I was kind of wondering about the "modern operating systems" comment... I think he meant "desktop operating systems". Many of the big OS vendors (IBM, DEC (now HP), CRAY, etc) are well beyond this point. Even OS/2 could scale to 1024 processors if I recall correctly.
I keep hearing a lot of this sort of comment - the devs of diaspora are inept. The devs are out of their league. Etc etc etc.
You know, I don't see anyone else building anything like it. Linus was out of his depth building Linux, and SMTP, HTML, and NCSA Mosaic were certainly created by people completely out of their depth. Most of those people had degrees, and should have known to build security in from the start, right?
You guys have a better product? Let's see it. Until then, stop acting like children.
What "launching"? They aren't launched, they just had a public pre-alpha to invite people to come take a look and provide feedback.
If that *had* been a launch, you'd be right. I tested the pre-alpha, and I provided my feedback. Let's let them go fix it now and see if the beta is better.
Exactly true. Experience is something you don't get until AFTER you need it.
I have checked out the Alpha, even though I am not a fan of facebook or social networking. It's always worth playing with new OSS stuff, because you never know where the next really good project (or even really good idea) will come from. It takes a lot of "almost good" attempts to make one that is good.
I support Unix professionally (RHEL), and my work laptop is Ubuntu 10.04.
My home machine is Win7. Why? Flight Simulator, LOTRO, SimCity, Civilization, and several other games that either don't play at all or are a freaking pain to make work. CS4. A properly working scanner. Portable Apps (ironic, huh? Most are linux apps!). TrueCrypt (which works in Linux but is a PITA to deal with). HDMI support (including sound).
I like Ubuntu 10.04 a lot, and for me it's ideal for my laptop needs. Just doesn't hack it on my desktop. Funny how times have changed.
No, your second example is actually in very common usage. Nobody I know calls their 1911 types (Kimber, Colt, etc) a "semi-automatic" unless they're being pedantic.
I'm going to have to hop in on this as well and add to the noise.
I've been using Debian since pretty much the very beginning (not quite - but REALLY close, just a bit after Bruce Perens left, but before woody), and it was my favorite Linux distro up until squeeze.
No linux distro has ever done more to turn linux from a serious piece of crap fit only for hobbyists and OS geeks than Debian, and no distro has ever had a larger fall. When Debian chose to pull that stupid stunt over Firefox/IceWeasel and then pile drive into the toilet with Squeeze (which literally fails on every computer I own, unlike Lenny), they proved that Debian's day had finally passed.
Ubuntu works. It works on laptops, it works on desktops, it works on netbooks and tablets. RedHat has a completely solid place in the enterprise - hell, I'm converting 90 AIX boxes to RHEL 5 as we speak, on a project with timeframes more extreme than I can stand. But it *works*, and it's *solid*.
Is this a victory for OpenSource? Yes, just like the rise of "Open Systems" that pushed mainframes into the shadows and forced a radical re-thinking of the entire concept of IT. People used to pay for computing cycles, you know - before the days of Open Systems.
Android, RHEL, and Ubuntu are the result of the insanely hard work of the open source devs. But the devs have *always* sucked at dealing with users. Users want a phone. They don't give a crap who wrote it. Users want farmville. They don't give a crap why it works.
The age of the OS as a primary interface is coming to a close, just like the age of the teletype and the blinking lights was ended by the monitor. The Web Browser is the future interface (warts and all), and in this world where the OS is nothing but the chrome around a browser, Linux is far ahead. Users don't try to install software any more, they check to make sure their sites work and their WiFi is up.
Sorry for the rant. The point is - yes, Debian and Slackware and the rest are doomed to fade into the shadows to be replaced just like the systems and projects they replaced. I don't see you all weeping for CPM, or MVS, or IRIX despite the amazing things they contributed. The X11 project was dropped like a bad habit in favor of Xorg, and I can't even remember the last time I had to use CDE.
Time goes on. Simplicity reigns supreme, and if you're not leading the way on "just works" you'll get run over by someone who is. Debian still doesn't get that, FreeBSD doesn't get that, Slackware doesn't get that.
It's remarkable how rarely I get asked this stuff.
Usually the interviews I'm in are like "do you mind being oncall", "can you work in heavily formal environments", and "can you give us an example of how to troubleshoot 'foo' ".
I happen to love doing contract to hire work - I get paid, you get work performed.
If I like the company (and they offer, so far they have), I'll go perm. If not, thank you and I'm on my way:)
The FTE gig is the worst gig ever. Crap wages, crap work, too many hours, and you get laid off with the same notice as a contractor (but are expected to slave 'for the good of the company'). It's no wonder so many places outsource these days.
When something becomes "popular" it has to attempt to reach the "people"
Joe six pack and his daughter Buffy need stuff for the common salt-of-the-earth types... you know, morons. What saddens me is that with all these gee-whiz computers and trillion of sites, we can't have simplistic Joe six pack summaries with Jimmy Neutron details for those who wish to click a bit further.
Meh. Guess I should just shut up and chew my paste.
I run 64bit Win7 just fine as my gaming/art box, haven't found anything incompatible yet. I don't run Office, though - just portable apps, Adobe CS video/graphics, and games.
Uninvited might be a bit strong, but that's the gist, yes:)
I'd say it's more like people with strong religious convictions going to a public beach. If you don't like the native beach attire (or think it might offend), you should probably avoid the beach.
Cosmopolitanism goes both ways, you know:)
I see this sort of thing in my state. I find people move here and try to make it like the place they came from. We'd rather you didn't - we like it the way it is (and if they don't... maybe they should go home?)
Yes, but this is slashdot... home of the knee-jerk reactionary.
Besides - most people here aren't citizens, they're subjects of whatever country they are from. We're constantly being reminded that slashdot is no longer an 'American' site, as if we are somehow to blame for them coming here.
Just for grins, I measured where I hold my phone (by playing a game and then having my wife measure). 13 inches, give or take a bit since I seem to move my head around a bit.
I suspect it has a lot to do with your vision and comfortable arm angles.
Option 1 mostly works, providing you're going from external to external. Usually the consolidate causes more trouble initially since you have to be very careful to set everything up just right. It's almost better to copy the files, delete the library, and start over.
Option 2 - sometimes. It depends, of course. A lot of people go from using the 'My Music' type directory to 'Music' or something (without thinking about it).
On removable, I found that Songbird Portable handles this well by substituting the drive letter on the fly, so if my external is D, or E, or F, it doesn't matter as long as it's the same path (/portableapps/documents/music, for example).
People move their music libraries all the time. Buy a newer hard drive, move the library to it. Use an external, move it to that. Even worse (and this one completely sucks, btw) - if your music is on an external, it could come it with different letters on occasion. I have a drive that floats between E and F. When I still tolerated iTunes, I had to keep going in and re-assigning the drive letters (and hoping that iTunes didn't auto-launch in the interim).
Oh, then there is the massive facepalm when it decides to go flag every dang song invalid and you have to pretty much start over.
I use songbird portable now, and I'm a lot happier. It still can be a pain if you change paths, but it handles the drive letter changes really well and I can use the same library+player on pretty much any machine.
Regarding Music - you're right on the money. When I dumped Apple, it was a pain to move the DRM'd music across, so I either nuked it and re-bought or just didn't worry about it (lots of 'one hit wonder' crap, really - didn't care if I lost it).
Regarding Apps - I think they are a LOT less sticky than people want to believe. Most people in my office have dropped iPhones for various other devices, and didn't give the sunk costs a second thought. You'd have to be poorly off to think that $30 or $50 worth of iPhone apps is a large expense. You will probably spend more on a memory stick for your new phone. I know I did:)
Regarding app devs? I doubt it matters. I have yet to see anyone find a single 'Killer App' for the iPad or iPhone (or really even Android). The stores are largely filled with toys and stupid time wasters.
My 'stickiest' app was CS2. I had the premium version, and there is no upgrade path for Apple -> Windows (or other). Thank goodness CS2 performs so badly on Apple Intel boxes:)
Heh - I used to do something similar with my old Porsche Sportamatic.
Stick shift. No clutch pedal. Operated by 'magic' (ie you touch the shifter and it activates the clutch). Cool thing was that it was so sensitive that if I moved the shift boot, it would no longer engage the clutch again - and you could start the car, but not actually shift into gear.
Even the valets hated that thing, but realistically car thieves just toss them onto a tow truck and pretend they're doing their job.
Now my old Corvair with the bad wiring that gave you a nasty shock if you didn't touch the handle just right - that was theft deterrent:D
Daily use: Car and house (nothing else). Anything more would ruin the line of a suit. Key ring on fridge: Mailbox, gym, random stuff like that. Spare key for wife's car in my glove box, spare for mine in hers (just in case).
Can't carry too many keys, need room for important stuff:D
Yes, when the humidity rises above 50% or 60%, it really starts to feel unpleasant.
My favorite example of this are the Monsoons - here it will rain heavily for about 15 minutes, drop the temp by 10 degrees, and leave a horribly humid and nasty condition. Sort of like summer in Miami, but it only lasts an hour:)
Watching rain fall but not hit the ground is good too - it evaporates about 5 feet up due to the low overall humidity and high temp.
Slashdot Mirror
Got a pile of AIX servers here like that:
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/hardware/780/index.html
I was kind of wondering about the "modern operating systems" comment... I think he meant "desktop operating systems".
Many of the big OS vendors (IBM, DEC (now HP), CRAY, etc) are well beyond this point. Even OS/2 could scale to 1024 processors if I recall correctly.
I keep hearing a lot of this sort of comment - the devs of diaspora are inept. The devs are out of their league. Etc etc etc.
You know, I don't see anyone else building anything like it. Linus was out of his depth building Linux, and SMTP, HTML, and NCSA Mosaic were certainly created by people completely out of their depth. Most of those people had degrees, and should have known to build security in from the start, right?
You guys have a better product? Let's see it. Until then, stop acting like children.
What "launching"? They aren't launched, they just had a public pre-alpha to invite people to come take a look and provide feedback.
If that *had* been a launch, you'd be right. I tested the pre-alpha, and I provided my feedback. Let's let them go fix it now and see if the beta is better.
Exactly true. Experience is something you don't get until AFTER you need it.
I have checked out the Alpha, even though I am not a fan of facebook or social networking. It's always worth playing with new OSS stuff, because you never know where the next really good project (or even really good idea) will come from. It takes a lot of "almost good" attempts to make one that is good.
Thanks - I hadn't looked at it in a while, so I just went and looked it up again.
This is good: http://linuxandfriends.com/2010/02/03/how-to-truecrypt-setup-on-ubuntu-linux/
Much better than last time I tried it.
I support Unix professionally (RHEL), and my work laptop is Ubuntu 10.04.
My home machine is Win7. Why? Flight Simulator, LOTRO, SimCity, Civilization, and several other games that either don't play at all or are a freaking pain to make work. CS4. A properly working scanner. Portable Apps (ironic, huh? Most are linux apps!). TrueCrypt (which works in Linux but is a PITA to deal with). HDMI support (including sound).
I like Ubuntu 10.04 a lot, and for me it's ideal for my laptop needs. Just doesn't hack it on my desktop. Funny how times have changed.
No, your second example is actually in very common usage. Nobody I know calls their 1911 types (Kimber, Colt, etc) a "semi-automatic" unless they're being pedantic.
"The .45 ACP (11.43x23mm) (Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_ACP
A *lot* of people call them a 45 auto. It's because there was also a 45 single action in popular use at the time, often called a Colt 45.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Single_Action_Army
Example: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=45+automatic
A large majority of the hits show that most 1911s are referred to *still* as the 45 automatic (or 45 ACP)
I'm going to have to hop in on this as well and add to the noise.
I've been using Debian since pretty much the very beginning (not quite - but REALLY close, just a bit after Bruce Perens left, but before woody), and it was my favorite Linux distro up until squeeze.
No linux distro has ever done more to turn linux from a serious piece of crap fit only for hobbyists and OS geeks than Debian, and no distro has ever had a larger fall. When Debian chose to pull that stupid stunt over Firefox/IceWeasel and then pile drive into the toilet with Squeeze (which literally fails on every computer I own, unlike Lenny), they proved that Debian's day had finally passed.
Ubuntu works. It works on laptops, it works on desktops, it works on netbooks and tablets.
RedHat has a completely solid place in the enterprise - hell, I'm converting 90 AIX boxes to RHEL 5 as we speak, on a project with timeframes more extreme than I can stand. But it *works*, and it's *solid*.
Is this a victory for OpenSource? Yes, just like the rise of "Open Systems" that pushed mainframes into the shadows and forced a radical re-thinking of the entire concept of IT. People used to pay for computing cycles, you know - before the days of Open Systems.
Android, RHEL, and Ubuntu are the result of the insanely hard work of the open source devs. But the devs have *always* sucked at dealing with users. Users want a phone. They don't give a crap who wrote it. Users want farmville. They don't give a crap why it works.
The age of the OS as a primary interface is coming to a close, just like the age of the teletype and the blinking lights was ended by the monitor. The Web Browser is the future interface (warts and all), and in this world where the OS is nothing but the chrome around a browser, Linux is far ahead. Users don't try to install software any more, they check to make sure their sites work and their WiFi is up.
Sorry for the rant. The point is - yes, Debian and Slackware and the rest are doomed to fade into the shadows to be replaced just like the systems and projects they replaced. I don't see you all weeping for CPM, or MVS, or IRIX despite the amazing things they contributed. The X11 project was dropped like a bad habit in favor of Xorg, and I can't even remember the last time I had to use CDE.
Time goes on. Simplicity reigns supreme, and if you're not leading the way on "just works" you'll get run over by someone who is. Debian still doesn't get that, FreeBSD doesn't get that, Slackware doesn't get that.
It's remarkable how rarely I get asked this stuff.
Usually the interviews I'm in are like "do you mind being oncall", "can you work in heavily formal environments", and "can you give us an example of how to troubleshoot 'foo' ".
I hate those shops - I like your idea better :)
I happen to love doing contract to hire work - I get paid, you get work performed.
If I like the company (and they offer, so far they have), I'll go perm. If not, thank you and I'm on my way :)
The FTE gig is the worst gig ever. Crap wages, crap work, too many hours, and you get laid off with the same notice as a contractor (but are expected to slave 'for the good of the company'). It's no wonder so many places outsource these days.
When something becomes "popular" it has to attempt to reach the "people"
Joe six pack and his daughter Buffy need stuff for the common salt-of-the-earth types... you know, morons.
What saddens me is that with all these gee-whiz computers and trillion of sites, we can't have simplistic Joe six pack summaries with Jimmy Neutron details for those who wish to click a bit further.
Meh. Guess I should just shut up and chew my paste.
I run 64bit Win7 just fine as my gaming/art box, haven't found anything incompatible yet.
I don't run Office, though - just portable apps, Adobe CS video/graphics, and games.
Uninvited might be a bit strong, but that's the gist, yes :)
I'd say it's more like people with strong religious convictions going to a public beach. If you don't like the native beach attire (or think it might offend), you should probably avoid the beach.
Cosmopolitanism goes both ways, you know :)
I see this sort of thing in my state. I find people move here and try to make it like the place they came from. We'd rather you didn't - we like it the way it is (and if they don't... maybe they should go home?)
Yes, but this is slashdot... home of the knee-jerk reactionary.
Besides - most people here aren't citizens, they're subjects of whatever country they are from. We're constantly being reminded that slashdot is no longer an 'American' site, as if we are somehow to blame for them coming here.
Just for grins, I measured where I hold my phone (by playing a game and then having my wife measure).
13 inches, give or take a bit since I seem to move my head around a bit.
I suspect it has a lot to do with your vision and comfortable arm angles.
I find the completely different format on the screens a bit distracting, but it's still better than this Kno thing.
I will just keep carrying a little torch for the Courier that could have been, and stick to my moleskine.
Yeah, sorry - at that size, weight, and price, it's not worth it.
Wanted a courier bad. This? This doesn't hit the same buttons, and you're still stuck finger painting.
Option 1 mostly works, providing you're going from external to external. Usually the consolidate causes more trouble initially since you have to be very careful to set everything up just right. It's almost better to copy the files, delete the library, and start over.
Option 2 - sometimes. It depends, of course. A lot of people go from using the 'My Music' type directory to 'Music' or something (without thinking about it).
On removable, I found that Songbird Portable handles this well by substituting the drive letter on the fly, so if my external is D, or E, or F, it doesn't matter as long as it's the same path (/portableapps/documents/music, for example).
Wow, what a fanboi.
People move their music libraries all the time. Buy a newer hard drive, move the library to it. Use an external, move it to that. Even worse (and this one completely sucks, btw) - if your music is on an external, it could come it with different letters on occasion. I have a drive that floats between E and F. When I still tolerated iTunes, I had to keep going in and re-assigning the drive letters (and hoping that iTunes didn't auto-launch in the interim).
Oh, then there is the massive facepalm when it decides to go flag every dang song invalid and you have to pretty much start over.
I use songbird portable now, and I'm a lot happier. It still can be a pain if you change paths, but it handles the drive letter changes really well and I can use the same library+player on pretty much any machine.
Regarding Music - you're right on the money. When I dumped Apple, it was a pain to move the DRM'd music across, so I either nuked it and re-bought or just didn't worry about it (lots of 'one hit wonder' crap, really - didn't care if I lost it).
Regarding Apps - I think they are a LOT less sticky than people want to believe. Most people in my office have dropped iPhones for various other devices, and didn't give the sunk costs a second thought. You'd have to be poorly off to think that $30 or $50 worth of iPhone apps is a large expense. You will probably spend more on a memory stick for your new phone. I know I did :)
Regarding app devs? I doubt it matters. I have yet to see anyone find a single 'Killer App' for the iPad or iPhone (or really even Android). The stores are largely filled with toys and stupid time wasters.
My 'stickiest' app was CS2. I had the premium version, and there is no upgrade path for Apple -> Windows (or other). Thank goodness CS2 performs so badly on Apple Intel boxes :)
Heh - I used to do something similar with my old Porsche Sportamatic.
Stick shift. No clutch pedal. Operated by 'magic' (ie you touch the shifter and it activates the clutch).
Cool thing was that it was so sensitive that if I moved the shift boot, it would no longer engage the clutch again - and you could start the car, but not actually shift into gear.
Even the valets hated that thing, but realistically car thieves just toss them onto a tow truck and pretend they're doing their job.
Now my old Corvair with the bad wiring that gave you a nasty shock if you didn't touch the handle just right - that was theft deterrent :D
I disagree - a decent carabiner with a screwgate and a good weight rating is easily worth $18 ;)
Exactly - I have my keyrings split out.
Daily use: Car and house (nothing else). Anything more would ruin the line of a suit.
Key ring on fridge: Mailbox, gym, random stuff like that.
Spare key for wife's car in my glove box, spare for mine in hers (just in case).
Can't carry too many keys, need room for important stuff :D
Yes, when the humidity rises above 50% or 60%, it really starts to feel unpleasant.
My favorite example of this are the Monsoons - here it will rain heavily for about 15 minutes, drop the temp by 10 degrees, and leave a horribly humid and nasty condition. Sort of like summer in Miami, but it only lasts an hour :)
Watching rain fall but not hit the ground is good too - it evaporates about 5 feet up due to the low overall humidity and high temp.
Now that would suck! :D
I think after the first week I'd go buy a new off-grid water heater :)