of repetetive thumb motion on the keyboard...
....not to mention the hole dug in my garage that goes straight to China...